THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAITEstablished in 1977

NO. 13681 56 PAGES 150 FILSTHURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009 / SHABAN 1, 1430 AH

Canada case resists Tamiflu…10 new H1N1s in Kuwait

KS E +76.20 pts at closing, July 22See Page 45

Dow -34.68 pts at closing, July 22See Page 44

Nasdaq +10.18 pts at closing, July 22

FTSE +12.56 pts at closing, July 22

Nikkei +71.14 pts at closing, July 22

NYMEX crude $65.16 per barrel

Brent crude $66.44 per barrel

3-month $ LIBOR rate 0.50%

US$/KD 0.28685/95

Euro/KD 0.407846

Yen/KD 0.003050

British £/KD 0.470384

Gold $948.25 per oz (London)

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▼ South Korean elementary school students shout as they lay in water duringan exercise at a marine boot camp for students on Daebu Island, in Ansan,South Korea, July 21. Some students took part in the three-day camp as a

way to mentally and physically strengthen themselves. (AP)

Jihadist gets‘seven years’By Moamen Al-MasriSpecial to the Arab

Times

KUWAIT CITY, July 22:The Criminal Court onWednesday sentenced aKuwaiti man to sevenyears in jail for carryingout hostile actionsagainst the US forces inAfghanistan.

The court also sen-tenced the second suspect

Continued on Page 47

Newswatch

CAPE CANAVERAL: Twoastronauts are taking a space-walk to replace some batter-ies on the international spacestation.

David Wolf andChristopher Cassidy floatedout Wednesday morning. Itwas the third spacewalk infive days for the shuttleEndeavour crew.

The spacewalkers willremove four old batteriesfrom a solar panel electricalassembly, and plug in newones that were carried up by

Chimp deaths may lead to vaccine

‘Missing link’ in AIDS foundWASHINGTON, July 22, (AP):Scientists believe they have found a“missing link” in the evolution of thevirus that causes AIDS. It bridges thegap between the infection that doesno harm to most monkeys and theone that kills millions of people.

That link is a virus that is killingchimpanzees in the wild at a dis-turbingly high rate, according to astudy in Thursday’s journal Nature.Chimpanzees are the first primatebesides man shown to get sick in thewild in significant numbers from avirus related to HIV. Chimps are alsoman’s closest relative among primates.

And chimps are already endan-gered.

But the discovery of the diseasekilling chimps may help doctorscome up with better treatments or aworkable vaccine for humans,experts said.

The monkey version of the virusthat causes AIDS is called simianimmunodeficiency virus (SIV), butmost apes and monkeys that have itshow no symptoms or illness. So “ifwe could figure out why the monkeysdon’t get sick, perhaps we couldapply that to people,” said study lead

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BKME in profitDetails Page 37

Rater Moody’s assignsnegative outlook to KICLIMASSOL, July 22: Moody’s Investors ServiceWednesday assigned a Baa3 (negative outlook) long-termissuer rating to Kuwait Investment Company (KIC). Therating reflects Moody’s application of its Global RatingMethodology for Asset Management Firms and JointDefault Analysis (JDA) methodology to government-relat-ed issuers (GRIs). The application of the rating methodolo-gies for GRIs uses the following combination of inputs todetermine KIC’s ratings:■ Kuwait’s Aa2 rating;■ KIC’s Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of 15 (on a

Continued on Page 47

Australia starts vaccine trials … US looks for volunteersKUWAIT, July 22, (Agencies): Kuwait’s HealthMinistry reported Wednesday 10 new swine flucases, involving citizens and expatriates, bringingthe total to 54 recorded cases.

The ministry’s spokesman Dr Yusuf Al-Nisuftold KUNA that lab reports came back positive forthe H1N1 virus, and the 10 infected were currentlyhospitalized and their conditions stable.

Two of the swine flu cases contracted the diseasethrough direct interaction with a person who justarrived from Umrah, whereas the rest had arrivedfrom Thailand and Dubai.

The ministry is closely observing the situationand is ready to deal with emergency according tothe recommendations and regulations of the WorldHealth Organization (WHO), Al-Nisuf added.

The ministry has taken all measures to containthe disease through careful observation, the officialreiterated.

Most of the cases have fully recovered and areresuming their normal life, Al-Nisuf stated.

The age range of the registered cases is between16 to 35, plus a number of cases of infants and sen-iors, he added.

Meanwhile, Canada has recorded its first case ofTamiflu-resistant swine flu virus in a man who hadbeen given the drug to prevent infection.

The 60-year-old Quebec man was given the fluantiviral after his son fell ill with the pandemicvirus.

Jirina Vlk, spokeswoman for the Public HealthAgency of Canada, says the strain does not appear

to have spread beyond the reported individual case.Use of Tamiflu to prevent infection, a procedure

called prophylaxis, has occasionally given rise toresistant viruses.

The Tamiflu-resistant case is the fourth reportedglobally since the virus was detected in April.

USIn another development, the US government

called Wednesday for several thousand volunteersto start rolling up their sleeves for the first swineflu shots, in a race to test whether a new vaccinereally will protect against this novel virus before itsexpected rebound later in the year.

Eight medical centers around the country are

Zarbakht, 22, receives treatment at theself-immolation or ‘khod soozi’ unit at ahospital in the western Afghan city of

Herat, June 7, 2009. (RTRS)

Divorce, suicide

‘Hell’ in HeratHERAT, Afghanistan, July 22,(RTRS): After regular beatings, tor-ture and attempted murder by herhusband, 35-year-old Zahra tried toburn herself to death to escape hermarriage. Then she learned of a saferoption: divorce.

Zahra is among a growing numberof women in Afghanistan’s westernHerat province who, with the help ofa women’s charity, have taken onpatriarchal laws to get a divorce, ataboo in the devoutly Muslim, for-merly Taleban-led state.

“I did not spend a single happyday with my husband ... he was notlike a human being. He used to beatme every day,” she said, revealingscars on her right leg and feet whereher husband had deliberately givenher electric shocks.

After marrying at 14, Zahra, whodeclined to give her full name for herown safety, said she suffered years ofabuse. Then a property dispute withher in-laws turned her marriage intoa full-blown nightmare.

“They wanted to kill me three orfour times. Once they gave me ratpoison ... I cannot go out because ofthe divorce and my four brothers arelooking for me; they are after me tokill me.”

The divorce led to her father dis-owning her and cost her custody ofher seven sons and two daughters.

Initially her ex-husband let herkeep her daughters on condition thatshe didn’t remarry. But her financialcircumstances were so dire in acountry where women rarely workthat she eventually remarried andwhen her ex-husband found out hetook the daughters back.

Suraya Pakzad runs a safe housefor women in Herat and has helpedseveral women, including Zahra,divorce their husbands.

She says her outreach pro-grammes, which inform womenabout divorce, discourages themfrom burning themselves and helpsthem tackle divorce law.

The number of divorces have dou-bled in Herat over the past two years,according to Pakzad, while reportedcases of self-immolation havedeclined.

“In 2006 we had 98 cases ofwomen killing themselves with fire... in 2008, there were about 73cases, so there has been a definitedecrease,” Pakzad said.

“When we brought the number ofself-immolation cases down, auto-matically the number of divorceswent up because women realised thatthey could not solve their problemsby burning themselves,” she said.

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UPGRADE INSTALLS SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM

‘Etisalat spy’ in BlackBerryFirm ‘mum’

DUBAI, United ArabEmirates, July 22,(Agencies): BlackBerryusers in the Mideast busi-ness centers of Dubai andAbu Dhabi who weredirected by their serviceprovider to upgrade theirphones were actuallyinstalling spy softwarethat could allow out-siders to peer inside,according to the device’smaker.

Research in Motion Ltd,the Canadian company thatmakes the popular mobilegadgets, said in a statementemailed Wednesday that it didnot authorize the softwareinstallation and “was notinvolved in any way in thetesting, promotion or distri-bution of this software appli-cation.” It is directing cus-tomers on how to remove thesoftware.

“Independent sources haveconcluded that it is possiblethat the installed softwarecould ... enable unauthorizedaccess to private or confiden-tial information stored on theuser’s smart phone,” the com-pany said in an eight-pagestatement strongly distancingitself from the decision toinstall the software.

The Abu Dhabi-basedmobile service providerEtisalat, which is majorityowned by the Emirates govern-ment, earlier sent text messagesto BlackBerry customersinstructing them to follow alink to update their phones.

Some customers who did sosaid the new software quicklydrained the device’s batteries,prompting hundreds of com-plaints to Etisalat and sendingusers to Internet messageboards looking for ways to fixthe problem.

In a statement issued follow-ing complaints last week,Etisalat described the softwarechange as an “upgrade ...required for service enhance-ments.” It said the upgradeswere required and linked to ahandover to the 3G wirelesstechnology standard.

The BlackBerry maker dis-missed that explanation.

“RIM is not aware of anytechnical network concernswith the performance of

This image provided by NASA July 21, shows a moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo 11, humans’ first landing on the moon in July 1969, is shown as it floats aboard the International SpaceStation. Part of Earth can be seen through the window. The 3.6 billion year-old lunar sample was flown to the station aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-119 in April 2009 in honor of the July2009, 40th anniversary of the historic first moon landing. The rock, lunar sample 10072, was flown to the station to serve as a symbol of the nation’s resolve to continue the exploration of

space. It will be returned on shuttle mission STS-128 to be publicly displayed. (AP)

Israel fears DC may accept N-Iran

Clinton options ‘defense umbrella’End forced reparations: IraqUNITED NATIONS, July 22,(Agencies): Iraqi Prime MinisterNuri al-Maliki on Wednesday urgedthe five permanent UN SecurityCouncil members to cancel his coun-try’s obligation to pay Kuwait bil-lions of dollars in war reparations.

After the 1991 Gulf war, the

Security Council ordered Iraq tocompensate countries that suffered asa result of its 1990-1991 occupationof neighboring Kuwait. CurrentlyBaghdad must put aside 5 percent ofits oil revenues for reparations, mostof which go to Kuwait.

PHUKET, Thailand, July 22, (Agencies): US Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton sketched out on Wednesdayhow the United States might cope with a nuclear Iran— by arming its allies in the Gulf and extending a“defence umbrella” over the region.

Her comments drew an immediate rebuke from asenior Israeli official, who said the United Statesshould focus on preventing Iran from going nuclearrather than talking as if this may be a fait accompli.

Clinton later said that she was not suggesting a newUS policy and reiterated that Iran possessing nuclearweapons would be unacceptable to the United States.

Speaking in Bangkok, Clinton said crossing the

nuclear threshold would not make Iran, whichWashington believes is pursuing nuclear arms, safer.Iran says its nuclear programme is to generate electric-ity so it can export more oil and gas.

“We will still hold the door open (for talks with Iran)but we also have made it clear that we’ll take actions,as I’ve said time and time again, crippling action,working to upgrade the defence of our partners in theregion,” she said in a programme taped for Thai televi-sion.

“We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fairassessment ... that if the US extends a defence umbrella

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Al-Shall Report

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

2LOCAL

Not over 2,000-3,000 likely to be affected

Need to measure depth of ‘unemployment’Fund for Kuwaitis terminated by pri-

vate sector

FOR the state’s issues not to becomemere reactions and in order not to

destroy the spirit of responsibility and workand production values and in order for thedomestic economy not to lose its competi-tion in a world — that has no place for theweak or the hesitant — let the mind actbefore the tongue. The people terminatedby the private sector — due to the financialcrisis — have begun to work more ration-ally than the government: they have formeda team to identify the terminated personswho have not committed any faults, theirnumber, and the extent of their exposure tothe crisis. We cannot talk about a generalproblem — which exists on any individuallevel — without measuring its volume anddepth, which has not been mentioned byany official, says the Al-Shall WeeklyEconomic Report published by Al-ShallConsulting Company, headed by JassemAl-Saadoun.

In discussing the problem, we shoulddistinguish between real and illusive work-ers. There are too many work contractswhich are either unreal or mention veryhigh salaries to benefit from retirement orsupport of the national labor force. Thereare also persons who have been terminatedbut they are secured by contracts with com-pensation or they deserve their retirementsalaries or both. There is also a percentageof natural, permanent and acceptableunemployment — which is the real unem-ployment — that goes up or down subjectto the stages of the economic cycle. Someof the terminated employees might find anew job in a fixed time; others might excelunder pressure and begin to work betterthan they were doing earlier.

Figures of the Public Authority for CivilInformation as of 31/12/2008 indicate thatthe total Kuwaiti workforce —15 years andabove — is about 336,298 workers with262,691 workers with the government(78.1% of the total Kuwaiti workforce).About 56,966 workers are in the privatesector (16.9%), and 16,641 persons (4.9%)are unemployed. This means that the figurewhich is supposed to be subject to monitor-ing is the one of the private sector and it isassumed that not more than 5% of theworkforce (2000-3000) is facing to any ter-mination problem. It is easy to check anddiagnose that on a case by case bases.

When the financial crisis occurred in theautumn of 2008, the major concern for theadvanced and the developing countries wasunemployment. Therefore, they publish

their monthly and sometimes weeklydetailed statements distributed amongnumbers, age, gender and even the occupa-tion and social background. The purpose isto direct effort during remedy in the rightdirection. The Kuwaiti governmentemploys most of the Kuwaiti workforce;half of the rest are selfemployed or theydon’t want any job. As such, our problemshould be within 10% of the other world’sproblem. Nevertheless, we might create amajor problem out of it through somewrong actions.

In this connection we should concentrateon the State’s social role seeking not toaward laziness but to confront any socialrepercussion of unemployment which will,when deeply discussed, be minor. Anydirect intervention must involve only par-tial compensation as in the case of retire-ment and should be temporary as in casesof unemployment. This should be accom-panied by an apparent effort to look for ajob especially when most private sectorworkers are more skillful and ready towork.

The issue of these employees should be apart of the government’s preemptive think-ing. However, in Kuwait, excluding theCBK, the government does not act as such.The government has established too manyboards and authorities; it has the largestnumber of advisors to the extent that itbecame the biggest government in theworld; it has issued many laws, costly butunnecessary resolutions; authorities,boards and laws have become a burden onthe one hand and they have acquired rightson the other. The work approach should bechanged and instead of the costly politicalbargaining with small returns instead ofballoon tests, the government should foronce take the initiative and submit some-thing planned and defendable. The problemof these terminated persons is an easymodel to offer something successful.

Trading Features at KSEIn a previous report, on Oct 17, 2008, we

provided the first analysis on informationabout trading features that the KuwaitClearing Company published — coveringthe first 3 quarters of 2008, ie before thefinancial crisis. The same company pub-lished information that covers the first 6months of the current year. In comparison,it seems there is some change in the fea-tures though it is not for the better.

There was a major rise in individual trad-ing at the expense of companies, corpora-tions, and portfolios. Individual tradingincreased, measured by the trading value,

from about 33% to 48% of the total trading.Individual trading concentration onKuwaiti individuals was 90.3% of the total

individual trading. Others —non-Kuwaitisor Gulf nationals — came second with7.2% of the total and about 2.5% of thetotal went to the Gulf persons. This is con-trary to the prevailing impression thatfunds of Gulf nationals’ trading at KSE areinfluential. Even at times of problems, Gulfnationals were the first to leave the market.Their net trading was negative by KD 24.7million that resulted from KD 143.2 mil-lion buying and about KD 167.9 millionselling. On the other hand, Kuwaiti indi-viduals’ net trading was also negative butby KD 61.2 million out of KD 5.6 billionbuying and KD 5.7 billion selling. Otherindividuals’ trading was more stable —negative KD 2 million out of KD 450.3million buying and KD 452.3 million sell-ing.

In general, the market during the crisiswas more inclined towards domination byunprofessional individual trading and it is alocal market due to the prevalence of trad-ing by Kuwaitis.

The contribution of companies and cor-porations in the market trading valuedropped from 29.9% in the first 3 quartersof 2008 to 20.9% in the first half of thisyear. Kuwaiti company and corporationcontributed about 92.3% of the total com-panies and corporations’ trading value.Once again, the contribution of other com-panies and corporation was higher than theGulf with in total participation in the totaltrading value (companies and corporationscategory) — This was about 4.5%, leavingabout 3% to Gulf companies and corpora-tions. Kuwaiti companies and corporationsand the others category maintained net pos-itive trading, though small, in the first halfof the current year which is an index forsome professionalism. The control ofKuwaiti companies and corporations ofmore than 90% of the category’s tradingvalue is once again an indicator of thelocality of the Kuwaiti stock market or theabsence of foreign funds.

Clients’ portfolio contributions droppedfrom 23.6% of the total trading value in thefirst 9 months of last year to 21.7% in thefirst half of this year. Kuwaiti clients’ sharewas about 99.2% of the total, leaving only0.8% to Gulf portfolio clients with nothingleft for others. It is the third most importantcategory of participants with its participa-tion this year surpassing that of companiesand corporations with almost all customersbeing Kuwaitis which confirms the localityof the KSE.

Investment fund contributions declinedvery slightly in the percentage of the trad-ing value from 9.44% in the first 9 monthsof last year to 9.42% in the first 6 monthsof this year. The concentration percentagefor Kuwaiti funds was about 87%, which isquite high though it is the smallest catego-ry.

In general, comparison reinforces twomain features: the first is dominance ofindividuals’ trading and the second is thelocality of KSE. There is another lessimportant feature, though it deserves mon-itoring, namely the minor contribution ofGulf nationals in market. There is onewarning in the above analysis that is thecomparison is between a relatively pros-perous time and a time of crisis. When sucha difference exists we should not relystrongly on the comparison summarybecause the dealing behavior during nor-mal time differs from that during crisis. Innext week’s report we shall devote a para-

graph to analyze trading features andbehavior during panic or the last quarter of2008.

Discrepancy in assessing the per-formance of global economy

One of the main indicators for the globalfinancial crisis, which transformed into aneconomic crisis, after afflicting the realeconomy, is the big margin in the predic-tions from one report to another — issuedby the same institution after 2 to 3 months— and the discrepancies in the estimates ofreports issued by institutions which areassumed to be homogeneous like the WorldBank and the International Monetary Fund.The change margin was very broad in theIMF reports between 11/2008 and 07/2009during which the fund issued 4 reports. Inthe November report, the fund was veryoptimistic and estimated a positive growthfor the global economy in 2009 of about3.7% and 2.2% for 2010. In the January2009 report it adjusted that positive growthby about 0.5% in 2009 and positive growthby 3% in 2010 and then it adjusted that tonegative for the first time in 60 years toabout -1.3% in 2009 and to positive ofabout 1.9% in 2010. In its last report issuedon 08/07/2009 the fund adjusted its fore-cast upwards: it increased the negativegrowth rate-recession-to -1.4% (-1.3% inApril) and raised the positive growthexpectations to 2.5% in 2010 (1.9% inApril). It attributes its optimism in July’sreport to the outcome of the governments’intervention in supporting their economies,which were better than expected on thesafety of the financial sector and economicgrowth. It however adds that recovery isstill fragile.

The Funds’ associates, namely the WorldBank, issued its latest report on the globaleconomy’s performance on 22/06/2009 andwas much pessimistic than the IMF report.It expects shrinking of the global economyby -2.9% in 2009 and a positive growth of2% in 2010. It expects a drop in the inter-national trade volume in 2009 by -10% anda decline in private capital flows to $ 363billion in 2009 ($ 707 billion in 2008).Both are still on agreement on the positivetrend — that the situation will improve in2010 though they differ by half a percent-age point. The World Bank expects a bettergrowth in 2011 of 3.2% although both usethe same approach and have the same database and thinking patterns, yet there is awide gap between their forecasts. This isevidence of the high uncertain situation inthe current unprecedented financial crisis.

From the foregoing we want to cautionthat what happened in the world is unprece-dented and exceptional. It is the first timein 80 years for such a sharp discrepancy inthe estimates of the same institution in ashort time. There is also a sharp discrepan-cy in similar institutions. Because oureconomies are different though backward— which is a methodology problem— wehave to caution against exaggeratingresults similar to caution against over—optimism. Our crisis will not severelyaffect the real economy or the banking sec-tor as in the developed world; however,ignoring it completely or copying solutionsfrom the economies of different naturemight considerably increase the unwar-ranted cost. We have to accept a healthydrop in assets prices. We also have toaccept the return of balance between sup-ply and demand with the exit of some units

from the market or the postponement ofsome projects like real estate projects toreduce the supply side. The world’s exit outof its crisis and stability of oil prices willsupport the demand side with the least costvis-à-vis the world.

OilOPEC lived through prosperity from

2001 until 2007 during which the growthin global demand for oil was an averageof 1.2% — accommodating all the pro-duction capacity surplus for OPECtogether with a stable and sustained risein prices which made the differencebetween the averages of a barrel of oilprice increase from US$ 23.12 in 2001 toUS$ 94.45 in 2008. During that periodOPEC’s relative strategic significancedropped which is good.

The blame directed to it from the pricehike has no longer become great resulted insidelining a major portion of the politicalconfrontation. The language has becomemore mature and the dialog with con-sumers has become more rational and logi-cal. We believe that OPEC like otherorganizations has learned lessons from pastexperiences and started to reflect moreincreasingly the interests of its members ina way that suites the interests of others.

It, however, failed us with the first shake.Its production is at a maximum capacityand its enjoyment of high revenues did notleave it what it should disagree on. In otherwords, this was an illusive maturity result-ing from the absence of justification fordisagreement.

Despite the major global financialcrunch OPEC called for reducing its pro-duction at the beginning of the crisis andeven before its depth was known. It failedin two matters: the first is proving anexceptional responsibility even for a shorttime towards the global crisis. The secondis reaching its maximum limit for its com-mitment to 80% of its approved reduction.In other words it did not gain the respect ofthe world as did communist China. Nor didit respect itself through a full commitmenttowards its members thus reflecting theopposite of the impression that began togrow about its maturity during prosperity.

When OPEC decided to stop the series ofproduction cut, not because these did notserve others but because these also harmedits own interests, beyond the short term,and oil prices doubled between December2008 and June 2009, its commitmentdropped in June to 71% of its fixed quotas.Logic assumes that the major relative hikein oil prices has reduced pressure onOPEC; logic also assumes that its financialposition, the correct message, and the pas-sage of adequate time for adaptation meansan increased commitment but what hap-pened was completely the opposite.

When OPEC meets next September, itseems the world will be in a better eco-nomic condition. Time has started to workin favor of improved indexes although theyare still fragile. The world seeks to reachagreement on the price of a barrel of oilbetween US$ 70-90 although the finalword goes to the market. However moreimportant still is that the world has offeredits vision about earth warming and the neg-ative role for fossil fuel in aggravating thisphenomenon in the G8 meeting recently.Another meeting will be held next fall inDenmark to agree on a new Kyoto this timewith a new American administration thatagrees with this direction contrary to for-mer American president “Bush”. OPECneeds better representation in its members’interest beyond the short term to directsome research and some dialog effort on oilresponsibility and consequently its respon-sibility in the pollution crisis. This is anaccusation which is not entirely untrue.

Kuwait Stock ExchangeThe performance of the Kuwait Stock

Exchange (KSE) this week (4 trading daysdue to the Isra’a and Ma’raj holiday) wasmixed compared with previous one as allthe indices of traded volume and number oftransactions showed a decrease while thegeneral index and the traded value indexshowed an increase. The Al-Shall Index(value weighted) closed at 497.1 points onWednesday, showing an increase of 12.6points or about 2.6% compared to the pre-vious week’s closing. The index is up by 19points or about 4% compared to its closingat year end 2008.

The following tables summarize lastweek’s performance of KSE

Description Week 29 Week 28 Dif22/07/2009 16/072009 %

Working days 4 5Al Shall Index (41 Cos) 497.1 532.3 2.6%KSE Index 7,675.0 8,277.0 1.2%Value Traded (KD) 372,600,160 961,659,535Daily average (KD) 93,150,040 192,331,907 2.8%Volume Trade (Shares) 1,196,012,500 3,793,530,000Daily average (Shares) 299,003,125 758,706,000 -21.2%Transactions 26,812 69,809Daily average 6,703 13,962 -18.4.%

Most Active Sectors & CompaniesDescription Value Traded % of TotalSectors KD MarketServices Sector 191,289,550 51.3%Banking Sector 93,669,140 25.1%Investment Sector 37,954,090 10.2%

Description Value Traded % of TotalCompanies KD MarketZAIN 142,910,900 38.4%The Public Warehousing 36,148,200 9.7%National Bank of Kuwait 24,141,750 6.5%Boubyan Bank 18,648,000 5.0%Kuwait Finance House 15,980,000 4.3%Total 237,828,850 63.8%

Description Week 29 Week 2822/07/2009 16/07/2009

Increased value (# of companies) 22 19Decreased value (# of companies) 7 13Unchanged value (# of companies) 12 9Total Companies 41 41

Photo by Hamdy ShawkeA trader seen closely following the stock movement at Kuwait Stock Exchange Wednesday.

Thu Thu Diff Close Diff# Company Name 22/07/09 16/07/09 % 2008 %1 The National Bank Of Kuwait 370.0 370.0 0.0 330.7 11.92 The Gulf Bank 210.6 213.9 (1.5) 635.1 (66.8)3 Commercial Bank Of Kuwait 724.9 724.9 0.0 855.4 (15.3)4 Al-Ahli Bank Of Kuwait 297.2 282.6 5.2 405.2 (26.7)5 Kuwait International Bank 237.6 239.7 (0.9) 212.2 12.06 Bank Of Kuwait & The Middle East 267.3 267.3 0.0 257.9 3.67 Burgan Bank 274.7 252.7 8.7 466.2 (41.1)8 Kuwait Finance House 1226.8 1205.3 1.8 1306.8 (6.1)

Banking Sector 414.0 410.2 0.9 470.0 (11.9)9 Commercial Facilities Co 205.7 202.1 1.8 270.7 (24.0)

10 International Financial Advisors 1118.5 1069.9 4.5 1021.3 9.511 National Investments 333.5 320.9 3.9 641.8 (48.0)12 Kuwait Investment Projects 1045.0 971.7 7.5 898.3 16.313 Coast Investment & Development 161.3 158.6 1.7 128.5 25.5

Investment Sector 455.5 433.3 5.1 491.7 (7.4)14 Kuwait Insurance Company 75.0 75.0 0.0 100.3 (25.2)15 Gulf Insurance Company 258.6 256.0 1.0 393.1 (34.2)16 Al-Ahleia Insurance Company 177.1 170.3 4.0 187.3 (5.4)17 Warba Insurance Company 204.8 204.8 0.0 176.4 16.1

Insurance Sector 141.3 139.2 1.5 177.7 (20.5)18 Kuwait Real Estate Company 147.7 139.5 5.9 95.2 55.119 United Realty Company 171.3 171.3 0.0 169.3 1.220 National Real Estate Company 584.4 584.4 0.0 467.5 25.021 Salhiah Real Estate Company 633.1 620.2 2.1 723.6 (12.5)

22 Pearl Of Kuwait Real Estate Co 323.4 323.4 0.0 323.4 0.0Real Estate Sector 326.6 323.9 0.8 289.6 12.8

23 The National Industries 374.4 357.4 4.8 353.1 6.024 Kuwait Metal Pipe Industries Co 77.5 70.4 10.1 51.7 49.925 Kuwait Cement Co 557.9 601.6 (7.3) 614.7 (9.2)26 Refrigeration Industries Co 86.9 83.6 3.9 75.4 15.327 Gulf Cable & Electrical Industries 511.6 503.6 1.6 395.7 29.328 Contracting & Marine Services Co 168.0 168.0 0.0 244.8 (31.4)

Industrial Sector 349.8 346.2 1.0 330.8 5.729 Kuwait National Cinemas 470.8 489.6 (3.8) 596.3 (21.0)30 Kuwait Hotels Company 143.0 143.0 0.0 143.0 0.031 The Public Warehousing Co 3821.8 3486.5 9.6 2112.0 81.032 Kwt Commercial Markets Complex 458.6 464.8 (1.3) 805.7 (43.1)33 Mobile Telecomms Co - ZAIN 3194.6 3007.3 6.2 1883.5 69.634 Kuwait Computer Co 101.1 94.3 7.2 54.4 85.8

Services Sector 2574.1 2410.8 6.8 1557.5 65.335 Livestock Transport & Trading Co 304.2 275.0 10.6 141.7 114.736 United Fisheries Of Kuwait 155.5 157.5 (1.3) 55.2 181.737 Kuwait United Poultry Co 36.0 36.0 0.0 36.7 (1.9)38 Kuwait Food Co 1241.6 1261.3 (1.6) 1221.8 1.6

Food Sector 497.3 496.7 0.1 440.2 13.039 Sharjah Cement Co 643.6 615.3 4.6 714.4 (9.9)40 Gulf Cement Co 645.2 645.2 0.0 685.5 (5.9)41 Umm Al-Qaiwain Cement Ind. 537.1 515.0 4.3 441.5 21.7

Non Kuwaiti Companies 318.7 313.9 1.5 330.1 (3.5)General Index 497.1 484.5 2.6 478.1 4.0

From July 26 to July 29, 2009Al-Shall Index

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

3LOCAL

Cyber criminals using enterprising strategies to mount attacks

Internet security threats successful business: report

Oil minister seeks proof aboutalleged 6 deals inked sans CTC

Al-Rai photoThe whale shark seen trapped in the dock.

Diving team eyes special net to rescue stranded whale shark

By Valiya S. SajjadArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: The Kuwait DivingTeam is planning a new course of actionusing a special net to rescue the whaleshark stranded in a dock at Kuwait MarinaCrescent, said Talal Al Sarham, Presidentof Kuwait Diving Team.

Al Sarham was talking to the ArabTimes Wednesday as the rescue missionwas going on. He said, “The team wasusing SCUBA divers to direct the sharktowards the mouth of the dock; however,the shark panicked as the exit is a little

narrow and refused to pass through it.”“When our efforts failed, we sent emails

to whale experts in different parts of theworld. We received a reply from an expertin Dubai who suggested the net tech-nique. According to this technique, we willbuild a net measuring 25x4 meters, andlower it into the water horizontally. Whenthe whale swims over the net, we willraise it to support the whale, and tow thenet along with the whale out of the dockusing boats.

“We are preparing the net. Meanwhile,we are keeping the whale under closeobservation and it is healthy. It is fivemeters long and is feeding on the plank-

tons that are available in the water.“As of now only Kuwait Diving Team is

in charge of the operation, but we arehoping to rope in more organizationssuch as the Kuwait University, theScientific Center and PAAAFR to carryout the mission successfully.”

Al-Sarham said that the challenge wasnot getting the whale out of the dock, butto do so without harming it in anyway. Weare trying our best, and hopefully we willsucceed, he added.

When asked how the whale sharkcould have entered the dock, Al-Sarhamsaid that it must have playfully followed ayacht all the way into the dock.

vations of the Audit Bureau onthe proposed appointment ofauditors in satellite televisionchannels and newspapers. Thegovernment team presented adetailed report on the mediastrategy and its conformity withthe work program of the govern-ment.” He added the Ministry ofInformation has asked its financecounterpart to appoint auditorsand allocate a budget for thispurpose.

Meanwhile, MP Saleh Ashourwondered why the ministrysigned six contracts worth morethan KD144 million without con-sulting the CTC. He pointed outthe ministry should have avoided

being trapped into another con-troversy after the much-publi-cized fourth refinery and DowChemical issues.

In a press statementWednesday, Ashour said theCabinet exempted KPC from theAudit Bureau and CTC regula-tions after the Liberation War tospeed up recovery of the oil sec-tor but this decision was can-celled automatically when theHPC issued a directive to referoil contracts worth more thanKD5 million to CTC. He arguedthis exemption has resulted in anumber of problems in severalprojects like the fourth refinery,Dow Chemical and calcified coal

due to the ministry’s failure tocomply with the Audit Bureauand CTC regulations.

SupervisionAshour stressed the need to

put KPC under the supervision ofthe Audit Bureau, indicating anyadministrative contracts that thestate will sign with local and for-eign companies should be sub-jected to the regulations of theFatwa and LegislativeDepartment and CTC. He alsoasked the ministry to submit thenames of companies that signedthe six contracts.

On the other hand, MP HussainMizyed Al-Daihani has forward-ed questions to Sheikh Ahmad on

alleged financial and administra-tive violations in the Ministry ofOil. He also expressed disap-pointment over the response ofthe minister to queries about thecontroversial oil contracts. Hecondemned the minister forthreatening the media for unveil-ing controversies surrounding thecontracts, warning the MPs willnever relent in their efforts to rootout corruption in ministries andother government institutions.“We will never tolerate such actsas we are keen on protecting pub-lic interests and no one has theright to disregard the law in favorof a few influential people,” heconcluded.

By Abubakar A. Ibrahim Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, July22: Minister of Oil andInformation SheikhAhmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah hasurged those behind thepublication of a reportin a daily newspaperabout the six contractsallegedly signed by theMinistry of Oil withoutgoing through theCentral TendersCommittee (CTC) topresent evidence to thePublic Prosecutioninstead of resorting tonewspapers to provokecontroversies.

Speaking to reporters afterhis meeting with the Education,Culture and Guidance AffairsCommittee in the ParliamentWednesday, Sheikh Ahmadlamented “it is quite disheart-ening to realize that somenewspapers have a penchantfor publishing unverifiedreports. If there is any viola-tion, those who have docu-ments to substantiate suchclaims should refer the issue tothe Public Prosecution, ratherthan issuing press statements tostir controversies.”

Sheikh Ahmad explained thisis not a novel move for the min-istry as it has been signing con-tracts without consulting the CTCsince 1978. He went on to say theministry obtained approval toaward such contracts to qualifiedcompanies from the HigherPetroleum Council (HPC) andCabinet in 2005. “Despite theseapprovals, the ministry stillreferred the contracts to the AuditBureau to ensure transparencyand asked Kuwait PetroleumCorporation (KPC) to conduct aninvestigation in this regard. I amnow waiting for the results of thisinvestigation and I cannot doanything more than that,” headded.

SuccumbAffirming he will not succumb

to any pressure, Sheikh Ahmadunderscored the need to holdthose behind the publication ofthe report responsible in accor-dance with the law andConstitution. He reiterated hiscommitment to strictly enforcethe law in the interest of thenation and its people.

Asked about the price of oil inthe international market, SheikhAhmad refuted rumors about theincreasing prices of oil in theglobal market. He asserted theprice of oil has been stable overthe last months, indicating therewas a slight increase but it willnot affect the global economy. Heattributed minor changes in theprice of oil to the gradualimprovement of the global econo-my, particularly the recovery ofthe US economy. He expects anincrease in demand for oil duringautumn which will have a positiveimpact on the price of oil in theinternational market, confirmingthe current price — $65 per barrel— is reasonable for Kuwait. Hestressed “we don’t want the priceof oil to skyrocket because thismight lead to lower demand andspur another recession.

On the implementation of thevisual, audio, press and publica-tion laws, Sheikh Ahmad admit-ted “we found many loopholes inthese laws, hence, the need toamend them.” He revealed theMinistry of Information willfloat a tender next Sunday for theappointment of auditors andaccountants in local satellite tele-vision channels and newspapers.

Strategies“During the meeting, we dis-

cussed the strategies of theMinistry of Information, amend-ment of one of the article of thevisual and audio laws, and obser-

Need to put KPC under supervision of Audit: Ashour

DUBAI, July 22: Cisco has released its 2009mid-year security report that reveals thatInternet criminals are increasingly operatinglike successful businesses. The assessmentfound that those who are intent on pursuingillegal on-line activities are borrowing someof the best strategies from legitimate compa-nies and forming partnerships and allianceswith one another to help make their pursuitsmore lucrative.

In outlining some of the most commontechnical and business strategies that crimi-nals use to breach corporate networks, com-promise websites and steal personal informa-tion and money, Cisco offers recommenda-tions for protecting against some of the newer

types of attacks that have surfaced recently;recommendations that incorporate people,processes and technology as an overall holis-tic risk management solution. The organisa-tion also advises heightened vigilance againstsome ‘old school’ approaches that are just assophisticated and prevalent as the newerthreats.

“Securing the Internet has long been amoving target, as criminals develop increas-ingly sophisticated ways to breach corporatenetworks and obtain valuable personal data,”said Patrick Peterson, Cisco fellow and chiefsecurity researcher. “What is striking in ourlatest findings is how — in addition to usingtheir technical skills to cast a wide net and

avoid detection — these criminals are alsodemonstrating some strong business acu-men,” he added.”

Last Tuesday, Cisco security executivesutilised a live interactive IPTV broadcast toevaluate the report’s findings and to discussbest practices to effectively counteractincreased criminal sophistication. Among thethreats included in the talk were those pre-sented by worms, with the rise in social net-working meaning that it is now easier forworm attacks to be launched. The prolifera-tion of online communities has made it muchmore likely for users to click links and down-load content they believe are sent by peoplethey know and trust, spreading worm attacks

throughout the Net. An example of the havocthat can be wrought from such an attack wasdemonstrated by the Conficker worm, whichbegan infecting computer systems late lastyear. The combination of advanced malwaretechniques exploited a Windows operatingsystem vulnerability and continues to spread,with several million computer systems beingunder its control as of June 2009.

The tendency of criminals to co-operate inorder to enhance the effectiveness of theirillegal activities was also highlighted duringthe discussion. Botnets, networks of compro-mised computers, serve as efficient means oflaunching attacks and increasingly, botnetowners are renting out these networks to fel-

low criminals, effectively using these com-promised resources to deliver spam and mal-ware via the software-as-a-service (SaaS)model. Peterson acknowledges the increasingpropensity for on-line criminals to worktogether. “They are collaborating with eachother, preying on individuals’ greatest fearsand interests, and increasingly making use oflegitimate Internet tools, like search enginesand the software-as-a-service model, he said.“Some also continue to succeed using well-documented methods that in recent yearshave been downplayed as threats, given thepreponderance of new tactics,” he added.

During the session there was also discus-sion about on-line criminals launching attacks

off the back of major news stories; somethingthat was highlighted by the illegal activitiesreported in April after the outbreak of H1N1influenza, or ‘swine flu.’ Following thisevent, cyber criminals quickly blanketed theWeb with spam that advertised preventivedrugs and links to fake pharmacies. In fact,spam continues to be one of the most estab-lished ways to reach millions of computerswith legitimate sales pitches or links to mali-cious websites. A staggering 180 billion spammessages are sent each day, representingabout 90 percent of the world’s e-mail traffic.Spam messaging remains a major vehicle forspreading worms and malware, as well as forclogging Internet traffic.

By Paul Francis X. FernandesArab Times Staff

The Australian Embassy announces that Kuwaiticitizens can apply for and receive visit visas onlineby visiting www.immi.gov.au. This normally takesat least 10 working days. All other visa applicationsare handled by the Australian Visa ApplicationCenter. Tel: 2971110, or visit www.vfs.ae.

Appointments are needed for notary servicesand passport applications. Notary services areavailable on Wednesday and Thursday morningsonly. Call the embassy on 22322422 for anappointment.

The Embassy of the People’s Republic ofBangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed onThursday, July 23, on the occasion of Holy Shab-e-Me’raz. This information is for all concerned.

The British Embassy, in collaboration withtheir partners VFS Global has announced theintroduction of new enhanced services for UKvisa applicants.

Anyone who has made an application for a UKvisa at the New Visa Application Center can tracktheir application online and receive updates bySMS on the progress of their application.

The online tracking system is available free viathe VAC website at www.vfs-uk-kw.com andneeds just an application reference number anddate of birth. It will tell you what stage yourapplication has reached, up to the point that it isready for collection from the Application Center.

Applicants can also sign for automatic SMSupdates to their mobile phone at each key stage.The charge for this service is an additional 400fils payable at the time of application.

For more information on applying for a UKvisa contact the Visa Application Center on22971170 or 22477490.

The Royal Embassy of Cambodia informs thatit operates from Sunday to Thursday, startingfrom 08:00 to 14:00 hours. The embassy will beclosed on Fridays and Saturdays and on officialholidays in Kuwait.

The general public can contact the embassywhich is located in Surra, Block 1, St 1, Villa 25.The telephone numbers are 25310026,25310029. Fax: 25310029.

The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24,Al Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Pleasevisit the embassy website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca

The Embassy of Canada is open from 07.30 to15.00 Sunday through Thursday. ConsularServices for Canadian Citizens will be providedfrom 09:00 until 12:00 on Sundays throughWednesdays.

Canada offers a registration service for allCanadians traveling or living abroad. This serv-ice is provided so that Consular Officials cancontact and assist Canadians in an emergency ina foreign country, such as a natural disaster orcivil unrest, or inform Canadians of a familyemergency at home. The Embassy of Canadaencourages all Canadian citizens to registeronline through the Government of Canada TravelWebsite at www.voyage.gc.ca

The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi providesvisa and immigration services to residents ofKuwait. Individuals who are interested in visit-ing, working or immigrating to Canada are invit-ed to visit the website of the Canadian Embassyto the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca

Kuwaitis planning to travel to Germany canstart applying for visas now. Due to limited spaceand personnel, the embassy will have problemswith a high number of daily visa applications.Therefore, the embassy advices applicants to usethe services of one of the following travel agen-cies:

1. Al Qabas Travel. Tel: 224887772. Universal Travel. Tel: 22415830/2/43. Aamar Travel and Tourism. Tel: 2622627/84. Al Rabiah Travel. Tel: 22429991/2/3When applying at the embassy, the applicant

has to appear in person.

The Embassy of Japan has moved to its newlocation. The new address is Mishref, Block 7 A,Diplomatic Area, Plot 57. The new telephonenumber is 25309400 and fax 25309401.

The opening hours of the consular section hasbeen extended by two hours from 8:00 to 16:00hours.

The embassy has announced that it will be ableto issue tourist and business visas to Japan foronly two working days. Kuwaiti citizens canreceive the visas in principle, in the afternoon

one day after acceptance of the visa application.The necessary documents have also been

reviewed and simplified to promote tourism andinvestment in Japan. Further info on 25312870ext 22, 23 or check the embassy websitewww.kw.emb.japan.go.jp/index.htm

The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishedto inform the general public that the embassy willremain closed on July 23, 2009, on the occasionof Al Isra Wal Miraj. Normal office operationswill resume on July 26, 2009.

The Embassy of the Union of Myanmarannounces that its new chancery located at Al-Zahra, Kuwait City, Block 5, Street 44, Villa 28,remains open from Sunday to Thursday. The work-ing hours are from 8:00 hours to 14:00 hours. Theembassy remains closed on Fridays and Saturdaysand official holidays of the state of Kuwait.

The consular section is open from Sundaythrough Thursday. The working hours remain thesame.

Documents required for applying for visas are:two application forms filled in completely; tworecent passport size photographs (4 x 6 cms);passport should be valid at least for six months.Normal visa processing time is two workingdays.

The embassy telephone number is (965)25240736 Fax 25240749.

The official address of the Embassy of Nigeriais: Block 4, Malik Bin Anas Street, Avenue 44,House 31, Rumaithiya. The phone numbers are:25620276, 25620278, Fax No. 25620296. e-mail:nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com.

Opening hours: Office 08:00 to 15:00 hours,Sundays through Thursdays; Consular section09:00 to 12:00 hours Sundays throughThursdays.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic ofPakistan will remain closed on July 23, on theauspicious occasion of Al Isra Wal Miraj.

The Embassy of Philippines announces that itis open every Friday from 08:00 to 14:00 hoursto accommodate applications for registration asoverseas absentee voter for 2010 national elec-tions. Filipino nationals not otherwise disquali-fied by law and who are 16 years old on electionday are encouraged to register now to avoid rush.Please bring copy of your valid passports.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka will be closed forpublic on Thursday, July 23, in lieu of Al-IsraWal Miraj.

The embassy announced that all foreignerswho apply for tourist visa at the Royal ThaiEmbassies and the Royal Thai Consulate-General worldwide, including eligible foreignerswho apply for visa on arrival at designatedcheckpoints, have been exempted from touristvisa until June 2009. Such arrangements are forTourist Visa only.

The US Embassy has provided guidelines toprocure visas. According to the guidelines:

1. Go to the embassy website athttp://kuwati.usembassy.gov

2. Select the tab ‘Visas to the US’ at the mar-gin

3. In the fourth paragraph, click on the e-mailaddress visaapptkuwaitm@state.gov to openautomatically an e-mail to the embassy and senda message with your name requesting anappointment.

4. You will receive an acknowledgement withthe date and time for your appointment and use-ful tips regarding embassy access.Accompanying will be an attachment with theapplication requirements.

5. After sending the message, click on“Nonimmigrant Visas” on the left margin of the“Visas to the US” screen. The next screen willprovide a variety of selections, including visitorand student visas application requirements andhow to complete an electronic visa application athttp://evisaforms.state.gov

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Editor’s note: The Embassy Row column isdedicated to serving the needs of all embassiesin Kuwait by publishing information on theiractivitiefree of charge every weekend. Allembassies are therefore welcome to sendinformation on their functions to the Editor, FaxNo. 4818267.

embassy row

DISPATCHES

Australia

Kenya

Myanmar

Nigeria

Pakistan

Philippines

Sri Lanka

Thailand

USA

Bangladesh

Britain

Cambodia

Canada

Germany

Japan

deaths

July 22, 2009

Kuwait Today

Prayer TimingsFajr ...................................................... 03:32 amSunrise ................................................ 05:03Zohr ..................................................... 11:54Asr ....................................................... 03:30 pm Maghrib ................................................ 06:46Isha ...................................................... 08:14

Night Pharmacies Kuwait City: Al Kanadi Al Alamiya – Block 3,

SharqHawally: Manar – Block 13, Plot 20, Salmiya,

Tel: 25759401Fahaheel & Ahmadi: Riqqa – Cooperative

Society, Tel: 23942273Farwaniya & Kheitan: Andalous – Cooperative

Society, Tel: 24808930Jahra: Delta Mid Wara – Marzok Metib St, Block

23

WeatherExpected weather for the next 24 hours

By night: Visibility will decrease due to sus-pended dust and with light to moderate north west-erly wind, with speed of 12-32 km/h.

By day: Hot with moderate north westerly wind,with speed of 20-40 km/h causing rising dust..

Kuwait Weather Station Max Min

Rec ExpKuwait City 47 34Kuwait Airport 46 30Nuwaiseeb 46 30Wafra 47 29Salmi 44 28Abdaly 47 29Jalaliyah 46 28Failaka 46 30Ahmadi Port 44 33Umm Al-Maradem 39 32Warba-Bubiyan 45 28

Ruqaya Faraj Mubarak Al-Dabbous, 74 years-old, widow of Mohammad KhalafMohammad Al-Deraiban, buried on Wednesday. Condolences:(Men) Adan, block 2, St55, house 1, Tel. 25410928. (Women) Jabriya, block 7, St 9, house 40, Tel. 25338557.Masouma Reda Ali, 67 years-old, widow of Abdul Wahab Abdullah Bahro, buried onWednesday. Condolences: (Men) Dasma, Al-Naqi Mosque, Tel. 66444515. (Women)Bneid Al-Gar, Huseiniyat Sayed Ali Musawi. Mishal Meneef Mohammad Al-Harbi, 36years-old, buried on Wednesday. Condolences: Sabahiya, block 2, St 4, house 678, Tel.99446890-66623338. Yousef Sultan Fairoz Mohammad, 61 years-old, buried onWednesday. Condolences: (Men) Dai’ya, Baharna Mosque, near Cooperative Society,Tel. 99986653. (Women) Ardiya, block 9, St 4, avenue 1, house 21, Tel. 65658125.Abdul Aziz Khaled Abdul Aziz Al-Masoud, 15 years-old, buried on Wedneday.Condolences: (Men) Salam, block 1, St 121, house 9, Tel. 25210385. (Women) Mishref,block 1, St 7, house 22, Tel. 25380578.

Marine ForecastStation Max Min Sea Todays

Exp Rec Surf WavesHeight Direction

South Dolphin 39 32 32 4ft SEAhmadi L/V 37 32 33 4ft SEBeacon M28 37 32 33 4ft SEBeacon N6 39 30 - 4ft SEUmm Al-Maradem 39 32 - 4ft SESea island buoy 38 32 34 4ft SESalmiyah 39 36 - 4ft SEJulaia Port 38 33 - 4ft SE

Tide times at Shuwaikh Port1st high tide: ................................................ 01:152nd high tide ................................................ 11:451st low tide: ................................................. 06:302nd low tide: ................................................ 19:30Sunrise: ....................................................... 05:02

Sunset: ........................................................ 18:46

Recorded yesterday at Kuwait AirportMax temp ......................................................... 45Min temp .......................................................... 29Max Rh .......................................................... 18%Min Rh ........................................................... 07%Max Wind ............................................. N 53 km/hTotal Rainfall in 24 hr ................................ 00 mm

Recorded yesterday at South DolphinMin/Max/ Air Temp .................................... 31/41CMin/Max Rel Hum .................................... 15/59%Wind Direction/Wind Speed ............... N/32 km/hPrev Wave Dir/Max Wave Ht ..................... N/2 ftMin/Max Sea Surface Temp .................... 30/31 CSea Current ......................................... Up welling

— Directorate General of Civil Aviation,Meteorological Dept.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

4LOCAL

Police hunting two ‘lost’ youths forkidnapping, raping Filipino woman

Asian caught helping compatriots flout travel banKUWAIT CITY, July 22:Police are looking for twoyouths wearing nationalclothes for kidnapping aFilipino woman believed tobe in her 20s and ‘raping’her, reports Alam Alyawm.

In her complaint to the police thevictim told the Farwaniya PoliceStation the youth behind the wheelpulled the vehicle beside her andpretended to ask for an address whilethe other one got out of the vehicle,forced her in and drove her to aremote area and raped her.

❑ ❑ ❑

Travel ban flouter held: Police havearrested an Asian man for forgingpassports and selling each documentfor KD 250 to compatriots who arebanned from traveling and want toescape from the country, reports Al-Rai daily.

The arrest came following the arrestof one of the wanted men and he thengave police information about theforger.

❑ ❑ ❑

Horse kick kills Indian: An Indianguard working on a farm in Abdalidied in a tragic accident, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

The victim was reportedly cleaninga horse and the animal kicked betweenhis thighs killing him on the spot.

❑ ❑ ❑

Visa to Israel sought: A Kuwaitiman, identified only as A.A., who wasreportedly drunk and arrived at theIsraeli embassy in Egypt to apply for avisit visa, was arrested by the Egyptianpolice, reports Al-Shahid daily.

The daily added the Egyptianauthorities have handed over the manto their Kuwaiti counterparts.

It has also been reported theEgyptian police tried to convince theman to give up the idea but he wouldnot listen. The State Security of Egyptarrested him and handed him over toKuwait.

The Kuwaiti is being interrogatedby the State Security police in Kuwait.

❑ ❑ ❑

Beating, insults unbearable: In astrange incident a case of attempted

insults and reportedly poured aninflammable substance over his bodyand set fire.

However, timely intervention bypassersby saved the man from death.Police are investigating the incident.

❑ ❑ ❑

Man flees on other’s docus: Policeare looking into allegations that anunidentified Syrian man managed toleave the country using the passport ofhis compatriot, reports Alam Alyawmdaily.

A security source said this was dis-covered when the holder of the pass-port complained to the police that thesuspect convinced him to lend hispassport to receive assistance from theZakat House.

When after a few days he tried tocontact the man on his cellphone, hediscovered the cell phone was alwaysswitched off and finally he discoveredthat the man had left the country.

Police investigation show the manwas banned from traveling in connec-tion with an unidentified offence.

❑ ❑ ❑

‘Mandoub’ in visa trade: A Kuwaitiman has filed a complaint with thepolice accusing an Egyptian companyrepresentative of selling visas to expa-triates without the knowledge of thecompany owner, reports AlamAlyawm.

According to security sources theowner discovered the forgery of docu-ments when he went to sponsor ahousemaid and found his name hadbeen blacklisted for committing anoffence.

❑ ❑ ❑

Kuwaiti hurt in mishap: A Kuwaitiman in his 30s who was seriouslyinjured following a road accident, hasbeen admitted to the intensive careunit of the Adan Hospital, reportsAlam Alyawm daily.

Without going into details the dailysaid the man hit a stray camel andcrashed into a lamppost in Wafra.

Meanwhile, acting on informationfiremen rushed to an open ground inFintas and put out fire to seven cars,reports Al-Rai daily.

No casualties have been reported.Police are investigating the cause ofthe fire.

The half lorry torn apart after the impact with cement mixer.

Asian pulled from fuel tanker

Pakistani dies in Kabad crashBy Munaif Nayef

Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: A Pakistaninational died in a three-vehicle collision onKabad motorway.

The Operations Room received informa-tion about the collision and sent police offi-cers and paramedics to the scene. Therethey discovered a water tanker and a half-lorry had collided, and a cement mixer hadrammed into the half-lorry, killing thePakistani driver. The drivers of the othertwo vehicles sustained injuries and weretaken to Farwaniya Hospital. A case hasbeen registered.

Meanwhile, an Asian man was trappedin a fuel tanker after it collided with aheavy vehicle on 7th Ring Road nearThaher area.

Firemen and paramedics rushed to thescene after receiving information about thecollision. They found the tanker had over-turned due to the impact of the collision.The firemen pulled the driver out of the

vehicle who was transporting plastic goodsfrom a neighboring country.

The man was taken to Adan Hospital anda case was registered.

In another incident two vehicles collidedon 4th Ring Road between Yarmouk andQortuba, injuring four Asians.

They were taken to Sabah Hospital byparamedics for treatment.

A Kuwaiti citizen aged 17 years wasinjured in an accident on 6th Ring Roadopposite Dajeej area.

He was taken to Farwaniya Hospital byparamedics for treatment.

In yet another incident, Kuwaiti citizenaged 18 years sustained fractures after hismotorbike skidded off the road in Mangafarea.

He was taken to Adan Hospital for treat-ment.

And two Kuwaiti citizens were injuredin an accident on Jahra motorway, oppositeAmghara Bridge.

They were taken to Jahra Hospital fortreatment.

suicide has been registered against anIranian man, reports Al-Shahid daily.

According to the daily an unidentified

Egyptian man assaulted the Iranian andverbally abused him to such an extent thelatter could not bear the beating and

News in Brief

Kuwaiti killed on 5th: Ayoung Kuwaiti man died on thespot following a traffic accidenton the Fifth Ring Motorway,reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

Without going into details thedaily police, paramedics andfiremen acting on informationrushed to the spot and pulledout the remains of the youthfrom under the overturned car.

Traffic was blocked for sometime.

❑ ❑ ❑

Saudi injured: A Saudiyouth was seriously injured fol-lowing a traffic accident on theFifth Ring Motorway, reportsAlam Alyawm daily.

According to security sourcesthe youth was behind the wheeland he lost control of the vehi-cle due to erratic driving andcrashed into trees, hit the lamp-post on the side of the road andcame to rest against a tree.

His friend who was in thepassenger seat escaped withminor injuries. Both men havebeen admitted to a hospital.

❑ ❑ ❑

Indian rescued: An Indiantaxi driver was seriously injuredfollowing a traffic accident onthe Sixth Ring Motorway,reports Al-Jareedah daily.

According to security sourcesan unidentified motorist crashedinto the taxi from the rear.However, the Kuwaiti claimsthe taxi driver stopped abruptlywhen a pedestrian flagged thetaxi.

The same sources said uponimpact the taxi overturned andfiremen acting on informationrushed to the spot and rescuedthe Indian who was trappedinside his vehicle.

The Indian has been admittedto a hospital and the Kuwaitireferred to a police station.

❑ ❑ ❑

Man hurt in flip over: AKuwaiti man who was injuredin a traffic accident in Sabah Al-Salem has been admitted to theintensive care unit of theMubarak Al-Kabir Hospital,reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

The motorist reportedly lostcontrol of his car after anothermotorist hit him causing hisvehicle to flip over. The acci-dent took place at a traffic light.

❑ ❑ ❑

Car catches fire: Acting oninformation firemen rushed tothe Fahaheel Expressway andput out fire to the car of an Arabman, reports Al-Shahid daily.

According to fire sources theman pulled the vehicle to theside of the road when he sawsmoke coming from the engine

The Farwaniya police in a crackdown on vice is said to havearrested 10 Asian women and a pimp for indulging in prostitu-tion. They were referred to the concerned authorities for nec

essary action.

By Munaif NayefSpecial to the Arab Times

Farwaniya securitymen on Wednesday arrested two Asians forselling pornographic films to their compatriots in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. Sources from the directorate revealed the authori-ties will continue the surprise inspection campaigns in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Kheitan and Farwaniya to ensure strict compliance

with the law.

and called for help.The cause of the fire is not

known.❑ ❑ ❑

Waste set on fire: Acting oninformation firemen rushed to asuburb of Mishref and put out

fire to waste construction materi-al such as wood and old fiberglass water tanks before it causeddamage to the surrounding areas,reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

The cause of the fire is notknown.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

6LOCAL

“THE emergence of some issues such asattempts to refer the Minister of Interior tothe Ministers Court, the amendment of thecurricula and the revision of the Sports Lawis likely to lead to new crises between theexecutive and legislature,” columnist NawafAl-Hamly wrote for Al-Seyassah dailyWednesday.

“In such circumstances, the Cabinet mustdeal with these issues in a transparent mannerand this means the government must be seri-ous when dealing with statements, such asthe one issued recently by MP Saleh Al-Mulla in which he has threatened to grill theMinister of Social Affairs and LaborMohammed Al-Afasi, particularly since weknow the topic of Kuwaiti sports is an impor-tant issue and requires brave decisions tokeep in line with the government tendency toreform the sports sector.

“In other words, if the government is seri-ous about reforms at all levels, it shouldintroduce decisive methods to get rid of pastmistakes and create a strong base to achievereforms instead of dealing leniently whenhandling these issues.

“In this context, we have observed howsome MPs are threatening to use their consti-tutional tools against the government.Although this behavior may look natural itgoes without saying it will lead to subsequentcrises between the executive and legislatureand finally the government and the NationalAssembly will head in the direction of ‘adivorce’.

“Meanwhile, we say there are a lot of out-standing issues which the former govern-ments had no time todiscuss such as thedisputes between thethen governmentsand consecutive par-liaments and every-body realizes that thispolitical struggle hasplayed a significantrole in impedingdevelopment projectsin the country inaddition to otherissues such as that ofBedoun (stateless persons), the Kuwaitiemployees who have been made redundantby the private sector and the outstandingloans of citizens.

“Now signs show that the political crisiswhich currently prevails in the country willnot end soon and this means none of the out-standing files will be discussed by the gov-ernment and the National Assembly in a cor-dial atmosphere and this is cause for worry.

“However, we wonder why the govern-ment has remained silent when dealing withthe suspended issues. This happenedalthough all of us look forward for crucialdecisions to be adopted by the government toachieve real reforms, particularly since weknow the National Assembly is currently in along recess after which the conflicts betweenthe two branches will resume and in this casethe cooperation between them will not berealized, lest to say the political strugglebetween the two parties will aggravate.”

Also:“The ‘storm’ which has surfaced during

the last few days between the Shiite MPs par-ticularly those who are supporting the idea ofrevising the Ministry of Education Islamictextbooks and Sunni MPs who oppose thismove signifies that Kuwait is on the verge ofan imminent danger of sectarian struggle,”columnist Dr Ali Al-Zuabi wrote for Awandaily Wednesday.

“In this context, we say the Sunnis andShiites have used the issue of incorporatingcertain amendments into the Islamic educa-tion textbooks not for the sake of objectivearguments over a controversial issue, butunfortunately to vent their hatred and grudgetowards each other to such an extent thesearguments have been transformed into a dis-gusting topic and this will most likely pro-mote social struggles which could negativelyaffect our unity.

“Kuwait is not only for Sunnis and certainlynot only for Shiites. It is for Kuwaitis —Sunnis and Shiites. Given this situation, thesectarian struggles seen here and there don’trepresent Kuwaiti Sunnis and Shiites, ratherthese struggles reflect the desires of somepoliticians belonging to both parties and theyare using such struggles to achieve personalgains.

“Such being the case, these politicians —MPs or writers — must be warned againsttheir sectarian behavior and realize that theirsectarian practices amount to pouring fuelover fire ignoring the fact that this fire willengulf Kuwait which is known for reciprocallove among its social components.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“MP Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi has issued astatement which was carried by the localmedia about the MPs creating ‘much adoabout nothing’ over the amendment of theMinistry of Education curricula in whichshe was quoted as saying ‘The attitudeshown by Minister Mudhi Al-Humoud todeal with the observations which have beensubmitted to her by some MPs regarding therelevant textbooks by referring them to thespecialized committees for study is logi-cal’,” columnist AbdulMohsen Al-Husseiniwrote for Al-Watan Arabic dailyWednesday.

“She also said, ‘the Ministry of Educationcurricula in general and that pertaining to theIslamic textbooks in particular are in animperative need of change to boost religiousmoderation and tolerance’.

“Needless to say the statement of MP Al-Awadhi in this connection is sound and ben-eficial and an attempt to correct the attitudesof some MPs who have been striving to levelunrealistic accusations at the Minister ofEducation which claim the Minister’s deci-sion came in response to proposals fromsome sectarian circles. This happenedalthough some had called on the MPs not tointervene in the educational issues.

“Consequently, MP Al-Awadhi’s statementin question comes to elucidate that the atti-tude of Minister Al-Humoud is sound and herdecision to deal with the issue is neutral andnot biased towards any specific party at theexpense of the other.

“In other words, Al-Awadhi has supportedthe Minister of Education’s decision to referthe topic to the specialized committees forstudy. She added the curricula, includingIslamic textbooks, need to be revised in amanner that will help boost religious moder-ation and tolerance.

“As a matter of fact, all advanced coun-tries are always striving to upgrade the levelof their citizens by improving their schoolscurricula to keep abreast with contemporarydevelopment in the world.

“Consequently, we would like to adviseour brothers, the MPs, not to exploit thisissue to agitate sectarian struggle in the coun-

try. We also call on them to learn the lessonsfrom both Iraq and Lebanon because boththese nations are torn apart due to sectarianstruggles which currently prevail there.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The decision which has been issuedrecently by the Minister of Education and theMinister of Higher Education Dr Mudhi Al-Humoud to employ bedoun (stateless per-sons) is a commendable development and astep in the right direction,” Kuwaiti colum-nist and academician Dr Ghanim Al-Najjarwrote for Aljarida daily Wednesday.

“Meanwhile, we hope this measure willconstitute an outset for achieving détente forthe most dangerous problem in Kuwait’smodern history.

“However, to define the dangerous dimen-sions of the problem in question, we wouldlike to point out that there are about 120,000stateless persons living in Kuwait, who havebeen deprived of job opportunities, medicaltreatment, marriage, birth and death certifi-cates and this can be attributed to actionswhich have been taken against this denomi-nation of the people by the authorities in thecountry motivated by their desire to forcebedoun to produce their original nationali-ties.

“However, through my own concern todeal with the human aspect of this problem, Icame to know that many people have yet torealize the nature and dimensions of thisissue. Not just that, some officials have con-ceded failure of the policy in dealing withthis denomination of people and the ‘demo-cratic’ government still insists to go ahead inits policy which is against the bedoun.

“As a matter of fact, the issue of bedounbecame a problem in 1985 not following theIraqi invasion of the country as some peoplebelieve. During that year the government hadissued a decision to give this people the titleof non-Kuwaiti instead of bedoun which wasrife with many strict actions against thisdenomination of people.

“However, these actions took a turn for theworst after the liberation of Kuwait from theIraqi invaders and occupiers. This happenedalthough the invasion should have givenKuwait a golden opportunity to deal sensiblywith the bedoun issue.

“Anyway, the bedoun problem is a human-itarian issue in nature before viewing fromthe economic, political or security point ofview. As such this problem needs to be han-dled radically based on humane and national-istic considerations to prevent the occurrenceof a disaster in the country as a result of fur-ther procrastination in dealing with the prob-lem.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) andany other Gulf country reserves the right tomaintain its security by all appropriatemeans,” columnist Abdulhameed Dashtiwrote for Al-Dar daily Wednesday.

“Personally as a citizen of a Gulf state Iwas always looking forward to see the Gulfstates successfully achieving military unity,and friendship motivated by my love for therulers of Abu Dhabi from the sons of thenation’s wise man the late Zayed Bin Sultan,may the Almighty Allah rest his soul inpeace. Now I ask will the French Navy be ina position to protect the UAE in case of a warin the region.

“In other words, if we want to depend on500 soldiers from the French Navy to protectus, then why have we allocated billions ofdollars per annum to purchase sophisticatedmilitary weapons including tanks and boats?

“Here I would like to call on the Gulfstates either to declare that the GulfCooperation Council (GCC) has failed in allfields including the military cooperation oreach country must look after its own interestson an individual basis as an independentState.

“If this happened, France, for instance,will not sacrifice even a single soldier of itsarmy unless the sacrifice serves the Frenchinterests. But the question is: Will the Frenchfrigates be in a position to protect us from11,000 Iranian missiles each weighing 1,000kilos?

“However, if the behavior of the GCCstates is motivated by their fear of Iran, thenthis shall provoke the Iranians more and con-sider the UAE as one of their foes. If this hap-pened then the French marine base in theUAE will become a target for Iranian mis-siles and submarines.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“We are afraid that the decision taken bythe Minister of Education and Minister ofHigher Education Ms Mudhi Al-Humoudregarding employment of bedoun in the edu-cation sector was taken to satisfy some MPswho are under pressure to grant bedounmany rights and even nationality,” columnistDr Hanan Al-Mutawa wrote for Al-Raidaily.

“We don’t deny that there are manybedoun who deserve the nationality and allrights enjoyed by the Kuwaitis. However, atthe same time we know that there are manypeople who claim to be bedoun but in factthey are hiding their original nationality.

“We wonder if the Ministry of Educationis in dire need to employ these bedoun insensitive positions. We sincerely wish theminister reviews her decision because thereare many Kuwaitis who are unemployed andcertainly priority should be given to the sonsand daughters of the soil before anybodyelse.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“MP Saleh Al-Mullah says he disagreeswith the decisions issued by the Cabinet con-cerning amendments to sports laws and hehas threatened to grill the Minister of SocialAffairs and Labor Mohammad Al-Afasi say-ing corruption has triumphed,” columnistMohammad Al-Mullah wrote for Al-Shahiddaily.

“However, what is important is the citizensmust support the minister in his decisions toback Kuwaiti youth and the sports movementin the country.

“I want to send a message to MP Salehwith regards to the main reason why he hasremained silent about the issue of the emer-gency electricity generators in addition to hisstand during the grilling of the Minister ofInterior and issues related to corruption.

“There are many issues which should belooked into such as education, the problemsat the Ministry of Health and harmful medi-cines instead of picking on sports.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“It is quite impossible to look into com-plaints lodged at police stations without evi-dence or witnesses. Complainants also facedifficulties if the authorities treat them likesuspects — a grave act not only against thecomplainants but their families as well.Under such circumstances, the authorities

unknowingly inflict financial and moral harmon the complainants, only to find out laterthat they are innocent,” Ghassan SulaimanAl-Otaibi wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“If found innocent, who will compensatethe complainants for the financial and moraldamages? I guess no one, so the Ministry ofInterior should take the necessary measuresto avoid such occurrences. Security authori-ties should not record complaints withoutevidence or witnesses to avoid the persecu-tion of innocent individuals, which alsoaffects the reputation of the ministry.

“Previously, I urged the ministry to pur-chase the most advanced polygraph machines— similar to those currently used in the USand other GCC countries. However, theauthorities have disregarded my suggestion.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“We had earlier condemned the NationalAssembly for focusing on its supervisory rolerather than its legislative functions.Nevertheless, when the MPs agreed to acti-vate their legislative role and enacted laws,such as the Sports Law, the governmentignored this law because the ruling familymembers in the Sports Sector are against itsimplementation,” Mishari Al-Adwani wrotefor Alam Al-Yawm daily.

“The Parliament remains committed to itslegislative role. So far, it has ratified 30 lawsand is keen on enacting more, but what is theuse of such a commitment if the governmentis not willing to implement the law.

“Actually, our problem is not the existinglaws but the officials’ failure to implementthem, which only shows that the governmentstill doubts the role of its legislative counter-part.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“At the Justice Palace, no one dares look atthe judge while he is hearing a case as he hasthe authority to put a person in jail, hence, thepalace is one of the well-respected and pres-tigious structures in the country,” Abu Khaledwrote for Freedom Journal.

“Several Asian laborers staged a strikerecently at the Justice Palace. Even if theyhave not completed higher studies, theselaborers are aware of the significance of thepalace, so they gathered at this prestigiousplace to air their grievances. They com-plained about the unjust treatment of theirsponsors, particularly the non-payment oftheir salaries.

“It was quite hard for me to fathom whythe sponsors, who are supposedly more edu-cated than the laborers, seem unaware of theimportance of the palace. They have not paidthe salaries of their workers, considering theworkers’ meager salaries are just equal to thesponsors’ daily pocket money.

“These sponsors, including a fewKuwaitis, should be punished as they havetarnished the image of Kuwait. The govern-ment should not tolerate such unjust acts andtake concrete measures to end the sufferingof laborers.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“In the days following Aug 2, we will passthrough the anniversary of a time whenKuwait was invaded by Iraq, which resultedin one of the most horrifying phases in histo-ry. The aim of the people then was to fight asa united body to rid the country of theinvaders and preserve the national unity”,wrote Dr Barakat Awad Al-Hudaiban for Al-Sabah daily.

“However, it is unfortunate to witness thecurrent political situation in the country. Themajor problems in Kuwait today are thedemand for an amended school syllabus andthe current disorder and chaos in the sportssector.

“Recently, the Minister of Social Affairsand Labor Dr Mohammad Mohsen Al-Afasiand the General Manager of the PublicAuthority for Sports and Youth Faisal Al-Jazzafi traveled to Switzerland to meet theChairman of FIFA to discuss the future ofKuwaiti football. There should be a move toimplement the decision of the Cabinet thatorders all Kuwaiti football regulations tomeet international standards.

“One can safely say, though, we overcamethe hurdles caused by the Iraqi invasion butwe find the burden of sports issues difficult tocarry.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“One of the crooked companies came outwinner of a tender which was floated by theministries of Interior, and Social Affairs andLabor, by the help of some corrupt officialswithin the ministries”, Ahmed Abdul MohsinAl-Mulaifi wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“The company in question by all accountsrecruited 3,000 workers from overseas for aproject which requires only 300 expatriateworkers to implement.

“The issue is what happened to the remain-ing 2,700 visas? It is interesting to know theresidual visas were intended for trading, soldbetween $500 and $1,000 per visa by middlemen with the total proceeds exceeding$1,500,000. The 2,700 workers are now leftin the streets of Kuwait in search of jobswhile they still remain under the sponsorshipof the company until they are employed byanother company.

“Visa traders are likened to vampires whosuck the blood of their victims, so lawsshould be enforced to halt activities of suchcompanies alongside the corrupt officialswho are found within the government sec-tor.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The US Secretary of State Hillary Clintonrecently delivered a speech to the ForeignRelations Committee which was full of sig-nificant points”, Mohammad Hilal Al-Khaldiwrote for Al-Anba daily.

“The most important aspect of the speechwas ‘values’ of work which is unfortunatelymissing in Kuwait. Look at Clinton’s speechto discern how she was representing her for-mer competitor President Barack Obama,against whom she fought hard to winning theWhite House slot, and see how competitiontransformed into cooperation soon after thepresidential elections, because their mainobjective had been to serve the interest of thecountry.

“What is our disposition towards thesevalues? Why do we transform competitionto fight and grudge, which take variousdimensions? She concluded the speech asstated below, which should serve as a guideto us.

“Thomas Ben said over 230 years ago,‘We can reshape the entire world with ouravailable strength.’ It is pertinent for us tomake the best use of our strength in the pres-ent contemporary world. I am optimistic wehave the right strategy, priority, policies, andleader, in addition to abundant committedand aspiring US citizens, while we only needto execute our plans.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb

Al-Hamly

DIWANIYAA DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

9LOCAL

‘Etisalat spy’Continued from Page 1

BlackBerry smart phones on Etisalat’s net-work in the UAE,” the company said, addingthat it “does not endorse this software appli-cation.”

Etisalat did not respond to requests forcomment Wednesday.

RIM said the application users unwittinglyinstalled was a surveillance program devel-oped by a privately held Silicon Valley com-pany called SS8 Networks Inc.

SS8 describes itself in a company brochureas “the leader in communications interceptionand a worldwide provider of regulatory com-pliant, electronic intercept and surveillancesolutions.” It markets its services to intelli-gence agencies, law enforcement and com-munication service providers.

A person who answered the phone at SS8’sMiddle East office in Dubai declined to com-ment and refused to provide a name. He saidthe company’s regional head, Derek Roga,was out of the country. A spokesman at thecompany’s headquarters in Milpitas,California, could not be reached.

It is not clear why Etisalat encouragedusers to install the application or if any pri-vate information was compromised.

The company, one of two major telecom-munications providers in the UAE, regularlyblocks hundreds of Web addresses — rangingfrom pornographic sites to the photo-sharingportal Flikr.com — in line with state censor-ship guidelines.

Etisalat says it has more than 145,000BlackBerry users in the UAE.

Hundreds of Blackberry smartphone own-ers in the UAE reported problems with theirphones over the last few weeks after theupdate patch was sent out.

Canada case

Continued from Page 1enrolling for a series of studies directed bythe National Institutes of Health, and the firstshots should go into volunteers’ arms by thesecond week of August.

First, doctors will test different doses of theswine flu vaccine in healthy adults, includingthe elderly — two shots, given 21 days apart.If there are no immediate safety concerns,such as allergic reactions, the same testingquickly will begin in babies and children, saidDr Anthony Fauci, head of NIH’s NationalInstitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Will the results come in time to guide thegovernment’s debate on whether to roll out amass vaccination campaign starting in mid-October, one expected to target mostlyschool-age children and young adults?

“It’s going to be very, very close,” Faucitold The Associated Press.

AustraliaThe world’s first human trials of a swine

flu vaccine have begun in Australia, drugcompany officials said Wednesday, with theaim of controlling the virus that has so farkilled more than 700 worldwide.

Two biotechnology companies have startedinjecting adult volunteers in the southern cityof Adelaide with their vaccines. Adelaide-based Vaxine began trials Monday with 300subjects, and Melbourne’s CSL has 240 peo-ple in its seven-month trial, which startedWednesday. The companies say their trialsare the first tests of a swine flu vaccine onhumans.

At least 41 people have died in swine flu-related illness in Australia, which is well intoits winter flu season.

“We’re in the southern hemisphere, andthat is where the problem is right now,”Vaxine research director Nikolai Petrovskytold The Associated Press. “The demand washere yesterday. We’re right in the middle of asurge of swine flu cases where perhaps theUnited States won’t have to worry about it asmuch until their flu season hits in sixmonths.”

Australia had confirmed 14,703 cases ofswine flu as of Wednesday.

UKThe number of people who have died in

the UK after contracting swine flu reachedat least 30, as world health chiefs warnedthe virus was spreading faster than any pre-vious flu pandemic, it was announcedWednesday.

A 15-year-old girl - who had underlyingmedical conditions - was revealed as the 30thBritish victim linked to the outbreak last night

Call for Sunni, Shiite MPs to meetclosed-door over school syllabus

Ashour says his group ready to give up some of their demands

The KFH team

KFH starts health awareness drive

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) started a healthawareness campaign to urge people to walkthrough its Marketing and Public Relationsteam, since KFH believes that the private sec-tor institutions play a significant role that goesbeyond its official role by supporting non-prof-itable developmental projects, not to mentionserving the society.

The campaign aims to achieve an importantpart of KFH’s social message, which is to stayfit and healthy by practicing sports, especiallythat sports are not for a certain age group orgender, but it is available for everyone, since ithas positive effects.

Moreover, the campaign that targets areaswhere people usually walk was warmly wel-comed and praised by them, where 100 partic-ipants took part on the campaign’s first day, andapplauded KFH for showing interest regarding

this sport. The KFH team gave health mainte-nance tips and necessary needs for the walk-ers.

KFH chose walking since it is one of the bestsports that prevent aging, cancer, heart dis-eases, and other diseases; in addition to thefact that it is a sport that can be practiced by allfamily members. It is worth noting that KFHsupports sports events for the people with spe-cial needs.

KFH has also participated this year in sever-al events to communicate with the society inmore than one field, where it offered Kuwaitistudents studying in Bahrain a free airline tick-et, honored the top secondary school achiev-ers, visited schools and universities to explainthe principles of Islamic banking, organizedBaitek summer program for clients, and tookpart in the job fair to attract fresh graduates.

Shimmaris absolved in primaries case

Kuwaiti gets 10 years in jailfor torturing maid to death

By Moamen Al-MasriSpecial to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: TheCriminal Court on Wednesdaysentenced a Kuwaiti man to tenyears in jail as he has beenfound guilty of beating and tor-turing his housemaid and hang-ing her in the bathroom, whichled to her death.

The Public Prosecution hascharged the man with beatingthe victim to death.

Case files indicate the mangot furious due to his maid’scarelessness so he beat herwith his ‘iqal’ — a doubledblack cord used to secure theheaddress worn by Arab men— and hanged her in thebathroom. Family memberssaved the housemaid but shelater succumbed to herwounds.

PrimariesThe Criminal Court on

Wednesday acquitted eightShimmari tribesmen of runningprimaries, which are illegal inKuwait, before the official2009 Municipal Council elec-tions.

The eight men were repre-sented by some Shimmarilawyers, including Sattam Al-Eyada, Mishari Al-Eyada,Khaled Al-Shimmari, TalalBidaiwi, Nasser Hamoud,Matar Al-Shimmari andAhmad Al-Shimmari, in addi-tion to Attorney Faisal AyyalAl-Enezi.

During a previous session,the defense lawyers requestedthe court to acquit their clientsas the arresting officer’s inves-

By Abdurrahman Al-Shammari Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, July 22:MP Saleh Ashour has calledfor a closed-door discussionbetween the Sunni andShiite MPs who areinvolved in amending theschool syllabus, in order toachieve a final settlement tothe issue.

Speaking to the Arab Times,Ashour stressed his group isready to discuss and give upsome of their demands inamending the school syllabusfor the sake of the country, andto keep away from sectarianand group agenda.

He added the meeting shall beheld in a friendly atmosphere andclear of the media, indicatingtopics that enflame division inthe school syllabus shall not bediscussed. He expressed concernabout the subjects taught in theschools that incite sectarian dif-ferences and inculcate awfulfeelings in the hearts of the youthand the future generation.

However, he is optimistic thechildren will grow up in an envi-ronment full of tolerance andpeace, in addition to respect foreach other’s beliefs and faith.

Meanwhile, Ashour discardedreports of Iranian interferences inthe syllabus review campaign bythe Shiite and Liberal MPs, say-ing “We are not in Iran to listento their opinion on the matter. Weare Kuwaitis living insideKuwait”.

He went on to say the founda-tion and style of living in thecountry is based on Kuwaitiprinciples and not Iranian. Healso explained Bahraini schoolsare teaching Ja’furi Shiite reli-gious ideas, besides the Sunnibelieves.

There are several complaintsagainst some teachers who spurhatred based on the topics theyteach students in the country.“Our children shall not learn tohate their compatriots who havedifferent beliefs, we are bent onencouraging tolerance and livingin peace”, he indicated.

In the meantime, a parliamen-tary source has been quoted assaying the Islamist MPs arepreparing to grill Prime MinisterSheikh Nasser Al-MohammedAl-Sabah during the next parlia-mentary session which is aimedat either causing the fall ofSheikh Nasser or leading to thedissolution of the Parliament,reports Al-Shahid daily.

The source disclosed wide-spread protest against SheikhNasser and the government’sliberal-Shiite coalition in theParliament, indicating theIslamists are aware of the roleof the government in financingthe coalition during the elec-tions.

The Islamist MPs and theirfollowers including Islamicscholars are angry at govern-ment’s intimidation towardsthem, and its support to the liber-al-Shiite coalition, he empha-sized.

Moreover, the Islamists havecalled on the Sunni groups tounite against such coalition,which threatens the interest ofthe country, since the govern-ment has renounced the interestsof the people for political gains,the source indicated.

PM ends Comoros visitMORONI, July 22, (KUNA): His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah concluded ashort visit to the Comoros on Wednesday and was heading toSwaziland, the sixth leg of his African tour.

Sheikh Nasser held official talks with Comoros President AhmadAbdullah Sambi and delivered a letter from His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on ways to furthercementing bilateral cooperation in all domains.

He also conveyed condolences of Sheikh Sabah and HisHighness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to President Sambi for death after the Yemeni air-lines crash near Comoros last month.

after she died in the Royal Hospital for SickChildren in Glasgow, Scotland.

A woman aged 51 from Wiltshire, England,is also reported to have died after getting thevirus, but the Department of Health wasunable to confirm her death.

The teenager is the fourth person withswine flu to have died in Scotland.

In the UK, an estimated 55,000 people arebeing newly diagnosed with the virus eachweek.

Yesterday, the Chief Medical Officer forEngland said it was unlikely there would beschool closures in the autumn to curb swineflu.

The issue was being kept under review butpast experience - such as in the WestMidlands - had not shown this to be effectiveat controlling the virus.

“I think it would take a lot for us to movein that direction, it would be extremely dis-ruptive to society — when would you openthem again, given that flu might be around forseveral months,” he said.

Faith groups in Britain are adapting theirreligious rites in a bid to prevent the spread ofthe H1N1 virus during worship.

Some churches, mosques and temples areencouraging less personal contact betweenworshippers, and adapting rites such as shar-ing of vessels or chalices during ceremonialpractices across Britain where 31 people havedied in the pandemic.

People vulnerable to the virus, known asswine flu, are being discouraged by imamsfrom attending this year’s haj Muslim pil-grimage.

The virus can be spread through contactwith infected people and surfaces, and thegovernment has issued public advice includ-ing washing hands regularly.

“The ‘Sign of Peace,’ which traditionallyinvolves people greeting each other by shak-ing hands, might in extreme cases need to bereplaced by another form like bowing so youare not actually touching someone’s hand,”said a spokesman for the Westminster dioceseof the Roman Catholic Church.

British pharmaceuticals groupGlaxoSmithKline is making “rapid progress”on producing a swine flu vaccine that will beready by September, it said Wednesday.

GSK also revealed in a second-quarterresults statement that it had received con-tracts for 195 million doses of A(H1N1) vac-cine, adding that it would triple production ofits Relenza medication by the end of the year.

“Following more than 10 years of invest-ment in research and development of pan-demic influenza vaccines, and the successfulregistration of its pre-pandemic H5N1 vac-cine, the company is making rapid progress toproduce an A(H1N1)” vaccine Glaxo said ina statement.

India’s Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azadon Wednesday confirmed that so far 322swine flu cases have been detected in thecountry, and declared that the situation wasunder control as there has not been a singledeath.

According to him, there is no dearth ofdrugs as “ten million Tamiflu doses havealready been distributed across the country.”Speaking in Indian Parliament’s lower houseLok Sabha (House of Peoples), he said out ofthe total 322 cases, 234 have been treated anddischarged from various hospitals across thecountry.

“This proves that swine flu is 100 per centcurable in so far as our country is concerned.We are lucky that there have been no deathsin our country,” he said.

tigations were inconclusive.They told the court there is no

evidence to prove their clients’involvement in primaries.

Decision starts from Aug 2

Attested ‘police clearance’needed for new expatriatesKUWAIT CITY, July 22: The Immigration Departmentat the Interior Ministry has reportedly issued a decision,requiring all expatriates who are coming to work inKuwait to present police clearance attested by theirhome governments and relevant Kuwaiti missionsabroad, starting from Aug 2, reports Al-Anba daily quot-ing sources.

Sources said that this new regulation covers thosewho are on government contract and holders of trans-ferable visit visas, such as nurses and other profession-als.

DocumentsSources explained the required documents to obtain

visa numbers 17, 18, 19, 20 and 24 should include thepolice clearance.

Sources also said the ministry is keen on implement-ing a ministerial decision issued on Nov 27, 2008,which states that the new entrants should visit Kuwaitimissions in their respective countries with the policeclearance.

Sources added those who are on family and businessvisit or joining their families (visa number 22), in addi-tion to students on scholarship (visa number 23, areexempted from this decision, while applicants whosevisas are issued prior to Aug 2 are not required to pro-duce the clearance.

Sources added the acceptable clearance is valid foronly three months prior to the date of visa issuance.“The government is taking this step due to the risingcrime rate in the country through which we discoveredthat some of the criminals have bad records in theircountries of origin,” sources concluded.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

10MIDEAST

US to create environment for peace talks

‘No sanctions yet over settlements’WASHINGTON, July 22, (AFP): Washington believes it is too earlyto talk about imposing sanctions on Israel to force it to freeze settle-ment building in east Jerusalem, a State Department spokesman saidTuesday.

“It’s premature to talk about that,” said spokesman Robert Woodwhen asked about the possibility of US financial sanctions.

“What we are trying to do, as I said right now, is to create an envi-ronment which makes it conducive for talks to go forward,” headded.

“And you know, as I said, Senator Mitchell is working very hardon this.”

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell was due to leaveWashington later Tuesday, another State Department official said,asking to remain anonymous. No precise itinerary was given, but theofficial said Mitchell would meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders, butwould probably not travel to Syria.

Israel came under intense diplomatic heat Tuesday over its settle-ment activity in occupied east Jerusalem, with the European Unionand Russia warning it not to violate a Middle East peace plan.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy also repeated “the need for acomplete freeze” of settlement activity after talks with Egyptianleader Hosni Mubarak.

Israel’s deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon said the Jewishstate was “working and will continue to work in accordance with itsvital national interests, especially with respect to Jerusalem.”

But Wood responded: “Well, certainly no one is asking Israel to actoutside its national security interests.

Hamas accused of planting bomb

“What we’re asking both parties to do is to fulfill their road mapobligations. Both sides have committed to do that.”

Under the Middle East peace roadmap, which has yet to be imple-mented, Israel has pledged to freeze settlement activity while thePalestinians vowed to end anti-Israeli violence.

The US, France and the European Union have called on Israel to

halt work on 20 apartments due to be built on a site in Sheikh Jarrah,one of the most sensitive and upmarket neighborhoods closest to theso-called Green Line that separates east and west Jerusalem.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War and laterannexed it in a move not recognized by the international commu-nity.

GAZA, July 22, (RTRS): A bomb exploded at the wedding ofa relative of a former senior Fatah security official in theHamas-controlled Gaza Strip, wounding more than 50 peo-ple, a hospital official said on Wednesday.

The explosion occurred late on Tuesday in the town ofKhan Younis during the wedding of a cousin of MohammedDahlan, national security adviser for President MahmoudAbbas until the Gaza Strip was seized by rival HamasIslamists in 2007.

Dahlan, reviled by Hamas supporters over crackdowns he

led against the group when he was head of Fatah-dominat-ed Preventive Security service in the Gaza Strip in the1990s, moved to the West Bank after Fatah lost control ofthe territory.

He did not attend the wedding.Muawya Hasanein, a hospital official, said 52 people were

wounded in the blast.Ihab al-Ghussein, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Interior

Ministry in the Gaza Strip, said some 30 people were hurt,including the bridegroom, Mahmoud Dahlan.

52 wounded in bombing at Gaza wedding

Palestinian and Israeli teenagers attend a debate with lector Michael Ingber(right), during a Israeli-Palestinian peace camp in Rechnitz on July 21 some150 kms south-east from Vienna. Just kilometres from where the IronCurtain once stood, youths from another divided region - Israelis andPalestinians - are coming together these days to seek a dialogue and learn

about each other. (AFP)

Israel to ban ‘catastrophe’references in school books

Israeli Arab lawmaker accuses govt of ‘naqba denial’

JERUSALEM, July 22, (AP): The Israeli government will remove ref-erences to what Palestinians call the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creationfrom textbooks for Arab schoolchildren, the education minister saidWednesday.

The reference to “al-naqba,” the Arabic word catastrophe as Palestinians call their defeatand exile in the war over Israel’s 1948 creation, was controversially inserted by a dovisheducation minister for the first time in 2007.

The phrase remains contentious six decades after Israel was founded.“No other country in the world, in its official curriculum, would treat the fact of its founding as a

Dialogue, dancing held

Ankara to unveil reforms

Turkey is working on bidto solve Kurdish problemANKARA, July 22, (RTRS):Turkish Prime Minister TayyipErdogan said on Wednesday thegovernment was working on stepsaimed at solving the Kurdish prob-lem, a cause of decades of violenceand poverty in the country’s south-east.

The announce-ment followedforecasts by ana-lysts that Ankarawould unveilreforms within amonth to pre-empt a “roadmap” on theissue whichjailed KurdistanWorkers Party (PKK) guerrillaleader Abdullah Ocalan is expectedto announce on Aug 15.

“Whether we call it the Kurdish,the southeast or eastern problem,whether we call it the Kurdish ini-tiative, we have started work onthis,” Erdogan told a news confer-ence before departing on a trip toSyria.

He did not specify when the planwould be announced or whatreforms it might include, but saidthe Interior Ministry was dis-cussing what steps could be takenwith military headquarters, thenational intelligence agency andother ministries.

They will also consult membersof parliament in the mainlyKurdish southeast on the issue andafter a final assessment by the gov-ernment the plan will beannounced.

Under pressure from theEuropean Union which Ankarahopes to join, Erdogan’s AK Partygovernment has expanded politicaland cultural rights for the country’s12 million Kurds who have longcomplained of discrimination bythe Turkish state.

During the news conference,

Erdogan referred to moves to openKurdish language and literaturedepartments in Turkish universi-ties, to supplement the launching ofa state Kurdish language broad-caster at the start of this year. Hedid not specify any further possiblereforms.

Ocalan’s PKK took up armsagainst the state in 1984 with theaim of achieving Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey. Some40,000 people have died in theconflict.

Political analysts told Reutersthis week the government would bekeen to act before that date in orderto avoid the impression that Ocalanwas taking the initiative on theissue.

His lawyers contacted academ-ics and journalists this month tosound them out on his “road map”,which is set to be announced onAug 15 – the 25th anniversary ofthe PKK’s first armed attack.

Ocalan, captured in 1999, is insolitary confinement on a prisonisland. The government is likely toreject his proposals to end the con-flict, which has ravaged the econo-my of southeast Turkey, borderingSyria, Iraq and Iran.

NATO-member Turkey hasrepeatedly said it will not negotiatewith a group which the UnitedStates, EU and Turkey all brand aterrorist organisation.

Illustrating the sensitivity of theissue, Erdogan called on his AKParty deputies to avoid commentswhich would undermine govern-ment unity. He said this would playinto the hands of those seeking todivide the country, alluding to thePKK.

“Sorry but we can’t say yes tothose who try to divide or break upour country. We will (act) in unityand solidarity with the commondenominator of Turkish Republiccitizenship,” he said.

Israelis & Palestiniansget-together in AustriaRECHNITZ, Austria, July 22,(AFP): Just kilometres from wherethe Iron Curtain once stood, youthsfrom another divided region —Israelis and Palestinians — are com-ing together these days to seek a dia-logue and learn about each other.

They are between 16 and 20-years-old, boys and girls from twodifferent worlds who at home haveno opportunity to meet.

“This is the first time I meet peo-ple from the West Bank and Gazaand hear their side, their point ofview,” said Yoni, 17, from the north-ern Israeli port city of Haifa.

And yet over the past week, theyhave eaten their meals together,played football and danced together.

Entitled “Dialogue 4 the future”,the two-week camp in Rechnitz, asmall town near the Austro-Hungarian border, was organised byAustrian evangelical groups andpartly funded by the EuropeanUnion.

A first camp was held in 2007 andthe idea was again to bring thesecommunities together through dis-cussions, games and outdoor activi-ties.

Eight youths came fromRamallah in the West Bank, eightfrom Haifa, eight from Hungary andthree from Austria.

“I was a bit afraid of hearing whatthey’d have to say, maybe theywouldn’t want to talk to us,” Yonisaid of his initial concerns.

But “they’re really nice, and Ihave new friends now,” he added.

Under camp rules, everyone musteat the same food — no pork,banned under kosher dietary rules, isserved — and the rooms are mixed,said Klaus Pahr, one of the camp’sorganisers.

He recalled picking the groups upat the airport. “The looks thePalestinians threw the Israelis andvice-versa... it was extraordinary.You could tell they lived completelyseparate lives.”

But now, “there’s mutual under-

standing: they’re starting to teacheach other swear words,” Julia, theAustrian group leader, added with alaugh.

Some of the Palestinians have hadproblems with English, the camplanguage, but improvised footballmatches in the courtyard and cultur-al evenings with lots of dancinghave helped overcome language bar-riers.

“As the Palestinians said, it’s real-ly important to know that they’realso people: they are the same, theylike to have fun,” said Peter, 17,from Hungary.

The camp is one of many inEurope to bring Israelis andPalestinians together, and severalhours were dedicated to discussingthe political and historical back-ground of the conflict and sharingstories.

A Palestinian told of Israeli sol-diers searching his family’s homeand arresting his uncle. An Israeligirl recalled hearing sirens “15 timesa day” and having to rush into shel-ters during the 2006 Lebanon war.

Others spoke of neighbours beingshot while taking their child toschool, of suicide bombings andlong waits at Israeli checkpoints.

For many, this was their first timehearing the other side’s point ofview.

“We are neighbours but we don’tknow much about each other, we’restrangers,” said Jalal, one of thePalestinian group leaders.

The Austrians and Hungarians,divided for decades by the IronCurtain, serve as an example.

“They are past it... they built afuture and you see, it’s a nicefuture,” added Jalal.

“Don’t get stuck in history,” heconcluded. The organisers now hopethe youths will remain in touch afterthey leave the camp.

But the youngsters have biggerplans, according to Yael Roth-Barkai, one of the Israeli group lead-ers.

catastrophe,” Education MinisterGideon Saar told Israel’s parlia-ment on Wednesday.

Israeli Arab lawmaker HanaSweid accused the governmentof “naqba denial.”

“It’s a major attack on theidentity of the Palestinian Arabcitizens of the state of Israel, ontheir memories and their adher-ence to their identity,” he told theAssociated Press.

Teachers will be free to dis-cuss the personal and nationaltragedies that befell Palestiniansduring the war, said Saar, whorepresents the hard-line govern-ing Likud Party. But textbookswill be revised to remove theterm, he added.

The decision applied to athird-grade textbook for Arabschoolchildren. Jewish textbooksmake no mention of the term.

When former education minis-ter Yuli Tamir introduced theterm, some hard-line Israelisaccused her of making Israellook like it was apologizing forits own existence.

Tamir “is expressing a sort ofpolitical masochist spirit and ... atotal lack of national pride,”Cabinet Minister AvigdorLieberman said at the time.Lieberman is now foreign minis-ter.

Yossi Sarid, a dovish formereducation minister, said Saar’sdecision showed insecurity.

“Zionism has already won inmany ways, and can afford to bemore confident. We need not beafraid of a word,” Sarid said.

The 1948 war saw Arab nationsinvade the newly founded Jewishcountry after a United Nationsdecision to partition the British-controlled territory of Palestine intoJewish and Arab states. Jewishforces won, seizing territoriesbeyond what the UN had allotted toit, while Egypt and Jordan tookwhat was left of the territories theUN intended for a Palestinian statefor themselves.

More than 700,000Palestinians are thought to havefled or been expelled from areasthat came under Israeli control.

Official Israeli histories of thecountry’s establishment, espe-cially those written for school-children, have typically focusedon the heroism of Israeli forcesand glossed over the Palestinianflight, attributing the mass exileto voluntary escape if mention-ing it at all.

A Palestinian child attending a Hamas summer camp places a flag of the Hamas youth movement on a destroyed house during a protest against the Israeliblockade on Gaza in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, July 22. Israel and neighboring Egypt have kept Gaza under blockade since the militant Hamas seized

power in Gaza in June 2007. (AP)

‘It’s quiet because a fence exists’

West Bank barrier to stay: NetanyahuJERUSALEM, July 22, (RTRS): Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu rejected on Wednesday any notionhe would order Israel’s barrier in the West Bank torndown now in response to the absence of Palestinianattacks from the occupied territory.

“The separation fence will remain in place and willnot be dismantled,” Netanyahu said in a speech in par-liament.

“I hear they are saying today that because it’s quiet,it’s possible to take down the fence. My friends, theopposite is true,” he said. “It’s quiet because a fenceexists.”

Netanyahu made the comments after Israel’s Maarivnewspaper said Palestinian officials had pressedWashington to push for the barrier to be dismantled

because of an improved security situation in the WestBank.

Israeli leaders have portrayed the barrier as a tempo-rary obstacle that could be moved once a peace agree-ment with the Palestinians was signed and attacks onIsrael ceased.

In his speech, Netanyahu said Israel welcomed “acertain improvement in the functioning of Palestiniansecurity forces” in the West Bank. But he added: “Thefence is important.”

Work on the barrier began in 2002, the height of aPalestinian uprising. Israel said the project was neces-sary to stop suicide bombers from reaching its cities.Palestinians called it a land grab that could deny them aviable state.

There has been a dramatic drop in the number ofattacks in Israel over the past several years, a decreasesecurity experts attribute to the barrier, Israeli andPalestinian Authority security steps and a change of tac-tics by some militant groups.

No suicide bombers have struck this year. In 2008,one person was killed in Israel by a bomber whomauthorities said infiltrated from the West Bank throughan area where the barrier had not been completed.

The International Court of Justice, in a non-bindingdecision in 2004, said the barrier was illegal and shouldbe taken down because it crossed occupied territory.

The barrier, mainly razor-wired tipped fences but alsocomprised of towering concrete walls, snakes throughland Israel captured in a 1967 war.

Palestinian workers use clay bricks to build a Hamas police station in theGaza Strip district of Beit Lahia on July 22. Adobe bricks, assembled usingsand, clay, and water, with some kind of fibrous or organic material (sticks,straw, dung) are replacing lacking construction materials which are prevent-ed to enter the Gaza Strip by Israeli authorities, crippling the reconstruction

efforts after the recent war. (AFP)

Erdogan flies to Aleppo

Turkey, Syria talk about ME peaceOrgy cruisescausing a stirNICOSIA, July 22, (RTRS):Cypriots are in a lather over claimsof wild sex orgies by tourists onCyprus’s high seas, giving theRomans a run for their money.

Photographs documenting thesexual escapades of groups ofyoung tourists to the island’spopular resort of Ayia Napa wereprinted in the Norwegian press,following similar claims involv-ing British and Scandinavianholidaymakers in 2006.

Once a sleepy fishing village,Ayia Napa is popular with familiesfor its pristine beaches but since2000 has gained a reputation as aclubber’s paradise, attractinghoardes of young partygoers.

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 22, (AP):Turkey’s prime minister saidWednesday he has been asked to helpmediate again in the Arab-Israeli con-flict, speaking just before he left fortalks in Syria with the president.

The Turkish leader Recep TayyipErdogan helped mediate last year infour rounds of indirect peace negotia-tions between Israel and Syria. ButSyria suspended them in Decemberover Israel’s military offensive inGaza.

Before he left for talks withPresident Bashar Assad in the northernSyrian city of Aleppo, Erdogan reiterat-ed Turkey’s readiness to help restartindirect talks between Syria and Israel.Turkey has also offered to mediate in

other tracks of the Arab-Israeli peaceprocess.

“New requests regarding this processmay come up. ... In fact, they havealready started to come,” Erdogan tolda news conference. He did not say whomade the requests.

Assad said earlier this month thatthere is no “real partner” in Israel tomake peace, stressing that a halt toJewish settlements in the West Bank isessential to restart talks.

Syria has said it is willing to resumethe Turkish-mediated talks if they focuson a complete Israeli withdrawal fromthe Golan Heights, captured in 1967.But Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu has said he is not willing tocede the territory Syria wants.

Erdogan

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

11INTERNATIONAL

This handout image obtained on July 22, from the National Gallery pressoffice shows a painting entitled ‘An Old Man in an Armchair’ by a follower of

Rembrandt. (AFP)

Bid to oversee lawmakers’ expenses

UK parliament approves watchdogLONDON, July 22, (RTRS): Britain’s parliament approved a billto set up an independent watchdog to oversee members’ expens-es on Tuesday in a bid to restore trust after a scandal that has hurtthe ruling Labour party ahead of an election.

British voters reacted with outrage to leaks to newspapers thatsome members of parliament used taxpayer money to claimexpenses on everything from hiring pornographic films to clean-ing their swimming pools.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised to take swift action tocrack down on the practices but critics say the ParliamentaryStandards Bill has been watered down.

The law creates an independent watchdog to keep an eye on theexpenses system and also makes submitting a false expensesclaim while an MP a criminal offense, with a penalty of up to oneyear in prison.

Proposals to criminalise other expenses-related acts weredropped, however, and critics complained that the bill unneces-sarily pre-empted an independent review due for publication laterthis year. Opposition politicians further argued that Brown’s pro-posals were rushed through ahead of the parliamentary recesswhich starts on Wednesday.

“Nothing really has been done to fix the rotten state of Britishpolitics,” Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg told Channel 4

News. Brown’s government was under pressure for weeks as therevelations unfolded and a wave of ministers resigned. Labournow faces an uphill battle to rebuild its popularity at a time whenunemployment is rising and the economy is shrinking.

Brown must call a national election within 11 months. Justice Minister Jack Straw defended the bill.

“The bill has been improved — we did this from a standingstart,” Straw told BBC television.

“Until today, parliament — the House of Commons — set itsown rules and also administered its own rules with catastrophiceffects as we now know both on some individual MPs and on ouroverall reputation.”

Radio listeners complain

Watchdog condemns saucy sausage advertsLONDON, July 22, (RTRS): A saucy radio advert forsausages which encouraged listeners to reveal “where youlike to stick yours” was criticised by Britain’s advertisingwatchdog on Wednesday.

The ads for Mattesons smoked sausages elicited 21 com-plaints from listeners who said they were offensive becauseof the sexual innuendo and should not have been aired whenchildren were likely to be listening.

“Think about all the things you can stick this tasty, extraor-dinarily large sausage in,” one advert said.

“Mmm... Pizza, pasta, stir fry. You have any ideas? Giveme a call and tell me where you like to stick it.”

Kerry Foods, which makes the sausages, said its advertswere intended to be tongue-in-cheek and were not designedto be offensive.

The Advertising Standards Authority did not uphold thecomplaints about the innuendo because it was not sexuallyexplicit, but said the ads could “cause harm to children”.

It ruled the ads should not be aired at times when theywere likely to be heard by children.

‘Biggest mistake of my life’

Memoir reveals regretof Kremlin’s spy BluntLONDON, July 22, (AP): It beganwith youthful idealism and endedin bitter regret.

Anthony Blunt — English gen-tleman, art adviser to QueenElizabeth II and Soviet spy — feltthe decision to give British secretsto the Kremlin was “the biggestmistake of my life.”

Blunt wrote of his remorse in a30,000-word memoir completedshortly before his death in 1983and released Thursday by theBritish Library. It was given to thelibrary in 1984 on condition it notbe made public for 25 years.

