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Idea Transcript


badminton

THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Established in 1977

Page 44

NO. 13745

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009 / SHAWWAL 8, 1430 AH

48 PAGES

150 FILS

60 killed as typhoon batters Philippines Swollen rivers sweep away houses MANILA, Sept 26, (Agencies): Nearly 60 people were killed, Manila was blacked out and airline flights were suspended as a powerful typhoon battered the main Philippines island of Luzon on Saturday, disaster officials said. Television showed houses swept away by swollen rivers, people on rooftops waving for help and throngs stranded along Manila’s submerged main thoroughfares as the storm packing winds of 100 kph (60 mph) dumped 341 mm

(13.5 inches) of rain in six hours. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appealed for donations of clothes, blankets, food and water as hundreds of families, perched on rooftops or were trapped in submerged areas, waiting for rescue. “I am calling on our countrymen, especially residents of metro Manila and other provinces in the path of the typhoon, to please stay calm, follow the instructions of local officials and civil Continued on Page 12

SERIOUS DIALOGUE OFFERED

Obama issues Iran ultimatum N-plant put under IAEA supervision WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (Agencies): Not letting up on Iran, President Barack Obama said Saturday that the Islamic republic must take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions after the discovery of a covert nuclear facility or it will be held accountable by the world’s nations. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said that evidence showing Iran building an underground plant to enrich uranium that could be used for an atomic bomb “continues a disturbing pattern of Iranian evasion” that jeopardizes global nonproliferation.

South Korean Yang Yun-hak (left), meets his North Korean elder sister during the reunion meeting, on the Diamond Mountain in North Korea, Sept 26. More than 120 South Koreans, most in their 70s or older, arrived in the Diamond Mountain resort on North Korea’s east coast on Saturday for the reunions, according to the Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs. (AP) — See Page 17

Opinion

Arabs led into new era By Ahmed Al-Jarallah Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

CUSTODIAN of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz continues to surprise the whole world with his wisdom, revealing an aspect of his enlightenment upon which he has built a new era for Saudi Arabia, Arabs and entire Muslim world. The speech he delivered during the inauguration of King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) completed the inter-faith dialogue initiative he took when he sponsored a world summit in this regard last year. He repeated the feat by inaugurating the largest university in the Middle East, saying “science and faith are interwoven except in sick minds.” With this statement, King Abdullah established strong relations between Islam and science. This is a religion of science, knowledge and discovery, so the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques clearly indicated this fact, while reminding people about the products of Islamic civilization over the years and that the new university complements these civilizations. Any society that strives on attaining knowledge and development lives in happiness, stability and tranquility. This is exactly what the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has dedicated himself to achieve over the years Continued on Page 12

He urged Tehran once again to open the site to international inspectors, or face consequences. The chief option is tougher economic sanctions, but on Friday Obama and administration officials did not rule out military action. “My offer of a serious, meaningful dialogue to resolve this issue remains open,” Obama said. “But Iran must now cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions.” “Iran’s leaders must now choose — they can live up to their responsibilities and achieve integration with the community of nations. Or they will face increased pressure and isolation, and deny opportunity to their own people.” Evidence of the clandestine facility was unveiled Friday by Obama and the leaders of Britain and France at the G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh, where it overshadowed developments on regulating financial markets and reducing fossil fuel subsidies. Soon after, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, at his own news conference, urged Iran to cooperate, as did Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei. He, however, did not endorse sanctions against the country. “On this, the international community is more united than ever before ... that Iran must fulfill its responsibilities,” Obama said. Iran, so far, hasn’t budged. Iran said on Saturday it will put its newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog, as President Obama Continued on Page 12

Commuters wade through waist-deep floodwaters following heavy rains brought about by tropical storm Ketsana (locally known as Ondoy) Sept 26, in Manila, Philippines. (AP)

Difficult issues remain unresolved

Obama may not meet goal of closing Guantanamo WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (AP): President Barack Obama may not be able to meet his stated goal of closing the much-criticized Guantanamo Bay prison by January as his administration runs into daunting legal and logistical hurdles to moving the more than 220 detainees still there. Senior administration officials acknowledged for the first time Friday that difficulties in completing the lengthy review of detainee files and resolving other thorny questions mean the president’s promised January deadline may slip. Obama’s aides have stepped up their work toward closure and the president remains as committed to closing the facility as he was when, as one of his first acts in office, he pledged to shut it down, said the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to more freely discuss the sensitive

Newswatch

Day by Day

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain: “City of Life and Death,” Chinese director Lu Chuan’s account of the Japanese occupation of Nanjing in 1937, won the top award Saturday at the San Sebastian film festival. A Spanish actor with Down’s Syndrome, Pablo Pineda, picked up the best actor prize at the festival in the northern Spanish coastal city for his role in “Yo, Tambien” (“Me Too”), the jury announced. Spain’s Lola Duenas won best actress for her role in the same film, while best screenplay went to the four writers of the Australian film “Blessed.” “City of Life and Death” won the top Golden Shell award over 14 other films in the competition, as well as the prize for best cinematography. The film deals in gruesome detail with the capture and brutal occupation of Continued on Page 12

issue. They said the White House still was hoping to meet the deadline through a stepped-up effort. The US military prison in Cuba was created by former President George W. Bush after the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as a landing spot for suspected alQaeda, Taleban and foreign fighters captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere. But it has since become a lightning rod of anti-US criticism around the globe. There are about 225 detainees still being held at the prison. Obama promised soon after taking office — and many times since — to close the prison, arguing that doing so is crucial to restoring America’s image in the world and to creating a more effective anti-terror approach. But eight months after Obama’s initial pledge and

THANK you Sheikha Amthal. Thanks to this great woman who has continued to show that she is very energetic and spares no effort to serve her country. Due to her love for Kuwait, its Amir and people, Sheikha Amthal has never hesitated to initiate or participate in any activity aimed at serving the public good, especially environmental issues. We have witnessed her social and patriotic actions. She is full of life. She is always the first person An inmate wears a mask during a fashion show at the Ilopango women’s jail in San Salvador, Sept 25. (AP)

Continued on Page 12

with only four months to go before the January deadline, a number of difficult issues remain unresolved. They include establishing a new set of rules for military trials, finding a location for a new prison to house detainees and finding host countries for those who can be released. This has prompted top Republicans in Congress to demand that the prison stay open for now, saying it is too dangerous to rush the closure. Even Democrats defied the president, saying they needed more information about Obama’s plan before supporting it. Congress is for now denying Obama funds to shut down Guantanamo. “Americans and a bipartisan majority in Congress will continue to reject any effort to close Guantanamo until there is a plan that keeps Americans as safe or Continued on Page 12

Threat of bigger attacks

Poor ‘math skills’ linked to diabetes

Bombs kill 16 in Pakistan

NEW YORK, Sept 26, (RTRS): A new study suggests that diabetic adults’ ability to work with numbers may affect their management of the disease — and that, in turn, may help explain racial differences in diabetes control. A number of studies have found that compared with their white counterparts, African Americans with diabetes tend to have poorer blood sugar control — as well as higher rates of diabetes complications, like heart disease and kidney failure. Numbers come into play everyday for people with diabetes — in counting carbohydrates, adjusting insulin

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 26, (AFP): Suicide bombers blew up vehicles in two attacks Saturday that killed 16 people in northwest Pakistan, in an escalating revenge campaign against security forces, officials said. The second attack in Pakistan’s northwest city of Peshawar ripped through a crowded area near banks, shops and a wedding hall on a road leading to the army cantonment, hours after a similar attack outside a police station in Bannu. Ten people were killed in Peshawar and another six on the outskirts of Bannu in a district close to the rugged tribal region of North Waziristan where Washington says al-Qaeda and the Taleban are plotting attacks on the West. Pakistan’s umbrella Tehreek-e-Taleban (TTP) group claimed responsibility for the Bannu attack and threatened to unleash bigger attacks on government targets to avenge the killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone attack.

Continued on Page 12

Details Page 13

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

LOCAL

3

US judge criticizes evidence against Kuwaiti Gitmo Coerced confessions ‘entirely incredible’ and they ‘defy belief’ WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (AP): A federal judge has ordered the release of a Kuwaiti man held at Guantanamo Bay and rebuked the US government for relying on scant evidence, uncredible witnesses and Al Rabiah coerced confessions to hold him for more than seven years. In an opinion declassified Friday, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said government attorneys presented a “surprisingly bare” record during four days of

classified hearings last month to oppose Fouad Al Rabiah’s request for release from the US naval detention facility in Cuba. She said the aviation engineer is being held almost exclusively on confessions obtained through abusive techniques, and his own interrogators repeatedly concluded they were not believable. “Incredibly, these are the confessions that the government has asked the Court to accept as truthful in this case,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a 65-page opinion that was partially redacted to remove classified material. She called the coerced confessions “entirely incredible” and said they “defy belief.” “If there exists a basis for Al Rabiah’s indefinite detention, it most certainly has not been presented to this court,” she found. Al Rabiah is the 30th Guantanamo detainee to be ordered released by federal judges after they reviewed evidence justifying detention. Seven detainees have been denied bids for freedom after judges determined the evidence sug-

News in Brief ‘Oil minister defies some MPs’: The Minister of Oil and Minister of Information Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad AlSabah has defied MPs by renewing trust in a few officials in the oil sector despite his promise to replace them, reports Al-Shahid daily quoting reliable sources. According to the sources, inquiries have been made against some of the senior officials at the ministry in whom the minister has placed his trust. These questions come after huge losses were reported in the country’s treasury as a result of suspicious projects. The sources said the decision of the minister to carry on with the officials comes during the worst period witnessed by the Oil sector. They added the sector has suffered from bad management, and the preference of competent personnel for the private sector. The sources went on to say that some officials have used their positions for personal gains and have recruited relatives into the ministry. They added many deserving personnel at the ministry have also missed out on promotions due to favored employees. ❑ ❑ ❑

Dr Al-Shatti advises against use of ‘DNA’: A faculty member at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies Dr. Bassam Al-Shatti has advised against using the DNA system for the children at the social welfare house, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. In a press statement, Al-Shatti said some of these children are born out of wedlock and should not be subjected to DNA tests. He added the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is not a legal authority and cannot have the final word on the matter. Al-Shatti also said the need for the DNA system finds its roots in the lax rules and regulations of Kuwait that allow people from different nationalities and religions to intermingle without placing any boundaries. ❑ ❑ ❑

Panel to present report on Mishref crisis: The technical committee jointly formed by the Environment Public Authority (EPA) and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) will present a detailed report to the Council of Ministers on Monday highlighting the latest developments in the Mishref sewage plant case, reports Al-Rai daily quoting reliable sources. According to the sources, the report contains positive news regarding the level of pollution, adding the technique used to tackle the problem has had positive outcomes. ❑ ❑ ❑

Kuwait donated $1m to Al-Quds: Moroccan-based “Bayt Mal Al-Quds Acharif Agency,” a treasury of Al-Quds, said in a statement on Friday that the state of Kuwait has transferred to its account last year $1 million, amid a campaign to support Arab and Islamic countries and the benefit of Al-Quds City, or Jerusalem.

Kuwait Today Prayer Timings Fajr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04:20 am Sunrise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05:39 Zohr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:39 Asr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03:05 pm Maghrib . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05:39 Isha. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06:56

Night Pharmacies Kuwait City: Mejil – Abdullah Mubarak St, Mirqab, Tel: 22428754 Hawally: Malika – Othman St, Noor Complex, Tel: 22635767 Fahaheel & Ahmadi: Sabahiya – Cooperative Society, Tel: 23627891 Farwaniya & Kheitan: Safwan Al Mutaheda – Block 24, Jleeb Shuyoukh, Tel: 24310353 Jahra: Al Madena Al Munawara – Block 92,Tel: 24566642

Weather Expected weather for the next 24 hours: By night: Fair with light to moderate NW’ly wind, with speed of 15-35 km/h. By day: Dusty with moderate to fresh NW’ly wind, with speed of 2040 km/h. Station Max Min Rec Exp Kuwait City 37 27 Kuwait Airport 38 24 Nuwaiseeb 38 25 Wafra 38 24 Salmi 36 23 Abdaly 40 23 Jalaliyah 37 24 Failaka 38 26 Ahmadi Port 36 30 Umm Al-Maradem 35 30 Warba-Bubiyan 37 19

Marine Forecast Station

Max Min Sea Exp Rec Surf

South Dolphin 35 Ahmadi L/V 32 Beacon M28 33 Beacon N6 33 Umm Al-Maradem 35 Sea island buoy 34 Salmiyah 34 Julaia Port 35

28 28 27 25 30 29 28 25

30 31 30 31 -

Today’s Waves Ht Direction

5ft 5ft 5ft 5ft 5ft 5ft 5ft 5ft

SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE

Tide times at Shuwaikh Port 1st high tide: ............................03:45 2nd high tide:...........................19:45 1st low tide: .............................22:45 2nd low tide: ............................12:30 Sunrise: ...................................05:39 Sunset: ....................................17:39

Recorded yesterday at Kuwait Airport Max temp......................................37 Min temp.......................................28 Max Rh ......................................25% Min Rh .......................................09% Max Wind .........................N 53 km/h Total Rainfall in 24 hr.............00 mm

Recorded yesterday at

deaths Marzouqah DawanSanad AlBathali, 72 years-old, widow of Obaid Mubarak Al-Saleh Al-Bathali, buried. Condolences: (Men) Sulaibikhat, Block 3, Street 112, House 9, Diwaniya Al-Bathali, Tel. 66503907/99819636. (Women) Sulaibikhat, Block 3, Street 112, Jada 5, House 14, Tel. 24870318. Adnan Jassem Mohammad AlShamroukh, 50 years-old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Bayan, Block 5, Street 2, House 96, Tel. 25387424. (Women) Adan, Blcok 6, Street 87, House 3, Tel. 25414527. Nasser Mufleh Mubarak Al-Rushaidi, 36 years-old, buried. Condolences: Rabiya, Block 4, Abdullah Al-Khaldi Street, House 29, Tel. 99711159. Hawiya Naqa Al-Arira, 83 yearsold, widow of Abdullah Ghareb Waten Al-Azemi, buried. Condolences: (Men) Qasour, Block 6, Street 1, House 1, Tel. 99123655. (Women) Jaber Al-Ali, Block 6, Street 22, House 18, Tel. 99414539. Maryam Mohammad Ali, 66 yearsold, widow of Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad Al-Kanderi, buried. Condolences: (Men) Sha’ab, Diwaniya Al-Kanderi, Tel. 55009393/99642797. (Women) Mubarak Al-Kaber, Block 4, Street 22, House 25, Tel. 99636890/25411415. Fatmah Abdul-Salam Mohammad AlSha’alan, 7 years-old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Sulaibikhat, Block 1, Street 104, House 16, Tel. 97856651/24870676. (Women) Sabah Al-Salem, Block 5, Street 1, Jada 31, House 2, Tel. 25528910. Ayed Owaid Jad’an Al-Dehani, 98 years old, buried. Condolences: Ardiya, Block 2, Street 4, House 2, Tel. 66671755/55551239. Nasher Saud Munaif Al-Ajmi, 65 years-old, buried. Condolences: Sabahiya, Block 3, Street 1, House 608, Tel. 55000876/66642599/65115727. Najat Sa’ad Sulaiman Qalfas, 50 years-old, widow of Najim Abdullah Laila, to be buried today 9:00 am. Condolences: (Men) Qairawan, Block 3, Street 314, House 3, Tel. 97923797/99615195. (Women) Keifan, Block 1, Street 12, House 11, Tel. 24818064.

Sept 26, 2009 South Dolphin Min/Max/ Air Temp ................28/34C Min/Max Rel Hum.................16/46% Wind Direction/Wind Speed......N/55 km/h Pre. Wave Dir/Max Wave.........N/4 ft Min/Max Sea Surface Temp..30/30C Sea Current.....................Down draft — Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Meteorological Department

gested they supported terrorism. Some detainees who have won their freedom from judges remain at Guantanamo because no other country is willing to accept them. Al Rabiah’s attorney David Cynamon said Kuwait has said it would allow him to return home, and he will be pushing aggressively for quick release. “This case exemplifies everything that is wrong with Guantanamo,” Cynamon said. “He’s a completely innocent man and they torture him into confessing, right out of the North Korean and communist Chinese play book. It turns your stomach.” The Justice Department would not comment on the judge’s opinion. Al Rabiah is a 50-year-old father of four with degrees in aviation studies from AST University in Scotland and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. He worked for Kuwait Airways for 20 years, was part owner of a health club in Kuwait and often traveled to impoverished countries; he said it was for charitable relief

work, but government attorneys argued it was in support of terror organizations.

Aid refugees Al Rabiah argued he traveled to Afghanistan in October 2001 to aid refugees, but government attorneys said it was to be with Osama bin Laden after the Sept 11 attacks. “The evidence in the record strongly supports Al Rabiah’s explanation,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote, citing letters that he wrote to his family describing his travels. Al Rabiah was captured on Christmas Day 2001 as he tried to leave Afghanistan and was detained by US troops. He was sent to Guantanamo in 2002, and Kollar-Kotelly found that from the beginning of his stay, “there is no evidence in the record that anyone directed any allegations toward Al Rabiah nor any indication that interrogators believed Al Rabiah had engaged in any conduct that made him lawfully detainable. To the contrary, the evidence in the record during this period consists mainly of an assessment made by an intelligence analyst that Al Rabiah should not have been detained.”

Four of Al Rabiah’s fellow Guantanamo detainees made allegations against him, including that he worked with bin Laden, gave the terrorist mastermind a suitcase full of money and was a leader in the fight against US forces in the Tora Bora mountains. But Kollar-Kotelly found those allegations were not credible because they were either inconsistent or demonstrably false. She said one witness made the allegations after a week of sleep deprivation. “It defies logic that in October 2001, after completing a two-week leave from at Kuwait Airways where he had worked for 20 years, Al Rabiah traveled to Tora Bora and began telling senior al-Qaeda leaders how they should organize their supplies in a 6-square-mile mountain complex that he had never previously seen and that was occupied by people whom he had never previously met,” she wrote.

Justify Kollar-Kotelly said the government withdrew its reliance on the witnesses to justify holding Al Rabiah, but interrogators at

Guantanamo had used their allegations to draw a confession out of him. He initially denied the allegations, including that he ever met bin Laden, but he was subjected to “more aggressive and apparently unauthorized techniques” including sleep deprivation and threats of rendition that resulted in countless inconsistent confessions, the judge said. “Al Rabiah’s interrogators began using abusive techniques that violated the Army Field Manual and the 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote. “The first of these techniques included threats of rendition to places where Al Rabiah would either be tortured and/or would never be found.” The judge said the Army Field Manual says the techniques used on Al Rabiah can lead to a source saying whatever they think the interrogator wants to hear. In fact, she said, his interrogators ended up “expressly concluding that Al Rabiah was creating a `tale’ to `please interrogators.”’

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

LOCAL

4

D I WA N I YA A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION “KUWAIT Transparency Society has adopted the ‘No Development with Corruption’ slogan,” columnist and former MP Ahmed AlMulaifi wrote for Annahar daily Saturday. “Needless to say, all of us believe in this slogan simply because development and corruption contradict each other. Corruption is the arch enemy of development, reform and reformists. The society adopted the slogan after being frustrated by the policies and priorities of the government in the next legislative round. “In this context, one may elucidate that the salient features of the State Development Plan, which has been submitted by the government to the National Assembly, are some priorities related to the enactment of certain laws for combating corruption. These laws include the Anti-Corruption Draft Law, Information Revelation Draft Law, Financial Balances Declaration Draft Law, Contradicting Interests Draft Law, and Corruption Detectors Protection Draft Law. “Motivated by its legal duty, the society has been striving to get the above laws endorsed by authorities in the country. In this connection, I do recall that once during my tenure as MP and along with some of my colleagues, we adopted these laws and presented them Al-Mulaifi to the National Assembly as integrated bills in accordance with integral scientific, technical and legal bases in line with the laws of the civilized countries that have succeeded in combating corruption. “These laws are also in line with the rules of the agreement adopted by the United Nations (UN) to fight corruption. The National Assembly signed and endorsed this agreement in 2003, but the government has yet to abide by its stipulations. “Following the government’s submission of the State Development Plan to the National Assembly, the society on July 6, 2009 issued a statement, lauding the plan because it contained bills related to the draft laws in question. However, when the government determined its priorities, in cooperation with the National Assembly, the relevant bills were ignored as if the anti-corruption issue is nothing for the executive. “We have realized that the objectives of economic, health, housing, or any other development projects will not be actualized on the ground due to the malpractices of corrupt officials in charge of these projects. “Such being the case, all of us should support the campaign, which will be launched by the society under the slogan ‘No Development with Corruption’, especially since we are aware of the society’s determination to organize this campaign as reflected in its communications with ministerial and parliamentary authorities tasked to define the State priorities. “In other words, let us coordinate our efforts to support any campaign adopted by some individuals or welfare societies to combat corruption in the interest of Kuwait and keep the country free from corruption.”

Also: “I don’t know why the parliamentary Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee endorsed a bill submitted by some MPs on the protection of national unity. Is our national unity in danger to such an extent that we are in dire need of this bill?” columnist and Attorney Rashed Al-Radaan wrote for Al-Watan Arabic daily Saturday. “This happened although most of the National Assembly members, including the proponents of the bill, used to talk arrogantly about the significance of freedom of expression. This bill has been presented in a strange way, creating an impression that the country is

currently suffering from sectarian division. “This issue doesn’t necessitate any specific law or punishment of some parties, rather it requires an intensive national awareness campaign to enlighten the people about the importance of improving the political situation in the country. “Those who raise sectarian issues are actually serving political interests, not social or religious concerns. These people represent just a handful of citizens because majority of the Kuwaitis are unified and keen on maintaining national unity. Hence, these people don’t need any law to force them to love their country. “The committee members should carefully study these proposals before endorsing them, considering many questions have been raised on the constitutionality of these bills.” ❑





“During his meeting with the editors-in-chief of local newspapers, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, may Almighty Allah bless him, said he is committed to democracy and he will not accept any alternative to supersede it “ columnist Mubarak AlHajeri wrote for Al-Rai daily Saturday. “The Amir also expressed concern over the rampant abuse of democratic principles and non-acceptance of other opinions. He warned against the strange tendencies, which recently pervaded the country and will likely lead to dire consequences in the country. “Meanwhile, the Amir has called on the media to activate its role properly to enlighten the public on the importance of national unity and how to nip in the bud any sedition aimed at destabilizing the nation. “Recently, the local arena witnessed the emergence of certain indications revolving around calls for the unconstitutional dissolution of the National Assembly and eventually the suspension of the Constitution in case of any problem between the executive and legislature. “Needless to say, this demand is unrealistic and bears a dictatorial tone that has nothing to do with the Kuwaiti democratic history, particularly since we know that Kuwait has always been on top of other countries in the region in terms of commitment to democracy and this was confirmed by many international organizations. “Apparently, those who have been calling for the unconstitutional dissolution of the National Assembly and suspension of the Constitution have their own agenda to repress others or gag their mouths, ignoring the fact that we are not a communist country.” ❑





“Since 1947, the Israeli massacres are by far the most significant feature of the Jewish black bloody history,” columnist Fakhri Hashem AlSayed Rajab wrote for Al-Qabas daily Saturday. “The Israelis killed Palestinians in cold blood. Israel recently rejected a 600-page UN report about the Israeli war in Gaza Strip, Palestine as it condemned Israel, and latter’s violations against even the simplest ArabPalestinian human rights. “Ironically, Israel considered the report biased to the Palestinians, disregarding the fact that it has been involved in the killing of Palestinians and Lebanese. Actually, foreign countries have been biased to Israel, so they have not dared issue any statement against these massacres. “During the Israeli war on Gaza in 2008/2009, as many as 1,200 Palestinians were killed compared to 13 Jews. In spite of this, Israel considered the UN report as biased towards Palestinians, oblivious to the fact that the Israelis killed around 600 people in Balad Al-Sheikh — a village in Palestine — in 1947. “Apart from the above, the Israelis launched another attack against Palestinians in Sassa and Deir Yaseen villages in 1948, killing 100 and

News in Brief No private websites hacked: The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communications Abdul Mohsen Al-Mazeedi has denied allegations that the Ministry has been hacking private websites, reports Al-Nahar daily. Al-Mazeedi made this statement to clarify ambiguities over the Ministry’s activities, especially after MP Saleh Al-Mulla threatened to grill the Minister of Communications Dr. Mohammad Mohsen AlBaseeri over the issue. He disagreed with the reports, explaining the Ministry only blocks sites that are involved in sacrilege against God Almighty, that defame HH the Amir or encourage immoral activities. Al-Mazeedi added that other sites shut down by the Ministry were those that indulged in coordinating activities of fundamentalists and terrorist groups. He noted the Ministry regularly implements decisions of the Council of Ministers and is determined to preserve Islamic values. “We have formed a team that monitors the activities of Internet service providers in order to prevent tarnishing the image of the religion and the country”, the Undersecretary said. ❑ ❑ ❑

Boost in ties with Kuwait eyed: A group of Bulgarian parliamentarians plan to boost ties between the European country and Gulf states, a leading Bulgarian MP said on Saturday. Svetlin Tanchev, the head of the Bulgarian Parliamentary Group for European Funds Affairs, said in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Saturday that the legislators would implement the plan to revive the ties with the Gulf states, namely Kuwait, the sole Gulf country that has had diplomatic ties with Bulgaria. The plan has been worked out by a group of lawmakers of the majority party, GERB, Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria, he said, adding that it has been submitted to the prime minister for approval. It aims at organizing visits to the Gulf region by government officials and members of the parliament, he said, adding that it is also designed to establish cooperation with the Gulf states in the economic and political fields. (KUNA)

360 people respectively. The Israelis also killed 50 people in Abu Shousha Village and 426 in Allid City. “In 1956, Israel killed 70 Palestinians in Qalqilia Town, 625 in Khan Yunus City, 67 in Qibya Village and 49 in Kufr Qassem Village. In 1982, the Israelis murdered 2,500 Palestinians in Sabra and Shatilla camps in Lebanon, while in 1990 they killed 270 at AlAqsa Mosque. In 1994, the Israelis killed 50 worshippers at Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron City. In 1996, they killed 250 Lebanese in Qana Village in Lebanon. “As long as the Arabs are weak, the Israelis will continue the atrocious attacks without any concern even to the UN resolutions.” ❑





“In 1979, the Imam, Khameini, declared the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan as International Day for solidarity with Jerusalem,” columnist Khaled Al-Sharaf wrote for Awan daily Saturday. “Recently, the Muslims, non-Muslims, and non-Zionists among the Jews in the Islamic, non-Islamic countries and the United States of America, although the latter represents the historical patronage for Zionists in Palestine, celebrated the International Day of Jerusalem. “The Arab League, any Arab official body or an Islamic capital should have marked the occasion, yet the Arabs and Muslims were sleeping before and during the celebration. I feel I have to celebrate even if I don’t support the internal and external policies of the Iranian government. “Since the Arab leaders sent cables of congratulations to the presidents of Iran and other countries in the world for their victory in the presidential elections, the Arab countries should also celebrate the International Day of Jerusalem, unless the Arab League has declared an alternative day in this connection. “The Arabs and Muslims should celebrate for the sake of our First Qibla, even if Iran has adopted the occasion, since the International Day of Jerusalem is more important than other occasions that some Arab countries usually celebrate through the UN, such as World Health Day and International Labor Day. “We celebrate the International Day of Jerusalem while the president of the Palestinian National Authority is threatening the Israeli prime minister to halt peace negotiations unless the latter stops the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank of Palestine. “We commemorate this day while some Arab countries are still dreaming of a solution based on the establishment of two states in Palestine — one for Palestinians and the other for Jews. This happens although the reality is evident that the Israelis will not allow the Palestinians to build their state in their own territories.” ❑





“Our Minister of Electricity and Water, we hope that Almighty Allah blesses you for giving us a wonderful piece of news to end our Eid holidays. You announced an increase in the electricity consumption fee, adding that the intention behind this increase is to avoid an unnecessary wastage of electricity,” wrote Talal Al-Saeed for Al-Seyassah daily. “It is not the ordinary citizen who works towards wasting electricity to establish complexes with a hundred storeys so why should he be punished? The Minister optimistically assured that there will not be any power cuts in the summer of 2010 if the fee is hiked. “We were all very happy when the current Minister of Electricity assumed his position because we believed that he is a young man who has come to represent the public and who understands the sufferings of the people. But it seems as if that position of power is a burden on everyone who achieves it. “Every Minister suddenly becomes intent on pouring sufferings on people who have not

enjoyed hassle-free electricity services since the Liberation War due to instability in the Ministry. It is also frustrating to note that every Minister who takes control of this Ministry has his personal agenda that serves the interests of the group or party he belongs to.” ❑





“It does not bode well for the government if some MPs who are involved in corrupt activities utilize their positions to protect culprits by leaning on the phrase ‘confidential committee activities’. How can we achieve reform if some members of the National Assembly want to confront corruption, while some MPs and even Ministers appear to defend and protect the reputation of corrupt persons?”, wrote Ghalaifis bin Akashan for Al-Shahid daily. “There is no doubt that the pressure exerted on the chairman of the committee formed to investigate the calcified coal issue is a result of personal objectives. It is clear that the persons pressurizing the chairman are those who seem very keen on protecting those who are involved in the case. “What is the duty of an investigation committee? According to us, an investigation committee has the constitutional, moral and religious responsibility to fulfill its duties with honesty and protect the funds and the image of the country. However, an important duty of the committee is also to distance and safeguard itself from the interference of corrupt people and their supporters. If the committee is unable to achieve this, it sacrifices the integrity of an entire nation.” ❑





“It is good news for the government to fulfill its promises during the next legislative round. We hope to see a confident and firm government that will use new techniques to handle its affairs,” Saleh Al-Ghannam for Arrouiah daily. “The government will depend on a new and strong method, different from the former inconsistent ways of facing challenges. Our optimism is based on the signs and feelings we currently have, making us believe that the government will soon embark on new projects. “We now have the feeling that the next round will usher in sheathing and cleaning of swords. The parliamentary blocs can continue to disagree among themselves as they please because they have various alternatives, but what is paramount to citizens is that their disagreements should not adversely affect stability and security of Kuwait.” ❑





“The achievements from other GCC countries that KUNA reported have made us regret our situation in Kuwait because what those countries have accomplished within the last few months are too numerous for us to achieve within years or even decades,” Sami Abdullatif Al-Nisf wrote for Al-Anba daily. “There is a clear difference in our performances such that they are not overwhelmed with maladministration and corruption while we are embroiled in making grave mistakes and taking bribes for gigantic projects, thereby, leading to scandals. Reports of Transparency International revealed that our neighbors have excelled us in the area of transparency whereas those countries do not have the kind of checks and balances authorities like the National Assembly, State Audit Bureau, independent judiciary, free media, civil societies, and trade unions. “If we are still in this kind of situation with the level of monitoring authorities that we have, how will the situation be in case any of those authorities is dissolved in future? We have institutionalized corruption which has spread to every nook and cranny of the country and we have never read history of any country that is doing what we are doing to have a good end.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb

Time, cash needed worsens Mishref sewage plant crisis ‘Temporary fix preventing disaster’ By Rena Sadeghi Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: Problems caused by the malfunction of distillation units in Mishref sewage plant at the end of August are getting worse each day, increasing the amount of money and time needed to address the issue. “We have found a temporary solution to fix some damages and prevent aggravation of the disaster that might destroy our environment completely. We have decided to import spare parts for the plant from Holland, along with electrical equipment and machines from Europe and the United States,” stated a source from the Ministry of Public Works (MPW). Earlier this month, the ministry requested the services of two professional international supervisors to manage the ongoing repair and maintenance works at the plant. However, a reliable source from the Station said they cancelled the request after the supervisors demanded $5 million dollars to take up the assignment. “Our plan for the following month is to use all the equipment, machines and spare parts we have imported from different countries to construct a new temporary station to replace the Mishref plant until the problem is over,” the source explained. The new station will pump water flowing through the Mishref plant and send it to Al-Ardhiya where it will be distilled before pumping into the sea. The Mishref plant broke down at the end of August, forcing the concerned authorities to dump 150,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage water directly into the sea everyday and ban fishing and swimming in the affected areas.

Al-Roumi with guest ladies at the dinner

NBK marks ‘Laki’ account ’versary National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated in the Middle East, celebrated Laki account one year anniversary by rewarding ladies dining and using their Laki Card at Sawah Café & Lounge – Avenues with a special gift during Eid Al-Fitr. The event was extremely successful and attracted a large number of females and Laki account holders. “We are very proud of “Laki” great success in its first year, and so we shared this success with every woman who attended this celebration”, stated Ebtihaj Al-Roomi Executive Manager Consumer Banking Division, further adding “We wish

to thank our customers for their loyalty and we continue to add more exciting features and benefits to Laki in the coming year.” Sawah Café and Lounge is a popular destination at the Avenues mall, and NBK is pleased to have chosen this outlet for this special event. NBK is the first bank in Kuwait to provide women with a product tailored to their needs, the Laki Titanium MasterCard with its unrivaled offers and exclusive privileges such as free Valet parking, concierge service and instant discounts at numerous outlets around Kuwait.

The plant, located west of Kuwait City, is responsible for treating sewage water generated by one million people. Since its breakdown, water flowing to the plant has not been

treated. However, the concerned authorities controlled the sewage water leakage by midSeptember and are currently in the final stages of fixing the plant.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

LOCAL

5

‘Right atmosphere vital for peace’ Clinton to meet Kuwait, other Arab states counterparts NEW YORK, Sept 26, (AFP): US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will urge Gulf Arab allies here Saturday to offer the “right atmosphere” and support for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume, a top aide said. KUNA photo

Sheikh Nasser (center right), talking to the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem.

Meeting with Kuwait PM lauded Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem on Saturday termed the meeting with Kuwaiti Premier His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlSabah as “constructive and fruitful as usually as the Syrian-Kuwaiti meetings always are.” In a statement to KUNA and Kuwait Television following his meeting with HH Sheikh Nasser, AlMuallem said that his country and Kuwait “share very deep relations and work together on a stable, secure region.” He affirmed that the horizons of cooperation between the two countries are “very

wide.” HH the Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is head of his country’s delegation to the 64th session of the UN General Assembly. HH received AlMuallem at the UN headquarters. “I was very glad to meet HH the Prime Minister of Kuwait, hoping that the contacts and meetings between the two countries continue at all levels,” the Syrian top diplomat noted. He indicated that “we discussed (in the meeting) the situation in our region.” (KUNA)

Gulf states have said a speech that President Barack Obama gave Wednesday at the UN General Assembly offers a basis for talks despite disappointment over his administration’s failure to secure an Israeli settlement freeze. Clinton was set Saturday to meet her counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman as well as those from Iraq, Jordan and Egypt. One meeting will be with the six Gulf states alone, and the other will include all nine countries. “We believe that everybody has the responsibility to create the right atmosphere not only for the negotiating process but for a successful conclusion to the negotiating process,” Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman said. “We hope that the Arabs would find ways to demonstrate to the Israeli public that Israel will be an accepted, normalized part of the region which actually reflects reality,” Feltman said. He was referring to US appeals for the Arabs to take steps now to normalize ties with Israel, something the Arabs have refused, especially without a freeze of Jewish settlements. “We would hope that the Arabs will find ways to support President (Mahmud) Abbas and his team as they go into negotiations,” he said, referring to the Palestinian leader. Feltman added it was important for the Arabs to continue financial and other support for the institutions needed for a future Palestinian state, the goal of the US-backed peace negotiations. “President Obama is committed to pursuing this to a successful outcome and we hope that we will have partners in the Arab world and beyond to help us do that,” he added. The Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — on Friday welcomed Obama’s speech at the UN as a possible basis for reaching a peace agreement. Obama said in Wednesday’s speech: “We continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements” in occupied territory. The US president also called for a resumption of talks between Israelis and Palestinians without pre-conditions on security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees and Jerusalem. Feltman said the lack of such pre-conditions did not mean the two sides would be starting from scratch, because Washington stands by previous PalestinianIsrael agreements. Peace talks have been suspended since Israel launched a massive military offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in December and January.

Govt work plan panel set to present report KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: The committee formed to prepare the government’s work plan will submit its report to the Cabinet during its weekly meeting on Monday, Sept 28, reports Annahar daily quoting reliable sources. According to the sources, the report includes suggestions to help pave the way for the approval of the program by midOctober, before the start of the new term. They said several governmental authorities have not submitted their plans for inclusion in the program, but it is expected they will

receive one week’s time for submission. The sources added seven strategic goals have been listed so far covering several political and economic issues. They said the minutes of the meeting are also expected to include reports from the ministries of Health and Education on their efforts to tackle the swine flu virus. In addition, a proposal to hold a Cabinet meeting throughout the week will be put forward to receive daily reports from both ministries. The sources also disclosed the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali will submit a

proposal to reopen the door to receive the applications of citizens to avail of the Fund for the Needy, in order to enable a maximum number of citizens to take advantage of the Fund. They said the Fund is currently the only solution available to citizens with loans, and approving the proposal will help to reduce the impact of the accumulation of loans. The sources said the government is expected to start accepting applications in this regard from mid-October to avoid any parliamentary proposals that may be submitted on the issue.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

LOCAL

6

Child run over, motorist flees scene

Kuwaiti citizen dead, 13 others injured in various accidents By Munaif Nayef Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: Several traffic accidents have been recorded within the last few hours, resulting in the death of one citizen and 13 other people being injured. Security operatives, firemen and paramedics handled the situation. A Kuwaiti citizen died after his car somersaulted on the Sixth Ring Road opposite Sabah Al-Nasser area. The Operations Room received a distress call about the episode, while security operatives and firemen from Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

station rushed to the scene and removed the victim from the car. It was too late to revive him. He had already died due to his injuries. In another incident, a citizen was seriously injured when his car went through multiple somersaults after it smashed into another car in Sulaibiya. The victim was referred to Farwaniya hospital for treatment, and the case was registered. Moreover, a 19-year-old citizen and another 26-year-old Lebanese expatriate sustained injuries and other fractures in a two-car collision in Salmiya, opposite the Scientific Center. Paramedics referred the injured persons

to Mubarak hospital. Similarly, two citizens — a man and a woman — and three other Asians were seriously injured following a two-car collision accident. It was reported the motorist carrying the three Asians suddenly made a stop on the road, causing the citizen’s car to crash. Paramedics referred the five injured victims to Farwaniya hospital. Also, two Pakistanis and an Egyptian sustained serious injuries in a two-car collision along King Fahad Road opposite Arifjan Camp Saturday morning. The men were referred to Adan hospital by the help of medical emergency personnel.

In yet another incident, a 12-year-old Kuwaiti child sustained bruises and other injuries after he was run over by a car while he was playing in front of his house. The driver escaped leaving the boy screaming in pain. Passers-by had reportedly called the rescue team who rushed to the location and referred the boy to Farwaniya hospital for treatment. A case has been registered, while investigation is in progress to trail the suspect. Meanwhile, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi expatriate sustained fracture in his left arm when his vehicle smashed into another in Sabahiya. He was sent to Adan hospital by paramedics.

16 Arab, 3 Kuwaiti women held as police bust prostitution ring Paramedics at the scene of an accident.

Drug overdose kills citizen By Nawaf Al-Hamlan Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: A Kuwaiti citizen aged 44 years has reported the loss of his wallet, containing money and his bank cards. In a case registered at the Abdullah Mubarak police station, the citizen said he had lost his wallet that contained KD 166 in cash along with bank cards. After a few hours, he received messages from one of the banks, informing him that KD 380 had been withdrawn from his account. Photo by Abdulmohsen Abdallah

Paramedics, firemen and policemen rushed to Mubarak Al-Kabeer after getting the information that an Indonesian maid had climbed to the roof of the house and was about to throw herself from there. Securitymen reached in time and coaxed the maid to forget the idea of committing suicide. Above: Rescue personnel talking to the Asian maid.

Security officials noted details of the incident and investigations are on to find and arrest the culprits. ❑





Afghan hurt: An Afghani

Car stolen from home

Kuwaiti hurt in Khairan Park brawl By Munaif Nayef Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: An 18-year-old Kuwaiti suffered from a cut on his head after engaging in a public brawl in Al-Khairan Park Saturday. According to a security source, an altercation among a number of youths in the park led to a fistfight and one of them used a sharp object to hit the victim’s head. Some passersby intervened and called the Operations Room at the Ministry of Interior, which dispatched a team of securitymen and paramedics to the scene. The injured was admitted to Adan Hospital. In an unrelated incident, a Bangladeshi, in his 30s, sustained injuries after a fistfight with an Asian in Jahra. He was referred to Jahra Hospital. Investigations are ongoing to determine the actual circumstances that led to the fight. Moreover, a 50-year-old Bangladeshi got an eye injury when a youth hit him while he was cleaning a street opposite a famous commercial complex in Salmiya. He was rushed to Mubarak Hospital. Police are now looking for the youth who escaped immediately after attacking the victim. ❑ ❑ ❑ Car stolen: A Kuwaiti has filed a complaint at Sulaibiya police station against an unidentified person who allegedly stole his vehicle. The complainant told police he was surprised when he went out of his house in Sulaibiya as his car was not in the parking area. He immediately reported the incident to police and provided them

with a detailed description of his car. A case was registered and investigations have started to identify the culprit and retrieve the vehicle. ❑ ❑ ❑ Day out ruined: A Kuwaiti citizen has accused unidentified persons of stealing his wallet from his car from the parking lot of the Entertainment City. In a complaint filed at the Sulaibikhat police station, the citizen said he had taken his family out for a day of recreation and was dismayed to find his wallet was missing on the way home. He added the wallet contained KD 100 in cash along with other items of importance. Security officials recorded details of the incident and investigations are on to find and arrest the culprits. Meanwhile, a fire erupted from a cylinder in a multi-purpose hall in South Surra. However, the crowd gathered at the hall for a party managed to put the fire out before it could cause any damage. No casualties were reported and it is believed the fire broke out when the cylinder was being used to heat the skins of drums used at the party. Also, a Kuwaiti citizen aged 26 years sustained serious injuries when his motorbike overturned on the Gulf Road opposite Layali Halima Café. Security officers and paramedics rushed to the scene after receiving information about the incident and referred the citizen to the hospital. A case was registered and initial investigations revealed the accident occurred when the victim was performing stunts on his motorbike and lost control.

News in Brief Syrian cheats Kuwaiti: A Kuwaiti man, whose identity has not been disclosed, has filed a complaint with the Jahra Police Station accusing a Syrian man of breach of trust, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. In his complaint the man said the Syrian rented shops from his real estate company and is refusing to pay the rent believed to be KD 450. The man will be summoned for interrogation, says the daily. ❑ ❑ ❑ Traffic camera wrecked: Police are looking for an unidentified person, who shot at and destroyed a traffic camera along Al-Abdali Road, reports AlWatan Arabic daily. ❑ ❑ ❑ Officers cheat death: Two police officers on patrol at the northern borders miraculously escaped death when a mine exploded and damaged their vehicle, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. The mine is believed to be remnant from the 1991 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. ❑ ❑ ❑

Asians held gambling: Acting on information, police raided a restaurant in Salhiya and arrested seven Asians who were caught gambling, reports AlRai daily. The police confiscated playing cards and an unspecified amount of money. ❑ ❑ ❑

Death toll hits 50: The number of the victims of the Al-Oyoun wedding tent fire in Jahra reached 50 when a 36-year-old Saudi woman succumbed to her injuries, reports Al-Dar daily. The woman died Thursday in one of the Saudi hospitals in Dammam. ❑ ❑ ❑ Woman goes ‘berserk’: An unidentified

Death probed

Stone kills Egyptian By Munaif Nayef Special to the Arab Times KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: An Egyptian died when a rock fell on his head while working at a construction site in Sulaibikhat recently. Securitymen and paramedics rushed to the location immediately after the Operations Room received information about the incident. However, the victim was already dead when they arrived at the scene. His remains were referred to Forensics. A case was registered and investigations are underway to determine the actual circumstances that led to his death.

Ethiopian woman has been admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital after she started behaving abnormal at the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh Police Station, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. According to security sources shoppers in one of the commercial complexes in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh called the Operations Department of the Ministry of Interior when the woman cried hysterically and caused panic among the shoppers. Later it was discovered the woman was at the maids recruiting office in Jleeb and the office contacted a Kuwaiti man to come and take the maid. After she allegedly walked out of the office she became hysteric and refused to go with the man. She also started insulting and fighting with the shoppers in the area. She is believed to be homesick and mentally upset.

national aged 34 years sustained injuries and fractures after he fell from a building under construction in Qairawan. Security officials and paramedics rushed to the scene after receiving information about the incident and referred the man to Sabah hospital. A case was registered and a round of questioning with the victim’s friends confirmed that the man fell after he slipped and lost balance.

Agencies add: Vice ring busted: Sixteen Arab and three Kuwaiti women were arrested in Hawalli in a raid to foil a prostitution racket, reports Al-Rai daily. Acting on information and armed with a warrant, security officials raided seven apartments in Hawalli and made the arrests. The arrested were referred to the authorities for further action. ❑





Drugs kill man: A Kuwaiti citizen was found dead in his family home in Rabya due to an overdose of drugs, reports Arrouiah daily. The body was discovered by a family member who immediately called up the Operation Room. Officials rushed to the site and referred the corpse to the Forensic Department for further investigation. Meanwhile, a GCC expatriate aged 29 years was found unconscious in an apartment in Bneid Al-Gar due to a drug overdose, reports Arrouiah daily. Security officials and paramedics rushed to the site after receiving a call that a youth was lying unconscious in his house. They referred the victim to the hospital and confiscated the drugs and related equipment from the apartment. A case has been registered and the youth is being escorted by security officers till he recuperates. ❑





Maid kills self: An Asian maid ended her life in her sponsor’s home in Waha by consuming copious amounts of cleaning detergent, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. Without going into details, the daily reported that the corpse has been referred to the Forensics Department and a case has been registered to determine the circumstances surrounding the suicide. ❑





Who’s baby is it?: Security officials are on the lookout for a woman who left her newborn baby in a taxi and disappeared, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

Photos by Abdulmohsen Abdallah

Top and above: Some pictures taken at the event.

‘Saad academy’ receives 39th batch of students The Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences organized a ceremony to receive its 39th batch of students, consisting of 152 trainees — 152 Kuwaitis and 45 GCC and Arab nationals — in the presence of the Director-General of the Academy Maj Gen Yousef Al-Mudahaka

According to a source, the woman, whose face was obscured by a veil, hailed a taxi along with her Asian maid at Andalous and left the baby in a plastic bag in the back seat while getting down at Avenues Mall. The taxi driver was shocked to find the baby and tried to track down the woman, but could not find her. He then handed the baby over to security officers at the police station and filed a complaint. ❑





Liquor seized: A Kuwaiti youth aged 22 years was arrested in Salmiya for alcohol trafficking, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. Security officers on patrol duty in the area noticed the youth had parked his car behind the building of AlZakat house and was roaming the area in a suspicious manner. They stopped him,

and the parents and guardians of the students. In a press statement after the ceremony, Al-Mudahaka said the administration has taken several steps to promote study at the Academy. One such step is to bestow upon graduates a bachelor’s

searched his car and found 12 bottles of locally manufactured alcohol. The citizen and the confiscated bottles were referred to the authorities for further action. ❑





Yacht catches fire: Three Kuwaiti citizens sustained severe burns and injuries when a fire broke out on their yacht in the waters of Messila beach, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. Firefighters, paramedics and a rescue team rushed to the spot after receiving information about the fire. They managed to extinguish the fire and referred the victims to the nearest hospital. ❑





Police car rammed: A youth was arrested for ramming his vehicle into a police car along with three other vehicles, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily. Security officials noticed the youth was driving his sports

degree in law. He added this degree will be on par with the one issued by the Kuwait University. Urging more students to enroll at the Academy, Al-Mudahaka said 899 applicants registered this year, from which 152 were accepted into the Academy.

car recklessly and chased him. He ran into a police vehicle and three other cars before his car overturned and crashed into a palm tree. The arrested individual and his companion were reportedly under the influence of alcohol at the time of arrest. It has also been reported that the youth is a policeman. The daily did not give further details. ❑



Totally drunk!:



Officials from Kuwait International Airport and security operatives were able to control a heavily intoxicated Kuwaiti citizen arriving aboard a flight from an undisclosed Asian country, who verbally assaulted HH the Amir, political leaders, employees of the airport and policemen, reports Al-Rai daily. The drunken Kuwaiti was arrested by police and referred

to Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh police station. ❑





Indians nabbed: Security officers on routine duty arrested four Indians for trafficking in locally brewed gin at Mina Abdullah, reports Al-Rai daily. The daily said the officers became suspicious of the culprits when they were spotted inside their car in the area, and ordered them to pull over. The officers went on to conduct a search inside the car where they discovered 28 bottles of the contraband. ❑





Four caught drunk: The Hawalli police have arrested four citizens because they were under the influence of alcohol, reports Arrouiah daily. The men were arrested at one of the checkpoints during a late hour. They have been referred to the concerned authorities.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

LOCAL

8

Community leaders of various organizations, visiting MP meet ambassador

Indians in Abbasiya complain of leaking sewages, power cuts By Valiya S. Sajjad Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: Indian community leaders representing various organizations, along with Youth Wing President of Muslim League, Kerala, Dr M.K. Muneer, and Indian MP, Anto Antony, who were on a visit to Kuwait, met the Indian Ambassador, Ajay Malhotra, Thursday, and

discussed some pressing community issues in the state. Abbey Varicad, who was part of the delegation, talking to the Arab Times Saturday, said the ambassador was informed about the “vexing issue of leaking sewages in Abbasiya, which no one is interested to address. Abbasiya is the largest expatriate residential area in Kuwait and the authorities are neglectful of our problems.

“Three streets in Abbasiya are perpetually flooded with waste water due to some blockage in the sewers and the authorities are not doing anything to clear the blocks. People are suffering the stench and find it difficult to walk through these streets. It is also very unhygienic and can lead to health problems in the area. “Despite our efforts to get the authorities to act, there has been no response, and so

we took the issue to the ambassador, who has promised to look into it seriously.” Varicad said that Abbasiya is increasingly becoming the hinterland of Kuwait “with nobody paying us any attention. Power cuts are also frequent here, and the place is congested beyond the threshold point. Parking is a major problem, and people leave their cars far away from their apartments, making the vehicles vulnerable to thefts.

“However, the number of car thefts has gone down recently. But a couple of snatching incidents were reported. The latest case was that of a woman whose handbag was snatched by a man posing as a policeman in uniform.” Further Varicad said that much as the place is congested, there are newer apartments being raised to add to the population density. “Moreover, the building materials at these

construction sites are taking up more public space and contributing to the crowdedness.” The delegation also requested the ambassador to open passport service centers in Abbasiya to the benefit of the Indians living in the area, “because Abbasiya has a very large number of Indian expatriates.” Currently, the Indian embassy has outsourced these services to companies located in Fahaheel and Kuwait City.

Poor precautionary measures by schools against flu worries KTS Health campaign targeting students starts Sunday

Jimenez with the Filipino workers.

Cleaners claim made to work as nurses

Thirty Filipino workers report firm for contract substitution By Michelle Fe Santiago Special to the Arab Times KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: Thirty Filipino workers went recently to the Philippine Overseas Labour Office to file a complaint against their company for alleged contract substitution and contract violations. Nine of the complainants were female workers who claimed that they were hired from the Philippines as cleaners but when they reached Kuwait, they were made to work by the company as assistant nurses while 21 male workers who were hired to work as cleaners in one of the oil companies claimed that they were not getting the right salaries that they were supposed to receive as stated in their job contracts. “I applied in the Philippines as a cleaner but I was surprised when I arrived here, we were made to attend a two-week lecture and training as assistant nurses and after that we’re deployed in homes and sometimes in hospitals to take care of ill patients,” disclosed one of the female workers. She explained that initially, she was very apprehensive as she does not have the basic skills and formal education in this field. “We’re not qualified for the job but our company said that, there’s no available work for cleaners so we have to work as assistant nurses temporarily for about three months but it’s been a year now and nothing has changed so we decided to go to the Philippine embassy,” she pointed out. The female workers recounted to the Arab Times the various occasions that they had to take care of terminally ill patients, administering medicine, performing medical duties such as injecting, doing intravenous infusion, taking blood pressure and other minor duties that assistant nurses do. “Sometimes, we’re scared especially if the patient who is assigned to us is very ill. What if she dies during our shift? We’re not even licensed nurses. This is no joke. We’re talking about human life here and we don’t want to end up in jail,” lamented another female worker. One of the workers even showed to the Arab Times the identification card issued by the homecare company to them with the position of Assistant Nurse stated therein.

Receiving The female cleaners turned assistant nurses also claimed that they were only receiving KD 80 salary instead of KD 110 which is much lower than the terms and conditions contained in the standard Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) contract that they signed with the company and the Philippine manpower recruitment agency. On the other hand, the male workers complained that in the employment contract that they signed in the Philippines, they were supposed to receive KD 110 for their basic salary and KD 10 for their food allowance, however, what they have been getting was KD 60 for their salary plus KD 10 food allowance amounting to KD 70 only monthly. Philippine Labour Attache Atty Josephus Jimenez called for a meeting on Sept 2 between the company management and the workers after receiving the complaints of the workers on alleged contract substitution committed by both the company and the manpower recruitment agency in the Philippines. The Deputy General Manager of the company attended the meeting and the Arab Times witnessed the whole proceeding. The Deputy GM admitted that the salaries paid to the 30 complainants are much lower than the terms and conditions stated in the stan-

dard POEA employment contract, however, he was quick to add that he made it clear to the manpower recruitment agency in the Philippines that the company can only give KD 70 salary. The Deputy GM told Jimenez that the agency made them sign the standard contract for formality only. “We signed it because they told me it’s just for formality, so I signed it. Everybody knows about it, even the embassy, for formality wise that is why they’re doing this,” stated the Deputy GM. In response, Jimenez corrected the Deputy GM’s statement on the formality of the standard POEA employment contract. “You cannot speak for the embassy. I will speak for the embassy. The embassy insists that the contract signed should be followed. If that is your belief (formality per se) that is your opinion. That is not what the embassy and our government say. The embassy believes on the contract it approved. If your agency is not telling the truth, then the agency should be punished,” stated Jimenez. During the meeting the Deputy GM declared unconditionally and unequivocally before all the complainants that those workers who want to go home to the Philippines would be provided with plane tickets after receiving all that they are legally entitled to and those who want to continue working may go to his office and settle the problems amicably. “Let me help you. If you don’t want the job, you come to our office, we’ll fix your problem. Nobody from the company forces you to work and do the job (as nurses). Please come to our office, we’ll give you tickets and allowance if you want to go back to the Philippines. We have nothing against you, if you’ll come to us and file your complaints; we’ll solve your problem,” he pointed out.

Failed However, the workers told the Arab Times that when they went to the management office, the Deputy GM allegedly failed to honour his previous commitment to the workers during the meeting and failed to respond to their letter manifesting their decision to go back to the Philippines. The nine female workers also told the Arab Times that the company withheld their August salary. “What will happen to us now? The company didn’t give us our August salary and we don’t want to work as assistant nurses anymore. We just want to go back home or if not the company should release us,” stated one of the female workers. On the other hand, the male workers have decided to go back to the Philippines as soon as the management gives them their plane tickets and other benefits due them. Jimenez told the Arab Times on Saturday that the representative of the manpower recruitment agency in the Philippines has arrived in Kuwait to fix the labour problem. “If this problem is not resolved, we will no longer allow this company to hire Filipino workers. But we’re giving them due process to explain and we’ve waited too long. We’ve been calling up the company, texting them, sending them fax and emails but the company has continued to ignore us. For all agencies proven to have committed contract substitution, this is a grave offense under the labor code and the migrant workers act and it’s one of the prohibited acts that constitutes illegal recruitment. Since the number of victims is three or more, this is grand scale tantamount to economic sabotage,” reiterated Jimenez. He informed that the POLO has set another meeting on Sept 28 and will take appropriate action and recommendation after that.

Kuwaiti students urged to follow rules in UK KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26, (KUNA): The British Council on Saturday urged Kuwaitis to take note of rules and guidelines issued by British education authorities before applying for study in the United Kingdom. Speaking to KUNA, Project Manager for Education in the British Council Kuwait, Rafat AbuTaleb said that studying in the UK instills students with a spirit of competitiveness required in today’s workforce. There are around 3,000 educational institutions in the UK that can help develop these abilities, he added. A student should be well versed in the English language and must attain the required documents, including a pass in the International English

Language Testing System (IELTS) in order to be allowed to study in the UK, he stressed. The period to attain a degree in any major varies according to the subject with some subjects requiring pre-major studies. Founded in 1934, the British Council is a UK government-funded non profit educational establishment which specializes in providing international educational and cultural opportunities. According to its website, the British Council aims “to build mutually beneficial cultural and educational relationships between the United Kingdom and other countries, and increase appreciation of the United Kingdom’s creative ideas and achievements.” It operates in over 233 bureaus in 107 countries worldwide.

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26, (Agencies): Kuwait Teachers Society (KTS) has expressed concern over the inadequate precautionary measures taken by private schools to prevent the spread of swine flu among teachers and students, reports AlQabas daily. The society revealed principals of some private schools have complained that they are not getting the necessary support from the Ministry of Education (MoE) to contain the virus, warning this might lead to serious consequences and spread of infection. Ayed Al-Sahli, head of the society, pointed out in a letter to Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mudhi AlHumoud “we hope the ministry will handle this situation properly by immediately taking the required precautions.” He went on to say the society expects the school owners to fully comprehend the situation, as well as the complaints of principals. Al-Sahli also appreciated the efforts of administrators in private schools to provide the basic requirements to prevent swine flu infection among students and teachers.

KUNA photo

The press conference in progress.

Safety Meanwhile, Minister of Education Dr Moudhi AlHumoud said Saturday the ministry was keen on preserving safety of students in all schools. Al-Humoud, also Minister of Higher Education, said in a statement before beginning of public schools the Ministry has been carrying out a series of preventive measures over the past two months hand-in-hand with the ministry of Health to deal with any swine flu case. She said the ministry has provided necessary medical equipment for clinics in schools, in addition to supplying the Educational Areas with leaflets on the best means to dealing with suspected swine flu cases. Al-Humoud called on parents to check their kids’ temperature before leaving home for school in order to make sure that they were in good health. She said the ministry has already prepared a plan aimed at making up for the students who might be forced to miss schools because of swine flu. In the meantime, Kuwait’s Ministry of Health (MoH) is thinking to dispatch some of its patients to South Korean hospitals for treatment, a ministry official said Saturday. Speaking to KUNA after a tour of South Korean medical facilities and capabilities, MoH Assistant Undersecretary for Assisted Healthcare Qais AlDowairy said that hospitals in the country are advanced and include state-of-the-art equipment, as well as highly skilled staff. MoH is also thinking of sending Kuwaiti doctors to the Far Eastern country for training, especially in the field of spinal cord surgery. Advanced technology is used in this particular field of surgery through sophisticated microscopic lenses, Al-Dowairy indicated.

Agreement An agreement with South Korean authorities has also been carried out, whereby Kuwait will host a number of specialists in cancer and orthopedic (bone) surgery. South Korea is aiming to become the number one destination for foreign travelling patients, especially those from oil-rich Arabian Gulf states. Meanwhile, Kuwait will be receiving South Korean medical experts soon as a step to bolster bilateral medical relations, head of the department of retirees and treatment abroad in the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry Sheikh Sabah Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said here Saturday. Sheikh Sabah told KUNA that the visits would boost medical cooperation between the two states and would lead to the

KUNA photo

The Sri Lankan ambassador with some of the embassy staff members and the Kuwaiti journalists.

Sri Lankan envoy eyes Kuwaiti investment Sri Lankan ambassador on Saturday praised relations with Kuwait, inviting its people to explore his country’s historic and tourist sights. Relations between the two governments are “excellent” and it is anticipated to be further developed at popular and economic levels, Ambassador K.S.C Dissanayake told reporters. He noted that one of the attractions distinguishing Sri Lanka, beside tourism and

entertainment, is treatment using medicinal herbs and techniques, urging Kuwaiti businessmen/women to explore investment opportunities there. It is noteworthy that the number of Kuwaiti tourists to Sri Lanka during the first half of 2009 has gone up by 22 percent, compared to the same period last year. Upon a request made by the embassy here, a select group of Kuwaiti journalists, comprising of high-ranking editorial staff

from mainstream Kuwaiti newspapers and Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) will travel to Sri Lanka on a familiarization tour co-organized in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and Sri Lankan Airlines. The tour will be from Sept 28 to Oct 5, 2009, as the Kuwaiti delegation is scheduled to conduct interviews with Sri Lankan senior officials, including the president and the foreign minister, as well as other dignitaries. (KUNA)

ILO delegation due on Oct 5

Sponsorship cancelation, new labor law on agenda KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: A delegation headed by regional director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) is expected on a two-day visit to Kuwait on Oct 5, 2009, reports Al-Rai daily quoting reliable sources. During the visit the delegation is scheduled to meet with the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr Mohammed Al-Afasi to discuss issues concerning expatriates working in the country, and to open a workshop at the executive office of the GCC Labor Ministers. Meanwhile, among key issues for discussion during the meeting are significance of the labor market, the issue of canceling the sponsor system, the private sector labor law, and violations committed against human rights, the sources said. The sources stressed on the importance of the visit which may offer contribution to the exchange of expertise. The official lauded the Defense Ministry’s efforts to develop its medical services by attracting top level world physicians. Around 277 South Korean medical institutions expressed interests in treating Kuwaiti patients in South Korea. The number of foreign patients receiving treatment in South Korea is expected to reach nearly 50,000 by the end of 2009. In the meantime, Kuwaiti Undersecretary of Health Ibrahim Al-Abdul Hadi praised on Saturday the initiative made by Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association dubbed “precautionary protection” against swine flu which will kick off tomorrow and would target students in the elementary level as a start. Commenting on the campaign,

country’s five-year development plan. In other developments, security sources said the ministries of Interior and Social Affairs are studying a proposal to cancel the sponsorship system, in an effort to stabilize the labor market, particularly in the private sector, while the rights of personnel and employers are maintained. However, the sources revealed the proposal, in an experimental step, will only exempt certain jobs at the private sector, which include doctors, engineers, teachers, media personnel and technicians in general, provided there are contracts available to keep the rights of both employees and employers, while the courts will be the authority concerned for litigation. The sources stressed the period of work and the rights and privileges of the laborer will be specified in the contract. Also, the

a press conference was held which was attended by Dr AlAbdul Hadi, Undersecretary of Education Tamadur AlSidairawi, and President of Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association Dr Tareq Al-Habib.

Initiative Al-Abdul Hadi said that his ministry is proud of this initiative which is an essential reinforcement to medical and health services in Kuwait, adding that the ministry had done all the necessary steps to curb the spread of swine flu epidemic at various levels, including through ongoing television messages and weekly press conferences, seminars, and lectures with specialized agencies. The minister noted as well that his ministry also worked to equip hospitals with the necessary equipment to confront the dis-

courts and the public prosecution will ensure these rights are upheld. However, the public prosecution will own the right to either renew or cancel contracts since the residency period will be related to the period of contract. In an unrelated development, sources said Al-Afasi requested an elaborate report on activities of the Surveillance and Inspection Department of the ministry last week, following irregularities detected at various cooperative societies. The sources indicated the ministry has shown resentment over violations which have also brought the absence of supervision in the cooperative sector to light. This has led to financial and administrative violations in seven cooperative societies in various zones. The sources explained some cooperative societies failed to distribute the shareholders’ profits.

ease and mobilize medical and nursing staff in hospitals and health centers, including the coordination with relevant ministries such as ministries of Education and Interior. Meanwhile, Al-Sidairawi said the ministry of education did everything it could to address swine flu, including holding seminars and lectures on the definition of the disease and methods of prevention and in coordination with the Ministry of Health, without exaggeration or carelessness. Al-Sidairawi said the ministry has coordinated with all schools’ departments in case a suspected case emerges which will then be transferred to school clinic. For his part, Al-Habib noted that the campaign was initiated because of the association’s keenness to actively participate and

contribute to the protection of society and prevent them from all dangers, especially their health. The president of the association stressed importance on “unity of the community represented by public authorities and the private sector in minimizing the spread of the disease and prevent people from its consequences. The Ministry of Education has asked that the Ministry of Health supply gloves for teachers to cover their hands while writing on chalkboards to protect them from possible swine flu infections, reports Awan daily. According to a source, the Ministry made this request following cues from foreign private schools that have implemented this step, particularly those schools that recorded around two cases.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

MIDEAST

9

Militant group vows revenge for deadly raid

Gaza rocket hits Israel, no casualties JERUSALEM, Sept 26, (AFP): A rocket fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip landed inside Israel on Saturday without causing any casualties, the Israeli military said. “A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded inside Israel without wounding anyone,” a spokesman said without providing further details. Israeli public radio reported that the rocket hit an uninhabited area near the border with the Palestinian territory. The attack came a day after an Israeli raid killed three Palestinians and seriously wounded three others, according to medics and witnesses, who said at least four of the victims were members of the Islamic Jihad militant group. A spokesman for the armed group vowed “revenge for this criminal raid.” More than 50 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza in the past three months and more than 250 have been launched since the end of Israel’s offensive against the territory’s Hamas rulers at the turn of the year, the army said. The number of rockets has significantly decreased since before the war, when 3,350 rockets were fired at Israel in 2008 alone. The Islamist Hamas movement, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, has ruled Gaza since it drove out loyalists of the Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in June 2007 during a week of bloody clashes. Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza on Saturday, firing guns into the air and vowing revenge at the funeral of three fighters killed in an Israeli air raid. The brandishing of weapons in Gaza City was a rare show of force by the Islamic Jihad movement and came despite

Tel Aviv asked to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners

Egyptian minister urges swap for Israeli soldier UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26, (AP): Egypt’s foreign minister urged Israel on Friday to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in 2006. Egypt has been mediating a prisoner swap and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Israel needs to show flexibility. A year ago, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar accused Israel of going back on a promise to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Cpl Gilad Shalit who was captured by Hamas-allied militants in a crossborder raid near the Gaza border in 2006. “If you want a soldier, if you need a certain com-

modity and you are ready to pay in that commodity then pay for the sake of the soldier — give the Palestinians what they are after,” Aboul Gheit said in an interview with the Associated Press on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. “I think what they are after (is) 1,000 prisoners that would be exchanged for the sake of the soldier Shalit,” he said. “I would encourage people to do (it),” Aboul Gheit said. “Why not? What is wrong? Give them the thousand and take your soldiers and give him back to his family and his people and let the family enjoy having him back.”

strict rules against the public display of arms enforced by the Islamist movement Hamas which rules the territory. “Take Revenge, take revenge, Sarayat al-Quds!” the crowds chanted, referring to Islamic Jihad’s armed wing. “Respond, respond in Tel Aviv.” “We call on all Palestinian resistance factions to resume martyrdom operations inside

the Zionist entity,” one protest leader yelled through a megaphone, referring to suicide bombings. It was the first time guns have been fired into the air during a protest since the end of Israel’s offensive on Gaza at the turn of the year that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

Arabs urge US president to present his peace outline Netanyahu and Abbas remain far apart UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26, (AP): The head of the Arab League and the Egyptian foreign minister on Friday urged President Barack Obama to present his own outline of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, in order to break the current logjam and spur negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remain far apart on what it takes to return to peace talks, despite vigorous US mediation this week, including an Obama-hosted meeting of the two leaders. The key disputes are over continued Israeli settlement construction and what should be on the agenda of future talks.

Tourists take photographs around the ancient Roman city of Jerash, Jordan, north of Amman which is one of the old Decapolis, or 10 cities on Sept 25. (AP)

Libyan leader says sorry

Gaddafi meets Lockerbie family members NEW YORK, Sept 26, (Agencies): A woman whose brother died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, says she and another victim’s relative met in New York City with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose country has been blamed for the attack. Colorado Springs, Colorado, attorney Lisa Gibson said the meeting with Gaddafi at the Libyan Mission to the United Nations on Wednesday was arranged through a Libyan ambassador. “He generally said he was sorry for the loss, but we didn’t go into any details about the bombing,” Gibson said of the 10-minute meeting with Gaddafi, who making his first visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly. Gibson’s brother was stationed in the Army in Berlin and was going home for Christmas when the plane blew up, killing 270 people.

Last month, a Scottish magistrate ordered the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi after he was diagnosed with fatal prostate cancer. Though Libyan security forces cleared away most of the thousands gathered at the airport, hundreds remained to greet al-Megrahi upon his arrival, infuriating the victims’ families. Gibson said she gave the Libyan leader a pen and a card, in which she told him she had been praying for him. “He was very friendly and cordial to us,” Gibson said. “Honestly, I think he was touched by us being there.” Gibson said she’s been to Libya three times, and through her humanitarian organization, Peace and Prosperity Alliance, she’s helped to raise money for Libyan children with AIDS and other humanitarian projects. The Libyan leader has been trying to restore his country’s standing in the world and trans-

form it from a pariah state to an accepted member of the international community. Gaddafi surprised the international community by agreeing to dismantle his country’s weapons of mass destruction programs. The United States restored ties with Libya in 2006, after Libya agreed to resolve the Lockerbie case in a deal that included paying compensation to the victims’ families. Gibson said the other person who attended the meeting had lost his father in the bombing. On Friday, the eccentric leader arrived in Venezuela for his first trip to the region to take part in the second summit of South American and African nations. His Bedouin tent, in which he prefers to sleep when he travels abroad, had been set up close to the swimming pool in the luxury hotel on the island of Margarita, northeast of Caracas, where the summit is being held.

Abbas says he won’t resume talks without an internationally mandated settlement freeze. He insists that talks resume where they broke off last year, under Netanyahu’s more pragmatic predecessor, and that all issues be on the table. Netanyahu says a partition of Jerusalem and a possible repatriation of Palestinian refugees are not up for discussion. On Friday, Abbas told the UN General Assembly that “the settlement policy ... will abort opportunities to relaunch the peace process” and warned that time for a deal is running out. He said international peace efforts have been “confronted by Israeli intransigence, which refuses to adhere to the requirements for relaunching the peace process.” In reiterating his position on the world stage, Abbas signaled that he’s not prepared to budge. Netanyahu has been equally insistent on his right to keep building, even though an internationally backed peace blueprint of 2003 - also accepted by Israel - demands a halt to construction. Amr Moussa, secretary general of the 23-member Arab League, said Friday, in response to a question, that it would be “very useful” to hear from Obama what he considers to be the parameters of a fair peace agreement. Such a framework “would trigger a very viable, useful process of peace,” Moussa told a news conference. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit also urged Obama to set parameters, with the backing of the international community. Aboul Gheit said such a deal should be based on the idea of a Palestinian state in the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, with east Jerusalem as a capital. A framework should also state that Israelis and Palestinians agree to live in peace and security, and outline steps toward normalization, he said. This outline “would allow the parties to negotiate the end game,” Aboul Gheit told The Associated Press in an interview, after meeting earlier in the day with Obama’s Mideast envoy, George Mitchell. Asked why such a framework hasn’t been presented, Aboul Gheit said: “Maybe they are allowing the process to continue ... to the moment where people would recognize that making reference to the end game will be acceptable by the parties.” For now, the US hopes to create enough common ground to allow peace talks to resume. Israeli and Palestinian teams are to meet separately next week with US mediators in Washington, and Obama has asked for a progress report by Oct 15. Meanwhile, Abbas got a boost from the Quartet of Mideast mediators and the Arab League. The Quartet, made up of the United States, Europe, the United Nations and Russia, said Thursday that peace talks must “resolve all permanent status issues.” That would include the future of Jerusalem and the fate of refugees, issues Netanyahu says he doesn’t want to talk about. The Quartet also renewed its call for a settlement freeze.

Palestinians carry the body of one of three Islamic Jihad militants killed in an Israeli airstrike, into Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, Sept 25. Three Palestinian militants were killed Friday evening in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian and Israeli officials said. (AP)

Saleh issues warning

Yemen to fight rebels for years SANAA, Sept 26, (AFP): Yemen’s government is ready to fight Shiite rebels in the mountainous north for “years”, the president vowed on Saturday, though he also said hostilities could end if the rebels agree a ceasefire. “We will continue the battle for five or six years. We will not backtrack, we will not stop,” Ali Abdullah Saleh said at a celebration to mark the anniversary of the 1962 revolution that overthrew the Zaidi Shiite imamate and established the republic. “If the rebels abided by the six points (of the truce), we do not want war. It is a war that was imposed on us,” he said to cheering crowds shouting “No” and urging him to continue the war. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes since Aug 11 when the government began its “Scorched Earth” offensive against the Zaidi rebels, also known as Huthis. The government offered the rebels a truce but demanded that they “respect the ceasefire and the opening of roads, evacuate their positions and free captured civilians and soldiers.” Two separate ceasefires have lasted only a few hours before fighting erupted again. Saleh called on political groups in Yemen to stand united to “support the army in its war against the rebels” whom the government say want to restore the Zaidi Shiite imamate. The imamate is a form of clerical rule that was overthrown in a republican coup in 1962 that sparked eight years of civil war.

