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Mogherini urges talks to resolve Gulf crisis

Princes William, Harry remember their final call with Diana

Shrubsole stars as England edge India in Women’s World Cup final

Ex-Gaza chief says Hamas deal will open border

Erdogan visits Kuwait, Saudi

Arabia to defuse Qatar crisis

Turkish president meets Amir, supports mediation efforts KUWAIT: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterdaybegan a key trip to the Gulf aimed at defusing the stand-off over Turkey’s ally Qatar, saying no one had an interestin prolonging the crisis. Erdogan, whose country hascome to Qatar’s aid in the dispute, had talks in Jeddahwith King Salman who hailed the Turkish leader’s “effortsin the fight against terrorism and its financing”, Saudi statenews agency SPA reported. He also met Saudi CrownPrince Mohammed bin Salman before leaving for Kuwaitfor the second leg of his tour. Erdogan was received byKuwait’s Amir HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who has been mediating to resolve the crisis.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United ArabEmirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, accusing it ofbacking extremism and fostering ties with their Shiite rivalIran. Doha denies the claim and has been strongly backedby Ankara throughout the standoff. The Turkish presidentwill visit Qatar today for his first face-to-face talks withEmir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani since the crisisbegan. “No one has any interest in prolonging this crisisanymore,” Erdogan said before leaving Istanbul. Heaccused “enemies” of seeking to “fire up tensions betweenbrothers” in the region.

Erdogan praised Qatar’s behavior in the crisis, sayingDoha had sought to find a solution through dialogue. “Ihope our visit will be beneficial for the region,” he said.The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position, andErdogan has repeatedly said he wants to see an end tothe dispute as soon as possible. In recent years, Qatar hasemerged as Turkey’s number one ally in the Middle East,with Ankara and Doha closely coordinating over issues

Continued on Page 11(Left) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is welcomed by HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah upon his arrival at Kuwait InternationalAirport late yesterday. (Right) Erdogan is greeted by Saudi King Salman upon his arrival in Jeddah yesterday. — KUNA/AP

Rallies held in support of Aqsa

By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Student groups and a number of local organiza-tions gathered at the Kuwait University campus inKhaldiya yesterday to condemn ongoing Israeli violationsat the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. TheNational Union of Kuwaiti Students, in collaboration withthe Youth Association for Jerusalem, organized the rallyunder the slogan “Rage over Al-Aqsa” to supportPalestinians. Another demonstration was held outsidethe Palestinian Embassy in Bayan yesterday.

Mohammad Al-Otaibi, President of the NationalUnion of Kuwaiti Students, said Kuwait supportedand will always support Palestine, and the Muslimworld will not remain silent. “It is our responsibility tosupport them because Al-Aqsa belongs not only tothe Palestinians - it also belongs to Muslims world-wide,” he said.

Yousef Shamsah, member of global movement for acampaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)against Israel, said “our role is to spread awareness ofthe importance of boycotting the Zionist entity”. “Weare trying not only to boycott Israeli products, but alsocompanies that support them, such as G4S, which is aBritish security company that controls the Israeli airport,helps Israel run checkpoints, a police training centerand prisons where Palestinian political prisoners areheld,” he said. “In response to international pressure,G4S has announced that it may sell its Israeli opera-tions,” Shamsah noted.

Cleric Sheikh Mohammed Al Awadhi urged scholarsand advocates to educate people about Palestine. “Therecent situation in Aqsa requires strong knowledge ofits history and our constant support for it,” he told thecrowd. The event was attended by the Kuwaiti LiteraryAssociation, Jerusalem Cultural Forum, Kuwait LawyersAssociation and the BDS movement.

KUWAIT: (Left) Demonstrators gather at the Kuwait University campus in Khaldiya yesterday against Israeli violations at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. (Right) A mancarries a placard with a slogan reading “the National Liberation Movement of Ahwaz supports the right of worship of Palestinians in Al-Aqsa mosque” at a demonstrationoutside the Palestinian Embassy in Bayan yesterday. — Photos by Joseph Shagra and Yasser Al-Zayyat

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu faced mount-ing pressure yesterday over newsecurity measures at a sensitiveJerusalem holy site after a weekendof violence left eight people dead,with fears of further unrest. Israeliofficials signaled they may be opento changing the measures at theHaram Al-Sharif mosque com-pound, known to Jews as theTemple Mount, after metal detec-tors were installed at entrances fol-lowing an attack that killed twopolicemen. The detectors remainedin place yesterday, though camerashad also been mounted near atleast one entrance to the com-pound in Jerusalem’s Old City - apossible indication of an alternative.

Meanwhile, a Jordanian waskilled yesterday and an Israeli seri-ously wounded at the Israeliembassy in Amman, a securitysource said. “A Jordanian man waskilled and an Israeli man woundedand is in a serious condition follow-

ing an incident inside the (Israeli)embassy” in the residential Rabiyehneighborhood of Amman, said thesource. Jordanian security forcesdeployed in the streets around theembassy, an AFP correspondentsaid. Israel and Jordan are bound bya 1994 peace treaty, but tensions

have been high in recent days.Netanyahu was holding a cabi-

net meeting and was due to meethis security cabinet later yesterday.“Since the start of the events, I haveheld a series of assessments withsecurity elements including those

Continued on Page 11

Bibi faces pressure over

Aqsa site after 8 killed

Man killed at Amman Israeli embassy

JERUSALEM: Israeli border guards attempt to disperse PalestinianMuslim worshippers outside Lions’ Gate, a main entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday as theygather in protest. — AFP

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Opposition MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandarisaid yesterday he has completed a proposal callingto amend five provisions in the penal code totoughen penalties against those harboring wantedcriminals. Kandari said the proposed amendmentscall for increasing penalties related to crimes ofthose who evade jail terms and those who provideassistance to help wanted and convicted criminalsflee or hide them.

The amendments came in light of the reportedescape of 14 Kuwaitis convicted for being mem-bers of the so-called “Abdaly cell”, a 26-memberterror cell convicted of having links to Iran andLebanon’s Hezbollah, possessing large quantitiesof arms and plotting attacks in Kuwait. The amend-ments must first be approved by Assembly com-mittees before they can be sent to the NationalAssembly for a debate.

Continued on Page 11

MP proposes

amendments

to penal code

WASHINGTON: Eight people were found dead yesterdayinside a truck in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio, Texasin what police said appeared to be “human trafficking crime”.Another 28 people were injured - 20 of them severely - andwere being treated at seven local hospitals, San AntonioPolice Chief William McManus and Fire Chief Charles Hoodtold reporters. The police chief said the group included chil-dren, but later told CNN that the eight dead were adult men.He said the truck driver had been arrested.

“We got a call from a Walmart employee about a welfarecheck in a tractor-trailer that was parked on the lot here,”McManus told a news conference. “He was approached bysomeone from that truck, who was asking for water.” Theemployee returned with the water and then called the policewho “found eight people dead in the back of that trailer,” thepolice chief said, calling it a “horrific tragedy”.

He said store security footage showed that some vehiclescame to pick up some travellers who were on the truck and whohad made it out alive. “We’re looking at a human traffickingcrime this evening,” he added. It was not immediately clear howmany people may have survived and fled, McManus said. Hoodsaid the air conditioner in the trailer was not working. “We start-ed extricating patients out of the back of a semi-truck ... we hadanother 20 patients that were either in extremely critical condi-tion or very serious condition and they have been transportedto a number of hospitals.”

San Antonio is a few hours’ drive from the border withMexico’s Nuevo Leon state. Weather in the area has been hotand dry. Federal immigration officials with Immigration andCustoms Enforcement have also been notified, the policechief said. The deadly discovery, sadly “is not an isolated inci-dent. This happens quite frequently under cover of night,”McManus said. Illegal migration over the US border withMexico is an everyday fact. — AFP

Bodies of eight

migrants found

in Texas truck

LO C A LMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh SabahAl-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received yesterdayat Bayan Palace European Union’s foreign policychief Federica Mogherini, on the occasion ofher and delegation’s visit to the country. Shewas escorted by First Deputy Premier andForeign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

The reception was attended by Amiri DiwanAdvisor Mohammad Dhaifallah Sharar and StateMinister for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Ministerof Information Sheikh Mohammad Al-AbdullahAl-Mubarak Al-Sabah, as well as Deputy ForeignMinister Khaled Al-Jarallah.

Later, First Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received Mogherini, and the two dis-cussed regional and international affairs, accord-ing to a ministry statement. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled praised the distinguished relationshipbetween the EU and Kuwait, along with relationsbetween the European bloc and the GulfCooperation Council.

Mogherini is in Kuwait to express EU supportof mediation efforts assumed by His Highnessthe Amir to find solution to the Gulf crisis.

“Kuwait is the mediator that we support andaccompany and with whom we are constantly intouch,” she told a press conference last week.Kuwait’s mediation efforts emerged as SaudiArabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain andEgypt had cut their ties with Qatar.

Earlier yesterday, His Highness the Amirreceived National Assembly Speaker MarzouqAl-Ghanem. His Highness also received HisHighness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. His Highness thenreceived Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled. — KUNA

First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabahmeets with European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with European Union’s foreign policy chief FedericaMogherini. — Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos

Amir meets with EU foreign policy chief

KUWAIT: Kuwait offers education andhealthcare freely to illegal residentsaccording to its humanitarian policies,an official in a state body tasked withthat community’s affairs said yesterday.Executive Director of the I l legalResidents Affairs’ Apparatus, Saleh Al-Fadalah, made the comment as hebriefed the Dutch Ambassador toKuwait Frans Potuyt at the body’s head-quarters in Nayef Palace. A Cabinet deci-sion, adopted in 2011, granted these

incentives along with others to illegalresidents, he said.

Fadalah explained that these initia-tives stem from the Kuwaiti society’s hos-pitable nature, and the country’s leadingposition in the field of global humanitari-an work. These efforts saw His Highnessthe Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah honored by the UN, ashumanitarian leader. However, he statedthat granting citizenship is a sovereignright of nations. — KUNA

Illegal resident’s incentivesstem from Kuwait’s

hospitable nature: Official

KUWAIT: Executive Director of the Illegal Residents Affairs’ Apparatus Saleh Al-Fadalah meets with the Dutch Ambassador to Kuwait Frans Potuyt. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Egyptian Ambassador to Kuwait Yasser Atef hosted a ceremony recently tocelebrate his country’s July 23rd Revolution anniversary. Senior officials, diplomatsand other dignitaries attended the event. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

L O C A L

By A Saleh and Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: A 700-meter ramp will be opentoday for drivers coming from the Sixth RingRoad to Farwaniya Hospital and Ardhiya aswell as the institutions and colleges’ inArdhiya, Public Works Ministry’s AssistantUndersecretary for Roads EngineeringEngineer Ahmad Al-Hussan said. The ramp ispart of the project of constructing and main-taining intersections of main roads with theseventh and sixth ring roads that lead to thenew residential areas in west Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, he said. The project aims at easingtraffic towards the new university inShadadiya, he added.

Expats’ licensesThe parliament’s interior and defense com-

mittee approved the formation of a perma-nent committee to review drivers licenses ofall expats, and that reports must be submittedevery three months to the interior minister,while sending violators to the public prosecu-tion. The proposal was made by MP WaleedAl-Tabtabae.

Conflict of interestsThe government rejected the proposed

law related to the conflict of interests, whichthe parliament’s legislative committee almostcompleted debating it. The government saidthat the law’s articles are available in othereffective laws, which also meet its purpose.The proposed law, which was presented byMP Riyadh Al-Adsani and others, said inexplaining behind its proposal that “due towhat the conflict of interest may cause in the

form of problems and risks on the stability ofstate departments, which in turn threatensdevelopment in general and compromise thelaws clout. Also, because conflict of interest isone of the corruption facts that were men-tioned in the UN treat on fighting corruption.”

Iraqi fishermenThe National Reform Faction in Iraq

accused Kuwait of detaining some Iraqi fisher-

men who were in the joint waters betweenthe two countries, and demanded that Kuwaitshould not hold them accountable. Memberof the Iraqi Parliament Zaher Al-Abbadi saidthat Kuwaiti authorities detained some Iraqifishermen who were in the Khor AbdullahCanal. He said that among the fishermen,there are three brothers, and asked his foreignand interior ministers to intervene for theirrelease.

Ramp serves drivers from SixthRing Road to Farwaniya Hospital

Committee to review expats’ licenses

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Two expatriates were arrestedyesterday with possession of 30,000Tramadol tablets, a banned substance inKuwait, and a small bag of shabu(methamphetamine). The two were takento the relevant authorities to face charges,the Interior Ministry ’s Relations andSecurity Information Department said in astatement.

Absconders arrestedEighteen expatriates, including sixteen

domestic helpers were sent to the deporta-tion center following their arrest during arecent police raid on two domestic helpoffices. Police had raided a fake office thatoffered their services through Facebook,and harbored absconding maids. The otheroffice was licensed, but police discoveredthat it employed maids reported abscond-ing by their original sponsors. Officers atthe interior ministry ’s domestic helpdepartment noticed a person offering theservices of maids to work by the hourthrough Facebook, and action was takenthat led to the suspects’ arrest.

Duo held with drugs

Firefighters douse largefire in Sharq Industrial

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Fire ServiceDirectorate (KFSD) said it has put out alarge fire which broke out at severalgarages in Sharq Industrial yesterday. Thefire, which first engulfed four garages ataround 9:00 am, quickly spread to anoth-

er two businesses, encompassing a 1,500sq m area, KFSD said in a statement.Firefighters from six fire stations were dis-patched to tackle the blaze. An investiga-tion was opened to determine the causesof the fire. — KUNA

L O C A L

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Retro gaming in Kuwait alive and kickingKUWAIT: Retro video game consoles and cartridges displayed at a shop in Kuwait. —KUNA A player from the new generation of gamers is introduced to the classic Neo Geo system.

KUWAIT: The video-gaming industryhave evolved in the last few decades,transforming itself into a multi-mil-lion-dollar business that providesentertainment to people worldwide.Despite high-resolution graphics,nonstop action, and deep provoca-tive storylines in the current genera-tion of consoles, the seemingly easy,yet hard tasks in classic games; likeCapcom’s Street Fighter, Nintendo’sSuper Mario Bros, and Konami’sPenguin Adventure, apparentlyoffered some gamers challengingexperiences, making retro gamingmake a stylish comeback. This nostal-gic vibe exists in Kuwait with a num-ber of shops offering vintage gamingconsoles and cartridges. Some globalcompanies, like Atari, took noticeand started to remanufacture vin-tage gaming systems in smaller com-pact versions to satisfy the needs ofretro gamers. —KUNAOld generations of Gameboys. A collection of FamiCom, Sega and Atarai titles.

Ooredoo Kuwait hosts ‘Tomorrow’s

Leaders’ in their seventh season

In collaboration with MGRP, Kuwait Lawyers SocietyKUWAIT: Ooredoo Kuwait hosted a special train-ing workshop for ‘Tomorrow’s Leaders’, a summerprogram aimed at training and developing theskills of law graduates in cooperation with theManpower Restructuring Program (MGRP) andthe Kuwait Lawyers Society. Speaking at theworkshop, Ooredoo’s Chief Corporate Legal andRegulatory Affairs Officer

Dr Yousef Al-Selili has congratulated thetrainees on their achievements, saying: “AtOoredoo, we always seek opportunities to sup-port youth in various areas, we believe thatinvestment in the youth is an investment in the

future. This is one of the pillars of our SocialCorporate Responsibility.”

He added: “We are pleased with the success ofthe previous phases of the program, whichenters its seventh season this year. In this seasonwe focused on promoting personal and scientificskills in the field of law and won the support oflaw offices, banks, and other private sector estab-lishments in Kuwait.”

At the end of the workshop, Dr Selili led aninteractive session with the trainees in which sev-eral legal issues were discussed and various stim-ulating competitions were held, with the partici-

pants winning valuable prizes in appreciation oftheir efforts.

Tomorrow’s Leaders aims at building a distin-guished generation of legal practitioners byintroducing youths to the applied aspect of lawafter their theoretical studies. This is donethrough various activities like internships, visits tothe legal departments of public and private enti-ties, and courses in human development and lawdelivered by specialists. The program also seeksto promote the culture of volunteering amongthe youth. The program’s team consists of youngmen relying only on their personal efforts.

KUWAIT: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) sponsored Loyac’s trip toMorocco this year, in which young volunteers were introduced to the cul-ture, customs and traditions of the North African country.

L O C A L

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

It may be unconventional for me to be writing abouthow to approach a lawyer, but as a lawyer myself, Ihave experienced dealing with lawyers and clients

alike, so I thought it would be useful to write how tofind the best lawyer. Fortunately and unfortunately, theKuwaiti market is saturated with lawyers. This shouldmake it easy to find a lawyer, but it is still confusing tomany clients on what information to share, what level oftrust should be there and what are the expectations.Therefore, I have decided today to write about a fewcommon questions.

Keep in mindQuestion: What to keep in mind when approaching

a lawyer? Can I trust that everything will be confiden-tial?

Fajer: Yes, everything by law should be under a con-fidentiality clause. When you approach your lawyer, youshould be clear with the following:

1. What documents or correspondences you have inwriting.

2. What do you want out of it? Vengeance should notbe a goal - instead it should be for x amount of money,to know what your rights are, or obtaining a certainright or obligation.

Power of attorney Question: What is a POA and how much power

should I give my lawyer? Also, where can I obtain one?Fajer: First of all let me explain what a POA is - it is a

power of attorney that gives your lawyer the right tocontinue on your behalf with any legal processesrequired. Some POA will give the lawyer the right toobtain money on your behalf, while others will let themdo administrative work on your behalf. Let me give acommon example - let us say you sue your previousemployer for not giving you your indemnity. Your lawyerwins and your indemnity is KD 15,000. If you gave yourlawyer the right to obtain money on your behalf, thenthey could take the amounts and then transfer them toyou. This is something you should discuss with yourlawyer, because there are positive and negative conse-quences. Positive being that it is less work for you toexecute the verdict, and it is only negative if you arehaving difficulties trusting your lawyer. So I suggest youunderstand this point carefully with your lawyer.

You can obtain one from any court of law in Kuwait,the bar association, the ministry complex or LiberationTower. You will need a KD 2 stamp, a letter from thelawyer and the lawyer’s ID as well as yours.

Lawyer charges Question: What are the common charges for lawyers?Fajer: I get this question a lot and really, it depends

on the type of case and the type of proof required (whatdocuments you have and what documents are missing).It is a service industry and therefore each lawyer has adifferent way of charging their clients. One thing tokeep in mind though is only trust a lawyer that has stud-ied your case before they provide you with a quotation.I personally do not trust lawyers that give quotationswithout seeing the whole picture.

Contract with a lawyerQuestion: I am about to sign a contract with a

lawyer and was wondering if you have any advice onwhat to keep an eye out for?

Fajer: There are many things to be wary of whensigning any contract in general. The most importantthing though for any contract is that the obligations andresponsibilities of each party are clearly written out. It ishighly important that both parties involved understandwhat is required from them.

Let me give an example - when signing the serviceagreement with your lawyer for an employment case,your contract should clearly state what your lawyer isasking on your behalf by writing out all the benefits thatyou are rightfully entitled to. So the contract betweenyour lawyer and yourself would mention, for example,that your lawyer will obtain your termination indemnityplus your economy return class ticket to your homecountry, remuneration for your off days and so on.

The payments should be agreed on in the contract,including the amount to be paid, the dates of paymentand the preferred method of payment for the amountsmentioned. Also, keep in mind that if the lawyer is rep-resenting you for any cases or issues that involve themobtaining money on your behalf, then your contractshould include their method of payment to you. Willthey obtain the money from the court in their name andthen transfer it to you? And if so, when will they pay youback, etc.

Should you have any questions or concerns, or yourequire a consultation, please email me atask@fajerthelawyer.com.

How to approach

a lawyer

Legalese

By Attorney Fajer Ahmed

Man questioned over

hoax bomb report

KUWAIT: The Ahmadi prosecutor ordered detectives toarrest a man who claimed to be an Australian nationalnamed Deshoka and charged him with false information.Deshoka told police that there was a bomb in Fintas, gavethem directions, then turned off his phone. Police went tothe area and combed the streets, but found nothing.

Body foundHawally detectives are investigating the case of dead

body found in a rented car in front of a Jabriya house. Policewho arrived to the scene in response to an emergency calldiscovered that the body had been there for a full day,where extreme heat caused it to start decomposing.Forensics recovered the body and sent it to the coroner.

TheftA man stole KD 4,000 from his sponsor who asked him

to deposit it in the bank. The citizen went to Nugra policestation and told them he always trusted his Indian employ-ee and used to give money to deposit in the bank, but thelast time he gave him KD 4,000, the man escaped instead.Detectives are working on the case.

Drug possession A citizen was arrested with possession of one kilogram of

hashish. He seemed nervous when he saw a police patrol andobstructed traffic. The young man was on his way to deliver somedrugs, but became nervous when he saw the police and obstruct-ed traffic. Policemen asked the driver to pull over, then noticed thedrugs inside his vehicle. The man was arrested and sent to con-cerned authorities. —Translated from the Arabic press

SARAJEVO: She may once have been knownas “the mistress of life and death”, but in thecourt trying her for war crimes Azra Basichardly stands out. Basic is among around adozen women charged or convicted of crimescommitted during Bosnia’s inter-ethnic war inthe 1990s which claimed nearly 100,000 lives.

Compared to the several hundred menconvicted by local and international courts forcrimes committed during the 1992-1995 war,the number of women is not many. But severalex-prisoners have already testified in court toBasic’s brutal torture of detainees since the tri-al opened in February. One witness at Basic’strial recalled in testimony Friday the glimmerof hope he felt on April 26, 1992.

Dusan Nedic said he saw a woman calledAzra enter a detention facility in the northerntown of Derventa, where he was being held byethnic Croats. She spoke with other detainees,he recalled. “For me it was a glimmer of hope,”said Nedic. “I told myself that a ‘woman shouldnot be aggressive as men.’” But he was wrong.“She started to beat the detainees, she wasjumping on them while they were on thefloor,” the 55-year-old shoe factory worker said.

Looking at her in court, it is difficult to linkBasic with the brutal violence, including onemurder, of which she is accused. A short, silent,bespectacled woman, she avoids eye contactwhen in court. When in 2011 the authoritiesfinally caught up with her after the war, she

was working in a food factory in the UnitedStates. Basic has pleaded not guilty to warcrimes against civilians and prisoners of war atthe start of her trial, including a charge that shekilled a prisoner. “This person was not me,” shetold the court on Friday, her voice trembling. “Iswear before God and that’s all,” she added, asSlavisa Djuras, the son of Blagoje Djuras, theman she allegedly killed, looked on.

‘Better’ than men Biljana Plavsic, now aged 86, remains the

most famous woman war criminal from theformer Yugoslavia. The former Bosnian Serbvice-president Biljana Plavsic is also the onlyone tried before the UN war crimes court inThe Hague. She was sentenced to 11 years injail in 2003 after pleading guilty to crimesagainst humanity for her leading role in a cam-paign of persecution against Croats andMuslims during Bosnia’s war.

“Women are just as capable of committingcrimes,” prominent Croatian writer SlavenkaDrakulic, told AFP. That much is clear from heressay on war criminals in the formerYugoslavia titled “They Would Never hurt aFly”. “A woman in such a position has to be‘better’ than men,” Drakulic wrote in an essayon Plavsic. “In the given circumstances itmeant taking more radical views.” Drakulicrecalled the scientific-racist rhetoric used byPlavsic during Bosnia’s war, the kind of ideas

the Nazis would not have rejected.Plavsic, a former biology professor, labeled

Bosnian Muslims a “genetic mistake on theSerbian body”. Bosnia’s war crimes prosecutorssay more cases against women suspects are inthe pipeline. According to local media, some40 women are being investigated for war

crimes. Visnja Acimovic, a 45-year-old BosnianSerb who now lives in neighboring Serbia, isone of them. She is accused of having takenpart in the 1992 executions of 37 Muslims inthe eastern Bosnian town of Vlasenica, most ofthem between 15 and 20 years old. Shedenied the charges before a Belgrade court in

January, and Serbia will not extradite its citi-zens for trial in Bosnia. They do not trustBosnian justice, her lawyer Krsto Bobot said.But not everyone enjoys such protection.

‘Notably cruel’ In March, Switzerland extradited Elfeta

Veseli, a former member of Bosnian Muslimforces, back to Bosnia. She is accused of the1992 murder of a 12-year-old Serb in easternBosnia. As his family had fled, the boyreturned for a forgotten dog and paid for itwith his life. Veseli’s trial has yet to start. But aswell as Basic, the United States has also extra-dited Rasema Handanovic,44.

She had lied about her past as a formermember of a special Bosnian Muslim unit. In2012 she pleaded guilty to the execution ofthree civilians and three ethnic Croat prison-ers of war in the central Bosnian town ofTrusina. “The order was to do the work atTrusina, so that no one remained alive,” shetold the court. She was jailed for five and ahalf years. “Each of these women had herown personal reason that could explain hersadistic outburst that targeted men in partic-ular,” said Bosnian psychologist IsmetDizdarevic. While there were fewer womenwar criminals they were notably cruel “toprove their power among men,” he told AFP.Most of war crimes committed by womentook place in a detention context. — AFP

Divided UK, uncertain election could put the brakes on Brexit

Page 8

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Chicago women worried about violence join up with gun clubsPage 8

VERMONT: President Donald Trump speaks during the commissioning ceremony of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) at Naval Station Norfolk. — AP

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump saidSaturday that he has “complete power” to issuepardons, an assertion that comes amid investi-gations into Russian interference in last year’spresidential election. It was one of many topicsthat appeared to occupy the president’s mindas the day broke.

On a day when most people are ready toforget about the issues that nagged themduring the week, Trump revved up. In an earlymorning flurry of 10 tweets, he commentedabout pardons, former presidential rivalHillary Clinton, son Don Jr, health care, theUSS Gerald Ford, the attorney general andother issues. Trump said in one of his 10 mes-sages: “While all agree the US President hasthe complete power to pardon, why think ofthat when only crime so far is LEAKS against

us. FAKE NEWS.” The Washington Post recentlyreported that Trump has inquired about theauthority he has as president to pardon aides,relatives or even himself in connection withthe widening investigation into Russian inter-ference in the election and whether any Trumpassociates were involved. The president haslong criticized leaks of information about theinvestigation, and has urged authorities toprosecute leakers. Trump maintains that nocrimes have been committed.

One of Trump’s attorneys, Jay Sekulow, saidthe president has not discussed the issue ofpardons with his outside legal team. Sekulowreiterated that point Saturday evening.Speaking to reporters at the site of the WesternConservative Summit in Denver, he said thatTrump’s private legal team is “not researching it

because it’s not an issue.” “I don’t know wherethis came from. There is nothing to pardon,”said Sekulow, who added that “what’s going onin Washington is an attack on the president.”

Next week, Trump’s eldest son, DonaldTrump Jr.; his son-in-law and White Houseadviser, Jared Kushner; and Paul Manafort, hisformer campaign chairman, are scheduled toappear before Senate committees investigat-ing Russian meddling.

Trump defended his son in one of the tweets,saying he “openly gave his e-mails to the media& authorities whereas Crooked Hillary Clintondeleted (& acid washed) her 33,000 e-mails!”Trump’s namesake has become a focus of theinvestigation after it was revealed that he,Kushner and Manafort met with Russian repre-sentatives at Trump Tower in June 2016. Trump

Jr. later released email exchanges concerningthe meeting on Twitter, after learning that TheNew York Times was about to publish them.

The FBI investigated Clinton for using a pri-vate email server as secretary of state. Sheturned over thousands of pages of emails tothe government, but deleted thousands ofothers that she said were personal or unrelatedto her work as the nation’s top diplomat.

Trump also complained Saturday about aWashington Post report that the Russianambassador to the US said he discussed elec-tion-related issues with Jeff Sessions when themen met during the 2016 presidential race.Sessions, now the attorney general, at the timewas a U.S. senator and foreign policy adviser toTrump. Trump tweeted: “A new INTELLIGENCELEAK from the Amazon Washington Post,this

time against AG Jeff Sessions.These illegalleaks, like Comey’s, must stop!”

The Post on Friday cited anonymous US offi-cials who described US intelligence interceptsof Ambassador Sergey Kislyak’s descriptions ofhis meetings with Sessions. The JusticeDepartment said Sessions stands by his previ-ous assertion that he never had conversationswith Russian officials about any type of inter-ference with the election.

Trump also said “Republican Senators muststep up to the plate and, after 7 years, vote toRepeal and Replace” the Obama-era healthcare law. An effort to advance legislation col-lapsed in the Senate earlier this week after sev-eral Republicans said they wouldn’t vote forthe bill. Trump ended the tweet with “TaxReform and Infrastructure. WIN!” — AP

Trump asserts ‘complete power’ for pardonPresident has urged authorities to prosecute leakers

SARAJEVO: This handout picture taken on November 22, 2016 and released by Bosnia andHerzegovina Prosecutor Office, shows Azra Basic (58), (L), while being processed by a lawofficer after her arrival at Sarajevo International airport. — AFP

Bosnia’s wartime ‘mistresses of life and death’

I N T E R N AT I O N A LMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

ISTANBUL: Germany has no right to interfere inTurkey’s domestic affairs, President Recep TayyipErdogan said yesterday, his latest broadside in ablistering row sparked by the waves of arrestsunder the current state of emergency. SeveralGerman nationals are among those being heldand Berlin has warned its citizens that their safe-ty cannot be guaranteed in Turkey and that con-sular access is not assured in case of arrest.

Throwing away any pretence at diplomaticnuance, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabrielhad Thursday also warned German firms againstinvestment in Turkey and spoke of an “overhaul”of the entire relationship. “Turkey is a social dem-ocratic state based on law and no one has theright to interfere in its internal affairs,” saidErdogan before heading off on a trip to the Gulf.

Addressing Gabriel’s comments, he said: “We(Turkey and Germany) are together in NATO. We(Turkey) are in negotiations to join the EU. “Sothe strategic partnership between us is nothing

new. We have been partners for a long time. Nostep should be taken to overshadow this part-nership,” he added.

In an interview with the daily Bild, however,Germany’s powerful finance minister, WolfgangSchaeuble, warned Erdogan that he was “jeopar-dizing the centuries-old partnership betweenTurkey and Germany”. “It is truly dramatic-thereis actually so much that connects us. But we willnot be blackmailed,” he said, according toextracts of the interview to be published onMonday.

Public security The German Chambers of Commerce and

Industry (DIHK) estimated that the prevailinguncertainty would likely wipe two billion euros($2.3 billon) off bilateral trade, the Welt amSonntag newspaper reported. Turkey remainsunder a state of emergency imposed days afterlast year’s July 15 failed coup which critics claim

is being used to go after any opponent ofErdogan. The authorities say the emergency isneeded for public security.

The latest crisis was precipitated by the orderof a Turkish court to remand in custody a groupof human rights activists detained on an islandoff Istanbul, including Amnesty International’sTurkey director Idil Eser and Berlin-based activistPeter Steudtner. But Berlin was already furiousover the jailing in February of Deniz Yucel,Turkey correspondent for Die Welt newspaper,who Erdogan has personally denounced as a“terror agent”.

Meanwhile, Turkey accuses Germany of notdoing enough to deal with Kurdish militants andsuspects from the failed coup who has takenrefuge on its soil. Erdogan said Ankara hadpassed Berlin 4,500 dossiers on KurdistanWorkers Party (PKK) suspects alone. Both Turkeyand the EU as well as the US outlaw the PKK as aterror group. —AFP

ANKARA: Vendors sell products featuring coup-victim Omer Halisdemir during the first anniversary of a failed coup attempt onJuly 16, 2017 at Taksim Square. —AFP

Erdogan tells Germany - don’t

Interfere in any Turkish affairs

Latest broadside in a blistering row

COLOMBO: Two young elephantswashed out to sea were saved fromdrowning yesterday by the Sri Lankannavy in the second such incident off theisland in as many weeks. The navy saidthe pair of wild elephants were broughtashore after a “mammoth effort” involvingnavy divers, ropes and a flotilla of boats to

tow them back to shallow waters. Photosshowed the elephants in distress, barelykeeping their trunks above water in thedeep seas about one kilometre off thecoast of Sri Lanka.

“Having safely guided the two ele-phants to the shore, they were subse-quently released to the Foul Point jungle

(in Trincomalee district),” the navy said in astatement.”They were extremely lucky tohave been spotted by a patrol craft whichcalled in several other boats to help withthe rescue.” Two weeks ago, the navymounted a similar operation in the sameregion to save a lone elephant washedeight kilometers off the Sri Lankan coast

into the deep waters of the Indian Ocean.Navy officials say the animals were

likely swept out while crossing shallowlagoons in the region. They are not theonly wildlife to encounter trouble in thebiodiverse island. In May, the navy andlocal residents saved a pod of 20 pilotwhales that became stranded in

Trincomalee, a natural harbor that is pop-ular for whale watching. The watersaround Trincomalee, which were used byAllied forces as a staging post duringWorld War II, have a high concentration ofblue and sperm whales, while the sur-rounding jungles have herds of wild ele-phants. —AFP

Sri Lanka navy rescues two elephants washed out to sea

BEIJING: Yang Qianqian holds out hersmartphone to scan a barcode on themobile of a vendor selling fresh fruit andvegetables at a bustling outdoor market inBeijing. The dance student is part of anexplosion in the use of mobile paymentplatforms in China as consumers increas-ingly take out phones instead of cash topay for everything from a coffee to a lan-guage class or a gas bill.

“Even though I have cash on me it’s notconvenient to get it when I am carrying alot of bags,” said Yang, 25, clutching plasticbags filled with pears, potatoes and water-melon. China was the first country in theworld to use paper money but centurieslater the soaring popularity of mobile pay-ment has some analysts forecasting it couldbe the first to stop.

The gross merchandise value of thirdparty mobile payment rose more than 200percent to 38 trillion yuan (about $5.6 tril-lion) in 2016 from a year earlier, accordingto China-based iResearch. The growth ofthe cash-free system has been supportedby China’s rapidly expanding e-commercemarket as Chinese shoppers increasinglyshun bricks and mortar stores. “I think it’sreally very possible that China becomes thefirst or one of the first cashless societies inthe next decade,” said Ben Cavender, adirector at China Market Research Group.Cavender estimates China’s mobile pay-ment market is already 40-50 times largerthan the United States.

Cashless Alipay, started by e-commerce giant

Alibaba and now owned by its affiliate AntFinancial, and WeChat Pay, which is builtinto Tencent’s popular messaging service,have hundreds of millions of users betweenthem and are China’s dominant paymentplatforms.

In Beijing it is hard to find a product ora service that cannot be purchased with amobile. At the fresh produce market, stall-holders display barcodes on tables ladenwith fruit and vegetables for customerslike Yang to scan-though many shoppersappeared more comfortable with cash.

“People at my age don’t dare to use it,”said a woman in her 50s. Some restaurantsin the capital no longer accept bank noteswhile it is common for motorbike taxis,street food carts and hair salons to offermobile payment. Mobile accounted foreight percent of the total value of retailpayments in 2015 and is expected toreach 12 percent in 2020, according to areport published in April by UN-backedBetter Than Cash Alliance.

But cash is still king in China-althoughless so than it used to be. The Better Than

Cash Alliance expects cash’s percentage ofthe value of retail payments to fall to 30percent by 2020. It stood at 61 percent in2010. A key attraction of mobile paymentis convenience.

People can carry little or no cash andavoid the problem of their debit or creditcard being rejected due to the limitednumber of point-of-sale terminals instores. China’s relatively short history ofusing bank cards also makes consumersmore open to new technology, said MartinUtreras, vice president of forecasting ateMarketer. “In China a lot of people neverhad any financial instruments that wereautomated in any way and the first thingthey had was mobile payment,” he said.

‘Hands off’ But some have been reluctant converts

to the cashless system. Among them is a63-year-old woman surnamed Song whosells hand-knitted sunflowers andpeashooters from the popular video gamePlants vs Zombies in a pedestrian under-pass in Beijing. She prefers cash butaccepts mobile payment because somecustomers do not carry real money. “Cashis more convenient for me because I’m get-ting older and have bad eyesight,” she said,standing next to her bright-colored orna-ments neatly displayed on the ground.

Riding on their success, paymentproviders are expanding their businessesto offer consumer and business creditscoring, short-term lending and eveninvestment products. The shift fits withthe Chinese government’s domestic agen-da of boosting consumer spending andincreasing access to financial servicesamong ordinary people.

Alibaba and Tencent are also takingtheir technology-and deep pockets-abroad as they target cashed-up Chinesetourists and nascent payment markets indeveloping countries.

Tencent earlier this month teamed upwith German payments company Wirecardto launch WeChat Pay in Europe whereAlipay is already available. Security ofmobile payment is a growing concern,however, after reports of criminals replac-ing real barcodes with fake ones carryingsoftware that steals personal informationor drains users’ bank accounts.

Authorities are still working out “theright balance between innovation andregulation”, according to Better ThanCash Alliance, but they have been “moreactive” in taking steps to reduce financialrisk and fraud. “The government doesn’twant to slow down adoption... that’s whythey have kept their hands off,” saidCavender. —AFP

China cashing out as

mobile payment soars

BEIJING: This file photo shows a woman making purchases by scanning QRcodes using her smartphone at a fruit stall in a market in Beijing. China wasthe first country in the world to use paper money but centuries later thesoaring popularity of mobile payment has some analysts forecasting itcould be the first to stop. —AFP

JERUSALEM: Eight people havebeen killed in a weekend of vio-lence following new Israeli securitymeasures at an ultra-sensitiveJerusalem holy site. Here is a time-line of events related to the crisis:

Attack and mosque shutdown On July 14, three Arab Israelis

armed with automatic rifles and aknife exit Jerusalem’s Haram Al-Sharif compound, known to Jewsas the Temple Mount, and shootdead two police officers stationednearby. The assailants flee backinto the flashpoint holy site, whichincludes Al-Aqsa mosque and theDome of the Rock, before beingshot dead by security forces.

Arab Israelis are descendants ofPalestinians who remained on theirland following the creation of thestate of Israel in 1948. They largelyidentify with the Palestinian cause.Israel then takes the highly unusualdecision to shut down the com-pound, meaning Muslim worship-pers cannot attend Friday prayersthere the same day, triggeringanger from Muslims and Jordan,the holy site’s custodian. The siteremains closed the next day, whileparts of Jerusalem’s Old City areunder lockdown as Israel conductssearches for concealed weapons.

Metal detectors Late on July 15, Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahuannounces the site will open thenext day and security forces willinstall metal detectors and surveil-lance cameras to prevent furtherattacks. But when the compoundopens on July 16 with metal detec-tors in place, Muslim worshippersrefuse to enter due to the newsecurity measures, which they per-ceive as a means for Israel to assertfurther control over the site.Prayers are instead held in thestreets leading to the site. Thecompound is located in eastJerusalem, which was occupied by

Israel in 1967 and later annexed ina move never recognized by theinternational community.

Clashes From July 16 to 20, sporadic

clashes break out after prayers.Muslim worshippers hold firm intheir resolution to not enter thecompound while the metal detec-tors remain in place as concernsrise over a possible escalation ofthe situation. On July 20, Turkey’sPresident Recep Tayyip Erdoganjoins the Palestinian leadership inurging Israel to remove the metaldetectors. But after consultationswith the security establishment,Netanyahu decides to leave themetal detectors in place, thoughallows police to apply discretion inusing them.

Friday eruption Ahead of Friday prayers on July

21, Israeli police take the raremeasure of closing off the Old Cityto men under 50. Mass protestprayers are held aroundJerusalem’s Old City and demon-strations there and in the occupiedWest Bank lead to clashes in whichthree Palestinians are k il led.Palestinian president MahmudAbbas says he is freezing contactswith Israel. Later the same day, aPalestinian breaks into a Jewishhome in the settlement of NeveTsuf in the West Bank and stabsfour Israelis, killing three of thembefore being shot by a neighbor.The Israeli army says the assailanthad spoken of the Jerusalem holysite and of dying as a martyr in aFacebook post.

More clashes On July 22, c lashes in east

Jerusalem and the West Bank con-tinue, resulting in the death oftwo Palestinians, including onewhen a petrol bomb explodesprematurely. Diplomats say theUN Security Counci l wi l l holdclosed-door talks two days laterabout the spiraling violence afterEgypt, France and Sweden seek ameeting to “urgently discuss howcal ls for de - escalat ion inJerusalem can be supported”. OnJuly 23, a rocket fired at Israelfrom Gaza hits an open area,causing no injuries. The Israelicabinet convenes, with officialsnot ruling out removing the metaldetectors if a satisfactory alterna-t ive to them is approved bypolice. —AFP

How it happened: Holy site crisis

JERUSALEM: Palestinian youths hurl stones towards Israeli police officers during clashes. —APBEIRUT: Syria’s regime carried out air raidson one of the last rebel strongholds nearDamascus yesterday, a monitor said, a dayafter it declared a ceasefire in parts of thebesieged enclave. The Syrian army onSaturday announced a halt in fighting forparts of Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-heldregion on the outskirts of the capital thathas been ravaged in the six-year conflict.

“Regime warplanes targeted the area ofAin Terma with at least six strikes since earlymorning, and two raids were carried out onand around the city of Douma,” the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights monitoringgroup said. The Britain-based monitor,which relies on sources in Syria for its infor-mation, did not report any casualties.