Blunt was the infamous “fourthman” in a ring of upper-classBritons who spied for the SovietUnion. He, Guy Burgess, KimPhilby andDonald Macleana t t e n d e dC a m b r i d g eUniversity in the1930s and —fired by opposi-tion to thespread of fas-cism acrossEurope — weredrawn into espi-onage.

The document reveals few newdetails of Blunt’s career as a spy,but recounts how he was recruitedat Cambridge by the charismaticBurgess.

Blunt said he considered joiningthe Communist Party like many ofhis fellow academics, but wasurged not to by Burgess. Burgesshad already been recruited by theSoviets and told to “go under-ground” and get a job in the Britishgovernment.

Blunt said that “Guy, who wasan extraordinarily persuasive per-son, convinced me that I could domore good by joining him in hiswork.”

“The atmosphere in Cambridgewas so intense, the enthusiasm forany anti-fascist activity was sogreat, that I made the biggest mis-take of my life,” he added.

During World War II, Bluntworked for the MI5 intelligenceagency — and handed over secretdocuments to the Soviets. Thememoir gives few details aboutBlunt’s espionage, and does notreveal the names of his Russiancontacts.

Blunt wrote that after the war hetried to put spying behind him,resuming his career as an art histo-rian and becoming Surveyor of theKing’s Pictures, a job he heldunder King George VI and hisdaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

“In fact I was disillusionedabout Marxism as well as about

Russia. What I personally hopedto do was to hear no more of myRussian friends, to return to mynormal academic life,” he wrote.

“Of course it was not as simpleas that, because there remained thefact that I knew of the continuingactivities of Guy, Donald, andKim.”

Burgess and Maclean, bothBritish diplomats, fled to Moscowin 1951 after Philby tipped themoff that Maclean was about to beexposed. Blunt said a Russian con-tact advised him to defect, too, buthe decided against it.

“I realized quite clearly that Iwould take any risk in this country,rather than go to Russia,” hewrote.

Blunt and Philby both cameunder suspicion, but avoidedexposure as Soviet spies. Bluntwrote that he was able to use hiscontacts in MI5 to get intoBurgess’s apartment and removedocuments linking him and Philbyto the case.

Philby continued to work forBritain’s MI6 overseas intelli-gence service until he, too, fled toMoscow in 1963. Soon after,Blunt was denounced by MichaelStraight, an American whom he’dhelped to recruit three decades ear-lier.

He confessed to British spymas-ters, but in return for informationwas allowed to escape disgrace,keep his knighthood and continueas art adviser to the queen.

Blunt wrote that he believed,“naively,” that the story wouldnever be made public. However,in 1979 Prime Minister MargaretThatcher publicly unmasked himas a Soviet spy, and he wasstripped of his knighthood.

Blunt said he considered suicidebut decided it would be cowardlyto leave his friends and familywith “the double shock of my sui-cide and the revelations whichwould have followed immediate-ly.”

Blunt said that after he wasexposed he took refuge in “whiskyand concentrated work.”

The manuscript, which hasbeen known about for years butnever made public, is likely todisappoint historians because itdoes not contain any sensationalrevelations.

Art critic Brian Sewell, whoknew Blunt, said the documentwas “a damp squib.” He saidBlunt’s infamy prevented himfrom being able to research a moredetailed version of events.

“He couldn’t get to the newspa-per libraries. Nobody would givehim any help,” Sewell said.

Blunt

Rachel Christie is seen the day after winning the Miss England Title at theHilton Metropole Hotel, in London, July 21. (AP)

Recession bites

UK pub closings accelerateLONDON, July 22, (AP): The reces-sion is killing British pubs at an accel-erating rate, an average of 52 everyweek in the first half of the year, anindustry group said Wednesday.

Pub closures have put 24,000 peopleout of work in the past year, the BritishBeer & Pub Association said, citingfigures compiled by CGA StrategyLtd., which tracks the drinks industry.That compares to an average of 39 perweek in the second half of last year.

Ever-increasing taxes on beer arecontributing to the pain, the associa-tion said.

“The recession is proving extremelytough for Britain’s pubs,” said BBPAchief executive David Long.

“However, those economic pres-sures have been made much worse bya government that has continued topile on tax and regulatory burdens.The last two budgets have seen a 20percent increase in beer tax, whichalone has added more than £600 mil-lion (nearly $1 billion) to our tax bill.”

“Government now needs to listen tothe pub sector in the same way it lis-tens to other sectors suffering this levelof job losses,” Long added.

The association said that pubswhich serve food are weathering therecession best, with an average of oneclosure a week. All the other closuresinvolve pubs that concentrate ondrinks.

LONDON, July 22, (AFP): Theathlete niece of British Olympic100 metres gold medallistLinford Christie was celebratingTuesday after being crowned thefirst black Miss England.

Rachel Christie, 20, spe-cialises in the heptathlon andthe 400 metres and is hoping toqualify for the 2012 LondonOlympic Games.

Competing as Miss LondonCity, she edged out her rivals toclaim the Miss England crownin a ceremony at London’sMetropole Hilton Hotel andwill now contest the MissWorld crown in Johannesburgin December.

Black crowned‘Miss England’

Britain’s resigning ministerjoins Afghan resources row

UK troops have what they need in Afghanistan: Brown

LONDON, July 22, (Agencies): Britain’s resigning junior foreign ministersaid Wednesday more helicopters were needed in Afghanistan, piling pres-sure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown amid a row over adequateresources for troops.

Lord Mark Malloch-Brown also told the Daily Telegraph the British public had not beenproperly warned about the current offensive against Taleban militants in Afghanistan’sHelmand province, before a recent rise in troop deaths.

Malloch-Brown, whose responsibilities as a Foreign Office minister include Afghanistan,announced this month he was resigning from the government for family and personal persons at theend of this week. “We definitely don’t have enough helicopters. When you have these modern oper-ations and insurgent strikes what you need, above all else, is mobility,” Malloch-Brown said in aninterview with the newspaper.

The comments are a fresh blow for Brown who has faced criticism from the main oppositionConservatives that his government is denying troops vital resources amid a surge in troop deaths inrecent weeks. British soldiers serving in Afghanistan suffered their blackest day earlier this month,

with eight troops dying within24 hours.

Since operations against theTaliban extremists began inOctober 2001, 187 Britishtroops have been killed, morethan the total number in Iraq.

Senior military figures includ-ing army chief General RichardDannatt have called for moretroops and equipment for theseven-year-old conflict, whichwas stepped up last month withthe new push in Helmand.

Britain’s recently-resigneddefence secretary also added hisvoice last week to calls for moresupport for troops.

British troops have all theequipment they need to succeedin Afghanistan, Prime MinisterGordon Brown said onWednesday, the latest attempt toease growing public concernabout rising deaths in the con-flict.

Army chiefs have said theyneed more equipment such ashelicopters and armoured vehi-cles, and perhaps more troops, toreduce casualties, leaving thegovernment open to accusationsit has the wrong strategy and isputting lives at risk.

A Populus poll for the Timesnewspaper on Wednesdayshowed two-thirds of votersthink British troops have beenkilled or wounded because ofequipment issues. A similar pro-portion said Britain should with-draw its troops swiftly.

“I think you’ve got to look atwhat people are saying on theground about this. I am satisfiedthat Operation Panther’s Clawhas the resources it needs to besuccessful,” Brown toldreporters.

Britain has raised the numberof troops in Afghanistan to about9,150 from 8,100 this year andlaunched an offensive in thesouth of the country to try todrive back the Taliban andimprove security ahead of apresidential election on Aug 20.

It then plans to cut troop lev-els back to 8,300, although morehelicopters and other equipmentare on the way.

Army chiefs have suggestedtroop levels may need to remainhigher for longer until theAfghan army can take on moreresponsibility.

British actress Sienna Miller (center) poses with the Royal Marine Commandos during a photocall for her new film ‘G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra’, on theHMS Belfast in central London on July 22. (AFP)

‘Defence spending must be reviewed’

Tories see less interventionist UKLONDON, July 22, (RTRS): Britain must accept aless interventionist role in the world and reviewdefence spending to address extreme pressure onbudgets, opposition Conservative foreign affairsspokesman William Hague said on Tuesday.

In a speech setting out Conservative foreign poli-cy aims, Hague said economic sanctions were losingtheir potency and that Britain could no longer tellother countries how to govern themselves.

However, it could, and should, exert its influencewhen necessary, he added.

The Conservatives, well ahead of the Labour gov-ernment in opinion polls with less than a year to go

before an election, are starting to flesh out how theymight govern Britain. They set out plans for financialregulation reform on Monday.

“As a nation we will have to accustom ourselves tothere being more situations which we dislike but can-not directly change,” said Hague, who is likely tobecome foreign minister in any Conservative gov-ernment. “But it is our contention that Britain mustseek to retain her influence wherever possible and insome places seek to extend it,” he said, speaking atthe International Institute of Strategic Studies think-tank in London.

Britain’s Labour government adopted an interven-

tionist foreign policy, sending thousands of troops toboth Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of its troops havenow left Iraq, though it still has 9,000 in Afghanistan.

Hague said the British defence budget faced“extreme pressures” and the Conservatives wouldconduct a wide-ranging strategic defence review, ifelected. The Labour government has already prom-ised a similar exercise.

The relative economic decline of Britain and otherWestern nations as power shifted to China and Indiawould have a “major impact on the ability of Westernnations to achieve their foreign policy goals,” inyears to come, Hague said.

Gallery puts forgeries on showThe National Gallery in London will exhibit a collection of fake and wrongly-attributed paintings next year, in a show exploring how modern science haslifted the lid on centuries of forgery.

A number of works that were either deliberately produced as fakes orwere simply mistaken for paintings by great masters have been unmaskedby researchers testing the materials and techniques.

“I wish we had more fakes,” said gallery director Nicolas Penny. “You onlyget good at spotting them if you know what you are looking for.”

Among those to be exhibited are a painting acquired in 1923 that wasthought to be from the 15th century. Recent examination reveals the mate-rials used were not available back then and it was in fact made in the 20thcentury.

Likewise, in 1845 “A Man with a Skull” was bought as a Hans Holbein theYounger piece, although its authorship was disputed. Modern analysis of thewood panel support has since proved that it postdates Holbein’s death.

The exhibition will also highlight how original works that were altered toadapt to changing tastes were uncovered through cleaning – and how theanalysis has thrown up new masterpieces.

Raphael’s “Madonna of the Pinks” held by the Duke of Northumberlandwas thought to be a copy until it was identified as genuine in 1992.

It was bought by the National Gallery in 2004 for £22 million ($36 million,25 million euros).

“The National Gallery is a place where we display great masterpieces andit’s a place where we study art in all its complexity,” Penny said.

“It’s really naive for people to think that having forgeries is something youshould just be ashamed of.”

The exhibition, entitled Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes AndDiscoveries, will run from June 30 to September 12, 2010. (AFP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

12INTERNATIONAL

Police arrest seven would-be suicide bombers

An Afghan policeman stands guard as Afghan widows line up to receive foodrelief rations from a CARE international food distribution center in

Kabul, Afghanistan on July 22. (AP)

Violence spreads to Afghan northKABUL, July 22, (AFP): Clashes and a rocket attack killed up totwo dozen people in northern Afghanistan, a once peaceful regionwhere insurgent violence is spreading ahead of elections, officialssaid Wednesday.

Fourteen civilians were “killed and injured” in an insurgentattack Tuesday in the province of Kunduz, where Afghan forceshave launched an offensive to root out Taleban-linked rebels, thelocal governor said.

Mohammad Omar, Kunduz provincial governor, could not givean exact number of civilians killed when insurgents fired a rocketinto a house where students were gathering, but said: “Most ofthem are dead.”

Local media reported that 11 civilians were killed in the attack,which was aimed at security forces but veered off target. “Securityhas deteriorated in Kunduz and the reason is the terrorists are try-ing to expand violence in the northern regions,” he told AFP.

On Tuesday, 13 militants, including two foreigners, were killedwhile fighting against Afghan forces in the province’s Chahar Daradistrict and 14 rebels were arrested in the same district onWednesday, Omar added.

Afghan police have arrested seven would-be suicide bombers,with officials saying Wednesday they had limited the damage from amulti-pronged militant attack a day earlier which killed five people.

Of 15 people apparently trying to attack government installa-tions across Afghanistan on Tuesday, only two detonated theirexplosives in eastern Paktia and Nangarhar provinces, interiorministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.

The defence ministry spokesman, General Mohammad Zahir

Bid to protect Afghan civilians, deny Taleban cash

US debating payoffs to poppy growers

Pakistani troops, jets kill 30militants, Mehsud associates

US to give Islamabad $45 million for displaced

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 22, (Agencies): Pakistani troops backed by fight-er jets killed more than 30 suspected Taleban militants around the Swat val-ley and northwest tribal belt on the Afghan border, officials said Wednesday.

The high number of casualties, which are impossible to confirm, is the latest in a surge ofdeadly clashes reported since Pakistani commanders said they had effectively defeatedTaleban opposition in parts of the northwest.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said earlier this month that the military had “eliminated”extremists, but deadly skirmishes have continued in Swat where the Taleban focused a two-year rebel-lion, neighbouring Buner and Dir.

The military announced Wednesday that 16 “terrorists” were killed and three terror training centresdestroyed over the last 24 hours in Dir, just to the north of Swat where the military offensive waslaunched in late April.

In Swat and Buner, where the government has bussed back thousands of the 1.9 million civilians

Refugee farmer Baz Gul, 52 wait for relatives as he arrives in Mingora, capital of Swat District, Pakistan, July 21. After weeks in sweltering camps, refugeesfrom the Swat Valley began heading home Monday, the first day of the government’s official repatriation program for those uprooted by fighting there. (AP)

Growing attacks pose security risks

US govt faces shortage of cyber expertsWASHINGTON, July 22, (AP): US federal agen-cies are facing a severe shortage of computer spe-cialists as a growing wave of coordinated cyberat-tacks against the government poses potentialnational security risks, a private study found.

The study describes a fragmented federal cyberforce, where no one is in charge of overall planningand government agencies are “on their own andsometimes working at cross purposes or in compe-tition with one another.”

The report, scheduled to be released Wednesday,arrives in the wake of a series of cyberattacks thismonth that shut down some US and South Koreangovernment and financial websites.

The recruiting and retention of cyber workers ishampered by a cumbersome hiring process, thefailure to devise government-wide certification

standards, insufficient training and salaries, and alack of an overall strategy for recruiting and retain-ing cyber workers, the study said.

“You can’t win the cyber war if you don’t winthe war for talent,” said Max Stier, president of thePartnership for Public Service, a Washington-basedadvocacy group that works to improve governmentservice. “If we don’t have a federal work forcecapable of meeting the cyber challenge, all of thecyber czars and organizational efforts will be fornaught.”

The study was drafted by the partnership andBooz Allen Hamilton as the Obama administrationstruggles to put together a more cohesive strategyto protect US government and civilian computernetworks.

The size of the government’s cyber work force is

largely unknown, because agencies often classifytheir employees differently. The Pentagon says ithas more than 90,000 personnel involved withcybersecurity, while the non-defense departmentcivilian cybersecurity work force has been estimat-ed at 35,000 to 45,000. Intelligence communityestimates are classified.

While President Barack Obama has declaredcybersecurity a top priority, the White House so farhas been unable to fill its new cyber coordinatorposition — a job regarded as critical.

The study recommends that the yet-unnamedfederal cyber coordinator lay out a strategy to meetthe government’s work force needs, set job classi-fications, enhance training and lead a nationwideeffort to promote technology skills, includingthrough the use of scholarships.

who were displaced by the fight-ing, the military said 11 “terror-ists” were killed and two soldierswounded.

The army launched the offen-sive after armed Taleban fightersadvanced from Swat into Buner,further south towards the capitalIslamabad, after Washingtonbranded the militants an existen-tial threat to the nuclear-armedcountry.

Pakistani jets pounded sus-pected bases of wanted Talebanwarlord Baitullah Mehsud,killing four of his militants in thenorthwest near the Afghan bor-der, an official said Wednesday.

The fighter aircraft bombedtwo places in the Sarwakai areaof South Waziristan, a ruggedtribal area that bordersAfghanistan, officials said.

“Our jets hit a militant base inGurguri and a Taleban compoundin Ous Pass in Sarwakai. Bothwere destroyed and a total offour militants were killed,” a mil-itary official said, requestinganonymity.

The militants killed in thestrikes belonged to Mehsud’sgroup, he said.

A government official con-firmed the raids late Tuesday,but gave no casualty figures —which are impossible to confirmindependently given the remoteterrain in the wild tribal beltthat falls outside direct statecontrol.

The United States will give anadditional $45 million in aid toPakistan as it brings people dis-placed by the fight against mili-tants back home, US specialenvoy Richard Holbrooke said inremarks published onWednesday.

The US assistance is meant to“avoid any human catastrophe”among the more than 2 millionpeople displaced by fightingbetween government forces andTaleban militants that broke outnearly three months ago inPakistan’s northwest, the dailyThe News cited Holbrooke assaying.

The US special envoy forAfghanistan and Pakistan arrivedin Islamabad late on Tuesday fora trip aimed mainly at assessingthe plight of the displaced.

The government last weekstarted moving thousands ofpeople back to their homes in theSwat valley, northwest ofIslamabad, and has begun toclose down some of the tentcamps that housed some ofthem.

An Al-Shabab Islamic fighter, wearing a rock launcher, walk at a front linesection in sanca district in Mogadishu on July 21. (AFP)

Inciting violence to be a crime Another activist’sdead body foundMOSCOW, July 22, (AFP):The body of a human rightsactivist who went missing twomonths ago, has been found inCarelia, northwest Russia, thegroup he worked for said onWednesday.

Andrei Kulagin, who hadbeen investigating conditionsin prison, disappeared on May14, said rights groupSpravedlivost (Justice) in astatement.

His body was found on July10 in a sand pit nearPetrozavodsk, the capital ofCarelia, the movement’s leaderAndrei Stolbunov told AFP.

CANBERRA, Australia, July 22, (AP):Australia will consider creating a newcrime of inciting violence based on race,religion or nationality as part of a reviewof the nation’s tough counterterrorismlaws, the government said on Wednesday.

Attorney General RobertMcClelland told a security forum lateTuesday that a package of draftchanges to the nation’s security andcounterterrorism laws will be releasedfor public discussion in the comingweeks.

“A range of reforms will be put for-ward for consultation including seekingpublic input in relation to an offense ofinciting violence against an individual

on the basis or race, religion or nation-ality,” according to a transcript ofMcClelland’s speech released by hisoffice on Wednesday.

The new law would expand existinglegislation that outlaws inciting vio-lence against groups and wouldincrease opportunities for prosecutions.

The review is the first overhaul ofAustralia’s counterterrorism regimesince Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’scenter-left government was elected inlate 2007.

It was planned before seven people,including three Australians, were killedlast week in terrorist suicide bombingsin two Jakarta hotels.

Australia eyes tougher security laws

WASHINGTON, July 22, (AP): The Obama administration isconsidering whether to pay off Afghan farmers to stop themfrom growing heroin poppies on contract for the Taleban,senior officials said Tuesday.

Paying farmers not to plant poppies would essentially sup-plant US cash for the fees paid up front by the Taleban to its con-tract farmers. The idea seems to follow logically from the admin-istration’s policy of protecting Afghan civilians and eroding sup-port for the insurgency, but skeptics say it won’t work becausefarmers would take the money and plant poppies anyway.

No decision has been made on whether to offer the pay-ments, and time is short since some planting will be done in

the fall.The US wants to prevent an expansion of poppy cultiva-

tion and profit-taking by the Taleban as additional US forcespush deep into areas of southern Afghanistan where poppyis the most lucrative crop and where the Taleban insurgencyis strongest, a senior defense official said.

The United States and other partners are already encour-aging Afghan farmers to grow alternative crops such aswheat, pomegranates or nuts, especially in the volatilesouthern provinces. Those efforts have not prevented wide-spread poppy cultivation. The Taleban offers a guaranteedmarket and money up front.

Azimi, said militants were trying to create a “spectacular scene”ahead of Afghanistan’s presidential election next month, amid asurge in pre-poll Taleban-linked violence.

Assaults by six suicide bombers in Paktia’s Gardez and two inNangarhar’s Jalalabad left five people and all eight attackers dead,but Bashary said the toll could have been far worse.

“From one side we had a terrible day but from the other side we

have an excellent achievement yesterday because out of 15bombers... most were killed and arrested and only two of themwere able to detonate,” he said.

As the eight attackers struck in the east on Tuesday, policearrested five people in southern Nimroz province and two in south-western Herat, Bashary said, describing all of them as would-beattackers.

Kasab wants no mercy

Mumbai gunman isready for ‘gallows’MUMBAI, India, July 22, (AP):The lone surviving gunman in theMumbai attacks said Wednesdaythat he is ready to go to the gallowsand wants no mercy from the courtfor his role in one of India’s worstterrorist acts, which left 166 peopledead.

“Whatever I have done, I havedone in this world. It would be bet-ter to be punished in this world. Itwould be better than God’s punish-ment. That’s why I have pleadedguilty,” Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani,told the court.

Kasab unexpectedly confessedMonday to takingpart in the three-day attack thatbegan Nov. 26,leaving a trail ofcarnage acrossd o w n t o w nMumbai, India’sfinancial andentertainment cap-ital.

“If I am hangedfor this, I am notbothered. I don’t want any mercyfrom the court. I understand theimplications of my accepting thecrime,” he said.

Kasab, 21, was responding toaccusations by Chief ProsecutorUjjwal Nikam that the Pakistaninational was trying to minimize hisrole in the attack to avoid the deathpenalty and protect his alleged co-conspirators in Pakistan. Nikamtold the court that parts of his con-fession were inconsistent with evi-dence.

Judge M.L. Tahiliyani has yet toaccept the confession, which hascomplicated the already oneroustask of defending a man whosephotograph showing him stridingthrough Mumbai’s main train sta-tion with a gun has become anemblem of the terrifying threedays.

The hearing will resumeThursday.

The confession, which describesin detail his links with a shadowybut well-organized group inPakistan, also bolsters Indian accu-sations that Islamabad is not doingenough to clamp down on terroristgroups.

Kasab said he was not torturedor coerced into making the confes-sion. “If somebody thinks that Ihave confessed the crime to escapethe death penalty, he should take itout of his mind,” he said.

In his confession, Kasab spokeof the killings by some of the othergunmen who came with him fromPakistan on a boat and the roletheir handlers played in instigatingthem to carry out the attack withprovocative videos.

After landing in Mumbai, the 10gunmen split up into pairs andfanned out to carry out the killingsat the railway station, a hospital, aJewish center, a restaurant packedwith foreigners and two five-starhotels.

Kasab’s confession goes intodetail about the shootings by hispartner, Abu Ismail, at theChhatrapati Shivaji Terminus rail-way station, where more than 50people were killed, and at theCama hospital.

The pair later hijacked a Skodacar, which was stopped by police.In the resulting shootout, Kasabwas injured and captured whileAbu Ismail was killed. The othereight gunmen were also killed dur-ing the course of the siege.

Nikam urged the court not torush to issue a judgment based onlyon Kasab’s confession, saying onlyparts of it that are consistent withthe prosecution’s evidence shouldbe accepted.

“The rest of the things that hehas said are so many total lies,” hetold reporters later.

Nikam said the court should alsoallow the prosecution to finish pre-senting its case so it can exposeinconsistencies in Kasab’s confes-sion. He said he will also revealwhy Mumbai and foreigners weretargeted.

But defense lawyer AbbasKazmi said there was no point inprolonging the trial.

He said the court should acceptKasab’s admission of guilt andhand out a sentence. But if thejudge doesn’t want to accept theguilty plea, he should also rejectKasab’s confessional statement.

“If it is inconsistent, it should bethrown out,” he said.

Kasab

MANILA, July 22, (RTRS):Muslim rebels in the southernPhilippines are attempting torebuild links with militants in theMiddle East after suffering heavylosses against the military, officialssaid on Wednesday.

The small Islamic militant groupAbu Sayyaf remains dangerousdespite sustained military pressurein the last three years, officials andanalysts said, warning of a potentialresurgence of violence in the south.

“The Abu Sayyaf remain verydangerous,” Rear AdmiralAlexander Pama, navy commanderin the southern Philippines, toldReuters. “Like a cornered animal,it would fight back more violentlyand resort to all possible means justto survive.”

Since 2002, about 300 US troopshave trained Filipino soldiers inguerrilla warfare, and in May theUS government offered rewards ofup to $2.5 million for the arrest ofthree of Abu Sayyaf’s top leaders.

Yasser Igasan, a Saudi Arabia-trained Islamic preacher, has takenover the leadership of the looselystructured group, tapping his net-work in the Middle East to raisefinancial and material support forthe rebels, said Major General BenDolorfino, military commander insouthern Philippines.

Based on Jolo island, Igasanplayed a role in the kidnapping ofthree Red Cross workers early thisyear. The last captive, Italian engi-neer Eugenio Vagni, was freed onJuly 12 after nearly six months incaptivity.

On nearby Basilan island, a unitof the militant group is led byKhair Mundos, caught in 2004 forfunding bomb attacks in the southusing money solicited from SaudiArabia. He escaped from a prisonon mainland Mindanao in 2007.

Mundos is one of three leaders

hunted by the United States.In the early 1990s, Mohammed

Khalifa, a brother-in-law of Osamabin Laden, was instrumental in set-ting up links between al Qaeda andthe Abu Sayyaf, through the chari-ty group International IslamicRelief Organisation (IIRO).

Igasan had also worked with theIIRO.

Intelligence officials said AbuSayyaf’s connections to the IIROwere severed when the Islamiccharity group came under US inves-tigations for terrorist financing.

Igasan and Mundos are believedto be trying to contact “old friends”in Saudi Arabia to raise funds torecruit militants as well as acquireweapons, intelligence officialssaid, adding they are seeking dona-tions from sympathisers in theMiddle East.

Pama said the military has wipedout almost 80 percent of the AbuSayyaf leadership, with the mili-tants now down to about 350 in thefirst half of 2009 from a high of5,000 in early 2000.

The government has sent about5,000 military and police personnelto Jolo and Basilan islands sinceearly this year.

Mars Buan, senior analyst at thesecurity consultancy PacificStrategies and Assessments, saidthe rebels had lost most of theirskilled fighters and the newrecruits were poorly trained.

“Certainly, the Abu Sayyaf’scapability has been drasticallyreduced,” Buan said, but added thegroup remained a security threat,scaring away potential investors inthe oil, gas and mineral-rich south.

Apart from kidnapping andextortions, the Abu Sayyaf has beenblamed for the country’s worst mil-itant attack, the bombing of a ferrynear Manila Bay in February 2004,killing about 100 people.

Abu Sayyaf remains dangerous

Muslim rebels reach outto Middle East – Manila

Poll

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

13ISSUES

America’s bumpy road to equality

Gates arrest seen as sign post on racial roadPHILADELPHIA, July 22, (AP): It took lessthan a day for the arrest of Henry LouisGates to become racial lore. When one ofAmerica’s most prominent black intellectu-als winds up in handcuffs, it’s not just anoth-er episode of profiling — it’s a signpost onAmerica’s bumpy road to equality.

The news was parsed and Tweeted, ruedand debated. This was, after all Henry “Skip”Gates: Summa cum laude and Phi BetaKappa graduate of Yale. MacArthur “geniusgrant” recipient. Acclaimed historian andPBS documentarian. One of Time maga-zine’s “25 Most Influential Americans” in1997. Holder of 50 honorary degrees.

If this man can be taken away by policeofficers from the porch of his own home,what does it say about the treatment thataverage blacks can expect in 2009?

Earl Graves Jr., CEO of the company thatpublishes Black Enterprise magazine, wasonce stopped by police during his train com-mute to work, dressed in a suit and tie.

“My case took place back in 1995, andhere we are 14 years later dealing with thesame madness,” he said Tuesday. “Barack

Obama being the president has meantabsolutely nothing to white law enforcementofficers. Zero. So I have zero confidence that(Gates’ case) will lead to any change what-soever.”

ReturnedThis much is known for sure: The 58-year-

old professor had returned from a trip toChina last Thursday and found the front doorof his home jammed shut. Gates entered theback door, forced open the front door withhelp from a car service driver, and was on thephone with the Harvard leasing companywhen a white police sergeant arrived.

Gates and the sergeant gave differingaccounts of what happened next. But formany people, that doesn’t matter.

They don’t care that Gates was chargednot with breaking and entering, but with dis-orderly conduct after repeatedly demandingthe sergeant’s name and badge number. Itdoesn’t matter whether Gates was yelling, oraccused Sgt. James Crowley of being racist,or that all charges were dropped Tuesday.

All they see is pure, naked racial profiling.“Under any account ... all of it is totally

uncalled for,” said Graves.“It never would have happened — imag-

ine a white professor, a distinguished whiteprofessor at Harvard, walking around with acane, going into his own house, beingharassed or stopped by the police. It wouldnever happen.”

Racial profiling became a national issue inthe 1990s, when highway police on majordrug delivery routes were accused of stop-ping drivers simply for being black.Lawsuits were filed, studies were commis-sioned, data was analyzed. “It is wrong, andwe will end it in America,” President GeorgeW. Bush said in 2001.

ConcludedYet for every study that concluded police

disproportionately stop, search and arrestminorities, another academic came to a dif-ferent conclusion. “That’s always going to bethe case,” Greg Ridgeway, who has a Ph.D instatistics and studies racial profiling for theRAND research group, said on Monday.“You’re never going to be able to (statistical-ly) prove racial profiling. ... There’s always aplausible explanation.”

Federal legislation to ban racial profilinghas gone nowhere since being introduced in

2007 by a dozen Democratic senators,including then-Sen. Barack Obama.

US Rep Danny Davis, an IllinoisDemocrat, said that was partly because“when you look at statistics, and you’re try-ing to prove the extent of profiling, the infor-mation that comes back is that there’s notnearly as much evidence as we expect thereto be.” But Davis has no doubt that profilingis real: He says he was stopped while drivingin Chicago in 2007 for no reason other thanthe fact he is black.

“Trying to reach this balance of equity,equal treatment, equal protection under thelaw, equal understanding, equal opportunity,is something that we will always be con-fronted with. We may as well be prepared forit,” he said.

ViolatedAmid the indignation over Gates’ case, a

few people pointed out that he may have vio-lated the cardinal rule of avoiding arrest: Donot antagonize the cops.

The police report said that Gates yelled atthe officer, refused to calm down andbehaved in a “tumultuous” manner. Gates

said he simply asked for the officer’s identi-fication, followed him into his porch whenthe information was not forthcoming, andwas arrested for no reason.

But something about being asked to provethat you live in your own home clearly strucka nerve — both for Gates and his defenders.

“You feel violated, embarrassed, not surewhat is taking place, especially when youhaven’t done anything,” said Graves of hisown experience, when police made him facethe wall and frisked him in Grand CentralStation in New York City. “You feel shocked,then you realize what’s happening, and thenyou feel it’s a violation of everything youstand for.”

And that this should happen to “Skip”Gates — the unblemished embodiment ofPresident Obama’s recent admonition toblack America not to search for handouts orfavors, but to “seize our own future, each andevery day” — shook many people to thecore. Wrote Lawrence Bobo, Gates’ Harvardcolleague, who picked his friend up fromjail: “Ain’t nothing post-racial about theUnited States of America.”

In this photo taken by a neighbor, July 16,Henry Louis Gates Jr (center), the direc-tor of Harvard University’s WEB DuBoisInstitute for African and African AmericanResearch, is arrested at his home inCambridge, Mass. Police say they werecalled to the home of Gates after awoman reported seeing a man try to pry

open the front door. (AP)

Discontent continues

Post-poll fight‘shakes’ IranBEIRUT, July 22, (RTRS): Iran’s post-elec-tion power struggle is shaking the IslamicRepublic to its roots, with no sign that itssupreme leader can assuage popular anger orregain the trust of alienated politicians andclerics any time soon.

The turmoil since hardline PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in aJune 12 vote his opponents said was riggedhas rendered moot US President BarackObama’s offer of engagement with Iran,which the West suspects of seeking nuclearweapons.

It is hard to see how Iran could forge con-sensus on nuclear negotiations or dialoguewith the United States while SupremeLeader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is facingunprecedented challenges to his authorityand deep fissures within the ruling elite.

Tehran, which says its nuclear programmeis purely peaceful, faces a September dead-line to agree to substantive negotiations withthe West or risk tougher international sanc-tions.

Questionable“Whether or not you can find an interlocu-

tor in Iran at this moment is questionablebecause the whole regime is in crisis,” saidRasool Nafisi, a US-based Iran expert.“Whatever move it made would be per-ceived as either arrogance or weakness.”

The nuclear issue may have to await theoutcome of Iran’s gravest internal upheavalsince the 1979 Islamic revolution.

A hard-hitting Friday sermon by AkbarHashemi Rafsanjani, a disaffected regimeheavyweight, has re-energised the oppositionafter security forces quelled last month’shuge street protests and jailed hundreds ofprominent reformists and intellectuals.

“The main problem the opposition faces isthat their brains trust is either in prison, underhouse arrest, or unable to communicatefreely,” said Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst atthe Washington-based Carnegie Endowmentfor International Peace.

“There remains tremendous popular out-rage, but at the moment there is no leadershipto channel that outrage politically.”

Sadjadpour saw no sign of an early com-promise because hardliners feared any con-cession would only encourage their foes,and for now they still control the levers ofpower.

“While there are pronounced cleavagesamong Iran’s clerical elite, Khamenei’spower base is not the clergy but theRevolutionary Guards. When and if we startto see rifts among the Guards it could be fatalfor both Khamenei and Ahmadinejad.”

DoubtsKhamenei, apparently stung by

Rafsanjani’s sermon in which he said Iranwas in crisis because of doubts over the elec-tion result and demanded an end to deten-tions and press curbs, warned senior figureson Monday not to help Tehran’s enemies.

“Elites should know that any talk, actionor analysis that helps (the enemy) is a moveagainst the nation,” he said.

But Rafsanjani appears too powerfullyentrenched to ignore. “He is not just any-body. He is one of the leading figures ofthe revolution and well-anchored amonglarge groups of clerics,” said a Westerndiplomat in Tehran. “He has a fantasticnetwork.”

Defeated candidates Mirhossein Mousaviand Mehdi Karoubi have defied Khamenei’sefforts to silence their protests. Former pres-ident Mohammad Khatami, a mild reformist,on Monday boldly proposed a referendumon the legitimacy of the government.

Ideologically, the backing of Iran’s clericalestablishment is crucial for the leadership’sstanding, but few ayatollahs have endorsedAhmadinejad and some, like dissident GrandAyatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, have evenattacked Khamenei.

“The clerics don’t know what to do,” saidBaqer Moin, a London-based Iran analyst.“They are stuck between Khamenei’suncompromising position and an embold-ened opposition which is demanding morethan Khamenei is willing to give.”

Khamenei, who succeeded revolutionaryfounder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini assupreme leader in 1989, has endorsedAhmadinejad and the election result, riskinghis own credibility as a mediator in disputesand ultimate arbiter of state policy.

“The supreme leader has lost his power topronounce the final word,” said Moin, abiographer of Khomeini. “He is just anotherpolitician ... reflecting the interest of variousgroups surrounding him, not the system as awhole.”

President Barack Obama speaks on health care reform in the Rose Garden at the White House, Tuesday. July 21, in Washington. (AP)

Poll brings Obama down to earth

Hopes give way to harsh realitiesWASHINGTON, July 22, (AP): The hopeand optimism that washed over the UnitedStates in the opening months of BarackObama’s presidency are giving way toharsh realities.

An Associated Press-GfK Poll showsthat a majority of Americans are back tothinking that the country is headed in thewrong direction after a fleeting period inwhich more thought it was on the righttrack.

Obama still has a solid 55 percentapproval rating — better than Bill Clintonand about even with George W. Bush sixmonths into their presidencies — but thereare growing doubts about whether he cansucceed at some of the biggest items onhis to-do list. And there is a growing sensethat he is trying to tackle too much toosoon.

The number of people who thinkObama can improve the economy is downa sobering 19 percentage points from theeuphoric days just before his inauguration.Ditto for expectations about creating jobs.Also down significantly: the share of peo-ple who think he can reduce the deficit,remove troops from Iraq and improverespect for the US around the world, allslipping 15 points.

On overhauling healthcare, a signatureissue for Obama, hopes for success aredown a lesser 6 points.

Add it all up, and does it mean Obamahas lost his mojo? Has yes-we-can mor-phed into maybe?

“I think it’s just reality,” said Sandy

Smith, a 48-year-old public relationsworker from Los Angeles. “He’s notSuperman, right?”

Indeed, it’s not unusual for approval rat-ings to slide once presidents actually getto work. They’re pulled down by thingsgoing on in the real world, by people whodon’t agree with the ways they’re address-ing problems, by criticism from politicalopponents.

In Obama’s case, the problems he’sconfronting domestically and internation-ally are legion, and his ability to blamethem on his predecessor is fading.Challenges still abound in Iraq andAfghanistan. Unemployment, at 7.6 per-cent in January, hit 9.5 percent in June andis expected to keep rising well into nextyear. Almost 4 percent of homeownerswith mortgages are in foreclosure, and anadditional 8 percent are at least a monthbehind on payments — the highest levelssince the Great Depression.

The president is deep into the debateover how to overhaul the US health caresystem, and people are nervous about howtheir own insurance could be affected.Obama’s critics are accusing him of con-ducting a risky “grand experiment” thatwill hurt the economy and could forcemillions to drop their current coverage.

Expectations It’s all taking a toll on expectations. The

number of people who think it’s realisticto expect at least some noticeableimprovement in the economy duringObama’s first year in office dropped from

27 percent in January to 16 percent in thelatest survey.

There’s been slippage, as well, in howpeople view the president personally,although he’s still well regarded. Abouttwo-thirds now think he understands theproblems of ordinary Americans, downfrom 81 percent in January. Sixty-ninepercent think he’s a strong leader, off from78 percent before the inauguration.

“He doesn’t know enough about any ofthis,” says Michelle Kelsey, a 37-year-oldstudent in Breckenridge, Missouri, whogives Obama a three for leadership on a10-point scale. But then again, Kelseysays, “Nobody could have done better.”

“I just feel like people haven’t givenhim enough time. It’s going to take longerfor the economy to come around.”

In an interview aired Tuesday on “TheCBS Evening News,” Obama linked highpoll numbers to inaction.

“The easiest way to keep your pollnumbers up, and to garner good press, isto do not that much here in this town, andnot to cause a lot of controversy. Andthere’s some people who would probablyadvise that that’s the approach you shouldtake. But that’s not why the Americanpeople sent me here. They sent me here tosolve problems,” he said.

It’s not just Obama who’s feeling thedrag. Approval of Congress — alreadylow — has gotten lower, slipping 6 per-centage points to 32 percent.

Overall, the number of people whothink the country is going in the wrong

direction hit 54 percent in the latest AP-GfK poll, up from 46 percent in June.

OptimisticThat’s not necessarily surprising. In

years past, the public has tended to bemore pessimistic than optimistic about thecountry’s future. Recent exceptions havebeen short-lived, at the start of the Iraqwar, after the Sept 11 attacks in 2001,after the capture of Saddam Hussein andlate in the Clinton administration.

Perhaps most troubling for Obama maybe where he is losing ground. Hisapproval rating was down 9 points amongAmericans overall but 20 percent amongindependents. Similarly, the increase inthose who think the country is headed inthe wrong direction came mostly fromindependents and Democrats.

Dissatisfaction among independentsgrew disproportionately on Obama’s han-dling of a range of issues, including theeconomy, taxes, unemployment, the envi-ronment and more.

Independents are “the ones to watch,”according to Professor Robert Shapiro, aColumbia University expert on publicopinion. “The Republicans were morepessimistic from the outset. TheDemocrats are going to be more resistantto negative information.”

Overall, Obama still can feel goodabout a 55 percent approval rating,Shapiro said, but “the fact that it is on thedownswing is something to be concernedabout. That’s going to affect how mem-bers of Congress, and in particular people

in his own party, may respond to him.”The AP-GfK Poll was conducted July

16-20 by GfK Roper Public Affairs &Media. It involved interviews on landlinesand cellphones with 1,006 adults nation-wide. The survey had a margin of sam-pling error of plus or minus 3.1 percent-age points.

Interviews were conducted with 804respondents on landline telephones and202 on cellular phones.

Digits in the phone numbers dialedwere generated randomly to reach house-holds with unlisted and listed landline andcellphone numbers.

Interviews were conducted in bothEnglish and Spanish.

As is done routinely in surveys, resultswere weighted, or adjusted, to ensure thatresponses accurately reflected the popula-tion’s makeup by factors such as age, sex,education and race. In addition, theweighting took into account patterns ofphone use — landline only, cell only andboth types — by region.

No more than one time in 20 shouldchance variations in the sample cause theresults to vary by more than plus or minus3.1 percentage points from the answersthat would be obtained if all adults in theUS were polled.

There are other sources of potentialerror in polls, including the wording andorder of questions.

❑ ❑ ❑

On the Net:http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

14INTERNATIONAL

World News Roundup

Emily Weinstein is shown in the front yard of her home on July 20, in Portland, Ore. Graduating from college into an economic meltdown, 23-year-old Weinstein hasn’t been able to make much money, which has puthealth insurance out of reach. (AP)

Healthcare

Investigator rules against Palin: Anindependent investigator has found evidencethat Gov. Sarah Palin, the former Republicanvice presidential candidate, may have violatedethics laws by trading on her position as shesought money for lawyer fees, in her latestlegal distraction as she prepares to leave officethis week.

The report obtained by The Associated Presssays Palin was securing unwarranted benefitsand receiving improper gifts through the AlaskaFund Trust, set up by supporters.

An investigator for the state Personnel Boardsays in his July 14 report that there is probablecause to believe Palin used or attempted to useher official position for personal gain becauseshe authorized the creation of the trust as herlegal defense fund.

The practical effect of the ruling on Palinwill be more financial than anything else. Thereport recommends that Palin refuse to acceptpayment from the defense fund, and that thecomplaint be resolved without a formal hearingbefore the board. That allows her to resolve theissue without a formal ethics reprimand.

Kristan Cole, the fund’s trustee, said organ-izers have frozen the fund pending the person-nel board’s review. Politicians are routinelyallowed to have such funds to pay off legalbills, but quirks in Alaska law can presentethics issues. (AP)

Members of a US Army carry team movethe remains of a soldier on the tarmac atDover Air Force Base on July 21 inDover, Delaware. One US Marine killedin Iraq and four US Army soldiers killedin Afghanistan were flown to Dover for

the dignified transfer. (AFP)

Palin Cole

A young man leaps into Lake Erie off an old pier west of downtown Cleveland on July21. (AP)

Other Lives

No jobs, no insurance

Hard times hit the youngWASHINGTON, July 22, (AP): EmilyWeinstein graduated from college into aneconomic meltdown, and as a self-employed jewelry maker she’ll be luckyto bring in $16,000 this year.

Heath insurance is out of reach, so sheavoids thinking about what would hap-pen if she got sick, was hurt in a trafficaccident or was severely burned whilemaking a silver necklace in her home stu-dio. “Would I have to declare bankruptcyat age 23 or would my parents have tobail me out?” asked Weinstein, ofPortland, Ore. “What would I do?”

Like millions of other uninsured adultsin their 20s, Weinstein is watchingCongress as it advances legislation tooverhaul healthcare. The recession hasdeepened young adults’ career struggles.It has also sharpened their interest inhealth insurance.

Already the least likely of any agegroup to have coverage, adults in their20s face brutal job searches and moretime uninsured because of the recession.Nearly 30 percent, 13.2 million, wereuninsured in 2007, according to theCommonwealth Fund, a New York-basedresearch center. Many young adults work

entry-level jobs without insurance and,despite new laws in some states, they’reeventually too old to stay on their par-ents’ policies. Ben Brenner, now 23,couldn’t find work in finance, his pre-ferred field. After a four-month search, hetook a part-time job for a small real estateagency in Deerfield, Ill., for an hourlyrate and no health benefits.

He was able to stay insured as adependent on his stepmother’s plan untilDecember. Then he went without insur-ance briefly. Now he has a $5,000deductible he calls “absurdly high” andpays $53 a month through a plandesigned for young adults. He “feltrelieved knowing I had an insurance cardin my wallet.”

He supports the Obama administra-tion’s push to cover more Americans andlower the cost of healthcare, but is unsurehow he feels about tax increases to payfor it. He’s in favor of requiring everyoneto have health insurance.

Mandatory“I think it should be mandatory to have

insurance because if you’re uninsuredand you go to the hospital, the taxpayers

are footing the bill anyway,” he said.A June survey for the Kaiser Family

Foundation found young adults don’tvary much from their elders in views onhealthcare, said public opinion researcherMollyann Brodie of Kaiser.

But twentysomethings were nearlytwice as likely as senior citizens to saythey would be “better off” if PresidentBarack Obama and Congress reformedthe healthcare system. People in their 20swere more likely than senior citizens tosay they would be willing to pay more sothat more Americans could be insured.The nationally representative randomsample of 1,205 adults was conducted byland line and cellphone by PrincetonSurvey Research Associates.

Some features in the healthcare plansworking their way through Congresswould benefit young adults. Dependingon their income, they could qualify forsubsidies on insurance premiums or, forthe poorest, expansion of Medicaid. Oneplan allows them to stay on their parents’policies until age 26.

Some young adults learn about insur-ance the hard way.

Nursing student Sarah Posekany is

only 27, but she’s already filed for bank-ruptcy because of colon surgery when shewas uninsured. She still owes thousandsof dollars in medical bills.

“It’s not fair,” said Posekany of CedarFalls, Iowa. “We should learn how to bea strong nation and take care of every-body.”

Posekany now has insurance but mustwait a year for her pre-existing conditionto be covered.

PolicyKatie Miletti, 24, is a full-time college

student studying to work with disabledpreschoolers. A survivor of childhoodcancer, she still deals with the side effectsof radiation and chemotherapy. After shebecame too old for coverage under hermother’s policy, she was uninsured abouta month before qualifying for Medicaid,the federal-state health insurance pro-gram for the needy and disabled.

“Everyone should have health insur-ance,” said Miletti, who lives inCuyahoga Falls, Ohio. “I don’t think itshould matter what your health problemsare, how rich you are, or what yourincome is.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Deputy kills man in trunks: A plain-clothes sheriff’s deputy shot and killed an

unarmed 24-year-old man wearing only swimtrunks after an argument ensued when he con-fronted the man for erratic driving, authoritiesand witnesses said Tuesday.

Le Sueur County Sheriff’s investigator ToddWaldron, 37, shot Tyler Heilman after the twoscuffled Monday in Kasota, a town about 60miles (100 kilometers) southwest of

Minneapolis, when Heilman returned from aday of swimming with friends. Those who sawthe argument said it wasn’t clear the man hewas fighting with was a law enforcement offi-cer. “This ain’t right,” said Heilman’s father,Mark Heilman. “I think the cop just freaked ...Why didn’t he just say ‘Freeze’ or something?Or shoot him in the leg? He shot to kill ... Ithink he just flipped.”

Authorities said Waldron was workinganother case and driving an unmarked sportutility vehicle on Monday when he sawHeilman driving a car erratically, and at timesspeeding, so he followed him. At one point,Heilman drove his car off the road and up anembankment. Investigators with the Bureau ofCriminal Apprehension believe Waldron firedfour shots. Bureau spokesman Andy Skoogmansaid Waldron was not in uniform, but he had asheriff’s badge on his belt. Waldron was notworking undercover, and Skoogman saidauthorities are investigating whether the deputyidentified himself.

Witnesses give a similar account. KrisHoehn, who was in the car with Heilman andother friends, said the group was on its wayback from a day of swimming at the MinnesotaRiver when they noticed an SUV followingthem. Hoehn acknowledged the vehicle mayhave swerved some, and he said Heilman droveup a sledding hill at one point.

Hoehn said the group didn’t know Waldronwas a deputy. When they arrived at the apart-ment complex, Waldron asked Heilman for adriver’s license, and then the two started argu-ing, Hoehn said. He said Heilman and thedeputy ended up wrestling on the ground. (AP)

America

Police intensify hunt

Killer on the looseSEATTLE, July 22, (AP): Policeintensified their hunt Tuesday for aman who fatally stabbed oneSeattle woman and woundedanother as they slept — a suspect-ed random attack that has alarmedthe community.

Upwards of 75 to 100 of Seattle’s750 uniformed officers are on thecase, Assistant Police ChiefNicholas J. “Nick” Metz told TheAssociated Press. The effortincludes increasing patrols, reas-signing community service officers,and deploying a “mobile precinct” toaid in the dragnet.

According to investigators, aslender but muscular man around30 and about 6 feet (1.8 meters) tallapparently entered a home throughan open window in the industrialSouth Park section of Seattle about3 am Sunday and repeatedlystabbed two women, in what policebelieve was a random attack.

Docs fees ‘not paid’

No ‘Cadillacs’in health planWASHINGTON, July 22, (Agencies):Some of the ideas proposed for UShealthcare reform could cost patientsthousands of dollars a year out of theirown pockets, and premiums could endup being too high, according to tworeports.

One analysis for the AmericanCancer Society’s Cancer ActionNetwork showed a plan now offered tofederal employees, including membersof Congress, sometimes costs patients$7,000 a year in out-of-pocket expens-es — many of which a seriously illpatient would have no way of avoid-ing.

The BlueCross/Blue Shieldinsurance plan, oper-ated by WellpointInc, has been calleda “Cadillac” plan forits generous benefitsby healthcare reformadvocates, whocompare it to theluxury car. They sayit should form the

minimum basis of what is offered toAmericans under a reworked system.

But Karen Pollitz and colleagues atGeorgetown University’s HealthPolicy Institute who analyzed the planfor the Cancer Action Network foundthat even this plan leaves many gaps.

“It offers good protection by cover-ing the most important benefits with-out caps and with an overall limit oncost-sharing liability. However, it iscertainly not ‘Cadillac’ coverage,”their report reads.

For instance, a breast cancer patientcould pay $13,000 for her own careover two years, the analysis found.

President Barack Obama has madereform of the patchwork US healthcaresystem his administration’s showpiecepriority and Congress is working onseveral ideas.

Overhaul But Congress has run into problems

over how to pay for a $1 trillion, 10-year overhaul. Much of the debatefocuses on how to provide coveragefor 46 million Americans who do nothave private insurance and do notqualify for government programs suchas Medicare or Medicaid.

A free, government plan is not evenbeing discussed, and both Republicansand Democrats want consumers to payat least part of their own way. Mostproposals include expanding optionsfor personal health insurance.

But advocacy groups such as theCancer Action Network point out thatmore than half of all US bankruptcieswere linked to medical debt — andmost of these people had health insur-ance. “Too many cancer patients aredelaying or forgoing lifesaving screen-ings and treatments because of accessproblems,” said the group’s president,Daniel Smith.

One such patient is Angela KeglerMcDowell of Conway, SouthCarolina, a small business ownerwhose insurance company raised herpremiums from $293 a month to $804a month when her breast cancerreturned. In January, the companystopped her coverage completely.

Savings“It took my entire life savings,”

McDowell, 38, said in an interview.Even with insurance, McDowell esti-mates her cancer treatments cost her$42,000 out of pocket over five years.

Another report issued this week bythe nonprofit Commonwealth Fundfound that 73 percent of people whotried to buy insurance on their own inthe last three years did not because thepremiums were too high.

According to the report, 64 percentof adults with individual insurancespend $3,000 or more per year on pre-miums, compared to 20 percent ofthose with employer insurance.

It said patients using employer-pro-vided insurance spent $2,250 out ofpocket on average, including premi-ums, while those with individual mar-ket insurance spent $6,750. A graphicshowing state-by-state breakdowns ofthe uninsured can be seen athttp://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/RNGS/JUL/HEALTH1.jpg)

Meanwhile, Obama’s pledge tomake sure health care legislation isfully paid for excludes $245 billion toraise fees for doctors treating patientsreceiving care through a federal pro-gram, a senior administration officialsaid Tuesday.

Peter Orszag, the budget director,said the administration always hadassumed the money would be spent toprevent a cut of more than 20 percentin doctor fees that is scheduled to takeeffect.

The Congressional Budget Officesaid Friday that the addition of moneyfor doctors would cause the health carebill to produce deficits totaling $239billion over the next decade.

A few hours earlier Friday, Obamahad said at the White House, “I’ve saidthat health insurance reform cannotadd to our deficit over the next decade.And I mean it.”

Orszag

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

15INTERNATIONAL

America

Congress

F-22 dead: Murtha

US panel okays$128bln for warsWASHINGTON, July 22, (AP): The total cost of the USresponse to the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and thecontinuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would top $1trillion under a Pentagon funding bill approved by a keyHouse panel Wednesday.

The $636 billion defense spending bill unanimouslyapproved by the Appropriations Committee contains$128 billion for Pentagon operations in Iraq andAfghanistan — and Rep John Murtha, a Democrat andthe House’s top defense budget writer, says more will beneeded in early 2010.

For now, the measure contains $369 million for thebeleaguered F-22 program, which President BarackObama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are intent onkilling after 187 planes are built. Cancellation of the F-22 program is at the top of Gates’ efforts to reform thePentagon’s procurement system. On the heels of a 58-40Senate vote Tuesday to kill the program, Murtha said itis clear the program is dead.

Gates wants to shift military spending to programsmore suitable to today’s unconventional wars. The F-22,designed for midair combat, has been irrelevant to thewars in Iraq and Afghanistan and therefore unused there.

BlowThe measure, however, deals a blow to Gates’ efforts to

kill other Pentagon projects, including the VH-71 presi-dential helicopter, the C-17 cargo jet, and an alternativeengine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Those programshave strong support on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers areeager to protect jobs in their home districts.

For example, the measure includes $485 million forthe presidential helicopter project, sought chiefly by RepMaurice Hinchey, a Democrat, which could keep con-struction going for five to seven aircraft. The helicopterswould be assembled at a Lockheed Martin Corp factoryin Hinchey’s district. Production was halted in May afterthe Pentagon concluded the project was hopelessly overbudget.

Other weapons systems getting boosts over Obama’srequest include the funding for nine additional F-18Super Hornet fighter jets, built in St Louis, and $674million for three C-17 jumbo cargo jets, assembled inLong Beach, California.

The measure also rejects Obama’s $100 millionrequest for the Pentagon to close the Guantanamo Baydetention center in Cuba and extends a current ban onreleasing Guantanamo detainees in the United States. Italso requires an extensive risk analysis and a detailedjustification for bringing detainees into the US for trialor to serve their sentences.

A road separates burned trees from homes in the Glenrosa area of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada on July 21, after wildfires moved through the area. Six thousand of the 11,000 evacuatedKelowna area residents were allowed to return home Tuesday morning. (AP)

Hillary for president?:Hillary for president, again?

She says it’s unlikely, but in aThai television interviewWednesday, Hillary RodhamClinton didn’t completely closethat door.

Asked whether she still aspiredto be the first female Americanpresident, she said, “That’s notanything I’m at all thinkingabout,” adding that she is “100percent focused” on her role asPresident Barack Obama’s secre-tary of state.

So has she given up hope ofgetting to the White House?

“I don’t know, but I doubt verymuch that anything like that willever be part of my life,” repliedthe former first lady and formerUS senator.

Some Canada forest fire evacuees return home

Police allowed 6,000 people to return totheir homes Tuesday in western Canada,as firefighters gained partial control of awildfire threatening the town of WestKelowna.

Emergency spokeswoman JenelleTurpin said an evacuation order remainedin place for 6,000 town residents forced toflee without notice Saturday, while anoth-er 13,000 “must be ready to leave at amoment’s notice if there’s a change in the

fire direction.”West Kelowna is in British Columbia’s

central Okanagan Valley, a retirement,tourist and wine-growing area of sprawlingtowns and suburbs with nearly 175,000residents, about 400 kilometers (250miles) east of Vancouver. Fires there haveso far destroyed three West Kelownahomes, Turpin said, although there havebeen no reports of injuries or deaths.

Turpin said returning residents have

been warned of the risks posed by disori-ented wild animals, including bears, deerand cougars, as well as downed electricalwires and damaged trees.

“We’re not sending them into a warzone or anything,” she said. “We’re justasking people to inspect their propertyand be aware.”

Southern British Columbia has beenhard-hit this summer by hot, dry weather,especially in suburbs that have been built

in recent decades alongside forests.The weather forecast contains no

relief, with meteorologists predicting con-tinued daytime temperatures as high as35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).

Ground firefighters aided by helicop-ters and air tankers struggled Tuesday tocontain the largest of three Okanaganfires, on Terrace Mountain, before itthreatened residences, said fire informa-tion officer Jerry Wearing. (AFP)

Pressed further, Clinton said,“Well, I’m saying no because Ihave a very committed attitude tothe job I have. And so that’s notat all on my radar screen.”

She also dismissed talk inWashington that because her publicprofile has dipped in recent weeksshe may be playing a lesser role in

the Obama administration. (AP)❑ ❑ ❑

Mother, daughter killed:Police say a 75-year-old womanand her daughter were shot todeath at a suburban Atlanta homeafter the younger woman pointeda gun at an officer.

Gwinnett County policespokeswoman Cpl IllanaSpellman says an officer respond-ed to an emergency call fromBarbara Baker on Tuesday night.Baker reported that her daughter,51-year-old Penny Schwartz, hadthreatened suicide and said shewanted police to kill her. While

Baker was talking with the offi-cer, Schwartz came downstairsand pointed a gun. Spellman saidthe officer felt threatened andfired, hitting both women.

Gwinnett police are investigat-ing. Spellman says the officer willbe placed on routine leave duringthe investigation. (AP)

Clinton Obama

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

16INTERNATIONAL

World News Roundup

Street performers dance for tourists in front of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate, July 22. The Brandenburg Gate attracts thousands of tourists every day. (AFP)

Europe

Ex-Ukrainian official arrested:Ukrainian authorities have arrested a formergovernment official who had been at large fornine years and charged with the slaying of aninvestigative journalist, officials saidWednesday.

The decapitated body of Heorhiy Gongadzewas found outside Kiev several months afterhis disappearance in September 2000.

Police charged four suspects in his killing.Three of them, former police officers, wereconvicted of murder last year. Two received12-year prison sentences and the third got 13years.

The National Security Service said in astatement that its agents arrested the fourthsuspect — Oleksiy Pukach, who was workingas the chief of the Interior Ministry’s surveil-lance department at the time of the killing —in central Ukraine late Tuesday. The threepolice officers were serving as Pukach’s sub-ordinates at the time of the killing.

In September 2000, Gongadze got intowhat he thought was a taxi, and was thenjoined by three others and driven outsideKiev. He was beaten and strangled, his bodydoused with gasoline and burned. Expertssaid Gongadze was decapitated after hisdeath. Numerous tests have concluded theremains are Gongadze’s. His head has notbeen found. (AP)

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Russia to examine personal post:Russia passed a law on Tuesday making iteasier for security services to inspect personalmail, a week after setting up a monitoringcentre to track dissent across the country.

The new law was condemned by rightsgroups and political analysts who labelled itanti-constitutional and totalitarian.

Inspection rooms and cameras will be setup in post offices, where authorities, includ-ing the successor to the KGB, the FSB, willopen the mail of those suspected to be plan-ning to or already breaking the law.

“These latest steps form a new chapter inRussia’s progression towards a totalitarianstate,” said Yuri Zarakhovich at theJamestown Foundation, a US-based think-tank.

“More punitive and repressive steps arebeing implemented... the authorities are usingthe crisis as an excuse to tighten up the policescrews,” said Zarakhovich. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Pupils to choose religion, ethics:Russian President Dmitry Medvedevannounced a pilot project Tuesday that willrequire schoolchildren to take classes in reli-gion or secular ethics.

The proposal is part of a Kremlin effort toteach young Russians morals in the wake of aturbulent period of uncertainty following thecollapse of the officially atheist Soviet Union.

Medvedev said preteen students at about12,000 schools in 18 Russian regions wouldtake the classes. They will be offered thechoice of studying the dominant RussianOrthodox religion, Islam, Buddhism orJudaism, or of taking an overview of all fourfaiths, or a course in secular ethics.

Students and their parents must be allowedto choose freely, Medvedev said in addressingtop clerics and officials at his residence out-side Moscow. “Any coercion, pressure will beabsolutely unacceptable and counterproduc-tive,” he said.

By 2012, the classes might be expandednationwide, Medvedev said. The pilot projectincludes about 20 percent of Russia’s schools.

The offer of a choice appeared aimed toease concerns that Russian Orthodoxy will beforced on schoolchildren as the church gainsinfluence and tightens ties with the state.(AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Guinea-Bissau native to run for polls:For Joaquim Crima, the stark divisions thatfrequently define politics in Russia may notbe as black and white as most believe.

US Vice-President Joe Biden (left) andUkraine’s President Viktor Yushchenkolay wreathes near a sculpture onGolodomor memorial in Kiev on July 21.

(AFP)

Tusk Kaczynski

PO support dipsSupport for Poland’s ruling centre-rightCivic Platform (PO) has dipped, appar-ently because of a sharp slowdown inthe economy and cuts in public spend-ing, the Gazeta Wyborcza daily newspa-per said on Wednesday.

A PBS DGA poll published by thenewspaper put support for PrimeMinister Donald Tusk’s economically lib-eral PO at 45 percent, down five per-centage points from its previous survey.

PO’s nearest rival, Law and Justice(PiS), gained six percentage points to 29percent, according to the poll.

Poland, the European Union’s largestex-communist member state, hasweathered the global financial crisis bet-ter than most of the other 26 countries inthe bloc.

It is one of the few EU economiesexpected not to shrink this year, but thedownturn has forced the government toslash public spending.

Tusk’s pro-business government hassaid it might also have to raise sometaxes, though it wants to avoid such anunpopular move ahead of a presidentialelection due in autumn 2010.

Tusk is expected to challengePresident Lech Kaczynski, the twinbrother of PiS leader Jaroslaw, in thatelection. Kaczynski has often used hisveto powers against government billsand has signalled he will also block anytax increases. (RTRS)

A firefighting plane flies over a fire in Horta de Sant Joan, Spain, July 22. The SpanishInterior Ministry on Tuesday said that four firefighters died and two others were seri-ously injured while combating a forest fire in a northeastern nature reserve. (AP)

Story on Page 17

Georgia

Biden says US stands with Georgia

‘No Russian sphere of influence’TBILISI, Georgia, July 22, (AP):Washington rejects the Kremlin’s claimto a sphere of influence over formerSoviet nations, US Vice President JoeBiden said Wednesday, before hearrived in Georgia a year after its warwith Russia.

Biden flew to Tbilisi on Wednesdayevening from Ukraine, another ex-Soviet republic trying to throw offRussian influence and integrate with theWest.

He is on a mission to reassure thetwo nervous Russian neighbors that theUnited States will not abandon them asPresident Barack Obama seeks toimprove badly strained ties withRussia.

Georgia’s five-day war with Russialast August turned the small nation onthe far frontier of Europe into the epi-center of the simmering conflictbetween Moscow and the West.Obama’s attempt to rebuild relationswith Russia has raised concerns amongsome East European nations that the USmight sacrifice their interests for thesake of better ties with Moscow.

Biden has been attempting to assuagethose concerns on his four-day trip toUkraine and Georgia.

“As we reset the relationship withRussia, we reaffirm our commitment toan independent Ukraine, and we recog-

nize no sphere of influence or no abilityof any other nation to veto the choicesan independent nation makes,” Bidensaid in a speech in the Ukrainian capitalKiev on Wednesday.

At the Tbilisi airport, Biden was metby an honor guard in cream-colored uni-forms. He warmly greeted officials whocame to meet him, and put an armaround the prime minister.

Before his arrival, Georgian authori-ties took steps to prevent more massdemonstrations by the opposition, gen-erated in part by Georgia’s defeat in thewar.

President Mikhail Saakashvili’s gov-ernment was shaken this spring by massstreet protests demanding his resigna-tion. Ahead of Biden’s arrival in theGeorgian capital, police were removingdozens of metal cages the oppositionhad erected in front of the country’s par-liament to block traffic along Tbilisi’scentral street.

ArrestsNo arrests were reported, and no

resistance from opposition activists wasvisible along leafy Rustaveli Avenue,which remained closed to vehicles afterpolice set up portable metal fencing.The cages were meant to represent jails– symbolizing what opponents say isSaakashvili’s increasing authoritarian-ism.

The vice president also will meet withleading members of the opposition whohad taken part in the monthslongdemonstrations.

Political foes blame Saakashvili forthe August war’s disastrous results andaccuse him of riding roughshod overdemocratic rights.

Saakashvili has said he tried to defendGeorgia from Russian aggression, andhe announced a series of politicalreforms Monday meant to address hiscritics’ complaints that his administra-tion was restricting rights.

After Georgia used military force totry to seize a breakaway region fromMoscow-backed separatists in August,Russia sent tanks and warplanes deepinto Georgian territory, crushing thecountry’s army.

The conflict ended hopes in the Westthat Russia, after recovering from theeconomic and social turmoil of the post-Soviet era, would become a docile,democratic member of the club ofEuropean nations.

Biden has told Georgia that “Americastands with you and will continue tostand.”

Biden has pledged firm support forGeorgia at a banquet. He says he want-ed to send this “unequivocal, clear mes-sage to all who will listen and some whodon’t want to.”

The 37-year-old native of Guinea-Bissau,shrugging off deep-seated prejudice in a soci-ety where the rare sight of a black man turnsheads, says he will run for public office in the

small central Russian village where he lives.And in the process, Crima, who has

acquired Russian citizenship, will put hisadopted country’s claims to being a modern,

colour-blind democracy to the kind of testthat it is, well, just not too accustomed to fac-ing. “I have a chance to change some thingsfor the better and I have an obligation to do

UN experts set

‘Censure Azerbaijan’GENEVA, July 22, (RTRS): UnitedNations experts are set to censureenergy-rich Azerbaijan over its humanrights record after suggesting it was indenial over violations of global rightspacts, officials and diplomats said onWednesday.

They said the critique, which couldbe harsh, was likely to be formulated inrecommendations to the government inBaku on what it should do to clean upits act. It would be issued on July 31 bythe UN’s watchdog Human RightsCommittee. “After comments made bycommittee members this week, it isclear they are going to be tough overattacks on independent journalists, onfreedom of expression and on statecontrol of judges,” said one official, whoasked not to be named.

The 18-member committee, a bodymade up of independent academicsand lawyers from developed anddeveloping countries, met on Mondayand Tuesday to quiz an Azeri govern-ment team on what was happening inthe former Soviet republic.

so,” he said, pointing to the dire state of roadsand drinking water in the village of SrednyayaAkhtuba where he lives.

“If this is a democracy, then why should Iwithdraw?” Crima asked, talking to AFP in atelephone interview.

“Let the people decide!”Those people are already getting an eyeful

of the choice they could face when they go tothe polls on Oct 11 to elect a new chief for adistrict in the Volgograd region.

A billboard shows a white-shirted, necktie-sporting Crima — he has adopted the Russianname Vasily Ivanovich — standing beside awinding river, the words “Vasily Crima —New District Chief” emblazoned across theside and bottom.

Local election officials however say Crima,who hails from the city of Bolama in the for-mer Portuguese colony, faces an uphill battlejust to be taken seriously in Russia. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

New Politkovskaya trial set: A newtrial for murdered Russian investigative jour-nalist Anna Politkovskaya will start inMoscow on Aug 5, news agencies reported,quoting one of the lawyers in the case.

“Preliminary hearingshave been scheduled forAugust,” the agenciesquoted AnnaStavitskaya, a lawyer forPolitkovskaya’s family,as saying. The reportsspecified that the hear-ings would start on Aug5.

AlexanderMinchanovsky,spokesman for theMoscow district militarycourt where the trial wasto take place, said he could not immediatelyconfirm the date and repeated phone calls toStavitskaya went unanswered.

Last month, Russia’s supreme court ordereda new trial of the suspects in Politkovskaya’smurder after annulling acquittals decided inFebruary.

The rejection of the controversial verdictswas the latest twist in a case that human rightsgroups say has been marked by the Russianauthorities’ total failure to bringPolitkovskaya’s killers to justice.

Politkovskaya’s relatives condemned thatdecision, saying that instead of a retrial,authorities needed to launch a completely newinvestigation into the murder of the journalist,who was highly critical of the Kremlin.

Stavitskaya said at that time she woulddemand in preliminary hearings that the casebe returned to prosecutors so that a new inves-tigation could be undertaken. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Dutch couple face charges: A Dutchcouple is to be prosecuted in the Netherlandsover allegations that they bought a Belgianbaby on the internet, authorities said Thursday.

“I can confirm that they will be prosecut-ed,” a prosecution spokeswoman told AFP.“The exact charges are not yet known. Thecharge sheet is not yet finalised.”

The child, dubbed Baby Jayden in themedia, was taken from the Dutch couple andhanded over to Belgian authorities lastDecember.

The Dutch couple, who are reportedlyunable to have children of their own, madecontact with the boy’s biological mother afterseeing a web advertisement, and took him afew hours after he was born in a hospital inGhent, in the Dutch-speaking Flanders regionof Belgium, in July 2008.

Dutch media have claimed that the couplepaid the child’s biological parents between5,000 and 10,000 euros ($6,000 and $12,000).(AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Asylum seeker numbers in Finland up:The number of asylum seekers to Finlandmore than doubled in the first half of this year,with many coming from Iraq and Somalia,immigration authorities said Wednesday.

From January to June, some 2,680 peopleapplied for asylum in Finland, compared to1,030 in the same period of 2008, according toFinnish Immigration Services statistics.

Around half of the asylum seekers camefrom war-torn Iraq and Somalia, with 850 and640 refugees respectively.

But the number of applicants from Iraq hasbegun to slow in recent months.

In May, authorities said that due toimproved security, those coming from north-ern or southern Iraq or Baghdad would nolonger be granted a residence permit unlessthey have individual grounds to stay.

Individual reasons could include severe ill-ness that cannot be treated in their home coun-try. “It is really difficult to forecast how thenumbers will develop” during the second halfof the year, immigration official Juha Similaetold AFP.

Finland, whose 5.3 million populationincludes just 2.5 percent foreign nationals,faced soaring asylum seeker numbers lastsummer.

The boost was partly caused by decisions insome European countries, such as Sweden, theNetherlands, Britain and Norway, to send peo-ple back to Iraq.

Despite more staff, Finnish immigrationauthorities are struggling to process soaringnumbers of applications and asylum seekersmight have to wait up to two years for a deci-sion on if they can stay. (AFP)

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Kyrgyzstan to hold elections:Kyrgyzstan which hosts a key US military airbase votes Thursday in a presidential electionthat is almost certain to tighten the incum-bent’s grip on power in the former Sovietrepublic.

If re-elected, Kurmanbek Bakiyev is expect-ed to continue his impoverished country’s pol-icy of playing Moscow against Washington inan effort to win aid from both.

Bakiyev campaigned on a platform of sta-bility, appealing to the electorate’s desire tosee an end to political turmoil. But the opposi-tion accuses him of using intimidation to helpensure the continuation of his rule and says heis taking the country — once viewed as theregion’s beacon of democracy — down thepath of authoritarianism.

“Security service officers have literally beengoing from house to house threatening peopleso that they would not go to opposition meet-ings,” said opposition candidate AlmazbekAtambayev.

Since coming to power in the wake of the2005 popular uprising that toppled the formerpresident, Bakiyev has largely lived up topromises to increase government spending,boosting salaries and pensions in the process.Those achievements have been undermined byrampant inflation, however, while the effect ofthe global financial crisis on Russia andKazakhstan has had a devastating impact onthe local economy, which relies heavily onremittances and trade. (AP)

Politkovskaya

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

17INTERNATIONAL

Europe

Asia

I’m no saint – Berlusconi: ItalianPremier Silvio Berlusconi joked Wednesdaythat he is “no saint,” in his first public com-ments on his sex scandal since a news weeklyreleased what it said were conversationsbetween him and a prostitute.

Berlusconi has been entangled in scandalfor months over his alleged encounters withyoung women. But the controversy took onnew life this week when the left-leaningL’Espresso released tapes of the purportedconversations at the conservative premier’sRome residence.

Berlusconi’s lawyer has disputed the tapes’veracity.

“I’m no saint, bynow you’ve figuredthat out,” a smilingBerlusconi told anaudience of businessexecutives and politi-cians in northern Italyat the inauguration ofa highway project.

“Let’s hope thatthose working atRepubblica understandthat, too,” he added,taking a jab at the

daily that has doggedly pursued the scandalstory. Both La Repubblica and L’Espresso areowned by the same publishing group.

The 72-year-old leader also noted that“there are a lot of nice-looking girls around.”(AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Mob assets seized: Italian authorities onWednesday seized about #200 million ($284million) in assets and businesses owned by acrime syndicate, including the Cafe de Paris of“La Dolce Vita” movie fame.

Rome police and anti-mafia officials saidthat 12 other restaurants, apartments and luxu-ry cars allegedly linked to the ‘ndranghetawere also impounded in the operation.

The Cafe de Paris, which became a symbolof La Dolce Vita, or “the sweet life,” in the1960s remains open, Rome police officialDaniele Galimberti said.

Galimberti said the establishment wasbriefly shut early Wednesday, but only toallow police to search it. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Press blast Gibraltar visit: Spain’s con-servative newspapers sharply criticized thehistoric visit by the country’s foreign ministerto Gibraltar, calling it a “humiliating rendi-tion” after “300 years of struggle” to regainthe sovereignty of the British-run territory.

With the visit by Miguel Angel Moratinoson Tuesday to the rocky outcrop, the first by aSpanish minister since it was captured byEnglish troops in 1704, “the governmentsquandered in one day 300 years of the strug-gle for Gibraltar”, wrote daily ABC.

“The photo of shame,” headlined centre-right El Mundo over a photo of Moratinosshaking hands with his British counterpartDavid Miliband and Gibraltar Chief MinisterPeter Caruana in Gibraltar. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Hundreds battle wildfire in Spain:Some 500 people were battling Wednesday awind-fuelled wildfire in northeastern Spainwhich claimed the lives of four firefightersand seriously injured two others, DefenceMinister Carme Chacon said Wednesday.

“We are working against the clock with allthe human and material means which arecapable of working in an area of difficultaccess,” she told public radio RNE from thesite of the blaze in Els Port national park nearTarragona.

The four veteran firefighters were killedTuesday when the direction of the wind sud-denly changed, whipping up the blaze and sur-rounding the men by flames. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Socialists told to ‘change or die’:France’s beleaguered Socialists called for a“ceasefire” in their ranks on Tuesday after ahigh-profile maverick stepped up calls for thecountry’s main opposition party to “change ordie.”

Torn by infighting after losing its third pres-idential election in a row in 2007, France’sSocialists were plunged into more bitterrecriminations after suffering a rout inEuropean elections last month.

On Tuesday the 200-strong Socialist groupin the National Assembly adopted a joint textcalling for an end to hostilities, as Socialistbarons closed ranks around the party’s firstsecretary Martine Aubry.

“Enough is enough. Everyone is free toexpress themselves and their ambition, but notat the expense of their friends, of our fellowcitizens,” said the text aimed at a group ofmavericks contesting Aubry’s leadership.(AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Bomb targets Corsican gendarmerie:A car bomb blew up outside a police stationon the French Mediterranean island of Corsicaon Wednesday, and authorities said it was a“miracle” no one was killed.

Corsica has suffered three decades of low-level violence by separatists opposed toFrench rule and what they see as an invasionby holiday-home owners from the mainland,but it was the island’s first car bomb attacksince 2006.

Attackers packed a gas bottle into a stolencar and detonated it 20 metres (yards) fromthe gendarmerie in the northern town ofVescovato at around 6:00 am (0400 GMT),said regional government official AntoinePoussier.

“It’s a miracle there was only material dam-age. People could have been killed,” Poussiertold AFP by telephone.

The son of a gendarme was knocked off hisbicycle by the force of the blast, which scat-tered debris across a 100-metre radius anddamaged several buildings although not thegendarmerie itself. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

France slams US executions: Francecondemned Wednesday the United States’ useof the death penalty in the wake of its latestexecution, calling on Washington to impose amoratorium on such punishments.

On Tuesday, the US state of Ohio put todeath 36-year-old Marvallous Keene, a formergang leader who was sentenced to death afterbeing convicted for five murders committed in1992 when he was aged 19.

Keene’s lawyers had argued that he wasmentally disturbed.

“France along with the European Unionrecalls its opposition to the death penalty in allcircumstances,” said French foreign ministryspokesman Frederic Desagneaux, brandingexecutions “cruel and inhumane”. (AFP)

Lee Yoon-sung (center top wearing a blue shirt), vice-speaker of the National Assembly and a lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party is guarded by the National Assembly securities as opposition lawmakers try toblock new bills at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, July 22. Hundreds of competing lawmakers screamed and wrestled in South Korea’s parliament on Wednesday as rivalry over contentious media reform

bills descended into a brawl that sent at least one to a hospital. (AP)

A nursing home for the elderly is seen hitby mudslides caused by heavy rain inHofu in Yamaguchi Prefecture, westernJapan on July 21. Kyodo News reportedseven people died and ten others remainmissing in Yamaguchi and its neighbor-ing prefecture of Tottori after heavy raintriggered mudslides and swelled rivers.At the nursing home three residentsdied, four others remain missing andanother became critically ill, Kyodo said.

(AP)

Voters warned against change:Kicking off a month of campaigning forJapan’s parliament, senior ruling party law-makers warned voters Wednesday they shouldnot abandon the party that has governed theirnation for most of the post-World War II era.

Analysts are predicting the elections forparliament’s powerful lower house, to be heldAug. 30, could be disastrous for the LiberalDemocratic Party, which has governed Japanwith only a short break since its founding in1955.

But in a theme likely to be repeated often inthe upcoming election campaigns, severalprominent ruling party lawmakers told a newsconference Wednesday the oppositionDemocratic Party of Japan is inexperiencedand cannot be trusted with control of theworld’s second-largest economy.

Recent opinion polls indicate many voterswill defect to the opposition because of angerover Japan’s economic troubles and becausethey do not support Prime Minister Taro Aso,who is seen as lacking in leadership and hasmade several gaffes since taking office lastSeptember.

Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama,who polls say has a higher support rating thanAso, has vowed the elections will mark a “rev-olution” in Japanese politics and has said theparty sees winning the polls as its “historicmission.” (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

7 dead in Japan mudslide: Hundreds oftroops joined the search in western JapanWednesday for 10 people missing a day aftertorrential rains triggered floods and landslidesthat killed at least seven people, officials said.

Emergency services staff were diggingthrough mud and debris at a mud-filled nurs-ing home in Hofu, Yamaguchi prefecture, 750kilometres (470 miles) west of Tokyo, televi-sion images showed.

“We started the search for the people still

ASEAN

Myanmar offered benefits to free Suu Kyi

US is back in Asia: ClintonPHUKET, Thailand, July 22, (Agencies):US Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton arrived at a key security conferenceWednesday carrying a no-nonsense mes-sage that the United States is ready to re-engage with Asia after years of neglect.

Clinton, arriving from Bangkok, movedright into talks with Asian counterpartsgathered for two days of internationalmeetings to discuss North Korea, Myanmarand a range of other regional issues.

She signed the seminal Treaty of Amityand Cooperation of the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, acommitment to peacefully resolve regionaldisputes that already has been signed bymore than a dozen countries outside the 10-nation bloc.

“The United States is back,” shedeclared upon arrival in the Thai capitalTuesday.

And in an appearance Wednesday morn-ing on a Thai TV talk show in Bangkok shesaid, “President Obama and I are givinggreat importance to this region,” suggest-ing that the administration of former presi-dent George W. Bush neglected US inter-ests in Asia.

Evidence of the new US approach, shesaid, is the fact that her first overseas trip,in February, was to Asia.

“I believe strongly the United States hasto be involved in this region,” she added.Her main aim in visiting Southeast Asia thistime, she said, is to “work hard to try tobring a sense of future possibilities” for part-nerships to ensure peace and prosperity.

Clinton was asked whether she thinksthe US image abroad has been improvingunder President Barack Obama. “It certain-ly feels like it,” she said. “There is a greatsigh of relief in some places” she has visit-ed this year.

Negotiations She also said that while the door is still

open for Iran to engage in direct negotia-tions over its nuclear program, the US hasa plan to prevent Iranian domination in theMiddle East if it gets the nuclear bomb.

“We also have made it clear that we’lltake actions — as I’ve said time and timeagain, crippling action — working toupgrade the defenses of our partners in theregion,” she said, referring to the MiddleEast, and in particular the Arabian Gulf

area where the United States has main-tained economic, political and securityinterests for many decades.

“We want Iran to calculate what I thinkis a fair assessment: that if the UnitedStates extends a defense umbrella over theregion, if we do even more to develop themilitary capacity of those (allies) in theGulf, it is unlikely that Iran will be anystronger or safer because they won’t beable to intimidate and dominate as theyapparently believe they can once they havea nuclear weapon.”

Her words appeared aimed mainly atguiding Iranian leaders to the conclusionthat proceeding to develop nuclearweapons will not be in their own interestsbecause the United States will stand firmwith its longstanding allies in the Gulf tocounterbalance Iran.

In Jerusalem, though, Dan Meridor,Israel’s Minister of Intelligence and AtomicEnergy, told Army Radio: “I was notthrilled to hear the American statementfrom yesterday that they will protect theirallies with a nuclear umbrella, as if theyhave already come to terms with a nuclearIran. I think that’s a mistake.”

Ratification Clinton’s signing of the ASEAN treaty

will be by the executive authority ofObama and does not require congressionalratification, said a senior administrationofficial who spoke on condition ofanonymity because he was not authorizedto discuss the move publicly.

The Bush administration had declined tosign the document, whereas Obama sees itas a symbolic underscoring of the US com-mitment to Asia.

On Tuesday, Clinton reiterated Obamaadministration concerns that North Korea,already a threat to the US and its neighborswith its history of illicit sales of missilesand nuclear technology, is now developingties to Myanmar’s military dictatorship.

Clinton held out the possibility of offer-ing North Korea a new set of incentives toreturn to negotiating a dismantling of itsnuclear program if it shows a “willingnessto take a different path.” But she admittedthere is little immediate chance of that.

A Clinton aide said the United States andits allies are looking for a commitment byNorth Korea that would irreversibly end its

nuclear weapons program. The aide, whospoke on condition of anonymity to discussinternal US government deliberations, saidthere is no sign that North Korea intends tomake such a move, keeping the US focuson enforcing expanded U.N. sanctions.

In her remarks about a possibleMyanmar-North Korea connection, Clintondid not refer explicitly to a nuclear link butmade clear that the ties are disconcerting.

“We know there are also growing con-cerns about military cooperation betweenNorth Korea and Burma which we takevery seriously,” she said at a news confer-ence in the Thai capital.

‘Threat’ “It would be destabilizing for the region,

it would pose a direct threat to Burma’sneighbors,” she said, adding that as a treatyally of Thailand, the United States takes thematter seriously.

Later, a senior administration officialsaid that Washington is concerned aboutthe possibility that North Korea could becooperating with Myanmar on a nuclearweapons program, but he added that USintelligence information on this is incom-plete. The official spoke on condition ofanonymity because of the sensitive natureof the matter.

The United States, in a joint effort withSouth Korea, Japan, China and Russia, isattempting to use UN sanctions as leverageto compel North Korea to return to thenegotiating table over its nuclear program.A major element of the international con-cern about North Korea is the prospect ofnuclear proliferation, which could lead to anuclear arms race in Asia and beyond.

Meanwhile, Clinton on Wednesdayurged Myanmar to free democracy leaderAung San Suu Kyi, saying such a movecould pave the way for investments fromthe United States.

“If she were released that would open upopportunities at least for my country toexpand our relationship with Burma,including investments in Burma,” she said,referring to Myanmar by its former name.

Speaking after meetings in the Thairesort island of Phuket on the eve of Asia’sbiggest annual security forum, she saidsuch opportunities were “up to theBurmese leadership”.

Military-ruled Myanmar recently

sparked outrage by putting Nobel PeacePrize winner Aung San Suu Kyi on trial inprison over an incident in which anAmerican man swam to her lakeside house.

‘Show trial’US President Barack Obama has

described the court proceedings as a “showtrial” and Myanmar has already beenslapped with US sanctions for its detentionof thousands of political prisoners.

Clinton said that while other countriesfrom the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) were moving “in a verypositive direction”, its rogue memberMyanmar was “moving in the oppositedirection”.

“We have been very clear in stating thatthe United States would like to see changesin the behaviour of the regime in Burma”she said, adding that the release of AungSan Suu Kyi was “critical”.

Earlier Wednesday she said ASEANshould consider expelling Myanmar if itdoes not release the opposition leader.

Referring to US man John Yettaw’suninvited visit to Aung San Suu Kyi,Clinton said: “I regret deeply this unfortu-nate incident, which she had nothing to dowith, and which served as an excuse forthem to put her on trial.”

The democracy icon has spent 13 of thelast 19 years in detention since the juntarefused to recognise her National Leaguefor Democracy’s landslide victory in elec-tions in 1990.

Critics of Myanmar’s regime believe thetrial is a ploy to keep her locked up forelections scheduled for next year.

Clinton said the country would have a“better future” if it moved away from iso-lation and gave its citizens “a chance tohave a true election next year that will helpto chart a new course for the people ofBurma”.

Clinton reiterated concerns about possi-ble cooperation over nuclear weaponrybetween Myanmar and fellow pariah stateNorth Korea, one of the issues that is dom-inating the talks in Phuket.

On Tuesday Clinton also said she was“deeply concerned” by reports of humanrights abuses in Myanmar, “particularly byactions that are attributed to the Burmesemilitary concerning the mistreatment andabuse of young girls.”

missing at 7:00 am (2200 GMT) with at least280 rescue officers,” a prefectural policespokesman told AFP.

The Ground Self-Defence Force sent 220troops to join the rescue effort, which washampered by muddy water still flowing downa hillside and into the nursing home.

Rescuers found a fourth body at the nursinghome Wednesday afternoon, bringing thedeath toll to seven, a local police spokesmansaid, adding that three others were still miss-

ing at the mud-covered facility. (AFP)❑ ❑ ❑

Punches fly as MPs pass laws: Arowdy South Korean parliament on Wednesdaypassed a set of media and bank ownership lawsthat form part of the conservative govern-ment’s delayed reforms to shake up Asia’s 4th-largest economy and make it more competitive.

MPs of both sexes punched, shoved,screamed and occasionally dragged each other

to the ground in the long-delayed vote on thechanges which the left-leaning opposition sayswill hand even more control of the economyto giant conglomerates.

Changes to the media ownership laws, espe-cially by allowing business groups to buy intobroadcasters, have been among the most bitter-ly opposed of the reforms President LeeMyung-bak, once a top official at one of thecountry’s biggest conglomerates, pledged sincehe took office in February last year. (RTRS)

Berlusconi

Aso Hatoyama

World News Roundup

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

18INTERNATIONAL

An aerial shot of Abyei town, taken onn July 21. (AFP)

In this June 9, 2007 file photo, HongKong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, owner ofthe Hong Kong and Taiwan newspaperApple Daily, attends a seminar on the10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s han-dover organized by the Democratic Party

in Hong Kong. (AP)

The military regime, led by CommodoreFrank Bainimarama, took power in this Pacificisland nation in a bloodless 2006 coup. It

Lawyers denied accessThe legal team of Myanmar’s jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyiwas denied access to the 64-year-oldNobel laureate on Wednesday, two daysbefore her trial resumes for final argu-ments, her lawyer said.

Authorities in the military-ruled countrydenied permission for Suu Kyi’s lawyersto meet her to finalize the draft of their23-page closing argument, said NyanWin, one of Suu Kyi’s defense lawyersas well as spokesman for her party.

“This (refusal by authorities) showsthat the judicial system in the country isvery weak,” said Nyan Win. “We need tosee our clients to finalize the draft, and itwas very bad that the right has beendenied.”

Suu Kyi is charged with violating theterms of her house arrest by harboringan uninvited American man who swamsecretly to her lakeside home and stayedfor two days. She is being detained atMyanmar’s notorious Insein Prison.

The opposition leader, who was beenunder house arrest for nearly 14 of thelast 20 years, faces a possible five-yearprison term.

The refusal to allow legal access toSuu Kyi comes as Asian, US, andEuropean ministers – including the topdiplomat from Myanmar – meet in neigh-boring Thailand where the militaryregime’s human rights record is in thespotlight.

The trial has drawn condemnationfrom the international community andSuu Kyi’s local supporters, who worrythe ruling junta has found an excuse tokeep her detained through electionsplanned for next year. She is widelyexpected to be found guilty when theverdict is delivered, expected sometimenext month. (AP)

Asia

2 in court on activist plot: Two HongKong men who allegedly plotted to shoot thecity’s best known democracy activist and amedia mogul went on trial in China onWednesday charged with attempted murder.

The two are accused of plotting to killMartin Lee, often praised in the West as achampion of human rights, and media mogulJimmy Lai, who publishes the Hong Kongpro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, mediareports said.

The alleged plot surfaced when a suspectedgunman was arrested in Hong Kong in August2008. He was sentenced to a 16-year jail termon weapons charges earlier this month.

The South China Morning Post reportedWednesday that the alleged mastermind, TungNga-man, 67, and his associate, Yu Wai-shan,63, were arrested in August in the southernChinese city of Shenzhen. The newspaperdescribed the men as suspected Hong Konggangsters. Eight others were charged withother crimes related to the plot, it said.

Tung is accused of offering $1 million to Yuto organize the murder of the two Hong Kongresidents, the report quoted an unidentifiedChinese police officer as saying.

The suspects appeared at the ShenzhenIntermediate People’s Court on Wednesday fora one-day trial, Hong Kong government-owned radio RTHK reported. Trials often fin-ish quickly in China, where the judiciary isconsidered firmly under the control of the rul-ing Chinese Communist Party. (AP)

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‘Prisoners were considered animals’:A former Khmer Rouge interrogator toldCambodia’s war crimes court Wednesday thathis boss at the regime’s main torture centreindoctrinated staff to consider their prisonersas animals.

Prak Khan, 58, was testifying at the UN-backed court against prison chief Duch, who isaccused of overseeing the torture and executionof around 15,000 people held at Tuol Slengprison, known as S-21, in the late 1970s.

“At S-21, it was only Duch who indoctri-nated our stance, our absolute stance againstthe enemies (prisoners) and that we had totake it seriously. We had to consider the ene-mies as animals,” he told the tribunal.

Prak Khan’s statements represent some ofthe trial’s most damning testimony againstDuch, whom he described as an enthusiasticleader who terrified staff.

In testimony Tuesday, Prak Khan told thecourt that Duch taught staff how to tortureprisoners by using electric shocks, suffocationand inserting needles under their nails.

The witness Wednesday admitted his owninvolvement in crimes at S-21, after the prose-cution showed a video in which he told prisonsurvivor Vann Nath that he beat a youngfemale prisoner with branches until she urinat-ed herself.

Prak Khan never saw Duch torture any pris-oners but said he did see the S-21 chief onceenter an interrogation room while staff wereabusing an inmate.

Duch, however, disputed some of PrakKhan’s account, calling the witness “minorstaff” at the prison and denying he participatedin an interrogation with his subordinates. (AFP)

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Fiji arrests Methodists: Fiji’s military-led government arrested eight Methodist lead-ers of the nation’s biggest church group,accusing them of pushing a political agenda, aspokesman said Wednesday, in the latest roundof detentions since declaring emergency rulein April.

A prominent female indigenous chief, RoTeimumu Kepa, was also taken into policecustody overnight. She had offered to host aconference of the influential Methodist Churchin her province next month despite a govern-ment order to cancel it.

Africa

Oil field awarded to Sudan govt: Aninternational arbitration panel on Wednesdayawarded the Sudanese government controlover almost all major oil reserves in a disputedregion of Sudan that erupted into violencebetween state forces and southern rebels lastyear.

The arbitration is a crucial test for a 2005agreement that ended 20 years of warfarebetween the government and the southernSudanese insurgents. Both sides said theyaccepted the decision and southern officialssaid they would accept it as a step toward per-manent peace.

The Abyei region, with its rich oil reservesand grazing lands used by nomadic herdersfrom the north and south, has suffered flare-ups of violence sincethe peace deal. Thenorthern governmentand semiautonomoussouth asked theHague-basedPermanent Court ofArbitration to set theregion’s permanentborders after a May2008 battle in which22 northern soldierswere killed, most ofthe town of Abyei wasburned to the groundand 50,000 residents were forced to flee.

The five-member affirmed the northernboundary as set by a 2005 commission, butdrew new lines in the east and west that placedthe Heglig oil fields and the Nile oil pipelineunder control of the Khartoum government.

Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed, the head of thenorthern government delegation, called thedecision a victory.

“We welcome the fact that the oil fields arenow excluded from the Abyei area, particular-ly the Heglig oil field,” he said.

Riek Machar Teny, deputy chairman of theSudan People’s Liberation Movement, said thesoutherners accepted the panel’s ruling.

“I think the decision is balanced. We arecommitted to respecting it,” he told TheAssociated Press. “I think this is going to con-solidate peace in Sudan. It is a victory for theSudanese people and a victory for peace.”

In Abyei, the head of the UN Mission inSudan, Ashraf Qazi said: “This decision clear-ly demonstrates that, even on the most diffi-cult and sensitive of disputes, the parties canfind a peaceful solution if they work togetherin good faith,” said Qazi.

The panel’s leader, French law professorPierre-Marie Dupuy, said the rights of nomadictribes that live in the region remain protected,regardless of where the boundary falls.

“Boundaries are not barriers,” he said.The five-member arbitration panel was

comprised of two members appointed by eachside, while Dupuy was chosen by the Hague-based arbitration court. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Militants vow to ‘revisit’ pipelines:Nigerian militants on Tuesday vowed to strikeagain at damaged oil pipelines and facilities ifthey are repaired during a ceasefire.

“We wish to make it clear... that thepipelines and facilities that were destroyedduring Hurricane Piper Alpha and HurricaneMoses will be revisited if they are repairedduring this time,” the Movement for theEmancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) saidin an e-mail statement.

The militants said they would release “with-in the next 24 hours” the six crew members ofthe chemical tanker, the Sichem Peace, seizedseveral weeks ago.

“This is a dividend of the current ceasefireand we hope that the federal government willbegin to reciprocate our gesture by withdraw-ing the JTF (Joint Task Force) from theGbaramatu community (in Delta State) andallowing the displaced people (to) returnhome,” it said. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

6 oil tanker hostages freed: Nigerianmilitants have freed six crew members abduct-ed earlier this month from an oil tanker, aNorwegian oil services company said.

The Sichem Peace crew was freed Tuesdayevening after spending 18 days in captivity inthe Niger Delta, EMS Ship Management,which manages the Singapore-flagged oil andchemical tanker, said in a statement.

The sailors were heading to Lagos for med-ical checkups before flying back to their homecountries.

The Sichem Peace was attacked by anarmed gang July 4 some 18 miles (29 kms) offEscravos, Nigeria.

The Movement for the Emancipation of theNiger Delta said the six were released as partof the 60-day cease-fire it announced lastweek. The hostages included three Russians,two Filipinos and one sailor from India. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Overthrow Mugabe – Blair: Tony Blairbelieves that Zimbabwean President RobertMugabe should be overthrown, a Germanmagazine quoted the former British primeminister as saying in an interview publishedon Wednesday.

“I think if you can get rid of Mugabe, get ridof him. The guy has destroyed his country.There are many people in his country who havedied who should not have died, because of whathe has done,” Blair told the Stern weekly.

“If you can, you should, but you obviouslyhave to operate in careful limits,” he said.

Blair also rejected criticism that his close-ness to the United States and Israel made himunsuitable for his current job as envoy for theMiddle East Quartet, mediating between theJewish state and the Palestinians. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Protests erupt in S. Africa: Violentprotests in South African townships spread onWednesday, piling pressure on President JacobZuma to deliver on government promises ofhelp for the poor three months after elections.

Protesters pelted cars with stones andblocked a highway near Johannesburg in theworst disturbances since Zuma took office,intensifying uncertainty after a wave of strikesand threats of industrial action in Africa’sbiggest economy.

The unrest also undermines South Africa’shope of showing a positive image with lessthan a year to go before the World Cup finals.

Residents in Meyerton, south ofJohannesburg, occupied farmland in invasionsreminiscent of those in neighbouringZimbabwe. They were protesting at beingevicted from their temporary settlement.

Protests continued in Johannesburg’svolatile Thokoza township, where residentsdemand better housing and services. Thirty-five residents are due to appear in court thereon Wednesday after protests turned violent onTuesday. (RTRS)

Dupuy

Suu Kyi Nyan Win

Crowds walk on the Great Wall of China at Badaling, north of Beijing, July 22. (AP)

3 shot

Mine attacks resumeJAKARTA, Indonesia, July 22,(AP): Gunmen fired Wednesday atvehicles operated by US miningcompany Freeport in Indonesia’simpoverished Papua province,injuring two guards and a police-man in the latest attack on theworld’s largest gold mine, policesaid.

A few miles (kilometers) away onthe same road leading to the mine, apoliceman died and an officer andtwo soldiers were injured in a caraccident, national police spokesmanNanan Sukarna said.

There were conflicting reportsabout the number of dead andinjured in the two incidents. Initialreports from witnesses said twopeople were killed in the shooting,but officials could not confirm thoseaccounts.

tightened its grip on power in April, imposinga state of emergency, sacking the judiciary andplacing censors in newsrooms.

Dozens of opponents have been arrested,questioned and eventually released with warn-ings to stop their criticism of the regime,which plans to hold democratic elections onlyin 2014 despite international calls for a swiftreturn to civilian rule.

Senior church leader, the Rev. Manasa

Lasaro, was among the eight Methodists takeninto custody for questioning, police spokes-woman Ema Mua said. Lasaro was also arrest-ed in June for a sermon demanding freedom ofspeech and subsequently released. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Vietnam detains 18 Catholics: Clashesbroke out after Catholics erected a makeshiftplace of worship in central Vietnam on a site

where American bombs destroyed a churchduring the Vietnam War. Communist authori-ties detained 18 people.

The confrontation started Monday whenabout 150 Catholics built the structure intend-ed for religious services on the site of the TamToa church, which was destroyed by USplanes in 1968, Father Pham Dinh Phung saidWednesday by telephone from Quang Binhprovince. (AP)

Defence

‘Riot pushed forward anti-terror cooperation’

China, Russia kick off drillBEIJING/MOSCOW, July 22, (RTRS):China and Russia were holding a jointmilitary exercise on Wednesday, withthe drill seen as a chance to beef upanti-terrorism cooperation after therecent flare-up of violence in China’sXinjiang region.

The “Peace Mission 2009” five-dayexercise in northeast China comesweeks after China’s worst ethnic unrestin decades between Muslim Uighursand Han Chinese in the far-westernregion of Xinjiang that killed at least197 people.

“To some extent, the July 5 Xinjiangriot pushed forward anti-terrorismcooperation between China andRussia,” the China Daily newspaperquoted Major Wang Haiyun, a formerChinese military attache to Russia, assaying.

Russia itself has been grappling withrising violence in the North Caucasusregions of Ingushetia, Dagestan andChechnya. Russia and China are alsowary of a rising tide of instability inpost-Soviet Central Asia that has spiltover from Afghanistan.

“The situation in Central Asia itself,including Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan isnot so good, so that’s the most likelyarea of practical cooperation. And in

fact they’re learning new ways to fightagainst Islamic insurgents andUighurs,” said Vassily Kashin, aChinese military expert at the RussianAcademy of Sciences’ Institute of FarEastern Studies in Moscow.

Russia and China are core membersof the Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO) which someexperts say is an attempt to form analternative military bloc to Nato tocounter the rising threats of separatismand extremism in Central Asia.

The SCO’s members also include theCentral Asian republics of Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Order“Some NATO officials ... fancy it is

up to them to look after world order,performing the role of the world’spoliceman,” said Russian military ana-lyst Viktor Litovkin.

“But the situation in Afghanistanshows that Nato without Russia, with-out assistance from the Central Asianstates, China and other leading nationsof the region is unable to deal alonewith the Taliban and al-Qaeda.”

But some analysts said the smallerscale of the current bilateral exercisecompared with a similar one in 2007under the SCO, reflects a recent cooling

of Sino-Russian military ties. “In reality they are downgrading or

reducing their military ties for the pastcouple of years,” said Andrew Yang, thehead of the Chinese Council ofAdvanced Policy Studies in Taiwan.

“(China has) already reached a stagewhere they can produce or develop theirown indigenous and advanced weaponssystems. They’re no longer totallyreliant on Russian support.”

When asked during a video link withBeijing what new weapons Russiawould show off during the drills, mili-tary analyst Litovkin said he believedthere would not be any.

The exercise will involve some 3,000army and air force personnel and over40 fighters and helicopter gunships.

Russia’s Zvezda television channelsaid the movement of Russian troopsand weapons to China for the exercis-es was the biggest deployment offorces abroad by the nation’s FarEastern Military District since WorldWar Two, when the Soviet Unioncrushed Japan’s armed forces in Chinaand Korea.

A Chinese fighter-bomber crashedduring preparations for the military drillwith Russia on Sunday, killing twopilots.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

19INTERNATIONAL

Drugs

An unidentified relative mourns over thebody of Aurelio Diaz Hernandez, 28, anactivist opposed to the construction ofthe San Cristobal de Las Casas toPalenque highway at a school in thetown of Mitziton in southern Mexico, onJuly 21. According to fellow activists,Diaz Hernandez was run-over and killedby a rival group while he was helping toblock the road. The activists argue thatthe construction of the highway willthreaten their communal lands. Imagesabove are of Mexican national heroes.

(AP)

Lieberman Chavez

Israeli FM called ‘fascist’: Israel’s for-eign minister ran into controversy on the firstday of a Latin American trip when an officialof Brazil’s ruling party reportedly called hima “fascist.”

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported thatValter Pomar, secretary of international rela-tions for the Workers Party, said that Avigdor“Lieberman is a racist and a fascist” duringan interview. Haaretz reported that Pomaralso said that “the Brazilian left is organizingprotests” against Lieberman “and against thepolicy he represents.”

The left-leaning Workers Party has longbeen sharply critical of Israel’s policiestoward Palestinians, and Lieberman has advo-cated a tough line on Israel’s Arab minority.

He has suggested redrawing Israel’s bor-ders to push areas with heavy concentrationsof its Arab citizens outside the country andunder Palestinian jurisdiction, while requiringthose who remain to sign an oath of loyalty tothe Jewish state. Some 20 percent of Israel’s 7million citizens are Arabs. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Venezuela denies US charges:Venezuela rejected on Tuesday a U.S. govern-ment report that said it was not cooperatingfully in the war on drug trafficking, sayingsuch accusations had to stop if bilateral rela-tions were to improve.

A report from the GovernmentAccountability Office, the US Congress’investigative agency, said drug corruption hadreached the ministerial level in Venezuela anddecried a “permissive” attitude to traffickinggroups from Colombia.