The government accuses the rebels of being backed by Iran. The rebels deny the charge and allege Sanaa has brought in Saudi warplanes to support the army. On Thursday at least 50 people were confirmed dead in clashes in Yemen’s Saada and Amran provinces. Dozens more may have died in the provincial capital of Saada, where army officials and eyewitnesses said street battles intensified late on Thursday. Reports of the deaths could not be confirmed from the rebel side as the city is cut off. The UN has warned that food supplies are running out at its camps for displaced people. It estimates 55,000 people have fled their homes since the latest fighting erupted nearly six weeks ago. “The continuation of hostilities, the failure of the truce and the closure of roads has prevented humanitarian agencies from coming to the aid of the displaced,” UN spokeswoman Laure Chedraoui told AFP last week. “Foodstuffs for tens of thousands of refugees gathered in four camps in Saada and its suburbs, 6,000 others in Baqem, further north near the border with Saudi Arabia and 7,000 others in the province of Al-Jawf are being depleted,” she said. The government accuses the rebels of hindering the work of aid agencies by blocking essential roads and taking civilians as human shields. The Zaidis, whose faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam, are a minority in mainly Sunni Yemen but form the majority community in the north. President Saleh is himself a Zaidi.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

10

Attacks could spike again when Afghan vote results are announced

August deadliest for civilian deaths KABUL, Sept 26, (AP): Rising violence ahead of Afghanistan’s disputed presidential election made August the deadliest month of the year for civilians, the UN said, warning in a new report that attacks could spike again when the final vote results are announced. A total of 1,500 civilians died in Afghanistan from January through August, according to the report released late Friday. About three-quarters of the deaths were blamed on militants. The UN report did not specify the August death toll, but said the month was the deadliest of the year as the Taleban stepped up an intimidation campaign to discourage Afghans from voting in the Aug 20 election. The UN said coalition forces were to blame for about a quarter of civilian deaths in 2009 - most of them in airstrikes. The top Nato commander, US Gen Stanley McChrystal, has made protecting Afghan civilians a top priority. An Associated Press count found a total of 174 civilians were killed in August, 165 of them at the hands of militants. The deadliest attack of the month was an Aug 25 truck bomb in the southern city of Kandahar that killed 43 people. “In terms of the numbers of security incidents we saw, this represented a new high,” said Adrian Edwards, the UN spokesman in Afghanistan. This has already been the deadliest year of the war for US and Nato forces and the numbers released Friday indicate that ordinary Afghans have not been spared. The UN recorded 1,145 civilian deaths in the first eight months of last year and a record 2,118 for all of 2008.

Electoral irregularities generate turbulence

Ban fears violence will mar Afghan vote result KABUL, Sept 26, (AFP): United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon fears violence will mar the announcement of the Afghan presidential election results, the organisation said in a statement Saturday. In his quarterly report on the war-torn nation, Ban writes: “The level of alleged electoral irregularities has generated significant political turbulence leading to fears of a return to violence when election results are announced.” The secretary general concludes that a “lack of access to parts of the country owing to the ongoing conflict...seriously hampered the transparency of the elections” but that institutions such as the Electoral Complaints Commission were able to address many problems. Based on preliminary results, incumbent Afghan president

Hamid Karzai is ahead in the polls, with 54.6 percent of the votes declared valid, against 27.8 percent for his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. The result will not be finalised until the outcome of a number of investigations into charges of electoral fraud. If a significant number of votes are invalidated, Karzai’s score could edge below 50 percent, forcing him into a second round run-off with Abdullah in a second turn. “A credible audit and recount process is now coming to its conclusion” after which “it will be of critical importance for the results to be accepted by all so that the election of Afghanistan’s future president can be certified and a new government can be formed”, Ban adds.

Since then, the Taleban have extended their grip on vast parts of the country, including areas that had been relatively peaceful in the years since the 2001 US invasion to oust the hard-line group from power for sheltering Osama bin Laden and other al-

Qaeda leaders. Bombs and suicide attacks accounted for 39.5 percent of civilian deaths this year, the UN said, warning there are “fears of a return to violence when election results are announced.”

US commander in Afghanistan submits request for more troops Obama ponders strategy KABUL/WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (RTRS): The commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan has submitted a request for more troops, a spokesman said on Saturday, but the Pentagon will hold it while President Barack Obama decides what strategy to pursue.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Admiral James Stavridis, said spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Tadd Sholtis.

“At the end of that meeting General McChrystal did provide a copy of the force requirements to Admiral Mullen on the US side and Admiral Stavridis on the Nato side,” Sholtis said after McChrystal returned from the meeting at an air base in Germany. General Stanley McChrystal hand delivered his long-awaited request to US Chairman of the In a bleak assessment prepared last month and leaked to the media in recent days, McChrystal wrote that his mission would likely fail if he is not given reinforcements for his force, now more than 100,000 strong, including about 63,000 Americans. The additional troops would be needed as part of a complete overhaul of tactics, with new emphasis on securing civilians in population centres to loosen the grip of a strengthening Taleban-led insurgency. The White House says it wants to review the entire strategy for the region before considering McChrystal’s request. “Right now the focus is on the strategic assessment itself. It (the troop request) will be shelved until such time that the White House is ready,” a defence official said in Washington. “It is not going to be addressed, or reviewed, or analysed until the White House is ready to begin discussing it.” The official, who asked not to be identified while discussing the confidential review, said several White House meetings on strategy were scheduled for next week. Officials have not said exactly how many extra troops McChrystal believes he needs, although defence and congressional officials have suggested the request could be for about 30,000. The war has intensified in recent months. A UN report released on Saturday said 1,500 civilians had died so far this year, with August the deadliest month of the year and Aug. 20 — election day — seeing the largest number of attacks since 2001. August and July have also US Marine Lance Cpl Brown, of Las Vegas, Nev, of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion 5th Marines, mans a machinegun post, looking for threats during a firebeen the deadliest months of the fight in the distance, in Nawa district, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Sept 25. (AP) war for Western troops, who launched major advances. Obama, who has already ordered 21,000 extra troops to Afghanistan this year, has described himself as a “sceptical audience” of the case for sending more, and says he wants to be sure the strategy is correct first. Republican critics have reacted sharply to the delay, accusing him PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Sept 26, (Agencies): US “That’s exactly what I’m doing, is asking some very tough questions of his advisers as he weighs whether to of dithering. President Barack Obama warned Friday there were no tough questions, and you know, we’re not going to arrive send more troops there. A Gallup poll published on “perfect answers” in Afghanistan, as he conducts a wide at perfect answers. A Gallup poll released on Friday said 50 percent of Friday showed a fall in support for ranging review of strategy and contemplates whether to “I think anybody who’s looked at the situation recogAmericans opposed sending more troops to Afghanistan the war, with 50 percent of send more troops. nizes that it’s difficult and it’s complicated. while 41 percent supported it, a drop in backing for the Americans opposed to sending After the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, Obama said he “But my solemn obligation is to make sure that I get eight-year war begun after the Sept 11 attacks. more troops, while 41 percent supunderstood that Americans and others were becoming the best answers possible, particularly before I make “This is not easy, and I would expect that the public ported it. Obama said he underdiscouraged by the war, on a day when NATO decisions about sending additional troops into the thewould ask some very tough questions,” Obama told a stood the public’s concerns. announced the deaths of five more US soliders in ater.” news conference at the Group of 20 economic summit in “This is not easy and I would Afghanistan. Obama repeatedly said the US mission was to disrupt Pittsburgh. “That’s exactly what I’m doing, is asking expect that the public would ask “This is not easy, and I would expect that the public and dismantle al-Qaeda, in the kind of language which some very tough questions.” some very tough questions,” he would ask some very tough questions,” said Obama, some observers see as a possible sign of a narrowing of Gen Stanley McChrystal, the top US and NATO comtold a news conference at a summit whose task in selling the war to Americans has been the broad counter-insurgency fight against the Taleban. mander in Afghanistan, is expected by Saturday to subof world leaders in Pittsburgh on complicated by the disputed Afghan presidential elecObama said on Friday he understands Americans’ mit a formal request for additional troops to the Pentagon Friday. tion. impatience with the Afghanistan war and vowed to ask next year.

Obama understands weariness with war

‘No perfect answers in Afghanistan’

Dallas terror Somali president promises peace talks suspect held Bid to end violence

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26, (RTRS): Somalia’s president said on Friday that his UN-backed government will resume talks soon with armed rebels and other factions to end violence in the Horn of Africa nation. “We will continue the open political dialogue that we have started with all Somali parties including the armed rebels,” President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told the UN General Assembly. The interim government’s attempts to restore central rule have been paralyzed by infighting and an Islamist-led insurgency. Fighting has killed some 18,000 people since the start of 2007 and has uprooted at least 1 million civilians. The chaos has also helped

fuel kidnappings and piracy offshore. “We intend to sit down at the negotiating table with these anti-government parties. This will take place as soon as possible and in any time and place in order to end the violence in our country,” he said. “We will exert all the efforts we can to find a permanent political settlement for the struggle in Somalia to safeguard our sovereignty, the safety of our people and the unity of our land,” added Ahmed, a former Islamist rebel. An al-Qaeda-inspired militant group, Al Shabaab, controls large parts of south and central Somalia, a country mired in anarchy since the 1991 toppling by warlords of military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

DALLAS, Sept 26, (RTRS): A Jordanian national accused of attempting to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper must remain in custody pending a hearing on Oct 5, a US judge ruled on Friday. Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19, was arrested on Thursday and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. A conviction carries a maximum life sentence. Smadi, who had been under intense surveillance by the FBI, was arrested near a 60-story glass office tower in downtown Dallas after he placed an inactive car bomb at the location, according to the US Department of Justice.

A Panama-flagged ship is seen docked in the Mogadishu sea port, Sept 25 after African Union troops and Somalia government forces intervened to free the ship after it was attacked Thursday as it waited to dock in the Mogadishu harbor. (AP)

In this photo released by the New York City Police Department, Najibullah Zazi (center), is escorted off an NYPD helicopter by US Marshals after being extradited from Denver, Colo, Sept 25. Zazi was sent to New York to face charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in a plot law enforcement has said was focused on blowing up commuter trains. (AP)

‘Moussaoui deserves new trial’

Zazi planned NY attack on Sept 11 DENVER, Sept 26, (Agencies): The Afghan-born man at the center of an anti-terrorism probe was determined to make a bomb and perhaps detonate it in New York City on the anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, before he was thwarted by authorities, a US prosecutor said on Friday. Assistant US Attorney Tim Neff summed up the government’s case against Najibullah Zazi, 24, in a Denver courtroom before the suspect was flown in federal custody to New York to face a charge of plotting bomb attacks in the United States. Zazi, linked by authorities to al-Qaeda, was making his third appearance before a federal judge in Denver. He was ordered to remain held without bail, then put aboard a US Marshals Service jet for the cross-country flight. His first New York court appearance is set for Tuesday. Zazi has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in media interviews and through his lawyers. “There was and is no plot,” defense attorney Arthur Folsom told Reuters by phone from Denver. Zazi is accused of receiving Moussaoui bomb-making instructions during a trip to Pakistan last year, then buying and preparing chemicals for use in home-made explosives like those used in the deadly London mass transit bombings in 2005. A grand jury in New York has charged Zazi, a legal US resident born in Afghanistan, under federal anti-terrorism laws with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, an offense outlined in an indictment unsealed on Thursday. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. Law enforcement experts have called the suspected conspiracy, if proven, one of the most significant security threats in the United States since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Authorities say the case is unrelated to two other security arrests this week in Dallas and Springfield, Illinois. The investigation came to light earlier this month after Zazi drove across the country from Colorado, arriving in New York City on Sept. 10 in a rental car in which authorities say he carried a laptop computer with detailed bombmaking notes. Neff, arguing in court that Zazi should remain in custody, said the evidence showed “a chilling, disturbing sequence of events that indicate the defendant was intent on making a bomb and being in New York on 9/11, perhaps using such items.” “The evidence suggests the defendant was in the throes of making a bomb,” he said. Prosecutors say Zazi, who worked as a shuttle bus driver at the Denver airport after moving to Colorado this year, visited Pakistan several times and Canada twice in the past 10 years. Folsom insisted his client traveled to Pakistan for innocuous reasons — once to see a dying relative, a second time to get married and twice more to visit his wife. Folsom also disputed the FBI’s assertion in an affidavit filed last week that Zazi had said under questioning that he attended an alQaeda training facility while in Pakistan. “I was sitting next to him for 27-plus hours and he certainly didn’t confess to anything like that,” Folsom said. Court documents accompanying the indictment against Zazi say he and at least three other unnamed associates purchased large amounts of hydrogen peroxide and acetone products from

beauty supply stores over the summer to use in bombs. Folsom said authorities had yet to claim the discovery of any explosives, chemicals or bombmaking residue in searches of Zazi’s home, the car he drove or places he stayed in New York. Authorities have said they are continuing an investigation that has so far focused on Zazi, suggesting more arrests are possible in New York and Colorado. They have not made clear whether they consider Zazi a conspiracy leader or someone acting at the behest of others.

Moussaoui Meanwhile, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui’s guilty plea was invalid because he was denied potentially helpful evidence and was restricted in choosing his own counsel, his lawyer told a federal appeals court Friday. A federal prosecutor countered that Moussaoui, a French citizen, got exactly what he wanted when he ignored his attorneys’ advice and pleaded guilty before the evidence he had sought could be provided. “He is the one who cut the process off at the knees by insisting on pleading guilty against the advice of counsel,” said U.S. Justice Department attorney Kevin Gingras. Moussaoui, the only person to stand trial in a U.S. court in the Sept. 11 attacks, is serving life in prison for helping plan the attacks. Gingras told a threejudge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Moussaoui “testified he rejoiced in the nearly 3,000 deaths that resulted from his conspiracy.” However, Moussaoui has since proclaimed his innocence and is seeking a new trial. The appeals court heard Moussaoui’s case in January but ordered Friday’s rehearing after one member of the panel, Judge Karen J. Williams, retired for health reasons before the case could be decided. Judge Dennis Shedd replaced Williams on the panel, joining Judges William Traxler and Roger Gregory. Moussaoui’s lawyer, Justin Antonipillai, said his client’s right to hire trial counsel of his choosing was violated because the judge required that any attorney involved in his defense undergo a national security background check. He said it’s unconstitutional to require government approval of a defendant’s hired or pro bono counsel. He also argued that Moussaoui’s rights were violated because his attorneys could not talk to him about potentially helpful evidence gleaned from classified material. The attorneys could urge Moussaoui not to plead guilty but could not tell him the basis for that advice. “If the court interferes in communication between a defendant and his lawyer, that’s a dangerous thing,” Antonipillai said. Gingras said Moussaoui had a general idea about they type of evidence his lawyers had obtained because he had asked for it. But Moussaoui decided to plead guilty before the evidence could be provided. “The idea that he was completely in the dark is simply not the case,” Gingras said. He also said the government’s position is affirmed by Moussaoui’s own words, spoken after the trial judge made it clear that a guilty plea would mean life in prison. Moussaoui said: “That was my choice.” After the hourlong hearing in open court, the judges and lawyers met in closed session to discuss classified matters. The court usually takes several weeks, or even months, to issue a ruling.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

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Victims invited to visit Fat Duck

British chef apologizes to sick diners LONDON, Sept 26, (AP): Chef Heston Blumenthal has apologized to diners who fell ill after eating at his celebrated restaurant The Fat Duck — and invited them to return as his guests. Blumenthal said in a letter made public Friday he is sorry the diners had a bad experience at his restaurant earlier this year, which serves its customers outlandish food such as egg and bacon ice cream and powdered pigeon. “It was deeply upsetting to all of us that your enjoyment of The Fat Duck was not as we had intended it to be,” he said in the letter. “I would be delighted if you would consider returning to The Fat Duck at a time that is convenient to you.” He adds: “If this is not appropriate to you personally, please contact us and we will address each individual situation with our insurers.” Blumenthal said he had wanted to write to the diners months ago, but was advised against it by lawyers and insurers. The Fat Duck, which has three Michelin stars, was closed for more than two weeks from Feb. 24 after diners complained of feeling ill after eating there. A total of 529 diners came forward in the following weeks complaining of vomiting and diarrhea. The Health Protection Agency said in a report last month that they were hit by norovirus, also known as the “winter vomiting bug,” and that it was probably introduced by contaminated shellfish. The report also said restaurant employees who had been hit by the norovirus may have returned to work before they had

Tapui released on police bail

Attorney General’s ex-housekeeper arrested LONDON, Sept 26, (RTRS): The former housekeeper of Attorney General Patricia Scotland has been arrested by Border Agency officials, Scotland Yard said. Earlier this week, Scotland was fined 5,000 pounds after it was found that she had unknowingly employed illegal immigrant Loloahi Tapui, 27, to work for her. Scotland had been guilty of breaching employment laws by failing to take photocopies of documents the Tongan immigrant provided as proof of her right to work in Britain. “A man aged 40 and a woman aged 27 were arrested by UK Border Agency at an address in Chiswick on Sept 23 for immigration offences,” police said. Tapui has been released on police bail until a date in mid-October. Scotland — who was a minister in the Home Office when

laws were passed to impose fines for bosses who employed illegal workers — has brushed off calls for her resignation since the issue became public. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said she still has his full support. “She has paid the fine, she has apologised unreservedly,” he said. “I’ve got to ask whether someone should lose their job for the failure to keep a copy of documentation. In all other respects she did everything that she is expected to do.” However, a parliamentary aide to Scotland resigned on Wednesday over her refusal to stand down. Labour MP Stephen Hesford, her parliamentary secretary, said the issue was a matter of principle. “The facts of the case do not matter,” he wrote in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

fully recovered. The Fat Duck maintains it is not liable for the outbreak, and insists it followed all food hygiene procedures correctly. The report said it had not found any breaches of hygiene at The Fat Duck but noted several “weaknesses in procedures,”

including a delayed response to the incident and staff working when they should have been off sick. The restaurant, located in the village of Bray, west of London, reopened in March. Diners can choose from a variety of dishes, including a multi-course £130 ($208) per head tasting menu.

Britain’s Labour Party seeking winning formula at convention Last chance for Brown to project himself as leader Even though Labour has been struggling badly, the convention is not expected to match the fervor of its 1996 conference, when Tony Blair urged delegates not to dwell on the Conservative Party’s 17-year reign, saying “17 years of hurt never stopped us from dreaming.” The speech was met with thumping applause and an election victory the following year. The gathering will be one of Labour’s last-ditch political blitzes ahead of an election next “This is the last chance before the general election, and the last chance for Brown to project year, which many pollsters say will end the party’s 12-year grip on power and usher in a himself as a leader,” said Rodney Barker with the London School of Economics. new era under the Conservative Party. Brown, unlike Blair, now faces both a party and country in crisis. In addition to rising unemployment and a worrying recession, public confidence in British politics has fallen to an all-time low after lawmaker expense claims were leaked, tarring the reputation of all three main political parties. Expenses included pornography, upkeep on a moat and a duck house for a country estate. A poll this month by Populus showed that nearly half of British voters would prefer anyone other than Brown to lead the country. One of the main issues expected to dominate this year’s conference is the war in Afghanistan. Several key defense figures have resigned, saying the British operation there is ill-defined and underequipped. Britain has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan — the second largest force after the US — and has lost more than 217 troops since the US-led invasion following the Sept 11 attacks. Brown has repeatedly batted away criticism, saying the troops are needed to prevent terror attacks in Britain. Other issues likely to be raised are planned spending cuts and Britain’s role in the release of the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber, which the US strongly opposed. “Labour activists must be desperate for something to emerge from the conference ... because they are a very demorCompetitors prepare for what lays ahead at the start of The Great Gorilla Run, a 7 km fun run with hundreds of runners dressed in gorilla suits running alized party,” said Andrew through London’s financial district, on Sept 26. The run is to raise money for The Gorilla Organisation, a charity with community-based employment and education projects in Africa that reduce pressure on areas of threatened gorilla habitat. (AFP) Russell, senior politics lecturer at Manchester University. “What Labour need now is leadership that will make them feel good about themselves.” Since the Labour-led government joined the US-led war in Iraq, the party has been rapidly losing support. In June, the party suffered LONDON, Sept 26, (RTRS): Britain’s new parliaHe also said he was uncomfortable that back- Darling, the finance minister. mentary speaker wants MPs to play a more signifi- bench MPs had no opportunity to question minisBercow said he wants to see some sort of mecha- catastrophic results in local cant role in politics — to challenge the government ters who sit in the upper, unelected chamber, the nism, by which unelected ministers like Mandelson elections with Labour being pushed into third place behind of the day and to fight for the interests of those they House of Lords. could be questioned by MPs. represent. “This is even more true at a time when the Cabinet Bercow was elected in June as speaker of one of the Conservatives and the “We need more individualistic, assertive and opin- contains the esteemed Lord Mandelson, whose the world’s oldest parliaments after Michael Martin Liberal Democrats. In some polls, Labour has ionated MPs,” John Bercow said after giving a rare empire is of a scale not seen since the death of became the first incumbent in 300 years to be forced public speech about parliamentary reform. Alexander the Great,” said Bercow. out of office over the way he handled a scandal over tallied only 27 percent of the vote compared to “The role of the backbencher (someone without Peter Mandelson, a former EU trade commission- MPs expenses. official office) as inquisitor in the chamber and as a er, heads the Department of Business Innovation and He said he wanted to be remembered as a speaker Conservative’s 41 percent — legislator in his or her own right has undoubtedly Skills and has ten ministers reporting to him. In con- who oversaw a renewal in the status of MPs in the Labour’s lowest rating since 1943. diminished.” trast only five ministers report to Chancellor Alastair political mix.

LONDON, Sept 26, (Agencies): It’s a challenging time for British politics — not to mention Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour Party, which starts its annual convention Sunday.

‘Legislators must play more significant role in politics’

Parliament speaker wants stronger MPs

Mabey & Johnson pleads guilty

UK firm fined for sanctions breach LONDON, Sept 26, (AP): A British bridge-building company was fined £3.5 million ($5.6 million) on Friday for breaching United Nations sanctions in Iraq and for corruption offenses in Jamaica and Ghana. The Serious Fraud Office said the case against Mabey & Johnson Ltd. was the first prosecution brought against a company in Britain for overseas corruption. Mabey & Johnson Ltd. was also ordered by Judge Geoffrey Rivlin at Southwark Crown Court to pay £2.2 million ($3.5 million) in confiscation orders, about 1.4 million pounds ($2.23 million) in reparations and £350,000 ($558,000) in costs. The company had cooperated with

the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation, and had pleaded guilty to two corruption charges and another relating to breach of the Iraq sanctions in 2001-2002. The Serious Fraud Office said Mabey & Johnson’s holding company voluntarily disclosed the corruption offenses in February 2008, and an investigation was opened. After five of the company’s directors stepped down that year, a new management team was put in place. “What our company did in the past is a matter of deep regret,” said Peter Lloyd, the company’s new managing director. “We have now made a fresh start, having wiped the slate clean of these offenses.”

Briton ‘jailed’ for bomb hoax LONDON, Sept 26, (RTRS): A Briton who falsely claimed a chemical bomb had been planted in New York’s Times Square, sparking street closures and evacuations, was jailed for four years on Friday. Jamal Ahmed, 20, contacted US officials from his home in High Wycombe, west of London, in July last year, saying a bomb had been planted at “Frankie’s” in Manhattan. US authorities evacuated buildings around Frankie and Johnnie’s steakhouse, the presumed target, and a large number of security officials were sent to the scene.

Mohamed Al Fayed (right), welcomes British barrister Michael Mansfield to sign copies of this book ‘Michael Mansfield Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer’ at Harrods store, in central London, on Sept 25. The book follows Mansfield’s life practicing law and some of his more high-profile cases such as the Bradford 12, the Bloody Sunday inquiry, the Jill Dando murder trial and the inquest into the deaths of Diana Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed. (AFP)

Participants show off their tattoos at the International London Tattoo Convention, in east London, Sept 25. The convention, held till Sept 27, brings together the world’s best tattoo artists from the US, Australia, Canada, Japan and UK as well as piercing specialists, fashion designers and fans of skin art. (AP)

A tattoo artist works at the International London Tattoo Convention, in east London, Sept 25. (AP)

Hung parliament ‘probable’

Labour could ‘still’ sink Conservatives LONDON, Sept 26, (RTRS): Even though Britain’s opposition Conservatives are way ahead in the polls, there is an outside chance the ruling Labour Party could close the gap enough to deny them a clear win at the next election. An inconclusive result has been described as the “nightmare scenario” for financial markets, which want Britain’s next government to have a strong mandate to reduce the ballooning budget deficit. With Prime Minister Gordon Brown expected to call an election next May, almost the last possible date for doing so, his Labour Party looks down and out after 12 years in power while the ConserBrown vatives have a poll lead of up to 17 points. But the peculiarities of Britain’s voting system give Labour a slim hope of stopping the Conservatives winning a parliamentary majority or even of clinging to power themselves. If Labour cuts the Conservatives’ poll lead to less than 10 points, some experts say, the result could be a “hung parliament” where no party controls parliament and must form a minority or a coalition government — a rarity in British politics. Michael Thrasher, an election expert at the University of Plymouth, said a hung parliament was “highly probable”. “It’s difficult for the Conservatives to get more than a double-digit lead,” he said. Pollsters are more cautious, saying a clear Conservative majority is the odds-on favourite for now. “If I was trying to put betting odds ... then you could say there was a 5 percent chance of a ... Labour victory, a 30 percent chance of a hung parliament, a 65 percent chance of an outright Tory (Conservative) victory,” Peter Kellner, president of polling firm YouGov, told Reuters. For a number of reasons, including a more even distribution of Labour votes throughout the country, the Conservatives need to win a much larger share of the national vote than Labour does to win a majority of seats in parliament under Britain’s first-past-the-post constituency system. Labour currently has a working majority of 62 in the 646seat parliament. A hung parliament is often a recipe for weak government. The last hung parliament in Britain followed the February 1974 election. A new election was held just eight months later. The latest polls show the Conservatives with support of

41-43 percent, compared to Labour’s 26-27 percent. That would be enough to give them a comfortable parliamentary majority. Voters have deserted Labour after the financial crisis ended a decade of boom, bringing wellknown banks crashing down and sending unemployment soaring — to 2.47 million in July. Conservative leader David Cameron has made the Tories electable again by adopting a more caring image on social issues. Some pollsters believe the Conservative lead could fall as the campaign gets under way. The debate about which party is most serious about cutting public spending is likely to grow in intensity as the two main parties hold their annual conferences over the next two weeks. The wild card is the economy. Labour is pinning its hopes on the economy recovering from a deep recession in time for the election. But even if growth resumes by the end of the year, as the government expects, unemployment is likely to continue to rise for months to come. Kellner said the experience of British elections over the last 20 years held out little hope that Labour would see a sharp improvement in its fortunes before the election. However, he said there was more scope than normal for shifts in opinion in the run-up to the vote because of the recession and voter outrage over a parliamentary expenses scandal. “If you were to end up with the Tories on 37/38 (percent) and Labour on 31/32, then ... you almost certainly would have a hung parliament and possibly not even a particularly big Tory lead in seats over Labour,” he said. Other pollsters were sceptical Labour could narrow the gap enough to force a hung parliament. “Historically no one’s come back from being this far behind as Labour are now compared to the Conservatives. It would be unprecedented if Labour were to recover by May 2010,” said Julia Clark, head of political research at pollsters Ipsos MORI. Current polls pointed to a “fairly comfortable, although not a landslide, Conservative win,” she said. Nick Sparrow, chairman of pollsters ICM, said governments historically had expected a shift in their favour as election day approached, but there was little evidence for this belief. “On the basis of history, Labour have a mountain to climb and it’s a mountain that other parties previously in a similar position have failed to climb,” he said.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

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Tel Aviv may be content with slowing Tehran’s nuclear capabilities

Israel’s strike against Iran N-program risky WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (RTRS): Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Saturday a newly disclosed nuclear facility in Iran was proof the Islamic Republic was seeking nuclear weapons. Many analysts believe the risk of a strike by Israel against Iran’s nuclear programme, even one not endorsed by its ally the United States, is significant. Here’s where matters stand: Could Israel launch a strike against Iran? It’s a poker game with high stakes and a degree of bluff. Israeli leaders refuse to rule out any option. They do not believe Iran’s assurances it wants only nuclear energy. Noting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated assertions that Israel has no future, Israel has said an Iranian bomb would be a threat to its very existence that it simply would not tolerate. Last year, however, it emerged officials were making plans for how Israel might live with a nuclear Iran in a state of mutual deterrence. And a June poll showed Israelis would not expect a nuclear Iran to attack.

Since becoming prime minister in March, Benjamin Netanyahu has, aides say, made ending threats from Iran a defining element of what he sees as his personal role in Jewish history. A 1981 Israeli air strike that destroyed Iraq’s only nuclear reactor, as well as a strike in Syria in 2007 that is cloaked in mystery, set precedents. Despite official silence, few doubt Israel has nuclear missiles. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said recently: “Israel can lay waste to Iran.” What might hold Israel back? It is not clear how Israel would define achieving its goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. But a pledge from Iran to forswear such arms, backed by some form of supervision and intelligence data, might be a minimum. Much will depend on Iran’s actions and on US President Barack Obama and others, who are pressing Iran through sanctions and diplomacy. Obama demanded this week that Iran come clean about its nuclear programme or risk “sanctions that bite”, after the disclosure of the

Arabs led

ing Tehran’s presumed weapons program “a major challenge to international peace and security.” Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak joined the chorus of outrage, rebuking “Iran’s continued defiance of its international obligations, including the Security Council’s demands to suspend its nuclear activities.” The denunciations came hours after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met privately Friday night with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, and about respect for human rights in Iran. A statement from Ban’s office said he “expressed his grave concern about ... the construction of a new uranium enrichment facility in the country.” Ban “emphasized that the burden of proof is on Iran,” in an unusually skeptical comment.

Continued from Page 1 and he has accomplished it through daily experiments and results. In his speech, King Abdullah introduced a new ideological workshop, in addition to those he had earlier initiated. He has affirmed through the completion of his 25-year dream that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not only a spiritual center but also a hub for contemporary Islamic and Arab science and knowledge, as well as a nation at the forefront of development and growth among Arab and Muslim countries. Several nations have attained greatness and developed their capabilities through the ideas of their leaders. We have numerous examples of such leaders in contemporary history. The Saudi King has led Arabs into a new era through his passion for knowledge, thereby, serving as a role model for others who have been obstructing developmental activities in their countries while putting their best brains in detention. He used his wisdom to build and convert deserts into rich products of knowledge, vegetation and life. The Saudi leader is full of hope in building for the future. He provides the necessary facilities for citizens to face future challenges, far from worries, as well as making the country a pride for the current and future generations. Yes! Faith and science cannot be separated except among those with sick minds who bring nothing to their people but calamities. These are the minds that have closely linked their personal interests to the fate of citizens by using religion to propagate terrorism and destruction, spoil the image of Islam, and depict Muslim nations as ignorant and backward among their peers in the world. Initiatives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques have paid off in clearing and displacing the activities of these minds by putting light into the fraudulent and fake propaganda of those who have been destroying their religion and Arabs. He has made the entire world realize the true picture of Islam and Arabs as the source of civilization. Saudi Arabia is capable of creation and meeting up with contemporary development, away from the fraudulent propaganda of groups that have gone astray, their supporters and those who adopted their ideologies. Email: [email protected]

Day by Day Continued from Page 1 to take part in positive activities. We noticed her vigor during the Mishref sewage plant crisis. The drainage pollution has not stopped her from joining her team, consisting of Kuwait’s children, to do whatever she can for the country. Again, thank you Sheikha Amthal. You are really a ‘sheikha’ in the truest sense of the word. Forgive us! “A person who doesn’t thank others does not know how to thank Almighty Allah.”

By Zahed Matar Email: [email protected]

Obama issues Continued from Page 1 led a global outcry against Tehran for building the facility. “This site will be under the supervision of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and will have a maximum of five percent (uranium) enrichment capacity,” Ali Akbar Salehi said on state television. The plant, which is “not an industrial scale” unit, will be operational in two years’ time, he said. Dismissing allegations that the plant has a military purpose, Salehi said the facility is being constructed as a “precautionary measure in case of an unwanted incident against our nuclear programme.” He said Iran’s nuclear installations are facing “threats every day” and so Tehran “had to take measures to disperse” the locations of its installations. Earlier on Saturday Salehi said Tehran would allow IAEA inspectors to inspect the plant, which is sited 100 kms (60 miles) south of Tehran on the road to the holy city of Qom — the first official disclosure of its location. Weapons The newly exposed Iranian nuclear facility proves “without a doubt” the Islamic republic is pursuing nuclear weapons, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday. Iran kept the facility, located 100 miles southwest of Tehran, hidden from the UN nuclear watchdog until revealing it last week. Israel has long sounded alarm bells over its belief that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons. “This removes the dispute whether Iran is developing military nuclear power or not and therefore the world powers need to draw conclusions,” Lieberman told Israel radio. “Without a doubt it is a reactor for military purposes not peaceful purposes,” Lieberman said. Iran’s sudden revelation of a formerly secret uranium enrichment plant brought more condemnation Saturday at the UN General Assembly, with the Netherlands call-

new plant under construction south of Tehran. While many analysts doubt Iran’s denials of military intent, some say Iran may be content with showing it has the potential to go nuclear quickly, without actually arming itself. Israel, however, seems reluctant to accept that level of threat. In the meantime, were Israel to consider a unilateral strike on Iran it would have to weigh several major risks: ■ of retaliation, not just from Iran but its allied guerrilla groups, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas ■ of economic and diplomatic backlash from US and allies ■ of a failed attack still triggering the above reactions What are the key elements in timetable? First, Iran’s technology: Israel’s national security adviser said in July it had passed a “red line” in terms of being able to make its own nuclear explosive but could not make significant amounts nor yet put viable nuclear warheads on its missiles. Mossad chief Meir Dagan, seen as a key fig-

ure in Israel’s Iran policy who has just had his mandate unusually extended to 2010, said in June Iran could have a viable warhead in 2014. Second, diplomacy: Iran is to meet on Oct. 1 with six major powers concerned about its nuclear plans. In May, Obama told Netanyahu that “by the end of the year” he expected to judge whether diplomacy was succeeding. This month, a former official said that if the West did not agree crippling sanctions by the end of the year, Israel would have to strike. Russia, a veto-holding member of the Security Council and potential arms supplier to Iran, has a major role . Would Israel go it alone, without US backing? Obama, at odds with Netanyahu over Jewish settlement in the West Bank and peace moves with the Palestinians, said in July he had “absolutely not” given Israel a green light to attack. He was responding to his vice-president saying that Israel had a right to act if it felt “existentially threatened”. Israel would be reluctant to anger its key ally. It would not wish Washington to be surprised, might even

want US help. But many analysts believe Israel might go it alone. Some question whether Israel’s US-armed military has the range and firepower to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities without US help. Analysts say Israel might be content with slowing any nuclear arms programme, hoping for political change to end it. Talk of an Israeli unilateral strike may also be part of a tactic of deterrence, or a bid to ensure US cooperation. How might Israel attack Iran? Overt or covert? Israel has been developing “cyber-war” capabilities that could disrupt Iranian industrial and military control systems. Few doubt that covert action, by Mossad agents on the ground, also features in tactics against Iran . An advantage of sabotage over an air strike may be deniability. Militarily Israel can also deploy the following forces: Air - 500 combat aircraft, including F-15s and F-16s able to bomb Iran’s west, and further with aerial refuelling, a technique for which the air force has been training. Planes can

prosecuted had been expected by Nov 16, and the officials said they are on track to meet — or beat — that goal. Navy Capt John F. Murphy, the chief military prosecutor, had said previously that about 65 cases are viable for prosecution. Meantime, Obama has kept pending several war-crimes trials that were already in progress when he took office. The administration has asked judges to suspend all proceedings to give it time to complete its review of cases. See Also Page 3

Poor ‘math skills’ Continued from Page 1

Games Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said it will begin missile war games from Sunday in a bid to “maintain and improve” the deterrent ability of the country’s armed forces. “The air force wing of the Revolutionary Guards will begin tomorrow the defence-missile manoeuvre titled Great Prophet four... with the aim of ... maintaining and improving the deterrent capability of the armed forces,” the Guards said in a statement carried by ISNA and Fars news agencies. Iran holds regular military manoeuvres in strategic Gulf waters, showing off its domestic long-range and medium-range missiles as well as other weaponry. Any possible military action against Iran would only “buy time” and delay Tehran’s nuclear program by about one to three years, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday. “The reality is there is no military option that does anything more than buy time,” Gates told CNN.

60 killed as Continued from Page 1 defence authorities,” Arroyo said in a televised message. At least 47 people were killed, mostly by drowning, in Rizal province, east of Manila, radio reports quoted the local governor as saying. Eleven more people were killed by collapsing walls and rising floodwaters in the capital area, disaster officials said. Authorities shut down operations at international and domestic airports, stranding thousands of passengers. An advisory said operations would not resume until Sunday. Disaster officials declared a “state of calamity” for the capital region and 25 other areas on the main island of Luzon, in order to speed up rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts. Businesses and commercial shops closed early and local hotels were packed by weary commuters. The typhoon was moving west-northwest and was expected to head towards the South China Sea by Sunday evening or Monday morning, chief weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz told a local radio station. He said the typhoon brought the heaviest rainfall in the country since 1967 after its weather station collected 341 mm of rainfall in six hours on Saturday. An average of about 20 typhoons strike the Southeast Asian nation every year.

Clogged President Arroyo had to take an elevated commuter train to the disaster council office to preside over a meeting because roads were clogged by vehicles stuck in the floodwaters. The mayor of Cainta, also in Rizal, who was stranded atop a dump truck on a road that was neck-deep in water, told ABS-CBN television by phone that many residents climbed onto roofs to escape. “The whole town is almost 100 percent underwater,” Mayor Mon Ilagan said. About 16.7 inches (42.4 centimeters) of rain fell on metropolitan Manila in just 12 hours on Saturday, exceeding the 15.4-inch (39.2-centimeter) average for September, said chief government weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz. The rainfall on Saturday also broke the previous record of 13.2 inches (33.4 centimeters), which fell during a 24-hour period in June 1967, he said. “However good your drainage system is, it will be overwhelmed by that amount of rainfall,” he told The Associated Press. He said poor maintenance of drains and waterways clogged with garbage compounded the problem. ABS-CBN television showed a dramatic video of more than a dozen people perched on roofs of damaged houses being swept away by the suburban Marikina River. They smashed against the pillars of a bridge and were separated from each other in the rampaging river. It was unclear whether they were rescued. Cruz said seasonal monsoon rains were intensified by Ketsana, which packed winds of 53 mph (85 kph) with gusts of up to 63 mph (100 kph) when it hit land early Saturday. By the evening, the storm maintained its strength as it moved over the coast of western Zambales province and headed

overfly hostile Arab states using stealth technology. Armed with “bunker buster” bombs that can be released with accuracy outside Iran’s airspace. Israel is also assumed to have dozens of Jericho missiles designed to carry conventional or nuclear warheads to the Gulf. An Israeli nuclear strike is not likely. But, especially if war escalated, it could not be ruled out. Land - Special forces could be deployed on the ground, to spot targets, and also possibly destroy them with sabotage. Sea - Israel sailed one of its three Germanmade Dolphin submarines into the Red Sea through Suez in June, opening a way to the Gulf. The submarines are believed to be capable of firing nuclear and conventional cruise missiles. Missile Defence - Israel is upgrading its Arrow missile interceptor, which is underwritten by Washington, and can also expect to avail itself of American Aegis anti-missile ships deployed in the Mediterranean. X-band, a US radar stationed in Israel, further cements the alliance.

US troops are served Arabic coffee at an Iraqi bazaar at a US base in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, 550 kms (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sept 26. (AP)

Soldiers get hand gel, cough orders

US army fights flu at boot camps FORT JACKSON, South Carolina, Sept 26, (Agencies): Soldiers in boot camp are getting something new this year besides rigorous basic training — Army-green bottles of hand sanitizer gel, part of a stepped-up effort by the military to ward off swine and seasonal flu. Soldiers at the Army’s largest training installation and at other boot camps are also getting orders barked by their drill sergeants to use alcohol wipes and cough into their sleeves. It’s all part of an effort that intensified when the new H1N1 swine flu spread this year to avoid repeating history. The 1918 global flu pandemic hit hard at big training camps like Fort Jackson, where hundreds of soldiers died and thousands became ill. Army recruits enter basic training from around the US and the world, so medical officials say they must drill hygiene basics into each and every soldier to keep them healthy amid the stresses and strains of combat training. “We use this over and over, everyday,” said Spec Arielle Schiltz, 20, of Detroit, Michigan, showing how the small vial of hand gel she was issued fits in a shoulder pocket. “You just rub it in. After the latrine, before eating, after eating. It could be 15 to 20 times a day.” Staff Sgt Anthony Elmore, 37, in charge of Schiltz’s unit, said such instruction can’t be repeated enough for the estimated 50,000 soldiers who stream annually through Fort Jackson’s training units. “We have to work and talk, work and talk,” said Elmore, of Greenwood. “We want to make sure that these soldiers know how to follow proper hygiene, so they won’t get sick.” During the 1918 flu pandemic, Camp Jackson, as it was known at the time, had more than 60,000 soldiers in training, according to Dale Smith, the historian for the military’s medical school known as the Uniformed Services University of the west toward the South China Sea. Stranded residents called radio and television stations for help. Popular actress Cristine Reyes tearfully appealed on ABS-CBN television from the roof of her two-storey home, saying she and her mother and two young children had been waiting there for rescue for over six hours. “If the rains do not stop, the water will reach the roof. We do not know what to do. My mother doesn’t know how to swim,” she said. Manila airport operations chief Octavio Lina said the runway had been flooded, delaying international flights for hours. Floodwaters also caused some electrical outages. Hundreds of vehicles were stalled in flooded streets around the capital, and nearly 2,000 passengers were stranded in ports in several provinces south of Manila after the coast guard suspended ferry operations. The rains also caused the water in two dams near Manila to overflow, the national disaster agency said. It said water was waistdeep in some communities in northern Bulacan province near one dam. Power distributor Meralco cut off electric

Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but estimates are that about 25 percent of those at the installation got the flu, and of the afflicted about 18 to 20 percent died, Smith said. Many who became ill recovered, “but it still killed a lot of people,” Smith said. Besides rolling up their sleeves to get mandatory vaccinations, the instruction doled out by the military could help anyone keep healthy in a crowded, stressed work place: Keep six feet (two meters) away from those coughing or sneezing; cough into your sleeve; don’t use other people’s telephones or computer keyboards, wash your hands often and use hand sanitizer. Military guidance also includes using larger meeting rooms, using workspace cubicles in offices instead of open places — and even putting bunkmates in head-to-toe configurations when beds are stacked. Stalls with alcohol wipes and gel, masks and instructive posters line the walls of barracks, rest rooms and training areas. While some anti-flu steps were included in health training in the past, the training and the use of the hand sanitizers were stepped up last spring to battle both the regular flu and the H1N1 virus, said Nichole Riley, public affairs officer for Fort Jackson’s Moncrief Army Community Hospital. The steps appear to be working, she said. “We’ve seen a tremendous decrease in the number of flulike illnesses coming into our urgent care center,” Riley said. In April, the installation logged a high of 187 confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu virus, and now only about 30 cases are being dealt with, she said. Exact numbers are no longer being tallied. “Using the hand sanitizers, the social distancing, making flu-prevention classes available. It seems to be working,” Riley said. Keeping illnesses at bay among military service to some flooded areas in metropolitan Manila to prevent accidents, spokesman Joel Zaldarriaga said.

Patients At least four hospitals in the capital had to move their patients to higher floors after water began seeping into lower levels. The highways leading to metropolitan Manila were rendered impassable due to the huge number of vehicles stalled in the floodwaters. Local officials made radio appeals asking rescue agencies to send rubber boats to rescue stranded people, some of whom had been on their rooftops all day and were panicking because of rising waters.

Obama may Continued from Page 1 safer than keeping detainees in the secure detention center,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Saturday. After Obama’s promise, administration officials and lawyers began to review the files

recruits is particularly challenging. “Recruits have always been a population we’ve watched very closely, because historically they’ve always been at higher risk for respiratory disease,” said Lt Col Steven Cersovsky, the director of epidemiology and disease surveillance for the Army Public Health Command in Aberdeen, Maryland. With the flu season under way, extra attention must be paid to keeping healthy, Cersovsky said. Soldiers are required to keep their barracks clean, wash or shower daily if training permits, and if water is not available, the small green hand gel containers are issued to each trainee, said Harvey Perritt, spokesman for the US Army Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Monroe., Virginia. The command oversees training and schools for 434,400 Army soldiers and 35,000 men and women from other services at 33 schools on 16 Army posts every year, said Perritt.

Also: BERLIN: The death of a man in a German hospital was probably due to swine flu, health authorities said Saturday, making it the country’s first fatal case of the disease. The Robert Koch Institute, which monitors the global pandemic in Germany, said the A(H1N1) virus had been found in the blood of the 36-year-old who died in Essen on Friday. Doctors still had to determine if the patient had died of the flu alone or from a combination of simultaneous infections. Germany has only been moderately affected by the virus, with nearly 19,900 cases registered. The World Health Organisation’s latest weekly bulletin published Friday said the disease had killed at least 3,917 people in 191 countries since it emerged in April in Mexico. on each detainee. At issue: which prisoners can be tried, and whether to do so in military or civilian courts; which can be released to other nations; and — the hardest question — which prisoners are too dangerous or their cases too compromised that they must be held indefinitely. A major complaint surfaced immediately — that the Bush administration had not established a consolidated repository of intelligence and evidence on each prisoner. It took longer than expected to build such a database, the officials said, because information was scattered throughout agencies and inconsistent. That files have now been completed, and prosecutors have also concluded their initial review of the detainees and recommended to the Justice Department an unspecified number who appear eligible for prosecution, the officials told the AP. The Justice Department and the Pentagon now will work together to determine which prisoners should be tried in military courts and which in civilian ones, the officials said. They would not provide a number recommended for prosecution since it could change. The decision on which prisoners will be

doses and keeping track of blood sugar readings, for instance. In the new study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers looked at whether patients’ diabetes-related “numeracy” was related to their long-term blood sugar control. The study included 383 adults with type 2 diabetes who took a test that gauged their ability to conquer a range of number-related tasks — such as interpreting nutrition labels on packaged foods, calculating calories and carbohydrates in a meal, and keeping track of medication doses. Overall, the researchers found, patients with the strongest test scores generally had better results on A1C tests, which estimate a person’s average blood sugar level over the previous few months. What’s more, number skills seemed to partly explain why African- American patients generally had poorer A1C scores than white patients did. See Also Pages 31 & 32

Newswatch Continued from Page 1 Nanjing by the Japanese imperial army in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese were killed. It has angered some Chinese ultra-nationalists, earning Lu at least one death threat, because of its portrayal of Japanese soldiers as ordinary people caught up in the tragedy of war. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

KABUL: Afghan government troops and police killed at least 18 Taleban insurgents Saturday in clashes in the northern city of Archi, local civilian and military officials said. Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed for his part said 20 soldiers had been killed and the insurgents controlled the town, a hotbed of violence in Kunduz province. The fighting in Archi followed incidents Friday in the south and east in which a further 24 Taleban were reported killed, while in the western Herat province the insurgents were said to have murdered four civilians, three of them brothers. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ BAGHDAD: The US military says a drone has crashed in northern Iraq, hitting the office of Iraq’s largest Sunni political party. The military says the unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle crashed Saturday into the Mosul office of the Iraqi Islamic Party. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ BAGHDAD: Iraqi security teams recaptured Saturday two more prisoners from a stunning jailbreak that included al-Qaeda-linked prisoners sentenced to death, a police official said. At least eight of the 16 fugitive prisoners have been hunted down following this week’s jailbreak, which deeply embarrassed Iraqi authorities as they struggle to upgrade detention facilities before absorbing thousands more inmates from US forces by next year. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

UNITED NATIONS: The world body must engage more with insurgent groups in conflicts around the world to ensure they too are respecting the Geneva Conventions. UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon said Saturday. He urged national governments involved in such conflicts to accept the necessity of the UN talking to “non-state armed groups.” (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ NEW YORK: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday urged Arab nations to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel and supporting the Palestinians in an effort to help restart stalled Mideast peace talks. Clinton made the case with senior officials from Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The session followed President Barack Obama’s talks this past week with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ MADRID: Alicia de Larrocha, a former child prodigy considered by many to have been the best Spanish pianist in history, has died in Barcelona at the age of 86, officials said. “She was an extraordinary ambassador for Spain,” Culture Minister Angeles GonzalezSinde said in a news release following the death of the petite pianist, who was less than 5-feet (1.52 m) tall, in Barcelona’s Quiron Hospital on Friday night. (RTRS) The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra was due to hold a minute’s silence before this weekend’s performances in honour of de Larrocha, whose public performances began at the age of six and stretched into her 80s, state news agency EFE said. (RTRS)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

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Suicide bombs kill 16 in Pakistan 150 people injured in separate attacks PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 26, (AP): Two suicide car bombs killed 16 people and wounded about 150 others in separate attacks in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, just days after the Taleban warned suicide strikes were coming if the military pressed forward with an offensive. A third bomb injured four in the restive region.

Wayside vendors sell garlands outside a temple during Dashain festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept 26. The eighth and most significant day of this festival called ‘maha ashtami’ commemorates Hindu deity of valor Durga’s victory over demon Mahishasura, marking the victory of good over evil. (AP)

‘Bangladesh must act’

Crime problem weighs on govt DHAKA, Sept 26, (RTRS): Is crime on the rise in Bangladesh since a democratic government took charge eight months ago, after two years under a military-backed interim authority? Holding the line on violent crime is important to attract aid and investment to the impoverished South Asian country of nearly 150 million, which has a history marred by frequent violence. “The government must act immediately before rising crime becomes a pattern and maligns the image of the country,” Asif Nazrul, an analyst and Dhaka University law teacher, told Reuters. Hardly a day passes without Bangladesh newspapers carrying photos of murder victims’ corpses lying in hospitals, on the street or in rural fields. Some were killed in notorious “cross fire” between criminals and law enforcement agents — regular police and the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) akin to other countries’ SWAT teams. A statutory government statement accompanies such death reports, saying the casualties occurred as the criminals opened fire at law officers pursuing them, usually at night. “They (police or RAB) fired back in self-defence, resulting in fatalities,” the statement says. Often there are casualties on the security force side too. Opposition political parties say the cross-fire deaths are linked to graft, as corrupt ruling party officials and bureaucrats try to eliminate rivals and help steer government contracts and related kickbacks to friends and themselves. Human rights groups meanwhile criticise the killings as effectively “extra-judicial” means of trying to enforce order, and have urged the authorities to crack down on the practice. The government denies such accusations.

Deliberately “No one has been killed by law enforcers deliberately or (is) being tasked by the government” to do extra-judicial killings, Home Minister Sahara Khatun said recently. Being a law-enforcement agent does not mean one cannot shoot back in self defence when under fire, she added. Sahara also told parliament the “law and order situation did not deteriorate, rather improved since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the reins.” Hasina assumed office in January after winning what most independent observers considered a clean election. She vowed to tackle problems ranging from poverty to crime, to ensure a modicum of stability and attract aid and investment that would lift the standard of living in a country were roughly 40 percent of the population earn less than $1 a day. But the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ex-prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia says the government is ineffective generally on law and order. “Killing, rape, robbery ... are on the rise due to slackened administration,” Khondaker Delwar Hossain, secretary-general of the BNP, told reporters. Even while saying the overall crime rate was falling, Hasina’s Home Minister Sahara also told parliament: “Some 10 people were killed on average each day” over the first eight months of the year. Police say more than 200 people were killed in the capital alone from January through August, among a national total of 2,836. They said 4,099 and 3,691 people were killed in 2008 and 2007 respectively under the army-backed interim regime, and some 4,166 people murdered in 2006 when Khaleda was in power. If the trend of the first eight months continues, the total in Hasina’s first year would be marginally higher. A senior police officer who did not want to be named told Reuters: “Criminals backed by different political parties have flooded back into the capital Dhaka and other cities since the change of guard.”

‘Broad outlines … well-known’

No predictions on climate deal: Singh PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Sept 26, (AFP): Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday he could not predict whether the world will meet a deadline on a climate deal, saying a summit here only took up global warming in broad terms. “I’m not an astrologer,” Singh told a news conference when asked if a December conference in Copenhagen would succeed in sealing a successor framework to the landmark Kyoto Protocol. Singh, who took part in Group of 20 talks here along with the leaders of the major developed and developing economies, said that the broad outlines of the next climate agreement were already well-known. “There is a broad, vague agreement that any agreement in which developing countries are also required to take any national action will have to be accompanied by credible action on the part of developed countries,” Singh said. Developed nations would need to provide funding and affordable technology to developing nations in return for any commitments to fight climate change, Singh said. “But other than expressing a pious wish with regard to the success of the framework convention meeting in Copenhagen, the Group of 20 I think did not go into the mechanics of these things,” he said. The talks agreed to gradually phase out government subsidies for fossil fuels but did not set a timeline on the issue. Fuel prices for ordinary people are particularly sensitive in developing democracies such as India. The Kyoto Protocol required rich nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change but the requirements expire at the end of 2012.

Zardari’s UN speech features portrait of Bhutto

Pakistan adjourns Mumbai attack hearing

Pakistan’s mountainous, lawless northwest region along the Afghan border — where the government holds little control — is a favored area for insurgents to plan attacks on US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, as well as on Pakistani security forces and government workers. A suicide bomb was detonated outside a bank affiliated with the army in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, police said. Ten people were killed and 79 wounded, said Sahibzada Mohammed Anis, a senior government official. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw vehicles overturned by the blast, buildings gutted and glass scattered everywhere. Most of the casualties were customers in the bank or people loitering outside. “We saw body parts in the car and our investigation confirms it was a suicide attack,” said Malik Shafqat, a police official in Peshawar. He said the attacker also threw a hand grenade before detonating the bomb but it didn’t explode. A suicide blast also hit a police station in the province’s Bannu district earlier Saturday, killing at least six people and wounding nearly 70 others, police said. The Taleban claimed responsibility for that attack. A third bomb exploded in the northern town of Gilgit, wounding four people, Pakistan’s SAMA news channel quoted local police Chief Ali Sher as saying. He described it as a “low-intensity bomb” but provided no further details. The latest strikes came two days after the Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan said it was ready to stage more suicide attacks in the region after it was ousted from the Swat Valley in July by an army offensive. Qari Hussain Mehsud — known for training Taleban suicide bombers — warned of more attacks in an AP interview at a secret location in North Waziristan on Thursday, just hours before US missiles hit the area and killed 12 people. “We have enough suicide bombers and they are asking me to let them sacrifice their lives in the name of Islam, but we will send suicide bombers only if the government acts against us,” he said in the interview. The US has fired dozens of missiles from unmanned drones to take out top Taleban and al-Qaeda leaders in the northwest over the past year. Although Pakistan routinely protests the strikes, it is widely believed to secretly cooperate with them.

Pakistani security officials gather at the site of a bomb explosion in a commercial district in Peshawar, Pakistan on Sept 26. (AP)

The damaged cars are seen at the site of a bomb explosion in a commercial district in Peshawar, Pakistan on Sept 26. (AP)

Death toll in India chimney collapse climbs to 39 RAIPUR, India, Sept 26, (AFP): The death toll from the collapse of a giant chimney in central India climbed to 39 on Saturday as rescue personnel combed debris to look for trapped workers, a police officer said. “We have pulled out 39 bodies so far. We have identified 36 of the dead,” said Vivek Sharma, a senior police officer in Korba town in central Chhattisgarh state, who was investigating the disaster. The accident took place Wednesday when a 100-metre (330-foot) chimney under construction at a power plant in the state collapsed in bad weather, killing 20 instantly and leaving scores trapped under tonnes of concrete.

The company constructing the chimney was Balco, a subsidiary of London-listed resources giant Vedanta Plc. “We have looked through about 65 to 70 percent of the debris. There is very little hope of finding survivors at this stage,” Sharma told AFP by phone. Hundreds of rescue workers have been struggling to remove a huge pile of smashed concrete that covers the site where the partially built chimney stood. Sharma said a lack of a formal list of labourers who were working on the site was hampering efforts to locate all the workers. “We have compiled a list of up to 60 people

who are missing. Some of these people are in the list of those dead but we have no way of knowing how many were actually working here when the accident happened,” he said. Most of the labour employed at the construction site were migrant workers from neighbouring Jharkand and Bihar states and “they have no families to report them as missing”, Sharma said. “I can’t say all of them have died or are trapped. Some people could have just left the site after the accident,” he added. On Thursday, a top union official at the company building the chimney told AFP he feared that over 100 workers had been killed.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Sept 26, (Agencies): A Pakistani court on Saturday adjourned until October 3 a hearing for seven suspects accused by India of carrying out the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, a lawyer said. India and Washington blamed the November attacks on Pakistan’s banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the siege stalled a fragile four-year peace process between the two nuclear-armed south Asian rivals. Pakistan confirmed last Saturday that seven suspects had been arrested in connection with the attacks and vowed to secure convictions in a special court, which has been conducted so far behind closed doors. “The judge was on leave today so the hearing could not take place. The next date of hearing is October 3,” Shahbaz Rajput, a defence lawyer representing two of the suspects, told AFP. The anti-terrorism court has been set up in the high-security Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining the capital, Islamabad. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said last Saturday that the seven men would soon be charged over the 60-hour rampage but called on India to provide more information to bring the perpetrators to justice. Court officials say those in custody include the alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and alleged key LeT operative Zarar Shah. The November 26-29 siege of India’s financial capital left more than 300 people injured when 10 heavily armed gunmen targeted luxury hotels, the city’s main railway station, a popular restaurant and Jewish centre. India has put on trial Pakistan’s Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai attacks and who has made a dramatic confession. India insists it will resume talks to normalise ties only after Pakistan brings to justice the alleged perpetrators and has blamed Pakistani “official agencies” for abetting the assault which Islamabad flatly denies.

Also: UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan is beginning to claw its way out of the clutches of terrorists and religious extremists after decades of violence, President Asif Ali Zardari said Friday, with a portrait of his assassinated wife, Benazir Bhutto, by his side. Zardari paid tribute to his late wife by delivering Pakistan’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly with a color portrait of her set up next to him at the lectern, a rare use of a prop at the focal point of the world body’s annual round of speeches. “Unfortunately, our neighborhood has witnessed decades of conflict,” he said. “Pakistan has suffered greatly from terrorism and religious extremism.”

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

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World News Roundup America Obama heckling seen as asset: Republican leaders called Rep Joe Wilson’s “You Lie” outburst to President Barack Obama disrespectful and unacceptable, but the party apparently sees the presidential heckling as an asset rather than a liability. The party’s congressional fundraising arm is sending out a national plea for donations under Wilson’s name asking conservatives to help combat Democratic efforts to “spin and mislead the public” on health care reform. Wilson, who previously was little known outside his South Carolina district, also is sending out solicitations for individual candidates. Andy Sere, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, defended the strategy, saying Wilson is now a “national figure” who is raising important concerns. Wilson “I think the substance of his argument is correct, and that’s why we’re working in tandem with him to raise money,” Sere said. Wilson already had used his outburst during President Barack Obama’s address before Congress to raise money for his own campaign. But he argued that was necessary to match the windfall that flowed into his little-known Democratic opponent’s campaign from people offended by Wilson’s outburst to Obama. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Iraq war objector OK’d to resign: The Army is allowing the first commissioned officer to be court-martialed for refusing to go to Iraq to resign from the service, his attorney said late Friday. First Lt. Ehren Watada will be granted a discharge Oct 2, “under other than honorable conditions,” attorney Kenneth Kagan said. Watada told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin he was happy the matter has finally been closed. “The actual outcome is different from the outcome that I envisioned in the first place, but I am grateful of the outcome,” he said. Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek wouldn’t confirm Watada’s type of discharge, citing privacy rules. But he said late Friday that Watada’s manner of resignation is described in Army regulations as “resignation for the good of the service in lieu of general court martial.” Watada, 31, refused to deploy to Iraq with his Fort Lewis, Washington-based unit in 2006, arguing the war is illegal and that he would be a party to war crimes if he served in Iraq. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Palin reappears in Asia: Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin emerged from a twomonth absence from public view in an unlikely manner: with a closed-door speech, heavy on foreign policy, to a group of investors in Hong Kong. Her 90-minute speech, delivered Wednesday to an investment conference, touched on issues from financial markets to health care, Afghanistan and US-China relations. It was generally considered more moderate in tone than those Palin delivered during her 2008 campaign for US vice-president as Republican John McCain’s running mate. Still, a Democratic congressman chastised Palin. “Leaving aside the propriety of criticizing the president while on her first trip to Asia, the assertion that the United States is ignoring areas of disagreement with China is flat wrong,” said Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The administration regularly discusses a range of issues with Chinese officials, Berman said. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

A boy walks past Muslim men kneeling in prayer on the West Front of the US Capitol Building on Sept 25 in Washington. (AFP)

Healthcare Dems ignore public concerns: GOP

Broad bill unscathed after 1st week

CGI raises more than $8 bln: The Clinton Global Initiative gathered more than $8 billion in pledges at this year’s summit, surprising its organizers who had worried that the recession would lower the level of support. The philanthropic effort started by former president Bill Clinton aims to tap wealthy donors for funds to try to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems, from poverty to climate change. “We were concerned, and we actually came into this CGI with more sponsorships than we had last year, under adverse circumstances,” Clinton said on Friday at the closing session of the four-day summit. The meeting brought together heads of state, financial leaders, corporate bosses and rights activists looking to deal with issues in education, health, energy and the empowerment of women. Celebrities Bono, Brad Pitt and Quincy Jones turned out for the summit. The politicians included US President Barack Obama and leaders of Argentina and Rwanda. Also in attendance was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Navy eyes women on subs: The US Navy secretary said on Friday women deserve a chance to serve on submarines, promising to move “aggressively” to change the rules that ban females on subs. American women can work on the Navy’s fleet of warships and fly fighter jets but nuclear-powered submarines remain off limits. “This is something the CNO (chief of naval operations) and I have been working on since I came into office,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the service’s top civilian, said in a statement. “We are moving out aggressively on this. I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines,” said Mabus, who took office in May. US naval officers in the past have cited the extremely tight quarters of a submarine as the main reason for the prohibition, but those who favor lifting the ban say subs could be outfitted with separate berths and bathrooms. Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, suggested he was open to changing the rule but did not confirm any decision was imminent. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Biden visits storm victims: VicePresident Joe Biden on Friday pledged the federal government would help Georgia recover from the severe weather that swept through the Southeast, even as rain and the threat of more flooding was forecast for the weekend. Biden toured the metro Atlanta area by helicopter and saw portions of the city still underwater from the deluge earlier this week. At least 10 deaths in Georgia and Alabama were blamed on the storms. “We know we can’t make it all right, but we’re going to do everything we can,” Biden said. President Barack Obama was closely monitoring the situation from the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh, Biden said. After touring the devastation that washed out roads and highways, the Vice-President visited residents who

Committee Chairman Sen Max Baucus (D-MT) participates in a Senate Finance Committee mark up session on the health care reform legislation on Capitol Hill on Sept 25 in Washington, DC. (AFP)

Kirk

Kennedy

WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (Agencies): A broad healthcare overhaul emerged unscathed on Friday from the first week of US Senate committee debate, with Chairman Max Baucus keeping fellow Democrats in line and shielding key elements from Republican attacks. Four days of sometimes contentious battle in the Democratic-controlled Senate Finance Committee left the main tenets of Baucus’s bill untouched and gave reform advocates hope that Republican Senator Olympia Snowe would back the final version. Snowe, a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Six” negotiators who failed to reach agreement on the plan before the panel’s debate, was the only Republican to cross over and side with Democrats on several votes during the week. Her support would be a big step toward winning approval in the full 100-member Senate, where Democrats have little margin for error with a 60-vote majority — exactly the number needed to clear Republican procedural hurdles. “The battle lines are taking shape,” said Len Nichols, director of the health policy program at the New America Foundation. “The Democrats appear very disciplined,

and it’s pretty clear that Snowe might still support this thing — which is what they need.” Baucus’s proposal, one of five healthcare bills pending in Congress, closely mirrors President Barack Obama’s plans to rein in costs, tighten regulations on insurers and expand coverage to many of the 46 million uninsured people living in the United States. Baucus won every key fight during the first week of debate. He protected the White House’s $80 billion deal with drugmakers and kept Democrats together to preserve an individual requirement to buy insurance and reject Republican efforts to block some cuts in the Medicare insurance program for seniors.

Debate Baucus had brought his fellow Democrats on board before the debate by incorporating into the bill a package of Democratic amendments aimed at making insurance reforms more affordable for workers. Snowe crossed party lines to support Baucus on the vote on the individual insurance mandate and on other votes, but the other Republican “Gang of Six” negotiators — Charles Grassley and Mike Enzi — stayed in the Republican camp.

“They need a breakthrough moment where they find some middle ground, and I still think at the end of the day they will find it,” Bob Blendon, a health policy and political analyst at Harvard University, said of lawmakers working on healthcare. “There is no reason for people who are going to move over and compromise to do it early,” Blendon said. “You have your maximum advantage by taking your time. The people who are going to compromise haven’t done it yet.”

Rush Meanwhile, the Democratic-run Congress is ignoring the public’s concerns in the rush to pass legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system, Republicans say. “The American people expect us to get this right and to do it in an open, honest and bipartisan debate. That’s what they deserve,” said Republican Sen Johnny Isakson, in his party’s radio and Internet address Saturday. “But that’s not what they’re getting from the Democrats on Capitol Hill.” The Senate Finance Committee is the last of five committees to take up health care legislation, which tops President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda. The committee chairman, Democratic

Sen Max Baucus negotiated with top Republicans for weeks before talks broke down. Baucus’ bill leaves out a primary demand of many Democrats — a government insurance option — and it has a lower price tag than other Democratic proposals. But Isakson and other Republicans say it’s still too costly and would require too much government intrusion into the health care system. Only one Republican, Sen Olympia Snowe of Maine, appears to be considering supporting it. In other news, six out of 10 US Hispanic illegal immigrants lack health insurance, more than twice the rate for legal Latino residents and citizens and three times the average for the population as a whole, a study released on Friday showed. The survey by the Pew Hispanic Center, which drew on a nationally representative sample of 4,013 US Latinos in 2007, found 60 percent of adult Hispanic illegal migrants lacked health insurance. The study found that 28 percent of adult Hispanics who are either legal permanent residents or US citizens go without health insurance, compared to 17 percent of the US adult population as a whole.

Kirk takes office Former Democratic party leader Paul Kirk, tapped as the late Edward Kennedy’s temporary replacement in the Senate, took office Friday amid careful vote-counting in a tough health care fight. Vice President Joseph Biden administered the oath of office to Kirk, 71, on the floor of the US Senate, while Kennedy’s son, Representative Patrick Kennedy, stood nearby and Kirk’s wife looked on from a gallery above. Kirk gives President Barack Obama’s Democratic allies, at least on paper, the 60 votes needed to overrun parliamentary delaying tactics by Republicans opposed to the White House’s drive to remake US health care. Kennedy, a US Senate legend with more than 40 years’ tenure, died on Aug 25, aged 77, from brain cancer. Kirk will serve until a January special election in Massachusetts. Earlier, the Massachusetts Republican Party asked a judge Friday to delay the swearing in of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s replacement, arguing Gov Deval Patrick violated the state constitution by appointing Paul G. Kirk Jr before a traditional 90-day legislative waiting period had expired. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly took the matter under advisement and promised a decision by noon (1600 GMT). Vice President Joe Biden was slated to swear in Kirk around 3 pm (1900 GMT) in the Capitol in Washington. (Agencies) have been staying at a Red Cross shelter in Cobb County. Latoya Smith, 28, was in her car when the

storms hit, and the mother of five managed to get her children out just before rushing water swept it away. Smith greeted Biden at the shelter with her 3-year-old daughter Paris and 2-year-old son Lacarlo Clincy in tow. The Vice-President hugged the family and said help was on the

way. “I’m so glad he came and reassured us that, no matter what the situation is, we’re going to be taken care of,” Smith said. “I was so concerned but he made me feel like we’re blessed, and it’s going to be a better day.” (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

3 killed in chopper crash: Authorities say three people were killed when a medical transport helicopter crashed in coastal South Carolina, the latest in a string of such accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the Friday night crash in

Georgetown County. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson says no patients were on board. There were no survivors. Knudson says the helicopter had dropped off a patient at about 9:35 p.m. local time Friday in Charleston. He says the helicopter went down about 11:30 p.m. (AP)

Modesty … pushed aside

Canada envy of the world, says Harper

US Vice-President Joe Biden hugs Evelyn Brummage, of Austell, Ga, who lost everything in a recent flood, as he tours a Red Cross disaster relief center set up in Marietta for victims of the flood on Sept 25, in Atlanta. (AP)

PITTSBURGH, Sept 26, (RTRS): Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appearing to forget that his countrymen are generally known for their modesty, declared on Friday that his nation was the envy of the world. Harper, usually a fairly wooden performer, seized on a routine question at a news conference and used it to deliver an impassioned defense of his 33-million strong nation and how well it Harper has coped with the global economic crisis. “Canada remains in a very special place in the world. ... We are the one major developed country that no one thinks has any responsibility for this crisis,” he said

to laughter. “In fact, on the contrary, they look at our policies as a solution to the crisis. We’re the one country in the room everybody would like to be,” he said at the end of the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing nations in Pittsburgh. By this stage of his comments, the initial premise of the question had long since vanished and Harper — who leads the right-leaning Conservative Party — was focusing on several other factors that in his mind make Canada so irresistible. “We’re so self-effacing as Canadians that we sometimes forget the assets we do have that other people see,” he said, speaking with a rare passion. “We are one of the most stable regimes in history. ... We are unique in that regard,” he added, noting Canada had enjoyed more than 150 years of untroubled Parliamentary democracy.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

15

Other Lives ‘I miss him every day’

Soldier’s siblings prisoners of grief WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (AP): The photo tells one story: brothers Chad and Ian Weikel, all smiles, arms around each other on Ian’s wedding day. The tattoos now on Chad’s forearms tell another ó about his anguish over his brother’s death in Iraq. Words like “rage” “alone,” and “fury” are interwoven in the tattoos along with the likeness of Capt Ian Weikel, a West Point graduate. Chad, 32, says his older brother’s death in 2006 put him on a path that led to divorce and a decision to enlist in the Army Reserves. He recently moved from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Washington for a fresh start after a car crash kept him from starting basic training. “It got pretty dark after all the services and all the family and friends stopped coming by,” says Weikel. “We were very close. I miss him every day.” Weikel is one of the wars’ forgotten mourners, the brothers and sisters of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike a parent or a spouse, they don’t typically get the knock at the door notifying them of a sibling’s death. At a time when they, too, are grieving, they find themselves doing the comforting, writing the thank you notes, mediating family disputes. On Friday, about 100 siblings and their spouses are meeting in Las Vegas for a weekend retreat organized by Tragedy Assistance Chad Program for Survivors, a Washington-based nonprofit that offers support to anyone who lost a loved one in the Armed Forces. TAPS says there are thousands of surviving siblings from the recent wars. A majority are in their 20s or 30s ó a time when many are starting careers and families.

Suicide There have been divorces and suicide attempts among siblings taking part in an online private support group facilitated by TAPS, says Ami Neiberger-Miller, 38, a spokeswoman for the organization. Her own brother, Army Spc Christopher Neiberger, 22, of Gainesville, Fla., died in Iraq in 2007. “Your spouse really joins you in life kind of late in life. ... Your parents will leave you late in your life, but you expect your siblings to be with you through all of this. You expect for them to be at your wedding. You expect for them to be with you when you bury your parents,” Neiberger-Miller says. “You don’t expect to be watching your family go through that.” In one case, Spc Andrew Velez, 22, of Lubbock, Texas, took his life while serving in Afghanistan in 2006 two years after his brother, Spc Jose A. Velez, 23, died in Iraq. Their sister, Monica Velez, 30, of Austin, Texas, says people fail to understand sibling grief. “As a brother or sister, they feel like you’re supposed to be over it,” she says. “It’s not understood that this is somebody you’ve had all your life. A lot of people don’t understand that loss of companionship.” Like Chad Weikel, she participates in the online group, which has grown from just a few siblings who exchanged e-mails to more than 180. They say without their brother or sister they feel incomplete, often feel pressure to fill the sibling’s shoes, and work to keep the family close. Culturally in the United States, the death of a sibling isn’t considered as significant as losing a child or spouse, and there are few resources available on adult sibling loss, says Darcie D. Sims, a psychologist who is helping with this weekend’s retreat.

