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QATAR

since 1978SUNDAY Vol. XXXIV No. 9235

January 12, 2014Rabia I 11, 1435 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals

BUSINESS | Page 1

Ooredoo ‘buzz’ makes it to top 10 global intranets

Avenging United stop rotas Chelsea go top

SPORT | Page 8

QATAR

REGION

ARAB WORLD

INTERNATIONAL

COMMENT

BUSINESS

CLASSIFIED

SPORTS

28-29

1–5, 16-20

6-15

1-8

5–10, 30-32

11

12, 13

14–27

INDEX

Incessant rains lash Doha

Incessant rains lashed Doha and other parts of Qatar yesterday. The Meteorological Department said the cold weather would continue today with the possibility of strong winds. The Traff ic Department has advised motorists to exercise caution on account of the slippery conditions on roads. Several parts of Doha were flooded and motorists had a tough time negotiating inundated stretches of streets. Picture: Jayaram Page 30

Foreign Ministerchairs Paris meetingQNAParis

HE the Minister of Foreign Af-fairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah yesterday chaired

the co-ordinating meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative committee.

The meeting, attended by Arab League Chief Dr Nabil al-Arabi and foreign ministers and representa-tives of each of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Morocco, Kuwait and

Bahrain discussed the latest devel-opments in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process ahead of a wider con-ference opening today. US Secretary of State John Kerry is due to attend it.

Earlier yesterday, al-Attiyah met with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius to discuss bilateral relations and ways to promote them.

The latest Middle East develop-ments, with the Syrian crisis topping it, were taken up.

Al-Attiyah is on a several days’ visit to France.

QATAR | Diplomacy

Ashton to visit DohaEU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will visit Qatar as part of a Gulf tour next week focusing on the war in Syria, Iran’s nuclear programme and Israel-Palestinian peace eff orts. The other GCC countries Ashton is scheduled to visit are the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman and Qatar. Page 11

ARAB WORLD | Stroke

Former Israeli PM Sharon dies at 85 Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon died yesterday aged 85, after eight years in a coma caused by a stroke. Sharon died at Sheba Medical Centre, near Tel Aviv, where he had been in a coma since being hit by a stroke at the pinnacle of his power as prime minister in January 2006. Page 13

EGYPT | Politics

Sisi may run for president Egypt’s army chief General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi gave his clearest signal yesterday of his interest in becoming president, a move that could turn the clock back to the days when the presidency was controlled by men from the military. Page 12

INDIA | Row

‘Mini-crisis’ in US tiesIndia yesterday said a bitter row over the US arrest and strip-search of an Indian consulate off icial had triggered a “mini-crisis” in bilateral relations and much more must be done to repair ties. Page 23

Dash-cam footage‘admissible inaccident probes’In many countries, police have been using dash cams for decades to record evidence at traff ic stops

Footage from the recording of a dashboard camera can be presented as evidence to support a motorist’s

version of an accident, a Traffi c Depart-ment offi cial has said.

A dashboard camera (dash cam), also called car or eyewitness camera, is a small recording device that is placed on the windshield or dashboard and could continuously record everything that happens in front of the vehicle while it is on the move.

“Should you be unfortunate enough to be in an accident that was not your fault, and another party is disputing your account of the incident, then the video footage can be used to evidence your in-nocence,” he said.

It is extensively used in several coun-tries like Russia and China where acci-dent and insurance fraud appears to be a problem.

“If you’ve been unfairly accused of causing a wreck, then you can probably understand why. In many countries, the accusation isn’t merely the beginning of a months-long battle with police and insurance companies. Instead it’s usually accompanied by a demand for immediate payment,” Ademola Gideon Ilori, advisor in the Traffi c Department

of the Ministry of Interior, said .In the United States and many coun-

tries, police have been using dash cams for decades to record evidence at traffi c stops. Now the technology has begun to catch on among civilians.

“Imagine a driver after bullying you by fl ashing and tailgating suddenly over-takes you, cut in front of you and slams on the brakes. So you ended hitting him at the back, but how can you explain the above to the police?

“The dashboard-mounted cameras record the sights and sounds while the car is driven, providing footage to docu-ment what happens on the road in front. While no company yet off ers an insurance discount for people who have installed a camera, at least one sees the value in mon-itoring what goes on in front of a vehicle.”

The dash cams join a widening array of technology - such as the onboard data recorders installed in all new cars and the pay-as-you-drive devices that bring discounts to cautious drivers - that can document behind-the-wheel behaviour. This technology works the same way as the camera installed in ATM machines for security and surveillance.

The technology became available on the consumer market about 10 years ago, but at that time a decent dash cam retailed for thousands of riyals. Now, a basic model can be bought for under QR600.

Parents also install dash cam if they are worried about a teen driver. Dash cam footage provides proof of the driver’s behaviour, like texting behind the wheel.

In the Western countries, more and more motorists are using the dash cam to protect themselves from people and “crash-for-cash” organisations who claim false injury and subsequent com-pensation.

More advanced versions of the cam-eras can also record rear views; some are equipped with infra-red sensors to enable recordings in the dark too. More sophisticated units automatically switch on and begins recording as soon as the car engine starts. Some of the more ad-vanced camera options can also record while the vehicle is parked (i.e. to deter theft and vandalism).

QATAR

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 20146

QRC concerned over attacks on healthcare facilities in Syria The Qatar Red Crescent has

expressed concerns over repeated attacks on its

healthcare facilities in Syria.In a press release issued in

Doha, the humanitarian organi-sation has drawn the world’s at-tention to “repeated attacks from

opposing groups against medical facilities, including the Qatar Red Crescent’s hospital in Tel Abyad,” which is a Syrian town located along the Balikh River.

The attack on the hospital, which is overwhelmed with pa-tients exceeding its operational

capacities, has severely aff ected its services.

Under international humani-tarian law, healthcare facilities are supposed to be protected and respected at all times to al-low medical personnel to provide care to all patients.

The QRC referred to Article 3 of the Geneva Convention, 1949 that applies to all parties of the confl ict in Syria.

The article guarantees that any person “placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all

circumstances be treated hu-manely,” and that “the wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.”

The international law also ensures protection for hospi-tals, medical facilities and per-sonnel.

The humanitarian law also prohibits the misuse of the em-blems of the Red Cross and Red Crescent which results in aban-doning respect and protection of healthcare personnel and facili-ties altogether.

Such violations aff ect medical

assistance provided to patients in desperate need for care. QRC urged the combatants to keep far from the vicinity of any medical facility and respect the Red Cross principles of neutrality and im-partiality while protecting the emblem.

The Qatar Society of Engineers (QSE) made an in-troductory visit to Abu-Bakr al-Sidiq independent preparatory school to enhance its corporate social

participation.A delegation headed by QSE chairman Ahmed al-Jolo

gave a comprehensive presentation to the students on the services and activities of the organisation, besides the various branches and divisions of engineering. They also answered the students’ questions and explained how they could attain their aspirations in such fi elds.

The delegation was briefed on the researches and vari-ous scientifi c and technical activities and innovations of the students. The QSE assured the students and school administration of their full support to their scientifi c ac-tivities.

The delegation signed an agreement with the school to enhance further co-operation.

Engineers’ team visits school

QSE delegation holds a meeting with the school administration.

QATAR

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 20148

Employers seek IBAN from staff Companies and employers have started seeking

international bank account number (IBAN) of

their employees, after a Qatar Central Bank direc-

tive, making IBAN mandatory for transactions.

Employers have been asked to furnish details of

their employees IBAN to local banks concerned,

a source said. IBAN will become mandatory in

Qatar for customers’ cross-border money trans-

fers from May 1, but has already gone live on

January 1. IBAN will facilitate automatic process-

ing of money transfers between countries, which

are IBAN-compliant. Inter-bank transfers will also

come in handy in an IBAN regime. Customers

can get IBAN from their respective banks in

Qatar. Customers using Internet banking can

find their IBAN details online. IBAN for Qatar will

comprise 29 digits and contain the following

information - country code, security digits, bank

identifier code followed by customer’s current

bank account number.

Regency named Rail Europe agent

Rail Europe, a leader in train tickets and rail passes distribu-

tion, has appointed Regency Travel & Tours (RTT), as a general sales agent in Qatar.

“We are very delighted to strengthen our presence in Qatar. Regency Travel & Tours has an excellent rep-utation in the region and has shown a great inter-est in facilitating the sale of Rail Europe products to their clients and travel trade in Qatar. We foresee Qatar as a key market in GCC and integral to our long-term growth strat-egy,” said Waleed Ahmed, regional manager of Rail Europe’s offi ce in Dubai.

Tareq Abdullatif Taha, CEO, Regency Travel & Tours, acknowledged the strategic move by Rail Eu-

rope to expand its network, and noted that the custom-ers of RTT will be delighted to learn about this partner-ship as there is a huge de-mand for rail travel within Europe from leisure and business travellers from this part of the world.

Train has always been a wonderful way to explore Europe with a great high speed network across Europe. Passengers can enjoy great sceneries through fi elds and mountains in the comfort for unforgettable journeys.

Passengers can reach their preferred destinations at best times, due to the fl ex-ible schedules, frequent de-partures and high speed. For example, one can travel from Brussels to London, Paris, Cologne or Amsterdam and make it all in a day.

Doha Bank and QRC off icials at a cheque presentation ceremony.

Doha Bank donates QR100,000 for Syrian refugeesDoha Bank has do-

nated QR100,000 through the Qatar

Red Crescent (QRC) to sup-port the humanitarian ef-forts in war-ravaged Syria.

Sheikh Fahad bin Mo-hamed bin Jabor al-Thani, chairman, Doha Bank, had issued the instructions to donate the money to sup-port the eff orts of securing the basic needs of the Syr-ian people during the harsh winter.

Sheikh Fahad expressed his thanks to the QRC for their continued eff orts to support the distressed families of the Syrian community.

He also thanked the staff and volunteers who devot-ed a considerable amount of their time and eff orts

to help the people facing diffi cult living conditions.

Saad bin Shaheen al-Kaabi, director, resources mobilisation and invest-ment at the QRC, expressed charity’s deep sense of gratitude to Doha Bank.

He urged all banks and business sectors to exer-cise their corporate social responsibility this way.

“QRC’s vision is to im-prove the lives of vulnerable people by mobilising the power of humanity, rallying and engaging all business sectors and civil societies to support this noble cause,” Al-Kaabi said.

“For three years, we have been supporting the Syrian people with medical servic-es and relief items. QRC has a mechanism of delivering

such services. The money raised will be used to pro-vide the displaced Syrian people, inside Syria or on the borders, with some ba-sic needs,” Al-Kaabi added.

Sheikh Fahad praised the humanitarian role played by the Qatari government and its people and the support they extend to Syrian people through charity organisa-tions and individual donors.

The donated amount was handed over at Doha Bank Tower by Khlaifa Abdulla al-Kaabi, acting head - recov-ery department, on behalf of Doha Bank, to QRC repre-sented by Saad bin Shaheen al-Kaabi, director of re-sources mobilisation and investment, and Hamid Mo-harrar, head of corporate re-sources mobilisation at QRC.

QATAR

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201410

New Lexus hi-tech luxury sedan off ers stress-free, calm commute

Lexus has taken its IS range into new territory with the introduction of its IS 350 -

a six cylinder sedan. Packing six cylinders which put out 312HP and displaces 3.5 litres, it is mated to an eight-speed automatic.

This car has leapfrogged Lexus’ compact range squarely into the ring with the established German marques.

The IS 350 has a stablemate in the IS250 which also has six cylin-ders but the engine displaces 2.5li-tres. The IS 250 puts out 204 HP.

Both cars work brilliantly on the road. Even at high speed there is no wind noise and the AC cools brilliantly without the noise that normal sedans make.

There is an air of calm and con-trol inside the cabin. This car not only makes you wish the drive to the offi ce was longer it also nearly cancels out the bustle and manic labour of weekday driving.

Lexus has hit the sweet spot with the styling which may feel overdone to some but gives the range an aggressive overtone that goes with the high levels of per-formance.

With the new Lexus identity ex-pressed by its revamped facia now fi rmly established with motor-heads around the world, this car is now looking at grabbing more customers in the region.

Both cars are off ered in rear wheel or all-wheel drive versions.

‘The F Sport package is available for all IS versions and adds 18-inch wheels, unique front fascia, F Sport grille, tuned suspension, high-friction brake pads and an instru-ment panel display inspired by the display in the Lexus LFA supercar.’

The IS350 features a new dash-board. The most notable feature is the driver console in which the speedo dial slides aside for the driver as he thumbs through the menu.

Also new is a monitor mounted centrally on the dash which is the “fi rst available 3D monitor” for a car. This makes navigation informa-tion available in a fresh dimension.

The interior is sport focused with a drive mode select that of-fers eco, normal, sport and sport plus modes.

The seats in front are set low and snug with support all around to aid focused and intense spells of high speed driving.

“Complementing the low-set position of the front seats, knee pads on both sides of the centre console are shaped to provide sup-port during sports driving. It con-tributes to a stable and comfort-able position during hard driving and rounds off the snug feeling of the cockpit.”

The seats are ventilated which help to reduce the stickiness asso-ciated with leather seats.

Lexus has experienced great success with its top of the line LS which now has a hybrid variant - the LS600h - and the LX570 SUV.

The LX 570 in particular is a huge hit with customers in the region with its silky smooth yet enormously powerful 5.7 litre pet-rol engine.

Besides the LX the RX350 SUV has arrived for the new year with a new look and fresh technical and interior refi nements. The RX is an-other favourite with customers in Qatar and the region. A hybrid var-iant of the RX is now on the market.

With the new engine variant Lexus is seeking to add to the suc-cess it continues to enjoy in the luxury SUV segment.

According to Lexus: “The Lexus

hybrid system combines perform-ance, low fuel consumption, clean low emission, is fun to drive and is marked by exceptional quietness.”

“Anticipating the customer’s needs and desires is central to Lexus, and to the Japanese spir-it of hospitality. By integrating anticipation into design, forms that go beyond three dimen-sions are created, resulting in unique and personal experi-

ences for all Lexus customers.”The Lexus Test Drive is part of a

media initiative by Abdullah Ab-dulghani & Bros. Co. (AAB), the sole agents for Lexus in of Qatar.

The Lexus Line-up showcased drive included “the sporty IS, the GS, the fl agship LS, SUV fl agship the LX 570, the all-terrain GX and the elegant and aggressive RX. The journalists also drove the LS and RX Hybrid Drive”.

By Roshan P CherianStaff Reporter

Lexus off icials and mediamen before the start of the drive. PICTURE: Najeer Feroke

The Lexus Media Test drive in Mesaieed .

Qatar Petroleumto honour 181graduates today

Under the patronage of the Minister of Energy and Indus-

try, HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Qatar Pe-troleum (QP) will recognise a total of 181 QP-sponsored graduates at a formal cer-emony today at the Qatar National Convention Cen-tre (QNCC).

The annual QP Gradu-ates Recognition Ceremony will honour ten Qatari na-tionals who have received their masters degrees, 104 students who have earned bachelors degrees, 30 oth-ers who have received their diplomas, six who have completed their Clerical Preparation Programme (CPP), and 31 students who have received their TAFE-Certifi cate III.

The QP graduates con-sist of 123 male students and 57 female students, all of whom have success-fully accomplished their QP scholarships or train-

ing programmes in various fi elds of study.

In addition to Dr al-Sada, the recognition ceremony will be attended by QP board members, directors, corporate managers and de-partment managers as well as by top offi cials from QP’s joint ventures and subsidi-aries. The guests also in-clude representatives from various universities and colleges in Qatar as well as the families and friends of the graduates.

A number of former Qa-tari and expatriate em-ployees of QP will also be honoured during the rec-ognition ceremony for their signifi cant role in the early stages of QP.

Cardiff University, which is one of the leading edu-cational institutions in the UK, will be given recogni-tion for its valuable role in educating a large number of Qatari nationals under QP’s scholarship programme.

The Zakat Fund of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) spent nearly QR 11mn during the months of November and December 2013, on assistance programmes. The Zakat Fund said in a statement yesterday that it had spent QR10,821,000 on its monthly programmes which benefited 651 families in Qatar. The statement pointed out that the Fund received 859 assistance requests of which 137 were not approved due to lack of eligibility, and 81 were put on hold for discussion. It stressed that the approval of the requests is subject to the completion of all documents that indicate the presence of a real need, pointing at the same time that the Fund attaches importance to the urgent assistance requests. The Zakat Fund affirmed its commitment to distributing funds according to Shariah.

Zakat Fund spends QR10.82mn in November-December 2013

11Gulf TimesSunday, January 12, 2014

REGION

60% uraniumenrichment ifIranian bill ispassed: Salehi The bill has received expressions of support from at least 218 of parliament’s 290 members and, if passed, could threaten progress toward a resolution of the nuclear row

AgenciesTehran

Iran will have no choice but to step up its uranium enrich-ment if a bill now moving

through parliament is approved, even though it has no current need for such highly-enriched uranium, its nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said yesterday.

The bill has received expres-sions of support from at least 218 of parliament’s 290 members and, if passed, could threaten progress toward a resolution of Iran’s long-running row with the international community over its nuclear programme, on which a landmark interim agreement was struck last November.

The parliament is much more hawkish than Iran’s new presi-dent Hassan Rohani on the nu-clear issue, although some see the proposal, put forward last month, as a response to a bill introduced by conservatives in

the US Senate that would impose new sanctions on Iran.

Iran has stockpiles of uranium enriched to 5% fi ssile purity, suffi cient for nuclear power sta-tions, and 20%, of great concern to major powers because it is a relatively short technical step from weapons-grade.

The bill would call for enrich-ment to 60%, suffi cient for use in the reactors that power nuclear submarines. Iran says it plans to build one of these, but the think tank GlobalSecurity.org says this would require a vast leap in Iran’s manufacturing capacity.

Salehi told the Iranian Jaam-e-Jam network in an interview that Iran did not currently need such highly-enriched uranium, according to the state news agency Irna.

But he added: “If the mem-bers of parliament see that it’s in the interests of the country that 60% enrichment could be useful, and they turn this desire into a law, then we will have no choice but to obey.”

The semi-offi cial Fars News agency said lawmakers were scheduled to discuss the bill next week.

Under the terms of the interim deal struck with the US, Rus-sia, China, Germany, France and

Britain, Iran must limit its high-level enrichment for a period of six months in exchange for relief from some international sanc-tions.

The deal is meant to buy time for a full pact to be agreed to end more than a decade of ten-sion over Western concerns that Iran may be trying to develop an atomic weapons capacity under cover of a programme that it says is wholly peaceful.

Salehi, appointed by Rohani, made clear that he favoured a negotiated deal:

“Overall, there’s no option other than coming to an agree-ment. The next choice would be disagreeing, which would not benefi t us, them, the region or anyone else.”

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif has invited European Union for-eign policy chief Catherine Ash-ton, the chief negotiator for the six powers, to visit Iran, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told the Mehr News agency.

“Ashton has received an open invitation from Zarif to travel to Iran whenever she wants,” Araqchi, the deputy negotiator in talks on Iran’s nuclear pro-gramme, said without giving any dates for the proposed trip.

2 soldierskilled inattack onoilfi eld AFPAden

Armed tribesmen killed two soldiers and wound-ed another in an attack

yesterday on oil installations operated by Norwegian DNO in southeastern Yemen, a security offi cial said.

The assailants targeted a guard post at the oilfi eld in the Ghayl Bin Yamin district of Hadramout province, the offi cial said, ac-cusing a regional tribal alliance of being behind the attack.

The recently formed alliance, which is behind strikes and pro-tests in the province, issued a statement on Friday ordering DNO to stop operations by yes-terday.

The statement warned DNO that it “will be held responsible for the result” if it refused to do so.

Hadramout has been shaken since December 20 by protests against the central government after the army killed tribal chief Said Ben Habrish and his body-guards at a checkpoint.

On Monday, offi cials said tribesmen blew up a major oil pipeline linking the Masila fi eld to Al Daba port, in the town of Shahr on the Gulf of Aden.

The attack came as people in the province responded to calls for a general strike.

Attacks on oil and gas pipe-lines in Yemen are frequent. Oil Minister Ahmed Dares said last month that sabotage had cost the country $4.75bn between March 2011 and March 2013.

Hadramout was part of the formerly independent South Yemen, which was unifi ed with the north in 1990.

A woman holds a poster of her son Abdul-Rahman al-Shabti, detained at Guantanamo, during a rally outside the US embassy in Sanaa yesterday calling for the release of Yemenis held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay on the 12th anniversary of its opening. Yemenis make up 87 of the remaining 155 detainees at Guantanamo.

Rally for detainees’ release

Yemen troops deploy after ceasefi re deal AFPSanaa

Yemeni troops began to deploy in the northern province of Saada yesterday to monitor a cease-

fi re between Shia rebels and Sunni Salafi sts, a security offi cial said.

The deal brokered late Friday by a presidential commission ends fi ghting that erupted in late October centred on a Salafi st mosque and Qur’anic school in the town of Dammaj.

But the deadly confl ict had spread in the northern provinces, embroiling Sunni tribes wary of the Shia rebels, known as Houthis, who have been ac-cused of receiving support from Iran.

“Forces have begun deploying in the areas surrounding Dammaj,” the Saada-based security offi cial said, adding some gunmen had not yet vacated their posts.

The deal stipulated the two sides

would withdraw from the areas around Dammaj to be replaced by army troops who would monitor the ceasefi re, said Yahya Abu Isba, head of the presiden-tial mediation commission.

“This agreement ends the military confl ict between the Houthis and the Salafi sts in Dammaj... and prevents a sectarian war that was looming over Yemen,” he told state television.

The Houthis, named after their late leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi, are part of the Zaidi Shia community.

They rose up in 2004 in their stronghold of Saada against former president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s govern-ment, complaining of marginalisation.

They accuse radical Sunnis in Dam-maj of turning the town centre into “a real barracks for thousands of armed foreigners”, a reference to the Dar al-Hadith Qur’anic school, where for-eigners study.

The security offi cial said a plane was

expected to evacuate “foreign stu-dents” and the leader of the Salafi sts in Dammaj, Yahya al-Hujuri.

Sources in the mediation commis-sion said Hujuri had requested Presi-dent Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to decide on a solution for the Qur’anic school and its foreign students, while providing protection for the town.

Dammaj has a population of about 15,000 people.

The Red Cross said it evacuated 25 casualties from Dammaj yesterday af-ter the ceasefi re.

The wounded, some of whom are in a critical condition, have been air-lifted from Saada airport to Sanaa, the spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, Marie Claire Feghali said.

The ICRC said on Monday it evacu-ated 34 critically wounded casualties from Dammaj, taking advantage of an earlier truce.

Ashton tovisit fi veGulf states

AFPBrussels

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will visit

five Gulf nations on a tour of the region this week focusing on the war in Syria, Iran’s disputed nuclear programme and Israel-Palestinian peace efforts.

Ashton will visit the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar on the trip which runs until January 16, according to a diplomatic source.

“We will have the chance to discuss a range of important issues which aff ect our bilateral rela-tionships,” Ashton said in a statement.

These include EU ties with the Gulf Co-opera-tion Council, “as well as pressing regional ques-tions, such as the crisis in Syria, the Middle East Peace Process and the recent agreement ... on the Iranian nuclear pro-gramme”.

ARAB WORLD

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201412

Teen’s deathin Lebanonspurs ‘selfi e’ campaign AFPBeirut

It started with a “selfi e”: a self-portrait picture of 16-year-old Mohamed al-Chaar, who was

killed in a Beirut car bomb, has sparked a mini political protest by Lebanese citizens.

In dozens of pictures posted on Facebook and Twitter, young Lebanese hold up signs with a personal message and the hash-tag #notamartyr, protesting the cycle of political violence in their country.

The “Not A Martyr” campaign sprang up after Chaar was killed in a December 27 car bombing that targeted moderate Lebanese poli-tician Mohamed Chatah.

Moments before the explosion in downtown Beirut, the teen-ager had posed for a selfi e with his friends.

A day later, he died of his inju-ries in hospital.

Angered and appalled by his death, a group of young Lebanese started a protest page on Face-book.

“We can no longer normalise the persistent violence. We can no longer desensitise ourselves to the constant horror of life in Leba-non,” the page reads.

“We are victims, not martyrs,” adds the page, rejecting the no-tion that innocent bystanders be labelled in the same way as those who chose to die for a political or religious cause.

“But we are not hopeless, and we have dreams for our country... Tell us what you want for your country. Tell us what you want to live for.”

More than 7,000 people have “liked” the page, and hundreds have posted their own selfi es.

“I want to live for my son, not die for my country,” reads one message with a photo of a wom-an kissing her young son on the beach.

“As a future doctor, I hope that none of my patients are victims of war, bombings, politics or re-ligion,” reads a hand-scrawled message.

Dyala Badran, a 25-year-old Beirut resident, was among the fi rst to respond to the campaign, posting a selfi e on her Twitter ac-count on December 30.

She looks into the camera, clutching a small sheet of white paper with the message “I want to bring the murderers to justice” written in black, and the word jus-tice underlined.

“I posted probably one of the more dramatic ones,” she said,

adding that she felt “a lot of an-ger” building in her since Chaar’s death.

“I was very angry that he was being labelled a martyr, because in my eyes, he wasn’t, he was a vic-tim of murder,” she said.

Her message was also intended to challenge what she calls a cul-ture of “normalisation” in Leba-non, where a population that weathered a 15-year civil war and numerous car bombs and attacks has learned to go about life after each new incident.

“We just get on with our lives. That’s supposed to be resilience, but it’s not, its normalising all this really dangerous violence,” Badran said.

“Why are we letting these mur-derers go about their lives without trying them?”

Another participant, Carina Aoun, left Lebanon two years ago for Dubai, and posted a message expressing the frustration of many Lebanese who end up abroad.

“I want to stop looking for a new place to call ‘home,’” her message reads.

“It’s that feeling of leaving be-cause something might happen in Lebanon... it’s unstable,” she told AFP from Dubai, where she works in advertising.

“You’d love to go back, but you have to think about your life and what you hope to achieve.”

Aoun also objected to those terming Chaar a “martyr”, and said his death hit home for many young Lebanese who imagined themselves in his place.

“The youth in Lebanon feel with him because it could have been any of us.”

While the campaign has at-tracted support and attention, it comes at a time when Lebanon is deeply divided.

The bomb that killed Chaar was the latest in a string of attacks, many thought to be linked to the confl ict in neighbouring Syria.

Many Lebanese feel trapped by their country’s political vio-lence but others are directly involved in the long-running fi ghting in the northern city of Tripoli, or even heading across the border to battle for or against the Syrian regime.

Badran acknowledged the campaign’s prospects for short-term change are slim, but said she was heartened by it none-theless.

“If we keep talking about these issues, then maybe we’ll remem-ber to work on them,” she said.

“I think it’s very important to just talk about these things, to not just move on as we usually do.”

Egypt general signals he may run for president ReutersCairo

Egypt’s army chief General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi gave his clearest signal yet yes-

terday of his interest in becom-ing president, a move that could turn the clock back to the days when the presidency was con-trolled by men from the military.

Sisi, who ousted Egypt’s fi rst democratically elected leader Mohamed Mursi last July after mass protests against his one-year rule, is widely expected to seek the top job but has not yet

announced plans to run.“If I run then it must be at the

request of the people and with a mandate from my army... We work in a democracy,” he said, speaking at an army seminar in Cairo.

After the army overthrew the Islamist Mursi, it appointed an interim president and outlined a road map for democratic transi-tion.

Mursi’s Muslim Brother-hood supporters, who accuse the army of staging a coup, have held frequent protests calling for his reinstatement. But the secu-rity forces have launched a wide

crackdown against the group, arresting thousands on charges of violence.

Egypt is set to hold a referen-dum on a new constitution on January 14-15, a major milestone in that road map which will clear the way for presidential and par-liamentary elections. Analysts and politicians say it is unlikely that Sisi will announce plans to run before the referendum is complete.

The referendum marks the fi rst time Egyptians have voted since Mursi’s removal and is seen to be as much a public vote of confi dence in the road map and

Sisi as in the charter itself.The state Mena news agency

quoted Sisi yesterday as urging Egyptians to “assume national responsibility and turn out in force to vote in the constitution-al referendum in order to correct the democratic path and build a modern democratic state”.

There is little doubt the popu-lar Sisi would win the presidential election. He is seen as a strong man capable of bringing stabil-ity to Egypt after more than three years of turmoil. He has had songs dedicated to him and his face ap-pears on chocolates and posters on the streets of Egypt.

While Sisi enjoys broad sup-port from Egyptians who are happy to see an end to Islam-ist rule, he is reviled by Mursi’s supporters who view him as the mastermind of a bloody military coup against the coun-try’s first freely elected head of state.

Sisi’s candidacy would further deepen the divisions between the many Egyptians who believe a fi rm hand is needed to steer the country through crisis and Islamists bearing the brunt of a state crackdown on dissent.

Security forces have launched a massive crackdown against

the Muslim Brotherhood, which it calls a terrorist group, arrest-ing its leaders and forcing others underground.

In an interview with pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat yesterday, the chairman of the constituent assembly which drafted the con-stitution said he expected Sisi to run for president in response to the popular demand.

“We must adhere to popular opinion who want the man and this is a commission for the man. There is no escape from that... The people say they want Sisi and we must submit to that,” Amr Moussa told Al Hayat. Sisi: enjoys broad support

Mohamed Chaar (second left) is seen in a self-portrait photo moments before he was killed in the car bombing in Beirut on December 27..

Syria troops advance on Aleppo area AFPDamascus

Syrian troops seized a rebel-held town north of Aleppo yesterday and were advancing

on part of Aleppo city as rebels bat-tled jihadists on other fronts, activ-ists said.

“Regime forces have taken over the area of Naqarin and are advanc-ing towards the industrial area of Aleppo city,” said the Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists on the ground.

“This advance is clearly a result of the rebels being busy fi ghting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),” Aleppo activist Nazeer al-Khatib said in a Skype call.

The army’s moves come eight days after Islamist and moderate rebels fi ghting to topple Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad’s regime

launched a major off ensive against ISIL.

Yesterday ISIL militants fought pitched battles with other rebels in the northwestern town of Saraqeb and seized the frontier town of Tal Abyad on the border with Turkey after Islamist rebels pulled out, a monitoring group said.

The Britain-based Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights said Islamist rebels launched an off en-sive to push ISIL out of Saraqeb, the jihadists’ last bastion in the western province of Idlib.

The Islamist rebels “took over most of the town, and besieged hundreds of ISIL fi ghters”, said Ob-servatory director Rami Abdel Rah-man.

During the day a car bomb ex-ploded in Saraqeb near an Islamist rebel checkpoint, the Observatory said, without giving details.

ISIL militants also battled Islam-

ist rebels in the northern city of Raqa, where they captured a train station and a checkpoint run by other rebels, said the Observatory.

The corpses of dozens of ISIL fi ghters were found in a Raqa hos-pital, the monitoring group said.

Meanwhile muezzins in Jazra, a town west of Raqa, urged resi-dents to identify the bodies of dozens of Islamist fi ghters who had been abandoned on the bat-tlefi eld, added the Observatory.

Though rebels initially wel-comed jihadists in Syria, ISIL’s horrifi c abuses and its quest for hegemony over opposition ar-eas sparked a massive backlash against them.

ISIL had previously warned rebels that should they continue to fi ght them, they would with-draw from the frontlines in Alep-po, Syria’s second city, thus allow-ing Assad’s forces to deploy.

Fallujah residents returnas UN backs Iraq’s fi ght The main route linking Baghdad to Fallujah is packed with vehicles as residents of the former insurgent bastion begin making their way back after fleeing days earlier

AFPBaghdad

Residents of a militant-held city on Baghdad’s door-step began slowly return-

ing yesterday amid a tense calm, while the UN Security Council backed Iraq’s eff orts against Al Qaeda-linked extremists.

Most businesses reopened in Fallujah while government se-curity operations in nearby ar-eas were put on hold after heavy overnight rain restricted the use of aircraft and heavy vehicles, a day after police and tribesmen retook militant-held areas in the nearby Anbar provincial capital Ramadi.

Gunmen seized all of Fallujah, just 60km from Baghdad, and parts of Ramadi last week, the fi rst time militants have exercised

such open control in major cities since the insurgency that fol-lowed the 2003 US-led invasion.

Both cities lie in Anbar province, a sprawling desert region border-ing Syria where US and Iraqi offi -cials have warned for months that jihadists have been able to establish training camps and rear bases.

The United Nations and NGOs have said civilians lack access to essential supplies such as food and fuel because of the crisis, while Washington has piled pres-sure on Baghdad to focus on po-litical reconciliation, in addition to ongoing military operations.

The main route linking Bagh-dad to Fallujah was packed with vehicles as residents of the former insurgent bastion began making their way back after fl ee-ing days earlier.

Most of the city’s businesses had also reopened yesterday.

But tribal leaders said a com-bination of anti-government tribesmen and fi ghters loyal to the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were deployed on the outskirts of Fallujah.

A policeman stationed in An-

bar said operations against mili-tants between the two cities had been temporarily put on hold be-cause of the overnight downpour.

The UN Security Council voiced support for the govern-ment campaign to retake the two cities, while concern mounted over the battle for Anbar.

It urged “Iraqi tribes, local leaders, and Iraqi security forces in Anbar province, to continue, expand and strengthen their co-operation against violence and terror, and it stresses the critical importance of continued nation-al dialogue and unity”.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for Iraqis

to support the armed forces. “It is up to us to stand on the

side of our armed forces and our security services,” he said.

On Friday tribesmen and po-lice retook two areas of Ramadi from Al Qaeda-linked militants, tribal military commander Mo-hamed Khamis Abu Risha said.

“We fought ISIL alongside our sons from the local police forces and returned them to their sta-tions,” Abu Risha said.

“They only control 10% of Ra-madi territory,” he said of ISIL.

ISIL has been active in the Anbar fi ghting, but so have anti-government tribesmen.

At the same time, security forces have recruited their own tribal allies in the fi ghting that has raged in Anbar for more than 10 days.

The army has so far stayed outside of Fallujah during the crisis, with analysts warning that any assault on the city would likely cause signifi cant civilian casualties.

“The Iraqi army does not have the sort of precision weapons, intelligence and fi re discipline to assault Fallujah without causing

civilian casualties,” said Jessica Lewis, a former US army intelli-gence offi cer who is now research director at the Institute for the Study of War.

In an assault, “the Iraqi secu-rity forces will most likely level Fallujah by overusing artillery and standoff weapons.”

The recent crisis, along with a months-long surge in bloodshed nationwide, comes just months ahead of national elections and is among the biggest challenges to face Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during his eight years in offi ce.

The Iraqi Red Crescent said it had provided humanitarian assist-ance to more than 8,000 families across Anbar but that upwards of 13,000 had fl ed, while the UN special envoy has warned of a dire humanitarian situation.

A senior US offi cial has said the crisis could take weeks to resolve.

Fighting erupted in the Ra-madi area on December 30, when security forces cleared a year-old Sunni Arab protest camp.

The violence spread to Fallujah, and militants moved in and seized the city and parts of Ramadi after security forces withdrew.

“It is up to us to stand on the side of our armed forces and our security services”

Masked gunmen take up position in Fallujah yesterday.

ARAB WORLD13

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 2014

‘Bulldozer’ who left markwith invasion, settlements ReutersJerusalem

Former Israeli prime min-ister Ariel Sharon died yesterday aged 85, after

eight years in a coma caused by a stroke.

Sharon left historic footprints on the Middle East through mili-tary invasion and Jewish settle-ment-building on occupied land the Palestinians seek for a state but also with a shock decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

The US and other foreign pow-ers mourned Sharon as a peace-maker, noting his late pursuit of dialogue with the Palestinians. Those negotiations continue un-der Israeli Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu, though diff er-ences remain wide.

Sharon died at Sheba Medical Centre, near Tel Aviv, where he had been in a coma since being hit by a stroke at the pinnacle of his power as prime minister in January 2006. His condition had declined steeply since the middle of last week.

“Arik was a valorous soldier and a bold statesman who contributed much to the security and build-ing up of the State of Israel,” said President Shimon Peres.

“Arik loved his people and his people loved him,” Peres said, using the nickname of Sharon, a famously burly and blunt fi gure with a prizefi ghter’s rolling gait.

An Israeli offi cial said Sha-ron’s remains would lie in state in parliament in Jerusalem to-day. A memorial service will be

held there tomorrow morning, followed by an afternoon funeral near Sycamore Farm, Sharon’s residence in southern Israel.

Among foreign dignitaries expected to attend are US Vice President Joe Biden, Russian For-eign Minister Sergei Lavrov and former British prime minister Tony Blair, the offi cial said.

Palestinians accused Sharon of sparking their Intifada with a provocative visit to the Al Aqsa mosque plaza in Jerusalem’s Old City in 2000, a year before he took power.

He further embittered them with a crushing army sweep of self-rule areas of the West Bank in 2002 after a wave of Palestin-ian suicide bombings and with his siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah compound.

But Sharon surprised many by withdrawing soldiers and set-tlers from Gaza in 2005 under a policy of “disengagement” from

confl ict and a pursuit of dialogue with the Palestinians.

As Sharon’s fi nance minister in 2005, Netanyahu quit in protest at the Gaza plan.

Mourning Sharon, Netanyahu emphasised his military, rather than political, exploits: “He was fi rst and foremost a brave warrior and great strategist, among the greatest of Israel Defence Force commanders.”

A lifelong rancher renowned for his big appetite, Sharon be-came known as “the Bulldozer”, in part for his headlong pursuit of hardline policies that included settlement expansion in territory Israel captured in the 1967 Mid-dle East war.

He was widely hated by Arabs over the 1982 massacre of hun-dreds of Palestinian refugees in Beirut by Lebanese Christian mi-litiamen allied to Israel.

An Israeli state inquiry found Sharon, who as defence minister

engineered Israel’s 1982 inva-sion of Lebanon and war against Palestinian guerrillas there, in-directly responsible for the camp killings, and he was forced to re-sign his post.

Sharon’s devastating illness struck shortly after he quit the right-wing Likud party and founded a centrist faction with the declared aim of advanc-ing peace with the Palestinians, whose 2000-2005 uprising he had battled as prime minister.

Former US president George W Bush, a Republican, saw in Sharon’s strategy a refl ection of his own “war on terror” and they formed a close alliance. Yes-terday, appreciation for Sharon came from both sides of the US political divide.

“We reaffi rm our unshakable commitment to Israel’s security and our appreciation for the en-during friendship between our two countries,” said President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

“We continue to strive for lasting peace and security for the people of Israel, including through our commitment to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security,”

“As Israel says goodbye to Prime Minister Sharon, we join with the Israeli people in hon-ouring his commitment to his country,” Obama said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron called Sharon “one of the most signifi cant fi gures in Israeli history”, saying he “took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace”.

Sharon gestures towards Jerusalem’s Old City on the Mount of Olives during a rally to protest any land concessions in Jerusalem to the Palestinians, in this July 24, 2000 file photo.

Sharon rides in a jeep in this October 1973 file photo released by Israel’s defence ministry.

Palestiniansregret Sharondied withoutfacing justice Palestinians label Sharon as a criminal and express regret he was never taken before the International Criminal Court

AFPRamallah

Palestinians yesterday hailed the death of former Israeli premier Ariel Sha-

ron, describing him as a “crimi-nal” but regretting that he is now permanently beyond the reach of the law.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) also lamented the fact Sharon was never prosecuted, particu-larly over his role in the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Pal-estinians by Israel’s Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

“It’s a shame that Sharon has gone to his grave without facing justice for his role in Sabra and Shatila and other abuses,” HRW’s Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement.

“For the thousands of vic-tims of abuses, Sharon’s passing without facing justice magnifi es their tragedy.”

Sharon had been in a coma for the past eight years since suff er-ing a massive stroke on January 4, 2006, just months after pulling all troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip. His condition worsened last week and he died at a hospital near Tel Aviv yesterday.

The news prompted an out-burst of celebration in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where around a hundred Islamic Jihad members burned pictures of him and handed out sweets, a spokesman said.

For the ruling Islamist Hamas movement, which seized power in Gaza in 2007, just two years after the Israeli pullout, Sharon’s death “is a lesson for all tyrants”.

“Our people are living at a historic moment with the disap-pearance of this criminal whose hands were covered with the blood of Palestinians and their leaders,” said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

Among those killed by Israel during Sharon’s term in offi ce was Hamas’s wheelchair-bound spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was killed in an air strike on Gaza City in 2004.

Similar sentiments were ex-pressed in the West Bank, where a senior offi cial also blasted him as a “criminal” and accused Sha-ron of being responsible for the mysterious death in the same year of veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

“Sharon was a criminal, re-sponsible for the assassination of Arafat, and we would have hoped to see him appear before the In-ternational Criminal Court as a war criminal,” said Jibril Rajoub, a senior offi cial of the ruling Fa-tah party.

Arafat was Sharon’s nemesis and the burly Israeli leader often expressed regret at not killing him during the 1982 invasion of Beirut.

After the Palestinian leader fell mysteriously ill while under a tight Israeli siege in 2004, dy-ing in France several weeks later, rumours swirled that Israel had poisoned him.

Israel has repeatedly denied the allegations.

”We had hoped he would be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a war criminal,” said Rajoub, who was head of the Palestinian secu-rity services when Sharon sent troops to the West Bank in a mass operation to wipe out militant groups in 2002.

“Sharon’s history is blackened by his crimes and written in the blood of the Palestinians,” said Jamal Huweil, a former militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Bri-gades, an armed off shoot of Fatah.

“The curse of our blood will follow him to his grave,” said Hu-weil who is now a member of the Palestinian parliament, the PLC.

Palestinian youths stand next to a poster of Yasser Arafat and raise machineguns as they dance in the street in the Ein Al Helweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon, Lebanon, yesterday to celebrate the death of Sharon.

Joy among residentsof massacre camps AFPBeirut

Adel Makki rushed into the street in Beirut’s Shatila Palestinian

refugee camp yesterday to hand out sweets when he learned of the death of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli leader Palestinians blame for a mas-sacre of hundreds there and in the nearby Sabra camp.

“I was relieved when I found out that Sharon was dead. I think the (eight) years he spent in a coma were pun-ishment from God for the crimes he committed,” Mak-ki, age 19, said.

Over three days, begin-ning on September 16, 1982, hundreds of men, women and children were massacred in Sabra and Shatila on the southern outskirts of Beirut.

Some 500 more simply vanished without a trace, among them Makki’s uncle.

Israel had invaded Leba-non three months before, and the brutal killings, the work of Israel’s Lebanese Phalang-ist allies, were carried out as Israeli troops surrounded the camps.

Sharon, who was defence minister at the time, was forced to resign after an Is-raeli commission of inquiry found he had been “indirect-ly responsible” for the mas-sacres.

Ten-year-old Ahmed Khodr al-Gosh said yester-day: “I took a piece of candy because the assassin is dead. He killed hundreds of women and children. We are now re-lieved.”

The narrow alleyways of the impoverished Shatila camp came to life when the news broke.

People poured out of their miserable dwellings to cel-ebrate the passing of Sharon.

“You want to know how I feel? I want to sing and play music, that is how,” said Umm Ali, a 65-year-old woman clad in black whose brother Mohamed died in the massacre.

“I would have liked so much to stab him to death. He would have suff ered more,” she said of Sharon, as she walked slowly, linking arms with a young relative.

Many residents of Sabra and Shatila said Sharon should have been prosecuted, echoing the statements of many com-patriots in the Palestinian ter-ritories and rights watchdogs.

Shopkeeper Mirvat al-Amine agreed that Sharon should have been put on trial but she is also confi dent that he will meet divine justice.

“Of course I am happy that he is dead. I would have liked to see him go on trial before the entire world for his crimes but there is divine justice and he cannot escape that.

AFRICA

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201414

Former Central African Re-public (CAR) president Michel Djotodia fl ew to Be-

nin yesterday where he is seeking exile, according to French media.

Djotodia – the country’s fi rst Muslim leader – and prime min-ister Nicolas Tiangaye stepped down on Friday, bowing to pres-sure from regional leaders at a two-day summit in neighbour-ing Chad to debate the worsening sectarian confl ict in the CAR.

“I confi rm that Mr Djotodia is arriving in Cotonou this after-noon,” Benin Foreign Minister Nassirou Bako Arifari told AFP yesterday. “Benin accepts to welcome him at the request of member states of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and it is our con-tribution to the search for peace in central Africa.”

Djotodia’s family are already in Benin and he visits regularly, sources in the Central African Republic added.

The ex-leader also has a number of links to the country, where he was exiled and impris-oned at the request of the man he deposed in March last year, Fran-cois Bozize.

While residents of the CAR’s capital Bangui celebrated Djoto-dia’s departure in the streets yes-terday, the International Organi-sation for Migration (IOM) began to evacuate foreign nationals, as a power vacuum grew in the dia-mond-rich nation, a day after the president resigned.

The aid organisation said it had received appeals from sev-

eral African countries – includ-ing Chad, Niger, Mali, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – to airlift out their most vulnerable, stranded nationals.

The IOM initially planned to repatriate 800 Chadians, who sought refuge at an emergency camp near the airport in capital Bangui, the group said in a state-ment.

“Several concerned govern-ments have already organised evacuation fl ights, but need ad-ditional resources to cope,” said IOM West Africa director Car-mela Godeau.

More than 60,000 migrants from neighbouring countries had asked their embassies in the CAR to be evacuated, according to Godeau.

Of those individuals, almost half had already left the CAR, but at least 33,000 remained in ur-gent need of help.

Meanwhile, the CAR’s 135 par-liamentarians, who had traveled to Chad at the request of Presi-dent Idriss Deby on Thursday, debated yesterday in the Chad-

ian capital, N’Djamena, over who would take over from Djotodia until elections.

The CAR has been plunged into a humanitarian crisis since Djotodia’s Seleka coalition rose up against the government in December 2012 and overthrew president Bozize, a Christian, in March.

But even after Djotodia, who was sworn in as interim president in August, offi cially dissolved the Seleka coalition that brought him to power, he remained unable to end the violence.

Nearly 1mn people have been displaced.

About 2.2mn – around half the population – need humanitarian aid, according to the UN.

The European Union is con-sidering deploying troops to the CAR to help relieve the 1,600 French soldiers who are already in the country, alongside more than 3,500 African Union peace-keepers.

EU ambassadors debated the issue on Friday evening and “agreed that the EU should con-tribute to the restoration of se-curity” said a spokesman for the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Cath-erine Ashton.

But the ambassadors left the decision on a potential military mission to EU foreign ministers, who will meet on January 20.

If they agree to a deployment, it is expected to involve several hundred soldiers.

The leading option is for the EU troops to help secure Bangui’s airport, diplomats said, although having a mission to help protect the road connecting the CAR and neighbouring Cameroon has also been under consideration.

Djotodia ‘seeks exile’ in BeninDPA/AFPCotonou

Djotodia: Has friends and family in Benin.

Deadly violence including reports of cannibalism and widespread looting

erupted in the capital of the Cen-tral African Republic (CAR) after the resignation of its former rebel president, as an airlift of foreign-ers stranded in the strife-torn country began yesterday.

Sporadic gunfi re was heard overnight in Bangui with the shooting leaving at least fi ve people dead, according to the latest toll reported by the Central African Red Cross.

There has also been looting throughout the city with crowds breaking down the doors of shops, many of them belonging to Muslims, refl ecting the sec-tarian nature of the strife that has wracked the country, AFP corre-spondents reported.

“Those who were looted when the (mainly Muslim) Seleka (rebels) arrived (in March last year) are now looting in turn,” said the head of the local Red Cross, pastor Antoine Mbaobogo.

Some of the thieves allegedly committed acts of cannibalism, witnesses told AFP.

One resident of the capital, still in shock, related an incident on Tuesday when a Muslim man was attacked by a group who cut him up with a machete.

“One of the individuals took hold of an arm and went and bought some bread and start-ing chewing on the fl esh, along with his bread,” said 35-year-old Jean-Sylvestre Tchya. “The scene made many people vomit, and some cried out in horror.”

Another witness, Alain Gba-bobou, said he saw a man pick up the head and wrap it up care-fully, saying he would “feast on it” later.

Meanwhile, the Internation-al Organisation for Migration (IOM) began yesterday an airlift of thousands of foreigners out of the strife-torn country follow-ing appeals from neighbouring countries. The fi rst fl ight evacu-ated some 800 Chadians.

More than 60,000 people from other African nations have asked for help at their embassies in the CAR, including Chad, Niger, Mali, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an IOM statement said.

Yesterday morning in Bangui a student who gave his name as Berson told AFP that looting had been going on since Friday, when Michel Djotodia stepped down as president under intense diplo-matic pressure.

“It’s the shops of Muslims that have been looted in this neigh-bourhood,” Berson said. “There are many Seleka (ex-rebels) in this area. They have to disarm them quickly. If not, it’s carnage.”

Djotodia, the fi rst Muslim leader in the majority-Christian nation, had come under fi re for failing to rein in the rebels who brought him to power in March 2013 and whose abuses triggered retaliatory violence by Christian militias.

A special regional summit in Chad called to try to restore peace in the CAR raised hopes that the resignation of Djotodia along with that of prime minister Nicolas Tiangaye would ease the tensions in the country.