Venezuela, whose allies include Cuba andIran, rejected the report that it said lackedobjectivity and was intended to promote

Brazil’s former sailor Antonio Geraldo da Costa, aka ‘Neguinho,’ is carried by a friendas he is greeted by friends at the airport in Rio de Janeiro on July 21. Costa left Brazil40 years ago to escape the military regime that remained in power from 1964-1985.Before moving to Sweden as a political refugee in 1970, Costa was part of the NationalLiberation Alliance, a rebel group that fought against Brazil’s dictatorship. A supporterholds a picture of a tiger behind him in reference to another of his nicknames. (AP)

Lat/Am

Girls walk at one of the seven compounds that SOS Children’s Villages foundation has in Honduras, providing for about 1,000 orphaned or abandoned children nationwide, inTegucigalpa on July 21. (Inset): Honduras’ ousted President Manuel Zelaya speaks during a press conference at the Honduran embassy in Managua on Tuesday. (AP)

‘Broad measures hit poorest’

Zelaya allies rethink sanctionsTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 22, (AP):Supporters of ousted President ManuelZelaya are advocating targeted economicsanctions to pressure the interim govern-ment to allow his return rather than broadermeasures that might harm the CentralAmerican country’s poorest citizens.

US officials are considering imposingsanctions on one of the hemisphere’s poor-est countries if mediation efforts by CostaRican President Oscar Arias fail to resolvethe crisis. The European Union has alreadyfrozen 65 million euros ($92 million) indevelopment aid and warned of furthersteps.

But with Honduras’ defiant leaders vow-ing to tough out any economic pain formonths, Zelaya has begun to rethink hisprevious support for sweeping measuresintended to isolate the interim government.

From Managua, Nicaragua, Zelaya saidlate Tuesday that he sent a letter toPresident Barack Obama naming the armyofficials and lawmakers who allegedlyplanned his ouster and asking for economicsanctions specifically targeting “those whoconspired directly to execute the coup.”

SanctionsThat’s because broad sanctions hit the

poorest citizens the hardest, and some ques-tion whether they even work againstalready-isolated regimes. Earlier this week,interim President Roberto Michelettivowed to hang on until the scheduled endof Zelaya’s term in January, saying, “Wehave an enormous willingness to bear upunder this situation.”

“When I hear them saying that they canlast for months, I realize that they can getthrough it, “ said Xiomara Castro, Zelaya’swife, who remains in Honduras. “Whatthey aren’t thinking is what a strong blowthis would be for the average people.”

She supports tactics such as seizing bankaccounts or freezing assets of coup leaders,who have defied a resolution by theOrganization of American States demand-ing that Zelaya be reinstated.

Micheletti sent a team to Washington this

week to lobby against economic sanctionsby portraying the coup backers as a bul-wark against “dictatorship” and “commu-nism.”

An official at Honduras’ TechnicalDepartment of International Cooperationsaid many projects financed by foreigngovernments or organizations have alreadybeen placed on hold.

Annual foreign aid of about $300 millionaccounts for about 10 percent of all federalspending.

But potential trade sanctions could havea far greater effect on Honduras, whichrelies heavily on export-assembly plants.

WarnedUS officials warned that such measures

could be coming, even though questionsremain about the effectiveness of sanctions.Historically, they have only been successfulin about one-third of cases, said GaryHufbauer, senior fellow at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for InternationalEconomics.

“Honduras is a pretty vulnerable country.It’s small and dependent on a handful ofcountries for trade,” Hufbauer said. Henoted, however, that since Honduras is aUS ally it may be more likely to yield tosanctions.

Hufbauer said targeted sanctions aretough to impose, because government offi-cials and their assets have to be identifiedand investigated, “and you may be assuredthat as you are investigating, they’ll be try-ing to move their assets around.”

On Tuesday, the interim governmentordered Venezuelan diplomats to leave thecountry within 72 hours, accusingVenezuela of meddling in the country’saffairs and threatening to use its armedforces against Honduras. VenezuelanEmbassy charge d’affaires Ariel Vargasvowed to defy the expulsion order fromwhat he called “a usurper government …that is not recognized by anyone on aninternational level.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hasbeen the most vociferous critic of what he

calls the “gorilla” government that over-threw his ally Zelaya on June 28.

No government has recognized theMicheletti administration.

ReferendumZelaya angered many people in

Honduras by ignoring Congress’ and thecourts’ objections to his effort to hold a ref-erendum on changing the constitution,which many saw as an attempt to impose aChavez-style socialist government.

Just weeks after the coup, the effects ofthe aid suspensions and economic uncer-tainty can already be measured in less newclothes and fewer sweets at the SOSHonduras Children’s Villages shelter in thecapital Tegucigalpa, which cares for 1,000abandoned or orphaned children.

The foundation depends on foreign gov-ernments, international organizations andlocal business donations for about 30 per-cent of its budget, said foundation DirectorGustavo Blanco, who has been told bydonors that “the current environment isn’tright” for funding.

Blanco said the foundation has alreadyhad to cut back on fuel expenses for outingsfor the children.

In the “village,” each foster mother caresfor eight or more orphaned or abandonedchildren in one of the small tile-roofedhomes surrounded by yards. The kids helpwith chores and attend public schools.

Albertina Carrasco said she has had toput off buying new clothes for her charges.

“I would like to get them all coats,because it gets cool now that rainy season ishere,” she said.

The children are now splitting desserts— “which is what they most like,”Carrasco said — but for the time being theyare not going hungry, eating typical mealsof beans, rice, cheese and meat.

But emergencies — like the 3,000 lempi-ras ($165) that foster mother Elvia Anaribahad to pay for medical tests for a three-year-old boy with a kidney infection —always threaten to send the budget into thered.

Washington’s “interventionist pretension.”“The normalization of political relations

with the government of the United States issubject to the termination of this intolerablepractice,” the Foreign Ministry said in a state-ment. President Hugo Chavez, a former para-trooper and coup leader, has had better rela-

tions with U.S. President Barack Obama thanwith his predecessor, George W. Bush. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

5,000 adolescents a yr killed: Fivethousand adolescents a year are killed inBrazil’s cities and towns, most of them poor

and uneducated black males, according to ajoint study released Tuesday by UNICEF, thegovernment and a slum-monitoring group.

“The majority are at risk of death becauseof the drug trade, generally for being users,not dealers,” Brazil’s undersecretary forhuman rights, Carmem Oliveira, explained.

The study, an Index of Homicides inAdolescence, showed that two in every 1,000Brazilian children aged 12 will die beforereaching 19 years. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

3 bodies found in ditch: Three bodies,one of them headless, were found floating inan irrigation ditch Tuesday in a northernMexican border city where drug violence hasspiked despite the presence of thousands ofsoldiers.

Firefighters fished the bodies from the ditchin Ciudad Juarez, a city across the border fromEl Paso, Texas. One of the bodies was decapi-tated, while the other two were found withtheir heads wrapped in packing tape, accord-ing to a city fire department report. All threehad signs of torture — a trademark of druggang violence. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

7.5 tonnes cocaine seized: Mexicanauthorities have seized over 7.5 tonnes ofcocaine found aboard two speed boats travel-ing off the Pacific coast en route to the UnitedStates, Mexico’s Navy said Tuesday.

The boats were seized between Sundaynight and early Monday morning near thesouthern state of Oaxaca, in an operation con-ducted in cooperation with the United States,Guatemala and Belize, the ministry said.

The two vessels were carrying a total of320 packages of cocaine, weighing in at7,550.95 kilograms. (AFP)

Trade branches out to 47 nations

Mexican cartelsspread tentaclesGUATEMALA CITY, July 22, (AP):Guatemalan drug boss Juan Jose“Juancho” Leon was summoned byMexican traffickers for what he wastold was business. Instead, dozens ofattackers ambushed his entourage withgrenades and assault rifles, killing Leonand 10 others in a brazen demonstrationof power.

Mexican drug traffickers are branch-ing out as never before — spreadingtheir tentacles into 47 nations, includingthe US, Guatemala and even Colombia,long the heart of the drug trade in LatinAmerica.

The expansion comes amid a militarycrackdown in Mexico and the arrests ofmajor Colombian suppliers and poses anew challenge for efforts to stop theflow of drugs into the United States.

In dozens of interviews with officialsand experts in seven countries, TheAssociated Press found that theMexican mobs increasingly buy direct-ly from the cocaine-producing Andesand have begun using countries as dis-tant as Argentina to obtain the rawmaterial for methamphetamine.Mexican gangsters have been arrestedas far away as Malaysia as they seeknew markets for cocaine and “meth”supply sources.

“There are more Mexican drug traf-fickers in South America today than atany time ever, period,” said JayBergman, the Andean regional directorfor the US Drug EnforcementAdministration.

The United States has spent hundredsof millions of dollars to help Colombiadismantle its major cartels but may haveactually helped the Mexicans gain trac-tion in South America in the process.

In the past two years, Colombiaextradited 14 warlords to the US ondrug-running charges and another sixmajor traffickers have been killed orarrested. Mexican emissaries andmoney are flowing into the country tofill the void.

Source“The belief is that the Mexicans are

trying to get closer to the source of sup-ply and take over the transport,” saidJere Miles, chief of the unit that trackstrade-based money laundering for theUS Immigration and Customs Service.

Mexican traffickers have turned up inmany Colombian cities and are workingto get cash in the hands of peasants toboost coca production, said Colombianpolice director Gen. Oscar Naranjo.

“We have evidence of Mexicans sit-ting in Medellin, sitting in Cali, sittingin Pereira, in Barranquilla,” he told theAP. In neighboring Peru, the world’sNo. 2 cocaine-producing country afterColombia, Mexican traffickers are brib-ing customs officials at airports and sea-ports and laundering money by invest-ing in real estate. At least four majorMexican cartels now buy cocainedirectly in Peru, said Sonia Medina,chief public prosecutor for drugs andmoney laundering.

In the last three years, 40 Mexicanshave been arrested in Peru on drug-traf-ficking charges, mostly low-level couri-ers smuggling 22 to 44 pounds (10 to 20kilograms) of cocaine in suitcases, saidCol. Leonardo Morales of Peru’s anti-narcotics police.

Traffickers rent homes in Lima’s bestneighborhoods for weeks at a time. Onesuspect, Saulo Mauricio Parra Tejada,was arrested there in June after policefound four suitcases with 234 pounds(106 kilograms) of cocaine in his car. Asecond man with Parra commandeereda taxi and fled in a shootout with police.

“We presume he was headed for theairport,” Morales said. Drug-relatedkillings — with the sudden appearanceof Mexican cartel-contracted hit men —are also on the upswing. ThreeMexicans believed involved in the drugtrade and 15 Colombians were mur-dered in Lima in the past two years.

“When Peru’s mafias dealt prettyexclusively with Colombians, you did-n’t see that,” said Eduardo Castaneda, aPeruvian anti-drug prosecutor.

Other Latin American countries havestarted playing a role as transshipmentpoints for the chemicals used to makemethamphetamine, a highly addictivestreet drug.

Mexico supplies 80 to 90 percent ofthe methamphetamine sold in the US,according to the DEA. The drug is madefrom pseudoephedrine and ephedrine,commonly found in cold and flu medi-cines and typically obtained in bulkfrom India and China.

In 2007, Mexico banned the importand domestic use of both chemicals. Sothe problem spread abroad. Last year,the United Nations identified, for thefirst time, the manufacture of metham-phetamine and other illicit syntheticstimulants in 10 nations, includingArgentina, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala andHonduras.

In Argentina, ephedrine imports rosefrom 5.5 tons in 2006 to 28.5 tons the

following year, according to the DEA.Half the 1.2 tons of ephedrine Argentineauthorities seized last year was boundfor Mexico in a shipment of sugar.

Also last year, police took down amethamphetamine lab in Buenos Aireslinked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel. Inall, 23 people — including nineMexicans — were arrested.

Court papers say the cartel exploitedArgentina’s lax financial oversight andplodding judiciary to set up shell com-panies to import ephedrine from Indiaand China. The papers say employeesthen ground up the ephedrine, liquefiedit and shipped it in wine bottles toMexico.

KillingIn another case, three young entrepre-

neurs were found in a ditch, handsbound with plastic. Investigators saythey were pumped with bullets in agangland-style killing for crossingMexican mobsters.

Two of them, Sebastian Forza andDamian Ferron, apparently tried toshortchange Mexicans who were buy-ing in bulk from them.

They owned pharmacies and “adul-terated the ephedrine, thinking they’dtake advantage of the Mexicans’ stupid-ity,” said Tony Greco, who recentlyretired from the DEA after six years inArgentina.

A month later, Argentina began totightly restrict sales of ephedrine. Grecosaid Mexican gangs in Argentina havesince returned to trafficking cocainefrom Bolivia, where the U.N. says cocaproduction is up for a third straight yearand whose president, Evo Morales,expelled the DEA last year. Greco saidthe cocaine is shipped from there toEurope, Africa and Asia.

In the meantime, the sale of drugsused to make meth has also spread. InHonduras, authorities seized 3.5 millionpseudoephedrine pills from smugglerslast year, arresting four Mexicans. In ElSalvador, police are investigating thedisappearance of 2 million pseu-doephedrine pills from a 2008 ship-ment, and cough medicine purchased inbulk has been sent north. Honduras, ElSalvador and Guatemala have now allpassed laws prohibiting most uses ofephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

Peru, where the drugs remain for sale,is among countries where traffickersroutinely take a group of people, hit asmany retail outlets as possible and buythe maximum amount of pseu-doephedrine they can get, in what policecall “smurfing.”

In Malaysia, three Mexicans werearrested last year and charged with traf-ficking 63 pounds (29 kilograms) ofmeth. If found guilty, they face thedeath penalty.

Guatemala is struggling to combatthe Mexican crime invasion with loanedhelicopters from the US and organizedcrime investigators from the U.N.Guatemalans feel their country, wedgedbetween Mexico and Colombia, hasbecome like “the meat in a hamburger,”then-Interior Minister Francisco JoseJimenez said last year.

The US State Department has warnedthat a weak criminal justice system andpervasive corruption make it difficultfor Guatemala to address the rise indrug activity. In late November, 17 peo-ple were killed in an apparent battlebetween Mexican and Guatemalangangs, reportedly over a stolen drugshipment, said Guatemalan PoliceDirector Marlene Blanco.

Four months later, police discovereda training camp for the Zetas, one ofMexico’s fiercest gangs, a few milessouth of the Mexican border in Ixtcan.They also found 500 grenades and thou-sands of bullets believed stolen from theGuatemalan army, and in mid-June,Guatemalan authorities confiscatednearly 10 million pseudoephedrine pillsin a shipping container in PuertoQuetzal, Guatemala’s main port on thePacific. It was the country’s biggestseizure of the substance.

President Alvaro Colom, the nationalpolice chief and the interior minister allsay they have received death threatsfrom traffickers in recent months.

Since the Juancho Leon murder inMarch 2008, 33 Zetas have been cap-tured and are behind bars, said GiulioAntonio Talamont, the country’s prisonschief. They include senior Zeta com-mander Daniel Perez Rojas, a formerMexican soldier charged with orches-trating Leon’s killing.

Drug lords are infamous in Mexicofor their jail breaks.

So nervous Guatemalan authoritiesrecently doubled the number of soldiersringing the prison where Perez, alias “ElCachetes” or “Puffy Cheeks,” and theother Mexicans are held. They jam cellphone signals and periodically rotatePerez from cell to cell for extra security,Talamont said.

The authorities plan to hold Perez’trial later this year in a makeshift court-room inside the prison.

World News Roundup

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

20INTERNATIONAL

Ecology

Pest-control boomerangs

‘Saviour’gone wildSAN FRANCISCO, July 22, (AP):Imported insects have been deployedas foot soldiers in the fight againstinvasive bugs and plants that causebillions of dollars in damage eachyear. But some of those imports areproving to be pests themselves thatupset the balance of nature and threat-en native species.

A weevil released to attack a weedhas veered off target and is gobblingup a native plant in MidwesternNebraska. A fly that was supposed tokill invasive moths is wiping outnative moths in the northeasternregion of New England. And an insectintroduced to combat a pesky weedled to a spike in the population ofmice carrying a potentially deadlyvirus in the centralnorthern state ofMontana.

Despite suchscattered scientificmishaps, theAssociated Pressfound the federalagency that hasapproved the impor-tation and release ofhundreds of insectsover the past three decades seldomtracks their effects on other speciesand the environment and does noteven know whether most of the intro-duced bugs have died off or thrivedunchecked.

It largely leaves the monitoring ofbug releases to states and researcherswho critics say have little funding orinclination to track impacts that mightnot show up for decades.

Too many insects have been letloose without understanding theireffectiveness and the long-term con-sequences, critics say. Although onlya relative handful of biological con-trols are known to have gone wild,they say there is potential for unpre-dictable harm from others.

Problem“If you find you’ve got a problem

with a chemical, you can stop spray-ing it,” said Daniel Simberloff, anenvironmental science professor atthe University of Tennessee,Knoxville. “If you find you made amistake with a biocontrol agent, youcan’t call it back.”

In one of the most infamous disas-ters, farmers introduced the mon-goose to Hawaii in the late 1800s tocontrol rats that were feeding onsugar cane. Rather than control rats,the mongoose have preyed on thenests of endangered and threatenednative birds.

In the past decade, researchersfound that a parasitic fly, released aslate as 1986 to combat gypsy andbrown tail moths, is devastating thenative silk moth population in NewEngland.

But supporters view biological con-trols as an alternative to widespreadpesticide and herbicide use, and say thescience has come a long way.

Scientists now spend years vettingcritters to make sure they do not feedon what they are not supposed to, saidMark Hoddle, an entomologist with theUniversity of California, Riverside.

Despite some recent lapses, advo-cates of biocontrol point to successes.

The vidalia beetle from Australia inthe late 19th century helped saveCalifornia’s citrus industry, whichwas ravaged by a scale insect, Hoddlesaid. In the 1940s, Klamathweed bee-tle helped control St. John’s wort, aweed that is toxic to livestock andcrowds out native plant species.

Alternatives“The alternatives are do nothing,

let (the invasive species) do what itdoes, and suffer the consequences,”Hoddle said. “Or spray insecticide orherbicide like crazy. That’s expen-sive, pollutes the air and contami-nates our groundwater.”

The US Department ofAgriculture’s Animal and PlantHealth Inspection Service (APHIS)has approved hundreds of biocontrolagents since the early 1970s, saidtechnical adviser Robert Flanders, theformer head of the permitting unit.

But officials say they do not have amore precise number because biocon-trol permits over the decades havebeen intermingled with thousands offiles for other permits.

The agency does not know whathappened to most of the biocontrolagents it approved for use, Flanderssaid, because it does not have con-gressional authority to require moni-toring after insects are released or tocollect such data.

However, he noted that the poten-tial effects are assessed prior to everyrelease, with input from federal envi-ronmental agencies.

“When you approve a permit, it isan irretrievable event,” Flanders said.“The signing of a permit ... is notreceived lightly by the people who doit.”

This artist’s rendering made available by the TMT Observatory Corporation shows the proposed Thirty Meter Observatory. A consortium of US and Canadian universities on July 21 announced it has decided to build theworld’s largest telescope in Hawaii. (AP)

Simberloff

Research

Amateur tells of Jupiter spot: AnAustralian amateur stargazer who spotted a“one in a million” impact on JupiterWednesday told of his astonishment as hechanced upon the Earth-sized dent in its gassyatmosphere.

Anthony Wesley, 44, who has had a life-long passion for the stars, was photographingthe planet close to midnight on Sunday whenhe noticed a black mark that hadn’t been theretwo nights earlier.

The computer programmer, who watchesthe sky with his 14.5-inch (37 centimetre) tele-scope in the backyard of his farm outsideCanberra, said he first thought it was a shadowcast by one of the planet’s 63 moons.

“But after a few minutes I realised it was inthe wrong place and it was the wrong shape tobe anything like that, and then it was a case ofmy eyes convincing my brain,” Wesley told AFP.

“The eyes are saying ‘There it is, it’s on thescreen, you can’t deny it,’ but the brain is say-ing ‘Hang on, there’s such an unlikely chanceof this being an impact, it’s a one in a million,or worse than that,’ so it did take me a whileto actually believe what I was seeing.”

For the next two hours, Wesley said he franti-cally photographed the mark and then startedemailing astronomers, desperate to alert asmany other people as he could “to get the pro-fessional astronomers in and let them take over.”

After Nasa experts spent six hours examin-ing the spot with an infra-red telescope inHawaii, the verdict came in — Jupiter hadbeen hit, possibly by a stray comet or a planet-sized block of ice.

“It was completely unlike any of the weath-er phenomena that we observe on Jupiter,”said Glenn Orton from Nasa’s Jet PropulsionLab in California, on Tuesday.

“Our first image showed a really brightobject right where that black scar was, andimmediately we knew this was an impact,”Orton said.

Wesley took up astronomy as a hobby aged10, and said anyone with a telescope had beenwatching Jupiter since Monday, keen to watchthe atmospheric fallout from the impact.

“A lot of material down low in Jupiter’satmosphere gets brought up by one of theseimpacts, so that gives some of the planetaryscientists around the world invaluable oppor-tunity to study parts of Jupiter that they can’tnormally see,” Wesley said.

Jupiter, which is 11 times larger than Earth,was last hit by fragments of the Shoemaker Levy9 comet in 1994, and Wesley said Sunday’s col-lision also raised some interesting questionsabout how rare such events really were. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

‘Path won’t get US to Mars’: Nasa can-not continue on its present path, whichincludes staffing the International SpaceStation and returning astronauts to the moonby 2020, and fulfill its ultimate goal of gettingpeople to Mars, the US space agency’s newchief said on Tuesday.

Nasa is trying to finish construction of the$100-billion space station and retire the shuttlefleet next year. It also is developing two newrockets and a capsule-style craft that can ferrycrews to the moon and other destinations inaddition to the station, which orbits 225 miles(360 km) above Earth.

“We cannot continue to survive on the paththat we’re on right now,” Charlie Bolden, aretired Marine Corps general and four-timeshuttle astronaut, said in a speech to Nasaemployees.

Bolden said he believes the space program’slong-term objective is sending people to Mars.

“The challenge for us in the next fewmonths is to figure out what the single mostefficient, most cost-effective path is to getthere,” he said.

This Jan 2009 aerial photos show drillingsites, associated roads and pipeline proj-ects in Jonah Field located near Pinedale,Wyoming. Earlier in July 2009, the Bureauof Land Management recognized four oiland gas companies for their efforts to cutdown on air pollution in energy develop-ments on public land in southwest Wyom-ing. But a representative of a Pinedalearea citizens organization that wants tosee the pace of development slowed says

air pollution is still a problem. (AP)

Astronomy

Powerful device to see images of first stars

Hawaii site for big telescopeHONOLULU, July 22, (AP): Hawaiiwas chosen Tuesday as the site for theworld’s biggest telescope, a device sopowerful that it will allow scientists tosee some 13 billion light years awayand get a glimpse into the early years ofthe universe.

The telescope’s mirror — stretchingalmost 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter,or nearly the length of a Boeing 737’swingspan — will be so large that itshould be able to gather light that willhave spent 13 billion years traveling toearth. This means astronomers lookinginto the telescope will be able to seeimages of the first stars and galaxiesforming — some 400 million yearsafter the Big Bang.

“It will sort of give us the history ofthe universe,” Thirty Meter TelescopeObservatory Corp. spokesman CharlesBlue said.

The telescope, expected to be com-pleted by 2018, will be located atop adormant volcano that is popular withastronomers because its summit sitswell above the clouds at 13,796 feet(4,205 meters), offering a clear view ofthe sky above for 300 days a year.

Hawaii’s isolated position in the mid-dle of the Pacific Ocean also means thearea is relatively free of air pollution.

Few cities on the Big Island mean therearen’t a lot of man-made lights aroundto disrupt observations.

The other finalist candidate site forthe Thirty Meter Telescope was Chile’sCerro Armazones mountain.

Richard Ellis, astronomy professorthe California Institute of Technologyand a Thirty Meter Telescope boardmember, told reporters in a conferencecall that Mauna Kea is at a higher ele-vation, its air is drier and its averagetemperature fluctuates less during thecourse of the day — all helpful factorsfor those using the new telescope.

BuiltThe telescope will be built by the

University of California, the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology and theAssociation of Canadian Universitiesfor Research in Astronomy.

The current world’s largest tele-scopes also are located atop MaunaKea, but the size of their diameters areabout three times smaller than theThirty Meter Telescope. Current tele-scopes also don’t routinely offer viewsof hundreds of planets orbiting aroundother stars and stars that are near thesun like the new telescope will.

But it may not hold the world’s

largest title for long.A partnership of European countries

plans to build the European ExtremelyLarge Telescope, which would have an138-foot (42-meter) mirror. The groupis considering sites in Argentina, Chile,Morocco and Spain. It plans to decideon a location next year and be able tohost its first observation in 2018.

Another group of universities plansto finish the Giant Magellan Telescope,also around 2018, with an 80-foot (24-meter) mirror in Las Campanas, Chile.

Rolf Kudritzki, the director ofInstitute for Astronomy at theUniversity of Hawaii, said Hawaii’snorthern hemisphere location will helpthe Thirty Meter Telescope complementother large telescopes planned for Chilein the southern hemisphere.

“I think all of the astronomers in theworld can be happy because in principlenow the two largest telescopes will beable to cover the whole sky. And forresearch that’s an important decision,”he said.

It will also be a special boon toHawaii astronomers, who will be allot-ted a share of the TMT’s observationtime. Kudritzki said his colleagues heldan impromptu celebratory partyTuesday.

Bill & Melinda Gates

Bolden was appointed Nasa administratorby President Barack Obama’ administration inMay, about five years after his predecessor,

‘Boost US education’The United States must improve its edu-cational standing in the world by rewardingeffective teaching and by developing bet-ter, universal measures of performance forstudents and teachers, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Tuesday.

Speaking at the National Conferenceof State Legislatures’ annual legislativesummit, Gates told hundreds of lawmak-ers how federal stimulus money shouldbe used to spark educational innovation,spread best practices and improveaccountability.

On Tuesday, he urged legislators to askcolleges and universities in their districts topublish their graduation rates. The institu-tions should be rewarded with fundingbased on the number of degrees granted,not just students enrolled, Gates said.

“The way I see forward is to use meas-urement to drive quality,” Gates said.

The Seattle-based Bill & MelindaGates Foundation spent nearly $4 billionbetween 2000 and 2008 to improveAmerica’s high schools and award schol-arships, primarily to low-income andminority students. (AP)

president George W. Bush, set a goal for theagency to retire the shuttle fleet by 2010,resume sending humans to the moon by 2020

and then push on to Mars. Returning astronauts to the moon was esti-

mated in 2005 to cost about $110 billion, but

that figure has since been cut by about $40 bil-lion. Nasa spends about half of its $18 billionannual budget on human spaceflight. (RTRS)

In this July 20 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Dave Wolf performs his secondspacewalk and the Endeavour’s second also of othe scheduled five overall in a littleover a week’s time to continue work on the International Space Station. AstronautsWolf and Tom Marshburn (out of frame), both mission specialists, successfully trans-ferred a spare KU-band antenna to long-term storage on the space station, along witha backukp coolant system pump module and a spare drive motor for the station’s

robot arm transporter. (AP)

Shrivelled by fifth

Cook glacier shrinksPARIS, July 22, (AFP): One of the biggestglaciers in the southern hemisphere shriv-elled by a fifth in 40 years, French scientistssaid on Wednesday.

The Cook glacier on Kerguelen, an islandin France’s southern Indian Ocean territo-ries, covered 501-sq-km (193-sq-mile) in1963.

Combining satellite images with otherdata, glaciologists from the Laboratory forStudying Geophysics and SpaceOceanography estimate the glacier lost anaverage of nearly 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) inheight each year by 2003, shedding almost22 percent of its original volume.

In terms of area, the glacier shrank by 1.9-sq-km (0.74-sq-mile) per year from 1963 to1991.

Thereafter the loss doubled, to 3.8-sq-km (1.48-sq-mile) per year. By 2003, theglacier covered only 403-sq-km (155-sq-mile), a retreat of 20 percent comparedwith 1963.

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Long afterlife on TV, other ancillaries

‘Surgeon’ carves uplifting profile of humanitarianNEW YORK, July 22, (RTRS): Oneof those documentaries that makesyou feel good about the human con-dition, “The English Surgeon’’ tellshow prominent brain surgeon HenryMarsh, appalled by what he saw ofUkrainian medicine while giving alecture in Kiev in 1992, spent theensuing years donating his time,expertise and even equipment tohelp desperate patients with noaccess to 21st-century remedies.

A festival favorite whose humani-ty should help it draw respectablebox office at sophisticated theaters

— the indie opens Friday — “TheEnglish Surgeon’’ will have a longafterlife on TV and in other ancillar-ies.

Overcrowded Taking as its starting point

Marsh’s trip to Kiev to remove atumor from small-town boy MarianDolishny — a procedure particularlyfraught with danger because thepatient must be awake during theoperation — director GeoffreySmith’s film contrasts Marsh’ssophisticated techniques with thedecrepit state of Ukrainian medicine.

Marsh and his protege, Dr IgorKurilets, have to deal with over-crowded hospitals, inferior equip-ment and many patients who haveeither waited too long to visit a doc-tor or been misdiagnosed by localincompetents, so that what wereonce curable situations have nowbecome death sentences.

In addition, it’s made obvious thatin this still-emerging post-Sovietsociety, jealousy of success hasbecome something of the norm,which is why Kurilets keeps beinginvestigated by various government

bodies on spurious grounds.None of this seems to daunt the

two doctors, however, and Marsh inparticular trudges through this med-ical morass with a combination ofcompassion and ironic humor:“Hospitals are like prisons,’’ he saysat one point. “They’re places wherea small number of people are doingnasty things to a large number ofpeople.’’

HeartbreakingBeautifully shot and edited, “The

English Surgeon’’ veers easilybetween the harshness and absurdity

of Marsh’s work. Two scenes inwhich Marsh has to tell patients thattheir tumors are inoperable are heart-breaking. So too, in its own way, is ascene in which Marsh gifts Kuriletswith several drills used for cuttinginto the skull, and notes that hisLondon hospital uses, and throwsaway, at least 10 of these a week. Towhich Kurilets replies that he has onedrill, and has used it for 10 years.

But episodes like this are only ascene-setter for the film’s intimatelook at Dolishny’s operation, a deli-cate affair which is endangered

when the patient suffers a seizure inthe middle of the procedure.

Ending the film on a well-earnednote of sentimentality, Marsh visitsthe home of a woman whose daugh-ter he operated on, only to make hercondition worse. Yet the woman,whose child eventually died, bearsno ill will, and thanks the doctor forat least giving her family hope inwhat had been considered a hope-less situation. It is moments likethese that make “The EnglishSurgeon’’ a memorable and uplift-ing experience.

Variety

Kadeer Gyllenhaal

Film

Worthington checks box for ‘Candidate’

Depp’s next role on big screen unclear

This undated Footprint Films handout photo shows actor Anthony LaPaglia who plays Roger East in the Robert Connolly directed film Balibo. The movie which has its world premiere in Melbourne on July 24, is a hard-hitting film depict-ing the murders of six Australian-based journalists during Indonesia’s 1975 invasion of East Timor. Director Robert Connolly said the film Balibo was not only an attempt to show the truth behind the deaths of the newsmen but

also to depict the horrors endured by the East Timorese people during the invasion and subsequent occupation. (AFP)

MELBOURNE: Chinese direc-tors have pulled their movies outof Australia’s biggest film festi-val in a row over a documentaryabout a Uighur leader accused ofinciting unrest, organisers saidWednesday.

Melbourne festival headRichard Moore said two Chinesefilm-makers pulled their moviesafter he ignored pressure fromBeijing to drop the documentaryabout Rebiya Kadeer, US-basedhead of the World UighurCongress.

Moore said he believedBeijing had ordered the with-drawal of films “Perfect Life”and “Cry Me a River” in anattempt at political intimidationahead of the Aug 8 screening,which will be attended by Kadeer.

“It’s hard to draw any otherconclusion,” he told AFP.

“It makes me feel angry,annoyed and irritated all at thesame time, that they would try tointerfere with our program forblatantly political ends.”

Moore said an official fromMelbourne’s Chinese consulatecalled him earlier this month andurged him to withdraw the docu-mentary, “Ten Conditions ofLove”, by Australian film-makerJeff Daniels.

After he “politely hung up”and ignored the request, Moorereceived a letter this week fromChinese producer Chow Keungnotifying him of the films’ with-drawal and criticising the organis-ers for inviting Kadeer toAustralia. Chow said in the letterthat most families of those whodied in recent violence betweenethnic Uighurs and Han Chinesein the region of Xinjiangbelieved the World UighurCongress was involved.

“I am not here to identify themurderer, however in such sor-rowful circumstances, it reallyoffends my sense of morals to

participate in (the festival) thisyear,” he wrote.

Moore said Beijing’s apparentattempts to interfere had back-fired, with an extra screening ofthe documentary being scheduleddue to overwhelming public inter-est stirred up by the controversy.

Chinese authorities haveaccused Kadeer of orchestrating

the recent bloodshed in Xinjiang,home to the mostly MuslimUighurs and a growing number ofsettlers from China’s Han majori-ty.

Violence that erupted betweenthe two groups this month left atleast 197 people dead and over1,600 injured, according toChinese authorities.

Kadeer, who spent six years ina Chinese prison before she wasreleased in 2005 under US pres-sure, has denied Beijing’s accusa-tions.

The Victoria state governmentminister responsible for the festi-val, Gavin Jennings, said itshould be free from any politicalinterference.

“The government is a strongbeliever in free speech,” hisoffice told AFP. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: “Crazy Heart,”a drama starring Jeff Bridges, isset for a spring release by FoxSearchlight, which has acquiredworldwide rights to the film.

Bridges plays an aging coun-try singer in “Heart,” whichwriter-director Scott Cooperadapted from Thomas Cobb’sbook of the same name.

Maggie Gyllenhaal andRobert Duvall co-star in thefilm, which boasts an originalsoundtrack by T-Bone Burnett.(RTRS)

LOS ANGELES, July 22, (RTRS): JohnnyDepp is coming off an acclaimed role in“Public Enemies” and stars in one of themost anticipated movies of this weekend’sComic-Con, “Alice in Wonderland.”

But the Mad Hatter is facing an unusualsituation: Like the character he plays in“Alice,” he soon could be killing time.

Depp is attached to a number of high-pro-file development properties but is facing alandscape devoid of “go” pictures — thoseready for production. Instead, there are adizzying number of possibilities and sched-ule permutations, none of which seems like-ly to result in a produced movie for him any-time soon.

Producers have been interested in Depp forthe title role in Warner Bros.’ “The IncredibleMr. Limpet.” Kevin Lima’s remake of the1964 fantasy comedy that would continue awhimsical, if slightly less drama-intensive,streak for the actor. He has not signed on,however, and in any event the pic would notgo into production until next year.

HiatusMeanwhile, the fourth installment of

“Pirates of the Caribbean” remains a priorityfor Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.At an earlier point, it was going to be the nextpicture for Depp, who toplines as JackSparrow. But with Gore Verbinski no longerdirecting the franchise, the ship has slowed.

Disney is seeking a new director, a process

that could take time. Although the studio isbelieved to want an established helmer offranchise and action fare, it has put the wordout to agents that it would be open to youngerdirectors and new ideas, potentially prolong-ing the process. That could mean as much asa four- or five-year hiatus since the 2007release of the previous picture, “Pirates of theCaribbean: At World’s End.”

(Disney also would like to scale back thesize and budget of the next movie comparedwith previous installments; for that reason, itlikely won’t bring back relatively priceyOrlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.)

Because of the “Pirates” lag, a Depp proj-ect that was supposed to go into productionafter the Sparrow-fest, “The Lone Ranger,”could end up getting pushed back further,though there’s also a possibility it couldshoot ahead of the nautical tale.

For the moment, though, “Ranger” alsoremains locked in the stable. “Pirates” writ-ers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have writtena script for the Disney/Bruckheimer update,but the studio could wind up commissioninga polish or another draft. There’s also nodirector, and Depp is attached to play Tonto,with the title role still to be cast.

CollaborationFinally, Warners’ feature update of the

ghoulish TV series “Dark Shadows” — aDepp/Tim Burton collaboration that mighthave shot later this year or early next year —

also might be back-burnered. Burton still haswork to do on “Alice,” which opens inMarch, and tends to spend a lot of time onprep work.

What the possibilities boil down to,besides head spinning, is that there are proj-ects with momentum that Depp has notsigned for, and projects he has signed for thatdon’t have a lot of momentum.

In other words, it’s a very 2009 phenome-non brought on by a star’s choosiness on theone hand and studios’ increasing caution onthe other. (In what might be an emergingmini-trend, Will Smith and LeonardoDiCaprio happen to find themselves in simi-lar situations.)

The result is that Depp could face a year orlonger without appearing on the big screen.

That might not sound like a major depar-ture, but for moviegoers, it will seem like ashift. Depp has been in one of the most fertileperiods of his career: The actor also stars inthe Hunter S. Thompson adaptation “TheRum Diary” and had a supporting role inTerry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of DoctorParnassus,” which hasn’t yet been released inthe US In the past nine years, Depp has nothad more than two movies come out in any18-month period; if “Imaginarium” gets arelease by the end of 2010, he’ll have hadfour.

Then again, the absence of a new rolemight mean a respite from his breakneck

schedule. Even a pirate needs some time off.Also:

LOS ANGELES: Sam Worthington, whostarred opposite Christian Bale in“Terminator Salvation,” will star in a remakeof the recent Danish thriller “TheCandidate.”

Beau Willimon has been hired to write theproject, and Summit Entertainment haspicked up the remake rights.

The story involves a defense attorney whogoes on the hunt for a group of blackmailersafter he is accused of murder. In a nothing-is-what-it-seems fantasia reminiscent of DavidFincher’s “The Game,” the mystery ends uptying back into the suspicious death of thelawyer’s father. Written by Stefan Jaworski,directed by Kasper Barfoed and starringNikolaj Lie Kaas, “The Candidate” playedin theaters in Denmark in the fall, but it hasno American distributor at the moment.

Worthington next stars in JamesCameron’s “Avatar,” which Fox will releasein December, and “Clash of the Titans,”which Warner Bros. will release in March.

Willimon’s political play “Farragut North”drew interest from George Clooney andLeonardo DiCaprio to direct and star in,respectively, a film version for Warner Bros.Willimon also has adapted the TV series“The Jury,” written by Peter Morgan, into afeature screenplay to be directed by MarcForster.

People & Places

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

22NEWS/FEATURES

Robert Downey Jr (right) and Tommy Davidson pose with fans at the premiere of ‘Orphan’ in Los Angeles, July 21. (AP)

Actor Eric Bana arrives at the premiere ofUniversal Pictures’ ‘Funny People’ held atArclight Cinemas Cinerama Dome on July

20, in Hollywood, California. (AP)

Fawcett O’Neal

Picture taken on July 21, 2009 shows a poster of the Deauville US Film Festival, inDeauville, northern France. The 35th edition of the festival runs from Sept 4 to Sept

13, 2009. (AFP)

Variety

LOS ANGELES: Uma Thurman is to star inan independent drama based on the 1996abduction of 140 schoolgirls in Ugandaforced to fight as child soldiers and serve assex slaves, it was reported Tuesday.

Thurman, the 39-year-old star of “PulpFiction” and “Kill Bill,” will play the nun whotracked down the armed rebels responsible forthe abduction and secured the release of 110of the children, Variety reported.

The film, titled “Girl Soldier,” is based onCanadian journalist Kathy Cook’s book aboutthe incident, “Stolen Angels.”

“This is a film that had to get made,”Thurman was quoted as saying. “It’s beyondme that in this day and age the exploitation ofchild soldiers goes virtually unnoticed and

Jackson

New revelation

Star plannedchildren’s filmLOS ANGELES, July 22, (RTRS):Three months before his death,Michael Jackson committed to co-directing and financing a movie — apoignant drama about foster children— and planned to get started as soonas he completed his London concerts.

The news is the latest in a series ofrevelations that are helping to shedlight on the pop star’s passions and

projects, even as theinvestigation into hisabuse of prescriptiondrugs and a tussleover custody of hischildren rage on.

The movie proj-ect also is eerilykeyed to one of themost hauntingaspects of Jackson’slife: his apparent

feeling that the Jackson 5’s huge suc-cess robbed him of his childhood.

“He was very excited about makingmovies and wanted his hands oneverything, from working on screen-plays to producing, to writing themusic. However, he never showedany interest in acting,’’ B-movie pro-ducer, writer and director BryanMichael Stoller said of Jackson, whostarred in the 1978 pic “The Wiz.’’

Stoller said he had a 23-yearfriendship with the pop star and washis partner in the film companyMagic Shadows. He was to have co-directed the movie, called “TheyCage the Animals at Night,’’ whichStoller said they had been developingfor seven years.

Real-lifeThe project was based on a 1985

book about the real-life experiencesof author Jennings Michael Burch,who bounced around foster homes asa child. Jackson showed the book toStoller in 2002 at his Neverland estateand asked if he wanted to produceand co-direct a movie version.

“Michael told me often he felt likehe grew up as an orphan, like a fosterkid, because he never was in onehome,’’ Stoller said. “To him everyhotel was like a different foster home.He said he used to sit in the windowand see kids playing outside and crybecause he couldn’t be part of that.’’

Stoller optioned the book for $1 —initially without telling Burch aboutJackson’s involvement. When he didtell him, Stoller said the author wasexcited to work with the singer.

Jackson, meanwhile, was con-cerned that Burch, then 67 and suffer-ing from cancer, might not survive tosee the movie made. So Stoller sug-gested bringing Burch to Neverlandin 2003, where Jackson turned thetables and interviewed him for whatwas to be a TV special and for theeventual DVD.

During their highly charged conver-sation, Jackson asked the author if hehad ever considered suicide. Burch saidhe had, and Jackson said he too hadconsidered it during his darkest days.

Stoller recorded their meeting, anaddition to a collection of videos hemade with Jackson over the years,and to hours of audio recordings fromtheir meetings.

Stoller told The HollywoodReporter he has now come forwardbecause he believes this materialhumanizes his friend at a time whenmuch myth-making about Jackson istaking place. The producer also ismarketing his video, audio and pho-tos either for outright sale or as aproject he would produce and direct.

InterestedHe said he already has had interest

from NBC, CBS and E!But insiders in the Jackson camp

said there was no formal deal in placefor any Jackson involvement in“Cage’’; discussions between the artistand Stoller occurred when Jackson waswithout management, which may havefrowned on any distractions as he pre-pared for the London shows.

Jackson’s last film foray was a2005 comedic farce, “Miss CastAway and the Island Girls,’’ pro-duced, written and directed by Stollerand starring Eric Roberts. Jackson isbriefly in the movie as Agent M.J.,who comes to the rescue of variouscharacters on a beam of light. Themovie was a direct-to-DVD releasesold briefly at Blockbuster stores.

When Jackson was indicted on childmolestation charges shortly after itsrelease, Blockbuster pulled the filmfrom its shelves. “Miss Cast Away’’hasbeen sold overseas by ShowcaseEntertainment, and Stoller said he hasoffers for a new domestic video releasefor Jackson’s last movie appearance.

“They Cage the Animals’’ also wasaffected by the molestation charges,Stoller said. In 2003 the producerarranged a three-hour meeting in aUniversal City hotel between Jacksonand Mel Gibson, who besides beingan actor is a producer and partner inIcon Prods. “They got along great,’’Stoller said. “It was kind of funny.Mel was a little nervous.

Jackson

‘Dream come true’

Anthony buys into DolphinsLOS ANGELES, July 22, (AP): Latinsinger Marc Anthony has acquired aminority interest in the Miami Dolphinsfootball team, joining entertainersJimmy Buffett and Gloria Estefan whoalso are associated with the storiedsports franchise.

Anthony, who has sold more than 10million records in his career and ismarried to actress and singer JenniferLopez, said Tuesday that he grew upin a sports-oriented family anddreamed of being part of a franchise.

“It’s just a dream come true, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a no-brain-er,’’ Anthony said in a conference callwith reporters. The Dolphins, whosemajority owner and general partner isreal estate developer Stephen Ross,played their first game in 1966 and arethe only professional football team tohave enjoyed a perfect season, winningall their games and the Super Bowl inthe 1972/1973 season.

unchecked by Western media.” Filming is dueto get underway in early 2010. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: Zachary Gordon hasnabbed the title role in “Diary of a WimpyKid,” the big-screen adaptation of Jeff

Kinney’s best-selling illustrated novels. ChloeMoretz is in negotiations for the female lead.

“Wimpy Kid” follows the travails of smart-

aleck middle-school student Greg Heffley(Gordon) during an academic year.

Moretz will play an intense student with awry sense of humor who dresses in all black.

Rachel Harris (“The Hangover”) has beencast as Gordon’s mother.

The “Wimpy Kid” stories were told in adiary and cartoon format; more than 16 mil-lion copies are in print.

Thor Freudenthal is directing the Fox 2000project, which is scheduled for an April 2release. Jeff Filgo & Jackie Filgo and JeffJudah & Gabe Sachs wrote the screenplay.(RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: Bruce Springsteen, ArethaFranklin, U2 and Stevie Wonder are amongthe music legends who will celebrate 25 yearsof the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — and theyplan to sing much more than “Happy Birthday.”

Those inductees, plus Eric Clapton,Metallica and more, will perform at two con-certs at New York’s Madison Square Gardenin October to mark the rock hall’s silveranniversary.

A statement from the rock hall says therewill be different lineups for the Oct 29 andOct 30 shows. Proceeds will be used for a per-manent endowment.

All of the acts scheduled to perform —including Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby,Stills, Nash & Friends — are members of theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. (AP)

‘She clung to life’Ryan O’Neal says even as FarrahFawcett lay dying, she clung to life.

O’Neal tells NBC’s “Today” show thatdoctors said Fawcett had a couple ofhours left, but she held on for a couple ofdays.

He says Fawcett’s eyes were open forthe last three weeks of her life. He thinksshe was “holding on,” since she had somuch left to do.

Finally, he says, Fawcett closed hereyes and she was gone.

Fawcett, the pinup icon and “Charlie’sAngels” star, died of cancer June 25 atage 62.

O’Neal says he writes to Fawcett in hisjournal, fulfilling a promise he made tohis longtime love. (AP)

Review

Korean schoolgirls go wild in ‘Blood Pledge’

‘Answer Man’ overly familiar plotLOS ANGELES, July 22, (Agencies): Itisn’t hard to guess, from a comedy with atitle like “The Answer Man”, that the manin question probably doesn’t have anyanswers at all. But the cliches and overlyfamiliar plot points don’t end there.

The debut from writer-director JohnHindman features a premise that soundsan awful lot like “As Good As It Gets,”except the script isn’t as sharp.

Jeff Daniels stars as an anti-socialmisanthrope, Lauren Graham co-stars asthe struggling single mom who magical-ly softens him, and Lou Taylor Pucciplays the young man in need of spiritualguidance. Together, this motley three-some forges an unlikely support system.

The actors tend not to overplay theiremotions in the film’s poignant and dra-matic moments; Daniels has enoughnormal-guy accessibility to pull themoff, and Graham is always likable in ano-nonsense way. But then the overbear-ing score by Teddy Castellucci jumps into prompt us to feel one way or another.

Daniels stars as Arlen Faber, an authorwho became an international sensation20 years ago with “Me and God,” inwhich he detailed conversations he sup-posedly had with the Almighty. Fromthe profane tirade he unleashes when wefirst see him, we know he’s a fraud.

WisdomNevertheless, Arlen feels he must hide

inside his Philadelphia brownstone toavoid the throngs of worshippers beg-ging for his wisdom.

When his back goes out, he’s forced togo outside and crawls on all fours to seelocal chiropractor Elizabeth (Graham).The obvious irony is that she’s the truehealer of the two of them, and he’sinstantly, if awkwardly, smitten. Couldhe really like her that much, that fast? Oris it just that his back feels better?

All of a sudden, he’s a nice guy — heactually responds when strangers speakto him on the street — and he evenadmits to his fawning letter carrier (anunderused Tony Hale) that he is indeedArlen Faber, and not some flunky assis-tant as he’s pretended all these years.The transformation is dizzying.

Pucci rounds out their trio as Kris, anowner of a bookstore right near Arlen’shome and Elizabeth’s office. Just out ofrehab for alcoholism and in danger oflosing his store to foreclosure, Krisseeks the answers he thinks Arlen canprovide. Arlen indulges him withpatience, kindness and insight showinggenuine glimmers of the grace he’d pre-viously faked for profit.

This all sounds too pleasant, ofcourse, so Hindman cooks up someobligatory obstacles and misunderstand-ings to separate his characters beforetheir ultimate feel-good reconciliation.Somewhere in this mix are up-and-com-

ers Olivia Thirlby as Elizabeth’s shyoffice assistant and Kat Dennings as theflighty cashier at Kris’ bookstore.Neither of them gets a whole lot to do,unfortunately; Max Antisell, the littleboy who plays Elizabeth’s 7-year-oldson, has a bigger part.

“The Answer Man,” a MagnoliaPictures release, is rated R for language.Running time: 95 minutes. One and ahalf stars out of four.

❑ ❑ ❑

Four schoolgirls make a pact to dietogether but when their titular “BloodPledge’’ goes horribly wrong, mistrust,guilt and paranoia cause a deadly rift intheir relationships.

Even with a knotty plot and overusedpremise, having a cast of pretty girls inuniforms will attract some audiencesespecially among teenagers.

The South Korean film has been pre-sold to a distributor for Southeast Asiaterritories. Talks of a remake have beenreported.

Although Lee Jong Yong’s personalsignature as a director is faint, he doescapture the fragile and elusive nature ofteenage female friendships, while infus-ing enough suspense to save the filmfrom total torpor. However, as far as hor-ror films go, the scares never go beyondthe obligatory long hair and bloodstained face, making this the most con-

ventional of the Yeogogodam series ofhorror films set in girls’ high schools,which include “Whispering Corridors’’and “Memento Mori.’’

InterruptedIn the prelude, teenage girls Soy (Son

Eun Seo), Eugene and Eun-young areabout to seal a suicide pact in the schoolchapel when they are interrupted by bang-ing on the door. The film proper thenopens with Jung-un witnessing her sisterUn-joo plunge to her own death from theschool rooftop. Rumors circulate aboutSoy’s presence at Un-joo’s death.

It transpires that ever since Soy joinedEugene’s and Eun-young’s clique, she hasbeen giving Un-joo the cold shoulder,even though Soy and Un-joo used to bebosom friends. All three girls who madethe original blood pledge think they arehaunted by Un-joo’s ghost, while thegrieving Jung-un acts as if possessed.

The film’s greatest shortcoming is theordering of time sequence. Flashbacksare given no narrative or visual indica-tors (like different costumes, sets orimage texture) to differentiate themfrom the present. The key scare scenesare as muddled as the lighting is murky.

The film is more successful at creat-ing an air of mystique surrounding theprotagonists’ shifting loyalties and thenslowly unpeeling their layers of hiddenmotives to reveal a twist at the end.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

23NEWS/FEATURES

Alison Krauss and Union Station perform as part of the White House music series celebrating country music in the East Room at the White House in Washington, July 21. (Inset): US President Barack Obama listens tohis daughter Malia during an event celebrating country music. (AP/AFP)

US singer Priscilla Ahn performs on thestage of the Nice’s Jazz Festival on July21 in Nice, southeastern France. (AFP)

Sutherland Baldwin

US singer Erykah Badu performs on the stage of the Nice’s Jazz Festival on July 21in Nice, southeastern France. (AFP)

Variety

LOS ANGELES: Jackson Browne has settleda lawsuit and received an apology from SenJohn McCain and the Republican Party overuse of his song “Running on Empty” duringlast year’s presidential campaign.

The settlement announced Tuesday includes

Film

‘New era’

Curtain up on98th BayreuthVIENNA, July 22, (AFP): The cur-tain rises Saturday on the 98th editionof the world-famous BayreuthFestival, with a new wind blowing onRichard Wagner’s legendary “GreenHill” following last year’s change inleadership.

Until August 2008, the annualmonth-long summer music festivaldedicated exclusively to Wagner’s

works had beenunder the iron ruleof the composer’sautocratic grand-son, Wolfgang, fora record-breaking57 years.

But the white-haired patriarch,who turns 90 nextmonth, steppeddown at the end of

last year’s proceedings, handing overthe reins to his two daughters,Katharina Wagner, 31, and EvaWagner-Pasquier, 64.

The two half-sisters — Eva isWolfgang’s daughter by his first mar-riage, and Katharina the only childfrom his second marriage to Gudrun,who died unexpectedly in 2007 —could not be more different.

Eva is notoriously media-shy,while Katharina is seen as hip andtech-savvy and has brought Bayreuthinto the 21st century with a new,trendy multi-media presence.

Eva, an artistic consultant and cast-ing director for some of the world’stop opera houses, is responsible forhiring the best singers, conductorsand directors.

EngagedStar German tenor Jonas Kaufmann

has been engaged to sing the title rolein a new production of “Lohengrin”next year. And Eva could imagineRussian superstar Anna Netrebkosinging in Bayreuth, too.

“If she wants to, we’d let her go onstage immediately. I love Netrebko.She can sing absolutely any role,”Eva told the weekly FrankfurterAllgemeine Sonntagszeitung, sug-gesting the part of Elsa in“Lohengrin”.

Katharina, for her part, is in chargeof marketing and is seen as the festi-val’s public face.

Among this year’s changes, therewill be a new “Wagner for Kids”series, with a specially adapted ver-sion of the composer’s “FlyingDutchman” made palatable for six-to-10 year olds.

The festival’s Internet presence hasalso been spruced up with a series ofpodcasts and video insights into theworkings of the Festspielhaus, theopera house built to Wagner’s owndesigns.

But with artists’ contracts alreadysigned years in advance, any otherchanges will be no more than cosmet-ic, for now.

And it may be some time yet beforeKatharina and Eva, whose own con-tracts will initially run for just sevenyears, can really set about rejuvenat-ing redefining the world’s most pres-tigious music festival.

As every year, the 2009 edition willrun from July 25 until Aug 28.

But, contrary to tradition whereone new production is staged everyyear, it will comprise straight re-runsof last year’s productions of “Tristanand Isolde”, “The Mastersingers ofNuremberg”, “Parsifal” and the mas-sive four-part “Ring” cycle.

The idea was to have a sort of tran-sition year given the change in lead-ership and with Bayreuth alreadybeginning to prepare for Wagner’sbicentenary in 2013.

TasteThe line-up will not be to every-

one’s taste: of the current produc-tions, only Norwegian director StefanHerheim’s “Parsifal”, which pre-miered last year, was anything of acritical success.

Indeed, for the first time sinceWorld War II, insiders have claimedthat demand for tickets has droppedoff substantially, highly unusual for afestival where Wagner aficionadostraditionally wait 10 years and morefor a seat.

Other changes are afoot in theFestspielhaus that will be similarlyunwelcome to the organisers, includ-ing a possible strike by stage andtechnical staff, which would be a firstin Bayreuth’s history.

In the past, it had always been con-sidered an honour to work onWagner’s “Green Hill”.

Pay, for singers, musicians andconductors alike, was well below lev-els paid in other leading opera housesaround the world.

The “non-artistic” staff, from pro-gramme-sellers to electricians, aregiven their own special performanc-es, an annual trip and a Christmasparty.

“You can have anything you want,just not more money,” WolfgangWagner once famously quipped.

Katharina

a pledge by the Republican Party not to useany musicians’ work without proper permis-sion in future campaigns, a statement thatBrowne said he hoped would benefit otherartists.

Browne sued McCain and the RepublicanNational Committee and the Ohio Republican

Party last year over use of “Running onEmpty” in a Web ad mocking DemocratBarack Obama’s proposed energy policies.

McCain’s loss to Obama in November did-n’t end the lawsuit, which had been slated fortrial early next year. Formal settlement papershave yet to be filed with the court.

“This settlement is really a great affirmationof what I believed my rights to be, and allwriters’ rights to be,” Browne said in an inter-view with The Associated Press. “One wouldhope that a presidential candidate would notonly know the law but respect it. It was a mat-ter of bringing that issue to bear.”

‘Submarine’ art director

Edelmann dies at 75STUTTGART, Germany, July 22,(AP): Graphic designer HeinzEdelmann, best known for his work asart director of the 1968 Beatles film“Yellow Submarine,” has died, his for-mer employer said. He was 75.

Edelmann died Tuesday after-noon in a Stuttgart hospital, accord-ing to the city’s State Academy of Artand Design, where he had workedas a professor until 1999. No causeof death was given.

Born in Aussig in the formerCzechoslovakia in 1934, Edelmannstudied at the Duesseldorf ArtAcademy and became a freelancegraphic designer in 1958.

In addition to his work on “YellowSubmarine,” Edelmann designedmany book covers, including the firstGerman edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s“Lord of the Rings.”

White House goes a little bit countryThe White House went a little bit countryTuesday.

“Now, I know folks think I’m a city boy,but I do appreciate listening to countrymusic,” President Barack Obama said toguests gathered in the East Room for aperformance by country musicians AlisonKrauss and Union Station.

Brad Paisley and country music leg-

end Charley Pride also entertained theaudience, which included first ladyMichelle Obama, Cabinet secretariesand lawmakers.

The president, whose hometown isChicago, said the genre has helped tomake Americans more hopeful. “It’s cap-tured our restlessness and resilience,and told so much of our story in the

process,” he said.The performance, along with a morn-

ing workshop for students, was thesecond in a music series that Mrs.Obama launched last month to encour-age arts and arts education. The firstsession was devoted to jazz. A classi-cal music workshop is planned for thefall.

Earlier, Paisley, Krauss and UnionStation taught 120 middle and highschool music students fromPennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginiaabout music and song writing.

Paisley and Krauss started theircareers early. Krauss, who plays thefiddle, signed a record deal at 14; theguitar-playing Paisley was just 13

when he appeared on a country musicshow.

Krauss said she would listen to musicall day but “I didn’t think I would ... end updoing it as a career.”

Paisley’s grandfather, a country musiclover, gave him a guitar for Christmaswhen he was 8. And the rest is countrymusic history. (AP)

Third album being planned

‘Jet’ fight career turbulenceLOS ANGELES, July 22, (RTRS): Afterselling more than three million copiesworldwide of their first album, there wasreally only one way Australian rockband Jet could go.

Crash and burn.Not only did the second album sell

just 900,000 copies, but the band wasstruck by family tragedy, drugs, businessturmoil, internal bickering and the oblig-atory problem girlfriend.

“You grow up reading those booksabout (troubled classic rock bands), andthen all of a sudden you find yourself inthat cliche. It’s pretty surreal,” drum-mer/singer Chris Cester said in a recentinterview, accompanied by his olderbrother Nic, the band’s singer/guitarist.

Now, the brothers — along with gui-tarist Cameron Muncey and bass playerMark Wilson — are preparing to unleashtheir third album, fairly confident thatall the cracks have been repaired.

“Shaka Rock” comes out Aug. 25,

preceded by the single “She’s a Genius,”one of several new tracks the bandunveiled on a brief promotional tour toremind everyone that its self-combus-tion was short-lived. Jet also dusted offsuch hits as “Cold Hard Bitch” and “AreYou Gonna Be My Girl.”

ManagedWhile its previous albums, 2003’s

“Get Born” and 2006’s “Shine On,”were released in the United States byWarner Music Group, “Shaka Rock”comes out on the band’s own EMI-backed label Real Horrorshow Records.The band is now managed by industryveteran Allen Kovac, who resurrectedthe career of hard rockers Buckcherry.

In the wake of the disappointing per-formance of “Shine On,” whose darksound was influenced by the death of thebrothers’ father, Chris Cester said theband dumped the music industry“jerks,” “parasites” and “leeches” alongfor the ride.

As for his longtime girlfriend, whoseinitials remain tattooed on his ring fin-ger, “We fired her first!”

More seriously, Nic Cester had hisown problems.

“I got caught up doing way too manydrugs and hanging out with the wrongpeople,” he said.

He recounts his experiences in thenew song “Goodbye to Hollywood,”which he insists is not a slight to hisbrother’s adopted hometown.

All the while, the bandmates hadlargely stopped talking to each other.

Summit“There was a good eight or nine months

where I can honestly say that I didn’tthink there was gonna be another record,”said Chris. “That’s the truth. I found it sohard to talk to Nic. I found it so hard totalk to everybody. Everyone had(screwed) each other so many times that itjust felt like it was all falling apart.”

Eventually, they had a summit of sorts

at Nic’s home in a small Italian village.“We had a few moments where we

yelled and screamed at each other, and afew tears and a few hugs,” Nic said. “Wegot rid of the past, basically.”

They ended up in Austin, Texas, pro-ducing and financing the album them-selves, with all four members contribut-ing to the songwriting.

Chris described the album as “a big-beat rock ‘n’ roll record,” with a little sea-soning from some electronic elements.

“But we didn’t go all Killers, or any-thing, on the record,” he hastily added.“I don’t dislike the Killers, but they arevery synth heavy. That’s a very trendything right now.”

The band expects to “tour our assesoff” for at least the next 18 months,Chris said.

“There’s a lot of goodwill that I havenoticed for our band, a lot of people whoreally want this to go well, which I’mreally grateful for,” said Nic.

Music

Baldwin ‘bankrupt’Actor Stephen Baldwin, brother of Emmywinner and “30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin,filed for bankruptcy in New YorkTuesday, according to a court documentthat says he is millions in debt.

The 43-year-old actor filed for Chapter11 protection claiming he owes morethan $2.3 million and owns a New Yorkproperty valued at only $1.1 million. Hiswife, Kennya Baldwin, also is named inthe document. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Actor Kiefer Sutherland will avoid areturn trip to a Los Angeles jail afterprosecutors determined a recent alterca-tion with a fashion designer was not seri-ous enough to violate his probation fordrunken driving, an official said Tuesday.

The decision by the Los Angeles CityAttorney’s Office came after the NewYork District Attorney declined to pursuecriminal charges against the star of pop-ular US television show “24,” the officialsaid. (RTRS)

Financial details of the settlement were notannounced.

McCain didn’t know about the ad, whichwas created by the Ohio Republican Party andremoved after Browne complained, said thestatement, attributed to McCain and the stateand national parties.

“We apologize that a portion of the JacksonBrowne song ‘Running on Empty’ was usedwithout permission,” the statement said.

Browne said he hoped the lawsuit and itssuccessful resolution would have an impact onfuture political campaigns by putting an end tocavalier attitudes about artists’ copyrights.

“I would hope that they would think twiceabout taking someone’s song without permis-sion and understand that the law was put to thetest and our rights prevailed,” he said. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

GRETNA, Louisiana: A judge has refusedto postpone next month’s trial of rapper Corey“C-Murder” Miller, who is accused of killinga teenager at a New Orleans-area nightclub.

Prosecutors wanted a delay so they couldinvestigate a claim by another man that hekilled the teenager, The Times-Picayune news-paper reported.

Judge Hans Liljeberg ruled Monday thatprosecutors have less than two weeks to inves-tigate allegations raised by Miller’s attorneythat Juan Flowers killed Steve Thomas onJan 12, 2002. Flowers is serving a life sen-tence in a Georgia prison for another killing.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Aug 3in Miller’s case.

The 38-year-old Miller is charged with sec-ond-degree murder and faces a mandatory lifesentence if convicted of killing Thomas. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

24NEWS/FEATURES

Variety

NEW YORK: Alicia Silverstone will joinLaura Linney on Broadway this season.

They will star in “Time Stands Still,” a playby Donald Margulies. Linney will play a pho-tojournalist who was wounded while coveringthe Iraq war. Silverstone will portray the younggirlfriend of the woman’s photo editor.

“Time Stands Still” opens Jan. 28, 2010, atthe Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Previews beginJan 5.

Silverstone starred in the film “Clueless.” Shemade her Broadway debut in 2002 in the stageversion of “The Graduate.”

Linney portrayed Abigail Adams in the 2008HBO series “John Adams.” (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: Following in the footsteps ofAmazon.com Inc.’s Kindle, another e-bookreader is set to get a wireless connection froma cellular carrier, letting it access books any-where there’s a signal.

AT&T Inc planned to announce Wednesdaythat it will support an electronic book readingdevice due early next year from Plastic LogicLtd., a Mountain View, California-based startupbased on British display technology.

It marks the second significant announcementof the week for Plastic Logic, which saidMonday that Barnes & Noble Inc will supplydigital versions of books for its device.

With the AT&T and Barnes & Noble deals inplace, Plastic Logic will be able to match func-tions of the Kindle, which uses Amazon’s e-book store and a wireless connection providedby Sprint Nextel Corp.

But Plastic Logic’s goals are quite different,according to Chief Executive RichardArchuleta. The device’s screen will be nearly8.5 by 11 inches (21 by 28 centimeters), and itstarget market will be professionals who wouldwant to display business documents in nearlyfull size. Reading novels would be a secondaryapplication.

“If somebody is just looking to read a book,and that’s all they’re going to do, they probablydon’t need all the capabilities in our product,”Archuleta said.

Like the Kindle, Plastic Logic uses an “elec-

Silverstone

Miss Universe Japan Emiri Miyasaka(centre), wears a kimono costume duringa send-off party in Tokyo on July 22. Thecostume will be used as her national cos-tume when Miyasaka represents Japanin the 2009 Miss Universe internationalcompetition final in the Bahamas on Aug

23. (AFP)

Linney

Actors perform in ‘Theodora’ of Georg Friedrich Haendel during the Salzburg Festival 2009 on July 21 in Salzburg. The Salzburg Festival, one of the world’s most exclusive music fests, opened on July 18, with ticket sales down so far this year as a result of the global economic crisis. (AFP)

‘Das It-Girl’, ‘Die Bad Bank’

German language gets new wordsBERLIN, July 22, (AFP): Around 5,000 newwords were officially added to the Germanlanguage on Wednesday as the country’siconic dictionary, Duden, launched its firstnew edition for three years.

The new version, containing 135,000words, includes many new words anEnglish-speaker would find familiar, severalinspired by the financial crisis and a few thatreflect 21st century life, such as “twittern”— to twitter.

As of today, Germans can now officiallyhave “der Babyblues” and go to “eine After-Show-Party,” — while hoping that it is not“eine No-Go Area.”

“Der Nickname” and “Das It-Girl” areother new German words taken fromEnglish that have found their way into thelanguage of Goethe.

The financial crisis and its effects account

for many of the new German entries.“Die Bad Bank” requires no translation,

and also appearing for the first time are“Kreditklemme” (“credit crunch”),“Konjunkturpaket” (“stimulus package”)and “Abwrackpraemie” (“car scrappagebonus.”)

High profile tensions with the country’slarge and poorly integrated Turkish commu-nity are also reflected in two new words“Ehrenmord” (“honour killing”) and“Integrationsgipfel” (“integration summit.”)

German is infamous for its incrediblylong compound nouns, and while no newwords challenge the 39-letter monster“Rechtschutzversicherungsgesellschaften”,roughly meaning “legal insurance compa-nies”, this year’s edition has offered“Vorratsdatenspeicherung” or “the saving ofdata relating to supplies.”

tronic ink” display, which looks somewhat simi-lar to regular paper and consumes very littlepower. However, it takes a relatively long timeto switch between images, making navigationslow.

Newspaper subscriptions are available throughthe Kindle, and Archuleta said his company also

is in discussions with “every major newspaper inthe US” to get their content. USA Today and theDetroit Free Press, both owned by Gannett Co.are already partners with Plastic Logic.

Plastic Logic hasn’t said what its device willcost, or how users will pay for the use ofAT&T’s network. Kindle users don’t pay Sprint

directly. Instead, Amazon pays the carrier usingproceeds from its book sales. Nielsen Co. ana-lyst Roger Entner has estimated that the carriergets about $2 per month per Kindle user.

In addition to the cellular broadband modem,Plastic Logic’s device will be able to use Wi-Fi.AT&T has an extensive network of public Wi-Fi

hot spots, but the parties would not say whetheraccess to that network would be included forowners of the reader.

AT&T’s network is compatible with overseascarriers, which means that the Plastic Logic read-er could work internationally, unlike the Kindle.(AP)

Amazon offer 400K titles with print-on-demand

Writer focuses on Dickens’ bleak houseCANBERRA, July 22, (Agencies): WriterCharles Dickens is lauded for chroniclingthe way of life in Victorian England in hisnovels, but his treatment of his own wifewas also indicative of society in thosedays, according to a new novel.

British social worker and writer GaynorArnold said she is one of many peopleworldwide with a keen interest in the lifeand works of the renowed author wholived from 1812 to 1870, but she was alsoalways intrigued by the psychology ofDickens and his relationship with his wife.

A penniless Dickens married CatherineHogarth in 1836 and she bore him 10 chil-dren before he threw her out in 1858, ban-ishing her from her children, as he took upwith another woman.

CelebrityA celebrity of that era, he even put an

announcement in the newspaper to addressrumors, asking people to respect “thesacredly private nature’’ of his arrange-ment.

For Arnold, the fascination only grewgreater when she found out that Dickens’wife, on her deathbed, asked her daughterto give the love letters from her husband tothe British Museum so “that the worldmay know he loved me once.’’

Arnold, who had previously writtenshort stories, said she is not a biographer,so she explored Dickens’ wife through fic-tion, writing “Girl in a Blue Dress: A novelinspired by the life and marriage ofCharles Dickens.’’

“There was a huge amount written aboutDickens, and he wrote about his own situa-tion, too, but in a partisan fashion and whatseemed to me to be missing was what his

wife thought about the situation,’’ Arnoldtold Reuters in a telephone interview.

“Her correspondence to him was miss-ing because he burned his papers, so Ithought this was a nice, blank canvas andgave me an opportunity to put myself intoher position and how she might feel duringtheir marriage and its sour, brutal end.’’

Arnold’s novel, released in the Britainlast year but now getting a wider interna-tional run as a result of its success, startson the day of writer Alfred Gibson’s funer-al.

FavorsHis estranged widow, Dorothea Gibson,

has not been invited, and his will favorshis mistress and children.

Dorothea begins to reflect on her yearswith her husband, revisiting theircourtship and early, happy days before thebirth of too many children, his fame, andthe tragic events that slowly separatedthem.

After spending four years writing aboutDickens and his wife, Arnold said sheemerged with respect for both of them,realizing the expectations that were placedon them in that era.

“I do admire Dickens hugely and likehim despite of it. I wanted to get across thecontradictions and complexities of theman. He had this tremendous kindness andhumor, and he was a great father and atten-tive husband at first,’’ she said.

“But they both changed, and the way hetreated her at the time of the separationwas appalling. I think he was goingthrough some psychological breakdown atthat time, so I do have quite a lot of sym-pathy for them both.’’

Arnold acknowledges that the wife inher novel is pure fiction.

“She is very made up because she issuch a sketch in all that we know abouther. She seemed to be very nice and veryordinary and just had the misfortune to bemarried to an extraordinary man,’’ shesaid.

“She was always in his shadow andmaybe a lot of the time she was happy tobe so as that was the role of the Victorianwoman ... and she continued to love himall her life. At the end she just wanted peo-ple to know that he too had loved heronce.’’

Also:DETROIT: The University of Michigansaid Tuesday it is teaming up withAmazon.com Inc. to offer reprints of400,000 rare, out-of-print and out-of-copyright books from its library. Seattle-based Amazon’s BookSurge unit will printthe books on demand in soft cover editionsat prices from $10 to $45.

The Ann Arbor school said the booksare in more than 200 languages from Acolito Zulu and include a 1898 book on nurs-ing by Florence Nightingale, “Notes onNursing: What it is and What it is not.”

The move is possible because of theuniversity’s project to digitize its collec-tion in partnership with Google Inc, schoolspokesman Rick Fitzgerald said.

“It’s basically an outgrowth of the digi-tization process,” Fitzgerald said. He saidsome of the reprints being offered for saleare of books scanned by Mountain View,California-based Google, while otherswere processed by the university itself.

The Michigan-Google partnership sta-

rted in 2004 as part of a program that alsoincludes Harvard and Stanford universitiesand the University of California system.Authors and publishers filed a federalcourt lawsuit claiming the pact violatedcopyright laws, but Google and the pub-lishing industry settled the suit last year.

The books in the Michigan-Amazondeal do not have copyright protection andare in the public domain, so no royaltypayments go to the author or original pub-lisher.

The arrangement is a large addition toBookSurge’s inventory.

“Many publishers and universitylibraries work with BookSurge ... to makecontent available on-demand,” BookSurgespokeswoman Amanda Wilson said in ane-mail.

Wilson declined to provide figures onthe number of titles on BookSurge’s list orthe number of participating libraries. Butthe print-on-demand service’s 2007 launchbegan with books from the collections ofEmory University, the University ofMaine and the Toronto and Cincinnatipublic libraries. Cornell University recent-ly joined as well, she said.

“Public and university libraries are see-ing the benefits of print-on-demand as aneconomic and environmentally consciousway to support their missions of preserv-ing and making rare or out-of-copyrightmaterial broadly available to the public,”Wilson said.

University of Michigan libraries DeanPaul Courant said the arrangement means“books unavailable for a century or morewill be able to go back into print, one copyat a time.”

People & Places

Books

Spurlock for ‘Supersize’

Author revealsa ‘happy’ India

By Miral Fahmy

The rigid caste system, arrangedmarriages and gender gap that still

exist in modern India usually don’tmake light reading, except, perhaps, inIndian-born author Farahad Zama’sdebut novel.

Zama’s recently published book,“The Marriage Bureau for RichPeople,” is a social satire couched inhumor and romance, which shows thatlove and respect are the basis of a suc-cessful marriage, no matter howincompatible the couple appear onpaper.

Arranged marriages, poverty and therigid class systemare somethingZama has experi-enced first-hand:born in 1966 inVizag, easternIndia, he grew upin a one-roomhome in a slumwhere his familydid not havemoney to spare onbooks, but insisted

their children get a good education. After graduation, he worked for

Citibank in Mumbai, moving toLondon in 1990 after an arranged mar-riage to a woman from his hometown.Zama is still an investment banker, hasbeen married for 18 years and has twosons.

Zama recently spoke to Reutersabout why he chose to write a bookabout India:

Q: What inspired you to write a bookabout marriage?

A: “One day, I sat in front of thecomputer and the title just came to meand that’s how the book started. I comefrom a large family with lots ofarranged marriages, and I knew I want-ed to write about India, it’s a fascinatingsubject that I know well.”

Q: But there are so many booksabout India. What sets yours apart, inyour opinion?

A: “There are a lot books that depictIndia as a hugely complicated countrywith lots of problems, but they don’tshow a happy India, which is what Itried to do. I tried to approach a lot ofsocial issues in a humorous way, whichis what I believe makes my book slight-ly different.”

Q: Your style has been likened to amodern-day Jane Austen. What do youthink of that?

A: “I don’t think it’s fair! She’s sucha master. But the society she was writ-ing about is very similar to the India Iam writing about — a place wheremoney is very important, class is veryimportant and parents are desperate toget their kids married. I am now work-ing on a sequel of the book, but maybeI will branch off into something else.”

Q: Was writing something youalways wanted to do? And how do youreconcile it your job as an investmentbanker?

A: “I never thought I would everwrite. But when I told an old friend ofmine that I had written a book, he was-n’t surprised. It must have been a hid-den desire all along. As for the switchfrom banker to writer, I am fairly strict:on my train ride to the city, I write, butthe minute I get on the platform, I stopthinking about the book and start look-ing at my BlackBerry and get intobanker mode. You’ve got to be very dis-ciplined to be able to make that switch.”

Q: You do most of your writing onthe train, then?

A: “I have a 90-minute commute toand from London. When I was writing“Marriage Bureau,” I used to get 200words or so each way. Now, with thesequel, I find I am writing 600 or sowords a day. In weekends, I write forabout an hour or two. In a week, if Iwrite 2,000 words I am happy so in ayear’s time you have a book. And Ihaven’t had to rewrite huge chunks, sofar.”

Q: Any advice for aspiring writers? A: “Get yourself a laptop. Write

about something you know very well,especially for a first book. And getyourself a commute on British Rail.”

Also:LOS ANGELES: “Super Size Me,” theOscar-nominated documentary thattook the fast-food diet to extremes, isgetting a companion piece in the formof a graphic novel.

The film’s director, MorganSpurlock, and his production company,Warrior Poets, are teaming with DarkHorse Comics for an original graphicnovel, “Supersized: Strange Tales Froma Fast Food Culture.”

Conceived as an adjunct to the 2004movie — and aiming, like it, to make apoint about health and nutrition — thebook will feature bizarre stories aboutthe United States’ obsession with fastfood. Spurlock will write the stories,with a mix of established and up-and-coming artists scripting and drawingthe book. It’s set for publication in thespring.

Spurlock said that after his moviewas released, he and Warrior Poetswere inundated by calls from peoplewho wanted to share their tales from thefast-food underbelly. Among them: thestory of a fat man whose cremationmade a mortuary smell like French friesand the man who built in his garage amuseum of McDonald’s food that neveraged. (RTRS)

Zama

Antony and the Johnsons’ British singer Antony Hegarty performs with Lyon’s Operaorchestra, on the stage of the Fourviere Amphitheatres in Lyon, during the 16th edi-

tion of Fourvieres Nights, on July 21. (AFP)

Books

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LatestFOSA offers condolence: FOSA,Kuwait unit would like to express its deepestcondolence to the family and colleagues andstudents of Professor Abdulla Peringat, ex-head of the department of commerce, FarookCollege, a leading educational institution ofKerala. He was a member of Senate, CalicutUniversity and a member of Kerala statehigher secondary curriculum committee. Hewas actively involved in the social, culturaland educational activities in Kerala and was amember of many educational and socialorganizations. Prof Abdulla has providedgreat support to Farook college old studentsassociation and its activities.

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Meatless in Paris

Chic, tasty dining for vegetarian visitorsBy Jenny Barchfield

Cote de boeuf, foie gras, escargot.French cuisine is hardly the stuff of

vegetarians’ dreams.In Paris restaurants, vegetarians often

are met with looks of pity, headshakingincomprehension, even snorts of disgust.Eating out can mean endless “salades auchevre chaud,” the warm goat cheese sal-ads that are the only reliable meat-freemenu item.

But veggie visitors need not despair.Tasty meatless dining is possible here,

where choices include a Michelin-starredestablishment renowned for garden-freshvegetable dishes, tiny tofu joints andrestaurants dedicated exclusively to allthings cheese.

Three-star vegetablesAt L’Arpege, vegetables are the center-

piece — literally. All the tables in thischic restaurant are adorned not with atasteful floral arrangement but with ripevegetables, like artfully sculpted crook-neck squash or bouquets of asparagusstalks.

One of just 26 restaurants in Francewith a top, three-star rating by theMichelin Guide — the country’s culinarybible — L’Arpege is the only one dedi-cated to vegetables.

Its most celebrated dishes include“tomate confite aux douze saveurs,” astuffed, preserved tomato, and “l’oeuffermier de la Bigottiere en chaud etfroid,” a concoction of egg yolk,whipped cream and maple syrup servedin the eggshell as an appetizer.

Long a bastion of slow-grilled meats,L’Arpege sent shockwaves throughFrance’s gourmet circles by announcingit was going — more or less — veggie in2001. The restaurant still serves somemeat, such as free-range chicken andmutton as well as seafood, but vegetablesare the uncontested stars.

L’Arpege’s celebrated chef, AlainPassard, said his decision was not moti-vated by ethical or health concerns, butrather by a quest for a new challenge.

“One day, I woke up and asked myself,‘What have I done with a leek, with acarrot? Nothing, or maybe just 10 percentof what can be done with a carrot,”’ saidPassard

All the vegetables served at the restau-rant — some 40 tons annually — comefrom its three organic gardens in theSarthe, Eure and Manche regions ofnorthern France.

And the menus reflect what’s in sea-son: mostly tubers and leafy greens in thewinter and a strange and copious variety,including blue kohlrabi, globe turnipsand purple asparagus in the summermonths.

But don’t expect veggie fare to be eas-ier on the wallet. Even if L’Arpege servesup more spinach than lobster, its pricesremain in line with those of other three-star restaurants. At lunch, its eight-coursetasting menu runs $170. At dinner, the10-course menu costs $450, not includ-ing wine.

“We want to create a ‘grand cru’ fromvegetables,” said Passard. “I talk aboutcarrots the way others talk aboutChardonnay or Sauvignon.”

Rubbing shoulders with tomatoesTo taste luxury veggies in their natural

environment — or as close to it as youcan in Paris — try La Cour Jardin, thePlaza Athenee Hotel’s terrace restaurant,where the tables are interspersed withtomato plants.

The restaurant — which operatesunder the supervision of French chefcelebre Alain Ducasse — changed itsmenu earlier this year to emphasize veg-etable dishes.

“We put meat and fish aside so that the

first ingredient that the client reads on themenu is a vegetable,” said the restau-rant’s 26-year-old chef, SylvainFouilleul. “We’re not trying to teachclients how to eat, but we want to showthem we can eat differently.”

Highlights include the “cocotte dequinori et legumes croquants,” a crispyvegetable casserole, and the “fenouilconfit au safran,” light puffs of saffron-dusted fennel.

The dessert menu is heavy on freshfruits — raspberries, wild strawberriesand, intriguingly, a “lemon in acid andbitter declension.”

At an estimated $120 per-person forlunch or dinner, drinks not included, LaCour is pricey. But the verdant terrace,which rings with the call of birds at playamong the vegetables — not to mentionthe food — make it well worth it.

How do you say Tofu in French?Far from the workaday staple that it is

in the US, tofu remains an exotic ingredi-ent in France, where it is still largely rel-egated to Chinese restaurants and naturalfood stores. But vegetarian restaurants —once an almost unheard of oddity thathave mushroomed in recent decades —

now serve up a wide variety of tofu-based dishes.

Highlights include:■ Le Grenier de Notre-Dame: Foundedin 1978, this cozy restaurant in the heartof Paris bills itself as the French capital’sfirst vegetarian restaurant. Its large andlengthy menu offers a wealth of choices,the best of which include meatless varia-tions on French classics. Cassoulet, thebean and pork or duck casserole fromsouthwestern France, is made insteadfrom white beans, tomatoes, peppers andseitan, a meat-like protein made fromwheat gluten.

■ Au Grain de Folie: This hole-in-the-wall in the Montmartre neighborhoodspecializes in heaping dishes of grainslike quinoa, as well as an ever-changingmenu of salads, tarts, terrines andcasseroles. With just a handful of tables,reservations are advised.

A year’s worth of cheeseVegetarians who do dairy can sample

some of France’s reputed 365 varieties ofcheese (estimates vary widely from thislegendary figure), from internationalblockbusters like brie and camembert torare goat’s and sheep’s cheeses.

The restaurant Pain, vin et fromages(Bread, wine and cheese) is a fine placeto start. Tucked into a building with a17th century stone basement near thePompidou Center modern art museum,the restaurant serves up raclette, fondueand cheese platters, with each hunkadorned with a little flag rating its pun-gency on a scale of 1 to 10.

Lunch optionsFor quick, cheap lunches on the go,

try:■ Les Deux Abeilles (Two Bees): Thebees in question are the mother-daughterduo who in 1985 founded this charmingteahouse, across the street from the QuaiBranly art museum. They serve up a vastmenu of mostly vegetarian dishes,including a savory flan with tomatosauce, mille-feuilles filled with goat orRoquefort cheese and a lentil salad. Thedesserts — including a sumptuous lemonmeringue and seasonal fruit pies — are todie for, so keep that in mind when order-ing.■ Le Bar a Soupes (Soup Bar): A minus-cule restaurant that offers a selection offreshly made soups, many of them meat-free. The menu changes daily, but thoselucky enough to hit a day when they’reserving the tomato feta would be well-advised to order a large bowl.

If You Go..Here are some restaurants in Paris

where you can find good meatlesscuisine:

L’arpege: 84, rue de Varenne,http://www.alain-passard.com/ or011-33-1-47-05-09-06. OpenMonday-Friday, lunch and dinner.Reservations recommended.Nearest Metro stops: Varenne, Line13.

La Cour Au Jardin: Hotel PlazaAthenee, 25, avenue Montaigne,http://tinyurl.com/lhe2du or 011-33-1-53-67-66-02. Open daily May-mid-September, 12:30 p.m.-2:15 p.m.,7:30 p.m.-10:15 p.m. Nearest Metro:Alma-Marceau, Line 9.

LLeE Grenier de Notre-Dame: 18,Rue de la Bucherie, 011-33-1-43-29-98-29. Open daily, noon to 2:30 p.m.,7 p.m.-11 p.m. Nearest Metro: Cluny-La Sorbonne, Line 10.

Au Grain de Folie: 24 rue LaVieuville, 011-33-1-42-58-15-57.Open daily for lunch and dinner.Nearest Metro: Abbesses, Line 12.

Pain, vin, Fromages: 3, RueGeoffroy-l’Angevin, http://www.-painvinfromage.com/uk/index.htm or011-33-1-42-74-07-52. Open every-day, 7 p.m.-11:30 p.m. NearestMetro: Rambuteau, Line 11.

Les Deux Abeilles: 189, rue del’Universite. Open Monday-Saturday,9 a.m.-7 p.m. Nearest Metro: Alma-Marceau, Line 9. 011-331-45-55-64-04.

Le Bar A Soupes: 33, rue deCharonne, http://www.lebara-soupes.com/ or 011-33-1-43-57-53-79. Open Monday-Saturday, 12noon-3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.-11 p.m.Nearest Metro: Ledru-Rollin, Line 8.(AP)

Foodies

25

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

Continued on Page 26

✔ NEW DELHI: India’s aviation ministerpledged Wednesday to carry out “transforma-tional changes” at the loss-making state-runcarrier Air India to turn around its finances.

The airline, known for its turbanned mahara-ja mascot, faces a financial crisis after postingan estimated loss of one billion dollars for thefinancial year ended March 31 and is hopingfor a government rescue package.

“We will bring about transformationalchanges in the management of the airline fromthe top,” Praful Patel, Minister of State forCivil Aviation, said in New Delhi.

“Air India will be restructured financially,organisationally,” Patel said at an aviationindustry conference.

“I am very sure it will start making profitssoon,” he said.

Patel’s statements came a day after he metIndia’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to dis-cuss the financial issues facing the airline.

Air India is seeking a 39.81-billion-rupee(820-million-dollar) bailout package from thegovernment.

“We will go for the transformation of themanagement (of Air India) from the top,” Patelsaid.

“We will bring in independent (board) direc-tors, have a professional chief operating offi-cer... and appoint an international advisoryagency” to turn the airline around, he said.

Patel added that there was only so much thegovernment could do to help the cash-strappedcarrier and said the airline would have to alterits work culture.

“There is a need to bring about a transforma-tion in the work ethic and ethos of the compa-ny,” he said.

High fuel prices, a drop in passenger num-bers and the global economic slowdown havepushed Air India deep into the red.

The airline has asked its top managers toforgo one month’s salary as part of efforts tosurvive the crisis. (AFP)

✔ KUWAIT: Mihin Lanka, Sri Lanka’sfirst budget airline, began the operation offlight routes between Kuwait and Colombo, viaDubai, as of yesterday, Tuesday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, ina press release on Wednesday, said that the air-line would be operating three flights a week onSaturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Mihin Lanka, a company fully-owned by theSri Lankan government, signed an agreementwith Badur Aviation in Kuwait for sole repre-sentation of all sales, passenger and cargo han-dling functions.

The press release noted that operation fromKuwait “is going to be a big relief resulting intosavings for the 95,000 Sri Lankan expatriates inKuwait and a big attraction for hundreds ifKuwaiti tourists for very low fares toColombo.” (KUNA)

✔ MADRID: The number of foreign touristswho visited Spain fell 11.4 percent during thefirst half of 2009 over the same time last year to23.6 million, government figures publishedWednesday showed.

The number of British tourists, who accountfor one-quarter of all visitors to Spain, dropped16.6 percent during the period while the num-ber of German tourists, who represent 18 per-cent of all visitors, fell 11 percent.

The government has forecast a 10-percentfall in tourist arrivals this summer as the reces-sion causes sunseekers from key northernEuropean markets to shun Spain’s beaches,resorts and historic towns.

The decline in the value of the British poundto near parity with the euro, the emergence ofcheaper sunshine destinations in otherMediterranean countries like Turkey andTunisia and the declining popularity of packagebeach holidays are other factors blamed for thedecline.

Spain received 57.4 million visitors last year,a 2.6 percent drop from 2007 and the first fallsince the current record-keeping system wasintroduced in 1995.

The country lost its spot as the second-mostvisited country in the world to the United Stateslast year, according to the United Nations’World Tourism Organisation. France remainedthe world’s most popular holiday destination.

The tourism sector accounts for about 11percent of Spain’s jobs and gross domesticproduct. (AFP)

airport inquiry tel: 161

www.kuwait-airport.com.kw

ttrraavveellthursday, july 23, 2009

This photo taken June 16, 2009 shows French Chef Alain Passard preparing food in his restaurant L’Arpege in Paris. At L’Arpege, vegetables are the centerpiece, literally. (AP)

Somethin’ differentfrugality

By Samantha Gross

Herman Joseph’s eyes light up when helists some of his favorite clothing

lines: True Religion. Rock & Republic. 7For All Mankind.

Once, he even paid $300 for a pair ofblack and silver Gucci dress shoes.

“I used to like to be fly,” the 19-year-oldsaid of his pricey wardrobe. “It gave meconfidence in myself.”

But now, sitting in the Manhattan youthcenter where he’s working toward gettinghis high school equivalency diploma,Joseph is wearing no-name jeans. He, likeseveral of the other young people in hisprogram, lost his job. They’ve been talkingless about who’s wearing what, and wear-ing less of what’s in style.

For young people from low-incomebackgrounds, often faced with paying theirown way and helping support their fami-lies, interest in designer labels is waning asthe economic downturn strains wallets andhelps boost the appeal of frugality.

Staffers at programs serving low-incomeyouth in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago andNew York notice a reduced focus on toplabels, whether due to dwindling resourcesor changing tastes. It’s a shift away fromdecades-old stereotypes of poor kidsobsessed with bling and brand labels.

While people with lower incomes havedisproportionately sought out high-endbrands for at least the last 18 years, they’verecently been turning away from them, said

Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry ana-lyst at market researcher NPD Group.

Spending on designer wear by familiesearning between $15,000 and $25,000 ayear fell by 29 percent in 2008 from theyear before, according to NPD.

That’s a significantly larger decline thanfor any other income group tracked byNPD. Families earning between $50,000and $100,000 yearly, for example, spent anestimated 7 percent less on designer appar-el in 2008 compared with the previousyear.

The change has served some retailerswell. Joseph and several others at TheDoor youth center in Manhattan say theyhave switched to shopping at more afford-able chains like Old Navy.

Old Navy, owned by Gap Inc, saw Junesales at stores open at least a year weredown 7 percent from a year earlier, com-pared with a 10 percent drop for all Gapbusinesses, which include its more-expen-sive namesake stores, Banana Republicand other brands. Old Navy carries theleast expensive clothing among Gap Incstores.

At Abercrombie & Fitch, which has longmarketed itself as an exclusive youthbrand, same-store sales fell 32 percent inJune compared to last year — while at theless-expensive Aeropostale, those saleswere up 12 percent compared to the yearbefore.

Twenty-year-old Daryl Salter, who alsois studying at The Door to get his diploma,

says his friends are bragging less abouttheir wardrobes. Before, there was a com-mon refrain: “Man, I paid $500 for these.How much are those? What you got on?”’

Salter’s priorities also changed as theeconomy worsened. He lost his job as adock worker, and rent on the apartment heshares with his mother and sister inBrooklyn has gone up to $600 a month.Their family’s fridge is usually empty, theirphone line was cut off and a generouscousin has stopped giving him money.

Now he holds himself back from addingto his collection of fashionable baseballhats and hip jeans — focusing instead onhow he can help his 18-year-old sistercome up with the cash to start college inthe fall. His own plans for starting collegeare on hold.

At The Door, “there was a certain periodwhen certain types of clothing labels wereclearly more important than anythingelse,” even among some of the poorestmembers, says Greg Morris, a programdirector at the center.

Now Morris says he’s hearing the youngpeople say: “We have to focus our moneyon what’s most important right now —whether that’s taking care of bills, or takingcare of our kids, or taking care of the rent.”

It’s a sentiment echoed at youth centersaround the country: At A Place CalledHome youth center in South Central LosAngeles, girls getting free prom dresseshave stopped checking for the designer’slogo before making their pick. At a Boys &

Girls Club in Detroit, kids still are rushingto use the center’s computers to checkNike’s Web site — but a glance through theclub’s lost and found reveals how rare top-label clothing has become.

Brand names do hold forceful sway overmany low-income urban youth, says HollyP. Alford, a professor of fashion design atVirginia Commonwealth University whostudies youth and African-American fash-ion. For those with few opportunities toclaim advantage or status, the boost thatcomes with wearing a sought-after brandcan take on additional meaning.

“They feel like their society looks downon them,” Alford said. “Sometimes someof these status symbols are just a way ofsaying, ‘Hey, look! Here I am. See who Iam?”’

But the belief that these youngstersplace more importance on labels than theirwealthier peers is simply a myth — andone that has hurt the self-image of many,says Shirley Brice Heath, a professor ofanthropology at Stanford University whohas studied youth in poor communities.

Lower-income shoppers spend a higherpercentage of their discretionary incomeon designer labels than middle-incomeshoppers, although they still spend smallersums than their wealthier counterparts,according to NPD.

The group declined to release informa-tion on spending patterns specific to urbanareas, and would not say exactly whatamount, on average, individual low-

income shoppers spent on designer labels.In the last few years, an array of new

brands with a range of prices has capturedthe imagination of urban youth — from thebedazzled, glittering sweat shirts of EdHardy, which can cost upward of $200, torapper-driven brands like Jay-Z’sRocawear.

The new options, some of them both hipand affordable, may have challenged teensto rethink their allegiance to costlierbrands, says Tim Bess, men’s fashion ana-lyst at the Doneger Group. The economicdownturn accelerated a shift that alreadywas under way, Bess said.

For some young people at The Door,being fashionable dropped among their pri-orities years ago.

For years, Christopher Pannell’s primarymotivation has been his son. After the 20-year-old was laid off from his job as astockperson at Madison Square Garden,his mother, a home health aide, moved inwith him and his 8-year-old son to helpthem make ends meet.

His focus is on getting the necessities forPatrick — making sure he has clothes,school supplies and after-school activities.

“Right now what I get is not important,”Pannell said after a group meeting at TheDoor. “I support him first before I supportmyself.” (AP)

July 27

How Toastmasters can help you?:Toastmasters is the best way to improve yourcommunication and presentation skillsbecause you learn by DOIN.

Public speaking is an important skill incommunicating knowledge and expressingideas to groups of people. It is a primarymedium for presenting and selling your prod-ucts and ideas. Being able to verbally com-municate effectively to other individuals or togroups is essential at workplace, businesses,as well as in personal life.

LatestContinued from Page 25

Toastmasters Club, which meets every secondSaturday at Intercontinental Hotel.

For more information, please contact:Xavier Muthu at 9985-0173; Anil Lobo at9928-3020.

Please note: Our next meeting will be heldat Intercontinental Hotel on July 25, at 6:30pm.

click

Photo by Abd Al Mohsen AbdPicture taken recently from the sea shows the skyline along the Gulf Road.

Main cause of the disease still a mystery

Diabetics face frozen shoulder riskBy Fatima Juma BSc, PT, CMA

Special to the Arab Times

This article is meant to describe what afrozen shoulder is and treatment avail-

able for this. The medical term for thisinjury is called ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS.The capsule of the shoulder joint is a water-tight sac that houses fluids to lubricate theshoulder joint. The wall of the capsule ismade up of ligaments, which are soft con-nective tissues that connect bone to bonegiving stability to a joint. When the nor-mally loose joint capsule becomesinflamed, this causes the joint capsule tobecome sticky. The capsule acts like a vac-uum, limiting greatly the shoulder’s abilityto move and causing the shoulder to freeze.If this is hard to understand, think of howplastic wrap can sticks down on a bowl.

There are multiple theories on the caus-es of frozen shoulder because really it is amystery of why this happens so suddenly.These are the main theories:

1) An autoimmune reaction (the body’sdefense mechanism) causes an intenseinflammatory reaction in the tissue that isunder attack.

2) May happen after a period of immo-bilization after a shoulder injury such as adislocation, fracture, or surgery. Or caneven happen when a distant joint isinjured, for example a wrist fracture wherethe arm is kept in a sling for several weeks.For some reason, immobilizing a jointafter an injury seems to trigger the autoim-mune response in some people.

3) After other shoulder problems such asbursitis, rotator cuff tears, or impingementsyndrome can end up causing a frozenshoulder. If these conditions becomechronic (over 3 months), you may startusing your shoulder less due to pain & thissets up a situation of immobilization thatmay create a frozen shoulder.

4) May happen after surgery unrelatedto the shoulder, even after recovering froma heart attack.

5) Diabetes is also a risk factor forfrozen shoulder. According to theAmerican Diabetes Association frozenshoulder affects about 20 % of people withdiabetes, compared with 5 percent of peo-ple without diabetes.

The symptoms you feel depend on whatstage of the process, because unfortunately

frozen shoulder is often a lengthy battlethat can range from 12 months to 24months. A frozen shoulder has 3 stages:

Stage 1: The Freezing Stage ■ Characterized by a deep, severe, unre-lenting ache in the shoulder down theupper surface of the arm. Pain spikes withmovement and can cause muscle spasm ■ Stiffness not a big issue yet, pain limitsmovement more■ Pain is worse at night and most painfulduring this stage■ This stage can last from a few weeks to6 months

Stage 2: Freezing/Stiffening Stage■ Less pain than first stage, especially atnight■ Significantly more stiffness is presentand can come on very quickly■ This stage can last from 2- 6 months

Stage 3: Thawing/Recovery Stage■ Like the second stage, not as painful asfirst stage■ Gradual return of range of motion startsto happen■ Bouts of pain may spike prior to a fur-ther gain in range■ This stage can last from 2- 6 months

The tightness that develops in the shoul-der can make it difficult to do activities ofdaily living such as getting dressed, comb-ing your hair, or reaching across a tableand affect current levels of physical activi-ty. Frozen shoulder will affect approxi-mately 5 percent of the normal populationand affecting 5 times higher in the diabeticpopulation. Within 3-5 years after develop-ing a frozen shoulder, you may develop itthe opposite shoulder. In the insulindependent diabetic population, they are

more at risk in devel-oping it bilaterally.Frozen shoulder canaffect either shoulderequally, no matteryour hand dominance.It affects women morethan men, and appearsin the over 40-70 yearsof age population.

The diagnosis of afrozen shoulder is

made by a medical history and physicalexamination by a physical therapist or doc-tor. One main test your physical therapist ordoctor can perform to determine if this is arotator cuff problem versus a frozen shoul-

der is by comparing your shoulder range ofmotion actively and passively. If we canmanually move your arm further towardsfull range of motion and you can not raise ityourself, likely a rotator cuff tear. If we cannot raise your arm any further than you canand physically feels blocked, then likely afrozen shoulder. Xrays in these cases are nothelpful as they are only looking at bone. Ifnecessary your doctor may schedule a spe-cial xray called an arthrogram where a dye isinjected into the joint and then xray’s aretaken, or may later order an MRI to rule outany underlying condition such as a rotatorcuff tear.

ProgressTreating frozen shoulder can be a slow

and frustrating progress. Conservativetreatment such physical therapy is imple-mented first, at a frequency of at least 3times to up to 5 times a week, dependingon the individual’s case. The main goalwith physical therapy is to help reduce thepain especially throughout the first andsecond stages along with anti-inflammato-ry medication that may be prescribed byyour doctor. If pain is just not settling aftera trial of anti-inflammatories and physicaltherapy for a few weeks, your doctor maythen give you a cortisone injection toreduce pain so treatment can continuemore effectively.

The second goal is to maintain andregain as much range of motion as possibleby breaking up the adhesions in the cap-sule. This is achieved by physical therapistusing manual therapy. This consists ofusing controlled degrees of force to move

and stretch the shoulder, as well as the ver-tebrae in the upper back and neck toincrease the range of motion. Also a moregentle form of mobilization will be used tostretch the nerves that also have becometight causing numbness, tension & aching.Modalities such as ultrasound, electricaltherapy, and acupuncture may be used tohelp reduce pain during the first & secondstages, or they may be used to decreasepain caused from treatment itself. A veryspecific exercise and stretching programwill be prescribed to gradually increaserange of motion as pain decreases.Acupuncture again is very useful to helpwith the breakdown of these adhesions anddecreasing stiffness.

If progress is very slow and range ofmotion is still very limited, than manipula-tion under anesthetic to breakup the resid-ual adhesions may be performed. Whatthis means is you are put to sleep, and thesurgeon aggressively stretches your shoul-der capsule to restore range and break upscar tissue that has developed. Generallythis is done after 1 year of onset and onlywith severely restrictive cases that havenot improved with physical therapy. Afterthis manipulation is performed, it is veryimportant to resume physical therapyagain aggressively to maintain the rangegained from tearing the adhesions. Thelength of treatment after this scenarioagain varies on how well the range ofmotion stays after manipulation. Usually atleast another 6-8 weeks of physical thera-py 3 times a week.

The key to the swift and successful treat-ment of a true frozen shoulder is earlydetection and immediate treatment. Aswith most injuries, the longer you leavethem the more difficult they are to van-quish.

❑ ❑ ❑

For more information on frozenshoulder and other shoulder injuriesand their treatment, contact the FawziaSultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI).The FSRI is located in Salmiya onBaghdad street in the AmaiaResidence Building, 1st Floor.

Fatima Juma is Canadian physicaltherapist with a Bachelor of Science inPhysical Therapy and Certificate inMedical Acupuncture. For more infor-mation on FSRI, call 2572-0338.

26

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

Continued on Page 27

Legal Eagle

‘Law and work my passion’

Atty Mahmoud feels criminal cases need more ‘courage’By Moamen Al-Masri

Special to the Arab Times

Attorney Fatima Hamed Al-Mahmoud,member of the Kuwait Lawyers

Association (KLA), who is preparing forher Masters degree in law from the CairoUniversity, has been practicing law since2002 soon after her graduation from theKuwait University.

She says she has been working with attor-ney Yacoub Al-Sane since her graduation.

She pointed out she has benefited a lotfrom her work with attorney Sane, who hastaught her everything about law and courts.

When asked about seminars, conferencesand courses Al-Mahmoud said she attendeda seminar on commercial arbitration in aGCC state in 2004. “I also attended courseswhich were conducted by the KLA on exe-

cution and its problems,” she says.She says she loves all kinds of cases,

except criminal. “Criminal cases requiresome kind of courage when facing courtpanels,” she says.