Grief A surviving sibling’s spouse or friends “may not realize the depth of your grief or understand why you’re grieving so much,” Sims says. Even when brothers or sisters weren’t close it can be painful because the survivor is also grieving that problems weren’t resolved, Sims says. A common complaint among the siblings is that wellmeaning people don’t ask about them. Karen Veater Walker, 31, of Old Forge, Pa, the oldest of six kids whose youngest brother, Marine Reserve Lance Cpl. Dennis Veater, 20, died in Iraq, says people frequently ask her about her parents, her brother’s fiancee, or his son. “Sometimes, this little piece of me wanted to yell out like, ‘What about me? Are you going to ask how I’m doing?’” Walker said. Since her brother’s death, another brother is coping with an addiction, and her family’s relationship with her brother’s fiancee has become strained, leading to the loss of a bond with her young nephew. “For some reason we just have some split we can’t resolve, no matter how hard I try,” Walker says. “You put so much energy into making sure everyone else is OK. I try to make sure I don’t upset my parents, or I try to make sure that other people don’t upset them. I try to make sure my remaining siblings are OK.” Kristen Norwood Hullum, 33, from Pflugerville, Texas, who is attending the retreat, struggles with guilt for not being with her brother, 25-year-old Marine Sgt Byron Norwood, as he died ó as she has been for strangers in her job as a nurse. “It was not peaceful and beautiful. It was horrible and violent and he was alone. He had his Marines there with him, but I would’ve wanted to hold his hand to comfort him and just to make sure he knew how much we all loved him,” Hullum says. Chad Weikel says he wanted to avenge his brother’s death in 2006 and went to a military recruiter’s office, but then decided it wasn’t the right time to join. Once the dust settled, he says he started to feel a calling to join the military ó a decision opposed by his family. Before he was to leave last year for basic training, he was in a serious car wreck that left him in a coma for a couple days and with broken ribs. Meanwhile, his marriage crumbled. “I definitely wasn’t the husband I needed to be. I just wasn’t around enough. I was around, but I wasn’t present,” Chad says. “So my wife looked elsewhere to get that attention and that’s been a real devastating loss for me.” He says he’s slowly worked through his pain and finds himself laughing again and feeling optimistic about the future. He’s appealing a decision from the military disqualifying him for service because of the injuries from the car accident. He points to the tattoos on his arms and explains that the emotional words in his tattoos are designed in a way that spells “Hope.” “Through all those emotions, I still have hope,” he says. ❑ ❑ ❑ On the Net: Tragedy Assistance Program http://www.taps.org

for

Survivors:

Ami Neiberger-Miller, whose brother Army Spc Christopher Neiberger was killed in Iraq on Aug 6, 2007, visits her brother’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery on Sept 15, in Arlington, Va. Since her brother’s death Ami Neiberger-Miller, 38, has become a spokeswoman for TAPS, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the Washington-based nonprofit that offers support to anyone who lost a loved one in the Armed Forces. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

16

World News Roundup Friday in Lisbon, Socrates warned his supporters not to become complacent and urged them to turn out and vote. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Vote of confidence a threat: Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen could face a vote of confidence next Thursday because of a campaign finance scandal, a parliament spokeswoman said. Vanhanen, head of the Centre party, has been fending off opposition demands to resign and call early elections because of the outcrying over the financing that his party and the Coalition party received from big business before the 2007 election. Parliament spokeswoman Merja Kivinen said the government will make a statement to parliament on Wednesday on “election funding”, which will be followed by a debate. “If during the discussion a vote is proposed, it will take place on Thursday at around 4:00 Vanhanen pm (1300 GMT),” Kivinen told AFP. Vanhanen and his allies have 126 seats in the 200 seat parliament, meaning the prime minister should come through any vote of confidence. The next parliament elections are due in 2011. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Nobel Peace Prize wide open: A record number of candidates remains in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize two weeks before a winner is announced, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute told Reuters on Friday. A total of 205 individuals and organisations were nominated for the prize. Geir Lundestad said the number still under consideration was “significantly higher” than the two to three on the shortlist most years since his tenure began in 1990. “This late in the selection process we have never had as many candidates left,” the history professor said in an interview. “This is not a year when the candidate seems rather obvious.” Unlike some years, he said there were no “heavy, heavy favourites” to win the prize, named for the 19th-century Swedish philanthropist and inventor of dynamite, which is seen as one of the world’s greatest accolades. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

‘Rediscover Christian roots’: Pope

German Foreign Minister and the Social Democrats party (SPD) main candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier addresses a SPD election rally in the eastern German city of Dresden on Sept 26, one day ahead of parliamentary elections. (Inset): German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves to the audience during the Germany’s Christian democrats Union (CDU) party’s final campaign rally Saturday at the Treptow Arena in Berlin, one day ahead of parliamentary elections. (AFP)

Germany

Europe ‘Putin will rule to 2024’: Nothing short of a collapse in oil prices will halt Russia’s powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin returning as the country’s president for a further 12 years in 2012, his first prime minister said. Mikhail Kasyanov, now an opposition leader, said reports of a split with President Dmitry Medvedev were aimed at distracting people from Putin’s bid to become the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Stalin. “I am convinced that Putin will run in 2012 for two six-year terms. A suitable function will be found for Medvedev,” Kasyanov said in an interview with Reuters at his Moscow office. Kasyanov, a close confidant of former President Boris Yeltsin, served as Putin’s prime minister for almost four years until 2004 but has since fallen out with Russia’s ruling elite. Putin stepped down from the presidency in 2008 after serving the maximum two fouryear terms allowed under the constitution and backed close ally Medvedev to replace him. The constitution has since been changed to extend the presidency to six years. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

No missiles in Kaliningrad: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday he will call off his decision to deploy missiles in the enclave of Kaliningrad, his response to the United States scrapping missile shield plans in Europe. US President Barack Obama last week announced Washington will not put interceptor missiles in Poland or a radar system in the Czech Republic, parts of a project viewed by the United States as protection against potential attacks from Iran. Medvedev, who met Obama in New York on Wednesday, has described that decision as “courageous.” Dealing with the issues of the US missile shield, Iran and nuclear disarmament are major elements of attempts by Medvedev and Obama to reset thorny bilateral relations that had plunged to post-Cold War lows under the Bush administration. To Russia, the US missile shield plan for eastern Europe was a threat to its security. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑ START talks enter week 2: The latest round of Russia-US talks on renewing a key nuclear arms reduction treaty will enter into a second week, a Russian diplomat said, a day after the UN Security Council vowed to rid the planet of all nuclear arms. “They will go on until next week, until Friday,” the diplomat told AFP, adding that there were no further details at the moment. Previous rounds of talks on the renewal of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which expires on Dec 5 had lasted a maximum three to four days. But a Russian diplomat had said at the start of talks on Monday that this round would “last longer than expected with the large delegations from each side.” The United States and Russia had agreed this year to seek the replacement or renewal of START, marking the first tangible step in the thaw in US-Russian relations heralded by the Obama administration. START, signed in 1991 just before the break-up of the Soviet Union, bound both sides to deep cuts in their nuclear arsenals. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Socialist PM eyes victory: Portugal’s Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates faces the prospect of winning Sunday’s general election but losing the absolute majority that has allowed him to impose ambitious reforms. A poll released Friday — the last day that

Flight ban over Oktoberfest

Merkel ignores Islamic threats

Queen Sonja of Norway (center), is flanked by Rome’s Mayor Gianni Alemanno (left), and his wife Isabella Rauti as she arrives for the opening of the exhibition ‘Steder I Roma’ (Sites of Rome) by Norwegian photographer Morten Krogvold in Rome’s Palazzo Braschi, Sept 26. (AP)

Pope

Berlusconi

Berlusconi, pope meet Premier Silvio Berlusconi had his first meeting Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI since the Italian leader was implicated in a sex scandal that broke last spring. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi says the pope spoke briefly with Berlusconi on Saturday at Rome’s Ciampino Airport. Lombardi says the two talked for two or three minutes with aides nearby and he emphasized “this was not a private meeting.” Berlusconi went out of his way to catch the pope before Benedict took off for the three-day visit to the Czech Republic. The Italian news agency ANSA said Berlusconi’s plane, bringing him back from the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, was supposed to land in Milan but switched instead to Rome so Berlusconi could see the pope off. Lombardi says he assumes the two exchanged pleasantries. Further details of their conversation were unavailable. An Italian businessman who was recently arrested in Bari in a cocaine probe has told investigators he paid young women, including a prostitute, to attend parties and dinners at Berlusconi’s Sardinian villa and Rome residence. The prostitute has said in interviews she spent the night with the premier. (AP) campaigning was allowed — showed the Socialists with a 38-30 percent edge over the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), which has been weakened by a power strug-

BERLIN, Sept 26, (AP): Ignoring threats by Islamic militants, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival held their final political rallies Saturday before Germany’s national election, focusing on the key domestic issues of jobs and economic recovery. Two videos surfaced Friday — one by al-Qaeda and another by the Taleban — threatening retaliation for Germany’s military presence in Afghanistan. The Taleban video showed top German landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and Munich’s world-renowned Oktoberfest. In response, authorities on Saturday banned all flights over Oktoberfest until it ends on Oct 4. The annual 16-day beer festival, which was targeted by terrorists in 1980, draws some 6 million visitors from around the globe. Security had been already tightened around the country after the first Islamic threats two weeks ago, with many more officers now visible at airports and train stations. Merkel hopes to win a second fouryear term in Sunday’s national election and ditch her conservative party’s “grand coalition” with her main rivals, the center-left Social Democrats, led by her foreign minister and challenger, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The 55-year-old chancellor wants to form a new center-right government gle between populists and traditionalists. That would give the party 100 seats in the 230-seat assembly while the PSD, led since 2008 by former finance minister Manuela

with her preferred partners, the pro-business Free Democrats. “Germany needs stability,” Merkel told supporters on Saturday. “Stability is only possible with a strong (Christian Democratic) Union in a coalition with the FDP.” But a poll published Friday underlined how close Sunday’s race could be, with Merkel’s sound lead being whittled away in the past weeks. The survey by the Forsa institute showed her Christian Democrats with only 33 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent over the summer.The Social Democrats polled 25 percent and the Free Democrats had 14 percent, enough for a razor-thin majority with the Christian Democrats. The survey of 2,001 people gave a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Victory At his party’s final rally in Dresden, Steinmeier accused Merkel of lacking the creativity to govern and warned that a victory for her party and the Free Democrats would benefit only the wealthy. “Tomorrow’s election is not just a decision for the next four years, but will decide (Germany’s) direction for the coming decade,” Steinmeier said. Some 62.2 million Germans are eligiFerreira Leite, would have 80 seats, according to the Catholic University poll for daily Jornal de Noticias. In the outgoing parliament the Socialists

ble to vote. Germany is the world’s second biggest exporter after China and the biggest economy in the 27-nation European Union. Despite pressure from other EU nations to back a bigger stimulus plan, Merkel has kept the country’s unemployment rate hovering around 8 percent during the financial crisis using government-supported short-term contracts. The role of Germany’s more than 4,200 troops in Afghanistan has leapt into the spotlight after al-Qaeda issued a string of threatening videos aimed at Germans. Yet with both Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats supporting the Afghan mission, it is unlikely the threats will have a major impact on the election. Only the Left party supports an immediate withdrawal of German troops, and it remains a marginal force. “At the moment, I am expecting that the terror alerts will generate no direct reaction of the voters at all, at least no reactions that could lead to a change of voting behavior,” said Nils Diederich, a political scientist at Berlin’s Free University. In an audiotape that surfaced Friday, Osama bin Laden demanded that European countries pull their troops out of Afghanistan and threatened “retaliation” against them for their alliance with the United States in the war. have 121 seats, their first absolute majority since the end of a right-wing dictatorship in 1974, while the PSD has 75. Speaking at his final campaign rally on

US bonds bogus

2 Filipinos held

Thousands of people demonstrate, Sept 26, in Paris, as part of the 51st World Deaf Day. (AFP)

ROME, Sept 26, (AFP): Italian police said on Friday they had arrested two Philippine members of a religious order on suspicion of trying to fraudulently sell $116 billion worth of fake US bonds. The brother and sister were detained after police discovered bogus bonds dated 1934 worth $103 billion in a package addressed to the pair passing through Milan’s Malpensa airport last month. “It wasn’t hard to see that they were fake,” said Lieutenant Colonel Emilio Fiora of the Italian financial police. The brother remains in custody but the sister has been released as police said there was insufficient evidence to charge her. It is the second time Italian authorities have seized a huge haul of fake US Treasury securities in recent months and they said the cases could be linked.

Benedict urged Czechs on Saturday to rediscover their Christian roots, battered by four decades of totalitarian rule until the fall of communism. The pope arrived in Prague on Saturday for a three-day visit to support the Czech Catholic Church, the biggest in a country that has one of the lowest proportions of religious people in the world. Speaking on arrival at Prague airport, Benedict recalled the bloodless Velvet Revolution that overthrew the Communist rulers in November 1989. “Now that religious freedom has been restored, I call upon the citizens of this republic to rediscover the Christian traditions that have shaped their culture,” he said. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Data to prove innocence ‘erased’: A computer expert testified Saturday in the murder trial of an American student and her former Italian boyfriend that someone had used the young man’s computer, which the defense said might have erased data that could prove his innocence. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have denied killing Knox’s British roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007, while Knox and Kercher were studying Italian in the northern city of Perugia. Computer expert Antonio D’Ambrosio was among the last witnesses to give testimony Saturday in the trial before it resumes Oct 9. Closing arguments are expected later in October, and a verdict could come within weeks. D’Ambrosio testified that someone had used Sollecito’s home computer twice on the night both defendants were being questioned by police about Kercher’s killing, according to ANSA and other Italian news agencies. He said the computer was used to read ANSA’s reports about the Nov 1 slaying, the agencies reported. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Moldova gets government: Moldova’s parliament approved a new Western-leaning government with a programme to join the European mainstream on Friday, the last-butone step to ending months of political stalemate in Europe’s poorest nation. Prime Minister Vlad Filat, presenting his government to parliament, said priorities would include fresh talks with Russia and other powers to settle the issue of breakaway Transdniestria and secure the withdrawal of Russian troops there. Though he set European integration as one of five priorities of his government, Filat said his ex-Soviet country of 4.5 million people, sandwiched between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, would maintain neutrality in foreign policy. This appeared to rule out any future bid for Nato membership — something which would be certain to anger Russia. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑ Kosovo ruling to aid EU bid: A ruling by the World Court against the legality of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia would help Belgrade’s bid to join the European Union, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Friday. At Serbia’s request, the UN General Assembly has referred the issue to the Haguebased court, which will begin hearings on Dec 1. The court can only issue an unenforceable opinion, but it could have moral and political force. A decision is expected some time next year. Some 60 countries, including key Western powers, have recognized mainly ethnic Albanian Kosovo, which declared independence last year. But the majority of the 192 UN member states have held back, many awaiting the court’s opinion. In an interview with Reuters, Jeremic reaffirmed Belgrade’s confidence that the International Court of Justice would declare the secession illegal and said this would help Serbia’s slow-moving bid to join the EU. “I think it is going to be really helpful, because such a ruling would basically motivate the parties to come together and find a compromise solution,” he said. “It would be much more difficult without such a solution — not impossible but difficult. “I think this is going to have an encouraging effect, this is going to have an expediting effect on our entire region’s ambition to accede to the European Union.” (RTRS)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

17

Japan Hatoyama fulfilled

Leaders laud ‘ideal debut’ PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Sept 26, (AFP): Japan’s new prime minister wound up his global debut on Friday, winning applause from world leaders for his ambitious target on climate change and reassuring that US ties were solid. But analysts warned that the honeymoon of Yukio Hatoyama’s novice government may not last long as he must soon live up to the political consequences of promises he made. Fresh from taking office last week, Hatoyama met US President Barack Obama, China’s President Hu Jintao and other leaders at the UN General Assembly and climate change talks in New York and the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh. The center-left leader — whose Democratic Party of Japan ended more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule in a Hatoyama sweeping election win last month — rated his whirlwind trip as “extremely fulfilling.” “By meeting with so many leaders on my diplomatic debut, I was able to send a message saying Japan’s politics have changed,” said the soft-spoken, Stanford-trained engineer. Hatoyama, the scion of a powerful political dynasty, impressed counterparts with a pledge to cut Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 and to step up aid to poor countries to combat climate change. “Hatoyama made an ideal debut as the 25 percent reduction has a great impact,” said Tetsuro Kato, a professor of politics at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. Pledge “But at the same time the pledge, now turning out to be an international one, is weighing heavily on his shoulders,” Kato said. Some Japanese business leaders have warned the 25-percent reduction may force ailing manufacturers to flee overseas and estimated the burden to be at 360,000 yen ($4,000) for each individual Japanese each year. “I know some industries are saying it’s impossible, but I believe we can make it by fully making use of our science and technology,” Hatoyama said. “I believe in the Japanese people. I’m confident.” Hatoyama also believed he was able to get off to a good start with the United States, saying: I was able to build some sort of relationship of trust with President Obama.” Obama during his meeting with Obama called the half-century alliance with Japan a “cornerstone” for US diplomacy and said he would visit Tokyo in November. Hatoyama “successfully showed his philosophy and now it’s time to face reality,” said Takehiko Yamamoto, a political professor at Waseda University in Tokyo. Events “On the issue of the Japan-US alliance, the next key stage will come in November when various diplomatic events are scheduled, including Obama’s visit to Japan,” Yamamoto said. Hatoyama said he would move quickly to find a way to provide support to Afghanistan for Obama, who has invested political capital into rooting out Islamic extremists from the war-torn country. Hatoyama plans to end an Indian Ocean naval refueling mission that supports the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan, but has proposed offering job training for former Afghan soldiers as a possible alternative. While in opposition, his party briefly forced a halt to the naval mission through parliamentary maneuvers, arguing that Japan — officially pacifist since World War II — should not abet “American wars.” Hatoyama in the past has criticized “US-led globalism” and called for “more equal” ties between the United States and Japan. But Hatoyama’s first trip abroad also saw a diplomatic setback for Japan as Obama declared that the Group of 20 would be the premier global economic forum, not the cozier Group of Eight. Hatoyama said the G8, of which Japan is the only member, should not end. “I don’t really think the significance of the G8 has disappeared,” he said. The world’s second largest economy has looked on with unease as a greater spotlight falls on its growing neighbor China, which is a key member of the G20 and has blocked Japan’s bids for permanent membership on the UN Security Council.

South Korean Cha Pan-Yei (left), cries with her North Korean relatives during a family reunion meeting at the North’s Mount Kumgang resort near the inter-Korean border, Sept 26. (AFP)

Reunions Hugs, sobs as Koreans reunite after 56 years

Split by war meet to say goodbye A pro-Tibet activist wears a face mask emblazoned with the slogan ‘Save Tibet’ during an anti-China demonstration in Tokyo, Sept 26. Some 200 Tibetans, Uighurs, Inner Mongolians and their Japanese supporters held an anti-China rally outside the communist country’s embassy in Tokyo as Beijing winds up to play host to a massive celebration for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. (AFP)

Lee

King

Asia

SEOUL, Sept 26, (Agencies): Ninetyseven South Koreans crossed a heavily armed border on Saturday to meet family members in the communist North in fleeting reunions arranged by the rivals split by war and ideology more than half a century ago. The two Koreas began reunions in 2000 for the hundreds of thousands of divided families, but the events have been on hold for about two years due to political tension, denying many Koreans their dying wish to see relatives they left behind. Most of the hundreds of thousands of South Koreans looking for lost family members in the North are 70 or older, meaning time is running out. The reunion at the North Korean resort of Mount Kumgang was an outpouring of sorrow, joy and relief as family members lost for more than half a century were reunited. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?” said Chung Dae-chun, who at 95 is the oldest person to be taking part in the three-day event, as he was reunited with his son, who is hearing impaired and appeared older than his trim and alert father. Destitute North Korea, stung by UN sanctions triggered by nuclear and missile tests, has in recent months reached out to the South, once a major aid donor, pro-

posing renewed business ties and resuming the emotionally charged reunions. The 97 South Koreans are meeting 240 North Korean sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters in Mount Kumgang just miles from the border on the peninsula’s east coast. Ninety-nine North Koreans who sought relatives in the South will follow in another three days of reunions meeting 449 who will travel from the South.

Abducted

The two have also set up closed-circuit television links for video reunions. Tears that had been held back for almost 60 years streamed down the face of Kim Hye-Kyong, 83, who met her daughter for the first time since they were separated during the Korean war. “I have been always feeling guilty since I left you when you were only three years old,” Hye-Kyong told her daughter. “Don’t worry mother. I am well off here,” the daughter replied calmly, holding her mother’s hands in her palms. Hye-Kyong brought her daughter a traditional Hanbok Korean costume that she had made herself. Noh Sun-Ho, a 50-year-old woman, was reunited with her brother, Noh Sung-Ho, whose fishing boat and 11 other colleagues were captured by a North Korean patrol boat near the interKorean border in 1987. Tearfully, they hugged tight. “I’ve been missing you so much,” Sun-Ho said.

The weekend event included the reunion of two people who were abducted by the North after the war and one prisoner of war captured and held in the North during the 1950-53 Korean War. “Don’t cry. What’s there to cry about when we are all doing well like this?” said Yoon Jung-hwa to her sister-in-law who was meeting her brother whose fishing vessel was abducted 22 years ago by the North off the west coast. The North has refused to acknowledge the plight of more than 1,000 civilians and prisoners of war believed to be alive in the North but allowed some to take part in the reunions. There have been 16 rounds of family reunions for about 16,000 people from both the South and the North since they began in 2000 after a landmark summit between the rivals’ leaders that year that led to a rapid warming of ties.

“After coming to the North, I’ve been living quite well. I got a decent job in Pyongyang. Those who knew me in the South wouldn’t believe that I was even sent to a college (by the North Korean government),” the brother said. His North Korean wife said Sung-Ho is now a “proud” member of the North’s ruling communist party.

Lee’s suggested approach, based on his conservative ruling party’s long-standing demand for reciprocity in Seoul’s dealings with

Pyongyang, is to offer a “grand bargain” of economic assistance to the impoverished North once it gives up its nuclear ambitions.

Decent

Lee Kwe-Suk, 79, was conscripted into the South Korean army during the Korean war and listed as killed in action before he was recently found alive in the North. “I failed to be a filial son for my parents but I always miss them so much,” Kwe-Suk said after he met a South Korean brother who told him that their parents have already passed away. “I’m so overwhelmed by emotions. I cannot even shed tears,” Kwe-Suk said. Earlier on Saturday, a group of 97 elderly South Koreans, including eight in their 90s and 52 octogenarians, drove through the heavily fortified interKorean border towards the Mount Kumgang resort on the North’s east coast. A total of 100 South Koreans were chosen for the reunion programme but three pulled out at the last moment for health reasons. The reunion programme had been suspended for two years as ties between Pyongyang and Seoul’s conservative government deteriorated. The communist state has agreed to resume them as part of a series of recent peace overtures. For three days starting Saturday afternoon, the 97 South Koreans will be reunited with their 240 relatives in the North who were found to be still alive and able to travel.

‘No choice but to disarm’: North Korea must be faced with “no choice” but to abandon its nuclear arms programs, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Friday, calling for a mix of allied firmness and incentives to test Pyongyang’s intention to disarm. Lee said it was not clear weather North Korea’s recent small hints of flexibility in the 15-year-old nuclear standoff were aimed at getting economic aid or staving off UN sanctions following its second nuclear test in May. “But one thing that we can be certain of is the fact that the North Koreans will not readily give up their nuclear program,” he said after the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh. “What’s important, then, is for the international community to work very closely together so that North Korea will be in a position whereby they will have no choice but to give up all of their nuclear weapons,” he said. Regional powers have been trying to get the North back to six-way talks on ending its nuclear weapons program in return for aid and diplomatic rewards, but Pyongyang has refused to return to the table and instead sought direct negotiations with Washington. China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States have engaged in years of negotiations with North Korea, holding out the promise of economic help and diplomatic recognition in exchange for Pyongyang giving up its nuclear arms programs. Lee expressed frustration at the pace of those protracted talks in an an interview with Reuters, The Associated Press and Dow Jones News Wires. “We know that negotiating with North Korea has always been a process whereby we make

one step forward and we take two steps back, and we go back and forth and back and forth, without achieving much results,” he said.

Critics hail vote

‘No’ to casino

Chinese paramilitary police go through martial arts training at a camp in Hefei in central China’s Anhui province on Sept 26. Security forces across have been stepping up their readiness ahead of the politically sensitive Oct 1 60th National Day celebrations. (AP)

MAKUNG, Taiwan, Sept 26, (AFP): Residents of Taiwan’s Penghu group of islands on Saturday voted against hosting a new casino following the repeal of a law banning such gambling facilities. Of 73,651 eligible voters who took part in a referendum, 17,359 voted against a casino in the Taiwan Strait archipelago, against 13,397 votes in favour and 298 invalid votes, the Penghu county government said. Critics of gambling hailed the outcome, to the disappointment of those who had argued that casinos would help boost the local economy. “We are very proud. This is a victory for all Penghu people,” said Lin Chang-xing, head of the Casino Opposition Alliance. “I was looking forward to seeing Taiwan’s first casino in Penghu, which would revive the sluggish local economy and improve everybody’s lives,” said Hsueh Ming-ching.

“In order for us to really accurately assess North Korea’s true intent, that is the reason I proposed a grand bargain, whereby we will really have to deal with this in a one-shot deal and to try to bring about a fundamental resolution,” he said. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Human rights envoy named: The United States said Friday it was “very concerned” about human rights violations in North Korea, as President Barack Obama named an envoy to focus on the issue. “We’re deeply concerned about the situation in North Korea, particularly the plight of North Korean refugees, and human rights in general,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. His comments came as Obama nominated Robert King to serve as his first special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, replacing Jay Lefkowitz, who left his post in January after serving under former president George W. Bush. If confirmed by the Senate, King will work as part of US special representative for North Korea Stephen Bosworth’s team and cooperate with other top State Department officials involved in Washington’s policy toward Pyongyang, according to Kelly. He will also serve as the liaison with human rights groups and other non-governmental organizations “to try and highlight the problem of North Korean human rights and trying to promote a more transparent political system in North Korea,” said Kelly. Scores of North Koreans are believed to flee the hardline communist state each year as they desperately seek a way out of extreme poverty and malnutrition. (AFP)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

18

World News Roundup Africa Parties to tackle elections: Major Sudanese political parties were to meet late Saturday for talks on crucial issues in the buildup to the first full elections in Africa’s biggest nation for 24 years. The Juba Conference has been put back several times but is to finally open on Saturday evening in the capital of semiautonomous South Sudan and is scheduled to continue until Tuesday. Even so, it will not include anyone from President Omar alBashir’s National Congress Party, which is boycotting the event. The conference is being hosted by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), a former rebel group that since 2005 has been part of a national unity govBashir ernment with the NCP. More than 2,000 people have died and 250,000 been displaced in inter-tribal violence across the south since January, according to the United Nations, with the rate of violent deaths now exceeding that of war-torn Darfur in west Sudan. People promising to take part in the Juba meeting include Umma party leader Sadek alMahdi, who was elected prime minister in 1986 but overthrown three years later when Bashir launched a coup. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Group blocks coup leader: African nations blocked the president of Madagascar from addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, saying his rise to power through a military coup made him illegitimate. The Democratic Republic of Congo, speaking on behalf of the 15-member Southern African Development Community, said Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina should be barred, a motion later carried by a vote on the Assembly floor. “Madagascar is represented at this session of the assembly by persons who rose from an attempted coup,” Congo Foreign Minister Alexis Thambwe-Mwamba said as the delegation from the oil and mineral producing Indian Ocean island sat silently at their desk. The president of the Assembly, Libya’s Ali Triki, said the UN legal counsel had ruled that Rajoelina — who had received an official UN invitation to attend the assembly — should be allowed to participate and then called for a vote that quickly led to confusion. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Junta leader faces ‘dead city’:

A Taoist sprinkles holy water during the parade to celebrate the upcoming 60th anniversary National Day of China at the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong, Sept 26. Wong Tai Sin is a Chinese deity popular in Hong Kong with the power of healing. His name literally translates to the ‘Great Immortal Wong’. (AP)

Asia Extreme weather kills 9: A boat carrying foreign tourists sank in the popular scenic destination of Halong Bay, killing three, while extreme weather elsewhere in Vietnam left another six dead, disaster officials said Saturday. The boat sank in heavy winds Thursday evening as it was returning to port with 25 tourists and a crew of seven, said disaster official Doan Van That. Two foreigners and a Vietnamese citizen drowned and another Vietnamese national remains missing. The other passengers were saved by the crews of other boats cruising Halong Bay, a world heritage site famous for dramatic limestone peaks that jut from its waters. That did not know the nationalities of the foreign passengers who died. In the central province of Nghe An, two fishing boats sank Friday in heavy winds, leaving one man dead and another missing, provincial disaster official Dang Van Minh said. Elsewhere in the province, three girls were killed Friday when a 3-meter brick wall fell on them while they were walking to school, Minh said. The old wall on the grounds of a local government building had been weakened by heavy rains, he said. Flooding in Nghe An swept away and drowned two men who were trying to cross a stream Friday, Minh said. Storms in Vietnam kill hundreds of people each year. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Banned China book to be released: A Hong Kong publisher best known for a memoir of the Chinese premier ousted for opposing a crackdown on student protesters in Tiananmen Square is releasing a critique of authoritarian rule that is banned in mainland China. “The Rethinking of Chinese Civilization” goes on sale in Hong Kong on Monday, editor Bao Pu said Saturday. That is just three days before a massive Oct 1 celebration in Beijing of the 60th anniversary of Communist rule. The Chinese-language book by veteran journalist Xiao Jiansheng was banned on the mainland in 2007. The book is sensitive because its criticism of authoritarian governments in ancient China could be seen as a veiled attack on the current regime. Xiao questioned the oppressive rule of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 206 BC), usually praised by Chinese historians because its leaders defeated rival states and united the country. He also praised the political and religious freedom during the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279), seen by Chinese historians as weak because China was divided during the latter part of the period. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Dust storm hits Australia east: A giant dust storm swept eastern Australia on Saturday, turning Sydney’s air yellow and causing breathing problems just days after the worst such incident in decades caused apocalyptic scenes in the city. Howling winds pushed the 200-kilometre (125-mile) wide cloud of desert dust through Sydney and up the coast to Brisbane, prompting a rash of emergency calls as residents choked on gritty air. While Sydney’s early-morning visibility was sharply reduced, the storm did not approach Wednesday’s doomsday situation, when the city awoke to an unearthly red glow and was coated with a fine layer of grit. Satellite pictures showed the thick band of dust sweeping from central Australia towards the east coast, with visibility in Sydney limited to five kilometres, said forecaster Barry

Philippines ‘Not a fan of constitutional change’

Aquino fears dirty tricks Buddhist monks walk inside the Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon, Sept 26, the day that marks the two-year anniversary of the ruling junta’s crackdown on Buddhist monks who led mass street protests. At least 31 people were killed in the 2007 crackdown which led to stepped up Western sanctions on military-run Myanmar. (AFP)

Mao

Xinyu

No general yet A spokesman for Mao Zedong’s grandson has denied media reports that the revolutionary leader’s descendant had been made a general in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a report said Saturday. “Mao Xinyu can be appointed only next year before the anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Liberation Army (Aug 1)”, Guo Jinliang, private secretary for Mao Xinyu, was quoted as saying by the Guangdong Weekly. State media had reported Tuesday that Mao Xinyu, a politician and researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences, had been promoted in June, making him the PLA’s youngest general. However, the Guangdong Weekly on Saturday also quoted Mao Xinyu as saying of any promotion that “it is premature to talk about it. I will talk about it when it happens.” State media reported earlier this week that Mao had attended a function sponsored by the government of Hunan province — his grandfather’s homeland — wearing the decorations of a major-general. (AFP) Hanstrum. “We’ve got an area of widespread dust but not as thick as it was on Wednesday,” said Hanstrum. Sydney’s air quickly cleared in blustery

DAVAO, Philippines, Sept 26, (RTRS): Philippines presidential candidate Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, the son of democracy icon and former president Cory Aquino, is worried about his safety and graft ahead of next year’s vote. In his first major interview since announcing two weeks ago that he would run for president next May, “Noynoy” Aquino also distanced himself from calls for constitutional change to woo foreign investors. Aquino told Reuters that he could fall victim to poll fraud or even be assassinated, like his father was in 1983, during the rule of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. When his mother Cory was president, Aquino was shot during an attempted coup by rebel soldiers and still has a bullet lodged in his neck and scars on his left arm. Asked if he feared an attack on his life, Aquino said, smiling: “You cannot discount it.” Aquino, 49, has zoomed up the popularity charts since announcing he would run and one survey had him winning 50 percent of the vote in the northern region of Luzon, where most of the Philippines’ 92 million people live. He says his plank will be good goverconditions as the storm headed north. However, emergency services registered a sharp increase in call-outs for people with breathing problems.

nance, and although he has to fully work out his economic policies, they will be centred on more infrastructure, tax reform and better utilisation of budget funds. Aquino says he is not a fan of amending the 1987 constitution that was adopted by his mother, despite complaints from business circles that some of its economic provisions discourage foreign investment. “I liken it to a foundation and before you mess around with the foundation you better make sure it is really at risk,” he told Reuters late on Friday. “It’s an imperfect document, as we are all imperfect beings, but at the same time one has to weigh the risk of losing the provisions that were really, really great.” Accepting the dangers of running for the presidency, he said: “I tend to look at things in a more pessimistic light and prepare for the worst. If the best comes, I am even more elated.

Cudgels “Even if I am not around, there are others who can take up the cudgels, the same way that my father brought about the best in so many other people before he passed away,” he added. Cory Aquino took up the fight against Marcos and ruled as president for six years after the fairytale “People Power” revolu“Thankfully, it’s not as busy as it was on Wednesday with the amount of dust that has been around,” Sydney paramedic David Morris told public broadcaster ABC.

tion in 1986. She died last month and the hundreds of thousands who attended her funeral were a major factor in persuading her son to stand for president next year. On Friday, “Noynoy” Aquino spent the day touring the southern region of Mindanao, where pundits say he has little support, and hundreds of people came out on the streets to cheer as he passed, flashing the “L” hand sign that was a hallmark of anti-Marcos protests. Aquino and his vice-presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas visited two college campuses, and at one, students sang their names to the tune of the 1960s pop hit “Those were the Days”. “They are going to do what is necessary,” said 24-year-old computer student Analie Gesta. “He has the support of the young.” Also in the crowd was 72-year-old retired real estate agent Margarito Gamayo. Asked who he would vote for in May, he said: “Cory Aquino is my idol.” That, analysts say, is the crux of the problem for the Aquino campaign. A 49-year-old bachelor, he has little to show beyond the names of his parents and he may be hard pressed to maintain the surge in support since his mother’s death until the poll. “But between seven and eight o’clock this morning we still had double our jobs for breathing problems compared to yesterday,” he said. (AFP)

‘World-first’ ban

Bottled water pulled

Schoolchildren queue to drink from a new public drinking fountain on the first day of a bottled water ban in the Southern Highlands community of Bundanoon, Sept 26. (AFP)

SYDNEY, Sept 26, (AFP): An Australian town pulled all bottled water from its shelves Saturday and replaced it with refillable bottles in what is believed to be a world-first ban. Hundreds of people marched through the picturesque rural town of Bundanoon to mark the first day of its bottled water ban by unveiling a series of new public drinking fountains, said campaign spokesman John Dee. Shopkeepers ceremoniously removed the last bottles of water from their shelves and replaced them with reusable bottles that can be filled from fountains inside the town’s shops or at water stations in the street. “Every bottle today was taken off shelf and out of the fridges so you can only now buy refillable bottles in shops in Bundanoon,” Dee told AFP.

Guinea’s military ruler headed Saturday in an armed convoy for the country’s second city, the opposition stronghold of Labe, on his first trip outside the capital since seizing power in December last year. Local residents, who took to the streets of Labe in their thousands on Thursday to protest the visit, said Moussa Dadis Camara would be boycotted when he arrived, with shops and businesses shut for the day. Alpha Issiagha Diallo, a representative of local organisations including political parties and trade unions, said a delegation had met government officials on Friday. “We promised that we planned no action to disrupt the visit but we will not have anything to do with it, we are decreeing Labe a dead city on Saturday,” he told AFP. The main market and most shops failed to open as Camara made the 400-kilometre (240 mile) journey by road, and not by helicopter as originally planned. Witnesses said he had left Conakry at the head of a convoy of dozens of vehicles, including jeeps equipped with machine-guns. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Warlord to face trial at ICC: The International Criminal Court on Friday ruled that Germain Katanga, a former militia leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, should be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The appeals chamber is convinced that the (trial) court decided rightly that the case against the accused can be heard,” Judge Daniel David Ntanda Nsereko ruled here, rejecting Katanga’s appeal against trial. On June 1, the defence team had argued that Katanga should not be tried by the ICC because he also faced trial in DR Congo, partly on similar charges to those he faces in The Hague. DR Congo Justice Minister EmmanuelJanvier Luzolo and other officials took part in that hearing and assured the ICC that the case against Katanga at home had been dropped. They said the international court was the appropriate one to try him, but Katanga nevertheless appealed. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Yar’Adua returns to Abuja: Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua has returned to Abuja after a visit to Saudi Arabia, his office said Saturday. “The president is back. He returned to the country last night,” a senior presidential aide told AFP. Yar’Adua, 58, travelled to Saudi Arabia last week, following a medical checkup there last month. According to an official statement released from his office the latest visit, the third in about a year, was at “the invitation of King Abdullah”. He had made an 11-day trip in August for medical checks and the lesser pilgrimage to Islam’s holy sites. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Graft charges political – Ibori: A senior member of Nigeria’s ruling party said on Friday corruption charges against him were politically motivated and pledged to back President Umaru Yar’Adua for a second term should he stand in 2011 elections. Former Delta state governor James Ibori, a member of the Elders’ Committee of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was instrumental in Yar’Adua’s rise to power in 2007 and is one of Nigeria’s most influential and controversial politicians. He is among several former state governors to have been charged by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and several of his associates are facing money laundering charges in the United Kingdom. “We believe that all of the charges bought in the UK and in Nigeria are politically motivated and are driven essentially by Nigerian politics,” Ibori told Reuters in an interview. “What really concerns me is the fact that the UK court seems to have been used ... by disgruntled political office holders to settle scores at home,” he said. (RTRS)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

19

Venezuela Chavez hosts summit

Govt erects Gaddafi tent PORLAMAR, Venezuela, Sept 26, (AP): Venezuela pitched a tent for Muammar Gaddafi as the Libyan leader and President Hugo Chavez headlined a weekend Africa-South America summit aimed at creating a stronger voice for the two regions in world affairs. Gaddafi’s insistence on raising an elaborate tent in suburban Bedford, New York, caused an uproar during this week’s UN General Assembly meeting. But in Venezuela, a tent was erected for his delegation without hitches next to the pool of the hotel where leaders from both continents began to gather Friday. Chavez has been saying for weeks that Chavez Gaddafi is more than welcome to put up the Bedouin tent, which is a fixture wherever he travels, and on Friday night they finally shook hands inside it and sat down for a private talk. The two-day summit starting Saturday on Venezuela’s Margarita Island allows Chavez to strengthen a growing web of “South-South” alliances and attempt a greater leadership role while critiquing US influence internationally. “Africa and South America — We’re going to form two of the large poles of power in that ... multipolar world that has begun to be born,” Chavez said as he arrived for the summit. He said that by uniting, the two regions can confront a legacy of poverty left “by the empires of the North — by the empires of Europe, by the US empire.”

Police officers toss their caps in the air at the end of a promotion ceremony in Sibate, Colombia on Sept 25. About 3,752 police officers were promoted nationwide. (AP)

Honduras

Trademark Nine South American presidents and more than 20 African leaders are to attend, ranging from Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe to Bolivia’s Evo Morales. Gaddafi arrived dressed in white and wearing his trademark sunglasses. He signed a guest book at the hotel and waved to reporters before disappearing with his entourage. Leaders will discuss increasing cooperation in energy, trade, finance, regional security, agriculture, mining, and development projects in what Chavez calls “a summit of great importance for the struggles of the South.” Chavez is particularly close to Gaddafi, whom he calls a “brilliant” revolutionary, and attended anniversary celebrations in Libya marking Gaddafi’s 40-year rule earlier this month. He has praised Gaddafi as a “tireless gladiator” in pressing for African unity — and said the two continents should now take that a step further. Gaddafi made waves at the UN General Assembly this week when he chastised the world body, calling the Security Council the “Terror Council” for failing to prevent dozens of wars. He also caused a stir by pitching a tent — lined with a tapestry of camels and palm trees and outfitted with leather couches and coffee tables — on land owned by real estate mogul Donald Trump. Strong criticisms of the UN, the US and other world powers will likely reign at the Venezuela summit. Chavez also is likely to argue that Africa’s poverty shows the failures of the capitalist system.

Controversial Adam Isacson, a Latin America expert at the Washington-based Center for International Policy, says even controversial African leaders such as Gaddafi and Mugabe represent an opportunity for Chavez. “Chavez, who is quite popular in many African countries, is continuing to round up countries that have poor relations with the United States, regardless of their leaders’ reputation, in an attempt to outweigh US influence,” Isacson said. “He clearly believes there’s strength in numbers, and sees Africa as a way to add to his numbers.” Chavez told leaders at an African Union summit in Libya last month that “the empire doesn’t want us to unite,” referring to the United States. Chavez has had cool, critical words for President Barack Obama lately, and questioned his policies on Thursday at the United Nations saying: “Who are you?” Yet his critiques may have a limited echo in many African countries that maintain friendly relations with Washington, and Obama’s African heritage has made him a point of pride not only in Kenya, his father’s birthplace, but across the continent. A first, smaller gathering of African and Latin American leaders was held in Nigeria in 2006. The timing this year — immediately after the UN General Assembly in New York and G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh — suggests it may turn out to be a forum for many non-G-20 nations to respond and to focus on poorer countries’ concerns.

No meeting with Zelaya: interim leader

Protests, stalemate 90 days after coup

Honduran former first lady Xiomara Castro de Zelaya covers her face with a mask to get some protection from the tear-gas thrown by Honduran police, as she looks at her husband ousted president Manuel Zelaya (out of frame) inside the Brazilian embassy compound in Tegucigalpa on Sept 25. (AFP)

Obama

Castro

Lat/Am Hopeful seeks Obama web magic: The man who ran Barack Obama’s game-changing Internet strategy for last year’s US presidential campaign believes similar methods can transform Brazilian politics and help elect its first female president. Ben Self’s Blue State Digital firm has been hired to advise on an Internet strategy for the possible campaign of Dilma Rousseff, who is likely to run as the ruling Workers’ Party candidate in Brazil’s October 2010 election. As head of digital campaigning for Obama, Self was instrumental in creating the vast online supporter base that helped drive him to the White House and raise a record $500 million in online campaign donations for the Democrat. “Political engagement at this level in the United States is a new thing as well,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview from Washington. “There’s no reason that this kind of political engagement can’t be applied to other countries.” (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Threats bombard TV station: High-wire fences protect the outside from projectiles. Inside, the boss keeps a gas-mask, bullet-proof vest and pillow in his office in case of trouble. Venezuela’s main pro-opposition broadcaster Globovision operates from its cramped offices with a siege mentality after years of conflict with President Hugo Chavez and his backers. “There is a history of trouble, from grenades which almost burned down the station, to destruction of vehicles, physical aggression against reporters and threats to directors,” Globovision’s director Alberto Ravell said in an interview. In the latest physical attack, a proChavez mob stormed the station in early August, launching tear gas grenades and terrifying employees. The government, which says Globovision is the true aggressor thanks to its subversive views and “lunatic” director, this

TEGUCIGALPA, Sept 26, (Agencies): Supporters of Manuel Zelaya were planning mass protests to mark the 90th day since the ouster of the Honduran president on Saturday, as hopes sunk of a rapid solution to the crisis. The deposed president remained holed up in the Brazilian embassy, along with around 60 people including supporters, journalists and diplomats, in increasingly uncomfortable conditions and surrounded by soldiers. The UN Security Council on Friday warned the rebel authorities not to harass the embassy, as Zelaya claimed toxic gases had been pumped inside, causing people to vomit. Chances for either side to change their positions looked increasingly slim. Tensions rose after former rancher Zelaya made a surprise return on Monday, almost three months after soldiers sent him away at gunpoint amid a dispute over his plans to change the constitution. Some 6,000 frustrated Zelaya supporters spilled onto the streets Friday, passing by rows of soldiers in front of the Brazilian embassy, ahead of larger demonstrations planned Saturday. “Thanks, Brazil!” shouted some of the red-clad protesters. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday, speaking at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, that Zelaya “could stay as long as necessary for his safety in month launched yet another legal case against it for airing messages about coup rumors. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Cuba to close govt lunchrooms: Cuba said on Friday it will close state-run lunchrooms in four government ministries and increase the pay of their workers in an experimental reform aimed at cutting government subsidies. The move is part of President Raul Castro’s

the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.” Zelaya claimed Friday that noxious gases were being pumped into the embassy and called on the Red Cross for assistance. “We have here some 60 people who are trying to breathe in the courtyard. There are people who are vomiting blood. A toxic gas has been disseminated,” he told AFP in a phone interview. A police spokesman categorically denied the use of gas. In New York, the UN Security Council called for the protection of the Brazilian embassy at a emergency meeting.

Siege Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said the embassy was “virtually under siege.” The de facto leaders have insisted the compound will not be taken by force and denied they were responsible for initial power and water cuts. They also underlined on Friday that they were not ready to meet with a delegation of diplomats hoping to help mediate the crisis. “Honduran politics are not a threat to international peace and security, and, as a consequence, there should be a Honduran solution” to the stalemate, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The previous day they said they would accept a visit by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and Panama’s Vice President Juan Carlos Varela as part of a mediation campaign to reduce spending by weaning Cubans off the dole and cutting graft. If it works, it will be “extended gradually to the whole country,” Communist Party newspaper Granma reported. The newspaper said more than 3.5 million people get subsidized lunches at 24,700 state lunchrooms every work day, at a cost of $350 million annually to the government. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

effort proposed by former US president Jimmy Carter. But Arias told Costa Rican radio Friday that he was not planning “for the moment” to go to Honduras. “The preliminary work needs to be done by the (foreign) ministers” of regional countries and representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), Arias added. The de facto leaders said late Friday they were postponing their invitation to the OAS mission.

Refuge Earlier, Honduras’ interim leader says ousted President Manuel Zelaya might be allowed to leave the foreign embassy where he has taken refuge without being arrested if he is granted political asylum outside the country. Interim President Roberto Micheletti told The Associated Press in an interview late Friday that the final decision would be up to the courts to make. As for him, he said that at least for the moment he won’t negotiate face-to-face with Zelaya. Micheletti positions underscored the total lack of progress the two sides have made in resolving Honduras’ political crisis in the five days since Zelaya secretly returned to the country, demanding to be reinstated. Asked under what circumstances Zelaya could leave the Brazilian Embassy where he took refuge after sneaking into

US extradites kidnapping suspect: The United States has extradited to Mexico a woman wanted in a kidnapping that grabbed headlines after the victim’s mother outperformed police in finding several suspects. The Attorney General’s Office says that Brenda Quevedo is in the custody of Mexican federal authorities. Quevedo is a suspect in the 2005 kidnapping of Hugo Alberto Wallace. Quevedo was arrested in Louisville,

the country Monday, Micheletti replied, “either through political asylum or by obeying the courts.” Micheletti has insisted that if Zelaya stays in the country, he must turn himself over to face charges of treason and abuse of authority for repeatedly ignoring court orders to drop plans for a referendum on rewriting the constitution — the issue that sparked the coup. Zelaya has said he has no intention of leaving Honduras — or abandoning the office to which he was elected. Micheletti also said that he would not meet with Zelaya. “I am not going to talk with him at this time, but I have representatives talking with him,” he told the AP in an interview at government headquarters. A representative of the interim administration met with Zelaya on Wednesday night “and the results were nil,” Micheletti said, adding that Zelaya himself has insisted on ‘restoration or death.”’ Micheletti also referred to Zelaya supporters waging protests in the streets as “nothing more than a group of insurgents.” “They are nothing more than bums looking for an opportunity to steal,” he said. Hopes for a solution had been stoked by the possibility that international mediators would step in to help resolve the crisis. Kentucky, in 2007 after Wallace’s mother, Maria Isabel Miranda, received a tip and tracked her down. Mexico announced the extradition in a statement issued Friday. It is not clear when Quevedo arrived in the country. Frustrated with investigators’ lack of progress in her son’s case, Miranda launched her own investigation, tracking down five suspects, including Quevedo. All are now in custody. (AP)

Bodies show signs of torture

Mass graves of peasants, rebels unearthed

Federal agents escort alleged cartel hitmen (front to back): Roberto Salas, Luis Alfredo Galindo, Fernando Monte Godina (partially seen), Sergio Estrada Gutierrez and Julio Cesar Aleman in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Sept 25. Police said Friday the men, who are accused of dozens of murders, including two mass killings at drug treatment centers in this northern Mexico border city, are members of the Sinaloa cartel. (AP)

BOGOTA, Sept 26, (AP): The chief prosecutor’s office said Friday it has unearthed the remains of 17 peasants tortured and killed at a ranch that belonged to the sinceslain, far-right militia leader Carlos Castano in Colombia’s northwest. In the southern jungles, meanwhile, the Colombian military said it had discovered a mass grave holding 16 rebels believed killed in combat, including a nephew of a top guerrilla commander. Castano The peasants were believed slain 10 to 12 years ago by men under the command of Jesus Ignacio Roldan, alias “Monoleche,” a Castano lieutenant who later participated in the 2004 murder of the right-wing militia leader, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Castano was apparently killed because he was upset that other militia warlords had turned his anti-guerrilla movement into regional drug-trafficking criminal mafias and they were afraid he would betray them to US drug agents. All the bodies found at the “La 35” ranch in the Uraba banana-growing region “were dismembered and showed signs of torture,” the statement said. Nibaldo Jimenez, exhumations coordinator in the prosecutor’s office for victims of the right-wing paramilitaries, told The Associated Press that his unit has unearthed the remains of 2,570 people since the militias began demobilizing in 2005 under a peace pact with the government. The militias often colluded with members of Colombia’s armed forces in a dirty war targeting suspected leftist rebel sympathizers. Prosecutors say demobilized paramilitaries have confessed to more than 25,000 killings.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

INTERNATIONAL

20

World News Roundup Climate Deal in doubt

Green ‘talks’ in Bangkok resume

In this May 2, 2009 file photo, a villager holding umbrella to protect himself from sun, walks over parched land on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, India. Inset: In this July 28, 2009 file photo, drivers pull their rickshaws carrying passengers through a flooded street in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AP)

Environment

Warming

Mittal dismisses pollution claims: Strike Matsepe used his life savings to buy a small plot of land near the country’s biggest steel mill, hoping it would become a thriving farm in his old age. Now, weathered and sick, the 80 year old has had to abandon his dream — the land and ground water are so polluted his cattle have died and crops failed. On Friday, ArcelorMittal SA, the world’s largest steel marker, dismissed allegations of severe environmental damage and unethical business practices at the mill. In 2002, the company took over the 67-year-old plant that residents and environmental groups say has polluted their lives. Company officials acknowledge there is air and water pollution but say that emissions comply with legislation and that clean-up operations are under way. They also say there are regular meetings with communities to address their concerns. Nearly 500 families used to live on the farmlands known as Steel Valley, opposite the mill’s mountainous waste dump. Only four families, including Matsepe’s, continue to hold onto land. A series of legal challenges and out-of-court settlements have resulted in buyouts of farms, and many people have moved away. “This is a David and Goliath story,” sociologist Jacklyn Cock said. “This is about the power of the corporation. ArcelorMittal has had an impact not only on air and water quality but people have lost their livelihoods and lives.” Matsepe, who bought the farm in 1992, has refused efforts by the steel mill to buy his land. He wants the polluters brought to justice and for him to be adequately compensated. “If I die now, my wife will get nothing because my pension is gone and my cattle. Everything I worked for is gone now, and my children will get nothing of the labor of my hands,” Matsepe said. The 5,683 acre (2,300 hectare) Vanderbijlpark plant is situated in the country’s industrial heartland about 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Johannesburg. Smoke billows from its chimney stacks and fine black dust blows from the dump. Environmental experts say ground water has been contaminated by toxins that cause disease and birth defects. The company has also faced charges of price-fixing, and a case relating to market collusion is pending. Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal is the target of a global campaign by environmental groups to ensure European multinationals are liable for the social and environmental impacts of their subsidiaries. On Thursday about 20 former residents of the valley gathered in a makeshift shed on Matsepe’s property to recount their experiences to a group of international journalists and environmental activists. They spoke about how animals were born deformed and how tea would foam when they poured milk into it. Clothes would be bleached of their colors after washing; tins of food and even metal window frames would rust away. “My oldest daughter has three different kinds of cancer. All my children are sick, and what is really frightening is that my grandchildren are also sick. This is from, I believe, where we stayed,” said Joey Cock, 71. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Books puts summit at risk: Denmark fears that security at the upcoming UN climate conference will be compromised by revelations in a book by a former Danish commando, the Politiken newspaper reported Friday. Defense Minister Soeren Gade told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that details about summit security were among the reasons the Danish military tried - unsuccessfully - to ban the book, it said, citing several unnamed sources. Much of Staff Sergeant Thomas Rathsack’s book “Hunter: With the Elite at War” deals with the work of Denmark’s elite

River gypsies drop nomadic lifestyle

Houseboat hits dry land

A Delta II rocket lifts off the launch pad at complex 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Sept 25, with the Space Tracking and Surveillance System satellite on board. (AP)

McMillan

Nichols

KHURIA, Bangladesh, Sept 26, (AFP): At the end of every year, after the monsoon rains, Noor Hossain dismantles his houseboat on the Bangladeshi delta and heads to the mainland. This time he will not be coming back. Hossain is one of about 800,000 river gypsies, known locally as bedey, who for generations have lived on the nation’s waterways between May and December, and on land for the rest of the year. But now he has decided to give up his nomadic lifestyle because he says the rivers are increasingly erratic and impossible to navigate — which experts attribute to effects of climate change and upstream development. For Hossain, who wears only a “lunghi” cloth wrapped around his waist, it means an end of the eightmonth season during which he and the families of his four children paddled two rickety bamboo houseboats across the vast delta. “Many rivers, canals and streams are drying up. We can no longer get to remote areas and without that, we can’t make a living,” said Hossain, 48, who earns some income diving for jewellery lost by women bathing. He also catches fish, mainly for his own family’s consumption, while his wife and two daughters-in-law are the biggest income earners, selling ornaments and offering herbal treatments for toothache. Although there is no caste-system in Bangladesh, bedeys are on the bottom

rung of society and almost all are illiterate and desperately poor. They mostly survive by being skilled snake charmers or by selling ornaments, traditional medicine and cosmetics in villages. Some Bangladeshis believe they also have secret healing powers. But, according to Grambangla Unnayan Committee, a Dhaka-based charity, Bangladesh’s bedey community could disappear within a few decades as they abandon their annual migration between land and water. “The shift to the mainland is happening at a speedy rate. Just 15 years ago, all bedeys were based on water. Pretty soon we may not have any gypsies on our rivers,” said A.K.M Maksud, the charity’s head.

Water He said that in the past decade alone 250,000 bedeys had been forced off the water and predicted that within two years 90 percent of gypsies would have to live on land permanently. Retired history professor Jainal Abedin Khan, who has written books about bedeys, said that they arrived in Bangladesh in the 17th century when the region was part of the Mughal empire. “They originally hail from what is now Myanmar but they moved across into the delta,” he said. “They are a huge part of folklore here, and are the origin of many myths and legends.” Low-lying Bangladesh has one of the world’s largest water networks, crisscrossed by 700 rivers, tributaries and

canals which cover 24,000 kilometres (15,000 miles) or seven percent of the country’s surface. Bangladesh’s Inland Water Transport Authority says that today just 16,000 kilometres of waterways are navigable during the rainy seasons and 6,000 kilometres in the dry months from November to April. International scientists believe that Bangladesh — through which the mighty Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers flow into the sea — is one of the countries worst affected by climate change. Government river expert Muhammad Imdadul Huq said that increased pollution and changing weather patterns, including unpredictable rains, were the main reasons why rivers were suffering. “This year we barely had any rain during June. We almost had a drought until heavy rain finally arrived in August. The weather is definitely changing and inconsistent rain — heavy one month, dry the next — affects our waterways,” Huq said. Many rivers and streams are also drying up because of human extraction of water, large-scale dumping of industrial waste and unplanned building of hundreds of dams, he added. Cultural experts say bedeys face many social as well as environmental pressures. “The ornaments they sell are no longer in demand. Orthodox medicine is preferred so there is no demand for their products,” said Habibur Rahman, professor of sociology at Dhaka University.

Carbon fee OK’d Despite industry objections and threats of lawsuits, California air regulators on Friday approved the nation’s first statewide carbon fee on utilities, oil refineries and other polluting industries. The fee will be imposed at the end of 2010 and raise $63.1 million annually during its first three years. The amount will level off at $36.2 million in the fifth year. “Given the economic climate, we believe it is extremely unwise to ask businesses to pay more government fees,” said Jacque McMillan, a member of the Valley Industry Commerce Association, which represents businesses in the San Fernando Valley. “It’s never pleasant to be in the position of asking consumers to pay,” chairwoman Mary Nichols said at the board’s meeting in the Southern California city of Diamond Bar. “While we are asking for investments here, these are investments being made as our economy begins to come back from the worst recession since the Great Depression.”(AP) Jaegerkorpset (Huntsmen Corps) special forces unit in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Agencies) But it also mentions security measures taken

for a European Union summit in Copenhagen in 2002 - including how EU leaders in an emergency would have been rescued from their

hotel-room windows by rapelling soldiers. With support from the defense ministry, the Danish armed forces tried to get the book

banned on grounds of military secrecy, notably invoking the security of Danish soldiers in Afghanistan. (AFP)

‘Be my friend’

Gorillas invade FB

In this undated image provided on Sept 25 by Bristol University, England, showing a reconstruction image extrapolated from a feathered dinosaur fossil, called Anchiornis huxleyi, discovered in north-eastern China. Experts at Bristol University think the fossil provides hard evidence that some prehistoric creatures evolved into birds. (AP)

KAMPALA, Uganda, Sept 26, (AP): He’s hairy, his table manners are atrocious, and he wants to be your friend on Facebook. No, it’s not the ex-boyfriend. It’s Muhozi, an endangered Ugandan mountain gorilla, who’s appearing online as part of a fundraising program the Ugandan Wildlife Authority is launching Saturday to help save the species. The Wildlife Authority is hoping that fans will befriend a gorilla on Facebook or MySpace or follow it on Twitter in return for a minimum donation of a dollar. The money will be used to hire extra rangers to protect the gorillas and safeguard their habitat.

BANGKOK, Sept 26, (AP): Two years ago, governments from around the world came together on the island of Bali and agreed to urgently rein in the heat-trapping gases blamed for deadly heat waves, melting glaciers and rising seas. But with just over two months left to reach a deal at a conference in Copenhagen on fighting climate change, negotiations have bogged down over the big issues of emissions targets and financing for poor nations. The climate negotiations resume Monday in Bangkok, but a growing chorus of voices is warning a pact may be out of reach this year. “The odds of concluding a final comprehensive treaty in Copenhagen are vanishingly small. Many world leaders have started to acknowledge that,” said David M. Rubenstein, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. At Copenhagen, the international community will try to forge a pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which De Boer expires in 2012. UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told The Associated Press on Friday that negotiations were far behind where they should be. But he said he remained confident a deal would be reached in Copenhagen and that pushing negotiations into 2010 wasn’t an option. Disappointed Many activists said they were disappointed that a G-20 meeting ended Friday in Pittsburgh without an agreement on financial assistance to help poor countries shift to cleaner economies. “With 72 days to Copenhagen, rich countries have once again refused to put up the funds needed to deliver the deal in Copenhagen,” David Waskow, a climate adviser for Oxfam America, said in Pittsburgh. “For the hard-hit countries already on the front lines of climate change, the rich countries’ failure to act is particularly devastating,” he added. At the Bangkok meeting, the second to last before Copenhagen, 1,500 delegates from 180 countries will try to reduce the 200-page draft agreement to something more manageable. Along the way, they hope to close the gap between rich and poor positions and come close to agreement on such issues as reducing deforestation and sharing of technology. The two-week meeting follows a UN climate summit last week in New York, where 100 world leaders expressed their support for a deal. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaders of the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitting countries, each vowed tough measures to combat climate change. Targets Hu said China would generate 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources within a decade, and for the first time pledged to reduce “by a notable margin” its carbon pollution growth rate as measured against economic growth. He did not give specific targets. Japan’s new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, whose nation generates more than 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, pledged his government would seek a 25 percent cut in emissions from 1990 levels by 2020. “One of the big questions for Bangkok is whether the positive, qualitative spirit we saw from heads of state and ministers (in New York) will trickle down to the negotiating level and make countries more willing to clear away some of underbrush of the text,” said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists. “If we come into Copenhagen with 200 pages of text with hundred of brackets (marking undecided text) and all kinds of options on the table, that will be hard for ministers and heads of state to grapple with and reach a political deal,” he said. Most countries want a new climate pact that includes measures limiting temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, a level necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But so far, there is no consensus on how to reach that goal. Industrialized nations have offered emission cuts of 15 percent to 23 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 — far short of the 25 percent to 40 percent cuts scientists and activists say are needed to keep temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius.

‘Footloose’ remake, ‘Hairspray’ sequel in the works

Film

‘Fame’ rides money-spinning musicals wave LOS ANGELES, Sept 26, (RTRS): A family-friendly remake of the 1980 movie “Fame” swung into theaters Friday, riding a lucrative wave of song-and-dance shows on the big and small screen. Aimed squarely at young girls, the 2009 version of New York performing arts high school students hoping to live their dreams is as squeakyclean as director Alan Parker’s original was gritty. Updated with rap tunes and hiphop choreography, the new version barely grazes issues of poverty, sexual exploitation and drugs that lay beneath the exuberance of “Fame” almost 30 years ago. Instead, the remake seeks to tap

into the money-spinning teen market blazed by Disney’s $1 billion-plus “High School Musical” franchise, the worldwide “Idol” TV talent show franchise, and the feature adaptation of “Mamma Mia!” that was the fifthbiggest movie of 2008 with global ticket sales of $609 million. “The musical is definitely back,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst with Hollywood.com. “There was a time when it was thought to be the kiss of death. ‘Fame’ has been completely retooled for the teen market and it is a very smart move.” First-time director Kevin Tancharoen, 25, said the current popularity of song-and-dance shows

directly influenced the approach to the remake. “We all made a conscious decision that we wanted to take the uplifting nature of the film and make people feel they were having a good time,” said Tancharoen, a former choreographer for Britney Spears and Madonna. “With all the spectacles out there, people are very interested in seeing dance. We wanted to give them that and also a glimpse of the hard work that goes into being a performing artist, as opposed to social issues,” he said. “Fame” has just two musical numbers from the original — the title song and “Out Here on My Own” —

and six new songs. Debbie Allen, who played tough dance teacher Lydia Grant in 1980, returns to the cast, while Kelsey Grammer of “Frasier” fame, Megan Mullally of “Will & Grace,” Broadway star Bebe Neuwirth and Hollywood actor Charles S. Dutton round out the list of well-known faces playing teachers. Dergarabedian said he expected “Fame” to earn about $15 million at this weekend’s North American box office — a modest sum compared to the $42 million opening haul for “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” in October 2008. But “Fame” has a cast of mostly unknown youngsters and was made

for about $20 million, which should turn a profit for closely held studio MGM. Other movie musicals in the works in Hollywood include a remake of 1984’s “Footloose,” starring “Gossip Girl” teen heartthrob Chace Crawford, and a sequel to the 2007 movie version of “Hairspray.” On US television, ABC’s competition show “Dancing with the Stars” attracted 17.5 million viewers this week for its 9th season opener, while Fox’s acclaimed new comedy “Glee” — a quirky take on musical theater geeks — became the first new TV show of the season to be picked up for a full 22 episodes. “Glee” costs a reported $3 million

per episode to produce, much of it on acquiring musical rights. But with an iTunes hook-up, an album coming in November, and licensing agreements already with Australia, the Philippines and Canada, Fox believes it is in tune with the public mood. “Our show is no different (financially) from any other first-year Fox show. The difference is that instead of smashing cars and blowing up buildings, we’re singing songs and dancing,” said “Glee” Executive Producer Dante DiLoreto. “I think the whole world’s a better place if there is more singing and dancing.”

Features

Variety

British actress, Naomi Watts (left), gestures as she poses with her film colleague, USA actress Kerry Washington (right), and Colombian film director, Rodrigo Garcia (center), during the photo-call to promote their film ‘Mother and Child’ at the 57th Film Festival in San Sebastian, northern Spain, Sept 26. The San Sebastian Film Festival is the oldest and most prestigious in the Spanish speaking World with a strong focus on European and US movie. (AP)

Film

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

‘2012’ gets big push with novel TV promo ROME: Meryl Streep, Richard Gere and George Clooney are among the film stars attending this year’s Rome Film Festival. Also expected to walk the red carpet are Colin Farrell, Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins. Movies screening out of competition at the Oct 15-22 festival include “Julie & Julia,” with Streep, and Joel and Ethan Coen’s “A Serious Man.” Organizers said Friday that 14 films will compete for the Best Movie Award, including Jason Reitman’s comic drama “Up in the Air,” featuring Clooney, and “Triage,” with Farrell. The festival also will screen scenes from the highly-anticipated vampire sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” Rome, now at its fourth season, is becoming part of the international circuit of movie festivals. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ LOS ANGELES: Seth Rogen has fulfilled a dream, and he’s not talking about starring in the boxoffice hit “Knocked Up” or playing a superhero in the upcoming “The Green Hornet.” Rogen co-wrote an episode of “The Simpsons” and lends his voice to a character in the episode that airs 8 p.m. EDT Sunday (0000 GMT, Monday), kicking off the Fox show’s 21st season. He’s only the second visiting celebrity to both write and act, following in the 2006 footsteps of Ricky Gervais. “As a writer, it always just seemed like the Holy Grail,” Rogen said of the animated series.

Argentine ‘Secret’ compelling thriller SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain, Sept 26, (RTRS): A riveting Argentine thriller spiked with witty dialogue and poignant love stories, “The Secret in Their Eyes” interweaves the personal lives of a team of state prosecutors with a manhunt spanning 25 years. Director Juan Jose Campanella (“Same Love, Same Rain,” “Son of the Bride”) is one of Argentina’s most communicative storytellers, and this entry qualifies as a high point in his career. Holding the viewer in thrall for most of its two-hour running time, it has the kind of universal appeal that unites critics and audiences, and can look forward to worldwide sales that could jump beyond the usual Spanish-lingo markets. Released locally in August to strong box office, the film was a favorite in the San Sebastian festival’s competition lineup. Not for nothing has Campanella shot 16-odd episodes of the American TV series “Law & Order”: whence the unusual idea of setting a thriller in the marbled halls of Argentina’s state prosecutors’ offices, amid the comings and goings of high court judges and the cynical banter of lawyers Benjamin Esposito (star Ricardo Darin) and his alcoholic best friend,

“I can die a happy man now.” The episode, by Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg in collaboration with the show’s writers, plays off the actor’s prefilming fitness regimen for “Green Hornet.” The movie is in production and set for release in 2010. In “Homer the Whopper,”

Streep

Pablo (comic Guillermo Francella). One day in 1985, new judge Irene Menendez Hastings (Soledad Villamil) turns up, a beautiful sophisticate with a degree from Cornell and family connections, and instantly steals Benjamin’s heart. His secret love for her across an unspoken class gap is a source of underlying tension throughout the film. Campanella and co-scripter Edouardo Sacheri open the story 25 years later, when Benjamin is a white-haired retiree who has decided to write a novel about a horrific case he can’t get out of his mind. He visits Irene, now some kind of chief judge, in his old office to get her reaction and discuss the case. Flashback to the brutal rape and murder of a young woman married to a quiet bank employee (Pablo Rago). Two workmen arrested by the police are beaten into a false confession, much to Benjamin’s disgust. Through obstinate persistence, he tracks the real murderer down to his family home and finally corners him in a breathtaking, swooping-camera chase through a football stadium that is one of the film’s highlights. This, however, is just the beginning of a

Gere

Rogen plays a trainer assigned to get Homer Simpson in superhero shape to play Everyman, a hero created by Comic Book Guy and played by the rotund couch potato. “We wanted to comment on how Hollywood generally ruins these movies. The whole joke is Homer is cast to play a guy who’s

judicial nightmare, because the jailed assassin (played with icy intensity by Javier Godino) is soon recruited by Argentina’s secret police to carry out their dirty work. The film’s political commentary on the years of the dictatorship remains subtle, never foregrounded, but is a necessary presence in a film about the search for justice and the centrality of memory. The excellent cast is led by a strongly centered Darin, who plays a double role: a man in the prime of life frustrated with his work and unable to capture personal happiness, and an older man looking back and analyzing what went wrong. Villamil, the young star of “Same Love, Same Rain,” makes a wonderful love interest. Irene is also fast-thinking, smart and courageous, though it takes her the whole film to break out of the social cage she has been trained to inhabit. Playing Benjamin’s deadbeat colleague, Francella adds just the right dose of bad jokes and barroom irony. Campanella also edited the film, and his crisscrossing of time and mood is impressive. Less so a long series of almost-over endings

an everyman and they try to make him into this physically fit guy,” Rogen said. Recording with the cast was “one of the highlights of my life,” said the seriously devoted “Simpsons” fan (favorite episodes include “Itchy & Scratchy Land” and the one in which Bart sells his soul to Milhouse).

that are the film’s only real blemishes. ❑ ❑ ❑

Sony Pictures is orchestrating an unprecedented preview ad campaign for “2012,” the latest disaster film from Roland Emmerich. Two minutes of the movie will air on almost every major North American network and cable channel on Oct 1 between 10:50 and 11:00 pm ET/PT. The movie sequence will air on ABC, NBC and CBS, 89 cable outlets, local stations and Spanish-language networks throughout the US. Hoping to reach about 90 percent of all households watching commercial TV at that time, the studio is projecting an audience of 110 million viewers. This “roadblock,” as the studio calls it, is costing about $4 million, according to sources. The two-minute scene will end in a cliffhanger, and the audience will have the opportunity to see the conclusion on fancast.com and Comcast on Demand. Sony aims to replicate the roadblock in other countries at the end of October. The movie opens worldwide Nov 13.

“It was completely surreal. I was just in shock afterward. I felt like I had gone skydiving or survived an earthquake,” Rogen said. Other celebrities to be heard on “The Simpsons” this season include Sarah Silverman, Angela Bassett, Eli Manning and Bob Costas. As for Rogen’s part in “Green

Hornet,” he’s still processing his on-screen switch from lovable schlub to dapper leading man. He and Goldberg wrote the screenplay. “It’s odd to see yourself looking cool when you’re someone like me,” Rogen said, laughing. “It’s just not something I’m used to.” (AP)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

NEWS/FEATURES

22

People & Places

Music Kristofferson digs deep into troubled past

‘Home’ inspired, moving album B

illboard CD reviews as presented by Reuters from New York. Artist: Toby Keith Album: American Ride (Show Dog Nashville) There’s a little less bluster and bravado on Toby Keith’s latest album, “American Ride,” and it’s a welcome turn. Keith has always understood how to connect with his loyal fans, and he may have sensed their need for a break from the in-your-face feel of his most recent albums. The track “Are You Feelin’ Me” is a rare show of vulnerability from the Oklahoma native, while “Woke Up on My Own” finds the singer facing his own limitations. Dave Koz’s saxophone is a perfect accompaniment to the tender and touching “Cryin’ for Me (Wayman’s Song),” a tribute to former NBA star jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, who died in May. The fiddleand steel guitar-laden “You Can’t Read My Mind” and the I’m-a-lug-but-youlove-me-anyway “Tender As I Wanna Be” are destined to be dance-floor favorites. The first single/title track, the only song on the set that Keith didn’t have a hand in writing, is a look at America and all its foibles. Meanwhile, the rocking and rousing “Loaded” celebrates the workingman’s night on the town. Artist: Joshua Bell Album: At Home With Friends (Sony Classical) The Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell returns with “At Home With Friends,” a star-studded album of marquee-level duets with guest artists like Sting, Josh Groban and Chris Botti. If the term “classical crossover” sends you running for cover, fear not: This is one duets album that packs a sonic — and celebrity — punch. The new album finds Bell’s virtuosic violin amid a wide array of musical genres: a jazz-inspired reading of George Gershwin’s “I Loves You Porgy” (alongside trumpeter Botti), the bluegrass-drenched “Look Away” (featuring Nickel Creek’s mandolin master Chris Thile) and even a foray into Argentine tango on Astor Piazzolla’s “Oblivion.” Other standout sparring partners include pianist Dave Grusin (on Tom Jobim’s “Chovendo Na Roseira”) and perennial favorite Sting on “Come Again,” from his classical album “Songs From the Labyrinth.” Much more than just a publicity vehicle, “At Home With Friends” is an inspired, moving musical affair. Artist: Ghostface Killah Album: Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City (Island Records) In the past decade, Ghostface Killah has moved away from the esoteric beats of his Wu-Tang Clan cuts to explore buttery soul rhythms. On his new album, “Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City,” the rapper dives head-first into R&B, and the results are more mixed than his hip-hop output but nonetheless intriguing. On the first single, “Baby,” Ghostface spits come-ons between a soaring chorus by Raheem DeVaughn, while “Guest House” showcases a moody tale of betrayal with Fabolous popping up as the other man. As always, Ghostface’s penchant for storytelling is the main attraction, with each verse displaying impeccable detail and confidence that commands attention. While the album’s softer instrumentation and thematic preoccupation with romance may initially frustrate some diehard rap fans, its silky hooks begin to sink in with repeated listens. “The Wizard of Poetry” represents a curious departure in Ghostface’s discography, but after his heavy-handed past work, the set is an entertaining breather. Artist: Kris Kristofferson Album: Closer To The Bone (New West Records) As the title suggests, Kris Kristofferson’s newest album, “Closer to the Bone,” is an attempt to reach new depths of vulnerability — a portrait of an old man laid bare, following his 2006 opus, “This Old Road” (which was his first recording after a 12-year hiatus). Folk music relies heavily on the willingness of the artist to be confessional. Now, considering himself near the end of his life, Kristofferson is exposing himself more than ever before, exploring death and love from this new perspective. On the song “From Here to Forever,” Kristofferson sings tenderly in his familiar smoky growl, “Here’s one I wrote for my kids”; and on the title track, “I’ll love you from here to forever.” Kristofferson returned to veteran folk molder Don Was as producer and also for his contributions as bass player in the intimate, live-feeling instrumentation. With “Closer to the Bone” Kristofferson digs deep into his long and troubled past to bring listeners one of his most beautiful moments. Artist: AFI Crash Love Album: (DGC/Interscope Records) AFI’s eighth studio album, “Crash Love,” remains faithful to the arena-

Hayes and Swizz Beatz arrive at the album release party for the film ‘More Than A Game’ hosted by Interscope Records and LeBron James at the Roosevelt Hotel on Sept 24, in Los Angeles. (AP)

ready pop noir that made the rock band a multiplatinum superstar earlier this decade. Singer Davey Havok once again puts on his best Smiths-esque strut while dancing his way through glammy new wave beats, bouncy rhythm sections and fist-pumping choruses. The track “End Transmission” is dressed up in ’80s charm, bolstered by a punchy bass line and pounding keys, while gang chants and pulsating synths pepper “I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here.” Listeners will be hard pressed to find a single screamed vocal; it’s as if AFI has finally made the transition from “Nightmare Before Christmas”like spook punk to polished Goth-pop. Even though “Crash Love” isn’t terribly progressive in scope and the band’s ’80s idolatry might one day run its course, the set is another highlight in a discography that’s as consistent as it is expansive. Artist: Muse Album: The Resistance (Warner Bros. Records) British rock act Muse’s fifth album, “The Resistance,” shows growth from the band’s previous releases and proves that it’s primed for a global musical takeover. The album opener, “Uprising,” carries a pulsating bassand-drum groove, and singer/guitarist Matthew Bellamy provides call-to-arms lyrics (“Rise up and take the power back/ It’s time that/The fat cats had a heart attack”). “United States of Eurasia” opens with a docile verse but quickly progresses with a falsetto vocal and accompanying guitar riff that break open a larger-than-life chorus and a Middle Eastern-sounding bridge reminiscent of Queen. The three-part rock symphony “Exogenesis” closes the album, combining elements of piano and the band’s dramatic flair. The evolution of Muse is likely far from over, and “The Resistance” teases what the band still has up its sleeve. Artist: Selena Gomez & The Scene Album: Kiss & Tell (Hollywood Records) “Tell me, tell me, tell me something I don’t know,” Selena Gomez sings on the final cut on her debut album, “Kiss & Tell.” Considering how closely the new set follows similarly situated tween-pop efforts by Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, Gomez’s fans might share the sentiment: It’s not always easy to tell what distinguishes the work of this “Wizards of Waverly Place” TV star from that of her fellow Disney-factory females. That doesn’t mean “Kiss & Tell” doesn’t deliver its required payload of electro-rock delights. The song “Naturally” has a juicy and instantly memorable vocal hook, while the poppunk title track expertly channels the good-natured sass of the Go-Go’s (no surprise, given drummer Gina Schock’s co-writing credit). But if Gomez wants to outlast her current context, her music could use more of her in it. ❑ ❑ ❑ Billboard Single reviews as presented by Reuters from New York. Artist: Alicia Keys Single: Doesn’t Mean A Thing (J Records) A truly confident woman lets herself be vulnerable at the right time. This is the message that Alicia Keys’ latest single exudes, as she lets her guard down and admits that she’s incomplete without the man she loves. “From afar, it seems I had it all,’’ Keys belts on the midtempo track’s chorus, “but it doesn’t mean anything since you’re gone.’’ It’s not the first time she’s wrought inspiration from love-stricken lyrics. In fact, “Doesn’t Mean a Thing’’ is just the latest addition to a lengthy list of her empowering tracks, and it can easily be compared to previous hits like “Wonder

Woman’’ and “No One.’’ But the comparisons are more than welcome, because — as Keys understands so well — everyone needs love, no matter how independent they may be. Artist: Kris Allen Single: Live Like We’re Dying (19/Jive Records) “American Idol’’ winner Kris Allen has wisely chosen to scrap his Kara DioGuardi-penned coronation song, “No Boundaries,’’ in favor of this impressive new single about seizing the day. “Live Like We’re Dying’’ originally was intended for Irish band the Script, but Allen improves on the unreleased version with a nuanced vocal and a nimble, rhythmic delivery. The tongue-twister verses work in spite of themselves, and even when Allen does his best Bob Dylan impression on the bridge, he emerges safely on the other side. It seems Allen is still emboldened by the risks he took on “Idol,’’ and those who voted for the singer-songwriter in May should be feeling the same after hearing the first track from his Nov 17 debut. Artist: 50 Cent Featuring Ne-Yo Single: Baby By Me (Shady/ Aftermath/Interscope Records) On the heels of Ghostface Killah and Raheem DeVaughn’s “Baby,’’ 50 Cent’s “Baby by Me’’ is another shout-out to lucrative childbearing, as the pragmatic Queens rapper offers a woman the chance to “have a baby by me, baby, be a millionaire.’’ This is 50’s fourth try at a lead single for “Before I Self Destruct,’’ now set for release Nov 17. With its club synthesizers and Ne-Yoaided chorus, the track is far more radio-friendly than his past attempts. But it’s also the least distinctive. A song like “Baby by Me’’ that overtly reaches for a pop audience may put 50 Cent back on the airwaves, but it won’t necessarily energize the rapper’s core fans. At this point, they might be more receptive to hearing something outside the box. Artist: Queensryche Single: Home Again (Rhino Records) “Home Again,’’ the new single from Queensryche’s powerful “American Soldier’’ album, could recapture the mainstream glory that the band achieved with its 1991 dream ballad, “Silent Lucidity.’’ The lyrics — an exchange between a military man and his daughter, who miss each other — are sung by frontman Geoff Tate and his own 10-year-old daughter, Emily, who gives a rich vocal performance for her age. In less capable hands, the interpretation would have felt overdramatic; instead, profound sadness and hope intermingle among wavering guitar lines, gritty drum beats and gliding strings. The universal theme of separation from a loved one pairs well with the melody, which flows like soothing water over a wound. “Home Again’’ — and Queensryche — rightfully command a strong radio salute.

