ALEXANDRIA: Egypt said a suicide bomberkilled 21 people and wounded 79 outside aCoptic church yesterday, in an attackPresident Hosni Mubarak said was the workof “foreign hands”. There was no immediateclaim but Al-Qaeda has called for punish-ment of Egypt’s Copts over claims that twopriests’ wives they say had converted to Islamwere being held by the Church against theirwill. The bombing in the Mediterraneanport city of Alexandria sparked angeramong Christians, who clashed with policeand shouted slogans against the regime ofthe ageing president. A health ministryofficial said 21 people were killed and 79wounded, and the interior ministry saideight of those hurt were Muslims.

A witness had told private channel On-

T V that in a car park outside the Al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church shortly aftermidnight (2200 GMT Friday), he saw twomen get out and the explosion happenalmost immediately afterwards. But theinterior ministry ruled out the hypothesisof a car bomb, saying it was “probable thatthe bomb... was carried by a suicidebomber who died among the crowd”. Thedevice was packed with pieces of metal tocause the maximum harm, the ministryadded. And the circumstances of theexplosion, “given the methods that cur-rently prevail in terrorist activities at theglobal and regional level, clearly indicate”that the bombing was “planned and car-ried out by foreign elements”.

Mubarak echoed that, saying the bomb-

ing bore the hallmark “of foreign hands”. Intelevised remarks, he referred to it assomething that “is alien to us”, and pledgedto “cut off the head of the snake, confrontterrorism and defeat it”. Egypt has been thetarget of repeated attacks against foreigntourists in recent years, most notablybombings on resorts in the south Sinai anda hostage bloodbath in Luxor in 1997 thatkilled more than 60 holidaymakers.

Pope Benedict XVI, during New Year’smass, urged world leaders to defendChristians against abuse and intolerance. “Ionce again launch a pressing appeal not togive in to discouragement and resignation,”said the pontiff. In Britain, junior foreignoffice minister Alistair Burt said “the world

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Mubarak blames ‘foreign hands’ • Christians vent anger after deadly blast

ALEXANDRIA: Egyptians are seen around a destroyed car in front of a Coptic Christian church in this port city earlyyesterday. (Inset) A Coptic protester prepares to hurl an object at riot police during clashes between Coptic youthsand riot police in the streets yesterday. — AP

NEW YORK: About a million people crammed yester-day into New York’s Times Square to greet 2011, draw-ing to a close a global New Year’s party, but the moodwas marred by bloodshed in Africa. Celebrationskicked off in the Pacific and continued in a non-stop,globe-girdling chain of street parties and fireworks.Times Square was one of the last big bashes, followingjoyful gatherings at world landmarks including theLondon Eye, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, the Champs-Elysees in Paris and Red Square in Moscow.

New York crowds, monitored by a heavy policepresence, watched the famous slow drop of a six tonball comprising 32,256 LED lights and 2,688 Waterfordcrystals to signal the end of 2010 and start of the newyear. In Los Angeles, a traditional electronic music festi-val attracted more than 26,000 revelers to the localsports arena, authorities said. Two million people, mostdressed in white, ushered in the New Year on Rio deJaneiro’s famed Copacabana beach - with the partyingamped up by the unveiling of the logo for the city’shosting of the 2016 Olympics. Brazilians also hadanother reason to party: Yesterday they welcomedtheir first female president, Dilma Rousseff, who wastaking over from outgoing leader Luiz Inacio Lula daSilva.

But in Argentina, a strong earthquake measuring6.9 hit an area 151 km northeast of the city of Santiagodel Estero, according to the US Geological Survey.There were no immediate reports of casualties or dam-age. And the party mood was spoiled in Egypt by adeadly church bombing.

Continued on Page 14

Parties, violence

and a quake

mark 2011 start

DUBAI: Crowds look at fireworks burstingaround Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in theworld, marking the New Year at midnight yes-terday. — AFP (SEE Page 40)

BILIN: A Palestinian woman diedovernight after being tear-gassed byIsraeli troops at a West Bank protest, anincident the Palestinian Authority is call-ing “a war crime”. Jawaher Abu Rahma,36, died in hospital in the occupied WestBank city of Ramallah after collapsing onFriday during a protest against the Israeliseparation barrier in the nearby village ofBilin, hospital staff said yesterday. Thearmy said in a statement that an “investi-gation has been opened to determinethe exact cause of death,” and that it had“unsuccessfully contacted the PalestinianAuthority to obtain a medical reportfrom the hospital” about the death. Thearmy said on Friday that it used unspeci-fied “means of dispersing demonstra-tions” against some 250 violent protest-ers taking part in a weekly rally againstthe fence near the West Bank village ofBilin. Photos showed clouds of teargasbillowing around stone-throwing pro-testers.

Palestinian Prime Minister SalamFayyad also attended Friday’s Bilinprotest but was unhurt. “We condemnthis abominable crime by the Israelioccupation army in Bilin against peopletaking part in a peaceful demonstrationand consider it an Israeli war crimeagainst our people,” chief Palestiniannegotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP. The hos-pital did not say if Abu Rahma sufferedfrom asthma or any other condition thatcould have aggravated the effects of thegas.

At her funeral in Bilin yesterday about3,000 mourners accompanied her body,which was draped in a Palestinian flag.Her mother Subhiya, 64, clutched a pic-ture of her daughter and sobbed.“Jawaher asked to be a martyr; now she isa martyr,” she said. Acquaintances saidthe dead woman’s brother, Bassem AbuRahma, was killed during an April 2009protest at the same site, when he was hiton the head by a teargas canister fire at

Continued on Page 14

Palestinian

woman gassed

at demo dies

DOHA: Kuwait may be the bottom seeds inGroup A, but few teams will enter the AsianCup with as much recent experience of lift-ing silverware as Goran Tufegdzic’s rejuve-nated outfit. ‘Al Azraq’ (The Blues), whobegin their campaign against China on Jan8, will be bidding to start the year in posi-tive fashion after ending a long, 12-yearwait for silverware in 2010. In October theywon the West Asian Football FederationChampionship on their maiden appear-ance, defeating defending champions Iran2-1 in the final in Jordan. They took theirmomentum into the Gulf Cup of Nations inYemen at the end of the year and emergedwith their 10th trophy in the event’s history

- and first since 1998 - after Walid AliJumah’s extra-time long-ranger earned a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the final.

Key to the upturn in the country’s for-tunes has been inspirational Serbian coachTufegdzic. The 39-year-old was promotedfrom his role as assistant coach in Feb 2009and within 20 months he had ended a tro-phy drought stretching back to Kuwait’sprevious Gulf Cup success under Czechcoach Milan Macala in 1998. Tufegdzic’srenovation of the squad yielded rich divi-dends, with striker Bader Al-Mutawa finish-ing as top scorer, captain Nawaf Al-Khalidicrowned best goalkeeper and winger

Continued on Page 14

Tufegdzic eyes more

trophies for Kuwait

ABU DHABI: File picture dated Sept 7, 2010 shows the Kuwaiti football teamposing for a group photo at the start of their friendly match against theUnited Arab Emirates at Al-Nahayan stadium. — AFP

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 1977Peugeot 504 has received a one million dollar bid after the carwas put on an international auction yesterday, state mediareported. Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted AhmadEsfandiari, the head of Iran’s Welfare Organisation, as saying thebid had come from an Arab country. He did not offer details.Ahmadinejad yesterday launched a website (www.ahmadine-jad-car.com) to invite international bids for his car, with the pro-ceeds to fund a project to build 60,000 homes for the disabledand to needy women who are providing for their families. Thewebsite will accept bids for a period of one month, the reportsaid.

Ahmadinejad has always cultivated an image as a “people’spresident” and friend of the poor. After his election to his firstterm as president in 2005, he was required by law to make anasset declaration and he listed a then 40-year-old 175-sq-mhouse in a lower-middle class part of east Tehran, the contentsof two bank accounts and the ageing white Peugeot. Followinghis controversial re-election last year, he vowed to put “housing,employment and economic reform” at the top of his agendaafter house prices soared during his first term of office. — AFP

Ahmadinejad’s old car sees $1m bid

TEHRAN: An undated handout picture shows Iranian President MahmoudAhmadinejad’s 1977 Peugeot 504 that has received a one million dollar bid afterthe car was put on an international auction yesterday. — AFP

TABRIZ, Iran: The son of anIranian woman who has beensentenced to death by stoningsaid yesterday that his motherwas guilty of murdering his fatherbut pleaded for her execution tobe stayed. Sajjad Ghaderzadehsaid that his mother and herlover, Issa Taheri, were both guiltyof murder and took issue withGerman journalists who hadsought to highlight Western criti-cism of her trial. “I consider my mother andIssa Taheri to be the murderers of my fatherand both are guilty,” Ghaderzadeh told

journalists from internationalnews organisations in the north-western city of Tabriz where hismother was tried.

Ghaderzadeh, son of SakinehMohammadi Ashtiani, was himselfreleased on bail on Dec 12. Hismeeting with the media wasarranged by the provincial justicedepartment at a guesthousebelonging to a government wel-

fare organisation. MohammadiAshtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, wassentenced to death by two different courts

Continued on Page 14

Stoning woman’s son

says mother ‘guilty’

Ghaderzadeh

Nadal beats Federer in Abu Dhabi final

Rioting prisoners set fire to British jail

Rousseff sworn in as Brazil’s first female president

Rooney scores as Baggies pay penalty

SUBSCRIPTION

2LO C A LSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

He further rejected the accusa-tions made against his bloc that itaimed at ousting HH the premier,adding that "whoever wants tooust the premier is the one whodesires to take his place ... the onewho convinced him earlier that heis not worried about facing grillingmotions because the Parliament isin his pocket," referring to themajority support that the Cabinetenjoys in the Parliament.

Al-Ghanim further explained hisbloc's stance when they rejectedthe request to lift the immunity ofMP Dr Faisal Al-Mislem, indicatingthat this decision was not made infavor of Al-Mislem, rather support-

ing the Constitution, "which pro-tected MPs from prosecution viaArticles number 108 and 109.""Lifting the immunity is simply anaction of avoiding the Constitutionin an attempt to suppress MPs' abil-ity to uncover cases of corruption,"he added.

He explained that the decisionto refuse lifting the immunity of MPMusallam Al-Barrak was also "toprotect him and other MPs fromthe State Security Service."

While he regarded activistMohammad Al-Juwaihel's presenceat the seminar held in MP AhmadAl-Saadoun's diwaniya of being aprovocative act, Al-Ghanim indicat-

ed that Al-Juwaihel "has turnedagainst us after praising us previ-ously."

With regard to the incident thattook place at MP Jamaan Al-Harbash's diwaniya, Al-Ghaniminsisted that the physical punish-ment that Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi is'unacceptable,' stating that theattack of Special Forces againstgatherers is not legally authorized.

Moreover, Al-Ghanim addressedthe story in which he was accusedof hiding in the kitchen when theattack commenced outside Al-Harbash's diwaniya, indicating thatthis story was "fabricated by thecorrupt media." He explained that

the MPs decided to discuss theaftermath of the attack in thekitchen due to space constraints,reported Al-Rai.

According to reports which statethat the Special Forces followed theorders of His Highness the Amirwhen they violently dispersed apublic gathering outside Al-Harbash's diwaniya, Al-Ghaniminsisted that "HH ordered that lawto be enforced, but never orderedhis people to be beaten up."Moreover, he raised questionsabout the reasons behind the fail-ure in enforcing sports regulations"which HH the Amir ordered to beenforced two years ago."

NAB supports non-cooperation

motion against premier

KUWAIT: The National Action Bloc (NAB) decided to vote in favor of the non-cooperation motion filed against His Highness the Prime Minister SheikhNasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, when voting takes place on Wednesday. Thisannouncement was made by bloc member MP Marzouq Al-Ghanim. He

explained during a televised interview that the bloc's decisions are alwaysbased on a belief in their principles which are guided by the Constitution andthe law. In response to a petition forwarded by MP Ali Al-Rashid who called onthe NAB to halt its decision, Al-Ghanim said that "the issue has been settled."

KUWAIT: Christians celebrate New Year with prayers and different kinds of cultural activities at churches around Kuwait yesterday. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Local Spotlight

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

The year 2010 has come to an end,and I wish I could say it was apleasant year. In fact, most peo-

ple have suffered ups and downs in theirbusinesses. I guess this is what life isabout, a bittersweet mixture of good andbad. I think we have to ask ourselves whatwe have done for others. In other words,what was his/her contribution with theothers who shared their lives. Howmuch effort have you put in to makingothers feel good? This was the thought ofone of Kuwait Times' readers which, Ithink it is a valid one. How much have yougiven others? I guess life is all about giv-ing. I leave you here with this wonderfulthought and wish you all a Happy NewYear.

Respected Muna,Hello and Greetings, Thank you for editing and publishing

my previous letter. At least there is some-one who really cares about our concernsand suggestions. That has made mestronger and compelled to write onemore letter to you about my New Year'sresolution. Year 2010 saw so many naturaldisasters around the world. Almost all thecontinents faced one or the other naturalcalamities, and so many people lost theirloved ones and hard-earned property. Itis sad to watch all these on TV. What isthe reason for all this sudden change inworld weather? It is none other than ourown ignorance, irresponsibility and self-ishness that has turned our world aroundlike this within a span of 30 years. Whenwe were young, we enjoyed many moregood things in our life, clean and fresh air,

greenery, a place to play after schooltime etc. Today clean air has become pasttense, greenery has been slowly disap-pearing and no place is available for chil-dren to play.

So we have decided to 'GO GREEN' inyear 2011 by reducing, recycling andreusing materials that we used in our dayto day life. It does not mean that we havenot been doing it in the past, we used topractice it. But now, we have planned tospread awareness among other peopleliving around us. A long journey startswith a small step. So we decided to sortthe trash before disposing it in trash bins.We have begun separating plastic, alu-minum and card board boxes and pres-ent it to some guys who collect thesethings to earn a little extra money. Wehave educated our children about thisgood practice. After all, the futurebelongs to them. Nothing is impossible inthis world. There is no word called impos-sible. it is I M possible.

Let us join hands to make this earth abetter place to live and let our childrenalso enjoy it in future. As a responsible cit-izen of this planet, it is our responsibilityto make it happen. Hope Kuwait Timeshelps spread this message in its everydayissues. REDUCE, RECYCLE, REUSE.

Thank You and wish you and KuwaitTimes staff, a happy and blessed new year2011.God Bless our Mother Earth. [Ouryear 2010 resolution was to devote moreto community service. We donated someold clothes and other household items toneedy people, after that our cupboards inthe bedroom and kitchen looks great! ]

Regards,

New Year thoughts

By Abdullah Al-Mujaihem

Kuwait Digest

Traits of nobility include a true com-mitment to one's principles and anunlimited amount of focus on mat-

ters of national concern. Those with a greatsense of nobility are not lured by politicalgains but work as hard as they can to securenational interest in order to benefit thewhole country, not just their political orfinancial status.

Unlike those with shameful intentionsthat are against the public's benefit, thosewho are noble remain committed to theprinciples they believe in. They respect theirfoes but do not fear them.

With her commitment to her noblebeliefs, MP Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi earned therespect of her supporters and her foes alike.

Her approach is characterized by honestyand integrity, away from fabrication andcheap bargaining.

It stems from her unquestioned belief inthe morality of the causes she adopts anddefends restlessly with her peers. Her politi-cal awareness allows her to avoid politicalerrors and has earned her much credit andadmiration.

Citizens are proud to have such a noblerepresentative in their parliament at a timein which nobility has become rare. I person-ally would like to apologize to Dr Al-Awadhifor my earlier stance against the presence offemale MPs inside the parliament and I havefaith that she will accept my apology withher nobility. —Al-Rai

The noble MP

MSAL staff

enjoy early

holidays

KUWAIT: Despite beingcompensated with a dayoff on Sunday in place ofthe New Year holidaywhich falls on the week-end, staff members at theMinistry of Social Affairsopted to take the last dayof the yearend off,believing that the majori-ty of work will be carriedover to the new year.

With a majority ofemployees taking sickleaves to spend holidaysabroad, at camps aroundthe country or even athome, the limited num-ber of employees whoopted to report to officelast Thursday were com-pletely uninterested inwork. They spend timechatting, playing com-puter game, sellingitems, leaving a verysmall number of staffmembers dealing with alimited number of peoplewho finalize their trans-actions before taking aholiday. Employees whoreported to work saidthat most people wouldchoose not to finalizetheir transactions beforethe start of the holiday.This is because they areaware that most employ-ees will be absent fromwork. They demandedthat proper measures betaken against non-com-mittal colleagues, it wasvisible that even someofficials were not at theircabins during the lastday, reported Al-Qabas.

People who reportedto have completed trans-actions last Thursdaycomplained of staff mem-bers' 'bad attitude.'

KUWAIT: Official security sourcesstrongly denied that a Syrian waskilled by US troops while attemptingto intercept a US military convoyalong King Fahad Expressway. Thesource stressed that the report wasnothing more than a rumor, reportedAl-Watan.

The source added that what helped

the rumor spread was the fact thatKing Fahad Expressway was closed fornearly an hour near the Arifjan Campand the Bnaider camping area at dawnon Friday. "What happened is that aUS trailer carrying military equipmentdeviated from its course and the roadwas closed for security purposes,"explained the source. The source not-

ed that the only fatality was one thatoccurred of natural causes as a manwithin the Ali Al-Salem base died of aheart attack.

Official security sources added thatit was decided not to move classifiedmilitary equipment to Camp Arifjanfrom the location for three days so asto not disturb nearby campers.

Authorities deny US convoy

killing potential threat

New Year

brings

more bad

chicken

KUWAIT: Thousands of frozenchicken found to be unfit forhuman consumption madeits way onto the local marketbefore the end of the previ-ous year, reported Al-Qabas.The discovery of so muchspoiled food has shed lightinto the seriousness of one of2010's most concerningproblem.

According to an officialsource within the KuwaitMunicipality, a local foodsupplier imported a ship-ment of 2,600 cartons of foodthat was supposed to be heldfor testing before being soldin the market. However,when municipality officialsdecided to seize the ship-ment for health concernsthey discovered that 20 tonsof the food had already beensold to local markets.

A municipality official,speaking anonymously, saidthat the investigation into thecase is ongoing. He addedthat an official statement willbe released to the publicdetailing the measures thatneed to be taken against theoffending supplier.

KUWAIT: The Minister of Public Works andMinister of Municipality Affairs called for coor-dinating with the head of the MunicipalCouncil in order to enforce decisions regard-ing the development of health insurance hos-pitals, reported Al-Qabas.

Dr Fadhel Safar announced that there areno objections to allocating locations in theFarwaniya, Jahra or Ahmadi Governorates forthe establishment of a Kuwaiti health insur-

ance company. The company will then runhospitals that accept health insurance plansas outlined in the development plan. TheMunicipal Council agreed to establish one ofthese hospitals over a 50 thousand squaremeters area in Dajeej, Farwaniya in addition toanother similarly-sized hospital in Amghara,Jahra. A 36,494 square meters area has beenset aside for a third hospital in SouthSubahiya, Ahmadi as well.

Minister approves health

insurance hospitals

KUWAIT: Sources within the Iraqi cabinet saidthat a Kuwaiti trader submitted a request to pur-chase the pen used by Iraq's Prime MinisterNouri Al-Maliki to sign the court order to exe-cute Saddam Hussein, reported Al-Watan.

Egyptian daily Al-Youm Al-Sabei cited a FarsNews Agency report stating that a Kuwaitiantique trader sent a request to the Iraqi cabi-net, offering to purchase the pen if it was for salein a public auction. It reported that traders fromMalaysia, the Arabian Gulf and Europe are inter-ested in buying the pen, noting that one of thetraders wants to purchase it and present it to aninternational museum. The Egyptian newspaperquoted the agency's report, stating that the IraqiCabinet said the pen will eventually be placed inan Iraqi museum. Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait,Mohammad Hussein Bahr Al-Olum and theKuwaiti Ambassador to Baghdad reported thatthey have no information about the offer.

Kuwaiti offers to purchase pen

used for Saddam's execution

Avenues to

restrict smoking

KUWAIT: The Avenues, one of the largestcommercial complexes in Kuwait, launcheda campaign against smoking to coincidewith the start of the new year, reported Al-Anba. The change will be implemented indifferent phases of the mall and announcedwith stickers on the entrances to the com-plex in support of the campaign. Officialsources explained that eventually there willbe areas specifically allocated for smokingand that smoking will not be allowed in thecomplex's large corridors. The sourcesadded that large ashtrays will only be avail-able in smoking areas and restaurants andcafes will be required to allocate specificareas for smokers.

'Guided by Constitution and law'

LO C A L

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

KUWAIT: Official spokesman of theInterior Ministry, Brig Gen MohammadAl-Sabr expressed gratitude at beingselected to represent Kuwait at the firstArab Police Convention to be held inAmman, Jordan during the periodbetween January 3 and 5 of 2011.

Al-Sabr, Head of the Ministry ’sSecurity Media Department, explainedthat the convention - which is organizedby the Naif Arab University for SecuritySciences (NAUSS) in cooperation withJordan’s General Security Department -focuses on the role played by securitydepartments in national development, aswell as a means to boost cooperationbetween Security Media Departments inArab countries.

They reiterated the role played by themedia in boosting the awareness ofevents that took place in the region andaround the world. Al-Sabr made thesestatements while departing to the

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan yesterdayaccompanied by Col Emad Al-MullaAssistant Manager of the Public RelationsDepartment.

Al-Sabr to attend Arab

Police Convention

KUWAIT: Many Ministry of Health (MoH)officials are content with the ministry’sachievements during the previous year,expressing hope that more achievementscan be completed during the new year,which includes signing agreements to raisethe standard of public health services, inaddition to the health authority projectsthat must be passed by the Parliament first.

“ The ministry has put a number ofplans and goals that include the project ofincreasing bed capacities at public med-ical facilities,” Undersecretary Dr IbrahimAl-Abdulhadi said. AssistantUndersecretary for Public Services andMaintenance Affairs Samir Al-Asfourhoped that the new year would featurequick enforcement of the ‘nine medical

towers’ project, reported Al-Rai.Meanwhile, Dr Fatima Al-Saiedi, Head of

the Public Health Department said that themain achievement that her departmentgarnered during the past year is to sign thecontract to establish the Public HealthDepartment building, including virus labo-ratories. Meanwhile, Dr Yaqoub Al-Kandari,Head of the Social Health Department saidthat the enforcement of compulsory pre-marital tests was the highlight of hisdepartment’s achievements in 2010.Assistant Undersecretary for TechnicalAffairs Dr Khalid Al-Sahlawi also mentionedseveral achievements that were garneredduring the past year, including singing anagreement with the King Abdul-AzizUniversity in Saudi Arabia.

MoH looks ahead

for better 2011

Motorbike accidentsIn a motorcycle accident that

took place at Oyoun, an 18-year-old citizen sustained multipleinjuries and was admitted to JahraHospital. Another motorcycle acci-dent took place at Kabd, oppositeto the Agricultural Society. A 30-year-old Bangladeshi expat sus-tained injuries to his head. He wasadmitted to Farwaniya Hospital. Amotorcycle accident took placenear the Abdally Co-operativeSociety. A 5-year-old Kuwaiti boyfractured his right arm and wasadmitted to Al-Jahra Hospital.

Car accidentsA car accident took place along

King Fahad Road, after Eraifjan

Bridge. A 20-year -old citizen frac-tured his thigh and sustained ahead injury during the process. Hewas admitted to Al-Adan Hospital.In another case, a car accident tookplace at Fahaheel industrial area,near Ahmadi refinery. A 19-year-old citizen sustained a deep cut tothe head. A 17-year- old citizenwas also injured. They were admit-ted to Adan hospital. A car acci-dent took place along the SecondRing Road near Al-Daiya YouthCenter. A 35-year- old citizen frac-tured his shoulder in the accident,and was taken to the AmiriHospital. In similar cases, a caraccident took place at Fahaheel.Two Kuwaiti teenagers aged 13and 14 sustained multiple injuries.

Both were admitted to Al-AdanHospital. A car accident took placealong the Fifth Ring Road, oppo-site to the Bayan Palace. Also, a19-year-old citizen fractured hisnose and sustained an arm injuryin an accident, and was admittedto Mubarak Hospital. A car acci-dent took place along the SixthRing Road, located opposite SabahAl-Salem. Two Egyptian expataged 24 and 29 were injured. Theywere admitted to Al-AdanHospital. In a motor accident thattook place at Sabahiya, oppositeto Sheikha Fattooh mosque, threeSaudi men and a bedoon whoseaged between 18 and 22 wereinjured. Another unidentified indi-vidual aged 21 sustained a spinal

injury and the five were admittedto Al-Jahra Hospital. In the anothercar accident, two citizens aged 17and 18 respectively were fatallywounded. One of them fracturedhis thigh while the other suffered afractured hip. Both were alsoadmitted to Al-Jahra Hospital. Acar accident took place at Kabdnear the second gas station, anunidentified woman was injuredto the head. However, she died onthe spot.

Street fight A brawl took place near

Farwaniya near police station. A49-year old Filipina sustained aninjur y to her left eye and wasadmitted to Farwaniya Hospital.

Interior launches country-wide

security campaignBy Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: While the clock bid farewell to 2010, the Ministry of Interior conducted a large campaign against several locations usedfor illicit activities. As instructed by the acting Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Affairs, Lt Gen Sheikh Ahmad Al-Khalifa acoordinated effort was led by various departments to raid several apartments suspected of illegal activity throughout the coun-try. Several apartments were raided in Jabriya and Shaab resulting in the arrest of 23 women and 41 men. Campaigns in Salmiya,Hawally and Salwa resulted in the arrest of 15 women and 32 men and two apartments were raided in Farwaniya. Additionally, asearch of campsites in Kabd and Sulaibiya resulted in the arrest of seven women and 10 men. Official sources said that legalaction was taken against all the arrested men and women.

KUWAIT: Princess Dania BintAbdullah Bin Saud Al Saud, direc-tor of a daycare center for thosewith handicaps in Saudi Arabia,said that voluntary work is animportant part of GulfCooperative Council (GCC) socie-ty.

She added that the best evi-dence of such volunteerism canbe found at Kuwait’s center forautism and its accomplishments.

The princess made her com-ments during a visit to the KuwaitAutism Center while attending aforum organized by the Ministryof Justice, Awqaf and IslamicAffairs.

The ministry’s acting SecretaryGeneral, Eiman Al-Humaidan saidthat the purpose of the princess’svisit to the autism center is tobecome acquainted with theactivities and programs providedby the center known for beingunique and qualified in theirapproach to working with thosewith autism in the Middle East.

Princess praises Kuwait Autism Center

KUWAIT: A high-ranking delegation fromthe UN anti-terrorism committee’s execu-tive department will visit Kuwait betweenJanuary 21 to 23. They added that the del-egation will be briefed on measures takenlocally to combat terrorism as well as new

suggested ways to fight terrorism, report-ed Al-Watan. They also noted that thenational anti-terrorism committee wouldconvene tomorrow at the Foreign Ministryto prepare the visit’s agenda.

International anti-terrorism

delegation to arrive

LO C A LSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Kuwait Digest

Grilling in 2010,

the answer in 2011

KUWAIT: As citizens and expatriateswere warned against breaking any lawsduring the New Year celebrations, thegovernment itself entered the new yearwith pressure placed on it by the parlia-ment, reported Al-Qabas. A non coop-eration motion was filed against HisHighness the Prime Minister SheikhNasser Al-Muhammad Al-Sabah follow-ing a recent interpellation session.While the motion needs a minimum of25 votes by MPs to pass, it’s believedthat the MPs have already secured 21

votes. The votes belong to the six mem-bers of the National Action Bloc (NAB),four members of the Popular ActionBloc (PAB), four members of theDevelopment and Reform Bloc (DRB) inaddition to seven independent MPs;Mohammad Hayef, Al-Saifi Al-Saifi,Mubarak Al-Waalan, Daifullah Buramia,Husain Mizyed, Salem Al-Namlan andShuwaib Al-Muwaizri.

According to official sources, it islikely that the number could increase to22 as it is believed MP Khalid Al-Sultan

may join the motion’s supporters.Meanwhile, MP Dr Mohammad Al-Huwailah officially announced hisobjection to the motion.

New reports regarding the details ofthe grilling motion’s debate sessionindicate that despite having the situa-tion on their side, the Cabinet madethree big mistakes that could provecostly in the future. First, they resortedto constitutional and legal justificationsregarding the violent incident outsideMP Jamaan Al-Harbash diwaniya in Al-

Sulaibikhat last month instead of argu-ing that they were committing toinstructions made by His Highness theAmir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.Secondly, they claimed that the attackwas provoked by some MPs who theyaccused of initiating the assault againstSecurity Forces. This claim contradictsearlier statements made by the govern-ment when they said they were enforc-ing the law and instructions of HisHighness the Amir. It is argued thattheir third mistake was made when the

government’s report on the incidentattempted to gain support from mem-bers of the NAB instead of focusing onindependent MPs such as Al-Namlanand Al-Muwaizri.

In an official statement of supportfor His Highness the Prime Ministeragainst the non-cooperation motion,MP Al-Huwailah explained that hemade his decision “following the resultsof the interpellation’s debate sessionand after consulting top religious fig-ures in the country who asserted the

importance of obeying the country’sleader and protecting the country fromtension.”

Meanwhile, MP Al-Sultan indicatedthat the Salafi Islamic Assembly has stillyet to announce their stance regardingthe non-cooperation motion, reportedAl-Watan. He noted that the Cabinet“did not provide anything new duringthe grilling debate,” and added that theSalafi assembly is expected to maketheir decision following the New Yearholiday.

Non-Cooperation motion still below minimal support

It began on November 28 and lasting twomonths, the program teaches KFAEDDisbursement Department employees admin-istrative and banking skills and procedures.NBK’s Corporate Banking Group delivered theprogram’s lectures and presentations.

“NBK strengthens Kuwait’s economy andsociety through a variety of initiatives. Forexample, this program demonstrates our com-mitment to Kuwait’s national workforce andour eagerness to work with public sector insti-tutions for the long term benefit and develop-ment of Kuwait and its people,” said Mazin Al-Nahedh, NBK General Manager, CorporateBanking Group.

“This program is also a manifestation ofNBK’s interest in developing a fruitful and last-ing relationships with Kuwait’s national eco-nomic sectors, particularly companies andorganizations operating in the oil and petro-chemical fields,” Al-Nahedh added.

The Kuwait Fund for Arab EconomicDevelopment (KFAED), founded in 1961, wasthe first institution in the Middle East to focuson international development. Osama M AlAttal, Director of Disbursement Department atKFAED expressed appreciation for the programand NBK’s role as a partner of Kuwait’s publicsector, “The Fund employees will gain bankingand administrative skills and knowledge dur-ing their program at the various departmentsand branches of NBK,” Al Attal added.

NBK trains Kuwait Fund for Arab

Economic Development employees

Supporting Kuwait’s society through actionKUWAIT: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated bank in the Middle East, has organized a hands-on banking and administrative skills training program for the employees of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). NBK’sefforts are part of its ongoing drive to promote the education and development of Kuwait’s national workforce and fulfill its Corporate SocialResponsibilities(CSR).

The year 2010 concluded with theworst politically tense situationKuwait has ever witnessed. We are

starting 2011 with the same tension thatmight lead to an unpredictable future.

We don’t see a bright future, nor theprosperity promised to us in the devel-opment plan anymore. Such politicalconflicts negatively affect our presentand future at the same time. This frustra-tion is easily grown in Kuwait given ourcurrent parliament and Cabinet.

This frustration is felt by writers whobelieve that neither the parliament northe government were up to the people’santicipation. What kind of developmentcan we achieve with all this political ten-sion and occasional disruption?

In developed countries people startthe new year by opening a new factory,with new projects or public service cen-ters that help people achieve their aspi-

rations. They start the new year with joywhereas we start the new year with agrilling motion that might dissolve theparliament, lead to Cabinet resignationsor further grilling motions that mightlead to non-cooperation motions thatserve nobodies interest except thosewho filed it. For them, the interest ofKuwait and the people of Kuwait is theleast of their concerns.

Reviewing resolutions made by alarge segment of Kuwaitis, they allagreed on one common wish; thatAlmighty Allah protect Kuwait and saveit from evil and ignorance locally andinternationally.

This is the right thing to ask for in themidst of such a tense political situation.May Allah protect us from those who arekilling off our ambitions and aspirations.

— Al-Watan

KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Youth andSports (PAYS) is committed to improving allaspects of the sports sector in the country,including its distinct media sector. Thisstatement was issued by Jassem Yaqoub,Deputy Managing Director for Youth Affairs,in a speech delivered at the end of the GulfMedia Sports Course that was hosted by theAbdullah Al-Salem center between the 26and 29 last December.

The event featured the participation offorty four media personnel representing var-ious media institutions at the GulfCooperation Council (GCC). Lectures weredelivered by Dr Kamal Darweesh Dean ofthe Education Faculty at the HelwanUniversty and former president of Egypt’s Al-Zamalik club, Dr Yousif Al-Failakawi, Head ofthe Media Depar tment at the KuwaitUniversity, and other sports media personal-ities.

Yaqoub fur ther asser ted on the roleplayed by the Sports Media in the Gulf tosupport development of the sports sector inthe GCC countries. Meanwhile, Dr Darweeshdiscussed in his last lecture, the proper qual-ification of sports journalists. Another lec-ture delivered by local sports media journal-ists Marzouq Al-Ajmi and Talal Al-Mahtab,talked about the proper way of creatingsports pages and magazines.

The event ended with a speech of grati-tude and appreciation delivered by MutlaqAl-Enizi , Director of Abdullah Al-SalemCenter. Participants were awarded certifi-cates.

By Khaled Sultan Al-Sultan

Power crisis

caused by grids

From right: Manager at NBK Corporate Banking Group Sulaiman Al-Fouzan - NBK GeneralManager, Corporate Banking Group, Mazin Al-Nahedh - Director of Disbursement Department atKuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Osama M Al Attal - Deputy Director ofDisbursement Department at Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development FadhalahAlfadhalah.

NBK General Manager, Corporate Banking Group, Mazin Al-Nahedh - Director of Disbursement Department at Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Osama M Al Attal - DeputyDirector of Disbursement Department at Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development Fadhalah Alfadhalah - Manager at NBK Corporate Banking Group Sulaiman Al-Fouzan in a groupphoto with the employees of the Disbursement Department at the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

GCC Sports Media Course ConcludesKUWAIT: A number of Kuwaiti graduatesfrom univers i t ies in the Phi l ippinesdemanded that their degrees be recog-nized and that those who still have yet tofinish their studies be allowed to transferto other universities, reported Al-Rai. Thestudents demanded an end to a problemthat was caused when the M inistr y ofEducation stopped recognizing their uni-versities.

In 2009 the ministry decided to stoprecognizing a number of universities in thePhilippines that were accused of providingcollege degrees to Kuwaiti students inexchange for money.

In a statement made recently to thepress, head of the Philippines Graduate

Association, Hamad Al-Sawwagh said thatsuch an accusat ion cannot be madeagainst all students studying at Filipinouniversities. He added that the ministry hasbeen very vague on this issue for the pastyear and a half.

Moreover, Al-Sawwagh said that thedecision ignored a number of studentswho graduated before the decision wasmade, adding that the ministry offeredthese students scholarships.

He also pointed out that while the min-istry refused to recognize Kuwaiti students’degrees from Filipino universities they stillaccredited degrees from the same universi-ties for Filipino expats assigned to work inthe public sector.

Kuwaiti students demand

more clarification

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: The Ministry ofElectricity and Water (MEW)believes that the main rea-son for the Kuwait’s elec-tricity woes do not lie inlow-production but theproblem posed by powertransfer grids, officials said.They highlighted that thetotal power productionstood at 11,000 megawatts.There has been a hugeboost in production whencompared to other neigh-boring GCC countries, thatrecord lesser power pro-

duction, yet rarely suffersfrom any blackouts. “Muchwork is underway toimprove the grids startingwith importing neededspare parts,” said officials.They noted that massivemaintenance operationswere being performed andwere expected to last tillnext May.

Expatriate Labor Authority

approved The Legal Advice (Fatwa)

and Legislation Departmentrecently approved the

establishment of a specialauthority that overseesexpatriate labor, an inde-pendent body from theMinistry of Social Affairs’work departments. The newauthority will be headed byMinister of Social Affairs.

The f inal decision toestablish the authority willbe reviewed by the CivilServices Committee (CSC)before it is referred to theCabinet. Furthermore, offi-cials predicted that theauthority might resumeoperations during the sec-ond quarter of 2011.

lo c a l

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

KUWAIT: Two men in their thirties died in a car acci-dent on Salmi Road, reported Al-Watan. An investi-gation revealed that the accident was the result ofone driver losing control of his vehicle and crashinginto another. Paramedics responded to the incidentand pronounced the men dead upon their arrival.

Woman kidnappedTwo m e n k i d n a p p e d a 2 1 - ye a r - o l d b e d o o n

woman from her house in Jahra while she was athome with her sister, reported Al-Watan. The twomasked men forced their way into the woman’shouse and forced her to go with them. The victim’sparents filed a case with authorities and an investi-gation was launched.

Criminal turns self inA middle-aged citizen wanted for public intoxica-

tion turned himself in to authorities in order to givehimself a chance to be pardoned by Amiri amnestynext month, reported Al-Watan. During an investiga-

tion, it was discovered that the man was wanted bypolice for a six month prison sentence and a KD8,000 debt.

Fugitive heldA fugitive was arrested for drinking alcohol in

public in Rehab, reported Al-Watan. He was arrestedafter he was spotted by police, drinking inside avehicle with a male companion. An inspection intothe man’s identity revealed that he was wanted forprevious drug related crimes as well as for not pay-ing a KD 40,000 debt. When searching the man’sbelongings they found him in possession of a loadedgun as well.

Teen savedPolice saved a teenager kidnapped by a group of

thugs planning to sexually assault him, reported Al-Watan. The incident occurred in Salmiya where thevic t im was lured into an apar tment by his f ivefriends after a night out. Upon learning that his

friends planned to sexually assault him, the teenwent to the balcony and threatened to jump fromthe eighth floor if they came near him. While he heldthem off he called police and informed them of hissituation. Authorities responded to the emergencyand placed all the men under arrest.

Abandoned babyAuthorities are searching for a woman who disap-

peared after leaving a baby at a nursery in Khaitan,reported Al-Rai. The face-veiled suspect showed up atthe nursery to drop off the five-month-old baby girlbefore heading back to her car to retrieve her and thebaby’s IDs. However, the woman never returned to thenursery. A case was filed with authorities and employ-ees at the nursery described the woman as talking in aKuwaiti dialect.

Reckless driversAhmadi police arrested 15 people at a Kabad

camp site for driving recklessly while celebrating the

New Year. They were referred to the proper authori-ties

Illegal callsFarwaniya police arrested six expatriates for run-

ning illegal international call centers in Jeleeb Al-Shuyoukh, reported Al-Anba. The arrests occurredfollowing a raid on the four apartments used for ille-gal phone calls. Those arrested were referred to theproper authorities and prepared for deportation.

Family feudA citizen filed a case with authorities against his

oldest son after he discovered that his son stole KD5,000 from his bank account and sold his house inThahar, reported Al-Anba. According to the culprit’sbrother, who informed their father about the inci-dent, the culprit decided to commit his crimes whenhe learned that his father married another Arabwoman. The case was filed at the Farwaniya policestation and an investigation was launched.

Kuwait Digest

Following the end of the interpellation motion initi-ated against His Highness the Prime Minister, state-ments from both parties have been released to the

press. Each side has declared themselves as winners, asif they have just witnessed a sports match rather than asession in which a political tool was exercised.

After the end of the debate, what lies ahead now isthe non-cooperation motion that has been filed againstthe premier. It should be dealt with as a democraticmechanism that does not deserve to be made a sourceof political tension. Moreover, this motion should not betaken as a chance to take jibes against the other, norshould it be placed as a criteria to assess an MP’s socialpopularity. This constitutional tool should be dealt withas it is; with constitutionality, similar to what happens inall democratic countries. The Parliament did the rightthing when they convened the next day following thedebate that was held to discuss public issues and takedecisions in accordance.

Hopefully, garnering public support outside theParliament would be avoided in the coming days, sincethe issue is not a matter of war, but rather a democraticpractice that should be dealt with reasonably, away fromhostility. The issue is a matter of expression of opinion ina public case, during which the maximum constitutionaloptions have been exercised. If we could handle thissubject this way, then that will reflect our good demo-cratic comprehension. Hopefully, the parliament and theCabinet would resume work normally following the endof voting on the non-cooperation motion, and towardsthe path of development. — Al-Qabas

Towards the pathof development

By Abdulmuhsin Jamaal

Salmi Road car accident claims two lives

By Wendy Clayton

If you have studied another language ortried speaking to people of a foreign lan-guage while on holiday, then perhaps you

have heard of ‘false friends’. In some cases, itturns out to be quite comical and no harmdone. However, what happens when someoneuses a word incorrectly through misspelling ormispronunciation?

An all too common occurrence within thediplomatic community is with visa applica-tions. Several embassies in Kuwait havereported that eyebrows have been raisedwhen inspecting visa applications. When theanswer to the simple question: What is yourreason for visiting this country? - turns out tobe ‘terrorism,’ alarm bells begin to ring.

One diplomat says “It’s quite amusing toreceive a visa application with the answer ‘ter-rorism,’ but at the same time we have to take itvery seriously and investigate.” The diplomatsays he must call the applicant and invitethem to the embassy for an interview, “Insome cases, I’ve had the applicant still replyverbally the reason they wish to travel to mycountry is terrorism. I then have to furtherquestion them about the things they will bedoing to get a clear indication that they areactually going there for ‘tourism’ and not ‘ter-rorism,’” explained the diplomat.

When Catherine, a resident, placed a phone

call to an airline in Kuwait she says the voiceover message clearly says “for terrorist press 5.”“Of course, I know they mean ‘for tourist’ but itstill left me raising my eyebrows at the situa-tion,” said Catherine.

English is not the only language to fall vic-tim to false friends. Angela’s husband isGerman speaking. She explains, “Once myhusband asked me if I wanted a hot drinkbecause I looked cold. I replied in German ‘Jabitte, Ich bin Kalt’. I thought I was being good

trying to speak his language, however it onlydrew laughter from everyone present.Apparently I’d said that I was ‘dead’.”

Angela said that when she used ‘Ich’ for ‘I’ inEnglish it gave the wrong impression to hermeaning. “I should have said ‘Mir ist Kalt,’which directly translated to English means‘Me is cold.’ Totally wrong for English but per-fectly right for German,” said Angela. “We havehad mistakes on both sides over the years.You have to just realize that we have two dif-

ferent languages and make allowances forthat.”

On a previous trip to Europe, Thuraya saidshe paid the taxi driver the fare and told himto keep the change. His reply highly offendedThuraya to the point she began hitting himfor being rude. “When I gave him the moneyand said to keep the change he replied some-thing to me in what I thought was Arabic,”explained Thuraya. “The problem is, in Arabic,what he said was very rude. It wasn’t until the

person I was meeting came to the car andsorted it out. Apparently he was saying ‘thankyou’ to me.”

Barriers exist in all languages whether it isthe written word or spoken word. Many sig-nage exist around the world that have beenincorrectly translated from one language tothe next or are perceived as something differ-ent because our brain tells us to read it thatway. In any case, we all have to be aware ofthese differences in order to get along.

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) organized a training course for its staff members. They were trained on administering CPR and basic means of dealing with cases of emergency. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Tourism or Terrorism?False friends raise eyebrows around the world

‘Once my husband asked me if I wanted a hotdrink because I looked cold. I replied inGerman ‘Ja bitte, Ich bin Kalt’. I thought I wasbeing good trying to speak his language, how-ever it only drew laughter from everyone pres-ent. Apparently I’d said I was ‘dead.”

LO C A L

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

NBK hosts staff lunch on occasion of the New Year

KUWAIT: The Executive Management of theNational Bank of Kuwait (NBK) hosted a spe-cial lunch buffet to all NBK staff members onthe occasion of the New Year and in appreci-

ation of the employees’ commitment, initia-tives and unremitting efforts in serving thebank as well as its clients and shareholders.

The lunch buffet held in all NBK’s branch-

es was attended by more than 2,000 NBKstaff members and provided a good oppor-tunity to congratulate the employees for theoccasion of the New Year.

This event has become an annual NBK tra-dition whereby the family of NBK employeesare brought together on the same banquetas a token of appreciation for their commit-

ment and sincere endeavors in serving thebank, as well as fostering the spirit of familyamongst all NBK’s employees of various lev-els inside Kuwait.

KUWAIT: It was reported that the governmentis determined to face the non-cooperationmotion filed against His Highness the PrimeMinister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohamma```d Al-Sabah following the interpellation session lastTuesday, reported Al-Watan.

According to parliamentary sources, thereis no option but to face the motion regardlessof the number of MPs in support of the no-confidence vote. In their view, supporters ofthe motion will not earn the required 25 votesto oust the Cabinet. The sources added thatsuch a decision will have high political costs asfar as the country’s democratic process is con-cerned.

It was reported that the issue will deter-mine the future of the fragile relationshipbetween the executive and legislative authori-

ties. Sources noted that failing to face themotion has the potential to “put the politicalfuture of His Highness the Prime Minister atstake.”

The sources indicated that the governmenthas a majority of votes within the Parliamentto survive the motion, even if by a small mar-gin of two or three votes. According to them,the ‘Anything But the Constitution’ union istentative and will dissolve with the end of theinterpellation debacle. “If the governmentdoes not face the motion it may not gain theconfidence of all the MPs who are currentlythrowing their weight behind it,” the sourceswere quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, an independent MP describedthe current state of affairs as “grave” and urgedall concerned parties to prevent the country

from being plunged into an intractablepredicament. He added that the present situa-tion can have an adverse impact upon thestructure of the state and cause disunityamong various segments of society.

Moreover, the nine Shiite MPs were sched-uled to convene a meeting yesterday to gaugethe situation and deliberate over the outcomeof the interpellation filed against His Highnessthe Prime Minister. The concerned MPs werealso to discuss the developments in the coun-try in order to find a way out of the currentordeal.

An informed source said that the meetingis the second of its kind following a similarmeeting held by the same Shiite legislatorsahead of last week’s interpellation session inwhich they unanimously voiced strong oppo-

sition to the decision to question His Highnessthe Prime Minister.

The source noted that the Shiite MPsdescribed the interpellation as “tribal, sectari-an and selective,” and concluded that it wouldbe meaningless to support it. They accusedthose backing the interpellation as individualswith hidden agendas.

In another development, a group of MPs,along with certain prominent personalitieswithin the Awazem tribe, are scheduled tomeet and assess the current situation.

An informed source disclosed that a state-ment will be issued following the meetingaffirming their support of the tribe, for thestate as well as to the orders of His Highnessthe Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

On his part, MP Dhaifallah Buramiya said he

expected the government to tender its resig-nation rather than face the no-confidencemotion set for next Wednesday. The lawmakerdescribed the interpellation as the strongest inthe country’s democracy and expressed hopethat the next government will be strongenough to run the country and manage itsresources properly.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary source was cit-ed as saying that MP Mubarak Al-Khureinejwill not return home to take part in the no-confidence vote because his mother is in criti-cal condition. The Salafi Islamic Groupannounced that they will hold a meeting onWednesday to assess the situation and agreeeither to vote unanimously or to leave eachMP to make his own decision regarding thenon-cooperation motion.

Confrontation government’s only option

Kuwait Digest

Need to amend

restrictive laws

By Dr Ghanim Al-Najjar

The inhuman and unjustified attack on Dr ObeidAl-Wasmi is a deliberate attempt at degrading ahuman being’s dignity, in addition to being an

act of aggression on academic freedom. It is important to always note that the struggle has

always been a part of life, since the introduction ofthe Constitution in 1962, on the freedom of move-ment and expression, and an extension of publicspace. In fact, previous examples were clear in thatdirection.

The first casualty of the Civil Service Law was DrAbdallah Al-Nafisi who was sacked for expressing hisopinions in the book ‘Kuwait....the other opinion.’ Hewas followed by Dr Khaldoun Al-Naqeeb who wrote‘Society and State in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula’in 1987. He was summoned to the State SecurityDepartment and interrogated for a week, followingwhich he was released with the help of an administra-tive decision. The interrogations revolved aroundsome terminology that Al-Naqeeb used in his book,considered ‘sovereign ministries.’

The late Dr Ahmad Al-Baghdadi was jailed becauseof extreme adversity and interpretation of words. Ofcourse, for each of the three with whom I share strongrelations with, their experiences deserve to bedetailed, but that can be done later.

It is time to stop abusing power. Why is a universi-ty professor of Obeid Al-Wasmi’s stature imprisonedfor 21 days pending investigation? This is a story thatwas repeated several times with columnistMohammad Abdelgader Al-Jassim. When the articlesregarding state security crimes remain so foggy, thislack of clarity can unleash a torrent of charges.

Why are opinion holders taken handcuffed, guard-ed by masked men as if they were terrorists? What isthe explanation related to releasing the ones chargedwith insulting the Prosecutor General?

What about the ordinary individual? By that wemean the person in general be it an academic, writeror a simple person. This person was proven innocentafter being jailed a long time pending investigation?Who will compensate him for wrongful imprison-ment? The laws that restrain freedom should beamended. — Aljarida

KUWAIT: A Parliament memberrecently inquired with theMinister of Health (MoH) aboutreports which stated that theministry had nominated a non-Kuwaiti doctor to representKuwait at a workshop. It was held

by the regional bureau of theWorld Health Organization(WHO) at Cairo, Egypt during theperiod between October 30, 2010and November 4, 2010.

In his questions to the ministerDr Hilal Al-Sayer, MP Adnan

Abdulsamad asked about thelegal and administrative stan-dards by which the ministry nom-inates non-Kuwaiti doctors torepresent the country in activitiesorganized by the WHO and otherregional organizations. He also

asked the reasons behind thefailure to nominate qualifiedKuwaiti physicians for this task,reported Al-Qabas.

Moreover, Al-Abdulsamadasked for a list showing all foreignmissions in which non-Kuwaiti

doctors were sent since January1, 2008, This is in addition towhether there are Kuwaiti doc-tors at the Public HealthDepartment who can apply torepresent Kuwait at foreign mis-sions.

MP enquires about MoH representative

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: MP Mohammed Al-Huwailahfinally ended the controversy sur-rounding his attitude regarding thenon-cooperation motion filed againstHis Highness the Prime Minister SheikhNasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah sched-uled to be discussed next week. Officialsources noted that Al-Huwailah refusedto join MPs supporting the interpella-tion, putting an end to the pressureput on him by MPs to have him sup-

port the grilling. “We have to obey ourruler His Highness the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah who askedthat things calm down and to placeKuwait above all other considerations,”he said.

US soldiers kill unidentified personUS troops shot and killed an uniden-

tified person who suddenly appearedin front of a military convoy on Fridayat dawn, reported security sources. Thesoldiers shot the man dead and noti-

fied the local police.

Crashed US military vehicleKing Fahad Expressway was blocked

on Thursday night when a US militaryvehicle overturned. Authoritiesresponded to the emergency and spe-cial machinery was used to clear theway and transport the shipment it car-ried. Official sources added that USvehicles rushed to the scene to securethe perimeter before authoritiesarrived to transport the shipment.

MP Al-Huwailah supports PM

Female activists

commend

women’s

housing law

KUWAIT: Various female activists throughoutKuwait positively commended the parliament’sapproval of the women’s housing care law,reported Al-Watan. They stressed that such anaccomplishment could only be made with thefull cooperation of both lawmakers and execu-tives.

On this regard, the chair of the women’saffairs committee, Sheikhah Latifa Al-Fahadhailed the parliament’s concern on women’sissues and decision to grant them more rightsto better their living conditions. “Passing thislaw will help protect Kuwaiti families andachieve more stability for them,” she stressed.

Speaking on the same issue, the head of theKuwait Society of History and the Dean of theFaculty of Arts at Kuwait University, DrMaymouna Al-Sabah described the passing ofthe law that allows a Kuwaiti woman married toa non-Kuwaiti housing care as a great achieve-ment for Kuwaiti women and a welcome addi-tion to the rights they already had. She addedthat hindering the passage of such laws is animpediment to national interest and develop-ment. “I do hope that such cooperation willdominate in other issues as well,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the DoingFemale Kuwaiti Citizens Justice Committee andthe head of the preliminary committee of theNational Syndicate for Family Security, DrKhadijah Al-Mahmeed hailed the effort exertedto get the law passed. She noted that someMPs were absolutely committed to providingjustice for women.

