WASHINGTON: Some leading Republicanpresidential candidates seem to viewMuslims as fair game for increasingly harshwords they might use with more cautionagainst any other group for fear of thepolitical cost. So far, that strategy is win-ning support from conservatives influentialin picking the nominee. Many Republicansare heartened by strong rhetoric address-ing what they view as a threat to nationalsecurity by Islam itself, analysts say.Because Muslims are a small voting bloc,the candidates see limited fallout fromwhat they are saying in the campaign.

“I think this issue exists on its ownisland,” said Steve Schmidt, a Republicanpolitical consultant who ran Sen JohnMcCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “It’shighly unlikely to cause a political penaltyand there is no evidence that it has.” Sincethe attacks that killed 130 people in Paris,GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has said hewants to register all Muslims in the US andsurveil American mosques. He has repeat-ed unsubstantiated claims that Muslim-Americans in New Jersey celebrated by the“thousands” when the World Trade Centerwas destroyed on Sept 11, 2001.

“Donald Trump is already very wellknown for being brash and outspoken andis appealing to a group of people - a minor-ity of American voters, but a large minority- who seem to like that kind of tough talk,”said John Green, director of the BlissInstitute of Applied Politics at theUniversity of Akron. Rival Ben Carson saidallowing Syrian refugees into the US wouldbe akin to exposing a neighborhood to a“rabid dog”. Former Arkansas Gov MikeHuckabee said, “I’d like for Barack Obamato resign if he’s not going to protectAmerica and instead protect the image ofIslam.”

Such statements appeal to Republicanswho think Obama and Democratic fron-trunner Hillary Rodham Clinton, the formersecretary of state, have not done enoughto fight jihadis, Green said. The sentimentalso plays well for evangelicals concernedabout violence directed at Christians in theMiddle East and angered about restrictionstheir missionaries face in predominantlyMuslim countries. “There’s a religiousundercurrent here, aside from foreign poli-cy issues,” Green said.

Continued on Page 13

LUXOR, Egypt: Scans of KingTutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley ofthe Kings point to a secret chamber,archaeologists said yesterday, possiblyheralding the discovery of QueenNefertiti’s long-sought mummy. Using hi-tech infrared and radar technology,researchers are trying to unravel the mys-tery over the legendary monarch’s restingplace. A wife of Tutankhamun’s fatherAkhenaten, Nefertiti played a major polit-ical and religious role in the 14th centuryBC, and the discovery of her tomb wouldbe a major prize for Egyptologists.

Experts are now “approximately 90percent” sure there is a hidden chamberin Tutankhamun’s tomb, AntiquitiesMinister Mamdouh Al-Damati told a newsconference. The scans were spurred by astudy by renowned British archaeologistNicholas Reeves that said Nefertiti’s losttomb may be hidden in an adjoiningchamber.

Speaking at the same press confer-ence, Reeves said the initial results couldbear out his theory. “Clearly it does lookfrom the radar evidence as if the tombcontinues, as I have predicted,” he said.“The radar, behind the north wall (ofTutankhamun’s burial chamber) seemspretty clear. If I am right it is a continua-tion - corridor continuation - of the tomb,

which will end in another burial cham-ber,” he said. “It does look indeed as if thetomb of Tutankhamun is a corridortomb... and it continues beyond the dec-orated burial chamber,” he added. “I thinkit is Nefertiti and all the evidence pointsin that direction.”

Damati emphasized that the findingswere “preliminary” results, and aJapanese expert working with thearchaeologists needed a month to ana-lyze the scans. Experts carried out a pre-liminary scan of the tomb earlier thismonth using infra-red thermography tomap out the temperature of its walls.Damati said at that time that the analysisshowed “differences in the temperaturesregistered on different parts of thenorthern wall” of the tomb.

But the minister and Reeves had dif-fered on whose mummy they expectedto find. According to Reeves, professor ofarchaeology at the University of Arizona,Tutankhamun, who died unexpectedly,was buried hurriedly in an undergroundchamber probably not intended for him.The boy king died aged 19 in 1324 BCafter just nine years on the throne. Hisfinal resting place was discovered byanother British Egyptologist, HowardCarter, in 1922.

Continued on Page 13

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Al-Wihda student groupwins NUKS-US elections

Iran seeks $25bn as new oil contractunveiled

Messi, Neymar and Suarez strike to keep Barca rolling

Erdogan‘saddened’ by downing of Russian jet

French PM calls on Gulf

to accept more refugees

Carson visits Jordan camp, calls to absorb refugees in Mideast

EVRY, France/AZRAQ REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan: FrenchPrime Minister Manuel Valls has called on the Gulf statesto accept more refugees fleeing Syria, saying that a“humanitarian disaster” could erupt in the Balkans ifEurope does not control its borders. “I’ll say it again,Europe cannot accept all the refugees coming from Syria.That’s why we need a diplomatic, military and politicalsolution in Syria,” Valls said Friday evening.

“Every country must play its part; I’m thinking particu-larly of the Gulf states,” the prime minister said during a dis-cussion with residents of Evry on the outskirts of Paris,focusing on the response to the attacks which rocked thecapital two weeks ago. Most of theroughly four million Syrian refugeeswho have fled their country since civilwar broke out have travelled to neigh-boring Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey.

But Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE andother Gulf states have remainedclosed to them, while Europe strug-gles to adopt a common policytowards the hundreds of thousandsof refugees who are arriving at itsborders. Unless the borders of the EUare properly controlled “we are goingto see a humanitarian disaster in the Balkans this winterand Europe is going to close up again,” Valls warned.

And while the prime minister rejected any linkbetween genuine refugees and terrorism, he also high-lighted the danger of terrorists being allowed into the EUalongside those fleeing war - as seems to have been thecase with some of those responsible for the Paris attacks.“All it takes is for a few terrorists to slip in with the influxof refugees, and the people of Europe are saying, ‘Wait, ifterrorists are getting in along with refugees, that meansany refugee could pose a threat’,” he said. More than800,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea since thebeginning of the year, with the majority coming from theMiddle East.

Continued on Page 13

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obamadenounced the country’s epidemic of gun violenceyesterday and renewed a call for tougher controls onmilitary-style weapons after yet another deadly shoot-ing, saying “enough is enough”. The latest bloodshedcame on Friday when a man entered a family planningclinic in the state of Colorado and allegedly openedfire, killing three people, including a police officer, andwounding nine others.

The motive of the suspect now under arrest was notyet known and police were to interrogate him yester-day. The Planned Parenthood clinic located in ColoradoSprings performs abortion, and the city’s mayor sug-gested that deeply divisive issue in America may havebeen behind the assault. “You can certainly infer what itmay have been in terms of where it took place and themanner in which it took place,” John Suthers told CNN.

The tragedy came a day after Americans celebratedtheir cherished Thanksgiving holiday, a time to relaxwith family, and which ushers in the holiday season inearnest. Obama said the suspect had been armed withan assault weapon - that was the first official word ofthis detail - and he also disclosed for the first time thatthe man had held hostages at the Planned Parenthoodcenter from which he opened fire at people outside inan hours-long standoff with police. “We have to dosomething about the easy accessibility of weapons ofwar on our streets to people who have no businesswielding them. Period. Enough is enough,” Obama saidin a statement.

The gunman had entered the Planned Parenthoodclinic around noon Friday and started shooting from awindow. Police surrounded the building, and after anexchange of gunfire and a standoff lasting more thanfive hours the gunman surrendered.

Continued on Page 13

Obama slams gun violence after shooting

COLORADO SPRINGS: A person is escorted after a shooting near a Planned Parenthood clinic on Friday.(Inset) Suspected shooter Robert Lewis Dear of North Carolina is seen in an undated photo provided bythe El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. — AP

Manuel Valls

Reps attack Muslims with impunity

Scans point to hidden

chamber in Tut’s tomb

WASHINGTON: In this photo taken on Oct 9, 2015, Rabiah Ahmed, Media andCommunications Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, hand delivers aninvitation to Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson at the NationalPress Club. — AP

LUXOR: The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun is seen in his burial chamber inthe Valley of the Kings yesterday. — AFP

Candidates’ rhetoric seen as having little cost

Newsi n b r i e f

Qatar bans contractors from leaving country

DUBAI: Qatar has banned contractors from leaving thesmall, oil-rich country as it carries out a probe into howheavy rains damaged buildings and roadways. An articlelate Friday on the state-run Qatar News Agencyannounced the travel ban. It said “owners of companies,contractors and consulting engineers” would be bannedfrom traveling abroad until the end of the probe. A year’sworth of rain on Wednesday deluged Doha’s HamadInternational Airport, the home of Qatar Airways, pour-ing through at least one part of the roof. The airport costat least $15 billion to build. Rainwater also floodedstreets and shut down some stores in Doha. Qatar hasseen a boom in construction, some derided as shoddy,ahead of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Dubai to spend billions on clean energy push

DUBAI: Dubai will spend billions of dollars on gener-ating clean energy, the government said yesterday,aiming to have solar panels installed on the roofs ofall buildings by 2030. The fast-growing desert citystate of 2.4 million, located in one of the hottestregions of the world, uses huge amounts of energyto air-condition its skyscrapers and provide watersupplies through desalination. The Dubai govern-ment will encourage building owners to place solarpanels on their roofs and link them to a network ofthe local power utility, Dubai’s ruler SheikhMohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said in a state-ment. All Dubai buildings would have solar cells by2030.The authorities plan to establish a 100 billiondirham ($27 billion) fund to provide low-cost loansfor investors in Dubai’s clean energy sector. Dubaiplans 500 million dirhams of investment in researchinto areas such as integration of smart power gridsand energy efficiency. It intends to create a tax-freebusiness zone to attract clean energy companiesfrom around the world, Sheikh Mohammed said. Asolar park being built in Dubai is to have a generat-ing capacity of 800 megawatts in April 2017 and5,000 MW by 2030, or a quarter of the emirate’s ener-gy production in that year. Total investment in theproject is estimated at 50 billion dirhams. Dubai aimsto obtain 7 percent of its energy from relatively cleansources by 2020, raising that to 25 percent in 2030and 75 percent in 2050, Sheikh Mohammed said.

L O C A L

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

KUWAIT: Current and former Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation officials are pictured during a ceremony to honor those who contributed in signing Al-Zour Refinery projectís contracts. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Kuwait National PetroleumCorporation (KNPC) held a ceremony yester-day to honor current and former officialswho contributed in signing Al-Zour Refineryproject’s contracts. CEO Mohammad Al-Mutairi said in a speech at the event quotedby Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the

project “boosts KNPC’s competitive capabili-ties in light of the great fluctuations in theglobal oil markets.”

Al-Zour Refinery, which is slated to com-plete around 2017, will have a refinementcapacity of 615,000 barrels per day, briningKNPC’s total production capacity to 1.4 mil-

lion barrels of high quality products per day.The refinery has a strategic goal of sup-

plying low sulfur fuel (less than one percentcompared to current four percent sulfurfuel) to the local power plants. This will sig-nificantly reduce pollutant emissions and inthat sense it constitutes a special impor-

tance to the environment.The contract to build the $16-billion

refinery were signed on October 13, 2015were with 10 foreign companies includingSpain’s Tecnicas Reunidas, China’s Sinopec,South Korea’s Hyundai, SK, Daewoo andHanwha, Britain-based Fluor, Italy’s Saipem

and India’s Essar. Last year, the KNPC signedcontracts for a $12 bill ion project toupgrade two of its three existing refineries.Kuwait sits on 101.5 billion barrels of crudereserves - equivalent to 6.8 percent of theworld’s proven reserves according to the lat-est OPEC figures. It pumps 2.8 million bpd.

KNPC honors officials who helped sign Al-Zour Refinery contracts

Education Minister Dr Bader Al-Essa visits Zain’s booth.

Zain makes keynote address at

NUKS USA 32nd annual conference

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommu-nications company in Kuwait,announced its participation in theopening ceremony of the NationalUnion of Kuwaiti Students in the UnitedStates (NUKS USA) 32nd annual confer-ence, held in San Diego in the presenceof many distinguished national identi-ties. The Minister of Education andMinister of Higher Education Dr BadrAl-Essa, and the Kuwaiti Ambassador tothe US, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-JaberAl-Sabah, visited Zain’s booth duringthe opening ceremony. The company’splatinum sponsorship is in line with itsinterest in supporting young nationalrole models, with this conference bring-ing together distinguished national fig-ures from Kuwait’s political, social, andeconomic circles.

During Zain’s keynote address, ZainKuwait’s Corporate Communicationsand Relations Director Waleed Al-Khashti said, “Zain is glad to yet againbe an integral part of this annual pro-ject’s success. Our responsibility as aleading national company motivatedus to be here amongst our studentswho work very hard to pursue theireducation abroad”.

Khashti continued, “We believe thatnations will only flourish and progress

with the hopes and dreams of theiryouth, and life will stay wonderful aslong as we work hard to make ourdreams come true.”

Khashti stressed: “Zain is delightedto be next to our dear students every

year, as they were all trusted to beKuwait’s ambassadors and emissariesabroad, and have the potential anddetermination to take responsibilityand make decisions to make theirhome country proud.”

Zain considers itself a core partner

to all student activities and initiatives,as it seeks to remain youth-oriented,and interested in the development andwell-being of young Kuwaitis who willdevelop to become contributing mem-bers of their societies. Zain believes inthe pivotal role private sector organiza-tions can play in the progress ofnations, and continuously strives tosolidify its role in this regard.

Zain will be organizing a number ofcultural and sporting activities to enrichthis year’s NUKS USA program, includ-ing two football tournaments for maleand female students, an honoring cere-mony to recognize top performing stu-dents, as well as a special participationin the event’s careers fair to interactwith graduates.

Zain sees its annual participation inthe conference as part of its responsi-bility as a leading national company tohelp provide bright and enthusiasticyoung Kuwaitis who are looking toenter the job market with suitablecareer development opportunities.

Participating in this event affirmsZain’s role as a leading national compa-ny that takes the development ofyoung people seriously, with the ulti-mate intention to induce positivechange within the Kuwaiti society.

Waleed Al-Khashti delivers Zain’skeynote speech at the conference.

KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growingand most developed telecom operator,announced the conclusion of the 51stannual national conference of theNational Union of Kuwaiti Students(NUKS) - United Kingdom and Irelandbranch, held under the patronage ofMinister of Education and HigherEducation Dr Bader Hamad Al-Essa, on20 and 21 November 2015.

VIVA has announced recently itssponsorship for the third year in a rowfor this annual conference that includessignificant activities met with students’admiration and interest, in a distinctivenational and family atmosphere.

On this occasion, Abdulrazaq BaderAl-Essa, Director of CorporateCommunications Division at VIVA com-mented: “We will keep our promise tosupport the students’ activities, eitherinside or outside our beloved countryKuwait, in the frame of our corporatesocial responsibility program.”

VIVA’s Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) activities can bereviewed on the company’s website at

https://www.viva.com.kw/csr. Thisoffers a description of each CSR initia-

tive that VIVA has supported, or takenon since its inception.

VIVA concludes 51st NUKS UK

and Ireland Annual Conference

KIPCO participates in

32nd NUKS-USA Conference

KUWAIT: Kuwait Projects Company(KIPCO) participated in the 32ndConference of the National Unionof Kuwaiti Students - USA Branch(NUKS-USA) for the fifth consecu-tive year. KIPCO was a Platinum

Sponsor for the event, which washeld on November 25-28 in SanDiego, California.

Speaking at the opening cere-mony of the conference, themed‘Awakening Kuwait’s Dream’, EmanAl-Awadhi, KIPCO’s GroupCommunications Director, said:“With young Kuwaitis accountingfor more than 70 percent of thepopulation, both the governmentand the private sector are placinggreat importance on this segmentof the society. KIPCO believes thatKuwait ’s social and economicdevelopment depends heavily onthe creativity and innovation thatthis young and talented generationhas to offer.”

She added: “As part of KIPCO’sbusiness philosophy, we seek waysto support young people as theygraduate and take on the opportu-nities available to them in different

business sectors. This is why it isimportant for us to interact withstudents such as yourselves, whoare being educated in some of theworld’s best universities, and tounderstand how to utilize yourknowledge and international expo-sure to achieve greater levels ofsuccess at the personal, businessand national levels.”

KIPCO and its Group companiesalso participated in the Career Fair,which included an interactive ses-sion led by social media celebrity,Ali Al-Fadhala, known as 228. Thestudents were quizzed about thecompanies and those whoanswered correctly each receivedan X-Change Prepaid Card fromBurgan Bank, worth $300. KIPCOand several of its Group companieswill be engaging students in sever-al events over the course of theconference.

SAN DIEGO: ‘Al-Wihda’ group won theelection of the National Union KuwaitiStudents (NUKS) USA branch, whichwas held in San Diego, California lateon Friday. The runners for the race thisyear were Al-Wihda and StudentFuture.

The past year ‘Al-Wihda’ won by350 votes’ difference, as compared to360 in the new polling. Over 4,440students registered to participate inthe 32nd annual Conference of NUKSthemed “Kuwait’s dream is fulfilledwith us,” where more than 5,000Kuwaiti students showed up.

Kuwaiti Minister of Education andHigher Education Dr Bader Al-Essa

attended the inauguration of the con-ference, along with KuwaitiAmbassador to the US Sheikh SalemAl-Abdullah Al-Sabah whom bothurged in their speeches to shun sec-tarianism and tribalism while partici-pating in the voting process.

WorkshopThe National Project for Small and

Medium Size Enterprises (Mubader)held here late Friday a workshop onthe sidelines of the 32nd conferencefor the US branch of the NationalUnion for Kuwaiti Students (NUKS-US). The project’s CEO Abrar Al-Masoud told KUNA that the workshop

focused on enabling and teachingKuwaiti students how to establishtheir own small projects prior to theirgraduation, adding that beginningearly would benefit both the businessowners and the future prospects ofKuwait.

She said that the project was keenin partaking in the conference heldhere, affirming that this participationwas in line with the Kuwaiti leader-ship’s call for supporting small busi-ness projects. The NUKS conferenceopened last Thursday by MinisterEssa. The event’s main theme focuseson students’ role in achieving Kuwait’sdevelopment goals. — KUNA

Al-Wihda student group

wins NUKS-US elections

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank provided its plat-inum sponsorship for the 32ndNational Union of Kuwaitis Students(NUKS) conference in the UnitedStates. The conference, which is beingsponsored by the Bank for the thirdconsecutive year, which took place 26-28 November at the Hilton Bayfront inSan Diego, California.

The NUKS-USA conference was thelargest annual gathering of Kuwaitisoutside the country. More than 3,500students enrolled in colleges and uni-versities across the United States areattending the conference. The confer-ence spanned three days and includ-ed numerous formal and informalactivities. These included: lectures;workshops; a career fair; elections forthe new NUKS board; and the oppor-tunity to network amongst them-selves and the institutional represen-tatives taking part in the event.

During the first day’s events, theBank took part in the Career Fair. Inaddition to discussing career optionsand holding interviews, the partici-pants were able to register for GulfBank’s special prize draw. This year’sdraw is being done by raffle and isopen to all students participating inthe conference. To enter the raffledraw, students merely had to sign upat the Gulf Bank booth in the careerfair area. The draw prizes will be pre-paid gift cards, from $2,500 for thegrand prize: second and third prizewinners will win $1650 each; the

remaining twelve winners will winprizes of $1,000 and $500.

Later in the evening, Gulf Bank rep-resentatives Salma Al-Hajjaj, GeneralManager of Human Resources at GulfBank, and Tareq Al-Saleh, AssistantGeneral Manager of Investments atGulf Bank, participated in the openingceremony dinner. During the dinner,Gulf Bank showed a video presentingits “Ajyal” Graduate DevelopmentProgram. The video about the Ajyal(Generations) Graduate DevelopmentProgram highlighted the strategicimportance the Bank places on nur-turing local talent and providingopportunities to Kuwaiti nationals toassume leadership positions withinthe Bank.

During the conference, the Bankalso sponsored the ‘Start-Up Panel’(Tajriba Al Oula) where students pre-sented business startup ideas to apanel of judges.

The Bank also held two workshops,one on “Gender Diversity and Womenin the Workplace” by Salma Al-Hajjaj,who discussed the challenges sheovercame in her successful profes-sional journey and shared ideas aboutdiversity in the 21st century work-place. The other workshop was on“Global Investments Firms Landscape:Introduction to Asset ManagementFirms and Investment Banking” byTareq Al-Saleh, who provided anoverview of the investment industry,including career options.

Eman Al-Awadhi speaking at theopening ceremony.

Gulf Banks sponsored

NUKS-US Conference

Gulf Bank’s team

LOCA LSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

CrimeR e p o r t

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

Is the world about to change the sloganof the war on terrorism to World War III?Will we hear the drums of war again

after 70 years of world peace since the lastworld war? Is it going to reshape the worldmap?

Clearly there are different views and sce-narios for the world’s major powers thatmanage crucial decisions on how the situa-tion must end or be controlled in the lightof the proliferation of terrorist organiza-tions, their branches and agents around theworld, all posing a major threat to everyone.It seems until there is understanding of thebeneficiaries of these organizations, theannouncement of a new war is inevitable.

Some believe that the shooting down byTurkey of a Russian fighter jet was like pour-ing oil on fire that created extra tension inthe region that may lead to a new war. But Idon’t believe in this view, because Turkishforeign policy has had a fixed principle forcenturies, whereas Russian ambitions in theregion are the greatest threat to Turkey. SoRussia and Turkey are in different campsand an international consensus broker isessential, of course. The United States ofAmerica is playing this role now.

Even if we assume that this incidenthadn’t occurred, the heated conditions arenot going to calm down nor peaceachieved as long as there is almost an inter-national cover for unknown organizationscalling themselves Islamic. But the truth ofthe matter is that the Islamic religion isinnocent. And whether these militantsdeclare themselves moderate, opposition,extreme or by any other name, they are stilleyeing a spot in a rich and strategic arealike Syria or Iraq, which is a real disaster forus in this region.

Right now there is a state of global alertagainst IS in the wake of the recent Parisattacks and the downing of a Russian pas-senger aircraft over Sinai. Turkey seemsconcerned that the Russian position willincrease stiffness in the war on terror,whether it is done with the consent of theUS, Saudi Arabia and other countries or not,especially now that Russia has a strong

hand in the region and major allies. Soevents may evolve in the coming daysfaster than we expect, especially with theelimination of large terrorist organizationssuch as IS and others. This is not a contro-versial topic, bearing in mind the possibilityof all terror groups uniting together.Interests unite enemies.

This matter does not require a lot ofintelligence. Every world war needs a con-flict somewhere for the interests of greaterpowers to create a new world order. Andwith the large number of terrorist organiza-tions inside Syria, the land is ready.

Even if an alliance is formed nowbetween the great powers to destroy IS, itmay result in a conflict between the majorpowers on how to do so. It appears thatboth Russia and the United States are hold-ing different views about the way thefuture of Syria must be shaped and the roleof terrorist organizations. It seems clearthat Russia finds these organizations athreat to be eliminated, but the UnitedStates’ statements do not seem agreeableto this scenario, especially with the US elec-tion coming soon.

No country is safe today from the possi-bility of a world war. Any fighting herecould spread to other parts of the world,even to faraway countries such as India,Pakistan or the East China Sea region, forexample, especially if China conducts pre-emptive strikes on US military installations.The US will be forced to respond, and theentire Pacific region will then fall into aquagmire of chaos.

Henry Kissinger, former US nationalsecurity adviser, said in an interview recent-ly: “The view of World War III appears on thehorizon with its two ends, which are theUnited States on the one hand and China,Russia and Iran on the other”. He addedthat this war will be a draconian one withone victor - the United States.

That was his point of view. But we are nolonger in the era of World War I and II, andin light of the overlapping of ideologiesand global pandemonium, I do not thinkthat there will be any victors.

Local Spotlight

World War III

Man arrested

with weapons,

ammunition

A police patrol car damaged following an accident atthe Fourth Ring Road.

Weapons and ammunition found with a man who wasarrested yesterday.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A GCC national was arrested with possession ofan AK47 rifle, two guns, a shotgun and some ammunition,said security sources. Case papers indicate that weaponsdetectives had been tipped off concerning the suspect’spossession of unlicensed weapons and on storming hishouse, the weapons were found.

Two suspects arrested with drugs in this handout photo.

Banned substancesTwo Arab men were arrested for possessing and trading

in banned pills, said security sources. Case papers indicatethat narcotics detectives had been tipped off concerningone of the suspects’ activities selling drugs. On storminghis house, detectives found 97 pills he admitted were forsale. The suspect led the police to a compatriot trading inpills as well, and on raiding the second suspect’s house,detectives found 173 pills. A case was field.

Officer injuredA traffic police officer was yesterday injured when a

pickup truck collided into his patrol car as he was tendingto another accident along the Fourth Ring Road, said secu-rity sources. The sources explained that the policeman wasdispatched to examine an accident between two publictransport buses and a citizen’s vehicle, and while he wasdoing so, a vehicle driven by a citizen rammed into thepatrol car. The policeman sustained head and neck injuriesand was rushed to Sabah Hospital.

KUWAIT: The topic of budget sustainabilityis a vital one that was recommended by pre-vious studies, Minister of Social Affairs andLabor and Minister of State for Planning andDevelopment Hind Al-Subaih has said. Astatement by the Secretariat of the SupremeCouncil for Planning and Development(SCPD) yesterday quoted the Minister as say-ing that she understands the topic in light ofthe state reliance on oil by up to 93 percentas the major source of national income.

Subaih made the statement at a panel ses-sion held on Wednesday under the title ‘sus-tainability of Kuwait’s budget,’ the SCPD said.The minister noted that she would movepositively on the topic with ministers andMPs, reiterating eagerness by the SCPD toprepare a relevant report, involving econo-mists. The report will offer recommenda-tions for solving the problems of wage andsubsidy inflation, based on a definitetimetable, she noted. — KUNA

Budget sustainability

vital issue: Minister

KUWAIT: Minister Hind Al-Subaih speaks during a panel session held at theSecretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development. — KUNA

New truck ban hours

on Wafra highway 306

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Interior Ministr y ’sAssistant Undersecretar y forTraff ic Affairs Major GeneralAbdullah Al-Muhannaannounced changing truck banhours along Wafra highwaynumber 306 to 6:00 am - 8:00 aminstead of 6:30 am - 9:30 am, andfrom 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm insteadof 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm. Muhannastressed that reducing the banhours only applied to this specif-ic road due to the very heavytraffic on it.

Food securityThe Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish

Resources (PAAAFR) plans to withdraw all land plots allo-cated for food security from beneficiaries who had notrespected their contract conditions, Acting Director FaisalAl-Hasawi said. Owners of these farms have already beenwarned but they failed to comply within a previous noticeperiod, Hasawi added. Meanwhile, PAAAFR asked themunicipality to provide it with coordinates and satelliteimages of Benaider reservation so that it could be turnedinto a sanctuary for natural desert plants.

Major General Abdullah Al-Muhanna

Dow Chemical’s report to

be returned to committeeBy A Saleh

KUWAIT: Well-informed parliamentarysources said that the government wants toreturn the Dow Chemical’s report to theparliament’s public funds protection com-mittee once it is put up for discussion inTuesday’s session. The sources explainedthat lawmakers disagree concerning thereport and that some of them rejected itbecause the committee had not listened tothe testimonies of former senior oil sectorofficials accused in the case.

KAC staffMP Khalil Al-Saleh stressed that Kuwait

Airways Company’s (KAC) insistence totransfer a large number of its employees toother government bodies with the excusethat they have legal and financial statuseswas not convincing. Saleh added that

resorting to the fatwa and legislationdepartment was but an attempt to givethis ‘suspicious’ decision a legal form andhide behind the decisions taken by the fat-wa department.

Oil projectsThe Kuwaiti-Iraqi joint oil committee

decided postponing some joint oil projectsand further discuss them during the nextmeeting of the joint supreme committeedue to be held next month. Informedsources said the delay was due to technicalproceedings in those projects as well aslow oil prices. The sources added that theIraqi side stressed readiness to act as abridge to deliver Iranian gas to Kuwait oncean agreement was made in this regard,especially since using Iraqi territories wouldbe much easier than building a pipelinebetween Kuwait and Iran.

Authority concludes

campaign to promote

amended bylaws

KUWAIT: Kuwait Capital Market Authority, having conclud-ed first stage of its promotion campaign for amendment ofexecutive bylaws, says the new rules are comprehensiveand compatible with latest regulatory systems operated bysecurity markets worldwide.

The executive bylaws “will constitute a decisive phasewith respect of activity and overhaul of the financial securi-ties market, to be in tandem with the (State) developmentapproach that warrants an adequate investment environ-ment where a competent finance market is one of thefoundations,” the authority said in a statement yesterday.

The campaign for promoting the new modified lawswas carried out through SMSs and other communicationmeans, it said, indicating that it promoted the legal andregulatory rules for supervision, reporting and investigat-ing irregularities, adjudication, complaints’ examination,forms of protests and investigation mechanisms.

The regulations, as promoted in the campaign, dealwith licensing, assets’ evaluation and capital requirementsin some activities. They also cover subjects such as defini-tion of the “market maker,” and role of the authority andthe market in this regard. Second phase of the campaignbegins on Sunday and proceeds till December 22nd.Workshops will address topics such as clients’ funds andassets, rules for managing portfolios, work ethics, rules forcompulsory and voluntary acquisitions. — KUNA

LONDON: The Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) fleet hastransported up to 22 million metric tons (MT) of crude, petro-leum products and liquefied gas around the world with highefficiency since the start of the FY 2015-2016, a senior officialhas said. The KOTC tankers enjoy high confidence of giantfirms of the world’s oil industry, such as British BP, Shell, Total,Exxon Mobil and Chevron, KOTC Fleet Marine OperationsManager Youssef Al-Saqer, also company spokesman, said yes-terday. Saqer noted that the KOTC is keen on applying theworld’s conditions and criteria in line with the maritime trans-port laws. In addition, the KOTC tankers are provided with thelatest equipment for the protection of the environment andefficient consumption of fuel. The KOTC is the strategic trans-port arm of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and theState of Kuwait, Saqer said.