Also: ATLANTA: Tupac Shakur’s mother has donated a collection of the rapper’s writing to the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center. Afeni Shakur has handed over more than 150 of her son’s items, ranging from rough drafts of lyrics and poems to a photocopy of his contract with Suge Knight and Death Row Records. The rapper’s collection will be part of the archives at the library on the campus of the Atlanta University Center, which comprises the historically black universities of Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and the Morehouse School of Medicine. The library also houses The Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. Shakur’s records are expected to be available for research in the fall of 2010. “We need to read history from the source,” Afeni Shakur said. “It gives people the opportunity to judge him objectively. What we want to do is educate.” Other items include the rapper’s handwritten playlists of “All Eyez on Me” and “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory”; letters he wrote to his family when he was in prison in 1994; and some of his personal items returned to the family after his death. Afeni Shakur says she has never read any of her son’s notes. “I haven’t touched them one bit,” she said. “I have not been able to. But I think when the library makes them available, I think I can go with my family and might able to do it for the first time.” Shakur was one of rap’s best-selling artists, becoming an even bigger star after his release from prison in 1995 with his multi-platinum selling album “All Eyez on Me.” He was shot to death while riding in a car with Knight in Las Vegas a year later. “Tupac’s collection provides this generation to see primary documents,” said Loretta Parham, CEO and library director. “It’s the opportunity for them to relate something from the past to now.” (AP)

French singer Johnny Hallyday performs on stage of the Zenith of Lille, northern France, on Sept 25. (AFP)

10 singles released to radio

Lambert starts ‘Revolution’

In this file photo taken on Feb 24, 2004, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli performs an Antonio Salieri selection with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at Carnegie Hall in New York. In an album, to be released worldwide Oct 2, Bartoli sings rare arias, some never recorded before, written specifically for castrati by composers including Handel and Nicola Porpora, who ran the top school for these special singers in Naples. (AP)

Variety NEW YORK: After a five-year run, Sean “Diddy’’ Combs confirmed to Billboard that he is exiting his exclusive deal with Warner Music Group/Atlantic Records at the end of September. A new, not yet officially announced deal is in place, according to his spokeswoman. The joint venture with Warner Music Group for the current roster and catalog of Combs’ Bad Boy label will remain in place. “Now that the term of the Warner deal has ended, I have elected to accept an opportunity to move my recording career and future label venture to another company,’’ Combs said in a statement. Combs’ spokeswoman would not confirm which label he will be partnering with, though reports have said a deal is in place for his next album, “Last Train to Paris,’’ to be released by Interscope Records. The one album Diddy released through the WMG agreement, 2006’s “Press Play,’’ has sold 703,000 units to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑ SYDNEY: British rapper Lady Sovereign was fined 400 dollars in an Australian court Saturday after pleading guilty to spitting in a nightclub bouncer’s face. The 23-year-old, whose real name is Louise Harman, had only been in the country seven hours when she got into a fight in the bathroom of a Brisbane city nightclub in the early hours of Saturday morning, the AAP newswire said. Harman was “hysterical” as she was turfed from The Beat club by bouncers and “emotions got away on her”, police told Brisbane Magistrates Court. Magistrate Brendan Butler said spitting had “serious health implications” and fined her 400 dollars, 200 of which he directed she pay to the bouncer as compensation. He did not record a conviction. Harman is in Australia for the Parklife music festival and she was to take the stage on Saturday afternoon. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

NASHVILLE, Sept 26, (RTRS): Miranda Lambert’s set opens by proclamation: A warning siren roars from the loudspeakers as the house lights fall. A hip-hop track booms, its billowing bass and percussive clicks rattling the 20,000 or so fans who fill the Raleigh, North Carolina, Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion for Kenny Chesney’s annual tour. Lambert, second on a three-act bill, rushes onto the stage as the band cranks up, her smile beaming nearly as brightly as the sequined silver tank-top she sports over mildly tattered, wildly tight blue jeans. “How ya doing, Raleigh?’’ she asks, emphasizing the last syllable playfully. She launches quickly into “Kerosene,’’ her first major single, holding the microphone like Mick Jagger, jumping a bit and stomping a lot. Lambert gives a dynamic, smart performance that mixes rock’s certitude and country’s sensitivity. It’s a fitting representation of her third album, “Revolution,’’ due Tuesday on Columbia Nashville and itself a seductive mix of spirited rock and heartfelt country. The singer-songwriter first broke onto the scene after finishing third place on the first season of reality TV show “Nashville Star.’’ Her first two albums, 2005’s “Kerosene’’ and 2007’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,’’ were successful commercially and critically. But while those two albums were defined by in-your-face songs like “Kerosene’’ and “Gunpowder & Lead,’’ “Revolution’’ reveals — like Lambert’s new campaign as the face of Cotton Inc. — a softer side. It’s a musically adventurous album that sets Lambert up for success in one arena she hasn’t yet conquered: radio. And that’s still the main channel where country fans get their music. Lambert has released 10 singles to radio. Four have reached the top 20 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart: the incendiary “Kerosene’’ peaked at No. 15 in 2006, “Famous in a Small Town’’ hit No. 14 in 2007, and the vulnerable “More Like Her’’ reached No. 17 earlier this year. Her biggest chart hit was “Gunpowder & Lead,’’ which peaked at No. 7 last year. The first single off “Revolution,’’ “Dead Flowers,’’ reached No. 37. But Lambert doesn’t sound overly concerned that a major radio hit still eludes her. “I would absolutely love to have a top five (hit),’’ she says, “but I’ve had a great career, and so I’d rather keep it the same than try to do something different and not have it work at all.’’ Lambert didn’t draw the title of her third album from a song or a lyric; instead, the country-rocker is a bit more

philosophical about her new work. “To me, that’s an exciting word, that something new is happening. I sort of reinvented myself musically on this record,’’ Lambert says. “It feels like there’s change, that country music is more open-minded.’’ She says “Revolution’’ expands on her songwriting “because there’s more story to tell,’’ adding that “sonically, I think this record is a bit more out there in some parts than anything I’ve ever done ... I was ready to come up with some new sounds.’’ Those sounds include the punkish drum and raw guitar-driven “That’s the Way the World Goes Round,’’ the hillbilly hybrid “White Liar’’ and “Maintain the Pain,’’ which owes less to Johnny Cash than to the Clash. “Time to Get a Gun’’ is a throwback to ’70s country-rock with more than a dash of B-3 organ. Lambert shares credit for her sound with producers Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke, who have been with her from the start. “Those guys are unbelievable,’’ she says. “I knew before I even got a record deal who I wanted to produce my first record. I did the politically correct thing and met with a lot of producers, but I knew in my heart who I wanted. I’ve always been about no rules in the studio, and they keep innovating my sound. They get me.’’ Build Lambert’s recording process starts when she plays her songs for Liddell and Wrucke. “I don’t have work tapes or fancy demos,’’ she says. “They build this amazing music around my lyrics.’’ Liddell says the system works. “Once you hear something presented in a certain way, your mind is set. If it’s just a guitar-vocal (setup), there are fewer preconceived notions about how it can sound at the end. You can take it wherever you want it.’’ Unlike her second album, which was rushed because of her success after the first, Lambert set aside time to write songs for “Revolution.’’ “I took some time over the Christmas holidays and in January to really focus on songwriting,’’ she says. “I can write on the road, but the best place is my farm.’’ That farm is in Oklahoma, a few miles from that of beau Blake Shelton, a fellow country star with whom she co-wrote three songs on the new album. “I like the sad, cheating, mad, killingpeople songs, and that’s what I’m drawn to, whether I’m singing them or not,’’ Lambert says. “This time around I was OK with having a few songs that were love songs. (Blake) had so much to do with that.’’ “Revolution’’ also includes covers of songs by John Prine, Julie Miller and Canadian alt-country artist Fred Eaglesmith.

ROME: Long before botched plastic surgery ruined a movie star’s career, they were the original showbiz victims. Castrati were young opera singers in past centuries castrated to preserve a high-pitched voice, and they are now being honored by Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli in a new album. The opera great dedicated her upcoming work “Sacrificium” — “Sacrifice” in Latin — to the thousands of boys, often from poor families, who went under the knife to achieve stardom, but often ended up destitute and isolated from society.

Combs

Sovereign

“Families that were poor and large allowed the mutilation of a son hoping for success, pushed by unscrupulous impresarios,” Bartoli said in an interview published Friday by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. Because women were banned from the stage, for many centuries operas featured castrated male singers from Italy, then the global genre’s hub, and other countries. The practice peaked in the 18th century, when up to 4,000 boys were emasculated annually in Italy alone, Bartoli says in an interview on her Web site. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

NEWS/FEATURES

23

Music Black Eyed Peas play

Muslims rock in ‘Malaysia’ KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27, (Agencies): In the end, it was a “good, good night” for everyone — thousands of people of all faiths rocked to “Boom Boom Pow”, “I Gotta Feeling” and other songs at a Black Eyed Peas concert after the Malaysian government lifted a ban on Muslims attending. Muslims, who make up 60 percent of Malaysia’s population, were originally told to stay away from the Friday night concert because it was sponsored by beer giant Guinness. Islamic Will.i.am law forbids alcohol consumption. The ban was lifted days later without explanation, but at the concert there were designated bar areas that had signs advising Muslims to stay out. Fans cheered and applauded as the four hip-hop stars sang one hit after another including the 2009 chart-topping favorite “I Gotta Feeling” that goes: “I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night. ... That tonight’s gonna be a good, good night.” Muslims, dressed in black dresses and sleeveless tops, said they came to enjoy the show — not to drink.

Jim Kerr, lead singer of Scottish rock band, Simple Minds, performs at the F1 Rocks concert on Sept 25, in Singapore. (AP)

Controversy The ban controversy “makes us look like we are a bit of a backward country. But we are actually not,” said Alia Zulkifli, a 27-year-old banker and Black Eyed Peas fan. “We came for the music.” The Black Eyed Peas said they were glad that people who “feel good about music, enjoy life” could attend the show, which marked the 250th anniversary of Guinness’ flagship brewery in Dublin. Malaysia’s largest city was one of five places hosting Guinness’ concerts. “I’m so thrilled,” group leader Will.i.am told reporters before the show. He said when they performed in Dubai and the Philippines, “it’s Muslims, Christians, everyone” who attended. International concerts in Malaysia have frequently drawn controversy. Shows by Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne in recent years faced protests by conservative Muslim Malaysians over immodest clothes, forcing the artists to don attire that revealed little skin. Even Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie said she had to change her outfit to comply with government rules that require all female artists to cover from shoulders to below the knees. Fergie wore tight black pants and a dark T-shirt with pink and white imprint throughout the 90-minute show. “Well, I have had to change my costume for tonight’s show, but I mean the woman’s silhouette is still there,” she told reporters. Organizers said they sold more than 12,000 tickets to pack the venue in a theme park. The audience was mainly ethnic Chinese and Indians, the country’s largest minorities, together making up a third of the country’s 28 million people. Islamic rules do not apply to them but only Muslims, who can face action in Shariah courts for such offenses as drinking alcohol in public. The Black Eyed Peas have enjoyed phenomenal success this year. The foursome has topped Billboard’s Hot 100 singles charts for the past 25 consecutive weeks, the most ever by an act. “The Black Eyed Peas is everybody’s music. It feels so good to be able to come here and everyone’s able to see us. And we’ll be able to see everyone.” The band’s glamorous frontwoman Fergie said however that like other international stars who have come to perform in conservative Malaysia, she was required to leave her sexy outfits behind. “I have had to change my costume for tonight’s show but I mean the woman’s silhouette is still there, whether it’s clothes or not, whether you see skin or you don’t, you still know the woman’s body,” she said. She went on stage in a T-shirt and jeans, an outfit far more modest than that worn by many in the crowd of 5,000 who mostly adopted the event’s dress code of “Black Party Chic.”

Cheered The enthusiastic crowd cheered and sang along through a performance of the band’s big hits including “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling.” The controversy over the Black Eyed Peas is the latest in a series of cases that have raised fears Islamic law is on the rise in Malaysia, threatening its secular status.

Jackson Tapes detail star’s obsessions

Singer lost will to live: confidante

Fergie of US hip hop group, Black Eyed Peas, speaks during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sept 25. Fergie said she had to change her outfit to comply with government rules that require all female artists to cover from shoulders to below the knees. (AP)

Malkmus

Kannberg

Variety NEW YORK: Influential indie rock band Pavement will reunite for a world tour in 2010, 11 years after the lo-fi quintet broke up. The first confirmed show is a Sept 21, 2010 benefit concert at New York City’s Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Tickets go on sale on Friday. Originally a studio project of guitarists and vocalists Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, Pavement began releasing a series of raw, lo-fi recordings in 1989. By 1992, the group had added drummer Gary Young, bassist Mark Ibold and percussionist Bob Nastanovich to the lineup, toured regularly, and released its debut album, “Slanted and Enchanted.” Pavement quickly became an iconic college rock band, thanks in large part to Malkmus’ onstage wit and personality. Young was replaced in 1993 by Steve West. The band released four more studio albums: “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” in 1994, “Wowee Zowee” in 1995, “Brighten the Corners” in 1997 and 1999’s swan song, “Terror Twilight,” all on independent label Matador Records. The band’s records were not big hits; “Crooked Rain,” was the best seller with 247,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan and the groups total sales to date are 1.2 million. But exposure on MTV’s alternative video show “120 Minutes” and extensive touring — including a spot on 1995’s Lollapalooza tour — cemented its reputation as both a posturefree alternative to the “commercial alternative” music of the time and a hard partying, free-for-all live group. Pavement disbanded after the “Terror Twilight” tour, although the members have stayed on fairly good terms in the subsequent decade. Malkmus has gone on to a successful solo career with his band the Jicks. Mark Ibold is now the bassist in Sonic Youth, and Scott Kannberg still records as Spiral Stairs. Each year since, Pavement reunion rumors have circulated but never borne fruit. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

PITTSBURGH: Hey, Michelle Obama —

LOS ANGELES, Sept 26, (Agencies): Michael Jackson lost the will to live in recent years, a former close confidante said on Friday, as scores of fans camped out to be the first to see the singer’s final appearance in the “This is It” movie. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, appearing on NBC’s “Today” show, unveiled lengthy conversations he taped with Jackson during their 1999-2001 friendship, and said the “Thriller” singer suffered deep emotional pain. “He lost the will to live,” Boteach said. “I think he was just going through the motions of life toward the end.”

Confessed Boteach also said that Jackson, who had plastic surgery several times, once confessed that he didn’t want to appear in public, because he felt that he looked like a “lizard.” Jackson died in Los Angeles on June 25 of a prescription drug overdose, less three weeks before he was due to begin a series of 50 sold-out comeback shows in London. Back in March, when Jackson visited London to announce the “This Is It” shows, he appeared in a military-style jacket and punched the air. But the tapes collected by Boteach show Jackson to be a far less confidant man, who feared growing old and had suffered levels of loneliness and pain that the rabbi said “staggers the imagination.” “I would like some way to disappear, where people don’t see me anymore at some point,” Jackson said in the tapes. “I don’t want to grow old. I never want to look in the mirror and see that,” the singer said. Boteach has turned his conversations with the pop star into a book, published on Friday, called “The Michael Jackson Tapes.” what’s on your iPod? Sara Bareilles, among other things. If the singer-songwriter did not know already, she — and plenty of other people, too — now know that the US First Lady is among

Boteach’s book comes as Jackson’s fans lined up in Los Angeles three days before tickets go on sale on Sunday for the October 28 release worldwide of “This Is It”. The movie is based on footage of Jackson rehearsing for his London shows and demand is expected to be strong for the two week limited release.

Camped out Some 200 fans were camped out on Friday, across the street from where Jackson had his final rehearsals, waiting to buy tickets to the movie premiere. The waiting fans will also get commemorative tickets designed by Jackson for the now canceled London shows. Sunil Kumar, 25, a fashion design student from India, was one of the fans who slept on concrete overnight. Kumar said Jackson had a huge fan base in India. “He’s kind of a god of the dance,” Kumar said. “No one ever danced like him in the whole world.” Tony Kirby, 51, wearing a black hat and an open shirt, sat on a lawn chair next to his wife, waiting it out as their 7 year-old daughter bounded around nearby. “When we got here I wasn’t even grey, I’ve got grey hair now,” Tony joked. The Kirbys said Jackson was a significant figure for African-Americans like themselves, because he showed a black artist could break through racial barriers and become a global star. The fans camping out in Los Angeles will get their tickets at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday — the same day global online ticket sales begin for regular showings of movie.

Feared Michael Jackson feared the ravages of old age, sought the company of sycoher biggest fans. “I love her,” Mrs Obama gushed Friday, gushing praise to Bareilles for the performance she was giving at a concert the first lady organized for students at the Pittsburgh

phants and appeared to be abusing prescription drugs and cosmetic surgery nearly a decade before his death, according to a new book by a former adviser. “The Michael Jackson Tapes” breaks little in the way of new ground but the book by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, based on 30 hours of taped interviews, provides firsthand detail about the performer’s excesses and obsessions. “I don’t want to be seen now,” Jackson confessed. “Because I am like a lizard. It is horrible.” Jackson died June 25 at age 50. His death is being treated as a homicide. The self-described “King of Pop” seemed to sense during the interviews in 2000 and 2001 that his life was winding down. “I would like some way to disappear where people don’t see me anymore at some point,” Jackson said. “I don’t want to grow old. I never want to look in the mirror and see that.” “He lost the will to live,” Boteach said Friday on NBC television. “I think he was just going through the motions of life toward the end.” Boteach is an orthodox Jewish rabbi who has written self-help books with names like “Kosher Sex” and “Shalom in the Home.” He was introduced to Jackson in 1999 through Uri Geller, a British entertainer, and acted as his confidant for many years. At times, the transcribed tapes sound like counseling sessions. Boteach said he and Jackson recorded the tapes with the idea of giving the public a more accurate image of the reclusive entertainer. Boteach said he soured on the book — originally slated for release in 2003. Boteach said Jackson began pushing him away as he criticized his departure from the recovery program they had set up — improvements that Creative and Performing Arts School. “She is on my iPod. She has gotten me through many a day,” Mrs Obama said, ticking off the names of two of Bareilles’ songs, “Gravity” and “Love Song.” Bareilles per-

included waking up at a decent hour and not being alone with kids other than Jackson’s own three children, for public relations purposes.

Friendship The friendship ended with Jackson’s second arrest on charges of sexually abusing a child. Boteach said he resurrected the project after Jackson died because attitudes toward him had softened. In conversations, Jackson is quick to see himself as a victim and quick to criticize relatives — especially his father, who, Jackson said, beat him with an electric cord. “He was rough,” Jackson says of his father. “The way he would beat you hard, you know, was hard.” Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for the Jackson family, said Friday: “We will not dignify this with a comment.” The book makes it clear Jackson was interested in women sexually but very shy. He tells Boteach he had never asked a woman out on a date, although he admitted to having sexually charged phone conversations with Madonna. In recounting one conversation, he said: “Madonna laid down the law to me before we went out,” saying, “‘I am not going to Disneyland, okay? That’s out.”’ Jackson said Madonna was jealous of him because his female fans screamed and swooned while her male fans were less demonstrative. He recalled her crying in admiration at one of his concerts. When contacted Friday, Madonna’s spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, said, “Madonna has very fond feelings for Michael Jackson, and I don’t think anything in the book is going to change that.” As dozens of buoyant Michael Jackson fans queued up in the Nokia Plaza to be among the first to see their idol’s last performance, others watching the scene expressed mixed emotions. formed the latter selection during the show. Mrs Obama could hardly contain her excitement as she said country crooner Trisha Yearwood, “another of my favorites,” and cellist Yo-Yo Ma would be performing. (AP)

‘We lasted four years’

Wolfmother back in fighting form

Rapper Fabolous performs at the 3rd annual Tiki Rocks The Square for the Children’s Miracle Network at the Hard Rock Cafe, Times Square on Sept 24, in New York City. (AFP)

BRISBANE, Australia, Sept 26, (RTRS): Like all animals, Wolfmother faced two choices: evolve or die. Citing “longstanding frictions,” keyboard/ bassist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett left the Australian band in 2008. But frontman Andrew Stockdale wasn’t about to give up after achieving so much — the group sold 537,000 US Stockdale copies of its self-titled 2006 debut, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and won a 2007 Grammy Award for best hard rock performance. “The Beatles lasted seven years (of touring), we lasted four,” Stockdale says from the band’s temporary Los Angeles base.

“We toured our arses off around the world. We did 300 shows. It takes a certain type of person to want to continue to live that kind of life.” Stockdale replaced his departed bandmates with drummer Dave Atkins - a veteran of Brisbane, Australia, bands Resin Dogs and Pangaea - guitarist Aidan Nemeth and Ian Peres on bass and keyboards. Together they crafted the blues rock of “Cosmic Egg,” due Oct 23 in Australia on Modular Recordings/Universal, Oct 26 in the United Kingdom on Island and Oct 27 in the United States on Interscope. Also new to the project is British producer Alan Moulder. But despite the changes, Wolfmother’s trademark rock sound remains intact, with tracks like “In the Morning” and “California Queen” likely to more than satisfy fans of the first album.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

NEWS/FEATURES

24

People & Places

Music Best of 100

Cash presents her dad’s ‘List’ By Ken Tucker

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consummate Renaissance woman, Rosanne Cash has eschewed genre conventions throughout her long career. Of course, she had an excellent role model, being the eldest daughter of the late Johnny Cash. She scored a string of country hits in the ’80s and continues to record, as well as write books and contribute fiction and essays to such publications as the New York Times and Rolling Stone. Her latest album, “The List,’’ due Oct 6 on EMI’s Manhattan Records, is a collection of covers based on a list of 100 essential country songs that her father gave her when she was 18. Produced by Cash’s husband, John Leventhal, “The List’’ includes Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On’’ and Hank Williams’ “Take These Chains From My Heart,’’ as well Cash as duets with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Billboard: How did you react when your father first presented you with his list of essential country songs? Rosanne Cash: I was thrilled. I know people think, “Oh, 18 years old, you wouldn’t have sense enough to know what you were getting.’’ I did, because I had just started playing guitar. Helen Carter was teaching me all the Carter Family songs. I was really steeped in rock and pop music, but (country) was a whole other landscape that I didn’t realize existed except for the most obvious things — Patsy Cline and Ray Charles and my dad’s music. Billboard: How did you narrow down a list of 100 songs to 13? Cash: Some songs were clearly not suited for me to do — they were either too gender-specific or I couldn’t do another version of “This Land Is Your Land.’’ Then there was the vetting of which songs were suited to my voice. There was also a sonic and emotional balancing so that it wasn’t all “Motherless Children’’ and “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow’’; it was also “Heartaches by the Number.’’ Billboard: What role did your husband, John Leventhal, play in your interpretation of the songs? Cash: John did all the heavy lifting; these are his arrangements. It was a pure joy for me to get to sing them, but it was a pure joy for him to get to this. This is the dream project for him that he’s been waiting his whole life to do. He’s the only New Yorker I know who has such a deep and extensive knowledge of roots music and country music. Billboard: These are some of the best and biggest songs of the last 100 years. Was it intimidating to cut them? Cash: “She’s Got You’’ was a little bit because I knew Patsy Cline’s record so well, and “Girl From the North Country’’ was because it seemed like a watershed moment in musical history. I have these pictures of my dad and Bob (Dylan) together. But John said, “No, we’re going to go to Bob’s original version; that’s the doorway into the song,’’ and it was. Bob’s original version is a classic folk song. The rest of them, no, I wasn’t intimidated. I’ve been singing “Silver Wings’’ in the shower for 30 years. Billboard: On your blog you wrote that this was the only record you could have made at this point in your life. Why? Cash: Because my parents are dead, and I had a pretty serious faceoff with my own mortality. You think about the things you want to do most of all in the world. It felt like the perfect and the only thing to do. You look back at your ancestry. You want to know where you come from, who you are and what you’re going to pass on to your kids, and “The List’’ is the perfect cohesion of all of that. Billboard: Do you feel any connection with today’s country music? Cash: I don’t listen to country radio, but I often hear things that I think are fun and exciting and good. I don’t know who a lot of the young people are or what they sound like, but the other day I was flipping through the channels and I saw Taylor Swift. I’d heard so much about her, she’s sold millions and millions of records, but I’d never heard her sing. I saw her on a George Strait tribute and I thought, “Wow, this little girl is really good, she’s really got something.’’ That’s always exciting, when you see somebody who is so young and you can see that spark in them. (RTRS)

Dancers perform the musical Cats, by British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, during its presentation to journalists inside Rome’s Colosseum, Sept 25. The show is due out Oct 23 through Nov 22 at Rome’s Sistina theatre. (AP)

Music New album sounds cooler, calmer

Lips dial down whimsy on ‘Embryonic’ By Cortney Harding

I Actress LaToya Jackson attends the 27th annual Macy’s Passport benefit at the Barker Hangar on Sept 24, in Santa Monica, California. (AFP)

n the wee hours of the morning on Monday, Sept 14, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne was signing autographs after his band performed at upstate New York’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival when a burly young fan approached him with a length of industrial strap. Coyne recognized it as one of his own, used for tying down equipment like the large cannons that shoot confetti into the crowd throughout the band’s stage show. The fan told Coyne the strap had been shot out of the cannon and hit him in the chest, but he calmly handed it back, got his shirt signed and walked away. This isolated incident symbolizes a few things about the Lips — their fans love them with a devotion that borders on insanity, the group’s live shows are such spectacles that flying straps might very well be part of the festivities, and they’re one of the luckier bands around.

Survived Juanes

Bose

Variety HAVANA: Cuba’s official press said Friday that a Colombian rock star’s nerves got the better of him before last weekend’s historic “peace concert” in Havana, causing an outburst against authorities in which he threatened to cancel the show. The complaint by the Grammy-winning Juanes and other singers became an overnight sensation on YouTube and Spanish-language television, and has been held up by some Cuban exiles in South Florida as evidence of the communist-run island’s repressive ways. In a confrontation with what appeared to be a member of Cuban state security at Havana’s famed Hotel Nacional hours before Sunday’s show, the singer complains of being followed and mistreated, and threatens to cancel the event if authorities restrict access to the concert site. “I just realized a little while ago that since yesterday, the guy who’s bringing me breakfast, the guy who is accompanying me, then I see him in the concert, and now I see him sending messages,” Juanes shouts in the video, which was recorded by journalists accompanying him. “We are very upset, very upset,” Juanes yells. “We are here for the youth of Cuba ... for the future of Cuba.” At one point, Juanes and Spanish performer Miguel Bose threaten to cancel the much-anticipated show, while Puerto Rican star Olga Tanon tries to persuade the men to perform. “We’re leaving. This is finished,” Juanes yells. The videotaped exchange was an embarrassment for Cuba, which had hailed the performance as a rejection of the isolationism preached by some in South Florida. Juanes received death threats before the concert, though opposition to the concert was far from universal in the Cuban-American exile community. An article in Friday’s state-run Granma newspaper says the pop star was “clearly nervous” in the hours before the concert and was confused about a hotel employee’s identity. “Juanes apologized not only to the young

The group started in the early ‘80s and has survived addiction, in-fighting and a holdup at a Long John Silver’s seafood restaurant; had an alt-rock radio hit, “She Don’t Use Jelly,’’ in 1993; and played the Peach Pit on “Beverly Hills, 90210.’’ Critics love them, audiences adore them, and they sell albums. 2002’s “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’’ has sold 570,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and follow-up “At War With the Mystics’’ has sold 220,000. Now the band is preparing to roll out a

man, but to all the workers who witnessed the momentary mess,” Granma wrote. Juanes’ manager Fernan Martinez Maecha, who accompanied him to Havana, told The

new album, “Embryonic,’’ due Oct 13 on Warner Bros. The 18-track set initially was conceived as a double album but will be sold in one- and two-CD packages. “We realized that as much as we wanted to do the double album, all the songs fit on one disc,’’ Lips manager Scott Booker says. “We wanted to keep the costs down for our younger fans, and we’ll also be releasing a double disc with added content, a fur-covered double album for collectors and a vinyl version.’’ Coyne describes “Embryonic’’ as “slightly disturbed, but pleasant,’’ adding, “We tried to make it feel like, ‘If you like two songs, you’ll like the whole record’ and ‘If you don’t like two songs, you probably won’t like any of this.’’’ The record has echoes of acts like Can and Joy Division and sounds cooler and less whimsical than previous efforts, especially on the opener “Convinced of the Hex.’’

Frenetic But while the album might sound calmer, the live show remains frenetic, complete with dancers dressed in yeti costumes, Coyne rolling across the audience in what can only be described as a man-size hamster ball, and confetti — lots and lots of confetti. “We have the confetti shipped out to us,’’ Coyne says. “If we were to take it all and go out for a month of shows, it would fill a truck. It’s a lot of confetti.’’ Warner marketing director Tom Osborn says the live show is the band’s calling card. “Q magazine in the UK said the Flaming Lips were one of the 50 bands you had to see before you die,’’ he says.

Associated Press on Friday that the singer did have pre-concert jitters, and blamed the hotel confrontation on mutual mistrust. “There were a lot of nerves,” he said.

“They’ve had some of the core elements of the live shows in place for a while, but Wayne is constantly trying to do new things and updating the visuals. They want it to be much more of an experience than just a rock show.’’ For a recent string of dates, fans also had the chance to preview the new album. “We gave away three tracks from the new album digitally when people bought tickets to the last tour,’’ Osborn says. “Then, a week before the show, fans got digital copies of three classic B-sides sent to them. Finally, they could go to a Web site after the show and download a live version of the concert they had attended. It was all built seamlessly into the ticketing so fans didn’t have to do extra work.’’

Streamed Concert attendees could also listen to the entire album at stations set up next to the merchandise table. “I don’t know if anyone missed the show and listened to all 18 tracks, but the idea was to give them a taste,’’ Osborn says. “Embryonic’’ was streamed live on the Web site for “The Colbert Report’’ to coincide with the band’s Sept. 16 appearance on the show. “I wanted to stream the last record, too, but Warner was more cautious,’’ Booker says. Osborn adds that at this point, “we know records leak, it’s just going to happen. The Lips have a very loyal fan base and we think they’ll buy the record anyway.’’ The Lips are planning to spend some time in Los Angeles around the release date, doing TV shows and playing events.

“Putting on a concert in Cuba is difficult. This isn’t Disney World, but that’s why we went there.” He said the hotel worker singled out by

They also will play one-off dates at festivals like Treasure Island in San Francisco and Voodoo Fest in New Orleans, and will return to their hometown of Oklahoma City to participate in the annual March of 1,000 Flaming Skeletons on Halloween. “Last year CNN covered it, and 30,000 people came to the parade,’’ Booker says.

Campaign The Lips will then head to Europe and the United States in November, and they plan US tour dates in the spring. If there will be “nothing in the sense of a traditional radio campaign’’ for the new album, that’s because “radio has never really been available to us,’’ Booker says. “‘She Don’t Use Jelly’ was a happy accident that happened at a totally different time.’’ Recalling the early ‘90s, Coyne says that “we were on tour with groups that were selling millions of records, like Stone Temple Pilots and Candlebox. ... I don’t know if we really ever would pursue that type of success on our own. We were starting to be like, ‘We’re just taking whatever comes.’ So when we got asked to be on ‘Beverly Hills, 90210,’ if it would’ve been six months earlier, we probably would’ve still had some control issues left over from what we thought our group’s manifesto meant. But by then we knew that if we were lucky, there were going to be a lot of absurd things that you could experience if you just let s—t happen. Once we did that, I think it became a lot more fun to be in a group whether you succeeded or you failed. It opens up a world.’’ (RTRS)

Juanes later explained that he went to a concert rehearsal Saturday because he had to work at the hotel Sunday and wouldn’t be able to attend the event. (AP)

Acclaimed for her technique

Spanish pianist De Larrocha dies

Portuguese diva Dulce Pontes performs her new project ‘Moments’ at the D’Avila Moat in Nicosia late on Sept 24. Throughout her career, the 40-year-old singer released several records of Fado, but her powerful and supremely emotional voice she eventually expanded beyond the boundaries of local folk to world music. (AFP)

MADRID, Sept 26, (AP): Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha, who thrilled music listeners for decades with polished and enthralling interpretations of great classical works and Spanish masters, has died aged 86. Measuring just under 5 foot (1.52 meters), and with unusually small hands for a piano virtuoso, de Larrocha won listeners over with the richness and robustness of her sound. Critically acclaimed for her technique in perform- De Lanocha ing Mozart, Beethoven, Schuman and Rachmaninov, de Larrocha was also seen as unrivaled in her interpretation of Spanish composers such as Manuel de Falla as well as masters from her native Catalonia like Enrique Granados and Isaac Albeniz.

Gregor Benko, a piano music expert, music producer and family friend, confirmed her death. Benko said de Larrocha had been in poor health for two years, since breaking her hip. She died late Friday in a Barcelona hospital. De Larrocha retired from public performances in 2003 after 75 years as a professional pianist. Born in Barcelona on May 23, 1923, she began playing piano at the age of 3, and two years later gave her debut public performance during the International Exposition in Barcelona. Four years later an eager music industry had pressed and marketed her first vinyl record. The daughter and niece of pianists, as a child de Larrocha received classes from renowned teachers such as Frank Marshall, himself a disciple of the pianist Enrique Granados, and theorist Ricardo Lamote de Grignon.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

NEWS/FEATURES

25

Film Cinema fans revel

Bergman items go on auction By Igor Gedilaghine

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ovie buffs, art collectors and Ingmar Bergman fans will be able to put their hands on the legendary Swedish film-maker’s personal items when they go under the hammer Monday in Stockholm. A total of 339 objects from Bergman’s home on the remote Baltic island of Faaroe will be auctioned off, in line with his wishes to avoid disputes within his large family — he had nine children by six women — over his belongings. “This is my wish and no discussion or emotional tumult must come as a result,” Bergman wrote in his will of the auction, the proceeds of which will go to his family. Bergman died on July 30, 2007 at the age of 89 after directing Bergman more than 40 films during a career that spanned the second-half of the 20th century. His Faaroe home is already up for auction at Christie’s. Several of the pieces up for sale at the Bukowski’s auction house are expected to draw in relatively large sums. Those include a lithograph by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch of Swedish author August Strindberg — a source of inspiration for Bergman — as well as a black-and-white portrait of Bergman shot by US photographer Irving Penn and featuring a personal dedication. Bukowski’s said it was difficult to put price tags on most of the objects, since their real value derives from the fact that they belonged to the celebrated Swede.

In a handout photo provided by Sony Pictures, actress Emma Stone (right), and a few fans dressed as zombies attend an advanced screening of the film ‘Zombieland’ at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, on Sept 25. The movie stars Stone, along with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Amber Heard and Abigail Breslin. (AP)

Film Ellsberg walks the halls of past in dreams

Impossible “It is impossible to know what the hammer price will be. Because it’s Bergman, it’s up to the market to decide the price,” senior curator Tom Oesterman told AFP. How do you determine the value of a simple metal bedframe, but owned by Bergman? Or his simple wooden chairs with pure Scandinavian lines? His vinyl record collection? But they are of interest because they belonged to the filmmaker, “the most well-known Swede — he’s more famous than the king of Sweden,” insisted Oesterman. “Sometimes it took several experts to set the starting price, but we think some of the objects will reach two or three times that price,” Bukowski’s spokeswoman Charlotte Bergstroem added. As a result the Munch lithograph has the highest estimated price, at between 32,500 and 41,500 euros ($48,000 and $61,220). “The Munch is close to the ordinary price, but its selling price will certainly be higher because of Bergman,” Oesterman said. The same goes for his theatre masks, marionnettes, a massive wooden cupboard, and his Scandinavian furniture. Some of the home furnishings are made by designers, including a 1956 lounge chair and ottoman whose worn leather bears testimony to Bergman’s appreciation of its comfort. Cinephiles will be able to bid on projectors, cameras, awards and letters from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science for his Oscar nominations. Even his knick-knacks are expected to draw attention from “Bergmaniacs”. Oesterman points to a dice set that the director tossed every morning “partly for play, partly because of superstition” in order to see if it was going to be a good day. Two objects up for sale are not included in the catalogue because they were added to the sale at the last minute. The first is “a letter from Strindberg, not to Bergman but that he was given as a present and we found it between two discs,” Oesterman explained. The second is a simple wicker basket that Bergman kept under his desk. Bukowski’s experts had no intention of including it in the auction, but “a buyer said he was interested and so we put it” up for sale, Bergstroem added. One collector’s item bound to attract attention is a nightstand on which Bergman doodled his thoughts in an almost tortured-like scrawl, including the words “afraid, afraid, afraid, afraid, afraid,” as well as “Saraband” — which became the title of his last film. (AF)

Variety LOS ANGELES: Changes are afoot at “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” involving original cast member Vincent D’Onofrio and newcomer Jeff Goldblum. According to two people close to the production, D’Onofrio is poised to leave as a series regular early in the ninth season on USA Network next spring. The people asked that their names not be used because they were not authorized to speak publicly about casting. Goldblum, who joined the series last sea-

Docu recalls US’s famous whistleblower By Linda Deutsch

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In this April 14, 2008 file photo, Vietnam War critic Daniel Ellsberg talks to supporters in Concord, N. H. (AP)

our decades after he stunned the nation by leaking the top-secret Pentagon Papers study of the Vietnam War, Daniel Ellsberg walks the halls of the past in his dreams. In his sleep, he imagines that he still works as a researcher at the Rand Corp, advising Pentagon officials on policy, handling classified documents, studying the science of war. “Being at Rand was the ideal life for me,” Ellsberg says, almost as an afterthought. “In my dreams, I am doing classified work, trying to solve social problems.” Over the decades, Ellsberg, 78, hasn’t been welcome at Rand. He committed the most startling breach of security in the company’s history, walking out on Oct 1, 1969, with the first briefcase full of classified documents destined for public release.

Actions

Resnais

Almodovar

NY film fest opens Legendary French film maker Alain Resnais on Friday dismissed the notion that cinema was dying, saying he expected it to survive changes in the way films are being made and distributed. Resnais, 87, spoke after a screening of his new film, “Wild Grass” at the opening of the 17-day New York Film Festival. “I don’t believe what I read every ten years about the death of cinema,” Resnais told reporters and film critics through a translator, although he admitted that “the way we express ourselves on film is changing.” Festival organizers have said the selection of 28 fiction and nonfiction films shows the current strength of cinema. Foreign films - which generally fail to do well at the US box office - make up all but two of the choices. The festival, now in its 47th year, started before an onslaught of film competitions around the world. It has traditionally picked a small selection of the year’s best films rather than featuring ones it can premiere. Most of the festival picks have played at previous festivals this year. But two features are getting their premiere in New York - the Japanese film “Kanikosen” and Chinese independent documentary “Ghost Town.” A spokesman for the festival said foreign films were simply the best films for the year. Festival organizer Richard Pena has said some anticipated Hollywood films were not ready in time. “Broken Embraces” by Spain’s Pedro Almodovar will close the festival and Almodovar and star Penelope Cruz are expected to talk next week about their fourth film collaboration. Other festival movies include Danish director Lars Von Trier’s graphically violent tale “Antichrist”, Marco Bellecchio’s “Vincere” and Austrian director Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon” - which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival. (RTRS)

son, may remain as lead detective and could be joined by Saffron Burrows, replacing Julianne Nicholson. Deals with Goldblum and Burrows have yet to be signed, one person said. USA Network and series producer Wolf

That bold move — and the actions that followed to get them published — are the subject of a new documentary film, “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.” The movie had its West Coast premiere only a few blocks from Rand. Ellsberg, ever the agitator, sent college students with flyers to headquarters to urge his former colleagues to attend the screening and try to understand why he did what he did. None came. Ellsberg acknowledges that some wounds never heal. At a Rand reunion several years back, no one would shake his hand. When he tried to visit Rand, a nonprofit think tank providing analysis of public issues for government agencies, he was escorted out by security guards. He had read the 7,000 page study of the Films declined comment. “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” has seen cast turnover before: Chris Noth co-starred for three seasons. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: In 90 minutes of superb theater, Los Angeles-based Croatian director

Vietnam War known as The Pentagon Papers and became convinced that the history of US involvement dating back to 1945 was a study in lies. He wanted to end the war and although to this day he does not take credit for that, he says his actions and those of other anti-war activists helped shorten the conflict.

Scandal The film by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith suggests his actions triggered the Watergate scandal and drove President Richard Nixon from office. There are audio tapes of Nixon railing against Ellsberg as a traitor in conversations with Henry Kissinger, who called Ellsberg “the most dangerous man in America.” The release of the classified study in The New York Times and in other newspapers triggered one of the most important First Amendment legal battles the country has ever seen and led to a powerful US Supreme Court ruling for freedom of the press. Both Nixon and Kissinger were convinced that Ellsberg had more secret documents he planned to release and they launched an offensive that included a break-in at his psychiatrist’s office and culminated in his espionage trial in Los Angeles.

Charges The charges were dismissed and a mistrial declared because of “outrageous governmental misconduct,” including the break-in and disclosures that the judge had met with Nixon during the trial and was offered the job of FBI director. All of it is depicted in the film, which is billed as a combination political thriller and love story. Early reviews have been positive. Lenka Udovicki and her team put on a production of Euripides’ “Medea’’ that knocks the stuffing out of the old tragedy. In the title role, Annette Bening thrashes about in extravagant outbursts of violent anger and tear-drenched remorse. She moves and dances beautifully, like the Russian poet Sergey Yesenin morphed with

At Ellsberg’s side is his wife, Patricia, his greatest ally in his long political odyssey. “Many people come up to me and say, ‘Your husband is my hero,’” she says. “I can say after almost 40 years of marriage, he is my hero. He embodies patriotism and a higher loyalty than to an institution or a policy.” Ellsberg has been arrested for acts of civil disobedience 78 times and she has also been taken off to jail for demonstrating, she says. “The transformation Dan went through is the transformation our society needs to go through,” she says during a question-andanswer session after a screening. Ellsberg travels the country speaking, protesting and urging others to do what he did — leak important information that reveals government untruths. He talks about the American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying the latter has the potential to become “Vietnamistan” if the US increases troops there.

Contradictions Ellsberg remains a study in contradictions: He is a former Hawk on the war who risked everything for peace; a Marine battalion commander who turned against the war; a man capable of waxing nostalgic about his days at Rand but also giving notice that he plans to soon release more classified documents about the nuclear threat. The complexity of the man intrigued Ehrlich and Goldsmith, the documentary filmmakers who decided to resurrect Ellsberg’s story for a new generation. “This was a subject close to both of our hearts,” said Ehrlich. “We focus on people driven by conscience to act at great personal risk. What could have more resonance his tragic lover Isadora Duncan. But despite her enormous vulnerability, she remains ambiguous and remote, partially because of the highly stylized production, but also because Bening magically slips behind the veil of reality when she wants to hide her most inner motives; at those moments she not only shows true genius but illuminates Medea

Murder suspect

Reality ‘star’ charged

Actors Dustin Milligan (left), and Jessica Stroup arrive together at the 7th Annual Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party in Los Angeles, Sept 25. (AP)

LOS ANGELES, Sept 26, (AP): A selfproclaimed preacher who was on the “America’s Sexiest Bachelor” pageant will be arraigned next week for allegedly torturing and murdering an ex-porn actress in suburban Los Angeles. Brian Lee Randone was charged last week with beating and suffocating his girlfriend, Felicia Lee, at their home. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. The 45-year-old Randone remained jailed Friday on $2 million bail. Los Angeles County district attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison did not know whether he had an attorney. Prosecutors say Randone killed his 31-year-old girlfriend on Sept. 11. No motive has been released. Lee had bit parts in several movies, including “Rush Hour 2” and made several adult movies under the name Felicia Tang.

than the story of Dan Ellsberg?” Ehrlich’s films have included “Those Who Refused to Fight It,” about World War II conscientious objectors; Goldsmith’s “Everyday Heroes” was about the domestic Peace Corps.

Quest They began their quest to make the Ellsberg movie four years ago, raising money from a long list of contributors credited at the end of the film. Their interviews with key figures in Ellsberg’s story includes a rare appearance by his co-defendant in the espionage case, Anthony Russo, who died shortly after telling his story on camera. The film is dedicated to him. Ehrlich and Goldsmith raced to finish it in time for Academy Awards qualifications and wrapped it just two weeks ago, in time for the Toronto Film Festival and screenings in New York and Los Angeles. Its future distribution plans are uncertain and fund raising continues. At a party after the Los Angeles premiere, one donor announced she would give $50,000 to keep the momentum going. “To young people, it’s a fresh story,” said Goldsmith. “I would like them to see that it’s possible to dissent and not be a traitor.” As for Ellsberg, who spent months copying the top secret study on a Xerox machine, he now has his own Web site and is posting his opinions across the Internet in various forums. He notes that it took The New York Times three months to review the Pentagon Papers study and decide to publish it. “If that had happened today,” he said, “I would have posted it directly on the Internet.” (AP) for 21st century Los Angeles as well. In fact, her whole sense of being and presence are an impressive match to Euripides’ bold blueprint and marble lines. Angus Macfadyen is a terrific Jason. Playing against type, heavy on the brutal side, works totally in the context of what Udovicki is saying about what she considers a fierce battle between the sexes, with endless references to the besotted cowardice of men and the jealousy-drenched fury of women. Of course, one can only fully comprehend what Euripides had in mind when the character of Jason is at the same level as that of Medea. Mary Lou Rosato is wonderful as a Corinthian woman, a solitary, homeless Norn creeping about the stage, peeking over to see what’s going on, and letting the audience in on the back stories. The chorus of 12 young girls and teenage women shows a virtuoso fluidity in moving about the stage, echoing Medea’s outward hopes and fears. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: Conan O’Brien hit his head during a stunt for the “Tonight Show” on Friday and the production was halted, NBC said. O’Brien was being examined Friday at a hospital. The network declined comment on his condition or whether he had been released. O’Brien issued a statement through NBC that indicated he was treating the incident lightly. “Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln, and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice” O’Brien said in the statement. The 46-year-old comedian took over the “Tonight” host’s job from Jay Leno in June. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

26

Fash ion

Albe rta F erret ti

Gian franc o Fer re

Gian franc o Fer re MILAN, Italy: Blumarine’s Anna Molinari incited a riot of colours at Milan Fashion Week on Friday as muted hues clothed Alberta Ferretti’s babydolls and Gianfranco Ferre’s sophisticates. Blumarine’s body-clinging stretch cotton knits for spring/summer 2010 use a tie-dye effect to merge red into yellow into blue-green or myriad other combinations. Bold-coloured or fluorescent accessories literally extend from top to toe, from ear cuffs to belts to ballet flats, in the ready-to-wear collection. From naughty in micro-shorts and minidresses worn bra-less, to nice in a demure cardigan-style top, the knits gave way to flouncy dresses and caftans in tabby silk for a carefree, youthful look. Also for the evening are green camouflage gowns with fluorescent flashes and random rhinestone trims. Ferretti for her part toned it way down, proposing neutrals and faded peach or lilac in her flowing babydoll dresses or simple shifts. Above and below: White linen creations — here a coat dress, Models wear there a neat belted jacket — were equally creations of demure, and a large white scarf pulled over a Vers Gianfranco ace hat completed the sense of nostalgia. Ferre; Alberta Versace heralds the spring with a fruit salad Ferretti, palette of lemon, raspberry, peaches and apriVersace and cots, supplemented with a bit of turquoise and Jill Sander the signature black and white. Spring/Mini-minimalist dresses and high-slit evening Summer 2010 gowns keep the focus on the legs, while the bare ready-to-wear back plays a supporting role. collection on Later Jil Sanders redefined glad rags, slashSept 25 during holes in tailored suits, randomly attaching ing the Women’s bits of material, or leaving entire seams unsewn Fashion Week in and frayed. Milan. (AP/AFP) The show had the models meandering through the audience, rags fluttering off the rich fabrics, while a dozen video screens dotted around the hall showed scenes of sex on the beach. Byblos meanwhile set a mood of dark humour with black and white creations suggesting a sado-masochistic Barbarella time travelling to Victorian England. A powder-pink antique blouse rides atop black stretch pants trimmed with metal studs; S and M marries glamour in a tie-dyed crepe de chine dress worn above stiletto-heeled black boots. The off-the-shoulder look, a frequent sight here, returns in Byblos’s indigo blue cocktail getup, stretch pants with an asymmetrical draped top. If that doesn’t do the trick, there’s a loosely meshed black mini-dress that leaves little to the imagination. Then in Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi’s second line for Gianfranco Ferre, super-light body-hugging silk lame jackets open like a flower at the waist. Careful pleats evoking kimonos alternate with drapery worthy of a Roman toga, reinterpreted with a romanticist’s eye, leave one to imagine Ferre an outing in a convertible in the anco hills of Monte Carlo. Gianfr But the colours are muted — sand, honey or flesh, with occasional gold or platinum touches — or the house’s trademark black and white. ce Versa Cocktail dresses stop above the knee, many with plunging vees down the back, others with provocative pleats playing around the bustline. Worthy of special mention is an organza bustier wrapped with a metallic gold spiral. Italian jeweller Damiani’s gem-studded belt is a fixture in the collection, cinching skirts, pants and coats. On Saturday the catwalks will belong to Bottega Veneta, Roberto Cavalli, Emporio Armani, Moschino and Max Mara.

lic or beaded inlays, such as the decorative panels on Armani’s evening wear or the armor like silver and bronze strands at Ferre and Versace. The use of transparent printed plastic is an eyecatching combination of flesh and fabric, without the need for the usual complicated cutting and stitching. Bright colors and airy chiffon underline the lighthearted spirit of the summer styles. A day after Miuccia Prada decreed death to the platform heel, Donatella Versace resurrected it with an 18-centimeter (7-inch) version which made the already-tall models look like they were walking on stilts.

Albe rta F erret ti

MILAN

Ferre

The Ferre fashion house, which is still evolving since the death of its founder, Gianfranco, two years ago, presented a quietly elegant spring/summer collection, perfect for summer celebrations. Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi used muted colors — white, sand, honey and nude — in light chiffon fabrics, which the designers gently wrapped around the body like a cocoon, for above-the-knee cocktail dresses and ultra light jackets. The designing duo, in their second year at Ferre, introduced a new softness while still retaining some of the late designers’ structured elements — including the signature white blouses and squared lapels. According to the designers’ notes, the overall theme was of a caterpillar evolving into a butterfly — epitomized by a black chiffon cocktail dress with a a large bow fashioned into a butterfly’s wings that frame the face. The show concentrated on after-hours, with only a few outfits dedicated to daytime — a trend that reflects modern living, where many people work r e d n from their Jill Sa homes and emerge at night for fun. Lest anyone think the collection is only about play, the duo included a few pantsuits with fitted jackets and deep-cuffed skinny trousers. “We want to cover every rre occasion of the day,” CEO Michele co Fe Pica said after the show. anfran

Gi

etti a Ferr Albert

ce Versa Whether it’s the economic crisis or just the fashion mood of the moment,

designers are skimping on fabric for this round of preview showings for the spring/summer 2010. Mini hemlines, bare backs and one-shoulder styles are all about quality not quantity, especially at Donatella Versace, where the outfits are as tight as they are short. At the end of the second day of showings, it is apparent that the accent for next year’s warm weather is on detailing with intricate prints — Prada’s seaside scenes, for example — or metal-

Versace

Donatella Versace has sheathed her models in the miniest and tightest of skirts, emanating power with towering stilettos and silver accents forming breastplates ideal for today’s women warriors. The spring/summer 2010 Versace collection presented Friday is for the “extremely sexy and iridescent” woman, according to the designer’s notes. The body-clinging collection of skintight pants, dresses and skirts features bold patterns in yellow, lavender and black, as well as vibrant turquoise and fluorescent shades of pink and peach. Models strode down the runway under track lighting to rhythmic music evoking the jungle — and not a few of the outfits brought to mind Amazon warriors for their metallic studs and microchains evoking armor and breastplates. Tarzan’s Jane would love to be seen swinging from branches in a minidress of laser-cut leather triangles stitched together. (Agencies)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

27

‘Princess’ recounts ballet of secrecy

Who’s the hero in steamy and bold novel by ex-president PARIS, Sept 26, (AP): It was a passionate but hidden love. The president of the French Republic and the Princess of Cardiff had no choice. “The Princess and the President” recounts the ballet of secrecy led by a man of power and a royal beauty watched by the world — whom the novel’s author, former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, says is Lady Di. But who was the inspiration for the hero? The book is a bold venture for the 83year-old Giscard d’Estaing whose stiff, pompous “au revoir” to the nation upon his defeat to Francois Mitterrand in 1981 remains the stuff of comedy routines. A member of the prestigious Academie Francaise, the watchdog of the French language, Giscard d’Estaing has written books in the past, like the weighty “The State of France” or three tomes on

The novel ‘The Princess and the President’ by former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing is seen on sale at a bookstore, Sept 24, in Paris. (AP)

“Power and Life.” His new creation, in bookstores Thursday, has taken everyone aback. “Diana-Giscard. And If It Were True,” reads the headline of an article in the glossy magazine Paris Match whose cover features the two standing in gown and tux at a state affair in 1994 at the Chateau of Versailles, their arms touching. Is art imitating life in the work by Giscard d’Estaing, who like many other French leaders maintained a reputation as a womanizer? The former president resolves half the mystery in an interview published Thursday. He confirms that Princess Patricia of Cardiff is, indeed, modeled after the Princess of Wales. He also says that he and Princess Diana discussed his writing a love story revolving around a world leader. Their last conversation on the subject, in June 1997, came six weeks

before her death in a car accident in Paris with her lover Dodi Fayed. The book’s dedication reads: “Promise kept ...” “I considered it a promise I had to fulfill,” Giscard was quoted as saying in the newsweekly Le Point. However, he maintains the enigma about who might have inspired the other half of the couple. Patricia is “a celebrated beauty” whose changing blue eyes are framed in a face tilted forward. Her husband, the crown prince, keeps a mistress and she frankly admits to her need to be loved, and her passion for her causes, such as anti-personnel mines — for which the Princess of Wales became a symbol. The president, Jacques-Henri Lambertye, is, unlike Giscard d’Estaing, a widower who serves two terms in office. But like Giscard, he is tall and thin and as seen in some photos unbuttons the fourth small button on his jacket sleeves, “not indifferent to the fashion

tendencies of the moment.” The princess and the president first meet in London at a G-8 summit of the leaders of the world’s most industrialized countries. Months later, he covertly but boldly takes her hand, under a luncheon table of dignitaries that include the US president, on a train from Normandy to Paris following D-Day ceremonies. In the style of romance novels, the affair unravels slowly amid meticulous descriptions of royal palaces and presidential residences and a fashionista’s attention to clothes. Tension over the risk of getting caught is ever-present. The reader must wait until page 66 of the 265-page book for the first kiss. The love affair is consummated in trysts in Kensington Palace, which was Diana’s residence, as well as the chateau of Rambouillet where Lambertye hunts, and on the Riviera among other places. “This is a novel in which Princess

Diana is the main figure,” Giscard d’Estaing told Le Point. “I wanted to pay homage by bringing her to life again” and correcting the image of a princess he believed was misrepresented in the press. “I invented the facts,” he said. However, Giscard d’Estaing maintains the ambiguity about their relationship. He said he saw her in London three months after their first meeting — like the story says — “and afterward, we saw each other numerous times.” Asked about the nature of their relationship, the former French leader says only: “Let us not exaggerate. I knew her a bit in a climate of a confidential relationship. She needed to communicate.” Giscard said he considered using a pseudonym but was warned the author’s identity would be quickly uncovered. In any event, “With time, I feel more and more free,” the ex-president told Le Point.

Books Only used bookstore in Kuwait

Q8, unique haven for lovers of books By Chaitali B. Roy Special to the Arab Times

A

cademy Award winner Reese Witherspoon once said, “I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything.” Her statement voiced my exact sentiments as I walked into Q8 Bookstores, the only used bookstore in Kuwait located in Al Salam Tower on Fahad Al Salem Street. Assailed by that special smell associated with worn out books and parchment, I stood in that little haven with rows and rows of treasures lining the walls, in their elegant wooden shelves, with quaint bric-a-bracs sharing space and adding to the ambience. It is all there-fiction, biographies, history, travel, romance, other non fiction, reading material for children and teenagers, sports and adventure and a lot more. To a person who is a voracious reader, second hand books are like manna, providing an opportunity to build a library without burning a hole in your pocket. Moreover these books have a sense of history, having passed through several hands, telling stories apart from the one that runs across the pages. Book lovers are strange people, they get a thrill rummaging through rows of paperbacks till they find that one treasure, they love the feel of books in their hand and that smell that only books can have. For those book lovers, Q8 bookstore should be high on their list of ‘must visit’. The aim of the store is to bring the best selection of new and used books and make them affordable to those who enjoy reading. And not only that. Book buying should not be a hurried activity. It is an experience that should be prolonged. And Jacob Oommen, the man behind the store will not only answer your questions and help you select; he will offer you that magic brew which goes well with book reading provided you carry your coffee mug. It was a childhood dream that came true for Jacob when he opened the store six years back. “Then again,” he adds, “ it was probably wish full thinking at that time as I thought I could read as many comics as I desired if I had a bookstore of my own!! The irony now is that I do not read comics nor do I find the time to read as many of those good books that come through the store.”

Expensive There were few bookstores in Kuwait, when Jacob first moved here twenty years ago. “The books available were expensive and hard on the wallets of most middle income expatriates living here. There were no second-hand book stores, and just one British Council Library. Like many readers, I too wished there was a second hand books store in Kuwait and kept hoping that someday, there would be one,” he recalls. After what seemed a long wait, Jacob found a partner and set up a second hand book store. “That was six years ago. So here we are - Kuwait’s only English language book store which stocks new, used, and out-of-print books and we are online too.” When asked if it can be a sustainable venture especially against a backdrop when reading no longer continues to be a popular hobby or pastime, he says, “Yes. It is sustainable especially as ours is a small although it is never going to make anyone rich selling used books! We have been in operation for the last six plus years and we always pay our rents on time!!” Books are expensive in Kuwait and unfortunately there are no lending libraries making it difficult for whom reading is a habit. “There are a few public libraries in Kuwait. Unfortunately, most of them are limited to Arabic books with only a sprinkling of English books. The others are restricted to university or academic institutions,” agrees Jacob. But if you want to buy a used book from his store you could acquire a treasure for half dinar if you are lucky.

Attention For women who love romance, Q8 Bookstore could turn out to be a dangerous place with more than 2000 titles vying for attention, from bookshelves or spilling out of boxes. This holds true especially for those who wander in to buy one book and come out with an armful. Romance is the top second hand seller in Jacob’s store. “Guess it is because there are more women reading than men. I can tell you for every 100 people coming in there will be at least 75 women.” There is more to Q8 books than meets the eye. Not only do they offer inexpensive books, they also have a buy back scheme that allows customers to return any book purchased from the store, providing booklovers an unlimited opportunity to get their money’s worth in reading. “The buy back scheme allows the reader to return books purchased from the store and obtain a

credit against it. In a typical bookstore, you cannot return a book after reading and in a library, one must return the book. Q8books offers the reader the right to return, “he informs. Jacob Oommen acquires his books from flea markets, garage and car boot sales, from customers who trade in their books or sell them. “It is tedious and time consuming,” he admits,”but I guess there is no choice here. I must also mention the generous donations from some kind patrons.” He is selective about buying from individuals, and his current preference is non fiction. Jacob, who works for Kuwait Airways, has been living his childhood dream for the past six years which has allowed him to meet people from all walks of life and enjoy a good conversation with them. There are other perks as well. “I know most of my customers by name. This way, there is an element of personal interaction. Some of them have even become good friends.” Besides, he adds, he does get the choicest pick of books to read as well. As I browse through the Oprah Book Club section I come across titles she recommends during her popular show. “Every time Oprah mentions a book on television, I have loads of people asking me for the same,” he informs. Jacob is there at the store every evening. It is better than watching television at home, he says.

Children Despite having a large section on children’s book, sadly there are not too many takers. “We have children coming in mostly in summer, but otherwise reading is on a decline,” he says with regret. He blames this apathy on the growing menace of television and general lack of reading among parents as well. Decline in reading, he comments, has led to a weakening of comprehension, ineffective writing skills and misspellings. “Sensible parents buy books for their children once a month. They make a point to go to a book store, give them an opportunity to feel the book and get the child interested. It goes a long way if the child reads one book a month.” The traditional bookshop is fast disappearing and the future seems to be bleak for the professional bookseller with online bookselling gaining ground. Q8 Bookstore has their website which allows their customers to search by title, author and genre, reserve books and pick it up later. Putting books online has allowed Jacob to reach a lot more people at the quick press of a button. “With access to the internet ever increasing, and the trend towards online shopping gaining momentum, the road ahead for traditional bookstores could get difficult,” he notes. Although online buying takes away from the actual pleasure of buying books, going through them physically and breathing in their smell, Jacob is quick to point out that, “The website only complements our operation. Q8books is a regular brick and mortar store. The website started out from the very inception of the store and I must say it has been very effective. A sizeable portion of our readers find us though our online listing. However, there is no shopping cart on the website and people can only reserve books online. So they still have to come to the store to purchase the books. Once they come in, they can get a good whiff of the musty books and if they are lucky, a cup of coffee too!” One should check the condition of the book, while making a second hand purchase, little else matters. In case of a serious collector, factors like edition, binding, availability of dust jackets and signature of author becomes important. Behind the cash counter at Q8 Bookstore are a series of books gleaming in their old coats, witness to happenings which took place many years ago. There are signed copies of books written by Harold Dickson and his wife Violet. There are treasures like the ‘Star and Crescent’ written by the skipper who captained the first steam ship to Kuwait and wrote about his stay in Bombay, Muscat and elsewhere in the Gulf. There are others as well, vying for space on the shelves. “Some of these are mine. But the others are up for sale. These are books whose value goes up with time.” In these hard economic times, a visit to a second hand book shop is a great way to keep yourself entertained. An used book gives the same pleasure as a new one, as the quality of story remains unchanged even though the book has changed hands. Jacob Oommen, the man who had the courage to live his dream has provided an alternative to book readers in Kuwait as can be seen from his loyal customer base and publicity that the store has received by word of mouth. And there are others as well who drop in only to have a cup of coffee and smell the old books!

Photo by Mohamed Radwan

Photo shows the interiors of Q8 Bookstore in Kuwait with rows and rows of books lining the walls and counters. The store is the only which sells second-hand books in Kuwait.

Prolific Nobel laureate and living literature

Lessing, voice of silent masses By Rima A. Mneimneh Special to the Arab Times

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reating literary classics is analogous to nurturing a child until it grows and branches out to become a whole. It is quite rare when a writer confesses that he or she had suffered enormously creating his literary work. One such distinguished author of an opulent oeuvre of one literary masterpiece after another, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature — granted to 105 writers since its inception in 1901 — in 2007 for being the “epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny.” Doris Lessing, the English encyclopaedic writer of mankind’s dispositions with more than 40 books to her name that have been translated into dozens of languages, and with her winning of the prestigiou Nobel prize two years ago had even brought her centerstage worldwide. In the presentation speech by writer Per Wästberg at the Stockholm Concert Hall that was followed by presenting the literary icon Lessing with the Nobel Prize, he said “Doris Lessing is part of both the history of literature and living literature. She has contributed to changing the way we see the world. In all probability, no other Laureates has accumulated such a volume of work. We stroll through the great library of her work, where all sections are unmarked and all genre classification pointless.

Turbulent There is life and movement behind the broad or narrow spines of the books, resisting categorisation and the imposition of order. Lessing links to the great narrative tradition of the 19th century but equally we may use her works as textbooks in 20th century behavioural patterns, not least to discover the way many thought — or thought wrongly — during one of history’s most turbulent periods as war succeeded war, colonialism was unmasked and communism in Europe conquered.” In other selected excerpts of that speech that described comprehensivley the literary

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journey of this exceptional writer highlighted a number of landmarks in her life. The writer seems to display an infinite empathy with odd lives and a freedom from prejudice, she was a pioneer in warning against global environmental threats, poverty and corruption: her voice seems to resonate the whispers of the silent masses. It seemed that for Lessing “... nothing was too unimportant or insignificant. Which is why she batters at our hearts. But although she resembles a continent that initially defies exploration, she has never subscribed to the idea that the world is too complicated for clarification. Undeterred, she peers under mossy stones and mouldy linoleum flooring, shying from nothing, and therefore becoming help and support for innumerable people. Like Frances in ‘The Sweetest Dream,’ she takes care of everyone, a hospitable earth mother — later compiling perspicacious case studies of her visitors.” Lessing seems to write as she breathes “Approaching closer the trials and revelations of our existence. Eschewing protective gloves, she grasps our reality like a grubby root vegetable, uncovering experiences we did not realise we could access.”

Classic In a book that she declared had recently increased in its sales is her novel entitlr “The Fifth Child.” This novel has been categorized by literary critics as classic horror novel. The plot tells of Harriet and David Lovatt who are shown to lead happy and content lives of fidelity, love and intimacy. In the 1960’s, they decide to marry and establish the family they both aspire to have it nurture in a Victorian Lessing house. It was an idyllic life where the children they had fill their lives; relatives are reunited in festive seasons in the warmth and loving home of the Lovatts. Suddenly their lives start to take a disappointing route with the fifth pregnancy

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The original book jacket of the first edition of ‘The Fifth Child.’

that brings misery and distraught to the household. The baby starts to move inside Harriet quite early and disturbingly with violence. The delivery was difficult; the newborn started to develop faster and grows much bigger than his peers. The newcomer, Ben, into the Lovatts family was “unloving and instinctively disliked by his brothers and sisters. Inexorably, his alien presence wrecks the dream of their happy family. Harriet fear grows as she struggles to love and care for the child, finding herself faced with a dark sub-continent of human nature, unable to cope.”

Triumphed With “The Fifth Child” Doris Lessing seems to tower in a vast realm of fiction that was newly trodden in her literary journey and she has triumphed in it, “She has written an ominously tangible novel, a powerfully

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Ozone Day commemoration: As part of our continued efforts to bring the latest developments/technologies in the field of Health, Safety, Environment and loss prevention, we are celebration ‘Ozone Day’ an important issue for the Health Safety Environment

simple contemporary horror story that makes it compulsive reading to the last word.” Doris Lessing was born early last century. She witnessed the two World Wars and their atrocities are clearly depicted in her books. Her family moved to Southern Rhodesia, where she stayed for 25 years. In 1949, she moved to England, where she now lives, in northwest London. In describing condition of her own family and in comparison to the family in “The Fifth Child,” she reflected, “I did create this rather attractive family in the novel, and it was painful to destroy it.’’ The tranquil family life in this book perhaps is the envy of many families which is “... certainly not easily attainable these days, and it’s certainly not easy to keep, I think.’’ She added “I do have a sense, and I’ve never had it, of how easily things can vanish.’’ she said. ‘’It’s a sense of disaster. I know where it comes from my upbringing. It was the World War I, which rode my entire childhood, because my father was so damaged by it. This war rammed down my throat day and night, and then World War II coming, which they talked about all the time. You know, you can never get out from under this kind of upbringing, the continual obsession with this. And after all, it’s true. These wars did arise, and destroyed a beautiful household with all the loving children.’’

Themes In connection with Lessing’s literary ability to delve into her themes and protagonists, Per Wästberg elucidated in his presentation speech that Lessing “Unveils the temptation of devotion to a utopia and absorption in a collective, and she illustrates how a triumphant ideology can deceive us with false redemption. She became a cartographer of disillusionment, drawing dystopias — or anti-utopia which is the vision of a society in which conditions of life are miserable — and catastrophes with frightening clarity. Lessing has the ability to freely move into and away from herself, to barge in and become an invisible lodger. She often begins by observing her characters from within and then moving outside them, to strip them of their illusions from an objective distance.” Professionals to be aware of. Theme of Ozone Day 2009 is: ‘Universal participation: Ozone protection unifies the world.’ The technical meet details are as follows: Topic: ‘Commemoration of Ozone Day 2009; Speaker: Dhari Al-Gharabally, team leader, Health Environment Team, Corporate HSE Group, Kuwait Oil Company; Date: Sept 29, 2009; Venue: Kuwait Hyatt Hotel (Maidan

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ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

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Int’l Dialing Codes 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; Cyprus 357; 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;

emergency

112/777

Important Tel. Nos. 234; Norway 47; Oman 968; Pakistan 92; Philippines 63; Poland 48; Portugal 351; Qatar

civil ID info

1889988

974; Russia 7; Saudi Arabia 966; Singapore 65; Somalia 252; South Africa 27; Spain 34; Sri Lanka 94; Sudan 249; Sweden 46;

Kazakhstan 7; Kenya 254; Korea 82; Kuwait 965;

Switzerland 41; Syria 963; Turkey 90; United

Lebanon 961; Libya 218; Luxembourg 352; Malaysia 60;

Arab Emirates 971; United Kingdom 44; United

Malta 356; Mauritius 230; Mexico 52; Morocco 212;

States 1; Venezuela 58; Yemen 967; Zambia

Nepal 977; Netherlands 31; New Zealand 64; Nigeria

260.

Conceptis Sudoku

Electricity: Kuwait City 24847329, 2484704; Fahaheel 23915300, 23911333; Hawalli 22650702/4; Kuwait City 24832933; Hawalli 22627728, 22627729; Jahra 24578380; Kheitan 24722935/7; Salmiya 25712259, 25711130; Shuwaikh 24831781; Street lights 24745408. Water: Emergency (drains) 24834044; Ahmadi 23984755, 23984926; Jahra 24553640, 24555231; Salmiya 25642104; Shuwaikh 24832933, 24832987; Sulaibikhat 24677378, 24674568. Hospitals: Amiri Casualty 22450005; Al Sabah 24812000/24815000; Mubarak Al Kabeer 25312700 to 709; Farwaniya 24883000, 24888000; Adan 23940600;

indoor gardening

Ibn Sina 24840300; Al Razi 24846000; Al Jahra 24575300; Maternity 24848067; Allergy 24849252; Blood Bank 25336538; Burns Centre 24840300; Cancer Control Centre 24849100; Chest Diseases 24838990, 24849400; Drug Control 24837245; Infectious Diseases 24870351; Islamic Medicine Centre 24849000. Private Hospitals: Ahmadi 23985174; Dar Al Shifa 22423151. 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-Kabir 25311437; Nuwaisib 23950114; Sabah 24815000; Salmiya 25739011; Shuaiba 23261927. Consumer Protection Hotline: 24820281/25720252. Traffic Violation Inquiry: 198 The Scientific Center: 1848888. Labour Complaints Hotline: Tel 24344954, Fax 24347562. Social Work Society of Kuwait (Human Rights Organization): Tel 25375031, Fax 25375032 E-mail: [email protected], http://www.q8sws.com

beauty tips

taste buds

The grid must be so completed that every row, column and 3x3 box has every digit from 1 to 9 inclusive.