But signs of sectarian confl ict remained in Bangui, where a mosque was the target of a group of young men who looted and

dismantled the building, taking away bricks and roofi ng.

“It’s impossible to live with the Muslims. We don’t want Arabs in Central Africa,” one of the looters told AFP.

Ten months of violence have displaced a fi fth of the coun-try’s population, and the sectar-ian fl are-up has killed more than 1,000 people in the past month alone, despite former colonial power France’s military inter-vention and the presence of an African peacekeeping force.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the African Union to speedily provide prom-ised troops to help curb the “ter-rible crisis” in the impoverished country.

France has deployed 1,600 troops in the country to sup-port the African Union MISCA force, which is meant to have up to 6,000 troops but has not yet reached 3,500.

European nations on Friday agreed in principle on a plan to launch a joint military operation in the Central African Republic, with a fi nal decision expected on

January 20, an EU source said.Candidates to replace Djotodia

have yet to emerge, but the inter-im parliament, whose members returned from a regional crisis summit in Chad yesterday, is due to hold a special session tomor-row.

The head of the transitional body, Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet, will be temporary head of state for a maximum of 15 days.

With much of the landlocked country’s population in need of food aid, a major humanitar-ian crisis is unfolding in Bangui’s overcrowded camps and in the vast hinterland.

The United Nations has warned that both former Seleka rebels and CAR former soldiers have crossed into the volatile Democratic Republic of the Con-go, causing local residents to fl ee.

France warned before sending troops last month that the Cen-tral African Republic – which has been plagued by coups and civil unrest since independence in 1960 – risked becoming a Soma-lia-style “failed state”.

Violence follows celebrations in BanguiAFPBangui

Looters run for cover yesterday when they hear gunfire near the ‘Reconciliation crossroad’ in Bangui.

South African President Jacob Zuma announced a crackdown on corruption

yesterday, presenting his ruling ANC’s manifesto for elections this year that will give the party its toughest political test since the end of apartheid.

Zuma, who has ruled Africa’s biggest economy since 2009 and himself faces allegations of graft and abuse of power, announced the measures at a packed African National Congress (ANC) rally in the eastern province of Mpuma-langa.

Two decades after South Afri-ca’s fi rst multi-racial ballot won by Nelson Mandela, who died last month, the 102-year-old liberation movement is fi ghting to counter an erosion of voter

support in presidential and leg-islative elections.

This threat comes from popu-lar anger over persisting poverty and high unemployment in one of the most unequal societies in the world.

The ANC is still tipped to win the elections expected in April, when Zuma will stand for a sec-ond term as president.

However, criticism its leaders including Zuma are more inter-ested in enriching themselves than in lifting up South Africa’s struggling poor and jobless, have dented the party’s self-project-ed role as the champion of the working class.

Zuma, who was booed in pub-lic last month at a memorial to Mandela, made a point of pledg-ing the anti-corruption drive when he presented the ANC’s 2014 elections manifesto to a partisan crowd in a soccer sta-

dium in the city of Nelspruit.“The ANC remains very clear

that corruption must be fought wherever it occurs and in all its manifestations,” Zuma said, winning cheers from supporters wearing the party’s yellow, green and black colours.

Taking aim at a major source of corruption in South Af-rica – government tenders of-ten awarded to political allies, friends and family members – Zuma said that his adminis-tration would create a “central tender board” to allocate all gov-ernment contracts.

Currently, government enti-ties individually tender for serv-ices.

“We are changing the tender system in our country, which has caused a lot of problems,” Zuma said, adding all public servants and representatives would be barred from doing business with

the state, departing from the ex-isting practice.

The president said that any ANC and government offi cial found guilty of corruption by a court of law would be expected to step down from leadership positions.

Zuma, a polygamous Zulu tra-ditionalist whose fi ve-year rule has seen scandals, feeble eco-nomic growth and labour and social unrest, himself faces pub-lic outcry over a $21mn state-funded security upgrade to his private home.

He denies any wrongdoing.There were no big surprises in

the economic strategy compo-nent of the ANC manifesto, with Zuma promising policies to back accelerated growth and long-term economic stability.

He did speak of “radical eco-nomic transformation” and in-creasing the state’s role in the economy – for example, the state-owned mining company would be strengthened. But the ANC has already made clear nationalisation is not on the agenda.

Zuma said that eff orts would be made to improve housing and basic services.

Poor delivery in these ar-eas has resulted in almost daily protests by hard-up township dwellers.

He also promised the creation of 6mn jobs through an expand-ed public programme targeting young people, among whom the jobless rate is double the 25% national level.

Although Zuma listed ad-vances over the last 20 years in tackling inequalities inherited from apartheid, the ANC faces a political challenge from the left, from disgruntled workers and some party defectors who pro-pose more radical policies.

In December, South Af-rica’s biggest union, the 330,000-member National Un-ion of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), announced it would not support the ANC in the elections.

At yesterday’s rally, leaders of

the COSATU union federation and the South African Commu-nist Party (SACP), which are the ANC’s allies in government, ap-pealed for unity.

“Workers must be careful that they are not separated from the ANC, because the only ones who will benefi t will be the en-emies of the revolution and their bosses,” SACP secretary general Blade Nzimande told the crowd.

Among new formations that have emerged to confront the ANC in the elections is one led by a former supporter and now vocal critic of Zuma, former

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema who was expelled from the party in 2012 for indiscipline.

Tapping into simmering dis-content in South Africa’s mines and townships, Malema’s Eco-nomic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are taking on the ANC with a radical populist message advo-cating nationalisations and sei-zures of white-owned land.

Speaking before the ANC manifesto launch, Malema on Thursday described Zuma’s policies as “an old CD with a scratch” and promised “exciting elections”.

Zuma pledges crackdown on corruption ReutersNelspruit, South Africa

Zuma speaks during the ANC party’s 102nd anniversary celebration, where they also launched their election manifesto, at Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit.

Supporters of the ANC party sing during the launch of the party’s election manifesto at the Mbombela stadium.

Tanzania elephant numbers down 66% since 1976 AFPDar es Salaam

The elephant population in Tanzania, beset by poach-ing for ivory, has plum-

meted by two-thirds in the past three-and-a-half decades, the government said yesterday.

The fi ndings are the result of a census carried out at the end of last year in the country’s parks and reserves with the largest el-ephant herds, Lazaro Nyalandu, junior minister for natural re-sources and tourism, said.

“Results in Selous, Mikumi, Ruaha and Ruangwa eco-system show a drop of 66% in the popu-lation of elephants between 1976 and last year,” Nyalandu said.

“The Selous-Mikumi ecosys-tem had 109,419 elephants in 1976, but the number has gone to 13,084 now. This is very serious,” the minister noted.

Wildlife safaris – often com-bined with a beach holiday on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast – are a major source of foreign currency for the east African country.

In October police and wildlife offi cers started a crackdown on suspected poachers amid a surge of killings of elephant and rhino, operating under what was re-ported to be a shoot-to-kill pol-icy and making sweeping arrests.

Members of the security forc-es taking part were accused of killings, incidents of torture and rapes, prompting the govern-ment to halt the anti-poaching drive in November and sack four key ministers in December.

The draconian operation did result in a sharp decline in poaching.

15Gulf TimesSunday, January 12, 2014

AMERICAS

The Obama administration on Friday announced the federal government would recognise the more than 1,300 same-sex marriages performed already in Utah, even if the state would not. “For purposes of federal law, these marriages will be recognised as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages,” US Attorney General Eric Holder said. The decision gives the newlyweds rights under federal law reserved for married couples, including the right to file joint tax returns. “These families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as the litigation unfolds,” he added.

Two antique American gold coins sold for more than $7.8mn when they went under the hammer in Florida, Heritage Auctions said. The first coin ever made for the US - a “Brasher Doubloon” struck in 1787 by a neighbour of George Washington - fetched $4,582,500. A nickel made at the Philadelphia Mint in 1913 that was once featured in an episode of the 1970s television show Hawaii Five-O raised $3.3mn. The coins were sold as part of a sale that has generated more than $55mn so far. The Doubloon has been off the market since it was bought by a Chicago resident in 1979 for $430,000.

A 58-year-old Utah woman is expecting a baby she is carrying for her daughter, with plans to give birth to her own granddaughter, reports said. Julia Navarro, a Peruvian who lives in the US, agreed to be implanted with one of her daughter Lorena McKinnon’s fertilised eggs after the 32-year-old had a string of miscarriages. “As a family, we have to help each other,” Navarro, who is expecting to give birth in early February, told The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper. Navarro had been menopausal for about 12 years but gave herself hormone shots every day for three months to prepare for being implanted.

The US issued a travel warning to Mexico on Friday, saying that Americans have been targets for kidnapping, robbery and other violent crimes there. The US State Department blamed international criminal gangs involved in the drug trade for the crimes and threats to safety. “US citizens have fallen victim to criminal activity, including homicide, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery,” the warning said. “While most of those killed in narcotics-related violence have been members of (gangs), innocent persons have also been killed.” Mexican government has been fighting the gangs.

Off icials from 32 of the world’s space-faring nations concluded a trio of summits in Washington on Friday to tackle expanding participation in the International Space Station and planning for eventual human expeditions to Mars. Fifteen nations collaborated to build the space station. On Wednesday, the Obama Administration announced its intent to extend station operations to at least 2024, four years beyond when it was slated to be removed from orbit. “We’re very happy to hear about extension,” Xu Dazhe, administrator of the China National Space Administration, said at the International Academy of Astronautics conference, one of three global space summits.

Obama admin recognisesUtah same-sex marriages

Historic American goldcoin fetches $4.6mn

Woman to give birthto own granddaughter

US travel warning overMexico crime, violence

Groundwork laid forspace exploration

POLITICS AUCTIONHEALTH SECURITY ASTRONOMY

West Virginia American Water customers line up for water at the Gestamp Plant after waiting hours for a water truck, only to have it emptied in about 20 minutes on Friday in South Charleston.

Thousands gowithout tapwater afterchemical spill Tests show declining levels of chemicals; emergency workers distribute water in aff ected area

ReutersCharleston

Up to 300,000 West Vir-ginia residents spent a second night unable to

bathe, shower or drink tap water yeserday after a chemical spill into the Elk River near the state capital of Charleston, although chemical levels were declining.

As much as 5,000 gallons (18,927 litres) of industrial chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, or Crude MCHM, leaked into the river on Thurs-day, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin told CNN.

He declared a state of emer-gency for nine counties on Friday, and President Barack Obama is-sued an emergency declaration. The spill forced schools and busi-nesses to close in Charleston, West Virginia’s largest city.

Tomblin said that hourly tests on the aff ected water supply show “the chemical level is de-clining”.

“But we’re just not sure ex-actly how long it’s going to take before it’s acceptable to lift the do-not-drink ban,” he said.

Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water Co, which runs the state’s largest water treatment plant, also said he could not say when the water would be safe to use.

“We don’t know that the wa-ter’s not safe, but I can’t say it is safe,” he told a news conference.

Water carrying this chemi-cal has an odour like licorice or anise, McIntyre said, and though

not highly lethal, the level that could be considered safe has yet to be quantifi ed.

By Friday evening, 737 people had called the West Virginia Poi-son Center to report concerns or symptoms related to the spill, water company spokeswoman Elizabeth Scharman said.

Symptoms included nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhoea, rashes and reddened skin “vary-ing from very mild to much more bothersome”, Scharman said.

The centre knew of 70 people who had been seen by an emer-gency room doctor, though only a handful had been admitted to hospitals, she said.

The spill came from a tank be-longing to Freedom Industries - a Charleston company that produces specialty chemicals for the mining, steel and cement industries - upriver from a plant run by West Virginia American Water.

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection had received a report of a strange odor on Thursday morning and visited the site, where they found a leaking tank, a spokeswoman for Governor Tomblin said.

“The old tank has been emp-tied and taken away and as of right now the company is closed down,” Tomblin said.

Tomblin said that when gov-ernment offi cials arrived at the scene, “They had had to con-

vince them they needed to get in to take care of this problem.”

According to a letter from the Department of Environmental Protection to Freedom Industries, offi cials had “discovered that no spill containment measures had been initiated and that an accu-mulating MCHM leak pool was seeping through a dike wall adja-cent to the Elk River and a downri-ver oil sheen was observed.”

Freedom Industries President Gary Southern said the company was still determining how much had leaked and that the company has been working with local and federal authorities, and apolo-giSed at a media conference in Charleston.

“Our friends and our neigh-bours, this incident is extremely unfortunate, unanticipated and we are very, very sorry for the disruption to everybody’s daily life that this incident has caused,” Southern said.

Emergency workers and American Water distributed wa-ter to centers around the aff ected area. Residents formed long lines at stores and quickly depleted inventories of bottled water.

“It’s just ridiculous,” said Jaime Cook of Charleston, who was buying one of the last jugs of wa-ter at a Walmart store. “There’s nowhere to buy water and every-where seems to be sold out. This isn’t going to last two days.”

Tina May, a Charleston resi-dent, even considered heading out of town for the weekend. “I’m not sure how long I can last without a shower. This is un-bearable,” she said.

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory on Friday waived size and weight restrictions for trucks to expedite delivery of water, equipment and supplies.

Documents reveal anger,chaos in bridge scandal ReutersTrenton, New Jersey

Documents related to the bridge closure scandal engulfi ng New Jersey

Governor Chris Christie re-vealed on Friday that authori-ties were deeply divided about the shutdown, with one warn-ing it was illegal and risking people’s lives.

More than 1,000 pages of anxiously awaited documents subpoenaed by New Jersey lawmakers investigating the massive, four-day traffi c jam on the George Washington bridge were made public after revelations that Christie’s staff appeared to have orchestrated the closure as political payback.

Christie, seen as a likely con-tender for the White House in 2016, has said he knew nothing about the plan until damaging e-mails from his staff were re-vealed on Wednesday. He fi red a close aide and publicly apolo-gised for the fi asco.

The documents, many sub-poenaed from former Port Authority executive David

Wildstein, cast new light on the turmoil within the Port Au-thority of New York and New Jersey, the agency overseeing the nation’s busiest bridge.

On the fourth day of the shutdown, Patrick Foye, ex-ecutive director of the Port Authority, lashed out in an e-mail to executives, including Port Authority Chairman David Samson, and ordered the lanes reopened.

“I believe this hasty and ill-advised decision violates Fed-eral Law and the laws of both states,” Foye said in the e-mail.

“I pray that no life has been lost or trip of a hospital- or hos-pice-bound patient delayed,” said Foye of the traffi c jam that delayed ambulances, includ-ing one called for a 91-year-old woman who later died.

Assemblyman John Wis-niewski, a Democrat who chairs the Transportation Committee, said the documents raise more questions than they answer about whether Christie knew about the traffi c tie-up.

“Included in these docu-ments is a reference to what ap-pears to be a meeting between

Port Authority Chairman David Samson and the governor one week before Bridget Kelly is-sued the order to cause ‘traffi c problems’ in Fort Lee,” Wis-niewski said in a statement.

“By submitting these docu-ments, Mr. Wildstein is tell-ing us they are related to the lane closures in some way. The question that demands an-swering is - how?”

The documents show chaos and anger, but fail to clear up whether the epic tie-up was the result of what Christie said may have been a Port Authority traf-fi c study.

In a Sept. 6 e-mail, Port Authority executive Daniel Jacobs, general manager of transportation, asked Gerard Quelch, in charge of planning and operations: “What is driv-ing this?”

Quelch responded: “That is my question as well. A single toll operation invites potential disaster. It seems like we are punishing all for the sake of a few.”

What is clear is that Port Authority police and bridge authorities had little advance

notice of the shutdown, which they warned would paralyse Fort Lee, where three major roadways converge in an ap-proach to the bridge.

“The ‘test’ was a monumen-tal failure. Fort Lee is not hap-py,” Bob Durando, director of the bridge, wrote in an e-mail to a Port Authority traffi c en-gineer.

There also appears to have been a concerted eff ort to keep the matter quiet. On the day he ordered the lanes reopened, Foye in an email told Wild-stein’s boss, Bill Baroni: “We are going to fi x this fi asco.”

Baroni wrote back: “I’m on my way to the offi ce to discuss. There can be no public dis-course.”

Foye’s response: “Bill that’s precisely the problem: There has been no public discourse on this.”

Christie said he was “blind-sided” by the revelation that Kelly called for trouble at the commuter choke point, appar-ently to retaliate against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not having endorsed Chris-tie’s re-election campaign.

Smokers scarce in US,50 years after warning AFPWashington

Fifty years ago, almost half of Americans smoked cigarettes - at work, in

restaurants, schools and even in hospitals. Then came a land-mark warning that changed everything.

The Surgeon General’s re-port on smoking and health, is-sued January 11, 1964, was the fi rst of its kind to alert the pub-lic that cigarettes caused lung cancer and other fatal tumours.

The contents of the nearly 400-page report made head-lines across America. And while not everyone heeded its call to cut tobacco out of daily life, within a decade smoking was slowly but steadily on the decline.

Today, 18% of Americans smoke, down from 42% in 1964.

The change in smoking hab-its has saved 8mn people from

dying prematurely over the last 50 years, according to research released this week to coincide with the report’s anniversary.

Lung cancer rates are down, and men and women are living longer than ever before.

“In the past half century, nothing else has come close to this contribution to the health of Americans. Nothing,” said Ken Warner, professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan.

“I fi rmly believe that when 20th century historians look back on the last century they are going to conclude that the rise and fall of the cigarette constituted one of the most important public health stories of the century,” he told report-ers in Washington.

But as experts held press conferences and scientifi c journals published research on the changes in American health and longevity since 1964, some warned that signifi cant chal-lenges remain.

For instance, while smok-ing rates are down globally, the actual number of smokers is on the rise in the world as ciga-rettes gain popularity in places like China and India, according to the Institute for Health Met-rics in Washington.

Globally, the number of smokers has climbed from 721mn in 1980 to 967mn in 2012, it said.

Smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in the US, killing some 400,000 people annually.

“One out of every fi ve deaths is a completely preventable smoking-produced death,” said Warner.

On the fl ip side of the 8mn-lives-saved fi gure is a more harrowing one: nearly 18mn people in the US have died from tobacco since 1964.

“It is a horrible statistic,” said Michael Terry, the son of the late Luther Terry, the sur-geon general who issued report 50 years ago.

Workers are seen in a tunnel underneath Manhattan at the Second Avenue Subway project site in New York City. The long-awaited Second Avenue Subway line, which will extend the route of the Q train into the Upper East Side, has been delayed since plans were first proposed in the 1920s and 1940s. Building the subway line has involved digging 8.5 miles of new tunnel from 125th Street in Harlem south to Hanover Square, which is located in Manhattan’s Financial District. The total cost of the project is expected to top $17bn and is scheduled to open for service in December 2016.

Subway work Food, beverage fi rmscut billions of calories ReutersNew York

A voluntary eff ort by the world’s largest food and beverage companies

to remove billions of calories from the products they sell in the US to help combat the na-tion’s obesity epidemic has far exceeded its fi ve-year goal, ac-cording to an independent eval-uation released on Thursday.

In May 2010, 16 of the na-tion’s biggest food and bever-age companies, from Coca-Cola Co to Kraft Foods Group , pledged to remove 1tn calories from the US marketplace by 2012 and 1.5tn by 2015, com-pared with a 2007 baseline. In fact, as of 2012 they sold 6.4tn fewer calories, found an analysis by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC).

“Reports like this, and the fact that they exceeded their commitment by four-fold, re-ally shows that you can make progress in giving American

families more healthy options,” said Larry Soler, president of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a non-profi t chaired by fi rst lady Michelle Obama. The group was formed in 2010 to work with the private sector on anti-obesity strategies.

At the time, critics said the Partnership relied too heavily on the good will of the industry and could not replace the role of tighter regulation on how food is manufactured and marketed.

Such voluntary eff orts by industry “are not a magic bul-let,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, a non-profi t policy group. “Particularly with kids, there is a role for regulation” in reducing demand for un-healthy, high-calorie fare.

It is not clear yet how the companies accomplished the dramatic calorie reduction, said UNC public health re-searcher Barry Popkin, who led the analysis funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foun-dation, the nation’s largest public health philanthropy.

“Our friends and our neighbours, this incident is extremely unfortunate, unanticipated and we are very, very sorry for the disruption to everybody’s daily life that this incident has caused”

ASEAN

Gulf TimesSunday, January 12, 201416

Thai anti-govt protesters wounded by gunmen AFPBangkok

Several Thai anti-gov-ernment protesters were wounded after gunmen

opened fi re on a rally in Bang-kok, authorities said yesterday, intensifying pressure on the caretaker government ahead of a planned city-wide “shut-down.”

The kingdom is the grip of a political crisis that has led to parliament being dissolved, with demonstrators holding mass protests aimed at toppling Prime Minister Yingluck Shina-watra and ending the infl uence of her wildly divisive brother on Thai politics.

One protester was seriously wounded after unknown gun-men fi red at the protesters’ main rally site in two separate attacks early yesterday, Thai police said.

“The fi rst attack occurred at

2.30am (local time) wounding two people, including a protest security guard. The second took place a few hours later wound-ing fi ve protesters,” said Police Lieutenant General Prawut Thavornsiri of the Royal Thai Police.

The toll was confi rmed by the city’s Erawan emergency medi-cal centre, who said one man remained in a “critical condi-tion”.

Protesters are seeking to block a snap election called for February 2, and want Yingluck to resign immediately.

The nation’s election author-ity has called for the poll to be postponed citing the febrile po-litical climate.

Eight people, including a po-liceman, have been killed and dozens injured in street vio-lence in recent weeks, and the government has voiced fears of more bloodshed as protesters refuse to back down in their ef-forts to oust the Shinawatras.

Authorities have raised fears that a planned “shutdown” by the anti-government protesters tomorrow could lead to more violence.

One company of soldiers was deployed at each of 37 locations — including government offi ces — across the capital on Friday night, an army spokesman said.

Thousands of police are also expected to keep the peace.

Amid heightening fears of violence tomorrow, the head of Thailand’s powerful army called for calm.

“I’m concerned about secu-rity as many people will come and violence has happened throughout (the protests),” army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters yesterday.

Prayut also urged Thais to “solve the problems of Thai people” in an apparent rebuttal of concerns voiced by the inter-national community at the de-teriorating political situation.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday called for “restraint” from all sides, expressing fears the situation “could escalate in the days ahead”.

The current impasse has re-vived fears of a judicial or mili-tary ousting of the government, in a country which has hosted 18 actual or attempted coups since 1932.

Thailand has experienced several bouts of political vio-lence since Yingluck’s brother Thaksin was ousted as prime minister by royalist generals in 2006.

The billionaire tycoon, who fled the kingdom in 2008 to dodge jail for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated, is hated by the anti-government pro-testers.

But he still draws strong loyalty from the northern half of the country including “Red Shirt” activists.

The protesters in Bangkok

want to suspend Thailand’s democracy to allow reforms aimed at rooting out Thaksin’s influence.

But his sister Yingluck’s Puea Thai party is expected to win the February election if it goes ahead.

The nation’s Election Com-mission (EC) yesterday urged the government to seek a post-ponement of polls until May.

“We cannot find enough people to work at polling sta-tions,” said EC official Som-chai Srisutthiyakorn, because of the “family and peer pres-sure” created by the political tensions.

Red Shirts have called on the EC, several other key legal bodies and the army to allow the election to proceed or face protests from their group.

In 2010, Red Shirts para-lysed Bangkok’s commercial centre for a weeks-long pro-test which ended in a bloody crackdown on their rally.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban (centre) is surrounded by children inside the anti-government encampment in front of the Democracy monument in Bangkok yesterday.

Coup-prone nation looks to army chief to break deadlock ReutersBangkok

Standing inside one of Bangkok’s many military bases is a giant poster of

Thai army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha in full dress uniform, along with a list of attributes.

“Intelligent,” reads the poster. “Knowledgeable. Modern. Vi-sionary.”

As Bangkok braces for a “shut down” by anti-government pro-testers tomorrow, and rumours multiply that yet another mili-tary coup is imminent, another adjective for General Prayuth springs to mind: opaque.

Paralysing Bangkok is the lat-est bid in a two-month attempt by protesters to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose brother, Thaksin, was overthrown in the last military coup in 2006.

Yingluck called a snap elec-tion for Feb 2, but this failed to mollify protesters, who want her government to resign in favour of an unelected people’s council to oversee political reform.

Many Thais believe the mili-tary will soon step in again to break the political deadlock, es-pecially if next week’s citywide protests turn violent.

But Prayuth, 59, has remained noncommittal, brushing aside rumours of a military coup while deftly side-stepping an outright denial. It wasn’t always so. Fa-mous for irascible exchanges with the media, Prayuth once suggested coups were obsolete and slammed rumour-mongers for damaging the country.

As Thailand’s latest round of protests gathered pace, how-ever, his public statements have fuelled rather than scotched the rumours. “I cannot confi rm whether there will or will not be a coup,” he said on Jan 7.

Two weeks earlier, Prayuth likened the unrest between pro and anti-government protest-ers to an intersection where he had the power to “turn the lights red” to stop traffi c from left and right colliding.

“The odds of an all-out mili-tary coup remain lower for now but will increase as instability drags on,” said Christian Lewis, a Southeast Asia specialist at political risk consultants Eurasia Group.

“Prayuth and the military will most likely intervene only if the police lose control of an eroding

security situation.” Thousands of protesters have taken to Bang-kok’s streets since November, accusing the Shinawatra family of corruption and nepotism.

The protests, which have drawn 200,000 people at their peak, have been mostly peaceful. Four people, including two police offi c-ers, died of gunshot wounds and scores were injured after protest-ers clashed with police outside a stadium on Dec. 26 while candi-dates registered for the election.

In broad terms, the current crisis pits the Thai elite, includ-ing military generals and royal-ists, and the educated middle-classes against supporters of twice-elected former prime minister Thaksin, who now lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail for a graft conviction he says was politically motivated.

But with Yingluck clinging onto power and protesters refus-ing to back down, analysts say protest leader Suthep Thaug-suban, a former deputy prime minister, can only win with Prayuth’s backing.

That has sparked fears that protagonists might instigate an attack on protesters during next week’s rallies in hopes of pro-voking army intervention.

But senior offi cers said the military is reluctant to see a re-peat of the September 2006 coup, which Prayuth helped ex-ecute as a deputy regional com-mander and plunged the country into years of turmoil.

“Prayuth is aware that deal-ing with the problem by staging a coup is not constructive and, after a while, the same problems will come back again,” said army spokesman Colonel Werachon Sukhondhadhpatipak.

Born in northeast Thailand, now a stronghold for Thaksin supporters, Prayuth has a repu-tation for “hard-headed deci-siveness”, wrote Anthony Davis, a Thailand-based analyst at security consulting fi rm IHS-Jane’s, after Prayuth was ap-pointed in October 2010.

“An offi cer of polished social skills, he has become a regular visitor to the palace, suggesting that in royal circles he is seen as a vital fi gure to ensure the future stability of both the nation and the monarchy,” said Davis.

Prayuth also established a cor-dial relationship with Yingluck after her election the follow-ing year. He has repeatedly said he wants the military to remain politically neutral.

Sign language frees Cambodian deaf from ‘prison’ AFPPhnom Penh

At a hairdresser’s shop in the Cambodian capital, there is none of the usual

chit chat you might expect when getting a haircut — because the barbers are all deaf.

They have graduated from the only education course for deaf adults in Cambodia, where the vast majority of people with hearing problems never had the opportunity to learn sign lan-guage.

“I didn’t have any contact out-side of my family. It was like be-ing in prison. I was stuck there. I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t have any money. I didn’t have any education,” barber trainee Oeun Darong, 27, explained in Cambodian sign language.

Until the late 1990s, Cambo-dia was one of the few countries in the world without its own sign language.

But that is changing thanks to the work of American priest Charlie Dittmeier, who began to develop the kingdom’s own version with help from foreign linguists and researchers after he was posted in the Southeast Asian nation 13 years ago.

“We get people coming to us at the age of 25, 30, 35. They have never been to school a day in their life. They have no lan-guage,” said Dittmeier.

His Deaf Development Pro-gramme (DDP) is one of only two groups running schools for

people with hearing problems in Cambodia. The other one is for children.

About 30 deaf students aged 16 or older are currently taking a two-year course at the DDP centre in Phnom Penh, learning simple sign language, writing, reading and other life skills, said Dittmeier.

A third year is spent in job training like at the barber shop, where the students receive in-structions — given in sign lan-guage — on how to off er hair cuts, shaves and ear cleaning.

Many have spent their life working in rice fi elds or as cat-tle herders, with no one to teach

them how to use sign language. “I was by myself. It was a sad

life. I couldn’t learn anything. I couldn’t talk to my family,” said Darong, who once thought he was the only deaf person in the world. He was born into a fam-ily of farmers — one of eight children — and missed out on an education.

“The others would walk to school but I was left at home taking care of the cow, fi shing and working in the garden, while they would go and learn how to read and write.”

Other pupils at the same deaf school had even worse experi-ences, such as the pair rescued

from one of the country’s reha-bilitation centres, which rights activists criticise for unlawfully detaining street children, beg-gars, drug users and other unde-sirables.

“They had no social skills at all. They did not know how to take a shower,” said Dittmeier.

On the walls of the DDP cen-tre, some drawings show the ba-sic rules of hygiene, while others teach Cambodian sign language.

“We are constantly trying to expose them to new ideas and then they start developing the signs. Then our work is to record the signs. We draw them. We scan them. We put them into

books and dictionaries,” Ditt-meier said. “When they start wanting to talk about new topics they will develop new signs. It shouldn’t come from the hearing people — it should come from the deaf people. And so their life expands, their language ex-pands, their world expands.”

There are estimated to be more than 50,000 deaf peo-ple across Cambodia, yet only a fraction of them have learned sign language. For those who do, it can be a life-changing step.

“I can now communicate,” said 23-year-old student Kheng Nat. “People don’t ignore me or discriminate against me here. It

is not like at home or in the vil-lage.”

The situation in Cambodia, which has no state-funded edu-cation programme for the deaf, is by no means unique.

“Worldwide, deaf children and young people are often de-nied an education, including in sign language,” said Shantha Rau Barriga, disability rights direc-tor at New York-based Human Rights Watch.

“Sign language is critical for deaf people to be able to com-municate, express themselves, and learn,” she added.

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) campaigns for bet-

ter access to education for the 70mn deaf people around the world, the majority of whom live in developing countries that lack well-trained sign language teachers.

In many nations, the quality of education for deaf people is low and the illiteracy rate is high, according to the WFD, which deplores “a massive ignorance in education systems about the im-portance of sign language.”

One of the fi rst things stu-dents do when they enter the DDP school in Phnom Penh is to choose their own sign name — a crucial step towards leaving their solitary life behind.

US priest Charlie Dittmeier (left) using sign language to communicate with a deaf Cambodian student in a classroom in Phnom Penh. Right: Deaf Cambodian students training at a hairdresser’s shop.

AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA17Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Ancient China wooden town ravaged by blaze

AgenciesBeijing

More than 2,000 people joined forces yesterday to contain a fi re in an ancient

Tibetan town of mostly wooden houses in south-western China, but not before it destroyed about a quar-ter of those buildings, state media reported.

There were no casualties reported after more than 2,600 residents were evacuated from the 1,300-year-old town of Dukezong in the resort county of Shangri-La, the Xinhua news agency said.

The nine-hour fi re broke out about 1.30am (1730 GMT Friday), destroying more than 250 of the roughly 1,000 wooden houses that radiate up cobbled streets from the centre of the Tea Horse Trail town.

Firefi ghters, soldiers, police, lo-cal offi cials and volunteers battled the blaze in three neighbourhoods in the south-western part of town before containing and extinguishing it around 10.30am, Xinhua reported.

Putting out the fi re proved diffi -cult in the dry, windy weather. Fire-fi ghters told the China News Service

their vehicles were struggling with “diffi cult traffi c conditions.”

Photos posted on local news sites showed gigantic fl ames, some more than 10m high, devouring an entire neighbourhood and casting a huge orange glow in the dark while emer-gency services battled to control the blaze.

The cause of the disaster is still unknown but the damage is expected to exceed 100mn yuan ($17mn) ac-cording to the Chinese news portal Zhongguo Xinwen Wang.

As one of the oldest and best-pre-served Tibetan towns in the region, Dukezong was once a staging post on the South Silk Road and is known by names including “white stone city,” “moonlight city” and “fi rst step to Shangri-La.”

In an eff ort to promote tourism, Zhongdian county in north-west-ern Yunnan province was renamed Shangri-La in 2001, after the fi c-tional land depicted in the 1933 James Hilton novel Lost Horizon.

Earlier this week another high-profi le site of Tibetan culture, the Buddhist Serthar institute located in the nearby province of Sichuan, was also the victim of an inferno, with 10 buildings destroyed.

Firefighters attempt to put out a fire in the ancient Tibetan village of Dukezong in Shangri-La county yesterday.

A firefighter sprays water on a fire in the ancient Tibetan village of Dukezong in Shangri-la county yesterday.

Powerful cyclone hits Tonga

Hypnotist falls to death in Sydney

DPASydney

American hypnotist Scott Lewis has fallen to his death from an apartment building in Sydney, news reports said yesterday.

The 50-year-old Lewis, who was in Sydney to perform in a series of shows at the Opera House called The Illusionist 2.0, is believed to have fallen from his 11th fl oor apartment to a 4th fl oor balcony. Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene after police and paramedics arrived at the Goldsbrough Mort building in Pyrmont, an inner-city suburb of Sydney.

The discovery of Lewis’ body was made after he failed to board a charter bus scheduled to take him and fellow performers to the Opera House for a matinee performance. “We wish to express our deepest sympathies to Dr Lewis’ family and friends, as well as to the cast and crew,” the Op-era House said in a statement.

Tim Lawson, co-producer of the show, said the evening show would not be cancelled, but put on in Lewis’ honour. “The entire company has decided to continue the show in his honour, and send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” Lawson said in a statement.

The Opera House, which has been hosting the show since Thursday, cancelled yesterday’s matinee performance due to “unforseen cir-cumstances” before releasing a statement con-fi rming the hypnotist’s death.

Police told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph that they were not treating the death as suspicious.

AFPSydney

A state of emergency was declared yester-day in parts of Tonga as powerful Cyclone Ian slammed into the South Pacifi c island

nation, bringing winds estimated at 105 knots (200kph). But residents and offi cials said the maximum category fi ve cyclone, which had been forecast to bring gusts of up to 155 knots, caused surprisingly little damage.

“There is a bit of damage at Ha’apai, some houses blown down at Foa but we still have tel-ephone contacts with Ha’apai,” Deputy Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu told a media briefi ng.

Although Australia and New Zealand had aid services on standby, Vaipulu said there was no reason to call for outside assistance.

“When it is over we are going there (the outer islands). We are planning, if everything is over by tomorrow, we will assess it by tomorrow.

“New Zealand have an aircraft on standby in Auckland already. Australia is also on standby to see what would be the needs from us but we have informed them so far there is not.”

Ian was downgraded to category four later yesterday although the Tonga Meteorological Service said it remained capable of “very de-structive” winds of up to 145 knots.

The cyclone ploughed overnight into the Vava’u area, one of Tonga’s main tourist hotspots, and the director of emergencies, Lev-eni Aho, said a state of emergency was declared when initial damage reports were received.

“It means we have the national resources ready to deploy in areas of need and authorities are given power to evacuate if needed,” he told the Matangi Tonga website.

“But there doesn’t appear to have been much damage in Vava’u at the moment.”

Beijing mulls pollution permit trading system ReutersBeijing

China will look into establishing a nation-wide trading system for pollution permits as part

of eff orts to use market mechanisms to help clean up its environment, the country’s top environment offi cial said.

In remarks published on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Pro-tection (www.mep.gov.cn) last week, minister Zhou Shengxian said China was working on new regulations for pollution permits and would also publish proposals for new pilot trad-ing projects as soon as possible.

China has vowed to reverse the en-vironmental consequences of three decades of breakneck industrial ex-pansion and clean up its heavily pol-luted air, water and soil and is hoping to use the market to encourage fi rms to cut emissions.

Provinces pledged this week to

meet targets set by the ministry to cut air pollution by 5% to 25%. The minis-try said it was considering a system to evaluate progress.

Authorities regularly issue direc-tives to try to tackle air pollution in major cities, but the eff ect has been limited with enforcement still lax and economic growth seen as the priority.

China already has more than 20 lo-cal trading platforms that allow in-dustrial fi rms to buy and sell permits for pollutants like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, major constituents of smog and acid rain. But their impact has been limited, said Ma Zhong, the dean of the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Renmin University.

“Emission trading in China is not strictly a market activity and it is more like paying for emitting. It is just a few regions running some test trading,” he told Reuters.

Five cities and regions set up new pilot carbon trading platforms last year to encourage local enterprises to

address soaring greenhouse gas emis-sions and two more will be launched in 2014. China aims to have a nation-wide carbon emissions trading system later in the decade.

On Friday, the seven pilot carbon trading platforms signed an agree-ment with other environmental ex-changes to look into trading not only carbon credits but also pollution, wa-ter and energy use permits.

Environment minister Zhou said China planned to cut major pollutants like sulphur dioxide and ammonium nitrate by 2% over 2014. Nitrogen ox-ides would be slashed by 5%.

China said late last year that it was struggling to meet environmental targets for the 2011-2015 period, with energy and carbon intensity targets still behind schedule.

Nitrogen oxide emissions, expected to fall 10% over the 2011-2015 peri-od, actually rose 2.82% by the end of 2012. Zhou said the total amount was expected to have fallen by more than 3.5% last year.

Two of the 40 participants, in the cold-endurance ceremony ‘Kanchu-Misogi’ at Kanda Myojin Shrine, purify themselves with cold water in Tokyo yesterday.

Chill thrill!

BRITAIN

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201418

Commuters barred from entry at Kings Cross during a 2010 strike .

Commuters fear staff may walkout on TubeEvening StandardLondon

London Underground staff has voted to strike in protest at the closure of ticket offi ces raising the prospect of

the fi rst major walk-out on the Tube for four years.

Members of the RMT union backed strike action as they bid to force the mayor to reverse the closures which will result in the loss of 950 jobs at ticket offi ces.

Seventy-seven% of RMT union mem-bers backed strikes on a turnout of about 41% of those eligible to vote.

Approximately 8,300 members were balloted including station staff and train operators.

In 2010, 76% voted in favour of strike action on a turnout of 3,700, or 43% of those balloted.

Strike rules dictate that the RMT can down tools as early as January 17 and they have three weeks to tell Transport for Lon-don when they intend to strike before the ballot becomes invalid.

In 2010 the RMT staged four one-day strikes in protest at the reduction in the opening hours of ticket offi ces.

But TfL claimed it was able to limit the damage by operating services at 30-40% of capacity.

Tube boss Mike Brown said all the job losses would be achieved through vol-untary redundancy and he expected the scheme to be oversubscribed.

The cuts will be implemented after stat-utory consultation with staff at the end of March.

TfL has hinted it may compromise by

keeping more ticket offi ces open as infor-mation centres at some larger stations. But it says it will not back down on the 950 job cuts it says will help achieve annual sav-ings of £50m.

Phil Hufton, LU’s Chief Operating Of-fi cer, said: “Our customers and staff are at the heart of our vision for the future of the

Tube. All Tube stations will remain staff ed at all times when services are operating, and we’ll be introducing a 24-hour service at weekends during 2015.

“In future, there will be more staff in ticket halls and on platforms to help cus-tomers buy the right ticket and keep them safe and secure.

“We’re committed to working with unions and staff to implement changes to station staffi ng without compulsory redundancies and we’ve been clear that there’ll be a job for everyone at LU who wants to work for us and be fl exible. I urge our trade union colleagues to work with us to shape the future of the Tube.”

Tube ticket off ices face the axe.

Myleene Klass’s dad speaks out after mugging Evening StandardLondon

Myleene Klass’s father has called on Boris Johnson to put more police on the streets after his wife and daughter

were targeted by a mugger.The singer’s younger sister Jessie, a radio

and television producer, was walking with her mother Magdalena, when she was approached by a man who attempted to snatch her handbag.

The suspect then assaulted the 33-year-old before fl eeing empty-handed.

Yesterday Klass’s father Oscar said: “Boris says London is getting safer but you never see a police offi cer round here.”

He declined to speak about the incident itself stressing he had been advised not to by police.

But he confi rmed that, although shaken up by the attack on Whittington Road in Wood Green, his wife and daughter were “doing okay”.

The incident happened on Tuesday night near the family home. Following the attempted robbery, Klass, 35, took to Twitter to post a di-rect message to the assailant. She wrote: “To

the person who mugged my 67-year-old mum and my sister. I hope you get hit by a bus and die. Slowly.”

Her tweet was quickly met with messages ex-pressing concern, and more than 200 retweets within minutes.

Celebrity supporters included presenter Kate Thornton, who wrote “Is your mum ok? So sor-ry to hear that.”

Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton posted: “Oh my god, disgusting! Please give them a cuddle from me.”

A spokesman for the Met Police said: “The victim, a woman aged 33, was approached by a male suspect who attempted to snatch her handbag. The woman resisted and the male as-saulted her before making off from the scene without the bag. The woman did not require hospital treatment.”

Klass was herself once the victim of street crime when she was attacked by a group of youths at a newsagents in Bermondsey, London in 2005.

The star had a bag of chips dropped on her head, and was pushed to the ground as the teenagers attempted to take photos of her on their phones. Myleene Klass

Loft space that you can’t stand in for £40Evening StandardLondon

A loft space too small to stand up in has been put up for rent in central

London for £40 per week.The advert, posted on web-

site Gumtree on January 4, comes with the disclaimer: “Please note, you cannot stand upright in the room.”

The £160 per month prop-erty needs a tenant shorter than 5 feet four inches tall and someone who can aff ord £80 for a two week deposit, ac-cording to the ad.

It is advertised as being “right in the heart of West-minster”, where average prop-erty prices are over £1mn.

The ad states: “We are rent-ing this cute little loft conver-sion which is a former storage space. Please note you cannot stand upright in the room.”

“It comes with its own bed-ding (freshly washed), parquet fl ooring and there is enough space to store a few pieces of garment.

“The location is amazing, there are lots of shops, good transport and is right in the heart of Westminster.”

A prospective tenant would have to be quiet and act in an orderly fashion, according to the listing.

“We are generally quite easy going but do not tolerate noise at night or disorderly behav-iour,” it reads.

“Ideally it would suit someone less than 5’4 tall and with no history of claustro-phobia.”

“For the area the rent is very cheap and bills are included but we would like a 2 weeks de-posite. (sic) Please get in touch with a few words about your-self so we have an idea of who is moving in with us.”

The loft in Westminster

Four men sought by police after Good Samaritan attackedEvening StandardLondon

Police are hunting a group of men who left a Good Samaritan with a

broken nose after he stepped in to stop them harassing a woman on a train.

Detectives have released CCTV images of four men they still want to question in connection with the in-cident on a train from Liver-pool Street.

One person has now been arrested, police said.

The 44-year-old vic-tim, from Hornchurch, had boarded the train at Liver-pool Street just after 12.30am on December 19 when he noticed the men harassing a woman.

Detective Constable Paul Attwell, who is investigating

the attack on the man, said : “In order to stop the ordeal, the victim walked over and challenged the men’s behav-iour, as the woman was alone at the time. As a result he was attacked by the group, who all left the train as it arrived into Seven Kings station.”

The victim stayed on the train and left at Romford where he reported the attack to police. He only discovered his nose was broken when he went to hospital.

DC Attwell said : “This was a nasty attack on a man returning from a Christmas evening out with friends, and who stepped in to stop a woman who was alone from being harassed.

“If you were on board the train and witnessed the at-tack, or have any further in-formation, come forward and speak to police.”

A strike looks imminent with commuters looking on helplessly

BRITAIN19Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Pamela Duggan attends a vigil for her son Mark Duggan outside Tottenham Police Station in Tottenham, north London yesterday. The vigil followed an inquest that found on Wednesday that police acted lawfully when they shot and killed a man whose death sparked a wave of rioting in 2011 in the worst civil unrest in the country in decades. Mark Duggan, 29, died after he was shot by police who suspected he was armed at the time. Right: Community Leader Stafford Scott (C) addresses the gathering outside Tottenham Police Station yesterday.

Protest over police shooting inquest

Student found dead at home in London Evening StandardLondon

A “wonderful” and “much-loved” schoolboy has been found dead in his home.

The lifeless body of straight A pupil Paul Bagnall was found by relatives on Tuesday.

Paramedics rushed to the house in Orpington, but despite “extensive eff orts” to rescusitate him the 18-year-old could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bilingual Mr Bagnall, a talent-ed rugby player and black belt in karate, was due to take his A Lev-els at Darrick Wood School and was looking forward to a ski trip to Austria next month, his fam-ily said.

The teenager, who had been off ered a place to study mechani-cal engineering at Southampton university, is understood to have had no history of bullying.

His family described his death,

believed to be by hanging, as an “accident”.

He was found by his French mother Sandrine, 44. She told the Standard: “At fi rst I thought it was a terrible joke. Then I real-ised there had been an accident.

“He had no problems, lots of friends and was looking forward to going to university. He was the

sweetest, nicest boy.”His father, Nick, 57, a banker,

said: “He was a great boy and much loved by everyone who knew him. He was a great son and brother to his sister - a wonderful boy who did not have a bad bone in his body.

“His teachers said he was a natural mathematician and used

to help his friends out with their work.

“Despite being a bit clumsy through determination he be-came a good rugby player and a black belt in karate.

“He was always smiling. Even when he was in a karate bout he would be beaming that’s the kind of person he was. He will be missed by so many people.”

Friend Matt Hall, 19, said: “I was very close to him, it has left a big hole in my life. He was bub-bly, friendly, approachable and always happy. I have never seen him down. When he walked in the room it could change people’s moods. He was interested in so many diff erent things. He was an all-rounder.

“He had a lot of friends, he had an infectious personality, he was funny and clever.

“His death is absolutely shocking. He was only 18. Some-one I know was with him earlier that day and said he was right as rain, his usual self. It has come completely out of the blue. I re-fused to believe it when I heard.”

Twitter was fl ooded with trib-utes to the student.

Jack Smith wrote: “Can’t be-lieve what I’ve just heard, genu-inely one of the nicest people I’ve ever met RIP my friend Paul.”

Another, Daniel Hollett, wrote: “RIP Paul, generally one of the nicest kids I’ve ever met and always smiling.”

Seb Kirk wrote: “Such terrible news but couldn’t have asked to have known a better lad, the nic-est boy you’ll ever meet.”

Amy Francis added: “The world has truly lost a treasure, cannot believe you’ve left us so suddenly RIP Paul.”

A spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service said they were called at just before 4pm on Tuesday.

She said: “We sent London’s Air Ambulance, an ambulance crew, two single responders in cars and a duty offi cer to the scene.

“Extensive eff orts were made to resuscitate a man who was in cardiac arrest. Sadly, he was pro-nounced dead at the scene by the doctor from the air ambulance.”

A spokesman for the Met said his death was not being treated as suspicious.

Paul Bagnall had been off ered a place to study engineering .

Woman who committed suicide thought to have killed childrenEvening StandardLondon

A mother is believed to have killed her two young children before commit-ting suicide at her home in north

west London.The bodies of a seven-month-old baby

boy and a fi ve-year-old boy were found at the address in Woodgrange Close yes-terday afternoon, along with that of a 33-year-old woman.

They were reportedly discovered by the woman’s accountant husband when he re-turned home from work.

Police said the deaths of the two chil-dren are being treated as murder, but the woman’s death is not considered suspi-cious.

Scotland Yard said offi cers were called to the address to reports of a woman and two children “with injuries” at around 5.20pm yesterday afternoon.

A spokesman for Brent council said they knew of the family, but declined to com-ment further.

Neighbours expressed their shock at what had happened and said arguing was often heard coming from the fl at in Woodgrange Close.

Tashma Brown, 34, who lives next door, said the couple who lived at the address

were Sakthivel Vageswaran and his wife Jeyavani Vageswaran.

She said: “She was a person you didn’t see often. There was always shouting and arguing, three or four times in a month

sometimes.“Most of the time when they argued he

would come outside to cool down.”Leslie Gotts, who has lived in

Woodgrange Close for 18 years, said the

family, who are believed to be of Sri Lankan origin, had lived in the fi rst fl oor fl at for about a year.

A neighbour had told him the children’s father had found their bodies along with his wife’s, he said.

Gotts, 70, said: “I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. You freeze. It’s a quiet road, a very mixed community.

“I think I only saw her once. She didn’t look very unhappy to me.”

A Met police spokesman said: “When offi cers arrived, the three were pro-nounced dead at the scene by medical staff .”

The victim’s next of kin have been in-formed, and a post-mortem investiga-tion for her is due to be held this after-noon.

Details of further post-mortems are yet to be announced.

Police said they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident.

Councillor Reg Colwill, who represents Kenton ward, said: “I think everybody is the same, they are shocked at what’s happened. If it’s accurate that the woman took her own life she must have been at her wits’ end and didn’t ask for help, or didn’t get the help she asked for. It’s two young children, it’s very sad.”

He said he will ask residents in the road if they want counselling.

Police were called to the house at around 5.20pm on Thursday

Chris McLean, right, hugs a colleague at Clerkenwell fire station.