Teaching staff member at the High Institutefor Theatrical Arts, Dr Nermeen Al-Houtti hailedthe accomplishment and described theachievement as historic in the struggle to helpKuwaiti women attain their rights. “Passing thislaw with a consensus of 46 lawmakers and min-isters entitles divorced and widowed Kuwaitiwomen to housing care loans. It’s a source ofpride that our lawmakers and governmentstrongly believe in supporting women’s rights,”she stressed.

InternationalSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Gbagbo decries foreign intervention

Page 8

BAGHDAD : The latest bloody attack onIraq’s Christians was brutal in its simplici-ty. Militants left a bomb on the doorstepof the home of an elderly Christian cou-ple and rang the doorbell. When FawziRahim, 76, and his 78-year-old wife JanetMekha answered the doorbell Thursdaynight, the bomb exploded, killing them,Mekha’s brother told The AssociatedPress on Friday. Three other people,apparently passers-by, were wounded.

“When I went there, I found both ofthem cut to pieces near the gate of theirhouse,” said the brother, Falah al-Tabbakh,47, who had been at a funeral nearby inthe eastern Baghdad district of Ghadir. Herushed to his sister’s house after neigh-bors called him, and they told him whathappened, he said.

The bombing was among a string ofseemingly coordinated attacks Thursdayevening that targeted at least sevenChristian homes in various parts ofBaghdad that wounded at least 13 otherpeople, a week after Al-Qaeda-linked mil-itants renewed their threats to attackIraq’s Christians.

The attacks are the latest since an Oct.31 siege of a Baghdad church by Al-Qaeda killed 68 worshippers, terrifyingthe minority community, whose num-bers have already fallen dramatically inthe past seven years of violence in Iraq.

The repeated attacks have infuriatedmany Christians who question why thegovernment seems unable to protectthem despite its repeated promises sincethe church siege to do so.

“The Christians in Iraq are always tar-geted because they do not have militiasand they do not believe in the power of

weapons,” said Father Nadhir Dakko, apriest at St. George Chaldean Church,who performed the funeral service forthe slain couple.

Speaking to reporters after the serv-ice, Dakko railed against what he calledthe government’s inability to “establishpeace and security” for all Iraqis, Muslimand Christian. All Iraqis are suffering, hesaid, but the situation is harder forChristians because they are a minority.

“Iraq is bleeding every day,” he said.The government, while calling onChristians not to flee Iraq, has beefed upsecurity around churches and dispatchedextra police patrols in Christian neighbor-hoods. They’ve placed concrete blastwalls around the Our Lady of Salvationchurch where the siege occurred. Still,authorities and Christian leaders haveacknowledged that security forces can-not protect every single house, and askedChristians to be vigilant. Violence hasgone down across the country the pasttwo years, but the government still strug-gles to protect even its own police forces.Iraq’s violence has struck all its variousreligious groups, and hundreds of thou-sands have fled the country since the2003 U.S.-led invasion. But the ranks ofChristians have been particularly deplet-ed, in part because their numbers werenot large to begin with _ estimated at 1.4million before the war. Now an estimated400,000 to 600,000 Christians are left,according to a recent US StateDepartment report.

On Friday, the US State Departmentcondemned the recent violence againstIraqi Christians and praised the Iraqi gov-ernment for trying to increase security for

the Christian community.“We call on the government of Iraq to

redouble its efforts to protect Christiansand apprehend the terrorists who arebehind these acts,” said the statementreleased by acting State Departmentspokesman Mark Toner. The Ghadir dis-trict where the elderly couple were killedshows the signs of the flight. In the pastits population was predominantlyChristian, with some Sunni Muslims. Bothcommunities have fled in large numberssince 2003, and many houses have sincebeen bought by Shiites from the nearbyShiite stronghold of Sadr City.

Al-Tabbakh said his sister’s childrenhad left Iraq even before 2003, but thathis sister and her husbands were hold-outs, determined to stay in their homes.“Today, we stand next to two martyrswhose crime was that they preferred tostay in their country,” Dakko, the priest,told the congregation in the funeral serv-ice. Christians have been targeted in thepast. But the October church siege wasthe deadliest ever, and it was followed byseveral dire warnings from Al-Qaeda’sbranch in Iraq that it intends to directlytarget the community. That promptedseveral thousand Christians to fleeBaghdad for the relative safety of theKurdish-run north in the past twomonths.

Father Mukhlis, a priest at Our Lady ofSalvation church, the target of theOctober siege, said as many as 12 violentincidents occurred against Christianhomes across the capital Thursday night.

Police officials confirmed sevenattacks against Christian homes. Theyand hospital officials confirmed the

Attacks infuriate many Christians

BAGHDAD: A woman lights a candle among pictures of slain Iraqi Christians at Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday. — AP

deaths of Rahim and Mekha and 13wounded in the various attacks. All offi-cials spoke on condition of anonymitybecause they were not authorized tospeak to the media. In the other attacksThursday night, four bombings targetingChristians wounded six people. A stungrenade landed inside a Christian housein the Dora district in southern Baghdad,injuring three others, and a rocket hit aChristian home in downtown Baghdad,wounding one person. There was noimmediate claim of responsibility, but

such attacks have generally been thework of Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda.

Deputy interior minister, Maj GenAhmed Abu Ragif, blamed Thursday’sattacks on “terrorists who expressedhatred of Iraq in general and of theChristians in particular,” Ragif said. Theassailants’ aim was to “prevent ourChristian brothers to celebrate the NewYear,” he added.

At the Our Lady of Salvation church,both Christians and Muslims gathered

Friday morning in a show of solidarityand to see a play performed by Iraqiactors about a woman whose son is killedin the church siege.

One Muslim woman said she wantedto demonstrate to the Christian commu-nity that they are not alone. “What hashappened in this church was so painful toall of us. We wish that we died instead ofthem. Those who plan to steal Iraq won’tsucceed because we all share joy andsadness together,” said Hiba Shihab.— AP

JERUSALEM: Palestinian leaders, deter-mined to proclaim their state duringthe coming year, are readying an arse-nal of diplomatic alternatives to negoti-ations with Israel, which are virtuallyfrozen. Symbolising the change incourse that emerged after an OctoberArab League meeting in Libya, presi-dent Mahmoud Abbas laid on Fridaythe foundation stone for a Palestinianembassy in Brazil, the first of severalLatin American states that recognisedPalestinian statehood this month withinthe borders of 1967.

Those were the boundaries thatexisted before Israel captured the WestBank, including east Jerusalem, and the

Gaza Strip in that year’s Middle East war.Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador havesince followed Brazil, and Uruguay hassaid it will do likewise early in 2011.Direct talks between Israel and thePalestinians, the first for nearly twoyears, began on September 2 butstalled after a 10-month Israeli settle-ment-building freeze expired threeweeks later and Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu refused to renewit.

Since then, Abbas has been floatingpossible alternatives ranging from adiplomatic offensive to radical optionssuch as suspending interim agreementswith Israel or even dissolving the self-

rule Palestinian Authority. Dismantlingthe Authority would potentially forceIsrael to take over the economic andpolitical cost of governing the nearly 2.5million Palestinians in the West Bankand formally bury the peace processlaunched with the 1993 Oslo accords.

In a recorded address broadcast onPalestinian television on Friday nightAbbas called for the international com-munity, spearheaded by the peacemak-ing Quartet the United Nations, theUnited States, Russia and the EuropeanUnion, to come up with a new peaceplan. “We demand that the Middle EastQuartet and the various UN bodies,headed by the Security Council, draft apeace plan which conforms with inter-national law, instead of keeping upnegotiations which do not solve theproblem,” he said, without elaborating.

The Palestinians’ strategy centres ona proclamation of statehood inSeptember 2011, the end of the 12months set as a target for the talkslaunched in Washington. It also marksthe completion of prime minister SalamFayyad’s two-year plan for setting up thebasic institutions of a state and it iswhen the United Nations holds its nextGeneral Assembly. At the last session,Obama held out the prospect ofPalestinian statehood by the time theUN convened again. “When we comeback here next year, we can have anagreement that will lead to a new mem-ber of the United Nations-an independ-ent, sovereign state of Palestine, living inpeace with Israel,” Obama said.—AFP

Palestinians weigh statehood options

A doorbell rings, a new attack on Iraqi Christians

TOURA AL-GHARBEYYEH: Palestinian Fatah supporters gather next to agiant image of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a rally tomark the upcoming 46th anniversary since the group’s foundation in theWest Bank town of Toura Al-Gharbeyyeh, near Jenin yesterday. — AP

in t e r n at ion a l

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

The United Nations hassaid that the volatile WestAfrican nation once dividedin two faces a real risk ofreturn to civil war, but PrimeMinister Guillaume Soro, aOuattara ally, told reportersthat the country is already atthis point , “indeed in a civilwar situation.” “This is what’sat stake: Either we assist inthe installation of democracyin Ivory Coast or we stand byindifferent and allow democ-racy to be assassinated,” Sorosaid at a news conference,adding that more than 200people already have beenkilled and 1,000 others havebeen wounded by gunfire.

Human rights groupsaccuse incumbent Gbagbo’ssecurity forces of abductingand killing political oppo-nents, though Gbagbo alliesdeny the allegations and saysome of the victims weresecurity forces killed by pro-testers. The UN has con-firmed at least 173 deaths.

Gbagbo gave an addresslate Friday on state televisionin which he accused theinternational community ofmounting a coup d’etat tooust him and said Ivorianswere being subjected tointernational hostility. “Noone has the right to call onforeign armies to invade hiscountry,” Gbagbo said. “Ourgreatest duty to our countryis to defend it from foreignattack.” The United Nationshad been invited by all par-ties to certify the results ofthe Nov. 28 presidentialrunoff vote. The UN declaredAlassane Ouattara the win-ner, endorsing theannouncement by the coun-try’s electoral commission.But Gbagbo has refused tostep aside now for more thana month, defying internation-al condemnation and grow-ing calls for his ouster.

The European Union saidlate Friday that it hadapproved sanctions on 59more people, in addition to19 already sanctioned lastweek including Gbagbo andhis wife. Gbagbo and about30 of his allies also face UStravel sanctions, though suchmeasures have typicallyfailed to reverse illegal powergrabs in Africa in the past.West African leaders havesaid they are prepared to usemilitary force to pushGbagbo out, but are givingnegotiations more time fornow. For many, the credibilityof the international commu-nity is at stake if it is unableto ensure that Ouattara takespower. Gbagbo points toIvory Coast’s constitutionalcouncil, which declared himpresident after throwing outmore than half a millionvotes from Ouattara strong-holds. The council invalidatedelection results in thoseareas, citing violence andintimidation directed atGbagbo supporters. The topUN envoy in Ivory Coast hasdisputed that assessment.

“All dictators are alike andall dictators will not negoti-ate their departure , they aremade to leave,” Soro said. “Forthe time being we are lettingdiplomacy do its work butwhen the time comes, eachof us will assume our respon-sibilities.” Soro was appointedprime minister underOuattara’s government,which has been holed up inthe Golf Hotel under UN pro-tection despite its wide-spread international recogni-tion. Soro, a former rebelleader from the north, servedin a coalition governmentwith Gbagbo but is nowaligned with Ouattara.

Meanwhile, a pro-Gbagboyouth leader has encouragedhis supporters to seize theGolf Hotel, saying thatOuattara and Soro have untilyesterday to “pack up theirbags” and leave. The buildingis being guarded by some800 UN peacekeepers andhundreds of rebels loyal toOuattara. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hassaid he is “deeply alarmed” bythe youth leader’s comments,and he has called on Gbagbosupporters to “refrain fromsuch dangerous irresponsibleaction,” a UN spokesman said.The youth leader, Charles BleGoude, is known as the “streetgeneral” for organizing a vio-lent anti-French and anti-UNgang that terrorized the for-eign population in IvoryCoast in 2004-2005.—AP

Gbagbo decries

foreign interventionRival being protected by hundreds of UN peacekeepers

ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast’s incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power, has accused world leaders of launching a coup tooust him. Meanwhile, the UN has warned Gbagbo supporters not to attack the hotel where his political rival is being protected by hundreds ofUN peacekeepers. A Gbagbo youth leader has called for internationally recognized leader Alassane Ouattara to leave the hotel by yesterday.

ABIDJAN : A UN soldier stands guard inside the UN Headquarters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Friday. The UnitedNations is warning supporters of incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo that an attack on the hotel where the interna-tionally recognized winner of last month’s election is based could re-ignite civil war. —AP

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI holds the pastoral staff as he celebrates a mass inSt. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican yesterday. —AP

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI urgedChristians to remain strong in the face ofintolerance and violence in a New Year’sappeal yesterday that came hours after abomb blast outside an Egyptian churchkilled 21 people as worshippers left Mass.

The pope condemned a widening cam-paign against Christians in the Middle Eastin his homily at St. Peter’s Basilica, echoingcomments last month in which he called alack of religious freedom a threat to worldsecurity. “In the face of the threateningtensions of the moment, especially in theface of discrimination, of abuse of powerand religious intolerance that today partic-ularly strikes Christians, I again direct apressing invitation not to yield to discour-agement and resignation,” he said.Benedict has repeatedly denounced a cam-paign against Christians in Iraq blamed onal-Qaida militants, including an Octoberattack on a Baghdad Catholic church thatclaimed 68 lives, two of them priests.

The Vatican is very worried that a steadyexodus of minority Christians from Iraq willpermanently reduce their numbers and dis-courage the wider community of Christiansin the Middle East.

Benedict cited what he called two nega-tive extremes at work in the world: secular-ism, “pushing religion to the margins toconfine it to the private sphere,” and “fun-damentalism, which instead would like toimpose (religion) with force on all.” TheVatican celebrates New Year’s as WorldPeace Day, and Benedict urged world lead-ers to make a “concrete and constant com-mitment” to help bring peace. Yesterday, abomb exploded in front of a Coptic

Christian church in the Egyptian city ofAlexandria, killing at least 21 people in anattack that raised suspicions of an Al-Qaedarole.

Benedict recalled his speech last monthin which “I stressed that religious freedomis the essential element of a state of law,you cannot deny it without, at the sametime, undermining all rights and funda-mental freedoms.” After leaving the basilica,the pope removed his gold-colored robes,donned an ermine-trimmed crimson capeto guard against the chill, and greeted fromhis apartment window pilgrims andtourists in a packed St Peter’s Square.

The new year, he said, is an opportunityto reflect “on the great challenges that ourepoch poses to humanity,” calling thethreats to religious freedom urgent.“Wherever religious freedom is effectivelyrecognized, the dignity of the human per-son is respected to its root, and through asincere search for truth and good, moralconsciences are shored up and institutionsand civil coexistence are reinforced,” thepope said.

“That’s why religious freedom is theprivileged way to build peace.” Benedictalso announced that in October he willmake a pilgrimage to Assisi and invitednon-Catholic Christians as well as worldreligious leaders to join him in the Umbrianhill town of St. Francis. He said he wantedto mark the 25th anniversary of a similarpilgrimage made by Pope John Paul II andhighlight his conviction that “the great reli-gions of the world can constitute an impor-tant factor of unity and peace for thehuman family.”— AP

Pope denounces

abuses of Christians

Train crashes into

barrier in Sweden

MALMO: Rescue officials say the centraltrain station in Malmo, southernSweden, has been evacuated after atrain without passengers crashed into acement barrier. Rescue servicesspokesman Torbjorn Krokstrom says thedriver was taken to a hospital with lightinjuries. He says the empty train wasbeing brought into the train stationwhen it hit the barrier yesterday.Krokstrom said the second carriage waspushed up on top of the engine and hitelectric wires, prompting the evacuationof the station. The cause of the accidentwasn’t immediately clear. SwedishTransport Administration spokesmanPeter Behrman said parts of the stationremained closed yesterday afternoon,causing cancellations and delays totrains to and from Malmo.

1 killed in explosion

at Turkish hospital

ISTANBUL: The state run news agencysays a gas explosion at an obstetrics hos-pital in southeastern Turkey has killedone person. The Anatolia news agencysaid the explosion occurred yesterdayduring maintenance work ub the hospi-tal’s basement and killed a gas companyemployee. None of the women and chil-dren staying at the hospital was harmed,but all patients were moved to otherhospitals for safety. Anatolia said pres-surized gas in one of the pipes causedthe explosion.

10 killed in South Africa

New Year’s bar stampede

JOHANNESBURG: Police say 10 peoplehave been killed in a stampede during

the early hours of New Year’s Day at atavern in a South African township.Police spokeswoman Adele Myburghtold The Associated Press that policeyesterday could not confirm the cause ofthe stampede at a bar in the Ipelegengtownship in the largely rural North Westprovince. Myburgh said the deceasedhave not been formally identified.Provincial safety officials suspect someof those killed were below the country’s18-year-old legal drinking age, andurged police to investigate safety pre-cautions taken by the tavern owner.Official Desbo Mohono said the incidentwas “the worst New Year celebration dis-aster,” in the province’s history.Authorities are appealing for calm in thesmall community.

Ongoing power

outages in Russia

have Putin fuming

MOSCOW: Difficulties in restoring elec-tricity to hundreds of Russian villagesafter freezing rain broke power lines hascaused a political scandal in Moscow.Russia’s energy minister and the Moscowregion governor had to change theirplans for ringing in the New Year afterbeing publicly chastised by PrimeMinister Vladimir Putin. Putin scoldedthem for failing to fulfill promises torestore electricity to villages that hadbeen without power for nearly a weekand ordered them to start the New Yearin those blacked-out villages, which theydid, with television cameras in tow.When the officials reported back toPutin yesterday, he told them he hadinformation that some people had beenasked to pay money to get their powerrestored. Putin then ordered an investi-gation.

in the news

ARUNDEL, England: Rioting prisoners torched buildingsat a low-security British jail yesterday, an incident theprison guards’ union said highlighted the risks of govern-ment plans to slash spending on the justice system.About 40 prisoners took part in rioting at Ford prison nearArundel, southern England, that began around midnight(GMT) on New Year’s Eve, the Prison Service said. Morethan 12 hours later, scores of prison officers in riot gearescorted two fire engines into the prison to protect fire-fighters while they fought a blaze consuming a woodenaccommodation block in the sprawling rural prison.

Television footage showed several other recreationbuildings turned to charred rubble by fires lit during thenight. The trouble started when prisoners began smash-ing windows and starting fires, forcing staff to retreat, thePrison Service said. There were no reports of injuries tostaff or prisoners, it said in a statement. Around 140 extraprison guards were brought in to quell the trouble, it said.One of two affected wings had been brought back underthe authorities’ control. A Prison Service source said therewould be an investigation later into the cause of the riot.Ford is an “open prison” where inmates are not generallyconfined to individual cells and may work outside. Severalhundred prisoners are believed to be housed there.

Mark Freeman, deputy general secretary of the PrisonOfficers’ Association, the prison guards’ trade union, saidthe trouble began when guards tried to breathalyse someprisoners suspected of drinking alcohol and they refused.Freeman sought to link the incident to public spendingcuts that Britain’s coalition government has embarked onto cut a budget deficit of around 10 percent of national

output. “We understand management have been tryingto reduce the amount of prison officers working here (atFord) and I think that this should be a stark reminder ofjust how dangerous even open-prison condition prison-ers can be,” he told Sky News. “We say we are 1,000 prisonofficers short and yet they (the government) want to lookto make people redundant over the next few years,” hesaid.

Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt said 150 prisoners werebeing confined because they were involved in the distur-bances or because their normal accommodation hadbeen damaged. “This is an extremely unusual event in anopen prison because prisoners have a great deal to loseand they are, certainly as far as any influence I can bringto bear, going to lose it,” Blunt said in an interview withBritish Broadcasting Corp radio. “I want to make quiteclear to prisoners who were witness to these events, evenif they were not directly perpetrators themselves, thatthey are expected, as part of being in an open prison, tocooperate with the authorities, and if we fail to get fulland frank disclosure from people who were witness tothese events that will be part of the reason why thosepeople will not be returning to open conditions,” Bluntadded.

The Ministry of Justice, responsible for prisons, mustcut spending by an average of 6 percent a year over thenext few years. The Prison Officers’ Association is fightingthe plans, which it says will endanger its members’ healthand safety.— Agencies

Rioting prisoners

set fire to UK jail

ABUJA: Muslim extremists may haveplanted the bomb that struck an armybarracks in Nigeria’s capital, the coun-try’s president said yesterday, high-lighting the dangers and confusionstill gripping a nation beset by vio-lence in recent weeks.

No one has claimed responsibilityfor the attack Friday that killed at leastfour people and wounded 21 otherscelebrating New Year’s Eve in the bar-rack’s open-air beer garden and mar-ket. President Goodluck Jonathanpromised those at a church service inAbuja, the oil-rich nation’s capital, tofind those responsible.

However, his vague remarksseemed only to show that securityagencies remain ill-prepared to haltthe violence as the nation nears whatcould be a tumultuous April election.

“Some people say they are politi-cians, some say they are religiousfanatics but to me they are pure crimi-nals, they are (the) ones demons are

using these days not only in Nigeria,”Jonathan said. “For those of you whohave time to listen to world news onAl-Jazeera or CNN, you will see thatterrorism is crisscrossing the wholeworld.” The blast struck the barracks,called the Mogadishu Cantonment,around 7:30 pm Friday night in an areaof market stalls and beer parlorsreferred to locally as a “mammy mar-ket.” There, civilians, soldiers and theoccasional foreigner regularly gatherfor drinks and its famous barbecuedfish.

Local police spokesman JimohMoshood said the number of injuriesin the attack rose to 21, while fourpeople had died. The state-runNigerian Television Authority reportedFriday night that 30 people had diedafter the blast. Moshood acknowl-edged the blast seemed to target bothcivilians and soldiers, but declined tosay where the explosive was placed.

“It is too early to draw any conclu-

sion now,” he said yesterday. The blastscome days after a similar attack strucka nation that remains uneasily dividedbetween Christians and Muslims. OnChristmas Eve, three bombs explodedin the central Nigerian city of Jos,killing dozens of people. That area hasseen more than 500 die in religiousand ethnic violence this year alone.

Members of a radical Muslim sect,known locally as Boko Haram, claimedresponsibility for the bombings andattacks on two churches in the north-ern city of Maiduguri the same night,killing at least six people. Nigeria’s cap-ital has been struck already this yearby violence. In October, a dual carbombing killed at least 12 people andwounded dozens more during an Oct1 independence celebration in Abuja.The main militant group in Nigeria’soil-rich southern delta, the Movementfor the Emancipation of the NigerDelta, claimed responsibility for theattack.

In his remarks during the churchservice, Jonathan said the Oct 1bombs bore similarities to explosivesused in parts of the Niger Delta. Hesaid Friday’s bomb appeared to be“identical with the ones that hap-pened in Jos.” “So as long as the securi-ty operatives know the two routes, wewill get to where these things arecoming from,” he said.

However, the violence continues ina nation that remains a vital supplierof easily refined crude oil to the USUnrest in the West African nation hasaffected oil prices in the past. Beyondthat, Western diplomats worry ethnic,religious and political violence couldhobble the nation of 150 million peo-ple just as it adjusts to democracyafter years of military dictatorshipsand coups.—AP

Questions surround

bomb attack: Nigeria

ABUJA: A woman who lost a relative in a bomb explosion, center, mournsat the Asokoro General Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria, Friday.—AP

9I N T E R N AT ION A LSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

LA PAZ: BolivianPresident Evo Morales onFriday abruptly canceleda decree that sharplyraised fuel prices, reactingto widespread protestsand the threat of more tocome in the biggest set-back of his five years inoffice. Suday’s price hikeshad caused a burst ofstreet protests, many ofthem by core supportersof the left ist who isBolivia’s first indigenouspresident. Protesters

vowed to renew theirdemonstrations after theNew Year holiday, withworkers from the crucialmining industry vowingto join in.

Morales said in a tele-vised message about 90minutes before midnightthat he had listened tounions and social groupsand decided “to obeywhat the people say byabrogating the decreeraising gasol ine andeverything that accompa-

nied that measure. That means that all of

the measures are with-drawn.” The governmentannounced Sunday that itwas rais ing gasol ineprices by 73 percent, to92 cents a liter ($3.48 agallon) for regular gaso-l ine, up from 50 cents($1.89). Diesel jumped to97 cents a liter ($3.67 agal lon) from about 50cents. Some other fuelprices doubled.

The prices had been

frozen for six years, andVice President AlvaroGarcia said the state waspaying $380 million a yearto subsidize gasol ineimports, with much of itsmuggled to neighboringcountries with higherprices. The sharp r iseprompted strikes by busand taxi drivers that hob-bled transit in many cities,and mass street protestson Thursday turned vio-lent.

At least 15 people were

repor ted injured.Protesters carried postersdenouncing the presidentas a traitor and someshouted, “Evo, the peopleare angry!” Morales’ gov-ernment at first tried tomitigate the blow of thehigher prices by announc-ing a 20 percent salar yincrease for troops, police,health and educationworkers. The governmentalso offered help for rice,corn and wheat farmers.— AP

Bolivian prez cancels gasoline price increase

Protesters vow to renew demonstrations

WASHINGTON: In this Dec 13, 2010, file photo Sen Bob Corker, R-Tenn, talks withreporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Two early showdowns on spending and debtwill signal whether the 112th Congress can find common ground despite its partisandivisions. —AP

WASHINGTON: Two earlyshowdowns on govern-ment spending and debtwill signal whether the newCongress can find commonground despite its partisandivisions or whether it ’sdestined for gridlock andbrinkmanship that couldthreaten the nation’s eco-nomic health. Not all of thebickering in the 112thCongress that convenesWednesday will bebetween Republicans andDemocrats. HouseRepublicans, back in powerafter four years in theminority, will includenumerous newcomerswhose unyielding standson the deficit, in particular,could severely test soon-to-be Speaker John Boehner’sability to bridge differencesand pass major bills.

His first big challengewill come in February,when Congress must pass ahuge spending bill to keepthe government running.Many House Republicans ,veterans and newcomersalike , have pledged to cutdiscretionary domesticspending by up to $100 bil-lion.

Even if they agree on aplan, it probably will bechanged by the Senate,where Democrats will holda 53-47 edge. AndPresident Barack Obamacan veto almost any bill heopposes during the nexttwo years.

Before Boehner dealswith Democrats’ objections,he may have trouble get-

ting his own 241-membercaucus to agree on what tocut, and how deeply.Republicans have a historyof promising far more cutsin spending than theydeliver. Some conservativeactivists and commentatorsare tired of it. “They love tocut taxes but cannot bringthemselves to cut spend-ing,” Kevin Williamsonwrote in National ReviewOnline. “It’s eat dessert firstand leave the spinach onthe table.”

Several freshmanRepublican lawmakers arealigned with the ultracon-servative tea party move-ment, which championsspending cuts and bal-anced budgets. But eventea party activists areunable or unwilling toname sizable governmentprograms they are willingto cut, said Duke Universitypolitical scientist MikeMunger. He ran for NorthCarolina governor as a lib-ertarian and has met withmany tea party supporters.

Passing a major spend-ing bill may look easy whencompared with the chal-lenge Congress will face inthe spring: raising the fed-eral debt ceiling, an exer-cise that’s anathema tosome die-hard conserva-tives. Economists andscores of political leaderssay the alternatives aremuch worse: Let the U.S.

default on its debts,which could trigger a glob-al recession, or drasticallycut federal spending to lev-

els neither party has imag-ined. The current debt ceil-ing is $14.3 trillion, enactedlast February. The federaldebt, nearly $13.9 trillion,grows by $4 billion a day.

“Where the rubber willhit the road will be on thedebt limit,” said JohnFeehery, a Republicanadviser and former topHouse aide. “What kind ofbudget concessions willObama agree to inexchange for keeping thegovernment functioning?”Lawmakers might buysome time by passing tem-porary extensions of abudget and a higher debtceiling. Eventually theymust work out a long-termsolution. Obama has madeit clear that Republicansshare responsibility forfinding one.

“Nobody, Democrat orRepublican, is willing to seethe full faith and credit ofthe United States govern-ment collapse,” Obama saidin early December. No oneenjoys voting to raise thedebt limit, he said. “Butonce John Boehner issworn in as speaker, thenhe’s going to have responsi-bilities to govern.

You can’t just stand onthe sidelines and be a bombthrower.” Boehner essentiallyhas acknowledged that. Hesaid of the debt ceiling, “Weare going to have to dealwith it as adults, whether welike it or not. The federal gov-ernment has obligations andwe have obligations on ourpart.” — AP

Spending showdowns will test new Congress leaders

HONOLULU: President Barack Obamasays Democrats and Republicansmust work together in the new yearand share responsibility for movingthe country forward. In his weeklyradio and Internet address, Obamasaid yesterday that lawmakers mustreturn to Washington next week pre-pared to make serious decisionsabout how to grow the economy inthe short run and stay competitive inthe future.

“I’m willing to work with anyone ofeither party who’s got a good ideaand the commitment to see itthrough,” Obama said. “And we shouldall expect you to hold us accountablefor our progress or our failure to deliv-er.” Obama said his New Year’s resolu-tion is to do everything he can togrow the economy, create jobs andstrengthen the middle class, thoughhe warned that the economic recov-ery is still fragile as the calendar turnsto 2011.

The president taped his weeklyaddress from Hawaii, where he isspending the holidays with his family.Senator-elect Kelly Ayotte of NewHampshire delivered the Republicanweekly address, and said the nextCongress marks a new chapter for thecountry and the Republicans.

“ We’re keenly aware that theAmerican people are relying on us tochange business-as-usual in Washington, and we’re well-positioned to do just that,” Ayottesaid. The newly-elected senator said Republicans will focus in the new year on reducing thesize of government, cutting wasteful spending and creating conditions to allow businesses togrow and hire. Ayotte also said the U.S. must remain vigilant in the face of continuing threatsfrom terrorists. — AP

Obama: Parties must cooperate in new year

WASHINGTON: In this Nov 30, 2010, file pho-to President Barack Obama makes a state-ment in the Eisenhower Executive OfficeBuilding in Washington about his meetingwith Republican and DemocraticCongressional leaders. — AP

BUENOS AIRES: Astrong earthquakemeasuring 7.0 hit asparsely populatedregion of northernArgentina early yester-day, the US govern-ment and Argentineofficials said.

The epicenter of thetremor, which occurredat 6:56 local time (0956GMT), was located 160kilometers (100 miles)northeast of the city ofSantiago del Estero,according to the USGeological Survey.There were no immedi-ate reports of casual-ties or damage, andthe quake occured at adepth of 583.6 kilome-ters (362.6 miles).

Because the earth-quake was so deepbelow the earth’s sur-face, it only registeredat a magnitude ofaround 2.0 to 3.0degrees, seismologistMarcelo Pena from theArgentine nationalearthquake instituteInpres.

He said the epicen-ter of the quake was 40kilometers (24 miles)from the town ofCampo Gallo in north-ern Santiago del Esteroprovince, a desertregion which is sparse-ly populated with onlyabout 5,000 residents.

The reading wasbased on the open-ended MomentMagnitude scale, nowused by US seismolo-gists, which measuresthe area of the faultthat ruptured and thetotal energy released.The same quake joltedparts of the north ofneighboring Chile, par-ticularly the town ofSocaire, near San Pedrode Atacama, Chile’sNational EmergencyOffice reported. — AFP

North Argentina hit by 7.0 quake

LA PAZ: Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, right, accompanied by Bolivia’s Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, gestures as he speaks during anofficial announcement at the government palace in La Paz, Bolivia Friday. —AP

I N T E R N AT ION A L

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

TOKYO : Japan’s population fell by a recordamount last year as the number of deathsclimbed to an all-time high in the quicklyaging country, the government said yes-terday. Japan faces a looming demograph-ic squeeze. Baby boomers are movingtoward retirement, with fewer workers and

taxpayers to replace them. The Japaneseboast among the highest life expectanciesin the world but have extremely low birthrates.

Japan logged 1.19 million deaths in2010, the biggest number since 1947 whenthe health ministr y ’s annual records

began. The number of births was nearlyflat at 1.07 million. As a result, Japan con-tracted by 123,000 people, which was themost ever and represents the fourth con-secutive year of population decline. Thetop causes of death were cancer, heart dis-ease and stroke, the ministr y said.

Japanese aged 65 and older make upabout a quarter of Japan’s current popula-tion.

The government projects that by 2050,that figure will climb to 40 percent. Like inother advanced countries, young peopleare waiting to get married and choosing to

have fewer children because of careers andlifestyle issues. Yesterday’s report showed706,000 marriages registered last year, thefewest since 1954 and a sign that birthrates are unlikely to jump dramatically any-time soon. Japan’s total population stoodat 125.77 million as of October, according

Japan population shrinks by record

BUNDABERG: Flood waters sweptthrough vast areas of northeasternAustralia yesterday, threatening to inun-date thousands more homes in a disasterone official said was of “biblical propor-tions”. As Queen Elizabeth II sent her “sin-cere sympathies” to Queenslanders whorang in a damp new year, helicopterswere being used to deliver food and oth-er supplies to isolated towns.

Up to 200,000 people have beenaffected by the floods, which have hurtthe nation’s lucrative mining industryand cut off major highways as the waterrushes through sodden inland regions tothe sea. “In many ways, it is a disaster ofbiblical proportions,” Queensland StateTreasurer Andrew Fraser told reporters inflood-hit Bundaberg.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who onFriday toured inundated regions, said thefloods had been devastating and wouldclearly have an economic impact. “We’restill directly battling floodwaters-wehaven’t seen the peak of the flood yet atcentres like Rockhampton-so the peopleof Queensland in many places are doingit tough today,” she said.

Gillard said the mining sector hadbeen particularly badly hit, with somecompanies using the force majeureclauses in their contracts. “They’ve had tosay to the people who buy their mineralsthat at this time, circumstances are suchthat they can’t keep supply moving,” shetold reporters. “Even those mines thatcould continue to mine obviously havegot difficulties with supply routesbecause so many roads have been affect-ed,” she said, adding that farmers, smallbusinesses and tourism would also suffer.

Emergency workers were focusingtheir efforts on Rockhampton where theFitzroy River had broken its banks andwas rising dangerously, threateningsome 2,000 to 4,000 homes ahead ofreaching its expected peak onWednesday. “The community is likely tobe cut off for a period of 10 days from thesouth and through this airport,” saidRockhampton Mayor Brad Carter.

“It’s possible that our airport could beclosed for anything up to three weeksbecause it takes a fair bit to re-engage ...and reactivate an airport once floodwa-ters cover its tarmac. “The community isstill expecting to have significantamounts of floodwaters at the height ofabout 8.5 metres into the middle ofJanuary.” But as some wait for the floodpeak, in other towns residents arepreparing to return to homes they evacu-ated last week in the wake of torrentialdownpours.

In the central Queensland town ofEmerald, where about 80 percent of thetown was submerged by the worst flood-ing on record, water from the NogoaRiver has inundated some 1,000 homes.“We’ve only worked that out by takingaerial shots,” Central Highlands MayorPeter Maguire told Australian newsagency AAP. “There may be more homesaffected, we don’t know.”

“We’re talking months of cleaning upand repairs,” he said, adding that in totalabout 4,000 homes in the region wereflood affected to some degree. InBundaberg in the state’s southeast, theclean-up was set to begin in about 300homes and 120 businesses as the floodwaters rapidly recede, but other townssuch as Theodore and Condamineremain evacuated after days of surgingwaters.

Flooding hit record levels inCondamine and the town could remainabandoned for a week, according toWestern Downs Regional Mayor RayBrown. “You’re talking a substantiallength of time, at least a week, if every-thing runs smoothly and recedes, beforeanybody can actually get back in there tohave a look,” he told ABC Radio. TreasurerFraser said the state’s finances would behard hit by the deluge, which will affectmining revenues because of expectedlosses in production.

“The cost to the state will be huge-both in direct costs such as rebuildingroads, and other damaged infrastructureand providing relief payments to fami-lies-but also in lost income, while themining, agriculture and tourism sectorsrecover,” he said. The floods prompted amessage of support from the Queen,who said she had been following “withgreat concern” news of the devastatingfloods.

“Please extend my sincere sympathiesto all the people whose communitiesand livelihoods have been so badly dam-aged in this disaster,” she wrote to herQueensland representative GovernorPenelope Wensley. — AFP

Floods threaten homes in Australia

200,000 people affected by flooding

TAIPEI: In this photo released by Taiwan President Office, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, left, and his wife ChowMei-ching wave Taiwan national flags during the New Year’s Day flag-raising ceremony in front of the presidentialoffice in Taipei, Tawain yesterday. — AP

QUEENSLAND : This aerial photo taken on Friday shows the Fairbairn Damspilling into the Queensland town of Emerald, illustrating the extent offlooding across the area. — AFP

PYONGYANG: North Koreans visit the giant statue of late NorthKorean founder Kim Il Sung on Mansu Hill on the occasion of the NewYear yesterday in Pyongyang, North Korea. — AP

SOUTHERN OCEAN: In this photo released by Sea Shepherd ConservationSociety, Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru No 3 shoots a water cannonat Sea Shepherd’s inflatable boat in the Southern Ocean off Antarcticayesterday. — AP

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s president said yes-terday he hopes peaceful relationswith China can be maintained as theisland’s government marks its cen-tennial year. President Ma Ying-jeoumade the wishes at a New Year cere-mony yesterday while he remem-bered the 1911 revolution on main-land China that led to Asia’s firstrepublic, the Republic of China, con-sidered the founding of Taiwan’sNationalist government.

Sun Yat-sen led the revolution totopple China’s Qing dynasty, only tobe followed by a bloody civil wardecades later between his followerChiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong’scommunist forces. Chiang’sNationalists resettled in Taiwan in1949 following their defeat.

“The commitment to democracymade by our founding father Sun Yat-sen have been gradually realized fol-lowing the efforts of many genera-tions,” Ma said. “I hope people acrossthe strait can deepen theirexchanges and understanding, nur-ture mutual trust and together opena broad boulevard of prosperity” forthe Taiwanese government’s secondcentury, he said. The ceremony fol-lowed a somber flag-raising ceremo-ny outside the Presidential Officebuilding attended by thousands ofTaiwanese.

More than a million Nationalisttroops were killed or captured in thecivil war from 1945 and 1949. Taiwanand China have mended fences sinceMa took office 2 1/2 years ago with a

pledge to improve relations and enddecades of political hostilities. UnderMa’s signature policy to engageChina economically, the two sideshave relaxed trade and investmentcontrols, launched direct air andshipping links and opened the doorswider for tourism.

China sti l l claims the self-ruleisland as part of its own territory. Butunder the overriding mood of recon-ciliation, Beijing has , at least for now, refrained from making its repeatedthreats to retake the island by force.In the new century, Ma said he hopedTaiwan can be “a navigator of theChinese culture, a democracy modelfor the Chinese communities, aninnovation center in the world, and anation that wins respect.”— AP

Taiwan leader makes wishes for new year

SEOUL: North Korea welcomed thenew year yesterday with a call for bet-ter ties with rival South Korea, warn-ing that war “will bring nothing but anuclear holocaust.” Despite calls in itsannual New Year’s message for aKorean peninsula free of nuclearweapons, the communist North,which has conducted two nucleartests since 2006, also said its military isready for “prompt, merciless and anni-hilatory action” against its enemies.South Korea’s Unification Ministry,which handles relations with theNorth, said the editorial carried in theofficial Korean Central News Agency,even with its tough rhetoric, showedthe North’s interest in resuming talkswith the South.

The annual holiday message isscrutinized by officials and analysts inneighboring countries for policyclues. This year, it received specialattention after the North’s Nov 23artillery shelling of a South Koreanisland near the countries’ disputedwestern sea border, the first attack on

a civilian area since the 1950-53Korean War. That barrage, which fol-lowed an alleged North Korean torpe-doing of a South Korean warship inMarch, sent tensions between theKoreas soaring and fueled fears of warduring the last weeks of 2010.

In South Korea, President LeeMyung-bak, dressed in traditionalKorean clothes, said in a televisedNew Year’s address he would worktoward peace. “I am confident that wewill be able to establish peace on theKorean peninsula and continue sus-tained economic growth,” he said.North Korea said in its editorial thatconfrontation between the Koreasshould be quickly defused. “The dan-ger of war should be removed andpeace safeguarded in the Koreanpeninsula,” said the message, whichwas also read by a North Koreananchorwoman in a state televisionbroadcast monitored in Seoul. “If awar breaks out on this land, it willbring nothing but a nuclear holo-caust.” —AFP

N Korea warns war would bring ‘nuclear holocaust’

Earthquake hits Chinese region

BEIJING: A moderate quake with amagnitude of 5.2 hit the far westernChinese region of Xinjiang yesterday,seismologists said. The quake struckjust before 10:00 am (0200 GMT) at adepth of 10 kilometres (six miles)with its epicentre 68 kilometres westof Kashi, the US Geological Surveysaid. China’s state-run news agency,Xinhua, said there were no earlyreports of casualties. Xinjiang is a vastmountainous region in the north-west of China, covering around asixth of the country. Around 20 mil-lion people live there, eight million ofthem Uighurs, a Turkic-speakingMuslim grouping.

North Korea cargo ship sinks; 2 dead, 15 missing

BEIJING: Two sailors were killed and15 are missing after a North Korean-registered cargo ship sank in theYellow Sea on Friday, state newsagency Xinhua reported late onFriday. The “Kang Bong” sank on earlyFriday morning after water enteredthe ship during strong gales, Xinhuasaid, citing the Rescue and SalvageCenter under the Ministry ofTransport. The ship, with 20 peopleonboard, was travelling 120 nauticalmiles (190 km) east of LianyungangPort in eastern China’s JiangsuProvince. Three people were rescuedby a ship and helicopters, which werestill searching for those missing butwinds were hampering the efforts,the report said.

Philippine holiday firecracker injuries total

MANILA: Powerful firecrackers haveinjured at least 546 people as Filipinoswelcomed the new year in a traditionthat is among the world’s most festiveand dangerous. Officials said yester-day that the 546 injuries from fire-cracker blasts and celebratory gunfirefrom Dec 21 to early Saturday werehigher than the same period the pre-vious year. Many Filipinos, largelyinfluenced by Chinese tradition,believe that noisy New Year’s celebra-tions drive away evil and misfortune.But they have carried that superstitionto extremes.

IN THE NEWSSYDNEY: Militant anti-whalers yes-terday said they had clashed withJapanese harpoonists in the SouthernOcean, chasing them through icepacks, throwing stink bombs at themand being hit with water cannon. TheSea Shepherd Conservation Society’svessels have been seeking to disruptthe Japanese whalers on their annualhunt in Antarctic waters since mid-December but had not been able tosight the Japanese fleet until Friday.

The society ’s president, PaulWatson, said that now they had madecontact with the whalers, they wouldattempt to prevent any of the giantsea creatures from being slaughtered.“It’s got its water cannons turnedonto us right now so we’re manoeu-vring through ice and trying to out-manoeuvre them so it’s a little dicey,”Watson told ABC Radio. LockyMacLean, the captain of the SeaShepherd’s ‘Gojira’ vessel, said thesociety’s three boats had been “danc-ing dangerously through the icepacks locked in confrontation withthe three harpoon ships”.

“It was both deadly and beautiful,”he said in a statement on the soci-ety’s website. “Deadly because of theice and the hostility of the whalersand beautiful because of the ice, andthe fact that these three killer shipsare not killing whales while clashingwith us.” Japan’s fisheries agency saidthat Sea Shepherd used a small boatto throw ropes and bottles at whalingvessels, according to the Kyodo newsagency.

“The repeated obstructive behav-ior against legitimate research activi-ties is extremely dangerous actionthat threatens the vessels and thelives and property of their crew mem-bers,” the fisheries agency was quot-ed as saying. The activists said theclashes involved several high speedchases and near collisions amongjagged ice floes, and alleged that thewhalers turned water cannon andhoses on their crew.

“Sea Shepherd responded withsome rather unpleasant foul-smellingsubstances,” they said in a statement,adding that there were no injuries. ASea Shepherd spokesman was unableto confirm what was thrown, but inprevious years the activists havetossed rancid butter, or butyric acid,stink bombs at the whalers to maketheir decks unusable for slaughteringwhales.

The conservationists said nowthey had found the Japanese fleet,1,700 nautical miles southeast of NewZealand, they would continue toharass them to prevent them fromkilling whales during the southernhemisphere summer. “Our objectiveis to save the maximum number ofwhales and to maximise the financiallosses of the whalers at the sametime,” Watson said in the statement.

Australia has taken legal actionagainst Japan to prevent it fromhunting whales by exploiting a loop-hole in a 1986 global moratoriumwhich allows whaling for researchpurposes. — AFP

Activists clash with Japanese whalers in Southern Ocean

I N T E R N AT ION A L

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

PESHAWAR: Suspected USdrone aircraft strikes killed15 Muslim militants innorthwest Pakistan yester-day, suggesting there willbe no letup this year in acampaign Washington saysis hurting Al-Qaeda-linkedgroups. The attacks byunmanned US drone air-craft were reported by localPakistani intelligence offi-cials in North Waziristan-asanctuary for al Qaeda andTaliban militants on theAfghan border. A day earli-er, five militants were killedby drones in the sameregion.

The intensity of theattacks could mean a high-value target was spotted inthe ethnic Pashtun tribalregion. Leaders of theHaqqani network, one ofthe most lethal Afghan mili-tant factions fighting US-led NATO troops inAfghanistan, are based inNorth Waziristan. Pakistanhas resisted US pressure tolaunch a full-scale offensivein North Waziristan, sayingit is consolidating gainsfrom major operationsagainst militants in othertribal areas.

Critics say Pakistan’sreluctance stems from itsdesire to keep the Haqqaninetwork as an asset in anyfuture political settlementin Afghanistan. It is one ofthe most sensitive issues inoften uneasy relationsbetween the United Statesand Pakistan. Seven insur-gents were killed in the firstdrone strike yesterdaywhen four missiles hit avehicle and a militant com-pound in Mir Ali town inNorth Waziristan. Most ofthe militants were believedto be loyal to Hafiz GulBahadur, a commanderaffiliated with the Haqqaninetwork, said a local intelli-gence official.

Shortly afterwards, twomore missiles were fired atthe same site, killing fourmilitants busy in rescuework. Then, a suspecteddrone missile attack killedfour militants when it strucktheir vehicle about 30 km(18 miles) from NorthWaziristan’s main town,Miranshah. There was noindependent confirmationof the incidents and mili-tants often dismiss officialcasualty figures. The strikes,which have intensifiedunder the Obama adminis-tration, have killed high-profile militants. Pakistanworries the attacks under-mine efforts to deal withmilitancy because civiliancasualties inflame publicanger and bolster supportfor the militants. Analystssay major successes wouldnot be possible withoutPakistani intelligence, how-ever.

Drones allow the UnitedStates to kill militants froma distance. Using humaninformants is risky; militantsoften behead suspectedspies for the United States.Long-term stability inPakistan’s northwest, how-ever, depends mostly oneconomic developmentbecause poverty andunemployment can driveyoung Pakistani men to joinmilitant groups who per-suade them holy war is glo-rious.

The Pakistani govern-ment, which has relied onan $11 bill ion IMF loanagreed in 2008 to keep theeconomy afloat, does nothave the resources to investin the northwest tribalareas, where it has virtuallyno control. —Reuters

US missile strikes kill

15 militants in Pakistan

No letup seen in drone strikes this year

KUNAR: Soldiers of Afghan National Army drink tea at Badel Combat Out Post in Kunar province in easternAfghanistan near Pakistan border yesterday. — AP

KABUL: US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano addresses media at theUS embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. — AP

KABUL: The US will send more Americanexperts to train Afghan police and customsofficials to better manage the country’sporous border crossings, US HomelandSecurity Secretary Janet Napolitano saidyesterday, noting that such training wascritical to preparing for the eventual exit offoreign troops.

Napolitano met with President HamidKarzai and Afghanistan’s finance ministerand also planned on meeting with the inte-rior minister before leaving for Qatar laterin the weekend. Karzai’s office said in astatement that during their talks,Napolitano said the United States wouldhelp Afghanistan with equipment andcapacity building for the country’s customsoperations and with the training of borderpolice.

Karzai told the visiting secretary that theAfghan side was trying to strengthen itscapacity and that the country would beable to assume responsibility for security infour years’ time, when international combattroops are expected to hand over toAfghan security forces.

It will be difficult, however, to trainenough Afghan border police and agentsto control the porous border with Pakistan.Thousands of US-led troops have beenunable to stop Taleban fighters and Islamicextremists from crossing the rugged fron-tier to fight NATO forces. Opium is alsosmuggled out of the country yearly.

What they can do is try and train cus-toms agents to better collect import taxesfor government coffers , although in someparts of the country much of that revenueis lost to corruption.

For the past year, Napolitano’s depart-ment has been working with the Afghangovernment establish a border securityand customs system and crack down onthe smuggling of drugs and cash.

Napolitano said 52 former US customsand border patrol officers would arrive inAfghanistan in 2011. The HomelandSecurity department currently has 25agents on the ground, up from 11 a yearago.

Halting the flow of billions of dollars ofcash from Afghanistan is a top US priority.Since 2007, an estimated $3 billion in cashhas flowed out of Afghanistan through thecountry’s two major airports, most of it toDubai, according to Afghan police andintelligence officials.

Finance Minister Hazrat OmarZakhilwal’s office said in a statement heand Napolitano discussed the cash-flowissue and that an action plan to address itwas deemed “as necessary.” The statementdid not elaborate on what steps might betaken. But the ministry said the US hasbeen providing assistance to better organ-ize the network of money transfer enter-prises , commonly known as hawalas , andimproving the way in which cash transfersare regulated and tracked.

While taking large amounts of money isnot illegal under Afghan law, the scope ofthe transfers has alarmed US and otherinternational officials because it could beaid funds that have been diverted, drugmoney or Taleban cash.

Hawalas, in particular, have been asource of concern for the US since thetransfers are largely untraceable and offi-cials worry that the systems are used tofunnel money across Afghanistan andelsewhere in the Muslim world to mili-tants.

Napolitano said training border policeand customs officials was an importantpart of NATO’s overall aim to transitionsecurity to Afghan forces by the end of2014 , when most foreign combat troopsare expected to leave the country.

In southern Afghanistan, the US-ledcoalition said one of its service memberswas killed by a bomb , the first to die in thenew year. It did not provide details. Lastyear was by far the deadliest for foreigntroops in the decade-old war, with 702killed, eclipsing the 2009 record of 504.NATO also said it killed at least eight insur-gents and captured a Taleban leader in sev-eral operations throughout Afghanistan. Itwas unclear whether the Taleban leaderwas killed or detained. — AP

US to bolster Afghanistan

border, customs training

KABUL: France has “done nothing” towin the release of two French journalistswho were taken hostage by the Talibanmore than a year ago, a spokesman forthe Afghan insurgent group said yester-day. France-3 television journalistsHerve Ghesquiere and StephaneTaponier, along with their Afghanguides, were kidnapped in December2009, in an area northeast of Kabul.They appeared in a video believedrecorded about two months ago by theTaliban.

A spokesman for Taliban saidGhesquiere and Taponier were still beingheld by the insurgent movement, andthat French government had yet torespond to their demands, which havenot been publicized.

“That is why they are with us right

now,” Zabiullah Mujahid told TheAssociated Press over the phone. “It isclear the French government has donenothing yet to cause both its citizens tobe released.” France insisted it was fullycommitted to securing the release of thetwo men.

“We will continue to mobilize all ourefforts until the day they are freed,” theFrench Foreign Ministry said in a state-ment. “For a year, there have beenunceasing discussions to allow our com-patriots to return to their families safeand sound.”

On Wednesday, French ForeignMinister Michele Alliot-Marie said free-ing the journalists and six other Frenchhostages around the world was an“absolute priority” of French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy.— AP

Taleban: Demands not

met for French hostages

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will hold its first nation-wide local elections since the crushing of TamilTiger rebels, a minister said, with the mid-Marchvote seen as a key test for the ruling party.Health minister Maithripala Sirisena said all localgovernment bodies would be dissolved by mid-January, about two weeks before they completetheir terms, and fresh elections would be calledby mid-March.

“The local bodies will be dissolved by themiddle of this month and we will have earlierelections,” said Sirisena, who is also the generalsecretary of the ruling party. More than 300municipal, urban and village councils will faceelections for the first time since governmentforces crushed Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009and declared an end to 37 years of ethnic blood-shed.

President Mahinda Rajapakse has tightenedhis grip on power by winning a second term in2010 and following it up with a landslide win atApril parliamentary polls.