Cargo carriage On Friday, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of

Communication for Transport Sector Mansour Al-Bader saidthat the State of Kuwait, as a major oil exporter, has one of theworld’s most modern fleets. “The Kuwaiti fleet, made up of 350container ships, has a total carriage capacity of 5.1 milliontons,” said Bader, head of Kuwait’s delegation to the 29thAssembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).“Shipping represents 90 percent of the carriage of cargo,including oil, oil by-products and livestock,” he pointed out.

Regarding the efforts to protect marine environment, Al-Bader said Kuwait hosted a regional meeting in 1978 whichculminated into the launching of the Kuwait-based RegionalOrganization for the Protection of the Marine Environment(ROPME). —KUNA

KOTC fleet carries

22m MT of crude

around the globe

L O C A LSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement ofSciences celebrated the commencement of the second 2016KFAS Innovation Challenge and recognized the ten partici-pating Kuwaiti companies in this year’s program. The initia-tive’s goal is to focus on innovation and enhancement ofskills for sustainable growth in the private sector and infusecompetitiveness among leaders to develop their companies.

In his speech at the dinner held at the Sheraton Hotel onthis special occasion, the Foundation’s Director General, DrAdnan Shihab-Eldin, mentioned that KFAS’ “InnovationChallenge 2016” program, in collaboration with the ExecutiveEducation Centre of the University of Cambridge - JudgeBusiness School, is considered one of the leading initiativescatered for the private sector’s support and development.

Private sectorDr Shihab-Eldin also added that the initiative comes as part

of KFAS’s objectives and strategy to support and develop the

Kuwaiti private sector through raising awareness regarding theadvantages of building an internal culture that promotes waysof investing in science, technology and innovation.

The 2016 KFAS Innovation Challenge is a dynamic learn-ing program that runs for a period of six months. The pro-gram is centered around real business challenges that eachteam will bring to the table, obstacles that require them tocreate innovative solutions and strategies. Those challengeswill be explored throughout the program’s phases and theteams will apply their knowledge on their innovation proj-ects. The program starts in November 2015 with workshopsin Kuwait, followed by four months of mentoring on a bi-weekly basis. Mentoring is provided by the CambridgeJudge Business School with a total of eight sessionsbetween January to April of 2016. The third module will takeplace in Cambridge, UK on May 23 - 27 2016 and will be acombination of workshops and site visits to innovative com-panies. While the program fees are covered by KFAS, partici-

pating companies are only responsible for their team’s travelexpenses.

Unique programPeter Hiscocks, CEO, Executive Education; Senior Faculty in

Enterprise and Innovation Management At Cambridge JudgeBusiness School stated “We at Cambridge Judge BusinessSchool are delighted to have partnered with KFAS to developand deliver this unique program. We will challenge the teamsfrom the different Kuwaiti companies and take them throughthe entire innovation process to develop real innovation ini-tiatives that will add value to their organizations.”

The ten participating companies for 2016 are AdvancedTechnology Company, Agility, Axis Solutions Company forComputer Systems, Boubyan Bank, International TurnkeyComputer Systems (ITS), Kuwait Energy, Kuwait FinanceHouse, Mohammed Homoud AL-Shaya, TABco InternationalFood Catering, and Warba Bank.

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK)celebrated the graduation of the ninthbatch of newly hired young Kuwaitis fromthe new Shabab Training Program. The pro-gram is specially designed to develop theskills of newly recruited diploma holders aspart of NBK’s strategy to attract and devel-op young Kuwaitis.

NBK organized a special ceremony forthe graduation of the newly hired youngKuwaitis. The ceremony was attended byEmad Ahmed Al Ablani, NBK GeneralManager, Human Resources Group, withsenior leaders from the bank.

Shabab Program is the first initiative ofits kind in the private sector in Kuwaitdesigned to develop the skills of diplomaholders, and is part of NBK’s strategy to

attract young Kuwaitis by offering them arange of career and professional develop-ment opportunities.

NBK Shabab Training Program extendsover a period of two and a half months andis specially tailored to provide trainees withtheoretical and practical skills covering thedifferent aspects of the banking industry.

NBK`s training programs include NBKAcademy which aims to train and developthe professional skills of fresh graduates,the Summer Internship Program for highschool and college students, in addition toprofessional training and developmentprograms especially designed and provid-ed by world renowned institutions toenhance the skills of the Bank’s young lead-ership members.

KUWAIT: The 40th Kuwait book fair wit-nessed this year the publication of booksby young authors who had overcomeobstacles and many hardships to get theirbooks out to the public. In a number ofinterviews with KUNA, the authors spokeabout their journey and how they hadfaced several challenges to publish theirbooks.

Ali Khalfan, 14, said that he faced vari-ous hardships in order to publish his bookHalet Fuqdan (missing case), focusing onthe loss of friendship. He noted that somepublishing companies had set somebizarre conditions to allow young writersto issue their books, affirming that somewriters had to use some questionablemethods to get their books published.

Khalfan stressed that in order to pro-tect the rights of youth authors, a unionshould be established. He affirmed thatsuch union will reinforce cooperationamong young writers and enable them tocoordinate more effectively.

In a similar view, author of the book‘Benjamin,’ a tale of a youth strugglingwith faith, Abulwahab Al-Qatari, 17, criti-

cized some publication houses for not tak-ing risks with young writers. The lack ofbelief in young writers is a major issue thatprevents many from putting out their orig-inal content, said Qatari, who attributedthe publication of his book to the unyield-ing support by his family and friends. Hehoped that one day a club for young writ-ers will be established to meet the need ofcreative youth.

Reflecting a different experience,Author Jumana Ashkanani, 17, said thatshe currently focused on writing romantic-themed and drama books, noting that par-taking in the fair had enabled her to getexposed to other styles of writing andauthors. The young writer said that shewas glad to have been supported by herfamily and publishing houses through hershort career which thus far had producedthe book ‘Layali’, a story of a teenager girlforced to take responsibility and decisionsat a young age. Ashkanani added that shehad received a considerable amount ofconstructive criticism and pointers whichshe will use to improve herself in thefuture. — KUNA

KFAS celebrates commencement

of 2016 Innovation Challenge

KFAS’ Director General Adnan Shihab-Eldin talks with guests at the ceremony.KUWAIT: KFAS’ Director General Adnan Shihab-Eldinspeaks at a dinner held to celebrate the commencement ofthe second 2016 KFAS Innovation Challenge.

Somaya Al-Jassim speaks.

Peter Hiscocks speaks at the event.

KUWAIT: Emad Al-Ablani, NBK General Manager, Human Resources Group, and NBK officials in a group photo with the graduates.

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunicationscompany in Kuwait, announced that internationalspeaker David Allen recently facilitated a one-dayseminar as part of its lead partnership of‘Knowledge Club’ for the second year running.The initiative, organized by Vigor Events, is con-sidered one of the biggest training programs inthe country, and hosts some of the world’s topexperts and speakers throughout the year.

Zain was keen to reserve a number of exclu-sive seats for its employees throughout the yearfor them to attend the workshops and seminarsthe club organizes. This seminar, entitled ‘GettingThings Done’, was facilitated by internationalexpert and speaker David Allen, inventor of theGTD methodology and the world’s leading experton personal and organizational productivity.Allen’s pioneering research, coaching, and educa-tion for over 30 years earned him Forbes’ recogni-tion as one of the top five executive coaches inthe United States.

During the seminar, Allen mainly discussedhow employees can create a path for themselvesto get in control of their world and maintain aperspective in both their personal and profession-al lives. The international expert also shared hiseffective GTD methodology, which is a total work-life management system that transforms over-whelm into an integrated system of stress-free

productivity. Zain is keen on finding and provid-ing the best development programs to its humanresources, with the aim to raise their skills up tointernational standards. The company will contin-ue to invite the most renowned internationalspeakers and innovative thinkers to share theirexperiences with its employees.

It is worth mentioning that Zain’s lead partner-

ship with Knowledge Club 2015 highlights itscontinuous efforts in providing its employeeswith a platform that brings together internationalexperts from several areas. Zain aims at support-ing the development of human resources, andthe company firmly believes that in strengthen-ing its relationship with the society in which itoperates in.

Zain: David Allen facilitated

‘Getting Things Done’ seminar

Company lead partner of ‘Knowledge Club’

NBK celebrates new Shabab

Training Program graduates

Kuwaiti youth writers

overcome hardships to

publish their books

KUWAIT: International speaker David Allen speaks during a seminar held as part of Zain’s partner-ship of ‘Knowledge Club.’

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Environment Protection Society(KEPS) has organized a series of environmental open daysin nine schools within the program dubbed ‘greenschools’ in its fifth edition. A number of lectures and spe-cialized workshops in the areas of birds, environmentalpolice, the law of environmental protection and recyclingof plastic waste were held.

Member of the programs and activities department inthe society Aseel Al-Thuwaini said that the society hostedstudent delegations of nine public and private schoolswhere they became acquainted with the sources, risks,and the process of recycling plastic.

She added that the students also became aware of howto sort waste and proper ways to get rid of them as well asa screening mechanism, collection and reducing waste incollaboration with the society’s banner ‘green schools.’

She explained that the society targets the participa-tion of 25 schools in those specialized themes, includingat least 500 additional beneficiaries of students andteachers, indicating that about 15 environmental clubsparticipated in student groups and will receive a certifi-cate from KEPS. — KUNA

KEPS organizes environmental open days

KUWAIT: A workshop held as part of environmental open days, organized byKuwait Environment Protection Society. — KUNA

An environmental activity held as part of KEPS’ open days at schools.

KUWAIT: Motivated by its role in keepingup with the population growth and urbanexpansion around Kuwait, the Ministry ofHealth (MOH) is currently in the process ofexecuting a number of mega projects tobuild public hospitals and health care cen-ters in order to finish them according toschedule.

In this regard, the 2009-2010 MOHbudget allocated KD 1.25 billion to build‘medical towers’ in various areas aroundKuwait within the state’s developmentplan as well as MOH’s program to develophealth services, reduce medical appoint-ments’ waiting time and end patients suf-ferings while waiting to receive proper

treatment. The projects include the JaberHospital, the new Amiri Hospital Tower,developing Al-Sabah, Farwaniya, Adan,and the infectious diseases hospitals aswell as the Kuwait Cancer Control Center(KCCC). The projects also include the IbnSina hospital development project, whichis about to be offered for public bidding,and the Jahra hospital development proj-ect that is being handled by the AmiriDiwan.

Informed sources added that ministerDr Ali Al-Obaidi was personally followingup with the projects to make sure theywould finish on schedule. The sourcesadded that according to plans, there

would be 125 polyclinics in Kuwait by2018. The sources also noted that once fin-ished, the Jaber Hospital would include1,168 beds, adding that the total cost forbuilding the Amiri Hospital Tower was KD11 million.

Meanwhile, high-ranking sources atthe General Secretariat of the SupremeCouncil of Planning and Developmentsaid that a proposal concerning the priva-tization of public hospitals’ administra-tions according to the public-private-part-nership (PPP) principles had been dis-cussed, adding that further meetings withMOH officials would be held in thisregard. — Al-Qabas, Al-Anbaa

MOH races to build

towers, hospitals

FROM THE ARABIC PRESSSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Many human communities have their ownancient glories that remind them of days whenthey used to have more power and dominate

more areas than the ones they currently inhabit. TheTurks had their Ottoman Empire, Italians had the RomanEmpire, and before them, the Greeks, the Persians, theSpaniards and the Portuguesehad their own empires. In morerecent years, Great Britain had aworldwide empire that wasknown as “the empire on whichthe sun never sets”, that domi-nated most lands on earth.

Those old days were ones ofmilitary expansions and Arabswere no exceptions. They hadtheir military glories and greatconquests. However, Arabs arethe only ones worldwidelamenting and complainingabout losing this ancient glory, feeling sorry about thepast and crying for losing their powers in the Iberianpeninsula (Andalusia) as if they are the only nation that

had expanded at the expense of other peoples and tookcontrol of others’ lands.

Arabs sigh of lamenting this ‘glorious past’ hasbecome a major element for spreading terrorism andpsychological barriers with the entire world, simplybecause people have been confusing history and reli-

gion on explaining the reasonsbehind what happened. Arabconquests have been portrayedas religious holy wars madeunder the Muslim caliphate dur-ing the reigns of Umayyad andAbbasid caliphs. This made thosewho do not lament or care forlosing that ‘historic and religious’legacy seem like infidels whowould rejoice on seeing thedecline of religion, though factsshow that we are currently livingin countries that impose Islamic

regulations more than the Umayyad and Abbasids everdid!

— Translated by Kuwait Times

History of crying

Al-Anbaa

By Salah Al-Sayer

Al-Jarida

Congratulations,

cabbage! May the

same apply to fatteh

and masgouf!

Al-Qabas

By Adnan Farzat

In my name and on behalf of heritage lovers who areclose to me, we do extend our heartiest congratulationsto ‘cabbage’, because it is about to be classified as part of

heritage by UNESCO, and thus a cabbage dish will be treatedjust like all other monuments protected by UNESCO in Iraqand Syria, ones that were shattered to dust right before theireyes while they did nothing but blueprint them in 3D, hop-ing to rebuild them someday. Seeing those monuments willbe more like watching a 3D movie and we will imagine thatwe are actually touring them, then laugh at what we didonce the movie finishes.

The BBC said UNESCO was about to add the famousKorean dish kimchi (pickled cabbage) to a list of cultural her-itage items. We congratulate them and beg their pardon fornot congratulating them when they were awarded the title,because we were busy watching the winged bull statue inIraq and Palmyra monuments in Syria turn into ashes.However, this is no excuse for us, because the living are moreimportant than the dead. What if stone monuments thathave existed for thousands of years get destroyed, com-pared to a hot delicious spicy and sour dish of cabbage?!

To avoid being taken lightly in what I am saying aboutkimchi, this particular dish has had many privileges thatmany people did not. In 2008, it was taken into space by aSouth Korean astronaut. Therefore, UNESCO ought to givedue care to cabbage even more than it ever gave to ourdestroyed monuments. It should appoint a special guard toeach and every cabbage dish to protect it from theft orbeing vandalized. Who knows, someone might intrude insomebody’s cabbage dish in a restaurant after seeing nice-smelling steam coming out and reach out to steal a bite!

It would also be a disaster if cabbage crops were dam-aged by the same frost and blizzards killing refugees incamps they have been displaced into. What if cabbage cropsdie out? Will the Koreans make the same dish using frozencabbage? If they did, will UNESCO protect frozen cabbage aswell? The situation is very dangerous and calls for immediateaction, because as we know, North Korea has nuclear pow-ers.

I wish the UNESCO would, besides protecting Iraqi andSyrian monuments, protect two famous Arab dishes - fattehin the Levant and masgouf fish in Iraq.

— Translated by Kuwait Times

The coming

Syrian volcano

Al-Jarida

By Dr Hassan Jouhar

The Middle East is now over the mouth of a veryactive volcano that is about to erupt after theshooting down of the Russian fighter with Turkish

missiles while it was striking terrorist groups in Syria.This incident will not pass peacefully in view the dan-gerous acceleration in the Russian attitude and thestatements made by President Putin, who described theincident as a “stab in the back by Turkey”, then changedhis words to a “declaration of war against Russia”. Healso accused President Erdogan of being a “majorregional supporter of IS”.

The Turkish attitude, itself, seemed weird and unjus-tified. It coincided with very rapid developments afterthe terrorist attacks in France. Some official and non-official European voices started calling for choking cer-tain countries they pinpointed, including Turkey, accus-ing them of ideologically and politically supporting rad-ical armed organizations through facilitating their oper-ations and providing them with logistic and financialsupport. Western demands even went as far as holdingthose countries accountable even if they were allies. Atthe same time, Russia was beginning to achieve fieldvictories in such a short period and managed to dowhat the US allied forces failed to do in two years.

Many strategic analysts justify Turkey’s, Western andeven, some regional countries’ disturbance by theRussian interference in Syria by the destruction Moscowmanaged to afflict upon terrorist insurgents, their head-quarters, lines of oil supply and infrastructure. TheRussian strikes included IS and other insurgents whoare deemed as ‘negotiation tools’ in the hands of someregional and international powers who intend to usethem in the coming Vienna meeting. In other words,the Russians have been achieving both military andpolitical achievements and victories and the ones whowould be most affected with such victories are theTurks, who have fully supporting toppling the Syrianregime, which is becoming impossible.

Therefore, shooting down the Russian fighter byTurkish planes, ambushing it flying out of a NATO baseand its falling in territories controlled by SyrianTurkmen, has very clear indications of forcing the entireNATO into the problem to back up Turkey. Therefore,the quick Russian reaction to shooting down one of itsplanes by deploying its S300 and S400 missiles alongTurkish borders will surely be responded to by deploy-ing NATO’s missiles along the other side of the Syrianborders, which is similar to what happened betweenthe Soviet Union and US when they divided Europe intoeastern and western sides during the Cold War withonly one major difference this time - the war in Syria isno longer cold. In fact it is becoming extremely hot andmight even get hotter within the next few days.

The prime beneficiary of shifting the confrontationinto one between regional countries and major powersis IS and other terrorist organizations who are currentlyvery capable of reaching central Europe as they did inParis.

— Translated by Kuwait Time

Arabs sigh of lamentingthis ‘glorious past’ has

become a major elementfor spreading terrorism

and psychological barri-ers with the entire world

CrimeR e p o r t

Convicted drugdealer arrested

KUWAIT: A man, who had been wanted for a four-yearprison verdict for abusing and trading in drugs, was arrest-ed in a workshop in Jahra industrial area, said securitysources, noting that the suspect tried to escape but wascontrolled and referred to relevant authorities.

Swine fluWell-informed health sources said that four swine flu caseswere discovered amongst students of a private school inSalmiya, and that by examining other students as a precau-tionary measure, they were all found clear of the H1N1 virus.The sources also stressed that swine flu was no longer dan-gerous and that it was only as dangerous as seasonal flu,unless infected people suffer from other chronic diseasessuch as diabetes, blood pressure, heart or lung diseases.

Medical errorThe court of appeal sentenced a private plastic surgeryclinic to pay the family of a patient who died becauseof a medical error at the clinic the sum of KD 50,000.

Dress stolenA popular female Kuwaiti stylist and designer reported thatanother popular female artiste had borrowed a dress fromher to use for a film session, but did not return it. The stylisturged the police to act and recover her expensive dress.

Duo hurt in fightA citizen and a bedoon were injured in a fight insideTaima police station in Jahra, said security sources, not-ing that the two men were at the station over somefinancial claims. The sources added that on being takento Jahra Hospital, both men’s relatives rushed there tofinish the fight, but security sources held them back.

ForgeryTwo persons were arrested for registering mobile phone linesunder the names of other citizens and expats without their knowl-edge, said security sources, noting that the case was discoveredwhen an Egyptian man reported finding a line registered underhis name without his knowledge. The suspects confessed to usingothers’ ID photocopies in purchasing the lines and reselling themto people who wanted to buy mobile phone lines without beinglinked to them. — Al-Rai

Smuggling foiledNuwaiseeb customs inspectors foiled two smuggling attempts- a citizen and a Saudi were arrested with five liquor bottles anda Bahraini was arrested with some witchcraft items.

‘Missing’ girl foundA woman was arrested in Sharq late at night, after police stoppedher and found she was missing for 12 days, as a case was lodgedat Salmiya police station. The girl was sent to the relevant policestation for processing, who handed her to her family.

Shopper assaultedTwo men beat a woman inside a co-op society without an appar-ent reason, according to her statements. The woman filed a com-plaint at Salam police station. — Al-Rai

No income tax

plans: Ministry

KUWAIT: Kuwait has no plans to enforce incometaxes on individuals at any time since it enjoys astrong financial situation and stays committed tothe rentier state concept, a senior FinanceMinistry official said.

Speaking about Kuwait ’s budget during arecent inter view with Kuwait Radio FM,Undersecretary Khalifa Hamada said that whilereducing the payroll of the public sector whicheats up the majority of the budget remains anunfeasible option, Kuwait must not expand it inorder to prevent increasing the budget deficit.

On governmental projects, Hamada indicatedthat there are no plans to postpone strategic proj-ects with an economic dimension, but reiteratedthat “now is not a suitable time for the govern-ment to expand organizational structures andestablish new authorities.” — Al-Qabas

‘Opinion’ cases not included

in extradition agreement

KUWAIT: An agreement that Kuwait and the UnitedKingdom signed last Thursday on extradition and judicialassistance in criminal matters does not cover people accusedof instigating sectarian tensions because the British law classi-fies that as an opinion rather than being a criminal offense.The extradition of convicts between the two countries willrequire approval from the UK’s ministry of justice, a Kuwaitigovernment sources said. He added that the agreement wasnot signed with the intention of extraditing certain individu-als, but rather to establish a legal framework that enablesauthorities in both countries to exchange assistance in crimi-nal matters, such as confiscating evidence. — Al-Qabas

KUWAIT: This file photo shows the Jaber Hospital under construction.

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Education (MoE)has suspended the files of around 200Arabic and foreign private schools for vio-lating the rules and regulations set by theministry, said informed educationalsources, noting that the decision led tofreezing around 800 transactions mainlyconcerning renewing teachers’ and staffresidency visas because they were onlydoable through the private educationdirectorate.

The sources explained that most viola-tions were in the form of unlawfully increas-ing tuition fees and not paying teacherswages stipulated in various ministry deci-sions. The sources added said that theaffected schools urged the MoE assistantundersecretary for private education to

help complete the transactions to avoidlegal accountability if teachers and staffmembers’ residencies expire.

Notably, these strict measures wereordered by Minister Bader Al-Essa, whocalled for applying the law on all schoolsand not allowing tuition fee increasesunless by ministerial decisions.“Accordingly, the problem will remainunsolved until the minister is back,” stressedthe sources.

Teachers arrestedIn a different concern, the quadruple

committee comprising of elements formthe Ministry of Interior, Ministry of SocialAffairs and Labor, Kuwait Municipality andMinistry of Commerce and Indusrtry

recently arrested 52 teachers (including 25working for MoE) who were working for aprivate institute in Hawally in violation ofresidency laws. Informed sources said thaton storming an institute supposedly teach-ing computer courses, the committeefound out that it had been turned into acenter for private tuitions. In another edu-cational development, well-informedsources said that orders had been issued torefer a school director for investigation overprolonging the school day until 2:30 pmwith the excuse of having to cover theschool curriculum without being author-ized by the ministry. The sources addedthat once the concerned school is identi-fied, its director would be referred for inves-tigations. — Al-Jarida, Al-Anbaa

MoE suspends 200

private school files 52 illegal teachers arrested at private institute

Recent ruling suggests

joining IS not

criminalized in Kuwait

GCC mulls blacklist

KUWAIT: Kuwait lacks a legislation that criminalizesthe Islamic State (IS), therefore persons accused ofbelonging to the terrorist organization cannot beconvicted. This is according to a recent court orderwhich acquitted a Kuwaiti man of charges of fightingwith IS in Syria, saying that the court does not havethe jurisdiction to decide on whether a society, groupor organization was banned or not.

According to the sentence paper made onOctober 21, 2015, says that ‘while the legislator hasbanned societies, associations or groups that spreadprinciples that seek destruction of the basic stan-dards of the country, he did not give specifications onconsidering a society, group or organization as illegal,nor did he authorize a legal tool by which this can bedetermined.”

“If a suspect had joined the so-called Islamic State,and regardless of the principles that the group isbased on and which the court has no say in, hisaction cannot be considered a criminal one,” Al-Qabasdaily reported yesterday quoting the sentencepapers.

GCC blacklistIn other news, Al-Jarida daily reported quoting

government sources saying that Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) countries plan soon to issue a unifiedlist that includes names of terrorists, fugitives anddeportees on order to prevent them from movingfrom one GCC state to another. In addition to his orher name, the list would include a person’s fingerprintor eye print, the source said, adding that this issuehas been discussed during a recent meeting for GCCinterior ministers. — Al-Qabas, Al-Jarida

Top Kurdish lawyer killed in Turkey

Page 8

Angry Cubans protest at Ecuador visa rule

Page 9

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Erdogan regrets plane downing

Turkey warns against Russia travel in tit-for-tat

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yester-day voiced regret over Turkey’s downing of a Russian war-plane, saying his country was “truly saddened” by the inci-dent and wished it hadn’t occurred. It was the first expres-sion of regret by the strongman leader since Tuesday’s inci-dent in which Turkish F-16 jets shot down the Russian jeton grounds that it had violated Turkey’s airspace despiterepeated warnings to change course. It was the first time inhalf a century that a NATO member shot down a Russianplane and drew a harsh response from Moscow.

“We are truly saddened by this incident,” Erdogan said.“We wish it hadn’t happened as such, but unfortunatelysuch a thing has happened. I hope that something like thisdoesn’t occur again.” Addressing supporters in the westerncity of Balikesir, Erdogan said neither country should allowthe incident to escalate and take a destructive form thatwould lead to “saddening consequences”.

He renewed a call for a meeting with President VladimirPutin on the sidelines of a climate conference in Paris nextweek, saying it would be an opportunity to overcome ten-sions. Erdogan’s friendly overture however, came after heagain vigorously defended Turkey’s action and criticizedRussia for its operations in Syria. “If we allow our sovereignrights to be violated ... then the territory would no longerbe our territory,” Erdogan said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said hehoped a meeting between Erdogan and Putin would takeplace in Paris. “In such situations it is important to keep thechannels of communication open,” he said. Putin hasdenounced the Turkish action as a “treacherous stab in theback”, and has insisted that the plane was downed overSyrian territory in violation of international law. He has alsorefused to take telephone calls from Erdogan. Putin’s for-eign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday that theKremlin had received Erdogan’s request for a meeting, butwouldn’t say whether such a meeting is possible.

Asked why Putin hasn’t picked up the phone to respondto Erdogan’s two phone calls, he said that “we have seenthat the Turkish side hasn’t been ready to offer an elemen-tary apology over the plane incident”. After the incident,Russia deployed long-range S-400 air defense missile sys-tems to a Russian air base in Syria just 50 km south of theborder with Turkey to help protect Russian warplanes, andthe Russian military warned it would shoot down any aerialtarget that would pose a potential threat to its planes.

Russia has since also restricted tourist travel to Turkey,left Turkish trucks stranded at the border, confiscated largequantities of Turkish food imports and started preparing araft of broader economic sanctions. Yesterday, Turkey issueda travel warning urging its nationals to delay non-urgentand unnecessary travel to Russia, saying Turkish travelerswere facing “problems” in the country. It said Turks shoulddelay travel plans until “the situation becomes clear”. —AP

BAYBURT, Turkey: Turkey’s President Recep TayyipErdogan addresses a rally in this town on Friday. — AP

Blogger could

be pardoned:

Swiss officialGENEVA: A procedure for obtaining a pardon from SaudiArabia’s king is under way for jailed blogger Raif Badawi,whose flogging sentence created worldwide outrage, a seniorSwiss official said yesterday. “A procedure for a pardon is nowunder way before the head of state, that is King Salman,” YvesRossier, the secretary of state at the foreign ministry, said inthe newspaper La Liberte yesterday. Rossier had raised theblogger’s case during an official visit to Riyadh this week.

The European Parliament last month awarded Badawi, 31,its Sakharov human rights prize. Announcing the award, par-liament chief Martin Schulz called on King Salman to immedi-ately release Badawi, denouncing his 10-year jail term andflogging sentence as “brutal torture”. Badawi co-founded theSaudi Liberal Network Internet discussion group.

He was detained in 2012 on cybercrime charges and latersentenced for insulting Islam and calling for the end of theinfluence of religion on public life. Badawi received the first50 lashes of his 1,000 lashes sentence in January but therehave been no more, following criticism from the EuropeanUnion, United States, Sweden, Canada, the United Nationsand others.

His lawyer Walid Abulkhair, who is also in prison, receivedFriday in Geneva an international human rights prize from theEuropean bar associations for his work defending rights in theoil-rich kingdom. Abulkhair founded a human rights observa-tory in Saudi Arabia. He was sentenced last year to 15 years inprison on charges of trying to undermine the state and insult-ing the judiciary.

South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, whilestill in prison, was the first in 1985 to receive the LudovicTrarieux International Human Rights Prize, awarded byEuropean bar associations to lawyers who defend humanrights and fight against intolerance and racism. —Agencies

CAIRO: A drive-by shooting killed fourEgyptian police near a famed historic siteon the outskirts of Cairo yesterday and amilitary helicopter crashed due to a “sud-den technical failure” northeast of thecapital, officials said. Masked gunmen ona motorcycle opened fire on a securitycheckpoint near Saqqara, said police MajGen Khaled Shalaby. The tourist site ishome to the 4,600-year-old Step Pyramid.No one immediately claimed the attack.

The helicopter was on a reconnais-sance mission northeast of Cairo in theIsmailia province, the military said in astatement. It said crew members wereinjured, without specifying the numberhurt or the severity. Egypt has been bat-tling a growing insurgency in the north-ern Sinai Peninsula led by a local IslamicState affiliate, which has mainly targetedsoldiers and police there, but has alsoclaimed attacks elsewhere in Egypt.

The militant group claimed responsi-bility for the crash of a Russian passengerplane in Sinai last month, saying it smug-gled a bomb on board the airliner. Russiasaid the plane was downed by a bomband suspended flights to Egypt. Egypt hasnot commented on the cause of thecrash, saying an investigation is stillunderway.