Regime shelling also hit the outskirts ofthe town of Jisreen on Sunday, theObservatory said, after regime artillery androcket fire on areas including Ain Terma andthe town of Harasta on Saturday after theceasefire started. President Bashar Al-Assad’sforces have surrounded the Eastern Ghouta

region for more than four years, and regimeforces have regularly targeted the area.

Assad’s forces have for weeks beenfighting rebels on the outskirts of AinTerma, which links Eastern Ghouta toopposition-held parts of the Damascus dis-trict of Jobar. Observatory head RamiAbdel Rahman said no jihadist forces werepresent in the areas targeted by regimebombardment. The army announced a haltin fighting in areas of Eastern Ghouta onSaturday from midday local time, but didnot say which areas exactly would beincluded.

The ceasefire announcement cameafter regime ally Russia said it had reacheda deal with “moderate” rebels on theboundaries and policing of the safe zone.It said the sides had also agreed “routes tosupply humanitarian aid to the popula-tion and for free movement of residents”.But no rebel group yielding influence inEastern Ghouta said they had signed thatagreement. —AFP

Syria strikes near Damascus

despite ceasefire: Monitor

Tibetan student sets himself alight in India

NEW DELHI: A Tibetan student who self-immolatedin an act of protest against Chinese rule in theHimalayan region has died in an Indian hospital, adoctor said yesterday. Tenzin Choeying, 19, suc-cumbed to critical burn injuries in New Delhi a weekafter shouting “Victory to Tibet” and setting fire tohimself at a university campus in Varanasi, in India’snorthern Uttar Pradesh state. “He died on Saturdaydays after he was shifted from a Varanasi hospital forspecialized treatment,” a medical superintendentsaid. His body will be handed over to the authoritiesafter a postmortem.

Shoot drug traffickers who resist: Indonesia Prez

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo hasordered the police to shoot drug traffickers who resistarrest in the latest effort to eradicate drug use in thecountry. In a speech to one of Indonesia’s political par-ties late Friday, Widodo urged law enforcers to crack-down on drug dealers in Indonesia. “Be firm. Especiallyto foreign drug dealers who enter the country. If theyresist even the slightest, just shoot them,” Widodo said.The Indonesian Narcotics Agency recorded there are 6million drug users in the archipelago out of its 255 mil-lion people, a situation the president labeled “drugemergency”. But Widodo’s remarks prompted criticismfrom human rights activists.

Newsi n b r i e f

Indian gang held for stealing 50 million liters of crude oil

NEW DELHI: Police in Rajasthan have cracked a criminalsyndicate accused of smuggling more than 50 millionliters of crude oil inside water tankers from India’slargest onshore oilfield, an official said yesterday. Thetheft at the Cairn India oilfield went undetected fornearly six years until police in the western desert statearrested 25 people this week for involvement in thesophisticated smuggling network. Local media report-ed $7.75 million worth of oil could have been stolen intotal from the oilfield run by a subsidiary of British min-ing giant Vedanta Resources.

Robot finds possible melted fuel in Fukushima reactor

TOKYO: Lava-like rocks believed to be meltednuclear fuel have been spotted inside Japan’s strick-en Fukushima reactor by an underwater robot, theplant’s operator said at the end of a three-dayinspection. Large amounts of the solidified lumpsand deposit were spotted for the first time by therobot on the floor of the primary containment vesselunderneath the core of Fukushima’s No. 3 reactor,the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said. “There is ahigh possibility that the solidified objects are mix-tures of melted metal and fuel that fell from the ves-sel,” a TEPCO spokesman said, adding that the com-pany was planning further analysis of the images.

Mass protest calls to curb incense burning in Taiwan

TAIPEI: The sound of clanging cymbals and blaringhorns filled downtown Taipei yesterday as thousandsmarched in a colorful Taoist procession, protesting agovernment call to cut back on the burning of incensesticks. About 100 temples took part in the demonstra-tion, where performers carried statues of Taoist gods ontheir shoulders while others danced in larger-than-lifecostumes. Taipei police said more than 10,000 peopletook part in the protest. Officials have been pushing tocurb the practice of burning incense sticks and papermoney along with lighting firecrackers to combat pollu-tion on the island. —Agencies

LONDON: Lucy Harris thinks Britain’s decisionto leave the European Union is a dream cometrue. Nick Hopkinson thinks it’s a nightmare.The two Britons - a “leave” supporter and a“remainer” - represent the great divide in acountry that stepped into the unknown justover a year ago, when British voters decidedby 52 percent to 48 percent to end more thanfour decades of EU membership.

They are also as uncertain as the rest ofthe country about what Brexit will look like,and even when it will happen. Since theshock referendum result, work on negotiat-ing the divorce from the EU has slowed to acrawl as the scale and complexity of the chal-lenge becomes clearer. Harris, founder of thepro-Brexit group Leavers of London, says sheis hopeful, rather than confident, that Britainwill really cut its ties with the EU.

“If we haven’t finalized it, then anything’sstill up for grabs,” she said. “Everything is stillto play for.” She’s not the only Brexiteer, asthose who support leaving the EU are called,to be concerned. After an election last monthclipped the wings of Britain’s Conservativegovernment, remainers are gaining in confi-dence. “Since the general election I’ve beenmore optimistic that at least we’re headedtoward soft Brexit, and hopefully we canreverse Brexit altogether,” said Hopkinson,chairman of pro-EU group London4Europe.“Obviously the government is toughing itout, showing a brave face. But I think its brit-tle attitude toward Brexit will break and snap.”

New divide Many on both sides of the divide had

assumed the picture would be clearer bynow. But the road to Brexit has not runsmoothly. First the British government lost aSupreme Court battle over whether a vote inParliament was needed to begin the Brexitprocess. Once the vote was held, and won,Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservativegovernment officially triggered the two-yearcountdown to exit, starting a race to untan-gle four decades of intertwined laws and reg-ulations by March 2019.

Then, May called an early election in a bid

to strengthen her hand in EU negotiations.Instead, voters stripped May’s Conservativesof their parliamentary majority, severely dent-ing May’s authority - and her ability to holdtogether a party split between its pro-andanti-EU wings. Since the June 8 election, gov-ernment ministers have been at war, provid-ing the media with a string of disparaging,anonymously sourced stories about oneanother. Much of the sniping has targetedTreasury chief Philip Hammond, the mostsenior minister in favor of a compromise “softBrexit” to cushion the economic shock ofleaving the bloc.

The result is a disunited British govern-ment and an increasingly impatient EU. EUofficials have slammed British proposals sofar as vague and inadequate. The first sub-stantive round of divorce talks in Brussels lastweek failed to produce a breakthrough, asthe EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, saidBritain must clarify its positions in key areas.

Barnier said “fundamental” differences

remain on one of the biggest issues - thestatus of 3 million EU citizens living in Britainand 1 million UK nationals who reside inother European countries. A British proposalto grant permanent residency to Europeansin the UK was dismissed by the EuropeanParliament as insufficient and burdensome.There’s also a fight looming over the multi-billion-euro bill that Britain must pay tomeet previous commitments it made as anEU member. British Foreign Secretary BorisJohnson recently asserted the bloc could “gowhistle” if it thought Britain would settle abig exit tab.

Britain’s goals “I am not hearing any whistling. Just the

clock ticking,” Barnier replied. EU officialsinsist there can be no discussion of a futuretrade deal with Britain until “sufficientprogress” has been made on citizens’ rights,the exit bill and the status of the Irish border.“We don’t seem to be much further on now

than we were just after the referendum,” saidTim Bale, professor of politics at Queen MaryUniversity of London. “I’m not sure anybodyknows just how this is going to go. I’m notsure the government has got its negotiatinggoals sorted. I’m not sure the EU really knowswhat (Britain’s goals) are either.

“I think we are going to find it very, veryhard to meet this two-year deadline beforewe crash out.” The prospect of tumbling outof the bloc - with its frictionless single marketin goods and services - and into a world oftariffs and trade barriers has given Britain’seconomy the jitters. The pound has lost morethan 10 percent of its value against the dollarin the last year, economic growth has slowedand manufacturing output has begun to fall.

Employers’ organization theConfederation of British Industry says theuncertainty is threatening jobs. The groupsays to ease the pain, Britain should remainin the EU’s single market and customs unionduring a transitional period after Brexit. Thatidea has support from many lawmakers,both Conservative and Labour, but couldbring the wrath of pro-Brexit Conservativesdown on the already shaky May govern-ment. That could trigger a party leadershipchallenge or even a new election - and moredelays and chaos.

In the meantime, there is little sign thecountry has heeded May’s repeated calls tounite. A post-referendum spike in hate crimesagainst Europeans and others has subsided,but across the country families have foughtand friendships have been strained overBrexit. “It has created divisions that justweren’t there,” said Hopkinson, who calls theforces unleashed by Brexit a “nightmare.”

On that, he and Harris agree. Harris set upLeavers of London as a support group afterfinding her views out of synch with manyothers in her 20-something age group. “I wasfed up with being called a xenophobe,” shesaid. “You start this conversation and it getsreally bad very quickly.” She strongly believesBritain will be better off outside the EU. But,she predicts: “We’re in for a bumpy ride, bothsides.” —AP

Divided UK, uncertain election

could put the brakes on Brexit

Work on EU divorce has already slowed to a crawl

LONDON: In this Saturday, June 25, 2016 file photo, the front pages ofBritain’s newspapers report on the EU referendum result. —AP

OAK FOREST: Her hands slowed by rheuma-toid arthritis, 71-year-old Marietta Crowderstands in front of her paper target, steadiesher gun and pulls the trigger. Shots are firedin quick succession. Crowder is perhaps notthe typical patron of a gun club. But she isone of seven women learning to safely han-dle firearms at a shooting range in a suburbof Chicago, a city wracked by gun violenceand a soaring murder rate.

“My husband influenced me and wethought about it a long time. Maybe youneed a gun these days, in your house at least,”said Crowder, who lives in a gated communi-ty with her retired banker husband. A fellowretiree, Javondlynn Dunagan, came up withthe idea of gun training classes gearedtoward women, and for the “Ladies of Steel”gun club-after successful training, thewomen gather twice a month to practicetheir skills.

Dunagan served as a parole officer for 25years before finishing her career in January,but had rarely held a gun when dealing withconvicts. She said she started carrying oneafter divorcing her police officer husband. “Iwas at home by myself with my daughter,and I was used to having a firearm in a homewith my ex-husband,” she explained. “So, Iwanted to make sure that we were safe.” ButDunagan noticed something curious whenshe visited gun ranges around Chicago topractice. “I noticed that I never saw twowomen at the range together or a group ofladies,” she recounted.

‘Scared of guns’ Dunagan was particularly struck by the

lack of African-American women like herselfinterested in learning how to use firearms. “Istarted asking friends and they said, ‘Yeah, I’mscared of guns.’” That answer prompted her tostart JMD Defense & Investigations, offeringgun training programs geared towardswomen. The “investigations” side of the busi-ness will debut next year. Dunagan alsooffers classes such as the “Mommy & Me Self-Defense Class,” where women can bring theirdaughters, ages 8-18 years, to learn hand-to-hand combat.

“That came about because my daughterwas going to college four years ago and shecouldn’t find a self-defense class on the southside of Chicago,” Dunagan said. Her clients arefrom the predominantly African-Americancommunities in Chicago’s south side, in ornear neighborhoods struggling with runawaygun violence.

Chicago does not have the worst crimerate in the nation, but owing to its large popu-lation-it’s the third-biggest US city-it has seena staggering number of killings and shoot-ings. By mid-July, there had been 1,557 shoot-ings and 369 people murdered so far this year,according to the Chicago Police Department.Gangs and the drug trade are behind most ofthe shootings, and they are indiscriminate.Just this week, a 78-year-old man was wound-ed in one shooting, and a six-year-old girl andher four-year-old brother were wounded inanother. All survived. —AFP

Chicago women worried about

violence join up with gun clubs

CHICAGO: Dr Shandrea Boyd (R) shoots at a target as instructor Will Smithlooks on during her concealed carry certification test at the Eagle Sportsgun range. —AFP

MARIPOSA: An air tanker drops retardant while battling a wildfire. —AP

LOS ANGELES: Steve Valdez was back at workSaturday at a hardware store, days after his homeand those of his neighbors were incinerated in agigantic wildfire that swept through a rural area ofCalifornia near Yosemite National Park. “This is ahardware store in a small town. There are peopleout there who depend upon us to get power, toget water, to get their equipment fixed,” saidValdez, a clerk at Coast Hardware Do It Best inMariposa. “They’re getting stuff to get by.”

The aggressive wildfire sweeping through theSierra Nevada foothills covered with dense brushand dead trees has destroyed 60 homes and 64other buildings. It spared Mariposa, a historic GoldRush-era town but burned homes nearby. Theblaze that erupted on July 16 scorched nearly 118square miles (305 sq. kilometers) of trees and grassand continued to threaten about 1,500 homes, butits spread had slowed drastically.

“They are still out in front of an uncontrolledfire but the fire isn’t moving at 30 mph, the fire iscrawling along,” fire spokesman Brandon Vaccarosaid. Nearly 4,500 firefighters, air tankers and fleetsof helicopters and bulldozers fought the blaze bychopping firebreaks and dumping rivers of waterand fire retardant.

Wet winterThe blaze fed on long grass that sprouted from

a wet winter along with brush that had beenstricken by five years of drought and trees killedoff by a beetle infestation. In some places, the

flames were so fierce that “every bit of vegetationis gone and you’re down to the scorched earth,”Vaccaro said. The fire grew by up to 30,000 acres aday at its peak, but by the weekend the growthrate was down to about 1,000 acres a day despitedry, blistering weather, he said. The blaze, movingnortheast, was 40 percent contained but it couldtake another two weeks for firefighters to fully sur-round it, Vaccaro said. The smoke blurred the sce-nic vistas of Yosemite National Park, about 35 mileswest of the fire. Tourists expecting the grandeur offalls and granite peaks instead saw hazy gray sil-houettes. Ken Welsh, 60, of New Zealand said hehad been prepared to be “blown away by aTechnicolor dream” at Yosemite.

He shrugged his shoulders and headed back tothe car. “It leaves a lot to the imagination, doesn’tit?” he told the Los Angeles Times. At its peak, theblaze forced about 5,000 people to evacuate. Someroads remained closed but Mariposa, with a popu-lation of about 2,000, was coming back to life.People were coming into the hardware store forplumbing parts and electrical cords a day afterevacuations were lifted.

Valdez said he decided to work even thoughhis 4,400-square-foot home was among thosedestroyed. “Older people know that everythingheals,” said Valdez, 60. “Everything gets better ifyou just keep plugging away.” Valdez and his wifehad 20 minutes to grab a few photographs, billsand some family Bibles before they fled theencroaching flames. —AP

California wildfire slows,

residents try to recover

AACHEN: Germany needs to takeaction now to prevent a re-run of 2015,when some 890,000 migrants arrivedin the country, Chancellor AngelaMerkel’s Social Democrat challengerfor a September election told Reutersyesterday.

In September 2015, Merkel threwopen Germany’s borders to thousandsof migrants to avoid a humanitariandisaster - a move that later hit her pop-ularity and boosted the anti-immigrantAlternative for Germany (AfD), thoughher conservatives have since recoveredand support for the AfD has dropped.Martin Schulz, whose Social Democrats

(SPD) are lagging far behind Merkel inthe polls ahead of a Sept. 24 election,warned against a repeat scenario aftermore than 93,000 mainly sub-SaharanAfrican and Bangladeshi migrants havearrived by boat in southern Italy so farin 2017, up 17 percent on the sameperiod last year.

“The numbers in Italy are worrying -thousands per day,” he said in an inter-view in the western German city ofAachen. “If we don’t want a repeat ofwhat we experienced in 2015 we needto take action now as the Italians arereaching their limit in terms of whatthey can do.” Other European Union

countries need to help Italy, such as bytaking in refugees, he added.

Logistical help Schulz said he had spoken to

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday about whatfinancial or logistical help Brusselsmight be able to offer countries pre-pared to take in refugees and said hewould speak to both the Italian gov-ernment and the Commission aboutthis during the week. In an interviewwith the Bild am Sonntag newspaper,Schulz said the situation was “highlyexplosive” and suggested he wanted to

turn it into an election campaign issue,saying: “Those who play for time andtry to ignore the topic until the elec-tion are acting in a very cynical way.”

Migrant arrivals in Germany havebeen far lower this year than in the pre-vious two years, with data from theInterior Ministry showing the numberof new arrivals seeking asylum fell to90,389 in the first half of 2017, abouthalf as many as in the year-earlier peri-od. Last year, some 280,000 migrantsarrived in Germany - a sharp drop com-pared with 2015 - and the refugeeissue has not yet played a major role inthe election campaign. —Reuters

The latest Emnid poll showedMerkel’s conservatives on 38 percentand the SPD on 25 percent. HorstSeehofer, leader of the Christian SocialUnion (CSU) - the Bavarian sister partyto Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) -told the Welt am Sonntag newspaperthe situation was calm now but added:“We all know that the wave of migrantswill continue.” The CSU, which takes atougher tone on migrants thanMerkel’s CDU, has long called for anupper limit on the numbers arrivingand Seehofer yesterday repeated hiscall for a cap of 200,000 per year.Merkel has rejected a cap. —Reuters

Germany must act now to stop re-run of refugee crisis, Merkel rival says

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

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

Russians march against

state internet crackdown

MOSCOW: Around 1,000 people marched through centralMoscow yesterday to protest against the government’s harshlegislative controls on the internet. Demonstrators at the rally,which was authorised by city authorities, shouted slogansincluding “No to censorship, no to dictatorship!” and “Downwith the police state!” Some adapted a popular slogan fromopposition rallies against President Vladimir Putin’s rule, shout-ing “Russia without Putin and censorship!” Police said thataround 800 people attended the protest, which was organisedby Parnas opposition party, headed by former prime ministerMikhail Kasyanov. An AFP journalist estimated the turnout at1,000 to 1,500.

OVD Info website, which monitors detentions of politicalactivists, said three had been detained, one for giving outleaflets promoting opposition leader Alexei Navalny. PavelRassudov, 34, the former head of the Pirate Party campaigngroup, said at the march that “restrictions on the internetbegan in 2011,” as the opposition to Putin held mass rallies inMoscow. “The authorities realised the Internet was a tool formobilisation, that it brings people out onto the streets,”Rassudov said.

Another marcher, Lyudmila Toporova, 56, said she came tothe rally because “Freedom is the most important thing in life.That’s why I’m here.” Russia in recent years has moved toimpose restrictions on internet use, blacklisting web pages forextremist content and prosecuted a growing number of indi-viduals for posting online. Since January 1, internet companieshave been required to store all users’ personal data at centresin Russia and provide it to the authorities on demand. —AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

KANDAHAR: Afghan police yesterdaylaunched a search for some 30 villagers stillmissing two days after a mass kidnappingblamed on Taleban militants in the southernprovince of Kandahar. Seventy people wereabducted Friday from their village along themain road in the south and seven of themwere found dead the following day along-side the highway, from the city of Kandaharto Tarinkot in Uruzgan province.

Around 30 people have been releasedwhile 30 others remain missing, Kandaharpolice spokesman Zia Durrani told AFP. Itremained unclear why the villagers wereseized. But some officials said they suspectedthe Taleban had kidnapped or killed them forsuspected cooperation with the Western-backed government which the militants arestriving to topple. The insurgents have a heavypresence in Uruzgan, a poppy-growing area.

Yesterday they denied involvement, whileconfirming they had attacked police check-points in the area. “Our mujahideen killed anumber of local police and pro-governmentmilitias there, also capturing 17 suspects whowere later released after interrogation. Wehave not killed or kidnapped any civilians,”the Taleban said in a statement. Civilians areincreasingly caught in the crosshairs ofAfghanistan’s worsening conflict as theTaleban step up their annual spring offensivelaunched in April.

Highways passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dan-gerous, with the Taleban and other armedgroups frequently kidnapping or killing trav-elers. In July Taleban fighters closed a high-way connecting Farah to Herat city in thewest, stopping a bus and forcing 16 passen-gers off it. They shot at least seven of themwhile the remainder was taken hostage.

Elsewhere in the country, the Taleban yes-terday captured a district in the northernprovince of Faryab after an overnight attackthat triggered hours of heavy fighting, saidprovincial police spokesman Abdul KarimYourish. He said troops had retreated twokilometers from the centre of Kohistan dis-trict. There was no word on casualties.

Local media on Sunday also reported thatthe Taleban had overran Taywara district inthe central province of Ghor, though therewas no immediate official confirmation.There has been a surge in fighting in severalnorthern and southern Afghan provinces inrecent days, including in Helmand in thesouth where 16 Afghan police officers werekilled by a US air strike on Friday night.

The strike, the latest setback inWashington’s efforts to pacify the country, hita compound in Gereshk district, large partsof which are under Taleban control.

Afghan troops and police are battlinglargely alone on the ground against the

insurgency, after US-led foreign forces with-drew from most combat operations inDecember 2014.

The United States is actively consideringsending more troops to Afghanistan and UScommanders there have requested thou-sands of extra soldiers on the ground. The UScontingent now numbers about 8,400, andthere are another 5,000 from NATO allies, a

far cry from the US presence of more than100,000 six years ago. They mainly serve astrainers and advisers.

Taleban seize 2 districtsMeanwhile, Taleban fighters overran a sec-

ond district headquarters in as many days onSunday, this one in western Ghor province,the provincial police chief said. At least eight

police were killed in separate battles againstTaleban militants, who have stepped up theirattacks in the north and west of the countrylaying siege to district headquarters, saidMohammad Mustafa Moseni.

Moseni said the Taleban launched fourassaults on Ghor’s Taywara district headquar-ters early yesterday and “we had no choicebut to retreat.” He said police have taken uppositions about 8 kilometers (5 miles) fromthe district headquarters while they wait forreinforcements to launch a counterattack.After capturing Taywara district Talebanfighters stalked the corridors of the only hos-pital looking for wounded Afghan NationalSecurity personnel to kill, said provincialpublic health department director GhulamNabi Yaghana.

He said he received reports that theykilled four or five patients. The area is remoteand telephone communication is sporadic, hetold The Associated Press in a telephoneinterview from the provincial capital ofFerozkoh. He said Taleban entered the 20-bedhospital early yesterday. It’s believed all thedead are military or police personnel, he said.The Taleban, in a statement to the media,announced the capture of Taywara districtheadquarters. The statement, however, said46 Afghan government security forces werekilled. The Associated Press could not inde-pendently verify either death toll. — Agencies

Afghan police search for villagers after kidnapping

KABUL: In this photograph taken on July 21, 2017, Afghan Shiite mourners gatherto offer prayers for their relatives, members of the ‘Enlightenment Movement’,buried in a graveyard on the outskirts of Kabul. — AFP

CARACAS: Venezuela’s opposition has called a fresh 48-hour general strike against embattled President NicolasMaduro’s plans to have the constitution rewritten givinghim broader powers. The walk-out comes as violent andsometimes deadly protests continue amid a political andeconomic crisis that has led to shortages of basic goodsand soaring inflation. “We are calling out the entire people,all groups in society, for a 48-hour strike” Wednesday andThursday, lawmaker Simon Calzadilla said.

Calzadilla said that the strike would be capped onFriday with a march demanding that Maduro officiallyscrap his Constituent Assembly vote scheduled for July 30.Earlier on Saturday, police on motorcycles fired tear gas tobreak up an opposition march on the Supreme Court topress demands that elected socialist Maduro leave office.That rally was also meant as a show of support for a slate of33 magistrates-a so-called shadow supreme court-whosenames were put forward Friday by the opposition toreplace Venezuela’s current high court, which is closelyallied with Maduro and frequently rules in his favor.

Emboldened by a nationwide strike on Thursday thatparalyzed parts of the capital Caracas and otherVenezuelan cities, opposition leaders held a mock swear-ing-in ceremony Friday for the shadow court ’s new“judges.” Many of the actual court’s justices were hastilyappointed shortly before Maduro’s ruling party lost itsmajority in congress. “Everyone has given their backing tothe new Supreme Court,” tweeted Freddy Guevara, a leaderof the opposition-led congress.

‘They won’t frighten me’ “We support the new judges because they will restore

independence to the Supreme Court,” said 43-year-olddemonstrator Luis Torrealba, marching with his wife andteenage son. Their swearing in was condemned by thegovernment as “incitement to subversion” and an act of“treason,” and officials threatened to throw the dissidentsinto prison. One of the judges was arrested by intelligence

services, the National Assembly said on Twitter. Madurosaid the opposition’s bid to derail the constitutional assem-bly would fail. “We are going to be implacable if they try touse violence to stop what cannot be stopped,” the presi-dent warned on television.

In Saturday’s march, hundreds of people took to a keyCaracas motorway to head downtown toward the courtbuilding. But uniformed National Guard troops ridingmotorcycles fired tear gas to disperse them. Wuilly Arteaga,a violinist who has gained celebrity for playing at manymarches, was injured and taken to a clinic. The 23-year-oldwas seen with blood pouring from cuts on the left side ofhis face. He said later he had been struck with buckshot.

“They are not going to frighten me,” Arteaga said in avideo he posted on Twitter. The musician became an iconof the protest movement when he was pictured calmlyweaving through tear gas with his violin on his shoulder,playing the classic Venezuelan folk song “Alma Llanera.”Immortalized in photographs from that performance dur-ing a demonstration on May 8, he said he meant it as a“message of peace.”

Deadly marches With the situation already inflamed, the stakes have

risen further, after the United States threatened economicsanctions if Maduro proceeds with his controversial votefor a body to rewrite the constitution. The president hasvowed to maintain the election of 545 members to theConstitutional Assembly. Saturday’s demonstrations, likemany others since April, were organized by the DemocraticUnity Roundtable, a coalition of political oppositiongroups. The number of deaths in protests across the coun-try since April has reached 103 — about one fatality perday. Datanalisis surveys have shown that more than 70 per-cent of Venezuelans reject Maduro’s leadership. But thepresident has brushed aside moves to oust him because hecan count on the loyalty of the Venezuelan military, whichhas been given control of swaths of the economy. — AFP

CARACAS: Opposition activists hide behind shields as they clash with the police during a march towards the SupremeCourt of Justice (TSJ) in an offensive against President Maduro and his call for Constituent Assembly. — AFP

Venezuelan opposition readies fresh strike

Plans to have the constitution rewritten

PARIS: A poll out yesterday shows the popularity ratingof France’s new President Emmanuel Macron hasslumped 10 points to hit 54 percent over the past month.While Macron has made a strong start on the world stageand won a solid majority in parliament, his first threemonths in power have not been completely trouble-free.

He was widely criticized by opponents and the pressas heavy-handed after a row over budget cuts that end-ed with the resignation of a highly-regarded militarychief. The 39-year-old leader has also backed a contro-versial bill to toughen France’s security laws that includesmeasures some rights groups have branded as dracon-ian. His majority in parliament has drawn concern, withopponents and several newspapers expressing concernover the concentration of power in the presidency.

According to an Ifop poll carried out for Journal duDimanche newspaper, the number of French people sat-

isfied with his performance fell 10 points from 64 per-cent in June. Macron’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippemarked an eight point drop to hit 56 percent of Frenchpeople happy with him, said the poll of 1,947 adults car-ried out from July 17-22. France’s youngest-ever presi-dent, who has sought to project an image of authoritysince taking office in May, made clear during the rowwith the military boss that he would brook no insubordi-nation as commander-in-chief.

The leftist Liberation newspaper said Macron’s “littleauthoritarian fit” could be a sign he was drunk on powerand said it was time for him “to grow up a bit”. A relativenewcomer to politics who won election on a tide of dis-affection with mainstream politics, Macron has enjoyed ahoneymoon with voters, drawing particular praise forstanding up to US President Donald Trump and Russia’sVladimir Putin. — AFP

Popularity tumbles for France’s Macron: Poll

JOHANNESBURG: A new book by a for-mer South African military doctor thatdocuments Nelson Mandela’s medicaltreatments before his 2013 death vio-lates doctor-patient confidentiality,according to some relatives of the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel laureate.

But the retired doctor, VejayRamlakan, said in an interview thisweekend on the eNCA news channelthat the Mandela family had requestedthat the book be written. WhileRamlakan declined to say which familymembers had given permission for thebook, his remarks could indicate contin-uing rifts in a family whose membershave feuded over the years on issuessuch as inheritance.

The book, “Mandela’s Last Years,” cov-ers Mandela’s health while he wasimprisoned during white minority rule,during his tenure as South Africa’s firstblack president and in retirement. It alsofocuses on the dramatic final months ofMandela’s life, when he was suffering alung infection and other ailments before

dying at age 95. “It documents the com-plex medical decisions; disputesbetween family members and staff; mili-tary, political, financial and securitydemands; constant scrutiny from thepress; and the wishes of Mandela him-self, all of which contributed to what heand those closest to him would experi-ence in his final days,” according toPenguin Random House, the publisher.

Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, said sheis considering legal action and will con-sult with the executors of Mandela’s will,South African media reported.

“We are deeply disappointed that thedoctor appears to have compromisedhimself and the man whom he had theprivilege to serve,” Nkosi Mandela, agrandson of the anti-apartheid leader,said in a statement. He said the bookmight contain ethical violations. In theeNCA interview, Ramlakan said he hadpermission to write the book and that“all parties who needed to be consultedwere consulted.” Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Mandela’s ex-wife and a promi-nent figure in the anti-apartheid move-ment, was with her former husbandwhen he died, according to Ramlakan, aformer surgeon general of South Africawho headed Mandela’s medical team.“She’s the one who was there when hepassed on,” he said. “I think Mrs. Machelwas in the house or busy with otherissues. But I have no idea because I wasfocusing on my patient.” — AP

Nelson Mandela’s book onhis treatment stirs dispute

JOHANNESBURG: In this Jan 31, 2006file photo former South AfricanPresident Nelson Mandela smilesduring his meeting. — AP

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ANALY S I SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Matteo Renzi is struggling to regain the politicalinitiative after a disastrous spell during whichhe lost his job as prime minister and his party

fractured. His approval ratings are in slow decline, hisattempts to reassert control over the ruling DemocraticParty (PD) are flailing and his efforts to control the coali-tion government from outside parliament havefoundered. Unless he manages to revive his fortunesquickly, he will surely lose national elections expectedin early 2018, and possibly open the door for groupsthat are hostile to the single euro currency and likely tospook financial markets.

Italy has the highest outstanding sovereign debt inthe European Union and investors fear a populist-ledgovernment in Rome could yet lead to the breakup ofthe euro zone. “Renzi keeps on saying that everything isgoing well, but it clearly isn’t,” said parliamentarianGiuseppe Civati, a one-time friend of the centre-leftleader who walked out of the PD two years ago in dis-accord over policy priorities. “He seems disconnectedfrom reality. He is getting into fights with everyone andturning people off,” he told Reuters.

Civati was one of many people criticised in Renzi’snew book called “Avanti” (Forward), which was pub-lished this month and was meant to focus on futureplans, but instead set off fierce rows over his reading ofrecent history. While rallying to Renzi’s side, party chiefsare exasperated by constant public feuding as they fearit is exasperating voters worn down by years of eco-nomic underperformance, stagnant wages, high unem-ployment and falling living standards. “Something isn’tworking and we have six months to sort it out. All thesecontroversies will be reduced to zero. We will adopt aninstitutional, upright attitude,” said lawmaker MatteoRichetti, who is head of communications for the PD.One PD source, who declined to be named, said that tohelp calm frayed tempers, the 42-year-old Renzi wouldadopt a very low profile in August and only return totelevision screens in the middle of September.

FragmentationThe general election must be held by May, with

February or March seen as the most likely. An electoralmilestone will come in November, however, via a ballotin Sicily which could see the anti-system 5-StarMovement chalk up its first regional victory. “This votewill have a major impact and set the tone for the subse-quent general election,” Richetti said. Unfortunately forRenzi, Sicily, blighted by a jobless rate of some 22 per-cent, has little love for him. More than 70 percent ofislanders voted against him in a December referendum,his worst showing in the country besides Sardinia.

The PD won more than 40 percent of the vote acrossItaly in European elections in 2014 shortly after Renzitook office in an internal party coup, but it has beendownhill ever since. He was forced to resign as primeminister in December after losing the referendum onhis plans to streamline parliament. Two months later, agroup of senior PD members broke away, saying theparty had shifted too far to the centre.

Although Renzi comfortably won a party leadershipcontest in May, the PD fared badly in June’s local elec-tions, and a poll on Sunday for Corriere della Sera news-paper put the PD on 26.9 percent, behind 5-Star on27.6 percent. The survey also showed a trio of looselyallied rightist parties, including Silvio Berlusconi’s ForzaItalia, taking some 35 percent of the combined vote.None of these scores would be enough to let any groupgovern alone under the terms of a new electoral law,which Renzi has tried but failed to change. The systemrestores proportional representation (PR) to Italy andlooks certain to produce highly fragmented legislaturesin both the upper and lower chambers.

This means the PD could still be at the heart of thenext government even if it comes second at the ballotbox, but this will depend on Renzi’s ability to forge coali-tion alliances. The return to PR will give smaller partiesgreater negotiating power, which helps to explain theschisms and fomentation rattling Italian politics. “Thiselectoral law is to blame for a lot of the agitation we areseeing,” European Affairs Minister Sandro Gozi toldReuters. “People are looking where best to positionthemselves for votes and that is causing tensions.”

ManifestoThe breakaway PD dissidents see gains to be made

following the path of Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn, a diehardsocialist who galvanised the youth vote in Britain’s Juneelection. Renzi is drawn instead to the recipe thathelped centrist Emmanuel Macron win this year ’sFrench presidential election. “Don’t forget, Corbyn lost.He is a nice guy, but he lost. This is not the model wewant to follow,” said Gozi, a close Renzi supporter.“Macron’s success shows you can bring together differ-ent ideas and win ... this is what Renzi wants.” — AFP

Focus

Headstrong Renzi

struggles to find

political touch

By Alison Frankel

The Washington Post reported Thursday that PresidentDonald Trump is talking to advisers about issuing par-dons to aides, family members and even himself in

order to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller’swidening Russia investigation. Trump outside counsel JohnDowd told my Reuters colleague Karen Freifeld that thePost’s “stuff on pardons is nonsense,” Dowd said. “It’s just asmear job on the president. It’s not true.”

That said, the Post story raises a couple of interestingquestions. Can a US president pardon himself prospective-ly? And if constitutional law allows a prospective self-par-don, what are the implications for ongoing investigationsof the president’s conduct? Mueller is investigating possi-ble collusion between the Trump campaign and Russiaduring the 2016 presidential election. Moscow has deniedinterference in the US election, and President Trump hassaid his campaign did not collude.

The US Constitution does not specifically prohibit presi-dents from pardoning themselves before they’re formallyaccused of wrongdoing (a person need not be charged tobe pardoned). So if President Trump, who has not beenimplicated in wrongdoing, were to decide to grant himself apass from any prospective prosecution, he would not be vio-lating the letter of the Constitution. But he would be stretch-ing the bounds of presidential power as they’ve never beentested before - and, more importantly, legal experts told me,Trump probably would not be able to halt JusticeDepartment and congressional investigations simply by par-doning himself and any allies known to be under scrutiny.

In fact, attempting to use pardons to obviate the specialcounsel investigation could backfire, said Walter Dellinger,who wrote about prospective presidential pardons as a topofficial in the Clinton Justice Department in 1995. Pardonsthemselves might raise questions about obstructing jus-tice, Dellinger said. Prospective pardons would alsoremove Fifth Amendment obstacles to congressional testi-mony from those who received them, since you can’t asserta right against self-incrimination if you aren’t facing crimi-nal consequences. No court in the US has ever had todecide whether a president has the authority to pardonhimself because no president has ever done so.

The Nixon MemoBefore Trump, the only previous president known to

have contemplated a pardon for himself was Richard Nixonas he faced possible obstruction of justice charges fromthe Watergate special prosecutor. Nixon asked his JusticeDepartment whether a self-pardon was legal. Justicelawyers issued a memo opinion in 1974 advising that it wasnot. The DOJ memo said that under the age-old legal max-im that no one can be the judge of his own case, even thepresident of the United States cannot pardon himself.

The 1974 Justice Department memo is the first, last andonly official word on a US president’s power to pardon him-self, according to Michigan State law professor Brian Kalt, whohas been thinking and writing about presidential self-pardonssince he was a Yale Law student in the 1990s. The issue hassimply never come before a US court, even tangentially.

In fact, the mere discussion of the legality of presiden-tial self-pardons leads to a rabbithole of unanswered hypo-theticals, such as whether a sitting president can be indict-ed or prosecuted, said law professor Sanford Levinson ofthe University of Texas. It’s not clear, Levinson said, whethera special counsel could go to court to challenge a presi-dential self-pardon if the special counsel can’t prosecutethe president while he’s in office. “It’s just a conundrum,”Levinson said. Kalt, who has become a mini-celebrity sincethe Trump self-pardon news broke, told me that in the vac-uum of precedent, both proponents and opponents of self-pardons have legitimate arguments. He said he believesthe stronger argument is against the legality of presidentspardoning themselves. According to Kalt, the primaryargument that presidents can pardon themselves is thatthe Constitution doesn’t say they can’t.

But three factors, he said, weigh against legality: Thetraditional meaning of the word pardon, which implies oneperson giving and another receiving; the legal principleagainst serving as one’s own judge, as cited in the Nixonmemo; and the text of the US Constitution. Here’s why.Article II of the Constitution authorizes the president to“grant reprieves and pardons for offences against theUnited States, except in cases of impeachment”.

That language, Kalt said, gives presidents immensepower. We’ve seen presidents, for instance, issue pardons

to people who haven’t been charged with any crime, mostfamously when President Gerald Ford pardoned RichardNixon before Nixon was charged with obstructing justice.Presidents can also pardon people whose identities areunknown, as when President Jimmy Carter grantedamnesty to all Vietnam draft evaders.

But the words of the Constitution do not give the presi-dent unlimited pardon powers. Kalt looked back to JamesMadison’s notes from the 1787 Constitutional Conventionand found that the framers discussed whether treasonought to be excluded from the president’s pardon powersin case the president were a traitor. The drafters, accordingto Kalt, concluded that if the president were a traitor, “hecan be impeached and prosecuted” under the languagethey adopted. Outside of that context, Kalt said in a May2017 Foreign Policy analysis, self-pardons “never came up,which is a very telling omission in a discussion about crimi-nal presidents abusing the pardon power,” he wrote. “Itapparently went without saying - literally - that self-par-dons are not possible.”

‘Unbearable’ PressureConstitutional language brings me to my second point.

The pardons clause, as you probably noticed, explicitly saysthat presidents cannot grant pardons from “cases ofimpeachment”. That clause, said former Clinton Justice offi-cial Dellinger, could give special counsel Mueller a man-date to continue investigating the Trump campaign even ifthe president were legally entitled prospectively to pardonhimself and everyone else under Mueller’s scrutiny for pos-sible violations of federal criminal laws.

Dellinger drew an analogy to Whitewater independentcounsel Kenneth Starr, who did not charge President BillClinton with crimes but prepared a report that served asthe basis for articles of impeachment against the president.“The pardon clause expressly does not apply to impeach-ment,” Dellinger said. “That’s the same reason Starr keptgoing.” (I can imagine the Trump team counteringDellinger’s point with the argument that grand juries areconvened to investigate crimes, not politics, and if thepresident has prospectively pardoned every potential tar-get, the grand jury must be dismissed.) — Reuters

Would Trump self-pardon end Russia probes?

An army ‘Big Shot’ whose influence seeped across thesouth, Lieutenant-General Manas Kongpan sat atthe apex of Thailand’s grisly trade in humans, raking

in an untold fortune to keep prying eyes off the traffickingroute. As the number of desperate Rohingya andBangladeshis shuttled through the trafficking operationshot up, so did Manas’ rank in the Thai military. But the sil-ver-haired general was condemned to 27 years in prison onWednesday for profiting from the trade, an extraordinarilyrare conviction of a senior member of an army that domi-nates the kingdom.

The 61-year-old’s downfall was hastened in 2015 afterinvestigators uncovered secret jungle prisons in the southwhere traffickers starved and tortured migrants while hold-ing them for ransom. The discovery exposed Thailand’shorrifying role in a criminal operation that shifted victimsfrom Myanmar to Malaysia, and forced the ruling junta tolaunch a belated crackdown.

Police followed a money trail that lead straight toManas, an army hardliner with a passion for bullfighting.“He was involved in such an obvious way...at a time whenthe junta was really trying to show themselves to be clean,”said Paul Chambers, an expert on Thailand’s military. “He isgoing down because he was at the wrong place at thewrong time.”

Money trail Manas was first highlighted as a suspect in early 2015

after 98 famished Rohingya were found in trucks inNakhon Si Thammarat, stopped by a random police check-point. Provincial police - aided by anti-trafficking NGOFreeland - used the drivers’ cell phones to trace their regu-lar route. The trail carved through Thailand’s southern neckfrom coastal Ranong, where boatloads of migrants arrivedfrom Myanmar, to malaria-infested camps near theMalaysian border, where they were held in appalling condi-tions.