Political sources said the local election wouldbe a key test of the government’s popularity asthe country emerges from debilitating ethnicstrife, and a challenge to the highly fracturedopposition. — AFP

Sri Lanka government

heads for mid-term test

GAUHATI: A separatist leader releasedon bail yesterday said he was commit-ted to peace talks with the Indian gov-ernment to end his group’s 30-yearinsurgency in the northeastern state ofAssam. Arabinda Rajkhowa was greetedby hundreds of supporters as he left theprison in the state capital of Gauhati,where he had been held sinceDecember 2009 on sedition charges.

The state said it approved Rajkhowa’sbail of 600,000 rupees ($13,000) inhopes that the 54-year-old rebel leaderwould call his group’s leaders, many ofwhom are in hiding, to begin peacetalks with the government. Rajkhowathanked the Indian government for tak-ing the initiative in launching a peaceprocess and called for the release ofother rebel leaders in detention, includ-ing the group’s general secretary, Anup

Chetia, being held in Bangladesh.“It is the mood for peace among the

people of Assam that has brought us tothis situation today, where we are set tobegin a peace dialogue with the Indiangovernment,” Rajkhowa told his sup-porters before leaving in a 30-carmotorcade for his home village ofLakwa, 825 miles (350 kilometers) eastof Gauhati. More than 10,000 peoplehave died since Rajkhowa’s UnitedLiberation Front of Asom began fightingin 1979 for an independent homelandto be carved out of India’s remote north-east. The separatists accuse the Indiangovernment of exploiting Assam’s natu-ral resources while doing little for theindigenous people, most of whom areethnically closer to the people ofMyanmar and China than to otherIndians. — AP

Freed Indian rebel leader

invites peace dialogue

GAUHATI: Chairman of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) ArabindaRajkhowa, left, talks to the media outside the Central Jail after his release, inGauhati, India yesterday. — AP

WASHINGTON: AfghanPresident Hamid Karzairefused to remove a formerwarlord from atop the ener-gy and water ministrydespite US pressure to oustthe minister because theyconsidered him corrupt andineffective. Secret diplo-matic records showed theminister , privately termed“the worst” by US officials ,kept his perch at an agencythat controls $2 billion inUS and allied projects.

The refusal to removethe official despite threatsto end US aid highlightshow little influence the UShas over the Afghan leaderon pressing issues such ascorruption. Reining in graftis seen as vital toAfghanistan’s long-termstability.

President Barack Obamalast month cited an urgentneed for political and eco-nomic progress even as mil-itary successes have blunt-ed the insurgency in someregions. The StateDepartment correspon-dence was written as Karzaiwas assembling a Cabinetshortly after his 2009 re-election. But US aid toAfghanistan has continueddespite the dispute overthe former warlord, IsmailKhan, in December 2009.

US Ambassador KarlEikenberry pressured Karzaito remove Khan, a oncepowerful mujahedeen com-mander, from the top of theenergy and water ministry,according to two StateDepartment reports writtenat the time by US Embassyofficials in Kabul. They weredisclosed last month byWikiLeaks.

A Dec. 19, 2009, memo-randum distributed inter-nally under Eikenberry ’sname described Khan as“the worst of Karzai’s choic-es” for Cabinet members.“ This former warlord isknown for his corruptionand ineffectiveness at theenergy ministry,” the memosaid.

Even with US threats towithhold aid, Karzai reject-ed requests to replaceKhan. “Our repeated inter-ventions directly withKarzai ... did not overcomeKarzai’s deeply personalbonds with Khan,” one of

Afghan president rejects US

request to replace minister

the reports said. Asked ear-lier in 2010 about the cor-ruption allegations, Khan,during a brief interviewwith The Associated Press,did not respond directly toa question asking whetherhe was profiting personallyfrom the ministry. Hedenied any widespreadproblems of corruption ormismanagement. “Nomoney is missing from theministry,” he said. “All theincome goes directly to thebank.” Khan said he wasunaware of any complaintsagainst him or the ministry.“If there have been com-

plaints, nobody has cometo me to tell me,” he said.

The US continued pour-ing hundreds of millions ofdollars into new energy andwater projects that the min-istry used to help generatetens of millions in customerfees. Many of those fees arelost each year partly due tocorruption, according toUS-funded reviews of theministry’s operations.

The US diplomaticcables do not outline spe-cific graft accusationsagainst Khan, but detailseveral days of back-and-forth and consternation

over Karzai’s decision tokeep him. US officials havedeclined to comment onissues described in theWikiLeaks-released cablesand criticized the group formaking them public.

Karzai told US officials ina Dec 14, 2009, meetingthat Khan had remained hischoice for energy minister.Karzai said Secretary ofState Hillary RodhamClinton had agreed to thechoice after Karzai had saidhe would appoint “compe-tent deputy ministers”under Khan. Eikenberrydisputed that. —AP

12OPI N IONSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT

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By Bate Felix and Richard Valdmanis

West African leaders have threatened toremove Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagboby force if he refuses to go quietly, but are

likely to rely on persuasion rather than arms to gettheir way. Urban warfare and heavy civilian casual-ties in the former economic jewel of West Africawould be nearly inevitable if regional bloc ECOWASrolled in the troops, and member states like Nigeriaare reluctant to pay this price, analysts said. ECOW-AS sent three heads of state to Abidjan on Tuesdayto order Gbagbo to hand over power to rivalAlassane Ouattara after a disputed Nov 28 electionthat world powers say Ouattara won, or face "legiti-mate force".

After meeting Gbagbo and Ouattara, the envoyssaid more meetings were needed to resolve the cri-sis and reported back to the ECOWAS chairman,Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathansaid ECOWAS would make a decision on Ivory Coastafter further talks with Gbagbo this week, addingthat he hoped the outcome would be peaceful."Whenever there is a disagreement it is dialoguethat resolves it," he told reporters on Wednesday."Dialogue is on."

J Peter Pham, Africa security analyst at theNational Committee on American Foreign Policysaid regional powers would be unable to removeGbagbo by force. "While the threat of interventiondoes create pressure on Gbagbo, an objectiveanalysis has to start by asking how ECOWAS wouldactually make good on it if it came down to it," hesaid.

A successful military intervention would involvea clinical operation to remove Gbagbo and somekey elements of his government - somethingECOWAS appears incapable of, Pham added. "Noneof the ECOWAS countries has anything approach-ing the ability to provide real-time operationalintelligence on the whereabouts at any givenmoment of Gbagbo or his closest collaborators,much less the type of elite commando units capa-ble of carrying out such a 'decapitation strike'," hesaid.

A full-scale invasion involving urban fightingand civilian casualties is an option the countries arenot prepared for, especially Nigeria which is mov-ing toward 2011 elections, Pham said. Memberstate Gambia said on Wednesday that it opposedthe use of force to resolve the dispute. Washingtonlast week expressed support for ECOWAS's role insolving the Ivorian crisis, and the United States, theEuropean Union and the United Nations have allsaid they recognise Ouattara as president.

Nigeria provides the backbone both in men andfinancing for the bloc's intervention force, ECO-MOG, which has been used as a peacekeepingforce in civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Someanalysts say that even though Jonathan enjoys therole of regional power broker, he will want to retainthe military option as a last resort for domesticpolitical reasons. "Nigeria has its own political bat-tle going on at home and military action would notbe a good political or financial move for Jonathancoming up to elections," said Dapo Oylewole, direc-tor of the Centre for African Policy and PeaceStrategy. "Violence has flared up recently in theNigerian northern city of Jos and it would not be apopular move for Jonathan to be seen taking hisfocus away from problems at home," he said.

Ivory Coast national television ran editorialswith bloody pictures after ECOWAS issued its ulti-matum to Gbagbo, warning that any military inter-vention was risky for the citizens of other memberstates resident in Ivory Coast. Many of Ivory Coast's21 million people are from nearby countries seek-ing employment in the former regional economicpowerhouse, including more than 2 mil l ionNigerians and 3 million Burkinabe. "Jonathan has tobalance the need to appear strong and presidentialin the lead up to his parties' primary on Jan. 13 andthe elections in April with the concern not to setany precedents that might come back to haunthim," Pham said.

"Moreover, he doesn't want to run his own cam-paign with a messy intervention as its backdrop,especially when the two million Nigerian tradersresident in Cote d'Ivoire begged him over theweekend to stay out," he said. — Reuters

Issues

W Africa eyes talks, not force, in I Coast

More Iran steps seen tougher sell to UN council

By Louis Charbonneau

India and South Africa joined the UN Security Councilyesterday, bolstering a bloc of countries on the powerfulpanel that may be reluctant to support new sanctions

against Iran over its nuclear program. However, barring anyshocking revelations about Tehran's nuclear program, someanalysts suggest that Washington might forgo pursuingnew UN steps against Iran in 2011. That may be good newsfor oil markets, since Western diplomats say Iran's energysector would be the next logical area to sanction. Germany,Portugal and Colombia joined the 15-nation SecurityCouncil on Jan 1, also for two-year stints as rotating mem-bers.

Apart from Iran's nuclear ambitions, council diplomatspoint to other key issues on the council agenda in 2011 -the threat of new civil wars in Ivory Coast and Sudan, ten-sions on the Korean peninsula, Security Council expansionand the expected re-election of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for another five-year term starting in 2012. The fivenewcomers to the Security Council are not expected toimpact its approach to North Korea, where the veto-wield-ing permanent member China plays a decisive role, or IvoryCoast, where the entire council voiced support for the UN-certified results of last month's presidential election.

Newcomer South Africa has vowed to raise the possibil-ity of suspending a genocide indictment against SudanesePresident Omar Hassan Al-Bashir if a Jan 9 referendum onsouth Sudan's independence goes ahead peacefully.Southerners are widely expected to choose secession over

remaining under Khartoum. If the vote goes well, diplo-mats say the United States, Britain and France might con-sider suspending the indictment. But the new compositionof the council could complicate matters for US PresidentBarack Obama's administration should it choose to pursuea fifth round of UN sanctions against Tehran for refusing tofreeze its nuclear enrichment program.

Four rounds of increasingly restrictive UN sanctions onIran have targeted its nuclear, missile, financial and ship-ping industries. These have been supplemented by evenmore draconian US and European Union steps that includ-ed energy sanctions. Tehran insists its atomic program ispeaceful and not intended for producing weapons, asWestern powers suspect.

The addition of the five rotating members is not theonly change for the council. An increasingly self-confidentChina has been using its diplomatic weight to protectcountries that Beijing considers to be its allies. Beijingfought hard to remove all but one Iranian bank from a listof firms in the fourth round of UN sanctions in June. It laterblocked US attempts to have the council rebukeMyanmar's military rulers and North Korea over its nuclearprogram. When South Africa was last on the council in2007-2008, it voted twice in favor of sanctioning Iran butjoined China and Russia in lobbying to dilute the proposedpunitive measures.

Brazil, on the council through the end of 2011, has alsobeen reluctant to punish Iran. It joined Turkey in June tocast the first ever votes against Iran sanctions on theSecurity Council. Previously there had only been one

abstention. India, which was last on the Security Council in 1991-

1992, has close commercial ties to Iran, and has also indi-cated that sanctions were not the right strategy. ButGeorge Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace said that the latest developments inIndia-Iran relations suggested India's support could bewon.

Tehran has threatened to block oil sales to India after itimplemented prohibitive new rules on trade with Iran thatearned New Delhi praise from Washington. JosephCirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a globalsecurity foundation, said that if there are any new revela-tions about hidden nuclear sites in Iran in 2011, or similardevelopments, the Indians and South Africans would prob-ably be amenable to new punitive steps against Tehran. "IfIran does something outrageous, it's going to be hard forcountries like India and South Africa to resist further sanc-tions," Cirincione said.

Obama's open door to engagement with Iran will helpto ensure that India, South Africa, China and Russia keep"an open mind" regarding further UN sanctions in 2011, headded. But absent any "outrageous" moves by Iran,Cirincione and Mark Fitzpatrick of the InternationalInstitute for Strategic Studies in London said thatWashington and its EU allies would probably forgo a pushfor new UN sanctions in 2011. "In the meantime, the USwill tighten the financial and other unofficial sanctions thathave proven to be the most burdensome for Tehran,"Fitzpatrick said. — Reuters

By Dmitry Zaks

The tough sentence handedto former Russian tycoonand Kremlin critic Mikhail

Khodorkovsky has confirmedVladimir Putin's dominance overRussia even as it seeks to mod-ernise, analysts said. The coun-try's most famous inmate wasordered Thursday to spendanother six years in prison afterbeing convicted on fraud chargesthat Western governments havecalled "selective" and rightsgroups simply absurd. Putin'sarch-nemesis was found guilty ofstealing all the oil produced byhis Yukos firm over a five yearperiod - in essence one-fifth of allof Russia's crude - and then laun-dering the $23.5 billion in pro-ceeds.

The charges left evenKhodorkovsky smiling and shak-ing his head in court. The presid-ing judge threw out the testimo-ny of a former prime minister andcentral bank chairman who testi-fied for the defence and theninterpreted Khodorkovsky's ownwords at the trial as further con-firmation of his guilt. All this fol-lowed an unexpected delay inthe process that allowed thecourt to hear a national televisionappearance by Putin in whichRussia's de-facto leader notedwith passion that a "thief must bein prison".

Kremlin critics said thosewords effectively buriedKhodorkovsky's last hope. "Thisconfirms that Putin continues torule Russia and that the liberalwords of (President Dmitry)

Medvedev do not mean a thing,"said Lil ia Shevtsova of theCarnegie Moscow Center.Another respected analyst saidthe trial proved Putin to be a"very vengeful and vindictiveman". "This sentence is motivatedby nothing but politics," saidInstitute of Strategic AssessmentsPresident Alexander Konovalov.Medvedev took over from Putinin 2008 and immediatelyembarked on an ambitious proj-ect of modernisation to intensify

Russia's economic relationshipwith the West and cut down oncorruption. But it remains uncer-tain if Medvedev will stand tocontinue his project in 2012 pres-idential polls or if Putin will seekto return to the Kremlin. Putin'spersonal spokesman notablyissued only a brief "no comment"when asked about Russia's mostfamous trial since the Soviet era.Khodorkovsky's troubles beganthe day he showed up to a 2003Kremlin meeting chaired by then

president Putin to complainabout government corruption.The Yukos oil chief was in theprocess of becoming Russia'srichest man and selling a chunkof his company to a US major - adeal that would have raised hisprofile to international propor-tions.

Putin quietly listened his polit-ical r ival 's message and thenmade a simple comment thatraised few eyebrows at the time:businessmen should pay their

taxes before criticising the state.What then followed wasKhodorkovsky's quick arrest ontax evasion charges and a twoyear trial that left Russia's ex-rich-est man sitting in prison and hishighly-praised oil company par-celled off for pennies to the state.But Khodorkovsky made a nui-sance of himself for Putin evenfrom prison. He penned frequentarticles for both the Russian andUS papers pillorying Putin foroverseeing "crony capitalism"under which state assets weredivided between security officialswho knew the president-turned-premier since his days as a spy.

Some were surprised to seethe new charges brought underMedvedev - a lawyer by trainingwho has no personal history withKhodorkovsky and who hasinstead vowed to diversify theeconomy and clean up the state.The fate of Khodorkovsky hasalways been seen as a measure ofthe balance of power betweenRussia's ruling " tandem".Medvedev even recently beratedofficials for "expressing their posi-tions" about the case - commentsthat seemed aimed directly atPutin himself. But analysts saidany battle between Putin andMedvedev could only produceone winner: the man who hasreally been running Russia sinceNew Year's Day 2000. "Putin hasshown that all the talk aboutcourt independence is nothingbut noise and that Medvedev isjust a piece of furniture that canalways be stuck in a corner," saidindependent political analystDmitry Oreshkin. — AFP

Tycoon ruling confirms Putin's dominance

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wishes Russians a happy New Year during aninterview in Moscow on Friday. – AP

13A N A LY S I SSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Focus

Philippine Maoists talk, but not for peace

By Krisztina Than and Marcin Grajewski

Moves by the Hungarian gov-ernment to tighten controlson the media and seize pri-

vate pension assets are enraging itsEU partners just as the country takesover the rotating presidency of thebloc. The steps by Prime MinisterViktor Orban and his Fidesz partyhave elicited unusual public rebukesfrom Britain, Germany andLuxembourg, whose foreign ministeropenly questioned last weekwhether Hungary was "worthy" ofleading the EU. Berlin and other capi-tals have pressed Budapest toamend its new media law evenbefore it goes into force, worried theclampdown could dilute the bloc'smessage on press freedoms to coun-tries like Russia and become a dis-traction as Europe grapples with adebt crisis..

In a clear warning to Orban's gov-ernment on Thursday, Germany'sdeputy foreign minister WernerHoyer pressed Budapest to clear upconcerns about the law "quickly". "Iassume the final word by theHungarian government hasn't beenspoken yet on this issue," he told theFrankfurter Rundschau newspaper. Aspokesman for the British ForeignOffice had the same message, callingfreedom of the press "the heart" of afree society and urging Budapest toreconsider its plans. "We hope thatthe Hungarian government will soonresolve this issue satisfactorily andthat it will not impact adversely onthe successful delivery of theHungarian EU Presidency," theForeign Office said in a statement.

But Hungary is digging in itsheels. On Thursday, its presidentsigned off on the legislation, whichestablishes a new national mediaauthority packed with officials loyalto Fidesz, which will oversee all pub-lic news production and have pow-ers to levy big fines on private media.

Orban, whose centre-right party wona two-thirds majority in parliament inApril, has vowed to resist pressure tochange the law, saying it has beenmisunderstood by foreigners unfa-miliar with Hungary's domestic situa-tion. The showdown comes at a cru-cial moment for the 27-nation EU,which is preparing to approve con-troversial changes to its main treatyin order to set up a new financial res-cue mechanism for euro zone coun-tries and introduce new reforms tostrengthen budget discipline. DuringHungary's six-month presidency, itwill preside over the launch of sensi-tive talks on the EU's 2014-2020budget, which will pit Britain,Germany and France against poorercountries from central and easternEurope. The bloc must also tackle

divisive issues like the integration ofits large Roma minority and a pushby Bulgaria and Romania to join theSchengen free-travel zone.

To deliver results on these polaris-ing issues, analysts say Orban - a 47-year old lawyer who rose to fame in1989 when he demanded Soviettroops leave Hungary during a rebur-ial ceremony for former prime minis-ter Imre Nagy - will have to changethe brash style that has lured votersat home but grated on Hungary'spartners. "You cannot behave like abull in a china shop. The EU does notwork like that," said Zoltan Kiszelly, apolitical analyst. Less than a year intohis term, Orban has shocked manyoutside Hungary by charting a policycourse that contrasts sharply withthe austerity ethos elsewhere in

Europe. Upon taking power heannounced he would not extend aÄ20 billion loan deal with the EU andIMF that helped Hungary avert finan-cial meltdown in 2008.

He has curbed the jurisdiction ofHungary's top court and placed peo-ple loyal to Fidesz at the top of publicinstitutions in a major drive to con-solidate his power. Earlier this month,Orban won parliamentary backing toseize up to $14 billion in private pen-sion assets in a shock move to cutthe deficit.

His government is also pressingahead with plans to change a law onhow members of the central bank'smonetary policy council are appoint-ed, in what is widely seen as anattempt to force the bank into mone-tary easing to support its pro-growth

agenda. The European Central Bankhas criticised the plan and investorshave begun pricing in the risks fromrising tensions between the govern-ment and national central bank.

Diplomats in Brussels play downthe impact of Hungary's unconven-tional policies on the broader EU. Inthe past, the bloc's bureaucraticmachinery rumbled on during weakpresidencies, although some dealswere slower to materialise or provedelusive. One example was the Czechstint at the EU's helm in early 2009,when the country's government col-lapsed and its President Vaclav Klausactively preached his euroscepticviews. Despite these obstacles, theEU managed to defuse a gas rowbetween Russia and Ukraine, held asuccessful summit with US PresidentBarack Obama and clinched a dealwith Ireland to secure its approval ofthe Lisbon treaty. "Of course,Hungary's unorthodox measures willnot help its presidency, but weshould not exaggerate their impact,"one EU diplomat said. "Its image istarnished, but it is not the case thatits work will be paralysed."

Budapest could prove successful,diplomats say, if it manages to steerthe bloc through the myriad lower-level technical negotiations that willbe necessary to bed down EUreforms, and relies on bigger coun-tries and new institutions to brokertough deals. Orban will not be in thedriver's seat in many areas, includingforeign policy and the steering of EUsummits. Those will be overseen bythe EU's high representative,Catherine Ashton, and the EU's presi-dent, Herman Van Rompuy - bothposts created by the Lisbon treaty.Major decisions affecting the eurozone are likely to be drafted by EUpowerhouses Germany and France.Still, Hungarian officials will presideover monthly meetings of ministersof agriculture, energy, environment,employment and, most crucially,finances. — Reuters

By Manny Mogato

Maoist rebels in the Philippines have come backto peace negotiations not to end their four-decade insurgency but to ensure they do not

lose support and relevance to a popular government.The Maoists' demands and talk of a strategic stalemateshow a negotiated peace is unlikely, despite govern-ment optimism a deal can be reached within its six-year term. Analysts see the communists' return to thenegotiating table as a tactical move aimed at regain-ing some popular support and erasing the terroristlabel imposed by the United States and Europe, as thearmy looks to non-military methods to weaken them.

"In the history of communist rebellion in the coun-try, they usually enter into talks when they are at theirweakest political and military levels," Earl Parreno, ana-lyst at the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms,told Reuters. Active in 69 of 80 provinces across thecountry, the New People's Army (NPA) has wagedguerrilla war for more than 40 years. The conflict haskilled 40,000 people and stunted economic growth inpoor but resource-rich rural areas. The two sides haveagreed to resume formal peace talks in February nextyear in Oslo after an impasse of more than five years,following a Christmas ceasefire.

"We will not enter into peace negotiations if wecan't get anything out from it," Jorge Madlos,spokesman for the Maoists' political arm, the NationalDemocratic Front, told reporters at a ceremony mark-ing the movement's 42nd anniversary. "We are notlooking forward for a power-sharing deal with this rot-ten system. If there should be peace talks, it mustaddress the root causes of our country's social prob-lems."

Some 80 armed guerrillas, most of them in theirteens and including a handful of women, paraded atthe ricefield gathering of nearly 3,000 supporters onsouthern Mindanao island, waving placards that read"Support the peace talks" and "Long live the revolu-tion". Muslim separatists based in Mindanao have alsowaged a four-decade insurgency against the govern-ment. The government is also trying to pursue peacetalks with them, but efforts to resume negotiationshave stalled.

The NPA parade was held at a farming communityat the foot of an east-coast mountain range, a five-hour drive from Davao City. Supporters feasted onroasted pig, a local delicacy, and the rebels sang theInternationale and other revolutionary songs. Thecrowd was certainly passionate. But while the NPAremains active in poor rural areas, its strength hasdeclined.

At the height of the insurgency in the mid-1980s,the NPA had more than 25,000 fighters as the brutalityof dictator Ferdinand Marcos fuelled support amongthe poor. Its strength is now estimated at around5,000 and the United States and some Europeannations have labelled it a terrorist organisation.

Madlos, a frail-looking 62 year-old based inSurigao, an impoverished mining and timber provinceon Mindanao, said the rebels wanted a strategic stale-mate - where neither side makes major gains and theinsurgency persists - within five years. A veteran ofmore than 30 years of the insurgency also known as"Ka" (Comrade) Oris, Madlos told supporters the rebelshad expanded their influence in the south, organisedmore bases, launched 250 tactical offensives andseized 200 weapons from soldiers in the last 12months - actions which analysts say calls into questionwhat a new round of talks can achieve. "The sheeramount of recent NPA violence suggests that the NPAis nowhere near close to laying down its arms," consul-tancy Pacific Strategies & Assessments (PSA) said in arecent report.

PSA said it recorded 512 cases of NPA-related vio-lence in the first nine months of 2010. In 2004 and2005, when formal talks were last held, it recorded 406and 516 incidents respectively. "While the Aquinoadministration has expressed desire to negotiate with-out any precondition, there is no indication that thecommunists are willing to concede or capitulate ontheir demands," the report said.

Parreno said the landslide victory of BenignoAquino in the presidential election in May had causedserious rifts within the rebel movement, after mostsenior leaders made a mistake in openly supporting alosing candidate, Senator Manuel Villar. The unpopu-larity of Aquino's predecessor had meant the rebelscould stall talks over the past five years with no seriousconsequences among the rural population that under-pins it. "But Aquino is an entirely different story,"Parreno said. "It would be difficult for them to get thepeople on their side under an immensely popularAquino. At this stage, no amount of propaganda couldpossibly demonise the president, so they could onlyeither swim or drown under the present situation."

The optimism in the new government underAquino and its focus on alleviating poverty could fur-ther erode the rebels' strength. Rodolfo Mendoza, aretired police general and head of a security-relatedresearch institute, said the rebels were going back tonegotiations to gain wider political support at homeand abroad and freshen their image as a revolutionarygroup. "The rebels will never abandon their armedstruggle and will only use the negotiations to enhancetheir goal to overthrow the government," Mendozasaid.

Major-General Jorge Segovia, an army divisioncommander in Davao region on Mindanao, said whilethe rebels could not win militarily, the insurgencywould persist as long as social problems were notaddressed. "There has been a paradigm shift in ourefforts to combat the communist insurgency, realisingthe centre of gravity in this conflict is not the rebels'political leadership or the armed wing, but the peoplethat provide sanctuary and support." Last week, thearmy unveiled a new counter-insurgency plan, focus-ing on measures to cut poverty and address socialissues to defeat the Maoists. The rebels often attackfarms, mines and other industries to raise funds fortheir fight. Segovia said they were the country's mostserious internal security threat, weighing down eco-nomic growth and rural development. "The realstrength of the rebels can actually be measured byhow businesses would respond to extortion threats,"Segovia said. — Reuters

Worthy or not, Hungary takes over EU presidency

By Stuart Grudgings

Dilma Rousseff, a former Marxistguerrilla, took over as Brazil'spresident yesterday, inheriting

one of the world's hottest economiesbut facing the near-impossible task ofliving up to the success of her charis-matic mentor. Under President LuizInacio Lula da Silva, Brazil has trans-formed in eight years from a crisis-prone underperformer to an econom-ic powerhouse with millions of newmiddle-class consumers and a grow-ing say in world affairs. The rise of theLatin American giant should continuebut with a very different leadershipstyle after the often dour Rousseff,Lula's former chief of staff and hand-picked successor, was sworn in at yes-terday's inauguration ceremony in thecapital Brasilia.

Following a president who leavesoffice with approval ratings near 90percent and has hinted at a comebackin 2014, Rousseff could be overshad-owed by Lula and his achievementsfrom the start. "Her challenge is tooccupy this enormous space left byLula," said Paulo Sotero, director of theBrazil Institute of the Woodrow WilsonCenter in Washington. But supporterssay her early steps - pledging continu-ity with the Lula boom years whilemaking clear she is very much herown woman - have shown the poten-tial for the 63-year-old former Marxistto become a strong president in herown right.

Rousseff, who will be the firstwoman to lead Brazil, is a pragmatistand has surrounded herself withmoderate ministers - many of themtrusted names from Lula's cabinet -and tapped respected technocrats forpositions such as central bank head.She showed a flair for the inspirationalin her election victory speech inOctober by pledging to eradicate theremaining poverty in Brazil, thenquickly reassured investors by vowing

to cut spending - to the irritation ofLula. A cancer survivor and divorcedmother who likes to read Proust,Rousseff may change tack in foreignpolicy by putting more emphasis onhuman rights and moving to repairrelations with Washington that souredover Lula's embrace of Iran.

Above all, though, success willhinge on her ability to keep LatinAmerica's biggest economy on a rolland delivering the sharp rises inspending power that have lifted near-ly 30 million people into the middleclass since 2003. "If she can continueto do that, people will embrace herlike they did Lula. If the economy fal-ters, she will have problems," saidJames Green, a professor of Brazilianstudies at Brown University.

Despite the strong mandate thatRousseff and the ruling coalitionreceived in October elections, heragenda in Congress will likely behostage to the vested interests that

prevented Lula from passing structur-al, politically painful reforms. Rousseffhas already signaled she will leave thebloated pension and social securitysystem untouched and focus insteadon easing the bottlenecks that pre-vent Brazil from growing faster forlonger like fellow emerging giantsChina and India.

Lacking the charm that helpedLula hold together the unruly coali-tion, Rousseff faces a struggle toachieve even that. The relatively mod-est goal of simplifying the sclerotic taxsystem - likely to be her first majorlegislative priority - may not be com-pleted in her first year, said ErastoAlmeida of US-based consultancyEurasia Group. "There's probablygoing to be criticism because somepeople would want to see reformsmoving faster and would like to seemore structural reforms," he said."When economic fundamentals arestrong, there isn't much pressure on

the government from the market todo those kind of reforms. There's atendency for complacency." A careertechnocrat and former energy minis-ter, Rousseff will preside over anexpansion of the state's role in keyareas such as the oil sector as thecountry prepares to tap vast new off-shore fields. That will not go ahead,however, until Rousseff defuses apotentially bitter dispute betweenstates over how billions of dollars inoil royalties are shared out. She willalso use state resources to build upBrazil's decrepit roads, railways andairports as it prepares to host theWorld Cup and the Olympics in thenext six years.

But most of the investors whohave poured money into Brazil'sfinancial markets in recent yearsappear reassured that she will notoverextend the state's role and gov-ern to the left of Lula. The tax reform,for example, would be a welcome

relief for businesses tied up in Brazil'snotorious red tape. "The Brazilian peo-ple will not accept governmentsspending more than is sustainable,"Rousseff said in her victory speech onOct 31. "Because of this we will makeevery effort to improve the quality ofpublic spending."

One of the biggest changes instyle and substance may come on theforeign stage, where Lula used thefull force of his personality to pushBrazil's role as a leader of the devel-oping world on issues like trade andthe environment. Rousseff also seesstrong ties with other big emergingpowers as a priority, especially with aChinese economy that overtook theUnited States as Brazil's biggest tradepartner during Lula's second term.

Marco Aurelio Garcia, Lula's spe-cial advisor on foreign relations whois staying on under Rousseff, told theValor Economico newspaper thisweek that the government was plan-ning "a package of initiatives towardChina". But Brazil seems likely to givea higher priority to human rights con-cerns that were downplayed duringLula's rule, an approach that drewrare global criticism for the presidentwhen he visited Iran this year toattempt to broker a nuclear deal.

Rousseff, who resisted Brazil's mili-tary dictatorship and was torturedwith electric shocks while jailed in the1970s, said Brazil was wrong to haveabstained from a United Nations res-olution condemning Iran's policy ofdeath by stoning. "The fact is that wenow have a president for the firsttime who was a victim of torture,"said Sotero. Rousseff's lack of charis-ma compared to Lula could turn outto be an advantage for Brazil on theworld stage as it returns to a moretraditional diplomacy, he said."Sometimes in the last two years itlooked like Lula was driven more byhis own ego, his own persona than bynational interests." — Reuters

Rousseff has tough act to follow in booming Brazil

By Jon Herskovitz

South Africa's ascension to theBRIC group of major emergingeconomies was more about

politics than economics and reflectsexpectations it will be the gatewayfor investment in the fast-growingcontinent. South Africa, with a $285billion economy, a much smallerpopulation and tepid growth ofabout 3 percent, pales in compari-son to BRIC states Brazil, Russia, Indiaand China. "It's not a natural fit," saidRazia Khan, Africa head of researchat Standard Chartered.

South Africa's economy is lessthan a quarter of the size of Russia's,which is the smallest in the originalgrouping. While it may be the largestin Africa, it is only a bit bigger thanChina's sixth-richest province. SouthAfrica's biggest backer for BRIC hasbeen its largest trade partner, China.Last week, Beijing extended an invi-tation for Pretoria to join and asked

President Jacob Zuma to attend asummit of BRIC leaders it will hostnext year. "This is something thatChina sees in its own interest with itsaim of understanding the future ofAfrica and becoming an ever biggerpresence there," said Marvin Zonis,professor emeritus at the Universityof Chicago Booth School of Business."It is really smart on the part of Chinato do this and it is also really goodfor South Africa. It legitimises SouthAfrica as a future global power andas an investable country," Zonis said.

China has invested heavily inAfrica for years, seeing it as a sourceof commodities to power its eco-nomic engine and an export desti-nation for its products that will growover time. China's official media lastweek said trade between China andAfrica would hit a record this yearand stood at $115 billion as of theend of November. China emerged asAfrica's largest trading partner in2009, outpacing the European

Union and the United States, China'sPeople's Daily said.

BRIC has been seen as movingeconomic activity away from theestablished powers in Europe andNorth America and erecting a wallthat limits their global power. Withsub-Saharan Africa's total economygrowing from $322 billion in 2000to $931 billion in 2008, according tothe International Monetary Fund, itseemed that an African state wouldeventually join the group.

"This is more about perceptionand projecting Africa as the frontiermarket that it is, rather than the onethat is ignored when talking aboutBRIC," said Martyn Davies, CEO ofFrontier Advisory and a specialiston African-Chinese economic ties."This will help South Africa projectitself as a first tier emerging marketrather than its current second tierstatus."

South Africa has been lobbyingfor some time behind the scenes to

be granted BRIC membership, offi-cials have said. Davies said SouthAfrica could better earn a seat oneconomic merit if it can integratethe economies of the SouthernAfrican Development Community -a 15-state regional block. SouthAfrica's rand has strengthened sinceit was invited to join BRIC, partly inexpectation of an inflow of fundsfrom realigning BRIC portfolios.Zonis said the impact from capitalinflows will be limited, and longterm gains will come from how wellSouth Africa can use its BRIC statusto make itself more attractive forinvestment.

The BRIC countries have soughtgreater clout for their grouping,holding a summit in Russia in 2009."BRIC" is a term invented in 2001 byJim O'Neill, the chairman ofGoldman Sachs Asset Management.O'Neill has said South Africa shouldnot be included. "How can SouthAfrica be regarded as a big econo-

my? And, by the way, they happento be struggling as well," he saidthis month. There are worries thatas BRIC takes on a life of its own, thelisting of South Africa could promptothers to invite their friends to join,swelling membership and perhapsdooming the grouping to irrele-vance.

Some have suggested the hard-charging economy of Indonesia maybe a better fit, while global invest-ment group BBVA has said the BRICconcept itself has become outdated.It has proposed a group calledEAGLES, short for "emerging andgrowth leading economies" it pre-dicts will contribute about 50 per-cent of global growth over the nextdecade. Its EAGLES, as sorted by rel-evance, are China, India, Brazil,Indonesia, South Korea, Russia,Mexico, Egypt, Taiwan and Turkey.South Africa was on a watch list of11 other up and coming statesdubbed the "Eagles Nest". — Reuters

S Africa not just another BRIC in the wall

A family crosses the street in front of the main entrance of Ferihegy 2 terminal ofBudapest airport under a poster advertising Hungary’s EU Presidency on Friday. – AFP

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva kisses president-elect Dilma Rousseff asthey celebrate her victory at Alvorada Palace on Oct 31, 2010. – AFP

ne w s

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

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close range. Another brother,Ashraf, was filmed by activists beingshot in the leg with a rubber-coatedbullet by a soldier while he was boundand blindfolded in the aftermath of a2008 anti-barrier protest at the villageof Nilin, near Bilin. The video was wide-ly distributed and caused a mediastorm, leading two years later to theconviction for “unbecoming conduct”of the soldier and an officer who waspresent at the time.

Palestinians joined by Israeli andforeign activists protesting againstIsrael’s construction of the West Bankbarrier have clashed with soldiersnearly every Friday outside Bilin and

Nilin for years. Israel says the projected723 km of steel and concrete walls,fences and barbed wire is needed forsecurity. The Palestinians view it as aland grab that undermines their prom-ised state. The International Court ofJustice (ICJ) issued a non-binding rul-ing in 2004 calling for parts of the bar-rier inside the West Bank to be torndown and for further construction inthe territory to cease. Israel hasignored the ruling.

The demonstrations are billed asnon-violent but frequently turn intoclashes between rock-throwingPalestinian youths and Israeli troopsfiring tear gas and rubber-coated bul-lets. When completed, 85 percent ofthe wall will have been built inside the

West Bank, taking land from villageslike Bilin and Nilin. In February, Israelbegan work on rerouting a part of thebarrier near Bilin more than two yearsafter a Supreme Court order, moving ithundreds of metres to the west.

The Supreme Court ruled in Sept2007 that the barrier in the Bilin areawas “highly prejudicial” to the villagersand demanded that the governmentmap out an alternative route “within areasonable period”. It said the villagershad been discriminated against byhaving land seized and being cut offfrom their farmland by the barrier.Palestinians also say that in someplaces the barrier cuts off access toschools and medical treatment anddivides families. — AFP

Palestinian woman gassed at demo dies

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must be increasingly vigilantagainst such attacks wherever theyoccur, remain united in promotion ofcommon values of tolerance andstand against the terrorist philosophyof violence”. Refaa Al-Tahtawi,spokesman for Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’smain seat of learning, appealed forcalm, as did a senior Coptic official.

“The last thing I heard was a power-ful explosion and then my ears wentdeaf,” Marco Boutros, a 17-year-old sur-vivor, said from his hospital bed. “All Icould see were body parts scatteredall over - legs and bits of flesh.” Bloodsplattered the facade of the church, aswell as a mosque directly across thestreet. Bodies of many of the deadwere collected from the street andkept inside the church overnightbefore they were taken away yester-day by ambulances for burial.

Some 15 hours after the bombing,growing numbers of Christians werecontinuing to vent their anger. By mid-

afternoon, hundreds of youths in smallgroups in the neighbourhood of thechurch were showering rocks and bot-tles on police, who responded withtear gas and rubber-coated bullets. “OMubarak, the heart of the Copts is onfire,” they shouted as they darted inand out of side-streets to hecklepolice. Others unfurled their fury atthe “cowardly terrorists” and chanted:“The blood of the Copts is not cheap.”One demonstrator brandished a largecross, with bloody remnants of victims’clothing attached.

In Alexandria, the church said in astatement that the attack “constituteda dangerous escalation in sectarianincidents against the Copts”. Provincialgovernor Adel Labib promised toboost security at churches, and saidthat families of the dead would receive15,000 pounds ($2,600). While no onehas claimed the attack, it comes twomonths after gunmen stormed aBaghdad cathedral in an operationthat left 44 worshippers, two priestsand seven security force personnel

dead. That was claimed by Al-Qaeda’sIraq affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq,which said its purpose was to force therelease of the two women in Egypt.

“All Christian centres, organisationsand institutions, leaders and followers,are legitimate targets for the muja-hedeen (holy warriors) wherever theycan reach them,” the group said. “Letthese idolaters, and at their forefront,the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican,know that the killing sword will not belifted from the necks of their followersuntil they declare their innocence fromwhat the dog of the Egyptian Churchis doing,” the ISI said.

After those threats, protectionaround Coptic places of worship wasdiscreetly stepped up, with Mubaraksaying he was committed to protect-ing the Christians “faced with theforces of terrorism and extremism”. TheCopts, who account for up to 10 per-cent of Egypt’s 80-million populationand often complain of discrimination,have been the target of repeated sec-tarian attack. — Agencies

Suicide attack kills 21 at Egypt church

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There were a lso fata l bombattacks in Nigeria, Black Africa’smost populous nat ion, and inBurundi. In the northern Egyptiancity of Alexandria, at least 21 peoplewere killed in an attack on a churchas worshippers lef t a ser v ice ataround half an hour after midnight.Witnesses reported a burnt-out carouts ide. And in N iger ia a bombkilled four and wounded 26 at acrowded market on the fringes of ami l i tar y barracks in the capita lAbuja on New Year’s Eve. Three peo-ple died in a grenade blast inBurundi.

There was also a sour note inRuss ia , where Pres ident Dmitr yMedvedev promised an “open andfriendly” country, but police markedthe night by arresting some 120K remlin opponents at ra l l ies inMoscow and Saint Petersburg. InEurope, the London Eye wheel waslit up by a colorful firework salvo asan expected 250,000 people linedthe River Thames embankments. InParis, an estimated 350,000 people,including many tourists, were onthe Champs-Elysees with a further50,000 around the Eiffel Tower. InMadrid, thousands crammed Puerta

del Sol square as green lights speltout “Feliz 2011.” Revelers followedSpanish tradition and ate 12 grapes,one for each chime of the clock, toensure good luck in the comingyear. Nearly 700,000 people bravedthe freezing streets of Vienna withsome taking a chartered jet to wit-ness the palatial city celebrate fromabove.

In the Middle East, Dubai stolethe show on the Arabian peninsulawith an unprecedented spectacle atthe world’s tallest building. The BurjKhalifa was the centre of attentionwith a spec tacular laser, l ights,fountains and fireworks show whichmarked the 828-metre (2,717-foot)tower’s first anniversary. Then theparty in the Americas got off withR io de Janeiro, which staged amusic and fireworks spectacular onthe beach.

But honors for first party went tothe 6 ,000 res idents of the t inyPacific nation of Kiribati, while NewZealand’s Auckland was the first toparty with a major fireworks extrav-aganza. Australia then rung in 2011with a fiery waterfall plunging fromSydney’s landmark Harbor Bridge asseven tons of fireworks ignited inthe night sky, thrilling 1.5 millionpeople crammed on the city’s fore-

shore. In Asia hundreds of thou-sands of people gathered to watcha glittering fireworks-and-laser dis-play along neon-lit Hong Kong’sharbour. Dozens of boats a lsomoored in Victoria Harbor for theintense five-minute display.

In Japan millions of people visit-ed Shinto shrines to “purify” them-selves. Although Lunar New Year is amuch bigger event in the continent,thousands braved Beijing’s cold forthe countdown at an up-marketshopping centre, while an expected7,000 people watched a kite-flyingevent in centra l Shanghai . I nMyanmar, democrac y championAung San Suu Kyi, released this yearaf ter more than seven years ofhouse arrest, called on the country’speople “to struggle together withnew strengths, new force and newwords in the auspicious New Year”.Revelers in India’s f inancial andenter tainment capital Mumbai -scene of a 2008 attack that killed166 people - were given the go-ahead to party through the nightdespite intelligence about a possi-ble militant strike. Police were onhigh alert for attacks in major citiesin Pakistan, where New Year cele-brations are traditionally quiet, pri-vate affairs. — AFP

Parties, violence and a quake mark 2011...

Continued from Page 1

in Tabriz in separate trials in 2006.Her sentence to hang for her involve-ment in the murder of her husbandwas commuted to a 10-year jail termby an appeals court in 2007. But a sec-ond sentence to death by stoning oncharges of adultery levelled over sev-eral relationships, notably with theman convicted of her husband’s mur-der, was upheld by another appealscourt the same year.

Her stoning sentence has trig-gered an outcry in the West and herson yesterday pleaded that her execu-tion be stayed. “My mother has beensentenced to stoning ... I want herdeath sentence to be dropped. This ismy request,” said Ghaderzadeh,adding that he hoped the sentencewould be stayed as Iran’s former judi-ciary chief Ayatollah MahmoudHashemi Shahrudi had backed thesuspension of such sentences.Ghaderzadeh, who was himself arrest-ed by authorities on Oct 3 for speak-ing to two German journalists, is nowout on bail of around $40,000 postedby a relative. The two German journal-ists are still in custody.

Ghaderzadeh said he made hismother’s case “controversial” in order

to save her but acknowledged thatthe plan had backfired. “I thought ifthe case becomes controversial, shewould be freed. But it did not hap-pen,” the bearded youngster wearingspectacles said in Persian with aheavy Azeri accent. “I planned thismyself and searched on the Internetand found Mina Ahadi who intro-duced me to (Mohammad) Mostafaie,”he said, referring to a Germany-basedactivist who has championed hismother’s case.

Mostafaie, who was the firstlawyer of Mohammadi Ashtiani, hasnow left Iran. Ahadi raised the alarmin November over what she said wasMohammadi Ashtiani’s imminent exe-cution. Ghaderzadeh criticisedMostafaie, the two German journalistsand the second lawyer Javid HoutanKian who too is in custody, saying thegroup had “worsened” his mother’scase. “He (Mostafaie) charged 20 mil-lion rials ($2,000) and then escapedwithout even meeting me or mymother,” Ghaderzadeh said, disputingthe lawyer’s remarks that his fatherwas a drug addict and used to forceMohammadi Ashtiani into prostitu-tion.

“What Mostafaie recently said thatmy father was a drug addict is a lie. He

has made this up,” said Ghaderzadeh,accusing the lawyer of using the caseto seek asylum outside Iran. “I want tocomplain against Ahadi becuase sheabused the case, Mostafaie for hisfalse interviews, Houtan Kian for hisadvice to make the case more contro-versial and the two German reporterswho entered the country as tourists,”he said, adding that he made a “mis-take” in talking to them.

Ghaderzadeh also criticised Taheriand said it was “desperation” in theinitial days that made his family grantclemency to his mother’s lover trig-gering release. “The question is why isTaheri free?,” the youngster said. “Hemisused our desperation at that timeto get our approval, but I will get Issaeven if I have to study law.” Under theIranian penal code, a murder victim’sfamily can offer clemency to the con-vict. Iran’s English-language Press TVaired footage of Mohammadi Ashtianilast month in what it said was a re-enactment of the murder of her hus-band. The report also included inter-views with Mohammadi Ashtiani, herson Sajjad and lawyer Houtan Kian,and also accused Ahadi of seeking topoliticise the case in the Westernmedia with the aim of underminingthe Islamic republic. — AFP

Stoning woman’s son says mother ‘guilty’

Continued from Page 1

Fahad Al-Enezi voted player of thetournament. “I feel this is a secondphase of Kuwait’s golden era in foot-ball,” said Tufegdzic in December. “Ournext target is the Asian Cup.”

After tackling China, Kuwait meetUzbekistan on Jan 12 before a poten-tially decisive game with hosts Qataron Jan 16. They will take heart fromtheir most recent encounter withQatar, which saw Kuwait prevailthrough a Yousef Nasser goal in theGulf Cup group phase in November.In an interview, Tufegdzic expanded

on the training techniques that haverestored Kuwait to the forefront of theAsian game. “The mind was one of themany important factors, and not theonly factor,” he said. “We had to workon mentality, training, motivation,strategies, physical fitness, skills, teamspirit, on-field chemistry, and so on.“All of these factors are equally impor-tant. There were also softer chal-lenges to overcome, such as strength-ening confidence and mutual trust.”

Success in Qatar would crown aremarkable turnaround in Kuwait’sfortunes, but Tufegdzic insists thesquad’s unity can take them far. “I, as a

coach, first needed to win the trustand confidence of the players,” hesaid. “Only if they trust me will therebe a synergy between us, and that’swhen our targets would converge onone point. We became a cohesiveunit, thinking, feeling and acting likeone organism.” It is 31 years sinceKuwait’s one and only triumph in theAsian Cup and 29 years since theironly appearance to date at a WorldCup - a group-stage exit in Spain in1982. The brilliance of their maverickcoach, however, means that the coun-try’s football fans are dreaming bigonce again. — AFP

Tufegdzic eyes more trophies for Kuwait

BRASILIA: Dilma Rousseff became Brazil’s first female presi-dent yesterday after promising to build on an unprece-dented run of economic success achieved by her popularpredecessor and mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.Thousands of admirers braved a driving rain and cheeredas Rousseff rode to her inauguration in a 1953 Rolls Royceflanked by an all-female security detail. The former Marxistguerrilla, who evolved over the years into a pragmatic civilservant with a professed obsession for reducing poverty,smiled broadly and clapped along with spectators as shewas sworn in before the Congress.

“Many things have improved in Brazil, but this is justthe beginning of a new era,” Rousseff, wearing an all-whitesuit, told Congress. “My promise is ... to honor women, toprotect the most fragile, and to govern for all.” Rousseff, 63,inherits a booming economy that would make most of therest of the world green with envy. More than 20 millionBrazilians were lifted out of poverty during Lula’s eightyears in office, thanks largely to his social welfare policiesand stable economic management that made Brazil a dar-ling among Wall Street investors.

The coming decade also looks bright, with massive,newly discovered offshore oil reserves due to be exploitedand the World Cup and Olympics to be hosted here. YetRousseff also faces a long list of daunting challenges thatLula failed to tackle, including an overvalued currency thatis hurting industry, rampant public spending that is fuelinginflation, and notorious bureaucracy that stifles investmentand discourages innovation.

Perhaps the biggest task will be living up to the exam-ple set by Lula, a former metalworkers’ union leader wholeaves office with an approval rating of 87 percent and nearfolk-hero status - especially among the poor. “I’m here tothank Lula for all he’s done. If Dilma can do half of that I’llbe happy,” said Izabel Rosales Figuereido, who traveledfrom the western state of Mato Grosso do Sul to attendRousseff’s inauguration.

Lula essentially hand-picked Rousseff, his former chief

of staff, to be his successor. The career civil servant hadnever run for office before, and she remains a somewhat ofa mystery to many Brazilians, but her promise to continueLula’s policies was enough to get her elected in October bya wide margin. Rousseff now leads a country that, just fourdecades ago, persecuted her as an enemy of the state. Thedaughter of a Bulgarian immigrant, Rousseff was active inthe resistance to Brazil’s 1964-85 dictatorship. She wasjailed on subversion charges for three years and torturedby her military captors. Several of her former cellmateswere present for her inauguration yesterday.

After democracy returned, Rousseff held a series ofmid-level government jobs and acquired a reputation as ashrewd technocrat who is unafraid to call out underlingsfor shoddy work or incompetence, but often lacks a com-mon touch when dealing with voters. More recently, sheovercame lymphoma in 2009 and she briefly wore a wig asshe underwent chemotherapy. Her doctors have given hera clean bill of health. Rousseff, who appointed an experi-enced and respected economic team, pledged to maintainthe mostly market-friendly policies that helped cementBrazil’s place among the elite BRIC group of fast-growingemerging economies that also includes Russia, India, Chinaand now South Africa.

In her inaugural speech, Rousseff called for reform ofBrazil’s onerous and complex tax system and signaled sheintends to make that a top priority. However, Lula alsoattempted several tax reforms with only limited successand pushing the changes through her 10-party coalition inCongress will be easier said than done. “The question iswhether she has the courage and support to stand up tovested interests,” said Pedro Simon, senator for the PMDB,the largest party in Rousseff’s coalition. “There’s already anarmy of scoundrels wanting the victory spoiled.” Given themany pressing demands at home, she is likely to take alower international profile and avoid courting controversy,like Lula did when he angered Washington with mediationefforts over Iran’s nuclear program. — Agencies

Rousseff becomes first woman to lead Brazil

New president calls for overhaul of tax system

BRASILIA: Newly sworn-in Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff waves during her inauguration ceremonyyesterday. — AFP

LAHORE: Pakistanis dance in a street celebrating the New Year early yesterday. — AP

SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

England aim for Ashes series win

Page 16

Lakers sneak past 76ers in NBA action

Page 17

Canucks keep rolling, beat Stars

DALLAS: The Vancouver Canucks prevailed in aclash of NHL divisional leaders, beating theDallas Stars 4-1 on Friday to notch a fourthstraight win. Daniel and Henrik Sedin scoredpower-play goals and Cory Schneider made 44saves for the Canucks.

Daniel Sedin and Raffi Torres had goals in a47-second span late in the first period, andVancouver went on to improve to 13-1-2 in itspast 16 games, 6-0-1 on the road during thatstretch. Kevin Bieksa added a power-play goalfor the Canucks. Brenden Morrow had a pow-er-play goal for Dallas.

Ducks 5, Flyers 2In Anaheim, Jason Blake and defenseman

Lubomir Visnovsky each scored two goals asAnaheim beat Philadelphia. Jonas Hiller made35 saves while Bobby Ryan also scored for theDucks, who began a six-game homestand.Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf missed the gamebecause of multiple nasal fractures after get-ting hit in the forehead by a deflected slapshot Tuesday at Phoenix. Andreas Nodl andJeff Carter scored for Philadelphia.

Blues 4, Coyotes 3In St. Louis, the hosts won their fifth

straight game, holding off Phoenix. Alex Steenhad a goal and an assist, Jaroslav Halakstopped 30 shots, while Brad Boyes, ErikJohnson and Alex Pietrangelo added goals togive the Blues a 4-0 lead early in the third peri-od. Phoenix’s Shane Doan had two goals, thefirst in the third period to end Halak’s shutout

streak at 129 minutes, 29 seconds. LauriKorpikoski also scored for the Coyotes.