President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi mean-while inaugurated the construction ofanother side channel for the Suez Canal,the latest step in a multi-year effort toexpand the crucial waterway and pro-mote investment. The militant attacksspiked after Sisi led the 2013 militaryoverthrow of President Mohamed Morsiand launched a sweeping crackdown onhis Islamist supporters. The governmenthas struggled to combat the Sinai-basedinsurgency while trying to jump-start theeconomy after years of unrest. — AP

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: A leading Kurdish lawyer wasshot dead yesterday in southeast Turkey after unknownattackers opened fire on a gathering in the mainlyKurdish province of Diyarbakir, triggering a shootoutwith police, local officials and witnesses said. Theunknown assailants shot at Tahir Elci, head of the barassociation in Diyarbakir, and 40 other activists as theywere giving a press statement near a mosque in thecity’s Sur district, according to witnesses. The policeimmediately returned fire, they said.

Southeast Turkey has been rocked by a new wave ofunrest that has left several hundred people dead sincea two-year-old truce between Ankara and the KurdistanWorkers’ Party (PKK) fell apart in July. Elci, who had beendetained in October for alleged “terrorist propaganda”on behalf of the PKK, died at the scene of gunshotwounds to his left eye, hospital sources told AFP.Diyarbakir governor’s office said in a statement thatone policeman was also killed and two police wereinjured in the shootout. “Elci lost his life during clashesthat erupted at the same location,” the statement said.

A hunt for the attackers was under way while clash-

es were continuing throughout the Sur district, whereauthorities have declared a curfew, an AFP correspon-dent reported. State-run Anatolia news agency claimedthat members of the PKK were behind the incident,while the Dogan news agency, quoting witnesses, saida bearded man had opened fire on the group. In videofootage released by Dogan, a man hiding behind theminaret of the mosque is seen shooting at Elci, 49.Since June there have been three deadly attacks onpro-Kurdish activists blamed on the Islamic State (IS),including the Oct 10 suicide bombings at a peace rallyin Ankara that killed 103.

‘Determined to Fight Terrorism’ Speaking after the incident in western Balikesir

province, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saidhe was saddened by the death of Elci. “This incidentshows how Turkey is right in its determination in thefight against terrorism,” he said. Elci was released pend-ing his trial over an interview in which he said the PKK,which has killed dozens of Turkish soldiers since theresumption of hostilities, was not a terrorist organiza-

tion. “The PKK is a political movement which has impor-tant political demands and which enjoys widespreadsupport, even if some of its actions are of a terroristnature,” he had told CNN Turk television, sparking anger.He had risked up to seven years in prison.

The separatist PKK, which launched an uprisingagainst the Turkish state in 1984, is considered a terror-ist organisation by Turkey, the United States and theEuropean Union. The government began peace talks in2012 with the imprisoned head of the PKK, AbdullahOcalan, but the negotiations fell through in the run-upto the general election in June.

Ankara unleashed a new air war against PKK rebelsfollowing a wave of attacks blamed on the group,destroying a 2013 truce and hopes of fresh talks to enda conflict that has claimed 45,000 lives since 1984. Sincethen, Kurdish fighters have staged almost daily attacksagainst members of the security forces, killing morethan 150 Turkish police and soldiers. Kurds accuse thegovernment of collaborating with the IS group, butAnkara denies the charges and has recently stepped upraids against IS suspects. — AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

MNIHLA, Tunisia: On Tuesday morning,Houssam Abdelli quickly finished his coffee ata cafe on the outskirts of Tunis where he andhis friends would gather to watch theirfavorite football players in action. Hours later,he boarded a bus carrying presidential guardsto work along one of the capital’s main thor-oughfares, clasped the detonator of his 10-kilo Semtex explosive vest, and blew himselfup. Abdelli, a 26-year-old street vendor, wasformally named this week by investigators asthe man who killed 12 guards and wounded20 people, including four civilians.

Friends and neighbors in the Cite al-Joumhouriya district of Mnihla, a northernsuburb of Tunis, spoke of their shock thatAbdelli could be capable of inflicting one ofthe worst ever attacks on Tunisia’s securityforces. “Houssam was a football fan. He sup-ported Club Africain,” one of Tunis’ most suc-cessful teams, said Walid, 27. “We often wentto the cafe to play cards and watch Spanishleague games. He was also a very good foot-ball player, to the point where we nicknamedhim Pereira” after the Brazilian defender FabioPereira. According to residents who spoke toAFP, Abdelli’s family is “not particularly poor”.When he quit high school as a teenager, hisfather built an annex to the family home soHoussam could “settle and get married”. Aneighbor who asked not to be nameddescribed him as “a polite young man, whoalways said hello to everyone”. But friendsrecall Abdelli undergoing a gradual change,withdrawing more and more from society,and shunning the alcohol and drugs he hadonce dabbled in.

About a year ago, locals noticed Abdellihad stopped being so approachable. “I spoketo his father and he told me that he hadchanged after becoming very religious,” theneighbor said. According to Walid, Abdelli had“turned totally in on himself”. “Before, we hada few drinks together and smoked cannabis.Suddenly, he became another person and vis-ited a mosque that was controlled by Salafistjihadists,” he said. “But no one can believe hecould carry out such an atrocity.”

August Arrest IS’s claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s

attack - which follows deadly assaults onTunis’s National Bardo Museum in March andat a Mediterranean holiday resort in June -included a picture of Abdelli vir tuallyunrecognisable to his friends. He appears tobe wearing a suicide vest, his head shroudedin a white scarf, with one finger pointing sky-wards. Friends recount a number of disputesAbdelli had in recent months. “One day hemet me and called me a ‘devil’ because I wasdrinking alcohol. I was very upset but I didn’trespond because I know his father is a goodman,” said Mehdi, who only gave his firstname.

A cafe waiter said Abdelli “had a fight withone of his neighbors who works for the presi-dential guards. He called him ‘taghout’” -tyrant in Arabic - a term used by extremistswhen describing security forces. “LastTuesday, he came as usual in the morning,drank his coffee fast and left without saying aword,” the waiter said.

That night, residents of Cite al-Joumhouriya were plunged into mourning:One guard killed in the attack, AmourKhayati, was from the neighborhood.Interviewed by local television, the familysaid they suspected Abdelli had followedKhayati’s movements for several days leadingup to the attack. A security source told AFPthat Abdelli had “pretended to be a streetvendor in order to spy on the houses ofpolice”. “At the start of November he pho-tographed the residence of a National Guardofficer and marked the spot. The officer’s wifesaw him and he fled. She identified him froma photograph,” the source added.

Another warning sign, according to aneighbor, was that Abdelli had beendetained by police in August. “We heard thathe tried to go to Syria but had been stopped,”she said. Another security source told AFPthat extremist literature had been seizedfrom Abdelli after his arrest. “We arrest thesepotential terrorists but the courts free them,”the source said. — AFP

Friends shocked at Tunisian

football fan turned bomber

AL-HOL, Syria: Outside her home in a town ofnortheast Syria, four-year-old Baydaa scribbleson a leaflet of religious rules left behind by theIslamic State group as they fled earlier thismonth. Her face is adorned with make-up ofthe sort banned by the jihadist group, whichwas expelled from Al-Hol by a new US-backedcoalition of Kurdish and Arab forces that over-ran the area on Nov 12. The town was once akey waystation for IS between the territory itholds in Iraq and Syria, and its capture was astrategic victory for the new Syrian DemocraticForces (SDF) coalition.

But it is also a chance for residents tobreathe easy again. “My little daughter Baydaahas put kohl on her eyes and makeup on herface, which was forbidden when the ‘organiza-tion’ was here,” said Baydaa’s father, HamdanAhmed, referring to IS. “I’m so happy not to seethem in our village anymore,” the 39-year-oldtold AFP. When IS seized Al-Hol two years earli-er, Ahmed refused to leave his home in the Al-Shallal suburb of the town.

As a result, he was forced to abide by thegroup’s strict rules based on their harsh inter-pretation of Islam. Women were forced to cov-er up completely, and men to keep their facesunshaved. Parents were ordered to send chil-dren under the age of 12 to religious schoolsrun by IS “to avoid punishment or beingwhipped”, the father-of-nine told AFP.

Trapped for Two Years Elsewhere in the suburb, on the dusty

sandy outskirts of the town, 42-year-oldMariam fed a small herd of sheep by a row ofmud houses, including her own modest home.“We left the village during the fighting aftershells landed in our food store. We lost grainfor the sheep, lentils and flour and were leftwith nothing to eat,” she said. Even though thejihadist group is now far from her home,Mariam is still afraid they may return and cov-ers her face with her headscarf when speakingto strangers. She wears a long colorful dressthat is traditional in the conservative region,but would not have met the strictures of IS.“When IS was here, any woman who left homewithout a face veil and black robes would facewhipping,” she said. With IS gone, local resi-dents who survive mostly on agriculture andlivestock, are trickling back to check on theirhomes and their land.

“For two years, I couldn’t sow my landbecause Daesh prevented us from leaving theareas under its control to get what we needed,like seeds and oil” for agricultural machinery,said 44-year-old Hamid Nasser, using theArabic acronym for IS. The capture of Al-Holand the surrounding villages was the firstmajor victory for the SDF, an alliance of thepowerful Kurdish People’s Protection Units(YPG) and Arab and Christian armed opposi-

tion groups. The alliance is backed by the US-led coalition fighting IS, and has received airdrops of American weapons to support itsfight against the jihadists. Al-Hol in particularwas considered a strategic win for the group,severing a key route used by IS between its ter-ritories in Iraq and Syria.

Religious Slogans on Walls In the town, IS’ slogans and strictures can

still be seen, particularly those encouragingreligious practice and the wearing of the veil.“Sister in niqab, how wonderful and beautifulyou are in your chastity,” reads one. On barber’sshops, signs still hang reading “Dear brothers,shaving or trimming the beard is forbidden”.And on walls are slogans including: “In thecaliphate, there are no bribes, no corruptionand no nepotism.”

For the SDF, the challenge now is to securethe approximately 200 towns and villages,some of them home to no more than a dozenpeople, that it has captured from IS in recentweeks and set up a new local administration.While the SDF is dominated by Kurdish fight-ers, the region where the force is advancing ismajority-Arab, raising potential sensitivities.Elsewhere, the YPG has faced charges of dis-crimination against Arab residents, withAmnesty International last month accusing itof “war crimes” in north and northeast Syria.

The rights group claimed Kurdish forces hadcarried out a “deliberate, coordinated campaignof collective punishment of civilians in villagespreviously captured by IS”. The YPG dismissedthose claims and has pointed to its strong tieswith some Arab militias to ridicule allegationsof discrimination. SDF spokesman Talal Ali Sello

told AFP that civilians were being allowed toreturn to captured areas after they were clearedof explosives, which IS frequently sows in areasbefore it retreats. He said his forces are working“on the creation of a political body tied to a mil-itary entity that will oversee the liberated areasin the coming period.” — AFP

Top Kurdish lawyer

shot dead in TurkeyPoliceman also killed in crossfire

Life returns to Syrian town after IS ousted

DIYARBAKIR: Tahir Elci, the head of Diyarbakir Bar Association, speaks to the media shortly before being killed yesterday. — AP

AL-HOL, Syria: Two Syrian civilians chat with fighters from the SyrianDemocratic Forces (SDF) on the road leading to the Al-Shallal suburb ofthis northeastern town in Syria’s Hasakeh province on Nov 19, 2015 afterthey retook control of the area from Islamic State. — AFP

Drive-by shooting kills

4 Egyptian policemen

SAQQARA, Egypt: Policeman Magdy Ibrahim Abdel Azim’s body lies in a pool ofblood at the scene of a drive-by shooting on a security checkpoint on the out-skirts of Cairo yesterday. — AP

BAMAKO: Two UN peacekeepers and acivilian contractor were killed in a rock-et attack yesterday on a UN base innortheast Mali, a week after a deadlysiege at a Bamako hotel claimed byjihadists. “Our camp in Kidal wasattacked early this morning by terroristsusing rockets,” said an official from theUN peacekeeping mission in Mali(MINUSMA), adding that two Guineanpeacekeepers and a contractor workingfor the United Nations were killed. Alocal official confirmed the report. “Theterrorists fired shots and then fled,”another UN source said.

MINUSMA later confirmed the deathtoll in a statement and said a further 20people were injured in the predawnattack, four seriously. No group had yetclaimed responsibility for the attack,which came eight days after a siege atthe luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’scapital Bamako, in which 20 peopledied including 14 foreigners.

Armed men held around 170 guestsand staff hostage in the November 20

attack that lasted about nine hoursbefore Malian, French and US forcesstormed the hotel to free the captives,killing two assailants. Two separatejihadist groups claimed responsibilityfor that assault: The Al-Murabitoungroup, an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by

notorious one-eyed Algerian militantMokhtar Belmokhtar, and the MacinaLiberation Front (LWF) from centralMali.

Four days later, a UN employee waskilled in an attack on a peacekeepingconvoy near the historic desert town of

Timbuktu. MINUSMA chief MongiHamdi said in a statement the attacks“would not dent the determination ofthe UN to support the Malian peopleand the peace process, including assist-ing in the implementation of theAgreement on Peace andReconciliation in Mali”.

Perilous Peacekeeping Mission Mali has been plagued by unrest

since the north of the vast west Africanstate fell under the control of Tuaregrebels and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012. The Islamists soon side-lined the Tuareg to take sole control ofTimbuktu, Kidal and other northerntowns but lost most of the ground theyhad captured in a French-led militaryintervention in Jan 2013. Nearly threeyears later, large swathes of Mali stillremain lawless despite a June peacedeal between the government andTuareg rebels seen as crucial to endingdecades of instability in the north thatleft it vulnerable to extremism. — AFP

Three dead in attack on

UN base in north Mali

KIDAL, Mali: A file photo taken on July 27, 2013 shows UN soldierspatrolling in this northern Malian city. — AFP

HAVANA: Hundreds of Cubans protest-ed at the Ecuadorean embassy in Cubaon Friday, a day after the Andean nationannounced they would need visas toenter the country as of Dec 1. TheCubans waved their passports and planetickets and said they were angry

because they had already bought ticketsunder the previous no-visa policy ofEcuador and wanted passage or theirmoney back. An Ecuadorean diplomattold the crowd they would have to goonline and get a 90-day tourism visa andspeak to the airlines about refunds.

Cuban police secured the embassy,which they said was closed. There wasno violence. “Now they are saying wecan’t travel to Ecuador because of theCubans who are skipping out. That’s notour fault!” said Ivan Balera, 51, who saidhe spent over $1,000 on his ticket. The

embassy said at a press con-ference that the web pagefor applying for the visa is upand running, and Cubans willhave to work with airlines tochange their tickets if theyare not able to obtain a visain time.

“Governments can’t inter-vene in commercial policies...However... we are aware thatthe airlines are willing toissue refunds,” saidEcuadorean Consul SorayaBlanca Encalada. Ecuadorsaid it made the decision at aregional meeting on Tuesdayin El Salvador to discuss thefuture of thousands ofCubans stranded at theCosta Rica-Nicaragua borderen route to the United States.“We decided to impose thevisa requirement for Cubancitizens in order to discour-age the flow of people seek-ing to reach the UnitedStates,” Ecuador’s foreignminister, Xavier Lasso, toldreporters on Thursday.

Thousands of Cubanshave traveled to Ecuadorover the past decade, someto purchase goods for resaleat home and others to settle.Many use the country as anentry point for making theperilous trek through CentralAmerica to the Mexican bor-der with the United States,where they are granted entryand residency, unlike othermigrants. The office ofEcuador airline Tame inHavana posted a sign on thedoor directing Cubans withtickets for after Dec 1 to con-tact the embassy.

“Nothing has been spec-ified yet. We are supposedto receive instructions onMonday,” said a Tame officeworker in Havana whodeclined to give her name.She said it had not yet beendecided whether Tamewould change its refundpolicy. — Reuters

WEST HEMPSTEAD, New York: Whena US Navy veteran traveled from LongIsland to Florida for a knee replace-ment, his house was the last thing onhis mind. But now his memory of it isall he can think about. Philip Williams’home was demolished in the spring bytown officials while he spent about sixmonths recuperating from surgicalcomplications in Fort Lauderdale. Backin New York, officials in the Town ofHempstead deemed his modest two-storey home unfit for habitation andknocked it down.

The 69-year-old has now waged alegal battle against the suburban NewYork town. He wants reimbursement -for the house and all the belongingsinside. “I’m angry and I’m upset. It’s justwrong on so many levels,” he said “Mymortgage was up to date, my propertytaxes were up to date ... everything wascurrent and fine.” Williams went toFlorida in December 2014 for the pro-cedure, so a friend could help with hisrecovery. But he developed infections

that forced further surgery and heartcomplications, leaving him hospital-ized until doctors deemed him med-ically able to return home in August.

When Williams pulled up to whatshould have been a two-storey cream-colored cottage with a red door inWest Hempstead, there was just anempty lot. “My first thought was therewas a fire or something,” Williams said.But there was no fire. According totown officials, neighbors had beencomplaining the house was in disrepairand a blight on the community.Hempstead officials, responding tothose complaints, sent inspectors anddetermined the house was a “dilapidat-ed dwelling” unfit for habitation. Sothey knocked it down.

“The house was in terrible condi-tion for a long time,” next door neigh-bor Keylin Escobar said. “Nobody reallylived in the house; the house wasabandoned. Everyone who came overto visit, people always say, ‘What’sgoing on with this house?’” Kathleen

Keicher, who has lived across the streetfrom Williams for 12 years, said noticestacked to the front door of the homebegan piling up and the house hadholes in the side and appearedunkempt. “I feel terrible. When weknew a house was coming down, itwas sad,” she said. “We thought thehouse was coming down, someonewould buy the land, a new housewould come up, a new family wouldmove in. ... We don’t want anyone tolose their home.”

‘Zombie Home’Williams says he was never contact-

ed and believes town officials thoughthis house was a so-called “zombiehome” - a dwelling abandoned afterforeclosure proceedings begin, butone not yet seized by the bank - andrushed to demolish it. “The town basi-cally took everything from me,” saidWilliams, who is now staying with afriend in Florida and has only two suit-cases of belongings. “The town does

not have a right to take all of my prop-erty, all of my possessions.”

Williams had lived in the housesince he was six months old. He saidmany of the items in the home hadbeen in his family since he was a new-born or had sentimental value, like hislate wife’s engagement ring, photos ofhis six children growing up and a mod-el train set he had since he was a child.He lost all of his clothing, a bicycle he’djust purchased, dishes, silverware andother housewares. Town officials saythey tried to contact Williams and pro-vided AP copies of letters they saidthey mailed to the home and to banks.They also held a public hearing beforegoing forward with the demolition. ButWilliams contends he never receivedany of the notices and said he couldn’tfigure out why the letters were mailedto four separate banks where he neverhad accounts. “I have no idea whothose banks are,” Williams said. “Butthey never contacted me in any way,shape or form.” — AP

CHICAGO: Thousands of protesters blockedtraffic and barred shoppers from enteringstores during the Black Friday sales extrava-ganza to demand justice for a black teenkilled by a Chicago police officer. Tensionsflared in this Midwestern city after officialsreleased a dashcam video on Tuesday show-ing officer Jason Van Dyke shot LaquanMcDonald 16 times after the teenagerwalked away from him in Oct 2014.

The graphic video is the latest in a stringof police shootings caught on camera thathave sparked mass - and sometimes violent -protests and engulfed the United States in adebate over racism and the use of deadlyforce by police. “All they think we’re going todo is grow up to be thugs,” Jared Steverson,27, shouted at a black police officer whostood guard outside a shop on the city’supscale “Magnificent Mile” shopping strip. “Itwasn’t about him fearing for his life, it washim not wanting to see that boy live.”

The black officer stood stone-faced andavoided Steverson’s gaze as he stood cen-timeters away, swearing and waving hishands as he accused the officer of guardingthe wrong neighborhood and betraying hisrace. “When you go home and put on clotheslike me, you’re black and they’re going to pullyou over because you’re just like me,”Steverson shouted. He stepped away, andwiped tears from his eyes. “I’ve lost too manylittle brothers,” he told AFP, then turned backto the police and said “I’m not a thug. I don’tsell drugs. I went to college. You all ain’t got totreat us like dogs, man.”

‘No One Cares, Clearly’ Prosecutors and city officials have come

under fire for waiting until a judge orderedthe release of the video to charge Van Dykewith murder. Several protesters held signsdemanding the resignation of Chicago’s

embattled police chief and chanted “16 shots13 months” to voice anger that it took so longto charge Van Dyke when there was clear evi-dence he was never threatened byMcDonald. Police had initially said thatMcDonald, who was high on PCP, lunged atVan Dyke while brandishing a knife.

Protesters say the shooting illustratesdeeper injustices both in Chicago and nation-wide. Many liken McDonald’s case to that ofMichael Brown, the black teenager shot deadby a white policeman in Ferguson, Missourilast year. His death triggered 15 months ofsometimes violent demonstrations over per-ceived police brutality against black men.

Samantha Vazquez, 18, joined those lock-ing their arms in front of stores to block shop-pers from the high-end shops on MichiganAvenue. She wanted to stand up forMcDonald because she feels like it could havebeen her or one of her friends shot 16 timesand left to bleed out alone on the pavement.“We’re going to hold down these doors sonobody can buy anything, so nobody makesmoney until people understand how bad thisis, how this is affecting Chicago,” Vazquez toldAFP as she stood outside Cole Haan. “No onecares, clearly, they’re just walking by shop-ping. And no one cares that somebody’sdead, that other kids have been shot andnobody’s doing anything.” Okunola Jeyifousand his wife Megan brought their nine-month-old twins to the demonstration, brav-ing freezing rain. Jeyifous, 41, is a research sci-entist at the University of Chicago. He said hefeels that the color of his skin means he can-not trust the police. And he worries that hischildren could end up dying on the streetone day. “This is an important moment,” hetold AFP. “I want them to live in a world andlive in a society that values them and in whichthey feel they have equal protection underthe law.” — AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Thousands protest against

police shooting in Chicago

CHICAGO: Demonstrators block motorists along Michigan Avenue onFriday as they protest the shooting of Laquan McDonald, who was killedby a Chicago police officer. — AFP

Town demolishes veteran’s

house while he has surgeryOfficials say they tried to contact owner

WEST HEMPSTEAD, New York: In this Nov 25, 2015 photo, a lot stands empty after the township had the home that once stood on it torn down. — AP

Cubans protest new

Ecuador visa rules

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

PARIS: French President Francois Hollande has urgedBritish MPs to back an air campaign against the IslamicState group in Syria, as thousands prepared to marchon London yesterday to oppose the plans.

Hollande made the appeal after a tribute to the 130victims of the Paris attacks, during which he vowed todestroy the “army of fanatics” behind the violence thatrocked the French capital two weeks ago. “OnNovember 13, a day we will never forget, France was hitat its very heart,” Hollande told a sombre commemora-tion in the Invalides, the 17th-century complex housingNapoleon’s tomb on Friday. “To all of you, I solemnlypromise that France will do everything to destroy thearmy of fanatics that committed these crimes,” he said.

Speaking later at the Commonwealth summit inMalta, where he flew after the ceremonies in Paris,Hollande called on British lawmakers to supportFrance’s intervention in Syria. “I can only call on allBritish members of parliament, in solidarity with Francebut, above all, conscious of the fight against terrorism,to approve this intervention,” he said.

Hollande has already been backed by Germany,which has offered Tornado reconnaissance jets, anaval frigate, and 650 soldiers to relieve French forcesin Mali.

Memories of Iraq British Prime Minister David Cameron made his case

for air strikes to parliament on Thursday ahead of a voteexpected next week. But many MPs are still troubledby the memory of unpopular British interventions inIraq and Afghanistan under then Labour prime ministerTony Blair. The Stop the War Coalition-which also leddemonstrations against British intervention in Iraq-hasorganised a major rally in London to protest the move,with thousands expected to march on Downing Streetyesterday afternoon. “We are calling on all our groupsto organize protests in their towns and cities on thesame day. We need to resist this brutalising and dehu-manizing spiral of violence,” the group said on aFacebook page to advertise the event.

Spanish activists also called for peace protests yes-terday, with the country still scarred from extremistattacks following its involvement in the Iraq war.

The 2004 attacks saw Al-Qaeda-inspired bombersblow up four packed commuter trains and kill 191 peo-ple in retaliation for then prime minister Jose MariaAznar’s decision to join the US-led Iraq invasion.Leading personalities, including Barcelona Mayor AdaColau and Pilar Manjon, head of an association for vic-tims of Madrid’s attacks, have called for nationwide

peace protests to denounce the use of further force.Their online manifesto has been signed by more

than 28,000 people and demonstrations are planned inMadrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia and other loca-tions. France has said that all 27 of its EU partners havepledged to help in some way to strike at the IslamicState group, but Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoyhas so far remained evasive on the issue. The Parisattacks-claimed in response for French air strikes on thejihadists in Iraq and Syria-inflicted the worst-ever toll onFrench soil, leaving 130 dead and 350 wounded. Mostvictims were under 35.

Vote loomsAround 4,000 people joined a protest in London yes-

terday against Britain potentially joining air strikes againstthe Islamic State (IS) group in Syria. Parliament is expect-ed to vote on the issue next week after Prime MinisterDavid Cameron pushed MPs to back the move in thewake of this month’s Paris attacks.The demonstration wasorganised by the Stop The War Coalition protest move-ment. Its chairman Andrew Murray urged demonstratorsto “stand behind” Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the mainopposition Labor party and a former Stop the WarCoalition chairman, in opposing air strikes. — Agencies

Protests as France’s Hollande

calls on UK to join Syria blitz

Protest in London as Syria air strikes vote looms

PARIS: People gather at Place de la Republique (Republic Square) in Paris yesterday to pay tribute to the victims of theNovember 13 terror attacks. — AFP

KAMPALA: Large crowds of Ugandans greet-ed Pope Francis yesterday as he held a massyouth rally and honoured martyredChristians on his landmark trip to Africa,which he dubbed “the continent of hope”.

The 78-year-old pontiff was greeted bywild cheers and singing at a shrine to themartyrs at Namugongo, just outside the cap-ital Kampala, that honours more than 40Christians who were executed in the 19thcentury for refusing to recant their faith.

“Pope Francis we love you!”, youngChristians chanted at a youth rally at theKololo grounds in Kampala, as thousandsdanced to pumping music, cheering as thepontiff leaned out of the popemobile to kissbabies. Over 100,000 people had waitedfrom before dawn at the open-air shrine toattend the mass, a highlight of his visit toUganda, the second leg of his trip afterKenya, and before travelling to war-tornCentral African Republic (CAR) today.

A total of 45 Catholics and Protestants,many of them youngsters working as royalpages, were executed by King Mwanga ofBuganda-a 19th century kingdom that waslocated in the south of present-day Uganda-between 1885 and 1887.

At issue was their refusal to comply with

the king’s sexual advances towards them andother young boys in the court. “Today, werecall with gratitude the sacrifice of theUganda martyrs,” Francis said at theNamugongo shrine where 26 of them wereburned alive on June 3, 1886. “Not only weretheir lives threatened but so too were thelives of the younger boys under their care,”he said. “They were fearless in bringing Christto others, even at the cost of their lives.”

Gay rights in focus Catholic faithful from neighboring war-

torn South Sudan were also among the wor-shippers, having travelled 12 hours by bus tocatch a glimpse of the Argentine pope, whohas made humility and help for the poor ahallmark of his tenure.

Fighting poverty has been a key theme ofhis visit but some of the faithful were hopingto hear the pontiff’s thoughts on other issuessuch as gay rights. “The challenges we havein Uganda are early pregnancies, drug abuseand homosexuality,” said 18-year old school-girl Joyce Adong, dressed in her uniform andcarrying rosary beads.

Homosexuality remains illegal in manycountries in Africa, including Kenya andUganda, where lawmakers passed tough

anti-homosexuality legislation in 2013 thatwas later overturned on a technicality.

Ugandan gay rights activists had asked tomeet the pope, who has said gay people

should not be marginalized, but it was notclear if the meeting took place.

Among the visitors from South Sudanwas President Salva Kiir who held a brief pri-

vate meeting with the pope, according to aSouth Sudanese government official whogave no further details.

“If there’s one country he should visit, it’sSouth Sudan,” said 37-year-old Anthony Bedafrom South Sudan, wearing a pope badgeand waving a flag with the pontiff’s face onit. “I want to hear his powerful words of unityand compassion,” Beda told AFP, saying itcould help stop the civil war there. “I wouldlove him to go... It would be a blessing.” In themidst of the crowds in Kampala, a police-woman went into labour, giving birth to ababy girl that she named Franchesca-thefemale version of Francis, Uganda’s NewVision newspaper reported.

Arrests in Kenya Francis, who railed against corruption

and wealthy minorities who hoard resourcesat the expense of the poor during his threedays in Kenya, struck a more optimistic tonesince arriving in neighbouring Uganda lateFriday. “The world looks to Africa as the con-tinent of hope,” he said in his openingspeech, hailing Uganda’s outstandingresponse in accommodating hundreds ofthousands of refugees from neighboringwar-torn states. — AFP

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

KAMPALA: Crowds cheer Pope Francis as he arrives at Kololo airstrip inKampala yesterday. Pope Francis left Kenya for Uganda where he will spendtwo days before continuing on to the Central African Republic, a countrywracked by sectarian conflict. — AFP

NAIROBI: Kenyan security forces havearrested two Kenyan men with links to Iranon suspicion of planning attacks in the EastAfrican nation, the Interior Ministry said yes-terday. The ministry originally identifiedboth men as Iranians, but a spokesman latersaid it had issued that detail in error and thetwo men had links to Iran, not Iraniannationality. “The two men, Abubakar SadiqLouw and Yassin Sambai Juma, have admit-ted to conspiring to mount terror attacksagainst Western targets in Kenya,” the min-istry said.