Phone and e-banking records from the drivers led tokey trafficker Sunan Saengthong, a Ranong politician andbusinessman who had deposited nearly $600,000 inaccounts belonging to Manas. In May 2015 police foundmore bank slips revealing that Sunan’s nephew had alsotransferred huge sums to Manas, including some $400,000in just over a month. Sunan was jailed for 35 years in a sep-

arate trial but his nephew Nattaphat Saengthong and oth-ers remain at large.

Around the time of the money transfers, Manas servedas a top commander of Thailand’s southern security arm.His job was to enforce its controversial “push-back” policy -which meant turning around boats of stateless Rohingyawho were trying to flee persecution in Myanmar. But heused this position to do just the opposite, according to last

week’s verdict, which exposed a matrix of collusionbetween state officials and businessmen who profitedfrom trafficking.

Witnesses said Manas instructed officers to force back aboat of 265 Rohingya in 2012 - only to covertly re-route theship to shore and truck the human cargo south to the jun-gle prisons. Manas “had direct responsiblity in the push-back mission and must have been part of this human traf-ficking network, otherwise the Rohingya would not havebeen able to return to Thailand so quickly,” the verdict read.

Southern ‘Big Shot’ The trafficking operation flourished until the 2015

crackdown, with tens of thousands of victims funnelledthrough a trade worth an estimated $250 million dollars.Many were lured from the Myanmar-Bangladesh border bybrokers who promised jobs, while others were violentlykidnapped and forced onto the boats. The big money wasmade in Thailand, where jungle camp wardens phoned rel-atives of the weakest migrants and threatened to kill themif they didn’t send more cash.

The young and strong were sold off as labor toMalaysian palm oil plantations or fishing boats, accordingto Freeland. All the while, Manas’ seemingly inexorable riseup the army ranks continued, with his command stretchingover increasingly large chunks of the south. Months beforehis arrest in 2015, he was promoted to Lt-General and giv-en the sweeping role of “military advisor”.

It wasn’t the first time the hawkish officer had hurdledcontroversy. He was linked to a 2004 raid on a mosque thatleft more than 30 Muslim rebels dead in Thailand’s farsouth, one of the early sparks of an insurgency still burningtoday. “He had a reputation for often going beyond thelaw,” said Chambers, adding that he was known as a “bigshot” in the region.

Manas was the only military man convicted in lastweek’s trafficking trial, which saw more than 60 peoplesent to jail. Rights groups welcomed the verdict butwarned that many perpetrators remain at large. “We knownot everyone has been accounted for in this trial,” saidAmy Smith from Fortify Rights, which closely tracked theinvestigation. “More needs to be done to account for thehorrific crimes that took place... and to ensure this neverhappens again.” —AFP

Rise and fall of Thailand’s top trafficker

General Manas Kongpan

NEWSMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Continued from Page 1

including the Syria conflict where both are staunch foesof President Bashar Al-Assad. Turkey is also setting up a mili-tary base in Qatar, its only such outpost in the region. It hasexpedited the process since the crisis began and reportedlynow has 150 troops there. “From the first moments of theQatar crisis, we have been on the side of peace, stability,solidarity and dialogue,” said Erdogan. But Turkey, which isalso going through a turbulent time with the EuropeanUnion and the United States, also does not want to wreckits own relations with regional kingpin Saudi Arabia.

“As the elder statesman in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabiahas a big role to play in solving the crisis,” said Erdogan,taking care not to explicitly criticize the kingdom.Erdogan said he supported the mediation efforts ofKuwait’s Amir, a possible indication Ankara sees Kuwait asthe key to solving the crisis. The Qatari emir said Friday hewas ready for talks to resolve the row as long as the emi-rate’s sovereignty is respected. His call received a coldreception from the UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs,

Anwar Gargash, who said he hoped the emir had pledgedto reconsider Qatar’s position. “Dialogue is necessary, butit should be based on a revision” of Qatar’s stance, hetweeted.

Erdogan is likely to get a warm welcome in Dohawhere Turkey has been loudly applauded for sending infood, including fruit, dairy and poultry products by shipand by plane to help Doha beat an embargo. Turkey hasalso benefited, with its exports to Qatar doubling in thepast month to more than $50 million. According to theeconomy ministry, Ankara has sent around 200 cargoplanes filled with aid since the crisis began.

Erdogan’s tour coincides with a visit to Kuwait by theEU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, who held talksyesterday with Kuwaiti officials. A statement saidMogherini paid tribute to Kuwait’s “relentless mediationefforts” in the dispute and called for a resolution “throughdialogue and without delay”. Rights group AFDInternational called yesterday for an end to the “blockade”of Qatar, warning that the regional boycott has led to“forced separation” of families. — Agencies

Erdogan visits Kuwait, Saudi Arabia...

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in the field,” he said at the start of the meeting. “We arereceiving from them an up-to-date picture of the situa-tion, as well as recommendations for action, and we willdecide accordingly.”

Israeli Major General Yoav Mordechai - head of COGAT,the defense ministry agency responsible for civilian affairsin the Palestinian territories - signaled changes to the poli-cy were possible. “We are examining other options andalternatives that will ensure security,” Mordechai said in aninterview with Al-Jazeera. Palestinian president MahmoudAbbas, who has announced he was freezing contacts withIsrael over the dispute, said yesterday this included thesecurity coordination that has been credited with prevent-ing wider unrest in recent years. “They must know thatthey will be the main losers because we play an importantrole in assuring our security and theirs,” Abbas said.

The crisis has resonated internationally. The UNSecurity Council will hold closed-door talks today aboutthe spiraling violence. Arab League chief Ahmed AbulGheit yesterday accused Israel of “playing with fire” withthe new security measures, and Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan called them an insult to the Muslim world.Pope Francis said he was following events with concernand urged dialogue and moderation.

Tensions have risen throughout the past week over themetal detectors at the compound, which includes therevered Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, fol-lowing the July 14 attack that killed two policemen.Palestinians view the move as Israel asserting further con-trol over the site. They have refused to enter the com-pound in protest and have prayed in the streets outside.Israeli authorities say the July 14 attackers smuggled gunsinto the site and emerged from it to shoot the officers.

Friday’s main weekly Muslim prayers - which typical-ly draw thousands to Al-Aqsa - brought the situation toa boil. In anticipation of protests, Israel barred menunder 50 from entering the Old City for prayers.

Clashes broke out between Israeli security forces andPalestinians around the Old City, in other parts ofannexed east Jerusalem and in the occupied WestBank, leaving three Palestinians dead. On Fridayevening, a Palestinian broke into a home in a Jewishsettlement in the West Bank during a Sabbath dinnerand stabbed four Israelis, killing three.

The Israeli army said the 19-year-old Palestinian hadspoken in a Facebook post of the holy site and of dying asa martyr. On Saturday, Palestinian youths hurled stonesand petrol bombs as the army used a bulldozer to closeoff the attacker’s West Bank village and prepare his housefor demolition. Netanyahu said yesterday the demolitionwould go ahead “as soon as possible”. Israel frequentlyrazes or seals attackers’ homes as a deterrent, althoughrights groups say this amounts to collective punishment.Clashes also flared in east Jerusalem and other Palestinianvillages in the West Bank near Jerusalem on Saturday,police said. Two Palestinians died, including one when apetrol bomb exploded prematurely.

Israeli security forces said yesterday they had arrested25 men active in the militant Hamas group that rules theGaza Strip. The arrests throughout the West Bank included“senior members”, a statement from the Shin Bet internalsecurity agency said, and was part of preventive measuresin the wake of “the tensions around the Temple Mount”.Also yesterday, a rocket fired at Israel from Gaza hit anopen area, the Israeli army said, causing no injuries. NoPalestinian group claimed the attack.

The holy site in Jerusalem has served as a rallying cryfor Palestinians. In 2000, then Israeli opposition leaderAriel Sharon’s visit to the compound helped ignite thesecond Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which lasted morethan four years. The Haram Al-Sharif is central to theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict. It is in east Jerusalem, seized byIsrael in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a movenever recognized by the international community.Considered the third holiest site in Islam, it is the mostsacred for Jews. — AFP

Bibi faces pressure over Aqsa site after...

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Kandari said he backs a motion calling to hold anemergency session of the Assembly to discuss theimplications of the escape of the cell members and alsobilateral relations with Iran. Kuwait expelled around 15Iranian diplomats from the country following the courtruling in protest against Iranian involvement in the case.The Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) has calledfor holding to account all those who helped the cellmembers to flee the country.

Meanwhile, the government has informed theAssembly of its rejection of a draft law regulating con-

flict of interests, which has been under study by thelegal and legislative committee, on grounds that its pro-visions already exist in other legislation. The govern-ment told the Assembly committee that the objectivesof the law are achieved through the presence of similarprovisions in other laws, and accordingly there is noneed to duplicate the laws.

Separately, MP Faisal Al-Kandari, a member of theAssembly’s investigation panel, denied yesterday thatthe Kuwaiti health office in Germany had dealings withan Israeli company. The story was reported yesterday ina local daily. Kandari said the health office has neverdealt with brokers or any other companies, adding thatan investigation is still going on.

MP proposes amendments to penal code

RAMALLAH: An exiled Palestinian politician who quietlynegotiated a power-sharing deal for Gaza with former archfoe Hamas discussed the details for the first time in an inter-view, saying he expects it to lead to a swift opening of theblockaded territory’s border with Egypt and an easing of crip-pling power outages. The Egypt-Gaza border crossing isexpected to open by late August and funding has beensecured for a $100 million power plant, Mohammed Dahlan,a former Gaza security chief, told AP in a phone interviewfrom the United Arab Emirates.

Dahlan said his chemistry with Gaza’s newly electedHamas chief, Yehiyeh Sinwar, helped forge the once unthink-able alliance. The two grew up in the tough streets of south-ern Gaza’s Khan Younis refugee camp before joining rivalcamps, the Islamic militant Hamas and the mainstream Fatahmovement, respectively. “We both realized it’s time to find away out” for Gaza, Dahlan, 55, said in an hour-long conversa-tion Saturday. He said both sides had learned lessons fromthe destructive rivalries of the past.

The deal, backed by Egypt and the UAE, is still in the earlystages of implementation. There are no guarantees of suc-cess, but all involved seem to benefit. It enables Egypt to con-tain Hamas, the militants on its doorstep, through new secu-rity arrangements. Dahlan has a chance to return toPalestinian politics. And cash-strapped Hamas can prolong itsrule through the promised border opening.

If it goes ahead, the deal could deliver a crushing blow toPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who presides overautonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Abbas has a toxic relationship with Hamas, which seizedGaza from him in 2007, and with Dahlan, a former top aidehe sent packing in 2010. A Hamas-Dahlan alliance would fur-ther sideline the 82-year-old Western-backed Abbas andundercut his claim that he represents all Palestinians.

Mini-state The objectives of the Dahlan-Hamas deal - ending the

border blockade, reviving Gaza’s battered economy - couldalso weaken Palestinian statehood aspirations by creating a“mini-state” in Gaza. For more than two decades, Palestinianleaders, including Abbas, have unsuccessfully sought toestablish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem innegotiations with Israel. Israel, which captured those territo-

ries in the 1967 Mideast war, withdrew from Gaza in 2005,but keeps a tight grip on the rest.

The territories sit on opposite sides of Israel which hasdeepened the geographic separation with strict travel bans.Dahlan dismissed concerns that his deal with Hamas willgradually turn Gaza into a separate entity. “We are patriots,not separatists,” he said, adding that he would do everythingin his power to prevent a further drifting apart of thePalestinian territories.

The multi-millionaire with far-flung business interests inthe region and close ties to leaders of Egypt and the UAE saidhe no longer aspires to replace Abbas. “I have no ambitionsto be president,” he said. “Maybe that was the case when Iwas younger, but now I see the situation. ... Seventy percentof the land is in the hands of the Israelis, and they have nointentions to give us a state.”

Dahlan said the new deal is meant to revive Palestinianpolitical institutions that have been paralyzed since the 2007split between Hamas and Fatah. This would include a newattempt to form a national unity government and revive par-liament. Dahlan said Abbas is welcome to lead such efforts,but that “we are not going to wait for him forever” to make amove. Previous Abbas-led efforts to form a unity governmentwith Hamas backing have failed over the years, with bothsides ultimately refusing to give up power in their respectiveterritories.

Egypt’s blessingIn recent weeks, Abbas took a different approach, step-

ping up financial pressure on Gaza to force Hamas to cedeground there. Azzam Al-Ahmed, an Abbas aide who negoti-ated with Hamas in the past, said yesterday that the Dahlan-Hamas understandings “are going nowhere”. He said Abbas’Palestinian Authority supports Gaza with $1.2 billion everyyear, covering wages of ex-loyalists, social welfare paymentsand electricity. He suggested Dahlan and Hamas would beunable to cover such sums.

Ahmed also said Egypt assured Abbas “that they are notgoing to help any new entity in Gaza”. However, the lengthynegotiations between Dahlan’s representatives and a Hamasteam in Cairo last month would not have been possible with-out Egypt’s blessing, participants said. Dahlan presented anupbeat vision of Gaza, a crowded sliver of land on the

A Palestinian boy runs for cover from tear gas during clashes between demonstrators and Israeli security forcesat the Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank yesterday as crowdsprotest against new Israeli security measures implemented at Al-Aqsa mosque complex. — AP

Ex-Gaza chief: Hamas

deal will open border

Mediterranean with 2 million people.He said he has raised funds to refurbish Gaza’s gate to the

world, the Rafah crossing with Egypt, and that he receivedEgyptian assurances that the crossing will open by the end ofAugust. “Everyone who needs to travel will be able to travel,”he said. Over the past decade, Rafah only opened sporadical-ly because of the blockade, and thousands of Gazans are cur-rently on waiting lists, hoping to travel abroad for study, workor medical care.

The UAE has promised $100 million for a power plant thatwould be built on the Egyptian side of the border, Dahlansaid. Once the exact location is chosen, construction wouldtake 18 months, he said. In recent years, Gazans haveendured blockade-linked rolling power cuts, most recently ofas long as 20 hours a day. Egypt has been sending fuel toGaza’s existing power plant in recent weeks, as part of theunderstandings.

Hamas roleHamas officials describing the deal have said their group

will remain in charge of security in Gaza. Dahlan is to raisemoney and advocate for Gaza abroad. He hasn’t been back toGaza since the Hamas takeover in 2007. In the months pre-ceding the takeover, he had led Fatah forces in Gaza streetbattles with Hamas, and grievances of families of close to 400people killed in the fighting - from both sides - still haven’tbeen addressed.

Disbursements to the families from a multi-million-dollarUAE-backed compensation fund are to begin soon, in anattempt to buy calm that is in line with tribal traditions.Several dozen of Dahlan’s lieutenants and key supporters areexpected to return from exile as part of the arrangements.Dahlan said he will remain in exile. “It’s better for Gaza that Istay in the diaspora and approach everyone who can extenda helping hand to Gaza,” he said. — AP

S PORTSMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

LONDON: Real Madrid right-back Danilo completed his move to Manchester City yester-day, the Brazilian joining Pep Guardiola’s Premier League giants on a five-year contract.The 26-year-old will now link up with City on their pre-season tour of the United Statesafter agreeing personal terms and passing his medical. “There has beenstrong interest from other clubs, but it has always been my ambition toplay for Pep Guardiola,” Danilo told his new club’s official website. “Assoon as I heard of his interest, I knew immediately I wanted to be aCity player,” he added. His departure from the European championshad been confirmed by Real boss Zinedine Zidane on Saturday onthe eve of his team’s meeting with Manchester United inCalifornia. According to the BBC he moves to Manchesteron a £26.5 million (29.5 million euros) deal. Guardiolahad made full-backs his top transfer priority in theclose season having released Pablo Zabaleta, GaelClichy and Bacary Sagna. — AFP

LONDON: Chelsea has apologized China for social media comments byBrazilian player Kenedy which it accepts “caused great offence and hurt thefeelings” of the country during the Premier League champions’ pre-season

tour. The 21-year-old Kenedy’s since-deleted Instagram postsfeatured a profanity relating to China and a message mock-ing a security guard he photographed. Chelsea says Kenedyhas been “strongly reprimanded and disciplined,” addingon its website that it “solemnly and sincerely apologizes” to

the Chinese people. The messages were posted aheadof Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal in Beijing onSaturday. Chelsea says “the negative impact wehave seen over the last two days has left usshocked and saddened. Once again, we sincerelyapologize for the hurt caused to our Chinese fansas well as to the Chinese people.” — AP

LOS ANGELES: Henry Romero received a six-game ban andDarwin Ceren for three on Saturday for “anti-sporting” behaviorin a CONCACAF Gold Cup match in which they bit US players.

Los Cuscatlecos defender Romero bit Jozy Altidore onthe back in El Salvador’s 2-0 Gold Cup quarter-final loss tothe United States and also grabbed the US forward’s nippleand twisted it . Midf ielder Ceren, who plays for MajorLeague Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes, bit Omar Gonzalezduring the contest.

CONCACAF’s disciplinary committee announced the sanc-tions shortly before the United States’ semi-final clash againstCosta Rica kicked off on Saturday in Dallas. CONCACAF, whichdid not specify the biting incidents in their announcement,said the suspensions would affect only “official matches. ElSalvador have already been eliminated from 2018 World Cupqualifying. — AFP

Salvadoran players banned

after biting incidents

Chelsea apologizes for

Kenedy’s nasty messages

Danilo completes

Man City move

ANDOVER: Noah Goodwin rallied tobeat Matthew Wolff 1 up in 100-degreeheat Saturday in the US Junior Amateurfinal to become the third player to wina year after losing the title match. The17-year-old Goodwin, from Corinth,Texas, was four holes down with eightto play at Flint Hills National beforepulling off the second-biggest come-back in tournament history. “It’s everyjunior’s dream to win the U.S. Junior,”Goodwin said. “It ’s the most presti-gious junior event in the entire world.Everybody knows about it, and to addmy name among the greats l ikeJordan Spieth and Tiger Woods justmeans everything to me.”

Goodwin works with Spieth’s instruc-tor, Cameron McCormick, and the notedteacher was quick to send his pupil acongratulatory text message. “That justmeans a lot,” Goodwin said. “He’s doneso much for my game. I can’t reallyexpress my gratitude for Cameron. Iwouldn’t be where I am without him.”

The match ended when Wolff con-ceded Goodwin’s 6-foot birdie putt onthe par-5 36th. Wolff drove left into thewater hazard and was facing a putt for

double bogey. Goodwin plans to gradu-ate from high school early and enroll atSMU in January. The 18-year-old Wolff,from Agoura Hills, California, will be afreshman at Oklahoma State.

“It’s tough to come out on the bottom,but I played great all week,” Wolff said.Goodwin dropped 4 down when Wolfftook the par-3 28th with a birdie.Goodwin won the par-5 29th with a 35-foot birdie putt and took the par-4 30th,par-3 32nd and par-4 33rd with pars topull even. The only larger comeback cametwo years ago when Phillip Barbareeedged Andrew Orischak in 37 holes atColleton River Plantation Club after trail-ing by five holes with eight to play. AndyHyeon Bo Shim, in 2012 at The Golf Clubof New England, also rallied from 5 downat the start of the afternoon 18 in beatingJim Liu, 4 and 3. The USGA lengthened thefinal from 18 holes to 36 in 2005.

Last year, Goodwin fell 2 and 1 toAustralia’s Min Woo Lee at The HonorsCourse in Tennessee. Mason Rudolph(1950) and Tim Straub (1983) also won ayear after falling in the title match. “It’s afeeling that I’m still kind of trying tograsp,” Goodwin said. — AP

Noah Goodwin rallies to

win US Junior Amateur

GOLF

SOUTHPORT: Jordan Spieth set out in his finalround at the British Open yesterday looking towin the third major of his career in glorious con-ditions at Royal Birkdale. Spieth, 23, sat atop theleaderboard overnight on 11 under par aftershooting a flawless 65 on Saturday-his third con-secutive round in the 60s-while compatriot MattKuchar was his nearest challenger at eight-under. The American duo were the last pairing totee off in their final round, going out at 2:30pmlocal time (1330 GMT).

Spieth admitted on Saturday night he wouldbe trying to put the nerves to one side until thenand get some much-needed rest before startinghis round. “It’s a little bit tougher to sleep but I’vebeen fine recently,” he said of the pressure thatcomes with going out late in the day.

“I expect to be. If not, I can sleep during theday-we don’t tee off until pretty late. “But Iwouldn’t rather be in any other position thanwhere we’re at. And we have an opportunity tohave a really special day on the golf course. I’mexcited about it.”

Behind Kuchar, there was a gap to 20-year-old Open debutant Austin Connelly born andbrought up in Texas like Spieth but represent-ing Canada-and current US Open championBrooks Koepka, who were both on five underpar. They teed off at 2:20pm and the final pair-

ings were hoping the perfect summer weath-er that greeted the earlier starters on Sundayheld into the afternoon.

Japan’s world number two Hideki Matsuyamaand Branden Grace of South Africa were bothfour-under with the latter fresh from becomingthe first player ever to shoot a round of 62 in amajor championship on Saturday.

Chan Kim, Sweden’s defending championHenrik Stenson and world number one DustinJohnson were all three-under, surely too far backto threaten Spieth.

MEMORIES OF AUGUSTA Winner of the Masters and US Open in 2015,

Spieth is looking to emulate the great JackNicklaus by getting his hands on a third differentmajor before turning 24. Memories are still freshof the Masters last year, when like this week heled after each of the first three rounds butchoked when it came to the crunch.

He was five shots clear approaching the 10thon the Sunday at Augusta, only to drop six shotsin three holes and eventually lose out toEngland’s Danny Willett.

“I think I’m in a position where it can bever y advantageous, just ever ything I ’vegone through, the good, the bad, and every-thing in the middle,” said the world number

three when asked if he would use that expe-rience to his advantage.

“I understand that leads can be squan-dered quickly, and I also understand how youcan keep on rolling on one.” In contrast toSpieth, the 39-year-old Kuchar has never tri-umphed in a major. But the last seven majorshave all gone to first-time winners and five ofthe last six British Opens have been won byplayers aged 39 or older.

“Continue with good golf. Again, I’ll be play-ing with him but not focused on him. My goal isto go out and play Royal Birkdale,” said Kucharahead of his battle with Spieth for the Claret Jug.

The odds are in favour of a sixth Americanwinner in 10 Opens to be held at Birkdale, on theIrish Sea coast in the town of Southport nearLiverpool. Former winners include ArnoldPalmer in 1961 and Tom Watson in 1983.

Those chasing Spieth will need to score low,just as Australia’s Aaron Baddeley did early in themorning. He went round in six-under 64 but is+1 for the championship. Xander Schauffele ofthe United States had a 65 to sit at one-underoverall. Crowds thronged the course from earlyon at Birkdale and organisers the R&Aannounced that a record attendance had beenset for an Open outside St Andrews with 235,000spectators over the week.— AFP

WASHINGTON: US teen rookie NellyKorda, the daughter of retired Czech tennisstar Petr Korda, fired a five-under par 66 toseize a two-stroke lead after Saturday’sthird round of the LPGA Marathon Classic.

Korda, who turns 19 next Friday, birdiedfour of the first seven holes and closed withbirdies at the par-5 17th and 18th to standon 15-under 198 after 54 holes at HighlandMeadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.“There’s still 18 more holes and a lot of golfleft to be played, so I’m just going to staypatient and see how it goes,” Korda said.“When you end on a birdie, you’re just real-ly excited to play the next day and get itgoing, so I’m definitely excited.”

Korda, whose older sister Jessica is alsoon the circuit, seeks her first LPGA title. Theworld number 87’s best finish in 14 LPGAstarts this year was a share of fifth inJanuary’s season-opening Bahamas LPGAClassic. “Not really going to think about ittoo much,” Korda said about playing in thefinal pairing. “I’m not going to get ahead ofmyself. I’ve done that a couple times thisyear and I’m just going to take it shot byshot.” Starting the day one stroke off thelead after a second-round 64, Korda birdiedthe third hole and ran off three birdies in arow ending at the par-5 seventh. Sheclosed the front nine with her lone bogeybut finished with back-to-back birdies toseize the lead.

“It’s a new position. I’m excited,” Kordasaid of her first lead entering an LPGA finalround. “My mentality hasn’t changed. It’sthe same as the first two days. I just try totake it shot by shot.” Petr Korda reached as

high as second in the world rankings andwon the 1998 Australian Open title beforeretiring in 1999 while Jessica Korda, 24, haswon four LPGA titles, most recently inMalaysia in 2015. South Korea’s 28th-ranked Kim In-Kyung, who captured herfifth career LPGA title at last month’sShopRite Classic, fired a 68 to stand secondon 200. Newly crowned US Women’s Openchampion Park Sung-Hyun fired a 67 to fin-ish in a pack sharing third on 201 that includ-ed India’s Aditi Ashok, Taiwan’s Chien Pei-Yunand Americans Gerina Piller, SandraChangkija and Lexi Thompson. “There are somany good young players out here on Tourthat I don’t even feel like I’m 18,” Korda said.“But it’s really cool.” Ashok, who added thetournament to her schedule at the lastminute in a bid to qualify for the Women’sBritish Open in two weeks in Scotland, fired a68. “This is my first time being in contentionon the LPGA, but I’m assuming it’s prettymuch the same every tournament you’re incontention,” Ashok said. “I’ve won a coupletimes on the European Tour, so I’m going tohope that experience helps tomorrow.”

Taiwan’s rookie Chien, ranked 266th inthe world, does not have a top-10 finishthis season and has missed the cut in 10 ofher 16 prior LPGA starts this year. “If I wonI’d be very happy,” she said. “It’s very impor-tant because I play a lot of golf, trying toget qualified, the LPGA is pretty tough...Everybody is very hungry, very strong. I’mvery lucky top 10.” Piller, chasing her firstLPGA title, fired a 70 to fall back. She hasfour runner-up showings in 34 career top-10 finishes. —AFP

GLENDALE: For the first time in his career,Carson Palmer abandoned his usual pattern anddidn’t throw at all for several months. The 37-year-old quarterback says the results are obviousas he begins his fifth training camp with theArizona Cardinals.

“It’s hard to explain. You just feel better,”Palmer said before the team went through itsfirst training camp practice Saturday. “You feellike you have more zip, more velocity. ... I feel likeI can go out and throw 150 balls in practice. Idon’t think I felt that way coming into camp lastyear.” After their disappointing 2016 season, theCardinals aren’t getting much national attentionthis year. Experts point to Palmer’s age and thefact his play diminished a year ago after his out-standing 2015 campaign. Palmer is entering his15th NFL season and said when he was youngerhe never dreamed he would play so long.

“In football years, I think it’s perceived onceyou get to 35 you’re old,” he said, “but if you canstill put it on every day and play and work outand train and prepare mentally, I look at is asbeing experienced and mature.”

Coach Bruce Arians acknowledged that ateam’s success is usually tied to the play of itsquarterback. “I’ve been fortunate to be aroundsome really, really good ones,” he said. ‘It’s always

fun going to practices and going to the stadiumon Sunday when you have a good one. Whenyou don’t have one, it’s rough.”

So, much of any success Arizona has this sea-son will depend on Palmer, who is used to thatkind of scrutiny. “You get probably a little nerv-ous at first as you’re coming up,” he said, “but youget kind of addicted to it and enjoy it and enjoythe pressure that comes with the position.”

Palmer had his best season as a professionalin 2015, throwing for 4,671 yards and 35 touch-downs, both career highs, with 11 interceptions.He guided the team to a 13-3 record and anappearance in the NFC championship game, aloss at Carolina.

The team had virtually everybody back lastyear, but staggered to a 1-3 start and finished 7-8-1. Palmer had his sixth career 4,000-yard pass-ing season (4,233), but his touchdown totaldropped to 24 with 16 interceptions. He wasbetter the last half of the season, after Ariansstarted giving him off for Wednesday’s practice.

That led to the decision to severely limit histhrowing in the offseason. Palmer said he fol-lowed orders. “I’ve been playing so long you getso ingrained in throwing in March, April andJune,” he said, “and then to not do it is just odd. Itjust feels like something’s wrong. But I listenedto experts, like coach Arians. ... I listened to theirapproach and I’m all in.” Much is being made ofthat “window of opportunity” nearly closing forthis group of Cardinals. This could be the finalgo-round for the trio of Arians, Palmer and LarryFitzgerald. One or more of them might retireafter this season. Palmer said he doesn’t knowhow much longer he will play. “I still love it,” hesaid. “I’m excited to be here.” — AP

Spieth sets out looking

to win British Open title

Carson Palmer feels strong

starting 15th NFL season

Carson Palmer

SOUTHPORT: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot on the 1st hole during the final round of the British Open Golf Championship, atRoyal Birkdale, Southport, England, yesterday. —AP

US teen rookie Korda

grabs 2-shot LPGA lead

SYLVANIA: Nelly Korda hits to the 18th green Saturday, during the third round of theLPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic golf tournament at Highland Meadows Golf Club inSylvania, Ohio. Korda birdie the hole. —AP

S P O RT SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

SWIMMING

TENNIS

BUDAPEST: Katie Ledecky started avery busy week at the world champi-onships with a dominating performancein the preliminaries of the 400-meterfreestyle yesterday. The 20-year-oldAmerican set a meet record with a timeof 3 minutes, 59.06 seconds, nearly 3seconds ahead of the next-fastest quali-fier, teammate Leah Smith (4:02.00).

Barely breathing hard, Ledeckyeclipsed her winning time of 3:59.13

from the world championships in Kazantwo years ago. She heads into theevening final as an overwhelmingfavorite to defend her title, the only bitof drama being whether she can breakher world record of 3:56.46 from the Riode Janeiro Olympics.

“It’s good to get the first swim out ofthe way,” Ledecky said. “You’re always alittle bit nervous for the first swim. Now Ican kind of carry that momentum for-

ward through the rest of the meet.”Ledecky is hoping to win six goldmedals in Budapest with a dauntingschedule that would require her to swima total of 6,300 meters. She won fivegold medals at Kazan.

“I know how to manage a meet likethis,” Ledecky said. “I’ve worked towardthis meet all year. Just trying to put it alltogether now.” In other preliminaries onthe first day of swimming at Duna

Arena, home country favorite KatinkaHosszu led the women’s 100 individualmedley, world-record holder AdamPeaty of Britain dominated the men’s100 breaststroke, Sweden’s SarahSjostrom paced the women’s 100 but-terfly, Austria’s Felix Aubock topped themen’s 400 freestyle and Ukraine’s AndrilGovorov was fastest in the men’s 50 fly.

Also qualifying for the men’s 400 freefinal were China’s Sun Yang, South

Korea’s Park Tae-hwan and Australia’sMack Horton. Yang and Park haveserved suspensions for doping anddrawn the ire of Horton, who doesn’tthink anyone caught using perform-ance-enhancing drugs should beallowed to compete. Ledecky andOlympic gold medalist Simone Manuelare expected to join the U.S. women’srelay for evening final. “That’s all up tothe coaches,” Ledecky said. — AP

Ledecky off to a blazing start on busy week at worlds

BUDAPEST: Australia’s Mack Horton (L) and Italy’s Gabriele Detti (R) react after competing in a men’s 400m freestyle heat during the swimmingcompetition at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, yesterday. — AFP

BUDAPEST: Olympic champion Mack Horton setup a showdown with Chinese superstar Sun Yangyesterday after the Australian squeezed into themen’s 400m freestyle final at the world aquaticchampionships.

Horton dethroned Sun as Olympic championover 400m at last year’s Rio Games, branding theChinese superstar a “drugs cheat” after his three-month doping ban in 2014. The pair will lock hornsat the worlds in Budapest, but neither were fastestin the morning heats.

Austria’s Felix Aubock clocked three minutes,44.19 seconds with Sun second fastest at 0.36secsbehind with Horton fifth fastest, at 1.41 back, of theeight finalists. “I felt OK in the morning and I tookthe heats as a warm-up. I will try my best in thefinal but I did not set any goal for the evening,” saidSun. Horton admitted he had a few nervousmoments after finishing third in his heat, but didenough to secure a berth in the final. “The plan wasjust to make the final. You usually go for the toptwo, so when I was third, I was a little bit worried,but it was ok,” admitted Horton.

“I feel pretty relaxed, you always feel betterwhen you get the first one out of the way and blowout the cobwebs. “I just need to go faster tonight.”On Friday, Horton described his clash with Sun as “arivalry between elite athletes and athletes whohave tested positive”, but was more reserved afterthe heats, simply saying “everyone knows how Ifeel about that”.

LEDECKY, PEATY BLAST OUT The USA’s gold-medal machine Katie Ledecky

could lower her own world record in the women’s400m freestyle final today evening. The 20-year-oldbroke her own championships record, set twoyears ago in Rio, when she clocked three min, 59.06secs in the heats.

Her time was three seconds slower than theworld record she set in Rio last year, but Ledeckysays there is more to come. “It’s good to get thefirst one out of the way, but I feel like I have morefor tonight,” said Ledecky.

“I’ve worked towards this meet all year, I’m justtrying to put it all together now.” Ledecky will com-pete in six freestyle events in Budapest and racestwice yesterday evening. After the 400m final, shewill join the USA’s 4x100m freestyle relay squad,who were the fastest into the final.

Great Britain’s Olympic breaststroke championAdam Peaty came within a whisker of his ownchampionships record as the fastest into Sunday’s100m semi-finals with 58.21secs, just ahead ofCody Miller and Kevin Cordes of the USA.

Peaty is looking to lower his world record of57.13secs set in Rio last year. “It was a lot fasterthan I’ve normally been in heats, so it’s looking verypromising,” said Peaty. “Personally, it’s how far can Itake my body.”

Elsewhere, Sarah Sjostrom, the defending worldand Olympic champion, was the fastest into thisevening’s semi-finals of the women’s 100m butter-fly. Sweden’s Sjostrom clocked 55.96secs-half asecond slower than her world record set last year atthe Rio Olympics-with Kelsi Worrell of the USA andAustralia’s Emma McKeon, the next fastest quali-fiers. Home-crowd favourite and Hungary’s ‘IronLady’ Katinka Hosszu blasted her way into thewomen’s 200m individual medley final today. Theworld record holder clocked the fastest time of twomins, 07.49 secs-more than two seconds fasterthan her nearest rival. —AFP

Nervous Horton sets up Sun Yang showdown

WASHINGTON: Top seed John Isnerblasted 15 aces to defeat fellowAmerican Bjorn Fratangelo 6-2, 6-4Saturday, booking an ATP Hall of FameOpen final against Australian qualifierMatthew Ebden.

Isner has not faced a break point inthree matches this week on the grass atNewport, Rhode Island, as he goes for his11th career title and third Hall of Famecrown after 2011 and 2012.

“I’ve played three matches and six setsand I haven’t played a tie-breaker I can’tremember the last time I did that,” Isnersaid. Ebden, the lowest-ranked ATP final-ist of the year at 249th, downedGermany’s 131st-ranked Peter Gojowczyk6-3, 6-3 in the other semi-final.

The 29-year-old South African-bornformer Commonwealth Games bronzemedalist, appearing in his maiden ATPsemi-final, needed just 62 minutes toadvance. “This is pretty cool,” Ebdensaid. “I can’t believe it. I’m obviouslyvery happy. Definitely couldn’t be hap-pier, not only winning but getting lotsof matches.”

Isner, whose most recent ATP titlecame at Atlanta in 2015, made his firstfinal since last November’s Paris Masters,where he lost to Britain’s top-rankedAndy Murray. The lanky 32-year-old cred-its work on being more aggressive on hisreturn game for faster finishes than histrademark hard serves typically produce.

“There’s no other way I should have toplay. I should be aggressive. It’s easiersaid than done,” Isner said.

He likes the extra rest as well, notingthe benefits to such stalwarts as worldnumber one Andy Murray of Britain andSerbia’s fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic. “Ifeel good,” Isner said. “To be like Murrayand Djokovic and win these matches 2and 2, it’s great.”

Isner, ranked 21st, broke at love toclose the first set in 34 minutes and thematch ended after 72 minutes when142nd-ranked Fratangelo swatted a fore-hand long, lifting Isner’s career mark atNewport to 18-5.

Isner has won both prior matchesagainst Ebden without dropping a set, inthe fouth round at Indian Wells in 2012and in the second round at Wimbledonin 2015. “It’s going to be a tough match,”Isner said of facing Ebden. “He’s feelingvery good about his game and I think it’shis best surface.”

Ebden, only 3-3 in ATP main drawmatches this year until this week, haswon six matches in as many days. Hebroke Gojowczyk five times and sealedvictory on his second match point whenthe German smacked a backhand wide.

A left knee injury led to a long 2016layoff for Ebden that revitalized his gameonce healthy. “That helped me turn a cor-ner mentally and just enjoy myself,”Ebden said. — AFP

Isner to face Aussie qualifier Ebden in Newport final

SYDNEY: Leading contenders the GoldenLions and Canterbury Crusaders are one gameaway from playing off for this season’s SuperRugby title after contrasting victories thisweekend. South Africa’s Lions, who finishedtop of the regular season standings, needed ahuge late penalty goal from Ruan Combrinckto scrape home 23-21 over the Coastal Sharksin Johannesburg.

The Lions will face a New Zealand team forthe first time this season, against defendingchampions Wellington Hurricanes, in nextweekend’s semi-finals. If the Lions win theywill host the final on August 5. The Crusaders,bidding for their eighth Super Rugby crown,grounded out a 17-0 win over the OtagoHighlanders in driving rain to reach the lastfour. The Crusaders have to negotiate an all-New Zealand semi-final against the WaikatoChiefs to advance to the final.

Shaun Stevenson scored a try four minutesfrom time to seal a 17-11 win for the Chiefsover South Africa’s Western Stormers in CapeTown to claim their semi-final spot. The Lions,beaten only once this season, were facing ashock elimination at Ellis Park until Combrincklanded an angled 58-metre kick under massivepressure to squeeze home over the Sharks.

The Sharks, dismissed as no-hopers after a17-point regular-season home loss to theLions the previous weekend, built a 14-3 half-time lead and were one point ahead whenCombrinck struck. The Crusaders scored twotries in wild weather to overcome theHighlanders in the South Island derby.

“It was hugely satisfying,” coach ScottRobertson said. “It was a final, that was whatwe talked about because the Highlanders arebetter than a seventh-placed team. We knewwe had to treat it as we did, and front up.”

The result keeps alive the Crusaders’ dreamof adding to their record seven Super Rugbytitles, their most recent success coming in2008. The Hurricanes scored 20 unansweredpoints in a dominant second-half to keep alivetheir title hopes and end Australia’s ACTBrumbies bid in Canberra. Wellington wererelentless, overcoming a 16-15 half-time deficitin a 35-16 victory to reach the semi-finals.

“We knew they would come out with a lotof emotion and intent and we worked hard inthe first-half and came away with buildingpressure in the second-half,” All Black ace fly-half Beauden Barrett said. It was an emotionalcomeback to rugby for cancer survivorChristian Lealiifano, who came on in the sec-ond-half as a replacement for the Brumbies.Hurricanes skipper TJ Perenara paid a post-match tribute to Lealiifano: “I want to congrat-ulate Christian for coming back.

“Everyone focuses on the game and theresult, but when men like that come back withthe fight he’s had, it’s humbling to be aroundhim and he’s inspiring not just to his team butto the rest of the rugby community.” TheHurricanes’ biggest win in Canberra extendedNew Zealand teams’ record over Australianopposition to 26-0 this season.

The Chiefs survived some late pressurefrom the Stormers before hanging on for vic-tory in South Africa. Substitute wingerStevenson gathered a long pass from skipperand fly-half Aaron Cruden to cross the lineunopposed for the Chiefs’ clinching try. “Weare a team of warriors with a clear game planthat we try to execute whenever and whereverwe play,” All Black Cruden said.

“The Crusaders in Christchurch is going tobe a tough test, but we can beat any SuperRugby team anywhere on our day.” —AFP

NASSAU: The Australia girls team celebrate victory in the Girl’s Rugby 7’s Gold medalFinal on day 4 of the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games at QE Sports Centre onFriday in Nassau, Bahamas. — AFP

RUGBY

Lions, Crusaders stay on course for Super showdown

British and Irish Lions in action

Melbourne beat Canberra to stay top in NRL table

SYDNEY: Melbourne overcame injuriesto stars Cameron Smith and Billy Slater tobeat Canberra 20-14 and to stay atop theNational Rugby League table with sixregular season rounds remaining.

Canberra’s Sia Soliola was placed onreport for a late, swinging arm tackle onSlater, who was knocked out and carriedfrom the field in the 50th minute.Melbourne protested that Soliola, wholater set up a try for Canberra, shouldhave been sent off.

“If it’s not a sending off then I don’tknow what is a sending off,” coach CraigBellamy said. “For him to get knockedout like that, it’s pretty severe. He’s talk-ing but he’s not feeling too good.” In astatement late Saturday, NRL refereesboss Tony Archer agreed Soliola shouldhave been sent off.

“It’s important to note that Sia Soliolais on report and the matter will beaddressed by the Match ReviewCommittee,” Archer said. “But based on areview of the tackle, the incident didmeet the indicators of a send off.”

Slater is thought likely to be sidelinedfor at least a week but Australia captainSmith, who left the field with a pectoralinjury, might miss more of Melbourne’srun-up to the playoffs. It was the firsttime since 2009 Smith played less than50 minutes of a premiership match forMelbourne.

Smith later said the decision to leavethe field was precautionary and the seri-

ousness of the injury was yet to be deter-mined. “The decision was to come offbecause there’s still a long way to go inthe season,” he said.