“When I work on a criminal case, I do notsleep all night before the court session,”says Al-Mahmoud. She added she only goesto sleep when she is done with her argumentin such a case.

“Defending a suspect in a criminal courtis very critical because it is you who isdetermining the fate of a human being,”says Al-Mahmoud. She added standingbefore a criminal judge is like answering anexam at a university.

Speaking of a most important case, Al-Mahmoud talked about a bankruptcy caseinvolving a well-known commercial firmand the judge commended her saying

although she is a woman she managed toconfront four male lawyers in a case whichwas deemed not easy.

The case was filed by a local bank againsta Kuwaiti man requesting the court todeclare his firm bankrupt. “When I attendedthe session, the four lawyers representingthe bank and the government said I had nolegal right to represent the man. “How doyou want me not to represent the man whileyou had notified me of the date of the ses-sion,” I asked.

“The judge was surprised at my responseand asked the male lawyers to reply, butnone of them had a reply and the judgeexpressed his admiration at my response,”said Al-Mahmoud.

“In another case, I was appointed to rep-resent a Palestinian man, who had been con-victed of consuming drugs and sentenced to

five years in jail,” says Al-Mahmoud. Sheadded she argued before the Court ofAppeals and managed to convince the courtof the man’s innocence,” she added.

Attorney Al-Mahmoud explained she hadtold the court that the Criminal EvidencesDepartment report did not show any tracesof drug in her client’s urine sample, so itwas not logical to say the man was guilty.So, the court overturned the verdict of thelower court and acquitted him.

Speaking of a strange case, she narratedthe lawsuit filed by a Kuwaiti man againsthis ex-wife. In the lawsuit the man request-ed the court to order her to send ‘their’daughter to a government school saying sheneither learned Arabic or Islamic studies ata private school.

The man told the court his daughter couldnot speak Arabic although she was five

years old. “We managed to convince thecourt that the girl was young and would not

be able exercise self-control in the currentsituation,” said Al-Mahmoud.

She added the court was convinced abouttheir stance and dismissed the case filed bythe father.

Al-Mahmoud is grateful for attorneyYacoub Al-Sane for the support he hasgiven her.

Attorney Al-Mahmoud says she does notfeel ashamed in court because she is awoman. However, some criminal casescause an embarrassment to female lawyers.“So I prefer civil, commercial and personalstatus cases,” she says.

Al-Mahmoud’s hobby is law. “When Iam done with my cases in court, I go to theoffice immediately because I have nothingmore important than my work,” she says.

Attorney Al-Mahmoud advises citizensand residents to respect the laws.

Health

Miracle or farce?

Kava Kava is effectiveagainst mood disorders

By Mia PonzoSpecial to the Arab Times

Kava Kava is an ancient herb wellknown in the Polynesian Islands,

Australia, New Zealand, and someother Pacific locations. It has beenused for centuries there and is as closeto a panacea or miracle to the peoplesof those regions as any other herb. Thescientific name for this herb is Pipermethysticum, taken from the Greekmeaning “intoxicating pepper”. Thereare all kinds of legends surroundingthis herb, and it is supposed to be wellknown for its mind altering qualities.But does it really alter the mind or justsubtly relax it? What does scientificresearch say about this herb? Can itreally help mentally unstable people?

When used for medicinal purposesby the native peoples of these regionsonly the root is used (beware of com-mercial concoctions that use theleaves, stems or other parts of theplant, as they have been indicated invarious toxicity reports). The nativepeoples have various methods ofpreparation for this amazing herb thatinclude grinding, pounding, and evenchewing it! It is traditionally used forstresss, anxiety, depression, and more.Recent research has found that it maybe helpful with treating certain dis-eases, including leukemia and ovariancancer. Traditionally it has been usedas a euphoric and aphrodisiac, and forvenereal diseases, gout, urinary prob-lems, rheumatism and more.

TraditionalAccording to the traditional uses of

Kava Kava, the herb benefits by reduc-ing stress, relaxing, numbing, sedat-ing, and reducing nerves. Native peo-ples from the Pacific regions tradition-ally get together and drink a KavaKava concoction just as people in theWest and Europe sit around drinkingale or beer, but it is not intoxicating innormal amounts (it can be intoxicat-ing in extremely large amounts) asthose drinks are, and people do notbecome addicted or tolerant to it.

Modern scientific research has beendone en masse in order to either con-firm or disprove the uses of variousherbal preparations for medical prob-lems, and Kava Kava has a great dealof research behind it, with more beingcarried out all the time. So far, whatscientific research has discovered, isthat Kava Kava seems, indeed, to beefficacious when used with a varietyof mood disorders, including depres-sion, anxiety, and in fact, some prom-ising results showing that Kava Kavacan protect neural functioning, sedate,and reduce anxiousness. In fact, therewere reports that stated that withregard to scientific study, only KavaKava has, so far, been rigorouslyproven to be effective based on peerreviewed scientific evidence.

There has been talk in researchabout some liver toxicity problemswhen using Kava Kava. While not allresearch agrees in this area, eventhose that have stated such, say thatwhatever changes have been noted,

they are reversible in a short period oftime, but others are more stringent intheir warnings, and the FDA has putout a notification, but has not takenKava Kava products off the market. InEurope and Kava Kava has been takenoff the market, and in Canada andsome other places warnings have beenissued. But, according to the scientificresearch, in most of the cases of livertoxicity, Kava Kava was not beingtaken alone, and it is suspected thatsome type of interaction betweenherbs or herbs and drugs was the cul-prit in those cases. Also, it is impor-tant to note that the only cases of livermalfunctioning were directly relatedto Kava Kava use in commerciallyprepared formulations (all of whichwere apparently based on acetone orethanol extracted herbal concoctions,which are both toxic to the liver), andnever from any traditional use orwater based forms. More recentresearch coming from Australia hasshown noted anti-depressive, anti-anxiety results with no liver toxicity atall when using water based extrac-tions. Other recent studies contradictthis, so ongoing research is certain tobe continued.

MedicationsThe other question that needs to be

asked is, are the chemical medicationsany less dangerous (or are they more)than Kava Kava, considering the typesof synthetic psychotropic medicationsthat many people take by prescriptionthat have been found to have devastat-ing problems (such as encouragingsuicide or even homicide)? (I will notname names here, but people can eas-ily look this up on the Internet or inscientific journals, for those who haveaccess).

It might be a case here of the leastof the evils, although it is probablyhighly unlikely that Kava Kava,which its centuries old use by nativepeoples is going to have the seriousside effects of many chemical medica-tions on the market today, but still it isprudent to be careful in any case. So,if you are suffering from some type ofpsychological problem, or are suffer-ing from severe stress or anxiety,based on the scientific evidence thathas been so far determined, you aregoing to far better off taking an herbalremedy such as Kava Kava with care,then taking any chemical medicationat all. Better yet, try solving yourproblems instead of ignoring or run-ning away from them. If you simplyneed a helping hand to get over ahump, chances are you are going to bemuch safer with natural alternatives.But as always, less is more, and whileyou are taking anything, even if it iscompletely natural, you really need tobe looking for long term solutions sothat you will have a long term cure.And most of all, take care!

❑ ❑ ❑

Email me: miaponzo@yahoo.comVisit us at: www.kuwaitliving.net

for more articles and informationon Kuwait!

Atty Fatima Hamed Al-Mahmoud

Juma

LatestContinued from Page 26

There is need for people who can effective-ly make presentations and speak to others.Your knowledge and skills in this area canhelp advance your career or improve yourbusiness. Also, if you are good or really enjoypublic speaking, you may even choose speak-ing as a profession.

The purpose of this announcement is tooffer you a platform to practice and perfectyour communication and presentation skills.If you are interested in being part of ourorganization, come and join us on July 27th atIntercontinental Hotel from 06:00 to 07:30pm.

For more information, please contact AnilLobo at 9928-3020; Xavier Muthu at99850173 or George Mathew at 99856518.

July 28

AWARE lecture: AWARE lecture onTuesday, July 28th at 7 pm, “Unspoken sacri-fices of Expatriates in Kuwait,” by ChrisWhyte. Adjusting to Kuwait does prove to bethe norm for westerners who accept workopportunities in Kuwait. What sacrifices dowesterners make when relocating to Kuwait?Chris Whyte, will share with you the sacri-fices he has made to live and work in Kuwait.After his 25-minute presentation, the floorwill be open for discussion. For further detailscontact AWARE by Tel: 2-5335280 or visit usonline at www.aware.com.kw Emails may besent to info@aware.com.kw Address: Surra,Block 3, Surra St., Villa 84.

Aug 14

FPBL notice: Attention!!! all basketballenthusiasts, on behalf of the tournamentorganizers, we are delighted to extend thisformal invitation for your participation in thisyear’s 7th FPBL Basketball Conference. Thecategories are ‘Inter-Company’, 5’10” &under and above 40’s All Filipino Conference.

The tournament which will be held atFahaheel Sports Club is scheduled to com-mence on Aug 14, 2009.

The tournament aims to create sportsman-

ship, physical fitness, friendship and unityamong the Filipino community and for thelove of playing the game of basketball.

We would like to thanks all organizationsand companies that have participate in ourpast tournaments and hope that you will returnand join us in the spirit of inter-organizationalcompetition. So come on in and get to knowus a little better. “Game Natin Ito.”

We appreciate your timely entry and voiceyour opinion for the betterment of the upcoming tournament.

Interested teams or ball clubs, please con-tact: Tony at CP # 66082351, Rolly at CP #66658755, Jojo at CP # 97469614, and Bobitsat CP # 66140295 for more information.

Aug 20

Attention! All Basketball Enthusiasts:On behalf of the tournament organizers,Fahaheel Pinoy Basketball League (FPBL) aredelighted to extend this formal invitation foryour participation in this year’s 7th FPBLBasketball Conference. The categories are“Inter-Company,” 5’10” and Under andAbove 40’s for Southeast Asian National(SEA National Conference) e.g. Japanese,Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian,Thailander, Chinese and Filipino.

Tournament which will be held at FahaheelSports Club is scheduled to commence onAug 14, 2009.

The tournament aims to create sportsman-ship, physical fitness, friendship and unityamong the Southeast Asian Nationals and forthe love of playing the game of basketball.

We would like to thank all organizationsand companies that have participated in ourpast tournaments and hope that you will returnand join us in the spirit of inter-National orga-nizational competition. So come on in and getto know us a little better.

We appreciate your timely entry and voiceyour opinion for the betterment of the upcom-ing tournament.

Interested teams or ball clubs, please con-tact: Tony - 66082351, Rolly - 66658755; Jojo97469614 and Bobits - 66140295 for moreinformation.

Theater & MusicJuly 30

Drama competition: Friends of KannurExpatriates association (FOKE) is arranging adrama competition for their forthcoming“Onam-Eid celebration”. Competition will beheld during the last week of September.

Trainees pose before the start of the morning drill.

Trainees do stomach crunch during morning exercise.

Few pearls end up as high grade

Pearl culturing requires special skillPEARL culturing process involves a lot ofskill. Experienced pearl workers or techni-cians open the live pearl oysters and surgi-cally implant a small shell bead along witha tiny piece of mantle tissue. This bead isthe nucleus around which the oystersecretes layer after layer of nacre, the sub-stance that forms the pearl. This step of theculturing process requires tremendous skilland precision. Oysters will allow their shellsto be opened less than a centimeter wide,or else they will reject the nucleus.

The oysters in which the processing isdone are called nucleated oysters. Theyare then returned to the sea and housed inindividual mesh pockets that are suspend-ed from floating rafts. They feed and growin sheltered bays which are rich in natural

nutrients. After some time the oysterssecrete lustrous layers of nacre around theimplanted bead. The oysters are moved towarmer waters in the winter. Pearl workersmonitor water temperatures and feedingconditions for the oysters at various waterdepths, and move the oysters to takeadvantage of the best growing conditions.

When the oysters are brought back to theshore, the pearl farmers get ready for thelong-anticipated harvest. Only a small frac-tion of millions of oysters nucleated everyyear ends up as high grade pearls. A verysmall percentage of the total pearls end upwith fine quality.

The few pearls that make the cut are thecleanest, soaked, and sorted for the finaltransformation.

Experience unique flavor of Middle East

‘Sarai’ launches Kebab FestivalKUWAIT CITY, July 22: Sarai restaurant haslaunched Kebab Festival which is the first of itskind in Kuwait, introducing new innovativekebab flavors that will surely satisfy kebablovers appetite. The festival will be setting anew standard in Middle Eastern dining offeringa large variety of unique kebab creations.

The restaurant takes pride in its menu thatfeatures carefully handpicked dishes to treatdiners to a higher standard of Arabian cuisine.The Kebab Festival at Sarai pays tribute to theheart piece of Oriental culinary culture andpresents eight innovative kebabs each consist-ing of Oriental spices and herbs that completea unique colorful mouth-watering ingredientsthat well represent the true flavors of theMiddle East. A breathtaking assortment of suc-culent kebabs such as Kebab Istanbouly(grilled kebab mixed with fresh mint on a bedof mashed grilled egg plants), Orange Kebab

(grilled kebab mixed with a selection of nuts ona bed of fresh orange sauce) and KebabIskandar (grilled kebab mixed with onions andgarlic served with a topping of tomato sauce)and much more has been added to the classicMiddle Eastern menu Sarai’s most famous for,only for a limited time.

“We are celebrating Kebab Festival as hom-age to the traditional Oriental cuisine payingtribute to the authentic taste which makes theOrient so unique,” Nadar Hallal, Head ofMarketing of Alshaya Casual Dining explains.“One reason for the tremendously positive res-onance of Sarai is certainly the exquisite menuselection and high quality of all-natural ingredi-ents. We believe in offering our customers onlythe finest in food and a truly warm and wel-coming ambience resembling Middle Easternculinary tradition at its best. That’s the recipe ofSarai’s success in Kuwait and the region.”Sarai restaurant and its unique kebab.

trainees a much needed comic relief inbetween days of hard work. During singinglessons, the boys allow themselves to be car-ried away by the music, whipping up a cele-bratory mood. Boys, who were a little shy ini-tially, captivated by the power of music,broke out of their shells and enjoyed sheddingtheir inhibitions.

The captains taught their charges a lessonabout how music inspired sailors of the oldand made their burdens light. It was an ener-gy-booster, and cheered up people’s moods.

Sea songs touched upon a variety of topicsthat were close to the lives of the seafarers.All the captains in the olden days made surethat their vessel had a musical band in it. Itwas the best way to keep his crew motivatedand help them overcome despair. A despair-ing crew will have a negative effect on theprogress of the voyage and could also fan theembers of mutiny in a ship.

With specific songs for different tasks, the

captain simply had to ask the musical band toplay a particular song to exact the desiredwork from his crew. Music also served toqualify the rigid hierarchical structures in sealife, because when commands come in theform of songs, they get sweetened leaving norancor.

The boys are primed for the voyage not justby learning the essentials of seafaring such ashoisting sails, diving, rowing and otherthings, but are also equipped with some veryvital skills of survival, namely administeringfirst aid during emergencies. Two whole dayswere dedicated to this.

In retrospect, some trainees were alreadyable to see the change the program hadwrought in them. “Today, we feel like wehave it in us to face any challenge. It is notconceit, but a very powerful sense of opti-mism. We have also learnt to respect nature,and we see ourselves as an inextricable part ofit and not as its masters.”

Trainees await adventure of their life

Countdown starts for ‘Bahrain’By Valiya S. Sajjad

Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: Al Sha’b, AlMasila, Dasman, Qisr Al Seif and Dar AlSalwa, the five boats due to sail to Bahrain onThursday, stood anchored at the dock, as theircaptains checked on them for a final time.

Nearly 80 trainees will be voyaging toBahrain in these fiberglass boats on the firstpearl fishing expedition of the year. The boatswill leave Kuwait Sea Club at 5.30 in theevening on Thursday.

With the real expedition just a day away,the trainees were in a joyous mood. It’s nomore about mock scenarios and simulatedexperiences. It’s going to be real to the core.Everyone looked at it as a very importantoccasion in their lives. Some traineesexpressed how they were a bit ambivalentabout enrolling for the program initially, andhow their parents had goaded them to go forit. “If we had not heeded to their words, thenwe would have really missed something inour lives.”

Ahmed, the stocky intrepid, who oftenruns into trouble with his captain for his truc-ulence and excessive zeal, was jumping forjoy. In his pidgin English he explained that hewill dive to the depths of the ocean floor andsnatch as many pearls as he can find. He saidthis pinching his nose and waving his otherhand as if in water indicating diving. Whenhe had exhausted all the words in his activevocabulary, he rattled off in Arabic untilexcitement took his voice to a high pitch andhis talking evolved into singing.

The boys were also eagerly looking for-ward to the last day of the festival when therewould be celebrations. The trainees will begiven a farewell by the organizers of the PearlDiving Heritage Revival Festival on August8. There will be much singing and dancingthen. The boys have also been trained in suchcultural activities.

Often times, music has provided the

Pearl Diving

27

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

Continued on Page 31

click

Photos by Monzer Al-Akhrass

Applications are invited from all art lovers inKuwait to participate in this drama competi-tion. Drama should be in Malayalam languageand should be less than 30 minutes duration.All those who wish to participate in this com-petition are requested to submit their applica-tion along with a copy of their script beforeJuly 30. For further details you may contact

65071434, 66284886 or 99860832.

Sept 9

Int’l Chopin piano competition: TheFirst International Frederic Chopin PianoCompetition for Amateurs, organized by theFrederic Chopin Society, will be held in

Frederic Chopin Musical University inWarsaw (Poland) from Sept 9 to 13, 2009 andwill be part of the celebrations marking theFrederic Chopin International Year.

The professional Jury of the Competitionwill comprise outstanding Polish pianists and

THURSDAY

■ Sri Lankan Embassy closure: TheEmbassy of Sri Lanka will be closed for publictoday, in lieu of ‘Al-Israa Wal Miraj’ holiday.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ Pakistan Embassy closure: The Embassyof the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will remainclosed today, on the auspicious occasion of‘Al-Israa Wal Miraj’.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ Kenyan Embassy closure: The Embassy ofthe Republic of Kenya wishes to inform thegeneral public that the Embassy will remainclosed today on the occasion of Al-Isra WalMiraj. Normal office operations will resume onJuly 26, 2009.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ IMA plans Al-Isra program: Indian MuslimAssociation (IMA) under the patronage of theMinistry of Awkaf and Islamic Affairs is organ-izing on the eve of “Al-Isra ’WAL MIRA’J”today, 8:45 pm onwards after isha prayer atMasjid Yousef Al-Adsani, beside Souk Al-Watiya near to Sheraton Hotel, Kuwait City.

Renowned Islamic scholars in Kuwait willaddress with regarding to the event of “Al-Isra’Wal Mira’j” Topic.

Dinner will be served at the end of this pro-gram. Separate arrangement for ladies. All arecordially invited.

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■ LFBA to hold tournament: League ofFilipino Billiard (LFBA) will be holding: LFBA –Western Union 9-Ball Billiard Cup today, at AlMarquiz Billiard Hall.

Mechanics: 9-Ball single knock-out.Battle of the champion: Will have two win-

ners as the champion from previous tourna-ment has already upgraded to Super A’s. Firstelimination will be today, and the final on July30.

Winners will received: Battle of Championand Super A’s, Class A and Class C.

Champion- Trophies and KD 50. 1st Runnerup- Trophies and KD 25.

Winners trophies and cash prizes will beawarded on Aug05, 2009 in the celebration ofLFBA 1st Anniversary.

Entry fee KD 3. Members who have WesternUnion Card or a proof of receipt from WesternUnion (will provide photo copy of WU) canavail a free entry fee and 50 percent off dis-count on re-entry (KD 1.500). For non mem-bers who have Western Union Card and proofof receipt from WU can avail 50 percent dis-count on his re-entry fee.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ Bangladesh Embassy closure: TheEmbassy of the People’s Republic ofBangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed today,on the occasion of Holy Shab-e Me’raz. This isfor information of all concerned.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ ESF Summer: The English School Fahaheelis open all summer! For your convenience our

summer hours are Saturday – Thursday 9:00am to 12:00 noon. For any registrationinquiries please call 3711070, 3717263.Places are limited and a waiting list is avail-able. For the latest news on ESF log on to ourflash site @ www.skee.com. Have a greatsummer!

FRIDAY

■ PABAK games: 21st Conference PABAKschedule of games today, at the HawallyDisabled Club.

1st game: 7:00-8:30 – KEO vs Gulf Net2nd game: 8:30-10:00 – Pacific Int’l Cargo

vs Aru Logistics3rd game: 10:00-11:30 – Houndogs vs

Wataniya A/W4th game: 11:30-1:00 – CSA Tamaraws vs

Heisco Marines5th game: 1:00-2:30 – Hotline Cargo vs New

Cliffe Cont.6th game: 2:30-4:00 – Berksmen vs DXN

Ganoderma Eagles7th game: 4:00-5:30 – NAS vs Pogi Points

(Veterans)8th game: 5:30-7:00 – NAS vs Kout Food

Group9th game: 7:00-8:30 – KCCC vs Al Razi

HospitalNote: A 15 minutes grace period shall be

given to all scheduled games to avoid defaultand technicalities. Call 66686954, or25729779 Rod Cerezo. E-Mail-rodcerezo@yahoo.com.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ FPBL games: Fahaheel Pinoy BasketballLeague (FPBL) 6th Conference BasketballLeague Fahaheel Sports Club, Mangaf, Stateof Kuwait.

Games schedule for today.Semifinal games for Inter-Company.8:00 to 9:30 am – Barangay Fahaheel vs

Kabayan Rest. (Tune-up games).9:30 to 11:00 am – (2) Kuwait Finest vs (5)

MOD.11:00 to 12:30 pm – (1) Wonder Boy vs (3)

First Kuwait.Note: Teams must be available to play on

time, schedule request can not be considered.Any team that break the rules will result in

forfeiture or loss in the contest.Teams that will play in the first game, should

come at 7:30 am.We reserve the right to change the game

schedules for the best interest of the tourna-ment.

Teams that will standby this coming Friday. For more details please contact: Tony

Lucero - 66082351, Rolly Abenales -66658755; Jojo Magbanua - 66620453; BobitsPeteros - 66140295.

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■ KTCC activities: Worship service – everyWednesday 7:00-9:00 pm at North Tent,NECK.

Children’s Bible School – every Wednesday7 to 9 pm at Activity Building, NECK.

Overnight prayer – every 1st Thursday from10 pm – 4:00 am at Diwaniya, NECK.

Communion Service – every 3rdWednesday.

The Following meeting are held at our KTCCPrayer House:

1) Children Bible School Teacher’s Prayer –1st Saturday 7 to 9 pm.

2) Children’s Prayer – 2nd Friday 6:30 pm to8:30 pm.

3) Bible Study – every 2nd and 4th Sundayat 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

4) ISOM – Batch 1 Class Tuesdays – 7 to 9pm and Batch 2 Class Fridays – 4 to 6 pm.

5) Choir Practice – Mondays – 6 to 8 pm.6) Men’s Fellowship – 4th Friday – 10:00

am to 12:00 pm.7) Women’s Prayer – (Abbasiya) – 3rd

Sunday – 6:30 to 8:30 pm and (Salmiya) 4thTuesday – 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

8) Fasting Prayer – every 3rd Friday from

12:00 Noon – 3:30 pm.9) Cottage Prayers – every 2nd and 4th

Week.10) Baptism Service – every 4th Friday.Welcome to all Tamil known people to par-

ticipate in our regular activities to worship theLord in our own mother tongue and beblessed!

For details or for any prayer needs contactTel No: 66920350 / 99432849.

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■ Redeemed Christian Church: TheRedeemed Christian Church of God (worshipin English) Regular services – Fridays: 7:30am-9:30 am fellowship hall (Neck) compound,10:30 am-12:30 pm Hall of Faith (Neck),6:00pm-8:00pm Hall of Joy (Neck), Sundayservice (Divine Encounter) 6:30 pm-8:30pmHall of Faith (Neck) compound.

All services in English language. For prayersand counseling, please call 6804798,6332846. E-mail: rccgkuwait@yahoo.comwebsite: www.rccg.org.

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■ St. Paul’s Anglican Church: St Paul’sAnglican (Episcopal) Church of Kuwait hasworship services in English, every Sunday at6.30 pm in Ahmadi and every Friday at 10.30am in Salwa. The Chinese worship service isheld every Friday at 10.30 in Salwa. Bibleclasses for children are held during all theservices. You are all invited to come and enjoythe services and fellowship. You are welcometo visit our website –http://www.stpaulskuwait.com

For more information, you may call7356700,7992517, 3985925, 4837716,9114947 or Email atstpaulskuwait@yahoo.com

❑ ❑ ❑

■ Enjoy the real aradhana: Come and be apart of satsang. Enjoy the real aradhana.Learn about moksha and shanti. Sing bhajansand bhakti geet for prabhu with ShishyeThompson on Friday 6:00 pm. Also a specialmeeting and bhakti on Saturday at 7:00 pmwith Shishye Thompson and Brijesh Chorotia.For more information contact Deepak99659293.

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■ Satsang meeting: Satsang meeting at 6:00pm every Friday. Come and be a part of wor-ship/Aradhana. For details contact 99659293 /66340740. E-mail: Satsangkuwait.com

❑ ❑ ❑

■ El Shaddai weekly fellowship: The ElShaddai DWXI-PPFI Kuwait Chapter invites allthe Filipino in our weekly fellowship.● Every Monday, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm StJoseph Hall (Basement), Holy FamilyCathedral, Kuwait City.● Every Friday (except 1st Friday), 12:30 pmto 4 pm, Sacred Heart Hall, Holy FamilyCathedral, Kuwait City.

For more information please call any of thefollowing nos: 66758948, 66523946,99615956, 99495832, 66078953 and67067956.

Answer to yesterday’s puzzle

Challenger

DIRECTIONS:Fill each square

with a number, onethrough nine.■ Horizontal

squares should addto totals on right.

■ Vertical squaresshould add to totals

on bottom.■ Diagonal squares

through centershould add to totalin upper and lower

right.

THERE MAY BEMORE THAN ONE

SOLUTION.

Today’s ChallengeTime 9 Minutes

6 SecondsYour Working

Time __ Minutes__ Seconds

legal clinic

Visit visas

Can you let me know whether visit visas forPakistanis are being issued or not?

Name withheldAnswer: The issuance of such visas has never been

stopped. There could be a tighter control and morerestrictions but visit visas for Pakistanis are still beingissued.

❑ ❑ ❑

The Arab Times invites questions on all aspects ofKuwaiti law. If you face a problem, or need specificadvice on any legal matter, from commercial andinvestment law to divorce and labour, send questions tothe Managing Editor, Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270,13023 Safat, Kuwait, or Fax to 4818267

PRO BONO LEGAL ADVICE

The grid must be so completed that every row, column and 3x3box has every digit from 1 to 9 inclusive.

Conceptis Sudoku

Yesterday’s solution

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

30

Free Mathrubasha (Malayalam) classes conducted by Kerala Arts Lovers Association (KALA) in Mangaf Abbassiya with the class teachers Harikumar and Rajeesh respectively.

Many happy returns of the day to Tazrin JahanShubha, who celebrates her 1st birthday today.May Allah blessing be on you. Wish you ever-green, enjoyable and devoted life. Best wishesand lots of love from Father Mohamed KamalHussain Imtiaz, Mother Mrs Sumona AkterMoly, grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins

and all relatives and friends.

Items for the What’s On page can be sentdirectly to the Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270,13023, Safat or faxed to 4818267 or e-mailto arabtimes@-arabtimesonline.com.

All items on this page are published as acourtesy to the public. These announcementscan include birthday greetings, weddings,social functions or any other non-commercialevents. Photographs of all events are welcome.

emergency 777/1844777

civil ID info 889988

Electricity: Kuwait City 24847329, 2484704; Fahaheel23915300, 23911333; Hawalli 22650702/4; Kuwait City24832933; Hawalli 22627728, 22627729; Jahra24578380; Kheitan 24722935/7; Salmiya 25712259,25711130; Shuwaikh 24831781; Street lights 24745408.

Water: Emergency (drains) 24834044; Ahmadi23984755, 23984926; Jahra 24553640, 24555231;Salmiya 25642104; Shuwaikh 24832933, 24832987;Sulaibikhat 24677378, 24674568.

Hospitals: Amiri Casualty 22450005; Al Sabah24812000/24815000; Mubarak Al Kabeer 25312700 to709; Farwaniya 24883000, 24888000; Adan 23940600;

Ibn Sina 24840300; Al Razi 24846000; Al Jahra24575300; Maternity 24848067; Allergy 24849252;Blood Bank 25336538; Burns Centre 24840300;Cancer Control Centre 24849100; Chest Diseases24838990, 24849400; Drug Control 24837245;Infectious Diseases 24870351; Islamic Medicine Centre24849000.

Private Hospitals: Ahmadi 23985174; Dar Al Shifa22423151.

Ambulance: Central 24722000; Emergency 24765616;Adan 23940660/23941455; Amiri Hospital 22422366;Dai’ya 22510854; Dasman 22419785; Fahaheel

23919089; Faiha’a 22553779; Farwaniya 24883000;Farwaniya 24725149; Jahra 24575448; Mubarak Al-Kabir25311437; Nuwaisib 23950114; Sabah 24815000;Salmiya 25739011; Shuaiba 23261927.

Consumer Protection Hotline: 24820281/25720252.Traffic Violation Inquiry: 198The Scientific Center: 1848888.Labour Complaints Hotline:Tel 24344954, Fax 24347562.Social Work Society of Kuwait (Human Rights

Organization): Tel 25375031, Fax 25375032E-mail: Q8sws@q8sws.com, http://www.q8sws.com

Important Tel. Nos.Afghanistan 93; Algeria 213; Argentina 54;

Australia 61; Austria 43; Bahrain 973;Bangladesh 880; Belgium 32; Bolovia 591;Brazil 55; Bulgaria 359; Canada 1; Chile 56;China 86; Colombia 57; Croatia 385; Cyprus357; Denmark 45; Egypt 20; Finland 358;France 33; Germany 49; Ghana 233; Greece 30;Guatemala 502; Hong Kong 852; Hungary 36;India 91; Indonesia 62; Iran 98; Iraq 964;Ireland 353; Italy 390; Japan 81; Jordan 962;

Kazakhstan 7; Kenya 254; Korea 82; Kuwait 965;

Lebanon 961; Libya 218; Luxembourg 352; Malaysia 60;

Malta 356; Mauritius 230; Mexico 52; Morocco 212;

Nepal 977; Netherlands 31; New Zealand 64; Nigeria

234; Norway 47; Oman 968; Pakistan 92;

Philippines 63; Poland 48; Portugal 351; Qatar974; Russia 7; Saudi Arabia 966; Singapore65; Somalia 252; South Africa 27; Spain 34;

Sri Lanka 94; Sudan 249; Sweden 46;

Switzerland 41; Syria 963; Turkey 90; UnitedArab Emirates 971; United Kingdom 44; UnitedStates 1; Venezuela 58; Yemen 967; Zambia260.

Int’l Dialing Codes

indoor gardening

gasteria

beauty tips

lemon and beauty

taste buds

Gasteria is a genus of succulent plants native to South Africa.Closely-related genera include Aloe and Haworthia. Their curi-ous fleshy, spotted leaves and tubular flowers with swollenmiddles earned them their common name, as well as the Latinname, from gaster, or belly. The leaves arc out in two oppositerows when young, later forming a spiral rosette. Flowers areusually tri-colored green, white and a range of pale pink to red.

Site: Semi-shade or bright light. Some shade in summermay be necessary.

Temperature: Average warmth from spring to autumn -minimum 50F in winter.

Water: Keep compost moist at all time.

Hair: Combine the juice of one lemon with three fourths cupolive oil and one half cup of honey. Work into damp hair andcomb through to distribute evenly. Cover hair with a warmtowel for 10 minutes. Rinse well; then shampoo. This help asa shine booster.

Skin: Combine one half cup of plain yogurt with 2 tsp.lemon juice. Lather it up with a washcloth. Then rinse with coolwater. This combo will clean, exfoliate and moisturize yourskin.

Nails: Dip a nail brush into equal parts lemon juice, equalparts white vinegar (half of each liquid-this helps lifts stains)and warm water. Brush over stained or yellow nails. Wait 1minute, then rinse.

Ingredients:For the crust: 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/2

cup butter.For the filling: 1 lemon, for juice and rind, 1 medium

egg, beaten 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tspn bakingpowder

Method: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Mixtogether the crust ingredients and form into a pie crustshape in a suitably sized starsol pan. Bake for 15 minutes.For the filling, beat the egg, and juice and rind the lemon.Mix the filling ingredients thoroughly, and pout into thebaked pie crust. Bake for another 20 minutes.

what’s on today

lemon bar

BAIA summer spotlight: Registration forThe British Academy of International Arts(BAIA) Summer Camp is open.

Want to be an actor?Join the adult actors of Koros who have

performed in ‘Othello’, ‘Annie’ and ‘OliverTwist’ to form a company to stage ‘TheWizard of Oz’ in one week! Learn all aboutteam work, leadership skills, organization,time deadlines as well as lighting, sound, cho-reography costume and set design in additionto performing in the final workshop produc-

‘Treasure of Talents’ Festival and music com-petitions. Contact Prof Cezary, Tel. 25320427,66549009 of Ms Yasmeene – Berlitz InstituteTel: 22542212, 22512533 or email: treasure-oftalents@yahoo.com treasureoftalents@hot-mail.com

❑ ❑ ❑

Piano lessons at Radisson SAS:Radisson SAS Hotel, Kuwait and CracoviaMusic Bureau proudly announce starting ofmaster piano lesson given by known Polishpianist Mrs Tamara Granat. She is residentlobby pianist at the Radisson SAS Hotel for2008/09 season. Mrs Tamara, has won severalpiano competitions 1 toured most of Europeancountries as well as USA and Asia giving alsopiano master classes. Piano lessons for allparticipants from beginners to very advancedwill by given from now on by Mrs Tamara atthe special designed music room of theRadisson SAS Hotel. For information andreservation contact or call Mrs Tamara on97312573 or cracoviamusic@hotmail.com

❑ ❑ ❑

Call to classical music lovers: Areyou a lover of music? Would you like to pro-mote the traditional Indian classical music inKuwait? If your answer is in the affirmative,please write for more details to music_karnat-ic@yahoo.co. in (that is, music underscorekarnatic) with your contact details or call7978286.

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Theater & MusicContinued from Page 27

experienced piano teachers. The organizersbelieve that this event will give an excitingopportunity to non-professional pianists todisplay their talent and will encourage themto compete on international level.

The competition is open to participants ofall nationalities who ■ were born before or on Sept 1, 1984■ do not earn their living from piano per-formance or instruction■ are not studying piano at a music school /conservatoire or who completed their formalpiano studies not later than in 2005.

Additional information, rules and contactdetails of the organizers are available onwww.konkurs.amator.chopin.pl

Nov 6

High Range Fest – 2009: IdukkiAssociation Kuwait will be celebrating theanniversary this year with a grand culturalprogram ‘High Range Fest – 2009.’

The program will be held in the AmericanInternational School Auditorium, MaidanHawally, on Nov 6, evening. The event willbe marked with spectacular stage shows,showcasing the talents of the members of theassociation and the highlights will be the‘Ganamela and Fusion Music’ involving play-back singers and renowned artists fromKerala and particularly from Idukki District.P.T. Thomas M.P, the Patron of IdukkiAssociation Kuwait and the current Memberof Parliament from Idukki will be the chiefguest.

As a part of the grand evening, a ‘FusionDance’ program choreographed by the famousdance master and the art director ofConnexxions Media Kuwait KalamandalamS.S. Nair and the dance master andConnexxions Media choreographer BivinSelvamani is planned, involving the childrenof the association members. All parents whoare interested are kindly requested to contactthe office bearers of the association at the ear-liest. More details to follow.

All art lovers are kindly invited to the HighRange Fest – 2009.

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BAIA announces new course: TheBritish Academy of International Arts (BAIA)is pleased to announce this new coursedesigned to enable every child to communi-cate effectively. The course is in line with theBBC programme ‘Voices’ and UK schools’programmes ‘Every child can …’ and willconcentrate on, amongst others, the skills andtechniques required for developing a beautifuland cultured voice, reading aloud, standing infront of an audience and using a microphone.The course will be taught by UK registeredspeech tutor Alison Shan Price and ESL tutorFiona McCulloch and is aimed for childrenaged 5-12 years.

For further information please contactGregan Davis, Head of Faculty of Speech, Tel25621701 x112 or email

Tandberg officials pose with award winning partners.

Magadheera movie is an upcoming Tollywood film slated forrelease on July 28 in Kuwait. It stars Ram Charan Teja and KajalAgarwal. This movie has created a lot of hype even before therelease. Let us see some interesting things about this movie.

This movie is produced by Allu Aravind (Geetha Arts Banner)at a budget of Rs 45 Crores. That is the highest so far for a filmin Tollywood. A famous song from Chiranjeevi’s movie GharanaMogudu is remixed in this movie into a new song. It would coolto see what it is!

Chiranjeevi also made a cameo (special appearance) in thismovie. Note: Chiranjeevi is presently out of movie industry and

is working as a politician for the welfare of Andhra Pradesh.It is the second movie of Ram Charan Taja who is a son of

Chiranjeevi. His first movie is a hit and Maagadheera too isexpected to be a hit!

Many fans are awaiting this movie’s release. It is directed byRajamouli who is one of the most successful film directors inTollywood. He has 6 earlier blockbuster hits.

Magadheera also stars a popular but new and cute actressKajal Agarwal. This movie is expected to have powerful story-line along with thrilling action.

Above: A flyer of the Tollywood film.

Acknowledging partners

Tandberg awardstop ME performersDUBAI, July 22: The global telepresenceleaders Tandberg has paid tribute to its topperforming business partners in the MiddleEast during its annual NaturalCommunication event held recently.

Partners from the UAE, KSA, Qatar,Kuwait, Bahrain, Pakistan, Egypt, Libyaand Oman participated in the event, whichrecognises Tandberg partners that havedelivered superior solutions to their cus-tomers during the past year and also havedemonstrated outstanding sales perform-ance for Tandberg. The event also hostedspecialist training and networking work-shops for the various partners at Tandberg’sMiddle East Headquarters based at DubaiInternet City.

Tandberg General Manager for theMiddle East and North Africa, GeorgesLemire, said that the annual event was anideal opportunity for Tandberg to acknowl-edge its partners’ hard work and highlightall their efforts and achievements through-out the previous year.

“Our partners are very important to thecontinued expansion of Tandberg, which isalready the largest provider of visual com-munications throughout the region,” Lemiresaid.

“This event gives us a chance to acknowl-edge the continued efforts of our strategicpartners; with the additional benefit of moti-vating others in the race to win next year’stop award.”

The Tandberg Partner Programme devel-ops partners’ skills and provides resourcesto enable them to drive the adoption of nat-ural communication in their markets.Partners are very diverse and can vary fromsmall specialised video companies workingin specific markets, medium-sized compa-nies that offer video as one part of their busi-ness, to very large organisations that spe-cialise in network products and services.

Tandberg presented awards in eight cate-gories to its channel partners during theevent.

Winners of this year’s awards include:Highest sales in the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia – International Turnkey Systems(ITS).

Highest sales in the West Gulf – AlAlamiah Technology Group.

Highest sales in the Country of Egypt –Egyptian Micro Solutions (EMS).

Highest sales in the United Arab Emirates– Emirates Computers.

Highest Infrastructure sales –International Turnkey Systems (ITS).

Best Marketing Initiative – CommTelSystems.

Best Order Processing – Vision Valley.Director Award – Asif Shafi, Vision

Valley.Over the last year Tandberg reported rev-

enue earnings of $ 808.8 million, with vol-ume of 17,584 units, and an operating prof-it of $ 176.7 million. In its second quarterresults announced last week, the companysaw a 5 percent year-on-year increase inrevenues to $ 204.6 million compared to thesame period last year.

On top of this growth, the companyremained convinced that there was still agrowing market for its product, particularlyin the face of current economic forecastswhere businesses were being forced to makecuts to areas which could easily be replacedwith Tandberg’s products.

31

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

Continued on Page 32

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TMCA Umra trip participants pose.

administrator@baia.com.kw.❑ ❑ ❑

All level music classes: ‘Treasure ofTalents’ (est in 1992) music education pro-

gram invites all level music classes on piano,theory of music, vocal, flute.

Academic Level Teachers help prepare forInternational Exams, children concerts, yearly

Cinema

Cinema programme(Thursday 23/07/09 to Wednesday 29/07/09)

Dokan Shehata(Ifa Wahabi)

Sharqia 1 13:00, 15:45, 18:30, 21:15Sharqia 1 00:05 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Muhalab 1 13:30, 16:15, 19:15, 22:00Muhalab 1 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Fanar 2 13:00, 15:45, 18:30, 21:30Fanar 2 00:15 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Marina 2 14:45, 19:15, 22:00Marina 2 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Avenues 4 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30Avenues 4 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Avenues 11 12:45, 15:45, 18:45, 21:45Avenues 11 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 10 15:00, 18:00, 21:00360° 10 00:05 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 12 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 22:00360° 12 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Al Kout 3 13:15, 16:00, 18:45, 21:30Al Kout 3 00:15 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Plaza 17:45 (Thu to Tue)Plaza 10:45Laila 20:00Ajial 1 17:00, 19:45, 22:30Metro 2 19:45Metro 2 22:30 (Thu to Mon)Granada 15:45Granada 18:30, 21:30 (Thur to Mon)

G-Force(Nicolas Cage, Steve Buscemi)

Sharqia 2 12:30, 17:00Muhalab 3 12:45, 14:45, 16:30 Fanar 3 12:45, 14:45, 18:45, 20:45Marina 2 17:30Avenues 9 13:15, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00360° 2 13:30, 16:30, 19:30, 22:30Al Kout 4 13:00, 14:45, 16:30, 18:15Laila 15:30

Public Enemies(Johnny Depp, Christian Bale)

Sharqia 2 14:15, 19:00, 21:45Sharqia 2 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Muhalab 3 18:15, 21:00Muhalab 3 23:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Fanar 4 13:30, 16:15, 19:00, 21:45Fanar 4 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Marina 3 12:45, 15:45, 18:30, 21:15Marina 3 00:05 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Avenues 5 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 22:00Avenues 5 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Avenues 6 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 22:00Avenues 6 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 1 12:45, 15:45, 18:45, 21:45360° 1 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 9 12:45, 15:45, 18:45, 21:45,360° 9 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Al Kout 1 12:40, 15:15, 18:00, 20:45Al Kout 1 23:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Laila 22:45 (Thu to Tue)

Delta Farce(Michael Rose, Glennmorshower)

Fanar 3 22:45Fanar 3 00:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Avenues 7 14:00, 17:00, 23:00 360° 3 14:45, 17:45, 20:45360° 3 23:30, 23:45 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Ajial 2 16:15Ajial 2 20:15 (Thu to Tue)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs(Eunice Cho, Karen Disher)

Sharqia 3 14:00Muhalab 2 17:00 Fanar 3 16:30Avenues 8 14:30, 17:30, 20:30 360° 14 14:00, 17:00, 20:00, 23:00

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince(Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson)

Sharqia 3 16:00, 18:45Sharqia 3 00:15 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Muhalab 2 14:00 (Sun to Thu)Muhalab 2 19:00, 21:45Fanar 1 12:30, 15:15, 18:15, 21:15Fanar 1 00:05 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Marina 1 14:00, 19:00, 21:45Marina 1 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Avenues 3 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30Avenues 3 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 5 14:15, 17:15, 20:15360° 5 23:15 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 8 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30360° 8 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Al Kout 2 14:00, 19:00Al Kout 2 00:05 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Laila 17:15Ajial 3 16:30, 19:30Ajial 3 22:15 (Thu to Tue)Metro 1 15:45 (Thu, Sat, Mon) Metro 2 17:00

Luck (Hindi)(Sanjay Dutt, Neha Oberoi)

Muhalab 2 14:00 (Fri, Sat) Fanar 5 17:30Avenues 2 18:15, 21:15

Bo Bos(Adel Emam, Yousra)

Sharqia 3 22:00Muhalab 2 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Fanar 5 20:30Marina 1 16:45 Marina 2 12:30 Avenues 1 19:30, 22:30360° 7 14:30, 17:30, 20:30360° 7 23:00 (Sun, Tue, Wed)360° 7 23:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Al Kout 4 20:00, 22:15Al Kout 4 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)Ajial 2 18:00, 22:00 (Thurs to Tue)

Badel Faked(Ahmed, Mona Shalabi)

Fanar 5 12:30, 14:45, 23:00Avenues 10 13:45, 16:15, 19:15, 22:15Avenues 10 01:00 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 11 13:45, 16:45, 19:45, 22:45Al Kout 2 16:45, 21:45Plaza 15:30Plaza 20:30 (Thu to Tue)

Fighting(Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard)

Avenues 2 15:15Avenues 2 00:15 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 6 19:15360° 6 01:00 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)

Land of the Lost(Will Ferrell, Anna Friel)

Avenues 1 13:30, 16:30Avenues 1 01:00 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 6 13:15, 16:15, 22:15

Franklyn(Eva Green, Ryan Phillippe)

Avenues 8 23:30360° 15 15:00, 21:00

Ramadan Mabrouk Abu El 3 Alamain Hamuda(Mohammed Hamidu)

Avenues 7 20:00Miracle at St Anna

(Derek Luke, Michael Ealy)Avenues 9 23:15 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)360° 4 18:15360° 4 00:15 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)

City of Ember(David Ryall, Ian McElhinney)

360° 4 15:15Omar Wa Salma2

(Tamer Hosny, Mai Ez Eldien)360° 4 21:15

Ibrahim Labyad(Ahmed Al-Saka, Wafaa Aamer)

360° 2 00:30 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)

Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen(Megan Fox, Shia Labeouf)

360° 13 12:30, 15:30, 20:00360° 13 22:45 (Sun, Tue, Wed) 360° 13 23:00 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)

Space Station 3D360° 13 (Imax) 18:30

Bhramaram (Malayalam)(Mohanlal, Bhoomika)

Ajial 4 18:30 (Thu to Mon)

Short Kut – The Con Is On (Hindi)(Akshay Khanna, Amrita Rao)

Ajial 4 15:30Ajial 4 21:30 (Thu to Mon)

Magadheera (Telugu)(Ram Charan, Kajal Agarwal)

Ajial 4 18:30, 21:30, (Tue, Wed)Metro 2 22:30 (Tue, Wed)Granada 18:30, 21:30 (Tue, Wed)

Eee Pattanathil Bhootam (Malayalam)(Mammootty, Kavya Madhavan)

Metro 1 15:30 (Fri)Metro 1 18:30, 21:30

Movies inquiries and Fax Back hotline 1803456

IMAXImax film programme at The Scientific Center

Thursday Galapagos 3D 10:30 am, 01:30 pm, 07:30 pmMisadventure in 3D 11:30 pm, 06:30 pm, 09:30 pmAliens of the Deep 3D 12:30 pm, 10:30 pmUltimate G’s 3D 02:30 pm, 08:30 pmJourney to Mecca 03:30 pm, 04:30 pm

Friday Misadventure in 3D 02:30 pm, 10:30 pmJourney to Mecca 03:30 pm, 04:30 pmGalapagos 3D 05:30 pm, 08:30 pmAliens of the Deep 3D 06:30 pm, 09:30 pmUltimate G’s 3Da 07:30 pmFor visitor information call 1848 888 or visitwww.tsck.org.kw Notes: ‘Journey to Mecca’ is in Arabic (English headsets areavailable upon request). ‘Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.

Overheard in the Soukthe grapevine

● Time to talk about embassies again.Posted outside all the embassies aretimings for various sections – publicdealing, own citizens, consular sectionand so on.

But are there timings followed by theembassy staff. For a large number ofthem the answer is no. This timing isonly for the public.

For example, at most embassies theopening timing is 8:00 am and the gen-eral public to get their turn early go evenas much as an hour before that butinstead of them going away early theyend up waiting for the officers of varioussections. This slackness is not at anembassy or two, it’s at a large numberof them. The sections do open in timebut the officers-in-charge normallycome 45 minutes to an hour later.

Why don’t embassies just changetheir timings and don't’ make peoplewait. Maybe their officials like to play thewaiting game.

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● It is very difficult to trust anybodythese days. Recently the KuwaitMunicipality raided several illegal shopsin the area and issued citations.

However, one of the inspectorsreportedly while checking a legal gro-cery shop found nothing wrong to issuea citation. However, he asked the ownerof the grocery shop to get him a photo-copy of the licence and his Civil ID.Since he had no ready photocopy theman said he would go and get one.

As he was about to close the grocery,

the inspector objected and said therewas no need for the man to close shopand that he would wait in the shop untilhis return.

When the grocer insisted on closingthe shop because he said he does nottrust anybody and reminded the inspec-tor how he was once robbed during asimilar incident, the inspector reported-ly got annoyed, issued him a citationand told him to come to the office withthe photocopy of the licence and theCivil ID and walked off.

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● A well known hotel celebrated anannual event in its main restaurant andinvited local media people and theirfamilies to a dinner party one weekend,recently.

Known for serving culinary delights,the hotel’s invite drew an enthusiasticresponse with members of the fourthestate coming in droves some in pairs,others in large entourages includingextended family members and evenfriends, to take advantage of the gener-ous offer of a free dinner.

Since it was a complimentary dinnerand a first come, first serve affair, it wasbut proper to accept being seated wher-ever a vacant table is and not insist.

One haughty-looking scribe of a localArabic publication who came with hiswife would have none of it however, andhad the gall of raising a fuss withrestaurant staff over the location of atable they were seated in, which hap-pened to be near the way to the restau-

rant kitchen but was otherwise just asgood as any seat in the house.

The self-important newsman wasseen gesturing somewhat indignantlyand haranguing some of the staff for notbeing given a seat in the main diningarea despite there being no vacancy atthe time, and threatened to leave butdecided against it.

Instead, he and his wife hung aroundlong enough for the maitre’d to con-vince them to wait a while until therewas a vacant table where he wanted tobe seated.

The scribe’s actuations make him adisgrace to the profession. Being a jour-nalist does not give one the license tomake unreasonable demands muchless, insist on being accorded preferen-tial treatment when he was not even apaying customer.

Any self-respecting individual wouldnot insist on being seated anywhere helikes, if invited to a complimentary din-ner. Not to this particular guy, however.

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● Life and all of life’s decisions havebecome ‘instant.’ It’s no different fromInstant Coffee or Instant Tea now. It’snot unusual to see instant marriagesnow which are soon followed by instantdivorces.

The institution of marriage has lost allits essence. One may still hear fromtheir folks about marriages that tookplace at their time. Then it was not onlytwo people getting married it was alsoabout two families. The coming togeth-

er of these two families created a moretighter bond between the couple. Thedays of wedding preparations and cele-brations has just started to vanish andreplaced by “Instant Weddings.”

For every 7.5 per 1,000 of the totalpopulation that gets marred it is statedthat 3.6 per 1,000 of the total populationgets a divorce. So now we know whatinstant has done to the most importantdecision of our life (marriage).

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● Death or rape? Two Asian ladiesmade a choice of death after throwingthemselves out of a car in Keifan drivenby two Arab men with the intention ofkidnapping and raping them.

The two housemaids who werestanding at a bus stop were offered aride by two Arab men who seemed verygentle and kind. The two credulousmaids got into the car and after 5 min-utes realized that the men were aimingto kidnap and rape them, after whichthey immediately threw themselves outof the car.

The ladies are said to have ended updead in the middle of the street afterwhich they were found by a family pass-ing by the same street. The case wasimmediately reported to the nearestpolice station and the case is still underinvestigation.

And for all ladies standing at busstops, don’t get in a car with strangers!!!

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● Some people in Kuwait are so much

attached to their native land on theirloved ones that they try to run awayfrom the heat and monotony of Kuwaitat every opportunity they get.

Even if they don’t have enoughmoney to travel, they will borrow fromtheir friends and acquaintances promis-ing to pay them back when they returnand thus pile up debts.

But there are a few who think tentimes before they go on leave. They willcalculate how much they will have tospend even for a short visit.

They think that with the cost of planeticket and gifts to take, they will bereduced to paupers. So they try to putoff travelling year after year trying tosave money.

They even spend their annual leavehere and encash it thinking by so doing,they would save enough money to goback later to their own countries in style.

But this takes very long time to hap-pen by which time the world changesmanifold.

One expat who did not travel for 10years ultimately decides to go to hiscountry. But he must have encounteredsurprises at every turn.

His children who were ten yearsyounger when he left home must nothave recognised their father or thefather must be having hard time adjust-ing with grown up kids.

Wife must be wondering how muchcash her husband brought with himafter working continuously for ten years,and the neighbours are bound to makeup wonderful stories.

Tongues Wag

150 pilgrims take part

TMCA organises Umra tripTamilnadu Muslim Cultural Association(TMCA) arranged a special Umra trip onJune 24 for 10 days to holy shrines ofMakkah and Medinah with a specialfare. Around 150 pilgrims includingmembers, non-members, children andfamilies traveled.

A special send off ceremony was heldon June 24. TMCA members, well-wish-ers and many prominent personalitiesgraced this grand ceremony. The func-tion presided by Almas Musthafa (presi-dent - TMCA) began with the HolyQuran recitation. The welcome addresswas delivered by Br N.A.M. Abdul Aleem(general secretary - TMCA) the Umrapilgrimage address delivered by MoulviNasar Rabbani B.A. (proprietor - AlAmeen Umra Service and TMCA advi-sory committee member). The functionconcluded with a vote of thanks deliv-ered by Hidayathullah (education secre-tary, TMCA).

Theater & MusicContinued from Page 31

tion in the Shakespeare Theatre.Want to be a rock star?Join rock camp and cut your own CD in

The John Lennon Performance Suite andRecording Studio under the direction of pro-fessional musicians and sound technicians.

For further information contact administra-tor@baia.com or phone 25621701 ext 112.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

32

Couch slouch

tv highlights

■ EIGHT BELOW – AT 21:30 UAEStarring Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood

and Jason Biggs; Directed by Frank Marshall

From director Marshall (Congo) comes‘EIGHT BELOW’, inspired by the hitJapanese film Nankyoku Monogatari andbased on a true story.

An American geologist (Greenwood) fliesto Antarctica to participate in a project at theUnited States Research Base, where he teamsup with Arctic guide Jerry Shepard (Walker)and his best friend, Cooper (Biggs). The sci-entist soon discovers that Shepard also haseight other valuable friends – a pack of sleddogs he's worked with for years, who haverescued him from a number of tight spots. Asthe three men explore a frozen mountainregion, an unexpected accident coupled witha massive storm front force them to fly tosafety, leaving the dogs behind. Shepard isdetermined to rescue his canine friends, buthe has to wait until the weather will allowhim to travel back to the mountain. And the

dogs are struggling against the elements tosurvive as they attempt to make their wayback home.

■ FELON – SHOWMOVIES 1 AT21:00 KSA

Starring: Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorff,Harold Perrineau Jr Marisol Nichols;Director: Ric Roman Waugh

A loving family man with a promisingfuture, Wade Porter suddenly loses every-thing when he accidentally kills the burglarwho broke into his home. Convicted ofinvoluntary manslaughter, Wade is sentencedto a maximum security facility where therules of society no longer apply.

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■ COMMITTED – SHOWMOVIES COM-EDY AT 15:30 KSA

Starring: Heather Graham, Casey Affleck,Luke Wilson; Director: Lisa Krueger

Committed is centered around the story ofan intense young woman whose husband

leaves her. She then follows him cross-coun-try and when she catches up with him, com-plications arise.

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■ TOM & JERRY: BLAST OFF TO MARS– SHOWMOVIES KIDS AT 15:15KSA

Voices of: Jeff Bennett, Corey Burton;Director: Bill Kopp

While carrying on their usual hi-jinks,they inadvertently stow-away on a spaceshipbound for Mars

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■ STARTER WIFE – SHOWSERIES AT17:00 KSA THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS

This show centers around Molly Kagan(Debra Messing) the ex-wife of a Hollywoodentertainment mogul who transitions into afabulous independent life after her divorce..

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■ WATCHING ELLIE – SHOWCOME-DY AT 19:30 KSA FROM SUNDAYTO THURSDAY

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, best known as Elainefrom Seinfeld, stars in the real-time sitcom

about an LA singer/voice over actress. Eachepisode will represent a half-hour ofEleanor’s life.

Also:LOS ANGELES: Obstacle-course reality hit“Wipeout” will return for a third season.

ABC is bringing the show back for anunspecified number of episodes next sum-mer. At a time when few broadcast realityshows earn second or third seasons, thereturn of the stunt-driven series shows thatlast year’s popular debut was no flash in thepan.

The “Wipeout” production engaged inonline promotion during the series, offeringlive factoids about the show via Twitter dur-ing each telecast and soliciting feedbackfrom viewers that was incorporated into theshow. For Season 3, producers are building anew obstacle course, though a signature “bigballs” element is being kept — with a twist.

“Wipeout,” an Endemol production, hasaveraged 8.8 million viewers this season inits regular Wednesday time period. Three ofthe past four weeks it was No. 1 in its timeperiod in the 18-49 adult demographicsought by advertisers. (RTRS)

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New

s

Pehla Star World 07:00 The Simpsons 07:30 The Simpsons08:00 I'm A Celebri 09:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live!09:50 Dilbert 10:00 Ghost Whisperer 10:50Different Strokes 11:00 Worst Week 11:25Worst Week 11:50 Who's The Boss? 12:00Shark 12:50 Dilbert 13:00 Rodney 13:30 TheBold And The Beautiful 14:00 7th Heaven14:50 Different Strokes 15:00 Ghost Whisperer15:50 Who's The Boss? 16:00 [V] Tunes 17:00Jimmy Kimmel Live! 18:00 The Simpsons18:30 The Simpsons 19:00 I'm A Celebri 20:00My Name Is Earl 20:30 My Name Is Earl 21:00Bones 22:00 Most Daring 23:00 Asia Uncut00:00 Bones 01:00 Most Daring 02:00 [V]Tunes 03:00 The Simpsons 03:30 NgcProgram 04:00 My Name Is Earl 04:30 MyName Is Earl 05:00 My Wife And Kids 05:30 MyWife And Kids 06:00 I'm A Celebri 08:00 Are USmart Than 5th Grader?

Hollywood Channel06:10 Innertainment 06:35 In Dreams 07:00Caribbean Work Out 07:25 Latin Workout WithDiego Sanchez 07:50 Yoga Zone 08:15 BellyDance 08:40 Daily Cooks 09:05 Sizzle 09:30Arresting Design 10:00 Divine Design 10:25Divine Design 10:50 Diva On A Dime 11:15 BigBoutique 11:40 Daily Cooks 12:10 Place In TheSun 13:00 Perfect Getaway 13:25 I Do- Let`sEat! S1 13:50 Retail Therapy 14:15 Sizzle S314:45 Yummy Mummy 15:10 10 Years YoungerNew Zealand 15:35 10 Years Younger NewZealand 16:00 Arresting Design 16:25Arresting Design 16:50 Arresting Design 17:20Arresting Design 17:45 Big Boutique 18:10Fighting Fat 18:35 A Cook`s Tour 19:00 PlaceIn The Sun 19:55 Making It Big 20:45 MyParent`s House S4 21:10 10 Years YoungerNew Zealand 21:35 10 Years Younger NewZealand 22:00 Arresting Design 22:30Arresting Design 22:55 Snip `n Tuck 23:45Beyond Stardom 00:10 Big Boutique 00:35Arresting Design 01:05 Arresting Design 01:30My Parent`s House 01:55 ManhattanMatchmaker 02:20 Risky Business 02:45Singles 03:10 A Place In The Sun 04:05 RetailTherapy 04:30 In Dreams 04:55 ManhattanMatchmaker 05:20 Risky Business 05:45Yummy Mummy 06:10 Innertainment

Orbit Disney06:00 My Friends Tigger And Pooh 06:25Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 06:45 Little Einsteins07:10 Handy Manny 07:20 Special Agent Oso07:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:00Replacements 08:20 Fairly Odd Parents 08:45Phineas And Ferb 09:00 Suite Life On Deck09:25 I Got A Rocket 09:35 Wizards Of WaverlyPlace 10:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 10:25The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 10:45Phineas And Ferb 11:00 Quack Pack 11:25House Of Mouse 11:45 Tarzan 12:10 Lilo AndStitch 12:35 Recess 12:55 American Dragon13:20 Kim Possible 13:40 Famous Five 14:05Fairly Odd Parents 14:30 Phineas And Ferb14:55 Replacements 15:15 American Dragon

15:40 Kim Possible 16:00 Hannah Montana16:25 Brandy And Mr Whiskers 16:45 FairlyOdd Parents 17:10 The Suite Life Of Zack AndCody 17:30 Brian O Brian. 17:35 Phineas AndFerb 18:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 18:25 IGot A Rocket 18:35 Hannah Montana 19:00Brandy And Mr Whiskers 19:25 Emperor's NewSchool 19:50 Replacements 20:10 HannahMontana 20:35 Brian O Brian. 20:40 The SuiteLife Of Zack And Cody 21:05 Cory In TheHouse 21:30 Phil Of The Future 21:55 ClassicCartoons 22:00 Tarzan 22:25 Lilo And Stitch22:50 Recess 23:10 American Dragon 23:35Kim Possible 23:55 Famous Five 00:20 FairlyOdd Parents 00:45 Phineas And Ferb 01:10Replacements 01:35 American Dragon 02:00Kim Possible 02:20 My Friends Tigger AndPooh 02:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 03:05Little Einsteins 03:30 Handy Manny 03:40Special Agent Oso 03:55 Mickey MouseClubhouse 04:20 Replacements 04:40 FairlyOdd Parents 05:05 Phineas And Ferb 05:20Suite Life On Deck 05:45 I Got A Rocket 06:00My Friends Tigger And Pooh

Orbit America Plus06:00 Good Morning America 08:00 GoodMorning America Health 08:30 What`s TheBuzz 09:00 All My Children 10:00 The O.C.11:00 Law & Order 12:00 All My Children 13:00Ally McBeal 14:00 Good Morning America16:00 Good Morning America Health 16:30What`s The Buzz 17:00 Ally McBeal 18:00 LifeOn Mars 19:00 Smallville 20:00 Sons OfAnarchy 21:00 ER 22:00 No.1 Ladies DetectiveAgency 23:00 Cold Case 00:00 True Blood01:00 ER 02:00 Nip/Tuck 03:00 All My Children04:00 The O.C. 05:00 Law & Order 06:00 GoodMorning America

Channel V07:00 The Playlist 08:00 Britain's Next TopModel 09:00 Keys to the V.I.P. 09:30 ParentalControl 10:00 [V] Tunes 11:00 Double Shot12:00 The Playlist 13:00 Britain's Next TopModel 14:00 Keys to the V.I.P. 14:30 AMPAround Asia 15:00 [V] Tunes 16:00 DoubleShot 17:00 The Playlist 17:55 Videoscope18:50 [V] Tunes 21:00 Double Shot 22:00 ThePlaylist 23:00 Videoscope 23:30 Keys to theV.I.P. 00:00 Parental Control 00:30 The Playlist01:00 [V] Tunes 02:00 AMP Around Asia 02:30Double Shot 04:30 [V] Tunes 06:00 DoubleShot

ShowKids06:05 Titch 06:17 The Tidings 06:30 Babar07:00 Beverly Hills Teen Club 07:25 NewAdventures Of Ocean Girl 07:51 Pelswick08:15 Jass Time 08:18 Sabrina The AnimatedSeries 08:42 Fat Dog Mendoza 09:07 TheFairly Oddparents 09:34 George Shrinks 10:00Ned's Newt 10:25 Rolie Polie Olie 10:50 Titch11:02 The Tidings 11:15 Babar 11:40 Rupert12:05 Corduroy 12:30 Max And Ruby 13:00Ned's Newt 13:25 Rolie Polie Olie 13:50 Titch

14:02 The Tidings 14:15 Babar 14:40 Rupert15:05 Corduroy 15:30 Max And Ruby 16:00Ned's Newt 16:25 Fat Dog Mendoza 16:49New Adventures Of Ocean Girl 17:15 JassTime 17:18 Sabrina The Animated Series 17:45Dennis The Menace 18:10 The Future Is Wild18:35 Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors 19:00The Fairly Oddparents 19:30 Fat Dog Mendoza20:00 100 Deeds For Eddie Mcdowd 20:25Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors 20:55 TheFuture Is Wild 21:20 Rescue Heroes 21:50 100Deeds For Eddie Mcdowd 22:15 Jayce AndThe Wheeled Warriors 22:40 The Future IsWild 23:10 Rescue Heroes 23:35 100 DeedsFor Eddie Mcdowd 00:05 Jayce And TheWheeled Warriors 00:30 The Future Is Wild00:55 Rescue Heroes 01:25 100 Deeds ForEddie Mcdowd 01:50 Jayce And The WheeledWarriors 02:15 Ned's Newt 02:40 Rolie PolieOlie 03:05 Titch 03:17 The Tidings 03:30 JassTime 03:35 Babar 04:00 Rupert 04:25Corduroy 04:50 Max And Ruby 05:15 Ned'sNewt 05:40 Rolie Polie Olie 06:05 Titch

ShowComedy 06:00 The Simpsons 06:30 Less Than Perfect07:00 Two And A Half Men 07:30 Married WithChildren 08:00 Fresh Prince Of Bel Air 08:30My Wife And Kids 09:00 George Lopez 09:30Tyler Perry's House Of Payne 10:00 Scrubs10:30 The Simpsons 11:00 According To Jim11:30 My Wife And Kids 12:00 Married WithChildren 12:30 George Lopez 13:00 Two And AHalf Men 13:30 Fresh Prince Of Bel Air 14:00Less Than Perfect 14:30 Tyler Perry's HouseOf Payne 15:00 My Name Is Earl 15:30 WillAnd Grace 16:00 Married With Children 16:30George Lopez 17:00 Two And A Half Men17:30 My Wife And Kids 18:00 Scrubs 18:30The Simpsons 19:00 According To Jim 19:30Watching Ellie 20:00 My Name Is Earl 20:30Roommates 21:00 The Daily Show With JonStewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Live AtGotham 23:00 Nut Case 23:30 According ToJim 00:00 My Name Is Earl 00:30 Roommates01:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:30The Colbert Report 02:00 Live At Gotham03:00 Less Than Perfect 03:30 The Daily ShowWith Jon Stewart 04:00 The Daily Show WithJon Stewart 04:30 The Colbert Report 05:00Fresh Prince Of Bel Air 05:30 Scrubs 06:00 TheSimpsons

ShowSeries06:00 Fresh 06:30 Fresh 07:00 Law And Order08:00 The Unit 09:00 Xena: Warrior Princess10:00 Beauty And The Geek 11:00 Law AndOrder 12:00 Emmerdale 12:30 CoronationStreet 13:00 Desperate Housewives 14:00C.S.I. 15:00 Parkinson 16:00 Fresh 16:30Fresh 17:00 Starter Wife 18:00 Emmerdale18:30 Heroes Unmasked 19:00 Airwolf 20:00Desperate Housewives 21:00 Knight Rider22:00 Starter Wife 23:00 Dirty Sexy Money00:00 Weeds 00:30 Weeds 01:00 DesperateHousewives 02:00 Knight Rider 03:00 DirtySexy Money 04:00 Weeds 04:30 Weeds 05:00Emmerdale 05:30 Heroes Unmasked 06:00

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VH105:00 Chill Out 07:00 Espresso 09:00 VH1Music 11:00 Aerobic 12:00 Top 10 ¬ 13:00Fabulous Life Of 14:00 VH1 Pop Chart 15:00VH1 Music 15:30 VH1 Music 16:00 VH1 Music16:30 VH1 Music 17:00 Music For The Masses17:30 Music For The Masses 18:00 VH1 Music19:00 VH1 Viewer's Jukebox 20:00 FinalCountdown 00:00 VH1 Rocks 00:30 So 80's01:00 Greatest Hits 02:00 VH1 Music 05:00Chill Out 07:00 Espresso

Travel Channel06:00 Earthwalkers 06:30 Earthwalkers 07:00Globe Trekker 08:00 Extreme Travellers 08:30Extreme Travellers 09:00 Earthwalkers 09:30Distant Shores 10:00 Angry Planet 10:30 AngryPlanet 11:00 The Thirsty Traveler 11:30Hollywood And Vines 12:00 Globe Trekker13:00 Opening Soon 13:30 The ThirstyTraveler 14:00 Extreme Travellers 14:30Extreme Travellers 15:00 Angry Planet 15:30Angry Planet 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00Earthwalkers 17:30 Earthwalkers 18:00 TheThirsty Traveler 18:30 The Thirsty Traveler19:00 Extreme Travellers 19:30 ExtremeTravellers 20:00 Travel India Top 5 20:30 RudyMaxa's World 21:00 Globe Trekker 22:00 WildAt Heart 22:30 Treks In A Wild World 23:00Globe Trekker 00:00 Angry Planet 00:30 AngryPlanet 01:00 Wild At Heart 01:30 Treks In AWild World 02:00 Globe Trekker 03:00 RudyMaxa's World 03:30 Travel Today 04:00 GlobeTrekker 05:00 Angry Planet 05:30 Angry Planet06:00 Earthwalkers

TNT & Cartoons06:10 Chop Socky Chooks 06:35 Skunk Fu07:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 07:25Chowder 07:50 Squirrel Boy 08:00 The SecretSaturdays 08:25 The Secret Saturdays 08:50The Secret Saturdays 09:15 The SecretSaturdays 09:40 The Secret Saturdays 10:05The Secret Saturdays 10:30 The SecretSaturdays 10:55 The Secret Saturdays 11:20Robotboy 11:45 Foster's Home For ImaginaryFriends 12:10 Eliot Kid 12:35 Ben 10 13:00 MySpy Family 13:25 The Powerpuff Girls 13:50Camp Lazlo 14:15 Squirrelboy 14:40 The LifeAnd Times Of Juniper Lee 15:05 ED Edd 'n'Eddy 15:35 My Gym Partner's A Monkey 16:00George Of The Jungle 16:25 Best ED 16:50The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack17:15 Skunk Fu 17:40 Chop Socky Chooks18:05 The Secret Saturdays 18:30 BakuganBattle Brawlers 19:00 Ben 10 19:25 Foster'sHome For Imaginary Friends 19:50 ED Edd 'n'Eddy 20:05 Camp Lazlo 20:30 Robotboy 20:45Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes 21:10Ben 10 21:35 The Life And Times Of JuniperLee 22:00 Atomic Betty 22:25 Samurai Jack22:50 Megas Xlr 23:15 Out Of Jimmy's Head23:40 Chop Socky Chooks 00:05 Foster'sHome For Imaginary Friends 00:30 CrampTwins 00:55 George Of The Jungle 01:20Adrenalini Brothers 01:45 Gadget Boy 02:10

Squirrel Boy 02:35 Class Of 3000 03:00 ThePowerpuff Girls 03:15 Samurai Jack 03:40Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes 04:05My Gym Partner's A Monkey 04:30 The LifeAnd Times Of Juniper Lee 04:55 Atomic Betty05:20 Chowder 05:45 Eliot Kid 06:10 ChopSocky Chooks

Granada 07:00 Art Crime 08:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show09:00 Mystery Thursday: Time Of Your Life10:30 House Of Horrors (Series 1) 11:00Desperately Keeping Sheila 12:00 Power Food(Series 1) 12:30 Claridge's A La Carte 13:00The Jeremy Kyle Show 14:00 Art Crime 15:00Emmerdale 15:30 Coronation Street 16:00 TheJeremy Kyle Show 17:00 Mystery Thursday:Time Of Your Life 18:30 House Of Horrors(Series 3) 19:00 Football Saved My Life 20:00Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 TheJeremy Kyle Show 22:00 Mystery Thursday:Time Of Your Life 23:30 House Of Horrors(Series 3) 00:00 Football Saved My Life 01:00For One Night Only 02:00 Power Food (Series1) 02:30 Claridge's A La Carte 03:00 TheJeremy Kyle Show 04:00 Demolition Day 05:00Emmerdale 05:30 Coronation Street 06:00Power Food (Series 1) 06:30 Claridge's A LaCarte 07:00 For One Night Only

Pehla National Geographic07:00 Crash - A Tale Of Two Species 08:00 Is ItReal? -SleepWalking Murders S2 09:00 AboutAsia -Taiwan To The World : Spirit Talk 10:00Lockdown -Gang Wars 11:00 In The Womb:Cats 12:00 Is It Real? -SleepWalking MurdersS2 13:00 Nat Geo Junior -Human Ape 14:00World's Toughest Fixes -High Voltage 5 15:00Lockdown -Gang Wars 16:00 About Asia -Somewhere In China : Going Local 4 17:00Mega Thursday -Ancient Megastructures :Chartres 18:00 Mega Thursday -World'sToughest Fixes : 20 Ton Eye 6 19:00 MegaThursday -Ancient Megastructures :Colosseum 20:00 Mega Thursday -World'sToughest Fixes : High Voltage 5 21:00 MegaThursday -Ancient Megastructures : Chartres22:00 Mega Thursday -World's Toughest Fixes: 20 Ton Eye 6 23:00 Mega Thursday -AncientMegastructures : Colosseum 00:00 About Asia-Somewhere In China : Going Local 4 01:00Mega Thursday -Ancient Megastructures :Chartres 02:00 Mega Thursday -World'sToughest Fixes : 20 Ton Eye 6 03:00 MegaThursday -Ancient Megastructures :Colosseum 04:00 Is It Real? -Bigfoot 3 05:00About Asia -Somewhere In China : Going Local4 06:00 Lockdown -Iron Grip 07:00 World'sToughest Fixes -20 Ton Eye 6

Discovery Channel06:05 Overhaulin 07:00 Street Customs 07:55Nextworld 08:50 How It`s Made 09:15 ExtremeEngineering 10:10 Ultimate Survival 11:05Mythbusters 12:00 Overhaulin 12:55 ChopShop 13:50 Extreme Engineering 14:45 MiamiInk 15:40 Nextworld 16:35 Mythbusters 17:30Deadliest Catch 18:30 Destroyed in Seconds

19:00 American Chopper 20:00 How It`s Made20:30 How Do They Do It? 21:00 Dirty Jobs22:00 Serial Killers 23:00 Deadly Women00:00 Real Emergency Calls 00:30 RealEmergency Calls 01:00 Miami Ink 02:00Overhaulin 02:55 American Chopper 03:50Chop Shop 04:45 Mythbusters 05:40 How It`sMade 06:05 Overhaulin

Animal Planet 05:40 Animal Cops Houston 06:35 WildlifeSOS 07:00 Pet Rescue 07:30 Pet Rescue08:00 Crocodile Hunter 09:00 MonkeyBusiness 09:30 Monkey Business 10:00Animal Cops Houston 11:00 The CrocodileHunter Diaries 12:00 All New Planet's FunniestAnimals 12:30 Animal Crackers 13:00 Life OfMammals 14:00 Animal Precinct 15:00Corwin's Quest Specials 16:00 Great OceanAdventures 17:00 Wildlife SOS 17:30 E-Vets:The Interns 18:00 Animal Cops Philadelphia19:00 Aussie Animal Rescue 19:30 AnimalCrackers 20:00 Meerkat Manor 20:30 MonkeyLife 21:00 Life Of Mammals 22:00 UntamedAnd Uncut 23:00 Animal Cops Houston 00:00Animal Cops Houston 01:00 Wildlife SOS01:30 Animal Crackers 02:00 Meerkat Manor02:30 Monkey Life 02:55 Life Of Mammals03:50 Untamed And Uncut 04:45 Animal CopsHouston 05:40 Animal Cops Houston

E! TV06:00 25 Hottest Hollywood Cougar Tales07:45 Behind The Scenes 08:10 Behind TheScenes 08:35 E!es 09:25 Candy Girls 09:50Candy Girls 10:15 THS 11:05 THS 12:00 E!News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Behind TheScenes 13:15 Behind The Scenes 13:40 E!es14:30 Rich Kids: Cattle Drive 15:25 Dr 9021016:15 30 Most Outrageous Celebrity Feuds18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50Denise Richards: It's Complicated 19:15Denise Richards: It's Complicated 19:40 THS20:55 E!es 21:20 Keeping Up With TheKardashians 21:45 Keeping Up With TheKardashians 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 1023:00 E!es 23:50 Party Monsters: Cabo 00:40THS 01:30 E!es 02:20 Dr 90210 03:15 ForbesCelebrity 100: Who Made Bank 05:05 Sexiest06:00 15 Unforgettable Hollywood Tragedies

History Channel06:00 Lost Worlds 07:00 Conquest 07:30Investigating History 08:30 Deep SeaDetectives 09:30 Modern Marvels 10:20 TheUniverse 11:10 Cities Of The Underworld 12:00Lost Worlds 13:00 Conquest 13:30Investigating History 14:30 Deep SeaDetectives 15:30 Modern Marvels 16:20 TheUniverse 17:10 Cities Of The Underworld 18:00Evolve 19:00 Military Blunders 19:30 Dogfights20:30 History Uncovered 21:30 Battle Of TheClans 23:10 Mega Movers 00:00 Evolve 01:00Military Blunders 01:30 Dogfights 02:30 HistoryUncovered 03:30 Battle Of The Clans 05:10Mega Movers 06:00 Evolve

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tv today

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s Hallmark Channel 06:00 Mcleod's Daughters V 07:00 Mcleod'sDaughters V 08:00 Out Of The Woods 09:40Audrey's Rain 11:20 Inspector Morse Viii 13:10Midsomer Murders 14:50 Out Of The Woods16:30 Her Fatal Flaw 18:10 Inspector MorseViii 20:00 Blackbeard 21:50 By AppointmentOnly 23:30 The Bank 01:10 Split Second02:40 The Beautiful Somewhere 04:20Mcleod's Daughters V 05:10 Mcleod's

Daughters V 06:00 Mcleod's Daughters V

Cinema City 05:30 Dead Wood 07:00 Hard Ball 09:00Baghead 10:30 US Top 10 11:00 EmpireRecords 12:30 US Top 10 13:00 Deterrence15:00 The King Of Comedy 17:00 An AmericanRhapsody 19:00 West Of Here 20:30 US Top10 21:00 Guantanamero 22:30 US Top 1023:00 Baghead 00:30 US Top 10 - SpecialEpisodes 01:00 The Strange Case Of Dr.

Jekyll And Mr. Hyde 02:30 US Top 10 - SpecialEpisodes 03:00 Guantanamero 04:30 US Top10 05:00 The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll AndMr. Hyde 06:30 US Top 10

StarMovies05:45 Music Of The Heart 07:50 The Guardian10:10 Kinky Boots 11:55 Long Lost Son 13:25Shadow Conspiracy 15:10 The Woods 16:40The Thomas Crown Affair 18:30 Final Draft20:00 Smother 21:30 Eight Below 23:30

Evelyn 01:10 Long Lost Son 02:40 Music OfThe Heart 04:45 The Thomas Crown Affair06:40 Final Draft

Super Movies05:20 Day Watch 07:45 Expired 09:35 GetSmart`s Bruce And Lloyd Out Of Control 11:10Sleepwalking 13:00 Flags Of Our Fathers15:15 The 11th Hour 17:00 Married Life 18:30US Top 10 19:00 Rush Hour 3 21:00 Heights23:00 The Reaping 01:00 Aliens Vs Predator:

Requiem 03:00 The Reaping 05:00 Aliens VsPredator: Requiem 07:00 Rush Hour 3

ShowMovies 105:30 Under The Same Moon 07:15 Stick It09:00 Daddy Day Camp 11:00 Surf's Up 13:00National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets 15:00Daddy Day Camp 16:45 Surf's Up 18:30National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets 20:30Films And Stars 21:00 Felon 23:00 Superbad01:00 The Business 03:00 Doomsday 05:00

Storm Cell 07:00 The Ultimate Gift

ShowMovies 2 06:00 The Forgotten Coast 07:30 La Vie EnRose 10:00 Asterix Et Obelix 12:00 ChasingThe Horizon 14:00 D- War 16:00 Asterix EtObelix 18:00 Chasing The Horizon 20:00 Once22:00 A Mighty Heart 00:00 Felon 02:00Johnny Mad Dog 04:00 Le Petit Lieutenant06:00 Once

Sport

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Fox Sports07:00 National Rugby League Teams TBA09:00 Major League Soccer New York RedBulls v Los Angeles Galaxy 12:00 Raceworld13:00 Golf Central International 13:30 Golf

Club 14:00 2009 AVP Crocs Tour: Women'sFinal Huntington Beach, CA 15:00 Mobil 1 TheGrid 15:30 European Tour SAS Masters Rd. 118:30 Football Asia 19:00 Golf Club 19:30Mobil 1 The Grid 20:00 MLB: Seattle Marinersat Detroit Tigers 23:00 IAAF: Grand Prix

Malaga, Spain 02:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 02:30Golf Club 03:00 Golf Central International03:30 Big Break Prince Edward Island Topo'the Mornin' to Ya 04:30 Big Break PrinceEdward Island The Impossible is Possible05:30 Playing Lessons David Toms 06:00

MLB: Seattle Mariners at Detroit Tigers

Extreme Sports06:00 Programmes Start At 6:00pm KSA 11:00Programmes Start At 6:00pm KSA 16:00Programmes Start At 6:00pm KSA 18:00 Jeep

World Of Adventure Sports 19:00 Awe 19:30Awe 20:00 Nissan Uci Mountain Bike WorldCup 20:30 Nissan Uci Mountain Bike WorldCup 21:00 Ticket To Ride 2009 21:30 Ticket ToRide 2009 22:00 Jeep World Of AdventureSports 23:00 King Of The Cage 00:00 Lg

Action Sports World Championships 01:00Jeep World Of Adventure Sports 02:00 King OfThe Cage 03:00 Ticket To Ride 2009 03:30Ticket To Ride 2009 04:00 Awe 04:30 Awe05:00 High Octane 05:30 10 Count 06:00Programmes Start At 6:00pm KSA

Orbit News06:00 NBC Nightly News 06:35 ABC Nightline07:05 NBC Nightly News 07:30 ABC WorldNews 08:00 Newshour PBS 09:00 ABCNightline 09:30 NBC Nightly News 10:00 ABCWorld News Now 10:30 ABC World News Now11:00 ABC World News Now 11:30 NBC EarlyToday 12:00 ABC America This Morning 12:30ABC America This Morning 13:00 ABC AmericaThis Morning 13:30 NBC Early Today 14:00NBC The Today Show 18:00 ABC News Now18:30 ABC News Now 19:00 MSNBC Dr.NancyLIVE 20:00 MSNBC Andrea Mitchell ReportsLIVE 21:00 Newshour PBS 22:00 MSNBCCountdown 22:59 ABC News Now (LIVE)

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CNN06:00 Talkasia 06:30 World Sport 07:00 CNNToday 09:30 World Sport 10:00 CNN Today10:30 World Business Today 11:00 World News11:30 World's Untold Stories 12:00 Larry King13:00 World News 13:30 World Sport 14:00World News Asia 15:30 Vital Signs 16:00 WorldBusiness Today 17:00 Your World Today 18:30World Sport 19:00 International Desk 20:00

World News 20:30 Vital Signs 21:00 QuestMeans Business 22:00 International Desk23:00 Connect The World With BeckyAnderson 00:00 Backstory 00:30 World Sport01:00 The Situation Room 02:00 CNN Today05:00 Anderson Cooper 360 06:00 World'sUntold Stories

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09:45 Sport Today 10:00 BBC World News fol-lowed by weather 10:30 World Business Report10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News fol-lowed by weather 11:30 HARDtalk (r) 12:00BBC World News followed by weather 13:00BBC World News followed by weather 13:30World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today14:00 World News Today including WorldBusiness Report 15:00 BBC World News fol-lowed by weather 15:30 World Business Report15:45 Sport Today 16:00 World News Todayincluding Sport Today 17:00 BBC World Newsfollowed by weather 17:30 HARDtalk (r) 18:00BBC World News followed by weather 18:30Kill Or Cure (r) The Real Lady Killer 19:00World News Today including World Business

Report 20:00 BBC World News followed byweather 20:30 World Business Report 20:45Sport Today 21:00 World News Today includingWorld Business Report 22:00 BBC World Newsfollowed by weather 22:30 Click 23:00 BBCWorld News followed by weather 23:30HARDtalk (r) 00:00 World News TodayBusiness Edition 00:45 Sport Today 01:00 BBCWorld News followed by weather 01:30HARDtalk (r) 02:00 BBC World News America03:00 BBC World News followed by weather03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today(r) 04:00 BBC World News followed by weather04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Asia Today05:00 World News Today including WorldBusiness Report 06:00 BBC World News fol-

lowed by weather

Bloomberg 06:00 Bloomberg Today (asian Programming)08:00 First Word On Money 10:00 BloombergOn The Markets 10:30 Bloomberg On TheMarkets 11:00 Bloomberg On The Markets11:30 Bloomberg On The Markets 12:00 Focus12:30 Emerging Markets 13:00 Morning Call14:00 Money And Politics 14:30 Morning Call15:00 Starting Bell 17:00 Market Pulse 18:00European Market Report 19:00 In Focus 21:00Bloomberg On The Economy 22:00 Final Word00:00 Taking Stock 01:00 Bloomberg Live02:00 Bloomberg Live 04:00 Bloomberg Now06:00 Bloomberg Today (asian Programming)

Star Movies July 23

contract bbbbrrrriiiiddddggggeeeeBy Steve Becker

‘Eight Below’ is shown on Star Movies at 20:30 hours.

Showtime July 23

ure of the ratio of weight to height — of 30 orgreater.

In a survey of 399 of their colleagues inpediatrics, internal medicine, and psychiatry,Dr Melanie Jay and a team of researchers —all from New York University School ofMedicine — found that 56 percent felt quali-fied to treat obesity, and 46 percent felt suc-

cessful at it.Pediatricians were “more positive” and psy-

chiatrists “less negative” in their treatmentexpectancies than internists. Newer physiciansexpected more positive outcomes.

In the journal BMC Health Services Research,the authors suggest two possible explanations:“First, physicians may become disillusioned with

years of attempted treatment of obese patients inthe face of modest weight loss or even weightgain. Second, obesity management training maybe different for recent graduates who practice inan era in which it is widely accepted that evenmodest weight loss (is) a successful outcome.”(RTRS)

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Container AIDS labs could work: ASouth African company’s idea to convert ship-ping containers into high-tech AIDS laboratoriesshould be copied across Africa, an executive forits US medical equipment supplier said onTuesday.

A lack of quality laboratory services in theworld’s poorest continent hampers the battleagainst HIV/AIDS, with the sub-Saharan Africaregion hardest hit by the global pandemic whichkills millions each year.

“I think its a very exciting concept and I thinkit is one that can be replicated across Africa,”Krista Thompson, general manager for globalhealth at Becton Dickinson & Co, told Reuterson a site visit to Gugulethu township near CapeTown.

Gugulethu is the site of the first containerisedAIDS laboratory from Toga Labs, a privateSouth African molecular diagnostics laboratory.BD supplies equipment to the lab.

With its multitude of tin shacks, poor watersupplies and limited electricity access, Gugulethuis typical of poor settlements across Africa.

Established in 2004, the Gugulethu lab pro-vides testing for about 4,500 people on antiretro-viral drugs, and is one of 10 operating in SouthAfrica. (RTRS)

Losing pounds improves balance: Asmall study suggests that obese adults couldimprove their balance by shedding pounds andboosting their muscle strength — with weightloss being especially effective.

The findings, reported in the journal Medicine& Science in Sports & Exercise, are importantbecause falls are a particular problem for obeseadults.

Studies suggest that obese people fall nearlytwice as often as their thinner counterparts, andthat falls are the most common cause of injuryamong obese adults.

For the current study, nine young obese menunderwent “fall” tests that estimated the effectsof weight loss and strength gains on balance.During the test, the men were held by a harnessin a forward- leaning position, at various angles.The harness was then released to see how wellparticipants could recover their balance withouttaking a step.

Using computer simulations, the researchersnext estimated how much the men’s balancewould be improved with weight loss or strengthgains. They found that both tactics — but weightloss, in particular — made the study participantssteadier on their feet.

The findings suggest that better balance couldbe one more benefit of shedding excess pounds,study co-author Dr Michael L. Madigan, of theVirginia Polytechnic Institute and StateUniversity in Blacksburg, told Reuters Health.

He added, however, that this was a small, pre-liminary study, and more research is needed.(RTRS)

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Obese patients disillusion docs: In atleast one large New York City healthcare net-work, more than 40 percent of doctors have a“negative reaction” to obese patients, accordingto a new study. And most physicians feel thattreating obese patients was “very frustrating.”

More and more US patients — by recent esti-mates, more than 30 percent — are obese. Thatmeans they have a body mass index — a meas-

Independent investigator Sheila Weatherill speaks during a press conference in Ottawa, Canada on July 21, regarding her report on the 2008 listeriosis outbreak. (AP)

Canada unprepared for listeriosis outbreak

Canada’s food-safety system was caughtunprepared and acted without a sense ofurgency during last year’s outbreak of lis-teriosis in which 22 people died after eat-ing contaminated deli meat, according toa report released on Tuesday.

Sheila Weatherill, a nurse and healthexecutive who led a federally appointedinvestigation into last summer’s outbreak,said in her report there was evidence ofcontamination on meat-production linesmonths before the outbreak, but it wasnot effectively monitored.

A shortage of food-safety workers, withsome on summer vacation, and insuffi-cient training of food inspectors con-tributed to the outbreak, Weatherill said.

Last summer, contaminated deli meatsfrom a Maple Leaf Foods processingplant in Toronto were linked to 22 deathsand sickness among many more people.

“I learned this summer’s outbreak wasrare and it was a complex event thatdefies simple explanations,” Weatherillsaid in a news conference in Ottawa.

“Until the system is remedied, eventslike those of the summer of 2008 remaina real risk.”

After an extensive investigation, MapleLeaf said it believed two slicers at theplant had been harboring listeria bacteria.The company tried to correct a listeriaproblem in the plant in 2007 and 2008with sanitation and thought it was under

control, the report said.Maple Leaf didn’t initially report the lis-

teria because the government did notrequire it to do so. The company said onTuesday that it has since improved itsfood safety measures. “We thought wehad a good food safety program lastAugust, but our efforts failed with tragicconsequences,” said Michael McCain,Maple Leaf president and chief executive.

Weatherill made 57 recommendationsto the federal government. Among themwere:

● Improved training for food inspectors● Giving Canada’s public health

agency the lead role in responding tonational food-borne emergencies

● Ordering an external audit to look atwhether more inspectors are needed

● Boosting monitoring of some pro-duction plants and products based onhigher risk.

Agriculture and Agri-Food MinisterGerry Ritz, whose responsibilities includethe agency that oversees food inspection,did not say if his government would imple-ment all the recommendations, but said itwould use them as “part of a guideline” tostrengthen the food-safety system.

The government has already carriedout some recommendations, such asmaking listeria testing and reporting byfood companies mandatory and hiringmore inspectors, Ritz said. (RTRS)

Health

NICE recommends MabThera in leukaemia

New tests could aidearly-Alz’s diagnosisCHICAGO, July 22, (RTRS): Proteins in spinal fluid accurately detect early-stageAlzheimer’s disease in patients and could pave the way for better drug research,Swedish researchers said on Tuesday.

Several teams have been working on better ways to detect early-stageAlzheimer’s disease in hopes of developing drugs that can fight it before it caus-es too much damage.

“We confirmed in a large multi-center study that these (cerebrospinal fluid) bio-markers may identify early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, which has previously beensuggested in earlier smaller studies,” Dr Niklas Mattsson of the University ofGothenburg in Sweden, whose study appears in the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association, wrote in an e-mail.

Mattsson said the current study in patients with mild cognitive impairment orMCI, a precursor to Alzheimer’s dis-ease, strengthens the argument thatproteins in spinal fluid can accuratelyshow who has early-stage disease.

This may also be useful in structur-ing smaller clinical trials to testwhether a drug is working. Currentdiagnostic measures, such as neurolog-ical and memory tests, are less accu-rate, forcing drug companies to runlarge, expensive clinical trials to showtheir drugs work.

“The drug industry certainly fearsfailure of these large scale studies andbiomarkers may save millions of dol-lars in addition to allowing a morerapid development of efficient drugs,”Mattsson said.

Despite decades of research, doctorsstill have few effective weaponsagainst Alzheimer’s, a mind-robbingform of dementia that affects morethan 26 million people globally and isexpected to reach 100 million by 2050.

The team studied three proteins —two types of tau, which forms toxictangles in the brain and a form of amy-loid, which forms sticky brain plaquesin people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Although they affect the brain, bitsof the proteins were also found in thecerebrospinal fluid, which bathes boththe brain and the spinal cord.

“These biomarkers ... reflect coreelements of the disease process in thebrain in Alzheimer’s disease,”Mattsson said.

His team studied 750 people withmild cognitive impairment, 529 withAlzheimer’s disease and 304 healthypeople in 12 centers in Europe and theUnited States. People with cognitiveimpairment were followed for 2 years,or until their symptoms worsened.

The researchers found the three bio-markers accurately identified 62 per-cent of those who would developAlzheimer’s disease, and were 88 per-cent accurate at ruling it out.

The team said the findings were a bitless accurate than results seen insmaller studies, and suggest standard-ized testing techniques might improveresults.

Drs. Ronald Petersen of the MayoClinic in Rochester, Minnesota, andJohn Trojanowski of the University ofPennsylvania School of Medicine inPhiladelphia, wrote in a commentarythat the results were sufficient forscreening patients, but not as a diag-nostic test.

“Alzheimer disease has no treatmentto prevent or alter the course of the dis-ease, so making the diagnosis with goodaccuracy may aid in planning but alsocould be devastating news for somepatients and families,” they wrote.

❑ ❑ ❑

Leukaemia: British drugs agencyNICE has recommended Roche’s top-selling cancer drug MabThera as a firstline treatment for the most commonform of adult leukaemia.

The National Institute for Healthand Clinical Excellence (NICE) said ina statement on Wednesday it recom-mended the drug in combination withchemotherapy agents fludarabine andcyclophosphamide for chronic lym-phocytic leukaemia.

The watchdog also said it did notrecommend use of the drug in combi-nation with any other chemotherapyagents as a first treatment.

“This important guidance increasesthe treatment options available to peo-ple with this condition, wherever theylive in England and Wales,” saidCarole Longson, Director of NICEHealth Technology Evaluation Centre.

European regulators approved thedrug for treatment of the disease at theend of February.

The Swiss drugmaker is expected toreport a 12 percent drop in first-halfnet profit on Thursday, hit by financ-ing for its $47 billion takeover of USbiotech group Genentech.

❑ ❑ ❑

Colon cancer: Even among thosepeople who have had pre-cancerousgrowths on previous colonoscopies,waiting ten years after two negativesuch tests could be safe, according to anew study.

The United States PreventiveServices Task Force recommendscolonoscopy every ten years starting atthe age of 50, as a screening test forcolon cancer. However, it was unclearwhether those with “clean” colono-scopies after earlier tests that hadshown precancerous growths couldwait that long between exams.

Dr Douglas J. Robertson from theVeterans Affairs Medical Center inWhite River Junction, Vermont, andco-authors looked at 564 patientswhose colonoscopies had revealed

1 in 10 maltreated

Guidelines to help‘spot’ child abuseLONDON, July 22, (RTRS):Britain announced new guide-lines on Wednesday to helphealthcare professionals toidentify child maltreatment at anearly stage.

The high-profile case of BabyP, the 17-month old toddler whodied in 2007 after being subject-ed to prolonged domestic vio-lence, raised questions aboutthe effectiveness of child protec-tion measures.

The guidelines issued by TheNational Institute for Health andClinical Excellence (NICE) aretargeted at identifying childrenwhere there is strong evidenceof maltreatment.

“We have suggested thathealthcare professionals needto seek an explanation for anyinjuries they see,” said DanyaGlaser, the guideline develop-ment group chair.

Glaser said as many as onein 10 children suffer maltreat-ment during childhood and thatthere was a need for more con-crete guidelines on how to iden-tify child abuse. “The newguidelines are concise, precise,evidence based, accessible.”

The guidance aims to providemore rigorous criteria for identi-fying child abuse.

“The hope is possibly morechildren will be identified early.There may be more referrals butwith greater clarity,” Glaser said.

The study identifies physicalfeatures such as eye injuriesand teeth marks, signs of sexu-al abuse and neglect as indica-tors that should prompt healthworkers to either consider orsuspect child maltreatment.

Glaser added that the guide-lines were not only a tool to aidhealth workers but also to pro-tect children and support par-ents who may unintentionally beharming their children.

“We have suggested that cul-tural practices are not a suitableexplanation for harm to chil-dren.”

Last year a United Nationspanel called on Britain to stempersistently high rates of vio-lence and sexual abuse againstchildren at home and in school.

Information from NICEshowed in the 12 months toMarch 31 in 2008 there were538,500 referrals of children tosocial services departments.

While the effectiveness of theguidelines have yet to be tested,Glaser said the evidence basedproposals were likely to providehealthcare professionals with acomprehensive list of “alertingfeatures” — warning signs tohelp recognise child abuse.

Kathryn Gutteridge, a victimof abuse in childhood and now amidwife, said the list was a goodstep in identifying possible sig-nals of child abuse.

“This guideline will help healthcare professionals because Iwas taken to the GP many timeswith what seemed insignificantproblems,” said Gutteridge, whohelped to advise on drawing upthe guidelines.

precancerous growths known as adeno-mas and who then had a second exam-ination about three years later. If thatsecond exam, or a third one, found can-cer, the patients were excluded.

Dr Robertson’s group reports in theAnnals of Internal Medicine that high-risk adenoma findings were found injust 5 percent of patients with low-riskfindings on the first two colonoscopies.That compared with 18 percent ofpatients with high-risk adenomas onboth previous colonoscopies, and 20percent of patients with low-risk base-line examination and high-risk adeno-mas at the second exam, and 12 percentof those with high risk findings at base-line and no adenomas on the second.

Given that “relatively few partici-pants...with low-risk findings on theirfirst 2 examinations had high-riskresults on their third colonoscopy....alonger follow-up interval may beappropriate for this...much largergroup,” the researchers said.

“Our results,” the investigators con-clude, “may provide clinicians with arationale to suggest a 10-year surveil-lance interval in this lowest-risk group.”

However, they suggest, “A risk pro-file based on multiple examinationsmight better delineate high- and low-risk patients than a single examina-tion.”

French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux(left), speaks with an emergency ambu-lance service doctor (right) on July 21 inNanterre, a Paris suburb, during the visitof a mask production and storage unit setup to face an outbreak of the swine flu(H1N1) epidemic. The World HealthOrganization said today that school clo-sures were among the measures thatcountries could consider to tackle the fast

spreading swine flu pandemic. (AFP)

Health

Madigan Thompson

Study probes disparities in heart disease

IQ may be tied to heart riskMore study urged

Parent stress, pollution up kids’ asthmaNEW YORK, July 22, (RTRS): Childrenwith stressed-out parents may be moreprone to developing asthma associatedwith environmental “triggers” such as highlevels of traffic-related pollution and tobac-co smoke, hints a study published today.

In the study, researchers found that chil-dren whose parents reported high levels ofpsychological stress and who wereexposed to cigarette smoke in the womband to traffic-related pollution early in lifehad a much higher risk of developing asth-ma, compared to children only exposed topollution.

“We found that it was children exposedto the combination of air pollution and lifein a stressful environment who were athighest risk of developing asthma,” Dr.Rob McConnell, deputy director of theChildren’s Environmental Health Center atUniversity of Southern California, LosAngeles, told Reuters Health.

For three years, McConnell and col-leagues followed 2497 children aged 5 to9 years who were living in SouthernCalifornia and who were free of asthma orwheezing at the outset. The researchersmeasured stress in the parents using astandard questionnaire and collected dataon air pollution and exposure to tobaccosmoke during pregnancy.

During the study, 120 of the childrendeveloped asthma.

According to a report in an early onlineedition of the Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, parental stressalone did not increase the risk that a childwould develop asthma.

However, a child exposed to traffic-relat-ed pollution whose parents felt their liveswere “unpredictable, uncontrollable, andoverwhelming” - suggestive of high levelsof stress — had a 51% higher risk ofdeveloping asthma during follow up com-pared with a child exposed to traffic pollu-tion but whose parents had low levels ofstress.

Stress, as well as low levels of educa-tion in the parents, was also associatedwith larger effects of exposure to tobaccosmoke during pregnancy.

These findings, the researchers say,show that psychological stress in parentscan make children more susceptible toasthma.

Air pollution can promote inflammationin the airways of the lung, “which is a cen-tral feature of asthma,” McConnell said.“Stress may also have pro-inflammatoryeffects and this may help explain why thetwo exposures together were important,”he added.

“Childhood asthma is a complex dis-ease that probably has many contributingcauses,” McConnell noted. “Further studyof effects of exposure to air pollution incombination with stressful environmentsassociated with poverty and other socialfactors could contribute to our understand-ing of why the disease develops.”

This idea, he told Reuters Health, is sup-ported by the finding that IQ during middleage was more strongly connected to cardio-vascular risks than IQ in young adulthoodwas.

Still, if IQ does contribute to heart dis-ease and stroke, there are practical implica-tions, the researchers say.

Simplifying prevention messages —whether it is a doctor talking to a patient, ora health campaign aimed at the general pub-

lic — may help reach more people, accord-ing to Batty.

As an example, he pointed to the complexand sometimes confusing messages aboutdietary fats, some of which are “good,”some of which are “bad.” Smoking is anoth-er case, Batty said; while most people prob-ably know that quitting tobacco can only begood, the various strategies for quitting arenot that well known or, for some people,easily accessed.

NEW YORK, July 22, (RTRS): Differencesin IQ may be one reason that lower-incomeindividuals are more likely to die of heartdisease than their more affluent counter-parts, a study of US men suggests.

It’s well known that people with less edu-cation and lower incomes generally facehigher risks of a range of diseases. Studieshave pointed to many likely reasons —including less access to healthcare andother resources, poorer living conditions,chronic stress and higher rates of lifestylerisk factors, like smoking and physicalinactivity.

However, those factors do not seem tofully explain the disparities.

In the new study, published in theEuropean Heart Journal, researchers lookedat the relationship between IQ and the riskof dying from heart disease or strokeamong nearly 4,300 male US veterans.

TestsAll of the men were given intelligence

tests when they entered the Army duringthe Vietnam War, then were tested again inmiddle age. Over the following 15 years, 62study participants died of heart disease.

In general, the study found, men of thelowest socioeconomic status — measuredby income, occupation and education —were between two and seven times morelikely to die of causes related to heart dis-ease than the most advantaged men.

“Classical” risk factors, including highblood pressure, smoking and obesity,explained about 40 percent of the disparity,according to the researchers. But IQ itselfalso appeared to play a role, explaininganother quarter of the socioeconomic gap.

It’s not clear whether directly IQ, per se,affects heart disease risk, the researcherssay.