It said their targets included “hotels inNairobi frequented by Western tourists anddiplomats.” Louw, 69, was a Kenyan passportholder and a prominent figure in Nairobi’sShi’ite Muslim community, the ministry saidin the statement. Suspected of working onbehalf of Iran’s elite military Qods Force,Louw recruited 25-year-old Juma fromNairobi, it said.

Louw told investigators he had arrangedfor Juma to travel to Iran and introduced

him to a Qods force contact, the ministryadded. Interior Ministry spokesmanMwenda Njoka confirmed to Reuters thatJuma was also a Kenyan. Kenya has sufferedfrom a series of attacks by Somali Islamistgroup al Shabaab, a Sunni Muslim groupthat has said its assaults are aimed at drivingKenyan troops and other members of anAfrican Union force out of Somalia.

There was no indication of any link to thelatest arrests. Two Iranian men were sen-tenced to life in prison by a Kenyan court in2013 for planning to carry out bombings ayear earlier in the East African country. Theministry said those two men also had linksto Qods Force.

In 2014, a court ordered an Iranian manand woman held under anti-terrorism lawsto serve two years in jail or pay a fine afteradmitting to using fake Israeli passports toenter Kenya. They had been detained onsuspicion of planning an attack, but officialsdid not say if those suspicions were laid torest. — Reuters

Two Kenyans with Iran

links arrested for

plotting attacks

Pope honors martyrs on landmark Africa tour

MADRID: Spain’s government is stuck between a rockand a hard place. Keen to show France support in itsbattle against extremism, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoyis also acutely aware that any concrete engagementwill awaken the ghosts of Spain’s devastating 2004attacks just weeks ahead of general elections, expertssay. The attacks saw Al-Qaeda-inspired bombers blowup four packed commuter trains and kill 191 people inretaliation for then prime minister Jose Maria Aznar’sdecision to join the US-led Iraq invasion, precipitatinghis party’s defeat at ensuing elections. “The Spanishexperience of the war in Iraq was disastrous and publicopinion is very careful and sensitive to this type ofintervention,” said Nicolas Sartorius, vice-president ofthe Alternatives Foundation think tank.

“It’s logical that when you have an experience likethat of 2004 and elections within weeks you react withsome prudence, and Rajoy is trying not to repeatAznar’s hugely serious mistakes.” France saidWednesday that all 27 of its EU partners had pledged tohelp in some way to strike at the Islamic State groupthat claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks, butRajoy has so far remained evasive on the issue. TheSpanish leader, who hails from the same Popular Partyas Aznar and was elected in 2011, said Thursday he hadnot received any official demand for help from Paris.

But he pointed out that Spain was already support-ing France in its fight against extremism, particularlywith 117 of its troops stationed in Mali and 57 inSenegal.

‘We have to be with France’ The hot-button issue has been at the forefront of

debate ahead of December 20 elections, as specula-tion mounts that Spain is considering gettinginvolved in the US-led coalition battling IS, as doescriticism of Rajoy’s silence on the issue. “The primeminister should seek the consensus of the majority ofpolitical forces on potential support for military inter-vention in Syria, not to dodge his obligations but toconfront them,” read a comment piece in the centre-

right El Mundo daily.“If this is a war, we have to be with France, without

a doubt.” Rajoy brought together nine smaller politicalparties on Thursday to agree to an “anti-terrorist pact”that he had already signed in February with the mainopposition Socialists. The pact essentially reinforcespolice and legal powers to fight jihadists and thosewho recruit them. — AFP

As elections near, scarred Spain

wavers on France military support

MADRID: People holding banners that read in Spanish: “Peace” shout slogans duringa protest against the bombing in Syria and Iraq, in Madrid, yesterday. During the ral-ly protesters also observed a minute of silence in honor of people killed in countriesincluding France, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Lebanon and Tunisia. — AP

HANOVER: The leader of Germany’s anti-immigrant AfD party, riding a wave of publicanger against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s asy-lum policy, yesterday called on her to resignfor throwing the country’s doors open tomigrants.

“Merkel, step down. You can do it,” FraukePetry told some 600 AfD supporters, mainlygrey-haired men, putting a new twist onMerkel’s “Wir schaffen das” (We can do it) mes-sage to those who doubt Germany can dealwith the influx of migrants expected to reachone million this year.

Petry, whose Alternative for Germany isenjoying an improbable revival after nearlyimploding in a power struggle, said her partystood a real chance of entering three newstate parliaments next year and the nationalparliament for the first time in 2017. Petrydrew at least four standing ovations withattacks on what she called Merkel’s undemoc-ratic decision to open Germany’s borders tomigrants who are expected to reach one mil-lion this year. Petry and Joerg Meuthen tookover the AfD from Bernd Lucke, who in July leftthe party he founded in 2013 to oppose eurozone bailouts, citing a xenophobic shift.

The AfD placed third nationally, at 10.5 per-cent, for the first time this month in a surveyfor pollsters INSA after polling at 3 per centafter Lucke’s exit. It has been stealing votesfrom Merkel’s CDU conservatives. The partypresented its plan to end what it described as“asylum chaos” at a summit in Hanover. About

2,500 leftist activists, some carrying bannersreading “Racism is no alternative”, staged ademonstration outside the venue. AfD wantsdrastically to reduce the number of refugees inGermany by rejecting Syrians and Iraqis whocome from “safe third states” like Turkey andLebanon, and turn down asylum applicantswithout identification documents, among oth-er steps.

It also wants to cut to 48 hours the process-ing time for asylum applications. Under Petry,the party has attracted far-right supportersand officials, prompting criticism from theGerman media and politicians who szay it isxenophobic. Petry said her party was the vic-tim of a defamation campaign and called themedia “the Pinocchio press” and“Luegenpresse” (lying press), a Nazi-era termwhich anti-immigrant protesters have revived.

She added that the uncontrolled influx ofasylum seekers raised the risk of “terrorattacks” like in Paris earlier this month. AfDwon seats in the Hamburg state assembly inFebruary, entering a legislature in westernGermany for the first time, and has since alsogained seats in Bremen.

It previously had seats in Saxony, Thuringiaand Brandenburg in eastern Germany - whereresentment against refugees is greatest - andis gaining further momentum nationally.

Its biggest test will be the federal electionin two years. Some pollsters believe it willimplode before then, either because of infight-ing or if the refugee crisis eases. — Reuters

Leader of anti-immigrant

party asks Merkel to resign

BELGRADE: Some assault rifles used bythe Islamic militants in the Nov 13 Parisattacks and later seized in police raids wereproduced in the former Yugoslavia’s statearsenal, the company’s director said yester-day.

Milojko Brzakovic, director of theZastava (Banner) Arms factory in the city ofKragujevac in central Serbia, said that theywere part of a batch of M70 assault rifles, aimproved Yugoslav copy of the Soviet-designed AK47, produced in 1987 and1988. “We have checked seven, maybeeight serial numbers received from thepolice in our database and found that gunsfrom that particular batch were sent to mil-itary depots in Slovenia, Bosnia andMacedonia,” Brzakovic told Reuters.

Zastava Arms, then called ZavodiCrvena Zastava, served as the sole statearsenal for small arms for the now-defunctCommunist Yugoslav army and police. Itstill produces weapons for the Serbian gov-ernment, hunting and sports. In the 1970sand 1990s the company was also a majorarms exporter to the then-Yugoslavia’s

allies in Africa, Asia and the Middle Eastand it is still a exports to a number of mar-kets including the United States.

“There’s no doubt they were producedby us (Zastava Arms), we were the onlyproducer then, and we have serial num-bers of everything we ever produced, butin the 1990s anyone could get a hold ofthem in army depots,” he said. Most of theWestern Balkans is awash with hundreds ofthousands of i l legal weapons thatremained in private hands and organizedcrime gangs following wars and unrest inthe 1990s and weapons smuggling per-sists. “Sales are now tightly controlled bythe government and every piece ofweapons slated for export must beapproved by authorities and accountedfor,” he said.

Brzakovic said that police also inquiredabout a CZ99 9mm pistol, also a ZastavaOruzje product since 1980s. “We havefound it went to a company registered forweapons retail in Serbia and now thepolice will find the first buyer and followthe trail of the gun.” — Reuters

Some guns used in Paris

attacks produced in

ex-Yugoslavia’s arsenal

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

ISLAMABAD: “Are these the people with bulletswho took my papa away?” two-year-old SabihaAhmad asked her mother anxiously when AFPvisited her family, members of Pakistan’s perse-cuted Ahmadi minority, who are currently livingin hiding.

The toddler’s family have had little contactwith anyone since they were forced to flee fortheir lives on November 20 when hundreds ofpeople torched a factory in the eastern city ofJhelum after rumors spread workers were burn-ing copies of the Holy Quran.

The workers in question were Ahmadis, aminority ethnic group legally declared non-Muslims in Pakistan for their belief in a prophetafter Mohammad (PBUH), and long persecutedin the deeply conservative country.

Sabiha’s father Asif Shahzad was an Ahmadiemployee at the factory, and that night the mobtook him away. “I begged them for the life of mywife and children and they freed them onlyafter taking me to burn in the factory’s boiler,”he told AFP this week from where his family arehiding. “It was my good luck that some kind-hearted Muslims helped me to escape,” he said.His wife Hafsa said she had almost accepted himdead. “I never wanted to leave him but he saidthat he would join us if he survived, and I mustsave mine and our daughters’ lives,” the 24-year-old told AFP tearfully.

Along with other Ahmadi families fleeingJhelum that night, Hafsa managed to escape ina car her husband had arranged before he wastorn away by the mob. The driver, she said, wasMuslim. “(He) treated me and the other ladies...as his daughters,” she said, navigating themthrough the mob to safety.

‘Hated for our religion’ Hardline Islamic scholars denounce Ahmadis

as heretics, describing their belief in a prophetafter Mohammad (PBUH) as blasphemy-a huge-ly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where evenunproven allegations stir mob lynching and vio-lence. The largest Ahmadi community in theworld is in Pakistan, where they number about500,000, and followers are frequently the targetof blasphemy allegations by hardliners tacitlysupported by what the community says are dis-criminatory laws.

Legislation framed in 1974 and 1984 underpressure from hardliners, bans Ahmadis fromcalling themselves Muslims and practicing therituals of Islam.

Even voicing the Muslim greeting “Peace beupon you” could see an Ahmadi thrown inprison for three years. “Ahmadi Muslims inPakistan face daily harassment, intimidation andpersecution on the basis of their religion,”Dennis Jong, the co-chair of a European

Parliament body on religious tolerance, said in apress release this week slamming the factoryattack.

The attacks, he said, “show the continuedlack of protection of the human rights and fun-damental freedoms offered by the Pakistanigovernment to the Ahmadis”.

In July 2014, an mob, in echoes of the attackin Jhelum, burnt three Ahmadis alive andtorched their homes in another eastern city,Gujranwala in Punjab province. “Locals hated us

for our religion,” said Mubashira Jarri Allah, whowas caught up in the violence.

“(They) torched our house after a false alle-gation of blasphemy. I lost my mother, twonieces and my unborn child,” she said. She waseight months pregnant at the time.

In May, tensions rose in the district ofChakwal, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) fromthe capital Islamabad, when the minarets anddome of an Ahmadi place of worship weredemolished after a court ruled that it looked toomuch like a Muslim mosque.

Friends into foes Officials at the Jamat-e -Ahmadiya, an

umbrella organization of Ahmadi groups, saythe state itself sponsors their persecution. “We

don’t even vote in elections because if wedeclare ourselves Muslims, we will be prosecut-ed,” said Saleem ud Din, a spokesman for Jamat-e-Ahmaidya.

The state, for its part, says Ahmadis-like allminorities in Pakistan-are “constitutionally pro-tected”. “When legislation was formed about theAhmadis, the law was passed after completedebate in the national assembly,” SardarMuhammad Yousaf, federal religious affairs min-ister, told AFP.

“The Ahmadis were given full chance toraise their point of view... If the Ahmadi com-munity has some concerns and fears, theymust come and discuss that with us and wewill address them.” In Jhelum on November 20,the Ahmadi families believed they would beshown no mercy.

Witnesses said hundreds of people-mostlyyoung men and followers of local Muslim clericswho rallied them with loudspeakers-torchedthe chipboard factory, which was owned by anAhmadi.

They also burnt several houses and ran-sacked an Ahmadi place of worship. EighteenAhmadi families are believed to have fled thatnight. “Even the best friends turned into theworst foes,” said Asif Shahzad. —AFP

Pakistan’s Ahmadis battle

mob and state for identityVictims claim it is state-sponsored persecution

A Pakistani Ahmadi sect woman Hafsa and mother of a young girl Sabiha Ahmad, wipesaway her tears as she speaks with AFP at an undisclosed location in Pakistan. —AFP

YANGON: Elected candidates of the National League For Democracy (NLD)meets in Yangon yesterday. Suu Kyi is due to meet new lawmakers from herparty after a landslide election win earlier this month which may ease themilitary’s decades-long hold on the country. —AFP

YANGON: Aung San Suu Kyi has warnednewly minted MPs she will not toleratepoor discipline or wrongdoing, partymembers said yesterday, as Myanmar’sdemocracy champion began marshallingher opposition for government amid sky-high expectations.

Suu Kyi’s National League forDemocracy party took nearly 80 percentof contested seats in the November 8 elec-tion, promising change after decades ofcorrosive and corrupt army control of thecountry. But she cannot be presidentunder the junta-scripted constitution.

Instead the party leader has vowed torule from “above the president”-via aproxy who will be selected by the NLD-dominated legislature in the new year.Observers say the NLD, a party of opposi-tion for 25 years, will struggle to match thesoaring hopes of a long-suffering peoplewho crave remedies to the nation’s deepeconomic and social problems.

New MPs will also have to learn thenuts and bolts of power and policy mak-ing as well as deliver on the party’s changenarrative. Yesterday NLD lawmakers saidSuu Kyi used a party meeting to call forunity and warn newcomers to office thatpoor discipline or conduct will be pun-ished. She doesn’t want anyone to build asmall building inside the big one,” saidThet Thet Khine, an elected NLD MP inYangon and a prominent party figure.

“Any MP who wants to build his or her

personal group inside the NLD ‘building’will not be accepted,” she said. Anothernew lawmaker said Suu Kyi cautioned theparty against “betraying the people” whooverwhelmingly shunned the army-backed ruling party at the polls to give theNLD control of both parliamentary houses.

“She said she will not tolerate anybreach of party regulations... and she willtake action under the law if MPs make amistake,” Tun Myint, elected for the lowerhouse from Bahan township in Yangon,told AFP.

He said NLD MPs also face a 25 percentsalary cut as a gesture to the nation’s poorpopulation. Despite public euphoria at thesweeping election win, the military retainsa major stake in Myanmar’s politics. It has25 percent of all parliamentary seats gift-ed to it by a charter that it penned. But sofar it has taken the election result graceful-ly, pledging to ensure a smooth transitionof power to the NLD.

The government will not be formeduntil next year, with a long transition peri-od between elections and the handover ofpower.

The current parliament is due to situntil at least January. This has raised con-cerns of political instability, deadlock ormischief-making by losing lawmakers.

The NLD won a similar scale landslide in1990 polls, only to see the military annulthe result and dig in for another twodecades. —AFP

Suu Kyi lays down law on

party discipline to new MPs

US national remanded

in India for ‘molesting’

minor boyKOLKATA: An Indian court yesterday remanded an Americancitizen in custody for 14 days over allegations he molested ateenaged boy in his hotel room, police said. The 51-year-oldUS national was produced before a sessions court in Kolkata,capital of West Bengal state, where a case was initiatedagainst him under India’s stringent Protection of Childrenfrom Sexual Offences Act. “He was produced before a ses-sions court today (Saturday). He has been remanded to judi-cial custody for 14 days,” Debashis Dhar, an additional policedeputy commissioner, told AFP.

Chief public prosecutor Manjit Singh confirmed theremand to AFP over phone. Officials at the US consulate werenot immediately available for comment. The accused, whohad come to India on a tourist visa, was arrested on Fridayafter hotel authorities lodged a complaint. Investigators saidthe man had befriended the boy, 14, on Facebook beforecoming to Kolkata. “(In Kolkata) he met the boy near thehotel, took him to a shopping mall to gift him football bootsand a sports bag and then asked him to accompany to hishotel room,” Dhar said. Hotel security manager Joydip Palitsaid the boy had alleged that the man forced him to performa sexual act in the hotel room and was handed a 100-rupee($1.5) note when he protested. —AFP

KABUL: A senior member of Afghanistan’s election com-mission survived an assassination attempt yesterday whena suicide bomber targeted his vehicle in Kabul, killing oneof his employees and wounding two others, officials said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attackon Awal Rehman Rodwal, the regional director at theIndependent Election Commission, which comes after morethan a month-long lull in Taliban raids on the capital.

“This morning when Rodwal was leaving for work, therewas an explosion before he got into his car,” NoorMohmmad Noor, an IEC spokesman told AFP.

“Rodwal escaped the attack unharmed.” Noor saidRodwal’s bodyguard died in the bombing but Kabul policedescribed the man killed as his driver.

Two others were wounded in the attack, which marksthe first fatal attack on IEC staff in the heavily guarded citythis year. There was no immediate comment from theTaleban, who have been blamed for several such incidentsin the past. In March last year, just days before presidentialelections, Taleban militants wearing burqas, an all-envelop-ing garment worn by women, unleashed rockets and gun-fire on the election commission’s headquarters in Kabul.

Afghan forces gunned down the five gunmen who tar-geted the heavily-fortified building and IEC officials wereunharmed after many hid for hours in reinforced safe-rooms. The Taleban have waged a bloody insurgencyagainst the Afghan government and NATO forces sincebeing toppled from power in a 2001 US-led invasion. —AFP

Suicide bomber targets

Afghan election official

LAHORE: Pakistani eunuchs and transgendered people participate in a demonstration demanding equalrights, protection from harassment and attacks and to condemn social injustice in Lahore yesterday. —AP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

NEW DELHI: Gunmen attacked a Shiite mosque inBangladesh, killing one person and wounding threeothers, in the latest in a wave of deadly assaults thisyear on foreigners, secular writers and members ofthe Shiite community in the Sunni-majority nation.

The attacks, claimed by radical Islamist groups,have alarmed the international community andraised concerns that religious extremism is takinghold in the traditionally moderate country. TheIslamic State group and a local affiliate have claimedresponsibility for the killings of two foreigners - anItalian aid worker and a Japanese agricultural worker- as well as for attacks on the country’s minorityShiite Muslim community.

Bangladesh’s government, led by Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina, has repeatedly said that IS has noorganizational presence in the country. It accusesdomestic Islamist groups along with the main oppo-sition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its main ally,the Jamaat-e-Islami party, of carrying out the attacksto destabilize the South Asian nation for politicalgains.

A look at the main Islamic political parties andradical groups:

JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI PARTYJamaat-e-Islami is Bangladesh’s largest Islamist

party and a partner of the main oppositionBangladesh Nationalist Party, which is led by former

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia - an archrival of currentleader Hasina. The party advocates the introductionof Shariah, or Islamic laws.

Jamaat-e-Islami and its leaders openly opposedBangladesh’s 1971 war to gain independence fromPakistan. Its members formed groups and militias toaid Pakistani soldiers during the war and acted as anauxiliary force involved in kidnappings and killingsof those who supported independence. Many of itstop leaders fled the country after independence,but returned following the 1975 assassination ofindependence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Jamaat-e-Islami was banned for a brief periodafter the 1971 war, but was revived in 1979 after amilitary dictatorship took power following a seriesof coups and counter-coups. The group gained instrength and became a serious political force by theearly 2000s.

Many of its top leaders have been accused of warcrimes. Last week, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, aleader during the war, was executed despite con-cerns that the legal proceedings against him wereflawed. Both its former leader Ghulam Azam andcurrent chief Matiur Rahman Chowdhury have beenconvicted of war crimes by a special tribunal set upby Hasina in 2010 to deal with 1971 crimes. Twoother senior leaders have also been executed fortheir role in the 1971 war.

Bangladesh’s High Court canceled the party’s reg-

istration in 2013, effectively barring it from contest-ing elections. The party has appealed the decision.

ANSARULLAH BANGLA TEAMAnsarullah Bangla Team came to light as an

active Islamist group in 2013, when secular bloggerAhmed Rajib Haider was killed by attackers in frontof his home in Dhaka, the capital. Detectives arrest-ed seven suspects, including students at a top pri-vate university and the group’s alleged chief,Jasimuddin Rahmani, a former imam of a Dhakamosque.

They have been indicted and are currently facingtrial. The other suspects said Rahmani’s sermonsinspired them to attack Haider. —AP

Bangladesh intelligence officials have said theytracked down the group after investigating a blogcalled “Ansarullah Bangla Team” which had fiveadministrators, including two in Pakistan. In 2014,detectives arrested a Bangladeshi man and said hewas one of the administrators. Despite the arrests ofat least 40 suspected group members, the blogremains active with other administrators who oper-ate from abroad, according to Bangladeshi intelli-gence.

The group, now banned in Bangladesh, hasclaimed responsibility for the killings of four secularbloggers this year, and has vowed to carry out moresuch attacks. It has also operated under the names

Ansar al-Islam and Ansar Bangla 7.

JUMATUL MUJAHEDEEN BANGLADESHThe group was founded in 1998 by Shaikh Abdur

Rahman, a religious teacher educated in SaudiArabia.

It came to notice in 2001 when it engaged in con-flict with an extremist communist group in Dinajpurin northern Bangladesh. On Aug. 17, 2005, it explod-ed about 500 homemade bombs at nearly 300 loca-tions almost simultaneously across the country aspart of a campaign demanding the introduction ofShariah law. Later it continued its violent campaignby attacking and killing judges and police, andthreatening journalists and women without veils. Itcreated a large network of supporters; some govern-ment officials say it has as many as 10,000 members.

In 2005, six of its leaders including Rahman werearrested and the group was banned. The six werehanged in 2007 after being convicted of the killingsof two judges.

However, it remains active and has attempted toregroup. Dabiq, a magazine of the IS group, hasclaimed Rahman was the founder of the jihadimovement in Bangladesh.

On Thursday, police said they arrested fivemembers of the group, and that one of its militarycommanders was killed in a gunfight in a Dhakasuburb. —AP

A look at key radical Islamist groups in Bangladesh

MALE: Maldivian policemen patrol the area where supporters of formerpresident Mohamed Nasheed have gathered for a mass rally in Male’,Maldives on Friday. —AP

TOKYO: Japan scrambled jets after 11 Chinese mili-tary planes flew near southern Japanese islands dur-ing what Beijing said was a drill to improve its long-range combat abilities, reports said yesterday.

The planes-eight bombers, two intelligence gath-ering planes and one early-warning aircraft-flew nearMiyako and Okinawa on Friday without violatingJapan’s airspace, the Japanese defence ministry saidin a statement released on Friday. Some of them flewbetween the two islands while others made flightsclose to neighboring islands, the ministry said.

A Chinese air force spokesman said several typesof planes, including H-6K bombers, were involved inFriday’s drill over the western Pacific, China’s Xinhuanews agency reported. Shen Jinke said such open seaexercises had improved the force’s long-distancecombat abilities, according to Xinhua.

While there were no further comments from theJapanese ministry, the Yomiuri Shimbun reportedthat it was “unusual” for China to dispatch such a largefleet close to Japan’s airspace and the ministry wasanalyzing the purpose of the mission.

Japan scrambles jets hundreds of times a year todefend its airspace, both against Russia and thesedays also against Chinese aircraft. Beijing has warned

this is heightening tensions between the two Asianpowerhouses, which are already at loggerheads overa longstanding territorial row in the East China Seaand Japanese military aggression in the first half ofthe 20th century.

The move comes with tensions running high inthe South China Sea after a US warship sailed close toat least one land formation claimed by China, whichhas rattled its neighbors with its increasingly assertivestance in territorial disputes. China transformed reefsin the region into small islands capable of supportingmilitary facilities, a move the US says threatens free-dom of navigation in a region through which one-third of the world’s oil passes.

China insists on sovereignty over virtually all theresource-endowed South China Sea, which is alsoclaimed in part by a handful of other countries.Washington has repeatedly said it does not recognizethe Chinese claims.

Online gun ringPolice in China, where gun possession by ordinary

people is illegal, have busted an online gun sellingoperation, seizing 1,180 guns and more than 6 millionbullets, the state news agency Xinhua reported yes-

terday.A seven-month investigation that started when

police happened across suspected gun parts in apackage netted 18 people involved in the sale ofguns in China via a website hosted on a US server,Xinhua said. The gun selling ring had made morethan 4 million yuan ($625,537) in profit since 2012,according to a police officer quoted by Xinhua.

The manufacture and sale of guns is strictly regu-lated in China and individuals can be sentenced to upto seven years in prison if convicted of illegally pos-sessing a gun. With such strict controls, private gunownership is almost unheard of and gun crime is rare.

In April, police found items believed to be guncomponents in a package when inspecting a courierservice, Xinhua quoted Lyu Ming, a police officer inthe northern region of Inner Mongolia, as saying.

In the following months, police traced packages tofive suspects in the central province of Hunan andraided a house they had used to sell guns, it said.

One suspect confessed that they had been in theonline gun business since 2012, using a rented serverin the United States. They posted advertisementsonline and recruited sales agents nationwide, Xinhuasaid. —Agencies

‘Large’ Chinese military fleet flies near Japan islesChina police bust online gun ring, seize 1,180 guns

COLOMBO: The Maldives’ opposition yes-terday vowed to regroup for a secondnight of demonstrations hours afterpolice broke up a planned 72-hourprotest demanding the release of thecountry’s ex-president and other politicalleaders. Maldivian Democratic Partyspokesman Hamid Abdul Gaffoor said theparty is within its legal rights to continuethe protests because police have unilater-ally withdrawn from agreed terms. Theparty is demanding the release from jailof former President Mohamed Nasheed,ex-Defense Minister Mohamed Nazimand opposition leader Sheik ImranAbdulla, as well as the withdrawal ofcourt action against 1,700 politicalactivists.

It says the actions against the leadersand activists are the result of a politicalvendetta by the current president,Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Police usedshields and pepper spray to break upFriday night’s protests as the demonstra-tors prepared for a street march. Theyalso cut off electricity for the campaignsite. Gaffoor said that during an earlierdiscussion with the party, the police hadagreed to allow a three-day protest as

long as sound systems were not usedafter midnight. However, they withdrewtheir permission after the governmentinterfered, he said.

Government officials could not bereached immediately for comment.Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years inprison for ordering the arrest of a topjudge when he was president in 2012.Nazim is serving a 10-year sentence forillegal possession of a pistol, and Abdullahas been detained for allegedly incitingviolence at an anti-government protest inMay. The Maldives, known mainly for itspristine beaches and luxury island resorts,became a multiparty democracy in 2008,but recently democratic gains have beenshrinking fast. Nasheed, the Indian Oceanarchipelago’s first democratically electedpresident, resigned four years into hisfive-year term amid protests against hisrole in the arrest of the judge. Gayoom, ahalf-brother of the Maldives’ former 30-year autocrat, defeated Nasheed in a dis-puted election in 2013. The judiciary,police and the bureaucracy are deemedhighly politicized and are accused ofbeing used by Gayoom to crack down onthe opposition. —AP

Maldives oppn regroups for 2nd night of protests

SEOUL: South Korean police yester-day banned a anti-governmentdemonstration planned in Seoul nextweek, citing concerns the protestcould turn violent, a spokesman said.

But activists vowed to push aheadwith the rally next Saturday outsideCity Hall. Police acted under a lawallowing them to ban street protestsif there is a risk of them turning vio-lent, the spokesman for the SeoulMetropolitan Police Agency told AFP.Police warned leaders of activistgroups who defy the ban would bearrested, as would participants whorefused to disperse.

Critics say the conservative gov-ernment of President Park Geun-Hye,a daughter of the late heavy-handedruler Park Chung-Hee, is slipping backinto past authoritarian rule. The banwas in line with a government warn-ing on Fr iday of zero violence instreet protests. Justice Minister KimHyun-Woong said in a televisedaddress that the government wasdetermined to “eradicate” any public

disorder and stressed that violatorswould “pay the price”.

Kim had issued a similar warningbefore a huge anti-government rallyin Seoul on November 14 that drewaround 60,000 people and spawnednumerous clashes between protes-tors and police who used pepperspray and water cannon. The focus ofthe protests is quite wide, incorporat-ing opposition to labor reforms, theopening of the agricultural marketand plans to impose government-issued history textbooks on schools.

The president condemned theNovember 14 protest as an effort to“deny the rule of law ” and urgedstrong measures against those identi-fied as inciting violence.

Park also said the wearing of masksby protestors should be prohibited,saying it was the sor t of practiceadopted by the Islamic State group,sparking angry reactions from oppo-nents. Her ruling conservative SaenuriParty on Wednesday tabled a bill inparliament to ban such masks. —AFP

S Korean police ban anti-government rally

SEOUL: North Korea apparently test-fired a sub-marine-launched ballistic missile yesterday in theSea of Japan but the test was a failure, a newsagency report said. Yonhap news agency quoted agovernment official as saying that the missile, KN-11, was fired between 2:20 pm (05:20 GMT) and2:40 pm.

“The North appears to have failed in its launch,”said the official on condition of anonymity,according to Yonhap. “The missile was not seenflying in the air only debris from its coverings wasspotted”, he said.