“It wasn’t worth the risk, to be honest.”Cameron Munster kicked a penalty afterSlater’s departure to give Melbourne a14-6 lead before Soliola contributed to atry by Nick Cotric which cut their lead tofour points with 15 minutes remaining.

Dale Finucane’s second try restoredthe lead and Canberra halfback AidanSezer completed his double with a try inthe final minute after Munster was sin-binned.

Canberra’s loss was a major setback toits playoffs hopes, dropping it back to10th place, two matches outside the topeight. The Roosters’ 28-4 win overNewcastle left it in second place, twopoints behind Melbourne and two pointsahead of Brisbane, who beat theBulldogs 42-12. Brisbane took charge ofthe match when it scored 18 points in aseven-minute spell spanning halftime.

Cronulla beat Souths 26-12, and NorthQueensland beat the New ZealandWarriors 24-12 to join the Broncos infourth and fifth places respectively, sepa-rated by points differential.

Sixth-placed Manly has a chance tomove up when it plays St. GeorgeIllawarra on Sunday, while St. Georgecould move up from eighth place.Parramatta, two points behind Manly inseventh place, plays Wests. —AP

S P O RT SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

BASEBALL

ANAHEIM: Andrelton Simmons drove in threeruns, including a go-ahead two-run homerand Albert Pujols went 3 for 4 with two RBIs asthe Los Angeles Angels rallied for a 7-3 victoryover the Boston Red Sox in Major LeagueBaseball on Saturday. Simmons hit his 10thhomer of the season to left and put the Angelsahead 4-3 in the third inning after fallingbehind early. Pujols doubled to score YunelEscobar and Mike Trout to start the four -runburst. Pujols became the 26th player to score1,700 runs when he touched home plate afterSimmons went deep. Pujols joins Barry Bonds,Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez andWillie Mays in amassing at least 600 home runsand 1,700 runs. JC Ramirez (9-8) recorded hissecond win at home in 11 starts, striking outsix while allowing one earned run and five hitsin six innings. David Price (5-3) gave up fiveearned runs and seven hits in five innings,allowing more than three earned runs for onlythe second time this year.

CUBS 3, CARDINALS 2Kris Bryant raced home from first base on

Anthony Rizzo’s bloop double, capping theCubs’ three-run rally in the eighth inning.Bryant also had a tying, broken-bat single dur-ing the comeback. A classic pitchers’ duelbetween Jon Lester and Adam Wainwrightkept it scoreless into the eighth. Lester (7-6)had a perfect game until Wainwright singledwith two outs in the sixth. Lester gave upthree hits and struck out 10 in eight innings.

Wainwright allowed two runs on four hits in 72/3 innings, retiring 14 straight at one point.

GIANTS 5, PADRES 4, 12 inningsBackup catcher Nick Hundley singled in

Kelby Tomlinson with two outs in the 12th forSan Francisco. It was Hundley’s fifth game-ending hit of his career and his first since July11, 2014, with Baltimore. One day after theteams played 11 innings in a game that lastednearly 5 hours, the Giants and Padres hadanother extended battle. Eduardo Nunez hadthree hits and two RBIs, Hundley singled twiceand San Francisco took advantage of an errorby San Diego shortstop Allen Cordoba that ledto three unearned runs. Will Myers hit his sec-ond homer in two days as part of San Diego’sfour-run fourth. Josh Osich (3-1) retired fivebatters and struck out three in getting the win.

MARINERS 6, YANKEES 5, 10 INNINGSNelson Cruz hit a winning single off Adam

Warren in the 10th inning, and Seattle beatNew York after Edwin Diaz allowed a tying hitto Ronald Torreyes in the ninth. MasahiroTanaka had another shaky outing and NewYork trailed 4-2 before Aaron Judge hit hisMLB-leading 32nd home run, a sixth inningdrive against Steve Cishek. Diaz blew a savefor the fourth time in 22 chances when DidiGregorius walked leading off the ninth, pinch-runner Jacoby Ellsbury stole second andTorreyes followed with a single. Ben Gamelopened the 10th with a double against Warren

(2-2), Robinson Cano was intentionally walkedand Cruz lined a pitch to left for his AL-leading75th RBI. Tony Zych (4-2) pitched a perfect10th, throwing called third strikes past ClintFrazier and Judge.

BREWERS 9, PHILLIES 8Domingo Santana singled home the go-

ahead run in the ninth inning after theBrewers blew a big lead, and Milwaukee end-ed a season-worst six-game losing streak.Ryan Braun homered and drove in four runs,and Travis Shaw also homered for the Brewers,who maintained a one-game lead over theCubs in the NL Central division. Milwaukee led8-1 after batting in the seventh and managerCraig Counsell removed Braun, who hadmissed the past three games with a wristinjury. The Phillies rallied to tie it with four runsin the seventh and three in the eighth.Santana came through with a one-out singleto left off Hector Neris (2-4) to score HernanPerez and put Milwaukee back in front. JacobBarnes (3-1) gave up three runs and four hits inthe eighth but ended up getting the win.Herrera had four hits with a homer and a pairof doubles for Philadelphia, which had wonthree straight.

MARLINS 5, REDS 4J.T. Realmuto hit a pair of two-run homers

and a double, powering Miami to its secondstraight victory. Miami won for only the thirdtime in eight games, getting its first back-to-back wins since the All-Star break. Realmutoconnected in the second and sixth innings offRobert Stephenson (0-3), who made his firststart of the season after 13 relief appearances.It was the catcher’s second career multi-homergame - he also had one in 2015. Nick Wittgren(3-1) relieved starter Chris O’Grady in the fifthand got the win. Scooter Gennett singledhome a run in the eighth off Junichi Tazawa,cutting it to 5-4. A.J. Ramos pitched the ninthfor his 19th save in 21 chances.

NATIONALS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3Bryce Harper homered and drove in two

runs, Tanner Roark struck out a season-high 11and Sean Doolittle stranded the potentialtying run to preserve the Nationals’ win. Roark(8-6) gave up two runs and three hits in seveninnings for the NL East-leading Nationals.Harper hit his 25th home run of the season ona full-count changeup from Anthony Banda (0-1), who lost in his major league debut. ChrisIannetta hit a two-out RBI double in the bot-tom half, but the Nationals opened a 4-1 leadwith a three-run sixth. Harper hit a run-scoringdouble and scored on Ryan Zimmerman’s dou-ble, and Anthony Rendon beat out an RBI sin-

gle that sent Zimmerman home.

ROCKIES 7, PIRATES 3Colorado’s German Marquez matched a

career best with nine strikeouts in seven solidinnings and also had a wayward pitch thatfueled a near brawl. Mark Reynolds added a pairof run-scoring singles and Charlie Blackmonscored after doubling in the third and tripling inthe eighth. Marquez (8-4) hit AndrewMcCutchen with a pitch in the sixth inning, andthe Pirates outfielder strode toward the moundbefore being headed off by the home plateumpire and taking his base. Pittsburgh’s ChadKuhl then threw an inside pitch in the sixth thatnarrowly missed Carlos Gonzalez. Players andcoaches from both teams streamed onto thefield and though there were some heatedexchanges, no punches were thrown. GregHolland got four outs for his major league-lead-ing 31st save in 32 chances. Kuhl (3-7) allowedfour runs and nine hits in six innings.

DODGERS 6, BRAVES 2Chris Taylor drove in three runs with a home

run and a triple, and Corey Seager and ChaseUtley hit solo home runs to lead the Dodgerspast Atlanta. Ending the two-game hiccupwhich saw the Dodgers outscored 18-6, LosAngeles has won 32 of 38, and 19 of 22 atDodger Stadium, for the best record in MajorLeague Baseball. The Dodgers’ 67-31 mark istheir best through 98 games since the BrooklynDodgers were 69-29 in 1942. Taylor led off thebottom of the inning by driving an 0-1 pitchfrom Julio Teheran (7-8) into the left fieldbleachers, giving the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. Tayloradded a two-run triple off reliever Luke Jacksonwith two outs in the eighth for the final margin.Dodgers starter Rich Hill (7-4) struck out eightas he held the Braves to two runs and six hitsover 6 1/3 innings.

METS 6, ATHLETICS 5Wilmer Flores hit a solo home run with two

outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as NewYork rallied from an early five-run deficit to beatOakland for its fourth consecutive victory.Pinch-hitter Lucas Duda delivered a tying singlewith two outs in the eighth off left-handerDaniel Coulombe. Jay Bruce hit a two-runhomer in the sixth to begin New York’s come-back, and Jose Reyes tripled twice. HanselRobles (6-1) tossed a hitless inning to win forthe second straight day.

ROYALS 7, WHITE SOX 2Mike Moustakas homered twice, and

Salvador Perez, Brandon Moss and JorgeBonifacio also went deep to lead Kansas Cityover the White Sox, extending Chicago’s

longest losing streak in two years to eightgames. Mike Pelfrey took a two-hitter into thesixth, but put leadoff man Lorenzo Cain on withhis sixth walk. David Holmberg (1-3) relievedand gave up three homers in an eight-pitchspan. Perez’s two-run homer tied the score,Moustakas homered two pitches later, andMoss then homered for a 4-2 lead.

ASTROS 8, ORIOLES 4Marwin Gonzalez stepped in for injured

Colin Moran and delivered a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the sixth inning to propel Houstonpast Baltimore. Moran fouled a ball off his lefteye and had difficulty standing before beingcarted from the field. An update on his condi-tion was not immediately available. Gonzalezsubsequently ended a nine-pitch at-bat by driv-ing a 2-2 offering from Darren O’Day (1-3) overthe right-field wall. It was Houston’s first pinch-hit homer of the season, and it capped a five-run uprising that wiped out Baltimore’s 4-1 lead.Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel also homered forthe Astros. Astros right-hander Collin McHughallowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings in his seasondebut and Francis Martes (3-0) pitched 2 1/3innings of hitless relief.

INDIANS 2, BLUE JAYS 1Francisco Lindor hit a leadoff home run in the

bottom of the 10th inning as Cleveland defeat-ed Toronto. Lindor hit a 2-2 pitch from DannyBarnes (2-3) to right field for his 15th homer ofthe season. Bryan Shaw (3-4) retired Kevin Pillaron a groundout with two on to end the 10th.

TWINS 6, TIGERS 5Kyle Gibson took a shutout into the eighth

inning in his longest start of the season, ZackGranite had three of the Twins’ 14 hits, andMinnesota held off a late rally to beat Detroit.The Twins have been rumored to be searchingfor starting pitching as the trade deadlineapproaches and Gibson (6-8), who entered thegame with a 6.29 ERA, was a likely candidate tobe replaced in the rotation. Brandon Kintzlerretired Andrew Romine on a grounder to getout of the eighth inning and then pitched ascoreless ninth for his 27th save.

RANGERS 4, RAYS 3Texas turned three Tampa Bay miscues into

a three-run sixth inning and beat the Rays. ElvisAndrus, who entered the series hitless in 16 at-bats, homered in his second consecutive three-hit game for the Rangers. Andrew Cashner (5-8)gave up three runs and four hits over sixinnings. Chris Archer (7-6) allowed four runs,four hits and struck out 11 to set a team recordwith his 24th career game with double-digitstrikeouts. — AP

INDIANAPOLIS: Less than an hour afterwatching one winning streak endSaturday, Kyle Busch started working onanother.

Now the two-time defendingBrickyard 400 champion is in the bestpossible position for an unprecedentedthree-peat at Indianapolis.

Busch became the first Cup driver innearly two decades to win back-to-backIndy poles by saving his fastest lap forthe final one of the day. His speed of187.301 mph was almost a mph fasterthan second-place Kevin Harvick andwas the second-fastest pole-winningspeed in the race’s 24-year history.

“Obviously, we’ve had a really fastcar,” Busch said after winning his fourthpole of the season. “We’ve been focusedon race trim and I felt like we did a pret-ty good job with that. But I wasn’t sureabout qualifying. So, obviously, theywere listened to what our teammates

had to say.”He couldn’t quibble with the results.

Harvick ’s No. 4 Ford was second at186.332 and Jamie McMurray, in the No.1 Chevrolet, wound up third at 186.274.Nobody else topped 185. If the 2015Cup champion wins Sunday, he will joinformer Formula One star MichaelSchumacher as the only drivers withthree straight Indy wins in the premierseries of their respective leagues.Schumacher won the U.S. Grand Prixfour consecutive times on the roadcourse. Nobody has ever won threestraight races on Indy’s oval.

“We’ve just got to keep it there, stayup front and, of course, lead the last lap,”Busch said as his 2-year-old son,Brexton, giggled into a microphone. ForBusch, it was another marathon sessionon another hot, humid midsummerafternoon in the No. 18 Toyota.

He drove in both of the morning’s

Cup practices, qualified for the NASCARXfinity Series race in the early afternoonand watched his four-race Indy winningstreak snapped after a late pit stopdropped him from first to 21st. Buschfinished 12th.

After about a 30-minute break, hewas back in the car for three more quali-fying rounds. His last lap allowed him tojoin Jeff Gordon (1995-96) and ErnieIrvan (1997-98) as the race’s only back-to-back pole winners.

It certainly wasn’t strategy. “Whenyou’re in such a short window, five min-utes, you couldn’t come back and getthe tires cooled in time to make anotherlap,” he said. But it was good enough.Harvick, meanwhile, found the consis-tency he was seeking but avoided goingtoo hard to get into trouble.

“I think that was the right approach,”Harvick said. “I’ve tried to get too muchin the last round and this is just not the

place where you can overdrive the entryand make up for something. The prob-lems compound fast here, but it’s goodto have that speed.”

GOING TO THE BACKFor the second consecutive week,

series officials threw out a qualifyingspeed. This time, it was BJ McLeod whodrew the penalty after a post-qualifyinginspection showed the No. 51 car hadtaped shut a cooling aqueduct. It wassupposed to remain open and thepenalty cost McLeod five spots on thestarting gird.

He will start from the back of the 40-car starting grid after initially qualifying35th with a speed of 176.294. KyleLarson’s pole-winning run was disal-lowed last week at New Hampshire.

JUNIOR’S FINALEDale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular

driver in the series, qualified 13th forhis final Indianapolis start. The 42-year-old driver announced in April that hewill retire at the end of the season. Butbefore he goes, Earnhardt hopes tojoin Al Unser and Al Unser Jr. as theonly two father-son winning tandemsin Indy history.

“Considering how our season hasgone, winning here would right all thewrongs,” Earnhardt said. Chase Elliott,who qualified 16th, also has a chance tojoin the father-son winner’s list Sunday.

HARD LESSONOne of Harvick ’s spotters, Tim

Fedewa, had his credential taken awaybriefly Saturday after dropping a sand-wich from the spotter’s stand. NASCARspokesman Matt Humphrey said thehard card was returned following ashort investigation. Fedewa is a formerdriver in the series. — AP

ANAHEIM: Kole Calhoun #56 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is safe at second as second baseman Dustin Pedroia #13 of the Boston Red Sox can’t reach the ball on a throwing error by shortstop Xander Bogaerts #2 on anattemped force play in the fifth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Saturday in Anaheim, California. — AFP

Simmons slugs Angels to win over Red Sox

MLB Results/Standings

American LeagueEastern Division

W L PCT GBBoston 55 44 .556 -NY Yankees 50 46 .521 3.5Tampa Bay 51 47 .520 3.5Baltimore 46 51 .474 8Toronto 44 53 .454 10

Central DivisionCleveland 50 45 .526 -Minnesota 49 47 .510 1.5Kansas City 49 47 .510 1.5Detroit 44 52 .458 6.5Chicago White Sox 38 56 .404 11.5

Western DivisionHouston 65 32 .670 -Seattle 49 50 .495 17LA Angels 48 51 .485 18Texas 47 50 .485 18Oakland 43 54 .443 22

National LeagueEastern Division

Washington 58 38 .604 -Atlanta 47 49 .490 11NY Mets 45 50 .474 12.5Miami 44 51 .463 13.5Philadelphia 33 62 .347 24.5

Central DivisionMilwaukee 53 47 .530 -Chicago Cubs 50 46 .521 1Pittsburgh 49 49 .500 3St. Louis 47 50 .485 4.5Cincinnati 40 57 .412 11.5

Western DivisionLA Dodgers 67 31 .684 -Arizona 56 41 .577 10.5Colorado 57 42 .576 10.5San Diego 42 55 .433 24.5San Francisco 38 61 .384 29.5

LA Dodgers 6, Atlanta 2; Seattle 6, NY Yankees 5 (10 innings); LA Angels 7, Boston 3; Colorado 7, Pittsburgh 3;Washington 4, Arizona 3; Kansas City 7, Chicago White Sox 2; Texas 4, Tampa Bay 3; Minnesota 6, Detroit 5;Miami 5, Cincinnati 4; NY Mets 6, Oakland 5; Cleveland 2, Toronto 1 (10 innings); Houston 8, Baltimore 4;Milwaukee 9, Philadelphia 8; San Francisco 5, San Diego 4 (12 innings); Chicago Cubs 3, St. Louis 2.

Kyle Busch’s closing qualifying flurry lands Indy pole

S P O RT SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

CYCLING

SOCCER

HONG KONG: Liverpool managerJurgen Klopp has told Barcelona theyare wasting their time trying to signBrazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho-no matter the offer. Klopp has alreadyrejected a $93 million bid for Coutinho,who scored a superb winner inLiverpool’s 2-1 Premier League AsiaTrophy victory over Leicester City inHong Kong on Saturday.

Barca are set to test Liverpool ’sresolve with an improved offer butKlopp has told the Catalan giants not

to bother. “If I say he is not for selling,he is not for selling,” the German toldBritish media.

“There is nothing else to say. It’s aclub decision, it’s my decision. That’show it is.” Liverpool sold Luis Suarez toBarca and Raheem Sterl ing toManchester City in recent years butKlopp bristled when asked if he hadreceived assurances from the boardthat Coutinho would not be next. “Ican say 20 times, he is not for sale,” saidKlopp, who has been frustrated so far

in his attempts to sign Leipzig midfield-er Naby Keita and Southamptondefender Virgil van Dijk during thetransfer window. “If you ask the otherquestion the other way and I say, ‘therehas been no assurance’, you make thestory the other way. “With Suarez I wasfar away,” added the former BorussiaDortmund coach, who joined Liverpoolin 2015.

“When the club sold Sterling I wasmaybe the last to know about it. Thosesituations have nothing to do with this

one. “ We are approaching a ver yimportant moment and we want to getbetter. For this we have to keep our keyplayers,” said Klopp, insisting his wordwas final. “There is no story for me,” headded. “Whatever happens from theirside, I say he is not for sale. You can saywhatever you want. The answer is ‘notfor sale’.”

Klopp confirmed he had spoken toCoutinho in private at the team’s hotelin Hong Kong before Saturday’s gamebut refused to reveal what was said.

The German did, however, explain thereason for his first-half rant at refereeBobby Madley following some heavychallenges on Coutinho. “I was not toohappy about two decisions aroundPhil,” said Klopp. “He (Madley) told me ifI behave like I behaved today (in thePremier League) then I would have togo in the stands. “I said: ‘If I behave liketoday then I go in the stand, no prob-lem. But you have to change how youwhistle’. For me, it was a clear foul, it’sdangerous.” —AFP

Coutinho bid a waste of time, Klopp tells Barca

PARIS: Tour de France winner Britain’s Chris Froome, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, holds son Kellan as his wife Michelle looks on on theChamps Elysees avenue after the twenty-first and last stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 103 kilometers (64 miles) with start in Montgeronand finish in Paris, France, yesterday. — AP

PARIS: Briton Chris Froome secured hisfourth Tour de France title at the end ofthe 21st and final stage won by DylanGroenewegen in Paris yesterday.

Sky’s Froome had previously won the2013, 2015 and 2016 editions and sitsfifth overall in the all-time list of Tourvictors behind greats Eddy Merckx,Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault andMiguel Indurain.

At the end of three weeks, 21 stagesand more than 3,500km, Froome rolledover the line on the Champs Elyseeswith a broad grin alongside his Skyteam-mates, who wore a special kit forthe occasion with their usual blue stripereplaced by a yellow one.

It was Froome’s closest Tour struggleyet as his final winning margin was lessthan a minute for the first time,Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran finishingsecond at 54sec with Romain Bardet ofFrance, the runner-up last year, third at2min 20sec.

The 103km final stage began with anod to history in Montgeron, where thevery first stage of the inaugural Tour in1903 also began, at a leisurely pace giv-ing Froome, his team-mates and thewinners of the other distinctive jerseysthe chance to celebrate with glasses ofchampagne as they rode out of thetown and towards the French capital.

By the time they got there the tempohad risen to the opposite scale of thespectrum and it was a full pelt bunchthat rode to the finish, where 24-year-old Groenewegen struck out for homefrom a long way out and held off thehard-charging Andre Greipel, winner onthe Champs Elysees in the previous twoyears, with Edvald Boasson Hagen third.

Dutchman Groenewegen of theLotto NL Jumbo team secured thebiggest victory of his young career butthe day undoubtedly belonged toFroome. Alongside the yellow jerseywinner, Australia’s Michael Matthewswon the sprinters’ green points jersey,France’s Warren Barguil triumphed inthe polkadot king of the mountainscompetition and Simon Yates of Britainsucceeded twin brother Adam as thebest young rider in the white jersey.

Froome’s Sky finished as the bestteam having claimed the yellow hel-mets on the first stage in Dusseldorfthree weeks ago and never relinquishedtheir lead in the competition, whichthey won for the first time despiteclaiming the yellow jersey in five of thelast six years.

The last remaining prize went toBarguil, a winner of two stages, whowas named the most combative rider ofthe Tour. — AFP

Froome wins fourth

Tour de France title

SANTA CLARA: Jose Mourinho has given a“guarantee” that David De Gea will stay atManchester United this season, despite thelong-running saga over a potential move toReal Madrid. Transfer speculation over DeGea returning to hometown club Real hasstretched on for the last two years, eversince the goalkeeper was a whisker awayfrom heading to the Bernabeu in the sum-mer of 2015. But ahead of United’sInternational Champions Cup pre-seasonencounter against Real, Mourinho hasdelivered an unequivocal message aboutthe 26-year-old’s future.

Mourinho implied that there were nego-tiations with Real which fell through lastsummer, yet he believes the prospect ofreturning to La Liga has now become lessappealing for the Spanish international. “Ican guarantee that he’s not going this sea-son. My feeling is that it will be very diffi-cult for him to go,” said Mourinho. “He’s avery honest boy, very straight. He was con-tacted for a long time.

The club was closed [for negotiations].“Then we opened [it] because I always havethis feeling that when a player has thedesire to go, I don’t like to stop them. In theend, you don’t get from them what youexpect. “So we opened it and then theydecided to close. “I don’t think the feelingfrom him [towards Real] is very good. I seehim really happy, focused and working bet-ter than ever. For me, 100 per cent he stayswith us.” Prior to the £75million ($97.4 mil-lion) signing of Romelu Lukaku, United hadbeen keen to do business with Real afterpursuing now Chelsea frontman AlvaroMorata.

BALE NO-GO But Mourinho has confirmed that Real’s

ex-Tottenham winger Gareth Bale was nev-er a realistic target. He said: “You have con-tacts, you have feelings, you understandthings. It was clear that Bale likes Madrid,likes the situation and is in a club with avery good situation now.

“I never felt the desire for him to leaveso why use time and energy on that?”Mourinho still hopes to add a further twoplayers to his squad before the end of thesummer transfer window, despite describ-ing the market as “very difficult.”

But while Mourinho is content with themake-up of his current options, he facesgoing into the new season without theinjured trio of Luke Shaw, Ashley Youngand Marcos Rojo. The three have beenrecuperating with United’s squad inCalifornia, yet Shaw is ruled out untilSeptember, Young until October and Rojountil December. “No chance [that any arefit] for the beginning of the PremierLeague,” said Mourinho.

“But it’s good to have them, good forthem to be with us and recover with thegroup.” Their absence does open the doorfor the young hopefuls at United. The likesof Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Andreas Pereiraand Axel Tuanzebe are all due to featureagainst Real, in Santa Clara, with Mourinhokeen to rest several key figures afterThursday’s win over Manchester City. “I’mgoing to play other players and give rest forsome,” added Mourinho. “[For] Tim FosuMensah and Andreas Pereira, it’s going tobe a great experience for them.” —AFP

De Gea ‘guaranteed’ to

stay at United: Mourinho

ORLANDO: Harry Kane’s late penalty helpedTottenham Hotspur start their pre-season prepa-rations in emphatic fashion as French championsParis St Germain imploded in Orlando. PSG werereduced to 10 men just moments into the sec-ond half when German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp,who had endured an awful first 45 minutes, wassent off for handballing outside of the box.

And although Unai Emery’s side were difficultto break down, late strikes from Belgian defenderToby Alderweireld and Kane, both on as substi-tutes, sealed a 4-2 triumph in front of 33,332 fansat the Camping World Stadium. It’s very earlydays in this pre-season yet there was certainlyenough on show from the London team to sug-gest a strong campaign in the Premier Leaguebeckons.

Both teams arrived at the Camping World sta-dium with tremendous uncertainty surroundingtheir transfer dealings this summer. The Frenchchampions are reportedly poised to land Neymarfrom Barcelona in a world record 222-millioneuro ($256.8 million) deal, and also remain confi-dent of landing Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez.

Emery was giving nothing away when askedabout the potential transfers. “We are alwayslooking for players who can help the team,” hesaid. “Now for us the most important thing is toconcentrate on the matches we have coming up,”added the coach, who on the evidence ofSaturday’s game could use the infusion of talent.Tottenham, meanwhile, were once again forcedto contest claims that Eric Dier, their versatile

England international, was the subject of a $50million bid from Manchester United. There is cer-tain to be movement involving both teams astheir respective domestic seasons draw closer,yet this was the first time Mauricio Pochettino’sside had played this pre-season.

PSG beat Roma on penalties in Detroit lastWednesday after their exhibition game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes. That match saw Dani Alves, theBrazilian defender, make his Paris debut followinghis transfer from Juventus and he was startedagain here by Emery in a line-up which alsoincluded Thiago Motta and Uruguayan forwardEdinson Cavani. Pochettino, whose side travel toNew York on Sunday ahead of Tuesday’s matchwith Roma at Red Bull Arena, kept star men Kaneand Dele Alli on the bench, although Dier beganin midfield alongside Mousa Dembele. On sixminutes, Cavani powered the French side ahead.Youngster Cameron Carter Vickers was caught outby Adrien Rabiot who raced clear and squared forthe Uruguayan frontman.

Tottenham looked culpable defensively, yetjust five minutes later, Christian Eriksen pulledthe Premier League side level. The Danish inter-national unleashed an unstoppable, curlingeffort from 30 yards which flew past Kevin Trappinto the top corner.

While Eriksen’s equaliser was world class,Dier’s 18th minute goal was pure luck. Trapp’spoor clearance was hit straight at the Spursplayer who gleefully saw the ball rebound overthe line.—AFP

Spurs open pre-season with

4-2 friendly win over PSG

Dempsey record goal, assist

leads US into Gold Cup final

ARLINGTON: Clint Dempsey grew up play-ing youth soccer in the Dallas area, nearly200 miles from his Texas hometown. Backin his home state and coming off thebench, Dempsey matched the Americaninternational scoring record and sparkedthe US to a spot in the CONCACAF GoldCup title game.

Dempsey fed Jozy Altidore for the go-ahead goal not long after entering, thenscored on a free kick to match LandonDonovan with his 57th international goalSaturday night in a 2-0 semifinal win overCosta Rica.

“This has to be the best in Texas for me,since I tied the record and it was an impor-tant game,” the 34-year-old forward fromNacogdoches. Dempsey entered in the66th minute and made a perfectly timedthrough pass six minutes later that allowedAltidore to break in alone and beat goal-keeper Patrick Pemberton with a left-foot-ed shot from 10 yards. Dempsey doubledthe lead in the 82nd minute with a 27-yardshot that went around a four-man defen-sive wall that got past Pemberton on twobounces. “I saw the keeper cheating a littlebit, and it went in,” Dempsey said.

Dempsey has 136 international appear-ances, trailing only Cobi Jones (164) andDonovan (157) among American men. Theassist was his 20th for the national team.“Coming back from two heart procedures,being able to stil l play at this level,”Dempsey said in his Texas twang, “living adream. So I’m happy.”

After starting in Wednesday’s quarterfi-nal win over El Salvador, Dempsey movedto a reserve role against the Ticos. While theUS inserted five new starters in a rosterrotation, Costa Rica went with the same 11who opened in Wednesday’s win againstPanama. “I know it’s something that wasimportant to Clint, and to score that goal ina big game makes it even more special forhim,” coach Bruce Arena said.

Arena said the plan all along was tohave Dempsey enter the semifinal betweenthe 60th and 70th minutes, to provide aspark when legs got heavy. “He thought itwas going to be a tight game, and they’llbring me on late and it ’ l l open up,”Dempsey said. “He was right with what hesaid. It’s always going to be a little difficultto try and go 90 three days after going 90against El Salvador, so I was happy with thedecision.”

Trying for their sixth Gold Cup title andfirst since 2013, the Americans play Mexicoor Jamaica in the final on Wednesday atSanta Clara, California. The US improved to8-0-5 since Arena replaced JurgenKlinsmann in November and returned for asecond stint as national team coach. Arenacan become the first coach to win threeGold Cup titles following championships in2002 and 2005.

Tim Howard got his second straightshutout and 42nd overall for the US, mak-ing key saves on Marco Urena in the 37thand 71st minutes. After the second save,Dempsey took a pass from DarlingtonNagbe in the center circle, made a cut, andtook three touches as he sprinted towardgoal. Altidore one-timed a shot for his firstnational team goal since September andripped off his No. 27 jersey in a wild cele-bration, earning a yellow card. Dempsey’sgoal sealed the win, putting the U.S. backin the final after a shocking semifinal loss toJamaica two years ago. He was playing forthe first time in AT&T Stadium, the $1.2 bil-lion home stadium of the NFL’s DallasCowboys.

“Look, Clint’s ability to impact a gamewith goals, assists at the highest level isnothing new,” American captain MichaelBradley said. “Bruce felt like for tonight hisability to come off the bench and comeinto a game, that maybe had started toopen up a little bit, was going to make adifference and it sure did.”—AP

ARLINGTON: Clint Dempsey #28 of United States controls the ball against YeltsinTejeda #17 of Costa Rica and Giancarlo Gonzalez #3 of Costa Rica during the 2017 CON-CACAF Gold Cup Semifinal at AT&T Stadium on Saturday in Arlington, Texas. —AFP

ORLANDO: Cameron Carter-Vickers #38 of Tottenham Hotspur leaps for the ball during theInternational Champions Cup 2017 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspurat Camping World Stadium on Saturday in Orlando, Florida. — AFP

12Spieth sets out

looking to win

British Open title

MONDAY, JULY 24, 201715

Froome wins

fourth Tour de

France title

Simmons slugs Angels to win over Red Sox Page 14

LONDON: England players pose with the trophy after winning the ICC Women’s World Cup cricket final between England and India at Lord’s cricket ground in London yesterday. — AFP

LONDON: Anya Shrubsole bowled England to adramatic nine-run win over India in the Women’sWorld Cup final at Lord’s yesterday. India, set 229 towin, were well on course for victory at 191 for threein front of a full hose of more than 26,000. But thedismissal of opener Punam Raut, who made a fine86, lbw to Shrubsole, sparked a stunning collapse.

Shrubsole took five wickets for 11 runs in 19deliveries as India, bidding for a first World Cup titleon the ground where their men’s side won an inau-gural World Cup crown in 1983, slumped to 219 allout. Pace bowler Shrubsole finished with stunningfigures of six for 46 in 9.4 overs as England won afourth World Cup title and third on home soil, bygaining revenge for their opening group stage lossto India. Opener Smriti Mandhana-who made 90 inthat match-was bowled for a duck by Shrubsole.

But fellow opener Raut hit Shrubsole back overher head for six. Meanwhile India captain MithaliRaj, in what was, together with fellow 34-year-oldJhulan Goswami, likely to be her last chance to win aWorld Cup after being on the losing side in 2005,struck several fine boundaries. But the all-time lead-ing run-scorer in women’s one-day internationals,effectively ran herself out for just 17.

Her exit brought in the big-hitting HarmanpreetKaur, whose stunning 171 not out had set up India’ssemi-final win over reigning champions Australia.Kaur lofted and swept left-arm spinner Alex Hartleyfor two huge sixes.

Raut went to fifty in 78 balls and Kaur got therein 80 balls. But the duo were separated when Kaurswept Harley straight to Tammy Beaumont at deepbackward square to end a stand of 95. Sarah Taylor,arguably the best wicket-keeper in the women’sgame, then missed a chance to stump Raut, on 65off spinner Laura Marsh. Another chance went beg-ging when Veda Krishnamurthy (10) was droppedby England captain Heather Knight at extra cover offpace bowler Jenny Gunn. India’s target was nowunder a run a ball and Veda Krishnamurthy raised afifty stand with Raut off just 54 balls when she cut

Shrubsole over point and drove her over mid-off fortwo fours in as many balls. Raut’s fine innings endedwhen she was lbw to Shrubsole, having faced 115balls including four fours and a six.

It was the start of a cascade of wickets as panicset in. Krishnamurthy made a fine 35 before sheholed out off Shrubsole before Goswami was yorkedby Shrubsole for a duck. Shika Pandey was run outbefore Shrusbole, after Jenny Gunn had dropped asimple catch, ended the match by bowlingRajeshwari Gayakwad for a duck as England won yetanother close game this World Cup. Earlier pacebowler Goswami took three for 23 in 10 overs asIndia held England to 228 for seven.

Goswami’s haul, which saw her take two wickets

in two balls, included the dismissals of star batsmanTaylor (45) and top-scorer Nat Sciver (51). Englandstarted steadily after Knight won the toss. But from47 for none, they lost three wickets in quick succes-sion to be 63 for three, with leg-spinner PoonamYadav (two for 36) having Knight lbw for just one onthe sweep.

Taylor and Sciver put on 83 before Goswami, theall-time leading wicket-taker in women’s ODIs, struckin her second spell. Taylor was caught down the leg-side by wicket-keeper Sushma Verma. And 146 forfour became 146 for five when Fran Wilson was lbwfor a golden duck next ball. But England’s tail, withKatherine Brunt making 34, took them past 200 andthose runs proved vital in the end. —AFP

England edge India in Women’s World Cup finalSCOREBOARD

EnglandL. Winfield b Gayakwad 24T. Beaumont c Goswami b Yadav 23S. Taylor c Verma b Goswami 45H. Knight lbw b Yadav 1N. Sciver lbw b Goswami 51F. Wilson lbw b Goswami 0K. Brunt run out (Sharma) 34J. Gunn not out 25L. Marsh not out 14Extras (lb3, w7, nb1) 11Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 228Did not bat: A Shrubsole, A HartleyFall of wickets: 1-47 (Winfield), 2-60 (Beaumont), 3-63 (Knight),4-146 (Taylor), 5-146 (Wilson), 6-164 (Sciver), 7-196 (Brunt)Bowling: Goswami 10-3-23-3 (3w); Pandey 7-0-53-0 (1nb, 1w);Gayakwad 10-1-49-1 (1w); Sharma 9-0-39-0 (1w); Yadav 10-0-36-2; Kaur 4-0-25-0 (1w)

IndiaP. Raut lbw b Shrubsole 86S. Mandhana b Shrubsole 0

M. Raj run out (Sciver/Taylor) 17

H. Kaur c Beaumont b Hartley 51

V. Krishnamurthy c Sciver b Shrubsole 35

S. Verma b Hartley 0

D. Sharma c Sciver b Shrubsole 14

J. Goswami b Shrubsole 0

S. Pandey run out (Shrubsole/Taylor) 4

P. Yadav not out 1

R. Gayakwad b Shrubsole 0

Extras (lb3, w7, nb1) 11

Total (all out, 48.4 overs) 219

Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Mandhana), 2-43 (Raj), 3-138 (Kaur), 4-191

(Raut), 5-196 (Verma), 6-200 (Krishnamurthy), 7-201

(Goswami), 8-218 (Pandey), 9-218 (Sharma), 10-219

(Gayakwad)

Bowling: Brunt 6-0-22-0; Shrubsole 9.4-0-46-6 (4w); Sciver 5-1-

26-0; Gunn 7-2-17-0 (1w); Marsh 10-1-40-0 (1w); Hartley 10-0-

58-2 (1w); Knight 1-0-7-0

Result: England won by nine runs.

LONDON: Scoreboard in the Women’s World Cup final between England and India at Lord’s yesterday:

LONDON: England’s Jenny Gunn slides into the crease as India’s Rajeshwari Gayakwad unsuccessfully attempts to run her out during the ICC Women’s WorldCup 2017 final match between England and India at Lord’s in London. — AP

EAST RUTHERFORD: Neymar gaveBarcelona fans a dazzling reminder ofwhat they could be about to lose onSaturday, scoring twice as the Spanishgiants defeated Juventus 2-1 in a pre-season friendly. The 25-year-oldBrazilian superstar is at the centre offrenzied speculation linking him to agargantuan, world record 222-million-euro ($256.8 million) transfer to ParisSaint-Germain.

Neymar had kept the guessing gameabout his future bubbling away afterposting a picture of himself lookingpensive on Instagram on Friday. Butthere was little to suggest that thecharismatic striker is overwhelmed bythe transfer saga as he produced abewitching performance in front of asell-out 82,104 crowd at the MetLifeStadium in New Jersey. The Brazilianbroke clear after only four minutes butsaw a tame shot from near the edge ofthe area drift away from the goal.Barcelona, with Lionel Messi starting,looked by far the more threatening ofthe two teams with Aleix Vidal andMessi both drawing early blocks fromthe Juventus defence.

At the other end Mario Mandzukicmight have given Juve the lead on 14minutes but his header from a StefanoSturaro cross went wide. The Italianswere made to rue Mandzukic’s profliga-cy a minute later when Neymar fired theCatalans into the lead, playing a cleverone-two with Paco Alcacer and drillinghis finish past Gianluigi Buffon. Nine

minutes later and Neymar grabbed hissecond, picking his way through a staticJuventus defence before burying a lowshot beyond Buffon once more. Neymarmight have had a hat-trick three min-utes from half-time, when Messi floateda delightful pass in behind the Juvedefence for the Brazilian. Buffon on thisoccasion was equal to the challengehowever and blocked safely.

Barcelona rang the changes at half-time, withdrawing all but two of theirstarting line-up, Neymar exiting forSergi Roberto and Arda Turan replac-ing Messi.

Juventus also made a raft of substitu-tions which led to the introduction ofPaulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain andDouglas Costa amongst others. Thechanges immediately gave Juve a sharp-er attacking edge and Dybala was quickto test Adria Ortola with a rasping shoton 62 minutes that was turned aroundfor a corner.

From the ensuing setpiece, GiorgioChiellini nodded home Dybala’s cross tomake it 2-1. However it was Barcelonawho finished the stronger of the twosides, with Luis Suarez repeatedly threat-ening to extend the Spanish side’s lead.Man of the moment Neymar departedthe stadium without addressingreporters, while Barcelona coach ErnestoValverde could only repeat his desire tokeep the Brazilian. “We want Neymar tobe with us,” Valverde said. “We know hisvalue on the pitch and what he brings tothe locker room.” —AFP

Neymar dazzles as Barca down Juventus

EAST RUTHERFORD: Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Neymar (C) vies for the ball withJuventus players during the International Champions Cup (ICC) match betweenJuventus FC and FC Barcelona, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NewJersey, on Sunday. FC Barcelona defeated Juventus 2-1. — AFP

BusinessMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Nigeria's former oil ministerbattles slew of graft cases

Page 18

Al-Babtain Group receives Tadano's President andManagement Team

Page 21Nissan Al-Babtainlaunches new 2018Nissan Pathfinder in Kuwait

Page 19

Small-cap rally could shrink on earnings, tax hurdlesPage 20

KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait's fastest-growing andmost developed telecom operator, announcedthe financial results for the six-month periodended 30 June 2017; whereby VIVA's net profitgrew to reach KD 19.5 million recording agrowth of 1 percent compared to the sameperiod in 2016; whereas the revenues duringthe first six-month period in 2017 reached KD133 million. VIVA achieved these results due toa bundle of innovative plans and offers tomeet all customers segments' needs and aspi-rations, in addition to direct customer-focusedmarketing campaigns.

Commenting on the six-month's financialresults, Dr Mahmoud Ahmed Abdulrahman,VIVA's Chairman said: "Despite the high com-petition witnessed in the Kuwaiti TelecomMarket, VIVA was able to achieve a growth inthe profitability, in addition to sustaining theoperational efficiency thus generating posi-tive return to our shareholders. The witnessedgrowth in VIVA's profits was a result of theapproved business strategy to be one of themost developed telecom companies inKuwait and the region. Moreover, our positiveand key role, as a pioneer telecom company,always contributes in providing smart

telecommunications solutions to satisfy ourcustomers' aspirations and needs."

He added, "VIVA was able to achieve netprofit of KD 19.5 million (earnings per share of39 fils) during the six month period ended 30June 2017 compared to net profit of KD 19.4million (earnings per share of 39 fils) duringthe same period in 2016. These resultsachieved by VIVA during the first six-monthperiod in 2017 reflect the efficient businessstrategy adopted by the company to achieveoutstanding results despite of the increasingcompetition. In addition, VIVA managed toachieve positive earnings for its shareholdersas a result of the commitment to elevate thequality of customer service and improving theoperational efficiency".