Connected IQ may essentially serve as an “index of

environmental ‘insults’ accumulated acrossthe lifetime,” including illnesses, chronicstress and unhealthy lifestyle habits,explained lead researcher Dr David Batty,of the Medical Research Council’s Socialand Public Health Sciences Unit at theUniversity of Glasgow.

A woman pushes a child’s buggy into a National Health Service (NHS), walk-in healthcenter in west London, July 21 with a sign on the door requesting that people with flu-

symptoms stay away. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

33HEALTH

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

34HEALTH

Prechewed infant food may transmit AIDS

WHO may change ARV guidelines for pregnant mothersCAPE TOWN, July 22, (RTRS):International guidelines for mothers takingantiretrovirals (ARVs) may change, a seniorWHO official said, with new evidence show-ing HIV infection rates among babies aresignificantly cut when mothers are givenprolonged ARV treatment during breastfeed-ing.

The World Health Organisation is review-ing its 2006 recommendations on the use ofARVs in pregnant women, including duringthe breastfeeding period. New guidelines areexpected to be published by the end of 2009and will take into account emerging data.

Results from a new study, conducted byWHO in partnership with a range of interna-tional agencies, were released at an interna-tional AIDS conference in Cape Town onWednesday.

Key findings from the study showed that astronger drug cocktail administered over alonger period reduced the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission compared with thecurrent WHO-recommended short-courseARV regimen.

“The results of this study show an almosttwo-fold reduction in the risk of HIV trans-mission during the breastfeeding period andalso shows there is no short-term toxicity (tomothers or infants),” Dr Tim Farley, projectleader for the “Kesho Bora” study, toldReuters on the conference sidelines onTuesday.

The Kesho Bora study was conducted atfive sites in Burkina Faso, Kenya and SouthAfrica and saw 824 pregnant womenenrolled to receive either a combination ofthree antiretroviral drugs — zidovudine,lamivudine and lopinavir — or the standardWHO-recommended short course regimen.

Farley said the combination drugs were

administered from the last trimester of preg-nancy and continued for a maximum of sixmonths of breastfeeding.

“This is the first randomised trial to quan-tify the magnitude of the reduction in riskand shows that in the short term, certainly, itis safe.”

He said the results suggest that givingmothers the combination of ARVs during

pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding cutHIV infections in infants by 42 percent com-pared to current WHO recommendations.

Farley said the participants would be mon-itored to see if there were any long-termhealth side-effects. Results were expected tobe released within a year’s time.

Farley, who works at WHO’s Departmentof Reproductive Health in Geneva, said

another study in Malawi, using the samedrug regimen showed similar reductionresults.

“And that study also, interestingly, com-pared giving prophlyaxis to the baby, insteadof giving prophlyaxis to the mother, and Ithink its going to be an interesting discussionat the guidelines process,” he said.

Health experts will have to weigh the dif-ferent risks and benefits of giving mothersARVs as opposed to administering the treat-ment to babies in a bid to reduce HIV trans-mission rates.

Also:NEW YORK: In a report released Monday,US researchers say they have “compellingevidence” that three infants became infectedwith HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, by eat-ing food prechewed by their HIV-infectedcaregivers.

The mothers of two of the three childrenwere known to be infected with HIV, but themothers had not breastfed their babies andmother-to-child transmission of HIV hadbeen ruled out. The mother of the third infantwas not infected with HIV, but a great auntwho helped care for the child was.

All three children were fed food on multi-ple occasions that had been prechewed by acare provider infected with HIV, Dr AdityaH. Gaur from St Jude Children’s ResearchHospital in Memphis, Tennessee and col-leagues note in the latest issue of the journalPediatrics.

The team ruled out other ways the babiescould have become infected, and furtherinvestigations revealed that the primarysource of HIV in two of the cases was likelybleeding in the mouth of the adult infectedwith HIV who prechewed the food.

Although the practice of prechewing food

for young children has been described in var-ious parts of the world, including the UnitedStates, the extent of this practice is not wellknown, Gaur and colleagues admit.

Still, prechewed food is a route of HIVtransmission “not previously reported” andone that has “important global implications,”they emphasize.

Furthermore, Gaur and colleagues say thepractice of feeding prechewed food to infants— which some caregivers may do during theweaning period — may also explain some ofthe reported cases of “late” HIV transmissionin infants — cases so far attributed to breast-feeding.

Until the risk of HIV transmission viaprechewed food is better understood, theyrecommend against the practice for anyoneinfected with HIV or at risk of HIV infection.

❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: Moms-to-be who smoke butquit early in pregnancy can sharply reducetheir risk of having a premature or too-smallbaby, new research in the journal Obstetrics& Gynecology shows.

“Our results show that first-trimester quit-ters have a risk of delivering a preterm orSGA newborn comparable to those whonever smoked during pregnancy, and secondtrimester quitters also have a lower risk ofthese outcomes, but not to the same magni-tude as first-trimester quitters,” Dr Laura L.Polakowski of the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention in Atlanta and hercolleagues report.

Smoking during pregnancy has many illeffects, with premature delivery and restrict-ed growth among the best-documented,Polakowski and her team write. For olderwomen, they add, the dangers of smoking inpregnancy may be even greater.

Revised US birth certificates introduced in2003 include information on whether or nota mother smoked for each trimester of herpregnancy, so the researchers looked atwhether quitting at different points in preg-nancy might affect women’s risk of poorbirth outcomes. Their analysis included915,441 birth certificates from babies born in2005 in 11 states that used the revised birthcertificate format.

Among women who smoked for theirentire pregnancy, 10 percent gave birth tobabies preterm but not small for gestationalage; 15 percent had full term babies thatwere small for gestational age; and 2 percenthad preemies that were also small for gesta-tional age. For women who quit during theirfirst trimester, those risks were 8 percent, 9percent, and 1 percent, respectively.

After the researchers adjusted for mother’sage, previous preterm births, and other rele-vant factors, they found that the women whoquit in the first trimester cut their risk of hav-ing a preterm, normal size baby by 31 per-cent; a full-term, too-small baby by 55 per-cent; and a preterm, small for gestational agebaby by 53 percent.

Women who quit smoking in the secondtrimester also cut their risk of these out-comes, but not as much. The reduction inrisk associated with quitting in the firsttrimester was particularly strong for olderwomen, especially those over 40, theresearchers found.

“Although pregnancy is the most commonreason women quit smoking, smoking is adifficult addiction to break,” Polakowski andher colleagues write. “Added incentive toquit may come with further evidence of thebenefits of smoking cessation even as preg-nancy progresses.”

David Dawson (left), a Vascular Surgeon at UC Davis, talks will family members ofColton Read, Terry DeBrow (left on couch), Colton’s grandma, Jessica Read (center),Colton’s wife and Steve Read (right), Colton’s dad, prior to going into surgery in thewaiting area of the ICU unit. Read is an airman from Beale Air Force Base who is beingtreated at UC Davis after losing both legs in what his family says were complications of

routine gall bladder surgery at Travis Air Force Base, July 20. (AP)

BusinessMarket Movements 22-07-2009

Points Closing ptsAUSTRALIA - ASX 100 +13.90 3,333.00JAPAN - Nikkei 225 +71.14 9,723.16EUROPE - DJ Stoxx +5.07 2,202.50FRANCE - CAC +2.18 3,305.07GERMANY - DAX +27.59 5,121.56SOUTH KOREA - KRX 100 +12.90 3,133.80PHILIPPINES - PSE All +8.32 1,664.61

Points Closing ptsHONG KONG - Hang Seng -253.56 19,248.17INDIA - Sensex -219.37 14,843.12

‘CBK not responsible’

Governor of the Central Bank ofKuwait (CBK) Sheikh SalemAbdulaziz Al-Sabah saidWednesday that the bank wasin no way responsible forreports attributed to unofficialsources within the institution.

In his statement to KUNA, thegovernor was referring to reportspublished by the media, sayingthat CBK was issuing orders tounits falling under its supervision,

and quoting unofficial sources.“CBK is not responsible for

these reports, unless the state-ments are officially made by thebank,” he said.

Subsequently, he said CBKwas “not responsible for theconsequences of such incorrectinformation.” Sheikh Salemcalled on the media to seekaccuracy before publishing theirstories. (KUNA)

Kuwaiti money supply growth accelerat-ed to 21.5 percent in June from 17.7 per-cent in May, official data showed onWednesday.

Money supply, measured as M2, roseto 25.15 billion dinars ($87.63 billion) onJune 30, from 20.7 billion dinars a yearearlier, the central bank said in a month-ly bulletin. Quasi money — whichincludes savings and time deposits indinars, as well as foreign currencydeposits — advanced 28.51 percent to

20.15 billion dinars, up from 26.3 per-cent a month earlier, the data showed.

M3 money supply data for June werenot immediately available. May’s M3came in at 25.22 billion dinars.

Banks’ total claims on the private sector,which also include their local investments,climbed 9.2 percent in the year to June to26.23 billion dinars, compared to 25.96 bil-lion dinars in May, the data showed.

Total credit facilities concluded withresidents rose 25.9 percent in the year

to June to 1.11 billion dinars — up from851.1 million dinars a month earlier.

Banks across the Gulf Arab region havebecome more cautious about extendingnew loans during an economic downturnthat is likely to see several countries,including Kuwait, witness an economiccontraction this year. On Tuesday, Kuwait’scentral bank reduced its three repurchaserates by 25 basis points each to spur theeconomy and lending, but left its bench-mark discount rate at 3 percent. (RTRS)

Kuwait’s June money supply growth rises to 21.5%

Telecom giant still receiving sale of African ops

Kuwait’s Zain says didn’t receive any Etisalat buy offer KUWAIT, July 22, (RTRS): Kuwaitimobile telecoms firm Zain said onWednesday it had not received any formalacquisition offer from EmiratesTelecommunications Corp’s (Etisalat).

The head of Etisalat’s international unittold Reuters on Tuesday that it was inter-ested in buying a 51-percent stake in ZainGroup, “given the right values.”

The Kuwaiti firm has been in the newsthis week after it said it is still reviewing apossible sale of its African operations —minus Morocco and Sudan — after Frenchmedia and telecoms conglomerate Vivendibroke off talks on buying the operations.

dinar drops

Following are details of the latest dinarreference rate versus the dollar set byKuwait’s central bank.

Mid point Change: 0.28690; from dayearlier: -0.05; Change since May 19,2007: +0.78 pct

The central bank severed the dinar’speg to the dollar on May 20, 2007 andstarted tracking a basket of currencies. Ithas declined to give the composition ofthe basket, saying only that the dollar isits biggest component. (RTRS)

‘ADIB: $67 mln’

Saudi exposure‘manageable’

By Standard & Poor’s andAgencies

DUBAI, July 22: Standard & Poor’sRatings Services found the exposureto the Saad and Algosaibi groups of30 commercial banks it rates in GulfCooperation Council (GCC) coun-tries to be significant but manage-able, according to its report “SpecialStandard & Poor’s Survey ShowsThat Rated Gulf Banks AreSignificantly Exposed To The SaadAnd Algosaibi Groups.”

The two prominent Saudi Arabiangroups recently ran into severe andunexpected difficulties and haveentered debt restructuring discus-sions with their respective creditors.

“Total exposure net of tangiblecollateral to the two groups is signif-icant but manageable for sampledrated GCC banks,” said Standard &Poor’s credit analyst GoekseninKaragoez.

Information related to each indi-vidual Gulf bank’s exposure is confi-dential—and as such can not be dis-closed by Standard & Poor’s —butour survey enabled us to arrive atvarious opinions:■ Exposure to the groups varies sig-nificantly among the sampled GCCrated banks, from no exposure to netexposure of more than 20% of a fewbanks’ adjusted total equity.■ Surveyed banks in Saudi Arabiaand the United Arab Emirates repre-sent almost two-thirds of the total netexposure of the sampled banks. ■ GCC rated banks in the samplehave taken what appears to be mate-rial levels of tangible collateral, inthe form of cash and listed shares,against these loans, which coversabout 30% of their gross exposure. ■ Syndicated loans, sukuk, and work-ing capital loans accounted for a largeportion of the debt owed to GCC ratedbanks. From the data, these exposuresappear to be mainly to nonbank enti-ties of the groups. Noncash exposure(mainly through letters of credit)forms the rest of the exposure.

As part of its surveillance on ratedbank credits, Standard & Poor’sreceives detailed information on thebanks’ largest exposures. The Saadand Algosaibi restructuring discus-sions, in our view, suggest that highlevels of concentration within GCCbanks’ loan portfolios create signifi-cant credit risks for these banks, mit-igated by GCC banks’ high earningscapacity, good capitalization, andhigh level of loan loss reserves.

Standard & Poor’s believes that itis premature to assess the level ofultimate losses that creditors willface on their exposure to these twogroups. We anticipate that only a fewbanks are going to allocate provi-sions against these exposures in thesecond quarter of 2009.

Also:DUBAI: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bankholds 245 million dirhams ($66.70million) in exposure to troubled con-glomerate Saad Group, according toa newspaper report on Wednesday.

ADIB, one of Abu Dhabi’s smallerbanks by market value, made the loanto Saad in 2007 to finance an invest-ment in an Abu Dhabi warehousingcompany that did not become opera-tional, according to the paper.

ADIB officials were not immedi-ately available for comment.

In recent weeks, several banks inthe region have offered details ontheir exposure to Saad and anotherSaudi family firm, Ahmad Hamad AlGosaibi Group & Brothers (AHAB),which are facing a debt crisis.

KIA SELLS 13.2% STAKE FOR KD 84.7M

National Bank buys into Boubyan‘Deal gateway to Islamic banking’

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: National Bank ofKuwait (NBK) announced today that it hassuccessfully acquired 13.2 percent of theKuwait Investment Authority’s (KIA)holding in Boubyan Bank via auction heldtoday, raising NBK’s total ownership ofBoubyan Bank to 27.5 percent. The dealamounted to KD 84.7 million representingaround 321 million shares of BoubyanBank.

Nasser Al Sayer, NBK’s Vice-Chairman, said that this was an impor-tant strategic move for NBK, providingthe Bank with a gateway into the Islamicbanking market. ‘Our main goal is tostabilize Boubyan Bank, enhance itsposition in the local market and developits various Islamic banking services’,added Al Sayer.

Al Sayer also stressed that the manage-ment and operations of NBK and BoubyanBank would be kept separate and fullyindependent of each other in accordancewith Islamic Banking law and regulation.

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), theGulf Arab state’s sovereign wealth fund,was selling its 19.8 percent stake inBoubyan, or 231 million shares, in an auc-tion in which Securities Group Co alsocompeted.

KIA, which manages the OPEC mem-ber’s massive oil-generated assets, is amajor shareholder in many Kuwaiti com-panies including heavyweight MobileTelecommunications Co (Zain) andKuwait Finance House.

NBK bought 154 million shares at 550fils per share for a total of KD 84.7 million($295.1 million), the bourse said in astatement.

Securities Group Co bought the remain-ing 77 million shares, or 6.6 percent stake,at 560 fils per share for KD 43.12 million,the bourse added. There are 1,000 fils in adinar.

NBK already owned a 14.33 percentstake in Boubyan. The deal would raise itsownership to 27.5 percent as Kuwait’sbiggest lender by market value moves toboost its sharia-compliant business.

The deal is a strategic move for NBK,providing it with a gateway into theIslamic banking market, NBK’s Vice-Chairman Nasser Al-Sayer said in a state-ment.

“Our main goal is to stabilize BoubyanBank, enhance its position in the localmarket and develop its various Islamicbanking services,” he said.

Islamic banking is one of the world’sfastest growing financial sectors, rising15-20 percent a year, according to indus-try estimates.

The sale could also benefit the smallIslamic lender, which has faced a wave ofresignations in February with all boardmembers stepping down without giving a

Nasser Al-Sayer

reason, said Mustafa Behbahani, a directorat Kuwait’s Gulf Consulting Co.

“There were many disputes in the man-agement (of Boubyan) which stalled itsprogress,” said Behbahani. “But NBK’sacquisition will change the managementand benefit Boubyan.”

Boubyan Bank, which complies withIslam’s ban on interest and competes withlarger rival Kuwait Finance House andKuwait International Bank, has been in themiddle of a legal row in recent weeks.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait andInvestment Dar , the Islamic finance firmthat owns half of British luxury car makerAston Martin, have been involved in therow over the right to own a 19.2 percentstake.

Boubyan’s shares have risen 31.7 per-cent this year, outperforming the mainbenchmark which fell 1.4 percent.

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK)had expressed its wish to purchase KIA’sshares about a month back, and registra-tion of parties wishing to bid in the auctionwas closed on July 2. Competing againstNBK are Securities Group Co. and Al-Themar International Holding Co.

Auction regulations stipulate that thebidder must deposit a check worth 10 per-cent of the total cost of the share segmentto the agent, no later than 10: 00 a.m.today.

According to the regulations, the auc-tion is finalized in the interest of the pri-mary buyer - in this case NBK, whichstruck the deal with the Central Bank ofKuwait.

Boubyan Bank is one of three IslamicSharia-compliant banks currently operat-ing in Kuwait, alongside Kuwait FinanceHouse and Kuwait International.

Boubyan Bank’s losses in the first quar-ter of 2009 came to KD 11.6 million, com-pared to profit of KD 5 million in the sameperiod last year.

GCC project spending

National Bank of Kuwait

19% of all Gulf projects on hold

Downturn weakens outlookIn its latest GCC brief, NBK reports that the

last GCC Brief (8th July), we looked attrends in major industrial and infrastructureprojects across the GCC, as captured in thedatabase provided by the Middle EastEconomic Digest (MEED). A total of $2.1billion worth of projects were either plannedor underway at the end of 2Q 2009, most ofwhich were in the construction sector andweighted towards the UAE. This week, welook at who is undertaking these projects andhow they have been affected by deterioratingeconomic conditions in the region. In particu-lar, we look at the split in activity between thepublic and private sectors – an especiallyimportant issue in today’s environment,where private sector firms have become morerisk averse and access to credit may be limit-ed. Arguably therefore, the larger the role ofthe private sector, the greater the danger ofprojects being postponed or cancelled.

Who’s in charge?The MEED data does not officially distin-

guish between activity in the public and pri-vate sectors, and separating the two is notalways easy. In many Gulf countries, the lineis blurred by implicit government backing forsome ‘private sector’ entities.

In what follows below, we have classifiedprojects either as private sector, government,or joint ventures (JVs), using our own judg-ment. The latter category, for example,includes not just explicit JVs throughschemes such as Public Private Partnerships(PPPs), but also stock exchange-listed firmsin which the government has maintained partownership. Companies in this category wouldinclude, for example, UAE property develop-er Emaar, which is 32% owned by the Dubaigovernment. On the other hand, Nakheel –the property developer whose parent compa-ny Dubai World is majority-owned by UAEruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum – would be classified as a privatecompany. We cannot claim that all of thesejudgments are 100% accurate, but theyshould at least provide a reasonable guide. Onbalance, projects that are labeled as JVsshould probably be thought of as being moreprivate sector-led, rather than state-led.

Chart 1 shows that $833 billion (39%) ofall active projects are being developed by theprivate sector, while $822 billion (39%) arebeing sponsored by the public sector. (Thesefigures exclude projects that are ‘on hold’.)Even more striking, perhaps, is the largenumber of JVs being undertaken, some $479billion (22%). This means that the govern-ment has a direct stake in more than 60% ofall major projects taking place in the region.Clearly, its ability to do this has been sup-ported by a surge in budget revenues over thepast five years as oil prices have climbed.Between 2004 and 2008, GCC governmentsgenerated combined estimated budget rev-enues of US$1.7 trillion, well over double thepreceding five years. Note, too, that the gov-ernment’s share of projects actually underwayis slightly higher than that of the private sec-tor, at 40%. In the past, the opposite has beentrue, suggesting that public sector projectshave proved more resilient in the downturn.

It is also revealing to breakdown the govern-ment’s involvement according to each country.(See chart 2.) At $486 billion, there are moreprivate sector projects in the UAE than in allother GCC countries combined. By contrast,the share of all UAE projects being undertakenby the government sector is low, at 28%, com-pared to the GCC average of 39%. Notably,Oman also has a low share of its $95 billion inprojects being undertaken by the government(33%), thanks partly to its promotion of privatesector participation in the energy sector. InBahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, the government isresponsible for the majority of projects.

How do these figures translate to econom-ic activity? Although it is not easy to measurethe impact of projects on GDP (for reasonswe mentioned in part 1 of this note), we canmake some broad estimates. The total valueof projects underway is $610 billion, equiva-

Major cancelled/on hold projects Project Name Country Sector Value ($ bn) Start DateJumeira Gardens UAE Constr 95 2008Nakheel Harbour & Tower UAE Constr 95 2010Jeddah Mile High Tower KSA Constr 15 2009New Oil Refinery Project Kuwait Oil & Gas 13 2008Nama Chemicals Complex KSA Petrocm 6 -Duqm Refinery Oman Oil & Gas 5 2010QP/ExxonMobil Barzan Gas Dvpmt Qatar Oil & Gas 2 2010Dammam Oil Field Development KSA Oil & Gas 1.2 2010Source: MEED projects database, as at end 2Q 2009

lent to around 70% of forecast GCC GDP in2009. Since the (weighted) average lifetimeof a project is 5-6 years, this suggests that –on average - the projects could directly addsome 10-15% to regional GDP growth peryear over their lifetime. The private sector isresponsible for around 40% of this, with therest attributable to JVs and the government.

Of course, these estimates are uncertain.They take no account, for example, of thegoods and services that are imported in order tosupply and execute the projects, which wouldtend to reduce their impact on GDP. This effectis likely to be large. But there are exclusionsworking the other way, too, such as the effectson businesses and industries working down-stream, which would tend to magnify the over-all impact of each project. And we have madeno account for projects that are not yet under-way – at least some of which will surely comeon stream and provide a further boost to theeconomy. All in all, there is little doubt that theproject sector is big business for the Gulfeconomies and that both the public and privatesectors are playing major roles.

Impact of the global recessionBut to what extent are these projects now

under threat as the demand outlook weakens,credit conditions tighten and the fizz disappearsfrom the regional property market? Some proj-ects have already been cancelled outright, total-ing $9 billion as of end 2Q 2009. This is a rel-atively small number, but is almost certain torise over time. Far more important is the num-ber of projects that have been placed ‘on hold’.These had reached a massive $506 billion by2Q09, up from just $26 billion a year earlier.The two categories account for 19% of theregion’s total project market.

The cancelled and suspended projectstogether, broken down by sector. The con-struction sector – which is mostly real estatebut also some infrastructure such as ports,bridges and railways - has taken the hardesthit. This sector accounts for 80% of the valueof all ‘cancelled’/’on hold’ projects comparedto 42% in June 2008. 261 construction proj-ects are now reported as either ‘cancelled’ or‘on hold’, reflecting the contraction of thereal estate sector and the slump in propertyprices. These include Nakheel’s $95 billionHarbour & Tower project, and Saudi Arabia’s$15 billion Jeddah Mile High Tower.

On a smaller scale, the oil & gas and petro-chemical sectors have witnessed a combined$87 billion worth of cancellations. As oil pricestook a tumble in Q408, many petrochemicalsprojects were deemed unfeasible and, there-fore, suspended or cancelled. Such projectsinclude Kuwait’s $13 billion new refinery,Saudi’s $6 billion Nama - Jubail Refining &Integrated Petrochemical Complex and Oman’s$5 billion Daqum refinery, which were put onhold. The recent bounce in oil prices, however,if sustained, could see renewed interest in someof these projects.

Unsurprisingly, more than two-thirds of allcancelled/on hold projects are from the pri-vate sector, much higher than its share of allprojects underway. By contrast, 29% of can-celled/on hold projects are from the govern-ment sector and just 3% from JVs. This divi-sion may partly reflect the obvious difficul-ties in obtaining funding for private sectorprojects as credit conditions have tightened.But it may also reflect the fact that govern-ment-led projects may be less risky or ambi-

tious in nature, making them more robust in adownturn. If this is true, then the strong gov-ernment presence in the sector should be aconsiderable source of support for projectactivity going forward. For the record, table 1below shows some of GCC states’ largestrecent project cancellations and suspensions.

What impact could the large number of can-cellations and suspensions have on the econo-my? Since the total value of these projects iscurrently $515 billion (similar to the ‘projectsunderway’ calculation above), their loss couldtheoretically knock some 10-15% per year offGDP growth. The ultimate impact is likely tobe much lower than this, however. A large sliceof the value of these projects would have been‘lost’ to imports of labor, machinery and mate-rials. If the projects do not go ahead, theseimports will not now take place. In addition,some projects may slowly come back on streamas economic conditions improve, although thiscould be offset by further cancellations.

More fundamentally, some of the abandonedprojects – initiated in a period of excessive exu-berance - were likely to turn out to be badinvestments, so should never have been initiat-ed in the first place. Their loss will end-up beinga good thing for the economy. Moreover, thecancellation of ‘uneconomic’ projects shouldlead to lower input costs, allowing more desir-able projects to be completed quicker, or atlower cost. This is likely to improve the alloca-tion of resources in Gulf economies over time.

Of course, it is not just through officialcancellations and suspensions that the eco-nomic downturn will affect the project scene.Many projects will be delayed or implement-ed at a more measured pace than before. It isdifficult to get a grasp on just how significantthis effect might be, but it is worth noting thatjust 25% of the projects slated to start in 1Q2009 have yet to begin.

Overall then, the drop in project activityseems likely to provide a serious jolt to theGCC economy in the short-run, largely throughdepressing aggregate demand. But this effectwill fade: a combination of government supportfor the financial system and expansionary fiscaland monetary policies should prevent demandfrom falling too far - perhaps enough to see itstage a modest recovery next year. And in thelong-run there could be a silver lining to weak-er project activity. As expectations for returnsand activity levels are revised down, firms andindividuals are likely to take a more carefulview of what constitutes a good investment.This – in combination with lower oil prices,slower credit growth and less rapid increases inpopulation - could ultimately produce a morebalanced, sustainable growth rate for the regionin future.

■ Governments have a stake in well overhalf of the $2.1 trillion of major projects cur-rently taking place in the GCC. This couldprove to be an asset in the downturn, shield-ing activity from rising risk aversion andcredit constraints in the private sector.

■ Nevertheless, the economic downturn istaking its toll. 19% of all projects have beenput on hold or cancelled and this numbercould rise over time as investors readjust tomore sober economic conditions.

■ Although this will impose heavy short-term costs on the economy, by purging badinvestments and lowering input costs, it maylead to more balanced and sustainable growthin the long-run.

‘Prices just too high right now’

Saudi H1 gold sales fall 30%DUBAI, July 22, (RTRS): The volume ofgold jewellery sales in Saudi Arabia hasfallen as much as 30 percent in the first sixmonths of the year, as the economic crisisand high gold prices deter buyers, goldretailers said on Wednesday.

Gold has risen around 39 percent to tradeat over $945 an ounce from a low near$680 in October as investors buy the metalas a safe haven in a time of economicuncertainty.

“Gold prices are just too high at themoment and people cannot afford theseprices, even when we offer discounts ondesigns, that’s why sales this year are down30 percent,” said Salam Omar Bin Salman,deputy manager of Bin Salman GoldJewellery, a medium sized gold retailer inthe kingdom.

“The economic crisis is also making peo-ple think twice before they spend,” headded.

The pace of Saudi consumption wasunlikely to improve unless the price falls,retailers said.

“I think that demand for gold will begin

to pick up again once prices decrease,” saidSalman. “I think this will happen by mid-2010, until then we just have to pray thingsdon’t get worse.”

A slower summer season with less visi-tors than last year has also contributed tothe drop in sales in the Arab world’s largesteconomy, said a Jeddah-based salesmanfrom Al Rumaizan Gold & Jewellery, oneof the largest gold retailers in Saudi.

“This month our sales have been downby 10 percent compared to last year as aresult of less Arab and Indian tourists com-ing in,” he said, adding that 30 percent ofthe company’s sales rely on visitors.

Demand for gold in the Middle East fell26 percent year-on-year during the firstquarter, the World Gold Council said in itsquarterly report in May.

Jewellery demand makes up much moreof the market in the Middle East thaninvestment demand, so the region’s goldsellers have felt the benefit of investorinterest less than elsewhere.

Gold sales in the neighbouring UnitedArab Emirates have seen a similar decline.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

37BUSINESS

Lender in final stages of Shariah conversion

BKME posts KD 14.2m H1 net profitKUWAIT CITY, July 22: BKME reported net profitsof KD 14.2 million in first half 2009 of which theOperating Revenues constituted KD 46.8 millionwhich enabled the bank to increase the net interestincome by 25.9 percent compared to the same periodfrom previous year.

In addition, gain on sale from the available for sale invest-ments was KD 9.0 million.Precautionary wise, BKMEallocated more than the entireamount in voluntary provi-sions and reserves as the totalprovision charged during thefirst half of the current yearwas KD19.9 million to reflectBKME’s conservative andprudent policy in handling theglobal and local economicconditions and its ability toovercome the changing eco-nomic conditions.

On this occasion, HamadAbdulmohsen Al-Marzouq,Chairman and ManagingDirector of BKME said that thepositive results in the first half

of 2009 are very encouraging in light of the inconvenient globaland local economic conditions. Thanks to the stable performanceof the bank and the growth and risk management strategy in place,BKME achieved these outstanding results as a reflection of its abil-ity to achieve the aspired goals amidst these hard times.

Al-Marzouq added that that BKME is finalizing the final stageof the conversion into Islamic which will be accomplished in thedue date. Meanwhile, BKME is restructuring now several innova-tive products which include new Islamic services incorporatingShari’ah-Compliant Saving Vehicles. The final approvals on thefull conversion into Islamic and, thus, the launching of innovativeIslamic banking services are scheduled at the year end.

The Clients’Deposits increase to reach KD 1,441.4 million is a trueindication of the growing confidence of clients in the performanceand quality of the assets of the bank. Having been incorporated 68years ago, BKME prides itself that it is the first bank to be establishedin the State of Kuwait, and stresses that it has been working persist-ently to provide premium services to its valued clients and has thusattained its goodwill and wide reputation which will drive it towardsachieving more accomplishments especially in relation to the conver-sion into Islamic”, Al-Marzouq indicated.

Al-Marzouq also stressed that BKME is giving due attention tothe employment of talented bright Kuwaiti cadres in the bankingindustry and underlined also that the majority of young Kuwaitipeople who joined BKME over the past years have become nowwell trained and qualified to work in the banking industry and keeppace with the global developments, in order to ensure we canimprove their levels of performance and enhance their practicalexpertise for providing top-notch banking services to clients.

Wrapping up his statements, Al-Marzouq expressed his heartfeltthanks and gratitude to BKME’s clients for their demonstrated con-fidence in the bank, and promised to put in place all measures thatensure the safety and security of the banking transactions and easyaccess to services.

Kuwait Stock Exchange announced that the Board of Directorsof Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East (BKME) adopted the inter-im financial statements of the Bank for the period ending June 30,2009.

For the three months ending June 30, 2009, BKME earned aprofit of KD 4 million with EPS valued at 4.6 fils compared to aprofit of KD 23.7 million or 27 fils earned during the half year peri-od ending June 30, 2008.Particulars (6 mths ending) June 30, 2009 June 30, 2008Profit (Loss) (KD) 14,224,181 37,666,570EPS (LPS) (fils) 16.2 42.9Total current assets 1,485,293,494 1,527,295,236Total assets 2,378,941,583 2,405,628,103Total current liabilities 2,119,138,302 2,103,420,910Total liabilities 2,129,664,182 2,119,874,233Total equity 249,277,401 285,753,870

The net profit includes unpaid expenses amounting to KD7,192,406 and unrealized revenue worth KD 1,047,535.

Sorouh Real Estate sees Q3 profit growth

Abu Dhabi’s Sorouh Real Estate expects profitgrowth of upto 15 percent in the third quarter over theprevious period on sales and leasing of property tobe delivered next quarter.

The second-largest listed developer in Abu Dhabi bymarket capitalisation has no plans to make new land orunit sales until mid-2010, awaiting a pick-up in demandand prices, its chief strategy officer Paul Warren toldReuters on Wednesday.

Sorouh posted a second-quarter net profit of150.98 million dirhams ($41.08 million), down 75.5percent from the year-earlier period, driving shares

down 2.27 percent to a close of 2.56 dirhams ashare.

The results fell short of two analysts’ forecasts in aReuters survey earlier this month.

“Our first unit sales will be coming in and therewould also be some lease and rental income,”Warren said, referring to the planned hand over of500 homes at its Golf Garden project next quarter.

The bulk of Sorouh’s revenues in the first half thisyear comprised of income from sales of land andsome lease and investment income, he said.

“Don’t expect sales (of units) for this year and early

next year. We are restructuring some projects andwill be back into the market in mid-2010 with realproducts,” he said.

Revenues for the half of 2009 fell to 1.3 billiondirhams, compared with 1.69 billion dirhams in 2008.Second quarter revenues were down to 978 milliondirhams from 1.1 billion dirhams in the same periodlast year, the firm said in a statement.

But cost of revenue (infrastructure costs) went upsignificantly to 818.54 million dirhams in the secondquarter versus 293.66 million dirhams in the quarterlast year, lowering profits, Warren said. (RTRS)

QREIC H1 profit falls

Qatar Real Estate Investment Co’s,which is in the midst of a state-orderedmerger with a rival, reported a 34.7 per-cent decline in first half net profits onWednesday.

The firm said profit fell to 113 millionriyals ($31.06 million) in the six monthsto June 30, down from 173 million riyalsin the same period in 2008. It gave noreason for the decline.

Earnings per share in the first half of2008 fell to 1.31 riyals from 2 riyals in

the same period last year, it said in astatement on Qatar’s bourse website.

It did not give a breakdown of quar-terly figures.

In January, the government ordered amerger between Qatar Real Estate andBarwa Real Estate, an affiliate of state-owned Qatari Diar.

Qatar has encouraged firms fromlivestock to real estate to merge to helpthem grow and weather the fallout fromthe financial crisis. (RTRS)

Saudi, UAE lenders have maximum exposure

Saudi banks boost Q2 loan loss provisionsRIYADH, July 22, (RTRS): Two large Saudi bankssharply increased second-quarter provisions forloan losses compared to a year ago, official datashowed on Wednesday, amid concerns over the sol-vency of some debt-laden private Saudi firms.

Banque Saudi Fransi booked 120 million riyals($32 million) in provisions for loan losses duringthe second quarter, according to data released onthe Saudi bourse website.

Fransi’s audited financial statements show itbooked a little below 10 million riyals in provi-sions for loan losses in the same period of 2008,46.1 million in the first quarter of 2009, and287.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Saudi affiliate of France’s Calyon has post-

ed a 10.6 percent drop in second-quarter profit. Samba Financial Group, the country’s second-

largest lender by market value, booked 97.3 mil-lion riyals in provisions for loan losses during thesecond quarter, against 37.8 million in the year-ago period, 203 million in the first quarter and141.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Samba posted a 1.6 percent rise in second-quarter net profit.

SABB bank, HSBC’s Saudi affiliate, indicatedlast week that it booked 129.7 million riyals inprovisions for loan losses, down from 154 mil-lion riyals a year earlier and up from 116.3 mil-lion riyals in the first quarter.

None of the banks elaborated on the provi-

sions’ purpose. In recent weeks, several regional banks have

given details of their exposure to debt-riddenSaudi conglomerates Saad Group and AhmadHamad Algosaibi & Bros (AHAB).

But for a stock market as opaque as SaudiArabia, it remains difficult to determine whetherthe level of provisions made by these banks isenough to cover their exposure to troubled fami-ly-owned firms such as Saad and AHAB.

Like the kingdom’s central bank, Saudi banksrefrained from making any statement about thetwo firms.

“The level of disclosure applied here doesn’tmake it certain that banks have provisioned well

enough. Compared to other banks in the Gulfregion, our banks are not as well provisioned,” saidIbrahim al-Alwan, deputy head of KSB Capital.

Saad and AHAB are restructuring debt worthbillions of dollars and a substantial chunk of it isowed to Saudi banks.

Earlier on Wednesday, Standard & Poor’s saidit found banks in Saudi Arabia and the UnitedArab Emirates to account for almost two-thirdsof the total net exposure of 30 commercial banksit rates in the Gulf.

“Total exposure net of tangible collateral to thetwo groups (Saad and AHAB) is significant butmanageable for sampled rated (Gulf) banks,”said S&P credit analyst Goeksenin Karagoez.

Al-Marzouq

Vodafone Qatar shines

Batelco Q2 rises 20 pctMANAMA, July 22, (RTRS): Bahrain Telecommunications(Batelco) on Wednesday posted a 19.55 percent increase in quarterlynet profit on higher revenues and a revaluation of investments.

Bahrain’s largest listed company said net profit attributable toshareholders in the second quarter ended June 30 was 27.94 mil-lion Bahraini dinars ($74.11 million) from 23.37 million a year ear-lier.

Batelco’s revenues rose to 88.4 million dinars in the quarter from84.9 million a year earlier.

It also booked 4.7 million dinars in income from valuationchanges in available-for-sale investments.

Also:DUBAI: Shares in Vodafone Qatar closed 8 percent above theirIPO price on their Qatar Exchange debut on Wednesday, ending theday at 10.8 riyals after hitting an intraday high of 13 riyals.

The IPO price in the second-biggest share sale in the country’shistory was 10 riyals.

The mobile operator, which has broken the monopoly of QatarTelecom in the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter, listeda 40 percent stake after completing its $1 billion IPO in April.

“The stock opened strongly, but then drifted down with the restof the market,” said Matthew Wakeman, EFG-Hermes managingdirector for cash and equity-linked trading.

“The fees were 0.5 riyals per share, so the break even price forIPO subscribers was 10.50 riyals.”

Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone company by rev-enue, won the bid for Qatar’s second mobile telephone licence for$2.12 billion in 2007.

There will be secondary market demand from foreign fundsbecause many other telecoms stocks in the Gulf Arab region arerestricted to nationals, said Julian Bruce, EFG-Hermes director ofinstitutional equity sales, although local investors will drive trading.

“Some will want to take a quick profit because their money hasbeen tied up for some time and I don’t see the stock being a run-away success on its first day, because there will be a lot of supply,”he added.

Shares of Qtel rose 3.8 percent. Vodafone turned on its mobile network in March to customers to

test the network and in May started offering the services to share-holders.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

38BUSINESS

Zain helps KSE end week on upbeat note

weekly market roundup

Global Investment House

Commentary

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended itstrading up pushed up by heavy trading

activity on Zain <ZAIN.KW>. As measuredby Global’s weighted General Index<.GLOB>, KSE was up by 1.63 percent at theend of the week and closed at 209.23 points.On year-to-date basis, the index is up by 1.36percent. On the other hand, Kuwait StockExchange (KSE) <.KWSE> price index wasalso up for the week, rising 94.70 points (1.25percent) as it closed at 7,675 points. The mar-ket capitalization reached KD33.96bn. Marketbreadth skewed towards advancers as out of164 shares traded, 82 shares closed at higherprices, against 51 stocks retreated.

Trading activity was lower compared to theweek before. Total trading volume on theexchange was sharply down by 36.99 percent,with 1.12bn shares changing hands at a totalvalue of KD372.60mn (a decrease of 17.80percent from last week’s value). High volumewas seen on the Services stocks with the sectoraccounting for 30.59 percent of the total tradedvolume this week with 365.81mn shares trad-ed. Zain <ZAIN.KW> was the most tradedstock in the sector with 120.69mn shareschanging hands, accounting for 10.09 percentof the total traded volume in the market. Inaddition, Zain also topped the value list withKD142.91mn traded. The scrip ended theweek up by 5 percent at KD1.260. In terms ofvalue traded, the Services sector took the leadas well with a total traded value ofKD191.29mn on the sector, accounting for51.34 percent of the total market traded value.This was attributed to intense trading on Zain<ZAIN.KW>, the largest Kuwaiti company inmarket capitalization.

Market sectors’ performance was positivethis week, with 6 sectors ended the week in thepositive territory, and the other two in the neg-ative side. Global Services Index was thebiggest gainer, adding 3.90 percent from itsvalue. The sector was highly affected by therise in its largest constituent, Zain along withother services companies share prices.However, National International CompanyHolding <NIHK.KW> was the biggest loser inthe market. The scrip lost 11.24 percent of itsvalue and closed at KD0.158. GlobalInvestment Index followed, after adding 2.65percent of its value. This rise came as OsoulInvestment Company <OSUL.KW> toppedthe gainers list in the market with a 30.65 per-cent increase in its share price and closed atKD0.081. The Industrial Index was the thirdbiggest gainer, adding 1.06 percent. On theother hand, Food Index was the biggest loser,shedding 0.47 percent from its value. KuwaitFoodstuff Company (Americana) <FOOD>affected the sector loosing 1.56 percent fromits value and closed at KD1.260. Real Estatesector followed, after a marginal drop of 0.07percent from its value.

Looking at Global’s special indices, allended rising. Global Small Cap (Low 10)Index was the biggest gainer, up by 4.86 per-cent, while Global Large Cap. (Top 10) indexwas closed up by 2.40 percent. Global Sharia’acompliant Islamic Index, on the other hand,added 0.18 percent to its value.

MacroeconomicKuwait’s Central Bank (CBK) reduced its

three repurchase rates by 25 basis points eachbut left its benchmark discount rate unchanged.The Central Bank cut its overnight repo rate to0.75 percent from 1 percent, and reduced itsone-week repo rate to 1.75 percent from 2 per-cent, while its one-month rate is now at 2.25percent down from 2.5 percent,

Kuwait’s Central Bank (CBK) said thatKuwaiti money supply growth accelerated to21.5 percent in June from 17.7 percent in May.Money supply, measured as M2, rose toKD25.15bn (US$87.63bn) on June 30, frombn20.7bn a year earlier.

Oil RelatedThe Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)

announced that an oil leakage in a pipelineleading to Ahmadi port was brought under con-trol. The leakage was detected on Sunday, July19, morning in pipeline number 1 stretching toAhmadi port, noting that company’s teams iso-lated the line and stopped the leakage.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) hasoffered 75,000 tonnes of full-range naphtha totwo buyers, bringing its total spot exports fornext month to slightly more than 270,000tonnes, traders said this week. This was alsoevident in KPC’s premium, where it sold a50,000-tonne cargo to Itochu, and another25,000-tonne cargo to Shell for second-halfAugust lifting at a premium of US$8.00 atonne to Middle East quotes, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. This is 2.5 times lower thanwhat it had fetched a week ago, when it soldmore than 150,000 tonnes of the feedstock,also for August lifting to buyers includingMitsui Oil and Itochu at around a US$20.00 atonne premium.

Local NewsThe Governor of the Central Bank of

Kuwait (CBK), Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said Kuwait’s economy has achievedremarkable growth in the past five years due toan increase in oil prices and growth in generalexpenditure. This has been accompanied byrapid growth in local facilities and an increasein Financial and Real Estate assets.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services saidtoday, following its review of Kuwaiti banks,that it has lowered its long-term counterparty

credit rating on five Kuwaiti banks. The nega-tive outlooks on Gulf Bank <GBKK.KW>,Kuwait Finance House <KFIH.KW>,Commercial Bank of Kuwait <CBKK.KW>,Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait <ABKK.KW>, andBurgan Bank <BURG.KW> reflect S&Pexpectation that increased credit risk is likelyto weigh negatively on these banks’ financialprofiles. They expect the financial profiles ofthese banks to remain adequate for the currentratings. However, if the operating environmentworsens and/or if the financial profiles of thesebanks, especially asset quality, financial per-formance, or capitalization, is more adverselyaffected than we currently expect, the ratingswould come under pressure.

Kuwait is the number one Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) country investing in the RealState sector, with 21,011 citizens holding realestate property in the region until 2007, a sur-vey conducted by the GCC General Secretariatshowed. Saudi Arabia came second with citi-zens owing 7,507 real estate properties, fol-lowed by Bahrain with 3,225.

A synchronization of the Kuwait and Qatarelectricity network has been announced suc-cessful, marking the first stage of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC) electricity linkageproject. German business weeklyWirtschaftsWoche said earlier this week thatthe auto parts supplier was in talks with KIAover possible investment.

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), deniedit was in talks to invest in German auto partssupplier Continental AG <CONG.DE>. TheGulf electricity linkage project will complete itsthree final stages by 2011. This project is aimedto eliminate the need for new electricity plants.

Kuwait sees good investment opportunitiesin Africa and is in talks with countries thereabout future cooperation. Finance Minister,Mustapha al-Shamali, said that Kuwait is con-cerned about investing in the industrial sectorand other areas, as well as investment projectsconcerning food security in the African coun-tries.

Jordanian exports to Kuwait dropped by33.6 percent in the first six months of 2009compared to the first half of 2008, according tothe Jordanian Central Bank’s statistics. Thisrepresents that during the first half of this year,the Kingdom’s exports to Kuwait dropped toUS$24.8mn, compared to US$37.4mn duringthe same period in 2008. Kuwait is the thirdlargest importer of Jordanian products.

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) is organiz-ing a summer training course for Kuwaiti stu-dents, within its annual activities to developKuwaiti youth’s skills. KSE said that the train-ing course is aimed at developing the youth’sskills via providing them with experience andknowledge in this field, in addition to develop-ing their work skills during the summer period.

Recent PublicationsIn continuation of Global Investment House

<GLOB.KW> coverage on the MENA regionwe have come out during the week with thefollowing reports:

In Bahrain - A Result update report onBahrain Islamic Bank <BISB.BH>. BahrainIslamic Bank announced a loss of BHD3.8mnin Q209 as compared to net profit ofBHD15.8mn in Q208. The loss was due toprovisioning on impairment of investments ofBHD4.1mn in Q209 as compared toBHD0.3mn in the same period last year. Theprovisioning was on account of weaker mar-kets in Bahrain resulting to erosion in value ofinvestments.

In Kuwait – A Result update report onNational Bank of Kuwait <NBKK.KW>.National Bank of Kuwait announced its 1H09results, reporting a net profit of KD126.1mn(EPS: 44fils). The results exhibit a decline of28%YoY in profitability while QoQ growthremained relatively unchanged with a trivialdecline of 2%. The slide in the bank’s profitswas largely due to high provisioning againstloans and due to impairment losses that thebank underwent during 1H09. The positivething to note was the low specific provisionsindicating that heavy provisioning was mainlydue to prudent voluntary allocations rather thandue to asset deterioration.

In Kuwait – A Result update report on AlAhli Bank of Kuwait <ABKK.KW>. Al AhliBank of Kuwait announced its 1H09 results,reporting a net profit of KD20.2mn (EPS:18fils). The half-yearly results exhibit a declineof 55%YoY in profitability while on a QoQbasis, the bank’s bottom-line performancedeclined by 67% from KD15.2mn in 1Q09 toKD5.1mn in 2Q09. The fall in the bank’s prof-its was due to heavy provisioning againstloans. While detailed financial statements ofthe bank were not available, ABK announcethat it took high general voluntary provisionsover and above those taken for bad debts andimpairments in investments.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onSAMBA Financial Group (Samba)<1090.SE>. SAMBA Financial Group(Samba) in 2Q09 financial results posted(YoY) net income increase of 1.6% (fromSR1,223mn in 2Q08 to SR1,243mn in 2Q09)while on quarterly basis the profitabilityshowed a decline of 2.3% (from SR1,271mn in1Q09 to SR1,243mn in 2Q09). On semi-annu-al basis Samba’s net income rose by 3.7% toSR2,514mn in 1H09. Broadly, the bank’simproved performance can be largely attrib-uted to higher core banking performance. Aswe await the detailed financial results for moreelaborate analysis, we have not yet revised our

current estimates and presently we expectSamba to post net income growth of 7.6% inFY09.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onRiyad Bank (RIBL) <1010.SE>. Riyad Bankin 2Q09 financial results posted (YoY) netincome increase of 1.3% (from SR906mn in2Q08 to SR918mn in 2Q09), while on quarter-ly basis the profitability results showed stag-gering rise of more than 100% (fromSR441mn in 1Q09 to SR918mn in 2Q09). Thebank’s improved performance can broadly beattributed to higher core banking performanceand lower credit/investments impairments. Aswe await the detailed financial results for moreelaborate analysis, we have not yet revised ourcurrent estimates and earlier expected RIBL topost net income growth of 8% in FY09.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onSaudi Cement Company (SCC) <3030.SE>.Saudi Cement Company announced 1H-2009net profit of SR319.7mn (EPS: SR3.13)against 1H-2008 net profits of SR344.9mn(EPS: SR3.38), a 7.3% decrease on a Y-o-Ybasis. Q2-2009 net profit reached SR167.7mn(EPS: SR1.64), as compared to SR171.6mn(EPS: SR1.68) during the same period a yearago, a 2.1% decrease while on a Q-o-Q basis,net profit of Q2-2009 increased by 10.3%.

Global forecasts SCC 2009 profits to reachSR682.5mn, a 9.9% increase from 2008. Theincrease is attributed to more sales revenuebecause of the new production capacity whichwill increase cement capacity to 11.3mtpafrom 6.3mtpa.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onSaudi British Bank (SABB) <1060.SE>. SaudiBritish Bank improved core banking perform-ance during 2Q09 financial results was nottranslated into bottom line profitability as thenet income recorded (YoY) decline of 15.0%(from SR795mn in 2Q08 to SR676mn in2Q09). On semi-annual basis the bank’s prof-itability showed a decrease of 7.5% (fromSR1,552mn in 1H08 to SR1,436mn in 1H09).The main drag on the profitability results isbelieved to be because of increased provision-ing for possible credit losses as the bank fol-lowed conservative credit policy. As we awaitthe detailed financial results for more elaborateanalysis, we have not yet revised our currentestimates and presently we expect SABB topost a marginal net income decline of 0.3% inFY09.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onBanque Saudi Fransi (BSF) <1050.SE>.Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) encouragingincrease in net special commission incomeduring 2Q09 did not translate into bottom-lineprofitability, as the bank’s net income (YoY)recorded a quarterly decline of 10.6% (fromSR774mn in 2Q08 to SR692mn in 2Q09) andsemi-annual decrease of 4.9% (fromSR1,507mn in 1H08 to SR1,432mn in 1H09).As we await the detailed financial results formore elaborate analysis, we have not yetrevised our current estimates and presently weexpect BSF to post net income growth of 2.8%in FY09.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onArabian Cement Company (ACC) <3010.SE>.Arabian Cement Company announced 1H-2009 net profit of SR186.4mn (EPS: SR2.33)as compared to SR205.6mn (EPS: SR2.57)witnessed in 1H-2008, a 9.3% decrease. 2Q-2009 net profit reached SR82.6mn (EPS:SR1.03), as compared to SR90.4mn (EPS:SR1.13) during the same period a year ago, a2.1% decrease. On a Q-o-Q basis ACC profitsdeclined by 20.4%. The decrease in profits canbe attributed to increasing operational cost andexpenses of establishing new companies, dropin average realization prices and due to lossesof associates in the 1H-2009. ACC alsoannounced on July 19th 1H-2009 dividends ofSR1, which is 10% of the capital.

We believe that companies such as ACC andthe ones which are located in western region ofKSA will witness strong cement demand. ACCfirst half profits are in line with our full yearexpectations. We expects ACC 2009 netincome to reach SR424.1mn, a 30.8% increaseY-o-Y basis.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onArab National Bank (ANB) <1080.SE>. ArabNational Bank quarterly net income increase of7.4% (from SR695mn in 1Q09 to SR746mn in2Q09) led to semi-annual net income increaseof 1.2% (from SR1,424mn in 1H08 toSR1,441mn in 1H09), while on annual basisthe profitability recorded a marginal drop of0.8%. The bank’s improved performance canbroadly be attributed to higher core bankingperformance. As we await the detailed finan-cial results for more elaborate analysis, wehave not yet revised our current estimates andearlier expected the bank to post net incomegrowth of 7.8% in FY09.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onSaudi Hollandi Bank (SHB) <1040.SE>. SaudiHollandi Bank posted subdued quarterlyresults recording net income decline of 72.4%(from SR326mn in 2Q08 to SR91mn in 2Q09)which led to semi-annual basis profitabilitydecline of 38.4% (from SR609mn in 1H08 toSR375mn in 1H09). The bank’s lower per-formance is mainly attributed to the pressuresarising from operating expenses category thatincludes impairment charge for investmentsand credit losses. As we await the detailedfinancial results for more elaborate analysis,we have not yet revised our current estimatesand expected the bank to post net income

Continued on Page 39

Unicorn sells stake

Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Unicorn has solda 10 percent stake in its Regional Energy ServicesHolding (RESH) to Eastern Industrial & Oilfield ServicesHolding (EIOS), it said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said the sale, the value of which it did not disclose,realised a return on investment of 124 percent forinvestors in its Unicorn Global Private Equity Fund I.RESH is a unit of the fund and was established byUnicorn in January 2009 as a platform for acquisitions inthe regional oil and gas sector.

Bahrain-based EIOS provides services to the regionalenergy sector. (RTRS)

Bahrain inflation slows

Annual inflation in Bahrain slowed to 2.7 percent in June,its lowest level in at least 23 months, from 3.5 percent inMay, as food prices posted a month-on-month decline,official data showed.

The consumer price index of the Gulf island kingdomstood at 109.4 points at the end of June, compared with106.5 points a year earlier, the Central InformaticsOrganisation (CIO) said on its website.

Consumer prices in June rose 0.2 percent from theirlevels in May, the data showed. The index for food andnon-alcoholic beverages fell to 124.3 points in June from124.9 points in May, the data showed. (RTRS)

Raysut Q2 profit up 9%

Oman’s Raysut Cement Co reportedan 8.99 percent higher second-quarterprofit, and said it expected demand forcement to rise 8 percent this year in theGulf Arab state.

The company made a profit of 9.46million rials ($24.56 million) in the threemonths to June 30, up 8.99 percentfrom the a year earlier, according toReuters calculations.

The company reported a profit of17.3 million rials before tax in the first

half of the year, down 15.7 percentfrom a year earlier, it said in a state-ment on the bourse website, withoutgiving a quarterly figure.

Chairman Mohammed Muqaibal saidin the statement that the companyexpected an 8 percent rise in cementdemand in Oman in 2009 due to high-er government project spending.

The statement blamed the drop inhalf-year earnings on factors includinga shutdown of the company’s plant for

maintenance. Reuters calculated the second-quar-

ter figure based on the company’s ear-lier financial statements. RaysutCement posted a net profit of 8.68 mil-lion rials in the second quarter of lastyear.

Two analysts polled by Reuters esti-mated Raysut Cement’s quarterly prof-it at 8.63 million rials and 16 millionrials in a net profit survey in July.(RTRS)

Latest financial results announced of the KSE listed companiesFirst Quarter Results

Reuters Net profit KD mn EPS – filsCompany name Code June 09 June 08 Change % June 09 June 09Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait <ABKK.KW> 20.17 45.24 -55.42% 18 39Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East <BKME.KW> 14.22 37.67 -62.24% 16.2 42.9Kuwait Internatioanl Bank <KIBK.KW> -3.49 31.75 — -3.74 34.01Kuwait Finance House <KFIN.KW> 72.09 157.35 -54.19% 32 68Injazzat Real Estate Development Co. <AMRE.KW> 2.59 12.32 -78.98% 7.5 37.1Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Co. <KBTK.KW> 1.05 3.33 -68.50% 1.9 6.1Manazel Holding Co. <MANK.KW> -1.62 10.80 — -2.27 15.11Kuwait Building Materials Co. <KBMM.KW> 0.46 0.53 -13.54% 17.5 20.2Zain (Mobile Telecommunications Co.) <ZAIN.KW> 154.50 147.97 4.41% 40 41The Transport & Warehousing Group <TTGC.KW> 4.16 1.82 128.76% 42 19Automated Systems Co. <ASCK.KW> 1.45 1.93 -24.85% 36.24 48.23Future Kid Entertainement and Real Estate Co. <KIDK.KW> 0.20 0.48 -58.10% 1.87 4.46Ras Al Khaimah Co. For White Cement & Const., Materials <RKWC.KW> 3.91 4.07 -3.77% 8.4 11.2

KD T-Bonds issued by CBK - Tender ResultsIssue Date Maturity Date Life Volume KD-Bid Coupons

Mn12/03/08 11/03/09 1YR 107 1,003.00 2.875%19/03/08 18/03/09 1YR 200 1,784.00 2.875%26/03/08 25/03/09 1YR 92 700.00 2.125%09/04/08 08/04/09 1YR 80 650.00 2.125%16/04/08 15/04/09 1YR 40 295.00 2.125%23/04/08 22/04/09 1YR 84 697.00 2.125%30/04/08 29/04/09 1YR 70 445.00 2.125%07/05/08 06/05/09 1YR 114 581.00 1.875%17/05/06 13/05/09 3YR 100 606.00 6.125%11/06/08 10/06/09 1YR 100 505.00 1.875%09/07/08 08/07/09 1YR 100 497.00 1.875%30/07/08 29/07/09 1YR 100 272.00 1.875%06/08/08 05/08/09 1YR 90 234.50 1.875%13/08/08 12/08/09 1YR 85 236.00 1.875%20/08/08 19/08/09 1YR 105 124.00 1.875%24/09/08 16/09/09 1YR 60 81.50 1.875%

08/10/08 07/10/09 1YR 80 130.00 1.875%13/12/06 09/12/09 3YR 100 2,526.75 6.375%24/12/08 23/12/09 1YR 77 249.00 2.250%28/01/09 27/01/10 1YR 57 155.50 2.250%11/03/09 10/03/10 1YR 107 602.00 2.250%18/03/09 17/03/10 1YR 200 1,261.00 2.250%25/03/09 24/03/10 1YR 92 749.00 2.250%08/04/09 07/04/10 1YR 80 674.50 2.250%15/04/09 14/04/10 1YR 40 391.00 2.250%22/04/09 21/04/10 1YR 84 636.00 2.000%29/04/09 28/04/10 1YR 70 486.00 2.000%06/05/09 05/05/10 1YR 125 885.00 2.000%13/05/09 12/05/10 1YR 100 685.00 2.000%27/08/08 25/08/10 2YR 39 39.00 2.000%10/09/08 08/09/10 2YR 15 15.00 2.000%31/05/06 25/05/11 5YR 75 553.00 6.375%30/08/06 24/08/11 5YR 60 982.00 6.625%21/06/06 12/06/13 7YR 100 498.00 6.625%

Price Schedule of Outstanding KWD Corporate BondsPayment Maturity Price Yield to Maturity

Issuer Coupon Period Date Ask Bid Ask BidKuwait Project Co. (Holding) 5.750% Semi - An 05/11/09 99.896 99.752 6.000% 7.000%United Real Estate Company 5.625% Semi - An 03/11/09 99.519 99.184 7.000% 8.000%

6M Kibor + 1.5% 100.000 95.000 — —Al-Mal Investment Company 7.875% Semi - An 02/10/10 99.834 98.669 8.000% 9.000%Public Warehouse Company (AGILITY) (KD) 5% Semi - An 30/09/09 99.735 99.487 6.000% 7.000%

($) 4% 99.740 99.492 5.000% 6.000%Global Investment House 5.000% Semi - An 23/06/09 N/A N/A N/A N/A

6M Kibor + 1% N/A N/A N/A N/A7.000% Semi - An 25/04/12 N/A N/A N/A N/A

6M Kibor + 1% N/A N/A N/A N/A6M Kibor + 1.5% Semi - An 24/11/13 N/A N/A N/A N/A

7.000% N/A N/A N/A N/AGlobal Investment House (US Dollar) 6M Kibor + 1.5% Semi - An 24/11/13 N/A N/A N/A N/A

5.000% N/A N/A N/A N/AUnited Industries Co. 6.500% Quarterly 28/12/09 99.285 98.814 8.000% 9.000%

3MKib +2/25% Quarterly 100.00 95.000 — —Kuwait Finance & Investment Co. CBK + 1.5% Semi - An 01/03/10 100.000 95.000 — —International Finance Co. CBK + 1.75% Semi - An 25/05/10 100.000 95.000 — —

7.375% 99.825 99.174 7.500% 8.000%Al Ahlia Holding Co. CBK + 1.625% Semi - An 01/12/10 100.000 95.000 — —

7.250% 99.001 97.703 8.000% 9.000%Housing Finance Co. 6.750% Semi - An 20/07/10 98.752 97.774 8.000% 9.000%

CBK + 1.75% 100.000 99.500KAMCO 7.500% Quarterly 20/07/10 99.093 97.310 8.000% 9.000%

CBK + 2.25% 100.000 99.500* Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) Current Discount Rate = 3.00%

Technical Tips of the WeekCompany Name Reuters Code Recommendation Closing Support Resistance Medium-Term Investment Long-Term Investment

Date of Medium Term Price Level Level Buy Stop loss Gain Buy Stop Loss GainRecommendation Long Term (KD) Above below above below

Automated Systems <ASCK.KW> Hold 0.280 0.255 0.300 0.280 0.250 12.00% 0.300 0.300Co. July 19, 09 Watch to buy

ALARCO Aviation <ALAF.KW> Hold 0.204 0.195 0.210 0.204 0.200 2.00% 0.204 0.180 13.33%Leasing & Finance July 20, 09 Hold

Natiional Cleaning Co. <CLEA.KW> Watch to buy 0.146 0.134 0.158 0.158 0.158 0.230 0.230July 21, 09 Watch to buy

Al-Noor Financial <NOOR.KW> Hold 0.118 0.110 0.142 0.118 0.105 12.38% 0.168 0.168Investment Co. July 22, 09 Watch to buy

Al-Aman Investment <AMAN.KW> Watch to buy 0.104 0.100 0.108 0.108 0.108 0.148 0.148Company July 16, 09 Watch to buy

Global Index of KSE PerformanceSector Week Week Chng Month Year

Close Open % TD% TD%General Index ▲ 209.23 205.88 1.63% -3.90% 1.36%Banking Index ▲ 273.98 273.11 0.32% -6.32% -9.96%Investment Index ▲ 146.04 142.26 2.65% -6.92% -16.21%Insurance Index ▲ 49.99 49.52 0.95% -1.78% -16.55%Real Estate Index ▼ 71.38 71.43 -0.07% -7.85% -4.48%Industrial Index ▲ 202.93 200.80 1.06% -7.57% 7.31%Services Index ▲ 1061.23 1021.39 3.90% 3.16% 29.57%Food Index ▼ 336.44 338.03 -0.47% -8.28% 12.55%Kuwait Only Index ▲ 216.28 212.45 1.80% -3.65% 1.77%Non-Kuwaiti Index ▲ 62.55 62.46 0.14% -5.98% -1.72%Large Cap (Top 10) ▲ 200.00 195.30 2.40% -0.89% 4.32%Small Cap (Low 10) ▲ 4849.59 4,624.7 4.86% 1.89% 54.74%High Yield Index ▲ 168.81 164.95 2.34% -2.44% -14.43%Islamic Index ▲ 661.10 659.94 0.18% -6.90% -4.15%

GCC & MENA region stock markets performanceWeekly Performance of Regional Markets

Country Indices Index Level Net Change* % Change YTD %Kuwait (KSE) 7,675.00 94.70 1.25 -1.38Global General (Kw) 209.23 3.35 1.63 1.36Saudi Arabia - New Index 5,670.52 38.74 0.69 18.06Dubai 1,739.94 2.76 0.16 6.33Abu Dhabi 2,710.30 33.22 1.24 13.40Oman 5,799.67 262.44 4.74 6.59Bahrain All share 1,490.31 -6.45 -0.43 -17.39Global Bahraini Stocks 119.41 -0.50 -0.42 -16.06Qatar 6,512.57 127.32 1.99 -5.42Global Qatari General 492.23 9.01 1.86 -4.60* Calculated from Thursday to Thursday

Sectors Ranked by Value TradedSector Value Traded (KD) % of Total

Value TradedServices 191,289,550 51.34Banking 93,669,140 25.14Investment 37,954,090 10.19Industrial 17,645,710 4.74Real Estate 17,272,270 4.64Non Kuwaiti 10,769,350 2.89Food 3,980,250 1.07Insurance 19,800 0.01

Sectors Ranked by Volume TradedSector Volume Traded % of Total

Volume TradedServices 365,807,500 30.59Investment 362,315,000 30.29Real Estate 190,545,000 15.93Banking 134,832,500 11.27Non Kuwaiti 69,240,000 5.79Industrial 54,465,000 4.55Food 18,747,500 1.57Insurance 60,000 0.01

Global’s Local (Kuwaiti) FundsPerformance %

Fund NAV (KD) Weekly YTD 2009 Sinceinception

Large Cap Index Fund 1.2767 2.460% 6.164% 283.002%Local Fund 1.9230 1.692% 5.601% 92.300%Money Market Fund* 1.4882 3.194% -6.071% 4.786%Bond Fund* 1.0594 3.488% -1.131% -13.263%Islamic Fund* ! 1.2924 -0.264% 1.051% 4.453%Al-Durrah Islamic Fund 1.2715 0.319% -9.689% 27.155%Mamoun Fund 0.557 1.967% 5.996% 89.058%* Annualized ! last week performance

Top Five GainersCompany Close % Chg VolumeOsoul Investment Company 0.0810 30.65% 21,360,000Hayat Communications Co. 0.3300 15.79% 27,390,000Automated Systems Co. 0.2900 13.73% 40,000Independent Petroleum Group 0.4400 11.39% 220,000Ras Al-Khaimah (White Cement) 0.0820 10.81% 20,040,000

Top Five LosersCompany Close % Chg VolumeNational International Co. (Holding) 0.1580 -11.24% 80,000Alargan International Real Estate Co. 0.1440 -10.00% 3,300,000First Investment Company 0.1800 -9.09% 3,080,000Boubyan Bank 0.5200 -8.77% 66,045,000Kuwait Cement Co. 0.5100 -7.27% 610,000

Top Ten Stocks by VolumeZain 1.2600 5.00% 120,685,000Boubyan Bank 0.5200 -8.77% 66,045,000Investors Holding Group Co. 0.0560 0.00% 46,280,000Al-Safwa Holding Group 0.0670 -2.90% 40,320,000Grand Real Estate Projects 0.0660 3.13% 40,280,000Al-Madina for Finance & Investment Co. 0.0940 2.17% 38,960,000Al-Safat Energy Holding Company 0.1040 7.22% 36,780,000Al-Safat Investment Co. 0.1500 -2.60% 36,520,000International Investment Group 0.0680 6.25% 35,800,000Ekttitab Holding Company 0.0630 3.28% 34,560,000

Market BreadthAdvancers 82Decliners 51Unchanged 70Untraded 39Total 203

KSE Trading ActivityLast Week This Week % Change

Market Volume Traded (shares) 1989,217,500 1,196,012,500 -36.99%Market Value Traded (KD) 453,269,110 372,600,160 -17.80%Market Capitalization (KD) 33,411,235,110 33,955,541,913 1.63%No. of Transactions 41,066 26,812 -34.71%* Funds are excluded from the figures above

Kuwait Export Crude Oil Price (US$/b)Day Date PriceThursday Jun 18, 09 70.59Friday Jun 19, 09 68.05Monday Jun 22, 09 68.67Tuesday Jun 23, 09 66.42Record High July-08 135

Highest FluctuationCompany Close High Low %Chg. TotalOsoul Investment Company 0 81 67 20.90% 21,360,000Hayat Communications Co. 0 330 280 17.86% 27,390,000National International Co. (Holding) 0 178 158 12.66% 80,000Livestock Transport & Trading Co. 0 365 325 12.31% 940,000Kuwait Financing & Investment Co. 0 132 118 11.86% 2,280,000

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

39BUSINESS

Global Investment Company Name Reuters RIC Closing Week to No of Weekly Market Weekly EPS P/E! Book P/BV Net Profit Dividend

Price Date Shares Volume Cap Shares Fils# Value March 2009 Yield %KD %(change) ’000 ’000 shares KD ’000 Turnover% Fils# KD ’000

BANKINGNational Bank of Kuwait NBKK.KW 1.200 0.00% 2,973,497 13,363 3,568,197 0.45 85.46 14.04 513.52 2.34 63,525 3.75The Gulf Bank GBKK.KW 0.315 -1.56% 2,507,702 6,900 789,926 0.28 2.54 123.97 168.78 1.87 1,593 -Commercial Bank of Kuwait CBKK.KW 1.000 0.00% 1,272,022 9,778 1,272,022 0.77 9.87 101.31 354.29 2.82 3,139 4.00Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait ABKK.KW 0.510 5.15% 1,163,925 745 593,602 0.06 51.95 9.82 260.18 1.96 15,116 3.92Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East BKME.KW 0.490 0.00% 975,659 100 478,073 0.01 41.90 11.69 223.16 2.20 10,220 6.12Kuwait International Bank KIBK.KW 0.228 -0.87% 1,037,327 7,060 236,510 0.68 156.79 1.45 -2,204 -Burgan Bank BURG.KW 0.375 8.70% 1,041,331 9,540 390,499 0.92 43.58 8.61 315.92 1.19 11,345 -Kuwait Finance House KFIN.KW 1.140 1.79% 2,305,419 21,303 2,628,178 0.92 68.18 16.72 510.75 2.23 39,294 3.51Boubyan Bank BOUK.KW 0.520 -8.77% 1,166,000 66,045 606,320 5.66 106.67 4.87 -11,699 -Sector Total/ Weighted Average 14,442,883 134,833 10,563,327 0.93 13.73 326.45 2.24 130,329 2.80INVESTMENTKuwait Investment Co. KINV.KW 0.152 2.70% 551,250 280 83,790 0.05 20.46 7.43 221.05 0.69 2,819 -Commercial Facilities Co. FACI.KW 0.285 1.79% 536,764 2,250 152,978 0.42 236.85 1.20 -3,822 7.02International Financial Advisors (IFA) IFIN.KW 0.138 4.55% 720,000 13,620 99,360 1.89 215.30 0.64 -5,861 -National Investment Company NINV.KW 0.265 3.92% 876,213 4,400 232,197 0.50 234.36 1.13 -3,856 -Kuwait Investment Projects Co. (Holding) KPRO.KW 0.570 7.55% 1,154,583 7,825 658,112 0.68 31.96 17.83 448.96 1.27 9,226 7.02Al-Ahlia Holding Co. AINV.KW 0.053 -3.64% 828,158 7,600 43,892 0.92 121.36 0.44 -5,956 -The Coast Development Investment COAS.KW 0.118 1.72% 625,293 8,100 73,785 1.30 81.24 1.45 -12,817 -The International Investor Co. TIIK.KW 0.055 0.00% 492,222 6,840 27,072 1.39 61.30 0.90 -2,138 -The Securities House Co. SECH.KW 0.164 2.50% 680,000 200 111,520 0.03 120.96 1.36 -6,461 -Industrial & Financial Investments Co. IICK.KW 0.074 5.71% 459,967 2,160 34,038 0.47 108.21 0.68 -2,005 -Securities Group Co. (Year end March) ^^ SGCK.KW 0.260 0.00% 255,284 - 66,374 - 294.00 0.88 -9,908 7.69International Finance Co. IMCK.KW 0.295 0.00% 465,716 - 137,386 - 173.32 1.70 -1,476 -Kuwait Financial Center (MARKAZ) MARKZ.KW 0.118 0.00% 506,000 8,940 59,708 1.77 143.57 0.82 -3,365 -Kuwait & Middle East Financial Investment Co. KMEF.KW 0.124 8.77% 263,815 60 32,713 0.02 1.56 79.43 208.30 0.60 103 -International Investment Group IIGK.KW 0.068 6.25% 456,704 35,800 31,056 7.84 123.49 0.55 -8,079 -Aref Investment Group Co. AIGK.KW 0.212 6.00% 1,061,291 1,080 224,994 0.10 286.29 0.74 -17,550 -The Investment Dar TIDK.KW 0.074 0.00% 954,151 - 70,607 -Al-Aman Investment Co. AMAN.KW 0.104 0.00% 486,315 11,160 50,577 2.29 83.47 1.25 -5,668 -First Investment Co. OLAK.KW 0.180 -9.09% 651,071 3,080 117,193 0.47 184.45 0.98 -3,203 -Al-Mal Investment Co. MALK.KW 0.112 0.00% 528,281 13,160 59,168 2.49 137.38 0.82 -961 -Gulf Investment House GIHK.KW 0.110 1.85% 442,191 340 48,641 0.08 138.20 0.80 -2,417 -A’ayan Leasing & Investment Co. AAYA.KW 0.114 -3.39% 638,820 1,020 72,825 0.16 137.57 0.83 -12,553 -Bayan Investment Company BAYK.KW 0.140 7.69% 392,664 4,680 54,973 1.19 108.84 1.29 -6,324 7.14Global Investment House GLOB.KW 0.126 6.78% 1,312,427 11,320 165,366 0.86 184.35 0.68 -69,518 -Osoul Investment Company OSUL.KW 0.081 30.65% 348,040 21,360 28,191 6.14 65.46 1.24 -653 -Gulfinvest International GVES.KW 0.074 -6.33% 185,000 3,280 13,690 1.77 70.27 1.05 -3,641 -Kuwait Finance & Investment Co. KFSK.KW 0.128 4.92% 637,351 2,280 81,581 0.36 45.88 2.79 -6,090 -KIPCO Asset Management Financial Services (KAMCO) KAMC.KW 0.480 0.00% 263,302 - 126,385 - 3.83 125.40 350.37 1.37 252 -International Leasing & Investment ILIC.KW 0.094 0.00% 313,051 - 29,427 -Kuwait Invest Holding Co. KTIN.KW 0.238 2.59% 327,159 20 77,864 0.01 142.00 1.68 -3,685 -National International Holding Co. NIHK.KW 0.158 -11.24% 212,625 80 33,595 0.04 238.77 0.66 -1,927 -Housing Finance Co. (Iskan) ISKN.KW 0.172 -5.49% 297,759 240 51,215 0.08 95.78 1.80 -6,696 -Al Madar Finance & Investment Co. MADR.KW 0.093 -6.06% 367,356 840 34,164 0.23 142.53 0.65 -3,970 -Al Deera Holding Co. DEER.KW 0.094 2.17% 744,456 2,640 69,979 0.35 133.66 0.70 -5,691 -Al Safat Investment Co. SAFT.KW 0.150 -2.60% 772,983 36,520 115,948 4.72 162.87 0.92 -1,959 -Al Salam Group Holding Co. BGRP.KW 0.140 -1.41% 240,000 11,300 33,600 4.71 1.92 73.04 31.21 4.49 115 -Ekttitab Holding Co. KADH.KW 0.063 3.28% 517,000 34,560 32,571 6.68 85.40 0.74 -2,475 -Al Qurain Holding Co. QURK.KW 0.049 -2.02% 592,970 31,800 28,759 5.36 58.35 0.83 -3,433 -Sokouk Holding Co. SHCK.KW 0.063 6.78% 1,000,000 27,480 63,000 2.75 7.00 9.01 121.23 0.52 1,749 -Al-Madina For Finance & Investment Co. MADI.KW 0.094 2.17% 377,809 38,960 35,514 10.31 196.05 0.48 -1,634 -Noor Investment Co. NOOR.KW 0.118 7.27% 750,000 4,560 88,500 0.61 118.02 1.00 -16,858 -Tamdeen Investment Co. TAMI.KW 0.136 -4.23% 311,850 180 42,412 0.06 26.89 5.06 208.31 0.65 2,097 -Kuwait Bahrain International Exchange Co. EXCH.KW 0.214 8.08% 46,200 60 9,887 0.13 17.96 11.91 130.26 1.64 207 4.67Damac Kuwaiti Holding Co. DAMK.KW 0.053 3.92% 180,000 40 9,540 0.02 42.03 1.26 -5,737 -Kuwait Syrian Holding Co. KSCH.KW 0.076 -1.30% 300,000 240 22,800 0.08 105.84 0.72 -325 -Strategia Investment Company STRAT.KW 0.056 1.82% 175,770 1,960 9,843 1.12 47.27 1.18 -1,037 -Sector Total/ Weighted Average 24,299,862 362,315 3,746,786 1.49 13.31 165.14 0.96 -233,182 1.51INSURANCEKuwait Insurance Co. KINS.KW 0.340 0.00% 194,040 - 65,974 - 176.31 1.93 -5,952 8.82Gulf Insurance Co. GINS.KW 0.500 1.01% 169,650 5 84,825 0.00 53.92 9.27 404.25 1.24 2,287 10.00Al-Ahlia Insurance Co. AINS.KW 0.520 4.00% 156,283 15 81,267 0.01 69.71 7.46 386.77 1.34 2,724 -Warba Insurance Co. WINS.KW 0.250 0.00% 172,789 - 43,197 - 34.75 7.19 241.90 1.03 1,501 2.00Kuwait Re-Insurance Co. KWRE.KW 0.240 -2.44% 104,534 40 25,088 0.04 336.23 0.71 -190 6.251st Takaful Insurance FTIK.KW 0.450 0.00% 100,000 - 45,000 - 1.91 235.74 110.90 4.06 48 -Wethaq Takaful Insurance WETH.KW 0.098 0.00% 110,250 - 10,805 - 150.15 0.65 -100 -Sector Total/ Weighted Average 1,007,546 60 356,156 0.01 8.03 266.64 1.33 318 4.61REAL -ESTATEKuwait Real Estate Co. KREK.KW 0.090 5.88% 906,713 13,080 81,604 1.44 5.22 17.25 149.70 0.60 1,183 -United Real Estate Company UREK.KW 0.084 0.00% 787,974 12,640 66,190 1.60 175.42 0.48 -3,786 -National Real Estate Co. NREK.KW 0.295 0.00% 814,195 8,750 240,188 1.07 28.20 10.46 273.81 1.08 5,739 -Salhia Real Estate Co. SREK.KW 0.196 2.08% 399,221 140 78,247 0.04 1.65 118.71 271.90 0.72 165 -Pearl of Kuwait Real Estate Co. PEAR.KW 0.234 0.00% 251,651 - 58,886 -Tamdeen Real Estate Co. TAMK.KW 0.280 3.70% 373,120 520 104,474 0.14 11.78 23.77 256.43 1.09 1,099 5.36Ajial Real Estate & Entertainment Co. AREC.KW 0.202 0.00% 176,400 - 35,633 - 354.30 0.57 -4,537 -Al- Massaleh Real Estate MREC.KW 0.087 6.10% 235,654 40 20,502 0.02 163.09 0.53 -430 -Arab Real Estate Co. ARAB.KW 0.060 3.45% 485,567 6,560 29,134 1.35 0.66 90.55 135.08 0.44 80 -Union Real Estate Co. UREC.KW 0.102 0.00% 201,014 - 20,503 - 5.51 18.52 134.20 0.76 277 4.90Al-Enma’a Real Estate Co. (Year end Oct.) ** ENMA.KW 0.114 -1.72% 450,535 3,100 51,361 0.69 4.46 25.56 137.67 0.83 1,005 4.39Mabanee Company MABK.KW 0.680 -2.86% 459,195 2,375 312,253 0.52 41.60 16.34 231.55 2.94 4,776 -Inazzat Real Estate Development Co. INJA.KW 0.210 0.00% 345,649 1,160 72,586 0.34 15.89 13.22 221.81 0.95 1,373 11.90Jeezan Holding Co. JEZK.KW 0.083 1.22% 271,071 9,760 22,499 3.60 92.90 0.89 -84 -Investors Holding Group Company INVK.KW 0.056 0.00% 1,070,000 46,280 59,920 4.33 1.06 52.63 87.92 0.64 285 -International Resorts Company IRCK.KW 0.069 6.15% 154,482 11,000 10,659 7.12 139.39 0.50 -132 -The Commercial Real Estate Company TIJK.KW 0.130 1.56% 1,714,779 2,120 222,921 0.12 16.72 7.77 137.83 0.94 7,169 -Sanam Real Estate Company SANK.KW 0.128 0.00% 122,185 20 15,640 0.02 160.77 0.80 -224 -Aa’yan Real Estate Co. AYRE.KW 0.118 1.72% 359,047 200 42,368 0.06 17.11 6.90 191.21 0.62 1,536 8.47Aqar Real Estate Investment Co. AQAR.KW 0.110 0.00% 234,250 - 25,768 - 0.59 187.37 105.99 1.04 34 -Kuwait Real Estate Holding Company ALAQ.KW 0.059 -1.67% 315,000 1,400 18,585 0.44 114.66 0.51 -415 -Al Mazaya Holding Co. MAZA.KW 0.210 -1.87% 499,477 220 104,890 0.04 40.45 5.19 259.20 0.81 5,051 -Al Dar National Real Estate Company ADNC.KW 0.051 0.00% 420,000 3,680 21,420 0.88 57.61 0.89 -5,144 -Al Themar International Holding Co. (Year end March) ^^ THMR.KW 0.108 -3.57% 1,012,500 260 109,350 0.03 0.28 379.46 89.49 1.21 288 -Grand Real Estate Projects Co. GRND.KW 0.066 3.13% 454,800 40,280 30,017 8.86 2.14 30.80 140.02 0.47 244 -Tijara Real Estate Investment Company TIJA.KW 0.067 -1.47% 384,463 280 25,759 0.07 123.66 0.54 -835 -Al Tameer Real Estate Investment Co. AMAR.KW 0.053 0.00% 240,000 80 12,720 0.03 125.48 0.42 -600 -Arkan Al-Kuwait Real Estate Co. (Year end Oct.) ** ARKK.KW 0.072 4.35% 221,165 160 15,924 0.07 1.18 60.81 127.85 0.56 131 -Safat Global Holding Co. SAFA.KW 0.049 0.00% 30,000 - 1,455 -Alargan International Real Estate Co. ARGK.KW 0.144 -10.00% 265,000 3,300 38,160 1.25 12.23 11.77 211.69 0.68 811 -Abyaar Real Estate Development Co. ABYR.KW 0.089 0.00% 1,067,275 8,960 94,987 0.84 12.35 7.21 92.24 0.96 3,296 -Munshaat Real Estate Projects Co. MUNS.KW 0.120 0.00% 322,000 1,940 38,640 0.60 7.08 16.96 325.08 0.37 570 -First Dubai For Real Estate Development Co. FIRST.KW 0.084 0.00% 948,359 5,160 79,662 0.54 29.72 2.83 93.58 0.90 7,047 -Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Co. KBTK.KW 0.071 4.41% 546,000 920 38,766 0.17 2.73 25.96 113.27 0.63 373 -Manazel Holding Co. MANK.KW 0.055 -1.79% 715,000 6,160 39,325 0.86 87.96 0.63 -1,136 -Sector Total/ Weighted Average 17,253,743 190,545 2,240,996 1.10 8.93 151.71 0.86 25,207 0.83INDUSTRIALNational Industries Group (Holding) NIND.KW 0.440 4.76% 1,295,098 26,930 569,843 2.08 240.19 1.83 -36,610 -Kuwait Pipes Industries & Oil Services PIPE.KW 0.174 10.13% 225,331 2,060 39,208 0.91 130.46 1.33 -7,021 -Kuwait Cement Co. KCEM.KW 0.510 -7.27% 578,372 610 294,970 0.11 170.39 2.99 -8,939 1.96Refrigeration Industries & Warehousing REFR.KW 0.265 3.92% 85,141 10 22,562 0.01 250.13 1.06 -192 -Gulf Cables & Electrical Industries Co. CABL.KW 1.280 1.59% 209,931 155 268,712 0.07 121.29 10.55 604.45 2.12 6,365 5.47Heavy Engineering Ind. & Shipbuilding Co. SHIP.KW 0.410 -2.38% 148,622 190 60,935 0.13 27.05 15.16 122.17 3.36 1,005 -Contracting & Marine Services Co. MARI.KW 0.350 0.00% 179,966 - 62,988 - 27.22 12.86 210.29 1.66 1,225 -Kuwait Portland Cement Co. PCEM.KW 0.590 1.72% 82,640 140 48,758 0.17 118.51 4.98 515.18 1.15 2,449 4.24Shuaiba Industrial Co. PAPE.KW 0.208 -6.31% 55,668 180 11,579 0.32 20.31 10.24 219.96 0.95 283 4.81Metal & Recycling Co. MRCK.KW 0.152 1.33% 82,557 1,700 12,549 2.06 3.26 46.69 302.47 0.50 67 -Kuwait Foundry Co. KFDC.KW 0.920 0.00% 110,110 - 101,301 - 20.24 45.46 393.47 2.34 557 -ACICO industries Co. ACIC.KW 0.460 1.10% 214,913 120 98,860 0.06 39.94 11.52 348.70 1.32 2,146 1.09United Industries Co. UICK.KW 0.087 -1.14% 247,734 2,720 21,553 1.10 286.48 0.30 -201 -Boubyan Petrochemical Co. (Year end April) ^^ BPCC.KW 0.420 0.00% 485,100 4,190 203,742 0.86 41.92 10.02 462.95 0.91 20,335 5.95Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co. GGMC.KW 0.660 0.00% 38,378 - 25,329 - 91.68 7.20 263.72 2.50 880 3.03Hilal Cement Company HCCK.KW 0.246 -3.53% 63,525 60 15,627 0.09 238.13 1.03 -599 -Al Kout Industrial Projects Co. ALKK.KW 0.350 0.00% 88,200 - 30,870 - 35.71 9.80 202.98 1.72 787 -Kuwait Packing Materials Manufacturing Co. KPAK.KW 0.600 0.00% 42,276 - 25,366 - 38.07 15.76 208.89 2.87 402 4.17Kuwait Building Material Manufacturing Company KBMM.KW 0.310 0.00% 26,250 - 8,138 - 37.31 8.31 167.81 1.85 245 4.84National Industries Company NIBM.KW 0.295 0.00% 346,200 - 102,129 - 184.64 1.60 -6,811 -Gulf Rocks Company ROCK.KW 0.265 -1.85% 83,102 20 22,022 0.02 16.97 15.62 248.28 1.07 352 5.66Equipment Holding Co. EQUI.KW 0.089 0.00% 136,400 9,560 12,140 7.01 92.51 0.96 -656 -Mena Holding Group GHGK.KW 0.430 6.17% 600,000 3,780 258,000 0.63 3.34 128.63 108.10 3.98 501 -National Company For Consumer Industries Co. NCCI.KW 0.102 0.00% 90,000 - 9,180 - 1.69 60.36 106.29 0.96 38 -Kuwait Gypsum Manufacturing & Trading Co. GYPK.KW 0.130 0.00% 30,000 - 3,900 - 16.80 7.74 145.17 0.90 126 11.54Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company ALQA.KW 0.174 1.16% 1,100,000 1,380 191,400 0.13 31.96 5.44 135.89 1.28 8,789 -Salbookh Trading Company SALB.KW 0.106 1.92% 204,750 60 21,704 0.03 144.96 0.73 -839 -Ikarus Petroleum Industries Co. AKAR.KW 0.114 0.00% 750,000 600 85,500 0.08 86.79 1.31 -4,437 -Sector Total/ Weighted Average 7,600,264 54,465 2,628,863 0.72 9.56 215.59 1.63 -19,753 1.01SERVICESKuwait National Cinema KCIN.KW 0.750 -3.85% 101,063 5 75,797 0.00 22.81 32.88 400.94 1.87 576 5.33Kuwait Hotels Co. KHOT.KW 0.260 0.00% 55,000 - 14,300 - 53.55 4.85 162.25 1.60 736 2.69The Public Warehousing Co. (AGILITY) AGLT.KW 1.140 9.62% 1,046,837 17,285 1,193,394 1.65 141.19 8.07 771.41 1.48 36,952 -Kuwait Commercial Markets Complex Co. SHOP.KW 0.148 -1.33% 270,037 320 39,965 0.12 234.06 0.63 -708 -Mobile Telecommunications Co. (ZAIN) ZAIN.KW 1.260 5.00% 4,280,307 120,685 5,393,186 2.82 70.77 17.80 498.02 2.53 75,728 3.97Safat Energy Company SENE.KW 0.104 7.22% 603,045 36,780 62,717 6.10 101.74 1.02 -467 -Educational Holding Group (Year end Aug.) ** EDUK.KW 0.106 0.00% 245,303 20 26,002 0.01 162.63 0.65 -12,395 -Independent Petroleum Group Co. IPGK.KW 0.440 11.39% 152,250 220 66,990 0.14 38.94 11.30 353.45 1.24 1,482 6.82National Cleaning Co. CLEA.KW 0.146 -5.19% 96,231 8,240 14,050 8.56 195.25 0.75 -402 -Sultan Center Food Products Co. SCFK.KW 0.255 7.14% 578,829 2,250 147,601 0.39 15.19 16.79 187.13 1.36 2,198 -Arabi Holding Group Company AGHC.KW 0.095 -6.86% 135,828 120 12,904 0.09 3.12 30.44 145.44 0.65 106 -The Transport & Warehousing Group Co. TTGC.KW 0.700 1.45% 98,268 20 68,787 0.02 137.66 5.09 292.56 2.39 3,382 4.29National Mobile Telecommunications Co. (NMTC) NMTC.KW 1.700 0.00% 504,033 235 856,856 0.05 121.47 14.00 689.03 2.47 15,306 2.94Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport Co. KGLK.KW 0.144 -4.00% 264,273 10,940 38,055 4.14 19.40 7.42 265.79 0.54 1,282 -Kuwait Cable Vision Co. KWTV.KW 0.084 9.09% 95,595 1,280 8,030 1.34 30.18 2.78 -382 -Automated Systems Co. ASCK.KW 0.290 13.73% 40,040 40 11,612 0.10 44.40 6.53 236.46 1.23 444 -National Petroleum Services Company (NAPESCO) NAPS.KW 0.340 0.00% 54,866 - 18,655 - 18.34 18.54 184.45 1.84 252 -Kw Co. for Process Plant Construction & Contra. KCPC.KW 0.255 0.00% 52,073 - 13,279 - 49.32 5.17 207.79 1.23 642 1.96Kuwait Slaughter House KSHK.KW 0.375 0.00% 31,050 - 11,644 - 14.31 26.21 119.77 3.13 111 -Eyas Higher & Technical Education (Year end Aug.) “ EYAS.KW 0.280 1.82% 110,000 20 30,800 0.02 155.44 1.80 -429 -Hits Telecom Holding HITS.KW 0.124 3.33% 950,000 26,940 117,800 2.84 0.81 152.22 108.29 1.15 193 -Al-Safwa Group Holding SAFK.KW 0.067 -2.90% 1,300,000 40,320 87,100 3.10 43.72 1.53 -2,509 -HumanSoft Holding Co. HUMN.KW 0.210 0.00% 114,240 - 23,990 - 0.45 462.99 153.04 1.37 13 -Privatization Holding Company KPPC.KW 0.108 3.85% 793,800 7,420 85,730 0.93 130.62 0.83 -2,628 -Nafais Holding Company (Year end June) “ IPEK.KW 0.116 9.43% 623,370 40 72,311 0.01 100.59 1.15 -19,771 -National Slaughter Houses Co. NSHK.KW 0.194 0.00% 28,880 - 5,603 - 3.31 59 104.57 1.86 24 -Aref Energy Holding Co. AREF.KW 0.265 0.00% 750,000 540 198,750 0.07 1.98 133.98 98.53 2.69 371 -Safwan Trading & Contacting Co. SAFW.KW 0.228 5.56% 50,000 140 11,400 0.28 26.86 8.49 170.54 1.34 336 8.77Gulf Petroleum Investment GPIK.KW 0.076 1.33% 161,040 2,520 12,239 1.56 194.08 0.39 -1,569 -Gulf Franchising Holding Co. GFCI.KW 0.057 0.00% 118,650 600 6,763 0.51 87.59 0.65 -1,527 -Credit Rating & Collection Co. TAHS.KW 0.420 0.00% 165,000 - 69,300 - 0.61 686.98 141.04 2.98 25 -National Ranges Company MAYA.KW 0.055 3.77% 1,000,000 22,160 55,000 2.22 3.58 15.34 70.93 0.78 896 -Burgan for Well Deilling Co. (Year end March) ^^ ABAR.KW 0.620 5.08% 179,400 80 111,228 0.04 38.24 16.21 255.92 2.42 6,861 1.21IFA Hotels & Resorts Co. (Year end June) “ IFAH.KW 0.750 -6.25% 412,620 100 309,465 0.02 98.75 7.59 255.32 2.94 30,561 -Combind Group Contracting Co. CGCK.KW 1.200 -3.23% 79,860 153 95,832 0.19 137.20 8.75 332.38 3.61 2,739 5.00Jeeran Holding Co. (Year End February) JEER.KW 0.144 0.00% 143,000 - 20,592 - 19.52 7.38 177.99 0.81 698 -Palms Agro Production Co. PAPK.KW 0.120 7.14% 102,399 3,500 12,288 3.42 17.47 6.87 121.76 0.99 447 4.17Al-Safat TEC Holding Co. SAFH.KW 0.068 -1.45% 400,000 19,240 27,200 4.81 0.46 148.13 102.03 0.67 46 -Mushrif Trading & Contracting Co. MTCC.KW 0.182 1.11% 200,000 20 36,400 0.01 18.97 9.59 121.89 1.49 949 -United Projects Company For Aviation Services. UPAC.KW 0.230 -4.17% 82,500 160 18,975 0.19 63.49 3.62 346.86 0.66 1,309 6.52Al-Abraj Holding Co. (Year end October) * ABRAJ.KW 0.072 0.00% 350,000 - 25,200 - 79.64 0.90 -2,087 -Alafco Aviation Lease & Finance Co. (Year end Sep.) “ ALAF.KW 0.204 3.03% 687,629 7,540 140,276 1.10 16.11 12.66 134.51 1.52 8,311 2.45Al-Muwasat Holding Co. MHCK.KW 0.180 0.00% 96,800 - 17,424 - 8.32 21.63 150.87 1.19 201 -Haj & Umrah Services Consortium (Mashaer) MASK.KW 0.238 2.59% 160,205 300 38,129 0.19 20.78 11.45 405.37 0.59 832 -Oula Fuel Marketing Co. OULA.KW 0.290 5.45% 299,727 60 86,921 0.02 10.49 27.65 122.11 2.37 786 3.45Villa Moda Life Style Co. VILK.KW 0.188 0.00% 67,500 - 12,690 -Future Communications Co. Global FUTK.KW 0.340 7.94% 77,175 60 26,240 0.08 31.73 10.71 156.24 2.18 612 7.35Network Holding Co. ^^ VEND.KW 0.045 0.00% 150,000 - 6,750 - 123.09 0.37 -28,584 -Hayat Communications Co. HAYAK.KW 0.330 15.79% 60,000 27,390 19,800 45.65 138.43 2.38 -122 3.94Mubarrad Transport Company MBRD.KW 0.096 -2.04% 167,879 320 16,116 0.19 166.94 0.58 -593 10.42Kuwait Resorts Company MUNK.KW 0.095 2.15% 187,110 80 17,775 0.04 111.00 0.86 -949 -Advanced Technology Co. ATCK.KW 0.620 0.00% 100,000 25 62,000 0.03 36.03 17.21 240.50 2.58 901 3.87Yiaco Medical Co. YIAC.KW 0.178 0.00% 165,000 2,740 29,370 1.66 43.17 4.12 148.09 1.20 1,781 -Al Jazeera Airways Co. JAZK.KW 0.220 -5.98% 220,000 2,400 48,400 1.09 130.65 1.68 -982 -Soor Fuel Marketing Co. SOOR.KW 0.285 3.64% 299,830 440 85,452 0.15 6.99 40.77 113.36 2.51 524 3.51Kuwait National Airways Company. KNAK.KW 0.138 -1.43% 500,000 2,060 69,000 0.41 93.74 1.47 -2,714 -Future Kid Entertainement and Real Estate Co. KIDK.KW 0.104 0.00% 107,500 - 11,180 - 165.47 0.63 -163 -Sector Total/ Weighted Average 20,166,041 365,807.5 10,195,312 1.81 13.40 260.22 1.95 119,633 2.41FOODSLivestock Transport & Trading Co. CATT.KW 0.365 10.61% 216,508 940 79,025 0.43 77.52 4.71 231.02 1.58 4,196 -Danah Al-Safat Foodstuff Co. DANK.KW 0.152 -1.30% 288,750 15,440 43,890 5.35 140.37 1.08 -420 -Kuwait United Poultry Co. POUL.KW 0.108 0.00% 115,404 20 12,464 0.02 91.91 1.18 -34 -Kuwait Food Company (Americana) FOOD.KW 1.260 -1.56% 402,002 338 506,523 0.08 32.14 39.20 540.20 2.33 3,230 5.95United Foodstuff Industrial Group UFIG.KW 0.440 0.00% 33,351 2,000 14,674 6.00 18.63 23.62 170.43 2.58 155 2.27Kout Food Group KOUT.KW 0.400 -6.98% 73,170 10 29,268 0.01 4.36 91.77 275.80 1.45 80 6.25Sector Total/ Weighted Average 1,129,184 18,748 685,844 1.66 19.79 304.80 1.99 7,206 4.54NON KUWAITI CO.Sharjah Cement & Industrial Development Co. SCEM.KW 0.182 4.60% 502,689 4,520 91,489 0.90 32.70 5.57 210.79 0.86 4,110 13.74Gulf Cement Co. GCEM.KW 0.160 0.00% 821,097 1,140 131,376 0.14 138.53 1.15 -930 9.38Umm Al-Qaiwain Cement Industries Co. QCEM.KW 0.073 4.29% 363,000 9,480 26,499 2.61 164.15 0.44 -1,360 -Fujairah Cement Industries Co. FCEM.KW 0.275 -3.51% 355,865 860 97,863 0.24 44.13 6.23 214.08 1.28 3,926 3.64Ras Al-Khaimah Co. for White Cement & Construction Materials RKWC.KW 0.082 10.81% 466,856 20,040 38,282 4.29 8.92 9.19 130.94 0.63 1,041 -Arab Insurance Group (ARIG) ARIG.KW 0.148 0.00% 220,000 - 32,560 - 7.89 18.76 318.84 0.46 434 -United Gulf Bank UGBK.KW 0.410 6.49% 800,000 270 328,000 0.03 13.52 30.32 183.53 2.23 2,704 18.05Egypt Kuwait Holding Co. EKHK.KW 0.510 2.00% 762,995 140 389,128 0.02 45.80 11.13 207.96 2.45 8,737 2.45Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Co. BKIK.KW 0.455 0.00% 60,638 - 27,590 - 78.87 5.77 279.66 1.63 1,196 8.79Gulf Finance House GFHK.KW 0.216 -3.57% 955,682 27,760 206,427 2.90 269.79 0.80 -11,094 9.26Commercial International Bank CIBK.KW 3.100 0.00% 292,500 - 906,750 - 322.12 9.62 1,007.48 3.08 23,555 0.32Inovest Company TAMR.KW 0.224 -2.61% 267,768 3,840 59,980 1.43 47.18 4.75 254.05 0.88 3,158 13.39Ahli United Bank AUBK.KW 0.140 0.00% 4,731,640 620 662,430 0.01 21.18 6.61 120.54 1.16 25,053 7.14Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait BBKB.KW 0.480 -4.00% 810,815 90 389,191 0.01 45.37 10.58 184.76 2.60 9,196 4.17Ithmaar Bank ITMR.KW 0.063 -1.56% 2,391,950 480 150,693 0.02 1.87 33.64 111.99 0.56 1,120 -Sector Total/ Weighted Average 13,803,495 69,240 3,538,258 0.50 9.42 175.40 1.46 70,845 4.27Market Total/ Weighted Average 99,703,018 1,196,012.5 33,955,542 1.20 12.22 213.92 1.61 100,604 2.48Parallel MarketAl-Bareeq Holding Co. 0.216 0.00% 120,000 - 25,920 - 76.27 2.83 -638 -Real Estate Asset Management Company (REAM) 0.132 0.00% 104,500 - 13,794 - 8.01 16.48 138.90 0.95 209 3.79Afaq Educational Services Co. (Year end 31 Aug.) “ 0.120 0.00% 53,500 - 6,420 - 109.29 1.10 -780 -Al-Shamel International Holding Co. 0.290 0.00% 67,200 - 19,488 - 19.69 14.73 133.97 2.16 331 9.31Al- Safat Real Estate Co. (Year end 31 Jan) 0.091 0.00% 24,000 - 2,184 - 30.99 2.94 1,144.83 0.08 186 -Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Co. 0.150 0.00% 62,160 - 9,324 - 98.58 1.52 -145 -Mena Real Estate Company (Year end March) ^^ 0.130 -9.72% 170,130 20 22,117 0.01 17.60 7.39 160.00 0.81 2,994 -Specialities Group Holding Co. 0.248 2.48% 150,000 20 37,200 0.01 238.47 1.04 -130 4.03Al- Masaken International Real Estate Development Co. 0.100 0.00% 200,000 - 20,000 - 1.37 73.13 119.90 0.83 68 -Dulaqan Real Estate Co. 0.315 0.00% 30,000 - 9,450 - 7.93 39.74 130.60 2.41 59 -Al Eid Food Company. 0.085 0.00% 50,025 - 4,252 - 7.22 11.77 140.92 0.60 90 -Al-Maidan Dental Clinic Co. 0.590 0.00% 50,000 - 29,500 - 2.64 223.25 125.96 4.68 33 -Flex Resorts & Real Estate Co. 0.190 0.00% 60,000 - 11,400 - 1.09 174.39 115.47 1.65 16 -Al-Mudon Intl. Real Estate Co. 0.190 0.00% 100,000 20 19,000 0.02 10.30 18.45 172.51 1.10 257 -Market Total/ Weighted Average 1,241,515 60 230,049 0.005 12.00 161.52 1.15 2,552 1.23!! P/Es in Negative or above 60 are excluded from the total ! Diluted“ Annuallized 9 Months Results* Annuallized 3 Months Results** Annuallized 6 Months Results^^ Full Year Result# Year ending in Dec. 08 results. Company is suspended from trading for not annou

weekly market roundupGulf bourses end mixedon oil, weak global cues

Qatar benchmark climbs 0.8%

DUBAI, July 22, (RTRS):Vodafone Qatar advanced on itsQatar Exchange debut, whileGulf Arab markets were mixedon Wednesday as oil prices andglobal markets retreated slight-ly.

Dubai’s index fell for a second day,Saudi Arabia declined and Oman pulledback from Tuesday’s 2009 high, but ZainGroup pushed Kuwait higher and AbuDhabi and Qatar both added less than 1percent.

Vodafone Qatar rose 8 percent to 10.8riyals after hitting an intraday high of 13riyals. The IPO price was 10 riyals.

“The stock opened strongly, but then drift-ed down with the rest of the market,” saidMatthew Wakeman, EFG-Hermes managingdirector for cash and equity-linked trading.“The fees were 0.5 riyals per share, so thebreak even price for IPO subscribers was10.50 riyals.”

Regional equities were subdued, takingtheir cue from world markets, which slippedfrom nine-month highs as worse-than-expect-ed euro zone industrial figures and a warningabout rising unemployment from US FederalReserve Chairman Ben Bernanke broke theirseven-session winning streak.

Similar concerns weighed on oil prices,with crude falling 2.2 percent to $64.18 a bar-rel at 1258 GMT.

These factors are likely to spur selling onGulf Arab markets on Thursday, analystssaid.