Firefi ghters break down as station closes downEvening StandardLondon

The UK’s oldest fi re sta-tion closed amid emo-tional scenes and a

warning that the decision will result in the loss of life.

Firefi ghters on Green Watch were in tears as they walked out of the Clerken-well station, which opened in 1872, for the last time.

The station near King’s Cross is one of 10 in Lon-don which has been closed to make millions of pounds of savings.

The London brigade is also cutting 552 fi refi ghter jobs and reducing the number of fi re engines by 14 to help meet budget savings of £45mn over the next two years.

Clerkenwell closed after Green Watch attended their fi nal call, a blaze at a Regents Park block of fl ats.

Resident Christopher Mar-grave, 32, a father of two who was rescued after being trapped with his family, said: “The fi re brigade said if we had been in here another fi ve minutes the stud walls would have burned through.

“We would have been burned alive.”

The other stations that closed today are at Belsize, Bow, Downham, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminster and Woolwich.

About 50 residents and fi re-fi ghters gathered for the fi nal watch at Westminster Fire Station on Horseferry Road.

Artemis Kassi, 42, a local mother who was there with her six-year-old daughter Maryam, has been campaign-ing to save the 107-year-old station. She said: “I am angry, appalled and, frankly, disgust-ed, that it has come to this. We are here to show our support, thanks and recognition to the fi refi ghters who have served our community so well.

“Westminster Fire Station has served through two world wars, the 7/7 bombings and the recent theatre collapse. It is a very busy station nearly 100% of the time and costs just £1.5m a year to run.”

Paul Embery, regional sec-retary of the Fire Brigades Union, warned: “It will be only a matter of time before someone dies because a fi re engine did not get to them in time.

“You cannot close 10 fi re stations and slash nearly 600 fi refi ghter jobs without com-promising public safety.”

But James Cleverly, chair-man of the capital’s fi re au-thority, said: “If you dial 999 and need a fi re engine, we still aim to have one with you within six minutes, and a sec-ond, if needed, within eight.

“The brigade is faced with signifi cant budget cuts which mean that changes to the service are inevitable and we are able to make those chang-es without compulsory re-dundancies.”

Staff at the closed stations will be moved to other loca-tions with 155 fi re engines remaining at 102 fi re stations across London.

The talented student’s death is being described as an accident

EUROPE

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201420

Spain’s Princess Cristina, daughter of King Juan Car-los, will appear before a

Palma de Mallorca court to tes-tify over tax fraud and money-laundering charges she denies but has decided not to appeal, her lawyers said yesterday.

It is the fi rst time a member of Spain’s royal family will testify as the subject of criminal proceed-ings since Juan Carlos came out of exile to reclaim the throne af-ter the end of the Francisco Fran-co dictatorship in 1975.

“Her Royal Highness has de-cided to renounce her right to appeal ... and to appear voluntar-ily before the judge,” her law fi rm Roca Junyent said in a statement.

However, the lawyers said they “absolutely and fi rmly disagree” with the charges brought against Princess Cristina, which were made public this week by Palma de Mallorca examining magis-trate Jose Castro after a lengthy investigation.

The case is centred on Princess Cristina’s involvement in a char-itable organisation called Noos Foundation run by her husband,

former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin.

Urdangarin was earlier charged with fraud, tax evasion, falsifying documents and embezzlement of 6mn euros ($8.2mn) in public funds through Noos, which put on sports business conferences in Mallorca and across Spain.

Urdangarin has denied any wrongdoing.

This week’s summons called

for Princess Cristina, 48, to tes-tify on March 8 but her lawyers asked yesterday that the testi-mony take place as soon as pos-sible to avoid drawing out what they called “an uncomfortable and unjust situation”.

“She has nothing to hide be-fore the judge,” her lawyers said.

The case is one of many high-level corruption scandals in Spain that have undermined faith

in public institutions at a time of economic crisis, marked by deep cuts in public spending.

Opinion of the royal family in particular has sunk to its lowest level ever.

“The royal household believes Princess Cristina’s decision to testify is very positive,” a spokes-man for the royal household said yesterday, but declined to com-ment further.

Spain’s Princess Cristina to testify over corruption charges ReutersMadrid

Princess Cristina with Urdangarin.

Ukraine’s former interior minister turned opposi-tion leader Yuriy Lut-

senko was in intensive care in hospital yesterday after being beaten in fresh clashes between pro-EU demonstrators and club-wielding police.

A few hundred nationalist demonstrators protested late on Friday outside a Kiev court that had earlier in the day sentenced three men to six years in prison for allegedly plotting to blow up a statue of Soviet founder Lenin near the city’s main airport in 2011.

Ukrainian television showed several protesters being carried by stretcher to an ambulance that had been rushed to the scene. City authorities said 17 opposition members had been injured and 11 were briefl y hos-pitalised.

The interior ministry said in its defence that anti-riot troops began fi ring tear gas and making arrests only after being pelted with bottles by protesters who were trying to block police vans as the three convicts were being led out of the courthouse.

Opposition news sites pub-lished photographs and video images of Lutsenko with his head bandaged and a large patch over his right eye.

Lutsenko’s wife Irina said her husband had suff ered a concus-sion and head injuries after be-ing attacked by police while he was trying to break up the un-folding violence.

“He has been placed in inten-sive care. They are going to keep him under observation,” she told Ukraine’s opposition Hromad-ske television channel.

Lutsenko’s spokeswoman Larisa Sargan said the opposi-tion leader lost consciousness several times on his way to hos-pital.

“He received about 10 blows to the head,” she told the on-line edition of Kiev’s Segodnya newspaper.

Ukrainian nationalists have been a driving force behind anti-government protests that erupt-ed in November after President Viktor Yanukovych ditched a historic EU trade agreement in favour of closer ties with old master Russia.

The rallies were fanned fur-ther by anger over violence that broke out when hundreds of of-fi cers beat dozens of demonstra-tors while trying to clear them off Kiev’s iconic Independence Square on November 30.

The latest outbreak of vio-lence in Kiev drew no immediate response from Yanukovych or other government members.

But the Kiev prosecutor’s of-fi ce said it had launched an in-vestigation into both the actions of protesters and the police.

“Kiev prosecutors have opened criminal proceedings

into abuse of power (by the po-lice),” the prosecutor’s offi ce said in a statement.

It added that protesters were being investigated for “hooli-ganism, the illegal interference in the work of a court, and re-sisting police”.

The interior ministry warned that those found guilty could be jailed for fi ve years.

The fi rst Kiev clashes of the new year threaten to re-energise rallies that began to fi zzle out last month when Yanukovych signed a $15bn economic bailout agreement with Moscow that also slashed the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas imports.

Anti-government forces are planning another mass Inde-pendence Square rally for Sun-day afternoon.

Former boxing champion turned opposition lawmaker Vitali Klitschko said that the in-cident should fi nally trigger Eu-ropean sanctions against Yanu-kovych and his family that the opposition has been advocating in the recent weeks.

“The issue of personal sanc-tions is more relevant now than ever before,” Klitschko said in a statement issued after he met

European politicians and law-makers in Germany.

“We now understand that the Yanukovych regime will stop at nothing,” said the presidential hopeful.

Lutsenko was a prominent member of former prime minis-ter Yulia Tymoshenko’s govern-ment and remains a close ally of the jailed opposition leader.

The 49-year-old was him-self put in prison on contested charges in late 2010 but par-doned by Yanukovych under EU pressure in April last year.

Ex-minister beaten in fresh Kiev clashes AFPKiev

Right: Former minister and opposition leader Lutsenko is

taken to safety after clashes with riot police near a court in

Kiev late on Friday.

Protesters try to remove the masks of riot police off icers near of the Kyiv Svyatoshinskyi district court in Kiev, where guilty verdicts against ‘Vasylkiv terrorists’ were announced. The verdict of the case, denounced as shameful, triggered a night of conflicts on Friday between Berkut riot police and demonstrators.

Allegations that French President Francois Hol-lande is having an aff air

with an actress come at a bad time as he prepares to showcase eff orts to tackle the country’s economic and social woes.

Already unpopular in the opinion polls, Hollande, who has yet to win his bet to reverse the trend in unemployment, is now under attack in his private life.

The French president, 59, who offi cially lives with his part-ner Valerie Trierweiler, has not denied the relationship with 41-year-old actress Julie Gayet but reacted furiously to Friday’s publication of the allegation in Closer magazine.

He threatened legal action over what he called a violation of

his right to privacy.“It’s a real passion that has ...

turned their lives upside down and makes them take insane risks,” Closer said in a special edition on Friday detailing the president’s alleged infi delity.

The timing of the alleged af-fair is particularly bad for the French president.

Hollande, whose popular-ity ratings have hit record lows in recent months, had been expected to use his bi-annual press conference on Tuesday to announce a new strategy aimed at lifting France out of its eco-nomic diffi culties.

He was due to outline the “re-sponsibility pact” he is off ering a disgruntled business commu-nity whereby companies would benefi t from lower labour taxes in exchange for job creation.

The number of France’s un-employed rose to 3.29mn in No-vember, even though Hollande

claimed in October he had met his electoral pledge to halt the rise in joblessness by the end of 2013.

Closer’s article, which de-scribes a president travelling at night on the backseat of a scoot-er to see his lover, could spoil Hollande’s new year, newspa-pers warned.

Tuesday’s press conference was “expected to mark a politi-cal resurgence by confi rming the social-democratic shift” the president hinted at in his New Year address, L’Est Republicain said in an editorial.

“But all eyes will now be on the president’s reaction” to the alleged aff air, it said.

Hollande, who intended to have what he called a normal presidency, has since his elec-tion had to walk a fi ne line be-tween his private and public life after his companion Trierweiler tweeted her support for the local

political rival of Segolene Royal, Hollande’s former partner and mother of their four children.

“Private aff airs are resolved in private. And I have told this to those close to me so they can scrupulously accept this prin-ciple,” Hollande said in a bid to defuse the crisis.

But he later told the people magazine Gala in October 2010 that Trierweiler was “the love of my life”, a woman the Americans call “the fi rst girlfriend”, making offi cial his relationship with the journalist.

Such scrutiny of the presi-dent’s private life was unthink-able several years ago, as the French media had shown almost complete discretion about the privacy of politicians.

Former president Jacques Chirac is believed to have had many extra-marital conquests, as did his predecessor Francois Mitterrand, who even had a

daughter born to a mistress.But much of this has been

swept under the carpet as France’s media is subject to strict laws on invasion of priva-cy, which can be punished with a year’s jail and a fi ne of 45,000 euros ($61,000).

Closer’s allegations are “cata-strophic in every possible way for Francois Hollande,” L’Alsace newspaper commented.

“French people thought he was occupied by his duties, de-voting every moment to getting the country back up. And as the results are not there, they then learn that the president of the republic has time to woo an ac-tress.”

Alleged aff air raises stakes for HollandeAFPParis

Hollande: the timing of the revelation of the alleged aff air with Gayet (pictured on the right) is particularly bad for the French president.

Former Russian spy Anna Chapman, who has cultivated a sex bomb image since her

return to Moscow, is now launch-ing her signature line of dresses, to be sold in stores around the coun-try.

Chapman, who returned in 2010 under a high-profi le Russia-US spy swap, has created a line of dresses and accessories that she presented at a trade fair in Turkey and plans to sell in Russia from February.

“The collection is based around dresses with a price range and styl-

ing that is accessible to practically any Russian woman,” a spokesman for the bank where Chapman works as an adviser, Grigory Belkin, told the Interfax news agency on Friday.

The clothes will go on sale in February, initially online and then in stores, Belkin said.

Chapman on Thursday gave a preview of the clothes at a fashion show for Turkish brand Dosso Dos-si in Antalya, a resort popular with Russians.

She told the Vechernyaya Moskva daily newspaper that the collection was “entirely created in Russia” and featured motifs from Russian fairytales and folklore, and would be sold in department stores in

cities including Moscow and the upcoming Winter Olympic venue Sochi.

Fashion news website Wday.ru published photographs of her de-signs, including handbags styled to look like copies of classic Russian novels such as Nikolai Cherny-shevsky’s What is to be done?

In 2012 Chapman herself ap-peared as a catwalk model in Tur-key, accidentally dropping a pistol she was brandishing.

Chapman has retained an enig-matic silence over her past since returning to Russia. She formally works as an adviser to the presi-dent of a bank linked to the space sector, FundServiceBank, although

her role is unclear. She also hosts a television show about the super-natural.

She regularly puts in appear-ances at fi lm premieres and other glitzy events although her fame has waned since her initial return to Russia.

In July, Chapman turned to Twitter to propose marriage to US intelligence leaker Edward Snow-den.

Russian fashion experts were sceptical, with stylist and televi-sion host Grigory Lisovets telling Vechernyaya Moskva: “I wouldn’t say Anna Chapman herself has ide-al taste. She wears clothes that are absolutely ordinary.”

Ex-spy Chapman launches fashion line AFPMoscow

Chapman: her fame has waned since her return to Russia in 2010.

Militants arrested, bomb seizedReutersMoscow

Five members of a banned militant group were ar-rested in southern Rus-

sia yesterday and a homemade bomb packed with shrapnel was defused, in another security scare weeks before the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Islamist militants have threat-ened to attack the games and suicide bombers killed at least 34 people last month in Volgograd, also in southern Russia.

President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his political and per-sonal prestige on the success of the Olympics, has ordered safety measures beefed up nationwide after the attacks.

Russia’s National Anti-ter-rorism Committee (NAC) said that the latest arrests were in Nalchik, a town about 300km from Sochi in the Caucasus re-gion, where insurgents want to carve out an Islamic state.

“Security forces have detained fi ve members of a banned inter-national terrorist organisation,” the NAC said in a statement re-ceived by Russian news agencies.

An NAC spokesman con-fi rmed the statement to Reuters.

“The anti-terrorism opera-tion discovered and seized am-munition, grenades and a home-made explosive device packed with shrapnel ready for use,” the statement said.

The weapons were discovered in the course of searching the addresses where the arrests took place, it added.

Nalchik is 100km from the town of Beslan, the site of a 2004 guerrilla attack on a school which killed 331, half of them children.

An Islamist group in the re-gion, the Caucasus Emirate, led by a former Chechen independ-ence guerrilla commander, Doku Umarov, has urged militants to use “maximum force” to prevent the Games, which open on Feb-ruary 7, from going ahead.

Putin crushed separatists in the Muslim province of Chech-nya when he rose to power 14 years ago. But the Islamist in-surgency spread to neighbour-ing Dagestan, recruiting fi ghters from as far afi eld as Canada.

On Thursday police went on combat alert in the Stavropol re-gion, also in the south, after the discovery of at least fi ve corpses with gunshot wounds and an ex-plosive device.

The head of Russia’s Olympic Committee has said Moscow has taken every possible measure to ensure the safety of the games.

Park allocated for protesters

RUSSIA

Russia said on Friday that protests will be allowed at the Sochi Winter Games next month – but only in a park located away from the main Olympic venues.Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said protesters at the Black Sea resort of Sochi will be able to gather in a park in the seaside suburb of Khosta, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.“People can freely express their opinion (there), while not breaching the rights of other citizens or the Olympic Charter,” Kozak was quoted as saying in Sochi. “At the sports stadiums, at the sports venues, in accordance with the Olympic Charter, expressions of political opinions are banned.”The suburb of Khosta is located around 18km from the Olympic Cluster, containing the Olympic Stadium and other venues, and around 20km from central Sochi.

EUROPE21Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Turkish politicians threw punches and water bottles during a debate yesterday

about government control over the appointment of judges and prosecutors, as a feud over the ruling party’s handling of a cor-ruption scandal intensifi ed.

One MP leapt on a table and threw a fl ying kick as others wrestled and punched at each other, with document folders, plastic water bottles and even an iPad fl ying through the air, a Reuters correspondent in the room said.

Parliament’s justice commis-

sion was gathering to discuss a draft bill from Prime Minis-ter Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party to give it more say over the judiciary when the scuffl es broke out.

The fi ght erupted when a representative of a judicial as-sociation arrived with a petition arguing the bill was anti-consti-tutional but he was not allowed to speak, witnesses said.

“If I am being kicked at here as a representative of the judiciary, all prosecutors and judges will be trampled on when this law passes,” a ruffl ed Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu, head of the YAR-SAV professional association, said after the ruckus.

Erdogan has cast the wide-

ranging corruption investiga-tion, which poses one of the biggest challenges of his 11-year rule, as an attempted “judicial coup” meant to undermine him in the run-up to local and presi-dential elections this year.

He has responded by purging the police force of hundreds of offi cers and seeking tighter con-trol over the judiciary.

One of Turkey’s most senior legal fi gures joined the opposi-tion on Friday in warning the AK Party its proposed reforms to the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) would breach the constitution.

Ahmet Hamsici, deputy chairman of the HSYK, said that greater government control over

the body responsible for naming judges and prosecutors would contravene the basic principle of the separation of powers.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, who was in the room when the punches were thrown, hinted that the AK Party might back down if the opposition agreed instead to changes in parts of the constitution governing the judi-ciary.

“If all political parties agree on a change in articles and an-nounce it, it could be we with-draw this draft law,” he said.

However, Bozdag’s comments drew jeers of disapproval from opposition deputies and a sen-ior source in the ruling party said Erdogan had no intention of

backing down on the draft bill.“The AKP is trying to make

its fascist regulation through violence. We won’t allow this,” said Muslim Sari, an MP for the main opposition CHP, who said he was on the receiving end of an iPad thrown during the scuffl es.

Erdogan’s supporters have cast the corruption probe as a smear campaign devised by US-based Islamic cleric Fethul-lah Gulen, who exercises broad, if covert, infl uence in the media and judiciary.

They see the HSYK as domi-nated by Gulenists.

The aff air has helped drive the lira currency to new lows and has shaken investor confi dence in a country whose stability has

largely derived from Erdogan’s strong grip on power.

However, it is the govern-ment’s reaction, seeking tighter control over the courts, police and even the Internet, which risks doing deeper long-term damage, not least to Turkey’s ambitions to join the European Union and to its relations with Washington. Both of them are already critical of its record on human rights.

The US State Department said this week it supported the Turkish people’s desire for a transparent legal system, while the EU warned Turkey, a candi-date for membership of the bloc, about threats to judicial inde-pendence.

Punches thrown as MPs debate judicial reform ReutersAnkara

Tens of thousands of dem-onstrators took to the streets of Turkey’s capi-

tal Ankara yesterday in protest against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which has been rocked by a vast corruption probe.

As the prime minister arrived home after a week-long tour to Asia, about 20,000 protesters gathered at Ankara’s major Sih-hiye Square, chanting “revolu-tion will clean this fi lth” and “they are thieves”.

Some protesters were also handing out fake dollars with Erdogan’s photo on them.

The corruption scandal im-plicating close allies of Erdogan has rattled his government to its core, and poses the biggest chal-lenge to his 11-year rule.

It erupted on December 17, when several public fi gures, including high-profi le busi-nessmen and the sons of three ministers, were detained over allegations of bribery for con-struction projects as well as il-licit money transfers to sanc-tions-hit Iran.

Forced into a major cabinet reshuffl e after the three con-cerned ministers resigned, the fi rebrand prime minister has responded angrily to the probe, calling it a “dirty plot” to dis-credit his government.

He sacked hundreds of police chiefs in a major purge and has moved to curb the powers of the judiciary.

Erdogan’s government, in power since 2002, has accused loyalists of US-exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose move-ment wields infl uence in the po-lice and judiciary, of instigating the corruption probe.

Lami Ozgen, one of the pro-test leaders, said the scandal shed light on the true face of both the government and the Gulen movement.

“The crisis has made it known to the public how those who abuse religion and faith... are fond of wealth, luxury and splendour, how they worship money and how they see bribery as their direction to Mecca,” Oz-gen said.

Gulen was a major supporter of Erdogan’s ruling AKP party when it fi rst came to power in 2002.

However, the two have part-

ed ways after the government moved to shut down a network of private schools run by the movement.

“We will not be a mere spec-tator to this power struggle, be-cause they are ... eating up our salaries and the future of our children,” said Ozgen.

Gulen, who left Turkey for the United States in 1999 after be-ing accused of plotting to form an Islamic state, has denied in-volvement in the graft investiga-tion.

The government has vowed to press ahead with a contentious reform package which would give the justice ministry more powers to decide the composi-tion of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors – the country’s top judicial body – and strip it of the power to pass decrees.

“It is out of the question for us to withdraw the proposal,” local media quoted Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag as saying.

The parliament began on Friday to debate the AKP-pro-posed changes which have been slapped down by the judicial body itself as unconstitutional and sparked criticism from the United States and the EU.

Erdogan has lashed out at a “judicial coup”, accusing pros-ecutors running the case of plot-ting to undermine him and his government.

The escalating tensions have also revealed a heated competi-tion between Erdogan and his former ally President Abdullah Gul ahead of presidential elec-tions in August.

Gul, who is expected either

to be re-elected or be the next prime minister should Erdogan become president, has so far adopted a conciliatory approach toward the crisis and commen-tators say he will be in a dilemma if the controversial bill comes his way.

“While on the one hand Gul wants to separate himself from the wrongdoings of Erdogan’s AKP, on the other he will need

both Erdogan’s approval and the AKP’s support for his politi-cal hopes. This is his dilemma,” analyst Ihsan Yilmaz wrote in Today’s Zaman, a newspaper that is affi liated with the Gulen movement.

“This is a very formidable challenge and dilemma that re-quires him to show leadership skills, prudently taking a serious risk,” he commented.

Tens of thousands at anti-govt protestAFPAnkara

Protesters hold a banner with a cartoon depicting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his three cabinet ministers who resigned under a huge graft scandal during an anti-corruption demonstration yesterday in Ankara. The text reads ‘No one is clean if the whole system is corrupt’.

Thousands of Kurd-ish demonstrators from around Europe marched

in Paris yesterday to call for a speedier investigation into the murder of three Kurdish activ-ists a year ago.

Sakine Cansiz, a founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the early 1980s, and two other Kurdish women were

found shot dead in Paris in Janu-ary 2013.

Carrying banners reading “Turkish state the murderer, France the accomplice”, dem-onstrators accused the Turkish state of being behind the mur-ders.

They also criticised the French judiciary for what they said was the slow pace of the investiga-tion.

“Today it has been one year since the murder and we still have no answers to our all ques-

tions,” Rezan, a Kurdish student living in France, told Reuters. She declined to give her family name.

Chief suspect Omer Guney, a Turkish immigrant in France, was placed under formal inves-tigation within about a week of the triple murder.

Sources told Reuters in Oc-tober that French investigators had collected evidence about Guney’s connections to Turkey, and the magistrate in charge of the case was about to lodge a

formal appeal for information to Turkey.

Turkey has denied any in-volvement in the murders, sug-gesting instead that they were related to internal disputes in the PKK.

The PKK is outlawed as a ter-rorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the European Union.

“The investigation is not making progress, we want jus-tice,” said Ali, another demon-strator in Paris, who also de-clined to give his family name.

Rally for faster inquiry into Paris killings ReutersParis

People hold a banner with pictures of the three Kurdish activists murdered in Paris a year ago, at a demonstration in Paris yesterday to commemorate their deaths. Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez were shot to death on January 9, 2013 at the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris. The motives of the triple killing remain unclear.

Reported Christian ‘martyr’ deaths doubleBy Tom Heneghan, ReutersLondon

Reported cases of Chris-tians killed for their faith around the world doubled

in 2013 from the year before, with Syria accounting for more than the whole global total in 2012, according to a survey.

Open Doors, a non-denomi-national group supporting per-secuted Christians worldwide, said this week that it had docu-mented 2,123 “martyr” killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said.

“This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can con-fi rm,” said Frans Veerman, head of research for Open Doors.

Estimates by other Christian groups put the annual fi gure as high as 8,000.

The Open Doors report placed North Korea at the top of its list of 50 most dangerous countries for Christians, a position it has held since the annual survey be-gan 12 years ago.

Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Af-ghanistan were the next four.

The US-based group report-ed increasing violence against Christians in Africa and said radical Muslims were the main source of persecution in 36 countries on its list.

Christianity is the largest and most widely spread faith in the world, with 2.2bn followers, or 32% of the world population, according to a survey by the US-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

It faces restrictions and hos-tility in 111 countries, ahead of the 90 countries limiting or har-assing the second-largest faith, Islam, another Pew survey has reported.

Michel Varton, head of Open Doors France, told journalists in Strasbourg that failing states with civil wars or persistent in-ternal tensions were often the most dangerous for Christians.

“In Syria, another war is thriving in the shadow of the civil war – the war against the church,” he said while present-ing the Open Doors report there.

About 10% of Syrians are Christians. Many have become targets for Islamist rebels who see them as supporters of Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad.

Nine of the 10 countries listed as dangerous for Christians are Muslim-majority states, many of them torn by confl icts with radical Islamists.

Saudi Arabia is an exception but ranked sixth because of its total ban on practicing faiths other than Islam.

In the list of killings, Syria was followed by Nigeria with 612 cases last year after 791 in 2012. Pakistan was third with 88, up from 15 in 2012. Egypt ranked fourth with 83 deaths after 19 the previous year.

The report had no fi gures for killings in North Korea but said Christians there faced “the highest imaginable pressure” and some 50,000 to 70,000 lived in political prison camps.

French comedian Dieu-donne sought yesterday to circumvent a ban imposed

on his controversial show over its “anti-Semitic” slant, replacing it with a new performance com-plete with “a few tai-chi moves”.

Earlier in the day he had an-nounced his intention to go ahead with four performances in Paris, despite the Friday-to-Wednesday ban on the show ti-tled The Wall.

Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala will instead present an alternate performance called Asu Zoa on a “diff erent theme”, his lawyer Jacques Verdier told AFP, noting that the ban was specifi cally on The Wall and not the new show.

The comedian had also can-celled a scheduled show in the central French city of Orleans af-

ter losing a legal challenge to get the ban lifted, Verdier said.

Outside the Main d’Or thea-tre in Paris, the police decree was pasted on the door, and a handwritten poster beside it announced Dieudonne’s “new show”.

It will include dance, music, mime “and a few tai-chi moves”, the 47-year-old Dieudonne said on his Facebook page, adding that he had written the show in three nights.

The French government branded the comic a “peddlar of hate” for his diatribes against Jews.

The comedian earlier was defi -ant, calling on his supporters in a video to buy DVDs of his show “in massive numbers”.

“The more of you there is, the more I can continue this fi ght,” he said, adding that French Inte-rior Minister Manuel “Valls has declared war against me”.

Preview performances of his The Wall tour in Paris included a sketch in which the comedian mimed urinating against a wall. He then reveals that it was the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

Amid the legal tussles over the show, Dieudonne announced in the same video that he has come up with Asu Zoa.

Dieudonne’s supporters, and even some who reject his brand of humour but defend his right to express himself, have displayed concern over the clampdown, saying that is a troubling breach of freedom of speech.

But French government law-yers argue that the comedian’s act is fundamentally racist and thus cannot be aff orded protec-tion under France’s constitu-

tional provisions on freedom of speech.

Valls vowed yesterday that he would “never allow words that divide the French”.

Dieudonne has been fi ned sev-eral times for defamation, using insulting language, hate speech and racial discrimination.

But the comedian argues that the horrors of the Holocaust are given too much focus to the ex-clusion of other crimes, like slav-ery and racism, and says his so-called “quenelle” gesture merely represents his anti-establish-ment views.

He has directed volleys of abuse at prominent French Jew-ish performers, rounding off one rant about radio presenter Patrick Cohen with the observa-tion: “Gas chambers ... a shame.”

Dieudonne has also been slammed for his trademark “quenelle” stiff -arm gesture, which has been described as a

disguised Nazi salute.The gesture, which Dieudonne

insists is purely an “up yours” to the French establishment, has taken on a life of its own.

Some people have been caught on camera doing the quenelle at Auschwitz or outside synagogues in France.

Yesterday afternoon, a handful of Dieudonne’s supporters gath-ered on Faubourg-Saint-Antoine street in central Paris chanting “Dieudo, Dieudo”. A woman aged about 60 joined in the demon-stration, crying: “Long live the Jewish dictatorship!”

Dieudonne started his career as part of a double act with a Jewish childhood friend, Elie Se-moun.

But he veered towards anti-Semitism and the change burst into the open in 2003, when he concluded a televised sketch for which he had dressed up as an extremist Jew with a Nazi salute.

French ‘anti-Semitic’ comic drops controversial show AFPParis

Dieudonne has insisted that he is anto-estalishment rather than anti-Semitic

MALL CINEMA (1): Out Of The Furnace (2D) 3pm; Justin & The

Knights Valour (2D) 5.30pm; Dedh Ishqiya (Hindi) 7.30pm;

Drishyam (Malayalam) 10.30pm.

MALL CINEMA (2): 388 Arletta Avenue (2D) 2.30pm; Mr Go (2D)

4.30pm; The Wolf Of Wall Street (2D) 7 & 10.15pm.

MALL CINEMA (3): Frozen (3D) 2.30pm; 388 Arletta Avenue (2D)

4.30 & 9pm; Mr Go (2D) 6.30pm; Out Of The Furnace (2D) 11pm.

ROYAL PLAZA Cinema Palace (1): Dedh Ishqiya (Hindi) 2.15pm;

Veeram (Tamil) 5pm; Jilla (Tamil) 8 & 11pm

ROYAL PLAZA Cinema Palace (2): Mr Go 2.30pm; Justin & The

Knights Valour (2D) 5pm; The Wolf Of Wall Street (2D) 7 & 10.15pm.

ROYAL PLAZA Cinema Palace (3): 388 Arletta Avenue (2D) 3 &

11.30pm; Frozen (3D) 5pm; Out Of The Furnace (2D) 7pm; Mr Go

(2D) 9pm.

CINEMA LANDMARK (1): Frozen (3D) 2.30pm; Jilla (Tamil) 4.30 &

10.30pm; Veeram (Tamil) 7.30pm.

CINEMA LANDMARK (2): Mr Go (2D) 2.30pm; Justin & The

Knights Valour (2D) 5pm; The Wolf Of Wall Street (2D) 7 & 10.15pm.

CINEMA LANDMARK (3): 388 Arletta Avenue (2D) 2.30 & 9.15pm;

Dedh Ishqiya (2D) 4.15pm; Out Of The Furnace (2D) 7pm; Mr Go

(2D) 11.15pm.

22 Gulf TimesSunday, January 12, 2014

INDIA

Alagiri meets Karunanidhi Former federal minister and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s south zone organising secretary M K Alagiri said yesterday that he met his father and party president M Karunanidhi to greet him on Pongal. Asked about the suspension of five of his supporters in Madurai on January 9, Alagiri said the party had taken action against them. The party suspended the five supporters for sticking wall posters hurting the party’s image. Earlier, Alagiri was warned by Karunanidhi to toe the party line or face expulsion.In a recent interview, Alagiri had opposed the party’s alliance with the DMDK for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Alagiri’s opposition came after Karunanidhi had earlier said he would be “happy” if there was an alliance between the two parties. On Jan 7, Karunanidhi warned Alagiri and others that the party would take action against those who voiced views contrary to the off icial line. He said such action could include suspension from the party. Karunanidhi termed Alagiri’s views regrettable and condemnable, saying they were contrary to the views expressed by him as party president.

UAE to open consulatein Thiruvananthapuram By Ashraf PadannaThiruvananthapuram

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will open its fi rst consulate in south India

in three months and it will be lo-cated in Kerala’s capital city.

The UAE is the second coun-try to open a consulate after the Maldives in Kerala. Saudi Arabia too has agreed to open a consu-late in the state.

“We are scouting for an ideal building and we hope to open the consulate within two or three months,” said UAE Ambassa-dor Mohamed Sultan al-Owais. “This will be a beginning and there’ll be more co-operation between the two countries.”

Al-Owais said his government would now be able to off er more services through the consulate and hoped more investments

would fl ow into Kerala from his country.

The announcement was wel-comed by Chief Minister Oom-men Chandy and federal Minis-ter of State for Human Resources Shashi Tharoor, who invited the UAE to open its mission in the state when he was India’s junior foreign minister in 2011.

“I thank the UAE government for this gesture. All those Keral-ites working in the UAE will also rejoice in this decision,” Chandy said at the “UAE-Kerala Part-ners in the Growth” conference organised by the UAE embassy.

The UAE is the largest foreign investor in Kerala where DP World is operating India’s fi rst interna-tional container transshipment terminal and “SmartCity Kochi,” an exclusive space for knowledge industries promoted by the Tecom Investments. The project is under construction in the port city.

“The establishment of a con-sulate affi rms the special rela-tionship between Kerala and the UAE. It cements the growing international stature of Thiru-vananthapuram,” said Tharoor, who expressed his gratitude to UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

K C Joseph, the state’s min-ister of Non-Resident Keralites Aff airs (NORKA), thanked Yu-suff ali MA, leading businessman and vice-chairman of the NOR-KA-Roots, and the lone non-Arab director of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry for his role in promoting ties between the two regions.

“This will defi nitely help boost the commercial ties and there will be more investments coming in. This will also help Dubai to moni-tor its project in a more eff ective manner,” said Yusuff ali who him-self is a major investor in Kerala.

Yeddyurappareturn unlikelyto help BJPregain image IANSBangalore

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) increasingly dem-onstrates that it is becom-

ing a party of contradictions, at least in Karnataka, as it tries to cash in on the strong national mood against corruption while depending on local leader B S Yeddyurappa, who is fi ghting several graft cases, to shore up its declining fortunes in the state.

It is true that Yeddyurappa, the BJP’s fi rst chief minister in the state, was desperate to re-turn to the party after his gam-ble of leading a regional outfi t fl opped in the Karnataka assem-bly elections last May. The Kar-nataka Janata Party which he headed after quitting the BJP in Dec 2012 won merely six seats in the 225-member assembly and its performance in the Lok Sa-hba elections in April-May was widely expected to be worse.

But the BJP was so shattered by its own poor show in the assem-bly polls - it won just 40 seats - that it swallowed its pride and junked high-sounding slogans like “No place for the corrupt in the party” to get back Yeddy-urappa, believing his return will help the party win at least 20 of Karnataka’s 28 Lok Sabha seats.

Riding on the mood against BJP as its tenure under Yeddy-urappa between 2008 and 2011 was marred by various scandals - rape, corruption and illegal land deals - the Congress returned to power in the state, bagging 122 seats in the assembly. The Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) took 40 seats and smaller parties the remain-ing 16 seats.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elec-tions, when the BJP was in power, it had won 19 of the 28 seats. The Congress, then t h e main opposi-tion party, had bagged six and the JD-S three.

Y e d -durap-p a ’ s k e e n -ness to return to

the BJP and its eagerness to take him back appears to be no more than a tale of two weak parties coming together in the hope of becoming strong to fi ght the re-juvenated Congress in the state on the plank of corruption of the central government headed by that party.

Hence, in Karnataka, the April-May Lok Sabha elections will be a battle between corrup-tion at the central level under the Congress-led United Progres-sive Alliance government and the BJP’s corruption during its fi rst and only rule in the state.

In this context, there is doubt in political circles about the BJP benefi ting much by taking back Yeddyurappa as his infl u-ence over the voters, particularly from the Lingayat community to which he belongs, was on the wane after he quit the party and headed the KJP.

The BJP grabbed power in the 2008 assembly elections under Yeddyurappa’s leadership main-ly because the Lingayat commu-nity, which constitutes 17% of the state’s over 60mn popula-tion, is believed to have voted in large numbers for the party.

Though it is claimed that public memory is short, Kar-nataka voters are not likely to forget easily the abuses that BJP and Yeddyurappa hurled at each other after he quit the party.

The BJP had dismissed any negative impact from Yeddy-urappa leaving the party and cited examples of Uttar Pradesh leader Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharati of Madhya Pradesh and Keshub-hai Patel of Gujarat, who virtually became non-entities in political fi eld after leaving the BJP.

Yeddyurappa had called the state BJP leaders “back-stab-bers” and had vowed never to

return to the party.Despite the BJP’s ex-

perience of not gain-ing from the return of Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati, the party has

opted to bank on Yeddyurappa, a

clear indication that it is in a desperate situation in Karnataka.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal receives complaints from people during the Aam Aadmi Party’s first ‘Janata Darbar’ in New Delhi yesterday.

50,000 join AAP on fi rst day of recruitment drive The party’s popularity suggests it could become a bigger movement that could threaten the grip of the main parties on national politics

AgenciesNew Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party has signed up tens of thou-sands of members in a

nationwide recruitment drive as it seeks to build support ahead of general elections, an offi cial said yesterday.

The new anti-graft party plans to contest seats in the na-tional elections due by May fol-lowing its success in the Delhi state polls last month in which it routed the scandal-tainted Congress Party that rules at the national level.

“We had nearly 50,000 peo-ple sign up in the fi rst three hours of our membership drive,” senior party leader Gopal Rai said.

The party is spearheaded by Arvind Kejriwal, 44, a former taxman who has modelled him-self as an anti-corruption ac-tivist and is now Delhi’s chief minister.

Observers say the party’s popularity suggests it could be-come a bigger movement that could threaten the grip of the main parties, the Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on national politics.

The AAP has also drawn a string of high-profi le recruits in a boost to its national aspi-rations and eff orts to change the face of India’s graft-ridden politics.

Prominent banker Meera Sanyal and G R Gopinath, the founder of a budget airline, are among those who have signed up with Kejriwal’s party.

Kejriwal has said the party’s target is to enrol 10mn members by January 26 when India cel-ebrates its Republic Day.

The AAP’s success in the Del-hi elections “has spread hope

for honest politics throughout the country. So many people want to be a member of the party and work for change,” said Rai.

A public meeting called yes-terday by the AAP to hear griev-ances saw a huge crowd turn up in central Delhi, armed with written complaints.

The “Janata Durbar” or peo-ple’s court had to be called off midway as the crowd exceeded expected numbers, leading to chaos and a near stampede.

The chief minister later prom-ised a better show - and soon.

An estimated 5,000 people poured into the open space out-side the Delhi Secretariat since early morning, eager to pour out their woes to Kejriwal and his ministers.

But the crowds were so over-whelming that Kejriwal had to retreat to his room in about 45 minutes at the suggestion of the Delhi Police.

The chief minister apologised for the poor arrangements, and

said later that such was the rush that some over-enthusiastic complainants climbed on his desk and chairs around him.

Some people broke the barri-cades meant to keep the crowds in check.

“If I had not left the place, there was a possibility of a stam-pede. Everybody wanted to meet me,” he said, admitting that he didn’t anticipate such crowds.

“We will streamline the sys-tem so that a similar situation does not recur.

We will improve the system. I will sit with offi cers and make

necessary arrangements,” he told reporters.

Later, addressing the crowds from the roof of a single-storey building, Kejriwal said: “We will have another ‘Janata Darbar’ in four or fi ve days. It will be better organised and better managed.”

A new anti-corruption hot-line launched this week was similarly overwhelmed by thou-sands of calls on its fi rst day.

Kejriwal has said his cabinet will hold Janata Darbar sit in front of Delhi government offi c-es every Saturday to hear public grievances.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy shakes hands with Ambassador Owais as Tharoor, Joseph, Yusuffali and Tharoor’s wife Sundanda Pushkar look on.

Two children died and 30 people were hospitalised after eating poisonous ‘prasad’ in Tripura, an off icial said yesterday. The condition of 10 people is critical. “A total of 32 people, including children and women, took ill after eating ‘prasad’ at a religious function in Dharmanagar in Tripura on Friday night. Two children died while others were being treated at a government hospital,” a health department spokesman said. In another incident, more than 300 people, including women and children, fell ill after eating leftover food distributed as part of funeral rites of a person in Malpura area near Agra in Uttar Pradesh.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who performed with southern stars Mohanlal and Mammootty at the recent 16th Ujala Asianet Film Awards in Dubai, said he was touched by the love they bestowed on him. The actor took to Twitter to share the emotions he experienced on performing with the two stars. “To be given so much love by Mammootty and Mohanlal sir, felt like crying receiving so much kindness from artists who inspire me to be an actor,” Khan tweeted yesterday. He said the award function made him “proud” to be an actor. “I felt so proud to be an actor tonight. Thank you all and Allah for giving me so much love,” he added.

Comedian Sunil Grover, much in the news in late last year for his hasty exit from Kapil Sharma’s comedy show is set to resurrect his beloved creation Gutthi in a different avatar on his own show. The show will air on Star Plus later this month. The new female character that Grover would introduce on his show would be called Chutki. Chukti would physically resemble Gutthi, a source said and added: “The get-up and body-language would be similar but not identical. Sunil Grover and the channel want to give a fresh identity to Sunil Grover’s show. They don’t want it to look like a carryover of Kapil Sharma’s show.”

Police said yesterday they have arrested four men in Hyderabad for the alleged gang-rape of a dancer from Mumbai on New Year Eve. The suspects were arrested after police identified them with the help of CCTV footage of an ATM while withdrawing money using the debit card of the victim. The girl, who was called from Mumbai to perform at a New Year party, was drugged and raped by the men. The victim alleged suspects received her at the airport on December 31 and took her to a house where she was served a soft drink mixed with drugs. The accused then allegedly raped her and took away her ATM card.

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt has been under fire for performing at the Saifai Mahotsav in Uttar Pradesh, following which her father Mahesh Bhatt issued an apology. However, superstar Salman Khan, who was also among the performers, says the filmmaker needn’t be apologetic about his daughter’s “upbringing”. “Bhatt saab, no need for apology, Alia’s upbringing is great. I was proud to share the stage with her. She earns her living with hardwork and dignity,” Khan tweeted yesterday. Bhatt had apologised for letting Alia perform at the event organised by Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Two kids die in Tripura after eating ‘prasad’

SRK performs with Mammootty, Mohanlal

Gutthi to turn into Chutki on own show

Four arrested for rape of Mumbai dancer

No need for apology: Salman tells Bhatt

TRAGEDY SHOWBIZENTERTAINMENT CRIME CONTROVERSY

Mobiles, wallets stolen at ‘Janata Darbar’

Six complaints of mobile theft and pockets being picked were received by police yesterday from people who went to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his ‘Janata Darbar’ outside the Secretariat, off icials said. “A total of six complaints were received by 2pm

including from two journalists and a policemen. The three lost their mobile phones,” a police off icer said. Police said complaints were also received about pick pocketing. One reporter lost his mobile phone while taking an interview of Law Minister Somnath Bharti.

INDIA23

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 2014

Happy if Pawar becomes PM, says Shinde IANSSolapur, Maharashtra

Federal Home Minister Su-shilkumar Shinde yester-day expressed a wish to see

his political mentor Sharad Pa-war of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as the prime minis-ter of India.

“I would be happy if Sharad Pawar became the PM. He is my political guru and I entered poli-tics because of him,” Shinde, a policeman-turned-politician and former Maharashtra chief minister, said during an inter-action with editors of the local Marathi news media here.

The senior Congress leader’s comments came ahead of his party’s critical January 17 ses-sion where speculation is rife that party vice president Rahul Gandhi may be named its prime minister candidate for the 2014 general elections.

Shinde said everybody has ambitions. “Pawar has been try-ing (to become PM) since 1992, but he fell victim to Delhi poli-tics.”

He added that he has merely reiterated what he has repeated on several occasions, including at the national level.

Pawar had split from the Con-gress in 1999 on the issue of party president Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins and formed the NCP.

Last week, he declared that he would not contest the Lok Sabha elections but instead settle for a Rajya Sabha seat.

Responding to Shinde’s com-ments, NCP state spokesman Nawab Malik, while thanking the Congress leader, made clear that Pawar was “not in the race” for the prime minister’s post.

In contrast, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leader Prakash Jawadekar said Shinde is not in a position to decide on the prime minister “as the peo-ple of the country have already selected Narendra Modi.”

There has been no response from the Congress on Shinde’s comments so far.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley yes-terday hit out at Shinde’s ad-visory for releasing “minority youth” detained wrongfully and said the move was “unconstitu-tional.”

Referring to the home minis-ter’s letter to chief ministers to review cases of terrorism against “members of minority commu-nities,” Jaitley said: “Obviously, he has only religious minor-ity and not linguistic minority in mind.”

Devyani Khobragade leaves the Ministry of External Aff airs in New Delhi after meeting Salman Khurshid yesterday.

No standoff with US overdiplomaticrow: minister Khurshid says India should have been given the chance to withdraw Khobragade before she was arrested

AgenciesNew Delhi

India said yesterday there was “no standoff ” with Washing-ton after it expelled a US dip-

lomat in a bitter row over the ar-rest and strip search of an Indian consulate offi cial in New York.

External Aff airs Minister Sal-man Khurshid’s comments came a day after New Delhi gave a US diplomat 48 hours to quit the country over the dispute that has seriously strained bilateral ties.

“There is no standoff between India and the US,” Khurshid told reporters, adding “if there are any issues” the countries will “sort them out mutually.”

Relations began fraying when Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested last month on charges of visa fraud involving her domestic servant and lying about how much she paid her.

Shortly before her indictment on Thursday, Washington grant-ed Khobragade - who has denied all charges - full diplomatic im-munity, allowing her to return to India in what appeared to be a compromise worked out with New Delhi.

But the announcement late Friday that India had ordered the US diplomat to leave in apparent reprisal for its envoy’s treatment in New York suggested New Delhi was not ready to be entirely for-giving.

The deeply unpopular Con-gress government, struggling to win back favour in general elec-tions due by May, has been un-der heavy pressure to act tough with Washington as opposition politicians have pounced on US actions.

They have denounced the treatment of the Indian diplomat as a violation of national sov-ereignty and said the US should not be allowed to ride roughshod over Indian interests.

News of the US embassy of-fi cial’s expulsion was splashed

over newspaper front pages yes-terday along with photos of Kho-bragade arriving home in Delhi late Friday, her palms pressed together in a traditional Indian greeting.

The Indian Express newspaper said: “Delhi goes for revenge ex-pulsion.”

The exact timing of the US diplomat’s departure from India was unclear as the US embassy was not returning phone calls.

“I am really thankful for all your support. My government will speak for me, my lawyer will speak for me,” Khobragade, 39, who left her husband and two children behind in the US, told reporters yesterday.

Khurshid, in other comments yesterday, called it “unfortunate” that the diplomat “couldn’t complete her (US) tenure.”

He said the US should have warned senior offi cials visiting Washington a day before Kho-bragade’s arrest by State Depart-ment security in December.

“It wasn’t even mentioned,” Khurshid told the CNN-IBN tel-evision network. He called the row a “mini crisis” and said In-dia should have been given the chance to withdraw Khobragade before she was arrested.

He said the core of the US-In-dian relationship was very strong and that he didn’t expect lasting damage from what has turned into the biggest rift in years.

“I think we’ve found that at least the immediate, immediate concerns have been addressed,” Khurshid said. “But there’s a lot more still to do.”

He did not clarify what else must be done to avoid last-ing damage to ties between the countries, who share some $100bn in annual trade.

The two countries co-operate on a wide range of issues includ-ing counter-terrorism, regional security and defence. India is also a major market for US weap-ons.

The US said late Friday it “deeply regrets” India’s expul-sion of the US offi cial and wanted to mend a partnership Washing-ton has seen as a potential bul-wark against China’s growing might.

“We’re looking to move our relationship forward. We’re looking to move past this chal-lenging time,” US State Depart-ment spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

US President Barack Obama had earlier called relations with India “one of the defi ning part-nerships of the 21st century.”

Khobragade allegedly obtained a visa for her maid by promising to pay her $4,500 a month and then struck a secret deal to pay her Rs30,000 ($573) a month, far below the US minimum wage.

Despite its soothing words, Washington has said the Indian diplomat cannot return to the US unless she surrenders to the court.

The US embassy would not identify the expelled offi cial but Indian newspapers named him as Wayne May, who managed secu-rity staff .

The expelled US diplomat was of “similar rank” to Khobragade, the media said.

The diplomat’s arrest outside her children’s school and treat-ment in custody, where she was cavity searched, outraged India, which insisted she had diplo-matic immunity.

India used bulldozers to re-move security barriers at the US embassy in New Delhi and even stopped the mission importing duty-free alcohol.

While Americans took the maid’s side, many affl uent In-dians who pay their servants far less than Khobragade was ac-cused of paying hers, supported the diplomat and viewed her treatment as high-handed su-perpower behaviour.

Even traditional US supporters were angered by Washington’s actions.

Austerity be damned, Maya’s

birthday to be lavish aff air IANSLucknow

In the age of new-found austerity, politicians across the country are doing eve-

rything to ensure that they are seen as no less humble than the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party leaders.

But not Bahujan Samaj Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Maya-wati.

Known for her penchant for extravagance and glitz, her fall from grace in Uttar Pradesh has seemingly not dimmed her tastes. And so, as her party gears up for a massive show of strength in Lucknow on Janu-ary 15, BSP organisers have been told to open up their purses to make the event a huge success.

The rally, her fi rst since she lost power 2012 to the Sama-jwadi Party, is being “organ-ised in such a manner that the base vote bank of the party is reassured that Behenji is still in command,” a BSP source said, referring to Mayawati.

A senior party leader said that while the capital city Luc-know will be plastered with hoardings, banners and post-ers of the rally to be held at the Ramabai Ambedkar Sthal in

Aashiana, thousands of square feet will have a tent to ensure that visitors are not hit by the vagaries of nature.

Lucknow is facing inclem-ent weather including frequent rains.

The adjoining Smriti Upvan park is being decked up for the night stay of party workers who are likely to trickle in from to-morrow.