On his part, Eng. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Badran, VIVA's CEO said: "Results of the six-month period ended 30 June 2017 came inline with VIVA's goals and boundless ambi-tions to achieve an increase in its operationalrevenues and strengthen its leadership in thetelecom market. It is noteworthy to mentionthat, VIVA has won many awards including"Best Telecommunications Company of theyear, Kuwait 2016" by International FinanceMagazine in recognition of the telecom firm'sexceptional performance and leadership rolethrough innovative solutions and technology,which serve all the segments in the Kuwaitimarket."

He said, "The Best Contact CentreExperience", "Excellence Governance Award","VIP Customer Service Award", ISO/IEC27001:2013 certification for InformationSecurity Management System, attaining glob-al status by meeting applicable mandatoryrequirements from two leading entitiesInternational Organization for Standardization(ISO) and the International Electro technicalCommission (IEC). In addition VIVA successful-ly established the first Voice Over LTE (VoLTE)interconnection in the Middle East and North

Africa region in partnership with a local net-work, and was the first telecom company inKuwait that has successfully tested the fifth-generation "5G" in its lab that will enable cus-tomers to exchange information and commu-nicate at higher speeds."

Al-Badran added, "VIVA has achieved goodlevels of profitability which improved thecompany's financial and operational efficien-cy. As a result, VIVA recorded revenues of KD133 million during the firstsix-month period in2017 and achieved net profit of KD 19.5 mil-lion (earnings per share of 39 fils), whereas theoperating profit has reached KD 20.8 millionduring the same period. On the other hand,VIVA customer base has reached 2.2 million atthe end of June, 2017."

"VIVA's financial results reflect its ability tocompete, sustain revenues and maintain itsposition as the second largest telecom opera-tor in the Kuwaiti market in term of revenuesin the telecom sector. The company managedto decrease its leverage ratio due to its con-servative financial policy to reach 0.27x at theend of June 2017 as compared to 0.55xrecorded at end of June 2016". He added, "Wewill continue our hard work in implementingour strategy to maintain our competitiveedge and achieve further growth and successin the Kuwaiti telecom market through offer-ing innovative products and services in linewith the latest technology to meet our cus-tomers' needs."

VIVA reports KD 19.5m net profit

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Badran

Dr Mahmoud AhmedAbdulrahman

B U S I N E S SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

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AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003390 0.003974Chinese Yuan 0.043319 0.046819Hong Kong Dollar 0.036779 0.039529

Indian Rupee 0.004247 0.004935Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024Japanese Yen 0.002619 0.002799Kenyan Shilling 0.002912 0.002912Korean Won 0.000259 0.000274Malaysian Ringgit 0.067235 0.073235Nepalese Rupee 0.002983 0.003153Pakistan Rupee 0.002676 0.002966Philippine Peso 0.005931 0.006231Sierra Leone 0.000037 0.000043Singapore Dollar 0.215993 0.225993South African Rand 0.017354 0.025854Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001602 0.002182Taiwan 0.009838 0.010018Thai Baht 0.008667 0.009217

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.797806 0.806306Egyptian Pound 0.015158 0.021066Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085Iraqi Dinar 0.000190 0.000250Jordanian Dinar 0.423391 0.432391Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000151 0.000251Moroccan Dirhams 0.019702 0.043702Nigerian Naira 0.000392 0.001027Omani Riyal 0.781762 0.787442Qatar Riyal 0.079060 0.084000Saudi Riyal 0.079833 0.081133Syrian Pound 0.001286 0.001506Tunisian Dinar 0.121146 0.129146Turkish Lira 0.081072 0.091372UAE Dirhams 0.081148 0.082848Yemeni Riyal 0.000986 0.001066

Chinese Yuan Renminbi 45.280Thai Bhat 10.050Turkish Lira 86.255

By Gordon French

The green bond market turns ten yearsold this year and is rapidly headingtowards adulthood. As it comes of

age, this market will be an increasingly crit-ical source of capital for projects that willhelp the global economy limit the impactof climate change.

It’s not been an entirely easy childhoodso far. The first-ever “green bond,” a EUR 600million issue in July 2007 , was followed by, well, not very much inthe same vein for several years. It took until 2013 for green bondissuance to vault the $10-billion-a-year mark — and even that isa tiny amount compared with the overall bond market.

Ten years on, however, the baby of the capital markets hasgrown spectacularly. Over $90 billion was raised via green bondslast year - more than double the 2015 amount. That included thefirst ever sovereign green bond, a EUR 750 million issue byPoland. And in January this year, France issued a EUR 7 billion, 22-year green bond - a milestone in terms of its size and long tenor -and all the more remarkable because investor demand, at morethan EUR 23 billion, far outstripped the size of the offering.

Climate change is an urgent threat to the planet, and majorinjections of capital are required to finance less carbon-intensivetechnologies and infrastructure. Think wind turbines and solar-energy farms. Think low-carbon transport systems. Think tech-nologies that will make buildings - and entire cities-ever moreenergy- and water-efficient.

The green bond market may be a late developer, but it is nowcritical to financing a lower carbon economy. It enables compa-nies to tap the growing pool of cash globally that is looking forclimate-friendly investment opportunities, converting thosefunds into capital for environmentally sustainable projects.

At present, green bonds still account for less than 1 percent ofthe overall global bond market. But here’s why we believe themarket is rapidly growing up:

First, there have been profound changes in the way business-es, consumers and investors perceive the risks stemming frompollution and rising global temperatures. The 2015 ParisAgreement established an overwhelming global consensus onthe need to address climate change. It required the nearly 200signatories to develop their own national plans to meet the tar-get of limiting the increase in global temperatures to two degreesCelsius or less over pre-industrial times. This has galvanized glob-al green-tech investments and financing.

Second, technological advances are making more and morelow-carbon alternatives (from alternative energy technologies, toelectric vehicles and batteries) economically viable. Green invest-ments are increasingly not just ethically but also financiallysound. Third, the authorities in China and India have thrown theirconsiderable weight behind efforts to green their economies. Bylaunching green bonds for the first time in 2015, Chinese andIndian institutions added geographical diversity to a marketthat had until then been dominated by the likes of Scandinavia,the United States and Britain. Last year, more than $33 billion-worth of Chinese green bonds were issued. That’s over one-third of the global total - and up from just $1 billion in 2015.Indian volumes are more modest, at just over $1 billion last year,but the country is likewise going through a paradigm shift inlow-carbon technologies.

The increasing momentum behind green bonds means issuersand investors can no longer afford to ignore them.

True, there is lingering skepticism over the “greenness” of spe-cific bonds. Are proceeds really deployed to finance climate-relat-ed or environmental projects? Or are they headed towards proj-ects or companies whose “greenness” is debatable? Who assesseswhether a particular issue is as “green” as another? Many investorsare still put off by the lack of consistency and transparency onthose fronts, while issuers shy away from the extra efforts (andcosts) of disclosing, reporting and certifying “green” ventures.

But the extras tend to be overestimated, and progress is beingmade on standardization and monitoring. For example, Standard& Poor’s in April launched a tool designed to evaluate not justwhether a bond is green, but how green it is. Meanwhile, theadvantages of issuing a green bond are substantial - though per-haps not yet as widely recognized as they should be.

For a start, issuing green bonds allows companies to tap thegrowing demand for such instruments among pension funds,sovereign wealth funds and other investors who are concernedabout their portfolios’ exposure to high-carbon and unsustain-able issuers and activities. As of early 2016, there were some $23trillion of assets professionally managed under responsibleinvestment strategies. That’s up 25 percent since 2014, and repre-sents more than a quarter of all professionally-managed assetsglobally. Likewise, a recent HSBC survey found that two-thirds ofglobal institutional investors want to put more capital into low-carbon and climate-related investments.

What’s more, the launch of a green bond allows an issuer todemonstrate they are aware of and preparing for the long-termchallenges of global warming. And, by requiring them to identify,minimize and monitor their climate risk profile, it can help themembed low-carbon thinking in their corporate culture and busi-ness strategy. Over the long term, this could well create an advan-tage over less well-prepared companies in terms of valuation andbusiness prospects.

Given what’s at stake, the green bond market’s coming-of-agecan only be welcome. Happy 10th birthday. *Note: GordonFrench is Head of Global Banking and Markets, Asia Pacific, HSBC.

Green bonds:

Coming of age

LAGOS: Nigeria’s former oil ministerfaces charges only at home but hername crops up in a growing number ofinternational cases that lift the lid on thescale of alleged corruption in the coun-try’s oil sector. Since leaving office in2015, Diezani Alison-Madueke has beenimplicated in bribery, fraud, misuse ofpublic funds, and money launderingcases in Nigeria, Britain, Italy and theUnited States.

The first female president of theglobal oil cartel OPEC — who was oneof Africa’s most prominent politicians-has always denied the allegations, whichinvolve billions of dollars syphoned fromoil deals and state coffers.

But former US State DepartmentNigeria specialist Matthew Page sug-gested that a US civil forfeiture case toseize $144 million (124 million euros) ofassets from allegedly ill-gotten crudecontracts may just be the start of Alison-Madueke’s legal troubles.

“Although this is the first attempt byUS law enforcement to go after assetsallegedly stolen by Diezani and herhenchmen, it almost certainly will notbe the last,” he told AFP. Nigeria’sPresident Muhammadu Buhari, electedin 2015 on a promise to eliminate graft,has said that “mind-boggling” sums ofpublic money were stolen by previousadministrations. Officials in Abuja saythey are talking with US prosecutorsabout repatriating the money if the civilforfeiture claim is successful.

String of cases Alison-Madueke served under presi-

dent Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to2015 and was Nigeria’s first female min-ister of petroleum resources. But hertenure was dogged by scandal. On herwatch, the former central bank governorLamido Sanusi was sacked for claimingthe state-run Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation (NNPC) hadfailed to remit $20 billion. In one caseheard in Nigeria in February, Alison-Madueke was accused of diverting some$153 million from the NNPC coffers.

In another ongoing trial, some 23 bil-lion naira ($73 million) of NNPC moneyis alleged to have been used to influ-

ence the 2015 presidential election tokeep Jonathan in power.

Prosecutors in Lagos this week beganproceedings to recover $1.76 billion ofassets owned by Kola Aluko and JideOmokore, whose companies wereawarded oil contracts by Alison-Madueke.

A similar asset recovery case was filedlast week in Houston, Texas, seeking theseizure of luxury property, including aNew York apartment and superyacht,

bought by the businessmen. OnWednesday, another judge ordered theforfeiture of Alison-Madueke’s $37.5 mil-lion luxury Lagos property, saying it waspurchased with il l-gotten funds.Meanwhile, Italian prosecutors allegethat she and Jonathan received kick-backs from oil majors ENI and Shell aspart of a $1.3-billion deal for an offshoreoil block in Nigeria. Charges relating tothe same oil block deal have also beenfiled against the oil majors and some

senior Nigerian politicians. Jonathanand Alison-Madueke are not named inthe suit but the former president isunder pressure from parliament toanswer questions about the so-calledMalabu deal. Finally, Diezani-Maduekewas arrested in London in October 2015in connection with a British probe intointernational corruption and moneylaundering, but she was freed on bail.

‘Morale booster’ As the international cases pile up,

anti-graft campaigners hope the grow-ing body of evidence will boost cur-rent President Muhammadu Buhari’sfaltering war on corruption. Severalhigh-profile figures in Jonathan’s gov-ernment have been charged with cor-ruption since Buhari came to power,however so far there have been nomajor convictions. Still, some activistsbelieve the overseas cases will serve asa powerful example of justice. DeboAdeniran, of the Coalit ion AgainstCorrupt Leaders lobby group, said thelatest cases involving Alison-Madueke,Aluko and Omokore could be a“morale booster”.

“Once a conviction is got abroad, theright signal will be sent to all looters thatthe judgment day has come,” he said.“The fight against corruption will receivea boost. At last, the chickens are cominghome to roost.”

Dolapo Oni, an oil analyst withEcobank, said that in contrast toNigeria’s sluggish courts, the overseascorruption cases may be concludedfaster. But whatever positive impactthat may have, fears remain that withBuhari on indefinite medical leave, hisanti-corruption war is losing momen-tum. Leading Nigerian lawyer FestusKeyamo said the cases demonstratedthe need fundamentally to overhaulthe NNPC-and to investigate justhow far up corruption went in theruling elite. “ The big unansweredquestions: is it possible one Ministerallegedly stole so much without theknowledge, connivance & approvalof the C-in-C (commander-in-chief )?”,he tweeted. — AFP

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Financial experts in theEuropean Union have lowered their inflation expecta-tions for the coming years, a European Central Bank sur-vey publish showed, reflecting the institution’s compli-cated path to its price stability target. In its quarterlysurvey of professional forecasters, the ECB found aver-age price growth predictions had been revised down 0.1percentage points for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Forecasters now expect inflation to reach 1.5 percentthis year, followed by 1.4 percent next year and 1.6 per-cent in 2019. The latest survey results are largely in linewith the ECB’s own predictions, although central bankstaff expect inflation to slow slightly in 2018 to 1.3 per-cent. ECB policymakers use the central bank’s powers totry and hold inflation at its target of close to, but below2.0 percent-the level believed to be most favorable togrowth. The bank has intervened massively in the econ-omy in recent years to fend off the threat of deflation,offering cheap loans to banks, setting interest rates athistoric lows and buying tens of billions of euros permonth in government and corporate bonds.

But while central bank governors believe their policyhas boosted economic growth in the 19-nation euro-zone-reaching 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017—there has been little sign of a corresponding surge ininflation. That pattern was reflected in Friday’s survey,with forecasters upping their growth predictions for thecoming years even as they saw rate of inflation turningout lower. The private-sector experts match the ECB’sexpectations for 1.9-percent growth this year and 1.8 per-cent in 2018, but remain slightly less confident for 2019with a 1.6-percent prediction — 0.1 percentage pointslower than the central bankers. The survey of 56 profes-sional forecasters was conducted on July 3-7. —AFP

MEXICO CITY: There could be between six to ninerounds of negotiations between the United States,Canada and Mexico in the event a quick deal isreached on a revamp of the North American TradeAgreement, Mexican Economy Minister IldefonsoGuajardo said.

Guajardo told reporters in Mexico City on Fridaythe NAFTA members were looking at avoiding gaps ofmore than three weeks between negotiating roundswith a view to making quick progress. “If we calculatethe times toward the end of the year, we’re sayingthat this would give us a universe of rounds thatcould be between six and nine rounds,” Guajardo said.

Reuters this week reported the three countrieshad agreed an aggressive timetable to broker a dealon NAFTA in order to avoid politicizing Mexico’s pres-

idential election in July 2018, forecasting rounds heldat three-week intervals.

The first round of talks on renegotiating NAFTA isdue to begin in Washington on Aug 16. Two Mexicanofficials said the neighboring countries aimed tohold seven rounds of negotiations, and US officialstold Reuters that Mexico wanted the talks wrappedup by year-end 2017. Guajardo noted that it was inthe interests of the negotiators to wrap up talks ingood time lest a new government take office inMexico and refuse to honor the terms. US PresidentDonald Trump has pushed for a renegotiation ofNAFTA, threatening to dump it if he cannot reworkthe accord to the benefit of the United States. Heargues it has fueled a trade deficit with Mexico andcost thousands of US jobs. — Reuters

Nigeria’s former oil minister

battles slew of graft cases

Lid off scale of corruption in country’s oil sector

Diezani Alison-Madueke

This file photo taken on April 20, 2017 shows a view of an illegal oil refinerydestroyed by members of the NNS Pathfinder of the Nigerian Navy forces in theNiger Delta region near the city of Port Harcourt. — AFP

BARCELONA: Almost three quarters of Spanish busi-ness leaders fear Catalonia’s plans for an independ-ence referendum on Oct 1 could harm the country’seconomy, according to a study by Deloitte publishedin Spanish newspaper El PaÌs.

Madrid has condemned as illegal plans by thenortheast region’s government to hold a referendumon seceding from Spain and, if the yes vote wins,declare independence unilaterally within 48 hours.

Last week, the Spanish government said Cataloniawould lose access to some public funds if it used themoney to prepare for the unsanctioned plebiscite.Nationwide 74 percent of 265 business leaders surveyedbelieve the Catalan independence movement threatens

the Spanish economy, while 43 percent of those basedin Catalonia itself agree, according to the Deloitte Surveyof Companies study commissioned for El Pais.

Despite concerns about the political deadlockover Catalonia, confidence in Spain’s continued eco-nomic growth remains high, according to the poll.Eight out of 10 directors polled said the economyhad improved in the first half of the year. Seven outof 10 expect to bill more in the second half of theyear than in the first six months. Spain has surpassedexpectations for GDP growth this year. Last week theInternational Monetary Fund said it expected Spain’seconomy to grow by around 2.5 percent in 2018, upfrom its previous forecast of 2.1 percent. —Reuters

ECB survey finds

markets expect

lower inflation

Multiple rounds of NAFTA talks

possible, says Mexico minister

Spain’s business leaders worried

about Catalan secession

B U S I N E S SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

KUWAIT: The US dollar continued to tradein a subdued manner against most of itsmajor counterparts last week on the backof heightened uncertainty surroundingthe future of the Fed’s rate path.Additionally, concerns over Trump’s abilityto push his agenda in the White Househelped push the greenback lower. The lackof confidence in the market is clearlyreflected in US 10-year treasury yieldswhich traded at 3-week lows. Meanwhile,equities maintained recent gains on theback of a generally positive earnings sea-son and prospects of a less aggressive Fedinterest rate policy.

The market continued to be dictated bycentral banks and their agendas withregards to the withdrawal of their hugequantitative easing programs. Last week,the European Central Bank meeting andpress conference took center stage asinvestors were eagerly awaiting any hinton when the ECB would start tapering.However, the European Central bank leftits ultra-loose monetary policy unchangedand did not even discuss reducing backstimulus, which suggested it may delay aninevitable decision on tapering asset pur-chases until the latest possible moment.

The BOJ had a similar story as it kept itsmonetary policy unchanged and hasextended the timeframe for reaching its2% inflation target to fiscal year 2019.Regardless of whether the BOJ acknowl-edges that inflation won’t reach its targetas expected, Governor Haruhiko Kurodawon’t get anywhere near a policy exitbefore his five-year term expires in April,Hideo Hayakawa, said in an interview withBloomberg last week.

On the foreign exchange front, the USdollar declined by 1.42 percent last week.The dollar index opened the week at 95.088and reaching as high as 95.348 but the dol-lar lost all momentum and slipped to 11-month low of 94.180. The market has start-ed to lose faith in “Trumpflation” as the pos-sibility to pass the Republican health carereform bill appears even dimmer. ThreeRepublican Senators voiced opposition tothe proposed bill and it does appear thatthe bill won’t have enough votes to pass,casting further doubts on Trump’s influenceon the White House policies.

Even after a dovish Draghi in the ECBpress conference, the Euro was the biggestwinner last week gaining 2.13 percent onthe back of solid economic figures andweakness in the dollar. The currencyopened the week at 1.1462 and rose ashigh as 1.1677 on Friday. The euro closedthe week at 1.1658.

The pound sterling had a different sto-ry than the euro as mixed retail and infla-tion data hit the market. Furthermore, thesofter inflation figure had depressedexpectations of an interest rate hike inthe short-term. The cable opened theweek at 1.3099 and reached a high of1.3125 but quickly lost all gains and fell toa low of 1.2970. The currency closed theweek at 1.2992.

The safe haven yen traded in a relativelynarrow range opening the week at 112.49and reached a low of 111.46 despite mixedeconomic data and a cautious BOJ state-ment. The yen continues to gain against thegreenback as differentials continue to dropon the back of lower US yields. The curren-cy closed the week at 111.10.

In the commodities complex, oil priceshad a volatile movement increasing by upto 3.89 percent as Brent Crude reached asix week high of $50.19. US crude oilinventory decreased by 4.7 million as therefineries produced 125,000 barrels perday less than the previous week’s average.However, Brent closed the week at $48.06due to forecasts of a rise in OPEC produc-tion for July despite the group’s pledge tocurb output.

Housing sector The housing market registered the

fastest annualized pace in four monthsaccording to the Commerce Departmentdata released last Wednesday. Housingstarts increased by 8.3 percent to 1.22million annualized rate up from 1.12 mil-lion reached in May. While building per-mits, a proxy for future construction,climbed 7.4 percent to a 1.25 millionannualized rate up from May’s figure of1.17 million. Despite three interest ratehikes since December 2016 and increasedinflation, the housing market keeps onexpanding at a considerably fast pace,which may potentially deem alarming inthe near future.

The Philly Fed Manufacturing indexdecreased from a reading of 27.6 in Juneto 19.5 this month. The index has beenpositive for 12 consecutive months, butJuly ’s reading is the lowest sinceNovember. Thirty-seven percent of thefirms indicated increases in activity in July,down from 42 percent last month. Theshipments index decreased 16 points,while the new orders index fell 24 points.Nearly 31 percent of the respondentsreported a rise in new orders this month,down from 45 percent in June. Both thedelivery times and unfilled orders indexeswere positive for the ninth consecutivemonth, suggesting longer delivery timesand increases in unfilled orders.

Dovish DraghiThe European Central Bank left its

benchmark refinancing rate unchanged at0.00 percent, as expected, on Thursday.President Mario Draghi also said the ECBwould continue its monthly asset purchas-es at the current rate, 60 million euros amonth, until December 2017 or beyond, ifnecessary. Following are highlights of ECB

President Mario Draghi’s comments at apost-policy meeting press conference. Onpotential changes to the QE program hesaid “We need to be persistent and patientbecause we aren’t there yet.”

Draghi also added that “We also wereunanimous in communicating no changeto the forward guidance and also we wereunanimous in setting no precise date forwhen to discuss changes in the future - inother words, we simply said that our dis-cussions should take place in the autumn.”The ECB’s president emphasized that weneed to think and gather lots of informa-tion as there is lots of uncertainty around.He also stressed that the GoverningCouncil doesn’t want to be forced to takedecisions in an absence of full information

Eurozone annual CPI holds firmEuro area final annual inflation figure

came at 1.3 percent for June, matching themarket’s expectations yet lower than therevised 1.4 percent May figure. It is worthmentioning that in June last year inflationwas at 0.1 percent, but with the ECB’sloose monetary policy and asset purchaseprogram helped lift the inflation to adecent 1.3 percent a year later.

However core CPI excluding energy,food, alcohol and tobacco strengthened to1.1 percent y/y compared with 0.9 percentin May. Of further comfort to the centralbanker would be the core inflation exclud-ing energy & processed food but includingtobacco & alcohol ,ECB’s preferred measureof core inflation, came in 1.2 percent y/y -highest in over two and half years.

UK retail sales UK’s inflation unexpectedly slowed

down year to year in June. The 2.6 percentwas lower than expectations by 0.3 per-cent and thus removing some pressurefrom the BOE as price growth was gettingout of hand. This figure marks the firstdrop in annual CPI rate since October oflast year. Economists had forecasted thatthe data would hold at the four-year highof 2.95 reached last month. The dataundermines arguments for the immediateinterest-rate hike that a minority of policymakers supported at the last BOE decisionas inflation looked set to veer furtherabove the 2 percent target. There are alsosigns economic growth is cooling as con-sumers, the engine of growth for the pastyear, start to rein in spending.

In addition, the quantity of goods soldin stores and online rose by 0.6 percent,more than economists forecast, followinga 1.1 percent decline in May, figures fromthe Office for National Statistics showedThursday. Sales rose in almost every cate-gory last month. Spending on clotheshelped lift sales at department stores by2.7 percent and household goods rose 3.3percent. Food sales fell 0.5 percent, partlydue to weaker alcohol demand.

RBA minutesIn its July meeting minutes, the RBA

again stated that developments in thelabor market warrant careful monitoring.In the detail of the minutes the bettergrowth data (the flow of jobs) is contrast-ed with high levels of underemployment(to stock of spare capacity). It is notablethat the RBA characterized the labor mar-ket improvement as removing “some ofthe downside risk in the Bank’s forecast ofwage growth”.

China’s GDP expandsChina’s economy expanded faster than

expected in the second quarter of 2017, astraditional growth sectors continued tounderpin the economy. The NationalBureau of Statistics said gross domesticproduct (GDP) expanded at an annualized6.9 percent in the second quarter,unchanged from the previous quarter andwell within the government’s target rangeof 6.5 percent to 7 percent.

Over the past four quarters, theChinese economy has relied on govern-ment spending and access to cheap creditto fuel a faster than expected expansion.At the same time, efforts to curb a red hothousing market have largely come upshort amid a resurgence of demand.Buyers anticipating further restrictions onhousing have flooded the market afterauthorities introduced curbs back inMarch. Furthermore, Industrial produc-tion, the broadest measure of factory out-put, expanded 7.6 percent in the 12months through June. That was wellabove the previous month’s 6.5 percentgrowth pace signaling a healthier andmore solid economy.

BOJ policy unchangedBank of Japan’s meeting last week was

uneventful as expected by market partici-pants. The central bank kept the interestrate unchanged at -0.10 percent and 80trillion yen QE program in place as well asthe 10-year JGB yield target at about 0.00percent. In addition, the BOJ admitteddefeat of deflation and delayed the timingof reaching their 2 percent inflation targetto fiscal year 2019.

Finally, Bloomberg Intelligence econ-omist Yuki Masujima warned that a bigrisk ahead for BOJ after two board mem-bers leave this week is tunnel vision.Takahide Kiuchi and Takehiro Sato rou-tinely challenged the policy board’s con-sensus, and their successors are less like-ly to oppose Kuroda.

KuwaitKuwaiti dinar at 0.30215The USDKWD opened at 0.30215 yes-

terday morning.

NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT

Dollar lower; euro

higher despite ECB

KUWAIT: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-BabtainCo, the sole authorized dealer of Nissan in theState of Kuwait, recently launched new 2018Nissan Pathfinder in Kuwait. The NissanPathfinder is reborn for the 2018 model yearwith more adventure capability, a freshenedexterior look and enhanced safety and technolo-gy - pure Pathfinder taken to a higher level ofperformance and style.

The latest iteration of this popular, family-ori-ented four-wheel drive vehicle draws on Nissan’svast experience of building vehicles designed tooperate in testing off-road conditions whileremaining perfectly at home on the highway. Asan SUV vehicle, the Pathfinder retains plenty ofcapability in off-road environments.

“Pathfinder has a logical and hugely practicalplace within the Nissan model line-up in thisregion,” explained Mohammed Shalaby - ChiefOperating Officer for Al-Babtain Group[M1] “For2018, Pathfinder receives much more than a typ-ical facelift. It now offers more power, improveddriving dynamics and new available driver assis-tance features -more of what customers need forsafe, comfortable every day and weekend familyadventures.”

“Most people with a family need to commuteto work, drop the kids off at school and general-ly use their vehicles on paved surfaces. But atweekends it’s great to have the Pathfinder’scapacity to explore further afield, getting to spe-cial places that an ordinary family car cannotreach, be that in a desert or beach.”

The refreshed Pathfinder benefits fromchanges both externally and internally. Therevised 3.5-litre V6 engine has more horse powerand more torque.

The seven-seat vehicle offers enhanceddriving dynamics such as more controlled rideand handling, less vibrations on turns and eas-ier manoeuvring. This is due to many enhance-ments such as smaller strokes, less under-steer, improved roll balance and improvedsteering ratio. The 2018 Pathfinder is offered in2-wheel drive configurations and a choice of twowell-equipped grade levels: S & SV. Externally,

Pathfinder now aligns more closely with Nissan’slatest design language thanks to signature ele-ments, including the new “V-Motion” grille andstriking boomerang-shaped headlights with LEDdaytime running lights. Other new styling ele-ments include a redesigned front bumper, foglights, wing mirrors with integrated indicatorsand new 18-inch and 20-inch aluminium-alloywheel designs. The rear taillight cluster and rearbumper have also been refreshed.

In terms of practicality, a Motion-Activatedliftgate comes as standard on SV. On sweeping afoot under the tailgate, it opens automaticallyand stops at the desired point.

Inside, the revamped Pathfinder offers stylish,comfortable seating for seven occupants whobenefit from a variety of updated connectivityfeatures. The latest Pathfinder adopts new-gen-eration information technology with anAdvanced Drive-Assist Display located in thecentre of the instrument binnacle providing sup-plementary infotainment and driver assistancedisplays compared to the previous model. Astandard 8.0-inch touch-screen monitor, situatedin the middle of the instrument panel controls awide variety of vehicle systems and settingsincluding navigation and infotainment func-

tions. Options such as Intelligent EmergencyBreaking, Intelligent Cruise Control, Blind SpotWarning (BSW), Forward Collision Warning andRear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) are available onthe SV.

Revised 3.5-liter V6 engineIn a major step up of its already highly capa-

ble adventure credentials, Pathfinder’s new 3.5-l iter V6 engine features more power andtorque. It utilizes more than 50 percent new ornew-to-Pathfinder engine parts and compo-nents - including combustion chamber design,pistons, intake manifold and e-VTC (fully elec-tronic on intake).

A powerful new lookWhen the fourth-generation Pathfinder

was introduced for the 2013 model year, itsdesign represented a major step forward inrefined styling and aerodynamic emphasis.For 2018, the refreshed exterior goes even far-ther, adding a stronger sense of adventure,character and presence and continued fine-tuning of aero efficiency.

The updated appearance incorporates thelatest Nissan signature design elements intro-duced on the award-winning Maxima sportsedan and Nissan X-Trail crossover - includingthe new “V-Motion” grille and boomerang-shaped headlights. Other exterior enhance-ments include a new, more aggressive hood,front bumper and fog lights. The outsiderearview mirrors now include standard integrat-ed turn signals. In the rear, changes include newtaillights and a stronger bumper design.

Nissan Al-Babtain invites customers to visit itsdedicated showrooms in Al-Rai & Ahmadi toview up close the refreshed Pathfinder’s refinedstyling and design as well as take a test drive toenjoy the newly enhanced performance and anadvanced driving experience. Nissan Al-Babtainis known on being keen to constantly providethe best to its customers throughout the year, aswell as after-sales service to meet the growingdemand for Nissan and achieve the company’sgoals to always remain at the forefront of lead-ing automotive brands.

DUBAI: Nissan has announced thatthe widely anticipated new NissanLEAF will come with e-Pedal, a rev-olutionary technology that trans-forms the way we drive.

With the flip of a switch, thetechnology turns your acceleratorinto an e-Pedal, allowing drivers toaccelerate, decelerate and stopusing just the e-Pedal. e-Pedal tech-nology is the world’s first one-pedaloperation that allows drivers tobring the car to a complete stop

even on hills, stay in position, andresume driving instantly.

Drivers can cover 90 percent oftheir driving needs with the e-Pedal, making the process of driv-ing more exciting. In heavy trafficand during city commutes, driverswill greatly reduce the need to shiftfrom one pedal to the other, mak-ing your drive simpler and moreengaging.

The e-Pedal technology repre-sents another key milestone in

Nissan’s ongoing commitment tobring accessible, advanced driverassistance technologies to themainstream. Set to make drivingsafer and more enjoyable, thedevelopment of these technolo-gies is part of Nissan IntelligentMobility, the company’s blueprintfor transforming how cars are driv-en, powered and integrated intosociety. By launching the NissanLEAF, the world’s first mass-marketelectric vehicle, Nissan established

itself as pioneer in the EV move-ment. Today the Nissan LEAF is theworld’s best-selling electric vehi-cle, with more than 277,000 soldworldwide.

For the latest updates, follow#Nissan #LEAF #ElectrifyTheWorldand join in the conversation.

For more information aboutNissan Motor Co., Ltd.’s products,services and our commitment tosustainable mobility, visit Nissan-Global.com. Follow us on Facebook,Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn,and view our latest videos onYouTube.

Nissan is a global full-line vehi-cle manufacturer that sells morethan 60 models under the Nissan,Infiniti and Datsun brands. In fiscalyear 2015, the company sold morethan 5.4 million vehicles globally,generating revenue of 12.2 trillionyen. Nissan engineers, manufac-tures and markets the world’s best-selling all-electric vehicle in history,the Nissan LEAF. Nissan’s globalheadquarters in Yokohama, Japanmanages operations in six regions:ASEAN & Oceania; Africa, MiddleEast & India; China; Europe; LatinAmerica and North America. Nissanhas been partnered with Frenchmanufacturer Renault since 1999and Mitsubishi Motors since 2016under the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

Nissan Al-Babtain launches new

2018 Nissan Pathfinder in Kuwait

New 3.5-liter V6 engine adds direct injection system

The new Nissan LEAF with

e-Pedal, premieres on Sept 6

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

BU S INE S S

WALL STREET WEEK AHEADNEW YORK: Optimism is souring aroundsmall-cap stocks for some investors, with ahost of factors conspiring to up-end gainsthat have taken them to record highs.

Small-caps, which led the market’s rallyjust after the Nov 8 election of DonaldTrump as US president, are facing weakearnings forecasts, little progress on taxreform and recent outflows. “We havedownside risk here. Earnings numbersaren’t great, and valuations are ... prettyrich,” said Steven DeSanctis, equity strate-

gist at Jefferies.Investors had expected the administra-

tion of Republican Trump, with his promis-es of aggressive tax cuts and a healthier USeconomy, would be a boon for small-caps,which tend to be more domesticallyfocused. Republicans so far have beenunable to push through bills to repeal andreplace the Affordable Care Act, the firstleg of the Trump agenda. That has raiseddoubts about the likelihood of any taxreform this year. Small-caps have higher

effective tax rates - about 32 percent versus26 percent for large-caps, a note fromNuveen Asset Management showed.

The performance of both the Russell2000, a widely used gauge for small-caps,and the small-cap S&P 600 has lagged thatof large -caps so far this year, but theRussell is up 20.3 percent since the electioncompared with a gain of 15.3 percent forthe S&P 500.

All three indexes hit record highs inrecent sessions, just as the earnings report-

Small-cap rally could shrink on earnings, tax hurdles

ing period was getting under way. Butanalysts estimate earnings for S&P 600companies declined 8.3 percent in thesecond quarter, dragged down by pro-jected drops in consumer discre -tionary, energy and health care results,according to Thomson Reuters data.Revenue is expected to have risenslightly in the quarter.

Among consumer companies,weakness in apparel, accessories andluxury goods and other retailers isexpected to have hurt results, saidDavid Aurelio, Thomson Reuters seniorresearch analyst.

In the small-cap energy sector, serv-ices and equipment companies con-tinue to be affected by project cut-backs by larger companies. The small-cap outlook is in contrast to expecta-tions for another quarter of strongprofit growth for the S&P 500 and asharp year-over-year jump in large-cap energy.

“Small-cap earnings growth hasbeen trailing large-caps for the lastfour years, and that continues to bethe case in the first half of this year,”said Dan Suzuki, senior U.S. equitystrategist at Bank of America MerrillLynch in New York.

That does not bode well for valua-tion metrics for small-caps, which thebank calls “the most expensive seg-

ment of an expensive market.” TheRussell 2000 is trading at about 26times forward earnings as perThomson Reuters Datastream data,above a median of about 21. The S&P500 trades at about 17.3 times, alsoabove its median.

While analysts expect small-capearnings to rebound in the second halfof the year, some strategists said thoselofty expectations are not likely tohold since US economic growthremains sluggish.

Large-caps have benefited fromrecent weakness in the US dollar,which makes foreign currency earn-ings for US companies worth more indollars. “This may explain why mid-and large-caps have seen a strongerbounce in earnings revisions thansmall-caps recently,” Lori Calvasina,Credit Suisse’s chief US equity strate-gist, wrote in a research note.

Recent fund data also shows aweakening trend. According to Lipper,US-based small-cap funds have record-ed five straight weeks of withdrawals.At the same time, technical momen-tum indicators are trailing the Russell2000’s recent push to new highs, a pos-sible warning that its foray into recordterritory is on less than firm footing.“We’re in a longer period of underper-formance,” Suzuki said. —Reuters

B U S I N E S SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

KUWAIT: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-BabtainCompany (AABC), the sole authorized dealer ofTadano LTD Co in the State of Kuwait since 1979,is honored to have welcomed Tadano’s Presidentand Owner, Koichi Tadano and Tadano’sManagement Team during their first ever visit toKuwait. Tadano’s team met with Al-Babtain’sgroup most senior leadership during a historicvisit cementing the successful decades-longpartnership.

The two parties shared their visions in pursu-ing excellence for their customers, discussedgrowth opportunities and reconfirmed theircommitment to working together to delivertrusted solutions in the local market. Led byTadano, the Japanese delegation was also repre-sented by Kazuumi Hiwatashi, General Manager;Koji Kakudo, Service Manager; Norihiro Kawai,Sales Manager and Koichi Kanno, Officer. Theywere warmly received by Mohamad Shalaby,Chief Operations Officer; Abdulmohsen A Al-Babtain, Chief Human Resources Officer andGhazi Al-Babtain, Group Business DevelopmentManager.

Commenting on the visit, Shalaby said: ‘It is apleasure to meet Tadano’s Management teamhere in Kuwait and discuss how we can best col-lectively answer the needs of our customers inKuwait to ensure the best-in-class products andafter-sales services. Our long partnership hasbeen a major success that goes from strength tostrength. It is no surprise that the Tadano Cranescontinue to dominate the Kuwaiti market interms of sales with a remarkable 70 percent mar-ket share over the last four years. We look for-ward to working hand in hand with our Tadanopartners for many more years.’’

The Al-Babtain Group brings all types ofTadano’s hydraulic cranes to Kuwait, provides

after sales services and genuine spare partsensuring the seamless customer experience thatthe Al-Babtain Group name commands.

Tadano is the largest Japan-based manufac-turer of cranes and aerial work platforms and theseventh largest crane manufacturer in the world,established in 1948 and listed in the Tokyo StockExchange. Led by its principle ‘safety first, qualitysecond and efficiency third’, Tadano name hasbecome synonymous with trust and reliabilityaround the world, and in the region.

Al-Babtain Group was founded in 1948, topresent a model of honesty, integrity and totaldedication, gaining a solid reputation in theState of Kuwait and the Middle East area. Today,Al-Babtain Group has licensing rights for someof the world’s leading brands stretching theglobe from the USA to the Far East.

For more than 60 years, Al-Babtain Group hasexperienced continued success and a large meas-ure of this success came from the Group’sadvanced flexible management style and long-term vision. These astounding results wereachieved due to a versatile strategic formula focus-ing on growth amongst its sphere of activities;including automotive, technology, investment,information technology, industrial and Finance.

The automotive sector is the main activitywithin Al-Babtain Group’s business, which repre-sents some of the bestselling brands in Kuwait,in addition to heavy equipment. TheAbdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain Co (AABC) isproud to be the sole agent and distributor ofleading Japanese, European (French) andChinese vehicles in Kuwait such as Nissan, InfinitiRenault & Citroen.

Al-Babtain Group receives Tadano’s

President and Management Team

Business leaders exchange views, further strengthen their partnership

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank was pleased to wel-come Amnah Hassan Bin Nekhi (minor)who is 8 years old, the winner of Al-Danah’s second quarterly draw for thisyear. Amnah and her family havereceived 250,000 cash prize upon visit-ing the bank’s Mishref branch on 20July 2017, where Mishref ’s branchManager and members of senior man-agement greeted them and handedthem the prize.

The winner’s family was delighted tohear the good news; they have expressedtheir gratitude to Gulf Bank for this valu-able prize, which was a great surprisethat will help them reach a lot of Amnah’sgoals and wishes in the future.

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah second quarterlydraw was held live on 88.8 FM ‘Rabaa Al-Diwaniya’ show, on Thursday, 13 July 2017,under the supervision of Ministry ofCommerce and Industry Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah 2017 draw lineup includes dailydraws; with two winners per working dayand each receive KD 1000, quarterly draws

and the final Al-Danah draw for KD 1 mil-lion. Al-Danah’s third quarterly draw forthe prize of KD 500,000 will be held on 28September, 2017. The final Al-Danah drawfor KD1 million will be held on 11 January2018, when the Al-Danah millionaire willbe announced.

Gulf Bank invites its customers toincrease their chances of winning bydepositing more into their Al-Danahaccount, through the Bank’s ITMs, ATMs,and the new ‘e-Pay’ service or by visitingany of the Banks’ branches across Kuwait.

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah account is opento Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti residents ofKuwait. Customers who open an accountand/ or deposit more will enter the drawwithin two days. To take part in the Al-Danah 2017 upcoming quarterly andyearly draws, customers must have an Al-Danah account containing at least KD200; customers can visit one of GulfBank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, orcall the Customer Contact Center on forassistance and guidance.

KUWAIT: Ahed Al-Eissa, ExecutiveManager Cars andLeasing Products atKuwait finance House(KFH) said that 2018KIA cars lineup of dif-ferent makes andmodels is available atKFH showrooms.

He added in apress release thatwith the operationalleasing option from KFH, customers can drive acar without having to worry about its mainte-nance. Customers can choose from a wide vari-ety of 80 car models that suit their demandsand decide on the period of the lease contract.Leasing from KFH also comes with a variety ofcustomized options that guarantee customers’peace of mind at all times. The financing leas-ing contract (lease to own) starts from 12-26month period.