Flames 3, Avalanche 2In Calgary, the home team made it three

straight wins by edging Colorado. TomKostopoulos, Jarome Iginla and Tim Jackmanscored in a 7:30 span in the second period andthat was enough to win. Daniel Winnik andTomas Fleischmann had third-period goals forthe Avalanche.

Predators 4, Wild 1In St. Paul, Minnesota, Pekka Rinne made

22 saves to help Nashville end its losing streakat five games. Cody Franson, Patric Hornqvist,Joel Ward and Sergei Kostitsyn scored forNashville. Struggling offensively, the Predatorshave scored nine goals in their past six games.

Chuck Kobasew scored late for Minnesota,which was booed off the ice after the secondperiod and the game. The Wild have won onlythree of their past 10 home games.

Islanders 4, Red Wings 3In Detroit, P.A. Parenteau scored on a power

play at 3:57 of overtime to give New York vic-tory over Western Conference-leading Detroit.

Parenteau put in a one-timer from the leftfaceoff dot for his ninth goal. John Tavares hada goal and two assists, while Matt Moulsonand Jesse Joensuu also scored for New York,which is 6-1-1 in its past eight games. JohanFranzen, Valtteri Filppula and Tomas Tatar _ inhis first NHL game _ scored for Detroit.

Blue Jackets 4, Senators 3In Columbus, Jake Voracek scored a lucky

overtime winner, capping his return afterbeing dropped, and helping Columbus edgeOttawa.

The puck took a big ricochet and Ottawa’sAlex Kovalev and Chris Campoli were unable tocorral it as it bounced unusually off the backboard. Voracek swooped in and forced thepuck between goalie Brian Elliott’s leg pads2:06 into the overtime. R.J. Umberger, RickNash and Samuel Pahlsson scored in regulationfor the Blue Jackets, who blew a 3-0 lead buthung on for their third straight win. Ottawa’sDaniel Alfredsson forced the extra period, scor-ing with 1:11 left in regulation. Mike Fisher andNick Foligno also scored for the Senators.

Canadiens 3, Panthers 2In Sunrise, Florida, Montreal newcomer James

Wisniewski scored his second goal of the game3:41 into overtime Montreal a comeback victoryover Florida. Wisniewski, acquired from the NewYork Islanders on Tuesday, scored the winner offa rebound. The defenseman had a power-playgoal in the second period. Brian Gionta alsoscored to help the Canadiens overcome a 2-0deficit. Stephen Weiss and Dmitry Kulikov scoredfor Florida in a 1:45 span early in the second peri-od.

Devils 3, Thrashers 1In Newark, New Jersey, the hosts snapped a

six-game losing streak and gave interim coachJacques Lemire his first win by beating Atlanta.

Lemaire lost his first three games after tak-ing over for the fired John MacLean. Backupgoalie Johan Hedberg made 28 saves, rookiedefenseman Mark Fayne scored his secondNHL goal, captain Jamie Langenbrunner had

his first in more than a month and IlyaKovalchuk also scored for New Jersey. DustinByfuglien had his 15th goal for Atlanta. Heleads NHL defenseman in goals and points(40). —AP

NEWARK: RonHainsey No. 6 andJohan HedbergNo. 1 of theAtlanta Thrashersdefend againstPatrik Elias No. 26of the New JerseyDevils at thePrudential Center. —AFP

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L OTLGF GA PTSPittsburgh 25 11 3 126 91 53Philadelphia 23 10 5 128 102 51NY Rangers 22 14 2 118 98 46NY Islanders 11 19 6 84 118 28New Jersey 10 25 2 65 116 22

Northeast DivisionBoston 20 11 5 102 77 45Montreal 21 16 2 97 92 44Ottawa 16 18 5 89 116 37Buffalo 15 18 4 98 108 34Toronto 13 19 4 84 110 30

Southeast DivisionTampa Bay 22 11 5 119 121 49Washington 22 12 5 117 105 49Atlanta 20 15 6 127 122 46Carolina 17 15 4 102 108 38Florida 16 17 2 95 92 34

Western ConferenceCentral Division

Detroit 24 9 5 131 107 53St Louis 20 12 5 99 100 45Columbus 20 15 3 100 110 43Chicago 20 16 3 123 113 43Nashville 18 13 6 91 92 42

Northwest DivisionVancouver 23 8 5 125 91 51Colorado 20 13 5 131 123 45Minnesota 17 15 5 92 107 39Calgary 17 18 3 103 109 37Edmonton 12 17 7 94 124 31

Pacific DivisionDallas 22 13 4 110 109 48Los Angeles 22 14 1 113 91 45San Jose 20 13 5 114 108 45Anaheim 20 17 4 107 118 44Phoenix 17 13 7 101 107 41

NHL results and standings on Friday. New Jersey 3, Atlanta 1; Montreal 3, Florida 2 (OT); Nashville 4, Minnesota 1; NY Islanders 4,Detroit 3 (OT); Columbus 4, Ottawa 3 (OT); Anaheim 5, Philadelphia 2; Vancouver 4, Dallas 1;St. Louis 4, Phoenix 3; Calgary 3, Colorado 2.

NHL results/standings

SPAIN: Competitors Foncia (right) and Groupe Bel (left)compete in the sea off the coast of Barcelona duringthe start of the ‘Barcelona World Race’, a non-stopround-the-world sailing competition. — AFP

NEW YORK: The next America’s Cup will besailed in 2013 on San Francisco Bay, with aspectacular backdrop of the Golden GateBridge, Alcatraz and the Coit Tower.

San Francisco beat out Newport, RhodeIsland, on Friday in the bidding to hold sail-ing’s marquee regatta. Sailing in SanFrancisco in a new class of fast, wing-sailed72-foot catamarans on TV-friendly coursescould reinvigorate the competition for theoldest trophy in international sports.

The image of the America’s Cup wasbadly damaged during a bitter, 21/2-yearcourt fight preceding the 33rd America’sCup in February, when software mogulLarry Ellison led San Francisco-based BMWOracle Racing to a two-race sweep ofAlinghi of Switzerland off Valencia, Spain.

“We really do think the 34th America’sCup will be the best yet,” Stephen Barclay,an official with the Golden Gate Yacht Cluband BMW Oracle Racing, told TheAssociated Press by phone from his homein Auckland, New Zealand.

“We sought a venue that fulfills ourpromise — to showcase the best sailors inthe world competing on the fastest boats,”

America’s Cup Event Authority ChairmanRichard Worth said in a statementannouncing the selection.

“And hosting the America’s Cup in SanFrancisco will realize that promise.”Outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom said in astatement that the selection of SanFrancisco “marks the beginning of anextraordinary new chapter for our city andfor the sport of sailing. ... We are ready toget to work right away in 2011 to deliver onthis remarkable opportunity.”

San Francisco had the America’s Cup allbut secured in November. But Barclay, thelead negotiator for the Golden Gate YachtClub, said the Port Commission changedthe complicated financial deal that hadbeen negotiated and sent to the Board ofSupervisors to begin the approval process.

After San Francisco was put on notice onDec. 11 that its bid was unacceptable,America’s Cup officials began negotiatingwith Newport.

Russell Coutts, a four-time America’sCup winner and CEO of BMW OracleRacing, had telephone conversations withNewsom before Christmas that helped

swing the momentum back to theCalifornia city.

“Two people that need to be thankedfor this process are the mayor and Russell,”Barclay said. “Both personally got involvedto help the process along. We wouldn’thave gotten there without their involve-ment.” Coutts said in a statement:

“My support for San Francisco hostingthe America’s Cup goes beyond the oppor-tunity to see our team competing on homewaters. We are excited to sail for our sport’sgreatest trophy, on a stretch of water leg-endary among sailors worldwide.” America’sCup organizers had expressed concernabout taking on too much risk in develop-ing a portion of the San Francisco water-front for the competition. Under the origi-nal arrangement negotiated by GoldenGate Yacht Club and San Francisco officials,the America’s Cup Event Authority pledgedto spend $150 million to refurbish certainpiers south of the Bay Bridge in exchangefor future development rights to helprecoup those costs. Barclay said the Portchanged the agreement to include piersnorth of the Bay Bridge and changed the

terms of the long-term leases.Barclay said it will cost $55 million to

refurbish the northern piers.“There’s still plenty of risk in this for the

event authority, but they are to a largedegree manageable risks,” Barclay said.“One of the big points we made was thatwe’re not making a selection where we putthe event itself at risk.

We were given the opportunity to bal-ance our books, and to a large degreewe’ve done that. Both parties are happywith the deal.” San Francisco officials esti-mated hosting the America’s Cup could beworth $1.4 billion in economic benefits andcreate 8,000 jobs.

As part of the deal with San Francisco, alocal America’s Cup Organizing Committeehas pledged to help raise $270 million incorporate sponsorship money to helpdefray the estimated $300 million cost ofthe regatta. Barclay said there would beless risk staging the regatta in Newport, butofficials there couldn’t commit by Friday’sdeadline. They said earlier this week thatthey needed more time to figure out howmuch it would cost to hold the event. —AP

San Francisco gets 2013 America’s Cup

sports

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

SYDNEY: England will carry an air of unfin-ished business into the final Test of the Ashesseries starting tomorrow, despite havingalready ensured it retains the famous urn.

England cannot lose the series after itsemphatic win in the fourth test at Melbourne,but the Sydney test offers the enticingprospect of its first Ashes series win since1987. That achievement, laudable in itself,would take it closer to its longer-term goal ofattaining the world’s No. 1 ranking in testcricket.

Australia enters the final test of an unsuc-cessful series under an unpopular stand-incaptain, but will be eager to square the series,save some face and begin a much-neededrebuilding process.

Michael Clarke will start as Australia test

captain for the first time, replacing RickyPonting who has a broken finger.

While teammates have rallied aroundClarke and pledged their support, newspaperpolls have shown only eight percent ofAustralians support his promotion to the cap-taincy.

Ponting is not a universally popular cap-tain, but is admired for his past successes andembodying the qualities of doggedness, gritand fortitude associated with the captaincysince the days of Allan Border and SteveWaugh. Clarke, 29, is more of a flamboyantcharacter with his bleached hair and very pub-lic breakup with his former model fiance.

Teammates have worked this week to alterthat image, to paint Clarke as a more matureand driven individual. “He’s got a very good

cricket brain, he thinks about the game verywell, he’ll be an aggressive captain,” MikeHussey said.

“He’ll always be looking to take wickets outthere, he’ll be looking to make changes to thefield, changes to the bowlers, searching for awicket all the time and he’ll always want thegame going forward.”

Hussey said Clarke had been an energeticcaptain when leading the national side in lim-ited-overs games. “I guess the challenge forhim is to be able to maintain that over the fivedays of a test match. It’s going to be hard graftbut we have 100 per cent confidence in him.”Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who will beClarke’s vice-captain, said the public percep-tion of Clarke could quickly change.

“The reaction with the public with all our

players changes from week to week,” he said.“You’re one good innings away, or sometimesone good cover drive away, from the supportbeing with you.

“Michael’s a very strong character so thingswill be okay. He’s got a very good cricket brain.He’ll do Australia proud.” England has beenable to enjoy a relatively untroubled prepara-tion for the final test, its players showing everysign of delight at Australia’s discomfort.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann twisted theknife a little yesterdayy, saying he was at a lossto understand Australia’s decision to omit itsmost experienced spinner, Nathan Hauritz,from its Ashes squad. Swann suggestedHauritz’s absence had helped England.

“I honestly don’t understand howAustralian selection works,” Swann said. “It’s

obviously different to how it works in England.“I don’t know why he (Hauritz) was

dropped in the first place and why he’s notbeen brought back in. “I genuinely feel sorryfor him because I don’t think he deserved tomiss out on this whole series. He bowled wellagainst England two years ago and he was aguy who caused a few of our players someproblems.”

The uncapped Michael Beer is the only spe-cialist spinner in Australia’s squad, and withthe Sydney Cricket Ground usually helpful tospinners, he is a candidate to replace one ofthe pacemen in the starting eleven. —AP

England aim for Ashes series victory

CAPE TOWN: Attention todetail will be the key to theoutcome of the third anddeciding Test between SouthAfrica and India starting atNewlands today, accordingto the opposing captains.

India, the world’s top-ranked side, are keen to wintheir first series in SouthAfrica although they willretain their place at the topof the rankings regardless ofthe outcome.

The visitors squared theseries in Durban onWednesday against the worldnumber two side after losingthe first test by an innings.

“It is a very balancedseries. Both the teams havedone well, South Africaplayed really well in the firsttest and we came backstrongly in the second test,”India captain MahendraSingh Dhoni told a news con-ference.

“It is up to the last testnow and what we now focuson is small little things thatwe think are important, rightfrom preparing for the gameto good plans and how weexecute those plans on thefield.

“ These are the smallthings that if we take care ofthem, at the end of the dayyou will get the desiredresults more often than not.”South Africa captain GraemeSmith sang from the samesong sheet.

“I felt we were little bit offour mark in Durban, we werenot as precise as we neededto be. When you play on apitch like that, the marginsare small. We probably lackeda bit of tough discipline attimes and making the littlethings count. In the end welet ourselves down,” he said.

“In the key moments wewere not good enough andIndia were better than us.” Itis the second successiveseries in South Africa inwhich India have entered thefinal test in Cape Town at 1-1.They were unable to go thedistance in 2006-7, losing byfive wickets.

“The fact is this is one ofthe best chances for us towin our first series in SouthAfrica. I f you see the lastseries in 2006, we were in thesame position. I t is a fairchance, but the team thatplays consistently over thenext five days will be liftingthe trophy,” Dhoni added.

“Winning in South Africawill be a big thing for us. Weall know we can win a testseries in South Africa by tak-ing care of the small thingsby preparing well. I think thesenior players always tend todo that, take care of the smallthings. That’s the reason forthem being so successful allover the world.

“Of course, South Africawill feel the pressure a bitbecause we are the touringteam and we were one downin the series and then wecame back and won the lasttest.” Smith said his batsmenneeded to take a step upafter being bowled out for131 and 215 in Durban.

“We were poor in Durbanas a batting unit. We havehad some good honest chatsabout that and I think ourbatting unit has been prettysuccessful, but in Durban welost our minds a little bit,” hesaid.

“Hopefully we can gatherour strength, the top sixespecially, for this test.Everyone has generally gotgood records here and it’s areally strong ground for us.We are hoping to use all thatand come out and put in abig performance.”—Reuters

Captains agree small details will decide final Test result

CAPE TOWN: India’s Harbhajan Singh bowls during a practice at Cape Town, SouthAfrica. India play the third Test match against South Africa today. —AP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Twenty20 captainShahid Afridi and team coach Waqar Youniswill appear as witnesses before an anti-cor-ruption tribunal after a request from theInternational Cricket Council.

Pakistan Cricket Board said Saturdaythat both Afridi and Younis will appear“either in person or through teleconferencedepending on their convenience and sub-ject to their professional commitments.”

The tribunal will conduct the hearing ofPakistan’s suspended cricketers SalmanButt, Mohammad Asif and MohammadAmir from Jan. 6-11 at Doha, Qatar. Afridiled Pakistan in the Twenty20 series againstNew Zealand while Younis will be with thePakistan team in New Zealand where thefirst test begins Jan. 7.

Butt, Asif and Amir were suspended inSeptember after a British tabloid allegedthat they bowled predetermined no-ballsduring the Lord’s test against England.

“PCB is committed to root out corruption,in any form, from cricket and has a zero tol-erance policy towards corruption,” thecricket board said in a statement.

“PCB is also keen to assist the ICC anti-corruption tribunal in determining thetruth behind the serious allegations beingmade against the three Pakistan players.”Local media reports earlier this weekclaimed that both Afridi and Younis hadraised serious doubts over the role of thethree players during the Lord’s test. Afridireportedly told the ICC code of commissionthat he thought the trio looked guilty whenhe met them in a hotel room in London.

The reports also claimed that Younis wassurprised to watch Amir bowling a hugefront foot no-ball and even told the fastbowler ‘what the hell was that?’ during thebreak.—AP

Afridi, Younis toappear as witnesses

PERTH: Belgiumís Ruben Bemelmans prepares to hit the ball during his match against Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt inthe Hopman Cup tennis tournament.—AP

PERTH: Former top ranked Justine Henin and LleytonHewitt made winning comebacks from injury as Australiabeat Belgium 2-1 in the Hopman Cup yesterday.

Henin beat Alicia Molik 6-4, 6-4 in her first singles matchafter an elbow injury at Wimbledon in June in a promisingbuildup to the Australian Open later this month. Hewittbeat Ruben Bemelmans 6-4, 6-3 in his first singles sinceSeptember, then joined with Molik to beat Henin andBemelmans 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) in the mixed doubles deciderof the Group A match.

Seven-time Grand Slam winner Henin was making herdebut in the opening match of the annual mixed teamstournament. The Belgian, who spent a total of 117 weeksat No. 1, struggled at times with her serve and said shewasn’t yet able to play without discomfort. She estimatedbefore the tournament she might take six months to returnto full fitness.

“I can’t play 100 percent free of pain but it’s getting bet-ter,” Henin said. “A few weeks ago I really didn’t know if Iwas going to be able to come here to Australia. It’s been alot of hard rehabilitation on my elbow.

“I had to work really hard in the last few weeks just totry to serve with no pain. I’m not yet 100 percent but feel-ing better. It’s good for a first match, I won and that’s (the)most important (thing).” Henin said she was relieved to getthrough the first match of her comeback without difficulty.“I’m just glad I’m healthy, almost there and now I have tobuild my confidence back and find my rhythm,” she said.

“Alicia (Molik) wasn’t an easy opponent to play firstbecause she was changing the rhythm a lot, especially with

the slice. I was a bit out of the rhythm.” Henin won the firstmatch of the opening set, quickly lost her own serve butretrieved the break to serve out the set at 6-4. She won theopening match of the second set and also retrieved a breakbefore similarly serving for the set and match.

Hewitt has taken up exactly where he left off, with a winover the left-handed Bemelmans. The Australian’s last sin-gles match in September was also against Bemelmans dur-ing Australia’s Davis Cup tie against Belgium. Hewitt wonthat match in a tough four sets. Hewitt expected to takeconfidence from yesterday’s win ahead of the AustralianOpen which starts in Melbourne on Jan. 17.

“It’s always tough the first match of the year,” Hewittsaid. “It doesn’t matter how many practice sets you play outthere, getting that match toughness back isn’t easy. “Hewas actually the last bloke that I played last year. It wasnice to beat him in the Davis Cup (and) now playing forAustralia here at the Hopman Cup as well.

“I’m just happy to get through in straight sets beingdown break points and getting out of those situations,that’s stuff you can’t buy. He’s a difficult opponent, he’s abig ball striker and his backhand’s improved since I playedhim in the Davis Cup last time.” Hewitt said he had workedhard to be ready for the new season.

“It’s good to wake up and be injury free,” he said. “It feelslike it’s been a long time and, at the end of the day, the wayI see it is it gives me the best opportunity to go out thereand perform.” Serbia and Kazakhstan are also in Group Awhile Britain, Italy, France and the United States play inGroup B. —AP

Australia beat Belgium 2-1 at Hopman Cup

ABU DHABI: Top-ranked Rafael Nadalstarted 2011 with a win over his main rival,beating Roger Federer 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) yes-terday to defend his title at the invitation-al World Tennis Championships.

Both players held serve throughout thematch, and Federer had the early momen-tum in the first tiebreaker, hitting a coupleof blistering forehand winners to go up 3-0. But Nadal won the next five points andclinched the set when the Swiss hit a fore-hand long.

In the second tiebreaker, Nadal wentup 3-1 with a drop volley and Federer senthis return long on the next point. TheSpaniard then set up match point with acrosscourt forehand winner and convert-ed it when Federer hit a forehand long.

“For both of us, these are the firstmatches of the season. So it is special forus,” Nadal said. “This is the perfect place tostart the season here in Abu Dhabi.” BothFederer and Nadal were given byes intothe semifinals of the six-player exhibitiontournament. Federer beat fifth-rankedRobin Soderling on Friday while Nadalousted Tomas Berdych.

“I never lost my serve but I still lost thetournament, it’s kind of tough,” Federersaid. “Rafael and myself must have playedso many times and so many times it hascome down to a few shots here and there.He is an amazing shot-maker. Me as wellbut today he got the better of me.”

Last month, the two split charitymatches with Nadal winning a match inSpain and Federer one in Switzerland. Intournament play, Nadal has a 14-8 recordagainst Federer. The Swiss won theirmost recent meeting, a three-set victoryin the final the ATP World Tour Finals inLondon.—AP

Nadal beatsFederer in AbuDhabi final

ABU DHABI: Rafael Nadal from Spain (right) and Roger Federer fromSwitzerland hold their trophies after Nadal beat Federer during the finalmatch of Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.—AP

HUA HIN: Kim Clijsters beat top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 4-6,12-10 (Champions tiebreaker) yester-day in an exhibition warmup for theAustralian Open.

The third-ranked Clijsters used herforehand to keep Wozniacki off bal-ance in the first set, but the Dane’sgame improved in the second follow-ing a temporary power failure thatforced part of the match to be playedin poor light.

The match was part of the 84

World Tennis Invitation in Hua Hin,Thailand, held to celebrate the NewYear and honor King BhumibolAdulyadej, who turns 84 in 2011.After the match, the players hit 84autographed tennis balls into thestands.

Clijsters also beat Wozniacki in thefinal of the season-ending WTA TourChampionships in October and in the2009 US Open final.—AP

Clijsters wins exhibition match

S P ORTS

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

MIAMI: Given the opportunity, LeBron Jameswould change countless things about 2010.Losing to Boston in the playoffs. How his infa-mous ‘Decision’ to leave Cleveland was execut-ed. The fraying of some long relationships withthe Cavaliers. But regrets?

None, the two-time MVP said while lookingback on the year unlike any other in his life _and looking ahead to 2011, a year the Miamiforward hopes to have defined by champi-onship instead of controversy.

“It absolutely was a good year,” James saidin an interview with The Associated Press onFriday while relaxing alongside the Heat prac-tice court. “I don’t regret any decision that I’vemade and I’m happy where I am now. I thinkmy family, my friends, they’re all excited withmy new beginning.

And I definitely am.” He meant that in manydifferent ways. Business-wise, while studiessuggested his “Q Score” — the measure of howsomething or someone appeals to a broadaudience — took a big hit over the offseason,sales of his new Miami jersey and his latest lineof Nike sneakers are booming. Personally, someof those who have known him best say he’s ashappy as he’s been in years.

And on the basketball court, the Heat aresoaring. Winners in 16 of their last 17 games,the Heat will take a 25-9 record into 2011, and

have more than a few people around the NBAsaying they’re playing as well as any team inthe league, maybe better. All the negativityafter a 9-8 start seems long forgotten.

“Overall, where we’re at now is what I envi-sioned,” James said. “Did I envision our toughtimes early on? Not to that extent. I knew wewould have some bumps along the road, butto the extent where we were at? I don’t thinkany of us expected that. No one here in Miamior no one in the league expected us to havethese trials and tribulations. But it made uswho were are today, going into 2011.”

So in other words, the Heat have collectivelytaken a similar road as James did personallyover the past 12 months. A year ago, he wasstill expecting to deliver on his promise ofbringing a title to Cleveland, even as nonstopspeculation swirled about his plans for freeagency on July 1.

The opinions and predictions were every-where — he was going to New York, toChicago, to the Clippers, staying home inCleveland. Everyone, it seemed, “knew” whathe was going to do.

Everyone, that is, except James himself.While many suspect otherwise, James still sayshe didn’t make his decision until the morningof July 8, announcing it to the world about 12hours later in a televised special that raised $4

million for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America —along with the ire of millions who watched itlive.

“He can take this year, for the rest of his lifeand the rest of his career, and look at it as astepping stone for him as a basketball playerand as a man,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.“He was on a team projected to win a champi-onship, was the MVP and then everythingcame crashing down real fast. So he had tomake a tough decision, and he made it basedon what was best for him as a man.”

James grew tired long ago of discussing‘The Decision,’ even though he’s still askedabout it almost daily. He says he prefers to lookahead, not back. “I’ll set goals for the year, butI’m not a resolutions guy,” James said. “My NewYear’s resolution would be the same as goinginto every NBA season, just to be productiveevery day, as a basketball player, as a father andfriend on and off the court, and do the thingsthat need to be done to help us win a champi-onship.

So if I had to have one, my resolution wouldbe the same as my preseason goals.” Just abouteveryone in the Heat locker room had somesort of relationship with James before this sea-son, but even those who were closest to him —Wade in particular — didn’t have a completepicture of him while largely watching from afar.

Wade marvels at James’ basketball talent.He also marvels just as much about James’ per-sonality, something few people get a chance tofully learn about. “LeBron is known as beingone of the top-paid athletes, he’s known for hisbusiness savvy, he’s known for being wisebeyond his years,” Wade said.

“So people would be surprised to know thathe’s the silliest, goofiest person in the world. ... Ijust say he loves what he does. He loves beingthe person he is.” He’s loving Miami as well.

It’s still not home — Miami won’t replaceAkron, where his mother and children stillreside most of the time — but James said he’sgrowing increasingly comfortable each daywith his new surroundings. James is settling ina $9 million house, photos of which wereleaked online to his chagrin, the latest loss in aquest for some semblance of privacy.

“It’s getting better as the days go on,” Jamessaid. “Honestly, I like to relax. Most of the time Isit at home, just chill, enjoy the weather. That’sdefinitely a good time to reflect, sit outside andenjoy what Miami has to offer.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra began the processof enjoying what James had to offer this sum-mer. They went to lunches and talked aboutanything and everything, though largely notabout basketball. Spoelstra wanted to knowwhat made him tick, what he liked, what he

disliked. He wasn’t surprised by much of whathe learned, except perhaps one thing.

“He’s the first one,” Spoelstra said. “In train-ing camp, he was the first player at breakfast,usually is the first player to get to the arena. Helikes extra time to prepare. Everything we do,he likes to arrive early. He takes this very seri-ously. If you think about it, he’s been under thismicroscope since he was in seventh, eighthgrade — and he’s always been able to answerthe bell of expectations.” Well, most expecta-tions, that is.

James turned 26 on Thursday and hisfriends and family got him a wide array ofbirthday gifts, from reading material to elec-tronics, even though he’s notoriously hard toshop for because he usually buys whatever hewants for himself. For all his riches, he can’tbuy a championship ring. That’s what 2010was about, and of course, that’s what he’s clam-oring for in 2011.

“You try to continue to be blessed and takepride in what you do, the game of basketball,the centerfold of everything,” James said. “I’llcontinue to get better.

I’ll continue to win. Someday, I hope tobring championships to this franchise. And offthe court, I want to keep inspiring kids. I don’twant them to be LeBron. I want them to be bet-ter than LeBron.”—AP

After ups and downs, James says 2010 was memorable

OKLAHOMA CIT Y: KevinDurant hit a season-highfive 3-pointers and scored33 points to lead theOklahoma City Thunder toa 103-94 win over theAtlanta Hawks in the NBAon Friday.

Durant went 3 for 3 on3s during a 16-6 run in thefour th quar ter as theThunder put the gameaway af ter At lanta hadpulled within two points.

Russell Westbrook fin-ished off a triple-doublewith his 10th assist in thefinal seconds. Westbrookfinished with 23 points, 10rebounds and 10 assists-the last coming when herushed the bal l up toSerge I bak a for a dunkwith 6 .9 seconds lef tinstead of running out theclock.

P layers f rom bothteams stayed on the courtfor a few moments afterthe game as the Hawkswere apparently upset bythe final sequence. JamalCrawford led Atlanta with26 points.

Hornets 83, Celtics 81In Boston, Trevor Ariza

made a t iebreak ing 3-pointer with 1:34 to play,leading New Orleans overan injury-riddled Boston.

David West scored fourof his 19 points in the finalminute to help snatch thewin. Ray Allen led Bostonwith 18 points, but hit theback rim with a despera-t ion 3-point attempt inthe closing seconds.

Lakers 102, 76ers 98I n Los Angeles, the

hosts were unconvincingyet again, but did enoughto sneak past a pesk yPhiladelphia. Kobe Bryantscored 33 points and hit atiebreaking jumper with1:15 to play.

Pau G asol had 20points and eightrebounds for the Lakers,as the defending champi-ons barely hung on to winthe NBA’s f inal game of2010.

Los Angeles nevertrailed for the sixth timethis season, but a lsocouldn’t shake the youngSixers until Philadelphiamissed five shots in thefinal minute. Jrue Holidayhad 19 points and 11ass ists for the S ixers,whose eight-game roadtrip concludes Monday inNew Orleans.

Bulls 90, Nets 81In Chicago, the home

team made i t 12 winsfrom 14 games with victo-ry over New Jersey. CarlosBoozer scored 20 pointsand grabbed 15 rebounds,whi le Luol Deng andDerr ick Rose scored 19apiece as the Bulls madeenough late shots afterstruggling from the fieldfor much of the game.

Brook Lopez led NewJersey with 19 points. TheNets dropped their fourthstraight but at least theydidn’t get blown out thistime. Outscored by a com-bined 51 points over theprevious three games, theNets hung in against theCentral division leaders.

Rockets 114, Raptors105

I n Houston, reser veguard Chase Budingerscored a season-high 22points to help Houstonovercome Toronto. KevinMartin added 20 for theRockets, who shook off apoor first quarter to shoot48 percent (44 of 91) andwin for the ninth time in10 home games. DeMarDeRozan scored a career-high 37 points for theRaptors, who’ve dropped10 of their last 13 games.

Suns 92, Pistons 75I n Phoenix , the

reserves built a big lead inthe second quarter thathelped Phoenix take con-trol and go on to beatDetroit.

Jared Dudley scorednine of his 19 points inthe second quar ter. hemade three 3-pointersdur ing a 22-4 run overseven minutes of the sec-ond quarter, and backuppoint guard Goran Dragichit two 3s of his own tohelp the Suns to a 50-28lead.

Phoenix snapped a sea-son-worst four-game los-ing streak . Ben Gordonscored 19 points to leadthe Pistons.

Warriors 96, Bobcats 95I n Char lotte, Golden

State held off a late rallyto beat Charlotte. MontaEllis scored 25 points andStephen Curry added 24points for the Warriors,who led by as many as 11points midway throughthe third quarter and helda six-point lead with 1:20remaining. StephenJackson scored 22 pointsfor the Bobcats, butmissed a 3-pointer with 2seconds remaining.

Pacers 95, Wizards 86In Indianapolis, Indiana

pul led away ear ly andwon against Washington.Danny Granger andDarren Collison scored 18points apiece. Grangershot 8 of 12 from the fieldand scored 13 of h ispoints in the first half inhelping the Pacers snap athree-game losing streak.

John Wall scored 25 forthe Wizards, who are 0-16on the road this seasonand 8-7 at home. ThePacers took control of thegame with a 20-4 run inthe second quarter, givingthem a 45-26 lead. TheWizards shot 2 of 14 in thequarter. —AP

RIO DE JANERIO: Rio deJaneiro unveiled its 2016Olympics logo before morethan 1 million New Year’s rev-elers on Copacabana beachFriday just before midnight.

The flowing symbol resem-bles three figures — orange,green and blue — embraced atthe arms and in a flowingdance. “The logo for Rio’s 2016Games conveys passion andtransformation. The passion ofall Cariocas and Brazilians forsport and celebration,” saidCarlos Nuzman, president ofthe Rio Olympic organizingcommittee, “Carioca” being thename for Rio’s citizens.

“And the transformationthat the Games are alreadybringing to Rio and to Brazil.”A giant TV screen set-up on

Copacabana beamed the logoto cheering spectators.Shortly after, a massive flagwith the logo was rolled outatop the crowd, who causedthe banner to shimmer asthey danced underneath it.

Olympic organizers havesaid the Rio 2016 brand wascreated to reflect the city’s cul-ture and represent its naturalwonders and joyful residents.Organizers said the logo wasdesigned based on four pil-lars: contagious energy, har-monious diversity, exuberantnature and Olympic spirit.

Nearly 140 agencies initial-ly participated in the processto design the logo and onlyeight made it into the finalphase. A multidisciplinaryteam of 15 national and inter-

national members of Rio2016’s organizing committeemade the final decision a fewmonths ago to choose adesign created by the Rioagency, Tatil.

IOC President JacquesRogge made his first visit toRio since the Pan AmericanGames in 2007, and in addi-tion to seeing the logounveiled, used the past fewdays to take a close look athow the city has been prepar-ing for the Games.

“I would like to congratu-late Rio’s team for the designchosen as the logo for Rio2016, which is very innova-tive and creative,” said Rogge.“It really reflects the vision ofRio and Brazil for theseGames.”—AP

Rio unveils logo for 2016 Games

ATLANTA: EJ Manuel threw afourth-quarter touchdown pass tostop a South Carolina comebackand lead Florida State to a 26-17victory over the turnover-plaguedGamecocks in college football’sChick-fil-A Bowl on Friday.

Chris Thompson ran for 147yards and a touchdown and DustinHopkins kicked four field goals forthe Seminoles (10-4), who reached10 wins for the first time since2003. Hopkins tied his own schoolrecord for a bowl, and the four fieldgoals also matched the Chick-fil-ABowl record.

Manuel took over for seniorquarterback Christian Ponder, wholeft early in the second quarterwith a concussion. South Carolinalost running back Marcus Lattimorewhen he was hit hard on theGamecocks’ first drive.

Manuel completed 11 of 15passes for 84 yards and a touch-down and had seven carries for 46yards. He was 7-for-7 passing onthe fourth-quarter touchdowndrive. South Carolina (9-5) commit-ted five turnovers.

Sun BowlNotre Dame 33, Miami 17

In El Paso, Texas, Brian Kellybecame the first Notre Dame coachto win a bowl game in his first sea-son, leading the Fighting Irish overMiami in the Sun Bowl. TommyRees passed for 201 yards and twotouchdowns to Michael Floyd andNotre Dame (8-5) reached the endzone on three of its first four pos-sessions.

Rees tossed TD passes of 3 and34 yards to Floyd and Cierre Woodbroke free on a 34-yard scoring runbefore David Ruffer added fieldgoals from 40, 50 and 19 yards. TheFighting Irish closed with four vic-tories to cap an up-and-down sea-

son under Kelly. They beat Utah,Army and USC late, then handledMiami (7-6) easily for Notre Dame’ssecond straight postseason victory.

Meineke BowlSouth Florida 31, Clemson 26In Charlotte, North Carolina, B.J.

Daniels threw two touchdownpasses and ran for a third as SouthFlorida took out the Meineke Bowl,defeating Clemson. Mo Plancheralso ran for a score for the Bulls (8-5), who took control after Tigersquarterback Kyle Parker left at half-time with broken ribs.

South Florida finished coachSkip Holtz’s first season with victo-ry, secured its fifth straight eight-win season and earned its firstbowl win over a team from a BCSautomatic-qualifying league.

Clemson backup quarterbackTajh Boyd was picked off by JaQuezJenkins on the first play of thefourth. His 48-yard return set upDaniels’ 8-yard TD run to make it31-13 and gave the Tigers (6-7)their first losing season in 11 years.

Liberty BowlCentral Florida 10, Georgia 6In Memphis, Tennessee, Central

Florida capped the best season inschool history with the program’sfirst postseason victory, defeatingGeorgia. The Knights (11-3) hadnever won more than 10 games ina season and had lost their firstthree bowl games, including theirlast visit here in 2007.

Latavius Murray scored on a10-yard touchdown run with 9:01left to seal Central Florida’s win.Georgia’s (6-7) four-game bowlwinning streak ended with its firstloss since the 2006 Sugar Bowl.Worse for the Bulldogs is notch-ing their first losing season since1996. — AP

Florida Statebeat S Carolina

Thunder down Hawks,Hornets sting Celtics

MEMPHIS: Central Florida defensive back Jordan Ozerities (30) jumpsup to slap hands with fans after Central Florida beat Georgia 10-6 inthe Liberty Bowl NCAA college football game. — AP

LOS ANGELES: Lakers forward Matt Barnes (left) fouls Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Youngduring the second half of their NBA basketball game. The Lakers won 102-98. — AP

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L PCT GBBoston 24 7 .774 -NY Knicks 18 14 .563 6.5Philadelphia 13 20 .394 12Toronto 11 21 .344 13.5New Jersey 9 24 .273 16

Central DivisionChicago 21 10 .677 -Indiana 14 17 .452 7Milwaukee 12 18 .400 8.5Detroit 11 22 .333 11Cleveland 8 24 .250 13.5

Southeast DivisionMiami 25 9 .735 -Orlando 21 12 .636 3.5Atlanta 21 14 .600 4.5Charlotte 11 20 .355 12.5Washington 8 23 .258 15.5

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division

Oklahoma City 23 11 .676 -Utah 22 11 .667 0.5Denver 18 13 .581 3.5Portland 17 16 .515 5.5Minnesota 8 25 .242 14.5

Pacific DivisionLA Lakers 23 10 .697 -Phoenix 14 17 .452 8Golden State 13 19 .406 9.5LA Clippers 10 23 .303 13Sacramento 6 23 .207 15

Southwest DivisionSan Antonio 28 4 .875 -Dallas 24 7 .774 3.5New Orleans 19 14 .576 9.5Houston 16 16 .500 12Memphis 14 18 .438 14

NBA results and standings on Friday. New Orleans 83, Boston 81; Chicago 90, New Jersey 81; Indiana 95, Washington 86; Golden State 96,Charlotte 95; Houston 114, Toronto 105; Oklahoma City 103, Atlanta 94; Phoenix 92, Detroit 75; LALakers 102, Philadelphia 98.

NBA results/standings

18s p o r t s

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

LONDON: Chelsea’s Didier Drogba gestures in this file photo during their English Premier League soccer match. —AP

QATAR: Qatar national football team (from left-right, back row) Sebastian Soria, Ibrahim Majed,Mohammed al-Sayed, Mohammed Kasoula, Bilal Mohammed, Wissam Riziq and Qasem Burhan, (frontrow) Hamed Ismail, Hussein Yaser, Fabio Cesar and Lawrance Quaye, pose before their internationalfriendly match against North Korea. —AP

LONDON: Carlo Ancelottiadmits Chelsea must beatAston Villa today before thechampions can start tobelieve they have endedthe miserable run thatthreatens to destroy theirtitle challenge.

Ancelotti’s grip on hisjob appeared to be weak-ening with every passinggame during a woeful runthat saw last season’s dou-ble winners sl ip to fifthplace.

A stuttering win overBolton on Wednesday,Chelsea’s f irst in sevenleague games, was hardlyemphatic enough to heraldthe dawn of a new era, butit did bring Ancelotti andhis players some much-needed respite and gavethem the psychological liftof moving back into thetop four.

The post-match talk atStamford Bridge turnedonce again to the title butAncelotti knows full wellhis side will once again bewritten off if they fail tobeat a Villa side currentlyon an alarming slidetowards the wrong end ofthe table.

The visit of Villa, thenmanaged by Martin O’Neill,to west London last Marchmarked one of the definingmoments in Chelsea’s firstever league and FA Cupdouble winning campaignas Ancelotti’s side cruisedto a 7-1 victory.

For several months fol-lowing that game, theBlues appeared unbeatableon home tur f and JohnCarew’s consolation goal inthat mauling remained thelast time Ancelotti’s teamconceded at home untilNedum Onuoha struckSunderland’s first in a 3-0defeat on November 14.

So far, the championsdo not appear to haverecovered from the shockof that defeat and their airof invincibility has certainlydisappeared.

“It was a hard period -that ’s normal,” Ancelottisaid. “It was a very difficultperiod. We have to keepgoing now. We have tomaintain good focus onour training and on ourgames.”

Whether Vil la canexploit Chelsea’s weakness-

es is another matter alto-gether, however. GerardHoullier’s team will certain-ly take heart from the likelyappearance of young cen-tre back Jeffrey Bruma inthe Blues league startingline-up for the first time.

Bruma, 19, is expectedto come in for the suspend-ed Branislav Ivanovic, whoserves a one-match banafter collecting his fifthbooking of the seasonagainst Bolton, while cen-tre back Alex is out foranother month followingknee surgery.

Reports from Portugalclaim Benfica have dis-missed a bid from Chelseafor centre back David Luiz,with Bolton’s Gary Cahillalso mooted as a possibletarget. Ancelotti, though, iskeeping his plans for thetransfer window close tohis chest.

“We didn’t speak aboutthis but we have onemonth,” he said. “(I f ) weneed to have some players,I said a lot of times that weare able to do it.”

Villa’s decline over thepast 12 months has beenalarming, with the clubstarting the year withhopes of a ChampionsLeague place, and ending itwith their lowest points tal-ly after 19 Premier Leaguegames since 1995.

Already Houllier is underpressure after just 17games in charge and themanager admits he hasendured a difficult period.

“I think some players areaffected mentally by whatis happening here,” saidHoullier, who will welcomeback Ashley Young afterinjury. “But they are menenough now to be countedand go and say ‘we cancope’ but it is a team thing.

“The team needs moreto know that I’ve got faithin them, I trust them, theyare good players, and theyhaven’t changed. They arestill good players.

“ There has been achange in the culture ofwhat we have been doinghere but we won’t go backand we’ve got to sticktogether. “We’ve also beenaffected by a few resultsthat didn’t go our waywhen we deserved forthem.” —AFP

Ancelotti looks for signs of Chelsea revival

MADRID: Real Madrid kick off 2011 with atesting derby day at city neighbours Getafetomorrow as Jose Mourinho’s side bid to closethe two-point gap on Spanish league leadersBarcelona.

Barcelona ended a fantastic 2010 with 10consecutive league wins, including a 5-0thrashing of Mourinho’s Real, and start thenew year with a home match against promot-ed Levante today.

Real take on an in-form Getafe, with 12points from their last four league outings, atthe Coliseum looking for a derby win to gettheir title bid up and running.

“We have 13 league wins and if we were inItaly or England we would be top on ourown,” said Real boss Mourinho.

“In Spain that is not the case becauseBarcelona and ourselves win almost all of thetime and the league will probably be decidedby our games against each other.”

Getafe are two points off the top four andare boosted by the news that Real will be

without suspended defender RicardoCarvalho and injured striker Gonzalo Higuain.

“They (Real) have players that can decide agame on their own, but we can hurt themand have been good at home this season,”said Getafe striker Nikolas Miku.

Barcelona proudly sat top over theChristmas period after 26 goals in their lastfive league games and are unbeaten in allcompetitions since losing 2-0 to Hercules inthe league on September 11.

The double champions begin 2011against promoted Levante at Camp Noutoday and welcome new signing IbrahimAfellay, who has joined for an undisclosed feefrom PSV Eindhoven.

Dutch international midfielder Afellay, 24,was part of his country’s World Cup squadthat lost 1-0 to Spain in the final.

“Barcelona play the best football in theworld and I can’t wait to play with the likes of(Lionel) Messi and (Andres) Iniesta becausethey are the best,” enthused Afellay.

Levante were thumped 8-0 by Real Madridin the Kings Cup just before Christmas andhave won just once away from home in theleague.

In other matches, Espanyol travel toValencia today in a clash between twoChampions League hopefuls. Espanyol werethrashed 5-1 by Barcelona in the Catalan der-by in their last league match, but are a cred-itable fifth, level on points with fourth-placedValencia.

Villarreal are five points ahead of the duoin third and entertain fourth from bottomAlmeria at El Madrigal on Monday boasting ahome record of seven wins and a draw.

Juan Carlos Garrido, the Villarreal coach,admits his team would settle for third place inthe league as long as they push for silverwarein the Europa League and the Kings Cup.

“We can’t deny that our aim to qualify forthe Champions League and we have shownthat we are capable of fighting for third,” saidGarrido. “We want to go as far as we can in the

cup competitions and that means winningthem.”

Sevilla had a miserable end to 2010, losingtheir last five league matches and hope thenew year brings a change in fortune.

Sevilla, eight points off the top four, hostOsasuna on Sunday aiming to improve ontheir 11th position and ease the growingpressure on new coach Gregorio Manzano.

“I think 2010 was a good year for us if youtake out the final two months,” explainedSevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop. “We finishedfourth and won the Kings Cup but now wearen’t in a position that corresponds toSevilla.”

At the bottom of the table Sporting Gijontake on Malaga in a relegation six-pointer onSunday.

Sporting, who have failed to win in theleague since mid-October, are second frombottom of the Spanish first division withMalaga, who have one win from the last 12league outings, a point ahead. —Reuters

Real face derby test as Barca chase resumes

Qatar out to prove World Cup worth

DOHA: Uzbekistan may not havemade their Asian Cup debut until1996, but they have improved witheach participation and will be aimingfor a last-four place at the 2011 tour-nament.

Eliminated in the group phase ontheir competition debut 15 years ago,the Central Asian heavyweights suf-fered the same fate four years laterbut have since reached the quarter-finals at successive tournaments.

Their showing at the 2007 event inIndonesia, Malaysia, Thailand andVietnam proved their emerging pedi-gree, as they ousted China in thegroup phase before falling to eventu-al finalists Saudi Arabia in the lasteight.

Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramovran training camps in Tunisia and theUnited Arab Emirates in preparationfor the Qatar competition and sayshis players have quickly establishedan understanding.

“The language of football is oneand, to understand each other, theplayers do not need to have thatmuch time,” he told the Asian FootballConfederation’s official website.

“Let’s just say that those playerswho are joining the team for thecamp (in the UAE) are considered tohave more talent, but how they per-form within the team depends entire-ly on them.”

Uzbekistan won the Asian Gamesfootball tournament on their debutappearance in 1994 and their under-23 side reached the last eight at themost recent event in China inNovember.

Having squeezed into the knock-out phase by finishing third in theirgroup behind the UAE and HongKong-they edged Qatar 1-0 in the last16 before falling 3-1 to South Koreaafter extra time in the quarter-finals.

Abramov’s side will cross swordswith Qatar again when they tackle

the hosts in the tournament’s open-ing game at Doha’s KhalifaInternational Stadium on January 7.

China and recently crowned GulfCup of Nations champions Kuwaitcomplete the Group A line-up. “Wehave recorded DVDs of their match-es,” said Abramov, who has been inthe job since April.

“We have to say that all the teamsin the group appear equal in terms ofstrength. For example, Kuwait ’srecent results speak for themselves.

“Football in these countries isdeveloping rapidly. Qatar, as hosts,will be highly motivated like no otherteam. And everyone knows thatChina are a strong team.”

One of the factors behindUzbekistan’s rise has been the emer-gence of mega-rich national champi-ons Bunyodkor, who have shot to thesummit of the Asian game on theback of massive gas, oil and cottonwealth. —AFP

Youthful Chinalook to future

DOHA: China’s squad forthe Asian Cup is theyoungest in the team’s his-tory, but after a number ofbreakthroughs in 2010there is a renewed air ofoptimism around the conti-nent ’s perennial under-achievers.

Last year marked aseries of f irsts for GaoHongbo’s side. Their 3-0defeat of South Korea atthe East Asian FootballChampionship in Februarywas their first victory overtheir rivals in 28 attempts,and set China on the pathto their second triumph inthe regional event.

They missed out on aplace at the World Cup inSouth Africa, but a shock 1-0 win over France on theisland of Reunion in Junewas the most sensationalresult of the pre-tourna-ment friendly matches.

China’s under-23 sidefell to South Korea in thelast 16 at the Asian Gamesin November, but they end-ed the year strongly andDeng Zhuoxiang’s stop-page-time penalty in the 1-0 defeat of Macedonia onDecember 23 broughtChina a fourth victory fromfive Asian Cup warm-upgames.

“ They have preparedwell and they have a goodbalance between youthand experience,” said well-travelled former Chinacoach Bora Milutinovic.

“When I watch this teamand I see the names of DuWei and Qu Bo, for me it°Øsa special sensation becausethey started to play withme 10 years ago when Iwas China coach and it ’svery exciting.”

The average age of thesquad for the Asian Cup isjust 24, as China embark ona long-term plan with qual-ification for the 2014 WorldCup in Brazil as its objec-

tive.“The ultimate goal for

this young senior team is tomake the 2014 World Cup,”Cao Jingwei, a ChineseFootball Association offi-cial, told the China Dailylast month. “The Asian Cupis just a test.”

Gao took over as coachin May 2009 and has over-seen a steady rise up theFIFA world rankings from108 to a current position of87.

Despite the improve-ment, however, recentresults have not been ableto satisfy the fans’ highexpectations of the nation-al side.

The failure to qualify forthe World Cup and poorperformances at the BeijingOlympics turned the teaminto something of a laugh-ing stock among fans whobooed during the loss toSouth Korea at the AsianGames.

Preparations for theAsian Cup have also beenovershadowed by a probeinto corruption and match-fixing in Chinese football,which has resulted in thearrests of two former asso-ciation heads and a num-ber of lower-level officials.

China have made nineprevious appearances atthe Asian Cup but the clos-est they have come to tast-ing success is runners-upfinishes in 1984 and 2004.

They were beaten 3-1 byJapan on home soil in thefinal of the 2004 tourna-ment, in a game thatsparked rioting by irateChinese fans outsideBeijing’s Workers Stadiumat the final whistle.

There was huge disap-pointment at the last tour-nament in 2007, mean-while, after a 3-0 defeat byUzbekistan in Malaysia con-firmed China’s departure atthe group stage. —AFP

Uzbekistan pursue upward curve

DOHA: Hosting the AsianCup for the second time intheir history, Qatar will findthemselves under greaterscrutiny than ever beforeafter their shock victory inthe race to hold the 2022World Cup.

While the tournamentprovides the country with achance to prove its capacityto organise the sport’sshowpiece event, thenational team will look todemonstrate that they areworthy of a World Cup-host-ing nation.

Critics of the decision toaward the 2022 World Cupto Qatar pointed to anallegedly feeble football tra-dition in the country, andtheir record on the interna-tional stage is far fromimpressive.

They have never quali-fied for the World Cup andtheir previous best showingin the Asian Cup was a quar-ter-final exit at the hands ofChina in 2000.

In their six other appear-ances at the Asian footballsummit-including one ashosts in 1988 — they havefailed to progress beyondthe group phase.

Qatar’s most recent tune-up game saw them held to a0-0 draw by Iran, but Frenchcoach Bruno Metsu said hewas not disheartened by theperformance.

“I’m not concernedabout wasting opportuni-ties,” he said. “Being able tocreate opportunitiesagainst a team like Iran issomething we should beproud of.

“It was not a problemwith the forwards but wealso have to look at thestrong performance of theIranian goalkeeper.”

Qatar raise the curtainon the Asian Cup againstUzbekistan on January 7and Metsu will hope thatfortune shines morefavourably on his charges

than it has in recentmonths.

The ‘Annabi’ (Maroon)competed in both the GulfCup of Nations and theAsian Games football tour-nament towards the end of2010, and crashed out ofboth tournaments in ago-nising fashion.

At the Gulf Cup inYemen, Qatar went intotheir final group gameagainst Saudi Arabia need-ing victory to reach theknockout phase.

Qatar appeared to be onthe brink of the last fourafter Ibrahim Al-Ghanimgave them the lead with sixminutes to play, but an89th-minute own goal byHamed Shami Zaherallowed the Saudis tosnatch a 1-1 draw that tookthem through at Qatar ’sexpense.

As defending champions,Qatar ’s under-23 sidetopped their Asian Gamesgroup ahead of Kuwait, Indiaand Singapore, but misfor-tune befell them in the last16. A 1-0 loss to Uzbekistansaw Qatar eliminated, but ashocking extra-time miss by18-year-old striker FahadKhalfan-who toed the ballagainst the post from a yardout-meant their exit wasaccompanied by an unwant-ed dose of worldwide humil-iation.

Recent results may bechequered, but in MetsuQatar possess a coach who issomething of an authorityon making a splash at majortournaments.

The 56-year-oldFrenchman was at the helmwhen Senegal stunnedholders France in the open-ing game of the 2002 WorldCup. With the eyes of a dubi-ous footballing world onQatar, the Asian Cup pres-ents a perfect opportunityfor Metsu to engineeranother ground-breakingupset. —AFP

S P ORTS

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Soccer results/standings

English Premier League results onSaturday:Birmingham 0, Arsenal 3 (Van Persie 13,Nasri 58, Johnson 66-og); Liverpool 2(Torres 49, Cole 90) Bolton 1 (Davies 43);Man City 1 (Johnson 34) Blackpool 0;Stoke 2 (Jones 23, Jagielka 69-og)Everton 0; Sunderland 3 (Welbeck 11,Bent 19, Gyan 89) Blackburn 0;Tottenham 1 (Bale 42) Fulham 0; WestBrom 1 (Morrison 14) Man Utd 2 (Rooney3, Hernandez 75); West Ham 2 (Zubar 51-og, Sears 79) Wolves 0.