Saudi Telecom Co (STC) fell 4.6 percent,its biggest one-day loss for 21 weeks, afterposting a 22 percent drop in second-quarter

profit.Saudi Arabia’s index fell 1.4 percent, with

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) plung-ing 4.1 percent as sliding oil prices dampenedenthusiasm for petrochemical stocks.

Zain Group jumped 5 percent, taking itsgains to 8.6 percent since EmiratesTelecommunications Corp (Etisalat) said onTuesday it was interested in acquiring amajority stake in the Kuwaiti firm.

Zain’s rise masked a muted performancefrom Kuwait’s blue chips, with only three ofthe 10 largest stocks advancing. The indexadded 1 percent.

“Volumes are low — people are not sellingand they are not buying either, they’re sittingon the sidelines and waiting to decide what todo,” said Jassem al-Zeraei, head of institu-tional sales at National Bank of KuwaitCapital.

Dubai’s index dropped 0.6 percent, withinvestors unmoved by a Dubai governmentspokesman saying the emirate was in theprocess of issuing the second tranche of a $20billion bond programme.

“Return on equity for UAE primary listingshas declined from 19 percent last year to 12.9percent today,” said Wadah al-Taha, a Dubai-based financial analyst.

“But the drop in profitability is not themain issue, providing companies remain inthe green. The real concern is to make surefirms have enough liquidity, so that they canavoid major financing costs.

“Unfortunately, levels of disclosure areinadequate and so we don’t know whethercompanies have enough liquidity.”

Aabar Investments jumped 8 percent astraders snapped up the stock following asurge in the value of one of its key invest-ments. In March, Aabar bought a 9.1 percentstake in Germany’s Daimler for $2.67 billion

at 20.27 euros per share. The stock was trad-ing at 29.75 euros at 1337 GMT.

“”The rise in Daimler’s shares will boostAabar’s bottom line,” said EFG’s Wakeman.

Abu Dhabi lslamic Bank fell 1.4 percentafter a newspaper said the lender has $66.7million in exposure to troubled Saudi con-glomerate Saad Group.

Last month, the UAE central bank gover-nor said UAE banks had ‘significant’ expo-sure to Saad Group and Ahmad HamadAlgosaibi & Bros, which are restructuringbillions of dollars of debts, with all Gulf Arabcountries exposed.

Saudi Arabia■ The benchmark fell 1.4 percent to 5,567points.

Dubai■ The index fell 0.6 percent to 1,740 points.

Abu Dhabi■ The benchmark rose 0.5 percent to 2,710points.

Kuwait■ The index climbed 1 percent to 7,675 points.

Egypt■ The measure slipped 0.03 percent to 5,948points.

Qatar■ The benchmark climbed 0.8 percent to 6,513points.

Oman■ The index dropped 0.4 percent to 5,800points.

Bahrain■ The measure edged up 0.5 percent to 1,490points.

See Also Page 45

Zain helps KSE end week on upbeat note

decrease of 17.1% in FY09.In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report

on Etihad Etisalat Company (EEC)<7020.SE>. Etihad Etisalat Company, alsoknown as Saudi Mobily, announced its 1H-2009 results. Net Profits witnessed a healthygrowth of 49.2% YoY in 1-H2009 toSR1,155mn while revenues increased by23.9% YoY to SR6,010mn.

On a quarterly basis, the company regis-tered earnings of SR675mn (SR0.96 EPS) in2Q2009 which is up 50.5%YoY and 40.6%up QoQ.

Our net profit estimate for 2009 seems tobe in-line since in the recent past approxi-mately 60.0% of the net profits were cap-tured in the second half due to thePilgrimage season.

Our net profit estimate for the whole yearis SR2,431mn which we believe will be metor exceeded providing a possible upside risk.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update reporton Sahara Petrochemicals Company (SPC)<2260.SE>. Sahara PetrochemicalsCompany (SPC) announced its 1H-2009results. The company posted a net loss ofSR20.16mn in 1H-2009 compared to a netloss of SR15.43mn in the correspondingperiod last year.

On a quarterly basis, the company regis-tered a loss of SR5.98mn in 2Q2009 com-pared to a loss of SR8.69mn in the corre-sponding period last year. The companyposted a loss of SR14.18mn in 1Q2009.

During 2Q09 Sahara Petrochemicals start-ed trial operations of Al-WahaPetrochemicals plant which has a capacity toproduce 450,000 tons per annum ofPolypropylene. We believe the revenue fromthis source will start coming in from 3Q2009once the full-fledge operations start.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report onSaudi Investment Bank (SAIB) <1030.SE>.Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) recording sub-dued quarterly performance showed netincome decline of 32.9% (from SR280mn in2Q08 to SR188mn in 2Q09), which led tosemi-annual basis profitability drop of 20.4%(from SR538mn in 1H08 to SR428mn in1H09). Overall, the bank experienced pressurein both core banking and non-interest incomecategories. As we await the detailed financialresults for more elaborate analysis, we havenot yet revised our current estimates and earli-er expected the bank to post net incomegrowth of 4.9% in FY09.

In Saudi Arabia – A Result update reporton Saudi Telecom Company <7010.SE>.Saudi Telecom Company announced its 1H-2009 results. Net profits witnessed a declineof 20.3% YoY in 1-H2009 to SR5,478mnwhile revenues increased by 14.9% YoY toSR24,817mn.

On a quarterly basis, the company regis-tered earnings of SR2,990mn (SR1.5 EPS)in 2Q2009 which is down 22.1%YoY but up20.2% up QoQ. Revenues witnessed a mod-est growth of 5.4% YoY and 4.4% QoQ.

According to the company the decline innet profits was due to a rise in capital expen-diture in its overseas investments in Turkey,Kuwait, India and Indonesia. In addition, arise in interconnection charges with othernetworks also contributed to the decline innet profit. We are awaiting detailed results

for a comprehensive analysis.In Saudi Arabia – A Result update report

on Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)<5110.SE>. Saudi Electricity Companyrecording subdued quarterly (2Q09) per-formance showed net income decline of8.5% (from SR781mn in 2Q08 to SR715mnin 2Q09), which led to semi-annual basis netincome drop from a profit of SR9.9mn in1H08 to a loss of SR56mn in 1H09. Overall,the pressures on the company’s results arebroadly attributed to higher costs associatedwith the new projects initiatives. As weawait the detailed financial results for moreelaborate analysis, we have not yet revisedour current estimates and earlier expectedthe company to post net income growth of9.0% in FY09. The company gross profits onsemiannual basis witnessed decline of 8.0%(from SR75mn in 1H08 to SR69mn in1H09). A decline in operating income in thequarterly results by 2.5% also led to deterio-ration of operating income on half-yearlybasis as the operating loss rose by 42.8%(from SR193mn in 1H08 to SR276mn in1H09).

KSEEmirates Telecommunications Corp

<ETEL.AD> is interested in buying a 51percent stake in Kuwait’s Zain Group<ZAIN.KW>. The chief executive of itsinternational unit, Jamal al-Jarwan, said thatEtisalat is interested in Zain as a whole,given the right values. On the other hand,Zain said it still hoped to sell its African unitdespite French media and telecoms giantVivendi <VIV.PA> calling off talks to buy amajority stake in the business.

Gulf Bank <GBKK.KW> said that it isconfident in meeting challenges arising fromthe Global and Regional financial situation.Acting Chief General, Abdullatif Al-Hamad,said ‘since recapitalizing the Bank, we haveundertaken a rigorous review of the creditportfolio which is closely monitored on aregular basis.’

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait <ABKK.KW>has an exposure of less than US$30mn totroubled Saudi Arabian conglomerate Saad.Deputy Chief General Manager, AbdullaAlsumait, said that ABK had no exposure tothe other troubled Saudi family firm AhmadHamad Al Gosaibi Group & Brothers.

National Bank of Kuwait <NBKK.KW>said that its share in he local market rangesbetween 35 and 40 percent. NBK ChiefExecutive Officer, Isam Al-Saqer, said thatthe bank was not affected by the world eco-nomic crisis due to its conservative policyand the kinds of its clients. On the otherhand, NBK bought a 13.2 percent stake,154mn shares at KD0.550 per share for atotal of KD84.7mn (US$295.1mn), inIslamic lender Boubyan Bank<BOUK.KW> in an auction held by Kuwait

Investment Authority (KIA).Securities Group Co. <SGCK.KW>

bought 6.6 percent stake in Islamic lenderBoubyan Bank <BOUK.KW>. Kuwaitbourse said that Securities Group Co. bought77mn shares at KD0.560 per share forKD43.12mn,

Kuwait’s Jeeran Holding <JEER.KW> isexpected to implement projects over the nextthree years that would be worth KD233mn(US$811mn) if projects in Oman are award-ed to the company. Jeeran has signed con-tracts for projects worth KD85.8mn awardedin tenders and has submitted the lowestprices for other projects worth KD92mn.

Highlights of the weekThe Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK)

announced that a financial forum will beheld in Kuwait next November under thepatronage of His Highness the PrimeMinister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. the two-day forum willkick off on November 1 and will discusschallenges facing Arab economies becauseof the world economic crisis. Issues to bediscussed will include the changes the crisisimposed on economic policies, developmentstrategies, and ways to develop banking andfinancial markets. The forum will consist ofseminars and workshops and will be attend-ed by ministers, governors of monetary cor-porations and Arab and foreign centralbanks, businessmen, and specialists in eco-nomic, financial, and banking affairs fromKuwait and abroad.

Technical AnalysisAl-Aman Investment CompanyIn Global Investment House “Global’s”

technical analysis on Al-Aman InvestmentCompany’s stock <AMAN.KW>, and aspresented in the graph beneath, which showsthe average weekly performance of the com-pany’s share, we notice that the stock isswinging between KD0.095– KD0.126 sinceMarch 2009, after hitting its lowest levelsince August 2001 at KD0.095 on March 22.The stock rebounded after-wise reachingKD0.126 on May 31 before settling down atKD0.104 as per this week’s closing.

Through the attached graph below, wefind that the stock’s Relative StrengthIndex ‘RSI’ is neutral and should be mon-itored during the coming period. Also, it isworth mentioning that the stock currentlyhas a substantial support at KD0.095, atwhich the price tried to break below it inthe last few months and could not.Therefore, we believe that current levelscould be a good entry levels, keeping inmind that a stop-loss action should betaken if the stock trades below the afore-mentioned support. However, closingabove KD0.108, the (11-weeks) movingaverage, will encourage medium-terminvestors who intend to invest in the com-pany’s stock, to build their positions.While we advice long-term (50-weeks)investors to build their new positionsabove KD0.148, the 23.6% level of theFibonacci retracement within the range of(KD0.320-KD0.095), however, breakingabove there will lead to the 38.2% level atKD0.180. Regarding the nearby supports,the first support comes at KD0.100,whereas the second one, as we have men-tioned, is located at KD0.095.

Interest RatesKIBOR Bid %3 months 1.256 months 1.52 years 2.06

LIBOR (on $ deposits)3 months 0.501886 months 0.950639 months 1.2351 year 1.47875

Kuwaiti Dinar Exchange rate against other GCC CurrenciesCurrency KD US$ SR AED BD OR QRKw Dinar 1 3.4818 13.0580 12.7892 1.3127 1.3406 12.6782US Dollar 0.2872 1 3.7504 3.6732 0.3770 0.3850 3.6413Saudi Riyal 0.0766 0.2666 1 0.9794 0.1005 0.1027 0.9709UAE Dirham 0.0782 0.2722 1.0210 1 0.1026 0.1048 0.9913Bahraini Dinar 0.7618 2.6523 9.9472 9.7425 1 1.0212 9.6579Omani Riyal 0.7460 2.5973 9.7408 9.5403 0.9792 1 9.4574Qatari Riyal 0.0789 0.2746 1.0300 1.0088 0.1035 0.1057 1

GCC & Internatiional Markets Currencies Cross ratesKuwaiti Dinar Exchange rate against other International Currencies

Currency KD US$ Euro Pound Franc Yen Aus. $Kw Dinar 1 3.4818 2.4551 2.1254 3.7248 325.1628 4.2863US Dollar 0.2872 1 0.7051 0.6104 1.0698 93.3900 1.2311Euro 0.4073 1.4182 1 0.8657 1.5172 132.4457 1.7459Sterling pound 0.4705 1.6382 1.1551 1 1.7525 152.9915 2.0167Swiss Franc 0.2685 0.9348 0.6591 0.5706 1 87.2967 1.1507Japanese Yen 0.0031 0.0107 0.0076 0.0065 0.0115 1 0.0132Australian Dollar 0.2333 0.8123 0.5728 0.4958 0.8690 75.8607 1

Continued from Page 38

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

40BUSINESS

Net Islamic finance income grows 48% to QR 111 mln

Doha Bank H1 net jumps 12% to QR 646 millionKUWAIT CITY, July 22: His ExcellencySheikh Fahad Bin Mohammad BinJabor Al-Thani, Chairman of Board ofDirectors of Doha Bank, announced DohaBank’s financial results for the first half of2009. Net profit for the first half of 2009has increased by 12 percent to an impres-sive QAR 646 million (KD = 12 QR),compared to QAR 579 million for thesame period in 2008.

Net interest income rose by 14.8 percentto QAR 534 million, net Islamic financingincome rose by 48 percent to reach QAR111 million and net operating income dur-ing the same period has gone up fromQAR 898 million to QAR 1,111 millionreflecting an increase of 23.7 percent.Total assets increased by QAR 7 billion, agrowth of more than 19 percent, fromQAR 36.7 billion as at June 30, 2008 toQAR 43.8 billion as at June 30, 2009. Netloans & Advances increased to QAR 23.6billion from QAR 23.4 billion for the sameperiod last year, registering a growth of 1percent, with Deposits of QAR 23.6 billionas at June 30, 2009 evidencing the strongliquidity position of the Bank.

His Excellency Sheikh Abdul RehmanBin Mohammad Bin Jabor Al-Thani,

Managing Director of Doha Bank said,“The Bank has become extremely strongover the years with shareholders’ funds, asat June 30, 2009, at QAR 5 billion, regis-tering an increase of 5.9 percent during thelast twelve months. The paid-up share cap-ital of our bank has organically increasedover the years and, as at 30 June 2009 it isQAR 1.81 billion reflecting the strong con-fidence we enjoy from our shareholdersand this region. Through the strategic util-isation of the shareholder’s funds by wayof increasing our performance levels thereturn on average equity is 27 percent as atJune 30, 2009 the best in the industry. The

Bank, given the scale of operations, hasachieved a very high return on the averageassets of 3.12 percent as at June 30, 2009which is a clear demonstration of the effec-tive utilization of shareholder’s funds andoptimum asset allocation strategies”.Further, H.E. Sheikh Abdul Rehman said“The Bank’s core revenue streams, likeinterest income, foreign exchange earningshave shown remarkable growth reflectingon the Bank’s intrinsic strength towardsrecurring earning capacity and also on theBank’s productive operational perform-ance”.

Talking on the key innovation and initia-tives by Doha Bank in the first half 2009,R. Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officersaid “Continuing with our tradition of firstto introduce innovative trend-setting prod-ucts and service, we successfully launched‘Green Banking’ encouraging each andevery Doha Bank customer towards pro-tection of the environment through paper-less banking techniques. The green bank-ing has been well received by our cus-tomers and many new customers have alsosubscribed to green banking with us.

In furthering the Green mission, DohaBank Green Banking Team lead by Mr

Seetharaman and UNESCO team lead byDr Benno Boer, Ecological Advisor had ameeting discussing approaches in greeningthe environment. Doha Bank andUNESCO shared valuable knowledge onvarious fields of natural sciences and sus-tainable development.

In line with Doha Banks commitment toknowledge, sharing in the GCC the Bankorganized a seminar on “Global TrendsDriving Change in the Middle EastPayment Market” and it had huge success.There was a diverse mix of guests from allretail sectors, establishments & institutionsand Doha Bank showcased its range ofproducts and services that support mer-chants.

Doha Bank has been voted yet again asthe “Best Commercial Bank in the MiddleEast”. The accolade was granted by theprestigious Banker Middle East magazinein a glittering ceremony held at the GulfHotel, Bahrain on June 10, 2009. Theawards evening was attended by H.E.Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governorof the Central Bank of Bahrain.

In addition to the hugely successful theDOHA MILLIONAIR savings schemethat gives out QR One Million every

month, Doha Bank also launched its annu-al salary transfer campaign under the cap-tion of ‘Double Your Salary’ promotion.This campaign gives chance to all eligiblenew customers to double their salary for awhole year. Customers who transfer theirsalary during the promotion period will geta chance to enter the draw wherein onewinner will win back their monthly salaryfor the next 12 months. This promotion isalso combined with lots of benefits andattractive features.

Continuing in the tradition of productinnovation, Doha Bank also launched arange of products and services called“Tatweer” uniquely tailored to the needs ofsmall and medium sized enterprises.

Doha Bank also inaugurated its newIslamic branch at Al Wakra on Feb 26,2009. The branch is another addition to thewide network of Doha Islamic branches.Al Wakra Branch is going to offer IslamicShari’a-Compliant services in this com-mercially active area.

Seetharaman attributed the forwardlooking vision of board, high level of com-mitment of management and staff, cus-tomer care, best suite of products and serv-ices, and ongoing product and service

improvement as the main reasons for DohaBank reaching this coveted position. Hesaid Doha Bank has been applauded byvarious highly respected financial sectorspecialists for its pioneering and leadershiprole in taking Financial Services experi-ence in Qatar and Middle East to newheights. He concluded saying, “We arecommitted to sustain the growth, prof-itability and stakeholder and customerexpectations, and maintain our hall mark interms of performance, innovation, securityand quality”.

Seetharaman continued, “It is also areflection of the strength of Doha Bankthat Fitch Ratings has recently affirmed thebanks Long Term Issuer Default Rating at“A” with a Stable Outlook. This shows thatthe underltying stability and financialstrength of the Bank remains as strong asever”.

His Excellency Sheikh Fahad BinMohammad Bin Jabor Al-Thani alsoexpressed thanks to the Government ofQatar in taking visionary and pro-activesteps to support the banking sector in Qatarin relation to the support given for theBanks Doha Securities Market and realestate portfolios.

Zenith Fund Global Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 120.230 121.760 Feb 28, 2009Mayur Hedge Fund Global

Fixed Income Funds Global KD Bond Fund Global Monthly July 16, 2009 KD 1.059 1.059 July 14, 2009 Global Kibor Plus Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 1.197 1.194 May 31, 2009

Index Funds GCC Large Cap Index Fund Global Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 1.246 1.181 July 09, 2009Global US Equity Index Fund Global Weekly July 03, 2009 USD 68.140 68.880 June 25, 2009Global European Equity Index Fund Global Weekly July 03, 2009 Euro 84.850 85.830 June 26, 2009

Equity Funds Global Local Fund Global Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 1.891 1.817 July 09, 2009Al-Mamoun Fund A Global Monthly July 16, 2009 KD 0.546 0.521 July 09, 2009Al-Mamoun Fund B Global Monthly July 16, 2009 KD 0.546 0.521 July 09, 2009GCC Large Cap Fund Global Weekly July 13, 2009 USD 85.470 88.300 July 12, 2009 Al-Noor Fund Global Bi-weekly July 14, 2009 SAR 131.129 128.552 July 12, 2009Global Saudi Equity Fund Global Bi-weekly July 14, 2009 SAR 119.682 117.696 July 12, 2009

Money Market Funds Global KD Money Market Fund Global Daily July 16, 2009 KD 1.487 1.487 July 14, 2009Global USD Money Market Fund Global Weekly July 16, 2009 USD 121.730 121.670 July 07, 2009

Guaranteed Funds Global Increasable Guaranteed Fund Global Monthly May 31, 2009 KD 1.286 1.282 April 30, 2009Islamic Real E. Funds Global US Real Estate Fund Global Quarterly Sep 30, 2008 USD 1.061 1.061 June 30, 2008

GCC Real Estate Fund GlobalGlobal Asia Real Estate Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 0.970 1.004 Sept 30, 2008Global Real Estate Ijarah Fund GlobalGlobal GCC Real Estate Fund II Global

Private Equity Funds Global Opportunistic Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 110.255 117.250 Sept 30, 2008Global Opportunistic Fund II Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 102.608 102.478 Sept 30, 2008Private Equity Fund Global Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.896 0.971 Dec 31, 2008Global Buyout Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 603.390 582.850 Sept 30, 2008

Country Fund Palestine Dedicated Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 94.930 92,910 May 31, 2009Global Jordan Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 58.260 59.870 May 31, 2009The Delmon Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 BD 152.780 156.070 May 31, 2009Global Egypt Fund Global Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 59.870 53.670 April 30, 2009

Sectoral Funds EPADI Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 85.010 90.070 May 31, 2009Islamic Funds Global GCC Islamic Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 73.350 78.210 May 31, 2009

Al-Durra Islamic Fund Global Weekly June 16, 2009 KD 1.268 1.246 July 09, 2009Global Islamic Funds of Fund Global Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 89.355 88.712 April 30, 2009Global Islamic Funds Global Monthly July 16, 2009 KD 1.292 1.290 July 09, 2009

Others Al-Sanabil Fund (A) Global Monthly Feb 28, 2009 QAR 4.890 5.290 Jan 31, 2009Al-Sanabi Fund (B) Global Monthly Feb 28, 2009 QAR 4.700 5.060 Jan 31, 2009Global Energy, Petrochemical, and Downstream Industries Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 85.010 90.070 May 31, 2009

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Kuwait Finance & Investment Co (KFIC)Al Wasm Fund KFIC Weekly July 08, 2009 KD 0.602 0.659 June 30, 2009Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund KFIC & Gulf Finance House Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 7.634 7.945 May 31, 2009

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KAMCOBond & High Yield Fund KAMCO Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 1.216 1.212 Dec 31, 2008KAMCO Investment Fund KAMCO Monthly May 31, 2009 KD 1.139 1.070 April 30, 2009Private Equity Opportunities Fund KAMCO Monthly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.959 0.982 Dec 31, 2008Kuwait Education Fund KAMCO Semi-Annually Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.986 0.998 Dec 31, 2008Energy Services Fund KAMCO Mar 31, 2009 USD 0.412 0.388 Feb 28, 2009

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Al Madar FinanceShuwaikh Real Estate Fund Al Madar Quarterly April 17, 2009 KD 1.330 1.325 May 31, 2009US index Fund Al Madar Bi-Weekly Mar 27, 2009 USD 0.902 0.842 May 20, 2009

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Al Madina Finance & Investment Co.India Fund Al Madina Monthly May 31, 2009 KD 0.680 0.530 April 30, 2009Al Madina Fund Al Madina Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.642 0.829 Dec 31, 2008

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Wafra International Investment Co.Wafra Equity Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Feb 28, 2009 KD 0.813Wafra Bond Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Feb 28, 2009 KD 1.043Fajir Islamic Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Feb 28, 2009 KD 0.572

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Shuaa Capital Co.Al Tawfeek Gulf Equity Fund Shuaa Capital Twice Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 69.396 71.996 June 15, 2009Kuwait Gateway Fund First Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 7.120 6.910 April 30, 2009Arab Islamic Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 7.920 8.250 May 26, 2009Saudi Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly July 14, 2009 USD 7.160 6.960 July 07, 2009The Arab Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly July 14, 2009 USD 18.620 18.610 July 07, 2009The Oman Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 14.650 14.460 April 30, 2009Emirates Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly July 14, 2009 AED 5.310 5.400 July 07, 2009Qatar Gate Fund (Q) Shuaa Capital Monthly June 30, 2009 QAR 61.030 63.470 April 30, 2009Qatar Gate Fund (N) Shuaa Capital Monthly June 30, 20099 QAR 58.940 61.350 April 30, 2009

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Investment Dar Co.Al Dar Real Estate Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly May 31,2009 KD 1.150 1.149 April 30, 2009Al Dar Fund of Funds Al Dar Asset Management Monthly May 31,2009 KD 0.779 0.768 April 30, 2009Al Dar Money Markets Fund Al Dar Asset Management Weekly July 13, 2009 KD 1.407 1.408 July 06, 2009Al Dar Securities Fund Al Dar Asset Management Monthly May 31,2009 KD 0.817 0.808 April 30, 2009Al Nokhba Fund Al Dar Asset Management Monthly May 31,2009 KD 0.581 0.539 April 30 2009

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Al Aman InvestmentAl Aman Islamic Fund Al Aman Investment Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.639 0.618 May 31, 2009

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Housing Finance Company (ISKAN)Masaref Fund ISKAN Weekly June 11, 2009 KD 0.841 0.845 June 04, 2009

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Gulf Investment Corp.Gulf Bond Fund Gulf Investment Corp Monthly July 03, 2009 USD 11.177 11.132 June 30, 2009Gulf Premier Fund Gulf Investment Corp Weekly July 16, 2009 USD 16.974 16.141 July 09, 2009Gulf Islamic Fund Gulf Investment Corp Monthly July 16, 2009 USD 5.744 5.535 July 09, 2009GIC KD Bond Fund Gulf Investment Corp Monthly July 16, 2009 KD 0.897 0.897 July 09, 2009

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First Investment Co.First Arabian Equity 2000 Fund First Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 22.012 22.954 May 31, 2009First Gulf Equity First Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 7.532 7.838 May 31, 2009Al-Muthana Fund First Investment Co Weekly July 20, 2009 KD 1.401 1.473 July 13, 2009

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Bayan Investment CompanyEa’mmar and Estethmar Fund Bayan Investment Monthly May 31, 2009 KD 0.630 0.611 Aprilil 30, 2009Al Themar Securities Fund Bayan Investment Monthly May 31, 2009 KD 0.564 0.529 April 30, 2009

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Tharwa Investment Co.Tharwa Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly July 02, 2009 KD 1.042 1.064 June 25, 2009Tharwa Islamic Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly July 02, 2009 KD 0.767 0.775 June 25, 2009Tharwa Arab Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 1.174 1.133 April 30, 2009Tharwa Islamic Money Market Fund Tharwa Investment Co

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Bank Al-BiladAl Seef Fund Bank Al-Bilad Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 0.589 0.579 July 09, 2009

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Commercial International BankCommercial Int’t Bank Fund I (Osoul) CI Asset Management Weekly July 09, 2009 EGP 143.090 142.870 June 30, 2009Commercial Int’t Bank Fund II (Istethmar) CI Asset Management Weekly July 09, 2009 EGP 74.110 79.220 June 30, 2009CIB and Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt Fund CI Asset Management Weekly July 09, 2009 EGP 58.880 62.950 June 30, 2009

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Noor Financial Inv. Co.Noor Islamic Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.638 0.652 May 31, 2009Noor Local & Arabian Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.625 0.640 May 31, 2009Noor Islamic US Equity Large Cap Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 724.570 692.070 April 30, 2009Noor Islamic US Equity Mid Cap Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 653.100 638.580 April 30, 2009Noor Islamic US Equity Small Cap Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 520.230 513.210 April 30, 2009Noor Islamic Development Markets Ex US Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 724.180 571.360 Mar 31, 2009

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Kuwait Real Estate Investment ConsortiumKuwait Real Estate Fund Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium Monthly Mar 31, 2009 KD 1.256 1.242 Dec 31, 2008

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Manafae Investment Co.Manafae First Fund Manafae Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.749 0.751 May 31, 2009

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Al Zumorroda Investment Co.Zumorroda GCC Fund Al Zumorroda Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.598 0.611 May 31, 2009

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Al Safat Investment Co.

Al Safat Local Shares Equity Fund Al Safat Investment Co. Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.461 0.468 May 31, 2009——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al-Imtiaz Investment CompanyAl-Imtiaz Money Market Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Weekly July 06, 2009 KD 1.112 1.110 June 29, 2009Al-Imtiaz Investment Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Jan 29, 2009 KD 1.200 1.190 Oct 27, 2008Al-Imtiaz Real Estate Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.980 0.990 Dec 31, 2008

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BankMuscatBankMuscat MSCI Kuwait Fund BankMuscat Daily July 21, 2009 USD 0.616 0.628 July 15, 2009

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Al-Muthana Investment CompanyMuthanna Islamic Index Fund Al-Muthana Investment Company Bi-monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.516 0.502 May 31, 2009Muthanna GCC Islamic Banks Fund Al-Muthana Investment Company Monthly June 30,2009 KD 0.610 0.670 May 31, 2009

Fund Manager Liquidity Evaluation date Currency Net Asset Value (NAV) Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Fund Manager Liquidity Evaluation date Currency Net Asset Value (NAV) Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

National Bank of KuwaitMoney Market Funds Watani KD Money Market Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly July 21, 2009 KD 1.324 1.324 July 14, 2009

Watani KD Money Market Fund (Islamic) NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly July 21, 2009 KD 1.116 1.116 July 14, 2009Watani Foreign Currency Money Market Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly July 21 2009 USD 1.238 1.237 July 14, 2009Watani Foreign Currency Money Market Fund (Euro) NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly July 21, 2009 Euro 1.211 1.211 July 14, 2009Watani USD Money Market Fund (Acc NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly July 21, 2009 USD 1.053 1.052 July 14, 2009to Islamic Shariah principles)

Equity Funds NBK Gulf Equity Fund NBK Weekly July 16, 2009 USD 0.949 0.935 July 09, 2009 NBK Kuwait Equity Fund NBK Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 0.602 0.587 July 09, 2009 NBK Qatar Equity Fund NBK Weekly July 16, 2009 USD 0.925 0.919 July 09, 2009

Ijara Fund Islamic Ijara Fund IV Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund V Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund VI Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund VII Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund VIII Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund IX Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund X Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund XI Wafra Capital Partners LP Cayman Islands Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Thahabi Ijara Fund I Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Thahabi Ijara Fund II Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Thahabi Ijara Fund III Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 Mar 31, 2009Thahabi Ijara Fund IV Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Thahabi Ijara Fund V Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.000 10.000 May 31, 2009Islamic Ijara Fund 1 Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly

Watani US Real Estate Income & Growth Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Quarterly Mar 31, 2008 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 Dec 31, 2008Alternative Funds Watani European Real Estate Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 Euro 1,000.000 1,000.000 Sept 30, 2008

Central European Real Estate Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Quarterly Mar 31, 2008 Euro 10,000.000 10,000.000 Sep 30, 2008Islamic European Real Estate Fund – A Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 Euro 1,000.000 1,00.000 Dec 31, 2008Islamic European Real Estate Fund – B Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 Euro 1,000.000 1,0000.000 Dec 31, 2008Islamic Asian Real Estate Fund Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 USD 10,000.000 10,000.000 Dec 31, 2008Islamic China India Real Estate Fund Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Quarterly Mar 31, 2008 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 Dec 31, 2008NBK Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Monthly May 29, 2009 USD 1,074.570 1,053.610 April 30, 2009

Real Estate Security Islamic Global Real Estate Securities Fund A Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 586.088 598.777 May 31, 2009Funds Islamic Global Real Estate Securities Fund B Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 636.043 653.401 May 31, 2009

Islamic Turkey Real Estate Fund Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Mar 19, 2009 USD 1,000.000 Multi Asset Funds Thahabi Multi Asset Fund – Conservative portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 81.769 82.136 May 31, 2009

Thabi Multi Asset Fund – Moderate Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 63.627 58.408 May 31, 2009NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund –Conservative Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 81.789 82.136 May 31, 2009NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund – Moderate Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 63.617 63.854 May 31, 2009NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund –Plus Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 46.964 47.095 May 31, 2009

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Gulf BankGB Capital protected Investment - Index Basket Daily July 21, 2009 USD 1,110.400 1,110.600 July 20, 2009Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund Kwt. Fin. & Inv. Co. & Gulf Fin. House Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 7.634 7.945 May 31, 2009Coast Fund Coast Investment Co. Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.833 0.837 May 31, 2009Noor Fund for Local & Arab Equity Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.625 0.640 May 31, 2009Sanaya Dow Jones Kuwait Index Fund Industrial & Financial Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.710 0.703 May 31, 2009

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Commercial BankTijari Investment Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 0.517 0.596 July 02, 2009Tijari Money Market Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly July 21, 2009 KD 1.251 1.299 July 14, 2009Tijari GCC Equity Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.601 0.617 June 24, 2009Tijari Islamic Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 0.512 0.492 July 09, 2009Tijari Indian Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Twice Monthly July 20, 2009 KD 0.870 0.836 June 13 2009Tijari Islamic Money Market Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly July 21, 2009 KD 0.971 1.064 July 14, 2009

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Al Ahli BankAl Ahli Kuwaiti Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly June 24, 2009 KD 1.083 1.055 May 27, 2009Al Ahli Gulf Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly June 02, 2009 KD 0.872 0.858 May 25, 2009

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Boubyan BankBoubyan Financial Fund (KWD) Boubyan Bank Weekly July 15, 2009 KD 1.043 1.042 July 08, 2009Boubyan Financial Fund (USD) Boubyan Bank Weekly July 15, 2009 USD 9,729.468 9.724.780 July 08, 2009Global Real Estate Fund Boubyan Bank Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.938 0.933 Dec 31, 2008Boubyan Sukuk Fund Boubyan Bank Annually Jan 28, 2009 USD 953.680 1,001.180 June 18, 2008

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Burgan BankBurgan Financial Fund Burgan Bank Daily July 22, 2009 KD 1.455 1.455 July 21, 2009Burgan Equity Fund Burgan Bank Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 1.891 1.788 May 31, 2009

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Kuwait Finance HouseNet Lease (Al Mumayaz Industrial Real Estate Fund II) KFH Monthly Sept 30, 2008 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 Aug 31, 2008MALC (Millennium Aircraft Co Fund) KFH Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 102,841.000

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Kuwait Investment Co.Local Fund Al Raed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 1.051 1.034 July 09, 2009

Kuwait Investment Fund Kuwait Investment Co Quarterly My 31, 2009 KD 0.902 0.867 April 30, 2009Al Hilal Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly July 20, 2009 KD 0.643 0.642 July 13, 2009KIC Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.955 1.045 May 31, 2009Al Atheer Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.995 0.965 May 31, 2009

International Global Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly July 01, 2009 USD 24.720 24.620 June 24, 2009Diversified Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly July 1, 2009 USD 15.740 15.167 June 24, 2009European Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 Euro 13.650 13.090 April 30, 2009Pacific Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly July 02, 2009 USD 34.532 34.304 June 25, 2009Al-Awaed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 USD 1.004 1.000 Nov 30, 2009North American Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 8.710 8.770 May 31, 2009

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lnternational Financial AdvisorsLocal Fund IFA Khaleeji Fund IFA Univest Capital Ltd Twice Monthly Nov 30, 2008 USD 28.760 28.760 Oct 30, 2008

IFA Islamic Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.297 0.319 May 31, 2009IFA Investment Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.533 0.540 May 31, 2009

International IFA International Guaranteed Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly May 31, 2009 KD 7.540 7.500 April 30, 2009——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

National Investment Co. (NIC)Equity Funds Al- Wataniya Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.783 0.797 May 31, 2009

Al-Safwa Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.623 0.650 May 31, 2009Al-Darji Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.597 0.610 May 31, 2009Mawarid Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.670 0.665 May 31, 2009Zajil Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.760 0.768 May 31, 2009Al Mada Investment Fund NIC Monthly Feb 28, 2009 KD 0.510 0.560 Jan 31, 2009

Money Market Funds Al- Wataniya Money Market Fund NIC Weekly Nov 09, 2008 KD 1.220 1.203 Oct 05, 2008Alternative Funds Al Tahawut Hedge Fund NIC Monthly Jan 16, 2009 KD 0.719 0.680 Nov 21, 2008——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

GulfInvest InternationalAl Huda Islamic Fund GulfInvest International Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 0.477 0.451 July 09, 2009Al Shorooq Fund GulfInvest International Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 0.716 0.701 July 09, 2009Gulf Fund GulfInvest International Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 4.910 4.180 Mar 31, 2009

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Coast Investment Co.Coast Investment Fund Coast Investment Fund Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.833 0.837 May 31, 2009Coast Pearl Fund Coast Investment Fund Daily July 22, 2009 KD 0.942 0.936 July 21, 2009

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Securities GroupAl Anoud Investment Fund Securities Group Weekly July 09, 2009 KD 1.244 1.298 July 02, 2009Group Islamic Fund Securities Group Weekly July 09, 2009 KD 1.363 1.451 July 02, 2009

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Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz)Mumtaz Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 4,049 3.917 July 09, 2009MIDAF Kuwait Financial Center Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 3.128 3.032 July 09, 2009Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly July 16, 2009 KD 1.668 1.618 July 09, 2009GCC Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly July 16, 2009 USD 2.430 2.340 July 09, 2009FORSA Financial Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 1.147 1.145 May 31, 2009Atlas Diversified Class A Kuwait Financial Center Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 7.390 6.810 April 30, 2009Atlas Diversified Class B Kuwait Financial Center Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 7.480 6.890 April 30, 2009Atlas Fund of Hedge Funds Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Dec 31, 2009 USD 8.730 9.070 Nov 30, 2008Atlas Emerging Market Thematic Class Kuwait Financial Center Monthly May 31, 2009 KD 7.430 6.670 April 30, 2009Energy Fund Kuwait Financial Center Quarterly June 30, 2009 KD 0.964 0.867 March 31, 2009Real Estate Fund Kuwait Financial Center Half Yearly June 30, 2009 KD 1.310 1.310 May 31, 2009

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Kuwait & Middle East Financial & Inv. Co. Al Rou’yah Fund KMEFIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 1.608 1.567 May 31, 2009Gulf Gate Fund KMEFIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.963 1.004 May 31, 2009Al-Awsat Money Market Fund KMEFIC Weekly Mar 16, 2009 KD 1.274 1.274 Mar 15, 2009Al-Awsat Money Market Fund USD KMEFIC Weekly Mar 16, 2009 USD 11.609 11.609 Mar 15, 2009Amal Money Market Fund KMEFIC Weekly Mar 16, 2009 KD 1.185 1.185 Mar 15, 2009

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Global Investment HouseHedge Funds Global Umbrella Fund - US Global Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 184.500 185.250 Feb 28, 2009

Global Umbrella Fund - Europe Global Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 188.610 189.320 Feb 28, 2009Global Umbrella Fund - Asia/Japan Global Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 125.210 123.410 Feb 28, 2009Global Umbrella Fund - Advanced Sciences Global Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 122.490 127.870 Feb 28, 2009Global Distressed Fund Global Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 145.560 146.140 Feb 28, 2009

investment funds

Sheikh Al-Thani

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

41

Crude oil export from Kuwait to China down 2.1% in June

Kuwait says oil price near $65 reasonable, goodKUWAIT, July 22, (Agencies): Kuwait’s oilminister said on Wednesday an oil price near$65 a barrel is reasonable and good for theGulf Arab state, Kuwait’s state news agencyKUNA reported on Wednesday.

US crude traded at $64.21 a barrel onWednesday after climbing to a two-week highabove $65 on Tuesday.

A seasonal increase in oil demand inautumn should bolster the oil price, SheikhAhmad al-Abdullah Al-Sabah was reported assaying by KUNA.

Optimism over a global economic recoveryand a better-than-expected corporate earningsreports in the US were behind the recentimprovement in oil prices, Sheikh Ahmadsaid.

Any unjustified rise in oil prices wouldhurt the global economy, KUNA reported himas saying. “That would cause demand for oilto decline and we don’t want that,” he said.

OPEC member Kuwait is the world’sfourth-largest oil exporter. Early this month,the oil minister said Kuwait wanted to see theprice stay above $60.

On Monday, Algeria’s energy and minesminister said OPEC would need to cut outputwhen it next meets in September if there isnot enough demand for its oil.

Also:TOKYO: Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Chinaedged down 2.1 percent in June from a yearearlier to 525,000 tons, equivalent to around128, 000 barrels per day (bpd), the Chinesegovernment said Wednesday.

Kuwait provided 3.2 percent of China’stotal crude oil imports, compared with 3.7percent in the same month of last year and 6.0percent in May, according to data releasedfrom the General Administration of Customs.

Kuwait’s exports in the first half of 2009

totaled 4.06 million tons (164, 000 bpd), up95.1 percent from the same period last year.

China’s overall imports of crude oil in Junerose 14.1 percent year-on-year, but down 2.8percent from the previous month to 16.61million tons (4.06 million bpd).

Angola came back as China’s top supplierwith its shipments rising 14.9 percent from ayear earlier to 3.01 million tons (737,000bpd), followed by Saudi Arabia with 2.94million tons (718,000 bpd), down 4.2 percent.Iran became third, with imports from thecountry surging 58.0 percent to 1.86 milliontons (454,000 bpd).

China is the world’s second-biggest oilconsumer after the US. Kuwait and China arecurrently in the phase to review candidatelocations for a $9 billion refinery and petro-chemical complex project in south China’sGuangdong Province.

The proposed project is expected to serve

as a driving force for KPC towards achievingits China-bound crude oil export target of500,000 bpd by 2015.

❑ ❑ ❑

Oil prices fell below $65 a barrelWednesday after data showed a rise in UScrude inventories, a sign that consumerdemand remains sluggish in the world’sbiggest economy.

Benchmark crude for September deliverywas down $1.03 to $64.58 a barrel by after-noon European electronic trading on the NewYork Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, theAugust contract expired, rising 74 cents tosettle at $64.72.

US crude inventories rose 3.1 million bar-rels last week while gasoline supplies gained1.3 million, the American Petroleum Institutesaid late Tuesday. Analysts expected the APInumbers to fall 2.0 million barrels, according

to a survey by Platts, the energy informationarm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Investors will be watching for inventorydata from the Energy Department’s EnergyInformation Administration on Wednesdayfor more signs crude demand may be waning.The API numbers are reported by refinersvoluntarily while the EIA figures are manda-tory.

Oil prices have risen from $58.78 a barreltwo weeks ago on stronger than expected sec-ond quarter corporate earnings. Some of theimproved company results have been theresult of cost cutting such as layoffs, which inturn is dragging on consumer demand.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankesaid Tuesday that the economy is improving,but that any recovery will be slow due to ris-ing unemployment.

“During the last week, markets have seen asignificant upward trend with oil rising

almost 9 percent and stock markets by some 7percent,” noted Vienna’s JBC Energy.“Nevertheless in our view, this is a result ofthe temporary positive sentiment amongfinancial markets rather than a substantialfundamental improvement in the US econo-my or oil markets.”

Others also were cautious about the econo-my, and its effects on oil.

“The better profits is a good sign, but Iwant to see more macro numbers improve,”said Clarence Chu, a trader with marketmaker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.“High unemployment is still a problem goingforward.”

In other Nymex trading, gasoline forAugust delivery slipped by nearly 3 cents to$1.79 a gallon and heating oil dropped slight-ly to $1.70. Natural gas for August deliverywas lost nearly 4 cents to fetch $3.66 per1,000 cubic feet.

BUSINESS

Dubai launches broaderbond sale, biz aid fund

‘Regulatory changes so far insufficient’

Red tape worries prolongDubai property problemsDUBAI/LONDON, July 22, (RTRS):Piecemeal moves to tighten real estateregulation in Dubai will do little to help theGulf emirate’s rocky road to mature prop-erty market status, with western investorscontinuing to shun it in the short term.

“You’re not going to get western expatmoney deployed locally when there is stillconfusion over property ownershiprights,” said Nomura Investment Bankanalyst Chet Riley.

Dubai’s once heady property market ismired in malaise after the speculativecash that fuelled its six-year boom driedup late in 2008, while more conservativewestern investors prefer mature marketswith greater transparency and regulation.

Andrew White, head of Middle Eastoperations at UK-based investorKenmore Property Group, said Dubairemains a very juvenile market by inter-national standards.

“It will take another three or four yearsto actually become anchored by investorsrather than traders,” he told Reuters.

By contrast, the property markets ofEurope and the United States are attract-ing increasing levels of investor interestbecause they are seen as being closer toentering a recovery phase than regionslike the Gulf.

Dubai has introduced several tweaks toproperty laws and regulations to facilitatethe change to an investor-driven market,from a trader driven one, although realestate industry experts say much more

needs to be done. EFG-Hermes’ vice president of equity

research, Sana Kapadia, said while theemirate’s regulation had become clearerover the past 12 to 18 months, mortgageand strata law need more clarity.

“Dubai has made headway in terms ofsetting up property owners associations butmore information is needed on propertyservice fees for example,” Kapadia added.

In May, the United Arab Emirates said itwould grant expatriate homeowners mul-tiple-entry visit visas enabling them tostay six months at a time if they ownedproperties worth at least 1 million dirhams($272,300).

Analysts, however, want more detailson which properties and who would be eli-gible, and what the visa requirements are.

Over the past year, Dubai’s propertywatchdog, the Real Estate RegulatoryAuthority (RERA), has introduced a month-ly rental index, new laws for property main-tenance and a law that lists a sliding scaleof refunds for investors who default on theirpayments on unfinished properties.

Against this backcloth, Dubai propertyprices are expected to slump a further 20percent in 2009, a Reuters poll showedlast month.

The lack of information about theplanned merger of Dubai’s EmaarProperties and three local firms, and theirstrategy going forward, is one of severalcases highlighting the need for more clari-ty and transparency in the property sector.

fund can invest in, hold and manage debtinstruments on behalf of the Dubai govern-ment, collect loan repayments and reinvestsome of the revenues.

The fund will be able to issue financial instru-ments such as bonds and sukuks and invest incommercial projects in and outside Dubai. It canalso acquire partial or whole stakes in institu-tions and companies, but will not disclose thenames of entities that receive support.

“The market will be looking for as muchtransparency as possible,” said HSBC econo-mist Simon Williams. “If they can’t tell uswho the funds have flowed to, I hope we willknow how much has been disbursed and howmuch is in reserve.”

The support fund will be accountable toDubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee, a gov-ernment body established in 2007 to overseethe emirate’s fiscal policies, according to thestatement.

Dubai’s government said Wednesday it iscreating a “financial support fund” chargedwith managing and distributing $20 billionworth of state funds to cash-strapped compa-nies in the emirate.

The move, issued in a decree by Dubai’sruler announced Wednesday, establishes aframework for distributing funds aimed atkeeping the once-booming Middle East busi-ness hub’s economy from slipping further offtrack. The city-state is home to hundreds ofthousands of foreign workers and is theMiddle East headquarters for many of theworld’s biggest companies.

Finance Department Director GeneralAbdulrahman al-Saleh said the payouts willbe provided to government-linked companiesas loans based on their projects’ “strategicand developmental importance” to the city-state.

“Each application for support will beassessed against predetermined criteria toensure the funds are allocated efficiently andin accordance with Dubai’s long-term growthstrategy,” the finance chief said in a statementannouncing the fund.

Dubai and its vast web of state-sponsoredcompanies are deep in debt and strugglingbecause of the global downturn. The govern-ment has said it and its related companiesowe some $80 billion, although a precisebreakdown of the debt pile has not been madepublic.

The Dubai government announced the $20billion loan program in February. It has previ-ously provided little detail about how thefunds are being distributed.

So far, half of the loan package — $10 bil-lion — has been provided by the federalUnited Arab Emirates central bank, based inthe neighboring capital Abu Dhabi. Thatmove was seen by many observers as a feder-al bailout of the best known of the UAE’sseven semiautonomous sheikdoms — a char-acterization Dubai’s government rejects. Thesecond round of $10 billion has not beenissued yet.

Analysts welcomed Wednesday’s move asa sign Dubai remains committed to backingsome of its debt-saddled companies. But theysaid more needs to be done.

Crucial“It does not address some of the crucial

questions that we ... have regarding the crite-ria of financial support, as well as which com-panies are regarded as strategic, and whichare not,” said Philipp Lotter, senior vice pres-ident at credit rating agency Moody’s MiddleEast in Dubai.

It is not known when the second $10 bil-lion of financing will be issued and whetherthe federal government also plans to back thatround, as analysts expect.

Wednesday’s announcement said the recip-ients of the emergency financing will not benamed.

However, some funds have already beenpumped into the property developer Nakheel,which made its name by building palm-shaped islands off the emirate’s Persian Gulfcoast. The state-owned developer acknowl-edged in May that it had received a share ofthe funds, but did not say how much.

DUBAI, July 22, (Agencies):Dubai launched the secondtranche of a $20 billion sover-eign bond programme, turningto foreign as well as local banksand setting up a fund to supportlocal companies hit by the fall-out of the financial crisis.

The tourism and finance hub, part ofthe United Arab Emirates, also said it hasmore tools to raise funds to support state-linked firms. The first $10 billion tranchewas sold to the United Arab Emiratescentral bank.

“It’s open to banks, financial institutionsinside and outside the country,” AbdulrahmanAl Saleh, the new director general of Dubai’sdepartment of finance, told Reuters.

Hopes the Arab Gulf states would ride outthe credit crisis on the back of oil wealth havefoundered as the region’s real estate boomcollapsed, the price of oil fell, and concernsgrew over the solvency of some debt-ladenprivate Saudi firms.

Several banks in the region have offereddetails on exposure to a debt crisis for theSaad Group and another Saudi family firm,and data on Wednesday showed two largeSaudi banks hiked provisions for bad loans inthe second quarter.

Dubai said the proceeds from its bondscheme would underpin companies such asDubai World’s Nakheel, developer of Dubai’ssignature palm-shaped islands, part of itsdrive to build tourism as an alternative to itsincome from oil.

Nakheel has $3.5 billion worth of Islamicbonds maturing in December and questionsremain over the government’s plan for them.

Other state-linked firms include DubaiHolding, owned by the ruler of Dubai,Emirates airline and Emaar Properties.

StrategiesIn separate comments in an in-house inter-

view, released earlier on Wednesday, Salehsaid the government would support its linkedcompanies with funds from the bondissuance, adding:

“But we have strategies to raise additionalfunds as and when required to support theseentities.”

Saleh also said a previously published fig-ure of Dubai’s $80 billion debt referred togovernment and government-related debt —of which $20 billion was owed by the gov-ernment — adding the state-linked entitiesdebt was “manageable in the long-term.”

One London-based fund manager, whoasked not to be identified, said any offeredspread must take into account the possibilityof more issuance by Dubai and uncertaintyabout how much that could be.

“Most investors outside of the Middle Eastwould need to have more transparency onDubai’s total funding needs and a propermarketing visit by the authorities to explainthe situation would be helpful,” the managersaid.

Last week, the UAE central bank governorsaid the bank may buy into the second trancheof the programme and would start tradingthese bonds soon after.

The key question for bond investors iswhether the UAE government, which has ahigh credit rating, would back the bonds. ForDubai watchers, knowing which companiesneed the funds and hwo much is also vital.

“The announcement falls short in terms ofshoring up investor confidence in the state ofDubai Inc’s finances,” Farouk Soussa, aStandard & Poor’s credit analyst, said.

Dubai said earlier this year it may seek asovereign rating for its debt issuances.

The fund set up to manage the proceeds fromthe sale will provide loans on a commercialbasis to government and government-relatedentities “deemed to be of strategic and develop-ment importance to the Emirate of Dubai”.

Dubai’s finance department said the sup-port fund would contribute to “the overalleconomic development of the emirate”. The

Still significant grey areas in contract

Regions want more say in awarding contracts

Iraq provinces eye role in energyBAGHDAD, July 22, (RTRS): Frustrated at thefailure to secure developers for gas fields at theBaghdad energy auction, two Iraqi provinces arejostling for greater influence in awarding con-tracts to foreign firms.

Rows over land and authority between Iraq’ssemi-autonomous northern Kurdish region andthe central government have already delayedvital energy laws and added controversy to plansto award major global firms development con-tracts.

Iraq says it needs foreign expertise to rehabili-tate and develop its oil and gas fields after yearsof war.

The demands of western Anbar province andnortheastern Diyala province, home to two majorgas fields, now add another layer of complexityto the already largely uncharted process of auc-tioning off rights to develop Iraq’s energyreserves.

“The Oil Ministry wants to be the only one tomake deals with foreign firms. We have no objec-tion, but we must be partners in making thesedeals as long as they involve Anbar,” Anbar gov-ernor Qassim al-Fahdawi told Reuters.

To ensure the province’s cooperation in award-ing foreign firms contracts to develop its Akkasgas field, there must be also be deals for the gas

to be used in Anbar in related industries, Fahdawisaid.

Anbar, like the rest of Iraq, is plagued byunemployment, and it wants gas to be used local-ly to make products like fertilizer for export.

“The premiership and the Oil Ministry under-stand this plan that we have put forward, and acommittee has been formed from the OilMinistry, the cabinet and the Anbar governmentto choose the firms that would sign such deals,”Fahdawi said.

The Iraqi government has promoted Akkas asa source of gas for an export pipeline, either toSyria or via the planned Nabucco pipeline ToTurkey and Europe.

But there was just one bid for Akkas, with gasreserves of 2.1 trillion cubic feet, in the OilMinistry’s June 30 energy auction, and the bid-ding consortium led by Italy’s Edison did not inthe end accept Iraq’s stiff payment terms.

There were no bids at all for the Mansuriyahgas field in Diyala, with 3.3 trillion cubic feet ofreserves, in the auction, which was heavily criti-cised for producing just one deal from eightfields on offer.

Anbar now appears ready to accept the min-istry’s plan to let the National Oil Company takethe lead on Akkas.

GCC banking sector to feel ‘Saudi impact’

Analysis on Middle East riskLONDON, July 22, (RTRS): Middle East ana-lysts from London-based risk consultancyExclusive Analysis answer emailed questionsabout Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

IranQ: What impact will recent unrest in Iran

have on the business environment, particularlyfor foreign investors?

A: The UK and France have borne the brunt ofthe government accusations of Western involve-ment in the post-electoral unrest and have bothhad Tehran embassy staff subject to arrest andintimidation by the Iranian authorities. The keyforeign trade partners of Iran, Italy and Germany,have had less trouble and were subject to lax ver-bal attacks by the administration.

These developments are unlikely to leave along-term impact on trade ties between Iran andEurope; Iran is able to effectively divorce itseconomic ambitions, particularly in the energysector, from its political considerations.However, as European companies, under pres-sure from the US, delay starting projects inIran’s energy sector, Iran is likely to favourChinese and domestic companies for oil-sectordevelopment.

Saudi ArabiaQ: How will recent defaults by the conglom-

erates, Saad Group and al-Gosaibi, impact ondebt dynamics in the kingdom in the financialand other sectors? Would there be any widerimpact on the rest of the region?

A: The Saudi government’s refusal to bailout Saad and AHAB sends a strong signal tolenders that, unlike in strategic sectors likeenergy, transport or telecoms, non-strategicfirms facing major debt crises cannot expectrescue by the state. This will make local banks- many of whom hold a substantial amount ofSaad and AHAB’s bad debt – less willing tolend what they perceive as troubled firms, rais-ing the risk of defaults in non-strategic sectors,especially as many companies are facing seri-ous financial crises amidst a global economiccrisis. The government’s decision to freeze theassets of Saad Group’s billionaire chairman,Maan al-Sanea, along with several AHABaccounts will further discourage lending andworsen the current GCC liquidity crisis.

The defaults do not, however, substantiallychange the probability of firms defaulting inother GCC countries. The governments of theUAE and Qatar have shown they will intervenefinancially to rescue large, prestigious businessinterests from collapse. However, the negative

impact will be felt in the GCC banking sectordue to Gulf banks’ exposure to Saad andAHABs debt. The Lebanese and Jordanianbanking sectors are minimally exposed - theformer is especially tightly regulated - and areperforming strongly, while the Egyptian onehas never attracted much foreign capital orinvested heavily abroad, limiting risks there.

United Arab EmiratesQ: Do you anticipate widespread defaults in

the UAE in light of the global credit crisis?Which sectors are most likely to be affected?How will this affect the internal dynamics of theUnited Arab Emirates and wider politics withinthe region? What would this mean for risk forother investments in Dubai and the region, suchas real estate?

A: We do not think defaults will be the majorissue for businesses and financial institutions inthe UAE. Despite the high volume of projectsannounced in real estate, infrastructure, retailand other sectors over recent years, much of thiswork is being funded by local banks or largesemi-public developers and holding companies.Abu Dhabi has amassed a sovereign wealthfund estimated at $350 billion and has readilyprovided financial support for the UAE’s trou-bled banks.

It has also backed its large real estate devel-opers, minimising the risk of defaults. Instead,what we are likely to see in the UAE are wide-spread project delays and cancellations espe-cially in real estate, including commercial andresidential developments. Around half of thecountry’s projects have been cancelled orplaced on hold since the financial crisis hit theUAE in late-2008. This is mainly due to fallingdemand amidst a global recession and a sub-stantial oversupply of high-end luxury develop-ments, especially in Dubai.

This is mainly due to falling demand amidsta global recession and a substantial oversupplyof high-end luxury developments, especially inDubai. A $10 billion bailout of Dubai by AbuDhabi increased local banks’ deposits and mort-gage lending but did not address the key issuesof oversupply and falling demand which willcontinue to drive project cancellations anddelays going forward. HSBC estimates proper-ty prices in Dubai fell by 40 percent inSeptember 2008-March 2009 and the largedevelopers which dominate the sector have cuttheir workforce substantially. Significant popu-lation shrinkage (5 percent to 30 percent) isexpected this year in Dubai and will worsen theproblem.

‘Iraq-BP’ deadline optimisticDUBAI/LONDON, July 22,(RTRS): An August deadline forBP to sign a deal with Iraq todevelop the country’s largestproducing oilfield looks opti-mistic, but the company is san-guine the contract will proceed, aBP source said on Wednesday.

A BP-led consortium includ-ing China’s CNPC won the rightto develop the field at an oil andgas field auction last month inBaghdad. The auction was thefirst opportunity since the US-ledinvasion in 2003 for foreignfirms to compete for deals towork on the world’s third-largestoil reserves.

“An August signing alwayslooked tight,” the BP source said.Executives from other compa-nies competing for contracts inIraq said the model contract forthe deals needed a lot of clarifi-cation before BP or any othercompany would sign it.

The consortium was close tosubmitting to Iraq an overview ofits plan to redevelop and boostproduction from the giantRumaila oilfield, the BP sourcesaid.

Last week, BP requested anextension of a week to the July15 deadline for the plan’s sub-mission, an oil industry sourcesaid.

BP and CNPC executives werein Baghdad on Wednesday to dis-cuss work at Rumaila with OilMinister Hussain al-Shahristani,the oil ministry spokesman said.

“Representatives of the twofirms answered questions fromthe Oil Ministry officials aboutdeveloping Rumaila oilfield,”spokesman Asim Jihad toldReuters.

Under bidding terms, the con-tract was due for signing inAugust. But the draft contractwould need extensive workbefore BP committed billions ofdollars of risky investment, theoil firm executives said.

Several companies sent a listof their concerns to the oil min-istry ahead of the bidding rounddetailing what they saw as issuesthat needed to be resolved beforesigning, should they win con-tracts, executives said.

“A huge amount of the con-tract was based on trust,” saidone senior oil executive at anoth-er international oil firm.“Companies don’t like this at all,especially when there is high riskand you are committing billionsof dollars.”

The issues have long doggedIraq’s attempts to attract foreigninvestment in its battered oilindustry, performing well belowits potential after years of sanc-tions and war.

Among them are security,method of payment, ratificationof contracts, Iraq’s fiscal stabilityand how foreign firms wouldcooperate with the local unit ofIraq’s state oil firms.

Iraq’s oil ministry has saidthere is no need for parliament toratify contracts with foreign oilfirms. But a top parliamentariansaid this week the legislative bodyhas the power to block the deals.

Oil firms have also expressedconcern that local or future cen-tral governments may levy taxeson the contracts or change theagreed terms.

Two more provinces werepushing for greater influenceover energy contracts, addingthemselves to a list that alreadyincludes the semi-autonomousnorthern Kurdish region.

A bitter feud betweenBaghdad and the Kurdish regionover control of energy resourceshas delayed a federal oil law foryears.

Govt to issue 2nd tranche of $20 bln bonds

Oman average oil output rises 6.9 pct

Non-OPEC producer Oman’s aver-age oil production increased by 6.9percent to 789,800 barrels per day inthe first five months of 2009 com-pared to a year earlier, according toofficial data published onWednesday.

The Gulf Arab state is targetingaverage output of 800,000 bpd in2009, up from 757,000 bpd in 2008.

Oman’s output peaked at956,000 bpd in 2001 and since

then it has been fighting to arrestdeclining production from depletedfields.

Oman sold its oil at an averageprice of $44.84 per barrel fromJanuary to May, the data showed,down 50.2 percent from the sameperiod last year.

Its gas production increased by 0.8percent to 443.5 billion cubic feet inthe first five months of 2009 over lastyear. (RTRS)

Saudi sells rare spot naphtha

Asia’s top naphtha term supplier SaudiAramco has sold 80,000 tonnes of spotA310 naphtha for mid-August lifting fromRas Tanura in a rare move, just daysafter it sold an unusual 55,000 tonnes ofnaphtha lifting from Yanbu and Jeddah,traders said on Wednesday.

The cargo was sold to Vitol at a pre-mium ranging from low to mid-teensto Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

“This may have something to do

with the restart of its hydrocracker,”said a trader.

Saudi Aramco had a shut a 44,000barrels per day (bpd) hydrocrackerfollowing on outage in early March.

Traders said the unit restarted end-June, but the run rates could not beimmediately determined and produc-tion has been unstable.

At full-tilt, the unit could producemore than 100,000 tonnes of A310grade a month. (RTRS)

Sabic, Exxon talk to bidders

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC)and Exxon Mobil Chemical are look-ing to drum up interest from biddersfor a new petrochemical project, con-tracting sources said on Wednesday.

Building petrochemical capacity ispart of the kingdom’s plan to diversifyits economy away from oil exports.Sabic and Exxon Mobil’s chemical unitsigned a preliminary agreement inNovember to establish the multi-billiondollar synthetic rubber joint venture at

their plants in Jubail and Yanbu.The two companies would issue bid

packages for the Jubail plant by the endof the year, Saudi-based contractingsources said. Executives from Sabic,Exxon and contracting companies weremeeting in Houston on Wednesday todiscuss the project, contractors said.

The deadline for companies to sub-mit documents for prequalification tobid for the packages was Wednesday,contractors said. (RTRS)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

42BUSINESS

Reliance Comm gets $2.2 bln, 10-yr Etisalat deal

Reliance Communications has got adeal worth more than $2.2 billion over10 years from Etisalat’s Indian tele-coms joint venture, which will useReliance’s mobile towers to roll out itsnetwork.

Etisalat DB Telecom India, in whichthe Gulf Arab region’s second-largesttelecoms operator owns a 45 percentstake, has licences to provide mobileservices in 15 of India’s 22 telecomszones but is yet to start services.

The company will outsource its net-

work infrastructure need, includingmobile tower requirement, to RelianceCommunications, India’s No. 2 mobileoperator, the two firms said onWednesday.

“This alliance provides us with key,strategic advantages that will ensure arobust, speed to market and cost-effec-tive roll-out of services,” EtisalatChairman Mohammed Hassan Omransaid in a statement.

Indian mobile operators are increas-ingly sharing base stations and tying

up with other firms and independenttower firms to cut costs as they expandacross vast rural districts and pene-trate smaller towns, where low-incomesubscribers dominate.

“Both companies gain in terms ofcost optimisation. Since there is mar-ginal increase in capex and cost, thevalue mentioned largely flows to thebottomline,” said Inder Bajaj, whoheads Reliance Infratel, the towerunit of Reliance Communications.(RTRS)

HK unveils $800m plan to pay back Lehman investors

Hong Kong banks agreed to returnmore than $800 million to investorsburned by Lehman Brothers-backedproducts, potentially ending a nearlyyearlong dispute that sparked streetprotests and exposed problems in thefinancial center’s markets.

The 16 banks will return as much as70 percent of the principal to thousandsof investors, regulators said Wednesday.That could total $6.3 billion Hong Kongdollars, or nearly $810 million.

The banks will also set up a HK$200

million ($25 million) fund to help pay legalcosts of trying to recover collateral thatwas backing many of the investments,possibly increasing the payout forinvestors. Martin Wheatley, chief execu-tive of the territory’s securities watchdog,the Securities and Futures Commission,called the deal a “watershed.”

“This is a huge settlement,” Wheatleytold reporters. “It is unprecedented, cer-tainly in Hong Kong and most otherjurisdictions around the world,”

The dispute erupted in September

after the collapse of Wall Street invest-ment bank Lehman Brothers HoldingsInc., throwing into doubt the value offinancial products it backed and chan-neled to Hong Kong investors, many ofthem retirees, through the territory’sbanks and brokerages. Facing billionsof dollars in possible losses, investorstook to the streets. Meanwhile, author-ities opened probes, lawmakers con-demned regulators for failing to protectinvestors and banks were accused ofdeceptive selling practices. (AP)

China says exports may bottom out, touts stable yuan

Beijing calls on Washington to keep dollar steadyBEIJING, July 22, (Agencies): China willpress Washington at high-level economictalks next week to protect Chinese assets inthe United States by following policies thatkeep the dollar stable, a finance official saidWednesday.

The July 27-28 talks in Washington are thefirst meeting under the Obama administrationof the United States-China Strategic andEconomic Dialogue.

Beijing’s delegation “will make the requestthat the US side should adopt responsiblepolicies to ensure the basic stability of theexchange rate of the US dollar and protect thesafety of Chinese assets in the United States,”said Zhu Guangyao, an assistant finance min-ister, at a news briefing.

Chinese officials worry that massive USstimulus spending might spark inflation thatwould erode the value of the dollar andChina’s holdings of US government debt.China is Washington’s single biggest creditor,with $801.5 billion in Treasury securities,according to the US Treasury Department.

US Federal Reserve Chairman BenBernanke told Congress on Tuesday theAmerican central bank is confident it can pre-vent a flare up of inflation once a recovery is

firmly rooted.Zhu said China had just received

Bernanke’s “very important policy testimo-ny” and was not ready to comment but wouldgive it “very careful study.”

The US side in the dialogue will be led bySecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clintonand Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner.The Chinese side is led by Vice PremierWang Qishan and State Councilor DaiBingguo.

The two governments will discuss meas-ures to respond to the global financial crisisand revive economic growth, Zhu said. Hesaid China hoped the meeting would produceagreements to promote trade and oppose pro-tectionism.

“The aim is to send out a positive signalthat China and the United States are workingtogether to overcome the difficulties at thistime,” Zhu said.

The two sides also plan to discuss strength-ening cooperation in new and renewableenergy and conservation, said He Yafei, adeputy foreign minister. He said he had nomore details of the energy talks.

The US commerce and energy secretariesvisited Beijing last week to lobby China’s

bottomlinethe BoE mulls further money infusionBrown attacks Conservatives plan to abolish FSA

LONDON, July 22, (Agencies): The Bank of England’s rate-settingbody was unanimous when it voted to keep its key interest rate at arecord low of 0.5 percent and said it would assess whether it neededanother £25 billion to pump into the economy next month, minutesto the July 9 meeting showed Wednesday.

The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said it had “not learnedmuch” from developments in the month up to the meeting that would have enabled itto assess whether its program to enlarge the money supply needed to be stepped up and

that more reliable data would be available next month.Under the Asset Purchase Program, the Bank of England can buy up to £150 billion of

assets from financial institutions, such as government and corporate bonds, financed by thecreation of bank reserves, in effect, by printing new money. The Bank hopes the banks willuse the funds they gain to lend to businesses and consumers now, but had only committedto using £125 billion so far.

“There had not been enough clear evidence to suggest that the £125 billion target shouldbe changed at this meeting,” the MPC said. Most economists had expected the Bank ofEngland to signal that it would use up the final £25 billion it was allocated by British finance

minister Alistair Darling back in March.Instead, the nine-member panel noted

that it would be purchasing the £125 billioncurrent target at “a slower rate over the nextmonth than it had under the program so far”and that purchases would continue up untilthe next rate-setting meeting in August.

It said August would be an opportunemoment for the Bank of England to assessthe policy and whether it needs the last £25billion installment authorized by the gov-ernment, as it also publishes its latest quar-terly economic forecasts.

“The Committee would keep the scale ofthe program under review, and the prepara-tion of the August Inflation Report offeredan opportunity to reassess the stock of assetpurchases in the light of a fully updatedassessment of the outlook for inflation andgrowth and its next meeting,” the MPCsaid.

The minutes also showed that the MPCappeared broadly more confident about theoutlook for the British economy, whichcontracted by a massive 2.4 percent in thefirst quarter of 2009 from the previous threemonth period.

“The surveys suggested that the momen-tum going into the second half of the yearwas greater than the Committee had expect-ed in May and the near-term inflation out-look may be a little higher,” the MPC said.

However, they said the main factors thathad influenced its last set of projections inMay were still relevant. While the invento-ry cycle, the big policy stimulus and thepound’s fall should boost activity, it saidbalance sheet constraints within the bankswould continue to limit demand growth.

“Overall, little evidence had emergedsince May to change the Committee’sviews about the broad shape of theprospects for the economy in the mediumterm, although the downside risks to GDPin the near term had probably diminished,”the MPC said.

Analysts said the minutes showed themonetary policy committee noticeablymore optimistic about the outlook for theBritish economy.

Also:LONDON: British Prime Minister GordonBrown attacked a proposal by the opposi-tion Conservatives on Wednesday to abol-ish the Financial Services Authority (FSA),calling their bank regulation plan “com-pletely unacceptable”.

The Conservatives, unveiling their planfor financial market regulation if they winan election due in less than a year, said onMonday the FSA watchdog should be abol-ished and the Bank of England put in fullcharge of supervising financial institutions.

Brown accused the Conservatives offavouring an “old self-regulatory systemthat never worked”. “To return to some-thing like that is completely unacceptable,”he told a news conference.

“If anything the powers of the FinancialServices Authority have got to be greater inthe years to come,” Brown said.

“The idea that we return to a systemwhere what is the monetary authorityresponsible for interest rates in this country,responsible for controlling inflation ... thatit should be doing the day-to-day regulationof every individual financial institution isnot only potentially a conflict of interest, itis actually the wrong thing to do.”

A South Korean woman poses with the Samsung Electronics’ the world thinnest 11.98-millimeter watch phone called Ultra Slim Watch Phone(S9110) in Seoul, South Korea, July 22. The phone will go for sale with $639. The handset is 11.98 millimetres (0.48 inches) thick comparedto the 13.9 millimetres of a model by rival LG Electonics, Samsung said in a statement. The firm plans to sell the new phone, priced at around450 euros ($639), first in France this month and then other European markets. The mobile has a 1.76-inch touch screen on which users can

check e-mails and play MP3s as well as make calls, Samsung said. It also has a Bluetooth function and voice recognition. (AP)

Factory orders weaker than expected in July

UK economy returning to growth Q4LONDON, July 22, (RTRS): Britain’s econo-my will return to growth in the last quarter ofthis year, as companies start to rebuild inven-tories, but strong growth will not return until2013, a leading academic thinktank forecaston Wednesday.

The National Institute of Economic andSocial Research said a turning point in theinventory cycle and the impact from the salestax cut will help Britain’s economy to expandby 0.5 percent in the last quarter after a 0.1percent drop in Q3.

But the thinktank warned that the recoverywas expected to be weak and kept its forecastthat the British economy would contract by4.3 percent in the whole of the year, thesharpest decline since the aftermath of WorldWar Two. “We expect to see continued con-traction in consumer spending and privatesector investment,” said Simon Kirby, aresearch fellow at the NIESR, adding thatlending was key for sustainable growth in theeconomy.

“The weakness of bank lending remains asa concern and it is necessary that it strength-ens if the economy is to return to sustainedgrowth. Lending by monetary financial insti-tutions remains weak,” NIESR report said.

The think tank expects the economy togrow by a modest 1 percent next year and 1.8percent in 2011, in part reflecting a boost to

exporters from weaker sterling. NIESR’s 2010 forecasts are more upbeat

than that of the International Monetary Fund(IMF), which last week predicted the Britisheconomy would post modest growth of 0.2percent next year.

Also:LONDON: British manufacturing orders havefallen at their fastest rate since January 1992this month, a survey showed on Wednesday,disappointing hopes for a speedy recovery inthe sector.

The Confederation of British Industry’sindustrial trends survey showed the orderbook balance fell to -59 in July from -51 inJune, below analysts’ expectations of a read-ing of -45.

“The survey heightens suspicion that sus-tainable growth in the sector could remainelusive for some considerable time to come,”said Howard Archer, an economist at IHSGlobal Insight.

The export orders balance improved slight-ly in July, up to -45 from -52 in June, but stillindicated sharp declines.

The CBI said it was disappointing that ster-ling’s 20 percent fall over the past two yearshad not had more of an impact.

“The further sharp decline in export ordersis of particular concern as we are not seeingmuch of a boost from the relative weakness of

sterling,” said Ian McCafferty, chief eco-nomic adviser to the CBI.

“There are also further indications that theinventory cycle may not be turning as quick-ly as many had hoped.”

The quarterly survey showed conditionshad improved since earlier in the year butremained tough, particularly for small firmsthat were still finding it hard to accessfinance.

The quarterly business situation balanceimproved to -16 in July, its least negativereading since October 2007, from -40 inApril.

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Britain has pledged to support its ailingshipbuilding industry with an investment ofnearly £3.5 billion ($5.75 billion), while say-ing that two major aircraft carrier projectswould still go ahead.

The government’s Ministry of Defence(MoD) said it would guarantee at least £230million a year of work to industry leadersBVT for 15 years in exchange for a restruc-turing of the entity, which is led by defencegiant BAE Systems.

Britain’s shipyards have been under threatof massive job cuts or even closure for sever-al years due to the boom-bust nature of ship-building work.

BERLIN: The German government saidWednesday that after a first evaluation ofoffers on the table for General Motors sub-sidiary Opel it still preferred a bid byCanadian auto parts maker Magna.

Authorities in Berlin hope to come to anagreement with GM in the next few weeks, agovernment spokesman added, although thefinal decision on who will finally take overOpel will probably not occur for severalmonths yet.

Germany had already expressed a prefer-ence for the Russian-backed Magna bid overrival offers from Belgium-based investmentgroup RHJ International and China’sBAIC, said Ulrich Wilhelm, a spokesmanfor Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“This assessment ... has been confirmedfollowing our examination (of the bids),” hetold a regular briefing ahead of a meeting ofthe government’s “Opel task force” with GMexecutives.

While the final decision lies with GM, theGerman government is involved as it is setto stump up billions of euros (dollars) inloan guarantees to sweeten any takeover dealin a bid to save tens of thousands of jobs.(AFP)

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BERLIN: Deutsche Bank, Germany’sbiggest lender, said Wednesday it hadfound four suspected cases of spying car-ried out by companies it had hired butstressed the incidents were “isolated” andnot systemic.

The four cases involve “questionableinvestigative or surveillance activities” withregard to a supervisory board member and ajournalist, a shareholder, a person whothreatened board members, and a manage-ment board member, a bank statement said.

Two departement heads have been firedfollowing an investigation, the bank added.

The incidents dating back to 1998 “raiselegal issues such as data protection or priva-cy concerns,” Deutsche Bank acknowledgedin a statement.

“In all incidents, the activities arose out ofcertain mandates performed by external serv-ice providers on behalf of the Bank’sCorporate Security Department,” it said.(AFP)

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PARIS: Consumer spending in recession-hitFrance rebounded in the second quarter,driven by a revival in car buying, officialstatistics showed on Wednesday.

Seasonally-adjusted figures from theINSEE statistics institute showed householdspending on manufactured products grew 1.4percent in June after a dip in May, by 0.7percent over the second quarter of 2009 and0.2 percent in the first.

The second-quarter rise was driven “main-ly by consumer spending on automobiles,” itsaid. Consumer spending, seen as a key driv-er of growth in Europe’s third-biggest econo-my, was up by 1.2 percent over the past 12months.

France’s economy is expected to contractby three percent overall this year due to oneof the harshest economic crises in decades.

Economy Minister Christine Lagardehailed the consumer spending figures as bet-ter than expected. Speaking on French tele-vision ahead of their official publication shesaid that industrial production and the autosector were looking up. (AFP)

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GENEVA: Big companies expect their for-eign direct investment to recover slowly in2010 and gather momentum in 2011 afterfalling this year in the economic crisis, a UNagency said in a report released onWednesday.

The survey of 241 major multinationalsby the United Nations Conference onTrade and Development (UNCTAD) com-plements recent studies by the UN body thatsuggest foreign direct investment could near-ly halve this year, then benefit from govern-ment moves to draw in funds.

“The crisis has triggered new efforts topromote and facilitate FDI and to enhancethe clarity and stability of their investmentframeworks,” James Zhan, director ofUNCTAD’s investment and enterprise divi-sion, told a news conference.

The annual survey shows that prospectsfor foreign direct investment (FDI) in pri-mary sectors such as mining and agricultureand in services are bright, but the outlook forinvestment in manufacturing is less opti-

mistic. (RTRS)❑ ❑ ❑

LONDON: HSBC Holdings, Europe’sbiggest bank, was fined £3.2 million ($5.2million) on Wednesday for information secu-rity breaches, the biggest fine Britain’sfinancial regulator has ever imposed for datasecurity lapses.

The lapses include sending confidentialdata of 180,000 insurance policy holdersthrough the post by unrecorded delivery andleaving customer data in open sacks in areception area.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA)said three of the bank’s units – HSBC Life,HSBC Actuaries and HSBC InsuranceBrokers – had failed to put in place ade-quate systems and controls to protect cus-tomers’ details from being lost or stolen. Thethree units were fined £1.6 million, 875,000and 700,000, respectively.

In February 2008, HSBC Life lost anunencrypted CD containing the details of180,000 policy holders in the post. The diskwas sent by unrecorded delivery and con-tained names, ages, sex, dates of birth andpolicy numbers. (RTRS)

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BRUSSELS: Poland’s Gdansk shipyardmust slash capacity in return for EUapproval to keep 251 million euros ($357million) in government subsidies, theEuropean Commission said Wednesday.

The yard, the birthplace of the anti-com-munist movement, was threatened with clo-sure during a four-year EU investigation intowhether government capital injections, taxwrite-offs, loans and guarantees should berepaid because they might be illegal anddamaging to competition.

Regulators said that they could nowapprove the subsidies because a new restruc-turing plan to reduce capacity would removethe advantage the yard received from yearsof government help.

The plan will close two of the yard’s threeslipways and cap production. There was nomention of how many jobs will have to go.Workers have claimed that the work forcecould shrink by a third with the loss of some1,000 jobs.

The EU executive said shipbuildingcapacity has to be reduced to compensate forseven years of government handouts thatboosted the yard’s output, giving it an unfairadvantage over rivals and distorting compe-tition for shipbuilding across Europe. (AP)

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CANBERRA, Australia: Australia’sannual inflation rate has slowed to 1.5 per-cent, creating leeway for the central bank tolower interest rates below the current 49-year low, government figures showed onWednesday.

Falling costs of banking, vegetables andoverseas vacations helped reduce the infla-tion rate for the year through June to a 10-year low of 1.5 percent, the AustralianBureau of Statistics said in its latest quarter-ly update. The previous update showed anannual rate of 2.5 percent for the yearthrough March. The Reserve Bank ofAustralia said Tuesday that it had flexibilityto lower interest rates below 3 percent ifnecessary to coax a sluggish economy.

Australian interest rates reached a 49-yearlow of 3 percent in April, when the bank cutthe benchmark rate by a quarter of a percent-age point to 3 percent. (AP)

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KUALA LUMPUR: Corporate defaults inMalaysia, Southeast Asia’s largest bond mar-ket, could hit the highest level this year sincethe 1997 financial crisis as firms struggle torepay borrowings, a rating agency said.

RAM Ratings, which says it rates aboutthree quarters of corporate bonds inMalaysia worth 160 billion ringgit ($45.11billion), said 4.8 percent of the issuers itrates could default in 2009 in the worse-casescenario, including Islamic bonds or sukuk.

That would mark the highest default levelsince the 8.8 percent recorded during the1997/98 Asian crisis. Exporters of hi-techgoods, retailers and builders are seen asamong the most vulnerable, while rubberglove makers and food producers arebelieved to be more resilient sectors.

“We expect the level of default to be high-er this year compared to 2008,” said RAMRatings Chief Executive Liza Mohd Noor.(RTRS)

China says has evidence Rio staff stole secretsBEIJING, July 22, (Agencies): China hastold the Australian government it has “suf-ficient evidence” that detained Rio Tintoexecutives stole state secrets, a seniorChinese official said Wednesday.

Vice foreign minister He Yafei said hebriefed his Australian counterpart StephenSmith of the developments on the side-lines of the Non-Aligned summit in Egyptlast week.

“I stressed that we have sufficient evi-dence showing that the individualsinvolved obtained China’s state secretsusing illegal means,” He told reporters.

“The case has entered into the judicial

process and I requested the Australianside to respect China’s judicial sovereign-ty,” he said.

Chinese authorities arrested Stern Hu,the Australian head of the miner’sShanghai office, and three local staff earli-er this month accusing them of bribery andother illegal means to gather state secrets.

However, Rio Tinto said in a statementlast week that media reports its employeeshad bribed steel mill officials during toughiron ore contract negotiations were “whollywithout foundation.”

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Ruddhas warned China that it had “significant”

business interests on the line in Hu’s caseand that foreign governments and interna-tional companies were watching develop-ments closely.

His remarks came after Smith toldAustralian media over the weekend thatChina was handling the investigation as acriminal case with a focus on commercial andeconomic matters rather than espionage.

Australia pressed China againWednesday for a quick resolution to thecase of a Rio Tinto manager accused ofespionage while acknowledging it will notbe settled with one meeting of the twosides.

government to help encourage private-sectordevelopment of clean energy.

Asked whether China would discuss recentprotests in its northwestern Muslim region ofXinjiang, He said the issue might come up butrepeated Beijing’s insistence that it wasChina’s internal affair.

He did not answer directly when askedwhether Beijing might request that the UnitedStates extradite Uighur activist RebiyaKadeer, whom Beijing has accused of insti-gating the protests. Kadeer, who lives in exilein Washington, has denied the accusation.

However, He said China hoped

Washington “would not allow her to engagein separatist activities.” Beijing has claimedthat the protests were aimed at promotingindependence for the Xinjiang region.

Zhu said China does not expect the issue ofthe detention of four employees of miner RioTinto Ltd., including an Australian citizen, on

espionage charges to come up in the talks.The deputy foreign minister, He, said he

told Australia’s foreign minister, StephenSmith, at a meeting last week in Egypt thatBeijing has “ample evidence” the Rioemployees stole state secrets. He gave no newdetails of the case. State media say the Rioemployees are accused of paying bribes toobtain confidential information on China’snegotiating stance in iron ore price talks.

“This will not and should not affect normaltrade relations between the two countries,”He said. “China would not want to see this.And I think the Australian side will treat thisjust as an individual case.”

The pace of decline in China’s exportscould ease later this year while the country’sstable yuan policy will benefit the globaleconomy, Commerce Minister Chen Demingsaid on Wednesday.

“Overall, China’s economy is stabilisingand improving,” Chen told reporters after atwo-day APEC meeting in Singapore. “As forexports in the second half, we’ll have to lookat the global economic situation. If the globaleconomy improves, the pace of exportdecline should ease.”

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

43BUSINESS

California budget plan includes new offshore oil

The deal to close California’s $26 billionbudget deficit included a plan to drill foroffshore oil, drawing allegations that thefiscal crisis was used for a backroomdeal following rejection of the idea bystate regulators earlier this year.

Democrats agreed to Republican Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger’s request toexpand drilling from an existing platformoff Santa Barbara to generate a one-time $100 million advance royalty pay-ment this fiscal year and an estimated$1.8 billion in royalties over 14 years.

It would be the first new offshore oildrilling on state lands in four decadessince a blowout on a platform off SantaBarbara coated miles of ocean andshoreline and galvanized opposition.

Details of the agreement reached lateMonday were scarce, but Lt Gov JohnGaramendi, chairman of the StateLands Commission, said Tuesday thatthe framework involved taking authorityfor approval of oil leases away fromState Lands and giving it to a newly cre-ated panel.

“This is a play by the governor to haveit his way,” he said. “This is a sellout tothe oil industry. They want to open theCalifornia coast to drilling, and this is thefirst step.”

The lack of details on the agreementand the way it emerged in budget talksconcerned Victoria Rome, deputyCalifornia advocacy director for theNatural Resources Defense Council.

“I think it should be very troubling tothe public that a decision that was madethrough a public process in the light of

day can be overturned by a few leadersbehind closed doors,” she said.

Schwarzenegger spokeswoman LisaPage said the proposal would bringnew revenues to the state, end oildrilling off Santa Barbara’s coast andspeed up the permanent removal ofplatforms there.

The governor’s office said in a state-ment that the platform involved isalready drilling in federal waters adja-cent to state waters. It said the projectmaintains a moratorium on oil drilling

“but takes advantage of a specificexemption that allows for new leases ifoil is leaking from an existing state fieldinto an actively producing federal field.”

The drilling proposal has been perco-lating since 2008 when PlainsExploration & Production Co. of Houstonannounced a novel deal with three vet-eran environmental groups in SantaBarbara County.

The groups, including Get Oil Out!,agreed to promote the plan in exchangefor money for the state, thousands of

acres of land and Plains’ commitment tocease operations countywide by 2022.

Garamendi said he opposed the planin January because provisions for end-ing operations could not be enforcedand because it would serve as a prece-dent for further drilling, encouraging thefederal government to issue new leasesoff the California coast.

The $100 million would be a loanagainst royalties and would be repaid bydeductions from future royalty paymentsto the state, he said. (AP)

Third quarter net profit swells to $1.23 bln

Apple smashes profit forecasts as iPhone shinesSAN FRANCISCO, July 22, (RTRS): AppleInc’s quarterly profit blew past Wall Streetforecasts thanks to strong sales of Macs andiPhones and higher-than-expected gross mar-gins, boosting its shares 4 percent on Tuesday.

The company continued to defy the globalrecession with a solid 13 percent jump in fis-cal third-quarter net profit. It sold more thanseven times as many iPhones — 5.2 millionunits of its latest signature device — as theyear-ago period.

“The numbers are great. Their gross profitscontinue to surprise people and there is areturn to product momentum ... a return togrowth in the Mac business,” said AndyHargreaves, an analyst at Pacific CrestSecurities. “And then the iPhone is doingtremendously well and that is a potent combi-nation.”

Apple reported a net profit of $1.23 billion,or $1.35 a share, for its fiscal third quarterended June 27, up from $1.07 billion, or $1.19a share, in the year-ago period.

Earnings per share beat by far the averageStreet forecast of $1.18 according to ReutersEstimates, and topped even the most bullish“whisper” numbers of $1.30 to $1.35.

Sales of Macs and iPhones both beat ana-lysts’ expectations, helped by product refresh-es and lower prices, while iPod shipmentswere toward the low end of forecasts.

Apple said it sold 2.6 million Macs, up 4percent from a year ago, and 5.2 millioniPhones in the June quarter, during which thecompany launched its third-generation iPhone3GS and cut the price on the second-genera-tion model to $99.

The iPhone is often thought of as more of aconsumer device, but Apple said nearly 20percent of Fortune 100 companies havebought at least 10,000 units and it is unable tomake enough iPhone 3GSes to meet demand— a shortfall the company said it is workingto address.

Although the smartphone segment contin-ues to grow more crowded with competitors,Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said on aconference call the company is “years aheadof other people” in its competitive position.

The install base for the iPhone and the iPodTouch — which share operating systems — isnow 45 million, Apple said.

“The iPhone is the biggest driver right now,because the profitability is really high,” said

bottomlinethe US Congress grills BernankeFed chairman questioned over actions to rescue economy

WASHINGTON, July 22, (AP): Federal Reserve Chairman BenBernanke ran into more tough questions Wednesday in CongressHill about the central bank’s extraordinary actions to rescue the USeconomy and its ability to take on even more responsibility.

Bernanke spoke before the Senate Banking Committee, one day after waging adefense of the Fed’s actions before lawmakers in the House.

Last year’s taxpayer-financed rescues of insurance giant American International Groupand others outraged many ordinary Americans and some lawmakers.

“Why does the Fed deserve more authority” when it failed to spot the current financialcrisis before it struck? wondered Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Democrat and chairman of thecommittee.

Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, raised the same concerns about expanding the Fed’sduties to police big financial companies, as envisioned by the Obama administration.

On the economy, high unemployment is“the most pressing issue” as the US strug-gles to emerge from recession, Bernanketold the Senate panel. He also said the Fedis monitoring the troubled commercial realestate market, where defaults are rising.

Bernanke’s innovative policies havebeen credited with helping avert a financialcatastrophe last year. But critics worryabout putting more taxpayer money at risk– and about leaving companies moreinclined to take big gambles, confident thegovernment will support them.

The Fed chief also argued against con-gressional proposals to let the GovernmentAccountability Office, Congress’ inves-tigative arm, audit the central bank. Hesays audits that delve into the Fed’s inter-est-rate decisions could compromise itsindependence in setting interest-rate poli-cies.

“You’ve argued for transparency andhaven’t delivered,” huffed Sen. JimBunning, a Republican. “You still resistfully opening your books. You are the onethrowing away independence by acting asan arm of the Treasury.”

Bernanke said he would work withCongress to release information about howtaxpayer money is being used in the finan-cial bailout. But he resisted the idea of pro-viding more information about interest-ratepolicy. “Where I’m resisting is monetarypolicy,” Bernanke said.

The Obama administration’s plan tooverhaul financial oversight, if it becamelaw, would avoid additional AIG-like tax-payer bailouts, Bernanke says.

In his first day in Congress on Tuesday,Bernanke ran into skepticism from law-makers on the House Financial ServicesCommittee about giving the Fed morepowers, since it failed to spot problems thatled to the financial crisis in the first place.

ProposalThe Fed chief on Tuesday told the House

Financial Services Committee that theadministration’s proposal would be a“modest reorientation” of the Fed’s pow-ers, not a great expansion of them.

All the hand-wringing in Congress aboutthe future shape of the Fed – as well as thebroader US regulatory structure – comes ata politically delicate time for Bernanke.His term expires early next year, andPresident Barack Obama will have todecide whether to reappoint him.

The Fed chief – as he did Tuesday –assured lawmakers that the central bankwill be able to reel in its economic stimulusand prevent a flare up of inflation once arecovery is firmly rooted. Still, any suchsteps will be far off in the future. The cen-tral bank’s focus remains “fostering eco-nomic recovery,” he said.

Bernanke also worked to beat back anadministration proposal to create a newconsumer protection regulator for financialservices and strip some of those dutiesfrom the central bank. The House paneldelayed a committee vote on that legisla-tion until September.

Regarding its consumer protection over-sight, Bernanke acknowledged, “The Fedhasn’t done all it should have” in the past.

Consumer groups and lawmakers haveblamed the Fed for failing to crack downearly on dubious mortgages practices thatfed the housing boom and figured into itscollapse.

US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies July 21 to the House Financial Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington,DC. The Federal Reserve is likely to maintain its easy money policy for some time despite signs of improvement in the economy and

financial markets, chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday. (AFP)

Wells Fargo posts Q2 profit of $2.58 bln

Morgan Stanley over $1.2b in redNEW YORK, July 22, (Agencies): MorganStanley said Wednesday it lost more than $1.2billion during the second quarter as it took acharge to repay government bailout money.The investment bank also was hurt for a sec-ond straight quarter by the improving value ofits own debt.

Morgan Stanley said its net loss after pay-ment of preferred dividends was $1.26 bil-lion, or $1.10 per share, during the quarterended June 30. The New York-based bankearned $1.06 billion, or $1.02 per share, dur-ing the same quarter last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, onaverage, forecast a loss of 49 cents per sharefor the quarter.

Unlike competitors Goldman Sachs GroupInc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co, MorganStanley’s trading profits and investmentbanking revenue, while strong, were unableto offset mounting charges during the secondquarter.

Both Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chaselast week reported profit of more than $2.7billion.

Morgan Stanley’s results were signifi-cantly hampered by an accounting rulerelated to the value of its debt. The rulerequires companies, on paper, to record aloss to cover the additional cash it wouldneed to meet its obligations when its debt isworth more.

Essentially, if Morgan Stanley had to buyits debt back at the end of the second quarter,it would have had to pay more for it than it

would have a quarter earlier. So while theimproving value of its debt means investorsare more confident in its long-term prospects,it must take a loss because of that improvingconfidence.

That accounting rule reduced MorganStanley’s earnings by $1.32 per share in thesecond quarter.

Morgan Stanley also recorded an $850 mil-lion, or 74 cents per share, charge for repay-ing the money it received from the govern-ment under the Troubled Asset ReliefProgram. Last fall, amid the mushroomingcredit crisis that led to the collapse of fellowinvestment bank Lehman Brothers HoldingsInc., the government provided hundreds ofbanks with loans to try and restart stagnantcredit markets.

Last month, Morgan Stanley was one of 10major banks that was approved to repay thatloan. Morgan Stanley had received $10 bil-lion as part of the government’s $700 billionprogram.

Also:CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: WellsFargo & Co joined other big banks in report-ing a big second-quarter profit even as lossesfrom failed loans kept rising.

The bank said Wednesday its earnings,which rose 47 percent from a year earlier,were boosted by the acquisition of strugglingWachovia Corp in December.

Wells Fargo said its earnings after paymentof preferred dividends came to $2.58 billion,or 57 cents per share, up from $1.75 billion,

or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.The earnings surpassed the 34 cents per

share forecast of analysts surveyed byThomson Reuters. Wells Fargo’s revenue of$22.5 billion also beat their forecast.

Despite the higher earnings, Wells Fargo’sshares fell $1.40, or 5.5 percent, to $23.95 inearly morning trading. On Wednesday,increasing worries about the health of bankssent the stocks of many financial companiessliding.

Wells Fargo said its results also reflected a$700 million credit-reserve build, a $565 mil-lion charge to bolster a federal deposit insur-ance fund, and merger-related and restructur-ing expenses of $244 million.

Like Bank of America Corp and JPMorganChase & Co, Wells Fargo reported rising loss-es from failed loans. Wells Fargo said itrecorded a $5.1 billion provision for loanlosses during the second quarter.

The amount of loans that were written offas unpaid totaled $4.39 billion, or 2.11 per-cent of average loans, up from $3.26 billion,or 1.54 percent, in the first quarter.Nonperforming assets, or loans past due,totaled $18.34 billion up from $12.61 billionin the previous quarter.

“Credit losses rose in the second quarter, asexpected, due to the weak economy and high-er unemployment in the quarter,” said ChiefCredit Officer Mike Loughlin in a statement.He added that the San Francisco-based bankexpects credit losses and nonperformingassets to increase.

DETROIT: General Motors posted onWednesday a 22 percent global sales dropfrom a year earlier for the first six months of2009 amid the economic slowdown and theautomaker’s slide into bankruptcy.

GM said its global first-half sales, whichinclude brands the automaker is trimmingfrom its lineup, fell 21.8 percent to 3.55 mil-lion vehicles. The automaker’s sales in thesecond quarter fell 15.4 percent to 1.94 mil-lion vehicles.

The automaker said second-quarter salesreflected continuing economic pressures andproduction cuts in the United States. It esti-mated a 12 percent second-quarter globalmarket share, down 0.3 percentage pointfrom a year earlier. (RTRS)

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NEW YORK: Bank of New York MellonCorp said Wednesday its second-quarterprofit fell 43 percent as it repaid a govern-ment loan and paid a special fee to theFederal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The New York-based trust bank said itsnet income available to common sharehold-ers fell to $176 million, or 15 cents pershare, during the quarter ended June 30,from $309 million, or 28 cents per share, ayear ago.

BNY Mellon recorded a one-time chargeof $196.5 million as it repaid the $3 billion itreceived last fall as part of the government’sTroubled Asset Relief Program. BNYMellon also paid $39.8 million in preferreddividends on the TARP funds before repay-ing the funds last month.

Those charges, coupled with a fee leviedon banks to help replenish the FDIC’s insur-ance fund, reduced BNY Mellon’s earningsby 23 cents per share. (AP)

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CHICAGO: Boeing Co said Wednesday itssecond-quarter earnings rose 17 percent froma year earlier, when a charge weighed downresults. Higher defense sales and lower costsbolstered the company’s profit in the latestperiod.

The Chicago-based company also said itwould announce a revised schedule for itslong-delayed 787 jetliner in the third quarter.Boeing’s credibility suffered a serious blowlast month when it announced the latest ofseveral costly delays of the plane’s inauguraltest flight.

Boeing, the world’s second-largest com-mercial plane maker, said it earned $998million, or $1.41 per share, for the threemonths ended June 30. That compares with$852 million, or $1.16 per share, during thesame period last year, which included acharge of 22 cents per share for late deliveryof military aircraft. (AP)

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ATLANTA: Delta Air Lines Inc, the world’sbiggest airline operator, on Wednesdayreported a double-digit drop in unit revenueduring the second quarter as demand for airtravel continued to slump, but it narrowed itsnet loss to $257 million from a year earlierwhen it accounted for big one-time items.

The news followed hefty losses reportedby Continental Airlines Inc. and AmericanAirlines parent AMR Corp., while UnitedAirlines parent UAL Corp posted a smallprofit. Discount carriers Southwest AirlinesCo. and the parent of AirTran Airways alsohad profits.

The results reported by Atlanta-basedDelta for the April-June quarter were equiva-lent to 31 cents a share, compared to a lossof $1.04 billion, or $2.64 a share, a year ear-lier. In the second quarter of 2008, Deltarecorded special charges totaling $1.2 bil-lion, including a $1.1 billion non-cashcharge, net of a $119 million tax benefit,related to the decline in the carrier’s marketvalue due to record fuel prices. The price offuel has fallen substantially over the lastyear. (AP)

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DOVER, Delaware: Lower sales and thecosts of cutting thousands of jobs helpedpush second-quarter profits down 61 percentfor chemical giant DuPont, overshadowing astrong showing by its agriculture and nutri-tion business.

Wilmington-based DuPont on Tuesdayreported earnings of $417 million, or 46cents per share, in the three months endedJune 30, down from $1.08 billion, or $1.18per share a year earlier.

Overall revenues tumbled 24 percent to $7

billion, from $9.3 billion a year ago.Excluding one-time items, adjusted earn-

ings were 61 cents per share, beating theconsensus estimate from analysts polled byThomson Reuters of 53 cents a share on rev-enue of $7.1 billion. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

SAN FRANCISCO: Advanced MicroDevices Inc narrowed its loss in the secondquarter, though not by as much as WallStreet hoped. Its sales slumped 13 percent.

AMD’s shares plunged 12 percent inextended trading Tuesday on signs the chipcompany isn’t being buoyed like rival IntelCorp by the beginnings of a turnaround inthe personal computer market.

AMD is the world’s No. 2 maker ofmicroprocessors, behind Intel.Microprocessors are the “brains” of PCs.Lower microprocessor prices and reliance onolder technology dragged down AMD’snumbers in the April-June quarter.

The chip maker’s results demonstrate thatthe company still has some kinks to workout before it can return to profitability, a bat-tle it’s been fighting for more than twoyears. (AP)

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MILWAUKEE: Soft drinks and snack makerPepsiCo said Wednesday its second-quarterprofit fell 2 percent as sales dropped 3 per-cent, but it still beat analyst expectations.

Pepsi said it has used pricing strategy,new products and cost controls to help itnavigate the dour economy. It continued toraise prices to offset commodity costs thatremained high earlier in the year. It alsolured cost-conscious shoppers with promo-tions or by giving them more product for thesame price as before.

Consumers are pulling back on theirspending amid the recession. They’re alsoswitching from soft drinks to healthier juicesand teas.

The maker of Pepsi cola and Frito-Laysnacks earned $1.66 billion, or $1.06 pershare, in the three months that ended June13. That’s down from the $1.7 billion, or$1.05 per share, the company earned a yearearlier. (AP)

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TRENTON, New Jersey: Drug giantPfizer Inc on Wednesday said its second-quarter profit plunged 19 percent, as thestrong dollar pulled down revenue, and high-er taxes and costs for its pending purchase ofrival Wyeth hurt the bottom line. Still, Pfizerraised its 2009 profit forecast slightly.

The maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor,impotence treatment Viagra and stop-smok-ing drug Chantix said its net income was$2.26 billion, or 34 cents per share. Thatcompares with net income of $2.78 billion,or 41 cents per share, in the second quarterof 2008.

Excluding charges totaling 14 cents pershare, Pfizer’s earnings per share were 48cents, topping analyst estimates by a penny.

Revenue totaled $10.98 billion, down 9percent from $12.13 billion in the secondquarter of 2008.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters wereexpecting earnings per share of 47 cents andrevenue of $11.27 billion.

Pfizer expects to close on its $68 billionpurchase of Wyeth — the biggest deal in theindustry this year — late in the third quarteror in the fourth quarter. On Monday, 98 per-cent of Wyeth shareholders voted to approvethe deal, which still requires approval fromsome regulators. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

BENTON HARBOR, Michigan: Second-quarter profit fell 33 percent for WhirlpoolCorp, the world’s largest maker of majorhome appliances, as consumer demand forits products significantly weakened.

But the profit handily beat analyst expec-tations, and the company, whose brandsinclude Maytag, KitchenAid and its name-sake, also boosted the low end of its full-year profit guidance above analysts’ esti-mates.

Whirlpool cited progress on loweringworking capital, improving pricing and prod-uct mix and cost controls.

Whirlpool earned $78 million, or $1.04per share, for the period ended June 30.That’s down from $117 million, or $1.53 pershare, a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuterspredicted a profit of 51 cents per share. (AP)

Yahoo to spend more after cost cuts lift Q2 profitSAN FRANCISCO, July 22, (AP): CarolBartz has already shown off her cost-cut-ting skills in her first six months as YahooInc.’s chief executive.

Now, she will try to prove she isn’t mak-ing a bad bet by spending more moneywhile the Internet company’s advertisingsales are still sagging.

The risky strategy caused investors tofret more about what might happen inYahoo’s third quarter than to celebrate the8 percent increase in second-quarterprofit reported late Tuesday. It markedYahoo’s first quarterly earnings improve-ment since the start of 2008, but Yahoo

shares nevertheless slid 45 cents, or 2.7percent, to $16.30 in Tuesday’s extendedtrading.

The Sunnyvale, California-based com-pany wouldn’t have boosted its second-quarter profit if not for layoffs and othercost cutting that pared Yahoo’s operatingexpenses by nearly $150 million, or 15percent, from last year. The savingsenabled Yahoo to shake off the biggestdrop in its ad revenue since the dot-combust at the beginning of the decade.

But Bartz raised questions aboutwhether the earnings momentum will con-tinue by vowing to spend at least $75 mil-

lion more promoting Yahoo’s brand, hiringmore engineers and improving some ofits services during the third quarter. Ontop of that, Yahoo expects to surrenderabout $75 million in revenue by reducingthe volume of ads that management hasidentified as being too obnoxious.

Those plans will squeeze profits unlessYahoo can snap out of a slump thatdeepened in the third quarter with a 13percent decline in ad sales.

Bartz said advertisers appear willing tospend a little bit more during the secondhalf, although she stopped short of pre-dicting better times ahead.

Frost & Sullivan analyst Ronald Gruia. “It’sbeen an absolute success.”

Yet there had been some concern aboutmargin pressure heading into the results, giventhe product price cuts and the trend of highercomponent costs.

Although Mac units rose, revenue in thesegment fell 8 percent from a year ago as aver-age selling prices came down, a trend seenthroughout the PC industry.