A South Korean defense ministry spokesmanrefused to comment on the report when contact-ed by AFP. If confirmed, it would mark the firsttime since May that the North has fired such a mis-sile. Leader Kim Jong-Un then oversaw an alleged-ly successful test-launch of what the Northclaimed was “a strategic submarine ballistic mis-sile”.

The missile appeared to have flown only about100 or 150 metres (330-495 feet) from the surfaceof the water but South’s defense ministrydescribed the launch at the time as “very seriousand worrisome”. Under UN Security Council resolu-tions, the nuclear armed North Korea is bannedfrom any test using ballistic missile technology.

North and South Korea remain technically atwar after a war ended in an armistice instead of apeace treaty in 1953. —AFP

N Korea fails in submarine launched missile test

PYONGYANG: North Koreans walk on a bridge that takes them over the PothongRiver yesterday in Pyongyang, North Korea. The Pothong River is the second largestriver that runs through the North Korean capital.—AP

CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines: ThePhilippines yesterday took deliveryof two Korean-made fighter jets -the country’s first supersonic com-bat aircraft in a decade - as itstrengthens its underfunded mili-tary amid an escalating territorialfeud with China.

The FA-50 jets touched down atClark Freeport, a former US Air Forcebase north of Manila, as Philippinedefense officials applauded and firetrucks sprayed water as a traditionalwelcome salute for the still-unarmed aircraft.

The Philippines bought 12 FA-50s, which are primarily trainer jetsthat the military converted to alsoserve as multi-role combat aircraft,from Korea Aerospace Industries at acost of 18.9 billion pesos ($402 mil-lion). The other jets will be deliveredin batches through 2017. Weaponsfor the FA-50s, including bombs androckets, will be purchased later.“We’re glad we’re finally back to thesupersonic age,” Defense SecretaryVoltaire Gazmin said.

The Philippine military decom-missioned its last fleet of supersoniccombat aircraft, the F-5, in 2005. Amilitary modernization programthat included plans for the purchaseof at least a squadron of fighter jetsand naval frigates didn’t happen forseveral years largely because of a

lack of funds. Over the years, themilitary has deteriorated to becomeone of Asia’s weakest.

Under current President BenignoAquino III, however, territorial spatswith China over islands in the SouthChina Sea have escalated andresulted in the Chinese seizure of adisputed shoal in 2012, promptingthe military to scramble to acquirenew navy ships and air force planeswith the help of the United States,

the Philippines’ longtime defensetreaty ally.

Last week, Aquino authorizedGazmin to enter into major con-tracts to acquire 44 billion pesos($936 million) worth of militaryhardware, including two frigates,anti-submarine helicopters andamphibious assault vehicles for thenavy, and long-range patrol aircraft,munitions for the FA-50s and sur-veillance radar for the air force,

Defense Undersecretary FernandoManalo said.

The new ships, aircraft and mili-tary equipment were expected tobe purchased from this year up to2018, according to Manalo. Lt. Col.Rolando Condrad Pena III, one ofthree Filipino air force pilots whoreceived training in Korea to fly theFA-50s, said that the jets could carryenough munitions payload andcould be used in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.

“Now that we have a supersonicaircraft our reaction time will befaster,” Pena told reporters. Still, thePhilippines has ruled out a militarysolution to the territorial conflictswith its limited defense capabilities.In January 2013, the Philippinesbrought its disputes with China tointernational arbitration, butBeijing refused to participate andpressed for one-on-one negotia-tions. An international tribunal inThe Hague, however, dismissedChina’s legal arguments last monthand ruled that it has authority tohear the Philippines’ case. It said itexpects to hand down a decisionnext year on several issues raisedby the Philippines, including thevalidity of China’s sweeping territo-rial claims under the 1982 UnitedNations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea. —AP

PH gets 1st fighter jets in a decade amid sea feud

MANILA: Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) ground crewinspect a pair of newly arrived FA-50 multirole light fighter air-craft delivered to the Philippine Air Force shortly after landingat the Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga province,north of Manila yesterday. —AFP

NEWSSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Continued from Page 1

Local police yesterday identified the suspect as 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear. News reports said he was fromSouth Carolina. It was unclear whether PlannedParenthood - a major women’s health and family planninggroup - was the shooter’s target.

Abortion is one of many services Planned Parenthoodprovides for women, and the association has become alightning rod for criticism by US conservatives, among oth-er reasons because it receives funding from the govern-ment for some health services. Suthers also paid tribute topolice for hauling in the gunman without further blood-shed. The nine injured included five police, none of whomwere seriously wounded, he said. “While this was a terrible,terrible tragedy, it could have been much worse if not forthe reactions of first responders,” Sutter told reporters.

The dead policeman was identified as Garrett Swasey,44, a campus officer at the University of Colorado atColorado Springs who had raced to the scene of the shoot-ing. Officers were able to enter the building during thestandoff and convince Dear to surrender, police spokes-woman Lt. Catherine Buckley told reporters. Vicki Cowart,president and CEO of Planned Parenthood RockyMountains, said she did not believe the center had beenspecifically targeted. Critics, many of whom seek to outlawabortion in the United States, have falsely accused PlannedParenthood of selling fetal organs and body parts for prof-

it, and encouraging women to have abortions in order toexpand such operations.

The national Planned Parenthood office praised “thebrave law enforcement officers who put themselves inharm’s way” in the incident. “We are profoundly grateful fortheir heroism in helping to protect all women, men andyoung people as they access basic healthcare in this coun-try,” the statement read. Local media said that extra policewere sent to protect the three other Planned Parenthoodclinics in the Denver area.

Several people were inside the clinic at the time of theshooting on what had been a regular work day. When thegunman opened fire, terrified people fled the building andran out into the snow, some crying and pleading for help.The immediate area around the clinic was placed on lock-down and people were told to stay indoors. Quan Hoang,the owner of a nearby nail salon, told CNN that when heheard the gunfire he feared a robbery was under way at abank in the shopping area, which would have beenbustling with people looking for so-called Black Fridaysales bargains the day after Thanksgiving.

“And we see cops, SWAT, the bomb squad, a wholebunch of people just trying to take cover around thePlanned Parenthood area,” he said by telephone. “An offi-cer came back in and said, ‘Is everyone safe?’ We asked himquestions and he said they’ve barricaded him inside thePlanned Parenthood and he was shooting out from thewindows.” — AFP

Obama slams gun violence after shooting

Continued from Page 1

Meanwhile, US Republican presidential candidate BenCarson said yesterday after visiting a camp for Syrianrefugees, that the displaced should be absorbed byMiddle Eastern countries, with the international commu-nity sending aid and “encouragement” to the host nations.Carson toured the Azraq camp in northern Jordan underheavy Jordanian security, with journalists barred. Carson’scampaign also limited access, not providing his itineraryand releasing only a short statement after the camp visit.

The candidate has repeatedly struggled to discussinternational affairs as they become a greater focus in the2016 presidential contest. Advisers have conceded thathis foreign policy fluency isn’t where it needs to be andhave expressed hope missions like his two-day trip toJordan will help change that.

Carson and other Republicans have adopted a harshtone when discussing President Barack Obama’s plan towelcome 10,000 Syrian refugees to the US in this budgetyear. Debate over Syrians fleeing their war-torn countryerupted after a series of attacks in Paris earlier this monththat raised security concerns across the West. Carson andhis GOP rivals expressed concern that extremists maysneak into the US among them. Last week, Carson likenedblocking potential terrorists posing as Syrian refugees tohandling “mad dogs”.

After the Azraq visit, Carson suggested that it would bebest to absorb Syrian refugees in Middle Eastern hostcountries, which have given temporary shelter to most ofthe more than 4 million Syrians who have fled civil war intheir country since 2011. “Syrians have a reputation asvery hard working, determined people, which should onlyenhance the overall economic health of the neighboringArab countries that accept and integrate them into thegeneral population,” he was quoted as saying.

“The humanitarian crisis presented by the fleeingSyrian refugees can be addressed if the nations of theworld with resources would provide financial and materialsupport to the aforementioned countries as well asencouragement,” the statement said. “There is muchbeauty in Syria and I suspect that many displaced Syrianswill return there when peace is restored,” he added.

Overwhelmed host countries, particularly Lebanonand Jordan, have balked at the idea of longer-term inte-gration of refugees. They have complained that they arecarrying an unfair burden while the international commu-nity’s support has fallen short. An aid appeal of $4.5 billionfor refugees in host countries in 2015 is only about halffunded. The cash crunch has created increasingly unbear-able conditions for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon,Iraq and - to a lesser extent - in economically more robustTurkey. In 2015, hundreds of thousands of refugeesmoved on to Europe in hopes of a better life. —Agencies

French PM calls on Gulf to accept more...

Continued from Page 1

Reeves’ theory is that priests would have been forcedto reopen Nefertiti’s tomb 10 years after her deathbecause the young pharaoh’s own mausoleum had notyet been built. But Damati believes that such a chamber,if found adjoining Tutankhamun’s tomb, may containKiya, another of Akhenaten’s wives. Akhenaten is knownfor having temporarily converted ancient Egypt tomonotheism by imposing the cult of sun god Aton.

Nefertiti’s role in the cult would have ruled out herburial in the Valley of the Kings according to ZahiHawass, the country’s former antiquities minister and

expert on ancient Egypt. “Nefertiti will never be buried inthe Valley of the Kings,” he told AFP. “The lady was wor-shipping Aton with Akhenaten for years. The priestswould never allow her to be buried in the Valley of theKings,” he said.

Hawass also questioned how archaeologists wouldenter the hidden part of the tomb without causing dam-age. Damati said that after the analysis, that would bethe next challenge. “The data is being analyzed to get aclear picture of what’s behind the wall,” he said. “Thenext step, which we will announce once we agree on it,will be accessing what’s behind the wall without damag-ing the tomb,” he said. — AFP

Scans point to hidden chamber in Tut’s tomb

Continued from Page 1

Other inflammatory rhetoric from the Trump and Carsoncampaigns has generated far different reactions. When Trumpannounced his campaign, he said Mexican immigrants are“bringing crime. They’re rapists.” He was widely denounced.Polls find Latinos strongly disapprove of his candidacy and hisremarks alienated other immigrant groups. The potency ofcomments criticizing Muslims was apparent even beforerecent attacks by extremists in France, Lebanon and Egypt.

Carson’s campaign reported strong fundraising and morethan 100,000 new Facebook friends in the 24 hours after hetold NBC’s “Meet the Press” in September, “I would not advo-cate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.” Campaignmanager Barry Bennett told AP, “While the leftwing is huffingand puffing over it, Republican primary voters are with us atleast 80-20.” “People in Iowa particularly, are like, ‘Yeah! We’renot going to vote for a Muslim either,” Bennett said at the time.“I don’t mind the hubbub. It’s not hurting us, that’s for sure.”

According to a 2014 poll by the Pew Research Center,Republicans view Muslims more negatively than they do anyother religious group, and significantly worse than doDemocrats. A different Pew poll last year found that 82 per-cent of Republicans were “very concerned” about the rise ofIslamic extremism, compared with 51 percent of Democratsand 60 percent of independents. Today, 84 percent ofRepublicans disapprove of taking in Syrian refugees, most ofwhom are Muslims, compared with 40 percent of Democratsand 58 percent of independents, according to a Gallup pollreleased just before Thanksgiving.

In recent years, Americans’ attitudes toward Islam andMuslims have been relatively stable following terrorist attacks.But opposition jumped in the run-up to the US invasion ofIraq and around major elections. To Dalia Mogahed, researchdirector for the Institute for Social Policy and Understandingand former executive director of the Gallup Center for MuslimStudies, those are signs that “the public was being manipulat-ed” by politicians with agendas.

After the Sept 11 attacks, when President George WBush visited a Washington mosque and said “Islam ispeace,” public opinion of the faith actually improved, shesaid. But the absence of such a leader has created a clearpath for candidates who oppose Islam. “They’ve nowlatched onto Muslims as an easy target with no conse-

quences,” Mogahed said. “We’ve really moved the thresholdof what is socially acceptable.”

Singling out Muslims is not new. Before the 2012 presiden-tial election, Republican candidate Newt Gingrich called for afederal ban on Islamic law and said Muslims could hold publicoffice in the US if “the person would commit in public to giveup sharia”. Huckabee, then considering a presidential run,called Islam “the antithesis of the gospel of Christ”.

But candidates at the top of the field stayed away fromsuch rhetoric. “The kind of things that Donald Trump and BenCarson are saying today are things that Mitt Romney wouldhave never said,” said Farid Senzai, a political scientist at SantaClara University. Romney was the Republican nominee in2012. Criticism of Muslims is hardly limited to presidentialcampaigns. In recent years, there have been ads by anti-Muslim groups and well-organized campaigns against thebuilding of mosques, along with pressure on state legislaturesto ban sharia law.

“All of these things - built up over more than a decade by afew very vocal people - have created a climate in which it isnot just acceptable for politicians to play to our basestinstincts, but perhaps politically expedient,” JonathanGreenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League,said in an email.

The intensity of the rhetoric is partly a symptom of thelarge field of GOP candidates, all trying to stake out ground toprove themselves as the most patriotic and toughest onnational security, said Charles Dunn, former dean of theschool of government at Regent University, which was found-ed by Pat Robertson, an evangelist and one-time GOP presi-dential candidate. “The tone is much more strident now,much less forgiving,” Dunn said.

American Muslims make up just under 1 percent of the USpopulation, Pew estimates. They come from many differentbackgrounds and are widely dispersed, limiting their politicalinfluence, Green said. The Muslim Public Affairs Council, apolicy and advocacy group based in Los Angeles, sent lettersin October to all the presidential candidates asking them toattend the organization’s public policy forum. The candi-dates either did not respond or declined, council spokes-woman Rabiah Ahmed said. “Over the last 10 years, the politi-cal and civic organizations for US Muslims have becomemuch better organized, but I think their voice is still fairlymuted,” Green said. — AP

Reps attack Muslims with impunity

A great white egret feeds at Echo Park Lake near downtown Los Angeles on Friday. — AP

By Aleksandar Vasovic and GabrielaBaczynska

Need a Kalashnikov in Belgium? No prob-lem, says “Nemac” the Serb; a few hun-dred euros will buy the gun and a place

to stash it in a car or truck coming up from theBalkans. A veteran of the Yugoslav wars, talkingto Reuters at a drab truckstop outside theSerbian capital, Nemac doesn’t smuggle gunshimself, he says. But he knows people who canship assault rifles of the kind used in the Nov 13Paris attacks. He describes a trove of guns acrossthe Balkans - a legacy of the Yugoslav military.

The main militant threat in Europe has longbeen the bomb. Yet over the past year, attacksby French and Belgian jihadists returned fromSyria has brought fresh scrutiny of gun-runningroutes into the heart of Europe, for many yearsthe domain of Balkan gangsters supplying crimi-nals in western Europe. The source of all theweapons used in the Paris attack is unclear but atleast some were reported on Saturday to havecome from a batch made in Belgrade in the late1980s.

What is generally clear, however, is that armsare increasingly finding their way into the handsof extremists. “There are plenty of nooks andcrannies in a car or truck where you can hide adisassembled gun,” said Nemac, whose nom deguerre means “The German”. “People hide themin the fuel tank.” His associate Milan laid out theprice list for weaponry filched from Yugoslav,Albanian and other arsenals: Up to Ä700 for anAK-47 of Yugoslav manufacture; Albanian mod-els and Chinese versions from Maoist Tiranacome cheaper. “Silenced weapons cost more,sub-machine guns that are easier to conceal,they cost more,” he added. “Pistols are still fairlycheap, around 150 euros apiece.”

It’s a shopping list that shows the scale of the

problem facing Europe’s police forces. “The ter-rorist threat ... is operating on the boundariesbetween terrorism and serious crime,” said RobWainwright, the head of EU police agencyEuropol, as he warned the European Parliamentlast week there could be further attacks usingguns sold by Balkan crime networks to homegrown Western jihadists. The threat is not new.Nor is the connection from the Balkans to Franceand notably Belgium, where police data shownearly 6,000 firearms seizures a year, more thanall France.

But efforts to crack down are struggling tokeep pace with events and the proliferation ofsmuggling routes including from Libya and east-ern Ukraine. In May last year, Frenchman MehdiNemmouche, 29, back from Syria, used an AK-47,the classic Kalashnikov of the Soviet world, togun down four people at the Jewish Museum inBrussels. At Charlie Hebdo magazine and akosher grocery in Paris in January, againKalashnikovs were used, some acquired inBelgium like those carried by the man accused oftrying to cause mayhem on a Brussels to Parisexpress train in August.

And then there were the guns used by threeattackers to mow down 89 people at the Bataclantheatre during a rock concert. Though bearingthe Kalashnikov name, the traded guns are most-ly versions made many years ago by state firms inYugoslavia, Albania and China and have nothingto do with the modern-day firm. Kalashnikovitself could not be reached for comment.

The Nov 13 attacks happened just hours afterFrench Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuveunveiled an action plan against traffickers fromthe East. “Arms smuggling is behind many acts ofterrorism,” he said that day, decrying “militaryarsenals fallen into the hands of civilians andmafias” in the former Soviet bloc and the Balkans.But for all the new resolve of the European Union

to tighten borders and close loopholes in lawsthat already effectively ban private ownership ofrapid-fire assault weapons, Nemac, Milan and ajaded Serbian policeman doubt it can end thetrade.

The Serbian police officer, who is involved incounter-trafficking operations, said investigatorsuncovered maybe a third of shipments at best.The problem was the sheer volume of weapons,he explained, recounting a tale of a man who toldcustoms officers at Serbia’s border with the EUthat he was a musician and had nothing todeclare but his old accordion. When officerschecked his car, there was a hole in the fuel tankthat was patched with gaffer tape and there were20 guns inside. On another occasion a handgunwas discovered in a bag of pork scratchings, and agun found hidden in a sandwich.

Balkan Black MarketThere are an estimated 80 million firearms in

the European Union already. But they are mostlytightly licensed or state owned. It is the availabili-ty of old military hardware on the black marketthat makes the Balkans a focus. “You don’t knowwhere these weapons are, who holds them orhow they are being used,” said IvanZverzhanovski of the Clearinghouse for theControl of Small Arms and Light Weapons, amonitor of weapons proliferation based inBelgrade.

A week before the Paris attacks, Serbiaannounced that Serbian and French securityagencies had rounded up a major gang runningguns between the two countries. Few mediareported it. Almost simultaneously, German traf-fic police stopped a VW Golf driven by a manfrom Serbia’s ex-Yugoslav neighbor Montenegro.They found eight Kalashnikov AK-47s, severalhandguns and explosives. His navigation systemshowed he was heading for Paris. No direct link

has been found with the Nov. 13 attacks, but it isno isolated case.

The ease with which arms are crossing intothe EU and then across Europe’s open-bordersSchengen zone is now contributing, along withthe movements of the killers themselves and ofhundreds of thousands of migrants, to calls formuch tighter frontier checks and new internal EUcontrols. Yet it seems impossible to eradicateentirely a trade in illegal guns that still flourishesinside the EU itself.

Indeed, there is some irony that Brussels, self-styled “capital” of the European Union and alsohome to the NATO military alliance, has becomea marketplace for such hardware. “If you have500 to 1,000 euros you can get a military weaponwithin half an hour,” said Bilal Benyaich, an experton Islamist radicals at the city’s Itinera Institutethink-tank. “That makes Brussels look more like alarge US city,” he added, contrasting it to thenorm in Europe, where guns are rare and auto-matics rarer still compared to the United States.

Some of that is a legacy of past lax Belgiangun laws - they were tightened a decade ago -in a country that has long been a major manu-facturer and exporter of firearms itself. Belgianpolice did not respond to requests for com-ment. The sums Benyaich cites, up to Ä1,000 inBrussels for a Kalashnikov, represent only a 50-to 100-percent mark-up on the asking price atsource, suggestive of the ease at which illicitguns are crossing Europe’s borders despite therisks if caught. “Once the deal is made, local sell-ers dismantle weapons and ship them,”Belgrade contact Milan said. “The main difficul-ty is to enter the Schengen zone - Hungary -undetected. Once inside Schengen, a wise manwould change vehicles two or three times. Thatmeans you need a network - and the more peo-ple get involved, the bigger is the chance of aleak to police.” — Reuters

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A N A L Y S I SSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

No money, no food, no petrol. But there isfear. Plenty of it. It is fear that haunts thedusty streets of PK5, a Muslim neighbour-

hood in Bangui, the Central African Republic(CAR) capital that Pope Francis plans to visittoday and tomorrow. Under siege from Christianmilitia - known as “anti-balaka” fighters - backedby ex-army troops, residents of the city’s lastMuslim district are cornered amid the burnt rub-ble and debris of war, hungry but too afraid toventure out. “Nobody can leave PK5 and go onBoganda avenue without being stoned, kid-napped or killed by armed groups,” said a youngMuslim who gave her name as Aziza. “We are allafraid.”

The PK5 district, a maze of dirt-red roads andflimsy shacks, epitomizes the sectarian conflicttearing apart impoverished CAR. If security per-mits, Francis is scheduled to visit its mosque onthe last leg of his three-nation Africa tour, his firstvisit to the continent. The district was the epicen-tre of an unprecedented wave of violence pittingmajority Christians against minority Muslims thatbegan in late 2013 and has continued since.

One of the poorest and most unstable coun-tries in Africa, the country plunged into chaosafter former president Francois Bozize was oustedin a coup in March 2013. The mainly Muslimrebels behind the coup went on a bloody ram-page that triggered the emergence of the equallydangerous anti-Balaka militia in mostly Christiancommunities. At the height of the massacres,around one in five of CAR’s 4.6 million peoplewere displaced and half the population forced tolive on humanitarian aid.

“We don’t have anything here: vegetables,water, electricity or health care,” said local shop-keeper Ashta Babayero. Residents said they hadpleaded for help from UN peacekeepers in theMINUSCA force as well as from French forcesthere.

Cornered, Unable to Move But Ahmat Moussa, also a shopkeeper, said

international forces were refusing aid. “Before, theMINUSCA patrols would escort those who want-ed to leave, but it’s no longer the case. We can’teven go to the bank to take out money. Food isscarce and what can we do without money?” Oneman said that when his brother attempted towithdraw cash “they kidnapped, tortured andkilled him, his body was horribly mutilated.”

Political scientist Roland Marchal said soldiersfrom Bozize’s army, officially dismantled by inter-national forces, were joining the anti-balaka mili-tia. “They recently switched to the anti-balakacamp, this is not a good sign,” Marchal said. TheCAR leg of the pontiff’s trip has been maintaineddespite warnings from French peacekeepers therethat they cannot guarantee Francis’ security.

And Muslim leaders from PK5 have met withthe archbishop of Bangui in an attempt to secureas best as possible the locations the pontiff plansto visit. But the militias patrolling the outskirts ofthe district do not plan to let up their barricades.“The residents of the PK5 kill, slaughter and maimmen, women and children!” said Herve Ngote,who lives in a nearby district. “We will maintainthis blockade until a solution is found, we willbrave the armed Muslims in PK5 and MINUSCA,”he said.

Vatican officials say a last-minute change ofprogram will only happen if Francis is madeaware of a precise threat that could endanger thethousands of believers expected to come and seehim, many of whom will be travelling long dis-tances from neighboring countries. Aides say heis determined that the sombre context will notaffect his plans, particularly in CAR. — AFP

Issues

Fear haunting

besieged Muslim

district of CAR

By Christian Panika and Jean-Pierre Campagne

By Dr James J Zogby

The roots of our nation’s current descentinto madness can be traced back to aseries of unresolved catastrophic traumas

Americans experienced during the BushAdministration. In the short span of 8 years, wesuffered a collective loss of confidence inAmerican leadership, in the ability of govern-ment to perform its most basic functions, andin the very essence of the American Dream.

Recall that when George W Bush was elect-ed in 2000, the electoral process itself had beenconfidence shattering. Having been broughtup to believe in the inviolability of our demo-cratic process, exposure to “how the sausagewas made”, caused great discomfort.Nevertheless, we moved on because the coun-try was doing well both economically andpolitically. We had emerged victorious from theCold War and in the decade that followeddemonstrated our uncontested leadership,winning two relatively quick wars: LiberatingKuwait and bringing peace to Bosnia. Thencame the devastating blow of 9/11. The fatefuldecisions taken by the Bush Administration inresponse to that attack only prolonged andultimately deepened the trauma of the terroristattacks. They misled the country into two wars,telling us that victory would be “quick andclean” and certain - we would be heralded asliberators, and the spark of democracy wouldspread throughout the entire Middle East. Fiveyears later, with thousands of American liveslost, a trillion dollars of our treasury spent,growing anti-American sentiment worldwide,and both wars far from over, Americans hadlost confidence in our world leadership.

Blows The Bush Administration performed no bet-

ter on the home front. While the president wasgiven credit for saying “Islam is a religion ofpeace” and cautioning Americans not to targettheir fellow Arab and Muslim American citizens,his Justice Department undercut that messageby instituting practices that profiled both com-munities. Mass round-ups, inflammatory pressconferences, and the frequent abuse of “height-ened alerts” created fear and fostered publicsuspicions about the “enemy within”.

It was at that point that Katrina hit, dealinganother blow to an already reeling country.Even “small government” conservatives expectthat government will perform well in time oftragedy. The Administration’s delayed responseand the bungling that followed only served todeepen the public’s loss of confidence in theability of government to act.

The final blow came in the BushAdministration’s waning days in the form of adeep and, for a time, growing economic reces-sion that shook the foundations of our financialsystem and the public’s confidence in theAmerican Dream. Within a few short months,major banks and manufacturers were on theverge of bankruptcy, average Americans hadlost 20 to 30 percent of the wealth they hadaccumulated in their pension plans, the unem-ployment rate had doubled, and one in fivehomeowners were threatened with foreclo-sure. Polls, which throughout the 1990’sshowed two-thirds of Americans confident intheir economic future, were suddenly reversedwith two-thirds now saying that the countrywas on the “wrong track” and the same two-thirds no longer believing that their childrenwould be better off in the future.

Hope This was the setting of Barack Obama’s vic-

tory in 2008, the most remarkable aspect of

which was that it was based on the triumph ofhope over fear coupled with a call to look for-ward to better days. In most periods of collec-tive trauma that I have studied, the more typi-cal reaction is for movements to emerge thatprey off fear and social dislocation and toappeal to the values of a romanticized past.

This time was different, but it only lasted fora short while. No sooner had Obama won,then the GOP began plotting his demise. Theydid everything they could to block his agendain Congress; they funded and provided logisti-cal support for the Tea Party; they gave a winkand a nod to the “birther movement”; and, inways subtle and not so subtle, they exploitedthe basest of fears about the President’sAfrican heritage and his father’s religion.Within a year of Obama’s election, a substantialnumber of self-identified Republicans saidthey believed that the President had not beenborn in the US and was, therefore, not a legiti-mate president.

Polls have consistently established thatboth the Tea Party and “birthers” share somedemographic characteristics. They are white,largely middle class and middle aged. Theyhad been disproportionately impacted by theeconomic collapse and felt that the govern-ment’s response to the crisis had been to favorthe rich and poor minorities - at their expense.They see themselves as victims of a failed gov-ernment that misled them and let them down.

Intolerance Despite indicators that point to an econom-

ic recovery, they remain insecure and are wait-ing for the “other shoe to drop”. They are afraidof “foreigners” whom they blame for their eco-nomic decline, the erosion of social cohesion,and the “benefits” they believe are doled out toimmigrants at their expense. They especially

blame Muslims for the danger they pose athome and abroad. And they blame the presi-dent because they see him as “foreign” andfavoring the interests of “minorities” andMuslims over their own. [A recent poll showedthat over 50 percent of all Republicans nowbelieve Obama is a Muslim, with over 60 per-cent of Trump and Carson supporters believ-ing this and believing that the president wasn’tborn in the US.]

The Trump and GOP appeals to “MakeAmerica great again”, to “stop us from losing”,or to “restore our honor” are in response to thestill unresolved collective trauma experiencedby the same group of voters who comprisedthe Tea Party. They are the anti-Obama mes-sage - appealing to fear and not hope, andlooking backward, not forward. Ironically, theyare the themes on which Republicans mighthave based their campaign in 2008, had theynot been running to replace one of their ownin the Oval Office.

For months now, the pundits and the GOPestablishment have dismissed the dangersposed by the likes of Trump and Carson andCruz. Trump, they said, would be undone by hisinsults and fabrications; Carson was a fad whowould soon fade; and Cruz, because he was sodisliked, would go nowhere. Most recent polls,however, show these three garnering between50 percent and 60 percent of the Republicanvote. And as their rhetoric becomes harsher,with naked appeals to intolerance and evenviolence, it is time to wake up. Because theyspeak to an entire group’s existential crisis, tapinto their deep reservoir of resentment, andelicit violent emotions, these themes and theirproponents must be addressed.