English Football League resultsChampionshipBristol City 3, Cardiff 0; Burnley 4,Sheffield Utd 2; Coventry 1, Ipswich 1;Doncaster 3, Scunthorpe 0; Hull0,Leicester 1; Leeds 1, Middlesbrough 1;Millwall 3, Crystal Palace 0; Norwich 1,QPR 0; Nottingham Forest 2 Barnsley 2;Preston 1, Derby 2; Swansea 1, Reading0; Watford 3, Portsmouth 0.

Division OneBrentford 2, Dagenham and Redbridge1; Brighton 5, Leyton Orient 0; Carlisle 2,Huddersfield 2; Colchester 3, Charlton 3;Hartlepool 4, Oldham 2; Milton KeynesDons 2, Bristol Rovers 0; Plymouth 0,Yeovil 0; Rochdale 3, Tranmere 2;Southampton 4, Exeter 0; Swindon 1,Bournemouth 2; Walsall 0, Notts County3.

Division TwoBarnet 1, Aldershot 2; Burton 0,Shrewsbury 0; Bury 2, Macclesfield 2;Cheltenham 1, Wycombe 2; Chesterfield4, Stockport 1; Crewe 2, Northampton 0;Gillingham 1, Stevenage 0; Hereford 2,Torquay 2; Lincoln 1, Bradford 2;Morecambe 1, Accrington 2; Oxford 0,Southend 2; Rotherham 5, Port Vale 0.

Scottish Premier League resultsAberdeen 1 (Maguire 36) Dundee Utd 1(Goodwillie 90); Hamilton 0, Motherwell 0;Hearts 1, (Kyle 86) Hibernian 0.

Man Utd 19 11 8 0 41 18 41Man City 21 12 5 4 33 16 41Arsenal 20 12 3 5 42 22 39Tottenham 20 10 6 4 30 23 36Chelsea 19 10 4 5 33 15 34Sunderland 21 7 9 5 24 22 30Bolton 21 7 8 6 33 28 29Stoke 20 8 3 9 25 24 27Liverpool 19 7 4 8 23 24 25Blackpool 18 7 4 7 26 30 25Blackburn 21 7 4 10 26 34 25Newcastle 19 6 4 9 28 31 22Everton 20 4 10 6 21 24 22West Brom 20 6 4 10 26 36 22West Ham 21 4 8 9 22 33 20Aston Villa 19 5 5 9 20 34 20Wigan 19 4 8 7 17 31 20Fulham 20 3 10 7 19 24 19Birmingham 19 3 10 6 18 24 19W,hampton 20 5 3 12 20 34 18

English Football League tables ChampionshipQPR 24 13 8 3 42 15 47Swansea 25 13 4 8 30 23 43Norwich 24 12 6 6 40 32 42Leeds 25 11 8 6 45 41 41Cardiff 24 12 4 8 38 29 40Watford 23 10 6 7 45 34 36Millwall 24 9 8 7 31 23 35Burnley 23 9 8 6 38 31 35Coventry 25 10 5 10 30 30 35N Forest 22 8 10 4 31 21 34Reading 24 8 10 6 35 26 34Derby 24 10 3 11 39 35 33Doncaster 22 9 6 7 36 35 33Leicester 25 9 5 11 34 42 32Portsmouth 23 8 6 9 32 34 30Hull 24 7 9 8 23 27 30Bristol City 24 8 6 10 29 35 30Barnsley 23 8 6 9 28 34 30Ipswich 23 8 4 11 26 31 28Mibrough 24 7 4 13 25 34 25Sheffield Utd 24 7 4 13 23 39 25Scunthorpe 22 7 2 13 25 38 23Crystal Palace24 6 4 14 25 44 22Preston 23 5 4 14 27 44 19

Division OneBrighton 21 11 7 3 37 16 40Southampton 21 10 4 7 34 19 34Charlton 21 9 7 5 35 29 34Bournemouth 21 9 6 6 38 24 33S Wednesday 21 10 3 8 34 21 33Huddersfield 22 10 3 9 34 28 33Hartlepool 20 9 5 6 26 26 32M Dons 21 10 2 9 29 32 32Brentford 20 9 4 7 25 22 31Colchester 20 7 10 3 28 26 31Peterborough 20 9 3 8 39 41 30Oldham 19 7 8 4 29 25 29Exeter 21 8 5 8 32 38 29Carlisle 20 7 7 6 28 22 28Plymouth 21 7 6 8 26 30 27Notts County 20 8 2 10 27 29 26Rochdale 20 6 7 7 30 28 25Swindon 21 6 7 8 32 36 25Leyton Orient20 6 6 8 27 31 24Tranmere 20 6 4 10 22 31 22Bristol Rovers 20 5 7 8 23 36 22D Redbridge 20 4 6 10 22 34 18Yeovil 20 4 5 11 20 36 17Walsall 20 5 2 13 18 35 17

Division TwoChesterfield 20 12 5 3 43 24 41Rotherham 20 10 7 3 37 23 37Wycombe 21 10 7 4 32 23 37Port Vale 21 10 6 5 26 18 36Bury 20 10 5 5 38 24 35Shrewsbury 20 9 7 4 32 19 34Gillingham 21 8 6 7 29 28 30Cheltenham 21 8 6 7 31 31 30Crewe 20 7 8 5 42 28 29Torquay 20 7 8 5 31 23 29Bradford 21 8 3 10 19 25 27Southend 20 7 5 8 23 23 26Oxford Utd 21 7 5 9 23 26 26Macclesfield 21 7 5 9 26 32 26Burton Albion 20 6 7 7 26 23 25Aldershot 20 6 7 7 18 24 25Stevenage 20 5 9 6 20 17 24A Stanley 20 5 9 6 28 30 24Northampton 21 6 6 9 23 31 24Stockport 22 5 8 9 23 44 23Morecambe 20 5 6 9 24 31 21Lincoln City 19 5 4 10 15 28 19Barnet 22 5 4 13 26 42 19Hereford 21 3 7 11 22 40 16

Scottish Premier League table Celtic 18 13 3 2 39 13 42Rangers 16 13 2 1 39 17 41Hearts 19 12 3 4 33 15 39Kilmarnock 18 8 3 7 30 21 27Inverness CT 19 7 6 6 30 25 27Motherwell 18 7 3 8 24 23 24Dundee Utd 16 5 6 5 18 23 21St Johnstone 17 5 3 9 12 25 18Aberdeen 19 5 2 12 19 38 17Hibernian 19 4 4 11 21 32 16St Mirren 18 4 4 10 17 31 16Hamilton 17 2 5 10 11 30 11

BIRMINGHAM: Arsenal suc-ceeded where ManchesterUnited failed days earlier tobecome only the second teamto win at St Andrew’s in 30games with a 3-0 victory overBirmingham City here yester-day.

Their success saw Arsenalstay within two points of bothPremier League leadersManchester United, top ongoal difference, andManchester City.

It was the perfect responseto the disappointment ofthrowing away points in a mid-week draw against Wigan onWednesday and the taunts ofSir Alex Ferguson, who hadprovocatively claimed follow-ing United’s 1-1 draw that noteam gets an easy gameagainst Alex McLeish’s combat-ive Birmingham side.

In stark contrast toUnited’s troubles though, thiswas as facile a victory asArsenal manager ArseneWenger could have wished foras Cesc Fabregas and SamirNasri’s telepathic understand-ing was elevated to newheights against opponentswho seem to have relishedcausing the Gunners discom-fort and embarrassment inrecent meetings.

Wenger, criticised for mak-ing eight changes to the sidethat defeated Chelsea for thegame against Wigan, revertedto the starting XI that saw offthe champions 3-1.

The Frenchman found fur-ther proof of his side’s newfound maturity and mentalstrength as Birmingham werepicked apart.

Robin van Persie startedthe demolition before Nasri’s13th goal of the season and acomical own-goal from RogerJohnson epitomisedBirmingham’s miserable day.

Arsenal’s recent visits to StAndrew’s have rarely beenshort on controversy. The men-tal scars of the broken leg suf-fered by Croatian strikerEduardo, almost three yearsago, still remain and there is abarely hidden contempt fromWenger for the confrontationalstyle of McLeish’s team.

Wenger complainedabout everything last season,from the pitch, to McLeish’sattitude after Kevin Phillips’late equaliser and he was shak-ing his head again on Saturdayfollowing Johnson’s over-aggressive lunge on Arsenalcaptain Fabregas inside thefirst ten minutes.

Fabregas was fortunate toescape serious injury andJohnson equally fortunate tosee yellow and not red fromreferee Peter Walton.

But Wenger ’s sense ofinjustice was eased by a sliceof good fortune, when vanPersie’s free-kick, afterJohnson’s tug on his shirt,deflected off Lee Bowyer onthe end of the defensive walland wrong-footed Ben Fosterto give the Dutch striker hisfirst league goal of an injuryinterrupted season.

He should have doubledthat advantage, but complete-ly failed in his attempt to lifthis shot over Foster from closerange after Fabregas and Nasriweaved intricate passing pat-terns on the edge of the area.

The understandingbetween the pair was a joy tobehold and left Birminghamdisoriented, such was thespeed of their exchanges.

And the Gunners pair sawtheir interplay rewarded withArsenal’s second goal justbefore the hour mark. NoBirmingham player went withNasri ’s run for the secondreturn pass and he wasallowed to shoot unchallengedpast Foster from the edge ofthe area.

Arsenal’s ability to movethe ball and switch play leftBirmingham’s players dizzy onNew Year’s Eve and anotherpassage of mesmeric posses-sion between Fabregas andNasri generated Arsenal’s thirdgoal.

This time it was Fabregaswho ended up having the finalshot, after twice exchangingpasses. Foster beat out theeffort at his near post but itbounced against the legs ofScott Dann. rebounded off theshins of Johnson and went intothe goal. —AFP

English Premier League table after Saturday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for,goals against, points):

Birmingham 0

Arsenal 3

Arsenal maintain title charge

LONDON: Birmingham City’s Scott Dann (left) and Stephen Carr compete for the ball with Arsenal’s Samir Nasriduring their English Premier League soccer match at St Andrews stadium. —AP

LONDON: West Ham United climbedout of the relegation zone and into15th place after a crucial 2-0 win overfellow strugglers Wolves at Upton Parkyesterday.

Avram Grant’s side started 2011 atthe bottom of the Premier League butthe Hammers will be hoping this NewYear’s Day win proves the turning pointin their dispiriting campaign.

They were gifted the lead throughRonald Zubar’s own goal early in thesecond half and Freddie Sears sealedthe points with his first goal since henetted on his West Ham debut inMarch 2008.

Mick McCarthy’s Wolves had won atLiverpool in mid-week, but theycrashed back down to earth with abump and replaced West Ham at thefoot of the table.

Wolves went close when StephenHunt almost curled a corner from theright inside the near post, but FredericPiquionne headed over his own bar.

Another Wolves corner from Huntsaw Sylvan Ebanks-Blake headstraight at Robert Green.

West Ham gradually took controlafter that nervous start. Carlton Coleshould have scored after captainScott Parker threaded a pass throughthe Wolves defence, but he shot woe-fully wide of goal.

Grant’s men went close to takingthe lead when Richard Stearman

cleared Sears’ shot off the line. Therewas another flurry from Wolves asGreen kept out a crisp left-footed strikefrom Stephen Ward before NenadMilijas headed over from close range.

However, West Ham took the lead inunusual circumstances in the 51stminute. Piquionne sprinted down theright and sent over a cross which Coleought to have smashed past goalkeep-er Wayne Hennessey.

Cole completely missed his kick butinstead the ball hit Zubar and trickledoff the defender’s knee into the bottomcorner. Matthew Upson almostincreased West Ham’s lead when heheaded Parker’s corner against the bar.Moments later it was Wolves’ turn to hitthe woodwork through an Ebanks-Blake header.

That proved costly for Wolves asyoung striker Sears turned Tal BenHaim’s cross past Hennessey to seal thepoints in the 79th minute. — AFP

West Ham tame Wolves

West Ham 2

Wolves 0

LONDON: Stoke kept Everton dan-gerously close to the relegation zoneas Tony Pulis’s side secured a 2-0 winat the Britannia Stadium yesterday.

Kenwyne Jones opened the scor-ing with a first-half header and PhilJagielka scored an unlucky own goalafter the break to leave Everton justthree points above the bottom three.

David Moyes’ side have won onlyone of their last 10 matches and theToffees will now be without star mid-fielder Tim Cahill for a month as hedeparts to play for Australia at theAsian Cup in Qatar.

After successive home defeats,mid-table Stoke were at their mostdetermined and were rewarded for atypically physical and direct display.

Cahill carried Everton’s only threatand he fed Steven Pienaar inside thebox early on, only for the SouthAfrican to hit a weak shot at AsmirBegovic.

Stoke should have taken the leadafter 10 minutes when Jones headeda long Begovic punt through to strik-er partner Ricardo Fuller.

The Jamaica striker headed for-wards himself to beat Sylvain Distinand open up the defence but thendragged his low shot wide.

The opener came after 23 min-utes as Jones diverted another longball into the path of MatthewEtherington and raced into the area.

Etherington skipped around PhilNeville on the left and picked outJones with a perfect cross that theformer Sunderland forward powered

into the net.There was controversy when ref-

eree Andre Marriner opted just tobook Begovic when the goalkeeperrushed out and brought down LouisSaha just outside his area.

Everton applied more pressure atthe start of the second half butPienaar shot well wide when he mis-cued a volley.

Moyes’ men were caught outagain in the 69th minute as DannyHigginbotham sent a long free-kickinto the box that Jones flickedstraight up in the air.

Jagielka tried to get in the way asthe ball dropped towards Fuller sixyards out but got his feet tangledand it bounced off his leg and pastTim Howard.

Everton could have replied withina minute after Cahill was broughtdown by Ryan Shawcross butLeighton Baines curled his free-kicknarrowly wide. — AFP

Everton stuck

near drop zone

LONDON: Everton’s Phil Jagielka stands dejected after scoring an own goal past goalkeeper Tim Howard (right)during the English Premier League soccer match against Stoke City. —AP

Stoke 2

Everton 0

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland bouncedback from consecutive losses to inflicta 3-0 defeat on Blackburn Rovers hereyesterday that lifted them to sixthplace in the Premier League table.

Steve Bruce’s side had fallen toManchester United and Blackpool intheir previous two outings, but theone-sided victory moved them towithin four points of fifth-placedchampions Chelsea, who have twogames in hand.

Darren Bent ended a mini-goaldrought with Sunderland’s secondgoal, after Danny Welbeck had brokenthe deadlock, and such was the hosts’command of the game that the for-

mer Tottenham man could have hadat least a hat-trick.

Bent left the fray in the 81stminute and his replacement AsamoahGyan claimed the Black Cats’ third,bending a delightful effort inside thefar post from the edge of the penaltyarea.

There was a fortuitous touch toSunderland’s opener, with Welbeck’sshot bobbling in via a big deflectionoff Ryan Nelsen, but it was of littleconcern to a Stadium of Light crowdthat had seen their side fail to scoredespite 31 shots at goal in the 2-0defeat by Blackpool on Tuesday.

Ahmed Al-Muhammadi’s cross hadled to Welbeck’s goal and theEgyptian turned provider once againfor the second goal in the 19thminute, curling in a delicious centrethat Bent glanced home with hishead.

It was the England striker’s firstgoal in six games but he was respon-sible for a glaring miss on the hourmark when presented with an oppor-tunity to double his tally.

A slick Sunderland move culminat-ed with Kieran Richardson cutting theball back to Bent, but he was unableto adjust his feet quickly enough andmissed the target from just threeyards.

El Hadji Diouf was guilty of a simi-lar miscalculation in the first half,squandering the opportunity to bringBlackburn back into the game bydiverting the ball off-target from closerange after being picked out byMorten Gamst Pedersen.

Sunderland twice hit the wood-work as they pushed to stretch theirlead. Welbeck clipped a shot onto thetop of the crossbar after dispossess-ing Pedersen in the 36th minute,while Jordan Henderson shudderedthe bar with a long-range piledriverlate on.

Blackburn were generally poor inpossession and struggled to forgeclear chances. David Dunn cameclosest to scoring for the visitors, buthis 25-yard effort shortly before theinterval flashed a yard wide of theupright. —AFP

Sunderland bounce back

to thrash Blackburn 3-0

Sunderland 3

Blackburn 0

English Premier League

Chelsea v Aston Villa 16:30Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5

Wigan v Newcastle 19:00Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5

Spanish League

Bilbao v Deportivo 18:00Al Jazeera Sport 1 HDAl Jazeera Sport +4

Sporting v Malaga 20:00Al Jazeera Sport +4

Barcelona v Levante 20:00Al Jazeera Sport +2Al Jazeera Sport +3

Sevilla v Osasuna 22:00Al Jazeera Sport +2Al Jazeera Sport 2 HD

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

sp orts

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

LONDON: West Bromwich Albion’s Jerome Thomas (behind) vies for the ball with Manchester United’s Gary Neville during their English Premier League soccer match.—AP

LONDON: Wayne Rooneybegan 2011 in style here yes-terday, scoring one goal andmaking another as PremierLeague leaders ManchesterUnited secured a 2-1 win atWest Bromwich Albion.

Rooney’s third-minuteheader-his first goal in openplay since March-gave Unitedan early lead but Albion weresoon level courtesy of JamesMorrison’s stunning half-vol-ley.

The home side wereunfortunate not to end thehalf ahead after being denieda clear penalty for a foul byGary Neville on GrahamDorrans.

However, they wereawarded one in the secondhalf when Rio Ferdinandcaught Jerome Thomas, onlyfor Peter Odemwingie to fireit wide and, as is so often thecase with United, they paid ahefty price when substituteJavier Hernandez headedhome a Rooney corner 15minutes from time.

For United, it was onlytheir second away win of thecampaign but the victorywas enough to temporarilymove them three points clearat the top of the table beforerivals Manchester City wentinto action against Blackpool.But Albion’s fourth straightdefeat left them three pointsabove the relegation zone.

Both managers made fourchanges to their l ine-upsfrom mid-week action, withex-Albion goalkeeper TomaszKuszczak, in for Edwin vander Sar, and Neville, makinghis first start for two months,the most notable Unitedinclusions.

Nani, Ryan Giggs and PaulScholes were among theabsentees for the leaders, butUnited still took an early lead.

Just two minutes and 15seconds had passed whenGabriel Obertan laid the balloff to Patrice Evra and hisfirst-time cross was met byRooney, whose downwardheader was directed beyondBaggies goalkeeper ScottCarson and into the far cor-ner.

I t was a first club goalfrom open play since Marchfor the United striker, andonly his second in thePremier League this season.

However, United’s elationsoon turned to frustrationwhen the Baggies conjured agoal of the highest qualityjust 11 minutes later, whenNemanja Vidic could onlyhalf-clear Chris Brunt’s highball into the path ofMorrison.

The midfielder thendemonstrated textbook tech-nique to fire an unstoppablehalf-volley into the top-leftcorner from the edge of thebox.

It was Roberto di Matteo’steam who continued to lookthe more likely to score andthey were incensed afterbeing denied a penalty in the26th minute.

Morrison’s pass sentDorrans clean through ongoal only for the midfielderto be poleaxed from behindby Neville, who failed to takeany of the ball and shouldhave been red carded.

Two more presentableopportunities went to wastein added time whenOdemwingie sent Dorransthrough, only for the Scot tofire into the side netting, andthen a Brunt free-kickdeflected narrowly past thepost with Kuszczak wrong-footed. —AFP

Rooney stars as Man United start New Year with victory

Man United 2

West Brom 1

LIVERPOOL: Joe Cole’s dramatic stop-page-time goal earned Liverpool a 2-1win over Bolton Wanderers at Anfieldhere yesterday that relieved the pres-sure on under-fire manager RoyHodgson.

Liverpool looked to be heading for athird straight defeat when Kevin Daviesheaded Bolton into a 43rd minute lead.

But a superb Fernando Torresequaliser, his first in six games, levelledthe scores four minutes after the breakbefore former Chelsea midfielder Colepounced in the dying seconds to giveLiverpool a much-needed win.However, whether the three pointsgained will save Hodgson from the sackremains to be seen.

Hodgson went into the game withreports circulating that Liverpool’s own-ers had decided the former Fulhammanager was not the man to lead the

club forward.The reports claimed the Fenway

Sports Group had actively begun thetask of seeking a suitable successor andwill remove Hodgson before the end ofthe season if they can find the rightreplacement.

Yet Hodgson put doubts over hisfuture to one side as he demanded aresponse from his players following anawful mid-week loss at home to Wolves.But Liverpool, who kicked-off withoutcaptain Steven Gerrard, made anothersluggish start.

Gerrard had suffered cramp on hiscomeback from a hamstring injurythree days earlier so Hodgson switchedLucas and Raul Meireles to the centre ofmidfield while Fabio Aurelio started atleft-back in place of Paul Konchesky.

In addition, Hodgson recalledDenmark international defender DanielAgger to the heart of the defence, aswell as attacking midfielder MaxiRodriguez.

Despite a dip in form, Torres kept hisplace and the Spain striker did more inthe opening 20 minutes than he did inthe entire 90 against Wolves.

But it was the returning Rodriguezwho came closest to breaking the dead-lock when he connected with Dirk

Kuyt’s 32nd-minute cross to power in aheader that bounced on top of the barand went behind.

Rodriguez had earlier seen a goal-bound effort scrambled away byMatthew Taylor, moments beforeGerrard made an earlier than expectedintroduction following an injury toMeireles.

Bolton started six places and sevenpoints above their hosts following animpressive first half to the season, yetthey were forced to soak up waves ofLiverpool pressure before the interval.

David Ngog forced a 40th minutesave from Jussi Jaaskelainen beforeDavies headed the visitors into the leadtwo minutes before the break.

Aurelio gifted Bolton a free-kick thatwas whipped in by Taylor for Bolton’scaptain to rise above the home defenceand nod past Pepe Reina.

Suddenly, the mood at Anfieldchanged with the team booed off athalf-time for the second successivegame. It needed a quick reply to pre-vent a repeat of the previous game,when Reds supporters mocked theirmanager with chants of ‘Hodgson forEngland’, and Liverpool got it throughTorres.—AFP

Cole eases pressure on Hodgson

Bolton 1

Liverpool 2

LONDON: Manchester City’s Nigel de Jong (left) outjumps Blackpool’s Gary Taylor-Fletcher during their English Premier League soccer match at The City of ManchesterStadium.—AP

MANCHESTER: Adam Johnson’s goal wasenough for Manchester City to record a 1-0win over Blackpool here yesterday that keptthem level on points with Premier Leagueleaders Manchester United.

Johnson scored the only goal of thegame-his third in the league this season-inthe 34th minute at Eastlands. Carlos Tevezthen missed a penalty and a host of otherchances to set up a nervous finish asBlackpool pressed for an equaliser.

But Roberto Mancini’s side held on for athird successive victory that saw themmaintain a strong position ahead of theirtrip to English title rivals Arsenal onWednesday.

Only City have a better away record thanBlackpool and, despite the two clubs beingpoles apart in financial terms, Tangerinesmanager Ian Holloway will feel frustratedhis side went away with nothing.

City knew they could not move top ofthe table but they meant business from thestart, with Tevez missing with a shot afterjust 22 seconds before David Silva alsodragged an effort wide.

With both sides taking every opportuni-ty to attack, Blackpool’s Gary Taylor-Fletcherwas unfortunate his pass for DJ Campbellwas blocked after he surged into the area.

City goalkeeper Joe Hart was forced intoa fine save from Taylor-Fletcher after CharlieAdam’s thumping shot came back offVincent Kompany. Adam also just missedwith an ambitious effort from 30 yards outbut City should have taken the lead midwaythrough the first half.

Tevez broke towards goal and fed Silva,whose first-time shot missed the target,before Argentina striker Tevez failed to beatBlackpool goalkeeper Richard Kingson from25 yards.—AFP

Johnson keeps City

level with United

Blackpool 0

Man City 1

LONDON: Tottenham manager Harry Redknappsays that David Beckham wants to move toWhite Hart Lane, as he prepares to step up hisbid for the former Manchester United star.

Redknapp had confirmed his interest inBeckham on Friday and, speaking after yester-day’s 1-0 win over Fulham, he said the LosAngeles Galaxy midfielder is ready to return tothe Premier League on loan until the Major League Soccer season resumesin March. Beckham, 35, had previously insisted United were the only Englishteam he would play for but, with a return to Old Trafford unlikely, the formerEngland captain is willing to join another club as he tries to prove his fitnessto England coach Fabio Capello.

Redknapp has yet to speak personally to Beckham, but he has beeninformed of the player’s desire to move to the club where he trained as aschoolboy before joining United. —AFP

Beckham wantsSpurs move

LONDON: Crystal Palace sacked managerGeorge Burley after the strugglingChampionship side crashed to a 3-0 defeat atsouth London rivals Millwall yesterday.

Burley was dismissed in the immediateaftermath of another chastening afternoon forPalace, who remain in the relegation zone aftera third defeat in five matches.

The former Scotland coach only took over at Selhurst Park in June andwas believed to have lined up a deal to sign former Tottenham strikerSteffen Iversen this week.

But Palace’s owners ran out of patience as Jason Puncheon’s hat-trick forMillwall delivered the knockout blow to Burley.

A Palace statement read: “We would like to thank George for his dedica-tion and hard work and share his regret that things didn’t work out for himhere.” —AFP

Crystal Palaceaxe Burley

BERLIN: Bundesliga club Hoffenheimhave reached agreement to part com-pany with coach Ralf Rangnick,according to the weekly Bild amSonntag newspaper.

However, Hoffenheim spokesmanMarkus Sieger insisted yesterday: “Wecan’t and won’t comment for themoment.”

The 52-year-old’s contract runsuntil June 30, 2012 after extendinglast May. Rangnick took over in June2006 and under his guidance the

small outfit from southern Germanyreached third in the Bundesliga.

Bayern Munich announced earlieryesterday that Hoffenheim’s Brazilianmidfielder Luiz Gustavo had agreed amove to the Bundesliga championswith immediate effect, a transferwhich Rangnick totally opposed.

“The departure of Luiz Gustavo toBayern during the winter break is outof the question in my eyes,” Rangnicksaid last month. Hoffenheim are cur-rently eighth in the Bundesliga—AFP

Hoffenheim splitwith Rangnick

LONDON: Gareth Bale’s 11th goal ofthe season took Tottenham Hotspurinto the four of the English PremierLeague with a 1-0 win over strugglingLondon rivals Fulham at White Hart

Lane here yesterday.The Wales international rose high-

est to head in Rafael van der Vaart’sfree-kick past Australia goalkeeperMark Schwarzer three minutes beforehalf-time. Fulham rarely threatenedbut did come close when Spurs’Michael Dawson hacked AndyJohnson’s goalbound shot off the line.Defeat left Fulham in the relegationzone, just a point above basementclub Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Tottenham manager HarryRedknapp has often insisted his side

are genuine title contenders and thefact they won this match while belowtheir best will only strengthen hisbelief they can challenge for thePremier League crown.

And this third straight victory ofthe holiday period, unlike the previ-ous two, did at least see Spurs finishwith all 11 players on the pitch as theyavoided yet another red card.

Fulham’s Clint Dempsey had thefirst chance of note when he shotwide from the edge of the box in the20th minute. —AFP

Bale strike enough for

Spurs to down Fulham

Fulham 0

Tottenham 1

BusinessSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

• KSE indices rise on renewed optimismPage 24

• Bonds’ dramatic year sets stage for even higher ratesPage 26

ESTONIANS WARM UP TO THE EURO NBK named ‘Best Bank in Mideast’ Page 23

TALLINN: Estonians used crisp new euro banknotes for the firsttime yesterday as they shopped and paid cafe bills, biddingfarewell to the kroon, a symbol of Estonia’s hard-won sovereignty.

Even as Estonia switched smoothly to the euro, brushing offworries about a crisis in the currency club which is likely to put offbigger eastern European nations from joining for up to a decade.

The Baltic state of 1.3 million became the 17th euro-zonecountry at midnight and was the first former Soviet state toadopt the euro, capping 20 years of integration with the West.

Vendors who opened their stalls on New Year’s Day in a festivemarket in snow-covered Tallinn said most of their customerswere using the euro and appeared to be already warming up tothe new currency. Sirje Kaart withdrew her first euro banknotesfrom a bank machine a few hours after Estonia made the switchand became the 17th member of the single-currency euro-zone.

“At some point I was pessimistic about the euro, partlybecause of the news about the financial crises in Greece andIreland, but at the moment I am for it,” said the 46-year-oldwoman.

“I want to believe it will have a good impact on our econo-my just like the government says and it will make travelling sim-pler,” she said.

The centre-right government of Prime Minister AndrusAnsip has argued that switching to the euro will help buildinvestor confidence as 80 percent of Estonia’s trade is within the27-nation European Union it joined in 2004.

The euro replaces the kroon, which was adopted in 1992, ayear after Estonia and the two other Baltic countries Latvia andLithuania broke away from the Soviet Union.

“When we switched from rubles to our own kroon currency,I cried like most Estonians that day. There are no such emotionsnow, just a neutral feeling,” said Kaart.

The currency switch was going smoothly, officials said yes-terday. Over 800 bank machines and 25,000 bank card termi-nals across Estonia had been equipped for euros and wereworking without a glitch, Viljar Raask, a Bank of Estoniaspokesman told AFP.

“There are no queues at ATMs-people seem to have a verycalm attitude and it seems they prefer to use bank cards forpayments,” Riho Unt, head of Estonia’s Banking Associationsaid.

Unt voiced confidence that the switch would continue to gosmoothly when banks open for normal business on Monday.

Shop vendors reported brisk business with the new euros.“Nobody has paid in kroons yet, everyone is using eurosalready,” said Eveli Apri, who sold candles, mulled wine andsweets.

Apri said tourists were happily using the new banknotes.“We’re glad Estonia switched to the euro as it makes it easier forus Finns who have the euro too, but I’m sure the switch willbring price hikes,” said Finnish tourist Ole, 50, who declined togive his full name.

Finns make up the majority of tourists to Estonia. Most sur-veys put support for Estonia’s entry into the crisis-hit euro-zoneat around 50 percent, with almost 40 percent opposed.

But yesterday, Estonians agreed there was no turning back.“Some 120 tons of Estonian coins have been already destroyed,the kroon banknotes will be destroyed later,” Bank of Estoniavice president Rein Minka said.

Estonia sees the change as marking the end of its strugglessince a 2009 recession lopped 14 percent off its output. It hopesto entice investors by removing fears of devaluation and makeborrowing more secure for its people, many of whose mort-gages are already in euros from top Nordic banks.

“It is a small step for the euro zone and a big step forEstonia,” said Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, who was the first totake euros out of a specially installed cash machine.

“We are proud to be a euro-zone member state.” The centralbank, whose governor will now help decide euro zone interestrates, said the changeover was smooth. “The money reachedATMs and retail stores in time at the end of the year,” saiddeputy central bank head Rein Minka. — Agencies

Bigger eastern states more cautious

TALLINN: An Estonian womanreceives her first euro note from theATM yesterday in Tallinn, Estonia.Estonia adopted the European singlecurrency at midnight, ringing in2011 as the 17th member of theeuro-zone, a bloc threatened bybailouts in Greece and Ireland anddebt woes in Portugal and Spain. —

MOSCOW: Russia, the world’s top crude exporter, said ithad begun scheduled oil shipments to China via an EastSiberian link yesterday as the Kremlin cements ties with itsenergy-hungry neighbor.

So far, Russia’s 50,000-km oil pipeline network has beenconcentrated in West Siberia and run toward Europe. Withthe commissioning of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Oceanpipeline (ESPO), Moscow is carving out a large chunk of theworld’s second-largest energy consumers’ market.

“The shipments started at 0030 (2130 GMT on Friday).We plan to pump 1.3 million tons of oil in January,” saidIgor Dyomin, a spokesman for Russian oil pipeline monop-oly Transneft. According to the final schedule for crude oilexports and transit, in January-March 2011, Russia will ship3.68 million tons of oil to China via ESPO.

An annual plan envisages the supply of 15 million tons(300,000 barrels per day). Many oil market participantsexpected it would effectively double Russian sales toChina, which totalled 12.8 million tons (308,000 bpd) in thefirst 10 months of 2010.

Transneft started to ship the barrels along the first stageof the pipeline, which runs in a 2,757-km arch above LakeBaikal. So far the oil had been transported only by rail tothe Pacific port of Kozmino.

Yesterday, the crude flowed to Daqing in China fromRussia’s Skovorodino via the pipeline. When the 4,070-kmthe pipeline’s second stage is finished in 2013, it will be theworld’s longest. At a cost of $25 billion, it dwarfs all otherinfrastructure projects in post-Soviet Russia.

Russian state oil firm Rosneft has been sending oil toChina by rail ever since it bought the biggest unit ofdefunct oil giant Yukos six years ago. The purchase wasfacilitated by a $6 billion loan from China, which effectivelyprepaid $17 per barrel for 48.4 million tons of oil.

That contract ran out this year, and Rosneft decided notto extend it, citing the low selling price. — Reuters

Russia in milestone oil

pipeline supply to China

Shipments at 300,000 barrels per day

MOHE: Workers inspect the pipelines and oil storage tanks of China and Russia crude oil pipeline inMohe, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province yesterday. The nearly 1,000-kilometer (625-miles)-longChina and Russia crude oil pipeline starts its full operation here yesterday and it will carry 15 milliontons of crude oil annually from Russian oilfields into China in the next 20 years. — AP

HONOLULU: President Barack Obama hasset his New Year’s resolution high for 2011:repair the struggling US economy.

In his weekly radio and Internet addressyesterday, the vacationing president saidrecent data showed the economic recov-ery was gaining traction even as millions ofAmericans are still out of work.

“Our most important task now is tokeep that recovery going,” Obama said. “Aspresident, that’s my commitment to you:to do everything I can to make sure oureconomy is growing, creating jobs, and

strengthening our middle class. That’s myresolution for the coming year.”

Unemployment of nearly 10 percentand dissatisfaction with Obama’s efforts tospur an economic recovery from the worstrecession in decades helped fuelRepublican victories in congressional elec-tions in November.

Republicans will control the House ofRepresentatives next year and Democratswill have a smaller majority in the Senate, anew political reality that will affectObama’s ability to push through his policy

priorities.The president, who forged a deal with

Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts inthe waning days of 2010, sought to strike abipartisan note in his address. “In a fewdays, a new Congress will form, with onehouse controlled by Democrats, and onehouse controlled by Republicans-who nowhave a shared responsibility to move thiscountry forward,” he said.

“I’m willing to work with anyone ofeither party who’s got a good idea and thecommitment to see it through.” — Reuters

FIX THE US ECONOMY

Obama’s New Year’s resolution?

B U S I N E S S

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

EXCHANGE RATESCommercial Bank of Kuwait

US Dollar/KD .2730000 .2860000GB Pound/KD .4320000 .4430000Euro .3670000 .3770000Swiss francs .2940000 .3040000Canadian Dollar .2780000 .2870000Australian DLR .2820000 .2900000Indian rupees .0045000 .0075000Sri Lanka Rupee .0020000 .0035000UAE dirhams .0761890 .0769550Bahraini dinars .7422910 .7497510Jordanian dinar .3900000 .4100000Saudi riyals .0730000 .0780000Omani riyals .7276840 .7349980Philippine peso .0045000 .0072000Egyptian pounds .0480000 .0560000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATESUS Dollar/KD .2800500 .2821500GB Pound/KD .4343580 .4376150Euro .3706180 .3733970Swiss francs .2971670 .2993950Canadian dollars .2802040 .2823050Danish Kroner .0497170 .0500900Swedish Kroner .0411580 .0414670Australian dlr .2848390 .2869750Hong Kong dlr .0359760 .0362460Singapore dlr .2168240 .2184500Japanese yen .0034390 .0034650Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0063050Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0025480Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0033000Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0040310UAE dirhams .0762660 .0768380Bahraini dinars .7430350 .7486070Jordanian dinar .0000000 .3990810Saudi Riyal/KD .0747000 .0752600Omani riyals .7272920 .7330480Philippine Peso .0000000 .0064860

Bahrain Exchange Company

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Al Mulla Exchange

Indonesia 0.032 0.032Iranian tuman 0.263Iraqi dinar 0.251Japanese yen 3.520Jordanian dinar 399.480 397.600Lebanese pound 0.190 0.189Malaysian ringgit 93.750 93.750Morocco dirham 46.200Nepalese Rupees 4.410 3.930New Zealand dollar 219.400 217.900Nigeria 1.913Norwegian krone 48.300Omani Riyal 730.690 730.510Pakistani rupees 3.380 3.295Philippine peso 6.700 6.430Qatari riyal 77.810 77.380Saudi riyal 75.11075.110Singapore dollar 218.130 218.130South Africa 44.910 44.910Sri Lankan rupees 2.680 2.532Sterling pound 440.000 438.000Swedish krona 42.000Swiss franc 301.900 300.400Syrian pound 6.200 6.200Thai bhat 9.720 9.510Tunisian dollar 198.263UAE dirham 76.760 76.660U.S. dollars 281.700 281.300Yemeni Riyal 1.360

GOLD10 Tola 1,476.970

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUESterling Pound 438.000US Dollar 281.300

Currency Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar 281.800Pak Rupees 3.290Indian Rupees 6.250Sri Lankan Rupees 2.545Bangladesh Taka 3.990Philippines Peso 6.460UAE Dirhams 76.830Saudi Riyals 75.350Bahraini Dinars 749.200Egyptian Pounds 48.535Pound Sterling 441.400Indonesian Rupiah 0.00003280Nepali rupee 3.950Yemeni Riyal 1.550Jordanian Dinars 400.300Syrian Pounds 5.750Euro 375.700Candaian Dollars 287.500

Indian Rupees 6.257Pakistani Rupees 3.289Sri Lankan Rupees 2.531Bangladesh Taka 4.000Philippines Pesso 6.413Japanese Yen 3.415Thai Bhat 9.330Syrian Pound 6.147Nepalese Rupees 3.899

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Philippine Peso 6.413Thai Baht 9.357Irani Riyal - Transfer 0.271Irani Riyal - Cash 0.273

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 75.065Qatari Riyal 77.345Omani Riyal 731.330Bahraini Dinar 747.660UAE Dirham 76.656

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 51.800Egyptian Pound - Transfer 48.477Yemen Riyal 1.321Tunisian Dinar 196.430Jordanian Dinar 397.510Lebanese Lira 187.200Syrian Lier 6.081Morocco Dirham 33.901

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 281.380Euro 373.530Sterling Pound 437.550Canadian dollar 282.650Turkish lire 181.830Swiss Franc 299.790Australian dollar 286.110US Dollar Buying 280.745

GOLD20 Gram 270.00010 Gram 136.0005 Gram 70.000

Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)US Dollar 280.850Euro 376.200Pound Sterling 437.500Canadian Dollar 282.800Japanese Yen 3.475Indian Rupee 6.275Egyptian Pound 48.450Sri Lankan Rupee 2.530Bangladesh Taka 3.973Philippines Peso 6.412Pakistan Rupee 3.280Bahraini Dinar 747.000UAE Dirham 76.400Saudi Riyal 74.980

*Rates are subject to change

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 3.473Indian Rupees 6.256Pakistani Rupees 3.275Srilankan Rupees 2.531Nepali Rupees 3.909Singapore Dollar 218.120Hongkong Dollar 36.159Bangladesh Taka 3.977

COUNTRY SELL CASH SELL DRAFTAustralian dollar 289.600 288.100Bahraini dinar 748.100 748.100Bangladeshi taka 4.220 3.982Canadian dollar 284.800 283.300Cyprus pound 552.500Czek koruna 14.100Danish krone 50.500Deutsche Mark 167.800 218.100Egyptian pound 51.570 48.488Euro Cash 376.500 375.000Hongkong dollar 36.860 36.710Indian rupees 6.500 6.265

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 281.800Canadian Dollar 284.215Sterling Pound 434.705Euro 372.180Swiss Frank 295.771Cyprus Pound 691.257Bahrain Dinar 745.860UAE Dirhams 76.700Qatari Riyals 77.380Saudi Riyals 75.115Jordanian Dinar 397.641Egyptian Pound 48.541

KUWAIT: Despite the unexpected closure of theyear 2010 as the market was down for the lastthree days of the year, Kuwait Stock Exchange(KSE) managed to eke good gains compared tothe other regional market. Looking at theGlobal General Index, which is a marketweighted index, the Kuwaiti bourse managedto conclude the year recording notable gainsof 20.03 percent. However, in another point ofview some consider the market’s performancenegative when looking at the Price weightedindex, which ended the year marginally downby 0.71 percent. Blue-chip companies played abig role in taking the market to higher levelsthis year as they were the prominent movers ofthe market. The biggest two sector in terms ofmarket capitalization achieved the highest YTDperformance. The Banking sector added 39.15percent to its value in 2010 while the Servicessector followed with an increase of 26.44 per-cent. On the other side, the Investment sectorplayed a major part in capping the year 2010gains as it ended the year down by 12.78 per-cent, being the biggest loser during the lasttwelve months.

Highlighted the last week of the yearmoves, Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) was seendropping for the last three days, however, thegains it achieved in the first two trading ses-sions helped maintaining the overall perform-ance of the week positive. Global GeneralIndex was up by 0.87 percent at the end of theweek and closed at 223.53 point. On the otherhand, Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) price indexwas also up, adding 73.60 points (1.07 percent)to its value as it closed at 6,955.5 point. Totalmarket capitalization reached KD36.30bn withthe newly listed Marakez Real Estate TradeCenter adding KD60.90mn to the total marketcap at the end of the week. The scrip got listedon Tuesday, December 28, 2010 and closed atKD0.580, up by 16 percent by the end of theweek.

Market breadth was skewed towardsadvancers with 78 stocks advancing against 58declining out of 159 shares traded this week.

Trading activity was higher specially at thefirst trading session of the week. Weekly trad-ing volume was up by 24.17 percent, reaching1.07bn shares changing hands, at a total trad-ed value of KD205.97mn (34.06 percent upcompared to the week before). Trading vol-ume was high on the Services Sector, whichaccounted for 29.16 percent (312.38mn sharestraded) of the total market volume. Al-AhliaHolding Company was the most traded in thesector for the second week, with 64.80mnshares changing hands. The scrip ended theweek up by 6.06 percent, regaining almost 80percent of its last week’s loss. Al-SafatInvestment Company also saw high tradingvolume, reaching 40.52mn shares and was ableto end the week up by 14.55 percent.

On the value side, the Banking Sector sawthe most value traded, accounting for 46.10percent (KD94.95mn) of the overall markettraded value. National Bank of Kuwait took thelime light, topping the value list withKD44.02mn traded on its share. The large stockin market cap, contributed to the market’s gainthis week, adding 5.88 percent to its shareprice. Looking at market sectors, it was mixedbut overweighing the gainers side. TheBanking Index was the biggest advancer, up by2.03 percent mainly pushed by gains recordedin the largest Kuwaiti Bank, National Bank ofKuwait. The Real Estate Index followed, adding1.04 percent to its value. Two of the real estatecompanies made it to the top five gainers listwith Pearl of Kuwait Real Estate Companybeing on the lead, adding 46.30 percent to itsshare value. Aqar Real Estate InvestmentCompany was also up by 20 percent. On theother side, Global Investment Sector Index wasthe biggest loser, shedding 1.01 percent of itsvalue with four investment companies show-ing up in the biggest losers list this week.

Global’s special indices had mixed closings.Global Large Cap (Top 10) index added 0.93percent to its value while Global Small Cap(Low 10) Index lost 1.66 percent. Global IslamicSharia Index was also down by 0.11 percent.

Macroeconomic newsThe Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) issued

KD80mn worth of one-year treasury bonds onWednesday, December 22, 2010, with acoupon rate of 1.25 percent. Bids for thebonds amounted to KD527.5mn, central bankdata showed. The last issue was on December08, for KD100mn, with 1.25 percent coupon.

Kuwait Inflation rate in November 2010rose to 5.9 percent compared to the samemonth last year, while inflation rate comparedto last October soared by 0.6 percent, officialdata showed. The monthly report of Kuwait’sCentral Statistical Office said on the rate ofinflation in the country that consumer priceindex hit 144.2 points last November, whilethe same index amounted to 136.2 pointscompared to the same month last year and143.3 point last October. The most soaringcategory of commodities last November wasfoodstuffs that rallied by 12.3 percent com-pared to November 2009, while clothes andfootwear category went up by 6.5 percent. Thehousing services were up by 5.9 percent com-pared to November of last year, while educa-tional and health services augmented by 4.5percent and household commodities andservices increased by 4 percent.

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) denied arequest by Islamic lenders to grant themexceptions from liquidity ratio requirementsand allow for the withdrawal of excess liquidi-ty. A local newspaper said that this was thesecond time the Gulf Arab state’s central bankrejected such a proposal - a move some bankssay put them at a disadvantage to convention-al banks. The OPEC member’s central bankintervenes in the money market to withdrawexcess liquidity at banks through bonds issuedby and received from the banks on demand.But Islamic institutions do not deal with tradi-

tional bonds and do not benefit from liquiditymanagement tools available to conventionalinstitutions

Budget surplusKuwait ’s budget surplus widened to

KD6.04bn ($21.38bn) in the first eight monthsof the 2010 fiscal year on higher than forecastoil revenues and lower spending, data showedon Sunday. Revenue in the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter recorded an 18 percentjump to KD13.22bn at the end of Novemberfrom a year ago, data showed. The OPEC mem-ber’s oil revenue accounted for 93 percent ofthe total income, while spending in the firsteight months reached KD7.18bn, 44 percent ofthe full year plan. The surplus reachedKD5.59bn in the first seven months of thesame fiscal year. The Gulf state’s 2010/11budget forecast a deficit of KD6.58bn, assum-ing its crude would fetch $43 a barrel. Analystshave said Kuwait is likely to register thebiggest budget surplus in the Gulf Arab regionby the financial year-end (April 2011) as the oilprice estimate on which it is based is wellbelow current market prices.

Oil Related newsMinister of Oil Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-

Sabah said that the Organization of ArabPetroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) wouldundergo changes in the way it function, whileemphasizing that OPEC has no intention toraise oil output. Sheikh Ahmad, also Ministerof Information, said after returning fromOAPEC meeting held in Cairo that he wouldmeet with OAPEC secretary general Abbas Al-Naqi in near future to discuss means of devel-oping and activating the Arab oil cartel. Healso noted that OAPEC budget was raised inthe meeting but did not disclose the amount.Meanwhile, Sheikh Ahmad said that theOrganization of Petroleum Exporting Counties(OPEC) would not meet to discuss productionincrease and that OPEC’s next meeting will beheld in Vienna, Austria, next June as sched-uled.

Other Local newsFrench nuclear group Areva said last week

that a meeting of shareholders approved itsplanned 900mn euro ($1.2bn) capital increase.Shareholders approved the reserved capitalincrease for Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)for an amount of around 600mn euro, at theprice of 32.50 euro per ordinary share, and thereserved capital increase for the French Statefor an amount of about 300mn euro, at theprice of 32.50 euro per ordinary share. Theyalso approved an issue of preferred shareswithout voting rights, with the pre-emptivesubscription right maintained for investmentcertificate holders, amounting to a maximumof 38.31mn euro at the price of 32.17 euro perpreferred share without voting rights. TheKuwaiti sovereign fund will acquire a 4.8 per-cent stake in Areva, becoming the company’sthird largest shareholder, after the Frenchatomic energy agency and the government.The French state subscribed to the remaining300mn euro.

The Ministry of Public works announcedthat the number of construction projects forthe year 2009/2010 reached 139 projects atthe cost of about KD2.84bn. The ministryadded that the number of projects to beimplemented in 2010/2011 reached 132 proj-ects.

New listing Kuwait Remal Real Estate Company got the

listing approval from Kuwait Stock Exchange(KSE) and will start trading in the bourse onJanuary 4, 2011 under the real estate sector.Remal is a Kuwaiti shareholding company witha total paid-up capital of KD20mn. TheCompany’s performance for the financial yearended in December 31, 2009 resulted in netprofit of KD2.16mn (10.8fils per share) com-pared to a net profit of KD1.84mn (9.2fils pershare) recorded in the year ending inDecember 31, 2008. The net profit of the firstnine months ending in September 2010reached KD9.50mn (47.5fils per share). Withthe listing of Remal, the total number of listed

companies under the regular market willbecome 215.

Kuwait Stock ExchangeThe Securities House is negotiating with

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) to roll over debtswhich would decline to around KD50mn if arelated agreement is reached. The lenderwould receive ownership of Securit iesHouse’s land plot worth around KD30mn. Thisland had been acquired by the company in itsdebt restructuring deal with National Bank ofKuwait (NBK). Securities House has recentlymanaged to cut its liabilities by almost 30percent. Its board is exerting efforts to adjuststatus to resume trading on the stock. It isnoteworthy that KFH owns about 9.96 per-cent of the Sharia-compliant investmentcompany.

NBK Capital, an investment fund owned byNational Bank of Kuwait (NBK), said it acquireda 20 percent stake in Turkish aquaculture firmKilic Deniz. No value for the deal was specified.Kilic’s Chairman Orhan Kilic stated that pro-ceeds from NBK stake sale will be used forexpansion and capital funding. The deal is NBKCapital’s fifth investment in Turkey, the state-ment said.

Newly listed Marakez Real Estate TradeCenter bought 620,000 square meters area inSasa area near Damascus to build an eight-story residential town grouping 135 complex-es, the company said. Syria will benefit fromthe project that will make a $67.7mn profit,alongside 1000 work opportunities for differ-ent qualified Syrians of various specialities.

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) announcedthat it ended a sale process of around113.54mn shares, or 11.35 percent, of FirstDubai Real Estate Development Company toKuwait Financing and Investment Company ata price of KD0.046 each, totaling aboutKD5.22mn. Mubarrad Transport Company hasreached an agreement with a local creditorbank to restructure debts worth KD2.50mnover four years, including a one-year grace peri-od.

Two subsidiary companies to Al-Safat TECHolding Company signed supply and installa-tion contracts with Kuwait Oil Companyworth of approximately KD8.65mn.

Aref Investment Group has obtained theapproval of Kuwait International Bank to jointhe other creditors in signing the former’sdebt restructuring agreement to rescheduleits debts over five years, with a grace period of18 months.

Highlights of the weekThe Minister of Finance Moustafa Al-

Shamali announced that 1,304 applicants forthe Defaulters Fund have been approved. TheMinister added that there were 8,803 appli-cants in total but that only few had met thenecessary requirements. The total amount ofmoney to cover the 1,304 expenses is estimat-ed to be KD22mn. Al-Shamali said that a newmechanism has been introduced for the ben-efit of the defaulters, whereby they can bor-row money with certain condition such as theacceptable margins of their salary.

National Cleaning Company reported win-ning a tender worth KD979,980 from KuwaitOil Tanker Company to provide cleaning andhandling services over five years.International Finance Company (IFC) held itsrescheduled extraordinary shareholder meet-ing and approved the planned mergerbetween IFC and both of Jeezan HoldingCompany and Kuwait Invest Holding.Accordingly the company will raise its capitalthrough issuing 377.17mn shares at KD0.100par value each for shareholders of the mergedcompanies.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange(KSE) will beclosed today to mark the New Year. Theexchange will resume trading tomorrow.

KSE ekes out notable gains amid volatility

GLOBAL WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

23B U S I N E S S

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has been namedthe Best Bank in the Middle East 2010 by the world’s pre-mier financial voices The Banker, Euromoney and GlobalFinance. The three leading financial publications unani-mously agree on NBK’s leadership status, thanks to itsimpressive performance, prudent management and con-servative approach to risk.

“The selection of NBK as the Best Bank in the MiddleEast is the result of NBK’s conservative approach, whichenabled the bank to steadily overcome the global finan-cial crisis,” said Ibrahim S Dabdoub, NBK Group CEO. “NBKenjoyed an exceptional year. We maintained the strengthof our assets and the consistency of high profitability aswell as impressive growth rates.”

“Our profits for the first nine months of 2010 totaled$$790 million, an increase of more than 11%. Profits areexpected to exceed $1 billion by the end of the year,”Dabdoub added.

“Additionally, NBK has made significant strides in fur-thering its regional expansion strategy, notably throughthe acquisition of a strategic 46% stake in the Islamiclender Boubyan Bank and obtaining a license in Syria. Wehave also seen remarkable growth of our overseas branch-es, notably in Egypt and Qatar,” he explained.