Answer to yesterday’s puzzle

Challenger DIRECTIONS: Fill each square with a number, one through nine. ■ Horizontal squares should add to totals on right. ■ Vertical squares should add to totals on bottom. ■ Diagonal squares through center should add to total in upper and lower right. THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE SOLUTION.

floradora

foot care

chocolate truffle cake

Floradora are evergreen, woody-stemmed climbers from tropical woodland in Africa. They are grown for their strongly perfumed, waxy, tubular, usually white flowers. Leaves are opposite, ovate to elliptic, and leathery. Site: A bright spot with no direct sun. Temperature: average but do not let the temperature fluctuate too much. Do not place near any heat sources over the winter. Water: Keep well watered in summer, Do not let the compost dry out.

Take two buckets. Fill one with hot water and the other with cold water. The water should reach up to your calves. Place your feet in hot water first, for 2 to 3 minutes. Then place them in the cold water, for the same duration. Repeat this at least five times, starting and ending with hot water. Dry the feet thoroughly and massage. Stretch the toes and move the front part of each foot in a circular motion When you stand, or walk, the toes should point almost straight ahead. Lift the arches of the feet slightly, so that your body weight is supported by the outside edges of the soles of your feet. Walk barefoot, on grass, whenever you can.

Ingredients: 16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate; 1/2 c. sweet butter; 1-1/2 tsp. flour; 1-1/2 tsp. sugar; 1 tsp. hot water; 4 eggs, separated. Method: Oil bottom of 8 or 9-inch spring form pan. Melt chocolate and butter. Add flour, sugar, and water; blend well. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff. Fold gently into chocolate mixture. Turn into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes in middle of 425 degree oven. Let cake cool completely. Sift or sprinkle powdered sugar over top of cooled cake.

Indian Lawyers Forum conducted a family get together and legal seminar at the residence of Thomas Panicker at Abbassia. President Thomas Panicker in his presidential address welcomed all the attendees and highlighted the activities of Indian Lawyers’ Forum. He said the forum is very successful in providing a platform for the Indian lawyers in Kuwait to interact with each other. He underlined the importance of attending the forum meetings by members. Panicker wished all members Onam and Eid greetings.

General secretary Suresh Pulikkal presented the monthly report. Treasurer Shivadas presented the financial report. In the legal discussons followed, Sunil Jose, Rajesh Sagar, Sudheer, Sumod, Anas Puhtiyottil, Ratna Kumar participated. All the Indian lawyers present shared their thoughts on different legal issues presented. Those who are interested may contact 97203939, 24346934, 97260159 or by email: [email protected]; Web: www.geocities.com/lawgraduates.

Bangladesh Awami League, Fahaheel Branch organised an Iftar party in the premises of Bangladesh Restaurant at Fahaheel on Sept 17. The party meeting was presided over by Sahidullah Sarker, the vice-president of the committee.Freedom fighter Engr M. Abdul Rab, the president as well as the founder president of Bangladesh Awami League in Kuwait Chapter was the chief guest. The special

guests were: Borhan uddin Farook, general secretary, central committee; Abdus Sobhan, vice president, central committee, Nuruzzaman, Sahid Al-Ghohir, Haroon Rashid, Baharuddin Bahar (VP), Nurul Amin (VP), Samsul Alam, Ramjan Ali Khan (joint secretary). The function started by reciting the Holy Quran. A huge gathering was present.

what’s on today ■ Indian Embassy closure: The Embassy of India will remain closed today and tomorrow on account of ‘Maha Navmi and Dussehra (Vijayadashami)’. ❑ ❑ ❑ Yesterday’s solution

Today’s Challenge Time 1 Minutes 10 Seconds Your Working Time __ Minutes __ Seconds

legal clinic PRO BONO LEGAL ADVICE

Loan During my job I got a loan of KD 15,000 from a bank. After paying half the amount I lost my job, when I was on vacation outside Kuwait. Therefore, I did not return to Kuwait and now it’s being 5 months since I paid any installment to the bank. My question is can I travel back to Kuwait, if so, does the bank have the right to take some kind of legal action. I am willing to pay my remaining loan as soon as I get back to work.

■ IPC free Arabic course: The Islam Presentation Committee – Rawdah branch is conducting a free basic Arabic Language Course only for ladies irrespective of their religions from 09:00 am to 12:00 noon. Register now: Call Rawdah 22512257, 97290278. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Ahmadi Music Group rehearsals: The Ahmadi Music Group meet at the Mousetrap Theatre in the New English School Jabriya, at 07:00 pm, on Sundays. We are currently rehearsing for a seasonal concert and a new concert Oratorio ‘Gideon’ written by Harriet Bushman, which will be performed in January in conjunction with the Kuwait Jazz Collective. No auditions are necessary just a love of music and a lot of enthusiasm. We welcome singers of all voice types. For more information visit our website at www.ahmadimusicgroup.com or call 66184192. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Bsswim program commences: The British School of Swimming will start its main swim schools today (Red) and tomorrow (Blue) next week. There are vacancies at most levels, but some time slots are full. There are the usual classes for 3 year old Tadpoles and 4 year old beginners, through to intermediate and advanced. For the more experienced swimmers the Junior and Senior Swim Clubs will help you to improve technique and build stamina and fitness. Classes are held in the heated indoor pool at The British School of Kuwait in

click

Name withheld Answer: Yes, you can travel to Kuwait but the bank retains the right to initiate legal action against you and may already have done so, like asking the guarantor of the loan to pay the remaining amount. You should contact the bank and try to settle the issue. The case may also already be in court and it is even possible that a verdict might have been issued against you in absentia. It is also possible that when you land in the country you could be arrested, if such a verdict has been issued. But all there are ‘ifs’ and the real situation can only be known after you contact the bank and also the authorities.

Latest Continued from Page 27 Hawally, Cairo Street, Shaab Roundabout, new Shaab Park); Time: 07:00 pm - 09:00 pm; Registration: 06:30 - 07:00 pm. Interested members are requested to register their names by e-mail at [email protected] or by SMS your names to 66486040 on or before Sept 27, 2009. As the seats are very limited, rush in your entries now. Sept 30

Dar Al-Athar forum lecture: Dar Al-Athar Al

Salwa. BSSWIM will also offer dedicated girls learn to swim classes and a more comprehensive program for ladies, which will have Aqua Aerobics and learn to swim classes on the same nights. The men have not been forgotten with learn to swim classes for them also. If you would like more information, please see Miss Lucky at 25623604 or phone David on 99656305. You may also visit www.bsswim.com. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ KTCC activities: Worship service – every Wednesday 7:00-9:00 pm at North Tent, NECK. Children’s Bible School – every Wednesday 7 to 9 pm at Activity Building, NECK. Overnight prayer – every 1st Thursday from 10 pm – 4:00 am at Diwaniya, NECK. Communion Service – every 3rd Wednesday. The Following meeting are held at our KTCC Prayer House: 1) Children Bible School Teacher’s Prayer – 1st Saturday 7 to 9 pm. 2) Children’s Prayer – 2nd Friday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. 3) Bible Study – every 2nd and 4th Sunday at 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. 4) ISOM – Batch 1 Class Tuesdays – 7 to 9 pm 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) 4th Tuesday – 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. Islamiyyah (DAI) forum lecture on ‘Art of the Islamic world in the context of Western art history’ at 07 pm on Wednesday, Sept 30, at the Al Maidan Cultural Center, Maidan Hawalli. AUK Assistant Professor of Studio Art Sharon Orleans Lawrence will present a 40-minute lecture that begins with art from prehistory and concludes in the present day. Throughout the presentation she will cover the art history shared by both Islam and the West to the point of divergence and then compare and contrast the art of Islam with the art of Christian Byzantium. The highly visual lecture will end with a look at the enduring character of Islamic art vs the constantly changing art of the West. Oct 1

PALPAK Ona Pookkalam: PALPAK “Ona Pookkalam” competition will be held on Oct 1, 2009, afternoon at same venue, those who are interested to

Items for the What’s On page can be sent directly to the Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270, 13023, Safat or faxed to 4818267 or e-mail to [email protected]. All items on this page are published as a courtesy to the public. These announcements can include birthday greetings, weddings, social functions or any other non-commercial events. Photographs of all events are welcome. 10) Baptism Service – every 4th Friday. Welcome to all Tamil known people to participate in our regular activities to worship the Lord in our own mother tongue and be blessed! For details or for any prayer needs contact Tel No: 66920350 / 99432849. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ FLCC Weekly Worship Services: The Filipino Language Christian Congregation (FLCC), a Full-Gospel Filipino Family Church under the National Evangelical Church in Kuwait (NECK), invites all Filipinos to attend the following worship services: * Fridays-Morning: FLCC Main, NECK Compound, North Tent, Kuwait City, 9:30 am, Tel: 65986478, 66389680; Heirs of the Kingdom Children and Youth Church, NECK Compound, Activity, Building 4, 9:30 am, Tel: 99539940. * Fridays-Afternoon: Harvesters HallFahaheel, 1:30 pm and 5.30 pm, Tel: 65986478; Fruitbearers Hall-Riggae, 4:30 pm, Tel: 66619843; Agape Hall-Hawalli, 5:30 pm, Tel: 66549413; Shekinah Hall-Kuwait City, 5.30 pm, Tel: 66544584 Abundance HallFarwaniya, 5:30 pm, Tel: 99383780; Faithful participate (gents or ladies) may contact Nandakumar # 66518781 and Madhu # 99017072 or Suresh # 97253235. Palakkadan Mela 2009 programs will start at 8:45 am with “Kelikottu”.We request all members, their family and friends presence and cooperation to make this event a marvelous and grand success. ❑ ❑ ❑

Kuwait Little Theatre Quiz night: The Kuwait Little Theatre’s (KLT) much — loved Quiz Night returns on Thursday, Oct 1, 2009. Make up a team of 6 or come along and join a team for an evening full of fun. Tickets are only KD4/- each and include a light supper. Book online at www.theklt.com or call 99373678. ❑ ❑ ❑ Palakkad Mela/Ona Pookkalam: Palakkad Pravasi Association of Kuwait (PALPAK) presents Palakkadan Mela 2009 in connection with Onam, Eid

and True Hall-Jleeb, 5:30 pm, Tel: 66793823; Cornerstone Hall-Jahra, 5:30 pm, Tel: 66504235. * Sundays: More Than Conquerors HallKuwait City, 10 am and 5.30 pm, Tel: 66096981. * Mondays: More Than Conquerors HallKuwaity City, 10:30 am, Tel: 99524779. * All services are in Tagalog (Filipino) dialect. For prayers and counseling, please call 23716257 or send text (SMS) to 65986478 or send e-mail to [email protected] ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Redeemed Christian Church: The Redeemed Christian Church of God (worship in English) Regular services – Fridays: 7:30 am-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), Sunday service (Divine Encounter) 6:30 pm-8:30pm Hall of Faith (Neck) compound. All services in English language. For prayers and counseling, please call 6804798, 6332846. E-mail: [email protected] website: www.rccg.org. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ St. Paul’s Anglican Church: St Paul’s Anglican (Episcopal) Church of Kuwait has worship services in English, every Sunday at 6.30 pm in Ahmadi and every Friday at 10.30 am in Salwa. The Chinese worship service is held every Friday at 10.30 in Salwa. Bible classes for children are held during all the services. You are all invited to come and enjoy the services and fellowship. You are welcome to visit our website – http://www.stpaulskuwait.com For more information, you may call 7356700,7992517, 3985925, 4837716, 9114947 or Email at [email protected] and Gandhi Jayanthi Celebrations on Oct 2, 2009 at Indian Community School – Khaitan, a full day Entertainment Event in order to promote our Social and Cultural Heritage. 15 talented professional artists performing nine variety programmes includes Kelikottu, Panchavadhyam, Pancharimelam, Singarimelam, Nadan Pattukal, Kanyarkali, Nandhuni Pattukal, Theyyam and Layavinyasam. Kalabhavan Ansar (Cochin) and Mrs Sindhu Ramesh (Playback Singer) will stage Musical Orchestra with Film songs, Onapattukal and Muslim Songs. PALPAK ladies wing performing ‘Thiruvathirakali’. Total 8:30 to 9:00 hours a full day progamme and the nearest hall at 11:30 am to 02:00 pm serve Ona Sadhya. PALPAK ‘Ona Pookkalam’ competition will be held on Oct 1, 2009 afternoon at same venue, those who are interested to participate (Gents or Ladies) may contact Nandakumar 66518781 and Mr Madhu

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ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

29

Lavasa can be a model for future cities

Cinema Cinema programme (From last day of Ramadan to Wednesday 30/09/2009) The Orphan (Peter Sarsgaard, Vera Farmiga) Sharqia 1 11:30, 16:15 Muhalab 2 13:45, 00:15 Fanar 2 11:30, 16:00, 22:15, 00:30 Marina 1 11:00, 18:15 Avenues 10 11:15, 14:15, 17:15, 20:15, 23:15 360° 6 11:45, 14:45, 17:45, 20:45, 23:45 360° 7 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 22:00, 01:00 Al Kout 4 11:15, 15:30, 20:00, 00:30 Plaza 17:30 (Sun, Tue, Wed) Laila 00:15 Ajial 3 22:00, 00:15 Chocolate (Jeeja Yanin, Hiroshi Abe) Sharqia 1 14:15, 18:30 Muhalab 1 17:00 Fanar 1 12:45, 17:00, 19:00 Avenues 8 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00, 00:05 360° 8 12:30, 14:30, 16:30, 18:30, 20:30, 22:30, 00:30 Al Kout 4 13:30, 18:00, 22:30 Ong Bak 2 (Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree) Sharqia 1 20:30 Muhalab 1 19:00 Fanar 1 15:00 Fanar 3 11:15, 16:30 Fanar 5 00:45 Marina 1 20:30 Marina 2 15:15 Avenues 2 11:15, 13:30, 15:45, 18:00, 20:15, 22:30, 00:45 360° 3 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30,19:30, 21:30, 23:30 Al Kout 3 14:15, 19:15 Metro 1 17:15 Blood and Bone (Michael Jai White, Michelle Belegrin) Sharqia 1 22:30, 00:45 Muhalab 2 20:00, 22:00 Fanar 1 21:00, 23:00, 01:00 Marina 1 16:15 Avenues 1 01:00 Avenues 3 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30, 19:30, 21:30, 23:30 360° 5 12:45, 14:45, 16:45, 18:45, 20:45, 22:45, 00:45 360° 15 13:45, 15:45, 17:45, 19:45, 21:45, 23:45 Al Kout 2 20:45, 22:45, 00:45 Plaza 00:50 Laila 22:15 Ajial 1 17:30, 00:30 Metro 1 15:15, 00:15 Alf Mabrouk (Ahmad) Sharqia 2 11:45, 14:15, 16:45, 19:15, 21:45, 00:15 Muhalab 3 12:15, 14:45, 17:15, 19:45, 22:15, 00:45 Fanar 4 11:45, 14:15, 16:45, 19:15, 21:45, 00:15 Marina 3 11:45, 14:30, 17:00, 19:30, 22:00, 00:30 Avenues 4 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00, 00:05 Avenues 11 12:15, 15:15, 18:15, 21:15, 00:15 360° 1 11:00, 14:00, 17:00, 20:00, 23:00 360° 10 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00, 00:05 360° 11 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00, 00:05 Al Kout 1 11:30, 14:00, 19:00, 21:30, 00:05 Plaza 20:00, 22:30 Laila 19:45 Ajial 1 15:00, 19:30, 22:00 Metro 1 19:15, 21:45 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell) Sharqia 3 11:15, 13:15, 15:15, 17:15 Muhalab 2 11:45, 16:00, 18:00 Fanar 2 14:00, 18:15, 20:15 Marina 2 11:15, 13:15, 17:15, 19:15 Avenues 9 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00,19:00, 21:00, 23:00 360° 4 11:45, 13:45, 15:45, 17:45, 19:45, 21:45, 23:45 360° 13 13:30, 16:30, 19:30, 22:30, 00:30 Al Kout 2 12:45, 14:45, 16:45, 18:45 Laila 14:45 Unusual Heroes (Female Agents) (Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu) Sharqia 3 19:15 Muhalab 1 14:30 Fanar 3 18:30, 00:05 Marina 1 22:30 Avenues 7 12:45, 15:45, 18:45, 21:45, 00:45 360° 2 11:15, 14:15, 17:15, 20:15, 23:15 Al Kout 1 16:30 Ajial 4 00:30 Metro 2 16:00 (Wed to Sat) Metro 2 00:30 Inglourious Bastards (Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger) Sharqia 3 21:30, 00:30 Muhalab 1 11:30, 21:00, 00:05 Fanar 5 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 Marina 1 13:15 Marina 2 21:15, 00:15 Avenues 5 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30, 00:30 Avenues 6 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30, 00:30 360° 9 11:30, 14:30, 17:30, 20:30, 23:30 360° 12 12:15, 15:15, 18:15, 21:15, 00:15 Al Kout 3 11:15, 16:15, 21:15, 00:15 Laila 16:45 Ajial 2 15:00, 00:05 Wanted (Hindi) (Salman Khan, Ayesh Takia) Fanar 3 13:30, 21:00 Avenues 1 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 22:00 Plaza 17:00 (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat) Under the Sea 3D (Jim Carrey) 360° 13 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 Dil Bole Hadippa (Hindi) (Shahid Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee) 360° 14 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00, 00:05 Ajial 2 16:00, 19:00 Oru Black and White Kudumbam (Malayalam) (Jayasurya, Bhama) Ajial 2 18:00, 21:00 Unnaipol Oruvan (Tamil) (Kamal Hasan, Mohanlal) 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 Ajial 4 Eenadu (Telugu) (Kamal Hasan, Venkatesh) Metro 2 15:00 (Sun, Mon, Tue) Metro 2 18:30, 21:30 Movies inquiries and Fax Back hotline 1803456 IMAX Imax film programme at The Scientific Center Sunday Showtime available for groups 09:30 am Under The Sea 3D 10:30 am, 11:30 am 12:30 pm, 07:30 pm, 09:30 pm Sea Monsters 3D 05:30 pm Journey to Mecca 06:30 pm Fly Me To The Moon 3D 08:30 pm For visitor information call 1848 888 or visit www.tsck.org.kw Under The Sea 3D is in Arabic, Sea Monsters 3D and Journey to Mecca are in Arabic. English headsets are available upon request. Fly Me To The Moon 3D is in English. Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.

India’s newest hill station builds for the future By Phil Hazlewood

F

or India’s colonial rulers, hill stations like Shimla and Darjeeling provided a welcome break from the stifling heat and humidity of administrative capitals Calcutta and later New Delhi. More than 60 years after the British left, the Himalayan towns and others like them still attract city dwellers and tourists eager to take in the cooler mountain air. Now a new hill station, Lavasa, is being built some 200 kms (125 miles) southeast of Mumbai, around a lake high in the Western Ghats range that runs virtually the length of the country. It is being billed as “free India’s first and largest hill city”. But to its corporate backers and those who will run it, it represents more than just a symbol of independence. Decades after India’s first planned, postindependence city, Chandigarh, was built, they say the multi-billion-dollar development is a bold experiment that could be a blueprint for building and managing future Indian cities. Lavasa city manager Scot Wrighton calls the privately-funded project a “laboratory” to

test the latest techniques in urban planning and service delivery. “The demographers are predicting that India will add three to four hundred million new people to its population over the next 40 years,” said Wrighton, who has 20 years’ experience in city management in the United States. “There’s no question about whether there will be new cities in India. The question is: what’s the quality of life going to be like?” he told AFP. With India’s population at 1.2 billion people and counting, plus internal economic migration to urban areas from the countryside, the country’s cities are bursting at the seams. Housing shortages, electricity and water cuts, traffic congestion, pollution and a lack of basic services are the reality for millions. “The problem is that 20 years back, nobody realised that we would be growing at such a huge pace,” said Pankat Joshi, executive director of the Urban Design Research Institute in Mumbai, a city itself home to 18 million people. “The speed of growth in the last five to

seven years has been completely breakneck. It’s not just Mumbai. It’s more than 50 cities that are growing at this pace.” With infrastructure in India’s older cities struggling to cope, and demographics outpacing the planning and completion of construction and transportation projects, Lavasa at least has the advantage of a clean slate. Dasve, the first of five towns that will make up Lavasa, is due to open next year, with Wrighton promising the city’s expected 200,000 permanent residents uninterrupted water supplies, electricity, clean streets and managed traffic. Environmental sustainability is also a high priority. Seventy percent of the city, which is expected to be fully built by 2021, has been designated green space in this area known as a haven for rare species of animals and plants. The publicity material promises recycling of waste and water and renewable energy, along with eco-friendly materials in property ranging from the cheapest social housing to top-of-the-range villas. The Lavasa Corporation Limited, a unit of the giant Hindustan Construction Company, is looking for “non-polluting industries” like

the education, health, IT and hospitality sectors to set up in the city and provide over 50,000 jobs. Krunal Negandhi, head of sustainable development, environment and landscaping in Lavasa, said the sustainable environmental model was “the future for cities”. “Climate change five years ago was just jargon,” he said. “Today, the reality of it is being experienced in the change in the rain patterns, etcetera. These are the things that people are getting sensitive to.” But Joshi is sceptical, doubting Lavasa can be a model for future cities, or even if the comparison should be made, seeing the area instead as “more of a hill station with second homes for the middle classes” and a “gated enclave”. “Our cities don’t function for middle classes. The bulk of them are for the urban poor,” he said, adding that Lavasa would lack the layers that contribute to the diversity of cities built up over centuries. “Investment and technology or marketing doesn’t really make a city. There are other issues about livelihood, class, culture, creed, community,” he added. (AFP)

Destinations

This photo released by the Virginia Tourism Corporation shows bicyclists pausing to view the mountains at Shenandoah National Park. (AP)

Skyline Drive offers breathtaking respite from city life

Quiet thrills in autumnal Blue Ridge By Calvin Woodward

S

kyline Drive specializes in solitude mixed with pulse-racing exhilaration. You can get that three ways as autumn colors come alive across the Blue Ridge Mountains. You can bike it, all 105 miles (169 kms) of Skyline Drive’s ups, downs, twists and vistas. You can hike its backcountry trails through a land of ridges, waterfalls, hardwood forest and pesky bears. Or you can drive it, just as the distant generation that created the road intended for the generations to come. Skyline Drive took shape in the Depression, the handiwork of a government that really did have projects shovel-ready. Shovels carved a road along the serpentine spine of the Blue Ridge, creating desperately needed jobs and opening panoramas to the masses that were once the preserve of mountain people and moonshiners scattered in the hills until the feds drove them to valleys below. Today, Americans struggling with economic calamity of their own enjoy a reclaimed wilderness handed down from their ancestors’ “stimulus package.” By wheels or foot, Skyline Drive and the national park it dissects — Shenandoah — offer a breathtaking respite from the clamor of Washington some 70 miles (113 kms) away. It’s also a road less traveled for longdistance motorists willing to trade the utilitarian speed of parallel north-south Interstate 81 for the 35-mph peace of the mountains. Bicycling: Skyline is an exquisite bicycling route, if the legs hold up. An end-to-end, two-day expedition is perhaps best done north to south, from Front Royal to Rockfish Gap. Big Meadows is the natural halfway place to stay for the night, in lodge rooms overlooking Shenandoah Valley, in cabins or the campground. Another choice is Skyland resort less than 10 miles (16 kms) north. The road is two lanes with two-way traffic and no shoulder, ordinarily a recipe for trouble. But with only four entrances along its entire length, no commercial traffic and 75 spectacular pull-off overlooks diverting drivers and cyclists, the route is usually uncrowded and bike-friendly. If hills are your friend. Stats tell the tale, from a group trip in the spring measured by GPS: 10,749 feet (3,276 meters) of climbing and 9,290 feet (2,832 meters) of descending. It was a characterbuilding, calorie-burning labor of limbs, a continual cycle of gritted teeth and grins that added up to an epic weekend ride. The climbs may be the eat-your-veggies portion but they do offer rewards to the spir-

it. You smell the wild, see the flowers and become swallowed by solitude. Avoid pain by having the patience to inch along in a low gear. The downhills? Dessert with a cherry on top. The sweetest descent comes on the morning of the second day, just past Big Meadows. Along a 22-mile (35.4-kilometer) stretch, the elevation drops nearly 1,300 feet, with a few punchy climbs along the way. This section is why north to south is recommended. Long climbs are demanded either way but over these particular miles (kms), you want to be going down. Within this stretch is a pure downhill dropping 1,000 feet (305 meters) over five miles (eight kms). Just hang on, tickle your brakes on sweeping turns, grin and fly. Tips: Starting at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center more than four miles (6.4 kms) into the park avoids one of the steepest and least scenic climbs. If riding the route without vehicle support, pack enough water, snacks and first aid to last hours at a time. Food and drink are available near mileposts 24, 42, 51 and 80 until services shut for the season at various dates in November. Hiking: Shenandoah National Park is home to 101 miles (162.5 kms) of the venerable Appalachian Trail and hundreds more miles (kms) of walkable wilderness, much of it accessible from Skyline Drive. Big Meadows (milepost 51) draws families not only to its high alpine sweep of open space and rare plants but to nearby hiking

trails that kids find magical and doable. Dark Hollow Falls, for one, is a 1.4-mile (2.3-kilometer) round trip, with steep sections, starring a 70-foot frothy waterfall (The shortest hike to a waterfall in the park). The Story of the Forest trail is an easy 1.8-mile (2.9-kilometer) circuit. Dedicated Shenandoah backpacker Stephanie Cheehy favors multi-day expeditions and backcountry camping, often on hikes intersecting with the Appalachian Trail. “The classic backpack of Shenandoah will always be trekking the AT through the park,” she says. “However, its hollows are so enchanting that I would suggest getting off the most famous beaten path to enjoy a series of two-, three-day overnights.” The Overall Run (reached from Route 630) leads to the park’s tallest waterfall, visible from a ledge as it crashes far below. The Whiteoak Oak Canyon-Cedar Run route is a challenging Shenandoah classic replete with cascading water. It’s reached from Skyline mileposts 43 or 45.5, or from Route 600 outside the park. Experts and determined novices come together on the old favorite, the trek to Old Rag peak, a bracing hike and rock scramble that requires some hand-over-hand climbing and navigation of tricky crevasses. Count on six hours on this route, which is reached on Route 600. Cheehy and her husband did it as an overnight trip in winter. “It was an amazing hike and I absolutely suggest it to any one willing to test their upper-body strength,” she said. “Excellent views. Fascinating geology. “We had to pass our packs along to each

This photo released by Rob Woodward shows a curious bear lurks in lush greenery by the Elkwallow campground and picnic area at milepost 24 on Skyline Drive, May 30, 2009. Hikers using trails in this part of Shenandoah National Park often see black bears. (AP)

other to make it through some of the cracks and up some of the boulders. I left that trail more curious about rock climbing than I’d ever been.” Tips: This is black bear country. Attacks are rare; encounters, more frequent. Read up on ways to behave and camp in their vicinity. And check for deer ticks on you, no matter how short the walk. Free permit required for backcountry camping. Driving: Completed in 1939, Skyline Drive has been a favorite jaunt by motorcar since the start. At the drive’s southern point, the route becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway and rides the ridges for 469 more miles (755 more kms) to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Skyline’s 75 overlooks are a string of jewels; stop on a whim and you can’t go wrong. The park service points people especially to: ■ Signal Knob, milepost 5.7, a Civil War Confederate semaphore site. ■ Range View, milepost 17.1, simply for the magnificence of the vista. ■ South River, milepost 67.2, to watch the sunrise. A haze often hangs over the hills. The Blue Ridge is so named for a hue created by trees releasing water droplets and gaseous molecules. Power-plant emissions add to the atmospheric brew on some days. The government says visibility has been cut by half over 50 years. If the human imprint etches the sky, it recedes in the forest. There, the occasional crumbled chimney, rotted cabin logs and family cemetery testify to settlements of another time, before people were moved and the Civilian Conservation Corps got to work with shovels. Tips: Shenandoah also has 180 miles (290 kms) of horse trails and licensed fishing, but no hunting. Pets are allowed in campgrounds and a few units at Skyland, but not rooms at Big Meadows. Leashed dogs are permitted on most trails, not some of the most popular ones, such as Dark Hollow and Old Rag. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ If You Go.. Skyline drive: This parkway through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia — http://www.nps.gov/SHEN/ — is closed only in snow or ice, and at night during deer-hunting season. Lodges, visitor centers and campgrounds with services close during November, reopen in March. Seven-day vehicle park pass through November: $15. Day vehicle pass December-February: $10. Annual vehicle pass: $30. Pass for bicyclist or hiker entering without a motor vehicle: $8 through November, $5 DecemberFebruary. Fall foliage reports: http://www.nps.gov/shen/parknews/fall —colors.htm.

travel sunday, september 27, 2009

airport inquiry tel: 161 www.kuwait-airport.com.kw

Pilots protest ‘cuts’

Strike ‘disrupts’ Air India flights NEW DELHI, Sept 26, (AFP): Stateowned Air India said it cancelled 11 flights on Saturday after some pilots reported sick in protest at a decision by the loss-making airline to slash productivity bonuses. The action by the national flag carrier’s non-unionised senior pilots came as India’s biggest religious festival season of the year got under way, disrupting travel plans. “We had to cancel 11 flights as some pilots reported sick but we managed to fly over 250 flights,” Air India spokesman Jitender Bharghava told AFP. Airline management would meet with the pilots on Sunday in Mumbai to discuss their complaints, Bharghava said. The airline, which is struggling to return to profit, announced last Wednesday cuts of 25 to 50 percent in productivity incentives for more than 7,000 employees, including top management, as part of cost-reduction efforts. Bhargava said Air India, whose oncedominant market share has shrunk to 16 percent in the face of fierce competition from private carriers, needed to cut expenses to keep flying. “It’s pretty well known that as a state-owned carrier we can’t retrench people like Japan Airlines,” he said, referring to the Japanese airline’s announcement this month that it planned to cut 6,800 jobs in a bid to become profitable again. The flight cancellations came after the senior pilots’ representative, Captain V.K. Bhalla, said “the executive pilots have taken a decision to go on strike because nobody is in a state of mind to work due to the salary cuts.” Bhalla said performance-linked pay incentives account for up to 70 percent of total pay of Air India’s senior pilots, who are not unionised. It was not immediately clear how many of the 319 senior pilots would take part in the protest. But the union which represents the airline’s lowerranked pilots would not replace any senior pilots who did not turn up for work, Indian media outlets reported. “We are morally with the executive pilots as their salary cut is very steep,” said Shailendra Singh, president of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association. The Air India protest follows a mass pilot “sick-in” two weeks ago at India’s second-largest carrier Jet Airways that threw the country’s airline travel into chaos for five days. The Jet Airways pilots were protesting against the dismissal of colleagues who started a union. Air India, which employs over 31,000 people and pays more than 30 billion dollars in wages annually, posted an 875-million-dollar loss in the financial year to March 31, 2009. Productivity-linked incentives make up the bulk of its payroll expenses. India’s Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said the airline must “shape up” to receive a government bailout expected to total one billion dollars over three years. The airline has recently advertised in major newspapers worldwide for a chief operating officer to streamline operations and help it emerge from its financial troubles.



ATHENS: Greece’s national carrier Olympic Airlines which was bought by Greek and United Arab Emirates investment group Marfin announced Saturday that starting Tuesday most of its flights will be operated by its successor Olympic Air. The new airline was orginally set to start operations on Thursday “but for reasons related to adapting and transferring passengers to Olympic Air flights, we decided to make this succession on Tuesday, a day when traffic at Athens airport is not that heavy,” Olympic Airlines spokesman Michalis Miyakis told AFP. Olympic Air will take over most of the 28 international flights and 26 domestic flights previously operated by Olympic Airlines, he added. Any passengers holding tickets on Olympic Airlines after September 29 can travel on Olympic Air or with other carriers at no additional expense, the airline said in statement. Earlier this month Olympic Air said it had signed a deal with US carrier Delta Airlines allowing code sharing on the Athens-New York route from October 1 in a bid to boost its global reach. Olympic Air chief Antonis Simigdalas also said the airline would sign agreements with Air France-KLM, Cyprus Airways and Etihad Airways for flights to Canada, France and the Netherlands between now and March 2010. Olympic Air has received investments totalling $1.1 billion (746 million euros), employs 5,000 people, owns 32 planes and includes handling and engineering services. Olympic Airlines will continue to operate flights to a few international destinations including Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Cairo and some Greek islands after a call for bids for these destinations proved unsuccessful in August. A new Greek government to be formed after the general election next weekend is expected to relaunch bids for these remaining destinations, Olympic Airlines has said.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

30

Couch slouch

contract b r i d g e By Steve Becker

‘Beautiful Life’ ends after two episodes

‘Cleveland’ milder version of ‘Family Guy’ LOS ANGELES, Sept 26, (RTRS): What a difference seven years can make. In 2002, Fox canceled Seth MacFarlane’s “Family Guy,” citing bad ratings. Since then, the series has made a triumphant return, MacFarlane’s “American Dad” was added to the schedule, and now a third series, “Family Guy” spin-off “The Cleveland Show,” essentially gives MacFarlane the keys to the Fox Sunday night schedule. There’s a new cast of animated characters on “Cleveland,” which bows Sunday at 8:30, but if you’ve seen the other two series, the new show will feel remarkably familiar, if tamer, more circumscribed and, ultimately, less subversive. Cleveland is saner, mellower and more of a genuine romantic than his counterparts, but the tone of the show and its animation style are recognizable. There are the cutaways, flashbacks and pop culture references that are the hallmarks of MacFarlane and his co-conspirators and, in this case, keep the show from settling into a rut. The premise: Cleveland Brown (Mike Henry), the most grounded member of Peter Griffin’s inner circle, gets divorced. His ex gets the house and he gets custody of his son, Cleveland Jr. (Kevin Michael Richardson), forever naive and exceedingly rotund. Cleveland decides to go to California to pursue his dream of being a minor-league baseball scout. En route (well, nearly so), he visits his hometown of Stoolbend, Virginia. There, a chance meeting with Donna (Sanaa Lathan), his high school crush, reignites old feelings. In no time, he marries Donna and becomes stepdad to Roberta, a rebellious teenager, and Rollo, a wisecracking 5-yearold. Donna’s two children — the least original of all MacFarlane’s creations — are exactly the kind of stereotypical TV kids that the show’s writers, at an earlier time, might have delighted in lampooning. “Cleveland” has a few delightfully outrageous moments, along with several that are gratuitously gross (“hot fur,” anyone?), but its most disconcerting element is its significant resemblance to “Family Guy.” Although one of Cleveland’s new neighbors is a religious bear voiced by MacFarlane, most of the others feel like counterparts to

‘Driving Lessons’, starring Julie Walters, Rupert Grint and Laura Linney is shown on Star Movies at 20:30 hours. Seventeen-year-old Ben (Grint) is a shy teenager looking to break away from the influence of Laura, his religious, domineering mother. To take some control of his life, he finds a part-time job working as an assistant for Evie (Walters), an elderly, eccentric actress. Laura believes Evie isn’t a good influence on her son, but Ben is happy to find someone he can talk to who encourages him to pur sue his goals. What follows is a journey in which Ben and Evie help each other move forward in their radically different ways.

characters on the flagship series. Then there’s that other little problem: the use of a white actor to supply the voice of Cleveland, a black character. Granted, the show is not guilty of using the degrading dialect once employed by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in their radio portrayal of Amos and Andy. And, granted, Henry played the character when Cleveland appeared sporadically on “Family Guy.” Still, given the insensitivities of a previous generation, greater care in voice casting is

advised, particularly on a series in which the black character has been elevated to the title role. Ideally, Fox should have scheduled this show at the end of its Sunday animation block in hopes of hanging on to most of “Family Guy’s” viewers. But that would have meant running “American Dad” at 8:30 pm, which is too early for its bawdy humor. Now the risk is that “Cleveland” will be a speed bump between “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy.”

LOS ANGELES: After only two episodes, Ashton Kutcher’s scripted drama “The Beautiful Life” has become the first victim of the new fall season. The CW has canceled the show, which starred Mischa Barton as one of a group of models sharing living quarters in New York. It was created by Kutcher and Adam Giaudrone. Wednesday’s episode was seen by just 1 million viewers.

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Latest Continued from Page 28 99017072 or Suresh 97253235. Palakkadan Mela 2009 programs will start at 08:45 am with ‘Kelikotu’. We request all members, their family and friends presence and cooperation to make this event a marvelous and grand success. Oct 2

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Pehla Granada 06:00 Coronation Street WEEKEND OMNIBUS 07:30 Undercover Customs (Series 2) 08:00 Art Crime 09:00 Premature Burial 10:00 Dating The Enemy (Series 1) 10:30 Transformed 12:00 At Home With The Braithwaites (Series 2) 13:00 Movies To Remember: The Boys From Brazil 15:00 Love Lies Bleeding 16:10

Ride Guide Mountain Bike 12:30 Ride Guide Mountain Bike 13:00 Ride Guide Mountain Bike 13:30 Ride Guide Mountain Bike 14:00 Ride Guide Mountain Bike 14:30 Ride Guide Mountain Bike 15:00 Red Bull Empire Of Dirt 16:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 17:00 Uci BMX Supercross World Cup

Pathak 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 Thinking Big (r) The American Pipe Dream 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Dateline London (r) 12:00 BBC World News 12:10 The Day After Peace (r) 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 Talking Movies (r) 14:00 BBC World News 14:30 India Business Report (r) 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 Newsnight (r) 16:00 BBC World News 16:15 Sport Today 16:30 Our World: Sharia UK (r) 17:00 BBC World News 17:30 The Real... (r) Hong Kong 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Thinking Big (r) The American Pipe Dream 19:00 BBC World News 19:30 Reporters (r) 20:00 BBC World News 20:10 The Day After Peace (r) 21:00 BBC World News 21:15 Sport Today 21:30 Middle East Business Report (r) 22:00 BBC World

2009-2010 Senior League Tip Off Tournament. Two games are guaranteed, there will be a winner’s and loser’s brackets. The tournament will take place on Oct 2, 2009 at BBS in Hawally. E-mail [email protected] or call Coach Greg at 66372933. ❑ ❑ ❑

TRASSK’s Arts & Cultural festival: Thrissur Association of Kuwait (TRASSK) will be conducting Arts and Cultural Competition for its members on Friday, Oct 2, 2009 at Indian Education School (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) in Jaleeb Al-Shuyoukh). All the members are requested to contact their respective area conveners or call on 97551368 or email us at [email protected]. Kalolsavam winners will be rewarded in the TRASSK Onam, Eid Gala ’09 Mega Cultural Event on Oct 3, 2009.

Rosemary And Thyme (Series 2) 17:00 At Home With The Braithwaites (Series 2) 18:00 Movies To Remember: The Boys From Brazil 20:00 Love Lies Bleeding 21:10 Rosemary And Thyme (Series 2) 22:00 The Caterers 22:30 The Alex Factor (Series 2) 23:00 At Home With The Braithwaites (Series 2) 00:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 01:00 Emmerdale 01:30 Coronation Street 02:00 The Caterers 02:30 The Alex Factor (Series 2) 03:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 04:00 Staff From Hell 05:00 Football Saved My Life 06:00 Crime Monday: Love Lies Bleeding 07:30 The Sunshine Girls

National Geography 07:00 The Human Family Tree 09:00 Danger Men -Half Million Volt Workers 10:00 Air Crash Investigation -System Breakdown 11:00 Locked Up Abroad -Venezuela Blues 12:00 Monster Moves -Giant Wood Haul 13:00 The Mafia -The Godfathers 4 14:00 Inside -Kung Fu Inc. 15:00 Megastructures -747 Breakdown 16:00 Monster Moves -Giant Wood Haul 17:00 The Mafia -The Godfathers 4 18:00 Inside Kung Fu Inc. 19:00 Megastructures -747 Breakdown 20:00 Monster Moves -Giant Wood Haul 21:00 The Mafia -The Godfathers 4 22:00 Inside -Kung Fu Inc. 23:00 Mega Thursday Megastructures : 747 Breakdown 00:00 Naked Science -Close Encounters S2-4 01:00 About Asia -ShowReal Asia : Head On! 02:00 Seconds From Disaster -Inferno at Guadalajara 8 03:00 Dangerous Encounters - Shark From The Abyss S4-2 04:00 Naked Science -Close Encounters S2-4 05:00 About Asia -ShowReal Asia : Head On! 06:00 Seconds From Disaster -Inferno at Guadalajara 8 07:00 Dangerous Encounters - Shark From The Abyss S4-2

Discovery Channel 06:05 Mythbusters 07:00 Mega Builders 07:55 Street Customs 2008 08:50 Biker Build-Off 09:45 How Stuff Works 10:10 Destroyed in Seconds 10:40 Destroyed in Seconds 11:05 Tornado Rampage 12:00 Deadliest Catch 12:55 Extreme Loggers 13:50 LA Hard Hats 14:45 Verminators 15:40 Dirty Jobs 16:35 American Loggers 17:30 How Stuff Works 18:00 Brainiac 19:00 FutureCar 20:00 Smash Lab 21:00 Mythbusters 22:00 Destroyed in Seconds 22:30 Destroyed in Seconds 23:00 Serial Killers 00:00 Serial Killers 01:00 Destroyed in Seconds 01:30 Shocking Survival Videos 02:00 Street Customs 2008 02:55 Biker Build-Off 03:50 American Chopper 04:45 How Stuff Works 05:10 Destroyed in Seconds 05:40 Destroyed in Seconds 06:05 Smash Lab

Animal Planet 05:40 Whale Wars 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Pet Rescue 07:30 Pet Rescue 08:00 Animal Cops Philadelphia 09:00 Monkey Life 09:30

2008 17:30 Uci BMX Supercross World Cup 2008 18:00 Uci BMX Supercross World Cup 2008 18:30 Uci BMX Supercross World Cup 2008 19:00 Uci BMX Supercross World Cup 2008 19:30 IFMXF 2009 20:00 IFMXF 2009 20:30 IFMXF 2009 21:00 Red Bull Empire Of Dirt 22:00 FIM World Motocross

News 22:30 Thinking Big (r) The American Pipe Dream 23:00 BBC World News 23:30 Our World: Sharia UK (r) 00:00 BBC World News 00:30 Dateline London (r) 01:00 BBC World News 01:30 HARDtalk (r) 02:00 BBC World News 02:30 Reporters (r) 03:00 BBC World News 03:30 Dateline London (r) 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Asia Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Asia Today (r) 06:00 BBC World News

Bloomberg 06:00 Bloomberg Weekend News 06:30 Middle East Money Focus 07:00 Political Capital With Al Hunt 07:30 Muse 08:00 Market Week 08:30 Middle East Money Focus 09:00 Political

Monkey Life 10:00 The Crocodile Hunter Diaries 11:00 E-Vets: The Interns 11:30 E-Vets: The Interns 12:00 Animal Precinct 13:00 K9 Cops 14:00 Animal Cops Philadelphia 15:00 Animal Cops Philadelphia 16:00 Crocodile Hunter 17:00 Vet On The Loose 17:30 Vet On The Loose 18:00 Return Of The Prime Predators 19:00 Echo And The Elephants Of Amboseli 19:30 Echo And The Elephants Of Amboseli 20:00 Stranger Among Bears 20:30 Stranger Among Bears 21:00 Untamed And Uncut 22:00 Untamed And Uncut 23:00 I Was Bitten 00:00 Animal Cops Philadelphia 01:00 Animal Cops South Africa 02:00 Echo And The Elephants Of Amboseli 02:30 Echo And The Elephants Of Amboseli 02:55 Untamed And Uncut 03:50 Meerkat Manor 04:20 Monkey Life 04:45 Animal Cops South Africa 05:40 Stranger Among Bears 06:10 Stranger Among Bears

E! TV 06:00 40 Smokin' On Set Hookups 07:45 Behind The Scenes 08:10 Behind The Scenes 08:35 E! News 09:25 30 Best And Worst Beach Bodies 11:05 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 11:30 Streets Of Hollywood 12:00 E! News 12:50 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 13:15 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 13:40 E!es 14:30 Party Monsters: Cabo 15:25 Dr 90210 16:15 E!es 18:00 E! News 18:50 Denise Richards: It's Complicated 19:15 Denise Richards: It's Complicated 19:40 Thsc 20:30 E!es 21:20 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 21:45 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 22:10 E! News 23:00 Streets Of Hollywood 23:25 Streets Of Hollywood 23:50 Candy Girls 00:15 Candy Girls 00:40 THS 01:30 THS 02:20 Dr 90210 03:15 25 Most Memorable Swimsuit Moments 05:05 Sexiest 06:00 THS

History Channel 05:40 Cities Of The Underworld 06:30 The Universe 07:20 Mega Movers 08:10 Battle Stations 09:00 The True Story of Hannibal 10:50 Night of the Long Knives 11:40 Cities Of The Underworld 12:30 The Universe 13:20 Mega Movers 14:10 Battle Stations 15:00 The True Story of Hannibal 16:50 Night of the Long Knives 17:40 Cities Of The Underworld 18:30 The Universe 19:20 Mega Movers 20:10 Battle Stations 21:00 Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire 21:55 Egypt: Land of the Gods 22:50 Ancient Discoveries 23:40 Man Moment Machine 00:30 Decoding the Past 01:20 Lost Worlds 02:10 Modern Marvels 03:00 Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire 03:55 Egypt: Land of the Gods 04:50 Ancient Discoveries 05:40 Man Moment Machine 06:30 Decoding the Past

Championships 2008 23:00 Strikeforce 00:00 Strikeforce 01:00 Red Bull Empire Of Dirt 02:00 FIM World Motocross Championships 2008 03:00 I-Ex 03:30 I-Ex 04:00 I-Ex 04:30 IEx 05:00 I-Ex 05:30 I-Ex 06:00 Red Bull Empire Of Dirt

Capital With Al Hunt 09:30 Muse 10:00 Bloomberg Money Weekend 12:00 Emerging Markets Weekend Edition 12:30 Middle East Money Focus 13:00 Bloomberg Money Weekend 15:00 Emerging Markets Weekend Edition 15:30 For The Record 16:00 Bloomberg Money Weekend 18:00 Bloomberg Weekend News 19:00 For The Record 19:30 For The Record 20:00 Muse 20:30 Political Capital With Al Hunt 21:00 Bloomberg Weekend News 22:00 Bloomberg Money Weekend 00:00 Bloomberg Weekend News 01:00 Bloomberg Live 02:00 Bloomberg Live 04:00 Bloomberg Now 06:00 Bloomberg Today (asian Programming)

06:45 Four Weddings And A Funeral

Party 2 07:00 Closed For Winter

05:15 Tiger Brigades

SuperMovies

ShowMovies 1

ShowMovies 2

05:00 Mongol 07:05 The Visitor 09:00 Red Riding: 1974 11:00 Skills Like This 12:30 US Top 10 13:00 Horton Hears A Who 14:30 US Top 10 15:00 Closed For Winter 16:55 Honeydripper 19:00 Skin 21:00 Eragon 23:00 The Square 01:00 Bachelor Party 2 03:00 Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem 05:00 Bachelor

05:30 Chasing The Horizon 07:15 All Hat 09:00 Lenexa. 1mile 11:00 Center Stage 2: Turn It Up 13:00 Heavy Metal In Baghdad 15:00 Lenexa. 1mile 16:45 Rescue Dawn 19:00 Center Stage 2: Turn It Up 21:00 Good Luck Chuck 23:00 The Kingdom 01:00 Cocaine Cowboys II 03:00 La Sconosciuta

06:00 Taina - Uma Aventura Na Amazonia 07:30 The Portrait Of A Lady 10:00 Sixty 6 12:00 Elizabeth: The Golden Age 14:00 Juno 16:00 Sixty 6 18:00 Elizabeth: The Golden Age 20:00 Juno 22:00 A Thousand Acres 00:00 Deceit 02:00 United 93 04:00 Dark Honeymoon 06:00 Taina II

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

HEALTH

31

Health Enrollment in Avastin study halted

Oct flu vaccination to be ‘little bumpy’: US CHICAGO, Sept 26, (Agencies): A top US health official says the first weeks of October are going to be “a little bumpy” as the government distributes the supply the swine flu vaccine ready next week — knowing it will not be enough. Dr Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Friday his agency faced a dilemma because most of the US H1N1 vaccine will be unavailable until mid- to late October. “The choice was having vaccine stack up in a warehouse ... or getting it out as soon as it became available. We feel the only right answer is to get it out as rapidly as possible,” Frieden told reporters in a telephone briefing. But that move will add to the strain on state and local health departments that likely will have to turn people away. “It’s going to be a little bumpy,” said Frieden. The US government said this week it will have 6 million to 7 million doses of swine flu vaccine ready next week, and another 40 million does by mid- to late October. New target urged Production was expected to continue at a rate of 10 million to 20 million doses per week to a total of more than 250 million by year end. Most of the vaccine that will be ready early will be the nasal spray vaccine made by AstraZeneca’s MedImmune CHICAGO, Sept 26, (RTRS): A unit. It is approved for people aged 2-49, study in mice suggests lack of but is not recommended for people with sleep may play a role in the certain underlying health problems, who development of Alzheimer’s dishave a higher risk of becoming severely ease, US researchers said on ill if infected with the flu. Thursday. The findings, reported in the The United States has ordered vaccine journal Science, are some of the from five companies — MedImmune, first to link sleep with the develSanofi-Aventis, Australia’s CSL, opment of Alzheimer’s, the most GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. common form of dementia. Frieden said the problem arose from Researchers at Barnesworking with different manufacturers. Jewish Hospital in St Louis “It doesn’t come out in one big drop. It studied levels of amyloid beta comes out batch by batch,” he said. — a protein that accumulates in Frieden said vaccine was the best tool the brain of people with for fighting swine flu, which was Alzheimer’s — in mice genetideclared a pandemic in June and is cally engineered to have a verspreading widely in most of the United sion of Alzheimer’s disease. States. Amyloid levels rose in the Frieden urged Americans not to underbrain when the mice were estimate influenza, noting that many awake, and fell when they slept. people mix up flu with mild respiratory When the researchers previruses. vented the mice from sleeping, it made matters worse, said Dr “Flu makes you pretty sick. You feel David Holtzman of Barnesbad. If you’ve got an underlying health Jewish Hospital, who worked on problem or you are unlucky, you can get the study. very sick. You need to take the flu seri“Sleep deprivation markedly ously,” Frieden said. accelerated amyloid-beta Frieden addressed concerns about an plaque formation,” he said in an unpublished study reported by Canadian e-mail. media suggesting that people in Canada When the team injected orexwho were vaccinated against seasonal flu in — a compound that regulates last spring had double the risk of becomsleep — into the brains of the ing infected with pandemic H1N1 flu. mice, the mice stayed awake Frieden said the CDC has analyzed longer, and amyloid beta levels data from New York and other parts of rose. And when they blocked the United States and data from orexin, these levels decreased. Australia. In people, orexin plays a role “Nothing we’ve seen suggest that is in the sleep disorder narcolepsy, likely to be a problem,” he said. “If there which causes excessive sleepiness. is preliminary data, we’d like to see it.” Holtzman said the findings ❑ ❑ ❑ suggest drugs that target orexin Breast cancer: Swiss drug developer may be useful to try as Roche said Friday six cases of patients Alzheimer’s treatments. They also reinforce the need with heart failure symptoms prompted a to treat sleep disorders, not only halt to enrollment in a National Cancer because they cause immediate Institute sponsored study of its blockproblems, but because they buster drug Avastin. may have a long-term impact on The US National Cancer Institute and brain health, he said. US Eastern Cooperative Oncology Despite decades of research, Group, which is conducting the study, doctors still have few effective told Roche it suspended adding new weapons against Alzheimer’s, a patients to the late-stage study because mind-robbing form of dementia of the heart failure symptoms in the for which there are few effective early-stage breast cancer patients. treatments and no cure. Many Symptoms include shortness of breath treatments that have shown and fatigue, along with swelling in cerpromise in mice have had little tain parts of the body. effect on humans with The study focuses on Avastin’s effecAlzheimer’s disease. tiveness as an adjuvant in combination More than 35 million people with chemotherapy. The drug is already globally will suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other approved to treat various stages of colon, forms of dementia in 2010, lung, brain, and kidney cancer and is one according to the Alzheimer’s of Roche’s biggest moneymakers. Association. Roche said the rate of heart failure symptoms is consistent with Avastin’s side effects. deceit or subterfuge. Prosecutors dropped The study is designed to test for carthe rest of the charges. diovascular safety and focused on the Prosecutors say Parker, who has tested first 200 patients enrolled, from which positive for the disease, stole syringes the six patients showed heart failure filled with painkillers to feed a drug habit symptoms. The study was designed for a and replaced them with syringes she used halt in enrollment if six of the first 200 and refilled with saline solution at two patients showed signs of heart failure. hospitals where she worked, Denver’s Five patients have since returned to Rose Medical Center and Colorado normal levels and Roche said it is waitSprings’ Audubon Surgery Center. ing for information on the sixth patient. So far, prosecutors say at least 16 cases Roche said the rate of heart failure is have been positively linked to her but consistent Avastin’s profile. health officials have said they fear 6,000 Moving ahead, the study’s safety other patients may have been exposed to board is evaluating the data and will the incurable liver disease. determine the next steps. There are 3,439 The agreement with prosecutors, patents enrolled in the study and will which avoided a trial that was set for have to give their consent to continue Monday, also calls for a 20-year prison dosing after being given the updated term. She will be formally sentenced Dec information. 11. She had faced a life sentence if conThe study goal was to enroll 4,950 victed on all counts. patients. She repeatedly wiped her eyes with tisIn April, Avastin failed a similar latesue and sometimes sniffled as she stood stage study focused on early-stage canin her gray and white jail jumpsuit next to cer and the company said it would conher attorney. tinue study the drug’s effectiveness in Parker’s attorney, Gregory Graf, said combination with chemotherapy for his client wanted to take responsibility other types of cancer. for her actions. Roche had been partners with South “She’s devastated,” he said. “She’s San Francisco, California-based been in constant tears ever since she Genentech on Avastin prior to paying learned that someone had tested positive $46.8 billion for the biotechnology comfor hepatitis C.” pany. Avastin, which is approved as a Parker answered yes and no questions treatment for various stages of colon, from US District Judge Robert Blackburn lung, brain, and kidney cancer, was as he explained her rights and the plea Genentech’s biggest seller. It is now one agreement but made no statement. of Roche’s most lucrative drugs, reach“The guilty plea today by Kristen ing US sales $2.69 billion in 2008. Wall Parker brings an end to a story that capStreet has projected the drug could tured the attention of many in the state of exceed $10 billion in sales by 2015. Colorado,” said Jeffrey D. Sweetin, spe❑ ❑ ❑ cial agent in charge of the Denver Division of the Drug Enforcement Surgery tech: A surgery technician Administration. who infected at least 16 hospital patients Graf said investigators have gentically with hepatitis C and may have exposed linked 16 hepatitis cases at Rose to her. thousands more pleaded guilty to some One case at Audobon may be linked to charges Friday in an agreement that Parker. includes a 20-year prison term. Hollynd Hoskins, an attorney repreKristen Diane Parker, 26, had pleaded senting nine Rose patients who have testnot guilty to the 42-count indictment but ed positive for hepatitis C, said her clients in the plea agreement Friday acknowlwere not happy with the plea deal and are edged guilt to five counts of tampering considering civil action against the hospiwith a consumer product and five counts tal. of obtaining a controlled substance by

Sleep deprivation may up Alz’s risk

US Army veterans enjoy a kayaking session during the 2nd National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic in San Diego, California on Sept 25. The National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic introduces injured Veterans to adventure sports and recreation activities such as surfing, sailing, cycling or kayaking. During one week, organised by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, they promote rehabilitation of body and spirit. US actress Bo Derek is supporting the program as a volunteer. (AFP)

Should all men be screened for ‘prostate’?

Green tea wards off gut cancer

Natco Pharma’s National Sales Manager K Srivatsava, poses with the Natflu capsules at its launch in New Delhi, India, Sept 25. Natco Pharma today launched Natflu capsules (generic version of Tamiflu-Oseltamivir) priced at Rs. 480, $10, as a cure for swine flu to be made available against medical prescription at chemists across India. (AP)

Savage

Madzorera

Health Wrong embryo woman puzzled: A woman who is carrying another woman’s baby because of a fertility clinic error says she’s still not sure where to place the blame. Carolyn Savage told The Associated Press on Thursday that she and her husband have not been told who made the mistake or why it happened. She says that “hopefully someday an explanation will come.” The 40-year-old woman from the Toledo suburb of Sylvania is due to give birth within the next two weeks. The couple say they will give the baby boy over to his biological parents, who live in Michigan. The Savages’ attorney says he’s been contact with a lawyer for the fertility clinic. He says he hopes they can reach a resolution without going to court. The Savages have not disclosed the name of the clinic. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ New cholera cases in Zimbabwe: Five new cholera cases have been reported in Zimbabwe’s eastern district of Chipinge, health authorities said on Friday. “We always have sporadic cases in this area, so there is really nothing to shout or panic about at this stage,” Health Minister Henry Madzorera told journalists. “We will just have to make sure that we have adequate supplies for these few cases as we go along,” said Madzorera. Last year Zimbabwe experienced its worst cholera outbreak in history, which killed over 4,200 people and sickened nearly 100,000. The United Nations last month warned that cholera was likely to strike again in the country, saying that less than half the humanitarian aid needed has been raised. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK, Sept 26, (RTRS): As if you needed another reason to drink green tea: Japanese women, but not Japanese men, who regularly drink 5 or more cups daily appear about 20 percent less likely to develop stomach cancer, study findings hint. Researchers have studied green tea in cancer prevention because they suspect that the drink’s antioxidants may protect against the deadly disease. In particular, it may include compounds that fight bacteria that have been linked to stomach cancer. However, previous studies were inconsistent, researchers write their report in the journal Gut. To get a better sense of green tea’s potential effects, Dr M. Inoue, at the National Cancer Center in Tokyo, examined six older studies. Together, these studies involved more than 219,000 men and women 40 years and older, who were followed from about 7 years to more than 11 years. Overall, about four in five of the participants reported drinking green tea daily, with about a third drinking five or more cups per day. During follow-up, about 2500 of the approximately 100,000 men, and about 1000 of the more than 118,000 women in the studies developed stomach cancer. The researchers found no link between more tea drinking and reduced stomach cancer risk among men. The 20 percent reduced stomach cancer risk they saw among women drinking 5 or more, versus 1 or less, cups of green tea daily remained true even after the researchers took smoking into account. They note, however, that the decreased risk only applied to cancers in certain parts of the stomach. While the study does not prove a causeeffect relationship, the authors suggest more research to figure out whether drinking green tea actually decreases the risk of stomach cancer, or whether women with a lower risk only happen to drink more of it. ❑ ❑ ❑ Prostate cancer: Screening all men for prostate cancer using a currently available common blood test is not worthwhile, according to a new study. The study suggests that doctors need better tests before they can recommend large-scale screening, study co-author Dr Mattias Johansson told Reuters Health. “In particular, tools that help distinguish rapidly growing and potentially lethal tumors from slow growing tumors are warranted in order to minimize overdiagnosis and overtreatment.” Johansson, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and his colleagues looked at more than 500 men with prostate cancer and more than 1000 case without it with similar characteristics. the country’s population of 4.4 million. “I would have been happy if these amendments did not have to be made,” head of the National League Against Cancer Damir Eljuga told AFP. “However, I understand that due to the economic situation the government wanted to save some jobs.” In Croatia, tobacco is blamed for killing some 10,000 people each year while an additional

Doctors say inequality ‘unbearable’

Disparity seen in cancer drug access BERLIN, Sept 26, (RTRS): The excited buzz surrounding new drugs at Europe’s largest cancer meeting may turn to frustration in doctors’ clinics. The reality for patients is that getting hold of new cancer drugs — some of which offer a few more weeks of life at sky-high costs — depends on where you live. With Europe’s state-backed health systems battling to curb costs in the face of budget squeezes and recession, and drug companies needing to make a profit on ever more complex and narrowly targeted medicines, price is a big issue in cancer. The result, says Jose Baselga, president of the European Society of Medical Oncology, is an “unbearable” situation where a cancer patient in Spain or Britain may not get a potentially life-saving treatment that is available to someone with the same disease in France or the Netherlands. “When it comes to drug access, the citizens of the European Union are not equal,” he told Reuters at the ECCO-ESMO cancer congress in Berlin. “It is not desirable to have local decisions. We are a European Union and we should have a regulating body that is central.” According to a study by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute earlier this year, the wide disparities in cancer care translate into equally wide gaps in relative survival rates. In Sweden, for example, 60.3 percent of men and 61.7 percent of women diagnosed with cancer survive, compared with only 37.7 percent of men and 49.3 percent of women in the Czech Republic. The study found that patients in Austria, France and Switzerland have the widest access to newer cancer treatments, while Poland, the Czech Republic and Britain lagged behind. “What’s absolutely for sure is that patients who are socially deprived or from an ethnic minority will continue to get the worst possible cancer care,” said Gordon McVie, senior

consultant at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. Cancer drugs are already the biggest category of drugs by sales, with global revenues of $48.2 billion in 2008 and an annual growth rate of 11.3 percent, or more than twice the overall industry average, according to research firm IMS Health. The total pharmaceutical market last year was $773 billion. Some of the costliest drugs can cost thousands of euros a month for each patient: in colon cancer, Roche’s Avastin costs 2,242 euros ($3,300) a month in France, while Vectibix from Amgen and Erbitux from Merck KGaA both cost around 4,000 euros ($5,900) a month ex-factory in Europe. Those prices are less than in the United States, but the discount doesn’t guarantee that modern cancer drugs are seen as good value by European governments and statebacked insurers. While the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) — the equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — decides if new drugs should be licensed across the Europe, the decision on paying for them lies with national health authorities. That second stage is often fraught as more countries emulate the model of Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in assessing cost-effectiveness. EMEA Executive Director Thomas Lonngren said earlier this month he saw room for a more coordinated approach between the regulator and such watchdogs — but he doesn’t see a pan-European solution on access any time soon. Alexander Eggermont, president of the European Cancer Organisation, agrees that this all combines to produce “a grave disparity” in treatment, although he points out that drugs are only one element of the equation.

They found that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) - a common blood test used to detect the disease - could not reliably distinguish between slow-growing prostate cancers that were not likely to cause any harm, and those that were likely to become aggressive and deadly. The authors did, however, find that a very low PSA level — below 1.0 nanograms per milliliter of blood — virtually rules out prostate cancer. Given that many men would have higher values, however, it would be unclear what to do with many results. In an analysis accompanying the study in the BMJ, Dr Jennifer Stark, from Harvard

School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues examined the benefits and harms of PSA screening and concluded that at present there is simply not enough data to support population-based screening. Moreover, they note, further studies with more precise measures are needed to gauge the financial and psychological toll of false positive PSA results, overdiagnosis, and overtreatment of prostate cancer. Before men undergo PSA screening, they should be fully informed of the benefits, harms, and uncertainty associated with the test, Dr. Stark and colleagues emphasize.

3,000 die from passive smoking, according to the health ministry. Annual health costs in treating the consequences of smoking are estimated at 422 million euros ($619 million). The population remains split, however, regarding recent developments. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

ical authority Swissmedic said on Friday it was investigating suspicions of a possible link between the death of a woman from a blood clot 10 months after she was prescribed Bayer’s lowdose oral contraceptive, Yaz. The German drugmaker’s Swiss unit said in a statement that it was not able to comment on the case beyond saying it would take any possible link seriously. It expressed sympathy with the woman’s family, saying her death in midSeptember was tragic regardless of whether there was a connection to its contraceptive pill. Nine deaths in Switzerland since 1990 have been connected with oral contraceptives, according to Swissmedic. The authority said it began investigating all birth control pills after a 16year-old was disabled by a lung embolism in May after taking Yaz. Bayer launched Yaz last year in Europe, two years after it began selling it in the United States. The company said it expected the drug to generate peak annual European sales in the low tripledigit millions of euros within five years. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Bayer contraceptive probed: Swiss med-

Croatia backs down on smoking ban: Croatia has made a U-turn on a law banning smoking in public after buckling to pressure from cafe and restaurant owners who told the government it was ruining their businesses. The parliament on Thursday adopted an amended law that again allows smoking in cafes and restaurants in specially designated smoking zones covering no more than a fifth of any premises. The remaining four-fifths must be kept for non-smokers. Cafes smaller than 50 square metres (538 square feet), however, will be allowed to decide whether to become a smoking or non-smoking establishment after meeting certain criteria. Ever since the law banning smoking in all public places was introduced in May, managers of cafes and restaurants have pressed the government to amend it. Zlatko Puntijar, head of the National Association of Bar and Restaurant Owners, hailed the move which followed talks between his group and the Ministry of Health. “The recession already took its toll and the winter would have been a disaster,” for the sector, Puntijar told AFP. “During summer cafes and restaurants had terraces that saved them.” Officials have said the law was aimed at protecting non-smokers, who make up 68 percent of

Cholera toll hits 71 in Nigeria: The

Mildred Poyato, 9, whose family doesn’t have health insurance gets a checkup from Dr Adrian Khaw at the University of Miami Pediatric Mobile Clinic on Sept 25, in Miami, Florida. The clinic offers free medical care in Miami-Dade county. The county has the highest percentage of uninsured and underinsured residents in Florida and among highest in the nation. (AFP)

death toll from a cholera outbreak in northern Nigeria’s Adamawa State has risen to 71 from 52 a month ago, the state health commissioner said on Friday. “The death toll from the cholera outbreak stands at 71 out of the 746 cases recorded in some areas in the northern part of the state”, Zainab Baba Kwanci told AFP from state capital city Yola. “Cholera cases have been recorded in seven out of the 21 local governments in the state and the government is doing all within its powers to contain the outbreak. We have dispatched drugs to the affected areas”, she said. However a strike by medical workers in the state since July 25 was hampering efforts to assist the sick. (AFP)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

HEALTH

32

FDA admits it failed to protect its experts

US regulators OK’d knee device under political pressure WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (AP): The Food and Drug Administration has taken the unprecedented step of acknowledging that it buckled to “extreme” congressional pressure in its approval of a knee repair device last year. While FDA officials call the situation an anomaly, experts said Friday there is nothing to stop similar political lobbying from influencing future decisions. In a sweeping critique Thursday, FDA leaders said the agency failed to protect its scientists from outside pressure after they twice rejected ReGen Biologics’ Menaflex device. The company ultimately won approval in December after enlisting the support of four New Jersey lawmakers, who urged then-FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to intervene on the company’s behalf. Approval came despite protests by FDA scientists that Menaflex, which reinforces damaged knee tissue, provided little if any benefit to patients. The report marks the first time FDA has criticized openly its own conduct, as Obama administration appointees try to restore the agency’s credibility after a string of bungled drug and food safety issues. An FDA official called the pressure

from Capitol Hill “the most extreme he had ever seen” and the access granted to the commissioner “unprecedented.” Several staffers at the agency called the ReGen ordeal “the worst experience in their professional careers,” according to the report. ReGen Chief Executive Gerald Bisbee said in a statement Thursday that FDA’s review involved “procedural irregularities” and does not reflect on the safety of the company’s device. The New Jersey Democrats — Reps. Frank Pallone and Steve Rothman and Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg — received a combined $26,000 in campaign contributions from ReGen executives, according to OpenSecrets.org, which tracks political spending. Rothman, who represents Hackensack, ReGen’s base, said he asked the FDA “to treat ReGen fairly, communicate with them better and to render a decision based solely on the science.” A spokesman for Lautenberg said he simply signed a letter to the FDA along with the three other lawmakers. Calls to Pallone and Menendez were not returned Friday. WBB Securities analyst Steve Brozak said there probably are other examples of

New treatment for psoriasis

Long-delayed J&J drug wins US nod NEW YORK, Sept 26, (RTRS): Johnson & Johnson said on Friday USregulators approved its new treatment for psoriasis, called Stelara, for patients 18 years or older with moderate to severe psoriasis. Stelara, deemed a potential blockbuster because of its effectiveness and infrequent administration, has been awaiting approval since late 2007. The USFood and Drug Administration had extended its review of the product on several occasions to study amendments to J&J’s marketing application and to review other information. “Stelara’s main advantage is its moreconvenient dosing,” said Wells Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen. He noted that it is given by injection only once every three months, compared with injections every few weeks with the leading class of drugs called tumor necrosis inhibitors — including Abbott Laboratories Inc’s Humira. The J&J drug will likely generate sales of $130 million in 2010, growing to more

than $500 million in 2013, Biegelsen said. Psoriasis, in which itchy red plaques accumulate on the surface of the skin, is caused by an overproduction of skin cells. It affects an estimated 7.5 million patients in the United States. Stelara, whose chemical name is ustekinumab, is a monoclonal antibody that proved superior to Amgen Inc’s and Wyeth’s injectable Enbrel in one study. It works by taming two immune system proteins called interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interleukin-23 (IL-23) that are linked to inflammation. It was well tolerated in large studies, with generally mild side effects that did not require adjustments in the medicine. But J&J cautioned on Friday that some serious infections have been linked to the drug and that it may increase the risk of cancer. Current treatments — including Enbrel, Humira and J&J’s older Remicade medicine that is given by intravenous infusion — can also increase risk of infection.

FDA decisions influenced by politics, but since the agency controls the paper trail, they probably will not come to light.

“I would like to think this was an extreme example, but the better part of me knows it was not,” said Brozak, who

covers the drug and device industries. “To think FDA isn’t influenced by political activism is to not understand the system.” Analyst Ira Loss said federal lawmakers send letters on behalf of companies every day. “The question is how does the regulator react to the letter,” said Loss, who has covered the FDA for more than 30 years at Washington Analysis, an investment firm. “In this instance, Dr Von Eschenbach got very interested.” After lawmakers began contacting the FDA on ReGen’s behalf, von Eschenbach became unusually involved in the review of Menaflex, according to the probe. Typically such matters are handled by the agency’s lower-level scientific staff. According to the report, von Eschenbach agreed to a 90-minute meeting with company executives, some of whom “appeared to want the commissioner to personally review” the device. After the meeting, however, von Eschenbach instructed staffers to “follow the science” in issuing a decision. A spokesman for von Eschenbach said Friday that he is not commenting on the FDA report. While the report describes how it han-

dled the Menaflex approval as “unprecedented,” the FDA showed itself vulnerable to political pressure only a few years ago. A federal judge ruled earlier this year that the agency let politics cloud its judgment in 2006 when it denied teenage girls access to the over-the-counter Plan B morning-after pill. The judge said the FDA deliberately delayed making a decision on the birth control pill at the behest of the former Bush administration. When asked Thursday how the FDA would prevent politics from influencing future reviews, agency leaders offered few details. Instead, they said the FDA must develop a clearer system for handling disputes with companies and among staffers. “The stronger our underlying process is, the less likely it will be interfered with,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, FDA’s principal deputy commissioner. The FDA will re-evaluate the decision to approve Menaflex, but currently has no plans to pull it off the market, he said. Menaflex is ReGen’s only FDAapproved product and has generated over $700,000 in sales this year, according to the company.

Burgan Bank new working hrs Burgan Bank has changed its branch timings, effective Sept 27, 2009. The branch timings will be as follows: 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. The head office branch will be open from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. Meanwhile, the branches located at Shuwaikh industrial, Hawalli (2 branches) and Fahad Al Salem Street will continue to be open in the morning and afternoon. The new timings will be from 9 am to 1 pm and 5 pm -

8 pm from Sunday to Wednesday and 9 am - 4 pm on Thursday. The Airport branch will continue to be open seven days a week from 07:30 am to 11:30 pm. The Friday Market branch will be open from 08:30 am to 3:30 pm on Sunday to Wednesday. The branch timings on Thursday and Saturday will be 08:00 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm, and on Friday the branch timings will be 3 pm to 7 pm.

Market Movements AUSTRALIA UK

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ASX 100 FTSE 100

CBK governor to attend Arab, GCC c.bank governors’ meetings

Points +6.80 +2.93

The Central Bank of Kuwait announced on Saturday that it will attend the 33rd meeting of governors of Arab central banks and monetary institutions in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Sept 28. A delegation will depart to the UAE capital headed by CBK Governor Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah to attend the Arab meeting. Sheikh Salem will attend another meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governors a day later. The Arab meeting will discuss pro-

25-09-2009

Closing pts 4,714.80 5,082.20

HONG KONG JAPAN BELGIUM EUROPE FRANCE GERMANY NETHERLANDS

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Points -26.33 -278.24 -8.46 -5.64 -19.22 -23.80 -2.89

Hang Seng Nikkei 225 Bel 20 DJ Stoxx CAC DAX AEX

Closing pts 21,024.40 10,265.98 2,462.44 2,421.32 3,739.14 5,581.41 305.63

posals set forth in a previous meeting of the Arab Financial Control Committee. Also, the Unified Arab Economic Report 2009 will be reviewed. The report which highlights the performance of Arab economies, is being compiled by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Arab League, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Organization for Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).