All party legislators have been asked to ensure that at least 10,000 people come from their constituencies, party leaders say. Mayawati has asked the or-ganisers to ensure the “best” for the estimated 600,000 people expected in Lucknow.

With the Lok Sabha polls on her mind, special focus is

being paid to ferry support-ers from Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and And-hra Pradesh.

A lavish spread of cuisine including khaman dhokla, khandvi, sarson ka saag, makke di roti, dosa and uttapam as well as choorma, baati chokha and meat fare will be served by the best in the industry.

“Behenji is very caring about the cadres and has never been a miser when it comes to her par-ty workers and cadres,” says a close aide. To ensure that she is heard loud and clear, a hi-tech public address system is also being installed.

The party has booked 23 trains from all over the country to transport activists to Luc-know. The Government Rail-way Police (GRP) has sought the services of 10 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary for the event and to handle the infl ux of the participants.

GRP Inspector S P Sonkar said the requisition for addi-tional forces for January 15 had been made.

Twelve people returning from a BSP rally were killed in a stampede in 2002 at the Char-bagh railway station here.

The January 15 rally coincides with Mayawati’s 57th birthday.

A woman walks her dog after a fresh snowfall at Kufri, some 17km from the northern hill town of Shimla yesterday.

Shimla, Manali wrapped in white blanket again IANSShimla

Himachal Pradesh’s prom-inent tourist sites Shimla and Manali yesterday

woke up to a blanket of fresh snow, turning the hill stations more picturesque. The minimum temperature recorded here was 0.1 degree Celsius.

Shimla saw a light spell of overnight snowfall, and nearby places like Kufri and Narkanda have experienced moderate snowfall, according to a weath-er offi cial. Manali too received moderate snow.

Water in taps in residential ar-eas located in Shimla’s US Club and Jakhu hills remained frozen throughout the day due to the extreme cold.

Likewise, the Solang ski slopes, 13km uphill from Manali, and Kalpa, 250km from here, also witnessed snow.

As news of the snowfall fl ashed across the plains, tourists started arriving in Shimla and Manali and the nearby hills.

Bharmour town in Chamba district was the coldest place with a minimum temperature at minus 13.1 degrees Celsius. It saw 10cm snow.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti dis-trict saw a low of minus 8.7 de-grees, while the minimum tem-

perature was minus 4.4 degrees at Kalpa in Kinnaur district, minus 1.6 in Manali in Kullu dis-trict, and 5.4 in Dharamsala in Kangra district.

Shimla witnessed the season’s second snowfall, said the offi cial. It last got snow on December 22.

The snow-clad Dhauladhar ranges, forming the backdrop of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association venue in Dharam-sala, turned white.

“The higher reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Sir-maur, Mandi, Shimla and Cham-ba districts have been experienc-ing moderate to heavy snowfall for the past three days, while mid and lower hills were lashed with rain,” the offi cial said.

The weatherman said there are chances of more rain and snow across the state in the next few days as western disturbances are active in the region.

Meanwhile, night tempera-tures remained below freezing point as cold wave conditions continued across the Kashmir Valley.

An offi cial of the meteorologi-cal department said that rain and snow would occur at isolated places across Jammu and Kash-mir during the next 24 hours.

Most water bodies, including the Dal Lake in Srinagar and the Wullar Lake in north Kashmir, have partially frozen.

Mayawati: show of strength .

“I think we’ve found that at least the immediate, immediate concerns have been addressed”

LATIN AMERICA

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201424

US offi cial hails Cuba talks toneUS off icial in Cuba for migration talks, praises Cuba travel liberalisation

By Marc Frank, ReutersHavana

A US State Department offi cial in Cuba for migration talks on Friday praised the tone of current rela-

tions between the US and Cuba, and vis-ited jailed US contractor Alan Gross during a three-day trip to the Communist-run island to demonstrate Washington’s con-cern over his plight.

Edward Alex Lee, the US acting deputy assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere aff airs, said migration talks were “very constructive and have led to some positive outcomes,” but he did not elaborate.

Lee said he also met with dissidents and other government offi cials without di-vulging the contents of his conversations.

Talks between the two countries were suspended in 2003 by president George W Bush. They were briefl y revived by Presi-dent Barack Obama’s administration in 2009, but were suspended in 2011 when Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison for installing Internet networks for Cuban Jews in a US programme Cuba considers subversive.

Cuba, whose delegation was led by Jose-

fi na Vidal Ferreiro, director general of the US Division of the Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs, said in a statement that the talks had taken place in a “respectful environment”.

The strained relationship between the long-time foes has eased since Obama began his second term in offi ce. Recently, State Department and Cuban offi cials told Reuters that contacts have been cordial - highlighted by Obama’s handshake with Cuban President Raul Castro at Nelson Mandela’s memorial in South Africa in December.

“Despite our historically diffi cult rela-tionship, over the course of the past year and a half we have been able to speak to each other in a respectful and thoughtful manner,” Lee told a rare press conference in Havana.

“Despite barriers, the US and Cuba con-tinue to seek opportunities to co-operate and advance our shared interests,” he said, citing ongoing discussions around resum-ing direct postal service, preventing oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and co-ordi-nated search and rescue operations at sea.

The migration discussion was the latest high profi le event between the two govern-ments, which do not have diplomatic rela-tions. The last such meeting was held July 2013.

Under accords signed in 1994 and 1995, both governments pledged to promote safe, legal and orderly migration between

Cuba and the US and to meet every six months to review the issue.

As part of the accords, the US also agreed to accept 20,000 Cuban immi-grants every year.

Gross’s arrest in late 2009 and sentenc-ing in March 2011 stalled a brief period of detente in US-Cuba relations after Obama took offi ce and quickly loosened restric-tions on travel and remittances to the is-land for Cuban Americans with relatives in Communist-run Cuba.

Cuba relaxed its own restrictions on travel in January 2013, increasing the number of Cubans able to travel legally to the US and allowing prominent dissidents to travel abroad freely since then.

The US recently began issuing fi ve-year visas to some Cubans, instead of the usual six months.

But barriers still exist to more funda-mental change in relations, principally the fate of Gross and four Cuban intelligence agents imprisoned in the US more than 15 years ago, both discussed during the talks, Lee said.

“Throughout the discussions we ex-pressed our sincerest hope that the gov-ernment of Cuba allows Alan Gross to re-turn to his family ... and we took note of what the Cubans said about their prison-ers,” Lee said, adding he had visited with the contractor but could not divulge the content of a private discussion.

Bogota’s Mayor Gustavo Petro speaks to supporters from the City Hall balcony in downtown Bogota. Petro was removed from off ice by Colombia’s Attorney General and barred for 15 years, due to a scandal involving the city garbage collection. In addition to being removed from his post and his term, Colombia’s election authorities accepted an opponent’s petition for a referendum to be held on March 2.

Defiant!

‘Blacks for sale’ online ad sparks outrage in Brazil AFPRio de Janeiro

A shocking ad on one of Latin Ameri-ca’s biggest online marketplaces, of-fering “blacks for sale for one real”

($0.42), has sparked outrage in Brazil and a police investigation.

The ad featured a photo of two black chil-dren, and suggested any blacks purchased could “serve as carpenters, masons, cooks, security guards, nightclub bouncers, jani-tors, garbage collectors, or housekeepers.”

Within a few hours, some 1,700 Brazilian responded with outraged comments.

Government offi cials also weighed in, with the agency in charge of racial equality urging online vendor MercadoLivre to turn over information on the author of the ad to bring charges against him.

The ad was “an off ense to the entire soci-ety,” rights offi cial Carlos Alberto Silva Jun-ior told AFP.

“Incitement to discrimination or preju-dice by race, colour, ethnicity or religion” is punishable by two to fi ve years in jail and by a fi ne, he added.

He emphasised that the Internet sites should assume their share of responsibility and put in place fi lters to block any racist content.

MercadoLivre, the biggest online buying and selling community in Latin America, said it has turned over account information for the person who posted the ad last week to Rio de Janeiro police and an investigation was planned.

Meanwhile, the site had pulled the ad and condemned it.

But David Santos, the head of Educafro, a civil rights group championing the labour

and educational rights of blacks and indig-enous people, said the ad may have an unin-tended positive impact.

He told AFP “that unconsciously this per-son has helped us debate with Brazilian so-ciety to make it aware that blacks have the same rights as whites.”

More than half of Brazil’s 200mn people are of African descent, the world’s second largest black population after that of Ni-geria.

The Latin American country was one of the last countries to abolish slavery, in 1888, and Afro-Brazilians complain of widespread racial inequality and disproportionate poverty.

After 13 years of debate, Brazilian Presi-dent Dilma Rousseff enacted in August 2012 a controversial law that reserves 50% of university spots to students from pub-lic schools, with a priority given to blacks, mixed race, and indigenous people.

A vehicle goes through the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, in Bolivia near the crest of the Andes, some 3,650m above sea level after seasonal rains flooded the area on Friday.

Water ‘hazard’

Ban imposed on carbon credits for HFC-23 projects ReutersSao Paulo

Verifi ed Carbon Standards (VCS), the world’s lead-ing voluntary program

to reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions, said its rules for carbon off set projects will no longer al-low projects that destroy potent greenhouse gas HFC-23 to earn

carbon credits, betting that in-ternational eff orts to regulate the gases will be successful.

The refrigerant industry in-troduced HFCs, or hydrofl uoro-carbons, to replace CFCs, or chlorofl uorocarbons, which were banned because they damaged the ozone layer that protects the Earth from excessive solar radia-tion.

Jerry Seager, chief program of-

fi cer at the nonprofi t VCS, said in a note that the UN’s Mon-treal Protocol is the appropriate mechanism for addressing HFC-23 emissions, despite the role that carbon markets have played relating to the chemical.

VCS said it could con-sider whether market incen-tives should be reconsidered in this area “should there be little progress towards direct interna-

tional regulation of HFC emis-sions over the coming years.”

Countries that are parties to the Montreal Protocol are trying to reach an agreement to dras-tically reduce the use of HFCs, heat-trapping gases that are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide.

The US and China announced a breakthrough agreement last year to sharply reduce the use of

HFCs, a goal backed by the G-20, but countries came short of a more comprehensive agreement during the U.N-backed talks in Thailand last October.

Some developing countries, led by India, were asking for fi -nancial assistance to reduce the use of the powerful heat-trap-ping gas.

The VCS said the decision is eff ective immediately. Projects

already registered remain eli-gible to generate carbon credits until the end of their crediting periods.

Last month, the European Union reached a tentative deal to limit the use of HFCs. Coun-tries in the bloc will try to cut by 80% the amount of the gas by 2030.

The EU had already blocked the use on its carbon market of

credits generated by projects that destroy HFCs.

Those projects came under suspicion after green groups said some plants, instead of adopting techniques to directly eliminate HFCs in the industrial process, kept emitting the gases only with the intention to im-plement projects that win car-bon credits by destroying them afterwards.

Man throws money, caution, to the winds

A Frenchman who won a casino

jackpot showered pub patrons and

staff with banknotes worth thou-

sands of dollars in south-eastern

Uruguay on Friday night.

The unidentified man took his

winnings to the nearby Moby Dick

Pub and hurled the money from a

terrace, witnesses said.

“When I saw that I couldn’t

believe it, but instead of trying

to catch the bills in the air I went

around collecting them from the

pavement, and I found a big wad

of notes in a flowerpot,” a young

man named Humberto Correa

told local television.

Correa said he gathered up

about 4,000 dollars in all, which

he said would help to pay for skin

cancer treatment for his ailing

father.

Local media estimated the total

bounty at about $30,000.

After the celebratory fling

- which included him burning

some notes with a lighter - the

Frenchman hailed a taxi to return

to his hotel, but discovered that

he needed to borrow money to

pay the fare.

US Supreme Court set to hear Argentina debt case AFPBuenos Aires

The US Supreme Court ac-cepted on Friday Argentina’s request to review a key ruling

in its fi ght against hedge funds seek-ing to force the country to pay up on defaulted bonds.

In the second of two petitions the country has made to the court, Argentina has objected to a lower court ruling that gave hedge fund bondholders the power to pursue the country’s non-US assets.

Argentina argues that the US For-eign Sovereign Immunities Act pro-tects its property, including fi nancial assets, from creditors.

In August 2012, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that FSIA did not prevent hedge funds NML Capital and Aurelius Capital from seeking information on Argentine assets - like data on bank

accounts the government holds - as they try to press the country to re-pay their bonds. The ruling gave the funds the power to enforce subpoe-nas against two banks for informa-tion about Argentine assets.

The Argentina petition to the high-est court to review that ruling had the support of the US government.

In a brief fi led in early Decem-ber, the US Justice Department also urged the Supreme Court to accept the appeal, arguing that the FSIA protects foreign governments’ prop-erty “unless the property is used for a commercial activity in the US.”

“The court of appeals’ decision is incorrect,” US Solicitor General Donald Verrilli said in the brief.

Lower US courts have ordered Buenos Aires to pay the two hedge funds the full value of the sovereign bonds they hold, even though they refused to join most of the country’s other bondholders in a restructuring of the debt.

People cheer and wave as a caravan of military trucks, re-enacting the triumphal 1959 march into Havana by Fidel Castro and his ‘Barbudos’ (bearded) guerrillas, drive past in Havana on Friday.

Anniversary parade

PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN25Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

In the wake of 18th Constitutional Amendment, which devolved powers, resources and allocations among the country’s four provinces, the Pakistan Muslim league-N government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has decided to include a separate chapter on development priorities for the provinces into the upcoming five-year national development plan and Vision 2025, off icial sources here say. In pursuance of the mandate of 18th Amendment and the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award the federal government has taken a principle stance to bring federating units at the centre of the development stage.

Pakistan’s northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become the first province in the country to have formally enacted a law to set up top level body to combat corruption in public sphere. The provincial assembly has passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab [accountability] Commission Bill, 2013, which provides for the establishment of a five-member Ehtesab Commission and appointment of a director general for preventing corruption and corrupt practices and to hold accountable all public off iceholders for these practices. Under the Act, the government will take steps to set up as many as accountability courts as may be necessary.

The Pakistan government is set to downsize bureaucracy by closing down eight foreign trade missions and retrenching staff in 50 others, with the first move estimated to save the national exchequer Rs500mn per annum. The trade missions are established with a clear mandate of promoting exports and securing market access for Pakistani products in foreign countries. Off icial sources in the Prime Minister Secretariat confirm that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved the closure of the eight trade missions. The trade missions to be closed down include one each at Baku in Azerbaijan, Athens in Greece, Tripoli in Libya, Cairo in Egypt and OIC in Jeddah.

A mapping study carried out by Pakistan’s state-run Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission for the period between 2008 and 2013 has shown that snow cover over the Indus River basin during the winter of last year was greater. If meteorological conditions remain average, it is expected that rivers this year will have greater flows when compared to previous years, says the study. The snow cover has been calculated for the entire Indus river basin, including its eastern and western tributaries. Results show large variations in snow cover from year to year, with a rising trend from 2008 to 2013.

The World Bank is in the process of closing trade and transport facilitation project in Pakistan, and has cancelled unused funds of $19mn provided by its aff iliate, International Development Association (IDA), for the project. The $25mn trade and transport facilitation project was to improve performance of trade and transport logistics by facilitating the implementation of the National Trade Corridor Improvement Programme. A new report on implementation of the project released by the World Bank this week, said that cancellation of part of the unused IDA funds from the project will enable the government to reserve these funds for other programmes.

Pakistan set to finalisenew five-year plan

Khyber all set to launch commission to fight graft

Closure of trade missions to save Rs500mn a year

River flows likely to improve this year

W Bank closing transportproject in Pakistan

STRATEGY POLITICSREVENUE ENVIRONMENT FUNDING

Bravery award for teenage bomb hero

A Pakistani teenager who sacrifi ced his life to stop a suicide bomber, sav-

ing the lives of hundreds of stu-dents, has been honoured with the country’s highest award for bravery.

Aitzaz Hassan, 15, a student in Hangu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has become a national hero after tackling the bomber who came to attack his school on Monday while hundreds of students were inside.

Hassan died in hospital after the bomber blew himself up at the school gates. No one else was wounded or killed in the incident.

The offi ce of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said it had advised President Mamnoon Hussain “to approve the confer-ment of Sitara-e-Shujjat (star of bravery) to Shaheed (martyred) Aitzaz Hassan.

“Shaheed (martyred) Ait-zaz’s brave act saved the lives of hundreds of students and estab-lished a sterling example of gal-lantry and patriotism,” it said in a statement issued late Friday.

An offi cial from the Prime Minister’s house said yesterday that Hasan’s family is expected to receive the posthumous award on March 23, Pakistan’s national day, following the president’s ceremonial approval.

News of Hassan’s act led to an outpouring of tributes on social media.

Pakistani newspapers, TV channels and social media sites had demanded recognition for Hassan’s bravery, calling him a hero who should receive the na-tion’s highest award.

Pakistan private TV channel Express News yesterday broad-cast footage from Hassan’s vil-

lage Ibrahimzai, in Hangu dis-trict, showing groups of people laying fl oral wreaths on his grave and hailing him as a hero.

A military statement yes-terday said Brigadier Nadeem Zaki Manj, local commander in Hangu, visited Hassan’s grave and laid a fl oral wreath on be-half of General Raheel Sharif, the head of Pakistan’s army.

The commander also con-veyed Sharif’s “rich tributes to the bereaved family on the brav-ery and sacrifi ce” of their son, the statement added.

“The Nation is proud of this young Hero who has set a ster-ling example of bravery and sac-rifi ce... he has sacrifi ced his to-

day for our better tomorrow,” the army chief said in a message for Hassan’s father.

Several Pakistani TV channels also showed footage of hundreds of students praying for Hassan in the morning school assembly.

“We are proud of him, he saved our lives, we will remem-ber him forever,” a student told Express News.

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban for championing girls’ right to education, paid tribute to the teenager on Friday, describ-ing him as “brave and coura-geous”.

“In sacrifi cing his own life,

Aitzaz protected hundreds of innocent young students from being killed,” she said in a state-ment.

“I wish that in giving his own life he helps to bring peace to my people and my country,” she said.

Malala, who was last year nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, has also called for the government to award Hassan its “highest national award”.

“His bravery must never be forgotten,” she said.

Hassan’s father Mujahid Ali Bangash, 55, said on Thursday he felt not sadness but pride at his son’s death.

“Aitzaz has made us proud

by valiantly intercepting the bomber and saving the lives of hundreds of his fellow students,” he said.

“I am happy that my son has become a martyr by sacrifi cing his life for a noble cause.”

Bangash works in the UAE and was only able to reach Ibrahim-zai village, which lies in an area of Hangu dominated by minority Shia Muslims, the day after his son’s funeral.

Police offi cial Shakirullah Bangash told AFP on Thurs-day that Aitzaz intercepted the bomber 150 metres away from the main gate of the school, which has around 1,000 stu-dents.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has advised the president to approve the conferment of Sitara-e-Shujjat to the 15 year-old boy Aitzaz Hassan who died while trying to stop a suicide bomber and saved hundreds of lives

AFPIslamabad

Pakistani Army soldiers lay floral wreath on behalf of Pakistan’s Army Chief General Raheel Sharif at the grave of Aitzaz Hassan, a boy who sacrificed his life to stop a suicide bomber outside their school gate in Hangu, Pakistan, yesterday.

Supporters of former president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf hold a banner during a protest in favour of Musharraf, in Karachi, yesterday. According to media reports the Special Court would decide on the medical reports of former president in high treason case on 16 January under which he was granted immunity to appear before the court for two days.

Pro-Musharraf rally

Killing of boy by US troopsfrays Afghan ties further

Afghan President Ha-mid Karzai has con-demned US troops for

killing a four-year-old boy in the southern province of Hel-mand, in a fresh strain to trou-bled relations between Wash-ington and Kabul.

Helmand governor Naeem Baloch told Karzai during a meeting in Kabul about the shooting, which comes as the US and Afghanistan wrangle over a deal to allow some US troops to remain in the coun-try after this year.

The US-led Nato coali-tion in Afghanistan issued a statement expressing “deep-est sympathies to the fam-ily who suff ered the loss of a loved one” in the incident on Wednesday and vowing to in-vestigate “what happened and why”.

Relations between Wash-ington and Kabul have been poor for years, and negotia-tions over the bilateral secu-rity agreement (BSA) have erupted into a long-running public dispute.

Karzai made a surprise de-cision not to sign the agree-ment promptly despite having vowed to do so, leading to the threat of a complete with-drawal of Nato troops by the end of 2014.

“We condemn the killing of this boy in the strongest terms,” presidential spokes-man Aimal said.

“We have been calling for the complete end of military operations in residential ar-eas. This demand has not been taken seriously by foreign troops and the result is civilian casualties including women and children.”

Addressing a regular briefi ng, US State Depart-ment spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “Obviously we would regret any casualties,

any loss of life if these re-ports are accurate.”

Civilian casualties have been one of the most sensitive issues of the 13-year military intervention in Afghanistan, and Karzai has often used ac-cidental shootings and mis-guided airstrikes to berate for-eign countries and stir public anger.

Faizi said a ban on military operations in civilian areas was one of the Afghan condi-tions of signing the BSA.

“The ball is in the US court,” he said. “We are waiting for practical steps to be taken to end these operations and for the launch of a peace process. We believe the US can deliver on these demands.”

Signing the BSA is a pre-condition for the delivery of billions of dollars in West-ern aid for Afghanistan, which will hold an election to choose Karzai’s successor in April.

In a classifi ed cable report-ed by the Washington Post this week, US Ambassador James Cunningham said he did not expect Karzai to agree to sign the document before the vote.

The BSA would see several thousand US troops remain in Afghanistan to provide train-ing in the fi ght against Tali-ban insurgents after the Nato combat mission ends in De-cember.

“Our position continues to be that if we cannot conclude a BSA promptly, then we will in-itiate planning for a post-2014 future in which there would be no US or Nato troop presence in Afghanistan,” Psaki told re-porters.

“We recognise that at this time it is up to President Karzai to determine what is in Afghanistan’s best inter-est, and we continue to work on the ground with President Karzai and his team on en-couraging them to sign the BSA.”

AFPKabul

Taliban killings in Quettamay be part of pattern

At least two Afghan Tali-ban commanders have been killed in recent

weeks in the Pakistani city of Quetta, militants and police told Reuters, the latest in what offi cials across the border in Afghanistan have described as a series of assassinations within the Islamic insurgent group.

The motive for the killings and the number of those killed is unclear, but the deaths could make peace between Afghani-stan’s government and the rebels more elusive as Western troops prepare to leave the war-torn nation. Afghan offi cials say several of the victims had been discussing unauthorised peace talks with the govern-ment in Kabul.

Offi cially, the Taliban has de-nied any such spate of deaths.

“Now the enemy is fac-ing defeat they have turned to baseless propaganda and they call anyone who gets killed a member of the Taliban council or Mullah Mohamed Omar’s close confi dante,” a Taliban statement said on Friday, referring to the move-ment’s reclusive one-eyed leader.

However, four members of the Afghan Taliban told Reuters last week that the insurgency had killed some of its own com-manders because the men were involved in unauthorised talks.

One Quetta-based com-mander put the fi gure at 18 such deaths since the begin-ning of last year.

Afghan offi cials have long accused Pakistan of supporting the insurgents and giving them sanctuary, a charge which Is-lamabad has denied.

Both the Taliban and Quetta police say that gunmen shot Noorullah Hottak two weeks

ago. Hottak was a member of the Afghan Taliban’s 12-man governing body, named the Quetta shura, said Afghan in-telligence offi cials and a Taliban commander.

But the offi cial Taliban state-ment acknowledging his death denied that, calling him a “former” warrior.

Last month, gunmen killed Mullah Abdul Malek, another Taliban fi gure, said a Quetta-based Taliban commander and an Afghan intelligence offi cial.

The Taliban denied his death, and the deaths of two other commanders, in their state-ment.

“These commanders are alive and busy with their jihad (holy war) tasks,” said the state-ment.

Around a dozen Taliban members of varying ranks were killed in Quetta in last year’s winter, said Rahmatullah Nabil, the head of Afghanistan’s intel-ligence service.

ReutersKabul

PHILIPPINES

Gulf TimesSunday, January 12, 201426

Typhoon sparks child traffi cking fears: charity AFPManila

A UK-based children’s charity has asked the Philippines to investigate

the suspected recruitment of child workers for sex traffi cking in a region devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, an aid offi cial said yesterday.

Plan International said it was concerned about fi ve high school girls who were recruited after the November 8 typhoon in Ba-sey and Marabut, two impover-ished coastal towns on the island of Samar that sustained heavy damage and casualties.

Aid groups have expressed concern over the human traf-fi cking threat sparked after Haiyan left nearly 8,000 people

dead or missing. Children who have lost their parents in the dis-aster, as well as adults in desper-ate search of work, are especially vulnerable, groups say.

“Samar is known as a source area for human traffi ckers,” Plan International Philippines anti-traffi cking project offi cer Shirley Vastero said, adding the girls were recruited by a family friend.

She said “hundreds” of wom-en from Samar have ended up working in the red-light district of the northern city of Olongapo since 2008, when Plan Interna-tional began a campaign against human traffi cking on the island.

While the promised work for the fi ve girls sounded legitimate, aid workers were suspicious be-cause the parents were told their daughters would be working only at night, she said.

“They were recruited to work as sales ladies in a Manila bak-ery, but what kind of bakery is open only from 6:00pm until midnight?”

Vastero said she did not have

the exact age of the girls, add-ing that the Welfare Depart-ment had promised to look into the case.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman did not an-swer calls made by AFP yester-day.

She has earlier said the gov-ernment was aware of the threat, but that it had not iden-tified any cases of human traf-ficking so far.

UN agencies, foreign gov-ernments, as well as aid groups including Plan International are helping millions of survi-vors who lost relatives, homes, jobs, or all three.

The Philippine government has listed 109 children orphaned by Haiyan on Leyte island alone.

A 2013 US State Department report on global human traffi ck-ing described the Philippines as “a source country, and to a much lesser extent, a destination and transit country for men, women and children subjected to sex traffi cking and forced labour.”

Aid groups have expressed concern over the human traff icking threat sparked after Haiyan left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing

Identifying disaster dead matters to the living IRINTacloban/Manila

The authorities in Tacloban City, capital of Leyte province in central Phil-

ippines, have concluded a mass burial of unidentifi ed bodies retrieved from the debris left by Typhoon Haiyan.

In a report published recent-ly, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) estimated that the category 5 storm had killed more than 6,100 people, and another 1,700 are registered as missing. Some 5,000 deaths occurred in Leyte Province.

In the days immediately after the typhoon, dead bodies lit-tered the streets. Dogs roamed, gnawing on human fl esh.

Residents are still chilled by the memory and cover their eyes in horror when they recall it. With most facilities destroyed or damaged, local authorities and survivors struggled to tend to the needs of the living in the devas-tated region.

A government psychiatrist walked and, when roads became passable, cycled 10km daily to meet patients who could get to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Centre.

Rainwater has had to be pumped out of burial grounds to prevent the body bags from fl oating.

Two government ministries

tried to work out where and what was required to bury more bod-ies than anyone had expected, Tacloban city’s mayor, Alfred Romualdez, said, when burials were taking place for the second day. Some 1,400 bodies have been recovered but not claimed in the city so far.

“Where we expected to re-cover 20 bodies a day going into Christmas (six weeks after the typhoon hit), we were fi nding 70 to 80. We are still recovering bodies,” he said.

When bodies were fi rst re-trieved, up to one week after the

typhoon struck in some places, they were haphazardly buried in mass graves. Some were exam-ined, tagged and logged, some were not.

“We left after fi ve days be-cause we could not endure the stench of the cadavers,” said Maria Portia Garcia, who lives in Anibong village, 12km from Tacloban.

Her sister died when a ship slammed into the home where she was sheltering, a few hun-dred metres from the shore.

She was buried in a mass grave in San Isidro, a community on

the outskirts of Tacloban, two weeks after the typhoon.

Her body is one of hundreds that have been “processed”, as forensics experts call it and laid to rest temporarily in a seven-hectare plot in a nearby ceme-tery, purchased by the local gov-ernment in the village of Basper.

Processing involves tag-ging bodies, fingerprinting and photographing them, and collecting DNA samples when possible. The information is analysed after reference sam-ples are gathered from the next of kin, which can take months,

depending on the number of cadavers.

The bodies will be exhumed later for further identifi cation.

“We did not see her body when it was pulled out (of the debris), but we know she is bur-ied now, which brings us some relief,” said Garcia.

The Department of Health (DOH) implements national policy on the management of dead and missing persons during emergencies and disasters.

The Philippine Department of Justice’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is using pro-tocols developed by Interpol, the international police agency, called disaster victim identi-fi cation (DVI), which borrows from the forensic science used in criminal investigations.

As offi cials in the Philippines rushed between tending to the living as well as the dead, criti-cism grew that victim identifi -cation was too expensive and, for a grieving public, too time consuming.

The World Health Organi-sation (WHO) and the DOH worked with international fo-rensics expert Stephen Cord-ner to implement an abbrevi-ated DVI method, developed by the WHO and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which overlaps with the Interpol method but stops short of immediate DNA sampling.

“With mass casualties on the scale that we’ve seen here, it is

diffi cult to do a full identifi cation in a timely manner. With this in-formation (using abbreviated DVI method), we can identify about 50% of bodies,” said Julie Hall, the WHO representative in the Philippines.

This method relies heavily on visual recognition, which may not always be accurate, but cases in doubt can be resolved by DNA sampling, said Hall, who noted that both forensic methods were used after Typhoon Haiyan.

Antonio Vertido, chief medi-co-legal offi cer of the NBI, de-fended the government’s slow pace.

“We cannot abbreviate the process because (it follows) international... (protocol). As much as we’d like to abbreviate the process — we are tired, too — we can’t,” he said while over-seeing a recent mass burial.

Helena Ras, chair of Interpol’s DVI steering committee, said the agency’s DVI protocols are “not just about correctly identifying victims, but also about ensuring that due process is followed to support national legal require-ments. For example, the issue of a death certifi cate, and to avoid potential disputes in the future.”

The problem is not just one of forensics, DOH undersecre-tary Janet Garin said. “The Phil-ippines does have a policy on identifying dead bodies, using DNA testing. But in a disaster like this, where you are dealing with thousands of bodies, this is

diffi cult and takes time. People want closure. But we also had to manage (the) families who (were) demanding DNA testing and matching for positive/confi rma-tory identifi cation.”

Garin called for the forma-tion of a decision-making body on natural disasters similar to the US Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency to help resolve such disputes.

The country’s president ap-pointed parliamentarian Pan-fi lo Lacson in December 2013 to oversee and co-ordinate the gov-ernment agencies involved in re-habilitation eff orts, and to man-age typhoon-related spending.

Lacson has echoed Garin’s call for centralised decision-making after disasters.

“For people here, just like in other countries, the way a body is treated and buried is very important,” said Lynne Jones, mental health offi cer of Inter-national Medical Corps, who helped write the mental health guidelines for the Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC), which co-ordinates UN and non-UN international humani-tarian agencies, speaking from the Philippines.

“What survivors are look-ing for is the recognition of the signifi cance and individuality of their loss. They want their loss to matter,” Jones said.

“A burial gives an individual signifi cance to a person’s loss and that the helps with closure.”

Rescue personnel take a break during a mass burial.

Police relaunch fi tness programme Manila TimesManila

The Philippine National Police (PNP) relaunched over the weekend a na-

tionwide programme to ensure the physical fitness of its esti-mated 150,000 police person-nel across the country.

PNP Directorate for Police Community and Relations (DPCR) chief, Director Lina Sarmiento said police pro-gramme “Hataw Na” was re-launched simultaneously in all of their fi eld offi ces and police camps.

The police offi cial said the revitalised physical fi tness and sports development pro-

gramme will include 30 minutes of Zumba, a three-kilometre walk, a fi ve kilometre fun-run and 10 kilometres of cycling.

These will be simultaneously held at regional offi ces, national support units and municipal police stations.

The police offi cial said healthy and physically fi t po-lice personnel will be able to

eff ectively serve the public and maintain peace, order and se-curity of the community.

“We should always be pre-pared and fi t to run after crimi-nals and violators of the law. Also, being in optimum health enables us to be ready to defend ourselves and our families from any danger that could come our way,” Sarmiento said.

Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) perform physical exercises as part of a health programme at the police headquarters in Manila yesterday.

UN court ‘will reject China claim in sea row’By Llanesca T Panti Manila Times

A Department of Foreign Aff airs (DFA) offi cial is confi dent that the Inter-

national Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) will invali-date China’s claim on virtually the entire West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Assistant Secretary Raul Her-nandez said yesterday a ruling by the tribunal on China’s so-called nine-dash claim is due at the end of this year or early 2015.

Hernandez was sharing his thoughts on the new ordinance passed by Chinese province Hainan that the DFA says com-pels foreign vessels to seek a permit from Chinese regional authorities to fi sh in large areas of the West Philippine Sea.

The law covers more than half of the 3.5mn-square-kilometre sea being claimed by China, the Philippines and several other countries.

The Philippines has ques-tioned the nine-dash line before the Itlos “and we are expecting them to come out with a deci-sion invalidating this nine-dash line by end of 2014 or early 2015 because this has no basis in international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos),” Hernandez told Radyo ng Bayan.

“It is a long process, but we are confi dent that our case is strong because our claims our based on Unclos,” he said.

Unclos provides that coun-tries can set up 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zones.

The Air Defence Identifi ca-tion Zone declared last year by

Beijing and the law restricting fi shing are similar because both require other parties to seek permission from China when entering areas of which China has no jurisdiction, based on the Unclos, Hernandez said.

“China’s moves are increas-ing tensions and muddling the situation in the West Philippine Sea. We should be able to main-tain peace and security in our region,” he said.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing is seeking a meeting with China’s Ministry of For-eign Aff airs to clarify the scope of the Hainan ordinance.

Hernandez stressed that the ordinance should not stop Filipino fi shermen from fi shing within the Philippines’ exclu-sive economic zone.

“Our fi shermen can go fi shing within our exclusive economic

zone. We have our sovereign right there,” Hernandez said.

The Philippines denounced Friday a new Chinese law that Manila says compels foreign vessels to seek a permit from Chinese regional authorities for activities in large areas of the West Philippine Sea.

“We have requested China to immediately clarify the new fi sheries law issued by the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress,” the Filipino foreign department said in a statement.

“We are gravely concerned by this new regulation that would require foreign fi shing vessels to obtain approval from Chinese regional authorities before fi sh-ing or surveying in a large por-tion of the South China Sea.”

Press reports said the law was passed last year and took eff ect on January 1. China claims al-

most all the West Philippine Sea but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.

Tensions between the Phil-ippines and China have risen in recent years as Beijing becomes more aggressive in asserting its claims.

Earlier this year Manila took Beijing to a UN tribunal over the contested Scarborough Shoal, which has been controlled by Chinese government vessels since last year.

“This new law reinforces China’s expansive claim under the nine-dash line,” the Philip-pine foreign department alleged Friday, referring to China’s de-lineation of the extent of its maritime territorial claim.

“It is a gross violation of in-ternational law,” the statement added.

Takeover of power companies sought By Neil AlcoberManila Times

Terry Ridon of Kabataan party-list wants the state to take over power utilities

if the Manila Electric Co (Meral-co) and the country’s power gen-erators cannot deliver aff ordable power rates to the public.

Ridon made the statement in response to the “fear monger-ing” by Meralco, which warned of blackouts in the event of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court (SC) blocking the intend-ed rate hike, is retained.

Late last year, Meralco had an-nounced that power rates would rise by P4.15 per kilowatt hour to

take eff ect immediately, but the SC issued a TRO last Dec 23 pre-venting the implementation of the increase. The youth lawmaker said the prospect of blackouts in the Meralco franchise area can constitute a national emergency justifying the takeover of all power utilities, from generation to trans-mission as well as distribution.

“Meralco should thus be cir-cumspect in delivering public statements which seem to black-mail the public to simply accept the reality of very high power rates,” he said.

Ridon said the state can also take over the generation plants despite a provision in the Elec-tric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) declaring generation plants as not being public utilities.

SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL27Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Bangladesh frees opposition leader Zia after two weeks

Bangladesh authorities yes-terday allowed opposition leader Khaleda Zia to leave

her home to attend a meeting, in what her staff said was the fi rst relaxation of a “virtual house ar-rest” that has lasted more than two weeks.

Supporters said Khaleda had been prevented from leaving her residence before and after a violence-plagued parliamentary election won by the ruling Awa-mi League. The outcome was never in doubt after a boycott by her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

But a spokesman for the BNP told reporters that Zia left her home for a meeting with Chi-nese Ambassador Lee Jung at her offi ce in the city yesterday.

Zia, also head of the BNP-led 18-party opposition alli-ance, last visited her offi ce on December 27. Security forces were deployed around her res-

idence from December 25. Osman Farruk, a senior leader

of BNP, said that until the gov-ernment freed other party of-fi cials and stopped arrests and harassment “we cannot say it is a positive step”.

The government has denied holding the BNP leader under “house arrest”. But Mashiur Rahman, an adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said yesterday Zia had been prevent-ed from leaving her residence because she had called on activ-ists to carry out violence to resist the election.

“Since the election has been over now she has every right to go on with healthy political ac-tivities,” Rahman added.

Today a new cabinet will be sworn in at a ceremony to which Zias is also invited, cabinet secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters.

Eighteen people were killed in separate incidents on election day last Sunday, and voting was halted at more than 400 polling stations. More than 100 peo-ple were killed in the run-up to the ballot, mostly in rural areas, and fears of violence kept many voters away.

There was a low turnout, and fewer than half of seats were contested amid heavy security in

a poll shunned by international observers as fl awed.

The country’s $22bn gar-ment industry, which ac-counts for 80% of exports, has been disrupted by opposition transport blockades. BNP of-fi cials said party supporters would maintain the blockade today.

On Friday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned

a belligerent opposition that her government would be forced to be tough to contain ongoing violence and restore normalcy in the country.

Urging Bangladesh Nation-alist Party (BNP) chairperson Zia to stop vandalism and kill-ing people, she said: “If you (Zia) want to say something, fi rst shun the violence and stop killing people.”

Khaleda Zia was prevented from leaving her residence because she had called on activists to carry out violence to resist the January 5 election

ReutersDhaka

Khaleda Zia ... Relaxation of a ‘virtual house arrest’

Ershad takes oath of offi ce as lawmaker

Former Bangladeshi military ruler H M Ershad, whose Jatiya Party is a key ally of

the ruling Awami League, took oath yesterday as a lawmaker despite his earlier decision to boycott the general election.

His earlier decision had trig-gered speculation that Ershad might not serve as a lawmak-er despite his election from a seat in Rangpur, and his wife Raushan may head the party in parliament.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury administered the oath to the 83-year-old Jati-ya Party chairman just past mid-day.

Ershad has played fl ip-fl op before the January 5 polls, fi rst agreeing to contest them and then saying he was boycotting them a day after submitting his nomination papers.

In a dramatic episode before the polls, the former dictator-turned-politician was brought to the military hospital for “treatment.”

He has been in the military hospital since December 12.

The Election Commission had declined to accept his plea, sent from hospital, to withdraw his candidature.

The Jatiya Party won 33 seats — 20 without any contest.

Ershad yesterday evaded me-dia after he was sworn in, two days after his fellow party MPs took oath under the leadership of Raushan Ershad.

Witnesses said he entered par-liament through a route used by the president, prime minister and deputy leader of the house.

No Jatiya Party leader was seen accompanying Ershad as he came out of hospital, where he was being treated to “regain his fi tness”, to go to parliament.

Earlier, Raushan said she would function as opposition leader, fuelling speculation about the stand of her husband.

IANSDhaka

H M Ershad The prime minister was speaking at the Awami League’s fi rst public rally after the Janu-ary 5 general elections, which were boycotted by the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance and other political parties, The Daily Star reported.

Hasina said the BNP-Jamaat alliance has indulged in violence in diff erent parts of the country killing people, attacking Hin-dus, her party’s men and law enforcers, the report said.

“Now we are in the govern-ment and people have given us

their mandates, so we go tough as much as needed to contain the violence and bring back normalcy,” she was quoted as saying.

Urging Zia not to carry on with the destructive activi-ties, Hasina said: “You won’t gain anything from this as you could not prevent the election.”

The prime minister said the war crimes trials will continue and its verdicts would be ex-ecuted as this was the national demand.

Russia supports elections, regrets boycott

Russia has backed the January 5 general elections in Bangladesh and said it was ready to continue constructive partnership with the next government, a media report said yesterday.Russia also regretted that the key opposition parties in Bangladesh boycotted the elections, bdnews24.com reported yesterday citing a Russian foreign ministry statement.“Russia confirms that it is ready to continue constructive partnership with a government,

which will be formed soon,” the statement said.“We hope that the authorities and the opposition will not go beyond the constitution in order to ensure stability and strengthen democratic institutions in the country,” it added.Some 21 parties, including former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, boycotted the polls over Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s refusal to introduce a non-party interim government to oversee the elections.

Nepal’s new constituent assembly to meet on Jan 22

Nepal’s interim govern-ment has asked the country’s new parlia-

ment to hold its fi rst meeting on January 22, an offi cial said late yesterday, easing the country’s political limbo.

The new constituent assem-bly (CA), which was voted for in elections in November and will serve as a legislative body, is ex-pected to draft a long-awaited post-war constitution.

“The government has decided to call the fi rst constituent as-sembly meeting on January 22,” Bimal Gautam, spokesman for the country’s interim administration, said.

A similar assembly was elect-ed in 2008 but failed to deliver the constitution or to complete the stalled peace process.

The 30 political parties that won seats in the November elec-tions were initially expected to name proposed lawmakers by December 10, but the proc-ess was delayed after the rout-ed Maoists refused to join the assembly.

The former rebels, who waged a decade-long insur-gency against the state before entering politics, came third in the November 19 polls, prompting them to allege fraud and threaten to boycott the parliament.

But after weeks of cross-party negotiations the Maoists agreed last month to take part in the parliament.

The Maoists laid down their arms in 2006 and swept the country’s fi rst post-war elections two years later.

Since then, a string of short-lived coalition administrations, mainly led by the former guer-rillas, have squabbled and failed to draft a constitution.

The Maoists won just 80 of the 575 seats up for grabs in No-vember’s poll, well behind the centrist Nepali Congress party which won 196 and the Uni-fi ed Marxist-Leninists which got 175.

A new government is ex-pected to be led by the Nepali Congress and will nominate a further 26 members to join the 601-member assembly.

AFPKathmandu

Diff erently-abled people chanting slogans during a sit-in protest outside Singha Durbar off ice complex, which houses the prime minister’s off ice and other ministries in Kathmandu yesterday. They demanded their representation in the constituent assembly (CA), which will be drafting the new constitution soon.

Differently-abled people demand CA seats

Nipah virus kills two teenagers

Deadly virus Nipah has claimed two lives in Bangladesh, an

offi cial said yesterday. The virus, which report-

edly kills nearly 80% of its infected victims, was responsible for the death of two related teenagers in Manikganj district last month, confi rmed the di-rector of Institute of Epi-demiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

A person contracts the virus if he drinks date juice polluted by bats.

“This is the fi rst instance of the infection this sea-son,” said IEDCR director Mahmudur Rahman.

Another four people, in-cluding a child, reportedly died of Nipah virus at Ra-jshahi Medical College Hos-pital (RMCH) on January 1 and January 2, while fi ve more people were undergo-ing treatment at the hospital, said hospital offi cials.

However, the IEDCR is yet to confi rm the deaths were caused by the deadly virus.

“We are yet to receive the samples from RMCH,” Rahman said, adding: “As the winter season has be-gun, we have set regular surveillance there.”

Rahman said two cous-ins, aged 13 and 14, died of infection caused by the Ni-pah virus, at the end of last month.

“One was admitted at a hospital Ghior and died there and another was transferred to Dhaka Medi-cal College Hospital and died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital,” he said.

They had both consumed raw date juice, he added.

The four victims were identifi ed as Monjur Rah-man from Ishwardy, Sai-dur Rahman from Bagha of Rajshahi, Mojibur Rahman of Manda from Naogaon and Hasanuzzaman of Bagatipara in Natore.

Five more people were undergoing treatment at RMCH, confi rmed ASM Barkatullah, deputy direc-tor of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

Khalihur Rahman, head of medicine department of the hospital, said the pri-mary signs indicate that

the people might have died from infection caused by the Nipah virus.

“To confi rm it, we have sent blood samples of the deceased to Dhaka,” he said.

“As the season begins, we asked the RMCH au-thorities to arrange isolated space for the treatment of the encephalitis patients,” said Rahman.

Usually Nipah breaks out either towards the end of December or at the begin-ning of January when ex-traction of raw date juice starts.

It usually takes seven to eight days on average be-tween exposure and symp-toms such as fever, altered mental status and sei-zure, to start showing, said IEDCR experts.

The bat-borne Nipah virus that infects a person only after drinking raw date sap can later pass on to oth-er persons through contact, which is a cause for major public health concern in Bangladesh.

Since 2001, when it fi rst broke out as an unknown disease, the virus has killed 136 people in 21 districts across Bangladesh.

By Mizan RahmanDhaka

Relatives of 1998 air crash victims identify belongings

Relatives of the victims of an air crash in Sri Lanka attended a public display yesterday to iden-

tify their belongings, over 15 years after the tragedy.

Sri Lankan police put on display items salvaged from the Russian-built Antonov 24 passenger plane, owned by the local company Lion Air. The aircraft had taken off from Palaly airport in northern Jaff na town on September 29, 1998 bound for Colombo’s Ratmalana airport.

It disappeared off the radar 30 min-utes after take-off . All 48 passengers and seven crew members, including two foreigners, were killed when the plane crashed into the sea.

All 48 passengers were Tamils. Some reports have indicated that

the plane had been shot down by LTTE rebels.

Belongings of at least 17 victims were identifi ed yesterday, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.

The public was invited to visit the Jaff na Municipal grounds yesterday and today to identify the personal belongings of the victims.

AgenciesColombo

Lanka extends custody of 40 Indian fi shermen

A Sri Lankan court has extended the custody of a group of 40 Indian-

fi shermen as the two countries prepare for talks next week, lo-cal media reported yesterday.

The Sri Lankan navy has arrested the 40 fi shermen on two separate occasions, local media said.

One group of 22 fi shermen from Jagadapattinam in Pudu-kottai district of Tamil Nadu was arrested for illegally fi shing in the northern seas off Delft Is-land on December 28 and six of their boats were seized.

The second group of 18 In-dian fi shermen was arrested and three boats were seized when they were engaged in ille-gal fi shing in the northern seas off Delft Island of Sri Lanka on December 29, Xinhua reported.

The issue of Sri Lankan and Indian fi shermen crossing over into each other’s territo-rial waters to poach illegally has existed years but tensions have spiralled over the last few months with both sides in-creasing arrests.

Reports have indicated 213 Sri Lankan fi shermen with 40 boats are in Indian custody while Sri Lanka’s navy has de-tained at least 205 fi shermen during the last month alone.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa last week said her government will extend all help to the Indian central govern-ment to facilitate talks between Indian fi shermen and their Sri Lankan counterparts in Chen-nai on January 15 to resolve the dispute over fi shing rights in each other’s territorial waters.

The frequent arrests of Tamil fi shermen by the Sri Lankan navy for maritime violations have been a bone of contention between the centre and the state and have also threatened to strain Indo-Lanka relations.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the chief minister wanted the centre to take fi rm steps to seek the release of fi shermen from the state arrested by the Lankan navy, Indian media reported.

Thousands of Indian fi sher-men have staged protests over the last few weeks while going on strike and fasting to get the arrested fi shermen released.

IANSColombo

Encouraging economic scene, growing passenger demand, product innovation and effi ciencies gained through mergers and joint ventures may turn around the global air transport industry this year.

Already, the Geneva-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) made an upward revision of its industry fi nancial outlook, expecting airlines globally to post an improved net profi t of $19.7bn this year compared with an estimated $12.9bn in 2013.

The upward revision refl ects lower jet fuel prices over the forecast period as well as improvements to the industry’s structure and effi ciency that was visible in quarterly results last year. Passenger markets continue to outperform the cargo business, which sadly remains stagnant both on volumes and revenues.

IATA expects 2014 to be a second consecutive year of strengthening profi tability (beginning from 2012 when airlines posted a net profi t of $7.4bn).

While the global economy is not out of the woods as yet, clearly there are signs of economic recovery in the US, which is currently the world’s largest market for the air transport industry.

On the other hand, the emerging economies led by BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are not performing at the desired level.

Global GDP is expected to expand by 2.7% in 2014. The general trend of improvement in developed economies – particularly for the US - and relatively disappointing growth in the Brics countries is expected to continue well into 2014.

Improving economic conditions should obviously lead to higher demands, both in the passenger and cargo segments of the air transport industry.

While IATA says passenger demand may remain robust, cargo demand remains largely stagnant.

The global body recently calculated that passenger numbers are expected to reach 3.3bn this year, up 6% on 3.1bn posted in 2013.

Nonetheless, competition remains intense and industry-wide average yields are expected to fall by 0.6% in 2014.

Airlines are expected to carry 52.5mn tonnes of cargo in 2014. This modest increase in demand is expected to be off set by a decline in yields (-2.1% in 2014).