NBK enjoys the highest credit ratings in the region byinternational rating agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s,and Fitch Ratings. In 2010, NBK was named one of the 50safest banks in the world for the second consecutive year.

Kuwait’s favorite bank has the largest local branch net-work with more than 70 branches. It also has the largestoverseas network, encompassing 175 branches, represen-tative offices and subsidiaries strategically located in 17countries spread over four continents, including 10 coun-tries in the Middle East.

NBK named ‘Best Bank in Mideast’by world’s leading financial voices

Unprecedented consensus by The Banker, Euromoney and Global Finance

Ibrahim S Dabdoub

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), theleading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated inthe Middle East, gave away three brand newiPhone 4 mobiles to customers who use NBK’sinternet banking portal, Watani Online.

The winners of the second draw in the WataniOnline ‘ Transact & Win’ competition - FadelaMeshlesh, Ghazi Al-Kazmi and Sadeqa Ismaeel -

were met personally by their NBK branch manag-er and instantly received their prizes.

“We are happy to reward customers who dotheir bank ing with Watani Onl ine. We a lsoencourage new customers to join Watani Online,the internet banking service provided by thesafest bank in the Middle East,” said Hala Al-Shaoibi, Channel Manager at NBK. Simple, safe

and secure, Watani Online allows NBK customersto perform a variety of transactions includingcheck balances and view transaction statements,pay bills, transfer funds locally or internationallyand report lost or stolen cards. NBK customerscan visit the homepage www.nbk.com to joinWatani Online or learn more about internetbanking.

NBK rewards online banking customers with free iPhone 4

Renault, the only carmaker in the world to offer a com-plete range of affordable electric vehicles beginning thisyear launched Europe’s first iAd on Thursday, December2 with a campaign for Renault Twizy, its new 100% elec-tric tandem-style city car.

iAd is Apple’s revolutionary new mobile advertising

network, reaching millions of iPhone and iPod touchusers right in their favorite apps. Renault Twizy, an all-new 100% electric tandem vehicle with four wheels anda steering wheel, is the focus of the first iAd campaign tobe launched in Europe. A revolutionary concept target-ing young “early adopter” urbanites, Twizy will be

launched one year from now.By launching Twizy’s mobile marketing with iAd,

Renault is acknowledging Apple users as being at theforefront of mobility.

Without having to exit the app they’re using, iPhoneand iPod touch users can explore-and explode-the

urban myths about electric vehicles. The iAd has many engaging features including calcu-

lating how much a Twizy can charge up while doingactivities from getting a haircut to working out, shakingyour iPhone or iPod touch to check out various Twizydesigns, even pre-reserving a vehicle of your own.

KUWAIT: Last week, the KSE market price indexincreased by 74 points or 1.1% and closed at6,955 level. While the KSE weighted indexgained 4 points or 0.9% and closed at 484 level.In 2010 the KSE weighted index rose 25.5%.Among the sectors indices the top gainer wasNon-Kuwaiti sector which rose 3.1% followedby the Real Estate and the Services sectorswhich moved up 2.2% each. The Banking andthe Food sectors were marginally up by 0.5%.While the Investment and the Industrial sectorslost 0.1% to 0.4%.

The market sentiment was positive as 65stocks advanced against 53 stocks declinedwhile 29 stocks were unchanged and closed atsame price as the previous week. Among thelarge caps stocks the gainers were NBK +5.9%,GBK +5.6%, KIB +1.5% and the major loserswere NINV -6.2%, NIND -2.8%, AGLTY -1.9%,BURGAN -1.9%, KFH -1.7%, ZAIN -1.3%. Whilethe stocks of BOUBYAN, KPROJ, BPCC, NMTCand FOOD remained unchanged on weeklybasis.

The KSE Weighted index may reach higherlevel of 496 if rally continues. Downside it hassupport zone at 475 level. The KSE market priceindex may go up to resistance level of 7,050 lev-el and downside it has support at 6,900 level.

Renault launches first iAd in Europe

Market index gains 74ptsMARKAZ Weekly update

Open: 6,877, High: 6,965, Low: 6,877 Close: 6,955.

HP appoints Samer Zein director of HP Networking Middle EastKUWAIT: HP yesterday announced that Samer Zein has beenappointed as Director of HP Networking for Middle East and willbe taking over from Alaa Al Shimmy who has been appointed asDirector of HP Networking in the Middle East, Mediterranean andAfrica (MEMA).

In this new role, Samer will be responsible for the HPNetworking business in the Middle East, focusing on expandingHP’s position as a leading networking supplier in the region. Hewill oversee a team of sales managers and professionals across theMiddle East, in all market segments, from small and medium sizebusinesses to enterprise and service providers.

Prior to this role, Samer was the Director for HP TechnologyServices in the Middle East. Under his leadership, the division wasthe best performing unit in the EMEA region. Samer comes with awealth of experience in the IT industry having held a variety oftechnical, business, sales and management positions in the MiddleEast and USA before joining HP in 2003.

Samer has a Bachelor degree in Computer andCommunications Engineering from the American University ofBeirut (AUB).

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaning-ful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. Theworld’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfo-lio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services andIT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More informationabout HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

The only warranties for HP products and services are set forthin the express warranty statements accompanying such productsand services. Nothing herein should be construed as constitutingan additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or edito-rial errors or omissions contained herein.

Samer Zein

24b u sine s sSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)managed to maintain its positive perform-ance, as market's main indices recordedgains. The price index ended last weekwith an increase amounted to 1.07%,while the weighted index rose 0.87% com-pared to the closings of the week before.Furthermore, last week's average dailyturnover increased by 34.06%, comparedto the preceding week, reaching KD 41.19million, whereas trading volume averagewas 214.25 million shares, recording agrowth of 24.17%.

The political news played a main role inthe market during the last week, as thetraders kept a close look on the disagree-ment between legislature and executiveauthorities; whereas the Prime Ministerwas summoned for a hearing session in

the Kuwaiti parliament on Tuesday.On the other hand News about the

deal of Mobile TelecommunicationCompany "Zain" stocks continued to bepresent in the market, but its role was lesssignificant than previous weeks. In addi-tion, KSE General Manager said that theidea of dividing the market into 3 marketsis still under study, he added that the com-panies' classification will not be based onits stocks prices, but to its financial situa-tions. By the end of the week, the priceindex closed at 6,955.5 points, up by 1.07%from the week before closing, whereas theweighted index registered a 0.87% weeklygain after closing at 484.17 points.

Sectors' indicesFive of KSE's sectors ended last week in

the green zone, while the other threerecorded declines. Last week's highestgainer was the Non-Kuwaiti Companiessector, achieving 3.06% growth rate as itsindex closed at 7,277.7 points. Whereas, inthe second place, the Services sector'sindex closed at 15,317.0 points recording2.22% increase. The Real Estate sectorcame in third as its index achieved 2.18%growth, ending the week at 2,355.7 points.The Food sector was the least growing asits index closed at 4,638.0 points with a0.25% increase.

On the other hand, the Insurance sec-tor headed the losers list as its indexdeclined by 1.24% to end the week's activ-ity at 2,697.2 points. The Industry sectorwas second on the losers' list, which indexdeclined by 0.42%, closing at 5,319.4

points, followed by the Investment sector,as its index closed at 4,860.1 points at aweekly loss of 0.06%.

Sectors' activityThe Services sector dominated total

trade volume during last week with 312.38million shares changing hands, represent-ing 29.16% of the total market trading vol-ume. The Investment sector was second interms trading volume as the sector's trad-ed shares were 24.02% of last week's totaltrading volume, with a total of 257.31 mil-lion shares. On the other hand, the Bankssector's stocks where the highest traded interms of value; with a turnover of KD 94.95million or 46.10% of last week's total mar-ket trading value. The Services sector tookthe second place as the sector's last week

turnover of KD 53.34 million represented25.90% of the total market trading value.

Market capitalizationKSE total market capitalization grew by

0.88% during last week to reach KD 34.48billion, as five of KSE's sectors recorded anincrease in their respective market capital-ization, whereas the other three recordeddeclines. The Banks sector headed thegrowing sectors as its total market capital-ization reached KD 13.70 billion, increasingby 1.96%. The Real Estate sector was thesecond in terms of recorded growth with1.04% increase after the total value of itslisted companies reached KD1.88 billion.The third place was for the Non KuwaitiCompanies sector, which total market cap-italization reached KD 2.18 billion by the

end of the week, recording an increase of0.98%. The Food sector was the least grow-ing with 0.17% recorded growth after itsmarket capitalization amounted to KD790.19 million.

On the other hand, the Investment sec-tor headed the decliners list as its totalmarket capitalization decreased by 1.03%to reach, by the end of the week, KD 2.82billion. The Insurance sector was secondon this list, which market value of its listedcompanies declined by 0.63%, reachingKD 327.87 million, followed by theIndustry sector, as its market capitalizationamounted to KD 2.87 billion at a 0.06%decrease. For further details, please visitour web site: www.bayaninvest.com. --Prepared by the Studies & ResearchDepartment Bayan Investment Co.

Market indices rise on renewed optimism

BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

b u sine s s

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

KUWAIT: For the second time Porsche Centre Kuwait usedthe opportunity to demonstrate Porsche’s entire modelrange by offering a full-day driving program - the PorscheWorld Roadshow. Participants had the rare chance to test-drive the ultimate range of high-performance sports cars,luxury Gran Turismo and SUVs over a period of eight days.

The team of the Porsche World Roadshow visited Kuwaitfrom 2nd till 10th of December and brought not only themost admired sports cars but also the popular Panamera aswell as the new Cayenne. Altogether twenty cars wereshipped to Kuwait for this highly popular driving program.Exploring some of the newly opened roads in Kuwait, allPorsche vehicles truly demonstrated their outstandingdynamics, high safety features and uncompromising com-fort. This is what Porsche is all about, the distinctive joy ofdriving.

The event was organized by invitation only and drivers

were given the opportunity to select from twenty differentcars to find out what makes the brand so distinctive. ThePorsche World Roadshow is all about safety and fun and isdesigned to highlight just how enjoyable driving a Porschecan be; Porsche-trained and certified instructors offeredadvice and driver training. The event hosted an impressivenumber of guests who gained a thorough understandingof the brand’s products and its philosophy.

“Every Porsche model offers outstanding performance,so it is important for drivers to learn how to harness suchpower safely,” said Darren Abel, Brand Manager of PorscheCentre Kuwait.

“The Porsche World Roadshow aims to achieve this in afun environment with world-class instructors. This is animportant event for us and it has been an absolute pleas-ure to see so many guests enjoying a rewarding Porscheexperience in such magnificent surroundings”, he added.

Porschegets the show

on the road

in Kuwait Porsche World Roadshow enjoys

successful visit in country

B U S I N E S S

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

US jobs data, first Wall Street test in 2011NEW YORK: US stocks enter 2011 at two-yearhighs, facing a crucial reading this week on thehealth of the US economy: the monthly unem-ployment and job creation data.

“From all indications available, the yearshould begin well,” said Gregori Volokhine, atMeeschaert Capital Markets. “There are realsigns that monetary policy and fiscal policy arehaving an effect on the economy,” the analystsaid. “There’s a wave of optimism which beganin the markets several months ago and whichnow is being reinforced by macroeconomicnumbers.”

Over the past week, the Dow JonesIndustrial Average barely budged, slipping 0.03percent to close Friday at 11,577.51 points. Thetech-rich NASDAQ dropped 0.48 percent to2,652.87 points while the

Standard & Poor’s 500 index, a broad meas-ure of the market, added 0.07 percent at1,257.64 points.

The blue-chip Dow index, which gained11.02 percent in 2010, added more than 5.0percent in December alone. On Wednesday itfinished at its highest level since August 2008.

“Investors will probably look back on thisDecember as one to remember,” said Frederic

Dickson at DA Davidson & Co. “Big year-end ral-lies often fizzle out shortly after the beginningof a new calendar year,” Dickson cautioned.

“While we believe the economic landscapewill continue to support higher stock prices in2011, the market now appears technicallyextended from a longer-term perspective.”

The final week of 2010 was marked byextremely thin volumes. Traditionally quietbecause of the Christmas and New Year holi-days, this year’s lull was even deeper after ablizzard along the East Coast kept many tradersaway from their offices.

Trading sessions were listless and finalresults were weak.

The Dow, for example, slipped 0.14 percentThursday, despite three positive US economicindicators: new claims for jobless insurancebenefits fell to their lowest level in two and ahalf years last week, pending home sales unex-pectedly rose in November, and the ChicagoISM index showed manufacturing activity at itsfastest pace in more than 20 years.

“A lot of investors are waiting for the newyear to see what the December employmentreport looks like and to wait until the fourth-quarter earnings reports start to be released,”

said Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Advisors.Stocks face a calendar crammed with eco-

nomic releases, capped Friday by the closelywatched unemployment and job creationreport.

The labor data in previous months has beengrim, leaving the unemployment rate near 10percent as the economy struggles to recoverfrom recession. “That’s going to be the test,”said Volokhine. “This number needs to confirmthat the jobs market is improving.”

Among other economic numbers slated areconstruction spending and the ISM manufac-turing index on Monday, industrial ordersTuesday and the ISM services indexWednesday.

The Federal Reserve is set to publish theminutes of its last policy-setting meetingTuesday. “With low interest rates, improvingeconomic data and healthy projected earningsgrowth, the outlook for 2011 is relatively bull-ish,” Briefing.com analysts said in a client note.“Although broad market valuation remains rea-sonable, with stocks at two-year highs, senti-ment near a bullish extreme and several macrorisks still in the picture, it may be a bumpy rideagain in 2011.” — AFP

US STOCK MARKET OUTLOOK

NEW YORK: It was a dramaticride for bonds and the mort-gage market in 2010 as aneconomic crisis in Europe andwonky concepts like “quantita-tive easing” helped pushdown yields to levels not seensince the 1950s. The new yearmay be just as eventful, butone where higher rates arelikely.

The yield on the 10-yearTreasury note rose to a yearlyhigh of just under 4 percent inApril and then plunged as lowas 2.38 percent in October.That contributed to a historicdrop in mortgage rates thatbrought 30-year fixed-rateloans to a low of 4.17 percentearly in November.

But even after Treasuryyields started climbing at theend of the year, pushing mort-gage rates higher, savers haveyet to see the benefits.Average yields on five-yearCDs stood at 1.56 percent atyear’s end, according toBankrate.com. Money marketrates have been stuck at 0.19percent for the last five weeksof the year.

The yield on the 10-yearTreasury note fell to 3.29 per-cent on the final day of theyear from 3.36 percent lateThursday, as fund managersshuffled their portfolios tomatch their benchmark index-es. Its price, which moves inthe opposite direction, rose 56cents per $100 invested. Inother trading, the 30-yearbond rose $1.46, with theyield falling to 4.33 percentfrom 4.42 percent. The yieldon the two-year note fell to0.59 percent from 0.64 per-cent.

Federal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke signaled inAugust that he was preparedto pump hundreds of billionsof dollars into the bankingsystem by buying Treasurysecurities. His goal was topush down borrowing ratesto stimulate the economythrough what’s come to beknown as a “quantitative eas-ing” strategy.

But well before the Fedspelled out the details of its$600 billion plan on Nov. 3,rates started rising on signsthat the economy already wason its way to higher growththat could lead to higher infla-tion. That’s why analysts sayit’s unlikely rates will revisit thelow levels of 2010 in the newyear. The result: higher costsahead for borrowers, thoughat the same time the possibili-ty of higher interest rates forsavers.

HERE’S WHAT TO WATCHFOR THIS YEAR

BERNANKE’S NEXT MOVE:The Fed opted for the quanti-tative easing route in partbecause it already had cut itstarget for the overnight bor-rowing rate between banks tozero. The central bank’s $600billion Treasury-buying pro-gram will continue throughJune. Depending on the eco-nomic environment, morepurchases could be on theway. The big issue now couldbe inflation. If prices showsigns of taking off, the centralbank may feel compelled tocontain it by raising short-

term interest rates. And iflong-term rates rise as well,the U.S. budget deficit couldspike higher. Keep an eye onthe consumer price index andthe producer price index.

HOW’S THE ECONOMY?If economic data keep

coming in on the rosy side,investors will feel more confi-dent putting money in riskierinvestments like stocks andshifting it out of Treasurys.That will drive down bondprices and raise their yields.Key indicators includeemployment numbers, espe-cially job growth in non-gov-ernment sectors; manufactur-ing figures; and confidencenumbers from both business-es and consumers.

Lastly, watch housing,which so far has been a dragon the economy. If existinghome sales consistently riseand the number of homes onthe market steadily decreases,then that market may be onthe mend. Once home pricesturn up on their own,Americans will start to feelwealthier as their largest assetslowly regains the equity itlost in the last four years.

EUROPE STRIKES AGAINTreasury yields were

expected to rise in 2010 alongwith a recovering economy.But European debt problems,starting with a $146 billionbailout of Greece in the springand continuing with Ireland’s$90 billion rescue this fall,prompted investors to takecover in the safety of the U.S.bonds, pushing the yielddown. Europe isn’t out of thewoods yet. On Sunday, thechief economist of DeutscheBank, Germany’s biggestbank, said he expects Portugalto seek a bailout from othereuro-zone countries in thenear future. The country needsto raise up to $26.5 billionnext year to shore up itsfinances. Other countries likeSpain, Belgium, Hungary andRomania are slashing theirbudgets to weather their debtwoes. If another countryteeters on the brink of insol-vency, investors likely will seekfurther shelter in Treasurys,pushing yields lower andprices higher. But the reactionmay not be as dramatic as thisyear’s because Europe is oninvestors’ radars and likelywon’t take them by surprise.

THE WILD CARDSIf tensions between North

Korea and South Korea ratchetup, investors may panic andseek safer investments. Anyescalation in that conflictcould hurt global growth.

The health of state andlocal governments also couldaffect Treasurys, said HowardSimons, strategist with BiancoResearch in Chicago. TheTreasury has issued bonds andswapped them for municipalsecurities to help the troubledlocal governments. The extrasupply likely would depressTreasury prices and driveyields higher. “As long as stateand local governments arestressed, Uncle Sam is goingto keep printing money to bailthem out,” Simons said. — AP

Bonds’ dramatic year sets stage for even higher rates

‘Quantitative easing’ pushes down yields

NEW YORK: Traders open the market on the last day of trading for 2010, at theNew York Stock Exchange on Friday. — AP

PORTLAND: A gas pump nozzle is shown, in Portland, Oregon. Oil prices slipped fur-ther below $90 a barrel on Friday as investors took profits amid light year-end trad-ing volume. — AP

ST LOUIS: From gold to grains to oil, com-modities finished 2010 at or close to theirhighest levels in years. Gold closed Friday at$1,421.40 an ounce, up roughly 31 percent forthe year after an almost uninterrupted climbsince January. Grains and soybeans cappedoff a rally that started this summer, and oilprices ended the year at levels many analystsconsidered unachievable just six months ago.

The jump in commodity prices has beendriven by China’s seemingly insatiabledemand for raw materials and speculatorsbetting that they could profitably ride themomentum higher. Analysts expect the priceincreases, and volatility, will continue well in2011. “People are looking to get out of thedollar, and stocks have run up so much thatcommodities are looking like a good alterna-tive,” said Spencer Patton, founder and chiefinvestment officer for hedge fund Steel VineInvestments LLC.

Gold was the clear standout in 2010. It tra-ditionally has been viewed as a classic shelterinvestment, often used as a hedge againstinflation. That kept it idling for much of thedecade before the global financial crisisemerged in 2008. Then, as central banks start-ed taking dramatic actions to stimulate theireconomies, gold starting moving higher asinterest rates dropped to record lows andsome currencies fell in value. That led someinvestors to predict higher inflation isinevitable. Other precious metals, like silver,also moved higher. “Gold is much more of auniversal hedge, and that’s why there is moreof a dramatic price movement,” says EdwardMeir, senior commodities analyst at MF Globalin New York. Gold should continue to rise wellinto the second half of 2011, said RohitSavand, senior commodity analyst with CPMGroup in New York. Political instability — suchas military tensions on the Korean peninsula— coupled with further stimulus plans andbailouts in Europe mean gold’s safe-havenstatus will keep it in high demand. Industrialmetals, used to make everything from com-puter parts to automobile engines, alsogained as global consumption and manufac-turing started to recover. Copper surged morethan 40 percent, rising from just over $3.00 apound to close the year at $4.4470.

Meanwhile, 2010 marked one of the mostprofitable years ever for farmers in the USMidwest. The USDA predicts that net farmincome for 2010 will be $81.6 billion, up 31percent from 2009 and about 26 percenthigher than the annual average over the pastdecade. Farm incomes are likely to keep grow-ing in 2011 on strong commodity prices andexport demand, according to a reportreleased Wednesday by the Kansas CityFederal Reserve Bank. Smaller reserves ofcorn and soybeans this year couldn’t satisfyever-growing global demand, sparking a pricerally over the summer that has yet to abate.Wheat prices also climbed as droughts, firesand heavy rains around the world slashed theamount of grain for harvest. With Russia’spost-fire grain export ban likely to remain inplace throughout 2011 and European exportsexpected to be exhausted in January, the USlooks increasingly likely to be the supplier oflast resort in the coming year, JPMorganChase analyst Colin P. Fenton said in a recent

report. A key factor in corn’s rise has beendemand from the ethanol industry, said JohnSanow, an analyst with Telvent DTN in Omaha.About 1.6 billion bushels of corn went to mak-ing ethanol in 2005. By 2010, it grew to 4.8 bil-lion bushels as federal mandates for increasedethanol use in the nation’s fuel supplies kickedin. In addition, China in recent months hasbecome a significant net importer of corn forthe first time, noted Credit Suisse analystEdward Morse. As a result, corn futures haverisen nearly 80 percent since August, climbingfrom about $3.50 a bushel to end the year at amore than two-year high of $6.29. And pricesshould keep jumping, says Sanow, since thisyear’s US harvest appears to be smaller thanmany analysts had predicted, which will exac-erbate a supply squeeze. For soybeans, thedemand pressure has come largely fromChina, which has increased its soybean con-sumption by an average 257 million bushelseach year over the last four years, Sanow said.Much of that has gone toward feeding live-stock, and a Chinese middle class increasinglyhungry for meat is only likely to boostdemand next year, he said. Raw commodityingredients account for only a fraction of theprice of food at the grocery store, so it cantake months if not longer for commodityprice increases to hit consumers. But foodmakers like Hormel Foods Corp. have saidthey will be hiking prices on a variety of prod-ucts in 2011 to recoup costs.

Increased demand from China and Indiahas also helped stoke the rise in oil and ener-gy prices in the second half of the year. Oilprices hit a low around $70 a barrel late in Mayas traders worried that debt problems inEurope and high unemployment in theUnited States would keep economic growthstagnant and energy demand low. Butincreasing demand in the developing worldhas changed all that. Oil surpassed $90 a bar-rel this month and remained above thethreshold to close the year at $91.38 a barrel.“I think we could be above $100 (a barrel) inJanuary,” Patton said. If so, that means $4-a-gallon gas could be a reality by summer insome parts of the country. Rising gas priceswould threaten to slow already weak US eco-nomic growth and squeeze consumers ascompanies pass along higher energy costs inthe form of higher airline tickets, shippingprices and even the cost of ordering takeout.Commodity prices closed out the last tradingday of 2010 with across the board increases.

Gold for February delivery rose $15.50 tosettle at $1,421.40, and copper for Marchdelivery climbed 8.45 cents to $4.4470. Silvercontracts for March delivery rose 42.4 centsto $30.937 an ounce. January palladium set-tled up $17.10 at $803.30 an ounce andDecember platinum gained $29 to close at$1,773.30 an ounce. In Nymex trading inJanuary contracts, heating oil rose 5.83 centsto settle at $2.54.37 a gallon, and gasolineclimbed 6.14 cents to $2.4532 a gallon.Natural gas for February delivery rose 6.7cents to $4.405 per 1,000 cubic feet. Grainsand soybeans also closed Friday higher.March wheat rose 9.5 cents to settle at$7.9425 a bushel, March corn rose 13 cents to$6.29 a bushel and March soybeans added 27cents to close at $14.03 a bushel. — AP

Gold, grains and oil stand out in 2010COMMODITIES ROUNDUP

NEW YORK; The dollar slipped againstother major currencies on Friday at theend of a volatile year as US economicprospects appeared brighter and wor-ries about euro-zone debt eased.

The euro jumped to 1.3381 dollarsaround 2200 GMT from 1.3286 dollars inNew York late Thursday.

The dollar dropped to 81.28 yenfrom 81.55 yen on Thursday. “The lackof risk aversion is being driven by thepositive US economic releases fromyesterday with weekly jobless claimsand pending home sales coming in bet-ter than expected,” said Andy Douglassat PNC.

In year-end accounts preening, fundmanagers sold safe-haven dollars to buyup currencies that offer better returnson investments, said Jasmine Poh, ananalyst at French bank BNP Paribas.

The US dollar offered little return oninvestment as the Federal Reserve heldnear-zero interest rates for a secondstraight year to support the economy’srecovery from the worst recession sincethe 1930s.

The greenback also suffered as theresult of the Fed’s decision to buy $600

billion worth of Treasury bonds throughmid-2011 to prop up the flagging recov-ery. The euro-zone’s common currencywas shaken by debt and deficit crises inGreece and Ireland and fears of conta-gion in other bloc members.

The euro has dropped by around sev-en percent against the dollar in 2010.After beginning strongly-its intra-yearhigh was 1.4579 dollars on January 13— the single currency plunged to afour-year low of 1.1877 dollars in June.

It has since clawed back, aided bystrong recovery for Europe’s biggesteconomy Germany. “We haven’t seenthe capitulation in the single currencythat some expected even as the periph-eral debt crisis imploded,” said KathleenBrooks, an analyst at Forex.com.

“This reinforces our belief that thisremains fundamentally a credit crisisrather than a currency crisis for the cur-rency bloc. This leaves the euro in a sta-ble position as we move into 2011.”

At the stroke of midnight Friday inEstonia, the nation of 1.3 million bidfarewell to its kroon, adopted in 1992 toreplace the Soviet ruble, and becamethe euro-zone’s 17th member.—AFP

Dollar slips at end of turbulent 2010

27T E C H NOLO G Y

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

TAIPEI: If being successful in online gaming isas hard as going to the North Pole, Albert Liu,CEO of Taipei-based company Gamania, hasnothing to worry about. He has already beento the top of the world.

Arctic exploration is a hobby now on thebackburner for 40-year-old Liu, as he directshis gaming empire from the 18th floor in asuburb of Taiwan’s capital, hoping to makewesterners as mad about online gaming asAsians are.

“For every 100 Asians, 90 or 95 have heardabout online gaming. For every 100Europeans, it may be just 10 or 15,” said Liu, sit-ting in a relaxed pose in his spacious officewearing a T-shirt and shorts.

The company, which has brought titlessuch as “Crusade”, “Super Rich” and“Convenience Store” to the game-consumingpublic hopes soon to become a global player.Taiwan currently makes up 70 to 80 percent ofthe company’s revenue, while foreign markets,mainly Japan and Hong Kong, account for therest, according to Liu. Ideally China willaccount for 25 percent in a decade’s time,Europe for 25 percent, the US for 25 percent,

and Asia outside China for 25 percent, he said.The company’s rapid expansion has not

met with undivided applause among analysts.“I think the company needs to focus on

enhancing its R and D skills to design moregames rather than stretching itself thin in rap-id overseas expansions,” said an analyst at KGISecurities who asked not be named.

However, for Liu it is simply not feasible toignore China, the world’s most populousnation. His mainland staff, mostly employed inresearch and development, has grown from 60to nearly 200 in just the past year.

“Right now, China is the most exciting mar-ket in the world,” he said. While China is a chal-lenging and fiercely competitive place, it is atleast very similar to Taiwan in a cultural sense,and a game that Taiwanese find amusing orscary will be amusing or scary to Chinese too.Not so in the west.“

In Europe and the United States, you haveto consider all kinds of details. Like if yourgame has a monster, you have to consider if it’sgoing to be scary enough to westerners,” Liusaid.

It may be a worn-out cliche that Asians are

more collectivist than westerners, but when itcomes to games it is not entirely untrue. “InEurope, people prefer to play their games ontheir own consoles. They’re not so used to theonline gaming experience, where it is muchless of an individual pastime, and somethingyou do with many people together,” Liu said.

Gamania is little known in the west, but it isone of the most recognized brand namesamong young Internet-savvy Taiwanese.

Being successful had a lot to do with pick-ing a market opportunity at the right time, andbetting everything on it.

“In the year 2000, we first allocated 70 per-

cent of our resources to online games,” saidLiu.

“By the end of the year, we were like, ‘let’sgo for it’, and we dropped all other projects todedicate ourselves 100 percent to onlinegames.”

But the intellectual foundations of Gamaniawere laid as far back as the 1980s, when Liuwas a typical Taiwanese teenager absorbed invideo games for TV.

He nourished his interest by reading maga-zines, and one day came across an articlewhich predicted that one day people would beable to play with each other using telephonenetworks. He was fascinated.

“That image stuck, and in the late 1990swhen I was on a business trip in South Korea Isaw a primitive version of exactly that,” he said.

This was a time when technologies hadmatured to the stage where online gaminghad become feasible, and Liu decided that thiswas worth a major bet.

“I don’t remember who wrote that maga-zine article back in the 1980s, but if I could findhim today and meet him, I would definitelythank him,” said Liu. — AFP

Taiwan gaming pioneer on top of the world

SAN FRANCISCO: Tabletcomputers will lead a hostof “smart” gadgets in theNevada desert this week ata Consumer ElectronicsShow (CES) spotlightingslick new devices on thehorizon.

CES attendance in LasVegas should top the126,000 figure from theannual event last Januaryand the roster of exhibitorshas climbed 2,000 to 2,700.Internet software will fusewith televisions, cars andeven household appliancesat CES, where an army oftablets will be unleashed tochallenge Apple’s winningiPads.

“Certainly the NumberOne trend will be tablets,”said NPD Group analystStephen Baker. “I think everysmartphone and PC (per-sonal computer) companywill either have one on theirshow floor; be showingthem behind closed doors,or announcing things.”

CES organizers said thatfrom 40 to 80 tablets coulddebut at the event that runsfrom Thursday throughSunday.

Apple sold more thaneight million iPads since theCalifornia company intro-duced the tablets in Apriland year-end sales couldsurpass 10 million.

Tablets being unveiled atCES weren’t expected topose a threat to the iPad, asecond-generation versionof which is likely to beannounced this year.Android and Windows“won’t be right” for tabletsfor at least a year, givingiPad time to secure itsthrone against tabletsbased on the operatingsoftware from Google andMicrosoft, respectively.

“We are going to be upto our armpits in crappytablets, and I do mean crap-py,” said independentSilicon Valley analyst RobEnderle. Among the morepromising tablets are aHewlett-Packard model thatmight not be introduced atthe show and a Notion InkAtom made by a small com-pany out of Israel that craft-ed its own operating soft-ware.

Apple has become adefining force at CESdespite the fact that itshuns the gathering.

“Right now, in the con-sumer electronics space,Apple is the shining starthat everyone and theirbrother are chasing,”Enderle said. “CES is increas-ingly becoming an Appleshow even though Apple isnot there.” A sold-out“iLounge” spanning 50,000square feet (4,645 squaremeters) will

be crammed with acces-sories and software foriPads, iPhones, and iPods.

A kit for installing iPadsin cars will be among myri-ad covers, cases, headsets,docks, and applications forApple devices. “There is a

whole Apple empire,” CESspokeswoman Tara Dunionsaid of the iLounge portionof an exposition floor span-ning a total of 1.6 millionsquare feet.

An “On the Go” section ofthe show floor will be ahotspot for tablets, smart-phones and e-readers.

Internet connectivity willbe an overriding theme atCES, with dumb gadgetsfrom television sets to appli-ances being made “smart”with software that cutsenergy consumption orshares information usingthe Web.

For the first time, homeappliance colossus GeneralElectric will be among CESexhibitors.

“It’s Internet everything,”Dunion said. “The Internetwill be in all products fromcameras to smart appli-ances and cars.”

3D TVs that were stars atlast year’s CES will return,but this time with anemphasis on partnershipswith film and television stu-dios providing contentintended to make suchscreens worth buying.

“In a connected world,hardware doesn’t do muchgood without content,”Baker said.

“More and more we’ll seeand hear about how thehardware and the contentwork together.”

TV makers will play upflat-screens that let peopleaccess the Internet withoutset-top boxes, according toanalysts. “Pretty mucheverything in the next yearor two will sell with a con-nectivity option,” Baker saidof TV hardware.

Microsoft is expected toprovide the first look atWindows 7 media softwarefor Internet televisions “bet-ter than what Apple andGoogle brought to market,”according to Enderle.

A keynote presentationon Wednesday by Microsoftchief executive SteveBallmer could include aglimpse at the successor tothe Windows 7 operatingsystem released in 2009.

“There is enough smokearound this particular firethat it is likely we will seeour first glimpse ofWindows 8 at the show,”Enderle said. Telecom titanssuch as Verizon and AT&Twill announce speedierwireless Internet networkscrafted as highways fortablets and smartphonesdisplayed at the gathering,according to ForresterResearch analyst SarahRotman Epps.

Cars infused withInternet technology forentertainment, driver safetyand fuel efficiency will alsobe stars of the show,according to analysts.

“A lot of wild work hasbeen going into automo-tive,” Enderle said. “This willprobably be the show forautomotive technologygoing forward.” —AFP

Tablets galore on tap at major CES gadget fest

Slick new devices on the horizon

TOKYO: Japan’s top carrier NTT DoCoMo is to launch atablet computer running Google software to challengeApple’s hot-selling iPad, a report said yesterday.

DoCoMo will marry the new Google-backed Androidoperating system with a device made by South Korea’s LGElectronics to launch the product in Japan by the end of

March, the Nikkei business daily said, without namingsources. Users will be able to get on the Internet viaDoCoMo’s cellular connections, it said, adding pricingand other details were yet to be decided. Google isexpected to release a tablet-friendly operating systemworldwide in early this year. — AFP

Albert Liu, CEO of Taipei-based company Gamania

Skype could be declared illegal

DoCoMo aims to take on iPad with new tablet

Have an old computer, but don’tknow what to do with it? A new statelaw could provide consumers withmore options for recycling old elec-tronics. The Covered DeviceRecycling Act, which was signed intolaw in November, will also prohibitdisposing of a computer, peripheral,monitor or television in a landfillstarting in 2013.

Lawrence Holley, manager ofwaste minimization and planning forthe Pennsylvania Department ofEnvironmental Protection, said thebiggest change in the new law isthat it places the burden of recyclingelectronics on the manufacturers.

“They have to provide recyclingoptions for consumers and smallbusinesses,” Holley said. “They arerequired to develop a plan thatrequires them to recycle 100 percentof their market share.”

In other words, companies thatmake desktop computers, laptops,peripherals, monitors and televisionswill have to recycle one pound ofelectronics for every pound that issold. Those companies will also haveto register with the PennsylvaniaDepartment of EnvironmentalProtection and pay a $5,000 registra-tion fee.

After Jan 23, 2012, retailers inPennsylvania will only be allowed tosell brands that are registered withDEP. Manufacturers and retailers willbe prohibited from passing on a feefor recycling services to consumersunless a coupon or rebate of equalvalue is available.

DEP said that electronics manu-facturers can develop a recyclingprogram individually or as a group,and they will be encouraged to useexisting recycling programs.

Franklin County does not have acounty-wide electronics recyclingprogram, though a few privatebusinesses in the area do providee-waste recycling services, accord-ing to the Franklin County Planning

Commission.Several states alreadyhave similar laws on the books.Pennsylvania becomes the 24thstate with an e-waste law, accord-ing to Campaign for Recycling, aCalifornia-based environmentaladvocacy organization. The USEnvironmental Protection Agencysaid that the majority of consumerelectronics are not recycled andend up in landfills.— MCT

Changes coming to computer recycling

BEIJING/NEW YORK: Thepopular Internet telephoneservice Skype could bedealt a major setback inone of the world’s largestmarkets as the Chinesegovernment cracks downon what it called illegalInternet telephoneproviders.

A Chinese governmentcircular from the powerfulMinistry of Information andIndustry Technology calledfor a crackdown “on illegalVoIP (voice over Internetprotocol) telephone servic-es” and said it was collect-ing evidence for legal casesagainst them. It did notname any phone compa-nies.

Skype was still availablein China on Friday eveningthrough its joint venturepartner TOM Online.

Skype had not yet beencontacted by Chinese gov-ernment officials, a Skypespokesman said on Fridayin the United States. Thetiming of a ban in one ofthe world’s fastest growingmarkets could dampeninvestor enthusiasm forSkype as it prepares a 2011initial public offering. TheLuxembourg-based compa-ny, which has about 124million users worldwide, isexpected to be valued atabout $1 billion in the IPO.

The Chinese moveappeared to be aimed atprotecting three govern-ment-controlled phone car-riers-China Telecom, ChinaUnicom and China Mobile-that provide the bulk ofChina’s telephone services.The South China MorningPost quoted an unidentifiedministry official onThursday as saying VoIPservices could only be pro-vided by the big threeChinese operators.

China has been knownto play hardball with for-eign businesses. After amonths-long stand-off overcensorship, China finallygave Google approval inJuly to keep operating itsChinese search page.

Skype has 20 millionusers in Asia Pacific, or 16percent of the company’stotal users as of the end ofJune, according to a US reg-ulatory filing. The filing didnot break out China’s user

numbers and a Skypespokesman in the UnitedStates said he did not knowhow many Chinese users ithad.

No single country otherthan the United States rep-resented more than 7 per-cent of Skype’s averagemonthly user, according tothe filing.

The latest news is anoth-er setback after Skype’sglobal service outage lastweek, which cast doubts onthe reliability of the service..

In 2005, Skype wasblocked in parts of China asthe government sought toban phone calls made overthe Internet.

Skype, partly owned byWeb retailer eBay Inc, hasbeen growing in popularityamong Chinese users andbusinesses to make cheapor free international phonecalls over the Internet.

“Nearly 1 in 6 people inthe world live in China, anda great many of them relyon Skype to connect withfamilies and friends, runbusinesses, and call peoplearound the world,” wroteSkype’s Josh Silverman inan October blog post aboutChinese privacy.

The Chinese circular,dated Dec. 10, did not saywhat amounted to illegalservices and did not nameany VoIP providers it con-sidered to be breaking thelaw.

Representatives of theministry and the ministry’soffice gathering informa-tion for the campaign didnot answer telephone callson Friday.

Representatives of ChinaTelecom and China Unicomdid not answer phone callson Friday. A spokeswomanfor China Mobile, reachedin Beijing, referred calls tothe firm’s Hong Kong office.Attempts to reach the HongKong office were not suc-cessful.

VoIP calls allow users tomake international calls formuch less than commercialproviders, or even for free ifboth parties are using VoIP.

Many businesses thatuse VoIP services to cutdown on their internationaltelephone costs could loseaccess to the cheaper alter-native. — Reuters

BALTIMORE: Constantheadaches and migraines hadDiana Schulin consideringacupuncture, but she foundherself tensing at the thoughtof sitting alone in a room whilebeing poked by a dozen nee-dles. She finally took theplunge, and she’s glad she did.The needles remain. But at leastnow she has company. Thehealth care information workeris among a small but growingnumber of people experiencingthe ancient Asian treatment in agroup. Some come for the low-er cost, while some, like Schulin,are drawn by the camaraderie.

“Because the other peopleare there, you feel relaxed,” said

Schulin, a Baltimore resident. “Itmakes you feel more comfort-able. “Traditional acupunctureclinics are a little more tense.You are there by yourself. Whenyou are in the room with otherpeople, there is a sense ofcalm.” Acupuncture-the practiceof inserting needles in specificspots of the human body-isnothing new. But the conceptof community acupuncture isrelatively rare in this country.There are about 200 communityacupuncture clinics in the US; amajority is found along thecoasts and in larger cities,according to Fred Wolfson, whoopened Acupuncture for All inBaltimore’s Mount Washington

neighborhood nine weeks agoafter working at a similar prac-tice in Frederick, Md. Wolfsonsaid the concept is modeledafter group clinics in Asia,which have historically beenlow-cost. Community acupunc-ture patients say they are drawnto the clinics because of thecombination of low cost, acces-sibil ity, and the communityconcept. Patients at clinics suchas Wolfson’s pay between $20to $40 a treatment. (Traditionalpractices charge up to $90 pervisit.) Wolfson goes an extrastep and offers a sliding scale.He never challenges theamount of money he receives.Payments are deposited in a

drop box in the clinic.“Patients pay what they can

afford,” he said. “Everyone’sfinancial situation is different.There are people who ask ifthey can pay below that $20 feebecause of their financial situa-tion. That is fine. I don’t turnanyone away.” Low cost is thebiggest draw of communityacupuncture businesses,according to Karen Jackson-Williams, a licensed acupunc-turist who works at Honey-BeeFree Acupuncture in Greenbelt,Md, and Tai Sophia Institute inLaurel, Md.

Jackson-Williams, who hasbeen following the communityacupuncture model for the pasttwo years, said lower cost helpsexpose more people to thetreatment. “If anything, it wouldbe a benefit to a traditionalpractitioner,” she said. “Peopleget to have a good first experi-ence at a reduced price. Thenthey have the opportunity tolater use a private practitioner if

they want.”The lower price also allows

patients to receive frequenttreatments, which maximizesthe benefits of acupuncture,Wolfson said. “Because of thelow cost, patients are unable todo the follow-up treatment,”Wolfson said. “That is an impor-tant piece of communityacupuncture. It is not aboutjust getting enough money foran acupuncture treatment. Thismodel al lows people to gothrough a whole course oftreatment. They are able to seeif acupuncture is a modality forthem.”

And community acupunctur-ists are able to treat a largernumber of patients in a shorteramount of time. At most com-munity clinics, each visit typi-cally lasts about an hour. Anintake questionnaire is com-pleted so that the acupunctur-ist can individualize the properplan for each patient. After cus-tomers roll up their sleeves and

remove their shoes, they areready for the treatment.

“ The needles stay in onaverage 45 minutes,” Wolfsonsaid. “The nice thing about theclinic is that people who wantto stay longer can stay. Butmost people feel done after 45minutes.” Despite Acupuncturefor All’s high-volume mission,the clinic is surprisingly quiet.The gurgle from a water foun-tain meshes with relaxingmusic playing overhead. Sevenreclining seats are arranged ina circular fashion. The walls arepainted with a cobalt blue andadorned with framed picturesof exotic locations. A large ori-ental rug in the center of theroom pays homage to thetechnique’s origins. Thedimmed lights give the room arelaxed feel.

“It’s like being in your livingroom,” Schulin said. Wolfsonencourages a tranquil environ-ment. “A majority of people fallasleep,” Wolfson said. “We may

whisper a little bit as I am put-ting in the needles. But general-ly the treatment room is veryquiet.” Tuesday night, there wasa constantly flow of patients,including Lynn Hunobice, anactivity director for a localretirement community, who vis-its the clinic at least once aweek. Hunobice sought outacupuncture because she need-ed a source of relief from arthri-tis and the daily stress involvedin her job. “I needed to bring abalance to life,” she said. “I havea very intense job. I can getoverwhelmed with it.”

Wolfson stresses that com-munity acupuncture andacupuncture in general is notfor everyone.

“Acupuncture is not going tobe the treatment that helpseveryone,” he said. “If they can’tdo a consistent course of treat-ment and the treatmentsbecome sporadic, then theycan’t decide if this is the treat-ment for them or not.” —MCT

WASHINGTON: Quitting smok-ing and tightening beltsaround their waists and on thehousehold budget top the listof Americans’ new year’s reso-lutions for 2011. Of the 44 per-cent of Americans who plan tomake a new year’s resolution,17 percent said they wanted tokick the cigarette habit, 16 per-cent to lose weight, and 13 per-cent to spend less money, apoll published this week by theMarist College Institute forPublic Opinion found. With theaverage cost of a pack of 20cigarettes approaching the six-dollar mark in the UnitedStates, quitting smoking couldtake Americans some waytoward achieving their goal ofspending less, which rose fromseventh place last year in theMarist poll to third place goinginto 2011.

According to calculationsmade by MSN Money, a 40-year-old who quits smokingand puts the savings into anindependent retirement fundthat earns nine percent a yearcould save nearly a quarter of amillion dollars by the time theyreach 70. Losing weight couldalso help Americans save mon-ey, both for themselves and forthe economy as a whole. Areport released in Septemberby the Brookings Institutionfound that medical costs forobese adults were 147 billiondollars more than for healthy-weight adults. Obesity alsocosts the United States in termsof lost productivity, absen-teeism, disability and prema-ture death. It could also bepushing up transportationcosts because more fuel isneeded to transport heavierpassengers, for example.

Obesity affects not only astaggering one in every threeUS adults, but also one in fivechildren. Childhood obesity isdraining billions of dollars fromthe US economy in medicalcosts and also saps children’swell-being and affects theireducation; overweight kidstend to achieve less in school,according to reports publishedin 2010. Four of the 17 newyear’s resolutions published bythe American Academy ofPediatrics for kids aged five andolder are related to eating bet-ter or being more active. Thebattle against childhood obesi-ty gained a useful ally in 2010,when First Lady MichelleObama launched a high-profilecampaign to help Americanchildren get fitter instead of fat-

ter. In December, PresidentBarack Obama signed a law toexpand a school lunch pro-gram for lower-income chil-dren and make the foodhealthier, which is aimed atbolstering his wife’s campaignto curb childhood obesity. Thenew law, which pledges 4.5 bil-lion dollars over 10 years tochild nutrition programs, willallow the Department ofAgriculture to set nutritionguidelines for food sold inschools, including in vendingmachines. “We’re going to gofrom soda and candy bars tomilk and granola bars,” saidMargo Wootan, director ofnutrition policy at the Centerfor Science in the PublicInterest, hailing the bill as “thebest child nutrition bill that I’ve

seen in 20 years inWashington.” While obese kidshave the White House on theirside, their parents can tap intoa smart phone “app” for help inkeeping their new year’s reso-lutions. Apps such as Lose It!and Calorie Counter for theiPhone, and Hungry andWeight Watchers WWDiary forAndroid phones, promise tohelp Americans lose weight.

The Quit Smoking! app,developed for the iPhone by anex-smoker, is one of a bevy thataims to help people stub outtheir cigarettes once and for all,providing a toolbox of aids towould-be ex-smokers, includ-ing hypnosis and a calculator ofthe cost of smoking. Of course,the apps are only as useful astheir users are honest. Fudging

the number of fudge browniesyou’ve eaten when you inputdata into a weight loss app orthe number of cigarettespuffed a day in smoking cessa-tion apps will not help in thequest to stick to a 2011 resolu-tion.

Last year, just six in 10Americans who made a newyear’s resolution stuck to it forat least part of the year,according to Marist, whichinterviewed 1,029 adults inearly December for its annualpoll about new year’s resolu-tions. Other resolutions on thisyear’s list included being abetter person (10 percent),getting a better job (six per-cent), or getting politicallyinvolved or closer to God,both at one percent. —AFP

28health & science

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

BALTIMORE: Here, Wolfson, center, treats Ron Freeman with acupuncture needles. —MCT

HUDSON, Wisconsin:This May 24, 2009 filephoto shows a smokerholding a cigarette.

—AFP

GAITHERSBURG: Dated August 19, 2009 file photo shows two overweightwomen walk at the 61st Montgomery County Agricultural Fair inGaithersburg, Maryland. —AFP

MYMENSINGH: This photo taken on October 28, 2010 shows a Bangladeshifisherman throwing his net to catch fish in Mymensingh, some 120 kms fromDhaka. —AFP

Americans resolve to tighten belts, quit smoking in 2011

Overweight kids tend

to achieve less in school

CHAR PALIAMARY: Bangladesh’s rivers haveprovided for fisherman Rafiqul Islam’s fami-ly for generations but a few years ago the27-year-old noticed his nets were comingup empty. This year, Islam was forced toleave his small fishing community in north-ern Mymensingh district to find work, anearly victim of what scientists are warningis an alarming decline in freshwater fishstocks. “Eight, ten years ago it was possiblefor a fisherman to make a decent living allyear round-now, our catches are tiny andmost people are having to find other sea-sonal work to survive,” Islam told AFP.

Surveys of fish stocks paint a gloomypicture. According to a report by theInternational Union for Conservation ofNature (IUCN) in 2000, Bangladesh is hometo 266 species of freshwater fish, 54 ofwhich are classified as “threatened” in thegroup’s Red List. But a more recent study bythe Bangladesh Agricultural University(BAU) stated that at least 25 of the freshwa-ter species of fish are now extinct and over100 species should be classed as threat-ened.”We are losing our freshwater fish atan alarming rate,” said Professor Mostafa AliReza Hossain of the BAU, whose team hasspent a decade travelling the country totrack the decline in fish species.

The dwindling of freshwater fish hasmajor repercussions for low-lying anddeeply impoverished Bangladesh, home tonumerous rivers, floodplains, lakes andlowland areas. It puts over a million jobs atrisk, will accelerate migration of the esti-mated 1.4 million fishermen toBangladesh’s already overcrowded cities,and removes a crucial, free source of pro-tein for the rural poor. It also risks having acatastrophic effect on overall biodiversityas the impact ripples up the food chain tobirds and reptiles, Hossein said. Inland fish-ing is deeply traditional in Bangladesh-asone old adage goes, fish and rice make aBangladeshi-and another 11 million peopleare involved in seasonal or part-time fish-ing or fish-dependent businesses.

Many of these part-time fishermencome from the bottom third ofBangladesh’s population-the “ultra-poor”who cannot afford to buy more costly

farmed fish, said Dhaka-based food andnutrition professor Keramat Ali.”The verypoor have traditionally relied on fishcaught in inland rivers and lakes to supple-ment their diet-especially for pregnantwomen, children or the old and sick,” hesaid.

“These fish are crucial for protein sup-plies-without these fish in their diets, thepoor will be missing out on key nutrients aswell as protein. How are they meant toafford an alternative to these fish?” InBangladesh, a nation with over two hun-dred rivers, fish accounts for at least 60 per-cent of the average person’s total animalprotein intake, according to the depart-ment of fisheries. Overfishing, especiallyusing illegal drag nets, industrial pollutionof fish breeding grounds and the impact ofpesticide run-off from farms are the pri-mary reasons behind the decline, the BAU’sresearch has found.

In addition, waterways are being filledup for construction of roads, bridges andhouses to accommodate Bangladesh’sever-increasing population, which grewnearly two-and-a-half times in fourdecades. “The 375-square-kilometre ChalanBeel, the largest inland wetland in thenorth, is a perfect example of how pesti-cide use and construction are having animpact on fish,” the BAU’s Reza said.According to BAU research, pesticide usehas increased nearly sixfold since 1982,with fish production in Chalan Beel halvingin the same period. In addition, a 25-kilo-metre highway built nearly a decade agodividing the Chalan Beel has severely limit-ed fish movement which has had a devas-tating effect on fish breeding patterns,Reza said.

Commercial overfishing, including theuse of gill and drag nets and explosivessuch as TNT are also a major part of theproblem, Reza said. While such harmfulfishing methods are illegal, the laws arerarely enforced.”The adage ‘fish and ricemake a Bangladeshi’ is already not true-butif we don’t act now to save our fisheries, thenext generation face a tremendous loss forwhich they will, rightly, hold us responsi-ble,” he said.—AFP

Bangladesh’s once plentiful

rivers run low on fish

SEOUL: Five wild ducks found dead inSouth Korea this week were confirmedyesterday to have been infected with alethal strain of the bird flu virus as thecountry battles its first outbreak in overtwo years. Tests showed the five deadbirds found in Sacheon City onDecember 26 had been stricken withthe H5N1 virus, the agriculture ministrysaid in a statement. The same strain-which poses a risk to humans-has also

been detected in wild birds and theirfaeces at four other locations across thecountry since December 7, it said.South Korea on Friday confirmed theoutbreak of bird flu and more than100,000 birds have been slaughtered asauthorities seek to contain its spread.

