SUBSCRIPTIO

N

19Barca slump

to stunning

home defeat

by Malaga38Kristen Stewart

makes history,

‘Timbuktu’ wins

big at Cesars28Moms swear by

health benefits

of eating

placentas2Interior Ministry

gears up for

national

celebrations

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015 JAMADA ALAWWAL 3, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

LOS ANGELES: Filipino boxing iconManny Pacquiao will meet unbeatenAmerican Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegason May 2 in a fight fans have long cravedbetween the finest boxers of their gener-ation. Unbeaten American Mayweathermade the long-awaited announcementon Friday via the social media websiteShots.com, ending weeks of increasinglyintense speculation that the showdownhad been set. “What the world has beenwaiting for has arrived. Mayweather vs.Pacquiao on May 2, 2015, is a done deal,”Mayweather wrote. “I promised the fanswe would get this done, and we did,” headded, posting a picture of a signed con-tract.

Pacquiao, the only fighter to win worldtitles in eight weight divisions, dedicatedthe fight at the MGM Grand GardenArena to fans who “willed” it into being. “Iam very happy that Floyd Mayweatherand I can give the fans the fight they havewanted for so many years,” said Pacquiao,who also posted a picture of the contracton Twitter. “ They have waited longenough and they deserve it.”

In Manila, Pacquiao’s business manag-er Eric Pineda said they knew in advanceof the match but had left it toMayweather to make the announce-ment. “We just kept it under wraps,” hetold AFP.

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10 foreign workers killed in Abu Dhabi building fire

Huge blaze guts 79-floor Dubai skyscraperABU DHABI/DUBAI: Ten foreign workers have died in afire that hit a tyre shop in Abu Dhabi, apparently trap-ping the laborers in a warehouse used illegally foraccommodation, local media said yesterday. Eight oth-ers were injured in the blaze that gutted the two-storeybuilding in the Mussaffah district on Friday, Gulf Newsdaily reported, saying that the makeshift hostel abovethe shop was originally a storage area.

Police said the victims were of different nationalitiesand that the owner of the building was arrested, thepaper said. An investigation into the cause of the fire isunderway. “The injured were given first aid by medicsand then taken to hospital while police and firefightersbegan the grizzly task of recovering the 10 bodies,” AbuDhabi-based newspaper The National reported. Fires atwarehouses in industrial zones are common in theUnited Arab Emirates and authorities across the Gulfnation continue to crack down on illegal accommoda-tion of foreign laborers. The UAE is home to millions offoreign workers, mostly from South Asian countries.

Meanwhile, hundreds of panicked residents fled oneof the tallest towers in Dubai early yesterday as a hugefire engulfed the skyscraper, causing extensive damageto its luxury flats. The inferno gutted the upper part ofthe 79-storey Torch tower, triggering an evacuation ofnearby blocks in the Dubai Marina neighborhood.Amateur footage posted online showed fire engulfingthe upper floors of the tower - home to hundreds ofexpatriates - with debris falling onto the road as strongwinds fanned the flames.

Resident Mehdi Ansari told AFP that the fire alarmsounded at around 2 am. “I saw there was fire andpieces of the building falling down so I immediatelytook my wife and our baby. We took some importantitems and went down,” he said. “When we went to thestaircase, it was full of smoke. Later the staircase gotbusier and smokier, the lights went off and some peo-ple panicked.”

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: The National Assembly, during the current14th legislative term, has devoted special attentionto national security, amid insecurity and instabilityprevailing in some regional and foreign nations. Theparliament said in a report released yesterday thatthe National Assembly’s interior and defense affairs

committee “has taken seri-ous steps to back up stateaction for safeguarding cit-izens and expatriates, par-ticularly amid the currentconditions, thus putting allavailable resources at thedisposal of the nationalsecurity system.” It furtherindicated that the commis-sion had enacted legisla-tions at this level.

The commission groupsfive members, and is headed during the current termby MP Abdullah Al-Maayouf. It includes rapporteurMajed Al-Mutairi, in addition to MPs Sultan Al-Shemmari, Abdullah Al-Adwani and Askar Al-Enezi. Ittackles sensitive affairs concerning the military andsecurity sectors, namely the ministries of interior anddefense, the National Guard and the fire department.

On Jan 27, the commission won parliamentapproval of a bill on confiscation of arms and ammu-nition. At a session held on Jan 28h, the Assemblyamended law number 22 (1967), tackling issues relat-ed to military service, positions, vacations and

Continued on Page 13

Interior, defensepanel tackling sensitive issues

DUBAI: Flames shoot out from the high-rise Torch tower in Dubai’s Marina district early yesterday. — AP

Abdullah Al-Maayouf

Pacquiao, Mayweather to face off

Manny Pacquiao Floyd Mayweather Jr

WASHINGTON: It would be another powerful tool inthe arsenal of US and British spy services: encryptionkeys for a large share of the SIM cards used for mobilephones. A report by the investigative news websiteThe Intercept, citing leaked documents from formerNational Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden,said the US and British agencies “hacked into”European manufacturer Gemalto to gain these keys.The report, if accurate, could allow the NSA and itsBritish counterpart GCHQ to secretly monitor a largeportion of global communications over mobiledevices without using a warrant or wiretap.

“This is a huge deal,” said Bruce Schneier, a cryptog-rapher who is chief technology officer at the securityfirm Resilient Systems, and a fellow at Harvard’sBerkman Center. “The things that are the most egre-gious are when the NSA hacks everybody to get a fewpeople,” Schneier told AFP. “They’re getting encryptionkeys of everybody, including you and me. It ’s ascorched earth policy.” The report suggests the intelli-gence services could have access to a wider range ofcommunications than has been previously reported.Other documents have indicated that the NSA canmonitor email and traditional phone communications.

Greg Nojeim, a lawyer for the Center for Democracy& Technology, a digital rights organization, said therevelation suggests privacy of people around theworld is at risk. — AFP (See Page 27)

Stolen SIM keys could be spy tool

SANAA: Protesters hold posters with pictures of former president Abd-RabbuMansour Hadi during an anti-Houthi demonstration yesterday. — AP

SANAA/ADEN: Yemen’s former presidentAbd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi escaped weeksof house arrest by the Houthi militia at hisofficial residence yesterday and fled to hishome town of Aden, sources close to himsaid. He will make a speech later an Adentelevision station, the sources said. Houthi’sofficial status since quitting last month inprotest at the Houthis overrunning thepresidential palace and his private resi-dence remains unclear because his resig-nation was never formally accepted by theparliament.

The Houthis, who said they were takenunaware by his flight from the capital, havenow called an urgent meeting of the cabi-net in Sanaa’s presidential palace, a govern-ment official said. Hadi’s flight to Aden fol-lows an agreement between Yemen’s rivalfations on Friday, brokered by the UnitedNations, to set up a transitional council thatkeeps the parliament in place and gives avoice to some other groups.

Hadi fled his residence in disguise,Houthi politburo member Ali Al-Qahoumwas quoted as saying by the local newswebsite Al-Akhbar. But it added that it nolonger mattered if the former presidentremained there or departed. The UnitedNations denied reports by two senior polit-ical sources in Sanaa that it had helpedHadi travel to Aden as false. Hadi’s Sanaa

residence was looted by Houthi militiamenafter he left, witnesses said, and at leastthree people were seen each taking out aKalashnikov assault rifle from the house,but that was denied by Qahoum. The secu-rity official in Aden told AFP that Hadi wasstaying in a presidential residence in Aden’sKhormaksar diplomatic district.

His aide said Hadi will call on parliamentto meet in Aden, as powerful tribes in theprovinces of Marib, Jawaf and Baida urgedhim to declare Sanaa an “occupied city”, atribal source said. He said Hadi “remains thelegitimate president and that he resignedunder pressure from Houthis”. But AdenMayor Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, who is closeto Hadi and met him on arrival, told AFPthe president does not intend to make aspeech, adding that he is “sticking to hisresignation”.

Hadi travelled overland in a convoy ofdozens of vehicles, a top security official inAden said. He passed through Yemen’sthird city Taez, which like Aden is outsideHouthi control. Hadi is a southerner,although he spent nearly three decades inthe north, serving as defence minister andvice president before becoming presidentin 2012 when veteran strongman AliAbdullah Saleh was forced from power bya bloody year-long uprising.

Continued on Page 13

Yemen ex-presidentHadi flees to Aden

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia havelong enjoyed close relations, but Islamabad’snew-found resolve for fighting the root caus-es of extremism has seen the Gulf state comein for rare criticism. The two countries, bothwith majority Sunni Muslim populations, arebound together by shared Islamic religiousties, financial aid from oil-rich Saudi andPakistani military assistance to the kingdom.

But a Taleban massacre at a school thatkilled more than 150 people in December,mostly children, has led the government tocrack down on militants and talk of bringingreligious seminaries under tighter control.Now the country’s media and even govern-

ment ministers have begun to questionwhether support from Saudi Arabia for semi-naries, known as madrassas, is fuelling violentextremism - bringing tension to the relation-ship for the first time.

Last week the Saudi embassy issued astatement saying that all its donations to sem-inaries had government clearance, after aminister accused the Riyadh government ofcreating instability across the Muslim world.The Pakistani foreign ministry responded bysaying that funding by private individualsthrough “informal channels” would also bescrutinised closely to try to choke off fundingfor terror groups. While the statement avoid-

ed mentioning Saudi Arabia specifically, it waswidely interpreted as a rebuke.

Away from the seminaries, there has alsobeen widespread criticism of the decision toallow Saudi royals to hunt the rare houbarabustard, prized in the Middle East for its sup-posed aphrodisiac properties, in the southernprovinces of Sindh and Baluchistan. Officialsgranted permission to hunt the bird, which ison the International Union for Conservationof Nature’s “red list” of threatened species, indefiance of a court order, prompting allega-tions that the government prized its lucrativeties to Riyadh over its own wildlife.

Continued on Page 13

Pak terror wave sparks rare criticism

L O C A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

KUWAIT: His Highness the PrimeMinister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah congratulated HisHighness the Crown Prince SheikhNawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah onthe ninth anniversary of taking office.

“I and my fellow ministers wouldlike to express our most sincere con-gratulations and felicitations on theninth anniversary of Your Highness’assumption of the role of CrownPrince,” His Highness the premier saidin a letter. “On this joyful occasion, wewould like to express our utmostpride and appreciation of your greatcareer, which is characterized by yearsof accomplishments and evidentimprints on the national level.”

He went to hail the Crown Prince’s“continuous striving” for the benefit ofKuwait in the light of the aspirationsof the people and his support of “loy-alty and constancy” amongst the peo-ple. His encouragement of patriotismand social togetherness under the

wise directions of His Highness theAmir were also commended, alongwith his support of His Highness theAmir’s humanitarian efforts on the

global scale. His Highness SheikhJaber Al-Mubarak went on to wish HisHighness the Crown Prince health andprosperity.— KUNA

Premier congratulates CrownPrince on 9th anniversary

His Highness the Crown PrinceSheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad

Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Mubarak

Al-Hamad Al-Sabah

KUWAIT: Ministry of Interior hastaken all security measures aheadof celebrations of the country’sNational Day and IndependenceDay, a ministry senior officialstressed.

“These measures include inten-sifying security and traffic aware-ness campaigns, organized andsupervised by the Security MediaDepartment (SMD),” Director ofthe General Department of PublicRelations and Morale GuidanceBrigadier Adel Al-Hashash said ina statement yesterday.

The ministry works in collabo-ration with all media outlets toguarantee trouble-free celebra-tions, said Hashash, who is alsothe SMD acting director. The SMDprepared an integrated mediaplan for the celebrations of thenational days in line with a com-

prehensive media plan conductedby the supreme security commit-tee in collaboration with all securi-ty apparatuses, he noted.

He added the media plan incarried out under the directions ofDeputy Prime Minister andInterior Minister SheikhMohammad Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the ministry ’sUndersecretary LieutenantGeneral Suleiman Al-Fahad.

The SMD coordinated with allmedia outlets and instructedradio and TV programs on securityto urge citizens to cooperate withtraffic men and policemen toavoid any violations and maintaindiscipline, Hashash pointed out.

He appealed to citizens not touse spraying tools and fireworks,calling on youngsters to abide bythe legal speed limits when driv-

ing their vehicles and not to vio-late traffic signs. He congratulatedcitizens on the national days andhoped the country furtherprogress, prosperity and stabili-ty.—KUNA

MoI gears up for nationaldays celebrations

Brigadier Adel Al-Hashash

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications companyin Kuwait, announced that it organized a special themedinternal event to celebrate National holidays with itsemployees, reconfirming the company’s and employee’spride in Kuwait’s national identity. The company gathereda large number of its staff in a patriotic and family-orientedatmosphere that witnessed the presence of senior Zainexecutives.

The annual event held at Zain’s headquarters saw thepresence of Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer, ZainKuwait CEO Omar Al-Omar as well as a special guestappearance by Hans Vestberg, CEO of Ericsson, a worldleader in communications technology and services, allsharing the joys of the National celebrations with employ-ees. Vestberg visited Kuwait with several members of hissenior management team to discuss the future of technol-ogy and mutually beneficial strategies going forward.

There were several highlights of the many national-themed activities and programs undertaken during thecelebrations, including a traditional live performance by aKuwaiti band. In addition, the activities saw the conclusionof Zain Employees Photography Competition, which gavestaff the opportunity to showcase their love of Kuwaitthrough the lenses of their cameras, adding a sense ofpatriotism amongst them.

Zain’s participation in national celebrations was not lim-ited to the internal event only, but extended to redecorat-ing the company’s building with the National flag’s colors,participating in National celebrations with people withspecial needs, as well as sponsoring the 16th edition ofKuwait’s largest carnival, Hala February.

Zain has long considered itself as a key partner of theKuwaiti society, especially in such National celebrations.The company has achieved many outstanding achieve-ments by supporting many of the various social programs,especially related to Kuwait’s annual celebrations.

Zain gathers employees tocelebrate National Days

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) sponsored a ceremony organized recently by Al-Raja’a Primary School recently to celebrateKuwait’s National Days. The step came as part of CBK’s commitment to its social responsibilities, the bank said in a statement.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Journalist Association (KJA) Chairmanof the Board Ahmad Yousuf Behbehani received con-gratulations for his reelection from Kuwait NewsAgency (KUNA) Chairman and Managing DirectorSheikh Mubarak Al-Duaij Al-Ibrahim Al-Sabah, whowished him success under the leadership of HisHighness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh JaberAl-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Similar cables were received from Ahmadi GovernorSheikh Fawaz Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Also, KJAreceived congratulations from First Deputy Chairman ofArab Journalists General Union, Moayad Al-Lami, andfrom AJGA Secretary General Hatim Zakariya.

Re-elected KJAchairman lauded

Ahmad Behbehani

KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governorate continues celebrations on the occasion of Kuwait’sNational Days, with events held Friday for the third day in a row. Ahmadi’s Stadiumand the celebration’s tent hosted the events, which were attended by AhmadiGovernor Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, Sheikha Bibi Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah, and alarge crowd of celebrators.

L O C A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Barrak’s sentence today ‘Bogus’ companies questioned No animal sale

KUWAIT: The Appeals Court releases today its muchanticipated verdict against opposition leader MusallamAl-Barrak, who is accused of offending His Highness theAmir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah during a publicrally. The Popular Action Movement called for a ‘solidari-ty stand’ at Barrak’s dewaniya in Andalus this morningin anticipation of the ruling. The lower court had sen-tenced Barrak to 5 years in jail, but the Appeals Courtreleased him on bail pending its ruling. — Al-Aan

By Mish’al Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Informed sources at the Manpower PublicAuthority said that dozens of companies will soon bereferred to the Interior Ministry’s investigations depart-ment for violating law 6/2010 regarding work in the pri-vate sector. The ‘bogus’ companies violated provisionsthat bar employers from recruiting workers fromabroad or locally, then fail to provide them with the jobor it was later revealed that the workers’ services are notrequired.

KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Agricultural Affairsand Fish Resources (PAAAFR) denied reports that theauthority planned to announce a public auction for ani-mals and birds. Recent reports had suggested that theauthority was planning to sell a number of animals andbirds to the public. Shakir Awad, the authority’s PublicRelations Department Manager, said yesterday that therumors were ‘incorrect,’ and reiterated that the PublicRelations Department sends PAAAFR news directly tothe media to ensure their accuracy. — KUNA

FeatureP h o t o

KUWAIT: The Central Bank of Kuwait, the Liberation Tower, the Grand Mosque and other key Kuwait City buildings seen during a moderately dusty afternoon yesterday. A heavy sandstorm blanketed Kuwait Friday after-noon, lowering visibility to 200 meters in some areas and suspended flights at Kuwait International Airport. Local meteorologists predict the dusty weather to continue until Tuesday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

In Brief

KUWAIT: Kuwait National Petroleum Company’s (KNPC) plan toestablish subsidized diesel depots at industrial zones would cer-tainly lead to easing pressure on plant owners and saving time, aKuwaiti industrialist said yesterday. Hussein Al-Kharafi, Chairmanof Kuwait Industries Union (KIU) said in a statement that the KIUhad recently organized a specialized seminar on factory owners’difficulties in logistical services due to the transfer of diesel fromKNPC depots to factories. Due to spending a long time on fieldchecks for the needs of plants and the large number of inspectorsrequired for the job, it was agreed with officials participating inthe seminar on speeding up procedures for the setting up ofdiesel depots at industrial zones, he said.

Diesel pricesKharafi touted the decision to raise diesel prices as a sig-

nificant step towards maintaining the production level oflocal factories and achieving economic development in thecountry. For his part, Deputy Chairman of the KNPC forPlanning and Local Marketing Shukry Mahrous said thedecision to cut subsidy clearly targeted only retail stations.

Speaking to reporters following the seminar, Mahroussaid KNPC would carefully consider all suggestions tabledby owners of plants and small-sized companies during theseminar, and vowed to wipe out all obstacles they are fac-ing. — KUNA

Diesel depots to ‘ease

pressure, save time’

KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Company, Kuwait’s firstinternational joint-venture in this industrial sector, recog-nized a number of governmental bodies in appreciationfor their international role.

The recognition included the Ministry of InteriorUndersecretary Lieutenant-General Sulaiman Al-Fahadwho was represented by Assistant Undersecretary forSpecial Security Major-General Mahmoud Al-Dosari;Ministry of Health Undersecretary Dr Khaled Al-Sahlawi;Public Authority for Industry (PAI) acting Director-GeneralMohammad Al-Ajmi; Kuwait General Administration ofCustoms Director-General Khaled Al-Moussa; Ministry ofSocial Affairs and Labor represented by the Manager ofGovernment Contracts Department; Environment PublicAuthority (EPA) represented by the Manager of ShuaibaOffice Dr Abdullah Al-Zeidan; and Kuwait Fire ServiceDirectorate (KFSD) represented by the Director of PublicRelations and Media Colonel Khalil Al-Ameer.

During the appreciation ceremony, EQUATE President

and CEO Mohammad Husain said, “Partnership is a termused to express integration and interaction betweenindividuals or organizations. When partnership isbrought up, our minds immediately think about differentlevels of coordination and exchange to serve the setobjective. This celebration is not about casual coopera-tion with your esteemed bodies, but it is about the high-est levels of cooperation that truly reflects the partner-ship between government organizations and EQUATE,which prides itself on being a national company and partof the Kuwaiti society. This partnership accurately reflectsour slogan of ‘Partners in Success’ for our beloved coun-try. Much appreciation and gratitude for your nationalsentiment, your professional dedication, your continuoussupport and the partnership you have forged withEQUATE.”

The ceremony was held with the attendance ofEQUATE’s board members, senior management, as wellas a number of leaders and employees.

EQUATE management and government officials in a group photo.

EQUATE recognizes government

bodies for their national role

LO C A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

KUWAIT: Kuwait Times hopes that its 2015 photography com-petition provides an opportunity for professional photogra-phers to take rare photos that reflect quick response in docu-menting actions in their surroundings. Capturing movement inphotographs is the best skill to match the “Kuwait Heritage andCulture” theme selected for Kuwait Times’ 9th annual photogra-phy competition, which takes place from February 15 to April 16in cooperation with Al-Anbaa newspaper.

Adnan Saad, the competition’s organizer and Kuwait TimesDeputy General Manager, said photographers of all ages cantake part with pictures of the Kuwait environment, sea, sky orsurroundings.

Each contestant can provide a maximum of five photos,printed on 30x50 cm paper. Photos with texts or proceedthrough Photoshop or other photo processing software will beautomatically disqualified. Only pictures snapped in Kuwait andthat carry the photographer’s name are qualified to enter thecompetition, Saad added. Participants do not have to be profes-sional photographers or use professional cameras to take pic-tures. Anyone can participate even with cell phone cameras, aslong as the picture is taken in a creative way and in high resolu-tion, Saad said.

The main objective of the competition is to encourage andimprove photography in Kuwait, and showcase the talents ofKuwaitis and expatriates in the field of photography, Saad indi-cated.

The photos must be put in an envelope that has the compe-tition’s coupon fixed on the back. The coupons are printed everyday in Kuwait Times and Al-Anbaa. The last day to submit thephotos is April 16, 2015. The winners will be awarded during aceremony at the Holiday Inn Hotel.

The competition is sponsored by Burgan Bank, Chevron,Holiday Inn Hotel, Ashraf and Co Ltd, and Al-Yaqza.

Kuwait Times Photography Competition

‘Kuwait Culture and Heritage’

In cooperation with Al-Anbaa newspaper

KUWAIT: Secretary-General of theWorld Tourism Organization of the UN(UNWTO) Taleb Al-Rifai visits Kuwaittoday to become acquainted with thelocal tourism activity and discuss waysto develop it, the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry announcedyesterday. Rifai and Regional Directorof the organization Amro AbdelGhaffar would discuss with Samira Al-Gharib, the ministry ’s AssistantUndersecretary for the Tourism Sector,

various aspects of cooperation for thepromotion of local tourism, MansourAl-Nazhan, Director of Research andTourist Information Department at theministry, said in a statement.

Nazhan added that the visit of theWorld Tourism Organization delega-tion will also include holding formalmeetings with government officialsand private sector representatives aswell as taking a tour of some of thetourist facilities and commercial com-

plexes to become acquainted with theKuwait’s activities in this area.

He stated that the organizationhad already cooperated with thetourism sector in the Ministry ofCommerce through a plan meant todevelop this sector, noting thatKuwait is an active member in theWorld Tourism Organization which is aUN body and the Executive Agency ofthe United Nations DevelopmentProgram. — KUNA

UNWTO, ministry discuss

developing local tourism

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank announced thatit is partnering with Kid’s Puzzle tooffer i ts Pr iority Bank ing cl ientsexclusive benefits when they shopwith their Gulf Bank credit cards atany of their branches.

Through this partnership withKid’s Puzzle Stores, Priority Bankingclients benefit from a 15% discountwhen shopping for the brands, Dolceand Gabbana, Moschino (baby, kid,and teen), Aigner, Young Versace andGF Ferre. Their stores are located atThe Avenues Mall, Arraya Mall andRabi Complex - Salmiya. This offer isvalid until 14 December 2015.

Gulf Bank is committed to offer-ing its Priority clients with new pro-

motions in addition to an exception-al range of financial products andbanking services. To take advantageof this latest exclusive offer, cus-tomers can identify themselves anduse their Gulf Bank Visa Infinite,World MasterCard, PlatinumMasterCard, and Platinum Visa whenmaking a purchase at any of the Kid’sPuzzle Stores and enjoy the 15% dis-count.

To f ind out more about GulfBank’s promotions and offers, cus-tomers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 59branches; contact the CustomerContact Center on 1805805, or logon to the Bank’s bilingual website atwww.e-gulfbank.com.

Gulf Bank offers discount

at Kid’s Puzzle stores

KUWAIT: Head of Public Relationsand Information at TouristicEnterprises Company (TEC) SaqerAl-Bader said starting FridayFebruary 20 until Saturday Feb 28,two persons can enter theEntertainment City with one ticket.The Entertainment City receives vis-itors from 11:00 am until 11:00 pm,with Monday designated for femalevisitors only. Bader said a 7D cinemawas added to the city, in addition tothe interactive laser war (Lazer-Tag)and KiDZ-ZONE.

Meanwhile, Bader said thatactivities at the main Ice SkatingRink were stopped so it can be usedfor February 2015 celebrationsstarting February 25. Stage andseating are being arranged, he said.

Bader added the minor rink con-tinues to receive visitors from 8:30am until 10:00 pm for six periodsper day.

tec offer

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti diplomatic mis-sion in Bulgaria held a grand receptiongrouping dignitaries and diplomats onthe occasion of Kuwait’s National Days.

Kuwait ’s Ambassador to BulgariaFaisal Al-Adwani, who hosted the emi-nent personalities to celebrate Kuwait54th Independence Anniversary and the24th Liberation Day, stated: “This happyoccasion comes in light of progress, con-struction and prosperity witnessed inKuwait. Celebrating these national occa-sions depicts the Kuwaiti citizens’ soli-darity, adherence to freedoms, and oursovereignty, under the sagacious leader-ship, represented by His Highness theAmir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah.”

The ambassador said his eminentguests were entertained with folkloricshows, adding that the reception hall

included a pavilion displaying booksand documents about Kuwait’s historyand modern-time development. He alsohailed the distinguished ties betweenKuwait and Bulgaria.

Also on the occasion, the ambassa-dor expressed congratulations on thenational occasions to HH the Amir, HHthe Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH thePrime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-MubarakAl-Hamad Al-Sabah, as well as to theKuwaiti people, wishing furtherprogress, prosperity and stability “forour beloved homeland.”

The gathering included leading fig-ures, namely the Bulgarian deputy par-liament speaker, foreign ministry offi-cials, legislators, the mufti, diplomats,public figures including renowned Arabpersonalities.—KUNA

Embassies celebrate

National Days

L O C A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

A leading fuel company is looking for a professional,dynamic candidate for the following post:

CAD draftsman Engineer

Job Vacancy

Interested candidate kingly send your C.V to this Email: Info.career.kw@gmail.com

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

Charity work

needs awareness

Is Kuwait against terrorism? If the answer is yes, then it istime to close the door of suspicions of financing terror-ism through tough regulations and laws against any

organization or individual who collects money under theguise of charity work without legal permission. Those whowant to work at any place in Kuwait need a work permit, soI guess any party interested in collecting money in thename of charity work must obtain similar permission andmore.

What I mean with the term more is that those involvedin charity work and collecting money must be committedto provide evidence on how the money was collected andways to send the money, whether through banks or indi-viduals or exchange services, and to whose accounts, alongwith full information about those who will be receiving themoney such as names and contacts as well as their posi-tions. This information must be given to legal and securityauthorities.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is preparing anew regulation for organizing charitable societies. The newlaw will organize the work of the 10 main charitable organi-zations and their 93 branches throughout the country. But Idon’t think this is enough, because while some of theseorganizations may obey the law and follow rules, I have nodoubt that some people will ignore this law and keep col-lecting money from their diwaniyas and houses using allmeans of communication such as social media, and I don’tknow how the law deals with these people. Those who vio-late the laws are the threat and are the ones who fuel terror.

The law in Kuwait prohibits people from collecting anytypes of donations, as Article 22 of the law limits fundrais-ing to registered associations only, and collecting cashinside mosques is strictly prohibited. I am surprised atthose who give away money and care less to know whowill receive this money and what will they do with it.

In recent years, we have seen a rush in demand to raisemoney in order to fund the so-called mujahideen in Syria -and they are many - and perhaps some money went to IS. Infact, all the money given to them under the name of charitywork has contributed to the purchase of weapons or killinghumans. I believe that those who participated in the past toprovide money to unknown destinations and individualsrather than to well-known organizations, their hands arefilthy with the blood of humans and there is no pride in this.

The money collected should be sent through UnitedNations organizations to specific destinations because so farthere has been chaos over where the money goes. Goodintentions are not enough, especially if the money is sent toan area of conflict, such as Syria today. We need awarenesscampaigns, and I wish we have active NGOs to work on this.Many government bodies ignore the fact that the fightagainst terrorism is a collective action and therefore aware-ness campaigns to alert the public is a shared responsibility.

Local spotlight

CrimeR e p o r t

Two Indians killed

in Mahboula fire

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Two Indians lost their lives when a fire broke out in a build-ing in Mahboula on Friday night. The victims were identified asSuresh Babu, 37, a native of Mankada, Malapuuram district of Keralaand Srikumar Kannan Ayathil, 38, a native of the Quilon district ofKerala. Both were working as security staff in an exchange companyin Kuwait. According to initial investigations, the apartment caughtfire after a heater exploded due an electrical short-circuit. The menwere sleeping when the fire broke out.

Two arrested with one kg of heroinTwo Indian men were arrested with one kilogram ofheroin in their possession. The Drugs Control GeneralDepartment learnt that an Indian man trades in drugs,then a warrant was obtained and his residence wasraided. He was found along with another Indian man,while the heroin was found inside. Both admitted thatthe drugs were for trafficking purposes. They were sentto concerned authorities.

The scene after the fire was extinguished.

The suspects arrested with 1kg of heroin.

KUWAIT: Experts warned that hallucino-gens, namely “shabu” pills, are detrimentalto human health and noted prime role ofparents to protect the youth againstfalling prey to addiction.

Dr Ayed Al-Humaidan, an internationalspecialist in combating drugs, said thatthese pills contain highly hazardous sub-stances such as the chemical stimulants,amphetamines, in addition to acetone,ammonia, soda and other contaminatingmaterials used in making pesticides.

Humaidan affirmed that such drugs,which eventually lead to addiction, poisonman’s nervous system and their usage isrestricted and they are only allowed withspecial permits. The addiction develops instages and takes hold of the person whenhe seeks greater intakes to attain ecstasyand false sense of high pleasure. “The finalphase is slavery; that is when the addicttotally subjugates to the drug,” he warned.

Those who are prone to fall victim ofthese harmful pills and drugs include per-sons who lack deterring religious beliefs,attached to bad company, sustain prevail-ing sense of emptiness, are of low level ofeducation and victims of bad or roughparenting. Family constitutes the “num-ber-one fortress,” where a coherent familyprotects its members against narcotics.

Taking controlDr Abeer Al-Bahwa, the director of the

health enhancement department at theMinistry of Health, said shabu (crystalmeth) is one form of the drug, metham-phetamine, which takes control of the tak-er in phases before taking hold of him orher physically and psychologically.

Taking shabu, particularly throughinjection, creates a false sense of satisfac-tion, pleasure and tendency for activity“for the drug stimulates the nervous trans-mitter in the brain, dopamine.” Effect of anintake of this drug lasts for 4-12 hours;however, long-time addiction damagesbrain receptors, prompting the addict toseek greater amounts of the narcotics, in ahopeless bid to attain ecstasy.

Crystal meth causes short and longterm problems, such as faster heart beats,hard breathing, shivering and high bloodpressure. In the long term, the addict suf-fers from insomnia, lack of appetite, mal-nutrition, and prospects of being infectedwith some communicable deadly disease,due to usage of needles.

Abuse symptomsGreatest effect is seen in the brain, with

the victim tending to be agitated, hostile,depressed, frightened, in addition to otherproblems such as hallucination, memoryloss and social issues. Quitting the habitrequires a duration of weeks, during whichthe addict suffers from great desire fordrugs, confusion, disorientation, low ener-gy, agitation, depression, phobia andfatigue.

Colonel Adel Al-Hashash, the publicrelat ions direc tor at the M inistr y ofInterior, affirmed that the ministry isseeking to promote public awareness ofthe drugs’ hazards. While stressing keen-ness on clamping down and penalizingnarcotics’ dealers, he affirmed vital role ofthe family to prevent the youngstersfrom fal l ing prey to such dangeroushabits. —KUNA

Experts warn of ‘shabu’

effects on youths‘Hallucinogens detrimental to human health’

KHARTOUM: Kuwaiti Ambassador toSudan Talal Mansour Al-Hajri, in collabora-tion with Kuwait ’s Revival of IslamicHeritage Society (RIHS) and Sudan’s JamaatAnsar al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyya, partic-ipated yesterday in handing out regularpayments to Sudanese orphans.

Ambassador Hajri said in a statementthat this move embodies the values ofIslam aiming at spreading love amongMuslims and reflecting the solid relationsbetween Kuwait and Sudan to achieve

interest of the two peoples. He thanked theKuwaiti people for supporting orphans andneedy people across the globe, voicing hisgratitude to SRIH for sponsoring orphans.

For his part, Acting Chairman of JamaatAnsar al-Sunnah Nassar Al-Abd Al-Jaleelsaid that the regular payment is part offinancial aid distributed to about 1,000orphans in Sudan. The total regular pay-ments for more than 6,000 orphans are esti-mated at about $145 million and handedout every three months, he added. —KUNA

Kuwait distributes aid

to Sudanese orphans

TRIPOLI/AKKAR: Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS)announced yesterday that it launched a dialysis treatmentcampaign for Syrian refugees in the city of Tripoli. The societydonated equipment to a local hospital to enable Syrianrefugees to receive dialysis treatment, KRCS Chairman Dr HilalAl-Sayer said.

The dialysis treatment cost remains a burden on therefugees, therefore, the KRCS is taking care of the situation andwill provide treatment, said KRCS. Local health officials lauded

the step undertaken by the KRCS, affirming that such initiativereflected the generosity and compassion of the Kuwaiti people.

Meanwhile, the KRCS distributed humanitarian aid toroughly 5,000 displaced Syrian families living in northernLebanon. The aid handed out to the Syrian families includedfoodstuff, cleaning materials and fuel, Sayer said.

This aid aims at alleviating the sufferings of Syrian refugees,especially children, women and elderly, facing hard weatherconditions in makeshift shelters across Lebanon, he said. He

affirmed the KRCS commitment to helping the displacedSyrians amid these hard conditions.

On his part, Honorary Treasurer of KRCS Saad Al-Nahedhsaid that the society has been exerting effort since the out-break of the Syrian crisis to meet the needs of the displacedSyrian families as much as possible. The aid is handed out tothe Syrian refugees across Lebanon under the directions of HisHighness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,he added. —KUNA

KRCS provides dialysis treatment to Syrian refugees

Aid distributed to 5,000 displaced families

TRIPOLI: KRCS Chairman Dr Hilal Al-Sayer visits a Syrianchild at a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon. — KUNA photos

KRCS Chairman Dr Hilal Al-Sayer visits a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon.

KRCS Chairman Dr Hilal Al-Sayer and staff attend topatients at the hospital.

KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry organized a blood donation campaign recently in cooperation with theCentral Blood Bank. Fifty six employees in the ministry’s Criminal Investigations Department partici-pated in the campaign.

Policeman injured A policeman was injured when he attempted to control anarmed Egyptian national with a knife after learning about afight in Hawally. The Egyptian man had 89 narcotic pills andKD 2,122 on him. He was taken to Nugra police station.

KFSD asks to return weaponsDirector General of Fire Services Major General YousufAbdallah Al-Ansari asked all those working in the direc-torate to hand over their unlicensed weapons and explo-sives. “We as firemen, comply will all laws of the state,and keen on being the first to implement them,” he said,adding that KFSD (Kuwait Fire Services Directorate) coor-dinates with the Interior Ministry after receiving the let-

ter of Interior Ministry Undersecretary.

KD 40,000 worth jewelry stolenPolice authorities are investigating the theft of jewelry worthKD 40,000 from a citizen’s house in south Surra. The citizensaid the thieves got into the house and stole the safe, whichhad the jewelry. Hawally detectives are working on the case.

Lance corporal, young woman arrested A lance corporal in the Special Forces and a Kuwaiti womanwere sent to narcotics authorities for the possession and useof drugs. A police patrol saw the young girl throwing a smallbag upon seeing the police, and on checking, drugs werefound inside the car.

F r o m t he A r a bic pr e s sSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Though history does not know the word ‘if’, it isstill legitimate to use it. For instance, what ifArabs did not intervene in Libya - could we

imagine that IS would behead some poor, miserableEgyptian workers like sheep merely because they areChristians? Would we imagine the daily tragediesLibyan civilians have been going through, wonderingwhere the legitimate government is and who has theupper hand in Libya nowadays? Is it situated inBenghazi or in Tripoli? Who will be in power tomor-row? Is there no end to the forays of ‘Libya Dawn’ orthe Zintan people?

Where is the line separating the moderate MuslimBrotherhood from radical groups and others who haveformed alliances that soon fall apart? Do we actuallybelieve that Haftar, who came from the US and whohad been Gaddafi’s favorite officer until the latter lefthim captive in Chad and he was released to settle oldscores with his former leader from the US, would forman army or a gang different from those controllingLibya nowadays?

The Foreign Affairs and New Yorker magazinesreviewed the Libyan tragedy briefly. In its recent issue,Foreign Affairs, which is not leftist nor does it sympa-thize with Islamists, and in fact, represents realAmerican politics, said that intervention by France,Britain and the US in Libya was disastrous. The wholeregion and Syrian rebels wanted to have a no-fly zonesimilar to that made by the West in Libya, as they toldthe Washington Post at the time of having illusionsabout having one, but it never happened. It was thenthat bombing increased in March 2011 until wereached the IS phase and you know the rest of thetragedy when our countries who supported anti-Assadrebels found out that he could not be toppled orremoved from the scene and that he would still be thebest of the two worst choices compared to IS.

Back to Libya, Gaddafi’s troops that were advancingagainst Benghazi rebels did not annihilate opponentsas Arab Gulf channels told us. Contrarily, his troopsgave withdrawing rebels a chance to retreat into Egyptwithout taking revenge on them. Foreign Affairs addsthat Gaddafi, who was on the verge of turning 70, wasnot at worst Libya’s future and that his son Saif Al-Islam had been actively working to change the regimewith gradual reform. Ever since 2010, he had repeated-ly stressed that he would not accept ruling Libya with-out a constitution, the rule of law and honest integralelections and he meant what he said. He in fact con-vinced his father to release political prisoners beforethat and set an ideal program to fight extremism.

He visited and met many Western thinkers likeRobert Putnam, Fukuyama and others. So much couldhave been said about Libya’s fate and how things haveturned out in it, or in Mali or Chad when weapons andterrorist gangs seeped into those two countries if itwasn’t for the miserable Western interference in Libyathat was welcomed and blessed by the French philoso-pher Claude Levy who said: “I wanted to show MuslimArabs in Libya how a Jewish person like me can standup with them and with their rights”!

Back to the ‘if’ thing, let us wonder about regionalcountries, their regimes, revolutions and what we arenowadays experiencing in the form of Assad’s explod-ing barrels or slaughter parties by IS, Nusra Front andother massacre doers. Could regional states, tribes andsects develop into modern states with the type of his-toric and cultural heritage they have? What if the Westhad not intervened in Libya and Iraq at earlier stages?

What if we had not intervened by internationallysupporting and funding certain revolutions or counter-revolutions in a bid to settle old scores on others’ soil?What if the West had not intervened in Iraq in 2003 orin liberating Kuwait in 1991? Would it have been possi-ble to read this article in the newspaper or would yoube reading an article glorifying the legendary leader inAl-Neda newspaper (an Iraqi one) without having toget too involved in inquiries about the truth on the cor-ruption accusations exchanged in Kuwait - that is IFyou would still be alive, of course!

What if?

Al-Jarida

By Hassan Al-Essa

Now, after the terrible crime committed by theIslamic State (IS) group who brutally behead-ed 21 innocent Egyptians, all Arabs should

become Egyptians so that Egypt and the whole Arabworld can avenge through mobilizing and deployingtheir armies against those armed militias that wantto tear the Arab nation apart, because we have onlyone choice nowadays - either terrorism or us - other-wise what are those armies for?

The beheading scenes filmed by the beach bringtwo main questions to mind. The first - what benefitdid that crime bring to IS, its followers and support-ers except defaming Islam’s image and forcing 90million Egyptians to hate, antagonize and fightthem? This ugly massacre will never undermineEgyptians solidarity. It will contrarily boost andcement it.

The second question that is very clear is that theslaughtering team, its leader, the filming team, cam-eramen, the director, the sophisticated cameras andthe huge winches they used to film the scene didnot arrive to that particular beach from the desertsof Levant into the deserts of Libya. So, from whichairports had they arrived?

By this operation, IS continues playing the devas-tating role of Al-Qaeda in defaming Islam and creat-ing problems for Muslims with one of the closestreligious doctrines to Islam - Orthodoxy, which is fol-lowed by Christian Egyptians. There have alwaysbeen great strong relations between Muslim Arabsand Orthodox Arabs, Russians, Yugoslavs, Greeks,Cypriots and others. Al-Qaeda worked on destroyingthose strong relations with what it did inAfghanistan, Chechnya, Kosovo, etc and thus, Qaedaand IS followers go on committing crimes againstProtestants, Catholics, Hindu and Buddhist peoples.They also committed similar crimes against fellowArab citizens following ancient religions and doc-trines. So, does anybody still suspect both terroristorganizations and their followers have bad motivesand intentions?

The best radical solution that would put an end tosuch incidents and to those behind them is to usethe Egyptian, GCC and Arab armies to invade Libya,which is mainly desert where no terrorists can hide.They should all cooperate with Maj Gen KhalifaHaftar’s troops and the legitimate Libyan govern-ment and soon these terrorists will disappear,because many of them joined the organization tomake money and they would immediately quit ifseriously fought and resisted.

All Arabs areEgyptians today

Al-Anbaa

By Sami Al-Nisf

As soon as the new minister Dr Bader Al-Essa tookover at the education ministry, demands that heshould modernize and develop education rained

on him, forgetting that the change process at the educa-tion ministry may take more than one generation to getresults.

The question is: what is the problem of education inour country? And how education can be improved, andwho should take the responsibility of modernization? Allagree that the issue of developing and modernizing edu-cation is one of the most important issues if we were seri-ous towards the success of the development plan anddevelopment of the country, because human resource isthe backbone of any society’s success to enter the mod-ern era.

We should confirm that school education, before theuniversity stage, is the foundation of shaping the skillsand capabilities of our children aged 4 to 18 years. So thebasis of modernizing education must be directed to thisearly education stage.

Does the education ministry concentrate, in its strate-gy, on the quality of education or is it the quantity - thenumber of students - more important at the expense ofquality? The quality of education has certain standardsand can be summarized in the following elements: quali-ty of schools, administration, curricula, scholastic con-tent, the nature and quality of the society’s participation.

All countries of the civilized world that made distin-guished leaps in the field of education and becameamong the advanced countries in modern industry suchas Finland, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and EastEuropean countries after the fall of communism concen-trated on the quality of the teacher, because he/she is theintegral part of the education process. And no matterhow much we prepare in the form of advanced curriculaor excellent books, the important thing is who will deliverthat. So the quality of the teacher as a sophisticatedhuman being is the most important element.

Where does the problem of the teacher in Kuwait lie?We say it very clearly and frankly that our problem is inpreparing teachers at the college of education in the uni-versity or applied institutes.

We were supposed to concentrate on who wants toenter the field of education to be an outstanding studentin the science subjects, because teaching is not fit for anyperson. We must insist that whoever wants to be ateacher must be highly professional and competent. So ifwe really want to develop education, admittance to theeducation college should be like that of medicine orengineering, which is admitting outstanding studentsonly.

When the outstanding student gets the educationdegree, he should go for the masters in education to bequalified to teach in the elementary stage. Grant themhigh salaries and treat them properly because they arethe pillars of the education process in the elementarystage.

We made a major mistake in the sixties of last centurywhen the late Khalid Al-Musad decided to Kuwaitize theelementary stage and allowed students from the elemen-tary stage to join the teachers institute to get a diplomathat qualify them to teach in the most important stagewhich is the elementary. Modernizing education is a verydifficult process that requires a society that is n awareand a serious government administration towards devel-opment and modernization of education if it wants to getinto the challenges of the 21st century or be at the levelof the informatics era.

As the teacher, so is the pupil

Al-Watan

By Dr Shamlan Al-Essa

Al-Jarida

CrimeR e p o r t

Policeman turns thief

KUWAIT: A Jordanian man reported that at a café, he wasapproached by a policeman claiming that his motorcycleparked outside the café was to be impounded. The sourcesaid that the policeman took the Jordanian national toFarwaniya police station, despite the latter showing proofof ownership. The policeman was not convinced andthreatened to frame the Jordanian to keep him in jaillonger. A security source said that the policeman thenreleased the Jordanian expat, and offered him a deal so hewill not be held liable for any framing. When the Jordanianasked about the deal, the policeman told him to sell himhis bike, which he agreed to. The two went to an office,made a sale paper. The policeman forced the Jordanianman to sign the paper, then told him “I owe you nothing”,and escaped. The Jordanian went back to Farwaniya policestation and filed a complaint, and when AssistantUndersecretary for General Security Major GeneralAbdelfattah Al-Ali was informed about the incident, heordered a trial for the policeman.

Villas raidedA security source said that three villas used by theirowners for holding indecent parties were placed underclose surveillance by vice detectives, who discoveredthat there are well built bodyguards checking names ofvisitors and compare them with the lists they have. Thesource said as preparations were being made in the vil-las to receive guests, vice detectives raided them andarrested five citizens who rented them and were takento the office of the vice detectives for further action.

Employee rapedA Filipina accused her sponsor of raping her athis Hawally residence. The victim went to MaidanHawally police station and told them that hersponsor, in a surprise move, compelled her andhad sex against her will. Police are investigating.

Wife beatenA citizen accused her husband of beating her inSabah Al-Salem. The woman, who works at thesocial affairs and labor ministry, brought a medicalreport stating that she sustained bruises in variousparts of her body and told police that her husbandcaused them. Investigations are underway.

KUWAIT: Oil Minister and State Minister forNational Assembly Affairs Ali Al-Omair said theoil sector is keen on implementing the strategywith regard to developing oil wells, improvingproduction and raising production capacity toreach four million barrels per day by 2020.

“We will make the National Assemblyacquainted with our ideas on regulating the

process of seeking assistance from qualifiedcompanies in oil fields development, and willdiscuss these ideas with members of thefinance and economic affairs committee,”Omair said. He added that these ideas areimportant to execute the oil sector’s strategy toreach the production capacity ’s goal asplanned. —Al-Qabas

Oil production: 4 million barrels eyed

Policemen turned highway robbersTwo policemen attacked a Syrian and stole cigarettes asthey pulled their weapons at him. The Syrian who runs agrocery store on 7th Ring Road told Ahmadi police that hisinjuries were caused by two policemen in a patrol car whoasked him to get in it. They pulled their weapons in his face,beat him before returning to the store and stole cigarettes. The source said the two patrolmen escaped after gettingwhat they want. Police authorities are investigating. —Al-Rai

- A

Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair

‘Wanted’ citizensliving abroad

KUWAIT: Kuwait is facing a problem in extraditing tens of con-victed citizens who at the moment are living in other countries.Statistics issued in this regard showed that there are 214 fugitiveKuwaitis living outside the country during the last three years.

Sources following the issue said GCC countries along withEgypt are among the most cooperative countries with Kuwait inextradition policy as bilateral agreements exist between thesecountries to exchange the convicted.

Sources said the problem Kuwait faces is with citizens who arein the United Kingdom, as there is no agreement to exchange theoffenders wanted between the two countries, something thatencouraged many Kuwaitis to head there.

The sources said the solution of this issue requires intensedomestic coordination between ministries of justice, interior andforeign affairs to lay down the basis that makes it possible tocooperate with British authorities in this regard. —Al-Rai

New Pentagon chief Carter in Kabul on unannounced visit

Page 11

Denmark shooting highlights links between gangs and radicalsPage 10

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

DONETSK: Pro-Russian rebels fire artillery toward Ukrainian position at Donetsk Sergey Prokofiev International Airport outskirts the city of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. — AP

PARIS: The continued fighting in eastern Ukraine has madea mockery of the West’s latest attempts to negotiate aceasefire but may ultimately pave the way for a moredurable peace, say analysts. It did not take long for the lat-est truce, brokered by France and Germany and signed inthe Belarusian capital Minsk last week, to look as impotentas previous deals. With barely a pause, pro-Russian rebelscontinued their assault on the key transport hub ofDebaltseve, ultimately forcing the Ukrainian military into ahumiliating retreat.

“It was a classic case of good intentions paving the wayto hell,” said Ievgen Vorobiov of the Polish Institute ofInternational Affairs. “(German Chancellor Angela) Merkelsaw the situation was deteriorating fast and that theUnited States was talking about supplying arms and esca-lating the conflict, and felt she needed to act. “But shedidn’t have a Plan B if the ceasefire failed, and she hadnothing to enforce it-neither military power nor moresanctions.” The West has struggled to formulate a responseto the continued fighting. Merkel and French PresidentFrancois Hollande emerged from a meeting in Paris on

Friday offering nothing but further calls for the truce to berespected.

The price of peace?Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to deny he is

directly backing the rebels, even as NATO remains adamantthat his special forces, artillery and air defense units are stillvery much active in Ukraine. But some analysts argue thebattle for Debaltseve was inevitable, with the rebels clearlyseeking more territory and resources to make a viablemini-state out of their fiefdom in the east.

It also had symbolic importance, having been a keyfocus of military campaigns during the 19th and 20th cen-turies. France and Germany may have decided to acceptthe fall of Debaltseve as the price for peace, said JorgForbrig of the German Marshall Fund of the United States,a think tank. “They are not naive. Perhaps they think nowthis question is in a sense settled, it could contribute to amore durable ceasefire,” he said. The question is whetherthe rebels will now pressure other areas, notably the portcity of Mariupol. But Balazs Jarabik, of the Carnegie

Endowment for International Peace, said the rebels may bereluctant to attack a million-strong city of mostly Russianspeakers. “The more bloody the rebel advance, the more itproves right those who say Russia must be stopped,” saidJarabik. “Putin has already achieved his main goals-he’s tak-en Crimea, he has a frozen conflict in the east. Now heneeds the fighting to stop so that the international pres-sure on him falls.” Russia has encouraged “frozen conflicts”elsewhere in its neighborhood, for instance in Georgia andMoldova where it has fuelled separatist movements justenough to keep the countries unstable and make themunattractive partners for the West.

Fundamental differencesBut even if the ceasefire holds, many see the deal as

heavily weighted in Russia’s favor. “It puts all the cards inrebel and Russian hands,” said Kadri Liik of the EuropeanCouncil on Foreign Relations. “The first Minsk accord(signed in September) prepared the ground for a frozenconflict, but the second has handed exactly the sort ofleverage to Russia that it has been seeking.”

She points to clauses that say Ukraine will only regaincontrol of its border by the end of the year, and only afterconstitutional reforms that will leave Russia with a power-ful say over affairs in the east. The other problem iswhether Kiev-with its economy in freefall and its politiciansat each other’s throats-is ready for the difficult politicalnegotiations to come. “It’s more and more clear that theWest isn’t able to mobilize the money that Ukraine needs,and that the government in Kiev can’t pull its act together,”said Jarabik. “This needs to be the focus now. If there’s nopolitical progress, then there will be a return to fighting.”

And then there’s the wider geopolitical problem ofwhether Russia and the West can ever patch up their differ-ences after a year in which relations have dive-bombed.The problem, said Liik, is a basic difference in how theyview the world: the West sees a rules-based system, Russiasees great powers defending their spheres of interest.“What the West wants is a profound change in Russia’sbehavior, and that will not be easy, particularly since theWest’s track record has been chaotic and unimpressive,”she said. — AFP

West looks impotent as Ukraine ceasefire frays

Pro-Russian rebels continue assault on key transport hub

ALEPPO: Syrian Civil Defense workers help free an 80-year-old woman from under the rubble of her home, whereshe spent several hours, following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces in the northern city of Aleppoyesterday. — AFP

BEIRUT: Ten children were among at least 48 people killedin a Syrian village this week when regime forces executedsix families of rebel fighters, a monitoring group said yes-terday. Tuesday’s executions took place in the village ofRityan, north of second city Aleppo, after regime forcesentered that day during an offensive aimed at cutting rebelsupply lines to the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatoryfor Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitor said that villagers had discov-ered the bodies when they returned to their homes afterthe regime forces withdrew a day later. Five women and 13rebels from the six families were among the dead. “Thetroops and militiamen knew exactly where they livedthanks to the informers who accompanied them,”Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said. “There wasno resistance except in one house where a rebel openedfire at troops before being executed along with his family,”he added.

Activist Mamun Abu Omar said some of the bodies hadbeen mutilated. The brief seizure of Rityan was part of anabortive army offensive launched this week to try to encir-cle the rebel-held east of Aleppo and relieve two besiegedShiite villages to its north. By Friday all but one of the vil-lages initially taken by government forces had been recap-tured by the rebels, who include fighters of Al-Qaeda affili-

ate Al-Nusra Front. The heavy fighting claimed the lives of129 regime loyalists and 116 rebels, including an Al-Nusracommander, according to an Observatory toll. While theground offensive failed, regime warplanes kept targetingrebel areas of Aleppo city and other parts of the country.

Yesterday, eight people-among them two women andtwo children-were killed when a barrel bomb hit a buildingin an opposition-held area of Aleppo city, once Syria’s com-mercial capital. Five people were also reported killed inrebel shelling of regime-held areas of the city. The air forcealso killed at least seven people in rebel areas east ofDamascus yesterday, the Observatory said. According tothe monitoring group, they were the latest of nearly 6,000people killed across Syria since the UN Security Councilpassed resolution 2139 on February 22 last year.

The Observatory “has documented the killing of 5,812civilians, including 1,733 children, 969 women and 3,110men in barrel bombings and (other) air raids” over the pastyear. The raids have continued despite Resolution 2139,which ordered all sides to end their “indiscriminateemployment of weapons in populated areas, includingshelling and aerial bombardment, such as the use of barrelbombs”. Syria’s conflict began as a peaceful pro-democracyrevolt but morphed into a civil war that has killed morethan 210,000 people since March 2011. — AFP

Syria forces execute

10 children of rebels

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

SIRTE: An image made available by propaganda Islamist media outlet Welayat Tarablos shows members of the Islamic State (IS) militant groupparading in a street in Libya’s coastal city of Sirte, which lies 500 kilometers east of the capital, Tripoli. — AFP

MADRID: Jihadists in Libya pose a “direct threat”to Europe, French Prime Minister Manuel Vallssaid in Madrid yesterday. “I would like to cite thequestion of Libya and the direct threat to oursecurity of the creation-under our eyes and notfar from our borders-of a new haven for the jiha-di terrorist,” Valls told a gathering of socialdemocrats, according to a transcript of hisspeech. Valls’ comments come amid growingconcern that the Islamic State group, which hasalready seized swathes of Iraq and Syria, has alsoestablished a foothold in Libya. The lawlessNorth African country has become fertile groundfor jihadists following the ouster of dictatorMuammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Analysts have warned that IS is expected togain more strength in Libya, and said the inter-national community was running out time tocombat its spread there. “The threat of IslamicState in Libya is set to increase exponentially,”analyst Mohamed El-Jareh, from the AtlanticCouncil’s Hariri Centre for the Middle East, saidon Friday. Since Gaddafi was killed, Libya’s belea-guered authorities have been struggling to reinin powerful armed militias who are battling for

power and the country’s oil wealth. Recentattacks in Libya claimed by IS have boosted con-cern that some militias have in fact pledged alle-giance to the Sunni Muslim extremists.

Islamic State kill dozens Meanwhile, Islamic State militants unleashed

suicide bombings Friday in eastern Libya, killingat least 40 people in what the group said wasretaliation for Egyptian airstrikes against theextremists’ aggressive new branch in NorthAfrica. The bombings in the town of Qubba,which is controlled by Libya’s internationally rec-ognized government, solidified concerns theextremist group has spread beyond the battle-fields of Iraq and Syria and established a footholdless than 500 miles from the southern tip of Italy.

The militants have taken over at least twoLibyan coastal cities on the Mediterranean - Sirteand Darna, which is about 30 kilometers fromQubba. They released a video Sunday that showedthe beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians who wereabducted in Sirte, and Egypt responded Mondaywith airstrikes on Darna. The Islamic State grouphas established its presence in Libya by exploiting

the country’s breakdown since dictator MuammarGaddafi was ousted and killed in 2011.

Hundreds of militias have taken power sincethen, and some of them have militant ideolo-gies. A militia coalition known as Libya Dawn hastaken over Tripoli, where Islamists set up theirown parliament and government. Islamicextremist militias controlled the second-largestcity of Benghazi until late last year, when armytroops began battling them for control. TheIslamic State group claimed responsibility forFriday’s suicide bombings in Qubba, but saidthere were only two attacks, while the govern-ment said there were three.

Army spokesman Mohammed Hegazi saidone attacker rammed an explosives-packedambulance into a gas station where motoristswere lined up. “Imagine a car packed with a largeamount of explosives striking a gas station; theexplosion was huge and many of the injured arein very bad shape while the victims’ bodies weretorn into pieces,” Hegazi said. Two otherbombers detonated vehicles next to the houseof the parliament speaker and the nearby securi-ty headquarters, he said.—Agencies

Jihadists in Libya pose a

‘direct threat’ to EuropeLibya - new haven for Islamists

Alwach becomes

Baghdad’s first

female mayor BAGHDAD: A woman has been named asmayor of Baghdad for the first time, a gov-ernment spokesman said yesterday, amidwidespread corruption and rampant vio-lence. Zekra Alwach, a civil engineer anddirector general of the ministry of highereducation, becomes the first female to begiven such a post in the whole country,where international rights groups havecondemned women’s rights abuses.

As mayor-the most important adminis-trative position in the capital-Alwach willdeal directly with Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and holds has the prerogatives of acabinet minister. She will begin work today,according to a municipal source. “Abadisacked the (former) mayor Naim Aboub andnamed Dr Zekra Alwach to replace him,”government spokesman Rafed Juburi said.Aboub’s removal was not designed as a pun-ishment, although he was regularly accused

on social media and by Baghdad residentsas incompetent, the spokesman added.

He made headlines in March 2014 whenhe described his city, beset by brutal sec-tarian violence and rife with corruption, as“more beautiful than New York and Dubai”.“Aboub is a clown. Abadi should havesacked him from the start,” said YasserSaffar, a Baghdad baker. “All his statementswere ridiculous.” Alwach’s appointment is abreakthrough for gender equality in Iraq,where rights groups say discrimination andviolence against women is widespread.According to a UN report last year, at least aquarter of Iraqi women aged over 12 areilliterate and just 14 percent enter theworld of work. Baghdad is currentlyplagued by car bombings and sectariankillings, and militants from the Islamic Stategroup have seized much of Anbar provinceto the west, menacing the capital.— AFP

Mogadishu hotel suicide

bombers were Dutch citizens

MOGADISHU: Twin suicide bombings at aMogadishu hotel popular with ministersand officials were carried out by Dutchnationals, Somali intelligence sources saidyesterday, the day after 25 people werekilled. Somali intelligence believe both sui-cide bombers-a man and a woman-wereDutch-Somali citizens who infiltrated theCentral Hotel close to the presidentialpalace ahead of the attack.

Sources within the Somali NationalIntelligence and Security Agency (NISA)said the man, identified as Ismail Muse,exploded a bomb in a car parked at thehotel while the woman, Lula Ahmed Dahir,detonated her explosive vest inside thehotel’s prayer room. The woman “workedpart time in the hotel for up to fourmonths,” according to an intelligencereport seen by AFP. “Her relationship to themale attacker.. . is not yet known butthought to be very close, if not husband,”said the report.

The attack left 25 people dead includingtwo MPs, the deputy mayor of Mogadishu,the Prime Minister’s private secretary andthe deputy PM’s chief of staff. Deputy PM

Mohamed Arte, the minister of transportand minister of port and marine resourceswere among dozens of injured. Heavy gun-fire followed the two explosions as nervoussecurity forces searched the hotel com-pound. “The building was badly hit, theexplosion was very big,” said police officerAbulrahman Ali. Thick clouds of blacksmoke were seen pouring from the hotel asthe injured were rushed to hospital.

Shebab militants quickly claimedresponsibility for the attack. “Our fightersattacked the Central Hotel,” Shebabspokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab said, say-ing that the aim had been “to kill the apos-tate officials.” Shebab rebels have staged astring of assaults in their fight to overthrowthe country’s internationally-backed gov-ernment. They have targeted hotels, theinternational airport, the presidentialpalace known as Villa Somalia, a UN com-pound and restaurants. The last most dead-ly attack targeting government was inDecember 2009 when Shebab gunmenwent room-to-room in the Shamo Hotelkilling 25 people, including three minis-ters.—AFP

MOGADISHU: Somali rescuers carry away a severely injured civilian from the scene ofa twin bombing attack on a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia. The victim laterdied. — AP

Obama urged to assist US

allies fighting Islamic State

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama addresses the General Session of the2015 Democratic National Committee (DNC) Winter Meeting in Washington, DC onFebruary 20, 2015. —AFP

WASHINGTON: A senior Republican lawmak-er has told President Barack Obama she wasprepared to block foreign aid money if theadministration did not provide fighter jetsand tanks to Egypt and arms to other regionalallies fighting Islamic State militants. In a let-ter to Obama, Kay Granger, chairwoman ofthe House of Representatives State andForeign Operations Appropriations subcom-mittee, said Egypt needs F-16 aircraft, M1A1Abrams tanks and other weapons that havebeen held up since 2013. Granger has thepower to place holds on foreign aid, includinggeneral assistance and weapons shipments.

Granger urged the administration to giveIraqi Kurds tools and training to fight IslamicState and to make providing weapons toJordan a priority, according to the letter, seenby Reuters on Friday. Dated Thursday, the let-ter criticized the administration as Congress isabout to consider Obama’s request for formalauthority for a military campaign againstIslamic State. Republicans, who took controlof the US Congress in January, have pressedfor more robust American military involve-ment in fighting the militants, who have

killed thousands of civilians while seizing ter-ritory in Iraq and Syria.

“As Egypt, Jordan, and the Kurds retaliateand defend themselves against ISIL’s heinousacts, US security assistance is being held ordelayed by bureaucratic processes and ill-advised policy decisions by your administra-tion,” Granger wrote, using an acronym forIslamic State. White House spokesman JoshEarnest said he had not seen Granger’s com-ments, but welcomed her interest in theissue. He said the administration has beenfocused on maintaining a strong security rela-tionship with its allies and partners in theMiddle East “for quite some time.”

Granger said she was calling on the WhiteHouse to “immediately release” remainingweapons and funds to Egypt, provide Jordanwith weapons it had requested and ensurethe Kurdish Peshmerga have equipment theyneed. “I am prepared to do everything withinmy power to make sure this occurs, includingplacing holds on Congressional Notifications(spending plans) and drafting legislation tohold your Administration accountable,”Granger wrote.— Reuters

WASHINGTON: With the militaryoperation to retake Iraq’s secondlargest city from Islamic State mili-tants just a few months away,questions persist about whetherthe struggling Iraqi military will beready for the fight. Iraqi officialscontinue to insist they haven’t got-ten the advanced weapons theyneed for the operation in thenorthern city of Mosul, and somequestion whether they will beready for a spring offensive. Butthe Pentagon insists the US hassent tens of thousands of weaponsand ammunition and more is in thepipeline.

Hakim Al-Zamili, the head of thesecurity and defense committee inthe Iraqi parliament, told TheAssociated Press Friday that “anyoperation would be fruitless”unless the brigades are properlyprepared and have the weaponsthey need. “I think if theseweapons are not made availablesoon, the military assault mightwait beyond spring,” he said. “TheAmericans might have their owncalculations and estimations, butwe as Iraqis have our own opinion.We are fighting and moving on theground, so we have better visionand April might be too soon.”

A US Central Command officialprovided some details of the battleplan Thursday, saying the coordi-nated military mission to retakeMosul will likely begin in April orMay and will involve up to 25,000Iraqi troops. They have cautioned,however, that if the Iraqis aren’tready, the timing could be delayed.The core of the fighting force willbe five of Iraq’s most accomplishedbrigades, who will go throughadditional US training before theoperation.

But Al-Zamili said that whileseveral of Iraq’s units have gonethrough training recently, “thesewell-trained brigades cannot getinvolved in battles without beingequipped with advanced andeffective weapons that wouldenable them to penetrate enemylines.” His comment reflects a com-mon complaint from the Iraqi gov-ernment, both in recent monthsand throughout much of the Iraqwar. The US, however, has sent tens

of thousands of weapons, ammu-nition, body armor and otherequipment to the country.

According to a senior defenseofficial, the US sent nearly 1,600Hellfire missiles to Iraq last year, andhas already delivered 232 more.About 10,000 M-16 assault rifles aredue to arrive in the next few weeks,along with 23,000 ammunitionmagazines. The US also has deliv-ered thousands of rockets, mortarrounds, tank rounds, .50-caliberrounds and 10,000 M-68 combatoptical sights, a rifle scope com-monly used by the US military.

About 250 mine -resistant,armor-protected vehicles will bedelivered in a few weeks, alongwith sophisticated radio systemsfor the MRAPs and more ammuni-tion rounds, said the official, whowas not authorized to discuss thematter publicly and spoke on con-dition of anonymity.

The public discussion of theoperation, including how many

Iraqi brigades would be involvedand how Kurdish Peshmerga mili-tary would be used, triggeredquestions about whether it provid-ed any key information to the ene-my. The Pentagon doesn’t oftendisclose as much about an opera-tion before it takes place, but insome cases it can be a strategictactic intended to affect the ene-my, trigger a reaction or evenprompt some militants to fleebefore the assault begins. Militaryofficials also said none of the infor-mation released by US CentralCommand could be put to anyoperational use by the IslamicState militants.

The operation itself comes as nosurprise to the Islamic State group.Iraqi leaders have for monthsmade it publicly clear that theywere planning an operation toretake Mosul and that they wereeager to get started. In addition,US officials had already acknowl-edged they were beginning prepa-

rations for the Mosul mission,including using airstrikes to shutdown supply lines the insurgentswere using to get equipment orpeople in and out of the city.

Discussion about the operationalso could give a public boost tothe Iraqi forces, underscoring howcommitted they are to the mission.And it appeared to at least tem-porarily stifle what had been per-sistent criticism of the Iraq situa-tion, including suggestions thatthe Islamic State had been gainingground and momentum. IslamicState militants overtook Mosul lastJune, as the group marched acrosslarge sections of Iraq and Syria,sending Iraqi forces fleeing. Themilitary, plagued by corruption,low morale and insufficient train-ing and equipment, has made littleprogress in regaining its footingsince. At this point, officials esti-mate there are between 1,000 to2,000 Islamic State insurgents inMosul.—AP

Iraqis worry they won’t be

ready for Mosul operation

MOSUL: A Danish trainer tells an Iraqi army trainee (2nd from left) to correct his weapon’s position duringsimulated room clearing exercises, as part of multinational efforts in helping combat the Islamic State mili-tant group in Iraq. — AP

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I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

PASCO: A Hispanic immigrant rightsgroup said yesterday that cultural andlinguistic differences may have inflamedtensions between police and a Mexicanfarm laborer shot dead in Washingtonstate last week in a killing that raisedquestions about use of force. AntonioZambrano-Montes, 35, an out-of-workorchard worker from Mexico’sMichoacan state, was shot and killed inthe city of Pasco in Washington’s agricul-tural heartland after he pelted policewith rocks and then fled, in a confronta-tion captured on video.

His death sparked protests bydemonstrators who accused police inPasco of overly aggressive tactics indealing with the Hispanic communityand who likened the shooting to twohigh-profile police killings of unarmedblack men in Ferguson, Missouri, and inNew York City. “He suffered from mentalillness,” Felix Vargas, chairman of ConsejoLatino, said of Zambrano Montes. “Theywere screaming at him in a language hedidn’t understand. It heightened ten-sions.” Vargas said his group planned towork with the American Civil LibertiesUnion and mental health experts todraft guidelines helping police compas-sionately interact with immigrants.

The so-called “Zambrano protocol”

will provide guidance on de-escalatingconflicts with those who speak little orno English, Vargas said, adding heexpected to present guidelines toauthorities in coming weeks. PascoPolice Chief Bob Metzger said he wasunaware of the guidelines but said thedepartment “is always open to reviewinganything that can assist us. Anythingthat our community wants from us wewill give serious consideration.” Policesaid officers opened fire afterZambrano-Montes ignored commandsto surrender and a stun gun failed tosubdue him.

Invest igators are examiningwhether Zambrano -Montes spokeEnglish well enough to comply withofficers’ orders, and whether the offi-cers involved gave him commands inSpanish, said Kennewick Pol iceSergeant Ken Lattin, a spokesman for aspecial unit investigating the incident.“He clearly committed a felony, boththe malicious mischief to other vehi-cles and then assaulting a police offi-cer,” Lattin said of Zambrano-Montes.“But the totality of what occurred isstill what we are trying to investigate.”None of the three officers involved,one of whom is of Hispanic back-ground, was “certified” through a city

process as a Spanish speaker, he said.

Concern by MexicoThe Mexican government has con-

demned the shooting as a dispropor-tionate use of lethal force. On Friday,Mexico sent its consul in Seattle to meetwith the Franklin County prosecutorwho briefed him on the investigation.Earlier the county coroner ordered aninquest into the slaying. Prosecutors willthen decide whether to pursue charges.The officers involved in the shootinghave been placed on leave. The family ofZambrano-Montes has also asked for anindependent autopsy. “It seemed as if itwas something like a racist act,” PedroFarias, Zambrano-Montes’s 32-year-oldcousin, said. “They would have thoughtabout it a bit more if it had been some-one ‘American.’ Everyone should be seenthe same.”

The killing marked the fourth fatalpolice shooting in six months in a com-munity of 68,000 residents that is morethan half Hispanic but whose policeforce is disproportionately white.Details of the other shootings were notimmediately available. Of 60 Pascopolice sergeants and officers, 15 areHispanic and 43 are white, Metzger said.Twelve police officers speak Spanish.

The city’s lone Hispanic city councilmember, Saul Martinez, did not respondto interview requests. “The city needs tostudy itself psychologically in the case ofthe police,” said Steven Flores Garcia, a32-year-old apple orchard worker.“Because, for me, they’re missing a psy-chological element.” The ACLU did notimmediately respond to request for

comment on the guidelines. Pasco set-tled a 2012 lawsuit for $100,000 broughtby a woman who said her face wasshoved against a patrol car and her armstwisted behind her by two officers, oneof whom, Ryan Flanagan, was involvedin Zambrano-Montes’ death, her lawyersaid, adding: She repeatedly denied aninterpreter and mocked.— Reuters

Linguistic gap may have contributed to US farmworker slaying

LAS VEGAS: People participate in a candlelight vigil for Tammy Meyers. — AP

Road rage? Mistaken identity?

Questions raised in Vegas case

Mystery surrounds horrific fatal shooting

Huckabee’s challenge: Reaching

beyond cultural conservativesWOODSTOCK: Former Arkansas Gov MikeHuckabee travels the country in a busadorned with his smiling face and the coverof his latest book. But the ordained Baptistminister and potential 2016 presidentialcandidate makes it clear that he’s interest-ed in more than best-seller lists. “I thinkeveryone understands where this is head-ed,” Huckabee said after signing books inmetro Atlanta. After all, he joked, he didn’trecently leave his own Fox News Channelshow “because I want to spend Saturdaysat home.”

No, Mike Huckabee wants to spend histime in the Oval Office. The man who wonthe Iowa caucuses and seven other statesin 2008 has reassembled key players fromhis first presidential campaign. They’re

working at his not-for-profit organization,America Takes Action, poised to transitionfrom exploring a run to a formal campaign.He’s spent months courting potentialdonors and mixing speaking engagementsinto his book tour. Huckabee, 59, told TheAssociated Press he expects to decide in

April or May.Along the way, he’s fine-tuned his pitch

for aggressive foreign policy, economicpopulism and social-conservative ortho-doxy, a mix designed to attract Republicanprimary voters as well as independents in ageneral election. But this time, he’s careful-ly ordered those priorities. “Running forpresident for me would not be aboutspeaking on cultural issues,” Huckabee said.“It would be first and foremost aboutnational security, the absolute warningabout Islamic jihadism and how much of athreat that poses to us. The second layerwould be some economic sanity, gettingback to a place where people are workingwith jobs that give them an ability to putbread on the table and build a future.”

Social issues, Huckabee said, would be aclear third. “I can intelligently articulate the‘why’ that I feel strongly about certainthings,” he said, reaffirming his oppositionto abortion rights and same sex marriage.“But I think those issues aren’t the issuesyou are going to put front and center.”That’s an acknowledgment, perhaps, thatHuckabee’s 2008 campaign didn’t reachbroadly enough, ultimately giving way toArizona Sen John McCain despite winningseveral Southern and Midwestern stateswhere social conservatives and evangelicalvoters hold strong sway.

“You just can’t get put into a box likeHuckabee did in 2008,” said Republicanpollster Whit Ayres, whose clients includeanother potential candidate, Florida SenMarco Rubio. Yet Huckabee maintains thatdisparate GOP camps often overlap, and hedismisses the analysis that he was theevangelical-only candidate in 2008. “Ourcrowds, our voters, our volunteers - manyof them were evangelicals, but they werelargely motivated because they thoughtthat I was speaking to their reality, that Iunderstood who they were, and they didn’treally feel like anyone else got that,” he said.At the least, Huckabee’s strategy reflects aneffort to reframe a second candidacy whilemaintaining his obvious strengths.—AP

PASCO: A protest sign is displayed in front of City Hall in Pasco, Wash, the citywhere Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an unarmed man who was running awayfrom police at a crowded intersection, was fatally shot by police. —AP

LAS VEGAS: It initially sounded like horrific fatalroad rage: A Las Vegas mother of four who justfinished giving her 15-year-old daughter a driv-ing lesson followed by a driver they encounteredon their way home, shot to death in front of theirhouse. But a police report released Friday gave amore detailed account of the late Feb 12 inci-dent, and raised new questions about whetherthe slaying of 44-year-old Tammy Meyers wastruly a case of road rage or a neighborhood dis-pute that spiraled out of control.

The suspected gunman turned out to be a19-year-old neighbor, who lived less than ablock away and attended a nearby high schoolwith two of Tammy Meyers’ sons in 2011-2012.Meyers’ husband, Robert Meyers, said his wifeeven tried to counsel Erich Milton Nowsch Jrafter his father committed suicide five years ago.Nowsch wasn’t driving, and didn’t tell his friendshe was angry about a traffic encounter. He saidhe thought someone was after him, according tothe police report. It wasn’t immediately clearhow authorities came to suspect Nowsch in theshooting, but the police report said he was ques-tioned Tuesday, five days after the shooting andthree days after Tammy Meyers was taken off lifesupport. Nowsch was being held at the time injuvenile custody on unspecified unrelatedcharges. Police said Nowsch told his friends afterthe shooting that he was a passenger in a silverAudi and saw a gun waved at him from a greencar in a middle school parking lot and thoughtthe occupants were after him. Police said Meyershad taken her daughter, Kristal, to the schoolparking lot to practice driving the family’s green1993 Buick Park Avenue sedan. After Kristal triedher skills on some nearby residential streets,

Tammy Meyers hopped back into the driver’sseat at about 10:50 p.m. to drive home.

That’s when a silver car sped up behind themand then pulled alongside, according to thepolice report. Kristal told authorities she reachedover to honk the car horn as her mother keptdriving. The silver car cut in front of them, butTammy Meyers turned down another street,according to police. The silver car popped upagain, passing in a bike lane next to the curb andspinning out sideways in front of them, forcingthe Buick to stop, according to the report. KristalMeyers told police later that a 6-foot-tall mangot out and warned: “I’m gonna come back foryou and your daughter.” Nowsch is about 5-foot-3 and 100 pounds.

Kristal said her mother hit the gas, spedaround the silver car, and headed home. Thedaughter told police she thought she spottedthe silver car again before they reached home,where her mother told her to run in and get her22-year-old brother, Brandon. Brandon Meyerstold police he grabbed his Beretta 9mm hand-gun, but told his mother she should call 911. Hesaid he got in the car when she told him to comewith her or she was going alone. Tammy Meyersthen drove to where the silver car had blockedtheir Buick to show her son, then began headingtoward home when they spotted a silver car thatsped off, according to the report.

They followed for several blocks, passing themiddle school again, before the silver carstopped diagonally in the road and BrandonMeyers told police someone on the passengerside starting shooting. Tammy Meyers backedup and sped toward their home, BrandonMeyers told police. As they pulled up, Brandon

Meyers said he saw headlights approachingtheir cul-de-sac. The silver car turned onto theirstreet. As the silver car approached, BrandonMeyers told police a person leaned out the pas-senger window and opened fire. BrandonMeyers fired three shots shot back, police said.The silver car backed out of the cul-de-sac anddisappeared.

Brandon Meyers found his mother lying onthe ground, bleeding from the head, and called911. The police report doesn’t name the driver ofthe silver Audi. But authorities have said they arelooking for another suspect. Two friends saidthat Nowsch came to their apartment about 3:30a.m. and told them that he had been involved ina shooting - unloading several shot at one loca-tion, and 22 shots in a second fusillade, accord-ing to the police report. Police reported findingsix .45-caliber bullet casings at the first shootinglocation, and eight in the cul-de-sac near theMeyers home. They also reported finding three9mm casings in the cul-de-sac.

Nowsch told his friends he thought the peo-ple in the car in the school parking lot were look-ing at him, and said he called a friend with thesilver Audi to come and pick him up, accordingto the report. Nowsch displayed a handgun and.45-caliber ammunition to his friends and said hestarted shooting because he thought he saw agun being pointed at him from the green car,according to the report. “Got those kids,” he toldhis friends, according to the report. “They wereafter me, and I got them.” Nowsch remainedjailed Friday pending an initial court appearanceMonday on suspicion of murder, attempted mur-der and firing a gun from a vehicle. It wasn’tclear if he had a lawyer.— AP

Former Arkansas GovernorMike Huckabee

TORRANCE: It’s still unclear what caused anexplosion at an oil refinery outside Los Angeles,and there’s no timetable for when gas produc-tion will resume, the refinery manager saidFriday. The Exxon Mobil refinery is currently notprocessing gasoline since Wednesday’s blast,“but we have stocks of gasoline in the refinerythat we are supplying,” manager Brian Ablettsaid. Ablett, who made his remarks to reportersbefore a town hall meeting for concerned resi-dents, declined to say how much refined gaswas available as backup and whether the refin-ery was releasing the supplies into the market-place. The refinery in Torrance produces about8 percent of California’s gas. Officials have notfully assessed the damage to determine whenoperations will resume.

A section of the refinery critical to the pro-duction of California-grade gasoline was dam-aged in the blast. State safety inspectorsordered the area - called the fluid catalyticcracker unit - shut down until the refinery canprove it’s once more safe, according to theCalifornia Division of Occupational Safety andHealth, or Cal-OHSA. The area where the acci-dent occurred had been shut down sinceMonday - two days before the explosion -because of a problem with another piece of

machinery called the flue gas expander. Asrefinery officials were trying to figure out howto repair that problem, another nearby piece ofmachinery - a 12-story metal tower called anelectrostatic precipitator - exploded, causing“extensive damage,” Ablett said.

“It’s too early to say what happened,” hesaid. “We’re not ruling anything out, and we’renot ruling anything in. We will get to the bot-tom of this. We need to get to the bottom ofthis, and we will.” Four contractors sufferedminor injuries as they fled. The explosion shookthe neighborhood and rained white ash onnearby lawns. The refinery has received 200 to300 calls from community members who had afine white particulate fall on their lawns housesand cars, Ablett said.

ExxonMobil said the ash was not toxic, but itcould cause skin irritation on contact. The com-pany anticipates payouts for cleaning its neigh-bors’ property, but it did not have a dollar fig-ure. Carol Posner, 60, has lived in a housedirectly across from the refinery for 20 years.She said she was just getting out of the showerwhen the blast shook her house. She ran to thewindow and saw a plume of smoke rising intothe air and later saw large flares burning offemissions. — AP

Cause of US refinery

blast ‘still unclear’

TORRANCE: A vehicle is covered in ash after an explosion in a processing facility atthe ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, Calif. — AP

Student spills mercury at rural Nevada school RENO: Environmental cleanup crews plannedto continue work through the weekend at arural northern Nevada school after a studentwho brought mercury to his junior high spilledthe hazardous substance in hallways and on abus carrying children to three other schools.No one was injured, but at least four childrenhad direct contact with the mercury and hadto be decontaminated Thursday atWinnemucca Junior High, about 170 miles eastof Reno, the Nevada Division of EmergencyManagement said. Emergency crews evacuat-ed the school and decontaminated the feetand shoes of 400 more students. About adozen students were taken to the hospital for

observation, but no illnesses were reported.“Everybody is fine,” said Pat Songer, chief of

emergency medical services at HumboldtGeneral Hospital in Winnemucca. He told TheAssociated Press on Friday that all 14 peoplethey examined there had been released.Mercury exposure can lead to cough, vomitingand diarrhea and, in serious instances, kidneyproblems. A student apparently got the mercu-ry from a relative’s garage and brought it in asalt shaker to show his friends, HumboldtCounty Schools Superintendent David Jensensaid. In addition to the junior high, the districtclosed Lowry High School, French Ford MiddleSchool and Winnemucca Grammar School

because the school bus involved also was trans-porting students to those schools, Jensen said.

The evacuation was ordered at WinnemuccaJunior High shortly after 11 am Thursday afterauthorities determined students who appar-ently stepped in the mercury spilled in hall-ways spread it throughout the building.Officials for the US Environmental ProtectionAgency were assisting in a review of the inci-dent, Jensen said. School officials said on thedistrict website late Friday that they expectedthe high school to resume classes on Monday,but they wouldn’t know until Sunday whetherany of the other schools would remainclosed.—AP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

KANO: A “ghost town” of burnt-outhomes and looted properties greetedresidents returning to Gamboru innortheast Nigeria for the first time sinceChadian forces retook it from BokoHaram. Scores of people crossed the300-metre bridge that forms the borderwith Cameroon under military escort onFriday to survey the ravaged town. BokoHaram seized Gamboru, in the violence-wracked Borno state, in August last year,forcing thousands to flee across thefrontier to the town of Fotokol, on theother bank of the river in northernCameroon.

Chadian forces, who have joined theregional fight to crush the Islamist insur-gency, retook Gamboru earlier thismonth, after intense fighting that lefthundreds of insurgents dead. “We met aghost town strewn with burnt vehicles,destroyed buildings and emptiedhomes,” Kachalla Moduye said by tele-phone from Fotokol after a two-hourtour of the town. “Many homes wereburnt in the Boko Haram invasion and inthe fighting to reclaim it by Chadian sol-diers. Those that were spared were loot-ed by Boko Haram in the five monthsthey stayed in the town.”

Gamboru has been repeatedly target-ed in the bitter conflict, which has leftmore than 13,000 people dead since2009 and made more than one millionhomeless. It was the first town recap-tured in the regional fight-back by

troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad andCameroon, which was launched becauseof dawning fears of Boko Haram’s threatto regional security. Gamboru residentswho hoped to salvage personal effects

were disappointed as they found theirhomes empty. “There was nothing in myhouse save the three wooden beds andmy old cushion chairs. Every other itemwas stolen,” Fanna Bukar, a mother-of-three, said.

“Even my sewing machine, which I somuch looked forward to salvaging, wasgone.” But even though their posses-sions were gone, locals said the tour wasreassuring. “Seeing is believing. We are

now convinced our town has been liber-ated and we hope to come back andrebuild our lives once Boko Haram isfinally wiped out,” Moduye said. “I’msure we will return soon to start a newlife,” Bukar added.

‘Seeing is believing’ Boko Haram fighters meanwhile pre-

vented hundreds of residents from leav-ing a dozen villages in the nearby Martedistrict due west from Gamboru, as

Chad conducted sweeping aerial andground attacks. The villages affectedwere Kwalaram, Bukar-Mairam,Abbaganaram, Sidir, Kirta, Jibillaram,Zannari, Kutukungulla, Baranga,Kitikime, Krenuwa and Jillam. “They will

not allow everyone to leave and threat-en to kill anyone that attempts to flee,”Maji Zaram, who escaped from Kitikimeto Fotokol, said. Zaram said he pretend-ed he was going into the bush to gatherfirewood but escaped and threw awayhis axe. “They (Boko Haram) said wemust stay with them in good and in badtimes,” he added. “They said we can’tleave them after partaking in all thebooty they brought to us.”

Chadian troops this week pusheddeep inside Nigerian territory for thefirst time, bombarding Dikwa, 50 kilo-meters from Gamboru to the southwest,near Boko Haram’s Sambisa Foreststronghold. Nigeria’s military also saidthey attacked Sambisa Forest andGwoza, where the group’s leader,Abubakar Shekau, first proclaimed theexistence of an Islamic state insideNigeria last year. Maji Ariye, a Nigerianrefugee in Fotokol, said the villagerswere “reaping what they sow”, as manyhad decided to stay voluntarily whenBoko Haram moved in. They said theywould rather live under Boko Harambecause the militants were bringing infree food and other consumables fromraids elsewhere, he claimed. “Now thatthe table has turned against their bene-factors they want to leave,” he said. “Iwarned several people to leave becausewhen soldiers deployed there would beno hiding place for them but theyrefused to listen.”— AFP

Residents return to ‘ghost town’ seized from Boko Haram

FOTOKOL: Photo shows the blocked El Beid bridge after clashes between Cameroonian troops and Nigeria-based BokoHaram insurgents in the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol. —AFP

SNIZHNE: Unmarked military vehicles parked on a road outside the separatist rebel-held eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne, 80 kilometers fromDonetsk, eastern Ukraine. — AP

KIEV: Pro-Russian separatists are building up forcesand weapons in Ukraine’s south east and theUkrainian military said yesterday it was braced forthe possibility of a rebel attack on the port city ofMariupol. The Kiev military accused Russia onFriday of sending more tanks and troops towardsthe rebel-held town of Novoazovsk, further eastalong the Sea of Azov coast from Mariupol,expanding their presence on what it fears could bethe next battlefront.

A rebel attack on Mariupol, a city of half a mil-lion people and potentially a gateway to Crimea,which Russia annexed last March, would almostcertainly kill off a European-brokered ceasefire. Theceasefire, which came into force last Sunday, hasalready been badly shaken by the rebel capture onWednesday of Debaltseve, a railway junction ineastern Ukraine, forcing a retreat by thousands ofUkrainian troops in which at least 20 Ukrainian sol-diers were killed.

Mariupol is the biggest city still under govern-ment control in the two rebellious easternprovinces. Novoazovsk, where Kiev said Russia wasreinforcing, lies 40 km to the east along the coastnear the Russian border. Military spokesman AndriyLysenko did not refer specifically to the movementof Russian tanks and troops but said the sepa-ratists, who Kiev says are supported by Russianweapons and fighters, were conducting sabotageand intelligence operations round the clock to testgovernment defenses.

“The adversary is carrying out a build-up of mili-

tary equipment, weapons and fighters in theMariupol area with the aim of a possible offensiveon it,” Lysenko told journalists. “They are sendingout small sabotage groups out almost every night.We can see the activities of the enemy aroundNovoazovsk where military hardware, fighters andammunition are being amassed,” he said. OneUkrainian soldier had been killed and 40 othershad been wounded in attacks in eastern Ukraine bythe separatists in the past 24 hours, he said.

Rebel base A Reuters media team in Sakhanka, half-way

between Mariupol and Novoazovsk, were told byrebels that one of the local roads had been closed“because of fighting” though no shooting orshelling could be heard. Some rebels had formed abase in a complex of houses in Bezimenne furtherup the coast and there were dozens of well-armedfighters milling around, some of whom looked likeRussian military special forces wearing Russianarmy patches and insignia on their uniforms. Therewere no signs of a new influx of tanks and troops inthe region as mentioned by Kiev on Friday. A cou-ple of military trucks could be seen on the roadfrom Novoazovsk to Mariupol and an armored per-sonnel carrier was parked in a forest near Shyrokinealso on the coastal road.

In Bezimenne, one rebel fighter who gave hisnom de guerre as Boxer denied the Kiev reports ofmore Russian tanks and fighters being sent to thearea. “It’s all a lie. The only people fighting here are

miners, tractor drivers and farm workers,” he said.He said rebel fighters were observing the Minskceasefire agreement worked out by Ukraine, Russia,Germany and France in the Belarusian capital andhad pulled back heavy artillery from the Mariupolarea. The United States, which is considering tight-ening sanctions against Russia and arming Kiev,also says it has sighted Russian reinforcements inthe south east.

The State Department said Russian support forthe rebels was undermining international diploma-cy and would bring costs on Moscow. Westernnations have held out hope they can revive theMinsk peace deal, even though the rebels ignoredit by seizing Debaltseve in one of the worst defeatsfor Kiev in the 10-month-old war. The heightenedtension in Ukraine’s south east came on the firstanniversary of the overthrow of the Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich, which triggered Russia’sannexation of Crimea and the outbreak of pro-Russia rebellions. More than 5,000 people havebeen killed in the ensuing conflict. More than 100people were shot dead in Kiev in protests beforeYanukovich fled for Russia, exactly a year ago.While Poroshenko used the solemn occasion onFriday night to re-affirm Ukraine’s commitment toa future in Europe, pro-Kremlin organizationsstaged a rally in Moscow to condemn Yanukovich’sousting. Organizers said around 20,000 took to thestreets in a march to show their support for therebels in eastern Ukraine and condemnYanukovich’s ousting as illegal.—Reuters

Separatists building up arms,

forces in south east Ukraine

Kiev fears rebels may seek to open new front

MOSCOW: Ousted Ukrainian President ViktorYanukovich, who fled to Russia a year agoafter being toppled by months of streetprotests, said he was ready to return toUkraine if the opportunity arose. The pro-Russian leader was overthrown by the“Maidan” uprising in Kiev against his decisionto back away from a deal that would have tak-en the country towards integration withEurope and instead tighten economic tieswith Russia, Ukraine’s old Soviet master. Justweeks after his departure, Moscow annexedthe Crimea peninsula, a base for Russia’s BlackSea fleet, and pro-Russian separatists seizedkey buildings in the east of the country lead-ing to a conflict in which more than 5,000people have been killed.

Interpol has put Yanukovich on the inter-national wanted list at the behest of Kievauthorities on charges of embezzlement andfinancial wrongdoing. But Russia is likely toturn down any request to extradite him,Interfax news agency said last month, citing asource familiar with the situation. Yanukovich,who has denied any involvement in corrup-tion, said in a TV interview aired yesterday heregretted that he could not return to his coun-try. “God has left me alive, so it looks like I’mneeded for something ... As soon as there is apossibility for me to return, I will return andwill do everything I can to make life better inUkraine. And today, the main task is to stopthe war,” he told Russian First channel.

ShootingsYanukovich fled from Kiev by helicopter

after three days of shootings in which morethan 100 civilians were killed. He later said hehad fled because he feared for his life. He isstill a hate figure in the capital and parts ofcentral and western Ukraine where he is heldresponsible for the shootings. If he did sud-denly return, it seems likely he would bearrested and put on trial.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said

on Friday that phone records showed therewas evidence of regular conversationsbetween Yanukovich and Russia’s securityservices which revealed a “clear Russian link”to the shootings. “They prepared for theshooting together in advance,” Poroshenkowas quoted as saying by Interfax, adding thata top aide of Russian President Vladimir Putinhad directed “foreign sniper groups”. Russiasaid that suggestions a Kremlin aide wasbehind some of the sniper killings was “non-sense”. A peace deal was brokered byGermany and France this month in a bid toend the conflict in eastern Ukraine, but aceasefire that came into force a week ago hasalready been breached.

Meanwhile, thousands of pro-Kremlinactivists took to the streets of central Moscowyesterday vowing to prevent a Ukraine-styleuprising in Russia. The rally by the Anti-Maidanmovement marked one year since scores ofdemonstrators were gunned down in Ukraine’spro-Western uprising that came to be knownas the Maidan protests. “Ukraine’s example hastaught us a lot, and we won’t allow a Maidan inour country!” organizers said ahead of the rallyin support of President Vladimir Putin.“Putinism forever,” said a hand-made bannerheld by an elderly woman, while a column ofCossacks brandished a placard reading “TheMaidan is a disease. We will treat it.”

After the Kiev uprising ousted Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych lastFebruary, Russia annexed Crimea fromUkraine and has since backed a separatistinsurgency in the east of the country. Moscowpolice said some 35,000 turned up for yester-day’s event. The marchers, some dressed infatigues, waved Russian flags and many sport-ed the black and orange St George ribbon, asymbol of victory over Nazi Germany thatUkrainian separatists have adopted as theirbadge of honor. “Yankee go home and takethe Maidan with you,” read a massive bannercarried by several people.— Agencies

A year after fleeing Ukraine,

Yanukovich speaks of return

Denmark shooting spree highlights

links between gangs and radicals

COPENHAGEN: The shooting spree inCopenhagen by a radicalized former gangmember has highlighted an overlap betweenIslamic extremists and the criminal under-world. Danish police say gang members withMuslim backgrounds are being radicalizedboth in prison and outside, and some havejoined the ranks of foreign fighters in Syria.“We know that some of the fundamentalistgroups are fishing in that pond,” said MichaelAsk, head of Denmark’s National Center ofInvestigation.

“Because they know that they have someyoung people who are vulnerable and root-less, who lack a sense of belonging, a com-munity.” Born in Denmark to Palestinian par-ents, Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein had along history of violence and crime before hewent on a rampage last weekend, killing twopeople and wounding five in attacks on afree-speech event and a synagogue.

The 22-year-old, who was killed in ashootout with police, had been member of“Brothas,” an inner-city immigrant gang inCopenhagen, but was reportedly kicked out

because of his temper. “He got into fightswith members of other gangs. So when theywanted to make peace agreements with oth-er gangs, they threw him out,” said Aydin Soei,a social worker who’s been researchingDenmark’s gang scene and who met El-Hussein in 2011. Where and when El-Husseinwas radicalized remains unclear. Prisonauthorities alerted the Danish domestic intel-ligence service, PET, last year while he wasserving time for a stabbing, but the latter saidthere was no reason to believe he was plot-ting an attack.

Already before the shootings, Danishauthorities were concerned about gangmembers crossing over to Islamic extremism.In July last year, police informed lawmakersthat among the scores of people who haveleft Denmark to become foreign fighters inSyria were at least five known gang members,and several others with a “peripheral relation”to street gangs. “Some of them use it as anexit strategy,” said Magnus Ranstorp, a terror-ism expert at the Swedish National DefenseCollege. —AP

COPENHAGEN: The car containing the body of Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, theman accused of the two shootings which led to two civilians dead last weekend inCopenhagen, is escorted from the Islamic Society’s building in Copenhagen to aMuslim burial ground in Brondby, west of Copenhagen.— AP

Refugees in Niger live under

the shadow of Boko HaramZINDER: Aboubacar, usually a worker for a non-governmental organization, has now taken onanother, more ominous role: watching out for sui-cide bombers. “We watch everyone,” he said inNiger ’s second-largest city of Zinder. “LastThursday, a man in a turban whom we had neverseen before came to the mosque. We asked him toleave.” His fears reflect the shifting threat of Islamistextremist group Boko Haram, which has in recentweeks carried out attacks across the border from itsbase in northeastern Nigeria as regional forces pur-sue them. In the southern city of Zinder, the hot,dusty streets have seen a trail of refugees fromNiger’s Diffa, about 400 kilometers to the east.Since February 6, Boko Haram has launched fivebloody attacks in Diffa border territory. Zinder hasso far been spared, but residents and local officialsfear the violence could further spread.

The attacks have come as Niger moved todeploy troops to join a burgeoning regional cam-paign against the jihadists, who have taken controlof swathes of northeastern Nigeria at a cost ofmore than 13,000 lives since 2009. While theregional response has led to the beginnings of afight back, it has also introduced new risks. Arecent air strike killed at least 36 mourners andwounded 27 others at a funeral in Abadan villagestraddling the border with Nigeria. Some blamedthe attack on Niger’s own military, which declaredthat the aircraft’s “origins remain undetermined”. Alocal elected leader said that the Nigerian armywas suspected, but Nigeria’s air force denied allresponsibility.

North of the Nigerian frontier, Zinder is on highalert. At a main entrance to the town of some350,000 inhabitants, teams of police officers take

turns all day long to inspect vehicles under a blaz-ing sun. Cars, lorries, buses laden with luggagepiled on top, minibuses and motorbikes are all sys-tematically searched at a checkpoint marked by asimple rope stretched across the tarred road. Whena boy was hauled roughly out of a minibus, tensionsoared. People shoved each other and shouted,since Boko Haram is known for using youngsters inits attacks. But a nervous policeman said that theyouth had merely been party to a scuffle. The gov-ernor of the Zinder region, Kalla Moutari, says thatrigorous inspections are vital and have alreadyenabled the security forces “to intercept peoplewho infiltrated the displaced population”.

“A few dozen” people suspected of having tieswith Boko Haram have been arrested around thetown, which has for centuries been a major tradinghub on a trans-Saharan route. —AFP

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I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

CARACAS: The United States and LatinAmerican nations voiced concerns Friday overpolitical tensions in Venezuela after the socialistgovernment arrested the opposition mayor ofCaracas in an alleged coup plot. Almost exactlyone year after opposition figure Leopoldo Lopezwas arrested as he led a wave of protests againstPresident Nicolas Maduro, intelligence agentsburst into Mayor Antonio Ledezma’s office lateThursday and hauled him to jail. A third radicalcritic of the government, ousted lawmakerMaria Machado, is under investigation over analleged plan to assassinate Maduro, though sheremains free. Ledezma, 59, will be held in RamoVerde prison, the same jail on the outskirts ofthe capital currently housing Lopez, officials saidin ordering his continued detention.

The attorney general’s office earlier saidLedezma will be booked for his allegedinvolvement in a conspiracy “to organize andcarry out violent acts against the government.”Opposition leader Henrique Capriles called onthe government to produce evidence of thesupposed conspiracy. “Does Maduro think thatputting everyone in prison is going to get him50 popularity points or that he’s going to winelections?” the two-time presidential candidateasked. Maduro, who has accused the opposi-tion of trying to topple him several times sincehis April 2013 election, said late Thursday thatthe mayor was detained over a coup plotfinanced by the United States. Washington dis-

missed the “baseless and false” claims.

Regional worriesThe United States condemned Ledezma’s

arrest, saying the “systematic intimidation” ofopposition figures appears to be a bid by thegovernment to divert attention from the coun-try’s political and economic challenges.“Venezuela’s problems cannot be solved bycriminalizing legitimate, democratic dissent,”State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki saidin a statement.

The top US diplomat for Latin America,Roberta Jacobson, called on Venezuela to freeopposition leaders “as they have been unjustlyimprisoned, and to improve respect for humanrights.” Chile’s socialist administration ofPresident Michelle Bachelet voiced concern overthe “polarization in Venezuela, which could be asignificant obstacle to dialogue between thegovernment and the opposition.” Colombiancenter-right President Juan Manuel Santos said“the latest events worry us” and that he hopedLedezma would have “all the guarantees of dueprocess.”

The UNASUR South American bloc, mean-while, is planning to hold an extraordinarymeeting of foreign ministers on the situation inVenezuela. Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary gener-al of the Organization of American States, saidLedezma’s arrest “has caused alarm” due to theway he was detained. He called on the govern-

ment to “stop those acts that lead to a spiral ofpolarization that envelops Venezuelan society.”But while Insulza said Maduro’s governmentmust clarify the allegations against the mayorand respect due process, he added that “no onecould oppose the holding of trials that theauthorities deem necessary.”

Small protestsLedezma was first elected in 2009, but many

of his powers have been stripped by the centralgovernment over the years. Last week, Ledezmaand other opposition figures signed a newspa-per advertisement calling for a democratic tran-sition in Venezuela. Maduro’s popularity hasplummeted to 20 percent amid a growingshortage of basic goods, massive lines outsidesupermarkets and soaring inflation of almost 70percent in the recession-hit country. “Arrestingopposition leaders can momentarily divertattention from the economic problems, but itwill only get worse,” said Luis Vicente Leon, aleading Venezuelan political analyst. The secre-tary general of the MUD opposition coalition,Jesus Torrealba, said Ledezma’s arrest amountedto a “coup from the state.”

Maduro confirmed the mayor’s arrest twodays after visiting Cuba’s retired leader FidelCastro, a staunch ally since the days of late presi-dent Hugo Chavez. Cuba’s foreign ministry saidit rebuffs “the economic and media war againstthe Bolivarian revolution and energetically

rejects the statements and meddling actions ofthe United States and Organization of AmericanStates.” Ledezma’s arrest led to spontaneous, ifsmall, protests, with people banging pots afterhis arrest Thursday night. On Friday, fewer than

200 people attended a rally called by Machado.Protests in recent weeks have been much small-er than last year. In late January, the defenseminister authorized the use of “deadly force” tokeep public order. —AFP

US, Latin America worry over Venezuela tensions

CARACAS: Miranda State Governor and Opposition leader HenriqueCapriles gestures during a press conference in Caracas. Capriles speaksabout Thursday’s surprise arrest of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma forallegedly being part of what President Nicolas Maduro says is a US-backed plot to overthrow Venezuela’s government. Opponents ofMaduro poured into the streets to condemn the arrest. —AP

ACAPULCO: A soldier stands guard outside Moises Guevara kindergarten inCiudad Renacimiento neighborhood in Acapulco, Mexico, during a securityoperation to protect teachers and students from gangs demanding extor-tion payments. —AFP

KABUL: The Pentagon’s new chief,Ashton Carter, flew to Kabul yesterdayto confer with commanders andAfghan leaders about the future of theAmerican military presence inAfghanistan. Only days after takingthe helm as defense secretary, Carterpaid an unannounced visit to a coun-try where US troops have beendeployed for more than 13 years butare now in a scaled back role. “The rea-son for this destination, Afghanistan,in my very first week in office as thesecretary of defense is because this isstill where we have 10,000 Americantroops. They come first in my mind,always,” Carter told reporters aboardhis plane before landing in the Afghancapital.

Carter said he would meet AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani and other lead-ers as well as top US officers and diplo-mats “so that I can make my ownassessment of that progress and myown assessment of the way forward.”Carter’s visit comes as PresidentBarack Obama faces a decision aboutthe timetable for a troop drawdown inAfghanistan. Under the current plan,the 10,000-strong force is due to dropto roughly 5,000 by the end of 2015and then pull out altogether by thetime Obama leaves office in two years.

But the Obama administration hasalready adjusted the pace of the with-drawal, allowing 1,000 additionalAmerican forces to remain this year.And the US commander on theground, General John Campbell, hassuggested he favors slowing the draw-down further, though the details ofthe possible options before Obamaremain unclear. In testimony beforesenators this month before he wassworn in at the Pentagon, Carter sig-naled he was open to revising thetroop withdrawal schedule if neces-sary.

Afghan leaders and some lawmak-ers have urged Obama to reconsiderthe withdrawal timetable, warningthat an early US exit could jeopardizesecurity and discourage internationalaid. Carter was due to hold talks with

the US commander in Kabul,Campbell, as well as General LloydAustin, head of US Central Commandwhich oversees American forces in theMiddle East and Central Asia, whotravelled to Kabul to take part in thetalks. The Pentagon chief said he hadalready spoken to Campbell and thathe wanted to get a first-hand look atthe mission to shape his sense of “how

to complete the campaign in a suc-cessful way.”

Islamic State presenceAsked about the presence of the

Islamic State group in Afghanistan,Carter played down the threat, sayingsome Taleban insurgents were mak-ing an attempt at “rebranding” them-selves. “The reports I’ve seen still have

them in small numbers and aspira-tional,” he said. Carter, who comes tooffice with years of experience at thePentagon, said he had travelled to thecountry frequently in the past andthat he was “familiar with the territory,familiar with the mission, familiar withmany Afghan leaders.”

His trip coincides with a concertedeffort by Ghani to promote peace

talks between Kabul and the Taleban,with Pakistan voicing strong supportfor the initiative. But Carter declinedto offer an assessment of theprospects for possible negotiations.“President Ghani has made that a pri-ority of his and that’s a priority thatwe support,” he said. “I’ll have a betterchance to assess that after I’ve heardfrom him.”

The United States and a Talebanspokesman this week denied therewere new plans to hold peace talks inQatar, despite claims by some militantleaders. Carter planned to speak totroops outside of Kabul today afterholding talks with Ghani and ChiefExecutive Abdullah Abdullah yester-day. The United States first launchedmilitary action in Afghanistan after the

September 11, 2001 attacks, topplingthe Taleban regime that had refusedto break ties with Al-Qaeda. A US-ledNATO force eventually swelled to130,000 troops, but last year the mis-sion wrapped up its combat opera-tions against Taleban insurgents. Acontingent of 12,500 foreign troopshas remained to back up Afghanistan’s350,000 soldiers and police. —AFP

New Pentagon chief Carter in

Kabul on unannounced visitObama urged to reconsider withdrawal timetable

KABUL: US Defense Secretary Ash Carter (center left) is greeted with a military honor guard ashe arrives to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace in Kabul,Afghanistan yesterday. —AP

ACAPULCO: Fresh white paint covers thesoot from the fire that criminals set in themiddle school principal’s office in a roughAcapulco neighborhood, where gang-linked violence interrupted classes forweeks. Outside, four stone-faced Mexicansoldiers guard the gate, wielding assaultrifles as big as a kindergartner to deter anymore attacks. The army arrived here and inmore than 100 other schools in the Pacificresort’s gang-ridden periphery three weeksago to counter a rash of murders, kidnap-pings and extortion against teachers.

The unprecedented deployment of1,000 troops to schools and surroundingneighborhoods was the only way to con-vince frightened teachers to return to class-rooms, ending a two-month strike over theviolence that had left 31,000 studentshomebound since November. “We neverthought it would get to such an extremepoint, to be working with soldiers,” saidMaria Ines Aparicio, principal of the EscuelaSecundaria 100 middle school. Standingnext to a burned bookshelf as children inwhite shirts and plaid pants and skirts wait-ed for the final bell in the courtyard, shelamented that crime fears caused the par-ents of six children to leave this year.

The teachers were already on strikewhen assailants sneaked into the school inDecember and set her office on fire, incin-erating documents, computers and desks.An ominous note was left with a warning:“Don’t close the school.” Aparicio said shedid not know why her office was attacked.But authorities accuse one of Acapulco’sgangs of setting the fire to scare teachersinto paying them. The criminals also firedbullets at a primary school and set anotherfire at a technical education facility, author-ities say. The National Security Commissionsaid federal forces captured the gang’salleged leader, Ronaldo Mendoza Matilde,earlier this month in Mexicali, near the USborder. Three henchmen were arrested inAcapulco last week.

Unprecedented deployment It has been a tough year for teachers in

Acapulco, with 21 of them murdered andaround 10 kidnapped in 2014, saidAlfredo Miranda, the Guerrero state edu-cation department’s local representative.Miranda said that criminals left messagesat schools demanding that teachers forkover their three-month winter bonus. Theassault on teachers is another black eyefor Acapulco, which has lost its luster ofdecades ago, when it was a playgroundfor Hollywood stars. The city is drawingfewer foreign tourists, while drug gangshave turned it into Mexico’s murder capi-tal. Its home state, Guerrero, has been thescene of violent protests over the disap-pearance, and presumed massacre, of 43college students by a gang in league with

corrupt police. An eight-month strike byAcapulco’s municipal police has added tothe city’s chaos.

Guerrero’s education secretary,Salvador Martinez Della Rocca, said hiringprivate security for schools would havebeen too expensive, so the military wascalled in. “It’s an unprecedented event inthe history of my country for soldiers tobe guarding schools, but there was noother way,” Martinez said. “Organizedcrime was inside the classrooms. They cor-rupt children, sell drugs through them,get information about teachers, makethem do the work of any criminal.”Martinez plans to add protective wallsaround schools, put up surveillance cam-eras and install panic buttons to alertpolice. The troops will remain until thegangs are rooted out, he said. Teachers,parents and students say the militarypresence makes them feel safer, but that itshould have never come to this.

Jesus, a 16-year-old student at theSecundaria 100 middle school, remem-bered the panic in the classroom whenshots were heard outside last year. “Theteacher said, ‘keep calm,’” recalled Jesus, atall kid with earphones dangling from hisshirt’s collar. “The situation is better now,because it used to be critical.” A scienceteacher, Amalio Hernandez Dimas, saidsomeone posing as a parent had come upto him outside a classroom last year andthreatened to abduct him, saying “If youdon’t behave, we’re going to take youaway.” Another teacher’s car was stolen infront of the school. “This is considered ahigh danger zone,” Hernandez said.

Fears remainWhile the military deployment has

reassured parents and teachers, many saythey also need more security in theirneighborhoods. Ramiro Villa Salas, princi-pal at the 79 Technical school along adusty road near the airport, said his facili-ty had closed on November 27 after anadministrative assistant and her three-year-old daughter were kidnapped asthey walked home last year.

They were later freed, but he said theviolence in the area led parents of 25 chil-dren to remove their kids from the school.“We arrive at 7:00 am and leave at 2:10pm. The issue is the commute home.That’s where we feel afraid,” Villa Salassaid. Other teachers and parents are con-cerned that the presence of soldiers couldattract more trouble. “On the one hand wefeel more at peace, but on the other handwe are nervous at times, that somethingwill happen because they are here,” saiddressmaker Hugo Estrada, as his 13-year-old daughter entered the Tecnica 5 mid-dle school, which suffered an arson attacklast year. —AFP

Acapulco violent descent

sends soldiers to schools

BRASILIA: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseffhas refused to accept the credentials of theIndonesian ambassador to demonstrate heranger at last month’s execution of a Braziliancitizen for drug smuggling. “We think it isimportant that there is an evolution in thesituation in order to clarify the state ofIndonesia’s relations with Brazil,” Rousseffsaid as she received the credentials ofambassadors from five other countries.Rousseff said clearance for Indonesia’s repre-sentative would be “held up a little” withBrasilia and Jakarta at loggerheads over theimpending execution of a second Brazilian,Rodrigo Gularte, 42, on death row since 2004for smuggling six kilos of cocaine intoIndonesia in surf boards.

Gularte’s family have tried without suc-cess to obtain clemency for him, saying doc-tors have classed him as paranoid schizo-phrenic, which would normally see himtransferred to a psychiatric facility. Brazilianmedia reported that a diplomat had passeda written request to the head of the prisonasking for such a transfer. Jakarta has twiceturned down appeals for clemency. Gularte’scompatriot Marco Archer was executed byfiring squad last month for drug smugglingdespite a personal appeal from Rousseff formercy.

Archer was executed alongside five oth-ers convicted of drugs offenses, includingfive foreigners, in the first executions carriedout under new President Joko Widodo.

Rousseff warned then that relations withJakarta would suffer as a result. Indonesiaexpressed its “strong protest” at Rousseff’sgesture, recalling its new ambassador inBrazil, Toto Riyanto, the foreign affairs min-istry said. “We deeply regret what Brazil hasdone. This case shows immaturity for a headof state,” the ministry ’s spokesmanArrmanatha Nasir said. The “sudden” refusal,when the new Indonesian ambassador wasalready at the Brazilian presidential palace,was “an act which cannot be accepted byIndonesia”, the ministry said in a pressrelease.

“As a sovereign and democratic countrywhich has a legal system that is independentand impartial, no foreign country or any par-ty can interfere with law enforcement inIndonesia, including in its law enforcement incombating drugs trafficking,” it added. Thedate for Gularte’s execution is unclear. Jakartasaid Friday it was delaying the execution oftwo Australian drug smugglers by up to amonth for “technical reasons”, backtrackingon an earlier pledge to put the pair beforethe firing squad by the end of February.Widodo-an ardent supporter of the deathpenalty-has told reporters that carrying outcapital punishment for drug trafficking is anissue of “judicial sovereignty”. —AFP

Brazil president refuses Indonesia

ambassador credentials in protest

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

HANOI: A gardener transports kumquat trees on the back of his motorcycleto sell in Hanoi. —AFP

HONG KONG: A woman throws her wish onto the branches of a special tree in the remote village of Lam Tsuen of Hong Kong’snew territories. —AFP

WASHINGTON: In a sign of improv-ing relations with the US, Sri Lankahas terminated lobbying contractsworth tens of thousands of dollarsa month that the previous govern-ment had signed to help it winfriends in Washington amid warcrimes allegations, the nation’sambassador says. The investment inlobbyists to foster political and eco-nomic ties had gathered steam lastsummer, in the dying months ofthe administration of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, butwith little apparent benefit, as SriLanka’s international isolationdeepened over its refusal to credi-bly probe civilian deaths during thecivil war that ended 2009. But polit-ical change inside Sri Lanka itselfhas done the trick.

There has been a turnaround inthe US relationship after newPresident Maithripala Sirisena wonJan 8 elections and promised dem-ocratic reforms and accountabilityfor human rights violations. Sirisenawas elected in large part becauseof public dismay over the risingcost of living on the South Asianisland, where the monthly per capi-ta GDP is about $540. Rajapaksawas also widely criticized for nepo-tism and alleged government cor-ruption. Washington-based lobby-ing groups are often hired by for-eign governments to help win theear of US officials, lawmakers,media and other opinion-makers.Justice Department online recordsshow Sri Lanka signed eight con-tracts with such groups from 2014,with monthly fees ranging from$5,000 to $75,000.

“The new government does notsee a reason or requirement to havelobbying groups at this juncture,” SriLankan Ambassador PrasadKariyawasam told The Associated

Press on Friday. “To my knowledge,all those contracts have been termi-nated since the election of the newgovernment.” Vinoda Basnayake ofNelson Mullins Riley andScarborough LLP said soon after theelection, the embassy informed hiscompany that its $35,000 monthlycontract was not being extended.Nelson Mullins was one of severalgroups hired to serve Sajin De VassGunawardena, a lawmaker who hadadvised Rajapaksa on foreign affairs.Basnayake said its fees for the lastquarter had been paid in advance.

But Connie Mack, executivevice-president of Levick StrategicCommunications LLC, said its client,Sri Lanka’s central bank - whosechief has been replaced by the newgovernment - was three months or$180,000 in arrears on payments forthe contract it terminated Jan 28.Mack said he planned to meet withthe Sri Lankan ambassador soon todiscuss the issue. Kariyawasam, acareer diplomat who becameambassador last July, told the AP hedid not know if any payments tolobbyists were outstandingbecause he did not sign any of thecontracts.

The Obama administration iskeen to improve relations with SriLanka, which forged closer ties withChina under Rajapaksa. The islandlies off the coast of southeasternIndia, on sea lanes linking East Asiaand the Middle East. New SriLankan Foreign Minister MangalaSamaraweera visited Washingtonthis month, winning US support fora delay in the publication of a UNinvestigation into the war. Thereport is politically sensitive in SriLanka because it could implicateelements of the nation’s militarythat crushed the resistance of eth-nic Tamil rebels. —AP

New Sri Lanka government

ends US lobbying contractsA sign of improving relations with Washintgon

BODHGAYA: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena (center)and his wife Jayanthi Sirisena (right) arrive for a visit to theMahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya. —AFP

HANOI: At Lunar New Year, mostVietnamese families buy a kumquat tree-asymbol of prosperity-but where once itsfruits were candied and enjoyed as a delica-cy, now they are left uneaten as food safetyscandals batter consumer confidence inlocal produce. While communist Vietnammay not make as many global headlines forsafety lapses as neighboring China, theproblems facing its consumers are similar-and many of the harmful pesticides theyfear most come from over the border.“Every plant is covered in pesticides now.Even the vegetables I buy in the marketeveryday,” retired teacher Mac Thi Hoa said.

Like many Vietnamese who buykumquat trees to welcome the new year,Hoa used to cook the small orange fruitswith sugar to make a sweet treat. Now shehas stopped, fearing for her health. “Thesellers claim they don’t use chemicals onthe tree but I don’t believe it,” the 65-year-old said, adding she now uses the fruit treeonly for decoration. Kumquat growers saythat to make a profit they need to sellunblemished fruit, and they have to makesure their entire orchard ripens just beforeLunar New Year-known as the Tet Festival-to meet huge demand.

This is difficult to achieve without theliberal use of insecticides and fertilizers.“The kumquats won’t look beautiful,” with-out the use of chemicals, farmer NguyenThi Hang said, even though they make thefruit toxic. If you eat the fruits straight offthe tree “it’s not good for your health,” shesaid, adding consumers should wait severalweeks and wash the fruit carefully to tryand remove chemical residue before con-suming. Experts say the fact that even asymbol of prosperity has become a healthrisk, highlights just how widespread theissue of chemical contamination hasbecome in Vietnam.

Chemical overload Already a major exporter of rice, coffee

and seafood, Vietnam is trying to boostfruit and vegetable exports-which were upby 36 percent year-on-year in 2014 to $1.46billion, official figures show. Exported pro-duce is monitored closely for banned pesti-cides. Fruit has previously been hit byexport bans in key markets like Japanprompting improvements. But domestical-ly, consumers have to take their chances atthe markets. The overwhelming majority ofVietnamese still buy their fresh produce intraditional “wet markets”-open-air, informaland often unhygienic.

There are regular food safety scandalswhen produce is found to have exceededthe permitted Maximum Residue Level(MRL) of a pesticide, and state-run media

often reports on banned preservativesbeing found on imported Chinese pro-duce. Last year, Vietnam spent more than$770 million importing pesticides, officialfigures show, and experts say much moreis being smuggled over the border illegallyfrom China. At least a third of Vietnamesefarmers are not using chemical pesticidescorrectly, according to Ministry ofAgriculture research. “Any insecticide canbe dangerous,” farmer Vu Huu Nhung saidwhile spraying chemicals onto his cabbagefields-eschewing a protective mask-inDang Xa commune on the outskir t ofHanoi.

“But I think it’s safe enough if you strict-ly follow the instructions,” he said, sayinghe was unsure what his made-in-Chinaproducts contained. According toProfessor Nguyen Van Tuat, deputy direc-tor of Vietnam’s Agriculture ScienceInstitute, over-use of pesticides is alreadyhaving a “bad impact”-and things are get-ting worse. “Some farmers have increasedthe amount of chemicals they’re using,” hesaid, adding this puts both farmers andconsumers at risk of chemical poisoning.“The chemicals may also eliminate usefulinsects and could be causing various plantepidemics,” he said.

Crisis of trust The widespread and largely unregulat-

ed application of harmful chemicals hasalso created a crisis of trust in Vietnam’sfruit and vegetable industry, Professor Tuatsaid. Consumers “are hesitant-they don’tknow where and how to buy safe products,they’ve lost their trust in (Vietnamese)products’ quality,” he added. They also facethe risk of widespread bacterial contami-nation, in part due to poor hygiene stan-dards throughout the food chain. InDecember, Vietnam’s Association ofStandards and Consumers Protection saidit had found E. coli bacteria on 90 percentof vegetables sampled in Hanoi.

Food safety issues are felt particularlyacutely in Vietnam, where the traditionaldiet includes large amounts of raw or light-ly cooked vegetables and herbs. Somelocal companies are seeking to producemore organic products, but Vietnam hasno rigorous certification process or testingand many struggle to find organic fertilizerand battle cross-contamination issues. Noteveryone is prepared to pay the additionalcosts for organic vegetables either. Many,like retired teacher Hoa, prefer to take theirchances in the market. “Clean or not, wehave to eat fruit and vegetables every day,”she says. “Everyone dies in the end, we’drather die with a full stomach than anempty one.” —AFP

Toxic ‘Tet’ kumquats highlight

Vietnam’s pesticide problem

HONG KONG: Carnivals and fireworks are HongKong’s trademark Chinese Lunar New Year cele-brations-but tens of thousands of people alsotravel to a remote village to hurl oranges at a treein hopes of making their wishes come true. In atradition stretching back more than a century,visitors to the “wishing tree” in Lam Tsuen-a vil-lage near the city’s northern border-come fromall over the city and mainland China to take part.

Queues of hopefuls write their wishes on redpieces of paper, attach them to oranges andthrow the fruit at a tree in the village square. Ifthe orange lodges on a branch, the wish willcome true-or so the belief goes. A banyan treeused for the tradition was replaced with a plasticreplica after an accident in 2005, which saw abranch loaded with oranges snap off and injurean elderly man and a child. Plastic fruit is nowalso used. But that has not put off the crowds ofannual visitors who started flocking to the treeThursday and will do so for more than a weekover the holiday period.

“I wished happiness and good health for my

family. Everybody is looking for a good sign,”Frank Fung, a 26-year old computer engineer,told AFP after he landed his wish on a treebranch with one throw. “I wished to have a childlast year and now I am pregnant!” said XiaoXiaomei, in her 30s, who works in retail. Children,couples and the elderly, with many wearingbright red for good luck, threw their wishes,which cost HK$25 ($3.22). “It’s my first time here, Ithink it’s wonderful, I think it’s traditional it’s realHong Kong,” said Helen Friel, 27, from Ireland,who has worked in Hong Kong for three years asa teacher. “I wished for good health and wealthfor my family.”

‘Universal to make wishes’The tradition was started by Chinese fisher-

men who would write their wishes onto paperand throw them onto trees at the Lunar NewYear, said Luke Lam, organizer of the festival, whowas born in Lam Tsuen and has lived there mostof his life. The fishermen would travel from thecity’s southern ports and visit temples to make

offerings to protective deities and throw upwishes en route to the final temple in Lam Tsuen,Lam said. “They would also leave red packets(containing money) attached to their wishes-when I was little I opened the red pockets afterthey left,” Lam said of the fishermen’s offerings.

It is a custom to hand out red packets con-taining money-known as lai see to relatives,friends and acquaintances during Chinese newyear. Originally attached to stones, the wisheswere fixed to real oranges in the mid-1990sbefore the move to plastic fruit. In the past, wish-ing trees had also burned down as joss stickswere used to make offerings as well. The banyanthat was damaged a decade ago is still there-supported by beams. Over the years, the publicadopted the fishermen’s tradition of throwingwishes, spurred on by television soap operaswhich made it popular in the 1990s, said Lam,adding that the village sees more than 10,000people a day during the Lunar New Year holi-days. “It’s very universal to make a wish,” Lamsaid. —AFP

Hong Kong ‘wishing tree’ draws

tens of thousands of hopefuls

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspect-ed a live-fire artillery drill by his country’s militaryunits near the sea border with the rival South,believed to be timed ahead of annual US-SouthKorean exercises, state media reported yesterday.Analysts in Seoul said North Korea was attemptingto demonstrate its military capabilities ahead ofnext month’s US-South Korean drills, whichPyongyang has condemned as a rehearsal for aninvasion. The drill, which involved artillery andanti-ship rockets, was focused on striking and cap-turing an enemy island, according to the North’sofficial Korean Central News Agency. The exerciseinvolved the Korean People’s Army’s 4th Corps,which led the 2010 shelling of the South Koreanborder island of Yeonpyeong that left four SouthKorean soldiers and civilians dead. Kim expressed“great satisfaction” during the exercise and urgedhis army to be prepared for battle against the US,KCNA said. The official Rodong Sinmun publishedphotos of Kim watching the exercise with binocu-lars and projectiles being fired from whatappeared to be multiple rocket launchers and oth-er weapons.

State media outlets did not disclose the exacttime and location of the drill. The US and SouthKorea have repeatedly said that their war games

are defensive in nature, and they have no inten-tions of attacking the North. North Korea told theUnited States last month that it was willing toimpose a temporary moratorium on its nucleartests if Washington scraps the military drills withSouth Korea this year, but the allies have refused tocancel the exercises.

North Korea routinely conducts drills in weeksprior to the US-South Korea exercises and they arebelieved to be a significant burden for a country indesperate need of cash. Koh Yu-hwan, a professorof North Korean Studies at Dongguk University inSeoul, said that the North has been reducing thenumber of soldiers in the drills in recent years andis instead increasingly focusing on showcasing itsnewer weapons in an apparent attempt at control-ling costs.

“North Korea considers it important to displayits military capabilities ahead of the US-SouthKorea drills to give its people the impression that itis well-prepared for an invasion attempt,” Koh said.South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman KimMin-seok told reporters early this week that the USwas planning to send a larger number of soldiersthan it did last year to the “Key Resolve and FoalEagle” exercises beginning in early March, but didnot provide a specific number. —AP

North Korean leader

inspects artillery drill

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s army yes-terday said more than 130 peoplehad died in a deepening battle withrebels in the northeast, declaring itwould not rest until stability wasrestored to the border area whichtens of thousands have fled. Fightingraged in the remote Kokang regionof Shan state where conflict eruptedon February 9 when insurgentattacks on soldiers triggered a mili-tary onslaught, prompting at least30,000 civilians to escape into bor-

dering China.In the first press conference since

clashes began, defense ministryspokesman Lieutenant General MyaHtun Oo said the conflict had killed61 military and police officers andaround 72 insurgents. “The fightingis strong... Because of serious fight-ing, our helicopters are helping,” hetold reporters in the capitalNaypyidaw. “We will not retreat untilwe get stability.” He did not providefigures on civilian deaths in and

around Laukkai town, where theconflict has centered, as efforts toevacuate communities remain ham-pered by an attack Tuesday on alocal Red Cross convoy whichwounded two aid workers.

The spokesman blamed theattack on the rebels: “Our militaryonly provides protection to civilianconvoys... We are going to take actionagainst Kokang rebels’ offence.” Theethnically Chinese Kokang rebels orNational Democratic Alliance Army

(MNDAA), who are fighting forregional autonomy, have deniedattacking the convoy. The conflict,the first major unrest in the regionsince 2009, has renewed doubts overa government attempt to forge anationwide ceasefire in a countrypeppered with ethnic insurgencies.Myanmar’s quasi-civilian govern-ment has put the ceasefire agree-ment at the heart of its reforms as thenation prepares for a general electionlater this year. —AFP

130 die as Myanmar troops battle rebels

N E W SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

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Civil defence teams cleared the building, which at 336 mis one of the world’s tallest residential towers. Dubai policesaid there were no fatalities but seven people were treatedat the scene for smoke inhalation. A civil defence depart-ment statement said the fire began on the 51st floor andswept across the tower’s facade affecting 20 storeys.

Major General Rashid Thani Al-Matroushi, director ofDubai civil defence, said firefighters were able to stop thefire spreading to nearby buildings. Emergency teams used“strict protocols to break in quickly and reach the source ofthe fire,” he was quoted as saying by The National.Firefighters battled the blaze for more than two hours,before hundreds of residents of nearby towers were allowedto return to their apartments.

Ansari, who lives on the tower’s 27th floor, praised theemergency services for dealing with the blaze. “It was a bigfire and the wind was making things worse. The fire was outof control,” said the 30-year-old sound engineer. “Some peo-ple had to walk down about 50 floors and weren’t in greatshape,” he added. “The firefighters were outstanding. Theygot there very fast and medics took care of everyone.”

Traffic in the area was diverted and residents of two othernearby buildings in the Marina district, home to thousandsof expatriate professionals, were also evacuated, the witnesssaid. Many of those standing outside the building weredressed in pyjamas, with others in evening dress as theyreturned from the city’s many bars and restaurants on aweekend.

One woman, who did not give her name, stood on thestreet crying, saying she had rushed back fearing for herbelongings after a friend contacted her about the fire. The

lower floors where she lived were not affected. Residents ofneighboring towers were returning to their homes around4:30 am, but residents of The Torch were told they would notbe allowed back into the building until the fire officials gaveapproval later yesterday. Residents of upper floors that weremost affected were told it would be days before they couldreturn.

The Torch is managed by Kingfield Owner AssociationManagement Services, which is arranging temporary shelterand supplies for affected residents. It said in a statementthat everyone inside the tower was successfully evacuated.“All fire safety systems functioned effectively during the inci-dent thereby restricting fire damage to the exterior of thebuilding,” it said.

One of the residents of the Torch, Steve Short, 53, ofLiverpool, England, praised the work of firefighters whoarrived quickly. He said fire alarms alerted residents to theblaze and building management sent workers knocking ondoors to ensure residents got out. Resident R J Morlock, 33,of Houston, Texas, shot video on his phone that showedbright yellow flames reaching what appeared to be severalstories on two separate parts of the building. He said resi-dents were nervous coming out but fire crews were able tobring the situation under control. “I was really surprised theygot it under control pretty quickly,” he said. “It looked like itwas going to go up.” Dubai Marina is a popular expat neigh-bourhood that has a high concentration of residential tow-ers. It is also a major tourist attraction. Dubai, known for itsskyline of hugely varied skyscrapers, has seen fires at towersin the past. In 2012, a huge blaze gutted the 34-storeyTamweel Tower in the nearby Jumeirah Lake Towers district.It was later revealed to have been caused by a cigarette buttthrown into a bin. — Agencies

10 foreign workers killed in Abu Dhabi...

Continued from Page 1

duration of military service. Still on the shelf are draft lawsregarding establishment of a public anti-drug authority andcompulsory military service. It has held five meetings fromOct 28, 2014 to Dec 31, in addition to three sessions with thecommittee of legislative and legal affairs examining the armscollection law.

Maayouf acknowledged that the commission membershad done their best to approve the arms law, which had beenone of the slogans raised by the MPs during their electoral

campaigns. He confirmed that the military service law wouldbe passed, noting its necessity for the youth’s sound upbring-ing and service to the homeland.

The commission, during the current term, will take deci-sions regarding the nationalization file, including the issue ofthe illegal residents (bedoons), children of Kuwaiti womenand female divorcees. “What’s at stake is opening these filesinstead of leaving things as they are,” he added. It will alsotackle other topics related to security cameras and the higherauthority for drugs and alcohol, Maayouf said, noting that theissue of narcotics has become particularly alarming. — KUNA

Interior, defense panel tackling sensitive...

Continued from Page 1

Hadi has always defended the 1990 union of the northwith the formerly independent south where secessionistsentiment has risen sharply. But most troops and militia inthe area have pledged allegiance to Hadi and his support-ers hailed his arrival in the former southern capital as agame-changer.

Early yesterday, Houthi militiamen opened fire on pro-testers in the central city of Ibb, killing one person andwounding another, activists said. The crowd had gatheredin a square to demonstrate against the Houthis’ role inoverturning the government last month. Following theshooting, thousands more people took to the streets in

protest. Witnesses said the Houthis were deploying moresecurity forces in response.

Western countries are worried that unrest in Yemencould create opportunities for Al Qaeda in the ArabianPeninsula (AQAP) to plot more attacks against internation-al targets. Late on Friday a drone destroyed a car carryingsuspected members of AQAP in Shawbwa Province, a bas-tion of the militant group in the rugged mountains ofsouthern Yemen, killing at least three people, residentssaid. The United States has acknowledged it carries outdrone strikes against militant targets in Yemen but doesnot comment on specific attacks. The strikes, which havesometimes killed civilians, have angered many people inthe country. — Agencies

Yemen ex-president Hadi flees to Aden

Continued from Page 1

Badar Alam, editor of Herald magazine, a respectedPakistani current affairs monthly, said the recent waveof criticism was unprecedented. “Saudi has vast com-mercial and economic interests in Pakistan. There areopen questions being asked on this relationship,” hesaid. “Before, nobody would ask any questions in anymanner. Now even the Urdu press is asking questions.”

Donors in Saudi Arabia have long been accused ofquietly funding terror groups sympathetic to the king-dom’s hardline version of Sunni Islam. Leaked diplomat-ic cables by then-US secretary of State Hillary Clinton in2009 said Saudi Arabian donors were “the most signifi-cant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups world-wide”. The cable cited the Taleban, Al-Qaeda andPakistan’s Sunni Muslim sectarian militants Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as examples of where funds were being chan-nelled.

Linked to the funding is Saudi Arabia’s longgeostrategic struggle with Iran, the key Shiite Muslimpower in the region. Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s currentprime minister, enjoys particularly close ties with theSaudi royal family, which hosted him during his almostdecade-long exile from Pakistan following his ouster bythen military ruler Pevez Musharraf. And last year thegovernment said it had received a $1.5 billion “gift” froma friendly Muslim nation, widely thought by experts to

be in fact a loan from Saudi Arabia.But Najmuddin Sheikh, a former foreign secretary

and ambassador, said the December attack on an armyschool in Peshawar, which left 153 people dead includ-ing 134 children, had opened the door for criticism.“This has been triggered by Peshawar and a strong feel-ing that much of the terrorism that is here is beingfinanced by outside countries,” he said. “Countries likeKuwait, UAE and Qatar must also do much more athome to curtail this.”

But, he added, any efforts to cut back on foreignfunding for extremist seminaries must go hand in handwith similar efforts at home. He said this would includethe state dropping its links with proxy groups that havehistorically been used by the military establishment tofurther strategic goals in Afghanistan and Indian-administered Kashmir. “Our fund collection withinPakistan remains unimpeded. If you want more fromabroad you need to do more at home,” he said.

A senior government official, speaking on conditionof anonymity, agreed. “We didn’t need the Saudis toradicalise us, we have geared ourselves to that,” he said.And while the current mood may be critical of Riyadh,the official said in the long run the relationship was tooimportant and too beneficial to jeopardise. “There is nochange in policy. Both the Sharif government and themilitary are very much on board with Saudis. Actual pol-icy is not likely to change,” he said. — AFP

Pak terror wave sparks rare criticism

A former circus lion named ‘King’ lays sedated as a veterinarian performs dental surgery inside a temporary refuge for the lion on the outskirts of Lima, Peru on Friday. Vets from the AnimalDefenders International (ADI) are operating on lions and monkeys rescued from traveling circuses in Peru and Bolivia. According to the vets, King was removed from a circus in Nov 2014 and isunable to chew his food properly because most of his teeth had been pulled out, or partially pulled out by his circus owners. It is illegal to use wild animals in circuses in Peru. — AP

WASHINGTON: In what is becoming an increasingly nastygrudge match, the White House is mulling ways to undercutIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming trip toWashington and blunt his message that a potential nuclear dealwith Iran is bad for Israel and the world. There are limits.Administration officials have discarded the idea of PresidentBarack Obama himself giving an Iran-related address to rebut thetwo speeches Netanyahu is to deliver during his early March visit.

But other options remain on the table. Among them: A presi-dential interview with a prominent journalist known for coverageof the rift between Obama and Netanyahu, multiple Sundayshow television appearances by senior national security aidesand a pointed snub of America’s leading pro-Israel lobby, which isholding its annual meeting while Netanyahu is in Washington,according to the officials.

The administration has already ruled out meetings betweenNetanyahu and Obama, saying it would be inappropriate for thetwo to meet so close to Israel’s March 17 elections. But the WhiteHouse is now doubling down on a cold-shoulder strategy, includ-ing dispatching Cabinet members out of the country and send-ing a lower-ranking official than normal to represent the adminis-tration at the annual policy conference of the American IsraelPublic Affairs Committee, the officials said.

Vice President Joe Biden will be away, his absence behindNetanyahu conspicuous in coverage of the speech to Congress.Other options were described by officials, who spoke only oncondition of anonymity because they were not authorized to dis-cuss internal deliberations. Netanyahu’s plan for a March 3address to a joint meeting of Congress has further strainedalready tense ties between the US and Israel. CongressionalRepublicans orchestrated Netanyahu’s visit without consultingthe White House or State Department, a move the Obamaadministration blasted as a break in diplomatic protocol. SomeDemocratic lawmakers say they will boycott the speech.

US officials believe Netanyahu’s trip to Washington is aimed

primarily at derailing a nuclear deal with Iran, Obama’s signatureforeign policy objective. While Netanyahu has long been skepti-cal of the negotiations, his opposition has increased over what hesees as Obama’s willingness to make concessions that wouldleave Iran on the brink of being able to build a nuclear weapon.His opposition has intensified as negotiations go into overdrivewith an end-of-March deadline for a framework deal. “I think thisis a bad agreement that is dangerous for the state of Israel, andnot just for it,” Netanyahu said Thursday. The difference of opinionover the deal has become unusually rancorous.

Leaks The White House and State Department have both publicly

accused Israeli officials of leaking “cherry-picked” details of thenegotiations to try to discredit the administration. And, inextraordinary admissions this past week, the administrationacknowledged that the US is withholding sensitive details of thetalks from Israel, its main Middle East ally, to prevent such leaks.The rebukes have only emboldened the leader of Israel, whosecountry Iran has threatened to annihilate. He has a double-barrelattack on the Iran talks ready for when he arrives in Washington.Not only will he address Congress, he will also deliver similarremarks at the AIPAC conference, an event to which administra-tions past and present have traditionally sent top foreign policyofficials.

But maybe not this year. An AIPAC official said Friday that thegroup has not yet received any reply to its invitation for senioradministration figures to attend the meeting that starts March 1.The official stressed that last-minute RSVPs are not unusual, butthe White House has been signaling for some time that aCabinet-level guest may not be coming. Instead, the administra-tion is toying with the idea of sending newly installed DeputySecretary of State Antony Blinken to speak to the conference,according to officials familiar with internal discussions on thematter. — AP

Unwelcome mat: WhiteHouse counters Bibi visit

Continued from Page 1

“He has been training (for) two weeks,” Pineda said,adding that Pacquiao would leave for the United Statesin the first week of March. “This is his toughest fight,”Pineda said.

The welterweight world title showdown -Mayweather owns the World Boxing Council and WorldBoxing Association titles and Pacquiao the World BoxingOrganization crown - is sure to be the richest in boxinghistory, generating massive pay-per-view revenue. “Thisis the biggest boxing event of all time, we’re confident ofthat,” Ken Hershman, president of HBO Sports said. “Wecouldn’t be prouder to be a part of it and help craft it.”Certainly the bout, more than five years in the making, isexpected to break records - for gate receipts as well aspay-per-view audience and revenue. US media reportedthat Mayweather will receive 60 percent of the purseand stands to make some $120 million, Pacquiao taking$80 million.

More importantly for fans, it will finally pit the twoboxers long considered the best “pound-for-pound”fighters of their generation against each other. Previousbids to put together a fight between the two - mostnotably in late 2009 - had run aground over variousissues, including division of the purse and a drug testingprotocol. Animosity between Mayweather’s camp andPacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has also been a stum-bling block.

After the fight failed to materialize in 2010, some ofthe gloss came off the potential showdown whenPacquiao suffered two straight defeats in 2012, a dubi-ous split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley and a knock-out loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in his fourth boutagainst the Mexican. Since then, however, the Filipinosouthpaw has won three fights in a row and will take arecord of 57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts intothe May 2 fight.

“Pac-Man,” who is 36, won an impressive unanimous

decision over Chris Algieri in Macao last November.Mayweather, 47-0 with 26 knockouts, turns 38 onTuesday and has two more fights in the Showtime dealthat has made him the highest-paid athlete in the world.He is homing in on the iconic 49-0 record of 1950s leg-end Rocky Marciano, who retired as an undefeatedheavyweight champion.

The fact that Pacquiao is contracted to HBO andMayweather to Showtime was another thorny issue, andthe rival firms are collaborating on the pay-per-view tele-cast. “This deal is the product of a lot of hard work,” saidStephen Espinoza, the executive vice president and gen-eral manager at Showtime Sports. HBO and Showtimehave worked together before, teaming up in 2002 for thefight between then-heavyweight champion LennoxLewis, who was with HBO, and former champion MikeTyson, who was with Showtime.

Hershman said the Tyson-Lewis bout was a “greatroadmap” for Pacquiao-Mayweather. “It showed that thiscan be done successfully,” he said. Both fighters said aftertheir most recent victories that their showdown shouldhappen. In January, the two met unexpectedly at aMiami Heat NBA game and arranged a meeting at whichdiscussions apparently got serious. Pacquiao said lastweek he had agreed to the drug-testing proceduresMayweather wanted as well as other demands, and hebelieved an announcement of the fight was imminent.

A British newspaper reported last Sunday thatMayweather could announce the bout at the NBA All-Star Game in New York. In a brief courtside interview,however, Mayweather denied the deal was done, leavingfans to wonder if talks had stalled again. But no, boxing’slatest “fight of the century” is on. “Floyd should enjoybeing the A-side while he can,” Pacquiao’s trainer FreddieRoach said. “Because on May 2, Manny is going to puthim on his backside.” The brash “Money” Mayweather washaving none of it. “Manny is going to try to do what 47before him failed to do, but he won’t be successful,”Mayweather said. “He will be number 48.” — AFP

Pacquiao, Mayweather to face off

By Michael O’Boyle

Anew wave of Mexican filmmakers isfollowing in the wake of the success ofAlejandro G Inarritu, bent on breaking

Hollywood convention and making daringmovies with high-profile actors. Inarritu’s“Birdman” garnered nine Academy Awardsnominations including best picture, bestdirector and best actor, and follows fellowMexican Alfonso Cuaron’s best director winlast year with space thriller “Gravity,” a first fora Latin American filmmaker.

Inarritu, Cuaron and fellow “Three Amigos”director Guillermo del Toro began theircareers in the 1990s when the domestic filmindustry was practically dead and they leftMexico to make the climb to global fame.“We were very lucky to have the possibility tobe fed by European filmmakers, by someAmerican filmmakers ... cinema of the world,”Inarritu said. “Mexico is still an incrediblefountain of culture, but cinematically speak-ing ... 20 years ago, it was horrible.”

The trio managed to maintain control overtheir iconoclastic film projects within theHollywood system, raising Mexico’s profile asthey made both big blockbusters such asCuaron’s “Gravity” or del Toro’s “Pacific Rim”,and more personal, lower-budget projectssuch as Inarritu’s “Birdman”. Mexican film pro-duction has surged from 28 films in 2000 to130 last year, according to industry group

Canacine. But top new talents are not lookingto make it in Hollywood.

This year will see new films from GerardoNaranjo and Michel Franco, two of the mostnotable rebels among Mexico’s growingranks of directors who have cast aside studioformulas. This new generation grew up in arapidly globalizing Mexico following theopening of the country’s closed economy inthe 1990s and the end of authoritarian one-party rule in 2000. Naranjo’s early films, “MissBala”, about a beauty queen sucked into theviolent world of drug traffickers, and “I’mGonna Explode”, a tale of teen love and rebel-lion, nabbed the attention of 20th CenturyFox.

He spent almost four years working ondeveloping two major Fox films, including aremake of “Death Wish” with Bruce Willis, butquit in frustration with the studio system. “It isimportant to recognize the mastery of theolder generation,” Naranjo said. “Cuaron,Inarritu, they found a way to protect theirprojects and that is the hardest thing to do inthe United States. The industry finds ways tolimit creativity over and over.”

Hollywood BluesBut Naranjo’s defiant exit from Hollywood

grabbed attention and he drew in a group ofyoung actors led by Dakota Fanning to star inhis new independent film “Viena andFantomes”. After struggling for years in the

studio system with little to show, he wrote,directed and shot the film himself in a matterof months, and is now editing. “I feel I hadsomething to offer that was lacking in theindustry,” he said. “I am giving Americanactors the chance to do what they should bedoing but don’t get the chance to do.” “Viena”stars Fanning as a young groupie in the thrallof a punk band. “It is her trip to understandthat celebrity does not come out of talent inAmerica,” Naranjo said.

Mexico’s directors have developed sophis-ticated styles of filmmaking that have pushedthe traditional boundaries of fiction and doc-umentaries, winning the top honors at theworld’s biggest festivals. They are limited byultra-low budgets, around $2 million, but byholding to their personal visions, Mexicanfilmmakers are attracting big Hollywoodactors starved for meatier roles. MichelFranco, whose bullying-themed “After Lucia”won a top prize at Cannes in 2012, is nowediting his first English-language film,“Chronic”, starring Tim Roth.

Roth, who sat on the jury that fetedFranco in Cannes, was excited to work withthe young director and convinced him to re-write a script that Franco was working onwith a male lead. “Chronic” was inspired bythe woman who cared for Franco’s dyinggrandmother, now Roth who plays a nurseattending terminally ill patients as he strug-gles to reconnect with the family he aban-

doned. “My films are not trying to be easy onthe public, but rather are developing a storythat is not very common and does not fit intoa genre,” he said.

Roth is also in one of the lead roles in “600miles” the debut film from Gabriel Ripstein,who also co-produced “Chronic” with Franco.“600 Miles” won the coveted best first featureaward at Berlin in February for Ripstein, theson of Mexican film auteur Arturo Ripstein,who worked as an executive for Hollywoodstudios for a decade. “It is a question of find-ing actors who want to work with interestingfilmmakers,” Ripstein said. “But we are keep-ing control over the projects and don’t haveto make concessions.”

Loosely inspired by the botched Fast andFurious program where US agents lostthousands of high-powered guns in Mexico,“600 Miles” tracks a young Mexican on hisfirst run as a gun smuggler and stars Roth asa US agent hunting him. With Hollywoodbalance sheets dependent on blockbusterfranchises, directors are confident they willbe able to keep attracting disaffected talentto their independent projects. “It’s not thesame Hollywood that Inarritu and Cuaronwent to,” said Gaz Alazraki, who is directingNetflix’s first Spanish-language series “Clubde Cuervos”. “But there are a whole lot ofgreat actors who want to make personalfilms, so if you can team up with them, it’sgreat.” —Reuters

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A N A L Y S I SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Imust admit that I was somewhat skeptical as I approached lastweek’s “White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism”(CVE). I was concerned that it might end up being nothing

more than a “box-checking” exercise. I was troubled that it mightbe perceived as targeting American Muslims and fostering a senseof increased alienation for some, while at the same time feedingthe sense of suspicion that could result in a spike in hate crimesagainst Muslims. I was also wary of the fact that “CVE” had becomea hustle for some social entrepreneurs who were set to spawn a“cottage industry” as potentially lucrative and as utterly misdirect-ed, useless, and counterproductive as the enterprise created by theso-called “terrorism experts” of a generation ago.

Nevertheless, I went and I participated. There were, to be sure, afew “hustlers” in attendance and there were a few sessions that feltlike “box-checking”. And then there were some Muslims who protest-ed the event convinced that any discussion of Muslims would con-tribute to more discrimination against their community. This, howev-er, was not what defined the summit for me because what I alsofound at the White House were some remarkable people who weredoing some extraordinary things in communities around the US. Ihad been asked to chair one of the summit’s session and marveledat the conversation that ensued. The room was full of good people -political, business, faith, and community leaders from across the US,Europe, and Africa - all of whom were making a determined effort tobuild bridges and promote understanding. As we have found somany times before, while current challenges may have brought outthe worst in some, it has also created the opportunity to bring goodpeople together to support each other.

What ultimately made the day work was the closing address byPresident Obama. Playing multiple roles - teacher, analyst, sympa-thetic parent, and inspirational leader - his remarks were “pitch per-fect”. With the US leading a broad coalition of countries that hasbeen militarily targeting ISIS, the president was keen to lay out astrategy to take on the ideology ISIS uses to recruit disaffectedalienated youth. Challenging and defeating IS will, the presidentnoted, involve more than the coalition’s military might. It willrequire challenging their ideology and dismantling their recruit-ment infrastructure. And that was his focus.

The extremists’ ideology must be discredited. The economicand political grievances exploited by the terrorists must beaddressed. And partnerships must be developed with Muslimcommunities so that they can be empowered to challenge thefalse and dangerous goals posed by extremists.

What the President was making clear was that it is disaffection,anger, or alienation that makes young people susceptible to theideas of extremists. But while the purveyors of violence can prey offof discontent, they have nothing real to offer. This must be madeclear before recruits are seduced and drawn into the extremists’web. To do this will take the concerted action of communitiesworking together.

The president continued his tough rhetoric against IS and wasforceful in his resolve that they be defeated. But the President wasalso clear that in targeting IS and other forms violent extremist ide-ology, the US and the West, in general, were not at war with Islam,since this is exactly how IS and Al-Qaeda want to frame the conflict.He said, “They are desperate for legitimacy. They try to portraythemselves as religious leaders - holy warriors in defense ofIslam...and they propagate the notion that America is at war withIslam. That’s how they recruit...[but] it is a lie...They are not religiousleaders - they’re terrorists. And we are not at war with Islam.”

CriticismNot surprisingly, it was on this last point that the president’s

critics pounced. For days now, Republicans and several mediaanalysts, instead of focusing on what the President did say, havebeen relentless in attacking him for what he didn’t say. Apparently,what they wanted the President to say was that this was, in fact, awar against “Islamic terror” or “radical Islam”. Said one critic, “youcan’t win this war, if you can’t name the enemy”. Senator JohnMcCain responded to Obama by accusing him of propagating “abig lie”. The most strident attack came from former mayor of NewYork City, Rudy Giuliani, who said, “You’ve got to be able to criticizeIslam for the parts of Islam that are wrong...what’s wrong with thisman that he can’t stand up and say there’s a part of Islam that’ssick?” Answering his own question, Giuliani added that the prob-lem with “this man” is that “[he] doesn’t love America...[because]he wasn’t brought up...through love of this country”.

Not only were their criticisms disgraceful and insulting, Giulianiand McCain were also dead wrong. The president’s message hasbeen tough enough and smart enough. He has built a coalitionthat has mobilized most of the Muslim World, involving them aspartners in the fight against violent extremism. The President haschosen a path designed to isolate and ultimately destroy what hehas referred to as a “death cult”. That’s smart and tough.

On the other hand, if McCain and Giuliani had their way, wewould be digging ourselves deeper into the holes dug by the BushAdministration. We would be in the midst of a “clash of civilizations”.And Sarah Palin would be a heart-beat away from the Oval Office.That’s neither smart, nor is it tough. It’s just plain reckless.

NOTE: Dr James J Zogby is the President of the Arab AmericanInstitute

Washington Watch

‘Pitch perfect’

Mexican filmmakers follow in Inarritu’s wake

By Richard Balmforth

The loss of the key town of Debaltseveto Russian-backed separatists, the lat-est in a string of big battlefield

defeats for Ukraine, narrows the options forPresident Poroshenko in his dealings bothwith Moscow and with the West. No soonerdid the strategic railway junction fall to therebels on Wednesday, with thousands ofUkrainian soldiers withdrawing under fire,than separatists re-opened another oldfront, attacking government positions nearMariupol, a strategic coastal city in thesouth-east. The grim message, it seems,was: ‘There’s more to come. The break-up ofUkraine does not stop here’.

All this hit national morale as Ukrainemarked the first anniversary of pro-Moscowpresident Viktor Yanukovich’s overthrowand the killings of 100 people protestingagainst his policy swerve away from Europeback to the old master, Russia. What startedas a popular revolt a year ago against aleader ready to renounce his country’sfuture in Europe seems to be turning intothe break-up of the country. The nightmareconfronting Poroshenko now is that, whileWestern governments want him to stick to apeace formula worked out at a four-powersummit, the Kremlin-backed separatistscould move on to take Mariupol and even-tually link up with Crimea, annexed byRussia last March. And would the land-grabstop there?

Battlefield FirepowerThe 49-year-old confectionery tycoon,

who took office last June expressing thehope that the rebellion in the east would beover in weeks, has few good options. Thehumiliation of Debaltseve exposed againhis army’s lack of firepower to defendstrategic objectives against a separatistarmy boosted by Russian fighters, directedby Russian intelligence and armed with

modern Russian weapons that roll acrossthe border with impunity.

The fall of Debaltseve followed the lossof more than 100 Ukrainian lives at Illovaisklast August when Kiev’s troops were encir-cled and the seizure in January of the air-port complex in Donetsk, a big prize for therebels. With Mariupol the separatists’ nexttarget, Poroshenko sees more territory drift-ing out of Kiev’s control - knowing that win-ning it back could only come at a high price.Another heavy military defeat would be aserious blow to his leadership.

But his Western supporters in Germanyand France are pressing him to give updreams of securing US weapons to seizeback lost territory and press on with thepeace deal struck in Minsk, Belarus, lastweek. Meanwhile, his adversary, Russia’sVladimir Putin, is making Ukraine more andmore ungovernable and less of an attractiveprospect for Europe. Like many in the West,

Poroshenko’s main hope seems to be thatthe threat of further Western sanctions maymake Putin pause. Poroshenko has in themeantime said Ukraine will make an appealfor a UN peacekeeping force to monitor theUkraine-Russia border.

But few in Kiev believe that any peace-keeping mission - which might be blockedanyway by Russia - will change much. “Onescenario is the introduction of a peacekeep-ing contingent particularly for control of theborder,” said political analyst Olesya Yakhno.“The second is escalation of military action.There are no peaceful options left,” Yakhnosaid. “Poroshenko will continue with somedelicate balancing between the militaryand political options. An adequate politicalsolution, which will help stop this war, hasto be found.”

Poroshenko has little chance of sellingany compromise at home that accepts self-rule for the separatists and tacit acceptance

of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. That is par-ticularly so with popular sentiment runninghigh on the first anniversary of eventswhich Ukrainians regard as a pivotalmoment in their bid to ditch their Sovietpast and become part of Europe. Candleswere lit for the dead in churches, offices andworkplaces across Ukraine ahead of amemorial service on Kiev’s IndependenceSquare, where protesters were shot dead.

Chain ReactionYanukovich’s ousting, which Moscow

calls a “fascist“ coup, triggered Russia’sannexation of Crimea and the separatistrebellion, backed by Moscow, which has ledto a conflict in which more than 5,000 peo-ple have died. Poroshenko, Putin and theleaders of Germany and France came out ofpeace talks in Belarus on Feb 12 announc-ing a ceasefire deal. German ChancellorAngela Merkel and French PresidentFrancois Hollande still see life in the Minskagreements, which also called for withdraw-al of heavy weapons by both sides.

But after Debaltseve, the deal lies in tat-ters and Kiev is braced for fresh rebelattacks. A significant part of Poroshenko’squandary is that he cannot jeopardise linkswith the West. The IMF and potentialWestern donor governments are offeringbillions of dollars of aid but only if Ukrainereforms. Putin appears to want to create asmuch instability as possible in Ukraine, withthe east beyond the writ of Kiev, and doom-ing any prospect of the country joiningNATO and the European Union.

The depressed industrial east has beenin a downward spiral for years, with highunemployment and many of its old coalmines collapsed or operating dangerous-ly. Leaving it as a dysfunctional, self-rulingoddity in Ukraine under the protection ofRussian-backed forces, but for Kiev tosupport financially, fits Putin’s strategyperfectly. —Reuters

Options narrow for Poroshenko after defeat

By Dr James J Zogby

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko sings the state anthem with the son ofa dead activist during a memorial ceremony marking the first anniversary ofthe killings of demonstrators in the final act of a dramatic uprising aroundIndependence Square in Kiev, known as Maidan, on Friday in Kiev. —AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

ROME: AC Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi believes his injury-plagued side cannotafford to start thinking of European football next season as they attempt to res-cue their dismal campaign. While a Champions League berth appears to be outof sight after a wretched start to 2015, fifth place in Serie A and the chance ofEuropa League football is still a possibility for 11th-placed Milan.

At a news conference on Saturday, Inzaghi, reflecting on the injuries thathave hampered the club this season, warned: “We can’t be thinking

about it (fifth place) right now. We need to take it one game at atime and get back to playing Milan-style football.”

Rather than “Milan-style football”, though, fans at the San Sirohave had to get used to unaccustomed struggles for one of

European football’s powerhouses.At the end of last year, Milan were seventh, just two points offthird and a spot in next season’s Champions League qualifying

round.Now, having managed just five points in seven gamesin 2015 only bottom club Parma have fared worse-they lie

12 points behind third-placed Napoli. —Reuters

Inzaghi seeks Milan-styleFLORIDA: Big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic edged a second set tiebreakerto oust American Steve Johnson 6-2 7-6 in the quarter-finals of the DelrayBeach Open in Florida on Friday.

Karlovic raced through the first set in 28 minutes but the second was amuch tighter affair as he fended off four break points against the doggedseventh seed. Fourth seed Karlovic, who served 17 aces to remainunbroken for the tournament, earned a Saturday semi-final clashwith fifth-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who beat LuYen-hsun of Taiwan 3-6 6-1 6-1. Karlovic and Mannarino are thehighest remaining seeds in the tournament, following the elimi-nation of third seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, beaten 2-6 6-3 6-4 byunseeded American Donald Young in a match that stretched near-ly two hours.

“It was really cold and it wasn’t easy to move and beaggressive but in the beginning, I was playing really good.It might be one of my best sets,” Karlovic told the tourna-ment website.—Reuters

LONDON: A number of “great clubs” are interested in AS Monaco strikerRadamel Falcao if Manchester United decide against making his loan movepermanent, the Ligue 1 side’s vice-president said.

The 29-year-old Falcao, who joined United on a season-long loan for sixmillion pounds ($9.2 million), has scored just four goals in 19 appearancessince making the switch to Old Trafford.

United have the option of paying around 43 million pounds to make themove for the Colombian permanent at the end of the season, but withFalcao in-and-out of Louis van Gaal’s side his future remains uncertain.

“I’m not worried for Falcao, he is a world-class striker,” Monaco vice-pres-ident Vadim Vasilyev told the BBC. “If Manchester United decide not takeup the option at the end of the season, we have interest from other greatclubs. So I am really not worried for him at all.”

With Falcao struggling to recapture his best form in the Premier League,Van Gaal played down the amount of money United had spent on the mis-firing striker. “If a player costs 95 million pounds or 5,000 pounds it doesn’tmake any difference,” the Dutchman said last month. “You have to proveyourself. We have made this deal and everything is clear.”—Reuters

Big clubs eye Falcao

S P O RT S

Karlovic ousts Johnson

LOS ANGELES: Lakers forward Ed Davis (left) and Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez vie for a rebound during the second half of an NBA basket-ball game. —AP

Cavaliers dump WizardsWASHINGTON: LeBron James set aside first-halffoul trouble to finish with 28 points in only 25minutes Friday night, and Kyrie Irving scored 25points, helping the surging Cleveland Cavaliersoverwhelm the Washington Wizards 127-89.

Cleveland led by as many as 22 points beforehalftime and as many as 40 after to win for the15th time in its past 17 games.

The 38-point margin was Washington’slargest loss of the season. The Cavaliers also pro-duced the most points by a Washington oppo-nent in a first quarter (35) and first half (65).

About the only glaring mistake the Cavsmade was Kevin Love’s flubbed attempt at adriving, two-handed dunk - the basketball hitthe front of the rim. All-Star point guard JohnWall had 18 points and nine assists forWashington.

RAPTORS 105, HAWKS 80Lou Williams made seven of 10 3-pointers

and scored 26 points and Toronto routed Atlantain a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s topteams.

DeMar DeRozan added 21 points for Toronto.The Raptors outscored the Hawks 28-13 in thethird quarter to open a 23-point lead.

Williams had four of Toronto’s 15 steals andthe Raptors blocked nine shots. Atlanta still has a5 1/2-game lead over Toronto in the EasternConference standings, but the Raptors won theseason series 3-1. No other team has two winsover the Hawks. The Hawks have lost four of sev-en games following a team-record 19-game win-ning streak.

HEAT 111, KNICKS 87With Chris Bosh hospitalized in South Florida

for tests and Goran Dragic not yet available,eight of nine Miami players scored in double fig-ures and the Heat beat New York.

Dwyane Wade scored 12 points after a seven-game absence for a hamstring injury. RookieShabazz Napier scored a season-high 18 pointsto lead the Heat, adding seven rebounds and sixassists. Bosh was still getting tested to deter-mine the cause of his back and side pain. CoachErik Spoelstra Spoelstra said it was premature tocomment about the All-Star forward’s condition,amid speculation that the concern was bloodclots had worked their way from his legs to hislungs.

The Heat traded four players Thursday in thethree-team deal that brought Dragic and hisbrother, Zoran, from Phoenix. They were gettingtheir physicals Friday and Spoelstra hopes theycould be available Saturday at home againstNew Orleans.

WARRIORS 110, SPURS 99Stephen Curry had 25 points and 11 assists,

Klay Thompson scored 20 and Golden StateWarriors returned from the All-Star break to beatSan Antonio.

Curry controlled the game the way he sooften has this season, burnishing his MVP cre-dentials by leading Golden State to big runs atthe end of the second and third quarters.

The Warriors went ahead by 21 points enter-ing the fourth, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovichrested his regulars the final 12 minutes. AronBaynes had 12 points and 10 rebounds for SanAntonio.

KINGS 109, CELTICS 101DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points and 15

rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 28 points andSacramento beat Boston to make new coachGeorge Karl a winner in his return to the NBA.

The Kings overcame an early 16-point deficit

and gave Karl his first victory since a playoff winwith Denver against Golden State on April 30,2013. This one was his 1,132nd regular-seasonvictory, sixth-most in league history and morethan the wayward Kings have in 30 seasons inSacramento. Avery Bradley scored 28 points forBoston.

BUCKS 89, NUGGETS 81Khris Middleton scored 15 points, John

Henson added 14 and Milwaukee beat Denver inits first game since tweaking its roster at the NBAtrade deadline.

Michael Carter-Williams, who was acquiredfrom Philadelphia as part of a three-team dealthat sent Brandon Knight to Phoenix, did notplay because of a sprained right big toe. WilsonChandler led Denver with 19 points.

PISTONS 100, BULLS 91Andre Drummond had 18 points and 20

rebounds to lead short-handed Detroit pastChicago. Greg Monroe and Caron Butler eachscored 20 points, and rookie point guardSpencer Dinwiddie set career highs with 12points and nine assists in his first NBA start.

The Pistons dressed only 10 players, havingtraded four away Thursday to get ReggieJackson and Tayshaun Prince. Jackson was onDetroit’s bench, cheering wildly, but didn’t getclearance in time to play. Prince won’t arriveuntil late yesterday. Jimmy Butler had 30 pointsfor Chicago.

PACERS 106, 76ERS 95Rodney Stuckey scored a season-high 30

points off the bench, C.J. Miles added 17 andIndiana beat Philadelphia for its fifth victory insix games.

Stuckey shot 10 for 16 from the field and 8 for8 from the free throw line, but his night came toan early end when he landed awkwardly on hisleft ankle with less than four minutes remaining.The eighth-year guard was grimacing in painand had to be helped off the floor.

Luc Mbah a Moute and Jerami Grant led the76ers with 16 points apiece. Nerlens Noel fin-ished just shy of a triple-double with 12 points,nine rebounds and a career-high nine blocks.

MAVERICKS 111, ROCKETS 100Devin Harris scored 17 points, Al-Farouq

Aminu set season highs with 17 points and 12rebounds, and balanced Dallas held on to beatHouston. Rajon Rondo scored 13 points in his

second game back from a broken bone near hisleft eye to help the Mavericks bounce back anight after a blowout loss at Oklahoma City intheir return from the All-Star break. JamesHarden scored 26 points to lead the Rockets.

TIMBERWOLVES 111, SUNS 109Kevin Martin scored 28 points and Andrew

Wiggins added 20 to lead Minnesota pastPhoenix. Ricky Rubio had 10 points, 14 assistsand eight rebounds for the Wolves in their finalhome game before the highly anticipated returnof franchise icon Kevin Garnett.

Markieff Morris scored 31 points for the Suns,who have lost six of seven to fall behindOklahoma City in the race for the final WesternConference playoff spot. The Suns dressed only10 players after trading Goran Dragic, IsaiahThomas and three others Thursday.

MAGIC 95, PELICANS 84Victor Oladipo scored 22 points, and Nik

Vucevic had 18 points and 13 rebounds inOrlando’s victory over New Orleans. EvanFournier added 16 points to help the Magic winconsecutive games for the first time since Jan.14. The Magic are 3-2 under interim coach JamesBorrego. Tyreke Evans led New Orleans with 14points and 10 assists. Anthony Davis added 13points and 11 rebounds in his return from a rightshoulder injury.

JAZZ 92, TRAIL BLAZERS 76Gordon Hayward scored 20 points, and Trey

Burke had 19 points off the bench to help Utahbeat Portland. The Jazz used a 39-10 run overthe third and fourth quarters to take an 80-59lead. Damian Lillard scored 19 points forPortland.

NETS 114, LAKERS 105Joe Johnson scored 23 points and Brook

Lopez added 22 off the bench, leading theBrooklyn Nets to a victory over the skidding LosAngeles Lakers.

Deron Williams had 15 assists and 12 pointsin his first start since Dec. 19, helping the Netsend a three-game slide midway through theireight-game road trip. It was the first game backfor both teams following the All-Star break.Thaddeus Young had eight points in 12 minutesoff the bench in his Nets debut after Thursday’strade that sent Kevin Garnett to Minnesota -where the 2004 NBA MVP and 15-time All-Starspent his first 12 seasons. —AP

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L PCT GB Toronto 37 17 .685 - Brooklyn 22 31 .415 14.5 Boston 20 32 .385 16 Philadelphia 12 42 .222 25 NY Knicks 10 44 .185 27

Central DivisionChicago 34 21 .618 - Cleveland 34 22 .607 0.5 Milwaukee 31 23 .574 2.5 Detroit 22 33 .400 12 Indiana 22 33 .400 12

Southeast DivisionAtlanta 43 12 .782 - Washington 33 22 .600 10 Miami 23 30 .434 19 Charlotte 22 30 .423 19.5 Orlando 18 39 .316 26

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division

Portland 36 18 .667 - Oklahoma City 29 25 .537 7 Denver 20 34 .370 16 Utah 20 34 .370 16 Minnesota 12 42 .222 24

Pacific DivisionGolden State 43 9 .827 - LA Clippers 36 19 .655 8.5 Phoenix 29 26 .527 15.5 Sacramento 19 34 .358 24.5 LA Lakers 13 41 .241 31

Southwest DivisionMemphis 39 14 .736 - Houston 36 18 .667 3.5 Dallas 37 20 .649 4 San Antonio 34 21 .618 6 New Orleans 27 27 .500 12.5

NBA results/standings

Orlando 95, New Orleans 84; Indiana 106, Philadelphia 95; Toronto 105, Atlanta 80; Detroit 100, Chicago 91; Miami 111,NY Knicks 87; Minnesota 111, Phoenix 109; Cleveland 127, Washington 89; Dallas 111, Houston 100; Milwaukee 89,Denver 81; Utah 92, Portland 76; Sacramento 109, Boston 101; Golden State 110, San Antonio 99; Brooklyn 114, LALakers 105.

Tour of Omanstage scrapped

OMAN: The fifth stage of the Tour of Omanwas called off yesterday because of a com-bination of soaring temperatures andstrong winds, organisers said.

Officials at first decided to shorten the151-km stage from Al Sawadi Beach to theMinistry of Housing. Riders then discussedthe conditions with the organisers as they

felt safety was at risk in the sandstorms andin temperatures exceeding 40 degreesCelsius. The race will now end with today’ssixth and final 133-km stage. SpaniardRafael Valls of the Lampre team is the over-all leader ahead of American Tejay vanGarderen (BMC) and Spain’s AlejandroValverde (Movistar).—Reuters

Pervis strikes gold again on home track

FRANCE: Francois Pervis showed he hasno equal when it comes to racing overone kilometre as he became the first rid-er in 14 years to scoop a hat-trick of timetrial titles at the track cycling worldchampionships on Friday.

A day after successfully defending hiskeirin title, Pervis held off his challengersby a whisker to pick up his third succes-sive time trial gold.

The 30-year-old, who holds the worldrecord in 56.303, was just above theone-minute barrier, clocking 1:00.207 tobeat German Joachim Eilers by 0.087second.

Matthew Archibald of New Zealandtook the bronze in 1:00.470. Pervis is thefirst rider since compatriot ArnaudTournant, who won four years in a rowfrom 1998, to win three consecutivetime trial titles. With six titles to hisname, he is now the third most decorat-ed Frenchman on the track at the worldchampionships behind Felica Ballanger(10) and Daniel Morelon (7).

“I thought I had a margin of six tenthof a second and in the end it’s a marginof eight thousandth of a second,” saidPervis, who now only needs the sprintgold to repeat his three-title successfrom 2014. “I was stuck in the final (250-metre) lap but thanks to the support ofthe crowd I did not feel the pain.” Pervisis now confident he can retain his sprinttitle, an achievement he did not think hewas capable of a few days ago.

“At the beginning I was only thinkingabout retaining one title but now I’m onthe right path,” he said when asked if hewas up for a slam in front of his homecrowd.

“I’ve done the treble once, why nottwice. I’m determined to win the sprint.”The sprint title will be decided today.Russian Artur Ershov won gold in themen’s points race ahead of Spain’s EloyTeruel Rovira and German MaximilianBeyer, who took silver and bronzerespectively.

Australian Rebecca Wiasak claimedgold in the women’s individual pursuitby beating American Jennifer Valentewith another Australian, Amy Cure, tak-ing the bronze ahead of defendingchampion Joanna Rowsell of Britain.

With three gold medals, France topthe medal table while Britain, who domi-nated the last Olympics in London, haveyet to win a title. Meanwhile, cyclingshould be ready to face an uncomfort-able truth when the sport’s IndependentReform Commission (CIRC) publishes itsreport in the coming weeks, said thepresident of the governing body. “We’ve

committed to publishing the report theygive us and we’re not going to get into a(soccer govening body) FIFA type situa-tion of arguing about the report,”International Cycling Union (UCI) presi-dent Brian Cookson told reporters at thetrack cycling world championships.

A FIFA report into corruption hasbeen subject of much debate surround-ing its publication. Cookson assuredthere would be no such debate on theCIRC report, which could be redacted,but only for legal reasons. “Unless thereare legal reasons why names can’t benamed, then contributions will benamed,” he said. “I think we should allprepare ourselves for that ... When youopen a can of worms you find a lot ofworms.”

With a budget of over $3 million, athree -member panel was set up inJanuary 2014 to look into the ugly pastof cycling, especially-although not only-the 1998-2013 period, which comprisesthe Festina affair and the LanceArmstrong doping scandal.

UCI changed its regulations in orderto “propose reduced sanctions or anexemption from any sanctions to peoplewho ... admit having breached the anti-doping regulation”.

“I don’t think there will be a lot of newrevelations because I think we have apretty good idea of how widespread theproblem was,” said Cookson.

Cycling, however, is no stranger todrama, having dealt with drugs scandalsinvolving top names in the sport, includ-ing Tour de France winners Armstrongand Alberto Contador.

“But I don’t think there’s any othersport that has opened itself up to thatlevel of scrutiny,” said Cookson. The CIRCwill make recommendations whichCookson believes the UCI should be in aposition to implement as they cannot belegally challenged.

“They will make recommendationsthat will be possible to implement,” saidCookson, who will pay attention tothose who may have refused to collabo-rate.

“We can probably draw some conclu-sions from lack of contribution. “Equallywe may well be in a position to take dis-ciplinary action against people who arenamed by more than one source as hav-ing done something that is against theregulations.” Armstrong was one ofthose who contributed.

“Lance Armstrong always has anagenda and I don’t want to say any moreuntil we see what he’s said to the com-mission,” added Cookson. —Reuters

FRANCE: France’s Francois Pervis competes in the Men’s round of 32 Sprint finals at theUCI Track Cycling World Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Paris. —AFP

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S P O RT SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

FINAL RACE STANDING :Circuit ChampionshipStreet Class1. F. Al-Mutawaah Nissan 350z 18 Points2. A. Al-Fahad Mercedes C63 BlackSeries 16 Points3. M. Al-Ghanim Audi RS6 15 PointsSuper Class1. F. Al-Zaid KTM Xbow R 28 Points2. O. Al-Ibrahim Mercedes SL63 26 Points3. H. Al-Brhaim Porsche GT3RS 16 PointsUnlimited Class1. S. Haidar Porsche GT2 30 Points2. A. Al-Otaibi KTM XBow RR 24 Points3. F. Al-Zaid Lamborghini Huracan 11 Points

Quartermile Drag CompetitionStreet Class1. A. AlEssa Audi RS6 11.7002. M. Al-Ghanim Audi RS6 11.7473. A. Al-Sabah Audi S7 11.861Super Class1. T. Al-Musairie Audi R8-V10 12.3162. A. Assad KTM XBow 12.5923. O. Al-Ibrahim Mercedes SL63 12.832Unlimited Class1. H. Al-Jassim Nissan GTR 10.2382. N. Al-Sabah Porsche Turbo 11.1593. B. Al-Rayes Porsche Turbo 11.261

Autocross Competition1. H. Thiyab Mitsubishi Evo IX 47.8112. F. Al-Ameeri Toyota GT86 48.8843. A. Assad KTM XBow 48.980

Winners of GulfRun 10 honoredBAHRAIN: GulfRun -Powered by Zain-hosted a ceremony to award the winnersof the 10th GulfRun Race that took placeat the Bahrain International Circuit onJanuary 22nd and 23rd, 2015. At the cer-emony held on January 31st, 2015,GulfRun trophies were presented to the

winners in the presence of their spon-sors.

Ahmed Al-Mudhaf of GulfRun said:“GulfRun X celebrates our 10th anniver-sary organizing motorsport events. Thecompetition has evolved immensely,with over 70 participants resulting in

several records being broken in theirrespective classes.” Khaled Al-Fraih ofGulfRun added “GulfRunX marks our20th overall event promoting safe auto-mobile racing in a professional environ-ment. We are proud to see how our par-ticipants have developed tremendously

over the years.”GulfRun X is supported by a wide

range of sponsors: Title sponsorship byZain Telecom, Platinum Sponsors:Hydrotek, Jashanmal, Algida andConsolidated Contractors Company,Gold sponsorship by Slider Station, Al-

Sawan Co., MotoCare, ProTech, BespokeAutomotive, Costa Coffee, and SevenFriday; Venue Sponsor: 360 mall;Participating Dealerships: A. R. Albisher &Z. Alkazemi, Fouad Alghanim & SonsAutomotive and Ali Alghanim & SonsAutomotive.

MARIBOR: Austria’s recently-crowned worldchampion Anna Fenninger took full advantageof mishaps to local star Tina Maze and Americangreat Lindsey Vonn to win yesterday’s World Cupgiant slalom.

Fenninger, 25, the defending overall WorldCup champion, was fastest over both legs, beat-ing world silver medallist Viktoria Rebensburg ofGermany by seven hundredths of a second.

Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather was third,0.3sec adrift of the winner. Fenninger’s victorysaw her go top of the World Cup giant slalomstandings in front of compatriot Eva-Maria Brem,who was only 10th on Saturday-and close thegap on Maze in the race for the overall title to 84points.

Over the first leg, Fenninger was half a sec-ond down on Olympic champion Rebensburg,who must have thought her win droughtstretching back to December 2012 was about tocome to an end.

However, Fenninger found the resources nec-essary to produce a stunning second half of thesecond leg to deny the German and record the10th World Cup victory of her career.

“I felt that the middle of my second leg runwasn’t good,” said Fenninger. “I benefited from achange of angle to adopt a new rhythm whichhappily was rapid.”

Maze and Vonn failed to finish the first leg indifferent manners. Maze, 31 and who returnedhome with two gold medals and a silver fromthe world championships, lost control two gatesfrom the finish. “I wanted to move up a gear,”explained Maze. “In fact I thought I was homeand dry but the turn was too tight.” Vonn fellwhen she was on course to record the fastesttime. Maze has enjoyed huge success on theMaribor slopes before, from her first podium fin-ish in 2002 to three race wins and three othertop three places. —AFP

MARIBOR: Austria’s Anna Fenninger competes during an alpine ski, women’s World Cup giantslalom event.—AP

Fenninger wins giant slalom

PACIFIC PALISADES: South African veter-an Retief Goosen, a twice former U.S.Open winner, seized a one-shot lead atthe Northern Trust Open on Friday intough conditions more reminiscent of amajor championship. On a firm and fast-running Riviera Countr y Club layoutwhere most players struggled to get theball close with approach shots, Goosenscrambled well as he eked out a one-under-par 70 in the second round.

The 46-year-old ended his day with anunexpected flourish, draining a 30-footbirdie putt on his final hole, the par-fourninth, to post a six-under total of 136.

That gave Goosen, who is seeking hisfirst PGA Tour victory since 2009, a slen-der one-shot advantage over AmericansRyan Moore (68) and Justin Thomas (69),and Canadian Graham DeLaet (67). BurlyArgentine Angel Cabrera, like Goosen adouble major champion, was alone atfour under after carding a 68.

“I didn’t hit the ball as good as I hit ityesterday definitely,” Goosen, who hasbeen struggling for full fitness since hav-ing back surgery in August 2012 to repaira damaged disc, told reporters.

“Today was a little bit of scramblingwith everything really but I got it up anddown quite a few times, and that kept the

round going. “ The rough is thick inplaces. The greens are definitely becom-ing U.S. Open-style. They are gettingfirmer and quicker. Some of these holes,if you get away with a par, it ’s a goodscore.”

Goosen, a seven-times winner on thePGA Tour who clinched the U.S. Open in2001 and 2004, has not triumphed on thecircuit s ince the 2009 Transit ionsChampionship.

DeLaet, still hunting his first PGA Tourvictory after being a runner-up on threeoccasions, was delighted with his posi-tion heading into the weekend at one ofhis favourite venues.

“I played well, I really putted well,” saidthe 33-year-old from Saskatchewan. “Forthe first two days, I haven’t been strikingit quite as well as I expect of myself. But ahot putter will always keep you in there.“This is one of my favourite courses ontour and I’m right where I want to be.”

Masters champion Bubba Watson, whowon last year’s Northern Trust Open, wasthree strokes off the pace after carding a69.

The cut fell at three-over 145 with for-mer world number ones Ernie Els, FredCouples and Luke Donald among thosefailing to advance. —Reuters

Goosen moves

one shot clear

LOS ANGELES: Retief Goosen of South Africa tees off on the second hole during the sec-ond round of the Northern Trust Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. —AP

Ko retains share of leadMELBOURNE: Newly crowned world numberone Lydia Ko shot a one-under-par 72 yesterdayto retain a share of the lead heading into thefinal round of the women’s Australian Open, thethird event on this year’s LPGA Tour.

The 17-year-old from New Zealand had threebirdies and two bogeys to finish at seven-underon a hot and humid day at Royal Melbourne.“You hit in on to the green and you have thishumongous break,” Ko told reporters. “It’s toughin every aspect ... it does feel like a major.”

Ko finished the round tied with another teen,Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, who also shot 72

after starting her day with a bogey on the firsthole. South Korea’s Amy Yang carded a 70 to beoutright third, one shot behind the leading pairat six-under while Juliette Granada of Paraguayand Australia’s Katherine Kirk were a further twoshots back.

Both shot rounds of 70 with Granada reelingoff four birdies in her last 11 holes after making adouble bogey on the par-three fifth and Kirkmaking five bogeys in six holes on the back nine.

“I’m very happy with it because it’s not easyto make birdies out there and I made six,” Kirksaid. “I made two long putts and they’re just

bonuses but that’s probably as good as it getstoday.”

South Korea’s Jang Ha-na, who had startedthe day level with Ko and Jutanugarn, fell fourshots behind after a 76. Less than three weeksago, Ko became the youngest golfer to hold topspot in the world rankings when she tied for sec-ond place at the LPGA’s season-opening event inFlorida.

Tiger Woods had previously held the recordwhen he reached number one in 1997 at 21,while Shin Ji-yai held the women’s record afterreaching top spot in 2010 aged 22. —Reuters

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S P O RT SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Western ConferencePacific Division

W L OTL GF GA PTS Anaheim 36 16 7 176 167 79 Vancouver 33 22 3 165 155 69 Calgary 32 23 4 171 156 68 San Jose 30 22 8 170 172 68 Los Angeles27 18 12 159 151 66 Arizona 20 31 7 131 194 47 Edmonton 17 33 10 139 203 44

Central DivisionNashville 39 13 6 177 137 84 St. Louis 38 16 4 184 142 80 Chicago 35 19 5 175 138 75 Winnipeg 30 20 10 166 162 70 Minnesota 30 21 7 162 154 67 Dallas 27 23 8 181 185 62 Colorado 25 23 11 154 166 61

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

Montreal 37 16 5 154 130 79

Tampa Bay 36 18 6 195 160 78 Detroit 32 14 10 163 143 74 Boston 28 21 9 151 154 65 Florida 26 19 12 141 157 64 Ottawa 23 23 10 159 160 56 Toronto 23 31 5 163 180 51 Buffalo 17 38 4 109 200 38

Metropolitan DivisionNY Islanders39 19 1 193 165 79 NY Rangers 35 16 6 181 142 76 Washington32 17 10 176 147 74 Pittsburgh 32 17 9 163 146 73 Philadelphia24 23 11 155 170 59 Columbus 26 27 3 149 173 55 New Jersey 23 26 9 130 157 55 Carolina 21 29 7 129 155 49 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one pointin the standings and are not included in the losscolumn (L).

NHL results/standingsNY Rangers 3, Buffalo 1; New Jersey 4, Vancouver 2; Carolina 2, Toronto 1; St. Louis 5, Boston 1;Colorado 4, Chicago 1; Anaheim 6, Calgary 3; Minnesota 4, Edmonton 0.

RIO DE JANEIRO: Claycourt king Rafael Nadalbattled into the early hours as he reached thesemi-finals of the Rio Open after beatingUruguayan Pablo Cuevas yesterday.

Nadal, who will bid this season for a tenthRoland Garros crown, came through 4-6, 7-5, 6-0in two hours and six minutes, after Cuevas wasfastest out of the blocks in a contest lasting until3:20 am (0520 GMT). The late finish infuriatedthe world number three and defending champi-on, who complained of having to start a matchat just after 1:00 am.

“I know it is not the fault of the tournament. Itis the fault of the ATP wanting to change amatch over (to a different court). “If it were aGrand Slam where you get a day and a half(between matches), then okay,” Nadal said after-wards, reflecting that he would have to be backin action again Saturday evening. “I am going togo off to bed and we’ll see if I have recovered”for a meeting with Italian world number 28Fabio Fognini.

Fognini had kept Nadal waiting to enter thecenter court fray as he beat Argentine FedericoDelbonis 6-4, 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (11/9) in a three-hour marathon. Nadal had seen off fellowSpaniard Pablo Carreno Busta and BrazilianThomaz Bellucci to set up his meeting withCuevas, but the Mallorcan’s ring rustinessshowed as he conceded the opening set in 44minutes.

After trading early breaks, Cuevas broke inthe ninth game and although the challengerspurned a triple set point he closed out thefourth opportunity on 44 minutes.

Cuevas sent down six aces but fourteen-timeGrand Slam champion Nadal’s wiliness and sheerdoggedness reeled him in. Having leveled thecontest Nadal wrapped matters up in taking thedecider in just 25 minutes.

Also advancing was second seeded SpaniardDavid Ferrer who battled past Argentine JuanMonaco 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in just over two hours oncourt at the Jockey Club in hot sunshine.

With temperatures hitting 42 degrees C (108degrees F), both men made errors before Ferrerfinally managed to find top gear as he graduallywore Monaco down, moving him around thecourt.

The ninth-ranked Spaniard broke Monacotwice and pocketed the opening set with an aceand the Argentine looked out for the count afterdropping serve again at the outset in the sec-ond.

But the 30-year-old Monaco broke back in thesixth game as he leveled the contest.

That was as good as it got, however, for theSouth American veteran as Ferrer upped hisgame thereafter and finished his rival off with ahuge serve.

Ferrer will now face Andreas Haider-Maurer inlate yesterday’s semis after Haider-Maurer’s 7-6(7/4) 1-6, 6-4 win over Brazil’s Joao Souza. —AFP

Nadal survives to

reach Rio semis

BRAZIL: Rafael Nadal of Spain, serves to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay at the quarter-finals of theRio Open tennis tournament in Rio de Janeiro. —AP

BUFFALO: Rick Nash had a goal andassist, and Mackenzie Skapski stopped24 shots in his NHL debut in the NewYork Rangers’ 3-1 victory over the BuffaloSabres on Friday night.

Carl Hagelin, on a breakaway, andMats Zuccarello also scored for New York.The Rangers improved to 8-1-2 in theirpast 11, beat Buffalo for the sixth straighttime, and extended their road winningstreak to a season-best five straight.Skapski gave up a goal on the first shothe faced 14 seconds in, when MattMoulson converted Torrey Mitchell’s passinto the slot off a faceoff to the right ofthe New York net. Skapski got the nod inplace of Cam Talbot, who has gone 5-1-2in eight starts since Henrik Lundqvist wassidelined by a neck injury.

BLUES 5, BRUINS 1Vladimir Tarasenko became the

youngest St. Louis player to score 30goals in 23 years, getting the last twoscores in the Blues’ victory over Bruins.

Tarasenko’s 30th of the season cappedthe four-goal second and he got his 31stmidway through the third. At 23 years, 65days, he’s the team’s youngest 30-goalscorer since Brendan Shanahan got his30th at 23 years, 63 days in 1991-92.

Petteri Lindbohm, Alex Pietrangeloand T.J. Oshie scored on the Blues’ firstthree shots of the second to chase rookiegoalie Malcolm Subban and cancelTuukka Rask’s scheduled night off.

Brad Marchand scored for Boston,which lost its sixth in a row and playedmost of the final two periods withoutDavid Krejci (lower body).

AVALANCHE 4, BLACKHAWKS 1Tyson Barrie had two goals and an

assist, Gabriel Landeskog scored forthe fifth straight game, and Coloradobeat Chicago. Colorado used a pair ofco s t l y i n te r fe re n ce p e n a l t i e s o nChicago to win for just the third timein its last eight games. Brad Stuartadded his second goal of the seasonwhen goaltender Corey Crawford bad-ly misplayed his dump in from centerice, punctuating a frustrating per-formance for the Blackhawks. SemyonVarlamov had 27 saves for Colorado,and Landeskog also had an assist. Kris

Versteeg scored for Chicago.

WILD 4, OILERS 0Devan Dubnyk stopped all 15 shots

he faced for his sixth shutout of the sea-son, leading Minnesota past Edmonton.The former Oilers goalie now has fiveshutouts in 16 games for Minnesotasince being acquired in a trade withArizona on Jan. 14. He improved to 5-0this season against Edmonton.

Justin Fontaine had two goals, andNino Niederreiter and Jordan Schroederalso scored for the Wild. They are 10-1-1in their last 12 games.

DUCKS 6, FLAMES 3Ryan Getzlaf scored a fluke tiebreak-

ing goal midway through the third peri-od to key Anaheim’s five-goal outburst inthe final 14 minutes.

Getzlaf’s slap shot from the blue linewent over the net and caromed back offthe end boards, deflecting in off the backleg of Calgary goalie Jonas Hiller at 8:53of the third to put Anaheim up 3-2.Francois Beauchemin had tied the scoreless than 3 minutes earlier.

Andrew Cogliano got the Ducks onthe scoreboard in the second period, andKyle Palmieri, Jakob Silferberg andHampus Lindholm also scored in thethird. John Gibson finished with 25 saves.Matt Stajan, Lance Bouma and SeanMonahan scored for the Flames.

DEVILS 4, CANUCKS 2Mike Cammalleri scored twice in New

Jersey’s victory over Vancouver. JordinTootoo and Patrik Elias also scored,defenseman Adam Larsson had threeassists and Cory Schneider had 21 savesagainst his former teammates to give NewJersey points in 12 of its last 14 games (9-2-3) at the Prudential Center. Zack Kassianscored twice for the Canucks.

HURRICANES 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1Eric Staal had a goal and an assist and

Carolina beat Toronto to sweep thethree-game season series. Jordan Staalhad the other goal for the Hurricanes.Carolina goalie Cam Ward, playing in his499th NHL game - all for the Hurricanes -had 23 saves. Brandon Kozun had hisfirst NHL goal for the Maple Leafs.—AP

DUBAI: Simona Halep, the top-seededRomanian who looked in danger of a semi-finalexit, prodiced a marvellous recovery to reach thefinal of the Dubai Open, coming from a set downto overcome Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki.

Halep struck the ball with increasing flair andvigour against an opponent who won the titleand played five semi-finals here, and once shehad found her rhythm and timing she provedunstoppable as she accelerated to an impressive2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win.

Former world number one Wozniacki,responded positively to the stream of fineground strokes which increasingly penetratedher mobile defences, trying to take the attack toher gifted opponent in the final set, and creatingsome fine rallies.

But she only briefly seemed likely to stem theflow against her, when she had Halep 15-40down in the fifth game. Once the favorite hadescaped from that, she hit the ball better, eggedon by a surprisingly large and noisy band of sup-porters

Wozniacki had struggled hard with a virus allweek, and probably exceeded expectations insurviving so long, later explaining that the “air ofthe balloon just kind of went off.”

Halep by contrast improved day by day,something bolstered by another tenaciousrecovery, against Ekaterina Makarova, theRussian who was serving for the match againsther yesterday.

“At the beginning of the tournament it was alittle bit tough for me, because I came from FedCup, and there it was a bad week for me,” Halepsaid.

“But coming here I had two, three days relax-ing just and hitting the ball and I found myrhythm, found my game. Now I’m really happythat I play again a final this year,” she added,apparently a reference to her capture of lastyear’s title in Doha, a little further west along theGulf coast.

She will face a very different type of oppo-nent in Saturday’s final. Instead of the athleticWozniacki she plays Karolina Pliskova, the tall,steep-serving 22-year-old from Prague who lastmonth became the youngest player currently inthe top 20, and who reached the biggest final ofher career so far with her third outstanding win.

Having already ousted two seeded playersPliskova followed it with a nerve-shredding 6-4,5-7, 7-5 victory over Garbine Muguruza, an ele-gantly gifted 21-year-old from Barcelona,snatching a memorable victory just as herchances seemed to be fading.

Pliskova always had the more dangerousserve, and her 13 aces extended her year’s totalto 145, the most on the WTA Tour so far this year.But there were phases near the end when itseemed that might not be enough. She had tosave two break points at 3-4 in the final set,holding serve with the help of a video reviewwhich showed she had landed another ace, andslipped to love-40 when she was trying to close

the match out at 6-5.But Pliskova was prepared to gamble on hit-

ting flat and hard, something which paid off asshe clawed back four points in a row, and six outof seven, to close the match out.

The outcome went against the trend in thesecond half of the final set when Muguruza, whohad beaten three seeds herself, possessed themore supple and flexible game, giving her more

options in a tricky wind. But Pliskova has sur-prised many people including herself. The Czechhad arrived so tired at the start of the week sheeven wondered whether she might have towithdraw.

“I was just thinking, okay, I will just go on thecourt, try, and maybe I will lose, but I will not bemad at all,” she said. “But then I won - and I’mstill winning.”—AFP

More delight for Halep in Dubai

DUBAI: Simona Halep of Romania returns the ball to Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark during asemi final match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. —AP

NEWARK: Michal Neuvirth No. 34 of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save in this filephoto. —AFP

Rangers see off Sabres

p17 2.e$S_Layout 1 2/21/15 10:01 PM Page 1

World Cup results and standings

Pool A

At Brisbane

Australia v Bangladesh - no result, rain

Pool B

At Christchurch

West Indies 310-6 (Denesh Ramdin 51, Lendl Simmons 50) v Pakistan 150 all out (Umar Akmal 59, Sohaib

Maqsood 50)

West Indies won by 150 runs

Played won ost tied N/R points run rate

Pool A

New Zealand 3 3 0 0 0 6 +3.586

Australia 2 1 0 0 1 3 +2.220

Bangladesh 2 1 0 0 1 3 +2.100

Sri Lanka 1 0 1 0 0 0 -1.960

Afghanistan 1 0 1 0 0 0 -2.100

Scotland 1 0 1 0 0 0 -3.039

England 2 0 2 0 0 0 -3.952

Pool B

India 1 1 0 0 0 2 +1.520

West Indies 2 1 1 0 0 2 +1.267

South Africa 1 1 0 0 0 2 +1.240

Ireland 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.618

Zimbabwe 2 1 1 0 0 2 -0.495

UAE 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.258

Pakistan 2 0 2 0 0 0 -2.260

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

CHRISTCHURCH: A revitalised West Indiescashed in on a sensational Pakistan batting col-lapse to notch their first victory of the World Cupby 150 runs at Hagley Oval in Christchurch yes-terday.

The Caribbean cricketers scored 310-6, with115 runs coming in a swashbuckling final 10overs involving Lendl Simmons, Andre Russelland Darren Sammy.

Pakistan in reply crumbled to their secondstraight defeat when they were all out for 160,failing to recover after the top four wickets fell inthe first four overs for just one run, the worststart in one-day international history.

The West Indies, meanwhile, blocked outmemories of their shock first up loss to Ireland assix batsmen posted scores of 30 or more.

Denesh Ramdin top scored with 51, Simmonsadded 50 to go with his first match century,Darren Bravo scored 49, Russell smashed 42 off17 balls while Marlon Samuels and Sammychimed in with 38 and 30 respectively. Bravo wasunfortunate not to reach what would have beenhis 17th ODI half-century when he was forced toretire hurt with a pulled hamstring.

It was the second time he required medicaltreatment after being dazed earlier in theinnings when a powerful throw from YounisKhan hit him on the side of the helmet as hescrambled through for a single. Pakistan’s replywas in trouble when two wicket fell in their firstover.

At four down it was serious and at five for 25in the 11th it was all but over. When the rout wascomplete, Jerome Taylor had figures of three for15 and Russell three for 33.

Taylor, Russell and captain Jason Holder hadsteamed in with an aggression that had beenabsent from the West Indies armoury of late.

Back-to-back defeats to India and West Indieshave left Pakistan at the bottom of Pool B whilethe West Indies chances of making the top fourto qualify for they play-offs improved consider-ably. While the West Indies batting showed sub-stance lacking in their recent matches, they wereassisted by Pakistan having a miserable day inthe field compounded by four dropped catches.

Dwayne Smith, on 12, was dropped by NasirJamshed off Mohammad Irfan although Irfanwas immediately compensated with his nextdelivery which removed Chris Gayle for four.

The West Indies icon with the “master-blaster”

reputation has averaged a mere 14.42 over 19innings in the 20 months since his last century.

Irfan was guilty of a dropped catch when hegave Simmons a life on 45 while Shahid Afridispilled Bravo on 46 and Samuels on 29. On agloomy day for Pakistan, Jamshed played littlepart.

He left the field after dropping Smith in thefifth over and took no further part in the WestIndies innings although he was seen gettingadditional batting practice in the nets.

But that was to no avail. He was gone withoutscoring when he lobbed the second ball fromTaylor to Russell at short midwicket. Taylor fin-ished off the opening over with Younis Khancaught behind for a duck and in his next overdismissed Haris Sohail to have the impressivefigures of two overs, three wickets and one run.

Holder bagged his first wicket of the tourna-ment when he had Ahmed Shahzad caught inthe gully for one in his first over.

MOCK FUNERALPakistani cricket fans in the southeastern city

of Multan held a mock funeral for their nationalcricket team yesterday after a record-shattering

World Cup defeat at the hands of the WestIndies.

Residents of the city organised a symbolicfuneral procession, replete with a coffin withseveral cricket bats placed over it, directing theiranger at the Pakistani national team after a poorstart to the tournament that has also seen itdefeated by arch-rivals India.

“This time we were really hoping for Pakistanto win,” Shama Bibi, one of those taking part,told AFP. “We don’t want to watch this anymore.”Another demonstrator who gave her name onlyas Rafia blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board forwhat she said were poor selections and politici-sation of the game. Cricket fans elsewhere in thecountry, meanwhile, staged their own proteststo show their frustration with the national side.

Chasing the West Indies’s first innings total of310 runs, Pakistan gave up its first four wicketsfor just one run-the worst start in one-day inter-national history-before eventually losing by 150runs.

Pakistan, winners of the 1992 World Cup, nowsit at the bottom of Pool B and will resume theirfaltering campaign against Zimbabwe inBrisbane on March 1.—AFP

West Indies rout Pakistan

West Indies

D. Smith c Haris Sohail b Sohail Khan 23C. Gayle c Riaz b Irfan 4D. Bravo rtd hurt 49M. Samuels c sub (Yasir Shah) b Haris Sohail 38D. Ramdin c sub (Yasir Shah) b Haris Sohail 51L. Simmons run out (UmarAkmal) 50D. Sammy c Afridi b Riaz 30A. Russell not out 42Extras (b2, lb6, w14, nb1) 23Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 310Did not bat: J Holder, J Taylor, S BennFall of wickets: 1-17 (Gayle), 2-28 (Smith), 3-103(Samuels), 3-152 (Bravo retired hurt), 4-194(Ramdin), 5-259 (Sammy), 6-310 (Simmons)Bowling: Irfan 10-0-44-1 (1w); Sohail Khan 10-1-73-1 (1nb); Afridi 10-0-48-0 (1w); Haris Sohail 9-0-62-2;Riaz 10-0-67-1 (4w); Sohaib Maqsood 1-0-8-0.

Pakistan

Nasir Jamshed c Russell b Taylor 0

Ahmed Shehzad c Simmons b Holder 1Younis Khan c Ramdin b Taylor 0Haris Sohail c sub (Carter) b Taylor 0Misbah-ul-Haq c Gayle b Russell 7Sohaib Maqsood c Benn b Sammy 50Umar Akmal c Smith b Russell 59Shahid Afridi c Holder b Benn 28Wahab Riaz c Ramdin b Russell 3Sohail Khan c Ramdin b Benn 1Mohammad Irfan not out 2 Extras (lb3, w5, nb1) 9Total (all out, 39 overs) 160Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Jamshed), 2-1 (Younis), 3-1(Haris Sohail) , 4-1 (Ahmed Shehzad), 5-25(Misbah), 6-105 (Sohaib Maqsood), 7-139 (UmarAkmal), 8-155 (Riaz), 9-157 (Afridi), 10-160 (SohailKhan)Bowling: Taylor 7-1-15-3 (2w); Holder 7-2-23-1(1w); Russell 8-2-33-3 (2w); Sammy 8-0-47-1; Benn9-0-39-2 (1nb); Result: West Indies won by 150runs.

SCOREBOARD

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand: Complete scoreboard in the World Cup Pool B match between Pakistanand the West Indies at Hagley Oval in Christchurch yesterday:

CHRISTCHURCH: West Indies batsman Andre Russell falls to the ground as he plays a shot fromthe Pakistan bowling during their 2015 Cricket World Cup Group B match. —AFP

NEW ZEALAND: Almost two decadeshave passed since the glory days ofZimbabwe cricket and while the currentcrop of players lack the class of theirpredecessors, a promising start to theirWorld Cup campaign will raise hopes ofa quarter-final berth.

Zimbabwe struggled after beinggranted test status in 1992 but hademerged as a force by the end of thedecade with batsmen Grant and AndyFlower, David Houghton and all-rounders Heath Streak, Paul Strang andAndy Blignaut driving them forward.

In one-day cricket, the high pointcame with a fifth-place finish at the 1999World Cup, missing out on a semi-finalberth due to an inferior run rate, beforethe early stages of decline set in at theturn of the millennium. The politicisationof the sport, including selection policy,hampered the side’s progress and anexodus of leading players along with asuspension of test matches sent theteam into a downward spiral that it isstill struggling to arrest.

Currently 10th in the ODI rankings,Zimbabwe slumped to a 5-0 defeat in aone-day series in Bangladesh towardsthe end of last year and arrived for thetournament being co-hosted by NewZealand and Australia short of form andvictories.

However, the appointment of 1996World Cup-winning coach DavWhatmore and a morale -boostingwarm-up win over Sri Lanka lifted spiritswithin the camp and the positivemomentum was carried forward to theiropening two fixtures.

“I got a sense of genuineness to turnthings around, especially from the play-ers,” Whatmore, who guided Sri Lanka tovictory 19 years ago, said prior to thetournament.

“I am always an optimist but I amgoing in with my eyes wide open. Theycan play and they are tough enough.

They’re just looking for more of whatthey need to perform.”

BELATED DEBUTFor Zimbabwe to have any hope of

advancing from the pool phase, key con-tributions were needed from experi-enced batsmen Brendan Taylor,Hamilton Masakadza and Craig Ervine aswell as all-rounder Sean Williams andskipper Elton Chigumbura.

All have played a part so far as theZimbabweans pushed South Africa hardbefore succumbing to a late collapse butfollowed that up with an accomplishedchase of a challenging total against UAEin their second match. Masakadza, mak-ing his World Cup debut almost 14 yearsafter his first test as a 17-year-old, scoreda blistering 80 against the Proteas, whileTaylor and Ervine shone in key partner-ships with Will iams (76 not out) asZimbabwe overhauled UAE with twoovers to spare.

The turnaround in form does notcome as a surprise to Chigumbura, whofelt the conditions in the disappointingtour of Bangladesh did not suit a side heknew were set up to play better NewZealand and Australian pitches.

“They are good wickets here. Theydon’t turn much. Our focus since wecame here, we have been playing goodcricket, so we just need to carry on theway we are doing and try and forgetabout the negative that happened inBangladesh,” he said.

Zimbabwe will go into their nextmatch against a ragged West Indies sidefull of confidence and a victory in thatfixture will set up a March 7 showdownagainst an in-form Ireland with a likelyquarter-final berth on offer to the win-ners. “We need to take this momentuminto the game against the West Indies,”Chigumbura said. “Hopefully we can pol-ish up our fielding and have a goodgame in all departments.” —Reuters

Akhtar: Misbah a ‘coward’ captainKARACHI: Former paceman Shoaib Akhtarlabelled captain Misbah-ul-Haq “a coward” and “aselfish player” after Pakistan were crushed by150 runs by West Indies in the World Cup yester-day. “I have not seen a more coward and selfishcaptain than Misbah,” the 39-year-old Akhtartold the Geo News TV channel. “He is not willingto bat up the order to protect the other playersat a time when he needs to show inspiration.

“He is happy with his own runs and I don’tknow what coach Waqar Younis wants. He hasno game plan or direction for the team,” addedthe man known as the Rawalpindi Express, whowon 46 test caps and played in 163 one-day

internationals.Misbah, 40, has been a successful test captain

since taking charge in 2010 and has also led theone-day squad since 2011. He batted at numberfive against West Indies in Christchurch onSaturday but made only seven as Pakistan werebowled out for 160 to slump to their secondstraight defeat in the competition. Former testcaptain Ramiz Raja also believes it is time forsenior batsman Younus Khan to step down afterfailing in the opening two World Cup matches.

“I beg of Younus. Thank you for your servicesto Pakistan cricket but please leave this ODI sidenow,” said Ramiz. “I think Younus should tell the

management he should be rested. Our fieldinghas also been a joke but we need just one goodmatch to get back on the winning track.”

Another former captain Mohammad Yousufcalled for wholesale changes to be made afterthe World Cup. “The problems ailing our cricketwill not go away unless we produce better bats-men and the management is reshuffled,” Yousufsaid.

Former test spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was alsoscathing in his criticism. “We went to piecesagainst a West Indies side hit by internal issuesso what can we expect from this team in theremaining games?,” said Saqlain.—Reuters

Sri Lanka get chance to find form against Afghanistan

DUNEDIN: Sri Lanka get the chance to atone for their first uploss to New Zealand in the World Cup when they play tourna-ment novices Afghanistan in Dunedin today.

It is a game the Sri Lankans-particularly bowling spear-head Lasith Malinga-need to start feeling comfortable in thebattle to sort out the pecking order of the top four in Pool A.

With Australia and New Zealand likely to contest the toptwo play-off berths, and rankings suggest Sri Lanka areagainst England for the third and fourth places in a groupthat also includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Scotland.

But Ireland have already proven in Pool B that upsets arepossible with their win over the West Indies, reinforcing forSri Lanka that they cannot afford to under-estimateAfghanistan.

Sri Lanka have had an eight-day break to reflect on their98-run loss to New Zealand where Malinga had a nightmarereturn to action after a six-month injury lay off.

Unable to find a consistent line and length, he was beltedall around Hagley Oval in Christchurch and returned his sec-ond worst ODI figures of none for 84 off 10 overs.

“We believe he’ll come back strongly in the next fewmatches,” Sri Lanka batsman Lahiru Thirimanne said. A biggerconcern was the batting collapse-nine wickets fell for 109 —and sloppy fielding with Thirimanne estimating they giftedNew Zealand and extra 20-30 runs.

Only Thirimanne (65) and captain Angleo Mathews (46)showed confidence at the crease.

The big three-Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardeneand Tillakaratne Dilshan-lacked conviction and will relish theopportunity to play themselves in against a less hostileattack.

Cup debutants Afghanistan have had only a four-day turn-around and a flight from Australia since suffering a steep 105-run loss to Bangladesh first up in Canberra.

Their reply to Bangladesh’s 267 started disastrously whenthey were three for three after three overs and ended in the43rd over, although coach Andy Moles refused to accept itwas a true reflection of his side’s ability. He was disappointedthat his side put in a commendable effort for 35 overs beforeconcentration levels began to drop.

“Sri Lanka will be a step up, but I think my biggest mes-sage is you haven’t seen Afghanistan play yet,” Moles said.“The issue with associate cricket is at times it’s inconsistency.When we’re good, we’re very good. “Hopefully come SriLanka, they’ll do better. It’s like a teacher with children; wehave to educate them every day to get better, and you havegood days and you have bad days.” If Afghanistan need anyinspiration they only have to look at Sri Lanka’s emergenceon the world stage. In their first World Cup game, at OldTrafford in 1975, they were all out for 86 in the 38th overagainst eventual tournament winners the West Indies whoonly took 21 overs to seal a nine-wicket win. Two decades lat-er Sri Lanka were the world champions, beating Australia byseven wickets in the 1996 final at Lahore. —AFP CANBERRA: Afghanistan’s Nawroz Mangal plays at the ball in this file photo. —AP

Zimbabwe performance raises hope of progress

S P O RT SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

LONDON: Chelsea’s Eden Hazard (right) dribbles past Burnley’s Scott Arfield, during an English Premier League soccer match at the StamfordBridge ground. —AP

LONDON: After a week of controversy off thepitch, there was an afternoon of rancour on it atStamford Bridge, as Chelsea’s Nemanja Maticwas sent off in the Premier League leaders’ 1-1draw against Burnley yesterday.

Branislav Ivanovic had given Chelsea a first-half lead, but Matic was sent off after the intervaland struggling Burnley took advantage tosnatch a shock point thanks to Ben Mee’s headernine minutes from full-time.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho may feel his sidewere hard done by as they had three penaltyappeals turned down by referee MartinAtkinson, while Matic’s dismissal for retaliationwas sparked by a nasty tackle from AshleyBarnes.

It was a depressing end to a troubled fewdays for Chelsea, who could see their lead at thetop reduced to five points if Manchester Citybeat Newcastle later yesterday.

The club’s pre-scheduled “game of equality”came in the aftermath of the shocking incidenton the Paris Metro on Tuesday in which a blackman was blocked from getting on a train by

some of the club’s supporters, who were chanti-ng a racist song.

Both captain John Terry and chairman BruceBuck asserted the club’s commitment to anti-racism campaigns in their programme notes andsome Chelsea fans also produced bannersdenouncing racism.

But their attempt to move on was complicat-ed by reports that police are investigating com-plaints that Chelsea supporters were involved inmore racist chanting on their return from theParis Saint Germain match at St Pancras train sta-tion.

For 90 minutes at least, Chelsea could focuson football and Juan Cuadrado offered the firstthreat with a looping header that Tom Heatontipped over the bar.

Cuadrado was also instrumental to the homeside taking the lead after 14 minutes, even ifIvanovic’s goal was all about Eden Hazard’s sub-lime assist.

Having lost the ball near the by-line,Cuadrado did well to win it back, before feedingthe Belgian. Hazard then danced through theBurnley defence, beating two players, andsquared for Ivanovic, who finished from closerange for his sixth goal of the season.

PENALTY CLAIMSChelsea could have been much further ahead

by half-time, as Burnley offered virtually nothreat of their own, but Atkinson waved awaytwo penalty claims.

For the first, Ivanovic powered a shot at goal,

only for it to strike Michael Kightly’s hand. TheBurnley midfielder seemed to have his armstretched out, but Atkinson allowed play to con-tinue. Towards the end of the half, then, Costasurged into the box but was pushed by MichaelKeane.

Costa probably didn’t help his case by goingdown easily, although there was a definite shovefrom the defender. The second half continued inmuch the same vein, with Chelsea in total con-trol, and also having more claims for penalties.

Within minutes of the resumption, Filipe Luisburst into the box, only to be felled by KieranTrippier. Again, Atkinson shook his head. Chelseaalmost made it 2-0 from the resulting corner butIvanovic couldn’t quite get a good enoughtouch on Costa’s header.

Cuadrado was having a hugely productivegame and almost scored his first goal. He slid infor a Hazard cross, only for Mee to just aboutdivert the ball away. But in the 70th minuteMatic was sent off for serious foul play and afterthe midfielder challenged Barnes, who some-what dangerously left his foot up, catching Maticon the shin.

The Serbian reacted furiously, confrontingBarnes, shoving him to the ground, andAtkinson immediately showed the red card.

It was at that point the game turned, andBurnley scored a shock equalizer in the 81stminute when Mee got above the Chelsea backline to head home a corner, leaving the homecrowd to vent their frustration by booingAtkinson.—AFP

Miserable week for Chelsea

BIRMINGHAM: Tim Sherwood’s reign asAston Villa manager started in painful fash-ion as Stoke City snatched a late 2-1 win atVilla Park yesterday.

Sherwood was in charge for the firsttime following his appointment as succes-sor to the sacked Paul Lambert, but the for-mer Tottenham Hotspur boss was unableto spark an immediate improvement in hisstruggling team’s fortunes.

The hosts had taken the lead throughScott Sinclair’s first-half goal, but MameDiouf equalised just before the break andVictor Moses ensured Sherwood’s debutwould end in frustration when he convert-ed a penalty three minutes into stoppagetime after Villa defender Ron Vlaar was sentoff.

The dispiriting defeat dropped Villa tosecond bottom of the Premier League andleft them without a win in 11 league gamesafter a woeful run of six successive defeats.

Sherwood’s decision to head down fromthe stands and deliver a half-time team-talk, even though he hadn’t officially takencharge at the time, had inspired an FA Cupfifth-round win over Leicester City lastweekend. He was greeted warmly by theVilla faithful as he took his seat on thebench before kick-off after naming an

attacking line-up featuring GabrielAgbonlahor, Christian Benteke and Sinclair.

Villa seemed energised by Sherwood’spresence and took the lead in the 20thminute when Fabian Delph’s cross pickedout Sinclair, who rose to glance a headerinto the top corner for his first PremierLeague goal since August 2012.

It was a second goal in successiveappearances for Sinclair, signed on loanfrom Manchester City by the much-maligned Lambert, after he also netted inthe Cup win over Leicester and his latesteffort prompted a fist-jumping jig ofdelight from Sherwood on the touchline.

But Mark Hughes was furious afterStoke’s FA Cup fifth-round thrashing at sec-ond-tier Blackburn Rovers last weekendand his players mounted a strong responseto get back in favour with their manager.Moses tested Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzanwith a stinging drive and their pressure wasrewarded when Senegal forward Dioufequalised on the stroke of half-time with apowerful header from Stephen Ireland’scross.

Sinclair’s goal had been Villa’s only shoton target in the first half and Sherwooddidn’t take long to make a change after alethargic start to the second period.

Austrian forward Andreas Weimann wassent on to replace Carles Gil, but it wasStoke who won in dramatic fashion. Vlaar’spoor touch allowed Moses to steal the balland burst into the area, where he washacked down by the Villa defender. Thatbrought a red card for Vlaar and Nigerianwinger Moses added insult to injury as heslotted home the spot-kick.—AFP

Stoke snatch late win

Chelsea 1

Burnley 1

Aston Villa 1

Stoke 2

SUNDERLAND:S u n d e r l a n ds q u a n d e r e dan opportuni-ty to easetheir PremierLeague rele-gation fearsafter failing toconvert theirchances in adour 0-0 home draw with West BromwichAlbion yesterday.

The home side twice felt aggrieved by theofficials’ decisions, firstly when West Brom’sJoleon Lescott was shown only a yellow cardfor fouling Danny Graham and then whenAdam Johnson had a goal ruled out for offside.

Gus Poyet’s side have now won only one oftheir last nine league games, leaving themthree points above the bottom three in 16thplace, with Tony Pulis’s West Brom two pointsand two places better off. England managerRoy Hodgson was in attendance, presumablyto cast an eye over West Brom striker SaidoBerahino, but he was given cause to regret hischoice of game on a cold, dreary afternoon atthe Stadium of Light.

Sunderland were able to recall LeeCattermole after he missed 10 games withgroin and knee problems, and it was the sortof scrappy, attritional game in which the com-bative midfielder usually thrives. There wasearly controversy when Graham was broughtdown by Lescott as he raced towards goal, butto the home fans’ disapproval, referee MikeJones only showed the former Englanddefender a yellow card.

West Brom, who recalled captain DarrenFletcher, were the first team to register a shoton target, but James Morrison’s tame shot wascomfortably held by the recalled CostelPantilimon.

Jermain Defoe also returned for Sunderlandafter calf trouble, but the hosts had to waituntil the 37th minute before they threatened,with John O’Shea stabbing wide fromSebastian Larsson’s deep free-kick. Minutes lat-er the home team did have the ball in the netwhen Johnson rolled home after gatheringRicardo Alvarez’s pass and rounding BenFoster, but he was denied by an offside flag.

In the second half, Defoe saw a shotblocked by Craig Dawson and Santiago Verginiheaded wide from a corner, but despite theintroductions of Connor Wickham and StevenFletcher, Poyet’s men went home disappoint-ed.—AFP

LONDON: First-half goals by Santi Cazorla andOlivier Giroud gave Arsenal a 2-1 victory at CrystalPalace in the Premier League yesterday that end-ed up closer than expected.

Glenn Murray, the Palace substitute, replied ininjury time and almost grabbed an improbablepoint for the South London side when his last-gasp header rebounded off the post.

In the end it was not as comfortable a form ofpreparation for Wednesday’s Champions Leaguevisit of Monaco as it appeared for most of thegame, but it was good enough to lift ArseneWenger’s side to third place. Alan Pardew’s Palaceare now 13th and although their unimpressivehome record continues to be a concern, they willtake heart from the battling second-half displaythat almost brought them an unlikely draw. Withon-loan Yaya Sanogo ineligible to face his parentclub and former Arsenal striker MarouaneChamakh injured, it was no surprise the hometeam struggled to make a first-half impression.Arsenal manager Wenger had no such problems,and after eight minutes his side extended their

run of scoring inside the first 30 minutes to ninesuccessive matches.

Palace left-back Pape Soare took too long tomake a clearance and was closed down by DannyWelbeck. Attempting to rectify his error, Soaretripped Welbeck as the England forward chargedinto the penalty area, and Cazorla calmly convert-ed the ensuing spot-kick.

It was also the 10th time in their 13 homegames this season that Palace have concededfirst, giving their willing but limited team a stifftask.

They swarmed forward and tackled enthusias-tically-rather too enthusiastically at times-butArsenal looked more dangerous, and should havedone better when Laurent Koscielny headedGiroud’s flick-on wide.

In reply, Dwight Gayle fired a free-kick inchesover the bar after Calum Chambers had felledFraizer Campbell on the left. When FrancisCoquelin meted out similar treatment to thesame player, Gayle crashed his kick into thedefensive wall.

More subtlety was required, but at least Gaylewas trying. Just before half-time he pilfered pos-session from the dozing Koscielny and hit anangled shot that was deflected behind for a cor-ner by Mesut Ozil.

The Palace fans-who unfurled a banner attack-ing the recent Premier League television rightsdeal that read: “£5 billion in the trough yet sup-porters still exploited”-were also unhappy aboutmany of the officials’ decisions.—AFP

SPAIN: Barcelona’s Neymar (right) fights for the ball against Malaga’s Sergi Darder(left) during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium. —AP

MADRID: Barcelona’s La Liga title hopes weredealt a huge blow as Malaga stunned theCamp Nou with a 1-0 win yesterday. Juanmigrabbed the only goal of the game after justseven minutes when he pounced on an errorby Dani Alves.

Thereafter, the hosts failed to breakdowna well-organised Malaga defence, which alsofrustrated the Catalans in a 0-0 draw earlier inthe season.

Defeat leaves Barca still a point adrift ofReal Madrid at the top of the table, but theEuropean champions can extend that advan-tage to four points when they travel to Elcheon Sunday.

“We’re used to these kind of games. I’d likeit to be an accident but it is becoming habit,the opposition close up and we can’t find away through,” lamented Barca boss LuisEnrique.

“These kind of results are sometimes agood reminder that other sides have theirqualities. You could consider this a deserveddefeat.” It is the second time this season Barcahave been shocked at home after a 1-0reverse to Celta Vigo in November.

However, defeat was all the more of a sur-prise as Barca came into the game in fineform having won their last 11 games in allcompetitions, scoring 42 goals in the process.

Their star front three of Lionel Messi,Neymar and Luis Suarez were kept remark-ably quiet as Malaga became the first sidesince Getafe in 2007/08 to keep Barca score-less over two games in La Liga.

“They scored and shut up shop. They let ususe the ball out wide and we tried, but thefinal ball wasn’t there and we didn’t createclear-cut chances,” added midfielder SergioBusquets.

The opener arrived thanks to a hugedefensive error as Alves under-hit a backpassto Claudio Bravo and Juanmi nipped in to slothome. Barca nearly replied immediately as acorner fell to Rafinha Alcantara and his fiercedrive was blocked on his own goal-line byWeligton.

Malaga could even have been furtherahead at the break, though, had RicardoHorta made a better contact on two occa-sions when he was unmarked inside the Barcaarea. Messi nearly unlocked the Malagadefence with a lovely in-swinging cross thatAndres Iniesta could only head into the grate-ful arms of Carlos Kameni.

However, the hosts looked devoid of ideasafter the break as it was Malaga who posedthe constant threat on the counter-attack,albeit without creating any clear-cut chances.

Luis Enrique turned to Ivan Rakitic andPedro Rodriguez from the bench in the searchfor a breakthrough. It was Pedro who had thebest chance to level seven minutes from timewhen he was played in by Neymar, but theSpanish international could only fire the ballinto the side-netting.

And it wasn’t to be for Barca as a dippingvolley from Suarez was clutched by Kameni

before the Cameroonian denied Gerard Piquein stoppage time. —AFP

Barca slump to

stunning defeat

English Premier LeagueTottenham v West Ham 15:00beIN SPORTS 1 HDbeIN SPORTS 11 HDEverton v Leicester 17:05beIN SPORTS 1 HDbeIN SPORTS 11 HDSouthampton v Liverpool 19:15 beIN SPORTS 1 HDbeIN SPORTS 11 HD

Spanish LeagueDeportivo v Celta 0:00 beIN SPORTS 6 HDbeIN SPORTS 14 HDbeIN SPORTS 2 HDSociedad v Sevilla 14:00beIN SPORTS 2 HDbeIN SPORTS 14 HDBilbao v Rayo 19:00beIN SPORTS 2 HDbeIN SPORTS 12 HDVillarreal v SD Eibar 21:00 beIN SPORTS 6 HDbeIN SPORTS 14 HDbeIN SPORTS 2 HDElche v Real Madrid 23:00beIN SPORTS 2 HDbeIN SPORTS 11 HDbeIN SPORTS 14 HD

Italian Calcio LeagueAC Milan v AC Cesena 17:00 beIN SPORTS 3 HDLazio v Citta 17:00beIN SPORTS 2 HDVerona v AS Roma 17:00beIN SPORTS 10 HDbeIN SPORTS 14 HDbeIN SPORTS 2 HDFiorentina v Torino 22:45beIN SPORTS 3 HD

German BundesligaHamburger v Monchengladbach 17:30 beIN SPORTS 4 HDWolfsburg v Hertha 19:30beIN SPORTS 4 HD

French LeagueGuingamp v Montpellier 16:00beIN SPORTS 5 HDbeIN SPORTS 13 HDbeIN SPORTS 1 HDLyonnais v Nantes 19:00beIN SPORTS 5 HDbeIN SPORTS 13 HDbeIN SPORTS 1 HDStade v Metz 19:00 beIN SPORTS 6 HDbeIN SPORTS 14 HDbeIN SPORTS 2 HDEtienne v Marseille 23:00 beIN SPORTS 5 HDbeIN SPORTS 13 HDbeIN SPORTS 1 HD

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

Sunderland rue

missed chances

in Albion draw

Sunderland 0

West Brom 0

Arsenal scrape past Palace

LONDON: Crystal Palace’s English midfielder Jordon Mutch (center) vies with Arsenal’s Frenchstriker Olivier Giroud (left) and Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla (right) during the EnglishPremier League football match. —AFP

Crystal Palace 1

Arsenal 2

15Cavaliers dumpWizards

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 201518

West Indies routPakistan

Barca slump to stunning defeat Page 19

MANCHSTER: Manchester City’s Samir Nasri (right) beats Newcastle’s Massadio Haidara (left) to score during the English Premier League soccer match at the Etihad Stadium. — AP

MANCHESTER: Manchester City enjoyed the perfectpreparation for their Champions League showdownwith Barcelona as Edin Dzeko inspired a 5-0 demoli-tion of Newcastle at Eastlands yesterday. Dzekoscored one and had a hand in two others, ensuringManuel Pellegrini’s second placed side cut Chelsea’sadvantage at the top of the Premier League to fivepoints following the surprise draw between the lead-ers and struggling Burnley earlier in the day.

Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and David Silva, whonetted twice, were also on the scoresheet for rampantCity. And with new striker Wilfried Bony handed adebut by Pellegrini and key personnel showing thesort of form that has eluded them for much of thenew year, City’s biggest league win of the season willhave been noted by Barca ahead of their visit toManchester for the last 16 first leg on Tuesday.

The pre-game analysis had centred on Bony,

who started on the bench, and the return to mid-field of Yaya Toure, whose absence at the AfricanCup of Nations had coincided with champions Citylosing ground at the top of the table.

Yet it was Dzeko who dominated first half pro-ceedings, from the moment inside the opening 30seconds, when he pounced on Vurnon Anita’sdreadful first touch, surged into the Newcastle areaand was promptly brought down by the midfielderin his desperate attempt to make amends for hiserror.

Aguero displayed great poise to calmly roll the ballpast a stationary Tim Krul as City took an early steptowards recording an 11th consecutive league victoryagainst the north-east opponents.

Nor did it take long for Dzeko to make a furtherimpact on the game, a sure indication that the arrivalof Bony has had the desired effect of inspiring theBosnian, who came into the game without a leaguegoal since late September.

Dzeko’s darting 12th minute run down the righttook him into the Newcastle area and his threadedpass to Nasri allowed the Frenchman to skilfullywrong-foot Fabricio Coloccini and scoop an unstop-pable eight-yard shot into the roof of the net. It wasdifficult to imagine a way back into the game for thevisitors and Dzeko was about to make certain of thatwith still only 21 minutes on the clock.

Silva found space in midfield and lofted a sublime

pass behind the Newcastle back four. Coloccini mist-imed a header which allowed Dzeko to time his run toperfection, take the ball on his chest and bury a text-book finish past Krul.

The second half promised to be a stroll for thehosts although, within seconds of the restart,Newcastle pieced together their best move of theday, a superb hanging cross from Moussa Sissokowhich beat Vincent Kompany and found PapissCisse, whose excellent first-time volley brought anequally impressive reflex save from Joe Hart. Butthe Newcastle response was shortlived and twoSilva goals in as many minutes quickly had the routback on course.

After 51 minutes, Aguero carved out the firstwith a darting, cross-field run that brought him tothe edge of the area where his pass to Nasri washelped into the path of Silva, who turned in a sim-ple finish from eight yards.

Barely 90 seconds later, Toure’s long ball forwardfound Aguero on the edge of the Newcastle area,with the Argentinian enjoying a slight stroke ofluck as he miscontrolled the ball on his chest intothe path of Silva, who drove his shot past Krul from18 yards.

Thereafter, Bony might have marked his debutwith a goal, but Krul made up for his dreadful clear-ance by saving from the striker with an out-stretched leg. —AFP

Five-star City demolish NewcastleMan City 5

Newcastle 0

Chelsea 26 18 6 2 56 22 60Man City 26 16 7 3 56 25 55Arsenal 26 14 6 6 49 29 48Man Utd 26 13 8 5 44 26 47Southampton 25 14 4 7 38 17 46Tottenham 25 13 4 8 39 34 43Liverpool 25 12 6 7 36 29 42West Ham 25 10 8 7 36 28 38Swansea 26 10 7 9 30 34 37Stoke 26 10 6 10 30 34 36

Newcastle 26 8 8 10 31 42 32Everton 25 6 9 10 31 35 27Crystal Palace 26 6 9 11 28 37 27West Brom 26 6 9 11 24 34 27Hull 26 6 8 12 25 35 26Sunderland 26 4 13 9 22 36 25QPR 26 6 4 16 27 45 22Burnley 26 4 10 12 25 44 22Aston Villa 26 5 7 14 13 36 22Leicester 25 4 5 16 22 40 17

Aston Villa 1 (Sinclair 20) Stoke 2 (Diouf 45, Moses 90-pen); Chelsea 1 (Ivanovic 14) Burnley 1 (Mee81); Crystal Palace 1 (Murray 90) Arsenal 2 (Cazorla 8-pen, Giroud 45); Hull 2 (Jelavic 16, N’Doye 89)QPR 1 (Austin 39); Manchester City 5 (Aguero 2-pen, Nasri 12, Dzeko 21, Silva 51, 53) Newcastle 0;Sunderland 0 West Brom 0; Swansea 2 (Ki 30, Gomis 73) Manchester United 1 (Herrera 28).

Playing todayEverton v Leicester, Southampton v Liverpool, Tottenham v West Ham.

EPL results/standings

LONDON: Controversial QPR midfielderJoey Barton was sent off for a below thebelt punch yesterday, before his teamslumped to a late 2-1 defeat at relegationrivals Hull City.

Close-season signing and Senegal inter-national Dame N’Doye headed the 89th-minute winner for Hull on his 30th birthdayafter a Nikica Jelavic shot opened the scoresfor the hosts and a Charlie Austin headerhad levelled the scores five minutes beforehalf-time.

The result leaves QPR, who played for anhour with 10 men, in 17th place on 22points, level with next to bottom Aston Villaand Burnley, while Hull climb to 15th on 26points.

Barton had already been on a PremierLeague record run of seven yellow cards inseven games when he was sent off at Hull’sKC Stadium in the 33rd minute for punch-ing Hull’s Tom Huddlestone between thelegs during a general scrap.

Hull were at that time 1-0 up after Jelavic

produced a slick strike on 16 minutes tobeat ‘keeper Robert Green, and Rangerswere pushing for an equaliser when DarnellFurlong, on his QPR debut, fouled Jelavic.Hull’s players reacted with fury and, while amajor shoving session ensued, Barton pro-duced his punch on Huddlestone, leavingthe home number eight bent double andgasping as referee Anthony Taylor pro-duced a straight red.

That means Barton has now had sevenyellows and a red card in his last eightPremier League outings while Furlong wasbooked on his debut.

Austin then grabbed an equaliser for 10-man QPR on 39 minutes after latching onto a Matt Phillips cross from the right wing.He rose near the penalty spot and headedlow and right past Hull ‘keeper AllanMcGregor to make it 1-1.

N’Doye only arrived at Hull during thewinter transfer window from LokomotivMoscow, and his winner was his first goalfor his new club on his second appearance.

Neither of the two relegation strug-glers had won two consecutive gamesthis season but both had won last timeout, with QPR grabbing a first victory ineight at Sunderland and Hull beatingAston Villa 2-0. In 2008 Barton was jailedfor six months on charges of commonassault and affray after CCT V footagecaught him punching one man 20 timesbefore attacking a teenager, who lostteeth in the attack. — AFP

Barton sees red as QPR lose at Hull

Hull 2

QPR 1

SWANSEA: Bafetimbi Gomis scored a fortuitous win-ner as Swansea City completed their first ever leaguedouble over Manchester United with a 2-1 home vic-tory in the Premier League yesterday. Having won 2-1at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season,Swansea recovered from a goal down to repeat thedose at the Liberty Stadium.

Gomis, who came into the game with only twoPremier League goals to his name, was trying to getout of the way when Jonjo Shelvey took aim from 25yards in the 73rd minute.

But the French striker did not duck quicklyenough and the ball took a feint touch off him thatsent it flying over the desperate lunge of United goal-keeper David de Gea. The strike condemned Louisvan Gaal’s United to their first defeat in 20 matches inall competitions, enabling Arsenal to leapfrog theminto third place with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Swansea came within a whisker of taking the leadinside a minute when Gomis met Gylfi Sigurdsson’scorner, only to see his crisp header cleared off the lineby Ander Herrera.

Nine minutes later, Gomis popped up unmarkedagain, but headed over the bar. United offered pre-cious little in the early stages, despite an equalamount of possession, with Robin van Persie off-tar-get from Angel di Maria’s whipped 15th-minute free-kick. Swansea looked the more purposeful of thesides, with Gomis proving a genuine thorn in United’sside. His reverse pass to Neil Taylor helped to set upWayne Routledge, but the midfielder’s shot wasstraight at De Gea. United’s first shot on goal cameafter 20 minutes. Di Maria’s cross picked out Rooneyat the near post, but the striker’s tame strike, from adifficult angle, was comfortably collected by LukaszFabianski.

In fact, Fabianski was largely untroubled untilHerrera finished off a slick move to put the visitorsahead in the 28th minute.

Luke Shaw’s break, Rooney’s touch and Di Maria’sassist enabled Herrera to beat Fabianski at his far postand claim his fifth goal in a United shirt.

But Swansea were level inside two minutes. Taylorand Shelvey combined on the left and when the ballwas teased into the penalty area, Ki Sung-yuengnipped in to beat De Gea with a smart finish.

Van Gaal introduced Antonia Valencia for PaddyMcNair at the beginning of the second half. Within 90seconds of the restart Phil Jones found himself in thereferee’s notebook for dragging back Routledge onhalfway. United looked suspect at the back and whenShelvey crossed for Ki, the South Korean once againfound himself unmarked in the six-yard box. Thistime, De Gea did just enough to avert the danger. VanGaal replaced Shaw with Ashley Young on the hourand United began to look far more decisive in thefinal third. When the ball was worked into the box,after another piece of patient build-up, Van Persie hitthe side-netting from eight yards.

United have been chastised of late for supposed‘long-ball’ tactics, but their approach here was neat,tidy and increasingly menacing.Young twice appliedthe pressure with crosses from the left before MarcosRojo headed over from six yards. It was all hands tothe pump for Swansea, whose goal was leading acharmed life. But out of nothing, and with managerGarry Monk poised to bring on Jefferson Montero,Shelvey and Gomis combined to win the game.United lost possession and when Shelvey was afford-ed time and space in which to compose himself, hegrasped the opportunity by unleashing a thunderboltfrom outside the box. The telling touch, however,came from Gomis, who was credited with the goalafter Shelvey’s celebrations had subsided. — AFP

Swansea stun Man UnitedSwansea 2

Man United 1

BusinessSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Obama: No accident economy improving under his watch

Page 22

Shipping firms, dockers’union ink tentative deal

Page 23KIPCO announces KD 46.1m net profit for 2014

Page 25McLaren Super Series continues to break records

Page 26

PARIS: Bovine are on display at the Paris International Agricultural Fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris yesterday. — AFP

ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said yester-day a deal with EU leaders to extend the country’s hugedebt bailout would end hated austerity measures, buthis government faced scaling back its leftist agenda. In anational address after Greece was given a crucial four-month extension to its bailout in negotiations lateFriday, Tsipras said “this deal cancels out austerity.”

But the bailout extension came at the cost of conces-sions including a commitment to spell out reforms with-in two days. The reforms would be aimed at persuadingits European creditors to extend further loans. Athensreceived no immediate loan assistance.

Tsipras however argued that his government hadfoiled a plan by “blind conservative forces” in Greece andabroad to bankrupt the country at the end of the month,when its European bailout had been scheduled toexpire. At the same time, the 40-year-old prime ministerwarned that the “real difficulties” lie ahead. He said hisgovernment would now focus on negotiating a newreform blueprint with Greece’s creditors by June.

The new leftist Greek government, which came topower last month pledging to end deeply unpopularausterity measures, had asked for six-month loan assis-tance until it can submit its four-year reform plans.

Greeks ‘yielded’ “From a symbolic and therefore political point of

view, the Greeks yielded on everything,” Daniel Gros,director of the centre for European policy studies, toldItaly’s La Stampa daily.

“They can hope to receive nothing now... only to give,”Gros said. The government said it had averted threat-ened cuts to pensions and tax hikes, and had persuadedits European creditors to drop unrealistic budgetdemands. Some Greeks yesterday said even this was bet-ter than nothing.

“The room for negotiation was certainly limited, butthis deal is in the right direction and makes us feelrelieved,” said civil servant Alexandros Mylonas. “This is avery positive development,” added Nikos, a pensionerwho declined to give his surname.

“We could certainly do no worse than where we werebefore,” he said. But the government’s domestic rivalswere not inclined to be generous. The opposition social-ists said the deal took Greece “kilometres backwards”and accused the government of engaging in “theatricsfor domestic consumption”. The communist party alsonoted that “regardless of what it is called, the agreementis essentially a formal extension of the fiscal bailout,under strict supervision...and mainly a continuation ofanti-popular reforms.”

To win the hard-fought deal, Athens agreed to submita list of economic and other reforms by Monday.

The government pledged to refrain from one-sidedmeasures that could compromise existing fiscal targets,and had to abandon plans to use some 11 billion eurosin leftover European bank support funds to help restartthe Greek economy.

On Tuesday, the hated “troika” of creditors will decidewhether to proceed with Friday’s agreement, with thechance that the compromise could be scrapped if theyare not satisfied.

“If the list of reforms is not agreed, this agreement isdead,” Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis admittedafter the talks. The government had promised to spendtwo billion euros this year on poverty relief for thou-sands of families hit by five years of wage cuts and taxhikes. Last week it presented legislation offering debtforgiveness to low-income citizens owing money to thestate, but Brussels has now demanded to vet such meas-ures beforehand.

The 19 euro-zone finance ministers reached theagreement at tense talks pitting Greece against an angryGermany, suspicious that the new government inAthens was looking to ditch its austerity obligations.“The meeting was intense because it was about buildingtrust between us,” said Eurogroup head JeroenDijsselbloem, after the talks ended with a two-pagestatement setting out the tough conditions Athens willhave to fulfil.

“This trust will be on the basis of the agreements andchanges in the agreements which will have to beworked out,” he said. Two previous rounds of talks endedin acrimony with Greece accusing Germany and otherhardline EU member states of sabotaging a deal.

‘Rendezvous with reality’ “Being in government is a rendezvous with reality.

Quite frequently it is not as nice as the dream,” saidGerman Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, Greece’sharshest critic who has fought the new government’sdemands every step of the way. He added that the dealpromised to be a tough sell to government supporters. IfAthens sticks to its commitments, it stands to receive upto 7.2 billion euros in funds still left in the EU portion ofits 240 billion euro bailout ($273 million). Markets react-ed positively to the deal, with Wall Street surging to freshrecords as fears of a catastrophic exit by Greece from theeuro receded.

European officials said the standoff had in some wayscome down to a clash of personalities with Schaeublefurious at the negotiating style of the casual Varoufakis.

After the talks, a key European official said theSchaeuble-Varoufakis relationship was still fraught. “Thetrust just isn’t there. (This time) Varoufakis kept a verylow profile,” the source said. — AFP

Greek PM hails deal but faces tough choicesTsipras says debt bailout will end hated austerity

ATHENS: A street artist shows fun caricature portraits of various political leaders in the traditional Plaka district ofAthens yesterday. Greece’s government starts working on drafting a series of economic reforms it must present tothe other euro-zone finance ministers on Monday, as part of an agreement reached Friday to extend the country’sEuropean loan agreement. —AP

BAKU: Azerbaijan’s central bank yesterday sharplydevalued the energy-rich country’s currency asfalling oil prices and economic turmoil in Russia hithard across the former Soviet Union.

The Azerbaijani manat lost 34 percent of its val-ue against the dollar and 33.8 percent against theeuro in the cut, with new exchange rates set at 1.05manat and 1.195 manat respectively, the centralbank said. The move “aims at creating additionalstimuli for economic diversification, boosting com-petitiveness and exports,” the regulator said in astatement.

With oil and gas accounting for 95 percent of thecountry’s exports and 70 percent of state revenues,the Azerbaijani economy has been under pressurefrom falling oil prices since June.

In December, the central bank spent some eight

percent of its international reserves to defend themanat, and reportedly as much as $1 billion so farthis year. On Monday, the central bank moved toabandon its currency peg to the dollar in favour ofa euro-dollar basket.

The central bank said that “the adjustment of themanat’s rate is also directed at neutralising nega-tive effects from the devaluation of national curren-cies of Azerbaijan’s trading partners.”

The plunging value of the Russian ruble andfalling oil prices affected the national currencies ofmany ex-Soviet countries.

The Georgian lari fell this week to its lowest levelsince 2004. It has lost 22.4 percent of its valueagainst the greenback since November-a conse-quence of shrinking remittances from Russia anddeclining exports. — AFP

Azerbaijan sharply devalues currency

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.527Indian Rupees 4.798Pakistani Rupees 2.918Srilankan Rupees 2.217Nepali Rupees 3.002Singapore Dollar 219.200Hongkong Dollar 38.133Bangladesh Taka 3.793Philippine Peso 6.706Thai Baht 9.101Irani Riyal transfer 61.555Irani Riyal cash 121.740

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 78.811Qatari Riyal 81.270Omani Riyal 768.650Bahraini Dinar 785.700UAE Dirham 80.561

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 39.065Egyptian Pound - Transfer 38.822Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.381Tunisian Dinar 153.610Jordanian Dinar 417.130Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.985Syrian Lira 2.108Morocco Dirham 31.291

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 295.700Euro 336.800Sterling Pound 445.692Canadian dollar 234.870Turkish lira 121.540Swiss Franc 321.410Australian Dollar 231.090US Dollar Buying 294.500

GOLD20 gram 238.10010 gram 121.7405 gram 61.560

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

Belgian Franc 0.007726 0.008728British Pound 0.450567 0.459567Czech Korune 0.004264 0.016264Danish Krone 0.041466 0.046466Euro 0.332804 0.340804Norwegian Krone 0.035168 0.040368Romanian Leu 0.085049 0.085049Slovakia 0.008733 0.018733Swedish Krona 0.031279 0.036279Swiss Franc 0.313438 0.323638Turkish Lira 0.118730 0.125730

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.222280 0.233780New Zealand Dollar 0.215554 0.225054

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.233203 0.241703US Dollars 0.292400 0.297100US Dollars Mint 0.292900 0.297100

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003508 0.004108Chinese Yuan 0.046133 0.049633Hong Kong Dollar 0.036143 0.038893Indian Rupee 0.004462 0.004863Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025Japanese Yen 0.002418 0.002598Kenyan Shilling 0.003285 0.003285Korean Won 0.000260 0.000275Malaysian Ringgit 0.079324 0.085324Nepalese Rupee 0.003031 0.003201Pakistan Rupee 0.002698 0.002978

Philippine Peso 0.006589 0.006869Sierra Leone 0.000066 0.000072Singapore Dollar 0.215690 0.221690South African Rand 0.019455 0.027955Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001885 0.002465Taiwan 0.009314 0.009494Thai Baht 0.008748 0.009298

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.780011 0.788011Egyptian Pound 0.035956 0.039056Iranian Riyal 0.000082 0.000083Iraqi Dinar 0.000191 0.000251Jordanian Dinar 0.414149 0.421649Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000147 0.000247Moroccan Dirhams 0.022000 0.046000Nigerian Naira 0.001210 0.001845Omani Riyal 0.764111 0.769791Qatar Riyal 0.080730 0.081943Saudi Riyal 0.078430 0.079130Syrian Pound 0.001269 0.001389Tunisian Dinar 0.150684 0.158684Turkish Lira 0.118730 0.125730UAE Dirhams 0.079745 0.080894Yemeni Riyal 0.001339 0.001419

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000Australian Dollar 227.72Canadian Dollar 243.15Swiss Franc 322.91Euro 341.15US Dollar 296.50Sterling Pound 458.91Japanese Yen 2.53Bangladesh Taka 3.811Indian Rupee 4.766Sri Lankan Rupee 2.221Nepali Rupee 2.980Pakistani Rupee 2.930UAE Dirhams 80.57Bahraini Dinar 786.95Egyptian Pound 38.76Jordanian Dinar 421.29Omani Riyal 768.93Qatari Riyal 81.65Saudi Riyal 78.98

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 296.250Canadian Dollar 240.710Sterling Pound 457.775Euro 340.055Swiss Frank 275.655Bahrain Dinar 788.025UAE Dirhams 81.035Qatari Riyals 82.195Saudi Riyals 79.190Jordanian Dinar 418.150Egyptian Pound 38.750Sri Lankan Rupees 2.222Indian Rupees 4.763Pakistani Rupees 2.923Bangladesh Taka 3.806Philippines Pesso 6.692Cyprus pound 727.170Japanese Yen 3.495

Syrian Pound 2.565Nepalese Rupees 3.975Malaysian Ringgit 83.445Chinese Yuan Renminbi 47.870Thai Bhat 10.060Turkish Lira 120.790

Al Mulla Exchange

Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)US Dollar 295.600Euro 334.700Pound Sterlng 450.800Canadian Dollar 236.700Indian Rupee 4.765Egyptian Pound 38.710Sri Lankan Rupee 2.219Bangladesh Taka 3.796Philippines Peso 6.685Pakistan Rupee 2.925Bahraini Dinar 787.100UAE Dirham 80.450Saudi Riyal 79.000*Rates are subject to change

B U S I N E S S

Help yourcompany make a difference

this year“Businesses cannot be successful when thesociety around them fails.” This famous quoteshould be the mantra of all corporationstoday. Giving back is a way for companies tobenefit themselves while benefiting the soci-ety. Not only does it have positive results onyour bottom line and the welfare of yourcommunity, but it also fill your employeeswith a sense of pride and fulfillment.

In this article, the experts at Bayt.com, theMiddle East’s leading job site, recommendfive ways to help your company make a dif-ference this year:

1. Participate in charity eventsIf it’s not within your means to organize a

big charity or fundraising event, then whynot attend one instead? 95% professionals inthe Middle East and North Africa ( MENA)region want to be involved in more charity orcommunity service, according to theBayt.com’Corporate Social Responsibility: IsYour Company Making an Impact?’ poll.

2. Make use of your expertiseEvery company specializes in something

unique which they can share with the com-munity. Bayt.com specializes in helping jobseekers find jobs and recruiters find the bestcandidates for their jobs. Bayt.com organizesmany CV clinics across the MENA regionwhere our CV writing experts and career con-sultants give free career advice to job seekers.Bayt.com also has a unique UniversityRoadshow program where our career advi-sors meet with alumni and fresh graduatesand counsel them in making their careerdecisions. Modest activities like these canmake a huge difference!

3. Give free stuffYour company can certainly spare some

resources for its community. At Bayt.com, weprovide free CV writing services for job seek-ers who have been unemployed for morethan six months. Every month, we pick twojob seekers whom we feel are in the mostneed of this service. Try thinking of what freegoodies you can give away to help thosearound you and draw a smile on their face.

4. Put aside a part of your budgetfor charity

If companies plan ahead for their socialresponsibility they will not need to squeezetheir budget at year-end for charity, commu-nity service and other activities. What usuallyhappens is that companies don’t put asideany money for social responsibility whiledeciding their budget for the year aheadwhich usually leads to a shutdown of spur-of-the-moment campaigns by top manage-ment. Across the MENA, 95% of professionalsfeel it is important for their company to besocially responsible according to theBayt.com’ Corporate Social Responsibility: IsYour Company Making an Impact?’poll.Bayt.com sponsors more than 25orphans in Gaza, and many more around theworld, and has an annual budget set aside forthis purpose.

5. Partner with charitable organi-zations

There are many ways by which you canpartner with charitable organizations.Perhaps you could be a key sponsor in one oftheir events or even give them a part of yoursales proceeds. Bayt.com gives the option offree job postings and advertising space forcharitable organizations to help them hirenew people. The simpler the partnership, themore beneficial it will be for all partiesinvolved.

Bayt.com weekly report

WASHINGTON: Taunting Republicans, President Barack Obama onFriday said it’s “not an accident” that the economy is improvingunder his watch and chided GOP critics for “doom and gloom” pre-dictions that haven’t come true. Obama said he welcomed theattention Republicans have been giving to the middle class, “but sofar at least the rhetoric has not matched the reality.”

In a speech to the Democratic National Committee’s wintermeeting, Obama gave a rousing defense of his economic policiesand promoted his agenda as the right policy and political prescrip-tions for Democrats heading into the 2016 elections. He said theparty’s belief in “middle class economics,” including his health carelaw, has spurred economic growth and job creation.

“I just want everybody to remember that at every step as we

made these policies, made this progress, we were told by our goodfriends the Republicans that our actions would crush jobs, explodedeficits and destroy the country,” he told the partisan crowd. “If wewere actually to look at the evidence, it’s pretty clear who’s theoryof how to grow the economy and make sure American people areprospering, which theory works. We know their ideas don’t work.”

With the economic recovery showing signs of taking hold,Democrats and Republicans have turned their attention to improv-ing wages for working class Americans. While incomes haveincreased modestly recently, they hardly make up for decades ofpaycheck stagnation.

Both sides, however, have distinctly different views of how toboost wages. Democrats want increases in the minimum wage,

while Republicans call for fewer regulations and taxes on businessto free more capital that could be used for wage growth.

“If you are serious, if you are really troubled with incomeinequality,” Obama said, “then you can’t put forward proposals thatgive more tax breaks to folks who are doing the best.”

While Obama said he was willing to hear Republican ideas forhelping the middle class, he also argued that the best way forRepublicans to prove their commitment was by supporting his callfor a higher minimum wage. “The shift in rhetoric that they’reengaging in is good if it actually leads them to take differentactions,” he said. Following his remarks, Obama was to attend aDemocratic fundraiser with 25 supporters paying $33,400 toattend. — AP

Obama: No accident economy improving under his watchGOP critics chided for ‘doom and gloom’

MIAMI: US Army Veteran Fay Belton picks up job information at the annual Veterans Career and Resource Fair in Miami. The US Labor Department reports on the number of people who appliedfor unemployment benefits for the week ending Feb 14 on Thursday. —AP

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing new claimsfor unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week,offering fresh evidence that the labor market was gatheringsteam. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 283,000 for the week endedFeb. 14, the Labor Department said.

“The jobs market has its pedal to the metal. We havecrossed the dividing line where there are more signs of laborshortages now than there is an excess supply of discouragedworkers pounding the pavement,” said Chris Rupkey, chieffinancial economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.

Economists had forecast jobless claims falling to 293,000last week. The labor market also got a boost from Wal-MartStores Inc , the largest private sector employer in the UnitedStates, which said it would spend more than $1 billion thisyear to increase pay for about 40 percent of its US workforce.

The retailer’s hourly full-time and part-time workers willearn at least $9 an hour, or $1.75 above the current federalminimum wage, starting in April.

Prices for longer-dated US Treasuries traded slightly higher,while the dollar was little changed against a basket of curren-cies. US stocks were mixed. Sturdy wage growth has been themissing piece in the jobs recovery, which is showing signs ofrapidly accelerating.

From unemployment claims to payrolls and job openings,the labor market is becoming robust, even as economicgrowth has slowed in recent months.

Weaker demand overseas and cutbacks in capital spendingby businesses in the oil sector, where profits are under strainfrom lower crude prices and a strong dollar, are curbinggrowth. A separate report on Thursday showed factory activityin the US mid-Atlantic region slowed in February to its lowestlevel in a year as companies struggled to get new overseasbusiness.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its businessactivity index fell to 5.2, the lowest since February 2014, froma reading of 6.3 in January. A reading above zero indicatesexpansion in the region’s manufacturing.—Reuters

Dollar soars on Venezuela’s new

currency exchangeCARACA: The Venezuelan bolivar opened Thursday at 172 to the dol-lar on the first day of a government-sponsored exchange meant tocompete with the black market. The opening rate was 27 times theofficial rates of 6.3 to the dollar, available only for priority imports likefood and medicine. The leftist government of President NicolasMaduro earlier this month partially liberalized the country’s system ofstrict currency controls by allowing banks and brokerage houses tosell dollars at what the market will bear.

The amount of dollars that can be bought on the new exchange islimited, however, and demand for the greenback was undiminishedon the black market, where the dollar was trading at 190, up from ear-lier in the week.

Despite having the world’s largest oil reserves, Venezuela is besetby widespread shortages, soaring inflation and an economy in adeepening recession. The dollar has skyrocketed on the black marketin recent months with the plunge in oil prices. The partial liberaliza-tion was aimed at easing a severe hard currency shortage in a countrythat relies on imports for nearly all its needs.—AFP

US jobless claims fall as labor market improves

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

B U S I N E S S

LANCASTER, England: Europe seemincreasingly mired in a deep economicslump with little prospect of it easing withina decade, Polish Finance Minister MateuszSzczurek said on Friday.

Speaking to Reuters at a Congress ofPolish Students in Britain, Szczurek saidPoland-the EU’s biggest eastern memberand Europe’s most robust economy since2008 — would have to cope with a genera-tion-long story of ultra-low interest rates,inflation and growth across the rest of thecontinent.

He warned Poland’s relatively higherinterest rates could strengthen the zlotysharply, and increase downward pressure oninflation that will make it more difficult forthe central bank to influence growth in years

to come. But he said higher rates of returnon Polish investments were likely to allow itto avoid the “secular stagnation” of zerointerest and very low investment that beck-ons for Europe as it did for Japan over thepast two decades.

“The level of rates currently suggests weare in this for the long haul, certainly for ageneration, certainly more than a decade,”he said. “Looking at Japan, a big part of theslowdown was demographics. But in Japanthe growth of public debt was there to com-pensate - is Europe prepared for that? I don’tknow.”

Careful to say that he was not dictatingpolicy to the Polish central bank, he said thebank was obliged by its charter to back gov-ernment policies aimed at improving

growth. But he warned that complacency inmonetary policy could allow expectations ofvery low inflation or falling prices to bed in.“We’re worried about inflation, about nomi-nal growth,” Szczurek said, adding that thereal costs of servicing loans for Polish com-panies, after adding bank margins to fallingproducer prices and 2 percent base rates,were around 6-7 percent.

“The question is how high are real inter-est rates and how dangerous is that. The costof funding for companies is quite substan-tial,” Szczurek said.

BREXIT RISKSSome estimates say that up to 2 million

Poles have moved to the United Kingdomsince accession to the EU in 2004, helping

contribute to a debate over immigration andBritain’s place in the bloc before May’s UKparliamentary elections.

The rise of anti-EU party UKIP andConservative Prime Minister DavidCameron’s promise of a referendum onBritain’s membership if he wins in Maythreaten to disturb what has been a lucra-tive economic relationship for Poland inthose years.

“(If Britain left the EU) my concern wouldbe more about the broader EU politics andpolicy than the immediate economicimpact,” Szczurek said.

“Forgetting the natural conflict betweenEU net payers and receivers, there arethings on which Britain and Poland havecommon cause, like making sure that the

role of the non-members of the euro zonewithin the EU is protected.”

But he also said that any future UK gov-ernment should think carefully beforerestricting Poles’ and other Europeans’employment rights. “The message that Iwould like to get across is that free move-ment of labour is a crucial part of the com-mon market but not the only one,” Szczureksaid.

“The fact that thousands of British firmsoperate in Poland, the fact that City banksall trade Polish financial instruments, thatis all part of the deal. Once you startremoving pieces of it, you may wind upwith a far bigger disintegration of thecommon market than you initially bar-gained for.” —Reuters

Polish fm worries over deflation, eyes ‘Brexit’ risks

ATHENS: Tourists visit the Parthenon Temple at the Acropolis hill in Athensyesterday. Greece’s radical left government was at pains to put a positiveface on an EU compromise deal that is sharply at odds with its anti-austerityambitions. —AFP

LOS ANGELES: US West Coastdockworkers and port operatorshave reached a tentative deal ona new labor contract, officials saidlate Friday, averting a shutdownthat would have hit about half thecountry’s trade. The tentative five-year agreement, details of whichwere not immediately available,should free up operations at theports, with business “restored tofull capacity” beginning Saturdayevening, Labor Secretary ThomasPerez told a conference call.

Operations had slowed signifi-cantly since the labor contractexpired in July at key ports for tradewith Asia.

The International Longshore andWarehouse Union (ILWU), represent-ing 20,000 dockworkers, still mustapprove the deal with the PacificMaritime Association, representingmanagement for all 29 West Coastports.

The union’s steering commit-tee, however, was unanimous inits support. “After more than ninemonths of negotiations, we arepleased to have reached anagreement that is good for work-ers and for the industr y,” PMApresident James McKenna andILWU president Bob McEllrath saidin a joint statement.

“We are also pleased that ourports can now resume full opera-tions.” Perez oversaw four days ofnegotiat ions in San Franciscobetween the two parties. “Therewere far too many victims acrossthe country, and that’s why thepresident sent me here” Perez saidFriday. The labor secretary hadwarned the two sides to strike adeal for a new dockworker con-tract now or see talks move toWashington, which would placemore federal pressure on the twoparties.

‘A huge relief’ The agreement is “a huge relief for

our economy-particularly the count-less American workers, farmers andbusinesses that have been affectedby the dispute and those facing evengreater disruption and costs with fur-ther delays,” White House press secre-tary Josh Earnest said in a statement.

The president called on the twoparties to tend to backlogs as theyfinalize the deal, Earnest added.

The National Retail Federationhailed the agreement as well, saying“it is now time for the parties toquickly ratify the deal and immedi-ately focus on clearing out the crisis-level congestion and backlog at theports.”

“As we welcome today’s news,we must dedicate ourselves tofinding a new way to ensure thatthis nightmare scenario is notrepeated again,” added the NRF,the world’s largest retail federa-

tion. Since October, the dockwork-ers have steadily slowed the pro-cessing of incoming and outgoingfreight at ports that handle abouthalf of the country ’s trade. Inresponse, the port owners havecanceled shifts and had multiple-day lockouts to deny the long-shoremen holiday and overtimepay.

The result has been a backup ofbillions of dollars’ worth of cargo,with heavily laden container shipslined up outside ports from southernCalifornia to the border with Canada.Pressure grew on both sides to com-promise over what has been forweeks the key remaining issue, thearbitration system for labor disputeson the docks.

The ILWU sought more say onwho can serve as an arbitrator, amidreports that the union claims thesystem has become more biased infavor of port management. —AFP

Shipping firms, dockers’union ink tentative deal

Major US ports shutdown averted

LOS ANGELES: Shipping containers stacked beside idle cranes at the Port of Los Angeles in southern California. US West Coastdockworkers and port operators have reached a tentative deal on a new labor contract, a source close to the negotiations saidlate, averting a shutdown that would have hit about half the country’s trade. — AFP

ATHENS: The arduous negotiations betweenthe EU and Greece over a temporary loan toresolve Athens’ bailout crisis has reawakenedfears of a “Grexit”, or Greek exit from the singlecurrency bloc.

Here are in three questions some of the issues at stake:

1 - Could Greece really exit the euro-zone?The European Commission insists that a coun-

try cannot leave the common currency, becausethere is no provision for it in the EU’s treaties. Soonce you’re in, you’re in.

“Even if there is no clause” permitting a coun-try to quit the eurozone, “it is still possible to finda legal construct” which would allow it, accordingto Janis Emmanouilidis, from the European PolicyCentre.

Leaving the euro might have to be tied to anexit from the European Union. If Athens fails tofulfil its bailout obligations, the euro-zone and

European Central Bank (ECB) have the meansto push the country out by putting the squeezeon its lenders and forcing it to introduce a paral-lel currency.

That drastic measure is not on the cards fornow, with the ECB Wednesday extending andincreasing for two weeks the amount of emer-gency liquidity available to Greek banks.

The Jacques Delors institute in Berlin haswarned of two other possible scenarios, in the firstof which Greece introduces a parallel currency toenable it to fulfil its pledges to end austerity andease the burden on the poor.

But most Greeks are in favor of sticking withthe euro and the radical left ruling party Syrizahas never hinted it would contemplate such adramatic move. In the second scenario, Greeceexits the euro “by accident”, because a failure toreach a deal or even just a pause in negotiationssparks a sudden bank run, forcing the Greek gov-ernment to introduce a parallel currency.

Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis hassaid the euro-zone is like the Hotel California ofthe Eagles song, somewhere you can neverleave.

Consequences for Greece?Athens would default on its debt and

would no longer have access to the finan-cial markets. The country, heavily depend-ent on imports which would soar in price,would find itself at the mercy of “vulturefunds”, or be forced to ask China or Russiafor help, a move which would haveunprecedented geopolitical consequences.But the Greek economy could profit fromthe expected rapid depreciation of its cho-sen new currency, as well as boostingexports and tourism.

Former French president Valery Giscardd’Estaing has said Greece cannot get backon its feet while in the euro-zone becauseof the strength of the euro-and has calledfor it to leave on its own in a “friendly exit”.

Consequences for the euro-zone?Numerous analysts believe a Grexit

would be less damaging to the euro-zonethan if Athens had crashed out at theheight of the debt crisis in 2012, becausesince then safety nets such as the EuropeanStability Mechanism have been put inplace.

Standard & Poor’s ratings agency saidThursday that a Grexit “would not lead to adegree of direct contagion that woulddrive other sovereigns out of the euro”.

It also believes “the financial burden of aGrexit on the remaining 18 euro-zone sov-ereigns would be moderate and absorbedover decades.”

But an exit would still be very costly forthose countries holding Greek debt, and adomino effect cannot be ruled out, accord-ing to experts such as US economist BarryEichengreen.

“When a Portuguese family or Spanishbusinessman sees that euros have beenconverted into drachmas, they will taketheir cash out of their accounts. That couldlead to a run on the banks,” he toldGermany’s Die Welt daily. Matthieu Pigasse,CEO of investment bankers Lazard-who areadvising the Greek government in theirtalks-says the exit of any country, howeversmall, from the euro-zone would mean theend of the common currency. —AFP

Accidental exits, vulture funds: What’s at stake in a ‘Grexit’?

PARIS: French President Francois Hollandestressed on Friday that crisis-hit Greeceshould stay in the 19-nation euro-zone,ahead of a crunch meeting in Brussels on theissue. “Greece is in the euro-zone. Greece hasto stay in the euro-zone,” said Hollande fol-lowing talks with German Chancellor AngelaMerkel. Merkel said the German position“since the beginning of the Greek program”had been that Greece remain in the bloc andadded that Berlin “would do everything tocontinue along this path.”

“Today’s Eurogroup (meeting of euro-zone finance ministers) is the beginning of aphase of intensive work,” said Merkel. “Thereare still a lot of technical questions to solve, alot of decision to be taken. I don’t want to getinto the details, it will be the finance minis-ters who will deal with the detail today,”added the chancellor. She called for an“improvement” in the Greek proposals, point-ing out that the Bundestag lower house ofparliament would next week vote on theGreece program.

Hollande for his part said he knew of “noscenario today” that would lead to Greecebeing catapulted out of the bloc. “We havethe responsibility to make sure that the com-mitments are respected and, at the same

time, that the vote of the Greeks is heard,”added Hollande.

The talks came as euro-zone finance min-isters were preparing to meet in BrusselsFriday to consider a take-it-or-leave-it offerfrom Athens to extend its European loan pro-gram.

The meeting will be the third in a littleover a week as ministers battle to reach acompromise and prevent a damaging Greekexit from the single currency bloc. Greecemade the formal request for the loan exten-sion on Thursday, offering concessionsincluding a return-if not in name-of the hat-ed “troika” of creditors that had audited theGreek economy during the bailout.

In substance, the two sides are not all thatfar apart, with new hard-left Greek PrimeMinister Alexis Tsipras willing to press onwith reforms, if different from thoseembraced by previous conservative govern-ments. In return, Tsipras wants the euro-zoneto agree to short-term funding to buy thetime necessary to hammer out a new rescuedeal. With the European portion of thebailout soon to expire, Greece’s creditorsinsist it needs extra financing to stave offdefault and a “Grexit”-or Greek exit from theeuro. —AFP

Hollande: Greece has to stay in euro-zone

WASHINGTON: Moody’s cut Russia’s debt rat-ing by one notch into ‘junk’ territory Friday, say-ing the Ukraine crisis and the fall in oil pricesand the ruble will further undermine Russia’seconomy.

Just over one month since its last down-grade of Moscow’s credit rating, Moody’s saidRussia “is expected to experience a deep reces-sion in 2015 and a continued contraction in2016.

“The decline in confidence is likely to con-strain domestic demand and exacerbate theRussian economy’s already chronic underin-vestment,” it warned. Moody’s cut the ratingon the country’s bonds by one step to Ba1,“speculative” or junk grade. Previously it wasBaa3.

The move also came after Standard &Poor’s invoked Moscow’s ire on January 26 bycutting its rating for the country to junk level.Moody’s said Friday that the government’s fis-cal strength “will diminish materially” in theface of continuing capital flight, further lower-ing the country’s access to international capi-tal markets.

Moody’s also said that, although low forthe moment, the risk is rising that the govern-ment could respond to international pressureover its role in the Ukraine crisis by decidingto slow payments on its foreign debt.

Moody’s also attached to its rating a neg-ative outlook, suggesting the country faces

potentially another downgrade in the com-ing months.

“It seems more likely that Russia will faceadditional sanctions than that current sanc-tions are lifted in the coming months. Theassociated economic risks are also biased tothe downside,” it said.

The downgrade followed a week of fight-ing in Ukraine that appeared to underminea brand-new truce negotiated betweenleaders of Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine

and the pro-Moscow rebels. On Friday, the United States, the leader in

pressing sanctions on Russia, deliveredsome of its harshest criticism yet, accusingMoscow of “undermining” the global orderby supporting the rebels. “We call uponRussia to honor its commitments immedi-ately with decisive action before we seemore cities decimated and more lives lost ineastern Ukraine,” State Department spokes-woman Jen Psaki said. —AFP

Moody’s downgrades Russia debt to ‘junk’

FRANKFURT: IG Metall, Germany’s powerfulmetalworkers’ union, is hoping for a break-through in pay talks for the nearly four millionworkers in the sector next week, its leader saidFriday.

IG Metall chief Detlef Wetzel told the dailySueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview thatunion negotiators were readying for key talkson Monday “where we want to achieve abreakthrough.

“We’re heading there in the expectationthat it can work,” Wetzel said. “We’re now at apoint where it must be clear that there must

be a result or no result. If not, then we’ll beginstrike ballots in a number of regions and we’llcall for action,” he said.

“Employers will have to expect strikes if nodeal is reached.” IG Metall is demanding payrises of 5.5 percent for the nearly four millionworkers in sectors including electronics, theauto industry, household electrical goods andsemi-conductors. Its pay deals are used as abenchmark for much of German industry. Inrecent weeks, around 700,000 workers in thesector have staged warning strikes and tem-porary stoppages across the country. —AFP

German union eyes pay breakthrough next week

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

KSE trading activity remains subdued

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended lastweek with mixed performance. The Price Index closedat 6,640.92 points, down by 0.82 percent from theweek before closing, the Weighted Index increasedby 0.71 percent after closing at 453.09 points, where-as the KSX-15 Index closed at 1,105.09 points up by0.93 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average dailyturnover decreased by 4.55 percent, compared to thepreceding week, reaching KD 22.31 million, whereastrading volume average was 198.01 million shares,recording an decrease of 13.40 percent.

The stock market indicators closed mixed for thesecond consecutive week , among a continueddecline in the trading activity compared to activity ofthe preceding week, for both the volume and the val-ue, as the purchasing operations that included manyoperational and large-cap stocks continued its sup-port to the Weighted and KSX-15 indices, that wereable to realize gain in the previous week, whilst thePrice Index couldn’t realize gains in light of the profitcollection operations’ continued control over thesmall-cap stocks activities, in addition to the effect ofthe quick speculative operations which were presentduring last week.

Also, the stock market initiated the week’s sessionswith varied performance for the three indices, where-as the Price Index decreased as a result to the sellingand speculation operations executed on the low-priced stocks, as the Weighted and KSX-15 indicesreceived support from the purchasing power thatconcentrated on some large-cap stocks, especiallythe Banks sector. Moreover, decline over controlledthe next session, as the three stock market indicesrecorded limited losses affected by the profit collec-tion operations that included some large-cap andsmall-cap stocks. On Tuesday and Wednesday ses-sions, the stock market returned to vary once again,however with different roles, as the Price Indexclosed in the green zone, with limited total gains,while the Weighted and KSX-15 indices continued itsdecline affected by the control of the profit collectionoperations on the large-cap stocks, to lose part of itsweekly gains.

On Thursday session, the Price Index returned tothe red zone once again, to increase its weekly losses,whilst the Weighted and KSX-15 indices were able tocompensate its losses of the previous two sessions, toend the last session of the week in the green zone.

For the annual performance, the price index endedlast week recording 1.61 percent annual gain com-pared to its closing in 2014, while the weighted indexincreased by 3.24 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded4.26 percent growth.

Sectors’ IndicesSeven of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the

green zone, while the other five recorded declines.Last week’s highest gainer was the Consumer Goodssector, achieving 3.09 percent growth rate as itsindex closed at 1,245.95 points. Whereas, in the sec-

ond place, the Telecommunications sector’s indexclosed at 633.11 points recording 1.89 percentincrease. The Basic Materials sector came in third asits index achieved 1.83 percent growth, ending theweek at 1,104.20 points.

On the other hand, the Health Care sector headedthe losers list as its index declined by 3.92 percent toend the week’s activity at 869.70 points. The RealEstate sector was second on the losers’ list, whichindex declined by 3.08 percent, closing at 1,119.08points, followed by the Financial Services sector, asits index closed at 835.60 points at a loss of 1.27 per-cent.

Sectors’ ActivityThe Financial Services sector dominated a total

trade volume of 399.46 million shares changinghands during last week, representing 40.35 percentof the total market trading volume. The Real Estatesector was second in terms of trading volume as thesector ’s traded shares were 21.91 percent of lastweek’s total trading volume, with a total of 216.90million shares.

On the other hand, the Telecommunications sec-tor’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value;with a turnover of K.D 28.56 million or 25.61 percentof last week’s total market trading value. The Bankssector took the second place as the sector’s last weekturnover was K.D 21.40 million represented 23.87percent of the total market trading value. —Preparedby t h e S t u d i e s & R e s e a rc h D e p a r t m e n t , B a ya nInvestment Co.

BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

NEW YORK: A deal to avert a Greek default helped liftUS stocks to records in a week that also featured aWalmart wage hike and dovish Federal Reserve meet-ing minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained121.09 points (0.67 percent) to 18,140.44, finishing theweek at a fresh record. The S&P 500 rose 13.31 (0.63percent) to 2,110.30, also a record.

The biggest gains were in the tech-rich NasdaqComposite Index, which put on 62.63 (1.27 percent) to4,955.97.

Uncertainty about Greece hung over Wall Street allweek as officials from Athens and other euro-zonecountries sparred over conditions of extending theGreek bailout. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare saidthe continued threat of a default depressed trade vol-ume as investors “showed little conviction.”

But US stocks surged late Friday after euro-zoneministers agreed to extend Greece’s bailout for fourmonths provided Athens spells out key reform com-mitments by Monday.

Stocks were further bolstered by Fed minutes sug-gesting the US central bank would wait longer beforeraising interest rates.Many members of the FederalOpen Market Committee were more concerned aboutmoving too soon and stifling economic growth, espe-cially given the troubled economies in Europe andAsia, according to minutes from the FOMC’s January27-28 policy meeting.

“The meeting minutes were surprisingly dovish,”said IHS Global Insight in a note that said the chanceof a Fed rate hike as early as June had diminished.

Scott Wren, senior equity strategist at Wells FargoAdvisors, said the Fed minutes confirmed the centralbank’s caution in raising rates. At the same time,expectations of tighter monetary policy at some pointin 2015 will challenge stocks, he said.

“We are in for a year that’s going to feature morevolatility than last year,” Wren said. The broad market is

“pretty much at full value,” Wren said, though technol-ogy stocks have “more room to run” than other sectors.

Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert CapitalMarkets, was also bullish on tech as the Nasdaq edgedcloser to 5,000. “The Nasdaq is not too expensive,”Volokhine said. “The companies have delivered ontheir targets and are not overvalued.”

The week’s biggest corporate story was Wal-MartStores’ announcement that it plans to hike wages for500,000 workers in the US.

Walmart, the largest private single employer in theUnited States, said salaries for about 40 percent of itsUS staff would be lifted to at least $9 per hour in April,$1.75 above the federal minimum wage. By February1, 2016, US staff will be paid at least $10 an hour. Themove follows mounting criticism by labor unions andother groups that the company’s low wages havelocked workers into poverty and pressured some ofthem to seek public assistance to make ends meet.

Walmart expects the costs to trim 20 cents pershare from earnings this year. Dow componentWalmart shares lost nearly three percent Thursday fol-lowing the news, although shares rallied somewhaton Friday. In other news, chemical company DuPont,raised the volume in its proxy battle with activist fundTrian Fund Management, hitting out at the activistfund for launching a campaign “based on misrepre-sentations, inaccurate data and flawed analysis.”

Chesapeake Energy, a big player in the US shaleboom, filed suit against the company’s former chiefexecutive, Aubrey McClendon, alleging McClendontook proprietary information on oil prospects whenhe left the company. McClendon called the suit“baseless” and said he would sue Chesapeake for fail-ure to honor its contractual obligations. The casefocuses on oilfield data McClendon used to acquiredrilling prospects for his new venture, AmericanEnergy Partners. —AFP

NEW YORK: An entrance to a Wall Street subway station in New York. — AP

Greek deal, dovish Fed push

US stocks to new records

WALL STREERT WEEKLY REPORT

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announcedyesterday the launch of a newonline service that will allow cus-tomers and non-customers toapply directly online for the Bank’sproducts and services at their ownconvenience. This new applica-tion, which is available on thebank’s website, is available for allcustomers interested in the bank’sdiverse products and services. Byclicking on “Apply Now”, a cus-

tomer representative will contactthe customer and will advise theapplicant on the next stepsrequired for completion.

In addition, the new applica-tion is available in Arabic andEnglish, allowing customers to fillin the form in their preferred lan-guage and complete their requestwithout the need to visit any ofthe bank’s branches. This initiativewas designed as part of the bank’s

strategy and is part of the cus-tomer-centric strategy that pro-vides convenience and support toaccommodate the everydayrequirements of customers andnon-customers. To find out moreabout Burgan Bank’s latest promo-tions or any of its products andservices, customers are urged tovisit any of the bank’s branches, orcontact the call center on1804080.

Burgan Bank allows its customers

to apply online for its products

Markaz registers net profit of KD 4.02 million for 2014 BoD recommends cash dividend of 6 fils per share

KUWAIT: Kuwait Financial Centre ‘Markaz’announced a net profit of KD 4.02 million for2014, a net profit of 8 fils per share as com-pared with a net profit of KD 6.23 million (13fils per share) during the same period in 2013.Markaz return from Management Fee hasincrease by 18 percent, to reach KD 7.58.

Markaz’s total assets under management(AUM) reach KD1.089 billion (ExcludingNational Real Estate Portfolio) as of December31, 2014, with an increase of 11.7 percentcompared to the AUM during the same peri-od.

Markaz Board of Directors recommended acash dividend of 6 percent of share par value,which is 6 Fils per share to shareholders onrecord as of the date of the General Assembly.

Markaz Chairman, Diraar Y Alghanim, said“Although Markaz posted positive returns in2014, the performance of GCC stock marketsadversely affected the growth of our profit.Our diversification policy mitigated the

volatility of the markets during the year andMarkaz products continued to perform withpositive returns. Meanwhile, Markaz’s AssetsUnder Management (AUM) continued tosteadily grow; the growth was contributedfrom most of our investment products’ range,and was a result of the consistent perform-ance of our Funds.”

Manaf Alhajri, CEO of Markaz added: “Thedecline in net earnings compared with lastyear came during the 4th quarter because ofthe decline in values in all the regional capi-tal markets, which was triggered by thesharp drop in oil prices. These unrealizedlosses were partially offset by favorableresults from our real estate and investmentbanking activities.”

In 2014, Markaz received “Best AssetManager in Kuwait” award from GlobalInvestor Magazine; it is the fifth consecutiveyear Markaz wins this award. Markaz alsowon two “Best Investment Bank in Kuwait”

awards from Euromoney and Global Finance.Euromoney’s 2014 Award for Excellence rec-ognized Markaz for the second consecutiveyear based on demonstrated breadth ofcapabilities and excellence in execution ofclient mandates across debt market transac-tions, equity transactions, mergers andacquisitions, and advisory work.

In December 2014, Capital Intelligence,the international rating agency, affirmed therating of Markaz debenture bond at ‘BBB’. Therating reflects Markaz’s well established fran-chise and its conservative business model,supported by Markaz’s good liquidity posi-tion, its low leverage and its improved earn-ings in both 2013 and for the nine months toend Q3 2014. The agency classified the out-look on the rating as ‘Stable’, based onMarkaz’s track record of building solid per-forming funds across asset classes and thereputation for being the best performingfund manager on a risk-adjusted basis.

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

KUWAIT: KIPCO - the Kuwait ProjectsCompany - has announced a net profit ofKD 46.1 million ($157.4 million), or 33 fils($11.3 cents) per share for the year ended31 December, 2014 - an increase of 15 percent on the KD 40.1 million ($137 million),or 27.92 fils ($9.5 cents) per share, reportedin 2013.

KIPCO’s Board of Directors is recom-mending a cash dividend of 25 per cent(25 fils per share), subject to approval bythe company’s general assembly and regu-latory authorities.

KIPCO’s operating profit in 2014 rose to

KD 166 million ($567 million), an increaseof 26 per cent compared to KD 132 million($451 million) in 2013.

KIPCO’s total revenues from continuingoperations in 2014 increased 16 per centto KD 598 million ($2billion) compared tothe KD 514 million ($1.76 billion) reportedin 2013.

KIPCO’s consolidated assets increasedin 2014 to KD 9.3 billion ($32 billion) fromKD 8.6 billion ($29.4 billion) in 2013.KIPCO’s fourth quarter profit (for the threemonths ended December 31, 2014) cameto KD 14.3 million ($49 million), an increase

of 2 per cent on the KD 14 million ($48 mil-lion) profit achieved in the same period of2013.

Faisal Al-Ayyar, KIPCO’s Vice Chairman,attributed the company’s 2014 results tothe strong performance of Group compa-nies in the core business sectors: “In ourShafafiyah Investor’s Forum in 2013, wepromised our shareholders that we willdeliver double digit growth. We deliveredon our promise that year and have contin-ued the trend in 2014. Our track record indelivering strong results means that 2014is KIPCO’s twenty-third consecutive year of

profitability. Throughout the year, our coresectors - which include banking, media,real estate and insurance - have posted sig-nificant performance growth trends. In thebanking sector, Burgan Bank continued toachieve strong profitability. Also, ourbroadcast company, OSN, remains on thecourse of revenue increase, while enhanc-ing overall customer experience with thelaunch of a number of strategic initiativesand advanced technology. We will contin-ue to adhere to transparency, and work toachieve greater growth for KIPCO in thecoming years.”

KIPCO announces KD 46.1m net profit for 2014‘Double digit growth attributed to strong group performance,’ says vice chairman

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah dailydraws on February 15, 2015, announcing thenames of its winners for the week ofFebruary 8th to February 12. The Al-Danahdaily draws include draws each working dayfor two prizes of KD1000 per winner.

The winners are: (Sunday 8/2): Athary Hamed Mohammed

Al-Khatan, Muntaha Mustafa Abo Theel(Monday 9/2): Khaled Mater Mohammed

Al-Mutairi, Fadel Habib Husain Hasan( Tuesday 10/2): Baqer Al-Sayed

Mohammed Baqer Behbahani, GladysManlangit

(Wednesday 11/2): Basel Abdulkarim,Najat Salman Mohammed Al-Ansari

( Thursday 12/2): Ali Bader Salim Al-Shimmari, Bashir Mohammed Ali Nasar

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah 2015 draw lineupincludes daily draws (2 winners per workingday each receive KD1000). Al-Danah’s 1stQuarterly draw will be held on 26 March(KD200,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), 2ndQuarter - 25 June (KD250,000, KD125,000,and KD25,000), 3rd Quarter - 17 September(KD500,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000). Thefinal Al Danah draw for the Million Dinars willbe held on 7 January, 2016 whereby the Al-Danah millionaire will be announced along-side winners of KD250,000 and KD50,000.

Al-Danah allows customers to win cash

prizes and simultaneously encourages themto save. Each KD100 gives the customer 1chance daily which accumulates day by day.The more money saved and the longer it isin the account, the more chances individualsstand to win. Every

Al-Danah prize draws will automatically bedeposited into the winner’s account withintwo working days. Open an account andDeposit now to Win Big, Live big, with Al-Danah 2015. Al-Danah also offers a numberof unique services including the Al-DanahDeposit Only ATM card which helps accountholders deposit their money at their conven-ience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator tohelp customers calculate their chances ofbecoming an Al-Danah winner.

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah account is open toKuwaitis and all residents of Kuwait.Customers who open an account and/ ordeposit more will enter the draw within twodays. To take part in the Al-Danah 2015upcoming yearly draw, customers must havean Al-Danah account containing at least KD200. To be part of the Al-Danah draws, cus-tomers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 59 branch-es, transfer on line, or call the CustomerContact Center on 1805805 for assistance andguidance. Customers can also log on towww.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, tofind out more about Al-Danah and who thewinners are.

Gulf Bank announces winners of Al-Danah daily draws

Faisal Al-Ayyar, KIPCO’s Vice Chairman

KUWAIT: Government spendingsaw healthy growth during the firstnine months of fiscal year 2014/15(FY14/15) despite the latest declinein revenues. Government spendingrose by 9.6 percent to KD 10.6 bil-lion fiscal-year-to-date (fytd) inDecember compared to the sameperiod last year. Spending growthwas driven by increases in both cur-rent and capital spending.Revenues were down as oil pricescontinued to slide late in 2014.

The government’s interim sur-plus shrank to KD 10.6 billion fromKD 14.3 billion during the compa-rable period a year ago. We expectthe government surplus to besmaller at around KD 4.1 billion forthe full FY14/15 ending in March2015. While this would be thesmallest surplus in six years, but itremains sizable at around 8.7 per-cent of GDP.

Current spending grew by 8percent through December to KD9.7 billion fytd. ‘Miscellaneousexpenditures & transfers’, whichinclude military salaries and trans-fers to the social security fund,grew by 3.7 percent to KD 5.2 bil-lion fytd. Wages & salaries rose by2.6 percent to KD 2.6billion fytd.Meanwhile, spending on goods &services was up by a solid33 per-cent to KD 1.9 billion fytd.

Capital spending continues towitness healthy gains in FY14/15,with signs that the pace of spend-ing is on the rise. Spending rose by

a robust 31 percent to KD 0.9 bil-lion fytd in December and stood at39 percent of FY14/15’s budgetedallocation. This compares to an his-toric average of 35 percent by theninth month, indicating thatprogress on project execution ispicking up. Both major compo-nents of capital spending, ‘trans-portation & equipment’ and ‘pro-jects, maintenance & land pur-chases’, continued to see robustgrowth rates, for the 9-month peri-od at 64 percent and 29 percent,respectively.

Government revenues main-tained their downward trend inDecember as oil prices hit newlows. Total revenues declined by12 percent to KD 21.2 billion fytd,due to a decrease in oil revenues.However, despite the decline, rev-enues remain well above the con-servative budget estimates com-ing in at 106 percent of the full-year official budget projectionthanks to higher oil prices earlierin the year.

Oil revenues were down13 per-cent y/y against a backdrop oflower oil prices and production.During the nine months toDecember, Kuwait’s export crude(KEC) price averaged $93per bar-rel, 10 percent lower than duringthe same period last year, whilethe December average was muchlower at $57.Production was alsodown by 3.4 percent to average2.86 million barrels per day.

Kuwait’s capital spendinggrowth rises despite oil fall

Qalaa Holdings, formerly Citadel Capital, anAfrican leader in infrastructure and industry,announced yesterday that it has mandatedEFG Hermes Investment Banking to adviseon the possibility of full divestiture ofQalaa’s remaining key food businesses:leading confectioner Rashidi El-Mizan, a sto-ried brand that is Egypt’s market leader inhalawa and tahini products; and DinaFarms, the largest private-sector dairy farmin Egypt and Africa and the top fresh pack-aged milk producer in the country.

The news comes following a disclosureissued to the Egyptian Exchange yesterdaynoting that Qalaa expects to generate c.$300 million in proceeds from exits in themedium term.

The packaged foods industry in Egypthas recently seen an uptick in M&A activity.“In this context, we have been approachedby more than one party interested in poten-

tial transactions regarding our key invest-ments in the agrifoods sector; we have aclear duty to shareholders to fully exploreour options in this respect,” said QalaaHoldings Chairman and Founder AhmedHeikal.

Explained Qalaa Co-Founder andManaging Director Hisham El-Khazindar:“Any divestiture would achieve the twin aimof significantly accelerating the deleverag-ing of Qalaa, while simultaneously fundinggrowth opportunities in core subsidiariesgenerally, and in nationally significant ener-gy projects specifically, including fuelsbunkering and storage project Mashreq inthe Suez Canal and large-scale power gen-eration projects by TAQA Arabia.”

Concluded Heikal: “This will hasten ourreturn to profitability, which we would nowanticipate in 2015 as opposed to next yearas we had originally envisioned.”

Qalaa Holdings considers sale of Dina Farms, Rashidi El-Mizan

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo: Touted as one of the firstinterstate highways, a 200-mile span of Interstate70 between suburban St Louis and Kansas Citystands as a prime example of the challenges facingthe nation’s roads. Built in the 1950s and ‘60s witha 20-year-life expectancy, the four-lane highway iscrumbling beneath its surface and clogged withtraffic as it carries more than 30,000 vehicles a dayon many of its rural stretches, requiring more fre-quent repaving. The cost to rebuild and widen it isestimated at $2 billion to $4 billion - as much asfive times the projected yearly construction andmaintenance budget of Missouri’s transportationdepartment.

And there is no easy way to pay for it. The statefuel tax hasn’t risen in about 20 years, and votersdefeated a 1-cent sales tax for transportation. GovJay Nixon has since floated the idea of hiking thegasoline tax and reviving a previously failed planto turn I-70’s reconstruction over to a private entitythat could charge tolls estimated at up to $30 percar. As legislatures convene across the country,lawmakers and governors are confronting similarrealities in their own states: how to address anaging network of roads, highways and bridgesduring an era in which federal money for suchprojects has remained stagnant or declined.

Figures compiled by The Associated Pressshow the total amount of money available tostates from the Federal Highway Trust Fund hasdeclined 3.5 percent during the five-year periodending in 2013, the latest year for which numberswere available. During that span, the amount ofinflation-adjusted federal highway moneydropped in all states but Alaska and New York.

In response, states have tried to devise ways tofill the gap. Governors and lawmakers in severalstates are proposing new taxes, tolls and fees torepair a road system whose historical reliance onfuel taxes no longer is providing enough money tocover its costs.

“You’re seeing states all across the country thatare looking to do something, because they realizeyou can’t count on the federal government,” saidMissouri state Rep. Dave Hinson, a Republicanwho supports the idea of raising the state sales taxfor road improvements.

Roads, highways and their bridges form the

basic framework of everyday life in America. Theyprovide the crucial underpinning of daily com-mutes, the trucking industry’s transfer of food,computers and other goods from seaports to sub-urban strip malls, and summertime trips to beachtowns and mountain getaways. They also are gen-erally an afterthought until they no longer are upto the task.

Governors, lawmakers, local elected officialsand engineers across the country say that is wherethe country has arrived, with a decades-old high-way infrastructure that is not receiving enoughmoney to match its needs. About 20 percent of thenation’s 900,000 miles of interstates and majorroads are in need of resurfacing or reconstruction,according to federal data analyzed by theAmerican Road & Transportation BuildersAssociation. A quarter of its 600,000 bridges are insuch poor condition that they are rated as struc-turally deficient or are considered to be functional-ly obsolete because they have narrow lanes or oth-er features not designed for today’s traffic.

The funding shortfall has led to rougher roadsrequiring more frequent, short-term repairs andjammed commuter routes that simply have morevehicles than the roads were designed to carry.

On Missouri’s I-70, the surface remains relative-ly smooth, but its weakening foundation meansthe state must pay to repave it more frequently.Whenever a lane closes, traffic backs up for miles.

On one fairly typical recent afternoon, the con-gestion forced Tom Crawford to drive his DodgeDurango about 10 miles under the speed limit.Behind him, two trucks with oversized loads werebacking up traffic. In front of him was another longline of blinking red tail lights.

“We’ve got trucks and cars that are just bumperto bumper - people hitting their brakes,” Crawford,president and chief executive of the MissouriTrucking Association, said in a cellphone interviewfrom the highway.

The increased congestion on I-70 often makestrips longer for truckers, he said, potentially rais-ing their costs. Calls for greater funding havebeen getting louder in state and local govern-ments. This year, transportation funding increasescould be on the agenda in as many as one-thirdof state legislatures. —AP

US states seek alternatives for highway, bridge funding

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

McLaren Automotive celebrated the build ofthe 5,000th McLaren supercar. Based on thegroundbreaking carbon fibre MonoCell chas-

sis, the car forms part of the recently announcedMcLaren Super Series, which is only in its fourth fullyear of vehicle production.

Launched initially with the 12C in 2011, and fol-lowed by the 12C Spider and then 650S, the SuperSeries is now the highest volume carbon fibre super-car range ever. This milestone comes shortly afterMcLaren announced a third consecutive growth insales, with more than 1,400 Super Series models beingdelivered during 2014.

The 5,000th car, which rolled out from the assem-bly line in the McLaren Production Centre, is a VolcanoYellow 650S Spider commissioned for a customer in

Australia. It was joined at the end of the productionline by the first production 12C, which has nowbecome part of the McLaren Heritage Collection.”Weare truly proud and honoured to be associated withthe McLaren automotive brand as it reached animportant milestone in their history,” said Yousuf Al-Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & SonsAutomotive, the exclusive importer for McLaren, LandRover, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce automobiles inKuwait. “We therefore extend our heartfelt congratula-tions to McLaren Automotive as we look forward to aneven stronger partnership with them in the years tocome,” he added.

Production of the 12C began at the start of 2011,with the early models assembled by approximately 30employees in a designated manufacturing facility

within the McLaren Technology Centre. Deliveriescommenced globally from June, before the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre opened its doorsin November, becoming the birthplace of all McLarenroadcars. The bespoke facility was designed by Foster+ Partners, and combines outstanding quality withhighly efficient production methods. It is now a hometo over 500 employees working across the manufac-turing and logistics operations.

In March 2014, the assembly line was updated toaccommodate the production requirements for thenew McLaren 650S in response to strong customerdemand.

‘McLaren has come a long way in four short years.The completion of the 5,000th vehicle in the SuperSeries is a fantastic milestone for the brand. The 12C

was, and still is, a groundbreaking supercar and, trueto the values of McLaren, we have continued to devel-op and build on this great product into the 650Swhich has delighted our customers and won count-less awards across the world,’ said Mike Flewitt, ChiefExecutive Officer at McLaren Automotive.

‘We have built a solid foundation for the business,delivering record numbers year on year, and I look for-ward to our next production milestone with the addi-tion of the 675LT to the Super Series, and the newSports Series later in the year.’

Close to 450 of the 5,000 cars produced so far havebeen sold or allocated to the Middle East & Africaregion, with the United Arab Emirates and Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia leading the demand. This is a relativelysmall number of cars when compared to the numbers

produced by McLaren Automotive competitors, how-ever, this is a key component of the company’s busi-ness strategy to ensure exclusivity. As such, theMiddle East region has a strong 650S order bank, asexclusivity is one of the attractions of McLaren owner-ship along with greater power performance and tech-nologies than the competition.

The McLaren Super Series forms the core range ofMcLaren supercar offering and sits above the recentlyannounced Sports Series in the model hierarchy. Thefamily of models will be soon expanded with therecently-announced McLaren 675LT, confirmed forglobal reveal at the 2015 International Geneva MotorShow in March. The announcement follows an internalstaff ceremony attended by over 1,400 employees atthe McLaren Production Centre in Woking, Surrey.

Groundbreaking McLaren Super Series continues to break records

5,000 units assembled since production commenced in early 2011

KUWAIT: Al-Mazaya Holding andDumankaya Construction announcedthe launch of Ritim Istanbul project,which occupies a prime location inthe Asian part of Istanbul, on one ofthe busiest and most prosperousneighborhoods on the bridge con-necting Asian and European sides ofIstanbul.

The announcement was made in apress conference that was held onWednesday, February 18, 2015.

The press conference was attendedby Abdullah Al-Duwaikh KuwaitAmbassador to the republic of Turkey,Rashid Al Nafisi, Chairman of Al-Mazaya Holding, Eng Ibrahim Al-Saqa’abi, Group CEO,. Jim Yolcu, CEO ofMazaya Turkey and Eng. Salwa Malhas,Chief Business Development andMarketing Officer at Al-MazayaHolding. Representatives of the Turkishfirm in the press conference were UgurDumankaya, Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of Dumankaya and BarisDumankaya, Vice Chairman ofDumankaya.

The launch ceremony included avideo presentation about RitimIstanbul and a presentation deliveredby Eng Ibrahim Al-Saqa’abi, CEO of Al-Mazaya Holding and Baris Dumankaya,Vice Chairman of Dumankaya.

The conference was opened by.Ugur Dumankaya, Chairman of theBoard of Directors of Dumankaya andRashid Al-Nafisi, Chairman of Al-Mazaya Holding.

In his speech, Ugur Dumankayathanked the attendees and expressedhis gratitude to Al Mazaya Holding forjoining hands with Dumankaya.. Ugur

added that the Ritim Istanbul project isa promising investment of the strategicalliance between Al Mazaya andDumankaya and that the project willadd a landmark to the underway proj-ects in Istanbul, due to its strategicposition and its state of the art andsplendid designs. Ugur said that theproject consists of six towers - threeresidential towers and three office tow-ers, in addition to a 22,000 squaremeter shopping mall.

Augur added that 45% of the proj-ect has been sold and marketing worksare underway to sell the remainingunits inside and outside Istanbul.

In his Speech, Rashid Al-Nafisi,Chairman of Al-Mazaya Holding,extended heartfelt thanks and appreci-ation to Dumankaya Company and tothe generous Turkish people for theirhospitality and warm reception. Heexpressed his optimism about Al-Mazaya’s presence in the Turkish realestate market which bodes well for asuccessful economy and prosperity,due to its offerings and encouragingincentives to investors, such as inte-grated infrastructure, qualified work-force, free investment climate, low tax-es and increasing demand from insideand outside turkey.

He praised the benefits of invest-ment in this huge market, in which thereal estate sector accounts for 19.5% ofthe Gross Domestic Product, a truththat paves the way for large invest-ment in this sector.

Al-Nafisi added: “Today we unveilRitim Istanbul, one of the most spec-tacular residential real estate projects,situated in the Asian part of Istanbul.

The joint venture is a result of the part-nership agreement with Dumankaya.The investment percentage of Al-Mazaya and its partners in the projectis 50%. The project is underway andprogressing in full swing. The firstphase of the project is completed andit is scheduled for delivery in 2016”.

Al-Nafisi added that Al-MazayaHolding is constantly striving to

select distinctive projects whichmake a milestone in the real estatedevelopment industry. The opportu-nity to invest in Ritim Istanbul projectin collaboration with DumankayaReal Estate marks the company ’sinvestment in one of the most spec-tacular projects that serve residential,commercial and office sectors alike,and is situated in a prime and busylocation on the bridge that connectsthe European side with the Asian side

of Istanbul. Al-Saqa’abi gave a brief presenta-

tion about Al-Mazaya Holding as adual listed company on Kuwait StockExchange and Dubai Financial Market,having a capital of $234.6 million andexposure to many markets in the GCCand Middle East region. The companyis dedicated to real estate develop-ments and offers holistic services such

as project management and market-ing, real estate portfolio managementand management of third party ’sproperties.

Al-Saqa’abi clarified that RitimIstanbul is the first project of thestrategic alliance agreement signedbetween Mazaya Holding andDumankaya Real Estate in June 2014.

Speaking about the project, Al-Saqa’abi said: “This joint venture is aresult of completed and in-depth

studies of investment feasibility andpredictable returns on investment. Theresults showed encouraging results toenter investment, alongside our fullconfidence in our strategic partnerand our outstanding ability toexchange experiences to develop theproject to the highest level.

Worth mentioning is that Al-Mazaya’s entry in this investment

reflects its low risk strategy which isbased on geographical diversification,cash flow tables and a diversifiedinvestment portfolio that includesoffered for sale projects and incomegenerating projects. This project con-sists of residential units offered forsale, commercial units and officespaces offered for rent.

He added: “We have full confidencein the increasing demand for suchprojects from inside and outside

Turkey. Therefore together withDumankaya we have prepared a wiseplan to expand our marketing cam-paign to include Kuwait, KSA, UAE,Oman and Bahrain, as Mazaya hasexposure and presence in these mar-kets through its many operationoffices”.

Baris Dumankaya, Vice Chairman ofDumankaya, gave a presentationabout Ritim Istanbul project andexplained its components, saying thatit is situated on a total area of 39,000square meters, with a total built uparea of 274,000, comprising of 863 res-idential units, varying in size from one,two and three bedrooms, in additionto 363 office spaces and 147 retail out-lets.

Baris added that Ritim Istanbul isone of the most promising projects,which is adjacent to the Metro stationand is located within proximity of sixuniversities and five hotels, just 15-minutes’ drive from Sabiha GokcenInternational Airport. The project willhouse the highest and most beautifulrestaurants on the 37th floor with astunning view of the Princess Island inIstanbul.

Baris added that the first phase ofthe project has been completed, whilethe second phase is underway in 2015.He praised the technical specificationsof the project, being the first project inIstanbul to feature smart systems.Baris concluded that the project willattract a large number of investors andend-users and that Dumankaya willcollaborate with Al-Mazaya Holding tomarket the project in Turkey andabroad.

Al-Mazaya Holding, Dumankaya launch Ritim Istanbul project

t e c hnolo g ySUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

MIAMI: Two US astronauts wearing what NASAassured are “healthy” spacesuits prepared for aspacewalk yesterday to lay cable outside theInternational Space Station, after an equipmentfailure briefly delayed the mission. CommanderBarry “Butch” Wilmore and flight engineer TerryVirts were expected to begin at around 1250GMT the first of several spacewalks aimed atpreparing the orbiting outpost for the arrival ofUS commercial crew capsules, bringing astro-nauts to low-Earth orbit in the coming years.

Initially planned for Friday, the spacewalk waspostponed by a day to allow NASA more time towrap up an investigation into a problem with apiece of equipment inside certain spacesuits.The breakdown in the fan pump separator-which helps control the suit’s temperature-intwo of the American spacesuits was part of thesame system that failed in 2013 when waterflooded the helmet of a spacewalking Italianastronaut, nearly drowning him.

In December, when astronauts were doingspacesuit maintenance, they found that the fanpump separator in one suit did not speed up asexpected. The same problem with anotherspacesuit was detected in January. A replace-ment part that was on board the space stationwas installed in the suit Virts is wearing, and anew spacesuit was shipped to the space stationfor Wilmore. NASA commentator Rob Naviassaid early Saturday that both suits are “healthy”and in good working order. The spacewalk willbe the 185th in the history of the space station,and is scheduled to last about six and a halfhours. — AFP

US astronauts prepare spacewalk to lay cable at station

In this image from video made available by NASA, astronauts Terry Virts (left) and Barry Wilmore speak next to their spacesuits during an interviewaboard the International Space Station. — AP

WASHINGTON: It would be another powerfultool in the arsenal of US and British spy services:encryption keys for a large share of the SIM cardsused for mobile phones. A report by the inves-tigative news website The Intercept, citingleaked documents from former National SecurityAgency contractor Edward Snowden, said the USand British agencies “hacked into” Europeanmanufacturer Gemalto to gain these keys. Thereport, if accurate, could allow the NSA and itsBritish counterpart GCHQ to secretly monitor alarge portion of global communications overmobile devices without using a warrant or wire-tap.

“This is a huge deal,” said Bruce Schneier, acryptographer who is chief technology officer atthe security firm Resilient Systems, and a fellowat Harvard’s Berkman Center. “The things thatare the most egregious are when the NSA hackseverybody to get a few people,” Schneier said.“They’re getting encryption keys of everybody,including you and me. It’s a scorched earth poli-cy.” The report suggests the intelligence servicescould have access to a wider range of communi-cations than has been previously reported.Other documents have indicated that the NSAcan monitor email and traditional phone com-munications. Schneier said the report is credibleand probably indicates other SIM card makerswere hacked as well. “Do we think this is the onlycompany? Odds are low,” he said.

David Perry, threat strategist at the securityfirm F-Secure, called the revelations “the biggeststory on mobile privacy we’ve seen so far.” Thereport is troubling, Perry said, because of themethods described. “Intelligence services arehacking all the time,” he said. “What concerns meis that they would go into a factory and spoil thesecurity at the point of origination.” The NSA didnot immediately respond to requests for com-ment. Gemalto said in a statement that it takesthe matter “very seriously and will devote allresources necessary to fully investigate” the alle-gations. It added that the intended target was“not Gemalto, per se-it was an attempt to tryand cast the widest net possible to reach asmany mobile phones as possible.”

Unanswered questionsYet the report leaves many questions unan-

swered, and some experts were cautious aboutjumping to conclusions about the documents.

“One of the reasons I’m skeptical is that differentgovernments have been using other methods tograb communications and wireless data whichare unsecured to begin with,” said Darren Hayes,director of cybersecurity at Pace University’sSchool of Computer Science and InformationSystems. “I’m not sure that the US or UK govern-ments would use hackers in the same way thatthe Chinese or Russians are doing.”

Schneier said more information is needed toknow exactly what the encryption keys wouldprovide, but says it is likely that they would allowaccess to the phone communications ratherthan the data transfer, so SMS or voice messagesmight be accessed but not Skype or otherInternet-based services. “I think the companyshould do what Sony did (after being hacked) -hire a forensics team,” Schneier said. “We needdetails on how this was done and what can bedone to remedy it.” Greg Nojeim, a lawyer for theCenter for Democracy & Technology, a digitalrights organization, said the revelation suggests

privacy of people around the world is at risk.“Almost everyone in the world carries cellphones and this is an unprecedented massattack on the privacy of citizens worldwide,”Nojeim said.

“While there is certainly value in targeted sur-veillance of cell phone communications, thiscoordinated subversion of the trusted technicalsecurity infrastructure of cell phones means theUS and British governments now have easyaccess to our mobile communications.” John Pirc,co-founder of the Virginia-based security firmBricata, said the report is “plausible” and, if true,could undermine confidence in mobile commu-nications. “If someone had access to the SIM cardand put malware on it, that means anyone canget in,” Pirc said. He added that the revelationscould end up hurting manufacturers or carriers ifthey fail to take steps to correct any securityweaknesses. “If this turns out to be true, everyconsumer should ask for a new SIM card,” Pircsaid. — AFP

Stolen SIM card keys could be

another powerful spy tool

US, British agencies ‘hacked into’ Gemalto

FORT MEADE: A sign stands outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus in FortMeade, Md. Britain’s electronic spying agency, in cooperation with the NSA, hacked into thenetworks of a Dutch company to steal codes that allow both governments to seamlesslyeavesdrop on mobile phones worldwide, according to the documents given to journalists byEdward Snowden. — AP

SIMFEROPOL: A woman holds a portrait of Vladimir Putin during a rally in support ofthe Russian president in Crimean city of Simferopol yesterday. — AFP

MOSCOW: The Kremlin is preparing blueprintsfor a huge new aircraft carrier, Russian mediareported in early February, to replace its navy’scurrent flattop, the relatively small and aged“Admiral Kuznetsov.” Moscow’s new carrier,however, is likely to remain a paper concept. Aquarter-century after the Soviet Union’s col-lapse, Russia lacks the money, expertise andindustrial capacity to build aircraft carriers.

A new flattop could boost Moscow’s militarypower by providing air cover to warships sailingfar from Russian shores and giving the Kremlinanother option for launching air strikes on dis-tant enemies. Both are now particular concernsfor the West because President Vladimir Putin’sRussia has become far more aggressive along itsborders. But the Kremlin has failed to maintainits expensive shipyard facilities and perishableworker skills. So it can’t actually complete thenew vessel any time soon.

The Krylov State Research Center in St.Petersburg, which brainstorms most ofMoscow’s warships, is doing the design work forthe carrier, according to Russia’s TV Zvezda. TheTV network featured a scale model of the newflattop earlier this month. The model is reveal-ing, however. It underscores the Kremlin’s nar-row chance of ever building the warship. Basedon the model planes on the scale ship’s deck,the proposed flattop appears to be huge - atleast as big as the US Navy’s nuclear-poweredsupercarriers, which can exceed 1,000 feet inlength.

Russia’s ‘Kuznetsov’The United States operates 10 such nuclear

carriers, each with an air wing of 60 or moreplanes, plus 10 smaller, non-nuclear amphibiousassault ships that can launch small numbers ofvertical-landing Harrier attack planes. Russia’s“Kuznetsov” is bigger than the US assault shipsbut smaller than the nuclear flattops. When jetstake off from the deck of “Kuznetsov,” which isn’toften, they rarely number more than a dozen.The new carrier that Krylov is reportedly devel-oping would represent a significant upgrade.That’s why Moscow probably can’t build thisnew ship.

When the Soviet Union launched“Kuznetsov” in 1985, it was a major technicalaccomplishment for the then-superpower.Moscow began assembling “Varyag,” a sistership of “Kuznetsov,” around the same time. Italso started work on a true full-size carrier, asbig as anything the United States builds. But theSoviet Union’s collapse in 1991 abruptly haltedthe carrier program. One emerging problemwas logistics. The Krylov design agency is inRussia, but the Soviet Union’s main carrier-building shipyard was on the Black Sea inUkraine, which became an independent coun-try that year. (It has not been subjected to therecent fighting.)

Ukraine scrapped the big carrier then underconstruction and, in 1998, sold the half-com-pleted “Varyag” to China. Beijing spent 13 yearsfinishing and upgrading “Varyag” to turn it intoChina’s first-ever flattop. The rechristened“Lianoning” now conducts sea trials to help theChinese navy prepare for future homebuilt car-riers and to train a cadre of naval aviators.

Russia was left with “Kuznetsov” as its sole

flattop and, deprived of funds and Ukraine’sassistance, has struggled to keep the vessel inworking condition. Since the ship was commis-sioned into frontline service in the early 1990s,“Kuznetsov” has deployed just five times. Eachdeployment, lasting between three and sixmonths, saw the flattop sail from its home portin northern Russia around Europe and into theMediterranean as a show of force and todemonstrate support for Russia’s allies in theregion, including Syria.

By contrast, the US Navy deploys its carriersonce every two years for cruises lastingbetween six and nine months. At any giventime, the United States has two or three big car-riers and an equal number of small carriers onstation in the world’s hot spots. Russia, however,is lucky if its flattop is available for combat for afew months every few years. US aircraft carriershave engaged in almost all America’s conflictssince World War Two. “Kuznetsov” hasn’tlaunched a single combat sortie.

‘Admiral Gorshkov’The carrier is clearly inadequate as a reliable

instrument of Russian foreign policy. This says asmuch about the poor state of Russia’s armsindustry, military planning and overall economyas it does about the ship itself. Eager to improveits ability to build reliable flattops, in recentyears Moscow undertook two parallel initiatives.Neither worked out as the Kremlin had hoped itwould. First, in 2004, Russia and India struck adeal whereby Moscow would pull a small,Soviet-era carrier - the “Admiral Gorshkov” - outof mothballs, rebuild it to enhance its ability tosupport jet fighters and sell it to India to replaceone of New Delhi’s aged British-built carriers orflattops.

The roughly $1-billion deal was supposed tobe a win-win. India would get a reasonably up-to-date carrier for a fraction of the cost of build-ing a new one. (Today, a new large U.S. carriercosts as much as $14 billion.) Meanwhile,Russia’s defense industry would gain fresh expe-rience in carrier construction that should proveuseful when it came time to replace “Kuznetsov.”But the carrier sale quickly turned into a disasterfor both countries. Moscow had underestimat-ed the deficiencies of its main Sevmash ship-yard on the White Sea. Costs more than dou-bled when workers fell behind schedule.Sevmash finally finished the refurbished flattopin late 2013 - five years late.

Then on its maiden voyage from Russia toIndia, the carrier’s engines broke down, anunsurprising development considering“Kuznetsov’s” tarnished record. The Indian dealwas supposed to reinvigorate Russian ship-building. Instead it only underscored theindustry’s weakness. Russia inked a similar dealwith France in 2010 to acquire two French-made assault ships for $2 billion. Russian com-panies would contribute to the vessels’ con-struction and, at some later date, might build afew more of the ships on their own. TheMistral-class vessels can carry only helicopters,not fixed-wing planes. Still, Russian officialshoped that co-producing the ships withFrance would do what the Indian deal wassupposed to - help restore Russia’s ability toconstruct big warships. — Reuters

No, Russia isn’t building a

giant new aircraft carrier

WASHINGTON: The State Departmentfaces thousands of cyber attacks every day,a top US official said Friday, refusing toconfirm that hackers who breached theirsystem in November were reportedly stilllurking in the network. “We have robustsecurity to protect our computer systemsand our information, which includes accessto an unclassified, open-net system,” StateDepartment spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

But she acknowledged the attacks onan increasing list of public and privateinstitutions were growing more sophisti-cated. “We deal successfully with thou-sands of attacks every day, and we dealwith them in conjunction with other rele-vant government agencies,” Psaki said. TheWall Street Journal reported that threemonths after the November breach forcedthe State Department to shut down itsunclassified email network, the govern-ment had not been able to evict the hack-ers from the system. Sources told the busi-ness daily that “each time investigators finda hacker tool and block it, the intruderstweak it slightly to attempt to sneak pastdefenses.”

The original attack appeared to havebeen linked to the Russian government,and the hackers had taken State emailsrelated to the crisis in Ukraine, the sourcestold the Journal. Psaki refused to confirmor reveal any details, adding only “we workevery day to fight back on these attacks

and take a number of steps.” The Journal’sreport comes a week after President BarackObama led a cybersecurity summit atStanford University and called on SiliconValley to put aside distrust of the govern-ment to become allies in defending cyber-space from terrorists, hackers and spies. Healso signed an executive order aimed atspurring better and faster sharing of cyberthreats between the private sector andgovernment. “This has to be a shared mis-sion,” Obama said. — AFP

State Dept blocks thousands

of ‘hack attacks’ every day

Jen Psaki

BOSTON: The US government has advised LenovoGroup Ltd customers to remove “Superfish,” a programpre-installed on some Lenovo laptops, saying it makesusers vulnerable to cyberattacks. The Department ofHomeland Security said in an alert that the programmakes users vulnerable to a type of cyberattack knownas SSL spoofing, in which remote attackers can readencrypted web traffic, redirect traffic from official web-sites to spoofs, and perform other attacks. “Systemsthat came with the software already installed will con-tinue to be vulnerable until corrective actions havebeen taken,” the agency said.

Adi Pinhas, chief executive of Palo Alto, California-based Superfish, said in a statement that his compa-ny’s software helps users achieve more relevant searchresults based on images of products viewed. He saidthe vulnerability was “inadvertently” introduced byIsrael-based Komodia, which built the applicationdescribed in the government notice. Komodia CEOBarak Weichselbaum declined comment on the vulner-ability. Lenovo apologized late on Friday in a state-ment for “causing these concerns among our users”and said that it was “exploring every action we can” toaddress the issues around Superfish, including offeringtools to remove the software and certificate.

“We ordered Superfish pre-loads to stop and hadserver connections shut down in January based onuser complaints about the experience. However, wedid not know about this potential security vulnerabili-ty until yesterday (Thursday),” the Lenovo statementsaid. “We recognize that this was our miss, and we willdo better in the future. — Reuters

US urges Lenovo Group

to remove ‘Superfish’

program from laptops

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ESUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

NEW DELHI: India’s filthy air is cutting 660 million livesshort by about three years, according to research pub-lished yesterday that underlines the hidden costs of thecountry’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels to power its eco-nomic growth with little regard for the environment. WhileNew Delhi last year earned the dubious title of being theworld’s most polluted city, India’s air pollution problem isextensive, with 13 Indian cities now on the World HealthOrganization’s list of the 20 most polluted.

That nationwide pollution burden is estimated to becosting more than half of India’s population at least 3.2years of their lives, according to the study, led by MichaelGreenstone of the University of Chicago and involvingenvironmental economists from Harvard and Yale universi-ties. It estimates that 99.5 percent of India’s 1.2 billion peo-ple are breathing in pollution levels above what the WHOdeems as safe. “The extent of the problem is actually muchlarger than what we normally understand,” said one of thestudy’s co-authors, Anant Sudarshan, the India director ofthe Energy Policy Institute of Chicago. “We think of it as anurban problem, but the rural dimension has beenignored.”Added up, those lost years come to a staggering2.1 billion for the entire nation, the study says. While “theconventional definition of growth has ignored the healthconsequences of air pollution, this study demonstratesthat air pollution retards growth by causing people to dieprematurely,” Greenstone said in a statement.

For the study, published in Economic & Political Weekly,the authors borrowed from their previous work in China,where they determined that life expectancy dropped bythree years for every 100 micrograms of fine particulatematter, called PM2.5, above safe levels. PM2.5 is of espe-cially great health concern because, with diameters nogreater than 2.5 micrometers, the particles are smallenough to penetrate deep into the lungs.

System still sparse The authors note, however, that their estimations may

be too conservative because they’re based in part on 2012satellite data that tend to underestimate PM2.5 levels.Meanwhile, India sets permissible PM2.5 levels at 40 micro-grams per cubic meter, twice the WHO’s safe level. Indiahas a sparse system for monitoring air quality, with sensorsinstalled in only a few cities and almost unheard of in thecountryside. Yet rural air pollution remains high thanks toindustrial plants, poor fuel standards, extensive garbageburning and a heavy reliance on diesel for electricity gen-eration in areas not connected to the power grid. Windpatterns also push the pollution onto the plains below theHimalayan mountain range.

Sarath Guttikunda of the independent air qualityresearch group Urban Emissions called the study a solideffort to quantify some of the economic costs of pollution,given “what information is available.” “Everything comes

down to a lack of monitoring data in India,” saidGuttikunda, who was not involved in the study. “If youdon’t have enough monitoring information, you don’tknow how much is coming out in the first place.” Indiadeveloped extreme air pollution while relying on burningfossil fuels to grow its economy and pull hundreds of mil-lions of people up from poverty. More than 300 millionIndians still have no access to electricity, with at least twicethat number living on less than $2 a day.

While India has pledged to grow its clean energy sector,with huge boosts for solar and wind power, it also hascommitted to tripling its coal-fired electricity capacity to450 gigawatts by 2030. Yet there still are no regulations forpollutants like sulfur dioxide or mercury emissions, whilefuel standards remain far below Western norms and exist-ing regulations often are ignored. To meet its goal for coal-fired electricity, the Power Ministry says the country willdouble coal production to 1 billion tons within five years,after already approving dozens of new coal plants. That willhave predictable consequences for the country’s alreadyfilthy air, experts say.

The coal expansion plans through 2030 will at leastdouble sulphur dioxide levels, along with those of nitro-gen oxide and lung-clogging particulate matter, accord-ing to a study published in December by Urban Emissionsand the Mumbai-based nonprofit group ConservationAction Trust. — AP

Filthy India air cutting

660 million lives short Hidden costs of reliance on fossil fuels

NEW DELHI: A thick blanket of smoke is seen against the setting sun as young rag pickers search for reusable material at a garbage dump. — AP photos

UN probes surge of MERS virus cases in Saudi

LONDON: An international team of UnitedNations human and animal health experts hasflown to Saudi Arabia to investigate a recentsurge in cases of a deadly virus known as MiddleEast Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS.

Speaking from Riyadh on Friday, a spokes-woman for the World Health Organization-ledteam said it was worried by a steep rise in casesof MERS, which has infected some 50 people inthe Kingdom in February alone-one of the high-est monthly rates since it first emerged inhumans in 2102.

“We are all very aware of this surge in cases,”said the WHO’s Fadela Chaib, one of an 11-stronginternational MERS expert team due to end athree-day mission. “Although this is still a smalloutbreak compared to last year, we still need tounderstand more about what is happening.”

MERS is a respiratory disease that causes cough-ing, fever and breathing problems, and can leadto pneumonia and kidney failure. Initial scientificstudies have linked it to camels and it is knownto have infected close to a thousand people,killing some 360 of them-the vast majority inSaudi Arabia.

Virus kills 40 percent of victims First identified in humans in 2012, it is caused

by a coronavirus, from the same family as theone that caused a deadly outbreak of SARS(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in China in2003. There is no cure or vaccine for MERS,which kills around 40 percent of its victims. TheWHO said earlier this month it was concernedabout MERS and its potential to spread interna-tionally.

Chaib said the international team-includingexperts from the WHO, the United Nations Foodand Agriculture Organization and the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health-were talking to scientists and doctors, going tohospitals and visiting the government’s MERScommand and control centre (CCC). Saudi Arabiahas been criticized by WHO and others for mov-ing too slowly to conduct the types of scientificstudy needed to pin down the source of theMERS virus and to establish how it infects peopleand passes from one person to another.

Many people sickened by the disease catch itwhile in hospital, or after contact with anothercase, and a few also report having direct contactwith camels. “They (the Saudi authorities) aremaking progress, but there is a lot more work todo,” Chaib said. — Reuters

LONDON: A microscopic look at the deadly MERSvirus. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Health trends come and go, but one post-birth fad is gaining a foothold in the United States amongsome new mothers who extol the benefits of eating theirown placentas. Convinced it helps to boost energy, pro-duce healthy milk and ward off postpartum depression,the practice is catching on among mothers who shunmodern medicine for natural care, or Hollywood celebri-ties eager to adopt new-age trends.

It is called “placentophagy,” and entails eating the iron-rich afterbirth in any form: liquid, solid or packed into apill. The bloody, spongy organ provides the fetus withnutrients, oxygen and hormones via the umbilical cordduring the 40-week gestation period. Some midwivespromote its nourishing virtues for mothers too.

“Placenta helps to restore your body with vitamins,minerals and hormones,” midwife Claudia Booker told AFP.

“Not rejuvenate you so you can go to parties... justrestore you when you feel like a used machine,” she said,speaking over her kitchen sink in Washington where sheprepares placenta pills. For $270, Booker, a 65-year-oldwith cropped hair and tattooed ears, processes and pre-pares the vascular organ into a course of capsules lastingseveral weeks. The process of turning placenta into pills isperhaps more familiar to cooks than scientists: she cleansit, presses the blood from it and steams it before placing itin a dehydrator overnight. The dried placenta is then cutinto strips and put in a coffee grinder to turn into a pow-der she puts inside small capsules, a technique shelearned from a Chinese acupuncturist.

Placenta smoothie There are no scientific studies on the number of new

moms partaking in the practice and few on its effects, butthat has not prevented the trend from taking hold insome circles, including among A-listers. “Clueless” star

Alicia Silverstone has tried it and swears by it. And “MadMen” vixen January Jones tried it too, earning her thenickname “Mad Mom” in some American media.

The trend has even spawned cookbooks and a devot-ed army of recipe testers on mommy blogs who writeabout placenta lasagnas, tacos or chocolate truffles.Mother of seven Catherine said wanted to try it after giv-ing birth to her last child. She chopped her placenta intocubes and blended it with almond milk, honey and blue-berries for an afterbirth smoothie.

She opted for a pureed version to “disguise the taste,”she said, adding that she froze leftovers to be enjoyed lat-er. Placenta being a rare item, some mothers want tomake sure none goes to waste. For others, packing pla-centa nutrients into edible treats like chocolate truffles ispreferable to taking vitamins. “It seemed to be a goodidea because I tend to forget to take my vitamins but Idon’t forget that I’m in the mood for chocolate!” mother-of-three Melissa told AFP.

Emotional benefits Booker maintains that the benefits of eating the pla-

centa are also psychological, helping mothers to stave offpostpartum depression that affects up to 19 percent ofwomen in the United States, according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention.

“It is one of the pieces of the puzzle that helps you todecrease the emotional roller coaster of the early postpar-tum period,” Booker said, the pungent scent of cookedblood wafting through her house. It is also believed toease fatigue and anxiety in the tumultuous post-birthperiod, she added. But researchers are only starting toconduct comprehensive studies on the practice, whichfirst emerged in the United States in the 1970s, accordingto Daniel Benyshek, a medical anthropologist at the

University of Nevada. Americans are believed to beamong the first to eat their own afterbirth, he said,though dried placenta has been long used in Chinesemedicine, prized by healers for its curative qualities.

Others have examined the effect in mammals, most ofwhich eat afterbirth. Psychologist Mark Kristal from theUniversity at Buffalo found that mice experience less painin the post-birth period if they eat their placenta. Butmost studies about human benefits do not meet accept-able scientific standards, Benyshek said. Instead, most evi-dence is anecdotal.“There is a lot of positive feedbackfrom women, including women who experienced post-partum depression,” he said. Based on a survey of 189women in 2013 conducted by Benyshek, 98 percentreported the effects of eating their own placenta as “posi-tive.” He is planning to release a full study this summerbased on research from 30 women.

‘Night-and-day difference’ Scientifically proven or not, many are embracing pla-

centophagy as an essential post-birth ritual. “The reasonthat I chose to do that it is that there is a history of depres-sion and one of the purported benefits of course is that ithelps bounce my hormones,” said Melissa. Fellow motherLaura Ransom from Las Vegas, Nevada, said she wishedshe had tried it earlier. She took placenta pills after thebirth of her third child and said it helped her manage ahectic schedule.

“I did not do this with my first two pregnancies and Ican’t express the night-and-day difference of my emo-tional and physical recovery,” she said.“The pills gave meenergy, curbed my mood swings, actually made me reallyhappy, and helped me to handle things in the midst ofadding number three to our family after a move and myhusband starting a job.” — AFP

Eating placentas: US moms swear by health benefits

CALIFORNIA: This illustration released by the Centersfor Disease Control depicts a three-dimensional (3D)computer-generated image of a group of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae bacteria. — AP

Blame game,

to follow

‘superbug’ scareLOS ANGELES: With an antibiotic-resistant “superbug” out-break connected to its facility, Ronald Reagan UCLA MedicalCenter stopped short of pointing a finger at the manufactur-er of a medical instrument believed to have spread the dead-ly germs. The maker of the product was careful not to blamethe hospital as it issued new cleaning instructions emphasiz-ing meticulous manual sterilization.

Things may not be so polite once lawyers get involved.Lawsuits are expected to follow the outbreak tied to twodeaths and several infections, with the hospital and manu-facturer pointing fingers at each other. “That’s exactly thekind of skirmishing you’re going to see,” said John Culhane,co-director of the Family Health Law & Policy Institute at theWidener University School of Law in Delaware. “The bottomline is that the two defendants will be hauled into court, andthey’ll be trying to do two things:

One, they didn’t do anything wrong; the second thing isto pin the blame on the other defendant.” Two people havedied at UCLA, and five others have been infected with thebacteria known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae,or CRE, after undergoing similar endoscopic procedures todiagnose and treat pancreatic and bile-duct problemsbetween October and January, hospital officials said. Morethan 170 other patients also may have been exposed.

The family of an 18-year-old student in grave conditionfrom the bacteria is considering suing the endoscope’s man-ufacturer, Olympus Corporation of the Americas, an arm ofJapan’s Olympus Corp, attorney Kevin Boyle said. That hard-to-clean medical instrument used on more than half a mil-lion people in the US every year has become the focus of theinvestigation into the outbreak. Olympus emphasized in astatement Thursday that meticulous manual sterilization isneeded. The company said it was issuing new instructionsand working with federal officials.

Infected by tainted scopesThe US Food and Drug Administration warned doctors

Thursday that the device’s complex design and tiny partsmake complete disinfection extremely difficult. Even whencleaning instructions are followed, germs may linger, the FDAsaid. Between January 2013 and December 2014, the FDAreceived 75 reports involving 135 patients in the US whomay have been infected by tainted scopes. The blame gamehas played out across the country where some patients arebelieved to have died from infections and hundreds of oth-ers have been shocked when notified they could have beeninfected with bacteria or a harmful disease from a medicalinstrument that was intended to help them. In some cases,patients who weren’t infected have sued for having to gothrough the unnerving process of being screened overmonths for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis they may havebeen exposed to. Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyerBrendan Lupetin currently represents more than 200 patientsin a class-action suit against a Pennsylvania clinic that he saiddidn’t properly clean its endoscopes.

“Proving causation is impossible’He envisions lots of lawsuits coming from the UCLA out-

break, with lawyers targeting both the hospital and Olympusand possibly third parties who may have been responsiblefor maintaining equipment used for cleaning and steriliza-tion. “It looks like someone dropped the ball,” Lupetin said.“Whether it’s the manufacturer or UCLA, you can almostguarantee there will be a number of lawsuits.”

UCLA said it doesn’t comment on litigation. A spokesmanfor Olympus didn’t immediately return an email seekingcomment. Lawrence Muscarella, a health care and steriliza-tion expert, said he’d be surprised if there’s litigation becausehe doesn’t know of any lawsuits tied to outbreaks he hasclosely followed at four other US hospitals. Few lawyers havetaken on the hospitals because it can cost hundreds of thou-sands of dollars to prepare a case, and there’s no guaranteeof success when it’s hard to prove what caused an infection,he said. Doctors rarely list the infection as the cause of death,and some hospitals have said patients entered their facilitywith the antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a notion he dismisses.

“Proving causation is impossible,” he said. “You can’t proveyou didn’t have that organism when you came into the hos-pital.” Culhane, the law professor, said that if cases do pro-ceed to court, defendants probably won’t blame the victimfor their role, as often happens in negligence cases. In thesecases, the patient was probably unconscious. — AP

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ESUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

DENVER: A campaign to get universities to stop investingin greenhouse gas-producing fuels came deep into energycountry Friday as activists asked the University of Coloradoto divest from coal and petroleum companies. The universi-ty’s governing Board of Regents took no action on therequest from a student group called Fossil Free CU, but twoof the nine regents praised the activists for raising the issueand said they wanted to hear more.

Colorado is the nation’s No 7 energy state, and its coal,oil and gas industries produce billions of dollars in revenueand employ thousands. Getting the University of Coloradoto exclude them from its $2.7 billion investment pool wouldbe a significant symbolic victory. Fossil Free CU is part of abroader campaign pressing universities, governments,churches and others to divest. The goal isn’t to hurt theindustry’s profits but to apply social pressure to stop cli-mate change driven by burning fossil fuels, said KarthikGanapathy of 350.org, the parent group of the nationalFossil Free campaign.

Moral impact“It’s about calling attention to the larger unsustainable

methods” of fossil fuels, he said. “It’s a moral impact, it’s asocial impact, and it is a political impact.” One of the cam-paign’s biggest prizes to date is Stanford University inCalifornia, which last year agreed its $21 billion endowmentwould no longer invest in coal. 350.org says 18 other USschools - including Colorado’s small Naropa University -

have agreed to some degree of divestment, along with fiveschools overseas.

Harvard University, with the nation’s largest collegeendowment at about $36 billion, has resisted. UniversityPresident Drew Faust wrote in 2013 that the endowmentshouldn’t be used for political ends. She also cited a “trou-bling inconsistency” in boycotting the fossil fuels industrywhile using its energy to carry out the university’s mission.Winning over the University of Colorado also would be diffi-cult. Despite the school’s liberal reputation, the regents,elected from across the state, have a 5-4 Republican majori-ty.

Democratic Regent Linda Shoemaker told the studentsshe would support “reasonable and responsible” divest-ment but cautioned that change would be slow.Republican Kyle Hybl, the regents’ chairman, said the boardwas still gathering information. The regents control about$1.7 billion worth of investments in the university treasury,university spokesman Ken McConnellogue said. About $1billion is in the endowment, managed separately by the CUFoundation’s board.

About 3 or 4 percent of the total pool is invested in ener-gy, but that also includes renewables and industry supportcompanies as well as fossil fuel suppliers, McConnelloguesaid. Fossil fuel is a powerful economic driver in Colorado.The US Department of Energy ranks the state sixth in thenation in natural gas production, seventh in crude oil and11th in coal, with an overall energy output rank of No 7.

100,000 jobs on the lineState employment figures weren’t immediately avail-

able, but the petroleum and coal industries claim they sup-port a total of about 121,000 jobs. “I think all Coloradansshould find it troubling that a small group of activists areasking the University of Colorado to turn its back on theover 100,000 Colorado men, women, and families whosework is supported by the oil and gas industry in this state,”Doug Flanders of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, atrade group, said in an email.

Divestment would be economically and socially unwise,said Stuart Sanderson, president of the Colorado MiningAssociation. The university would lose investment gainsfrom a fast-growing sector, and coal provides cheap andincreasingly cleaner energy to poor nations, he said.“Divestment would be a futile gesture,” Sanderson said. “Itwould also be economic suicide.” Earlier Friday, CU studentAnna Vallad asked the regents not to divest, saying itwouldn’t deter climate change but would hurt the universi-ty’s investments.

Alana Wilson of Fossil Free CU said the dangers of cli-mate change linked to fossil fuels are serious and imminent.“Our generation, my generation and subsequent genera-tions, really understand that climate change is our inheri-tance,” said Wilson, a PhD student studying the effects of cli-mate change on water supplies. “Those of us who expect tobe around to see what the world looks like in half a century,we understand the urgency of this crisis,” she said. — AP

DENVER: In this photograph taken Thursday, Feb 28, 2013, near Parachute, Colorado, the drill rig at a natural gas site stands with mountains in the background on Colorado’sWestern Slope. — AP

Colorado plans to shrink

fossil fuel dependency Social, political pressure to stop climate change

WASHINGTON: As animals evolve they tend to get larger overtime, researchers concluded in a sweeping study released Fridaythat tracked thousands of creatures over a half-billion-year period.The mean body size of marine animals, for example, increased150-fold over the past 542 million years, according to the studypublished in the US journal Science.

“That’s the size difference between a sea urchin that is abouttwo inches (five centimeters) long versus one that is nearly a foot(30 cm) long,” said Noel Heim, a post-doctoral researcher at a lab atStanford University’s School of Earth, Energy & EnvironmentalSciences. “This may not seem like a lot, but it represents a big

jump.” Body-size increases have occurred since animals firstappeared in the fossil record, some 550 million years ago, accord-ing to the study. “We’ve known for some time now that the largestorganisms alive today are larger than the largest organisms thatwere alive when life originated or even when animals firstevolved,” said Jonathan Payne, a paleobiologist at the sameStanford school who led the research.

But it was not known if the average size of animals hadchanged over time and whether this reflected an evolutionarytrend in body size, he added. The phenomenon does not apply toall animal lineages, but it was particularly evident in those that

were the largest and most diverse in the early evolutionary record,according to the researchers. “For reasons that we don’t complete-ly understand, the classes with large body size appear to be theones that over time have become differentially more diverse,”Payne said.

The computer-modelled research reinforces the so-calledCope rule, named after the 19th-century paleontologist whodetermined that biological lineages tended to evolve to largersizes over time. Edward Cope observed that mammals like horsesgrew larger over generations. Scientists had previously tried toverify Cope’s theory in other groups of animals but the findings

were mixed. Corals and dinosaurs seemed to confirm the theory,but birds and insects did not.

As a result, some scientists questioned whether or not thetrend in terrestrial animals was a true evolutionary phenomenon.Payne’s team set about to conduct the most comprehensive-evertest of Cope’s theory, compiling a database of more than 17,000groups, or genera, of marine animals including arthropods andmollusks spanning the last 542 million years. “Nearly 75 percent ofall of marine genera in the fossil record and nearly 60 percent of allthe animal genera that ever lived are included in our dataset,”Heim said. — AFP

Great Lakes

frozen for

second year

TRAVERSE CITY: For the second consecutive win-ter, bitter weather threatens to turn the surface ofthe Great Lakes into a vast, frozen plain. Nearly 81percent of the lakes’ surface area was covered withice, the NOAA Great Lakes EnvironmentalResearch Laboratory reported Friday. That wasdown slightly from more than 85 percent the pre-vious day - a glitch that probably happenedbecause strong winds broke apart some ice andcreated open spots detected by satellites, saidGeorge Leshkevich, a physical scientist with thelab in Ann Arbor.

But with forecasts calling for frigid weather atleast through the end of the month, the ice covermay keep expanding, he said. It’s grown rapidly astemperatures have plunged this month, nearlydoubling over the past couple of weeks. Recordsshow the lakes’ most widespread freeze was 94.7percent in 1979. The ice cover topped out at 92.2percent last March.

Significant portions of the lakes typically frozeover decades ago, Leshkevich said, but the fre-quency of severe winters has declined since thelate 1990s. “Two almost record-setting years backto back would be very unusual,” he said. One likelyexplanation for the rapid buildup this month isthat 2014’s freeze lasted so long - Lake Superiorwasn’t completely ice-free until June - and sum-mer was so mild that the lakes didn’t absorb muchheat, he said. “So we started this season withbelow-water temperatures to begin with.”

The ice blanket reaches across more than 90percent of Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie, whileLakes Michigan and Ontario are more thanhalfway covered. It has produced some spectacu-lar visual images, from ice caves along the LakeMichigan shoreline to a glacial buildup making itappear that Niagara Falls had frozen in place. Butit’s a headache for the Coast Guard, whose cuttersopen channels for vessels hauling vital cargo suchas heating oil and road salt. The Detroit-based tugBristol Bay has struggled for days to free theArthur M Anderson, a freighter stranded about 70miles east of Cleveland in ice up to 10 feet thick.The Canadian Coast Guard has dispatched an ice-breaker to assist.

The job has taken so much longer than expect-ed that the Bristol Bay’s crew ran low on food andhad to receive a delivery by helicopter, which low-ered supplies in their rescue basket. Things willget even busier in mid-March, when the shippingseason begins for the lakes’ regular traffic of ves-sels carrying iron ore, coal, grain and other bulkcargo. “We’re probably going to be looking at situ-ations like we had last year, where we had to puttogether convoys - lots of vessels together tomake it through,” Coast Guard spokesman LorneThomas said. — AP

Animals growing larger as they evolve: Study

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

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Adelegation from Purdue University recently visited the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity, where they held discussions with management that focused on establishing cooperation inthe fields of giftedness and creativity. The delegation also visited workshops and held training courses for teachers at the center.

Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital’s PICU department organized a farewell party for Dr Nasser Ansari, who is leaving Kuwait after 7 years of service.

Embassy of Indonesia in Kuwait actively participated in the “Travel the World” exhibition which was organized by Faculty of Engineering and Petroleum, Kuwait University, Khaldiya Campus. The event wasinaugurated by the Dean of the Faculty on 9 February 2015 and followed by the reception to each exhibitor’s booth. Indonesia’s booth promoted the touristic destinations and its variety of culture rich-ness as well as the facility on visa and other related consular matters. The audiences were also informed on scholarship given to Kuwaiti students to study art and culture in Indonesia for 1 year. The stu-

dents who almost make up all the feature of the audiences of the exhibition paid vigorous attention to Indonesia’s booth which decorated with many interesting traditional art articles.

Indonesia participates in KU’s ‘Travel the World’ exhibition

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

The school club for students with special needs hosted an event featuring various activities including painting, popular arts and sports, with participation of female students. Muna Al-Furaih, head of theSchool Activities Department at the Ministry of Education, attended the event.

The Roudha High School for girls organized a gallery and exhibition to celebrate Kuwait’s National Days. The event featured an exhibition including elements from the old Kuwait such as sadu weaving, anda photo gallery with pictures chronicling the history of Kuwait.

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00:00 Evil Dead-R02:00 Planet 51-PG04:00 Badges Of Fury-PG1506:00 Planes-PG08:00 The Way Way Back-PG1510:00 Tinker Bell And The PirateFairy-FAM12:00 The Monuments Men-PG1514:00 Ong Bak 3-PG1516:00 The Way Way Back-PG1518:00 Thor: The Dark World-PG1520:00 Ride Along-PG1522:00 Sinister-18

01:00 Live PGA Tour04:00 Super Rugby06:00 ICC Cricket 36006:30 Live ICC Cricket World Cup14:30 Sevens World SeriesHighlights15:00 Super Rugby17:30 Total Rugby 18:00 Live Super Rugby20:00 Live Super Rugby22:00 Super Rugby

00:00 The Day02:00 The Haunting In Connecticut2: Ghosts Of Georgia04:00 Stolen05:45 2 Fast 2 Furious07:45 White House Down10:00 The Grandmaster12:15 Stolen14:00 40 Days And Nights15:30 Fantastic Four: Rise Of TheSilver Surfer17:15 The Grandmaster19:30 White House Down21:45 Oblivion

00:00 The Haunting In Connecticut2: Ghosts Of Georgia-1802:00 Stolen-PG1503:45 2 Fast 2 Furious-PG1505:45 White House Down-PG1508:00 The Grandmaster-PG1510:15 Stolen-PG1512:00 40 Days And Nights-PG1513:30 Fantastic Four: Rise Of TheSilver Surfer-PG15:15 The Grandmaster-PG1517:30 White House Down-PG1519:45 Oblivion-PG1522:00 R.I.P.D.-PG1523:45 Aliens-18

00:00 Mr. 3000-PG02:00 What To Expect When You’reExpecting-PG1504:00 Son Of Rambow-PG06:00 Ghost Dad-PG08:00 Jesus Henry Christ-PG1510:00 Men At Work-PG1512:00 Stand Off-PG1514:00 What To Expect When You’reExpecting-PG1516:00 Jesus Henry Christ-PG1518:00 All In Good Time-PG1520:00 The Big Wedding-PG1522:00 21 & Over-18

01:00 Kon-Tiki-PG1503:00 Diana-PG1505:00 Now You See Me-PG1507:00 The Magic Of Belle Isle09:00 Jobs-PG1511:15 Now You See Me-PG1513:15 Diana-PG1515:15 Magic Journey To Africa17:00 Jobs-PG1519:15 Parker-PG1521:15 The Bag Man-PG1523:00 Generation Um...-18

00:30 Nebraska-PG1502:30 My Last Day Without You04:00 Eastwood Directs: TheUntold Story-PG1505:30 Dead Poets Society-PG1507:45 Snow Falling On Cedars10:00 Centre Place-PG1512:00 Beasts Of The SouthernWild-PG1513:45 Dead Poets Society-PG1516:00 Snow Falling On Cedars18:15 Limitless-PG1520:00 Captain Phillips-PG1522:30 August: Osage County-PG15

01:00 The Art Of The Steal-PG1503:00 Escape From Planet Earth05:00 The Magic Of Belle Isle07:00 Labor Day-PG1509:00 Mr. Peabody & Sherman10:45 Curious George: Swings IntoSpring-FAM11:45 Man Of Steel-PG1514:15 Chasing Mavericks-PG1516:15 The Croods-PG18:00 The Hobbit: The DesolationOf Smaug-PG21:00 What Maisie Knew-PG1523:00 Paranormal Activity: TheMarked Ones-18

01:00 The Swan Princess: A RoyalFamily Tale02:45 Marvel’s Doctor Strange04:30 Barbie Of Swan Lake06:00 Knight Rusty08:00 Barbie In The Nutcracker09:30 Night At The Museum11:30 Wizards And Giants13:00 Scooby Doo! Stage Fright14:30 Turboosters16:00 Top Cat: The Movie

03:00 Live NHL09:30 Live Super Rugby11:40 Live Super Rugby17:00 Live Top 1419:00 Golfing World21:00 Live PGA Tour

00:00 Premier League Darts10:00 Live PGA European Tour 14:00 Golfing World16:00 Live Snooker Welsh Open 22:00 Live Snooker Welsh Open

00:00 WWE Main Event01:00 NHL07:00 Monster Jam08:00 Monster Jam09:00 The World’s Strongest Man12:00 NHL14:00 WWE Smackdown16:00 WWE Bottomline17:00 WWE Superstars18:00 WWE Main Event19:00 NHL21:00 WWE NXT

01:00 Live ICC World Cup: PAK v WI06:30 Live ICC World Cup: IND v SA09:00 ICC Cricket 36012:00 ICC World Cup H/L: PAK v WI18:00 ICC World Cup H/L: AUS vBAN23:00 ICC World Cup H/L: IRE v WI

00:45 The Face Australia01:35 Bizarre ER02:00 Bizarre ER02:25 What Have I Got02:50 What Have I Got03:15 Little And Looking For Love04:05 What Not To Wear05:00 What Not To Wear06:00 17 Kids And Counting06:25 Hoarding: Buried Alive07:15 Hoarding: Buried Alive08:05 Secret Eaters08:55 Secret Eaters09:45 Cake Boss10:35 Sister Wives11:25 17 Kids And Counting11:50 17 Kids And Counting12:15 17 Kids And Counting12:40 17 Kids And Counting13:05 17 Kids And Counting13:30 Brides Of Beverly Hills13:55 Brides Of Beverly Hills14:20 Oprah’s Master Class15:10 Cake Boss15:35 Cake Boss16:00 Cake Boss16:25 Cake Boss16:50 Cake Boss17:15 Bakery Boss18:05 Oprah’s Master Class18:55 Say Yes To The Dress19:20 Say Yes To The Dress19:45 Say Yes To The Dress20:10 Say Yes To The Dress20:35 Say Yes To The Dress21:00 Oprah: Where Are TheyNow?21:50 Oprah’s Master Class22:40 Extreme Couponing23:05 Body Bizarre23:55 Body Bizarre

01:00 Good Morning America05:00 Good Morning America11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show

000:10 Zou00:25 Mouk00:35 Jungle Junction

ClassifiedsSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Prayer timings

112

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

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Sunday 22/2/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeKAC 504 Beirut 00:05JAI 574 Mumbai 00:10JZR 239 Amman 00:25JZR 267 Beirut 00:30JZR 539 Cairo 00:40THY 772 Istanbul 00:45FDB 069 Dubai 00:55QTR 1084 Doha 01:00RJA 642 Amman 01:05PGT 858 Istanbul 01:35ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30UAE 853 Dubai 02:35JAI 526 Chennai/Abu Dhabi 02:50FDB 067 Dubai 02:55MSR 612 Cairo 03:10ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:10CEB 7694 Manila 03:10KKK 6507 Istanbul 03:20OMA 643 Muscat 03:25QTR 1076 Doha 03:45MSC 401 Alexandria 04:05JZR 555 Alexandria 04:25THY 770 Istanbul 05:35DHX 170 Bahrain 05:40QTR 8632 Doha 06:25BAW 157 London 06:40KAC 544 Cairo 06:40KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 07:10FDB 053 Dubai 07:45QTR 1086 Doha 07:50SVA 512 Riyadh 07:55KAC 352 Kochi 08:10KAC 302 Mumbai 08:20KAC 206 Islamabad 08:25KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:30UAE 855 Dubai 08:40KAC 362 Colombo 08:45KAC 284 Dhaka 08:50ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20FDB 055 Dubai 09:40QTR 1070 Doha 10:00GFA 943 Bahrain 10:15GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40IRA 665 Shiraz 10:50UAE 873 Dubai 11:00SYR 341 Latakia 11:10MSC 405 Sohag 11:25JZR 165 Dubai 11:30MEA 404 Beirut 11:55UAE 871 Dubai 12:50MSR 610 Cairo 13:00KAC 514 Tehran 13:10IRC 528 Ahwaz 13:15BDR 601 KSL 13:30JZR 561 Sohag 13:45KAC 382 Delhi 13:45KAC 672 Dubai 13:55

QTR 1078 Doha 14:05KNE 472 Jeddah 14:25SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30FDB 057 Dubai 14:30IRC 6507 Shiraz 14:50GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00KAC 788 Jeddah 15:10OMA 645 Muscat 15:25UAE 857 Dubai 15:45ABY 127 Sharjah 15:45FDB 051 Dubai 16:00JZR 535 Cairo 16:10KAC 562 Amman 16:20JZR 787 Riyadh 16:25RJA 640 Amman 16:55ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:55SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30KAC 742 Dammam 17:45GFA 944 LCA 17:50JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55UAL 982 IAD 17:55UAE 875 Dubai 18:00JZR 177 Dubai 18:20KAC 542 Cairo 18:25ABY 121 Sharjah 18:40FDB 063 Dubai 18:40KAC 786 Jeddah 18:45QTR 1080 Doha 18:50KAC 618 Doha 19:15AXB 393 Kozhikode 19:15KAC 674 Dubai 19:25GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30JZR 483 Istanbul 19:35KAC 166 Paris/Rome 19:40KAC 502 Beirut 19:50KAC 102 New York/London 19:55JAI 572 Mumbai 20:00KAC 774 Riyadh 20:00OMA 647 Muscat 20:20FDB 061 Dubai 20:20MSR 606 Luxor 20:45DLH 636 Frankfurt 20:50ALK 229 Colombo 21:10MEA 402 Beirut 21:20ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:30FDB 073 Dubai 21:35UAE 859 Dubai 21:40GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45QTR 1074 Doha 21:55JZR 135 Bahrain 22:05KLM 417 Amsterdam 22:15ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:15KAC 172 Frankfurt 22:20FDB 059 Dubai 22:30AIC 981 Chennai/Hyderabad/Ahmedabad 22:30UAL 981 Bahrain 23:10BBC 043 Dhaka 23:10JZR 185 Dubai 23:15THY 764 Istanbul 23:35PIA 205 Lahore 23:40FDB 071 Dubai 23:45

Departure Flights on Sunday 22/2/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05AGY 681 Alexandria 00:15FDB 072 Dubai 00:45UAL 981 IAD 00:55JAI 573 Mumbai 01:10DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:15ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45THY 773 Istanbul 02:55PGT 859 Istanbul 03:25KAC 381 Delhi 03:40UAE 854 Dubai 03:50FDB 068 Dubai 03:55ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05MSR 613 Cairo 04:10KKK 6508 Istanbul 04:10OMA 644 Muscat 04:25QTR 1085 Doha 04:30CEB 7695 Manila 04:40MSC 406 Sohag 05:05QTR 1077 Doha 05:15THY 765 Istanbul 05:40FDB 070 Dubai 06:30JAI 525 Abu Dhabi/Chennai 06:35JZR 164 Dubai 06:55RJA 643 Amman 07:05JZR 560 Sohag 07:10GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15THY 771 Istanbul 07:30QTR 8632 Doha 07:55FDB 054 Dubai 08:25BAW 156 London 08:45QTR 1087 Doha 08:50SVA 513 Riyadh 08:55KAC 513 Tehran 08:55KAC 171 Frankfurt 09:05JZR 534 Cairo 09:15KAC 787 Jeddah 09:25KAC 671 Dubai 09:25ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40UAE 856 Dubai 09:55KAC 117 New York 10:05ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:20KAC 561 Amman 10:25FDB 056 Dubai 10:35JZR 482 Istanbul 10:35QTR 1071 Doha 11:00GFA 943 LCA 11:00KAC 541 Cairo 11:05GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25IRA 664 Shiraz 11:50KAC 501 Beirut 12:00SYR 342 Latakia 12:10KAC 103 London 12:20JZR 776 Jeddah 12:20MSC 402 Alexandria 12:25UAE 874 Dubai 12:30MEA 405 Beirut 12:55KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00JZR 786 Riyadh 13:10

JZR 176 Dubai 13:45MSR 611 Cairo 14:00UAE 872 Dubai 14:15IRC 529 Ahwaz 14:15KAC 741 Dammam 14:45KAC 617 Doha 15:00KAC 673 Dubai 15:00QTR 1079 Doha 15:05FDB 058 Dubai 15:10KNE 473 Jeddah 15:20SVA 503 Jeddah/Madinah 15:45GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45IRC 6508 Shiraz 15:50KAC 773 Riyadh 16:20OMA 646 Muscat 16:25ABY 128 Sharjah 16:25FDB 052 Dubai 17:00JZR 266 Beirut 17:05UAE 858 Dubai 17:45JZR 538 Cairo 17:45ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:50RJA 641 Amman 17:55SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20BDR 602 KRT 18:30GFA 944 Bahrain 18:35JZR 184 Dubai 18:40JZR 238 Amman 18:50JZR 134 Bahrain 19:10UAL 982 Bahrain 19:15ABY 122 Sharjah 19:20UAE 876 Dubai 19:40QTR 1081 Doha 19:50FDB 064 Dubai 19:55AXB 393 Kozhikode 20:15GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15KAC 361 Colombo 20:50KAC 281 Dhaka 20:55KAC 343 Chennai 20:55JAI 571 Mumbai 21:00KAC 351 Kochi 21:15FDB 062 Dubai 21:20OMA 648 Muscat 21:20DLH 636 Dammam 21:35MSR 619 Alexandria 21:45DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50ALK 230 Colombo 22:10KAC 301 Mumbai 22:15ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:15MEA 403 Beirut 22:20FDB 074 Dubai 22:30GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30UAE 860 Dubai 22:50KAC 205 Islamabad 22:55ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00QTR 1075 Doha 23:05JZR 502 Luxor 23:05KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:15KAC 415 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur 23:25KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:30FDB 060 Dubai 23:55

SHARQIA-1KINGSMAN: The Secret Service 11:45 AMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 2:15 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 4:00 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 5:45 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 7:30 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 10:00 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 11:45 AMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 1:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 3:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 6:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 8:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 10:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 11:30 AMDRAGON BLADE 1:45 PMDRAGON BLADE 4:15 PMDRAGON BLADE 6:45 PMDRAGON BLADE 9:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 11:45 PM

MUHALAB-1DRAGON BLADE 1:00 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 1:30 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 3:30 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 5:15 PMDRAGON BLADE 7:00 PMTEMPER (Telugu) 7:00 PMDRAGON BLADE 10:00 PMDRAGON BLADE 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-2KINGSMAN: The Secret Service 12:30 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 3:15 PMHOUSEBOUND 5:45 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 8:00 PMHOUSEBOUND 10:30 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 12:45 AM

MUHALAB-3YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 3:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 5:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 7:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 10:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:15 AM

FANAR-1KINGSMAN: The Secret Service 11:30 AMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 2:15 PMPlan B (ARABIC) 4:45 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 6:45 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 9:15 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 12:05 AM

FANAR-2DRAGON BLADE 12:00 PMDRAGON BLADE 2:30 PMDRAGON BLADE 5:00 PMDRAGON BLADE 7:30 PMDRAGON BLADE 10:00 PMDRAGON BLADE 12:30 AM

FANAR-3YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 11:30 AMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 1:45 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 3:30 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 5:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 7:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 9:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 11:45 PM

FANAR-4THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (3D) 11:45 AM

YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 1:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 3:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 6:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 8:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 10:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:45 AM

FANAR-5SONG ONE 12:00 PMHOUSEBOUND 2:00 PMHOUSEBOUND 4:30 PMSONG ONE 6:45 PMHOUSEBOUND 8:45 PMTEMPER (Telugu) 9:00 PMSONG ONE 11:00 PMHOUSEBOUND 1:00 AM

MARINA-1DRAGON BLADE 12:30 PMDRAGON BLADE 3:15 PMHOUSEBOUND 5:45 PMDRAGON BLADE 8:00 PMHOUSEBOUND 10:30 PMDRAGON BLADE 12:45 AM

MARINA-2YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 3:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 5:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 7:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 10:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:15 AM

MARINA-3THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 11:30 AMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 1:30 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (3D) 4:00 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (3D) 5:45 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (3D) 7:30 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 9:15 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 11:45 PM

AVENUES-1YELLOWBIRD 11:45 AMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 1:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 4:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 6:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 9:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 11:45 PM

AVENUES-2HOUSEBOUND 12:45 PMHOUSEBOUND 3:00 PMHOUSEBOUND 5:15 PMHOUSEBOUND 7:30 PMHOUSEBOUND 9:45 PMHOUSEBOUND 12:05 AM

AVENUES-3KINGSMAN: The Secret Service 1:15 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 3:45 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 6:15 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 8:45 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 11:15 PM

AVENUES-4YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 2:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 5:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 7:45 PMSpecial Show “KINGSMAN: The Secret Service” 7:45 PMSUN- 22.02.2015YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 10:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:45 AM

360º 1YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 11:30 AMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 2:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 4:30 PM

YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 7:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 9:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:05 AM

360º 2DRAGON BLADE 1:00 PMDRAGON BLADE 3:45 PMDRAGON BLADE 6:30 PMDRAGON BLADE 9:15 PMDRAGON BLADE 12:15 AM

360º- 3HOUSEBOUND 11:30 AMHOUSEBOUND 1:45 PMYELLOWBIRD 4:00 PMHOUSEBOUND 6:15 PMHOUSEBOUND 8:30 PMHOUSEBOUND 10:45 PMHOUSEBOUND 1:00 AM

AL-KOUT.1YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 3:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 5:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 7:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 9:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.2DRAGON BLADE 11:30 AMHOUSEBOUND 2:15 PMDRAGON BLADE 4:30 PMHOUSEBOUND 7:00 PMDRAGON BLADE 9:15 PMDRAGON BLADE 11:45 PM

AL-KOUT.3KINGSMAN: The Secret Service 1:00 PMSONG ONE 1:30 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 3:30 PMSONG ONE 6:00 PMSONG ONE 8:00 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 10:00 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.4HOUSEBOUND 12:30 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 1:30 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 3:15 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 5:00 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 6:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 8:30 PMHOUSEBOUND 10:45 PMHOUSEBOUND 1:00 AM

BAIRAQ-1YOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 11:30 AMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 1:45 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER (3D) 4:00 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 6:15 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 8:30 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 10:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 1:00 AM

BAIRAQ-2DRAGON BLADE 11:45 AMDRAGON BLADE 2:15 PMDRAGON BLADE 4:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 7:15 PMDRAGON BLADE 9:45 PMDRAGON BLADE 12:15 AM

BAIRAQ-3THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 12:45 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 2:45 PMYOUM MALOUSH LASMA (Arabic) 4:45 PMTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER 7:00 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 9:00 PMKINGSMAN: The Secret Service 11:30 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (19/02/2015 TO 25/02/2015)

FOR SALE

SITUATION WANTED

DENON 7.2 AV receiver forsale. Model AVR 3311. RMS125 x 7, HDMI x 7, 3D ready,network ready. iPod/iPhonesocket, brand new condi-tion, Carton pack. If inter-ested, please call 99725095.(C 4933)21-2-2015

12 years experienced pro-fessional looking for seniorposition in finance /accounts. Qualification: CFALevel1/CMA (IMA-USA),BCom. Oracle Financials,Microsoft Dynamics GP.Contact: 60320220. (C 4932)18-2-2014

CHANGE OF NAME

Thiru Ganesan (Hindu),son of Thiru Rengaiah, born

Urgently requiredElectronics or

Electrical Engineerwith bachelor degree

Fax: 22498677

Fajr: 05:02Shorook 06:21Duhr: 12:02Asr: 15:16Maghrib: 17:42Isha: 18:59

REQUIRED

on 10th August 1982(native district:Pudukkottai), residing atNo. 674, Kummankulam,Pudukkottai Veduthi,Alangudi Post, Pudukkottai-622301, holder of IndianPassport No. F6077280, hasconverted to Islam with thename of Abdul Rahman. (C 4931)18-2-2015

A change of some sort could create some worry today. This could mean a friendlyneighbor decides to move or perhaps you have a new job that requires you to work today. Youwere hoping to putter around the house, but relax; this work is temporary. Bigger and better pay-checks are ahead! You will also experience an easier time working, as you adjust to some changes.Your curiosity, intuition and your desire to achieve will help you be successful. If you are not workingtoday, you will be helping some friends. You could be impulsive and may find yourself doing thingsyou normally would not attempt-careful. This evening, someone may make you an offer that youmight not want to refuse-refuse it anyway. Lucky you!

Your energy is high! You feel vital and in harmony with the universe. Otherscan feel this, so they in turn are drawn to you, making this a successful day for any kind ofgroup endeavor. You may decide to secure your surroundings by putting in better locks,changing the batteries in the smoke detector, or adding insulation or new heaters.Perhaps you will choose a better insurance company. Visitors in your home this after-noon send plenty of compliments your way. You may become involved with some fungroup activity later today with a lot of give-and-take. This may mean some form of sports.Laugh . . . It is food for the spirit. A lingering hot bath and some of your special music willhelp to bring a peaceful completion to what has been a very busy day.

It may be a good thing you are not working today-it could be difficult toconcentrate just now. You and your friends may get together for a day in

the snow or a day of sports. There is not only a desire for outdoor, physical activity at thistime, but there will most likely be ample opportunity to partake in it. However, you shouldbe careful about taking any undo risks or performing thrill-seeking stunts at this time.Giving flowers or some other token of your esteem to a loved one under this energy peri-od will bring rich rewards. Now is an extremely creative period in your life and you shouldtake full advantage of this. If your relationships are less than idyllic, this is probably asgood a time as any to resolve any difficulties. Your sense of humor is a good thing.

Somehow, fun seems more important than work at this time, so do notschedule too many tasks for yourself just now. You simply have a real need for people. Youfeel genuine warmth and affection for all of your loved ones, including the kids. If you can-not find a party, consider setting one up-careful, you may be tempted to overindulge. It isalso a good time to think about beautifying your surroundings. This could mean some-thing as simple as new bed sheets. You do not need to paint the bedroom, however. Thisevening, lady luck smiles brightly on you-you may, however, have to move quickly in orderto secure a tidy profit. There are now opportunities for financial growth that were not pre-viously available. Write, paint or dance this evening!

Before you know it several hours have passed and you are still in your nightclothes . . . But hey, it is still morning. You have accomplished many things and the think-ing today may be to have a little, early spring cleaning. At least there is room now to have alittle space for some green plants to grow and a few flowers to get their start in a containergarden. There is just enough sun to share with these new plants and before long, they canbe moved out-of-doors. This area would make a wonderful place to read. You are still busyorganizing and getting things accomplished around your living area as lunchtime drawsnear. You find pleasure with your mate or friends as you walk or bicycle after the noonmeal. Tonight is for celebrating.

Quiet time today morning is one of the best parts of this day. As you relax andthink about your plans for the day or for next week, you may notice that you have more involve-ment in activities that have less challenge. Enjoy these less challenging times and know that lifenever stays the same . . . There will be new opportunities to grow and learn in the future. The diffi-cult times of the past are fewer and further apart. You could stretch occasionally and learn some-thing new that would challenge your mind and perhaps your body as well. Learn a new sport ortake a trip with other bicyclists, etc. The number of your friends continue to increase; good for you.You are either entertained or will entertain this evening-enjoy!

This is not a good time to make any concrete decisions. You should find con-structive ways to release the tremendous energy that you feel at this time. You may decide toreupholster a couch or refinish a piece of wood furniture. Help may be hard to find, so this is agood time to learn and throw yourself into your work by yourself. Applying this energy con-structively can bring much praise or even rewards for the result of your abilities. You are invig-orated and encouraged by finding a safe outlet for your energy. Later today there is energyfor carefree activities with friends that have often brought you many pleasant memories.Reconstructing the past from pictures and school yearbooks will help you prepare for anupcoming reunion.

Your energy is high and your creative mind is busy, ready to be applied to yourhobby or any chore that needs tending just now. You are full of confidence in how you will suc-ceed. Make sure both your expectations and abilities are realistic before diving into somethingyou may not want to complete. If you give your best effort, considerable success will follow.Companionship is most rewarding; you make a relationship strong. Later, you may spend anexcessive amount of time working out a budget; you might be too thrifty. Young people areinvolved in your evening and this may create a need to supply a solution to many differentproblems-relax. Analyze your thoughts objectively, confiding only in those people you respect.

The need for emotional security is emphasized, though you should not pressurea partner into doing things just to please and satisfy you. A little extra energy is available todayto sort out any relationship problem. Better deal with it or it could make you irritable. Youshould take the time to clearly express your desires to loved ones. Keeping secrets from a friendcould prove disastrous. Later today is a good time to sit down alone and get many thingsaccomplished-tax papers, phone calls, letters, etc. Fun conversations can be enjoyed with all themembers of your household. Laughter is healing. Take extra care with pets-this may be a verycold or dry day in your area and warmth as well as water is a necessary item.

Your energy and optimism go hand in hand today to help you grasp the big picture.Do not forget, however, that the whole is made up of many parts. Each part must be considered andnone can be missing. This is a good day for long-range planning; however, flexibility will grease thewheels. This is not one of those days to accomplish several things at once. You may want to note thenecessary chores on your calendar for future reference. You will at least have a reminder that thesechores or goals are coming due and you need to pay attention to them. This will help you to stay intouch, on top of and in control of your business and or personal goals. Perhaps a movie, dinner out,bowling, walk at the mall, etc., are choices that can help create a fun evening.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 823

ACROSS1. An internationally recognized distresssignal in radio code.4. The shore of a lake.12. (British) A waterproof raincoat made ofrubberized fabric.15. A user interface in which you type com-mands instead of choosing them from amenu or selecting an icon.16. Of or relating to or characteristic of thestate or island of Hawaii or to the people orculture or language.17. Black tropical American cuckoo.18. By bad luck.20. A deep orange-red variety of chal-cedony.22. Obvious and dull.24. Of or relating to the self.27. Empty rhetoric or insincere or exagger-ated talk.29. An intensely radioactive metallic ele-ment that occurs in minute amounts in ura-nium ores.30. The 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet.31. Hypothetical remedy for all ills or dis-eases.34. Fill with high spirits.38. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christianmythology.39. The United Nations agency concernedwith atomic energy.40. Being one more than fifty.42. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest ofLamaism.43. A resident of Laconia.46. One of the five major classes ofimmunoglobulins.47. A loose sleeveless outer garment madefrom aba cloth.50. Tall feather palm of northern Brazil withhard-shelled nuts yielding valuable oil anda kind of vegetable ivory.51. Any of numerous plants of the genusAsclepias having milky juice and pods thatsplit open releasing seeds with downy tufts.54. Radiation lying in the ultraviolet range.55. A metric unit of volume equal to onethousandth of a liter.56. English writer on games (1672-1769).57. At any time.59. A watery solution of sugars, salts, andminerals that circulates through the vascu-lar system of a plant.61. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.62. (usually in the plural) A garment extend-ing from the waist to the knee or ankle,covering each leg separately.64. Ctenophores lacking tentacles.67. A written statement of the grounds ofcomplaint made to court law asking for thegrievance to be redressed.71. A state in southeastern United States.72. Large genus of terrestrial ferns of tropicsand subtropics.74. A narrow headband or strip of ribbonworn as a headband.75. Made from baking chocolate or cocoapowder and milk and sugar.77. Any of several small ungulate mammalsof Africa and Asia with rodent-like incisorsand feet with hooflike toes.78. Term of address for a man.79. Refer to people that one assumes one'sinterlocutors admire in order to try toimpress them.81. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.82. Free from liquid or moisture.83. Type genus of the Glareolidae.84. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

DOWN1. Someone who works (or provides work-ers) during a strike.2. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipotpalm used in India for writing paper.3. A city of central China.4. A gonadotropic hormone that is secretedby the anterior pituitary.5. An associate degree in applied science.6. A festival featuring African-American cul-ture.7. The sense organ for hearing and equilib-rium.8. Of or relating to the stars or constella-tions.9. Being one more than one.10. Herb of the Pacific islands grownthroughout the tropics for its edible rootand in temperate areas as an ornamentalfor its large glossy leaves.11. Half the width of an em.12. Cuban poet and revolutionary whofought for Cuban independence from Spain(1853-1895).13. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neu-tralizing.14. (computer science) A kind of computerarchitecture that has a large number ofinstructions hard coded into the cpu chip.19. A mountain peak in the Andes in Bolivia(21,391 feet high).21. United States tennis player who was thefirst Black to win United States and Englishsingles championships (1943-1993).23. Resinlike substance secreted by certainlac insects.25. United States liquid unit equal to 4quarts or 3.785 liters.26. Buffalo fishes.28. A family of fish in the order Zeomorphi.32. (of tempo) Leisurely n.33. As follows.35. Type genus of the Alcidae comprisingsolely the razorbill.36. A painful and involuntary muscular con-traction.37. Small wildcat of the mountains ofSiberia Tibet and Mongolia.41. An alliance made up of states that hadbeen Soviet Socialist Republics in the SovietUnion prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991.44. Terminate before completion, as of acomputer process, a mission, etc..45. A tranquilizer (trade name Navane) usedto treat schizophrenia.48. A short high tone produced as a signalor warning.49. Someone who advances.52. German mathematician who createdthe Klein bottle (1849-1925).53. The act of substituting other food forthe mother's milk in the diet of a child oryoung mammal.58. Convert ordinary language into code.60. A state of social isolation.63. A winder around which thread or tapeor film or other flexible materials can bewound.65. English aristocrat who was the first wifeof Prince Charles.66. State in northeastern India.68. The habitation of wild animals.69. Characterized by lightness and insub-stantiality.70. An official language of the Republic ofSouth Africa.73. Thin fibrous bark of the paper mulberryand Pipturus albidus.76. Electronic equipment that providesvisual images of varying electrical quanti-ties.80. Informal terms for a mother.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE

34s t a r s

Daily SuDoku

You will enjoy being around people today and the rapport between you and yourloved one is especially strong. Now is the time to ask that special favor from someone if you weretoo shy to ask before. Just be sincere, you are attentive and understanding. If you are unattached,you could be viewing the opposite sex with renewed interest. This may be a time that you havechosen to help a family member by watching his or her pets or kids. You could find yourself actuallyenjoying the games that young people can invent. You enjoy good relations with family members.Friends and family relationships are strong during this time. Also, love is in full bloom and it’s a goodtime to fully demonstrate the depth of affections to a special loved one.

The law, religion or getting published is an interest that may occupy yourmind today. Perhaps it is time to assess your goals and what you would like to accomplishthis year. Could it be that by writing two pages a day you will have a book by the end ofthe year consider plans to update or revise your bank accounts, loans or investments.Obtaining and exchanging information takes on more emotional significance for you now.A common interest in spiritual and mystical values among family members may occur atthis time. You are concerned about the future of a romantic associate now and may givethis relationship a great deal of thought. Avoid extravagance.

inf or m at ionSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Noor Clinic23845955

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The ‘Boyhood’ actress is nominated for BestSupporting Actress at the prestigious ceremony inLos Angeles today and admits she is very nervous.

Asked if she is excited about the event, the 46-year-old starsaid: “It’s the grown-up version of going to Disneyland, like,‘Look at that big statue! “I just hope I don’t faint.” Patricia,who is dating artist Eric White, was shocked when she was

informed about her nomination and claims it took her twodays to process the news. She said: “I was at a restaurantand my boyfriend went to the bathroom. When he left, itwas like I woke up. I grabbed the kid at the table next tome and was like, ‘I got nominated! For an Academy Award!’When he got back, the kid and I were jumping and scream-ing.” The ‘CSI: Cyber’ star, who has son Enzo, 26, and daugh-ter Harlow, 11, from previous relationships, says they arealso “excited” about her success. But she added: “They giveme high-fives, which is a lot to get from them.” The actress -who spent 12 years filming the movie - hopes her familywill expand in the next 12 years and already knows thekind of grandmother she wants to be. She told Us Weeklymagazine: “I may be a grandma, and I’ll babysit with grand-ma rules, like ‘Let’s stay up all night!’ We’ll watch cartoons!”

Jackman doesn’tbelieve in stagnation

The 46-year-old actor, who has daughter Ava, nine,and son Oscar, 14, with wife Deborra-Lee Furness,admits he is constantly pushing himself to be a bet-

ter actor and in better shape. The ‘Chappie’ star said: “Idon’t believe in stagnation. People say they try to maintainthe status quo. But I believe the natural cycle means you’reeither advancing and getting closer to something or you’rereceding.” The Australian ‘X-Men’ star credits ‘Birdman’ starMichael Keaton, who is nominated for Best Actor at theOscars for inspiring him to believe he can continue to playWolverine until he dies. He told Cigar Aficionado maga-zine: “I always want to be in better shape than I was for thelast one. Every time I play Wolverine I want to go further,physically and emotionally. I said to my wife, ‘The moral isthat I should never stop playing Wolverine. I’ve got to finda way to keep playing him until I die.’ I know that somedaythey’ll recast the role with another actor...I’d be happy ifthe role was eventually recast. It would mean that it hadbecome iconic.” The ‘Les Miserables’ star, who frequentlystars on Broadway, has avoid getting typecast inHollywood and says he tries “to get by saying yes tothings.” He added: “I respond to what comes my way. If youasked me which plays or musicals I’d like to do, well, I knowthere are lots of them but what’s next? I have no idea whatit is.”

The 28-year-old actress, who is trying to get her career backon track after a turbulent few years during which shesought treatment in rehab six times and had numerous

legal issues, says she is partially responsible for her party girl reputa-tion. Asked if she thought critics were out to get her in the past, she

said: “Yeah, definitely, but I think I also have to take responsibility for that. Iwas putting myself into situations where it was easier for them to do that. It’sjust a process of growing up - that’s what happens when kids are in collegeand no one’s around telling them what’s what, but I chose to live my life inpublic. And I stepped back from it and I thought, ‘Okay, if I don’t put myself

in that place, then they can’t say anything.’ I think it’s just learning and I liketo learn the hard way, clearly.” The ‘Mean Girls’ star claims Hollywood haschanged a lot since she first found fame as a child actress. She told the latestissue of Hunger, We’ve Got Issues magazine: “I’ve been doing this for so longthat it’s different now. We didn’t use to have Twitter and stuff. Now the pricethat you pay is that your life is so much more viral. You can’t get away fromit.” But she claims she is ready to lead a more private life. She said: “You haveno privacy unless you choose to live your life a certain way. “I went away andhad treatment and tried to be private.”

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

l if e s t y l eG o s s i p

The ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ actress reportedly amicably end-ed her relationship with the Welsh musician, 26, who shefirst started dating last summer, in December because

he couldn’t handle her newfound fame. A source closeto the 25-year-old star said: “Sometime over the

holidays, they broke up. Her life was getting toocrazy and it wasn’t something he wanted to

be a part of.” But the insider toldUsMagazine.com: “It wasn’t abad break.” The duo were spot-

ted leaving a hotel in New

York City within minutes of each other earlier this month, but Dakota,who is the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, recently hint-ed she was single again. When asked if her boyfriend was a fan of thefilm, she said: “My hypothetical beloved thinks it’s great. He’s really sup-portive. “I don’t have a lot of time for a relationship. I’m too bustlingsanctimonious and afterwards we go home and there’s no one.” Thebrunette beauty also recently admitted she has a lot of turn-offs whenit comes to men. She said: “I think it’s unsexy when a man chews withhis mouth open or when a man is rude or wears fedoras. I hate fedoras.Oh God, I can find more things I hate about men than I like. I think it’sjust a phase!”

Dakota Johnson splits from boyfriend

Lohanadmits she learnt

lessons the ‘the hard way’

The 27-year-old star, who separated from theformer professional ice-hockey player inJanuary 2014, reportedly submitted court

documents to end their marriage on Friday justone day after her 34-year-old estranged husbandwas accused of propositioning women at anupscale restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. Asource told gossip website TMZ.com that theblonde beauty, who has two-year-old son Lucawith Mike, cited irreconcilable differences and is

seeking primary physical custody of their little boy.The 34-year-old retired athlete allegedly drunkenlyhit on a waitress and another female diner atMastro’s eatery on January 30th before securityhad to put him in a taxi home, according to theMailOnline, and sources claim news of the incidentmarked the last straw for Hilary. The actress previ-ously insisted their split was amicable and theyhave frequently been spotted together over thepast year. She also refused to rule out a reconcilia-

tion and admitted she still loved Mike inNovember. The ‘Younger’ star, who recently movedto New York City to film the show, also previouslysaid: “We’re uncoupled for now...If there wasn’t achance of getting back [together], we would havefiled for divorce” The former couple got married inAugust 2010.

Duff files for divorce

Lilly was

nicknamed

‘Monster’ as

a child

‘The Hobbit: The Desolationof Smaug’ actress seemedto always be eating as a

teenager because she was so active,with her ravenous desire for onefood in particular leading to herfather giving her the odd moniker.She confessed: “With puberty myappetite had finally exploded. Ibecame extremely active and physi-cal - soccer, weights, ice-skating,climbing. Dad would call me hisMonster because I’d eat half apound each Saturday.” However, the35-year-old star - who has three-year-old son Kahekili with boyfriendNorman Kali - admitted she didn’t

always have the same passion forfood, and liked the idea of it morethan consuming it. She explained:“As a girl I spent most of my time ina fantasy world and you don’t needto eat there. I enjoyed seeing all thecandy in ‘Willy Wonka’, readingabout the cakes and potions in‘Alice in Wonderland’ and thehunger of ‘ The Very HungryCaterpillar’. But actual food didn’tinterest me.” And mealtimes fol-lowed suit, which drove the ‘Lost’star’s father “bananas” because hecouldn’t stand to see her eating atsuch a sluggish pace. She said: “Iwas an extremely slow eater. Andbecause of my father’s ADHD, hewas frustrated by my slow eatingand very vocal about it. I sent himabsolutely bananas.”

Arquette worried she might faint at Oscars

Reed can’t

stop staring at

engagement ring

The 26-year-old actress, who got engaged IanSomerhalder last month after just six months of dat-ing, thinks her flower-shaped diamond is “the most

beautiful thing” she’s ever seen. She said: “It’s so gorgeous,and I’m very lucky for many reasons, but I look at it everyday and just think, ‘Wow.’ I don’t even know what to say. Isthat not the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in yourwhole life?” The ‘Twilight Saga’ star, whose divorce from ex-husband Paul McDonald was finalized in late December fol-lowing their split last May, hinted her family was presentwhen the ‘Vampire Diaries’ star, 36, proposed, but is eager tokeep the intimate details a secret. She told PEOPLE.com:“You’ve got to keep some things to yourself and have amoment. Love is love, and people see it, and they feel it,and everyone’s really attracted to that idea. As much as wewant to expose as much of that as we can, we also just real-ly want to keep some things for us and our family. You don’thave the opportunity to do that very much with what wedo for a living, so we’re going to do our best.”

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

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Update your spring wardrobe with Iconic Spring 15collection for women and men. The women’s collec-tion focuses on covetable trends and the collection

for men is an embodiment of casual elegance, sophistica-tion and attitude.

Memory Road: Some trends are timeless and bringback memories of the bygone era. Dressed in key shapeslike pleated maxi dresses, midi-length skirts, femininejumpsuits, easy tunics and relaxed fit blouses embrace thegrace of the fashion years gone by. Mould your wardrobeinto these trends in colors like lagoon, aquamarine, bluesand distress prints that simply add that charm to your lookfor the season.

Super Serpent: Prints are again big this season marryglamour with snake print and what you have is a collectionconsisting of drape maxi dress, wrap tops, east soft pep-lums and slim pants. Incorporate this exotic print in ele-gant and classy evening wear in rich colors like maize yel-low, imperial purple and black. For a more chic and lessedgy feel you can expect the sketchy floral prints to do therounds as well in subtle pastels shades.

Elegant Simplicity: This is a very clean sophisticatedline. Relaxed, asymmetrical cuts and shapes are a strongfeature with trapeze maxi, boxy tops, peplum shapes anddrape easy tops with an overall neutral palette with onestrong accent color for that pop. Masculine shapes alsomake an appearance in this collection with relaxed fits. It’sall about adopting a slightly masculine silhouette yetretaining that feminine charm. Pieces like double -breastedjumpsuit, box pleated skirts and structured shifts in keyhues like wax yellow, black and grey are in trend underprints like marble illusions and mineral cracks.

Cruise Cool: This cool trend spills over to the women’swear as well and combines glamour with the tradition ofclassic nautical stripes. Sail into the high seas in classic col-lar dresses, joggers, maxi skirts, playsuits. There is stronginflux of boxy and structured shapes and boyfriend softjackets which you can spice up with colors like nautical

blues, hot corals and aquamarine blues, crystal blues andivory. Also look your minimalistic best in simple silhou-ettes with strong color accents and the evergreen polkadots prints. Make sure you are in cruise control in theseclassic yet reinvented styles.

Sports Luxe: Embrace the spirit of sports and welcomethe fuss-free easy silhouettes that are part of this trend.Look sporty glam in biker jackets, strappy shift dresses,asymmetrical skirts, crop tops and luxe bomber jackets.The pieces get a touch of sophistication with the use of

mesh and piping in a burst of colors like tangerine orange,mustard, black and ivory. Without the risk of looking toocasual the prints and shapes ensure that you are dressed tomake a statement.

Botanical Blooms: Inspired by the 70’s, look like theepitome of grace and femininity in pieces like stripedsequins sweater, low slung sailor pants, pastel peacoatsand midi dresses. Embrace the classic floral prints in a newincarnation in a wave of pastel shades pale blue, mint andneutrals.

The 2015 men collection will showcase three key trendsthat will ensure you look effortlessly stylish this season.

\ Art is big this season and is also a very effective meansto express and communicate. With the collection beingbuilt upon basics, simplicity is the key in this collection.Make a statement with some of the most sought after fab-rics like jacquards, injection slubs, quilting and bondedfabrics which seamlessly incorporate art into your dailywear. In colors that are striking and elegant like deep reds,ink blue, off-white, gray and black these pieces are evident-ly eye-catching.

Botanical Folk: Feel closer to nature this spring. A chicresort look is a strong feature in this collection as weincline towards layering with shirts, jackets, joggers andtees. Vivid colors bring out the animalistic prints like mid-night blue, olive green, mocha and blood berry that areperfect to create that edgy statement. The floral inspirationadds a softer, more playful feel to the range and the neu-tral shades like beige and off-white for trousers and shirtsgive off a smart urban jungle vibe.

Cruise to Hawaii: This perennial trend for the season isback with timeless nautical staples. Combining the tradi-tional nautical palette consisting of colors like tangy red,midnight blue and off-white, the collection forms an inte-gral part of a man’s wardrobe. You can find tees, polonecks, chinos and blazers in this range that promises a chicand casual look. Some prints are a literal interpretation ofthe symbols like anchor, ship that may not be groundbreaking but have definitely been given a contemporarytwist. Head over to ICONIC and shop our latest Spring col-lection available at The Avenues and Al Salam Mall-Salmiya.

Transform yourself this spring with ICONIC SPRING 2015 collection

Hollywood’s bignames at Ford show

Hollywood took its collective gaze off itself and shift-ed it to fashion Friday night as designer and direc-tor Tom Ford staged an eye-popping show rivaled

by the starry makeup of the audience. In a display ofcelebrity that gave a hint at what is to come on Sunday’sOscar red carpet, the staging of Ford’s autumn/winterwomen swear collection drew superstars from every genre:There was Beyonce and Jay Z, Jennifer Lopez, AnnaWintour, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, AmyAdams, Julianne Moore, Elton John, Aaron Rogers with girl-friend Olivia Munn, Magic Johnson, Naomi Campbell andthat was just for starters.

“It was beautiful and it was so nice that he brought hispresentation to Los Angeles because he has so many fanshere and he’s about to start his next movie and we’re justthrilled to have him as part of our community,” ReeseWitherspoon told The Associated Press after the show. TheOscar-winner, up for another on Sunday for “Wild,” added:“He’s a huge part of Hollywood and it influences fashion,and fashion influences Hollywood so it’s great to havesomeone of his stature in the fashion world presenting.”

Ford, a fashion titan who made his directorial debut in2009 with the film “A Single Man,” hadn’t done a show inLos Angeles before; he normally shows in London duringtheir fashion week but decided to present in the city hecalls home. It was his first show for his own label (he usedto be the chief designer for Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent).While Hollywood celebrities help set the fashion trends, it’sNew York, Paris and other cities that are normally the spot-light for the fashion industry. Perhaps that’s why - - besidesthe allure of Tom Ford - the show at Milk Studios had suchweight with Hollywood heavyweights. Other stars whowere on hand included Jared Leto, John Legend, Fergieand husband Josh Duhamel, Angelica Huston, Molly Sims,Tracee Ellis Ross, Sofia Vergara and fiancÈ Joe Manganielloand Armie Hammer.

Ford did not disappoint when his moment arrived. Therunway was decorated with pale pink petals, and at onepoint during the show, they cascaded from the ceilingsonto the models walking the runway, which seemedgigantic in length. And the clothes wowed. The collectionwas both funky and elegant, exquisite and bold. There wasdenim, leopard prints, cap sleeves, crushed velvet andfunky prints, as well as elegant gowns with dramaticdesigns and outfits with sheer cutouts. There were furcoats, dresses with fringes, and mixed materials, includinga skirt blended with blue denim and leopard fur material.Miley Cyrus called it beautiful. Naomi Campbell gushedabout the mixed material dresses. — AP

New rules will expand the number ofcontenders for top honors in thecomedy and drama categories in

television’s annual Emmy Awards this year,organizers said on Friday. The TelevisionAcademy said it was making numerousrevisions to the awards in order to reflect achanging television landscape. Both thecomedy and drama series categories willnow include seven nominees, up from sixin previous years.

Comedy series will be defined by showsthat are 30 minutes or shorter per episode,while drama series will be for shows over30 minutes. That means shows such asNetflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” will nolonger be considered in the comedy seriescategory. Producers will be able to petitionfor eligibility in an alternative category, theTelevision Academy said.

“Our over 17,000 voting members repre-sents a dramatically changing televisionindustry and we want to continue to makesure we honor their creativity in the mostrelevant and fairways possible,” BruceRosenblum, chairman of the TelevisionAcademy, said in a statement. After switch-

ing the Primetime Emmy awards showfrom a Sunday in late September to aMonday in late August last year, theTelevision Academy is going back to its lateSeptember weekend slot with this year’sawards on Sept. 20.

The mini-series category will berenamed “limited series,” and will reflectany shows that have two or more episodesrunning for at least 2-1/2 hours, that tell a“complete, non-recurring story” and willnot continue the story or characters in fol-lowing seasons. This will mean shows suchas BBC America’s “Luther” and PBSMasterpiece’s “Sherlock” will not be eligiblein this category, as both feature same char-acters in ongoing seasons. Other changesinclude splitting the variety series categoryinto Outstanding Variety Talk, to be award-ed during the live Primetime Emmy tele-cast, and Outstanding Variety Sketch,which will be awarded at the separateCreative Arts Emmy awards. — Reuters Scarlett Johansson, left and journal-

ist Romain Dauriac arrive at the TomFord Autumn/Winter 2015Womenswear Presentation at MilkStudios on Friday. — AP

Emmy Awards to feature more contenders in comedy, drama

The Oscars, live and exclusively on OSN

With the Oscars just around the corner, viewers cansee all the action, live andat the same time it airsin the US, exclusively on OSN, the region’s leading

pay-TV network. As the home of blockbuster movies andseries, OSN will broadcast the 87th Academy Awards cere-mony on OSN Movies Festival HD, on February 23, 2015.Itwill be the first time that a broadcaster is providing suchcomprehensive coverage of the ceremony, with over 7hours of live broadcast including red-carpet arrivals, thered-carpet walk and the awards ceremony. In addition,OSN will also host the massively popular Live from the RedCarpet, with Juliana Rancic, only on E!

As the excitement builds for the ceremony, OSN viewersare in for a treat as OSN Movies Festival HD is screeningpast Oscar nominated and winning titles, every night. Titleswill include blockbuster releases like Gravity and 12 Years aSlave, to name a few. Khulud Abu Homos, OSN’s ExecutiveVice President for programming and creative services said,“This year’s Academy Awards show is guaranteed to be anight of high-wire tension after a year of blockbustermovies in 2014. Critics are likely to be left guessing untilthe very last moment on who will pick up the coveted bestpicture award, as epic movie successes like Boyhood,Birdman and American Sniper battle it out. We at OSN areexcited to be the region’s first network to bring such aspectacular event to our viewers live and exclusive.”

In the running for the award for ‘Best Actor in a LeadingRole’ is Steve Carell for his captivating role as John E duPont, in the American biographical drama Foxcatcher. Thefilm is based on the tragic events surrounding multimillion-aire wrestling enthusiast, Du Pont in his efforts to train ateam for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Foxcatcherwill bescreened on OSN Movies Box Office HD from 20thFebruary. Also, hoping to clinch the same award areBradley Cooper in American Sniper, Benedict Cumberbatchin The Imitation Game and Michael Keaton in Birdman.Other nominated movies currently available on OSNinclude Whiplash, The Judge and Gone Girl, to name a few.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

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Oscar-nominated animators felt like something wasmissing at the film academy’s annual celebration ofthe best animated films: Their colleagues from “The

Lego Movie.” The most popular animated feature of theyear failed to earn an Oscar nod. “It’s tough, because welove those guys,” “Big Hero 6” producer Roy Conli said of thefilm’s directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

“And we love their movie,” added “Big Hero” co-directorChris Hall. The makers of “Big Hero 6,” “The Boxtrolls,” “Howto Train Your Dragon 2,” “Song of the Sea” and “The Tale ofthe Princess Kaguya” gathered at film academy headquar-ters in Beverly Hills, California, Thursday to discuss theirnominated films.

The animation community is relatively small and prettytight. Many nominees said they know or have worked with“Lego” filmmakers Lord and Miller. So why no nominationfor their movie? “I think some people hadn’t seen the film

in the Academy, and they said, ‘Lego Movie’? It’s a toyadvertisement!’” said Anthony Stacchi, co-director of “TheBoxtrolls.” Tomm Moore, an academy member who direct-ed “Song of the Sea,” said: “The only thing I can imagine ismembers on the committee all presumed that all of themembers were voting for ‘Lego’ (so they voted for some-thing else). That’s the only thing I can imagine, ‘because Ithought it was a great movie.”

“Big Hero 6” co-director Chris Williams and “How to TrainYour Dragon 2” producer Bonnie Arnold said the slight for“Lego” could just come down the year’s slate of quality ani-mated features. Some years, there are only enough initialsubmissions for three features to end up as nominees. Thisyear, there are five.

While virtually all of the night’s attendees asked aboutthe “Lego” snub said they were fans of the film and its cre-ators, none seemed heartbroken for them. The film, which

according to the Box Office Mojo website was produced for$60 million, has grossed some $468 million since its releasea year ago. And, Oscar aside, the movie has done fairly wellon the awards circuit, taking home BAFTA and ProducersGuild honors, and making the National Board of Review’slist of the year’s best films.

“The Lego Movie” is up for one Academy Award: for itsoriginal song, “Everything is Awesome,” which will be per-formed by Tegan and Sara at Sunday’s ceremony. So, that’ssomething. Said Stacchi, “The only thing I hope is that sincethey didn’t get (a nomination) this time, is that (“Lego” film-makers Lord and Miller) go out and make another originalfilm, not a whole bunch of ‘Lego’ sequels, so they can get inthe running again.” — AP

African-American civil rightsgroups plan to protest outsideSunday’s Oscars show, where

every single one of this year’s 20 act-ing nominees is white. However small,the demonstration will revive debateabout diversity at the Oscars-award-ing Academy of Motion Picture Artsand Sciences, whose voting members

are overwhelmingly white and withan average age in their 60s.

“The goal of the protest is to senda message to the Academy, send amessage to Hollywood, send a mes-sage to the film industry,” said EarlOfari Hutchinson, head of the LAUrban Policy Roundtable group. “Andthe message is very simple: you don’treflect America, your industry doesn’treflect America. Women, Hispanics,African-Americans, people of color(are) invisible in Hollywood.”

Halle Berry and Denzel Washingtonwere famously lauded as havingmade a breakthrough for winningbest actress and actor Oscars in 2002,

but while there has been someprogress in the decade since, itremains too little. Critics rounded onthe Academy as soon as the nomina-tions were announced last month,with all-white acting categories forthe first time in nearly two decades:the last time was in 2011, and beforethat, 1998.

Notable snubs included Britain’sDavid Oyelowo, widely tipped forplaying Martin Luther King Jr in“Selma.” The film’s director AvaDuVernay, was also left out, althoughthe movie is among eight picturenominees. The Academy has defend-ed itself. Its first African Americanpresident, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, saidshortly after nominations wereunveiled that they spurred her toaccelerate reforms to make theAcademy more inclusive.

“Personally, I would love to see andlook forward to (seeing) a greater cul-tural diversity among all our nomi-nees in all of our categories,” she said

at the time. But Darnell Hunt, head ofthe UCLA center for African Americanstudies, and author of “The HollywoodDiversity Report,” said the Academy isheading in the wrong direction.

Makes no sense Hunt, who plans to release an

update on his diversity report in acouple of weeks, said that 93 percentof the Academy’s members are white,about 70 percent male, while theaverage age is 63. “In many ways theAcademy is falling further and furtherbehind because America is morediverse,” he said. “In about two orthree decades, we are going to bemajority minority (with minoritiesmaking up most of US population)and you are going to have anAcademy with 90 something percentwhite? That makes no sense.”

Peter Saphier, a member of theAcademy since 1978 and formerUniversal executive who produced“Scarface” (1983), acknowledged thatthe body has some work to do. “Thereshould be more diversity within theAcademy itself,” he told AFP. “They aretrying to do something about it. Wehave an African American president.She is doing all she can to increasethe membership diversity.”

William Smart Jr, president of theSouthern Christian LeadershipConference, said: “This is unjust, to seethe lack of African Americans in thepresentation. So we’re mad! We’reupset!” He stressed that there are “somany” actors from various ethnics andracial groups. “But the process elimi-nates them,” Smart said. “There is aninvisible ceiling over their heads thatthe Academy has put there. We’re call-ing for them to tear down that invisi-ble ceiling.” — AFP

Kristen Stewart on Friday became the first Americanactress to win a Cesar, France’s equivalent of theOscars, while “Timbuktu” won seven awards includ-

ing best film for its portrayal of northern Mali underjihadist control. “Twilight” star Stewart received the bestsupporting actress award for her role alongside JulietteBinoche in “Clouds of Sils Maria”. Directed by France’sOlivier Assayas, 24-year-old Stewart plays the personalassistant to a star actress played by Binoche and followstheir intense, sexually-charged relationship.

The victory for “Timbuktu” could propel it towardsgreater glory at the Oscars today, where it is nominated forthe best foreign film award. Abderrahmane Sissako, whoalso won a Cesar for best director among the film’s haul ofawards, said he wanted to show the residents of theancient city struggling to maintain their daily lives in theface of the brutal rule of jihadists who seized a large por-tion of Mali’s vast desert in 2012.

Most of the film had to be made in Sissako’s nativeMauritania as northern Mali, despite being freed fromjihadist control by a French military intervention, remainsan extremely dangerous place, especially for foreigners. Inhis acceptance speech, Sissako-who became the first blackAfrican to win the best director Cesar-praised French peo-ple for taking to the streets in their millions after theIslamist attacks in Paris last month that left 17 dead.“France is a magnificent country because it is able to standup to the horror and to the violence,” he said. “There is noclash of civilizations. There is a meeting of civilizations,” headded.

‘Je t’aime Juliette’ Stewart has spoken of how working with Binoche, one

of France’s leading ladies for three decades, was a privilegeand as she mounted the stage in Paris on Friday she shout-ed “I love you Juliette” in French. “Clouds of Sils Maria”marks a return to art house films for Stewart, who madeher name as Bella, the love interest of Robert Pattinson’svampire in the hugely successful five-film “Twilight” series.

The best actor category saw Pierre Niney beat GaspardUlliel in a battle between two portrayals of legendary fash-ion designer Yves Saint Laurent. The two biopics werereleased within months of each other last year. There wasmore American success when two-time Oscar winner SeanPenn-artfully disheveled in a black suit and loosened tie-received a Cesar lifetime achievement award to tumul-tuous applause from the audience at the Chatelet theatre.

Adele Haenel won the best actress award for romanticcomedy “Love at First Fight” (“Les Combattants” in French).The prize for best foreign film went to Xavier Dolan for“Mommy”, the 25-year-old French Canadian director’s fifthfeature-length movie. The audacious drama laced withwicked humor stars Anne Dorval playing a feisty mothergrappling with a violent, bipolar son. — AFP

Nominees for Animated Feature pose for photos at 87th Academy Awards - Animated Features at Samuel Goldwyn Theater. — AP

Oscar-nominated animators weigh in on ‘Lego Movie’

Oscar protest plannedover white nominees

These two November 11, 2014 file photos show director Ava DuVernay (left)and actor David Oyelowo (right) attending the “Selma” first look during the AFIFEST 2014 presented by Audi at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. — AFP

Stewartmakes history,

‘Timbuktu’ wins bigat France’s Cesars

US actress Kristen Stewart speaks on stage after she won the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Roleaward for “Clouds of Sils Maria” during the 40th Cesar Film Awards. — AP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

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It’s time to kick off those snow boots and pack the brolly. After bat-tling sub-zero temperatures at New York Fashion Week, fashion-istas are decamping to London for another whirlwind week of cat-

walk shows, champagne and parties. The London event, which opensFriday, features new designs from almost 80 designers, includingfrom powerhouses like Burberry and Topshop Unique and youngnames Christopher Kane and Erdem. Here are some of the highlightsfrom Day 1.

Fergie at Naomi’s bashWhat’s fashion week without a supermodel? Naomi Campbell

kicked off proceedings in style late Thursday with her Fashion forRelief show, a charity event that aimed to raise money for efforts tocombat Ebola. Campbell and her friends sashayed down the runwaywearing pieces donated from designers, including AlexanderMcQueen and Stella McCartney, and items were put up for auction.Fellow model Jourdan Dunn was among those sharing the stage, aswell as a more unexpected guest: Sarah Ferguson. The former wife ofPrince Andrew, who donned a sleeveless floor-length black eveninggown, grinned like she couldn’t quite believe she was model for anight.

Fifty shades of noir at jean-pierre braganzaJean-Pierre Braganza’s winter collection is all smouldering film

noir and war-time glamour. The show was invoking the 1940s even

before the clothes came out: Air raid sirens pierced the silence andsearchlights lit the room before the first model emerged. Braganza’smodels wore curve-hugging, seductive wool dresses in dark green,purple burgundy, high-waisted culottes in camel, bomber leatherjackets with fur trim, and luxurious fur coats with big gorilla arms. Theopening number, though, took guests to fashion’s favorite decadethis season: the 1970s. Black flared trousers with a horizontal greystripe, were paired with a black cape coat trimmed with jewels. Alsovery of the moment were the stiff leather accessories and stilettoboots, which - whether he intended or not - brought to mind thepopular book and movie “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The thick black leatherchokers, complete with large belt-buckle, are not for the faint-heart-ed.

Bora Aksu does dark and stormyLondon-based Turkish designer Bora Aksu has ditched the sweet,

girly feel of recent seasons for a more moody, grown-up look. Aksuopened with a series of outfits in head-to-toe navy, layering sheerchiffon skirts and blouses with capes and jackets. The color palettemostly stuck to subdued shades, from grays to faded gold, putty tolilac.

There was still plenty of romance in his signature frills, crochets,floral appliques and blowsy, pussy-bow blouses, but they werepaired with more structured tailoring, from hip-length blazers toshorts and pencil skirts.

Furry, furry high heels Opulent real animal fur coats may be a no-no, but faux

fur is definitely enjoying a fashion moment - and the big-ger, shaggier and quirkier, the better. Bright, cartoonistfaux fur coats in rainbow colors were everywhere this sea-son on London’s streets, and at Somerset House, LondonFashion Week’s headquarters, dozens of men and womenwere seen sporting head-turning furry gear.

Shrimps, a young brand specializing in ‘British humor’and everything faux fur, has been riding the trend with greatsuccess. For the coming winter the label has come up withmore attention-grabbing shaggy coats, stoles and eveningbags - all inspired by Star Trek and the Wizard of Oz’s EmeraldCity, with a good dash of ‘70s style thrown in.

The result is a fun collection dominated by clashing forestgreens and warm terracotta tones, adorned with embroideredcartoon characters, glitter and crystals. It’s all less Great Gatsby,more Saturday night on the town. But it’s the elf-like pointyheels, trimmed in teal or mustard fur that really stole the show.Look no further for next season’s statement shoe. — AP

Fifty shades of noir, Aksu goes dark

Models wear the creations of designers Sibling, Julien Macdonald and Judy Wu during the 2015 Autumn / Winter London Fashion Week in London. — AFP photos

38Stewart makes history,‘Timbuktu’ wins big at

France’s Cesars

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Statues of Oscar remain wrapped in a back lot off Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 19, 2015 as artists touch up statues amid preparations for the 87th Academy Awards today.

Far from home on Chile’s Easter Island for Carnival fes-tivities, one middle-aged American woman throwscaution to the wind. Stripped down to a thong, she

lets a local reveler paint her chest. “If someone had told meI would end up walking down the street almost naked, Iwould never have believed it,” the woman, who only gaveher first name Susan, said. Susan is one of a few thousandtourists who joined the Pacific island’s 9,000 residents forTapati, an exuberant mix of music, dance and traditionalsports that takes place for two weeks every February.

In the island’s only town Hanga Roa, revelers wait in along line under the blistering tropical summer sun to takepart in a time-honored ritual-a plunge in an old tub filledwith clay. A man known as Ale then spreads with his handthis reddish-brown natural paint on the bodies of otherlocals-and any tourist ready to participate. Then, otherlines form in front of tubs filled with white and yellowpaint. It’s time for the Rapa Nui-the Polynesian word forboth the island and its residents-to paint symbols, inspiredby the local Birdman legend, or characters from the long-lost Rongorongo system of writing.

Shortly after 5:00 pm, a warrior blows into an enormousshell, signaling the start of the nightly parade, which fea-tures colorful floats and dancers in elaborate costumes,not unlike the massive Carnival celebrations in Rio deJaneiro.

Polynesian pride The Tapati festival is at once a test of masculine strength

and feminine grace celebrating Polynesian pride. EasterIsland is at the southernmost point of the so-calledPolynesian Triangle-a Pacific region with Hawaii and NewZealand at the other corners.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous for its nearly900 massive stone monuments-the Moai, carved by theRapa Nui hundreds of years ago. Rival teams are locked inan all-out contest to crown a new Tapati queen, who reignsfor a year. Numerous races and other contests take place-including reed board surfing, underwater fishing, fruit-car-rying, a triathlon and horse races-but the nightly paradesand dance competitions are the highlight. Locals spend

months carving out large wooden statues for the paradefloats from Eucalyptus trees representing deified ancestors,such as the mystical Moai stone giants or the Birdman.

One night, a man draped in animal skins leads the wayon his motorcycle, featuring a bull’s skull on the steeringwheel. Behind him, a woman dressed as a mermaid-hercostume made of all-natural materials including a tail tak-en from a tuna caught just that morning-poses on a floatdecorated with huge wooden octopuses.

People originally from the Marquesas Islands in FrenchPolynesia play large pahu drums, while the Rapa Nui prefer

horse jaws that make a light sound close to maracas whenthe teeth hit one another. Some of the Tapati activitiesreflect a more Latin vibe taken from Chile-the elderly dobattle to be the accordion king, as young people displaytheir tango skills. But the Polynesian dance competitionsare fierce. At the Hanga Vare Vare, the main festival stage inHanga Roa, dancers sway sensually to the Polynesian drumrhythms. — AFP

Easter Island’s carnival magic seduces tourists

Locals and tourists alike participate in the festivities inHanga Roa on Chile’s Easter Island (Rapa Nui) as peopletake part in the two week Tapati Rapa Nui festival.

— AFP photos