The recovery of the global air transport industry is also contingent on the oil price, which many analysts believe will not scale up in 2014 due to the geopolitical situation.

IATA’s improved outlook on the air transport industry was certainly based on a slight reduction in jet fuel prices towards the latter half of 2013. Following easing of tensions in Iran, oil prices are expected to see a slight downward movement from $108.2/barrel (Brent) in 2013 to $104.5/barrel in 2014.

In the Middle East, the industry’s growth is driven by GCC-based airlines, especially the three big carriers based in Qatar and the UAE – Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways.

Led by these three, Middle East airlines are expected to return a net profi t of $2.4bn in 2014. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin also continue to improve - from 3.8% in 2013 to 4.7% in 2014. The region’s hubs, particularly in the GCC countries, continue to expand in support of growing long-haul connectivity.

Turnaround yearfor global air transport industry

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Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-AttiyahEditor-in-Chief : Darwish S AhmedProduction Editor: C P Ravindran

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 2014

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Global GDP is expected to expand by 2.7% in 2014

Real per capita GDP in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States is lower today than before the Great Recession hit

By Joseph E StiglitzNew York

Economics is often called the dismal science, and for the last half-decade it has come by its reputation

honestly in the advanced economies. Unfortunately, the year ahead will bring little relief.

Real (infl ation-adjusted) per capita GDP in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States is lower today than before the Great Recession hit. Indeed, Greece’s per capita GDP has shrunk nearly 25% since 2008.

There are a few exceptions: After more than two decades, Japan’s economy appears to be turning a corner under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government; but, with a legacy of defl ation stretching back to the 1990’s, it will be a long road back.

And Germany’s real per capita GDP was higher in 2012 than it was in 2007 – though an increase of 3.9% in fi ve years is not much to boast about.

Elsewhere, though, things really are dismal: unemployment in the eurozone remains stubbornly high and the long-term unemployment rate in the US still far exceeds its pre-recession levels.

In Europe, growth appears set to return this year, though at a truly anaemic rate, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting a 1% annual increase in output.

In fact, the IMF’s forecasts have repeatedly proved overly optimistic:

the Fund predicted 0.2% growth for the eurozone in 2013, compared to what is likely to be a 0.4% contraction; and it predicted US growth to reach 2.1%, whereas it now appears to have been closer to 1.6%.

With European leaders wedded to austerity and moving at a glacial pace to address the structural problems stemming from the eurozone’s fl awed institutional design, it is no wonder that the continent’s prospects appear so bleak.

But, on the other side of the Atlantic, there is cause for muted optimism. Revised data for the US indicate that real GDP grew at an annual pace of 4.1% in the third quarter of 2013, while the unemployment rate fi nally reached 7% in November – the lowest level in fi ve years. A half-decade of low construction has largely worked off the excess building that occurred during the housing bubble.

The development of vast reserves of shale energy has moved America toward its long-sought goal of energy independence and reduced gas prices to record lows, contributing to the fi rst glimmer of a manufacturing revival. And a booming high-tech sector has become the envy of the rest of the world.

Most important, a modicum of sanity has been restored to the US political process. Automatic budget cuts – which reduced 2013 growth by as much as 1.75 percentage points from what it otherwise would have been – continue, but in a much milder form.

Moreover, the cost curve for health care – a main driver of long-term fi scal defi cits – has bent down. Already, the Congressional Budget

Offi ce projects that spending in 2020 for Medicare and Medicaid (the government health-care programs for the elderly and the poor, respectively) will be roughly 15% below the level projected in 2010.

It is possible, even likely, that US growth in 2014 will be rapid enough to create more jobs than required for new entrants into the labour force. At the very least, the huge number (roughly 22mn) of those who want a full-time job and have been unable to fi nd one should fall.

But we should curb our euphoria. A disproportionate share of the jobs now being created are low-paying – so much so that median incomes (those in the middle) continue to decline. For most Americans, there is no recovery, with 95% of the gains going to the top 1%.

Even before the recession, American-style capitalism was not working for a large share of the population.

The recession only made its rough edges more apparent. Median income (adjusted for infl ation) is still lower than it was in 1989, almost a quarter-century ago; and median income for males is lower than it was four decades ago.

America’s new problem is long-term unemployment, which aff ects nearly 40% of those without jobs, compounded by one of the poorest unemployment-insurance systems among advanced countries, with benefi ts normally expiring after 26 weeks.

During downturns, the US Congress extends these benefits, recognising that individuals are unemployed not because they are not looking for work, but because there are no jobs. But now congressional Republicans are refusing to adapt the unemployment system to this reality; as Congress went into recess for the holidays, it gave the long-term unemployed the equivalent of a

pink slip: as 2014 begins, the roughly 1.3mn Americans who lost their unemployment benefits at the end of December have been left to their own devices. Happy New Year.

Meanwhile, a major reason that the US unemployment rate is currently as low as it is, is that so many people have dropped out of the labor force. Labor-force participation is at levels not seen in more than three decades.

Some say that this largely refl ects demographics: an increasing share of the working-age population is over 50, and labor-force participation has always been lower among this group than among younger cohorts.

But this simply recasts the problem: the US economy has never been good at retraining workers. American workers are treated like disposable commodities, tossed aside if and when they cannot keep up with changes in technology and the marketplace. The diff erence now is that these workers are no longer a small fraction of the population.

None of this is inevitable. It is the result of bad economic policy and even worse social policy, which waste the country’s most valuable resource – its human talent – and cause immense suff ering for aff ected individuals and their families. They want to work but the US economic system is failing them.

So, with Europe’s Great Malaise continuing in 2014 and the US recovery excluding all but those at the top, count me dismal. On both sides of the Atlantic, market economies are failing to deliver for most citizens. How long can this continue? - Project Syndicate

Joseph E Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, is university professor at Columbia University. His most recent book is The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers our Future.

Economic outlook remains dismal for the year ahead

Taking stock of the Asian space race By Liu BoBeijing

For many Chinese people, the successful moon landing of the Chang’-3 spacecraft on December 14 last year was a

moment of particular pride and joy. China has become the third country in the world to independently achieve a soft landing on the moon and begin a round of lunar prospecting. It is also a milestone in China’s space industry development after a lapse of 37 years since the last Russian lunar landing.

However, not everyone here was so thrilled. “So the red state fl ag has made it to the moon. What has this got to do with us?” one Chinese online comment read, summing up much of the public scepticism.

Indeed, China’s offi cial media had already published a Q-and-A style commentary to explain why China is exploring the moon, even as masses of ordinary people can’t even make ends meet or feel secure about their future.

In John F Kennedy’s famous 1962 “We Choose to Go to the Moon, speech, the American president explained the logic of his country’s space programme:

“But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? ... We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one

we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

Yes, people and a nation need to have dreams, and we can imagine how much Kennedy’s remarks encouraged many young people to go into aerospace studies.

This does not dismiss the public’s questioning, but rather tackles it from that person’s point of view, accepting it as reasonable doubt.

In China, whether it’s about the atomic bomb research of earlier days or about the space programme today, we hear about the “Chinese national renaissance” or about “scrubbing away the Chinese humiliation of the past hundred years” - both of which embody a collective sense of competition. Thus the “moon discourse” is turned into a replacement of the collectivism of individuals. What it aims to achieve is the collective strategy, as a nation. This probably explains why Chinese people have trouble actually seeing themselves in the country’s space exploration projects.

However, such a situation isn’t limited to China. Several Asian countries that share a similar psychology in the face of the West are beating the drum of space exploration to wake up and re-establish national

self-confi dence. Among them there seems to be a scrambling competition too.

Just as Asia’s economy has performed better than other regions during the global fi nancial crisis, its space exploration has also become a new force.

More and more Asian countries are joining a space club that used - until very recently - to be led by the West. Before China’s soft landing on the moon, South Korea launched the Naro-1, its fi rst carrier rocket last January. In September, Japan, an established space power, unveiled its new launcher, Epsilon. In November, India launched Mangalyaan, the Mars probe.

Each of these Asian state’s space operations has its own consideration. The Naro-1 will bring huge economic benefi ts for South Korea - while at the same time ending the country’s reliance on the United States for space intelligence.

Meanwhile, since the 1970s, India has been a space power with independent satellite research and launch capabilities, although this is very often neglected by China. India’s space programmes imply much geopolitical and strategic intention.

India is currently preparing to send a lunar rover and astronauts to the moon to prove that it has overtaken China in terms of space technology - although, as it happens, many countries also mock India because it is exploring Mars despite not being able to guarantee a stable electricity supply to its population.

We should also keep in mind the

space programme of Iran, which recently sent a live monkey into earth orbit and brought it back safely.

All these signs suggest that Asia is becoming an emerging force in international space development, even if it still trails far behind the US, Russia and Western Europe.

Asia’s biggest weakness is the still relatively weak co-operation across borders, and the relationships between countries still plagued by many unresolved historical problems.

With such distrust between China and Japan, and China and India, for example, the space race in Asia suff ers the consequences, as fears remain about the accelerated militarisation of space or even an Asian arms race in space.

With other Asian nations - including Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore - also beginning to invest in space capability, a regionwide code of conduct for space should be established to encourage co-operation and diminish suspicions.

Across Asia, space programmes should avoid being coloured by nationalism, and rather emphasise the contributions that the technology will off er to the well-being of mankind. Scientifi c research itself should be the focus, rather than treating it as a sport fi lled with rivalry or swaggering public relations activities.

Space research can be a source of national pride, but ultimately its real significance is the ways it can improve the lives of ordinary people.- Worldcrunch/Economic Observer

Asia is becoming an emerging force in international space development

America’s new problem is long-term unemployment

COMMENT

PublicnuisanceDear Sir,

Begging, as an Arabic press report suggests (“Strict action against beggars demanded”, Gulf Times, January 11), has become a public nuisance in Doha. Instead of asking money directly from passersby, some “beggars” have refi ned their strategy.

The other day, I was stopped by a man driving a fairly big car just outside my offi ce. I had parked my car a little distance from my workplace and was on my way to it. As I was near my vehicle, a car suddenly stopped by my side and its driver started waving at me. I thought he had been lost and was trying to get direction to the place he wanted to go.

But what he wanted was not “direction” but QR500. He had a story to tell also. He said he had come with his family to Doha from the UAE on a trip and had lost his wallet with all

the money in it. So please could I help him with QR500 now? I really didn’t know whether he was telling the truth or not. But it all looked very strange to me. I excused myself and walked on and the man also drove on. When I narrated the story to my colleagues at the offi ce next day, they said they also had similar experiences.

KR (Full name and e-mail address supplied)

Shockin storeDear Sir,

As shopping centres in Qatar have been declared smoke-free areas, I was shocked to see young men smoking inside the men’s room of a popular mall in the Waab area the other day with utter disregard to rules and regulations.

They were throwing cigarette butts

into garbage bins which had a huge amount of paper tissues, increasing the risk of an accidental fi re.

Authorities concerned must take action against such off enders.

Santhana Al SaddDoha

Safetyon trains Dear Sir,

The frequent cases of gruesome train fi re tragedies in India highlight the lack of safety measures in the country’s railway network.

In the last fortnight alone, two train blazes have killed 35 people.

In the fi rst incident, fi re engulfed a coach of Bangalore-Nanded Express killing 26 people on December 28. In the second tragedy, nine people were charred to death when three coaches of Bandra-Dehradun Express caught

fi re on January 8 near Thane. India’s railway authorities must

urgently take extra safety measures to prevent future tragedies. All train compartments must have fi re-fi ghting equipment.

RJ

(Full name and address supplied)

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 2014 29

Undoubtedly, people in Fallujah are being harmed because of how the outside world perceives their struggle

By Ross Caputi Guardian News and Media

I am having fl ashbacks to my time as a marine during the second siege of Fallujah in 2004. Again, claims are being published that Al

Qaeda has taken over the city and that a heavy-handed military response is needed to take the city back from the control of terrorists.

The fi rst time around, this claim proved to be false. The vast majority of the men we fought against in Fallujah were locals, unaffi liated with Al Qaeda, who were trying to expel the foreign occupiers from their country. There was a presence of Al Qaeda in the city, but they played a minimal and marginal role in the fi ghting. The stories about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the alleged leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq who was said to be recruiting an army in Fallujah, were wildly exaggerated. There is no evidence that Zarqawi ever even set foot in Fallujah.

This week, the Iraqi ministry of interior’s assertion that Al Qaeda’s affi liate, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has taken over half of Fallujah is being parroted in headlines by almost every major media network. But again, it appears that the role of Al Qaeda in Fallujah is being exaggerated and used as a justifi cation for a military assault on the city.

The violence began just over a week ago, when Iraqi security forces disbursed a protest camp in Fallujah and arrested a politician who had been friendly to the protesters’ goals.

This camp was part of a non-violent protest movement – which took place mostly in Sunni cities, but was also receiving some support from the Shia community – that began a year ago. Iraqi security forces have attacked protesters in Fallujah and other Sunni cities on several occasions, the most egregious example taking place in Hawija, when over 50 protesters were killed.

One of the results of the US occupation was that Sunnis came out feeling like a targeted community, with Fallujah being more marginalised than most Sunni cities because of its

history as a centre of resistance. These feelings have only been exacerbated over the past year of protests and government repression.

The Iraqi government’s recent actions in Fallujah turned the non-violent movement violent. When the protest camp in Fallujah was cleared, many of the protesters picked up arms and began fi ghting to expel the state security forces from their city. It was local, tribal people – people not affi liated with transnational jihadist movements – who have taken the lead in this fi ght against the Iraqi government.

However, it is being reported that Fallujah has “fallen”, that it was “captured” by ISIS, which has now raised its fl ag over the city, declaring Fallujah an Islamic emirate. The Iraqi ministry of interior’s claim that half of Fallujah is controlled by ISIS has been accepted as fact and has framed all discussion of these events.

Feurat Alani, a French-Iraqi journalist with family ties in Fallujah, has reported that ISIS is not playing a significant role in the fighting in Fallujah. Much has been said and written about ISIS raising its flag over a building in Fallujah.

This has been taken to be a sign of their power in the city. But Alani told me: They took the flag down five minutes later when ordered to by tribal leaders. This shows that the tribes control Fallujah.

Already more than 100 civilians have been killed in this violence, violence that has been facilitated by US weapons. The Independent newspaper reported that Iraqi security forces are bombing Fallujah with Hellfi re missiles sold to them by the US. But the US has supplied the Iraqi state with far more than this single weapon system. Recently, the US

Congress has shown some reluctance to continue arms trade with the Maliki government, for fear that it would use the weapons for internal repression, a fear that appears to have some justifi cation.

It is being reported that Fallujah has fallen, but the voices from inside Fallujah insist that their city is standing up, once again. Undoubtedly, people in Fallujah are being harmed because of how the outside world perceives their struggle. Too much of the world has been satisfied with the overly simple narrative of Al Qaeda capturing Fallujah (twice), and of government forces battling for freedom and security.

As Fallujah relives a nightmare, once infl icted by my own hand, I fi nd myself in a very diff erent position from before. Today, I hope I can say that I am somewhat wiser, more responsible, more morally engaged than I was when I helped destroy Fallujah in 2004. This time around, I cannot sit back and do nothing as the unreliable and self-serving claims of the government are reported without question, and repeated until they become conventional wisdom.

I cannot just watch as people in Fallujah are again forced to fl ee from their homes, and as their bodies are again shredded by weapons made in my homeland. I do not want to feel complicit in their suff ering anymore.

Ross Caputi is a former US marine, having served from 2003 to 2006. He took part in the second siege of Fallujah in November 2004. He became openly critical of the military and was discharged in 2006. Ross holds an MA in linguistics and is the founding director of the Justice for Fallujah Project. He is also the director of the documentary fi lm Fear Not the Path of Truth: a veteran’s journey after Fallujah.

Fallujah reliving a nightmare

Live issues

Letters

Hackers target mobile devices By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

Cyber criminals are expected to target mobile devices this year to steal information such as passwords, data

about user contacts, location, and business activities, a report from McAfee Labs has said.

McAfee Labs is a team of 500 researchers who collect threat data from millions of sensors across key threat vectors: fi le, web, message, and network.

It did not specify which particular region will be most targeted but its earlier reports had revealed that Qatar had become “an interesting target for cyber crimes” ranging from malware, phishing, defacement of websites and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Based on McAfee Labs’ 2014 Predictions Report, new PC malware growth was nearly fl at while appearances of new Android samples grew by 33% in the last two quarters of this year.

“Mobile malware will be the driver of growth in both technical innovation and the volume of attacks in the overall malware ‘market’ in 2014,” it said.

This is due to the widespread

and continuing shift of diff erent businesses and consumers to smartphone use daily, giving attackers direct access to the device and its services.

McAfee Labs is expecting to see ransomware targeting smartphones, corrupting its apps to get its data without being noticed. According to Wikipedia, this kind of malware “restricts access to the computer system that it infects and demands a ransom paid to the creator of the malware in order for the restriction to be removed”.

“Ransomware is expected to proliferate on mobile devices, as

virtual currencies such as Bitcoin fuel the growth of ransomware across all platforms. Attacks using advanced evasion techniques will come of age, with enhanced capabilities to identify and bypass some sandboxing and other local security measures,” it noted.

It also stressed that social platforms would be used more aggressively to target the fi nances and personal information of consumers, the intellectual property and trade secrets of big businesses.

Christiaan Beek, director of Incident Response and Forensics (EMEA) for McAfee, told Gulf Times that they were working on a research about Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and Point of Sales (POS) malware.

This has something to do with the increasing number of targeted malware written to steal money from ATMs or POS systems.

“In case of the ATMs, USB-sticks or CDRoms are used where in the case of POS systems, there are a couple of malware families that are used to infect the POS system to steal the credit card data,” said Beek. “In one case we could track systems down to a POS system in the Dubai mall that was infected”.

He had earlier revealed that they received more than 300,000 samples

of various types of viruses a day in the Middle East, including Qatar. These Advanced Precision Threats are targeting government institutions, company networks and fi nancial institutions such as banks to steal data and information.

An expatriate worker in Doha, who refused to be named, disclosed that he was debited QR10,000 from his ATM without making any withdrawals.

When he reported the incident to the bank, he said tellers and personnel were also surprised how the money was deducted from his account.

About “social attacks”, McAfee Labs is also expecting cybercriminals to penetrate social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

They will also attack cloud-based corporate applications where many data are being stored.

“Because they lack suffi cient leverage to demand security measures in line with their organisational needs, small businesses that purchase cloud-based services will continue to grapple with security risks unaddressed by cloud providers’ user agreements and operating procedures,” it said.

The report pointed out that security vendors such as McAfee were expected to continue adding new tools that would prevent and identify various computer and mobile threats faster and more accurate.

Please send usyour letters

By e-mail editor@gulf-times.comFax 44350474Or Post Letters to the EditorGulf TimesP O Box 2888Doha, Qatar

All letters, which are subject to edit-ing, should have the name of the writer, address and phone number. The writer’s name and address may be withheld by request.

Municipality workers removing burned police vehicles from the road after clashes in Fallujah city on Friday.

Christiaan Beek: cites a rise in targeted malware to steal money from ATMs and POS systems.

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INSHORE DOHAWind: NW 12-18/22 KT Waves: 1-2/3 Feet

High: 19 C

Low : 12 C

MONDAY

Partly cloudy with chance for scattered rain

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QATAR

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201430

Motorists cautionedafter persistent rain Joseph VargheseStaff Reporter

Doha and other parts of the coun-try experienced incessant rains from early morning until late

afternoon yesterday. The Qatar Me-teorological Department said the cold weather will continue today with the possibility of strong winds in diff erent parts of the country.

The Traffi c Department at the Min-istry of Interior has advised motorists to exercise caution on account of the slippery conditions on roads.

Several parts of the city were fl ooded and motorists had a tough time nego-tiating inundated stretches of streets. Many people were seen taking a walk through the rain especially at the Cor-niche and other places thoroughly en-joying the rain. The country recorded a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius yes-terday and the minimum was 13 de-grees.

Though no serious accidents were reported, the MoI through its Twitter account had issued several driving tips for motorists. The messages urge the motorists to ensure that their brakes

are working properly, to use the A/C to defog the windshield as well as to keep a safe distance from the car in front.

MoI has also appealed to motorists to concentrate while driving, not to speed and to stay under the speed limit to avoid mishaps. It has also suggested avoiding fl ooded roads so that traffi c congestion can be avoided.

Saturday being a holiday for schools and government offi ces, traffi c was moderate but certain areas, especially fl ooded roads witnessed traffi c back ups.

The Meteorology Department meanwhile has forecast that there could be strong winds today at diff er-ent places.The department has fore-cast on its website that the maximum temperature today could be 18 degrees Celsius and the minimum around 10 degrees. It could be partly cloudy and relatively cold during the day and very cold by night.

Many residents welcomed the sud-den rains and children could be seen running in the rain and playing in the puddles. Since it was the week-end, most of them enjoyed it gleefully though some complained that it had spoiled their weekend.

A group of residents enjoying the rain.

A family at the Corniche enjoying the rain. PICTURES: Jayaram

CGC gets three ISO re-certifi cations

Consolidated Gulf Com-pany has received three ISO re-certifi cations

for its wide range of solutions and services, which reconfi rm CGC’s compliance to work processes and operational standards.

Valid for three years, the In-tegrated Management System (IMS) certifi cations include the Quality Management System ISO 9001:2008, Environmen-tal Management System ISO 14001:2004 and Occupational Health and Safety Management System OHSAS 18001:2007.

Tawfeeq Salem, CGC chief fi nancial offi cer expressed sat-isfaction over the continuation of the IMS certifi cations.

He said: “The latest achieve-ment once again proves our sustained eff orts, commitment and conformity to the best practices, upgraded capabili-ties and adherence to the re-quirement of the international principles and standards. It re-enforces our resolve to con-

tinue to provide quality tech-nological, engineering and mo-bility products, solutions and services in a safe, secure and environment-friendly way, while minimising incidents to our associates, customers and atmosphere to zero.”

The re-certifi cations are the result of a thorough assess-ment and auditing of CGC’s entire work processes and op-erational standards. The cer-tifi cation agency, Velosi Qual-ity Management International found CGC in compliance with the requirements of qual-ity, environment, occupational health and safety norms con-cerning its stakeholders.

CGC has been an ISO cer-tifi ed company since 2006. Moving forward, it upgraded its work processes to achieve the three quality certifi cations in the year 2010. And CGC re-ceived re-certifi cations to all the three international stand-ards in the latest assessment by Velosi.

CGC executives during their company’s ISO re-certification ceremony.

Qumra fi lm festivalrescheduled to 2015

The Doha Film Institute has announced that it has rescheduled the

Qumra Doha Film Festival which was supposed to be held this year to 2015.

A statement issued by DFI said: “To focus on our primary mandate, we have decided to reschedule the Qumra Doha Film Festival, our earlier an-nounced second fi lm festival initiative, to 2015. This will en-able us to channel our resources to deliver on our primary ob-jectives, create more platforms for Qatari and regional talent to sharpen their skills, and pro-vide increased educational and fi nancing opportunities. These, in turn, will contribute to added value for our fi lm festival initia-tives, and put the global spot-light on our talent.”

According to the statement, DFI is realigning its objec-tives for 2014. “Following the success of the inaugural Ajyal Youth Film Festival by the Doha Film Institute, which was marked by an unprecedented

community involvement in fi lm appreciation and education, the Institute is realigning its objec-tives for 2014,” it states.

The statement continues “As part of this new approach, we are focusing on our recently launched initiatives that are aimed at nurturing the culture of cinema at the grassroots level in Qatar and the region. We will also expand the remit of our various platforms and programmes to further foster fi lm education, fi nancing and appreciation, especially among talented young fi lmmakers”.

The statement affi rms that DFI’s expanded fi lm grants pro-gramme, educational initiatives and the Ajyal Youth Film Fes-tival are fully aligned with our primary mandate of supporting global story-telling, nurturing upcoming talent and enhancing public appreciation of cinema.

“We remain committed to our mission to serve as the de-fi nitive platform in this region to create a dynamic local fi lm industry,” it adds.

QATAR31Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

TAMUQ hosts nanotechnology and energy meet

Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), in col-laboration with Qatar

Fertiliser Co (Qafco), hosted the Qafco-TAMUQ Conference 2014 with the themes: ‘nanote-chnology and energy’. The con-ference was the sixth edition presented with the sponsorship of Qafco.

Dr Mark H Weichold, dean and CEO, TAMUQ, said: “Partner-ships such as the one shared be-tween the university and Qafco illustrate the fundamental im-portance of industry-academic collaboration in meeting both

the current and future challeng-es in chemistry and engineering research. TAMUQ and Qafco share a common mission to en-rich Qatar, engage and support its people and industries and create new knowledge and prag-matic and sustainable solutions that can have both local and global applications.”

The conference featured an impressive technical programme and sessions showcasing opin-ions and research from some of the world’s most respected names in nanotechnology and energy. It also provided a fo-

rum for the exchange of ideas and opportunities for future collaborations.

Khalifa al-Sowaidi, vice chairman and CEO, Qafco, said: “Prestigious institutions such as TAMUQ play a leading role by investing their resources to de-velop innovative and sustainable solutions that would lessen the adverse impact of industrial de-velopment on the environment. Qafco is exploring new grounds to fi nd practical means of energy effi ciency. In the coming years, we will work towards achieving our production goals along with

our commitment to energy con-servation.”

Dr Hassan Bazzi, chair of the TAMUQ Science Programme and associate professor of chemistry, said: “This is the fi rst edition of the new series of conferences sponsored by Qafco. Based on the tremendous success of the series that ran from 2008 to 2013 and attracted a large number of world renowned scientists in-cluding two Nobel laureates, Qafco has generously agreed to support a new series that will feature parallel chemistry and chemical engineering tracks.” TAMUQ, Qafco representatives at the conference.

Wakrah issues 3,637 building permits

The technical aff airs de-partment at the Wakrah Municipality has issued

3,637 construction-related permits last year.

According to a report released by the depart-ment, these include open-ing 1,450 building fi les, issuance of 594 build-ing permits, 405 certifi -cates of completion, 160 maintenance permits, 31 demolition permits, 250 digging permits and 747 announcement permits.

The department said that the Wakrah New Cemetery project has been completed and handed over to the rel-evant department by the Pub-lic Works Authority (Ashghal). Also, around 25% of the works on refurbishing three public gardens in Wakrah has been completed.

Similarly, the third stage of Wakrah family beach project has been finalised along with the preparation work for the new headquarters of Wakrah Municipality, and the main-tenance of roads according to

the (2011-2013) plan. During the period, the

Doha Municipality technical inspection department ob-tained closure of 267 labour accommodations, while is-sued 4,318 evacuation no-tices. It received 516 violation reports and restored the orig-inal use of 3,767 residential units in 2013.

The department said it conducted fi eld training for the municipality inspec-tors as it was investigating a complaint about a labour ac-commodation at Al Saad area. Each inspector was trained to fi ll in the designated form and record the violation. The violating building was giv-en a 30-day grace period to evacuate.

Inspectors were also in-structed to address the vio-lation to both the owner of the building and the lessee. In case of evacuation within the grace period, the munici-pality could waive the fi ne. In case of non-compliance, the building would be evacuated by force.

Pharmacy department marks achievementsThe pharmacy depart-

ment at the Heart Hospi-tal (HH) and the National

Centre for Cancer Care and Re-search (NCCCR) held a recogni-tion ceremony to congratulate staff members who have com-pleted their postgraduate studies as well as winners of the annual competence competition.

The ceremony also included a presentation of the HH and NC-CCR pharmacy departments’ achievements in 2013 and recog-nised the great eff ort made by all their staff during the year.

Present at the ceremony were HMC Continuing Care Group chief Mahmoud al-Raisi, and Primary Health Care Cor-poration pharmacy director Dr Mahmoud al-Mahmoud.

During the event, HH and NCCCR pharmacy director Dr Manal Zaidan presented a re-search study that was conducted

by the pharmacy department during 2013, as well as the col-laborative work carried out with a medical team from the cardiac failure clinic.

Dr Zaidan said that the depart-ment has conducted 20 research studies in 2013, some of which

were undertaken in collaboration with Qatar University.

In addition, 90 scientifi c lec-tures were held in 2013 as part of the Continuing Education Pro-gramme to discuss new discover-ies and update staff knowledge on medication information. “We have

also designed and implemented the ‘E-prescription’ programme, which aims at reducing waiting times and minimising the margin of error,” Dr Manal recalled.

The offi cial mentioned that a ‘clinical information system pro-gramme’ will connect all phar-

macies at government hospitals and health centres.

“This system will considerably improve the service off ered by providing a tool which will iden-tify a patient’s medical history including all the medications received previously,” she said.

HH and NCCCR staff members present at a recognition ceremony.

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 2014

QATAR32

Ooredoo’s Khalij men play with children during the marathon.

Aircraft lined up for the day’s flying.

An eager crowd enjoying the show .

A scene from the melodrama Shams wa Qamar. Chinese artistes perform at Katara.

Participants are seen in action at the marathon.

Khor show passes with fl ying colours By Aney MathewAl Khor

Skydive parachuting by members of the Qatar military, aerobatic fl y-

ing by reigning World Aerobatic champion Tamas Nadas and a fl ight demonstration using pow-ered parachutes were among the highlights of the seventh edition of Al Khor Fly-In.

The two-day event which con-cluded successfully yesterday, also included fun plane rides for visitors and the opportunity to take a closer look at the many light aircraft that were on display for the occasion.

The fun event, which attracted several spectators and aviation enthusiasts - some of whom had fl own in from neighbouring GCC countries, was set in motion by

the Director of Civil Aviation, Abdul Aziz al-Naimi.

Addressing the gathering, al-Naimi said: “Through this event, we aim to spread the culture of avi-ation and defi ne its components within an educational environ-ment, while incorporating fun and social interaction. We are aware of the vital role of the aviation sec-tor in promoting the economy of Qatar. The Civil Aviation Author-ity seeks to fully support the event fi nancially and logistically in order to motivate young people, in the area of aviation and to educate them on modern technical con-cepts in this fi eld”.

Speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines al-Naimi expressed his appreciation for the organisers and hosts of the show. “I am well impressed with the quality and success of the event. There is no commercial activity involved in

this show. It is completely the re-sult of self motivated people who serve voluntarily in response to their love for fl ying. This annual event is gaining popularity and the number of visitors and guests have doubled.”

The skydive parachuting dem-onstration on the fi rst day by the Qatari military was received with excitement as visitors watched Qatar’s award-winning team, as they displayed various feats in-cluding the downplane and can-opy skydiving.

“This is the team that repre-sents Qatar for competitions lo-cally and at international levels. Our team won the fi rst place for canopy formation at the Asiana competition in China earlier and we are just back from another successful event in Dubai. We had about 17 of our trained personnel participate in this display,” ex-

plained Isam Elsayed Technical Director and Team Manager.

Sheikh Mohamed al-Mualla from the UAE was among the handful of participants who took part in the skydive parachuting, in addition to the Qatar military team. Expressing his keen inter-est in fl ying, he said: “I fl ew into Qatar in my helicopter in what was a 95-minute fl ight. This is my second time participating in the Al Khor Fly-In. I enjoy par-ticipating in this event.”

Another round of excitement the spectators enjoyed on the fi rst day was an amazing aero-batic display by reigning World Aerobatic Champion – Captain Tamas Nadas from Hungary. In a 15-minute fascinating display, the champion twirled, twisted, spun, nosedived and manoeu-vred his aircraft skilfully, keeping the crowd mesmerised.

Hundreds of Qatar resi-dents have taken part in the recently held Oore-

doo Marathon.More than 1,600 people reg-

istered for the event with all registration fees donated to Reach Out To Asia thus raising a signifi cant sum for people in need in the developing world.

With four races in total – a children’s 1km fun run, a 10km road-race, a half marathon and a full marathon – there were options for people of all levels of fi tness and running experi-ence. There was a wide diversity in the ages, nationalities and backgrounds of participants, with a number of professional athletes running alongside those taking part in their fi rst-ever marathon.

Ooredoo Public and Commu-nity Relations director Fatima Sultan al-Kuwari said: “We’ve been delighted at the response to this year’s Ooredoo Mara-thon, which has seen the high-est number of registrations, as well as the best-ever support from friends, families and the wider community. Not only does this incredible support

raise signifi cant funds for Reach Out To Asia, it also encourages more people to get involved in health and fi tness.”

Runners from 86 countries took part, including Qatar, Ethiopia, Ghana, Spain, Oman, Morocco, the US, Canada, the UK, Nigeria, Tunisia and Pal-estine.

The youngest entrant – run-ning in the children’s race – was just fi ve years old, while the oldest entrant was 68, proving that age is no barrier to health and fi tness.

Coming fi rst in the inaugural marathon was Eskindeer Folie of Ethiopia.

The fastest female marathon runner was Sarah Whittington of the UK.

There were also strong times set in the junior category, with Sami-l Sameedi from Oman and Kritsen De Sousa the fastest man and woman, respectively.

In the master category, Shawn Deleu and Jackie Wer-deling were the fastest man and woman.

Ethiopia also fi elded the fast-est runner in the half marathon, with Abebe Tolosa setting the

fastest time and Rebecca Bot-wright from the UK clinging the fastest female runner slot.

More than 650 runners took part in the 10km race, with Gadissa Chamada (Ethiopia) and Madeline Strandemo (US) fi nishing as the fastest male and female runners respectively.

Finally, around 200 children took part in the kid’s 1km, from ages fi ve to 17 years. Mohamad Ashiq and Rosa Adu were the fastest boy and girl aged 13-17 years while Anas KV and Holly McWilliam were the fastest in the 9-12 year category and Nuh Mortaza and Timaa Kammar the fastest fi ve to 8-year-olds.

The winners were presented with prizes by Al-Kuwari in a special ceremony at the end of the race.

Ooredoo launched the Oore-doo Marathon in 2013, and con-tinues to support it as an annual event to promote health and fi t-ness in Qatar.

Support for the marathon is part of a wider strategy that in-volves grassroots sponsorship and community engagement, designed to encourage more people to get involved in sport.

Cultural and artistic ac-tivities organised re-cently by Katara have

attracted thousands of visitors, a spokesman for the cultural village said.

The festivities and shows held this month received thousands of visitors with its unique dis-play of world culture and distin-guished artistes performing to large gatherings.

Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Su-laiti, director general of Katara, pointed out that Katara has be-come a gathering point for world culture of diff erent trends, in particular China, Morocco and Lebanon.

He said that Katara focused on both local and world folk herit-age as a rich source of creativity and artistic innovation. Katara was also keen to sponsor the 5th

Qatar International Falcon and Hunting Festival, which will conclude on February 1.

Recently, Katara hosted the Moroccan week, where handi-crafts were displayed alongside local decorated costumes, en-actment of popular festivities and various other activities that greatly appealed to the public.

Similarly, the Chinese shows captivated viewers with their 150 skilful performers.

The photo and painting ex-hibitions also continue to draw more visitors, he said.

For music lovers, Katara has introduced some of the best solo virtuosos in the world, besides the distinguished orchestral per-formances. Visitors also enjoyed greatly the Arabic melodrama Shams wa Qamar which con-cluded on January 5.

Hundreds take part in Ooredoo Marathon

Katara events attract thousands of visitors

Top three winners pose for photo after receiving their prizes.

Sunday, January 12, 2014Rabia I 11, 1435 AH

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

HP planning to revive board in bid for stability

India clears long-delayed Posco plant

HOLDERS’ IRE | Page 20$12BN PROJECT | Page 17

$30bn Qatar spend, mega GCC projects to drive Gulf growth in ’14 Qatar project spending estimated at $30bn

this year and large-scale projects across the GCC will drive the region’s growth in 2014,

a new report has shown. In the short term, the GCC (Gulf Co-operation

Council) region will drive Mena (Middle East and North Africa) growth, mainly through heavy spending on infrastructure, a QNB report said yes-terday.

In the GCC region, many countries including Saudi Arabia ($50bn) and Kuwait ($25bn) have huge project spending outlay this year.

Dubai’s successful bid for the World Expo 2020 and a number of new real estate developments will boost project spending in the UAE. The Saudi gov-ernment alone is spending in excess of $50bn on infrastructure projects through its budget, which excludes signifi cant project spending by the pri-vate sector and state-owned companies.

The report also said greater integration into the global economy of the Mena (ex-GCC region) through increased trade openness and enhanced competitiveness could raise long-term regional growth prospects. Mena growth is a tale of two re-gions, the Mena ex-GCC and the GCC acting as a locomotive of growth for other countries.

High hydrocarbon production and prices have lifted export and fi scal revenue in the GCC, ena-bling Gulf countries to press ahead with major in-frastructure spending plans.

The GCC leads the region in terms of integra-tion into the global economy through trade open-ness and competitiveness. Nonetheless, structural reforms aimed at liberalising trade and investment would most likely yield a growth dividend in the long-term across Mena, QNB said.

QNB estimates that real GDP growth in the GCC was 3.7% in 2013, compared with 1.2% in the rest of Mena. This is relatively sluggish compared with potential and historical average Mena growth of around 5% or higher.

A number of Mena countries outside the GCC are undergoing political transition, creating un-certainty that deters investment, weakens short-

term growth and delays much-needed reforms. However, a gradually improving political outlook in some of these countries, combined with the po-tential upside from economic reform, leaves room for higher short- and long-term growth across the region, the report said.

Integration into the global economy can be measured by the degree of trade openness, de-fi ned as the ratio of the sum of exports and imports of goods and services over nominal GDP. By this measure, there is a strong positive relationship be-tween greater integration and higher growth over the long-term.

GCC countries continue to be at the top of the Mena grouping, partly refl ecting their large hydro-

carbon export sectors, QNB said. However, both the GCC and the rest of Mena still demonstrate room for improvement compare to global leaders in trade openness, such as Singapore. This suggests that greater trade openness has the potential to yield a signifi cant long-term growth dividend for Mena and can be achieved through policies to re-move barriers to trade.

Competitiveness is another key aspect of global integration. The 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Index by the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows the GCC countries in the top league, with the rest of the Mena region lagging behind. This mirrors the recent economic growth performance of the Mena region, QNB said.

The WEF report identifi ed areas for enhancing competitiveness in Mena: institutional frame-works and labour markets in North Africa as well as infrastructure, innovation and competitiveness. Structural reforms aimed at improving these di-mensions of competitiveness could, therefore, lead to higher sustainable growth, QNB said.

Greater eff orts to attract investment into in-frastructure, including the GCC countries, would likely yield high growth dividends in the entire re-gion, QNB said.

In the GCC, investment in major infrastructure programmes will continue to drive trade openness through higher imports. Further structural reforms aimed at attracting foreign investment into infra-structure, education and innovation would yield long-term gains in enhancing both trade openness and competitiveness.

The GCC is already investing heavily in these areas, but further liberalisation and investment incentives could bring the region in line with cut-ting-edge global standards, the QNB report said.

Increased trade openness and enhanced com-petitiveness could raise long-term regional growth prospects.

“Growth in Mena, outside the GCC, will be de-pendent on overcoming political uncertainties, liberalising trade and improving competitiveness,” the report said.

HIGHER ASIA DEMAND : Page 2

LNG export surge boosting prices for Australian buyers

Ooredoo ‘buzz’ makes it to top 10 global intranets Ooredoo’s “buzz” portal – the global

intranet that connects employees in

its operating companies in Asia, the

Middle East and North Africa – has

been named one of the world’s top

ten intranets in a new report by lead-

ing research firm, Nielsen Norman

Group.

The buzz portal was recognised

alongside intranets of a number of

elite companies and organisations,

including the International Monetary

Fund (IMF), Mayo Clinic and National

Geographic.

Each was named to the list because

of the important support its intranet

provide for employees, as well as the

usability and use of social features to

drive employee engagement.

Ooredoo was the only company from

the Middle East or Asia to make it to

the World Top Ten, and was praised

for its ability to support dialogue

and provide information in multiple

languages and for a wide range of

cultures.

Ooredoo’s buzz provides an essential

tool for teams in diff erent countries to

share ideas, plan co-ordinated cam-

paigns and contact experts in Oore-

doo off ices around the world. Since

its launch in 2012, buzz has provided

Ooredoo employees with a meeting

place to talk to their international

colleagues, as well as a key focal point

for online resources.

Ooredoo Group chief human resourc-

es off icer Mohanna Nasser al-Nuaimi

said, “We developed Ooredoo’s

buzz portal because we know that

technology has a huge role to play in

enriching people’s working lives, and

we wanted to ensure that Ooredoo

employees have access to one of the

very best intranets, wherever they are

in the world. To receive international

acknowledgement from a global

expert in intranet usability shows

how strong a lead we are taking in

this area.”

For Ooredoo, investment in cutting-

edge employee communications

technology serves the dual purpose

of ensuring that employees have

the best possible facilities, and also

making certain that the company’s

expertise continues to develop so

as to better serve customers, the

company said. With more companies

looking to use intranet technology as

the primary vehicle for engaging em-

ployees in multi-location, multi-time

zone off ices, Ooredoo is providing

strong support through its globally-

recognised capabilities.

“Ooredoo’s intranet connects thou-

sands of employees by exploiting

social sharing features and off ering

robust language support. With a

simple user interface and targeted

encouragement, Ooredoo’s intranet

fosters a culture of sharing across the

organisation,” said usability expert

Jakob Nielsen, principal, Nielsen Nor-

man Group.

Many of the winning intranets in the

top ten include social features that

encourage employee engagement,

such as inviting comments and rat-

ings on news articles and showing

the number of comments made to

indicate the interest level in an article.

In addition, most of this year’s win-

ners emphasised mobile intranet

access, as more employees access

information on their smartphones,

iPads and portable devices.

Nielsen Norman Group’s “Intranet

Design Annual 2014: The Year’s 10

Best Intranets,” is available at: http://

www.nngroup.com/reports/intranet-

design-annual.

Ooredoo’s “buzz” has been recognised alongside intranets of a number of elite fi rms and organisations, including the IMF, Mayo Clinic and National Geographic

World Bank hit over loan to Honduran fi rm accused of crimes ReutersWashington

An internal World Bank watchdog criticised the lender on Friday for not doing enough due diligence on a loan made to a Honduran company that is purport-

edly linked to multiple killings and drug traffi cking. The watchdog said the bank’s International Finance

Corp (IFC), which aims to spur private investment in poor countries, should have more carefully researched Teguci-galpa-based Corporacion Dinant before approving the $30mn loan programme.

A report by the IFC’s Offi ce of the Compliance Advi-sor Ombudsman (CAO), said that a standard news article search required by World Bank rules would have turned up accusations that Dinant’s owner had masterminded the murder of an environmental activist and that his proper-ties were staging posts for drug traffi ckers.

The CAO said it had not tried to verify the reports and

noted that the businessman had been acquitted of mur-der charges, but it said the accusations should have raised red fl ags because they could damage the reputation of the World Bank.

“IFC staff either knew about these allegations and per-ceptions and failed to deal with them” or did not conduct required news searches, the CAO said, adding that its in-vestigators had conducted news searches using the same parameters mandated by the World Bank’s rules.

A Dinant offi cial did not immediately respond to a re-quest for comment.

The IFC approved the loan programme in 2009 to help Dinant develop its palm oil and food business. The CAO launched an audit of the project in 2012.

Through the loan, IFC indirectly got involved in one of the thorniest land disputes in Central America. Dinant operates in a fertile region near Honduras’ Caribbean coast that has been the site of violent clashes that have left more than 100 people dead since 2009, according to the Hondu-ran National Commission for Human Rights.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 20142

LNG export surge boosting prices for Australia buyers BloombergSydney

Australia’s natural-gas buyers are poised to pay more even as supply more than doubles in the next fi ve

years because higher prices in Asia are spurring exports.

Wholesale purchasers in eastern Aus-tralia, who paid A$3 ($2.67) to A$4 per British thermal units on average over the past decade, are being asked for more than twice as much when they sign new supply contracts or renew existing ones, says Wood Mackenzie, an energy re-search company.

The government forecasts gas output will jump to about 100mn metric tonnes by 2018, or about as much as Japan and Taiwan use in a year. While exports may boost revenue for suppliers including Santos Ltd, Australian consumers such as Incitec Pivot Ltd, the nation’s biggest fertilizer maker, are paying more just as economic expansion slows.

“Australia’s east-coast gas market is now linked to Asian markets through its LNG export projects,” said Chris Gra-ham, a Perth-based analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “There’s an immediate win-dow in 2014 to 2018 when the market is quite tight.”

Buyers in eastern Australia signed new supply agreements last year at A$9 to A$10 per btu, according to Graham. San-tos, based in Adelaide, said last month that contracts were signed at costs ex-ceeding A$8.

Prices in Australia and Japan, the big-gest LNG buyer, are converging once liquefaction and shipping costs of A$5 to A$6 are included, according to the Grattan Institute, a Melbourne- based research group. LNG for delivery to Northeast Asia over the next four to eight weeks cost $18.40 per btu, New York-based Energy Intelligence Group said on January 8.

Asian spot prices peaked at $19.40 last year as LNG replaced nuclear energy as Japan’s primary source of power fol-lowing the meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant in March 2011. The country imported a record 87.3mn tonnes in 2012 and paid 6tn yen ($57bn), double the amount in 2011, according to customs data.

Australia is increasing gas output as fast as suppliers in the US, where shale extraction is driving a production boom that has led to prices falling from as much as $13.69 a btu in July 2008 to $4.03 yes-terday. Australia will surpass Qatar and Malaysia as the largest exporter of LNG before the end of the decade, the gov-ernment in Canberra forecasts. LNG is gas cooled to minus 160 degrees Celsius (minus 256 degrees Fahrenheit) so it oc-cupies about 600 times less space and can be shipped by tankers.

Producers say more supply would bet-

ter help curb surging prices than favoring domestic consumers over export mar-kets.

“If you regulate or force suppliers to accept prices that are lower than what is feasible, there’s no incentive to pro-duce,” said Chandran Vigneswaran, an Adelaide-based spokesman for Santos. “The way to bring prices down is to bring on more supply.”

Letting producers tap more reserves, including coal-seam gas in New South Wales, the most-populous state, would help avoid shortages, the government said in a report last month.

Forcing producers to supply gas at a specifi ed volume and price domestically is likely to diminish Australia’s econo-my, Sydney-based Origin Energy Ltd, a partner in the A$24.7bn Australia Pacifi c LNG project, said in an e-mailed state-ment.

“There’s no shortage of gas reserves in eastern Australia,” said Graham of Wood Mackenzie. The issue is regulation, such as a New South Wales ban on new coal-bed methane exploration within 2 kil-ometers (1.2 miles) of residential areas, he said.

Australia’s gas exports will rise to 81% of its total production by 2018, from 53% in 2012, Graeme Bethune, chief executive offi cer of Adelaide-based EnergyQuest, said in a report for the government this month.

Chevron Corp, the second-largest US energy producer by market value, and BG Group Plc, the U.K.’s third-largest oil and gas explorer, are among those invest-ing about $180bn in seven new export projects.

BG’s Queensland Curtis venture is scheduled to start gas exports this year,

adding to three LNG projects already op-erating. Santos, operator of the $18.5bn Gladstone LNG project, and a venture between Origin and Houston-based ConocoPhillips plan to start exports in 2015.

Australian manufacturers, who use gas to make plastics, chemicals and electric-ity, will be hurt by “unrestricted” LNG exports, according to Manufacturing Australia, an industry group with mem-bers including BlueScope Steel Ltd, the nation’s largest steelmaker. The govern-ment should set aside supplies for do-mestic use or set up a “national interest test” before allowing more exports, the group said on its website.

Incitec faces A$50mn a year of ad-ditional gas costs at its Phosphate Hill plant in Queensland in 2015 and 2016, the Melbourne-based fertiliser producer said in a statement last month.

The company is building an $850mn ammonia plant in the state of Louisiana, partly to take advantage of lower US gas prices.

“We survived the global fi nancial cri-sis, low fertiliser prices and an extraor-dinarily high Aussie dollar,” said Stewart Murrihy, an Incitec spokesman. Now the industry is threatened by a gas price that’s climbing, he said. “We’d like to see government intervention to assist indus-tries such as ours through this immediate period when supply is tight.”

The government will discuss setting aside gas from new projects to supply the domestic market, Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane wrote in an e-mailed re-sponse to questions. It won’t introduce a “blanket, retrospective gas reservation policy,” he wrote on December 24.

The country’s LNG boom will boost

government revenue by A$11bn a year starting in 2015 to 2025, according to a report from McKinsey & Co Inc.

LNG will displace iron ore as the main source of Australia’s export growth this decade, according to the Bureau of Re-sources and Energy Economics, the gov-ernment forecaster. LNG export earn-ings will increase fi vefold to more than A$60bn through June 2018, the bureau estimates.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott faces an unemployment rate that’s climbed to a four-year high and falling consumer confi dence as the mining boom fades. The jobless rate rose to 5.8% in Novem-ber, matching the highest level since 2009, government data showed last month.

The economy expanded 2.4% last year, from 3.6% in 2012, according to the me-dian of 34 economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg. While growth is projected to reach 2.7% this year, that’s still less than the past decade’s average of 3%.

One gas buyer isn’t waiting for the government to act on supply. Orica, the Melbourne-based maker of industrial explosives, agreed to fund exploration and development by Strike Energy Ltd as part of a gas-supply agreement reached in July.