Al-Eissa stressed the importance of customerservice, while meeting their requirements,boosting the market and strengthening ties withpartners, indicating the bank’s partnership withKIA is very successful and fruitful, where the val-ue of this partnership outpaced KD 11 million.

The advantages and benefits include fullmaintenance throughout the duration of leaseterm, Full Takaful insurance cover throughoutthe duration of the leasing period, a substitutecar when the leased car is under maintenance orrepair for more than 24 hours, 24 / 7 road-sideassistance, a wide range and variety of cate-gories and models that will surely meet theclient demands, and the option to drive theleased car beyond Kuwaiti borders according toterms and conditions.

KFH was established in Kuwait in 1977 and isenlisted in the Kuwait Stock Exchange. KFHGroup is a global pioneer in the field of Islamicbanking services, where it offers a wide array ofIslamic products and services, not to mention ahigh standard of innovation and client service.

KFH manages its operations in the GCC, Asia,and Europe through over 480 branches, includ-ing KFH-Turkey, in order to offer services for thebank’s clients in Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia,Bahrain, Germany, Jordan, and Dubai.

KFH’s mission is to achieve highest levels of

excellence and innovation in the field of clientservice, while developing common interest forall those concerned with the financial institu-tion. KFH’s vision is to spearhead the globaldevelopment in Islamic financial services, andto upgrade the bank into the level of becom-ing the most sustainable profitable Islamicbank in the world.

KFH’s values include cementing leadershipthrough all its businesses, including leadershipin the Islamic banking services worldwide,through innovation and in client service andthe development of its employees. In addition,KFH is committed to all its procedures, and tosetting up long-life partnerships with the con-cerned authorities.

KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait heldthe daily draw on “Al-Najma Account” yes-terday at the Bank’s Head Office to select 5winners to win a cash prize of KD 7000 foreach. The draw was held in the presence ofAbdulaziz Ashkanani, representative of theMinistry of Commerce & Industry. The fol-lowing names were announced as winnersof the prizes:

1. Naser Ahmad Al-Munayekh2. Abrar Hamdan Al-Hadiya3. Tareq Mohammed Zreq4. Zeeshan Ashraf Mohammed Ashraf5. Roumani Ezzat Abdulmaseeh IbrahimAl-Najma Account a l lows i ts cus-

tomers to win a daily prize of KD 7000which i s the h ighest da i ly pr ize inKuwait. In addition, the Account offersquarterly draws that provide customerswith opportunity to get their dreamsturned to reality by winning great prizesstarting from KD 100,000 for the firstquarter escalating thereafter by KD 50thousand for each quarter to reach KD250,000 in the last quarter. Customerscan enjoy additional benefits includingobtaining ATM card and a credit cardagainst the customer’s account along

with enjoying all other banking services.The Bank congratulates all the lucky win-ners and draws their attention that thecash prizes will be credited into theiraccounts with the Bank.

Further, the Bank appreciates theMinistry of Commerce & Industry’s signifi-cant role & its continuous cooperation andeffective supervision on the draw that wassmoothly and transparently organized.

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank, the second largest interms of assets, announced yesterday the namesof the daily draw winners of its Yawmi accountdraw, each taking home a cash-prize of KD 5,000.

The lucky winners are: 1. Mohammad Abdullah Al Hamad2. Mohammad Abdullah Ali3. Sarah Hasan Al Qattan4. Fatma Jafar Marafi5. Abdulwahab Abdulsamad Al SaffarIn addition to the daily draw, Burgan Bank

also offers a Quarterly Draw with morechances to win higher rewards, offering thechance to one lucky customer to win KD

125,000 every three months. The YawmiAccount offers Daily and Quarterly Draws,wherein the Quarterly Draw requires cus-tomers to maintain a minimum amount of KD500 in their account for two months prior tothe draw date. Additionally, every KD 10 in theaccount will entitle customers to one chanceof winning. If the account balance is KD 500and above, the account holder will be quali-fied for both the quarterly and daily draws.

Burgan Bank encourages everyone to opena Yawmi account and/or increase their depositto maximize their chances of becoming a win-ner. The higher the level of the deposit, thehigher the likelihood to win.

KUWAIT: Ahli United Bank recently con-ducted its Al-Hassad Islamic accountweekly draw, Kuwait’s leading sharia-compliant rewards program that offersa broad range of prizes to the largestnumber of winners, on the 19 July. Theaccount provides 26 weekly prizes thatare comprised of KD 25,000 as a grandprize and 25 other prizes valued at KD1,000 each. AUB also offers four quarter-ly prizes that are valued at KD 250,000to each winner al lowing them toachieve their dreams of travel l ing,studying abroad, or owning their dreamhome or car.

On this occasion Ahli United Bankannounced, “With this draw, we areadding 26 new winners and prizes tothe Al-Hassad Islamic account whereby,the total number of winners annuallywill include more than 1300.

The weekly grand prize winner ofKD 25,000 is Ali Hasan Jasim.

25 other winners won prizes of KD1,000 and are as follows:

Thuraya Mostafa Alhareeri, SulaimanMashaan Alenezi, Fahad MatroukAlrasheed, Abdullah Essa Alhaddad JabrAhmad Aljabr, Ablah Orabi Qassab,Hessah Dlayel Alotaibi, Nabila AbdulridaDabous, Salamah Saad Alenezi, Mansour

Ghareeb Haji, Ahlam AbdulrahmanAlmeshri, Milad Sami Bitar, AnyukournChanphirom, Wejdan Yousef Alshatti,Malek Ali Alsulaiman, Jameelah MubarakAldaihani, Huda Hassan Slab, NasserKarem Obaid, Ahmed Mohd Ali AbdullaAlmaqabi, Taibah Mansoor Hussain, HibaAbdulaziz Abdulla, Badal Khan Miazan,Nabbel Jaffar Hasan, Mohamed AminMohamed, Tariq Al Hussaini.

Ahli United Bank added, “There areincreased opportunities that await ourcurrent customers and those who areinterested in opening an Al-HassadIslamic account to benefit from the widerange of prizes and opportunities offeredthis year.”

Al-Hassad Islamic account ’s cus-tomers in Kuwait and Bahrain are eligibleto participate in the draw in line with theprogram’s terms and conditions.Individual customers can open theiraccounts with a minimum deposit of KD100, qualifying them to enter the draw.For every KD 50 deposited in theaccount, customers are given onechance to enter the quarterly draw. Theymust have held the minimum depositrequirement for at least two weeks priorto the draw date. The more depositsmade, the higher the chances of winningon a weekly basis.

CBK announces the winners in

daily draw of ‘Al-Najma Account’

Amnah Hassan Bin Nekhi,

winner of Al-Danah’s

KD 250,000 receives prize

Burgan Bank announces

winners of Yawmi draw

AUB makes a customers’

dream come true with

KD 250,000 grand prize

2018 KIA cars’ lineup available at KFH showrooms

Al-Eissa: KFH purchases of KIA cars outpaces KD 11m

Ahed Al-Eissa

Amnah Bin Nekhi, the winner of KD 250,000 prize with her family and GulfBank team.

t e c h n o l o g yMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

DUBAI: ISYX Technologies, a fast-grow-ing business innovation consulting com-pany in the Middle East and Africa, suc-cessfully held a joint workshop withMicrosoft on the challenges faced by theconstruction and building materialsindustry. The event focused on how spe-cific solutions provided by ISYXTechnologies using Microsoft Dynamics365 can improve the productivity of theindustry players on various projects.

The key objective of the workshop washow to focus on the improvement of spe-cific project parameters like sales automa-tion, supply chain and delivery, materialestimation, project P&L management,dashboard, KPI’s per project, resourceallocation per project, service mainte-nance, amongst others.

“While construction is important forthe world economy, it has a poor recordof productivity. Construction relatedspending accounts for 13 percent of theworld’s GDP, but its annual productivitygrowth has only increased by 1 percentover the past 20 years. There are two char-acteristics linked to the lack of automa-tion and innovation in the constructionindustry. First, it is a highly fragmented

industry makingintegration cum-bersome, and sec-ond it is amongstthe least digitizedend-to-end, rank-ing just above agri-culture and belowhospitality andh e a l t h c a r e , ”explained SharoonShamsuddin, CEO,ISYX Technologies.

“Having otherbusiness ventures

such as construction and asset manage-ment, I certainly see the potential of a dig-ital future for the construction industry,where the decision-making functions willbe moved to intelligent software and thedevices that run on it,” he added. TheMcKinsey Global Institute has identifiedten root causes for the low productivity inthe construction industry. They includethree from within external forces, threefrom within industry dynamics, and fourfrom within firm-level operational factors.

Some of these include inadequatedesign processes, poor project manage-

ment, under investment in innovationand digitization, insufficiently skilledsupervisory and frontline workers,amongst others. Clashing behavioramongst the various construction eco-system players is also responsible for thecontinuing low productivity. Suitableaction in seven areas can boost the sec-tor’s productivity by an estimated 50 per-cent to 60 percent, including regulations,contracts, design, procurement and sup-ply chain, onsite execution, technology

and innovation, and reskilling workers.“Our solutions which are, built on the

Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform aremeant to digitally transform the legacyproject approach prevalent in this indus-try and boost gains for vendors, suppli-ers, contractors, consultants, and the endcustomer. The Microsoft D365 solutioncovers an extended collaboration modellinking design, construction and opera-tions. It covers various stages like digitalmockup, design review, process simula-

tion, project management and facilitymanagement. The solution provides asingle place to understand the completeproject performance including, portfolioanalysis, project progress analysis, punchlist analysis across projects, cash flow,EVA, and other variables,” added ShivaKathiresan, VP Applications, ISYXTechnologies.

D365 is completely project-centricand is a work-breakdown structure, driv-en solution. It covers actual versus budg-et variance analysis, material variance,labor variance, cash flow analysis, EVAanalysis, projected cash flow over six-month period, project portfolio analysis,amongst others. It provides coverage forevery process of a project based organi-zation. This includes inquiry, estimation,quote, sales order, planning, execution,cash, RFQ, procurement, quality, payouts,financial planning, project dashboards,work breakdown and activity alerts,workflows and hand offs, knowledgebase, field service management,amongst others. Other solution capabili-ties include BIM integration, GIS and mapintegration, augmented and virtual reali-ty capability, and IoT integration.

ISYX Technologies, Microsoft showcase solutions to transform building industry

SharoonShamsuddin

MUMBAI: India’s richest man Mukesh Ambanisaid Friday that his telecoms venture Jio wouldlaunch a free smartphone, escalating a price warthat is shaking up the country’s ultra-competi-tive mobile market. The announcement, made ata boisterous Reliance Industries annual generalmeeting in Mumbai, sent shares in rival telecomsoperator Bharti Airtel plummeting almost sixpercent. “This breakthrough and revolutionarydevice named JioPhone, along with Jio’s disrup-tive tariff, will unleash the power of digital life inthe hands of 1.3 billion citizens of the largestdemocracy in the world,” said Ambani.

The tycoon told shareholders and staff, whoregularly burst into chants of “Jio, Jio, Jio”, thatthe phone, the latest entry into India’s crowded

market, would be available from September. Hesaid customers would only have to pay a depositof 1,500 rupees ($23.32) for the 4G-enableddevice, which would be fully refundable afterthree years. The announcement comes almost ayear after Ambani launched the Reliance Jio 4Gnetwork with free voice calls for life and vastlycheaper data plans, forcing rivals to dramaticallyslash their tariffs.

Jio has signed up 125 million subscriberssince its launch in September 2016, causing arush to consolidation in the multi-billion-dollarsector as competitors scramble to match itsdeep pockets. British mobile phone giantVodafone is merging its Indian unit with IdeaCellular to help fend off Jio, which is backed by

Reliance Industries-India’s immensely wealthyenergy-to-chemicals conglomerate headed byAmbani.

Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have enduredlosses since Jio’s arrival and shares in the compa-nies fell nearly three percent and six percentrespectively following Ambani’s announcementFriday. Reliance rose three percent. The news willhave also been carefully watched by SouthKorean tech giant Samsung and Chinese mobilephone maker Xiaomi who possess the lion’sshare of India’s smartphone market. Samsungleads the market with 28 percent while nearly 14percent of phones sold in India are made byXiaomi, according to a study by the InternationalData Corporation, an IT research firm. —AFP

India’s Ambani to launch free smartphone, shakes up telecoms

MUMBAI: India’s richest man and oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, right, and his wifeNita Ambani (2R) pose with their children (L-C) Akash Ambani, Anant Ambani and Isha Ambani as they arrive for the company’s40th AGM in Mumbai. —AFP

KATHMANDU: Ram’s new hand was manu-factured on a 3D printer in Nepal’s capitalfor just $30, an innovation that could be agame changer for many in the impover-ished Himalayan country. Once a farmer,Ram lost his hands and toes within a fewyears of contracting leprosy, forcing thefather-of-three to turn to begging in a des-perate bid to feed his family. That’s wherehe was spotted by US-born MatthewRockwell, the founder of Disaster Hack, anon-profit technology startup that is mak-ing functional prosthetic hands for thosewho couldn’t otherwise afford them.

Disaster Hack makes its money doingtech consulting and teaching people tocode, while running altruistic ventures onthe side like teaching Nepalis IT skills andmanufacturing low-cost, basic prosthetics.Rockwell-who flits between Nepal and theUS, where he is part of the tech teambehind the annual Burning Man festival inNevada’s Black Rock Desert-brought a 3Dprinter to Kathmandu after a powerfulearthquake struck the country in 2015.

Soon, he began printing new hands forthose in need: a girl who lost both limbsafter being electrocuted by hanging powerlines, a construction worker whose handwas crushed beyond repair. “We’ve only dis-tributed to five so far but we have a list thatkeeps on growing,” said Rockwell, sitting ina cramped office in Kathmandu, the 3Dprinter whirling behind him.

Recycled materialsRockwell only has the capacity to

make hands at the moment-a leg

requires a more heavy-duty printer-buthe has identified more than 7,000 peoplein Nepal who could benefit from DisasterHack’s creations. “A traditional prosthesiscosts anywhere between $1000 to $3000to $5000,” Rockwell explained. “Now we’reable to produce prostheses for r ightaround $30 so it (3D printing) lowers thecost dramatically for a functional pros-thesis.”

Rockwell hopes to bring down thecost even further by recycling plastic bot-tle tops to make the wire that feeds theprinter. Nepal ’s healthcare sec tor ischronical ly under funded and i l l -equipped but 3D printing can reduceboth the cost and time it takes to bringmedical equipment to those who need itmost. The 3D printed hands being manu-factured by Disaster Hack take nearly afull day to print, and are comprised ofroughly 20 dif ferent par ts. Rockwellhopes the mostly volunteer-run projectwill sow the seeds for something bigger.

He has now trained 20 prosthetists athospitals in Nepal in 3D printing, andsigned a deal with Kathmandu’s largestuniversity to set up the country’s first bio-medical 3D printing lab. Meanwhile forRam, a new hand could mean a chance togive up begging. “What should I say, I havenothing to eat. If I stay here I make 100rupees ($0.97), 50 rupees,” he said from hisdaily spot on the corner of a busy intersec-tion. He lifted the new prosthetic hand,and as he slowly contracted the plastic fin-gers to make a fist, a smile spread acrosshis face.—AFP

Cheap 3D printed prosthetics could be game changer for Nepal

KATHMANDU: This photo shows Disaster Hack founder Matthew Rockwell,right, attaching a 3D printed prosthetic hand to leprosy sufferer Ram’s armin Kathmandu. —AFP photos

KATHMANDU: This photo shows Disaster Hack founder Matthew Rockwellduring an interview with AFP in Kathmandu.

KATHMANDU: This photo shows leprosy sufferer Ram, who lost his handsand toes to the disease, begging on the streets of Kathmandu.

CHICAGO: A Pokemon Gofestival at Chicago’s GrantPark to celebrate the virtualgame’s one-year anniversarywent awry when a technicalglitch prevented many play-ers from logging on. TheChicago Tribune reportedthe festival’s organizersdecided to issue refunds forthe $20 tickets and $100 incredits for use on the app.The Chicago Sun-Timesreported the CEO of thegame’s developer was booedwhen he tried to explain theproblem to the crowd.

Niantic Inc.’s John Hankesaid “the whole Niantic team”was working to fix a glitch inthe server and log-on prob-lems with cellular serviceproviders AT&T, Sprint andVerizon. Some in attendancepaid as much as $400 onlinefor the tickets when theysold out within minutes oftheir June release. The aug-mented reality game thatuses GPS to locate, capture,battle and train virtual crea-tures was introduced in theUnited States in July 2016.Niantic says Pokemon Go hasbeen downloaded 750 mil-lion times.—AP

Chicago festival to mark Pokemon Go anniversary goes awry

CHICAGO: Festival goers wander the grounds at the Pokemon Go Fest at Grant Park in Chicago. —AP photos

H E A LT H & S C I E NC EMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

SHANGHAI: Shanghai sweltered under anew record high of 40.9 degrees Centigradeon Friday, authorities said as they issued aweather “red alert” over a stubborn heatwave that has plagued much of the country.

Hospitals in the city have reportedincreased numbers of patients sufferingfrom heat-related illnesses, according tostate media, and the Shanghai zoo said itwas putting large blocks of ice into someanimal enclosures to help them beat the

heat, while providing frozen apples to itspandas. China’s most populous city hasbaked under soaring summer temperaturesfor more than two weeks and Friday after-noon reached the hottest point since theestablishment of its benchmark weather sta-tion in 1872, the municipal weather bureausaid. Other areas of China also have seenrecords set in recent weeks, in what hasbeen a torrid summer so far for much of thecountry, while large areas of south-central

China have endured raging floods from tor-rential rain.

Shanghai’s “red alert”-the first this year-istriggered when temperatures in excess of 40degrees are forecast and comes with a warn-ing to citizens to keep cool and avoid toomuch time outdoors, especially children, theelderly, or the sick.

It also puts authorities on heightenedalert against fires breaking out and advisesspecial care with perishable foods to prevent

spoilage and bacteria. Shanghai is gettinghotter-the previous record of 40.8 degreeswas set only in 2013, and eight of the 12highest temperatures reached over the pastcentury were recorded in the last five years,according to the city weather bureau.People are losing their cool, said the state-run Shanghai Daily.

Shanghai has “seen a spike in accidentalinjuries, triggered by fights or traffic acci-dents, as people are more easily irritated in

the extreme heat and failing to exerciseproper judgment,” it said Friday. Even dogsare on edge, according to a state mediareport this week that said the heat wave hascoincided with a rise in dog bites. Shanghai’sweather bureau said Thursday a stubbornsubtropical high and hot southwesterlywinds were to blame and that the city willcontinue to bake at least until early Augustwhen typhoon season begins and theweather begins to shift. — AFP

Hottest day ever in Shanghai as heat wave bakes China

PARIS: Progress in beating back the AIDS epidemicrisks being eroded by a funding shortfall set togrow under Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to glob-al health projects, experts and campaignerswarned ahead of a major HIV conference. If adopt-ed by Congress, the 2018 Trump budget coulddeprive some 830,000 people, mostly in Africa,from life-saving anti-AIDS drugs, according to cal-culations by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), aCalifornia-based health policy NGO. “We will seelives needlessly being lost,” said Linda-Gail Bekker,president of the International AIDS Society (IAS)hosting some 6,000 experts in Paris from Sunday totake stock of advances in HIV science.

“We’re not talking about maybe a slowingdown... if these (US) cuts come about we couldvery well see a real turnaround in terms of theprogress that has been made,” she said. A Trumpbudget could lead to nearly 200,000 new HIV infec-tions, according to the KFF. It could also leave asmany as 25 million couples without access to spon-sored contraceptives, which not only prevent preg-nancy but also virus spread. “I cannot tell you howanxious I feel... To have the funding carpet takenfrom under our feet just seems such an incredibletravesty,” said Bekker.

The United States has for years been the biggestcontributor to the global fight against HIV infec-tion, accounting for about two-thirds of funding bygovernments. Last year, it contributed $4.9 billion(4.2 billion euros) to global HIV projects — 7.5times the amount provided by second-placeddonor Britain. Trump’s proposed budget, submittedin May, would reduce this amount by about $1 bil-lion, according to Health Global Access Project, anactivist group which crunched the numbers.

Others must do more The US president put forward a blueprint which,

in its own words, “reduces funding for several glob-al health programs, including HIV/AIDS, with theexpectation that other donors can and shouldincrease their commitments.” The draft spendingplan proposes to “maintain current commitmentsand all current patient levels on HIV/AIDS treat-ment” under the President’s Emergency Plan forAIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, set up by George W. Bush in2003. The program provides anti-retroviral treat-ment (ART) to over 12 million people.

The goal of PEPFAR, said Anthony Fauci, directorof the National Institute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases (NIAID), a US government researchagency, “is to get more people who have beennewly infected on therapy”-which means moremoney. “If you don’t increase it, you... have moreresponsibilities that you are not able to meet.”Trump also proposed a 17-percent cut of $222 mil-lion to the government’s 2017 contribution of$1.13 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB &Malaria, which provides about 10 million peoplewith ART.

“The future outlook of donor funding for HIVremains uncertain, given recently proposed cuts toHIV funding by the US, amidst other competingdemands on donor budgets more generally,” saidthe KFF report. Since the epidemic erupted in the1980s, 76.1 million people have been infected with

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Some 35 millionhave died. Last year, AIDS killed a million peopleand infected another 1.8 million, according to theUN. And while infections and deaths are on thedecline, the number of people living with HIV-requiring lifelong treatment-continues to grow.

Coming up shortLast year, 19.5 million of the 36.7 million people

who needed it, had access to ART. By 2020, the UNis aiming for 90 percent of HIV-infected people tobe on medication. But to achieve this target, annu-al spending must reach $26.2 billion (22.4 billioneuros), according to UNAIDS. In 2016, public andprivate funders were able to muster $19.1 billionfor AIDS research, prevention and treatment pro-grams in poor and middle-income countries. “Weare maximizing the use of every dollar available,but we are still $7 billion short,” UNAIDS executivedirector Michel Sidibe said this week.

The IAS conference organisers warned in astatement that “all of the scientific challenges stillbefore us are threatened by a weakening resolve tofund HIV science.” The gap is set to grow larger. “Itis... a difficult moment for all of us,” said French HIVexpert Jean-Francois Delfraissy, who will co-chairthe Paris meeting, citing a “modification in fundingin the US” and a shift in “the political vision of theUS government” on working with other countries.

Just over half of AIDS-related health spendingcame from domestic sources in 2016, but many ofthe poorest countries remain heavily reliant onforeign help. Globally, said the KFF, governmentdonor funding for HIV dropped in 2016 to thelowest level since 2010 — from $7.5 billion to $7bill ion. “We’ve seen two successive years ofdeclines,” said Jen Kates, the foundation’s HIV poli-cy director. “This raises concerns about the abilityof the global community to successfully tackle theepidemic.” — AFP

Headway on AIDS threatened by slow funding under Trump

2018 Trump budget could deprive 830,000 people

WASHINGTON: This file photo shows US President Donald Trump announcing his decision towithdraw the US from the Paris Climate Accords in the Rose Garden of the White House inWashington, DC. — AFP

COFFEE BAY, South Africa: This file photo shows traditional Xhosa initiates FezikhayaTselane, 20 years old, and Khanyisile Mapope, left, 18 years old, sitting down coveredwith blankets during a traditional initiation process, in a rural hut in the Coffee Bay areain Umtata, South Africa.— AFP

COFFEE BAY, South Africa: Naked, coveredin white clay mud, and with his peniswrapped in leaves, Abongile Maqegu, 20, sitsin a hut in South Africa recovering from hiscircumcision-a traditional ritual that canprove fatal. For Maqegu, it has been a gruel-ing initiation test that marks his arrival as anadult, and the pain is an essential part of theexperience. “You must go through that painto show that you are a man,” he said outsidethe coastal village of Coffee Bay about 100kilometers from Umtata in Eastern Capeprovince.

“We don’t even think of (getting) a med-ical circumcision because it is the easy wayout. We laugh at those who go to hospitals.”Maqegu is one of thousands of youths fromthe Xhosa ethnic group attending this year’sannual winter initiation schools acrossEastern Cape province. After his foreskin is cutoff by a tribal elder using a knife, he is kept inthe small thatched rondavel hut with twoother initiates for up to four weeks, with a“bush doctor” present at all times monitoringtheir wounds.

The initiates are allowed no contact withwomen, and spend their time playing cards,applying mud and stoking the smoky fire totry to keep warm. “If you go to hospital youare weak, you are not a man. Your woundmust not be treated with Betadine (disinfec-tant),” Maqegu said. “There is special tradition-al medicine for that and it heals fast.”

Secretive ceremony He revealed tree leaves tied like a bandage

around his genitals, which are also covered ina traditional healing ointment and held toone side by string. The ritual is revered andguarded by the Xhosa people, but the unhy-gienic conditions-and abuse by some initia-tion schools-exacts a heavy toll. At least 11youths have already died during this south-ern hemisphere winter in Eastern Cape,according to provincial officials, while the

government says several hundred have diednationwide in initiation schools since 1995.

Often the cause is infection from abotched circumcision, which can lead topenis amputation surgery. Circumcision hasalso been demonstrated to be a powerfulweapon in the fight against HIV, by helping toprotect men from the AIDS virus. But special-ists-meeting in Paris from Sunday for a four-day forum on HIV/AIDS-remain worried aboutbotched operations and poor hygiene. Otherrisks include dehydration or maltreatment byinitiation leaders, who conduct the secretivecircumcision rituals deep in the mountains.

Recognized as a manIn another grass-thatched hut, 200 meters

away, sitting on a reed mat, is 20-year-oldFezikhaya Tselane, who has just returned fromhis circumcision rites in the remote bush. Ashe nurses the sore wound, his bush doctorsits close by, surrounded by dirty pots, platesand empty beer bottles strewn over the floor.“I have been waiting for this day. All mybrothers have gone through this process,”Tselane said, entirely covered in white mud,which is meant to ward off evil spirits as wellas preserve body warmth.

“In our Xhosa culture, if you don’t gothrough traditional circumcision you are notrecognized as a man. “Now I can marry, havemy own house and kids and not depend onmy parents.” Mxolisi Dimaza, chairman of theEastern Cape provincial health committee,said authorities were determined to curbinjuries and deaths in the initiation schools.

“ This year a considerable amount ofresources were made available so that we donot experience many more deaths,” he saidafter his recent field visit to several initiationsites. “However, there are still problem areaswhere we have illegal initiation schools.These are where the school itself is not regis-tered and the initiates are often below 18years old.”— AFP

S Africa circumcision ritual: A dangerous route to manhood

ADEN, Yemen: More than 600,000 people areexpected to contract cholera in Yemen this year,the International Committee of the Red Crosswarned yesterday as the war-torn country’shealthcare system faces collapse. One in every 45Yemenis will have contracted the disease byDecember as “a direct consequence of a conflictthat has devastated civilian infrastructure andbrought the whole health system to its knees,”the ICRC said in a statement.

More than 370,000 people have fallen ill and1,800 have died since late April in Yemen’s secondcholera outbreak in less than a year. According to

the ICRC and the World Health Organization, awar between the Saudi-backed government andIran-backed Huthi rebels has killed thousands ofpeople and displaced millions.

Furthermore, a string of vital ports along thecountry’s Red Sea coastline are blockaded, leavingmillions of people with limited access to food andmedicine. Less than half of the country’s medicalfacilities are currently functional and the war inYemen, one of the world’s most impoverishedcountries, has killed more than 8,000 people andwounded a further 44,500 since Saudi Arabia andits allies joined the conflict in 2015.—AFP

600,000 Yemenis could contract cholera in 2017

W H AT ’S O N

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

LOYAC has recently hosted a concert forthe Iraqi artist Youssef Abbas with thecollaboration of the National Council

for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) atAbdulhussein Abdulredha’s theater. The

Assistant Secretary-General for Culture at theNational Council for Culture, Arts and LettersMohammed Al-Assousi presented a memori-al shield to the Iraqi singer. The concert wasattended by a large number of arts fans.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, Abbasexpressed his thanks to the officials at(NCCAL) and LOYAC academy for the effortsthey have concerted at supporting youngtalents. For her part, LOYAC’s Chairman of

the Board of Directors Farah Al-Saqqafstressed the importance of partnership andcooperation with (NCCAL) to present cultur-al activities and enhancing cultural move-ment of Kuwaiti and Arab youth.

TSC collaborates with Ghanima Al-Fahad in ‘Stay Fit All Summer’

Due to the positive feedback received from cus-tomers on the “Healthy Ramadan” campaignconducted by Ghanima Al-Fahad, The Sultan

Center continued its collaboration with Al-Fahad amacrobiotic expert- as part of its healthy eating cam-paign called “Stay Fit All Summer”. Through the “StayFit All Summer” program, Ghanima Al-Fahad greetedTSC customers, on Fridays during the month of Julyat TSC Shaab store and provided them with simple,healthy and nutritious meals that promote goodhealth during the summer season.

The program has been custom designed to pro-vide informative information and benefits related tocooking ideas to keep you and your family healthyand hydrated against the summer heat by usingfresh and natural products available at TSC stores.During the sessions, participants enjoyed cookingwith Ghanima Al-Fahad and were provided with allthe necessary tools to prepare the meals at home fortheir families.

They also got the chance to ask Al-Fahad abouthow to cook healthier and lighter options that canprovide the same taste, but with less fat and caloriesand more nutritional value. TSC takes the lead in edu-cating customers about the importance of eatinghealthy food options and plays an active role in thecommunity by supporting health initiatives and well-ness campaigns that promote a healthy lifestyle.

LOYAC, NCCAL host a concertfor Iraqi artist Youssef Abbas

NAFO Kuwait (National ForumKuwait) celebrated its 14th anniver-sary in a colorful and splendid man-

ner on May 26 at the sophisticated art the-atre of American United School, Sabah-Al-Salem. The inaugural meeting started withthe national anthems of Kuwait and India,followed by the soothing Vedic invocationchants of NAFO Symphony kids into thesilent and serene venue. A brief audiovisualdocumentary, on the socio-welfare activi-ties and mega cultural shows of NAFO wasshowcased.

The meeting observed a minute silencein respect of deceased Senior Indian Citizenand highly regarded expatriate communityleader late Sunny Mathews, as a gesture ofNAFO’s respect and commemoration. ChiefGuest, U S Sibi, Second Secretary Indian

Embassy, inaugurated the function bylighting the traditional lamp, along withthe NAFO office-bearers, Advisory Board,Program Convener and Ladies’ Wing ChiefCoordinator.

General Secretary Vijaykrishnan wel-comed the chief guest and the gathering.Vijayakrishnan briefed the recent activitiesand also about the relevance of the activerole of young Nafoitans in the workingfront to implement the planned future acti-vates with a change approach. President ON Nandakumar delivered presidentialaddress and his inspiring anniversary mes-sage. Nandakumar briefed about NAFO’Ssocio-welfare activities and the program asa whole. In his inaugural address US Sibicongratulated NAFO for their commitmenttowards extending welfare assistance to

the downtrodden and oppressed sectionsof the society. He further praised the NAFOteam for their continued efforts in carryingout such noble services. He also appreciat-ed the NAFO family for its relentless servic-es to the humanity and promoting the richIndian cultural heritages in Kuwait. ChiefGuest wished all success to its future socio-welfare activities. NAFO Advisory Boardmember BS Pillai rendered a felicitationspeech and greeted the function.

On behalf of NAFO, Chief Guest US Sibi washonored with a memento by PresidentNandakumar, for his commendable leadershipand humanitarian services rendering to Indiandiaspora in Kuwait in a short span of time. TheChief Guest released anniversary souvenir, bycollecting a copy from the Editor M S Nair andhanded over to Shaiju Mohandas and to the

delegates. Program convener Madhu GMenon, in his vote of thanks expressed grati-tude to dignitaries and guests.

He also thanked music band KADAL fortheir participation and the management ofAmerican United School for providing themost beautiful auditorium and premises.This year’s celebration showcased an overallimprovisation with the astonishing stageperformances by NAFO Ladies’ and childrenco-ordinated by NAFO Ladies Wing, fol-lowed with a musical extravaganza “Kadal”featured high voltage folk-rock band whichcarried the audience on a humungousupsurge of musical reverberations. Excellentcompeering by Darshana Jayadevan,Vrichika Vinayan and Sheethal Rajiv Menonmystically guided the audience throughoutthe event.

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK)sponsors “Jahez (ready) program”offered by the LOYAC’s Volunteers

Foundation. It aims to prepare youngpeople to join the labor market and to

support the Foundation’s various activi-ties and its pioneering role in supportingcommunity and humanitarian institu-tions. NBK sponsorship includes full sup-port for the “Jahez” program, which willlast for 10 days starting from July 30 tillAugust 10, 2017. As for the timing, it willbe from 5 to 8 pm on Sunday to Thursday.

“The ‘Jahez’ program offers a real val-ue added for young people and givesthem a distinctive educational experi-ence that prepares them for joining thelabor market,” said NBK Public RelationsOfficer Joanne Al-Abduljaleel. She addedthat the program includes lectures pro-vided by a group of lecturers from theHuman Resources Department in thebank on customer service. The programwill be attended by 30 students betweenthe ages of 16 and 21 years.

NBK sponsors new LOYAC program

NAFO anniversary ʻKadalʼ upsurges musical reverberations

00:00 Henry Hugglemonster00:15 Calimero00:30 Art Attack00:55 Zou01:05 Loopdidoo01:20 Henry Hugglemonster01:35 Calimero

01:50 Zou02:05 Art Attack02:30 The Hive02:40 Loopdidoo02:55 Henry Hugglemonster03:10 Art Attack03:35 Loopdidoo03:50 Calimero04:05 Art Attack04:30 Henry Hugglemonster04:45 Zou05:00 Art Attack05:30 Henry Hugglemonster05:45 Loopdidoo06:00 Zou06:15 Calimero06:30 Loopdidoo06:45 Henry Hugglemonster07:00 Sofia The First07:25 PJ Masks07:50 The Lion Guard08:15 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers08:40 Doc McStuffins09:05 Jake And The Never LandPirates09:35 Disney Lights, Camera, Lexi!09:40 Mickeyʼs Monster Musical10:30 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers11:00 PJ Masks11:25 Goldie & Bear11:50 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers12:15 Sofia The First12:40 The Lion Guard13:10 Doc McStuffins13:35 PJ Masks14:00 My Friends Tigger & Pooh14:30 The Lion Guard14:55 Unbungalievable15:00 Goldie & Bear15:30 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers16:00 Disney Lights, Camera, Lexi!16:05 Sofia The First: Once Upon APrincess16:50 PJ Masks17:05 Doc McStuffins17:35 The Lion Guard18:05 PJ Masks18:35 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers19:05 Sofia The First19:35 Jake And The Never LandPirates

T V PR O G R A M SMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

HARLOCK: SPACE PIRATE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD

THE INVENTION OF LYING ON OSN MOVIES HD

THE GREAT GATSBY ON OSN MOVIES FESTIVAL

00:45 Wildest Middle East01:40 Wildest Middle East02:35 Wildest Middle East05:49 Big Fish Man06:36 Call Of The Wildman07:00 Call Of The Wildman07:25 Dogs/Cats/Pets 10108:15 Wildest Africa09:10 Wildest Middle East10:05 Tanked11:00 Dogs/Cats/Pets 10111:55 Animal Cops Philadelphia12:50 Wildest Africa13:45 Swimming With Monsters:Steve Backshall14:40 Wildest Middle East15:35 Tanked16:30 Swimming With Monsters:Steve Backshall17:25 Animal Cops Houston18:20 Animal ER19:15 Tanked20:10 Dogs/Cats/Pets 10121:05 Animal Cops Houston22:00 Animal ER22:55 Wildest Islands Of Indonesia23:50 Swimming With Monsters:Steve Backshall

00:00 Cursed01:00 Stalked By A Ghost02:00 Britainʼs Darkest Taboos03:00 Killers: Behind The Myth04:00 Cursed05:00 Stalked By A Ghost06:00 The First 4807:00 Evil Up Close08:00 The First 4809:00 Gangs Of Britain...10:00 Gangs Of Britain With GaryAnd Martin Kemp11:00 Crimes That Shook Britain12:00 Crimes That Shook Britain13:00 Crimes That Shook Britain14:00 The First 4815:00 Crimes That Shook Australia16:00 Evil Up Close17:00 Homicide Hunter18:00 Homicide Hunter19:00 The First 4820:00 Gangs Of Britain...21:00 Crimes That Shook Australia22:00 Homicide Hunter

00:30 The Big Brain Theory01:20 The Big Brain Theory02:10 Dirty Jobs03:00 Dirty Jobs03:50 Ultimate Survival04:40 Ultimate Survival05:30 Ultimate Survival06:20 How Itʼs Made06:40 How Itʼs Made07:00 Doki07:25 Doki07:50 Dick ʻnʼ Dom Go Wild08:15 Dick ʻnʼ Dom Go Wild08:40 How Itʼs Made09:05 How Itʼs Made09:30 How Itʼs Made

09:55 How Itʼs Made10:20 How Itʼs Made10:45 How Itʼs Made11:10 How Itʼs Made12:25 How Itʼs Made12:50 Ultimate Survival13:40 Ultimate Survival14:30 Ultimate Survival15:20 Ultimate Survival17:00 The Big Brain Theory17:50 The Big Brain Theory18:40 Breaking Magic19:05 Breaking Magic19:30 Prehistoric20:20 Clash Of The Dinosaurs21:10 David Baddiel On The SilkRoad22:00 Untamed & Uncut22:50 Untamed & Uncut23:40 Untamed & Uncut

00:30 Paranormal Lockdown WithNick Groff01:20 Alaska Haunting02:10 Evil Lives Here03:00 Is O.J. Innocent? TheMissing Evidence03:48 Grave Secrets04:36 Murder Comes To Town05:24 The Detectives Club: NewOrleans06:12 Blood Relatives07:00 Beauty Queen Murders10:20 The Locator11:10 Nightmare Next Door12:00 Blood Relatives12:50 Blood Relatives13:40 Blood Relatives14:30 Blood Relatives15:20 The Locator16:10 Blood Relatives17:00 Nowhere To Hide17:50 Nowhere To Hide18:40 Nowhere To Hide19:30 Nowhere To Hide20:20 The Locator20:45 The Locator21:10 Hate In America22:00 Scene Of The Crime WithTony Harris22:50 Is O.J. Innocent? TheMissing Evidence

00:00 Hank Zipzer00:25 Alex & Co.00:45 The Hive00:50 Evermoor Chronicles01:15 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch02:05 Binny And The Ghost02:55 Hank Zipzer03:15 The Hive03:20 Hank Zipzer03:45 Alex & Co.04:35 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch05:25 Binny And The Ghost05:45 The Hive05:50 The 7D06:00 Jessie06:25 Jessie06:50 Tsum Tsum Shorts06:55 Lolirock07:20 Elena Of Avalor07:45 Bunkʼd08:10 Stuck In The Middle08:35 Bizaardvark09:00 Austin & Ally09:50 Good Luck Charlie10:40 Alex & Co.11:05 Lolirock11:30 Miraculous Tales Of LadybugAnd Cat Noir11:55 Disney Mickey Mouse12:00 Welcome To The Ronks12:15 Hank Zipzer12:40 Dog With A Blog13:05 Star Darlings13:10 Good Luck Charlie13:35 Austin & Ally14:00 Jessie14:25 Lolirock14:50 The Zhuzhus S115:15 Whisker Haven Tales WithThe Palace Pets15:20 Miraculous Tales Of LadybugAnd Cat Noir15:45 Elena Of Avalor16:10 Liv And Maddie16:35 Descendants Wicked World16:40 Girl Meets World17:05 Stuck In The Middle17:30 Bunkʼd17:55 Bizaardvark18:20 Disney Mickey Mouse18:25 Alex & Co.18:50 Best Friends Whenever19:15 Star Darlings19:20 Liv And Maddie19:45 Mako Mermaids20:10 Jessie20:35 Cracke20:40 Alex & Co.21:05 Austin & Ally21:30 Stuck In The Middle21:55 Tsum Tsum Shorts22:00 Bunkʼd

20:05 The Lion Guard20:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse21:00 Goldie & Bear21:25 Doc McStuffins21:50 Minnieʼs Bow-Toons22:00 Sofia The First22:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse22:55 PJ Masks23:20 Henry Hugglemonster

00:20 Wheeler Dealers01:05 Mega Trains01:50 Castro: The Worldʼs MostWatched Man02:35 Ocean Warriors03:20 Fast Nʼ Loud04:05 Mega Shippers04:50 Gold Rush05:35 How Do They Do It?06:00 Gold Divers06:45 Wheeler Dealers07:30 Fast Nʼ Loud08:15 Mega Shippers09:00 Storage Hunters09:25 How Do They Do It?10:10 Fast Nʼ Loud10:55 Sacred Steel Bikes11:40 Fast Nʼ Loud: DemolitionTheatre12:25 How Do They Do It?12:47 Storage Hunters13:10 Gold Rush13:55 Mega Shippers14:40 Gold Divers15:25 Fast Nʼ Loud16:10 Wheeler Dealers17:00 How Do They Do It?17:50 Storage Hunters18:50 Mega Shippers19:40 How Do They Do It?21:00 Ocean Warriors21:50 Deadliest Catch22:40 Shark-Croc Showdown23:30 Arabiaʼs Sharks: A Journey Of Discovery