NOTE: Dr James J Zogby is the President of theArab American Institute

The descent into madness - Part II

Running guns to the heart of Europe

Washington Watch

SYDNEY: Cate Campbell set a world record for the 100 meters freestyle atthe Australian short-course swimming championships yesterday in a racewhere she eventually finished last. A specialist sprinter, Campbell broke the100m record during the final of the 200m freestyle when she set off at fullspeed and reached the halfway point of the eight-lap race in 50.91 seconds.With the record safely in the bag, the 23-year-old then slowed down andcoasted to the finish, taking almost another 90 seconds to complete the lastfour laps and allowing all her rivals to overtake her. “It was pretty unique toget a world record and then finish dead last in your race,” Campbell toldreporters at Sydney’s Olympic pool. “Not many people can claimthat but I’ve always been a trailblazer, so I’ll take it.” Campbell’ssplit time slashed a tenth of a second off the previous recordof 51.01, set by Australian Libby Trickett in 2009. It was alsothe second short-course world record set in as many days atthe Australian championships after Mitch Larkin broke themen’s 200m backstroke mark on Friday. Already an Olympicand world gold medallist, Campbell is one of the spearheadsof Australia’s star-studded female swim team expected todominated the sprinting events at next year’s RioOlympics. —Reuters

S PORTSSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

NAIROBI: Kenya, facing scrutiny from world anti-doping officialsand criticism that it is not doing enough to tackle the problem, hasbanned seven more athletes for doping offences, raising the totalnumber of Kenyan drug cases in the last three years to 40. In a state-ment late on Friday, Athletics Kenya said it had confirmed the sanc-tions against seven athletes for a range of drug offences. The listincluded Emily Chebet, a double world cross country champion andCommonwealth Games bronze medalist. She was handed a four-year ban after testing positive for a diuretic. Joyce Zakary, a 400metre runner, and hurdler Koki Manunga were also given four-yearbans. Both tested positive for diuretics at this year’s world champi-onships in Beijing. The latest list also included four long-distancerunners, Agnes Jepkosgei, Bernard Mwendia, Judy Jesire Kimugeand Lilian Moraa Marita. They were each suspended for betweentwo and four years. Kenya boasts some of the world’s finest middleand long-distance runners but in recent years has been shaken by aspate of failed drug tests. Some athletes have said the governmentand Athletics Kenya have not taken the issue seriously.— Reuters

Seven more Kenyan athletes

banned for doping offences

ABU DHABI: Nico Rosberg topped the times ahead of his Mercedes team-mateand world champion Lewis Hamilton in yesterday’s final free practice sessionahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 30-year-oldGerman, who is seeking to complete a winning hat-trick in Sunday’s race, will bidto continue his current domination of the newly-crowned three-time champion

by securing his sixth straight pole in qualifying later at thespectacular Yas Marina circuit. Hamilton, who spun dur-

ing a near-frantic effort to deliver a fastest lap, has notbeen on pole in any of the last six races since the

Italian Grand Prix on September 6. Rosberg clockeda best lap of one minute and 41.856 seconds to

finish 0.281 seconds ahead of the Briton, whoseresults have faded since he clinched his third

title at last month’s United States Grand Prix.Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel wasthird-fastest for Ferrari ahead of Mexican

Sergio Perez of Force India, Finn KimiRaikkonen in the second Ferrari and Australian

Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull.—AFP

Formula One: Rosberg on

top again in final practice

Australia’s Campbell sets 100m

freestyle short-course record

Western ConferenceCentral Division

W L OTL GF GA PTSDallas 18 5 0 81 59 36St. Louis 14 6 3 62 57 31Nashville 12 6 4 58 56 28Chicago 13 8 2 65 59 28Minnesota 11 7 3 60 57 25Winnipeg 11 11 2 64 75 24Colorado 8 13 1 63 67 17

Pacific DivisionLos Angeles 13 8 1 55 48 27San Jose 13 9 0 61 56 26Arizona 12 9 1 61 62 25Vancouver 9 8 7 69 65 25Anaheim 8 11 5 47 65 21Calgary 8 13 2 54 82 18Edmonton 7 14 2 59 72 16

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

Montreal 18 4 2 86 53 38Ottawa 12 5 5 73 64 29Boston 13 8 1 73 64 27Detroit 12 8 3 55 58 27Tampa Bay 11 10 3 57 55 25Florida 9 9 4 58 58 22Buffalo 9 12 2 50 61 20Toronto 7 10 5 51 62 19

Metropolitan DivisionNY Rangers 16 5 2 70 47 34Washington 16 5 1 71 49 33Pittsburgh 13 8 1 50 51 27NY Islanders 11 8 4 64 57 26New Jersey 11 9 2 53 55 24Philadelphia 8 10 5 42 65 21Carolina 8 11 4 47 66 20Columbus 10 14 0 59 73 20Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standingsand are not included in the loss column (L)

NHL results/standings

Boston 4, NY Rangers 3; Philadelphia 3, Nashville 2 (OT); Winnipeg 3,Minnesota 1; Chicago 3, Anaheim 2 (OT); Washington 4, Tampa Bay2; Buffalo 4, Carolina 1; Montreal 3, New Jersey 2 (SO); Columbus 2,Pittsburgh 1 (OT); Detroit 4, 3 (OT); Florida 3, NY Islanders 2 (SO);Dallas 3, Vancouver 2 (SO); Arizona 2, Calgary 1 (OT).

OHIO: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (left) collides with Columbus Blue Jackets’ Justin Falk during the first period of an NHL hockey game on Friday, Nov 27, 2015, inColumbus, Ohio. —AP

Bruins extend winning streak

to a season-high five gamesBOSTON: Ryan Spooner and David Krejciscored 2:03 apart late in the third period asthe Boston Bruins rallied to beat the New YorkRangers 4-3 Friday. Tuukka Rask had 24 savesfor the Bruins, who extended their win streakto a season-high five games in a wild finish.Spooner’s power-play goal with 3:46 left toplay tied it at 3, then Krejci struck again forthe Bruins on a deflected slap shot that beatHenrik Lundqvist with 1:43 remaining. PatriceBergeron and Brett Connolly also scored forthe Bruins, who won their third straight athome. Oscar Lindberg, Rick Nash and JT Millerscored for the Rangers and Lundqvist finishedwith 30 saves.

BLACKHAWKS 3, DUCKS 2, OTArtem Anisimov scored 1:53 into overtime

and Chicago rallied from a two-goal deficit inthe final moments of regulation for a victoryover Anaheim. Marian Hossa and DuncanKeith scored man-advantage goals in the final1:41 of regulation, and Brent Seabrook assist-ed on all three goals. The defending StanleyCup champions roared from behind in theirfirst trip to Anaheim since winning Game 7 ofthe Western Conference finals here sixmonths ago. Hossa ended John Gibson’sshutout bid during a 6-on-4 power play with1:41 to play, and Keith got the tying goal with26.6 seconds left. Patrick Kane extended hispoints streak to 18 games with an assist onKeith’s score, and Corey Crawford stopped 23shots. Andrew Cogliano and Chris Stewartscored early goals for Anaheim, and Gibsonstopped 29 shots.

STARS 3, CANUCKS 2, SOTyler Seguin scored on the first shot of the

shootout, Antti Niemi stopped all threeVancouver attempts after making 34 savesand Dallas beat Vancouver. Vancouver ’sHenrik Sedin tied the game on the powerplay with 4:10 left. Daniel Sedin assisted witha pass across the goal mouth. The Stars out-shot the Canucks 6-2 in overtime, but goalieRyan Miller stopped them even during a pow-er play. Miller finished with 23 saves. Niemideflected Vancouver’s last shootout attemptby Chris Higgins wide of the net. Dallas’ JamieBenn scored his league-leading 17th goal ona tip-in on the power play with 4:33 left in thefirst period.

COYOTES 2, FLAMES 1, OTOliver Ekman-Larsson scored in overtime,

Mike Smith stopped 25 shots and Arizonabeat Calgary for coach Dave Tippett’s 500thcareer victory. Both teams scored goals in thesecond period on caroms: Martin Hanzal earlyfor Arizona, Mark Giordano late on a powerplay for Calgary. The Coyotes withstood a longflurry to start overtime and wore the Flamesdown with one of their own late. Arizona wonit with 39 seconds left on the clock when BradRichardson sent a pass from behind the goalto Ekman-Larsson, and he one-timed it pastKarri Ramos. Ramos stopped 18 in his first lossin five career games against Arizona. TheFlames lost for the first time in six overtimes.

RED WINGS 4, OILERS 3, OTNiklas Kronwall scored 26 seconds into

overtime to lift Detroit over Edmonton.Kronwall was stripped in front of his net 10seconds into the extra period, but HenrikZetterberg and Dylan Larkin were able to tieup the play without allowing a shot. The puckeventually bounced loose, and Larkin led a 2-on-1 rush, with Kronwall one-timing a passpast Cam Talbot for his first goal of the season.Larkin, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar alsoscored for Detroit, while Iiro Pakarinen scoredtwice for the Oilers and Andrej Sekera addedanother. Detroit has now gone six gameswithout losing in regulation.

CANADIENS 3, DEVILS 2, SOAlex Galchenyuk and Sven Andrighetto

scored in regulation and again in the shootoutand Montreal rallied from a two-goal deficit tobeat New Jersey for its fourth straight win.Mike Condon started for the injured CareyPrice and preserved the win by stoppingPatrik Elias with his pad on the Devils’ fifthattempt in the shootout. He finished with 25saves, the same as the Devils’ Cory Schneider.Adam Henrique and Lee Stempniak scored forthe Devils in regulation and Jacob Josefsonhad the only New Jersey tally in the shootout.The Devils have lost four of five games.Schneider had two outstanding stops in over-time, including a point-blank save on MaxPacioretty on a power play in the waning sec-onds and a short-handed stop on TomasPlekanec’s breakaway. Andrighetto pulledMontreal within 2-1 with 4:43 left in the sec-

ond period, and then Galchenyuk tied it with8:46 left in the third.

BLUE JACKETS 2, PENGUINS 1, OTCam Atkinson scored with 2:18 left in over-

time after a dazzling setup by BrandonDubinsky and Columbus beat Pittsburgh. Thegame took on the intensity of an old-schoolplayoff battle after Dubinsky cross-checkedPenguins star Sidney Crosby in the back of theneck late in the second period. Crosby wasslow getting to his skates and went to thelocker room with 1:20 left. He returned for thethird period and played the rest of the game.Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 41 shots for thePenguins, and Sergei Bobrovsky turned away24 for Columbus. Evgeni Malkin putPittsburgh ahead on a power play with 10:45left, but Ryan Johansen tied it. In overtime,Dubinsky cut in into the slot and patientlycurled away from the net and into the rightcircle before passing to Atkinson in the slot.The goal was Atkinson’s sixth this season.

PANTHERS 3, ISLANDERS 2, SOAleksander Barkov scored the winner in a

five-round shootout and Florida beat NewYork. The Panthers scored on all five of theirattempts, while the Islanders converted fourbefore Roberto Luongo stopped Brock Nelsonto end the game. It was the Panthers’ thirdstraight win over the Islanders, who hostFlorida in Brooklyn on Dec 15. With Floridaahead 2-0 after two periods, the Islandersstormed back with a pair of goals just overthree minutes apart in the third. Ryan Stromebeat Luongo high to the glove side for his sec-ond goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1with 5:36 gone, and Josh Bailey converted ona one-timer in traffic for his fourth to tie it upat 8:39. Goals by Brandon Pirri and JussiJokinen gave Florida its 2-0 lead.

SABRES 4, HURRICANES 1Chad Johnson made 27 saves, Jack Eichel

got his eighth goal of the season and Buffalobeat Carolina to end a six-game losing streak.Josh Gorges, Brian Gionta and David Legwandalso scored for Buffalo, and Jamie McGinn hadtwo assists. The Sabres had lost their last fourhome games. Victor Rask scored Carolina’sonly goal, and the Hurricanes failed to pick upa point for the first time in five games. Cam

Ward stopped 11 of 14 shots before beingreplaced by Eddie Lack after two periods. Lackstopped 6 of 7 shots.

CAPITALS 4, LIGHTNING 2Jason Chimera scored a power-play goal

and had an assist during another man advan-tage to help Washington beat Tampa Bay. AlexOvechkin and TJ Oshie also scored againstTampa Bay’s usually reliable penalty kill.Marcus Johansson added an even-strengthgoal in the Capitals’ fourth straight victory.Braden Holtby made 32 saves for Washingtonto preserve his sixth consecutive victory.Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves for theLightning. Brian Boyle and Victor Hedmanscored late for Tampa Bay.

JETS 3, WILD 1Dustin Byfuglien had a goal and assist,

Connor Hellebuyck made 14 saves to win hisNHL debut and Winnipeg Jets spoiled leftwinger Zach Parise’s return from a knee injuryby beating Minnesota. Mathieu Perreaultadded his second goal in two games andNikolaj Ehlers’ goal late in the third put thegame away. The Jets won on the road for thefirst time in their last seven tries and for justthe third time in their last 11 games. RyanCarter scored for Minnesota, finally getting ashot past Hellebuyck that made it 2-1 midwaythrough the third period. Hellebuyck was col-lege hockey’s top goalie in 2013-14 and thegoaltender on the US team that won a bronzemedal in the 2015 world championships.

FLYERS 3, PREDATORS 2, OTShayne Gostisbehere scored on the power

play with 52 seconds left in overtime to liftPhiladelphia to a win over Nashville. ColinMcDonald and Michael Del Zotto also scored forPhiladelphia, which won for just the fourth timein 16 games. The Flyers gave up the tying goalto Michael Fisher with 20 seconds left in regula-tion. Philadelphia went on the power play whenNashville was called for too many men on theice. Gostisbehere one-timed Claude Giroux’spass from the slot past Pekka Rinne for his thirdgoal of the season and second straight winninggoal in overtime. He scored 24 seconds into theextra session Monday in Philadelphia’s 3-2home win over Carolina. Filip Forsberg alsoscored for Nashville.— AP

NAGANO: Japan’s high-flying Olympic champion YuzuruHanyu became the first skater to break the 300-pointmark yesterday as he soared to victory at the NHK Trophyin breathtaking style. The 20-year-old obliterated themystical barrier in Nagano, posting a combined worldrecord total of 322.40 points after a jaw-dropping freeprogram which also smashed Canadian Patrick Chan’sprevious high, sending thousands of squealing femalefans into raptures. Hanyu’s free score of 216.07 was alsothe first ever to clear the 200-point mark and his astonish-ing aggregate tally was on a entirely different level toChan’s previous best of 295.27 set in Paris two years ago.“I don’t believe it,” Hanyu told reporters after being greet-ed with a bear-hug from Canadian coach Brian Orser andcalling out “arigato” (thank you) to his adoring public.

“That score really was a surprise. I was so nervousbefore I skated but I wanted to go for it. I wanted to showthat I’m the Olympic champion, here on a rink where theOlympics were held (in 1998). Despite the score, I stillthink there is room to improve.” It is difficult to see howafter an exquisite performance which could redefine thesport. Hanyu, who covered his face with his hands in dis-belief as his score was announced, majestically nailed allof his jumps, including four quads and seven triples, in ahigh-risk program which left his rivals way back. Hepunched the air in joy at the end of his skate as the crowderupted before gliding over to a television camera hold-ing his index finger aloft to underline his status as figureskating’s crown prince.

Lost for words“It’s hard to describe what I’m feeling right now,” said

Hanyu, shaking his head. Chinese teenager Jin Boyangposted a score of 170.79 to finish a distant runner-up witha total of 266.43, joining Hanyu in next month’s GrandPrix Final in Barcelona. Japan’s Takahito Mura took thirdwith a total of 242.21.— AFP

Japan’s Hanyu

smashes mystical

300-point mark

NAGANO: Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan performs duringthe men’s singles event at the ISU Grand Prix figureskating NHK Trophy in Nagano yesterday. — AFP

S PORTSSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

BELGRADE: Euroleague holders RealMadrid are staring at an early exit aftera dramatic 94-88 defeat at Red StarBelgrade while six of their r ivalsreached the competition’s secondgroup stage with three games to spareon Friday. Spanish contendersBarcelona and Unicaja Malaga, RussiansCSKA Moscow and LokomotivKrasnodar as well as FenerbahceIstanbul and Olympiakos Piraeus allprogressed to the Top 16, featuring twogroups of eight teams. Real’s setback atRed Star left them with a 2-5 record andfacing an uphill battle to stay in the

hunt for a record-extending 10th title,after the hosts swung the absorbingcontest their way in front of a fervent7,000 crowd.

“These are the best basketball fans inthe world and I just love how they gotbehind us tonight,” Red Star’s Americanforward Quincy Miller told Reuters aftera standing ovation. “We played toughdefense when we had to and this winwill have boosted our confidence aheadof the last three games,” added the 23-year old from Chicago, having racked up24 points and seven rebounds. RedStar’s German centre Maik Zirbes, the

game’s top scorer with 26 points, added:“It’s a great accomplishment but ourchances of advancing are still in the bal-ance and we have to keep up the goodwork.” A roller coaster affair, played inthe cauldron of the acoustic Pionir Hall,saw Red Star throw away a 12-point leadmidway through the first half and thenovercome a 10-point deficit in the thirdquarter.

Ice coolMiller was instrumental in the win by

nailing five three-pointers from sevenattempts to galvanize the fans and

Zirbes was ice cool from the free throwline in the home straight. Having the 24-team competition’s most porousdefense after conceding 84.8 points pergame in their opening six matches, Realagain allowed their rivals too manyopen shots. Spain did have somethingto cheer as Barcelona buried 17 of 26three-point attempts in a 93-64 awayrout of Poles Zielona Gora, while Unicajabrushed aside Maccabi Tel Aviv 82-68.

Maccabi, with five titles, have only atheoretical chance of progressing afterslipping to their sixth defeat in sevengames. CSKA edged Dinamo Sassari 93-

87 while Zalgiris Kaunas, the 1999 win-ners, were also humbled by a Russianside after registering their lowestEuroleague tally in an 80-50 drubbingat the hands of irrepressible Lokomotiv.Usually lethal from long range, Zalgirishit only two of their 11 three-pointattempts as the Russian side’s steelydefense stifled the Lithuanian outfit.Fenerbahce eased to an 81-64 homewin over Strasbourg, Czech centre JanVesely taking 20 points for the Turks,and Olympiakos overpowered LaboralKutxa Vitoria 59-52 in a physical con-test.—Reuters

Euroleague holders Real stutter as six rivals advance

LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (right) and New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis watch the ball during the second half of anNBA basketball game on Friday, Nov 27, 2015. — AP

Warriors extend unbeaten streak

SYDNEY: Matt Jones shot a 3-under 68 tohold a three-stroke advantage over a surg-ing Jordan Spieth after the third round ofthe Australian Open yesterday. Defendingchampion Spieth holed out with his shotfrom the fairway on the par-4 17th for aneagle, then had a tap-in birdie on 18 for a67. With gusty winds again affecting playon The Australian Golf Club course whereJones is a member, the US -basedAustralian had a 54-hole total of 10-under203.

Australian Rhein Gibson was in thirdafter a 68, five behind Jones. Adam Scottrebounded from a 73 on Friday to shoot68, including an eagle on the 18th. He’stied for seventh, nine strokes behind, as isEuropean Ryder Cup captain DarrenClarke, who shot 70. There were only ninegolfers under par. The course has beentough, with only 18 under par after thefirst round and 12 after the second. Spiethhad a roller-coaster of a front nine inwhich he bogeyed three of his first fourholes and birdied the next two before fin-ishing the front nine with a bogey and abirdie - just two pars going out. “I made acouple of bad swings and a couple of baddecisions,” Spieth said. “Not many pars.”

Spieth settled down initially on theback nine and had two birdies on 12 and14 with a 10-foot par save on the 13th. Thefireworks came with his shot on the 17th -an 8-iron from 181 yards which hit thefront edge of the green and rolled straighttoward the flag, gently nudging the pinbefore falling straight down into the hole.The 22-year-old American threw his handsin the air, high-fived his caddie, MichaelGreller, then gave him a light punch in thechest. “I struck it nicely, there’s not toomuch room to land it, up there,” Spiethsaid. “It’s two extra shots that you don’t

expect. Great fightback, one of the best-fought rounds I’ve had that I can remem-ber.” Last year, Spieth shot a final-round63, a record on the revamped JackNicklaus-designed course, to win by sixstrokes.

Jones provided some late theatrics ofhis own, putting from well off the greenon the 17th to hole it for birdie. “One moreto go, and I get to play with the No 1 play-er in the world,” Jones said of his final-round pairing with Spieth in the 100thAustralian Open. “It will be a lot of fun.” “If Igo out and shoot two or three undertomorrow, I’m going to be very tough tobeat. So it ’s in my hands. If he shootssomething amazing like last year andbeats me, that’s what I’ll have to deal with.”Scott ended a birdie drought not with histroublesome putter but by chipping infrom just off the green on the third hole. Itcame after he failed to make a birdie in hisFriday round, and Scott said he couldn’trecall the last time that had happened.

“It was hard-going out there today,windy, the pins were tucked, but I madesome putts,” Scott said. “It was a little bit ofeverything, but it all added up.” Scott, whowas also nine strokes behind after the sec-ond round, said he sti l l felt he has achance to win today, which would be hissecond Australian Open title after winningin 2009. Scott, who has not won this year,has a streak of winning at least one tour-nament every year since 2001. Jones andSpieth will do their best today to makesure Scott isn’t around at the end.Yesterday, Spieth was seen and heard hav-ing a rather animated exchange with cad-die Greller. After his round, Spieth wasn’tabout to apologize. “I’m passionate,” saidSpieth. “I’m very involved in each shot. Iguess it’s who I am.”— AP

Jones maintains lead

at Australian Open

PHOENIX: Stephen Curry scored 41 points in threequarters, Draymond Green had a triple-double andthe Golden State Warriors beat Phoenix 135-116 onFriday night, extending their NBA-record start to 17-0.The Warriors set a franchise mark for 3-pointers with22, one shy of the league record. Curry made a sea-son-high nine of his 16 attempts from long range inhis 14th career 40-point game, five of them this sea-son. Green had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assistsin his third career triple-double, two this season. TheWarriors, in their highest-scoring game of the season,set another NBA mark by making 15 3-pointers (in 20attempts) in the first half. Leandro Barbosa added 21points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 5 for 5 on 3s. TJWarren scored a career-high 28 points for the Suns intheir third straight loss and fourth in five games.

ROCKETS 116, 76ERS 114James Harden had 50 points, nine rebounds and

eight assists, and Houston beat winless Philadelphia.Harden was 14 for 28 from the field and 16 for 20 atthe line in his third career game with 50 or morepoints. He is averaging 36.2 points in his last fivegames. Philadelphia moved one loss away frommatching the New Jersey Nets’ NBA-worst mark of 18losses to open a season. The Sixers have dropped 27in a row dating to last season for the longest losingstreak in major US professional sports history, passingthe NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to ‘77. Theprevious record was also matched by the 76ers in2013-14. Robert Covington had 28 points forPhiladelphia, which made a franchise-record 16 3-pointers in 35 attempts. One day removed from aBoston nightclub altercation, rookie Jahlil Okafor had11 points and six rebounds.

PACERS 104, BULLS 92Paul George scored 33 points, CJ Miles had 16 and

Indiana earned its fourth consecutive win. The Pacershave won 10 of 12 overall. Monta Ellis had 14 points,and George Hill finished with 10 assists. Nikola Miroticscored a season-high 25 points for Chicago (9-5), andJimmy Butler added 16. The Bulls lost for only the sec-ond time in six games. Indiana broke out of a sluggishstart with a 17-2 run that made it 19-9 midwaythrough the first quarter, and it never trailed again.

CAVALIERS 95, HORNETS 90LeBron James had 25 points and 13 rebounds for

Cleveland, extending his personal run of dominanceagainst Charlotte. James’ teams have won 23 straightgames against franchises based in Charlotte - boththe Hornets and Bobcats. He played in all but two ofthose. Kevin Love had a double-double at halftimeand finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds as theCavaliers snapped Charlotte’s seven-game home win-ning streak and improved to 4-4 on the road. KembaWalker had 18 points, and Nicolas Batum added 17points and eight rebounds for Charlotte.

THUNDER 103, PISTONS 87Kevin Durant had 34 points and 13 rebounds to

help Oklahoma City beat Detroitfor its fourth straightwin. Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanteradded 14 points apiece for the Thunder. In a matchupof the NBA’s top two rebounding teams, the No 2Thunder outrebounded the No 1 Pistons 58-38.Detroit center Andre Drummond, who was leadingthe league with 17.8 rebounds per game, finishedwith seven. Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson wastraded by Oklahoma City last season after saying hewanted to be a starter, despite playing behindWestbrook. Jackson was booed loudly duringpregame warmups and was jeered most of the time

when he touched the ball. He finished with 15 pointson 4-for-16 shooting.

HAWKS 116, GRIZZLIES 101Paul Millsap had 23 points and 14 rebounds, lead-

ing balanced Atlanta past Memphis. Atlanta, whichhad lost five of seven, had six players score in doublefigures. Jeff Teague had 20 points and seven assists, AlHorford scored 16 points, and Kent Bazemore had 14.Millsap was 11 of 13 from the free-throw line. MikeConley led Memphis with 16 points, but was 4 of 13from the field. Matt Barnes scored 15, while CourtneyLee and Vince Carter added 14 apiece. The Grizzlieswere outscored 63-43 in the second half.

HEAT 97, KNICKS 78Gerald Green scored a season-high 25 points

while starting in place of Luol Deng, and the Heatearned their second victory over the Knicks thisweek. Chris Bosh added 20 points and Dwyane Wadehad 17 for the Heat, who held the Knicks to 78 pointsin both victories over the last six nights. Greenshowed off his entire repertoire during a superbfourth-quarter stretch that turned the game into ablowout and sent the Heat to their eighth straightvictory over the Knicks, their longest winning streakin the series. Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingiseach scored 11 points for New York in its thirdstraight loss.

MAGIC 114, BUCKS 90Elfrid Payton had 22 points and 10 assists, leading

Orlando to the win. The Magic shot 52.4 percentfrom the field and limited the Bucks to 41.9 percentshooting. Tobias Harris scored 19 points for Orlando,and Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo had 17 apiece.Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jerryd Bayless ledMilwaukee with 17 points apiece. Khris Middletonhad 15. The Magic made each of their six 3-pointattempts and 13 of 16 shots (81.3 percent) overallwhile blowing the game open in the third period.Orlando outscored Milwaukee 37-22 in the quarterto push a six-point halftime lead to 86-65.

SPURS 91, NUGGETS 80Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and San Antonio

beat Denver for its fourth win in a row. Tony Parker

added 13 points and Jonathon Simmons had 12 forthe Spurs, who were without Tim Duncan and ManuGinobili. The veteran stars got the night off to restwith San Antonio playing the second of three gamesin four nights. Danilo Gallinari had 16 points for theNuggets, who have lost five in a row. Denver also haslost nine straight to San Antonio.

CLIPPERS 111, PELICANS 90Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick each scored 20 points

before sitting out the fourth quarter, and Los Angelesrouted undermanned New Orleans. Griffin, whoscored 40 points against Utah on Wednesday in a102-91 loss that began a six-game homestand, madeseven of 15 shots to help fuel the Clippers’ sixthstraight home victory over New Orleans. Chris Paulhad 17 points and eight assists. Anthony Davis had17 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes for NewOrleans. He was carried to the dressing room with2:48 left in the third quarter because of a bruisedright knee. Davis collided with Paul while the All-Starpoint guard was dribbling up court.

TIMBERWOLVES 101, KINGS 91Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, Zach LaVine

added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Minnesotagot a big game from its reserves to beat Sacramento.Shabazz Muhammad had 15 points and Andre Milleradded 12 points and four assists to help theTimberwolves to their third straight win and first overthe Kings since March 16, 2014. Minnesota, one ofthe worst home teams in the NBA this season, alsoimproved to 6-2 on the road. LaVine scored 14 pointsin the second half of his return to the lineup, helpingMinnesota pull away. LaVine was starting in place ofRicky Rubio, who was sidelined by a left ankle injury.

CELTICS 111, WIZARDS 78Jared Sullinger had 18 points and 15 rebounds in

three quarters and Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points,leading Boston past Washington. Jae Crowder scored17 and Avery Bradley had 16 points for the Celtics,who posted a runaway win against the Wizards forthe second time in three weeks. Kelly Olynyk scorednine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as bothcoaches left the finish to their reserves. Jared Dudleyscored 19 points for Washington.— AP

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L PCT GBToronto 10 6 .625 -Boston 9 7 .563 1NY Knicks 8 9 .471 2.5Brooklyn 3 12 .200 6.5Philadelphia 0 17 0 10.5

Central DivisionCleveland 12 4 .750 -Indiana 10 5 .667 1.5Chicago 9 5 .643 2Detroit 8 8 .500 4Milwaukee 6 10 .375 6

Southeast DivisionMiami 10 5 .667 -Atlanta 11 7 .611 0.5Charlotte 9 7 .563 1.5Orlando 8 8 .500 2.5Washington 6 7 .462 3

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division

Oklahoma City 11 6 .647 -Minnesota 8 8 .500 2.5Utah 7 7 .500 2.5Denver 6 10 .375 4.5Portland 6 10 .375 4.5

Pacific DivisionGolden State 17 0 1.000 -LA Clippers 8 8 .500 8.5Phoenix 7 9 .438 9.5Sacramento 6 11 .353 11LA Lakers 2 12 .143 13.5

Southwest DivisionSan Antonio 13 3 .813 -Dallas 9 7 .563 4Memphis 9 8 .529 4.5Houston 6 10 .375 7New Orleans 4 12 .250 9

NBA Results/StandingsCleveland 95, Charlotte 90; Orlando 114, Milwaukee 90; Boston 111, Washington 78; Miami 97, NY Knicks 78;Indiana 104, Chicago 92; Houston 116, Philadelphia 114; Atlanta 116, Memphis 101; Oklahoma City 103,Detroit 87; San Antonio 91, Denver 80; Golden State 135, Phoenix 116; Minnesota 101, Sacramento 91; LAClippers 111, New Orleans 90.

Traditional Pacific farewell

for Lomu draws thousands

AUCKLAND: Thousands of people, somewearing traditional Tongan woven mats,gathered in Auckland yesterday for a Pacificisland farewell for late rugby legend JonahLomu. Former All Blacks Tana Umaga andMichael Jones led mourners at the servicewhich Queen Elizabeth II’s representative inNew Zealand, Governor General JerryMateparae, said was a celebration because“Jonah’s life is worth celebrating”. “Heimpressed us with his courage, his humility,his grace under pressure,” Mateparae saidof the blockbusting wing who is creditedwith revolutionizing rugby and became thegame’s first global superstar.