Others may shift manufacturing to lo-cations with lower energy costs, Geoff rey Cann, the national oil and gas director at Deloitte LLP, said in an interview.

“Some domestic gas users are unpre-pared for this price swing,” Cann, based in Brisbane, said on his blog last month. Australians will view the domestic gas market in two phases, “before LNG and after LNG. The implications for the economy are rather signifi cant.”

Challenges of 2014 By John R Wright

As we have moved into 2014, it is interesting to reflect upon where the experience of the GFC (global financial crisis) and its aftermath has changed our outlook and behaviours. The GFC has in eff ect impacted all of us over the past six years and I suspect that the fallout and its eff ects will continue as well for some years to come. In my opinion, the environment for business and banking has consequently changed pretty substantially. It has become very much more demanding, margins are under pressure, the velocity of business and the pace (aided by modern technology) is accelerating as we speak. New competition at home and abroad is a constant factor. This does suggest to me that the assumptions we made about business models and management and leadership styles are probably, if not no longer fit for purpose, certainly worthy of review!Successful companies of the future will have developed clear strategic plans, which are able to flex in the changing environment and are shared across the business by all members of the staff and management. These plans will also reflect engagement with stakeholders at all levels. There will be an expectation of greater engagement with communities (ie. Corporate Social Responsibility etc), there will also be an increasing need to align executive pay and remuneration with long term results of the business especially reflecting key performance indicators (KPIs) regarding community, staff and customers. Profit as such will cease to be the main determinant of remuneration.The banks face particular challenges given that the regulators have finally woken up to the fact that they were asleep at the wicket in the boom years leading up to 2007, are now imposing stricter and stricter regimes on the banking system. In the Gulf (GCC region) this is an interesting challenge because there has been a significant flight of capital (i.e liquidity) from Egypt, Syria and elsewhere as a result of the so called “Arab spring”. The very real danger is that pressure from the boards in our region and elsewhere will result in yet another round of over aggressive imprudent lending and the creation of yet another “asset bubble”. Leadership then in the context of developing and implementing robust and sustainable strategies is absolutely vital. This is a diff icult enough challenge for companies in many jurisdictions to face but in the GCC we also have the added dimension of third country nationals who

tend to take (very naturally!) an extremely short term view of things – “who knows where I will be tomorrow”?! Arguably there is a need for even more talented leadership in these circumstances where individuals have to accept the fact that their longevity in the role may be short term but commit themselves for the sake of the enterprise and their colleagues to the development of medium to long term plans that will see their companies build robustly for the future. An added complication is the political environment in the region beyond the “Arab spring” one is faced with all the issues around Israel/Iran etc, again imposing very diff icult challenges for leadership in business.I believe firmly that companies, which will “win” in this rather more challenging environment will be those that properly engage with and empower their workforce across their businesses. The “Command and Control” model continues to prevail in many countries and those organisations, which actually truly engage with their people will certainly outperform. A very interesting Article appeared in the HBR (Harvard Business Review) this month captioned “How Netflix reinvented HR”. I am not sure that one needs to go quite as far as Netflix have done! However, there are very many key points made in the HBR article, which are worthy for note for business leaders.Another dimension, which is happening as we speak is the impact of “Fracking” in the United States and the consequences of that country becoming progressively less dependant on Middle East oil and energy. This will undoubtedly drive political as well as commercial shifts as we go forward, it has been said that the United States will be self suff icient in Energy by 2020. Clearly, business leaders will need to develop various scenarios about the future so that they’re not taken completely by surprise if the paradigm shifts!I would take this opportunity of wishing all the readers best of success in 2014.

Glasgow-based John R Wright is an academic, veteran banker and a former CEO of Oman International Bank and Gulf Bank, Kuwait. The views expressed are his own .

FOCUS

A liquefied natural gas tanker operated by Energy Advance Co, a unit of Tokyo Gas Co, is moored at ConocoPhillips’ LNG facilities in Darwin, Australia. Prices in Australia and Japan, the biggest LNG buyer, are converging once liquefaction and shipping costs of A$5 to A$6 are included.

KPMG Qatar hosts meet on entrepreneurship

KPMG in Qatar is hosting a one-day con-

ference on entrepreneurship at the Sharq

Village tomorrow.

The event is supported by Bedaya and

will be facilitated by Professor Filipe

Santos, associate professor of entrepre-

neurship at INSEAD.

The conference is aimed at Qatari entre-

preneurs who have their own business;

are looking to invest in new ideas, or are

owners of family businesses. It will pro-

vide them with a supportive forum to dis-

cuss issues surrounding their businesses

in terms of growth and eff ectiveness.

The main areas to be covered during the

conference are: understanding a success-

ful business model; identifying key issues

and challenges; sharing experiences with

their peer group; and learning about

global best practices followed by similar

companies around the world.

Yacoub Hobeike, head, KPMG’s family

businesses and enterprises (Qatar) said:

“We are delighted to be able to hold our

entrepreneurship conference as we want

to help encourage and support local

entrepreneurs and SMEs, and are very

fortunate to have the support and input

from both Bedaya and Professor Santos

from INSEAD.”

Saleh al-Khulaifi, Bedaya Centre general

manager, said: “We are very pleased to

hold the entrepreneurship conference

with KPMG as it supports our goals to

help grow today’s young entrepreneurs

so that they can develop and succeed in

their businesses. Moreover, as this con-

ference is aligned with Bedaya’s vision

which targets the youth to become part

of the development of the private sector

and SME’s in Qatar.”

UAE loan growth to jump 10%: S&P BloombergDubai

Loan growth in the United Arab Emirates, the second-biggest Arab economy, is set to jump at least 10% this year as an in-

crease in bank deposits drives down borrowing costs, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Lending will rise 10% or “slightly” more after 9.6% last year, the rating company said. Cus-tomer deposits at the UAE’s 51 banks rose 11% in the 12 months through September, the most since 2008, central bank data show. That helped send the three-month interbank rate to the low-est since at least 2006, when Bloomberg began collecting data.

The UAE, holder of about 6% of the world’s proven oil reserves, is pouring tens of billions of dollars into expanding ports, building airports and developing real estate as Dubai prepares to host the World Expo 2020 and amid an eco-nomic diversifi cation plan. Average oil prices of about $100 a barrel last year are also helping support bank deposits.

Lending growth “will remain healthy in 2014,” Timucin Engin, associate director, fi -nancial services ratings at S&P, said by phone from Dubai yesterday. It will be “in line with the strong outlook for retail credit growth and some additional activity in the corporate sec-tor,” he said.

Dubai’s economy is recovering from the glo-bal fi nancial crisis, helped by a rebound in tour-ism, trade and real estate, with growth set to av-erage 4.6% a year between 2012 and 2015, more than twice the rate of the previous four years, according to government forecasts.

In November, the emirate won the right to host the World Expo 2020. It will need to invest almost 6bn euros ($8.3bn) on infrastructure projects before the six-month trade and cultural fair, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, head of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee and chairman of Emirates airline, said.

The economy of the UAE, which includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, contracted 4.8% in 2009 in the wake of the global credit crunch before the growth rate recovered to 3.9% by 2012. Bank lending growth had slowed to between 1% and 4% in the four years after 2008, from more than 30% annually in the four preceeding years.

“A few sectors are doing well, for example the real estate and hospitality sectors are picking up, while government spending is happening and consumer lending is going to go up,” Chiradeep Ghosh, a Bahrain-based senior analyst at Secu-rities & Investment Co, said by phone on Friday.

While bank lending growth is still below an average of about 11% in the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council, the rate will jump to 8.4% in 2014 from 2.3% in 2012, International Monetary Fund data shows.

The rise in liquidity at UAE banks refl ects a gradual recovery of the industry and contrasts with 2008 when the federal government pledged $33bn to ease funding after credit markets froze. Loan-to-deposit ratios at the country’s banks dropped to 92.8% in September from 105.7% in March 2010, Central Bank data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Bank deposits have also been helped by high oil prices and a surge in government deposits. Brent crude has averaged $108.7 a barrel in 2013, 73% higher than the $62.7 a barrel in 2009, ac-cording to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gov-ernment deposits rose 23.9bn dirhams in the nine months through September, accounting for a quarter of the overall rise, according to central bank data.

The three-month Emirates Interbank Off ered Rate, used by banks to price some loans, dropped 0.49 percentage points, or 49 basis points, last year to 0.81%, according to central bank data on Bloomberg. The rate hasn’t changed since De-cember 5. The three-month rate in Saudi Ara-bia fell four basis points over the same period to 0.96% yesterday.

Lending could grow 10% to 12% this year, Ghosh said.

Employees walk in the Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi (file). The UAE, holder of about 6% of the world’s proven oil reserves, is pouring tens of billions of dollars into expanding ports, building airports and developing real estate as Dubai prepares to host the World Expo 2020 and amid an economic diversification plan.

BUSINESS3Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Wearable gadgets not ready for prime time, say tech watchersReuters Las Vegas/Singapore

Despite the hoopla, wearable gadgets like wristwatches for checking your text messages or

eyeglasses that capture video are un-likely to make a splash with consum-ers anytime soon, given the clumsy designs, high prices and technological constraints of many of the current of-ferings.

That is the conclusion drawn by many industry executives and analysts who trolled the vast exhibition halls of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Ve-gas this week.

Most of the wearable products on dis-play at the industry’s premier showcase looked like awkward attempts to shoe-horn technology into new forms with-out an original or compelling benefi t for the wearer, sceptics say.

Stacy Rasgon, a semiconductor ana-lyst at Bernstein, spent a day at CES busily snapping photos of every fi tness band, watch and other wearable device he came across.

“I have 20 diff erent photos, but if I look at the pictures I couldn’t tell you

which product is from which vendor. They all look the same,” Rasgon said. “Wearables sound like a great idea and there’s going to be a lot of experimen-tation. People are throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks.”

Sony Corp, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Qualcomm Inc showed off new or recently launched smartwatches, most of which act as extensions to cell-phones, letting users check messages and appointments. Wristbands - like the popular Fitbit that tracks physical activity - also accounted for a big chunk of the devices on display at CES.

“For wearables to fi nally match up with the hype, (they have) to be a true solution, where it isn’t about the tech-nology - it’s about what the technol-ogy enables you to do, something you couldn’t do before,” said Mike Bell, the senior executive leading Intel Corp’s wearables push.

“The function, form and experience have to be as important as the parts you slap inside,” he said.

Intel this week unveiled its take on wearables that Bell believes serve a clear purpose and could catch on, including prototype earbuds with a built-in heart rate monitor that changes the music on

a smartphone to keep pace with a work-out. It also announced a collaboration with luxury department store Barneys New York to develop smart bracelets intended to look like they were dreamed up by a fashion designer - not an engi-neer.

The wearables mania gripping the in-dustry is in part a response to slowing smartphone and tablet markets. After growing 39% in 2013, global smart-phone shipments are forecast to ex-pand by just 18% annually through 2017, with prices steadily falling, according to market research fi rm IDC. Tablet ship-ments are seen up 22% this year, com-pared with 54% in 2013.

Tech executives say many consumers are intrigued by the potential for wear-able gadgets, but they are also cautious. A survey by research company Yankee Group in December found less than 10% of respondents planned to pay $200 or more for a fi tness wellness device.

A survey by Wakefi eld Research, commissioned by US cloud-services company Citrix Systems, last November found 91% of respondents were excited about wearables, but 61% said they had no plans to purchase one.

Simon Randall, whose British-based

OMG Life Plc makes a wearable camera called Autographer, is not surprised. He recalls the lukewarm reception when Nokia, his employer at the time, intro-duced camera-phones more than a dec-ade ago.

“New things take time to be broadly adopted but if there’s an intrinsic ben-efi t at the heart of them they’ll prosper,” Randall said.

Samsung’s $300 Galaxy Gear may have had the biggest launch of any wear-able so far - but it was panned by review-ers. It shipped an estimated 800,000 of the watches in the two months since it was introduced in September, a fi gure that pales in comparison to the millions its smartphones manage.

Some experts said Apple may have the best chance of developing a gadget that will propel the wearable category into prime time, given its track record in consumer devices.

“2014 will be more a year of attempts than of successful products. And for a lot of manufacturers it will be a matter of waiting to see what Apple does,” said Carolina Milanesi, a consumer tech an-alyst at Kantar WorlDPAnel.

While the electronics show lacked sure-fire winners, some offers

were definitely intriguing and drew crowds.

Epson unveiled a $700 pair of eye-glasses that allow the user to simultane-ously view data about objects they are looking at. Sony’s prototype glasses can display captions and information about programs a viewer is watching on TV.

Another off er was a bracelet made by Netatmo embedded with a sensor that looks like a jewel and which measures exposure to sunlight, helping the wearer decide when to put on sunscreen.

Even Qualcomm, one of the largest companies now touting the impending wearable device revolution and purvey-or of the “Toq” smartwatch, acknowl-edges the hurdles ahead.

Raj Talluri, who oversees the design of its Snapdragon smartphone proces-sors, wants to add the same chips to watches and apparel to let them handle much more sophisticated functions. But more work needs to be done on power consumption.

“The power consumption of proc-essors really needs to get an order of magnitude less,” Talluri said. “People’s expectation in wearables is not that they have to charge them every day. They want to wear things for weeks.”

Audi designer Johannes Tovar demonstrates lighting designs on a model car at the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas. The laser diodes of Audi’s ground-breaking Laserlight concept have been burning brightly at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The maker says it is showcasing the future of automotive lighting technology with the vivid red Sport Quattro Laserlight concept, based on a car first shown at last September’s 2013 Frankfurt IAA car show. The Laserlight system combines matrix LED and laser light technologies.

Audi’s new bright lights go on show

Motor car poised to become a smartphone on wheels

A Google announcement this

week that the company is

teaming up with carmakers to

bring its Android phone system

to cars shows the automobile

is on the verge of becoming an

integral part of the Internet.

Makers are eager to get the

online experience into cars

and Google is at the hub of

what calls itself the Open

Automotive Alliance with

big-name automakers General

Motors, Audi, Honda, Hyundai,

and chipmaker Nvidia.

The tie-up was revealed earlier

this week at the Consumer

Electronics Show (CES) in

Las Vegas. Experts had been

expecting news that Google

would work initially with Audi

alone. The first cars with

Google apps are scheduled to

appear some time this year.

Apple had announced partner-

ships of its own 2012 and it

seems the major IT companies

are aiming for in-car su-

premacy. For the automotive

industry this could bring a

good deal of upheaval.

“It would be naive to assume

that just because the car

becomes part of the internet,

the net will adhere to the

rules of the car industry,” said

Continental manager Ralf

Lenninger. The car component

and tyre company for which

he works maintains close links

to the IT industry.

Lenninger’s remarks came at

last September’s German IAA

car show in Frankfurt. “The

networked car can only be

achieved when industries net-

work with one another,” is how

the expert summed it up.

This new approach represents

a business-culture sea change

for an automobile industry

which has operated for dec-

ades using its own set of rules.

Carmakers initially went it alone

in getting online services into

their vehicles and in most cases

they imposed a hefty surcharge

for the online systems. The

advance of smartphones into

daily life has made customers

impatient to see online capabil-

ity incorporated into cars.

“Either we off er them the

features they are already used

to or they will drive around

the whole time staring at their

phones,” said an industry ex-

pert. The capability to load apps

onto a car’s infotainment screen

from a smartphone - mostly via

a manufacturer’s platform - has

already trickled down to the

cheaper end of the market.

The Google deal would

provide drivers and passen-

gers with technology to listen

to music, watch videos and

navigate. The aim of the new

alliance is “bring the best of

Android into the automobile in

a safe and seamless way,” ac-

cording to a press release.

Of course the car is just the

latest in a long list of devices to

acquire networking ability.

Another idea from Ford,

which is working with Micro-

soft, sees the car triggering

its owner’s alarm clock ear-

lier when heavy traffic on the

day’s ride to work threatens

to cause delays.

The recently-announced co-

operation between Daimler

and makers of the wearable

Smartwatch Pebble would en-

able a Mercedes-Benz driver to

tell how much petrol is in the

tank and whether the doors

are closed by merely glancing

at a wristwatch.

A Qualcomm Toq smart watch is on display at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Most of the wearable products on display at the industry’s premier showcase looked like awkward attempts to shoehorn technology into new forms without an original or compelling benefit for the wearer, sceptics say.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 20144

GM recalling about 370,000 pickups for possible fi re issue ReutersDetroit

General Motors Co said on Friday it was recalling about 370,000 of its redesigned

full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks global-ly to reprogramme software that could cause parts of the exhaust to overheat and lead to fi re.

GM said eight fi res had been caused by the problem, but there

were no injuries. The company said all of the fi res had occurred in very cold places, and it urged customers to avoid leaving trucks idling unat-tended.

The No 1 US automaker said the recall included 2014 model trucks with 4.3 liter and 5.3 liter engines in the US, Canada, Mexico and other markets. Trucks with 6.2 liter en-gines were not being recalled.

GM said signs of the problem were a continuous yellow “check engine light” and an “engine power

reduced” message in the driver in-formation centre.

It said recall letters would be mailed next Thursday, but custom-ers could contact dealers for ap-pointments beginning early next week. It said the repair would take about 20 minutes.

Of the trucks recalled, about 303,813 are in the US, about 26,000 in Canada, about 665 in Mexico and about 7,753 in export markets, said company spokesman Alan Adler.

Former CEO of Greek bank arrested in Turkey

The former chief executive of the Greek Hel-

lenic Postbank (TT) mired in an unsecured

loans scandal has been arrested in Turkey,

Greek police said yesterday.

An arrest warrant against Angelos Filippidis

was turned into an international one on

Friday, and Turkish authorities tracked down

and arrested him in Istanbul the same day, in

co-operation with Greek authorities.

Four people including a prominent business-

man have already been arrested in Greece in a

probe launched by the anti-corruption magis-

trate delving into a deficit of several million eu-

ros allegedly detected in TT. Filippidis’s lawyer,

Thanassis Varlamis, told an AFP reporter that

the ex-CEO of TT appeared before a Turkish

magistrate yesterday and asked to return to

his country in order to face questioning.

Brazil gives Batista’s oil firm time to show financial viability

Brazil’s oil regulator

ANP extended until

January 24 a deadline

for businessman Eike

Batista’s bankrupt Oleo

e Gas Participações

SA to show that it has

the financial viability

required to hold on to

off -shore concessions,

the company has said.

The company, formerly

known as OGX Petroleo

e Gas Participações SA,

filed Latin America’s

largest-ever bankrupt-

cy protection petition

on October 30. It had

requested more time to

fend off creditors and

shore up its finances

through its operating

contracts and conces-

sions.

The regulator has told

the company it can be

bankrupt but it must

meet its financial com-

mitments to continue

operating the off -shore

fields.

On Thursday, Oleo e

Gas said it had paid

part of its debts in two

off shore oil fields with

the financial resources

it obtained from an

agreement reached

with creditors in De-

cember.

The company owes

partners QGEP and

Barra Energia do Brasil

Petróleo e Gas 73mn

reais for operations in

the Atlanta and Oliva

fields.

QGEP and Barra each

own 30% of the Santos

basin fields south of

Rio de Janeiro. The first

horizontal produc-

tion well in Atlanta

is expected to start

producing in January.

Failure to meet

financial commitments

related to oil explora-

tion and production

concessions can result

in the loss of those

concessions under

Brazilian law.

0leo E Gas Par-

ticipacoes said on

December 24 that it

had reached a deal

with the majority of

holders in a total of

$3.8bn in bonds.

‘Lithuania must show sustainable public fi nances to adopt euro’

Lithuania must demonstrate its public fi nances are sustainable in the medium term to win ap-proval to adopt the euro in 2015, Olli Rehn, the

European commissioner in charge of economic and monetary aff airs, said yesterday.

The Baltic state, which aims to follow Latvia’s entry this year, plans to make up for old age and disability pension cuts imposed during 2010-2011 which might require 1bn-1.2bn litas ($400mn-$475mn) in ad-ditional spending or about 1% of its gross domestic product (GDP). There are also calls to raise the mini-mum wage sharply from the next year.

GM recall includes 2014 model trucks with 4.3 liter and 5.3 liter engines in the US, Canada, Mexico and other markets

BUSINESS5Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Heights, but not dizzy ones, for sub-Saharan stocks in 2014 ReutersLondon

A two-year rally in frontier African stocks, which has withstood the Nairobi

shopping mall attack, violence in the Central African Republic and fi ghting in South Sudan, is showing signs of fatigue, point-ing to muted gains this year.

The MSCI Africa index, which excludes South Africa but in-cludes three North African mar-kets, has risen more than 60% over the past two years as in-vestors sought plays on the ris-ing purchasing power of middle class consumers in the world’s fastest-growing continent.

But infl ows into sub-Saha-ran African equity funds have slowed from more than $3bn in 2012 to $1bn last year, according to Boston-based fund tracker EPFR.

With stock valuations in fron-tier markets now higher than their emerging market peers, in-vestors will need to look beyond blue-chip companies in major markets like Kenya to smaller companies or less familiar mar-kets like Botswana to fi nd value this year.

“I do not think we are going to see a correction, but I do not think we are going to see the same kind of rally,” said Ronak Gadhia, equity analyst at fron-tier markets broker Exotix, who

focuses on sub-Saharan African fi nancial stocks.

The MSCI Africa index rose 18% last year after a 38% leap in 2012.

Some of the best performers have been in Nigeria, with GT Bank surging 90% over the past two years while Nestle Nigeria has nearly tripled.

Nigeria is still probably the most attractive major frontier market in the region but its out-look is clouded by political risk this year, analysts say.

Economist Jim O’Neill, who coined the acronym BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, Chi-na), has included Nigeria in a category of most promising economies: the MINTs - Mex-

ico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.

Nigeria’s weighting in the MSCI frontiers index should increase to 20% from 14% following an upgrade of the UAE and Qatar in May, ensur-ing it attracts more attention from both dedicated emerg-ing market and larger global investors.

Investors point to the fact that there are fewer than 30mn bank accounts for Nigeria’s 160mn population, and that Africans are starting to consume more, rather than just acting as export-ers of raw materials.

But they also stress the draw-backs of inadequate infrastruc-ture in Nigeria, particularly in

the power sector, along with concerns about the impact on the economy of presidential elections next year, and a change in central bank governor this year.

Nigeria is sub-Saharan Af-rica’s largest market after South Africa, which is an emerging, not a frontier, market.

But with daily turnover on the Lagos stock market less than $30mn, its appeal to large in-ternational investors is limited. That is even more true of Kenya, Mauritius or other African mar-kets.

“Some of these markets did very well last year. They may go more slowly or take a break,” said Sven Richter, head of frontier

markets at Renaissance Asset Managers.

“I am not predicting they will go down - they should rise at a slower rate.”

Investors have not been de-terred by violence in African markets, notably the attack on a Nairobi shopping mall in Sep-tember which killed 67 and in Nigeria where thousands have died since the Islamist group Boko Haram launched an upris-ing against the state in 2009.

The continent has also been less-sensitive than other high-yielding markets to the prospect of the US Federal Reserve reduc-ing its stimulus programme from this month, although that will still be a risk.

“It’s more about the growth story locally,” said Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Stand-ard Chartered.

“The Africa growth story is consistent, the impact will still be positive.”

The International Monetary Fund forecasts economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa will ac-celerate to 6% this year, from an estimated 5% in 2013.

But some of last year’s outper-forming stocks may fi nd the go-ing tougher.

Kenyan power generation company Kengen soared more than 50% in 2013, but further gains may be hobbled by huge capital raising to fi nance new generation plans.

Target data breach worse than thoughtReutersNew York/Boston

The data breach at Target Corp over the holiday shop-ping season was far bigger than initially thought, the US company said on Friday, as state prosecutors an-

nounced a nationwide probe into the second-biggest retail cyber attack on record.

Target said an investigation found that hackers stole the personal information of at least 70mn customers, includ-ing names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses. Previously, the No 3 US retailer said the hackers stole data from 40mn credit and debit cards.

The two sets of numbers likely contained some overlap, but the extent was not clear, according to Target spokes-woman Molly Snyder. She said some of the victims did not shop at Target stores during the period of the breach, be-tween November 27 and December 15, and that their per-sonal information was stolen from a database.

“I know that it is frustrating for our guests to learn that this information was taken and we are truly sorry they are having to endure this,” Target chief executive Gregg Stein-hafel said in the statement on Friday.

Attorneys general from New York, Connecticut, Massa-chusetts and Minnesota said they were joining a nationwide probe into the security breach. A source familiar with the joint probe said more than 30 states were involved.

“A breach of this magnitude is extremely disconcerting and we are participating in a multi-state investigation to discover the circumstances that led to this breach,” Massa-chusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

Security experts said the stolen payment card data could be used to fabricate false magnetic strip credit cards. And the personal information could be sold on underground ex-changes for use in e-mail “phishing” campaigns, aimed at persuading victims to hand over even more sensitive infor-mation, such as bank account numbers.

“I think they still have no idea how big this is,” said David Kennedy, a former US Marine Corps cyber-intelligence an-alyst who runs his own consulting fi rm, TrustedSec.

Target lowered its fourth-quarter profi t forecast, in part due to weaker-than-expected sales since reports of the cy-ber-attack emerged in mid-December. Target shares closed down just over 1% on Friday to $62.62, hovering near a year-low.

The largest known breach at a US retailer, uncovered in 2007, was at TJX Cos Inc, operator of the TJ Maxx and Mar-shalls chains, where more than 90mn credit cards were sto-len over about 18 months.

On Friday, Neiman Marcus revealed it too had been the victim of a security breach.

The high-end department store was informed by its credit-card processor in mid-December of possible unau-thorized card activity that followed customer purchases at Neiman Marcus stores, spokeswoman Ginger Reeder said.

A subsequent investigation turned up evidence on Janu-ary 1 of a “criminal cybersecurity intrusion” that may have compromised an unknown number of customers’ cards, the company said.

Neiman Marcus, owned by the Canada Pension Plan In-vestment Board and private equity fi rm Ares Management, is still investigating and said it did not know at this time how many customers may have been aff ected. Nor was it imme-diately clear whether it was linked to the Target incident.

US state prosecutors have announced a nationwide probe into the second-biggest retail cyber attack on record

Weekly Market Report

The Qatar Exchange (QE) Index gained 327.81 points, or 3.11%, during the trading week, to

close at 10,873.08 points. Market capitalisation increased by 2.26% to reach QR574.4bn as compared to QR561.7bn at the end of the previous week. Of the 42 listed companies, 31 companies ended the week higher while 9 fell and 2 remained un-changed. Islamic Holding (IHGS) was the best performing stock with a gain of 13.33% on 1.0mn shares traded. On the other hand, Qatar General Insur-ance & Reinsurance Company (QGRI) was the worst performing stock with a decline of 5.32% on 0.2mn shares traded.

Ooredoo (ORDS) was the biggest contributor to the QE Index. The stock contributed 51.5 points to the index’s weekly gain. ORDS posted a total return of 37.9% in 2013. Further-more, ORDS was the biggest laggard in the prior week in the QE Index. Qa-tar Islamic Bank (QIBK) was the sec-ond biggest contributor adding 41.7 points to the index. QIBK has been a laggard in 2013 with a negative total return of 3.2%.

On the other hand, Qatar Elec-tricity & Water Supply Company (QEWS) shaved 5.1 points off the index during the week. The stock has had a decent run in 2013 post-ing a total return of 44.8%. United Development Company (UDCD)

after its bull run in 2013 corrected by 0.86% week-over-week (WoW) and dragged the index down by 2.8 points during the week.

Trading value during the week in-creased by 151.77% to reach QR2.9bn vs QR1.2bn in the prior week. The Banks & Financial Services sector led the trading value during the week, accounting for 36.01% of the total eq-uity trading value. Trading volume in-creased by 103.05% to reach 61.9mn shares vs. 30.5mn shares in the prior week. The number of transactions rose by 84.29% to reach 31,167 trans-actions versus 16,912 transactions in the prior week. The Banks & Financial Services sector also led the trading volume, accounting for 29.73% of the total. The significant increase in trading value, trading volume and number of transactions is due to the prior shortened trading week.

Foreign institutions remained bull-ish for the week with net buying of QR519.7mn (including t-bills) vs net buying of QR126.2mn in the prior week. Qatari institutions remained bearish with net selling of QR346.5mn vs net selling of QR95.4mn the week before. Foreign retail investors re-mained bearish for the week with net selling of QR28.7mn vs net selling of QR0.2mn in the prior week. Qatari retailer investors remained bear-ish with net selling of QR144.6mn vs QR30.6mn the week before.

This report expresses the views and opinions of QNB Financial Services SPC (“QNBFS”) at a given time only. It is not an off er, promotion or recommendation to buy or sell securities or other investments, nor is it intended to constitute legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. We therefore strongly advise potential investors to seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision. Although the information in this report has been obtained from sources that QNBFS believes to be reliable, we have not independently verified such information and it may not be accurate or complete. Gulf Times and QNBFS hereby disclaim any responsibility or any direct or indirect claim resulting from using this report.

DISCLAIMER

The QE Index continued its upward momentum tagging a series of new 52-week highs last week and witnessed gains on every single day,

registering impressive gains of around 328 points. The bulls were in full charge as the index breached the 10,600.0, 10,700.0 and 10,800.0 psychological levels ensuring its strong upmove. The index also managed to penetrate above the ascending trend-line resistance, which had restricted its bullish move in the past indicating a positive sign. We believe the index has been in strong uptrend mode since form-ing a base near the 10,320.0 level and may continue its bullish run, targeting the 10,900.0-11,000.0 lev-

els. If the index sustains above this levels, a contin-ued rise and a possibility of a further rally may not be ruled out. The recent uptrend has been sharp, which is keeping the RSI in perpetual overbought state; however, it does not seem to be aff ecting the index’s current performance. Meanwhile, the MACD is diverging away from the signal line and is moving up in a bullish manner showing no immediate trend reversal signs, indicating that this rally may not fiz-zle out soon. On the flip side, traders may need to keep a close watch for support near the ascending trendline, as any dip below this level may result in the index drifting toward the 10,700.0 level.

RSI (Relative Strength Index) indicator – RSI is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of price movements.

The RSI oscillates between 0 to 100. The index is deemed to be overbought once the RSI approach-es the 70 level, indicating that a correction is likely. On the other hand, if the RSI approaches 30, it is an indication that the index may be getting oversold and therefore likely to bounce back.

MACD (Moving Average Convergence Diver-gence) indicator – The indicator consists of the MACD line and a signal line. The divergence or the convergence of the MACD line with the signal line indicates the strength in the momentum during the uptrend or downtrend, as the case may be. When the MACD crosses the signal line from below and trades

above it, it gives a positive indication. The reverse is the situation for a bearish trend.

Candlestick chart – A candlestick chart is a price chart that displays the high, low, open, and close for a security. The ‘body’ of the chart is portion be-tween the open and close price, while the high and low intraday movements form the ‘shadow’. The candlestick may represent any time frame. We use a one-day candlestick chart (every candlestick represents one trading day) in our analysis.

Doji candlestick pattern – A Doji candlestick is formed when a security’s open and close are prac-tically equal. The pattern indicates indecisiveness, and based on preceding price actions and future confirmation, may indicate a bullish or bearish trend reversal.

Technical analysis of the QE index

Definitions of key terms used in technical analysis

Source: Qatar Exchange (QE)

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Qatar Exchange (QE)

Source: Qatar Exchange (QE)

QE Index and Volume

Weekly Index Performance

Qatar Exchange

Top Five Gainers

Most Active Shares by Value (QR Million)

Investor Trading Percentage to Total Value Traded

Top Five Decliners

Most Active Shares by Volume (Million)

Net Traded Value by Nationality (QR Million)

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201416

BUSINESS17Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

India clears long-delayed$12bn Posco steel project Environmental clearance for project, first agreed in 2005 with steel plant originally due to start production in 2011, was suspended by a judicial body two years ago amid bitter opposition from locals

AFPNew Delhi

India’s environment ministry has approved South Korean multina-tional Posco’s plans to build a long-

delayed $12bn steel plant, the company said on Friday, days ahead of a visit by South Korea’s president.

But protest groups vowed to keep up their fi ght against the plant, which rep-resents the largest ever foreign direct investment in India.

The delays faced by the project have become emblematic of the woes faced by foreign firms putting money into India. The environment minis-try has given its renewed go-ahead to the plant in the eastern state of Orissa, eight years after it fi rst signalled its approval, company spokesman Ong-suman Pattnaik told AFP.

“We obviously welcome this move by the government,” Pat-tnaik said by telephone from the company’s offi ce in Orissa. Environmental clearance for the project, fi rst agreed in 2005 with the steel plant originally due to start pro-duction in 2011, was suspended by a judicial body two years ago amid bitter opposition from locals.

They had objected to acquisition of farmland and said that the plant would destroy vast tracts of forest and en-danger local tribes’ livelihoods. The National Green Tribunal suspended the project on grounds that an environ-mental impact assessment report had

only been carried out for annual output of 4mn tonnes of steel, not the 12mn tonnes laid out in the agreement.

The renewed clearance came just ahead of the January 15 start of a trip to India by South Korean president, Park Geun-hye. “I have cleared it,” Environ-

ment Minister M. Veerappa Moily, who took over the ministry three weeks ago, confi rmed to the Press Trust of India on Friday. The ministry has approved the steel plant but clearance of a port needed to facilitate operation of the project is still pending. But even with

the environment ministry’s approval, the project still faces land acquisition and other hurdles.

Local leaders on Friday denounced the environment minister’s move, pledging to keep up their fight against the plant and the port.

“This environmental clearance is il-legal. Under no circumstances will we allow the project,” Prashant Paikray, spokesman for the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, a local group which has spearheaded opposition to the plan, told AFP.

‘Infi niti to repeat 2013’s 50% growthin China’BloombergBeijing

Nissan Motor’s luxury Infiniti brand said it expects to repeat last

year’s increase of about 50% in sales volume in China, it’s second-biggest market.

“We expect to see continu-ous growth from our business in China,” Johan de Nysschen, president of Infi niti, said in Be-ijing yesterday. “I would not at all be surprised to see if the cur-rent 50% annual growth may well be repeated during 2014.”

Sales by the Infiniti group jumped 54% to 17,108 units in the world’s biggest auto market last year, the Japanese carmak-er said yesterday in a release. China will probably become Infiniti’s biggest market by sales volume by the end of this decade, de Nysschen said.

Infiniti expects to begin local production of two long-wheel-base models, the Q50 sedan and QX50 crossover, this year. Automakers offer stretched versions of their models for China, as consumers there pre-fer to be chauffeured and seek more backseat comfort.

The luxury Japanese auto-maker targets sales of more than 100,000 units in Chi-na within five years, Daniel Kirchert, managing director of Infiniti China, said yesterday in Beijing.

China levies a 25% duty on imported cars, making them less competitive against locally produced models.

China’s main car associa-tion this week forecast that the world’s biggest automobile market will see slower growth this year as anti-pollution and austerity campaigns spread.

The country became the first to see domestic sales surpass 20mn units a year, and will see deliveries rise as much as 10% in 2014 after last year’s 14% growth, the state-backed Chi-na Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.

While China may already be the world’s biggest auto mar-ket, the country has plenty of room to grow as the number of vehicles on its roads only account for about 6% of the population, versus 80% in the US and 36% in South Korea, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Nissan’s sales in China climbed to 1.27mn units, trail-ing only Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co among for-eign makers. It was followed by South Korea’s Hyundai, whose deliveries climbed about 20% to exceed 1mn for the first time, according to company figures compiled by Bloomberg.

A Posco-India billboard is displayed on National Highway 5 in Bhubaneshwar. India’s environment ministry has approved South Korean multinational Posco’s plans to build a long-delayed $12bn steel plant, the company said on Friday, days ahead of a visit by South Korea’s president.

Bloomberg, AFPTokyo

Toyota Motor is aiming to produce more than 10mn vehicles in 2014, a bullish target that could boost other indus-

tries in Japan, a report said yesterday. The Toyota group’s production may fall

temporarily after April, when Japan increases the consumption tax from 5 to 8%, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.

But the impact of the tax hike should be blunted by a lowering of the automobile ac-quisition tax that will also become eff ective from the new fi scal year starting April, the Asahi said.

With Japan’s economic recovery set to re-main solid, Toyota expects its production will pick up from the autumn to achieve the tar-get, the Asahi said.

“Toyota’s bullish stance could cause ripple eff ects to other industries,” the Asahi said.

Toyota is Japan’s biggest manufacturer. Its health could aff ect steelmakers and parts suppliers of all kinds, as well as the economy of the central Japan, where the company is based.

In 2013, Toyota aimed to produce a record 10.12mn vehicles, after it overtook General Motors in 2012 to regain the title of world’s biggest automaker.

The company built 9.3mn vehicles between January and November, with Japanese media saying it was on target to become the fi rst automaker in the world to build more than 10mn units in a year. Toyota, whose group

includes small-vehicle maker Daihatsu and truck producer Hino, will make the 2014 an-nual production target offi cial by the end of the month, the Asahi said. The consumption tax hike is expected to lower Toyota’s annual production by 10,000 units. The Japanese auto sector as a whole was likely to reduce production by 20,000 to 30,000 units due to the tax hike, the Asahi added.

Toyota Motor Corp wants to get back in the sports-car game.

The world’s largest automaker, which un-der Chief Executive Offi cer Akio Toyoda is seeking to add performance-focused mod-els to its mass-market brand has said it will debut a concept car at its scheduled press conference tomorrow at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

That vehicle could be a new generation of the rear-wheel-drive Supra coupe Toy-ota dropped in the late 1990s, according to sites such as Jalopnik.com, Autoblog.com, MotorAuthority.com and Carscoops.com. Whatever Toyota shows, the concept won’t be called a Supra, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who declined to elaborate.

While the Supra, with a six-cylinder, 3-li-tre turbo engine, never sold in large numbers, it has kept a loyal following among sport compact car devotees 15 years after being discontinued in the US, said Scott Oldham, editor-in-chief for Edmunds.com.

“This was an import performance model that went to an elite place,” Oldham said by phone January 9 while driving in a Chevro-let Corvette to Detroit from Edmunds.com’s

Santa Monica, California, headquarters. “This was a car that was really made by and for the kind of guys in ‘The Fast and the Furi-ous’” fi lms, he said.

Craig Taguchi, a company spokesman, de-clined to comment on those reports and pro-vided no details on the concept car planned for Detroit.

Toyoda, grandson of the founder of the world’s largest automaker, has espoused a passion for performance cars and driving in most speeches since becoming president in 2009. Toyota posts videos of its top executive in driving gear behind the wheel of race cars at Germany’s Nurburgring, and in Toyoda’s 2010 US congressional testimony, during the company’s recall crisis, Toyoda told House members: “I love cars as much as anyone.”

Toyota’s US rebound since 2012, after four consecutive annual sales declines, was driven by models synonymous with mass-market tastes: Camry sedans, Corolla compacts and RAV4 small crossovers.

The company’s US sales rose 7.4% last year to 2.24mn units, with the Camry remaining the best-selling car for a 12th consecutive year. While Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota added the FR-S sports coupe under its Scion line in 2012, the Lexus luxury line has been its main showcase for power and performance in recent years, with the addition of “F” edition models and the limited production LFA supercar.

Lexus said it will show the RC F coupe on January 14 in Detroit, equipped with an eight-cylinder engine that will make it the “most powerful V-8 performance car ever developed” by the brand.

Toyota plans to produce over 10mn vehicles in ’14

China is world’s third largest holder of gold BloombergBeijing

China may have vaulted ahead of Italy and France last year to become the third-largest holder of gold, according to a Bloomberg In-

dustries report.Assets were probably about 2,710 metric tonnes,

compared with the last reported holdings of 1,054 tonnes in April 2009, according to the report. Ita-ly’s holdings are 2,451.8 tonnes, and France owns 2,435.4 tonnes, according to the World Gold Coun-cil data. The US is the biggest holder with 8,133.5 tonnes.

China’s central bank probably added 622 tonnes last year after reserves increased 380 tonnes in 2012, according to the report by Kenneth W Hoff -man, senior metals and mining analyst at Bloomb-erg Industries.

“Based on conversations with offi cials in China and Mongolia, it’s evident that China feels they want as much gold as much as the US,” Hoff man said in a telephone interview from Skillman, New Jersey. “The refi ners in Switzerland have been talk-ing about melting gold after the selloff in London and shipping them to Hong Kong and then from Hong Kong can be traced to China.”

Assets in exchange traded funds backed by bul-lion fell by more than 869 tonnes in 2013, according to Bloomberg data, after prices fell 28%, the most since 1981.

“Gold has been moving from the west to the east this year,” Hoff man said

The Asian nation’s consumption of jewellery, bars and coins rose 30% to 996.3 metric tonnes in the 12 months that ended September 30, while us-age in India, the second-biggest buyer, gained 24% to 977.6 tonnes, according to the London-based World Gold Council.

A woman on a mobile device looks at gold jewellery displayed at a Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group store in Hong Kong. A Bloomberg Industries report yesterday said China may have vaulted ahead of Italy and France last year to become the third-largest holder of gold.

A three-wheeled Toyota FV2 Future Mobility Concept vehicle is displayed during the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas Convention Centre, Nevada. A report yesterday said Toyota is aiming to produce over 10mn vehicles in 2014, a bullish target that could boost other industries in Japan.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 201418

Philippines sells $1.5bn 10-year bonds BloombergManila

Philippines sold $1.5bn of bonds, adding to the busiest week for Asian sovereigns on record as

slowing US stimulus threatens to in-crease funding costs.

The nation, Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economy, sold 10-year bonds to yield 4.2%, according to data com-piled by Bloomberg. That brings total dollar-denominated issuance by Asian governments since January 6 to $6.5bn, the most in data compiled by Bloomb-erg going back to 1999. Indonesia and Sri Lanka sold $5bn earlier this week.

Asian governments are looking to borrow after the Federal Reserve an-nounced it would taper record stimu-lus, increasing the yield on benchmark US debt. Interest rates on 10-year Treasuries have risen 1.34 percent-age points since May, when the cen-tral bank indicated it was considering trimming bond purchases. The aver-age cost of dollar funds for the region’s sovereigns rose as high as 5.83% in Sep-tember, up from an average 4% in 2012, JPMorgan Chase & Co indexes show. Borrowers now pay 5.16%.

“Philippine authorities are trying to lock in current yields,” said Desmond Soon, a Singapore-based fund man-ager at Western Asset Management Co, which oversees $442.7bn globally. “There is expectation US Treasury yields will go higher over the course of the year.”

The Philippines, which won invest-ment-grade ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings for the fi rst time in

2013, last sold dollar debt in January 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The country, whose $250bn econo-my grew at least 7% in the fi ve quarters through September, will use some of the proceeds from the sale to buy back foreign-currency bonds and for budg-etary support, among other general purposes. The nation has agreed to pay

$1.08bn to buy back notes from six of-ferings, a person familiar with the mat-ter said today, asking not to be identi-fi ed because the details are private.

“To get exposure to the Philippines is becoming more diffi cult since less ma-terial is out in the market,” Sergey Der-gachev, who helps oversee about $9bn as a senior portfolio manager at Union Investment Privatfonds in Frankfurt,

wrote in e-mailed responses to ques-tions. “New issues are the best oppor-tunities.”

The yield on the nation’s $1.6bn of bonds due in 2025 fell 17 basis points, or 0.17 percentage point, to 4.37% on Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its latest notes, which priced at par, climbed to 101.4 cents on the dollar as of 9:30 am in Manila, ac-

cording to Standard Chartered prices.Mexico sold $2.5bn of debt due in

2021 and 2045 in its fi rst international off ering since its credit rating was lifted last month by S&P. Earlier this week, Poland sold the most euro-de-nominated bonds in four years, taking advantage of the growing gap between borrowing costs in the shared currency and dollars.

Yuan’s upward march hurts China exporters Many exporters complain they are severely challenged by rising wages, other costs and yuan make China’s goods more expensive overseas and reduces profits in local-currency terms

Dow JonesBeijing

China’s reputation as the world’s factory fl oor is being undercut by the yuan’s upward march

against the dollar, which along with rising wages is pushing manufacturers to look for cheaper production bases in Asia.

Exports in December were up just 4.3% compared with the same month a year earlier, down from a much stronger 12.7% year-over-year rise in November, according to customs data released on Friday. Even accounting for possible distortions in the year-earlier jump in exports-which many economists attributed to so-called hot-money infl ows misreported as trade-the pickup in exports that Chi-na had hoped as the global economy improves has yet to materialise.

The US has long argued that the yuan has been kept artifi cially low to boost Chinese exports and maintains it is still undervalued. China says the yuan is now close to equilibrium; economists are divided on the question.

Either way, the strengthening yuan is hurting Chinese exporters, espe-cially makers of low-cost manufac-tured goods. China sent 15% fewer electronic calculators abroad in the fi rst 11 months of 2013, 12% fewer um-brellas and 21% fewer cigarette light-ers, Chinese data shows as low-end manufacturers abandon China for cheaper locations.

Beijing wants its exporters to move up the value chain to make more high-technology products. It sees this shift,

along with an attempt to rely less on credit-fueled heavy industry and more on domestic consumption, as crucial for the economy’s long-term success.

China’s Customs Administration, in a recent survey, found that yuan ap-preciation signifi cantly raised costs for two-thirds of exporters.

“To deal with the issue, I can only recommend that exporters actively upgrade their products and produce more value-added exports,” said Zheng Yuesheng, a spokesman for the administration. But China’s state

planners have to oversee this shift while maintaining economic growth, which has fallen to around 7.6% from double-digit levels in recent years, and ensuring that unemployment doesn’t rise.

Many exporters complain they are severely challenged by rising wages and other costs that have crept up in recent years. The appreciation of the yuan, also known as the renminbi, is another headache, which makes China’s goods more expensive overseas and reduces profi ts in local-currency terms. “Ris-

ing wages and the yuan are a tremen-dous problem for us,” said Uwe Hutzler, the general manager of a Chinese com-pany that supplies leather to clothing manufacturers. “We have to pay our expenses and salaries in renminbi but our invoices are in dollars.”

Chinese offi cials point out that a stronger yuan also means cheaper im-ports. That could help China achieve its goal of boosting domestic con-sumption as imported consumer items become more aff ordable.

“Yuan appreciation will surely lift

exports prices and undermine our exports competitiveness. But...yuan appreciation also helps lower our im-port costs,” said Zheng, the customs spokesman.

China remains an export power-house for manufactured goods like electronics and machinery. The na-tion’s share of world trade remains above 10% despite cost pressures. Data released Friday showed China’s total imports and exports exceeded $4tn in 2013, overtaking the US as the world’s largest trading country.

Chinese yuan banknotes are counted at the Huangsha Seafood Wholesale Market in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Many exporters complain the rise in the yuan is hurting China’s export competitiveness.

HK tycoon to acquireMacau casino for $948mn BloombergHong Kong

International Entertainment Corp, a company control-led by the family of Asia’s

fourth-richest man Cheng Yu-tung, agreed to pay as much as HK$7.35bn ($948mn) for a Macau gambling junket operator, seeking to capitalise on a casino boom in the Chinese city.

The company rose as much as 20% to HK$11.30, headed for the highest close since October 2001, before trading at HK$9.50 at 1:45 pm in Hong Kong. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.4%. The stock resumed after a one-day halt.

Casino revenue in Macau, the only place in China where casi-nos are legal, jumped 18.6% to $45.2bn last year. About two-thirds of the revenue came from high-stake bettors from main-land China whose gambling trips are arranged by junket operators. International Entertainment agreed to buy a 70% stake in Sun City Gaming Promotion, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday.

“Buying into an existing jun-ket operator is probably the easi-est way to participate in Macau’s casino boom,” Grant Govertsen, an analyst at Union Gaming Group, said by phone yester-day. “Macau’s government is unlikely to give out more casino licenses but the city’s tremen-dous growth in casino business is largely driven by the mainland VIPs brought by the junkets.”

Cheng owns a 10% stake in closely held Sociedade de Tur-ismo & Diversoes de Macau SA (STDM), founded by his long-time friend Stanley Ho. Cheng bought the stake from Ho’s former business partner in 1982. The 10% stake in STDM gives him control of 293mn shares of SJM Holdings, Asia’s largest ca-sino operator by revenue.

International Entertainment said the acquisition will enable it to “broaden its range of invest-ments” and it may need to raise funds by placement of shares or convertible securities to fi nance the acquisition.

The target Sun City, which was founded in 2007 by business-man Chau Cheok Wa, now runs 17 VIPs clubs, about 280 gaming tables, catering for high-stake mainland Chinese gamblers in Macau’s casino resorts, as well as overseas VIP clubs in South Ko-rea and the Philippines, accord-ing to its company website.

Sun City derives its net prof-its from gambling promotion operations such as arranging transportation, accommodation and providing credit facilities for high-rollers on behalf of Macau casino operators including Gal-axy Entertainment Group Ltd and Sands China Ltd in exchange for a commission or other com-pensation, the statement said.

The junket operator expects its credit facilities off ers to custom-ers will be no less than HK$12bn during 2014 and 2015 while the rolling turnover, or the total amount of bets players make, at its VIP rooms across Macau will be no less than HK$1.68tn, it said in the statement. Sun City’s con-solidated audited earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, for 2013 amounted to at least HK$1.5bn, according to the statement.