06:00 Milo Murphyʼs Law06:25 Supa Strikas06:50 Mech-X407:15 Right Now Kapow07:40 Gravity Falls08:05 Marvelʼs Rocket And Groot08:10 K.C. Undercover08:35 Milo Murphyʼs Law09:00 Supa Strikas09:25 Supa Strikas09:50 Star vs The Forces Of Evil10:15 Marvelʼs Rocket And Groot10:20 Kickinʼ It10:45 Kickinʼ It11:10 Future-Worm!11:35 Lab Rats12:00 Lab Rats12:30 Atomic Puppet12:55 K.C. Undercover13:20 K.C. Undercover13:45 Gamerʼs Guide To PrettyMuch Everything14:10 Disney Mickey Mouse14:15 Future-Worm!14:40 Kirby Buckets15:05 Lab Rats15:30 Walk The Prank15:55 Right Now Kapow16:25 K.C. Undercover

16:50 Disney1117:15 Mech-X417:40 Milo Murphyʼs Law18:05 Disney Mickey Mouse18:10 Gravity Falls18:35 Lab Rats19:00 Supa Strikas19:25 Milo Murphyʼs Law19:50 Marvelʼs Rocket And Groot19:55 K.C. Undercover20:20 Mech-X420:45 Disney1121:10 Walk The Prank21:35 Marvelʼs Rocket And Groot21:40 Disney Mickey Mouse21:45 Lab Rats22:35 Phineas And Ferb23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00amKSA

00:00 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry00:55 Famously Single01:50 E! News02:50 Celebrity Style Story03:20 Celebrity Style Story03:50 Mariahʼs World04:40 Mariahʼs World05:30 Celebrity Style Story06:00 Botched By Nature06:55 E! News07:25 Botched By Nature08:20 Botched By Nature09:15 Botched By Nature10:10 E! News10:40 Celebrity Style Story11:10 WAGs Miami12:05 WAGs Miami13:05 WAGs Miami14:00 Botched15:00 E! News15:30 Celebrity Style Story16:00 Botched17:00 Botched18:00 Botched19:00 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry20:00 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry21:00 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry22:00 Botched23:00 E! News

08:30 The Pioneer Woman09:00 Sibaʼs Table09:30 Sibaʼs Table10:00 The Pioneer Woman10:30 The Pioneer Woman11:00 The Kitchen12:00 The Pioneer Woman12:30 The Pioneer Woman13:00 Sibaʼs Table13:30 Sibaʼs Table14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives15:00 Chopped16:00 The Kitchen17:00 The Pioneer Woman17:30 The Pioneer Woman18:00 Chopped19:00 Chopped Junior20:00 Restaurant: Impossible21:00 Mystery Diners21:30 Mystery Diners22:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives22:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives23:00 Chopped

00:10 The Chase: CelebritySpecials01:00 Emmerdale01:30 Emmerdale02:00 Coronation Street02:30 Royal Recipes03:25 Inside Windsor Castle04:20 Royal Stories04:50 Paul OʼGrady: For The LoveOf Dogs05:15 Autopsy: The Last HoursOf...06:10 The Chase: CelebritySpecials07:05 Royal Recipes08:00 Inside Windsor Castle09:00 Royal Stories09:30 Paul OʼGrady: For The LoveOf Dogs10:00 Autopsy: The Last HoursOf...10:55 The Chase: CelebritySpecials11:50 Royal Recipes12:45 Emmerdale13:15 Coronation Street

13:45 Coronation Street14:15 The Chase: CelebritySpecials15:10 Royal Recipes16:00 Broadchurch16:55 Victoria17:50 Seven Days With...18:45 Emmerdale19:15 Coronation Street19:45 Coronation Street20:10 Royal Recipes21:00 Broadchurch21:55 Victoria22:50 Emmerdale23:15 Coronation Street

00:20 Ice Road Truckers01:10 Pawn Stars01:35 Pawn Stars02:00 Storage Wars Miami02:25 Storage Wars Miami02:50 Storage Wars03:15 American Pickers04:05 Pawn Stars04:30 Pawn Stars05:00 Mountain Men06:00 Fifth Gear06:50 Duck Dynasty07:15 Duck Dynasty07:40 Counting Cars08:05 Counting Cars08:30 Pawn Stars08:55 Pawn Stars09:20 Storage Wars09:45 Storage Wars10:10 American Pickers11:00 Billion Dollar Wreck11:50 Duck Dynasty12:15 Duck Dynasty12:40 Counting Cars13:05 Counting Cars13:30 Ice Road Truckers14:20 Mountain Men15:10 Fifth Gear16:00 Storage Wars16:25 Storage Wars16:50 Pawn Stars17:15 Pawn Stars17:40 Pawn Stars18:05 Pawn Stars18:30 Storage Wars Miami18:55 Storage Wars Miami19:20 Mountain Men20:10 American Pickers21:00 Britainʼs Bloody Crown: WarOf The Roses21:50 The Warfighters22:40 JFK Declassified: HuntingOswald23:30 American Pickers

00:00 End Of Days02:05 Last Knights04:00 Ghostbusters05:50 Ghostbusters II07:40 Last Knights09:40 Finding Forrester11:55 The Walk14:00 The Invention Of Lying15:40 The Finest Hours17:40 Changeling20:00 Reality Bites22:00 St. Elmoʼs Fire23:50 Fifty Shades Of Grey

01:15 Dirty Work02:40 You Again

00:30 Sunday, Bloody Sunday02:25 Spotlight04:35 5 Flights Up06:10 I Am Bolt08:00 The Great Gatsby10:25 Healing12:25 Spotlight14:35 The Express16:40 Chariots Of Fire18:45 Swing Kids20:40 The Assassination Of JesseJames23:20 Hostile Border

00:05 Poohʼs Heffalump HalloweenMovie01:15 The Swan Princess: PirateToday, Princess Tomorrow02:45 Bunny Tales04:20 Outback06:00 Cher Ami07:30 Weʼre Back! A DinosaurʼsStory08:50 The Heart Of The Oak10:15 Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins11:35 Poohʼs Heffalump HalloweenMovie12:45 The Swan Princess: PirateToday, Princess Tomorrow14:10 Tom And Jerry: Back To Oz15:35 The Heart Of The Oak17:00 Hiroku: Defenders Of Gaia18:25 Winnie The Pooh19:35 Tom And Jerry: Back To Oz21:00 Weʼre Back! A DinosaurʼsStory22:20 Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins23:40 Hiroku: Defenders Of Gaia

00:30 Extreme Engineering01:20 Mega Builders02:10 Mythbusters: The Search03:00 Mythbusters07:00 How Do They Do It?07:26 Prototype This08:14 Mythbusters09:02 Mega Builders09:50 How Do They Do It?10:14 Food Factory10:38 Mythbusters: The Search11:26 Prototype This12:14 Mythbusters13:02 How Do They Do It?13:26 Food Factory13:50 Mega Builders14:38 Prototype This15:26 Mythbusters16:14 Mythbusters17:02 Mega Builders17:50 Prototype This18:40 Mythbusters19:30 Future Firepower20:20 How Do They Do It?20:45 Food Factory21:10 Mega Builders22:00 Future Firepower22:50 Prototype This23:40 Mythbusters

00:15 The Middle01:05 Community01:30 Saturday Night LiveSyndicated02:20 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon03:10 Late Night With Seth Meyers04:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show04:50 George Lopez05:15 Two And A Half Men05:40 Trial & Error06:05 Making History06:30 Mom06:55 Community07:20 Late Night With Seth Meyers08:10 The Ellen DeGeneres Show09:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon09:50 George Lopez10:15 Two And A Half Men10:40 Mom11:05 Community11:30 The Ellen DeGeneres Show12:20 Seinfeld13:10 The Middle14:00 George Lopez14:25 Two And A Half Men14:50 Mom15:15 Trial & Error

15:40 Making History16:05 The Ellen DeGeneres Show17:00 Seinfeld18:00 The Middle19:00 Speechless20:00 The Good Place21:00 Seinfeld21:30 Seinfeld22:00 Man Seeking Woman22:30 Man Seeking Woman23:00 Better Things23:25 The Good Place23:50 The Good Place

00:02 Max & Ruby00:25 Ben & Hollyʼs Little Kingdom00:45 The Day Henry Met00:56 Blaze And The MonsterMachines01:40 Zack & Quack02:02 Team Umizoomi02:25 Olive The Ostrich02:35 Paw Patrol02:57 Little Charmers03:09 Ben & Hollyʼs Little Kingdom03:21 Dora The Explorer03:44 Max & Ruby04:07 Nella The Princess Knight04:30 Shimmer And Shine04:53 Dora And Friends05:16 Zack & Quack05:26 The Day Henry Met05:31 The Day Henry Met05:38 Blaze And The MonsterMachines06:00 Rusty Rivets06:12 Paw Patrol06:37 Dora The Explorer07:00 Zack & Quack07:22 Bubble Guppies07:45 Blaze And The MonsterMachines08:07 Paw Patrol08:30 Shimmer And Shine08:54 Nella The Princess Knight09:16 The Day Henry Met09:22 Paw Patrol09:45 Rusty Rivets09:57 Bubble Guppies10:20 Fresh Beat Band Of Spies10:43 Zack & Quack10:55 Team Umizoomi11:18 Shimmer And Shine12:03 Max & Ruby12:26 Ben & Hollyʼs Little Kingdom12:47 The Day Henry Met12:58 Blaze And The MonsterMachines13:20 Blaze And The MonsterMachines13:43 Zack & Quack14:04 Team Umizoomi14:26 Olive The Ostrich14:36 Paw Patrol14:59 Little Charmers15:11 Ben & Hollyʼs Little Kingdom15:22 Dora The Explorer15:45 Max & Ruby16:08 Nella The Princess Knight16:30 Shimmer And Shine16:53 Dora And Friends17:15 Zack & Quack17:28 The Day Henry Met17:38 Blaze And The Monster

01:20 Oliver & Company02:40 Pirates Code: TheAdventures Of Mickey Matson04:15 Mousehunt05:55 The Shaggy Dog07:40 Pirates Code: TheAdventures Of Mickey Matson09:15 Cars11:15 The Shaggy Dog13:00 The Incredibles15:00 Wall-E16:40 Minions18:15 Secretariat20:20 Little Women22:20 The Incredibles

00:15 Poh & Co00:45 David Roccoʼs Dolce India01:10 Testing The Menu With NicWatt01:40 George Clarkeʼs AmazingSpaces02:35 David Roccoʼs Dolce India03:00 Cruise Ship Diaries03:30 Great Escapes04:25 Street Food Around TheWorld04:50 Testing The Menu With NicWatt05:20 Charlie Luxtonʼs Homes ByThe Sea06:15 Island Hunter07:10 George Clarkeʼs AmazingSpaces08:05 David Roccoʼs Dolce India08:30 Cruise Ship Diaries09:00 Great Escapes09:55 Street Food Around TheWorld10:20 Testing The Menu With NicWatt10:50 Charlie Luxtonʼs Homes ByThe Sea11:45 Island Hunter12:40 George Clarkeʼs AmazingSpaces13:35 David Roccoʼs Dolce India14:00 Cruise Ship Diaries14:30 Places We Go14:55 Street Food Around TheWorld15:25 Street Food Around TheWorld15:50 Testing The Menu With NicWatt16:20 Charlie Luxtonʼs Homes ByThe Sea17:15 Island Hunter18:10 Bad Trip19:05 Street Food Around TheWorld

00:00 The Great Food Truck Race01:00 Rev Runʼs Sunday Suppers01:30 Rev Runʼs Sunday Suppers02:00 Private Chef02:30 Private Chef03:00 Chopped04:00 The Great Food Truck Race05:00 Guyʼs Grocery Games06:00 Barefoot Contessa06:30 Barefoot Contessa07:00 The Kitchen08:00 The Pioneer Woman

01:05 Diggstown02:50 Harlock: Space Pirate04:45 Compadres06:40 Spooks: The Greater Good08:30 Diggstown10:10 Harlock: Space Pirate12:05 Momentum13:45 Spooks: The Greater Good15:35 The World Is Not Enough17:45 Die Another Day20:00 Star Wars: The ForceAwakens22:20 Hardcore Henry

04:30 The Beautician And TheBeast06:20 Perfect Match07:50 You Again09:40 The Beautician And TheBeast11:30 Perfect Match13:00 Almost Christmas15:00 Outside Bet16:50 Three Men And A Little Lady18:40 Holiday Joy20:25 Life After Beth22:00 Middle Men23:55 Garden State

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

There may be temptations to overextend your budget as short-distancetravel is possible with friends today. Perhaps you will need to travel some distance to apopular entertainment attraction. Take time today to plan future time with your friends-it has been too long since you have been able to have long conversations and catch upon the news. Spending time with close, old friends can be rewarding. An outgoing andvery expressive cycle of experience has begun for you. Now more than ever, you want tobe admired by others, to do and create things that stir their hearts. This is child’s play; thisis romance; this is taking a chance. Really enjoy your companion this evening withoutbeing afraid to speak your feelings. Music can be most relaxing.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

You should know there may be a few surprises this morning. The moreyou go with the flow, the more fun the surprises will become. This is really not the timeto object; besides, your friends or family want an excuse to have a little fun with youtoday. There may be a little time this afternoon for making some desired personalchanges . . . Perhaps your hair color, style or diet. You will be able to have your own sur-prise this evening. There is talk of visiting with some friends later today, perhaps taking adrive through the country or at the least, the outskirts of town. Be sure to stop at a road-side vegetable stand and purchase some of your favorite vegetables and fruits. You maywant to add plants to your own garden.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You may be able to enjoy your surroundings and the people that are inyour life. You are happy and feel good about your place in the world at this

time. You may even be ready to take on additional work or a new family member orsome type of volunteer work. Talking with your family, you may even discover they areready to take on some volunteer work as a group. You enjoy talking about history, thepast and nostalgia with your friends. You can demonstrate understanding and sensitivityto the needs of others just now and you are in a good position to communicate concern-ing groups and society in general. You are driven to excel in any form of physical exer-cise or creative expression this evening-sports, theatrics, arts and crafts, etc.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You have a natural aptitude for describing the most sensitive areas of thehuman psyche, a practical psychologist of the first order. You can manage

touchy issues that others would not go near. Today brings about an opportunity to healthrough speech. You may be the first or the last to give a speech that many will remem-ber and be better for having heard it. You communicate with accomplished skill and oth-ers will find it stimulating just being with you. Your dreams have been quite clear lately-you may want to start a dream diary. It might be a good idea to write in this diary whatyou think might have inspired the dream as well as how your health was the day orevening before the dream. You may find some of your dreams are just fun.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

There are opportunities for success with money now that were not previ-ously available. Lady luck may smile brightly on you during this time. Moving quickly isthe secret to securing a tidy sum or gaining the end result of your desire. Perhaps you aregoing to a casting call or displaying your creative accomplishments. Whatever the case,you will be successful. Fun, a good sense of humor and the ability to get along with mostfolks put a smile on everybody’s face. There is a desire to understand a loved one’s psy-che and there may also be an opportunity for a deep emotional talk this afternoon. Takethe time to really listen to the one who needs you. There is an opportunity to take thetime to show others how much they mean to you.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

You may find yourself more than a little hungry today. Your current appreci-ation for just about everything may lead you to overspend or indulge too much.However, you will make some good choices as you seek a balance. You can expect somesort of major revision of your likes and dislikes, how and what you enjoy or appreciateabout yourself and life-your value system. You may find that your appreciation for thequality of everything is stronger. Reappraisal is in order. Breakthroughs regarding rela-tionships and the social life in general may be possible now. Unconventional approachesto partnerships and lovers are possible. An important relationship, perhaps to a youngerperson or someone in your near environment, may come into focus tonight.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

You will prosper by pursuing your ideals and most deep-seated dreams ofhow life could be. Don’t be afraid to project that image, create your path and make thosedreams real. You will find that your mind and thoughts could be very intense. Keep yourfocus strong and you will see successful results. You can be very intuitive when it comesto expressing yourself and you will know just what to say. Periods of intense creativityallow you to go through changes and inner growth and give you time to think and plan.This creative intensity is good for music, poetry, art, etc. Your friends, partners and rela-tionships mean a lot to you. They are a primary source of strength and you look to themfor encouragement. Enjoy your friends today.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

This is a good time to initiate a feeling or sense of easy going. The need forsecurity, however, may dominate that easygoing nature you yearn for just

now. Finding a new place to live and becoming comfortable in a professional positionwill help to alleviate much of your anxiety. List three things you can do now that will helpyou feel more secure and work in that direction-do not stagnate. A volunteer service canbe most beneficial in your life. This can also be a way to express your talents and helpothers. Some of the ways in which you could feel quite useful would be in a medical,counseling or clergy type of organization. You may be teaching someone techniques of asensible diet today. You will be pleased with the results of your plans.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Your personality and your mode of living appear to change at a moment’snotice. Your attention is divided among numerous people and subjects. Be

wise with your tendency to overexert your energies to help someone or to go in too manydirections. Others may challenge your authority or the direction you are taking just now.Maintain a right mental attitude-the attitude of patience, sincerity and good cheer. Tothink rightly contributes to positive results. There is a chance to understand those aroundyou and to have others understand you. The time is right for unexpected changes in thenormal routine of family life. This evening there could be some special moments with

someone you love. A sense of harmony creates a happy time.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

There is a cornucopia of emotional vulnerabilities available for you to copewith today. Change is the easiest thing to do now. Acknowledge this, create a new andpositive insight and then let the old and perhaps negative become a moth that flies away.Quick answers, great wit and a surplus of insights and solutions are obtainable. This is agood time to write with real zest and originality. Insert your good sense of humor as a toolto get through some of the sensitive areas that may have formerly tripped you. This is atime of new beginnings in your life. There is an urge to strike out on your own in a newdirection, to take on new challenges no matter what the risks. You can be bold-perhapsheadstrong; you go where angels fear to tread.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1667

ACROSS1. Material used to daub walls.5. Tropical American trees.12. Thickening of tissue in the motor tractsof the lateral columns and anterior hornsof the spinal cord.15. A British peer ranking below aMarquess and above a Viscount.16. Fortification consisting of a low wall.17. Resinlike substance secreted by certainlac insects.18. A member of an Iroquoian people for-merly living on the south shore of LakeErie in northern Ohio and northwestPennsylvania and western New York.19. (heraldry) Standing on four feet.20. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.21. A summary that repeats the substanceof a longer discussion.23. A ductile gray metallic element of thelanthanide series.24. Norwegian explorer of the Arctic anddirector of the League of Nations reliefprogram for refugees of World War I (1861-1930).26. (sports) Someone in charge of trainingan athlete or a team.29. A member of the Moslem dynasty thatruled India until 1857.32. Climbing salamanders.36. Fiddler crabs.37. Someone (especially a woman) whoannoys people by constantly finding fault.40. Come into existence.41. A violin made by Antonio Stradivari ora member of his family.43. Of or relating to or located near ahilum.45. Type genus of the family Arcidae.46. A Dravidian language spoken in south-ern India.48. Assist or encourage, usually in somewrongdoing.50. A river in north central Switzerland thatruns northeast into the Rhine.51. Pertaining to filberts or hazelnuts.52. The wanton killing of many people.54. A three-tone Chadic language.55. Tropical American tree producingcacao beans.57. A silvery ductile metallic elementfound primarily in bauxite.58. A sliver-white metallic element of theplatinum group that resembles platinum.61. A very young child (birth to 1 year) whohas not yet begun to walk or talk.67. An anxiety disorder associated withserious traumatic events and characterizedby such symptoms as guilt about survivingor reliving the trauma in dreams or numb-ness and lack of involvement with realityor recurrent thoughts and images.70. Title for a civil or military leader (espe-cially in Turkey).74. The 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet.75. Shrubby lichens of the familyUsneaceae having a flattened thallus.77. A workplace for the conduct of scientif-ic research.78. Headdress that protects the head frombad weather.79. United States writer of detectivethrillers featuring the character of PhilipMarlowe (1888-1959).80. A loose sleeveless outer garment madefrom aba cloth.

DOWN1. Distinguished from Bovidae by themale's having solid deciduous antlers.2. A river in north central Switzerland thatruns northeast into the Rhine.

3. In or relating to or obtained from urine.4. The whiteness that results from remov-ing the color from something.5. The unit of frequency.6. Take in solid food.7. A unit of apothecary weight equal to aneighth of an ounce or to 60 grains.8. Amount of a charge or payment relativeto some basis.9. A federal agency established to coordi-nate programs aimed at reducing pollu-tion and protecting the environment.10. English rock star and guitarist andsongwriter who with Paul McCartneywrote most of the music for the Beatles(1940-1980).11. Unarmed feather palms of central andnorthern South America.12. By bad luck.13. A narrow way or road.14. The act of scanning.22. A unit of force equal to the force thatimparts an acceleration of 1 foot/sec/secto a mass of 1 pound.25. The basic unit of money in Nigeria.27. A flat wing-shaped process or winglikepart of an organism.28. Water buffalo of the Philippines.30. A feast day and the seven days follow-ing it.31. A storehouse for threshed grain or ani-mal feed.33. English theoretical physicist whoapplied relativity theory to quantummechanics and predicted the existence ofantimatter and the positron (1902-1984).34. A steep artificial slope in front of a forti-fication.35. Having the surface burned quickly withintense heat.38. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf ofGuinea.39. Tropical American tree grown in south-ern United States having a whitish pink-tinged fruit.42. An organ in its earliest stage of devel-opment.44. A widely distributed system consistingof all the cells able to ingest bacteria orcolloidal particles etc, except for certainwhite blood cells.47. Small European freshwater fish with aslender bluish-green body.49. A male monarch or emperor (especiallyof Russia prior to 1917).53. The 1st letter of the Hebrew alphabet.56. A native or inhabitant of Crete.59. The blood group whose red cells carryboth the A and B antigens.60. An ancient upright stone slab bearingmarkings.62. Title for a civil or military leader (espe-cially in Turkey).63. Anything that serves as an enticement.64. God of love and erotic desire.65. With no effort to conceal.66. A blue dye obtained from plants ormade synthetically.68. Someone who works (or providesworkers) during a strike.69. A Chadic language spoken south ofLake Chad.71. A communist nation that covers a vastterritory in eastern Asia.72. The syllable naming the sixth (subme-diant) note of a major or minor scale insolmization.73. Any of various dark heavy viscid sub-stances obtained as a residue.76. A colorless odorless gaseous elementthat give a red glow in a vacuum tube.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

26s t a r s

Daily SuDoku

Wordsearch Puzzle

You are intense, passionate and very personal today. You will find yourselfrushing past the superficial right to the heart of any matter.

Communication is high and you may enjoy some good solid conversation with neigh-bors this morning. Home, family and security have been on your mind lately, and youmay find yourself teaching young people about fairness, evenhandedness, goals, rootsand the importance of family. An insight about your support system, your mother or oth-er females may be important. You have clearheaded and practical insights for most any-thing you choose to do this day. This is a time of good fortune when things open up in avery naturally. Tonight you may meet a student that you can help or tutor.

Don’t let a cranky person rule your morning; there may be more to his or herstory than you know. Be attentive in your surroundings so that you catch any

problems before they escalate. Keep your eye focused on new, renewed and better. Yourstatistical mind can be used to find better ways to improve, update or plan future goalsthat will help keep your family a strong unit. Today will certainly bring new inspiration. It isa good time to communicate. A new person will enter your life this afternoon and youmay find some common beliefs or ideas that will promote a good friendship. You arewarmly receptive and sympathetic toward particular causes and it may be the time toconsider how you could help. Perhaps the family could work together as a group.

Yesterday’s Solution

ClassifiedsMONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

SHARQIA-1CARS 3 11:45 AMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 2:00 PMCARS 3 4:00 PMCARS 3 6:15 PMLONDON HEIST 8:30 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 10:30 PMLONDON HEIST 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 12:15 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 3:00 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 5:45 PMBABY DRIVER 7:45 PMBABY DRIVER 10:00 PMBABY DRIVER 12:15 AM

SHARQIA-3WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 1:00 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 1:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 3:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 6:30 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 9:15 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-1TISBAH ALA KHAIR 12:20 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2:20 PMFIDAA - Telugu 2:00 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 5:15 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 7:15 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 10:00 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-2WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 11:45 AMCARS 3 2:30 PMCARS 3 4:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 7:00 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 9:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-3DESPICABLE ME 3 12:00 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 2:00 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 4:00 PMBABY DRIVER 6:00 PMBABY DRIVER 8:15 PMBABY DRIVER 10:30 PMBABY DRIVER 12:45 AM

FANAR-1TISBAH ALA KHAIR 12:30 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 2:30 PMLONDON HEIST 4:30 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 6:30 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 8:30 PM

LONDON HEIST 10:30 PMLONDON HEIST 12:30 AM

FANAR-2DESPICABLE ME 3 12:00 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 2:00 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 4:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 6:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 9:35 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 12:20 AM

FANAR-3RAILROAD TIGERS 1:00 PMRAILROAD TIGERS 3:15 PMTUBELIGHT (Hindi) 5:30 PMMUNNA MICHAEL- Hindi 8:15 PMRAILROAD TIGERS 11:00 PMRAILROAD TIGERS 1:15 AM

MARINA-1CARS 3 1:00 PMCARS 3 3:15 PMCARS 3 5:30 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 7:45 PMLONDON HEIST 9:45 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 11:45 PM

MARINA-2WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 11:45 AMDESPICABLE ME 3 2:30 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 4:30 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 6:30 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 9:15 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 12:05 AM

MARINA-3SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 12:15 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 3:00 PMBABY DRIVER 5:45 PMBABY DRIVER 8:00 PMBABY DRIVER 10:15 PMBABY DRIVER 12:30 AM

AVENUES-1TUBELIGHT (Hindi) 12:00 PMMUNNA MICHAEL- Hindi 2:50 PMJAGGA JASOOS -Hindi 5:55 PMMUNNA MICHAEL- Hindi 9:05 PMTUBELIGHT (Hindi) 11:55 PM

AVENUES-2DESPICABLE ME 3 -3D-4DX 11:50 AMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING -3D-4DX 1:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES -3D-4DX 4:30 PMBABY DRIVER -2D-4DX 7:15 PMBABY DRIVER -2D-4DX 9:45 PM

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES -3D-4DX 12:15 AM

AVENUES-3SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 1:05 PMBABY DRIVER 1:30 PMFRISPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 3:50 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 6:30 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 9:20 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 12:05 AM

360º- 1WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 12:35 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES -3D 3:25 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 6:20 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 9:25 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 12:10 AM

360º- 2TISBAH ALA KHAIR 2:00 PMFRIKHAMMIS & JUMMA (Horoob Ejbary) 1:15 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 4:00 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 6:05 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 8:05 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 10:05 PMKHAMMIS & JUMMA (Horoob Ejbary) 12:05 AM

360º- 3MUNNA MICHAEL- Hindi 11:55 AMJAGGA JASOOS -Hindi 2:45 PMTUBELIGHT (Hindi) 6:10 PMNO FRI+SAT+MONVIKRAM VEDHA - Tamil 6:10 PMFRI+SAT+MONMUNNA MICHAEL- Hindi 9:15 PMTUBELIGHT (Hindi) 12:10 AM

AL-KOUT.1DESPICABLE ME 3 1:15 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 3:15 PMBABY DRIVER 5:15 PMBABY DRIVER 7:30 PMBABY DRIVER 9:45 PMBABY DRIVER 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.2SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 11:30 AMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2:15 PMCARS 3 5:00 PMCARS 3 7:15 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 9:30 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 12:15 AM

AL-KOUT.3WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 1:00 PM

CARS 3 1:30 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 3:50 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 6:40 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 9:25 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 12:10 AM

AL-KOUT.4RAILROAD TIGERS 11:35 AMRAILROAD TIGERS 1:45 PMKHAMMIS & JUMMA (Horoob Ejbary) 4:00 PMLONDON HEIST 6:45 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 8:45 PMLONDON HEIST 10:45 PMRAILROAD TIGERS 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-1CARS 3 -3D 11:30 AMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 1:45 PMRAILROAD TIGERS 4:30 PMCARS 3 6:45 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 9:00 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-2WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 11:35 AMDESPICABLE ME 3 2:20 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 4:15 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 6:15 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 8:15 PMBABY DRIVER 10:15 PMBABY DRIVER 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-3SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 1:15 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 2:00 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 4:00 PMTUBELIGHT (Hindi) 6:45 PMTISBAH ALA KHAIR 9:30 PMSPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 11:30 PM

PLAZATUBELIGHT (Hindi) 3:30 PMFIDAA - Telugu 3:30 PMTUBELIGHT (Hindi) 6:30 PMFIDAA - Telugu 6:30 PMVIKRAM VEDHA - Tamil 9:30 PM

LAILASPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 3:15 PMDESPICABLE ME 3 6:00 PMWAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 8:00 PMBABY DRIVER 10:45 PM

AJIAL.1JAGGA JASOOS -Hindi 3:55 PMVIKRAM VEDHA - Tamil 4:00 PM

PRAYER TIMINGS

Fajr: 03:32

Shorook: 05:03

Duhr: 11:54

Asr: 15:30

Maghrib: 18:46

Isha: 20:13

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATIONArrival Flights on Monday 24/7/2017

Airlines Flt Route TimeMSC 501 Alexandria 00:05THY 772 Istanbul 00:10KAC 786 Jeddah 00:30JZR 267 Beirut 00:35KAC 504 Beirut 00:45KAC 102 London 00:55DLH 635 Doha 01:00PGT 858 Istanbul 01:15JZR 539 Cairo 01:20UAE 853 Dubai 01:40RJA 642 Amman 01:45THY 1464 Istanbul 01:50KKK 6506 Istanbul 01:55JZR 553 Alexandria 02:10QTR 1086 Doha 02:10ETH 620 Addis Ababa 02:15GFA 211 Bahrain 02:15THY 1404 AYT 02:30THY 768 Istanbul 02:35KAC 418 Manila 02:50OMA 643 Muscat 03:05ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:10KAC 382 Delhi 03:15MSR 612 Cairo 03:15FDB 069 Dubai 03:15PGT 860 Istanbul 03:25QTR 1076 Doha 03:45QTR 1090 Doha 04:05KAC 346 Ahmedabad 04:15UAE 873 Dubai 04:15KAC 1544 Cairo 04:20KAC 414 Bangkok 04:50KAC 358 Kochi 04:50KAC 784 Jeddah 05:00FEG 933 Sohag 05:00DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10THY 770 Istanbul 05:25KAC 344 Chennai 05:30JZR 529 Asyut 05:35KAC 362 Colombo 05:50BAW 157 London 06:05KAC 204 Lahore 06:20KAC 678 Dubai 06:25KAC 284 Dhaka 06:35KAC 206 Islamabad 06:40JZR 557 Alexandria 06:55KAC 302 Mumbai 06:55KAC 156 Istanbul 07:05JZR 1541 Cairo 07:10KAC 354 Bangalore 07:50FDB 053 Dubai 07:50KAC 384 Delhi 08:00KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:05UAE 855 Dubai 08:25ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 08:55ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00IRA 667 Esfahan 09:15QTR 1070 Doha 09:25FDB 055 Dubai 09:40GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40MEA 404 Beirut 10:55QTR 1074 Doha 11:00AXB 889 Mangalore/Bahrain 11:05JZR 561 Sohag 11:10KAC 614 Bahrain 11:15JZR 165 Dubai 11:50JZR 239 Amman 12:25MSC 401 Alexandria 12:30KAC 774 Riyadh 12:45UAE 871 Dubai 12:45FEG 953 Asyut 12:55THY 766 Istanbul 13:00MSR 610 Cairo 13:00KAC 672 Dubai 13:55QTR 1078 Doha 14:10

KNE 231 Riyadh 14:10KAC 364 Colombo 14:15GFA 221 Bahrain 14:15KAC 618 Doha 14:20KAC 352 Kochi 14:20FDB 059 Dubai 14:20JZR 903 GYD 14:25KAC 512 Mashhad 14:25SVA 500 Jeddah 14:45KAC 304 Mumbai 14:55KAC 692 Muscat 14:55KAC 788 Jeddah 14:55KNE 529 Jeddah 14:55ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 15:05OMA 645 Muscat 15:10KAC 562 Amman 15:25KAC 502 Beirut 15:25ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35UAE 857 Dubai 15:45SAW 705 Damascus 15:50RJA 640 Amman 16:00FDB 051 Dubai 16:15QTR 1072 Doha 16:15JZR 535 Cairo 16:20JZR 125 Bahrain 16:25KAC 118 New York 16:25NIA 361 Alexandria 16:50KAC 542 Cairo 17:05SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30JZR 777 Jeddah 17:35JZR 177 Dubai 17:45THY 1282 TZX 17:50QTR 1080 Doha 18:10JZR 483 Istanbul 18:30MSR 620 Cairo 18:30KAC 744 Dammam 19:05WAN 986 TBS 19:05UAE 875 Dubai 19:05GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05FDB 063 Dubai 19:10ABY 123 Sharjah 19:20KAC 174 Munich 19:25KAC 154 Istanbul 19:30KAC 674 Dubai 19:40KAC 616 Bahrain 19:40KAC 776 Riyadh 19:45FDB 057 Dubai 19:50KAC 620 Doha 20:05OMA 647 Muscat 20:05KNE 381 Taif 20:10DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:15MEA 402 Beirut 20:15KAC 662 Abu Dhabi 20:20AZQ 565 GYD 20:30QTR 1088 Doha 20:40KAC 166 Rome 20:55KAC 168 Paris 21:05ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:10ALK 229 Colombo 21:15KLM 445 Amsterdam 21:15UAE 859 Dubai 21:15THY 764 Istanbul 21:30GFA 219 Bahrain 21:50QTR 1082 Doha 22:05ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10AIC 975 Chennai/Goa 22:25KAC 162 Geneva 22:25BBC 143 Dhaka 22:30JZR 241 Amman 22:55JZR 185 Dubai 23:00RBG 551 Alexandria 23:00RBG 555 Alexandria 23:25MSC 405 Sohag 23:30MSR 2614 Cairo 23:30FDB 071 Dubai 23:35

Departure Flights on Monday 24/7/2017Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 982 Ahmedabad/Chennai 00:05JZR 556 Alexandria 00:05BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10JZR 1540 Cairo 00:20JAI 573 Mumbai 00:30MSR 2615 Cairo 00:30FDB 072 Dubai 00:30PIA 206 Lahore 01:00MSC 502 Alexandria 01:05THY 773 Istanbul 01:40KAC 677 Dubai 01:45KAC 363 Colombo 01:55DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:00PGT 859 Istanbul 02:35THY 765 Istanbul 02:50KKK 6505 Istanbul 02:55ETH 621 Addis Ababa 03:05KAC 351 Kochi 03:05UAE 854 Dubai 03:30THY 769 Istanbul 03:30OMA 644 Muscat 04:05QTR 1087 Doha 04:10ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:10MSR 613 Cairo 04:15KAC 417 Manila 04:20PGT 861 Istanbul 04:25JZR 560 Sohag 04:45QTR 1091 Doha 05:05QTR 1077 Doha 05:35KAC 303 Mumbai 05:50FEG 954 Asyut 05:55THY 1465 Istanbul 06:00UAE 874 Dubai 06:15RJA 643 Amman 06:25THY 771 Istanbul 06:25GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50KAC 173 Munich 06:55JZR 238 Amman 07:00FDB 070 Dubai 07:05KAC 167 Paris 07:15JZR 164 Dubai 07:15KAC 501 Beirut 07:50KAC 613 Bahrain 07:55BAW 156 London 08:20FDB 054 Dubai 08:30KAC 511 Mashhad 08:35KAC 773 Riyadh 08:35JZR 902 GYD 09:00KAC 161 Geneva 09:10KAC 671 Dubai 09:15KAC 787 Jeddah 09:15KAC 117 New York 09:15KAC 165 Rome 09:20KAC 691 Muscat 09:30JZR 534 Cairo 09:30JZR 482 Istanbul 09:35ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40KAC 101 London 09:45UAE 856 Dubai 09:50KAC 561 Amman 09:55ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:00KAC 541 Cairo 10:00IRA 666 Esfahan 10:15KAC 617 Doha 10:15VIZ 205 IQA 10:30KAC 153 Istanbul 10:30QTR 1071 Doha 10:35FDB 056 Dubai 10:35GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35MEA 405 Beirut 11:55JZR 776 Jeddah 12:00AXB 890 Mangalore 12:05QTR 1075 Doha 12:10

WAN 805 Sarajevo 12:55KAC 413 Bangkok 13:05JZR 176 Dubai 13:10MSC 402 Alexandria 13:30JZR 124 Bahrain 13:30FEG 938 Sohag 13:55THY 767 Istanbul 13:55MSR 611 Cairo 14:00UAE 872 Dubai 14:15KNE 382 Taif 15:00GFA 222 Bahrain 15:00KAC 673 Dubai 15:00FDB 060 Dubai 15:05QTR 1079 Doha 15:15SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45KAC 775 Riyadh 15:50KNE 530 Jeddah 15:55KAC 661 Abu Dhabi 15:55KAC 743 Dammam 16:00KAC 619 Doha 16:00OMA 646 Muscat 16:10ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:20KAC 615 Bahrain 16:30SAW 706 Damascus 16:50RJA 641 Amman 16:55FDB 052 Dubai 17:05JZR 266 Beirut 17:15QTR 1073 Doha 17:25JZR 240 Amman 17:30UAE 858 Dubai 17:40KAC 357 Kochi 17:40NIA 362 Alexandria 17:50KAC 381 Delhi 17:50KAC 331 Trivandrum 17:55KAC 283 Dhaka 18:00SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 184 Dubai 18:25JZR 538 Cairo 18:30KAC 785 Jeddah 18:45THY 1283 TZX 19:05QTR 1081 Doha 19:15KAC 345 Ahmedabad 19:20JZR 552 Alexandria 19:20MSR 621 Cairo 19:30GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50FDB 064 Dubai 19:50ABY 124 Sharjah 20:00FDB 058 Dubai 20:30UAE 876 Dubai 20:35KAC 353 Bangalore 20:55DLH 634 Doha 21:00KAC 543 Cairo 21:00OMA 648 Muscat 21:05KNE 232 Riyadh 21:10MEA 403 Beirut 21:15KAC 301 Mumbai 21:40DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50QTR 1089 Doha 21:50KAC 205 Islamabad 21:55ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:00ALK 230 Colombo 22:20KLM 445 Bahrain 22:25THY 1413 TZX 22:25UAE 860 Dubai 22:35KAC 383 Delhi 22:35GFA 220 Bahrain 22:50ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00JZR 528 Asyut 23:05KAC 783 Jeddah 23:10QTR 1083 Doha 23:20AZQ 566 GYD 23:30KAC 411 Bangkok 23:35RBG 552 Alexandria 23:40

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY(20/07/2017 TO 26/07/2017)

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MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

l if e s t y l eF E A T U R E S

Nostalgic horror sensation "Stranger Things" unveiled anew trailer set to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" onSaturday as it built buzz for season two at the San

Diego Comic-Con fan convention. The Netflix series-about agang of 1980s children looking for their missing friend-became a break-out hit last year, winning critical acclaim andfame for its cast of young stars, led by Millie Bobby Brown. Thetrailer starts with the boys-played Gaten Matarazzo, FinnWolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp-crowdedaround 1980s video game "Dragon's Lair."

Suddenly Will experiences a vision of the arcade they are inas part of the show's dark alternative world, the "UpsideDown." "I saw something... I felt it everywhere," a crying Willlater reveals to his worried mother Joyce, played by WinonaRyder. Next the four friends are seen creeping about in"Ghostbusters" costumes, apparently looking for evil spirits, asVincent Price's ghoulish voiceover for "Thriller" plays in thebackground. The three-minute trailer ends with Brown's char-acter, the telekinetic Eleven, trying to find her way out of theUpside Down.

The footage was shown as part of a Q&A moderated byPatton Oswald with executive producers Shawn Levy, andMatt and Ross Duffer, as well as much of the cast. The Dufferssaid they had always intended the show to be similar to"Spielberg directing a big, fat Stephen King book."

Brown told the 6,000 fans filling San Diego ConventionCenter's Hall H that playing the enigmatic Eleven was toughbecause she had so few lines to work with."I had to expresseverything with my face which is very hard. But it gets easierwhen you feel more comfortable with your character," theEmmy nominee said. "The first two episodes-I immediatelyfell in love with Eleven and Eleven was me. The only thingthat was hard was crying. I feel like I'm a happy person in reallife so that when I'm crying I would need five minutes to get inthe zone." "Stranger Things," which premiered in July last yearhas picked up 18 nominations ahead of September's ceremo-ny in recognition of its eight-episode first season. Season two,comprised of nine episodes, drops on October 27. — AFP

Harrison Ford is still Harrison Ford, gruff charm and all.The actor delighted and toyed with excited audiencesat Comic-Con on Saturday in promotion of "Blade

Runner 2049." Ford reprises his role as Rick Deckard in the film,which hits theaters in October.