The governor will present a paper at the Arab meeting, on behalf of CBK, outlining recent Kuwaiti legislation on financial stability. Furthermore, governors from the six GCC states; Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, in their meeting a day later will review the numerous proposals discussed in the 11th GCC Supreme Council meeting held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 5, 2009, regarding the

GCC unified monetary fund. GCC leaders proposed the Saudi capital of Riyadh as the fund’s headquarters. The leaders also agreed to settle final confirmation of the monetary fund before the end of the year. Monetary governors of the GCC will also discuss removing obstacles on the operation of local banks in other member countries, and allowing each others’ banks to operate freely in each of the member states. (KUNA)

Business

Troubled investment firm initiates claims process

Dar in Standstill Agreement with coordinating committee KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: The Investment Dar Co K.S.C.C. announces that it has entered into a standstill agreement (“Standstill Agreement”) with the members of the coordinating committee (“Coordinating Committee”) of TID’s banks and investors (“Banks and Investors”) and investor clients of The Investment Dar Bank. The principle of the Standstill Agreement broadly rests on the Company’s commitment to a variety of undertakings to the consenting Banks and Investors including the appointment of a Chief Restructuring Officer, on the basis of which, the consenting Banks and Investors will, for the duration of the Standstill

Agreement, suspend individual claims relating to investment arrangements entered into with the Company, amongst committing to other undertakings to the Company. In addition to the Standstill Agreement and as is customary with most restructurings, the Company has initiated a claims process through which the Company is soliciting its Banks and Investors to notify the size and nature of their claim against the Company. Discussions relating to the consensual restructuring plan are underway and the Company and the Coordinating Committee are working expeditiously to achieve the best possible outcome for all of TID’s rele-

vant stakeholders. The Investment Dar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Adnan Al Musallam commented: “The Standstill Agreement represents good progress in the Company’s restructuring process. TID’s Board of Directors and the Management remain wholly committed to the Standstill Agreement and to working constructively with the Coordinating Committee towards a consensual restructuring plan. This Standstill Agreement is an important step that will assist us in formulating the consensual restructuring plan expeditiously. We thank the Coordinating Committee and their advisers for their commitment to our mutual objectives.”

Dabdoub to chair IIF Emerging Markets Advisory Council

NBK to attend IMF, WB meets Photo shows KFH’s Al-Omar, Al-Khozam, Al-Subeih and Al-Thaqeb pose after signing debt reschedule agreement.

KFH reschedules Aref debts of KD 132 million Kuwaiti lender optimistic of group’s projects KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has signed an agreement to reschedule the debts of Aref Investment Group that reached KD 132 million, which will be used to pay the group’s commitments to foreign banks and investment funds. This step comes to assert KFH’s commitment towards its subsidiaries and towards the group’s debtors, in addition to its commitment towards companies that have an added value to the Kuwaiti economy, where KFH will reschedule the group’s commitments towards its local debtors. KFH’s CEO Mohammed Al-Omar announced that this agreement comes after a thorough study of Aref Group that enjoys a strong financial cover, fruitful projects, and various investments. He added that KFH is positive that the group’s projects are of high quality and are based on studied plans and programs. In addition, the agreement will boost the group’s business in the coming period, and will assist it in executing its plans and programs, especially that is field of business includes investments and projects in real economic sectors. He highlighted KFH’s commitment towards the national economy and its assistant of other companies. Such a positive step will reinforce the efforts exerted by the Central Bank of Kuwait’s (CBK) Governor Sheikh Salem AlSabah to face the consequences of the global crisis. These efforts achieved best results and made the national economy avoid many negative consequences, in addition to protecting the banking sector from the crisis by issuing the economic stimulus law and the banking deposits guarantee law, which proved that the economic status has top priority from the legislative and executive authorities.

Applauded Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of Aref Group applauded the efforts exerted by the team assigned by KFH to sign the agreement that will allow the company to continue to execute its projects, and cement the trust that others have for it. He highlighted the quality of the plans and work programs that the group is following, since what the group has faced came hand in hand with the global crisis, especially that all markets were affected by the crisis. However, as a result of the geographic and qualitative diversification policy that the group follows managed to protect the group to a great extent from the global crisis. He went on to thank the supervisory authorities in Kuwait, which are represented by the CBK, for approving this deal, which will boost the trust of the people working in the financial and investment markets in Kuwait. The signing of the agreement was attended by KFH AGM for Financing Sector Emad AlThaqeb and AGM for Investment Sector Abdul Nasser Al-Subeih. Meanwhile, Kuwait Finance House (KFH) continues to be resilient in activities undertaken by the Bank. Funds owned and operated by KFH, in both local and global markets have continued to achieve profitable results.

Lender’s future strategic direction to be discussed

GFH CEO to meet with shareholders in Kuwait MANAMA, Sept 26: Ahmed Fahour, Chief Executive Officer of leading Middle Eastern Islamic investment Bank Gulf Finance House will travel to Kuwait on Wednesday 30th September for an open meeting with shareholders in the Bank. The event, taking place in the Diamond Ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel from 7.30pm to 9.30pm will include a detailed presentation on the Banks’ future strategic direction and a full question and answer session in the company of GFH’s senior management team. This event follows the GFH Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting held at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain on 10th September during which Fahour outlined the significant strides GFH has taken in recent weeks and will Fahour continue to make in the weeks and months ahead. Key elements of the new strategy include the announcement of a landmark partnership with Global investment banking player Macquarie Group, subject to regulatory approval and a $100 million dollar investment in GFH by Macquarie Group in the form of a convertible Murabaha.

Engaged In addition, GFH have been engaged in a capital raising initiative with a target of up to $300 million in new capital that will support a redesigned GFH business model and allow the bank to fully capitalize on the many high value investment opportunities created by the downturn. During the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting shareholders gave their full support to these proposals and an increase in the bank’s authorized share capital from $500 million to $1.5 billion. Commenting on the planned event, GFH This has translated into lucrative investments for its stakeholders. Talal Al-Nesf, Manager, VIP Financial Services Department said. “The results are testimony of KFH’s policy on targeting only prime assets that offer value added returns. In addition, to ensure apt investments, KFH also conducts comprehensive studies and analysis for each of them, to ascertain they yield profitable results and minimum risks.” He added, “KFH owned, Asian real estate fund realised a profit of 40 percent over a three-year period, after having distributed 6 percent to its investors, subsequent to which the fund was liquidated. In addition, KFH’s local real estate portfolio in Kuwait, will soon be distributing its quarterly profit of 6 percent, which is paid out annually. It is also

CEO Ahmed Fahour said, “We are extremely excited by the opportunities that lie ahead for GFH. Our ultimate goal is to emerge as the world’s leader in Islamic investment banking but earning the trust and confidence of our shareholders is fundamental to the successful execution of our strategy.” “Strong relationships are built on frequent and open communication. We should never under-estimate the importance of genuine two-way engagement with stakeholders in GFH, whatever the prevailing economic conditions. In the months and years ahead, will pledge to make these relationships a priority and I look forward to hearing the thoughts and ideas of our shareholders in this and many more open meetings we will hold going forward.”

Innovation Founded in 1999, Gulf Finance House has grown rapidly to become one of the leading Islamic investment banks in the Middle East region in terms of the quality and innovation of its product offering. Over a decade, Gulf Finance House has successfully launched initiatives across economic infrastructure, venture capital, private equity and asset management with an aggregate end value exceeding $30 billion. Its shares are actively traded on the London Stock Exchange (GDR), the Kuwait Stock Exchange, the Bahrain Stock Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market. Reflecting its international reputation, Gulf Finance House has won numerous local and international awards, such as “Best Investment Bank” for three years in a row in 2005, 2006 and 2007, awarded by The Banker Middle East, “Bank of the Year 2006” awarded by the Arabian Business Magazine, “MENA Investment Bank of the Year 2008” by Acquisitions Monthly, and “Best Investment Bank 2008”, by Islamic Banking and Finance; and “Best Islamic Finance House” at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2009. worth noting that the KFH real estate fund in Turkey was extended after having offered 10 percent, in annual distributions.”

Pavilion Al-Nesf further explained, “The Asian Real Estate fund was established to develop the largest residential and commercial complex in Malaysia, called the Pavilion, located in Kuala Lumpur. This fund offered 6 percent as capital profits before being liquidated. In addition, its capital reached $100 million after three years of investments, where it distributed 9 percent, annually and achieved 16 percent as capital profits, when exiting. This translates into 40 percent of total profits for its shareholders.”

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: A senior NBK delegation will attend the World Bank Group and The International Monetary Fund 2009 Annual Meetings scheduled in Istanbul, Turkey between 6 and 7 October 2009. The delegation will be headed by NBK Group Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim S. Dabdoub, NBK CEO Isam Al Sager and senior members of the bank. Such forums provide a good opportunity to familiarize participants with the achievements of the State of Kuwait and the role played by the private sector in furthering the process of development, particularly the significant role shouldered by the major banks in supporting and enhancing development initiatives in the region. Dabdoub will also chair the Emerging Markets Advisory Council (EMAC) of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) that will convene to consider the critical global economic and financial market challenges with particular relevance to emerging market economies. The Council will discuss key issues of global financial regulatory reform, especially as these may affect emerging markets, taking note of the recent enlargement of the membership of the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Board. The EMAC, which held its inaugural meeting in January 2009, comprises 34 heads of leading financial institutions headquartered in 22 emerging market countries. It is designed to play a key advisory role to the IIF’s Board of Directors, and to help inform the priorities and the work program of the Institute. It has been established in recognition of the growing roles that financial institutions headquartered in the emerging markets are playing in global finance and the need for their voice to be heard even more strongly within the IIF in particular, and in the global financial community

World Bank President Robert Zoellick (left) and NBK CEO Ibraheem Dabdoub in a previous meeting.

Reliable monthly income

NBK launches 3rd Islamic Ijara Fund KUWAIT, Sept 26, (KUNA): National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced on Saturday the launch of its “Islamic KD Ijara Fund III”. This Fund is the third edition of its Islamic Ijara KD series and is offered due to the overwhelming success of the Islamic KD Ijara Funds I & II, which were fully subscribed within days. The Fund offers Private Banking clients an investment product that generates reliable monthly income throughout the Fund’s term and will continue to boost NBK’s status as a leading financial institution that offers Islamic investment solutions in the local and regional markets. NBK Capital’s Managing Director of Asset Management, Nabil Maroof, said in a statement that, “the Islamic KD Ijara Fund III was launched owing to the success of previous NBK Ijara funds, and specifically the Islamic KD Ijara Fund I & II, which provide reliable monthly returns and relatively low risk. The Fund was created to grant NBK Private Banking clients the opportunity to invest in a more generally. NBK has the largest Arab and international branch network, with solid presence in

diversified portfolio of leasing contracts that are structured according to the principles of Islamic Shariah.” These contracts involve the leasing of various types of mission critical equipment including manufacturing, IT hardware, construction materials, telecommunication equipment, networking equipment, material handling and other types of equipment to credit-worthy companies, he added. The Fund is entirely compliant with the laws of Islamic Shariah as approved by the independent Shariah Board for Islamic funds marketed by NBK in Kuwait, comprised of Sheikh Dr Khalid Mathkor Al-Mathkor, Sheikh Dr Essa Zaki Shakra and Sheikh Dr Abdul Aziz Khalifa Al-Qassar. The Fund is denominated in Kuwaiti Dinars; the minimum investment in the Fund is KD 30,000 with multiples of KD 10,000. “The Fund’s Term is 5 years with a possible two, one year extensions”, stated Maroof. The Offering Period starts on Sept 27 and ends on Oct 11, 2009. Investors can subscribe only during this period as the Fund will be closed afterwards.

countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Turkey in addition to

other metropolitan centers such as London, Paris, Geneva, New York, China and Singapore.

Funding key issue

Int’l conf for ICRC discusses impact of global crisis AMMAN, Sept 26, (KUNA): World donors of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (ICRC) opened partnership conference in Amman Saturday with a large scale participation of representatives of the societies in the region and beyond. During the two-day conference, participants will discuss the societies’ financial situation and the negative impact of the global financial crisis on ICRC humanitarian activities. Speaking at the opening session, Chairman of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Permanent Committee/

President of Jordan Red Crescent Society Mohammad Mutlaq Al-Hadid outlined repercussions of the financial crisis on the relief and humanitarian efforts provided by the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies across the world and how to address the emerging financial problems to ensure that these societies are capable of offering humanitarian aid to those in need. Noting the growing worry about ICRC commitment to respond to the victimized people needs in emergency situations, Hadid expressed hope the

conferees would come up with a declaration or a clear message that could be binding to the donors to address the problems facing ICRC as a result of the global financial crisis. A host of working papers will be discussed during the conference covering among other topics humanitarian impact of the financial crisis, media and the economic constraints, changes in government policies and the role of the European national Red Cross societies in addressing financial problems.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

BUSINESS

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thousands march against G20 in Pittsburgh Thousands of people peacefully demonstrated during the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, but police reportedly arrested 40 as they clashed with a smaller group late Friday. Waving banners and chanting slogans, protesters on Friday flooded into city streets lined with police in full riot gear, still tense after violent antiG20 protests in the eastern US city late Thursday. New clashes erupted late Friday on the University of Pittsburgh campus, where police dispersed a crowd of around 400 with pepper spray and a noise device that emits an ear-splitting

sound, a local newspaper reported. Around 40 protesters were arrested, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper. The G20 summits routinely attract crowds of activists for scores of causes as well as anarchists opposed to what they see as inhumane free market policies. The earlier, larger demonstration took place without any incident. Security forces in Pittsburgh said there were up to 4,500 marchers, but Peter Shell, president of the Thomas Merton Center which helped organize

Demonstrators have their photograph taken with a police officer dressed in riot gear prior to joining thousands in a march through downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sept 25, to protest the G20 economic summit. (AFP)

the march, estimated the number at twice that. “It was the biggest protest march in Pittsburgh since the 1970s protests against Vietnam,” Shell told AFP. As the marchers massed at the top of Fifth Avenue, a riot policeman rapped his baton hard against his shinguards, making a hollow thud with every tap. Mothers carrying infants, people walking their dogs, couples holding hands and entire groups waving flags and holding banners marched in the shadows of skyscrapers built for large corporations, turning the streets of Pittsburgh into a palette of protest messages of every color. (AFP)

Leaders vie to shape the agenda

Nations jockey for spots at expanded G20 table PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Sept 26, (AFP): A surprise deal to bring China, India and other emerging powers into the elite club of global summitry has unleashed a new round of jockeying as nations vie to shape the agenda. In a midnight announcement Friday, the White House said the Group of 20 - an ad hoc gathering of wealthy and emerging powers meeting in Pittsburgh for its third summit - would become the key forum for global economic decisions. The G20 was created last year after the global economic system went into tailspin. It will effectively eclipse the Group of Eight, a club only of rich economies that met in its first form in 1975 to tackle the oil crisis. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed the agreement, saying Western leaders realized the G8 was “ill-equipped to handle all the global issues.” “Interdependence in a globalized world

means that no country, however powerful it may be, can take on the entire burden,” Singh told a post-summit news conference. The most forceful advocates for the change were smaller developed nations outside the G8. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has billed the G20 as a powerful new global force, while South Korea snagged the role as a G20 summit host next year. But diplomats and activists immediately got to work to press for another round of reform and to figure out which nations should be part of the Group of 20 and how it would relate to the rump Group of 8. One, an anti-poverty advocacy group backed by rock star Bono, called the G20 a “step in the right direction” but said Africa was sorely under-represented. Only one African head of state - South Africa’s Jacob Zuma - was in Pittsburgh as a G20 member, although Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was here to repre-

Leaders agree to reforms

G20 faces ‘credibility’ test ahead on markets PITTSBURGH, Sept 26, (Agencies): The Group of 20 rich and developing economies, fresh from a triumphant show of unity at Pittsburgh, faces months of deal-making and communication to markets that will test its credibility as the premier global forum for economic cooperation. “It worked,” G20 leaders declared on Friday of their response to the global financial crisis. “Our forceful response helped stop the dangerous, sharp decline in global activity and stabilize financial markets,” they said in the final summit communique. The summit host, US President Barack Obama, called the gathering a success for a commitment to global economic growth that is “balanced and sustained” and cited in particular a deal to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. “I am proud that the G20 nations agreed to phase out $300 billion worth of fossil fuel subsidies. This will increase our energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat the threat of climate change, and help create the new jobs and industries of the future,” he said on Saturday in his weekly radio and Web address.

Supplant The leaders agreed that their summits would supplant those of the Group of Seven nations as the high table of global policy making, promising to give rising powers such as China more say in rebuilding and guiding the world economy. While G7 states were right to accept the inevitable dilution of global economic power caused by the rapid industrialization of poorer countries, analysts said the size and diversity of the group would probably complicate policy coordination. “There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen ... I would wait until we declare victory,” said Simon Johnson, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. “They have to prove their value and legitimacy.” Challenges to the group’s new mantle lie everywhere, from inertia on climate change to scepticism in global financial markets. G20 nations will remain in the spotlight at the IMF meetings in Istanbul next month, a G20 finance ministers meeting in Scotland in November and the UN climate change talks in December. Markets were unlikely to react to the support in Pittsburgh for a US-led push to reshape the global economy by smoothing out huge surpluses in exporting powerhouses such as China and large deficits in big importers such as the United States. “Any indication of unity will move the dollar,” Christopher Low, chief economist, FTN Financial in New York. “But disagreement will rule and that should result in no market reaction.” G20 leaders agreed to work together to assess how domestic policies mesh and to evaluate whether they were “collectively consistent with more sustainable and balanced growth.” Countries with sustained, significant surpluses — a description that fits China — pledged to strengthen domestic sources of growth, according to the communique. By the same token, countries with big deficits — such as the United States — pledged to support private savings. The leaders agreed to shift some voting rights at the IMF to under-represented countries such as China from rich ones, another sign of the changing

balance of economic power accelerated by the financial crisis. The leaders pledged to keep emergency economic support in place until sustainable recovery was assured, an increasingly sensitive issue for global financial markets. On Friday the MSCI world equity index hit a 1-week low, with some investors saying they were preparing for an eventual rise in borrowing costs. “There’s real uncertainty coming into the policy setting. And this is making it harder work for the rally to be sustained,” said Michael Dicks, head of research and investment strategy at Barclays Wealth. The next G20 summit will in June in Canada. The meeting after that will be in November 2010 in South Korea, where the central bank is poised to become the first in the group to raise interest rates since the collapse of Lehman Brothers a year ago threatened to rupture the global financial system. For the world, apparently, eight is no longer enough. The G-8 group of powerhouse economies, which expanded from the original G-5 one by one over three decades, stepped off center stage as its annual summit ended Friday, while the G-20 ascended into the role of overseeing the global economy. Henceforth, the council of 20 major economies will steer the planetary fiscal ship through its choppiest waters in a generation. The shift toward multilateral decision-making is sure to please some emerging economies — China and India in particular — and irritate those Americans who believe the United States shouldn’t be handing off its power to international institutions. No matter that the groups lack any regulatory or administrative power other than the collective oomph of their members.

Ascension The ascension of a broad-based body like the G-20 represents a growing global consensus that an international alignment firmly in place since the mid-1970s no longer suffices on a planet where fast-rising powers insist upon places at the table. “Dramatic changes in the world economy have not always been reflected in the global architecture for economic cooperation,” the White House said Thursday night in announcing that the G-20 would become the essential global economic council. “This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy.” That’s one way of looking at it. But as with most economic issues, it’s not just about money. It’s about power and access — not unlike the debate over whether to expand the UN Security Council. Sprung from the 1973 oil crisis and its aftereffects, the original G-5 was formed as a tight union of industrialized democracies — originally the United States, Britain, France, West Germany, Japan. France pushed for the addition of Italy, the United States invited Canada in and Russia signed on in 1997. Then, in the early part of this decade — shortly after the separate G-20 finance ministers began meeting in 1999 — the G-8 began to bring other nations into discussions. But China and India, with cultures that date back many centuries, didn’t exactly appreciate the notion of being anyone’s little brother in the 21st.

Emerging nations big winners at re-born G20 PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Sept 26, (AFP): World leaders returned home on Saturday after backing a new vision for economic governance, with bold plans to fix global imbalances and give more clout to emerging giants such as China and India. They left the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh which ended on Friday, with agreement to give developing countries greater voting rights at two major financial institutions - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Leaders committed to shift at least five

percent of the IMF’s internal voting rights to the developing world and tasked it with a bigger role monitoring economic policy. They also vowed to increasing underrepresented countries’ voting rights by at least three percent at the World Bank. Paired with an announcement underscoring the primacy of the G20 over the Group of Eight rich nations, the two days in Pittsburgh have seen a seismic shift in global economic diplomacy. US President Barack Obama, hosting his first major international summit, said the G20 had agreed landmark reforms

that would create the international economic architecture necessary in the globalized 21st century. He hailed a “new era of engagement” demonstrated by the engagements, vowing to bring more transparency to the derivatives market, bolster banks’ capacity to withstand losses, hold large global financial firms accountable. Responding to a demand by French and German leaders, he also promised to tie executive pay to performance “so that sound decisions are rewarded instead of short-term greed.”

sent the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. Spain and The Netherlands have sought

spots at the G20 table, even though they are represented by the European Union executive. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis

Rodriguez Zapatero came to Pittsburgh as a guest and voiced hope that his country would keep getting invited.

Taiwan, which by most measures is one of the world’s top 20 economies, has little chance to join the G20 as China claims the island. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, feared it was perhaps inevitable that some nations would feel excluded by the G20, particularly in Africa. “When you have 25 or 26 countries in a room, you have another 160 that are outside the room,” Strauss-Kahn said. On the opposite end, Japan said it still believed in the G8. Japan, the world’s second largest economy, has fought a lonely battle not to expand the G8, relishing its role as the only nonWestern nation other than Russia in the club as a way to exert global influence. Japan had historically had friction with China, which has scuttled Japan’s goal of another powerful position - permanent membership on the UN Security Council.

G20 makes bold move to generate sustainable, balanced global growth Proposal triggers war of words among rich nations PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, Sept 26, (AFP): If the G20 is to implement a promise to redress global imbalances, China’s export machine must slow, Americans must learn to save more and borrow less, and Japan and Germany must puncture their ever-fat surpluses, experts say.

they must tackle front-on the imbalances in global economic growth that many say fueled the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

They launched “a framework that lays out the policies and the way we act together to generate strong, sustainable and balanced global growth,” according to a joint statement after a two-day summit in the US city of Pittsburgh. Washington strongly campaigned for the move, saying it would help prevent another Leaders of the Group of 20 developing and developed economies agreed Friday that global crisis exacerbated by the wide gap between reserve surplus-rich Asian nations led by China and the mostly deficit-hit Western nations. But the proposal triggered a war of words, even among the rich nations. US President Barack Obama blamed Germany and China, the world’s two biggest exporters, for exporting much more than they import. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that “if you want to do something about imbalances, then you should allow free global trade.” In an apparent dig at Washington, she cited “protectionist tendencies.” Chinese leader Hu Jintao, his nation still the top global growth driver, argued that the “root cause” of the imbalances was the “yawning development gap” between the industrialized world and emerging economies. But leaders in Pittsburgh eventually set aside their differences and adopted the “Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth” that will attempt to harmonize the fiscal, monetary, trade and structural policies of countries. The International Monetary Fund will be asked to help analyze how the different national or regional policy frameworks fit together while the World Bank will look into development and poverty reduction strategies as part of the rebalancing of global growth, officials said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, flanked by President Barack Obama, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, makes a “Going forward, we cannot tolerate the statement on Iran’s nuclear facility, Sept 25, during the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh. (AP) same old boom and bust economy of the past,” Obama said after the meeting.

G20 takes credit for pulling global economy back from brink

Leaders vow tighter regulations

Pledged

of power to Asia and Latin America, they made the G20 the lead group for tackling international economic issues in the future, eclipsing the Group of Eight. That means that the old economic powers - the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and relative newcomer Russia - have now been joined by fast-growing developing countries like China, Brazil and India. “The old system of international economic cooperation is over. The new system, as of today, has begun,” said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Turning from the crisis-management of previous summits, the Group of 20 leaders pledged Friday to set up more rigorous financial rules that would cut down on some of the risky behavior and excesses that have been blamed for rocking the global economy. And they vowed better coordination over economic policies. “Going forward, we cannot tolerate the same old boom-and-bust economy of the past,” President Barack Obama said, speaking as the summit in Pittsburgh ended. “We can’t grow complacent. We can’t wait for a crisis to cooperate.” Obama had pressed for keeping the stimulus plans just such a course and praised the group’s decision. “Our coordinated stimulus plans played an indispensable role in averting catastrophe. Now we must make sure that when growth returns, jobs do, too,” he said at a wrap-up news conference. Obama said actions taken so far “brought the global economy back from the brink.” Reflecting the shift in the world’s balance

“It’s clear that the G-8 without the G-20, without the remaining 12 countries, is today incapable of deciding all the tasks before the world economy,” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said. They agreed to require members to subject their economic policies to the scrutiny of a peer review process that would determine whether they were “collectively consistent” with sustainable global growth. They promised tighter and more coordinated financial regulation. However, the G20 pledges lacked on details, and did not say, for instance, how the proposed peer review process would be enforced. In the first international summit hosted by Obama, the G20 turned on greedy bankers, agreeing on measure to curbs their bonuses in a bid to encourage more responsible behavior. According to the new agreement, bankers would only get part of their bonuses upfront, while the rest would be dependent on the long-term financial performance

PITTSBURGH, Sept 26, (AP): World leaders took credit for pulling the economy “back from the brink,” and promised a new world order of tighter financial regulation and more inclusive global governance to protect the world from future meltdowns. The gathering of the world’s 20 top economies cautioned that the recovery remained fragile and agreed to keep stimulus plans, which include government spending and low interest rates, in place in their respective countries.

Tasks

of the firm. “There was unanimity around the table that the errors of the past won’t happen again,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. “I am very satisfied by what we decided.” EU leaders had called for links between bankers’ pay and the companies’ longterm performance and have sought to end bonuses. Sarkozy in particular has lobbied for better financial regulation, warning that the world risked another speculative bubble “which when it bursts would put our economies on the edge of the abyss.” Leaders also agreed to make banks increase their capital buffers when the economy has recovered enough to allow them to put money aside to cushion against future downturns - a measure pushed by the United States. Europeans worried about being at a disadvantage won a key concession by ensuring that differences in accounting standards and the extent of the bank’s risky behaviors be considered when determining the size of the buffer.

Effort But the effort still is likely to run into heavy opposition between the goal-setting phase and the implementation phase from banks upset that the new rules could cut into their profits. And, repeating pledges from G20 summits in November and April, when financial panic was rampant, they vowed anew to “reject protectionism in all its forms.” They failed to mention that previous pledges to avoid protectionism had been ignored by nearly all 20 members.

Praised Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh praised the new framework, which he said would allow leaders “to analyze the weaknesses and strengths of the economies of various countries, improving the strength of the financial system and banking system as a whole. Experts believe the G20 decision is workable although similar efforts by the Group of Eight (G8) summit virtually failed. “Although this is not a new concept — previous G8 summits set up similar and, as it turned out, ineffectual frameworks — the Pittsburgh agreement appears to have greater buy-in by China,” said Uri Dadush, director of the international economics program of Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “It is also more in line with what both US and Chinese authorities have determined they need to do anyway,” he said. The United States has to save more while tackling its ballooning budget deficit and China needs to beef up domestic consumption and channel its huge surplus to boost social safety nets and financial and services sectors, experts said. At a two-day summit in the eastern US city of Pittsburgh, the Group of 20 agreed that: ■ The Group of 20, which brings together developed and developing nations accounting for 90 percent of the global economy, will replace the Group of Eight club of rich nations as the world’s pre-eminent forum. ■ Developing nations will assume at least five percent of voting rights at the International Monetary Fund. ■ The G20 will coordinate to find the right time to ease stimulative measures as part of an effort to “return the world to high, sustainable and balanced growth.” Finance ministers to meet in November.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

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UK firm to pay £6.6 mln in corruption case The first firm to be prosecuted in Britain for overseas corruption and breaching United Nations sanctions is to pay £6.6 million ($10.55 million) in fines and penalties, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said. Bridge manufacturer Mabey & Johnson was convicted of two corruption charges relating to contracts in Jamaica and Ghana between 1993 and 2001. It also pleaded guilty to applying for

contracts under the Iraq oil-for-food programme in 2001-02 in breach of UN sanctions. London’s Southwark Crown Court was told the company paid out 1 million pounds in sweeteners it thought helped it to win contracts worth £60 million, the Press Association reported. A subsequent investigation found it had also paid bribes to individuals in Madagascar, Angola, Mozambique and Bangladesh.

The penalties paid by the firm, which is now under new management, include fines of £3.5 million, a confiscation order of £1.1 million, total reparations of just over £1.4 million to Ghana, Iraq and Jamaica, as well as costs. SFO director Richard Alderman called the ruling “a landmark outcome.” Five of the company’s eight directors stepped down in early 2008 after the company approached the Serious Fraud Office itself to say it might have engaged

in corrupt practices and a new management team was installed. “What our company did in the past is a matter of deep regret,” Managing Director Peter Lloyd said. “We have now made a fresh start, having wiped the slate clean of these offences. These costs will hurt the company and they are a real punishment.” In Ghana, President John Atta Mills has now launched investigations into whether Ghanaian politicians had

accepted bribes, the country’s attorney general Betty Mould-Iddrisu said. “The president is concerned and has directed that we investigate the whole matter to get further information from the United Kingdom authorities on what’s gone on and if there’s any current action,” she told reporters. Lawyers said the conviction marked a watershed and sent out a warning to other British firms. “It is just one of many signs of the

renewed vigour on the part of the UK authorities to tackle overseas corruption,” Michael Roberts, a corruption and bribery lawyer at international law firm Lovells. “Particularly with tough new legislation currently before parliament in the shape of the Bribery Bill, corporates more than ever need to be alert to the risks of corruption and to ensure that they have adequate systems and controls in place.” (RTRS)

Top fund optimistic as G20 leaders meet in Pittsburgh

IMF raises 2010 global growth forecast to 3 percent PITTSBURGH, Sept 26, (AFP): The International Monetary Fund foresees a stronger than anticipated recovery from the economic crisis, with global growth approaching three percent in 2010, world leaders said Friday. The IMF had estimated in July a global contraction of 1.4 percent in 2009, followed by sluggish growth of 2.5 percent in 2010, but was more upbeat as Group of 20 leaders met in the US city of Pittsburgh.

“The IMF estimates that world growth will resume this year and rise by nearly 3.0 percent by the end of 2010,” the Group of 20 developed and emerging economies said in a final statement to conclude a two-day summit. Leaders of 19 rich and emerging nations plus the European Union pledged they would work together to help the world economy reach robust growth. “Our objective is to return the world

Group looks to curb gadget use by truckers

Chrysler faces the ‘Italian challenge’ DETROIT, Sept 26, (Agencies): Chrysler thinks its future may be in a new lineup of smaller cars based on models from Italian partner Fiat. The question is how to make them for Americans put off by stiff suspensions, firm seats and - perish the thought - not enough cupholders. The problem is further complicated because Americans generally are plumper and taller than Western Europeans, and they’re used to driving fatter and longer cars on wider roads. It’s a dilemma faced by nearly all automakers as they try to hold down development costs by tailoring cars to sell around the globe. But at no company is the problem more acute than Chrysler, where a wholesale lineup change is needed quickly to boost sagging sales. On Friday, Chrysler’s board was to consider a new model lineup that would consist of reworked Chrysler products on the larger end and everything from mid-sized cars to minis built on smaller Fiat frames, a person briefed on the agenda said.

Sales Through August, Chrysler’s sales were down 39 percent compared with the same period last year, the largest decline of any major automaker. In the critical midsize segment, which often is top-seller in the US market, the company this year has sold only 34,700 of its two entries, the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger. That’s only 15 percent of the 238,000 Camrys told by Toyota, the perennial leader. “They need better entries and they need them yesterday,” said Michael Robinet, vice president of CSM Worldwide, a Detroit-area auto industry consulting firm. “They really are uncompetitive in that segment now.” Chrysler is banking on Fiat’s smart designs and fuel efficiency to win over US buyers. The Sebring-Avenger replacement, the person said, would be based on Fiat’s compact C-EVO frame and suspension, which is now being developed. Because of Americans propensity for larger cars, the frame would have to be stretched, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans won’t be made public until November. “The big advantage of this platform is that it can be stretched in terms of length, but also in terms of width,” the person said. Just how much stretching is unknown. Dimensions have not been publicly revealed. The person said Fiat’s product development process could bring the new car to the US market as quickly as 18 months, something CSM’s Robinet said would be unprecedented in the auto industry. “That would be a Herculean feat,” he said. “I’m not saying they can’t do that. But frankly, it’s never really been done before.” Chrysler can’t just start importing Fiat models or crank up a factory to start building them here. Importing from Europe would cost too much because of shipping and high labor costs, and it could take months or even years to set up Chrysler factories to make the Italian products. Plus, it takes time to re-engineer the cars so they comply with US safety and emissions standards as well as standards for lighting and signals, said Aaron Bragman, an auto industry analyst for the consulting firm IHS Global Insight. The issue is further complicated because engineers and designers at Chrysler’s Auburn Hills headquarters likely would be assigned to Americanizing the exterior and interior of cars, even though the new midsize would have a Fiat frame, suspension, engine and transmission. But

Chrysler’s 25 percent cut in salaried employees last year has left it with too few engineers and designers to get the work done on multiple models, said a person with knowledge of the company’s plans who requested anonymity because the strategy hasn’t been made public. Chrysler managers have spoken with union officials about bringing back laid-off designers, and the person said there is discussion of contracting to hire engineers and other professionals who took buyout or early retirement offers. Finding the right formula to make European cars appeal to Americans is an undefined art, IHS’s Bragman said. Most automakers, even Germany’s BMW AG, make small changes to European models before selling them in the US, he said. Ford Motor Co., which next year will begin selling around the world several models based on the European Focus compact car, will make minor changes to meet government regulations but will keep the interiors and driving dynamics largely the same. The Sebring and Avenger flopped almost immediately from their introduction in the middle part of the decade. Widely followed quality and satisfaction ratings by J.D. Power and Associates and Consumer Reports magazine found them vastly inferior to the Camry and other top midsize cars. The Chryslers have a harsh ride and are noisy, and the interiors are full of hard plastic with ill-fitting materials, said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports’ auto testing department, which ranked the Avenger with a V-6 engine 38th out of 39 family sedans. The four-cylinder Sebring was dead last. Both cars showed big improvements this year in the J.D. Power and Associates quality survey after manufacturing was simplified to increase quality. But Champion said it will be difficult for Chrysler to make its midsize cars competitive without redoing them completely. “You’re stuck with the fundamentals that you can try to gloss over, but in the end, you’re still going to have some areas that you can’t get to,” he said.

Safety Meanwhile, a prominent auto safety group is calling on US officials to restrict truckers from using mobile phones, laptop computers, CB radios or other gadgets while driving. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety wants the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ban or curb the use of gadgets for “talking, texting and other purposes” by drivers of buses, tractor-trailers or large vans. The organization has filed a legal petition asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to evaluate risks posed by drivers of commercial vehicles using electronic gizmos and to curtail such behavior accordingly. “The idea is to get them focused on the fact it is not just texting,” Advocates general counsel Henry Jasny told AFP on Friday. “A lot of these devices, certainly cell phones on which you can Twitter and text, are distracting to drivers. While you are operating them, even if they are hands-free, you are taking your mind what is on the road.” Advocates even wants the FMCSA, the DOT agency that oversees commercial trucking, to study whether using Citizens’ Band (CB) radios - which provide short-distance radio communications - or dashboard-mounted navigational devices should be banned. “Driver distraction is a serious and growing safety problem,” said Advocates vice president Jacqueline Gillan.

to high, sustainable, and balanced growth, while maintaining our commitment to fiscal responsibility and sustainability,” the group said. “We commit to put in place the necessary policy measures to achieve these outcomes.” Asia-led growth has lifted the world out of the doldrums and France, Germany and Japan have all now officially climbed out of recession with the United States, the world’s biggest economy, expected to follow later this

year. But G20 leaders were still cautious and agreed not to roll back massive stimulus measures that helped them contain a severe global recession following last year’s financial meltdown. “We will avoid any premature withdrawal of stimulus,” the leaders’ statement said after a summit that endorsed a shift in voting rights at the IMF to give emerging nations, such as India and China, a greater voice.

“At the same time, we will prepare our exit strategies and, when the time is right, withdraw our extraordinary policy support in a cooperative and coordinated way, maintaining our commitment to fiscal responsibility,” it said. China, which fears US deficits will destabilize the dollar, has been cheering on those calling for cuts in Washington’s massive stimulus measures that have been propping up key sectors of the global economy.

G20 leaders announced Friday a grand overhaul of economic governance centered on giving the IMF a greater monitoring role and addressing imbalances in global trade and budgets that are blamed for fueling the crisis. “We agreed to launch a framework that lays out the policies and the way we act together to generate strong, sustainable and balanced global growth,” the joint Pittsburgh G20 statement said.

Regulators close Georgia Bank Failure to cost FDIC insurance fund about $892 mln WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (RTRS): Regulators closed Georgian Bank in Atlanta on Friday, an institution that catered to wealthy property developers and became the 95th US bank to fail so far this year.

Focused on Atlanta’s well-heeled northern suburbs, the bank even boasted an on-staff chef, who once served as a footman in Buckingham Palace.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said Georgian Bank, with five branches, had about $2 billion in assets and $2 billion in deposits. First Citizens Bank and Trust Co of South Carolina has agreed to assume all of the deposits of Georgian Bank. Georgia banks have been especially hard hit by the financial crisis, where home building outstripped demand. Nineteen of the 95 banks that have failed this year have been based in Georgia. The FDIC said the failure is expected to cost its dwindling insurance fund about $892 million. Bank regulators will meet next week to propose ways the FDIC can replenish the fund, which stood at $10.4 billion at the end of the second quarter, from $45 billion a year earlier. The FDIC says it has an additional $32 billion in reserves to handle failures over the next year. Georgian Bank provided “tailored banking services to high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners,” according to its website. It was chartered in 2001 and was one of the fastest growing banks in state history, relying heavily on residential construction and real estate loans to quickly become the second-largest bank based in Atlanta and fifth-largest in Georgia. In July, Georgian Bank shook up its leadership and brought in a new chief executive to help the bank deal with rising credit problems. In this Sept 22, 2009 photo, an unidentified construction worker works on a new townhouse in Beaverton, Ore. New home sales in Bank failures have sharply increased August inch up 0.7 percent, but results miss Wall Street expectations. (AP) this year, compared to 25 last year and just three in 2007. Warned Over $6 million in assets concealed FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has warned that bank failures are a lagging indicator, and that the number of failures will remain elevated into next year even as the economy starts to recover. NEWARK, New Jersey, Sept 26, (AP): A US client of the international banking giant At the meeting next week, the FDIC Bid to rein in deficit UBS AG has pleaded guilty to concealing will discuss how to bolster the deposit more than $6 million in assets in Swiss insurance fund, possibly through more bank accounts. emergency assessments on banks, or Juergen Homann of Saddle River, New tapping the FDIC’s $500-billion line of Jersey, is the fifth US-based UBS client to credit with the US Treasury plead guilty in an ongoing federal investiga- MADRID, Sept 26, (AFP): Spain’s gov- spending projects by 3.9 percent from Department. tion into the bank’s practices. UBS officials ernment Saturday approved a draft budg- 2009 to 185.24 billion euros. The number of bank failures so far this have admitted helping wealthy American et providing for tax hikes worth nearly 11 Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis year is edging closer to 100. clients use foreign accounts to hide assets billion euros to rein in the deficit as it Rodriguez Zapatero had made reducing “In some ways it’s like witnessing struggles with recession and Europe’s taxes a key plank of his government since from the Internal Revenue Service. Babe Ruth’s 400th home run,” said highest jobless rate. taking office in 2004. Consequences “The sum of these measures will result Lawrence Kaplan, a banking attorney But the recession which has battered Homann, 66, is a German-born US citi- in revenue of around 10.95 billion euros the country since 2008 and measures to at law firm Paul Hastings in zen who runs an industrial mineral and ($16.07 billion), or around one percent of revive economy have hit public accounts Washington DC. “You know its a large chemical trading company — which he our gross domestic product,” Economy hard, sparking one of the most dramatic number, but you also know there are declined to name — that does business Minister Elena Salgado said after a cabi- reversals in Europe. more to come.” Zapatero now is battling a mounting mainly between China and Latin America. net meeting. Other industry watchers said this Under the new budget, the main rate of public account deficit and soaring unemSurrounded by lawyers, Homann tersely value-added tax will rise from 16 percent year’s tally is still far short of the peak ployment that has reached 17.9 percent answered in a slight German accent a long to 18 percent and a lower rate from seven during the savings and loan crisis when list of questions from US District Judge percent to eight percent, starting July 1. — the highest in the European Union. The government said it expects a total 534 US banks failed in 1989 alone. Stanley Chesler as to whether he fully The lowest rate of all will remain at four budget deficit for 2010, including regional “Those are huge numbers and we’re understood the consequences of entering a percent. and state governments, of 8.1 percent, nowhere near that,” said Jim Wheeler, a The government also intends to end a guilty plea. and a central government deficit of 5.4 Prosecutors say Homman established an 400-euro income tax allowance and hike percent. Public debt should rise to 62.5 banking attorney with Bryan Cave in Atlanta. account with UBS in the late 1980’s in the the tax on capital investment revenue, percent of GDP. Wheeler said it will take time for the Under EU rules, member states are name of a Liechtenstein foundation. Under from 18 percent to 19 percent on the first supposed to keep their budget shortfalls banking industry to recover, and that the advice of Swiss lawyer Matthias 6,000 euros and 21 percent thereafter. Denies to less than three percent of gross Rickenbach, prosecutors say Homann bank examiners are continuing to aggresdomestic product although they are The government, which denies it risks transferred his assets to a less-transparent sively downgrade institutions for poor Hong Kong corporation under the name hindering an economic recovery that it allowed some leeway when the economy asset quality linked to questionable loans expects to begin in 2010, also cut public sours. ELM Finance Limited. and underlying real estate collateral. Court papers show Homann had about He said banks are facing fresh troubles UBS clients Steven Michael Rubinstein as commercial real estate becomes more $6.1 million in assets in the ELM account report income earned on the account. Homann faces a maximum sentence of of Boca Raton, Florida; Robert Moran of Ft. of a problem, and office and shopping at UBS in Switzerland from 2001 through 2008. Prosecutors contend he used the five years in prison and a fine that could Lauderdale, Florida; and Jeffrey Chernick mall vacancies creep up. ELM account for a sham loan of $5 million potentially reach several million dollars. of Stanfordville, New York, have all pleadFDIC’s Bair has also warned that comHomann and his lawyers declined to com- ed guilty to filing a false tax return as part used to fund his US business. mercial real estate will increasingly of the case. UBS client John McCarthy of Rickenbach was indicted for fraud in ment on the case. UBS has entered into an agreement with Malibu, California, has pleaded guilty for become the driver of bank failures. She August for his alleged role in helping the authorities to divulge names of some failing to report his ownership of and inter- has said the industry has largely worked wealthy clients conceal their assets. through its problems tied to subprime Under terms of the plea agreement, 4,450 wealthy Americans suspected of est in a foreign financial account. “The IRS is serious about pursuing peo- residential mortgage loans. Homann pleaded guilty to one count infor- evading taxes through secret bank The trend in bank failures is also shiftple with hidden offshore accounts, and we mation for purposely failing to report his accounts. Michael Ben’Ary, a trial attorney with are stepping up our international efforts,” ing away from large-sized institutions foreign accounts. He acknowledged in a Newark federal courtroom Friday that in the US Department of Justice’s tax divi- IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a and toward community banks, Wheeler addition to not filing the required disclo- sion, said Homann’s guilty plea is part of a statement. “People should make sure they said. “By and large I think we’re going to sure forms, he failed to report the account wider multi-agency investigation that is meet their filing requirements. Failure to start see smaller banks feel it,” he said. on his individual tax return and failed to continuing in New Jersey and nationally. do so can carry serious consequences.”

UBS US client pleads guilty to hiding assets

Spain’s govt mulls higher taxes

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

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New York Times open to voluntary union buyouts The New York Times told its main union this week that it is open to offering voluntary buyouts in a move that could avert additional layoffs as the newspaper seeks to further cut costs. The newspaper also guaranteed to restore pay for union members in January, after they had their salaries cut by 5 percent earlier in the year. The New York Newspaper Guild said in a memo to members Friday that additional meetings will be scheduled to

hammer out details of any buyout offer. Last year, the Times resorted to a limited but unspecified number of newsroom layoffs to meet its goal of reducing head count there by 100, largely through attrition and buyouts. The Times also cut about 100 people in its business operations this year. Nonunion workers also had their pay cut by 5 percent; Times spokeswoman Diane McNulty declined to say whether they are also guaranteed to have their

pay restored. The Times is owned by The New York Times Co., which also publishes The Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune and more than a dozen smaller daily newspapers. With advertising revenue down sharply during the recession, the company has been slashing costs. After losing $74.5 million in the first three months of the year, it notched a profit of $39.1 million in the second quarter. (AP)

Puerto Rico to lay off 16,000 workers Puerto Rico’s government announced Friday that it will lay off more than 16,000 public workers in the US Caribbean territory, adding to an unemployment rate higher than that of any US state. The government hopes the layoffs will help close a $3.2 billion deficit as the island struggles through its third year of recession and a 15 percent unemployment rate. Union leaders announced an island-

wide strike in protest on Oct 15. The layoffs of 16,970 employees are needed to prevent the government from shutting down and sinking the island’s credit, said Carlos Garcia, president of the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico. “Today is an extremely difficult day for all Puerto Ricans,” he said. Most workers will be laid off Nov 6 in a move expected to save $386 million, he said.

However, 500 of those workers will be contracted by the Treasury Department to help collect $3.6 billion in outstanding debts owed by residents, private corporations and other entities. It is unclear whether the contracts will just be temporary. Gov. Luis Fortuno said the layoffs were unavoidable. In May 2006, a budget standoff forced a partial government shutdown. (AP)

Commission must tighten management of contracting, procurement ops

SEC audit cites issues with meeting FOIA requests WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (AP): The Securities and Exchange Commssion’s problems handling requests under the Freedom of Information Act make its compliance with the federal public access law the weakest among all federal agencies, a report released Friday by the agency’s inspector general has found. A separate audit found the SEC must tighten management of its contracting and procurement operations to fix significant deficiencies. The review of the SEC’s handling of the

FOIA law, aimed at promoting openness and transparency in government, also said the agency’s chief FOIA officer held the position temporarily and didn’t have sufficient legal authority. “There are inadequate or incorrect procedures for determining whether potentially responsive documents exist and how exemptions (from disclosure) ... are applied,” says the report commissioned by the office of Inspector General David Kotz. As a result, a presumption in favor of withholding, rather than disclosing, infor-

mation has been created — contrary to the FOIA law, the report says. The SEC’s rate of compliance with FOIA rules was “significantly lower” than those of all other federal agencies, the report said. In addition, it said, few staff working on FOIA requests at the agency have written policies and procedures for processing them, thereby increasing the risk of errors that could result in information being disclosed when it should be withheld or vice versa.

The report recommends that SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro name a qualified person as the new chief FOIA officer, with sufficient authority to carry out the responsibilities effectively. Schapiro’s office should communicate “on an ongoing basis to (SEC) employees and the public the importance” of the FOIA law to the agency’s mission, it says. Kayla Gillan, Schapiro’s deputy chief of staff, said in a letter to Kotz: “We are committed to the principle of openness in government that is embodied by the Freedom

Mutual funds post ‘big numbers’ as investors regain taste for risk Growth funds best performers in Q3

Some of the quarter’s best performers were growth funds, considered the most vulnerable in a recession, but the ones most likely to soar when the economy picks up again.

Strong It is the second straight quarter of strong returns after major stock indicators bounced off 12-year-lows on March 9. In the July-September period, a steady diet of improving economic news has given investors hope that the economy has emerged from the longest recession since World War II. The S&P 500 index is up 13.6 percent for the quarter and an enormous 54.4 percent since hitting a 12-year low of 676.53 on March 9. The index, which serves as the basis for many mutual funds, is still down 33.3 percent from its peak of 1,565.15 in October 2007. Analysts warn that the stock market’s rally can’t continue at such a pace. “My caution in seeing these great numbers is that people are going to start jumping back in when, in fact, maybe we’re due for a little breather,” Roseen said. “We’ve got to take a break.” Since March, funds that focus on financial services stocks, among the most badly beaten by the recession, have an average return of 114 percent. For real estate funds, which also took a huge hit, it’s 93.3 percent. For the market to hold its advance, investors will need to see more signals that the economy is rebounding. Samuel Dedio, portfolio manager of the Artio US Smallcap Fund, said investors should watch the earnings results that companies will soon report for the third quarter. “The earnings power of the compa-

Twitter gets new funding of $1 bln

Stakes

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange before the closing Sept 24, in New York City. New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key rang the closing bell. (AFP)

New-found frugality likely to stay: survey

Saving more may be permanent in US NEW YORK, Sept 26, (AP): Newfound frugality and the tendency to save more may be permanent changes brought about by the US recession, according to a new national survey released on Friday. The survey conducted for Citigroup Inc. found that 63 percent of American consumers surveyed said the way they spend and save has been forever changed. Only one-third said spending and saving would go back to the way it was before the recession.

about their saving and spending,” said Eric Eve, senior vice president of global community relations at Citi. “The current economic environment is altering, perhaps permanently, the way we think about spending money.” The survey suggested the changes are broadly distributed across all income levels and ethnic groups. More than half of the people in all income levels said they have reduced debt and postponed the purchase of a major item such as a car.

Margin

Adjustments

The random telephone survey, conducted by Hart Research Associates, included 2,005 adults interviewed between Sept. 1-5. It has a statistical margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percent. The survey found that around 60 percent of respondents said they would continue to cut back on everyday expenses, would save and invest more, would continue to cut down on creditcard purchases and to reduce debt. “This new survey points to a profound shift in the way people think

Americans earning less than $50,000 per year were most likely to cut back on everyday expenses (80 percent), followed by 76 percent for those who earn $50,000 to $75,000. But even at the top of the income scale, people are making adjustments and cutting back on everyday expenses — 70 percent for those who earn more than $150,000 and 68 percent for those who earn $75,000 to $150,000. Nearly one-third of higher wage earners and slightly fewer — 27 percent — of those at lower pay levels said that

nies will really dictate how far this rally can go,” he said. Some of what has driven the climb in recent months has been a fear among money managers of missing out on the recovery. In the past 60 years, the S&P 500 index has reached bottom an average of four months before a recession ended and about nine months before unemployment hit its peak. That means some of the quarter’s huge returns aren’t surprising if the economy is indeed mending its wounds. Small-cap value funds have a return

of 20.4 percent and small-cap growth funds are showing a return of 15.2 percent. Small-cap stocks often lead the stock market out of slumps as investors look to capitalize on companies that could see quick strengthening of their business. Sector equity funds, which focus on areas like real estate or biotechnology, had an overall return of 17.5 percent. Global real estate funds turned in a return of 23.7 percent, while basic materials funds posted a return of 21.7 percent. For natural resources funds, the return is 16.7 percent. Gold funds posted similar returns.

they are thinking about postponing retirement because money is tight. Significantly higher numbers of black and Hispanic workers said they are working longer hours to make ends meet. Forty percent of nonwhites reported this trend, compared with 21 percent of the national sample. Those groups have sought more education to improve their employment opportunities in higher numbers with 36 percent of blacks and Hispanics reporting that they have gone back to school, compared with 21 percent of the national sample.

Reduced Blacks and Hispanics also reported that they have reduced credit-card spending more than the larger national sample with 68 percent of blacks and 66 percent of Hispanics reporting that trend, compared with 62 percent of the national sample. About 57 percent of blacks and 45 percent of Hispanics have taken money out of savings or investments to help pay expenses, a trend reported by 42 percent of the national sample. World equity funds posted a return of 17.8 percent for the period. Funds that try to outpace the moves in the market by using leverage achieved some of the biggest returns. Analysts caution the performance of the funds can be volatile so investors need to know what they’re doing before stuffing their money in these types of vehicles. One fund category did get killed during the quarter: dedicated short-bias funds. These funds make bets that stocks will fall. The rally in stocks left those funds with a negative return of 21.7 percent.

agency develop standard procedures to track them, as well as a periodic internal review process to ensure that the standards are followed. It said the administrative services and acquisitions offices “have proactively taken steps and developed plans to address” some of the deficiencies. Sharon Sheehan, associate director for administrative services, told Kotz in a letter that her office concurs with the recommendations and “has begun taking appropriate steps” to address them.

Site valued at $1 bln

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 26, (Agencies): Twitter Inc.’s founders now have a billion-dollar baby, and they seem determined to raise it without a corporate parent. That was the message underlying Friday’s news that Twitter has lined up $100 million to finance its operations while founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone plot ways to make money off one of the Internet’s most popular communications tools. The investment values the 3-year-old company at $1 billion, even though it has yet to generate any meaningful revenue, let alone profits. Twitter itself didn’t provide specifics about the size of the investment, saying only it involved a significant sum. Two people with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the amounts to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the parties had agreed not to announce the specifics. Williams and Stone declined an interview request.

NEW YORK, Sept 26, (AP): As the third quarter ends, the performance of many mutual funds confirms that investors have regained their taste for risk amid more signs of an economic recovery.

“Appetite for risk is rising,” said Tom Roseen, an analyst with fund tracker Lipper Inc. “People are betting on the economy to grow a little bit.” Some of the strongest stocks during the quarter were materials and energy producers and companies like retailers that depend on consumers’ discretionary spending. These types of businesses often do well as the economy picks up. The gains helped lift a range of mutual funds. Diversified US stock funds posted an average return of 14.9 percent. For the first nine months of the year, the return is 22.7 percent. These funds in general have varied holdings instead of focusing on a particular industry. The latest figures reflect trading through Thursday, and so don’t include the final four trading days of the third quarter. The average return at large-capitalization value funds was 15.5 percent, according to Lipper. For large-cap growth funds it was 13.4 percent. Value funds hold stocks that are believed to be undervalued and that are expected to pay dividends. Growth funds, meanwhile, hold stocks that are expected to show strong price appreciation and that are not likely to pay dividends; these stocks tend to include many smaller companies without long track records.

of Information Act and intend to take any necessary steps to re-emphasize the importance of FOIA throughout the agency.” In contracting and purchasing operations, the audit found that the agency’s Office of Administrative Services and Office of Acquisitions don’t maintain accurate records and data, and have reported inaccurate data to the Federal Procurement Data System. Activities and training of personnel in the SEC regional offices isn’t adequately monitored, it said. The audit report recommended the

The latest stakes were sold to three of Twitter’s existing investors — Benchmark Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and Spark Capital — and two new shareholders, Insight Venture Partners and T. Rowe Price. San Francisco-based Twitter had previously raised $55 million, with the latest infusion of $35 million coming just seven months ago. With so much money in the bank, Twitter now has the means to buy more computers and keep improving the reliability of its outage-prone service. It can expand its work force of 60 employees without feeling the pressure to sell to a larger company. “This is a smart move by Twitter because it buys them more time to capitalize on their momentum and come up with a business plan,” said Ken Marlin, a technology investment banker in New York with Marlin & Associates. The funding is meant to preserve Twitter’s independence until its making enough money to cover its own expenses, according to one of the people familiar with the negotiations. Twitter already turned down a $500 million buyout offer from Facebook Inc. last year and both Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. were rumored to be inquiring about a possible acquisition earlier this year. Williams didn’t refer directly to any suitors in Friday’s blog posting, but he indicated Twitter wants to see how far it can go on its own. “It was important to us that we find investment partners who share our vision for building a company of enduring value,” Williams wrote. “Twitter’s journey has just begun and we are committed to building the best product, technology, and company possible.” For now Williams and Stone have been focusing on building Twitter’s audience. Twitter has more than 54 million worldwide users who share their thoughts, activities, Web links and other information in messages no longer than 140 characters. Just a year ago, only 4 million people were “tweeting” — the term commonly used to describe the chatter on Twitter. By 2013, Twitter hopes to have 1 billion users, making its service “the pulse of the planet,” according to internal company documents leaked on the Internet this summer. Those documents also included projections of $140 million in revenue next year. Where could that come from? Twitter has mulled the possibility of selling ads on the site, although Williams and Stone have indicated that isn’t at the top of their agenda. Twitter has hinted it could capitalize on corporate use of the service, perhaps by introducing fees on some accounts primarily used for commercial purposes. The service also could be mined for insights about people’s opinions and preferences that would be valuable to marketers. Or Google and other search engines might be willing to pay for better and quicker access to

Twitter’s postings. If Twitter is unable to make enough money to pay its bills, Marlin thinks the company would still fetch a substantial price, although probably not $1 billion. Valuing privately held companies like Twitter can be difficult anyway, since the prices are established by a smaller pool of investors than in the publicly traded stock exchanges. Facebook, another Internet sensation with 300 million users and projected revenue of $500 million this year, has seen its valuation fluctuate wildly. A late 2007 investment by Microsoft valued Facebook at $15 billion, but internal company documents later surfaced showing a valuation of about $4 billion. Within the past four months, a Russian investor bought preferred shares in Facebook that valued the company at $10 billion and then bought common shares from Facebook employees that valued the company at about $6.5 billion. The investors were listed as Insight Venture Partners, T. Rowe Price, Institutional Venture Partners, Spark Capital and Benchmark Capital. Williams did not disclose the amount of money involved in the financing, but The Wall Street Journal and New York Times have put the figure at up to 100 million dollars and said it valued Twitter at one billion dollars. Twitter was valued at around 255 million dollars at the company’s last round of investing earlier this year, according to the Journal, in which it reportedly raised some 35 million dollars. The 100-million-dollar investment is about twice as much as Twitter was reportedly expected to raise in this latest round of fund-raising, its third and largest. Twitter, which allows users to pepper one another with messages of 140 characters or less, has grown rapidly in popularity since it was launched in August 2006 but has been unable so far to make money. The San Francisco-based Internet firm claims having topped 50 million users. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has outlined several potential ways of generating revenue and stressed that the company was not in a hurry. “We have patient investors and time for experimenting with revenue generating ideas and products,” he told AFP earlier this year. Earlier this month, Twitter changed its terms to potentially open up the free service to advertisers. “In the Terms, we leave the door open for advertising,” Stone said in a blog post about two weeks ago. “We’d like to keep our options open as we’ve said before.” Stone did not provide any details in his blog post about plans to allow advertising on Twitter, but has publicly mentioned such options as charging for commercial accounts that let businesses spread messages at the service. In June, Twitter began handing out authenticity badges as a way to verify that people “tweeting” are who they claim to be. Such badges are seen as something businesses might be willing to pay for. As the Group of 20 summit of the world’s leading economies went into its second and last day, police and anti-G20 protesters took to the tweets.

Harnessed Both have harnessed popular microblogging service Twitter, the police using it to track the movements of hardcore anti-G20 protesters and the demonstrators to rally support for their anti-capitalist cause. The protesters tweeted all day Thursday and into the small hours of Friday, piecing together a snapshot of an unfolding siege in the streets and parks of Pittsburgh as law enforcement cracked down on young anti-G20 activists. “Two more arrests, cops have blocked off student dorms, using weapons,” read a tweet posted on the G20pgh feed, set up by the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project, as police broke up a demonstration near the University of Pittsburgh.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

BUSINESS

38

Ras Laffan starts production Qatargas said on Saturday its new Ras Laffan refinery, the first condensate refinery in the Gulf Arab state, has started production. “The refinery’s production reached commercial quantities and specifications on 23 September for all products,” Qatargas said in a statement. In May, the company said the 140,000 barrels-per-day plant

Morocco’s Meditel plans 25 pct listing this yr

was in the commissioning phase and would start operations this year. Qatargas has said it planned to doubled the refinery’s capacity by 2014. Qatargas is one of two majority state-owned companies in Qatar that produce liquefied natural gas, which is natural gas chilled to liquid form for transport. (RTRS)

Morocco’s No.2 telecommunications firm Meditel is planning to list a stake of more than 25 percent on the local exchange before the end of this year, three Moroccan dailies reported on Saturday. Meditel’s owners, FinanceCom and state fund CDG, aim to sell the stake to institutional investors likely to be telecoms firms from Egypt, Bahrain or United Arab Emirates, Al Jarida Aloula, Al Massae and Akhbar Alyoum newspapers reported. “Othman Benjelloun had okayed on

Thursday (during a board meeting) the plan to list Meditel on Casablanca bourse. The demand for the partial flotation will be submitted to the bourse CDVM watchdog in the next few weeks,” Akhbar Alyoum reported, citing unnamed sources at conglomerate FinanceCom group, which is owned by Benjelloun. The newspapers named Emirates Telecommunications Co , Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco) and Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (OT) among several

foreign companies said to be interested in buying a Meditel stake. Officials at CDG and FinanceCom were not immediately available to comment on the reports. The three newspaper reported Meditel sought to increase its capital through the partial flotation. FinanceCom and state fund CDG equally own Meditel after buying stakes from Portugal Telecom and Spain’s Telefonica for 800 million euros ($1.15 billion) this

month. The two groups have said they are open to sell a stake directly to a telecoms operator or list shares on the bourse. Meditel competes with Maroc Telecom and Wana, the telecommunications arm of Morocco’s biggest conglomerate ONA. Local analysts say Meditel needs to bring in a strategic investor as a shareholder to tackle fierce competition with Maroc Telecom and Wana. (RTRS)

US lawmaker likely to push Iran gasoline sanctions bill WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (Agencies): The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives said on Friday revelations about Iran’s new secret uranium enrichment facility have made him more determined to move ahead with sanctions to cut off Iran’s foreign gasoline supplies. US lawmakers are calling for tough action against Iran after it told the United Nations nuclear watchdog it was constructing a second uranium enrichment facility, which the United States and many other countries fear will be used to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes like electricity generation. “There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Iran has been lying to the international community for years about its allegedly

peaceful nuclear intentions,” said Democratic Representative Howard Berman. Berman said the revelation about Iran’s secret enrichment plant “reinforces my determination” to bring the sanctions bill before the foreign relations panel in October. Iran has some of the world’s biggest oil reserves, but it imports 40 percent of its gasoline to meet growing demand because of a lack of refining capacity. Government subsidies also help keep gasoline in Iran much cheaper than in other countries — at around 43 cents a gallon. Cutting off Iran’s gasoline supplies would raise pump prices that could cripple the country’s economy. This would be on top of the political unrest already occurring over Iran’s disputed presidential election. Sanctions on Iran’s fuel suppliers were also

drawing support from Republican Party ranks. “The US and other countries must immediately impose crippling sanctions on the Iranian regime, including cutting off Iran’s imports of gasoline,” said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Berman’s bill would impose sanctions on foreign companies that export refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, to Iran or help maintain the country’s domestic refining capacity. This would include companies that provide ships or shipping services to transport the fuel, underwrite the shipments and finance or broker the gasoline cargoes. “Congress should act immediately to give the president the tools he needs to implement

sanctions on Iran,” said House Republican Whip Eric Cantor. “Gasoline sanctions should be pursued even as the Obama administration prepares to begin negations with Iran in October,” said Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “This will strengthen our negotiating hand and is more appropriate now than ever, given the revelation that the regime failed to disclose its second enrichment site as required by international law,” he added. Meanwhile, Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev signalled Friday that Moscow might support sanctions against Iran, after Western leaders revealed that Tehran had built a secret nuclear site. Moscow has long stood in the way of tougher international action against its Iranian

ally, defending Tehran’s claim to be conducting energy research rather than a quest for a bomb, but Medvedev’s tone appears to be hardening. Russia, he said, will now go to six-power talks with Iran on October 1 expecting the Islamic regime to provide proof that its program has peaceful intent, and has not ruled out eventally supporting “measures” against it. “The construction of this new plant was unexpected for all the countries. That was secret construction and that’s the gravest thing in this situation,” Medvedev told reporters after the G20 summit in the US city of Pittsburgh. “We need to create comfortable conditions for Iran so that it starts cooperation, to create a system of stimuli: freezing (nuclear enrichment) in return for freezing” other sanctions,

he said. “If these stimuli don’t work, if cooperation is not developing, then other mechanisms come into play. I’ve already spoken about them,” he said. Earlier Friday, in a statement read by his spokeswoman, Medvedev urged Iran to allow UN watchdogs to inspect the mystery nuclear plant, which US President Barack Obama said was hidden in a hillside out side the city of Qom. “We call on Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” he said. “Exposed evidence that Iran is building a new enrichment plant only strengthens our determination to achieve concrete and verifiable results in the nearest future,” Medvedev added.

investment funds Fund Manager Liquidity Evaluation date Currency Net Asset Value (NAV) Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

National Bank of Kuwait Money Market Funds

Watani KD Money Market Fund Watani KD Money Market Fund (Islamic) Watani Foreign Currency Money Market Fund Watani Foreign Currency Money Market Fund (Euro) Watani USD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) Equity Funds NBK Gulf Equity Fund NBK Kuwait Equity Fund NBK Qatar Equity Fund Ijara Fund Islamic Ijara Fund IV Islamic Ijara Fund V Islamic Ijara Fund VI Islamic Ijara Fund VII Islamic Ijara Fund VIII Islamic Ijara Fund IX Islamic Ijara Fund X Islamic Ijara Fund XI Thahabi Ijara Fund I Thahabi Ijara Fund II Thahabi Ijara Fund III Thahabi Ijara Fund IV Thahabi Ijara Fund V Islamic Ijara Fund I Islamic Ijara Fund II Alternative Funds Watani US Real Estate Income & Growth Fund Watani European Real Estate Fund Central European Real Estate Fund Islamic European Real Estate Fund – A Islamic European Real Estate Fund – B Islamic Asian Real Estate Fund Islamic China India Real Estate Fund NBK Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund Real Estate Security Islamic Global Real Estate Securities Fund A Funds Islamic Global Real Estate Securities Fund B Islamic Turkey Real Estate Fund Multi Asset Funds Thahabi Multi Asset Fund – Conservative portfolio Thabi Multi Asset Fund – Moderate Portfolio NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund – Conservative Portfolio NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund – Moderate Portfolio NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund – Plus Portfolio

NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Weekly Weekly Weekly Weekly Weekly

Sept 15, 2009 Sept 15, 2009 Sept 15, 2009 Sept 15, 2009 Sept 15, 2009

KD KD USD Euro USD

1.327 1.119 1.240 1.212 1.055

1.327 1.119 1.239 1.211 1.054

Sept 08, 2009 Sept 08, 2009 Sept 08, 2009 Sept 08, 2009 Sept 08, 2009

NBK NBK NBK Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners LP Cayman Islands

Weekly Weekly Weekly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly Monthly Monthly Monthly

USD KD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD KD KD USD Euro Euro Euro Euro USD USD USD USD USD USD USD USD

0.998 0.604 0.990 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 1,000.000 1,000.000 10,000.000 1,000.000 1,000.000 10,000.000 1,000.000 1,085,690 655.832 711.510 1,000.000 86.627 71.239

0.984 0.613 0.992 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000 10.000

Sept 03, 2009 Sept 03, 2009 Sept 03, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 30, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 June 30, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009

1,000.000 1,000.000 10,000.000 1,00.000 1,0000.000 10,000.000 1,000.000 1,074.570 639.468 698.355

Mar 31, 2009 Mar 31, 2009 Mar 31, 2009 Dec 31, 2008 Dec 31, 2008 Mar 31, 2009 Mar 31, 2009 May 29, 2009 July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009

Monthly Monthly

Sept 10, 2009 Sept 10, 2009 Sept 10, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 July 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 June 30, 2008 July 31, 2008 June 30, 2009 Mar 31, 2009 Mar 31, 2009 June 30, 2009 June 30, 2009 June 30, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Mar 19, 2009 Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009

84.641 68.069

July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009

Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd

Monthly

Aug 31, 2009

USD

86.627

84.641

July 31, 2009

Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd

Monthly

Aug 31, 2009

USD

71.239

68.070

July 31, 2009

Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd

Monthly

Aug 31, 2009

USD

55.358

51.771

July 31, 2009

Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Gulf Bank GB Capital protected Investment - Index Basket Gulf Bank Daily Sept 24, 2009 USD 1,122.700 1,122.800 Sept 23, 2009 Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund Kwt. Fin. & Inv. Co. & Gulf Fin. House Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 7.822 7.691 July 31, 2009 Coast Fund Coast Investment Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.905 0.802 July 31, 2009 Noor Fund for Local & Arab Equity Noor Financial Investment Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.660 0.650 July 31, 2009 Sanaya Dow Jones Kuwait Index Fund Industrial & Financial Investment Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.722 0.692 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Commercial Bank Tijari Investment Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly Sept 24, 2009 KD 0.647 0.647 Sept 17, 2009 Tijari Money Market Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly Sept 17, 2009 KD 1.177 1.177 Sept 15, 2009 Tijari GCC Equity Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Monthly Aug 26, 2009 KD 0.636 0.604 July 29, 2009 Tijari Islamic Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly Sept 24, 2009 KD 0.553 0.554 Sept 17, 2009 Tijari Indian Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Twice Monthly Sept 21, 2009 KD 1.005 0.964 Sept 04, 2009 Tijari Islamic Money Market Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly Sept 17, 2009 KD 0.907 0.907 Sept 15, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Ahli Bank Al Ahli Kuwaiti Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Aug 26, 2009 KD 1.092 1.071 July 29, 2009 Al Ahli Gulf Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.897 0.882 July 27, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Boubyan Bank Boubyan Financial Fund (KWD) Boubyan Bank Weekly Sept 23, 2009 KD 1.048 1.047 Sept 16, 2009 Boubyan Financial Fund (USD) Boubyan Bank Weekly Sept 23, 2009 USD 9,730.891 9,726.903 Sept 16, 2009 Global Real Estate Fund Boubyan Bank Quarterly June 30, 2009 KD 0.867 0.938 Mar 31, 2009 Boubyan Sukuk Fund Boubyan Bank Annually Jan 28, 2009 USD 953.680 1,001.180 June 18, 2008 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Burgan Bank Burgan Financial Fund Burgan Bank Daily Sept 23, 2009 KD 1.454 1.454 Sept 17, 2009 Burgan Equity Fund Burgan Bank Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.878 1.852 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Finance House Net Lease (Al Mumayaz Industrial Real Estate Fund II) KFH Monthly Sept 30, 2008 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 Aug 31, 2008 MALC (Millennium Aircraft Co Fund) KFH Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 102,841.000 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Investment Co. Local Fund

Al Raed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 17, 2009 KD 1.106 1.096 Sept 10, 2009 Kuwait Investment Fund Kuwait Investment Co Quarterly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.813 0.847 July 31, 2009 Al Hilal Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 14, 2009 KD 0.646 0.645 Sept 07, 2009 KIC Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.962 0.960 July 31, 2009 Al Atheer Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.042 1.024 July 31, 2009 International Global Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 09, 2009 USD 26.097 25.738 Sept 02, 2009 Diversified Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 09, 2009 USD 17.104 16.885 Sept 02, 2009 European Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 Euro 9.580 9.320 July 31, 2009 Pacific Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 09, 2009 USD 38.953 37.452 Sept 02, 2009 Al-Awaed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Quarterly June 30, 2009 USD 0.992 1.004 March 31, 2009 North American Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 14.820 14.200 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

lnternational Financial Advisors Local 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 Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.286 0.271 July 30, 2009 IFA Investment Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.528 0.496 July 30, 2009 International IFA International Guaranteed Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly July 30, 2009 KD 7.580 7.550 June 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, 2009 Al-Darji Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.597 0.610 May 31, 2009 Mawarid Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.670 0.665 May 31, 2009 Zajil Fund NIC Monthly June 30, 2009 KD 0.760 0.768 May 31, 2009 Al Mada Investment Fund NIC Monthly July 31, 2009 USD 0.630 0.510 Feb 28, 2009 Alternative Funds Al Tahawut Hedge Fund NIC Monthly July 17, 2009 KD 0.751 0.751 June 19, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

GulfInvest International Al Huda Islamic Fund GulfInvest International Weekly Aug 27, 2009 KD 0.517 0.500 Aug 20, 2009 Al Shorooq Fund GulfInvest International Weekly Aug 27, 2009 KD 0.746 0.726 Aug 20, 2009 Gulf Fund GulfInvest International Monthly April 30, 2009 USD 4.910 4.180 Mar 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Coast Investment Co. Coast Investment Fund Coast Investment Fund Monthly July 31, 2009 KD 0.802 0.833 June 30, 2009 Coast Pearl Fund Coast Investment Fund Daily Sept 22, 2009 KD 0.937 0.937 Sept 21, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Securities Group Al Anoud Investment Fund Securities Group Weekly Sept 17, 2009 KD 1.306 1.296 Sept 10, 2009 Group Islamic Fund Securities Group Weekly Sept 17, 2009 KD 1.340 1.347 Sept 10, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) Mumtaz Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 4.361 4.388 Sept 03, 2009 MIDAF Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 3.255 3.274 Sept 03, 2009 Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.796 1.811 Sept 03, 2009 GCC Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 10, 2009 USD 2.600 2.560 Sept 03, 2009 FORSA Financial Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Sept 03, 2009 KD 1.172 1.172 Aug 31, 2009 Atlas Diversified Class A Kuwait Financial Center Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 7.280 7.390 May 31, 2009 Atlas Diversified Class B Kuwait Financial Center Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 7.370 7.480 May 31, 2009 Atlas Fund of Hedge Funds Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Dec 31, 2009 USD 8.730 9.070 Nov 30, 2008 Atlas Emerging Market Thematic Class Kuwait Financial Center Monthly July 31, 2009 KD 7.240 7.240 June 30, 2009 Energy Fund Kuwait Financial Center Quarterly June 30 2009 KD 0.964 0.867 Mar 31, 2009 Real Estate Fund Kuwait Financial Center Half Yearly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.308 1.309 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait & Middle East Financial & Inv. Co.