Cheng Yu-tung is Asia’s fourth-richest man whose net worth is calculated at $21.1bn, according to Bloombergbillion-aires Index.

Traders work on the floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange in Manila. Philippines sold $1.5bn of bonds, adding to the busiest week for Asian sovereigns on record as slowing US stimulus threatens to increase funding costs.

BloombergBeijing

Baidu Inc, China’s largest search engine company, rose after Maxim Group raised it to buy, helping Chinese shares in the US

rebound from the lowest level since November. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index gained 1.2% to 103.03 in New York, erasing a weekly loss. Baidu climbed 2.4%, rebounding from the biggest drop in a month, after Maxim upgraded it from hold, while Yanzhou Coal rose 5.2% as the government aims to boost coal transporta-

tion capacity. Ctrip.com International and Qu-nar Cayman Islands dropped on concern grow-ing competition will erode profi t at the online travel companies.

Maxim said yesterday that Baidu will rise 14% over the next year, citing the company’s domi-nance in the mobile search market and its eff orts to develop new products. While Baidu surged 77% last year, the shares traded at 27 times esti-mated earnings for the next 12 months, cheaper than the 37 multiple of Qihoo 360 Technology Ltd, the second largest search engine, data com-piled by Bloomberg show.

“Everyone is focusing on the mobile busi-

ness, and Baidu’s dominance in the mobile mar-ket gives it a lot of pricing power,” Echo He, an analyst at Maxim, said in a telephone interview from New York. “Compared with others, the valuation is still cheap.”

Baidu, China’s largest search engine company, rose to $179.66. Maxim Group estimated Baidu’s share of China’s total mobile search queries at 57% and predicted the company would benefi t from higher total online advertising spending this year due to events such as the soccer World Cup. Qihoo, based in Beijing, China, slipped 0.2% to $81.04, cutting its weekly advance to 1.6%.

American depositary receipts of Ctrip

dropped 3.8% to $38.95 on Friday, the lowest since July, and Qunar fell 2.3% to $28.59.

Ctrip Chief Executive Offi cer James Liang aims to expand the company’s market share through a “zero margin” strategy, Beijing-based 86Research said in a note on Friday, citing an in-ternal letter to employees. Competition in Chi-na’s online travel business is increasing ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Yanzhou Coal, China’s fourth-largest coal producer, climbed to $8.09, the biggest jump since Nov 21. China plans to raise coal transpor-tation capacity by rail to 3bn tons by 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission

said in a coal logistics development plan posted on its website yesterday.

The iShares China Large-Cap ETF, the largest Chinese exchange-traded fund in the US, rose 1.8% to $36.43 yesterday in New York, reducing its weekly drop to 0.6%.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2% as investors scrutinised data showing a slow-down in jobs growth for clues on the pace of Fed-eral Reserve stimulus cuts. In China, the Shang-hai Composite Index fell 0.7% to a fi ve-month low of 2,013.3, extending its weekly decline to 3.4%, amid concern new share off erings will di-vert funds from existing equities.

Baidu rally helps lift ADRs from 2-month low

BUSINESS19Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Total to invest in Britain’s shale gas industry ReutersLondon

France’s Total is set to be-come the fi rst major oil company to invest in Brit-

ain’s nascent shale gas industry, sources said, boosting hopes for a pick-up in exploration to help assess the commerciality of the resource.

Total will announce a deal to commit 30mn pounds ($50mn) to drilling for shale gas in Lin-colnshire in central England, two sources familiar with the mat-ter told Reuters, confi rming de-tails published in the Telegraph newspaper.

The French giant, worth about 103bn euros ($141bn), will part-ner with smaller explorers Dart Energy , Egdon Resources, IGas and eCORP, on two exploration licences.

Geological studies show Brit-

ain to have large shale reserves which could reverse a rising de-pendency on energy imports, but more drilling is needed to see whether the deposits are eco-nomic.

Britain’s government has thrown its weight behind shale gas exploration despite strong local and environmental opposi-tion to the extraction practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, used to develop shale and un-conventional gas blocks.

Total SA said last year that it would be interested in signing up for a position in Britain’s shale gas resources, and its entry will follow that of two large utilities, France’s GDF Suez and Brit-ain’s Centrica in 2013 who both agreed deals in 2013.

Total, eCorp and Dart could not immediately be reached for comment while Egdon and IGas declined to comment about the new development. Total headquarters (centre) seen in the La Defense business district in Paris (file). The French energy major is set to announce a $50mn deal for shale gas drilling in England.

Earnings reports to take centre stage on Wall St ReutersNew York

After the S&P 500’s im-pressive 30% return in 2013, Wall Street will get

a better picture of reality this week as the pace of companies reporting earnings picks up.

A number of big banks are due to report their quarterly and full-year results next week, in-cluding JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co on Tues-day, Bank of America Corp on Wednesday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup on Thursday, and Morgan Stanley on Friday.

Their results will help deter-mine whether earnings fore-casts for 2014 need to come down and whether stock values have become overblown.

“There isn’t much left to happen to this market, in terms of the view of an expanding economy. It is generally agreed by everyone that the economy is improving. What isn’t clear is whether earnings are improv-ing at the same pace the market is. That’s the next big test for equities,” said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capi-tal Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

For the fi rst full trading week in January, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite In-dex climbed 1%, while the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.2%.

Investors may get a better sense of how quickly the cen-tral bank will reduce its mar-ket-friendly bond purchases from a number of Federal Re-serve officials due to speak next week. A much weaker-than-expected December pay-rolls report on Friday raised new questions about both the strength of the economy

and the aggressiveness of Fed stimulus.

Federal Reserve Bank of At-lanta President Dennis Lockhart is scheduled to speak at events on Monday and Wednesday, while Fed Chairman Ben Bern-anke is set to speak on Thursday.

The Fed’s Beige Book is due on Wednesday.

A batch of December data will be released next week, with retail sales on Tuesday, the US Producer Price Index on Wednesday, the US Consumer Price Index on Thursday and housing starts on Friday. An-other number to note on Friday will be the preliminary Janu-ary reading on US consumer sentiment from the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

For the whole S&P 500, fourth-quarter profi t growth is expected to have increased 7.7% from a year ago, while revenue

is expected to have risen just 0.4%, Thomson Reuters data showed. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 9.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, while it jumped 29.6% for 2013, its best year since 1997.

Among other earnings to watch next week, General Elec-tric Co is expected to report a spike in fourth-quarter profi t on Friday with the help of the record $229bn backlog of orders for jet engines, oil pumps and healthcare equipment.

American Express Co’s fourth-quarter results on Thursday are expected to beat estimates, helped by increased card spending and lower default rates among customers.

Retail stocks have been at-tracting increased options activ-ity this week as major retailers came out with their disappoint-ing holiday sales fi gures. Inves-tors will get more insight into the

consumers’ state of mind next week as about 150 consumer-related companies are due to participate in the annual ICR XChange conference from Mon-day through Wednesday.

The annual gathering comes after many large US retailers slashed their earnings forecasts recently because of steep dis-counts they off ered during the holidays to persuade reluctant consumers to buy.

“I wouldn’t judge the health of the economy off of brick-and-mortar retailers,” said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING Investment Manage-ment in New York.

“The economy was strength-ening into the end of the fourth quarter,” and there was suffi -cient growth to keep earnings growing and people buying the market. Options volume on Five Below jumped more than six times the norm on Friday. The

value retailer’s stock fell 7.2% to close at $40.46 a day after the company announced dis-appointing holiday sales. Five Below is expected to present at the ICR XChange conference on Monday.

Out of the total 6,975 options contracts traded on Friday in Five Below, 2,565 were calls and 4,410 were puts with the most activity seen in January $45 calls.

Goldman Sachs had recom-mended buying January $45 calls for a relief rally in the stock following the ICR update.

Domino’s Pizza options vol-ume also rose with a total of 861 contracts traded, compared with average daily volume of 520 contracts. The stock has moved about 8.5% up or down dur-ing the past nine conferences, moving in the positive direction during seven of the nine events, according to Goldman Sachs.

Dollar tumbles as payrolls gain trims Fed view BloombergNew York

The dollar had the biggest weekly drop against the yen in almost three months as US payrolls rose

less than forecast in December, fuel-ling concern the Federal Reserve will slow reduction in bond-buying.

Canada’s dollar weakened to a four-year low as the nation’s jobless rate un-expectedly rose, led by the largest drop in full- time work since 2011, adding to bets the central bank may consid-er cutting interest rates. The pound snapped a three-week rally against the euro on signs manufacturing slowed. Mexico’s peso led gains among major currencies as the slowest increase in US payrolls in three years fueled de-mand for the Latin American country’s debt. Treasury yields plunged.

“The employment report turned out to be the largest headwind of the year for the very large short position in yen,” Neil Azous, founder of Rareview Mac-

ro, a Stamford, Connecticut-based ad-visory and research fi rm, said in an in-terview referring to bets the yen would decrease in value. “The theme to start the year has been a stronger yen and lower US yields.”

The dollar fell 0.7% to 104.18 yen this week in New York, the biggest drop since the fi ve days ended October 18. It touched 105.44 on January 2, the strongest since October 2008. The US currency weakened 0.6% to $1.3670 per euro. The yen added 0.1% to 142.39 per euro.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the US currency against 10 of its major counterparts, de-creased 0.2% to 1,023.77, after touch-ing 1,030.42 on January 9, the highest since September 9.

The benchmark 10-year note yield fell 14 basis points, or 0.14 percentage point, to 2.86% this week. The two-year yield dropped three basis points to 0.37%. The yen gained as futures trad-ers trimmed bets for a second week that the currency would drop, fi gures

from the Washington- based Com-modity Futures Trading Commission show.

The diff erence in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on a decline in the yen

compared with those on a gain - so-called net shorts - was 128,868 on January 7, compared with net shorts of 135,228 a week earlier. Canada’s dollar slumped the most among its 16 major peers as the nation’s unemployment

rate reached 7.2% in December, the highest since July and taking it above the US jobless measure for the fi rst time since 2008. Bank of Canada Gov-ernor Stephen Poloz said this week he has “some room to maneuver” on in-terest rates.

“The Bank of Canada is defi nitely on hold on the back of that one,” said Se-bastien Galy, senior foreign-exchange strategist at Societe Generale SA, by phone from New York. “It has all the right elements for the Bank of Canada to maintain a very dovish message and kind of implicitly encourage the Cana-dian dollar to weaken.”

The loonie, as the Canadian curren-cy is known for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, depreciated 2.4% to C$1.0892 per US dollar from the end of last week. It reached C$1.0946, the weakest since October 2009.

The pound fell against the euro this week after industrial and manufactur-ing production unexpectedly stagnat-ed and construction output dropped.

“The market is long of sterling and

has pushed it lower on the back this data,” said Gavin Friend, a foreign-ex-change strategist at National Australia Bank in London.

A long position is a bet an asset price will rise. “There’s enough momentum in the UK economy and a danger of over-interpreting what this number means.”

The UK currency depreciated 0.2% to 82.94 pence per euro, snapping a four-week advance.

The peso appreciated 1.1% to 12.9676 per greenback after US Labour Department fi gures showed payrolls in Mexico’s biggest trade partner in-creased by 74,000 in December, versus the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey for a 197,000 advance. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% as more people left the labor force.

“If the tapering is not as strong as previously thought, then the peso will not suffer from risk aversion,” Pedro Tuesta, a Latin America econ-omist at 4Cast Ltd, said by phone from Washington.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (file). The Wall Street will get a better picture of reality this week as the pace of companies reporting earnings picks up.

New price cap threatens growth, says Heathrow ReutersLondon

London’s Heathrow warned it could struggle to grow its business after accusing the

industry regulator of imposing a “draconian” cap on the prices Britain’s biggest airport can charge airlines.

Britain’s Civil Aviation Au-thority (CAA) said it would insist that Heathrow set its prices at 1.5% below infl ation from April 2014 after fi nding that the air-port - Europe’s busiest - had too much market power.

Heathrow said it might appeal the cap, which was much lower than expected for the next fi ve years, but airlines said the move did not go far enough as the hub still had some of the most ex-pensive charges in the world.

The cap is well below an in-terim suggestion made by the regulator for prices in line with infl ation. It is also well below Heathrow’s original request for a rise in tariff s of 4.6% above in-fl ation, as measured by the retail prices index (RPI).

The previous fi ve-year tariff was RPI plus 7.5%. “We want to continue to improve Heathrow for passengers,” Chief Executive Colin Matthews said. “We will review our investment plan to see whether it is still fi nanceable in light of the CAA’s settlement.”

The airport, to the west of London which has expanded in recent years with Terminal 5 and the redevelopment of Terminal 2, said the new price limit would result in a fall in the cost charged per passenger from 20.71 pounds in 2013/14 to 19.10 pounds in 2018/19 in real terms.

It said this would result in a rate of return on capital invest-ment of an “unsustainable” level of 5.35% compared with the 6.7% it was seeking.

The CAA said it was confi dent its proposals would still allow Heathrow to invest suffi ciently

while reducing prices for con-sumers. It said it had toughened the regulation after seeing pas-senger traffi c forecasts strength-en and the cost of capital revised at the airport.

But Heathrow questioned the CAA’s forecasts for the next fi ve years in terms of passengers and costs, and said it would have to cut operational expenditure by more than 600mn pounds and increase commercial revenue targets by more than 100mn pounds by increasing retail and car park charges.

Heathrow, whose owners in-clude Spain’s Ferrovial and the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, China and Singapore, is the third busiest airport in the world, with almost 200,000 passengers ar-riving and departing each day.

Analysts at Mirabaud said the news was very bad for Ferro-vial. But they noted that it could be balanced by the increasing chance that Heathrow will be allowed to expand from two run-ways to three by 2030 as part of a government review to address a capacity crunch that could slow economic growth.

Ferrovial, which has been steadily reducing its stake in Heathrow and now holds 25%, declined to comment. The reg-ulator had been reviewing the market power of the big airports - and whether this needed to be curbed by price caps - following complaints from the airlines.

British Airways, the dominant airline at Heathrow, said the price curbs were a step in the right di-rection to address the excessive charges, while Virgin Atlantic noted that prices at the airport were triple the level they were 10 years ago. Virgin is the second largest airline at Heathrow.

“Coupled with ever increas-ing Air Passenger Duty, custom-ers fl ying to and from the UK are facing some of the highest travelling charges in the world,” said Craig Kreeger, Virgin Chief Executive.

Customers walk through Pike Place Market in Seattle (file). Dollar fell 0.7% to 104.18 yen last week in New York.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

HP plans to restructure board in bid for stability To renominate HP’s slate of directors, including interim chairman Ralph Whitworth; seeking sustainability after years of board turnover

BloombergNew York

Hewlett-Packard Co plans to renominate its slate of directors - in-

cluding activist investor and interim chairman Ralph Whit-worth - according to people with knowledge of the matter, seeking stability after years of board turnover.

A renomination for Whit-worth, 58, will make Hewlett-Packard one of the few compa-nies with an activist investor as chairman. Other members of the 12-person board include Ray Lane, 67, who resigned as chairman last April amid share-holder displeasure at the com-pany’s performance. All are set to be renominated ahead of the annual shareholder meeting on March 19, said two of the peo-ple, who asked not to be iden-tifi ed because the information isn’t yet public.

Chief Executive Offi cer Meg Whitman and the board are in the midst of a turnaround of the struggling computer mak-er, which is poised for a third straight year of sales declines. Hewlett-Packard, which makes personal computers, servers and printers, is trying to move past a period of upheaval including declining performance and the departure of Whitman’s pred-ecessors, Leo Apotheker and Mark Hurd.

Shares of the Palo Alto, Cal-ifornia-based company gained 96% last year, making it the 17th best performer in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which rose 30%.

The stock had declined 45% in 2012 and 39% in 2011.

Michael Thacker, a spokes-

man for Hewlett-Packard, de-clined to comment or make board members available for interviews.

Hewlett-Packard can change its list of proposed directors un-til it releases proxy voting mate-rials, which in recent years have been published in late January or early February.

The renominations are an-ticipated after a quarter of the board turned over last year.

Lane resigned his chairman-ship after shareholders re-elected him by a narrow mar-gin of 59% last March. During Lane’s tenure as chairman, Hewlett- Packard wrestled with missed sales forecasts, an ill-fated decision to explore a spinoff of the personal com-puter division and a disastrous acquisition of software maker Autonomy Corp.

Former directors G Kennedy

Thompson and John Hammer-gren also resigned their posts last April. In July, former Micro-soft Corp Chief Software Archi-tect Ray Ozzie joined the board, along with Jim Skinner, former CEO of McDonald’s Corp and current chairman of Walgreen Co, and Dob Bennett, ex-CEO of Liberty Media Corp

Whitworth, who joined the board in November 2011 and who replaced Lane as chairman

last April, is principal of Rela-tional Investors. Relational held 32.7mn Hewlett-Packard shares worth $687.2mn as of Septem-ber 30, according to a fi ling with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Whitworth is one of the few activist investors to gain the chairmanship of a company he invests in, according to Charles Elson, director of the John L Weinberg Center for Corporate

Governance at the University of Delaware.

“This is quite rare, but Ralph Whitworth is a rare individual,” Elson said. “He has respect on both the managerial and the shareholder sides.”

During Hewlett-Packard’s fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts on November 26, Whitman said Whitworth is “in place for the foreseeable future” until a full-time chairman is found.

While activists sometimes join boards of companies they invest in, fewer take the chair-man role. Sears Holdings Corp’s chairman and CEO, Edward Lampert, is founder of hedge fund ESL Investments Inc Carl Icahn, the activist investor who has taken positions in Apple Inc and Nuance Communications Inc, was chairman of Trans World Airlines Inc in the early 1990s.

Whitworth has also served as chairman of trash hauler Waste Management Inc and medi-cal-services company Apria Healthcare Group Inc, which was acquired in 2008 by Black-stone Group LP.

Lane, who had served as Oracle Corp president in the 1990s, joined Hewlett-Packard as chairman in November 2010. Together with Apotheker, who was forced out in September 2011, Lane oversaw the com-pany’s $10.3bn acquisition of Autonomy, which resulted in an $8.8bn writedown and investi-gations of accounting fraud.

In June, Bloomberg News re-ported that Lane, who is also a partner emeritus at ven-ture-capital fi rm Kleiner Per-kins Caufi eld & Byers, owes a $100mn tax bill to the Internal Revenue Service stemming from a disallowed tax shelter.

Other members of Hewlett-Packard’s board include Patricia Russo, former CEO of Alcatel-Lucent SA, and venture capital-ist Marc Andreessen.

Fischer as fi nancial statesman may help boost Fed BloombergWashington

In Stanley Fischer, the Federal Re-serve would gain a fi nancial states-man with contacts and credibility

around the world as it begins to pull back on record stimulus, possibly un-settling foreign markets.

Fischer, 70, was picked to be Fed vice-chairman just as US offi cials start to slow bond purchases. The taper-ing and eventual monetary tightening could roil emerging markets as higher rates here pull investment fl ows from higher-yielding, higher-risk stocks and debt. Chairman Ben S Bernanke acknowledged the potential fallout in September, saying, “we are watching those developments very carefully.”

Fischer has spent much of the past quarter century near the top of global economic policy making, helping ar-range bailouts for Mexico and Brazil while he was the No. 2 offi cial at the International Monetary Fund in the

1990s. If approved by the Senate, he’ll bring experience that can help the Fed monitor the impact of its policies abroad and make him an ambassador who explains the US central bank’s in-tentions and goals.

“Here is a guy who trained half of the central bankers in the world. He knows them,” said former Fed Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Fischer “is tre-mendously respected everywhere in the world, not only by central bank-ers but by fi nance ministers and prime ministers.”

President Barack Obama also asked Lael Brainard, formerly the US Treas-ury Department’s top international of-fi cial, to fi ll an empty seat on the board, and a current governor, Jerome Powell, to serve a second term, according to a statement from the White House.

The selections come at a time when the global economic outlook remains clouded, and US offi cials are seeking more cross-border co-ordination in regulating banks. They also follow a

trend by other governments to seek out leaders with international experience to help run their central banks.

The UK government appointed Ca-nadian Mark Carney to run the Bank

of England and Jon Cunliff e - who, like Brainard, is a former Group of Eight negotiator – to serve as one of his deputies. Raghuram Rajan, hired last year as governor of the Reserve Bank of

India, was previously chief economist at the IMF. Graeme Wheeler, a former World Bank offi cial, was hired in 2012 to be governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

“Their knowledge and awareness of international economies and markets and familiarity with international pol-icy makers is an argument in favor of them,” said John Lipsky, a former fi rst deputy managing director of the IMF, adding they also had other qualifi ca-tions.

The MSCI Emerging Markets index touched a four-month low last week as capital fl ows shifted in the wake of the Fed’s decision to trim its longer-term bond purchases on December 18. The index increased 0.7% to 970.15, paring its drop for the week to 1%. The meas-ure for emerging-market stocks has dropped 3.3% this year after trailing shares in developed countries by the most since 1998 in 2013.

“Many in emerging markets and particularly their central banks are in-creasingly concerned about what the

Fed is doing and how this pullback will happen,” said Thomas Costerg, a fi -nancial markets economist at Standard Chartered in New York.

Obama is reshaping the Fed board as the central bank tackles some of the biggest challenges in its 100-year his-tory. The Fed’s balance sheet stands at $4.03tn as it buys longer-term debt to keep interest rates low to encourage consumer spending and capital invest-ment. The Fed took the fi rst step to slow the program down in December, agreeing to trim purchases to $75bn a month from $85bn starting this month.

Fischer would replace Janet Yellen, who was approved by the Senate this week for the chairmanship of the US central bank. Bernanke’s term expires January 31.

Fischer “is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading and most experienced economic policy minds, and I’m grateful he has agreed to take on this new role,” Obama said in the statement. “I am confi dent that he and Janet Yellen will make a great team.”

An employee wears a festive hat as she re-packs HP Slate 7 HD tablet device on the semi-automated processing line at an Argos goods distribution centre, operated by Home Retail Group, in Barton-Under-Needwood, UK (file). HP is planning to revamp its board in an attempt to strengthen its activities.

Airbus mulls engine revamp of A330 jet ReutersParis

After dramatically improving sales of its A320 jet by revamping it with newer and more effi cient

engines, Europe’s Airbus is studying whether to apply the same formula to a bigger jet, the A330, industry sources and analysts said.

Sales of the 20-year-old long-haul plane have enjoyed an unexpected boom in recent years after three years of delays in Boeing’s radically new 787 Dreamliner drove many airlines to in-vest in the cheaper and proven Airbus model.

But momentum is fading and ana-lysts say Airbus faces questions over whether it can maintain current A330 production rates in the second half of the decade without something else of its size to off er airlines tempted by the

chic new jets. “They have been doing fi ne with the A330 because Boeing was late, but it is becoming painfully obvi-ous that Boeing has newer technol-ogy than the A330,” said Adam Pilarski, senior vice president at US-based avia-tion consultancy Avitas.

Offi cially, Airbus is happy with the way sales of its most popular big jet are holding up, following a steady pattern of design tweaks that have increased range and capability. Last month it sold 25 A330s worth $6bn to AirAsiaX.

But behind the scenes, suppliers and industry experts say Airbus is looking seriously at whether to re-engine the A330 to cut fuel consumption, some-thing AirAsiaX is also pushing for.

“It is being discussed. It is one of the options in the mix,” said an industry source briefed on the plans. Airbus said it had nothing to add to recent com-ments made by a senior marketing exec-utive, Crawford Hamilton, who told Air

Insight website there was no immediate need to revamp the A330. Airbus holds its annual news conference tomorrow. The idea of a facelift for the A330 is not new. Airbus originally planned to an-swer Boeing’s carbon-fi bre 787 with a modest makeover of the A330, but abandoned the idea to take the same leap in technology as its rival and come out with the all-new A350, which is due to enter service this year.

Now, after a decade of ambitious and challenging plane developments, the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers are once again focusing on derivatives of existing models.

Experts say Airbus’s decision could have an impact on the broader battle between planemakers. Sharper compe-tition from the A330 could, at least for a while, sap margins for the 787 by forc-ing Boeing to off er bigger discounts. For Airbus, it could keep open a lifeline of cash for other projects. The proposal

must fi rst overcome growing industry concerns about engineering resources and satisfy Airbus bosses that it can make an adequate return without cut-ting into A350 sales.

With execution risk uppermost in the minds of investors, Airbus is heav-ily focused on testing and preparing the A350 for fi rst delivery, expected in the last quarter of this year.

At the same time, it is fl irting with the idea of adding a bigger version to the A350 series to compete with Boe-ing’s new 406-seat 777X mini-jumbo. The current A350-1000 seats 350.

Industry experts said that on paper, Airbus could tackle a A330 re-engining project as well as a potential larger A350 at the same time, as engineers start coming off other projects.

But the business case would have to stack up fi rst. After a decade of costly developments and roller-coaster share prices, Airbus has pledged to focus on

doubling its margins by 2015. Shares in parent EADS, recently renamed Airbus Group, have doubled in the past year on the success of the re-engined A320. But unlike the A320 and rival 737, the threat facing the A330 comes from a radically diff erent generation of aircraft, the high-tech carbon-fi bre jets off ered by both planemakers.

It would hit market at about the same time as the 787, recovering from last year’s grounding crisis, and the A350 are both expected to be hitting their stride in deliveries—potentially making older planes harder to sell and fi nance.

Analysts say an A330 engine upgrade would cost at least $1bn, much of which could be picked up by engine mak-ers Rolls-Royce or General Electric. Modifi cations needed to carry the lat-est engines, which need more room and weigh more while using less fuel, could treble that cost.

US court upholds BP settlement for Gulf oil spill

AFPWashington

A US federal appeals court upheld a multibillion-dollar settlement be-

tween BP and coastal residents and businesses hit by the com-pany’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

The British energy giant reached a $7.8bn settlement in 2012 with thousands of claim-ants hit by the worst environ-mental disaster in US history.

But it had been challeng-ing the way Patrick Juneau, a court-appointed administrator of claims, calculates companies’ compensation for lost profi ts.

The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that US District Judge Carl Barbier was correct in rejecting a BP bid to require companies to prove that their losses were directly linked to the spill before getting a payout.

The plaintiff s were quick to hail the decision. “Today’s rul-ing is an enormous victory for the Gulf, and an important step forward in ensuring that every eligible claimant is fully com-pensated according to the ob-jective, transparent formulas spelled out in the settlement agreement that BP co-authored and agreed to,” lawyers Steve Herman and Jim Roy said in a statement.

BP did not immediately re-spond to requests for comment.

In its 48-page decision, a di-vided three-judge panel of the appellate court said that it could not agree with arguments raised by BP and other appellants.

A divided three-judge panel of the court said in its 48-page ruling that it could not agree with arguments raised by BP and other appellants and af-fi rmed Barbier’s initial ruling in 2012.

“We cannot agree with the ar-guments raised by the objectors or BP,” the document read, citing federal rules governing class ac-tion lawsuits.

“Neither class certifi cation nor settlement approval are con-trary to Article III in this case,” it added, referring to federal law.

One of the judges, Emilio Gar-za, disagreed.

“Whether a class member was economically injured is immate-rial if that loss was not caused by the oil spill,” Garza said in a 14-page dissent.

“Absent an actual causation requirement for all class mem-bers, Rule 23 is not being used to simply aggregate similar cases and controversies, but rather to impermissibly extend the ju-dicial power of the US into ad-ministering a private handout program.”

In December, Barbier said the 2012 settlement negotiated with US authorities and accepted by BP presumed an oil spill link for any losses to businesses within certain geographical zones and in certain sectors.

Several groups of plaintiff s had previously complained after Bar-bier’s fi nal approval of the set-tlement in which he certifi ed the case as a class action lawsuit.

Stanley Fischer : Pivotal role.

Sunday, January 12, 2014Rabia I 11, 1435 AH

SPORTGULF TIMES

Nets ice Heat in double OT

Cook ducks questions on Pietersen

NBA | Page 4 CRICKET | Page 2

TENNIS

I can knock off Nadal, Djokovic, warns FedererPage 3

FORMULA 1 | Page 6

Vettel goes for fi ve in number game

Misbah, Sarfraz thwart LankaAFPDubai

Skipper Misbah-ul Haq led Pakistan’s resist-ance with a gritty 97 to thwart Sri Lanka’s victory bid on the fourth day of the second Test in Dubai yesterday.

Misbah missed his sixth Test hundred by a mere three runs but a career-best 70 not out by Sarfraz Ahmed and a defi ant 32 by Bilawal Bhatti kept Pakistan’s fi ght to take them to 330-7 at close on a cloudy day.

When bad light and drizzle ended play 15 overs before schedule, Saeed Ajmal was on seven and Pa-kistan were leading by 107 runs with a full day’s play remaining.

Sarfraz added an invaluable 67 runs for the sev-enth wicket with Bhatti to frustrate the Sri Lankan bowlers who bowled with discipline and patience on a pitch which had little response for bowlers.

Sri Lanka will look for an early wrap-up of Paki-stan’s second innings to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the fi rst Test ended in a draw in Abu Dhbai last week. The third and fi nal Test will be

played in Sharjah from Thursday. When left-arm spinner Rangana Herath spun one

across Misbah’s bat to hit the off stump just 20 min-

utes before tea it looked as if the match would be over soon but Sarfraz and Bhatti kept the fi ghtback going before Eranga bowled Bhatti in the dying moments.

Sarfraz said he felt more responsibility after the fall of his captain’s wicket.

“When I was playing with Misbah, he was guiding me,” said Sarfraz. “But when he got out I felt more responsibility and I will continue to fi ght tomorrow (Sunday) and if we add another 100 runs then we can win this match.”

Sarfraz improved on his highest Test score of 40 he made against South Africa at Centurion earlier this year by posting his maiden half-century. He has so far hit seven boundaries during his 123-ball stay.

Sri Lanka had a good chance of dismissing Sarfraz at 51 but paceman Suranga Lakmal dropped a regula-tion caught and bowled chance to add to his team’s woes after Misbah foiled them for nearly two sessions.

Misbah’s valiant eff ort helped Pakistan avoid their fi rst-ever innings defeat against Sri Lanka be-fore his 412-minute resistance ended.

Herath said Sri Lanka will look for early wickets. “The pitch is still 50-50 so if we can get them for an-other 50 more we can win,” said Herath.

CRICKET

‘I will continue to fight. If we add another 100 runs, we can win this match’

Pakistan batsman Sarfraz Ahmed in action during his dogged unbeaten knock of 70 as Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene looks on, during the fourth day's play of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Dubai yesterday. (AFP)

SCOREBOARDPakistan (1st innings) .................................................. 165Sri Lanka (1st innings) ................................................ 388Pakistan (2nd innings; overnight 132-3)Khurram Manzoor c P Jayawardene b Pradeep .. 6Ahmed Shehzad c P Jayawardene b Herath ......... 9Mohamed Hafeez c P Jayawardene b Pradeep .... 1Younis Khan c P Jayawardene b Lakmal ............... 77Misbah-ul-Haq b Herath .................................................97Asad Shafiq b Karunaratne b Eranga ......................23Sarfraz Ahmed (batting) ............................................... 70Bilawal Bhatti b Eranga .................................................. 32Saeed Ajmal (batting) ........................................................7Extras (b-1, lb-7) ................................................................... 8Total (7 wickets, 123.3 overs) .................................. 330Fall of wkts: 1-11, 2-12, 3-19, 4-148, 5-200, 6-245, 7-312Bowling: Lakmal 22-3-62-1, Pradeep 19-3-50-2, Herath 43.3-8-124-2, Eranga 33-9-70-2, Mathews 5-1-9-0, Sangakkara 1-0-7-0

CRICKET

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 20142

ReutersMelbourne

England captain Alastair Cook declined yesterday to off er any assurances to mercurial batsman

Kevin Pietersen about his test future. Smarting from a 5-0 Ashes whitewash, England’s misery in Australia was not con-fi ned to the fi eld and coach Andy Flower had to issue a statement denying media speculation of a rift in the dressing room.

British media had earlier claimed Flower has threatened to quit if Pietersen, their lead-ing run-scorer in the Ashes series, continued to be part of the team’s rebuilding process. South Africa-born Pietersen, 33, ruled out retirement and said he wanted to help England regain the Ashes in 2015 but Cook was non-committal about the future of England’s fourth highest test scorer of all time.

“It’s only been a week since everything has happened. So what is important for me is the one day series at this precise moment of time,” Cook told re-porters ahead of today’s one-day series opener at Melbourne.

“We know that when we go home from this one-day series, a lot of important decisions on how we go forward with the Test team, one day team, my future

that kind of stuff .” Persistently asked about Pi-

etersen’s attitude, Cook said: “It’s very hard for me to talk to you, the media, about stuff like this. It’s very hard and I can’t do that. Confi dentiality and stuff like that means what happens in the dressing room, stays in the dressing room.”

Told that it did not ring as a sound endorsement for Pi-etersen, Cook said, “You can regard that as you want. As is always the way with the media that’s what happens.”

England’s Ashes campaign was badly hit when top or-der batsman Jonathan Trott abruptly returned home after the Brisbane opener to deal with a stress-related illness, neces-sitating a batting order rejig that did not click.

Compounding the crisis, frontline spinner Graeme Swann quit international cricket after England had surrendered the coveted urn after a hat-trick of defeats. “Obviously when you lose a series fi ve-nil, lot of things get thrown up and thrown in your face as the captain and you start looking at everything and it’s important that we do that,” said Cook. “What also is im-portant is it’s only been a week since everything has happened. So what is important for me is the one day series at this precise moment of time.”

Cook ducks questions on Pietersen

AFPMelbourne

Australia have left out fi t-again pace-man James Pattinson for today’s day-and-night opening one-day international with England at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground. Skipper Michael Clarke admitted at his pre-

match media conference he had no answers on why Pattinson was not selected. Pattinson’s absence comes as Australia rest their Ashes player of the series and leading wicket-taker Mitchell Johnson from game one of the fi ve-match ODI series.

Opening batsman Shaun Marsh has also been unable to win selection for today’s open-er, with Aaron Finch likely to partner David Warner at the top of the order and Shane Watson at number three.

Pattinson was sent home from the 2013 Ashes tour with a back injury, but he has claimed seven wickets in three Big Bash League games recently.

While Australia’s ODI series with England is a crucial warm-up for the 2015 World Cup to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, it’s also a chance for players like Pattinson to

audition for a spot in the Test squad to tour South Africa in late January.

“That’s probably a question for the selec-tors,” Clarke told reporters. “I don’t know what they said to James and I don’t know why they decided to not pick him. But I think James certainly is realistic and understands that he’s only been back bowling for a couple of weeks in regards to game practice. He’s looking fi t and I’m sure he’ll play a big part throughout this series.”

Clarke said Australia would take winning momentum into the ODI series, but that would come from Australia’s 2-1 ODI series win in England in September rather than their recent fi ve-nil Ashes whitewash. Australia are rated second in ODI cricket behind India, with England at three. “We as a team have no com-placency, where you’re sitting there expect-ing that because the result was fi ve-nil in the Test series, that the one-day result will be the same,” Clarke said.

AgenciesMumbai

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said yes-terday that he would personally like to atone for his poor performance in South Africa during the forthcoming New Zealand tour.

Dhoni was out of form in the Test series and came to bat at No.7 and managed only 87 runs in four in-nings. He also wants the bowlers to contribute with the bat as well. “I would like to improve my perform-ance. I would like to do well in overseas conditions. But sometimes when the fi eld is spread and you have to play shots. But I want the No. 8, 9, 10 batsmen to start contributing more,” said Dhoni, before de-parting for New Zealand, where India will play fi ve ODIs, starting from Jan 19. Post ODI series, Dhoni’s men will play two Tests. Dhoni, however, said he had full confi dence in his young batsmen who did well in South Africa. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane performed well in the two-Test series that South Africa won 1-0. “I am confi dent about this team’s ability. The batsmen played well in South Africa,” Dhoni said.

He said the team’s performance in the Test series against South Africa will stand in good stead in New Zealand as well. “We have a slightly bigger chal-lenge. We should be proud of what we have and it’s important for us to tune up a bit,” he said.

Dhoni was also happy that all his bowlers will be fi ghting for a place in the playing eleven. “There will be more competition in bowling department, now with everyone being fi t. When wickets are on drier side and there is not enough swing movement, our fast bowlers need to improve,” he noted.

Asked about spinners, Dhoni said: “We don’t have fi ve specialist bowlers. So we can’t have spinners who give away too many runs. Ravindra Jadeja’s per-formance in South Africa was good. Spinner’s role on the fi rst day is to not give too much runs. When they play more outside India, they will learn the need to be patient. Till we don’t get a seaming all-rounder, that’s what they will have to get used to.”

Dhoni said all-rounder Stuart Binny could also be used as the third seamer in the ODIs. “The inclusion of Stuart Binny is interesting. He has some swing. Most international venues wickets are fl at, we will have to see if he can feature as third seamer. It de-pends how he does in nets,” he said.

Pattinson left out of ODI opener I want to contribute more overseas: Dhoni

BOTTOMLINE CAPTAIN SPEAK

FOCUS

McCullum brothers star in Kiwis big win over West Indies

FIRST TWENTY20

The New Zealand batting was backed up by tight bowling, led by Nathan McCullum

AFP Auckland

An unbeaten 85-run stand be-tween Brendon McCullum and Luke Ronchi laid the founda-tion for New Zealand’s 81-run

win over the West Indies in their opening Twenty20 international yesterday.

The New Zealand batting was backed up by tight bowling, led by Nathan Mc-Cullum who celebrated his 50th Twen-ty20 international with fi gures of four for 24.

New Zealand, who elected to bat fi rst, appeared in trouble at 105-3 after 13 overs before McCullum and Ronchi lifted them to 189-5 which proved too big a target for the West Indies. The tourists were fi ve for 64 after 11 overs in their reply before stag-gering through to be eight for 108 at the fi nish.

Brendon McCullum had gone in to bat in the fourth over when the removal of Martin Guptill started a mini-collapse of

the New Zealand top order. Guptill gave New Zealand a fl ying start with a six and two fours off consecutive balls from Tino Best’s fi rst over, but was gone for 25 when he gave a soft catch to Johnson Charles in Best’s second over.

He was the fi rst of three New Zealand batsmen to reach the 20s but failed to carry on before McCullum and Ronchi gave the innings some backbone. McCul-lum, who faced 45 balls, hit four sixes and two fours while Ronchi hit four sixes and three fours from 25 deliveries. Best re-covered from his fi rst over hiding to fi nish his four overs with fi gures of three for 40, while Nikita Miller took two for 26.

Nathan rips apartThe West Indies reply was quickly in

trouble when Adam Milne, a 21-year-old quick who New Zealand are slowly intro-ducing to international cricket, removed Lendl Simmons with his fourth ball, a 150 kmh delivery.

Nathan McCullum quickly ripped out Kieran Powell (12) Andre Fletcher (23) and

Andre Russell (0) and after 11 overs the West Indies were 64-5 and staring at a run rate of 14. As the wickets continued to fall the target grew and the New Zealand total was never seriously threatened.

Fletcher was the only West Indies batsman to get into the 20s, while Jimmy Neesham backed up Nathan McCullum with three for 16. The second Twenty20 will be held in Wellington on Wednesday.

New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum in a punishing mood during the Twenty20 match against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland yesterday. (AFP)

England captain Alastair Cook warms-up during a training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. (EPA)

asads

New Zealand M. Guptill c Charles b Best 25 J. Ryder c Charles b Miller 22 B. McCullum not out 60 R. Taylor c Bravo b Miller 5 C. Munro c Fletcher b Best 22 C. Anderson c Powell b Best 0 L. Ronchi not out 48 Extras: (b5, w1, nb1) 7 Total: (5 wickets; 20 overs) 189 Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Guptill), 2-56 (Ry-der), 3-66 (Taylor), 4-103 (Munro), 5-104 (Anderson) Bowling: Badree 4-0-25-0 (1w), Best 4-0-40-3, Narine 4-0-46-0 (1nb), Miller 3-0-26-2, Bravo 4-0-24-0, Russell 1-0-23-0

West IndiesJ. Charles c Ronchi b Neesham 16

L. Simmons c Ronchi b Milne 0 A. Fletcher c Ryder b N. McCullum 23 K. Powell c Guptill b N. McCullum 12 D. Bravo c Ryder b N. McCullum 10 A. Russell c Guptill b N. McCullum 0 C. Walton c Munro b Neesham 9 N. Miller not out 15 S. Narine c Milne b Neesham 0 S. Badree not out 14 Extras: (lb2, w7) 9 Total: (8 wickets; 20 overs) 108 Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Simmons), 2-31 (Charles), 3-53 (Powell), 4-59 (Fletcher), 5-64 (Russell), 6-75 (Bravo), 7-77 (Walton), 8-77 (Narine) Bowling: Southee 4-0-36-0 (2w), Milne 4-0-15-1, Neesham 4-0-16-3 (5w), N. McCul-lum 4-0-24-4, Anderson 4-0-15-0.New Zealand won by 81 runs

Scorecard

Doha: The second match of the Qatar International Wom-en’s Triangular ODI Champion-ship, between South Africa and Ireland, was abandoned yesterday due to rain without even a single ball bowled.

Pakistan, who beat Ireland

by 110 runs in the opening game of the tournament on Friday, will take on South Af-rica in the third match today.

Pakistan lead the points tally with two points, while Ireland and South Africa have one each, after splitting the points.

SA-Ireland game abandoned

Australian opener David Warner during a practice session in Melbourne. (EPA)

TENNIS3Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

I can knock off Nadal, Djokovic, warns Federer

AFPMelbourne

Roger Federer warned he was still a force to be reckoned with Sat-urday as he heads into the Aus-tralian Open armed with a new,

bigger racquet and with Stefan Edberg in his corner.

The 17-time Grand Slam-winner, now 32, said world number one Rafael Nadal and defending champion Novak Djokovic should be wary of the other top 10 players at the season’s fi rst major.

“Well, I think it’s normal that they are considered, you know, the one and two favourites for the tournament,” said Fed-erer, emphasising the word “considered”.

“Of course, we do believe we can knock

them off , yes,” he added, referring to the other members of the world top 10.

Federer has more Grand Slam titles than any other player but only one, Wim-bledon 2012, in the last four years. He is currently ranked at world number six.

But Federer is hoping a switch from a 90-inch to a 98-inch racquet, and the arrival of boyhood hero Edberg, will pay dividends.

“I mean, look, my life on tour is pretty much settled. It’s always solid routines. He’ll just fi t in nicely into that,” Federer said of the six-time Grand Slam title-winner.

“I’m just really excited that he’s taken up the off er because I didn’t think he was going to do it because he’s got a life. He doesn’t need this.

“For me, clearly it’s very exciting to

have him as part of the team. I’m looking forward to every week I’ll spend with him on the tour this year.”

He added: “That’s kind of what’s very exciting, just hanging out with him. That was the idea, as well.

“If it didn’t work out, he would say, ‘I’m not ready for this’, at least I would have had a few nice dinners with him and able to spend time with a childhood hero, which would have been plenty to fuel my motivation.”

Federer won the Australian Open in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, and has not failed to reach the semi-fi nals since 2003.

He will be competing in a record 57th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, beating the mark of 56 set by South Af-rica’s Wayne Ferreira.

The Swiss great begins his tournament against Australian hope James Duck-worth, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all lurking as potential opponents.

However, he said he had little time for analysing the draw and whom he may or may not have to face.

“A draw is a draw. You guys debate it, I play in it. That’s basically it,” he told re-porters. Now to see if Federer can make his words come true and upset the apple-cart and win the Australian Open.

SPOTLIGHT

Roger said Nadal and Djokovic should be wary of the other top 10 players

Speedy courts irk Rafael Nadal AFPMelbourne

Rafael Nadal complained yesterday that the Aus-tralian Open courts had speeded up and were

too fast, but old rival Roger Fed-erer said he didn’t see a problem.

Nadal, seeking his second Australian Open title, missed the tournament last year through injury and said the courts were much faster than he remem-bered and would hinder long ral-lies. “Completely diff erent con-ditions than what I remembered of this tournament. Faster con-ditions that I ever played here in Australia,” said the Spanish world number one.

“I really don’t understand very well why they change be-cause the last couple of years Australian Open had amazing matches, long ones, good ones

for the crowd. I don’t know why the people who decide make the conditions that fast.

“I am not sure... it is the best thing,” he added. “But they de-cide and I’m just a player and I will try to be competitive from the beginning.”

Australian Open offi cials said no changes had been made to the courts, but said exterior factors such as the weather could alter their speed.

While Nadal found fault, Fed-erer said the court speed wasn’t an issue and suggested his long-time rival would adapt.

“I think even these conditions here, we’ll see long rallies,” he said.

“We’re not talking about a lightning-speed court. In Bris-bane (last week) it was fast, but it wasn’t lightning either. This is like medium, if that.

“I don’t know what the big problem is,” he added.

“Really (you) can still play from the baseline, no problem. You can stay back, return from the back. You can do all that stuff if you want to. It’s not like it’s impossible.

“(Nadal) even does it on the indoors (courts) where you don’t think that’s possible. That’s how he beat me in London anyway.”

China’s Li Na said some of the outer courts were much faster than the show courts. Maria Sharapova also weighed in, agreeing with Federer that Bris-bane was faster than Melbourne.

“I found Brisbane to be much faster than here. It’s one of the fastest courts we’ve played on in a really long time. Here it’s a bit slower,” she said.

“I heard the outside courts are a bit faster than some of the main show courts. I’m not sure why there’s not more consist-ency in terms of all the events having the same speed.”

Spain’s Rafael Nadal serves during a practice session ahead of the 2014 Australian Open in Melbourne. (AFP)

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a volley with a giant racquet during the Kids Day exhibition match ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne. (AFP)

ReutersMelbourne

Maria Sharapova hap-pily admits that patience is not her strongest trait but

the Russian will temper her ex-pectations as she begins her Australian Open title campaign.

The 26-year-old missed the last few months of the 2013 sea-son, including the US Open, with an injury to her right shoulder, the same shoulder that required surgery in 2008.

She made an impressive re-turn to the WTA Tour last week by reaching the semi-fi nals in Brisbane before losing to world number one Serena Williams.

After another lengthy ab-sence, Sharapova knows better than to expect to hit top form immediately.

“You obviously have to lower your expectations a little bit and be a bit realistic about maybe the fi rst few matches,” she said at Melbourne Park yesterday.

“You have to grind, work through them, hope to get better as the tournament goes on.”

The Australian Open cham-pion in 2008, Sharapova begins her campaign this year against American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, an opponent who has given her trouble in the past.

Sharapova said she had spent so much time consulting doctors about her troublesome shoulder in recent years that she was con-templating a new career once she is done with tennis.

“I know about everything,”

she said, laughing. “I know a lot more than I ever thought that I would about a shoulder.

“But that’s part of the game. Everyone has injuries. Every-one’s body is diff erent. They use their joints and muscles in very diff erent ways because of the way they play. Everyone gets used up in diff erent ways, I guess.”

Dealing with the shoulder means Sharapova takes anti-infl ammatories on occasion, but the four-times grand slam champion said the injury was far less serious than the initial prob-lem in 2008.

“It was not as hard (to cope with) as the one I had a few years back,” she said. “That was pretty tough, considering I had surgery.

“This is far from being that serious. This was a matter of time, which in tennis it’s not great when you come to a doc-tor’s offi ce and they say, ‘time, time, just wait, wait’.

“We don’t have much patience because we always have a sched-ule set, tournaments to play.

“That’s tough to accept be-cause you don’t quite know when the infl ammation is going to go down, when you’re going to be able to play overhead shots, things like that.”

“I started getting back on the court, getting myself in tennis shape, playing matches, testing out the shoulder in that kind of environment.

“I’m happy to be back playing a grand slam. I missed the last one at the end of last year so I’m happy to get myself back in form and really start well here.”

Impatient Sharapova realistic on slam return

KEEPING IT REAL

AFPSydney

Juan Martin del Potro bludgeoned Bernard Tomic with his powerful forehand to win a lop-

sided Sydney International fi nal yesterday. The Argentine world number fi ve took just 53 minutes to master the Australian defend-ing champion 6-3, 6-1.

It was del Potro’s 18th career title and he became the fi rst Ar-gentine to win in Sydney since David Nalbandian in 2009.

It was the ideal lead in to Mon-day’s Australian Open for del Po-tro, who plays a qualifi er in the fi rst round and is seeded to face world number one Rafael Nadal in the quarter-fi nals.

“Finals are never easy, but I was surprised at my level of play tonight. I think I played great,” del Potro said.

“My forehand was perfect. I made a lot of winners, many aces, good slices.”

The big Argentine served eight aces and broke Tomic’s serve four times for a comprehensive win.

“To start the year in this way it’s very positive looking forward

for the rest of the season. I need to keep working in the same con-ditions and the same way.

“Now it’s the hardest tourna-ment for us, and I will see if I can go further than last year (third round) in Melbourne.

“After two or three matches I started to play much better. My movement was faster than in the fi rst rounds here.”

It was del Potro’s second win over the 52nd-ranked Tomic, who was defending his title after beating South African Kevin An-derson in last year’s fi nal.