Ford said he gained a greater understanding of his charac-ter in the sequel. But when asked whether or not the film

answers questions about the original, Ford just paused andsaid that it doesn't matter what he thinks. He closed out thepanel with a laugh and a cheer. When an audience memberasked if it was Ford's life goal to reboot all of his iconic roles,Ford said, "You bet your (expletive) it is." — AP

Ryan Gosling, from left, Harrison Ford, and Ana de Armas attend the Warner Bros. "Blade Runner" panel on day three ofComic-Con International. — AP

John Heard, of'Home Alone', dies

Actor John Heard, whose many roles included the father inthe "Home Alone" series and a corrupt detective in "TheSopranos," has died. He was 71.Heard was found dead

Friday in a hotel in Palo Alto, California, the Santa Clara CountyMedical Examiner's office said Saturday. An investigation whichincludes a toxicology test is underway to determine the cause ofdeath, but so far there is no evidence of foul play, the office said.

TMZ reported that a representative for Heard said he was stay-ing in the hotel while he recovered from back surgery at StanfordUniversity Medical Center. Heard played Peter McCallister, thefather of Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, in "Home Alone" and"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." He said in later interviews thathe sought a movie with kids in it so his son, age 5 at the time,could come to the set and have someone to play with.

After it became a big hit, he was reluctant to revisit the role.But his agent convinced him the money was too good to pass up."I didn't want to be the 'Home Alone' dad for the rest of my life," hetold Yahoo News in 2013. He was born March 7, 1946, inWashington, D.C., and grew up performing in local theater. One ofhis memorable early roles was as a disabled Vietnam War veteranin the 1981 film "Cutter's Way."

He was active in film for the next decade, playing Tom Hanks'rival in "Big," actress Geraldine Page's son in "The Trip to Bountiful"and in the movies "The Pelican Brief," "Beaches," "Gladiator,""Rambling Rose" and "After Hours."He earned an Emmy nomina-tion for playing Vin Makazian in "The Sopranos." Heard said in a2015 interview with The A.V. Club that he got the part after run-ning into series star James Gandolfini in a gym. His time on "TheSopranos" ended like it did for many other actors there - with hischaracter's death. Heard said he approached series creator DavidChase and said "'Why me? I'm a detective! You can use me forever!'And he told me, 'John, there's a rule in television. Somebody hasto die that the audience likes.' I said, 'They like me? How do youknow they like me?' He said, 'Well, they like you. So we're gonnakill you.' "My mother said, 'Why do you have to die in everything?' Isaid, 'You're telling me? I could've made a fortune!"

Other television roles kept Heard busy. He acted in "CSI: CrimeScene Investigation," "Elementary," "Prison Break," "Modern Family"and "Entourage." One of his favorite jobs came in the original"Sharknado" television movie in 2013. "I knew it was going to be acult classic," he told the Baltimore Media Blog last year. "It's justridiculous. I thought it would replace people calling me the 'HomeAlone' dad." —AP

'Stranger Things' trailer a real 'Thriller'

Ford delights Comic-Conwith gruff charm

Amazon's new ready-to-eat meal package is the perfectrecipe for someone who doesn't have enough time toshop and cook, yet has a healthy appetite and a need

for balanced meals. These meal kits come with just abouteverything you need to prepare dinner for two. You canchoose from a variety of vegetarian and meat options. Fornow, Amazon's meal kits are available only in limited markets,including Seattle. There's no major commitment, the wayrivals require you to order an entire week of meals at a time.But you pay dearly for the convenience and flexibility, and youmust plan ahead, at least for now.

Ordering the mealAs a competitive athlete who trains a lot, I find generous

portions are almost as important as lots of protein. I usuallydon't eat red meat, and the chicken dish got a few badreviews, so I went for Togarashi-spiced salmon with soba noo-dles. It was $20 for two servings, plus $10 for delivery. When Itried to place my order Tuesday, Amazon said the only deliv-ery times left that day were for 6 pm to 8 pm. Before confirm-ing the order, though, those slots were gone.

It was only 11 amI could have gone to Amazon's pickup location in anoth-

er part of town, but who has time for that, especially inSeattle traffic? Instead, I chose delivery before 7 am onWednesday. It arrived before 5:30 a.m., as I headed out for along morning run.

From door to kitchenThe meal kit was the size of a loaf of bread, but it came in a

heavy bag that resembled a large paper grocery bag. Insidewas a silver insulated bag, nestled inside a cardboard frame,and six ice packs. That's a lot of packaging. I chose the deliveryoption that allowed the driver to leave it at my door, whichmay explain the extra layers. Each item was individuallywrapped and marked. All I needed were a few pots and pans,a knife and some vegetable oil. The recipe also called for apinch of salt from my kitchen, but I didn't feel the need. Theingredients you had to supply on your own were reasonable,given that most kitchens would have these. Everything elsewas provided, including some sesame oil in a tiny container tosauté my veggies.

A meal in a half-hourI sautéed the asparagus and oyster mushrooms and

cooked the salmon. I cooked the soba noodles and edamametogether in boiling water, while I warmed the soup base in aseparate pot. Once done, I arranged the noodles, edamameand salmon on plates and sprinkled each with asparagus,mushrooms, scallions and sesame seeds. The meal includes aside of pickled ginger.

The recipe was easy to follow. I am an OK cook and have afew special dishes, but I find recipes often take a convolutedpath from stove to table. This one had seven easy steps, suchas boil the water.

All this took less than 30 minutes, as promised. After about10 minutes of washing veggies, chopping and opening pack-ets, the cook time was minimal, just 13 minutes. Setting thetable and opening the wine were the only other tasks. Theservings were surprisingly large and visually appealing. Add afew glasses of white wine, and the meal was the perfect endto a very full day.

The valueI've been curious about meal kits for some time, but rivals

such as Blue Apron and HelloFresh require you to subscribe toongoing deliveries and pick your meals a week in advance. Iwasn't willing to commit to $60-plus per week for a multi-meal plan without first trying out the concept. Amazon letsyou buy as you go, even spontaneously, notwithstanding thelimited delivery windows. And the per-serving price is compa-rable with rivals - with a catch .

Meal kits require membership in both Amazon Prime ($99per year) and AmazonFresh ($15 per month). Those fees alongwith the $10 delivery fee should be factored into the overallprice of each meal, which range from $16 to $20 for two serv-ings. Amazon offers free delivery for orders over $40, but youlose freshness if you buy multiple meals at once. Instead, youcould buy other groceries to qualify. AmazonFresh also haslight bulbs and laundry soap. Of course, it's ultimately cheaperjust to buy these ingredients separately and assemble themeal yourself. But if you buy a whole tray of mushrooms andthrow away all but the two you eat, then it's no longer cheap-er. Nor is ordering takeout all the time, not to mention alsobeing less healthy. As someone who's often too busy to cookelaborate meals, I'm hooked.

In fact, knowing I needed a few groceries and dinner, Iwent on AmazonFresh early Friday and was able to secure anevening delivery. I added milk, juice and bananas to get freedelivery. I'm looking forward to roasted cod with cannellinibean ragout and pesto. — AP

Amazon meal kits offer easy dinners for a price

Lexus and The Weinstein Company haveannounced that Jeannie Donohoe's filmGame has won a Bronze Entertainment Lion

for Cinema and Theatrical Fiction Film at CannesLions. Game, about a young athlete who defiesthe odds to pursue a sports passion, was one offour films released this year as part of Season 3 ofthe Lexus Short Films series.

Lexus Short Films aims to engage with filmenthusiasts and audiences to develop and nurturea new generation of emerging filmmakers. Now inits fourth season, the series continues to exemplifyLexus and The Weinstein Company's shared com-mitment to arts and innovation by recognizingand supporting up-and-coming talent.Submissions are now open for Season 4 untilAugust 24th, 2017 at www.withoutabox.com/LSF.

"Being recognized with a Cannes Lion in addi-tion to the other film festival awards is an amazingachievement," said Spiros Fotinos, Global Head ofBrand Management and Marketing, Lexus. "Itreflects the spirit of our Lexus Short Films pro-gram, which is to support emerging filmmakers bygiving them opportunities to make their career

leap forward. We are thrilled to see such fantasticresults."

According to Takayuki Yoshitsugu, ChiefRepresentative, Middle East and North AfricaRepresentative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation,"We would like to congratulate Jeannie Donohoe

and her team on this fantastic achievement andcommend their efforts in creating the beautifuland inspiring piece of cinema that is Game. TheLexus Short Films series is all about providingemerging and talented filmmakers with a plat-form to bring their creative vision to life and

reach out to the world with their stories. We arethrilled to see that the films emerging from thisunique program continue to garner awards andaccolades at some of the world's biggest andmost prestigious movie festivals. As we celebratethis moment, I would like to express my sincereappreciation to our customers for wholehearted-ly backing Lexus' ongoing efforts to nurture cre-ativity and innovation."

Game has already won several prestigious filmfestival awards, such as the Best Short Film at theJulien Dubuque International Film Festival, theAudience Choice Award at the Los Angeles IndieFilm Festival, the Best Short Live Action Narrativeat the Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival, the Special JuryPrize: Narrative Short at the San Luis ObispoInternational Film Festival.

All the films from the Lexus Short Films seriesare available at www.LexusShortFilms.com and onAmazon Prime Video.

Photos show the ingredients in a togarashi-spiced salmon dish that is one of the choices available as part of Amazon'snew ready-to-cook meal packages. — AP photos

Photo shows the packaging of ingredients in a togarashi-spiced salmon dish that is one of the choices available aspart of Amazon's new ready-to-cook meal packages.

Photo shows togarashi-spicedsalmon, prepared from one ofAmazon's new ready-to-cookmeal packages.

Lexus Short Film 'Game' wins the Bronze Lion at Cannes

In this file photo, actor John Heard, who stars as Alex,rehearses for Steppenwolf Theatre's production of DonDeLillo's play, "Love-Lies-Bleeding," in Chicago. — AP

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

M U S I C & M O V I E S

l if e s t y l e

Ben Affleck is still Batman. The actor shot down rumorsthat he would be hanging up his cape for the stand-alone Batman film, even though he recently ceded

directing responsibilities. Speaking to a crowd of about 6,500fans at San Diego Comic-Con, Affleck unequivocally assuredthe crowd that he is still starring in “The Batman.”

On Friday, the trade publication The Hollywood Reporterpublished a report that Warner Bros was working on plans to“usher out Affleck’s Batman gracefully” and suggested that itmight happen before “The Batman.” The report threatened toovershadow Warner Bros ’ flashy Hall H presentation onSaturday, which was focused on hyping the studio’s big super-hero mashup film “Justice League,” which hits theaters in

November. “Let me be very clear. I am the luckiest guy in theworld. Batman is the coolest part in any universe, DC orMarvel,” Affleck said. He wanted to knock down the idea thathe wasn’t committed to the character, even though he won’tbe directing.

Affleck praised director Matt Reeves’ vision and said hewould “be an ape on the ground for Matt Reeves.” Reevesrecently directed “War for the Planet of the Apes.” With thecloud lifted, Affleck and his fellow “Justice League “ stars GalGadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher were left totalk about the upcoming film, which has had its own fair shareof upheaval recently when director Zack Snyder exited for per-sonal reasons and Joss Whedon took over the reshoots and

completion of the film. Neither Snyder nor Whedon were atComic-Con, although Snyder tweeted Friday that he wassending his best to the “Justice League” team.

The footage focused heavily on Gal Gadot’s WonderWoman, who emerged as the clear favorite of the fans in theaudience who screamed at every shot of the Amazonian war-rior. “Wonder Woman” recently became the highest grossingof the four DC Extended Universe films. Another person miss-ing from the panel was Superman star Henry Cavill. When ayoung fan asked the actors if he’ll show up in the film, Gadotreassured him. “We can’t say much but if you love Supermanyou’re going to be very, very happy,” she said.

Warner Bros. also teased a bit of “Aquaman,” out Dec, 2018,

starring Momoa in the title role. A snippet of footage from theJames Wan-directed film, showed fishermen who are quitesurprised when something under the water catches on to thehook and starts dragging the boat along. They look underwa-ter to see a fleet of giant ships coasting under the surface.Momoa also teased that Ocean Master would be the film’smain villain, though he laughed that he would likely get introuble for it. The studio didn’t go past the 2018 slate of films,however. If Batman and Wonder Woman weren’t enough,Marvel Studios is primed to take center stage in Hall H onSaturday evening.—AP

Moderator Chris Hardwick, foreground right, takes a selfie with from left, Ben Affleck,Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, and Ray Fisher at the Warner Bros "Justice League" panel on daythree of Comic-Con International in San Diego. — AP photos

Ben Affleck speaks at the Warner Bros "Justice League"panel on day three of Comic-Con International.

Moderator Chris Hardwick, left, speaks as Jason Momoa holds his Aquaman trident onstage at the Warner Bros "Justice League" panel on day three of Comic-Con International.

Ben Affleck to fans: I’m still Batman, despite rumors

"Black Panther" stole the show Saturdaynight at Marvel Studios' Comic-Con pres-entation, outshining the Ant-Man, Thor

and even the ultimate Avengers team-up, "InfinityWar." Fans went wild for the exclusive sneak peek atthe upcoming superhero pic, featuring starChadwick Boseman T'Challa intercepting a sketchyvibranium trade between Andy Serkis' Klaw andMartin Freeman's Everett. Set in an elegant,Japanese-inspired casino, the deal goes haywireand T'Challa and his security detail (Lupita Nyong'oand Danai Gurira) jump to action in their eveninggowns to retrieve the precious goods.

The clip was followed by the trailer for the filmfrom "Creed" director Ryan Coogler and the 6,500souls in the audience erupted into deafeningcheers at the sight of T'Challa morphing into theBlack Panther suit. The film finds T'Challa returningto his home of Wakanda after the death of hisfather, the king. "He's still mourning his father'sdeath. It's a transition period that gets interrupted,and he's struggling with the type of king he wantsto be," said Boseman. Coogler, Boseman, Nyong'o,Gurira, Serkis and more of the cast were on hand in

San Diego to talk about the film, out Feb, 16, 2019.Nyong'o described her character as a spy who

goes undercover to report back to Wakanda aboutwhat is going on in the rest of the world. "Wakandais an isolated nation," Nyongo said. "The world doesnot need to know what's going on in Wakanda."Coogler said he'd always had a fondness for comicbooks, and found "Black Panther" at a pivotalmoment. "I grew up as black kid in the Bay Areaand grew up with comic books and it didn't matterwhat color the superheroes were. I read X-Men, Iread Spider-Man," Coogler said. Then he startedlooking for a character that looked like him and hestumbled on Black Panther.

The goddess of deathMarvel Studios also teased its third "Thor" film,

"Thor: Ragnarok ," which has quite a different andmore irreverent tone from previous installments,and hits theaters in November. "I've played thischaracter five times," Chris Hemsworth told theaudience. "Me, personally, I got a little bored andthought we've got to try something a little differ-ent ... Push the envelope, take it to another level."

So, they cut his hair, take his hammer away andpit him against Jeff Goldblum and Cate Blanchett.When Blanchett's Hela, the goddess of death,invades Asgard, Thor finds himself on the run andunder the control of Goldblum's Grandmaster onSakaar where he is pitted against the Hulk in aGladiator tournament. In this film, the Hulk refusesto turn back into Bruce Banner, but he is learning tospeak, albeit slowly. "He has the vocabulary of atwo year old," Mark Ruffalo said. Marvel alsounveiled the "Avengers: Infinity War" footage thatthe studio had previously shown to audiences atthe Disney fan convention, D23, and made a fewannouncements regarding upcoming films:Michelle Pfeiffer will play Evangeline Lilly's charac-ter's mom Janet van Dyne in the "Ant-Man" sequel"Ant Man and the Wasp" and "Captain Marvel,"Marvel's first female-driven superhero movie, willbe set in the 1990s. As Marvel Studios head KevinFeige described it: It's so long ago that Samuel L.Jackson's Nick Fury will have two eyes. — AP

Justin Theroux and Dave Franco, stars of The LEGO NINJAGO Movie, make an appearanceat the LEGO booth at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. — AP photos

Director Steven Spielberg (left) and writer Ernest Cline attend the Warner Bros. PicturesPresentation during Comic-Con International 2017 at San Diego Convention Center inSan Diego, California. — AFP

Aurora Ortiz, dressed as Batgirl, poses for a portrait onday three of Comic-Con International on Saturday.

Comic-Con goes wild for 'Black Panther' at Marvel panel

Thousands of fans were treated to afirst look at Steven Spielberg's hotlyanticipated sci-fi adventure "Ready

Player One" at San Diego Comic-Con onSaturday. Starring Tye Sheridan, the movieis based on a 2011 novel about a teenageron a treasure hunt in a virtual reality game,in a world torn by an energy crisis. Footagefor the action adventure debuted duringWarner Bros' presentation, showingSheridan as teenage gamer Wade Watts,who finds himself inside VR Oasis.

The preview opened in a futuristic trailerpark in Columbus, Ohio where Wade lives,as he puts on the Oasis headset and glovesand is transported into its VR world. "I wasborn in 2025, but I wish I'd grown up in the1980s, like all my heroes," he says. Wade isseen going toe-to-toe with Freddy Krueger,standing beside the Iron Giant and racingthe DeLorean from "Back to the Future" ashe weaves to avoid huge wrecking balls.Spielberg received a huge ovation as he hitthe stage in the 6,500-capacity Hall Halongside Ernie Cline, who wrote the novel.

The filmmaker described the book as"the most amazing flash-forward and flash-

back at the same time about a decade I wasvery involved in, the 1980s." He added thathe thought they were going to need "ayounger director" to helm the project,despite his own movies featuring heavily. "Igrew up watching this man's movies andstudying them," said Cline. Spielberg saidhe had relished directing a sci-fi about the"dystopian" world people would be livingin 30 years in the future 2045.

"People are leaving the country and allof a sudden virtual reality gives you achoice, gives you another world to exist in,"he said. "And you can do anything in thatworld-anything you can possibly imagine."He called the universe he created for themovie a "future that is awaiting all of uswhether we like it or not." "This movie isgoing to expose so many people to theconcept of virtual reality, and I think it'sgoing to change the speed of adoption,"Cline added. Ready Player One opens in theUnited States on March 30, 2018. — AFP

Spielberg debuts 'Ready Player

One' footage at Comic-Con

Michel Franco andEdgar Wright onVenice film panel

Filmmakers Michel Franco and EdgarWright and actress Rebecca Hall will siton the jury at the 74th Venice Film

Festival, organizers said yesterday. Alsoamong the panelists at one of the most pres-tigious events in the film calendar will beHungarian director Ildiko Enyedi, Australiancritic David Statton and Taiwan-born filmmak-er Yonfan. Organizers had already announcedthat the festival, which opens on August 30,will kick off with Oscar-winning US directorAlexander Payne's latest movie "Downsizing",and that compatriot Annette Bening will headthe Mostra jury.

Mexican-born Franco is best known for hisfeature length drama "After Lucia", which wasnominated for the best foreign language filmOscar in 2012. British filmmaker Wright hasworked on several comedies including"Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" starringSimon Pegg and Nick Frost, as well as sciencefiction offering "The World's End" with MartinFreeman. British actress Rebecca Hall hasworked with director megastars ChristopherNolan, Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen andappeared alongside Ben Affleck in 2010's "TheTown". — AFP

Acclaimed Serbian filmmaker EmirKusturica yesterday arrived in theCrimean peninsula annexed by Russia

from Ukraine to give a concert with his NoSmoking Orchestra group. The two-time winnerof the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or is set togive a concert in Crimea's Black Sea resort ofYalta. On arrival in the regional capital ofSimferopol, he told journalists that "I know Yaltahas wonderful scenery and nice girls," Russia'sRIA Novosti state news agency reported.

Kusturica last year received a state honorcalled the Order of Friendship from RussianPresident Vladimir Putin in a ceremony at theKremlin, while Russia and Serbia have close cul-tural ties. Earlier this month Kusturica praisedPutin's "gentle nature" in an interview withstate-funded RT network, saying that theKremlin strongman had made the countryproud of its history and culture. The director'svisit to Crimea defied a clampdown by Ukraineon arts figures who have visited the Black Seapeninsula since Moscow's 2014 annexation.

Ukraine has strict rules on visiting Crimeathat only allow visits with permission from Kievand via certain entry points. Those who fly intoCrimea by plane from Moscow as Kusturica didface a ban on entry to Ukraine. Ukraine's securi-ty service has said it has issued travel bans onsome 140 Russian arts figures over visits to

Crimea or expressing support for Russia'sannexation of the peninsula. A music festival inCrimea in August is set to feature German tech-no band Scooter-massively popular in the ex-Soviet Union in the 1990s-and Russian rockband Leningrad, according to its website.Kusturica told Russian news site Gazeta.ru thismonth that he is set to make a film based onthemes from Fyodor Dostoevsky's novels, whichwill be shot in China. — AFP

Film director Emir Kusturica

visits Moscow-annexed Crimea

Emir Kusturica

Michelle Pfeiffer joins 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'

Michelle Pfeiffer is joiningthe Marvel CinematicUniverse. Marvel

Studios announced Saturday atComic-Con that Pfeiffer has beencast in the "Ant-Man" sequel"Ant-Man and the Wasp" as Janetvan Dyne, who is Hank Pym'smissing wife.

Pfeiffer will be starring along-side returning Ant-Man actorsPaul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly andMichael Douglas in the film.Marvel Studios head Kevin Feigealso announced that RandallPark and Laurence Fishburnewere joining the sequel. "Ant-Man and the Wasp" will bedirected by Peyton Reed and hitstheaters on July 6, 2018. — AP

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

l if e s t y l eF E A T U R E S

London Zoo is welcoming a new star attraction this sum-mer: robotic dinosaurs. Visitors will see robotic replicas ofMesozoic-era dinosaurs, including T. Rex and Triceratops,

which lived approximately 65 million years ago, at a "timetravel safari" exhibit named Zoorassic Park.

The robots make sounds and motions that mimic the real-life dinosaurs. Some even drip water out of their mouths orspray it at passers-by. Information about the dinosaurs' mas-sive extinction is dispersed throughout the display at the zooin north London. At the end, visitors are "transported" back tomodern times with a video on endangered species, recentextinctions and conservation efforts. The exhibition opensSaturday and runs until Sept 3. — AP

London Zoo welcomes a newkind of visitor: Robotic dinosaurs

A tour guide poses with a puppet of a baby T Rex inLondon Zoo's new Time Travel Safari exhibit namedZoorassic Park in London.

A tour guide poses with a replica of a T Rex in London Zoo's new Time Travel Safari exhibit named Zoorassic Park inLondon. — AFP photos

Acrumbling old New York City pier is at the cen-ter of an urban renewal effort that's turned intoa battle between billionaires. Media mogul

Barry Diller and his wife, fashion maven Diane vonFurstenberg, have pledged to transform the pier onthe Hudson River into a $250 million futuristic parkand entertainment space. One major opponent of theplan is real estate developer Douglas Durst.

He has joined forces with fellow environmentalistswho argue that the avant-garde structure will disruptthe river's wildlife. Attorney Richard Emery, who repre-sents the opponents, told The Associated Press that ameeting is planned for Monday to try to reach a settle-ment and avert a lawsuit against the project. TheHudson River Park Trust plans to proceed with work inmid-August. — AP

In this file photo, fashion designer Diane vonFurstenberg, left, and her husband, media mogulBarry Diller, attend the The Museum of Modern ArtFilm Benefit 2014, in New York.

Futuristic NY pier project pitsbillionaire vs billionaire

This undated artist rendering provided by Pier55 Inc/Heatherwick Studio, shows the proposed redevelopmentof Pier 55 in New York City. — AP photos

The Westerners lined up yesterday before giant statues ofNorth Korea's founder Kim Il-Sung and his son and suc-cessor Kim Jong-Il and, on command from their guide,

bowed deeply. It is a ritual that the Trump administrationintends to stop US tourists performing, with Washington dueto impose a ban this week on its citizens holidaying in theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as the North isofficially known.

The move comes amid heightened tensions overPyongyang's nuclear and missile ambitions-it launched a rock-et earlier this month which specialists say could reach Alaskaor Hawaii-and after the death of US student Otto Warmbier,who had been imprisoned for more than a year by Pyongyang.Warmbier was convicted of crimes against the state and sen-tenced to 15 years' hard labor for trying to steal a propagandaposter from a Pyongyang hotel. He was sent home in June in amysterious coma that proved fatal soon afterwards.

Most tourists to North Korea are motivated by curiosity andthe desire to experience a different destination. The iconic 20-metre-high (66-feet) statues at Mansu hill look out overPyongyang and groups of North Koreans in suits and ties arriveregularly to pay their respects. Passing traffic is obliged to slowdown. As the tourists reached the platform speakers played"We miss our general", about Kim Jong-Il, the father of currentleader Kim Jong-Un.

"President Kim Il-Sung liberated our country and built apeople's paradise on this land," they were told. Call center man-ager Kyle Myers, 28, from Ireland, said he wanted "to go some-where very different from what I'm used to" for his first trip toAsia, "to see something that not a lot of people from backhome have seen". The mounting tensions in the year since hebooked the tour had made him nervous, he said, but he added:"I don't see the threat here for tourists as long as they behavethemselves and they follow the rules of the country."

'A little disquieting' Some of the visitors-who paid from 1,850 euros ($2,157) for

the tour-expressed enthusiasm. Australian IT manager PallaviPhadke, 43, was among those who placed a bouquet beforethe statues. It was "a sign of respect", she told AFP. "It's thesame as covering your head when you go to a mosque orremoving your shoes when you go to a temple. "The peopleseem happy, they certainly don't appear to be oppressed oranything," she said. "They're very proud of their country, they'reproud of their history and it's nice to watch them be patriotic."

Many disagree, with the United Nations, multiple Westerngovernments and independent groups accusing Pyongyangof widespread human rights violations. Other tourists weremore skeptical. Mark Hill, a writer and editor from Calgary inCanada, compared the statues to "a very grim MountRushmore". "It's all very impressive and also a little disquiet-ing," he said. For years the US State Department has warnedits citizens against travelling to North Korea, telling them thatthey are " at serious risk of arrest and long-term detentionunder North Korea's system of law enforcement", which"imposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would notbe considered crimes in the United States", including show-ing disrespect to the country's leaders and proselytizing. It is"entirely possible that money spent by tourists in the DPRK"goes to fund its weapons programs, it adds. The ban will gointo force 30 days after it is formally declared, said depart-ment spokeswoman Heather Nauert, and "US passports willbe invalid for travel to, through and in North Korea".

'Monolithic evil force' The vast majority of tourists to North Korea are from China,

its sole major ally and key provider of trade and aid. Americansmake up around 20 percent of the 4,000 to 5,000 Westerntourists who go to the country each year, according to SimonCockerell of Koryo Tours, the leader in the niche market, whichbrought Sunday's visitors to Pyongyang. Warmbier's death hadalready hammered the market, he said, with bookings down50 percent since then. "It's would-be customers' perceptionsthat anybody can make a mistake," he told AFP. "And almosteveryone in their lives has made some mistake and of coursethey don't want the consequences of that mistake to be sodevastating."

But Washington's move, he said, was self-defeating. As well

as the potential ramifications for North Koreans who earn theirliving from tourism, he said, it would "completely eliminate anyhuman interaction between United States citizens and NorthKorean citizens". Pyongyang's state propaganda about the USwas "100 percent negative", he said, but contacts betweentourists and locals "work against the idea that foreigners aresome kind of monolithic evil force out to undermine the NorthKoreans".

"The idea that tourism is somehow sustaining the govern-ment is absurd," he added. "The numbers are very low, the rev-enues are very low." Young Pioneer Tours, the firm whichbrought Warmbier to the North, had already said it would nolonger take US citizens to the country. Among Sunday's tourgroup was comedy writer Evan Symon, from Los Angeles, whoas a result of Washington's ban is likely to be one of the lastAmerican tourists to the country for several years. "It's justwhat happened," he said. "Kind of cool in a way, I guess." — AFP

Last chance to see North Korea for US tourists

Tourists pose for a group photo before statues of late North Korean leaders KimIl-Sung (left) and Kim Jong-Il (right), on Mansu hill in Pyongyang. — AFP photos

A tourist poses for aphoto before theTaedong river inPyongyang.

Tourists (right) takephotos before the

Taedong river inPyongyang.

Tourists take selfie during a visit to a subway station in Pyongyang.

MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

l if e s t y l eF E A T U R E S

Disney is calling upon the "Guardians of the Galaxy" anda cohort of blockbuster movies to help modernize itsamusement parks. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Chairman Bob Chapek unveiled the upcoming attractions atboth international and domestic Disney parks during its D23fan expo in Anaheim, California, on July 15.

Most of the upcoming projects are expected to be com-pleted by Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021. Here's arecap of some of the big announcements, including a leg-endary mascot finally getting his own ride.

Star Wars sleepersA themed resort will join the family of "Star Wars" attrac-

tions at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, including Star Toursand the previously announced Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge landexpansion. Chapek emphasized the resort's "100 percentimmersive" experience, saying it is Disney's most experientialpark concept to date. Guests can become citizens of the StarWars galaxy, including the chance to dress in proper attire.

Epcot overhaulEpcot, Disney World's second-oldest park, is receiving a

much-needed update. Chapek said the makeover boostsEpcot's relevance and family appeal. A "Guardians of theGalaxy" ride in Future World will buoy the park's space traveltheme, replacing the Universe of Energy attraction closing thissummer. Ratatouille: The Adventure ride, which originated atDisneyland Paris, is headed to Epcot's France Pavilion.Shanghai Disneyland's TRON Lightcycle Power Run attractionis also coming stateside, making a second home in the MagicKingdom.

Pixar PierPixar Pier is replacing Paradise Pier at Disney California

Adventure as an immersive hub for all Pixar characters. Theannouncement reinforces Disneyland as the premiere locationfor Pixar, also home to a land themed on "Cars" and a previ-ously announced "Toy Story" land. The forthcoming attrac-tions are expected to open in time for a limited-run Pixar Festin 2018.

Mickey MouseMickey Mouse is getting his own ride. Mickey and Minnie's

Runaway Railway will replace The Great Movie Ride atHollywood Studios, which closes this summer. An openingdate for the new attraction was not announced.

Double the shipsDisney Cruise Line is adding a seventh ship to its roster.

Two upcoming ships were announced last year with Chapekunveiling a third is in the works. All three are still early indevelopment but are set to be completed by 2023. They'reexpected to be slightly larger than the current Disney CruiseLine ships.

Marvel maniaThe "Guardians of the Galaxy" are making a stop in

France. Disneyland Paris is reimagining its Disney's HotelNew York with a focus on Tony Stark and his legion of super-hero friends. Chapek announced plans for a reimaginedDisney's Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel, saying he hopesto make Stark proud. — AP

A look at plans for new rides and more at Disney parks

In this file photo, visitors walk near Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland Paris, in Marne la Vallee, east of Paris. — AP

Whether in search of a glowing skull or a bright redheart, God's Own Junkyard in London is a maze ofmulticolored neon of all shapes and sizes which is

thriving on its retro reputation. In a vast warehouse in the eastof the British capital sits Europe's biggest collection of neonsigns. "In here we've got 1,400 pieces," said the creative directorof God's Own Junkyard, Marcus Bracey, walking through thetreasure trove of brightly-illuminated tubes.

Most are for sale-a heart with the British flag emblazonedwith "God Save the Queen" across it, for instance, or an enor-mous pair of bright red lips with a tongue reaching out to thetop of an ice cream cone. "We've got a mixture of sex, contem-porary art, everything," said Bracey. "From love through lust,everything's here." Some of the signs date back to the 1950s,while others can cost thousands of pounds, such as a cowboy-like Jesus Christ clutching two blue revolvers, which has beensold but never picked up by its new owner.

From seedy Soho to Hollywood The hip, disco-like space has evolved from suitably colorful

origins through several generations of Bracey's family. The col-lection of neon was begun by Bracey's grandfather, a formercoal miner, in the 1950s. Bracey, 43, jokes that his grandfather"came up from the dark to the light" and found his passion afterleaving the mines to work for a lighting company. It was thenext generation that developed the business, now based in theup-and-coming east London neighborhood, Walthamstow.

Bracey's late father, Chris, became a major supplier of neonsigns to the sex shops of London's Soho district. But, as theneighborhood started to shed its seedy reputation, signs suchas the neon-lit shapely figure of a woman, began finding theirway to God's Own Junkyard. The family has also produced signsfor film shoots, such as the flashing dragon sign used in RidleyScott's "Blade Runner" in 1982 -- Bracey vows he will never sellit. A rainbow sign was also crafted for Stanley Kubrick's 1999film "Eyes Wide Shut" starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

Neon 'in our blood' While the buyers have changed, the technology has hardly

evolved. Neon technology was first developed in 1910 byGeorges Claude, a French chemist who was looking for a cheap-er way to produce oxygen for hospitals. Since his remarkable

finding that different gases produced an array of vivid colors,neon has gone on to conquer the world of advertising. FromParis to New York, it remains "one of the great symbols of the20th century, signifying in turn the utilitarian conquest of thenight" and "electric globalization", wrote philosopher Luis deMiranda in his essay "Being and Neon" on the cultural history ofneon signs. But despite a boom in the bright lights, the industryhas faced tough times. "In the 1980s, there was a big shrink indemand and neon workshops were all closing. We thoughtalmost it was the end of neon," Bracey said.

"But it has come back," he said, with the help of individualbuyers in search of retro designs, which make up 50 percent ofhis clients. And the future looks bright for God's Own Junkyard.Bracey's two children say the yard provides an exciting and col-orful playground and that they are aware of its importance intheir family history. "It's always been in our blood, in our DNA!"one of them said. — AFP

An array of neon lights and signs is displayed inside a Junkyard gallery, cafeand workshop in Walthamstow, East London. — AFP photos

Patrons relax at a Junkyard gallery, cafe and workshop in Walthamstow, East London.

An array of neon lights and signs is displayed inside the Junkyard gallery, cafe and work-shop.

A patron relaxes amidst an array of neon lights and signs is displayed inside the Junkyardgallery, cafe and workshop.

An array of neon lights and signs are displayed inside the Junkyard gallery.

An array of neon lights and signs are displayed inside the Junkyard gallery.

An array of neon lights and signs are displayed inside the Junkyard gallery.

Retro trend lights up London's labyrinth of neon

A deformed baby goat goes viral

A baby goat has been born with a "deformations in thehead". An image of a kid, which was tragically stillborn, hasgone viral online for its unusual appearance, as it was bornwith a flat nose and mouth, as well as large, bulbous eyes,although the rest of the four-legged animal was "normal."Speaking about her pet to The Metro Online, the ownerGladys Oveido said: "The rest of the baby is normal, it onlyhas deformations in the head. It is unusual what happened."

Pringles launch new flavors based on taste of pop stars

Pringles has launched new flavors of its crisps based on thetaste of some of music's biggest stars, including Kanye,Little Mix, Stormzy and Jay-Z. The potato chip brandworked with James Wannerton, who has a condition calledsynesthesia, which means sound and taste are linked,therefore a flavor is experienced whenever music is lis-tened to. They conducted an experiment with Jameswhich came up with the results that rapper Kanye tasteslike cheesy crisps, The Rolling Stones are like bacon and girlgroup Little Mix are tangy like salt n' vinegar. James,whose condition means senses that are normally experi-enced separately, are involuntarily and automaticallyjoined together, said: "Food and music are always intrinsi-cally linked during the summer via festivals, picnics in thepark or barbecues in the back garden. This experimentallows us to take great flavors and match them to themusic we enjoy during these occasions. "Some genres ofmusic have a very distinctive taste, I find rock and roll hasstrong notes of cheese and tomato like hot pizza, especial-ly anthem bands like Radiohead. On the other side of themusic spectrum, Kanye's tracks is somewhat cheesy - intaste at least but his rap rival Jay Z gives off a meatier, moresteak-y flavor. "We hope our experiment will encouragesnackers to think about what their favorite tunes mighttaste of while they're listening to them at beaches, barbe-cues and festivals this summer." The top ten songs of thesummer, with their nearest flavors:Kanye West, 'Gold-digger' - Cheesey CheeseJay Z, '99 Problems'- Flame Grilled SteakLittle Mix, 'Shout Out to My Ex' - Salt n VinegarSpice Girls, 'Wannabe' - PaprikaGreen Day, 'American Idiot' - PizzaWolfgang Petry, Bronze, Silber und Gold - Prawn CocktailRadiohead, 'Creep' - Sour Cream and OnionRolling Stones, 'Start Me Up' - Smokey BaconSkepta, 'Shutdown' - BarbequeMiles Davis, 'So What' - Cheese and Onion

A holiday-goer endures 'nightmare' flight A holiday-goer endured a "nightmare" flight when a fellowpassenger propped their feet on her arm rest. A womanfrom San Francisco, named Jessie Char, took to socialmedia to document the unsettling scenario she was metwith when she boarded a flight only to find the person sit-ting behind her had wriggled her limbs through the gapand placed her heels on the metal arm of her seat. Jessieshared a photograph on Twitter of the scene, which shecaptioned: "Today, I flew on the set of a nightmare. (sic)."But the matter got worse as the unknown jet setter thenused her foot to open the blind covering a window so shecould look out at the views from behind. Jessie continued:"You guys will never guess what happened after that. "Theleft foot reached over and opened a window (sic)."

British people look in the cupboard almost 30 times a day

A study has found British people look in the cupboardalmost 30 times a day. A study carried out by AppliancesDirect has revealed people look in the fridge on average 14times and the cupboards almost 10 times during 24 hours.The survey, which was carried out on homeowners, hasalso found out that women are more likely to have a noseyat the contents of their kitchen cupboards more than men.However, only 35 percent of those who took part in theresearch peeked in their cupboards because they werebored and had no intention of rustling up any tasty treatsafter looking at the contents of their cupboards. Speakingabout the outcome of the survey, marketing managerMark Kelly said: "The data revealed some interesting find-ings about the nation's snacking practices, especially thenumber of times people look in the fridge and cupboardsjust out of habit.

Man brings bunch of kale for vegan date

A man treated his vegan date to a bunch of kale from hisgarden on their second date. A lover posted a picture onReddit of the bunch of greens she was given by her beauafter it came up in conversation on their first romanticmeeting that she didn't eat meat or dairy products. Shewrote: "I went on a first date the other day, and it came upthat I was vegan. "On the second date he brought me acouple bunches of kale from his garden. (sic)" Social mediausers thought the gift was a great gesture and many havedubbed the man a "keeper". Azraels Fear replied: "That'sreally sweet. Keep the guy. He cares enough about yourdiet, he wants you healthy and alive and cares about youfeel about certain subjects you take serious (sic)."

—Bang Showbiz

Bizarre News

31MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017

Retro trend lights up London's labyrinth of neon

Hot-air balloons fly over Chambley-Bussieres airbase, northeastern France, on July 21, 2017, during the international hot air balloons meeting "Mondial Air Ballons" in Hageville. — AFP

It was a typical phone call between two boys playing andtheir mother, who was on vacation in France. It was brief -the boys wanted to get back to playing with their cousins,

not spend time on the phone chatting. The brevity of that1997 call troubles Prince William and Prince Harry to this day -for their mother, Princess Diana, would die in a car crash thatnight. "Harry and I were in a desperate rush to say goodbye,you know 'see you later'... If I'd known now obviously whatwas going to happen I wouldn't have been so blase about itand everything else," William says in a new documentary. "Butthat phone call sticks in my mind, quite heavily."

Harry tells the filmmakers the final chat is something hewill regret until the end of his days. "Looking back on it now,it's incredibly hard. I'll have to sort of deal with that for the restof my life," Harry said. "Not knowing that was the last time Iwas going to speak to my mum. How differently that conver-sation would have panned out if I'd had even the slightestinkling her life was going to be taken that night." The ITV doc-umentary "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy" is airingMonday on British TV. Excerpts from the film, and new familyphotographs, were released yesterday.

The show is one of a series of tributes to Diana expected asthe 20th anniversary of her death on August 31, 1997,approaches. It is only in the last year that William and Harryhave spoken openly in public about their feelings about thesudden loss of their mother. William - second-in-line for theBritish throne after his father Prince Charles - was only 15 atthe time. Harry was only 12.

The documentary chronicles Diana's charitable works,including her historic outreach to AIDS victims and her cam-paign to ban land mines. William and Harry also stress theirmother's fun-loving side, which they say the public generallydidn't see. "Our mother was a total kid through and through.When everybody says to me 'so she was fun, give us an exam-ple,' all I can hear is her laugh in my head," says Harry.

William tells a story that reveals the privileged life they ledas children - one day, Diana surprised him by having three of

the world's top models waiting for him when he got homefrom school. "She organized when I came home from schoolto have Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and NaomiCampbell waiting at the top of the stairs. I was probably a 12or 13-year-old boy who had posters of them on his wall,"William said. "I went bright red and didn't know quite what tosay. And sort of fumbled and I think pretty much fell down thestairs on the way up." William says he frequently tells his chil-dren - Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2 - aboutDiana so she can be a presence in her grandchildren's lives."She'd be a lovely grandmother. She'd absolutely love it, she'dlove the children to bits," he said. — AP

Princes William, Harry remembertheir final call with Diana

In this photo made available by Kensington Palace fromthe personal photo album of the late Diana, Princess ofWales, shows the princess holding Prince William whilstpregnant with Prince Harry, and features in the new ITVdocumentary 'Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.'

In this photo Princess of Wales, Prince William and PrinceHarry sit on a picnic bench together and features in thenew ITV documentary 'Diana, Our Mother: Her Life andLegacy.' — AP photos

In this photo made available by Kensington Palace fromthe personal photo album of the late Diana, Princess ofWales, shows the princess and Prince Harry on holiday,and features in the new ITV documentary 'Diana, OurMother: Her Life and Legacy.'