Lomu’s career was cut short by a chronickidney disease and he died unexpectedlyat his Auckland home last week aged just40, leaving a wife and two young sons. Thesudden death brought an outpouring ofgrief around the world, not only from rug-by union teammates and rivals but alsopoliticians, Hollywood personalities andsports stars. “His determination to use hisinfluence and his mana (prestige) for thebenefit of others was exemplary,”Mataparae said. Ahead of Monday’s publicmemorial at the spiritual home of NewZealand rugby-Auckland’s Eden Park-thePacific island communities gathered yester-day for a “family day” to pay a traditionaltribute to Lomu who was of Tongan

descent.His widow Nadene and sons Dhyreille

and Brayley-who were wearing All Black jer-seys with the name Lomu and the number11 on the back-led the mourners into theservice. Hundreds of Pacific islanders, manywearing a ta’ovala-a mat wrapped aroundthe waist, which is a traditional Tongandress worn by men and women on specialoccasions-turned up for the service whereformer All Black captain Umaga said it wasimportant to gather in South Aucklandwhere Lomu was born. “We come to payour respects in the area and with the peo-ple he grew up with,” Umaga said. Jonessaid the Pacific family day was an “intimateand beautiful part of the mourning and thehealing”.

Manu Vatuvei, a star in the rival coderugby league, described Lomu as a specialman. “When he played on the field he was abeast and no one could stop him but whenhe was off the field he was a gentle giant,”he said. Another former All Black, OfisaTonu’u, a spokesman for the gathering,described it as a “joyous” celebration wherepeople could “tell stories and a few eulo-gies and just to celebrate Jonah’s careerand the legacy he’s left behind”. “We havecome to celebrate, to celebrate the life of abrother, and a friend,” added former AllBlack Eroni Clarke. —AFP

AUCKLAND: The casket containing the body of Jonah Lomu sits at the front of the AhoFaka Famili memorial for him at Vodafone Events Centre in Auckland yesterday. — AFP

S PORTSSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

ADELAIDE: New Zealand held a tenuous 94-runlead in the absorbing day-night third Test after asecond day of tumbling wickets at the AdelaideOval yesterday. The Kiwis, trailing 1-0 in theseries, struggled to build a defendable total topresent Australia in the fourth innings afteranother fast-paced day’s cricket of 13 wicketsbefore 42,372 fans. At the close, the Black Capswere finding batting difficult under lights andwere 116 for five with a result looming today’sthird day in the scheduled five-day Test.

New Zealand had lost their top batsmen andat the crease were BJ Watling on seven withdebutant Mitchell Santner not out 13. “Definitelyno figure. Whatever we end up with we’re justgoing to have to get some wickets but moreimportantly having that new ball as close to twi-light as possible,” senior batsman Ross Taylorsaid. “If we can keep them out there and keepour bowlers from bowling not as many overstomorrow, then we give ourselves the bestchance.” Josh Hazlewood led the Australianattack with three wickets in the absence ofinjured spearhead Mitchell Starc as the pink ballagain dominated the bat.

Hazlewood removed both openers with mes-merizing ball movement under lights. MartinGuptill sliced to Mitch Marsh in the gully for 17and Tom Latham was tempted by a wider deliv-ery and was caught behind for 10. Hazlewoodhad Kane Williamson dropped on one by AdamVoges in the slips but the star Kiwi batsman soonfeathered a catch to Nevill off Mitch Marsh fornine to complete a low-scoring match. CaptainBrendon McCullum followed for 20, leg beforewicket to Marsh and Perth Test double century-maker Taylor fell the same way to Hazlewood for32. “The wicket’s not that bad to have so manywickets taken in two days,” Hazlewood said. “Wehad a middle-order collapse today. We shouldprobably be still batting now. We’ll try and fixthat for the second innings.”

The second day turned on a contentious chal-lenge decision in Australia’s favor before dinner,

enabling them to go on and grab a 22-runinnings lead. Nathan Lyon survived a review inwhich ‘Hot Spot’ revealed a mark on the back ofhis bat before he had scored. The review waschurned over for minutes before the TV umpireNigel Llong decided there was not enough to goon despite the Hot Spot evidence to give Lyonout, caught off spinner Santner, with Australiareeling at 118 for eight and trailing the Kiwis by84 runs. Lyon walked three-quarters of the wayoff the ground believing he was out before hereturned to continue batting and join in a recordAustralian trans-Tasman series 74-run ninth-wicket stand with Peter Nevill. Lyon was eventu-ally out for 34 as the Australians hit back to takean innings lead with incapacitated Mitchell Starcsmashing two massive sixes off spinner MarkCraig. Starc, who came into bat at No 11 afterbeing diagnosed with a stress foot fracture onFriday, thrilled the home crowd with his prodi-

gious hitting. Nevill was the hero and was thelast man out for his highest Test score of 66 leav-ing the hobbling Starc unbeaten on 24 whichincluded two sixes and three fours.

Doug Bracewell finished his side’s bestbowler with three for 18 off 12.1 overs. It wasrough justice for the Kiwis, who have been onthe receiving end of some controversial umpir-ing decisions. Australia were in dire trouble at116 for eight at tea after a rampant Kiwi bowlingperformance in the first session. The Black Capssnared Steve Smith’s prized wicket when hecharged off-spinner Craig only to be caught bywicketkeeper Watling. The Kiwis had theAustralians well on the back foot with PeterSiddle out four balls later in the same Craig overand then Hazlewood was bowled by Santner forfour in the final over before tea. Just 62 runswere scored by Australia for the loss of six wick-ets in the first session off 29.5 overs. — AFP

New Zealand struggle as wickets

tumble again in day-night Test

ADELAIDE: Australia’s batsman Peter Siddle fails to play a ball off New Zealand’s spin bowler Mark Craig as wicketkeeper BJ Watling (left) lookson during the second day of the day-night cricket Test match at the Adelaide Oval yesterday. —AFP

New Zealand 1st innings 202 (T. Latham 50; M.Starc 3-24, J. Hazlewood 3-66) Australia 1st innings (54-2 overnight)J. Burns b Bracewell 14D. Warner c Southee b Boult 1S. Smith c Watling b Craig 53A. Voges c Guptill b Southee 13S. Marsh run out (McCullum) 2M. Marsh c Watling b Bracewell 4P. Nevill c Santner b Bracewell 66P. Siddle c Latham b Craig 0J. Hazlewood b Santner 4N. Lyon c Williamson b Boult 34M. Starc not out 24Extras (b5, lb3, w1) 9Total (all out; 72 overs) 224 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Warner), 2-34 (Burns), 3-63

(Voges), 4-67 (S. Marsh), 5-80 (M. Marsh), 6-109(Smith), 7-109 (Siddle), 8-116 (Hazlewood), 9-190(Lyon), 10-224 (Nevill) Bowling: Southee 17-1-50-1, Boult 17-5-41-2,Bracewell 12.1-3-18-3 (1w), Santner 16-1-54-1, Craig10-1-53-2.

New Zealand 2nd inningsT. Latham not out10M. Guptill not out10Extras (lb2) 2 Total (0 wicket; 7 overs) 22Bowling: Hazlewood 4-0-15-0, Siddle 2-1-2-0,M.Marsh 1-0-3-0.

SCOREBOARD ADELAIDE, Australia: Scores at dinner on the second day of the third Test between Australia and NewZealand at the Adelaide Oval yesterday.

JOHANNESBURG: Terrorism in Tunisia hasforced a kick-off time change and a limitedcrowd for the CAF Confederation Cup finalsecond leg today between Etoile Sahel andOrlando Pirates from South Africa. Twelvepresidential guards were killed by a suicidebomber in Tunis this week, triggering a dailyeight-hour curfew in the capital and a nation-wide state of emergency. Etoile and Pirates,who drew 1-1 in Soweto last Saturday, meetat the Stade Olympique in Mediterraneanresort Sousse, close to where 38 foreigntourists died in a beach massacre last June.

Jihadist terror group Islamic State claimedresponsibility for the Tunis and Sousseattacks. Originally scheduled for 1930 localtime (1830 GMT), the last match of the CAFclub season has been brought forward to1500 local time (1400 GMT). And the initialcrowd limit of 20,000 in the 25,000-seat stadi-um has been halved to 10,000 on the ordersof Tunisian authorities. South African ambas-sador to Tunisia Harold Hoyana said Piratesofficials had been informed of securityarrangements and were satisfied. “ TheTunisian authorities have put in place strin-gent security measures to protect their citi-zens and foreign visitors,” Hoyana told SouthAfrican reporters.

Pirates are familiar with Tunisia, beating CSSfaxien 1-0 in a Confederation Cup groupgame in Sfax, 135 kilometers south of Sousse,four months ago. Having snatched a lateequaliser in South Africa through centre-backAmmar Jemal, deputising as captain forinjured goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi, Etoileare favoured to claim a ninth CAF title. Theyare the only club to lift all five CAF trophies,winning the Champions League and

Confederation Cup once and the Super Cup,African Cup Winners Cup and CAF Cup twice.What the Tunisian Red Devils have notachieved is a victory in two home and threeaway matches in Confederation Cup finals.

‘No nasty surprises’Etoile beat FAR Rabat of Morocco on away

goals after two draws in 2006 and lost onaway goals to Sfaxien two years later aftertwo more draws. They could achieve anothervictory-less final triumph this weekend as a 0-0 draw would give them the trophy on awaygoals and a 1-1 draw would present a chanceto win via a penalty shootout. Should Etoilesucceed, it will be the fifth Tunisian success in12 finals of the African equivalent of theEuropa League with Sfaxien having tri-umphed a record three times.

Both clubs remain confident they can endlong waits for an African title with the last forEtoile coming in the 2008 Super Cup. Pirates,hoping to end a 14-year African trophydrought by South African clubs, won the1995 African Cup of Champions Clubs (nowCAF Champions League) and the 1996 SuperCup. Etoile coach Faouzi Benzarti, a greying65-year-old seeking a third CAF club title,told Tunisian reporters that “the second legis the real final. “We must be compact, vigi-lant and focused to ensure there are nonasty surprises,” said the widely travelledhandler now in his fifth spell at the Sousseclub. “Pirates are a good attacking side, butwe closed them down effectively on thewings in the first leg. The way they play hasnot really changed during theirConfederation Cup campaign.”— AFP

Terror alert as Etoile,

Pirates seek CAF glory

LONDON: Jose Mourinho is confident hisChelsea defense can nullify the threat of in-formHarry Kane even if John Terry fails to recover intime to face London rivals Tottenham Hotspurtoday. Mourinho’s side head to White Hart Laneafter keeping two confidence-boosting cleansheets, first in last weekend’s victory overNorwich City and then in the midweekChampions League success at Maccabi Tel Aviv.Terry limped out of the game in Israel and theBlues captain remains doubtful for the Spursclash, when Chelsea will attempt to record back-to-back Premier League wins for the first timethis season. A victory in north London willstrengthen Mourinho’s belief his side haveturned the corner after a disastrous start to thecampaign that has left them in 15th position.

Their hopes of gaining revenge for the 5-3defeat in the corresponding fixture last seasonwill be enhanced if they can prevent Kane fromextending a scoring streak that has brought theTottenham striker nine goals in his last six clubgames. And Chelsea manager Mourinho has nodoubts a patched up central-defensive pairingof Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma can keep Englandinternational Kane quiet if Terry is unfit. “I havecomplete trust in Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma,which is why in an important match for us onTuesday I left Kurt out after the good perform-ances he is having to show Gary that confidence.

They are ready,” Mourinho said. “I am not say-ing Papy Djilobodji is ready because he did nothave chances to play and his is a different situa-tion, but Zouma and Cahill are both ready and ifJohn doesn’t play, I go with them. “I don’t knowabout John. I don’t want to say that it is impossi-ble he plays because maybe he plays and peoplewill say that I was hiding it and I am not hiding.“Today he didn’t train but we have a little hopethat it is possible. “Ramires is the same situationas John, I don’t know, let’s wait and see. He has achance.”

UnfairMauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham are unbeat-

en in the league since their opening-day defeat

at Manchester United and come into the gameon the back of a 1-0 Europa League win overQarabag on Thursday. The effects of making along journey to Azerbaijan have caused concernfor Pochettino, who claims it is unfair Chelseacould take advantage of their extra two days rest.But left-back Danny Rose remains confidentSpurs can build on last weekend’s 4-1 victoryagainst West Ham United. “It needs to be thesame again from us. Obviously Chelsea have hada difficult run but that doesn’t make them a bad

team,” Rose said. “They’ve got a world-classsquad, a world-class manager and it’s a derby, soform goes out of the window. “It’s going to be adifficult game but we just hope that we can per-form and give the same energy and commitmentas we did against West Ham. If we do that, it willbe a difficult game for them. “From our side,we’ve got a great sense of belief inside thechanging room and inside the club, so as long aswe keep doing what the head coach asks thenwe know we’ll be in for an exciting season.”—AFP

Mourinho backs Chelsea

to subdue red-hot Kane

Tottenham Hotspur’s English striker Harry Kane

LIVERPOOL: Having qualified for the last 32of the Europa League, Liverpool return to thePremier League today with an ideal opportu-nity to continue their revival under JurgenKlopp when struggling Swansea visit Anfield.Liverpool have lost just once since the formerBorussia Dortmund manager took over ninegames ago - a defeat to Crystal Palace in theirlast home league game. Since then, Klopp’sside have won 4-1 at Manchester City and onThursday beat Bordeaux 2-1 at Anfield tosecure their progress to the knock-out stagesof Europe’s second tier competition.

Next, Liverpool are at home to the Swans,who have won just one of their last 10 match-es to slide down to 14th in the PremierLeague. Liverpool are ninth, eight points lead-ers Leicester, who played second-placedManchester United yesterday. Klopp is refus-ing to focus on the top of the table but wantsto get closer to the leading pack, who remainin touching distance thanks to Liverpool’sresurgence since the German replaced thesacked Brendan Rodgers.

“I don’t know in this moment who will winthe league and I don’t care,” Klopp said. “Atthis moment it’s only important to be concen-trated on your own situation and yourprogress. “If it would help to think about theend of the season I would do it. “But it ’salways important how far you are away fromthe position you dream off. It’s better to beeight than 20 but two would be better thaneight, so we have to try and close this gap ifpossible and that’s what we try.”

Injury problemsLiverpool are likely to be without joint

leading scorer Philippe Coutinho due to ahamstring injury, while Daniel Sturridge isalso expected to continue his injury absenceafter pulling out of a planned midweekcomeback with a foot problem. Klopp hastold Sturridge he may have to play throughthe pain to improve his appearance recordafter a catalogue of injuries. But providedChristian Benteke is able to play a secondgame in four days following his own recentinjury problems, Klopp - who is also withoutlong-term absentee Danny Ings and suspend-ed midfielder Lucas Leiva - insists he is notconcerned about his attacking resources.

“It’s not the most difficult situation withthe strikers because we have ChristianBenteke, Divock Origi and Roberto (Firmino),”he said. “But of course we need all of them

because of the big number of games.”Swansea’s recent problems have placed pres-sure on manager Garry Monk. But Monk, whoguided the club to their best ever PremierLeague finish of eighth place last season,insists he retains the backing of club chair-man Huw Jenkins and has been charged withleading an upturn in fortunes. “I know Huwand the board very well. —AFP

Klopp’s Red revolution

gathers pace

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s managerJuergen Klopp (left) walks from thepitch with Lucas Leiva after their team’s2-1 in the Europa League Group B soccermatch between Liverpool and Bordeauxat Anfield Stadium. — AP

AFC boss ‘confident’ next

FIFA leader will be Asian

NEW DELHI: Asia’s football chief has wonunanimous backing from his executive com-mittee as the man to “rebuild FIFA” as hestrengthens his campaign to take over the cor-ruption-tarnished world body. The AsianFootball Confederation (AFC) executive com-mittee also pledged to lobby its members tosupport President Sheikh Salman bin EbrahimAl Khalifa, in a meeting ahead of Sunday’s AFCawards. The Bahraini royal will appear beforehundreds of delegates at the awards show inNew Delhi after emerging as a leading candi-date for the February 26 FIFA presidential vote.“The (exco) meeting expressed their utmostconfidence in Sheikh Salman’s ability torestore FIFA’s credibility,” said an AFC state-ment from the Indian capital. “They addedthat Sheikh Salman has demonstrated hisleadership qualities since taking over as AFCpresident and it was crucial to elect SheikhSalman as he was ‘someone who could rebuildFIFA and make FIFA better in the future’.”Sheikh Salman’s odds have narrowed afterUEFA president Michel Platini was suspendedover a suspect $2 million payment. Platini’slawyer says FIFA’s ethics committee is seekinga life ban. As head of one of FIFA’s biggest con-federations, and with the backing of powerfulKuwaiti FIFA exco member Sheikh Ahmad AlFahad Al Sabah, Sheikh Salman is among the

strongest of the five current candidates.

Growing confidenceIn a sign of his rising fortunes, the AFC boss

said he was “confident” the next FIFA headwould come from Asia, a development whichwould break new ground for world football. “Itis a big support for my campaign, as well as anhonor for me, to have the endorsement andfull backing of the AFC Executive Committee,”Sheikh Salman said in the statement. “Sinceyou are the elected representatives of the AFCmember associations, it also sends a strongmessage that Asia is behind one candidate. “Ithank you for your support and invaluableadvice. I am confident that the next presidentof FIFA will be from Asia.

“This would not only be a recognition ofthe ever-increasing role that Asia and Asianfootball has, but also will allow us to have a sayin shaping a better future for this greatgame.”The former ally of suspended FIFA chiefSepp Blatter faces challenges from UEFA gen-eral secretary Gianni Infantino and Asian rivalPrince Ali Al Hussein of Jordan, who have bothpledged a path of reform. FIFA has becomemired in a mess of corruption claims, many ofthem surrounding alleged bribes during bid-ding to host World Cups including Qatar 2022,with several officials in the firing line.—AFP

S PORTSSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain are guaran-teed to end 2015 on top of the Ligue 1table after a 4-1 win against Troyes on aday marked by tributes to the victims ofthe recent terror attacks. It was a routinewin for PSG with Edinson Cavani andLayvin Kurzawa finding the net eitherside of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penaltybefore youngster Jean-Kevin Augustinwrapped up the points. Thomas Ayassegot one back for the away side but thewin for Paris means they are still unbeat-en domestically this season and are sofar clear of their rivals that they havealready secured the symbolic title ofautumn champions for the team thattops the table at Christmas.

But the match was also significant forbeing the first top-level game to beplayed in the French capital since theterror attacks in the city and outside theStade de France during France’s gamewith Germany on November 13 that left130 dead and many more injured. WithFrance still in a state of emergency, therewere stringent security checks on theway into the Parc des Princes, and therewas also a moving tribute before thegame kicked off.

The likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar,Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo andother sporting superstars appeared on avideo played on big screens with eachrepeating the slogan ‘Je Suis Paris’ (I amParis) that PSG also sported on theirshirts. A huge French flag greeted theplayers as they came out while ‘LaMarseillaise’ was sung and a minute’ssilence held, just as had been the caseacross France and elsewhere in Europelast weekend. France’s Prime MinisterManuel Valls and the Emir of Qatar werealso among the crowd for the game asthe club owned by the Gulf state furtherdemonstrated their dominance over therest of Ligue 1.

One-sidedPSG were looking to make 24 Ligue 1

games unbeaten against a Troyes sidewho had still not won since returning tothe top flight in the summer and it was alargely one-sided contest. Cavani hadalready come close twice before heopened the scoring 20 minutes in, meet-ing Angel Di Maria’s assist with a first-time finish after the visitors lost posses-sion cheaply in their own half.

At the other end Kevin Trapp had tointervene twice with good saves fromFabien Camus and Benjamin Nivet toensure Paris remained in front going intohalf-time. The hosts went on to doubletheir lead just before the hour, however.A penalty was awarded when Lucas wasbrought down inside the area by ChrisMavinga and Ibrahimovic stepped up tosend Paul Bernardoni the wrong wayfrom the spot and score his 10th leaguegoal of the campaign. The third goalarrived midway through the second halfwhen a Di Maria cross was headed awayby the Troyes defense but only as far asKurzawa, who controlled on his chestbefore volleying low into the bottom-right corner.

Augustin, who had replaced Cavani,got the fourth goal with six minutes left,his shot from 25 yards going throughthe legs of Bernardoni. Ayasse got oneback with a fine strike in injury time butTroyes remain rooted to the foot of thetable. Paris are provisionally a huge 16points clear of second-placed Lyondespite being only 15 games into theseason, although that advantage couldbe reduced later with Nice having the

chance to go second with a win atToulouse. Knocked out of theChampions League in midweek, Lyon’s

recent struggles continued when theylost 4-2 at home to Montpellier onFriday. —AFP

PSG crowned autumn champions after win on emotional day

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain’s Italian midfielder Thiago Motta (right) jumps to headthe ball with Troyes’ French defender Matthieu Saunier (left) during the French L1football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Troyes yesterday. —AFP

MUNICH: Berlin’s Bosnian striker Vedad Ibisevic (left) and Bayern Munich’s Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal vie for the ball during the Germanfirst division Bundesliga football match FC Bayern Munich vs Hertha Berlin yesterday. — AFP

Bayern Munich go 11 clear,

extend Hertha 38-year wait

GERMAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP

BERLIN: Bayern Munich went 11 points clearat the top of the Bundesliga yesterday with a2-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin who havenow gone 38 years without a win at theGerman giants. With second-placed BorussiaDortmund hosting VfB Stuttgart today,

Bayern took the chance to extend their leadwith first-half goals by Germany forwardThomas Mueller and France Under-21 wingerKingsley Coman. Bayern show no signs ofloosening their iron-grip on the Bundesligatitle as they picked up their 13th win from 14

league games to give them 40 from a possi-ble 42 points.

This was the first time in eight homegames that Bayern failed to score at least fourgoals. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola experi-mented with the starting line-up by pushingGermany centre-back Jerome Boateng into amidfield role, which led to their second goal.They took the lead at Munich’s Allianz Arenawhen Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal’s crossfound Medhi Benatia, whose shot was head-ing wide, but Mueller was on hand to headhome on 34 minutes.

Bayern doubled their lead on 41 minuteswhen Boateng lobbed the ball into JaviMartinez, whose pass found Coman and theFrench winger did the rest to make it 2-0 atthe break. Hertha, who last won in Munich in1977, are in fifth place after BorussiaMoechengladbach leap-frogged them intofourth with a 3-3 draw at Hoffenheim.Gladbach’s head coach Andre Schubert pre-served his nine-game unbeaten record in thelead since taking charge two months ago.Borussia took an early lead thanks to USAinternational Fabian Johnson, who thenscored their equaliser to rescue a point.

Hoffenheim, chasing their first win sinceSeptember, took a 3-1 lead just after thebreak thanks to goals by Steven Zuber, EugenPolanski and Nadiem Amiri. But Swiss strikerJosip Drmic pulled it back to 3-2 for Gladbachbefore Johnson claimed his second with asuperb shot three minutes from time.Hamburg are up to sixth after their 3-1 win atWerder Bremen in the north German derby.Hamburg raced into an early 2-0 lead asCroatia midfielder Ivo Ilicevic scored on theiropening attack, then striker MichaelGregoritsch doubled their lead on 26 min-utes.

Nigeria’s Anthony Ujah pulled a goal backfor Werder on 62 minutes, then Germany for-ward Nicolai Mueller made it 3-1 to Hamburgon 68 minutes when Ilicevic’s final pass puthim in behind the hosts’ defence. Hanovereased the pressure on coach MichaelFrontzeck with a 4-0 thumping at home toIngolstadt which lifted them up to 14th andpulled them away from the relegation zone.Japan striker Yoshinori Muto scored his sev-enth goal of the season in Mainz’s 2-1 win atEintracht Frankfurt. His forward partnerYunus Malli added their second to claim hiseighth while Frankfurt had captain Alex Meiersent off for a second yellow card.—AFP

Bayern Munich 14 1 3 1 0 42 5 40Dortmund 13 9 2 2 36 18 29VfL Wolfsburg 13 7 3 3 23 15 24Bor. Moen’ch 14 7 2 5 28 22 23Hertha Berlin 14 7 2 5 18 17 23Hamburg 14 6 3 5 17 18 21Mainz 05 14 6 2 6 20 20 20Leverkusen 13 6 2 5 17 17 20Schalke 04 13 6 2 5 17 19 20

Cologne 14 5 5 4 15 18 20Ingolstadt 04 14 5 4 5 10 14 19Darmstadt 14 3 6 5 14 19 15Frankfurt 14 3 5 6 18 22 14Hanover 96 14 4 2 8 17 24 14Werder Bremen 14 4 1 9 14 28 13VfB Stuttgart 13 3 1 9 17 31 10Augsburg 13 2 3 8 17 25 9Hoffenheim 14 1 6 7 15 23 9

German Bundesliga table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goalsagainst, points):

German League results/standings

LONDON: Brighton climbed back to thetop of the Championship as BobbyZamora’s second-half strike sealed a 2-1win against Birmingham yesterday. ChrisHughton’s side had surrendered first placefollowing Derby’s 2-0 victory at Hull onFriday, but Zamora’s decisive interventionat the Amex Stadium ensured the Seagullsleapfrogged their promotion rivals toreclaim pole position. Solly March putBrighton in front in the 17th minute beforeJon Toral headed an equalizer four minuteslater for sixth placed Birmingham.

Former Tottenham and West Ham strikerZamora, in his second spell at the clubwhere he made his name, extendedBrighton’s 18-match unbeaten start to theirleague campaign when he scored fromclose-range after March’s effort had beenblocked in the 47th minute. Middlesbroughmoved into second place as they claimed asixth win from seven matches in all compe-titions by beating struggling Huddersfield2-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Adam Clayton’s deflected ninth-minuteeffort put Boro in front and despite astrong performance from the hosts, thelead was doubled by Emilio Nsue with sixminutes left. Ipswich are seventh after a 3-0win at Charlton that was clinched by twogoals from Daryl Murphy and one from

Freddie Sears. Fifth placed Burnley extend-ed their unbeaten run to nine matches asMatthew Connolly’s 93rd-minute own goalsalvaged a 2-2 draw at Cardiff.

Lucas Joao’s seventh goal of the seasoncame six minutes from full-time to giveSheffield Wednesday a 2-2 draw atBlackburn. At the bottom of the table,Rotherham secured back-to-back victorieswith a 3-0 home win over Bristol City.Nottingham Forest claimed just a secondwin in 11 games with a 3-1 victory overReading at the City Ground. Matej Vydra’scool finish in the 14th minute gave theRoyals the lead but Forest stormed back asChris O’Grady leveled from a Ryan Mendesassist.

Mendes was heavily involved in the goalthat put Forest ahead as he led a counter-attack and played in Nelson Oliveira toscore after half an hour’s play. Oliveiraadded Forest’s third in the 49th minute andthe hosts held on despite Jack Hobbs’ dis-missal in the 66th minute. Charlie Austincame off the bench to give QPR a 1-0 winover Leeds with his 58th minute strike atLoftus Road. Ross McCormack notched his12th of the season to rescue a 1-1 draw forFulham at home to Preston, while Wolvesand Milton Keynes Dons shared a goallessstalemate at Molineux.—AFP

Zamora sends Brighton back

to the top of Championship

MUNICH: Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski (left) and Berlin’s Sebastian Langkamp challenge forthe ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and HerthaBSC Berlin yesterday.—AP

NORWICH: Arene Wenger remains confi-dent Arsenal can shake off their inconsis-tent form and mount a serious challenge forthe Premier League title. Wenger’s side willattempt to bounce back from last week-end’s surprise loss at West Bromwich Albionwhen they travel to Norwich City today, fivedays after keeping alive their hopes ofreaching the Champions League knockoutstages with vital victory over DinamoZagreb. With their European campaign onthe back-burner for two weeks, fourth-placed Arsenal can focus on catching unex-pected top-tier leaders Leicester City.

Wenger believes that, with no one teamdominating the title race so far, his side arestill well placed in their bid to be crownedEnglish champions for the first time since2004. “It is so tight and I don’t even look atthe league anymore because it is very, verytight,” Wenger said. “Last week we had abad result against West Brom and so didManchester City (against Liverpool) so itcompacted the whole table.

“I believe it is a big opportunity for usbut many teams can tell you that. We are ina position where you want to be after 13games but there are 25 to go. “If there arefive or six to go and we are in the race, ofcourse we are contenders. I think we have achance but it is very early. “I know peoplealways want to know what will happen inthe future but let’s take care of the gametoday.” Arsenal’s frustration at losing toWest Brom was compounded by the factthey took the lead through Olivier Giroud.

EradicateBut Wenger insists this was not an indi-

cation his side remain vulnerable. “Youwant to eradicate games like that. For us, itwas a bad result. “But in the last 38 gameswhen we scored first, and we were 1-0 up,we won 37 times. in the last 25 games

before West Brom, when we scored first wewon 25 times. You have to consider thatmathematically as an accident. “I believethat we gave everything and that can hap-pen. Football is as well fantastic because it’snot always predictable.” Arsenal midfielderFrancis Coquelin will again be missing afterbeing ruled out for three months with kneeligament damage, while Mikel Arteta andTheo Walcott are also sidelined.