But Apple posted a gross margin of 36.3percent, above the 34 percent some analysts

predicted. That compared with 36.4 percent inthe last quarter and 34.8 percent a year ago.The company saw margins at 34 percent in theSeptember quarter. Apple said componentcosts rose, but not as much as expected and itspent less than it planned in several areas.

“The overall takeaway is that Apple contin-ues to execute in this tough environment,”said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu.

“They do the hardware, software and serv-ice, and that really allows them to have a legup against competitors.”

Investors have pushed Apple’s stock about75 percent higher this year, well ahead ofother big technology issues.

Apple issued a typically conservative out-look for the current quarter, forecasting earn-ings of $1.18 to $1.23 a share on revenue of$8.7 billion to $8.9 billion.

While that was below the average analystestimate of $1.30 in earnings per share and$9.1 billion in revenue for the fiscal fourthquarter, it had little impact on investors.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $8.3 billion inthe June quarter, versus analysts’ average esti-mate of $8.2 billion.

Cash and marketable securities totaledmore than $31 billion, one of the biggest cashhoards in all of technology.

The results demonstrated the consumerappeal of Apple’s products despite a troubledeconomy that has dented sales at competitorsselling less expensive products.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

44BUSINESS

bottomlinethe

INDIANAPOLIS: Eli Lilly & Co saidWednesday its second-quarter profit rose 21percent as stronger drug sales helped bluntthe impact of unfavorable foreign currencyexchange rates.

The Indianapolis-based pharmaceuticalcompany also raised its full-year profit guid-ance.

Lilly earned $1.16 billion, or $1.06 pershare, up from $958.8 million, or 88 centsper share, a year earlier. Excluding a 6-centcharge for possible legal settlements, Lillyreported adjusted earnings of $1.12 pershare.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $5.29 billion.The performance trumped Wall Street

expectations. Analysts polled by ThomsonReuters expected earnings per share of$1.02 on $5.28 billion in revenue.

Foreign exchange rates hurt sales forsome key drugs. Lilly said international salesof its top seller, the antipsychotic Zyprexa,dropped 8 percent due to exchange rates.Overall Zyprexa revenue fell 3 percent to$1.2 billion in the quarter.

Sales for the cancer drug Gemzar fell 20percent to $353 million due in part toexchange rates and lower prices internation-ally spurred by generic competition.

Lilly said sales for its second-best sellingdrug, the antidepressant Cymbalta, rose 14percent to $744.4 million. Sales for the can-cer treatment Alimta jumped 40 percent to$385.3 million. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

CINCINNATI: Talks on a potential sale ofProcter & Gamble Co’s pharmaceuticalbusiness are reportedly advancing.

The Wall Street Journal in Wednesday’seditions cited unidentified people familiarwith the matter who say several potentialbuyers include specialty drug maker WarnerChilcott Ltd., and private-equity firmCerberus Capital Management LP, andthat a possible sale price is some $3 billion.

Cincinnati-based consumer productsmaker P&G said late last year it was inter-ested in exiting the prescription-drug busi-ness. P&G pharmaceuticals include theosteoporosis treatment Actonel, which hasmore than $1 billion in annual revenues.

“We made it clear we’ll look at all optionsto maximize shareholder value,” P&Gspokesman Paul Fox said Wednesday, addingthat those include selling all or part of thebusiness or keeping it. He wouldn’t com-ment further on “the current speculation.”(AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: Shuttering stores, laying offworkers and cutting other costs helpedStarbucks Corp. beat Wall Street’s profitexpectations for its fiscal third quarterTuesday, but the recession continued to drainsales away from the gourmet coffee chain.

Investors cheered the results anyway,sending shares up $1.46, or 9.9 percent, to$16.15 in electronic after-hours trading.During regular trading before the resultswere released, the stock fell 23 cents to$14.69.

CEO Howard Schultz said on a confer-ence call with investors that the quarter’sresults showed “positive momentum,” butthere was more work to be done to turnaround a company that once was a WallStreet darling for its consistent earnings andsales growth. “A lot of hard work liesahead,” Schultz said. “One quarter does notmake a trend.” (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

ST LOUIS: Peabody Energy’s second-quarter earnings tumbled by two-thirds,falling well short of Wall Street expectationsas the coal miner released a long-awaited,full-year outlook far lower than analyst fore-casts.

Peabody shares slid 5 percent, or $1.81, to$33.02 Tuesday, and dragged down the stockof other coal producers as well.

The St Louis-based company, one of theworld’s biggest coal producers, reported netincome of $79.2 million, or 29 cents per

share, compared with $233.3 million, or 85cents per share, in the April-through-Juneperiod a year ago.

Revenue tumbled 12 percent to $1.34 bil-lion in the quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financialexpected, on average, earnings per share of49 cents and revenue of $1.44 billion.

Despite lower-than-expected earnings,Chairman and CEO Gregory Boyce insistedPeabody was well-positioned for an eventualrebound.

“Clearly this year is turning out as weexpected — quite challenging for the world’seconomies and, more specifically, energyproducers,” Boyce said during a conferencecall with analysts. “The global economicdownturn is leading to effects that areunprecedented,” fanned by lower coalexports, high stockpiles and soft prices ofnatural gas. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

LONDON: GlaxoSmithKline, the world’ssecond largest drug maker by revenues, post-ed an 11 percent rise in second quarter profiton Wednesday after strong pharmaceuticalsales in emerging markets helped offset theimpact of generic competition in the UnitedStates. Glaxo Chief Executive Andrew Wittyalso said the company had also started to seean impact from increased demand for itsantiviral drug Relenza and forthcomingH1N1 adjuvanted vaccine amid a rapidlygrowing market for swine flu treatments asthe virus spreads. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

MILAN: Italian automaker Fiat onWednesday reported a second-quarter loss of168 million euros ($238 million) due to asteep decline in sales from a year ago —especially of trucks and commercial vehi-cles.

The second-quarter net loss of 168 millioneuros compares with a net profit of 604 mil-lion euros in the same period of last year. Itwas an improvement, however, from thefirst-quarter net loss of 578 million euros.

Fiat, which last month took a controllingstake in US automaker Chrysler, said incen-tives for people to scrap old cars and buynew ones in some European countries boost-ed lagging car sales, narrowing losses com-pared to the first quarter. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

TOKYO: After losing its battle to make theHD-DVD the successor to the DVD,Toshiba Corp is considering making prod-ucts in the winning format, Blu-ray.

Although Blu-ray is backed by Toshibacompetitors such as Sony Corp andPanasonic Corp, Toshiba has little choice. Itno longer makes recorders and players inHD-DVD. The Blu-ray alliance was moresuccessful in wooing Hollywood studios.

The Yomiuri, Japan’s biggest newspaper,reported Sunday without identifying sourcesthat Toshiba plans to enter the Blu-ray mar-ket. Toshiba spokeswoman Yuko Sugaharawould not confirm the report.

“It is true that we are being flexible inlooking into such possibilities. But at thispoint no decision has been made,” she saidTuesday. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

SEOUL, South Korea: LG Electronicssaid Wednesday that second-quarter net prof-it soared 62 percent to an all-time high amidrecord sales of flat screen televisions andmobile phones.

LG Electronics Inc, the world’s third-largest manufacturer of mobile phones andflat screen TVs, earned 1.15 trillion won($921 million) in the three months endedJune 30, it said in a regulatory filing and apress release. It posted net profit of 707 bil-lion won a year earlier.

Company spokeswoman Judy Pae said thelatest net profit figure was a quarterly record.The result snapped two straight quarters ofnet losses for the Seoul-based company,which has emerged in recent years as agrowing force in global consumer electron-ics. (AP)

Bayswater relaunches

Bayswater Asset Management, a com-puter-driven hedge fund shut down lastyear after big losses during the credit cri-sis, has relaunched after revamping itsrisk management controls, its new back-ers said on Wednesday. San Francisco-based Bayswater had initially beenbacked at its launch in 2004 with $25 mil-lion from Man Global Strategies, part ofhedge fund giant Man Group.

However, its strategy of trying to exploitinefficiencies in global markets lost 12

percent in the six months to September2007 and it returned money to investorsafter being caught out by a vicious circleof deleveraging in July and August thathit many computer-driven funds. The firmhas now relaunched with large-scalechanges to its risk management systemand added a manual override, accordingto Revere Capital Advisors, which hasseeded the fund with an initial $10 millionand also plans to buy an equity stake inthe firm, a spokesman said. (RTRS)

World markets pause for breathafter 7-day rally; oil below $65LONDON, July 22, (Agencies):European and US stock marketstraded in a narrow rangeWednesday as investors pausedfor breath following a seven-dayrally that has sent indexes totheir highest levels this year.Another batch of earnings in theUS failed to provide renewedbuying momentum — but equal-ly did not prompt profit-taking.

Markets around the world have ralliedfor over a week on strong US corporateearnings reports from a range of compa-nies, including heavy equipment makerCaterpillar Inc, Apple Inc and Coca ColaInc The catalyst to the advance were theUS banks, particularly Goldman SachsGroup Inc.

Despite the renewed unease around thebanks, stocks managed to hold onto theirrecent gains as strong figures from the likesof Apple Inc, Boeing Co and Starbucks Inchelped sentiment remain relatively buoyant.

“As the earnings season goes on itbecomes more difficult because the bargoes higher and higher,” said John Canally,economist at LPL Financial in Boston.

“Clients are caught in a tough situation atthe moment; those that are short areadamant a pullback is due and those thatwish to buy feel that they have missed outon the move and need a drop before theybuy at what they consider to be decent lev-els,” said Ian Horsley, a financial trader atSpreadex.

USStocks zigzagged in a tight range for the

second day Wednesday as investors siftedthrough a mixed batch of corporate earn-ings for clues about which way the USeconomy is headed.

With stocks now far higher than theywere only a week ago, traders are showingmore hesitation before vaulting into themarket.

The day’s earnings reports gave reasonsfor both hope and concern. Chip makerAdvanced Micro Devices Inc. and majorbank Wells Fargo & Co fell after reportingdisappointing results, but Apple Inc. andStarbucks Inc. jumped after beating ana-lysts’ estimates.

Strong corporate earnings for the April-June quarter have propelled major stockindicators more than 8 percent over the pastseven days, and analysts have been warningthat some pullback was likely.

The rally has pushed the Dow Jonesindustrial average up enough to erase itslosses for the year and to its highest levelsince January. The benchmark Standard &Poor’s 500 index is at its highest point sinceNovember.

Analysts say it has become harder in thepast week for companies to impressinvestors now that they are expectingstronger results.

“As the earnings season goes on itbecomes more difficult because the bargoes higher and higher,” said John Canally,economist at LPL Financial in Boston.

In midday trading, the Dow fell 15.64, or0.2 percent, to 8,900.30. The broaderStandard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 1.33,or 0.1 percent, to 953.25, and the Nasdaqcomposite index rose 4.48, or 0.2 percent,to 1,920.68.

Major market indexes seesawed through-out much of the day Tuesday, but managedto end higher. Investors battled worries overrising loan losses at regional banks and amixed report from Federal ReserveChairman Ben Bernanke, who cautionedthat the economy’s recovery will be gradualbecause of rising unemployment. But healso assured investors that inflation will besubdued once the economy is back on track.

Bernanke is continuing his two-dayaddress to Congress on Wednesday, speak-ing in front of the Senate BankingCommittee.

In corporate news, Advanced Micro’ssecond-quarter loss narrowed less than ana-lysts expected. The stock fell 52 cents, or12.8 percent, to $3.56.

Wells Fargo & Co reported solid second-quarter results, with a 47 percent rise inprofit helped by its acquisition of WachoviaCorp. The company said, however, thatlosses from bad loans kept rising. The stockfell $1.40, or 5.5 percent, to $23.95.

Analysts say worries about deterioratingcredit and messy balance sheets are keepingsome investors from embracing better-than-expected results from banks.

EuropeEuropean shares closed higher for the

eighth straight session on Wednesday, theirlongest winning streak since December2006, as gains in pharmaceutical stocksovershadowed falls in banking stocks.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300index of top shares ended 0.2 percent high-er at 890.05 points, the highest close sinceearly January, after trading in a wide rangeof 879.97-890.38 points.

The index is up around 37 percent fromits lifetime low of March 9.

Drugmakers added the most points to theindex, supported by positive earnings newsas US peer Pfizer raised its full-year fore-cast for earnings, excluding items, and rev-enue.

Novartis, AstraZeneca and Novo Nordiskwere up between 0.5 and 1.2 percent.

However, GlaxoSmithKline fell 0.6 per-cent after earlier gains. The company saidthat it had beat expectations with its second-quarter earnings and said momentum in thesecond half would pick up on the back offlu vaccine sales.

Bayer was up 2.2 percent after the com-pany and its development partner OnyxPharmaceuticals said their cancer pillNexavar showed promise in treating breasttumours in a Phase II study. OnyxPharmaceuticals soared 24 percent.

Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index wasup 0.3 percent, Germany’s DAX was up 0.5percent and France’s CAC 40 was up 0.2percent.

UKBritain’s leading shares index added 0.3

percent on Wednesday, extending its win-ning streak to eight sessions thanks to mod-est gains on Wall Street and solid second-

quarter results from drugs giantGlaxoSmithKline.

At the close, the FTSE 100 was 12.56points higher at 4,493.73, up 8.2 percentover the past eight sessions.

“The morning session saw profit-takingafter the recent rally, however, Glaxo’sresults and a steady showing on Wall Streetbought the market back to par,” said MicMills, a senior trader at spread betters ETXCapital. Drug maker Shire was the bestblue-chip performer, up 4 percent, with itssecond-quarter results due in a few weeks,while AstraZeneca gained 1.2 percent.

But GlaxoSmithKline surrendered earliergains, shedding 0.6 percent on profit-takingafter its second-quarter earnings beatexpectations and the firm said momentumin the second half would pick up on theback of flu vaccine sales.

Other defensive stocks were in demandas investor’s risk appetite abated slightlyafter the recent strong run, with tobaccos,mobile telcoms and utilities standing out.

AsiaAsian stocks rose modestly Wednesday

after more U.S. companies posted strongerearnings and the Federal Reserve’s chair-man said the world’s largest economy wason pace to recover this year. European mar-kets were weaker.

Most markets in Asia posted gains of lessthan 1 percent after a mixed performancethe day before. Wall Street futures fell alongwith crude oil prices. South Korea’s Kospiwas up 0.3 percent. Shanghai’s indexgained 1.9 percent, Australia’s benchmarkadvanced 0.4 percent and Taiwan’s marketedged up 0.5 percent.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Sengadded 253.26, or 1.3 percent, to 19,248.47.India’s Sensex shed 1.3 percent.

JapanJapan stocks rose for a sixth session

Wednesday, cheered by another slew ofstrong US corporate earnings and brighterprospects for the world’s biggest economy.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock averageadded 71.14 points, or 0.7 percent, to9,723.1, mirroring modest gains throughoutAsia. The broader Topix index rose 0.6 per-cent to 906.58.

Overnight, Caterpillar Inc. and Apple Inc.joined other major companies in issuingimproved 2009 profit forecasts that are giv-ing investors more confidence that the glob-al downturn is easing.

That view was reinforced by FederalReserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who saidthe US was set to turn around this year,albeit at a slow rate.

Steel and chemical makers led the day’sgains, with JFE Holdings Inc. up 6.1 per-cent at 3,330 yen and Mitsui Chemicals Inc.advancing 6.9 percent to 311 yen.

Among decliners, Mitsubishi Estate Co.lost 1.3 percent to 1,489 yen and SumitomoDevelopment and Realty Co. slipped 0.9percent to 1,686 yen.

ChinaChinese shares rebounded Wednesday

after the central bank dispelled investor jit-ters by reaffirming it will stick to an easycredit policy.

The benchmark Shanghai CompositeIndex jumped 83.4 points, or 2.6 percent, toclose at 3296.61, resuming a steady upwardclimb that was broken by a brief fallTuesday. The Shenzhen Composite Indexfor China’s smaller second exchange added1.5 percent to 1098.49.

Investors were reassured by news reportsthat cited central bank officials as sayingthe bank would maintain its relaxed mone-tary policy in the second half of the year.Easy credit has helped to fuel China’s eco-nomic rebound and boosted stock prices.

“The market extended gains on the reas-surance about monetary policy withoutbeing disrupted by the technical adjustmentyesterday,” said Mao Nan, an analyst forOriental Securities in Shanghai.

Sinopec, or China Petroleum & ChemicalCorp, Asia’s largest refiner by capacity,soared by the daily 10 percent limit to 13.38yuan, after it announced better-than-expect-ed first-half sales. PetroChina Ltd, Asia’sbiggest oil and gas producer, surged 5.3 per-cent to 15.45 yuan.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of ChinaLtd, China’s biggest commercial lender,edged up 0.6 percent to 5.21 yuan, whileChina Construction Bank Ltd. climbed 0.3percent to 6.06 yuan.

OilOil prices dipped Wednesday after a gov-

ernment report showed US fuel supplies aregrowing, with American consumers buyingless gas even at a huge discounts to lastyear. Benchmark crude for Septemberdelivery dropped 4 cents to $65.57 a barrelon the New York Mercantile Exchange afterfalling as low as $63.76. In London, Brentprices rose 32 cents to $67.19 a barrel onthe ICE Futures exchange.

Energy prices got a boost this past weekas Federal Reserve Chairman BenBernanke said the economy was improvingand companies reported strong second-quarter earnings.

But Wednesday, traders focused on areport by the Energy InformationAdministration’s that showed bulging sup-plies of motor gasoline and distillate fuel.

The report said the country has 215.4million barrels of motor gasoline in storage,about 3 percent more than last year. Andthat was when $4-a-gallon gasoline hadmore people leaving cars parked in thedriveway. Distillates, which include heatingoil, are rising to their highest level since themid-1980s.

CurrenciesThe US dollar was mixed against other

major currencies in European tradingWednesday. Gold rose.

The euro traded at $1.4183, down from$1.4195 late Tuesday in New York.

Other dollar rates:■ 93.53 Japanese yen, down from 93.63■ 1.0687 Swiss francs, up from 1.0682■ 1.1031 Canadian dollars, down from1.1073

The British pound was quoted at $1.6411,down from $1.6432.

GoldGold traded in London at $948.25 per

troy ounce, up from $947.75 late Tuesday.

Dow adds a minuscule 2.2 pts

Traders work on the floor ofthe New York Stock

Exchange during morningtrading, as a television shows

Federal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke appearing

before the House FinancialServices Committee in his

semi-annual testimony on thestate of the economy on July

21 in New York City.Bernanke told lawmakers that

the economy has begun toshow signs of stability. (AFP)

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Transfer.076860.078470.078360.078215.077960.078001.077997.078639.077870.078520.077538.078962.077680.078600

—.078480

Cash.756800.764800

—.766815.757335.764946.749933.771447.756940.764550.751587.768484

————

Draft.756300.764800.763920.761985.760139.764987.757199.766135.758650.765170.757539.767154.757530.766000

——

Transfer.756300.764800.763920.761985.760139.764987.757199.766135.758650.765170.757539.767154.757530.766000

——

Cash.005940.006210

—.006300.004500.007200

—————————

.005990

Draft.005530.005985.005982.005975.006028.006070

—.006008

——

.005945

.006001—

.006117—

.005980

Transfer.005530.005985.005982.005975.006028.006070

—.006008

——

.005945

.006001—

.006117

.005980

Australian dollar Hong Kong dollar Singapore dollar

Omani riyal

Jordanian dinar Egyptian poundCash

.226800

.238300——

.231000

.243000——————————

Draft.224800.236800.228210

—.233780.235431.232489.235533.232480.234680.233747.235609.233350.235920

——

Transfer.224800.236800.228210

—.233780.235431.232489.235533.232480.234680.233747.235609.233350.235920

——

Cash.350400.377900

——————————————

Draft.345400.376400.037123

—.036944.037206.036946.037269

————

.036950

.037210——

Transfer.345400.376400.037123

—.036944.037206.036946.037269

————

.036950

.037210——

Cash.195930.200430

—

————————————

Draft.194930.200430.200500

—.198255.199660.198166.199901.198230.200030.198289.199854.197990.200130

——

Transfer.194930.200430.200500

—.198255.199660.198166.199901.198230.200030.198289.199854.197990.200130

——

Cash.741380.747060

——

.742434

.749896

.736889

.754778

.742050

.749500

.735629

.752082———

.752000

Draft.735880.746880.747240

—.744336.749083.744029.749581.742890.749160.741455.750780.741650.749520

—.749000

Transfer.735880.746880.747240

—.744336.749083.744029.749581.742890.749160.741455.750780.741650.749520

—.749000

Cash.400890.408390

—.409500.402000.418000

————————

.415000

Draft.400010.406510.406200.405485.405840.408715

—.409098

——

.403707

.407818

.403300

.409130—

.415000

Transfer.400010.406510.406200.405485.405840.408715

—.409098

——

.403707

.407818

.403300

.409130—

.415000

Cash.052830 .055580.055750.055000.050000.057000

—————————

.56000

Draft.049851.051671.051610.051570

———

.054424—

.050861

.052162—

.051930——

Cyprus Pound Yemeni riyal Thai baht South African rand Korean won Syrian pound Iranian riyal Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Indonesian rupiah New Zealand dollar

BEC

MuzainiGulf Bank

ABK

BECCommercial BankGulf BankAl-Ahli Bank

BECMuzaini Exchange

BuySellSellBuySellBuySell

Cash.680900.693900

—————

Draft————

.728574—

Transfer————

.728574——

US dollar.2876000.2884500.2884500.2884500

Sterling.4745000.4730250.4735220.4736100

Euro

.4099160

.4101100

Gold 999 kg—

8500.000

Gold 999 10 tola1,025.0501000.000

Gold ounce—

276.000

Gold gm 22k—

7.800

Gold gm 21k—

7.400

Gold gm 18k—

6.400

100 gm 999–—

10 gm 999–

92.000

Cash.140000.148000

—————

Draft———————

Transfer———————

Cash.081300.088300

—————

Draft.008040.008640.008487

–———

Transfer.008040.008640.008487

————

Cash.030610.039110

—————

Draft.030610.039110

——

.036863——

Transfer.030610.039110

——

.036863——

Cash———————

Draft————

.000231——

Transfer————

.000231——

Cash.006100.006300

—————

Draft——

.006173————

Transfer——

.006173————

Cash.000286.000286.000292

————

Draft——

.000301————

Transfer——

.000301————

Cash.000182.000194

—————

Draft.000186.000193.000194

———

Transfer.000186.000193.000194

————

Cash.077660.083660

—————

Draft.076660.083660

—–———

Transfer.076660.083660

—————

Cash.024000.032000

—————

Draft.024000.032000

——

.000029——

Transfer.024000.032000

——

.000029——

Cash.182900.192400

—————

Draft.180900.190900

—.187616.189258.187100.190220

Transfer.180900.190900

—.187616.189258.187100.190220

Transfer.285400.287600.287500.287500.286300.288450.286350.288450.286200.288300.286350.288450.286350.288450

—.288250

All rates in KD per unit of foreign currency travellers cheques local gold

exchange rates – July 22

Draft————

.037444

.037709

.037397

.037724

.036970

.037330

.037435

.037724

.037280

.037960——

Transfer .049851.051671.051610.051570

———

.054424—

.050861

.052162—

.051930——

Sallie Mae posts Q2 loss

SLM Corp, better known as Sallie Mae, saidTuesday investment losses pushed it to aloss for the second quarter.

The nation’s largest student lender report-ed a loss of $123 million, or 32 cents pershare, compared with profit of $266 million, or50 cents a share, a year earlier.

The loss was primarily due to a $484 mil-lion unrealized loss on derivative and hedg-ing activities.

The company set aside a $278 million pro-vision for loan losses, compared with $143

million a year earlier.Sallie Mae said its “core,” or adjusted prof-

it, in the latest quarter was $170 million, or 31cents per common share, compared with$156 million, or 27 cents a share, a year ear-lier.

Core earnings exclude treatment for stu-dent loans bundled together as securitiesand derivatives, the complex financial instru-ments used as a hedge against swings ininterest rates. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

45BUSINESS

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) announced thatthe Central Bank of Kuwait has renewed itsapproval on July 22, 2009 for Kuwait FinancialCenter (Markaz) to repurchases a maximum of10 percent of issued shares for six months asof the expiry date of previous approval on Jan23, 2009.

The company should comply with CBK reg-ulations and conditions as regards stock buy-back. It should also adhere to the provisions ofArticle No. 115 bis of Corporate Law and theprovisions of the Ministerial Decree No.10/1987, as well as its amendments, by virtueof the two Ministerial Decrees No. 11/1988 and

273/1999. ❑ ❑ ❑

Central Bank of Kuwait has also renewed itsapproval on July 22, 2009 for OsoulInvestment Company (Osoul) to repurchas-es a maximum of 10 percent of issued sharesfor six months. Osoul should comply with CBKregulations and conditions as regards stockbuyback. It should also adhere to the provi-sions of Article No. 115 bis of Corporate Lawand the provisions of the Ministerial DecreeNo. 10/1987, as well as its amendments, byvirtue of the two Ministerial Decrees No.11/1988 and 273/1999.

❑ ❑ ❑

Board of Directors of Al- Salam GroupHolding Company (A-Salam) will meet onJuly 27, 2009 at 1:00 pm to discuss the interimfinancial statements for the six months endedJune 30, 2009.

❑ ❑ ❑

Qurain Petrochemical Industry’s Board ofDirectors will meet on July 26, 2009 at 12:30pm to discuss the interim financial statementsfor the second quarter period ending June 30,2009.

Markaz renews share buyback approval

Al Safat Investment Co rose 4 fils on back of6.2 million shares. The stock had slipped 5.5percent in June and is trading over 65 fils sincethe start off the year. Al Madina For Financeand Investment Co edged 3 fils higher to KD0.094.

The Central Bank of Kuwait has approvedthe renewal request filed by InternationalInvestor Company to acquire up to 10% of itsissued shares for a period of 6 months retro-effective from January 23, 2009. Palms AgroProduction Company has announced that itsExtraordinary General Meeting on July 28 willdiscuss the BOD recommendation to decreasethe company’s capital by 48.828% by offering50 million shares to shareholders who are reg-istered by the date of the EGM.

UnchangedThe sectoral indices closed mostly in the pos-

stive region. Banking sector slipped 0.2 percentweighed by Kuwait Finance House whileinvestment sector climbed 1.1 percent helpedby KIPCO and some of the large and mid-caps.The two sectors constitutes the majority ofshares traded in the bourse.

Real estate was unchanged even as Nationaland Real Estate Co gained 10 fils. Mabanee Cohowever dropped 20 fils to close at KD 0.680.Industrials rose 0.9 percent on back of GulfCables and Mena Holding.

Services sector rallied 1.7 percent led by Zainand Agility while Kuwait Food Company,Americana) propelled food sector 3.6 percenthigher. Non-Kuwaitis climbed 0.7 percent high-er.

Kuwait Stock Exchange in its latestannouncement has said that a total of four com-

panies remains suspended from trading in thebourse for failing to publish their financialstatements within the stipulated time. They areAl Dar Investment Company InternationalLeasing Investment Company, Al Safat GlobalHolding Company, Villa Moda LifestyleCompany.

The volume of shares rose 2.1 percent to 322million shares after trading below the 300 mil-lion mark earlier in the week. The market liq-uidity had peaked at over 6 million on the 7th ofthe month and has been thin so far in the monthas compared to the same period in June.

Kuwait’s central bank slashed its overnightrepo rate to 0.75 percent, and reduced its one-week repo rate to 1.75 percent, while its one-month rate is now at 2.25 percent, official datashowed. The bank has left its benchmark dis-count rate unchanged at 3 percent. Repo agree-ments allow banks to borrow funds from thecentral bank. A decline in inflationary pressureshas allowed the central bank to ease monetarypolicy. Kuwait had slashed its discount rate by275 basis points since last October.

The market opened on a postive note and rosesteadily as buying picked up in mant counters.The index plateaued thereafter and movedrange bound till mid-session. It sagged on mod-erate bout of profit taking and a renewed spurtin buying helped market close well above theopening level.

The market spread was skewed heavilytowards the advancers. 74 stocks headed northwhile 33 closed lower. Of the 135 countersactive on the last day of the week, 28 ended flat.7669 deals worth KD 97.1 million shares weretransacted - a slight 2 percent lower than previ-ous session.

By John MathewsArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: Marketheavyweights Zain and Agility pro-pelled Kuwait stocks exchange 76.2points higher on Wednesday, extend-ing its gains to the second straight ses-sion. The day’s advance was also driv-en by some of the blue chips andmiddle level stocks. The index closed 1percent up at 7675 points in volatiletrading amid a slight rise in volumeturnover. Weighted index rose 4.78points to 433.13 points.

Zain rallied 5 percent, gaining momentumfrom the previous session. It closed at KD 1.260with volume of 29 million shares. The stock hadgained traction after the news that EmiratesTelecommunications Corp (Etisalat) has evincedinterest in buying a 51 percent stake in the tele-com service provider. Agility climbed 3.6 per-cent to wind up at KD 1.140, extending therobust gains in the earlier day. WataniyaTelecom, however was stagnant at KD 1.700with razor thin volume turnover.

The market had added 137 points in the lasttwo sessions, erasing the losses earlier in theweek. The index was gained 18 points week-on-week. It has slid almost 6 percent since thestart of the month and is trading slightly abovethe close of 2008. The bourse had staged a turnaround in late March and rallied strongly tillthe mid of June when weak sentiments andprofit booking shaved off most of the gains.

“Volumes are low — people are not sellingand they are not buying either, they’re sitting onthe sidelines and waiting to decide what to do,”Jassem al-Zeraei, head of institutional sales atNational Bank of Kuwait Capital told Reuters.

Positive“Second-quarter numbers should have a pos-

itive effect because they will be an improve-ment on a very bad first quarter, but alternative-ly investors could use the numbers as an oppor-tunity to sell, which would drag the marketlower.”

Among other notable gainers of the day, GulfCables soared 40 fils to settle at KD 1.280 onlow volume turnover and Kuwait FoodCompany ( Americana) climbed 60 fils. Itended at KD 1.260 after closing lower onWednesday. National Industries Group added ameager 10 fils to previous close of KD 0.440while Kuwait Gulf Links eased 4 fils.

The banking stocks closed mixed. NationalBank of Kuwait did not budge from its previousclose of KD 1.200 after trading over 5.6 mil-lion shares It had posted modest rise onTuesday. Gulf Bank and Commercial Bank tooclosed unchanged at KD 0.315 and KD 1.000while Burgan Bank was up 10 fils at KD 0.375.The scrip had dropped 11.3 percent in June andis trading over 40 percent year-to-date.

Kuwait Finance House slid 20 fils erasing thegains on Wednesday. It ended at KD 1.140 afterfluctuating in 40 fils range and posting a vol-ume turnover of 2.3 million shares. Bank ofKuwait and Middle East closed flat at KD 0.490while Al Ahli Bank was not traded during theday.

In the bourse related news, Al MalInvestment Company announced that theCentral Bank of Kuwait has approved itsrenewal validity request to acquire up to 10% ofits shares over a six-month period effective theend of the current approval on July 17, 2009.The approval is subject to the company’s com-pliance to CBK’s regulations.

Kuwait Business Town Real Estate Companyhas annouced its second quarter net profit ofKD 373,316 and earnings per share of 0.68 filscompared to KD 2,070,407 and earnings pershare of 3.79 fils for the same period in 2008. Inthe six-months ended 06-30-2009 the compa-ny’s net profit stood at KD 1,048,018 and earn-ings per share of 1.9 fils.

The investment major KIPCO took in 10 filsto end at KD 0.570 while Aayan Leasing andInvestment Company held the ground steady atKD 0.114. International Investment Groupinched 1 fils higher to KD 0.068. BayanInvestment Co added 6 fils to settle at KD 0.140while Global Investment House eased 2 filsafter climbing steadily in most part of themonth. The scrip closed at KD 0.126 after trad-ing in a narrow 4 fils range.

HEISCO unit wins KD 3.6mln contract

Abraj posts KD 5.4mn Q2 lossKUWAIT CITY, July 22: Abraj HoldingCompany’s (Abraj) Board of Directors met onJuly 21, 2009 and adopted the financial state-ments of the company for the first half periodending April 30, 2009.

For the three months ending April 30, 2009,Abraj incurred a loss of KD 5.4 million withLPS valued at 33.265 fils compared to a profitof KD 2.8 million or 21.0 62 fils earned duringthe half year period ending April 30, 2008. Particulars (6 mths ending) 30/4/’09 30/4/08Profit (Loss) (KD) (7,538,255) 5,929,057EPS (LPS) (fils) (44.686) 45.242Total current assets 34,945,677 38,296,370Total assets 126,658,575 129,535,114Total current liabilities 69,775,581 92,590,122Total liabilities 105,579,742 100,628,439Total equity 25,516,146 26,955,104

❑ ❑ ❑

Heavy Engineering and Ship BuildingCompany (HEISCO) reported that one of itswholly owned subsidiaries — Gulf Dredgingand General Contracting Company was award-ed a 36- month contract worth KD 3.6 million.

HEISCO also signed a 12 months contractwith Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), worth KD1.1 million.

❑ ❑ ❑

Board of Directors of Manazel HoldingCompany (Manazel) met on July 22, 2009 andadopted the financial statements of the compa-ny for the period ending June 30, 2009. Particulars (6 mths ending) 30/6/’09 30/6/’08Profit (Loss) (KD) (1,624,581) 10,800,324EPS (LPS) (fils) (2.27) 15.11Total current assets 15,628,897 48,322,243Total assets 134,826,485 166,898,600Total current liabilities 63,528,327 70,067,499Total liabilities 63,558,770 70,084,806Total equity 71,267,715 96,813,794

For the three months ending June 30, 2009,Manazel reported a loss of KD 488 thousandwith LPS valued at 0.68 fils compared to aprofit of KD 4.7 million or 6.69 fils earned dur-ing the H2 period ending June 30, 2008. Thenet profit includes unpaid expenses amountingto KD 233,740.

Select blue chips propel Kuwaitiindex 76 pts up in volatile trade

Agility rallies 3.6 pct, Zain gains momentum

Price to Earnings Multiple is calculated on the basis of Earnings for the period ending 31/ 12/ 2008 and current prices. Current Yield for individual stocks is based on 2008 dividends and current prices, the avg. for the sectors is a weighted avg. based on market cap. Companies with differentfiscal years are treated on an individual basis.( NA not applicable, NM Not meaningful). # Avg. daily trading volume for new companies based on the number of trading days since the listing date, as for the sectors and the market it is based on trading days since the beginning of the year.*YTD- 09 return for individual stocks is calculated based on change in share price.For more information please contact KAMCO Investment Research Department, Tel 1805885 , e- mail: kamco_ research@ kamconline. com http:// www. kamconline. com

Today’s PreviousBloomberg Today’s closing closing % 1-week 3-month YTD 12-month 24-month

Index name ticker value as of value value change change change change change changeKuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Composite AMIC July 22, 2009 213.82 212.99 0.39% 1.31% 10.27% 8.09% -47.63% -49.22%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Kuwait Only AMIC July 22, 2009 212.98 209.13 1.84% 2.03% 15.38% 11.45% -45.22% -48.06%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Active AMIC July 22, 2009 141.41 138.28 2.26% 3.60% 11.26% 29.99% -69.76% -70.84%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Banking Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 297.76 303.07 -1.75% -1.77% 9.53% 2.16% -48.63% -42.23%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Investment Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 90.47 89.94 0.59% 3.20% 4.85% -18.04% -71.78% -70.51%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Insurance Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 108.91 108.91 0.00% 0.00% 9.49% 5.39% -10.93% -18.14%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Real Estate Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 59.32 59.33 0.00% 0.10% 1.99% -2.23% -62.11% -61.65%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Industrial Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 182.05 179.54 1.40% 3.09% 11.24% 22.32% -41.53% -30.60%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Services Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 312.91 301.76 3.70% 3.42% 25.54% 22.44% -31.03% -47.05%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Food Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 302.13 291.24 3.74% 4.72% 2.75% 25.31% -32.74% -33.97%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Islamic Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 175.72 176.71 -0.56% 0.05% 6.64% 1.32% -56.02% -49.49%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Non Kuwaiti Sector AMIC July 22, 2009 364.19 363.78 0.11% -1.02% -8.66% 14.74% -58.74% -39.47%Kuwait Stock Exchange Index - Price KWSEIDX July 22, 2009 7,675.00 7,598.80 1.00% 1.71% 3.45% -1.38% -48.47% -37.77%S&P 500 SPX July 21, 2009 954.58 951.13 0.36% 5.38% 13.16% 7.18% -24.24% -37.78%DJ Islamic Index. DJIM July 21, 2009 1,690.86 1,675.41 0.92% 7.11% 17.91% 14.56% -22.82% -30.27%

Name: Kuwait Sharia

Compatible Indices

Providers: Al Madar Finance

& Investment Co.

Description: Index of Sharia

compatible companies traded

on the KSE

Website: www.almadar-fi.com

Photo by Hamdy ShawkeFile photo of an investor seen at the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The KSE index jumped 1.25 percent on

Wednesday, July 22 to end the week on as upbeat note at 7,675 points.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

46SUBCONTINENT

US airline apologises to former Indian president

Airline probed after Kalam searchedNEW DELHI, July 22, (Agencies): A police inquiry waslaunched Tuesday into employees from Continental Airlinesafter a former president of India was frisked before boarding aflight to the United States.

The airline’s staff violated a government order on protocolfor dignitaries when former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam wastold to remove his shoes and scanned by a metal detector, CivilAviation Minister Praful Patel told Parliament.

Patel said airlines are given a list of Indian VIPs who shouldbe exempt from searches.

“This act of frisking the former president ... is absolutelyunpardonable and beyond the scope of the laws of our coun-try,” Patel told Parliament.

Lawmakers condemned the search of the 77-year-old Kalamas “outrageous.”

In a police complaint, the aviation ministry accusedContinental’s staff of violating government directions, an avia-tion ministry statement said.

“If convicted, the staff members can be jailed for two yearsor fined 1 million rupees ($20,830), or both,” said MoushmiChakravarty, the ministry spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, the US-based carrier Continental Airlines apol-ogised to former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam onWednesday after staff had frisked him at Delhi’s airport, toIndian uproar.

The Indian government has filed a police report against the

Falling steel beam hits worker on shoulder

airline, as protocol at Indian airports exempts specific digni-taries from security checks, and gave Continental Airlinesseven days to respond.

“Continental Airlines apologises to the former president ofIndia, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for any misunderstanding and/orinconvenience related to the security screening,” the airline

said in a statement. “Our intention was never to offend Dr Kalam or the senti-

ments of the people of India.” Continental Airlines had earlier said there were no exemp-

tions to its security procedures and that it believed Kalam hadnot been offended.

NEW DELHI, July 22, (AP): A worker at a construction site forthe New Delhi metro was killed when he was hit by a fallingsteel beam Wednesday, an official said, the second fatalaccident in 10 days during work to expand the commuter railsystem.

The worker was guiding the hanging beam with his handswhen it fell and hit him on his shoulder, Delhi Metro spokesmanAnuj Dayal said. It is not clear how the beam got disconnectedfrom the crane that was lifting it.

Dayal said the worker was rushed to hospital where he died.There was no structural damage at the site in Punjabi Bagh,

a neighborhood in the western part of the Indian capital, Dayalsaid.

Three lines of the New Delhi Metro system are operationalbut several other segments are still under construction.

On July 12, six people were killed and 13 injured at a sectionof the metro rail construction, where a metal cantilever wasbeing raised to lift a prefabricated concrete segment of a bridge.The entire structure tumbled down in a V-shaped pile, crushingworkers underneath.

A day later, three cranes collapsed at the same site while try-ing to lift the debris. Six people sustained minor injuries.

Worker killed at N. Delhi metro construction site

Bangladeshis watch the solar eclipse through specially-designed viewing material in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 22. (AP)

Eclipse evokes tears then cheers in B’desh

Tens of thousands of people packed into a sports stadium in northernBangladesh Wednesday with some weeping and shaking with fear as themoon passed over the sun for a full solar eclipse.

Around 100,000 people descended on the town of Panchagarh, a nor-mally sleepy home to 30,000 people, according to district chief BanamaliBhoumik.

“People filled the stadium hours before the eclipse took place,” he said.“When the sun was covered, some people cried while others were shakingin fear as the moon ate up the sun completely.

“The whole stadium erupted in thunderous applause as soon as the sunemerged again.”

Bhoumik said thousands of devout Muslims prayed during the eclipse,believing the rare celestial event would trigger natural disasters in theimpoverished country. (AFP)

Pakistani women watch a partial solar eclipse through makeshift glasses made from x-ray film in Hyderabad, Pakistan on July 22. (AP)

Pakistanis bury paralysed kids

Pakistani parents buried paralysed children up to their necks in a muddyriver bed Wednesday, believing that a total eclipse of the sun would allowthem to walk.

Two paralysed girls and a boy were buried up to their heads into the IndusRiver bank in the southern city of Hyderabad for 90 minutes while a spiritu-al leader recited from the Holy Quran.

“Whenever there’s a solar eclipse, I go to Hyderabad to help heal suffer-ing humanity,” said Arif Shah, who read from the Holy Quran.

“Allah bestows powers in the paralysed parts of handicapped people dur-ing an eclipse and certainly heals them,” Shah said.

Nadeem, the father of four-year-old Palwasha whose left side is paral-ysed, said he had great hopes that his daughter’s health would improve.

“I don’t mind if she doesn’t recover fully but if it helps her recover to a cer-tain extent, it will be enough to make us happy,” he said. (AFP)

Asia darkens under longestsolar eclipse of the century

80-year-old-woman dies from suffocation in India

VARANASI, India/WUHAN, China, July 22, (RTRS): A total solareclipse on Wednesday swept across a narrow swathe of Asia, wherehundreds of millions of people watched the skies darken, though in some

places thick summer clouds blocked the sun. The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century cut through the world’s most populous nations,

India and China, as it travelled half the globe. It was visible along a roughly 250 km-wide (155 miles)

‘It feels like a different world’

Solar eclipse inspiresawe, disappointmentSHANGHAI, July 22, (AFP):Peering up through black protectiveglasses at an overcast sky, GlennEvans let out an excited cry as thebarely visible sun began to disappearcompletely behind the moon.

“You can see it. It’s already start-ed!” Evans, a Shanghai-based cos-metics executive, called out toother eclipse-watchers.

Evans was one of hordes ofShanghai residents and touristswho poured into the Chinese city’sstreets amid cloudy morning skiesand intermittent rain Wednesday,hoping for a clear view of thelongest eclipse of the 21st century.

There was disappointmentacross the eclipse’s wide paththrough India and China, withmany barely getting only a glimpseof the once-in-a-lifetime eventafter traveling around the world.

But despite the brief, soggy views,many were amazed nonetheless bythe spectacle of day turning to nightfor nearly six minutes.

Thousands of tourists haddescended on Shanghai for theeclipse, with hotels and restaurantsin marquee locations fully bookeddespite early warnings that visibili-ty would be a problem.

At the M on the Bund restaurant,which marked the event by servingbreakfast for the first time,applause broke out as the lunarshadow fell on the city at 9:36 am(0136 GMT), lasting for about sixminutes.

“It’s so long, this is absolutelylong,” said Erick Lansard, the headof the orbital mechanics committeeat the International AstronauticalFederation, who was visiting from

Paris.“When I got on the plane they

said the probability of seeing any-thing was 10 percent maximum, soI was very happy to see the begin-ning of the eclipse,” he said, stand-ing on M on the Bund’s rooftoppatio.

On the street below, office work-ers spilled out of buildings as dark-ness fell.

“It’s like magic, the day turnsinto night in such a short period oftime ... I have no idea where I amright now. It feels like a differentworld,” said Chen Hong, a biotechcompany chief executive.

Shanghai’s landmark OrientalPearl Tower and other skyscrapersacross the Huangpu river left theirlights off during the eclipse toenhance viewing. Car headlightsreflected on the wet streets provid-ed some of the only light.

“It’s a very eerie darkness,” saidSiobhan Das Bachran, a Malaysianbusinesswoman, who said she hadseen a partial eclipse more than adecade ago in Dubai. “It’s like twi-light.”

In eastern India, tens of thou-sands gathered in the village ofTaregna after scientists insisted itwould offer the best view of anysite in the country, but many weredisappointed.

American tourist Shaun Allen,who said he had travelled to Indiawith four friends specifically to seethe eclipse, complained that weath-er conditions had ruined the experi-ence for him.

“It turned out to be a completewaste of time and money,” said the33-year-old Allen.

corridor, US space agencyNASA said.

In India, where eclipse super-stitions are rife, people snakedthrough the narrow lanes of theancient Hindu holy city ofVaranasi and gathered for a dipin the Ganges, an act believed tobring release from the cycle oflife and death.

Amid chanting of Hinduhymns, thousands of men,women and children waded intothe river with folded hands andprayed to the sun as it emerged inan overcast sky.

“We have come here becauseour elders told us this is the besttime to improve our afterlife,”said Bhailal Sharma, a villagerfrom central India travelling in agroup of about 100.

But for one 80-year-oldwoman the trip was fatal. Policesaid she died from suffocation inthe crowd of hundreds of thou-sands that had gathered to bathein the Ganges.

The eclipse next sweptthrough Bangladesh, Nepal,Bhutan, Myanmar and over thecrowded cities along China’sYangtze River, before heading tothe Pacific.

In Hindu-majority Nepal, thegovernment declared Wednesdaya public holiday and thousandsheaded for water.

“Taking a dip in holy riversbefore and after the eclipse sal-vages and protects us from disas-ters and calamities,” said 86-year-old Sundar Shrestha, whohad come to the holy Bagmatiriver with six children and grandchildren.

In central China crowds gath-ered along the high dykes of theindustrial city of Wuhan, roaringand waving goodbye as the lastsliver of sun disappeared, plung-ing the city into darkness,although clouds cheated them ofpart of the spectacle.

“As soon as the totality hap-pened, the clouds closed in so wecouldn’t see the corona. That’s apity,” said Zhen Jun, a manwhose work unit had given himthe day off to enjoy the spectacle.

But eclipse viewers in centralChina were luckier than those inthe coastal cities near Shanghai,where overcast skies and rain insome places blocked the view ofthe sun entirely.

Eclipses allow earth-boundscientists a rare glimpse of thesun’s corona, the gases surround-ing the sun, and this year therewill be extra time for study.

The multiple exposure image shows the various stages of the total solar eclipse in Baihata village, 30 kms from Guwahati, the capital city of the northeast-ern state of Assam on July 22. The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century cast a shadow over much of Asia, plunging hundreds of millions into darkness

across the giant land masses of India and China. (AFP)

‘It takes you across the globe’

Planning pays off for ‘eclipse chasers’ in ChinaMOGANSHAN, China, July 22, (AFP): A group offoreign “eclipse chasers” drew on years of globe-trot-ting experience to enjoy a brief but thrilling view ofWednesday’s solar eclipse in China despite cloudyweather.

With overcast skies disappointing millions inChina, the group of about 40 people got fleetinglyclear views of the spectacle in this mountain district ineastern China after studying weather patterns and theeclipse’s path.

“I was really worried we were not going to see ittoday because of the doom and gloom of the weatherforecast,” David Makepeace, a 46-year-old Canadian,told AFP. “But we did see it in the end so I don’t feeltoo bad”.

Makepeace has been on 16 similar expeditions to

all seven continents since seeing his first eclipse inMexico in 1991. In total he has seen 11 such events,including Wednesday’s.

After weather forecasters predicted poor visibilityacross eastern China, the group settled on Moganshan,an area of bamboo-covered hills about 70 km (43miles) northeast of the city of Hangzhou.

Weather patterns indicated the area would havelighter cloud cover while pollution was lower due toits distance from major cities, Makepeace said.

As the total eclipse neared, the group, which alsoincluded some Chinese, jokingly blew at clouds whileothers waved with Chinese fans.

At around 9:35 am (0135 GMT) darkness fell, theair became noticeably cooler, and birds and insectssuddenly went silent as the moon moved in front of

the sun, bringing cheers of relief from the assembledcrowd.

“It was not quite the glorious pristine eclipse I washoping for but we could have been clouded-out com-pletely and were not,” Makepeace said. “I am quitepleased with what we saw today given the conditions.

“That’s the great thing about eclipse chasing. Ittakes you across the globe, you roll the dice and seewhat you get,” he added.

The group, whose members travelled from aroundthe world, arrived by car and then hiked about 30minutes to the top of a mountain.

Huge crowds of people took to the streets in citiesacross China to witness the longest solar eclipse of the21st century, with some in southwestern China luckyenough to view it through clear skies.

Hindu devotees observe a solar eclipse through specially-designed viewingglasses as they take holy dips in the Sangam, the confluence of the RiversGanges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the solar eclipse in

Allahabad, India, July 22. (AP)

Row over sacking of judges in 2007

Pakistani court summons Musharraf

Lanka denies visarenewal for scribeCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka, July 22,(AP): The Associated Pressbureau chief in Sri Lanka, whobroke news of private UN reportsoutlining civilian death tolls, hasbeen denied permission toremain in the country.

The AP’s Ravi Nessman leftSri Lanka on Monday after thegovernment declined to renewhis journalist’s visa.

The government denied that thedecision was related to his report-ing on the final throes of SriLanka’s quarter-century civil warwith the Tamil Tiger rebels. The APreported extensively on the heavytoll the war took on civilians asgovernment forces surged acrossthe rebels’ strongholds in the jun-gles of the north this year.

ISLAMABAD, July 22, (AP): Pakistan’stop court has summoned former presi-dent Pervez Musharraf to explain his2007 firing of several dozen independ-ent-minded judges. Wednesday’s courtnotice allows Musharraf to send a lawyerin his place.

The case, brought up in petitions chal-lenging Musharraf’s imposition of emer-gency rule and firing of the judges thatyear, could lay the groundwork for futureaction — even a trial — against the one-time military ruler.

It could also rattle Pakistan’s politicalscene at a time when the US wants thenuclear-armed nation to focus on fight-ing al-Qaeda and the Taleban along theAfghan border.

Pakistani Attorney General Sardar

Latif Khosa confirmed the court order.He said the federal government would

not defend the actions taken by Musharrafon Nov 3, 2007, when faced with growingchallenges to his rule, he declared a stateof emergency, suspended the constitutionand dismissed the judges.

Musharraf is currently staying inLondon with his family. He could notimmediately be reached for comment.The next hearing in the case is on July29.

Wasi Zafar, a law minister duringMusharraf’s rule, said the retired generalcould appear before the Supreme Courteither through his lawyer or in person.

“If he does not do it, the court can ini-tiate proceedings against him in hisabsence,” he said.

JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 22, (Agencies): Awife of one of Southeast Asia’s most-wantedmilitants was detained for questioningWednesday after bombings last week at twoluxury hotels in the Indonesian capital thatkilled seven people, local television reported.

Anti-terrorism police detained ArianaRahma, one of the wives of Malaysian fugitiveNoordin Mohammad Top, TVOne andMetroTV said without citing sources.

Police officials contacted by telephone couldnot confirm the reports.

However, investigators who spoke on condi-tion of anonymity because they were not author-ized to talk to the media said Rahma was amongfour people detained in the town of Cilacap incentral Java.

They said Rahma was being taken to Jakarta,where suicide bombers at the J.W. Marriott andRitz-Carlton hotels killed seven people, includ-ing six foreigners, and wounded more than 50on Friday. It was the first major terrorist attackin Indonesia in nearly four years.

Eleven people remained hospitalizedWednesday.

No suspects have been officially named, butterrorism experts and investigators were quickto blame the Southeast Asian terrorist groupJemaah Islamiyah or its violent offshoots, whichcarried out a string of al-Qaida-supportedattacks between 2002 and 2005.

Noordin joined Jemaah Islamiyah in 1998after brief training in the southern Philippines.

Counterterrorism police have stepped up themanhunt for Noordin, who has been at large formany years and narrowly escaped capture sev-eral times, saying explosives found at the sceneFriday were “identical” to those used in earlierblasts.

On Wednesday, Indonesian police issuedsketches of the two men believed to have car-ried out the suicide attacks, while Malaysianpolice questioned three of Noordin’s supporters.

Noordin allegedly planned the 2002 and2005 Bali bombings and attacks on the J.W.Marriott and Australian Embassy in 2003 and

2004. Together they killed more than 240 peo-ple.

The latest bombings killed three Australians,a Dutch couple, a New Zealander and anIndonesian cook. One of the Australian victimswas the first diplomat from the country to die ina terrorist attack.

Indonesian police on Wednesday releasedsketches of the faces of two Indonesian menthey suspect were the suicide bombers in near-simultaneous attacks on two luxury hotels inJakarta.

Friday’s attacks at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton killed nine people and wounded 53,including foreigners and Indonesians. Thesketches are based on two heads found at bombsites. “We believe these were the suicidebombers,” Indonesian police spokesman NananSoekarna said as he held up the sketches at apress briefing.

One shows a chubby-faced, dark-skinnedman, who police said was between 20 and 40and was about 165 cm tall, with short, straight

black hair. His remains were found at the Ritz-Carlton.

The second suspect, found at the Marriott,had a thinner, more oval-shaped face, waslighter-skinned and had short, straight blackhair. Police said he was about 180 cm tall and

initially said he was between 20 and 25 yearsold, but later changed that to between 16 and 25years old.

Police and security analysts said that theattacks bore the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiah(JI), the radical militant Islamist group responsi-ble for a string of deadly attacks in Jakarta and onthe resort island of Bali, or of a splinter groupheaded by Malaysian-born militant Noordin Top.

Local media reported that police questionedTop’s wife in Central Java on Wednesday. Policespokesmen declined to comment because theysaid they did not want to jeopardise the investi-gation.

Indonesia’s main tourist island of Bali wasbusy with foreign tourists this week, althougharmed police patrolled beach resorts after lastweek’s deadly suicide attacks on two luxuryJakarta hotels.

The bombings on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta killed nine people and wound-ed 53. The hotels were popular with foreign busi-ness executives and diplomats and considered to

be among the most secure buildings in the capi-tal.

Indonesian President Susilo BambangYudhoyono said on Tuesday his country couldguarantee security following the attacks.

Last Friday’s bombings bore the hallmarks ofJemaah Islamiah (JI), the radical Islamist groupresponsible for a string of deadly attacks inJakarta and Bali from 2002 to 2005.

A German tourist, who has been staying in thepopular Kuta area of Bali, which has sufferedbomb attacks in the past, urged police to improvesecurity after the Jakarta attacks.

“I am a little bit afraid. I just need the securi-ty to be tightened more,” said HeideWinzenburg.

Kuta was the site of nightclub bombings by JIin 2002 that killed 202 people, many of themforeign tourists and devastated the island’s keytourism industry for a time.

Officials in Bali said hotels and restaurantshad been urged to tighten security and peoplehad been asked to report suspicious behaviour.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

47INTERNATIONAL

Rater Moody’s Al-Anba daily quoting knowledgeableLebanese security sources.

The sources added Abu Talha was respon-sible for providing forged passports to want-ed men belonging to the Fath Al-Islam groupto help them escape from the Ein Al-Helwacamp.

The sources added one of those arrestedhas admitted to taking part in the operation inSyria which led to the assassination of aSyrian officer.

Continued from Page 1scale of 1 to 21, where 1 represents the low-est credit risk);

■ High dependence; and■ High support.KIC’s BCA of 15 (which equates to a B2

rating) reflects: (i) Moody’s view of the poorquality and high volatility of the company’searnings, which during 2008 led to large loss-es that consumed around one-third of its equi-ty; (ii) extensive asset value correction (main-ly during Q4 2008 and continuing into Q12009); (iii) a narrow customer base dominat-ed by the company’s main shareholder, theKuwait Investment Authority (KIA); (iv) thepoor staggering of KIC’s liabilities and itsincreasing dependence on parental funding;and (v) its limited distribution channels andmodest scope and size of operations. Withrespect to the first factor above, Moody’snotes that much of the company’s earnings inprevious years were not fully recurring innature, but in the form of realised and unre-alised gains from securities held for trading.Also, a significant proportion of KIC’s on-balance sheet trading and AFS portfolios hadalways represented investments in its ownmanaged investment funds, exacerbating thesensitivity of its net income to the perform-ance of these funds — high correlationbetween management fees and investmentgains on managed funds.

On the positive side, Moody’s notes thatKIC enjoys relatively good brand recognitionin its domestic market (it is usually associat-ed with the wealthy sovereign fund, KIA),and unlike other Kuwaiti investment compa-nies, was granted upon establishment aninvestment banking licence allowing it toaccept institutional deposits. Consequently,KIC, which is Kuwait’s oldest investmentcompany, has not issued any debt and relieson interbank placements and customerdeposits to fund its balance sheet.

Under normal circumstances, the capacityof the company to accept institutionaldeposits would provide it with additionalfinancing flexibility. That said, KIC’s inter-bank funding effectively represents short-term debt and, due to the poor performance ofthe industry in Q4 2008 and Q1 2009, thecompany’s interbank placements dropped byhalf.

Nevertheless, despite KIC’s debt-to-equityratio climbing to 105% at the end of 2008(from 53% at the end of 2007), Moody’snotes that KIC’s leverage remains lower thanthat of many of its domestic competitors, par-ticularly those that have borrowed heavilyinternationally. Further, KIC data suggest thatthe company’s managed funds exhibit moder-ately good retention rates (although this isbelieved to partly reflect shareholder invest-ments).

Moody’s views KIC as a government-relat-ed issuer given its ownership structure — it is79.16% owned by KIA. The willingness ofKIA to extend support to its sole investmentcompany subsidiary was demonstrated in Q42008 when KIA was instrumental in ensuringthat KIC met its funding needs — followingthe flight of (mainly international) interbankplacements (and moderate redemptions).Consequently, with Moody’s assumptions ofhigh support and high dependence, the imple-mentation of the JDA methodology results inBaa3 issuer rating, reflecting a five-notchuplift from its stand-alone BCA.

The negative outlook on the company’s rat-ing is due to the following factors: (i)Moody’s expectation that the revenue-gener-ating capacity of fund managers will remainunder pressure in the medium term; (ii) KIC’slack of a clear strategy for coping with theongoing market uncertainty and regarding itsown future direction; (iii) the potential foradditional mark-to-market write-downs in theevent of continuing market pressure (notwith-standing the rebound of the Kuwaiti stockexchange since March 2009); and (iv) contin-uing antagonism between the Kuwaiti legisla-ture and executive, which may remain anobstacle to the implementation of coherentand predictable government policies.

Headquartered in Kuwait City, KIC hadtotal assets of KD 300 million ($1.1 billion) atthe end of 2008.

Jihadist getsContinued from Page 1

to five years in jail while the third to sixthsuspects were sentenced to three years andthe seventh and eighth suspects were sen-tenced to two years in absentia.

The Public Prosecution had earlier chargedthe eight suspects — six Kuwaitis and twoSaudis — with carrying out hostile actionsagainst a friendly state that might harmKuwait’s relations with this country.

The suspects were also charged withundergoing firearms and ammunition trainingto carry out hostile actions against foreignforces in Afghanistan.

One of the suspect has also been chargedwith using a forged Saudi passport to enterKuwait.

Agencies add: Interrogations with theKuwaiti citizen Mahmoud Al-Dousari (nick-named Abu Talha) led police to a terrorist cellin Lebanon and they arrested 10 memberswho were reportedly planning to attack mem-bers of the United Nations Interim Force inLebanon (UNIFIL) in South Lebanon, reports

End forcedContinued from Page 1

Maliki told delegations from the UnitedStates, Britain, France, Russia and China thatIraq was no longer a threat to internationalpeace and security as it was in 1991 when thelate Saddam Hussein ruled the country.

It was to contain future threats that theinternational community imposed legallyenforceable sanctions and other restrictionson Iraq under Chapter 7 of the UN charter.

“All the decisions that were made previ-ously on Iraq because of the sanctions andbecause of Iraq being a threat to the interna-tional community isn’t required ... anymore,”he told reporters through an interpreter afterthe closed-door meeting.

Maliki was confident his pleas were beingtaken seriously. “It’s going to get the vote ofthe entire ... Security Council to take Iraq outof Chapter 7,” he said.

Iraq says the reparations are an unfair bur-den and wants the percentage reduced so ithas more money for reconstruction and devel-opment.

Kuwait strongly opposes ending Iraq’sChapter 7 status and has so far successfullylobbied Security Council members. But coun-cil diplomats say they may vote to lift therestrictions at the end of this year, whichwould enable Iraq to renegotiate the amountof reparations it pays to Kuwait.

Iraq has said it still owes $25.5 billion inreparations, $24 billion to Kuwait alone.

Relations between Iraq and Kuwait havebecome tense recently, with politicians inboth countries trading accusations over thereparations.

Maliki said the five powers and UNSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whom hemet earlier at UN headquarters, understoodBaghdad’s position. He was also expected toraise the issue in with US President BarackObama later on Wednesday.

Maliki also urged Ban to confirm in areport he will soon submit to the SecurityCouncil the progress Iraq has made in estab-lishing democracy and rule of law.

He said Ban should state that “Iraq is notgoing to be a risk or a threat to internationalsecurity.”

KilledEight people, including five Iranian pil-

grims, died in violence in Iraq on Wednesdayahead of talks between Prime Minister Nurial-Maliki and President Barack Obama inWashington.

The deaths came the day after 21 peoplewere killed in a wave of attacks across Iraq,one of the bloodiest days since US forcespulled out of towns and cities across thecountry on June 30.

Near the restive city of Baquba, capital ofDiyala province north of Baghdad, fiveIranian pilgrims, including one woman, wereshot dead by gunmen who ambushed theirminibus.

“At least five people were killed in anattack by armed men against three buses car-rying Iranian pilgrims in the Nabi Waisregion,” a police official at the provincialsecurity command centre said.

He said the five victims were among about30 pilgrims travelling on minibuses in an areanortheast of Baquba.

“We strongly condemn the terrorist attackon Iranian pilgrims,” Iranian foreign ministryspokesman Hassan Ghashghavi was quotedas saying by Iranian state television.

“We hope that the Iraqi officials will actmore responsibly in protecting Iranian pil-grims and take serious efforts in protectingthem.”

Shiite faithful, including Iranians, haveoften been the target of attack during reli-gious ceremonies in Iraq and pilgrimages toholy Muslim sites.

Despite the violence, hundreds of thou-sands of Iranians have travelled to Iraq everyyear to visit Shiite shrines since the Sunni-ledregime of Saddam Hussein was toppled in theUS-led invasion of 2003.

In April, 56 people died in a suicide bomb-ing on a restaurant packed with Iranian pil-grims in Muqdadiyah, also in Diyalaprovince, which remains one of the most dan-gerous areas of the country.

Meanwhile in Abu Ghraib, west ofBaghdad, American troops shot dead twoattackers who tried to blast their convoy withhand grenades, the US military said onWednesday.

In addition, one civilian was killed and fourwounded in Tuesday’s incident, which alsosaw the convoy come under small arms fire,said military spokesman Lieutenant ColonelPhilip Smith.

Smith gave no further details on the killingand wounding of the civilians.

In Washington, the United States was set topush for stronger reconciliation efforts in Iraqin the first meeting between Maliki andObama since the June 30 pullout, a milestonein Iraq’s rehabilitation after the 2003 US-led

Clinton optionsContinued from Page 1

over the region, if we do even more to supportthe military capacity of those in the Gulf, it’sunlikely that Iran will be any stronger or saferbecause they won’t be able to intimidate anddominate as they apparently believe they canonce they have a nuclear weapon.”

A senior US official said Clinton’s com-ments should be seen as a public argumentthat the United States is making to dissuadeIran from pursuing nuclear arms rather than asign that the United States is becomingresigned to the prospect.

Asked later at a news conference in theThai resort of Phuket, where she is to attendAsia’s biggest annual security meeting, toflesh out what she meant by a defenceumbrella, Clinton said:

“I was simply pointing out that Iran needsto understand that its pursuit of nuclearweapons will not advance its security or

‘Hell’ inContinued from Page 1

Under Afghanistan’s Islamic law, a mancan divorce without needing his wife’s agree-ment. But if a woman seeks a divorce thenshe has to have the approval of her husbandand needs witnesses who can testify in courtthat the divorce is justified.

“A man can, with great ease, tell the courtthat his wife’s behaviour is inappropriate, thatshe does not behave in the home, and wants todivorce her. A man decides a woman’s futurewith one piece of paper,” said Maria Bashir,chief prosecutor in Herat.

A woman can appeal for a divorce ongrounds that her husband is absent for a longtime, he cannot adequately provide for thefamily, either financially or because he isphysically incapable, or if he is impotent orabuses her to the point where her life may beat risk, Bashir said.

To get their husbands’ agreement for thedivorce, women were usually forced to let thehusband and his family keep the children, a

‘Missing link’Continued from Page 1

author Beatrice Hahn, a professor of medi-cine at the University of Alabama atBirmingham.

The nine-year study of chimps in their nat-ural wild habitat at Gombe National Park inTanzania found chimps infected with SIV hada death rate 10 to 16 times higher than unin-fected chimps. And necropsies of dead infect-ed chimps showed unusually low counts of T-cell white blood proteins that are just like thelevels found in humans with AIDS, Hahn saidin a phone interview.

And when scientists looked at the particu-lar strain, they found that it was the closestrelative possible to the virus that first infectedhumans.

“From an evolutionary and epidemiologi-cal point of view, these data can be regardedas a ‘missing link’ in the history of the HIVpandemic,” AIDS researcher Dr DanielDouek of the National Institute of Allergy and

invasion.The two leaders, who met in Baghdad in

April, “will have frank conversations and wewill have discussions on the need to keep thepolitical process going (to avoid) any back-sliding or deterioration,” said a senior admin-istration official on Tuesday, speaking on thecondition of anonymity.

As part of the security pact betweenBaghdad and Washington that called for thewithdrawal of US troops from urban areas, allAmerican forces must leave Iraq by the endof 2011.

Violence had dropped markedly through-out the country in recent months, but attacksincreased in the run-up to the US militarypullback, with 437 Iraqis killed in June — thehighest death toll in 11 months.

Maliki kicked off his US visit onWednesday by meeting UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon in New York, as theIraqi leader pressed for an easing of UN sanc-tions slapped on his country after SaddamHussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

achieve its goals of enhancing its power bothregionally and globally.”

“The focus that Iran must have is that itfaces the prospect, if it pursues nuclearweapons, of sparking an arms race in theregion. That should affect the calculation ofwhat Iran intends to do and what it believes isin its national security interest because it mayrender Iran less secure, not more secure.”

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister DanMeridor, reacting to Clinton’s earlier com-ments, said it would be far better to preventIran from crossing the nuclear threshold thanto try to counter it with a defence umbrella.

“I was not thrilled to hear the Americanstatement ... that they will protect their allieswith a nuclear umbrella, as if they havealready come to terms with a nuclear Iran.

“I think that’s a mistake. I think it would bemore appropriate not to accept the premisethat Iran has turned nuclear but to try to pre-vent this,” Meridor told Israel’s Army Radio.

prospect that dissuaded many batteredwomen.

“Women prefer death to the pain of beingseparated from their children ... This is whymany women, before consulting the law, willresort to self-immolation, or suicide or run-ning away.”

Pakzad moved her office from Kabul toHerat, which is a much more conservativetown compared with the capital, even thoughit is perhaps Afghanistan’s most prosperouscity due to greater security and flourishingtrade with bordering countries.

“In Kabul, women’s access to finance orthe economy is much more limited comparedwith Herat, but they have much better accessto freedom. The atmosphere is easier forwomen and more relaxed,” Pakzad said.

“Afghan families think that a womanshould not be divorced, whatever she goesthrough, she should be patient and put up withit. She should die before asking for adivorce,” Pakzad said.

NewswatchContinued from Page 1

Endeavour. They’re nickel-hydrogen batteriesweighing about 370 pounds (170 kgs) apiece.Two other batteries will be replaced Friday.(AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

CAIRO: Saudi Arabia is holding more than3,000 people in secret detention and has usedtorture to extract confessions in its anti-terror-ism crackdown since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorattacks, Amnesty International said in a reportWednesday.

The report criticized the international com-munity for turning a blind eye to the kingdom’smethods in its crackdown. Saudi Arabia has car-ried out a heavy wave of arrests against al-Qaeda members in past years after the militantgroup carried out a string of attacks againstexpatriate residential compounds, oil facilitiesand government buildings. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

NEWARK, New Jersey: A national cancer-awareness group says hot dogs are so hazardousto one’s health that they should have warninglabels. The Washington, DC-based CancerProject filed a lawsuit Wednesday in SuperiorCourt in Newark on behalf of three New Jerseyresidents to try to force hot dog makers to usewarning labels. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

ALGIERS, Algeria: France on Wednesdayvigorously denied reports that its consulate inAlgeria was involved in an alleged spying ring.

The El Khabar daily, one of the largest inAlgeria, reported that four Algerian nationals,including a former army officer, were arrested ineastern Algeria on suspicion of espionage. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

WASHINGTON: Gun rights advocates soughtto show their political muscle again Wednesdaywith a Senate vote giving Americans with con-cealed weapons permits in one state permissionto carry their hidden weapons into other stateswith similar gun laws.

Under an agreement of Senate leaders, 60votes were needed to pass the measure, anamendment to a defense spending bill, and theoutcome was uncertain. But the gun rightslobby, putting together Republicans and pro-gunDemocrats from rural states, has a strong win-ning record in recent years. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

LEXINGTON, Kentucky: A father was franti-cally calling police to report his missing new-born when he spotted the baby, bleeding fromthe mouth and clutched in the mouth of a familydog who had carried him from his crib to theheavily wooded backyard.

Four-day-old Alexander James Smith wasrushed to the emergency room at University ofKentucky Hospital in Lexington, where he waslisted in critical condition Tuesday with two col-lapsed lungs, a skull fracture, broken ribs andvarious cuts and bruises. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

HOUSTON, Texas: US federal agentsWednesday raided the Houston offices of thedoctor who was with pop legend MichaelJackson when he died last month, officials toldAFP.

A spokeswoman for the Drug EnforcementAdministration (DEA) confirmed that a searchwith the Los Angeles police was ongoing at theoffices of the Armstrong medical clinic inHouston, Texas, where doctor Conrad Murraypractices. Murray was with Jackson at his rentedmansion in Los Angeles when the singer col-lapsed on June 25 and died. (AFP)

See Also Page 22TEHRAN: A 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit thesouthern Iranian province of Hormozgan onWednesday but no casualties were reported, thestate television website said.

It said the earthquake which occurred at 8:23am (3:53 GMT) shook the port of Laft in theprovince which was stuck twice by similarquakes last year. (AFP)

Infectious Diseases wrote in an e-mail.Douek was not involved in the Nature study.

Monkeys and apes — except for chimps —seem to survive the virus because of somekind of evolutionary adaptation, probably onthe cell receptors, Douek wrote. The infectionof chimps is more recent so they haven’tadapted, he wrote.

Hahn said chimps and people probablycaught the virus the same way, by eatinginfected monkeys. And they both spread it thesame way, through sexual activity.

Many factors are causing Africa’s chimppopulation to dwindle, said study co-authorMichael Wilson, a professor of anthropologyat the University of Minnesota and formerdirector of field research at the Jane GoodallInstitute in Tanzania. Hunting, loss of habitatand disease are decreasing chimp numbersand it’s hard to figure out how much of a fac-tor SIV is, he said.

“It is a concern,” Wilson said. “The lastthing these chimps need is another source ofmortality.”

Wilson, who spent years observing chimpsin Tanzania as part of the study, said thatwhen researchers realized the virus was fataland they knew which chimps were infected, itbecame hard to watch some of their activitiesin the wild.

He recalled wanting to warn one femalechimp, “Don’t mate with those guys.” Wilsonsaid. “But of course I can’t do that.”

❑ ❑ ❑

On the NetNature: http://www.nature.com/nature

See Also Pages 26, 33 & 34A father (in black) is comforted by a relative as the body of his son who was killed in Tuesday’s blast in Sadr City district is takenaway for burial in central Baghdad, on July 22. Four people died when a bomb exploded in a market in Sadr City, police and the

defence ministry said and 34 others were wounded. (AFP)

These handout sketches received duringa press conference in Jakarta on July 22,from the Indonesian National Policeshows compiled digital images of the JWMarriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel suicide

bombers. (AFP)

Indonesian police release sketches of bomb suspects

Wife of most-wanted fugitive militant detained

Cloud seeding program takes places in Al Ain

ABU DHABI, July 22, (RTRS): The UnitedArab Emirates, thirsty for more water for itsgrowing population, has boosted its rainfallby 10 percent by seeding the clouds, a sen-ior meteorology official said on Wednesday.

‘Cloud seeding’ entails flying specialisedplanes and releasing silver iodide pellets intowater-laden clouds, boosting the amount ofwater droplets and precipitating rain.

“We managed to increase the amount ofrain produced by clouds by around 10 per-cent,” said Omar Ahmed Al Yazeedi, direc-tor of research and development at theNational Center of Meteorology &Seismology in the UAE capital.

“This has boosted the level of under-ground water reserves, which was the mainobjective of the project.”

There are no rivers or lakes in the UAE,but a number of underground water depositsare found at desert oases including Al Ainand Liwa.

Over the years the UAE has transformeditself into the business and tourism hub ofthe Gulf region, attracting a growing popu-lation of expat workers.

Ocean desalination plants which convert

saltwater to fresh water are the main sourcefor drinking and agriculture, are expensivedue to the high amount of energy they con-sume.

The UAE started cloud seeding in 2000and now has two aircraft that conduct neardaily flights, firing 20 to 30 iodide-filledflares each time, Yazeedi told Reuters.

Cloud seeding technology has been usedby other countries, including China beforelast year’s Olympic Games, with limitedsuccess.

Yazeedi conceded there is no scientificmeasurement to calculate exactly howeffective it is.

“But we can see that there are some pos-itive results and in the long run this will helpincrease our water supply,” he added.

The cloud seeding program takes place inAl Ain, a mountainous area which has themajority of the country’s farmland, east ofthe capital Abu Dhabi.

“We can only used cloud seeding onclouds that already hold water droplets andthe best clouds are located in Al Ain,”Yazeedi said.

Last year, the UAE undertook 97 flights

to enhance rain supply, with 20 to 30 flaresfired from the planes, he added.

“The number of times we seed cloudswill increase even more this year since wenow own the planes and don’t have to leasethem.”

The cloud seeding program costs theUAE about $1.5 million per year, saidYazeedi.

A study from the Dartmouth ToxicMetals Research Program in May conclud-ed that excess silver compounds in the airand water could potentially be harmful tohumans.

“Prolonged exposure to silver dust or tothe silver compounds can result in a perma-nent blue-gray staining of the eyes, nose,mouth, throat and skin,” the study conclud-ed.

Yazeedi downplayed the effects of silvercompounds used in the cloud seeding, say-ing that very small amounts of silver com-pounds are used.

“We follow international standards toavoid having excess silver compounds andso far I don’t know of any study that provesit’s harmful.”

UAE boost rainfall by 10%

abbydearKeystroke recorder reveals secret

By Abigail Van Buren

Dear Abby: My 16-year-old son,“Derrick,” recently stopped talkingto me. Frustrated about not beingable to open the lines of communi-cation, I installed a keystrokerecorder on our home computer. Itenabled me to see what Derrick waswriting in his e-mails. I know it wasa violation of his privacy, but I wasafraid and didn’t know who else toask what was going on.

I learned that Derrick has gottenhis girlfriend pregnant. They are dis-cussing various options, and he isthinking about running away fromhome.

How can I help my son throughthis, having gained this informationin an underhanded way? If I revealhow I learned about this, I will losehis trust forever. But if I don’t helphim, I don’t know what will happen.Please help me.

— Spy dad in TexasDear spy dad: You may not

have to tell Derrick how you gotthe information. You are hisfather. Sit him down, tell himyou love him, that he’s the mostimportant thing in this world toyou and that you’re worried sickbecause he has become secre-tive and uncommunicative. Tellhim that if he’s in any sort oftrouble he won’t be punished orlectured to and that you will dowhatever it takes to help him.And do not let him get up untilhe has finally told you what is

wrong.❑ ❑ ❑

Dear Abby: Why is PresidentBarack Obama considered to beAfrican-American? Isn’t he bi-racial?

— Wondering in Goldsboro,N.C.

Dear wondering: He is both.The term African-American is

used in thiscountry as alabel thatdescribes skincolor —although inP r e s i d e n tObama’s casehe is literallyA f r i c a n -A m e r i c a nbecause hisfather was an

African from Kenya, and hismother was an American fromKansas. However, the term bi-racial is equally accuratebecause it describes mixed-race ancestry.

❑ ❑ ❑Dear Abby: I have been a profes-

sional musician for more than 25years, playing piano in restaurants,lounges, stores, etc. My problem is Ihave never been able to talk and playat the same time. I must wait untilI’m through with a song to talk to acustomer.

I know that pianists appear to dothis in movies, but those are actorswho aren’t really doing the playing

— someone else is.When someone tries to talk to me

in the middle of a song, I can either:(a) stop playing and answer thequestion, making the rest of theaudience unhappy, or (b) struggle toanswer and end up making mistakesand, perhaps, even losing my job.

I can’t be the only pianist withthis problem. Do you have anyadvice for me — and can you printthis so people will be more respect-ful to musicians?

— Wait ’til it’s over in OhioDear wait: I have it on good

authority, as well as personalexperience in piano bars yearsago, that many pianists can notonly play and talk, but also playand sing. Having made itthrough a quarter of a centuryat the keyboard, I doubt youneed much advice, but I’ll offerthis tidbit: Post a discreet signatop your piano asking listenersto please refrain from makingrequests while you’re playing.You might also consider a smallmetal tray upon which they canplace their “requests.”

❑ ❑ ❑Dear Abby is written by

Abigail Van Buren, also knownas Jeanne Phillips, and wasfounded by her mother, PaulinePhillips. Write Dear Abby atwww.DearAbby.com or P.O.Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA90069.

(Source: Universal Press Syndicate)

Dog (Kalb)

48LEISURE

N E W Y O R K T I M E S CROSSWORD

In this undated photo provided by Bugwood.org, a musk thistle head weevil is shown. Svata Louda, a professor of biology at the University of Nebraska atLincoln, found that the weevil introduced from Europe in 1969 to combat musk thistle had moved by the 1990s nearly 30 miles from the nearest musk this

tle population to the Nebraska Sand Hills. It began feeing on a native thistle that Louda says could now go extinct. (AP)

Abigail Van Buren

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

Sherman’s Lagoon — By J. P. Toomey

Mutts — By Patrick McDonnell

Hagar The Horrible — By Chris Browne

Beetle Bailey — By Mort Walker

Garfield — By Jim Davis

Baby Blues — By Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott

Word by Word

Four thousand, nine hundred andeighty-seven.

Arbaat alaaf wa tesa ma’ah wa sabawa thamanoun

4987

Number

Love me, love my dog.Man ahabani ahaba kalbi maie.

Happy birthday for Thursday, July 23, 2009: This year, you dis-play enormous receptivity and understanding. You are able to incor-porate many different ideas as if there is one voice. Partnerships andrelationships are more important now than they have been in awhile. You are able to create a better relationship at work, at homeor within your bond, if that is your choice. If you are single, some-one most interesting certainly could appear. Know how special thisopportunity could be. LEO understands you very well.

The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-Difficult

❑ ❑ ❑

Capricorn - (Dec 22 - Jan 19): ***** Reach out forthat partner you trust or the associate you can count on. Though youmight be dealing with business matters, it is quite clear they areimportant to you. Listen to your inner voice, but be aware that yourrealistic perspective might be wishful thinking. Tonight: Relax to agood dinner and music.

❑ ❑ ❑

Aquarius - (Jan 20 - Feb 18): ***** Others contin-ue to come to you. Your ideas seem to have an additional swing orangle that normally isn’t there. How you visualize a change mightnot be how another person does. This could be the beginning of aproblem. Tonight: Say “yes” to an invitation.

❑ ❑ ❑

Pisces - (Feb 19 - Mar 20): **** You might be morefocused on daily matters than in the past. Your ability to move pastwhat others see as an irresolvable dilemma is easy, but you simplylook at these issues as problems. Once more, you demonstrate thepower of the mind. Tonight: A late flurry of activity.

❑ ❑ ❑

Aries - (Mar 21 - Apr 19): ***** Direct your high ener-gy. Your good will counts, even if there is a disagreement. Extremescould hit when dealing with a friend. Listen to what this personshares. There might be more validity to his or her ideas than youthink. Tonight: Add that dash of fun.

❑ ❑ ❑

Taurus - (Apr 20 - May 20): *** Once you are clear ona personal issue, you can focus on work and get a job done despitedifferent views. Process and incorporate different ideas, even if itmeans slowing the pace. Look for a unique perspective. Tonight:Close to home.

❑ ❑ ❑

Gemini - (May 21 - June 20): ***** Keep communi-cation flowing. Surprises surround news. Discover new paths to per-

haps the same goal. For some, finding an expert could be instru-mental. One rarely hears that one has too many experts. Digestinformation. Tonight: Hang with a pal.

❑ ❑ ❑

Cancer - (June 21 - July 22): ***** Indulge others andlet them know how much they mean to you or how they facilitateyour daily life. A partner could toss a lot on your plate, be it views,suggestions or information. Take the necessary time to sort throughit. Tonight: Pay bills first.

❑ ❑ ❑

Leo - (July 23 - Aug 22): ***** Your ability to bypass issuesemerges once more. Whether you want to do something differentlyor perhaps approach a problem with new eyes, you have the skills todetach, rethink and process. Your popularity abounds. Tonight:Whatever knocks your socks off.

❑ ❑ ❑

Virgo - (Aug 23 - Sept 22):**** Remain behind thescenes in an effort to recharge your view. You could be quite stunnedby everything that comes out and its timing. People you associatewith on a daily level will have much more information if you listento their words. Not everything is as you think it is. Tonight: Nap andthen decide.

❑ ❑ ❑

Libra - (Sept 23 - Oct 22):***** Zero in on what youwant, and open doors. Your creativity and instincts come into play.The time is here to revise your perspectives. Later in the day, youmight want to do more listening. You could be surprised by every-thing that you learn. Tonight: Take your time.

❑ ❑ ❑

Scorpio - (Oct 23 - Nov 21): *** Your ability to handlea lot of responsibilities is highlighted once more. You have a styleand a way that delights many. If you want to try something new, thisis the time, though do understand that a last-minute problem couldcause plans to change. Evaluate your priorities. Tonight: Could belate.

❑ ❑ ❑

Sagittarius - (Nov 22 - Dec 21): ***** Detach andseek out more information. What you visualize and what you seecould be very different from what you anticipated. You might askhow can you handle all this pressure. Certainly much more is goingon than meets the eye. Use your intuition. Tonight: A must show.

❑ ❑ ❑

Born today: Guitarist Slash (1965), actor Daniel Radcliffe(1989), baseball player Don Drysdale (1936)

By Jacqueline BigarYour Horoscope

odds ’n’ endsThere were no breakneck getaways for theso-called “limping bandit” who the FBI saysrobbed 23 banks across the Southeast,often waiting in line to pull a gun and thensimply limping away to blend into thestreets outside.

Now, after a string of robberies goingback three years, authorities think theyfinally have their man.

Cecil Stephen Haire, 51, of Douglas,Georgia, was arrested Friday after a wit-ness wrote down his Georgia license tagafter seeing a man limp from a MountPleasant, South Carolina, bank after a rob-bery.

Haire, who has a limp from childhoodpolio, faces state armed robbery charges.The FBI has also linked Haire to 22 otherrobberies in South Carolina and three otherstates.

No one was hurt in the robberies andauthorities would not say how much wastaken. A total of 12 banks were hit in SouthCarolina as well as five in Florida and threeeach in Alabama and Georgia.

Agents say the string of holdups mayhave gone on so long because the banditdrew little attention.

“He would walk into the bank very casu-ally, sometimes even wait in line and be acustomer” until he got to the teller andshowed his gun, FBI Special Agent JosephHamski said Tuesday.

Then the bandit made his getaway.“He got his name ‘limping bandit’

because he was never seen really running– it was more like a fast walk because ofthat limp,” Hamski said.

The bandit, who generally wore a poloshirt, baseball cap and, sometimes, sun-glasses, threatened to shoot the tellers ifthey put a dye pack or tracking device inwith the money. Hamski said that discour-aged bank workers from chasing him.

A man limping from a bank doesn’t drawa lot of attention.

“That’s why a lot of people on the out-side, if they were to see him walking fromthe bank, it didn’t look like anything out ofthe ordinary,” the agent said. “He wouldwalk out of the bank and around a couplecorners and blend right back into the pub-lic.” (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

US President Barack Obama admittedTuesday he’s a little frumpy, but brushedaside suggestions that he should paygreater attention to fashion.

“Here’s my attitude. Michelle, she looksfabulous. I’m a little frumpy,” Obamalaughed in an interview with NBC.

He was defending himself after the USfashion police let out howls of horror overthe so-called old-fashioned “Dad jeans”that the president wore to throw the firstpitch at a Saint Louis baseball match lastweek.

“I hate to shop. Those jeans are com-fortable. And for those of you who, youknow, want your president to, you know,look great in his tight jeans, I’m sorry, I’mnot the guy,” he shrugged.

And he admitted that he would not becaught dead in any “low-rider” jeans. “Sorry... it just doesn’t fit me. I’m not 20,” he saidruefully.

The president of the United States alsoadmitted that “basically, up until a few yearsago, I only had four suits.”

First Lady Michelle Obama, who hasswiftly become a fashion icon for her styleand elegance, “used to tease me becausethey’d get really shiny,” he added. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Lonesome George, the last remaininggiant tortoise of his kind, may soon be afather to the delight of conservationists.

Unhatched eggs have been found in his“bachelor” pen in the Galapagos Islands,his keepers said on Tuesday.

For decades, the last known Pinta islandtortoise had shown little interest in repro-ducing. But at age 90, George is said to bein his sexual prime.

Galapagos tortoises were among thespecies Charles Darwin observed to formu-late his theory of evolution in the 19th cen-tury.

Scientist have been trying to get Georgeto mate since 1993, when they introducedtwo female tortoises of a different sub-species into his pen.

The Galapagos National Park said thefive eggs found on Monday were “in perfectcondition” and have been placed in anincubator.

“Now we have to wait for the incubationperiod of 120 days to find out whether theyare fertile,” it said in a statement.

The 198-pound (90-kg) George stunnedconservationists last year by mating for thefirst time in the 36 years he has been in cap-tivity. But the eggs laid by one of his femalecompanions turned out to be infertile.

Tortoises were hunted for their meat bysailors and fishermen to the point of extinc-tion, while their habitat has been eaten awayby goats introduced from the mainland.

Some 20,000 giant tortoises still live onthe Galapagos. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

A male sea lion from California calledMike has died of exhaustion after over-exerting himself during the mating seasonin an animal park in Nuremberg, Germany,the city said on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old father of 12 offspringthrough three different females – Farah,Tiffy and Soda – showed signs of tirednessat around midday on Monday, the southerncity said in a statement.

“Mike could no longer get out of the pooland was brought ashore by staff. Theextremely weakened animal was treated bya vet but died from acute heart failurearound 3:30 pm (1330 GMT),” it said.

“Mating season is a common time forfatalities when bulls often stop eating fordays to devote themselves fully to mating.For sea lion bulls with a harem this is themost exhausting time,” it noted.

The statement added that Mike’s off-spring can be found in zoos as far afield asBerlin, Spain and the Netherlands, and thatthe 285-kilo (550-pound) animal was so“good natured” that people could touchhim. (AFP)

Cinema programmes— Page 31 —

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

49SPORTS

Tour de France 17th Stage Results/Standings

Result and standings after the 169-km17th stage of the Tour de France fromBourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand on Wednesday.1. Frank Schleck (Luxembourg/SaxoBank) ..................4hrs 53mins 54secs2. Alberto Contador (Spain/Astana)ST3. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg/SaxoBank)4. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Liquigas)..........................................................+2:185. Lance Armstrong (U.S./Astana)6. Andreas Kloeden(Germany/Astana)..................................................................................+2:277. Bradley Wiggins (Britain/Garmin).......................................................+3:078. Christophe Moreau(France/Agritubel) .....................+4:099. Christian Vande Velde(U.S./Garmin)10. Remi Pauriol (France/Cofidis).......+6:1011. Christophe Le Mevel(France/Francaise des Jeux)12. Maxime Monfort(Belgium/Columbia) ..................+6:1213. Roman Kreuziger (CzechRepublic/Liquigas)14. Rinaldo Nocentini (Italy/AG2R)15. Vladimir Karpets (Russia/Katusha)16. Jurgen Van den Broeck

(Belgium/Silence - Lotto)17. Sandy Casar (France/Francaisedes Jeux)18. Mikel Astarloza (Spain/Euskaltel)19. Stephane Goubert (France/AG2R)...................................................+6:1520. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spain/AG2R).......................................................+6:1921. Sylvain Chavanel (France/Quick-Step) .........................................+7:0122. Sebastien Minard (France/Cofidis)...................................................+7:4723. Matthew Lloyd (Australia/Silence -Lotto)24. Sylvain Calzati (France/Agritubel)25. Carlos Sastre (Spain/Cervelo)26. Ryder Hesjedal (Canada/Garmin)27. Alexandre Botcharov(Russia/Katusha)28. David Arroyo (Spain/Caissed’Epargne) ................................+7:5029. Sergei Ivanov (Russia/Katusha) .....................................................+8:3030. David Loosli (Switzerland/Lampre)...................................................+8:54

Overall standings1. Alberto Contador (Spain/Astana) ..............................72hrs 27mins 09secs2. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg/SaxoBank) .........................................+2:263. Frank Schleck (Luxembourg/SaxoBank) .........................................+3:25

4. Lance Armstrong (U.S./Astana) .........................................................+3:555. Andreas Kloeden(Germany/Astana) .....................+4:446. Bradley Wiggins (Britain/Garmin).......................................................+4:537. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Liquigas)..........................................................+5:098. Christian Vande Velde(U.S./Garmin) ............................+8:089. Christophe Le Mevel(France/Francaise des Jeux) .....+9:1910. Mikel Astarloza (Spain/Euskaltel) .................................................+10:5011. Roman Kreuziger (CzechRepublic/Liquigas)....................+10:5212. Rinaldo Nocentini (Italy/AG2R) ......................................................+11:3813. Carlos Sastre (Spain/Cervelo) .......................................................+11:3914. Sandy Casar (France/Francaisedes Jeux)..................................+11:5215. Vladimir Karpets (Russia/Katusha).................................................+12:0816. Stephane Goubert (France/AG2R).................................................+15:2917. Jurgen Van den Broeck(Belgium/Silence - Lotto)..........+17:2318. Alexandre Botcharov(Russia/Katusha) ....................+19:2019. Brice Feillu (France/Agritubel) .......................................................+21:50

20. Christian Knees (Germany/Milram).................................................+24:1521. Pierre Rolland (France/Bbox -Bouygues) ................................+25:0722. George Hincapie (U.S./Columbia) .................................................+25:3823. Sylvain Chavanel (France/Quick-Step) .......................................+25:4524. Nicolas Roche (Ireland/AG2R).......................................................+28:3825. Linus Gerdemann(Germany/Milram) ...................+28:4926. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain/Astana) ...................................................+30:5927. Maxime Monfort(Belgium/Columbia) ................+34:0628. Nicki Sorensen (Denmark/SaxoBank) .......................................+35:5829. Christophe Moreau(France/Agritubel) ...................+36:2130. Hubert Dupont (France/AG2R) ......................................................+36:33

Sprinter standings1. Thor Hushovd (Norway/Cervelo) ................................................230 points2. Mark Cavendish (Britain/Columbia)......................................................2003. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spain/Caissed’Epargne).....................................1264. Gerald Ciolek (Germany/Milram) ..........................................................1225. Tyler Farrar (U.S./Garmin).........110

6. Nicolas Roche (Ireland/AG2R)..1007. Oscar Freire (Spain/Rabobank) ..978. Franco Pellizotti (Italy/Liquigas) ..969. Andreas Kloeden(Germany/Astana)...........................7710. Lloyd Mondory (France/AG2R) .............................................................74

King of the Mountain standings1. Franco Pellizotti (Italy/Liquigas) ..................................................196 points2. Egoi Martinez (Spain/Euskaltel).............................................................1183. Pierrick Fedrigo (France/Bbox -Bouygues) .......................................974. Christophe Kern (France/Cofidis) ...........................................................895. Mikel Astarloza (Spain/Euskaltel)............................................................866. Alberto Contador (Spain/Astana) ............................................................857. Sandy Casar (France/Francaisedes Jeux).........................................848. Jurgen Van den Broeck(Belgium/Silence - Lotto).................769. Frank Schleck (Luxembourg/SaxoBank) ..............................................6810. Sylvain Chavanel (France/Quick-Step) ...............................................67

Team standings1. Astana .........215hrs 55mins 13secs2. Garmin .................................+16:12

3. AG2R ...................................+16:334. Saxo Bank............................+24:315. Cofidis ..................................+37:176. Liquigas................................+38:287. Euskaltel ..............................+39:098. Francaise des Jeux..............+43:209. Katusha................................+53:5410. Agritubel ..........................+1:02:52

Youth standings1. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg/SaxoBank) ................72hrs 29mins 35secs2. Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Liquigas).......+2:433. Roman Kreuziger (CzechRepublic/Liquigas)......................+8:264. Brice Feillu (France/Agritubel) .........................................................+19:245. Pierre Rolland (France/Bbox -Bouygues) ................................+22:416. Nicolas Roche (Ireland/AG2R)........+26:127. Chris Sorensen (Denmark/SaxoBank) .......................................+36:428. Peter Velits (Slovakia/Milram) ..........................................................+38:119. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia/Caissed’Epargne)................................+47:2710. Tony Martin(Germany/Columbia) ...........+52:09.(RTRS)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

50SPORTS

All the participating teams pose for a group shot prior to their matches.

APO Eta Mu, Bhasin complete podium

Upsilon clinch 5th FILBACK-Dollarco titleBy Jose Gabriel

Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: The Upsilonsquad showed some real class when theydisplayed a lot of power play and tons ofskills to bag the Filipino Badminton Clubin Kuwait (FILBACK)-Dollarco 5thAnniversary Badminton Cup, Friday at theHandball Gym in Kazma Sports ComplexAdailiya Friday.

Upsilon collected a total of 111 points towalk home with this season’s crown whileAPO Eta Mu finished first runners -up with95 points and only 2 points behind wereBhasin Company.

Meanwhile, after the team event wascompleted the doubles category pointswere tallied to finalize the names of the top8 pairs for a place in the quarter-finals.

Eta Chi vs AMECEta Chi beat AMEC by 11-7 points when

Jabbar and Nabeel overpowered ArunRajagonapalan and Varghese Thomas in 2easy sets 21-14, 21-12, Nurlaely andVeronica Garcia crushed JC Futol andRegina Casano 21-7, 21-13 and RenatoCalanog and Jess Sibunga brushed asideJayahtha Jaz and T S Apparao 21-17, 21-13.

Meanwhile, AMEC Oil and GasCompany scored through Francis Enriquezand FILBACK Director Leo Regner whenthey beat Sripad Shetkar and ManuThomas in a seesaw battle 21-8, 18-21, 21-9, Sunny Rae Lascuna and RomeoLongalong (joker) outlasted Arnel Migueland Danny Cahiles in a close 3 -set match21-16, 20-22, 21-19 and Robert Gubat andJuly Espiritu tamed Reynaldo “Smokey”Orje Jr. and Richard “Muscle Boy”Reodique 21-16, 21-17.

Upsilon vs Subway Upsilon compiled 12-6 points against

Subway when Michael del Pilar and EdBuensuceso thrashed Nestor Matondo andGerry Aguilar 21-16, 21-17, FaheemContractor and Nanang (joker) thumpedTibish Babu and Alind Kumar (joker) 21-14, 21-19, Romeo Derequito and BethBuensuceso overcame Ely Castillo andJeth Adlawan 21-19, 21-14 and ChanBasha Shaik and Mohammad Rafiq tamedG-Boy Briones and Bexk-Beck Briones21-12, 21-19.

On the other hand, Subway got their vic-tories when Analyn Abides and Lyn Rocabrushed aside Cherrylou Nicolas and AmorLlanes 21-10, 21-12 and Maricel Romanoand Nelson Pamfilo overcame Roy Satorreand Caloy “FILBACK Daddy” Abesamis22-20, 21-10.

Eta Mu Chapter vs Beta UpsilonEta Mu Chapter collected 12-6 points

against Beta Upsilon as Mathew Jacob andAnil Lakhotia outlasted Gede Mariasa andAgus Dermawan 14-21, 21-12, 21-19, thegirl power of Jessica Magallanes andMariedel Estinoso edged JenniferRegalado and Abelyn Sayoto 17-21, 21-11,21-17, Sid Ladia and Joy Gomez overcameVic Pine and Mark Arroyo 21-19, 23-21,Ray Allan Sayoto and Cherry “Blushing”del Rosario outlasted Edison dela Cruz andLucy Cortezano in a seesaw battle 21-17,17-21, 21-13 and one of the matches waswon by default.

Beta Upsilon did not go home emptyhanded when Raymond Pablo and Anno“Da General” Borbe tamed Bernard Nunezand Billy Ramos 21-18, 21-19.

XI Chapter vs Bhasin Co.XI Chapter almost scored a landslide

victory against Bhasin Company 13-5when Richard Amoto and Elmer Domingooverwhelmed Mohit (joker) and Jonathan(joker) 21-11, 21-19, Elsie Valenzuela andAileen Zoreta overpowered Vicky Nonogand Leonelyn Pascua 21-15, 21-16, RomeoTribulano and Roger Jimenez outclassedJoepet Matias and Joel Aguirre 21-14, 12-21, 23-21 and Marianne Salunga and ReyLubaton hammered Balagopal and JyothishNatajoran in back to back sets 21-12, 21-12.

On the other hand, Bhasin Companywon through Manimara “Doc Mani”Chozhan and Outri Mandazi when theyoutlasted Jimmy Jose Aricat and JamesGeorge 10-21, 23-2, 21-13 while JonathanMunalem and Sunil Thomas edged JamesBriones and Arnold Abordo 15-21, 21-13,21-14.

Gamma Epsilon vs DollarcoGamma Epsilon collected 11-7 points

(Left-right): Jibish Babu and Alind Kumar in action. Richard Amoto drives a shot.

An unidentified player in action. Photos by Hamdy Shawke

Nestor Matondo returns a shot.

Games chief impressed by India’s progressNEW DELHI, July 22, (RTRS): After afew early setbacks, India is back on trackto host a successful CommonwealthGames in October next year but there isabsolutely no margin to ease up on prepa-rations, games federation president MikeFennell has said.

Backed by Asia’s third largest econo-my, India had hoped a smooth build-upand decent medal tally would help thecountry compete with China as a sportspower and future Olympic host.

However, delays in building the gamesvenues in New Delhi as well as work totransform the crowded national capitalinto one ready to attract foreign visitorshad raised serious doubts.

Venue delays forced next month’sworld badminton championships to be

moved to Hyderabad and other interna-tional meets scheduled over the next fewmonths have also been affected.

However, Fennell gave the thumbs upto preparations after the latest inspectionby the Commonwealth GamesFederation (CGF), the Jamaican particu-larly impressed by security arrangementsand continued government fundingdespite the economic downturn.

“We were here a couple of months agofor the meeting of the coordination com-mission and the report had identified a num-ber of areas of concern,” he told Reuters.

“On this visit, we got some very goodreports. It is clear they are paying atten-tion to the recommendations that havebeen made and spending a lot of time inensuring those things are in proper condi-

tion.“The venues are on track. There has

been some seepage but the completiondays are still very valid and allows a lotof time for fitting out for the games.”

The government told national parlia-ment on Tuesday that venue work was onschedule and all but one of the 17 stadi-ums would be ready by Dec 31 and thecycling velodrome by the end of March.

Fennell, however, cautioned the organ-isers against easing up.

“We have a long way to go yet. Thereis a lot of training and development ofpeople, training of volunteers and train-ing of security personnel for games timemode.

Senior Delhi police officials briefedthe CGF chief on security and Fennell

praised the plan, especially aimed atallaying concerns following theNovember militant attacks in Mumbai.

“Even without the games, India islooking at the country and for the gamesthey have put all the resources that arenecessary,” he added.

“They are on the ball, putting in placeadequate security measures which willmake the games a very safe place.

“Organising such an event is verycomplex, particularly when you aredoing it when the world is in recessionand when you have a government thatdespite the recession has committed thefunds.

“But to fit all the pieces together and tohave the coordination, the linkages, thisis something very important.”

against Dollarco Exchange when SunilMoorkanat and Amith Balakrishnanfought wisely and outclassed PushkarajAltekar and Doc Mani (joker) 21-17, 12-21, 21-15, Joy Gomez and Biberly Malvartamed Kristina Quipse and MayeenAbesamis 21-19, 21-12, Cesar Castro andCesar Isidro edged Kristina Quipse (joker)and Ronald Brizuela 22-20, 14-21, 21-16and Zahid Islam and Masrur Refatbrushed aside Ronnel “Dental TechsPride” Villamater and Jim Octoso 21-10,21-16.

Dollarco Exchange won when the goodpair of Mohammad Nadeem and HarinathGadikota outlasted Donald Briones andNestor Farinas in a seesaw battle 21-14,19-21, 21-18 while Rowell Palacio andRonald Brizuela (joker) thumped BiberlyMalvar (joker) and Larry (joker) 22-20, 14-21, 21-16.

Eta Chi vs SubwayEta Chi collected 10-8 points against

Subway as Shripad Shetkar and ManuThomas outlasted Nestor Matondo andGerry Aguilar in a seesaw battle 21-13, 17-21, 21-17, Jabbar and Nabeel blended wellon the courts and outclassed Tibish Babuand Alind Kumar (joker) 14-21, 21-18, 21-11, Arnel Miguel and Danny Cahiles edgedEly Castillo and Romeo Longalong (joker)in 3 extended sets 21-16, 21-23, 21-19 andRenato Calanog and Jess Sibunga ham-

mered G-Boy Briones and Beck-BeckBriones 21-19, 21-14.

Subway did not go home empty handedwhen the tandem of Beck-Beck (joker) andLynn overwhelmed Nurlaely and Veronica21-13, 21-15 and Maricel and Nelsonfought for every point to edge Rey andRichard 23-25, 21-10, 21-18.

AMEC vs Eta MuAMEC Oil and Gas Company scored 10-

8 points against Eta Mu Chapter whenFrancis and Leo tamed Bernard and Billy21-13, 21-16, Sunny Rae and Fred Anthonymeshed well on the courts and outlastedFriday and Roger 21-18, 13-21, 21-14 andRobert and July thumped Ray Allan andCherry 21-12, 21-16.