Del Potro overpowers Tomic in Sydney fi nal

WINNER

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro holds the winner’s trophy at the APIA Sydney International tennis tournament. (AFP)

ANGRY MAN

Russia’s Maria Sharapova stands on court during a practice session ahead of the 2014 Australian Open. (AFP)

Well, I think it’s normal that they are considered, you know, the one and two favorites for the tournament. Of course, we do believe we can knock them off , yes,” said Roger Federer

SPORT

Gulf Times Sunday, January 12, 20144

Nets ice Heat in double OT

Frustrated LeBron James watched helplessly from the bench Friday after fouling out late in the

game, as the revitalised Brooklyn Nets put the fi nishing touches on his Miami Heat.

The Nets’ Joe Johnson scored 32 points, while Shaun Living-ston had 19 with a career-high 11 rebounds and sparkled in the second overtime as they helped beat the two-time defending NBA Champions 104-95 for their season-high fi fth straight win.

“It was huge, a gutsy win, go-ing two overtimes,” said John-son, who had 22 fi rst quarter points. “We were very resilient, guys fought through our ups and downs and we pulled it out.”

The Nets (15-21) remain un-beaten in 2014, with impres-sive victories over Oklahoma City, Golden State and, now, the mighty Heat.

“We’re trying to put some things together for the new year,” said Livingston, fi lling in for injured guard Deron Wil-liams. “We’re playing better ball. We’re playing with a little bit of a swagger and we like where we’re headed right now.”

James netted 36 points and Norris Cole added 18 for the banged-up Heat, losers of two straight without sore-kneed All-Star Dwyane Wade, as well as Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier.

“We didn’t play particularly well during the game, but at least we showed some mental tough-ness to continue to grind and fi nd a way to hang in there,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Even without LBJ we thought we had a chance.”

James hit the tying free throw with 40 seconds left to erase a 12-point defi cit and send the game into the fi rst overtime, squared at 89-apiece.

Trailing 93-91, James drove the lane, but dropped his shoul-der into Livingston, who hit the deck. James was disqualifi ed with his sixth foul, with 36 sec-onds. It was just the fourth time in his regular-season career he’d been removed from a game.

“The last one that fouled me out could have been a charge for

sure,” James said. “He put his hands on me as I drove and that got him off balance and then he was able to get the call.”

Cole nailed the tying jumper with 3.3 ticks left, forcing a sec-ond extra session that the Nets dominated after opening on an 11-0 run.

Livingston had a pair of bas-kets and blocked two shots in the burst, Paul Pierce (23 points) added a 3-pointer and the Nets improved to 2-0 against the Heat.

“Shaun was great down the stretch,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said. “His poise, getting guys in

position, executing the play we called. He showed it all tonight.”

Elsewhere, the Detroit Pistons rallied from an early 16-point defi cit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-104.

The Pistons improved to 15-22 with the win, snapping a mad-dening six-game losing streak.

Seven players reached dou-ble fi gures, led by forward Josh Smith with 22 points, 13 re-bounds and seven assists.

It was the third consecutive loss for the 76ers, dropping them to 12-24.

Forward David West scored 20 points and guard Lance

Stephenson added his eighth double-double and the Indiana Pacers took control in the third quarter on the way to a 93-66 rout of the Washington Wizards (16-18).

Point guard CJ Watson had 16 points on six-of-six shoot-ing, center Roy Hibbert scored 12 and forward Paul George added 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won nine of their last 11 to seize the NBA’s best record at 29-7.

The Minnesota Timberwolves claimed a 119-92 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Timberwolves center Nikola

Pekovic delivered a dominant 26-point, six-rebound perform-ance before he sat the entire fourth quarter with the outcome no longer in doubt.

The Atlanta Hawks did not start like they were ready to snap a six-game losing streak to the Houston Rockets, falling behind 11-0 and scoring just 10 points in the fi rst quarter.

The Hawks (20-17), though, turned things around with their defense and rallied to defeat the Rockets (23-14) 83-80 as guard Kyle Korver hit four clinching free throws in the closing sec-onds.

Korver, who extended his NBA record for consecutive games with at least one three-pointer to 106 games by going four-for-seven from behind the arc, scored 20 points, as did Hawks forward Paul Millsap.

Rebounding from one of his shakiest performances of the season, forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, including four three-pointers, and guard Mon-ta Ellis added 23 points to spark the Dallas Mavericks to a 107-90 victory over the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans.

The Mavericks combined to make 14 of 28 shots from long

distance, outscoring the Pelicans 42-9 from the perimeter. The Mavericks improved to 21-16as the Pelicans dropped to 15-20.

Point guard Mike Conley tied his career high with 31 points and forward Zach Randolph added 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 104-99 victory over the Phoe-nix Suns.

The Grizzlies improved to 3-0 against the Suns this season and have won six of the past eight against Phoenix.

Guard Goran Dragic led the Suns with 21 points and forward Markeiff Morris added 17.

NBA

‘We were very resilient, guys fought through our ups and downs and we pulled it out’

DPALos Angeles

Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (third from left) looks to put up a basket past Brooklyn Nets center Andray Blatche (left) during the first half of their NBA game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday. (EPA)

ResultsINDIANA .............. 93 Washington........ 66

Detroit 1 ...............................14 PHILADELPHIA 104

ATLANTA ............83 Houston ...............80

MEMPHIS ........ 104 Phoenix ................. 99

MINNESOTA .... 119 Charlotte ...............92

Dallas ....................107 NEW ORLEANS 90

BROOKLYN ... 104 Miami .........95 (OT)

Chicago ..................81 MILWAUKEE ..... 72

Cleveland ...........113 UTAH ................... 102

SACRAMENTO 103 Orlando ......................83

GOLDEN STATE 99 Boston ......................97

LA CLIPPERS...123 LA Lakers ..............87

Chargers look to stun Broncos and extend Cinderella run The San Diego Chargers hope to extend their Cinderella run today when a rejuvenated Philip Rivers leads his team in an AFC divisional playoff against Peyton Manning and the Super Bowl favourite Den-ver Broncos. After a first-round bye the top-seeded Broncos (13-3) join the playoff mix led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Manning, who is fresh off setting single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55). Denver’s explosive off ense scored a record 606 points in 16 regular season games, 161 points ahead the next closest pursuer. “All the records and all the stats go out the window,” said Den-ver head coach John Fox. “It’s a whole new season. “The key is playing the best football during the playoff s. It’s a single-elimination tourna-ment, so you can’t have a bad day. “You have to be on your game from beginning to end.” Both the Chargers and host Broncos will enter new territory today, the two teams having faced one another 108 times but never in the post-season. But certainly San Diego head

coach Mike McCoy is aware of the challenge his team faces in slowing down Manning and the Broncos high-octane attack having worked as Denver’s off ensive co-ordinator for four seasons before joining the Chargers. Manning will operate with an arsenal of weapons that allow him to attack San Diego’s 29th-ranked defense from every an-gle. During the regular season only Minnesota, Philadelphia and Dallas allowed more yards per game. Knowshon Moreno, who rushed for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career will do most of the work on the ground. But it is through the air that Denver inflict most of their damage with Manning target-ing Wes Welker, Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas, who had three touchdowns in the Broncos 28-20 win over the Chargers last November. “It’s another game to us,” Mc-Coy said during a conference call. “When you look at it, we’re going to play the same. “We’re going to do what we do, the coaches are going to put their best game plan together, and go out and have the play-ers execute it.”

Joel Ward scored the go-ahead goal with just over 8 minutes left in the third period, and Alex

Ovechkin added a goal and an assist as the Washington Capi-tals edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Friday.

Nicklas Backstrom also scored, and goalie Michal Neu-virth made 32 saves in his fi rst game in seven weeks as the Capitals won on back-to-back nights for the fourth time this year.

It was the fourth straight loss for Toronto after a 3-2 vic-tory over Detroit on Jan. 1 in the Winter Classic. James Van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel each

zhad a goal and an assist. Kes-sel’s goal was his team-high 21st for the Maple Leafs, who have been outscored 21-7 in the de-feats.

Elsewhere, the Edmonton Oilers upset the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime. In a game between the fi rst place team in the East and the last place team in the West, with the Penguins 32 points better in the standings, the Oilers were one goal better on the scoreboard after center Ryan Nugent Hop-kins scored early in overtime to steal the win.

In a wild third period at Rex-all Place, the Oilers erased a 2-0 defi cit on goals from Nugent-Hopkins and left winger Taylor Hall, fell behind again when Penguins defenseman Kris Letang scored two seconds into a power play, then tied it again when defenseman Anton Belov scored with 1:59 left in regula-tion.

Right winger Michael Grabn-er scored 1:46 into overtime and the New York Islanders contin-ued their strong road play with a 2-1 win over the Colorado Ava-lanche.

Center Brock Nelson scored and goaltender Kevin Poulin had 30 saves for the Islanders.

Defenseman Calvin de Haan had two assists for New York, who have won six straight on the road.

Vancouver center Mike San-torelli’s goal at 5:56 of the third

period gave the Canucks a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Santorelli got credit for the winner after defenseman Ja-son Garrison’s shot went in off him following a botched St. Louis clearing attempt during a scramble.

The Canucks (24-13-9) end-

ed their losing streak while the Blues (31-8-5) saw their win-ning streak end at seven games.

Goaltender Sergei Bo-brovsky had 35 saves for his second shutout of the season and the Columbus Blue Jack-ets continued their mastery of the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-0 win.

Brandon Dubinsky, Cam At-kinson and rookie center Boone Jenner scored for the Blue Jack-ets, who have won seven straight against the Hurricanes dating to early in the 2005-06 season.

Carolina, who had won a season-high fi ve straight, were shut out for the third time this season.

Rick Nash continued his hot streak for New York, scoring the game-winning goal in the Rangers’ 3-2 win over the Dal-las Stars.

The Rangers’ left winger reg-istered his fourth goal in the last seven games, a wrist shot at 18:02 of the third period that broke a 2-2 tie.

The game featured two of the top goaltenders who will be ap-pearing in the Winter Olympics in Russia in February.

Caps edge past Maple Leafs 3-2 NHL

AgenciesWashington

ResultsNY RANGERS .......3 Dallas .............................2

WASHINGTON ....3 Toronto ........................2

COLUMBUS ...........3 Carolina ......................0

NY Islanders ..........2 COLORADO 1 (OT)

EDMONTON .........4 Pittsburgh ...3 (OT)

VANCOUVER .......2 St. Louis ........................1

St Louis Blues forward David Backes gets a shot on net against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 2-1. (Agencies)

SPORT5Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

ReutersCadiz, Spain

Champion Chris Horner, with-out a team for 2014, missed the unveiling of this year’s Tour of Spain route yesterday and may

not defend his title this year. Horner, the oldest winner of any

grand tour after victory in the three-week Spanish race last September aged 41, left the American RadioShack squad at the end of 2013. Barring a last-minute signing, the Oregon-based rider will not be at the start of the race in the Anda-lusian town of Jerez de la Frontera on August 23.

“We invited him, and he is totally

welcome. We are very proud of our win-ners and Horner is the current defend-ing champion,” Vuelta director Javier Guillen said. “Maybe he didn’t want to come because he has no team, but I re-ally don’t know the reason.”

Alberto Contador of Spain, double Tour de France winner and a former team-mate of the American, looks over-whelming favourite for the 3,181.5-km race this year “See you in Jerez next August 23rd,” Contador, who won the Vuelta in 2008 and 2012, told reporters in a televised message from his Canary Islands base.

Eight summit fi nishes, starting with a 5km ascent to the mountain town La Zubia in eastern Andalusia on stage six, will favour the climbers. Stage 11’s 10km

ascent to San Miguel de Aralar in the province of Navarre on narrow, exposed cement trackways could separate the fa-vourites from the also-rans.

The Vuelta avoids Catalonia’s Pyrene-an climbs but features an ascent to the Lagos de Covadonga mountain range In northern Spain, home to some of the last wolves in Europe, at the end of the second week.

The climbing concludes with Stage 20’s ascent of the Ancares in Galicia, 24 hours before the fi nishing 10km time trial in Santiago de Compostela. It is the fi rst fi nish outside Madrid since 1993.

“That last little time trial won’t make much of a diff erence,” Contador said.”With so much climbing, the race will be decided well before.”

DPATauplitz, Austria

Japan’s 41-year-old Nori-aki Kasai became the old-est winner in World Cup ski jumping history with

victory on the ski-fl ying hill at Bad Mittendorf yesterday.

Kasai clinched the win with jumps of 196 and 197 metres to edge Slovenia’s Peter Prevc and Austria’s defending World Cup champion Gregor Schlierenza-uer. The previous oldest winner was Kasai’s compatriot Takano-bu Okabe in 2009 in Kuopio at the age of 38.

It was a 15th career World Cup win for Kasai but his fi rst since a victory at Park City, Utah in 2004. The event, watched by some 30,000 spectators on the Kulm hill, was overshadowed by the previous day’s training crash by Austrian Thomas Morgen-stern, who remained in intensive care in a Salzburg hospital.

Kasai earned 391.6 points for his two jumps to edge Prevc on 381.5 (199/190.5m) and Schlierenzauer on 380.3 (194/194m). Schlierenzauer donned his cap in honour of Kasai’s achievement, and said: “The guy is over 40 - the high-est respect. He shows that you can win at an advanced age if you have the right technique.”

Kasai is now fourth overall on 486 points, with Poland’s Kamil Stoch, who fi nished sixth, still leading the standings on 598, followed by Simon Ammann of Switzerland (558) and Schlieren-zauer (536).

Morgenstern meanwhile spent a fi rst night in hospital where he

is being treated for head injuries. Austria media quoted hospi-

tal doctor Udo Berger as saying Morgenstern’s condition im-proved during the night.

Morgenstern, 27, is also being treated for bruising to the lung but doctors say he has not suf-fered spinal or back injuries.

The three-times Olympic and seven-times world champion also crashed on December 15 during competition at Titisee-Neustadt in Germany.

In other Nordic ski events, Norway claimed a podium clean sweep in the Nordic combined World Cup event in Chaux-Neuve, France where Mikko Kokslien triumphed 0.9 seconds ahead of Magnus Krog.

Joergen Graaback clinched third place for Norway to edge world champion Eric Frenzel of Germany, who had led from the ski-jumping leg. In Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, Kikkan Randall of the United States won a wom-en’s World Cup 1.3km sprint in 2:44.04, 1.69 seconds ahead of Laurien van der Graaff of Swit-zerland, with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg third.

Norway’s Therese Johaug leads the standings on 1,002 points, ahead of compatriots Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (841) and Marit Bjorgen (676).

Russia’s Sergey Ustyugov won the men’s 1.6km sprint in 2:54.59, beating Italian Feder-ico Pellegrino by 0.18 seconds, with Russian compatriot Alexey Petyukhov third. Martin John-srud Sundby of Norway con-tinues to lead overall on 1,001 points ahead of team-mate Chris Jespersen (739) and Russian Al-exander Legkov (526).

Teamless Horner misses Vuelta unveiling

Kasai becomes oldest WC ski jump winner

CYCLING

FOCUS

American Stuard leads in Hawaii, Scott makes move

GOLF

‘I feel like I read them pretty well and I’m able to make putts’

ReutersLos Angeles

Masters champion Adam Scott made an ominous move up the leaderboard late in the day after little-known American

Brian Stuard had seized control of the $5.6 million Sony Open in Hawaii during Friday’s second round.

Stuard spectacularly eagled his fi nal hole, the par-fi ve ninth, to shoot a fi ve-under-par 65 on another gorgeous, sun-splashed day with barely a hint of wind at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.

The 31-year-old from Michigan ended his round in champion style, hitting a su-perb hybrid three-iron from 214 yards to just two feet for a tap-in putt as he posted a 10-under total of 130. That left Stuard one stroke in front of Australian Marc Leishman (64) and Japan’s Hideto Tani-hara (65), with American Harris English (66) a further shot back at eight under.

“I feel comfortable on the greens,” Stu-ard, who has twice fi nished second on the PGA Tour in pursuit of a maiden vic-tory, told reporters. “I feel like I read them pretty well and I’m able to make putts.”

Australian world number two Scott, the highest-ranked player in a surpris-ingly strong fi eld for the PGA Tour’s fi rst full-fi eld event of the year, lurks just three strokes off the pace after carding a fi ve-birdie 66.

Scott, whose regular caddie Steve Wil-liams is back in his native New Zealand

this week for an auto race competition, almost holed out for eagle at the last, his ball hitting the fl agstick before bouncing down just six inches from the cup.

That shot was one of many that stunned Scott’s substitute caddie, surfer Benji Weatherley, who had never previ-ously carried a bag in a professional tour-nament until this week. “It’s the most fun you could ever have,” Weatherley told Golf Channel about working for Scott at Waialae this week. “I’ve no nerves be-cause, for one, he’s so good it’s embar-rassing. Every single shot is what you see (as a highlight) on Sports Center, espe-cially that last one. It was unbelievable.”

Scott, who was initially introduced to Weatherley by multiple ASP World Tour Champion surfer Kelly Slater four years ago in San Diego, has been equally im-pressed this week by his stand-in caddie.

“Benji has been unbelievable,” said Scott, who ended the round in a six-way tie for fi fth, level with fi rst-round leader Bae Sang-moon of South Korea (70). “He’s done so good and he’s really getting a knack for it.

“He talked me down on (hole) 18 today. He’s like, ‘It’s not driver, it’s three-wood.’ So he put me in the fairway there. He’s really getting the hang of it. We’re having a lot of fun but he’s taking it serious and he knows it’s serious to me. It’s a fun op-portunity, I think, for both of us.”

World number seven Zach Johnson, who clinched his 11th PGA Tour title at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua on Monday, carded a 67 to end

the second round fi ve strokes off the pace. Also at fi ve under was fellow Ameri-

can James Hahn, who produced the shot of the day by holing out from 193 yards in the right rough for a rare albatross (three-under par) at the par-fi ve ninth.

It was the fi rst albatross of the PGA Tour’s 2013-14 season and helped Hahn to a 68. The cut fell at one-under 139 with former world number one Vijay Singh, 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa among those miss-ing out.

Jordan Spieth, the 2013 PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year and a runner-up last week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, also failed to advance after carding a 71. Due to a forecast for poor weather on Saturday, tee times have been brought forward for the third round.

Fleetwood takes control in Durban Tommy Fleetwood shot a third round

69 to take a one shot lead at the Volvo Golf Champions in Durban yesterday. The Englishman, seeking his second win on the European Tour, produced four birdies and a lone bogey to move to a ten under par total of 206.

Breathing down his neck with a share of second on 207 were France’s Victor Dubuisson and Dutchman Joost Luiten, with last year’s winner Louis Oosthui-zen two off the pace despite a triple bogey seven at the 16th.

Fleetwood, who opened his Tour ac-count in the Johnnie Walker Champion-ship at Gleneagles last year, was satisfi ed

to be in the lead after a demanding day’s play. “I played four or fi ve really good holes, but obviously the rest of it I strug-gled,” the 22-year-old told www.europe-antour.com.

“You miss your tee shots you’re always going to struggle for pars. I made one bogey but it was always coming at some point so I was quite cool and calm at the end of it.

“Three under around this golf course when you’re not on your game is an ab-solutely brilliant score, and so I think it’s showing I’m maturing as a golfer.”

He is hoping a win in Durban can set him up for an “exceptional” year leading to a place in Paul McGinley’s Ryder Cup team.

Dubuisson, third on the European Ry-der Cup points list, had his short game to thank for a solid third round.

Local hope Oosthuizen meanwhile was leading the pack with three holes to go before his triple bogey slip-up after strik-ing his second into deep undergrowth and declaring it unplayable.

“It’s frustrating that I fi nally got my seven birdies, which you need to do around this course, but made too many bogeys,” the 2010 Open Champion said.

“I was not great off the tee and hit a few wayward shots but I’m still happy to be right in there.”

Fellow South African Braden Grace is a shot further back on seven under with Wales’ Jamie Donaldson another stroke away alongside France’s Raphael Jacque-lin.

Brian Stuard plays a shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the Sony Open on Friday. (AFP)

Japan’s Noriaki Kasai performs during the Ski jumping World Cup at the Kulm, Bad Mitterndorf, Austria, yesterday. (EPA)

Vienna: Ski jumper Thomas Morgenstern remained in intensive care in hospital in Salzburg yesterday after suf-fering head injuries in a crash the previous day.

Austria media quoted hospi-tal doctor Udo Berger as say-ing Morgenstern’s condition improved during the night.

Morgenstern, 27, is also being treated for bruising to the lung but doctors say he has not suff ered spinal or back injuries. Morgenstern, 27, crashed Friday on the Bad Mitterndorf flying hill during a training jump, hitting the ground with his back and head before skidding down the hill.

The three-times Olympic and seven-times world cham-pion also crashed on Decem-ber 15 during competition at Titisee-Neustadt in Germany.

The latest crash comes less than a month before the start of the Sochi Winter Olympics where he is rated a medal contender.

Goergl leads timely Austrian downhill recovery

Eclipsed by Lindsey Vonn in recent seasons, Austrian downhill skiers struck back in Altenmarkt when veteran Elisabeth Goergl led up-and-coming Anna Fenninger in a home one-two yesterday.

Goergl, the 2011 world champion in Garmisch-Parten-kirchen, was the last Austrian winner of a downhill almost exactly two years ago, also on home snow in Bad Kleinkirch-heim. Hampered by health problems, she has struggled for form since and started with the number 28 bib on her back as Fenninger was ready to celebrate her first downhill victory.

But the honours finally went to the 32-year-old skier fondly known at home as “Lizz”, who won in one minute and 47.45 seconds, beating her 24-year-old compatriot by 0.56 seconds. “To be honest I’m a little bit surprised myself but it’s a piste that suits me and I went for it with boldness and no pressure,” Goergl told reporters after her fifth World Cup victory. Vonn’s announce-ment this week that she would not defend her title in Sochi due to injury has left the race for Olympic gold wide open.

Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch, winner of the two downhills held in Lake Louise in December was a solid third, 0.63 adrift ahead of in-form Tina Weirather of Liechten-stein. Nicole Hosp, the erratic 2007 World Cup champion, completed the Austrian recov-ery in fifth place.

Ski jumper Morgenstern improves in intensive care

Peterhansel wins on a tragedy-hit day in Dakar

AFPSalta, Argentina

Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel drove to victory on the sixth stage of the Dakar Rally on Friday, but the race was

overshadowed by the deaths of a motor-cyclist, who was a father of fi ve, and two journalists.

Peterhansel, six times a champion in the motorcycle section and with fi ve ti-tles on four wheels, fi nished 2min 43sec ahead of Qatar’s 2011 champion Nasser al-Attiyah and 5min 20sec in front of Argentina’s Orlando Terranova on the 400km timed run from Tucuman to Salta.

Spain’s Nani Roma, in another Mini, was sixth on the day and retained the overall lead.

French rider Alain Duclos, on a Sherco, beat overall motorcycling leader Marc Coma by 75 seconds, but celebrations

were muted after it was revealed that the 9,374km race, which crosses Argen-tina, Chile and Bolivia, had claimed three more lives.

Belgian motorcyclist Eric Palante, 50, riding for the Honda team, died on Thursday’s fi fth stage between Chilecito and Tucuman.

“We are very moved by his death, we can’t hide our pain,” said race director Etienne Lavigne. “Eric was a tough, hard rider and a great guy.”

Dakar organisers ASO issued a state-ment reporting that a support truck had discovered Palante’s body at 0830 local time Friday.

“No alert was received by the organis-ers. Eric had been replenished with wa-ter during the afternoon,” the statement said.

Palante is the 23rd competitor in 36 editions to die in the Dakar Rally.

Meanwhile, two members of an Ar-gentine news team also died on Thursday when the car they were driving in fell into

a ravine, the Super Rally magazine said. “The dead are journalism student

Agustin Mina, 20, and Daniel Ambro-sio, 51, who loved auto racing,” magazine manager Francisco Delgado told AFP.

Peterhansel, meanwhile, racked up a record-equalling 63rd stage win on the Dakar.

“It was just a pleasure to drive and we tried to drive very fast today. We are third, I think and for me this is a bad result. The goal is only victory,” said Peterhansel.

“We will try to push every day, but we know that when we take a risk we can have a crash or something like that. I think we will take the risk to win back time and to get back to fi rst position.”

Duclos’s last win on the Dakar came in Bamako in Mali eight years ago when the event was still staged in Africa.

“Today, it was my type of terrain. We’ve got over the worst over the last few days and the rest day has arrived at the right time—it couldn’t be better timed,” he said.

Duclos is third overall after six stages, over an hour behind former three-time champion Coma on a KTM.

Joan Barreda, on a Honda, was fourth Friday but is second in the overall stand-ings, 42mn 17sec behind fellow Spaniard Coma. Yesterday was a rest day for par-ticipants in the Dakar Rally.

MOTORSPORT

Defending champion climbs to third; Nasser al-Attiyah currently fifth overall

Sebastian Vettel goes for fi veReutersLondon

Quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel went for five on Fri-

day with the German choosing to have that numeral on his car when he is eventually deposed as number one.

Under new regulations for 2014, Formula One drivers will have permanent racing num-bers to be used throughout their careers from now on and can choose any between two and 99.

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) pub-lished the offi cial list with some surprises among the selections.

Vettel, who will have the number one on his Red Bull this season, opted for the number that many fans associate with

Britain’s 1992 champion Nigel Mansell who was often referred to as ‘Red Five’.

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado

opted to have 13, a number con-sidered unlucky in many coun-tries but lucky in others, on his Lotus. Traditionally the number 13 has not been used.

McLaren’s Jenson Button chose to roll back the years and race with the number 22 that he used in his 2009 title-winning campaign.

“Two little ducks,” the 33-year-old Briton, who won his Formula One championship with the Brawn GP team that is now Mercedes, had told his 1.6 million Twitter followers earlier. “Quack quack”.

“#Jenson22 Great memories, looking forward to making a few more,” he added.

In British bingo halls num-bers are called out using nick-

names, with 22 sometimes re-ferred to as two little ducks or quack quack.

The question of what number drivers will choose has intrigued Formula One fans aware of the evocative past behind some of them.

The late Canadian Gilles Vil-leneuve, one of Ferrari’s greatest heroes, remains closely identi-fi ed with number 27 which was also used at times by the late Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna. Germany’s Nico Hulken-berg will have that one.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso re-quested 14, which he explained last month has been his lucky number since 1996 when at the age of 14 he won a karting title with 14 on his car on July 14.

ReutersKingston, Jamaica

Jamaica’s Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt has “no problem” with plans by the World Anti-Doping

Agency (WADA) to test the hair follicles of athletes in a bid to clamp down on drug cheats in sport.

“This is the fi rst I’m hearing it,” Bolt said minutes after col-lecting his 5th RJR Sports Foun-dation National Sportsman of the Year Award in Kingston late on Friday.

“But I think that anyway you can crack down on drug use in sports, I have no problem with it,” added the Jamaican, who holds the 100 and 200 metre world records of 9.58 and 19.19 seconds.

Bolt’s comments come after new WADA boss Craig Reedie revealed his intension to intro-duce hair follicle testing to help rid sports of drug cheats.

“We test in the main blood and urine, but now we will look at diff erent approaches, such as can we use a lock of hair,” Reedie was quoted by the British news-paper The Guardian as saying.

Bolt, the winner of six Olym-pic gold medals, welcomed the move.

“If it’s a new rule and it’s a better way to clamp down on this, then I welcome it,” the sprint star off ered.

Reedie, who says a new $10 million fund set up by the In-ternational Olympic Commit-tee should open up new testing techniques to catch cheats said:

“This is a really exciting devel-opment and means we can look at approaches that in the past have been unaff ordable.”

Meanwhile, Paul Wright, the doping control offi cer at the Ja-maica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) who last year noted the spate of positive tests by Jamai-can athletes, including Veronica Campbell-Brown, Asafa Pow-ell and Sherone Simpson, be-lieved Reedie’s plan was a master stroke.

“Hair follicle (testing) has been advocated by France for some years now and it is good to see that this new chief of WADA has decided to put this in his ar-mament,” Wright reasoned.

Another Jamaican Sports Medicine Specialist Winston Dawes believed the latest test-ing technique could work in Ja-maica’s favour.

“I think that the more test (technique) that we have, the more we (Jamaica) will prove that its natural talent and our (training and high school) pro-gramme, which has been the reason why we have dominated the sprints in the last few years,” Dawes said.

Executive Director of JADCO Carey Brown, who took offi ce in October after Jamaica was put through the ringer over claims of inadequate testing, said he stood ready to implement whatever the global anti-doping watchdog proposes.

“We welcome anything like that because, I mean, it would be something new something innovative. Using hair follicles, as well, is also less invasive,” the JADCO boss said.

Sprint king Bolt okay with hair follicle test

ATHLETICS

ReutersLondon

Briton Max Chilton will stay with Marussia next season and drive along-side Jules Bianchi, the

Formula One team said yester-day. The 22-year-old made his Formula one debut in last year’s Australian Grand Prix and be-came the fi rst driver to complete every race in his rookie season.

“I am really happy to be con-tinuing with the Marussia F1 Team into a second season,” Chilton said in a statement.

“Continuity is important for the Team but also for me as a driver. You learn such a lot in your debut season, but the sec-ond year is when you can really pull all of those new experiences together and show your true po-tential.

Marussia team principal John Booth said continuity was im-portant due to next year’s rule changes in the sport.

“It is highly benefi cial to our technical team that we retain the same driver line-up moving for-ward,” he said.

“Max had an impressive debut season last year and, of course, achieved a new rookie record for fi nishing all 19 races.

“After our success in achieving 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship, we have set our sights on a bigger and better 2014 campaign,” Booth added. Now to see if the Brit is able to repay the faith his team has shown in him.

Max Chilton to stay with Marussia in 2014

FORMULA 1

NUMBER GAME

SPORT6 Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Standings after Stage SixAuto1. Nani Roma (ITA/Mini)

2. Orlando Terranova (ARG/Mini)

3. Stephane Peterhansel (FRA/Mini)

4. Giniel de Villers (ZAF/ Toyota)

5. Nasser al-Attiyah (QAT/Mini)

Moto

1. Marc Coma (ESP/KTM)

2. Joan Barreda Bort (ESP/Honda)

3. Alain Duclos (FRA/Sherco)

4. Jordi Viladoms (ESP/KTM)

5. Jeremias Israel (CHL/SB)

Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret in action during the Dakar Rally in Argentina. (EPA)

SPORT7Gulf Times

Sunday, January 12, 2014

A 6-1 home slaughter of Almeria yesterday kept Athletic Bilbao in fourth place in the Spanish Liga. Bilbao’s hero was winger Ibai Gomez, with a hand-some brace. Their other goals were scored by Mikel Rico, Ander Herrera, Aymeric Laporte and Aritz Aduriz. Bilbao have won seven and drawn two home games since moving into their new Es-tadio San Mames in October. They are eight points above third-placed Real Madrid but four above Basque rivals Real Sociedad, who are fifth. Almeria, who seemed to be improving in recent weeks, are 14th. Valencia were due to visit lowly Celta Vigo later in the evening, while second-placed Atletico were hosting league toppers Barca.

New AC Milan signing Keisuke Honda could make his debut for the Serie A giants after being included in the squad to face Sassuolo away from home today. Honda was off icially unveiled by the seven-time European champions last week following his recent arrival from CSKA Moscow on a free transfer. The Japan international midfielder is lacking match fitness having been out of action for over a month and coach Massimiliano Allegri indicated he could make a substitute’s appear-ance. “He’s not ready yet for the starting line-up but tomorrow he’s in the squad and we’ll see if there will be an opportunity during the match,” Allegri told Milan Channel yesterday.

Republic of Ireland international winger Aiden McGeady has joined Everton from Spartak Moscow, the Premier League club announced yes-terday. The 27-year-old former Celtic player arrives for an undisclosed fee and has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract, having spent a little over three years in the Russian capital. A short, skilful wide player, McGeady spent six years at Celtic, during which time he won four Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish League Cups and two Scottish Cups. He also proved a success at Spartak follow-ing his £9.5 million ($15.6m) transfer from Celtic in 2010, helping them to a second-place finish in the Russian Premier League in 2012.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has reaff irmed that none of his players will be leaving during the January transfer window despite reported interest from Premier League leaders Arsenal in Alvaro Morata. The Spanish under-21 international striker has made just one league start this season, but with Karim Benzema the only other recognised centre forward available to Ancelotti, the Italian is keen to retain Morata. “He doesn’t lack anything, his only problem is the competition for places. This is Real Madrid,” Ancelotti said. “I have not spoken with him and there is nothing to speak about. No one has asked for him and, if a team did come in for him, the answer would be a clear no. He is staying.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood says that misfiring record signing Erik Lamela will not be allowed to leave the club during the January transfer window. Lamela signed for Spurs from Roma for a fee of £30 million ($49.4m) in August, but has since started just three Premier League games. It has prompted reports that the 21-year-old Argentine forward could be set to follow Jermain Defoe out of the club, after the England striker signed for Toronto FC, but Sherwood has vowed that that will not happen. “He won’t be leaving,” Sherwood said. “He has a big future here, absolutely. We understand that players need time to settle. He needs time to acclimatise.”

Bilbao stay fourth by thrashing Almeria 6-1

Japan striker Honda set for Milan debut at Sassuolo

Everton bring Irish winger McGeady back to Britain

Morata going nowhere, reaff irms Ancelotti

Record signing Lamela not leaving Spurs: Sherwood

By Sports ReporterDoha

Four of the teams set to compete in the third annual Al Kass Inter-national Cup touched

down at Doha International Airport yesterday ahead of the tournament, which kicks off tomorrow at the Aspire Acad-emy football fi elds.

France’s Paris Saint-Germain and Auxerre, and Spain’s Real Madrid and FC Barcelona teams arrived yesterday afternoon, while the remaining teams will arrive in the days ahead to com-plete the 12 squad line-up.

The tournament’s opening match will see last year’s run-ners-up, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), taking on FC Barcelona at 16.15 hours tomorrow. The second match sees Qatar’s Aspire International play Real Madrid at 18.20, after which last year’s champions, Flu-minense of Brazil, will come up against French newcomers Auxerre at 20.25.

Both of Aspire Academy’s under-16 teams will once more face their international coun-terparts including Real Ma-drid, PSG, FC Barcelona and

Brazil’s Fluminense. A team from the USA, Chi-

cago Fire, would be partici-pating for the fi rst time in the 2014 edition of the tourna-ment. Newcomers Manches-ter City, FC Porto, AC Milan, Auxerre, and Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol complete the line-up.

The teams will be divided into four groups of three each, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the quarter-fi nals to compete for the Al Kass Trophy.

The tournament, which is free to access and runs till January 23, was established by Al Kass in partnership with Aspire Zone Foundation and the Qatar Football Associa-tion to represent the future of football. The intention is to showcase tomorrow’s football stars and contribute to the de-velopment of Qatar as a proud footballing nation.

The 11-day tournament will be played on the outdoor pitch-es at Aspire. All the matches of the 2014 tournament are open to the general public.

Four international teams land in Doha

ONE DAY TO GO

p y

The top 10 finishers of the Qatar Open Amateur Golf Championship pose with QGA off icials and guests at the Doha Golf Club, yesterday. Max Williams of England (sixth from left) won the title for the fifth time. Major General Ghanim bin Shaheen al-Ghanim, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, presided over the closing ceremony. PICTURE: Jayaram

QATAR OPEN AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP CONCLUDES

ReutersBarcelona

Barcelona have reacted angrily to a request by the state prosecutor to open proceedings

against club president Sandro Rosell for the alleged misap-propriation of funds in last year’s purchase of Neymar (pictured below).

The Brazil forward signed for the Spanish champions in the close season for 57.1 million euros ($78.1 million), of which 17.1 million euros went to his former club Santos.

Barca club member Jordi Cases fi led a complaint seek-ing clarifi cation over what happened to the remaining 40 million euros and on Friday the state prosecutor asked the judge overseeing the case to open proceedings against Rosell, who denies wrongdoing.

The judge has yet to rule on the prosecutor’s request.

“Barcelona Football Club wishes to express its most en-

ergetic indignation about the report by the state prosecutor on the signing of Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior,” Barca said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es) yesterday.

“The operation to sign Ney-mar Da Silva Santos Junior was complex, an example of busi-ness engineering, and we have repeatedly expressed the con-fi dential nature of some of its agreements,” they added.

“Our rivals were prepared to conduct the same opera-tion for much more money but (FC Barcelona) won through thanks to the skill and exper-tise of its negotiating team.

“This contractual complex-ity, labelled by the prosecutor in his report as ‘contractual simulation’, never constitutes a crime in itself. We believe the prosecutor is making a mistake in believing otherwise. Faced with the seriousness of these facts, and despite a belief in the good faith of the legal au-thorities, we will act forcefully to defend the honour of (FC Barcelona) and its president.”

Barca angry aft er Rosell targeted over Neymar deal

SPOTLIGHT

Well sink Hearts to make it six in a row

Motherwell continue to fly high in the Scottish Premiership after defeating bottom side Hearts to make it six wins on the bounce yesterday. Stuart McCall’s side triumphed 1-0 at Tynecastle thanks to a solitary first-half goal from former Hearts striker John Sutton, and they have now taken 18 points from a possible 18 since losing 5-0 at home to Celtic just over a month ago. Motherwell are third, a point behind second-placed Aberdeen but with a game in hand. The Dons won 1-0 at home to Hibernian on Friday thanks to Willo Flood’s late goal, their fourth straight win ending Hibs’ recent revival.

However, Derek McInnes’s side remain 10 points behind Celtic at the summit, and the reigning champions have two games in hand. They are not in action this weekend, having opted to take a winter break and participate in a friendly com-petition in the warmer climes of Turkey instead.

QSL ticket booth at Landmark By Sports ReporterDoha

The Qatar Stars League have offi cially launched their new ticket booth in Landmark Mall—mak-ing it more convenient than ever for football fans to buy their tickets for games.

Located in front of the food court beside Starbucks, the permanent ticket booth will be open from 2pm to 10pm every day, off ering supporters the chance to purchase tickets for all QSL matches, join Football Rewards, the QSL’s loyalty programme and fi nd out more about the league in general.

The brand-new booth was offi cially unveiled by QSL Deputy CEO Hani Ballan—along with two of the league’s most recognisable stars. Al Sadd ace Nadir Belhadj joined

Al Rayyan star Rodrigo Tabata to promote the initiative, while encouraging fans to buy tickets for this weekend’s Classico match, when both players will go head-to-head for the three points.

Speaking at the special event to mark the new ticket booth, Deputy CEO Ballan believed the new ticket booth would prove a handy facility for supporters to buy tickets while going about their everyday lives.

“This is an excellent initiative we have developed to try and capture the imagination of our supporters. To have a permanent presence in such a popular mall gives us the chance to try and encourage more people to fi nd out what an exciting league we have to off er,” Ballan said.

“For people who are already big supporters of the QSL, it gives them the chance to purchase their tickets while they have come to shop or eat with friends or family. For those not familiar with our league, this booth represents a

commitment by the QSL that we will always be present in our communities to make it as easy as possible to be part of what we are off ering,” he added.

Tickets start at QR10 for all matches and children aged 10 and under go free. One can also register at the booth to join Football Rewards, the QSL’s loyalty programme, or update their details if he is already a member.

The QSL booth is another innovation from the QSL to improve the ticket purchase experience for fans.

Tickets are also available online from www.tickets.qsl.com.qa and fans can choose to either receive their ticket via e-mail to print their ticket at home or download their ticket to their smartphone or to collect from stadium on match day.

The QSL is proud to be the fi rst league in the world to off er fans this service. Tickets are also available from the stadiums on match day, from one hour before kick-off .

FOOTBALL

OUT OF MY WAY: Action from yesterday’s Qatar Stars League clash between Qatar Sports Club (yellow & black) and Al Khor. The match ended in a goalless draw. In other matches of the day, Al Gharafa beat Al Ahli 5-4, while Umm Salal blanked Muaither 4-0. Picture: Anas al-Samaraee

AVENGING UNITED STOP ROT; CHELSEA GO TOP

AFPLondon

Manchester United stemmed a run of three consecutive defeats by aveng-

ing last weekend’s FA Cup loss to Swansea City with a 2-0 win over the Welsh club yesterday.

Defeats by Tottenham Hot-spur, Swansea and Sunderland had left United at risk of losing four successive games for the first time since 1961, but they blew off the cobwebs with an assured display at Old Traf-ford.

Antonio Valencia and Dan-ny Welbeck claimed second-half goals to leave United four points outside the Premier League’s top four in seventh place, six days after Swansea had dumped them out of the FA Cup on the same pitch.

Teenage winger Adnan Januzaj was the catalyst for United’s victory and he went close to opening the scoring in the 11th minute with a free-kick that struck the crossbar.

Welbeck also squandered a glorious chance when he bun-dled wide, but the pressure told early in the second period

when Valencia tapped home after Gerhard Tremmel parried a header from Shinji Kagawa.

Januzaj provided the cross for Kagawa and he was also the source of United’s second goal, in the 59th minute, with a centre that was cleared to Patrice Evra, whose first-time shot was deftly flicked home by Welbeck.

Chris Smalling somehow contrived to volley over from a cross by Kagawa, who also had a shot blocked on the line, but while there were no further goals, the rediscovered swag-ger in United’s play will have been a sight for the sore eyes of their fans.

Earlier, Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored two excellent goals as Chelsea won 2-0 at Hull City to climb to the top of the table.

Hazard, who turned 23 on Tuesday, broke the deadlock in the 56th minute at the KC Sta-dium, gathering a flick from Ashley Cole, evading a pair of defenders, and drilling a shot into the bottom-right corner.

Torres marked his 200th Premier League appearance with a late goal that saw him wriggle past Alex Bruce and slam the ball inside the left-hand post with his left foot.

Victory moved Jose Mour-inho’s side into first place above former leaders Arsenal, who visit Aston Villa tomor-row, and set them up nicely

for next weekend’s home game with United. Chelsea manager Mourinho dismissed French media reports linking man-of-the-match Hazard with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, saying: “The club doesn’t want to sell him.

“Last year you saw a tal-ented Hazard; this year he is a much more mature player. He deserves more than man of the match, probably player of the month. Not many are doing what he is doing.”

Everton climbed back into the Champions League places with a 2-0 victory at home to Norwich City.

Gareth Barry put Everton ahead in the 23rd minute with a fine 20-yard shot that fizzed into the top-right corner, be-fore Kevin Mirallas scored di-rect from a free-kick on the hour.

Tottenham Hotspur are a point behind Roberto Mar-tinez’s side in fifth place af-ter beating Crystal Palace by the same score at White Hart Lane.

After Palace winger Jason Puncheon horribly miscued an early penalty, Christian Erik-sen broke the deadlock in the 50th minute from Emmanuel Adebayor’s flick-on.

A day after his transfer to Toronto FC was announced, Spurs striker Jermain Defoe was granted a warm reception after coming on as a second-half substitute and he claimed a well-taken goal with 18 min-utes remaining.

“It was a typical Jermain Defoe finish,” said Spurs man-ager Tim Sherwood.

“He’s pounced on it and struck. I’ll be sorry to lose Jermain. Toronto are getting a fine goalscorer.”

Adam Johnson scored the first hat-trick of his profes-sional career as Sunderland won 4-1 at Fulham to climb off the foot of the table and close to within a point of safety.

Johnson teed up Sunder-land’s other goal, for Ki Sung-yueng, with Steve Sidwell re-plying for the hosts.

West Ham United spoilt Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first home game as Cardiff City manager as goals from Carlton Cole and Mark Noble gave Sam Al-lardyce’s side a 2-0 win that took them out of the bottom three at their hosts’ expense.

Meanwhile, a 66th-minute strike from captain Adam La-llana earned Southampton a 1-0 win at home to West Bro-mwich Albion.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

‘Last year you saw a talented Hazard; this year he is a much more mature player. He deserves more than man of the match’

Sunday, January 12, 2014

GULF TIMES FOOTBALL

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard celebrates scoring his goal against Hull City during their English Premier League match at The KC Stadium in Hull yesterday. (Reuters)

New man Suarez vows to stay out of trouble

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez insists he has finally learnt how to keep his explosive temper and cynical instincts under control. Suarez has played a key role in Liverpool’s emergence as surprise contenders for the Premier League title this season after surviving one of the darkest periods of his controversial career. The Uruguay international has played only 15 league matches this term as he had to serve the remaining half of a 10-match ban for biting Chel-sea’s Branislav Ivanovic in April. The season before that the 26-year-old was banned for eight matches after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. He has also been accused of diving at times and earned wide-spread criticism for cynically conceding a penalty with a handball dur-ing the 2010 World Cup quarter-final against Ghana. Suarez was sent off for the off ence, but Ghana missed the penalty and Uruguay went on to win the tie. But he has worked hard to keep his vol-atile emotions in check of late, telling ESPN: “My temperament, attitude, desire and hunger when I am on the pitch has always been like this and will continue to be this way, but I now know I have to control it more. “An example of this was about two weeks ago when I had an open shot at goal and hit the post and it rebounded close to my hand and I was about to go for it and then I stopped. “If the same thing had happened two months ago I would have gone for it. These things stay with me but I tell you I am changing. “I am improving my attitude on the pitch because I know I was wrong in the past and I was creating an image of myself I know wasn’t me.” Securing a place in next season’s Champions League is widely seen as vital to ensuring Suarez doesn’t once again agitate for a move away from Anfield in the close-season. He tried unsuccessfully to engineer a move to Arsenal before the start of the current campaign, angering Reds boss Brendan Rodgers in the process, but he has put that row behind him by scoring 20 Premier League goals already this term.

AFPParis

Paris Saint-Germain were not at their very best in their fi rst Ligue 1 game of 2014, but they still managed to extend

their lead at the top of the table to fi ve points after coming from behind to beat Ajaccio 2-1.

Bottom club Ajaccio had taken the lead at the Stade Francois-Coty through an early Eduardo goal, but Ezequiel Lavezzi pulled the visitors level before the break and Blaise Matuidi headed in what proved to be the winner after 74 minutes.

It was not a classic performance from Laurent Blanc’s side, but they are now fi ve points clear at the top of the table from Monaco, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Montpellier on Friday.

Ajaccio, meanwhile, remain rooted to the foot of the table with just one win to their name all season. They have a

meagre nine points to their name and are nine points adrift of safety, meaning that avoiding relegation already looks to be beyond them.

The Corsicans had developed a repu-tation as something of a bete noire for PSG in recent times, however, drawing on each of their previous three meetings with the club from the capital.

And they took a shock lead after just six minutes at the Stade Francois-Coty, when Mehdi Mostefa’s low ball from the right was helped on by Benjamin Andre and Eduardo appeared to convert at the back post.

They could even have increased their lead soon after when Eduardo crossed and Paul Lasne headed the ball down for captain Johan Cavalli to volley just wide.

However, PSG slowly found their feet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic fi red a low free-kick off the base of the post before Ed-inson Cavani turned and shot narrowly off target.

The equalising goal eventually arrived

four minutes before the break, Lavezzi slotting home his third league goal of the campaign from an Ibrahimovic as-sist at the end of a fi ne move involving Cavani and Matuidi.

Ajaccio remained very much in the game and Eduardo had an eff ort well saved by visiting ‘keeper Salvatore Sirigu midway through the second pe-riod, but PSG fi nally got their noses in front with just over a quarter of an hour remaining.

Substitute Javier Pastore crossed for Ibrahimovic, and the Swede nodded the ball down for Matuidi to score with a diving header from point-blank range.

Ajaccio still could have come away with something from the game had Lasne not missed the target with a header from Eduardo’s cross, while Cavani almost made it 3-1 with a late ef-fort, only for Guillermo Ochoa to make a fi ne save.

Lille can close the gap at the top back down to four points if they beat Reims at home.

Ibrahimovic sets up two as PSG move fi ve clearLIGUE 1

Paris Saint-Germain’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (C) vies with Ajaccio’s Franco Senegalese midfielder Ricardo Faty during the French L1 match against Ajaccio in Ajaccio yesterday. (AFP)

RESULTS AND STANDINGS

Hull City ................0 Chelsea ......................... 2

Hotspur ..................2 Crystal Palace ......0

Everton ...................2 Norwich City..........0

Fulham ..................... 1 Sunderland...............4

Southampton ...... 1 West Albion ............0

Cardiff City .........0 West Ham .................. 2

Man United ........2 Swansea City ........0

TEAMS P W D L F A Pts Chelsea 21 14 4 3 40 19 46

Arsenal 20 14 3 3 39 18 45

Man City 20 14 2 4 57 23 44

Everton 21 11 8 2 34 19 41

Tottenham 21 12 4 5 26 25 40

Liverpool 20 12 3 5 46 23 39

Man United 21 11 4 6 35 24 37

Newcastle 20 10 3 7 29 25 33

Southampton 21 8 6 7 27 23 30

Hull City 21 6 5 10 22 27 23

Aston Villa 20 6 5 9 19 25 23

Stoke City 20 5 7 8 19 30 22

Swansea City 21 5 6 10 26 30 21

Bromwich 21 4 9 8 23 28 21

Norwich City 21 5 5 11 17 35 20

Fulham 21 6 1 14 22 46 19

West Ham 21 4 6 11 21 30 18

Cardiff City 21 4 6 11 15 34 18

Sunderland 21 4 5 12 19 34 17

Crystal Palace 21 5 2 14 13 31 17

Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia (L) celebrates after scoring against Swansea in Manchester yesterday. (AFP)