Two poultry farms, one in the cen-tral city of Cheonan and the other in thesouthwestern city of Iksan, were con-firmed to have been contaminated, the

ministry said. Health authorities placeda quarantine zone over a 10 kilometer(6.25 mile) radius, restricting move-ments of vehicles and people and carry-ing out emergency disinfection. Theyhave also stepped up inspections ofwild birds and urged poultry business-es to take extra precautions such aserecting nets around their farms tokeep wild birds out. The avian influenzaoutbreak is likely to further strain the

country’s health system, which hasalready been struggling to containswine flu and foot-and-mouth disease(FMD) cases across the country. SouthKorea has been hit by avian influenzathree times, with the last outbreak inApril 2008. In 2008, South Korea had tocull more than eight million birds tocurb the virus, resulting in damagesestimated at 200 billion won (194 mil-lion dollars at the time). —AFP

Lethal bird flu strain confirmed

Pin-point treatment

casts a wider net with

group acupuncture

BALTIMORE: Here, Wolfson inserts needles into Lynn Hunovice, who gets treatment onher feet, arthritic joints and for balance and energy. —MCT

MINNEAPOLIS: On Christmas Eve morn-ing in 2009, business owner DeborahDelaney was pulling the cinnamon rollsfrom the oven in her well-appointedWayzata, Minn, home and worryingabout preparations for her guests arriv-ing for that evening’s festivities. At thatmoment, the phone rang with news thatwould change her life, ultimately for thebetter. “I want you to know that your(breast) biopsy came back as cancerous,”a nurse told Delaney. After a fewmoments of conversation, Delaney, ayouthful 53-year-old, returned thephone to the receiver. “I’m going to die,”she thought.

“ Then I composed myself andthought, ‘I have to get this thing out ofme,’” Delaney she recalled in an inter-view last week. “Then I remembered, I’vegot all these people coming over. Andmy husband, Dale, sat down next to meand put his arm around me and said, ‘It’s

going to be OK.’ “We told our (two) girls.And then I said, ‘Come on, we’ve got allthis cooking to do.’”

In her heart, Delaney, a confidentsaleswoman and manager who hadmade more than $250,000 annually dur-ing the 1990s in the telecommunicationsbusiness, was shaken by the prospect ofmonths of treatment and her own mor-tality. In January, the cancer wasremoved. She underwent chemotherapyand radiation over several months andgot a positive prognosis: There’s a 95percent probability that she’ll live atleast another 15 years. “I’ll take that,” shesaid. “I’ve got a business to run.”

In 2002, Delaney had left the telecomindustry and invested more than$100,000 into launching Sarah Adult DayServices in Savage, the first Twin Cities“SarahCare” franchise. The business pro-vides adult day and chronic-care man-agement for about a third to half the

price of a full-time nursing home. Theservice offers at-home care providers abreak and works with clients throughnurses, nursing assistants, therapists andothers to help patients lead as full a lifeas possible.

Delaney chose SarahCare, becauseshe had dropped out of college so thatshe could care for her ailing mother —while also working a full-time job. AndDelaney’s market research showed thatelder care was a boom market. Her ill-ness only increased the hard-chargingDelaney’s passion for her business, hercustomers, their families and her staff.

“I had become a vulnerable adult,”she said. “I needed help ... I get it now.I’m softer, more empathetic. Peoplemean more to me.” Delaney waschanged by a process that began everyother Thursday for several months thatbegan with nurses filling two largesyringes with cancer-killing toxins,

known as “Red Devils,” after donningprotective garb so they wouldn’t beburned if anything spills.

“‘Oh my God,’” Delaney recalled think-ing as the needles penetrated her skin.“Your head gets loaded with a terribleweight. You’re very tired. It ’s called‘chemo brain.’ I’d be wiped out throughMonday. Then I’d go to work. I’d try tohide the fear and pain. But I’d lose mymemory. I couldn’t remember the namesof people. Or where I put my keys, eventhough they were on the same corner ofthe desk as usual.”

There also was financial stress. It tookuntil 2008 for SarahCare to break even.Delaney had to invest more than shehad projected. She refinanced herWayzata dream house, valued at $1.2million in 2006, to pay down business-related debt. The monthly payment rosefrom $3,000 to $8,000. And her husbandlost his job before Delaney got sick. Still,

Delaney could not stop marveling atwhat she regarded as her good fortune.The love and generosity of her family,close friends and staff buoyed her spirits.She cut her CEO salary to $50,000 tosave money. And she grew closer to herhusband and prouder of her college-educated daughters, one of whomworks at SarahCare.

The busy staff, including nursingassistants who make $12 to $14 an hour,always had time to inquire about theboss’ health and what they could do.Even though it was expensive, Delaneywas grateful that she was able to providehealth insurance to employees. “Whoknows when one of them could discovercancer, have a stroke or fall and hit theirhead,” Delaney said. “It can happen toanyone.”

As Delaney’s health improved thisyear and her memory and energyreturned, she and Dale made some life-

enhancing decisions. They sold theexpensive speedboat, gave away posses-sions that didn’t matter anymore andput the big house up for sale.

“I’ve got a second chance,” Delaneysaid. “Now, I don’t need the big house,the boat and all those things that usedto mean a lot to me. I still need to makea living. But it’s more about what I cando to help others. I’m more reflective. Myreward is helping struggling families.”

Delaney is calm, energetic, positiveand focused. “ This business is a lottougher than I thought initially and ittook longer than I thought to (reach pos-itive) cash flow,” she said. “Now the gov-ernment and everybody else wants tokeep people out of (more expensive)nursing homes and living as independ-ently as possible.” Delaney received theeternal holiday gift: the realization thatless can be more. Good health and goodrelationships are priceless. —MCT

29health & science

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Cancer can pave way to a fuller lifeMINNESOTA: SarahCare owner and CEO Deborah Delaney, second from right, and program coordinator Diane Stang, left, lead a group of daily participants in a short exercise session before breaking into small-er project groups. (Right) Deborah Delaney laughs as she leads her group of daily participants in “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” —MCT

w h at ’s on

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Boubyan Bank hosted a group of InternationalAcademy of Kuwait’s students during the Meeting

organized by the Bank for Dr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Sumait totalk about his voluntary and charitable activities in Africa.

The Bank’s hosting of the IAK’s students; namely thestudents of the second year of elementary schoolstemmed from its care to implant the spirit of voluntarywork in young children; especially considering that these

students, though still young, have made some simplestudies and researched about Dr. Al-Sumait’s achieve-ments.

It was almost unbelievable for the children to find theirdreams come true by meeting the figure they have beenfor long hearing and reading about and even maderesearches on based on the Internet resources listing theachievements of this man who dedicated his life to volun-

tary and charitable work all over 30 years.Being in such an ecstasy, the children whose dreams

were realized by Boubyan Bank, rushed to have memorialphotographs with Dr. Al-Sumait who asked them abouttheir readiness to accompany him to Africa to see a lot ofthings in reality and get acquainted with the actual con-ditions of people living under the poverty line.

Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Sumait gave a lecture in a simple

language that aroused the attention of children beingaccompanied with images showing the suffering that mil-lions of children in Africa undergo; being deprived of theleast requirements of life like education, water, electrici-ty...etc.

In addition, as a part of the Meeting’s activities, theIAK’s Administration was honored by Mr. Waleed KhaledAl-Yaqout, GM- Administration Group.

Dr Al-Sumait with children.

Children’s dream to meet Al-Sumait comes true!

Earlier last month,Kuwait English

School received a visitfrom officials from theFrench Embassy. Thecultural attache andMadame Farida Omar,the French educationalofficer, visited theschool to receive acheck for the moneyraised during theschool’s French Day. Themoney will be donatedto the “Medecins sansFrontieres”, a charitywhich provides medicalequipment and doctorsand nurses to needycountries all over theworld. Students raisedthe money with a vari-ety of events. Theseincluded selling Frenchcroissants, organizingcompetitions and put-ting on a French Show.Monsieur Clec’h andMadame Farida werewarmly invited by theSchool Director, Mrs.Rhoda Mahmoud andthe Head of the SeniorSchool, Mr Craig Halsalland the cheque for500KD was presentedby Year 11 studentsMelina Malliaroudakisand Reda Kohari. Afterthe presentation thetwo Embassy officialswere given a guidedtour of the school andhad the chance toobserve some of theFrench lessons takingplace in the school.Before they left, bothwere presented with abouquet of flowers.

KES receives French Embassy delegation

Happy 14th birthday greetings to twins James andJonathan with lots of love from mum, dad and sisterChristina and Best Wishes from all their friends at theBritish School of Kuwait and the Premier Goal Academy

Happy Birthday!

w h at ’s on

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Send to What’s On upcomingevents, birthdays or celebrationsby email: local@kuwaittimes.netFax: 24835619 / 20

EMBASSY OF BANGLADESHThe Embassy of the People’sRepublic of Bangladesh in Kuwaithas taken up an initiative to updatethe database of Bangladeshnationals residing in the State ofKuwait. For inclusion in the data-

base all the Bangladesh nationals are requested to collectthe Registration Form from the Labour Wing of the Embassy.The forms can also be collected sending request tobdoot@kems.net e-mail address. The filled-in forms can alsobe submitted by hand, by email or by fax (number 2491-3204).

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Canadian Embassy resumes itsduties tomorrow. The Embassy ofCanada is open from 07:30 to 15:30Sunday through Thursday. ConsularServices for Canadian Citizens areprovided from 09:00 until 12:00 on

Sunday through Wednesday. The Embassy of Canada islocated at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Daíaiyah.Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travel-ling or living abroad. This service is provided so thatConsular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in anemergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster orcivil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency athome. The Embassy of Canada encourages all CanadianCitizens to register online through the Government ofCanada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The CanadianEmbassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration serv-ices to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested invisiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to vis-it the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE atwww.uae.gc.ca.

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India has furtherrevamped and improved its LegalAdvice Clinic at the Indian WorkersWelfare Center, and made the freeservice available to Indian nationals

on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday everyweek. Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the LegalAdvice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indianlawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are thefree welfare services provided at the Indian Workers WelfareCenter located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline forDomestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no.25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides informationand advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers(Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration andother matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indiannationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, andother issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk:It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redres-sal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters:For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) LegalAdvice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals(Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Mondayto Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and(vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (VisaNo. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No.20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of DomesticLabor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, KurdRoundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, MezzanineFloor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM onFriday.Embassy of India would like to inform that application formsfor passport/visa services and labor contracts that are on itswebsite, www.indembkwt.org, have been upgraded toinclude the facility for online data entry. Affidavit forms onthe embassy website have had this facility since May 6,2009.

EMBASSY OF THE USThe United States Department ofState announces the increase in var-ious visa fees to ensure sufficientresources to cover the increasingcost of processing nonimmigrantvisas (NIVs). US law requires the

Department to recover the cost of processing non-immi-grant visas through the collection of the application fees.The increased fees are to take effect June 4, 2010. Under thenew rule, applicants for all visas that are not petition-based,including B1/B2 tourist and business visitor visas and all stu-dent and exchange-visitor visas, will pay a fee of $140.Applicants for petition-based visas will pay an applicationfee of $150, as each of the below categories requires areview of extensive documentation and a more in-depthinterview of the applicant than other categories, such astourists.These categories include:H visa for temporary workers and trainees L visa for intra-company transferees O visa for aliens with extraordinary abilityP visa for athletes, artists and entertainers Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors R visa for religious occupations The application fee for K visas for fiance(e)s of US citizenswill be $350. The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treaty-investors will be $390.

EMBASSY OF GERMANYThe German Embassy wishes toextend and update its informationbase on German business in Kuwait.Therefore all Kuwaiti companiesrepresenting German companiesare invited to register at the

embassy. For more information on the registration, pleasevisit www.kuwait.diplo.de.

Al Ghanim school celebration!

Al Ghanim Bilingual school celebrated “Blue Day” in both pre-KG and KG1. As blue was with the school’s curriculum and theme for winter, the children were encouraged to dress inblue clothing and share their blue items from home during class time. Also on the same day, KG2 celebrated “Red Day” again the children dressed in red clothing and proudly

described their red toys or objects during class time.

Kuwait ZooThe Kuwait Zoo is located in Omariya

on the Airport Road. It is open everydayexcept on Saturdays. The timings dur-ing winter are 8am to 8pm. For moreinformation contact: 24733389.

Amusements Parks

Aqua ParkAqua Park will be open from 1st April

2011 from 10am-10pm everyday. Forinformation contact: 22431960/1/3 or

visit: www.aquaparkkuwait.com.

Entertainment CityEntertainment City is open from

Sunday to Wednesday from 3pm to11pm during winter. It is also open onThursdays and Fridays from 10am to10pm. For more information contact:24879455.

The Scientific CentreThe Scientific Centre is located on

the Gulf road in Salmiya. It is open fromSaturdays to Thursdays from 9am to10.30pm and on Fridays from 2pm to10.30pm. For more information contact:22240025 or visit their website at:www.tsck.org.kw.

Art galleries and artifacts

Sultan Art GalleryThe Sultan Art Gallery is located on

Street no: 105, building no: 168,Subhan, Kuwait city.

Boshehri GalleryBoshehri Gallery is located on the Al-

Mobarak street, Salmiya, Kuwait. For moreinformation on their collection pleasecontact: 25714883/25724883.

Tariq Rajab MuseumThis museum is open from Saturdays

to Thursdays at 9am to 12pm and 4pm to7pm. On Fridays it is open from 9am to12pm. For more information on their loca-tion etc contact: 25317358 or visit theirwebsite: www.trmkt.com.

Leisure activities in winter

T V PR O G R A M S

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

The Princess And The Frog on Show Movies

April Showers on Super Movies

03:00 Sons Of Anarchy04:00 Karen Sisco05:00 Law And Order06:00 Good Morning America08:00 The Bachelor09:00 Karen Sisco10:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show11:00 The Bachelor12:00 Cold Case13:00 Law And Order14:00 The Bachelor15:00 My Own Worst Enemy16:00 Good Morning America17:00 The Bachelor18:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show19:00 Law And Order20:00 Glee21:00 Psych22:00 Sons Of Anarchy23:00 Treme

03:35 Weird Creatures with NickBaker04:30 Animal Cops Miami05:25 Air Jaws 206:20 Untamed & Uncut07:10 Wildlife SOS07:35 RSPCA: On the Frontline08:00 The Crocodile Hunter Diaries08:50 All New Planet ’s FunniestAnimals09:15 All New Planet ’s FunniestAnimals09:40 Dogs/Cats/Pets 10110:35 Xtremely Wild11:00 Dark Days in Monkey City22:05 Dogs 10123:00 K9 Cops23:55 Whale Wars

03:15 My Family03:45 My Family04:15 Gigglebiz04:30 Balamory04:50 Forget Me Not Farm05:05 Fimbles05:25 Teletubbies05:50 Gigglebiz06:05 Balamory06:25 Forget Me Not Farm06:40 Fimbles07:00 Teletubbies07:25 Gigglebiz07:40 Balamory08:00 Forget Me Not Farm08:15 Fimbles08:35 The Large Family08:45 The Adventures Of Spot08:50 Gigglebiz09:05 Balamory09:25 Forget Me Not Farm09:40 Fimbles10:00 The Large Family10:10 The Adventures Of Spot10:15 Gigglebiz10:30 Last Of The Summer Wine11:00 Last Of The Summer Wine11:30 My Family12:00 My Family12:30 After You’ve Gone13:00 After You’ve Gone13:30 Eastenders14:00 Eastenders14:30 Eastenders15:00 Eastenders15:30 Only Fools And Horses16:00 Only Fools And Horses16:30 Green Green Grass17:00 Green Green Grass17:30 Last Of The Summer Wine18:00 Last Of The Summer Wine18:30 Last Of The Summer Wine19:00 Holby City20:00 Holby City21:00 Doctor Who21:45 Doctor Who Confidential22:00 My Family22:30 My Family23:00 Supernova23:30 Ideal

03:20 Antiques Roadshow08:05 Daily Cooks Challenge12:00 The Restaurant UK

03:00 BBC World News04:10 Pick Of The Year05:00 BBC World News05:30 Pick Of The Year06:00 BBC World News07:30 Fast Track08:00 BBC World News08:30 Middle East Business Report09:00 BBC World News09:30 Click10:00 BBC World News10:10 World Features10:30 Racing Green11:00 BBC World News11:10 World Features11:30 Pick Of The Year12:00 BBC World News12:10 Pick Of The Year13:00 BBC World News13:10 World Features13:30 Our World14:00 BBC World News14:10 World Features14:30 BBC World News15:00 BBC World News15:30 Fast Track16:00 BBC World News16:15 Sport Today16:30 Spirit Of Yachting17:00 BBC World News17:30 Dateline London18:00 BBC World News18:10 Pick Of The Year19:00 BBC World News19:30 Middle East Business Report20:00 BBC World News20:30 Final Score21:00 BBC World News21:10 World Features21:30 BBC World News22:00 BBC World News22:15 Sport Today22:30 Fast Track23:00 BBC World News23:10 World Features23:30 Racing Green

03:20 Looney Tunes03:45 The Flintstones04:10 The Jetsons04:35 Top Cat05:00 Tom And Jerry05:25 Popeye Classics05:50 Scooby Doo Where Are You!06:15 Tom And Jerry Kids06:40 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo07:05 Yogi’s Treasure Hunt07:30 Droopy And Dripple08:00 The Flintstones08:25 The Jetsons08:55 Tom And Jerry09:20 Looney Tunes09:45 Paddington Bear10:10 Pink Panther And Pals10:35 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo11:00 The Garfield Show11:30 Popeye Hour12:25 Scooby Sandwich22:00 Yogi’s Treasure Hunt22:25 Tom And Jerry22:50 The Scooby Doo Show23:15 Droopy: Master Detective23:40 Top Cat

03:10 Ed, Edd N Eddy03:35 Ben 10: Alien Force04:00 The Powerpuff Girls04:15 Foster’s Home For ImaginaryFriends04:40 The Secret Saturdays05:05 Codename: Kids Next Door

05:30 Ben 1005:55 Best Ed06:20 Samurai Jack06:45 Cramp Twins07:10 Eliot Kid07:35 The Marvelous MisadventuresOf Flapjack08:00 Codename: Kids Next Door08:25 Chop Socky Chooks08:50 Ben 10: Alien Force09:15 Bakugan: New Vestroia09:40 Batman: The Brave And TheBold10:05 The Secret Saturdays10:30 George Of The Jungle11:30 Angelo Rules11:55 Ben 10 And Star Wars CloneWars...17:50 Chowder18:15 The Marvelous MisadventuresOf Flapjack18:40 Cow And Chicken19:05 Foster’s Home For ImaginaryFriends19:30 Angelo Rules19:55 Batman: Mask Of ThePhantasm21:15 The Marvelous MisadventuresOf Flapjack21:30 Best Ed21:45 Cow And Chicken22:10 Ed, Edd N Eddy22:35 Codename: Kids Next Door23:00 Batman: The Brave And TheBold23:25 Samurai Jack23:50 Megas Xlr

04:45 Surviving Picasso-1807:00 October Sky-PG1509:00 Frost / Nixon-PG1511:00 Forever Strong-PG13:00 The Memory Keeper ’sDaughter-PG1514:45 Shine A Light-PG1517:00 Benny And Joon-PG19:00 Bottle Shock-PG1521:00 Enough-PG1523:00 In America-18

03:00 World Report04:00 World Business Today04:45 CNN Marketplace Africa05:00 The Situation Room06:00 Anderson Cooper 36007:00 World Sport07:30 Political Mann08:00 World Report08:30 Backstory09:00 World Report09:15 CNN Marketplace Africa09:30 News Special10:00 World Report10:15 CNN Marketplace Middle East10:30 News Special11:00 World Sport11:30 News Special12:00 World View12:30 African Voices13:00 Larry King Live14:00 World Report14:30 World Sport15:00 Inside Africa15:30 News Special16:00 News Special16:30 Political Mann17:00 News Special17:30 Talk Asia18:00 International Desk18:30 African Voices19:00 News Special19:30 World Sport20:00 World View20:30 Inside Africa21:00 International Desk21:30 News Special22:00 World Report22:30 Talk Asia23:00 World Report23:30 News Special

04:20 Mythbusters05:15 How Do They Do It?05:40 How Do They Do It?06:05 Dirty Jobs07:00 Fifth Gear07:25 American Chopper08:20 Overhaulin’09:10 I Could Do That09:35 I Could Do That10:05 Border Security10:30 Border Security10:55 Worst-Case Scenario11:25 Worst-Case Scenario11:50 River Monsters12:45 River Monsters13:40 Dual Survival14:35 Dual Survival15:30 Wreckreation Nation16:25 Wreckreation Nation17:20 La Ink18:15 La Ink19:10 Cake Boss19:40 Cake Boss20:05 Pit Bulls And Parolees21:00 Pit Bulls And Parolees21:55 Police Women Of BrowardCounty22:50 Police Women Of BrowardCounty23:45 Miami Swat

03:25 Extreme Engineering

03:10 Sci-Fi Science03:35 Weird Or What?04:25 How Does That Work?04:50 Scrapheap Challenge05:45 Robocar06:40 Weird Connections07:10 Perfect Disaster09:00 Scrapheap Challenge10:00 Mega World19:40 The Future Of...20:30 Sci-Fi Science20:55 Sci-Fi Science21:20 Engineered22:10 Stephen Hawking’s Universe23:00 Colony23:50 Colony

03:10 Famous Five03:35 Replacements04:00 Fairly Odd Parents04:25 Suite Life On Deck04:45 Wizards Of Waverly Place05:10 Hannah Montana05:35 Sonny With A Chance06:00 Higglytown Heroes06:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1(Cema)06:35 Handy Manny07:00 Special Agent Oso07:20 Handy Manny07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1(Cema)08:10 Replacements08:35 Fairly Odd Parents09:00 Suite Life On Deck09:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place09:45 Hannah Montana10:10 Sonny With A Chance10:30 High School Musical12:10 Suite Life On Deck12:35 Replacements12:55 American Dragon13:20 Kim Possible13:40 Famous Five14:05 Fairly Odd Parents14:30 Phineas & Ferb15:00 Tarzan Ii16:25 Kim Possible16:45 Fairly Odd Parents17:10 Phineas & Ferb17:45 The Replacements Splits18:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place18:25 Hannah Montana18:45 Fairly Odd Parents19:00 Dadnapped20:20 Hannah Montana20:40 Hannah Montana21:05 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody21:30 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody21:50 Brian O Brian22:00 Fairly Odd Parents22:25 Phineas & Ferb22:50 Suite Life On Deck23:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place23:35 Hannah Montana

07:00 Kid Vs Kat07:25 Kick Buttowski07:50 Phineas & Ferb08:00 Monsters Inc. (Cema)09:40 Have A Laugh09:45 Pair Of Kings10:10 Phineas & Ferb10:25 The Avengers: EarthsMightiest Heroes10:50 New Spiderman11:15 Zeke & Luther11:40 Zeke & Luther12:05 I’m In The Band12:30 I’m In The Band12:55 Have A Laugh13:00 Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook Off14:30 Phineas & Ferb15:10 Phineas & Ferb15:25 Kick Buttowski15:50 Pair Of Kings16:15 Phineas & Ferb16:45 I’m In The Band17:10 Have A Laugh17:15 I’m In The Band17:40 Zeke & Luther18:30 Wendy Wu19:55 Phineas & Ferb20:10 The Avengers: EarthsMightiest Heroes20:35 New Spiderman21:00 Kick Buttowski21:30 Kick Buttowski22:00 Zeke & Luther22:25 I’m In The Band22:55 American Dragon23:20 Pokemon

03:15 25 Most Stylish04:10 Sexiest05:05 Battle Of The HollywoodHotties05:30 Streets Of Hollywood06:00 Ths07:45 Behind The Scenes08:10 Behind The Scenes08:35 E! News09:25 Extreme Close-Up09:50 Extreme Close-Up

10:15 Style Star10:40 Style Star11:05 Giuliana And Bill12:00 E! News12:50 Sexiest13:40 Ths15:25 E!es16:15 Ths18:00 E! News18:50 50 Cutest Child Stars: AllGrown Up20:30 E!es20:55 The Soup21:20 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane22:10 E! News23:00 The Soup23:25 Chelsea Lately23:50 Extreme Close-Up

03:20 Red Bull Empire of Dirt04:10 Shark Park05:00 LG Action Sports WorldChampionships...05:50 LG Action Sports WorldChampionships...06:40 LG Action Sports WorldChampionships...07:30 IEX 200909:00 Ride Guide Mountainbike200912:20 Alpine Adventurer13:10 Alpine Adventurer14:00 Lucas Oil AMA MotocrossChampionships...14:50 Lucas Oil AMA MotocrossChampionships...15:40 Alpine Adventurer16:30 Alpine Adventurer17:20 Disposable Hero – The BrianDeegan Story18:10 Ride Guide Mountainbike200918:35 Ride Guide Mountainbike200919:00 Alpine Adventurer19:50 Alpine Adventurer20:40 Lucas Oil AMA MotocrossChampionships...21:30 Lucas Oil AMA MotocrossChampionships...22:20 Fantasy Factory22:45 Fantasy Factory23:10 Untracked

03:00 Iron Chef America Special04:30 Unwrapped05:00 Chopped06:00 Good Eats - Special06:30 Guy’s Big Bite07:00 Food Network Challenge08:00 Paula’s Best Dishes08:25 Good Deal with DaveLieberman08:50 Guy’s Big Bite09:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back toBasics09:40 Everyday Italian10:05 30 Minute Meals10:30 Tyler’s Ultimate11:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives11:30 Barefoot Contessa12:00 Unwrapped12:30 Paula’s Party13:30 Good Eats - Special14:00 Good Deal with DaveLieberman14:30 Paula’s Best Dishes15:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back toBasics15:30 Everyday Italian16:00 30 Minute Meals16:30 Guy’s Big Bite17:00 Chopped18:00 Barefoot Contessa18:30 Unwrapped19:00 Paula’s Best Dishes19:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives20:00 Good Eats - Special20:30 Good Deal with DaveLieberman21:00 Chopped22:00 Barefoot Contessa22:30 Everyday Italian23:00 Food Network Challenge

03:10 Couples Who Kill04:05 Deadly Women05:00 Forensic Detectives05:55 Ghosthunters06:20 Dr G: Medical Examiner07:10 Real Emergency Calls07:35 Real Emergency Calls08:00 Mystery Diagnosis08:50 Real Emergency Calls09:15 Real Emergency Calls09:40 Forensic Detectives10:30 Solved11:20 CSU12:10 FBI Files13:00 Undercover13:50 Disappeared14:40 Mystery Diagnosis15:30 Real Emergency Calls15:55 Real Emergency Calls16:20 CSU17:10 Forensic Detectives18:00 FBI Files18:50 Solved19:40 Mystery Diagnosis20:30 Real Emergency Calls20:55 Real Emergency Calls21:20 Ghost Lab22:10 Ghost Lab23:00 The Haunted23:50 Ghost Lab

04:30 The Princess And The Frog-FAM06:15 Fantastic Mr. Fox-FAM08:00 Mr. Troop Mom-PG10:00 Slap Shots 3-PG1511:45 He’s Just Not That Into You-PG1514:00 Avatar-PG16:45 Mr. Troop Mom-PG18:15 Amelia-PG1520:00 Did You Hear About TheMorgans?-PG1522:00 Revolutionary Road-PG15

03:00 Starship Troopers 3:Marauder-18

05:00 Alone In The Dark 2-1807:00 Heaven’s Fall-PG1509:00 Mercury Man-PG1511:00 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story-PG1513:00 Shifty-PG1515:00 Mercury Man-PG1517:00 Scream 3-1819:00 Blood Brothers-PG1521:00 Virtuality-PG1523:00 Red Sands-18

04:00 Down To You-PG1506:00 My Fake Fiance-PG1508:00 Clueless-PG1510:00 Ed-FAM12:00 A Dog Year-PG14:00 The Perfect Score-PG1516:00 Lonely Street-PG1518:00 Reality Bites-PG1520:00 Friday After Next-1822:00 Chasing Amy-18SHOW MOVIES KIDS04:00 G-Force-PG06:00 The Wild Thornberrys Movie-PG08:00 Simba The King Lion-FAM10:00 G-Force-PG12:00 Yogi And The Invasion Of TheSpace Bears-FAM14:00 Scooby-Doo And The GhoulSchool-FAM16:00 Free Willy 2:the AdventureHome-FAM18:00 Dark Crystal-PG20:00 Rugrats In Paris: The Movie-FAM22:00 Yogi And The Invasion Of TheSpace Bears-FAM

03:00 Heroes04:00 The View05:00 Look-A-Like05:30 Look-A-Like06:00 Downton Abbey07:00 Heroes08:00 The Martha Stewart Show09:00 Look-A-Like09:30 Look-A-Like10:00 Heroes11:00 The View12:00 Downton Abbey13:00 The Martha Stewart Show14:00 C.S.I.15:00 Friday Night Lights16:00 Downsize Me17:00 The View18:00 Emmerdale18:30 Coronation Street19:00 Scoundrels20:00 Damages21:00 Heroes22:00 The View23:00 Downsize Me

03:00 Masters Football06:00 Ironman Championship07:00 The All Sports Show08:00 Masters Football11:00 Scottish Premier LeagueHighlights11:30 PDC Darts WorldChampionship15:30 The All Sports Show16:30 ICC Cricket World17:00 Live PDC Darts WorldChampionship20:00 Scottish Premier LeagueHighlights20:30 Scottish Premier League

06:00 Ironman Championship07:00 PDC Darts WorldChampionship11:00 The All Sports Show12:00 ICC Cricket World12:30 The Ryder Cup14:00 European Tour Weekly15:00 Scottish Premier League

Highlights15:30 Live Scottish Premier League17:45 ICC Cricket World18:15 Live Aviva Premiership20:30 The All Sports Show21:30 European Tour Weekly22:30 Aviva Premiership

04:00 UFC 124 07:00 WWE Bottom Line08:00 WWE NXT09:00 WWE SmackDown11:00 WWE Vintage Collection12:00 UFC 125 Countdown13:00 UAE National Race Day14:00 Abu Dhabi AdventureChallenge15:00 Red Bull X-Fighters 16:00 WWE NXT17:00 WWE Bottom Line18:00 WWE SmackDown20:00 UFC 125 Countdown21:00 UFC 124

03:00 April Showers-PG1505:00 Monsters Vs. Aliens-PG07:00 Last Chance Harvey-PG1509:00 Moon-PG1511:00 April Showers-PG1513:00 Save The Last Dance-PG15:00 Whip It-PG1517:00 Moon-PG1519:00 The Last Station-PG1521:00 Duplicity-1823:15 The Ruins-R

08:00 Where Were You When TheLights Went Out?-PG09:30 Adam’s Rib-FAM11:10 Blackboard Jungle-PG12:50 The Golden Voyage OfSinbad-FAM14:40 Bad Day At Black Rock-PG16:00 The Wizard Of Oz-PG17:40 Screening Room, The - 3DSpecial-PG18:05 Anchors Aweigh-FAM20:25 Screening Room, The - Acting-PG20:50 The Prize-PG23:00 Real Genius-PG15

03:00 The Search for SherlockHolmes03:55 Jack the Ripper04:50 Prehistoric Monsters Revealed06:30 Seven Deadly Sins07:20 Russia: Land of the Tsars08:10 Clash of the Gods09:00 The Search for SherlockHolmes09:55 Jack the Ripper10:50 Prehistoric Monsters Revealed12:30 Cities of the Underworld13:20 Russia: Land of the Tsars14:10 Clash of the Gods15:00 The Search for SherlockHolmes15:55 Jack the Ripper16:50 Prehistoric Monsters Revealed18:30 Cities of the Underworld19:20 Russia: Land of the Tsars20:10 Clash of the Gods21:00 The Real Robin Hood22:50 Decoding the Past23:40 Lost Worlds

03:00 Bored To Death03:30 Sarah Silverman Program04:00 South Park04:30 The Tonight Show With JayLeno05:30 Dharma And Greg06:00 Hope And Faith06:30 The Drew Carey Show

07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon08:00 Scrubs08:30 Dharma And Greg09:00 Hope And Faith09:30 The Drew Carey Show10:00 Watching Ellie10:30 Sons Of Tucson11:00 Dharma And Greg11:30 Hope And Faith12:00 The Tonight Show With JayLeno13:00 Scrubs13:30 Dharma And Greg14:00 Hope And Faith14:30 The Office15:00 Sons Of Tucson15:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart16:00 The Colbert Report16:30 The Drew Carey Show17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon18:00 Family Biz18:30 The New Adventures Of OldChristine19:00 Melissa And Joey19:30 The Office20:00 The Tonight Show With JayLeno21:00 The Daily Show With JonStewart21:30 The Colbert Report22:00 Saturday Night Live23:00 South Park23:30 Melissa And Joey

04:10 The Archies in Jugman05:20 Escape From Wildcat Canyon06:55 Wallace and Gromit: TheWrong Trousers07:00 Globehunters: Around theWorld in 80...08:10 My Fair Madeline09:25 Ned’s Newt09:50 Ned’s Newt10:15 Dennis The Menace in CruiseControl11:25 Inspector Gadget’s Last Case12:40 Sabrina Friends Forever13:55 Sonic Christmas Blast14:15 Santa Claus Brothers15:05 Dinosaur Island16:20 Sonic Christmas Blast16:40 Five Children and It17:05 The Archies in Jugman18:20 Groove Squad Cheerleaders19:35 Wallace and Gromit: A GrandDay Out20:00 Wallace and Gromit: TheWrong Trousers20:30 Wallace and Gromit: A CloseShave21:00 Inspector Gadget’s Last Case22:15 Frankie and Hazel23:45 Wallace and Gromit: TheWrong Trousers

03:00 The Donor04:35 Foxy Brown06:05 Cop08:05 Avanti10:25 High Spirits12:05 Salt And Pepper13:45 Seven Hours To Judgement15:15 A Star For Two16:50 Trip With Anita18:30 Wuthering Heights (1970)20:15 Hannah And Her Sisters22:00 Conan The Destroyer23:40 The Mean Season

03:15 Top Gossip03:17 Playlist07:15 Top Money07:17 Playlist08:00 Rnb 1008:45 Playlist09:15 Monthly Top09:17 Playlist11:00 Club 1011:40 Playlist13:00 Urban Hit13:45 Playlist

Anniversary

Years

Classifieds

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

Arrival Flights on Sunday 2/1/2010Airlines Flt Route TimeJZR 267 BEIRUT 0:45GFA 211 BAHRAIN 1:40ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA 1:45WAN 306 CAIRO 1:50BBC 46 DHAKA / BAHRAIN 1:55WAN 322 SHARM EL SHEIKH 2:10THY 772 ISTANBUL 2:15WAN 408 BEIRUT 2:35UAE 853 DUBAI 2:35DHX 370 BAHRAIN 2:45QTR 138 DOHA 2:45FDB 67 DUBAI 3:05ETD 305 ABU DHABI 3:10JZR 207 DAMASCUS 3:50KAC 544 CAIRO 4:40JZR 223 ALEPPO 5:40JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA 6:00KAC 546 ALEXANDRIA 6:10FCX 201 DOHA 6:15BAW 157 LONDON 6:40KAC 412 MANILA / BANGKOK 6:45KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 7:40FDB 53 DUBAI 7:45KAC 302 MUMBAI 7:55KAC 332 TRIVANDRUM 8:05KAC 676 DUBAI 8:10UAE 855 DUBAI 8:30KAC 286 CHITTAGONG 8:35QTR 132 DOHA 9:05ABY 123 SHARJAH 9:05ETD 301 ABU DHABI 9:30GFA 213 BAHRAIN 9:35IRA 603 SHIRAZ 9:40FCX 203 DUBAI 10:30JZR 787 RIYADH 10:55JZR 121 BAHRAIN 11:10IRC 6801 AHWAZ 11:15JZR 165 DUBAI 11:20MHK 711 BAGHDAD / NAJAF 11:25IRA 615 SHAHRE KORD 11:35MEA 404 BEIRUT 11:55KAC 772 RIYADH 12:40KAC 382 DELHI 12:45MSR 610 CAIRO 12:55JZR 561 SOHAG 13:00KAC 672 DUBAI 13:25KAC 512 TEHRAN 13:40FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 14:10

SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30KAC 562 AMMAN 14:40KAC 284 DHAKA 14:55QTR 134 DOHA 15:00JZR 257 BEIRUT 15:00SYR 341 DAMASCUS 15:05SVA 2700 JEDDAH 16:00WAN 304 CAIRO 16:20ETD 303 ABU DHABI 16:50UAE 857 DUBAI 16:55GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:05SVA 510 RIYADH 17:20JZR 213 DEIREZZOR 17:25RJA 800 AMMAN 17:30JZR 239 AMMAN 17:40ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:45ALK 227 COLOMBO / DUBAI 18:10JZR 511 SHARM EL SHEIKH 18:15JZR 177 DUBAI 18:15KAC 542 CAIRO 18:50KAC 618 DOHA 18:55KAC 786 JEDDAH 19:10KAC 614 BAHRAIN 19:20KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25KAC 744 DAMMAM 19:25KAC 166 PARIS / ROME 19:30KAC 102 NEW YORK / LONDON 19:35KAC 552 DAMASCUS 20:00KNE 945 JEDDAH 20:00AFG 405 KABUL / DUBAI 20:00FDB 61 DUBAI 20:05OMA 647 MUSCAT 20:10JAI 572 MUMBAI 20:15DHX 372 BAHRAIN 21:00GFA 217 BAHRAIN 21:15WAN 104 DUBAI 21:15VOS 81 BAGHDAD 21:15QTR 136 DOHA 21:35UAE 859 DUBAI 21:40KAC 172 FRANKFURT 21:45KAC 502 BEIRUT 22:00IAC 981 CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD 22:05JZR 157 DOHA 22:10MSR 612 CAIRO 22:45JZR 185 DUBAI 22:45JZR 135 BAHRAIN 22:55UAL 981 BAHRAIN 23:00KNE 945 JEDDAH 23:00MEA 402 BEIRUT 23:10JZR 553 ALEXANDRIA 23:15AXB 389 KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE 23:30

DLH 636 FRANKFURT 23:35WAN 322 SHARM EL SHEIKH 23:50PIA 205 LAHORE 23:55

Departure Flights on Sunday 2/1/2010Airlines Flt RouteTimeAXB 394 COCHIN / KOZHIKODE 0:40UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 0:45IAC 576 GOA / CHENNAI 0:50DLH 637 FRANKFURT 1:30ETH 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 2:30KAC 283 DHAKA 2:40BBC 46 DHAKA 3:10THY 773 ISTANBUL 3:15KAC 381 DELHI 3:30DHX 371 BAHRAIN 3:45FDB 68 DUBAI 3:45UAE 854 DUBAI 3:50ETD 306 ABU DHABI 4:00QTR 139 DOHA 4:55JZR 560 SOHAG 5:55JZR 164 DUBAI 6:55RJA 803 AMMAN 7:00GFA 212 BAHRAIN 7:15JZR 786 RIYADH 7:40VOS 94 DUBAI / KANDAHAR 8:00JZR 120 BAHRAIN 8:20FDB 54 DUBAI 8:25BAW 156 LONDON 8:55KAC 671 DUBAI 9:00KAC 171 FRANKFURT 9:00JZR 256 BEIRUT 9:00KAC 511 TEHRAN 9:15KAC 561 AMMAN 9:20KAC 771 RIYADH 9:20UAE 856 DUBAI 9:40ABY 124 SHARJAH 9:45QTR 133 DOHA 10:00KAC 117 NEW YORK 10:00ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:20GFA 214 BAHRAIN 10:20IRA 602 SHIRAZ 10:40FCX 204 BAGHDAD 11:45JZR 212 DEIREZZOR 11:45JZR 510 SHARM EL SHEIKH 12:00KAC 541 CAIRO 12:00MHK 712 NAJAF 12:10JZR 238 AMMAN 12:10IRC 6802 AHWAZ 12:15KAC 103 LONDON 12:30IRA 614 SHAHRE KORD 12:35

MEA 405 BEIRUT 12:55KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:40JZR 176 DUBAI 13:50MSR 611 CAIRO 13:55FDB 58 DUBAI 14:35KAC 551 DAMASCUS 14:40KAC 673 DUBAI 15:10UAL 982 BAHRAIN 15:25KAC 617 DOHA 15:35SVA 503 MEDINAH / JEDDAH 15:45JZR 552 ALEXANDRIA 16:00SYR 342 DAMASCUS 16:05KAC 501 BEIRUT 16:15KAC 613 BAHRAIN 16:20QTR 135 DOHA 16:30KAC 743 DAMMAM 16:40SVA 9700 JEDDAH 17:00ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:40GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:05UAE 858 DUBAI 18:10RJA 801 AMMAN 18:15JZR 184 DUBAI 18:20ABY 128 SHARJAH 18:25JZR 156 DOHA 18:30SVA 511 RIYADH 18:35ALK 228 DUBAI / COLOMBO 19:10WAN 305 CAIRO 19:15JZR 204 DAMASCUS 19:15JZR 134 BAHRAIN 20:05KAC 361 COLOMBO 20:20FDB 62 DUBAI 20:50KNE 946 JEDDAH 20:55KAC 351 COCHIN 20:55OMA 648 MUSCAT 21:10JAI 571 MUMBAI 21:15DHX 373 BAHRAIN 22:00KAC 675 DUBAI 22:10GFA 218 BAHRAIN 22:15FCX 102 BAHRAIN 22:30QTR 137 DOHA 22:35KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:45UAE 860 DUBAI 22:50JZR 502 LUXOR 23:00KAC 343 CHENNAI 23:30JZR 530 ASSIUT 23:35JZR 554 ALEXANDRIA 23:45MSR 613 CAIRO 23:45KAC 415 KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA 23:45KAC 563 AMMAN 23:50KAC 411 BANGKOK / MANILA 23:55KNE 946 JEDDAH 23:55

In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats

FLIGHT SCHEDULE FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

ACCOMMODATION

SITUATION VACANT

SITUATION WANTED

CHANGE OF NAME

FOR SALE

LOST

Old name - Raziya Moiz AliTatiwala; New name -Rizwana Moiz Ali Tatiwala,Passport No. G7273915. (C2940)

I, Mydaboyana Rajaiah,holder of Indian PassportNo. E2159268 herebychange my name toMyadaveni Rajaiah. (C2943)

29-12-2010

I, Taranjit Singh S/o Sh.Mohan Singh R/o PattiNatha Ki, V.P.O. Goraya,Teshil Phillaur, Dist.Jaladhar, have changed myname to TARANJIT SINGHGHATTAURA. (C 2938)

28-12-2010

I Basineni Prathima D/oBasineni Siddeswara Naiduborn on 16.09.1979, hold-ing Passport No: H1117699residing at YBN Palli ,Rajampet, Kadpah Dist,Andhra Pradesh, India -516115, shall henceforthbe known as DaruruLavanya.

26-12-2010

Finance and Accountsmanager having 21 yearsexperience in Kuwait, seekssuitable position withsound organization. Pleasecontact:financemanagerq8@hotmail.com

(C 2929)26-12-2010

Sharing accommodationavailable in Abbassiya forcouple with fully furnishedC-A/C new flat with carparking with Keralite fami-ly. Contact: 66013882.

(C 2950)2-1-2011

Sharing accommodationavailable from 1stJanuary 2011 for Christianfamily or 2 workingwomen near GermanClinic, Canary building,Abbassiya, C-A/C, sepa-rate toilet. Contact:99520301. (C 2941)

Accommodation vacant,for family or bachelor,Street No.12, nearBalancia Super Market,Jleeb. Rent KD 75, water,gas, A/C, room + big bal-cony, big kitchen com-mon sitting room, 3rdfloor. Please contact:24336581 / 99307591 /65027817 / 99164057. (C2942)

29-12-2010

Sharing accommodationavailable in Abbassiya formarried couple with fullyfurnished C-A/C new flatwith car parking withKeralite family. Contact:66013882. (C 2933)

Sharing accommodationavailable in Abbassiyanear Shai Tandoori Rest.With Mangaloren family.For couples or two work-ing ladies or one execbachelor. Rent KD 75, C-A/C building. Contact:66087713 / 66722853.

(C 2934)27-12-2010

Sharing accommodationavailable for executivebachelor in a furnishedflat near BehbehaniComplex. Contact:65627272.

(C 2927)

Full-time maid wantedfor small American fami-ly 6am - 4pm in Shaabal-Bahri. Fridays off. Plscall 6683-8807 after4pm.

(C 2937)28-12-2010

Required housemaid inAbbassiya to take care ofnew born baby. PreferenceMangaloren or Goan. Call:66722853 / 66087713.

(C 2935)

Required cook for house,good experience, all kindsof food, good salary +accommodation, part timeor full time. Call: 23901053/ 66519719. (C 2936)

27-12-2010

I Shabbir MaizbhaiDahadwala, holder ofPassport No. F3885325have lost my passport.Whoever gets my passportrequested to contact meon these numbers:

Household items for sale,kitchen cabinets, throwrugs, computer table, largeclothes cabinet, golf clubsetc. Contact: 67039015. (C2945)

30-12-2010

Toyota Corolla 1.6, model2009, color gray, lowmileage, excellent condi-tion with CD and sensor,cash price KD 3,650.Contact: 99934965. (C2939)

28-12-2010

Pajero 2002 full option,sunroof, wooden, 4x4,cruise control, new tires,original black color paint,excellent condition, ladydriven, price KD 2,600.Contact: 60613078. (C2932)

26-12-2010

No: 14957

SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

67045756 / 99537852 /22402031. (C 2944)

30-12-2010

34S TA RSSUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

CROSSWORD 187

INTERNATIONAL CALLSKuwait 00965Qatar 00974Abu Dhabi 009712Dubai 009714Raas Al Khayma 009717Al-Shareqa 009716Muscat 00968Jordan 009626Bahrain 00973Riyadh 009661Makkah - Jeddah 009662Cairo 00202Alexandria 00203Beirut 009611Damascus 0096311Allepo 0096321

Tunisia 0021610Rabat 002127Washington 001212New York 001718Paris 00331London 004471Madrid 00341Zurich 00411Geneva 004122Monaco 0033Rome 00396Bangkok 00662Hong Kong 00852Pakistan 0092Taiwan 00886Bonn 0049228

Calvin

Pooch Cafe

Non Sequitur

Zits

Mother Goose and Grimm

Yesterday’s Solution

ACROSS1. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep outthe sea.4. Of or relating to Moses or the laws and writings attributed to him.10. Tag the base runner to get him out.13. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed atreducing pollution and protecting the environment.14. A Bantu language spoken by the Chaga people in northernTanzania.15. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.16. Make less visible or unclear.18. Upright consisting of a vertical side member of a door or windowframe.19. Light informal conversation for social occasions.20. A device in which something (usually an animal) can be caughtand penned.22. Lower in esteem.24. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.27. Dried bark of the cascara buckthorn used as a laxative.30. United States writer (born in Poland) who wrote in Yiddish (1880-1957).34. The basic unit of electric current adopted under the SystemInternational d'Unites.35. A heavy brittle diamagnetic trivalent metallic element (resemblesarsenic and antimony chemically).37. (computer science) A data transmission rate (bits/second) formodems.39. Wearing or provided with clothing.41. A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a com-mittee or society or legislative body.42. Clarified butter used in Indian cookery.43. A pilgrimage to Mecca.46. An anti-TNF compound (trade name Arava) that is given orally.48. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.51. English economist noted for his studies of international trade andfinance (born in 1907).56. A white linen liturgical vestment with sleeves.57. Away from the mouth or oral region.61. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).62. Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.63. West Indian tree having racemes of fragrant white flowers andyielding a durable timber and resinous juice.64. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.65. Used of a single unit or thing.66. Roman emperor and adoptive son of Nerva.67. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN1. The state of owing money.2. Someone who copies the words or behavior of another.3. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.4. One millionth of a gram.5. A midwestern state in north central United States in the GreatLakes region.6. A mountain peak in the Andes in Bolivia (21,391 feet high).7. Any culture medium that uses agar as the gelling agent.8. One of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.9. A clique that seeks power usually through intrigue.10. Kamarupan languages spoken in northeastern India and westernBurma.11. By bad luck.12. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walkor talk.17. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a com-mon policy for the sale of petroleum.21. Pacific newts.23. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue.25. A light touch or stroke.26. Made agreeably cold (especially by ice).28. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.29. Expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth.31. A fraudulent business scheme.32. Being one hundred more than two hundred.33. Headdress that protects the head from bad weather.36. A Hindu prince or king in India.38. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.40. A room equipped with toilet facilities.44. A port city in southwestern Iran.45. A decree that prohibits something.47. Show a response or a reaction to something.49. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually withvegetables.50. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one ormany seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.52. A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person orcause).53. Make amends for.54. A metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells.55. Offering fun and gaiety.58. A room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over acounter.59. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writ-ing paper.60. British dominion over India (1757-1947).

Gemini (May 21-June 20) By living your life ful-ly and setting positive examples for others to follow,you automatically attract people to you. Many peopleask your opinion about how they should proceedthrough life. If you asked people if they wanted totrade places with anyone in the room, they would

most likely say no. Your profession may be to counsel people and yourunderstanding is that life is a classroom from which we all learn. We eachhave our own lessons. Today, you ponder on the above issues and wonderif you would change places--with anyone. Out of all the people to judgeothers--you do not; you create and you encourage others to create.Continue to create in positive ways. Tonight is for love and romance.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Whether you areworking or not, it will probably be a busy day. Youroptimistic attitude always wins friends and influencespeople; keep it going. Make the most of this time, as itis very important to put your best foot forward and

take care of any blocks that may slow you from your goals. Establish yourloyalties with your friends and loved ones. Pinpoint any physical problemsand make an effort to take care of any discomfort. Change as best you canany living or working environment that could weaken your stamina. It isgood to combine your need to stay in shape along with your need for suc-cess. Begin to express your own thoughts clearly by listening to yourselfwhen you speak. Tonight you enjoy a romantic dinner; relax.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Study what you think mighthave spurred you into a particular dream. Your currentcrop of dreams may not feel right to you or may seem togo against what normally motivates you. It may be easyto be misled and to find you are pouring energy andeffort into directions that will bring no return.

Considering the little sleep of late, much of the confusion today can beignored. You can be assured that the day will get better as it moves along.You are very happy that this is not a workday for you. You should find thatchildren and young people bring you pleasure all day long. There may benews of a pregnancy among your circle of friends. Your imagination is verypowerful this evening. Your thoughts will turn to romantic issues--a lovedone agrees to share.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Make room nowfor the new things as well as adventures that will be com-ing into your life soon. There is change, good change com-ing and you need to be prepared physically. Enjoy ahealthy variety of foods and as far as the rich foods areconcerned--cut down on the amount. This time is a muchmore positive phase for you than in the past. Over the nextthree weeks or so, you will spend a fair bit of time writing

letters, phoning people and traveling around the neighborhood in orderto become acquainted and to get others interested in future neighbor-hood improvements and activities. You share information about conserva-tion and recycling. Social opportunities are just perfect today. You show

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Other people'smoney helps you succeed. You only have about eight possi-ble stressful days this month and this is not one of them.You are positive and think of today as one of the better daysfor accomplishing whatever you decide to set out to do. Youare going to see some improvements in your work this

week; it is a time when you can expect a little boost and some extra sup-port. You may feel that you are in harmony with others; the lines of com-munication are open. A friend or family member may really depend onyour opinion. Honesty strengthens friendships and today you will find anopportunity happens that will deepen your relationship with a friend. Keepyour promises. Your sweetheart is your best friend.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) A goodsense of balance can improve the possibilities of thisday. Coming together with friends and family, per-haps to watch a sports game or play indoor gamesof chance, puts everyone in a cozy mood and theday progresses in a most fulfilling way. You might

have a movie lined up for later in the day. If you are by yourself, this day isthe perfect opportunity to enjoy a creative day. An Internet game or anout-of-door walk will energize you to just let go of all the old and take on anew attitude of balance and steady movement. This would be importantwhen moving forward to reach a goal, teach a class or run a race, etc.Young people around you learn, enjoy and gain new ways to see the worldfrom your good attitude. One day at a time, you can do anything.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Round table discus-sions are possible today. Family members want betterbudgeting. You may gratefully chip in some ideas butthey may not be appreciated. You could give an exam-ple from books and show how much a thoughtful plan

is needed. Plan first and then talk again later in the day with new ideas.Productive answers are near. Agree to meet again in about six weeks tosee how all is going; mark it on the calendar. You may have an opportuni-ty to solve a mystery this afternoon. It is easier to deal with the factswhen you find them and you will help a loved one find a new under-standing. Involving yourself in ongoing social activities will provide youwith some good connections in the workplace. Networking is a goodidea.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You mayfind yourself in a dreamy mood today; enjoy itbecause a new animal may keep you very busy. Youseem devoted to the animal world at this time.Perhaps you got a new pet recently or have decidedto teach an old dog some new tricks. Interruptions

from whatever you do today will distract you from losing yourself in yourown private thoughts. Visitors, animals, phone calls, your own agenda will allbe a fun way to spend your day. Invite a neighbor to your place for an earlyevening meal and to learn about someone new. Before the evening is overyou will enjoy the exchange of recipes, movie star gossip, etc. You have anentertaining personality with a witty side that is quite enjoyable.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You andyour family may look for decisions regarding the home,budgeting or landscaping. It may be a few days before anydecision can be agreed upon, however. You could beentertaining this evening but it may be to bring attentionto community concerns--the first neighborhood meeting.Perhaps you will want to see a particular street light

installed or the repair of streets or new identifying laws regarding home-land security. By expressing your opinion and then showing facts, statis-tics or examples, you may have others thinking your way in no time;patience. Married life or marital prospects continue to be in the spotlight.Work on building a better security for your future. You might decide tonap this afternoon. Tonight is delightful.