Fund Manager Liquidity Evaluation date Currency Net Asset Value (NAV) Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Global Umbrella Fund - Asia/Japan Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 130.800 125.210 April 30, 2009 Global Umbrella Fund - Advanced Sciences Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 120.000 122.490 April 30, 2009 Global Distressed Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 152.130 145.560 April 30, 2009 Zenith Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 104.550 120.230 April 30, 2009 Mayur Hedge Fund Global Fixed Income Funds Global KD Bond Fund Global Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.065 1.064 Sept 03, 2009 Global Kibor Plus Fund Global Monthly July 30, 2009 KD 1.200 1.197 June 30, 2009 Index Funds GCC Large Cap Index Fund Global Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.320 1.361 Sept 03, 2009 Global US Equity Index Fund Global Weekly Aug 28, 2009 USD 77.160 77.050 Aug 21, 2009 Global European Equity Index Fund Global Weekly Aug 28, 2009 Euro 97.340 96.010 Aug 21, 2009 Equity Funds Global Local Fund Global Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.952 1.974 Sept 03, 2009 Al-Mamoun Fund A Global Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 0.574 0.582 Sept 03, 2009 Al-Mamoun Fund B Global Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 0.574 0.582 Sept 03, 2009 GCC Large Cap Fund Global Weekly Sept 07, 2009 USD 98.980 98.100 Aug 31, 2009 Al-Noor Fund Global Bi-weekly Sept 13, 2009 SAR 135.416 132.992 Sept 08, 2009 Global Saudi Equity Fund Global Bi-weekly Sept 13, 2009 SAR 125.141 123.627 Sept 08, 2009 Money Market Funds Global KD Money Market Fund Global Daily Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.494 1.493 Sept 03, 2009 Global USD Money Market Fund Global Weekly Sept 08, 2009 USD 122.210 122.140 Sept 01, 2009 Guaranteed Funds Global Increasable Guaranteed Fund Global Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.301 1.295 July 31, 2009 Islamic Real E. Funds Global US Real Estate Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 0.378 1.061 Sept 30, 2008 GCC Real Estate Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 0.790 Global Asia Real Estate Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 0.970 1.004 Sept 30, 2008 Global Real Estate Ijarah Fund Global Private Equity Funds Global Opportunistic Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 110.255 117.250 Sept 30, 2008 Global Opportunistic Fund II Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 102.608 102.478 Sept 30, 2008 Private Equity Fund Global Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.896 0.971 Dec 31, 2008 Global Buyout Fund Global Quarterly Dec 31, 2008 USD 603.390 582.850 Sept 30, 2008 Country Fund Palestine Dedicated Fund Global Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 89.390 87.940 July 31, 2009 Global Jordan Fund Global Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 75.180 75.770 July 31, 2009 The Delmon Fund Global Monthly Aug 31, 2009 BhD 149.775 146.553 July 31, 2009 Global Egypt Fund Global Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 66.890 63.630 July 31, 2009 Sectoral Funds EPADI Fund Global Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 88.470 88.490 July 30, 2009 Islamic Funds Global GCC Islamic Fund Global Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 78.270 76.450 July 31, 2009 Al-Durra Islamic Fund Global Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.348 1.293 Sept 03, 2009 Global Islamic Funds of Fund Global Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 89.356 89.355 May 31, 2009 Global Islamic Funds Global Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.294 1.293 Sept 03, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Finance & Investment Co (KFIC) Al Wasm Fund KFIC Weekly Sept 09, 2009 KD 0.638 0.628 Sept 02, 2009 Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund KFIC & Gulf Finance House Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 7.822 7.691 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

KAMCO Bond & High Yield Fund KAMCO Quarterly June 30, 2009 KD 1.210 1.216 Mar 31, 2008 KAMCO Investment Fund KAMCO Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.171 1.120 July 31, 2009 Private Equity Opportunities Fund KAMCO Monthly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.959 0.982 Dec 31, 2008 Kuwait Education Fund KAMCO Semi-Annually Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.986 0.998 Dec 31, 2008 Energy Services Fund KAMCO Mar 31, 2009 USD 0.412 0.388 Feb 28, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Madar Finance Shuwaikh Real Estate Fund Al Madar Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 1.161 1.217 Sept 30, 2008 US index Fund Al Madar Bi-Weekly May 29, 2009 USD 1.077 1.019 May 01, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Madina Finance & Investment Co. India Fund Al Madina Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.730 0.710 July 31, 2009 Al Madina Fund Al Madina Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.642 0.829 Dec 31, 2008 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Wafra International Investment Co. Wafra Equity Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Feb 28, 2009 KD 0.813 Wafra Bond Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Feb 28, 2009 KD 1.043 Fajir Islamic Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Feb 28, 2009 KD 0.572 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Shuaa Capital Co. Al Tawfeek Gulf Equity Fund Shuaa Capital Twice Monthly Aug 15, 2009 USD 71.771 70.941 July 31, 2009 Kuwait Gateway Fund First Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 6.590 0.000 July 31, 2009 Arab Islamic Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly July 31, 2009 USD 7.990 7.920 June 30, 2009 Saudi Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Weekly Sept 22, 2009 USD 7.600 7.520 Sept 15, 2009 The Arab Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Weekly Sept 22, 2009 USD 20.520 20.130 Sept 15, 2009 The Oman Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 16.040 15.140 July 31, 2009 Emirates Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Weekly Sept 22, 2009 AED 6.920 6.600 Sept 15, 2009 Qatar Gate Fund (Q) Shuaa Capital Monthly Aug 31, 2009 QAR 67.960 63.890 July 31, 2009 Qatar Gate Fund (N) Shuaa Capital Monthly Aug 31, 2009 QAR 65.280 61.220 July 31, 2009 Turkey Advantage Fund – A Class Shuaa Capital Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.648 10.308 May 29, 2009 Turkey Advantage Fund – C Class Shuaa Capital Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 10.715 10.370 May 29, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Investment Dar Co. Al Dar Real Estate Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly July 31, 2009 KD 1.106 1.093 June 30, 2009 Al Dar Fund of Funds Al Dar Asset Management Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.743 0.757 July 31, 2009 Al Dar Money Markets Fund Al Dar Asset Management Weekly Sept 14, 2009 KD 1.417 1.416 Sept 07, 2009 Al Dar Securities Fund Al Dar Asset Management Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.779 0.818 July 31, 2009 Al Nokhba Fund Al Dar Asset Management Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.556 0.568 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Aman Investment Al Aman Islamic Fund Al Aman Investment Monthly July 31, 2009 KD 0.630 0.639 June 30, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Housing Finance Company (ISKAN) Masaref Fund ISKAN Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 0.820 0.797 Sept 03, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Gulf Investment Corp. Gulf Bond Fund Gulf Investment Corp Monthly Sept 04, 2009 USD 11.376 11.374 Aug 31, 2009 Gulf Premier Fund Gulf Investment Corp Weekly Sept 10 2009 USD 18.150 17.910 Sept 03, 2009 Gulf Islamic Fund Gulf Investment Corp Weekly Sept 10, 2009 USD 6.070 5.980 Sept 03, 2009 GIC KD Bond Fund Gulf Investment Corp Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 1.494 1.493 Sept 03, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

First Investment Co. First Arabian Equity 2000 Fund First Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 22.187 21.818 July 31, 2009 First Gulf Equity First Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 USD 7.660 7.564 July 31, 2009 Al-Muthana Fund First Investment Co Weekly Sept 14, 2009 KD 1.407 1.407 Sept 07, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Bayan Investment Company Ea’mmar and Estethmar Fund Bayan Investment Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.637 0.640 July 31,2009 Al Themar Securities Fund Bayan Investment Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.578 0.566 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Tharwa Investment Co. Tharwa Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly Sept 03, 2009 KD 1.108 1.122 Aug 27, 2009 Tharwa Islamic Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly Sept 03, 2009 KD 0.739 0.751 Aug 27, 2009 Tharwa Arab Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2009 USD 1.162 1.174 May 31, 2009 Tharwa Islamic Money Market Fund Tharwa Investment Co ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Bank Al-Bilad Al Seef Fund Bank Al-Bilad Weekly Sept 10, 2009 KD 0.626 0.601 Sept 03, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Commercial International Bank Commercial Int’t Bank Fund I (Osoul) CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2009 EGP 145.350 145.030 Sept 13, 2009 Commercial Int’t Bank Fund II (Istethmar) CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2009 EGP 87.020 85.430 Sept 13, 2009 CIB and Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt Fund CI Asset Management Weekly Sept 22, 2009 EGP 70.320 69.170 Sept 13, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Noor Financial Inv. Co. Noor Islamic Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.675 0.638 June 30, 2009 Noor Local & Arabian Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.660 0.650 July 31, 2009 Noor Islamic US Equity Large Cap Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 724.570 692.070 April 30, 2009 Noor Islamic US Equity Mid Cap Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 653.100 638.580 April 30, 2009 Noor Islamic US Equity Small Cap Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 520.230 513.210 April 30, 2009 Noor Islamic Development Markets Ex US Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly May 31, 2009 USD 724.180 571.360 Mar 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium Kuwait Real Estate Fund Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.231 1.222 June 30, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Manafae Investment Co. Manafae First Fund Manafae Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.767 0.743 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Zumorroda Investment Co. Zumorroda GCC Fund Al Zumorroda Investment Co Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.558 0.548 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Safat Investment Co.

Al Safat Local Shares Equity Fund Al Safat Investment Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 0.430 0.445 July 31, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Al-Imtiaz Money Market Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Weekly Sept 17, 2009 KD 1.125 1.125 Sept 14, 2009 Al-Imtiaz Investment Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Jan 29, 2009 KD 1.200 1.190 Oct 27, 2008 Al-Imtiaz Real Estate Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Quarterly Mar 31, 2009 KD 0.980 0.990 Dec 31, 2008 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Rou’yah Fund KMEFIC Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.684 1.613 July 31, 2009 Gulf Gate Fund KMEFIC Monthly Aug 31, 2009 KD 1.009 0.986 July 31, 2009 Al-Awsat Money Market Fund KD KMEFIC Weekly Sept 23, 2009 KD 1.049 1.049 Sept 16, 2009 Al-Awsat Money Market Fund USD KMEFIC Weekly Sept 14, 2009 USD 9.574 9.575 Sept 07, 2009 Amal Money Market Fund KMEFIC Weekly Sept 23, 2009 KD 0.912 0.912 Sept 16, 2009 ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

BankMuscat

Global Investment House

Al-Muthana Investment Company

Hedge Funds

Global Umbrella Fund - US Global Umbrella Fund - Europe

Global Global

Monthly Monthly

June 30, 2009 June 30, 2009

USD USD

191.480 196.200

184.500 188.610

April 30, 2009 April 30, 2009

BankMuscat MSCI Kuwait Fund BankMuscat Daily Sept 16, 2009 USD 0.658 0.658 Sept 15, 2009 —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Muthanna Islamic Index Fund Muthanna GCC Islamic Banks Fund

Al-Muthana Investment Company Al-Muthana Investment Company

Bi-monthly Monthly

Aug 31, 2009 Aug 31, 2009

KD KD

0.476 0.701

0.490 0.691

July 31, 2009 July 31, 2009

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

BUSINESS

39

Treasurys continue to climb Treasury prices rose for the fourth straight day Friday, pushing yields lower, as investors pulled out of stocks and moved into safer investments. The price of the benchmark 10-year note rose 16/32 to 102 16/32 and its yield fell to 3.32 percent from 3.38 percent late Thursday. The yield on the 10year note is closely tied to rates on consumer loans such as mortgages. Disappointing reports on durable goods orders and new home sales sent investors out of stocks amid renewed

questions about the potential strength and length of any economic rebound. Treasurys often move in the opposite direction as the stock market as investors will buy into safe government debt when they sell off stocks, which are considered riskier. The Commerce Department on Friday said orders for goods expected to last at least three years fell 2.4 percent, after increasing 4.8 percent in July. Economists had been predicting an increase in orders. New home sales in August also failed

Gold, silver prices falter as oil gains

Safety Commodities took a big hit this week as investors moved out of risky assets and back into the dollar for safety amid a selloff in stocks. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve issued more assurances this week that inflation is still largely in check. That hurt demand for gold, which is often used as a hedge against inflation. Among other metals, October platinum fell $23.90 to $1,284.60 an ounce. Palladium also fell. Bucking the trend, December copper futures rose 3.1 cents to $2.7405 a pound. Oil prices rose for the first time in two days as tensions escalated over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Light, sweet crude for November delivery added 13 cents to finish at $66.02 a barrel. Oil prices faltered earlier this week amid the slumping dollar and government data showing energy demand is still weak. Gasoline for October delivery lost nearly 2 cents to $1.6205 a gallon, and heating oil for October delivery fell less than a penny to $1.6771 gallon. Natural gas added 3 cents to $3.9850 per 1,000 cubic feet. Grain prices were mixed on the Chicago Board of Trade. December wheat futures dropped 23.25 cents to $4.4975 a bushel, while corn for December delivery slipped 2.5 cents to $3.34 a bushel. November soybeans rose 6.5 cents to $9.26 a bushel. Among other soft commodities, cocoa and sugar rose, while coffee and cotton fell. Crude oil prices dived this week on fresh concerns about the pace of US economic recovery, while gold slid back under $1,000 per ounce on profit-taking. Oil: Crude oil prices slumped on evidence of weak energy demand in key consuming nation the United States. The market had shed more than three dollars on Thursday as mixed US economic data and signs of sluggish oil demand highlighted fears about a tepid recovery from the global recession. Prices had already fallen almost three dollars on Wednesday in reaction to a large jump in US crude oil inventories — a sign that energy demand remains weak. Worries about the pace of the US economic recovery intensified after data Thursday showed existing home sales fell 2.7 percent in August to 5.10 million units,

to meet expectations. The Commerce Department said sales rose to 429,000 last month from 426,000 in July, but below the pace of 440,000 economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted. Aside from the stock market’s stumble in recent days, continued solid demand at auctions helped support higher Treasury prices this week. The government successfully auctioned $43 billion in two-year notes, $40 billion in five-year notes and $29 billion in seven-year notes earlier in the week. (AP)

The dollar traded mixed Friday, falling to a 7-month low versus the yen, caught in crosscurrents of statements of support from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at the Group of 20 summit and comments on continuing stimulus spending across the world. The 16-nation euro edged up to $1.4665 in late New York trading from $1.4654 late Thursday. On Wednesday, the euro peaked at $1.4842, its highest level in 12 months.

The British pound fell to $1.5938 in late trading from $1.6063 Thursday, hitting its lowest point since mid-June after statements earlier this week from Bank of England officials who talked of the likelihood of bumps on the road to recovery and the usefulness of a weak currency. Meanwhile, the dollar tumbled to 89.90 Japanese yen from 91.27 yen, sinking as low as 89.40 yen, its weakest point since February. The dollar continues to trade inverse-

ly with stock markets. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down less than 1 percent in late trading Friday. On Thursday evening at the Group of 20 summit of world leaders, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the US had a responsibility to preserve the role of the dollar as the world’s primary reserve currency. He also said the administration is doing everything necessary to preserve the dollar’s standing in currency markets. (AP)

US growth, jobs figures to test Wall St market rally next week

Gold drops to $991.60

NEW YORK, Sept 26, (Agencies): Gold and silver prices fell for a third straight day Friday, even after the dollar reversed early gains and slid lower. Oil prices rose slightly, while soft commodities were mixed. Gold for December delivery lost $7.30 to $991.60 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, finishing the week down 1.9 percent. It was the second day in a row that gold closed below $1,000 after a nine-day streak of closing above that level. December silver dropped 23.5 cents to $16.06 an ounce — its lowest close in nearly a month. Commodities began to fall early in the day as the dollar rose, following their usual pattern of trading. But buying still didn’t pick up even after the dollar fell back, which would normally spur commodities higher. The dollar and commodities often trade in opposite directions. Foreign demand for commodities tends to pick up when the dollar weakens since commodities are mainly priced in dollars.

dollar ends mixed as stocks edge lower

snapping a winning streak. On Wednesday, a widely-watched Department of Energy report showed US crude reserves rose 2.8 million barrels in the week to September 18, against analysts’ expectations of a decline. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for November slid to $66.62 from $72.07 for the now-expired October contract a week earlier. Precious metals: Gold prices retreated as traders cashed in gains from last week’s strong rally which saw the precious metal climb within a whisker of a record high. Gold sank as low as $985.28 per ounce on Friday, which was the lowest point for more than two weeks. The previous week, gold had struck $1,024.28 an ounce, which was the best level since March 2008 when it hit a record 1,032.70. Silver slid to $16.20 an ounce from $17.11. On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum eased to $1,330 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from $1,337. Palladium dipped to $299 an ounce from $304. Base metals: Base metals prices mostly fell amid concerns about Chinese demand tailing off. Three-month aluminium fell to $1,832 a tonne from $1,929. Three-month lead firmed to $2,198 a tonne from $2,195. Three-month tin decreased to $14,400 a tonne from $14,600. Three-month zinc slipped to $1,880 a tonne from $1,923. Three-month nickel dipped to $16,876 a tonne from $17,165. Cocoa: Cocoa prices struck fresh multimonth peaks this week on the prospect of lower output from Ivory Coast, which is the world’s top producer. Prices later ran into profit-taking in New York. On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the December cocoa contract slipped to $3,079 a tonne from $3,126. Sugar: Sugar futures fell after reaching 28-year highs earlier this month. By Friday on LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for delivery in December slid to 577 pounds from 582 pounds a week earlier. On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for March fell to 21.78 US cents a pound from 23.67 cents. Grains and soya: Maize and wheat prices advanced but soya pulled lower amid unease about frosty weather in key producer United States. November-dated soyabean meal — used in animal feed — decreased to $9.29 from $9.41. Wheat for December rose to $4.72 a bushel from $4.57. Coffee: Coffee futures drifted lower as many traders banked profits. By Friday on LIFFE, Robusta for delivery in November fell to 1,404 dollars a tonne from 1,508 dollars a week earlier. On the NYBOT, Arabica for December declined to 129 US cents a pound from 136.65 cents. Rubber: Malaysian rubber prices dropped due to a quiet market amid the Eid al-Fitr holiday, dealers said. On Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s benchmark SMR20 fell to 208.30 US cents per kilo, from 209.70 cents last week.

Reports on manufacturing, housing weigh on stocks NEW YORK, Sept 26, (Agencies): The rally in US stocks, which stumbled in recent days on worries about the economic recovery and continued government stimulus, will be tested next week by crucial data on growth and jobs.

Market rally pauses

Wall Street ponders correction NEW YORK, Sept 26, (AFP): Wall Street has stepped back from a spectacular sixmonth rally, leaving investors pondering the depth of the latest pullback in the context of a fragile economic recovery. Some analysts say a “correction” would be healthy for the market by working off some of the gains and easing speculative fervor from short-term traders. Still in doubt however is whether the bull market can keep running even after stunning gains of some 60 percent for the broad market as the economy struggles to emerge from recession. Over the past week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.58 percent to end Friday at 9,665.19, as the market pulled back from 11-month highs. The tech-dominant Nasdaq slipped 1.97 percent to 2,090.92 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 broad-market index retreated 2.24 percent to 1,044.38. The market appeared to hit a roadblock Wednesday as stocks rallied in the wake of a Federal Reserve announcement that it intended to hold interest rates near zero for some time.

Investors are set to pore over September non-farm payrolls, the final reading of second-quarter gross domestic product and several other big economic reports. The data comes amid signs the rally in stocks, which has lifted the Standard & Poor’s 500 index some 54 percent since early March, could be fizzling out. The market suffered three straight days of losses and the S&P put in its biggest weekly drop since early July, with data on Friday showing new orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods falling by their biggest margin in seven months. Next week, the focus likely will be on Friday’s monthly US government jobs data. The 9.7 percent US unemployment rate is a major concern for investors because of the impact on the economy and, in particular, consumer spending. “It’s a big deal every time, because it’s really one of the most sensitive indicators,” said Cummins Catherwood, managing director at Boenning and Scattergood in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. “This is right where the rubber meets the road: Do I have a job or don’t I?” he said.

Pullback The rally pushed the Dow briefly above 9,900 but then a pullback began. Analysts said the market used the occasion to lock in hefty gains and wait for further evidence that the economy is pulling out of recession. Al Goldman, chief market strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors, urged clients to wait out the correction. “A several-day pullback has begun,” he said.

Positioning End-of-quarter positioning also could be provide some lift to stocks next week, as fund managers move money out of bonds and into equities, analysts said. Investors also will watch Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is scheduled to speak on financial regulatory reform before a House panel on Thursday. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 2.2 percent, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.6 percent and the Nasdaq declined 2 percent. On Thursday, stocks slid as world central banks said they would scale back infusions of US dollars into their banking systems. That came a day after stocks sold off following the Fed’s decision to slow purchases of mortgage debt. But the S&P 500 is still on track for gains of about 14 percent this quarter and that would follow gains of 15 percent in the previous quarter. “People are still underweight in equities, and after a big surge, they’re going to try to be playing catch-up,” said Fred Dickson, market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. For Friday’s report, a poll of economists by Reuters showed a loss of 180,000 nonfarm jobs, which would be an improvement from a decline of 216,000 jobs in August. But the unemployment rate is seen rising to 9.8 percent. Dickson said an increase in overtime hours should also be watched as that could suggest a positive trend. “It’s a very early indicator of a turn,” he

said. Final second-quarter GDP data also is on tap for Wednesday, and investors will be anxious to see if the report shows any downward changes from the prior estimate of a 1.0 percent contraction. “The market will not take kindly to downward revisions of GDP next week,” said David Dietze, chief investment officer of Point View Financial Services in Summit, New Jersey. Also expected next week are data on home prices from S&P/Case-Shiller, consumer confidence from the Conference Board and factory activity from the Institute for Supply Management. Investor confidence suffered another blow Friday as disappointing reports on manufacturing and home sales stirred worries that the economy will struggle to recover. Stocks fell for a third straight day to post their biggest weekly losses since early July. The reports on durable goods and sales of new homes reminded investors that while the economy might be improving, it might not do so in a straight line. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42 points, bringing its three-day loss to 165. Durable goods orders, a key indicator for the manufacturing industry, fell unexpectedly in August. The Commerce Department

“We believe it will be measured in days, not weeks but it still must be respected after the 60 percent rally from the March 9 lows. The big picture is still a bull market which we believe will be higher by yearend.” Bob Dickey at RBC Wealth Management said the market is in “an established bull trend” until proven otherwise. “Today the market is likely telling us what the economic condition may be six to 12 months from now, and although it currently may not make sense, the market has tended to lead these economic changes historically,” he said. Gregory Drahuschak at Janney Montgomery Scott said that “for the very short-term that the market is getting a bit tired” but that does not alter the long-term outlook. “We are not concerned about a shortterm pullback since we are focused more on GDP (gross domestic product) and earnings potential into the first half of 2010 — potential we do not think the market has discounted fully yet,” he said. Also optimistic was John Praveen at Prudential International Investments, saying: “Equity markets are now facing the sweet spot in the economic cycle with a stronger and faster rebound from the recession, inflation close to a trough but not yet picking up enough to cause concern, ample liquidity and interest rates remaining low.” Others remained skeptical, including David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates. Rosenberg said he sees “a bear market

rally as opposed to the onset of a new secular bull market” and urges investors to stay cautious. “I am always skeptical of rallies that are purely premised on technicals and liquidity but bereft of a solid economic foundation,” he said. “While green shoots did appear in the economic data, all the growth we have seen globally, and in the USA in particular, has come courtesy of unprecedented government stimulus. We see nothing organically in the economy to get us excited.”

said orders for goods expected to last at least three years slid 2.4 percent, after rising 4.8 percent in July. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast an increase of 0.5 percent.

boosted hopes for a rebound in manufacturing. Technology shares fell Friday after quarterly results from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. fell short of expectations. That weighed on Nasdaq composite index, which contains a big pool of tech stocks. The day’s losses — and even those for the week — are still modest considering how far stocks have rocketed since major indicators tumbled to 12-year lows on March 9. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, the basis for many mutual funds, is up 54.4 percent since then. Analysts have been calling for a break in the advance so the economy can catch up with investors’ expectations. “We really have come a long way and the markets are taking a pause to reflect the fact that we were up 60 percent,” said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist, Weeden & Co. in Greenwich, Conn. “We still think things should stay relatively orderly in the pullback and we’re still likely to see further gains.” On Friday, the Dow fell 42.25, or 0.4 percent, to 9,665.19. The index hasn’t fallen three straight days since the first week of the month. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 6.40, or 0.6 percent, to 1,044.38, and the Nasdaq fell 16.69, or 0.8 percent, to 2,090.92.

Slow It was the second drop in three months and the latest sign that any rebound inside the nation’s factories is likely to be slow. Meanwhile, the government also reported that new home sales inched up to 429,000 last month, below analysts’ expectations. The tepid improvement followed four months of stronger gains in new home sales that had raised investors’ hopes that the troubled housing market was improving. The market was already starting sour on housing, and had fallen on Thursday following a separate report showing a surprise drop in existing home sales in August. Stocks also fell Wednesday on worries that the Federal Reserve would be too quick to withdraw its financial supports from the economy. The week’s economic reports have hit shares of industrial companies, which have been logging big gains as investors pile into stocks of companies that could see big jumps in profits if the economy improves. The reports ran counter to other data that had

Spending In the coming week, the market begins the fourth quarter and will be tested by data on personal income and spending, monthly auto sales and most importantly the September report on US payrolls and unemployment, a key to economic momentum. “The data point to healthy growth in the near term, but evident risks of a slower pace come 2010,” said Avery Shenfeld at CIBC World Markets. Also looming is the corporate earnings season for the quarter that ends Wednesday. Investors “want to hear some optimism from companies,” which have “come out with conservative estimates,” said Marc Pado at Cantor Fitzgerald. Bonds firmed as investors shifted away from equities. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond eased to 3.329 percent from 3.474 percent a week earlier while that on the 30-year bond dropped to 4.093 percent from 4.231 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

exchange rates – Sept 24 US dollar BEC Muzaini Dollarco Commercial Bank Gulf Bank NBK Burgan Bank ABK Oman

Buy Sell Sell Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell

Cash .282300 .287200 .282000 .290000 .283000 .291000 .284200 .290800 .280400 .289000 .283150 .288000 .282900 .289000 — .287900

Buy Sell Sell Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell

Cash .053000 .058000 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .284600 .286800 .286850 .286550 .285400 .287500 .286700 .288800 .285400 .287500 .285400 .287500 .285400 .287500 — .287900

Sterling pound Transfer .284600 .286800 .286850 .286550 .285400 .287500 .286700 .288800 .285400 .287500 .285400 .287500 .285400 .287500 — .287900

Cash .463500 .473500 — .490000 .470000 .482000 .469896 .481484 .470350 .478930 .468188 .476352 .467070 .479450 – 467000

Danish kroner BEC Muzaini Dollarco Commercial Bank Gulf Bank NBK Burgan Bank ABK Oman

BEC Muzaini Gulf Bank ABK

Buy Sell Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell

Draft — — — — .056554 .056955 .054799 .055278 .056460 .057020 .056542 .056992 .056290 .057650 — —

Draft .462500 .471500 .475310 .475985 .471947 .475281 .474029 .478173 .471850 .475930 .471908 .475525 .471850 .475210 — .475000

Transfer .462500 .471500 .475310 .475985 .471947 .475281 .474029 .478173 .471850 .475930 .471908 .475525 .471850 .475210 — .475000

Indian rupee

Transfer — — — — .056554 .056955 .054799 .055278 .056460 .057020 .056542 .056992 .056290 .057650 — —

Cash .005840 .006260 – 006150 .004500 .007200 — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .005900 .005960 .005970 .005960 .005976 .006019 — .005945 — — .005939 .005989 .005889 .005998 — —

Transfer .005900 .005960 .005970 .005960 .005976 .006019 — .005945 — — .005939 .005989 .005889 .005998 — —

Euro Cash .417200 .426200 — 425000 .419000 .426000 .404270 .414244 .419150 .427780 .417532 .424828 .416290 .427580 — .408000

Draft .417200 .424700 .424540 .424925 .420894 .423867 .407830 .411395 .420650 .424780 .420850 .424091 .420550 .424690 — .406000

Japanese yen Transfer .417200 .424700 .424540 .424925 .420894 .423867 .412846 .407830 .420650 .424780 .420850 .424091 .420550 .424690 — .406000

Pakistani rupee Cash .003310 .003590 — .003750 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .003440 .003480 .003454 .003460 .003470 .003494 — .003494 — — .003438 .003466 — .003545 — .003564

Cash .003070 .003250 — .003350 — — — — — — — — — — — .003200

Draft — — .003170 .003160 .003141 .003164 .003036 .003063 .003137 .003165 .003138 .003163 .003135 .003171 — .003200

Transfer — — .003170 .003160 .003141 .003164 .003036 .003063 .003137 .003165 .003138 .003163 .003135 .003171 – .003200

Sri Lanka rupee

Transfer .003440 .003480 .003454 .003460 .003470 .003494 — .003494 — — .003438 .003466 — .003545 — .003564

Cash .002175 .002755 — .002900 .002000 .003500

Draft .002195 .002495 .002494 .002493 .002498 .002515 — — .002522 — — — — — .002484 — .002505 — — — .002559 — — .002650 .002510

Transfer .002195 .002495 .002494 .002493 .002498 .002515 — .002522 — — .002484 .002505 — .002559 — .002510

Cyprus Pound

Yemeni riyal

Thai baht

South African rand

Draft Transfer Cash — — .679000 — — .692000 — — — — — — .729458 .729458 — — — — —

Cash Draft Transfer .139000 — — .147000 — — — .001407 .001407 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft Transfer Cash .081900 .008130 .008130 .088900 .008730 .008730 .008460 .008460 — — — — — — — — — — – – –

Transfer Cash Draft .032630 .032630 .032630 .041130 .041130 .041130 — — — .036278 — — — — .036278 — — — — —

travellers cheques BEC Commercial Bank Gulf Bank Al-Ahli Bank

US dollar .2868000 .2875000 .2888000 .2875000

Sterling .4715000 .4752810 .4781730 .4762100

Euro

local gold BEC Muzaini Exchange

.4113950 .4246900

Swiss franc Cash .273500 .283000 — .273000 .275000 .283000 — — .272600 .281580 .274742 .279584 — —

Draft .274500 .281500 .279900 .277740 .276926 .278888 .268672 .271021 .276600 .279080 .276926 .279099 .276530 .279910 — —

Transfer .274500 .281500 .279900 .277740 .276926 .278888 .268672 .271021 .276600 .279080 .276926 .279099 .276530 .279910 — —

Bangladesh taka Cash .003850 .004500 — .004400 — — — — — — — — — — — .004250

Draft .004111 .004160 .004156 .004165 .004181 .004211 — .004244 — — .004128 .004189 — — — .004170

Transfer .004111 .004160 .004156 .004165 .004181 .004211 — .004244 — — .004128 .004189 — — — .004170

Draft Transfer — — — — — — — — .000232 .000232 — — — —

Gold 999 kg — 9425.000

Draft .259400 .268400 .271400 .271353 .268636 .270539 .263682 .265400 .268430 .270830 .266481 .271173 .268240 .261440 — —

Transfer .259400 .268400 .271400 .271353 .268636 .270539 .231396 .263682 .268430 .270830 .266481 .271173 .268240 .261440 — .267000

Draft .005580 .006035 .006013 .006017 .006008 .006050 — .005967 — — .005968 .006024 — .006032 — .005990

Cash .038200 .043200 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Transfer .005580 .006035 .006013 .006017 .006008 .006050 — .005967 — — .005968 .006024 — .006032 .005990

Cash .242200 .253700 — — .248000 .254000 — — — — — — — — — .240000

Syrian pound

Gold ounce — 307.000

Transfer — — — — .041706 .042001 .039934 .040283 .041915 .042778 .041695 .042020 .041530 .042350 — —

Draft .240200 .252200 .251240 — .249999 .251765 .238018 .240098 .249750 .252080 .249999 .251979 .249870 .262510 — .237000

Transfer .240200 .252200 .251240 — .249999 .251765 .238018 .240098 .249750 .252080 .249999 .251979 .249870 .262510 — .237000

Iranian riyal

Cash Draft Transfer .006200 — — .006400 — — — .006287 .006287 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Gold 999 10 tola 1,087.620 1107.000

Draft — — — — .041706 .042001 .039934 .040283 .041915 .042778 .041695 .042020 .041530 .042350 — —

Australian dollar

Philippine peso Cash .005950 .006220 — .006400 .004500 .007200 — — — — — — — — — .006000

Korean won Cash — — — — — — —

Swedish kroner

Canadian dollar Cash .261400 .269900 — .275000 .266000 .275000 — — — — .268559 .270702 — – .268000

Cash Draft .000293 — .000294 — .000292 .000301 — — — — — — —

Gold gm 22k — 8.620

Transfer — — — — — — —

Gold gm 21k — 8.225

Saudi riyal Cash .075880 .076570 — .077500 .075000 .079000 .075605 .077567 .075040 .077700 .075103 .077208 .075220 .077220 — .076800

Draft .075930 .076570 .076534 .076440 .076146 .076632 .076336 .077033 .076040 .076700 .075699 .077074 .075990 .076700 — .076800

Transfer .075930 .076570 .076534 .076440 .076146 .076632 .076336 .077033 .076040 .076700 .075699 .077074 .075990 .076700 — .076800

Hong Kong dollar Cash .349400 .376900 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .344400 .375400 .037040 — .036821 .037081 .036986 .037309 — — — — .036830 .037080 — —

Transfer .344400 .375400 .037040 — .036821 .037081 .036986 .037309 — — — — .036830 .037080 — —

Lebanese pound Cash .000182 .000194 — — — — —

Draft Transfer .000186 .000186 .000193 .000193 .000194 .000194 — — — — — — —

Gold gm 18k — 7.050

100 gm 999 – —

UAE dirham Cash .077740 .078250 — .078460 .077476 .078255 .077343 .079280 .077480 .078250 .076672 .078839 .077517 .078296 — .078600

Draft .076640 .078250 .078161 .078000 .077743 .078239 .078092 .078735 .077650 .078300 .077281 .078702 .077420 .078340 — .078390

Transfer .076640 .078250 .078161 .078000 .077743 .078239 .078092 .078735 .077650 .078300 .077281 .078702 .077420 .078340 — .078390

Singapore dollar Cash Draft .199440 .198440 .20394 .203940 — .204200 — — .202198 — .203630 — .197997 — .199728 — .201970 — .203820 — .202096 — .203698 — .201930 — .204160 — — — —

Transfer .198440 .203940 .204200 — .202198 .203630 .197997 .199728 .201970 .203820 .202096 .203698 .201930 .204160 — —

Malaysian ringgit Cash Draft Transfer .078490 .077490 .077490 .084490 .084490 .084490 — — — — – — — — — — — — — — — 10 gm 999 – 103.000

Bahraini dinar Cash .754680 .762680 — .766815 .754828 .762414 750858 .772377 .754830 .762410 .749074 .765957 — — —

Draft .754180 .762680 .762200 .759860 .757421 .762252 .758124 .767065 .756530 .763040 .755026 .764627 .755020 .763470 — —

Transfer .754180 .762680 .762200 .759860 .757421 .762252 .758124 .767065 .756530 .763040 .755026 .764627 .755020 .763470 — —

Jordanian dinar Cash .399470 .406970 — .409500 .402000 .418000

Draft .398880 .405380 .405300 .404355 .403638 .406498 — — .409305 — — — — — .402368 — .406475 — .401960 — .407780 — — .415000 .415000

Transfer .398880 .405380 .405300 .404355 .403638 .406498 — .409305 — — .402368 .406475 .401960 .407780 — .415000

Indonesian rupiah Cash .025000 .033000 — — — — —

Draft Transfer .025000 .025000 .033000 .033000 — — — — .000029 .000029 — — — —

Omani riyal Cash .739300 .744980 — — .739976 .747413 .738066 .755962 .739980 .747410 .733549 .750000 — — — .752000

Draft .733800 .744800 .745600 — .741678 .746409 .745208 .750763 .740820 .747080 .739378 .748697 .739190 .747040 — .748000

Transfer .733800 .744800 .745600 — .741678 .746409 .745208 .750763 .740820 .747080 .739378 .748697 .739190 .747040 — .748000

Egyptian pound Cash .051670 .054420 .053750 .056000 .050000 .057000 — — — — — — — — — .56000

Draft .050140 .052160 .052100 .052085 — — — .054490 — — .051346 .052672 — .052330 — —

Transfer .050140 .052160 .052100 .052085 — — — .054490 — — .051346 .052672 — .052330 — —

New Zealand dollar Cash .201000 .210500 — — — — —

Draft .199000 .209000 — .193465 .198290 .203480 .206670

All rates in KD per unit of foreign currency

Transfer .199000 .209000 — .193465 .198290 .203480 .206670

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

LEISURE N E W

Y O R K

40

T I M E S

Horoscope

CROSSWORD

By Jacqueline Bigar Happy birthday for Sunday, September 27, 2009: Focus on family, security and possible investments this year. Review your priorities, and act only then. You relate with ease through December. Many unexpected developments could occur from March on, encouraging you to think in new, dynamic ways. Holding on to old ideas won’t work. If you are single, don’t consider any budding relationship committed until it is. Do count on excitement. If you are attached, honor your differences, and be ready to ride the wave of change. Encourage your partner to do the same. Life becomes exciting. Capricorn serves as an anchor. The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-Difficult ❑ ❑ ❑

Capricorn - (Dec 22 - Jan 19): ***** Your high energy attracts many. Make plans that

allow for greater flexibility. Surprises head in that require you to make a decision. Be careful expressing your frustration toward a partner. You just might light a fire that could be difficult to put out. Tonight: Try not to interfere with yourself. This Week: Look at your spending habits when considering a purchase. Act after Tuesday. ❑ ❑ ❑

Aquarius -

(Jan 20 - Feb 18): *** Don’t take a comment personally. Someone might be testing your limits or finding out more about your feelings. A partner could feel as if he or she is shut out of your life, or you are not sharing a personal issue. Tonight: Add some mystery into the mix. This Week: You hit your power days Monday. Check out an investment Wednesday on. ❑ ❑ ❑

Pisces -

(Feb 19 - Mar 20): ***** Zero in on what you want, and had there. Friends want to join you, no matter what type of plans you have. Loosen up and just enjoy. It is possible to be too responsible. Let go more often. A partner tends to be critical. Don’t take it as personally as usual. Tonight: Among many people, with the crowds. This Week: Maintain a low profile through Tuesday. Unleash your energy on others Wednesday! ❑ ❑ ❑

Aries - (Mar 21 - Apr 19): **** Take the lead, and others will follow. Someone who cares as

Sherman’s Lagoon — By J. P. Toomey

Caracal baby ‘Lilly’ looks on in her enclosure in an animal park in Berlin on Sept 25. Lilly is one of three caracal babies born on July 17, in the animal park. (AFP)

much as you do states his or her feelings. The unexpected opens up unthought-of doors. Use these insights when relating. Tonight: Bring others together. This Week: Tap into your supporters early on. Rethink plans. ❑ ❑ ❑

Taurus -

(Apr 20 - May 20): ***** Take off for the day. Opt for a different setting. Others enjoy you when you are detached and centered, like you will become today. You cannot underestimate the role of a different setting. A child or loved one might want to talk. Tonight: Ever playful. This Week: A must appearance could last for days if you’re not careful. ❑ ❑ ❑

Gemini - (May 21 - June 20): ***** **** You cannot avoid a talk. You might have tried

very hard to avoid certain vulnerabilities, but perhaps it is better to put all your cards on the table. An older relative or friend could head in a new direction. Tonight: Make time for a special person. This Week: Take in new vistas and seek out different ideas. Wednesday, take the lead on a project. ❑ ❑ ❑

Mutts — By Patrick McDonnell

Cancer - (June 21 - July 22): ***** Defer to others. Choosing where and who you want

to be with is your call. Surprising news heads in your direction, encouraging perhaps a change of plans, if not opinion. Tonight: The more the merrier. This Week: Work closely with a partner. Seek out other ideas if need be. ❑ ❑ ❑

Leo - (July 23 - Aug 22): *** Complete a project. A partner could be touchy. Take your time

Hagar The Horrible — By Chris Browne

Dasa, a female orangutan at the Erie Zoo, holds her newborn baby, Sept 24, in Erie, Pennsylvania. The baby, which zookeepers think is a male, was born on Sept 18, 2009 and has yet to be named. (AP)

dear abby

Abusive wife doubts her sanity By Abigail Van Buren

Beetle Bailey — By Mort Walker

Garfield — By Jim Davis

Dear Abby: My husband berates and belittles me constantly. He calls me “worthless, stupid, lazy, no-good and crazy.” He controls my every move and follows me around the kitchen when I’m trying to cook. I got so nervous last week that I dropped a kettle of soup and burned myself. He followed me into the laundry room, watched me load the washer before putting in the detergent, then yelled at me that I was doing it “backward.” He removes the dishes from the dishwasher and rearranges them so they’re the way he thinks they should be. He says I can’t do anything right, and I’m starting to believe him. I leave the house only to buy groceries because I’m afraid people are laughing and staring at me. I sleep half the day. I used to go out and have fun; now I sit at home with the drapes drawn. I don’t have the energy to clean the house. I cry every day. Our two boys are 8 and 11. He controls their every move, too. There’s so much stress in this house they are starting to turn against him. The emotional abuse started a couple of years ago. When I try to discuss it, he calls me crazy and a liar and denies it. I used to be healthy as a horse, but now I have headaches and stomach pains. Friends say I should leave, but I

can’t just pick up and walk out with two sons to raise. He threatens to get custody because I am “insane.” I stay because I don’t want to lose my boys. I’m afraid to see a doctor. He may say I’m crazy, too. Please help me. — Less than zero in Illinois Dear less than zero: Please trust me and consult a doctor immediately. Your symptoms are probably stress-related. You may also be depressed from the unrelenting abuse. You are not crazy, but Abigail Van Buren your husband may be. Once you have spoken to your doctor, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline. They can help you and the boys escape. Their toll-free number is (800) 799-7233. Whether your husband is sick or just an abusive bully remains to be seen. But for your sake and your children’s, do not tolerate this situation. If you stay, he will not only destroy you emotionally, but also your boys. ❑ ❑ ❑

ful woman with whom I am completely in love. I know she feels the same. My problem is she won’t tell me what year she was born. I know she’s older than I am, but by how much I don’t know. She told me that in her previous relationships her husband and boyfriend left her for younger women. I’ve told her age has nothing to do with how I feel about her, but she’s afraid that if I know her exact age I will leave. I have done all I can to reassure her, but she still won’t tell me. What can I do to make her understand that her age is unimportant to me so far as how I feel about her? Or should I just forget about ever knowing her true age? — In love in San Antonio Dear in love: You’ve done all you can. Your lady friend has been “snake bit” twice. So if you really love her and don’t care about her age, drop the subject, since you know it’s a painful one for her. Got it? ❑ ❑ ❑ Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Dear Abby: I live with a wonder-

(Source: Universal Press Syndicate)

Word by Word Baby Blues — By Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott

Debts

(Deyoun)

Short debts make long friends. Al deyoun al muajalat al adaa totail omr al sadaqa.

Virgo - (Aug 23 - Sept 22): ***** Let your creativity come out in whatever you are doing. A

child or loved one lets you know how much he or she appreciates your time and caring. Feelings come forward. Open up to those close to you. Tonight: Forget about tomorrow. Live for now. This Week: Dig into work and errands Monday and Tuesday. Opportunities to network appear Wednesday on. ❑ ❑ ❑

Libra - (Sept 23 - Oct 22): *** Stay centered and close to home. You might have a project or

two you want to complete. People could lose their temper out of the blue. If you can, defuse the situation. A talk with a dear friend is the perfect time to share news. Tonight: Happy at home. This Week: Settling in might be close to impossible, but you finally do it on Wednesday. ❑ ❑ ❑

Scorpio -

(Oct 23 - Nov 21): ***** Call friends and family, and catch up on their news. A neighbor might share some gossip! Your ability to draw many together emerges. Look at what you want in reality. Stop hedging. Tonight: Favorite corner restaurant. This Week: Work from home or take the next few days off. Appear at work Wednesday only if you must. ❑ ❑ ❑

Sagittarius - (Nov 22 - Dec 21): **** Be more contained and conscious of your financial standing and what you need to do and not do. Think in terms of growth and a newfound flexibility. A partner could be out of whack. At what point do you just let it be? Tonight: Togetherness is the theme. This Week: Catch up on calls and e-mail at the beginning of the week. Close your door after Tuesday in order to get work done. ❑ ❑ ❑ Born today: Singer Meat Loaf (1947), actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972), baseball player Mike Schmidt (1949)

odds ’n’ ends NEW

YORK: If Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s rambling, podiumhogging speech at the United Nations tried the patience of many UN delegates, spare a thought for his simultaneous interpreter. The Libyan’s interpreter managed to hang on for the first 75 minutes of Wednesday’s epic before crying: “I just can’t take it anymore!” reported the New York Post daily. Spotting the emergency, the UN’s Arabic section chief, Rasha Ajalyaqeen, took over for the final 20 minutes. “His interpreter just collapsed,” a colleague was quoted as saying by the Post. “This is the first time I have seen this in 25 years.” (AFP) ❑

Numbers

5044

deciding just how to work through this person’s issues. If you feel as if you cannot make a difference, then let it go. A walk or going out for an early movie adds to the afternoon. Tonight: Start thinking about tomorrow. This Week: Defer to others in most matters. Talk to a close associate or friend midweek. ❑ ❑ ❑

COPENHAGEN:

Five thousand and forty-four Khamsat alaaf wa arbaah wa arbaoun





A senior Danish tourism official resigned on Friday after a row over a promotional video aimed at attracting visitors which critics said promoted promiscuity. Dorte Kiilerich, the operations director for tourism agency VisitDenmark and in charge of the video, stepped down after the film triggered a political storm. (AFP)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

SPORTS

41

Brawns suffer nightmare session

Hamilton storms to Singapore pole position SINGAPORE, Sept 26, (Agencies): World champion Lewis Hamilton put McLaren on pole position for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix after title contender Rubens Barrichello crashed in the dying seconds of Saturday’s qualifying.

MOTOR RACING The Briton lapped the floodlit 5.067km Marina Bay street circuit in one minute 47.891 seconds to top the timesheets, with the

final session red-flagged with just 26 seconds remaining on the clock. “It’s absolutely fantastic and I am very happy for the team,” Hamilton told reporters. It was his second pole in a row, third in four races and 16th in 49 career starts. “Throughout the weekend we have constantly been performing upgrades, so we didn’t really know how fast we were. Friday practice didn’t go that well so to come here today and do so well is a testament to the team as they worked through the night,” he added. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Williams’

Nico Rosberg, who was quickest in the second part of qualifying, will start second and third respectively after Barrichello’s crash prevented either from trying to beat Hamilton’s time. Brawn’s championship leader Jenson Button, 14 points ahead of team-mate Barrichello with four races remaining, qualified 12th. Barrichello, who hit the wall heavily at Turn Five, will start two places ahead of him. The Brazilian qualified fifth but incurred a five place penalty for changing his gearbox after the final free practice session. Hamilton had complained that sections of

the track were dangerous prior to Saturday’s final free practice but the 24-year-old Briton was all smiles when he addressed the media afterwards. “The lap was good, I was very relaxed,” Hamilton added. “The car has got better and better over the weekend. The circuit has evolved and got a little bit grippier. I was able to go faster so we will see what happens with the strategies.” Vettel trails Button by 26 points and although overhauling the Briton in the title race looks a distant prospect, the German was

on a quick run before Barrichello’s accident halted proceedings. “It’s great to be back qualifying near the front. Especially as this is a street circuit,” Vettel said. “The whole weekend the car was really good and although the flag came out we did well and were able to keep pushing. “It’s a long race tomorrow (Sunday), 61 laps and I believe it will be tough but we have what it takes to challenge for the win.” Coming into the weekend, Brawn needed 14 points more than the Red Bulls to secure the

constructors’ title in their debut season but the team will now be looking at a damage limitation exercise rather than a push for glory. “It’s not a good position to be in,” Button said. “It is tough, and yeah, I am worried I am not going to be able to get any points.” Team principal Ross Brawn was even more pessimistic. “It’s a disastrous session for us,” the Briton said. “We underestimated the competition in Q2 because we used one old set (of tyres), then one new set, and didn’t get the car balanced well on the new set.”

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

SPORTS

42

Winning Alghanim Industries.

Victorious Jade Garden squad.

Winning Entrecote team.

Triumphant Manyaman – Barako full of smiles.

Triumphant Papa John’s team.

Defeated N-Dash pose with young supporter.

Frost Real Estate tame Desert Fox to remain unbeaten

Manyaman-Barako outwit defending champions Maki By Jose Gabriel Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: Heart-pounding ballgames on Friday once again provided a treat for basketball and volleyball fans in the Goodwill Games Conferences of the 18th Filipino Basketball League (FBL), 8th Filipino Women’s Volleyball League (FWVL) and 3rd Filipino Men’s Volleyball League (FMVL). All the tournaments are being held at the Bayan Bilingual School in Jabriya. There was only one game on the last day of elimination round of FWVL which saw Alghanim Industries overwhelm N-Dash 25-16, 25-20. On the other hand, there were two outstanding men’s volleyball matches that signaled the start of the 2nd round robin games with Manyaman-Barako taming defending champions Maki in 2 easy sets 25-23, 25-14 and Jade Garden brushing aside N-Dash 25-23, 25-8. Meanwhile, four basketball games took place earlier that day and saw defending champions Frost Real Estate maintain a tight hold on their title when they thumped Desert Fox 98-85 to remain unbeaten while Papa Johns overpowered N-Dash 74-60, Entrecote hammered Qiblers 83-72 and Awtar Libnan stayed on top of the lists with 7 wins including their 93-86 triumph over Triggers. This event is being officiated by Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP)-Kuwait Chapter with Commissioner Demos Arienda along with Baylon Tenorio, Toots Apostol, Marc Lester Roan, James Miranda, George Panganiban, Ferdie Tadena and Joel Acuna.

Action shot of FWVL game.

‘Entrecote’ fails to win the ball from ‘Qibler’.

Papa John’s stands on ‘N-Dash’ way as he goes for a shot.

FWVL Alghanim Industries vs N-Dash Alghanim Industries stopped N-Dash 2516, 25-20 in their final game of the elimination round to reach the quarter-finals where they will meet Jade Bahay Management (JBM). The initial quarter saw Alghanim Industries put their best foot forward as they pulled off a number of points through #7 Russ who delivered hard spikes with excellent services from #18 Jen that caught their rivals unawares. Meanwhile, #9 Gina was in her best mood to fire some aces that their opponent failed to answer since they were quite short on defense while #8 Rose once again fired some crosses over the net along with some points from #10 Phia that saw them take the 1st set 25-16. From the other side of the bench the nurses of N-Dash failed to find any antidote for their opponent’s game although #16 Emz got a lot of points along with backing from #4 Dodie and #7 Thea and #27 Shey but they were not able to stop their rivals. N-Dash pressed hard on the accelerator in the 2nd set since they knew that they needed to win the set to level the match and push for a deciding set. Once again #4 Dodie fired some aces with #5 Dolyn and #27 Shey joining in the scoring to draw level 14-14 and then 16-16. After a technical time out was called Alghanim Industries put their minds and skills together and through some wonderful work from #01 Carmie they advanced to 2118. But N-Dash never misplaced their enthusiasm and scored another 2 points through #4 Dodie and #5 Dolyn but eventually lost 20-25. FWVL organizers announced after the draw lots for the top 4 teams that JBM will compete against Alghanim Industries while Gulf Cryo battle Pag-Ibig Gliders in the quarter-final matches. Whichever team survives in the semifinals needs to beat defending champions Al Qabandi twice in the finals since Al Qabandi remained unbeaten in the elimination rounds.

Photos by Mohammed Radwan and Iehab Qurtal

N-Dash Knights still looking good despite defeat.

Final FWVL Standings GP Al-Qabandi 7 Gulf Cryo 7 Pag-Ibig Gliders 7 Alghanim Indus. 8 JBM 7 Essel 7 N-Dash 8 Alorf Hospital 6 Baroue Princess 5

W 7 5 5 4 3 2 2 2 0

L 0 2 2 4 4 5 6 4 5

FMVL Manyaman-Barako vs Maki Manyaman-Barako once again show some real class in men’s volleyball when they overpowered the depleted defending champions Maki team in the 2nd round 2523, 25-14. The initial set saw both teams warmed up and they seemed to be on an equal level but both the teams saw a number of their services go past the courts due to their overwhelming energy. One of Maki’s finest members #5 Glenn took advantage of his height to carry out some hard spikes while #8 Gino and #3 Ella managed to hit hard from good services from #1 Ric that caught their rivals unawares and saw them take a 2-point 9-7 lead. Meanwhile, Manyaman Barako were not in the mood to be left behind and with #5 Joven and #3 Jhick in form they were soon tied 9-9. However, the six-player team — #5 Glen, #8 Gino, #2 JRM, #4 Marki, #3 Ella and #1 Ric — of the defending champions put on a good show that gave a difficult time to their rivals and resulted in another tie 14-14. Manyaman Barako broke the tie when #28 Jheric and #5 Joven fired in solid spikes that their opponents failed to counter. Meanwhile, a game plan was put in place with #3 Jhick setting the ball and #1 Lou, #7 Ghermie and #8 Jay-Jay executing the spikes that saw them go ahead 22-18.

But defending champions proved that they are not an easy opponent and collected points through aces by #5 Glen backed by spikes from #3 Ella and #8 Gino. However, Manyaman maintain the lead through #8 Jay-Jay and #3 Jhick 24-23 while an error on the other side of the bench saw them take the initial set 25-23. The 2nd set saw Manyaman-Barako were not complacent at any point. The “Small but terrible” #8 Jay-Jay once again dazzled his opponents and observers with his jump serve which his rivals had no answer. Meanwhile, the equally talented players of Manyaman joined the action in the 2nd set with #9 Abel and #10 Joseph replacing #7 Ghermie and #28 Jheric but it did not affect their group performance at any point with Joseph setting up the services and #9 Abel always in position to fire in strong spikes that caught Maki unawares. On the other hand it appeared that Maki failed to have a game plan due to the intense pressure when they fell short and handed the advantage to their opponents who stretched their lead to 17-9 at one point. Bursting with tons of energy the Manyaman Barako line-up of #3 Jhick, #7 Ghermie, #8 Jay-Jay, #5 Joven, #28 Jheric, #1 Lou, #9 Abel and #10 Joseph — although Chris was missing — proved that they are one of the prime contenders for this season title when they completed a 25-14 victory against the defending champions in the 2nd and final set of the game. Jade Garden vs N-Dash Later that day, Jade Garden overcame NDash Slashers in 2 sets 25-8, 25-23. The 1st set saw Jade Garden in their best shoes to deliver blow after blow through #9 Wilton, #14 Noynoy, #11 Jojo, #19 JM and #2 Pedro that caught their rivals unawares while N-Dash scored 2 points thru #5 Edward and #0 while the rest of the points were collected through the errors of their rivals to win the first set 25-8. In the 2nd set the depleted team of N-

Defeated Qiblers pose for a photo.

Dash Slashers came out with a game plan since they realized that they required to triumph to level 1-1 and push for a 3rd deciding set. They fought wisely through #31 Chris, #16 Araneta, #19 Larry, #5 Edward, #37 Dennis and #32 Bernardo but from the other side of the bench #2 Pedro was in full battle gear and delivered crosses over the net backed by hard spikes from #6, #3 Kenjie and #8 Ricci to lead 23-23 at one point but #19 JM appeared to be in a hurry to finish the game and knocked in the last 2 points to give his team a 25-23 victory in the 2nd and final set.

FMVL Standings Manyaman Bar. Jade Garden Maki 5 A1 Strikers N-Dash Slashers

GP 6 6 3 3 4

W 5 4 2 0 0

L 1 2 3 4

FBL Frost Real Estate vs Desert Fox Defending champions Frost Real Estate once again put on a good show against Desert Fox when they scored a 13-point victory 98-85. The initial quarter saw Frost Real Estate all warmed up when they left their opponents 10 points behind 24-14 through some fine shots from #26 Cris Paul Libre, #0 Allen Adorador, #17 Mark Tadlas and #22 Jojo Obordo while on the other side of the court #4 Branzuela found the hoops as did #16 Jun Dicierto. Desert Fox moved up a gear in the 2nd quarter through #24 who put together 13 points including one 3-point shot while on the other side of the bench #15 hand got 8 points backed by some shots from #20 Ferdie Cortez that kept Frost ahead by 7 points 41-34 at the end of the 1st half. Meanwhile, defending champions Frost Real Estate never played easy and consistently had back to back long shots from #22 Jojo Obordo, #20 Ferdie Cortez and #0

Allen Adorador while Desert Fox established a strong line of defense and tried to acquire points through #15 Larry Barrios but they stayed behind by 8 points 56-64 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The last 10 minutes of the ballgame did not provide any chance for Desert Fox to level their rivals and although a number of 3-point shots were delivered by #4 Branzuela, #16 Jun Dicierto and #24 these were not enough to equal the five long shots from #22 Jojo Obordo of Frost Real Estate who was later awarded Best Player of the Game award when the game concluded 85-98 in favor of Frost Real Estate. Awtar Libnan vs Triggers Triggers were in their best shape earlier that day when they worked hand and hand and got points through #42 Arman Gadia, #16 Aba and two 3-point shots from #11 Diosdado Rafanan while Awtar Libnan appeared to be warming up although they were able to find the hoops through back to back shooting from #28 Lizardo and #2 Go that saw Triggers finish the first quarter 2418 points. Awtar Libnan was awakened by the 6point lead of their opponents and responded with five back to back long shots from #13 Nour and #8 Policarpio that caught their rivals off guard and closed the gap to a single point by the end of the 2nd quarter 4647. Meanwhile, Triggers were triggered by the superior skills of their rivals and established a strong line of defense in the 3rd quarter, pressing hard on the accelerator moving to 71-64 through some fine shots from #5 Roy Magallanes and #77 Darwin while on the other side of the bench #13 Nour and #28 Lizardo, with good assists, from #1 Rick kept them close by. Awtar Libnan came up with a good game plan in the last 10 minutes of the ballgame when they realized that Triggers were not an easy opponent. Once again, wearing jersey

#2 Go was on the go to score numerous points along with #28 Lizardo’s excellent shots that handed them a 7- point 93-86 victory. Wearing Jersey #28 Lizardo of Awtar Libnan Restaurant team walked home with Best Player of the Game Award. Entrecote vs Qiblers In the 3rd game, Entrecote once again showed some real class when they overwhelmed Qiblers by 11 points 83-72. The 1st quarter saw that Quiblers all warmed up and gain the advantage against their opponent when they collected points through #34 Juat, #5 Labiran and a long shot from #18 Enriquez while Entrecote’s opening shot was a 3-pointer from #5 Michael Marquez and two shots from #15 Arnold Moje that saw them behind by 4 points 1115. Entrecote focused on the game and scored 31 points in the 2nd quarter through fantastic shots from #1 Kenneth Nahera 11 points, including a 3- point shot, backed by #17 Willy Lumawag and #9 Robert Madrona who put on a solid line of defense that saw the rivals score only five points for Entrecote to go ahead 42-20 at the end of the 1st half. Entrecote kept in control of the game while Qiblers fought for every point and amazed their rivals through five back to back long shots from #18 Enriquez along with some shots from #11 Villaruz that cut the deficit to 12 points 60-48 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Meanwhile, Entrecote stayed focused since they recognized the skills of their rivals. They were able to maintain the momentum to win the game 83-72. Entrecote #1 Kenneth Nahera was awarded Best Player of the Game. Papa Johns vs N-Dash Papa John’s beat, after leading N-Dash from the start to the finish, by 14 points 7460. In the initial quarter Papa John’s scored 15 points through #14 Bautista Johan, #22 Arnold Lumarlan and #4 Alfredo Ceballos while N-Dash collected points through #6 Jr Palma and #15 Chorex Subo as the quarter ended 15-11. N-Dash team tried to find an answer to their opponents overwhelming energy but it appeared that their effort failed to bear fruit when Papa John’s switched to a higher level and fired back to back long shots through #11 Jayson Magallanes and #8 Ronnie Gallano that kept them ahead by 13 points 35-23 by the end of the 1st half. Papa John’s were never complacent at any point since they were aware that their rivals would try to level with them and it was not very long before #77 Brix Victoria of N-Dash displayed his muscle through free throw shots while once again one of Papa John’s finest members #4 Alfredo Ceballos scored some fine shots that kept his team with a 9-point advantage 49-40 at the end of the 3rd quarter. It appeared that Papa John’s built up a lot of confidence in the last 10 minutes of the ballgame while N-Dash never lost hope and tried as much as they could to win but it was not their day as their opponents accomplished a 14-point victory 74-60. Papa John’s Best Player of the Game was #4 Alfredo Ceballos.

FBL Standings GP W L Awtar Libnan Rest. 9 7 2 Papa John’s 9 5 4 Entrecote 9 5 4 Frost Real Estate 4 4 0 Habchi & Chalhoub 5 4 1 Qiblers 7 4 3 Triggers 6 3 3 Shrimpy 8 3 5 Fiftyniners 3 2 1 Desert Fox 9 2 7 Dash Knights 6 1 5 Al-Razi 5 0 5 All the Best Player of the Game award winners are being given P200, courtesy of Caroll Ong from Metrobank and a 50 percent discount on sea freight from Abu Omar Al Shaheen of Western Express Cargo.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

SPORTS

43

Harrington lies 2nd after carding 69

Woods one ahead after untidy finish at Tour Championship ATLANTA, Sept 26, (RTRS): Tiger Woods wasted a chance to take a commanding lead in the Tour Championship with an untidy finish to Friday’s second round, ending a sunsplashed day just one stroke ahead of the chasing pack. The world number one lipped out with short putts at the 15th and 16th before bogeying the par-three last for a two-underpar 68 at East Lake Golf Club. That left Woods on five-under 135 in the PGA Tour’s fourth and final FedExCup playWoods off event, a stroke in front of playing partner Padraig Harrington (69) and overnight leader Sean O’Hair (70) of the US. South African Ernie Els, boosted by four birdies in five holes from the eighth, was alone in fourth place at three under after a 66. “The day as a whole was a good day,” Woods told reporters after putting himself in position to clinch the FedExCup for a second time, along with a $10 million bonus. “I shot under par and I got myself in the lead. But it was a day in which I hit the ball very well starting out, didn’t make any putts and hit everything on the high side. “Then the back nine I hit some scratchy shots but also hit some really good ones too,”

Tour Championship second round scores Second round scores from the Tour Championship at the par-70 course at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday: 135 Tiger Woods (US) 67 68 136 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 67 69 Sean O’Hair (US) 66 70 137 Ernie Els (South Africa) 71 66 138 Kenny Perry (US) 72 66 Jerry Kelly (US) 71 67 139 Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 72 67 Jason Dufner (US) 71 68

added the American, who is hunting his seventh tour victory of the season. “I had an opportunity at 15 and 16 to make a couple of putts, didn’t do it, but made a good save at 17 and unfortunately just made a four at 18.”

GOLF Woods, champion here in 2007, produced a sizzling three-birdie run from the seventh to go one shot clear. He then struck a superb five-wood uphill from 247 yards at the par-five 15th to four feet but lipped out with his eagle putt. The tap-in birdie put him two ahead of the field. Another brilliant approach followed at the 16th, his ball ending up less than four feet

140

141

Nick Watney (US) Lucas Glover (US) Stewart Cink (US) David Toms (US) Phil Mickelson (US) Jim Furyk (US) John Senden (Australia) Steve Marino (US) Heath Slocum (US) Scott Verplank (US) Luke Donald (Britain)

70 68 67 74 73 72 70 69 73 70 70

69 71 72 66 67 68 70 71 68 71 71

from the pin, but Woods again surprisingly lipped out and had to settle for a par four. “Fifteen was okay, that’s fine, that happens,” he said. “It was a strange putt in the sense the grain was left to right ... and the slope was right to left. But 16 was just a bad putt.” After parring 17 despite finding a fairway bunker off the tee, Woods overshot the green at the last and failed to reach the putting surface with his chip from tangly rough. Harrington, yet to win this season on either the PGA or European tours, relished playing with Woods for the eighth time this year. “We had a great day out there,” the Irishman said after a round featuring three birdies and two bogeys. “We enjoyed it. “It’s where you want to be. If you’re playing with Tiger, you’re going to be generally there or thereabouts with a chance to win the

142 143 144

146 148

Retief Goosen (South Africa) Steve Stricker (US) Zach Johnson (US) Kevin Na (US) Dustin Johnson (US) Brian Gay (US) Mike Weir (Canada) Hunter Mahan (US) Marc Leishman (Australia) Yang Yong-Eun (South Korea) Geoff Ogilvy (Australia)

69 70 70 73 69 72 72 71 70 71 75

72 72 72 70 74 72 72 73 74 75 73

tournament. “I’m in good position as regards the tournament, probably not the best position as regards the FedExCup. It’s a little bit out of my control.” Harrington lies sixth in the points standings and would clinch the FedExCup if he won the Tour Championship and top-ranked Woods finished no higher than third on Sunday. Els, chasing his first title this year, was delighted to equal the lowest score of the week. “I played nice,” the 39-year-old said after totalling just 26 putts on rock-hard greens. “I played good yesterday but today I made some putts. I might have a chance on Sunday.” Tee times have been pushed forward by more than three hours for Saturday’s third round with heavy rainfall forecast for the afternoon.

Britain, Ireland poised for five wins ‘in a row’ at Seve Trophy Stoke City’s Glenn Whelan (left), battles for the ball with Manchester United’s Dimitar Berbatov during their English Premier League soccer match at the Britannia stadium, Stoke, England, Sept 26. (AP)

Continental Europe heading for defeat VERSAILLES, France, Sept 26, (RTRS): Britain and Ireland are on the brink of their fifth successive Seve Trophy victory after storming into a 12 1/2 - 5 1/2 lead over Continental Europe on Saturday. A 3-1 greensomes success in the morning was followed by a 3 1/2 - 1/2 triumph in the afternoon foursomes. Captain Paul McGinley’s team now need only two points in

Sunday’s singles matches to secure the win in the biennial team event. “They (the continentals) are a wounded animal and could be dangerous tomorrow,” McGinley told reporters. “They are capable of shooting low numbers and a couple of early wins can cause a ripple effect and put pressure on the guys lower down.” McGinley said Anthony Wall (shoulder injury) had a “50-50” chance of playing on Sunday. If the Englishman is unfit one of the continentals will also drop out and one point will be shared. Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell put the first afternoon point on the board by squeezing out the two Danish Sorens, Hansen and Kjeldsen, 2 & 1. The result looked a formality when the Ulstermen went four up after 12. However, a battling comeback by the Danes left McIlroy and McDowell needing to show some grit to earn their third point of the week. A birdie on 15 and an eagle on 16 was followed by a spectacular approach to less than a foot on 17 by Hansen. McIlroy, though, showed the class that has taken him to third on the European money-list by hitting to five feet before McDowell holed out. Englishman Chris Wood secured his fourth point of the week, the only player to do so, when he and compatriot Ross Fisher

GOLF

Member of the Great Britain and Ireland gold team Rory Mcllroy of Northern Ireland watches his ball after teeing off at the 13th hole, on the third day of the Vivendi Trophy in Saint Nom La Breteche, West of Paris, Sept 26. The Vivendi Trophy opposes ten players from Continental Europe to ten players of Great Britain and Ireland. (AP)

Seve Trophy Scores Scores after Saturday’s matches from the Seve Trophy between Continental Europe and Britain & Ireland in Versailles, France (Continental Europe names first). Britain & Ireland lead Continental Europe 12.5 - 5.5

Greensomes Match One Henrik Stenson (Sweden) & Peter Hanson (Sweden) v Rory McIlroy & Graeme McDowell. Match Two Robert Karlsson (Sweden) & Gonzalo

Fernandez-Castano (Spain) v Robert Rock & Nick Dougherty. Match Three Anders Hansen (Denmark) & Francesco Molinari (Italy) v Ross Fisher & Chris Wood, Match Four Miguel-Angel Jimenez (Spain) & Alvaro Quiros (Spain) v Simon Dyson & Oliver Wilson.

Foursomes Match One Soren Hansen (Denmark) & Soren

Kjeldsen (Denmark) v Rory McIlroy & Graeme McDowell. Match Two Henrik Stenson (Sweden) & Peter Hanson (Sweden) v Nick Dougherty & Steve Webster. Match Three Anders Hansen (Denmark) & Francesco Molinari (Italy) v Ross Fisher & Chris Wood. Match Four Miguel-Angel Jimenez (Spain) & Alvaro Quiros (Spain) v Robert Rock & Oliver Wilson.

beat Denmark’s Anders Hansen and Italian Francesco Molinari 3 & 2. Swedes Henrik Stenson and Peter Hanson fought back from four down with six to play to halve their match with England’s Nick Dougherty and Steve Webster. World number five Stenson holed from 30-foot on the 17th and 25-foot on the last for birdies. A tense finale between English duo Robert Rock and Oliver Wilson and Spaniards Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alvaro Quiros was only decided with parthrees on the 18th as the Britain and Ireland pair held on to their one-hole advantage. Skipper Thomas Bjorn said his Continental Europe players had been affected by a ruling in the morning greensomes. Fisher and Wood received a free drop on the 18th in their one-hole win over Anders Hansen and Molinari which even McGinley called an “outrageous” piece of good fortune. “When a ball is in a bush and they get a drop 15 feet from the hole it hurts,” said Bjorn. “Anders and Francesco were still down about it when they went out in the afternoon. “It’s a massive task to turn this deficit around. I’ve told my team they are playing for their pride tomorrow.”

Three tied for second

Gustafson maintains lead at LPGA event DANVILLE, California, Sept 26, (AFP): Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson fired a threeunder 69 to maintain her slim lead after Friday’s second round of the LPGA’s CVS Challenge. Gustafson moved to 10-under 134 total for a one-stroke lead over China’s Feng Shanshan, Sweden’s Maria Hjorth and world

GOLF number one Lorena Ochoa of Mexico. “I’m playing good so that obviously helps a lot,” Gustafson said. “The irons and driving, but the putting is not good.” Gustafson is seeking her first win since the 2003 Samsung World Championship.

She has runner-up finishes in each of the past five years but no victories. Starting the day with a two-shot lead, Gustafson seized sole possession of the lead Friday on par-four No. 17. She reached the green off the tee then two putted for a birdie. Gustafson says she is surprised to be leading the tournament despite some poor putting. “I’m playing good so that obviously helps a lot.” she said. “The irons and driving, but the putting is not good.” Feng rolled in six birdies, including on holes No. 17 and 18, en route to a five under 67. Feng said she didn’t settle into her round after a bogey on the 12th hole.

“At the beginning of the day, I was a little bit nervous, because I have not played that well on the first day in a long time,” Feng said. “I was just a little bit nervous so I missed a little par putt on the 12th hole. After I missed that par putt I just relaxed and tried to make some birdie putts. So, it ends up good.” Feng said the setup at the Blackhawk Country Club course suits her style of play. “I know the course pretty well,” Feng said. “I think we are not playing too long this time, and I’m kind of like a long player. “So, on all of the par-5s, I have chances of getting it on the green in two. So, it’s easy to make birdies or eagles.”