On the other hand, Eta Mu team wonthrough Mathew Jacob and Anil Lakhotiawhen they outclassed Francis Enriquez(joker) and Varghese Thomas 21-14, 17-21, 21-10, Jessica Magallanes andMariedel Estinoso fought wisely andedged JC Futol and Regina Casano 21-19,19-21, 21-14, and Romeo Derequito(joker) and Joy Gomez overcame JayanthaJaz and July Espiritu in 2 extended sets 21-16, 23-21.

Upsilon vs XI ChapterUpsilon managed to collect 15-3 points

against XI Chapter as Michael del Pilar andEd Buensuceso outclassed Richard Amotoand Elmer Domingo 19-21, 21-17, 21-13,

the girl power of Cherrylou Nicolas andAmor Llanes tamed Elsie Valenzuela andAileen Zoreta 21-16, 21-19, RomeoDerequito and Beth Buensuceso thumpedRomeo Tribulano and Roger Jimenez 21-15, 21-18, Chan Basha Shaik andMohammad Rafiq overcame MarianneSalunga and Rey Lubaton in 2 extendedsets 21-13, 22-20 and Roy Satorre andCaloy Abesamis wasted no time to beatJames Briones and Arnold Abordo in backto back sets 21-15, 21-15.

XI Chapter were saved by the matches ofChandra Maouli and James George whenthey showed some real class to edgeFaheem Contractor and Nanang in 3extended sets 22-20, 17-21, 23-21.

Dollarco vs Beta Upsilon Dollarco scored a 13-5 points victory

over Beta Upsilon when MohammadNadeem and Harinath Gadikota over-whelmed Raymond Pablo and Anno Borbe21-17, 21-19, Pushkaraj Altekar and AlindKumar overcame Gede Mariasa and AgusDermawan 22-20, 21-12, Kristina Quipseand Mayeen Abesamis thumped JenniferRegalado and Abelyn Sayoto 21-14, 21-13and one of the matches was won bydefault.

Beta Upsilon collected their points whenVic Pine and Marc Arroyo brushed asideKristina Quipse (joker) and RonaldBrizuela 21-17, 21-12 and Edison dela

Cruz and Maria Lucia Cortezano outlastedRonnel Villamater and John Rubin (joker)13-21, 21-12, 21-16.

Bhasin vs Gamma EpsilonBhasin Company gathered 11-7 points

against Gamma Epsilon when Lalang(joker) and Outri Mandazi hammered SunilMoorkanat and Amith Balakrishnan inback to back sets 21-15, 21-15, VickyNonog and Leonelyn Pascua brushed asideJoy Gomez and Biberly Malvar 21-18, 21-15, and Joepet Matias and Joel Aguirrecrushed Larry (joker) and Bebiberly (joker)21-6, 21-12.

Gamma Epsilon collected their pointsthrough Donald Briones and NestorFarinas who thrashed Mohit (joker) andGopala (joker) in back to back sets 21-11,21-11, Cesar Castro and Cesar Isidro out-classed Balagopal and Jyothish Natajoran21-23, 21-17, 21-11 and Zahid Islam andMasrur Refat outclassed JonathanMunalem and Sunil Thomas 23-21, 17-21,21-14.

Pending GamesIn the Men’s B class, Maricel Romano

and Nelson Pamfilo managed to end theunbeaten run of Zahid Islam and MasurRefat when they beat them 21-14, 12-21,21-17 in a pending game while Zahid andMasur bounced back to beat JamesBriones and Arnold Abordo 18-21, 21-13,21-17.

In the Men’s C category Balagopal andJyothis Natarojan hammered Mark Arroyoand Vic Pine in 2 easy sets 21-15, 21-13while 2 games in the Men’s D event werewon by default by Elly Castillo and JethAdlawan and Romeo Tribulano and RogerJimenez when their opponents Eman Pabloand Alex Tirona, Deo and Noel Amadorfailed to show up.

In the other Men’s D pending gamesArnel Miguel (joker) and Jeth Adlawanblended well on the courts and tamedButch Bagahansol (joker) and RogerEstinoso (joker) in back to back sets 21-17,21-17, Friday Viernes and Roger foughtback to beat Arnel and Danny Cahiles in 3extended sets 17-21, 22-20, 21-10, RomeoDerequito and Beth Buensuceso thumpedEman Pablo and Alex Tiron 21-19, 21-12and the Ladies B pair of Elsie Valenzuelaand Aileen Zoreta fought for every point toedge Joy Gomez and Biberly Malvar in anextended 3-set play 18-21, 21-14, 24-22.

Final Team StandingsPts

Apo Upsilon Chapter 111Apo Eta Mu Chapter 95Bhasin Co. 93Amec Oil And Gas Co. 87Apo Xi Chapter 83Apo Eta Chi Chapter 79Subway 77Apo Gamma Epsilon Chapter 70Dollarco Exchange Co.Ltd. 66Apo Beta Upsilon Chapter 56

On the other hand the lists of the quar-terfinalists have been finished and in thesegames it will be 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4vs 5. Meanwhile if the pairs collect thesame number of points a win over the otherwill be the criteria to determine the finalstandings.

Men’s OJabbar Farooqi / Nabeel 23Mathew Jacob / Anil Lakhotia 17Arun Rajagonapalan / Varghese Thomas 17Faheem Contractor / Nanang 17Sunil Morkanat / Amith Balakrisnan 14Pushkaraj Altekar / Manimara Chouzhan 12Outri Mandazi / Dada / Lalang 10Tibish Babu /Presoon Pookadan/Alind Kumar 9

Men’s AMohd Nadeem/Harinath Gadikota 20Francis Enriquez/Leo Regner 19Michael Del Pilar/Ed Buensuceso 18Raymond Pablo/Anno Borbe 14Donald Briones/Nestor Farinas 14Bernado Nunez/Billy Ramos 13Richard Amoto/Elmer Domingo 13Nestor Matondo/Gerry Aguilar 12

Men’s BJonathan Munalem / Sunil Thomas 20Maricel Romano / Nelson Pampilo 19Roy Satore / Caloy Abesamis 17Zahid Islam / Masrur Refat 16Edison Dela Cruz / Lucy Cortezano 14Ray Allan Sayoto / Cherry Del Rosario 12James Briones / Arnold Abordo 11Robert Gubat / July Espiritu 11

Men’s CChan Basha Shaik / Mohd Rafik 25Renato Calanog / Jess Sibunga 24Sid Ladia / Joy Gomez 19Marianne Salonga / Rey Lubaton 16Marc Arroyo / Vic Pine 15Balagopal / Jyotish Natarojan 12Jayantha Jaz / T.S. Apparao 8G-Boy Briones / Beckbeck Briones 6Cesar Castro / Cesar Isidro 6

Men’s DRomeo Deriquito / Buensuceso 23Joepet Matias / Joel Aguirre 22Romeo Tribulano / Roger Jimenez 18Sunny Rae Lascuna / Fred Uera 16Friday Viernes / Roger Estinozo 16Rowell Palacio / Paul Lozano 12Arnel Miguel / Danny Cahiles 11Ely Castillo/Jeth Adlawan 11

Ladies BVicky Nonog / Leonilyn Pascua 23Analyn Abides / Lynn Roca 19Cherrylou Nicolas / Amor Llenas 16Elsie Valenzuela / Aileen Zoreta 16Joy Gomez / Biberly Malvar 15Jessica Magallanes / Maridel Estinozo 13Jc Futol / Regina Casano 11Kristina Quipse / Mayeen Abesamis 9

FILBACK organizers would like tothank Khalid Sharif of Dollarco ExchangeCo. Ltd., Vic Pine of APO-Beta Chi, MikeServo of Charley’s Grilled Sub, NoelAmador from APO-Gamma Epsilon,Edwin Marco of Popeye’s Chicken andSubs, Reggie Ramos of APO XI, GregBlanco and John Bruce of AMEC Oil andGas Company, Darwin Gonzales APO EtaMu Chapter, Tammy Solaiman, ShivyBhasin from Bhasin Company, CaloyAbesamis from APO-Upsilon, NicoContreras from APO Beta-Tau and NelsonSantiago from APO-PSI Chapter andVhennie Ilejay from United InteractiveGeneral Trading (UIGT).

BADMINTON

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

51SPORTS

Samara back to best in second place

Santos bags ‘Trial by Fire’ crownBy Jose Gabriel

Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: WillieSantos was in real form and dis-played outstanding skills to com-pile the highest point average andwin the weekly fun shoot organ-ized by Filipino Action ShootingTeam (FAST), Tuesday evening atthe Mayadeen Shooting Range inSubhan.

The event was supported by Gen.Ahmed Al Saleem and sponsored byWestern Union Money Transfer.

Elmer Pelorin, one of the veteran rangeofficers in the arena, along with FAST offi-cials always come up with new ideas eachweek and this week they came up with the“Trial by Fire” competition to really test theskills of all participants. The shoot involvedusing a 9mm Beretta and 10 stationary targetswere set-up. These had to be engaged in afree style mode while at the same time keep-ing an eye on the clock.

The initial position of the shooters was tosee them seated and they needed to run twiceacross the hall and touch the wall beforefinally going to starting position. On an audi-ble signal they needed to hit two hard coveredtargets through a window.

In the second stage, they needed to walkthrough a door and shoot three objects over afence and as they moved on they had to hitanother 2 targets through a window while thelast three targets could be engaged from anyposition — crouching, kneeling or standing.

On the other hand, six gunslingers triedtheir luck but failed to succeed and althoughmost of them were new, it did not stop themfrom taking up the challenge. They showed alot of courage while going through the “Trialby Fire” course. These included AminMohammad Amin, Ramil Locquia, ArnelAguinaldo, and Chito Lamigo.

“The small but terrible” Willie Santosseemed to really in a class of his own onTuesday evening and put in his best to putfinish on top of the class of over 20 shooters.He ended the shoot with the best point aver-age of 2.8976 with the 18 Alpha and 2Charlie in 33.13 seconds.

Mohammad Samara was back to his bestand was right on the trail of the winner with a2.8699 point average with 18 Alpha, 1Charlie and 1 missed shot in 28.92 seconds.The missed shot made more than a little dif-ference and if it had landed anywhere on thetarget he could have taken the top honors ashe was quite fast on his feet.

Lambert Bernardo also found the competi-tion to his liking and performed quite to fin-ish with a 2.3299 point average in 32.19 sec-onds and his shooting composed of 14 Alpha,5 Charlie and 1 missed shot.

Victor Sandig, who had been missed in thearena for quite a while, proved that you can-not keep a good shooter down for long as heachieved a 1.7699 point average with 12Alpha, 7 Charlie and 2 Delta in 46.33 sec-onds.

Meanwhile, FAST President Butch Alinea,who started off the competition, was alsoamong the top finishers as he acquired a1.5252 point average with 9 Alpha, 8 Charlieand 3 missed shots in 25.57 seconds.

FAST Adviser Manny Cornelio, who hasnever failed to support the group, put his bestfoot forward and pulled off 9 Alpha, 8Charlie, 2 Delta with 1 missed shot in 41.12seconds that handed him a 1.4834 point aver-age. The course seemed to be really tough asit took its toll on a lot of good shooters as theyhad not tackle different objects, they werealso required to it in the shortest time possibleas it was the combination of their shootingskills and speed that collectively made up thefinal score.

Roger Sunico, who has just returned fromhis vacations, did not seem to have misplacedhis grip as he shot 17 Alpha and 3 Charliealthough it took him quite a while to finishthe course — 73.62 seconds — that resultedin him getting a 1.2768 average.

Nelson Castillo’s consistent practice didnot fail him this time as he gathered a goodpoint average of 1.054 with 8 Alpha, 1 Bravoand 9 Charlie but he missed 2 shots as he thecourse in 47.43 seconds.

Shawn was also among the good shootersand he achieved a 1.0497 point average in55.25 seconds composed of 12 Alpha, 6Charlie and 2 missed shots.

Mr C was back in action this week after hisvacation and although he showed a lot of pre-cision he seemed to a little rusty as he was not— after quite a while — among the top fin-ishers. He collected a 0.9443 point averagethrough 8 Alpha, 9 Charlie, 1 Delta and 2missed shots while completing the course50.83 seconds.

Orly Ancheta was seated b 2nd from bot-tom of the table with a .9207 point averagecomposed of 10 Alpha, 5 Charlie, 3 Delta and2 missed shots within 52.13 seconds.

Meanwhile, Raja Sulaiman also showedhis shooting skills and walked home with 11Alpha, 5 Charlie, and 4 missed 4 shots in49.28 seconds that gave him a .4928 pointaverage.

Positions: 1. Willie Santos, 2. MohammadSamara, 3. Lambert Bernardo, 4. VictorSandig, 5. Butch Alinea, 6. Manny Cornelio,7. Roger Sunico, 8. Nelson Castillo, 9.Shawn, and 10. Mr C.

FAST organizers would like to thank theirsponsor Vangie Gernale and MarimelLabastida from Western Union MoneyTransfer.

FAST officials, with the support of GenAhmed Al Saleem, would like to inviteeveryone to their weekly “Fun Shoot” onTuesday from 1700-2100 hours. For detailscontact: Butch Alinea-99816563, Danny SanJuan-9954-0595, and FAST Adviser MannyCornelio- 6673-7298.

Members of FAST pose for the Arab Times.

Champion Willie Santos. Rommel Gumogda.

Victor Sandig. Joybell Pamisa. Raja Sulaiman.

Melina Castillo. Arnel Aguinaldo. Nestor Castillo.

Manny Cornelio.

Photos by Abd Al Mohsen Abdallah(Left to right): Jess Sevilla, Lani Vergara, Ramil Locquiao and Roger Sunico.

Amin Mohammed Amin. Jonas Nuevo.

Krzyzewski retained: MikeKrzyzewski will continue as head coach ofthe US men’s basketball team that will tryto defend their Beijing gold medal at the2012 London Games, officials announcedin Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Krzyzewski, the Duke University coachaffectionately known as Coach K, willbring back his staff of assistants thathelped steer a US team led by KobeBryant and LeBron James to the 2008 goldafter a bronze-medal showing at theAthens Olympics.

“It’s obviously a huge honor for me tocontinue on as United States nationalcoach,” Krzyzewski told a news confer-ence. “We want to win another Olympicgold medal and we want to win the 2010world championship in Turkey.”

Joining Coach K on the sidelines againwill be Jim Boeheim (SyracuseUniversity), Mike D’Antoni (New YorkKnicks) and Nate McMillan (PortlandTrail Blazers). (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Fever see off Mystics: TamikaCatchings scored a season-high 28 points,grabbed 10 rebounds and was 14 for 14from the free-throw line as the EasternConference-leading Indiana Fever defeat-ed the Washington Mystics 82-70 in theWNBA on Tuesday.

Catchings also had three steals as theFever used their pressure defense to forcethe Mystics into committing 20 turnoversand turn a five-point, fourth-quarter leadinto their seventh double-digit win of theseason.

Lindsay Harding led the Mystics with17 points, but also had seven turnovers.Crystal Langhorne added 15 points andAlana Beard, who will join Catchings inthe Eastern Conference starting lineup forSaturday’s All-Star game, had 13 pointsand nine rebounds. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Nuggets, Pacers set for clash:The Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacerswill tip off in Beijing in a pre-season gameon Oct 11 as the NBA returns to theChinese capital for a second year in a row,the league said on Wednesday.

The game would mark the re-openingof the refurbished 17,000-seat WukesongArena, the venue for the basketball com-petition at last year’s Beijing Olympics,NBA China said in a statement. China isthe NBA’s most important market outsideNorth America and the league signed along-term deal to manage the Beijingvenue before the Olympics.

“The Wukesong Arena is an outstand-ing facility that we are proud to call thehome of the NBA in Beijing,” NBA Chinachief executive Tim Chen said.

The game will offer Nuggets standoutCarmelo Anthony a chance to shine onceagain on the court where he won Olympicgold with the United States last August.The Nuggets will also meet in the firstNBA game played in Taiwan on Oct. 8 aspart of a schedule of five pre-seasongames to be played outside North Americathis year. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Yao undergoes surgery: HoustonRockets center Yao Ming underwent sur-gery on his broken left foot here Tuesday,an operation that the Chinese superstarcenter hopes will allow him to resume hisNBA career in 2010.

Rockets team phywsician Tom Clantonand doctor Bill McGarvey conducted thesuccessful surgery to repair a broken boneat Memorial Hermann Hospital, graftingbone onto Yao’s tarsal navicular bone andrealigning his foot.

“Everything went according to plan andwe were able to achieve not only fixationof the broken bone but also realignment ofthe bones to improve the stress pattern onhis foot,” Clanton said in a statement.

“We expect him to be immobilized in acast and using crutches for at least 6-8weeks.” Yao, a seven-time NBA All-Starwho has averaged 19.1 points and 9.3rebounds in his NBA career, will spend thenext several days hospitalized.

The 7-foot-6 center is not expected tobe ready to return at any stage of the2009-2010 campaign but is anticipatedto be healthy for October training campin 2010, when he is set to make 16 mil-lion dollars.

There were fears the injury, suffered inMay 8 playoff game against the eventualNBA champion Los Angeles Lakers,might end Yao’s career after there was nohealing following rest. (AFP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Bryant ‘optimistic’ about Odom:Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant isoptimistic the NBA champions will re-sign key free agent Lamar Odom.

“I’m optimistic that he’ll be back,”Bryant said Wednesday at a news confer-ence in Singapore as part of a six-countryAsian tour. “He makes us a much, muchstronger team.”

Negotiations broke down last week asthe Lakers retracted a contract offer toOdom. The Miami Heat are also wooingthe 6-foot-10 forward.

Odom played a key role off the bench inthe Lakers’ championship run. He aver-aged 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds duringthe playoffs.

Bryant downplayed speculation thatLakers coach Phil Jackson may take somegames off next season because of healthproblems. “Who said he’s coaching less?”Bryant said. “Phil likes messing with youguys. He’ll be there all the time, unless hehas a doctor’s appointment to get to.”

Bryant said he was more likely to agreeto play for Team USA at the WorldChampionships in 2010 and the 2012London Olympics now that Duke coachMike Krzyzewski has committed to leadthe team.

Bryant and Krzyzewski won the goldmedal at the Beijing Olympics last year.

“I’m very excited to see that he signedon,” Bryant said. “It influences all theguys just because we’ve been through thatexperience before and it becomes like afamily.” (AP)

Best of the Rest

SHOOTING

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

52SPORTS

Woman seeks $390,000 in damages from QB

Big Ben accused of sex assault in lawsuitRENO, Nevada, July 22, (AP): A woman hasfiled a lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelersquarterback Ben Roethlisberger of rapingher last summer in his penthouse room at acasino in Lake Tahoe during a celebrity golftournament.

Roethlisberger ’slawyer adamantlydenied the allegationson Tuesday.

“Ben has never sex-ually assaulted any-one. The timing of thelawsuit and theabsence of a criminalcomplaint and a crimi-nal investigation arethe most compellingevidence of the absence of any criminal con-duct. If an investigation is commenced, Benwill cooperate fully and Ben will be fullyexonerated,” David Cornwell said in a state-ment.

The claim seeks at least $390,000 in dam-ages from the quarterback, who won theSuper Bowl this year and in 2006. The law-suit also alleges hotel officials for Harrah’sLake Tahoe went to great lengths to cover upthe incident.

Teresa Duffy, a spokeswoman for the sher-iff’s office in Douglas County, whichincludes part of Lake Tahoe, said no com-plaints were filed about such an incident

either with sheriff’s deputies or the districtattorney’s office.

The woman’s lawsuit says she didn’t file acriminal complaint because she feared shewould be fired and expected Harrah’s wouldside with Roethlisberger.

The woman said she had been promoted

from VIP shift manager and was working asan executive casino host whenRoethlisberger struck up a friendly conversa-tion at her desk during the golf tournament.

The next day, July 11, 2008, she said hetelephoned her to tell her his television soundsystem wasn’t working and asked her to lookat it.

She said she was unable to find a techni-cian so she decided to handle it herselfbecause she had been told how important itwas to please celebrities.

In Roethlisberger’s room she said shedetermined the TV was functioning properlybut as she turned to leave the quarterbackstood in front of the door and blocked her,the suit claims.

The lawsuit said he then grabbed her,started to kiss her, fondled her, pushed heronto his bed and raped her, the suit says. Shesaid she feared he could or would physicallyharm her if she tried to fight him off but thatshe objected and protested several times.

Afterward, he asked if there was a securi-ty camera in the hallway. She said he theninstructed her to claim she had repaired histelevision if anyone asked why she was in his

room.The lawsuit says the woman required hos-

pitalization for treatment for depression afterthe alleged attack.

The woman’s lawyer, Calvin R. Dunlap,of Reno, declined to answer questions aboutthe lack of a criminal complaint and why thecivil action was brought a year after the inci-dent allegedly took place.

“Neither I nor our client will be makingany comment,” Dunlap said in an e-mail toAP. “We believe the matter should beresolved in court rather than in the media.”

The lawsuit also names eight Harrah’semployees as defendants and alleges thecover-up involved the chief of security atHarrah’s Lake Tahoe and was carried outwith the knowledge of John Koster, presi-dent of Harrah’s northern Nevada operations.

Goodell remains mum on when he’ll decide on Vick

The Spanish team poses with the gold medal of the free combination event of thesynchronized swimming, at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome,

July 22. (AP)

Results Wednesday at the FINA worldswimming championships:

DivingMen

3-meter SpringboardPreliminaries

(Top 18 qualify for semifinals)1, Troy Dumais, United States, 483.65

points. 2, Alexandre Despatie, Canada,483.55. 3, He Chong, China, 480.90. 4,Zhang Xinhua, China, 472.60. 5, YahelCastillo, Mexico, 463.95. 6, ReubenRoss, Canada, 463.00. 7, Javier Illana,Spain, 446.85. 8, Michele Benedetti, Italy,445.45. 9, Cesar Castro, Brazil, 437.45.10, Chris Colwill, United States, 437.10.11, Matthew Mitcham, Australia, 434.35.12, Patrick Hausding, Germany, 426.05.13, Anton Zakharov, Ukraine, 420.35. 14,Timo Klami, Norway, 205.00. 15, JorgeLuis Pupo Carballo, Cuba, 399.55. 16,Victor Manuel Toranzo, Cuba, 397.40. 17,Jonathan Ruvalcaba, Mexico, 395.95. 18,Seongchel Son, South Korea, 392.55. 19,Matthieu Rosset, France, 386.00. 20,Damien Cely, France, 385.50. 21,Jonathan Jornfalk, Sweden, 385.50. 22,Daniel Egana, Sweden, 385.20. 23,Nicola Marconi, Italy, 382.30. 24, RamonDe Meijer, Netherlands, 371.95. 25,Constantin Blaha, Austria, 361.10. 26,Charles Calvert, Britain, 360.30. 27,Carlos Calvo, Spain, 360.15. 28,Alexandros Manos, Greece, 359.20. 29,Ken Nee Yeoh, Malaysia, 358.80. 30,Benjamin Swain, Britain, 356.05. 31,Pavlo Rozenberg, Germany, 355.30. 32,Ilya Kvasha, Ukraine, 355.05. 33,Stefanos Paparounas, Greece, 353.10.34, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russia, 344.55.35, Shota Korakhashvili, Georgia, 344.00.36, Andrzej Rzeszutek, Poland, 341.10.37, Grant Nel, Australia, 332.70. 38,Sebastian Villa Castaneda, Colombia,327.55. 39, Yuriy Kunakov, Russia,326.80. 40, Muhammad Fakhrul Izzat,Malaysia, 325.25. 41, Chola Chanturia,Georgia, 323.95. 42, Ville Vahtola,Finland, 314.80. 43, Ignas Barkauskas,Lithuania, 314.65. 44, Sime Peric,Croatia, 305.20. 45, Jorge Sanchez,Venezuela, 304.15. 46, Yorick De Bruijn,Netherlands, 292.05. 47, Akhmad SukranJamjami, Indonesia, 290.70. 48, ArgenisAlvarez, Dominican Republic, 279.30. 49,Sergej Baziuk, Lithuania, 204.35. 50,Chuen Li Foo, Hong Kong, 200.40. 51,Farid Gurbanov, Azerbaijan, 196.80.

Open Water Swimming10k

Women1, Keri-Anne Payne, Britain, 2 hours,

1:37:1 seconds. 2, EkatarinaSeliverstova, Russia, 2:01:38:0. 3,Martina Grimaldi, Italy, 2:01:38:6. 4,Andreina Pinto Perez, Venezuela,2:01:40:8. 5, Angela Maurer, Germany,2:01:40:9. 6, Linsy Heister,Netherlands, 2:01:41:0. 7, PolianaOkimoto, Brazil, 2:01:41:5. 8, MargaritaDominguez, Spain, 2:01:45:6. 9,Marianna Lymperta, Greece, 2:01:45:7.10, Jana Pechanova, Czech Republic,2:01:50:2. 11, Alona Berbasova,Ukraine, 2:01:58:9. 12, ManonLammens, Belgium, 2:02:00:3. 13,Alannah Jury, New Zealand, 2:02:01:0.14, Teja Zupan, Slovenia, 2:02:03:1.15, Fang Yanqiao, China, 2:02:04:0.16, Olga Beresnevak, Ukraine,2:02:04:0. 17, Nika Kozamernik,Slovenia, 2:02:04:4. 18, Karla Sitic,Croatia, 2:02:04:5. 19, Odette Saldivar,Mexico, 2:02:04:5. 20, Iris Matthey-Jaquet, Switzerland, 2:02:04:6. 21,Patricia Maldonado, Venezuela,2:02:05:9. 22, Ana Marcela Cunha,Brazil, 2:02:06:4. 23, Silvie Rybarova,Czech Republic, 2:02:06:5. 24, EmilyBrunemann, United States, 2:02:06:6.25, Alejandra Gonzalez, Mexico,2:02:06:7. 26, Stefanie Biller, Germany,2:02:07:1. 27, Eva Fabian, UnitedStates, 2:02:09:9. 28, Maaike Waaijer,Netherlands, 2:02:10:1. 29, MelissaGorman, Australia, 2:02:16:0. 30, KatiaBarros, Ecuador, 2:02:20:1. 31, AliceFranco, Italy, 2:02:22:1. 32, OphelieAspord, France, 2:02:22:9. 33, ZsofiaBalazs, Canada, 2:02:24:3. 34, Shi Yu,China, 2:02:28:3. 35, Katy Whitfield,Britain, 2:02:37:7. 36, Danielle DeFrancesco, Australia, 2:02:55:4. 37,Yurema Requena Juarez, Spain,2:03:16:8. 38, Natalie Du Toit, SouthAfrica, 2:06:22:5. 39, Nataly CaldasCalle, Ecuador, 2:06:26:9. 40, WingYung Natasha Terri Tang, Hong Kong,2:09:15:4. 41, Aurelie Muller, France,2:09:23:7. 42, Nadine Williams,Canada, 2:12:07:9. 43, Cindy Toscano,Guatemala, 2:26:09:1.

Synchronized SwimmingFree Combination

Finals1, Spain (Alba Cabello, Ona Carbonell,

Raquel Corral, Margalida Crespi, AndreaFuentes, Thais Henriquez, PaulaKlamburg, Gemma Mengual, Gisela

Moron, Irina Rodriguez), 98.333. 2, China(Huang Xuechen, Jiang Tingting, JiangWenwen, Liu Ou, Luo Xi, Shi Xin, SunWenyan, Wang Na, Wu Yiwen, ZhangXiaohuan), 97.667. 3, Canada (M.P.Boudreau-Gagnon, Camille Bowness, Jo-Annie Fortin, Sandy Gill, Chloe Isaac,Eve Lamoureux, Stephanie Leclair, EliseMarcotte, Karine Thomas, Valerie Welsh),96.167. 4, Italy, 95.667. 5, Japan, 94.833.6, Ukraine, 94.334. 7, Britain, 89.334. 8,Brazil, 88.667. 9, Belarus, 87.333. 10,Mexico, 86.833. 11, Netherlands, 86.500.12, Egypt, 80.333.

Water PoloMen

PreliminariesGroup B

Brazil 5, China 9Montenegro 5, Croatia 11

DivingMen

10-meter PlatformSemifinals

1, Qiu Bo, China, 521.15. 2, MatthewMitcham, Australia, 499.00. 3, ThomasDaley, Britain, 498.75. 4, Zhou Luxin,China, 494.75. 5, Rommel Pacheco,Mexico, 486.10. 6, David Boudia, UnitedStates, 485.25. 7, Constantin Popovici,Romania, 470.10. 8, Riley McCormick,Canada, 446.00. 9, Aleksey Kravchenko,Russia, 434.60. 10, Sascha Klein,Germany, 426.25. 11, Bryan NicksonLomas, Malaysia, 425.65. 12, JonathanRuvalcaba, Mexico, 423.30. 13, VadimKaptur, Belarus, 418.50. 14, KostyantynMilyayev, Ukraine, 416.50. 15, HugoParisi, Brazil, 413.95. 16, Jose AntonioGuerra Oliva, Cuba, 409.55. 17, AntonZakharov, Ukraine, 397.30. 18, VictorMinibaev, Russia, 386.70.

Final1, Thomas Daley, Britain, 539.85. 2,

Qiu Bo, China, 532.20. 3, Zhou Luxin,China, 530.55. 4, Matthew Mitcham,Australia, 529.50. 5, Aleksey Kravchenko,Russia, 493.90. 6, David Boudia, UnitedStates, 491.80. 7, Sascha Klein,Germany, 478.90. 8, Constantin Popovici,Romania, 476.20. 9, Riley McCormick,Canada, 470.30. 10, Rommel Pacheco,Mexico, 456.20. 11, Jonathon Ruvalcaba,Mexico, 390.35. 12, Bryan NicksonLomas, Malaysia, 372.10.

Women3-meter Springboard

Final1, Guo Jingjing, China, 388.20. 2,

Emilie Heymans, Canada, 246.45. 3,Tania Cagnotto, Italy, 341.25. 4, He Zi,China, 336.65. 5, Ariel Rittenhouse,United States, 335.10. 6, SharleenStratton, Australia, 327.75. 7,Anastasia Pozdniakova, Russia,320.65. 8, Christina Loukas, UnitedStates, 320.20. 9, Briony Cole,Australia, 311.50. 10, Laura Sanchez,Mexico, 300.60. 11, Jennifer Abel,Canada, 265.55. 12, Katja Dieckow,Germany, 252.30.

Synchronized SwimmingDuet Tech

Final1, Anastasia Davydova and Svetlana

Romashina, Russia, 98.667. 2, AndreaFuentes and Gemma Mengual, Spain,97.333. 3, Jiang Tingting and JiangWenwen, China, 95.667. 4, Yukiko Inuiand Chisa Kobayashi, Japan, 94.333.5, Beatrice Adelizzi and Giulia Lapi,Italy, 93.834. 6, Tracy Little and EliseMarcotte, Canada, 93.833. 7, DariaIushko and Kseniya Sydorenko,Ukraine, 92.667. 8, Apolline Dreyfussand Lila Meesseman Bakir, France,92.167. 9, Natalia Anthopoulou andDespoina Solomou, Greece, 90.833.10, Nayara Figueira and Lara Teixeira,Brazil, 90.333. 11, Olivia Allison andJenna Randall, Britain, 89.166. 12,Meghan Kinney and Jillian Penner,United States, 88.500.

Free CombinationPreliminaries

1, Spain, 97.500. 2, China, 96.666. 3,Canada, 96.000. 4, Italy, 95.000. 5,Japan, 94.667. 6, Ukraine, 93.667. 7,Britain, 88.833. 8, Brazil, 88.333. 9,Belarus, 86.833. 10, Mexico, 86.667. 11,Netherlands, 86.500. 12, Egypt, 80.834.13, Germany, 80.167.

Water PoloWomenPreliminaries

Group AChina 28, Uzbekistan 6Hungary 8, Italy 5

Group BGreece 12, Kazakhstan 6Russia 11, United States 10

Group CAustralia 23, South Africa 2Canada 12, New Zealand 6

Group DNetherlands 15, Spain 15Germany 12, Brazil 12

NEW YORK, July 22, (AP): NFL commis-sioner Roger Goodell isn’t revealing whenhe’ll decide whether to reinstate MichaelVick now that the former Atlanta Falconsstar quarterback has been released fromfederal custody.

“The process is ongoing, and I hope tomake a decision sometime in the nearfuture,” Goodell said Tuesday, a day after

Vick’s home confinement ended.He wouldn’t define what “near future”

means.Vick served 23 months on a dogfighting

conviction.NFL training camps open for veterans

next week. Goodell would not say whenhe’ll meet with Vick.

“We’re not going to give any details

right now,” he said after a news confer-ence announcing singer Marc Anthony’sinvolvement with the NFL.

The commissioner has said he wants tosee remorse and evidence of changefrom the player he suspended indefinitely.

Even if Goodell reinstates Vick, the 29-year-old quarterback would still have tofind a team willing to sign him.

Big Ben

FOOTBALL

FINA World Championships Results

Ilchenko withdraws as Payne,Lurz win 10k open water races

Italy protest, Cleri could move to 3rd

ROME, July 22, (AP): Keri-Anne Payne of Britain pushed a fewcompetitors out of her way en route to the gold medal in the 10-kilometer open water swimming race at the world championshipsWednesday.

Olympic champion Larisa Ilchenko withdrew at the halfway mark with an injury.Thomas Lurz won the men’s race, but officials won’t decide until Thursday who willtake bronze after American Francis Crippen swam off course.

Back at the Foro Italico, Spain performed a rockin’ routine to Led Zeppelin and finally

claimed gold in synchronized swimming, winning the free combination with Russia absent.Lurz, who also won the 5K race Tuesday, covered the sea course off Rome’s ancient port of

Ostia in 1 hour, 52 minutes, 6.9 seconds.Andrew Gemmell of the United States finished second and teammate Crippen touched third.However, Crippen swam on the wrong side of a buoy heading into the finish, prompting him

to duck under a rope to get back in line.The Italian team protested, hoping that local favorite Valerio Cleri could move up from fourth

to third if Crippen is disqualified.“During the sprint I saw that he was outside (the rope). I thought maybe we had lapped him,”

Cleri said.Swimming governing body FINA accepted

Italy’s protest and the United States appealedthe decision. The FINA Bureau will rule onthe case Thursday morning.

US coach Catherine Vogt pointed out thatopen water rules do not require athletes toswim between the ropes.

“There’s nothing written in the rules sayingyou have to finish through the lane lines,”Vogt said. “It’s merely for guidance. Andactually he had no advantage of doing whathe did. It was actually a disadvantage to him.I think clearly he could have been first or sec-ond and he was third and I think he deservesit.”

However, FINA said that athletes were toldbefore the race to finish between the ropes.

Payne, the Olympic silver medalist,clocked 2 hours, 1 minute, 37.1 seconds and

was in the front for most of the race.“There were a lot of girls that tried to take

that lead spot, but I was having none of it,”Payne said. “I think I may have pushed a fewgirls out of the way.”

Ekaterina Seliverstova of Russia edgedMartina Grimaldi of Italy in a sprint finish forthe silver medal. Silverstova finished 0.9 sec-onds behind and Grimaldi was 1.5 back.

“I tried to fight for the silver but I wasexhausted at the end,” Grimaldi said.

Ilchenko, who was also the defendingworld champion in 10K, was broughtashore in a jet ski shortly after the 1-hourmark. Upon reaching the beach, the limp-ing swimmer was accompanied by medicalofficials.

The Russian had cited the left-leg problemafter winning the silver medal in Tuesday’s5K race, won by Melissa Gorman ofAustralia.

Gorman finished 29th Wednesday.Payne’s gold came less than 24 hours after

British diver Tom Daley won the 10-meterplatform event, raising the host country’sexpectations for the 2012 London Olympics.

“There’s always going to be pressure onme for London. But a lot can happen betweennow and then,” Payne said.

The South African-born Payne sat out the5K event to stay fresh.

“I knew the girls yesterday had such a hard5K, so I was also a little more confident thatthey were going to be a bit more tired,” saidPayne, who will also swim the 200 and 400individual medley events for Britain in thepool next week.

The 200 IM heats are scheduled forSunday.

“It’s going to be tough to recover,” Paynesaid.

Open water concludes Saturday with themen’s and women’s 25K marathon races.

In synchro, the Spaniards put together ahigh-energy routine that received scores rang-ing from 9.7 to 9.9 for a total of 98.333points. China took thesilver with 97.667 andCanada claimedbronze with 96.167.

The Spaniards firedthe crowd up by per-forming to “Stairwayto Heaven,” evenbreaking out a little airguitar on another swel-tering day in the Italiancapital.

Spain had settledfor silver in the firstthree events of synchronized swimming, eachtime behind Russia. But the sport’s dominantnation didn’t enter the free combination,finally providing a little drama.

Payne

SWIMMING

Patrick Hausding of Germany performs during the men’s 3-meter springboard semifinal, at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome, July 22. (AP)

Leonard picked ahead of Cowan

NZ to start with Rokocoko vs SACENTURION, South Africa, July 22,(RTRS): Joe Rokocoko was recalled to theNew Zealand starting line-up forSaturday’s Tri-Nations test against SouthAfrica with coach Graham Henry confidentthe wing could put a lacklustre few monthsbehind him.

In the only other change to the team afterthe All Blacks opened their title defencewith a 22-16 victory over Australia lastweekend, scrumhalf Brendon Leonard waspicked ahead of Jimmy Cowan for thematch in Bloemfontein.

“They were very much horses for cours-es selections and I don’t see any reasonwhy the changes will make the team anyweaker,” forwards coach Steve Hansen toldreporters on Wednesday.

Fijian-born Rokocoko, who has scorednine tries against the Springboks, just oneshy of Christian Cullen’s New Zealandrecord, played in the three tests againstFrance and Italy earlier this year and strug-gled.

“His form hasn’t been great this year buthe’s trained well the last couple of weeksand I believe he’s ready to go,” said Henry.

“He has experience, he’s played a largenumber of tests in South Africa and donevery well against them. He’s played 55tests for the All Blacks and I’m sure he willwant to prove himself again.”

Henry said Leonard’s selection wasgeared towards a pacier game plan on a tra-ditionally hard and fast surface inBloemfontein.

Tahu quits Wallabies for league returnSYDNEY, Australia, July 22, (AP):Wallabies center Timana Tahu has quitrugby union to return to National RugbyLeague club Parramatta in a three-yeardeal.

Tahu, 29, missed an Australian trainingrun in Sydney on Wednesday just hoursbefore it was revealed he will turn hisback on a four-year contract with theAustralian Rugby Union to play leaguefrom 2010.

The powerful midfielder left Parramattato sign with the Australian union in 2007,playing for the New South WalesWaratahs and the Wallabies.

He played four Tests for Australia in2008 but failed to regain a Test place this

year after making only a handful ofappearances for the Waratahs during theSuper 14 season.

Tahu was included in this year’s 30-man Wallabies squad but, with fellowleague convert Lote Tuqiri, was notchosen for the first four tests of theyear against France, Italy and NewZealand.

In league, Tahu won the 2001 NRLgrand final with Newcastle before joiningParramatta in 2005.

A Parramatta official told the AustralianAssociated Press that Tahu would sign assoon as he resolved contract issues withthe Australian and New South Walesrugby unions.

“The conditions may suit his style. He’squick and pretty sharp on the break,” hesaid.

Henry added that he had been reluctantto drop Cowan after he produced a fineshowing against the Wallabies.

“Jimmy had one of his better tests in anAll Black jersey, maybe his best, so it wasa huge decision, definitely our most diffi-cult selection,” he said.

Piri Weepu keeps his place among the

replacements and Henry said thescrumhalf’s role was to finish for the AllBlacks.

“Piri is the guy who comes on andchanges the game for us,” the coach said.

Hansen said he expected loose forwardsRichie McCaw and Rodney So’oialo, whoboth made their returns from injury againstAustralia, to have big games on Saturday.

“Richie and Rodney are not yet at theirbest but they’ll both be better for havinghad a game,” he said.

“So they’re both further down the tracknow and we can expect a big performancefrom them.”

RUGBY

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

53SPORTS

Malik’s ton puts Pakistan oncourse for face-saving victory

Sri Lanka trial by 366 runs

COLOMBO, July 22, (AFP): Former captain Shoaib Malik hit anunbeaten 106 on Wednesday to put Pakistan on course for a face-sav-ing victory in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka here.

Pakistan, who lost the first two Tests to hand Sri Lanka a decisive lead in the series,finally flexed their batting muscle to pile up 300-5 in their second innings by stumps onthe third day.

Kamran Akmal returned unbeaten on 60 after adding 114 for the unbroken sixth wicketwith Malik as Pakistan established an overall lead of 366 runs with five wickets in hand.

Sri Lanka will need to put on their best batting display in the series to record a 3-0 sweep overthe remaining two days after failing to cross 300 in any of the five previous innings.

Pakistan appeared to have thrown away the advantage of a 66-run first innings lead when,starting the day at 16-1, they lost three quick wickets to slip to 67-4 before lunch.

Malik and Misbah-ul Haq led the fightback with a 119-run stand for the fifth wicket, stayingtogether for the entire post-lunch session to frustrate the Sri Lankan bowlers on a hot and humidday.

Misbah made 65 before he gifted his wicket after tea, attempting a wild heave off seamerAngelo Mathews that took the edge to wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara.

Malik reached his second Test century just before close by lofting left-arm spinner RanganaHerath for a six, having survived a missed stumping by Sangakkara in the bowler’s previousover.

“We have learnt our lessons,” said Malik. “All of us have been working hard on our game

and trying to do the basics right.“This wicket is a lot flatter than the ones in

the previous two Tests, but we still needed toput our heads down and put up a big score.

“There could be some turn on the last twodays. The captain and coach will decide onwhen we need to declare, if at all.”

Sri Lankan coach Trevor Bayliss concededthe hosts missed a second spinner alongsideHerath after dropping Ajantha Mendis toaccommodate veteran seamer ChamindaVaas for his final Test.

Vaas, who claimed one wicket in the firstinnings, was kept out of the firing line till the33rd over on Wednesday before sendingdown 14 unsuccessful overs for 29 runs.

“We lacked a bit of variety in the attack,”said Bayliss. “But we stuck it out there.Pakistan batted very well and showed whatwe need to do when our turn comes.”

Pakistan had added just six runs to theirovernight score when Fawad Alam fended ata short ball from left-arm seamer ThilanThushara and spooned an easy catch to thebowler. Left-handed Alam, who hit 168 onhis debut in the second Test, scored 16 ineach innings here.

Younus Khan looked solid while making19 when he was unfortunate to be given leg-before to Nuwan Kulaksekera by umpire IanGould. Television replays showed an insideedge off the bat.

Younus walked back dejected as Pakistan

slipped to 54-3, just 120 runs ahead.Veteran Mohammad Yousuf was on 23

when he poked at a good length deliveryfrom left-arm spinner Herath and edged acatch to wicket-keeper Sangakkara.

Meanwhile, Pakistan leg-spinner DanishKaneria has been reprimanded for abusingSri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews during theongoing third and final Test, the InternationalCricket Council said on Wednesday.

Kaneria verbally abused Mathews afterhaving him caught in the slips on Tuesday,the first of the bowler’s five victims thathelped Pakistan dismiss Sri Lanka for 233 atthe Sinhalese sports club.

Match referee Alan Hurst of Australia rep-rimanded Kaneria and warned him about hisfuture conduct following a hearing whichwas also attended by Pakistan managerYawar Saeed, captain Younus Khan and theumpires.

Kaneria pleaded guilty to breaching clause1.4 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct whichrelates to “using language that is obscene,offensive or insulting”.

“Swearing is expressly forbidden by theICC code and in this case it was picked up bythe people present at the ground and the tele-vision microphones, so the potential for neg-atively influencing spectators or viewers athome, including chil-dren, is clear,” Hurstsaid in an ICC state-ment.

“Danish knows whathe said was unaccept-able, but in coming tomy decision, I took intoaccount the fact that heapologised both imme-diately after the inci-dent and in the hearing.“I am also content thatthe action was not directed at the batsman orany other individual and the action was moreof frustration than anger.

“That is why the penalty is at the low endof the scale of Level 1 offences,” Hurst said.

Another such offence could cost Kaneria afine of up to 50 percent of his match fee.

England’s Kevin Pietersen (right), celebrates with team-mates after England bowledout Australia on the fifth day of the second cricket Test match between England and

Australia at Lord’s cricket ground in London, July 20. (AP)

Sri Lankan cricketer Thilan Thushara celebrates after taking a catch off his own bowl-ing to dismiss Pakistan’s Fawad Alam during the third day of the third Test cricket

match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 22. (AP)

Qadir calls for Warne comebackISLAMABAD, July 22, (AP): FormerPakistan chief selector Abdul Qadir saysAustralia must bring Shane Warne out ofretirement it wants to beat England in ongo-ing Ashes series.

“Age is not a factor, if Warne can play inIPL (Indian Premier League) I don’t see anyreason why can’t he play in Test matches,”Qadir told the Associated Press in a telephoneinterview from Lahore.

Several commentators and former playerspublicly mooted Warne’s recall to the Testteam in the lead up to the Ashes, includingformer England opener Geoffrey Boycott’scall for him to be installed as captain. BothCricket Australia and Warne rejected the pos-sibility of a return to the Test team.

The 39-year-old Warne played his lastcricket Test against England at Sydney in2007. He retired from international crickethaving taken 708 wickets in 145 Tests.

“I think Australia will be strengthened withthe return of Warne and he can still make ahuge difference,” said Qadir, a former Testleg-spinner for Pakistan.

Australia trails 1-0 in the five-match seriesagainst England after drawing the first Test

and losing the second by 115 runs —England’s first victory at Lord’s againstAustralia in 75 years.

“I saw that Test match on television andhad (Michael) Clarke not scored a century inthe second innings the margin of defeat couldhave been over 250 runs,” Qadir said.

“I still feel the England batsmen struggleagainst good spinners and with the likes ofWarne, Australia has a good chance notonly to level the series but even win theAshes.”

Qadir said Cricket Australia should talk toWarne and convince him to return to Testcricket.

“For countries people do make comebacksand Australia needs Warne’s expertise againstEngland,” Qadir said.

Warne led Rajhastan Royals to win theinaugural IPL title last year, but his teamstruggled in this year’s tournament in SouthAfrica and did not reach for the semifinals.

Qadir took 236 wickets in 67 Test matchesfrom 1977 to 1990. He stepped down asPakistan chief selector last month blamingcricket board officials for meddling in theselection process.

Mediator named in pay dispute

Pakistan cricketer Misbah-ul-Haq plays a shot during the third day of the third and final Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) grounds in Colombo on July 22. (AFP)

Pakistan vs Lanka ScoreboardScoreboard at stumps on the third day of thethird and final cricket Test between Pakistanand Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese sports club hereon Wednesday:

Pakistan 1st innings: 299 (Khurram Manzoor93, Mohammad Yousuf 90, Shoaib Malik 45, T.Thushara 5-83, N. Kulasekera 3-47)

Sri Lanka 1st innings: 233 (K. Sangakkara45, M. Jayawardene 79, T. Dilshan 44, D.Kaneria 5-62, S. Ajmal 3-70)

Pakistan 2nd innings (overnight 16-1):

Khurram Manzoor b Herath ............................2Fawad Alam c and b Thushara.....................16Younus Khan lbw b Kulasekera....................19Mohammad Yousuf c Sangakkara b Herath.23Misbah-ul Haq c Sangakkara b Mathews...............................................................................65Shoaib Malik not out ...................................106Kamran Akmal not out ..................................60Extras: (b6, lb2, w1)........................................9Total (for 5 wkts, 95 overs) .........................300

Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Manzoor), 2-22 (Alam),

3-54 (Younus), 4-67 (Yousuf), 5-186 (Misbah).Bowling: Kulasekera 15-5-33-1 (w1),

Thushara 19-2-84-1, Herath 37-6-113-2, Vaas14-6-29-0, Mathews 10-1-33-1

Pakistan lead by 366 runs with five wicketsin hand

Toss: Sri LankaUmpires: Simon Taufel (AUS) and Ian Gould

(ENG)TV umpire: Gamini Silva (SRI)Match referee: Alan Hurst (AUS). (RTRS)

No Akhtar in Pak Champs Trophy squadKARACHI, July 22, (AFP): Pakistan onWednesday left out Shoaib Akhtar from the30-man preliminary squad for this year’sChampions Trophy after the controversialpaceman failed to prove his fitness lastweek.

The 33-year-old was also omitted froma 16-man one-day squad for a five-matchseries against Sri Lanka starting nextweek.

Akhtar was withdrawn from the WorldTwenty20 squad after coming down with“genital warts” and failed to pass a fitnesstest conducted last week.

But another controversial fast bowler,Mohammad Asif, was included as his one-

year ban expires on September 22, the startof the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

The ban was imposed after the 26-year-old failed a dope test in the inaugural sea-son of the Indian Premier League last year.

Asif will be eligible to play in Pakistan’sopening match against the West Indies onSeptember 23.

The biennial Champions Trophy will beheld in South Africa from September 22 toOctober 5, having been moved out ofPakistan over security fears.

The top eight countries — Australia,England, South Africa, India, Pakistan, theWest Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand— are due to take part in the Trophy, which

was first held in 1998.Pakistan’s preliminary squads will be

trimmed to 15 next month.Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Salman

Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, AzharAli, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Yousuf,Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Amin, UmerAkmal, Sheharyar Ghani, Shoaib Malik,Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, RanaNaveed, Yasir Arafat, Fawad Alam,Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, UmarGul, Mohammad Aamir, Abdul Rauf,Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Talha,Sohail Tanveer, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz,Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, MohammadHafeez.

KP out of remaining Ashes Tests after surgery

Flintoff determined to play through the pain barrierLONDON, July 22, (AFP): AndrewFlintoff insists only a “very, very serious”injury would stop him firing England’s bidto regain the Ashes from Australia.

Flintoff was named man of the matchafter a second-innings five-wicket haul inEngland’s dramatic second Test victoryover Australia at Lord’s.

The 31-year-old’s performance camedespite the pain of a persistent knee prob-lem, which has put his fitness for the thirdTest at Edgbaston in doubt.

But Flintoff, who last week announcedhis retirement from Test cricket at the endof the series, is determined to go flat out forthe remaining three Tests.

Flintoff told BBC Radio Five Live: “Thegood thing was I bowled a lot of overs andkept my pace up.

“I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little bitsore but I was confident when making theannouncement that I was retiring from Testcricket that I had four to go, and now it’sthree.

“It’d have to be something very, veryserious not to play in the next three Testmatches.”

Although his Lord’s performance show-

cased Flintoff’s ability, he added that hewould not be tempted to go back on hisretirement decision.

“There are no thoughts of changing mymind,” he said. “Thethings I am goingthrough to get on thecricket field I can doshort term but I won’tbe able to do it muchlonger.”

Flintoff, speakingat the launch of hisown charity, the AFFoundation, whichseeks to raise moneyfor children’s rehabil-

itation and physiotherapy units, added: “Itwas a team effort. It was nice to get theplaudits on the final day and get a fewwickets but I think everyone at some pointcontributed.”

With three Tests to go and only a 1-0lead, he also warned England not to rest ontheir laurels.

He said: “It is nice with a lot of peoplecongratulating you but we can’t be com-placent, we have only won one Test match.

“We have still got three to go and, know-ing them (Australia), they are going tocome back hard. We’ll just have to go thatlittle bit harder.”

Meanwhile, England batsman KevinPietersen will miss the remaining threeAshes Tests against Australia after under-going surgery on his Achilles tendon, theEngland and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)confirmed on Wednesday.

Pietersen has struggled with the problemthroughout the opening two Tests of theAshes series and, after being assessed by aleading specialist on Wednesday, it wasdecided that surgery was the best option.

The 29-year-old has been ruled out forsix weeks and he admitted it was massiveblow to be sidelined while England, wholead the series 1-0 after winning the secondTest at Lord’s, try to regain the Ashes.

“As an England cricketer the Ashes arethe pinnacle of the game so I’m absolutelydevastated to be missing the rest of thisseries,” Pietersen said.

“Up until now the Achilles injury hasbeen manageable but it recently reachedthe point where we needed to look at otheroptions in terms of treatment.

“I hate missing matches for England andespecially during an Ashes summer butnow that the decision has been made toundergo surgery I’m confident I can returnto the England team injury-free following acourse of rehabilitation.”

Pietersen, whose top score in the serieswas just 69, had hoped to play through the

pain barrier for the rest of the series, butECB Chief Medical Officer Nick Peirceadmitted it was impossible to expect him toproduce top-class performances while hewas in so much discomfort.

“Following a consultation, involvingscans and testing, with the world’s leadingAchilles specialist Kevin Pietersen under-went surgery on his right Achilles tendon,”Peirce said in an ECB statement.

“Kevin will look to undertake a compre-hensive rehabilitation programme toensure there is no risk of recurrence. This isexpected to be approximately six weeksbut will be taken at an appropriate pace fol-lowing constant review.

“Despite conventional conservativetreatments to the tendon with trial periodsof rest and rehabilitation, Kevin continuedto be in significant discomfort and is cur-rently unable to run or even walk comfort-ably.

“He had a strong desire to get throughthe Ashes series but despite this he hasrecently been unable to achieve a maxi-mum level of performance.

“A number of short-term measures wereconsidered but having been reviewed bythe specialist, who flew into London fromSweden specifically, it was felt that any-thing else would put the tendon at risk andjeopardise his long term recovery.”

Flintoff

Malik

Windies players end strikeGEORGETOWN, Guyana, July 22, (AP):Striking West Indies cricketers made them-selves available for international duty onTuesday after an arbitrator was appointedto mediate their bitter dispute with thenational board.

The original 13-man squad chosen for thetwo-test home series against Bangladeshboycotted the series and watched theirreplacements lose both, allowingBangladesh on Monday to clinch its firstoverseas series victory much to the embar-rassment of the board and regional fans.

Former Commonwealth secretary gener-al Shridath Ramphal was named as arbitra-tor by the Caribbean trade bloc after it wasasked by the West Indies PlayersAssociation and West Indies Cricket Boardto mediate their dispute over pay, medicalcare and working conditions.

Guyana President and trade bloc chair-man Bharrat Jagdeo said both sides agreedon Ramphal as the mediator to immediate-ly start with help from the bloc secretariatin Guyana.

Both sides “were conscious of the

importance and urgency of resolving theirdifferences and setting their relationship ona path of lasting cooperation,” Jagdeo saidin a statement.

“Both parties have taken this step mind-ful of the responsibilities of both organiza-tions to the people of the West Indies andto the international sport of cricket,” andthat “all players will make themselvesavailable for selection.”

The move to mediation came hours afterthe board named a 14-man squad exclud-

ing the strikers for the first two of threeone-day internationals against Bangladesh,on July 26 and 28.

WIPA asked Jagdeo to intervene, sayingthe senior players were angry with theboard for allegedly not paying them fortours this year, neglecting to take care ofinjuries, and for forcing them without con-sultation to play a test and one-day seriesin England in April.

CRICKET

CRICKET

CRICKET

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

54SPORTS

Dodgers get 11th consecutive home win over Reds

NEW YORK, July 22, (RTRS): Major LeagueBaseball results on Tuesday.Atlanta 8 San Francisco 1NY Yankees 6 Baltimore 4Detroit 9 Seattle 7Washington 4 NY Mets 0Philadelphia 4 Chicago Cubs 1Milwaukee 2 Pittsburgh 0Cleveland 2 Toronto 1Houston 11 St Louis 6Texas 4 Boston 2Tampa Bay 3 Chicago White Sox 2Arizona 6 Colorado 5Minnesota 3 Oakland 2Florida 3 San Diego 2LA Dodgers 12 Cincinnati 3LA Angels 8 Kansas City 5LA Angels 10 Kansas City 2

StandingsAmerican LeagueEastern Division

W L PCT GBNY Yankees 56 37 .602 -Boston 55 38 .591 1Tampa Bay 52 42 .553 4-1/2Toronto 46 48 .489 10-1/2Baltimore 41 52 .441 15

Central DivisionDetroit 49 42 .538 -Chicago White Sox 48 45 .516 2Minnesota 48 46 .511 2-1/2Kansas City 37 56 .398 13Cleveland 37 57 .394 13-1/2

Western DivisionLA Angels 54 38 .587 -Texas 51 41 .554 3Seattle 49 44 .527 5-1/2Oakland 39 53 .424 15

National LeagueEastern Division

Philadelphia 53 38 .582 -Atlanta 48 46 .511 6-1/2Florida 48 47 .505 7NY Mets 44 49 .473 10

Washington 27 66 .290 27Central Division

St Louis 51 45 .531 -Chicago Cubs 47 45 .511 2Houston 48 46 .511 2Milwaukee 48 46 .511 2Cincinnati 44 49 .473 5-1/2Pittsburgh 41 52 .441 8-1/2

Western DivisionLA Dodgers 60 34 .638 -Colorado 51 43 .543 9San Francisco 50 43 .538 9-1/2Arizona 40 54 .426 20San Diego 37 57 .394 23

LinescoresTuesday’s Major League Linescores

American LeagueFirst Game

Los Angeles 031 002 200—8 12 0Kansas City 012 020 000—5 9 1

E.Santana, Oliver (7), Jepsen (7), Fuentes(9) and J.Mathis; Ponson, Mahay (6), R.Colon(6), J.Wright (8) and Olivo. W—E.Santana 3-5. L—Ponson 1-6. Sv—Fuentes (29). HRs—Los Angeles, Napoli (12). Kansas City, Butler(9).Baltimore 101 002 000—4 9 0New York 012 300 00x—6 6 1

R.Hill, Bass (4), Albers (6), Hendrickson (8)and Wieters; Mitre, Aceves (6), Coke (8),Ma.Rivera (9) and Posada. W—Mitre 1-0. L—R.Hill 3-3. Sv—Ma.Rivera (27). HRs—NewYork, Cano (14).Seattle 101 121 100—7 13 0Detroit 530 001 00x—9 11 0

Olson, Jakubauskas (2), Kelley (6),Corcoran (7), White (8) and Johjima; Porcello,Ni (6), Miner (6), Seay (7), Lyon (8), Rodney(9) and Laird. W—Porcello 9-6. L—Olson 3-4.Sv—Rodney (20). HRs—Seattle, Hannahan 2(3), Langerhans (1), Balentien (4). Detroit,Ordonez (5), Polanco (7), Mi.Cabrera (19).Cleveland 000 000 002—2 9 0Toronto 000 000 100—1 7 1

Cl.Lee and Shoppach, V.Martinez; Cecil,Accardo (8), S.Downs (9) and Barajas. W—Cl.Lee 6-9. L—S.Downs 1-1. HRs—Toronto,Rolen (7).Boston 000 001 001—2 5 0Texas 200 000 11x—4 7 0

Beckett and Varitek; Tom.Hunter, Jennings(7), O’Day (8), C.Wilson (9) andSaltalamacchia. W—Tom.Hunter 2-1. L—Beckett 11-4. Sv—C.Wilson (9).Tampa Bay 001 000 002—3 6 0Chicago 000 020 000—2 9 0

Niemann, Howell (9) and Navarro; Richard,Jenks (9) and Pierzynski. W—Niemann 9-4.L—Jenks 2-3. Sv—Howell (10).Second GameLos Angeles 002 010 700—10 13 1Kansas City 110 000 000— 2 6 3

O’Sullivan, J.Speier (6), Loux (7), Palmer(9) and Napoli; Chen, Tejeda (6), J.Cruz (7),Bale (7), J.Wright (8), Soria (9) and J.Buck.W—O’Sullivan 3-0. L—Chen 0-5. HRs—LosAngeles, Quinlan (1).Minnesota 000 200 000 1—3 7 1Oakland 002 000 000 0—2 4 0(10 innings)

Swarzak, Guerrier (8), Nathan (10) andMauer; Braden, Wuertz (8), A.Bailey (9) andK.Suzuki. W—Guerrier 5-0. L—A.Bailey 4-3.Sv—Nathan (26).

National LeagueNew York 000 000 000—0 7 0Washington 000 220 00x—4 4 0

O.Perez, Stokes (7), Parnell (8) andSantos; Lannan and Nieves. W—Lannan 7-7.L—O.Perez 2-3.Milwaukee 000 010 100—2 12 0Pittsburgh 000 000 000—0 4 0

Looper, DiFelice (8), Stetter (8), Hoffman(9) and Kendall; V.Vasquez, Grabow (7),Meek (8) and Doumit. W—Looper 9-4. L—V.Vasquez 1-4. Sv—Hoffman (22).Chicago 000 100 000 000 0—1 5 1Philadelphia 001 000 000 000 3—4 6 0(13 innings)

Harden, Marmol (8), A.Guzman (10),Marshall (11), Heilman(11), Samardzija (12)and K.Hill; Blanton, Madson (8), Lidge (9),Park (10), Condrey (13) and Ruiz, Bako. W—Condrey 6-2. L—Samardzija 0-1. HRs—Philadelphia, Rollins (8), Werth (21).San Francisco 000 010 000—1 8 0Atlanta 103 400 00x—8 12 0

Sadowski, J.Miller (4), M.Valdez (6),Medders (8) and Whiteside; D.Lowe, Moylan(7), O’Flaherty (8), Acosta (9) and McCann.W— .Lowe 9-7. L—Sadowski 2-2. HRs—Atlanta, McCann (10).St Louis 010 000 050— 6 8 3Houston 021 110 51x—11 11 0

Wellemeyer, Kinney (5), Walters (6),D.Reyes (8), Motte (8) and LaRue;W.Rodriguez, Paronto (8), W.Wright (8), Arias(9) and Quintero. W—W.Rodriguez 10-6. L—Wellemeyer 7-8. HRs—St Louis, DeRosa 2(2), Ludwick (16). Houston, Pence (12),Ca.Lee (15), Blum (4).Arizona 000 102 120—6 11 0Colorado 030 100 010—5 8 0

Scherzer, Zavada (5), J.Gutierrez (7),Rauch (8), Qualls (8) and Montero; Cook,F.Morales (7), Rincon (7), Daley (9) andIannetta. W—J.Gutierrez 2-2. L—Rincon 1-1.

Sv—Qualls (18). HRs—Arizona, Montero (8).Colorado, Tulowitzki (17).Florida 011 010 000—3 12 0San Diego 100 000 001—2 7 0

Volstad, Meyer (8), Ayala (8), Nunez (9)and Jo.Baker; Gaudin, Mujica (7), Ekstrom(8), Thatcher (9), G.Burke (9) and Alfonzo.W—Volstad 7-9. L—Gaudin 4-9. Sv—Nunez(6). HRs—San Diego, Blanks (1).Cincinnati 010 000 011— 3 5 2Los Angeles 225 030 00x—12 12 0

H.Bailey, Burton (3), Herrera (6), Weathers(7), Rhodes (8) and Hanigan, Tatum; Wolf,C.Vargas (8) and R.Martin. W—Wolf 5-4. L—H.Bailey 1-2. HRs—Cincinnati, Gomes (7),Votto (13). Los Angeles, Kemp (13), Furcal(5).

MLB LeadersAmerican League

BATTING: Mauer, Minnesota, .362;ISuzuki, Seattle, .361; Bartlett, Tampa Bay,.346; MiCabrera, Detroit, .330; Rolen,Toronto, .320; Jeter, New York, .319;Morneau, Minnesota, .316.

RUNS: Figgins, Los Angeles, 73; Pedroia,Boston, 69; BRoberts, Baltimore, 69; Kinsler,Texas, 66; Damon, New York, 65; Morneau,Minnesota, 65; Scutaro, Toronto, 65.

RBI: Morneau, Minnesota, 78; Bay, Boston,72; Longoria, Tampa Bay, 72; Teixeira, NewYork, 67; TorHunter, Los Angeles, 65;Konerko, Chicago, 64; BAbreu, Los Angeles,63.

HITS: ISuzuki, Seattle, 135; Crawford,Tampa Bay, 116; AHill, Toronto, 116; Cano,New York, 115; Jeter, New York, 115; MYoung,Texas, 113; Morneau, Minnesota, 112.

DOUBLES: BRoberts, Baltimore, 32;Pedroia, Boston, 30; Butler, Kansas City, 29;Lind, Toronto, 29; Markakis, Baltimore, 29;Byrd, Texas, 28; Scutaro, Toronto, 28;MYoung, Texas, 28.

TRIPLES: Bloomquist, Kansas City, 7;Figgins, Los Angeles, 7; Cuddyer, Minnesota,6; DeJesus, Kansas City, 6; Andrus, Texas, 5;Crisp, Kansas City, 5; Gardner, New York, 5.

HOME RUNS: CPena, Tampa Bay, 24;Branyan, Seattle, 23; NCruz, Texas, 23;Morneau, Minnesota, 23; Teixeira, New York,23; Kinsler, Texas, 22; Dye, Chicago, 21; Inge,Detroit, 21.

STOLEN BASES: Crawford, Tampa Bay,47; Ellsbury, Boston, 41; BUpton, Tampa Bay,31; Figgins, Los Angeles, 27; ISuzuki, Seattle,21; BAbreu, Los Angeles, 20; Bartlett, TampaBay, 20; Kinsler, Texas, 20; BRoberts,Baltimore, 20.

PITCHING : Wakefield, Boston, 11-3;Halladay, Toronto, 11-3; Beckett, Boston, 11-4; Buehrle, Chicago, 10-3; JerWeaver, LosAngeles, 10-3; FHernandez, Seattle, 10-3;Slowey, Minnesota, 10-3.

STRIKEOUTS: Verlander, Detroit, 155;Lester, Boston, 137; Greinke, Kansas City,136; FHernandez, Seattle, 129; Beckett,Boston, 117; Halladay, Toronto, 113;JerWeaver, Los Angeles, 107; Garza, TampaBay, 107.

SAVES: Fuentes, Los Angeles, 29;MaRivera, New York, 27; Nathan, Minnesota,26; Papelbon, Boston, 24; Aardsma, Seattle,22; Jenks, Chicago, 22; Rodney, Detroit, 20;Sherrill, Baltimore, 20.

National LeagueBATTING: HaRamirez, Florida, .348;

Pujols, St. Louis, .332; Tejada, Houston, .326;Sandoval, San Francisco, .326; Kemp, LosAngeles, .323; Hawpe, Colorado, .322;Helton, Colorado, .319.

RUNS: Pujols, St. Louis, 77; Victorino,Philadelphia, 66; Utley, Philadelphia, 65;Braun, Milwaukee, 64; Fielder, Milwaukee, 63;Bourn, Houston, 62; Werth, Philadelphia, 62.

RBI: Pujols, St. Louis, 90; Fielder,Milwaukee, 86; Howard, Philadelphia, 69;Ibanez, Philadelphia, 68; Utley, Philadelphia,66; Dunn, Washington, 65; BPhillips,Cincinnati, 63; Reynolds, Arizona, 63.

HITS: Tejada, Houston, 123; HaRamirez,Florida, 116; Victorino, Philadelphia, 113;Kemp, Los Angeles, 110; DWright, New York,110; FLopez, Milwaukee, 109; Braun,Milwaukee, 108; Pujols, St. Louis, 108.

DOUBLES: Tejada, Houston, 30; Hawpe,Colorado, 28; Helton, Colorado, 28;FSanchez, Pittsburgh, 28; HaRamirez,Florida, 26; CRoss, Florida, 26; 6 tied at 25.

TRIPLES: Bourn, Houston, 8; GParra,Arizona, 7; Kemp, Los Angeles, 6; JUpton,Arizona, 6; Victorino, Philadelphia, 6;Bonifacio, Florida, 5; Counsell, Milwaukee, 5;SDrew, Arizona, 5; McCutchen, Pittsburgh, 5;Morgan, Washington, 5.

HOME RUNS: Pujols, St. Louis, 34;AdGonzalez, San Diego, 25; Ibanez,Philadelphia, 25; Reynolds, Arizona, 25;Dunn, Washington, 24; Fielder, Milwaukee,24; Howard, Philadelphia, 24.

STOLEN BASES: Bourn, Houston, 35;Morgan, Washington, 29; Fowler, Colorado,23; Pierre, Los Angeles, 23; DWright, NewYork, 21; Kemp, Los Angeles, 20; Bonifacio,Florida, 18; Taveras, Cincinnati, 18.

PITCHING : Marquis, Colorado, 12-6; Cain,San Francisco, 11-2; JSantana, New York, 11-7; Lincecum, San Francisco, 10-2; Haren,Arizona, 10-5; Wainwright, St. Louis, 10-6;WRodriguez, Houston, 10-6.

STRIKEOUTS: Lincecum, San Francisco,159; JVazquez, Atlanta, 141; Haren, Arizona,137; Gallardo, Milwaukee, 130; Wainwright,St. Louis, 123; Billingsley, Los Angeles, 119;JSantana, New York, 117; WRodriguez,Houston, 117.

SAVES: BrWilson, San Francisco, 24; Bell,San Diego, 24; FrRodriguez, New York, 23;Broxton, Los Angeles, 23; Street, Colorado,23; Hoffman, Milwaukee, 22; Cordero,Cincinnati, 22; Franklin, St. Louis, 22.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Chan HoPark throws against the ChicagoCubs in the 12th inning of a baseballgame July 21, in Philadelphia. (AP)

Werth’s homer lifts Phillies over Cubs 4-1

Yanks’ Mitre gets 1st win since2007; Twins edge Athletics 3-2

Rangers top Red Sox

PHILADELPHIA, July 22, (AP): JaysonWerth hit a three-run homer with twoouts in the 13th inning to send thePhiladelphia Phillies to their 10thstraight victory, 4-1 over the ChicagoCubs in the National League onTuesday.

The NL East-leading Phillies are ontheir longest winning streak in 18 years.They won 13 straight from July 30 toAug. 12, 1991.

Jimmy Rollins homered and thePhillies got another strong outing fromJoe Blanton, who allowed one run inseven innings. Four relievers threw sixhitless innings. Clay Condrey (6-2)tossed a perfect inning to earn the win.

Jeff Samardzija (0-1) retired the firsttwo batters he faced before walking RyanHoward and Raul Ibanez. Werth hit his21st homer.

Chicago’s Rich Harden gave up onerun and four hits, striking out six in seveninnings.

Kosuke Fukudome’s RBI double in thefourth tied it at 1.

Dodgers 12, Reds 3At Los Angeles, Rafael Furcal hit a

two-run homer and drove in four runs,and Matt Kemp added a two-run shot asLos Angeles got its 11th consecutivehome victory over Cincinnati.

Manny Ramirez was hit on the side ofhis left hand by a pitch from HomerBailey leading off the third inning. Hewent to a hospital for precautionary X-rays, which were negative. He is listed asday to day.

The NL West-leading Dodgers (60-34)

won their fourth straight and are 26games over .500 for the first time since1991.

Randy Wolf (5-4) gave up four hits andtwo runs in 7 1-3 innings and had twohits, including an RBI double.

Ramirez had a two-run triple in thefirst that made it 2-0.

Marlins 3, Padres 2At San Diego, Chris Volstad pitched

seven strong innings to lead Florida pastSan Diego.

The Padres had only five singles until

rookie Kyle Blanks hit Leo Nunez’s firstpitch of the ninth inning for his firstmajor league homer.

Hanley Ramirez had three of Florida’s12 hits.

The Padres, who have the second-worst record in the NL, dropped to 12-32since June 1, the worst in the majors inthat stretch.

Volstad (7-9) held the Padres to onerun and four singles, with four walks andtwo strikeouts.

Chad Gaudin (4-9) allowed three runsand nine hits in six innings. He struck outthree and walked two.

Astros 11, Cardinals 6At Houston, Carlos Lee’s grand slam

was one of Houston’s three homers.The Astros led 5-1 before Lee’s shot in

the seventh inning. It was his secondgrand slam of the season and his secondstraight day with a home run.

Geoff Blum followed Lee’s home runwith his own to push Houston’s lead to10-1.

Hunter Pence added a two-run homerand Miguel Tejada drove in three runs tohelp the Astros beat the NL-Central lead-ing Cardinals for the second straightnight.

Astros starterWandy Rodriguez(10-6) allowed fourhits and one run inseven innings.

Mark DeRosa hadsolo homers in thesecond and eighthinnings and RyanLudwick added athree-run shot in theCardinals’ five-runeighth.

Todd Wellemeyer (7-8) allowed sevenhits and five runs in 4 1-3 innings for St.Louis.

Braves 8, Giants 1At Atlanta, Martin Prado had three hits

and scored three runs, and Brian McCannhit a three-run homer and drove in fourruns as Atlanta beat San Francisco.

The Braves have averaged 7.2 runs ina 5-1 start to their eight-game homes-tand and are 9-3 in their last 12 gamesoverall.

Prado singled and scored on McCann’sdouble in the first, and added another sin-gle in the three-run third. Chipper Joneshad a run-scoring double, GarretAnderson had a sacrifice fly and Escobaradded an RBI single in the inning.

The Braves added four runs off RyanSadowski (2-2) in the fourth on an RBIsingle by Prado and McCann’s three-runhomer.

Brewers 2, Pirates 0At Pittsburgh, Braden Looper allowed

four hits over seven innings and PrinceFielder had two two-out RBI singles forMilwaukee.

Last-place Pittsburgh, which snappeda 17-game losing streak to the Brewerson Monday, was shut out for the ninthtime this season.

Looper (9-4) won his fourth consecu-tive decision. Fielder, whose 86 RBIs issecond in the AL, drove in CraigCounsell in the fifth and in the seventh.

Virgil Vasquez (1-4) lost his fourthconsecutive start since winning hisPirates debut on June 26. He allowed tworuns and nine hits.

Nationals 4, Mets 0At Washington, John Lannan threw his

first career shutout, scattering seven hitsfor Washington.

Lannan (7-7) stuck out one, getting 17groundball outs. He did not give up anextra-base hit and only once allowed arunner to reach second base, when hegave up two singles in the third.

New York has been shut out five timesin its last 13 games, and nine times thisyear, tying Atlanta and the ChicagoWhite Sox for the major league lead.

Washington snapped a six-game losingstreak and gave interim manager JimRiggleman his first win in six gamessince replacing the fired Manny Acta atthe All-Star break.

BASEBALL

Prado

Los Angeles Angels’ Gary Matthews Jr breaks his bat as he grounds into a double play during the third inning of the first game ofbaseball doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals, July 21, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP)

the first time since last July, scoring onlyeight runs in the stretch.

Hank Blalock put Texas ahead to staywith a two-run single in the first, thoughBeckett (11-4) retired 13 batters in a rowafter that until Michael Young’s one-outsingle in the sixth. It was his third completegame in six starts.

Hunter (2-1) allowed one run and fourhits. C.J. Wilson worked the ninth for hisninth save in 11 chances, despite giving upan RBI single to Mike Lowell.

Tigers 9, Mariners 7At Detroit, Magglio Ordonez hit a grand

slam in a five-run first inning as Detroitheld on for a win over Seattle.

The Tigers scored five runs while beingswept in a three-game series at YankeeStadium last weekend, but matched thattotal before making their first out againstSeattle.

Rookie Rick Porcello (9-6) got the windespite allowing five runs and nine hits infive innings.

Seattle’s Jack Hannahan hit two of theseven home runs in the game. MiguelCabrera, and Placido Polanco also homeredfor Detroit. Wladimir Balentien and RyanLangerhans connected for Seattle.

Indians 2, Blue Jays 1At Toronto, Victor Martinez hit a two-

run double in the ninth inning and Cliff Leepitched his second straight complete game

as Cleveland beat Toronto to snap a four-game losing streak.

Cleveland trailed heading into the ninthagainst Blue Jays closer Scott Downs buttook the lead thanks to a rare Torontoerror.

Pinch-hitter Ryan Garko reached on aninfield single. Grady Sizemore bunted tofirst but Lyle Overbay’s throw sailed intothe outfield, putting runners at second andthird. The error was Toronto’s majorleague-low 33rd.

Downs (1-1) walked Asdrubal Cabreraintentionally and after a forceout Martinezfollowed with a two-run double. TheIndians won for just the fourth time in 12games.

Lee (6-9) had his third complete game ofthe season, allowing only Scott Rolen’sseventh-inning homer.

Rays 3, White Sox 2At Chicago, Carlos Pena his a fly ball off

Bobby Jenks to Tampa Bay’s two-run ninthinning in a win over Chicago.

The Rays had the bases loaded with noouts against Jenks (2-3) when Pat Burrellwalked to force in Jason Bartlett with thetying run. Pena drove in Evan Longoriawith a sacrifice fly to right, making it 3-2and sending the Rays to their fourth win infive games.

J.P. Howell allowed a leadoff single toA.J. Pierzynski in the bottom half, but he

struck out Carlos Quentin and Jayson Nixbefore retiring Gordon Beckham on agrounder to the mound for his 10th save.

The late rally made a winner of JeffNiemann (9-4) and spoiled an outstandingstart by Chicago’s Clayton Richard, whoallowed four hits over a career-high eightinnings.

Angels 10, Royals 2, 2nd gameAngels 8, Royals 5, 1st gameAt Kansas City, Missouri, Erick Aybar

broke open a close second game with athree-run triple and had seven hits in LosAngeles’s doubleheader sweep overKansas City.

Aybar had three hits, three runs and anRBI in the opener. In the second game, hefinished a homer short of the cycle afterhis bases-loaded triple off Juan Cruzstarted the Angels’ seven-run seventhinning.

Aybar was 7 for 9 in the two games, rais-ing his average this month to .490.

The AL West-leading Angels had 25combined hits, winning for the eighth andninth time in 10 games.

Bobby Abreu had three doubles anddrove in three runs in the second game.Gary Matthews Jr. and Reggie Willitsdrove in two runs each in the opener.

Kansas City got another disastrous nightfrom its bullpen to push its losing streak toeight games.

NEW YORK, July 22, (AP):Pitcher Sergio Mitre earned hisfirst win in two years andRobinson Cano hit a two-runhomer as the New York Yankeesbeat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4for its fifth straight AmericanLeague victory on Tuesday.

Alex Rodriguez had a key two-runsingle for the Yankees, who had just sixhits. The Yankees are a major league-best 43-22 since Rodriguez came off thedisabled list May 8 following hip sur-gery.

The Yankees (56-37) improved to a sea-son-best 19 games over .500 and took aone-game lead in the AL East over Boston,which lost to Texas.

Mitre (1-0) was called up from Triple-AScranton/Wilkes-Barre before the game.He allowed four runs, three earned, andeight hits over 5 2-3 innings in his firstmajor league start since Sept. 15, 2007. It

was his first win since July 29, 2007, forFlorida at San Francisco.

Brian Roberts had three hits forBaltimore, which has lost nine straight inthe Bronx and fell to 1-13 in road gamesagainst the AL East this season.

Twins 3, Athletics 2At Oakland, California, Michael

Cuddyer hit a go-ahead triple in the 10thinning as Minnesota beat Oakland.

Cuddyer’s two-out triple off All-Starcloser Andrew Bailey (4-3) scored JoeMauer, who singled with one out.

Delmon Young hit an RBI triple in thefourth and Nick Punto followed with a sac-rifice fly that tied the game at 2 forMinnesota, which squandered a 12-2 lead anight earlier.

It was the biggest comeback in Oaklandhistory and matched Minnesota’s worstcollapse.

That game featured two grand slams,eight total home runs and 39 hits – 22 byOakland. There were only 11 hits Tuesday.

Rangers 4, Red Sox 2At Arlington, Texas, rookie Tommy

Hunter pitched six solid innings to beatJosh Beckett as Texas knocked Boston outof first place in the AL East.

The Red Sox have lost four straight for

Cleveland Indians shortstop AsdrubalCabrera (left), turns a double play over asliding Aaron Hill of the Toronto Blue Jaysto get Vernon Wells at first during the firstinning of their baseball game in Toronto

on July 21. (AP)

BASEBALL

MLB Scoreboard

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009

55SPORTS

De Mesa wins Masters event

Kim bags Cozmo mixed singles league titleBy Miguel Carlos

Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: At the just conclud-ed 2009 COZMO Mixed Singles TenpinBowling League held at the COZMOBowling Center in Salmiya, Leonard Kimwho bowled the only perfect 300 game of thetournament during the first week of the com-petition held on to bag the Mixed SinglesTitle over Nasha King who settled for the firstrunner honors. Emerging victorious in theMasters Event of the league was the cockyEdwin de Mesa who nipped the ever jollyFahad Abul at the wire.

In the 5-week Mixed Singles League com-petition, the participating bowlers bowled 6games each week and based on their 5-week(30 games) total score (scratch + handicap ifapplicable), a Champion, 1st Runner up and2nd Runner up was declared. The Top 3bowlers in the first four weeks and the Top 4during the fifth week automatically qualifiedfor the Masters Event. Prizes at stake are asfollows: Singles League - ChampionKD100, 1st Runner up KD75, 2nd Runnerup KD50, Masters Event - ChampionKD200, 1st Runner up KD100, 2nd Runnerup KD75. Weekly High Game winners onthe other hand were awarded a KD10COZMO Card.

After five weeks, Leonard Kim who rolled aperfect 300 game in the opening week of the

league took home the title through a final tallyof 6095 pin falls or an average score of 203pin falls per game. Lady pin buster Nasha Kingupended her male counterparts by dishing outan impressive performance that enabled her tograb the 1st Runner up position with a totalscore of 5980. Meanwhile, the boyish lookingAseel Al Roomi snatched the 2nd Runner upplum after carding 5970 pin falls. Going to theWeekly High Game Award, the winners are asfollows, Week 1- Leonard Kim (300), Week 2-Fahad Abul (234), Week 3-Leonard Kim

(247), Week 4-Fahad Abul (267) and finallyWeek 5-Edwin de Mesa (288).

Moving on to the Masters, suiting up tovie for the title were Abdullah Fili, EfrenSuliguin, Nasha King Fahad Abul, Edwin deMesa, Mishary Fadhli, Aqeel Farisi,Mishaal Al Roomi, Gerard Puyat, LeonardKim and Aseel Al Roomi. With the totalhandicap points in place Aseel Al Roomiwho bowled a 211 scratch score in game 1took the early lead with 291 followed byAqeel Farisi, Gerard Puyat, Mishaal AlRoomi with 285, 270 and 267 respectively.A 230 score in game 2 gave Mishaal AlRoomi (497) the upperhand and taking oversecond place was Aqeel Farisi who garnered

479 pin falls. Aseel Al Roomi and GerardPuyat with 475 and 459 to their namesremained close to the leaders at this point.Midway the 5-game series event, MishaalAl Roomi (668) made a gallant stand todefend his place at the top of the leaderboard and poised to topple him wereMeshary Fadhli-659, Aseel Al Roomi-654,Aqeel Farisi-646 and Fahad Abul-639.

In the penultimate game the boys were sep-arated from the men as Fahad Abul (885)erupted with a barrage of strikes on his way toa scintillating 246 score that lifted him all theway up to the number one post. Not to be out-done was Edwin de Mesa (862) who jumpedfrom seventh to second place in the standingswith only a game left to bowl. Going to thefinal game, the remaining contenders wereAqeel Farisi-835, Meshary Fadhli-830, AseelAl Roomi-823 and Mishaal Al Roomi-822.With the title still up for grabs, none of thefront runners was ready to give up as theybombarded each other with strikes hopingsomeone will fall out along the way. Aresilient Edwin de Mesa showed his mettlegoing to the last few frames of game 5 andwith a bit of luck and a bundle of talent man-aged to outscore Fahad Abul 227-201 to winthe Masters Title via a close 1089-1086 deci-sion. Ending up tied for the 2nd Runner upposition were Mishaal Al Roomi andMeshary Fadhli who both submitted 1034 pinfalls.

Second-seededMedina out atSlovenia Open

Tursunov advances in3 sets at Indianapolis

Sela beats Spadea 7-5, 6-1

INDIANAPOLIS, July 22, (AP): Top-seededDmitry Tursunov opened his account at theIndianapolis Championships by defeating MichaelBerrer of Germany 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 on Tuesday.

Tursunov, the runner-up here a year ago and winner atIndianapolis in 2007, returned to action after a 2 1/2-week layoff.

He had leads of 3-0 and 5-1 in the first set before losing momentum andlosing eight of 11 games through one span late in the first set and early inthe second.The Russian converted only 48 percent of his first serves.

“It was my first match back,” said Tursunov, who benefited from 16double faults by Berrer. “It’s definitely difficult to go from not havingto focus for a certain amount of time. I was playing well the first set,then I got a little bit tired. My mind started to wander a little bit.

“It really didn’t take much.Obviously, he picked up hisgame as well.”

Tursunov was among fiveseeded players in first-roundmatches.

After winning the final sixgames of the second set, Berrertook Tursunov to deuce once inthe final set.

Second-seeded Dudi Sela ofIsrael, fourth-seeded IgorKunitsyn of Russia and fifth-seeded Benjamin Becker ofGermany also advanced.

Sela beat American VincentSpadea 7-5, 6-1.

“It’s my first time on hardcourt in four months,” said Sela,last week helped Israel upsetRussia in a Davis Cup quarterfi-nal. “I’m happy to be in the sec-ond round. I had a good perform-ance in Davis Cup last week, sohopefully, it’s (all) up.”

Sela, who began 2009 ranked

No. 105, has won 17 matchesagainst 13 losses this season witha current career-high ranking ofNo. 29.

“Obviously, it’s a good yearfor me — my best year so far,”the 24-year-old said.

Kunitsyn beat Brian Dabul ofArgentina 6-4, 6-1, Becker beatGo Soeda of Japan 6-2, 6-3, andArgentinian Eduardo Schwankupset No. 6 seed Yen-Hsun Lu ofTaiwan 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Tursunov next will play thewinner of Wednesday’s first-round match between AmericanTaylor Dent and Marcos Danielof Brazil.

“I’m not expecting to win thistournament and I’m not expect-ing to get to the semifinals,”Tursonov said. “I understand thesituation I’m in currently. I’mvery vulnerable on the court in alot of things. I’m really not goingto try to put any more pressure onmyself and put the expectationsof getting to a certain round. Mymain concern is to play consis-tent tennis.”

ResultsResults Tuesday from the

Indianapolis Championships, a$600,000 ATP Tour event onhardcourts at The IndianapolisTennis Center (seedings in paren-theses):

SinglesFirst Round

Jesse Levine, United States,def. Danai Udomchoke, Thailand,6-1, 7-6 (10); Eduardo Schwank,Argentina, def. Yen-hsun Lu (6),Taiwan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Dudi Sela(2), Israel, def. Vince Spadea,United States,7-5, 6-1;B e n j a m i nBecker (5),Germany, def.Go Soeda,Japan, 6-2, 6-3; AlexB o g o m o l o vJr., UnitedStates, def.F l a v i o pCipolla, Italy,6-2, 6-3; IgorK u n i t s y n ,Russia, def. Brian Dabul,Argentina, 6-4, 6-1; DmitryTursunov (1), Russia, def.Michael Berrer, Germany, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0; Robby Ginepri, UnitedStates, def. Sebastien deChaunac, France, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.

PORTOROZ, Slovenia, July22, (AP): Second-seededAnabel Medina Garrigues ofSpain was ousted by VesnaManasieva 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 in thefirst round of the SloveniaOpen on Tuesday, the Russianqualifier’s 20th birthday.

The 141st-ranked Manasievacame through qualifying foronly the second time this year— after Wimbledon — for herfirst win on the main tour sincelast September. MedinaGarrigues was ranked 20th.

In the second round,Manasieva will face Croatianwild card Petra Martic.

Also advancing was anotherRussian qualifier, KseniaPervak, who overcame JuliaGeorges of Germany 6-4, 4-6,6-2.

Pervak will next meetworld No. 1 Dinara Safina,who made her first appear-ance since losing in theWimbledon semifinals toVenus Williams.

Fourth-seeded Roberta Vinciof Italy easily beat NastjaKolar of Slovenia 6-2, 6-0, andseventh-seeded VeraDushevina of Russia allowedTathiana Garbin of Italy onlythree games in winning 6-0, 6-3.

Fifth-seeded Italilan SaraErrani eased past Arantxa Rusof the Netherlands 6-1, 6-0,while eighth-seeded PetraKvitova fought for nearly threehours to defeat GalinaVoskoboeva of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Also advancing were MariaElena Camerin of Italy, andCamille Pin of France.

In Bad Gastein, Austria,Magdalena Rybarikova ofSlovakia upset defendingchampion Pauline Parmentierof France 6-3, 4-6, 6-4Wednesday in the second roundof the Nuernberger GasteinLadies.

Parmentier served 10 doublefaults, while the sixth-seededRybarikova had seven aces.

Rybarikova, who won herfirst WTA Tour title inBirmingham in June, playseither No. 3 Sybille Bammer orIoana Raluca Olaru in the quar-ter-finals.

No. 7 Anna-Lena Groenefeldof Germany beat TerezaHladikova of the CzechRepublic 6-3, 6-2, YaroslavaShvedova of Kazakhstan rout-ed No. 9 Shahar Peer of Israel6-2, 6-1 and Austria’s YvonneMeusburger defeated TatjanaMalek of Germany 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Dmitry Tursunov of Russia returns a shot by Michael Berrer ofGermany during the Indianapolis Tennis Championships at theIndianapolis Tennis Center July 21, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (AFP)

Women to miss worlds

Court bans Russians whotampered with dope testsLAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 22, (AP): Sport’s highest court onWednesday extended doping bans until April 2011 for sevenRussian athletes who tampered with urine samples.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the IAAF governingbody’s appeal for longer suspensions to ensure the women missednext month’s world championships in Berlin.

The seven athletes - middle-distance runners Olga Yegorova,Tatyana Tomashova, Yelena Soboleva, Yulia Fomenko andSvetlana Cherkasova, plus field athletes Gulfiya Khanafeyeva andDarya Pishchalnikova - allegedly used other people’s clean urine topass doping tests.

The International Association of Athletics Federations provi-

sionally suspended the women in July last year - just days beforethe Beijing Olympics - following an undercover investigation.

But Russia’s athletics federation angered the global body byapplying standard 2-year bans backdated to start in spring 2007when the samples were given. Those decisions would have clearedthe women to return at the Aug. 15-23 worlds.

The IAAF welcomed the court’s ruling to apply bans of 2 yearsand 9 months, running through April 20, 2011.

“It was unacceptable to the IAAF that these athletes who hadcommitted serious and deliberate breaches of our anti-doping ruleswould receive an effective ban of approximately 9-10 months,” thegoverning body said in a statement Wednesday.

Yegorova, now 37, was world champion in the 5,000 meters atEdmonton, Canada, in 2001, weeks after she had tested positive forthe banned blood-booster EPO. She escaped a ban and was allowedto run because of mistakes made in the testing process.

The 34-year-old Tomashova won 1,500 gold at the 2003 and2005 world championships. She is the current European champion,winning in 2006.

Cozmo mixed singles league Masters qualifiers.

Mixed league champion Leonard Kim with Carmela Gimpisao ofCozmo Khaifan.

Masters champion Edwin De Mesa receiving his prize fromMaricar Araneta of Cozmo.

BOWLING

TENNIS

TENNIS

Kunitsyn

ATHLETICS

PR

IME

TIM

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SOCCER

Tevez, Santa Cruz, Adebayor watch from the stands

Ireland goal gives City first win in South AfricaDURBAN, South Africa, July 22, (AFP):Stand-in skipper Stephen Ireland scored atthe end of the first half to give ManchesterCity a 1-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs onTuesday in the Vodacom Challenge.

The midfielder used his left foot to finishoff a Kelvin Etuhu cross in the third minuteof stoppage time after a fast attack down theright flank exposed ball-watching Chiefsdefenders at Absa Stadium. New signings

Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez andRoque Santa Cruz watched from the standsas City showed improvement after a 2-0 loss

to Orlando Pirates last Saturday in the firstmatch of a South African tour.

City, whose starting line-up included

other close-season signings Wayne Bridgeand Gareth Barry, are guaranteed a place inthe Challenge final in Pretoria on Saturday.

Arch domestic rivals Chiefs and Piratesclash on Thursday in Port Elizabeth todecide who faces the big-spending EnglishPremiership outfit for a trophy won byManchester United last year. After a livelyfirst half which offered both teams scoringchances, the game deteriorated dramatically

on a cool winter evening in the Indian Oceancity and the final whistle came as a blessingfor the incident-starved crowd.

Ireland should have put City ahead on 19minutes after springing an offside trap, butgoalkeeper Itumeleng Khune darted off thegoalline to block the ball with his body.

Chiefs came close to ending the stalematewhen Ryan McGivern almost conceded anown goal as he tried to clear a low cross

under pressure from striker Kaizer Motaung,a son of Chiefs owner.

Goalkeeper Stuart Taylor, making a sec-ond consecutive appearance as City manag-er Mark Hughes rested first choice ShayGiven, struggled to parry a DavidMathebula drive as Chiefs pressed.

Ineffective City striker Felipe Caicedowas cautioned before Ireland struck the win-ner and Barry received a yellow card early

in the second half for shirt tugging. Barryand Bridge were replaced and Motaungsquandered Chiefs best chance of the matchnine minutes from full-time, firing widefrom close range with only Taylor to beat.

Etuhu, younger brother of Fulham mid-fielder Dickson, also wasted a gloriousopportunity by blazing wide after roundingKhune and facing an unguarded goal on thestroke of full-time.

Chelsea’s Florent Malouda (right), kicks the ball over Inter Milan’s Davide Santon during the first half of a World Football Challengesoccer match in Pasadena, Calif, July 21. Chelsea went on to win the game 2-0. (AP)

Tour pace setter Contadorspoils the Schleck party

Armstrong loses ground

CYCLING

LE GRAND BOR-NAND, France, July22, (RTRS): Frank andAndy Schleck triedwith all their might toshake the Tour deFrance peloton in the17th stage but theycould not topple leaderAlberto Contador onWednesday.

The Spaniard spoiled thebrothers’ party by stickingwith them in the last two offive climbs on the final stagein the Alps, strengthening hisoverall lead with four daysleft in the race.

“Alberto has now won theTour,” his Astana team chiefAlain Gallopin told reporterson the finish line.

The ceaseless efforts of the

two riders from Luxembourgwere not entirely vain as Frankwon the stage ahead ofContador and the brotherssecured places on the podiumbefore a potentially decisivetime trial in Annecy.

Andy Schleck is now secondoverall, 2 minutes 26 secondsbehind 2007 championContador and Frank is third,3:25 adrift.

“We had nothing to lose atthe start, we could only win.We took all the risks, it wasmake or break and I think wedeserved to be rewarded,”Frank Schleck said.

“We toughened the race onthe Col de Romme, weattacked one after the other andthe tactics worked perfectly,”he added.

Frank Schleck dedicated thestage victory to his Germanteam mate Jens Voigt, whocrashed on the previous stageand was forced out of the Tourwith a broken cheekbone.

“Contador had alreadyproved how strong he is. Hewill be hard to beat but wewanted to leave our mark onthis Tour and I believe we did,”said Andy Schleck.

If Contador resisted theirrepeated strikes on thedemanding Col de Romme,climbed for the first time on theTour, and the final Col de laColombiere, it was not the casefor two other contenders,Lance Armstrong and Briton

Carlos Sastre of Spain tries tobreak away as he climbsColombiere pass during 17thstage of the Tour de Francecycling race over 169.6 kms(105.3 miles) with start inBourg-Saint-Maurice and fin-ish in Le Grand-Bornand, Alpsregion, France, July 22. (AP)

Bradley Wiggins. Dropped in the steep penulti-

mate hill, Armstrong foughtback bravely on the lastdescent, finishing fifth withItalian Vincenzo Nibali andcrossing the line 2:18 behindthe leading trio.

But it was not enough forhim to remain in the medalspots and the seven-timeschampions slipped to fourthoverall, 3:55 behind his Astanateam leader.

“We still have the time trialand Mont Ventoux,” Armstrongsaid. “It will shake things upfor everybody.

“Second place is still mygoal. I think it’s possible.”Wiggins, third at the start,finally met his match in the

mountains as he was unable tostay with the very best in thestage, probably the hardest totackle for a former track rider.

The Briton limited the dam-age, finishing seventh 3:07behind Frank Schleck anddropped to sixth overall, 4:53off the pace. Contador said hefelt the Olympic pursuit cham-pion’s failure was his best gainof the day.

“Wiggins was probably themost dangerous opponent intomorrow’s time trial,”Contador said. “Now I believehe has lost too much time to bea threat.”

The race leader warned thatif two brothers on the podiumwas an extraordinary feat, theTour could produce another

unprecedented achievementwith three riders from the sameteam in the top three in Paris.

“Lance and (Germany’s)Andreas (Kloeden) are bothtime-trial specialists and Ibelieve they can make up forlost time tomorrow and dis-lodge the Schlecks,” he said.

Norwegian Thor Hushovdhad stolen the show in the firsthalf of the stage, parting com-pany with the rest of the bunchin the Col des Saisies tostrengthen his hold on thegreen jersey.

His break allowed him tocollect points along the wayand secure an unassailable 30-point lead over Briton MarkCavendish in the points stand-ings.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, wearing the best young rider’s white jersey (right), stage winnerFrank Schleck of Luxembourg (left) and Alberto Contador of Spain, wearing the overall leader’s yel-low jersey (center), climb Colombiere pass during 17th stage of the Tour de France cycling raceover 169.5 kms (105.3 miles) with start in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and finish in Le Grand-Bornand,

Alps region, France, July 22. (AP)

Reds look rusty in preseason game

Liverpool draw 1-1 with ThailandBANGKOK, Thailand, July 22, (AP):Liverpool lost central defender MartinSkrtel to an apparent serious hamstringinjury in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw withThailand in a preseason friendly.

The Slovak international came on as ahalftime substitute but only lasted 10 min-utes before grabbing the top of his righthamstring and walking gingerly off thefield.

Fringe first-teamer Nabil El Zhar cameoff soon after with a medial ligamentinjury in his right knee after attempting abicycle kick. Midfielder Xabi Alonso, sub-ject to intense transfer speculation about amove to Real Madrid, did not make anappearance.

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher,acting as captain in the absence of StevenGerrard, who was facing court on affraycharges in England, said the players wantthe transfer saga involving Alonso sortedout soon.

“The feeling within the squad is he’s atop player and you don’t want to be losingyour best players,” Carragher said.“Hopefully something is sorted out asquickly as possible. You’ve got to dowhat’s in the best interests of the club.”

Star striker Fernando Torres made hisfirst appearance of the preseason, coming

on for the latter stages of the second half.Liverpool’s starting team contained five

regular first-team players: JamieCarragher, Dirk Kuyt, Lucas Leiva, RyanBabel and Daniel Agger.

The opening goal came in the sixth

minute as Carragher played a long ball intothe path of Babel, who outpaced thedefense, controlled the ball and slotted pastthe goalkeeper.

Liverpool looked rusty, struggling tocombine effectively in the attacking half.Babel volleyed another long pass wide andhad another effort stopped by the goal-keeper.

Thailand’s equalizer came in the 72ndminute as substitute Sutee Suksomkitplayed a neat one-two and calmly placedhis shot past onrushing substitute goal-keeper Peter Gulasci.

Liverpool changed 10 players at thebreak, with new signing Glen Johnsoncoming on and playing in an unfamiliarleft-back position, while JavierMascherano and Andriy Voronin wereamong those also given a run in the secondperiod.

SOCCERNotts County sign Swede as football director

Eriksson back in English club soccerLONDON, July 22, (RTRS): Sven-GoranEriksson will make an unlikely return toEnglish club soccer on Wednesday whenhe begins work as director of football atfourth division Notts County, England’soldest Football League club.

The League Two (fourth division) clubconfirmed late on Tuesday that the formerEngland coach had joined with immediateeffect along with his former England assis-tant Tord Grip who takes on the role of gen-eral adviser.

“Sven shares our vision, and to attractsomeone of his calibre is testament to theambition that we all share for NottsCounty,” chairman Peter Trembling said ina statement on the club’s website

(www.nottscountyfc.co.uk). “This a greatday for everyone associated with the club.”

Swede Eriksson, 61, will be responsiblefor all aspects of developing the club on thepitch including training facilities, youthdevelopment and transfer negotiations,County said, confirming that a news con-ference is planned for Wednesday.

Eriksson commanded a huge salary dur-ing his reign as England manager between2001 and 2006, the highlight of which wasreaching the quarter-finals of two WorldCups and one European Championship.

County said Eriksson’s salary would beperformance-based.

“Sven’s remuneration will largely bedetermined by the success of Notts CountyFC on the pitch and he will also be partici-pating as a shareholder in the club,” theclub said.

The appointment of Eriksson underlinesthe ambition of County’s new owners, the

Middle East group Munto Finance. However, for one of the games’s most

successful coaches to return at a club thatspent last season languishing in the lowerregions of England’s basement, is still ahuge surprise.

Before beginning a five-year reign asEngland’s first foreign national coach,Eriksson coached Roma and Sampdoriaand won the Scudetto with Lazio in 2000.

“I am particularly attracted to this roleand the unique opportunity to help build aclub over the longer-term,” Eriksson saidin a statement.

“I started my football managementcareer at a small lower division Swedishclub and we managed to get them into thetop-flight.

“I can think of no better challenge thanto attempt to do that again, but this time

with the world’s oldest football club, wherewe can add to a proud tradition and hope-fully bring some richly deserved success.We hope to leave a long lasting footballlegacy for Notts County FC and its fans.”

Notts County, formed in 1862 andfounder members of the League in 1888,have not been in the top flight of Englishfootball since 1992. They finished a lowly19th in League Two last season.

Despite their long history, the MeadowLane club have lived in the shadow of moreillustrious city neighbours NottinghamForest, the former European Cup winners.Their one major honour was winning theFA Cup in 1894.

Eriksson retuns to English club footballafter a season-long stint with ManchesterCity that began brightly but ended in 2008with an 8-1 defeat against Middlesbrough.

SOCCER

Seattle, DC into US Open Cup finalSEATTLE, July 22, (AP): The SeattleSounders and DC United will meet in theUS Open Cup final after winning their semi-finals on Tuesday.

Seattle got a late equalizer and then beatHouston Dynamo 2-1 after extra time, whileDC beat the lower-league RochesterRhinos by the same score.

Houston took a 1-0 lead after 32 minutesthrough Nigerian striker Ade Akinbiyi - for-merly of Burnley and Stoke - and held thatadvantage until the 89th minute when NateJaqua brought Seattle level.

In the fifth minute of extra time, Soundersmidfielder Stephen King ran onto a SteveZakuani pass and drove home his shotfrom the top of the penalty area.

In the other semifinal, South African strik-er Thabiso Khumalo scored what proved

DC United’s winner in the 82nd minute, andthen later broke a wrist.

Bolivian captain Jaime Moreno convert-ed a penalty to put United ahead 1-0 in the41st minute.

Rochester, which plays a level belowMajor League Soccer in the USL FirstDivision but won the Cup in 1999, equal-ized through Kenyan forward Tai Atieno inthe 62nd minute.

Khumalo scored the winner by follow-ing in on a blocked shot. In injury time,Khumalo right wrist was hit by the ballafter a goalkeeper clearance, breakingthe joint.

DC United, which beat USL-1’sCharleston Battery in last year’s final, isaiming to become the first team since 1983to retain the Cup.