Libra (September 23-October 22) You are notreally quite ready to give up that extra holiday joband you have no problem dressing for the occasionand showing up early to make that extra dollar.Later this afternoon you continue with some hobby

or task you have set for yourself. You could be involved in a writing projectin which there is some likelihood of having positive results. This couldmean an interview for the news or research for a project. You could bemost persuasive with others and eloquent in speech. The situation willeventually lead to your analyzing a subject and opening a path for yourself-expression. You make a difference through the written word--otherpeople are informed. You have the power to change people's minds, makethem cry, laugh or other things.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Rest from the activities ofthe last two weeks is the most important thing onyour mind this morning. A leisure walk or a visit tothe park to exercise your dog and your feet may bethe only big activity you want to think about atfirst. Looking around you, you notice things that

you can do to help clean up the neighborhood park or walkway. Perhapsyou could get a group of neighbors together to help you. You enjoy help-ing others and you may be helping someone to see the importance ofhonesty. Only the trusting can afford honesty--for only they can see itsvalue. It is only the wish to deceive that makes for war. A brainstormamong your caravan of friends may bring in some cash this afternoon. Agroup project will be successful.

Aries (March 21-April 19) Do not try to prove apoint with your vehicle and you will be safe thisday. You may find yourself driving or preparing todrive a distance to your home after a long holi-day. If you are not driving a vehicle, you are driv-ing yourself in motivation. You desire to clearaway the old and make room for the new. That

includes mental activity as well as physical, putting the body in shape orpromising yourself you will get into a more organized routine. Shoppingfor basic needs is essential and this afternoon you are surprised that thereare a few stores open. Your ability to get along with the elderly and withyoung people deserves attention by those with less patience because youtend to be interested and caring for their welfare; good for you.

Word SleuthSolution

Yesterday’s Solution

To

inf or m at ion

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

POLICE STATION

HOSPITALS

Al-Madena Police Station 22434064Al-Murqab Police Station 22435865Al-Daiya Police Station 22544200Al-Fayhaʼa Police Station 22547133Al-Qadissiya Police Station 22515277Al-Nugra Police Station 22616662Al-Salmiya Police Station 25714406Al-Dasma Police Station 22530801

PHARMACIES ON 24 HRS DUTY

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONEAhmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883

Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

CLINICS

Roudha 22517733

Adhaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Keifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salim 22549134

Al-Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Al-Khadissiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar 22531908

Al-Shaab 22518752

Al-Kibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla 22451082

Al-Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W.Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Al-Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 4892674

Al-Omariya 4719048

N.Kheitan 4710044

Rabiya 4732263

Fintas 3900322

FIRE BRIGADEOperation Room 112

Al-Madena 22418714Al-Shohadaʼa 22545171Al-Shuwaikh 24810598Al-Nuzha 22545171Sabhan 24742838Al-Helaly 22434853Al-Fayhaa 22545051Al-Farwaniya 24711433Al-Sulaibikhat 24316983Al-Fahaheel 23927002Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 24316983Ahmadi 23980088Al-Mangaf 23711183Al-Shuaiba 23262845Al-Jahra 25610011Al-Salmiya 25616368

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

Afghanistan 0093Albania 00355Algeria 00213Andorra 00376Angola 00244Anguilla 001264Antiga 001268Argentina 0054Armenia 00374Australia 0061Austria 0043Bahamas 001242Bahrain 00973Bangladesh 00880Barbados 001246Belarus 00375Belgium 0032Belize 00501Benin 00229Bermuda 001441Bhutan 00975Bolivia 00591Bosnia 00387Botswana 00267Brazil 0055Brunei 00673Bulgaria 00359Burkina 00226Burundi 00257Cambodia 00855Cameroon 00237Canada 001Cape Verde 00238Cayman Islands 001345Central African Republic00236Chad 00235Chile 0056China 0086Colombia 0057Comoros 00269Congo 00242Cook Islands 00682Costa Rica 00506Croatia 00385Cuba 0053Cyprus 00357Cyprus (Northern) 0090392Czech Republic 00420Denmark 0045Diego Garcia 00246Djibouti 00253Dominica 001767Dominican Republic001809Ecuador 00593

Egypt 0020El Salvador 00503England (UK) 0044Equatorial Guinea 00240Eritrea 00291Estonia 00372Ethiopia 00251Falkland Islands 00500Faroe Islands 00298Fiji 00679Finland 00358France 0033French Guiana 00594French Polynesia 00689Gabon 00241Gambia 00220Georgia 00995Germany 0049Ghana 00233Gibraltar 00350Greece 0030Greenland 00299Grenada 001473Guadeloupe 00590Guam 001671Guatemala 00502Guinea 00224Guyana 00592Haiti 00509Holland (Netherlands)0031Honduras 00504Hong Kong 00852Hungary 0036Ibiza (Spain) 0034Iceland 00354India 0091Indian Ocean 00873Indonesia 0062Iran 0098Iraq 00964Ireland 00353Italy 0039Ivory Coast 00225Jamaica 001876Japan 0081Jordan 00962Kazakhstan 007Kenya 00254Kiribati 00686Kuwait 00965Kyrgyzstan 00996Laos 00856Latvia 00371Lebanon 00961Liberia 00231

Kuwait Airways 22433377Wataniya Airways 24379900Jazeera Airways 177Jet Airways 22924455Qatar Airways 22423888KLM 22425747Air Slovakia 22434940Olympic Airways 22420002/9Royal Jordanian 22418064/5/6Reservation 22433388British Airways 22425635Air France 22430224Emirates 22425566Air India 22438184Sri Lanka Airlines 22424444Egypt Air 22421578Swiss Air 22421516Saudia 22426306Middle East Airlines 22423073Lufthansa 22422493PIA 22421044Alitalia 22414427Balkan Airlines 22416474Bangladesh Airlines 22452977/8Czech Airlines22417901/2433141Indian Airlines 22456700Oman Air 22412284/5Turkish Airlines 22453820/1

AIRLINES

EMERGENCY 112

PRIVATE CLINICS

Ophthalmologists:

Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT):Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General Practitioners:Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

Urologists:Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120

Plastic Surgeons:Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor:Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

PsychiatristsDr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians:Dr Adrian Harbe 23729596/23729581Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext8321Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons:

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart:Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians:Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat

(2) Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar,

FRCS (Canada) 25655535

Dentists:

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists:

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist:

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD:

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart:DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 E x t210Dr. Mohammad ZubaidMB, ChB, FRCPC, PACCAssistant Professor Of MedicineHead, Division of CardiologyMubarak Al-Kabeer HospitalTel: 25339667

Dr. Farida Al-HabibMD, PH.D, FACCConsultant CardiologistTel: 2611555-2622555

Inaya German Medical CenterTe: 2575077

Fax: 25723123

Psychologists/PsychotherapistsSoor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

THE PUBLIC

AUTHORITY FOR

CIVIL INFORMATION

Automated enquiry

about the Civil ID card is 1889988

Ministry of Interiorwebsite: www.moi.gov.kw

For labor-related inquiriesand complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

AmandaSeyfried used to feel“extremely ugly”. The

‘Jennifer’s Body’ actress struggled to accept herlooks when she was a teenager and became nervous

around other people. She said: “I was super-outgoinguntil I was around 10. I got a bit older and started getting

shy. Way too shy. “I felt so extremely ugly. When I look back, Iwas not ugly - I was cute and had a gap in my teeth. But I wish I

could have enjoyed that part of my life and be more confident.”Although Amanda was reserved when she was in a group, theblonde beauty used to love performing tracks from her favoritemusicals when she was alone at home. The star sang so loudly sheterrified her pet cat, who avoided her when she was belting outshow tunes. The 25-year-old actress explained: “Sometimes Iwould sing around the house for two hours straight, but I didn’twant anyone to hear me up close. I would sing all the Broadway

show tunes like ‘Cabaret’. “Our cat started hating me. He wentfrom being affectionate to being almost scared of me. Our

theory was that when I was singing around the house, Ihit notes that hurt his little ears. That is what I tell

myself anyway!”

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Seyfried

used to

feel ugly

Colin Farrell almost quit acting in 2004.The Irish actor was horrified with the sav-age reviews his performance in 2004’s

epic blockbuster ‘Alexander’ - in which hestarred alongside Angelina Jolie - received andadmits it made him doubt his abilities as a per-former. He said: “That was tough. I say tough,relative to acharmed life,but I’m notgoing to apol-ogize for howmuch it affect-ed me emo-tionally andpsychological-ly. “I was going to walk away from acting. Icouldn’t even buy a packet of cigarettes withoutfeeling I needed to say sorry to the guy behindthe counter just in case he happened to see thething.” The 34-year-old star - who has sonsJames, seven, and Henry, 14 months, from previ-

ous relationships - continued to make movies,but admitted his partying ways got so out ofcontrol, he was embarrassed by his behavior onthe set of 2006’s ‘Miami Vice’. He recalled to theDaily Mirror newspaper: “I just completely fell tos**t on that one. It was literally the first time Icouldn’t say to anyone around me, ‘Have I been

late for work,have I missedany days, have Ibeen hitting mymarks?’ Becausethe answerswould havebeen yes, yes,and no.” Once

the film wrapped, Colin - who has now beensober for over two years - checked into rehabbecause he felt he needed support to get him-self back on track. He admitted: “I lost the abilityto be confident that I could make a changemyself.”

Farrell almost

quit acting

Scherzinger

plans to marry

Nicole Scherzinger plansto marry soon. The‘Poison’ singer has been

dating Formula 1 championLewis Hamilton for three years,and admits she is ready to taketheir relationship to the nextlevel as she hopes to eventuallystart a family with the 25-year-old sportsman. She said: “I’dwant to be married before wehave kids and that’s somethingwe’ll hopefully be doing soon. Iwould love to have a couple ofchildren.” Nicole had a stint as aguest judge on UK TV talentshow ‘The X Factor’ earlier thisyear and admits she would giveserious consideration to an offerto join the panel of the US ver-sion of the program whenSimon Cowell launches it nextyear, though she is content with

her music career if she is notapproached. She told Closermagazine: “If Simon were to askme, it would be something Iwould have to think about, butright now I am really focused onmy music and my album. “I hadso much fun with Simon andLouis Walsh when I was on theshow, so I guess anything couldhappen! I do everything frommy heart.” As well as Nicole, cur-rent UK program judge CherylCole has been linked with a roleon US ‘X Factor’ and the formerPussycat Dolls star believes theBritish beauty would be a greataddition to the panel. She said:“I would never think aboutCheryl as competition. I thinkshe is really amazing in her joband would be well received inthe US.”

l if e s t y l e

The 48-year-old actress admits she hasdays where she wants to change theway she looks, but accepts her appear-

ance has changed over time. Demi said: “Iobsess and look in the mirror and occasional-ly say, ‘Where’s that little strap that I can hangaround my neck that says, Help my face isfalling and I can’t get up’. “I’ve aged. I certain-ly don’t look the same as I did in my 20s or30s. I think that it’s important to come fromthe inside out and that we wear our joy andour happiness and our beauty when the

inside is radiating that.” The Hollywood star -who is married to 32-year-old actor AshtonKutcher - also claims to be working on abeauty range she hopes to “share” with peo-ple soon. She said: “I have been concoctingsomething, since I use a mixture of thingsthat I’ve been working on in the hopes ofhaving something to share with everyone. “Iactually have a real passion for it that startedgoing back to my name. My mother namedme Demi - which she found, of all things, aspart of the name of a make-up.”

Moore

obsessed

with

her

looks

The ‘Twilight Saga’ actor is planningto step up his security after beingbombarded by saucy mail from

female admirers and came up with theidea of a decoy after one of his more ded-icated fans started following him and girl-friend Kristen Stewart everywhere. Asource told the Daily Star newspaper:“He’s become the focus of a group ofover-zealous female fans. “Robert is con-stantly inundated with fan mail but onegroup of four girls have been targetinghim repeatedly, telling him they want todo ruse, saucy things to him. One girlfrom Japan has started turning up wher-ever he is. “Robert thinks there’s only onething for it and that is to increase hissecurity and use a body double. It mayseem a bit extreme but at least he cannow be in two countries at once andspend some quality time with Kristen.” Itwas previously revealed that Robertneeded 25 security guards to protect himwhen he was shooting his role as vampireEdward Cullen in the ‘ Twilight Saga’movie franchise. The British star said earli-er this year: “They had to hire another tensecurity guards and they had to form aring around you and it had to be everysingle day. And if you’re doing a movie for$1 million or $2 million, security is expen-sive. So you hire 25 security guards forone cast member. “The whole thing gotover-run and people are grabbing youand that’s just you on the way from set totrailer.” Robert, 24, has previously admit-ted his legions of fans and the pressure offame made him “really paranoid”. Heexplained: “I was getting really paranoid.But then I realized that if tomorrow I say,‘OK, I’ve had enough we’re stoppingeverything,’ it won’t change anything.“Might as well try to accept it and stayZen as I have no control over it. It’s notalways easy. But whining won’t changeanything.” — Bang Showbiz

Pat

tin

so

nw

ants

to

hir

e a

bod

y d

ou

ble

Christie Brinkley’sbiggest beauty secret isregular exfoliation. The

56-year-old supermodel wasinspired to ensure she alwayssloughs away old skin afterreading a study which claimedmen look younger becauseshaving acts in a similar way.She explained: “It’s not a secret,I love to exfoliate. I once read along, long time ago that mentend to look younger thanwomen and it’s because theyshave and when they shavetheir exfoliating their skin so Ithought well I don’t want themto have an unfair advantage soI immediately started usingexfoliators.” The blonde beautyalso hates dieting and thoughshe eats healthily, she neverdenies herself if she cravescalorific treats. She toldPrevention magazine: “Sayingyou’re on a diet puts you in theframe of denying yourself. Butif you replace ‘diet ’ with‘healthy choices,’ you’re givingyourself the gift of feelinggood. Go ahead and have theKit Kat at the movies. If youdon’t satisfy an urge some-times, you often substituteless-satisfying things and endup eating more.”

Brinkley’s important

exfoliation

l if e s t y l e

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

People applaud as Austrian maestro Franz Welser Moest conducts the traditional New Year’s Concert yesterday in Vienna. The world-famous New Year’s Concert, broadcast asfar as Uruguay and Australia and habitually sold out a year in advance, be in fresh hands yesterday, with Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Moest at its helm. —AFP

Executors of Michael Jackson’s estate welcomedFriday a TV channel’s decision not to air a TV pro-gram re-enacting the pop icon’s autopsy, which it

called exploitative and in shockingly bad taste. But theKing of Pop’s executors said it hoped the show, whichthe Discovery Channel agreed to postpone “indefinitely”citing legal reasons, would never appear on screen.

“The co-executors of the estate of Michael Jacksonare pleased that Discovery Channel made the correctdecision in choosing to cancel this exploitative pro-gram,” said the co-executors John Branca and JohnMcClain. “We are hopeful that this show will never run inany market in the future,” it said. In a letter to DiscoveryCommunications on Wednesday, they had blasted thechannel’s “blind desire to exploit Michael’s death, whilecynically attemptingto dupe the public into believingthis show will have serious medical value.”

The pair were especially angered by a European pro-motional advertisement for the program that showsJackson’s trademark sequined glove emerging frombeneath a coroner’s white draping sheet. In responseDiscovery agreed Friday to pull the program, saying:“Given the commencement of legal proceedings begin-ning next week, and at the request of Michael Jackson’sestate, the scheduled broadcast of the medical docu-mentary related to Michael Jackson’s official autopsyhas been postponed indefinitely.” The Jackson estate’sexecutors said pressure from fans had helped persuadeDiscovery to pull the program.

“While Discovery cited legal proceedings and ourrequest as the reasons for its decision, none of thiswould have happened had it not been for the incrediblepassion displayed by countless Michael Jackson fansworldwide who knew they stood as one and that theirvoices could not be ignored,” they said. Jackson died onJune 25, 2009 at age 50 from drug-induced respiratoryarrest at his Beverly Hills mansion after his personal doc-tor, Conrad Murray, injected him with a powerful cock-tail of sedatives and painkillers to help him sleep.Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter inFebruary this year. A judge set a deadline for prosecu-tors to gather evidence in the case before next Tuesday,when a pre-trial hearing is scheduled.—AFP

US channel pulls ‘exploitative’

Jackson autopsy show

(File) Michael Jackson waves as he arrives at theSanta Barbara County courthouse 03 June 2005, inSanta Maria, California.—AFP

Alead actress in the troubled New York musical “Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark” has quit, creating yet anotherheadache for Broadway’s most expensive ever show.

“Lead producer Michael Cohl announced today that castmember Natalie Mendoza, who helped create the role of‘Arachne’ over the last six months, has decided to depart,”a statement from the show’s publicists said.

Mendoza, who played a crucial spider character in themusical’s plot, said she was leaving because of a head

injury she sustained two weeks ago on the ambitious set.”Ithas been a difficult decision to make, but I regret that I amunable to continue on Spider-Man as I recover from myinjury,” she said in a statement Thursday.

Mendoza was also shaken by the more serious injuryearlier in December to a stunt double for the lead Spider-Man character. He fell from a ledge into the orchestra pit,the fourth cast member to be hurt. Director Julie Taymorsaid in a statement: “Natalie is a talented performer. We’ve

appreciated her contributions to the show and we wish herall the best.” “Spider-Man” has been plagued by productionproblems and official opening night has been pushed backseveral times, with February 7 the latest target. The 65-mil-lion-dollar spectacular features music by Bono and U2 gui-tarist the Edge.—AFP

Spider-Man actress leaves troubled musical

Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki will marryAustrian actor Manuel Schwarz this month, reports saidyesterday. Hamasaki, 32, and Schwarz, 30, met in Los

Angeles in August while make a promotional video for hersong Virgin Road, Japanese media said. He played hergroom in the video.

“Mannie, who played my husband in Virgin Road, willbecome real husband in real life!!!!!,” Daily Sports quotedHamasaki as telling fans on a members-only website.Schwarz lives in the United States, according to Jiji Pressnews agency.—AFP

This file picture taken on August 23, 2006 showsJapanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki at a promotionalevent in Tokyo.—AP

Hamasaki

to marry Austrian actor

By Zorianna Kit

They look so much alike in Oscar-hopeful film “The SocialNetwork,” they could be one man, and in fact, they are.But what the Winklevoss twins share with the actor who

plays them has less to do with looks and more with theirprivileged background. The actor, 24 year-old ArmieHammer, is the great grandson of oil tycoon and philanthro-pist Armand Hammer. He was blessed with good looks anda prominent family tree, like the Winklevoss’. But the similari-ties seem to stop there. While the Winkelvoss twins, as por-trayed in the movie, stuck to family traditions, attendedHarvard University and became Olympic rowers. Hammerquit school, said hello to Hollywood and angered his family-if only temporarily.

“I dropped out of high school and I dropped out of col-lege because the movie industry was the only thing I want-ed to be in,” Hammer told Reuters. “I definitely got a speechthat said, ‘You will be the first Hammer man to not graduatecollege, to not get a degree,’” he said. “But I didn’t have anyinterest in that.” Hammer’s passion for acting has clearlycome through in “Social Network,” because amid all theawards and box office buzz for the movie that traces the ori-gins of Facebook, one consistent message circulatingamong Hollywood insiders is that Hammer is enjoying abreakthrough performance. Industry players, the media,and audiences have been scratching their heads at just howone man played the two roles of Tyler and CameronWinklevoss, who claimed Facebook founder MarkZuckerberg stole their idea when he founded the websiteand, in the process, became a billionaire.

Hammer said a typical day would involve him shooting ascene playing Cameron Winklevoss with a body double,Josh Pence, standing-in as Tyler. After director David Fincherwas satisfied with the main scene, Hammer would changecostume, hairstyles and makeup and be transformed intoTyler to perform the scene again, alone. This time, the cam-era focused only on his face and in editing, his head wouldbe digitally superimposed on Pence’s body.

Overcoming traditionIn the movie, Cameron is portrayed as initially not want-

ing to press a legal claim against Zuckerberg out of defer-ence to Harvard tradition, while Tyler is less enamored ofthat notion. They argue, but eventually Tyler sides withCameron. Of the twins, Hammer’s favorite to play wasCameron. “I appreciated Cameron’s sense of chivalry andthat he wanted to be a gentleman,” Hammer said. “I thinkthat’s becoming more obsolete in the 21st century. But itwas fun to play Tyler and fly off the handle.”

Hammer said he was so involved in his dual roles that hetruly believed Zuckerberg “stole from us,” but now that hehas distanced himself, he believes all the key players in reallife probably did wrong things and no one person is toblame. Time, distance and success also have given Hammerand his parents a different perspective on his decision tobecome an actor. While he spent his first year in Hollywoodwithout landing any work, his next few years brought guestroles on shows like “Veronica Mars” and “DesperateHousewives.”

In 2007, he earned a big break when he was cast as crimefighting superhero Batman in the DC Comic book adapta-tion, “Justice League,” but before the movie began filming, itwas halted due to Hollywood’s screenwriter strike. ButHammer believes “everything happens for a reason,” and hemay be right. Soon after that job ended, he won the role ofevangelist Billy Graham in the 2008 independent film “Billy:The Early Years,” and only four weeks before shooting beganon “Social Network” he got a call from Fincher.

The director, it seemed, could not find a pair of tall, iden-tical twins for the Winklevoss roles. So, he began looking fora technology fix and opened auditions to individuals. Now,Hammer is better known in Hollywood for “Social Network”than his family’s name. He married TV journalist ElizabethChambers this year, and is planning their future. “I’m veryproud of my heritage but I would like to establish my ownfamily, my own kids and my own legacy,” he said. “I hope ithas nothing to do with a last name but everything to dowith the person.”—Reuters

‘Social Network’ spells Hammer time for actor Armie

Photo shows actor Armie Hammer in a scene from the movie ‘ The Social Network.’

By Stuart Williams

Undercover spy turned media star Anna Chapmanmarked the New Year by starring in a parody of a popu-lar Soviet spy film and then telling Russians never to

keep love a secret. The increasingly prolific Chapman, whohas ranged between erotic modeling, politics and lion tam-ing since her expulsion from the United States, was shownfor the first time turning to acting in the short film. The film,broadcast in state-controlled Channel One’s glitzy New Yeargala, showed Chapman playing herself as she met MaximIsayev, the fictional undercover hero from the legendarySoviet series “Seventeen Moments of Spring”.

In the films and original novels, Isayev operates under-cover in Nazi Germany under the name of Stirlitz. Seen asthe Russian answer to James Bond, Stirlitz is believed to be afavorite character of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who him-self served as a KGB agent in the former East Germany. Shotin black and white, the three minute film shows Stirlitz sit-ting in a cafe with romantic piano music playing asChapman sits some tables away coquettishly sipping tea.

He stares at Chapman, but known for his shyness andreserve, never speaks to her, instead nervously playing withhis collar and swallowing mints. “They had never met,because in the United States they do not show ‘SeventeenMoments of Spring’,” intoned the voiceover. “‘What a beauti-ful woman’, Stirlitz thought. ‘It is a shame that the years havenot changed me. I am still the same, reserved, modest, andnervous’,” it added. The film said the secret signal for theirmeeting had been Chapman’s scantily clad cover spreadlast year in the Russian men’s magazine Maxim-the realname of the legendary Stirlitz.

At the end of the film, the picture turned to color andChapman told the nation that love should never be anundercover secret. “If you have love hidden deep your heart

you will never succeed in concealing it. It is best to comeout with it. And New Year’s night is the best time for this,”she said toasting with a glass of champagne. Although intel-ligence experts berated Chapman and the other undercoveragents expelled from the United States for their shoddy spy-craft, her high profile had raised speculation she may bebeing groomed for a public role.

The comparison of her to Stirlitz, while seemingly lighthearted, appears to be a serious attempt by state media topresent Chapman as an exemplary young patriot devotedto the motherland. Last month she joined a pro-Putin youthorganization and some observers believe she is preparingto stand for the Russian parliament in elections at the endof this year.—AFP

Anna Chapman

stars in New Year

‘Soviet spy film’

This file picture taken on December 22, 2010, showsAnna Chapman, a former Russian spy, at a congress ofpro-Kremlin youth group Molodaya Gvardiya (TheYoung Guard) in Moscow.—AFP

l if e s t y l e

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Memoriesin the City of Light and the Eternal City

Montmartre, a well-traveled tourist spot in Paris, lights up at night. —MCT

The song title is “April inParis.” But frankly, it’s a bittoo cold for me then. I ’lltake May or June, beforethe heat of summer and the

crush of summer crowds. The treesalongside the Seine have their shadyfoliage, the long coats and woolenhats are put away for another year.The gardens-especially Tuileries andLuxembourg-come alive with loversof all ages and strollers of all speeds.Rome is meant to be experienced sul-try. Summer is when Rome is at itsmost Roman. “When in Rome, do asthe Romans do” is not ancient advice.Sleep in, prowl late. See the sightswhen the golden light is sideways-morning and late afternoon. When itglares overhead, disappear asRomans do for a little afternoon bed

time. When the moon comes out, sodoes Rome. The squares and streetsare vibrant in their low light andwarm air.

Paris and Rome are romantic, eter-nal and, right now, pretty cheap. Withthe dollar flexing its muscles againstthe Euro, and a worldwide economicslump, deals are as numerous as cafeson the Boulevard St. Germain or por-trait painters on the Piazza Navona.For me, the warmth of spring andsummer bring the senses to life.

Sight is the glow of the City ofLight at dusk on the elegant bend inthe Seine from Pont Neuf. The soundis shuffling shoes and hushed voicesin Notre Dame.

The feel is the soft grass when Itake off my shoes in Parc Monceau.The scent of a bundle of muguet-liliesof the valley-in the hands of a womanstanding next to me on the Metro as

it pulls into Etoile on a Friday night.But mostly, Paris is taste. Butter andtomato. Wine and olive. Chocolateand drinks. The crisp crunch of afreshly baked croissant bought from atiny Boulevard St-Germain shop.

The crack, slurp, sip of an ocean-sized platter of fruits de mer atBrasserie Bofinger. The chocolatemelted in a copper pan and pouredinto my cup at Le Flore en l’Ile. Thecrisp snap of a blood-red orangebought from a stand on the RueMouffetard. The dull slap on thetongue of a dense, hot, frothy, darkbrown espresso at Les Deux Magotscafe on the Left Bank-not sweet, yetnot bitter. A fresh baguette, a summersausage, some soft brie and a half-bottle of Minervois (there’s that wineagain) bought in the stalls near theJardin des Plantes, then self-servedon a step leading down to the Seine.

In Rome, being able to stroll aboutreminds me to visit my favoritehaunts. There are five things I do justabout every trip to Rome:

* Buy a porchetta sandwich. I’m rarelyaround the Stazione Terminiagain after I arrive in Rome, so Iusually drag my rolling bag overthe bumpy pavement to thenearby Er Buchetto, a tiny sand-wich shop at 2F via a delViminale.

* Snooze in the hills. Rome has sevenhills and my favorite is thePalatine, where you can wanderamong the ancient ruins and18th century homes. In keepingwith Roman attitudes, there is no“keep off the grass” attitude, andI like to take a break to bask inthe sun on a patch of green near

one of the crumbled remnants ofa caesar’s monument.

* Rain inside the Pantheon. I hope forrain while I am in Rome, and if itcomes, I hurry to the Pantheon,the great temple of the EmperorHadrian that was converted intoa Catholic church. The roof has agiant hole -called an oculus-where rain pours down into themarble interior (and off intodrains). If you are really lucky, youcan see lightning flash across theopening to the sky, then stay asthe clearing clouds reveal a thickshaft of light flowing to the floor.

* Sunset at the Piazza del Popolo.There is something about thesymmetry and color of the stonethat makes for a calming lateafternoon. The buildings andmonuments glow golden from

the sunlight, except where longshadows of the columns andmonuments creep across theplaza. Grab a table at an outdoorcafe and enjoy the slow-motiondance of light and shadow.

* Drink the best coffee in the world.Yes, it is a subjective choice, but Ihave been all over the world andthe best coffee is at the smallSant’ Eustachio Caffe. It is servedthick and strong. Espresso.Cappuccino. Latte. The cafe’smotto is “Men should be like cof-fee —strong, good, hot.” The tinycafe is at 82 Piazza Sant ’Eustachio, just behind thePantheon. Pay first, then put asmall denomination coin atopyour receipt on the counter forfaster service. —MCT

By Gary A Warner

Two young bankers on ourpreview tour of the oldMissouri State Penitentiaryclimbed into the dualwhite metal chairs used to

execute inmates by cyanide poison-ing. Our guide, Mark Schreiber, sawa golden opportunity and hit theswitch to a fan inside the gas cham-ber. “ Whoosh” went the fan.“ Whazzat!” went the startledbankers, jumping in their seats.Schreiber was a deputy warden atthe pen and, as its official historian,is helping recruit other formeremployees to act as guides for pub-lic tours of the prison, which beganin May.

The idea for the tours began fiveyears ago when the prison wasdecommissioned and its inmatessent to a new correctional facility onthe outskirts of Jefferson City. Thecity held a weekend open house atthe old prison, and some 22,000people lined up to get an inside lookat the legendary lockup, whichopened in 1836 and had a guest listthat included Pretty Boy Floyd,James Earl Ray and Sonny Liston.

Jefferson City, as Missouri’s statecapital, has plenty of attractions fora day trip or leisurely weekend.Visitors can tour the governor ’smansion, the Supreme Court build-ing and the domed Capitol, whichlast year was named the nation’sprettiest state capitol interior by anarticle in USA Today. The walls of theHouse Lounge are decorated with amonumental mural by Thomas HartBenton that displays the state’soften stormy history.

But the addition of the old statepen, with its tiers of cells and wealthof stories, will provide an eerie stopthat is as fascinating as it is forebod-

ing. “Everybody talks about Alcatraz,”Schreiber said of the San FranciscoBay prison that is a tourist draw.“This prison was 100 years old whenAlcatraz began taking inmates.When this prison opened, the Battleof the Alamo was going on in Texas,Andrew Jackson was in his secondterm. It’s the oldest prison west ofthe Mississippi.

“Alcatraz at most had 500-some-thing inmates. This prison held5,200. The federal government nev-er got female inmates until 1927. Sowe had famous females like EmmaGoldman sent here. She was quitethe anarchist. She believed in solv-ing things with dynamite.”

The city is pondering plans forthe 144-acre site of the old prison,which sits on a bluff with a view ofthe Missouri River. A new $66 mil-lion federal courthouse is underconstruction just across from the

prison’s front entrance. The prisonsite may include a hotel, a MissouriNaval Museum, maybe even condos.A commission of city and businessleaders is considering possible uses,which is why the bankers accompa-nied reporters on the preview tour.

The interior of the prison remainsmuch the same as when inmatesand staff walked out, although timeand weather have taken their toll,with peeling paint hanging fromceilings like stalactites. While theinside is stabilized for safety, noredecorating is planned for the pub-lic’s “hard hat” tours. Visitors will getthe full impact of walking into aprison with a history of murder andmayhem.

“ Things were brutal in here,”Schreiber said. “In the early years,they had a cat o’ tails for whippingprisoners. This was the state’s onlymaximum-security prison until

1989. Anybody with a long sentenceor a history of problems came here.”The tour included Housing Unit No.4, the oldest building still on thesite, dating to 1868. “At the time ofthe 1954 prison riot, this was an all-black unit,” Schreiber said. “Therewere six to eight inmates in each ofthese cells. We were in a warehousemode then.”

I climbed the stairs and the cross-walks between tiers, searching forcell No 33, where heavyweight box-ing champ Sonny Liston served timewith five other inmates. As I tried toimagine six inmates in the tiny cell,Schreiber interrupted my thoughtswith a yell from below. “Don’t slamany doors behind you cause I can’tget you out,” he said. “And I’m notkidding.”

As Schreiber walked, he talked.And each building held another tale.“You couldn’t count the number of

escapes from here,” he said. “In oneyear in the 1920s, there were 30-something escapes. One guy tookthe warden’s car, went out toCalifornia and got married in it. “Wehad a guy who was going to make aglider and go over the wall rightthere. Another guy made gunpow-der; tested it in his cell during athunderstorm. He was brilliant. He’sstill in the institution, at the maxi-mum-security prison in Potosi.Sends me a Christmas card everyyear.”

Our tour ended at the most infa-mous building of all, the executionchamber. Sitting alone inside afenced courtyard, the small rockbuilding is where 39 men and onewoman died for their crimes. Allwere killed by cyanide except thelast, George “Tiny” Mercer, who wasput to death in 1989. Because offears that the aging chamber would

leak, Mercer was executed by lethalinjection.

On our way out, Schreiber point-ed to the only thing that looked newin the prison. “We added the razorwire up there just before we leftbecause we knew some guy wantedto be the last to escape from theMissouri State Penitentiary before itclosed,” he said. “I’m going to bideverybody farewell right here. I’vegot to lock up the house.” My nextguide also had a sense of humor.Wiley Tracy, a diminutive, dappergent of 82 years, was to lead usaround the state Capitol. He spottedone young man in the group andtold him, “I’m sorry, sir, we can’tallow you on the tour.”

When the man stammered anobjection, Tracy explained, “Not withthat shirt on.” The poor guy waswearing a Kansas Jayhawks T-shirt.The capitol building is Missouri’sfourth, Tracy said, and third built inJefferson City.

When it was completed in 1917at a cost of $3.5 million, the statespent another million to add art. Thedome rises 262 feet above the base-ment floor and is adorned with astatue of Ceres, the Roman goddessof Agriculture.

The first floor has self-guidedmuseums that showcase the state’shistory and resources. The secondfloor has 41 half-moon-shapedpaintings, including some that fea-ture an optical illusion that artistscall “three-point perspective.” Whenyou view the painting of EadsBridge in St. Louis from one side,the bridge seems to be headingaway from you. But when you walkslowly to the other side, the bridgeappears to move and head the oth-er way. —MCT

Missouri prison that once held

James Earl Ray opens for tours

Guide Wiley Tracy explains the mural painted by Thomas Hart Benton atthe State Capitol in Jefferson City.

Tours are available at the old Missouri State Penitentiary in JeffersonCity. — MCT photos

Travel

l if e s t y l e

Anniversary

Years SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

a journey to China

The Hazrat Ali mosque, Marzari Sharif, Afghanistan, is built on the supposed resting place of the prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) son-in-law. — MCT photos

Two New Yorkers started tracie Polo’s path

By John Bordsen

In 1271, 17-year-old Marco Polo leftVenice with his merchant father anduncle. Upon their reappearance there24 years later, the tales of wherethey’d been were met with utter dis-

belief. The very idea of crossing hostileand mysterious Asia and spending morethan a dozen years in the Great Khan’sChina was absurd.. Yet the autobiographi-cal “Travels of Marco Polo,” which detailedthat overland journey, became perhapsthe most influential travelogue ever writ-ten. It intellectually curled the corners ofthe flat earth and paved the way for theAge of Discovery. How hard-and illuminat-ing-would it be to retrace the Polos’ pathin modern times?

The idea captivated two guys fromQueens, NY, Francis O’Donnell and DenisBelliveau, who undertook the 25,000-milefeat in the 1990s. The result is a new pub-lic-television film “In the Footsteps of

Marco Polo” and its 280-page companionvolume. It took Polo three years to reachChina from Venice and four years toreturn. The Americans may have complet-ed their roundtrip in two, but it was nocakewalk. No one had previously succeed-ed in copying the Polo route start to finish.O’Donnell and Belliveau made the trip ontheir own, on foot, in cars and pack ani-mals and aboard ships. There were spon-sors, but their expedition was largely self-bankrolled. And when they set off from St.Mark’s Square in Venice in 1993, CentralAsia was as dangerous as ever-a vastnessof warlords, hard terrain and extreme cli-mates. In a recent interview, O’Donnell,now 50, spoke about...

What they took with them“We always said we had to get rid of

stuff, to pare down, but couldn’t. We com-plained constantly, but were at a mini-mum. Backpacks held our clothes andgear. We had all the basics-your medicalkit and other devices. “This was in the ‘90sbefore ... GPS, so we went low-tech. “Mostimportant was the camera equipment.

Canon was one of our trip sponsors, so Ihad two of their high-8 video cameras-thebest thing out at the time-and some regu-lar reflex cameras with various lenses.

“Denis is a professional photographerand had won Eastman Kodak’s GalleryAward, so there was Kodak equipment,too. “With them, other sponsors came onboard, like (express delivery firm) DHL.Whenever we got to a major capital, fromAnkara, Turkey, to Beijing, we’d express-ship back to the States our almost-pre-cious work from maybe a month or two.And we’d get a shipment of fresh film, anew camera, fresh boots. “So we were ableto re-up, but that didn’t take much. After awhile, we just started acquiring and put-ting on clothes the locals wore.”

Dealing with languages“We realized Turkish is probably the

10th- or 11th -most spoken language inworld. The Turks didn’t start off in Anatolia,where modern Turkey is today. They start-ed out in Central Asia and pushed acrossthe steppes, going through Iran and intowhere Turkey is today. Many of the lan-guages in Central Asia are Turkic. “Sobefore we left, we took advantage ofknowing people in the Turkish communityin New York, and tried to pick up as muchas we could. By happenstance, on our tripwe got stuck in Turkey for about threemonths. As a result, when we got toCentral Asia, we had an understanding ofwhat I’d consider “combat” Turkish _ greet-ings and common phrases and so on.Dialects differ among related Turkic lan-guages, but we had enough words to getus to China. In fact, we entered China in itsdesert regions in the west, north of Tibet.That’s Chinese Turkistan.

“The other places? For the most part, inany capital you can find someone whospeaks English. Also, we picked up the realbasics in Chinese and Arabic. And there’smiming - hand gestures, a big smile.People have open hearts, really. Denis andI aren’t like guys who never ask for direc-tions. We always had to ask. For so muchof our trip, we relied on the help ofstrangers.”

How they paid their way“We took some traveler’s checks; for the

most part, we also had US cash on us. Thewhole first year, we didn’t have that muchhard currency-less than you’d think. Wespent three months in Afghanistan andspent maybe $100 or $150. We kind of hadto give money away as a gift because wewere pretty much honored guests andthings were simply given to us. That’sbecause of connections we made withAfghans in New York. “On the other hand,we overpaid for Afghan blankets. It’s oneof the poorest countries in the world, andwe were there during warlord time-it wasanarchy. So after we bought blankets, thisgent who sold them comes running downthe street after us. We thought we may beleft something behind. But he was run-ning to give Denis 25 or 30 cents back inchange: To that guy, it was like 30 bucks orsomething. “The integrity of the people!Afghanistan is a strange kind of place.”

Shangri-la moments“For me, it was in the Wakhan Corridor,

in northeastern Afghanistan, a little fingerof a corridor, just a passage next to thePamir Mountains. It was like going downNew York’s Fifth Avenue, but instead ofhuge skyscrapers on either side of youthere were tremendous mountains hold-ing you in. I knew, when I was standingthere, that Marco Polo had seen the samethings: camel caravans coming down theway in the cold winter, carrying thesemythic traders and their wares. That wasan epiphany.

“Another Shangri-La moment waswhen we spent a month in the Labarangmonastery in Tibet. The people, the scene,the spectacle. Some places have smellsthat stir your memory. There, it was pinesmoke rising from incense burners. It wasso magical, wonderful. “We were prettymuch the only foreigners there the wholetime, and it seemed like we were in a lostworld. When we knew it was time to moveon, our eyes started welling up with tears.It was almost, ‘To hell with the trip. I’mgoing to stay here.’ “

Fistfights and other incidents“We had quite a few brawls. You can

read between the lines in our book andsee that. But we left a bunch of stuff out-we only had 65,000 words for the book’stext. Our experiences with visas and withpolitical intrigue-stuff like in a spy novel-are voluminous. “Scariest thing? “We wereattacked by a mob of about 250 people inChina. “China is so big, and Denis and Ihad so many places there we had to go todo research. So each day in China, wewere brand-new to everybody, and lots ofpeople would see us and see dollar signs.

“If you’re a traveler and you just fly infresh, that really doesn’t matter. But wewere visiting on a shoestring and we hadseen all the ‘games.’ “So we were in a taxi inBeijing and the driver was figuratively tak-ing us for a ride. We called him out on that.So he took us to this little hutong-an old-fashioned Chinese neighborhood-in arough stretch of town, and startedscreaming something to his friends outthe window. We don’t know what he said,but we got swarmed on.

“They hit us with orange crates andpunched us out. “What maybe saved usfrom being killed was that if they’d do any-thing to us that was serious-maybe anincident where diplomats got involved-they’d rat each other out and have to exe-cute each other. You just can’t assault for-eigners. “I was scared in Afghanistan, butmob mentality is certainly one of theworst things you can imagine. We had noidea what was going on: We knew thebasic phrases in Chinese, but couldn’tspeak the language.”

The most polo-like countries“Afghanistan, if you take away the

weapons and craziness. “Ultimately, if youwant to get to real Marco Polo territory, itwould have to be India. Consider this:Christopher Columbus had Marco Polo’sbook with him in the 1490s, and theislands he discovered were called the West

Indies. See, Columbus wasn’t trying to getto China. Polo’s descriptions of India werealmost more grand than China.

“Nowadays, people know about Pologoing on the Silk Road and visiting KublaiKhan, but nobody knows about his tripsthrough Indonesia and India. “And India isamazing: Anything you could imagine ishappening everywhere all the time-fromthe most horrific poverty and diseases tothe most beautiful, transcending and glo-rious things. Marco Polo is right on themoney. Polo’s words about India jump offthe pages and come to life today.”

The least worthwhile places“I least liked the huge urban centers

like those on the coast of China. Beijinghas a lot to offer, but the big cities arebecoming quite westernized. Hong Kongwas a waste-it took me out of the momentof Zen, away from the epiphany you havein other places that seem like they mayhave been in the 13th century.”

Why their journey might be harder, eas-ier or just different if taken now?

“I’ll say different. We were there at aperiod when you figure the people ofCentral Asia had been swallowed up for 70years by communism. Maybe they were alittle naive then, not that Denis and I tookadvantage of anything. But we were ableto use our New York street smarts in a waywe couldn’t now. It’s just a far differenttime. “Also, the world is getting smaller somuch faster. For years I avoided cellphones. Now they’re with us all, all thetime. On our trip, there was a 10-monthstretch-from the central Caucuses to ourarrival in Beijing-where we didn’t knowwhat was going on in the world. I don’tknow we could be so isolated now.”

Why it took 15 years for the trip tobecome a documentary and book?“When we first got back we were

exhausted for two months. Then we hitthe pavement. Looking back now, it seemsthe world wasn’t ready for or open to ourproject. “Everybody we approached wasinterested and thought it would be aninteresting story ... and we went to HistoryChannel, the William Morris Agency andso on. “But they were like: ‘Americans don’tcare about those places. They want toknow about campgrounds in Wyoming orwhatever.’

“Until 9-11. Then they started saying,‘Afghanistan!’ “Denis called me up whenthe first (World Trade Center) tower washit, and I was in shock. He called after thesecond was hit and he said, ‘This wholething goes back to Pakistan-based radi-cals.’ The CIA types knew this, but nonewscasters or pundits said that for 10days. “So many places we visited are nowin the news. Israel and the situation inGaza. Last year’s war in Georgia. In ourbook, we didn’t even get a chance to writeabout Abkhazia. “Now it looks like we’llsoon be talking about who lostAfghanistan. That was a question backthen (in the 1990s). Osama bin Laden andthe others in Central Asia? We Americanskind of set that up, due to the fact that we

backed the most militant characters whofelt Russians were godless.

Now, we’re getting what the CIA calls‘blowback.’ The terrorists have nothing todo and nowhere to go, so they’re focusingon us. “In the book, there’s a scene wherewe’re talking with the Iranian ambassadorand made a faux pas about Islam. Thatconversation was in the Marriott inIslamabad-the hotel that got blown up in2008 right after Benazir Bhutto was assas-sinated.”

About the book:“In the Footsteps of Marco Polo,” by

Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell($29.95; Rowman & Littlefield).

Explorers have always been quibblers,and Francis O’Donnell and Denis Belliveauhave generated some bickering in thatclubby world. At least two “Footsteps ofMarco Polo” titles were published in thepast 25 years, and the author of one-HarryRutstein of the Marco Polo Foundation-dismisses O’Donnell and Belliveau as “acouple of urban cowboys on a lark with acamera and using Marco Polo as a guidewhen it was convenient.”

O’Donnell counters that Rutstein didn’tmake the journey in one trip, flew amongthe Polo sites over a number of years andmissed a number of places. Rutstein dis-putes that. Well, you get the natteringdrift. O’Donnell: “Read the book and makeyour own judgment.”

Here’s the thing: First, flip through theBelliveau-O’Donnell book to see stunning-ly evocative photography of places youand I could never hope to visit. Then sitback and take in their narrative. While thestory is linear-Venice to Beijing and back-chapters are framed with compellingand/or illuminating adventures along theway. It’s not a how-to book. —MCT

Shepherd Khalil Ali Daoud toils his fieldin Afghanistan.

(From left) Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell cross theOxus River in Central Asia.

The parasol held by monks in Tibet is one ofeight auspicious symbols of Buddhism.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011

Tracing Polo’s path two New Yorkers start a journey to China

Page 39

fireworks in Sidney ring in 2011

Confetti flies through the air in Times Square just after the annualball drop January yesterday in New York City.

Fireworks explode over the Houses of Parliament, including StStephenís Tower which holds the bell known as Big Ben, in centralLondon, Saturday, as Britain celebrates the start of the new year

In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, fireworksburst over the Las Vegas Strip at midnight. —AP / AFP

By BETH FOUHY

Nearly a million revelers crowdedNew York’s Times Square to witnessthe traditional dazzling ball drop,fireworks lit up Australia’s SydneyHarbor and communist Vietnamheld a rare Western-style countdownto the new year as the world ush-ered in 2011. In Europe, Greeks, Irishand Spaniards partied through thenight to help put a year of economicwoe behind them, and Japaneserevelers released balloons carryingnotes with people’s hopes anddreams.

In New York, a crystal ball with32,000 lights descended at mid-night, setting off a wild and noisyconfetti-filled New Year’s celebra-tion-the country’s largest-at thecrossroads of the world. And it allhappened just days after a debilitat-ing blizzard paralyzed the city andthe surrounding area. Computerengineer Chris Tulloch, who came

from upstate New York with his wife,Sherine, to experience Times Squarefor the first time, said the celebrationwas a good start for the new year.“The amount of people in the crowd,the friendships that we formed,made us realize so many peoplehave the same hopes and dreamsfor 2011 as we do,” he said. Allaround the United States, peoplesaid they were setting aside con-cerns about the economy, bad win-ter weather and even potential ter-rorist threats to ring in 2011 at largeand small gatherings.

Even more than most years, NewYork was in the spotlight as it battledback from a severe snowstorm andsecurity concerns eight months aftera Pakistani immigrant tried to deto-nate a car bomb in Times Square.Police said the city wasn’t the targetof a New Year’s Eve terror threat, butthey had a strict security plan inplace, with sealed manhole covers,counter-snipers on rooftops andcheckpoints for partygoers. MayorMichael Bloomberg has endureddays of withering criticism for thecity’s slow response to the Dec 26storm, which dumped 20 inches ofsnow. But the president of the TimesSquare Alliance said holiday touristshelped clear streets. “We have thebest snow plow ever invented —500,000 pairs of feet walkingthrough Times Square,” TimTompkins said. “That’s been meltingour snow.”

As rain clouds cleared over inMadrid’s central Puerta del Solsquare, around 50,000 people, manysporting large, brightly colored wigs,gathered to take part in Las Uvas, orThe Grapes, a tradition in which peo-ple eat a grape for each of the 12chimes of midnight. Chewing andswallowing the grapes to eachtolling of a bell is supposed to bringgood luck, while cheating is frownedupon and revelers believe it bringsmisfortune. Police had painstakinglyscreened all those arriving to makesure drinks and bottles were leftbehind to avoid injury in the crowd-ed square, so many quickly downedtheir sparkling cava wine beforejoining the animated party. “It’s an

annual tradition, and I’m here tomake my wishes for the new year. Ifyou eat the grapes your wishes willcome true,” beautician Anita Vargassaid. As the 12th grape was swal-lowed, the skies above most Spanishcities lit up with fireworks that slow-ly filled the air with smoke and thesmell of gunpowder. 2010 was agrim year for the European Union,with Greece and Ireland needingbailouts and countries such as Spainand Portugal finding themselves infinancial trouble as well.

“Before, we used to go out, cele-brate in a restaurant, but the lasttwo years we have had to stay athome,” said Madrid florist ErnestinaBlasco, whose husband, a construc-tion worker, is out of work. InGreece, thousands of people spentthe last day of 2010 standing in lineat tax offices to pay their road tax orsign up for tax amnesty. “We can seethat the quality of life is beingdegraded every day,” Athens resi-dent Giorgos Karantzos said. “Whatcan I say? I don’t see the light at theend of the tunnel.” New Zealandersand South Pacific island nationswere among the first to celebrate atmidnight.

In New Zealand’s Auckland,explosions of red, gold and whiteburst over the Sky Tower, while tensof thousands of people danced andsang in the streets below. InChristchurch, partyers shrugged offa minor earthquake that struck justbefore 10 pm Multicolored starbustsand gigantic sparklers lit the mid-night sky over Sydney Harbor in apyrotechnics show witnessed by 1.5million spectators. “This has got tobe the best place to be in the worldtonight,” Marc Wilson said.

Hundreds of thousands of peoplegathered along Hong Kong’s VictoriaHarbor to watch fireworks explodefrom the roofs of 10 of the city’smost famous buildings.

In Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, anestimated 55,000 people packed asquare in front of the city’s elegantFrench colonial-style opera housefor their first New Year’s countdownblowout, complete with dizzyingstrobe lights and thumping techno

music spun by international DJs.Vietnamese typically save theirbiggest celebrations for Tet, thelunar new year that begins on Feb 3.But in recent years, Western influ-ence has started seeping intoVietnamese culture among teens,who have no memory of war orpoverty and are eager to find a newreason to party.

At Japan’s Zojoji temple in Tokyo,monks chanted and revelers markedthe arrival of the new year by releas-ing silver balloons with notes inside.The temple’s giant 15-ton bell rangin the background.

In Seoul, South Korea, more than80,000 people celebrated by watch-ing a traditional bell ringing ceremo-ny and fireworks, while North Koreaon Saturday welcomed the new yearwith a push for better ties with itsneighbor, warning that war “willbring nothing but a nuclear holo-caust.” At the stroke of midnight inCuba, state television broadcastimages of troops at Havana’s MorroCastle fort firing 21 salvos of a can-non in honor of the 52d anniversaryof former President Fidel Castro’s1959 revolution. The live broadcastfrom the fort was interspersed withimages of Castro throughout hisdecades at the helm of the commu-nist island and some of his brotherand current president, Raul Castro.After the brief broadcast, state tele-vision resumed its string of holidaysalsa programs as some Havana resi-dents fired small firecrackers out-side.

In Dubai, the world’s tallest build-ing was awash in fireworks from thebase to its needle-like spire nearly ahalf-mile (828 meters) above.Sparkling silver rays shot out fromthe Burj Khalifa in a 10-minute dis-play.

In Rio de Janeiro, more than 2million people gathered onCopacabana beach’s white sand for20 minutes of fireworks, music andthe unveiling of the logo for the2016 Olympics. Traffic was shutdown along the neighborhood’smain thoroughfares for much of theday in preparation for a party rivaledonly by Carnival. —AP

Fireworks light up the sky over the London Eye.

Ball drop

in New York, Members of the All American Cheerleaders, perform ‘Footloose’during London’s New Yearís Day Parade in London yesterday.

A general view of fireworks being set off during New

Year’s celebrations along Copacabana beach in Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil.