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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 SAFAR 24, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

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Amir meets

Egypt’s Sisi

in Equatorial

Guinea

Israeli firm

can steal

phone data

in seconds

India to be

site of NBA’s

elite training

academy

S Carolina gov,

Trump critic

Haley picked

for UN job

Morocco quits Africa-Arab summit over presence of Polisario

Amir urges more investments,

‘real’ partnership with Africa

conspiracy theories

Come Saturday

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

By Badrya Darwish

Two days more for the nation to decide. It’s atough choice for many. Talking to many ofmy friends and neighbors, I feel that they

aren’t too interested in these elections - as if thenation has lost its faith in the parliament. Whichis, by the way, a shame, because a few candidatescould be sincere and honest and defend thenation. But people always point to previous par-liaments with anger and dismay.

Even I feel the elections don’t have any enthu-siasm. Everyone is sort of going through themotions. None of us truly believes that this parlia-ment will be better than the previous or the pre-vious or the previous one, etc, etc, etc.

Continued on Page 13

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea: HH the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday delivered aspeech at the fourth Africa-Arab Summit held inEquatorial Guinea, calling on all nations to push for a“real” partnership with Africa. “I would like to thankPresident Teodoro Obiang and the nation of EquatorialGuinea for this generous invitation. This blessed meetingcomes three years after the third edition of the summitheld in Kuwait under the slogan ‘Partners inDevelopment’,” Sheikh Sabah said.

Kuwait made a solemn effort to boost ties amongstAfrican and Arab nations in the previous event, said HHthe Amir, adding that leaders, during the meeting,focused on achieving sustainable development throughutilizing their countries’ natural resources to achieve theaspirations of African and Arab individuals. Sheikh Sabahstressed that those who took part in Kuwait’s summittranslated words into actions via the establishment of a$1 billion fund initiative aimed at providing financing toinvestment projects in Africa.

The Amir affirmed that Kuwait’s current contributionto the summit came in the form of the Al-Sumait 2015-16 prize for Africa’s development, which is a clear testa-ment to the Gulf nation’s keenness on the welfare of theregion. Kuwait, in cooperation with regional and interna-tional bodies and organizations, took strong strides tofurther develop Africa, stressed HH the Amir, who addedthat Africa was an important part of the world economy.

“At the same time, we are very aware that achievingdevelopment goals in Africa will not happen withoutattracting foreign investments,” he reiterated, urging allnations to push for a “real” partnership with the conti-nent. The Amir touched on the political, security, andeconomic challenges that surrounds the African andArab regions, saying that the delicate situation in the

Continued on Page 13

MALABO: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah addresses the 4th Africa-Arab Summityesterday. — KUNA

L O C A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

MALABO: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meetswith Egyptian President Abdelfatah Al-Sisi.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with heads of the GCC delegations participating at the fourth Africa-Arab Summit.— Amiri Diwan photos

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Presidentof Chad Idriss Deby (left) and Mauritania’s President Mohammad Ould Abdulaziz.

Amir meets Egyptian president

MALABO: His Highness the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receivedyesterday Egyptian President Abdelfatah Al-Sisi at the conferences’ palace in theEquatorial Guiana’s capital. The meeting wasattended by Kuwait’s First Deputy PrimeMinister and Foreign Minister Sheikh SabahAl-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and DeputyPrime Minister, Finance Minister and ActingOil Minister Anas Al-Saleh as well as the

accompanying delegation of His Highnessthe Amir. His Highness the Amir alsoreceived at his residence in Malabo Presidentof Chad and current Chairman of the AfricanUnion (AU) Idriss Deby, as well asMauritania’s President Mohammad OuldAbdulaziz.

Earlier yesterday, His Highness the Amirreceived heads of the GCC delegations par-ticipating at the fourth Africa-Arab Summit.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, Anas Al-Saleh andmembers of His Highness the Amir’s accom-panying delegation attended the meeting.On Tuesday, His highness the Amir met withPresident Equatorial Guinea Teodoro ObiangNguema Mbasogo, in the ConferencesPalace. He also attended a dinner banquetheld by President Mbasogo, in honor ofheads of state and government attendingthe 4th Arab-African Summit. — KUNA

MALABO: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other officials pose with winners of Al-Sumait Prize for AfricaDevelopment.— Amiri Diwan photos

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah awards Dr KevinMarch of the Kenya-based African Academy for Sciences and Oxford University.

Dr Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Governor of Al-Sumait PrizeBoard of Trustees delivers his speech.

Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Mbasogo welcomes His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the venue.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah awards DrNamanga Ngongi of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture.

MALABO: His Highness the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yester-day decorated winners of Al-Sumait Prizefor Africa Development in recognition oftheir roles in improving health and foodsecurity of African nations.

In the presence of Equatorial GuineaPresident Teodoro Mbasogo, Arab LeagueSecretary General Ahmad Abul Gheit,African Union Commission Chairperson DrNkosazana Zuma and a plethora of Africanand Arab dignitaries, His Highness the Amirhonored the winners of the annual Kuwaitiprize for Africa development.

Dr Kevin March of the Kenya-basedAfrican Academy for Sciences and OxfordUniversity received Sumait Prize of 2015, $1million dedicated for health, for his relent-less work to improve children’s lives in theAfrican continent.

The 2016 prize, also $1 million and dedi-cated for food security, was shared by thePeru-based CIP’s Sweet Potato for NutritionTeam and the International Institute forTropical Agriculture (IITA), based in Nigeria.Dr Barbara Wells, of the Sweet Potato forNutrition Team, and Dr Namanga Ngongi ofthe IITA received the awards on behalf oftheir organizations.

Monumental achievements“We are delighted to recognize tonight

the monumental achievements of the recip-ients of the awards,” Dr Adnan Shihab-Eldin,Governor of Al-Sumait Prize Board ofTrustees, said at the ceremony held theEquatorial Guinea’s capital on the sidelinesof the 4th Afro-Arab Sumait.

“Together, the three winners have under-taken, with unwavering commitment,

ground-breaking applied research and fieldwork to tackle and overcome the scourgesof two major impediments to developmentin Africa, malaria and under-nourishment,”he added.

Shihab-Eldin, also Director GeneralKuwait Foundation for the Advancement ofSciences (KFAS), extended heartfelt congrat-ulations to the laureates who tried throughtheir initiatives and work to create brighterfuture for Africa.

“Their award winning seminal works pro-vide a brighter future for the lives and well-being of tens of millions in Africa, especiallychildren,” he said. He also thanked HisHighness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-AhmadAl-Jaber Al-Sabah for launching the prize inthe 3rd Arab-African Sumait that was heldin Kuwait in November 2013.

“I must above all thank His Highness theAmir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah for his initiative to launch the Prize,which is part of his continued leadership ofworldwide Humanitarian initiatives forwhich he has been recognized by the UN.”

Enormous honorMeanwhile, Dr Marsh expressed his

pleasure to be among the first winners ofAl-Sumait Prize. “It is an enormous honorand privilege to be here today to receive theAl Sumait prize,” he said.

Dr March, who would receive the $1 mil-lion prize, won the award for his sustainedefforts for around three decades in scientificresearch, training and building of institu-tions with the objective of controlling anderadicating Malaria.

“This prize is especially exciting for anumber of reasons; first because it is about

Africa, the continent to which DrAbdulrahman Al Sumait dedicated his work-ing life; it is also the continent which I havecalled home for most of my adult life,” heelaborated. “Secondly because it is a boldinitiative which turns our eyes away fromwhat we might call the traditional sourcesof support for research and development inAfrica.” He concluded that these prizes willact as a stimulus and inspiration toresearchers across the continent.

Laureate Dr Barbara Wells of the SweetPotato Team expressed gratitude forKuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister andForeign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, KFAS, and Al-Sumait Prize Board forthis great honor. “This award is a recognitionof the ground breaking orange flesh sweetpotato work that CIP’s scientists have done,”she said. She noted that the team togetherwith its partners have impacted 2.8 millionhouseholds in 10 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. “With the generosity of thismost prestigious award, we will accelerateour delivery of impact to scale, reachingmillions more households than would oth-erwise have been possible. Our goal is toimpact 15MM households by 2023,” shesaid.

Food securityMeanwhile, Dr Namanga Ngongi stated

that his institution the IITA, for almost 50years, has partnered with AfricanGovernments, the international develop-ment partners to strengthen the food secu-rity in Africa. “IITA is therefore happy to havebeen recognized for its efforts to supportfood security on the continent through itsmany years of research on Africa’s Staple

Food Crops,” he said. “These crops, especiallyCassava, bananas, plantains, yams, maize,soybean and cowpeas, that are at the coreof the food basket of millions of Africanshad previously been neglected for manydecades in the research agendas of manyinstitutions.”

He added that “IITA pledges to makegood use of the prize money to furtherstrengthen its partnership with Africanresearch and extension institutions in thecommon effort towards achieving food andnutrition security on the continent”.

Al-Sumait Prize honors individuals orinstitutions that help advance economic andsocial development, human resources devel-opment and infrastructure in Africa throughtheir sustained research and or innovativeprojects that result in major impact on thelives and welfare of the people of Africaespecially the poor and underprivileged. Theprize was announced by His Highness theAmir during the 3rd Arab-African Sumaitthat was held in Kuwait in 2013 in apprecia-tion of Al-Sumait’s humanitarian legacy inthe African continent. —KUNA

Amir decorates winners of Al-Sumait PrizeAward honors efforts for Africa development

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah awards Dr Barbara Wellsof the Sweet Potato for Nutrition Team.

On sidelines of fourth Africa-Arab Summit

L O C A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Kuwait Times is interviewingcandidates for the upcoming parliamen-tary polls as part of a series examiningthe challenges and problems facingKuwait. Yesterday we spoke with secondconstituency candidate, Alia Al-Khalid.

Khalid believes that Kuwait can bebetter, and this only can be donethrough the Kuwaitis and particularlythe youth. This is a driving point of hercampaign.

“The youth want reforms and change.So I want to apply the reforms andchanges in practical life. My vision isbased on people. I will focus on individu-als to make them have clear vision andunderstand the benefits from theseissues. People’s strength comes from theirunderstanding and awareness. We don’thave political awareness in the communi-ty,” Khalid told the Kuwait Times.

On the Economy“We need open minds that under-

stand these problems and discuss themwith the people,” Khalid said whenasked about her views of the challengesfacing the economy of Kuwait andrecent changes in subsidies. “We sufferfrom lack of transparency, which weneed to solve the issues. We should beunited to understand the economicreforms to decide whether we accept itas it is, we modify it, or we refuse it. andif we refuse it, we should look for alter-natives,” she added.

According to her, Kuwait has numer-ous laws, and these laws are not active. “Idon’t want to add more laws, as theachievement is not in issuing laws but inactivating laws already in existence andapplying them. Economic reforms maybe acceptable or need few amendmentsthus I can’t decide on behalf of the peo-ple. They should be aware of this issue

and give their opinion,” she noted.“For instance everybody wants to

apply the electronic procedure of paper-work, as this will eliminate corruption inmany public institutions. Government isobliged to apply this part of the eco-nomic reforms program. The govern-ment has great waste and we aim torationalize spending. Public tenders areone of the spending wastes of govern-ment,” explained Khalid.

Waste and corruptionAccording to her the government

didn’t start working on the economicreform yet, and the canceling of subsi-dies is not an economic reform. “There isconflict in this issue, for instance. Thegovernment considers subsidies aswaste in spending, while the citizendoesn’t think this is waste. We need toconnect the two parties so we then canissue a law for the whole entity,” she

pointed out. “Wasting of public funds is clear in

many fields including the wrong man-agement, the grants, road projects, air-port project or the embezzlements ofsocial security,” she said. So we shouldbring connection between the two par-ties to have a unified opinion. Peopleshould know the articles of the econom-ic reforms paper as we are a partner inthe future public projects with 40 per-cent. The paper also includes improvingthe work environment and providingwork opportunities to increase produc-tion. If people were aware of all of thisthen they will be ready to bear the can-celation of subsidies,” highlighted Khalid.

She sees the main reason behind theproblems facing Kuwait is the wrongadministration. “The wrong administra-tion is responsible for most corruption.The bad management by governmentdidn’t allow productive persons to do

their work in the correct way. We need toactivate controlling role of the parlia-ment and not just the legislation,” sheconcluded.

Candidates Speak

Waste of public spending,corruption key challenges

KUWAIT: Second constituency candi-date Alia Al-Khalid speaks during arally at her campaign’s headquartersin Abdullah Al-Salem.

— Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Interview with candidate Alia Al-Khalid

KUWAIT: With every parliamentary electionsin Kuwait, the majority of citizens discuss poli-cies, candidates characters and preferencesmost often, and seniors are no exception. Therole of seniors in every election is vital; theircollective participation holds power, andretired people are especially vulnerable to anychanges in policy made by elected officials, associal security is probably the most importantconcern that matters to this segment ofKuwaitis.

In an overall historical comparison betweenelections some half a century ago and nowa-days, Hussein Al-Doukhi, 78, said that despitethe lengthy timeline, some aspects of the elec-toral process remained the same, and if it haschanged, it did slightly.

Doukhi, a retired employee of the ministryof information, said at his Diwaniyah inShamiya that due to the small population inKuwaits 1963 and 1967, the peoples“demands” of candidates were few and simple,“as simple as the time back then.” He notedthat even hospitality services provided topotential voters were coffee and tea, andmaybe an occasional dinner held at the candi-dates headquarters or Diwaniyah.

“Sure there were interests and fierce com-petition among candidates to win a seat inparliament, yet, and again probably due tolimited media means such as TV ads and socialmedia, these conflicts and charged rhetoricwere not felt as compared to current days.”

On whether he would be physically able tovote next Saturday, November 26, Doukhigazed ineffably in the ceiling for a momentand replied, “hopefully I would; it is a nationalduty” and my right after all as a Kuwaiti.

“Most, if not all candidates in my con-stituency already offered and promised tosecure transportation (private car with a driverand a wheelchair) for me to the school pollingcenter and back. He smiled while reminiscingand said “see, they did not have these kind ofservices in the past for example. Not that Irecall anyway.

“I voted in 2013, 2012, 2009, 2008 and 2006,and inshallah this year.” According to 2011 offi-cial statistics, 65-year-old and over of Kuwaitisrepresent two percent of the total population(25,443 males and 25,979 females).

Mifleh Al-Shimmari, another senior citizen,said candidates in the past totally relied on“direct” interaction with constituents, as

opposed to nowadays, where social mediaoutlets are the key means to reach out to vot-ers to the point that “You dont even know thenames of MPs.”

He added that the current elections arebeing held amid “difficult” security and eco-nomic circumstances in the region, hopingthat the next parliament would rise up to theoccasion and be responsible enough to dealwith these challenges.

Fatmah Hassan, 85, said that despite thefact that she never went to vote, she urges‘younger’ senior citizens to head to the pollingstations next Saturday, especially women. “I donot know, nor I am interested in politics, but Ido realize that I have a right as a Kuwaiti tovote, and even run for parliament. I have anelementary degree and I can read and write inArabic, and some English too,” she exclaimedwith joy.

Women were granted the right to vote andrun for parliament in May 2005. The bill, whichpassed in parliament with 40 votes for and 10against, allowed women to vote and run inparliamentary and local elections. Four yearslater, in May 2009, four female candidates wonparliamentary seats.—KUNA

Senior citizens to have a say in elections

KUWAIT: Despite major technologicaladvancements, particularly, the meteoricgrowth of social media, the ‘Diwaniya’has remained an integral component ofcandidates’ election campaigns, provid-ing these parl iamentar y hopefuls achance to mingle with the electorate.

With three days remaining ti l lKuwaitis head to the polls, ‘Diwaniyas’have hosted a series of heated discus-sions between voters and candidates,where they exchange their vantagepoints on a myriad of regional and inter-national issues.

In separate interviews yesterday, anumber of voters pointed out that thegrowth of social media has induced amajor transformation of the electoralprocess in the country, where the seam-less flow of information has been facili-tated through these websites. Moreover,they added that despite an increasinglytechnologically advanced world, the‘Diwaniya’ has always been a reliablemethod for candidates to get their mes-

sages across to voters.Abdulrahman Al-Kandari, one of many

voters who wil l cast their votes onNovember 26, described the Diwaniya asa distinctive feature of Kuwait and theGulf region. On the Diwaniyas, he saidthat people from all walks of life gatherthere to share their viewpoints on issuesof mutual concern, adding that candi-dates actually make it a point to visitthese Diwaniyas in an effort to woo vot-ers who may be on the fence about whoto vote for. He also noted that Diwaniyasare also frequented by foreign diplomatslooking to get acquainted with local cul-ture. Meanwhile, another voter,Mohammad Al-Daihani said thatDiwaniyas are instrumental in boostingelectoral knowledge, describing them asmajor social institutions. On the rise ofsocial media, he said it is a “double-edged sword,” noting that unfoundedrumors can spread on these websites,subsequently diminishing a candidate’schances of success. —KUNA

Diwaniya remains integralcomponent of campaigns

L O C A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Candidates running for the nation-al assembly election on Saturday will maketheir final election rallies today ahead of thepolls silence the following day. So far, 287hopefuls including 13 women are left in therace while the cassation court is still review-ing the cases of 21 candidates who havebeen disqualified by the election committeeand the cassation court prevented their re-instatement until it issues its verdicts.

The court, whose rulings are final, met forseveral hours yesterday and decided that itwill issue its verdicts on all the cases today.Those barred include former MPs Safa Al-Hashem and Bader Al-Dahoum. Originally,the election committee disqualified 47 can-didates and only cases reached the court ofcassation.

Trading accusationsIn the meantime, the election campaign

became very intense in the past few dayswith opposition hopefuls and pro-govern-ment candidates trading accusations ofcorruption and conspiracies. Oppositioncandidates focused their attention onmembers of the previous assembly and itsspeaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem and urgedthe voters not to allow any of the previousassembly members to come back.

They accused them of being a rubberstamp for the government which passed alarge number of legislation without anyresistance. Ghanem hit back at an electionrally on Tuesday saying he was the target ofa gang that has been plotting to take overthe government accusing two senior mem-bers of the ruling family of mastermindingthe gang.

The opposition has started a cam-paign against the election of Ghanem asa speaker for the next assembly and sev-eral candidates have already pledged tovote against him. The opposition has alsostrongly cr i t ic ized Inter ior M inisterSheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabahand two leading opposition candidatesand former MPs Mubarak Al-Waalan andSalem Al-Namlan already vowed thatthey will grill him if they get elected.Waalan accused the interior minister ofrevok ing the c it izenships of severalopposition figures and their families andfor deporting Saad Al-Ajmi after strippinghim of his nationality.

Expats’ treatmentIn the meantime, candidate Sami Al-

Dabbous called on the government to

stop providing healthcare for expatriatesat public hospitals and replace it with ahealth insurance scheme. The candidatesaid that every expatriate in Kuwait coststhe health system KD 562 per year andthey pay only KD 52 to the government.

Dabbous did not say how he reachedthese calculations because they appearto be highly exaggerated. Based on hiscalculations, the cost of the healthcarefor expats will be close to KD 1.8 billionper year which is far above the healthministry budget even without includingthe expenses of Kuwaiti citizens.

A number of candidates have calledfor depriving expatriates of several serv-ices and stop giving them governmentjobs or reduce their numbers in the coun-try as a means of winning more votes inthe election.

Opposition candidates vowto grill interior ministerCampaigns end today l Candidate wants no Govt healthcare for expats

By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Ahmad Khaled Al-Jassar,Minister of Electricity and Water,Acting Minister of Public Works andAwqaf and Islamic Affairs, inaugu-rated the Jahra road mainline yes-terday. This section stretched forfive kilometers, starting from theSabah hospitals area to Kaifan andShuwaikh residential area.

“This opening represents hugesuccesses in the ministry’s strategicplan for the development of theroad networks in Kuwait,” Al-Jassarsaid during the press conference atthe inauguration. He added thatthe opening of Jahra Bridge, whichhas a total length of eight kilome-ters, will improve the traffic fromJahra to Kuwait City, starting fromAndalus and Granada areas to theUnited Nations roundabout. Hepointed out that the other direc-tion is to Jahra, and it will beopened tomorrow.

During her speech, Awatef Al-Ghunaim, Undersecretary of theMinistry of Public Works, said thatthe ministry is working hard toachieve the vision of His Highness

the Amir to transform Kuwait intoa global economic attraction andcommercial center. Stressing thatthe Ministry of Public Works willnot stop at this point, but it will

also develop a thoughtful andintegrated plans for implementa-t ion of the road network fast ,including bridges and tunnelsacross the country. Eng Ahmed Al-Hasan, Assistant Undersecretaryfor Road Engineering in theMinistr y of Public Works,announced that Jamal AbdelNasser road will be open partlyduring the next two weeks.

The opening ceremony washeld at JW Marriott Hotel, whichwas attended by a number of rep-resentatives of the Ministry ofPublic Works, in addition to theAmbassador of Egypt YasserAbdel Qader, and a group of rep-resentatives of government andprivate agencies that have con-tributed in this project. At the endof the ceremony, the Egyptianambassador honored guests, andthanked al l those who con-tributed to the completion of thedevelopment of Jahra.

Kuwaiti businesswoman tobuy shares in Saudi club

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti businesswoman and honorarymember of the Saudi Al-Nasser club Khawla Al-Hasawi that she wants to buy shares in the club fol-lowing the decision to privatize Saudi clubs. Shesaid she needs some time to finalize an investmentmethod that conforms to the rules issued by thePublic Authority for Sports. The Saudi cabinetrecently approved the privatization of sports clubsin the kingdom. The head of the Saudi Public SportsAuthority Prince Abdullah bin Musaed has said onlySaudis can buy into the clubs.

Prosperity IndexKuwait ranked 71st and 5th among Arab coun-

tries on the Legatum Prosperity Index Ranking2016, which covered 149 countries. The indicescovered included quality of economy, businessenvironment, governance, education, health, sta-bility, personal freedom, social capital, and natureenvironment. Qatar is ranked second among Arabcountries and 46 internationally, ahead of Bahrain(67), Oman (70), Saudi Arabia (85) and Yemen(149).

KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity and Water and Acting Public Works Minister Ahmad Al-Jassar (center) and other officials are seenduring the road’s inauguration ceremony. —Photos by Joseph Shagra

Jahra road mainline opens

A section of the new Jahra road mainline which was openedyesterday.

Interior Ministry eager toensure election securityMinistry denies ‘special forces’ claim

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior (MoI) willspare no effort to ensure that all proce-dures will be in place to hold smooth andorderly 2016 parliamentary elections, theMoI’s Undersecretary Sulaiman Al-Fahadsaid yesterday.

The MoI’s Undersecretary presided overa security meeting with the aim of forginga foolproof plan to maintain security andorder at polling stations nationwide duringelection day, a statement issued by theministry noted.

On the plan, he said it comprises securi-ty measures to ensure a seamless electionprocess, as he underscored that any unlaw-ful actions will be dealt with using the fullforce of law. Fahad also added that theelectorate should exercise their democraticrights through casting their votes, withspecial care given to the elderly and thosewith disabilities.

Fahad also reminded voters to have allnecessary documents ready at the pollingstation, including their citizenship certifi-cate. He also said that he is hopeful that theelections will epitomize genuine democrat-ic activity, subsequently depicting a favor-able image of the country.

Meanwhile, Director of nationality andtravel documents department BrigadierYousuf Al-Saneen said citizens who havelost their nationality certificates shouldapply for a duplicate, so they can vote. Heasked all citizens eligible to vote to checktheir original nationality certificates andtake action if they are missing.

Baseless allegationsThe Ministry of Interior on Tuesday

denied online reports claiming specialforces were stationed near the campaignheadquarters a 2016 parliament hopeful inthe fourth constituency. “Utterly not true,”said a ministry statement on the matter,calling on social media followers not to beinfluenced by such “baseless” allegations.The statement also urged the public torefrain from incitement that would reflect adistorted image of security personnel. Itadded that the ministry is reserving its rightof taking legal action against whoever isbehind spreading these rumors.

Illegal postersIn other news, the Public Relations

Department in Kuwait Municipalityannounced yesterday that it would removeall illegal posters and signs of candidates inimplementation of the law in this regard.Director of Farwaniya MunicipalityMohammed Sarkhou stressed the need towork on removing any illegal posters or bill-boards that distort the general appearanceof the governorate, pointing out that legalposters and billboards are only allowed atthe candidate’s headquarters.

Meanwhile, head of the emergency team inFarwaniya Municipality Khaled Al-Radaan saidthat the concerned field teams had carried outseveral cleaning campaigns against illegalposters, adding that some 548 illegal signshave been removed. He urged candidates toadhere to the law in this respect. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Undersecretary Sulaiman Al-Fahad chairs a meeting for seniorInterior Ministry officials yesterday.

Live webcasting to herald electionsKUWAIT: The Ministry of Information hasrevamped live webcasting to allow view-ers access to all local state channels aswell as the 2016 parliamentary electionsthrough the ministry’s official website,www.media.gov.kw.

The ministry ’s spokesman andUndersecretary of the planning and cogni-tive development department MohammadAl-Awash said the ministry seeks to embracethe latest forms of digital media. Moreover,he said the ministry has developed live web-casts on smart phones and encouragesusers to update their phones with the prop-er applications in order to get access.

On these live webcasts, he said it allowsviewers of Kuwait television to watch thechannel on the internet so that they wouldnot miss out on major events, including theimpending 2016 parliamentary elections.

He also pointed out that Kuwait TV willprovide up to the minute coverage of theelections as it transpires, noting that theministry has launched its own channel onYouTube as well as other social media out-lets. Awash noted that the ministry hasoverhauled the aforementioned website inorder to ensure extensive coverage of theelections, where viewers will get exclusive,round-the clock coverage. —KUNA

Multipurpose hallclosed in AndalusBy Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Acting Undersecretary of the Ministryof Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) Saad Al-Kharaz said a multipurpose hall was closed inAndalus, bringing the number of halls closed to75 since administrative law 1291/2015 wentinto effect. The closure was due to several viola-tions from 2011 until 2015, and officials of thehall were summoned. He said the hall wasinspected on Oct 23 and was found in violationof the law, which stipulates a hall can be closedif it is used as a commercial entity or to getfinancial returns directly or indirectly.

Drug dealers caughtBy Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Farwaniya detectives arrested two Indians with 170 envelopes of heroin (320gm) and 60 envelopes of shabu (150 gm). The two were arrested red-handed as they soldthe drugs to an undercover agent. They were sent to the Drug Control GeneralDepartment (DCGD).

KUWAIT: Preparations for theHoreca Kuwait 2017 exhibition aresteadily progressing, and the eventis attracting more companies totake part, since it is an event whichprovides a golden opportunity toexchange expertise to meet thelocal market’s needs and futureexpansion plans.

On that regard, Director of FourHomes Company Alan Eid saidHoreca gained good reputation thatgoes beyond the Kuwaiti marketdue to its rich environment to develop the hos-pitality sector and enhance services presentedto customers, in addition to providing suitableatmosphere to form partnerships and make

agreements between companies.He said Four Homes is a UAE com-pany based in Dubai, and it mar-kets and distributes several trade-marks of European companies thatmanufacture kitchen and foodequipment.

Horeca Kuwait 2017 has so farattracted over 70 companies dueto display their products in thepresence of a group of internation-al experts and chefs and a largegroup of company and hotel own-

ers. The exhibition is organized by LeadersGroup in collaboration with Hospitality ServicesCompany at Kuwait International Fairgrounds inMishref on January 16-18, 2017.

Four Homes joins Horeca

KUWAIT: Activities of the Global Informatics Forum 2016 continuedfor the second day with the participation of varies groups and peoplewith interest from ministries and other state authorities, as well as uni-versity and school students. It was notable during the forum, which is

being held under the patronage of His Highness the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, that large number of new innova-tions were presented by participants from various countries in addi-tion to Kuwait.

Global Informatics Forum continues

Alan Eid

L O C A L

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Kuwait Airways

announce 15% increase

in frequencies

‘Winter Schedule’KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways, the national carrier of the State ofKuwait, has revealed that the much anticipated launch of its“Winter Schedule” has seen some immediate and positivechanges to the airline’s arrival timings, across the airline’s 36-destination worldwide network.

According to the airline, the Winter Schedule representsanother significant step in Kuwait Airways’ five-year transfor-mation strategy that has already seen the recent launch ofthe dynamic new livery and the impending delivery of thefirst of 10 Boeing 777-300ERs into its fleet.

Within the first seven days of the new schedule, whichstarted on 30 October, on-time performance (OTP) levelshave increased by 9.7 per cent, compared to the previousweek and the old schedule. This brings Kuwait Airways in linewith international averages, although Kuwait Airways man-agement were keen to stress that exceeding these figuresremains the ultimate goal.

Commenting on the immediately improving results,Chairperson and CEO, Rasha Al-Roumi, said: “Through acombined effort of our operations and commercial team,one of the key advantages passengers will note about theintroduction of the new schedule is that Kuwait Airways hasrenegotiated its arrival time-slots at all of our 36 worldwidedestinations.”

“The improving efficiencies reveal that the KuwaitAirways’ team has been able to successfully scale-up opera-tions, in line with the increase in demand and capacity thathas also been introduced,” Roumi added.

“These are just some of the first positive steps we arenoticing from the implementation of the transformationstrategy; but, of course, Kuwait Airways remains committedto achieving even greater operational excellence and consis-tent OTPs across our network, going forward,” Roumi con-cluded.

A clear advantage - for business travellers, in particular - isthat the new and improving OTPs offer more convenienttravel timings for departure and arrivals. These new timingshave been negotiated across Kuwait Airways’ entire networkof 36 destinations.

Kuwait Airways has also seen increases in frequencies tosome of its most popular destinations, including London, UK,now with 10 flights per week, and a daily service to New York- JFK. An additional three flights per week to Istanbul, hasalso brought the weekly total of flights to the popular Turkishdestination up to 10.

An additional 32 flights, per week, have been added toKuwait Airways’ overall network - along existing routes. As aresult of the new schedule, an overall average increase in fre-quency of 15 per cent is expected, over the previous schedul-ing. Since Kuwait Airways announced its five-year transfor-mation plan, in September 2016, the airline’s introduction ofnew destinations, new flight timings, new aircraft, and a newlivery have all come together to cap a busy few months forKuwait’s national carrier. Clearly, this is statement of intentand of bigger and bolder things to come.

KUWAIT: Fifty-five years ago today, the Kuwaiti flagadopted its current Pan-Arab colors of black, white,green and red, replacing the all red flag with the cen-tered word of ‘Kuwait’ in white. The current flag wasraised over Seif Palace on November 24, 1961, mark-

ing Kuwait’s independence for Britain, which tookplace on June 19th 1961. Late Sheik h Saad Al-Abduallah Al-Salem Al-Sabah was the first to hoist theflag under the rul ing of the late Amir Sheik hAbduallah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, who was named as

‘father of independence.’In 1961, Kuwait signed an independence treaty

with Sir George Middleton, the British commissionerfor the Arabian Gulf, canceling an agreement signedwith Britain in 1899 to protect the Gulf country

against external ambitions. When Kuwait joined theUnited Nations, the Kuwaiti flag was hoisted in frontof the UN headquarters by His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who wasKuwait Foreign Minister back then. —KUNA

Sheikh Saad Al-Abduallah Al-Salem Al-Sabah hoists Kuwait’s flag for the first time. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah poses for a picture after hoisting Kuwait’s flagoutside the United Nation’s building in 1963.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah is pictured during a flag-raising ceremony.

Kuwait flag marks 55 years

KIMS honors 136 doctors

KUWAIT: Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization (KIMS)of the Ministry of Health, honored on Tuesday 136 gradu-ates who earned their Boards and Fellowships in specialtytraining. The honoring ceremony was under patronage ofHis Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-MubarakAl-Hamad Al-Sabah.

On a speech on the occasion, Health Minister Dr Ali Al-Obaidi said that graduate doctors will dedicate theirknowledge and experiences to providing a distinguishedhealthcare service in accordance with the most moderninternational standards.

Meanwhile, Dr Ibrahim Hadi, KIMS’s secretary general,said three-year cooperation protocols are underway withthe Canadian Royal College since November 1 in the fieldsof academic accreditation and medical training.

This cooperation is part of KIMS’s vision to develop itstraining programs in order to maintain the graduates high-level of proficiency. KIMS is the authority responsible fororganizing all aspects of postgraduate training of medicalpractitioners and other health professionals in Kuwait.

It was established in 1984 under an Amiri decree. Theinstitute is engaged in a variety of activities, including theorganization of internship training of pre-registration med-ical graduates, specialty training at various levels in differ-ent medical fields, and continuing medical education pro-grams for health professionals practicing in Kuwait. —KUNA

F r o m t he A r a bic pr e s sTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Wife: “What does a candidate’s electoral programmean?” Husband: “Do you remember when wewere engaged and I promised to buy you a

Bentley, a villa in Abdullah Al-Salem, a chalet and a dia-mond watch?” Wife: “Yes I do. However, nothing material-ized”. Husband: “Well, dear, this is exactly a candidate’selectoral program and agenda!”

It really amazes me howsome candidates claim to haveclearly-defined electoral pro-grams and agendas they wouldimmediately realize once theywin a parliamentary seat,because such programs requirethe existence of parties andblocs, which does not exist inthe one-vote parliament. Evenif five MPs from any individual bloc or party make it tothe parliament, they will not be able to put any of theseprograms into effect in the real world, because a majoritywill effectively support the government.

If we want a candidate to have an electoral programthat he can immediately apply once he wins a seat, this

one-vote electoral system has to be changed first. Wewill then have to form parties and blocs and finallyimprove voters’ awareness of the need to vote for patri-otic candidates and for the country’s greater good.Otherwise, all candidates’ promises and vows willremain mere slogans and nominal because voters now

vote either on tribal and sec-tarian bases or for wealthycandidates, who accordinglyto hearsay, are paying as muchas KD 3,000 per vote in thethird constituency and theprice is expected to rise to KD5,000 as election dayapproaches. We all love androb you, our dear country!

Finally, on addressing hissupporter, a candidate said that he would work ongranting newlywed couples free apartments. Dear can-didate, would it not be far better if you urged the gov-ernment to increase the rent allowance from KD 150 toKD 250 instead?!

— Translated by Kuwait Times

A bedoon candidate!

Al-Jarida

By Mohammed Al-Owaissi

If we can, as Abdul Rahman Al-Anjeri says, forgetabout the reason why boycotters changed theirminds and started racing to run for parliamen-

tary elections despite their previous vows and callsand slogans of steadiness, these ‘shifters’, asdescribed by Saleh Al-Mulla, thought that takingpart is better than boycotting. They shifted sideswithout even apologizing for all the insults and sar-casm against those who had taken part beforethem, though I think that our elections are moreassociated with social relations than with politicalattitudes.

Generally speaking, let us go back to the opposi-t ion’s arguments in the past few years. Thedemands made by the so-called majority mainlyrelied on having an elected Cabinet without evendetermining how such a Cabinet would look. Someof them even went as far as declaring in public thatSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak would be the last non-elected prime minister. The majority also tookgroup photos making signs indicating the call forhaving an elected Cabinet.

Now that they have changed their minds aboutboycotting the elections and most of the ‘majority’members are back, and after following up whatmost of them said in seminars held during theirelectoral campaigns, I found nothing aboutdemands to have an elected Cabinet. What on earthhas changed? Why did the slogans they called forover the past four years as a base for the soughtreforms vanish? Were they wrong in such demands?Why did they not back them up? Were they orderedto stop such demands and focus on other goals,such as changing the speaker, for instance? WillKuwaiti voters accept such deceit and let bygonesbe bygones and adapt to the new participants’wishes?

These are all questions for which I cannot findanswers, and I cannot imagine anybody whodecides to vote for them would ignore them with-out clear reason and justification of giving up theirsole demand in previous periods!

— Translated by Kuwait Times

Where are your

slogans?

By Ali Mahmoud Khajah

Al-Jarida

Al-J

arid

a

CrimeR e p o r t

State securityA citizen told police that an Egyptian committed astate security offense by uttering insulting words. Statesecurity men went to Maidan Hawally police station tofind out the truth. The Egyptian denied any wrongdo-ing and said the citizen wanted to put him in trouble.

RobberyForensics officers went to the house of an Egyptian womanin Jahra to investigate a robbery at her house. The womantold police she found her door broken, and KD 260, threebracelets, a necklace, five rings and two earrings weremissing from the flat.

Maid charged with theftA citizen accused his Sri Lankan maid of stealing KD500 and escaping. The complaint was filed at Jabriyapolice station.

Body foundAn Indian man’s body was sent to the coroner after hewas found dead in his friend’s car with a bottle ofhomebrewed liquor next to him. It was determined thedeath had occurred 10 days earlier. Investigations arein progress.

Bank account theftHawally detectives are investigating the theft of KD 2,000from the account of an Egyptian man from an ATMmachine in Shaab. The victim was surprised by receivingmessages about four withdrawals from his account, thendiscovered his debit card was missing.

Brotherly hateA dispute between two brothers led one of them toaccuse the other of attacking him with a firearm, butthe accused denied the charge and claimed what tookplace was merely a simple argument. Detectives areinvestigating. — Al-Rai and Al-Anbaa

Drug possessionHawally police arrested a citizen who was walking at nightin an abnormal condition. Pills and hashish joints werefound on him, so he was sent to the Drugs Control GeneralDepartment.

Corruption

Files

They will not be able to put any

of these programs into effect in

the real world, because a

majority will effectively

support the government

Why did the slogans they

called for over the past four

years as a base for the

sought reforms vanish?

Car stolen from

airport parking

KUWAIT: A citizen lodged a complaint at Jleeb Al-Shuyiukh police station after his car was stolen from thelong-term parking lot at Kuwait Airport. He did not accuseanyone. Detectives are working on the case. Separately, acitizen accused a man he does not know of stealing his car.He said the car was for sale, and two men said they wantedto buy it. One of the men took it for a trial drive but neverreturned, leaving the other man behind.

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank is pleased to announcethat it has been recognized for the ‘Internetand M obi le S ecur i t y TechnologyImplementation of the Year in the Middle East’by The Asian Banker, one of Asia’s leadingconsulting companies in financial servicesresearch, benchmarking and intelligence. GulfBank received the award at a ceremony fol-lowing the ‘Future of Finance Middle East andAfrica Dialogue’ at the Ritz Carlton DIFC Hotelin Dubai.

Commenting on the award Vikram Issar,General Manager for Consumer Banking atGulf Bank, said: “Gulf Bank is proud to be therecipient of this prestigious award recogniz-ing the Bank’s commitment to providing thehighest standard of financial services andinnovation to better serve our valued cus-tomers. We are particularly proud that GulfBank was selected for this award from all theapplicants across the Middle East and NorthAfrica region.”

Best practicesIssar continued by saying: “When we were

designing our mobile banking application andupdating our online banking platform, we usedglobal best practices and the latest technologyto ensure that they would be more flexible, easi-er to use, and include a wider range of bankingservices. With our ‘Blinking to Bank’ biometricmobile app and online banking, customers canbank anytime, from anywhere in the world, andperform any number of transaction safely andsecurely, never being more than three clicksaway from what they want to do. These new dig-ital offerings are demonstrative of our commit-ment to delivering transformative products andservices for our customers.”

All banks and non-bank financial institutions(including insurance companies, brokerages,credit companies and finance companies) withoperations in the Middle East and Africa regionwere eligible to make a submission, as weretechnology firms and consulting firms that have

completed specific implementation projectswith such institutions. The entrants for theInternet and Mobile Security Technology awardwere assessed based on the ability to protect thefinancial information of its users, while keepingthe platform user-friendly. The application mustdemonstrate they have robust encryption tech-nology in place to prevent unauthorized accesswhile also applying measures to detect suspi-cious behavior that is suggestive of fraud.

Overall performancePrior to its selection, Gulf Bank was carefully

assessed by a panel of industry experts andjudges across a stringent set of criteria to deter-mine the Bank’s overall performance and servic-es compared to other local banking competitors.The selection process began in August and fin-ished in October, and involved a team ofresearchers working in tandem. The initial selec-tion is through a survey and desk research doneby the research team at the Asian Banker. Theidentified candidates are then subject to furtherscrutiny though interviews and their names areput into a poll that is distributed to The AsianBanker’s 38,000 readers. After the results of thepoll and the research results have been com-piled, a short-list of candidates is then submittedfor review by the international board of advisorsfor a final evaluation and recommendation ofthe candidate who should receive the award.The exemplary implementations are subse-quently documented and published as researchnoted in the Risk and Regulation Working Group,the Asian Banker’s repository of best practices inthe industry.

To learn more about any of Gulf Bank’sawards, products and services, visit one of GulfBank’s 56 branches, call the Customer ContactCenter on 1805805, log on to www.e-gulfbank.com, Gulf Bank’s bilingual website, orvisit its social media channels.

Gulf Bank Wins ‘The Internet and Mobile Security Technology

Implementation of the Year - Middle East’ from Asian Banker

New technology increased customer satisfaction

Ahmed Abul, Executive Manager at Gulf Bank, receives the award.

Mohammed Al-Qahtani delivers his speech.

Ooredoo’s representative is honored by Toastmasters.

KUWAIT: Continuing its contribution toenriching the experience of youth inKuwait, Ooredoo, Kuwait’s fastest networkfor 2016, proudly sponsored a lecture enti-tled ‘ The Art of Public Speaking’ lastSunday. The lecture was presented by 2015Toastmasters International WorldChampion for Public Speaking,Mohammed Al-Qahtani.

The event was organized by the MediaClub of the Gulf University for Science andTechnology, in association with theToastmasters Law Kuwait, a local branch forlaw professionals headed by Thunayyan Al-Reshoud. Representing Ooredoo at theevent were members of its corporate com-munications team.

Qahtani discussed a number of impor-tant methods used to overcome stagefright, in addition to ways that make theaudience relate to the speakers’ subjectmatter. This included examples of personal-izing presentations with stories and anec-dotes, in addition to the importance ofbody language, tone of voice, and interact-ing with the audience. The lecture included

some exercises for members of the audi-ence, in addition to questions and answersand an opportunity for audience membersto give presentations.

As part of its support for this initiative,Ooredoo presented 20 free tickets to itssocial media followers, reiterating its com-mitment to supporting youth and enrich-ing their experiences. Ooredoo stated thatthis support comes from its deep-rootedbelief in the values of caring, connecting,and challenging and that it is committed toits year-round strategy of social responsi-bility, with a focus on women, youth andentrepreneurs.

Engineer Mohammed Al-Qahtani fromSaudi Arabia won the title of 2015Toastmasters International WorldChampion for Public Speaking last August.He survived seven rounds of a competitionthat lasted six months and included 33,000competitors from around the world. Heand nine other finalists competed at theToastmasters annual convention in LasVegas, and he took home first place for hisspeech, ‘The Power of Words.’

Ooredoo sponsors art of

public speaking lecture

Presented by Toastmasters World Champion

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) recently celebrated the graduation of anew batch of retail banking services employees from the CBK Academy in Faiha.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Beirut skyline captures religious rivalry, harmonyAlarm in Germany, Israel as white supremacists ride Trump wave

Page 9 Page 8

ABOARD THE USS EISENHOWER: One after another, fight-er jets catapult from the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower,a thousand-foot American aircraft carrier, afterburnersglowing amber above the blue Persian Gulf, on their waynorthwest to join the fight in Iraq and Syria against theIslamic State group. The fighter jets refuel on the waybefore receiving from coalition partners targets like con-voys, hideouts and mortar positions in IS-controlled territo-ries such as Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, said RearAdm. James Malloy, commander of the Eisenhower carrierstrike group. From his office aboard the USS Eisenhower,Malloy described coalition success around Mosul whilecautioning that victory is close at hand.

“Mosul is the last large city in Iraq that is held by Daesh,but Daesh is by no means finished in Iraq, so our mission inIraq won’t end as Mosul falls,” he said, using the Arabicacronym for IS. While inter-coalition coordination was“seamless,” communication with Russia was limited to“deconfliction,” Malloy said. “There’s no coordination therebecause the goals are not the same,” the admiral said. Thecarrier ’s captain Paul Spedero said sorties from theEisenhower have dropped nearly 1,100 bombs on IS tar-gets since June when the ship entered the Persian Gulfafter launching strikes from the eastern Mediterranean.

The ship’s 5,200 sailors arm, repair, launch and recover7-20 Super Hornet F18 fighter jets every day that drop onaverage 10 bombs each or reconnoiter in support of anti-IScoalition forces. The crew catapults the jets from the ship at145mph, and they use a hook and cable to rapidly catchthe fighter jets on the 500-foot long carrier deck. “For a cat-apult shot, if you think about a Porsche 911, zero to 60 inabout 2.5 seconds, these aircraft will go from 0 to 145 milesper hour in 2.5 seconds,” said commander Jeremy Rifas, thecarrier’s air boss, from inside the ship’s control tower over-looking launches.

The fighters on these sorties head north by northwestfor an hour before refueling midair and then approachingcoalition ground forces that provide the pilots with targetsfor airstrikes or reconnaissance. “They go into harm’s wayevery single time, every single mission. I don’t really closemy eyes until 2300 when the last one comes back,” admiralMalloy said. The US-led coalition has flown more than125,000 sorties in Iraq and Syria since Operation InherentResolve began in Aug 8, 2014, according to the USDepartment of Defense. —AP

Planes launched off US carrier hit IS militants

US Navy fighter jet takes off from the deck of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier. The carrier is currently deployed in the Gulf, supportingOperation Inherent Resolve, the military operation against Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq. —AP

BEIRUT: Save the Children has hit out at the “moral outrage”of the mounting deaths and suffering of children in the bat-tleground Syrian city of Aleppo, in a statement released yes-terday. The charity said medics across northwest Syria werelooking to fortify hospitals after a wave of attacks in rebel-held east Aleppo left facilities struggling to care for injuredchildren. Regime forces have been waging a ferociousassault on east Aleppo since November 15, with the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights saying more than 140 civil-ians have been killed, 19 of them children.

The renewed fighting comes amid international concernfor the fate of more than 250,000 civilians trapped inbesieged rebel-held areas of the northern city. Save theChildren also condemned a rebel attack on west Aleppothat killed at least eight children on Sunday. It said amongthose killed at the weekend was an education worker at aschool it supports in east Aleppo who was found buried inrubble along with her baby son. Classes at 13 such schoolsin east Aleppo had been suspended as shelling intensifiedin recent days, said Save the Children.

It said the deadly rebel attack on the school in the westof the city showed “there is no safe place for children in thisconflict”. “Children and aid workers are being bombarded

by missiles whilst they are sitting at their desks in schoolsand seeking treatment in hospitals which are also underattack,” said Sonia Khush, Syria director for Save theChildren. “The very places they should feel safest havebecome deadly,” she said. “It is a moral outrage that thedeath toll of Aleppo’s children continues to grow and seemsonly set to get worse, whilst so little action is being taken toend the bombing and hold warring parties accountable forthese attacks on civilians.”

Save the Children called for an internationally monitoredceasefire to bring humanitarian relief into east Aleppo andevacuate the sick and wounded. It said the United Nationsand opposition groups had already agreed on access for anaid convoy which could go ahead once all sides agree to aceasefire. “Parties to the conflict must come together toagree an immediate ceasefire, and to evacuate civilian casu-alties and get life-saving aid into the area.” UN Syria envoyStaffan de Mistura was rebuffed in Damascus on Sunday ona truce proposal that would allow the opposition to admin-ister the city’s east. Aleppo was once the country’s econom-ic powerhouse, but it has been ravaged by the brutal waracross Syria that has killed 300,000 people since it beganwith anti-government protests in March 2011. —AFP

‘Moral outrage over Aleppo child deaths’

DOUMA: A Syrian child walks on a heavily damaged street in the rebel-held town of Douma, on theeastern outskirts of the capital Damascus. —AFP

I N T E R N AT ION A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Newsi n B r i e f

Indian police kill six Maoists in shootout

NEW DELHI: Six heavily armed Maoist rebels werekilled yesterday in a jungle gunbattle with police ineastern India, an officer said. Police said they openedfire after being attacked during a search on yesterdaymorning in the Maoist stronghold of Latehar district inJharkhand state. “The area is covered by dense forestsand it has been a den for the insurgents for the last 15years or so,” said police superintendent AnoopBirtharay. “The encounter lasted 45-50 minutes. Wehave recovered six bodies of Maoists who were wear-ing their typical black army uniforms,” he said byphone. “We have also seized six weapons and some500 rounds of ammunition,” he added. The Maoistrebels have been fighting for decades to overthrowthe government, but the conflict has taken on a newintensity since the election of right-wing PrimeMinister Narendra Modi in 2014. In October Indianpolice killed 24 rebels, known locally as Naxals, after anambush near the border between Andhra Pradesh andOdisha states. The guerrillas are most active in the so-called “Red Corridor” which passes through swathes ofcentral and eastern India.

Scandal-tainted ‘mayoress of Spain’ dies under graft cloud

MADRID: Rita Barbera, a scandal-tainted stalwart ofSpain’s ruling People’s Party (PP) and mayor of theMediterranean city of Valencia for 24 years, died of aheart attack in Madrid on Wednesday in a hotel nearparliament. An unmistakable figure in Spanish politicssince the 1980s with her trademark string of pearls, redsuits and heavy makeup, Barbera, 68, was for many asymbol of the corruption ingrained into the highestlevels of the country’s establishment. On Monday, sheappeared before the Supreme Court under investiga-tion for money laundering during her time as mayor ofValencia. She said in court her centre-right PP inValencia had never taken any illegal financing anddenied any wrongdoing. Known as “the Boss” and “themayoress of Spain” by supporters, Barbera was an inte-gral part of Valencian life, appearing on the balcony ofthe town hall every March flanked by young girls inlocal dress for the regional festival of Las Fallas markedby parades and fireworks.

Iran ‘will retaliate’ if US renews sanctions

TEHRAN: Iran will retaliate if the United States renewssanctions next month, supreme leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei warned yesterday. “In the issue of the nucleardeal, the current administration has committed several vio-lations, the latest of which is the renewal of the 10-yearsanctions,” Khamenei said in a televised speech to thou-sands of members of the Basij Islamist volunteer militia. “Ifthese sanctions happen, it is absolutely a breach of theJCPOA,” he added, referring to last year’s deal with worldpowers under which sanctions were eased in exchange forcurbs to Iran’s nuclear program. “They must know that theIslamic republic will react against it.” The US Congress lastweek voted to renew long-standing sanctions linked toIran’s ballistic missile tests and human rights record thatpre-date the controversy around Iran’s nuclear ambitions.The 10-year sanctions must still be approved by the Senateand President Barack Obama by the end of the year.

Former mayor of Valencia Rita Barbera

Gunmen kill guards in Nigeria’s oil hub

WARRI: Gunmen have killed four guards at a facility oper-ated by the Nigerian subsidiary of Italian group Eni, localand security officials said yesterday. Four members of theNigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), a para-military agency of the government, were killed on Mondayat the installation at Omoku, near the oil hub of PortHarcourt, they said. They were shot dead by gunmen inmilitary camouflage, they said. “The (security) operativeshad engaged the gunmen in a fierce gun battle on realiz-ing that the intruders were not military men,” state NSCDCspokesman Michael Oguntuase said. A community leaderin Omoku who did not want to be named, confirmed theincident. “Dressed in camouflage, they came in a speedboat at about 6:40 pm on Monday, exchanged gunfire withthe operatives, leading to the death of four,” he said. Hesaid an unspecified number of NSCDC personnel werewounded. Officials at Agip, the local subsidiary of Eni, werenot immediately available for comment. There was noimmediate claim of responsibility.

BEIRUT: In Beirut’s rapidly evolving sky-line, a newly built cathedral bell towerhas risen next to the soaring minarets of alandmark mosque, symbolizing both reli-gious coexistence and competition in acity split by sectarian war from 1975 to1990. The new bell tower of the 19th cen-tury Saint George Cathedral is Beirut’stallest at 72 meters - the same height asthe four minarets of the Mohammad Al-Amin mosque that has dominated thecity skyline since it was built over adecade ago.

Topped with an enormous cross thatlights up at night, the bell tower wasinaugurated at the weekend after adecade of construction. Both the churchand mosque are prominent features ofthe Beirut city centre that is still beingrebuilt from the civil war, and are locatednear the frontline that divided Christianeast Beirut from Muslim west Beirut dur-ing the conflict.

Archbishop Paul Matar said the idea ofbuilding a bell tower at Saint GeorgeCathedral was a dream since its construc-tion in 1894. It was originally supposed tobe 75 meters high, the same size as thetower at Rome’s Basilica di Santa MariaMaggiore that inspired the cathedral’sdesign. But instead, Matar said he shavedthree meters off the design in what hedescribed as a message of coexistence.“When the mosque was built we werehappy there would be a mosque and a

church near each other. This is the sloganof Lebanon,” he said in an interview at hisoffices in Beirut. “So therefore I wantedthe tower’s height to be at the sameheight as the mosque, so there is solidari-ty and harmony,” he said.

The cathedral belongs to Lebanon’sMaronite Christian church, the biggestChristian community in the country. Afterthe guns fell silent, years were spentrebuilding the cathedral and dozens ofother damaged or destroyed churches inBeirut, holding up the start of work onthe tower, Matar said. In terms of theirsize, Al-Amin mosque and tower havebroken new ground for religious build-ings in Beirut. Critics say both are out ofscale with the city’s other places of wor-ship. Some Christians saw the Aminmosque as an affront to their community.Its size, compared to nearby Christianplaces of worship, was jarring for someMaronites, who emerged as the politicallosers of the civil war.

The mosque’s imperial Ottoman style,not found anywhere else in Lebanon, wasin line with the wishes of its financier, thelate statesman Rafiq Al-Hariri, who wasassassinated in 2005. It was built on thesite of a small prayer corner with thesame name. Hariri, who is buried next tothe mosque, had personally overseen ele-ments of the construction, including pick-ing the shade of blue for the dome. Adecade ago, the mosque situated on a

corner of Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square featuredregularly in the news during a wave ofprotests triggered by Hariri’s killing. Butthe bell tower’s intended message ofinterfaith solidarity and unity has notreached everyone. George Arbid, directorof the Beirut-based Arab Center forArchitecture, said that it pointed to lin-

gering sectarian rivalry in the city. “It isclear that it is a type of competition - be itpositive or negative - with the minarets ofthe Amin mosque that is next to it,” hesaid. “It is a continuation of a type of com-petition that emerged before this time, acompetition between the sects for theirpresence in the city.”—Reuters

Beirut skyline captures religious rivalry and harmonyCathedral gets bell tower same height as nearby minarets

BEIRUT: Lebanese Army soldiers ride horses as they carry Lebanese flags during amilitary parade to mark the 73rd anniversary of Lebanon’s independence fromFrance in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday Nov 22, 2016. Lebanon gained inde-pendence from France in 1943. — AP

ALEPPO: A general view taken from the government side in Syria’s Aleppo province shows a deserted road leadingto eastern Aleppo’s rebel-held Baeedin district with the Haidariya and Ain Tal neighborhoods, also under rebelcontrol, seen in the background. — AFP

LONDON: Russian tankers have smug-gled jet fuel to Syria through EU waters,bolstering military supplies to a war-torncountry where Moscow is carrying out airstrikes in support of the government,according to sources with knowledge ofthe matter. At least two Russian-flaggedships made deliveries - which contraveneEU sanctions - via Cyprus, an intelligencesource with a European Union govern-ment told Reuters. There was a sharpincrease in shipments in October, saidthe source who spoke on condition ofanonymity due to the sensitivity of thematter. A separate shipping source famil-iar with the movements of the Russian-flagged vessels said the ships visitedCypriot and Greek ports before deliver-ing fuel to Syria.

The Russian defense and transportministries did not initially respond torequests for comment. The defense min-istry later said EU sanctions on fuel sup-plies to Syria could not be applied to theRussian air group in that country. Aspokeswoman for EU foreign affairs andsecurity policy said the implementationof EU restrictions lay with member states.“We trust that competent authorities arecomplying with their obligation toensure respect of the restrictive meas-ures in place and to pursue any circum-vention attempts,” she added.

Greece’s foreign ministry referredquestions to the shipping ministry, whichwas not immediately available to com-

ment. The Cypriot government said itsauthorities had not approved the dock-ing of any Russian tankers carrying jetfuel bound for Syria. “We would welcomeany information that may be provided tous on any activity that contravenes UN orEU restrictive measures,” the Cypriot for-eign ministry added. Syria’s civil war,which began in 2011, has become a the-atre for competing global powers, withRussia and Iran supporting PresidentBashar Al-Assad, and the United States,Gulf Arab and European powers backingrebels who want to depose him.

Russia changed the course of the con-flict in favor of Assad’s government lastyear when it intervened with air strikes.Moscow says it targets only Islamic Statemilitants and other jihadist fighters. EUCouncil Regulation 1323/2014, intro-duced two years ago, bans any supply ofjet fuel to Syria from the EU territories,whether or not the fuel originated in theEuropean Union. Over one two-weekperiod in October, Russian tankers deliv-ered 20,000 metric tons of jet fuel toSyria - worth around $9 million at today’sworld prices - via the European Union,according to the EU government intelli-gence source.

“The jet fuel shipments from thesevessels have played a vital role in main-taining Russian air strikes in the region,”said the source. “This points to a sus-tained Russian build-up of resourcesneeded to support their military opera-

tion and ambitions in Syria.” Some of theshipped fuel also went to the Syrian mili-tary, helping to “keep Assad’s air assetsoperational”, the source added. The ship-ping source and a third person, an intelli-gence consultant specializing in theMediterranean area, also said the fuelwas likely intended for Russian andSyrian military use.

Transponders offPublicly available ship-tracking data

confirms that at least two Russiantankers, the Yaz and Mukhalatka, madeone trip each between September andOctober, stopping in Greece andLimassol in Cyprus. In Greece, the Yazstopped at Agioi Theodoroi port but it isunclear where the Mukhalatka stopped.From Cyprus, they sailed towards Syriaand Lebanon. Their tracking transpon-ders were switched off near the coasts ofthose countries, according to the data.

The EU intelligence source said theMukhalatka went on to deliver jet fuel toSyria, while the other two sources saidthe Yaz almost certainly carried fuel tothe country. All the people declined tobe named due to the sensitivity of thematter. It was unclear where the fuelmight have originated. AlexanderYaroshenko, general director of the own-er of the Yaz and Mukhalatka ships, StPetersburg-based Transpetrochart,declined to comment when asked byReuters about the shipments. —Reuters

Russian tankers defy EU ban to smuggle jet fuel to Syria

Tanker-tracking data confirms ship movements

ERBIL: Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have fled Tal Afaras Shiite paramilitary groups close in the Islamic State-heldtown on the road between Mosul and Raqqa, the maincities of the militant group’s self-styled caliphate in Iraqand Syria. The exodus from Tal Afar, 60 km west of Mosul, iscausing concern among humanitarian organizations assome of the fleeing civilians are heading deeper into insur-gents’ territory, where aid cannot be sent to them, provin-cial officials said.

Popular Mobilization units, a coalition of mostly Iranian-trained and backed militias, are trying to encircle Tal Afar, amostly ethnic Turkmen town, as part of the offensive tocapture Mosul, the last major city stronghold of IslamicState in Iraq. About 3,000 families have left the town, withabout half heading southwest, toward Syria, and halfnorthward, into Kurdish-held territory, said NuraldinQablan, a Tal Afar representative in the Nineveh provincialcouncil, now based in the Kurdish capital Erbil.

“We ask Kurdish authorities to open a safe passage forthem,” he told Reuters. He said Islamic State started onSunday night to allow people to leave after it fired mortarsat Popular Mobilisation positions at the airport, south ofthe city, and Popular Mobilization forces responded. Theoffensive started on Oct 17 with air and ground supportfrom a US-led coalition. It is turning into the most complexcampaign in Iraq since the 2003 invasion that toppledSaddam Hussein and empowered the nation’s Shiite major-ity. The people fleeing Tal Afar are from the Sunni commu-nity, which makes up a majority in the Nineveh province inand around Mosul. The town also had a Shiite community,which fled in 2014 when the hardline Sunni group sweptthrough the region. Turkey is alarmed that regional rivalIran could extend its power through proxy groups to anarea close to the Turkish and Syrian borders, where Ankarais backing rebels opposed to the Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Citing its closeties to Tal Afar’s Turkmen’s population, Turkey has threat-ened to intervene to prevent revenge killings shouldPopular Mobilization forces, known in Arabic as HashidShaabi, storm the town.

“People are fleeing due to the Hashid’s advance, thereare great fears among the civilians,” said Qablan, who isalso the deputy head of Nineveh’s provincial council. IraqiPrime Minister Haider Al-Abadi tried to allay fears of ethnicand sectarian killings in Tal Afar, saying any force sent torecapture it would reflect the city’s diversity. Cutting theroad to Tal Afar would seal off Mosul as the city is alreadysurrounded to the north, south and east by Iraqi govern-ment and Kurdish peshmerga forces. Iraq’s US-trainedCounter Terrorism Service unit breached Islamic State’sdefenses in east Mosul at the end of October and is fight-ing to expand a foothold it gained there.

Air strikes on MosulIraqi military estimates put the number of insurgents in

Mosul at 5,000 to 6,000, facing a 100,000-strong coalitionof Iraqi government units, peshmerga fighters and Shiitemilitias. Mosul’s capture is seen as crucial towards disman-tling the caliphate, and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, believed to have withdrawn to a remote areanear the Syrian border, has told his fighters there can be noretreat. A Mosul resident said air strikes have intensified onthe western part of the city, which is divided by the Tigrisriver running through its centre.

The strikes targeted an industrial area where IslamicState is thought to be making booby traps and transform-ing vehicles into car bombs, he said. —Reuters

KHIDR ILYAS: A member of the Iraqi Christian forcesKataeb Babylon (Babylon Brigades) holds aKalashnikov assault rifle as he poses at the MarBenham Syriac Catholic monastery in the town of KhidrIlyas, southeast of Mosul. Iraqi fighters battling to oustthe Islamic State group from Mosul captured theCatholic Mar Benham monastery on November 20,allowing its priests to return.—AFP

Civilians flee as Shiitegroups close in onflashpoint town

BEIRUT: For the first few weeks of her jobrecycling garbage, Haela Kalawi oftenwent home crying. I t wasn’t just thegrungy setting - a dimly lit, airless base-ment where the 31-year-old refugee with acherubic face slips on plastic gloves anddigs into trash-filled containers. It was thatas a traditional housewife in Syria, Kalawigrew up believing it was shameful forwomen to work outside the house. Inthose days, she wasn’t even allowed toshop for her own clothes or choose whatto watch on TV.

Now, in a slum in Beirut, Lebanon,Kalawi is the breadwinner for the family’sfour children. She has to be - her husbandwent missing in the civil war back homethree years ago. While she still misses herold comfortable life, she has discovered afortitude she didn’t know she had and dis-carded traditional notions of what awoman should be. “I tell my children I’mthe man of the family,” Kalawi says, sittingon one of the gray mattresses spread onthe floor of the family’s small rented room.“I am the father and the mother. I’m theone who works. I’m the one who buys veg-

etables. I’m the one who takes them out,and brings them what they need.”

Brunt of warsAcross the world, women often bear the

brunt of wars, such as the conflict in Syria.In Lebanon, about one-third of 240,000Syrian refugee households are headed bywomen whose husbands - traditionally theproviders and protectors - are dead, miss-ing or chose to stay behind. In exile, someof these women feel vulnerable to harass-ment and violence. However, others, likeKalawi, have become accidental agents ofchange in a region where it is still relativelyrare for women to be leaders in the family.

Kalawi grew up in a conservative com-munity where girls tended to marry young.By the time she was 15, she had alreadyturned down several proposals. But whenanother stranger, 28-year-old MohammedDahla, asked to marry her, she agreed.They wed two months later. “When I sawhim, I liked him,” she said of her future hus-band. She dropped out of the 10th grade,even though her husband wanted her tocontinue, and got pregnant. She loved

motherhood, but soon regretted havingmarried so young. Her husband, feelingshe neglected him for the children,became distant, spending evenings watch-ing sports and the news on TV.

He had absolute say in the family. Shespent her days cooking, cleaning andgoing over homework with her older chil-dren. Kalawi’s sheltered existence endedwith the civil war. In August 2013, heruncle, his wife and their adult son werekilled in a rocket attack. Two cousins laterdied in rocket and mortar strikes. The cou-ple decided to flee. Kalawi and the childrenmoved to her grandparents’ home inDamascus, and her husband was to followonce he’d sold the car and other belong-ings. Instead, he disappeared, a fate sharedby thousands snatched from homes andstreets by combatants on both sides.

I would cry every dayThe first months without him were

rough. “I would cry every day for him,” sherecalls. “He was my anchor. When he wasmissing, I felt I have no one, I can gonowhere, I can do nothing.” When the

fighting escalated, the family f led toLebanon in May 2015. There, Kalawi joinedher widowed mother, her divorced auntand her 20-year-old cousin, whose hus-band has been missing since he wasseized by Syrian intelligence four yearsago. The women, with 10 children amongthem, live in small rooms arranged aroundthe dead end of an alley in a run-downneighborhood of Beirut.

Kalawi was the most reluctant to work.Back home in Syria, she would criticize hermother for accepting even occasional jobssewing bridal gowns. “I was surprised thatmy daughter accepted to work,” says hermother, Wujdan Ghazal, 50, who makes$400 a month sewing mattress covers in anearby shop. Kalawi says the reason for herchange of heart was simple. “I neededmoney,” she says. “I hated to ask my motherfor money.” Now Kalawi works six days aweek at Recycle Beirut, a company thatcollects glass, plastic and other materialsfrom about 800 customers and stores itunderground. She took her children to aseaside restaurant and an amusement parkto celebrate her first paycheck.—AP

A refugee ‘transitions’ from child bride to sole provider

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’sgovernment is concerned that white suprema-cists in the United States are being emboldenedby the election of Donald Trump and is watchingdevelopments closely, senior officials said. TheBerlin government declined to give an officialreaction to a video circulating on the internetwhich showed members of the “alt-right” move-ment, a grouping that includes neo-Nazis, whitenationalists and anti-Semites, meeting onSaturday in Washington a few blocks from theWhite House.

But one senior official close to Merkeldescribed the video which shows a speakershouting “Hail Trump” and some audience mem-bers making the Nazi salute - as “repulsive andworrying”. “I don’t think this is Trump’s ideologybecause he seems to be largely free of ideology.But these people are riding on his coattails. Weare watching this very closely,” the official said,requesting anonymity. Yair Lapid, a member ofthe foreign affairs and defense committee in theIsraeli Knesset, called the video “sickening” and“intolerable”.

“One of the greatest mistakes humanity evermade was a failure to recognize the danger offascism early enough and tackle it head on,” saidLapid. “We cannot let history repeat itself.” Aspokesman for the Trump-Pence transition teamsaid on Monday that Trump “continued todenounce racism of any kind” and was elected tobe “a leader for every American.” Trump, who hasbeen active on Twitter in recent days, has notcommented directly on the meeting himself. Itcame days after he outraged many Democrats,rights activists and minority groups by appoint-ing Steve Bannon, former head of a website

linked to the alt-right, as his chief White Housestrategist.

In the video, taken inside the conference andpublished by The Atlantic, Richard Spencer, aleader of the “alt-right” movement, says Americabelongs to white people, who he describes as“children of the sun”. He denounces the move-ment’s critics as “the most despicable creatureswho ever walked the planet”. “Hail Trump, hailour people, hail victory!” Spencer shouts at onepoint as some members of the audience raisetheir arms in the Nazi salute. The gathering onSaturday drew protesters who blocked trafficaround the Ronald Reagan Building, a federallyowned conference centre in downtownWashington for both public and private use.

Crystal clearDavid Harris, CEO of the American Jewish

Committee (AJC) in New York, said fringe groupsespousing anti-Semitism and targeting minori-ties had emerged from the US presidential cam-paign with a “vigor” that has not been seen indecades. “President-elect Trump issued a state-ment (about the Saturday meeting) but, assum-ing this group endures, will need to continue tofind other opportunities to make crystal clearthat he is the president of all Americans andcondemns the alt-right and what it stands for,”Harris told Reuters in response to written ques-tions about the meeting.

In Germany, which has spent the past 70 yearsatoning for its Nazi past, using the “Heil Hitler”salute and other Nazi symbols is illegal and canresult in a prison sentence of up to six months.Other European countries including Austria andFrance have similar laws. A second German gov-

ernment official said Trump’s decision to bringBannon into the White House showed he was“not willing to forgo the movement and mobi-lization of anger and resentment” that swept himto the presidency. Guy Verhofstadt, formerBelgian prime minister and a member of theEuropean Parliament, accused Bannon onTuesday of seeking to influence elections inFrance and Germany next year with the launch ofnew Breitbart News websites in Europe.

American allies face a delicate balancing actwhen reacting to incidents and events like theone on Saturday, which have no direct link toTrump but seem fuelled by his campaign, inwhich he called Mexicans rapists and floated theidea of registering Muslims like the Nazis didwith Jews. David Keyes, foreign mediaspokesman for the Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, said in response to aReuters query about the Washington meeting:“Prime Minister Netanyahu condemns anti-Semitism everywhere and appreciatesPresident-elect Trump’s denunciation of all formsof racism.”

Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of theConference of European Rabbis, told Reutersthat the United States appeared to be “veeringaway” from its own moral standards and mightneed to reexamine its stance on free speech. “Ifwords like this were used in Germany or Austriaor France the people would have gotten in trou-ble with the law,” he said, referring to theWashington meeting. “Social media has createdhuge change. It has empowered and amplifiedthe voices on the fringes. There may be a need inthe United States to consider changes or limitsto free speech to address this.” — Reuters

Alarm in Germany, Israel as US supremacists ride Trump wave Video shows Nazi salutes in response to ‘Hail Trump’ cry

NEW YORK: A group of women pose for a selfie outside Trump Tower in New York. — AP

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump signaledTuesday his campaign trail dismissal ofthe threat of climate change may havebeen hot air after all, saying he was“open minded” on supporting globalaccords. The US president-electemerged from cabinet-building talks inhis Trump Tower headquarters and trav-eled ten minutes across town to TheNew York Times to give a wide-ranginginterview on his plans. He disavowed“alt-right” activists who hailed his elec-tion as a victory for white supremacy,distanced himself from calls to prose-cute Hillary Clinton and defended hisglobal business empire.

And he appeared to soften his pledgeto pull the United States out of accordssuch as last year ’s COP21 ParisAgreement, that binds countries tonational pledges to reduce greenhousegas emissions. “I’m looking at it veryclosely. I have an open mind to it,” hetold New York Times executives andjournalists over lunch at their headquar-ters, according to the paper ’s ownaccount. Campaigning ahead ofNovember 8, Trump repeatedly toldcrowds of rustbelt and southern voters-factory workers, coal miners and oilmenamong them-that he would tear upinternational climate agreements.

As far back as 2012 he had tweeted:“The concept of global warming wascreated by and for the Chinese in orderto make US manufacturing non-compet-itive.” Now elected and due to becomepresident on January 20, when he wasconfronted by Times columnist ThomasFriedman he admitted there may be alink between human industry and globalwarming. “I think there is some connec-tivity. Some, something. It depends onhow much,” he said, adding he wouldnevertheless remain concerned abouthow much green measures would “costour companies.”

Nazi salutes The New York Times sit-down, which

followed a reportedly hostile off-the-record clash with TV network chiefs onMonday, appeared to represent a per-haps temporary truce with the hatedmedia. Trump regularly-as recently asearlier Tuesday-insults the “failing NewYork Times” in tweets, but distancedhimself from threats to toughen libellaws and engaged cheerfully with thepaper. “I do read it. Unfortunately,” headmitted. “I’d live about 20 years longerif I didn’t.” He also, under repeated ques-tioning, denounced the so-called alt-right, after leaders of the movement metin Washington at the weekend and cele-brated his victory with Nazi salutes.

He insisted, somewhat controversial-ly, that his sprawling global businessempire does not represent a conflict ofinterest for a president-at least notaccording to lawyers he has consulted.“The law’s totally on my side, the presi-

dent can’t have a conflict of interest,” hetold the paper. Trump also said that hewas reconsidering his position favoringthe authorization of torturing detaineesafter sitting down with retired generalJames Mattis over the weekend to dis-cuss naming him as secretary of defense.

He reported that he would “love” toclinch a deal to end the intractable con-flict between Israel and the Palestinians,but on the bloodshed in Syria, Trump wasmore vague, saying “we have to end thecraziness that’s going on.” Trump gushedin his admiration for President BarackObama, whom he will replace in theWhite House, telling the paper, despitethe aggressive tone of his campaign, hehad been honored to meet Obama. Andhe stepped back from threats to prose-cute his defeated rival Clinton. During thecampaign, Trump had accused Clinton ofillegally destroying email records to coverup wrongdoing and alleged fraud at hercharitable foundation-as his fans chanted“Lock her up.”

Special prosecutorTrump was asked by The New York

Times whether he stood by a threat,made to Clinton’s face in their seconddebate, to appoint a special prosecutorto investigate her. “I think it would bevery, very divisive for the country,” thepresident-elect admitted. In commonwith his predecessors, the Republicanbillionaire has been in no hurry to namea cabinet, leaving the reporters gatheredunder Trump Tower chasing after rumorsas he holds court above. And if theWashington political class was expectingthe populist provocateur of the cam-paign trail to hire a top team from theinstitutional mainstream, it could well bedisappointed. His picks include a chiefstrategist who is a self-described “eco-nomic nationalist” and a national securi-ty adviser who-eased into retirement byObama-went to dine with Vladimir Putin.And why would Trump, a 70-year-oldtycoon and reality television star whosedefiance of political norms led him towin the world’s highest office in his firstforay into an election, change now?

Time to give thanksAccording to two opinion polls pub-

lished Tuesday, a majority of voters areoptimistic that his efforts to “makeAmerica great again” will lead the nationto a brighter future. According to datafrom Quinnipiac University, most votersthink he should stop tweeting but, by amargin of 59 to 37, most “are optimisticabout the next four years with DonaldTrump as president.” A similar CNN/ORCpoll found a narrow majority, 53 percent ofvoters, thought Trump would do a goodjob. Late Tuesday, Trump arrived for a fami-ly Thanksgiving break at his golf resort inMar-a-Lago, Florida, where onlookers linedthe street, taking pictures and cheering ashis motorcade pulled in. — AFP

Wooing press, US’ Trump softens climate stance

PANAMA CITY: Workers cut a tree that killed a boy when it fell during a storm in Panama City yesterday. — AFP

PANAMA CITY: Hurricane Otto wasforecast to strengthen in theCaribbean as it churned towardCentral America Tuesday, causingthree deaths in Panama and prompt-ing coastal evacuations in Costa Ricaand Nicaragua. Otto became the sev-enth hurricane of the 2016 Atlanticseason. The hurricane, which is pack-ing maximum sustained winds of 75miles per hour, is expected to pickup strength and speed as it moveswestward, approaching Costa Ricaand Nicaragua today before makinglandfal l , the National HurricaneCenter said in a 0300 GMTWednesday bulletin.

Currently, hurricane-force windswere extending up to 10 miles fromthe center. Otto’s rains “will likelyresult in life-threatening flash floodsand mud slides,” while “life-threaten-ing surf and rip-current conditions”will be experienced along the coastsof Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua,the Miami-based center warned. InPanama, two people died from amudslide and one was killed by afalling tree at the onset of Otto’sheavy rain, the head of the National

Civil Protection Service, JoseDonderis said. Nine people werecaught in the mudslide that occurredwest of the capital.

“Seven were rescued and unfortu-nately two deceased people wererecovered,” he said. The other deathwas that of a boy hit by a tree that fellon the car he was in while waitingwith his mother outside his school inthe capital, Donderis said. The mothersurvived. Officials in the countryordered all schools closed.Government workers were told toleave offices hours early yesterday.

Evacuations Neighboring Costa Rica on Tuesday

ordered the evacuation of more than4,000 people along the sparselyinhabited northern part of itsCaribbean coast to avoid fatalities.“We will not allow people to remain inat-risk areas and loss of human life,”President Luis Guillermo Solis told anews conference. The order did notextend to Costa Rica’s principal portcity of Limon on the southernCaribbean coast. The city, home toaround 60,000 people, is projected to

feel the glancing force of the hurri-cane. Nicaragua, the poorest countryin Central America, has issued anational alert and also ordered coastalevacuations. The co-director of theSINAPRED national disaster agency,Guillermo Gonzalez, said navy shipswould evacuate people on Little CornIsland, a popular Nicaraguan touristspot in the Caribbean, to shelters onbigger Corn Island.

Civilian Nicaraguan vessels at seawere ordered back to port. The stormwas expected to pass near Managua,Nicaragua’s inland capital today.According to forecasts, Otto was to cutacross the narrow Central Americanisthmus, losing strength before exitingout into the Pacific Ocean on Friday.The storm was a late arrival in theAtlantic hurricane season, which typi-cally runs from June to the end ofNovember, and was hitting landunusually south. Costa Rica has notexperienced a direct hit from a hurri-cane since records began in 1951. Aprevious hurricane, Matthew, devas-tated parts of southern Haiti in earlyOctober, killing 546 people and leav-ing nearly 175,000 homeless. — AFP

Hurricane swirls toward Central America, killing 3

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkelwarned yesterday against the power of fakenews on social media to spur the rise ofpopulists, after launching her campaign fora fourth term. Speaking in parliament forthe first time since her announcementSunday that she would seek re-electionnext year, Merkel cautioned that publicopinion was being “manipulated” on theinternet. “Something has changed-as glob-alization has marched on, (political) debateis taking place in a completely new mediaenvironment. Opinions aren’t formed theway they were 25 years ago,” she said.“Today we have fake sites, bots, trolls-thingsthat regenerate themselves, reinforcingopinions with certain algorithms and wehave to learn to deal with them.”

Merkel, 62, said the challenge fordemocrats was to “reach and inspire peo-ple-we must confront this phenomenonand if necessary, regulate it.” She said shesupported initiatives by her right-left coali-tion government to crack down on “hatespeech” on social media in the face of whatshe said were “concerns about the stabilityof our familiar order”. “Populism and politi-cal extremes are growing in Westerndemocracies,” she warned. Last week,Google and Facebook moved to cut off adrevenue to bogus news sites after a US elec-tion campaign in which the global misinfor-mation industry may have influenced theoutcome of the vote.

But media watchers say more is needed tostamp out a powerful phenomenon seen bysome experts as a threat to democracy itself.Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratsare the odds-on favorites to win the Germannational election, expected in September orOctober 2017. But she is facing a strong chal-lenge from a resurgent rightwing populistparty, Alternative for Germany (AfD), whichhas her liberal refugee and migration policyin its crosshairs. It is currently polling at

around 12-13 percent which could compli-cate the complex maths of coalition buildingafter the poll. All of Germany’s mainstreamparties have for now ruled out forming analliance with the AfD. — AFP

Merkel warns against fake news driving populist gains

BERLIN: Combo of pictures showsGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel ges-turing as she gives a speech during asession at the Bundestag (lower houseof parliament) yesterday in Berlin.Merkel addressed the parliament on keydomestic and foreign issues during aweek of budget debate. —AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court’sprosecutor said her investigations into allegedwar crimes would not be impacted by the plansof three African countries to withdraw from thecourt and she would keep going after the perpe-trators of atrocities. Fatou Bensouda said heroffice would press ahead with the preliminaryinvestigation in Burundi and her work had thesupport of more than 120 other member states.Gambia, South Africa and Burundi notified theUnited Nations in October and November oftheir plans to withdraw from the ICC.

The withdrawals become effective one yearafter the notification is filed. To date, all but one

of the court’s 10 investigations have been inAfrica and its five convicted suspects are fromDemocratic Republic of Congo, Central AfricanRepublic and Mali. The ICC rejects allegations ofbias against African nations, arguing many of thecases were brought by African governmentsthemselves and that it has 10 preliminaryinquiries or investigations into alleged atrocitiesin Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Iraq, thePalestinian Territories and Ukraine.

Bensouda, a Gambian former justice minister,said the court began its work in 2002 with over-whelming African support and that Africancountries had requested the ICC’s intervention.

“Even if one country decides to withdraw fromthe ICC, this I believe, for the continent, speak-ing as an African, is a setback for the continentand this is also a regression for the continent,”she said. Russia, which is not a member of thecourt but signed its founding Rome Statute,said this month it would remove its signatureand the Philippines is considering withdrawingits membership.

‘Don’t look away’Bensouda countered concerns of a mass

departure of member states and said all otherstates had renewed their commitment to thecourt, which has a mandate to prosecute warcrimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.The ICC is a court of last resort, only interveningin member countries when national jurisdictionsare unable or unwilling to prosecute mass atroci-ties. Bensouda launched a preliminary investiga-tion in Burundi in April after political violencekilled hundreds of people and forced hundredsof thousands to flee abroad. “We will continue todo our work with respect to what we have start-ed in Burundi,” she said, saying its obligationsunder the Rome Statute remained until the one-year notification period ended.

If, during that time, prosecutors determinethat crimes must be formally investigated,Burundi would be obligated to cooperate withthe court, she said. In the Philippines, whichjoined the court in 2011, the prosecutor warnedin October that the extrajudicial killing of thou-sands of alleged drug users and dealers couldconstitute crimes that fall under her jurisdiction.The allegations are not the subject of a prelimi-nary investigation, the first legal step toward aprosecution. “It is important as prosecutor of theICC to raise concerns,” she said. “It is also impor-tant that I don’t look away because this is exactlywhy this court was established.” — Reuters

Under fire, ICC vows to hunt perpetrators of atrocities

S Africa, Burundi, Gambia to leave International Court

HOCHHEIM AM MAIN: For 15-year-old Mustafa,the trickiest part about learning German isknowing when to use the articles der, die or das.“And the umlaut,” his classmate Majd remindshim, sending both Syrian teens groaning inmock frustration at the vowel alteration, one ofthe quirks of German grammar. But they’re notreally complaining. Having escaped the fightingat home and survived the harrowing journey toEurope, they are glad to be back in school. Forthem, as for young refugees everywhere, it’s thefirst step back to a normal life.

But they are fast learning that the hard workis only just beginning-for pupils and teachersalike. Mustafa, Majd and their families wereamong the nearly 900,000 migrants whostreamed into Germany last year. Around a thirdof them were minors, and the country now facesthe Herculean task of absorbing the newcomersinto its school system. The obstacles are formi-dable. Most of the youngsters don’t speak aword of German on arrival and have usuallymissed months, if not years, of school. Many arealso scarred by the experiences that led them toflee their homes in the first place. “It’s a hugechallenge,” said Ilka Hoffmann, a board memberof the GEW, Germany’s largest teachers’ union.

She estimates Germany will have to hiresome 24,000 new teachers to cope with theinflux, and that’s without including the urgentneed for more psychologists and counselors inschools. “Trauma manifests itself in differentways,” Hoffmann said. “We’re ill-prepared in thatregard.” The Kultusministerkonferenz, a group-ing of the nation’s state education ministries,has calculated that educating the childrefugees will cost an extra 2.3 billion euros($2.5 billion) a year.

‘Intense’ In German classrooms today, Chancellor

Angela Merkel’s “Wir schaffen das” (We can do it)motto about integrating the migrants is morethan just a catchphrase. It’s a daily assignment.Mustafa and Majd are enrolled in the Heinrich-von-Brentano school in Hochheim, a pictur-esque town west of Frankfurt. To cope with therefugee arrivals, the school has set up two so-called “intensive classes” for 22 pupils where theimmediate focus is on learning German, the

same approach that has been taken nationwide.In Mustafa’s small classroom, where most of

the students are from Syria, Iraq andAfghanistan, the atmosphere is jovial, but theirteacher Michael Smiraglia says there’s no deny-ing the daily difficulties. With pupils ranging fromthe gifted to those who are still learning theLatin alphabet, Smiraglia has to tailor his lessonsto a range of levels and come up with severalapproaches to the same exercises. Then there’sthe added challenge of working with teens whohave lived through traumatic events, which cantrigger disruptive or antisocial behavior.

“I quickly found that the name ‘intensiveclass’ also meant it would be intense for me as ateacher,” Smiraglia said, while his pupils, in halt-ing German, read out a dialogue about orderinglemonade and ice cream. He says his back-ground as a family counselor, which saw himwork with traumatized youths, has proved“immensely helpful” in bonding with the class. “Ihave pupils aged 12 to 15 who have feared fortheir lives,” the bespectacled, soft-spokenteacher says, stressing the importance of givingthe teens a safe place to share their stories. “It’s agift for me when they open up to me because it

helps me understand them better and deal withthings like inappropriate behavior.”

Breaking the iceFor the students the real test of their progress

will come when they move on from the cocoonof the intensive class to regular classes, whereteachers have a curriculum to follow and maynot have the time or tools to focus on their indi-vidual needs. To ease the transition, the Brentanoschool’s refugee pupils already spend severalhours a week with their German peers for lessonssuch as English, maths or sports.

The results are mixed, with Mustafa pointing outthat language remains a barrier. “The teachersspeak so fast, I don’t understand much.” But themingling has helped break the ice between thenewcomers and their German schoolmates, as hasplaying football during break times. “We playtogether and then we also learn a bit moreGerman,” says Mustafa. Generally though, the teensin the intensive classes admit they tend to sticktogether in their free time, speaking in their nativetongues. “I don’t have a lot of contact yet with theGerman kids,” says 14-year-old Marjan fromAfghanistan. “But everyone is very friendly.” — AFP

In German schools, steep learning curve for refugees and teachers PARIS: In the 1935 novel “It Can’t Happen

Here”, an ignorant American demagoguecalled Buzz Windrip becomes president,promising to make a depressed and fear-ful country proud, rich and safe again.Eight decades later, the satirical piece offiction by Sinclair Lewis has gained a newlease of life, becoming a bestseller onlinefollowing Donald Trump’s stunning victo-ry in the US election.

Observing Windrip at a presidentialcampaign event, a journalist describeshim as “almost illiterate, a public liar easilydetected, and in his ‘ideas’ almost idiotic”.Written as virulent nationalism spreaddisastrously in Europe, and to a lesserextent in America, the book’s revivalreflects a surge of interest in one of the20th century’s darkest decades. The paral-lels between the current time and whatone writer describes as the “Morbid Age”of the 1930s has led to a fierce debatebetween historians about how far thecomparison can be taken.

“We are facing a cataclysmic moment,”renowned British writer and broadcasterSimon Schama warned following Trump’selection, recalling that Hitler came topower via the ballot box in the 1930s.Antony Beevor, another best-sellingheavyweight on European history,rebuked him. “It is too easy for alarmiststo fall for the temptation of lazy historicalparallels,” he wrote. So, as the return ofultra-nationalism, xenophobia and anti-elitism spur Trump, anti-EU voters inBritain and a host of far-right parties inEurope, does history offer comfort orcause for concern?

First, the bad newsSome historians point to several strik-

ing parallels. The Great Depression of the1930s, sparked by the Wall Street crash of1929, has echoes of the global financialcrisis caused by the sub-prime crash of2008. Seething with anger at the financialand political elite, struggling or unem-ployed workers in the 1930s grew bitterand despondent and openly questionedthe future for their children.

Many blamed foreigners or Jews,

became attached to an idealized past, andworried about the spread of their enemies,abroad and at home. In the 1930s, thethreat was Communism, now it is radicalIslam. The expansion of transatlantic ship-ping, air mail, radio, industrial mass pro-duction and Hollywood cinema gave asense of time accelerating and the worldclosing in. French historian PascalBlanchard, who has written a book on theperiod, calls the 30s “the start of globaliza-tion” that generated many of the same cul-tural and economic anxieties visible today.Governments reacted by trying to protecttheir economies with tariffs and barriers,sparking an international trade war.

On the other side of the world, anationalistic Asian power with territorialambitions added to concerns. It wasJapan, which invaded the present-dayAsian hegemon China in 1931. In Austria,where the far-right came within 31,000votes of winning a presidential election inMay this year and could still win in nextmonth’s re-run, a far-right chancellorcame to power in 1932 and destroyed thecountry’s democracy. As fascism spread,the decade was defined by Germanylooking to avenge its humiliation afterWorld War I. Could Vladimir Putin’s Russia,pained by the decline of the Soviet Union,be the modern equivalent?

Not so fast... Ian Kershaw, a world authority on the

rise of Hitler, admitted to AFP that duringhis research for a new book on Europefrom 1914-1949 some similarities “makethe hair stand up on the back on yourneck”. “But I don’t think we are returningto the dark ages of the 1930s becausethere are big differences as well as super-ficial similarities,” Kershaw insisted. Chiefamong the differences is the role ofGermany, now a beacon for liberaldemocracy, committed to peace and alynchpin of the stabilizing force that is theEuropean Union, Kershaw says. TheEurope of today, “admittedly flaky in partswhen you look at Hungary and Poland”,bears no comparison with the authoritari-an states of 80 years ago. — AFP

Back to the 1930s nationalism? Historians battle comparison

BUTEMBO: A man and two goats rest at a gas station in Butembo. The high unemployment rate isconsidered ‘normal’ by Godefroid Kambere Matimbya, deputy mayor of the North Kivu province cityof Butembo, which counts over a million inhabitants. Rich in minerals, forest and arable land,Butembo has been torn for over two decades by armed conflicts, with violence and insecurityimpacting economic activities for more than 10 years. — AFP

THE HAGUE: Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda waits at the court room of the International CriminalCourt (ICC) ahead of a trial, at The Hague in the Netherlands. — AFP

BUTEMBO: The question is so absurd thatButembo’s deputy mayor misses a beat beforeanswering. What is the town’s unemployment rate?“Unemployment is the norm around these parts,”says Godefroid Kambere Matimbya. “There aren’tany businesses.” Butembo is no ghost town, but acity of 1.1 million in Democratic Republic of Congo’srestive North Kivu province. Fabled for its naturalriches, the lush east of the country abounds inforests, lakes, farmland and mineral-packed peaks.For many, its wealth is its curse. “Nothing has goneright for the past 10 years or so” in Butembo,Kambere says. In fact, for the past two decades rivalarmies and insurgents have ripped through NorthKivu, fighting each other, stealing resources,uprooting and killing civilians in their wake.

Butembo-”the city of ficus trees” in Kinande, thelanguage of the local Nande ethnic group-was onceknown for its coffee farming and a cornucopia ofworldly goods. Electrical appliances, clothing,shoes: the coveted foreign items used to drawshopkeepers from neighboring provinces in one ofthe world’s least developed countries. Today itwould be too dangerous for traders to travel theroads to Butembo. Butembo also once boasted anindustrial-scale factory, the Cobeki soft drinks mak-er. But it went out of business in the transitionalperiod between DR Congo’s second civil war (1998-2003) and its 2006 elections.

Living ‘by the grace of God’The period that fol lowed, in the wake of

President Joseph Kabila’s election, has not treat-ed the region any better. Around 700 peoplehave been killed, mostly hacked to death, inattacks since October 2014 around Beni, itsneighboring city to the north. Beni, now a shell ofa city, no longer buys Butembo’s goods. “Thepeople have been run out of the fields, and nowmust live by the grace of God,” Kambere says.“Insecurity is the big problem,” says Butembo’sPolycarpe Ndivito Kikwaya, president of the localbranch of the Congolese Business Federation.Foreign goods do st i l l make i t to Butemboalthough only in “very, very small” numbers,shipped to the Kenyan port of Mombasa andthen transported via Uganda.

But with the insecurity, “buyers no longer comesince they are afraid of being robbed” along theway, he explains. Strangely, it is the period of civilwar from the late 1990s that fires up economicnostalgia. Butembo then was the stompingground of the RCD/K-ML, a militia group backedby neighboring Uganda. “Business was good,”recalls Elie Kwiravusa, a member of Butembo’s CivilSociety Coordination grouping of local citizens.“During the rebellion, we could trade goods,” hesays. “The rebellion was profitable for people”-unlike today, he adds. — AFP

HOCHHEIM AM MAIN: Refugee students attend a lesson in their classroom at the Heinrich-von-Brentano-School in Hochheim am Main. — AFP

Congo’s business dreams flatlined by violence

SEOUL: In this file photo, South Korean National Assembly Speaker ParkKwan-yong (center) is surrounded by National Assembly officials afterannouncing the impeachment of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun atthe National Assembly in Seoul. In 2004, former liberal President Roh wasimpeached by the Assembly on allegations of incompetence and illegal elec-tioneering. But the impeachment triggered a strong public backlash thathelped his party win big in parliamentary elections; the Constitutional Courtthen ruled that his infractions did not warrant removal from office. —AP

SEOUL: As the chorus grows louder forSouth Korean President Park Geun-hye toresign over a corruption scandal, a powervacuum is weighing on her administra-tion, leaving her political survival indoubt and its vulnerable economyexposed to political shocks. South Koreanopposition political parties said this weekthey will review strategies to impeachPark after prosecutors said she was anaccomplice in the corruption scandal.Park’s close friend and a former presiden-tial aide were indicted on Sunday forabuse of power for pressuring big busi-nesses to contribute funds to foundationsat the centre of the scandal.

“Based on the consensus thatPresident Park is the centre of the abuseof power scandal, the best course ofaction to minimize the vacuum in gov-ernment and to restore constitutionalrule is for her to step down,” the leaders ofthree opposition parties said in a jointstatement on Sunday. Park has all butceased public activities as president andhas withdrawn to the secluded BlueHouse compound at the foothill of therocky Mount Bugak in Seoul. On 12 of the16 working days this month, she tookpart in no scheduled events.

She held a previously arranged sum-mit with Kazakh President NursultanNazarbayev on Nov 10 but has not had apublic event outside the Blue House sinceNov 8, when she visited parliament offer-ing to relinquish some of her powers inoffice to placate lawmakers. The risk of apresidential impeachment in the demo-cratic South, along with North Korea’snuclear threat, have turned the Koreanpeninsula into Asia’s biggest unknownfor global investors, Belinda Boa, Head ofActive Investments for Asia Pacific atBlackRock, told Reuters in an interviewon Monday.

Missing at APECPark was notably absent at the meet-

ing of 21 Asia Pacific leaders in Lima atthe weekend, where free trade and afight against protectionism were the keytopics under the looming US presidencyof Donald Trump, who has already said hewould scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnershiptrade pact. Half of South Korea’s GDPcomes from exports so it is vulnerable tomore protectionist US trade policypledged by Trump. Prime Minister HwangKyo-ahn, who attended the Pacific Rimsummit on Park’s behalf briefly met thehost, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo

Kuczynski but held no bilateral meetingswith world leaders, who use the occasionto deepen bilateral ties.

It was the first time a leader of SouthKorea, which is a founding member, hasnot attended the APEC summit. Theprime minister is largely a figureheadappointee tasked with overseeing thecabinet on domestic issues.

Park also missed the cabinet meetingon Tuesday, extending her absence sinceOct 11 when she last led the meeting shenormally chairs every two weeks. It wasinstead chaired by the finance minister,who is on the way out. Little has beendone on replacements nominated forthree cabinet positions, including the tofinance job. “She is likely to be doing herjob that she can do on her own, as long asit’s something that requires the least con-tact with the public,” said Kim Jun-seok,professor of political science at DonggukUniversity in Seoul. “But she won’t be ableto bring any new legal initiative or raise anew policy agenda,” Kim said.

Park’s five-year term runs to February2018. Her sparse official schedule inNovember is in contrast to the busymonth she had a year ago, including athree-way summit with the leaders ofChina and Japan, a separate summit withIcelandic president, four major policyconferences and two cabinet meetings.Park’s office has said she intends to fulfillher duties as president and has not for-mally acknowledged the calls from thepublic and parliament for her to stepdown or race impeachment. She stillintends to attend the three-way NorthAsia summit if this year’s host, Japan,confirms the date, the foreign ministryhas said.

But it was unclear if Park can continueto represent the country diplomaticallywhen other countries might be ambiva-lent about scheduling summit meetingswith her. “Diplomatically this crisis isknown around the world so the country’sreputation has been hurt and that is aproblem diplomatically,” Ha Kyung-chull,a former judge on the ConstitutionalCourt, told Reuters. “Both domesticallyand diplomatically, you have to say ruleby the president of government affairs isquite difficult.” Some of her closest advis-ers said privately that they hope if shecan ride out the next few weeks, she willbe able to survive the crisis as public sen-timent cooled and more people chose toavoid the turmoil of a premature end toher presidency. —Reuters

Power vacuum weighs on South Korea as Park

fights for survival

YANGON: Scores of Rohingya Muslimshave been killed in a Myanmar armycrackdown since early October, whensword-wielding assailants raided policeposts in the remote marshlands border-ing Bangladesh. The military struck backwith ground clearances, most recentlybacked by helicopter gunships. Access tothe conflict areas is heavily restricted,but witness testimony has seeped outalleging mass rapes, indiscriminatekillings and the razing of entire Rohingyavillages by Myanmar’s security forces-claims they deny. It is the latest chapterin the grim recent history of theRohingya, a one million populationreviled across Myanmar as illegal immi-grants and denied citizenship. The fol-lowing is a fact box on the Rohingya.

Who are they? The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim

ethnic group described by the UnitedNations as one of the world’s most per-secuted minorities. Using a dialect simi-lar to that spoken in Chittagong insoutheast Bangladesh, the SunniMuslims are loathed by many in majorityBuddhist Myanmar who see them as ille-gal immigrants and call them “Bengali” -even though many have lived in

Myanmar for generations. Most live inimpoverished western Rakhine state, butare denied citizenship and smothered byrestrictions on movement and work.

The UN refugee agency says wellover 120,000 have fled Rakhine sincereligious violence in 2012 - an exodusthat continues, despite the perils of thesea journey.

Last year, thousands were stranded atsea after a well-worn trafficking routethrough Thailand collapsed after the dis-covery of scores of shallow graves on theMalaysia border. There are around300,000 Rohingya living in Bangladesh’ssouthern coastal district borderingMyanmar, the vast majority of whomhave fled Myanmar in recent decades.Bangladesh recognizes only a small por-tion as refugees and regularly turns backthose trying to cross the border.

What’s happening? On October 9 armed men ambushed

border posts killing nine policeman andescaping with guns. Security forces weresent in, vowing to repel the attacks.Nearly 30 civilians died in the ensuingclashes. That number has surged overthe following weeks as troops clearremote villages. The government says

the attacks amount to an insurgency.They accuse a previously unknownPakistani Taliban-trained militant ofleading the attacks and rallying hun-dreds of disgruntled Rohingya to hiscause. It is hard to verify those claims,although videos of armed men haveemerged appearing to back them up.Security operations are ongoing. Theviolence has revived calls from rightsgroups for Myanmar to recognize theRohingya’s rights to citizenship and endtheir persecution.

What’s Suu Kyi doing about it?Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San

Suu Kyi has been conspicuous for hernear silence during the latest unrest.Speaking on a trip to Japan last monththe Nobel Peace Prize laureate vowed athorough investigation into the violencebut shied away from criticising the mili-tary, who control all security matters. Sheis also hampered by the politically incen-diary nature of the issue in Myanmar. TheRohingya are not officially recognized asan ethnic group, partly owing to a 1982law stipulating that minorities mustprove they lived in Myanmar prior to1823 - before the first Anglo-Burmesewar-to obtain nationality. —AFP

Myanmar’s Rohingya: stateless, persecuted and fleeing

MUZAFFARABAD: Artillery fire and shellingfrom India targeted several Pakistani villagesand struck a passenger bus near the dividingline in the disputed region of Kashmir yesterday,killing 12 civilians wounding more than a dozenothers, the Pakistani military and officials said.Hours later, Pakistan’s military said three soldiers,including an army captain, were killed whileresponding to the Indian attack. It said sevenIndian soldiers were also “killed in retaliatory fire”but there was no confirmation on the casualtiesfrom India.

The deadly violence marks the latest escala-tion in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, whichis divided between the two nuclear-armedneighbors and claimed by both in its entirety.According to Deputy Commissioner WaheedKhan, an artillery shell hit a passenger bus inthe scenic Neelum Valley in the Pakistani partof Kashmir, killing 10 people - three died on thescene and seven later, at a hospital. Anothertwo civilians died when a mortar shell hit theirhouse in the Nakyal sector in Kotli district, saidpolice official Waseem Khan. The shelling sentresidents fleeing in panic, he said. At least 15people were also wounded in the bus strikeand elsewhere in yesterday’s attacks.

Sardar Masood Khan, the president of thePakistani-governed part of Kashmir, denounced“India’s aggression” in a statement and appealedto the international community to take notice ofIndia’s cease-fire violations in Kashmir. He alsourged the United Nations Military ObserverGroup for India and Pakistan, or UNMOGIP, to“investigate these incidents and assign respon-sibility for these violations of ceasefire.” Earlier,an army statement said Pakistani troops werefiring back on Indian military positions. Thestatement also said that an ambulance, whichhad rushed the scene of the attack, was firedupon by India.

Pakistani security officials said yesterday’sfire forced Pakistani villagers with their familiesto take to field bunkers, built years ago for suchattacks. They spoke on condition of anonymitybecause they were not authorized to discussthe attacks with repor ters. In India, armyspokesman Col Nitin Joshi said an intense

exchange of fire was underway between thetwo sides. Yesterday’s escalation came a dayafter Indian army spokesman Col Rajesh Kaliasaid the attackers mutilated the body of onesoldier in the Machil sector in Indian-controlledKashmir. He did not specify if the attack wascarried out by Pakistani soldiers or rebels fight-ing since 1989 against Indian rule in the region.

Reports of the soldier ’s mutilation haveinflamed sentiments, which likely contributed tothe retaliatory exchanges between Pakistan andIndia. “Retribution will be heavy for this cowardlyact,” Col Rajesh Kalia, another Indian armyspokesman, said following Tuesday’s attack. Inthe past, the Indian military has blamed a com-bination of the Pakistani army’s border actionteam and militants for carrying out operationsalong the Line of Control, which separates the

Pakistan- and India-controlled parts of Kashmir.Deadly exchanges of fire in the disputed

Kashmir have intensified in recent weeks.Tensions have escalated since militants attackedan Indian army base there in September. Indiasaid the militants were supported by Pakistan,charges denied by Islamabad. Both sides accusethe other of initiating the firing along thevolatile boundary. So far this week, at least 18people, civilians and soldiers, have been killedon both sides. Last week, Pakistani army claimedto have shot down a small Indian drone inKashmir, a day after the Pakistani navy claimed ithad intercepted Indian submarines entering thecountry’s territorial waters in the Arabian Sea.Two of the three wars between India andPakistan since 1947 have been fought over theircompeting claims to Kashmir. —AP

22 killed as Pakistan, India exchange fire 7 Indian soldiers ‘killed in retaliatory fire’

SRINAGAR: Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard on the shores of Dal Lake on a coldwinter’s day in Srinagar yesterday. The cold wave further tightened its grip in Jammuand Kashmir with most places in the state recording sub-zero temperatures. —AFP

LUCKNOW: The engineer was in the mid-dle of his evening meditation sessionwhen a colleague called and told him toturn on the television. The prime ministerwas saying most of India’s cash would holdno value by morning. The objective was torid the country of illegal “black money” forwhich taxes had not been paid. Moneyoften associated with illegal activity suchas bribery. Money like the 4.8 millionrupees ($70,000) stashed in a steel trunk,under a makeshift settee, in the engineer’sbedroom.

“For first few minutes I could notunderstand,” the engineer said, speakingto the Associated Press on condition ofanonymity for fear of prosecution. Theengineer, employed by the public worksdepartment of northern Uttar Pradeshstate, and many of his colleagues hadamassed piles of cash by taking bribes forpublic contracts - a practice so common ithas become accepted by many as part ofthe price of doing business in India. Theyfelt confused - even betrayed - by the gov-ernment cracking down.

“A bribe is not a taboo in a govern-ment job,” the engineer said. Modi, in hisNov 8 televised address, announced thedemonetization of India’s 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, which made up 86 percentof the country’s currency. He said it wouldwipe out rampant corruption, though ina country of 1.3 billion where most peo-ple don’t have bank accounts, it alsowiped out legally collected savings. “Withthis decision we have, in one stroke, hit atthe root of the sources of corruption,”

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told TVchannel Doordarshan a day after Modiannounced the demonetization. “Wehave freed up the country from thesesources of corruption.”

Shame, or guilt?Demonetized currency can be deposit-

ed in banks, but immediate access tothose funds is severely limited and thegovernment said it will severely penalizethose who deposit amounts that don’tmatch their income. Anyone depositingmore than 250,000 rupees ($3,700) overthe next two months will be flagged fortax inspection. On the phone with friends,

the engineer said, “I sensed desperation intheir voices. I knew they also had bribemoney” in amounts high enough to raisered flags.

Did he feel shame, or guilt? No. “Takingthis extra money as commission is a neces-sity” just to meet expected payments andto advance in one’s field, he said whilecalmly sipping whisky and adjusting thelight from an overhead chandelier byremote in his home in Lucknow, the statecapital. Each festive season, he said he’sexpected to offer costly gifts like wrist-watches, fine suits and gold pendants tohis superiors, and even their sons. “Oneneeds to keep them happy. ... but would

you expect me to give a gift from mysalary? No, never.”

The engineer said the bribes he acceptsare most often already written into priceestimates for projects like road construc-tion as a so-called commission. “You do nothave to ask for it,” he said. Illicit moneychanges hands at nearly every projectstage, from the public tender to comple-tion. Almost everyone benefits from the“commissions,” from the highest ministersto the rank and file, he said. “What I get asbribe is nothing compared to what otherstake,” he said, noting the palatial homesnear his more modest house in an up-mar-ket Lucknow neighborhood. “I have a smallhatchback car while others roam around insedans and SUVs. Don’t our superiorsnotice this?”

Graft in India is so accepted that it isout in the open. On Sept. 4, another UttarPradesh bureaucrat named Ashok Kumartold reporters in the town of Basti, south-east of Lucknow, that he was giving up onbecoming a district magistrate because hedid not have 7 million rupees ($103,000) topay the bribe. Kumar was suspended fromhis job in the National IntegrationDepartment after making the statement,though he never revealed who wouldhave been taking that bribe. The fightagainst corruption has been frustrating forretired bureaucrat SP Singh, who spentmore than 30 years in India’s civil servicetrying to rid government departments ofgraft. “The tendency to take bribe stemsfrom a desire to have best in life,” he said.“The lure of lucre is so intense.” —AP

Bureaucrat with ‘black money’ stash says a bribe is not taboo

TEKNAF, Bangladesh: Six year-old Noor Sahara, a young Rohingya girlwhose mother is missing and who crossed over the border with her neigh-bor Roshida and her nephew, poses for a photograph near a refugee campin the southern Cox’s Bazar district yesterday. —AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BANGALORE: Discontinued Indian currency notes of 1,000denomination are seen after they were deposited by people ata bank in Bangalore, India. —AP

I N T E R N AT ION A LTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

KARACHI: Shah Nawaz walks Karachi’sdusty streets, one of thousands in the finan-cial hub who are being fed by charities asPakistan’s economy picks up pace-but, somesay, not fast enough for its poverty-strickenmillions. Confidence in Pakistan is growing,with the International Monetary Fund claim-ing in October that the country hasemerged from crisis and stabilized its econo-my after completing a bailout program.

Its credit rating has improved, while thereare encouraging signs of foreign investment,such as a massive Chinese infrastructureproject officials routinely call a “gamechang-er”. But all this glittering promise has yet tofeed millions like Nawaz. The 14-year-oldstands waiting with more than 100 othersoutside the Saylani Welfare building toreceive free meals twice a day for his family.He dropped out of school four years ago,when Pakistan’s GDP still hovered around aweak three percent, as his family struggledto survive on his father’s meagre part-timewage of 250 rupees ($2.30) a day. “I haveimmense passion for my studies and want tobecome a prosperous man, but I can’t,” hesaid. His despair resonates throughoutPakistan, where a new central bank reportsays 60.6 percent of the population do nothave access to cooking fuel, half of all chil-dren are deprived of a basic education, anda third of Pakistanis have no access to a pri-mary medical facility. “The number of peo-ple coming to our centers is growing, andthey are not beggars but poor people whoare not able to make ends meet,” AamirSaylani, one of the charity’s officials said.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to boostthe long-depressed economy after winninga third term in 2013.

The key challenge Sharif faced was achronic energy crisis, as power outages shutdown factories and bring businesses to a vir-tual standstill daily. He approved more thana dozen coal, hydro, gas and combined cyclepower generation plants, most due to begingenerating electricity by mid-2017.Meanwhile his advisers negotiated a three-year extended fund facility with the IMF toraise $6.4 billion. That, coupled with remit-tances from Pakistanis overseas, have takenforeign exchange reserves to an estimated$22 billion, from $3 billion in 2008. In the2015/2016 fiscal year the economy grew 4.7percent, while inflation was at a low of 3.8

percent and interest rates down at 5.75 per-cent. Encouraged-and undeterred bydomestic debt of $182 billion-Islamabad setan ambitious yearly growth target of 5.7 per-cent for 2016/2017. The World Bank predict-ed 5.4 percent growth by 2018.

Grinding poverty But independent economists doubt the

growth is sustainable. “You were on artificialsupport, and it will be a real litmus test forthe government once the IMF facility is over,”said Abid Suleri, who heads the SustainableDevelopment Policy Institute in Islamabad.It would take sustained growth of around sixpercent for five successive years to make areal dent in poverty, said Mohammad Sabir,a senior economist at the Social Policy andDevelopment Centre (SPDC) in Karachi.Hopes are pinned on the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC), a $46 billion ini-tiative by Beijing that aims to link the Asiansuperpower’s Xinjiang region with theArabian Sea through Pakistan. The planencompasses a series of infrastructure, pow-er and transport upgrades that Islamabadhopes will kickstart the economy.

But experts say the deal is opaque, andmuch more transparency is needed beforethey can assess any impact for Pakistan-including, for example, whether the $46 bil-lion is an investment or a loan. “If it is a loan,it would severely hamper the future foreignpayment capability of the country,” warnedSabir. Foreign debt remains around $73 bil-lion, just over a quarter of GDP, the centralbank says. Werner Liepach, Pakistan countrydirector for the Asian Development Banksaid it was “much too early to tell” whateffect CPEC would have.

However given the challenging globalcontext, “contrary to what many believe,Pakistan is actually doing quite well”, hesaid. “The benefits of growth in Pakistanare actually more widespread... as com-pared to many other developing countriesthat may show higher levels of growth,but with greater inequality.” Neverthelessthere is room to improve, he added.Meanwhile, Pakistanis like Shah Nawaz stillstruggle. Days after speaking to AFP, thebuilding housing the charity providingfood for his family was flattened in anoperation targeting illegal settlements ongovernment land.—AFP

Pakistan economy growing... but is it enough?

KARACHI: Pakistani residents visit a donation centre to receive food in Karachi. — AFP

MANILA: Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa (right) points to the nose of Kerwin Espinosa, son of the latemayor Rolando Espinosa, as he is presented to members of the media at the police headquarters in Manila, shortly after arriving from UnitedArab Emirates. Kerwin was arrested in the United Arab Emirates last month and will face drug trafficking charges. — AFP

MANILA: The Philippines’ police chief brokedown before a Senate inquiry yesterday andvowed to stand by President Rodrigo Duterteand his deadly war on drugs, after a narcoticskingpin testified to entrenched police involve-ment in the illicit trade. Amid high drama inthe televised hearing, an emotional Ronalddela Rosa grimaced and held back tears in ani-mated remarks in which he promised to ridpolice ranks of crooked elements. Dela Rosa, astocky, celebrity-like general nicknamed “Bato”(Rock), was responding to hours of testimonyfrom Kerwin Espinosa, a confessed drugs deal-er and son of a mayor who was shot dead lastmonth by police while in prison on remand fornarcotics links.

“I will not surrender, I will clean up thenational police,” Dela Rosa told senators. “I willbe with you,” Dela Rosa said of Duterte. “I willnot abandon this fight even if the public is los-ing trust in the police.” Parallel probes by bothchambers of the Philippine legislature havebeen largely drab, though sometimes highlydramatic. The panels have heard gripping wit-ness accounts of all things from death squadsand sordid affairs to corruption, murder andsex tapes. Participants have included convict-ed kidnappers, prison gangsters, an assassin

and world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.In September, a self-proclaimed hit man testi-

fied to having heard Duterte order assassina-tions and to having watched him kill a man witha machine gun while a mayor in 1993. Dutertehas rejected that as lies. Close to 2,500 peoplewere killed in the first four months of Duterte’spresidency, mostly in police operations and oth-ers by suspected vigilantes. Duterte has res-olutely defended the police and is outraged byWestern and activist concerns that extrajudicialkillings could be taking place. Espinosa, whoarrived at the hearing wearing a flak jacket, con-fessed to dealing in drugs and to paying policeprotection money. He accused two generals andnumerous officers on his turf of complicity.

No superheroDela Rosa vowed to do everything to stop it.

“I’m not superman, I’m an ordinary policeman,”he said. “But I’ll do my best to clean the policeforce even if it will cost my life. We will survivethis.” Central to the probes has been SenatorLeila de Lima, who initiated and led the investi-gation into Duterte’s crackdown, but found her-self ousted by his Senate allies. Days later, shewas subject to a congressional investigationinto Duterte’s accusations that she herself was

involved in drugs deals while justice minister.It did not stop there. Duterte has humiliated

de Lima during speeches, accusing her of adul-tery, making a sex tape of her affair with herdriver and bagman, and even recommendingshe hangs herself. De Lima has petitioned theSupreme Court to muzzle Duterte. Though shehas admitted to the affair, she has rejected testi-mony by a string of criminals linking her todrugs deals. Espinosa also implicated de Limaon Wednesday, saying he paid protection mon-ey to her driver on four occasions when she wasin the cabinet.

De Lima denied knowing him and said histestimony was at gunpoint, under duress. “MayGod forgive you for all your sins, and may Godforgive you for all your lies about me,” she said.In an interview last week, de Lima told Reutersshe feared for her life, having stood up to apresident who had a following of “diehardfanatics”. “The president has a personal vendet-ta against me, and then it got worse because ofmy initiative ... the Senate enquiry, into theextra-judicial killings,” she said. “He has stagedall of these personal attacks, revealing even mypersonal private life and portraying me as animmoral woman so that people would nolonger believe me.”— Reuters

Philippine police chief fights back tears, pledges loyalty to Duterte

High drama in televised hearing

BANGKOK: He’s a mercurial army gen-eral known for penning saccharine bal-lads and angry tirades against his crit-ics. Now Thailand’s junta chief haslaunched a new eye-catching project:trimming the waistlines of the king-dom’s civil servants. Former army chiefturned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha ditched his fatigues for a tracksuitand trainers yesterday as he led hun-dreds of bureaucrats in an mass exer-cise session.

As music blasted out of loudspeak-ers he boxed, played volleyball and ledan aerobics class, complete with star-jumps and squats, alongside hundredsof employees of Government House.The trim 62-year-old, who seized pow-er in 2014, has ordered all civil servantsto exercise every Wednesday afternoonfollowing concerns that Thailand’sfamously laid back attitude to life hasthickened their waistlines. Prayut revelsin being macho, plain-speaking andunpredictable-a demeanor that createsmany amusing press appearances andis a gift to social media meme-makers.

Highlights have included him kick-ing a muay thai boxer, throwing abanana at a cameraman, t ick l ing areporter’s ear and riding a bike aroundGovernment House as his securitydetail jogged behind in the tropicalheat. Each Friday night he delivers anationally broadcast “bringing happi-ness back” speech in which he dolesout advice to Thais-anything from howto get foreigners to appreciate pun-gent durian fruit to the best Koreansoap opera.

He has also written two ballads sincehis coup emphasiz ing love for thenation and what it means to be Thai.Thailand has been politically dividedsince the military launched a coup in2006 that toppled Pr ime M inisterThaksin Shinawatra and his electedgovernment. Years of debil i tat ingstreet protests and another coup in2014 that toppled Yingluck Shinawatra-Thaksin’s sister-followed.

The Shinawatra c lan is loved byThailand’s rural and urban poor. Butthey are loathed by Bangkok’s middle

classes and military elite, who say thefamily were corrupt. Prayut has vowedto bridge the country’s divides but rec-onciliation seems far off. His critics seehim as the most authoritarian rulerThailand has had in a generation. Somehave l ikened him to Field MarshalPhibunsongkhram, a Second WorldWar-era dictator who famously issueddecrees on how Thais should behave,including how long they should sleepfor, how they should spend their daysoff and how they should dress.— AFP

Tracksuited Thai juntachief leads workout

for bureaucrats

BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister PrayutChan-O-cha plays with a ball during anexercise with government officials atthe Government House in Bangkok yes-terday. —AFP

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s UN-backed court upheldlife sentences for two top former Khmer Rouge lead-ers yesterday for crimes against humanity, in a verdictwelcomed by survivors of the brutal regime. “BrotherNumber Two” Nuon Chea, 90, and ex-head of stateKhieu Samphan, 85, were the first top leaders to bejailed in 2014 from a regime responsible for thedeaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975-1979. They appealed their convictions, accusing thecourt of a string of errors and the judges of failing toremain impartial due to their personal experiencesunder the regime.

In a lengthy ruling yesterday after months of hear-ings, the bench upheld the bulk of the convictions andthe jail terms, but accepted some legal errors had beenmade in the initial trial. Kong Srim, the Supreme CourtChamber’s top judge, said the pair “had a completelack of consideration for the ultimate fate of theCambodian population”, adding that the scale of theircrimes was “massive”. “The Supreme Court Chamberconsiders that the imposition of a life sentence foreach of the accused is appropriate,” he said.

Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan sat impassively asthe decision was read out. The Khmer Rouge regimedismantled modern society in Cambodia in their questfor an agrarian Marxist utopia, killing vast numbersand leaving a generational scar. “I am so happy withthe convictions,” Chhun Leap, 74, who lost around 50relatives during the Khmer Rouge years, told AFP afterleaving the courtroom. “They are monsters and this istheir fate.”

Few brought to justice The tribunal, known as the Extraordinary Chambers

in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), is a complex hybridcourt on the outskirts of Phnom Penh combining ele-ments of international and domestic law. It was set upfollowing an agreement between Cambodia and theUnited Nations to prosecute senior Khmer Rouge lead-ers. The number of allegations against Nuon Chea andKhieu Samphan-and the complexity of their cases-wasso vast that the court split their trials into a series ofsmaller hearings in 2011, fearful the pair might diebefore justice could be served.

Their convictions in August 2014 followed a two-year trial focused on the forced evacuation of aroundtwo million Cambodians from Phnom Penh into rurallabor camps and the murders of hundreds of enemysoldiers at one of several execution sites. Nuon Cheaand Khieu Samphan are also currently undergoing asecond trial for genocide of ethnic Vietnamese andMuslim minorities, forced marriage and rape. But thetribunal has had mixed successes. Despite the sheerbrutality unleashed by the Khmer Rouge, survivorshave seen just a handful of perpetrators brought tojustice. Many key leaders have died without facing jus-tice, including “Brother Number One” Pol Pot whopassed away in 1998.—AFP

Court upholdssentences for Khmer

Rouge leaders

N E W STHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Continued from Page 1

The fact is that the parliament has lost its credibility.Unfortunately, it has become one of the government’stools, not the voice of the people.

In the past, I used to attend all lectures and talks andlisten and chat with the candidates to hear what theyhad to say. But in my experience, once someone reach-es Abdullah Al-Salem Hall, he forgets all what he prom-ised us. I don’t want to say they all enter the parliamentpoor and leave rich. I’m not accusing them as manypeople think. But definitely, people are cracking jokeson social media about this.

The general atmosphere online and in thediwaniyas and shisha cafes is that these elections willnot result in a unified voice of the people. It will befractured along tribal, sectarian and religious lines, withonly a few working for the good of Kuwait as a whole.

The truth is that these jokes and criticisms carrymore than a grain of truth. The previous parliamentshave done little to truly improve the situation inKuwait. Our roads are proof enough along with ourfailing education system and our troubled nationalhealth sector. Laws and rules are passed without fullstudies and without clear understanding of theimpact they will have on our economy and our coun-try. We all feel that there is a state of chaos.

We have no voice anymore. Our parliament doesnot stand up for our dreams. Or even half of ourdreams. People are still voting, but mostly for theircousin or friend or their individual interests - not forthe nation. But no matter what, guys, it’s still called aparliament and we should cast our votes. Maybe wewill be lucky to get at least a few lawmakers who careand can make a positive difference. Let’s see onSaturday what happens.

Come Saturday

Continued from Page 1

Middle East and Africa requires intensive coopera-tion amongst all countries to find suitable solutionsthat would bring back peace and security. HH the Amirtook the chance to support Saudi Arabia’s initiative tohold the fifth summit on its lands, affirming that the fel-low GCC nation has the capabilities to host such agrand event.

Meanwhile, Morocco and several Arab countrieswalked out of the summit yesterday to protest the pres-ence of a delegation from the Polisario Front, mediareports said. Morocco, which is a big investor in Africa,quit the fourth Africa-Arab World Summit, which focuseson economic cooperation, along with seven other Arabnations - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain,Qatar, Oman, Jordan and Yemen - and Somalia.

The Moroccan delegation took the decision to protest“the presence of the emblem of a puppet entity in themeeting rooms”, the Moroccan foreign ministry said,

quoted by the Moroccan news agency MAP. Moroccomaintains that Western Sahara, a former Spanish colonyunder its control, is an integral part of the kingdom,while the Polisario Front, which campaigns for the terri-tory’s independence, demands a referendum on self-determination.

The Moroccan delegation quit the one-day summit inMalabo as Rabat is attempting to rejoin the AfricanUnion which it left in 1984 - when it was then called theOrganisation of African Unity - to protest the admissionof the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic declared bythe Polisario. In 1991, the United Nations brokered aceasefire between the two sides. But a promised referen-dum to settle the status of the vast desert territory hometo half a million people has yet to materialize.

Morocco’s latest move was criticized on EquatorialGuinea’s Africa 24 network, which is close to the govern-ment. “Morocco has partnerships with Central Africa,West Africa and Southern Africa. We cannot allow such ablow”, said one commentator. — Agencies

Amir urges more investments, ‘real’...

People and seagulls bathe in the sea as the sun goes up with red colors in Stralsund close to the Baltic Sea island of Rugen early yesterday. — AFP

PALM BEACH, Florida: Donald Trump chose aRepublican critic to join his cabinet yesterday, the firstwoman on his top team after his early picks rewardedcampaign loyalists. Trump’s nomination of SouthCarolina’s 44-year-old governor, Nikki Haley, as US ambas-sador to the United Nations will be seen as a sign he isready to broaden his political base. It came amid reportsthat he is also considering former Massachusetts gover-nor Mitt Romney, another harsh campaign critic, this timefor the key post of secretary of state.

And it followed a cordial chat betweenTrump and the New York Times, a newspa-per he considers hostile, in which he soft-ened his stance on climate change, tortureand prosecuting his defeated rival HillaryClinton. The 70-year-old property tycoontold the Times that he is “seriously, seriouslyconsidering” appointing widely-respectedretired Marine general James Mattis as hisdefense secretary. Trump’s transition teamspokesmen told reporters that another “cab-inet level” appointment may be made laterWednesday, but offered no details as towho it might be.

The UN ambassador post is of cabinet rank and if Haley -a staunch conservative with no foreign policy experience -is confirmed by the Senate she will become a powerful fig-ure in world diplomacy, despite previously clashing withTrump. The daughter of Indian immigrants, and the firstwoman tapped for Trump’s cabinet, Haley will also inject ameasure of diversity in a group that until now has consistedsolely of white men.

Last year, after a white supremacist murdered nine blackchurchgoers in South Carolina, Haley supported a decisionby legislators to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse. The decision drew protests from racist groups andthis year, while campaigning for Trump’s rival in the primar-

ies Marco Rubio, Haley called Trump out for his failure torepudiate the Ku Klux Klan. “I will not stop until we fight aman that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a partof our party. That is not who we are,” she declared.

Trump, true to form, responded with one of his trade-mark Twitter insults, declaring: “The people of SouthCarolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!” Trump’s choicelast week of the self-described “economic nationalist” SteveBannon, head of the right-wing news platform Breitbart, as

his chief strategist delighted white suprema-cists. But on Tuesday, after video emerged offans of the so-called alt-right makingstraight-armed salutes and chanting “HeilTrump”, the president-elect disavowed themovement.

Campaign Rhetoric As he works with his advisers in his luxury

Mar-a-Lago golf resort outside Palm Beach,all eyes will be on the appointments hemakes for a sign of the direction his adminis-tration will take. When Trump’s Nov 8 electionvictory still seemed an unlikely prospect,

many Republican and conservative policy experts con-demned his anti-Muslim rhetoric, his affinity for Russia orhis isolationist and protectionist positions.

Many of these figures are now moderating their toneand looking for work, whether they are lured by theprospect of a powerful job or are keen to serve US inter-ests as a moderating influence inside a Trump administra-tion. The former Iraq and Afghan war commander, retiredgeneral David Petraeus - who resigned as head of the CIAafter he was caught sharing classified data with his mis-tress - made his pitch yesterday. “If you’re asked, you’vegot to serve, put aside any reservations based on cam-paign rhetoric, and figure out what’s best for the country,”he told BBC Radio. — AFP

South Carolina gov and Trump

critic Haley picked for UN job

Mogul picks first woman for his cabinet

Nikki Haley

Nida Fatin Mat Asis was slumped lifeless in her carseat, bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth,after her Honda hit a lamppost and skidded into a

ditch. Her husband was slightly injured, and their babywasn’t hurt at all. Her husband, like Nida a doctor, had noidea what had happened until the post-mortem came in: Abroken metal canister, later identified as part of an airbaginflator, had shot through her mouth and lodged in thebase of her skull.

The deaths of Nida and four other Malaysians have beenlinked to faulty Takata airbags that are at the center of oneof the world’s largest auto recalls. The US, with 11 deaths, isthe only other country to have reported such fatalities.Why this Southeast Asian country of 30 million would behit disproportionately hard by the defective airbags is amystery. The families of two Malaysian victims and a sur-vivor blame weaknesses in their country’s recall system.They also say Honda, the top foreign brand in Malaysia,hasn’t done enough to warn car owners and hasn’t provid-ed enough replacement parts or alternative options for carowners if repairs cannot be done immediately.

The defective airbags have faulty inflators and propel-lant devices that may deploy improperly in an accident,shooting out metal fragments that can injure or kill. Allthe deaths in Malaysia involved the Honda City, a sub-compact made for Asia and Europe. Experts say heat andhumidity can make airbag explosions more likely, butneighboring Thailand, with a similar tropical climate, hasreported no deaths.

In his first media interview since his wife died on April16, her husband Abdullah Shamshir Abdul Mokti told AP

they were unaware of the recall and never got a noticefrom Honda for their used car. Initially, he thought Nida, 29,had suffered a concussion. He was horrified to find nopulse. “The inflator must have shot through her mouth likea bullet,” he said. The post-mortem report, shown to the AP,said a broken, 2.6-cm diameter, 2-cm long airbag inflatorlodged in the base of Nida’s skull. Her teeth were smashedand her nose fractured. Injuries to her brain stem likelycaused her immediate death, it said.

“As a Muslim, I accepted her death as fate but I alsobelieve she is a victim of multinational corporatemanslaughter,” Shamshir said. “I hold Honda and Takataresponsible. This isn’t an isolated case. We have five deathsin Malaysia, five very preventable deaths.” More than 100million vehicles involving 17 automakers have beenrecalled worldwide, including 69 million in the US alone,underscoring the scale of the crisis.

‘Bullet’The first accident in Malaysia in July 2014 killed a preg-

nant women and her unborn child. Three other peopledied after Nida’s death, the last on Sept 24. Norazlin Harondied in a minor collision June 26 in a suburb of KualaLumpur. A few weeks earlier, she had tried to get her car’sairbag replaced after receiving a recall notice, but was toldto return in July because parts were not available, said hereldest sister, Nor’ain Haron. A fractured inflator, found inthe car, may have punctured Norazlin’s chest and lungs,said Nor’ain. “It’s like having a live bullet in the car,” saidRoslinya Latip, Norazlin’s sister-in-law. “Honda is not doingenough. You sent a letter with an urgent stamp but there is

no spare part and no Plan B. What’s the point?”Honda’s first letters to car owners were labeled an “invi-

tation for product update”. Later letters, stamped “urgent”,notified car owners of an “airbag inflator replacement activ-ity,” but did not explain the recall and risks involved. Thereis also no explanation nor mention of deaths in the recallsection of Honda Malaysia’s website. Honda America has awebsite on the recalls explaining the problem, including avideo clip showing how the airbags can explode. It listsdates and locations of airbag-related deaths in the US.

There are no international standards for auto safety orrecalls. The Malaysian Association of Standards Users, aconsumer group, blames the deaths on lax auto safetylaws. It has called for a new vehicle safety authority similarto the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inthe US, and for a strict, clear warranty law to protect carowners. Malaysia is Southeast Asia’s third-biggest car mar-ket after Thailand and Indonesia, with more than 666,000new cars sold last year. The transport ministry and theRoad Transport Department didn’t respond to AP queriesabout the airbag recalls and accidents.

Honda Malaysia told the AP in an email that 60 percentof the airbags have been replaced. The families of Nida andNorazlin are in negotiations with Honda over a settlement,as is housewife Rabiah Ibrahim, whose near-miss led her tospeak out. A ruptured inflator slashed Rabiah’s neck onMay 3 after a minor accident in a small town in northwest-ern Perak state. Rabiah, who bought the car used in 2010,says she didn’t know about the recall. “I am so thankful thatI have been given a second chance in life, but Hondashould be responsible,” she said. — AP

A N A L Y S I STHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

THE LEADING INDEPENDENTDAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF

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Burnt rubber:

Firestone cuts

back in Liberia

Lax laws, flawed recall blamed for airbag deaths

Donald Trump won the US presidency with less sup-port from black and Hispanic voters than any presi-dent in at least 40 years, a Reuters review of polling

data shows, highlighting deep national divisions that havefueled incidents of racial and political confrontation. Trumpwas elected with 8 percent of the black vote, 28 percent ofthe Hispanic vote and 27 percent of the Asian-Americanvote, according to the Reuters/Ipsos Election Day poll.

Among black voters, his showing was comparable tothe 9 percent captured by George W. Bush in 2000 andRonald Reagan in 1984. But Bush and Reagan both did farbetter with Hispanic voters, capturing 35 percent and 34percent, respectively, according to exit polling data com-piled by the non-partisan Roper Center for Public OpinionResearch. And Trump’s per formance among Asian-Americans was the worst of any winning presidential can-didate since tracking of that demographic began in 1992.

The racial polarization behind Trump’s victory hashelped set the stage for tensions that have surfacedrepeatedly since the election, in white supremacist victorycelebrations, in anti-Trump protests and civil rights rallies,and in hundreds of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitichate crimes documented by the Southern Poverty LawCenter (SPLC), which tracks extremist movements. TheSPLC reports there were 701 incidents of “hateful harass-ment and intimidation” between the day following theNov. 8 election and Nov. 16, with a spike in such incidentsin the immediate wake of the vote.

Signs point to an ongoing atmosphere of confronta-tion. The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a whiteseparatist group that vilifies African-Americans, Jews andother minorities, plans an unusual Dec 3 rally in NorthCarolina to celebrate Trump’s victory. Left-wing and anar-chist groups have called for organized protests to disruptthe president-elect’s Jan 20 inauguration. And a “Women’sMarch on Washington,” scheduled for the following day, isexpected to draw hundreds of thousands to protestTrump’s presidency.

American politics became increasingly racializedthrough President Barack Obama’s two terms, “but therewas an attempt across the board, across the parties, tokeep those tensions under the surface,” says JamilaMichener, an assistant professor of government at CornellUniversity. Trump’s anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric“brought those divisions to the fore; it activated people onthe right, who felt empowered, and it activated people onthe left, who saw it as a threat,” she added.

That dynamic was evident last week. When VicePresident-elect Mike Pence attended the Broadway musical“Hamilton” in New York on Friday, the multi-ethnic castclosed with a statement expressing fears of a Trump presi-dency. A far different view was on display the next day as acrowd of about 275 people cheered Trump’s election at aWashington conference of the National Policy Institute, awhite nationalist group with a strong anti-Semitic beliefs.

“We willed Donald Trump into office; we made this dreamour reality,” NPI President Richard Spencer said. After out-lining a vision of America as “a white country designed forourselves and our posterity,” he closed with, “Hail Trump!Hail our people! Hail victory!”

Division Breeds ConfrontationThough Trump’s election victory was driven by white

voters, his performance even among that group was not asstrong as some of his predecessors. Reagan and George HW Bush both won the presidency with higher shares of thewhite vote than the 55 percent that Trump achieved. Thehistorical voting patterns reflect decades of polarization inAmerican politics, but the division surrounding Trumpappears more profound, says Cas Mudde, an associate pro-fessor specializing in political extremism at the University ofGeorgia. These days, he adds, “people say they don’t wanttheir children even to date someone from the other party.”

Indeed, voters’ opinions of those on the opposite side of

the partisan divide have reached historic lows. Surveys bythe Pew Research Center showed this year that majoritiesof both parties held “very unfavorable” views of the otherparty - a first since the center first measured such senti-ment in 1992. And the lion’s share of those people believethe opposing party’s policies “are so misguided that theythreaten the nation’s well-being,” the center found.

That level of division has spurred activists on both sidesof the political divide to take their activism in a more con-frontational direction. In the wake of Trump’s victory, pro-testers on the left took to the streets by the thousands incities across the country, in some cases causing propertydamage. Much of the agitation was motivated by a beliefthat Trump’s administration will foster racism and push thecourts and other political institutions to disenfranchiseminority voters, says James Anderson, editor ofItsGoingDown.Org, an anarchist website that has promot-ed mass demonstrations against Trump’s presidency,including a call to disrupt his inauguration. — Reuters

Trump won with low minority vote, fueling rifts

US rubber giant Firestone, no stranger to contro-versy during its 90 years in Liberia, is againstoking anger, this time for firing hundreds of

workers who now fear for their livelihoods. Firestonehas carried out two waves of sackings over the lastfew months, aiming at a seven percent cut in theworkforce because of what it describes as “ongoingsignificant and unsustainable losses” due to depressedrubber prices.

Workers at its plantation around an hour from theLiberian capital, aware of strong competition from Asiaand the little respite in sight for the rubber market, fearthey have few means of fighting back. “The day wewere told, the same day, 189 people had already beenlaid off,” said Harris Kerkula, president of the FirestoneAgricultural Workers Union of Liberia (FAWUL), whotold AFP the firm had broken a collective bargainingagreement. After intervention by the labor ministry, afew dozen jobs were saved, but officials asked theunion to accept the redundancies “because the compa-ny is going through some difficulties”, Kerkula added.

As Liberia’s biggest private sector employer, witharound 8,000 staff, Firestone’s plantations in Harbelhave grown into an entire community over thedecades, providing a generous package of services thestate cannot match. As a result, redundancy meansworkers lose their free housing, money for school fees,medical care and subsidized meals in one fell swoop,with just six weeks’ severance pay for many. “I will begoing to Lofa County where I was born because if I stayhere my family will die from hunger,” former employeeNyumah Tamba told AFP. “I have been working for nineyears and I am leaving with nothing,” he said, watchinghis three children play nearby.

Troubled History Critics say Firestone has always exploited Liberians.

Allegations of child labor and “slave-like” working con-ditions have dogged the company for years, despitemore recent improvements. In 2014, US media outletsProPublica and PBS Frontline accused Firestone of pay-ing off the regime of former dictator Charles Taylor dur-ing the early years of the 1989-2003 civil war to allowits operations to continue. Children were forced towork alongside their parents to meet impossibly highproduction targets, others alleged.

The firm denied funding Taylor’s atrocities andasserted that it simply paid taxes as required by anygovernment. Child labour was not permitted, Firestoneadded. But despite many twists and turns throughsome of Liberia’s darkest years, these redundancies arethe first since the 1980s, the company claims. In anemail to AFP, the firm defended its decision on thegrounds of low natural rubber prices and high over-head costs associated with the company’s concessionagreement, along with Liberia’s “uncertain business cli-mate”. Furthermore, as a direct result of the 14-year civilwar, when new rubber trees were not planted, produc-tion was low, Firestone said.

Government Cash Cow The monotonous work of rubber tapping may not

seem immediately attractive to workers, but theFirestone package is rare in a society with catastrophiceducation standards and an absence of training pro-grams. More than 16,000 students are enrolled in 17Firestone-funded schools, while the Firestone MedicalCentre, a 300-bed hospital cares for 5,700 patients amonth. Since 2004, Firestone says it has paid $1 billionin tax revenue to the government - indispensable in anation that counts the presence of just a handful ofmulti-nationals.

Labor Minister Neto Zarzar Lighe was careful not tocriticize the firm in an interview with AFP. “A total of 500employees were to be redundant and we were able toreduce that to 428 employees. That is significant,” hesaid. He defended the firm against accusations theyhad reneged on a pension agreement with employees,saying that as the scheme was private and non-contrib-utory, different rules applied. It was not always like this:Firestone and its employees enjoyed the boom yearswhen Detroit’s automobile firms were the powerhouseof the American economy.

But today life is much changed for the workers whohave been let go. Some have turned to plantationsabandoned by Firestone, tapping the same trees ascontractors and climbing perilously high up theexhausted trunks with the hope of finding someremaining latex. “(Firestone) give us $180 for a ton ofrubber. To get the one ton you have to work for atleast two months because we climb the tree beforegetting to the liquid,” said Zayzay Flomo, 30. “It’s pureslavery”. — AFP

Focus

Maria Thereza Sombra may rely on Rio deJaneiro’s police to keep her safe - but in the gripof financial crisis they rely on the 82-year-old to

supply them with toilet paper. Severe budget shortfallsin Brazil’s recent Olympic host city have left policescrounging for equipment, fuel and even the most basichygiene items. Hospitals are equally hard hit, com-pounding a deepening sense of insecurity in a cityplagued by violent crime.

Sombra said that ordinary citizens need to step inwhere the state is failing. “If the police have their handstied what will happen to us?” she asked. “We have tohelp those who are defending us. Otherwise no one willbe able to go out of their homes.” A retired teacher andpresident of Rio’s Flamengo neighborhood association,Sombra began helping police back in April when thecity was already descending into a pre-Olympic financialabyss. However, what started off as a spontaneous initia-tive among Rio residents was enshrined this month inan official program called “Together with the Police.”

Security “is the responsibility of the state but it is theduty of all,” the police department says. Sombra gets alist from Rio’s 9th precinct. Then residents of the 35 con-dominiums belonging to the Flamengo association chipin. On a table in a meeting room, Sombra showed off apile of toilet paper, cleaning products and stacks of

office paper. But requests can get more complicated:after the police station itself was robbed, officersrequested 12 security cameras. “For me, the most impor-tant thing is that we are doing something, even if it’ssmall: to show love, respect and solidarity,” she said.

Post-Olympic Blues Police, firefighters, hospital staff and other state

employees have been in crisis since early this year. InJune, Rio de Janeiro state, home to Brazil’s second-biggest city, had to be bailed out by the federal govern-ment after declaring a “state of calamity.” And in the run-up to the Olympics first responders mounted high-pro-file protests to demand payment of late salaries andovertime. The Olympics provided a brief respite withemergency funding filling the gaps, but since then thesituation has regressed.

In a state heavily reliant on oil-industry revenues, theslump in oil prices and a huge corruption scandal atstate oil company Petrobras have hit hard. A $5.4 billionbudget shortfall is predicted for 2016. “The Olympicshad an effect, but not enough. The crisis was here beforein Rio due to a breakdown in tax revenues, the high bur-den of paying salaries, and above all the oil prices,” saidVilma Pinto, an economics professor at the GetulioVargas Foundation. — AFP

In crisis-struck Rio, police

need donated toilet paper

LONDON: Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng isset to miss their next two Premier League match-es with a toe injury which will keep him out forabout two weeks, the Welsh club said yesterday.Ki has featured in all five of the club’s leaguegames since American Bob Bradley replacedFrancesco Guidolin as manager. The 27-year-oldwas left out of the team for Swansea’s 1-1 drawat Everton on Saturday, having been on interna-tional duty with South Korea, but came on for thelast few minutes. “Ki Sung-Yueng faces a spell onthe sidelines after breaking his toe. The midfielder isexpected to be out of action for around two weeksafter suffering a fracture in the third toe of his rightfoot,” the club said on their website (www.swanseaci-ty.net). Swansea, who are bottom of the table with sixpoints from 12 games, host 16th-placed Crystal Palaceat the Liberty Stadium on Saturday before a trip toTottenham Hotspur. —Reuters

S PORTSTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BARCELONA: Spain’s public prosecutor has called for Barcelonasoccer player Neymar to be sent to prison for two years for hispart in a corruption case over his transfer from Brazilian clubSantos to the Liga champions in 2013, said a court filing yester-day. Judge Jose Perals also called for a five-year sentence for for-mer Barca president Sandro Rosell and a fine of 8.4 million euros($8.9 million) for the club, but called for charges against currentpresident Josep Maria Bartomeu to be dropped. The case stemsfrom a complaint by Brazilian investment group DIS, whichowned 40 percent of Brazil forward Neymar’s transfer rights andwhich alleges it received less money than it was entitled to asBarca concealed the real transfer fee. Barcelona have beenengulfed in legal troubles over Neymar’s transfer since 2013.Rosell resigned as the club’s president in 2014 for his role in theaffair and testified in court in February alongside Bartomeu,Neymar and Neymar’s father. The club struck a deal with prose-cutors in June to settle a separate case and paid a 5.5 millioneuro ($6.2 million) fine and avoided trial on charges of tax eva-sion over the transfer.—Reuters

Spainish court calls for two-year jail for Neymar

LISBON: Real Madrid suffered a huge injury scarejust 11 days before facing Barcelona as GarethBale hobbled off with a right ankle injury justunder an hour into their Champions Leagueclash at Sporting Lisbon. Bale has been insupreme form in recent weeks having tied his

future to the European champions with abumper contract extension to 2022. As well as

travelling to Barca for El Clasico, Real face a hecticschedule in the coming weeks with a

Champions League clash against BorussiaDortmund and the Club World Cup inJapan to come in December. Real wereleading 1-0 when Bale was replaced byMarco Asensio with just a pointenough to guarantee their place in theknockout stages for a record 20th con-secutive season. —AFP

Bale forced off with ankle injury

Swansea’s Ki out for two weeks with broken toe

—Photos by Joseph Shagra

Mutawa Alkazi presents 4WD Bj40 for Al-Dihani, Al-RashidiKUWAIT: In appreciation for their historicalachievements of Fuhaid Al-Dihani on receivingthe golden medal and Abdullah Al-Tarqi Al-Rashidi on receiving the bronze medal in Rio2016 Olympiad, Mutawa Alkazi Group gave areception and appreciation parts for the twoChamps at its Principal Office, which wasattended by executives and personnel, inaddition to a crowd of customers and atten-dees.

They were received by Omar SulaimanAlkazi, CEO of Mutawa Alkazi Group and itsaffiliates and the sole agent of BAIC Motors,GAC Motor and DFM Motor, who welcomedthem and presented for each a 4WD Bj40 as apresent, in appreciation for such honorableachievement.

Alkazi asserted that presenting a 4WD Bj40for Fuhaid Al-Dihani and Abdullah Al-Rashidiwas a symbolic present from Mutawa AlkaziGroup for Champ Fuhaid Al-Dihani, whoaccomplished a world achievement on win-ning the golden medal in Double Trap compe-titions, after defeating the Italian rival 28 ver-sus 27. Moreover, the group presented a simi-lar vehicle to the Olympic Champ Abdullah Al-Tarqi Al-Rashidi, for receiving the bronzemedal in Skeet Plate contests for men during2016 Rio Olympiad, which was prominentlydistinct.

Alkazi paid tribute to such honorableachievement, as they gave the Kuwaitis andArabs the best present and pleaded millions ofpeople longing for athletes’ win of medals dur-ing such world championship. Despite Al-

Dihani and Al-Rashidi participated under theOlympic flag, they proved worthiness andmake dreams come true. In addition, theyrestored trust in the Kuwaiti sports and ath-letes, despite the problem of world suspen-sion and its consequences on the national ath-letes and sports. By such achievement, theyproved that our champs are capable of facingchallenges, overcoming difficulties, showingdistinction and worthiness and giving Kuwaita facelift, he asserted.

Alkazi stated that Mutawa Alkazi Groupfirmly stands at the side of all Kuwaiti distinctpeople and youth, who are the source of pride,and supports all positive initiatives concerningall Kuwaiti people.

Regarding the BAIC Bj40 presented toChamps Al-Dihani and Al-Rashidi, the 4WDBj40 is featured with flexible body arrange-ment and detachability of the roof and wind-screen, which gives an exceptional drivingexperience, in addition to the human designand considerate details, e.g. panoramic revers-ing radar, powered foldable side mirrors, Hi-Fistereo system and cup holder at air outlet. Forthe adventurous people, the Bj40 is providedwith off-road survival information system togive the feeling if adventure and challengeand provide a distinct performance and con-trol all road conditions. With Bj40, the morethe roads difficult, the more the drive saferand more confident, thanks to the standardconfiguration of ultra-high anti-roll frame,which constitutes a natural barrier to protectpassengers.

Bj40 boasts a strong separate frame con-struction, which increases its torsional stiff-ness by 40%, so that Bj40 is in a position towithstand any extreme torque compared toany similar vehicle. It can work under allkinds of weather and topography by 2.5times magnified torque up to 542 N/M, inaddition to 2-wheel rear drive and high-speed 4-wheel drive and low-speed 4-wheeldrive, for giving an exceptional pleasurewhile driving and a spirit of adventure. Itwas built as per the military vehicle stan-dards and provided with V4 CC2400 motor.It was tested like a military vehicle to verifyroad performance, and it has successfullyexperienced a road test over one million kilo-meters, in addition to top military securitystandards, including employment of metal-embraced brakes and all-floating drive axle.

The 4WD Bj40 is featured with various col-ors to fulfill the needs of possessors of suchvehicles, e.g. black, white, dark red, red andgreen. He asserted that Mutawa Alkazi Groupis interested in providing the best offers,including prices, guaranty and registration, inaddition to the approved maintenance at theservice centers located in Ahmadi andShuwaikh, performed by the most skilled engi-neers and technicians capable of achievingthe process as soon as practicable to enablesecure and safe road drive, and constantly pro-viding the original spare parts against the bestprices. He called upon all to visit MutawaAlkazi Group showrooms in Rai, Shuwaikh andAhmadi to have an idea regarding the latest

offers and examine various BAIC, JAC and DFMvehicles, which fulfill different needs of cus-tomers of diverse ages and requirements.

Eventually, Alkazi asked Al-Dihani and Al-Rashidi to keep on distinction and lead allcompetitions and hold Kuwait name and flaghigh in the skies of all international, Arabicand GCC circles besides other Kuwaiti champi-ons in all arenas, so that Kuwait would restore

position of prestige as always, thanks to theefforts of its citizens.

In turn, Fuhaid Al-Dihani and Abdullah Al-Rashidi thanked Mutawa Alkazi Group forsuch generous initiative and referred to itsdistinguished role in supporting all Kuwaitisin all aspects, for its social responsibility at alltimes, and hoped constant success for allstaff at the Group.

PORT SULTAN QABOOSON: With the Red BullCar Park Drift Final 2016 only weeks away, thespotlight is now shining on the sport of driftingand the athletes who dedicate their lives to it.The Red Bull Car Park Drift Final 2016, theregion’s biggest drifting competition held inassociation with the Oman AutomobileAssociation (OAA), will bring the best driftersfrom the Middle East and Africa to theSultanate for the first time to battle it out forthe coveted ‘King of Drift’ title. The event willtake place at Port Sultan Qabooson FridayDecember 9.

Champion rally driver and Red Bull AthleteAbdo Feghali designs the challenging tracks forall the local qualifiers around the region andplans to make the most demanding track yet atthis year’s final. According to Feghali, the stan-dard of drifting in Oman has reached newheights in recent years.

“The level of drifting in Oman is now reallygood and every year I must make the lives ofthe drifters harder and harder with increasinglychallenging track layouts,” commented Feghali.

“The work of the Oman AutomobileAssociation to create a special drifting track ithas really helped to educate people aboutdrifting and has given the public the opportu-nity to watch events in one place. This has donea lot for the development of motorsports, espe-cially drifting in Oman,” added Feghali. The RedBull Car Park Drift Final puts the competitors’skills to test as they are expected to deploy ahigh level of expertise and courage to pushtheir engines and car bodies to the limits, whilemaintaining exceptional car handling skills, allat high speeds.

Competitors are all hungry to compete forthe title and need to keep their car in control asthey drift around the designated track, whichconsists of a winding course featuring obsta-cles and sharp turns that all add to the chal-lenge. The rigorous scoring system penalisesdrifters if they drift the wrong way or spinuncontrollably.

Official partners for the event include one ofthe world’s leading motor companies Nissan,global oil and gas company Total, online ship-

ping delivery service Shop & Ship, ultra highperformance tires Falken Tires GoPro, MBC,

Ministry of Tourism, Hi FM, Hala FM, Times ofOman, Shabiba, Bank Muscat, Omran.

Red Bull Car Park Drift.

Abdo Feghali watches Omani competitor Oman hosts Red Bull Car Park Drift Final.

Oman Hosts Red Bull Car Park Drift Final Soon

HONG KONG: Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen believesChina still rules the badminton world even thoughthey were routed at the China Open last weekend, butwarned yesterday that the West is catching up.

Jorgensen led Sunday’s drubbing of the Chinese inFuzhou when he shocked the world and Olympicchampion Chen Long in straight games to win themen’s singles title. China have ruled badminton for adecade but the golden age may be ending. They leftthe China Open without a trophy for the first time inthe tournament’s 30-year history.

Jorgensen however remained cautious followingone of the biggest wins of his career, saying China wasfar from a spent force. “The Western world is catchingup a bit, but still (China) have so many good players,”he told AFP at the Hong Kong Open, after winning hisfirst-round match in straight games. “They’re still sostrong and the favourites going into every tourna-ment.” With the great Lin Dan in the twilight of hiscareer and other top performers facing growing com-petition from foreign players, China are now lookingfor a new generation of world-beaters to emerge.Following the rout China’s top badminton prospectscalled for patience and vowed to reassert the country’sdominance. “Some players are getting older and thenthere are the up-and-coming players. We need timeand experience,” said women’s doubles player LiYinhui. “But that doesn’t mean things are shifting awayor that we cannot maintain the dominant position.”

The 19-year-old was among China’s runners-up inFuzhou on Sunday when she lost in both the women’sand the mixed doubles finals.

Her women’s doubles partner, Huang Dongping, 21,was confident China would reassert its grip andbrushed off suggestions the pressure was increasing.

“No, I don’t feel any pressure. We just focus on everymatch,” said Huang, after the pair beat Taiwan’s ChiangKai-Hsin and Hung Shih-Han in the first round in HongKong. “We don’t focus on too many other things.”

The China Open debacle was the latest disappoint-ment in what has been a difficult year for Chinese bad-minton. —AFP

Jorgensen saysChina still the

team to beat

S PORTSTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

SINGAPORE: After negotiatingSingapore’s current Formula One deal,Bernie Ecclestone said in 2012 the hard-est thing was explaining to the authori-ties that “we don’t race for free”.

Four years on, the F1 boss appears tobe frustrated again as he tries to keepone of the most glamorous races on thecalendar after the contract expires in2017, at a time when the city-state isweighing whether the event makes eco-nomic sense anymore.

With its tourism industry increasinglydiversified, a stronger country brand thanwhen it first hosted the event in 2008 andother major sporting events in the bag,Singapore seems to have the upper handin the talks with F1.

Moreover, Ecclestone and F1’s newowners, US cable TV mogul John Malone’sLiberty Media, face a new risk: withMalaysia pulling out of a new deal, theycould altogether lose their presence in

Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest-growing regions.

F1’s 86-year-old commercial supremofirst told German magazine Auto Motorund Sport that Singapore does not wantto host F1 anymore, then clarified he didnot want to lose Singapore. His com-ments suggest talks getting tougher.

“I think Singapore has come in andnegotiated hard and has realised they arein a position of strength to do so,” saidJames Walton, head of the SportsBusiness service line at DeloitteSingapore and Southeast Asia.

“This is one of the top ranked grandprix ... and one of the markets that thekey sponsors of F1 are most interested in.”Singapore’s government funds 60 per-cent of the S$150 million ($105.13 mil-lion) it costs to host the race each year.Analysts say the city-state is weighing thecosts, and benefits, of staging the eventin the future.

Singapore GP, the event’s organiser,said it would not comment on “ongoingcommercial negotiations”. A decision isexpected before year-end, Ecclestone hassaid. The Singapore race is one of themost popular, taking place at night on astreet circuit with spectators entertainedby music acts such as Beyonce and JustinBieber, while TV watchers get a bird’s-eyeview of the glitzy skyline.

As a top wealth management hub, thecity-state is a natural draw for the region’saffluent people, a key target of FormulaOne sponsors such as Hugo Boss and TagHeuer, a luxury LVMH brand. But the sig-nificance of that is bigger for Ecclestonethan for Singapore, which also hostsevents such as the WTA women’s tennisFinals and the Rugby 7s series that bringover 100,000 visitors each. While the F1initially played an important role inboosting the tourism industry, Singaporehas diversified its offering, now focusing

on the emerging middle classes fromChina, India and Indonesia. Tourism isactually a bright spot in a slowing econo-my. In the first eight months of this year,before this September’s F1 race, the num-ber of visitors was up 10.3 percent fromthe same 2015 period, at 11.3 million.Tourism receipts grew 12 percent toS$11.6 billion ($8.1 billion) in the first halfof 2016.

REWARDSTo be sure, Singapore has benefited

from hosting F1. Since the 2008 debutrace, the event has generated S$150 mil-lion in tourism receipts every year onaverage, except for 2009 at the height ofthe global financial crisis.

But about 80 percent of the spendinggets recycled into the economy, withlocal firms hired for circuit set-up, ticket-ing and security, the Singapore TourismBoard says. “In these economic times,

every order book is important and Ibelieve this is not a small order book,” saidKurt Wee, President of the Association ofSmall & Medium Enterprises. He addedthough that “everybody would under-stand that the event has to be sustain-able”. And that is where Singapore hasanother argument. Attendance, whichtopped 100,000 on all three days in thefirst year, has declined, with this year’srace averaging 73,000 spectators for eachday, down from 87,000 in 2015.

With the global economy slowing, thenumbers might fall further and a five-yearcommitment may not be so appealing,although this may be offset in the futureby Malaysia pulling out as F1 fans in theregion would have only one nearbyoption. “If you think of the government asa business, I think they have to managetheir funds prudently to get the mostbang for their buck,” said ANZ economistWeiwen Ng.— Reuters

Singapore in the driving seat as it negotiates new F1 deal

BOSTON: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins makes a save against the St. Louis Blues as teammate John-Michael Liles #26 clears the reboundduring the second period at TD Garden on Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts. The Blues won 4-2. —AFP

Allen stops 39 for Blues in 4-2 win at Boston

BOSTON: Robert Bortuzzo and Paul Stastnyscored 2:12 apart in the second period andJake Allen had 39 saves, helping the St. LouisBlues beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Tuesdaynight to extend their winning streak to four.Jori Lehtera scored twice for St. Louis, includ-ing into an empty net with 1:16 left. ColtonParayko and Patrik Berglund each had twoassists. Longtime Blues captain David Backesscored for Boston in his first game against hisformer club, putting the Bruins up 1-0 early inthe first with the 20,000th goal in franchisehistory. Montreal is the only other NHL teamwith 20,000 goals. Dominic Moore also scoredfor the Bruins, who lost for just the third timethis season with Tuukka Rask starting in goal.Rask had 24 saves for the Bruins, who hadwon four of five.

HURRICANES 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1Viktor Stalberg scored a tiebreaking, short-

handed goal in the second period, liftingCarolina over Toronto for its fifth straight vic-tory. Jeff Skinner also scored for Carolina, andCam Ward stopped 25 shots. FrederikAndersen made 27 saves for Toronto, whichlost for only the third time in 10 games athome. Jake Gardiner had the Leafs’ goal.Stalberg got the deciding tally against his for-mer team after Tyler Bozak’s pass was pickedoff in the neutral zone. Stalberg entered thezone alone, beating Andersen for his thirdgoal of the season.

SENATORS 4, CANADIENS 3Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson scored 2:24

apart in the third period, helping Ottawa rallyto beat Montreal. Stone tied it at 3 early in thethird from the slot after three Canadiens play-ers got caught behind their own net. Karlssonthen scored at 5:37, the visitors’ first lead ofthe evening, on a fluke no-look shot from theblue line after a bad giveaway by Jeff Petry.Mike Hoffman and Derick Brassard also scoredand Craig Anderson made 36 saves forOttawa. Shea Weber, Alexander Radulov andAlex Galchenyuk scored for Montreal. AndreiMarkov had three assists, and Carey Pricestopped 19 of 23 shots.

FLYERS 3, PANTHERS 1Steven Mason made 38 saves and Wayne

Simmonds had a goal and an assist, helpingPhiladelphia beat Florida. Nick Cousins andDale Weise also scored for the Flyers, androokie Travis Konecny and Brayden Schennhad assists. Reilly Smith scored for thePanthers, who got 25 stops from RobertoLuongo. The loss spoiled the return of Floridaforward Nick Bjugstad, who had missed all ofthis season after an injury in the preseason.

ISLANDERS 3, DUCKS 2, SONick Leddy scored the winner in a

marathon 14-round shootout, lifting New

York over Anaheim. Thomas Greiss made 39saves and Adam Pelech and Josh Baileyscored in regulation for the Islanders, whohad been 0-4-1 on the road this season.Each team had four goals in the shootoutthrough 13 rounds. Af ter Kevin Bieksamissed on a slap shot to start Round 14,

Leddy waited out Jonathan Bernier beforesnapping in the winner. Anaheim nearlywon in the 12th when officials reviewed atying goal by New York’s Thomas Hickey,but officials determined that Hickey did notinterfere with Bernier on his attempt andawarded him the tally. — AP

Western ConferenceCentral Division

W L OTL GF GA PTSChicago 13 5 2 61 53 28St. Louis 11 6 3 51 53 25Dallas 8 7 5 53 66 21Minnesota 9 7 2 46 35 20Winnipeg 9 10 2 58 62 20Nashville 8 7 3 50 48 19Colorado 9 9 0 39 49 18

Pacific DivisionEdmonton 11 8 1 59 51 23Anaheim 9 7 4 52 49 22San Jose 10 8 1 45 42 21Los Angeles 10 9 1 51 51 21Calgary 8 12 1 49 69 17Vancouver 7 10 2 41 61 16Arizona 6 9 2 44 56 14

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

Montreal 14 4 2 63 46 30

Tampa Bay 12 7 1 62 49 25

Ottawa 11 7 1 44 49 23

Boston 11 8 0 47 44 22

Florida 10 9 1 53 54 21

Toronto 8 8 3 58 62 19

Buffalo 7 8 4 37 48 18

Detroit 8 10 1 46 51 17

Metropolitan Division

NY Rangers 14 5 1 81 47 29

Pittsburgh 11 5 3 54 55 25

Washington 11 5 2 48 40 24

Columbus 10 4 3 56 40 23

New Jersey 9 6 3 41 42 21

Philadelphia 9 8 3 65 68 21

Carolina 8 6 4 47 50 20

NY Islanders 6 8 4 45 56 16

Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the

standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

NHL Results/Standings

St. Louis 4, Boston 2; Carolina 2, Toronto 1; Ottawa 4, Montreal 3; Philadelphia 3, Florida 1; NYIslanders 3, Anaheim 2 (SO).

PARIS: The 39th Dakar Rally will be racedover nearly 9,000 kilometres from January2-14 in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay andwill demand “extreme endurance”, organis-ers announced yesterday. The race will setoff from the Paraguayan capital ofAsuncion, with race sporting director MarcComa promising “the toughest edition inthe history of South American rally-raiding”.

There will be one week spent on theBolivian Altiplano, with five stages raced atcrushing altitudes of more than 3,500m(11,480ft), going up to 4,500m. “High up inthe mountains, you’re really tested on a res-piratory level,” race director EtienneLavigne told AFP.

“Producing an effort is more complicat-ed. Competitors will experience this dis-comfort very often and for long periods.”

There will also be six special stages ofmore than 400km, dune crossing and driv-ing in sand, especially on the sections ofthe route still unknown to rally-raid regu-lars or during the all-important “SuperBelen” stage, three days from the finish linein Buenos Aires.

“It’s a very physical course for the com-petitors, the stages are long and on thebike or quad they’ll be very physically chal-lenged,” Lavigne said, adding that the rallythrew up an unprecedented series of

extreme geographical scenarios and cli-mates. “There will be great differencesbetween the tropical temperatures inParaguay, the high-altitude climatic condi-tions (in Bolivia) and then the descent intothe northwestern part of Argentina whichis very dry and desert-like.

“The nature of the terrain, both tricky,rocky, off-road, numerous sandy parts onthe route, along with rain, wind, sometimessnow, mud, sand, salt... It makes for a verycomplicated cocktail for the competitors.”Some 316 vehicles, including 83 cars and146 motorbikes, are registered for the rally,which will feature old hands such asPeugeot’s French duo of defending cham-pion Stephane Peterhansel and CyrilDespres, and Toyota’s two-time winnerNasser al-Attiyah of Qatar and SouthAfrican Giniel De Villiers. Also in the run-ning will be nine-time world rally champi-on Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz, both inPeugeots, 2004 Dakar champion NaniRoma in a Toyota and Finland’s Mini driverMikko Hirvonen, fourth on his debut in2016. It will be the ninth time the DakarRally has been held in South America.

The race was cancelled in 2008 oversecurity threats in Mauritania, organiserstaking the decision to move the rally toanother continent in 2009.— AFP

‘Toughest yet’ 39th Dakar Rally unveiled

PARIS: Peugeot driver Stephane Peterhansel, of France, poses during the presenta-tion of the Dakar Rally 2017 in Paris, yesterday. The race will start in Paraguay andfinish in Buenos Aires in Argentina from Jan. 2 to Jan. 14, 2017. — AP

ABU DHABI: Lewis Hamilton feels he faces“pretty impossible odds” going into FormulaOne’s Abu Dhabi title-decider while Mercedesteam mate and rival Nico Rosberg says he willtreat Sunday’s race like any other. Both arebeing disingenuous, of course. Hamiltonknows he still has a real chance and Rosbergis well aware just how much is at stake.

While Rosberg is the favourite to win the‘Duel in the Desert’, needing only to finish onthe Yas Marina podium to become Germany’sthird world champion after MichaelSchumacher and Sebastian Vettel, he will stillbe on tenterhooks. “I will give it everything toend the season with a win,” said Rosberg, theson of Finland’s 1982 champion Keke, even ifcynics suspect he would be happy enough tosettle for a fourth successive second place.

“I’ve had a great week, relaxing and catch-ing up with my family and friends, so I feellike I’m in a good place. “In Brazil ... I was jok-ing that I would still be taking things one raceat a time. But, the more I think about it, themore that’s actually not as crazy as it sounds. Ihave to treat this like any other race.”

That has become Rosberg’s mantra, hisincreasingly-implausible mechanism for deal-ing with the pressure as the title talk growslouder. That stress will be greater than everon Sunday, a lifetime’s ambition within reachafter years of being beaten by Hamilton.

How he handles it in the day-to-night racecould be crucial.

‘IMPOSSIBLE ODDS’Hamilton, who started the year tipped to

become Britain’s first four times world cham-pion but goes into the season-ender 12points adrift, has less pressure.

He must finish in the top three to have anyhope but, in his mind, has nothing to lose andeverything to gain. “I’m faced with prettyimpossible odds no matter what I do thisweekend. But I can’t and won’t give up. Younever know what might happen, howeverunlikely it may seem,” said the reigning cham-pion. In fact four of Hamilton’s nine wins thisseason (Monaco, Canada, Austria and

Germany) came with Rosberg off the podium-a result that if repeated for a fifth time in 21races on Sunday would hand him the title.

Not quite the impossible odds he suggest-ed. Hamilton, who has won the last threeraces and could end the year with more winsthan Rosberg (nine each at present), knowsonly too well that a mechanical failure or firstcorner collision can change everything in aninstant. At Abu Dhabi in 2014, Hamilton wonboth race and title while Rosberg started onpole but had a power unit problem and fin-ished out of the points.

There is also the prospect of rivals-andparticularly the Red Bull pairing of DanielRicciardo and Max Verstappen-getting inamong the title contenders.

Verstappen in particular showed in Brazil,with a superlative drive through the field tothird in the closing laps and wet conditions,that he is no respecter of reputations, nor ishe afraid to get stuck in.

Further back, Williams’s Brazilian FelipeMassa will be bowing out after his 250th racestart in what also looks likely to be a farewellfor 2009 world champ Jenson Button atMcLaren. “It’s going to be another emotionalone,” said former Ferrari driver Massa.

“I really hope the final, and 250th race ofmy Formula One career, can be a fantasticone. We will of course have a big party.Hopefully we can celebrate with a greatresult.” — Reuters

Lewis Hamilton

Decisive day looms for Hamilton and Rosberg

LAS VEGAS: Majority owner Bill Foley (L) speaks with emcee Chris Maathuis before the VegasGolden Knights was announced as the name for Foey’s Las Vegas NHL franchise at T-MobileArena on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team will begin play in the 2017-18 season. —AFP

S PORTSTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

NEW DELHI: India have been docked sixwomen’s championship match pointsafter failing to play against Pakistan amidsimmering tension between the SouthAsian rivals, the world cricket body saidyesterday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC)

awarded Pakistan, who were supposedto host the games, two points for each ofthe three matches that were scheduledto be held between August 1 andOctober 31.

The ICC technical committee said ithad considered written submissions

from both the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) and its Pakistanicounterpart before making the call.

“The technical committee was sensi-tive to the current state of relationsbetween the nations of India andPakistan, but concluded that the BCCI

had not been able to establish accept-able reasons for not participating in thisseries,” the ICC said in a statement.

The decision means the Indian eves,who stay fifth in the points table, willmiss out on automatic qualification forthe 2017 World Cup in England.

Bilateral ties between the men’s crick-et teams have been suspended since2012 when Pakistan last toured India,but they have met each other in interna-tional tournaments including the WorldCup, World T20, Champions Trophy andAsia Cup. — AFP

India women to forfeit Pakistan matches, says ICC

BULAWAYO: Sri Lanka took three wickets in thelast three overs to snatch a thrilling one-run vic-tory over West Indies in the triangular one-dayseries yesterday.

Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis bothscored 94 runs as Sri Lanka posted 330 for sevenfrom their 50 overs but for the second game run-ning, West Indies worked themselves into a win-ning position before falling agonisingly short oftheir target as they finished on 329 for nine.

Needing 10 runs off the final over bowled byNuwan Pradeep, Sulieman Benn belted the thirddelivery for six to leave the West Indies requiringthree runs from the final three balls.

But amid a frantic finish they could only man-age one more run and must now battle hostsZimbabwe on Friday to determine who will playSri Lanka in Sunday’s Tri-Series final.

A sparkling maiden ODI century from WestIndies opener Evin Lewis (148 from 122 balls)was in vain as captain Jason Holder (45 not out)was the only other batsman to get past 30 in theinnings. As they had done in their last matchagainst Zimbabwe, when they could only man-age three from the final over to tie, West Indiesfailed to close out the match.

Lewis was one of three run outs in theinnings that came at crucial times and kept SriLanka in the game.

Dickwella and Mendis shared a 107-run part-

nership for the third wicket as Sri Lanka posted aformidable 330 in their innings.

Dickwella fell six runs short of a century as he

was trapped leg before wicket by Holder andMendis then also missed out as he edged adelivery from Ashley Nurse. — Reuters

S Lanka snatch thrilling victory over Windies

BULAWAYO: Sri Lanka batsman Niroshan Dickwella is in action during the fifth match of triangular one-day international series between SriLanka and West Indies at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, yesterday. — AFP

Sri Lanka InningsD. de Silva c&b K. Brathwaite 58K. Perera b Gabriel 7N. Dickwella lbw b Holder 94K. Mendis c Hope b Nurse 94S. Jayasuriya b C. Brathwaite 9U. Tharanga c Nurse b Holder 26A. Gunaratne c R. Powell b Holder 6S. Pathirana not out 24Extras (lb-7 w-5) 12Total (for 7 wickets, 50 overs) 330Fall of wickets: 1-18 K. Perera, 2-123 D. de Silva, 3-230 N.Dickwella, 4-258 S. Jayasuriya, 5-277 K. Mendis, 6-291 A.Gunaratne, 7-330 U. Tharanga.Did not bat: N. Kulasekara, N. Pradeep, S. LakmalBowling: S. Gabriel 5-0-29-1(w-1); J. Holder 10-0-57-3; C.Brathwaite 7-0-64-1(w-2); A. Nurse 8-0-58-1; K.Brathwaite 10-0-56-1(w-1); S. Benn 10-0-59-0(w-1).

West Indies InningsJ. Charles c Tharanga b Lakmal 26

E. Lewis run out (K. Mendis, Dickwella) 148K. Brathwaite b Gunaratne 16S. Hope run out (Pradeep) 25J. Carter run out (Tharanga) 6R. Powell lbw b N. Kulasekara 10J. Holder not out 45C. Brathwaite b N. Kulasekara 19A. Nurse c Dickwella b Lakmal 2S. Benn c D. de Silva b Pradeep 11S. Gabriel not out 0Extras (lb-6 w-15) 21Total (for 9 wickets, 50 overs) 329Fall of wickets: 1-63 J. Charles, 2-133 K. Brathwaite, 3-175S. Hope, 4-198 J. Carter, 5-224 R. Powell, 6-262 E. Lewis,7-307 C. Brathwaite, 8-312 A. Nurse, 9-328 S. Benn.Bowling: N. Kulasekara 10-0-73-2(w-7); S. Lakmal 10-0-67-2(w-3); S. Jayasuriya 4-0-20-0(w-1); N. Pradeep 10-0-65-1(w-3); S. Pathirana 7-0-51-0; A. Gunaratne 9-0-47-1(w-1).

NHL results/standingsScoreboard at close of play in the fifth Triangular Series match between Sri Lanka and West Indies yesterday inBulawayo, Zimbabwe.

HAMILTON: New Zealand have a chanceto seal a first series win against Pakistan inmore than 30 years in the second Test inHamilton with the tourists without talis-man Misbah-ul-Haq. The seventh-rankedBlack Caps go into the match which beginstomorrow 1-0 up in the two-Test series fol-lowing a comprehensive eight-wicket vic-tory over second-ranked Pakistan in theopening Test in Christchurch. A win ordraw in Hamilton will be enough for NewZealand to notch their first series win overPakistan since 1985 and only their thirdever in 22 series between the two coun-tries.

The last time they met six years ago inHamilton, New Zealand collapsed spectac-ularly in their second innings, losing theirlast eight wickets for 50 runs to be beatenby 10 wickets.

Wahab Riaz took three wickets in thatonslaught and comes into contention forthis Test after being by-passed inChristchurch. Pakistan need their owninjection of good fortune as they battle toturn around a sub-par batting performancein Christchurch where they totalled only304 in two innings.

“As a batting unit we need to put up abetter show ... We have to improve in thenext game,” said Azhar Ali, who takes overthe captaincy in the absence of Misbah.

The inspirational Misbah, who has keptPakistan unbeaten in the last seven seriesthey have played around the world, hasreturned home following a family bereave-ment.

He would not have been available evenif he had stayed in New Zealand afterreceiving a one-Test ban for Pakistan’s slowover rate in the first Test. “We’ll miss him,definitely,” Azhar said. “Obviously we haveto cope with that now and whoever comesinto the side will take that opportunity andgive us runs, as well as the stability he givesus in the middle.”

YASIR DECISION Apart from the likely inclusion of Wahab,

Pakistan were revealing little about themake-up of their side for a pitch that gen-erally offers pace and reverse swing, withsome turn as the match progresses. Azhareven suggested there was the possibilitythat acclaimed leg-spinner Yasir Shah couldbe excluded.

“We’ll see the pitch and make the deci-sion then. Whatever the conditions tell us,we’ll try to pick the best XI for those condi-tions,” he said. New Zealand have spinnerMitchell Santner back in their squad afterrecovering from a wrist fracture while DeanBrownlie, whose last Test was in 2013, wasrecalled as cover for Ross Taylor after agrowth was detected in his left eye.

However, late Wednesday the 77-Testveteran was cleared to play in Hamilton,although he will undergo surgery after-wards. “Both the specialists he’s seen inrecent days have advised Ross still has20/20 vision and Ross himself feels confi-dent he is ready to play,” team physiothera-pist Tommy Simsek said.

“Ross will still need to undergo a med-ical procedure on his eye to remove thepterygium before it gets any larger. “He’llhave surgery following the Test which rulehim out of cricket for approximately four tosix weeks.”

New Zealand, like Pakistan, were shortof runs in the first Test but declared them-selves delighted with the “world-class”seam attack of Trent Boult, Tim Southee,Neil Wagner and Colin de Grandhomme,suggesting no change there.

“The way the four seamers in particulargot into spells, held their areas for longperiods ... was world class and it certainlywas a huge effort,” said captain KaneWilliamson. Both sides head to Australiaafter the Test, where New Zealand will playthree ODIs and Pakistan three Tests as wellas a series of limited-over matches. — AFP

NZ eye first Pakistan series win in decades

ADELAIDE: South Africa captain Faf duPlessis said yesterday he had been made a‘scapegoat’ by the International CricketCouncil and denied any wrongdoing afterbeing found guilty of ball-tampering dur-ing the second test against Australia.

Du Plessis, who was sanctioned for thesame offence in 2013, was charged lastweek after footage emerged from theHobart test of him applying saliva to theball with a mint in his mouth.

Cricketers in the field are permitted to,and routinely do, ‘shine’ one side of the ballby applying saliva with their fingers andrubbing it on their uniforms to encouragethe ball to swing in the air when it isbowled. However, it is forbidden to use‘artificial’ substances to work on the ball.After a marathon ICC hearing in Adelaideon Tuesday, the 32-year-old was fined hisentire match fee but cleared to play in theseries finale in Adelaide.

The ICC verdict was defended by itsSouth African Chief Executive DavidRichardson as a “line in the sand” but cur-rent and former players slammed the deci-sion, saying every team shined the ball inthe same way. Du Plessis, standing in forinjured regular skipper AB de Villiers,expressed regret that the case had takenaway from his team’s series-winning tri-umph in Australia and said he had neverintended to cheat. “I still completely dis-agree with (the verdict),” Du Plessis told amedia conference in Adelaide in calm andmeasured tones. “I felt like I’ve done noth-ing wrong. “It’s not like I was trying to cheator anything, I was shining the ball. “It’ssomething that all cricketers do. “Ourmouths are always full of sugar, I think it’ssuch a grey area in the laws of cricket.

“I just ask for that everyone gets treatedthe same way. I think that’s fair.

“Obviously the ICC has taken a stanceagainst me, to use me probably as a scape-

goat now, but all you can ask for is thateveryone gets treated the same.”

BIG DEBATESitting beside Du Plessis, Cricket South

Africa Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat saidhe had asked the skipper to hold off fromappealing the charge pending furtherinformation from the ICC.

“We will pick up this topic with the ICC,”Lorgat, a former chief executive of thesport’s global governing body, said.

“It’s a big academic debate about this.“I am personally aware of the pervasive-

ness of this issue. I get stories told all thetime.” South Africa wrapped up the series 2-0 by thrashing Australia by an innings and80 runs in Hobart last week, with the tour-ing side’s bowlers dominating.

“I suppose the thing that’s most disap-pointed us is that we’ve dominated andplayed exceptionally well,” said Du Plessis.

“That’s taken all the shine away fromthat, excuse the pun,” he added, breakinginto a wry smile as reporters chuckled.

Du Plessis was backed by Australia cap-tain Steve Smith, who denied his team hadever complained about the tactic.

“I’ve seen Faf ’s comments in his pressconference ... We along with every otherteam around the world shine the ball in thesame way,” Smith told reporters.

The charge laid by Richardson last weekangered the South African camp, as did theclose attention from local journalists, oneof whom clashed with a team securityguard at Adelaide Airport after the Proteastouched down on Monday. “Thanks for allthe love last week,” Du Plessis said withirony to reporters. “What happened at theairport was pretty disappointing . . .Because I was never really going to be bleto give any answers (before the hearing).

“I did feel there was a sense of (themedia) looking for a reaction.” — Reuters

Du Plessis denies cheating, says

made ‘scapegoat’

ADELAIDE: Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat (L) speaks at a pressconference with South Africa’s cricket captain Faf du Plessis (R) ahead of the thirdTest cricket match between Australia and South Africa in Adelaide yesterday.—AFP

MUMBAI: India have called up wicketkeeperParthiv Patel for the third test against Englandafter Wriddhiman Saha was ruled out of thematch in Mohali with a thigh strain, the coun-try’s cricket board (BCCI) said yesterday.

Saha replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni asIndia’s test wicketkeeper after the former captainretired from the five-day format at the end of

2014. He has played 20 tests for India but will beunavailable for the match starting on Saturday.“BCCI medical team confirms that India wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha developed a strain inhis left thigh during the second match... playedagainst England at Visakhapatnam,” the boardsaid in a statement. “As a precautionary measure,Saha has been advised rest and will not play in

the next test match of the series.” Patel becametest cricket’s youngest wicketkeeper when hemade his debut as a 17-year-old against Englandin 2002 and has gone on to play 19 more testsfor the country, the last in Sri Lanka in 2008.

The hosts lead the five-match series againstEngland 1-0 after winning the second test inVisakhapatnam by 246 runs. — Reuters

Patel replaces injured Saha as India keeper

VISHAKHAPATNAM: In this photograph taken on November 19, 2016 India’s wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (L) watches as England’s JonnyBairstow (C) plays a shot during the second Test cricket match between India and England in Vishakhapatnam. Saha was yesterday ruled out ofthe third Test against England, prompting the selectors to recall Parthiv Patel. — AFP

S PORTSTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

NEW YORK: New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (25) goes to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3), guard DamianLillard (0) and forward Maurice Harkless (4) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, at Madison Square Garden in New York.The Knicks won 107-103. — AP

NEW YORK: Kristaps Porzingis had 31 pointsand nine rebounds, Derrick Rose scored six ofhis 18 points down the stretch, and the NewYork Knicks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 107-103 on Tuesday night. Rose made the go-aheadbasket with a little more than 3 minutes remain-ing and hit the jumper that clinched it with 6.8seconds left. Carmelo Anthony finished with 17points despite a scoreless fourth quarter for theKnicks, who won their fifth straight at home.Brandon Jennings had 11 assists off the bench.Damian Lillard scored 22 points for the TrailBlazers but fell to 4-1 at Madison SquareGarden. CJ McCollum added 16 points.

NUGGETS 110, BULLS 107Rookie Jamal Murray scored a season-high

24 points, Will Barton hit two free throws with9.5 seconds left and the Nuggets beat the Bulls.It was Denver’s 10th straight home win over theBulls and its 16th in the last 17 meetings atPepsi Center. Butler had 35 points and eightrebounds for Chicago, which last won in Denveron Feb. 8, 2006. Dwyane Wade had 22 pointsafter sitting out Sunday’s game against theLakers. The Nuggets used a 22-0 run at the startof the second quarter to take a 41-31 lead.Murray had 15 of his 17 first half points in theperiod and Wilson Chandler scored 12 of his 16in the second quarter. The game was tied whenBarton was fouled on a drive to the basket, andhe hit two free throws left to give Denver a 109-107 lead. Isaiah Cannon shot an airball on a 3-point attempt and the Nuggets got the ball.

PELICANS 112, HAWKS 94Tim Frazier had 21 points and 14 assists,

Terrence Jones added 17 points and thePelicans won their third straight game with avictory over the Hawks. Pelicans forwardAnthony Davis returned to begin the fourth

quarter after bruising his right knee and missingthe second and third periods. Davis, a three-time All-Star and the NBA’s leading scorer, fin-ished with 13 points. New Orleans led by 20 atthe end of the first quarter and never let up.Dennis Schroder and Kyle Korver each scored 14for the Hawks, who have lost three in a row.Atlanta was tied for the Eastern Conference leadlast week but now begins a five-game road tripplaying its worst basketball of the young sea-son. The Pelicans have won five of seven and are3-0 since Jrue Holiday returned after missingthe first 12 games to be with his sick wife.

LAKERS 111, THUNDER 109Nick Young hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5

seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Lakersblew a 14-point lead in the final minutes beforerallying for a 111-109 victor y over theOklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.Young finished with 17 points and JordanClarkson had 18 for the Lakers, who survived amonster performance by Russell Westbrook inthe final minutes. After Westbrook scored 17points in a five-minute span to trim the Lakers’big lead to one point, Steven Adams scored ona go-ahead putback of Westbrook’s miss with13.9 seconds to play. The Lakers then passedthe ball around the perimeter before Youngcoolly drained his fourth 3-pointer of the night.Westbrook missed a long shot shortly beforethe buzzer. —AP

Porzingis, Rose help Knicks edge Blazers

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L PCT GBToronto 8 6 .571 -Boston 8 6 .571 -NY Knicks 7 7 .500 1Brooklyn 4 9 .308 3.5Philadelphia 4 10 .286 4

Central DivisionCleveland 10 2 .833 -Chicago 9 6 .600 2.5Indiana 7 8 .467 4.5Milwaukee 6 7 .462 4.5Detroit 6 9 .400 5.5

Southeast DivisionAtlanta 9 5 .643 -Charlotte 8 5 .615 0.5Orlando 6 8 .429 3Miami 4 9 .308 4.5Washington 4 9 .308 4.5

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division

Oklahoma City 8 7 .533 -Portland 8 8 .500 0.5Utah 7 8 .467 1Denver 6 8 .429 1.5Minnesota 4 9 .308 3

Pacific DivisionLA Clippers 13 2 .867 -Golden State 12 2 .857 0.5LA Lakers 8 7 .533 5Sacramento 5 9 .357 7.5Phoenix 4 11 .267 9

Southwest DivisionSan Antonio 11 3 .786 -Houston 9 5 .643 2Memphis 9 5 .643 2New Orleans 5 10 .333 6.5Dallas 2 11 .154 8.5

NBA results/standingsNY Knicks 107, Portland 103; New Orleans 112, Atlanta 94; Denver 110, Chicago 107.

NEW YORK: An elite NBA Academy train-ing center for India’s top male and femaleplayers will open next April near Delhi,the league announced Tuesday.

The academy will be the fifth of itskind in the world, following three in Chinaand another in Australia. The NBA willconduct a national scouting programstarting later this month to identify theinaugural pool of 24 elite prospects who

will train at the academy, with selectionsto be made by next February.

“The NBA remains committed to grow-ing the game in India, and the launch ofNBA Academy India marks our most sig-nificant investment in basketball devel-opment in the market,” said Brooks Meek,NBA Vice President of InternationalBasketball Operations.

“This academy will provide the top

male and female prospects in India withworld-class coaching and training, as wellas academic support and an emphasis onlife skills.”

Each center will feature under-18 andunder-16 teams, with travel sides selectedfor international events. Prospects willhave NBA-level coaching, facilities andcompetition and a global network tomaximize achievement possibilities as

well as development of education, lead-ership and character skills off the court.

“NBA Academy India will help us iden-tify and develop elite homegrownprospects and shape the next generationof national players,”said NBA IndiaManaging Director Yannick Colaco.

“Youth basketball players in India havehad relatable figures to look up to in SimBhullar and Satnam Singh, and now NBA

Academy India will give them a platformto prepare for the opportunity to developinto a professional-level prospect.”

Existing NBA grassroots programsengaged more than 12 million youthworldwide this past season. ACG-NBAJump, India’s first national basketball tal-ent search program, debuted last yearand offered a chance to attend tryouts forthe NBA Development League. — AFP

India to be site of league elite training center

LONDON: Former Tottenham Hotspurstriker Paul Stewart and two other ex-players have come forward to allege sex-ual abuse at the hands of youth coacheswhen they were children. Stewart,capped three times by England, said hewas repeatedly sexually assaulted by aman who threatened to kill his family ifhe told anyone. The 52-year-old, whoalso played for Liverpool and ManchesterCity, joins former Crewe Alexandra play-ers Andy Woodward and Steve Walters inspeaking out about abuse they suffered.

“The mental scars led me into otherproblems with drink and drugs,” Stewarttold yesterday’s Daily Mirror. “I know nowit was a grooming process. The level ofabuse got worse and worse.

“I wanted people to know how diffi-cult it was to come forward. It stirred upa lot of my past which I thought I hadburied.” Stewart, a married father ofthree, said other players were alsoabused by the man, who was not named.Stewart was encouraged to speak outafter Woodward told The Guardian hehad suffered years of abuse at the handsof convicted paedophile Barry Bennell, aformer youth coach at Crewe.

Bennell was jailed for nine years in1998 after pleading guilty to sexualoffences against young boys. He wasimprisoned for two years in May 2015 fora historic sexual offence against a boyand has also spent time in jail in theUnited States. Cheshire Police, responsi-ble for policing the Crewe area, said sixpeople had come forward saying theywanted to speak to police in the light ofWoodward’s interview.

‘IMMENSE COURAGE’ Woodward told The Guardian: “My life

has been ruined until the age of 43, buthow many others are there?

“I’m talking about hundreds of chil-dren who Barry Bennell cherry-picked forvarious football teams and who now, asadults, might still be living with thatawful fear.”

Walters, who became Crewe’syoungest debutant in 1988, said he hadalso been abused by Bennell.

“All these years, I’ve had this secretinside me,” he told The Guardian. “But Ihave to let it all out now. It’s the onlyway. I want closure and I know, for a fact,this is going to help me move on.” Basedin northwest England and currently inEngland’s fourth tier, Crewe have a well-established reputation for developingyoung players. Crewe chairman JohnBowler, who was in position at the timeof Bennell’s offences, told the BBC theclub were “distressed” by the accusationsand would review the situation.

He added he was “very sorry for thedistress caused” to Woodward andWalters. Woodward has been praised forspeaking out by Britain’s National Societyfor the Prevention of Cruelty to Children(NSPCC). “It is time for the governmentand sports organisations to work togeth-er to close gaps in child protection andmake sure that the thousands of sportsclubs across the country have robustsafeguarding policies in place,” said anNSPCC spokesman.

England’s Football Association has setup a helpline for former players to reportabuse. In a joint statement, the FA, thePremier League and the Football Leaguedescribed Woodward’s story as “heart-breaking” and praised his “immensecourage”. — AFP

Ex-English players allege sex abuse

Paul Stewart

WASHINGTON: Dak Prescott will try to matchthe best NFL season start in Dallas Cowboys his-tory today when the star-helmeted squad hostsarch-rival Washington in a US Thanksgiving holi-day showdown.

The Cowboys, with an NFL-best 9-1 record,are not the only division pace-setters in action asNFC North co-leaders Detroit and Minnesotameet while AFC North co-leaders Pittsburgh visitIndianapolis.

Rookie quarterback Prescott, who has relegat-ed veteran Tony Romo to a reserve role, guidedDallas to nine consecutive triumphs since losingon September 11, but this is the first time he willplay such a major game on only three days ofrest. “I’m excited about it,” Prescott said. “I’ve nev-er done this before, to respond real quick andplay another game. But I love ball and I lovethese games. I’m excited for it and looking for-ward to it.” The only 10-1 start in Cowboys historycame in 2007 but it will take completing a seasonsweep of the Redskins to equal it.

“We’re taking it one game at a time and focus-ing on what’s happening at that moment,” saidCowboys receiver Dez Bryant, who has fivetouchdown catches. “We’re not looking too farahead.” The Cowboys have a 29-18 with onedrawn record in their traditional Thanksgivinghome game, including a 6-1 record on the holi-day against Washington. The Redskins, 6-3 withone draw, are off to their best start since 1986and since losing to Dallas 27-23 at home onSeptember 18, they have six wins and a drawfrom eight games. “We’re feeling good, but at thesame time it’s a short week and we’re playingone of the best teams in the NFL on Thursday,”

said Washington’s Kirk Cousins, who has seventouchdowns passes in his last three games.Redskins’ defenders will be tested by the league’stop rookies in Prescott, who has thrown for 17touchdowns and run for four more, and EzekielElliott, who leads NFL rushers with 1,102 yards.

LIONS WIN WITH LATE HEROICS At Detroit, the host Lions and Vikings are both

6-4. A fourth-quarter fightback has been neededin every Detroit triumph.

“Every one of their games they’ve playedhave been seven points or less,” Vikings coachMike Zimmer said. “I think they’ve done a greatjob at the end of ballgames, including the onewe played. The biggest thing is once you startwinning, you develop confidence and that’s whatthey’ve done at the end of ballgames.”

Detroit won 22-16 at Minnesota earlier thismonth, Matt Prater forcing over-time with a 58-yard field goal and Matthew Stafford throwing a28-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate for thevictory. The Lions have won three ThanksgivingDay games in a row after dropping nine consecu-tive games on the holiday.

“I expect it to be an awesome atmosphereand both teams playing at a high level,” Staffordsaid. “From a game-planning standpoint, at leastyou’re familiar. They are fresh in your mind fromjust a couple of weeks ago. It doesn’t diminishthe challenge. They’re a really good defense.”

COLTS OUT OF LUCK? At Indianapolis, the host Colts and Pittsburgh

enter 5-5. That has the Steelers level withBaltimore atop the AFC North while the Colts

trail AFC South leader Houston by one game.With both clubs two games off the pace for a

wildcard berth, they know the easiest playoffpath is by winning a division crown.

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is in the NFLconcussion protocol and has only four days to

pass the tests to return to the field in order toface the Steelers. Only one player this season hasdone that in less than five days.

Scott Tolzien, a backup in Green Bay the pastthree seasons, would start in Luck’s place. He hasthrown only one NFL pass since 2013.

“We’ve got a guy that comes to work everysingle day and prepares like a starter ever sincehe’s been in this building,” Colts coach ChuckPagano said. “He understands and knows thisoffense and if that’s the case, he’ll go out andplay winning football.” —AFP

Cowboys try to match best start by beating Redskins

PITTSBURG: File photo shows Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle David Irving (95) leaps over Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Xavier Grimble(85) during the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Nov 13, 2016. Today Dallas Cowboys squad hosts arch-rival Washington ina US Thanksgiving holiday showdown. —AP

S PORTSTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

MANCHESTER: Jose Mourinho’sannouncement that Zlatan Ibrahimovicwill stay at Manchester United for a sec-ond season was a bold statement of faithin a striker still trying to prove himself inEngland. United’s manager swatted awayquestions about the 35-year-old’s paceand suitability, effectively tying theirfates together as they seek a way to turnaround United’s season.

“We are going to execute the optionof a second season,” said Mourinho. “Afterthat he can do what he wants.”

While it is not hard to see whyIbrahimovic would re-sign a one-yeardeal reported to be worth 260,000pounds ($323,362.00) a week, someUnited fans question whether heremains the right man to spearhead theirattack into his 37th year.

The goals have dried up after five inhis first five games. Since then theSwede has netted three times in 12attempts, once against Ukrainian side FCZorya in the Europa League and twiceversus Swansea City, the Premier

League’s bottom side. Although some ofthose strikes were spectacular,Ibrahimovic has appeared a throwbackin a season where Chelsea and Liverpoolhave literally set the pace with high-octane performances that have seenthem surge ahead of sixth-placed United.

The Swede defended himself withcharacteristic charm on Wednesdaywhen it was suggested at a news confer-ence that he had not shone this season.

“I shine for 24 hours (a day), so itdepends how you want me to shine,” he

said. “I’ve been in the game for 20 yearsand, while I’m getting older, I feel I’m get-ting better as I get older.

“I am shining in one way or another,but if you want me to shine even morethen I will try and do it for you,” he joked.

The problem is Mourinho has alreadyidentified a lack of pace as a problem forhis attack, explaining he overlookedWayne Rooney at home to Arsenal onSaturday because he was too slow.

Wednesday’s contract announcementwas all the more surprising because

Ibrahimovic had suggested earlier thisweek that he might “outnapoleonNapoleon” by decamping to the MLS.

“Perhaps I should do what Napoleondidn’t and cross the Atlantic and con-quer the States as well,” he told Swedishnewspaper Aftonbladet. But first hemust conquer Manchester. With a tro-phy bagged every season since 2001,including 13 league titles, and a statueto be erected in his honour inStockholm, Mourinho clearly believesIbra will deliver. — Reuters

Mourinho ties his fate to Ibrahimovic at United

LEICESTER: Leicester’s Christian Fuchs, left, and Brugge’s Jelle Vossen challenge for the ball during the Champions League Group G soccermatch between Leicester City and Club Brugge in Leicester, England, Tuesday. — AP

LEICESTER: Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrezscored as England’s miracle club Leicester Citybeat Club Brugge 2-1 on Tuesday to book theirplace in the Champions League knockout phase.Leicester are toiling in defence of their 5,000-1Premier League title, but the fairytale continuesin Europe as they became the first ChampionsLeague debutants to win their group sinceMalaga in 2012. Porto’s failure to beat FCCopenhagen left Leicester five points clear at theGroup G summit, guaranteeing them a kinderdraw for the last 16 even before their final matchaway to Porto on December 7.

“We’re on another journey. I don’t knowwhere, but we’re excited!” said Leicester manag-er Claudio Ranieri. “We started well, we pressed,scored twice and kept possession. But after theyscored we lost our way a little.

“Now the group is won, it’s important tocome back in the Premier League.” The only dis-appointment for Ranieri’s side, who sit twopoints above the relegation zone in the PremierLeague, was a second-half goal by Brugge’sColombian winger Jose Izquierdo.

It prevented Leicester from becoming thefirst team since Manchester United in 2010 tokeep clean sheets in their first five group games,but that was of secondary importance on a his-toric night. Brugge’s defeat at the King PowerStadium was their fifth in succession in thegroup and extinguished the Belgian champions’faint hopes of pipping Copenhagen to a EuropaLeague place. Leicester had needed less thanfive minutes to get off the mark in their 3-0 winin September’s reverse fixture and they were justas quick to get going in the teams’ reunion.

A sharp break down the left wing involvingMarc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy culminated inChristian Fuchs curling a delightful cross behindthe visitors’ defence that Okazaki hooked homeat the near post. Leicester’s Jekyll and Hydetransformation had taken place once again andthey swarmed all over their punch-drunk oppo-nents in a manner reminiscent of last season’sextraordinary title surge.

Mahrez turned Laurens De Bock inside-outbefore drawing a near-post block from Bruggegoalkeeper Ludovic Butelle, who also gathered ashot from Okazaki after Vardy nixed BrandonMechele’s attempted clearance.

IZQUIERDO THUMPER In the 29th minute it was 2-0, Mahrez sending

Butelle the wrong way from the penalty spotafter Albrighton had lured Dion Cools into anuntidy challenge on the edge of the box.

It was the Algeria winger’s fourth goal of thecampaign, strengthening his position as the topscorer in the group.

Leicester goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler,deputising for Kasper Schmeichel, could nothave wished for a gentler start to his competi-tion debut, although he did have to box away acurler from Izquierdo.

Leicester went into half-time as the last teamin the competition still to concede a goal, butthat statistic would change within seven min-utes of kick-off in the second half.

After winning the ball back in his own half,Izquierdo set off on a charging run downBrugge’s right flank before thumping a shot highpast Zieler at his near post.

Players on both sides had goals chalked offfor offside-Vardy for Leicester, Claudemir for

Brugge-before the hosts were given a scarewhen substitute Anthony Limbombe slicedwide. Seeking to keep Brugge on the back foot,Ranieri sent on the fleet-footed Jeff Schlupp andDemarai Gray for goal-scorers Mahrez andOkazaki, with Ahmed Musa following shortlyafter. Schlupp almost made an immediate

impact, seizing on a loose pass and dispatchinga low shot that Butelle dropped to his left tosave. Ricardo van Rhijn’s corners gave the hostssome nervy moments late on and Butelle twiceprevented Gray from making it 3-1, but Leicesterwould not be denied their place among the con-tinental elite.— AFP

Okazaki, Mahrez fire Leicester into last 16

Hat-trick delights Reus, Tuchel in record win

MONACO: Harry Kane scored his firstChampions League goal but could not pre-vent Tottenham Hotspur from crashing out ofthe competition with a 2-1 defeat in Monacoon Tuesday. Spurs needed at least a point tokeep their hopes of reaching the last 16 aliveand Kane brought them level with a penaltyshortly after Djibril Sidibe had put Monaco infront at the Stade Louis II.

However, Thomas Lemar ended a whirl-wind spell by restoring Monaco’s lead in the53rd minute and the hosts-for whomRadamel Falcao had an early penalty saved-held on to claim the win that secures theirplace in the knockout stages.

Monaco are also guaranteed to progressas Group E winners, while Bayer Leverkusenare through too after drawing 1-1 away toCSKA Moscow in Russia earlier in the day.

“It is a beautiful victory. We are happy andlet’s hope this continues,” Sidibe told beINSports of a Monaco side who are through tothe last 16 for the second time in three sea-sons. “Our objective was qualification and weare first, which is important. We will savourthis before we start looking forward.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham will go into theirfinal match against CSKA at Wembley withonly a berth in the Europa League afterChristmas up for grabs.

It is a deeply disappointing outcome forMauricio Pochettino’s men, who have nowmanaged just one win in their last nine

matches in all competitions and have lostthree of their five games in Europe.

“After we lost the first goal we came backwith the penalty but it is difficult to under-stand how we conceded the (second) goal,”Pochettino said.

“If you want to go to the next level in theChampions League you can’t concede goalslike that.” The Premier League side hadshowed their intent as Kane, Dele Alli andMousa Dembele all started for despite havingbeen cited as doubts before the game byPochettino. Meanwhile, Monaco coachLeonardo Jardim named the attacking line-upthat has made his team the most prolific inEurope’s leading leagues this season.

However, Tottenham missed a gloriouschance to go ahead inside six minutes whenAlli’s defence-splitting pass sent Song heung-Min racing clear. The Korean found himselfthrough one-on-one with Danijel Subasic butwas pushed wide by the Croatian goalkeeperand the opportunity was gone.

Four minutes after that Monaco won apenalty. Fabinho went down in spectacularfashion under an Eric Dier challenge andDutch referee Bjorn Kuipers pointed to thespot, only for Hugo Lloris to dive low to hisright and save Falcao’s kick. The home sidedid not let that miss get to them, instead con-tinuing to look the more dangerous side butit took them until three minutes into the sec-ond half to get the breakthrough.— AFP

Monaco send Spurs crashing out of Champions League

DORTMUND: Marco Reus was delighted tohave netted a hat-trick on his comeback inBorussia Dortmund’s record 8-4 hammer-ing of Legia Warsaw in the ChampionsLeague after six months out.

“That was an important step for me, it’show you imagine your first day back willgo,” said Reus with a grin. “I’ve worked hardfor this moment and I am pleased that Icould help the team.”

The Germany winger led the way in arecord-goal haul for a Champions Leaguegame. The 12-goals in Dortmund onTuesday bettered the competition’s previ-ous record of 11 set when Monaco beatDeportivo de La Coruna 8-3 in November2003. With Dortmund already through tothe last 16, the huge win keeps them top ofGroup F, two points clear of Real Madridwith one match to go.

Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa and Legia’sAleksandar Prijovic also finished with twogoals each thanks to some poor defendingby both teams. Reus, who captainedDortmund, made his return after 185 daysout with an adductor injury which side-lined him for June’s European champi-onships. I t was his first match sinceDortmund lost the German Cup final toBayern Munich on penalties in Berlin onMay 21. Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchelwas delighted with Reus’ return as he wel-comed back one of his key stars on a nightwhen the goals flowed.

‘FANTASTIC’ “You couldn’t have expected him to

score three times in his first game back,”enthused Tuchel. “This is extraordinary anda fantastic performance,” he added in prais-ing his team. “This is the quality which hasbeen missing for months and Marco hasbeen sorely missed.” But Tuchel admittedDortmund have clear defensive frailties tofix. He said he was feeling sorry for goal-keeper Roman Weidenfeller, who was oftenleft brutally exposed by his defence. “It wassurreal, I’ve never seen anything like it,” saidTuchel. “There is clearly room for improve-ment in terms of defence, especially on acounter-attack. “I felt really sorry for Romanand we have to address these blatanterrors.” Ex-Germany goalkeeperWeidenfeller, 36, back in the starting line-

up after first-choice Roman Burki broke hishand in Saturday’s 1-0 league win overBayern Munich, was unhappy with hisdefence. “There are points we should talkabout, we must behave differently indefence,” he fumed. “We’re playing here inthe Champions League, you have to give adifferent account of yourself. “It was a greatgame for the spectators, but we should nothave leaked four.”

NINE CHANGES Tuchel had made nine changes to the

side which beat Bayern on Saturday andPrijovic took advantage of sloppy defenceto chip his shot home and stun theDortmund crowd on 10 minutes.

Even though UEFA had bannedWarsaw’s fans from this particular match forprevious bad behaviour, a small band man-aged to get into the stadium and cheeredtheir side’s opener. But Borussia roaredback with five goals in 16 minutes. Theirfirst three goals came in 198 seconds whenKagawa headed home on 17 minutes, thenslotted a second just a minute later. Tocompound Warsaw’s problems, a clearancepunch from goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniakclattered off Nuri Sahin’s chest and into theLegia goal to make it 3-1 on 20 minutes.

Prijovic pulled another goal back forWarsaw on 26 minutes, and could haveclaimed a hat-trick when his chip hit thecrossbar moments later.

Dortmund’s French winger OusmaneDembele made it 4-2 when he beat severaldefenders to fire home on 29 minutes.

He then helped Kagawa set up Reus forhis first on 32 minutes. Dembele weighedin with his third assist of the night with asuperb cross to allow Reus to claim his sec-ond and Dortmund’s sixth on 52 minutes.

Warsaw midfielder Michal Kucharczykpulled a third goal back for Legia on 57minutes before Pierre-EmerickAubameyang came off the bench to hit thepost for Dortmund. Dortmund defenderFelix Passlack then scored his firstChampions League goal before Hungarystriker Nemanja Nikolic netted Warsaw’sfourth in the final ten minutes. Reuswrapped up his hat-trick in the 93rd-minute when he converted Aubameyang’sfinal pass at point-blank range. — AFP

SEVILLE: Sevilla were left fuming atEnglish referee Mark Clattenburg asJuventus came from behind to win 3-1 inSpain and seal their place in the last 16 ofthe Champions League on Tuesday.

The hosts made the per fect startthrough Nico Pareja’s ninth minute opener,but were reduced to 10 men after just 36minutes when Franco Vazquez was showna second yellow card by Clattenburg.

A controversial Juventus penalty con-verted by Claudio Marchisio followed andSevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli was also sentto the stands before two goals in the finalsix minutes from Leonardo Bonucci andMario Mandzukic ensured the Italian cham-pions’ progress.

By contrast, Sevilla’s first defeat in GroupH means they have to avoid defeat by atwo-goal margin away to Lyon in twoweeks to guarantee their place in the last16. “When they went down to ten men,they closed down all the space and wemade several mistakes. Fortunately my leftfoot came to the rescue,” Bonucci toldUEFA.com. “We can celebrate because wereached our first objective, but now wehave many others.” However, Sevilla wingerVitolo claimed it was Clattenburg whochanged the game.

“Today two decisions from the refereehave harmed us,” the Spanish internationaltold BeIN Sports Spain. “At 1-0 we were

playing well, in control and taking thegame to them; we didn’t have many prob-lems. “All of a sudden we are left with aman less and he has given a penalty thatfor me you can’t give.”

Juventus travelled to Spain shorn of anumber of key players, including firstchoice strike pairing Gonzalo Higuain andPaulo Dybala, and got off to the worst pos-sible start. A corner from the right was onlypartially cleared and the loose ball wasexpertly dispatched into the bottom cornerfrom the edge of the area by Pareja.

Sergio Escudero nearly added a spectac-ular second as his volleyed effort flew justover the bar. However, ugly clashesbetween the two sets of fans on Mondaynight that left one Belgian Juventus fan inhospital, spiled onto the pitch in a bad-tempered encounter in which Clattenburgbecame the protagonist.

Vazquez’s poorly timed trip on SamiKhedira just inside the Sevilla half wasshown no mercy by the official who tookcharge of last season’s Champions Leaguefinal. Sevilla were far more infuriated infirst-half stoppage time, though, asClattenburg pointed to the spot when aseries of bodies went to ground from aJuventus corner.

Sergio Rico got a hand to Marchisio’sspot-kick, but couldn’t keep the midfield-er’s effort out. — AFP

Ten-man Sevilla furious as Juventus fightback to qualify

SEVILLA: Sevilla’s Argentinian defender Gabriel Mercado (L) vies with Juventus’Brazilian defender Alex Sandro Lobo Silva during the UEFA Champions League foot-ball match Sevilla FC vs Juventus at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Sevilla onTuesday. — AFP

MONACO: Tottenham Hotspur’s Dutch striker Vincent Janssen (C) vies with Monaco’s play-ers during the UEFA Champions League group E football match AS Monaco andTottenham Hotspur FC at the Louis II stadium in Monaco on Tuesday. — AFP

16‘Toughest yet’ 39th Dakar Rally unveiled

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

18Ex-English players allege sex abuse

Okazaki, Mahrez fire Leicester into last 16 Page 19

LISBON: Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo jumps for a ballduring the UEFA Champions League football match Sporting CP vs Real MadridCF at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on Tuesday. — AFP

LISBON: Cristiano Ronaldo was lauded like aking on his return to where his career began atSporting Lisbon, but Real Madrid showed nomercy in booking their place in the knockoutstages for a 20th consecutive season with a 2-1win on Tuesday.

However, victory came at a cost for theEuropean champions as Gareth Bale limped offjust before the hour mark with an ankle injuryjust 11 days before Real travel to face Barcelonain El Clasico.

Real had substitute Karim Benzema to thankfor all three points as he came off the bench todown Sporting’s 10 men with a fine finish fromSergio Ramos’s cross.

Raphael Varane had fired Real into a first-halflead, but Sporting captain Adrien Silva levelledfrom the penalty spot after Joao Pereira hadseen a straight red card.

Real still need to beat Borussia Dortmund athome in two weeks’ time to top Group F afterthe Germans thrashed Legia Warsaw 8-4.

“The good thing is we didn’t give up,” said arelieved Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane. “Whenyou concede you can think it is going to be diffi-cult, but we kept going and in the end got the

goal through Karim. I am happy for him and theteam as a whole.”

Ronaldo’s name was loudly cheered amidstthe otherwise din of whistles that greeted theannouncement of the Real team, whilst a bannerwith the message “Made in Sporting” was raisedby the home fans with a picture of a teenageRonaldo in their famous green and whitehooped shirt.

Despite leaving Sporting for ManchesterUnited at just 18 having not even won a trophywith the Portuguese giants, Ronaldo is reveredin Lisbon having captained his country to a firstever international tournament win at Euro 2016.

The affection shown may even have had aneffect on the normally ruthless Ronaldo as forthe first time in four meetings against Sportinghe failed to find the net.

After an intense Sporting start buoyed by aboisterous atmosphere, the holders slowlygrabbed a stranglehold of the game and went infront on 29 minutes when Luka Modric’s lowfree-kick was deflected into Varane’s path andthe French international swept home his thirdgoal of the season.

Madrid captain Ramos was making his first

appearance in six weeks after spraining knee lig-aments and came to his side’s rescue momentslater to deflect Bruno Cesar’s goalbound shotbehind.

Real were put under pressure at the start ofthe second period as Ramos cleared a danger-ous cross from Gelson Martins and further dis-rupted as Bale hobbled off.

Zidane confirmed that further tests will becarried out on the Welshman back in Madrid todetermine the extent of the injury.

However, Sporting’s chances looked to havegone when Pereira was harshly shown red for anoff-the-ball clash with Mateo Kovacic. Despitetheir numerical disadvantage, Sporting were lev-el 10 minutes from time when Silva blastedhome from the penalty spot after substituteFabio Coentrao had been penalised for handball.

Joel Campbell even had an effort saved byCosta Rican international teammate KeylorNavas as Sporting searched for the winner theyneeded to keep their Champions League hopesalive. Instead, they were hit with a Real suckerpunch as Benzema fired low into the far cornerto set up a shootout with Dortmund for top spotin a fortnight. — AFP

Real strike late on

Ronaldo’s homecoming

DOHA: The coach of Qatar’s national soccer team has threatened to resignif a plan being considered by the country’s football authority (QFA) toexclude naturalized players from the squad is implemented.

Qatar has used its immense oil and gas wealth to recruit sportspeoplefrom around the world to bolster its national team, part of an ambitiousvault onto the world sporting stage by the wealthy Arab state which willhost the soccer World Cup in 2022.

Jorge Fossati told local media on Wednesday that a plan by the QFA toreduce the number of foreign-born players could damage Qatar’s chancesof qualifying for its first World Cup finals in Russia in 2018.

“I heard about a plan to exclude naturalised players and bring in moreyoung Qatari players into the national team. It (discouraging naturalisa-tion) is one point I don’t agree with at this stage,” Fossati told DohaStadium Plus, an English-language sports weekly.

Fossati, who was hired by Qatar in September, said that if the federationwent ahead with the plan he would quit.

“If the federation wants to go another way, I’ll respect its decision 100per cent. And it’ll be better for the Qatar national team to have anothercoach who supports that view.” A spokesman for the QFA declined to com-ment. About half of Qatar’s national team are naturalised citizens, includ-ing Rodrigo Tabata of Brazil and Uruguay’s Sebastian Soria. In a matchagainst China on Nov. 15 six players in the starting 11 were naturalised.

But Doha has also said it wants to foster local interest in sport among itsroughly 300,000 citizens and to field a homegrown squad when it hoststhe 2022 tournament.

World soccer’s governing body FIFA rules state that a player must havelived in a country continuously for five years after the age of 18 before rep-resenting the national side. — Reuters

Qatar coach threatens to resign

if naturalized players excluded

BusinessTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Saudi long bond shines in volatility after Trump win

Page 22

Long bank queues in India? There’s an app for that!

Page 25

World economy needs Trump to build bridges

Page 23Zain honors services partners

Page 26

LONDON: A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament’s Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) shows British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond as he delivers his Autumn Statement tothe House of Commons in London yesterday. —AFP

Brexit slams brakes on British growth

UK cuts 2017 growth forecast to 1.4% from 2.2%LONDON: Britain’s economic growth willslow sharply next year, Finance MinisterPhilip Hammond told parliament yesterday inthe government’s first budget statementsince the nation voted to exit the EuropeanUnion. The nation’s shock June 23 vote toleave the European Union will “change thecourse of Britain’s history”, Chancellor of theExchequer Hammond said in his AutumnStatement exactly five months after the refer-endum.

Brexit “makes more urgent than ever theneed to tackle our economy’s long-termweaknesses”, he added. Gross domestic prod-uct was expected to grow by only 1.4 percentnext year sharply down from the prior esti-mate of 2.2 percent given in March. “That isslower of course than we would wish, but stillequivalent to the IMF’s forecast for Germany,and higher than the forecast for growth inmany of our European neighbors includingFrance and Italy,” Hammond told lawmakers.

He noted however that the UK economywas predicted to have expanded by 2.1 per-cent this year, up from the government’s pre-vious estimate of 2.0 percent. In a keenly-awaited budget, he unveiled a package ofUK-wide investment projects, including thebuilding of homes and road improvements.

Hammond also raised the country’s mini-mum wage level and hiked tax thresholds togive workers more take-home pay.

‘Uncertainty’ While viewed as a government attempt to

trim of years of austerity triggered by the2008 global financial crisis, Hammond con-firmed he had abandoned predecessorGeorge Osborne’s aim of a budget surplus by2019/20. “In view of the uncertainty facingthe economy, and in the face of slowergrowth forecasts, we no longer seek to deliv-er a surplus in 2019-20,” Hammond said.

But the government remains “firmly com-mitted to seeing the public finances return tobalance as soon as practicable, while leavingenough flexibility to support the economy inthe near term”, he added.

The Brit ish economy has remainedresilient since the referendum, even as a cutin the Bank of England’s main interest rate toa record-low 0.25 percent has contributed toa slump in the pound.

Hammond said the projected growthslowdown was due to “lower investment andweaker consumer demand, driven . . . bygreater uncertainty and by higher inflationresulting from sterling depreciation”. Some

experts have warned that a heavy blow couldfall on the UK economy once divorce pro-ceedings with the rest of Europe begin.

In an attempt to prepare Britain for leav-ing the EU, Hammond said the governmentplanned to invest 1.0-1.2 percent of GDP oneconomic infrastructure from 2020, up from0.8 percent now.

Pound flatSterling was little changed at $1.2406. The

Office for Budget Responsibility, Britain’sindependent budget forecasters, said grossdomestic product would grow by 1.4 percentin 2017, down from an estimate of 2.2 per-cent made in March, before voters decided toleave the EU. Hammond, announcing the firstdetailed economic plans of May’s govern-ment, said the OBR believes uncertaintyabout Britain’s trading relationships with itsEU neighbors - who buy nearly half the coun-try’s exports - will cut growth by 2.4 percent-age points over coming years.

Hammond said the OBR now saw econom-ic growth in 2018 at 1.7 percent comparedwith March’s forecast of 2.1 percent. “We willmaintain our commitment to fiscal disciplinewhile recognizing the need for investment todrive productivity and fiscal headroom to

support the economy through the transition.”Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to

trigger Britain’s exit from the European Unionby the end of March by activating Article 50of the EU’s Lisbon treaty, which begins a two-year countdown to leaving the bloc. AsHammond addressed the nation, a smallgroup of pro-Brexit demonstrators weregathered outside parliament demandingArticle 50 be triggered immediately.

Among his key tax-and-spend pledges,Hammond announced a £1.4-billion ($1.7-bil-lion, 1.6-billion euros) investment to helpbuild 40,000 “affordable” homes. Plans to bancertain costs incurred by renters of residentialproperties has already had an impact, withshare prices of estate agents slumping intrading yesterday. The chancellor alsoannounced a rise in the minimum wage to£7.50 an hour in April from £7.20. And heconfirmed a plan to cut corporation tax to 17percent by 2020 from the current 20 percent.Over the weekend, May announced freshinvestment in research and development,hiking the government’s spending by £2 bil-lion annually until 2020. Investments will berolled out through a new fund that will priori-tize technologies including robotics, industri-al biotechnology and medical technology.

LONDON: Philip Hammond leaves 11 DowningStreet to deliver his Autumn Statement beforeParliament yesterday. —AFP

LONDON: Politics, economics and financehave all been turned on their head in 2016,and investors are already looking ahead to2017 with anticipation and trepidation. Theconsensus, broadly, is that the 35-year bull mar-ket in bonds is over, inflation is back, centralbanks are maxed out, and for the first time in adecade any stimulus to the global economy willnow come from governments. The implicationsfor markets appear to be further increases inbond yields, developed world stocks and thedollar, while emerging market currencies, stocksand bonds are expected to struggle under theweight of higher US bond yields. In equities,developed markets are favored over emerging,cyclical sectors over defensive, banks areexpected to benefit from steepening bondyield curves, while infrastructure spendingcould boost housing and construction stocks.That’s the consensus. But what goes againstthat grain? Where might the wrinkles appear?And even within the broad consensus, are thereany eye-catching forecasts or trade recommen-dations?

1. Bond yields to FALL?HSBC, who correctly called the recent slide

in US bond yields to historic lows, says bondyields may well rise next year and expects 10-year Treasury yields to hit 2.5 percent. But in the

first quarter. After that, HSBC’s bond strategistSteven Major reckons they will fall back sharplyagain to 1.35 percent - effectively retesting themulti-decade low struck this year - because aninitial rise to 2.5 percent would be unsustain-able by tightening financial conditions, drag-ging on the economy and constraining theFed. A bold call.

2. “Peak” 2016For Bank of America Merrill Lynch, 2016

saw “peak liquidity, peak inequality, peak glob-alization, peak deflation” and the end of thebiggest ever bull market in bonds. That allstarts to reverse next year. “For the first timesince 2006, there will be no big easing of mon-etary policy in the G7, and interest rates andinflation will surprise to the upside.” They evenpin a date on when the bond bull run likelyended: July 11, 2016, when the 30-year USbond yield bottomed out at 2.088 percent. It’s3 percent today.

3. Black SwansEconomists at Societe Generale illustrate a

graphic with four “black swans” that couldblight the global economic and market land-scape next year for good or bad. Mostly badnews. The tail risks they see as most likely toalter next year’s outlook stem from political

uncertainty (30 percent risk factor), the steepincreases in bond yields (25 percent), a hardlanding in China (25 percent risk factor), andtrade wars (15 percent).

4. The euro also rises“The dollar is overvalued versus other G10

currencies.” Not something you hear too often,but it’s the view of Swiss wealth managementgiant UBS. They predict the euro will end nextyear at $1.20, going against the growing callsfor parity (it hit a one-year low below $1.06 lastweek) or even lower. The euro will also drawsupport from the ECB tapering its QE, whileundervalued sterling will pick itself up from itsBrexit mauling to rally against the greenback.

5. The “good carry” in EMFew dispute that a higher dollar and US

yields next year will hurt emerging markets.Goldman Sachs has long championed astronger dollar and higher yields. Two of theirtop 2017 trade tips, however, involve buying EMassets. One is going long on an equally weight-ed FX basket of Brazilian real, Russian rouble,Indonesian rupiah and South African rand ver-sus short on an equally weighted basket ofKorean won and Singapore dollar to earn “thegood carry”. The other is going long Brazilian,Indian and Polish equities. —Reuters

Market tips, bold calls and

eye-catchers for 2017DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s index firmed yes-terday as blue-chips resumed their climband the positive mood flowed into otherGulf bourses, carrying them higher.Egypt’s market edged up, holding nearan 8-year peak as foreign funds remainedaggressive buyers. Riyadh’s indexbounced 3.0 percent to 6,796 points,closing 93 points over technical resist-ance at the July peak of 6,703 points.Turnover was almost double that ofTuesday.

Some blue chips continued to attractfunds, with the top telecommunicationoperator Saudi Telecom Co (STC) jump-ing 4.6 percent. Riyad Capital said in notethat STC has maintained its dividend pol-icy of 1 riyal per quarter and they believeit has the ability to increase dividendpayout because of its sound financialsand strong cash position. “The companyhas 20 billion riyals in liquid assets con-sisting of cash and short term invest-ment, three times its total debt.” Some ofthe large-cap petrochemical producersalso ended on a strong footing, despitenow trading at a slight premium to thetheir estimated fair values. BellwetherSaudi Basic Industries climbed 4.1 per-cent to 90 riyals; the average fair valueaccording to Thomson Reuters data is

88.68 riyals. Banking shares, which suc-cumbed to profit taking in recent days,firmed. All of the 12 listed lenders gainedwith National Commercial Bank closing4.7 percent higher.

Many analysts believe that since therehas been a shift in both the domesticand global macro environment, investorsare betting that banks will be able torecover some of their profitability, withsome banks now in a position to poten-tially increase their earnings next year.

Domestically, the interbank lendingrates have come down significantly sincethe sovereign international bond salelast month; 3 month SAIBOR is at 2.1 per-cent, after hitting a seven-year high of2.386 percent in October.

Goldman Sachs said in a note: “Saudibanks remain positively geared to higherglobal rates given high current accountbalances, predominantly a corporateloan book mix and monetary policywhich closely tracks the US. As a result,interest rate tightening by the Fedshould translate into a positive net inter-est margin uplift for the banks.”

Dubai’s main index added 1.8 per-cent, with the momentum building inthe final hour of trade. Small and mid-sized shares, usually traded by local

investors, were chief gainers with builderArabtec surging by its 15 percent dailylimit in heavy trade. Dubai FinancialMarket, the only listed exchange in theGulf, jumped 6.2 percent.

Abu Dhabi’s index rose 1.0 percent asDana Gas added 1.8 percent. Lendersthat are set to be merged at the start of2017 gained with First Gulf Bank adding2.2 percent and National Bank of AbuDhabi closing 1.6 percent higher.

EGYPT CLINGS NEAR 8-YEAR PEAKCairo’s index of the most actively trad-

ed shares edged up 0.3 percent, climbingback near an 8-year peak, but the num-ber of trades fell by a third from the pre-vious session. The index has nowclimbed 35.5 percent since the centralbank ditched the currency peg to the USdollar on Nov 3 and faces strong techni-cal resistance at its record 2008 peak of12,039 points. Foreign funds remainednet buyers of shares on Wednesday whilelocal and regional traders cashed out,according to exchange data.

For a second day in a row, the broaderindex has outperformed, closing up 1.7percent, suggesting that investors arepreferring the less liquid names as anattractive bargain. —Reuters

Saudi lifts mood in regional markets

MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Islamic banks are introducingnew products and adjusting policies to take advantage ofgovernment incentives designed to boost growth in theindustry.

Sharia-compliant banks in the country, the world’s sec-ond most populous Muslim nation, held 11.4 percent oftotal banking assets in June, barely changed from a yearago. That is well below levels of around 25 percent seen inGulf Arab states. To help change this, the governmentintroduced a 2 percent tax rebate for sharia-compliantmanufacturing firms in July to encourage them to elimi-nate interest-bearing debt from their balance sheets. Thecentral bank has exempted Islamic banks from using inter-est-based benchmarks for some financing products.

Abdullah Ghaffar, head of investment banking at AlBaraka Bank Pakistan, a unit of Bahrain’s Al BarakaBanking Group , said he detected signs of an increase indemand for both short- and long-term Islamic financing.The bank has launched sharia-compliant products tofinance purchases of tractors by customers and struc-tured short-term sukuk for a white-label electronic equip-ment manufacturer in Lahore.

“The customer opted for sukuk - slightly more expen-sive to float - over quick-to-market commercial paper,”Ghaffar said. Last month, Islamic lender Meezan Bankapproved a new financing structure for use in the airlineindustry; it uses plane tickets as an asset to back Islamicdeals in cases where fixed assets are not available.

Islamic banks are also adjusting internal policies whichlimit financing to manufacturing companies and the use oflong-term maturities, said Syed Abubakr, sharia boardmember of Emaan Islamic Banking, a unit of Silk Bank.

There is some demand for new products from conven-tional banks planning to convert their operations into fully-fledged Islamic banks, including Faysal Bank and SummitBank , Abubakr added.

These banks have large portfolios of conventional creditcard and personal loan facilities, but sharia-compliantequivalents are needed to retain customers, he said.

Such moves could help Islamic banks continue togrow at double-digit rates; the sector’s assets grew 16.8percent year-on-year in June, a slowdown from 37.3 per-cent growth recorded in the year to June 2015. Pakistan’sgovernment believes it can pull more people into theformal banking sector-especially in rural areas — byexpanding the Islamic finance sector, and this couldboost economic growth.

HurdlesHowever, capitalisation levels could emerge as a con-

straint on growth, said Ghaffar. In June, Islamic banks had acombined, average risk-weighted capital ratio of 13.4 per-cent of assets, down 1.2 percentage point from a year ago,central bank data shows, compared to a banking industryaverage of 16.1 percent. This has prompted some Islamicbanks to issue capital-boosting sukuk; in SeptemberMeezan raised 7 billion rupees ($66.9 million) via a privateplacement of subordinated sukuk.

Others have opted for consolidation: Al Baraka BankPakistan completed a merger with Islamic lender Burj Banklast month. The central bank helped earlier this month bylowering Islamic banks’ statutory liquidity requirement to14 percent of total demand liabilities from 19 percent,reducing the amount of liquid assets which banks mustmaintain as reserves.

The ratio compares to 15 percent for conventionalbanks. Islamic banks face an acute shortage of sharia-com-pliant liquid assets, aggravated by limited supply of localcurrency sovereign sukuk. — Reuters

B U S I N E S STHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Newsi n b r i e f

Kuwait oil price rises $1.05 to $43.56 pb

KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti oil went up by $1.05 to$43.56 per barrel on Tuesday after being at $42.51 pb lastMonday, said a statement by Kuwait PetroleumCorporation (KPC) yesterday. At the global level, the priceof oil fluctuated due statements from an OPEC meeting inVienna regarding the organization’s intension to lowerproduction. The price of the Brent crude was up by 22cents to settle at $49.12 per barrel.

US dollar stable against KD at 0.304

KUWAIT: The exchange rate of the US dollar stabilizedat KD 0.304 the same case with the euro was at KD0.323 rate compared with numbers Tuesday, said theCentral Bank of Kuwait (CBK) yesterday. According tothe CBK, the rate of the pound sterling was down toKD 0.378 while the rate of the Swiss france was stableat KD 0.301. The Japanese yen stood firm at KD 0.002.

Etihad Airways sets final size of 5-year sukuk at $1.5bn

DUBAI: Etihad Airways has set its planned five-year sukukat $1.5 billion, the upper end of an expected range of$1.25 billion to $1.5 billion, banks leading the transactionsaid yesterday. The UAE airline set the final spread for itsdebut Islamic debt issuance at 210 basis points overmidswaps, after one bank involved said on Tuesday thatfinal pricing was seen at around 215 basis points overmidswaps. Allocation of the privately placed bond isexpected to start on Wednesday and the bond will priceimmediately afterwards. The sukuk is being arranged byHSBC, JP Morgan and National Bank of Abu Dhabi. Thebookrunners are Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai IslamicBank and First Gulf Bank.

Investcorp makes $250minvestment in Boston, Denver

DUBAI: Investcorp said yesterday its US-based realestate division had bought a portfolio of propertiesin the Boston and Denver metropolitan areas forabout $250 million. The five investments included 20buildings and 1.8 million square feet of office, indus-trial, flexible and laboratory space, the Bahrain-based alternative investment firm said in a state-ment. On Tuesday, investment management firmArcapita, also based in Bahrain, said it had boughtthree housing schemes for senior citizens in themetropolitan areas surrounding Washington DC andAtlanta for about $110 million.

EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.757Indian Rupees 4.492Pakistani Rupees 2.919Srilankan Rupees 2.067Nepali Rupees 2.814Singapore Dollar 215.130Hongkong Dollar 39.415Bangladesh Taka 3.871Philippine Peso 6.564Thai Baht 8.612

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 81.574Qatari Riyal 84.018ani Riyal 794.439Bahraini Dinar 812.280UAE Dirham 83.274

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 24.100Egyptian Pound - Transfer 18.990Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.228Tunisian Dinar 134.820Jordanian Dinar 430.720Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.038Syrian Lira 2.180Morocco Dirham 31.036

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 305.700Euro 325.880Sterling Pound 379.070Canadian dollar 227.880Turkish lira 91.000

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

BAHRAIN EXCHANGE COMPANY WLL

Swiss Franc 304.790Australian Dollar 226.520US Dollar Buying 304.500

GOLD20 Gram 248.1710 Gram 127.015 Gram 64.35

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 304.200Canadian Dolla 225.044Sterling Pound 383.455Euro 329.642Swiss Frank 301.458Bahrain Dinar 805.769UAE Dirhams 83.216Qatari Riyals 84.433Saudi Riyals 82.003Jordanian Dinar 429.495Egyptian Pound 19.620Sri Lankan Rupees 2.065Indian Rupees 4.498Pakistani Rupees 2.902Bangladesh Taka 3.875Philippines Pesso 6.189Cyprus pound 160.643Japanese Yen 3.826Syrian Pound 2.427Nepalese Rupees 3.860Malaysian Ringgit 72.482Chinese Yuan Renminbi 45.243Thai Bhat 9.664Turkish Lira 94.850

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.372381 0.382381Czech Korune 0.003988 0.015988Danish Krone 0.039553 0.044563Euro 0. 319078 0.328078Norwegian Krone 0.031812 0.037012Romanian Leu 0.071807 0.071807Slovakia 0.009155 0.019155Swedish Krona 0.029082 0.034082Swiss Franc 0.295493 0.306493Turkish Lira 0.087442 0.097742

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.218724 0.230724New Zealand Dollar 0.209503 0.219003

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.221877 0.230877Georgina Lari 0.138026 0.138025US Dollars 0.301500 0.306200US Dollars Mint 0.302000 0.306200

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003387 0.003971Chinese Yuan 0.042946 0.046446Hong Kong Dollar 0.037314 0.040064Indian Rupee 0.000391 0.004602Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025

Japanese Yen 0.002667 0.002847Kenyan Shilling 0.002993 0.002993Korean Won 0.000249 0.000264Malaysian Ringgit 0.065612 0.071612Nepalese Rupee 0.002837 0.003007Pakistan Rupee 0.002712 0.003002Philippine Peso 0.006035 0.006335Sierra Leone 0.000051 0.000057Singapore Dollar 0.208830 0.218830South African Rand 0.015686 0.024186Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001640 0.002220Taiwan 0.009453 0.009633Thai Baht 0.008274 0.008824

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.804039 0.812539Egyptian Pound 0.015609 0.024862Iranian Riyal 0.000085 0.000086Iraqi Dinar 0.000188 0.000248Jordanian Dinar 0.425976 0.434976Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000152 0.000252Moroccan Dirhams 0.020095 0.044095Nigerian Naira 0.000401 0.001036Omani Riyal 0.787345 0.793025Qatar Riyal 0.083129 0.084579Saudi Riyal 0.080407 0.081707Syrian Pound 0.001296 0.001516Tunisian Dinar 0.129912 0.137912Turkish Lira 0.087442 0.097742UAE Dirhams 0.081779 0.083479Yemeni Riyal 0.001381 0.001461

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s 30-year bonds areoutperforming other Gulf debt duringvolatility triggered by Donald Trump’selection as US president, a sign of unsatis-fied demand for Saudi debt and a goodomen for issuance expected from Riyadhnext year. The week to Nov 16 saw thelargest outflows from emerging marketdebt on record, according to Bank ofAmerica Merrill Lynch, partly becauseTrump’s election fuelled expectations ofinflationary economic policy and higherUS interest rates.

The $17.5 billion of paper which Riyadhissued last month, in its first internationalsovereign bond sale, was initially hit hard.The 2046 tranche sank to 90.5 cents on Nov.14 from 98.1 cents on election day, Nov. 8.

But Saudi 30-year bonds have sincebounced back, to 95.6 cents, outperform-ing Qatari debt which was previouslyseen as the benchmark for 30-year bondsin the Gulf. “The bond is still trading verytight, and very tight to Qatar too, eventighter than before the Trump win,” aLondon-based trader said of Saudi 30-year bonds, which have also outper-formed US Treasuries. Their yield is up 16basis points since the US election, com-pared to a rise of 37 bps for the 30-yearUS Treasury.

“We are seeing capital outflows fromemerging market debt, but Saudi is nothit by it,” said a Dubai banker, adding thatthere was strong demand from Asianbanks for the longer bonds.

Shorter-term Saudi bonds have alsooutperformed, to a lesser extent. SaudiArabia’s 10-year paper is at 95.3 centsagainst 98.4 cents on Nov. 8; Qatar’s 2026notes are at 97.7 cents against 101.3 cents.

Gravitational pullOne factor bankers say is behind the

outperformance is the “gravitational pow-er” of the Saudi issue’s huge size, thebiggest emerging market sovereign debtsale in history. Because the issue is so big,investors are attracted by its ample liq-uidity in the secondary market and havebeen selling less liquid Gulf paper to buySaudi bonds. Another factor is the struc-ture of primary market allocations. Asianinvestors took 22 percent of the $6.5 bil-

lion of Saudi 30-year notes and US buyers,44 percent.

European investors also took a share,leaving an unusually small allocation forGulf banks, which are now buying in thesecondar y market, a United ArabEmirates-based fixed income trader said.

A third factor is an easing of concernabout Saudi Arabia’s ability to cope withlow oil prices. Although the long-term out-look remains uncertain, many investorsthink draconian state spending cuts andthe success of last month’s sovereign bondissue have averted the threat of a financialcrisis for now. The cost of insuring Saudisovereign debt against default over thenext five years dropped this week to itslowest since October 2015. — Reuters

Saudi long bond shines in

volatility after Trump winSaudi 2046 bonds outperform Qatar by big margin

KARACHI: In this photograph taken on November 16, 2016, Pakistani stockbrokers monitor index board during atrading session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) in Karachi. — AFP

Govt incentives boost Pakistan Islamic banks

PETRITSI, Bulgaria: Greek businessman Prokopis Makrisbelieves moving to Bulgaria three years ago was the bestdecision he ever made. The accountant shut his failing fur-niture company in Greece and opened a business helpingother entrepreneurs move to Bulgaria to escape a 29 per-cent tax rate, which has jumped since Athens adoptedausterity as part of an international bailout.

“We are bombarded with taxes in Greece, businessesare being annihilated,” he says in his plush office overlook-ing the town square of Petritsi, a Bulgarian town about 12km (seven miles) north of the border with Greece. Thedebt crises faced by Greece and several other Europeancountries led to drastic spending cuts and tax increases toimprove government finances. But the higher taxes pun-ished businesses forcing many to shut or move to lowertax jurisdictions such as Bulgaria or Cyprus, helping thoseeconomies but undermining the recovery needed to bal-ance the books at home.

The number of Greek owned businesses based inBulgaria, where the corporate tax rate is only 10 percent,has risen to 17,000 from 2,000 in 2010, when Greece hadits first bailout, according to Bulgarian authorities. TheGreek government is concerned. It plans a series of taxaudits in cooperation with Bulgaria to determine if thesebusiness defections are merely changes of addressdesigned to avoid tax rather than a physical relocation ofoperations.

“Many Greek businesses in neighboring countries mayactually be most economically active in Greece,” saidGeorge Pitsillis, head of Greece’s Public Revenues Agency,adding that he suspected many firms were using

Bulgarian shell companies. “They may soon be in theunpleasant position of paying tax in both countries, plusfines.” Businesses relocated from Greece generate about 5billion euros ($5.3 billion) annually and employ an esti-mated 53,000 people, according to 2014 data fromGreece’s embassy in Sofia. Numbers are rising fast: 3,642Greek businesses have been registered in Bulgaria so farthis year, up from 3,262 for all of 2015, according to theBulgarian Registry Agency.

Bulgaria says it will share tax details with Greece tohelp the audits. A bilateral tax treaty says a company can-not be taxed in both countries and the tax domicile isdetermined by wherever its principal activity is located. “Ifneeded, we will cooperate with the Greek tax authoritiesunder the mechanisms for exchange of tax informationbetween EU member states,” Rosen Bachvarov,spokesman for Bulgaria’s national revenue agency, saidwhen asked about the audits.

“Land of opportunities”Six hundred kilometres (372 miles) north of Athens,

the Greek-Bulgarian border is teeming with traffic. Aravine through mountains on the Greek side gives way toa sweeping valley where agriculture and vineyards are themainstay of the local economy.

At two small industrial parks 5 km inside Bulgaria,Greek signs are everywhere, advertising storage andoffice space. “There are dozens of Greek businesses just inthis area alone, from transport companies to textile busi-nesses and construction materials,” said YiorgosKalaitzoglou who runs a logistics business out of one of

the industrial parks where a sign reads, “Land ofOpportunities”.

Three years ago, his business was stuttering in Greece.He moved to Bulgaria, leaving his wife and family inThessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city an hour’s driveaway. “The taxman in Greece takes 70 to 90 percent ofearnings, Greece simply doesn’t let you live,” the 50-year-old said as he walked through a warehouse stacked withladders and paint tubs. It took him a few days to registerhis company in Bulgaria. Eighty percent of the goods hehandles is imported from other European states and thenexported to his customers in Greece. A sole trader,Kalaitzoglou now nets about 50,000 euros a year afterpaying the 10 percent corporate tax, a 5 percent tax ondividends and about 100 euros a month in pension con-tributions.

Hard timesSerres, a town of just under 100,000 people on the fron-

tier, has been hit by business flight. Membership of theSerres Chamber of Commerce and Industry has fallen to10,000 from 17,000 pre-crisis as businesses have closed. Ofthe 7,000 that shut, 1000 went to Bulgaria, the chamber’spresident Christos Meglas said. The departures have con-tributed to a rise in unemployment to 29.1 percent in 2015from 13.8 percent five years earlier. Per capita GDP has fall-en 15 percent to 9,676 euros for the region, the second-lowest in Greece. It was 11,421 euros in 2008. “Serres is aliving example of how the rich became poor ... we wereone of the richest prefectures, now we are among thepoorest,” said Meglas. — Reuters

Greek businesses moving abroad to avoid austerity

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

B U S I N E S S

PARIS: President-elect Donald Trump’s big-spend-ing plan to revitalize US infrastructure could be justthe ticket to drag the world economy out of itspost-crisis torpor, experts say. But there is a hugecaveat, they warn: the plan’s benefits would beeroded if Trump executes his avowed aim of putting“America first” and tearing up commercial pacts,potentially igniting a trade war.

The Republican property tycoon’s team says hewill devote $550 billion to rebuilding decrepithighways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools andhospitals something that President Barack Obamafailed to persuade Republicans in Congress toback. The idea has support from the InternationalMonetar y Fund, the Federal Reser ve andDemocrats, all keen to see the United States raiseits productive capacity, despite the likelihood itwill also ramp up its debt.

“All public money invested in US infrastructure-which badly needs it-can only be welcome,” saidLudovic Subran, chief economist at the trade insur-ance company Euler Hermes. The United States suf-fers from congested highways, collapsing bridgesand a ramshackle rail network. Bemoaning the stateof US airports during the election campaign, Trump

said “we’ve become a Third World country”.Economies further afield would benefit at a timewhen Europe and Japan are struggling with thedebilitating effects of deflation or anaemic growth.

“Inflation would spread everywhere in the world,”in a welcome filip to the central banks of Europeand Japan, according to Laurent Geronimi, a seniorasset manager at the private bank Swiss Life.

Indeed, the bond markets have already signalledas much with trillions of dollars wiped off valuationssince Trump’s election-a sign that investors expect adebt-fuelled spending splurge to drive up interestrates. That would benefit millions of savers andinvestors in pension funds who have struggledsince the 2008 financial crisis ushered in a period ofrock-bottom rates across the West.

Emerging markets could also win out if the dollarcontinues its recent bull run sparked by expecta-tions of higher inflation and borrowing costs.

“If the American currency appreciates, that’s agood thing for us because we are exporters of oiland of raw materials that are priced in dollars. Andwhen the dollar appreciates, we earn a bit more,”said Lucas Abaga Nchama, governor of the Bank ofCentral African States. — AFP

World economy needs Trump to build bridges

BEIJING: A magazine featuring a cover story about US President-elect Donald Trump is seen at anews stand in Beijing yesterday. — AFP

PITTSBURG: Job recruiters work their booths at a job fair in Pittsburgh. The Labor Department reported on the number of first-time applica-tions who applied for unemployment benefits in the previous week yesterday. — AP

WASHINGTON: New orders for US manufacturedcapital goods rebounded in October, driven byrising demand for machinery and a range of oth-er equipment, pointing to a tentative pickup inbusiness investment. While other data yesterdayshowed a jump last week in the number of peo-ple filing for unemployment benefits, the trendin claims remained consistent with a tighteninglabor market. The reports were supportive ofviews that the Federal Reserve will raise interestrates next month. The Commerce Departmentsaid non-defense capital goods orders excludingaircraft, a closely watched proxy for businessspending plans, rose 0.4 percent after declining1.4 percent in September. These so-called corecapital goods orders have now increased in fourof the last five months.

“The report reinforces an emerging recoveryin business investment, helped by a bottomingout in the oil and gas sector,” said BrittanyBaumann, an economist at TD Securities inToronto.

The reports joined bullish data on housingstarts, home and retail sales, as well as firminginflation in painting an upbeat picture of theeconomy at the start of the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, more Americans sought unem-ployment benefits last week. But jobless claimsremain at low levels, showing that mostAmerican workers enjoy job security.

The Labor Department says applications forjobless aid rose by 18,000 to a seasonally adjust-ed 251,000. They had fallen the previous week tothe lowest level since 1973. The less-volatile four-week average slid by 2,000 to 251,000. The over-all number of people collecting unemploymentchecks was 2.04 million, down more than 6 per-cent from a year earlier. Applications for unem-ployment benefits are a proxy for layoffs. Theyhave stayed below 300,000 for 90 straight weeks,longest streak since 1970.

Economists had expected the claims numbersto bounce back after falling the previous week tothe lowest level since 1973. That drop might havebeen exaggerated by problems adjusting thenumbers to account for the Veteran’s Day holiday.Claims at such low levels show that employersare confident enough in the economy to holdonto their workers. The US unemployment rate is4.9 percent, close to what economists considerfull employment.

The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecastingGDP rising at a 3.6 percent annual rate in thefourth quarter. The economy grew at a 2.9 per-cent pace in the July-September period. Againstthe backdrop of a brightening economic outlook,a labor market that is near full employment andrising inflation, the Fed is expected to hike inter-est rates at its Dec 13-14 policy meeting. The UScentral bank raised its benchmark overnightinterest rate last December for the first time innearly a decade.

In a separate report, the Labor Departmentsaid initial claims for state unemployment bene-fits increased 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted251,000 for the week ended Nov 19.

Claims have now been below 300,000, athreshold associated with a healthy labor mar-ket, for 90 straight weeks. That is the longest runsince 1970, when the labor market was muchsmaller.

The four-week moving average of claims,considered a better measure of labor markettrends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell2,000 to 251,000 last week. The dollar extendedgains versus the yen, rising to its highest levelsince April on the data. Prices for US govern-ment debt fell.

Business spendingBusiness spending on equipment has bucked

the acceleration in economic growth as the resid-ual effects of a strong dollar and lower oil pricescontinue to curb profits of some companies.Business spending on equipment has declinedfor four straight quarters, weighing heavily onmanufacturing, which accounts for 12 percent ofthe US economy.

With the dollar ’s rally appearing to havepeaked early this year and oil and gas drillingactivity rising in recent months, there is cautiousoptimism that equipment spending will rebound

in the fourth quarter. Capital investment is alsoexpected to pick up as some of the uncertaintysurrounding the Nov. 8 presidential electionclears. President-elect Donald Trump haspledged a massive infrastructure spending pro-gram, which could spur business investment oncapital equipment. That would boost companieslike heavy machinery maker Caterpillar, whichlast month lowered its full-year revenue outlookfor the second time this year. Shipments of corecapital goods rose 0.2 percent last month afteran unrevised 0.4 percent gain in September. Corecapital goods shipments are used to calculateequipment spending in the government’s grossdomestic product measurement.

A 12 percent surge in demand for transporta-tion equipment buoyed overall orders fordurable goods, items ranging from toasters toaircraft that are meant to last three years or more,which jumped 4.8 percent last month. That wasthe biggest rise since October 2015 and followeda 0.4 percent increase in September.

There were also increases in orders for fabri-cated metal products, electrical equipment,appliances and components, and computers andelectronic products. — Reuters

US durable goods report hints at spending pickup

Applications for unemployment aid rise

SALGUEIRO, Brazil: In Salgueiro, a cross-roads town in one of the poorest corners ofarid northeastern Brazil, Maria Adelaide dosSantos’s small shop selling shoes and clothessprings to life for just a few days at the end ofeach month. Amid Brazil’s worst recession ina centur y and a long drought that hascrushed hopes of making this an agriculturalcenter, dos Santos survives thanks to a trickleof customers when government employeesget paid.

“Unemployment here is very bad andthese public servants are all we’ve got now.There are no factories here,” said the 48-year-old mother of three. During a decade-longcommodities boom that pushed Brazil’s aver-age yearly growth rate to 4 percent, the coun-try became a poster child in the global fightagainst poverty.

Heavy spending by the leftist WorkersParty government helped lift more than 26million Brazilians out of poverty - more than atenth of the population and mostly in theunderdeveloped north.

But the collapse of the boom two yearsago has hit public coffers and asphyxiatedpoor towns like Salgueiro. In an effort to tack-le Brazil ’s bloated deficit , center-rightPresident Michel Temer is now pushingthrough Congress an unprecedented 20-yearlimit on federal spending, expected to be

approved next month.In regions like the parched Sert„o of the

northeast with scant prospects for privateinvestment, there are growing fears that thecuts could stoke unemployment and worsenthe gap between rich and poor in what isalready one of the world’s most unequalcountries. As in most of Brazil’s least-devel-oped regions, the government here is themain provider not just of education andhealthcare but also credit and jobs.

In more than half of Brazil’s 27 states,public sector salaries account for more thanone-fifth of economic output. In Brazil ’snorthernmost states of Roraima and Amap·,in the Amazon, the state accounts for nearlyhalf of the economy while in the southernstate of S„o Paulo, Brazil’s richest and mostpopulous, public salaries account for just 10percent of GDP.

“This spending cap is terrible,” said themayor of Salgueiro, Marcones LibÛrio de S·.“All of the Northeast is very poor. Many citiesare outright bankrupt.”

While pushing ahead with spending cuts,Temer has ruled out reductions in the gov-ernment’s flagship welfare programs BolsaFamÌlia, a monthly allowance of up to 336reais ($100) to impoverished families thatwon international acclaim for its success infighting poverty. — Reuters

Brazil’s north faces wider gap with spending freeze

LONDON: Angola’s state oil companySonangol has amassed hundreds of mil-lions of dollars in debts and deferred pay-ments to oil majors and contractors whileits new chief, Isabel dos Santos, attempts toreform its operations. Contractors say theyhave waited months even for small pay-ments from Sonangol, which handles theoil and gas reserves of Africa’s second-largest oil exporter.

The delays began following theappointment of dos Santos, the daughterPresident Jose Eduardo dos Santos, in Juneto root out waste and corruption at a com-pany that was struggling even before oilprices plunged.

As she worked to unravel the company’smyriad debts and repayments, outgoingcheques ground to a halt. Contractors andsources close to Sonangol said it is monthsbehind in payments to nearly every entityit works with, from cash calls worth hun-dreds of millions and smaller payments ofhundreds of thousands.

“They haven’t paid us, but we are talk-ing to them,” a source at one contractortold Reuters. “ They ’re trying to makereforms but there is a cash flow problem.”Sources told Reuters that those owedincluded Chevron , Total, BP, ENI andExxonMobil . Sonangol has asked for amoratorium on other debts until the end ofthe year, they said.

This is the most significant effort yet toreform the central pillar of sub-SaharanAfrica’s third-largest economy and one ofthe continent ’s biggest companies.Sonangol employs some of the Angola’smost powerful people and its tentaclesspread beyond energy to real estate andrailways, and trucking to telecoms.

The appointment of dos Santos wasitself controversial. Her father has ruledAngola since 1979 and government criticsaccuse his family and associates of enrich-ing themselves while doing too little tospread the benefits of Angola’s oil wealth

to its people. Isabel runs a multinationalbusiness empire that has made her Africa’srichest woman. A group of lawyers hasfiled a lawsuit accusing the president ofnepotism and violating Angolan probityby appointing her as head of the state oilfirm. The supreme court last monthordered him to respond to the inquiry.Isabel dos Santos has defended the deci-sion, saying she had been picked for herexpertise and competence.

Government coffersAt the start of the shake-up, she clipped

the wings of the entire Sonangol legaldepartment, barring them from conduct-ing any external negotiations. This mayhave hindered sorting out payment com-plications.

She even booted out the hair-dressingand nail-bar salons that had set up shopinside Sonangol’s Luanda headquarters topamper the oil executives in their lunchand coffee breaks, according to oneLuanda-based diplomat.

Former chief executive Francisco deLemos Jose Maria, along with the rest ofthe board, was replaced in June when dosSantos took over. Sources close toSonangol said she had taken awaySonangol’s ability to pay its own billsdirectly. Revenues from oil sales now flowdirectly to government coffers, wherepayments must be approved before theygo out.

The delays bubbled to the surface lastmonth, when reports circulated thatChevron was demanding immediate pay-ment of $300 million in unpaid cash calls -the money that Sonangol is required to payfor operations on oil and gas fields.

Chevron declined to comment, but thetalks prompted Sonangol to issue a rarestatement about the troubles. “This per-fectly normal situation in the Angolan oilindustry is not unique or isolated,” the com-pany said. — Reuters

Sonangol delays payments as it battles to reform

BERLIN: Lufthansa pilots in Germanybegan a two-day strike yesterday,grounding some 1,800 flights at one ofEurope’s largest airlines in a long-run-ning pay dispute. The VereinigungCockpit (VC) pilots’ union initially calleda 24-hour walkout for yesterday, butextended the strike for an extra dayafter two courts rejected attempts byLufthansa to halt the industrial action.

Lufthansa, led by CEO CarstenSpohr, insists that despite a record prof-it in 2015, it has no choice but to cutcosts to compete with leaner rivalssuch as Ryanair on shor t-haul andEmirates on long-haul flights. Shares inthe company have lost 12 percent oftheir value this year, but were up 1.2percent at 1309 GMT, outperformingGerman blue chips, which were down0.5 percent.

Lufthansa cancelled 876 of roughly3,000 flights scheduled by its group air-lines for Wednesday, and scrapped 912flights for today, affecting over 215,000passengers in what is the 14th strike inthe dispute since early 2014.Lufthansa’s CEO has said he expects thestrike to cost between 7 million eurosand 9 million euros ($7.4 million to $9.6million) a day.

The strike started at midnight and

affects flights departing from Germanairpor ts, including 133 long-haulflights.

Hotels for strandedFlights by Lufthansa’s other airlines,

including Germanwings, Eurowings,Austrian Airlines, SWISS and BrusselsAirlines, will not be affected, Lufthansasaid. Austrian and SWISS are using largerplanes to carry passengers, whileLufthansa has reserved almost 4,000hotel rooms in Frankfurt and Munich forstranded passengers. Lufthansa hascalled on the pilots to enter mediation,which has been rejected by their unionbecause it is first seeking a better offerfrom management as a basis for talks.

The union wants an average annualpay increase of 3.7 percent for 5,400pilots in Germany over a five-year periodfrom 2012. Lufthansa has offered 2.5 per-cent spread over the six years to 2019.

In its effort to reduce costs, Lufthansahas agreed deals on pay and retirementschemes with the main unions repre-senting ground staff and cabin crew inGermany. “It is incomprehensible thatthe union is calling for the biggest payincrease for the most well-paid group ofstaff,” Lufthansa board member BettinaVolkens said in a statement. — Reuters

Lufthansa pilots’ strike disrupts flight schedule

FRANKFURT AM: Some passengers walk under a display showing cancelledflights due to a strike of pilots of German airline Lufthansa at the airport inFrankfurt am Main, yesterday. — AFP

B U S I N E S STHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Euro stocks fail to match Wall Street recordsLONDON: European shares dipped andGerman bond yields briefly touched recordlows yesterday, a contrast with the buoyantmood on Wall Street as investors focused ondiverging growth and interest rate prospects inEurope and the United States. US stocks wereset to hold on to gains after the Dow closedabove 19,000 for the first time on Tuesday, withinvestors anticipating a growth boost underPresident-elect Donald Trump and a rate hikefrom the Federal Reserve - expectations thatshould be reinforced by minutes released lateryesterday.

With European policymakers leaning theother way, reaffirming their commitment to aneasy approach, and banking worries rattling the

bloc’s stock markets, the single currency heldnear one-year lows. The dollar, meanwhile, isperched near a 14-year high.

The transatlantic split has been most stark inbond markets, with the falling yields on two-year German paper keeping the gap to USequivalents near an 11-year high. In Britain,sterling was a tad weaker at $1.2396 before abudget update from finance minister PhilipHammond. Hopes for fiscal stimulus have beenlowered as the government has stressed its bor-rowing limits.

“We do like policy divergence trades,”Rabobank strategist Lyn Graham-Taylor said. “Ithink markets had been a bit euphoric in thewake of Trump and now they are coming

around to the understanding that there is notgoing to be fiscal stimulus that is going to begood for everyone.”

Weighed down by Italian banking stocks,euro zone shares shed 0.3 percent, failing tomatch the exuberance in Asia, where stocksgained 0.7 percent to strike a one-week high,and Tuesday’s rally in the US. With Japan on hol-iday, Australia’s main index led the action inAsia with a rise of 1.35 percent to a one-monthtop, helped by strength in bulk commodityprices.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 index advanced 0.5percent to a near 11-month peak as the yuantouched its lowest in six years.

With equities in demand, US bonds were

getting the cold shoulder. Two-year noteyields rose as far as 1.107 percent onTuesday, the highest since April 2010.Eurozone yields have been heading in theopposite direction and some solid growthdata did little to shake expectations formore monetary easing from the EuropeanCentral Bank next month.

That saw yields on German two-yearpaper hit a record low of minus 0.74 per-cent early on Wednesday. That movekicked into reverse after a report that theECB is looking to lend out more bonds toavert a market freeze, although the gap toU.S. Treasuries remains near its widestsince 2005.

That gap kept the euro pinned at$1.0624, not far from last week’s one-yeartrough at $1.0569. Against a basket of cur-rencies, the dollar was flat at 101.03, veryclose to a 14-year peak.

The dollar also kept most of its recenthefty gains on the yen at 111.04, though ithas met resistance around 111.35 in thelast couple of sessions. Emerging marketshave struggled in recent days as surgingU. bond yields sucked much-needed capi-tal out of Asia. Trump’s past talk of tradetariffs has also weighed on sentiment inthe export-intensive region.

Analysts at JPMorgan said Trump’spledge to dump the Trans-PacificPartnership was already priced into mar-kets. “What may not be factored in is thepossibility of follow-through on other,more protectionist campaign proposals,”they wrote in a note to clients.

“We remain concerned about this as a

source of downside risk, delivering a neg-ative surprise to markets which so farappear to be enamored of his emphasison fiscal stimulus and deregulation sincethe election.”

Elsewhere, oil prices edged higher butgains were capped by investors’ doubtsthat oil cartel OPEC would agree to a largeenough production cut to significantlyreduce a global surplus when it meetsnext week.

Asian markets rose again yesterday,tracking a record close on Wall Street,while the dollar held onto its gains againstthe yen on expectations of a US interestrate rise. The Dow ended above 19,000 forthe first time Tuesday as US traders, whilestill uncertain about the outlook, bet on anear-term bump for the world’s top econ-omy from Donald Trump’s growth plans.

Investors expect his administration willcut taxes, ramp up infrastructure spend-ing and slash regulations, all of whichwould likely fan inflation — in turn put-ting pressure on the Federal Reserve toraise interest rates. “Bulls have got controlhere and US equity and many other devel-oped markets are going higher, at least inthe short term,” said Chris Weston, chiefmarkets analyst in Melbourne at IG Ltd.Sydney closed 1.3 percent higher, Seoulgained 0.2 percent and Singapore added0.4 percent. Taipei and Wellington werealso well up. However, Shanghai gave upearly gains to end 0.2 percent lower, whileHong Kong was marginally off, breaking athree-day winning streak. Tokyo wasclosed for a public holiday. —Agencies

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

B U S I N E S S

NEW DELHI: Huge bank queues havebecome an ubiquitous sight across Indiaafter the government suddenly withdrewthe two highest denomination notes fromcirculation two weeks ago-but now you canhire-a-queuer online.

New Delhi-based startup BookMyChotu-a play on the Hindi word “chotu” meaning“little one”-is cashing in on the cash crunch,offering a solution for those willing to paysomeone to stand in line for them. “Are youshort of cash? Need a Helper to stand inqueue of the bank/ATM till the time yourturn comes??”, reads an ad on the compa-ny’s Facebook page.

“Our boys will not go inside bank, theywill just stand in the queue for our cus-tomers as we understand that there can besome emergency and our helpers can helpyou by saving your valuable time.”

A “chotu” costs 90 rupees ($1.30) perhour or 550 rupees for waiting for a maxi-mum of eight hours, and is only available in

Delhi and neighboring cities. Indians haveuntil the end of the year to exchange theirold 500 and 1,000 notes — 85 percent ofthe cash in circulation-for the new 500 and2,000 rupee bills, or deposit them intoaccounts.

The surprise decision is part of the gov-ernment’s assault on “Black money” unde-clared, unaccounted cash-and aims to bringmore money into the formal banking sys-tem and ultimately boost the economy. Butit has caused a rush on the banks, whileshortages of new notes and problems recal-ibrating ATMs to fit the new bills have seenhours-long queues form outside banksnationwide.

BookMyChotu was originally launchedas an online platform to help people hiretemporary helpers, but founder and CEOSatjeet Singh Bedi said he had received pos-itive and curious responses since they start-ed offering “chotus” to stand in bankqueues.

“It started when my mother was ill and Iimmediately needed cash,” Bedi told theHindustan Times newspaper. “I requestedmy teammates to stand in the queue inplace of me and quickly replaced themwhen my turn came.”

But some on social media have criticisedthe site’s name, saying “chotu” implies childlabour.

“Really @bookmychotu!? Can’t find anybetter name? This appears to promote childlabour,” tweeted Mahendra. “A service calledbookmychotu to hire helpers...sounds sowrong on so many levels!” wrote Muskaan.

The company appeared ready for thecriticism, and in a disclaimer on the sitewrote: “*Please Note: “Chotu” is just a nameand the same is being used for brandingpurposes. We have no intentions to hurtanyone’s sentiments.”

All helpers are well trained and over theage of 18, the company added on itsFacebook page. —AFP

Long bank queues in India? There’s an app for that!‘Chotus’ will stand in line for customers

NEW DELHI: Indians stand in a queue to deposit and exchange discon-tinued currency notes outside a bank in New Delhi. —AP

Business growth in eurozone rises to highest rate this year

ECB likely to ease monetary policyFRANKFURT: Eurozone businessactivity expanded the most in near-ly a year in November on strongmanufacturing and buoyant servic-es growth in Germany, stirring someoptimism that economic momen-tum is picking up again.

A strong run of data is offerssome hope a mid-year lull after aflurry of activity at the start of theyear may be over, It is unlikely, how-ever, to dent expectations theEuropean Central Bank willannounce an extension to its stimu-lus program next month. The IHSMarkit Euro Zone Flash CompositePurchasing Managers’ Indexjumped to 54.1, its highest so farthis year, from 53.3 in October, justshy of 54.3 last December.

It is now well above the 50 thatdivides growth from contraction,suggesting 0.4 percent growth inthe fourth quarter according to IHSMarkit, slightly higher than themedian forecast in a Reuters poll of0.3 percent. Services firms inGermany and France, the bloc’s toptwo economies, fared better thanmanufacturers. In the broader euro-zone survey, however, manufactur-ers had a stronger run.

Taken together, the data suggestthe pickup in activity is not con-fined to Germany and France. “Itlooks like smaller economies arepicking up pace after a very longtime and downward price pressuresare somewhat abating with compa-nies managing to push throughprice increases,” said Peter VandenHoute, chief eurozone economist atING Financial Markets.

“But I’m not sure the ECB willshift gear very rapidly for the simplereason that it has made mistakes inthe past by tightening policy toosoon. We still expect the ECB tolengthen its quantitative easingprogram in December.” The ECBnext meets on Dec. 8 and econo-mists polled by Reuters last weekexpect it to announce an extensionto its 80 billion euros a month bondpurchase program that is currentlyscheduled to end in March 2017.

FREE CASHDespite years of ultra-loose mon-

etary policy, including printing mon-ey, cutting interest rates below zeroand giving banks virtually free cash,inflation has only risen in baby stepsin the eurozone.

At 0.5 percent in October, it is stillfar below the ECB’s 2 percent targetceiling. But if the trend of tighteningprice pressures, as indicated by thePMIs, continues it could dampenexpectations of further policy easingfrom the ECB. Output prices for serv-ices firms in the eurozone remainedunchanged in November, only thesecond time in the past 14 monthswhen companies did not resort todiscounting to drum up new busi-ness. “This most likely reflects theyear-over-year increase in energyprices that fell significantly one year

ago,” said Holger Sandte at Nordea.“(But) the underlying cost and pricepressure is still very low and a rea-son for the ECB the maintain thecurrent degree on monetary accom-modation for a long time.”

The bloc’s dominant servicesindustry also performed much bet-ter than expected, smashing eventhe highest forecast in a Reuters poll.Similar to the composite number, itsPMI came in at a 11-month high of54.1, up sharply from October’s 52.8.

The factory PMI climbed to 53.7,its highest since January 2014,above the poll median andOctober’s 53.5. The PMI surveyswere conducted after the US elec-tion but IHS Markit said panelistshad yet to factor into responsesDonald Trump’s shock victory,whose campaign hinged on trade

protectionism and migration curbs.So far there has been very little dis-cernible reaction in both in theeurozone and UK economies fromBritain’s shock vote to leave theEuropean Union in June. Most econ-omists agree, however, that theimpact will be felt more clearly nextyear. The business expectationsindex in the euro zone services PMIdipped slightly this month com-pared with the six-month high it hitin October.

There are also three key nationalelections in the eurozone next year,which may interfere with the even-tual negotiations between Britainand the EU on a divorce, providedUK Prime Minister Theresa May fol-lows through on her intention totrigger the proceedings by Marchnext year. —Reuters

This file photo taken on November 17, 2014 shows a copy of La Marseillaise newspaper at aprinting house. La Marseillaise, a left-wing newspaper founded during the Resistance,announced yesterday it was filing for bankruptcy and hoped for receivership. —AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian girl walks past a colorful balloon installationat a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. —AFP

NEW YORK: A post-election stock-buyingspree lifted the Dow above 19,000 for thefirst time Tuesday, but the index faces keyhurdles, including the prospec t ofFederal Reserve interest-rate increases.Composed of 30 blue-chip stocks, theDow Jones Industrial Average finished at19,023.87, crossing above the big round-number threshold. It had topped 18,000in December 2014.

The market has been on a tear sincethe November 8 US election in expecta-tions that President-elect Donald Trumpand congressional Republicans will enactpro-growth regulatory, tax and invest-ment policies. But several analysts pre-dicted equities would be hard-pressed toscore significant additional gains in theweeks and months ahead.

“It is a beautiful narrative,” said CantorFitzgerald’s Peter Cecchini of today’s mar-ket sentiment.

“We are finally going to move back toa point of time when good politics canlead the US economy out of its malaiseand the Fed will no longer have to actaccommodative,” he said, adding that thisviewpoint is “more hope than reality.” Theequities surge has taken into accountexpectations that the Fed will lift interestrates in December. But the prospect ofadditional rate increases in 2017 andbeyond could be more nettlesome, ana-lysts said.

“The market has priced in a rate hikealmost fully in December,” said DavidLev y, por tfol io manager at RepublicWealth Advisors. “The question is whatthe Fed does beyond that and what guid-ance they provide.” “The market benefitsfrom lower interest rates as we’ve seenfor several years now,” said Levy. “So if theFed starts giving guidance of multiplerate hikes in 2017, that could be viewedas a negative.”

Uncertainties a-plenty Prices of US bonds have retreated since

the election. But a significant increase ininterest rates after a lengthy period nearzero would likely spur some investors toshift funds out of stocks and into treasur-ies. “The real question is where do we gofrom here?” said Hugh Johnson of HughJohnson Advisors. “When we ask that ques-tion the answer is more uncertaintiesabout 2017 or what lies beyond 19,000than I’ve seen in a long time.”

The rally is betting that Trump will suc-ceed in getting a mix of fiscal stimulus andtax cuts through Congress and that themeasures will lead to further growth. Butthose are assumptions. A key wildcard willbe the reception of the plan in Congresswhere Republicans hold narrow majoritiesin both Houses. Congressional Republicansgenerally support tax cuts, but are leery ofspending programs that could increase thedeficit. “We do not know how much of( Trump’s) fiscal stimulus plan will beapproved and secondly when it will startto impact the economy and earnings,”Johnson said. “If I were to use one word tosummarize what lies ahead, I think it isuncertainty.”

Another question is just how much ofTrump’s virulent anti-trade rhetoric duringthe campaign will translate into actualpolicy in office. Wall Street is wary ofheavy tariffs and other steps that couldrestrict commerce. Also unclear is theprospects for US corporate earnings,which have slumped for much of the lasttwo years. US companies turned a cornerin the third quarter with better year-on-year results, but the situation is tenuous,especially if interest rates rise significantly.“Fundamentals have not really improved,”said Cecchini. “Much of the optimism weare experiencing right now is going toevaporate.” —AFP

New obstacles await US stocks as Dow hits 19,000

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s politicalturmoil and weakening economy will comeunder the harsh spotlight of internationalcredit ratings from this week amid predic-tions the country could lose its investment-level status. Moody’s will release its updatedgrading on Friday, before Standard & Poorissues its key announcement a week lateron December 2.

S&P currently has South Africa-the conti-nent’s most developed economy-rated atthe lowest investment grade, and a down-grade would put the country’s bonds intoso-called “junk” status.

Moody’s currently rates it one level high-er than S&P. Any downgrade would triggera further crisis of confidence amonginvestors who have become increasinglywary of South Africa’s economic prospectsunder President Jacob Zuma. The countryhas endured a year of political scandals andfalling economic growth, set against recordunemployment and huge social inequalitymore than two decades after the end ofapartheid.

The outcome of the ratings reviews isuncertain, but more than half of 12 econo-mists surveyed by Bloomberg said the S&Pwould downgrade South Africa to junk.

Peter Montalto, Nomura bank analyst,however said S&P could freeze its ratinguntil next year, while Moody’s might cut itby one notch. “The agencies may want tosee the outcome of the budget in Februaryfor specifics on revenue changes and alsowhere growth is at the time,” he said.

“Many policy makers have been talkingup the chances of ratings staying on hold inrecent days.” A rating downgrade could trig-ger a bout of bond selling by foreigninvestors. Some investment funds have

rules that allow them to only hold bondsthat have investment-grade ratings.

A downgrade would also likely fuel fiercecriticism of Zuma’s leadership.

Political battle South Africa’s struggle to retain its

investment-grade status has been at thecentre of a political battle in recent months.Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who iswidely feted by investors, has appeared tohave only a fragile hold on his job in a clashwith Zuma.

Gordhan was due to appear in court ear-lier this month on graft charges that manyanalysts saw as an attempt by Zuma loyal-ists to oust him. The charges were droppedat the last minute, exposing deep tensionsin the ruling ANC party as several ministerscame out in his support.

Gordhan was appointed only last year tocalm panicked investors when Zuma sackedtwo finance ministers within four days.South Africa on Monday unveiled the pro-posed figure for its first minimum wage —3,500 zar ($242) a month-in a move thatcould improve labour relations.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa saidthe issue was raised in meetings with theFitch rating agency, which is also expectedto issue its latest credit grading within twoto three weeks.

“They wanted to know what progress weare making and they wanted to hear aboutthe minimum wage,” Ramaphosa said. “Byand large we had a good a meeting.”

But South Africa’s dire economic situa-tion was underlined on Tuesday with therelease of figures showing the unemploy-ment rate had risen to its highest in 13years, at 27.1 percent. —AFP

S Africa faces threat of junk credit rating

Protectionismthreatens Mexican

economy: IMFMEXICO CITY: Protectionism from abroad threatensMexico’s economy, but it is too early to say whether DonaldTrump’s presidency will affect growth, the InternationalMonetary Fund said Tuesday. After posting 2.5 percent eco-nomic growth in 2015, Latin America’s second-biggesteconomy after Brazil is projected to slow to 2.1 percent thisyear, the IMF said in a report, leaving its previous forecastunchanged. The IMF slightly lowered Mexico’s outlook for2017, predicting the economy will grow by 2.2 percent in2017, a 0.1 percentage point lower than previously thought.

“Mexico continues to grow at a moderate pace despite achallenging external environment,” the IMF said in an annu-al report. “However, the country remains exposed to exter-nal shocks, including risks of growing protectionism, givenits strong financial and trade linkages with the rest of theworld,” the report said. The staff report, which was complet-ed four days before the November 8 US election, did notdirectly mention Trump. The Republican US president-electwants to renegotiate the North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA) and threatens to impose tariffs to pre-vent US firms from outsourcing to Mexico.

IMF officials said they must wait and see which policiesTrump’s administration will adopt before the Washington-based institution can revise its forecast for the Mexicaneconomy. “We need to base our projection of actual policiesthat will be adopted,” Robert Rennhack, deputy director ofthe IMF’s Western Hemisphere department, told reporters.

“We need to wait and see what the new administrationwill actually do. Lots of thing are said in the campaign, and Ithink it is important to avoid overreacting to those,” he said.The Mexican peso was rocked by Trump’s victory in the USpresidential election, depreciating by about 14 betweenNovember 8 and November 11 on fears that Trump will ful-fill his protectionist policies. In addition to renegotiating the22-year-old NAFTA pact with Mexico and Canada, Trump,who takes office on January 20, announced Monday thathis administration will withdraw from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. —AFP

BUTEMBO, DR Congo: The question is soabsurd that Butembo’s deputy mayor misses abeat before answering. What is the town’sunemployment rate?

“Unemployment is the norm around theseparts,” says Godefroid Kambere Matimbya.“There aren’t any businesses.” Butembo is noghost town, but a city of 1.1 million inDemocratic Republic of Congo’s restive NorthKivu province.

Fabled for its natural riches, the lush east ofthe country abounds in forests, lakes, farmlandand mineral-packed peaks. For many, its wealthis its curse.

“Nothing has gone right for the past 10 yearsor so” in Butembo, Kambere says. In fact, for thepast two decades rival armies and insurgentshave ripped through North Kivu, fighting eachother, stealing resources, uprooting and killingcivilians in their wake.

Butembo-”the city of ficus trees” in Kinande,the language of the local Nande ethnic group-was once known for its coffee farming and a cor-nucopia of worldly goods. Electrical appliances,clothing, shoes: the coveted foreign items usedto draw shopkeepers from neighboringprovinces in one of the world’s least developedcountries. Today it would be too dangerous fortraders to travel the roads to Butembo.

Butembo also once boasted an industrial-scale factory, the Cobeki soft drinks maker.

But it went out of business in the transitional

period between DR Congo’s second civil war(1998-2003) and its 2006 elections.

Living ‘by the grace of God’ The period that followed, in the wake of

President Joseph Kabila’s election, has not treatedthe region any better. Around 700 people havebeen killed, mostly hacked to death, in attackssince October 2014 around Beni, its neighboringcity to the north.

Beni, now a shell of a city, no longer buysButembo’s goods. “The people have been run outof the fields, and now must live by the grace ofGod,” Kambere says.

“Insecurity is the big problem,” says Butembo’sPolycarpe Ndivito Kikwaya, president of the localbranch of the Congolese Business Federation.Foreign goods do still make it to Butemboalthough only in “very, very small” numbers,shipped to the Kenyan port of Mombasa and thentransported via Uganda. But with the insecurity,“buyers no longer come since they are afraid ofbeing robbed” along the way, he explains.Strangely, it is the period of civil war from the late1990s that fires up economic nostalgia. Butembothen was the stomping ground of the RCD/K-ML, amilitia group backed by neighbouring Uganda.“Business was good,” recalls Elie Kwiravusa, a mem-ber of Butembo’s Civil Society Coordination group-ing of local citizens. “During the rebellion, we couldtrade goods,” he says. “The rebellion was profitablefor people”-unlike today, he adds. —AFP

DR Congo’s business dreams flatlined by violence

b u s i n e s sTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunica-tions company in Kuwait, held an honoringceremony to recognize the efforts of its high-performing Value Added Services partnersduring the third quarter of 2016.

Zain officials from the Value AddedServices Department recognized the compa-ny’s distinguished partners for their excellentefforts in providing the highest quality VASservices to the largest family of subscribers inKuwait. Zain is keen on offering the mostadvanced and competitive services to reflect

the company’s leading position in the tele-com sector.

Zain prides the strategic partnership ithas with its Value Added Services partners,and is keen on recognizing their perform-ance on a quarterly basis to shed light ontheir efforts to offer the best products andservices to its customers.

During the event, Zain recognized the per-formance of ‘One Global’ who ranked first inboth the overall performance and the targetachievement. Additionally, ‘Numbase Limited’

came first in Zain’s VAS net revenue, while‘SLA’ and ‘Tranglo’ came first in the targetachievement.

Zain’s relationship with its partners andauthorized distributers is based on a strate-gy that aims at providing the highest levelsof customer service and the most competi-tive offerings in the telecom sector. Zainencourages its VAS partners to maintaintheir performance and continue offeringthe best services and products to its cus-tomers.

Zain honors high-performing

value-added services partners

Company recognizes their distinguished efforts during Q3 2016

Air Arabia confirms options for five Airbus A320s

SHARJAH: Air Arabia, the MiddleEast and North Africa’s first andlargest low-cost carrier,announced today that it has con-firmed options for five additionalAirbus A320 aircraft. The deliveryof original contract covering 44firm orders and 5 options will becompleted in 2017.

The five new Airbus A320 air-craft will be put into service start-ing second quarter 2017 backlogand have a book value of USD485million. These new aircraft will join

Air Arabia’s expanding fleet ofAirbus A320 aircraft currently serv-ing over 120 routes from five oper-ational hubs.

“We are pleased to confirm theoptions for five additional AirbusA320s. Air Arabia’s fleet innovationsits at the heart of the airline oper-ational efficiency” said Adel Al Ali,Group Chief Executive Officer ofAir Arabia. “Today, we operate oneof the youngest fleets in the worldand this approach will continue todrive our fleet growth strategy for

the future. Our customers canexpect the same cabin comfortand spacious seat configurationwith the new five aircraft joiningthe fleet”.

Air Arabia has been constantlyrewarded over the past years withthe A320 Family OperationalExcellence Award by Airbus forachieving the highest level ofA320 family aircraft utilisation inthe world with 99.8 per cent oper-ational reliability. In 2010, the car-rier set a new world record achiev-

ing 30,000 flight hours in just sixyears with one of its CFM56-5B-powered A320 aircraft.

Air Arabia currently operates afleet of 46 Airbus A320 aircraftoffering flights to over 120 desti-nations in 33 countries from fivehubs across the Middle East,Africa, Asia, and Europe.

The A320 Family, whichincludes the A318, A319, A320 andA321, is recognized as the bench-mark single-aisle aircraft family inthe world.

Nissan chief Ghosn to deliver

keynote address at CES 2017

DUBAI: Nissan announced yesterday it willmake its debut at CES 2017, held in LasVegas. Nissan Chairman and CEO CarlosGhosn will deliver a keynote on January 5,2017 at Westgate Theatre in the WestgateLas Vegas.

During his keynote, Ghosn will provideinsights on how Nissan Intelligent Mobilityis enabling Nissan to realize its vision of thefuture. He will also announce several tech-nology advancements and partnershipsthat will benefit consumers today. “I’mpleased that Nissan will be taking the CESstage at this moment of significant changeand opportunity for the automotive sector,”said Carlos Ghosn. “Nissan has a history ofdeveloping breakthrough technologies thathave transformed how cars are powered,driven, and integrated with wider society.We look forward to presenting our vision forhow the technologies of today are thebuilding blocks for a future with zero emis-sion vehicles and zero fatalities on the road.”

About Nissan Intelligent Mobility Nissan Intelligent Mobility encompasses

three core areas of innovation that inspirehow Nissan cars are powered, driven, andintegrated into society.

* Nissan Intelligent Driving, which givesour customers more confidence throughincreased safety, control, and comfort foreveryone on board.

* Nissan Intelligent Power, which makes

driving more exciting for our customers bymaking it cleaner and more efficient.

* Nissan Intelligent Integration, whichkeeps customers more connected by con-veniently linking our cars to the widersociety.

Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manu-facturer that sells more than 60 modelsunder the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsunbrands. In fiscal year 2015, the company

sold more than 5.4 million vehicles global-ly, generating revenue of 12.19 trillion yen.Nissan engineers, manufactures and mar-kets the world’s best-selling all-electricvehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan’sglobal headquarters in Yokohama, Japan,manages operations in six regions: ASEAN& Oceania; Africa, Middle East & India;China; Europe; Latin America and NorthAmerica. Nissan has a global workforce of247,500, and has been partnered withFrench manufacturer Renault under theRenault-Nissan Alliance since March 1999.

KUWAIT: Moody’s investor Service hasaffirmed Gulf Bank’s stable outlook and sol-id revenue-generating capacity in a creditopinion issued this week. Moody’s saidthat Gulf Bank’s standalone Base LineCredit Assessment (“BCA”) rating reflects itssolid revenue-generation capacity, com-fortable liquidity metrics, and adequatecapitalization.

In its latest semiannual credit opinionupdate, Moody’s recognizes the competi-tiveness of Gulf Bank’s risk management sys-tems and practices deployed by its manage-ment that have enhanced the Bank’s controlof the loan portfolio credit risk. Moody’salso affirmed Gulf Bank’s stable depositsoutlook. This reflects the balance betweenadequate capital and provisioning buffers

together with a reduction in problem loans. Moody’s said that Gulf Bank’s BCA is

supported by its strong macro profile. Inaddition, the problem loans levels havecome down to 2.7 percent of gross loansand provision coverage is up to 276 per-cent at yearend 2015.

Moody’s affirmed the following ratingsof Gulf Bank; Outlook is Stable, BankDeposits at A3/P-2, Baseline CreditAssessment at ba1, Adjusted BaselineCredit Assessment at ba1 and CounterpartyRisk Assessment at A2(cr)/P-1(cr).

Gulf Bank has consistently been award-ed outstanding credit ratings in Kuwait bythe major international rating agencies,Moody’s, Standard & Poor ’s and FitchRatings.

Moody’s affirms Gulf Bank’s

stable outlook and solid

revenue-generating capacity

KUWAIT: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, theleading jewellery retailer announced thedetails of their latest campaign ‘DiamondCelebrations’ providing customers withattractive offers on purchase and exchangeof diamond jewellery. Customers can availthese offers during the entire campaignperiod commencing from 24th Nov until10th Dec.

To mark the celebration of diamonds,Malabar Gold & Diamonds is showcasing avast variety of diamond jewellery in theircollection offering GIA/IGI certified dia-monds at the best prices. Also, customersget a 2 gram gold coin on diamond jew-ellery purchase of KWD 400 and a 1 gramgold coin on diamond jewellery purchaseof KWD 250.

Furthermore, the jewellery chain alsogives their customers a chance to exchangeand buy new diamond jewellery by givingthe highest value on old diamond jew-ellery. Through this special exchange offer,customers can upgrade their old diamondornaments to new ones which are certifiedby GIA/IGI. They can also be assured to

obtain the highest value on exchange as apart of the offer. Any previously purchaseddiamond jewellery can be exchanged withclassic, trendy and unique designs show-cased at Malabar Gold & Diamonds.

Malabar group offers exquisite andbeautiful jewelry as a part of various brandspresented at Malabar Gold & Diamonds’namely Ethnix - Handcrafted DesignerJewellery, Era - Uncut Diamond Jewellery,Mine - Diamonds Unlimited, Divine-Heritage Indian Jewellery, Precia - PreciousGem Jewellery and Starlet - Kids Jewellery.This season, Malabar Gold & Diamonds’provides customers with the most attrac-tive offers making sure that every cus-tomer’s shopping experience is turned intoa memory that will be cherished.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds has alwaysbeen at the forefront in gold jewellerymanufacturing, wholesaling and retailingand plans on being the ‘most- preferred’jewellery retailer in the market in the com-ing years. The group strives to continueembarking on its journey by furtherexpanding in the near future.

KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) heldits 30th ‘Double Your Salary’ weekly drawon 21st November, 2016 at the Bank’sHead Office in the presence of a represen-tative from the Ministry of Commerce,announcing the names of the winners forthis week. The promotion includes weeklydraws, with two winners per draw. Thecampaign will run until 27th June, 2017.

The winners this week are:1) Farhan Nayef Mefarreh Al-Enezi,

Jahra 2 Branch2) Abdulaziz Mohammed Ali Bashar,

Salmiya BranchNew customers who transfer their

salary to ABK receive KD 100 and will auto-matically be entered into the weekly drawsto double their salaries. Existing customerswho are already transferring their salary toABK are entered into a separate draw.

The next ‘Double Your Salary’ draw willbe held on 28th November, 2016 wheretwo new lucky winners will be announced.All winners will be contacted personallyand a weekly announcement will be madethrough the media with the winners’names. For more information about Al-AhliBank of Kuwait please visit eahli.com orcontact a customer service agent via ‘AhlanAhli’ at 1899899.

KUWAIT: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain Co, theauthorized agent of Nissan vehicles in the state of Kuwait,offers their loyal customers a free comprehensive 13points check-up on Nissan vehicles sold before October2013 in addition to an exceptional promotion with 30 per-cent discount on parts and 15 percent discount on laborvalid until December 12, 2016.

This campaign is a great opportunity for Nissan ownersof 2013 and older models to do the complete check-up ontheir cars at Nissan’s service centers to ensure a safer drive.This promotion does not include body shop repairs.

Nissan Al-Babtain is always keen to offer special dis-counts as part of its continuous promotions on the gen-uine spare parts in order to encourage its clients not torisk their safety by buying fake spare parts. Buying gen-uine spare parts means saving, as they last for longerperiod and it is part of offering customers a safe drivingexperience.

Nissan Al-Babtain is keen to always providing its cus-tomers with the best promotions, especially the after salesservices to meet the increasing demand on Nissan vehi-cles and to achieve the company’s goal to always be theleading automotive brands.

Nissan Al-Babtain works on strengthening the trust ofits clients through providing high quality services andoffering best promotions in the market to achieve theirsatisfaction. Furthermore, Nissan Al-Babtain is always incontact with its clients which is best reflected in the aftersale services.

Diamonds celebrations at

Malabar Gold & Diamonds

The best offer to service your

car from Nissan Al-Babtain

ABK announces winners of 30th

‘Double Your Salary’ weekly draws

t e c h n o l o g yTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

KUWAIT: In line with its commitment to accel-erate government modernization in the era of“Digital Transformation” towards a knowledgebased economy, Microsoft unveiled an array ofsolutions at the Global Informatics Forum fromthe 21st to 23rd November in Kuwait. Theevent was held under the patronage of HisHighness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber AlSabah, Amir of Kuwait, and organized by HisHighness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-SabahInformatics Corporation.

The event acted as a platform aiming atencouraging individuals and establishments toparticipate in the knowledge economy byadopting new technologies, promote entrepre-neurship and provide an interactive platformfor the exchange of knowledge, experienceand expertise.

Microsoft demonstrated its latest MassHappiness Index solution based on MicrosoftCognitive Services that captures facial expres-sions in massive crowds, processes the emo-tions and reports analysis in real-time. The tech-nology using a set of Emotion APIs can beleveraged at various events and locations tostudy audience response and use the data col-lected to make intelligent actions.

The Mass Happiness Index enables the cap-ture of a range of sentiments such as anger,contempt, disgust, fear, sadness and surprise;gauging the happiness level of the individual.

“Our participation at the Global Informatics

Forum is in line with Microsoft’s support to theKuwait Government modernization and inno-vation objectives and to succeed in this journeyof digital transformation, providing leadingservices to its citizens” said Charles Nahas,Country General Manager, Microsoft Kuwait.“The region is in pursuit of digitization toachieve a knowledge based economy, andKuwait is rapidly accelerating towards adoptionof innovative technologies and solutions”

Visitors to the Microsoft stand in the FutureZone at the Global Informatics Forum were alsoable to experience its cloud solutions includingInternet of Things (IoT ) and BusinessIntelligence tools. Shijaz Abdulla, BusinessTransformation Specialist for Microsoft Kuwait,also delivered a session on Azure, its world-class hyper scale cloud computing platformused to build, host and scale business applica-tions. Audiences received an overview onAzure cloud, along with a brief account of serv-ices that can aid in improving IT efficiency forthe Government of Kuwait.

A research conducted by Accenture statesthat digital transformation can have a signifi-cant impact on the country’s economy, boost-ing innovation and reducing back office coststo 45%. It also highlights that a 1 % increase indigitization can result in 0.5 % GDP gain, and a1.9% gain in international trade. Microsoft hasalways endorsed government modernization,focusing on building products and solutionsthat can be leveraged to generate accurateinsights for digital transparency, value creationand for delivering more personal and intelli-gent computing services for citizens.

“The world is progressing at an alarmingrate with digital technology transforming theway we live, work and interact with each other.With the exponential growth in data and infor-mation, it has become vital for governments toascend towards and adopt digital transforma-tion”. Said Nahas. “At Microsoft, we are focusedin empowering governments and organisa-tions to gain access to, and deploy intelligenttechnology for addressing the most pressingsocietal challenges. We strive to significantlyexpand our efforts towards modernizing gov-ernment institutions across Kuwait and enablethem to embrace current practices through oursoftware and services, and our cloud comput-ing capabilities; empowering them to achievemore.”

Microsoft participates in

Global Informatics Forum, 2016

DUBAI: Pulse-pounding audio that adaptsto the unique structure of your own ears.Eye-popping, all-metal design that glistensin light as much as in water. This is a smart-phone unlike any you have seen before.HTC Corporation, a leading innovator inmobile and virtual reality technology,today announced the HTC 10 evo, a dra-matic evolution of HTC’s renowned sculpt-ed-by-light style that introduces theworld’s first USB Type-C dual adaptive ear-phones that tailor sound to your ears’unique hearing abilities for a truly illumi-nating audio experience. The HTC 10 evoalso features an all-metal unibody that iswater, splash, and dust resistant1.

Think what music tuned to your earswould sound like. The HTC 10 evo takesaudio to an unprecedented new level withHTC BoomSound(tm) Adaptive Audio, whichalmost instantly adapts your audio to soundlevels around you, keeping you in the zoneof the music and sound you’re enjoying.Pushing the multimedia experience evenfurther, the HTC 10 evo has a big, 5.5-inchdisplay to show stunning visuals for vividgaming, movies, and more. And of course it’san HTC, so you know the design is gorgeous,further advancing the renowned HTC designlegacy pioneered by HTC 10 with more pre-cise contours that catch light beautifully.

Adaptive Audio tuned to youImagine relaxing in the quiet of your

home, enjoying some quality time by your-self to listen to a favorite new album. Youplug your HTC BoomSound Adaptive Audioearphones into your HTC 10 evo and thesound adapts to your unique ear structureand the quiet home environment. Later thatday, you’re taking the train into the city tovisit a friend, and with a few taps HTCBoomSound Adaptive Audio adjusts to thenoisier environment. This tuning processhappens quickly and easily, and once it’s

done you’ll experience music and movieswith notes, nuances and tones that soundclearer than you believed possible. It evenincludes Hi-Res audio for spectacularly real-istic 24-bit sound making you feel like you’reright there in the movie theater, nightclub,or concert hall.

Also in a first for HTC, the HTC 10 evoincludes USB Type-C adaptive earphonesright in the box2 so you can enjoy spectacu-lar adaptive sound from day one. The ear-phones feature rumbling bass and pitch-perfect treble in a beautiful, style design thatfits in at the gym, on the street, or whereveryou go.

“I’ve been a huge fan of music all my life,and the HTC 10 evo has the most awesomesound I’ve ever experienced in a smart-phone,” said Guy Chriqui, member of HTC’sElevate community of smartphone enthusi-asts. “The capabilities of the HTCBoomSound Adaptive Audio earphones areunbelievable in how they match the soundto my ears. I’ve never heard anything like itbefore!

Your all-terrain smartphoneWith such amazing audio on your

smartphone, you’ll want to take it every-where - but is it safe to do so? Fortunately,the HTC 10 evo’s full metal unibody iswater, splash, and dust resistant with anIP57 rating1, so you can rest easy that itwill withstand dunks or spills. It has furtherbeen subjected to a multitude of gruelingdrop, bend, scratch, submersion, climate,and corrosion tests, which means you’llenjoy exceptional build quality and stylethat you can take almost anywhere fromhiking to mountain biking, no matter whatthe weather - sun, rain or snow.

Adding to the HTC 10 evo’s ruggedbuild is a big 5.5” display covered byCorning(r) Gorilla(r) Glass 5. A new glasssolution that helps your phone resist life’s

inevitable knocks and tumbles. So nowdropping your phone while taking selfiesdoesn’t automatically mean a smashedscreen3. And while Gorilla Glass 5 istougher than ever, it doesn’t compromiseoptical clarity or touch sensitivity. Givingyou the ultimate combination of drop pro-tection and performance.

Sharper shots in a snapWhether you’re in town or out hiking,

incredible moments can happen when youleast expect them, so the HTC 10 evo’s16MP camera has OIS (Optical ImageStabilization) that reduces camera shake tocapture sharp photographs on the go inalmost any environment, even in low light.With quick camera launch time and anultra-fast autofocus of up to 0.3s withPhase Detection Auto Focus, you’ll be sureto capture the perfect shot every time.

The HTC 10 evo features Pro mode togive you pro-like control over your pho-tography. Besides the advanced optionsyou’d expect, such as RAW capture, RAWenhancement and manual control overalmost every setting on the camera, younow also get the ability to take photoswith long exposure times for perfectlymastering the motion of light in your

photography.You’ll get seriously awesome selfies

with the HTC 10 evo, too. Featuring an8MP front camera with Auto HDR, yourselfies will show vivid detail to bring outnot just your smile but also the environ-ment behind you. A super-wide panora-ma mode lets you capture your wholefamily with room to spare, and an inte-grated screen flash ensures the shotlooks great even at night or in dimly litindoors.

Power, convenience, and customizationRunning the latest Android 7.0 Nougat

out of the box, the HTC 10 evo offers all thepowerful features you would expect fromthe latest flagship smartphone, includingsplit-screen view, quicker multitasking,new security settings, and much more.

The HTC 10 evo’s built-in fingerprintsensor lets you unlock your phone at thetouch of your finger - in as little as 0.2 sec-onds. Your fingerprint can also be the keyto easily unlock apps locked by the AppLock function in Boost+. Even better,Boost+ also keeps your phone in top con-dition by cleaning up junk files anddynamically allocating resources likephone memory as required, ensuring yourphone is running smoothly with maximumbattery life.

HTC Freestyle Layout frees you from anon-screen grid and lets you make yourphone as unique as you are. Drag icons,stickers and widgets anywhere. Layerthem, overlap them, group them andmore. You can even link stickers to apps,and get rid of on-screen icons entirely. Thehome screen is yours to use your way.

Powers users can rejoice that all thesefeatures are powered by a big 3,200mAhbattery, enough for up to a day or moreuse on a single charge. And if you need torecharge quickly, the HTC 10 evo featuresQualcomm(r) Quick Charge(tm) technolo-gy, so you can charge your phone fast4.Load up on photos, videos, movies, andgames with the HTC 10 evo’s 3GB RAM andeither 32GB or 64GB storage space5,expandable with optional SD cards for upto 2TB of space so your storage needs arecovered now and far into the future.

The HTC 10 evo will soon bring the nextevolution in smartphone design and per-formance to Middle East and Africa andwill be available in Gunmetal, Glacier Silver,or Pearl Gold6.

Never miss a beat with HTC BoomSoundTM Adaptive Audio, the world’s

first USB Type-C dual adaptive earphones where sound is tailored to you

PETAH TIKVA, Israel: It only takes afew seconds for an employee of one ofthe world’s leading hacking companiesto take a locked smartphone and pullthe data from it. Israeli firm Cellebrite’stechnology provides a glimpse of aworld of possibilities accessible to secu-rity agencies globally that worry priva-cy advocates.

The company has contracts in morethan 115 countries, many with govern-ments, and it shot to global promi-nence in March when it was reportedthe FBI used its technology to crack theiPhone of one of the jihadist-inspiredkillers in San Bernardino, California.

There have since been reports thatCellebrite was in fact not involved, andthe company itself refuses to com-ment. Regardless, it is recognized asone of the world’s leaders in such tech-nology. It can reportedly take a widerange of information off devices: fromthe content of text messages to poten-tially details of where a person was atany given moment.

Even messages deleted yearsbefore can be potentially retrieved.“There are many devices that we arethe only player in the world that canunlock,” Leeor Ben-Peretz, one of thecompany’s top executives, told AFP inEnglish. But privacy and rights activistsworry such powerful technology canwind up in the wrong hands, leading toabuses.

‘Cat and mouse’ Cellebrite’s technology is not online

hacking. It only works when the phoneis physically connected to one of thefirm’s devices. The company recentlydemonstrated its capabilities for anAFP journalist. The password on aphone was disabled and newly takenphotos appeared on a computerscreen, complete with the exact loca-

tion and time they were taken.The phone in the demonstration,

an LG G4 run on Google’s Androidoperating system, is a model Cellebritehad already cracked, so the extractiondid not take long. The real challenge,Ben-Peretz agrees, is staying in thelead in a race where phone manufac-turers constantly launch new modelsand update software with ever morecomplicated security.

In the firm’s lab they have 15,000phones-with around 150-200 newmodels added each month. When anew phone is launched, Ben-Peretz

said, their 250-person research teamraces against competitors to find achink in its armor, a process that canrange from a few days to months.

iPhones present a particular chal-lenge because, unlike many firms,Apple designs everything from thedevice’s hardware to software, makingits technology particularly difficult tohack, explained Yong Wang, a profes-sor at Dakota State University in theUnited States.

Ben-Peretz remains confident hiscompany can crack even the newestiPhones. “iOS devices have strong

security mechanisms that give us achallenge, but if anyone can addressthis challenge and provide a solutionto law enforcement, it is Cellebrite,” hesaid, referring to Apple’s operatingsystem.

Legitimate means? According to Ben-Peretz, there is no

phone on the market that is impossi-ble to crack. “Yes it is getting harder, itis getting more complex,” he said. “Butwe still deliver results and they areresults on the latest devices and latestoperating systems.” —AFP

Israeli firm can steal

phone data in secondsHacking capabilities of security agencies

PETAH TIKVA, Israel : Leeor Ben-Peretz, the Executive Vice President of the Israeli firmCellebrite’s technology, shows devices and explains the technology developed by his companyon November 9, 2016. —AFP

NoufEXPO has announced that the 4thGovernment Forum: Electronic ServicesPerspectives takes off Sunday at Arraya

Center of Courtyard Marriott Kuwait City at6pm. In a special press release, Magdy Sabry,the Executive Manager of NoufEXPOannounced that EGOV4 is held under thepatronage of His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad AL-Sabah. HisExcellency Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Minister of State for CabinetAffairs and the Chairman of the Board of theCentral Agency for Information Technology, willinaugurate the opening ceremony.Government and legislative officials, IT special-ists from all government IT departments, andindustry specialists from Kuwait and abroadwill gather under one roof to discuss the bestmeans and alternatives to boost government’sfuture services landscape.

Mr. Sabry added, “EGOV became an annualevent awaited by many global and local tech-nology vendors, as well as, the administrativeand technical staff of government agencies. Asprevious years, we are pleased to welcomeworld-class technology companies from Kuwaitand abroad. It is our pleasure to be joined by ahighly distinguished list of sponsors: AlghanimIndustries, Microsoft, Symantec, Kuwait Finance

House (KFH), Kuwait TelecommunicationsCompany ( Viva), Cisco Systems, Blue CoatSystems, Starlink, Fortinet, and EY.”

Electronic Services, Digital Transformation,

and Cyber Security are headlining IT TechnologyTrends

NoufEXPO’s Executive Manager continued tosay, “EGOV4’s agenda includes three of the most

imminent trends that top worldwide technolo-gy topics. First, it focuses on electronic servicesand how implementing new government corre-spondence and workplace services may raisethe productivity par. Digital transformation is,definitely, gaining a lot of momentum as theclear safe path towards endorsing informationtechnology in every aspect of government serv-ices and growth plans. This transformationdrives many technical, administrative, legisla-tive, and human changes. Finally, cyber securitybecame an international, national, and personalnightmare that has to be dealt with profession-ally and on a continuous basis. To evolve, gov-ernments have only one clear path; that is tomake best use of these technology trends andendorse them to drive current and futuregrowth plans.

Mr. Sabry concluded his statement byextending sincere thanks to CAIT’s manage-ment and teams as well as NoufEXPO’s teamswho joined forces professionally and relentless-ly to make EGOV4 a success. He also thanked allgovernment agencies and their IT groups fortheir continuous support and participation.Finally, Sabry extended a warm welcome to allguests wishing them a nice stay in Kuwait and asuccessful endeavor that fulfills their network-ing and business development plans.

Organized by NoufEXPO & CAIT, EGOV4 takes off Sunday

Magdy Sabry, the Executive Manager of NoufEXPO

HEALTH & SCIENCETHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

TAMPA: Florida officials removed part of MiamiBeach from an active Zika transmission zone onTuesday, saying more than 45 days had passedsince the last local case of the mosquito-borne virusthat has been linked to microcephaly, a rare birthdefect.

Popular areas in the southern part of the seasidetourist destination, however, remain in a designat-ed zone of active Zika transmission. The area ofactive transmission in Miami Beach is now about1.5 square miles (2.4 km). The newly cleared areacovers about three square miles, Florida GovernorRick Scott said in a statement.

State officials believe Zika is still being transmit-ted in another small area of Miami-Dade County, in

addition to the remaining section of Miami Beach.Mosquitoes began spreading the virus this summerin Florida, bringing local Zika transmission to thecontinental United States. “Until we have a vaccine,this is going to be something we’re going to dealwith,” Scott said at a news conference in MiamiBeach. “We’re going to be active, and we’ve learneda lot,” he added.

On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Controland Prevention said as of Nov. 16 there were 4,255cases of Zika reported in the continental UnitedStates and Hawaii. Of the total reported Zika cases,35 are believed to be through sexual transmissionand one case from lab exposure.

Florida on Tuesday separately said it has seen

1,201 cases of Zika, and 236 of them were locallyacquired infections, according to the state healthdepartment. The CDC also updated its travel guid-ance for the Miami area, urging continued caution.It has suggested that pregnant women considerpostponing travel anywhere in Miami-Dade County,but it expressly directs pregnant women to avoidtravel to areas within the county that are still desig-nated as Zika transmission zones.

Zika infections in pregnant women have beenshown to cause microcephaly - a severe birthdefect in which the head and brain of babies areundersized and underdeveloped - as well as otherbrain abnormalities. A report on Tuesday raisednew concerns about the hidden effects of pre-natal

exposure to Zika, showing some babies in Brazilgradually developed microcephaly in the monthsfollowing birth.

The developments come after the World HealthOrganization declared the global Zika emergencyover on Friday, because the link between Zika andmicrocephaly has been confirmed. WHO intends tocontinue studying Zika as a serious infectious dis-ease that will require years of research.

The connection between Zika and microcephalyfirst came to light last year in Brazil, which has sinceconfirmed more than 2,100 cases of microcephaly.In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to arare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre,as well as other neurological disorders. — Reuters

Florida lifts Zika transmission zone in parts of Miami Beach

WASHINGTON: In this March 23, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama signs the health care bill in the East Room of the White House. — AP

BRUSSELS: The average lifespan of peoplein the EU has topped 80 for the first time,but preventable illnesses caused by smok-ing, alcohol and obesity are taking a hugetoll, a study said yesterday.

Gains were uneven as people in westernEuropean Union countries lived more thaneight years longer on average than peoplein central and eastern countries, said thereport by the European Commission andthe OECD. “More needs to be done toreduce inequalities,” said Angel Gurria,head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development as helaunched the report in Brussels.

The study said life expectancy acrossthe 28-nation bloc has risen from 74.2years in 1990 to 80.9 years in 2014 — thelast year for which data were available-top-ping 80 for the first time. But it warned thatchronic diseases and related risk factors-including obesity, smoking, and heavydrinking-were taking a heavy toll onEuropean societies.

More than 550,000 people of workingage died prematurely across the bloc eachyear from heart attacks, strokes, diabetes,cancer and respiratory diseases. “This rep-

resents a loss of about 3.4 million potentialproductive life years,” the report said.Meanwhile 16 percent of adults are obese,up from 11 percent in 2000, while one infive people still smoked and heavy alcoholdrinkers were more likely not to have a jobthan light to moderate drinkers.

In total, around 50 million EU citizenssuffer from two or more chronic illnesses,most over 65. “It shows that in the EU manypeople die every year from potentiallyavoidable diseases linked to risk factorssuch as smoking or obesity,” said Europeanhealth commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis.

These diseases are a drain on the strug-gling European economy too, the reportsays, with sick leave and disability benefitsaccounting for 1.7 percent of GDP in EUcountries-more than the amount spent onunemployment benefits.

People aged 50-59 who are sufferingfrom severe depression were more thantwice as likely to leave the labor market ear-ly, it added. Europe is also ageing fast, thereport says. The over-65s have risen fromless than 10 percent of the population in1980 to nearly 20 percent in 2015 and couldreach nearly 30 percent in 2060. — AFP

Average lifespan in EU tops 80: Study

PARIS: Female vervet monkeys manipulatemales into fighting battles by lavishingattention on brave soldiers while givingnoncombatants the cold shoulder,researchers said on yesterday.

After a skirmish with a rival gang, usual-ly over food, females would groom malesthat had fought hardest, while snapping atthose that abstained. When the next battlecame along, both those singled out forattention and those aggressively shunnedwould participate more vigorously in com-bat, according to a study published in thejournal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Female grooming and aggression “bothappear to function as social incentives thateffectively promote male participation inintergroup fights”, a research team fromSwitzerland and South Africa reported.They had observed four vervet monkeygroups at a game reserve in South Africafor two years.

Vervet monkeys live in mixed-gendergroups and both sexes take part in fre-quent battles with rival troupes. Only ahandful fight each time. Males are largerthan females and have longer canine

teeth, making their presence valuable inthe front lines.

Success in battle ensures control overterritory and food sources-a key concernfor females, who take care of the young.But why would males risk involvement in apotentially high-stakes battle just for a bitof female attention? It’s all about sex, theresearchers believe. “Receiving punish-ment” from females for not taking part inbattles “could damage the... male’s socialrelationship(s)” either with the female inquestion or “other female group members”,the researchers wrote.

On the other hand, being rewardedcould “potentially signal to other femalegroup members that the... male is a valu-able social partner”, likely boosting “malemating success”.

In group animals, such as humans, a del-icate balance must be maintained betweenparticipating in hunting or defense, whichcan be risky, and free-riding, which is lesshazardous but can lead to social rejection.The riskiest group activity of all is warfare,and few animals other than humans andmonkeys engage in it. — AFP

Female monkeys use wile to rally troops

WASHINGTON: Here’s the idea: Swiftly pass arepeal of President Barack Obama’s health carelaw, perhaps soon enough for Donald Trump tosign it the day he takes the presidential oath.Then approve legislation restructuring thenation’s huge and convoluted health care system- despite Republican divisions, Democratic oppo-sition and millions of jittery constituents.

What could go wrong?With Republicans controlling the White

House and Congress in January, they’re facedwith delivering on their long-time promise torepeal and replace “Obamacare.” Here are hur-dles they’ll face:

Speed vs deliberationTrump and congressional Republicans will be

under intense pressure from their core conserva-tive supporters to repeal Obama’s 2010 healthcare law - and fast. After all, Congress alreadysent Obama a repeal bill last January, which hevetoed, and many GOP voters will see no reasonfor delays this time.

But there probably won’t be anything fastabout Congress’ effort to replace Obama’s law,which is likely to take many months.

While the replacement effort is underway,Republicans will risk aggravating up to 30 millionpeople who are covered by the law or buy poli-cies with prices affected by its insurance market-place. Democrats will be sure to accuse the GOPof threatening the health care of millions.

A solutionNothing’s been decided, but here’s one likely

scenario:The new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3,

tries to quickly approve legislation repealingObama’s health care law, maybe completing it byTrump’s Jan. 20 inauguration or soon after. Butthe repeal would not take effect until the future,perhaps a year later, to give lawmakers time tofashion a replacement. The version Obamavetoed had a two-year delay.

Seemingly acknowledging that two-step

process, Vice President-elect Mike Pence saidSunday on “Fox News Sunday” that Trump “wantsto focus out of the gate on repealing Obamacareand beginning the process of replacingObamacare.”

Because Republicans will control the Senateby just 52-48, Congress will first have to approvespecial budget procedures to prevent Democratsfrom stopping repeal legislation by filibuster. Bill-killing filibusters require 60 votes to end.

But those special rules would apply only toitems that affect the federal budget.Republicans, for example, would need a simpleSenate majority to end IRS penalties againstpeople who don’t buy insurance but would stillneed 60 votes - requiring Democratic support -for other changes such as raising limits on olderpeople’s premiums. House Budget CommitteeChairman Tom Price, R-Ga., says that will restrainRepublicans’ ability to ram a “lock, stock and bar-rel” repeal through Congress.

GOP risksOne GOP danger: Congress and Trump might

repeal Obama’s law, but while they’re laboring ona replacement, nervous insurance companiesbegin pulling out of markets and raising premi-ums. Insurers have been doing that underObama, but now it would occur under aRepublican government.

Another hazard: Congress’ work could spillinto the 2018 campaign season, when the entireHouse and a third of the Senate face re-election.Republicans will grow increasingly timid aboutanything that might anger voters.

“We want to be the rescue party instead ofthe party that pushes millions of Americans whoare hanging by the edge of their fingernails overthe cliff,” says Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., whochairs the Senate Health committee.

GOP pathwaysVirtually all Republicans want to get rid of the

health law’s mandates that individuals buy cover-age or risk IRS fines, and that large employersinsure workers. They also want to erase taxes on

higher-earning people and the health care sec-tor. And they’d like to retain parts of the lawguaranteeing coverage for people with pre-exist-ing medical problems and keeping childrenunder age 26 on family plans.

Unifying Republicans much beyond that is awork in progress. Trump’s health care views havevaried and lack detail. His campaign websitetouts tax deductions for health insurance premi-ums and permitting policies to be sold acrossstate lines. He’d also revamp Medicaid, whichsubsidizes health coverage for low-income peo-ple, directing fixed amounts of money to statesand letting them structure benefits.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., last summerunveiled an outline of the House GOP’s solution,though it lacked cost estimates and details. Itwould provide tax credits, impose taxes on themost generous employer-provided health careplans, revamp Medicaid and let Medicare benefi-ciaries pick private plans instead of today’s fee-for-service coverage. Senate Finance CommitteeChairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has also advanceda framework relying heavily on tax credits.

Remaining questionsThirty-one states - including Pence’s Indiana,

where he is governor - plus the District ofColumbia have expanded Medicaid coverage to9 million additional people under Obama’s law.Curtailing that program will divide Republicans.

Taxing the value of some employer-providedhealth plans, aimed at curbing the growth ofcosts, is “a political land mine,” says GOP econo-mist Douglas Holtz-Eakin. Republicans have longresisted tax increases.

Obama’s law mandates coverage for individ-uals because without that requirement manyhealthy people would forgo policies, driving upcosts for everyone else and destabilizing insur-ance markets. Ryan has proposed shieldingpeople from higher premiums if they’ve had“continuous coverage,” allowing higher rates forpeople who have not had policies, butRepublicans have yet to decide how to keepinsurance markets viable. — AP

For Trump and GOP, ‘Obamacare’ repeal is complex and risky

Speed vs deliberationNEW YORK: Eli Lilly and Co experimentaldrug solanezumab failed to slow loss ofcognitive ability in patients with mildAlzheimer’s disease in a large trial, a majorsetback for the US drugmaker and mil-lions of people with the memory-robbingdisease. Based on the failure of the Phase

III study, Lilly yesterday said it would notseek US approval of the infused drug formild dementia. Some analysts had pre-dicted solanezumab, if approved, couldeventually claim more than $5 billion inannual sales and boost Lilly’s earnings foryears to come. — Reuters

Lilly Alzheimer’s drug fails to slow memory loss in big study

KUANTAN, Malaysia: A wild macaque monkey holds a toy sword left by a pedestrianat Teluk Cempedak beach on the outskirts of Kuantan, peninsular Malaysia’s north-eastern Pahang state. Female vervet monkeys manipulate males into fighting battlesby lavishing attention on brave soldiers while giving noncombatants the cold shoul-der, researchers said on yesterday. — AFP

BENI, DR Congo: Health personnel measures a child as part of a program for malnourished children sponsored by the World Food Program at aHealth Center in Mavivi, Beni territory, Eastern D.R.Congo, on November 15, 2016. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The Republican-ledHouse of Representatives is askingthe federal appeals cour t inWashington to delay considerationof a case involving the Obama healthcare law because Donald Trump haspledged to repeal and replace itwhen he becomes president.

The House won a ruling in US dis-trict court that held the administra-tion is illegally subsidizing medicalbills for mill ions of people while

ignoring congressional power overgovernment spending.

The administrat ion appealedboth the substance of the rulingand whether a chamber of Congresscan even mount a legal challenge.Lawyers for the House said in theirf i l ing Monday that the appealscourt should put the case on holdbecause there is a “significant likeli-hood of a change in administrationposition” under Trump. — AP

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ETHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

CHICAGO/BANGKOK: Zika’s rampage last year inBrazil caused an explosion of infections andinflicted a crippling neurological defect on thou-sands of babies - an effect never seen in a mos-quito-borne virus.

It also presented a mystery: why had a virusthat had been little more than a footnote in theannals of infectious diseases taken such a devas-tating turn in the Americas? How had Africa andAsia, where Zika had quietly circulated fordecades, escaped with no reports of major out-breaks or serious complications?

Scientists initially theorized that Zika’s longtenure in Africa and Asia may have conferredwidespread immunity. Or, perhaps older strainswere less virulent than the one linked in Brazil tomore than 2,100 cases of microcephaly, a birthdefect characterized by arrested brain develop-ment. Now, amid outbreaks in Singapore,Thailand, Vietnam and other parts of SoutheastAsia, a much graver explanation is taking shape:perhaps the menace has been there all alongbut neurological complications simply escapedofficial notice.

The question is driving several researchteams, according to leading infectious diseaseexperts and public health officials. The answeris immediately important for Asia, the regionmost affected by Zika after the Americas.Thailand has been hardest hit with more than680 reported Zika infections this year, followedby Singapore with more than 450 and Vietnamwith as many as 60. Much of the populationlives in the so-called “dengue belt,” where mos-quito-borne diseases are prevalent. And vulner-able countries - including Vietnam, thePhilippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh - are ill-prepared to handle an outbreak with any seri-ous consequences, experts said.

Lacking evidence of varying degrees of viru-lence, public health officials have warned Asialeaders to prepare for the worst. The scientificcommunity is following similar assumptions.“Zika is Zika until proven otherwise. We assumethat all Zikas are equally dangerous,” said Dr.Derek Gatherer, a biomedical expert at LancasterUniversity in Britain.

Which Zika dangerous?The World Health Organization recognizes

two major lineages of Zika. The first originated in

Africa, where it was discovered in 1947 and hasnot been identified outside that continent. TheAsian lineage includes strains that have beenreported in Asia, the Western Pacific, Cabo Verdeand, notably, the Americas, including Brazil.

The Asian lineage was first isolated in the1960s in mosquitoes in Malaysia. But some stud-ies suggest the virus has been infecting peoplethere since the 1950s. In the late 1970s, sevencases of human infection in Indonesia werereported. The first record of a widespread out-break was in 2007 on Micronesia’s Island of Yap.

Experts began to suspect a link to birthdefects during a 2013 outbreak in FrenchPolynesia when doctors reported eight casesof microcephaly and 11 other cases of fetalmalformation.

In 2015, it hit Brazil, causing spikes in anarray of neurological birth defects now calledcongenital Zika virus syndrome, as well asGuillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorderthat can lead to temporary paralysis. Virusesmutate rapidly, which can lead to strains thatare more contagious and more virulent. Manyresearchers theorized early on that the devasta-tion in Brazil was caused by an Asian strain thathad mutated dramatically.

That theory relies, among other things, on theabsence of Zika-related microcephaly in Asia. Sowhen Zika broke out in parts of Asia earlier thisyear, researchers were on the lookout. Ifresearchers were to connect a case of micro-cephaly to an older Asian strain - and not onethat boomeranged back from Brazil-it woulddebunk the early theory. It would mean Zika “didnot mutate into a microcephaly-causing variantas it crossed the Pacific,” Gatherer said.

At least three microcephaly cases have beenidentified in Asia, but the verdict is still out. Fortwo microcephaly cases in Thailand, publichealth officials could not determine whether themothers had an older Asian strain of Zika or anewer one that returned from the Americas, saidDr Boris Pavlin, WHO’s acting Zika incident man-ager at a recent briefing.

In Vietnam, where there have been no reportsof imported Zika infection, officials are investi-gating a third case of microcephaly. If it is linkedto Zika, Pavlin said it would suggest the olderstrains there could cause microcephaly and, per-haps, Guillain-Barre. In Malaysia, where at least

six cases of Zika infection have been reported,authorities have identified both an olderSoutheast Asian strain and one similar to thestrain in the Americas, suggesting the possibilitythat strains from both regions could be circulat-ing in some countries.

The hunt is on in Africa as well. In Guinea-Bissau, five microcephaly cases are under investi-gation to determine whether the African lineageof Zika can cause microcephaly. It is a topresearch priority at WHO, said Dr Peter Salama,executive director of the agency’s health emer-gencies program, in a press briefing Tuesday.

“That is a critical question because it has realpublic health implication for African or Asiancountries that already have Zika virus transmis-sion,” Salama said. “We are all following thisextremely closely.”

Herd immunityScientists also are trying to learn whether

people in places where Zika is endemic are pro-tected by “herd immunity.” The phenomenon lim-its the spread of virus when enough of a popula-tion is inoculated against infection through vac-cination, prior exposure or both. Experts believeZika moved explosively in the Americas becausethere was no prior exposure. It’s not clear howwidely Zika has circulated in Africa and Asia,whether there could be pockets of natural immu-nity - and, importantly, whether immunity to onestrain would confer immunity to another.

One recent review of studies suggests 15 to40 percent of the population in some African andAsian countries may have been previously infect-ed with Zika, said Alessandro Vespignani, a pro-fessor of health sciences at NortheasternUniversity in Boston.

That’s far below the 80 percent populationimmunity one mosquito borne virus expert esti-mated in the journal Science would be necessaryto block Zika. Researchers also believe it’s possi-ble that microcephaly went undetected in partsof Asia and Africa where birth defects weren’twell tracked.

That too, is under investigation, said Dr DavidHeymann, Chair of the WHO EmergencyCommittee, at a press briefing last week. “Now,”he said, “countries are beginning to look backinto their records to see on their registries whatthe levels of microcephaly have been.” — Reuters

House seeks delay inhealth law appeal

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso:Hospitals were paralyzed Tuesday in thepoor west African country of Burkina Fasoas doctors and health workers launched athree-day strike for salary hikes andincreased allowances, officials said.

The powerful Syntsha union of med-ical workers which called the protestsaid hospitals had ground to a halt.Syntsha secretary general PissyambaOuedraogo told AFP that the protestwas aimed at “making the governmentsee reason.” “There is no doubt thathealth services throughout the countryare blocked as the personnel have notshowed up,” Ouedraogo said.

Health Minister Smaila Ouedraogoclaimed that there were just four stick-ing points out of the original 63demands made by the unions andadded he was hopeful they would beresolved soon. “We have visited somehospitals in the capital and have noticed

a significant reduction in their function-ing,” he said.

Patients were left to fend for them-selves at the Yalgado Ouedraogo uni-versity hospital, the largest in the coun-try, an AFP correspondent said.

There was only one doctor in theemergency ward. A doctor at anothermedical facility in the capitalOuagadougou said he had turned up asit was “a matter of conscience.”

“This strike is not normal and it is notfair,” he said. “When the sick are strug-gling to buy medicines because theyhave no money, they are demandinghigher salaries,” said Bernard Kabore,whose brother needs a second opera-tion after an accident.

Burkina Faso has some 28,000 work-ers, of whom less than 1,000 are doc-tors. They are largely based in andaround the capital of the country ofsome 18 million people. — AFP

Burkina Faso hospitalscrippled by strike

Is all Zika dangerous? Asia outbreaks prompt question

SALVADOR, Brazil: This file photo taken on January 28, 2016 shows physical therapist Isana Santana treating Ruan Hentique dos Santos, suffer-ing from microcephalia caught through an Aedes Aegypti mosquito bite, at Obras Socias irma dulce hospital. — AFP

SEOUL: South Korea raised the country’sbird flu alert status yesterday to its sec-ond-highest level following three moreoutbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N6strain after the first cases were confirmedlast week.

The new bird flu outbreaks were dis-covered at two duck farms in the centraland southwestern regions of the country,the Ministry of Agriculture, Food andRural Affairs said in a statement yester-day. All 30,500 ducks at the farms havebeen culled.

One more case was confirmed onTuesday and the second earlier yester-day, the ministry statement said. Thethird case was confirmed later yesterdayat a chicken farm in the city of Yangju,about 38 kilometers north of Seoul, theministry said.

Since the first cases of the H5N6 avianinfluenza virus were reported in the sameregion on Friday, a total of five cases havebeen found and two other poultry farmsin other parts of the country are beingtested, the ministry said.

The agriculture ministry raised its birdflu alert level to ‘alert,’ from ‘caution,’ as anincreasing number of farms are reporting

suspected infections in a short period oftime. Over 510,000 birds have beenslaughtered to contain the spread of thevirus, accounting for less than 1 percentof the country’s poultry population of84.7 million, an agriculture ministry offi-cial who declined to be identified said onWednesday.

Cases of human infection from theH5N6 virus have previously been report-ed in places including China and HongKong, with the virus killing 10 people inChina since April 2014, according to datafrom the ministry.

The agriculture ministry has alreadyput in place a poultry movement ban forfarms within a 10-kilometer radius ofwhere the virus had been found earlier.The ministry said it is also considering atemporary nationwide standstill order toprevent the virus from spreading.

There have been previous bird flu cas-es in South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largesteconomy, since 2014. The outbreaks last-ed for more than 660 days, killing at least13 million birds, ministry data showed.The most recent bird flu outbreak wasreported in March, when the H5N8 strainwas found at a duck farm. — Reuters

S Korea raisesbird flu alert

W H AT ’ S ONTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

His Excellency, Mr. Aldo De Luca, ABB CEO Mr. PaulDennis and Solar Impulse the Engineer Mr. EoinCaldwell who has been responsible for the control

system of the mobile hangar during the 2nd part of thearound-the-world mission in 2016.

They welcomed professionals in the field from local uni-versities and businesses.

ABB is a global leader in power and automation tech-nologies that support its vision of "power and productivityfor a better world". Its track record of technological innova-tion stretches back 125 years in Switzerland and it has pio-neered some of the key technologies of the modern world,from high-voltage direct current power transmission, tothe world's first industrial electric robot, to fast chargers for

electric vehicles. ABB is driving the 4th IndustrialRevolution by being a global leader for solutions to enableenergy efficiency, sustainable transportation and renew-able energy; solar is a key driver and contributor to thefuture energy system.

ABB and Solar Impulse share a common vision of a bet-ter world through decoupling environmental impact fromeconomic growth. They are passionate pioneers of leading-edge technology for a better world. Both being Swiss-based pioneers of cutting-edge clean energy technologies,they entered an innovation and technology alliance in2014 in which ABB committed resources including theexpertise of its engineers to help accomplish the first-evercircumnavigation of the planet without fossil fuel.

ABB and Solar Impulse, celebrates round-the-world

flight by solar-powered aeroplane

The Center for Research in Informatics, Sciences andEngineering (RISE) at the American University of Kuwait(AUK), in collaboration with the Australian Embassy in

Kuwait, held a lecture entitled "Women In Male-DominatedIndustries: Gender and Engineering." The lecture was conduct-ed by Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Gender Ambassador at theInter-American Development Bank and Founder and Chair ofYouth Without Borders. The lecture focused on gender issuesin the field of engineering and the importance of diversity andmutual respect.

Dr. Amir Zeid, Director of RISE, in his introduction to thelecture, said that the subject of the lecture comes at a timewhen the world is struggling with interminable issues. Heexplained that diversity and gender concerns in the field ofengineering are prominent issues that are faced in manycountries around the world, but in Kuwait, however, almost60% of engineering students are female, while the percentagein western countries is much lower.

In her personal introduction, Yassmin described to theattendees how she became interested in the field of engineer-ing because of her passion for "Formula 1" cars. She explainedthat while growing up, she imagined herself as a race-car driv-er. When she saw she did not meet the necessary require-ments to become a driver, she shifted her attention towardsthe designs of the cars instead; this prompted her to pursue acareer in mechanical engineer.

At the University of Queensland, where Yassmin studied,

she said there were 300 male students and only 7 female stu-dents who were studying mechanical engineering. This, alongwith her work experience later, made her aware of an uncon-scious bias that exists; one that was influenced by one's cul-ture and environment. She explained that regardless of wherea person was brought up, they must try to shatter the glassceilings set by society and pursue their goals in life, no matterhow against the norm they may seem.

The lecturer also covered key points regarding genderissues that women face as engineers. Yassmin explained thatone of the obstacles faced by women in the field of engineer-ing is that male engineers are generally deemed competentuntil proven otherwise, while female engineers are deemedincompetent until proven otherwise.

The speaker concluded by stating that diversity in theworkplace is important, and introducing new patterns ofthinking enhances the work environment and yields betterresults. "We may not be able to change the entire world, butwe can change the world around us," she added.

The AUK Center for Research in Informatics, Sciences, andEngineering (RISE) serves as AUK's primary source for researchand development activities, a bridge to industry, and animportant venue for community outreach. RISE adapts anintegrative model by forging connections between academicdisciplines, local & international innovators, academia & indus-try, as well as technology & society.

AUK's RISE Center Hosts TED

Speaker Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) hasopened the new season of Baiti Clubdedicated for Baiti account holders in

Al-Faiha branch. The club serves in educat-ing kids on conducting some basic bankingtransactions, such as depositing, withdraw-ing, account statements etc.

The club includes several activitiesunder the supervision of a number of KFHfemale staff. Baiti club targets schools andBaiti Account customers up to 14 years old.

The club educates the children on the

importance of saving, the economic cycle,the banks' role in the economy, in additionto some training on how to browse KFHwebsite. KFH strive to build a brighterfuture full of opportunities and success forchildren.

It is noteworthy that KFH successfullyhad concluded the activit ies of Bait iReading" Club held at "That Al-Salasel"Library - Avenues mall where the eventencompassed 250 chi ldren aged 4-7years old.

KFH Hosts Baiti

Account Holders in

Al-Faiha Branch

Ahmed Hassanein, Program Coordinator of RISE; Dr. Amir Zeid, Director ofRISE; and Yassmin Abdel-Magied, RISE guest speaker.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, RISE guestspeaker

Welcome remarks by Dr. Amir Zeid,Director of RISE

Event attendees

LOYAC Academy of Per forming Ar ts (LAPA)launched its annual Niqat conference at Al-Shaheed Park’s amphitheater with a perform-

ance by the Mokhadioun Band. Headed by Fare’a Al-Saqqaf, LAPA is an academy that empowers the tal-ented youth of Kuwait to develop their skills andnurture their passion through programs in the fields

of theatre, dance and music. LAPA was founded outof deep belief in the therapeutic qualities of art in allits forms. LAPA’s program also includes three con-certs to be held jointly between Al-Shaheed Parkand NCCAL, starting with Nisreen Nassr on Nov 23,Abdul Aziz Al-Misbah on Nov 24 and the Sounds ofPeace on Nov 25.

LAPA opens Niqat at Shaheed Park

W H AT ’ S ONTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

It truly is the season to be jolly with Costa Coffee's beautifullyhandcrafted festive drinks and food that are carefully and hap-pily prepared by the stores' expert baristas. Costa Coffee

extends a warm welcome to everyone in Kuwait to share in CostaCoffee's special events that will take place in Costa Coffee's selectstores every Tuesday and Saturday throughout the months ofNovember and December. Whether you want to enjoy yourfavorite coffee in a specially wrapped jumper themed cup or aseasonal snack, you can make yourself at home at any CostaCoffee store that will bring in the right amount of spice and funto your day.

To celebrate this festive season, Costa Coffee launched intro-duced its festive drinks & treats through an exclusive sneak pre-view event for its loyal customers, social media influencers andmedia executives. The drinks that were enjoyed by all include theGingerbread & Cream Latte, Hot Chocolate Caramel Fudge and

the Almond Crunch Caramel Fudge Sundae Frostino for thosewho prefer to indulge in something cool in the cooler months.The festive food tray contained diverse options including theTurkey & Cranberry Sauce sandwich on brown baguette for thehealth conscious, Brie & Cranberry Sauce sandwich on whitebaguette for those who prefer to eat creatively and finally, theDate Lamington Cake as the most mouthwatering dessert youcan enjoy this winter. The festive events that will be taking placein Costa Coffee stores will feature a joyful host of entertainingand interactive activities suitable for the whole family. Theseevents include gingerbread decoration, child development work-shop, interactive children reading, music night and life coaching.

To find our more about the events, visit any of Costa Coffee's33 stores in Kuwait or Costa Coffee's social media accounts onInstagram, Facebook, Snapchat or Twitter. May you have a won-derful winter season with Costa Coffee.

Last Monday, Dr. Samir Mahmoud presented an aca-demic lecture in the Yarmouk Cultural Center as partof Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah's cultural season. The

presentation was entitled "New Perspectives on Islamic Art:How and Why Does Non-figurative Art Move Us and Evokean Emotion?" During the lecture, he drew on some

medieval Islamic textual sources in addition to contempo-rary neurosciences, phenomenology, art history, and psy-chology to form a dialogue across the centuries that cen-ters on the perceptual qualities of non-figurative art(geometry, vegetal motifs, and to a certain extent calligra-phy). He will then explore the question of an Islamic prohi-

bition on creating images of living things from this angle.Dr. Samir Mahmoud is an Assistant Professor at the

Department of Architecture at the American University ofBeirut. In 2013-2014 he was Andrew Mellon PostdoctoralFellow at the Arts & Humanities Initiative at the AmericanUniversity of Beirut; in 2012-2013 he was Barakat

Postdoctoral Fellow at the Khalili Center for Research in Art& Material Culture, University of Oxford and Agha KhanPostdoctoral Fellow at MIT in the Fall of 2011-2012. He isthe author of several publications on Islamic aesthetics,Islamic philosophy, and is currently working on two newbooks.

Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah presents

Dr. Samir Mahmoud's academic lecture

Festive season lights up

with Costa Coffee

Kuwait Cricket, an Associate member of InternationalCricket Council (ICC), Full member of Asian CricketCounci (ACC) and affiliated with Kuwait Olympic

Committee is proud to announce the free induction level(Level-0) Umpiring Course for new aspirants in CricketUmpiring from 3rd of December to 8th December, 2016.

The consolidated course will comprise of 6 days of train-ing (both Theory & Practicals) which will be conducted fromSaturday to Thursday between 1900 to 2130 hours (7:00pmto 9:30pm) at the Sulabiyia Cricket Pavilion.

English will be the medium of instruction of the course.A practical competency and written/practical test will be

held at the conclusion of the training sessions on 11th and12th December, 2016. Successful participants will be award-ed Accreditation Certificates by Kuwait Cricket on behalf ofICC/ACC. This training course will be conducted and super-vised by Farid Dalwai, Tareq Beidas and Irfan Adil, the KuwaitCricket's seniormost umpires and ICC/ACC AccreditedUmpire's Educators.

Last date for registration is 28th November, 2016. Allthose interested are requested to contact Imran Mustafa forregistration. Email: karpak2002@gmail.com

Come and join the elite Kuwait Cricket Umpiring Panel(KCUP) and be a part of the Kuwait's cricket fraternity.

Kerala Art Lovers Association (KALA Kuwait) has announcedthe winners of the drawing and painting competitionRainbow 2016 conducted for the Indian students in Kuwait

in connection with the Children's Day celebrations on November11 at Carmel School, Khaitan. Bagging the highest points, CarmelSchool, Khaitan won the ‘Rainbow 2016’  trophy.

Catherine Vismaya Biju (Bhavans School) in the senior catego-ry, Swachanda Roy Mathew  (Gulf Indian School) in the Junior cat-egory , Noel Alex Cyril (Learners Academy) in the Sub Junior cate-gory and Mohit Sai (Don Bosco School) in the Kindergarten cate-gory won the individual gold medals.

In the senior category, the second place goes toMadhukrishnan Mukundan (Bhavans School) and  third place to

Apoorva ramachandran (Bhavans School). In the Junior categoryHarigovind Sajith (Carmel school) got the second place and JishaMaria Joseph (United Indian school) got the third place.Harisankar Sajith (Carmel school) and Merin Anna Jaise (BhavansSchool) got the second and third places respectively in the Subjunior category. In the Kindergarten category Sreesivani Sreejith(Jabriya Indian school) got the second place and  Ruhi SashaOzario (Carmel school) got the third.

A number of conciliation prizes have also been announcedunder each category. More details are available in the website ofKala ‘(www.kalakuwait.com).’ The prizes will be distributed to thewinners on Saturday, November 26, at 5.30 pm in a function to beheld at the Poppins Auditorium , Abbassiya.

KALA Kuwait 'Mazhavillu-2016':

Results declared

Free level '0' umpiring course

Birthday Greetings

Happy Birthday Berry Ahmed Afaf…may Allah blessher with good health, wealth, love and happinesswith her lovely parents.

Happy Birthday Mennah Mostafa Sleem…May Allahshower his blessings on you and wish you all the suc-cess in future. Wishes from Ahmed Afaf and family.

T V PR O G R A M STHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

01:00 Smiley 02:45 Snakehead Swamp 04:30 Batman vs. Robin 06:00 The Expendables 3 08:15 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 10:00 Apocalypse Pompeii 12:00 Safe House 14:00 The Expendables 3 16:15 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 18:00 Four Brothers 20:00 Surrogates 22:00 Sabotage

00:50 Big Fish Man 01:45 Bondi Vet 02:40 Lone Star Law 03:35 Tanked 04:25 Wildest Africa 05:15 Gator Boys 06:02 Big Fish Man 06:49 Lone Star Law 07:36 Call Of The Wildman 08:00 Call Of The Wildman 08:25 Too Cute! Pint-Sized 09:15 Lone Star Law 10:10 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 11:05 Tanked 12:00 Too Cute! Pint-Sized 12:55 Bondi Vet 13:50 Lone Star Law 14:45 Gator Boys 15:40 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 16:35 Tanked 17:30 Wildest Africa 18:25 Monster Hammerhead 19:20 The Vet Life 20:15 Tanked 21:10 Wildest Africa 22:05 Mutant Planet 23:00 The Vet Life 23:55 Gator Boys

00:10 Doctors 00:40 Ripper Street 01:30 Ripper Street 02:25 Silent Witness 03:15 The Kettering Incident 04:10 Doctors 04:35 Doctors 05:05 Call The Midwife 06:00 I Want My Wife Back 06:30 Doctors

07:00 Doctors 07:30 Holby City 08:30 Father Brown 09:20 Dickensian 10:05 Call The Midwife 11:00 Doctors 11:30 Doctors 12:00 Father Brown 12:45 Dickensian 13:35 Call The Midwife 14:30 Doctors 15:00 Doctors 15:30 Father Brown 16:15 Dickensian 17:05 Call The Midwife 18:00 Doctors 18:30 Eastenders 19:05 Father Brown 20:00 The Durrells 21:00 The Paradise 21:55 Silent Witness 22:50 The Kettering Incident 23:40 Doctors

00:00 Crime Stories 01:00 Murder In-Law 02:00 Killer Kids 03:00 The Jail: 60 Days In 04:00 Crime Stories 05:00 Murder In-Law 06:00 Killer Kids 07:00 The First 48 08:00 Beyond Scared Straight 09:00 Crime Stories 10:00 The First 48 11:00 It Takes A Killer 11:30 Frenemies 12:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 13:00 Killers 14:00 Beyond Scared Straight 15:00 Crime Stories 16:00 It Takes A Killer 16:30 Frenemies 17:00 The First 48 18:00 Killers 19:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 20:00 Beyond Scared Straight 21:00 It Takes A Killer 21:30 Frenemies 22:00 Crime Stories 23:00 Deadly Wives

00:00 Tosh.0 00:25 I Live With Models 00:50 Brotherhood 01:15 Tosh.0 01:40 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 02:05 JB Smoove: That's How I Dooz It 03:00 Workaholics 03:25 Ridiculousness 03:50 Ridiculousness 04:15 Key And Peele 04:40 Impractical Jokers 05:05 Ridiculousness 05:30 Disorderly Conduct: Video OnPatrol 06:20 Tosh.0 06:50 Tosh.0 07:15 Urban Tarzan

07:40 Urban Tarzan 08:05 Impractical Jokers 08:30 Ridiculousness 08:55 Disorderly Conduct: Video OnPatrol 09:45 Workaholics 10:10 Workaholics 10:35 Ridiculousness 11:00 Ridiculousness 11:25 Coaching Bad 12:15 Nathan For You 12:40 Nathan For You 13:05 Disorderly Conduct: Video OnPatrol 13:55 Impractical Jokers 14:20 Ridiculousness 14:45 Urban Tarzan 15:10 Urban Tarzan 15:35 Disorderly Conduct: Video OnPatrol 16:30 Workaholics 16:55 Workaholics 17:25 Workaholics 17:50 Frankenfood 18:15 Frankenfood 18:39 Tosh.0 19:03 Tosh.0 19:27 Tattoo Disasters 19:50 Tattoo Disasters 20:13 Impractical Jokers 20:37 Ridiculousness 21:00 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 21:30 The Meltdown With Jonah AndKumail 21:54 Idiotsitter 22:18 Chappelle's Show 22:42 South Park 23:05 Tosh.0 23:30 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah

00:30 Unchained Reaction 01:20 Playhouse Masters 02:10 Incredible Food Race 03:00 Untamed & Uncut 03:50 Bear Grylls: Born Survivor 04:40 How It's Made 05:05 How It's Made 05:30 Dirty Jobs 06:20 Mythbusters 07:00 Kids vs Film 07:25 Doki 07:50 Animal Planet's Most Outrageous 08:40 How It's Made 09:05 How It's Made 09:30 Unchained Reaction 10:20 Mythbusters 11:10 Dirty Jobs 12:00 Animal Planet's Most Outrageous 12:50 Bear Grylls: Born Survivor 13:40 How It's Made 14:05 How It's Made 14:30 Dirty Jobs

15:20 Mythbusters 16:10 Kids vs Film 16:35 Doki 17:00 Buggin' With Ruud 17:50 The Lion Queen 18:40 Prototype This 19:30 How It's Made 19:55 How It's Made 20:20 Mythbusters 21:10 Buggin' With Ruud 22:00 The Lion Queen 22:50 Untamed & Uncut 23:40 Bear Grylls: Born Survivor

00:40 Your Number's Up 01:30 Deadly Women 02:20 Las Vegas Law 03:10 Killer Confessions 04:00 Your Number's Up 04:48 I Almost Got Away With It 05:36 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 06:24 I'd Kill For You 07:12 Southern Fried Homicide 08:00 Tabloid 08:50 I Almost Got Away With It 09:40 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 10:30 I'd Kill For You 11:20 Southern Fried Homicide 12:10 Your Number's Up 13:00 Tabloid 13:50 I Almost Got Away With It 14:40 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 15:30 I'd Kill For You 16:20 Southern Fried Homicide 17:10 Disappeared 18:00 Tabloid 18:50 I Almost Got Away With It 19:40 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 20:30 I'd Kill For You 21:20 Southern Fried Homicide 22:10 A Crime To Remember 23:00 Betrayed 23:50 Murder Among Friends

00:10 Hank Zipzer 00:35 Binny And The Ghost 01:00 Violetta 01:45 The Hive 01:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 02:15 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 02:40 Hank Zipzer 03:05 Binny And The Ghost 03:30 Violetta 04:15 The Hive 04:20 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 04:45 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 05:10 Hank Zipzer 05:35 Binny And The Ghost 06:00 Violetta 06:45 The Hive 06:50 Mouk 07:00 Jessie 07:25 Jessie 07:50 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And

Cat Noir 08:15 Tsum Tsum Shorts 08:20 Elena Of Avalor 08:45 Bunk'd 09:10 Austin & Ally 09:35 Shake It Up 10:00 A.N.T. Farm 10:25 A.N.T. Farm 10:50 That's So Raven 11:15 That's So Raven 11:40 Good Luck Charlie 12:05 Good Luck Charlie 12:30 Jessie 12:55 Disney Mickey Mouse 13:00 The 7D 13:15 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug AndCat Noir 13:40 Hank Zipzer 14:05 Star Darlings 14:10 Austin & Ally 14:35 Austin & Ally 15:00 Dog With A Blog 15:25 Jessie 15:50 Rolling To The Ronks 16:15 Hank Zipzer 16:40 Bunk'd 17:05 Star Darlings 17:10 Elena Of Avalor 17:35 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug AndCat Noir 18:25 Descendants Wicked World 18:30 Liv And Maddie 18:55 Disney Mickey Mouse 19:00 Jessie 19:25 Star Darlings 19:30 Best Friends Whenever 19:55 Descendants Wicked World 20:00 Dog With A Blog 20:25 Tsum Tsum Shorts 20:30 Jessie 20:55 Liv And Maddie 21:20 Austin & Ally 22:10 Girl Meets World 22:35 H2O: Just Add Water 23:00 Binny And The Ghost 23:25 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 23:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch

00:00 Doc McStuffins 00:30 Minnie's Bow-Toons 00:35 Zou 00:50 Loopdidoo 01:05 Art Attack 01:30 Henry Hugglemonster 01:45 Calimero 02:00 Zou 02:15 Loopdidoo 02:30 Art Attack 03:00 Calimero 03:15 Zou

03:30 Loopdidoo 03:45 Art Attack 04:10 Henry Hugglemonster 04:20 Calimero 04:45 Loopdidoo 05:00 Art Attack 05:25 Henry Hugglemonster 05:35 Calimero 05:50 Zou 06:00 Loopdidoo 06:15 Art Attack 06:35 Henry Hugglemonster 06:50 Calimero 07:00 Zou 07:20 Loopdidoo 07:35 Art Attack 08:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:30 Sheriff Callie's Wild West 09:00 The Lion Guard 09:30 Miles From Tomorrow 09:40 Goldie & Bear 10:00 Sheriff Callie's Wild West 10:10 Doc McStuffins 10:30 PJ Masks 10:40 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 11:00 Sofia The First 11:30 Doc McStuffins 12:00 Goldie & Bear 12:30 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 13:00 Loopdidoo 13:15 Sheriff Callie's Wild West 13:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:15 Henry Hugglemonster 14:30 Doc McStuffins 15:00 Sofia The First 15:30 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 16:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 16:30 Doc McStuffins 17:00 The Lion Guard 17:30 PJ Masks 18:00 Sofia The First 18:30 Goldie & Bear 19:00 Miles From Tomorrow 19:30 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 20:00 Doc McStuffins 20:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:00 PJ Masks 21:30 The Lion Guard 22:00 Doc McStuffins 22:30 Doc McStuffins 23:00 Sheriff Callie's Wild West 23:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

00:20 Wheeler Dealers 01:10 Survive That! 02:00 Dive Wars Australia 02:50 Running Wild With Bear Grylls 03:40 Fast N' Loud: Demolition Theatre 04:30 What's In The Barn? 05:00 How It's Made: Dream Cars 05:30 How Do They Do It? 06:00 Deadliest Catch 06:50 Wheeler Dealers 07:40 Fast N' Loud: Demolition Theatre 08:30 Gold Divers 09:20 What's In The Barn? 09:45 How It's Made: Dream Cars 10:10 How Do They Do It? 10:35 Survive That! 11:25 Dive Wars Australia 12:15 Running Wild With Bear Grylls 13:05 How It's Made: Dream Cars 13:30 Storage Hunters 13:55 What's In The Barn?

14:20 Alaskan Bush People 15:10 Gold Divers 16:00 Deadliest Catch 16:50 Fast N' Loud: Demolition Theatre 17:40 Wheeler Dealers 18:30 How It's Made: Dream Cars 18:55 How Do They Do It? 19:20 Gold Divers 20:10 Storage Hunters 20:35 What's In The Barn? 21:00 You Have Been Warned 21:50 Incredible Engineering Blunders:Fixed 22:40 Magic Of Science 23:05 Magic Of Science 23:30 Fast N' Loud: Demolition Theatre

06:00 Star vs The Forces Of Evil 06:25 K.C. Undercover 06:50 The 7D 07:00 Phineas & Ferb 07:15 Atomic Puppet 07:40 Danger Mouse 07:50 Counterfeit Cat 08:05 Future Worm 08:10 Gravity Falls 08:35 Lab Rats: Bionic Island 09:00 Supa Strikas 09:25 Supa Strikas 09:50 Danger Mouse 10:20 Annedroids 10:45 Annedroids 11:10 Counterfeit Cat 11:35 K.C. Undercover 12:00 K.C. Undercover 12:30 Gravity Falls 12:55 Lab Rats: Bionic Island 13:20 Lab Rats Elite Force 13:45 Phineas And Ferb 14:10 Disney Mickey Mouse 14:15 Supa Strikas 14:40 Supa Strikas 15:05 Lab Rats: Bionic Island 15:30 Danger Mouse 15:55 Kirby Buckets 16:25 K.C. Undercover 16:50 Annedroids 17:15 Gamer's Guide To Pretty MuchEverything 17:40 K.C. Undercover 18:05 Future Worm 18:10 Gravity Falls 18:35 Counterfeit Cat 19:00 Star Wars Freemaker Adventures 19:25 Supa Strikas 19:55 K.C. Undercover 20:20 Gamer's Guide To Pretty MuchEverything 20:45 Mighty Med 21:10 Pickle And Peanut 21:40 Disney Mickey Mouse 21:45 Guardians Of The Galaxy 22:10 Marvel Ultimate Spider-Man vsThe Sinister 22:35 Boyster 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

00:05 Rob & Chyna 00:55 WAGs Miami 01:50 E! News 02:50 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 03:40 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 04:35 EJ NYC 05:30 Botched 06:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 06:55 E! News 07:10 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 08:10 E! News 09:10 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 10:10 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 11:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 12:00 E! News 12:15 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 13:45 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:45 Celebrity Style Story 15:15 Botched By Nature 16:10 Live From The Red Carpet: The2015... 18:00 Fashion Police: The 2015American Music... 19:00 E! News 20:00 Botched By Nature 21:00 Botched By Nature 22:00 Botched: Post Op 22:30 Celebrity Style Story 23:00 E! News 23:15 Botched By Nature

00:00 Man Finds Food 00:30 Man Finds Food 01:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 01:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 02:00 Man Fire Food 02:30 Man Fire Food 03:00 Chopped 04:00 Guy's Grocery Games 05:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 05:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 06:00 Chopped 07:00 Barefoot Contessa 07:30 Barefoot Contessa 08:00 The Kitchen 09:00 Cooking For Real 09:30 Cooking For Real

10:00 Chopped 11:00 Guy's Big Bite 11:30 Guy's Big Bite 12:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 12:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 13:00 Man Fire Food 13:30 Man Fire Food 14:00 Chopped 15:00 The Kitchen 16:00 Cooking For Real 16:30 Cooking For Real 17:00 Chopped 18:00 Iron Chef America 19:00 Chopped 20:00 Chopped South Africa 21:00 Kitchen Casino 22:00 Iron Chef America 23:00 Chopped ITV Choice HD

00:10 Sunday Night At The Palladium 01:00 Emmerdale 01:30 Coronation Street 02:00 Coronation Street 02:30 The Chase 03:25 Brief Encounters 04:20 Doc Martin 05:15 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 06:10 Sunday Night At The Palladium 07:05 The Chase 08:00 Broadchurch 09:00 Doc Martin 10:00 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 10:55 Sunday Night At The Palladium 11:50 The Chase 12:45 Emmerdale 13:15 Coronation Street 13:45 Coronation Street 14:15 Sunday Night At The Palladium 15:10 The Chase 16:00 Brief Encounters 16:55 The Jonathan Ross Show 17:50 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 18:45 Emmerdale 19:15 Coronation Street 19:45 Coronation Street 20:10 The Chase 21:00 Brief Encounters 21:55 The Jonathan Ross Show 22:50 Emmerdale 23:15 Coronation Street 23:40 Coronation Street

00:00 America's Book Of Secrets 01:00 Ancient Aliens 02:00 The Universe: Ancient MysteriesSolved 03:00 Ancient Discoveries 03:50 Heroes Of War 04:40 Ancient Aliens: The UltimateEvidence 05:30 America's Book Of Secrets 06:20 Cities Of The Underworld 07:10 Ancient Discoveries 08:00 America's Book Of Secrets 09:00 The Universe: Ancient MysteriesSolved 10:00 Ancient Discoveries 11:00 Heroes Of War 12:00 Ancient Aliens: The UltimateEvidence 13:00 Ancient Aliens 14:00 The Universe: Ancient MysteriesSolved 15:00 Ancient Discoveries 16:00 Heroes Of War 17:00 Ancient Aliens: The UltimateEvidence 18:00 Ancient Aliens 19:00 Ancient Aliens 20:00 The Universe: Ancient MysteriesSolved 21:00 Ancient Discoveries 22:00 Heroes Of War 23:00 Last Days Of The Nazis

00:20 Mountain Men 01:10 Britain's Bloody Crown: War OfThe Roses 02:00 Forged In Fire 02:50 Alaska Off-Road Warriors 03:40 American Restoration 04:30 Pawn Stars 05:00 Ozzy & Jack's World Detour 06:00 Ice Road Truckers 06:50 American Pickers 07:40 Pawn Stars 08:05 Pawn Stars 08:30 Storage Wars Texas 08:55 American Restoration 09:45 Lost In Transmission 10:35 Shipping Wars 11:00 Shipping Wars 11:25 Ozzy & Jack's World Detour 12:15 Swamp People 13:05 Ax Men 13:55 Mountain Men 14:45 Down East Dickering 15:35 Pawn Stars 16:00 American Pickers 16:50 Storage Wars 17:15 Storage Wars: Best Of 17:40 Mountain Men 18:30 Ozzy & Jack's World Detour

19:20 American Pickers 20:10 Pawn Stars 20:35 Pawn Stars 21:00 Counting Cars 21:25 Counting Cars 21:50 Ice Road Truckers 22:40 Time Team 23:30 Counting Cars 23:55 Counting Cars

00:35 Places We Go 01:00 David Rocco's Dolce India 01:25 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia 01:50 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia 02:15 Eat Street 02:40 Valentine Warner's Wild Table 03:05 Valentine Warner's Wild Table 03:30 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 03:55 The Game Chef 04:20 The Game Chef 04:45 One Man & His Campervan 05:10 Sara's New Nordic Kitchen 05:35 Dream Cruises 06:25 The Shelbourne 06:50 David Rocco's Dolce India 07:15 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia 07:40 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia 08:05 Eat Street 08:30 Valentine Warner's Wild Table 08:55 Valentine Warner's Wild Table 09:20 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 09:45 The Game Chef 10:10 The Game Chef 10:35 One Man & His Campervan 11:00 Sara's New Nordic Kitchen 11:25 Dream Cruises 12:15 The Shelbourne 12:40 David Rocco's Dolce India 13:05 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia 13:35 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia 14:00 Valentine Warner's Wild Table 14:30 Raw Travel 14:55 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 15:25 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 15:50 The Game Chef 16:20 The Game Chef 16:45 A Is For Apple 17:15 Sara's New Nordic Kitchen 17:40 Dream Cruises 18:35 Tripping Out With Alie & Georgia 19:05 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 19:30 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 20:00 The Game Chef 20:25 The Game Chef 20:50 A Is For Apple 21:15 Sara's New Nordic Kitchen 21:40 Dream Cruises 22:30 Tripping Out With Alie & Georgia 22:55 David Rocco's Dolce India 23:20 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia 23:45 Lyndey Milan - Taste Of Australia

00:10 Taiwan: Island Of Fish 01:00 Wicked Tuna: North vs South 02:00 Air Crash Investigation 02:55 Live Free Or Die 03:50 Taiwan: Island Of Fish 04:45 America The Wild 05:40 Wild Case Files 06:35 Do Or Die 07:00 Do Or Die 07:30 Air Crash Investigation 08:25 Seconds From Disaster 09:20 Straight To The Source: KoreanFood 09:45 Straight To The Source: KoreanFood 10:15 Science Of Stupid 10:40 Science Of Stupid 11:10 Exomars - The Hunt For Life 12:05 Mars 13:00 Seconds From Disaster 14:00 Air Crash Investigation 15:00 Do Or Die 15:30 Do Or Die 16:00 Science Of Stupid 16:30 Science Of Stupid 17:00 Years Of Living Dangerously 18:00 Mars 19:00 Do Or Die 19:30 Do Or Die 20:00 Science Of Stupid 20:25 Science Of Stupid 20:50 Years Of Living Dangerously 21:40 Mars 22:30 Do Or Die 22:55 Do Or Die 23:20 Wild Case Files

00:20 Crocs Of Katuma 01:10 Wild Case Files 02:00 72 Dangerous Animals Australia 02:50 World's Deadliest 03:45 Animals Gone Wild 04:40 Hunter Hunted 05:35 72 Dangerous Animals Australia 06:30 World's Deadliest 07:25 Animals Gone Wild 08:20 Hunter Hunted 09:15 Africa's Deadliest 10:10 Deadly Game 11:05 Hippo vs Croc 12:00 Orca Killing School 12:55 72 Dangerous Animals Australia 13:50 World's Deadliest

14:45 Animals Gone Wild 15:40 Hunter Hunted 16:35 Croc Ganglands 17:30 Deadly Game 18:25 Maneater Manhunt 19:20 Animals Gone Wild 20:10 Hunter Hunted 21:00 Croc Ganglands 21:50 Deadly Game 22:40 Maneater Manhunt 23:30 Orca Killing School

00:30 Scrubs 01:30 Baskets 02:30 You're The Worst 03:00 2 Broke Girls 03:30 The Simpsons 04:00 Fresh Off The Boat 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring JimmyFallon 05:30 George Lopez 06:00 Hank 06:30 Community 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 08:00 Fresh Off The Boat 08:30 George Lopez 09:00 2 Broke Girls 09:30 Angie Tribeca 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Community 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring JimmyFallon 12:00 Hank 12:30 Fresh Off The Boat 13:00 George Lopez 13:30 Community 14:00 The Simpsons 14:30 Angie Tribeca 15:00 Modern Family 15:30 Scrubs 16:00 Scrubs 16:30 Hank 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 18:00 2 Broke Girls 18:30 The Simpsons 19:00 Angie Tribeca 19:30 Young & Hungry 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring JimmyFallon 21:00 Scrubs 22:00 Baskets 23:00 You're The Worst 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers

00:45 The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya 03:00 Three Wishes 05:00 Hotel Transylvania 2 07:00 Paranorman 09:00 Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis 11:00 Get Santa 13:00 Looney Tunes: Rabbit's Run 15:00 K-9 Adventures: Legend Of TheLost Gold 17:00 Cinderella 19:00 Monsterville: The Cabinet Of Souls 21:00 Houba! On The Trail OfMarsupilami 23:00 K-9 Adventures: Legend Of TheLost Gold

01:15 Whiplash 03:15 Hector And The Search ForHappiness 05:15 Hello Carter 07:00 Love, Rosie 09:00 Hector And The Search ForHappiness 11:15 90 Minutes In Heaven 13:30 The Good Lie 15:30 Louder Than Words 17:15 Big Game 19:00 Spy 21:00 The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 23:00 Get Hard

00:00 Please Give 02:00 Ghostbusters II 04:00 How Do You Know 06:00 10 Things I Hate About You 07:45 Confessions Of A Shopaholic 09:45 How Do You Know 12:00 Ghostbusters II 14:00 Sunshine On Leith 16:00 Confessions Of A Shopaholic 18:00 The Invention Of Lying 20:00 She's Funny That Way 22:00 The Bronze

01:45 The Truth About Emanuel 03:30 Parkland 05:15 Breathe In 07:00 Days Of Heaven 09:00 Finding Forrester 11:15 The Truth About Emanuel 13:00 Parkland 15:00 Beyond The Edge 16:45 Finding Forrester HELLO CARTER ON OSN MOVIES HD

THE BRONZE ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD

SAFE HOUSE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

ClassifiedsTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY(24/11/2016 TO 30/11/2016)

SHARQIA-1ARRIVAL 11:30 AMARRIVAL 1:45 PMTROLLS 4:15 PMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 6:15 PMARRIVAL 9:15 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 11:45 PM

SHARQIA-2TAHT AL TARABEZA 11:30 AMTAHT AL TARABEZA 1:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 3:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 6:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 8:15 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 10:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 11:30 AMALLIED 2:15 PMALLIED 4:45 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 7:15 PMALLIED 10:00 PMALLIED 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1TAHT AL TARABEZA 11:30 AMTAHT AL TARABEZA 1:45 PMARRIVAL 4:00 PMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 6:30 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 9:30 PMARRIVAL 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-2ALLIED 12:30 PMTROLLS 3:00 PMALLIED 5:00 PMARRIVAL 7:45 PMALLIED 10:15 PMALLIED 12:45 AM

MUHALAB-3TAHT AL TARABEZA 12:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 3:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 5:15 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 7:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 9:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 12:05 AM

FANAR-1ARRIVAL 11:45 AMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 2:15 PMARRIVAL 5:00 PMARRIVAL 7:30 PMGHOST COINS 10:00 PMARRIVAL 12:05 AM

FANAR-2ALLIED 11:30 AM

ALLIED 2:00 PMALLIED 4:30 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 7:00 PMALLIED 9:45 PMALLIED 12:15 AM

FANAR-3DEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 11:45 AMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 2:45 PMAE DIL HAI MUSHKIL -Hindi 5:45 PMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 8:45 PMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 11:45 PM

FANAR-4TAHT AL TARABEZA 1:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 3:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 5:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 8:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 10:15 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 12:30 AM

FANAR-5TAHT AL TARABEZA 11:30 AMTAHT AL TARABEZA 2:00 PMTROLLS 2:00 PMFRI+SATTROLLS 4:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 6:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 9:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 11:30 PM

MARINA-1ALLIED 12:15 PMALLIED 2:45 PMTROLLS 5:30 PMALLIED 7:30 PMALLIED 10:00 PMALLIED 12:30 AM

MARINA-2TAHT AL TARABEZA 12:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 3:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 5:15 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 7:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 9:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 12:05 AM

MARINA-3ARRIVAL 11:30 AMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 1:45 PMARRIVAL 4:30 PMARRIVAL 7:00 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 9:30 PMARRIVAL 12:15 AM

AVENUES-1TAHT AL TARABEZA 11:45 AMTAHT AL TARABEZA 2:00 PM

TAHT AL TARABEZA 4:15 PMGHOST COINS 6:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 8:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 11:00 PMGHOST COINS 1:15 AM

AVENUES-2FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM -3D 12:15 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM -3D 3:00 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM -3D - 5:45 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM -3D 8:30 PMFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM -3D - 11:15 PM

AVENUES-3DEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 11:30 AMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 2:30 PMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 5:30 PMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 8:30 PMDEAR ZINDAGI -Hindi 11:30 PM

360º- 1ALLIED 11:30 AMALLIED 2:00 PMALLIED 4:30 PMALLIED 7:00 PMALLIED 9:30 PMALLIED 12:05 AM

360 º- 2TAHT AL TARABEZA 12:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 3:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 5:15 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 7:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 9:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 12:05 AM

360 º- 3THE WHOLE WORLD AT OUR FEET 11:30 AMECHOES OF WAR 1:30 PMTHE WHOLE WORLD AT OUR FEET 3:45 PMECHOES OF WAR 6:00 PMTHE WHOLE WORLD AT OUR FEET 8:15 PMECHOES OF WAR 10:30 PMTHE WHOLE WORLD AT OUR FEET 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.1TAHT AL TARABEZA 12:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 3:00 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 5:15 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 7:30 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 9:45 PMTAHT AL TARABEZA 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.2ALLIED 12:30 PMALLIED 3:15 PMALLIED 5:45 PMALLIED 8:00 PM

Arrival Flights on Thursday 24/11/2016Airlines Flt Route TimeKLM 411 Amsterdam/Dammam 00:20JZR 267 Beirut 00:30JZR 539 Cairo 00:40THY 772 Istanbul 00:55KAC 102 London 00:55MSC 411 Asyut 01:00QTR 1086 Doha 01:15SAI 441 Lahore 01:30THY 764 Istanbul 01:50DLH 635 Doha 01:55AXB 395 Kozhikode 02:00PGT 858 Istanbul 02:00ETH 620 Addis Ababa 02:05GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30UAE 853 Dubai 02:30KAC 354 BLR 05:20KAC 332 Trivandrum 05:45THY 770 Istanbul 05:55KAC 364 Colombo 06:05KAC 206 Islamabad 06:20KAC 346 Ahmedabad 06:25BAW 157 London 06:40PAL 668 Manila/Dubai 07:00KAC 204 Lahore 07:15FDB 5061 Dubai 07:15QTR 8511 Doha 07:45FDB 053 Dubai 07:50IAW 155 Baghdad 08:00KAC 302 Mumbai 08:20UAE 855 Dubai 08:40KAC 382 Delhi 08:45IRA 667 Esfahan 09:00ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:05ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05KAC 352 Kochi 09:10QTR 1070 Doha 09:30FDB 055 Dubai 09:40SVA 512 Riyadh 10:00AVV 653 Sohag 10:10IRA 673 Ahwaz 10:10GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40SYR 341 Damascus 11:00KAC 774 Riyadh 11:05RBG 553 Alexandria 11:15MSC 403 Asyut 11:15JZR 165 Dubai 11:30FDK 801 Damascus 11:45MEA 404 Beirut 11:55IAW 157 Al Najaf 11:55KAC 744 Dammam 12:10FEG 953 Asyut 12:35JZR 561 Sohag 12:40JZR 239 Amman 12:45FDB 075 Dubai 12:50UAE 871 Dubai 12:50MSR 610 Cairo 13:00AXB 393 Kozhikode 13:10BON 101 Sarajevo 13:30KAC 564 Amman 13:40KAC 788 Jeddah 13:45FEG 931 Alexandria 13:55KNE 231 Riyadh 13:55QTR 1078 Doha 14:10SVA 500 Jeddah 14:15FDB 059 Dubai 14:20KAC 692 Muscat 14:30KAC 414 Bangkok 14:35GFA 221 Bahrain 14:40KAC 542 Cairo 14:45KAC 672 Dubai 14:50

KNE 529 Jeddah 14:55ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 15:15OMA 645 Muscat 15:35UAE 857 Dubai 15:45ABY 127 Sharjah 15:50JZR 1333 Al Najaf 15:55KAC 154 Istanbul 15:55KNE 531 Jeddah 16:05JZR 535 Cairo 16:10JZR 779 Jeddah 16:10QTR 1072 Doha 16:10FDB 051 Dubai 16:25KAC 662 Abu Dhabi 16:35RJA 640 Amman 16:55JZR 787 Riyadh 17:00KAC 118 New York 17:00SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30JZR 777 Jeddah 17:45NIA 251 Alexandria 17:55UAE 875 Dubai 18:00FDB 063 Dubai 18:10JZR 177 Dubai 18:20MSR 620 Cairo 18:30QTR 1080 Doha 18:50OSJ 4116 Baghdad 19:00ABY 123 Sharjah 19:25KAC 502 Beirut 19:30GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30KAC 674 Dubai 19:45FDB 057 Dubai 19:50KAC 168 Paris 19:55KNE 381 Taif 19:55KAC 166 Rome 19:55KAC 562 Amman 20:00MSR 618 Alexandria 20:05OMA 647 Muscat 20:10JZR 189 Dubai 20:15QTR 1088 Doha 20:35DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:45KAC 616 Bahrain 20:50FDB 5053 Dubai 20:50JAI 572 Mumbai 20:55KAC 786 Jeddah 21:15ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:20MEA 402 Beirut 21:20ALK 229 Colombo 21:25UAE 859 Dubai 21:40KAC 676 Dubai 21:45GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45KAC 174 Munich 22:00QTR 1082 Doha 22:00JZR 125 Bahrain 22:05KLM 417 Amsterdam 22:05NIA 151 Cairo 22:10ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:15AIC 981 Chennai/Ahmedabad 22:25JZR 241 Amman 22:45JZR 185 Dubai 23:15KAC 156 Istanbul 23:25FDB 071 Dubai 23:45JAI 574 Mumbai 23:50

Departure Flights on Thursday 24/11/2016Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05PIA 240 Sialkot 00:40FDB 072 Dubai 00:40JAI 573 Mumbai 00:50BBC 044 Dhaka 01:30KLM 411 Amsterdam 01:35MSC 412 Asyut 01:55

KAC 417 Manila 02:00THY 773 Istanbul 02:25SAI 442 Lahore 02:30DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:55AXB 396 Kozhikode 02:55ETH 621 Addis Ababa 03:05PGT 859 Istanbul 03:35UAE 854 Dubai 03:45KKK 6505 Istanbul 03:55OMA 644 Muscat 03:55THY 765 Istanbul 04:00MSR 613 Cairo 04:10ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:10KAC 167 Paris 04:25QTR 1077 Doha 04:40LMU 511 Cairo 05:00MSC 502 Alexandria 05:05QTR 1087 Doha 05:50FEG 954 Asyut 06:00JZR 560 Sohag 06:05FDB 070 Dubai 06:30KAC 153 Istanbul 06:50THY 771 Istanbul 06:50JZR 164 Dubai 06:55KAC 165 Rome 06:55JZR 238 Amman 07:10KAC 541 Cairo 07:15GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15KAC 773 Riyadh 07:30KAC 787 Jeddah 07:45FDB 5062 Dubai 07:55KAC 563 Amman 08:00KAC 411 Bangkok 08:20BAW 156 London 08:40KAC 173 Munich 08:50FDB 054 Dubai 08:55KAC 691 Muscat 09:00IAW 156 Al Najaf 09:00KAC 743 Dammam 09:00KAC 117 New York 09:00JZR 534 Cairo 09:15QTR 8512 Doha 09:30KAC 101 London 09:35ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45UAE 856 Dubai 09:55IRA 668 Mashhad 10:00KAC 671 Dubai 10:05ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:10JZR 778 Jeddah 10:30FDB 056 Dubai 10:35QTR 1071 Doha 10:40SVA 513 Riyadh 11:00IRA 672 Ahwaz 11:10AVV 654 Asyut 11:10KAC 501 Beirut 11:15GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25RBG 554 Alexandria 11:55SYR 342 Damascus 12:00KAC 661 Abu Dhabi 12:05JZR 776 Jeddah 12:05MSC 404 Asyut 12:15JZR 1332 Al Najaf 12:30FDK 802 Damascus 12:45IAW 158 Al Najaf 12:55MEA 405 Beirut 12:55FEG 934 Sohag 13:35JZR 786 Riyadh 13:45JZR 176 Dubai 13:45KAC 155 Istanbul 13:50OSJ 4115 Baghdad 14:00MSR 611 Cairo 14:00FDB 076 Dubai 14:05

AXB 394 Kozhikode 14:10UAE 872 Dubai 14:15KAC 561 Amman 14:20KNE 382 Taif 14:50BON 102 Sarajevo 14:55FEG 932 Alexandria 14:55KAC 673 Dubai 15:00FDB 060 Dubai 15:10KAC 785 Jeddah 15:15PAL 669 Dubai/Manila 15:20GFA 222 Bahrain 15:25QTR 1079 Doha 15:40JZR 188 Dubai 15:40SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45KNE 530 Jeddah 15:55KAC 283 Dhaka 16:15ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:20KAC 357 Kochi 16:20ABY 128 Sharjah 16:30OMA 646 Muscat 16:35KNE 532 Jeddah 16:55KAC 675 Dubai 17:00JZR 266 Beirut 17:05JZR 240 Amman 17:15FDB 052 Dubai 17:25KAC 615 Bahrain 17:35QTR 1073 Doha 17:40KAC 343 Chennai 17:40UAE 858 Dubai 17:45JZR 538 Cairo 17:45RJA 641 Amman 17:55KAC 331 Trivandrum 18:00SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15KAC 353 BLR 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 184 Dubai 18:40NIA 252 Alexandria 18:55JZR 554 Alexandria 18:55FDB 064 Dubai 19:05JZR 124 Bahrain 19:15UAE 876 Dubai 19:30MSR 621 Cairo 19:30QTR 1081 Doha 19:50ABY 124 Sharjah 20:05GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15KAC 383 Delhi 20:30FDB 058 Dubai 20:35KAC 361 Colombo 20:35KAC 775 Riyadh 20:45KNE 232 Riyadh 20:55MSR 619 Alexandria 21:05OMA 648 Muscat 21:10KAC 619 Doha 21:20QTR 1089 Doha 21:35DLH 634 Doha 21:35FDB 5054 Dubai 21:50DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50JAI 571 Mumbai 21:55KAC 351 Kochi 22:00KAC 205 Islamabad 22:00KAC 783 Jeddah 22:10ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:15MEA 403 Beirut 22:20ALK 230 Colombo 22:25GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30KAC 301 Mumbai 22:45KAC 543 Cairo 22:45KAC 381 Delhi 22:45UAE 860 Dubai 22:55KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:05ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:05NIA 152 Cairo 23:10

PRAYER TIMINGS

Fajr: 04:56Shorook 06:19Duhr: 11:34Asr: 14:31Maghrib: 16:50Isha: 18:11

I, Mohamed Sadiq Riyasat,holder of Indian PassportNo. M6103097 has changedmy name to SadiqueRiyasat Pathan. Herein afterin all my dealings and doc-uments I will be known byname of Sadique RiyasatPathan. (C 5240)24-11-2016

I, Hassan S/o ZoyabaliMithawala holder of IndianPassport No. Z3199917 andCivil ID NO. 292070202684 haschanged my name to HassanZoyabali Mithawala hereinafter in all my dealings anddocuments. I will be known byname of Hassan ZoyabaliMithawala. (C 5237)

I, Hozefa S/o Shabbir holder ofIndian Passport No. Z3201289and Civil ID No. 277021101304has change my name to HozefaShabbir herein after in all mydealings and documents. I willbe known by name of HozefaShabbir. (C 5238)

I, Ayesha D/o Sequeira EliasPascal holder of IndianPassport No. P6318774 andCivil ID No. 279012301733 haschanged by name Ayesha Banoherein after in all my dealingsand documents. I will beknown by name of AyeshaBano.22-11-2016

CHANGE OF NAME

SITUATION VACANT

SITUATION WANTED

M.Com 15 years experiencein independently handlingaccounts of medium sizedcompanies up to finaliza-tion familiar with comput-erized accounting systemsat present working inHospital seeking suitableposition. Mobile: 66019422(C 5230)21-11-2016

Purchase Manager experi-

Required cook chef forhouse, good knowledge inall kinds of food, speciallyArabic, good salary.Contact: 60064934/66519719/ 23901053.(C 5239)24-11-2016

ence 20 years from Jordan,seeking job in one of theleading construction co.Contact: 99061637(C 5235)

A Mechanical Engineerwith over 6 years Kuwaitwork experience in Saleshaving Kuwait drivinglicense, looking for seniorsales engineer job. Contact:Subhas 94039171 (C 5236)20-11-2016

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Because of the time element, life in the work world could be a bit stressful.Products to be delivered before the holiday may have caused some real

backlog of problems, even if you are not actively concerned with that part of the business.You may feel restricted in some of your activities today. It may be hard to organize or per-severe at this time. Be patient and let the chaos dissipate. Perhaps this is not the time to tryto solve any serious problems. This afternoon is a good time for personal communications.A love relationship appears almost magical in the way you communicate now. You couldbe most persuasive and the situation is a natural for self-expression. Home is the happiestplace to be this evening.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

This is a great time to be with others and to work in a group. You may besought after as just the person to put in the lead. You are in a serious frame of mind andfind yourself dealing with matters of much concern and responsibility. You and your team-mates will complete assigned projects in speedy time. Later today you will find what youare searching for-this may even include that loan you have been wanting. You may besought after regarding very personal and emotional issues, especially from an elderly per-son. You will be able to be understanding and handle this sensitive material. You look for-ward to some special celebrations this evening, a time to enjoy friends and catch up onthe lives of those you love.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Extra money comes your way at work this morning. You could receive mon-ey from a football pool or some other similar type of activity. Your professional ambition isintensified-you aim to make a difference in this world-to accomplish. This would be agood time to thin out your responsibilities and balance some of your activities: someunfinished projects or some desired ability that you would like to try. You may find your-self looking through a few continuing education classes in hopes of learning more aboutsomething new you may want to accomplish. This could be piano, voice, computerexpertise or perhaps art. You may be very pleased to discover how peaceful you becomewhile in the process of creating.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You may find yourself working on budgeting for your place of business aswell as a personal budget for the coming holidays. Budgeting is where your attention ismost of this day. Perhaps you own a company or you help someone that owns a company.You are on the right path with the format you are taking, no matter where you are work-ing. A practical awareness of the nature of time is the keynote of your deepest feelingsnow. There is a tendency to be too strict with yourself and to insist that whatever does notcontribute to security and other long-term goals is trivial. Your desire to achieve is intensi-fied and you could be looking for a part-time job or trying to talk a family member intoworking part-time. If you work with facts, you will be successful.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Work, achievement and ambition mean a lot to you and it is a good timeto take care of some business you have postponed or disregarded up to now. Obligationscome to your attention. This afternoon you may find yourself hurrying to some groupmeeting. Being on the go and keeping a finger to the winds of change make you feel intouch; learning and communicating scratch an instinctive itch. Your burning zeal for theideal world and your need to be part of a group of likeminded souls are major factors inyour makeup. You learn and grow through your efforts to help others and you are happyto accept some work that will help get the homeless off the streets. Before the day is over,you may have talked several other people into joining you in this work.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

A drive to find the answers to your questions may find you examiningand working through some problems that have lingered far too long on your desk. Pushtoo hard and you could put yourself into some stress-however, you might find a co-work-er willing to help you work a trade. When this co-worker needs help you have the oppor-tunity to return the favor. This afternoon you enjoy shopping for a family member-youmake a conscious effort to compare prices and quality. Having and appreciating things ofbeauty and value plays a bigger role in your life now. Provided you do not spend it all onthe fancy things that catch your eye, this can be a financially favorable period. A birthdayor anniversary is celebrated tonight. Romance is on the horizon.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

You are at your mental best with sharp ideas and clear thoughts. Today isan excellent time to make decisions and take care of your employer's business. It mighteven be possible to take care of some of your own personal business as well. Work, health,diet and the other things that take care of us if we take care of them will be big topics ofdiscussion among co-workers today. Self-achievement and competition concerning thesesubjects will help encourage successful results. The accomplishment of a professional orself-improvement project can also lead to success. You can demonstrate a great deal ofunderstanding and sensitivity to family or friends this evening and you are in a good posi-tion to listen or guide, if need be the case.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

If you are working today you will find it easy to pour a lot of energy intothose around you. You may be called upon to smooth over the frustrations of a disgrun-tled customer this morning. It does not take much to restore your positive attitude. Youwork throughout the day to make life a little easier for everyone around you. A financialproblem that had escaped your notice this last weekend may have you a bit worried. Youcould find that after you get the whole story from a family member, someone has alreadypaid the bill in person. This evening you decide to cook some low-fat treats to take to worktomorrow-they are fun to make and will be accepted greedily. Copy the recipe and add itfor others to take and your will make friends forever.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Make room for new growth-yes, you can expect some positive changes inyour life. The results will be their own paths of development. Be tuned into

the positive in your life and give yourself credit for the progress you have made. You maymethodically go about planning and creating your future. This whole birthday year will befull of accomplishments in the business world and growth in your emotional life. You willmultiply your career options. The effort toward making dreams come true can be scary atfirst, but you will look back years from now and be glad you dared. After the celebrationsof the day are put aside, you will continue to find all sorts of reasons to appreciate andenjoy life; smile your contagious smile-happy birthday!

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You might like to ignore responsibilities and do some socializing later todaybut the demands of the workplace seem to be a bit more intense than usual. Consideringthat a day or so of vacation could be something you could enjoy soon, you need to bequick to solve and end as many projects as possible. This day is scheduled for work respon-sibilities but by the afternoon, you may look to your friends for a change of environment.Your opinions in a group situation are relevant and taken under consideration. A type oftime-share situation may develop and you have enough responsible friends to successful-ly enjoy this option. The only things left to decide are the dates and the clothes. This is the

kind of talk that encourages you to be creative.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Do not decline an assigned task because of a lack of training or experi-ence. You can learn as you go. You could find a teacher or guide, a new

approach to your career, etc. You may find ways that can save the company some extraexpenses this year. Your mind is on cutting through the nonessentials and penetrating tothe core-you want to know who or what pulls the strings. Learning and knowing a littleabout a lot of things, as well as staying in touch and on top of the latest developments, sat-isfies a need for mental stimulation. An open mind may be the key to success. Let opti-mism carry you through a difficult dilemma this afternoon. At home, you really get intothe holiday season. Young people figure more prominently in your life as well.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Some of the healthiest love relationships grow from friendships. This is thebest time of the year to enjoy the art of bringing a relationship close. Some of the mostbeautiful flowers and vegetables grow this time of year. If you find yourself in a place ofbusiness, your desk will be adorned with the beauty of a garden and enough color to liftany spirit that needs a boost. Harmonious ties to others are what you yearn for; refinementand elegance are what you seek. The ideal partnership, the perfect balance, the higheststandards of truth and beauty are some of the things that quicken your pulse. A co-workermay be much more agreeable this week than in the past. You and a friend may worktogether in a volunteer organization this evening.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1440

ACROSS1. An informal term for a father.4. A polypeptide antibiotic (similar to baci-

tracin) obtained from a soil bacterium.12. The shape of a raised edge of a more or less

circular object.15. A period marked by distinctive character or

reckoned from a fixed point or event.16. Make lighter or brighter.17. Used of a single unit or thing.18. An officer who acts as military assistant to a

more senior officer.20. Small and light boat.21. A fractional monetary unit in Bangladesh

and India and Nepal and Pakistan.23. The seed of flax used as a source of oil.26. A river in north central Switzerland that

runs northeast into the Rhine.27. Capital and largest city of Italy.30. A door-like movable barrier in a fence or

wall.31. One of the 150 lyrical poems and prayers

that comprise the Book of Psalms in theOld Testament.

34. Inability to urinate.35. Full of ruts.37. A unit of electrical resistance equal to the

resistance between two points on a con-ductor when a potential difference of onevolt between them produces a current ofone ampere.

38. One of the two main branches of orthodoxIslam.

42. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.43. Of or in or relating to the nose.45. Thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of

the lateral columns and anterior horns ofthe spinal cord.

46. Japanese mathematical physicist who pro-posed that nuclear forces are mediated bymassive particles called mesons which areanalogous to the photon in mediatingelectromagnetic forces (1907-1981).

49. Covered with frost.51. An absence of emotion or enthusiasm.52. A gray lustrous metallic element of the rare

earth group.53. Swelling from excessive accumulation of

serous fluid in tissue.54. Hawaiian dish of taro root pounded to a

paste and often allowed to ferment.57. A silvery ductile metallic element found

primarily in bauxite.59. (Islam) The man who leads prayers in a

mosque.60. Less than the correct or legal or full

amount often deliberately so.62. A piece of soft material that protects an

injured part of the body v 1.65. A white metallic element that burns with a

brilliant light.66. A yearning for something or to do some-

thing.68. The syllable naming the fourth (subdomi-

nant) note of the diatonic scale in solmiza-tion.

69. A landlocked principality in the Himalayasnortheast of India.

73. 100 avos equal 1 pataca.75. A region of central Spain.78. A loose sleeveless outer garment made

from aba cloth.79. Fleshy folds of tissue as those surrounding

the mouth.80. Relating to bees or beekeeping.81. A piece of furniture that provides a place to

sleep.82. Any of several small ungulate mammals of

Africa and Asia with rodent-like incisorsand feet with hooflike toes.

83. A river in northeastern Brazil that flows

generally northward to the AtlanticOcean.

84. An agency of the United Nations affiliatedwith the World Bank.

DOWN1. Lacking or deprive of the sense of hearing

wholly or in part.2. Fleshy and usually brightly colored cover of

some seeds that develops from the ovulestalk and partially or entirely envelopesthe seed.

3. An informal term for a father.4. A complete metric system of units of meas-

urement for scientists.5. A circumscribed inflammatory and often

suppurating lesion on the skin or an inter-nal mucous surface resulting in necrosis oftissue.

6. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue.7. A vast treeless plain in the arctic regions

between the ice cap and the tree line.8. The United Nations agency concerned with

international maritime activities.9. A statement that deviates from or perverts

the truth.10. Not out.11. Type genus of the Nepidae.12. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped

cucumbers and spices.13. A small picture inserted within the bounds

or a larger one.14. English economist noted for his studies of

international trade and finance (born in1907).

19. Praise, glorify, or honor.22. A Chadic language spoken in northern

Nigeria and closely related to Hausa.24. Same in identity.25. In a hearty manner.28. Genus of European subshrubs or herbs

having pink or purple or yellow solitary orclustered flowers.

29. Leader of Black Muslims who campaignedfor independence for Black Americans(1897-1975).

32. The first light of day.33. A member of an Indian people formerly liv-

ing along the Gulf coast of Louisiana andTexas.

36. A low heavy horsecart without sides.39. Living quarters reserved for wives and con-

cubines and female relatives in a Muslimhousehold.

40. Tropical American tree grown in southernUnited States having a whitish pink-tingedfruit.

41. State in northeastern India.44. A heavy brittle metallic element of the

platinum group.47. Lack of normal muscular tension or tonus.48. A wave that is blown by the wind so its

crest is broken and appears white.50. A farewell remark.55. The blood group whose red cells carry

both the A and B antigens.56. A woman's dress style that imitates the caf-

tan cloaks worn by men in the Near East.58. 1 species.61. Type genus of the Caviidae.63. The basic unit of money in Nigeria.64. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf of

Guinea.67. Plant with an elongated head of broad

stalked leaves resembling celery.70. A sock with a separation for the big toe.71. In bed.72. A quantity of no importance.74. (Roman mythology) Goddess of abun-

dance and fertility.76. Term of address for a man.77. Being two more than fifty.

Yesterday’s Solution

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34s ta rs

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inf or m at ionTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

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

INTERNATIONALCALLS

Afghanistan 0093

Albania 00355

Algeria 00213

Andorra 00376

Angola 00244

Anguilla 001264

Antiga 001268

Argentina 0054

Armenia 00374

Australia 0061

Austria 0043

Azerbaijan 00994

Bahamas 001242

Bahrain 00973

Bangladesh 00880

Barbados 001246

Belarus 00375

Belgium 0032

Belize 00501

Benin 00229

Bermuda 001441

Bhutan 00975

Bolivia 00591

Bosnia 00387

Botswana 00267

Brazil 0055

Brunei 00673

Bulgaria 00359

Burkina 00226

Burundi 00257

Cambodia 00855

Cameroon 00237

Canada 001

Cape Verde 00238

Cayman Islands 001345

Central African 00236

Chad 00235

Chile 0056

China 0086

Colombia 0057

Comoros 00269

Congo 00242

Cook Islands 00682

Costa Rica 00506

Croatia 00385

Cuba 0053

Cyprus 00357

Cyprus (Northern) 0090392

Czech Republic 00420

Denmark 0045

Diego Garcia 00246

Djibouti 00253

Dominica 001767

Dominican Republic 001809

Ecuador 00593

Egypt 0020

El Salvador 00503

England (UK) 0044

Equatorial Guinea 00240

Eritrea 00291

Estonia 00372

Ethiopia 00251

Falkland Islands 00500

Faroe Islands 00298

Fiji 00679

Finland 00358

France 0033

French Guiana 00594

French Polynesia 00689

Gabon 00241

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Georgia 00995

Germany 0049

Ghana 00233

Gibraltar 00350

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Greenland 00299

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Guyana 00592

Haiti 00509

Holland (Netherlands) 0031

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Hong Kong 00852

Hungary 0036

Ibiza (Spain) 0034

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India 0091

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Macau 00853

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Majorca 0034

Malawi 00265

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Martinique 00596

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Mexico 0052

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Moldova 00373

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Mongolia 00976

Montserrat 001664

Morocco 00212

Mozambique 00258

Myanmar (Burma) 0095

Namibia 00264

Nepal 00977

Netherlands 0031

Netherlands Antilles 00599

New Caledonia 00687

New Zealand 0064

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Nigeria 00234

Niue 00683

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Palau 00680

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Paraguay 00595

Peru 0051

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Qatar 00974

Romania 0040

Russian Federation 007

Rwanda 00250

Saint Helena 00290

Saint Kitts 001869

Saint Lucia 001758

Saint Pierre 00508

Saint Vincent 001784

Samoa US 00684

Samoa West 00685

San Marino 00378

Sao Tome 00239

Saudi Arabia 00966

Scotland (UK) 0044

Senegal 00221

Seychelles 00284

Sierra Leone 00232

Singapore 0065

Slovakia 00421

Slovenia 00386

Solomon Islands 00677

Somalia 00252

South Africa 0027

South Korea 0082

Spain 0034

Sri Lanka 0094

Sudan 00249

Suriname 00597

Swaziland 00268

Sweden 0046

Switzerland 0041

Syria 00963

Serbia 00381

Taiwan 00886

Tanzania 00255

Thailand 0066

Togo 00228

Tonga 00676

Tokelau 00690

Trinidad 001868

Tunisia 00216

Turkey 0090

Tuvalu 00688

Uganda 00256

Ukraine 00380

United Arab Emirates 00976

United Kingdom 0044

Uruguay 00598

USA 001

Uzbekistan 00998

Vanuatu 00678

Venezuela 00582

Vietnam 0084

Virgin Islands UK 001284

Virgin Islands US 001340

Wales (UK) 0044

Yemen 00967

Yugoslavia 00381

Zambia 00260

Zimbabwe 00263

G O S S I P

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

l if e s t y l e

Zoe Kravitz has always wanted to be "natural and sillylooking". The 27-year-old actress and singer hasrevealed ever since she was a child she has had a

"rebellious spirit", which made her not want to look "per-fect" all the time, and led her to adopt a "low maintenance"beauty and hair care regime. Speaking about her dailyroutine, the brunette beauty said: "When I was younger, Ihad this incredibly rebellious spirit. I just wanted to be lotof pressure, you know? On the red carpet everyone startedto look the same, like a Barbie doll, and it made me reallyuncomfortable. feel comfortable, looking like I put effortinto the way I look, and still feel like I'm being myself. "Mybraids are really low-maintenance so I use very little hair

product. but uses the luxury brand's Touche Eclat to"brighten" her face. She explained: "I don't wear founda-tion on a daily basis so this is just wonderful for highlight-ing and covering. It brightens without looking like you'regoing out-out. "If I'm eating too much sugar or not sleep-ing enough, I see it in my skin." And will adorn a bold lipcolor when she wants to make "a statement". She toldInStyle Online: "When I want to make a statement with lipcolor, I go for a red, burgundy, or nude. In a bold, matte fin-ish, it's always classic."

Hailey Baldwin's$3k birthday home

Hailey Baldwin rented a $3,000-a-night apartment tocelebrate her 20th birthday. The model saw in themilestone on Tuesday in Toronto, Canada, in a plush

four-bedroom Airbnb property, which the companyappeared to give her as a present. The blonde beauty post-ed a picture of herself sitting down in the luxury space andadded the caption: "Birthday Vibezzz @airbnb thank youfor my birthday home, best gift! (sic)" She also sharedanother snap of her laughing with one of her pals in thep-roperty and wrote: " best time bringing in 20"But thehouse didn't appear to be the ideal place to do theMannequin Challenge - the craze sweeping the globewhere people are filmed trying to stay as still as possible -as she shared a video of herself and pals attempting to doit, but failing. In a caption attached to the clip, which seesthe trio move almost as soon as the camera starts running,she wrote: "Fail" Earlier this month, Hailey was a guest ather best friend Kendall Jenner's 21st birthday celebrationsalong with Cindy Crawford, Kate Mara, Melanie Griffith,Gabrielle Union, Paris Hilton and Jonathan Cheban.Kendall recently admitted the highlight of her star-studdedbirthday bash was that she managed to avoid vomitingafterwards. She said: "I think maybe the fact that I didn'tthrow up that night, and I had like a minor hangover."

Kravitz always wanted to be 'natural and silly looking'

Selena Gomez can't sleep with make-up on her face. The 24-year-old singerhas admitted she doesn't "under-

stand" why people re-apply cosmetic prod-ucts before going to bed because she has a"breakout" when she sleeps in her make-upand is "worried" if she wears any "tinted"products. Speaking about her beauty rou-tine to Elle.com, the 'Kill Em With Kindness'star said: "I just can't understand when -and no offense - people have to wearmakeup all the time, and they'll say, 'Oh,you can sleep with a tinted moisturizer or aself-tanner on your face and you can wakeup.' For me, I just think that's not my vibe,plus I do breakout. "I don't know if it's badadvice, I just think it's kind of to each theirown. For me, I can't really sleep with thingson my body or tinted things just because Iget worried. It's not my vibe." But the starhas revealed she embraces when she hasan outbreak of spots because it 's aninevitable thing people endure, andalthough the star has admitted she couldundergo "procedures" to prevent an erup-tion of pimples She explained: "Nopebecause life is life. If it's a photoshoot, I'mprobably more lucky because Photoshop,and if it's a close up, I have to have makeup,and I just kind of do it. You can't really fightit. I think there are things that I could do orprocedures for sure, but I just don't. I thinkthat's going to happen." Meanwhile, thebrunette beauty has revealed she "wished"she had hair like Blake Lively or RachelMcAdams because the former 'Gossip girl'actress has "effortless" locks, whilst the'Southpaw' star's tresses are versatile. Sheexplained: "I wish she was my friend, but

she's not my friend. Blake Lively. I've nevermet her, but I just love her hair. I think she'sgot beautiful, effortless hair. I think she'ssuper beachy. I also really love, love, loveRachel McAdams, and the reason why Ilove her hair is because she think about itfrom 'Wedding Crashers' to 'Mean Girls' to'The Notebook', she's always changing herhair. It's like short and long and beautiful.She's kind of classy that way. Those are twopeople that are not my friends, but I lovethem, and I think they have really goodhair."

Why Selena Gomez goesto bed make-up free

Kylie Jenner will

restock the Holiday

Edition this week

Kylie Jenner is set to restock the Holiday Edition forKylie Cosmetics this week. The 19-year-old 'KeepingUp With the Kardashians' star launched her fully-

loaded make-up bundles on Monday, which have alreadysold out, and is already planning to re-launch the variety ofproducts, including the new white Kyliner, eyeshadowpalettes and exclusive lip kits, on her e-store on Friday andMonday. The star took to the brands social media toannounce the news alongside a picture of all the cosmeticproducts. The Instagram post was captioned: "yes the#holidayeditioncollection has officially sold out but we willbe BACK... On Black Friday with a free stocking with everypurchase & on Cyber Monday we are launching the KYLIEbrush set for $35! See you guys again soon! (sic)." The beau-ty mogul - who built up her beauty empire over two yearsbefore launching it earlier this year - has revealed the col-lection, which is made of "real diamond powder", wasinspired by "jewel tones". Speaking previously, she said:"Also, one more thing, my birthday collection had all realgold in it, and this has all real diamond powder. "My inspi-ration was jewel tones, so I used all jewel tones and I want-ed to create a smoky eye palette you can use during theholidays." Alongside the mini lip kits, and the ornaments,Kylie has designed her "first" ever set of make-up brushes.Alongside a still shot of the products, she wrote: "My firstset of brushes (sic)." And the television personality believesthe festive capsule is "the perfect gift" for everyone thiswinter. She said: "To say 'Happy holidays' from me to you."Waking up to this on Christmas morning the perfect gift."

Ora saved hungryMartin from going

hungry on tour

Rita Ora came to the rescue of Coldplay frontmanChris Martin when was denied an on-tour perkbecause he didn't have his ID. The 39-year-old

singer and his chart-topping band were on tour with RitaOra in 2012 when they tried to get some food backstageprior to a gig, but Chris was initially denied accessbecause the security did not recognize him. Ritaexplained: "On one of my first tours I supported Coldplayand they were doing amazing, massive tours as usual.We were just hanging out and then we went to cateringto eat some food before the show. Chris didn't have hispass. "I remember, they didn't let him in to cateringbecause he didn't have his pass. And instead of him say-ing, 'Do you know that this is me? This is who I am,' hesaid, 'Rita has got her pass - can I get in with her?' " Rita,25, said that Chris' reaction to being denied access to thefood was typical of the music superstar, saying that heand his bandmates are remarkably "humble" given theirsuccess and popularity. She told UK station BBC Radio 1:"It's funny because it's Chris and there's this whole thing... but that's why we love him and the boys. I thought itwas a joke. But no, they're the best those boys, they'rethe most humble human beings." Meanwhile, Coldplayrevealed recently they are to release new music in 2017.The 'Everglow' hitmakers - made up of Chris, JonnyBuckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion - said theyare working on new album called 'Kaleidoscope'. Atweet on the group's official Twitter account said: "Helloeveryone, we're working on some new songs for nextyear. It's called the Kaleidoscope. We hope you're well,love cm #KaleidoscopeEP (sic)" The band's last album 'AHeadful Of Dreams', which was released in December2015, was rumored to have been their last. Chris previ-ously said: "It's our seventh thing, and the way we look atit, it's like the last 'Harry Potter' book or something likethat. "Not to say that there might not be another thingone day, but this is the completion of something. "I haveto think of it as the final thing we're doing. Otherwise wewouldn't put everything into it."

Freddie Mercury cut his bestfriend out of his life becausehe didn't want to tell him he

had AIDS. The Queen frontman -who died in 1991 aged 45 due tocomplications caused by the illness- flatly denied that he was sufferingfrom the disease a year to PeterStraker, his good pal of 15 years,before he passed away and the WestEnd star never saw the 'BohemianRhapsody' hitmaker again. Petersaid: "All I got from Freddie was thathe had this blood thing, and Ithought it could have beenleukaemia or something like that."He started to get these blotchesand I asked about these and he saidhe had some blood condition. Iknew about AIDS but it just neverentered my head. "We had lunchand he was quite blotchy and hehad make-up on, and we wentupstairs and we were sitting downwatching telly on his bed and I saidto him, 'Have you got AIDS?' and hesaid, 'No, I haven't got AIDS.' "And Isaid, 'If there's anything wrong withyou, I'm always here for you,' and weparted that evening. That was thelast time I saw him." Peter was sodevastated about the situation hedidn't attend Freddie's funeral.However, he did try to contact thesinger in the last year of his life butwas constantly turned down by the

star's employees, who later lived toregret their actions. According tothe Daily Mirror newspaper, Peter isquoted in a new book aboutFreddie, 'Somebody to Love' - whichis by Matt Richards and MarkLangthorne, to mark the 25thanniversary of his death tomorrow -as saying: "When I used to tele-phone they would never put methrough. "They'd just say he wasbusy, he was out, but they gotinstructions from him, and Joe fol-lowed him to the letter. "Again, afterhe died, they all came to see me in ashow in the West End and were allapologizing, saying, 'I wish we'd putyou through.' I said, 'It's too latenow.' " While Freddie didn't tell Peterabout suffering from AIDS, he didinform his bandmates, Brian May,Roger Taylor and John Deacon, at ameal in Montreux, Switzerland, inMay 1989, two-and-a-half yearsbefore he passed. He also told anumber of his staff and his lover JimHutton, who was HIV positive. Therock star issued a statement con-firming he had AIDS just 24 hoursbefore he died at his home inKensington, west London, onNovember 24, 1991.

Freddie Mercury didn't tell

best friend he had AIDS

Tom Ford had 'noidea' he wanted to be

a fashion designer

The 55-year-old creative mastermind -who launched his eponymous clothinglabel in 2005 - has admitted he has

"always" loved clothes, but despite his passionfor garments he never thought he would boasta successful career at the helm of the industry.Speaking about his career, the dark-hairedhunk said: "I have always loved clothes, but Ihad no idea fashion was what I wanted to do. Iwas an actor, I studied architecture. "It onlyhappened when I worked as an assistant at afashion company in And the style icon believes"destiny" is what led him to design highly cov-eted masterpieces. He added: "You could say itwas destiny: I would say it's destiny. I believein destiny, and one thing I'm going to do as afather is help my son to realize his destiny, tohelp him become the person he's supposed tobe." However, Tom always knew he wanted tomake "a lot" of money. He said: "I was alwaysvery ambitious, and I wanted to make a lot ofmoney and have nice things." The fashionmuse has admitted he was worked "very hard"but also believes he is "very very lucky" to havehad a successful career. Tom - who has recent-ly directed 'Nocturnal Animals' - said: "I haveworked very hard, but I have also been very,very lucky." And the filmmaker believes style ispriceless and is an innate talent, which can't bebought. He said: "Money can't buy you style. Itreally can't." Meanwhile, Tom - who marriedRichard Buckley in 2014 and have four-year-old son Jack, whose full name is AlexanderJohn Jack Buckley Ford - is "very happy" withhis life. He told Esquire magazine: "I'm veryhappy at this point in my life. It's where i pic-tured myself - successful and happy."

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

M U S I C & M O V I E S

l if e s t y l e

Indian screen icon Shah Rukh Khan has starred in dozens ofBollywood blockbusters and is adored by millions, butthere's a movie he still dreams of making-one that's a truly

global hit. "I would like to be a part of that one Indian film, asan actor, as a producer, as a gaffer, as a sound recordist, as aproduction manager, whatever, which becomes famous allover the world," Khan told AFP in an interview.

"That's my 'Make in India' dream. I've had this since 25years," he added, borrowing Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi's much-trumpeted slogan for boosting manufacturingin the country. The Asian giant's Hindi film industry churns outhundreds of movies every year, raking in billions of US dollarsin ticket receipts, but is yet to release a blockbuster that reallytakes Western box offices by storm. "I hope to achieve that butI don't sit down with people (and focus on) 'What is thecrossover film that we can make?' No, I think it will happenbecause I believe in it," said Khan.

The actor known in India as "King Khan" or simply "SRK" to

his legions of fans is arguably Hindi cinema's biggest andmost-recognizable star of the modern age. He shot to stardomin the mid-90s as the hero of romantic dramas such as"Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" ("The Bravehearted Will TakeAway the Bride") and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" ("SomethingHappens"). Khan is also known for lead roles in high-octanethrillers like "Don" and this year's "Fan" while other major hitsinclude the 2013 comedy "Chennai Express" and 2010's "MyName is Khan", in which he played a man with Asperger's syn-drome.

'I like James Bond' The 51-year-old boasts 22.2 million Twitter followers and

regularly sees hordes of admirers gather outside his mansionby the sea in India's commercial capital of Mumbai, the homeof Bollywood. His next film, called "Dear Zindagi" ("Dear Life"),hits cinema screens on Friday. But Khan admits he initially hadmisgivings about playing the role of Jehangir Khan in thecomedy-drama directed by Gauri Shinde. "I'd be honest, I did-

n't think I'd like the film. Not because it's not a good film... Butit's not my genre of film. I like bad boys. I like James Bond," hesaid. Khan says his character plays the role of a "mentor, friend,philosopher, guide" to the much younger Kaira, played byupcoming Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, 23, in the film whichhe says is "sweet" and "funny".

He described "Dear Zindagi" as a feel-good movie aboutlife and how to cope with it "not only as a youngster but as aparent, as a middle-aged person. "It deals with all of themwithout being preachy," he explained. Khan, whose career asone of Bollywood's most bankable actors spans threedecades, says he doesn't see himself as a real-life mentor toyoung actors, but will give advice if asked.

'Out of body experience' Khan has appeared in around 80 Bollywood movies and

collected numerous accolades since travelling to Mumbai on atrain from his hometown of Delhi in the early 90s with the

clear intention of becoming a superstar. "I always wanted tobe famous, I wanted to be recognized, I want thousands ofpeople outside my house, I don't want to go on the beach andrelax. If I want a McDonald's I'll open it in my house," he said.

"When I was 25 I wanted to be like Madonna said: rich,famous, well-known, hard-working, recognized and get all theawards possible. I really enjoy being a star, I would notexchange it for anything." In "Fan", released in April, he playedthe double role of a movie megastar and a crazed youngadmirer whose obsession with his idol turns increasingly vio-lent after he fails to meet him. "SRK" describes his own fame asbeing like an "out of body experience". "I'm extremely gratefuland I don't even understand how I've become what I'vebecome. "Does it even belong to me? I say this again andagain, I'm just an employee of the superstar called Shah RukhKhan. I have no idea how he does it."— AFP

India's Shah Rukh Khan dreams of global Bollywood hitBollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan speaks as actress Alia Bhatt looks on during an interview with AFP in Mumbai. — AFP photosBollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan speaks during an interview with AFP.

FBI clears Brad Pitt

over abuse claim

Brad Pitt has been cleared after a probe into allegationshe mistreated one of his children in a mid-air alterca-tion, the FBI said on Tuesday. The claims centered on an

alleged incident with his 15-year-old son Maddox inSeptember on a flight from France to Los Angeles. Pitt's wifeAngelina Jolie claimed he had struck the boy. "In response toallegations made following a flight... carrying Mr Brad Pitt andhis children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circum-stances and will not pursue further investigation," the agencysaid in a statement.

"No charges have been filed in this matter." The announce-ment marks Pitt's second vindication over the incident, twoweeks after Los Angeles social workers cleared the 52-year-oldof wrongdoing following interviews with the couple, theirchildren and witnesses. Jolie, 41, filed for divorce inSeptember, citing irreconcilable differences. She is seekingsole custody of their six children. Pitt, who won a best filmOscar for producing "12 Years a Slave" (2013), has been in con-tact with all six of the couple's children and is seeking jointlegal and physical custody.

The reunions were supervised by a therapist as part of thecouple's temporary custody agreement-mediated by the LosAngeles County Department of Children and Family Services-which was recently extended. Under the agreement Jolie hadphysical custody of the children-three of whom, includingMaddox, are adopted-at a rented LA house. The A-listers-giventhe celebrity moniker "Brangelina"-wed in France in Augusttwo years ago, but had been a couple since 2004. AFP reachedout to Pitt's representative, who declined to comment. — AFP

Brad Pitt poses for photographers during the photocallfor the new film ‘Allied’ of director Robert Zemeckis, inParis. — AP

Sue Brierley, from left, Nicole Kidman, Priyanka Bose, Sunny Pawar, front, Saroo Brierley and DevPatel attend the premiere of ‘Lion’ at the Museum of Modern Art on Wednesday in New York. — AP

In this image released by The Weinstein Company, Dev Patel appearsin a scene from ‘Lion.’ — AP

There are two ways to view "Lion." One is as a heart-warming tale of love beyond boundaries and the incan-descent pull of home. The more cynical view is that it's a

two-hour advertisement for the wonders of Google Earth.Let's not be cynical, shall we? Let's just enjoy this poignantand true story of a man who became separated from his fami-ly in India at age 5, was adopted by an Australia couple andthen tracked down his family 25 years after going missing."Lion " is really two beautifully-shot films - the tenacious storyof 5-year-old Saroo Brierley lost hundreds of miles in easternIndia and the less dramatic, and slightly forced, story of thatsame boy all grown up looking for answers about his past.

Dev Patel, of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame, proves he's a tal-ented, striking leading man, but even he would admit he'sdelightfully overshadowed by newcomer Sunny Pawar, whoplays his 5-year-old self with irrepressible sweetness. "I can liftanything," he says at one point, and proves it by lifting thisfilm. Luke Davies' screenplay, adapted from Brierley's memoir"A Long Way Home," starts in 1986 with the younger Sarootagging along with his older brother to scrounge for work. Hethen falls asleep on a decommissioned train that travels some1,600 kilometers to Calcutta.

Physical journeyLost, hungry and scared, the boy isn't even able to seek

help since he speaks only Hindi in an area where Bengali is

the common language. He scrounges for food, turns apiece of cardboard into a bed and narrowly escapes childabductors before being taken to an orphanage that resem-bles a prison. It's a grim journey in which few adults aregood. The camera doesn't shy away from staring at grittyplaces and forgotten people. Salvation comes in the formof Nicole Kidman in a truly appalling '80s wig. She andDavid Wenham play an Aussie couple who adopt youngSaroo and Kidman turns in a very unglamorous, quiet andmeditative performance.

Director Garth Davis has got us in the palm of his handat this point, with Saroo wide-eyed at encountering a planeand a refrigerator for the first time. But the second half ofthe film slackens somewhat as Patel takes over 25 years lat-er. He's great as a brooding, haunted man but he has less towork with. If the first half was a compelling, physical jour-ney, the second is one taken solely inside the mind and thefilm degenerates into long moments showing Saroo's soli-tary wanderings and sleeplessness. The dense crowds ofharsh, urban India give way to the empty, lush expanses ofTasmania.

Partial memoriesThe adult Saroo seems unmoored from his Indian roots

until - like Marcel Proust's madeleine he encounters a friedcake called a jalebi that triggers childhood memories.

Someone helpfully suggests he look at Google Earth - yes,it's actually written into the script. (The company's logoalso appears on the screen multiple times, on the movieposter and Google is thanked in the end credits. This isproduct placement on par with Reese's Pieces in "E.T. theExtra-Terrestrial.") Soon, Saroo is pushing away his girlfriend(a very bad idea since it's the marvelous Rooney Mara) andstudying satellite images from India by a certain internetcompany, tracing train tracks from a laptop.

He has no idea where he came from and the film nicelyuses flashbacks to show partial memories flooding back. Abreakthrough gets him on the right track and soon he'sback on a plane, heading to his former home and a bitter-sweet finale with the people he left behind. It's all thanks tolove, tenaciousness and, of course, the good folks atGoogle. "Lion," a Weinstein Company release, is rated PG-13by the Motion Picture Association of America for "thematicmaterial and some sensuality." MPAA definition of PG-13:Parental guidance suggested, with some material may notbe suitable for children. Running time: 119 minutes. Threeand a half stars out of four. — AP

Can you go home again? lovely 'Lion' says yes

Coming-of-age tale "Moonlight" and road movie"American Honey" led the pack of independentfilms tipped for Oscars glory as the Spirit Awards

nominations were announced on Tuesday. StarringMahershala Ali and Naomie Harris, Barry Jenkins's"Moonlight" tells the life story of a young African-American man struggling to find his place as he growsup in a rough neighborhood of Miami. It was nominatedin six categories, including best feature, best director andbest screenplay. It was passed over in the acting cate-gories, despite Ali and Harris being considered strongcontenders for Oscar nods. The entire cast, Jenkins andcasting director Yesi Ramirez will get the special RobertAltman Award.

"American Honey," written and directed by Britishfilmmaker Andrea Arnold and starring Sasha Lane andShia LaBoeuf, also secured six nominations, includingfemale lead, supporting female and male. KennethLonergan's New England-based family drama"Manchester by the Sea," which has given Casey Affleckan early lead in the race for the best-actor Oscar, got five

nominations. The movie, which opened on Friday tosome of the best reviews of the year, is up for best featureand best actor and supporting actor.

"Jackie," Pablo Larrain's political drama focusing onformer US president John F Kennedy's assassinationthrough the eyes of First Lady Jacqueline BouvierKennedy, picked up nominations for directing, editingand feature, as well as nod for Natalie Portman'sacclaimed performance in the title role. The FilmIndependent Spirit Awards are seen as an strong indica-tor of independent movies that could win Oscar glory."Now more than ever, the voices of independent artistsplay a critically important role in our culture," said FilmIndependent's president Josh Welsh. "The films we cele-brate at this year's Spirit Awards embody the diversity,innovation and uniqueness of vision that we championall year long." The winners will be announced on February25, a day before the Academy Awards. — AFP

'Moonlight,' 'American Honey'top Spirit Awards nominations The 16th Marrakech Film Festival - one of

the largest cultural events in the Arabworld and African continent - has unveiled

its full-line up. Opening film is the 1920s-settranscendent spy thriller "The Age Of Shadows,"by South Korea's Kim Jee-woon. Marrakech willclose with Fatih Akin's coming-of-age drama,"Goodbye Berlin." Other out-of-competition picsinclude Louis-Julien Petit's "Carole Matthieu"starring Isabelle Adjani; "Elle" by Paul Verhoeven;Disney's animated adventure, "Moana;" and "MyUncle" the second feature by Moroccan directorNassim Abassi, starring comedian AbderrahimTounsi. Adjani, Verhoeven and Tounsi will allreceive career tributes at the festival.

Marrakech's official selection aims to offernew, distinctive and dissonant voices in worldcinema: "The radicalism of the selection reflectsa wish to counter the widespread artistic bland-ness which unfolds on screens, and insteadseeks a return to principles, to the roots of whatenayer, Afghan-Iranian drama, "Parting" byNavid Mahmoudi will also play in competition.Other official selection titles take in Sandrine

Veysset's French generational drama, "The Storyof a Mother"; Venice-selected mockumentary"King of the Belgiansm" by Peter Brosens andJessica Woodworth; Reiner Frimmel and TizzaCovi's Locarno-seen circus docu-fiction "MisterUniverso"; and immigration drama "The Road toMandalay," by Burmese director Midi Z, thatbowed at Venice;

Family customsAlso in the mix: Berlinale-bowing South

African drama "Shepherds and Butchers," direct-ed by Oliver Schmitz; and coming-of-age drama"Zoology" by Russian writer-director IvanTverdovsky, that world preemed at Toronto.Marrakech's six-film sidebar, From the Heart, fea-turing what Barde terms "some ferocious film-making," includes three debut features: OttoBell's "The Eagle Huntress" lensed in Mongolia;"Heaven Sent," by Lebanese director WissamCharaf; and Daouda Coulibaly's drug traffickingdrama "Wulu." —Reuters

Kim Jee-Woon's 'The Age of Shadows' to Open Marrakech

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

l if e s t y l eF E A T U R E S

The shoe forms, molded from Princess Diana’s feet, are displayed at thePeabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass.

A skulled zipper pull details of Alexander McQueen shoe is displayed atthe Peabody Essex Museum.

This file photo shows people walking at sunrise on theTrocadero Esplanade, also known as the Parvis des droitsde líhomme (Parvis of Human Rights), in front of the EiffelTower in Paris.

Asection of stairs from the Eiffel Tower in Parissold for more than half a million euros, auc-tioneers said yesterday-more than 10 times

the pre-sale estimate. The 14 wrought-iron stepsfrom a winding staircase between the second andthird floors of the Paris landmark went for 523,800euros ($556,000) after furious bidding at the sale inthe French capital. Auction house Artcurial said thedramatic sale on Tuesday had "unleashed the pas-sions" of several international buyers, with bids ris-ing rapidly from 20,000 euros, leaving the 40,000euro estimate far behind.

The prize eventually fell to a telephone bidfrom an Asian buyer. Auctioneer Francois Tajansaid "the battle over the phone and in the auctionroom for the stairs showed the profound attach-ment there is for a monument that is so emblem-atic of French culture." The stairs date from 1889when the legendary French engineer GustaveEiffel built the 324-metre (1,063-foot) edifice asthe centerpiece of the Paris Universal Exhibition. Itsoon became the most iconic feature on the Parisskyline, and is France's most visited monumentdespite suffering calls for its demolition in theyears after the exhibition.

It is still the country's third tallest structure, andwas the highest building in the world for 41 yearsuntil the construction of the Chrysler Building inNew York in 1930. The stairs were removed fromthe tower in 1983 to make way for a lift and cutinto 24 sections, ranging from two to nine metershigh. Several were bought by museums while oth-ers ended up in the gardens of the YoshiiFoundation at Yamanashi in Japan, beside theStatue of Liberty in New York and at Walt DisneyWorld in Florida, next to its copy of the Eiffel Tower.Artcurial sold a larger 3.5-metre section of 19 stepsfor 220,000 euros in 2013.

Tajan said he was particularly "moved by the

sale... having watched the first sale of the staircasesin 1983 which was presided over by my fatherJacques Tajan." Although the Eiffel Tower stairsfetched "an exceptional price", the highest from thesale of Art Deco artefacts was four monumental

sculptures by Georges Saupique which went for1.24 million euros. Saupique is best known for hisbust of Marianne, the woman who symbolizes theFrench republic. — AFP

This file photoshows the EiffelTower, in Paris.

—AFP photos

Stairs from Eiffel Tower sell for over half a million euros

Boots aren't just made for walking. On the contrary,footwear has captivated hearts and minds worldwidefor centuries. Whether a pair of crystalline embellished

slippers, or thigh-high boots with platform heels, shoes showour personalities, moods and social status. That's the premisebehind "Shoes: Pleasure and Pain," an exhibition openingSaturday at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem,Massachusetts, examining the history and cultural relevanceof what we strap to our soles.

"We're all born with bare feet and shoes facilitate ourmovement, but shoes also reveal our identity," said LyndaRoscoe Hartigan, coordinating curator for the exhibition. Theshow, organized by the London-based Victoria and AlbertMuseum, is comprised of boots, slippers, pumps, loafers andsandals from around the world dating to the 17th century.

Through our shoes, Roscoe Hartigan said, we all project"certain aspects of power and authority" - even if those mes-sages are subliminal. One classic example of affluence andpower wrapped into a shoe is the high heel. Yet, functionalityand comfort are often overlooked in their design. In 1993,supermodel Naomi Campbell made headlines when shestumbled on a Paris runway during Fashion Week. TheVivienne Westwood platforms Campbell was wearing - a pairof cobalt blue, mock crocodile skin shoes with 9-inch heels -became icons overnight. They're now part of the Salem show.

Also on display are several pairs from high-end retailerssuch as Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik,made famous by the HBO series "Sex and the City." One pair ofmen's golf shoes by Prada is covered in brightly colored rhine-stones. "You would never assume they're something menwould play golf in," Roscoe Hartigan said. But this exhibition ismore than just a display of exclusive footwear. There are shoesused for foot binding, an ancient Chinese custom in which agirl's four toes were tucked beneath the foot in an effort toprevent growth. One pair of silk, cotton and metal-wrappedlotus shoes is just 4 inches long.

Until the 1600s, shoes were made to fit an individual - aprocess that could involve up to 200 stages of construction. Bymid-century, Europe's middle class population exploded andready-to-wear shoes became available. On display are shoelasts - wood or plastic forms used by shoemakers - from thelate Princess Diana, Charlie Chaplin and other celebrities. "Thewhole thing is pretty amazing," said Faith Kreider, of Newton,Massachusetts, who viewed the exhibition. "There's a widevariety of footwear down through the ages." "Shoes: Pleasureand Pain" runs through March 12, 2017. — AP

A high heel shoe titled ‘The Gold Digger’ by designer Sebastian Errazuriz, fea-turing a figure holding up the upper portion, is displayed at the PeabodyEssex Museum in Salem, Mass. — AP photos

Guests snap photographs of a pair of high heels, decorated with red frilled details.

From flats to stilettos: Exhibit explores what shoes reveal

Guests snap imagesof a shoe closet dis-play at the Peabody

Essex Museum inSalem, Mass.

Elton John’s rainbow glass embossed platform boots, designed by Bill Whitten in the1970’s, are displayed at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass.

A red stiletto shaped custom car is displayed at the entrance of the Peabody EssexMuseum.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

l if e s t y l eF E A T U R E S

US President Barack Obama awarded the 2016Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian hon-or in the United States - to 21 key figures at a star-stud-

ded ceremony at the White House yesterday. Obama presentedthe prestigious medal to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and hiswife Melinda for philanthropic work, former basketball playersMichael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and actors TomHanks, Robert De Niro and Robert Redford.

"It's useful when you think about this incredible collection ofpeople to realize that this is what makes us the greatest nationon earth," Obama said. The medal is given annually to thosewho have made outstanding contributions to the nationalinterests of the United States, to security, world peace, culturalor other significant public or private endeavors.

Other recipients this year were rock star Bruce Springsteen,soul singer Diana Ross, Native American community leaderElouise Cobell and NASA moon landing computer scientistMargaret H Hamilton. TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, whowas also awarded the medal, conducted a "mannequin chal-lenge", a video that features people frozen in place, with the recipi-ents. Obama leaves office in January after eight years, withRepublican businessman Donald Trump taking charge. — Reuters

Obama Honors 21 Americans With Presidential Medal of Freedom, US President Barack Obama speaks before presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, during a ceremony in the East Room of the WhiteHouse in Washington, DC.— AFP photos

Obama presents final

Medal of Freedom honorsObama Honors 21 Americans With Presidential Medal ofFreedom US President Barack Obama presents actress andcomedian Ellen DeGeneres with the Presidential Medal ofFreedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

US actor Robert De Niro (right) hugs actress and comedianEllen DeGeneres after she was presented with thePresidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents actor Tom Hankswith the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents attorney and formerChair of the Federal Communications Commission NewtMinow with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents actor and directorRobert Redford with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents actress Cicely Tysonwith the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents Singer BruceSpringsteen with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal ofFreedom to former NBA basketball player Michael Jordan.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Melinda Gates,left, presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Bill Gates.

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obamaarrive to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama prepares to present singerDiana Ross with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents sports broadcasterVin Scully with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama (obscured) presents NBA starand athlete Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the PresidentialMedal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents actor Robert De Nirowith the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

US President Barack Obama presents artist and designerMaya Lin with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

39Obama presents final

Medal of Freedom honors

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

The Palm House is illuminated during a photocall at Kew Gardens in south west London during an event to promote the launch of the ‘Christmas at Kew Gardens’ event. — AFP

At a club in downtown Cairo, Ahmed Saleh pumps elec-tronic beats from his laptop as Abdullah Miniawy chantsto a cheering crowd, the duo part of a wave of new tal-

ent on Egypt's underground music scene. Emerging artists arecreating an eclectic selection of hip-hop, dubstep, electronicand rock music, with some influenced by traditional Egyptiansounds. The movement began in the mid-2000s as musicians

bypassed record labels to reach their listeners directly via theweb. It was boosted by Egypt's 2011 uprising which toppledlongtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.

"This movement began finding an audience because it hasbecome accessible on the internet, instead of the market beingdominated by those who release CDs," says Tamer AbuGhazaleh, a Cairo-born Palestinian musician who co-foundedMa3azef, an online Arab music magazine. From the second halfof the 2000s, musicians have used websites such asSoundCloud, YouTube, and Facebook to publish and promotetheir music. That has challenged record labels' traditional gate-keeper role between artists and audiences. "This is the first timein Egypt, at least since the 1920s, where music really representsthe people in a direct way, without any intermediary," saysMahmoud Refat, founder of record label 100Copies Music.

Working-class beats The birth of Mahraganat music around the same period also

reflected this shift in the industry. Emerging from working-classneighborhoods, it became Egypt's most listened-to genre-withlittle involvement from record companies. Using cheap or freesoftware, young men began mixing traditional Egyptian musicwith electronic sounds, creating loud, eclectic beats.

Meanwhile, artists began networking online, says musicianRami Abadir, who released his first official album with Canadianrecord label D.M.T. Records in May. "This didn't exist until 2009or 2010, or it existed but on a very small scale," he says.

The genre found a small but growing audience in a countrywhere according to the United Nations, 40 percent of the popu-lation is between 10 and 20 years old. The 2011 revolutionboosted the movement. "A lot of things took a push with whathappened in 2011 and 2012 and the revolution," says MauriceLouca, composer of the acclaimed 2014 electronic albumBenhayyi Al-Baghbaghan (Salute the Parrot). While most of themusic was non-political, a security void made it easier to openspaces and organize festivals. "There was a very nice atmos-phere where anyone who wanted to do anything, could just doit," says Abadir.

Egypt's first free presidential election in 2012 brought topower Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted bythe army a year later. Human rights groups have accused then-army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who went on tobecome President, of limiting freedom of expression. Venueslike Vent, which opened in 2013, promoted new, experimentalmusic. Many have since closed, but several still hold regular livesessions.

While many musicians have second jobs to make a living,some have been able to go full-time and performed at homeand abroad. Saleh has performed up to five times a month thisyear, including gigs with Alexandria-based psychedelic andelectronic rock band Telepoetic. Louca has given 50 concertsoverseas this year alone.

Broader tastes As the artists diversified, so did listeners' tastes. Now, the

audience "is receptive to this and waiting for new things...especially in Egypt," says Abu Ghazaleh. Some tracks byEgyptian hip-hop artists Abyusif and Ahmed Kamel have beenplayed more than a quarter of a million times on SoundCloud."Hip-hop in Egypt is like that. Its first and last place is the inter-net," says Refat, whose label caters to independent andMahraganat musicians. That contrasts with the 1990s, whenauthorities cracked down on concerts and accused attendees ofpracticing Satanism, according to Louca.

"We felt like we were in an absolute desert," he says. Whilethe scene centers around Cairo, other musicians in the regionhave flourished online. "We kind of found it staggering theamount of talent around, and a lot of people doing what weconsider to be very high-quality music," says Abdel-RahmanHussein, co-founder of Dandin, a Middle East music platform.Hip-hop artists from Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan have collabo-rated, while cross-genre projects have mushroomed in Beirut,says Ziad Nawfal, co-founder of the independent Lebaneselabel Ruptured. The wave of new music "expresses real thingsfor the people," says Abu Ghazaleh. "This is what this music isdoing, so it has no place to go but grow further." — AFP

Putting on the glitz:Tokyo gets $2mChristmas tree

Want to impress the kids this Christmas? ATokyo retailer has just the thing-if you'vegot about $2.0 million to spare. Jeweler

Ginza Tanaka is going all out this season with a two-meter (6.6-foot) Christmas tree made with pure goldwire that's as fine as angel hair pasta. The shop inTokyo's glitzy Ginza district says the 19 kilogram (42pound) tree is made up of more than 1,200 meters(3,950 feet) of gold wire.

"The wire is made of the finest gold which has a99.999 percent purity level," Ginza Tanaka store man-ager Takahiro Ito told AFP yesterday. Ito said the treewas made by the jeweler's in-house artisans. Theprice tag? A cool 200 million yen ($1.8 million). Whileit may be a stretch finding a buyer, Ito said he hopedthe opulent display would show off Japan's world-famous craftmanship. "We want them to see ourgreat technique and craftsmanship, and the glitter-ing beauty of gold," he said. — AFP

A Ginza Tanaka employee shows off a Christmastree made with 19-kilogram of pure gold wires atthe Ginza Tanaka store in Tokyo. — AFP

Egyptian musicians perform at a studio in Cairo. — AFP photosEgyptian musician Abdullah Miniawy (right) performs at a nightclub in Cairo.

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Egyptian musicianAbdullah Miniawyperforms at anightclub in Cairo.