Member of the Great Britain and Ireland golf team Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland watches his ball after teeing off at the 13th hole, on the third day of the Vivendi Trophy in Saint Nom La Breteche, West of Paris, Sept 26. The Vivendi Trophy opposes ten players from Continental Europe to ten players of Great Britain and Ireland. (AP)

British Soccer Results/Standings Results Saturday in English soccer (home teams listed first): Premier League Portsmouth 0 Everton 1 Birmingham 1 Bolton 2 Blackburn 2 Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 6 Hull 1 Stoke 0 Man United 2 Tottenham 5 Burnley 0 Wigan 3 Chelsea 1 Fulham 0 Arsenal 1 League Championship Blackpool 2 Peterborough 0 Coventry 2 Middlesbrough 2 Derby 1 Bristol City 0 Leicester 1 Preston 2 Queens Park 5 Barnsley 2 Reading 1 Watford 1 Scunthorpe 2 Doncaster 2 Sheffield Wed 3 Cardiff 1 Swansea 2 Sheffield United 1 West Brom Albion 0 Crystal Palace 1 Ipswich 0 Newcastle 4 League One Bristol Rovers 1 Brighton 1 Carlisle 1 Southampton 1 Charlton 2 Exeter 1 Gillingham 1 Norwich 1 Hartlepool 3 Walsall 0 Huddersfield 0 Stockport 0 Leyton Orient 1 Millwall 0 MK Dons 0 Leeds United 1 Southend 0 Oldham 1 Swindon 1 Wycombe 1 Tranmere 1 Colchester 1 Yeovil 2 Brentford 0 League Two Aldershot 4 Cheltenham 1 Bournemouth 1 Burton Albion 0 Bradford 3 Chesterfield 0 Bury 2 Lincoln 0 Dag & Red 1 Morecambe 1 Grimsby 1 Darlington 1 Macclesfield 2 Torquay 1 Notts County 3 Port Vale 1 Rochdale 4 Hereford 1 Rotherham 3 Barnet 0 Shrewsbury 3 Northampton 0 Results Saturday in Scottish football (home teams listed first): Premier League Falkirk 0 Kilmarnock 0 Hearts 2 Hamilton 1 Motherwell 1 Hibernian 3 Rangers 0 Aberdeen 0 St. Johnstone 2 Dundee United 3 St. Mirren 0 Celtic 2 Division One Ayr 1 Raith 0 Dundee 2 Ross County 0 Dunfermline 1 Queen of South 4 Inverness CT 2 Partick Thistle 3 Morton 1 Airdrie 0 Division Two Alloa 0 Arbroath 1 Brechin 1 Stenhousemuir 0 Cowdenbeath 1 Stirling 2 East Fife 1 Clyde 0 Peterhead 1 Dumbarton 2 Division Three Annan Athletic 0 Albion 0 Berwick 2 Montrose 0 East Stirling 1 Stranraer 1 Forfar 3 Elgin 3 Livingston 2 Queens Park 1 Standings English football league standings after Saturday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Premier League GP W D L GF GA Pts Manchester United 7 6 0 1 17 6 18 Chelsea 7 6 0 1 16 6 18 Liverpool 7 5 0 2 22 10 15 Tottenham 7 5 0 2 17 10 15 Arsenal 6 4 0 2 18 8 12 Manchester City 5 4 0 1 11 6 12 Aston Villa 6 4 0 2 9 5 12 Sunderland 6 3 0 3 9 9 9 Everton 6 3 0 3 8 10 9 Wigan 7 3 0 4 7 13 9 Burnley 7 3 0 4 5 15 9 Stoke 6 2 2 3 5 9 8 Bolton 6 2 1 3 8 9 7 Birmingham 7 2 1 4 4 6 7 Blackburn 6 2 1 3 6 9 7 Wolverhampton 6 2 1 3 5 8 7 Fulham 6 2 0 4 4 8 6 West Ham 5 1 1 3 5 6 4 Hull 7 1 1 5 6 19 4 Portsmouth 7 0 0 7 3 13 0 Championship Newcastle 9 7 1 1 17 4 22 West Bromwich 9 6 2 1 20 8 20 Preston 9 5 3 1 17 10 18 Middlesbrough 9 5 2 2 16 11 17 Blackpool 9 4 4 1 13 7 16 Sheffield United 9 4 3 2 15 11 15 Watford 9 3 5 1 14 12 14 QPR 8 3 4 1 12 7 13 Cardiff 9 4 1 4 13 10 13 Leicester 9 3 4 2 11 10 13

Bristol City 9 3 4 2 8 9 13 Sheffield Wednesday 9 3 3 3 17 13 12 Coventry 9 3 3 3 12 13 12 Crystal Palace 8 3 2 3 7 10 11 Scunthorpe 9 3 2 4 13 17 11 Derby 9 3 1 5 11 13 10 Swansea 9 2 4 3 5 9 10 Doncaster 9 1 6 2 10 12 9 Nottingham Forest 8 1 4 3 8 11 7 Peterborough 9 1 4 4 10 15 7 Reading 9 1 4 4 7 12 7 Barnsley 9 1 2 6 8 19 5 Ipswich 9 0 4 5 8 19 4 Plymouth 8 0 2 6 7 17 2 League One Leeds 9 8 1 0 17 4 25 Charlton 9 7 2 0 20 7 23 Bristol Rovers 9 6 1 2 14 7 19 Milton Keynes Dons 9 5 2 2 10 7 17 Colchester 9 4 3 2 17 9 15 Huddersfield 9 4 3 2 18 11 15 Swindon 9 3 5 1 9 11 14 Oldham 9 3 3 3 8 10 12 Gillingham 9 3 2 4 15 12 11 Southend 9 2 5 2 12 10 11 Hartlepool 9 3 2 4 9 9 11 Millwall 9 2 4 3 7 8 10 Stockport 9 2 4 3 10 12 10 Norwich 9 2 4 3 14 17 10 Brentford 9 2 4 3 8 11 10 Walsall 9 2 4 3 8 12 10 Yeovil 9 2 3 4 12 13 9 Carlisle 9 2 3 4 9 12 9 Leyton Orient 9 2 3 4 12 16 9 Exeter 9 2 3 4 9 13 9 Brighton 9 2 3 4 10 17 9 Wycombe 9 1 3 5 9 15 6 Tranmere 9 1 1 7 8 21 4 Southampton 9 1 6 2 8 9 -1 Note: Southampton deducted 10 points for entering administration League Two Bournemouth 9 8 0 1 14 4 24 D&R 9 6 2 1 20 10 20 Rotherham 9 6 2 1 15 6 20 Aldershot 9 5 2 2 17 10 17 Rochdale 9 5 2 2 17 10 17 Shrewsbury 9 5 2 2 17 12 17 Notts County 9 5 1 3 23 9 16 Barnet 9 4 3 2 12 10 15 Bradford 9 4 3 2 15 15 15 Cheltenham 9 3 4 2 13 14 13 Crewe 9 4 0 5 13 13 12 Accrington Stanley 9 4 0 5 12 16 12 Bury 9 4 0 5 7 11 12 Burton Albion 9 3 2 4 13 13 11 Chesterfield 9 3 2 4 11 14 11 Port Vale 9 2 4 3 10 10 10 Grimsby 9 3 1 5 8 15 10 Morecambe 9 1 6 2 13 17 9 Lincoln City 9 3 0 6 7 13 9 Macclesfield 9 2 3 4 10 17 9 Hereford 9 1 4 4 11 16 7 Northampton 9 2 1 6 11 17 7 Torquay 9 2 0 7 10 16 6 Darlington 9 0 2 7 4 15 2 Standings in Scottish football after Saturday’s games: Premier League Celtic 6 5 1 0 14 5 16 Rangers 6 3 3 0 10 3 12 Hibernian 6 4 0 2 11 6 12 Dundee United 6 3 2 1 8 5 11 Aberdeen 6 2 3 1 5 3 9 Motherwell 6 2 3 1 7 6 9 Hearts 6 2 1 3 7 9 7 Kilmarnock 6 1 2 3 5 6 5 St Mirren 6 1 2 3 4 7 5 Hamilton 6 1 1 4 4 12 4 Falkirk 6 0 3 3 3 9 3 St Johnstone 6 0 3 3 9 16 3 First Division Queen of the South 7 4 2 1 13 6 14 Ross County 7 4 1 2 10 8 13 Partick 7 3 3 1 12 5 12 Raith 7 3 3 1 10 5 12 Dundee 7 3 3 1 9 7 12 Inverness 7 2 3 2 10 9 9 Ayr 7 1 3 3 4 8 6 Dunfermline 7 2 0 5 5 10 6 Morton 7 2 0 5 3 14 6 Airdrie 7 0 4 3 5 9 4 Second Division Stirling Albion 7 5 1 1 9 3 16 Alloa 7 4 1 2 7 4 13 Brechin 7 4 0 3 11 7 12 Stenhousemuir 7 2 4 1 7 4 10 East Fife 7 2 4 1 7 7 10 Arbroath 7 3 1 3 8 11 10 Cowdenbeath 7 2 2 3 9 9 8 Peterhead 7 2 2 3 8 8 8 Dumbarton 7 1 2 4 8 16 5 Clyde 7 1 1 5 4 9 4 Third Division Berwick 7 5 1 1 11 6 16 Forfar 7 3 3 1 14 9 12 Livingston 6 4 0 2 10 5 12 East Stirling Albion 6 3 2 1 8 7 11 Albion Rovers 6 2 4 0 5 3 10 Stranraer 7 2 2 3 6 7 8 Annan Athletic 7 1 3 3 3 6 6 Elgin 7 0 5 2 11 13 5 Queens Park 6 1 2 3 4 6 5 Montrose 7 0 2 5 2 12 2

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

SPORTS

44

Wang rallies past Hirose

Hidayat to face Bao in Japan Open final TOKYO, Sept 26, (AFP): Athens Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat put an end to fellow Indonesian Simon Santoso’s giantkilling run Saturday to set up a final against China’s Bao Chunlai in the Japan Open badminton tournament. Hidayat, who had to save two match points against South Korea’s Park SungHwan Friday, was stretched again before scoring 13-21, 21-12, 21-18 in the allIndonesian men’s singles semifinals. Earlier, Santoso eliminated world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and his teammate and defending champion Soni Dwi Kuncoro on his way to the semifinals. Unseeded Bao, the winner over two-time Japan champion Peter Gade of Denmark on Friday, coasted to a straightforward 21-15, 21-16 victory over eighth seed Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam. “I don’t like to play my teammate, but I could not reach the final unless I beat him, so I really wanted to win,” said Hidayat, who reached the final here in 2006 and 2007, losing to Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei. “I reached the final twice and I couldn’t win. I really want to win the title tomorrow. It’s a big chance for me (to bury my jinx). “I think Lin Dan is the best player in the

world, better than Bao Chunlai and Lee Chong Wei. But Bao also defeated Peter this week, so I think he is in his top form,” added Hidayat. Bao, who also reached the final in 2004 here, said he was forced to miss the first half of the season because of injuries and still needs to get used to the competition. “It was difficult, because he (Nguyen) ran around really well, especially... in the second game. I just tried to keep my rhythm in the first game. He is a tough player,” said Bao. In the women’s Wang section, defending champion Wang Yihan came back from behind to beat Japan’s Eriko Hirose 18-21, 21-12, 21-9 to set up an all-Chinese final against Wang Xin. Wang Xin, ranked 72nd in the world, became the only qualifier to reach the final after beating fellow Chinese and world number two Wang Lin 21-15, 21-17. “I thought nothing but to play my best before the match,” said Wang Xin, who avenged her loss to her teammate in the

China Masters semifinals to draw even 1-1 in their record. “I joined the national team in February. Last year, I never expected to join. For me, I will just try to do my 100 percent (against Wang Yihan) tomorrow.” Wang Yihan, this year’s All England champion, said she did not know how Hirose would play, despite defeating the Japanese here last year.

BADMINTON “After I lost the first game, I thought about my play, about what I needed to do, and hit some effective drops in the second and third games. That worked pretty well,” said Wang Yihan. Results here on Saturday from the $200,000 Japan Open badminton tournament (x denotes seeds): Men’s singles semifinals Taufik Hidayat (INA x4) bt Simon Santoso (INA) 13-21, 21-12, 21-18 Bao Chunlai (CHN) bt Tien Minh Nguyen (VIE x8) 21-15, 21-16 Women’s singles semifinals Wang Yihan (CHN x4) bt Eriko Hirose (JPN) 18-21, 21-12, 21-9 Wang Xin (CHN) bt Wang Lin (CHN x2) 21-15, 21-17

Guderzo strikes gold, gives Italian men a huge ‘boost’ Vos takes silver Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia returns the shuttlecock against his compatriot Simon Santoso during their men’s singles semifinal match in the Japan Open Badminton Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Sept 26. (AP)

MENDRISIO, Switzerland, Sept 26, (AFP): Italy’s Tatiana Guderzo made up for near misses at world and Olympic level by winning the women’s road race crown here at the world cycling championships on Saturday. Dutchwoman Marianna Vos finished second to take the silver while another Italian, Noemi Cantele, took the bronze after they came over the finish line of the 124.2km race 19secs in arrears. Guderzo, 25, finished second behind Judith Arndt at the worlds back in 2004 and also won bronze in the road race at the Beijing Olympics last year.

CYCLING

WBC light-heavyweight champion Jean Pascal, from Montreal, knocks down Silvio Branco, from Italy, during the fourth round of their title fight on Sept 25, in Montreal. (AP)

Pascal stops Branco to defend WBC crown Canada’s Jean Pascal retained his World Boxing Council light heavyweight belt Friday by stopping Silvio Branco in the 10th round of their title fight on Friday. Pascal (24-1) sent the Italian to the canvas once in the seventh round and two more times in the final round. The lopsided fight was halted when Branco’s corner

threw in the towel at the Bell Centre arena. “I know I said I wanted an early knockout, but the fight went exactly to plan,” Pascal told the Montreal Gazette. “The real plan was to use the early rounds to find my range and then once I felt comfortable to start moving in. “It went exactly like. I always knew the

end would come in the ninth or 10th round.” The 26-year-old Pascal is hoping this win leads to a rematch with Adrian Diaconu. Pascal won the title in June with a 12-round win over Diaconu (26-1). The 43-year-old Branco (59-10-2) suffered a cut near his right eye in the third round. (AFP)

Cancellara eyes double

Valverde facing tough road to worlds win MENDRISIO, Sept 26, (AFP): Alejandro Valverde will find out on Sunday whether his recent Tour of Spain triumph costs him the chance to finally be crowned world champion. The Spaniard begins the blue riband event of the world road race championships, a 262.2km race around Mendrisio near the Italian border, among the big favourites for cycling’s prestigious rainbow jersey.

CYCLING But despite having two runner-up and one third place finishes in the past five years, he still has a fight on his hands if he is to succeed Italian Alessandro Ballan. Controversially prevented from racing the 2009 Tour de France by the Italian authorities, who handed him a two-year ban for suspected doping — the Tour rolled through Italy in July — Valverde turned his attentions to the Tour of Spain, known as the Vuelta. He did not win a stage, but did enough to top the overall standings last Sunday to claim his first ever victory in a major threeweek Tour. Some of his world championship rivals, such as Italian Damiano Cunego, simply

used the Vuelta as a training exercise for Sunday’s race. Others, like two-time Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans, who finished third overall in Spain, hinted that Valverde’s efforts to hold on to the Vuelta’s gold jersey may cost him in the end. Citing Cunego, Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck and Belgian Philippe Gilbert as his biggest rivals, Evans added: “Valverde too, if he bounces back all right.” One rider all of the above cannot fail to ignore is Spaniard Samuel Sanchez. He took advantage of the tight marking of Valverde in Beijing last year to win the Olympic title and has form after finishing runner-up to his Spain teammate last Sunday. “Sanchez will be a big threat, just as much as Valverde,” warned Italy’s team coach Franco Ballerini. This year’s course is more difficult from the one which allowed Ballan to race solo to victory last year in nearby Varese, Italy. A 13.8km circuit will be raced 19 times and climb an impressive total of 4655 metres. On paper it suits the ‘punchers’ who excel in Europe’s tough, hilly one-day classics - Valverde and Cunego being excellent examples. But that is no obstacle to Swiss time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara, or a few out-

siders who could seize their chance by joining an opportunistic breakaway. Olympic time trial champion Cancellara, who also claimed bronze in the road race in Beijing behind Italy’s Davide Rebellin, secured a record-equalling third time trial gold on Thursday. He now believes he can become the first winner of the elite men’s time trial and road race golds at the same championships. “I dream of doing the double,” he said Thursday. “I said during the Vuelta that I think I can do it. I have the motivation, the determination, and the confidence.” No eyebrows would be raised either if Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen, Australian Simon Gerrans or Belgian ace Gilbert pulled off an upset. Hagen has been one of the revelations of the season, and despite a poor showing in the time trial arrives in good form having won the Tour of Britain last week. Gilbert admitted Friday he would not be launching any of his trademark solo breakaways, which so often end with him finishing without the win. Supported by, among others 2005 champion Tom Boonen, the French-speaking Belgian said: “I won’t be launching any crazy attacks from far out. I want to play more of a waiting game.”

As well as making amends for those results, her first world road race title at elite level will give the Italian men a huge boost ahead of their road race, the blue riband event which closes the championships on Sunday. Guderzo and Cantele had the advantage of both being at the forefront on the crucial final laps of the 13.8km circuit which, being raced nine times, featured two climbs, the Acquafresca after 4km and the Novazzano 2.6km from the finish. And that gave Vos and a few other contenders whose teammates had been dropped a tactical mountain to climb. “In the last lap there were four of us near the front and two Italians,” said Vos, who has now finished runner-up in the three years since winning the title as a 19-year-old in 2006. “I knew it would be difficult, and that they would attack one after the other.” At the bell signalling the ninth and final lap Denmark’s Linda Villumsen, a bronze medal winner in the time trial earlier in the week, led a group of around 13 riders over the line with a four-second advantage. But early on the final ascent of the Acquafresca, the Italians struck. Guderzo pulled ahead early on the climb, forcing Vos and

Italy’s Tatiana Guderzo reacts as she crosses the finish line to take the gold medal in the Women’s race, at the UCI road cycling World Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland, Sept 26. (AP)

Australia urges teen to abandon bid SYDNEY, Sept 26, (AFP): Australian authorities Saturday urged a teenager to abandon her bid to become the youngest solo round-the-world sailor, after investigators blamed her for a collision with a cargo ship.

SAILING Jessica Watson, 16, was less than 24 hours into a test sail between Queensland state and Sydney when she hit a 63,000tonne freighter in a busy shipping lane on September 9. Her pink yacht’s mast was snapped and its rigging and hull damaged, but Watson vowed the accident would not stop her bid to become the youngest person to sail nonstop around the world, solo and unassisted.

France’s Romain Sicard reacts as he wins the Men’s Under 23 race, at the UCI road cycling World Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland, Sept 26. (AP)

American Kristin Armstrong to pursue but with Cantele keeping close on their wheels. Once Vos and Armstrong had used precious energy on the climb and caught Guderzo, the Italian put in a more powerful acceleration that allowed her to pull away and leave her rivals in her wake. She never looked back, and with Cantele sitting back keeping an eye on Vos and Armstrong for counter-attacks the pair were

But acting Queensland premier Paul Lucas said an investigation into the crash had concluded she was not properly prepared to attempt the dangerous voyage, and urged her to reconsider. “I am concerned she has not prepared adequately for this journey,” Lucas said. Lucas said Maritime Safety Queensland investigators had concluded Watson had most likely “dozed off” before the crash and failed to turn on a collision warning beacon. She had been unable to produce a clear, plotted plan for her journey, had not developed a fatigue management plan and kept a log with “irregular latitude and longitude entries”, investigators found. “This is a very, very serious matter and I appeal to Jessica and her parents to have a very good think about whether she is in fact ready to do this,” said Lucas.

in a no-win situation. With barely three kilometres remaining after the summit of Novazzano, Guderzo held a 21sec lead on the chase group. She came over the finish to give Italy their first gold in the event since Marta Bastianelli won in 2007. “It’s a dream comne true,” said Guderzo, who picks up her first victory since winning the national title in June 2008. “Our plan was to get to the

final lap together and whoever was the weakest would work for the stronger rider. “But the entire team were great. They helped control the race from the first laps.” Vos easily beat Cantele in the race for second, with time trial champion Armstrong finishing fourth in what was her final race as a professional. Defending champion Nicole Cooke of Britain pulled out just after the halfway stage.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

SPORTS

45

Blue Jays blank Mariners 5-0

Yankees, Rodriguez bruise Lester and Red Sox MLB Scoreboard NEW YORK, Sept 26, (Agencies): Major League Baseball results on Friday. NY Yankees 9 Boston 5 Cleveland 4 Baltimore 2 Atlanta 4 Washington 1 Pittsburgh 3 LA Dodgers 1 Toronto 5 Seattle 0 NY Mets 6 Florida 5 Texas 8 Tampa Bay 3 Cincinnati 10 Houston 4 Milwaukee 8 Philadelphia 4 Minnesota 9 Kansas City 4 Colorado 2 St. Louis 1 Chicago White Sox 2 Detroit 0 San Diego 4 Arizona 0 Oakland 3 LA Angels 0 Chicago Cubs 3 San Francisco 0 Standings American League Eastern Division W L PCT GB NY Yankees 98 56 .636 Boston 91 62 .595 6-1/2 Tampa Bay 78 75 .510 19-1/2 Toronto 70 84 .455 28 Baltimore 60 93 .392 37-1/2 Central Division Detroit 82 71 .536 Minnesota 80 73 .523 2 Chicago White Sox 74 80 .481 8-1/2 Kansas City 63 91 .409 19-1/2 Cleveland 62 91 .405 20 Western Division LA Angels 90 63 .588 Texas 84 69 .549 6 Seattle 80 74 .519 10-1/2 Oakland 74 80 .481 16-1/2 National League Eastern Division Philadelphia 89 64 .582 Atlanta 83 70 .542 6 Florida 82 72 .532 7-1/2 NY Mets 66 88 .429 23-1/2 Washington 52 101 .340 37 Central Division St. Louis 89 65 .578 Chicago Cubs 80 73 .523 8-1/2 Milwaukee 76 78 .494 13 Cincinnati 73 81 .474 16 Houston 71 82 .464 17-1/2 Pittsburgh 57 95 .375 31 Western Division LA Dodgers 92 62 .597 Colorado 87 67 .565 5 San Francisco 82 72 .532 10 San Diego 72 83 .465 20-1/2 Arizona 66 88 .429 26 Linescores Friday’s Major League Linescores American League Baltimore 010 001 000-2 10 1 Cleveland 000 030 01x-4 8 0 Da.Hernandez, A.Castillo (7), Albers (8) and Wieters; Carmona, Sipp (7), Veras (8), K.Wood (9) and Marson. W-Carmona 4-12. LDa.Hernandez 4-9. Sv-K.Wood (20). HRsBaltimore, Markakis (17). Cleveland, Valbuena (9). Boston 000 102 020-5 8 0 New York 104 102 10x-9 14 1 Lester, H.Jones (3), Bowden (4), Delcarmen (6), R.Ramirez (8) and Varitek; Chamberlain, Aceves (7), Albaladejo (8), D.Marte (8), P.Hughes (8), Coke (9) and Posada, J.Molina. W-Chamberlain 9-6. L-Lester 14-8. HRsBoston, V.Martinez (22), D.Ortiz (27). New York, A.Rodriguez (28). Seattle 000 000 000-0 7 0 Toronto 000 002 21x-5 9 0 Fister, Jakubauskas (7), C.Silva (8) and Johjima; Halladay and Barajas. W-Halladay 16-10. L-Fister 2-4. HRs-Toronto, A.Hill (34). Tampa Bay 003 000 000-3 6 0 Texas 210 110 03x-8 8 1 J.Shields, Balfour (8) and Navarro; Holland, N.Feliz (6), O’Day (7), C.Wilson (8), F.Francisco (9) and I.Rodriguez. W-Holland 812. L-J.Shields 10-12. HRs-Tampa Bay, Kapler (7). Texas, C.Davis (20), Kinsler (30). Minnesota 001 140 201-9 9 1 Kansas City 001 030 000-4 11 2 Pavano, Mahay (7), Rauch (8), Mijares (8), Guerrier (9) and Mauer; Tejeda, J.Cruz (5), R.Colon (7), Rosa (8), V.Marte (9) and J.Buck. W-Pavano 13-11. L-Tejeda 4-2. HRsMinnesota, Cuddyer (30), Delm.Young (9). Kansas City, B.Butler 2 (21). Detroit 000 000 000-0 6 1 Chicago 000 002 00x-2 2 0 Bonine, Perry (7), Ni (8), Fien (8) and Avila; Peavy, Williams (8), Dotel (8), Thornton (9) and Pierzynski. W-Peavy 2-0. L-Bonine 0-1. SvThornton (2). HRs-Chicago, Beckham (14). Oakland 000 011 100-3 11 2 Los Angeles 000 000 000-0 5 2 G.Gonzalez, Wuertz (7), A.Bailey (9) and K.Suzuki; Jer.Weaver, Bulger (7), T.Bell (8), Arredondo (9) and J.Mathis, Bo.Wilson. WG.Gonzalez 6-6. L-Jer.Weaver 15-8. SvA.Bailey (26). National League Atlanta 200 000 011-4 9 1 Washington 000 000 010-1 3 2 J.Vazquez and McCann; Lannan, Bergmann (8), Villone (8), S.Rivera (9) and J.Bard. W-J.Vazquez 15-9. L-Lannan 9-13. HRs-Atlanta, Prado (11). Washington, J.Bard (6). Los Angeles 010 000 000-1 7 2 Pittsburgh 102 000 00x-3 7 0 Garland, Ja.McDonald (7), Elbert (8), Belisario (8) and Ausmus; Karstens, Veal (4), S.Jackson (6), J.Chavez (7), Capps (9) and Doumit. W-Veal 1-0. L-Garland 11-12. SvCapps (26). New York 030 000 012-6 8 1 Florida 000 030 200-5 8 2 Redding, Feliciano (7), S.Green (7), Takahashi (7), Parnell (8), Fr.Rodriguez (9) and Thole, Schneider; Nolasco, Donnelly (8), L.Nunez (9) and Jo.Baker, R.Paulino. WParnell 4-8. L-L.Nunez 4-6. Sv-Fr.Rodriguez (34). HRs-New York, Francoeur (13). Florida, Ha.Ramirez (24). Cincinnati 151 012 000-10 17 1 Houston 010 000 120- 4 9 2 Maloney, Viola (8), R.Ramirez (8), Burton (9) and Hanigan, Tatum; Moehler, W.Wright (3), W.Lopez (6), Byrdak (8), Paronto (9) and Coste. W-Maloney 2-4. L-Moehler 8-11. HRsCincinnati, Votto (23), Bruce (19). Houston, K.Matsui (8), Berkman (24). Philadelphia 000 200 020-4 9 0 Milwaukee 400 030 10x-8 12 1 Cl.Lee, Lidge (7), Escalona (8) and Hoover; M.Parra, Weathers (8), Stetter (8), Coffey (8), C.Vargas (9), Hoffman (9) and Mi.Rivera. WM.Parra 11-10. L-Cl.Lee 7-3. Sv-Hoffman (36). HRs-Milwaukee, M.Cameron (22), Fielder (43). St Louis 000 000 100-1 8 0 Colorado 100 000 001-2 6 0 C.Carpenter, T.Miller (8), McClellan (9) and Y.Molina; Cook, Contreras (6), R.Betancourt (8), Street (9) and Torrealba. W-Street 4-1. LT.Miller 4-1. HRs-St. Louis, Ludwick (21).

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jake Peavy delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sept 25, in Chicago. (AP) San Diego 000 210 100-4 9 0 Arizona 000 000 000-0 6 0 Correia and Hundley; Scherzer, L.Rosales (6), Zavada (7), D.Cabrera (9) and Montero. W-Correia 12-10. L-Scherzer 9-11. Chicago 000 001 101-3 8 1 San Francisco 000 000 000-0 2 0 Zambrano and K.Hill; Lincecum, Runzler (8), Ra.Johnson (9) and Posey. W-Zambrano 9-6. L-Lincecum 14-7. MLB Leaders American League BATTING: Mauer, Minnesota, .370; ISuzuki, Seattle, .355; Jeter, New York, .330; MiCabrera, Detroit, .327; MYoung, Texas, .322; Cano, New York, .321; Bartlett, Tampa Bay, .318. RUNS: Pedroia, Boston, 110; Figgins, Los Angeles, 109; Damon, New York, 106; Jeter, New York, 106; BRoberts, Baltimore, 103; Scutaro, Toronto, 100; Cano, New York, 99; Teixeira, New York, 99. RBI: Teixeira, New York, 119; Bay, Boston, 115; Longoria, Tampa Bay, 109; Lind, Toronto, 106; AHill, Toronto, 103; Morneau, Minnesota, 100; CPena, Tampa Bay, 100. HITS: ISuzuki, Seattle, 216; Jeter, New York, 203; Cano, New York, 198; MiCabrera, Detroit, 187; AHill, Toronto, 186; Ellsbury, Boston, 180; Markakis, Baltimore, 179; Mauer, Minnesota, 179; Pedroia, Boston, 179. DOUBLES: BRoberts, Baltimore, 55; BButler, Kansas City, 49; Cano, New York, 47; Lind, Toronto, 46; Pedroia, Boston, 46; Longoria, Tampa Bay, 44; MByrd, Texas, 43; Teixeira, New York, 43. TRIPLES: Ellsbury, Boston, 10; EAybar, Los Angeles, 9; DeJesus, Kansas City, 9; Span, Minnesota, 9; Andrus, Texas, 8; Bloomquist, Kansas City, 8; Crawford, Tampa Bay, 8. HOME RUNS: CPena, Tampa Bay, 39; Teixeira, New York, 37; Bay, Boston, 36; AHill, Toronto, 34; NCruz, Texas, 32; Branyan, Seattle, 31; MiCabrera, Detroit, 31; Longoria, Tampa Bay, 31; KMorales, Los Angeles, 31. STOLEN BASES: Ellsbury, Boston, 66; Crawford, Tampa Bay, 59; Figgins, Los Angeles, 42; RDavis, Oakland, 40; BUpton, Tampa Bay, 39; Andrus, Texas, 31; Jeter, New York, 30; Kinsler, Texas, 30. PITCHING : Sabathia, New York, 18-7; FHernandez, Seattle, 17-5; Feldman, Texas, 17-6; Verlander, Detroit, 17-9; Beckett, Boston, 16-6; Halladay, Toronto, 16-10; JerWeaver, Los Angeles, 15-8. STRIKEOUTS: Verlander, Detroit, 256; Greinke, Kansas City, 229; Lester, Boston, 218; FHernandez, Seattle, 207; Halladay, Toronto, 202; Beckett, Boston, 194; Sabathia, New York, 186. SAVES: Nathan, Minnesota, 44; Fuentes, Los Angeles, 44; MaRivera, New York, 42; Papelbon, Boston, 37; Aardsma, Seattle, 36; Rodney, Detroit, 35; Jenks, Chicago, 29. National League BATTING: HaRamirez, Florida, .351; Pujols, St. Louis, .331; Sandoval, San Francisco, .326; Helton, Colorado, .317; Votto, Cincinnati, .315; Braun, Milwaukee, .312; Coghlan, Florida, .311. RUNS: Pujols, St. Louis, 120; Utley, Philadelphia, 110; Braun, Milwaukee, 107; Zimmerman, Washington, 104; Fielder, Milwaukee, 99; HaRamirez, Florida, 99; Victorino, Philadelphia, 97. RBI: Fielder, Milwaukee, 136; Howard, Philadelphia, 135; Pujols, St. Louis, 129; DLee, Chicago, 109; HaRamirez, Florida, 105; Braun, Milwaukee, 103; ADunn, Washington, 103; Ethier, Los Angeles, 103. HITS: HaRamirez, Florida, 195; Braun, Milwaukee, 186; Tejada, Houston, 182; FLopez, Milwaukee, 179; Pujols, St. Louis, 178; Kemp, Los Angeles, 177; Sandoval, San Francisco, 176. DOUBLES: Tejada, Houston, 44; Sandoval, San Francisco, 43; Pujols, St. Louis, 42; Ethier, Los Angeles, 41; HaRamirez, Florida, 41; Rollins, Philadelphia, 40; Cantu, Florida, 39; Hawpe, Colorado, 39. TRIPLES: Bourn, Houston, 11; SDrew, Arizona, 11; Victorino, Philadelphia, 11; Pagan, New York, 10; Fowler, Colorado, 9; Counsell, Milwaukee, 8; GParra, Arizona, 8; Tulowitzki, Colorado, 8. HOME RUNS: Pujols, St. Louis, 47; Fielder, Milwaukee, 43; Reynolds, Arizona, 43; Howard, Philadelphia, 42; AdGonzalez, San Diego, 39; ADunn, Washington, 38; DLee, Chicago, 35. STOLEN BASES: Bourn, Houston, 58; Morgan, Washington, 42; Kemp, Los Angeles, 34; Rollins, Philadelphia, 30; Fowler, Colorado, 27; Pierre, Los Angeles, 27; HaRamirez, Florida, 26; DWright, New York, 26. PITCHING: Wainwright, St. Louis, 18-8; CCarpenter, St. Louis, 16-4; JoJohnson, Florida, 15-5; DLowe, Atlanta, 15-9; De La Rosa, Colorado, 15-9; JVazquez, Atlanta, 159; Pineiro, St. Louis, 15-11. STRIKEOUTS: Lincecum, San Francisco, 247; JVazquez, Atlanta, 229; Haren, Arizona, 208; Gallardo, Milwaukee, 204; Wainwright, St. Louis, 193; Jimenez, Colorado, 181; De La Rosa, Colorado, 181; JoJohnson, Florida, 181; WRodriguez, Houston, 181. SAVES: HBell, San Diego, 40; Cordero, Cincinnati, 39; Franklin, St. Louis, 37; BrWilson, San Francisco, 36; Broxton, Los Angeles, 36; Hoffman, Milwaukee, 36; FrRodriguez, New York, 34.

NEW YORK, Sept 26, (AP): Jon Lester was knocked over by a line drive near his right knee as Joba Chamberlain led the New York Yankees over the Boston Red Sox 9-5 Friday night for his American League first win in more than a month. Alex Rodriguez homered, drove in four runs and tied a career high with three steals as the Yankees lowered to three the magic number for their first AL East title since 2006. Lester (14-8) crumpled to the mound in pain when struck by Melky Cabrera’s liner in the third inning. His head back and eyes closed, Lester was looked over by trainers from both teams. After about 2 minutes, Lester hobbled off the field with assistance. Blue Jays 5, Mariners 0 At Toronto, Roy Halladay struck out nine batters and allowed just seven hits, and Aaron Hill hit a two-run homer as Toronto beat Seattle. Halladay (16-10) turned in a gem in what could be his final home start with the Blue Jays, tying Kansas City’s Zack Greinke for the major league lead with his third shutout. He got a standing ovation from the crowd of 20,668 when he took the mound for the ninth, then tipped his cap as he walked off to even louder cheers after it was done.

Halladay threw 114 pitches, 81 for strikes, and lowered his ERA to 2.90, third best in the AL behind Greinke and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. Indians 4, Orioles 2 At Cleveland, Fausto Carmona pitched six strong innings as Cleveland ended its 11-game losing streak with a victory over Baltimore. The Indians improved to 4-19 in September and avoided tying the franchise record of 12 straight losses set in

BASEBALL 1931. Luis Valbuena homered to open the fifth and key a three-run inning against David Hernandez (4-9). Carmona (4-12) allowed two runs and nine hits with six strikeouts and one walk to win for the first time since Aug. 23. Kerry Wood pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save in 25 appearances. White Sox 2, Tigers 0 At Chicago, Jake Peavy pitched seven innings and Gordon Beckham homered to break up Eddie Bonine’s no-hit bid as Chicago slowed Detroit’s chase of the AL Central title. The Tigers began play three games ahead of the second-place Minnesota, which played at Kansas City. Detroit and

Minnesota meet in a four-game series beginning Monday at Comerica Park. In his second start with Chicago since being acquired from San Diego on July 31, Peavy (2-0) allowed six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Bonine (0-1) didn’t allow a hit until Beckham’s two-run homer with two outs in the sixth. Rangers 8, Rays 3 At Arlington, Texas, Ian Kinsler homered to notch 30 homers and 30 stolen bases for the first time in his career, and Julio Borbon had three hits as Texas downed Tampa Bay to cling to its slim playoff hopes. Kinsler is the third second baseKinsler man in major league history with a 30-30 record in a season. Alfonso Soriano, who has done it three times, and Brandon Phillips are the others. Rangers rookie Derek Holland (8-12) gave up three runs over five innings to snap a five-game losing streak. Twins 9, Royals 4

At Kansas City, Missouri, Michael Cuddyer hit his 30th home run and walked with the bases loaded as Minnesota beat Kansas City to move within two games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central. Billy Butler had four hits and drove in all the Royals’ runs with two home runs, his third multihomer game of the season. The Twins sent 10 men to the plate and scored four runs in the fifth, but had just one hit, Orlando Cabrera’s run-scoring single. Joe Mauer, Jason Kubel and Cuddyer all walked with the bases loaded. Athletics 3, Angels 0 At Anaheim, California, rookie Gio Gonzalez outpitched Jered Weaver as Oakland kept the Angels’ magic number at four for clinching their fifth AL West title in six years. The Angels, just 16-16 since Aug 22, are trying to become the first AL West team to win three straight division titles since Oakland accomplished the feat from 1988-90. They have a seven-game lead on the Rangers, who beat Tampa Bay 8-3 in Texas. Gonzalez (6-6) allowed four hits and a walk over 6 1-3 innings and struck out seven in his 16th start, after going 1-4 with a 7.01 ERA over his previous seven.

Rockies defeat Cardinals 2-1 in 9th inning to keep wild card lead Braves see off Nationals DENVER, Sept 26, (AP): Yorvit Torrealba’s sacrifice fly scored Troy Tulowitzki from third base with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the Colorado Rockies edged St. Louis 2-1 in the National League on Friday. That prevented the Cardinals from becoming the first team in the majors to clinch their division and kept the Rockies 3 1/2 games ahead of Atlanta in the NL wild-card race. It also ruined former Rockies slugger Matt Holliday’s homecoming. Todd Helton led off the ninth with a walk from Trevor Miller (4-1), who was replaced by Kyle McClellan. Tulowitzki reached on a fielder’s choice, and pinchhitter Jason Giambi’s single put runners at the corners.

BASEBALL Torrealba lofted a ball to right, and Ryan Ludwick’s throw home was nowhere close. Braves 4, Nationals 1 At Washington, Javier Vazquez allowed a run and three hits in his third complete game of the season, leading Atlanta past Washington. His performance enabled the Braves to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. Atlanta has won four straight and 12 of 14. Vazquez (15-9) allowed a leadoff home run to Josh Bard, his sixth, in the eighth inning. Vazquez also gave a leadoff single to Willie Harris in the first and a one-out double to Ryan Zimmerman in the fourth. He retired 11 straight between Zimmerman’s double and Bard’s homer. Pirates 3, Dodgers 1 At Pittsburgh, Brandon Moss’ two-run single gave Pittsburgh an early lead as the Pirates, stuck in their worst slump since 1984, used five pitchers to beat Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ magic number for repeating as the NL West champion remained at four, partly because they are only 2-2 this week against the majors’ two worst clubs, the Nationals and Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Donnie Veal throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sept 25. The Pirates won 3-1, with Veal pitching two scoreless innings to get his first major league win. (AP)

New York Mets’ Brian Schneider (left), hits a sacrifice bunt during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins, Sept 25, in Miami. The Mets defeated the Marlins 6-5. (AP)

Hatoyama wears pirates game jersey

Japan Prime Minister throws out first pitch PITTSBURGH, Sept 26, (AP): Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a noted baseball fan, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Los Angeles Dodgers-Pittsburgh Pirates game on Friday. Hatoyama didn’t stand in front of the mound, as those throwing such pitches often do. Wearing a Pirates game jersey, he toed the rubber, went into a full windup and, like many Japanese

pitchers, paused briefly in his delivery before throwing a low pitch that hit the dirt after crossing the plate. Shortly before making the pregame toss, Hatoyama met with Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, from Osaka, Japan. Hatoyama was in Pittsburgh for the two-day G-20 economic summit, which concluded earlier in the day. While standing on the mound, Hatoyama waved his hands above his

head when it was announced to the small crowd at PNC Park that he was a Pirates fan. Before leaving for the United States, Hatoyama practiced with longtime Japanese pitching star Masumi Kuwata, who appeared in 19 games with Pittsburgh in 2007 at age 39. Atsunori Nakao, a Pittsburgh physician who was in charge of the group that greeted the Japanese delegation, served as Hatoyama’s catcher.

Right-hander Jon Garland (11-12) lost for the first time in four decisions since being traded to the Dodgers, giving up three runs and six hits in six innings. Mets 6, Marlins 5 At Miami, pinch-hitter Cory Sullivan delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the ninth inning as New York edged Florida. Florida spoiled the Mets’ postseason chances in each of the last two seasons but it was New York dealing out a damaging loss this year. The Marlins, who fell five games behind NL wild cardleading Colorado, led 5-4 in the ninth but couldn’t hold it. Closer Leo Nunez (4-6) yielded singles to Daniel Murphy and Jeff Francoeur before pinch hitter Jeremy Reed walked to load the bases with no outs. Sullivan then drilled Nunez’s 0-1 pitch into left field, scoring Murphy and Francoeur. Brewers 8, Phillies 4 At Milwaukee, Prince Fielder hit his 43rd homer and drove in four runs to become the major league leader for RBIs in Milwaukee’s win over Philadelphia.

Fielder hit a run-scoring single in the first and a three-run shot in the fifth to give him 136 RBIs — one more than the Phillies’ Ryan Howard, who drove in three runs with two singles. Mike Cameron also hit a three-run homer off Phillies starter Cliff Lee (73), who gave up nine hits in six innings. Reds 10, Astros 4 At Houston, Joey Votto drove in four runs with a homer and a double as Cincinnati beat Houston for its fifth straight win. Jay Bruce had a homer and double and Juan Francisco went 3 for 5 for the Reds who have won 9 of 11 and 22 of 32. Matt Maloney (2-4) won his second straight after opening his major league career with four straight losses. Maloney went a career-high seven innings and allowed two runs and six hits without a walk. He struck out four. Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer for Houston, which has lost 10 of 11. Padres 4, Diamondbacks 0 At Phoenix, Kevin Correia pitched a six-hitter for his first career shutout as San Diego beat Arizona.

Correia (12-10) struck out seven and walked one, yielding no extra-base hits. He was helped by two double plays. Adrian Gonzalez had two hits, drove in a run and scored for San Diego, which improved to 15-7 in September and 3421 since July 28, the third-best record in the majors in that span. Cubs 3, Giants 0 At San Francisco, Carlos Zambrano threw a two-hitter, his first complete game since his no-hitter last season, and drove in two runs to lead Chicago past San Francisco With the win, the Cubs denied the St. Louis Cardinals the chance to clinch the NL Central title. Ryan Theriot had two hits and drove in a run as the Cubs won their fifth in six games and remained 6 1/2 games behind Colorado in the wild card race. Sam Fuld added two hits. Tim Lincecum (14-7) lasted seven innings, giving up two runs and seven hits. He walked three and struck out seven for the Giants, who fell five games behind the Rockies and 1 games behind the Atlanta Braves.

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

SPORTS

46

Ponting, Johnson score half centuries

Australia defeat West Indies by 50 runs JOHANNESBURG, Sept 26, (AP): Australia beat West Indies by 50 runs in the Champions Trophy on Saturday after Mitchell Johnson smashed 73 off 47 balls and three of his team-mates each picked up two wickets. Johnson’s innings and Australia captain Ricky Ponting’s 79 took Australia to 275-8. Nathan Hauritz, Shane Watson and Peter Siddle then all took Ponting two wickets to bowl out West Indies for 225 with 19 balls remaining at Wanderers Stadium. “Mitchell played exceptionally well and he showed how dangerous he can be during the batting powerplay,” Ponting said. Johnson didn’t take a wicket with his hostile fast bowling, but he ran out opening batsman Andre Fletcher for 54 to break a threatening 86-run partnership for the third wicket with Travis Dowlin (55). Australia sent down 16 wide deliveries. Brett Lee was the chief offender with six, and Johnson had four. “We didn’t bowl at our best as we gave

Australia vs West Indies Scoreboard Scoreboard in 2009 ICC Champions Trophy match between Australia and West Indies at the Wanderers Saturday: AUSTRALIA S.Watson b Roach ...............................................0 T. Paine c Walton b Bernard ..............................33 R. Ponting st Walton b Miller ................................. M. Hussey c Fletcher b Bernard ..........................6 C. Ferguson b Roach .........................................20 C. White b Miller...................................................4 J. Hopes c Walton b Sammy................................5 M. Johnson not out ............................................73 B. Lee run out ....................................................25 N. Hauritz not out .................................................7 Extras (lb7, w10, nb6) ........................................23 Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) ....................................275 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Watson), 2-85 (Paine),

3-120 (Hussey), 4-148 (Ponting), 5-162 (White), 6-164 (Ferguson), 7-171 (Hopes), 8241 (Lee) Did not bat: Peter Siddle Bowling: Roach 10-0-73-2, Tonge 10-1-54-0, Sammy 10-0-53-1, Bernard 10-0-63-2, Miller 10-124-2 WEST INDIES D. Smith c Paine b Siddle ..................................17 A. Fletcher run out .............................................54 T. Dowlin c Paine b Lee .....................................55 C. Walton b Hopes ...............................................0 F. Reifer c Ferguson b Watson ..........................28 D. Bernard b Siddle..............................................8 D. Sammy c Hussey b Watson ..........................20 N. Miller c Ponting b Hauritz ................................4 K. Roach c Johnson b Hauritz .............................3

G. Tonge not out...................................................0 Extras (lb19, w16, nb1) ......................................36 Total (9 wkts, 46.5 overs) .................................225 Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Smith), 2-124 (Fletcher), 3-128 (Walton), 4-170 (Dowlin), 5-187 (Bernard), 6-215 (Sammy), 7-219 (Reifer), 8-225 (Miller), 9225 (Roach) Did not bat: Dale Richards (injured) Bowling: Lee 8-0-41-1, Siddle 8-1-37-2, Johnson 10-0-44-0, Watson 7-0-34-2, Hauritz 7.50-23-2, Hopes 6-1-27-1 Australia win by 50 runs Toss: West Indies Umpires: Tony Hill (NZL) and Asad Rauf (PAK) TV umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL) Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL) Reserve umpire: Aleem Dar (PAK). (AFP)

away too many extras,” Ponting said. West Indies set out promisingly in pursuit of the target, with Fletcher and Dowlin taking the team to 124 by the 25th over. But neither batsman was able to push on and increase the scoring rate.

West Indies’ challenge petered out as the run-rate required ballooned without the batsmen capable of hitting boundaries. West Indies No. 11 Dale Richards was unable to bat after he dislocated his shoulder while fielding. For Australia, Johnson hit eight fours and three sixes in recording his highest one-day international score. He shared in a 70-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Lee during a batting powerplay from the 44th to the 48th over. Lee contributed only 25 of those runs as

Johnson manufactured some innovative shots, mixed with raw power in smashing three sixes over the midwicket boundary at Wanderers. Australia got off to the worst possible start with Shane Watson bowled off the opening ball of the innings by Kemar Roach. But Ponting steadied the innings on a pitch that contained plenty of bounce. Ponting hit 79 off 94 balls with 11 fours and a six, and had to survive at least three deliveries that jumped up off a length and hit him on his gloves or torso.

CRICKET “One of the batsmen needed to carry on and get a big score,” West Indies captain Floyd Reifer said.

Australia’s bowler Brett Lee bowls to West Indian batsman Andre Fletcher with West Indian batsman Devon Smith (left), looking on during their Champions Trophy cricket match against the West Indies, at Wanderers, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sept 26. (AP)

Malik stars as Pakistan cruise past India in Champions Trophy Dravid top-scores for side with fighting 76 CENTURION, South Africa, Sept 26, (AFP): Shoaib Malik smashed a brisk century to set up Pakistan’s 54-run victory over arch-rivals India in the Champions Trophy here on Saturday. The middle-order batsman hit 128 for his seventh hundred in one-dayers as Pakistan posted a challenging 302-9 before restricting India to 248 in a pressure match to boost their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals. Veteran Rahul Dravid top-scored with a fighting 76, but India’s chances were severely

affected after the departures of big-hitters Gautam Gambhir (57) and Suresh Raina (46). Pakistan have won both of their matches in the four-team group, while Australia beat the West Indies in their opening game in Johannesburg on Saturday. India and the West Indies have yet to open their account. The top two sides advance to the semi-finals. Pakistan were indebted to Malik and Mohammad Yousuf (87) for setting a stiff target in the day-night match as the pair put on 206 in 31.2 overs — their record stand for the fourth wicket against India in one-dayers. Malik was named man of the match. India’s chase under lights began on a shaky note when ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar fell in the fifth over, caught behind off teenage paceman Mohammad Aamer after contributing just eight. Gambhir exploded with a flurry of boundaries to keep the pressure on the Pakistani bowlers and fielders, hitting two sixes and seven fours in his quickfire 46ball knock. Just when he looked like playing a big knock, he was run out following a mix-up with Dravid. Pakistan skipper Younus Khan sparked celebrations when he hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end from midoff. India’s chances receded sharply with the dismissal of Raina, who was trapped legbefore by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal after hitting two sixes and five fours in his 41ball knock.

CRICKET

Pakistan batsman Imran Shoaib Malik hits the ball off the bowling of India’s Yusuf Pathan during their Champions Trophy cricket match at Centurion, South Africa, Sept 26. (AP)

India vs Pakistan Scoreboard/Standings Complete scoreboard of the Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan here on Saturday: PAKISTAN Imran Nazir c Harbhajan b Nehra ............20 Kamran Akmal b Nehra ............................19 Younus Khan c Dhoni b Rudra Pratap .....20 Shoaib Malik c Pathan b Harbhajan ......128 Mohammad Yousuf b Nehra ....................87 Shahid Afridi c Dhoni b Pathan ..................4 Umar Akmal c Dhoni b Nehra ....................0 Rana Naved-ul Hasan not out..................11 Umar Gul c Raina b Sharma......................0 Mohammad Aamer c Kohli b Sharma ........0 Saeed Ajmal not out ...................................0 Extras (lb1, w12) ......................................13 Total (for nine wickets; 50 overs) ...........302 Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Nazir), 2-53 (K. Akmal), 3-65 (Younus), 4-271 (Yousuf), 5278 (Afridi), 6-289 (U. Akmal), 7-300 (Malik), 8-301 (Gul), 9-302 (Aamer). Bowling: Nehra 10-0-55-4, Rudra Pratap 9-1-59-1 (w2), Sharma 8-2-39-2 (w1), Kohli 3-0-21-0, Pathan 10-0-56-1, Harbhajan 10-

0-71-1 (w9) INDIA G. Gambhir run out ..................................57 S. Tendulkar c K. Akmal b Aamer ..............8 R. Dravid run out ......................................76 V. Kohli c Gul b Afridi ...............................16 MS Dhoni lbw b Afridi.................................3 S. Raina lbw b Ajmal ................................46 Y. Pathan c sub (Misbah) b Aamer ............5 Harbhajan Singh b Ajmal .........................13 Rudra Pratap Singh c Yousuf b Rana Naved ...................................................................2 I. Sharma b Rana Naved ...........................0 A. Nehra not out .........................................0 Extras (b4, nb7, w11) ...............................22 Total (for all out; 44.5 overs) ..................248 Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Tendulkar), 2-90 (Gambhir) 3-126 (Kohli), 4-133 (Dhoni), 5205 (Raina), 6-218 (Pathan), 7-238 (Dravid), 8-243 (Rudra Pratap), 9-244 (Sharma), 10248 (Harbhajan). Bowling: Aamer 8-0-46-2 (nb3, w3), Rana Naved 9-0-48-2 (w1), Gul 6-0-55-0 (nb3, w5), Ajmal 8.5-0-31-2 (w1), Afridi 10-0-39-2

(w1), Malik 3-0-25-0 (nb1). Result: Pakistan win by 54 runs Toss: Pakistan Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS) and Simon Taufel (AUS) TV umpire: Ian Gould (ENG) Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI) Sunday’s matches: New Zealand v Sri Lanka (Johannesburg); South Africa v England (Centurion) Standings Group A P W L T NRR Pts Pakistan 2 2 0 0 +1.399 4 Australia 1 1 0 0 +1.000 2 India 1 0 1 0 -0.508 0 West Indies 2 0 2 0 -1.501 0 Group B England 1 1 0 0 +0.493 2 Sri Lanka 2 1 1 0 +0.327 2 South Africa 2 1 1 0 -0.053 2 New Zealand 1 0 1 0 -0.991 0 (Agencies)

Pakistani fans raced onto the ground when Ajmal bowled Harbhajan Singh to complete the victory. Pakistan, playing their first one-dayer against India in more than a year, earlier recovered from 65-3 after electing to bat, thanks to Malik and Yousuf who dominated the bowling with a wide range of attacking shots. The Malik-Yousuf onslaught saw Pakistan plunder 85 in the last 10 overs. Yousuf fell playing shots, bowled by leftarm seamer Ashish Nehra, but not before he had put his team in a strong position. Malik was out in the penultimate over after smashing 16 fours in his 126-ball knock. Nehra was the most successful bowler with 4-55, but received little support from the other end. Pakistan began aggressively as openers Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal helped their team race to 50 in less than nine overs. Nazir went for shots early in his innings, hitting four boundaries in his 17-ball 20 before top-edging a pull off Nehra to be caught by Harbhajan at mid-on. Nehra struck again when he bowled Akmal for 19. Pakistan looked in trouble after Younus (20) was caught behind off left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh. India then had to wait for more than 31 overs for their next success as Malik and Yousuf applied themsleves remarkably well to put their team in a comfortable position.

Sparks hold off Mercury

Fever beat Shock to force Game 3 INDIANAPOLIS, Sept 26, (AP): Tamika Catchings scored 22 points as the Indiana Fever avoided elimination with a 79-75 win over the Detroit Shock in Game 2 of the WNBA Eastern Conference finals on Friday.

BASKETBALL Catchings also had nine rebounds, six steals and five assists. Katie Douglas added 14 points and five steals for the Fever, who

will host the decisive Game 3 against the defending champions on Saturday. Detroit could eliminate the Fever from the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Deanna Nolan led Detroit with 23 points and Shavonte Zellous added 19 points and nine rebounds. Indiana set a playoffs record with 18 steals and scored 28 points off Detroit’s 24 turnovers. The defensive effort made up for Detroit’s 48-37 rebounding edge. Sparks 87, Mercury 76 At Phoenix, Candace Parker had 24

points and 18 rebounds, and Lisa Leslie scored 20 points as Los Angeles beat Phoenix to force a deciding third game of the Western Conference finals. Leslie and Parker combined for 31 firsthalf points as the third-seeded Sparks ran out to an early lead and had a 49-34 advantage by halftime. Phoenix pulled within nine in the second half after Leslie picked up her fifth foul with 6:23 left in the third. The Mercury pulled to 75-67 with 3:59 left but got no closer.

Pakistan bowler Umar Gul (left), is congratulated by Younus Khan after he bowled out Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir during their Champions Trophy cricket match at Centurion, South Africa, Sept 26. (AP)

India’s Rudra Pratap Singh bowls to Pakistan batsman Imran Nazir during their Champions Trophy cricket match at Centurion, South Africa, Sept 26. (AP)

Strauss pleased with team’s all-round performance

Poms confident ahead of South Africa ‘clash’ CENTURION, South Africa, Sept 26, (AFP): Skipper Andrew Strauss has said England will not be short of confidence in their Champions Trophy match against South Africa here on Sunday. England, beaten 6-1 by Australia in a recent home one-day series, began their campaign in this tournament on an impressive note when they posted a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Johannesburg on Friday. Their lone win against Australia came in the last match. “This game more than the final game against Australia was a pretty professional performance with the bat,” Strauss said after his team’s win. “You take a lot of confidence from these sort of performances, guys standing up and actually playing to their potential and not playing with fear. “If we play like that, we are a dangerous side. We are not going to be touting ourselves as the winners of the competition at this stage, but if we can keep getting better, then we are going to be hard to beat.” Sri Lanka and South Africa have one win apiece from two matches, while England have played only one game. New Zealand have lost their first match. The top two sides will make it the semi-finals. Strauss said he was pleased with his team’s all-round performance against Sri Lanka on a lively track. England were indebted to pacemen James Anderson (3-20), Stuart Broad (349) and Graham Onions (2-58) for seizing the initiative as the trio played a big role in restircting Sri Lanka to a modest 212. Eoin Morgan (62 not out), Paul Collingwood (46) and Owais Shah (44) then built on their bowlers’ efforts to see their team home.

“It’s very satisfying. It was a good toss to win, but I thought the way Jimmy Anderson bowled, particularly in the first 10 overs, really put Sri Lanka on the back foot,” said Strauss. “I was happy with the intent the batsmen showed. They did not let the spinners bowl at us. Collingwood and Shah played valuable innings, and Morgan did a great finishing job. I think we can take a lot of confidence from it.” The pitch here is not expected to be as seamer-friendly as at Johannesburg, which had pace and bounce. “It’s a complete different set of circumstances at Centurion on Sunday. It’s a crucial game for both sides, so it should be a good game,” said Strauss. South Africa came back strongly after losing their rain-hit opening match against Sri Lanka by 55 runs, beating New Zealand by five wickets in their second game.

CRICKET England (from): Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Joe Denly, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Matt Prior, Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright. South Africa (from): Graeme Smith (capt), Johan Botha, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe. Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS) and Tony Hill (NZL) TV umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL) Referee: Roshan Manahama (SRI)

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

SPORTS

47

Hamburg see off Bayern to go top in Germany Leverkusen bag 1-0 win BERLIN, Sept 26, (AFP): Mladen Petric scored 18 minutes from time to earn Hamburg top spot in the German Bundesliga on Saturday, ending Bayern Munich’s five-match winning streak. Bayern had French international star Franck Ribery available from the outset for the first time this season following injury but he was unable to prevent the Bavarians from slipping to their second league loss and they now trail their northern rivals by six points. Hamburg have 17 points from their seven games - they lead Jupp Heynckes’ Bayer Petric Leverkusen on goal difference after the latter bagged a 1-0 win at Cologne thanks to a late effort from Simon Rolfes. Leverkusen are determined to quash their lingering reputation as bridesmaids, having famously just missed out on the league title, the Champions League and the German Cup in 2002. Bayern, who face Juventus in Europe on Wednesday, had been seeking to go top for the first time in some 500 days with a win in Hamburg, coupled with a hoped-for loss for Leverkusen but instead the four-times European champions stand just sixth. Germany international forward Mario Gomez had hoped to make the difference for the visitors from the south but instead it was he who allowed former Bayern veteran Ze Roberto to go down the wing and find Petric ghosting in ahead of defender Philipp Lahm, caught napping in the Bayern box. Minutes earlier, Petric had come close to deflecting an Arjen Robben freekick into his own net but the ball bobbled just off target. With three minutes remaining Lahm tried

to make amends but fired wide after Ribery fed him as Hamburg held on for a deserved win. Earlier, reigning champions Wolfsburg showed their star has not faded with a 4-2 win over Hanover to leap back into contention on 12 points, level with Werder Bremen, 3-0 winners over Mainz, and one clear of Bayern. The surprise champions have blown hot and cold this campaign, suffering three defeats for as many wins, and had slid down into midtable ahead of next week’s Champions League confrontation with Manchester United. But the Wolves roused themselves for a

SOCCER Lower Saxony local derby. Brazilian striker Grafite, top scorer last season, had a quiet day but Zvjezdan Misimovic scored a fine free-kick to get the ball rolling and although Hano Balitsch equalised Christian Gentner fired the hosts back in front on the cusp of half-time. Japanese star Makoto Hasebe made it 3-1 with a header three minutes after the restart but Alex Madlung put through his own net to allow Hanover back into it in the 50th minute. Bosnian hitman Edin Dzeko finally made the points safe with a neat close-range finish on 62 minutes. Schalke, beaten twice in their opening half dozen outings, stand third on 13 points after Peruvian forward Jefferson netted the only goal away to local rivals and former European champions Dortmund, the South American firing home a left-foot strike following good work by Halil Altintop before an 80,000 crowd. Dortmund are now a lowly 15th with just a solitary league success to their name. Elsewhere, Stuttgart ended a four-match winless run with a 3-0 triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt. On Sunday, Freiburg host Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hoffenheim welcome Hertha Berlin.

‘Public support increases’

Tokyo ‘readies’ for 2016 Olympic pitch TOKYO, Sept 26, (AP): If anything can were even media reports that Seattle make the busy citizens of Tokyo take Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki could be called notice of their city’s bid to host the 2016 in. Hatoyama, who took office on Sept. 16 Olympics, it’s a robot large enough to take after his Democratic Party of Japan defeaton Godzilla. A fitting symbol of the technology for ed the long-ruling Liberal Democratic which Japan is famous, the moving, talking Party in elections at the end of August, 18-meter (60-foot) robot was part of a pro- wrote a letter to the IOC members assuring motional blitz to drum up support for them that the government “remains as strong as ever” behind Tokyo’s campaign after an Tokyo’s bid. International Olympic Tokyo is the only city Committee poll in February among the four candidates found only 55 percent of reswith a proven record of freidents supported the effort. quently staging major interA replica of the popular national sporting events. character Mobile Suit Tokyo hosted the Gundam, from a Japanese Olympics in 1964, played a anime series created by major role in the 2002 Yoshiyuki Tomino, the World Cup, which Japan robot towered over the co-hosted with South man-made Odaiba island Korea, and was home to the overlooking Tokyo Bay and athletics world champiprominently displayed the onships in 1991. Japan also Tokyo 2016 logo on its hosted the 1998 Winter shoulder. Olympics in Nagano and Organizers say public the 1972 Games in support has increased in Sapporo, and the 2007 athrecent polls, and that more than 20 million people in In this photo taken on July 11, letics worlds in Osaka. Some worried Tokyo’s Japan’s capital now support 2009, people gather around (60-foot) tall bid was made too close to the bid. A rally through the 18-meter streets of the city on Gundam stands at a park in the 2008 Beijing Olympics manmade Odaiba Wednesday attracted more Tokyo’s island, Japan. If anything can and the IOC would be than 400,000 people, testa- encourage busy Tokyoites to reluctant to bring the ment to the improved pub- take notice of their city’s bid to Olympics back to Asia so lic opinion. host the 2016 Olympics, it’s a soon. But Tokyo bid organizers “Tokyo 2016 is about the replica of the popular robot Mobile Suit play down that notion, saying passion of 34 people in our animation dynamic capital and more Gundam, the Japanese anime the IOC has no rotation polithan 100 million supporters series robot, big enough to cy and that by the time the take on Godzilla. (AP) games would come back, across our nation who know this is our chance to create a better Europe would have hosted them twice future for Japan through sport,” said (London 2012, Sochi 2014) and North Hidetoshi Maki, deputy director general of America once (Vancouver 2010). Still, some Tokyo’s bid. Tokyo is competing with aren’t convinced the timing is right. “The Olympics should go to areas that Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro for the right to host the 2016 Summer Games. The haven’t had them before,” office worker Masa IOC will choose the winning city in a vote Kikuta said. “I think Rio should get them. Besides, we have more next Friday in Copenhagen. important things to spend our Japanese organizers say OLYMPICS taxpayer money on.” An IOC Tokyo is the best choice in report this month praised the midst of a global recession. Tokyo has the largest metropolitan Tokyo’s compact venue plan. Tokyo says 23 of its proposed 34 venues budget in the world — if the Japanese capital were a country, it would have the 15th already exist and that land has been secured highest GDP in the world. That kind of for the 11 new facilities with a proposed, economic might, Tokyo’s organizers say, futuristic 100,000-seat stadium on a pier in makes it the safest choice for a post-reces- Tokyo Bay at the center of the games. Just sion Olympics and the Paralympic Games four minutes away by car lies a barren strip of landfill that would be home to the aththat follow. “No other 2016 bid city is offering the letes’ village. Several of the existing facilities, such as same level of guarantees to the IOC,” Tokyo bid chief Ichiro Kono said. “These the National Stadium, were used for the 1964 include the greatest possible commitment Games — a nod to the IOC’s fondness for of both our national and local government legacy. Tokyo organizers have said those and $4 billion already set aside in the bank facilities will get a facelift, but the IOC’s evaluation report said some will need major to cover all infrastructure development.” Conscious of the Barack Obama factor upgrades to meet Olympic standards. Tokyo also is touting its effort to stage a — the US president’s adopted hometown is Chicago and he has given his support to the green games that coexist with the natural city’s bid — Tokyo organizers are pulling environment. The Olympic village, built in out all the stops to match the stars lined up the Ariake area bordering Tokyo Bay, would feature an array of eco-friendly sysby other candidate cities. Newly elected Prime Minister Yukio tems such as solar and renewable energy, Hatoyama has been asked to attend the IOC and aim for total waste recycling. After the vote. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara games, they would be converted to rental also has requested the attendance of Prince apartments and condominiums in a greenNaruhito and Princess Masako, and there ery-rich area.

Hamburg’s Dennis Aogo (right), and Munich’s Arjen Robben challenge for the ball during the German first division Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich in Hamburg, Germany, Sept 26. (AP)

Bundesliga Results/Standings Results of Saturday’s games in the Bundesliga, the German first-division football league: Hamburger SV 1 Bayern Munich 0 Wolfsburg 4 Hannover 2 Borussia Dortmund 0 Schalke 1 Werder Bremen 3 Mainz 0 Cologne 0 Bayer Leverkusen 1

Eintracht Frankfurt 0 Stuttgart 0 Standings German league table after Saturday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): P W D L GF GA Pts Hamburg 7 5 2 0 17 7 17 Bayer Leverkusen 7 5 2 0 14 5 17

Schalke 04 Werder Bremen VfL Wolfsburg Bayern Munich Hoffenheim Mainz 05 Eintr. Frankfurt VfB Stuttgart

7 7 7 7 6 7 7 7

4 3 4 3 3 3 2 2

1 3 0 2 2 2 4 2

2 1 3 2 1 2 1 3

9 5 13 12 6 12 15 14 12 13 7 11 9 4 11 10 12 11 8 8 10 9 10 8

M’gladbach SC Freiburg VfL Bochum Hanover Dortmund Nuremberg FC Cologne Hertha Berlin

6 6 7 7 7 7 7 6

2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 3 3 2 1 0

3 3 4 3 3 4 5 5

9 8 8 6 6 4 5 5

12 12 14 8 13 8 10 12

7 7 7 6 6 5 4 3

Rangers settle for 3rd successive goalless draw

Celtic consolidate pole position GLASGOW, Sept 26, (AFP): Celtic cemented their position atop the Scottish Premier League with a 2-0 victory over St Mirren, while title rivals Rangers were held to a 0-0 draw by Aberdeen on Saturday. Tony Mowbray’s side are now four points clear of reigning champions Rangers after goals from Paddy McCourt and Shaun Maloney at St Mirren combined with a lacklustre display from Walter Smith’s side at Ibrox to make a perfect weekend for the Hoops. McCourt struck before half-time and Maloney’s late goal killed off St Mirren’s stubborn resistence to give Celtic the ideal warm-up ahead of next weekend’s Old Firm derby against Rangers. Despite the routine nature of the win, Mowbray was felt his players had fallen below the standards he demands. “It was a very disappointing performance and it was way, way below what we expect as a team,” Mowbray told ESPN. “It was unacceptable for our supporters. There were positives in that we got a clean sheet but the standards have got to be higher. “There has to be better decision making, better passing, better movement and we must be more clinical. I think we can be better everywhere.”

SOCCER After a slow start, Celtic sprang to life and took the lead in the 27th minute through a superb effort from McCourt. McCourt had scored in Celtic’s 4-0 League Cup win at the Falkirk and his confidence was clearly sky-high as he embarked on a solo run. The Northern Ireland international took possession in midfield, jinked his way past four St Mirren challenges on his way in to the box before rifling an unstoppable angled-shot past Paul Gallacher from 18 yards. Maloney put the result beyond doubt in the 78th minute. Scott Brown’s looping cross reached Maloney at the far post and he curled his shot back across goal and past Gallacher with what looked like the aid of a deflection off Scott McDonald, who was in what looked an offside position. Rangers had to settle for their third successive goalless draw after being frustrated by Aberdeen. The Scottish champions have now gone 293 minutes without scoring a league goal and know they will be under pressure to regain their form when Celtic come calling next weekend. Rangers fans screamed for a penalty when Steven Whittaker went to ground under pressure from Michael Paton but there appeared to be little in the incident and there was no claim for a spot-kick from

Sevilla rout 10-man Bilbao 4-0

Real win again as Benzema makes his mark MADRID, Sept 26, (AFP): French international striker Karim Benzema scored a second half brace as Real Madrid defeated Tenerife 3-0 on Saturday for a fifth consecutive win which sees them move to the top of the Spanish league table. The 21-year-old Benzema, a 35-million-euro capture from Lyon, scored twice inside 11 minutes before Brazilian Kaka added a third to delight the Santiago Bernabeu crowd and maintain Real’s flawless 15-point start to the season. Real lead the standings, something they didn’t manage to do at any stage last season. Sevilla kept to within three points of Real in third thanks to a convincing 4-0 rout over 10-man Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. Sevilla scored three times in a destructive first half through Brazilian Renato (5 min), Alvaro Negredo (30) and Frederic Kanoute (45) before Jesus Navas completed the scoring. San Mames is a tough place to go so the result speaks volumes for Sevilla’s improvement as they bid to push Real

and Barca for the title. It was a historic day for Real captain Raul, now 32, as he became the club’s all-time leading league appearance holder notching his 505th game against Tenerife to beat the previous record of Manolo Sanchis. It was also a special day for brothers Xabi Alonso and Mikel Alonso who faced each other in an intriguing midfield battle. Real playmaker Benzema Xabi Alonso began his career with elder brother Mikel at Real Sociedad but this was the first time they had come up against each other in a competitive match. Portuguese centre-back Pepe returned for Real for his first league outing since April 21 when he was slapped with a ten-match ban for stamping on Francisco Casquero in a heated 3-2 derby win over Getafe. Cristiano Ronaldo, already on five

goals for the season, had scored in the first minute in each of Real’s last two league wins but there was no early goal against Tenerife. The Islanders had won their last match and clearly didn’t come to make up the numbers and Real failed to find their stride.

the player as referee Iain Brines signalled for play to continue. The Ibrox side continued to press for the opener and Jerome Rothen stung the palms

of Jamie Langfield with a powerful drive that the Dons keeper did well to block at the near post. Langfield came to Aberdeen’s rescue

again moments later when Nacho Novo raced onto a Kenny Miller pass and bore down on goal. The keeper raced from his line to narrow the angle and Novo fired straight into his arms. Hearts captain Michael Stewart inspired the Tynecastle club to a 2-1 victory over Hamilton. Stewart broke the deadlock 10 minutes after half-time with a penalty before Suso Santana added a second with an audacious back-heel two minutes later. Hamilton winger Marco Paixao brought the Accies back into the game with a cool finish in the 62nd minute but the hosts held on. Merouane Zemmama scored on his first Hibernian start for almost 18 months as Motherwell’s unbeaten league run came to an end with a 3-1 defeat at Fir Park. Zemmama curled home a free-kick from a difficult angle to put the game beyond Jim Gannon’s side 10 minutes into the second half. Derek Riordan had put Hibs back in front moments earlier after Mark Reynolds cancelled out Colin Nish’s early opener. Elsewhere, Dundee United won 3-2 at St Johnstone and Falkirk shared a goalless draw with Kilmarnock.

Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt (left), vies for the ball against Hull City’s Stephen Hunt during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sept 26. (AP)

SOCCER Close to the half hour mark Raul almost scored on his historic day but goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses was on hand to thwart the striker. At half-time Real had yet to make a breakthrough but two minutes after the break Benzema latched onto a fine Alonso pass to head in. Tenerife hit the crossbar through Nino and Real made them pay for the miss as Benzema struck again in the 58th minute after a pass from substitute Kaka. The visitors also hit the post before Kaka scored for the second successive game to make it a flattering 3-0.

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Sports

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10-man Chelsea crash at Wigan United see off Stoke to go top LONDON, Sept 26, (AFP): Chelsea lost for the first time under Carlo Ancelotti as Wigan claimed a shock 3-1 victory at the DW Stadium, while Manchester United defeated SOCCER Stoke 2-0 to move top of the Premier League on Saturday. Liverpool’s Fernando Torres (right), scores a goal against Hull City during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sept 26. (AP)

Cameroon blank S. Korea 2-0

Ghana top Uzbekistan ISMAILIA, Egypt, Sept 26, (AP): Ghana came from a goal down to beat Uzbekistan 2-1 at the under-20 World Cup on Saturday, with striker Dominic Adiyiah scoring the winner in the 75th minute. Uzbekistan took the lead in the 47th when captain Sherzodbek Karimov met Jasur Khasanov’s cross from the right and planted a low shot past goalkeeper Daniel

SOCCER Agyei. Ghana, which missed chances in the first half, profited from poor defending in the 60th when David Addy lofted the ball into the penalty area and Osei drifted to the back post to clip an angled shot into the bottom corner. Uzbek goalkeeper Sanjar Kuvvatov was

at fault on the second goal, letting the ball slip through his fingers as Adiyiah shot from 15 yards (meters). In Suez, Andre Akono Effa and Germain Tiko scored Saturday to give Cameroon a 2-0 victory over South Korea. Akono Effa found the net with a free kick in the 19th minute, and substitute Tiko doubled the lead in the 64th by heading in a free kick from Olivier Boumale. Brice Owona and Jacques Zoua both had chances to increase Cameroon’s lead in the first half, but squandered chances when they only had goalkeeper Lee Bum Young to beat. South Korea’s Koo Ja Cheol hit the post in the first minute of the Group C match. Earlier, Germany beat the United States 3-0 in the group opener.

Ancelotti had led Chelsea to six successive league wins, as well as two more victories in the Champions League and League Cup, since arriving from AC Milan in the close-season. But the Italian’s 100-percent record came to an end in acrimonious circumstances as Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was sent off in the second half. Chelsea fell behind in the 16th minute when Charles N’Zogbia’s cross was headed home by Titus Bramble. Ancelotti’s team levelled in the 48th minute as Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland allowed Didier Drogba’s shot to squirm into the net, giving the Ivorian his 100th Chelsea goal. But Wigan regained the lead when Hugo Rodallega tumbled under the slightest contact from Cech to win a penalty in the 53rd minute. Cech was sent off by referee Phil Dowd and Rodallega picked himself up to smash the spot-kick past substitute goalkeeper Hilario. Paul Scharner’s 90th minute goal sealed Chelsea’s fate. Ancelotti said: “We didn’t play a good game, it was a bad performance. I don’t know why we didn’t play well. “But these things can happen after a lot of victories. We have to accept this loss and

Stoke City’s Robert Huth (right), battles for the ball with Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney during their English Premier League soccer match at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke, England, Sept 26. (AP)

fix things for our next match. While Chelsea stumbled for the first time, reigning champions United eventually wore down Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. After a tight first hour, United finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute when Ryan Giggs, on as a substitute, slipped a pass to Dimitar Berbatov who tapped in. United defender John O’Shea ensured there was no way back for Stoke when he headed in a Giggs free-kick in the 77th minute. “I wish we were saying this (being top of the table) at the beginning of May,” United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said. “There is a long way to go but it has been a good day

for us.” Fernando Torres hit a hat-trick as Liverpool routed struggling Hull 6-1 at Anfield. Torres gave Liverpool the lead in the 12th minute with a fine finish from Albert Riera’s cross. Hull hit back three minutes later when Brazilian midfielder Geovanni guided a volley past Jose Reina. But Spain striker Torres restored Liverpool’s advantage in the 28th minute. He took Yossi Benayoun’s pass and danced past Ibrahima Sonko and goalkeeper Boaz Myhill before slotting home. Torres sealed the third hat-trick of his Liverpool career in the 47th minute when he converted another Benayoun pass. Steven Gerrard added the fourth with a

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cross-shot in the 61st minute, then Ryan Babel scored twice in the last two minutes. Arsenal rode their luck as Robin van Persie’s goal and a fine performance from young Italian goalkeeper Vito Mannone secured a 1-0 win at Fulham. Van Persie gave Arsenal the lead in the 52nd minute with an impressive finish from Cesc Fabregas’s pass, but it took several excellent saves from Mannone to preserve the victory. Tottenham striker Robbie Keane scored four times to inspire a 5-0 demolition of Burnley at White Hart Lane. Keane stroked in an 18th minute penalty, then, after Jermaine Jenas’s deflected effort in the 33rd minute, he notched three more in the last 16 minutes. Ten-man Blackburn defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at Ewood Park. Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor opened the scoring in the third minute, but Christopher Samba headed an equaliser for Rovers in the 24th minute. Sam Allardyce’s side had Australia midfielder Vince Grella sent off for a second booking midway through the second half, but won it in the 89th minute when David Dunn scored a penalty. South Korea midfielder Lee ChungYong scored his first goal for Bolton to earn a dramatic 2-1 victory at Birmingham. Tamir Cohen headed in from close range for Bolton’s opener, then Kevin Phillips equalised for Birmingham in the 84th minute before Lee’s winner two minutes later. Louis Saha condemned Portsmouth to a seventh successive Premier League defeat as the France striker gave Everton a 1-0 victory at Fratton Park. Saha’s seventh goal of the season came following a 42nd minute error by Younes Kaboul and Pompey have now made the worst by an English top-flight club for 79 years.

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