Aaron Ramsey is in line to make his firststart since suffering a hamstring problem inlate October and Mathieu Flamini is expect-ed to make only his second Premier Leaguestart of the season. Alex Neil’s Norwich sidesuffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at Chelsea lasttime out that left them in 16th place, threepoints above the relegation places. Butgoalkeeper John Ruddy believes there havebeen enough positives in the club’s recentperformances to strengthen confidenceahead of the visit of Arsenal. “Our perform-ances at Manchester City and Chelseashowed we can frustrate good teams.Coming away from those games disap-pointed with narrow defeats is a good signfor us,” he said.

“It ’s now about finding the balancebetween being defensively solid and stillcausing problems for teams. “There are alot of points on offer at this stage of theseason, and we want to pick up as many aspossible. “That starts today for us. If thecrowd are behind us and we play to ourcapabilities then I don’t see why we can’tget a result.” Ruddy, 29, will make his 200thappearance for the club but admits his dis-plays have been below par this season.“Personally, I don’t think I’ve been as goodthis season as I have in previous years,” headded. “That’s football, but form is tempo-rary. I’m confident in my own ability as agoalkeeper because I’ve played at the high-est level.”—AFP

Wenger expects title

charge from Arsenal

Murrays put Britain on

brink of Davis Cup title

GHENT: The magnificent Murrays, Andy andJamie, put Britain within touching distance ofa first Davis Cup triumph for 79 years with adoubles victory over Belgium duo DavidGoffin and Steve Darcis in Ghent yesterday. Amatch played out in an electrifying atmos-phere ebbed and flowed before the brotherstook charge to carve out a 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-2 vic-tory and give Britain a 2-1 lead. World numbertwo Andy was inspired, as he has beenthroughout Britain’s run to a first final since1978, and can deliver the winning point inSunday ’s first reverse singles againstBelgium’s top player Goffin.

Older brother Jamie, the seventh bestdoubles player in the world, struggled attimes, but his nerve proved solid as he served

for the match. When Darcis screwed a fore-hand wide the brothers embraced and thehundreds of British fans wedged into theclaustrophobic 13,000-seat arena in theFlanders Expo roared their approval. “Therewas so much noise, it was mental. We wereshouting to each other at times but it’s bril-liant,” Jamie said on court as a brass band leda rendition of “We’re gonna win the Cup.”

“To play in a Davis Cup final with yourbrother and to win a point for your country isgreat. We may never get the chance to dothat again,” Andy Murray told reporters. “Butit’s far from over. Obviously to be up 2-1 givesus a better chance of winning. But I’m notgetting ahead of myself. I know how good aplayer Goffin is.” — Reuters

S PORTSSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Man City 14 9 2 3 30 14 29

Leicester 14 8 5 1 29 21 29

Man Utd 14 8 4 2 20 10 28

Arsenal 13 8 2 3 23 11 26

Tottenham 13 6 6 1 24 11 24

Crystal Palace 14 7 1 6 19 14 22

Everton 14 5 6 3 27 19 21

West Ham 13 6 3 4 24 20 21

Southampton 14 5 5 4 20 17 20

Liverpool 13 5 5 3 17 15 20

Watford 14 5 4 5 15 16 19

Stoke 14 5 4 5 11 14 19

West Brom 13 5 2 6 12 17 17

Swansea 13 3 5 5 14 18 14

Chelsea 13 4 2 7 17 23 14

Norwich 13 3 3 7 16 24 12

Sunderland 14 3 3 8 16 26 12

Bournemouth 14 2 4 8 17 30 10

Newcastle 14 2 4 8 14 30 10

Aston Villa 14 1 2 11 12 27 5

LONDON: English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost,goals for,goals against, points):

EPL results/standings

LONDON: Crystal Palace’s English midfielder Jason Puncheon (left) vies against Newcastle United’s French midfielder Moussa Sissoko during theEnglish Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Newcastle United yesterday. —AFP

LONDON: Yannick Bolasie and JamesMcArthur each scored twice in a 5-1 victoryas Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardewheaped fresh misery on his Newcastle Unitedsuccessor Steve McClaren yesterday. Beaten3-0 at home by Leicester City last weekend,Newcastle’s defense was torn apart again asPardew, who left St James’ Park in January,sent his old club back into the PremierLeague relegation zone.

Newcastle took a 10th-minute leadthrough Papiss Cisse at Selhurst Park, but ex-

Sunderland striker Connor Wickham set upgoals for McArthur, Bolasie and Wilfried Zahato put the hosts 3-1 up by half-time. Bolasieand McArthur netted again in the secondhalf, sealing Palace’s first win over Newcastlesince March 1998 and ramping up the pres-sure on the beleaguered McClaren, whoseside host Liverpool next weekend.

Palace climb four places to sixth in thetable, while Newcastle drop into the bottomthree, two points from safety. While Palacewere unchanged, Newcastle made twochanges, with Cisse and the fit-again JackColback replacing Aleksandar Kolarov andthe injured Cheick Tiote. The newcomerswere quick to leave a mark. Colback becameembroiled in a flare-up with Zaha after chop-ping the Palace winger down in the earlystages and after the dust had settled, Cissenodded in Daryl Janmaat ’s cross to putNewcastle ahead. But Newcastle’s lead was

to last just four minutes as Wickham did bril-liantly to hold off Fabricio Coloccini and teeup McArthur for a shot that found the net viaa sizeable deflection off Paul Dummett.

The visitors’ defending left much to bedesired and three minutes later Palace wentin front when Wickham’s low cross wasallowed to reach Bolasie, who drilled in atthe back post. Palace extended their lead inthe 41st minute with Wickham again theprovider, the former England Under-21international crossing for Zaha to score witha volley that hit the turf and looped overRob Elliot. Any hopes of a Newcastle come-back were dashed within two minutes ofkick-off in the second period when Bolasiepounced on a Damian Delaney knock-downto deepen the misery of the travelling fans.McArthur completed the rout in stoppagetime, f inishing from close range af terBolasie’s cross was not cleared.— AFP

Five-star Palace deepen McClaren’s gloom

SUNDERLAND: Two goals in two min-utes late in the game gave Sunderlanda 2-0 victory over Stoke City yesterdaythat took the Black Cats out of the rele-gation zone. Dutch forward Patrick VanAanholt and English youngster DuncanWatmore scored inside the final 10 min-utes to punish 10-man Stoke who hadRyan Shawcross sent-off for two book-ings. The result moved Sam Allardyce’smen above north-east rivals NewcastleUnited and out of the Premier League’sbottom three. But until Shawcross’s dis-missal, Stoke had been the better sideand had created the clearer chances.

A tepid first half saw Sunderland losestriker Jermain Defoe to a thigh injuryaround the half-hour mark. Momentslater, Stoke almost went ahead but

Costel Pantilimon produced a miracu-lous save from Jon Walters’s close rangeshot. Just as the half drew to a close,Charlie Adam went close for the visitorsbut glanced his header over the bar.Sunderland had enjoyed plenty of pos-session but looked toothless up front.That al l changed, though, af terShawcross’s 47th minute sending off ashe received a second yellow for trip-ping Watmore, having been booked inthe f irst half for a foul on StevenFletcher.

That was the cue for Sunderland toturn the screw and Stoke goalkeeperJack Butland had to make two saves inquick succession from Yann M’Vila and aSebastian Coates header. But 10 minutesfrom time, the away side’s resistancecrumbled as Van Aanholt sent home ascreamer from 25 yards. Two minutes lat-er, Watmore broke free down the rightafter a defensive error before drillinghome low across goal. That gaveAllardyce a third win in six games sincereplacing Dick Advocaat and strength-ened the feeling around the Stadium ofLight that they have the right managerto beat the drop this season.— AFP

Sunderland blank Stoke

Sunderland 2

Stoke 0

BOURNEMOUTH: Junior Stanislasgrabbed a dramatic equalizer eight min-utes into stoppage -time asBournemouth staged a remarkablefightback to draw 3-3 against Evertonyesterday. Eddie Howe’s side lookeddead and buried with 10 minutesremaining at Dean Court after fallingtwo goals behind to first half strikesfrom Argentina defender Ramiro FunesMori and Belgian forward RomeluLukaku.

But Adam Smith got one back for thehosts, who appeared to have completedtheir revival after Stanislas equalizedwith three minutes left. In a jaw-drop-ping conclusion, Ross Barkley putEverton back in front deep into stop-page-time, only for Stanislas to equalizeagain with vir tually the last k ick.Bournemouth remain in the relegationzone after failing to win for an eighthsuccessive league match, but they areonly two points from safety and themanner of this spirited draw suggeststhey won’t go quietly in their first evertop-flight campaign. Bournemouth’s fail-ure to turn their early pressure into atangible reward was punished asEverton took the lead in the 25thminute. Roberto Martinez ’s sidebreached the creaky Bournemouth rear-guard through Funes Mori, who rosehighest from a corner to head his firstEverton goal since his pre-season movefrom River Plate. With Everton now firm-ly in the ascendancy, Lukaku doubledtheir lead in the 36th minute with hiseighth goal in his last eight leaguegames. Gerard Deulofeu curled a superblong pass towards Lukaku’s run and thepowerful Belgian took one touch on histhigh before lashing his shot beyondAdam Federici. Federici was forced offwith an injury at half-time, butBournemouth were much improvedafter the break and a Stanislas effort wasturned away by Tim Howard, who alsohad to be alert to keep out a Ritchiedrive.

With 10 minutes left, Smith gaveHowe’s side hope when he smashed asuperb 25-yard strike past Howard.Everton found it impossible to stem thetide of Bournemouth attacks and theequaliser arrived in the 87th minute.King surged past Brendon Gallowaybefore cutting the ball back to Stanislas,who was perfectly placed to fire home. Itseemed Everton had recovered tosnatch the points five minutes into stop-page-time as Barkley’s shot trickledunder substitute goalkeeper RyanAllsop’s weak attempted save. ButStanislas rescued a point in the final sec-onds, heading in from Ritchie’s cross tospark wild celebrations from the homefans.—AFP

Stanislas caps crazy finish as

Bournemouth rescue a point

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Hotspur v Chelsea 15:00

beIN SPORTS

West Ham v Albion 17:05

beIN SPORTS

Liverpool v Swansea 19:15

beIN SPORTS

Norwich v Arsenal 19:15

beIN SPORTS

SPANISH LEAGUE

Las Palmas v Coruna 0:00

beIN SPORTS 12 HD EN

Vigo v Gijon 0:05

beIN SPORTS 7 HD.

Getafe v Villarreal 14:00

beIN SPORTS

Eibar v Real Madrid 18:00

beIN SPORTS

Rayo Vallecano v Bilbao 20:15

beIN SPORTS

Sevilla v Valencia 22:30

beIN SPORTS

ITALIAN LEAGUE

Chievo v Calcio 17:00

beIN SPORTS

Calcio v Hellas 17:00

beIN SPORTS

Genoa v Carpi 17:00

beIN SPORTS

Roma v Atalanta 17:00

beIN SPORTS

Empoli v Lazio 20:00

beIN SPORTS

Citta v Juventus 22:45

beIN SPORTS

GERMAN LEAGUE

Borussia v Stuttgart 17:30

beIN SPORTS

Bayer v Schalke 19:30

beIN SPORTS

Augsburg v Wolfsburg 19:30

beIN SPORTS

FRENCH LEAGUE

Etienne v Guingamp 16:00

beIN SPORTS

Girondins v Caen 19:00

beIN SPORTS

Marseille v Monaco 23:00

beIN SPORTS

Palace 5

Newcastle 1

BIRMINGHAM: Rock-bottom Aston Villa werebeaten 3-2 by an Odion Ighalo inspired Watfordyesterday and have just five points after a deflat-ing 11th defeat in 14 Premier League games.Villa’s recently-installed boss Remi Garde over-saw a draw with Manchester City in his first

game in charge before last week’s 4-0 thumpingat Everton.

Watford’s Spanish coach Quique SanchezFlores seems to have instilled a vibrant feelgoodfactor in his charges, who have now notched up19 points from 14 games. Their 26-year-oldNigerian striker Odion Ighalo was the man of thematch as he scored one and had a hand inWatford’s other two goals. First he took his sea-son’s tally to eight on 17 minutes when a looseball fell to him eight yards out and he stroked itpast Brad Guzan in the Villa goal. FormerManchester City defender Micah Richardsbagged an equalizer for Villa just before thebreak with a glancing header after he rose tomeet a deep free kick.

Play was held up for six minutes as Watford‘keeper Heurelho Gomes was stretchered offafter a nasty head coll is ion with his owndefender Craig Cathcart. But an Alan Huttonown goal put Watford back in front as playrestarted on 69 minutes when he toe-pokedthe ball past his own ‘keeper in a desperateattempt to stop the ball rolling to Ighalo tomake it 2-1. The Nigerian was in the thick of thethird goal too, swiveling before lashing in ashot from the edge of the area that Richardsblocked before the onrushing Troy Deeneyheaded powerfully home to make it 3-1 for thevisitors. Ghana international Jordan Ayew thencurled in a peach of a consolation goal late inthe game to peg it back to 3-2.— AFP

Watford edge Villa in five-goal thriller

Villa 2

Watford 3

BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa’s Micah Richards (left) scores his side’s first goal of the game against Watford during the English Premier Leaguematch at Villa Park yesterday. — AP

Bournemouth 3

Everton 3

18Bayern go 11 points clear, extend Hertha 38-year wait

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 201519

5-star Crystal Palace deepen McClaren’s gloom

Traditional Pacific farewell for Lomu draws thousands Page 16

BARCELONA: Barcelona’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez falls during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs Real Sociedad de Futbol at the Camp Nou stadium yesterday. (Inset) Barcelona’s Brazilian forwardNeymar (center) celebrates with Barcelona’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez (left) and Barcelona’s Argentinean forward Lionel Messi after scoring their third goal. — AFP

MADRID: Barcelona stretched their advantage at the topof La Liga to seven points yesterday thanks to anotherclinical display from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarezto down Real Sociedad 4-0. Messi was making his firstleague start in two months as he continues his comebackfrom knee ligament damage. But the Argentine was ini-tially outshone by his strike partners as they each swepthome from two Dani Alves crosses to put Barca in com-mand at the break. Neymar then added his second shortlyafter the half-time before teeing up Messi for his firstleague goal since September in stoppage time. AtleticoMadrid can close the gap at the top to four points whenthey host Espanyol later. Meanwhile, Real Madrid are now

nine points adrift ahead of their trip to Eibar today.Barca boss Luis Enrique made four changes from the

side that destroyed Roma 6-1 in the Champions Leaguein midweek, but with Messi, Suarez and Neymardeployed once more in attack, the Catalans didn’t miss abeat. Suarez should have opened the scoring after justtwo minutes when he was brilliantly played in byNeymar, but Geronimo Rulli rushed from his line tobravely smother the Uruguayan’s effort just inside hisarea. The Argentine goalkeeper did well once more todeny Neymar at a narrow angle from Messi’s wonderfulthrough ball eight minutes later. Even when Rulli wasbeaten, the woodwork saved Sociedad when Andres

Iniesta headed Suarez’s perfectly measured cross againstthe post. The visitors’ luck eventually ran out on 22 min-utes, though, when Messi released Alves down the rightand Neymar was quickest to meet his low cross and drivethe ball into the top corner. Alves was the creator oncemore for Barca’s second just before the break as his float-ed cross picked out Suarez to acrobatically volley into thefar corner. Barca had to wait just eight minutes after thebreak for a third with the full-backs proving Sociedad’sdownfall again as this time Jeremy Mathieu squared forNeymar to apply a simple finish. That strike took Neymarand Suarez’s tally in La Liga this season to 26 - the sameas the entire Real Madrid squad.

However, both then turned their hand to trying to setup Messi. The four-time World Player of the Year firedinto the side-netting and then straight at Rulli from twoNeymar crosses before pulling a free-kick inches wide ofthe far post. It looked like being a forlorn afternoon forMessi when his brilliant curling effort came back off thecrossbar four minutes from time. However, a final pieceof magic between Neymar and Suarez allowed theBrazilian to roll the ball invitingly across goal for Messi toslot into an empty net and seal a fantastic week for Barcawhich has seen them take a strangle hold of La Liga andclinch their place in the last 16 of the ChampionsLeague. — AFP

Barcelona crush Sociedad 4-0, extend lead

Messi, Neymar, Suarez strike to keep Barca rolling

MANCHESTER: Belgium internationalKevin De Bruyne starred as ManchesterCity ended Southampton’s unbeaten awayrecord in the Premier League this seasonwith a disjointed 3-1 win yesterday.Having lost at Juventus in the ChampionsLeague in mid-week and dropped fivepoints in their previous two league gamesto slip from the summit, City needed anykind of victory to restore their momen-tum. And despite the threat of aSouthampton fightback early in the sec-ond half, Pellegrini’s side did enoughthanks to early goals from De Bruyne andFabian Delph, and a third, 20 minutesfrom time, by Aleksandar Kolarov.

City saw key striker Sergio Aguero hob-ble off with what appeared to be an ankleinjury mid-way through the second half,but Pellegrini played down the extent ofthe problem. After their abject perform-ance in losing 4-1 at home to Liverpoollast weekend, City showed their intentfrom the start at a rain-lashed EtihadStadium. It looked as though they had thegame won inside the opening quarter as

De Bruyne scored his seventh goal of theseason and Delph his first for the club.

Southampton goalkeeper MaartenStekelenburg had already been forced tomake saves from Raheem Sterling andKolarov’s curling free-kick when he wasbeaten by De Bruyne in the ninth minute.The Netherlands international had nochance of keeping out De Bruyne’s tap-in,but the ball would never have got that farhad Maya Yoshida not conceded posses-sion to Sterling wide on the Saints right.The City winger was given an uninterrupt-ed run into the box and picked out histeam-mate with a low cross. Southampton,missing suspended top scorer GrazianoPelle, did not help their cause by constant-ly giving the ball away in dangerous areasand with 20 minutes gone they were 2-0down.

Steven Davis was not penalized when aheader from Fernandinho struck his arm,but from the resulting corner De Bruyneteed up Delph to drill home from 25 yardswith the help of a deflection off defenderVirgil van Dijk. Van Dijk tried to makeamends with a fierce 25-yard shot that hitthe post while City goalkeeper Wil lyCaballero, playing in place of the injuredJoe Har t, then saved from VictorWanyama. City failed to heed that warningand rather than kill off the visitors-YayaToure wasting a chance just before thebreak-found themselves dragged backinto a contest four minutes into the sec-ond half. — AFP

De Bruyne gets Man

City back on track

Man City 3

Southampton 1

LEICESTER: Jamie Vardy set a new Premier Leaguerecord by scoring in an 11th consecutive top-flightmatch as Leicester City drew 1-1 with ManchesterUnited yesterday. Victory would have returnedsecond placed Leicester to the Premier Leaguesummit, but Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised justbefore the interval to stretch United’s unbeatenrun to 10 games and keep them firmly in title con-tention. But the fixture was all about Vardy, whotook until just the 24th minute to produce the his-toric goal that the Leicester faithful, and manyneutrals, were hoping for.

It made the England striker the first player inthe history of the Premier League to score in 11successive appearances, breaking the tie he had of10 in a row shared with former Manchester Unitedstar Ruud van Nistelrooy. It was a goal that illus-trated the blistering pace possessed not only byVardy himself but his team as a whole and cameon the counter-attack from a United corner takenby Daley Blind and gathered by KasperSchmeichel in the Leicester goal. A quick breakupfield ended with full-back Christian Fuchs play-ing a magnificent pass inside United defenderMatteo Darmian for Vardy to chase, beat his mark-er and score with a superb finish under David deGea.

The Leicester fans, who had greeted Vardy’severy move and touch with great expectancy until

that point, erupted in celebrating a goal thatlooked capable of returning Leicester to the top ofthe Premier League table. For all their critics, how-ever, United have shown great resilience underLouis van Gaal, and were level before the interval,the equaliser coming from another right-wingBlind corner. This time, the Dutchman’s deliverywas met by Schweinsteiger, who easily shruggedoff the ineffective attempts of Shinji Okazaki toimpede him, and powered a close-range headerpast the helpless Schmeichel.

That was the culmination of a half that hadcentred around Vardy, the former non-leagueplayer who has only been in the ranks of full-timeprofessional football for three-and-a-half years.After 14 minutes, his determination allowed himto dispossess Michael Carrick and set up N’GoloKante for a shot which was deflected behind theUnited goal. And just after the half hour, de Geawas forced to save with his legs from a RiyadMahrez shot who then followed up by almost set-ting up Okazaki for a second goal.

Instead, it was United who finally began togrow into the game with Schweinsteiger missingtheir first decent opening, after 21 minutes, whenhis shot from an Anthony Martial cross was easilyblocked. There as more excitement for the homesupporters soon after the restart as MarcAlbrighton’s lobbed pass almost found Vardy, theball passing inches over his head. But United werelooking in more direct and determined mood withSchweinsteiger drawing a fine reflex save fromSchmeichel with another powerful header, thistime from an Ashley Young free-kick, and WayneRooney heading the rebound wide, albeit from anoffside position.

Rooney was injured in the process and wouldsoon be replaced by Memphis Depay as bothsides pressed for a winning goal that would liftthem above leaders Manchester City. Mahrez

launched another lightning attack and passedto substitute Leonardo Ulloa whose shot waskept out by de Gea, when a pass to theunmarked Vardy looked a better option, and thesame striker failed with an ambitious high shotfrom outside the area. Juan Mata saw a close-range shot deflected behind and Depay latchedonto Darmian’s neat header only to shoot wellover. — AFP

Vardy sets EPL record

Leicester 1

Man United 1

LEICESTER: Leicester’s Jamie Vardy cele-brates after scoring against ManchesterUnited during the English Premier Leaguesoccer match between Leicester City andManchester United at the King PowerStadium yesterday. — AP

BusinessSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Solid job market, rising pay rev up US economy

Page 22

Strong public investmentspurs Qatar growth

Page 23Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer & Toyotaannounces winners of first raffle draw

Page 26

KSE stocks advance on positive sentiment

Page 24

NEW YORK: Shoppers walk out of Uniqlo on 666 5th Avenue in New York City on Black Friday. Although Black Friday sales are expected to be strong, many shoppers are opting to buy online or retailers are offering year round salesand other incentives that are expected to ease crowds. — AP

Holiday shoppers get a head start on Thanksgiving

Stores push discounts, retailers eye up to 5% rise in sales

NEW YORK: Black Friday used to kick off theholiday shopping season, but nowThanksgiving Day is the new tradition for someshoppers. Macy’s officials said about 15,000people were at the 6 pm opening at its flagshipstore in Manhattan. An hour and a half beforethe Toys R Us in New York’s Times Squareopened at 5 pm, about 40 people stood in line.

And at the 24-hour Wal-Mart store inNaperville, Illinois, the aisles were clogged withpeople and carts by 6 pm, when employeesbegan pulling shrink wrap off palettes of mer-chandise to mark the official start of BlackFriday deals.

Outside, the scene was much the same.With the parking lot filled to capacity, driverscircled slowly looking for spaces, causing abackup of traffic trying to pull into the lot.Some gave up and parked in the near-emptylot of a fitness center and a Starbucks acrossthe street.

“It’s the worst wonderful time of the year!”an employee laughed as he collected shoppingcarts. Shopper Julie Desireau snagged a $10crockpot and the last $10 deep fryer andpromptly hid them under a rack of women’sflannel pajamas. Then the 29-year-old fromChicago called her husband, who was in thetoy department with their cart, and told him tocome pick her up. “There’s no way I’m goingback there,” she said. After opening earlier andearlier on the holiday, this year, most of themore than dozen major retailers like Macy’s,

Target and Kohl’s opened around the sametime they did last year - about 5 pm or 6 pm.

One big exception: JC Penney, which isopening two hours earlier at 3 pm on the holi-day. Staples has reversed course and will closeon the holiday. Sporting goods chain REI,which was always closed on Thanksgiving, isbowing out of Black Friday altogether and isasking employees and customers to spendtime outdoors and not go shopping.

Still, stores aren’t waiting around to pushdiscounts on holiday goods until the officialweekend. Increasingly, they’ve been discount-ing holiday merchandise earlier in the month.In fact, according to the National RetailFederation, the nation’s largest retail tradegroup, nearly 60 percent of holiday shoppershave already started holiday shopping as ofNov. 10.

That should take a bite out of the sales thisweekend, though Black Friday should still rankas either number one or two in sales for theyear. Overall, the National Retail Federationestimates that about 135.8 million consumerswill be shopping this weekend, compared with133.7 million last year. The trade group expectsabout 30 million will be shopping onThanksgiving, compared with 99.7 million onBlack Friday.

Rise in salesThe group also expects a 3.7 percent

increase in sales this year to $630.5 billion for

the season. But grabbing those dollars will betough. While the economy has been improving,shoppers remain tight-fisted. Unemploymenthas settled into a healthy 5 percent rate, butshoppers still grapple with stagnant wages thatare not keeping pace with rising daily costs likerent. Stores also are contending with anincreasing shift to researching and buyingonline. In response, Wal-Mart and Target madeall deals available later in the stores onlineThanksgiving morning. New this year at Target:shoppers who spend $75 or more on Friday willreceive a 20 percent discount to use toward afuture purchase on any day between Dec. 4and Dec. 13.

Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters on aconference call Thursday night that early resultsshow that the discount chain is seeing highertraffic at its stores than last year and shoppersare buying items across the store, from clothingto electronics to toys. He also said that he hasbeen pleased with strong results in online sales.Among some of the most popular doorbusterdeals is a Westinghouse TV, marked down to$249.99, a savings of $350, he said. Target alsooffered 40 percent off of all fashion and acces-sories.

“This is the start of a really good shoppingseason,” he said. Some shoppers came out forthe first time on the holiday. Maria Garcia-Chavez, who lives in Denver, stood in line in thesnow with her husband and four children toget into JC Penney. She came looking for

women’s boots, on sale for $19.99 “This is myfirst time shopping on Thanksgiving. I want thedeals,” she said. “You have to come the first day.If we come back tomorrow, you can maybe getthe same price-if you’re here at 6 a.m. I’m notgoing to get up that early. I’d rather sleep.” Butnot everyone is impressed with theThanksgiving lines. By about an hour beforeToys R Us in Times Square opened the lineswelled to over 100. “Black Friday isn’t what itused to be,” said Keith Nelson, 54, who works insecurity in the Brooklyn and was third in lineafter arriving about 2:15. “Lines used to belonger, people would be sleeping and bringinglounge chairs out here.” Lisa Gutierrez ofAurora, Illinois, thought her strategy of waitingto go shopping until after kickoff of Thursdaynight’s Chicago Bears vs Green Bay Packersgame was a good one. Until she arrived at theTarget near her home and found out the flatscreen TVs she had her eye on were sold outalmost immediately after the store opened at 6p.m.

“That’s a bummer,” she said. On the brightside, “at least it’s not a total madhouse in here.”The Naperville, Illinois, Target was busy butcalm about two hours after opening. Most butnot all checkout lanes were open and lineswere short. Parking was readily available. AlanZagier in St. Louis, Sara Burnett in Naperville,Illinois, Kristen Wyatt in Denver and MaeAnderson in New York contributed to thisreport. —AP

DETROIT: US retailers faced competition for customers fromcar sellers on Thanksgiving weekend, as auto dealers offeredbargains on vehicles as alluring as any discounted TV orstereo system.

The mad dash for midnight “Black Friday” deals at storeslike Walmart and Target the day after Thanksgiving hasbecome an annual ritual. Less noticed are the crowds flock-ing to car dealers. November has long been a notoriouslyslow month for car sales. But in recent years car dealers havejoined in the Thanksgiving weekend sales extravaganza,making November one of the best months of the year forauto sales in recent years, said Jessica Caldwell, director ofindustry analysis for Edmunds.com.

“Last year, Thanksgiving weekend accounted for twice asmany sales as any other weekend in November. We expect tosee both trends continue this year,” Caldwell said in a pre-weekend note to investors.

Autos and Xboxes The activity Friday in a cluster of new car dealerships near

a busy intersection just outside Detroit confirmed the trend.“It’s going to be one of the busiest days of the year,” saidMelvin Holmes, a sales consultant at Tamaroff Honda, one ofthe dealerships. National advertising by Honda and specialpromotions by the dealership-everyone buying a car Fridayor Saturday will get a tablet computer, an Xbox or Wii gamesystem, or a 350-dollar gift card-were helping draw crowds,Holmes said.

At Serra Chevrolet a few doors away, customers wereprowling through the used car lot despite the light rain.“We’re already busy,” said Chaz Suomala, one of Serra’s salesconsultants. “It was crazy last year” he said. “We just thoughtit would be a good day to come out and start the process,”said Lana Crain, who was waiting with her husband to take atest drive at another dealership selling Chrysler, Dodge andJeep vehicles. Customers often go online to research whatcar they want to buy, and with what options.

Brian Brewer, a car dealer, said that the day afterThanksgiving had now become a popular time to check outa desired set of wheels at closer quarters.

Buyers ‘expect’ bargains Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Chevrolet, Ford

and FCA US (formerly the Chrysler Group) all run special pro-motions for Black Friday-with deals often extending totoday-and the Christmas holidays. Motorists have come toexpect the holiday promotions, said Toyota spokesman GregThome. Eric Lyman with TrueCar.com, a vehicle pricing andinformation website for buyers and dealers, said that BlackFriday sales could help set a record and push the seasonallyadjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales inNovember to 18.6 million units, the strongest pace of anymonth this year. “This continues to be a standout year forthe industry, with November sales likely setting a monthlyrecord,” Lyman said. “Consumers are excited about BlackFriday promotions and these month-long events appear tobe resonating with car buyers.” Overall US vehicle sales havebeen rising steadily since sinking to a monthly low of 9.95million units in June 2009, a figure not seen since the 1980s,according to US Commerce Department figures. In the pastfive years car sales have consistently peaked in Novemberand December, going from 12.03 million in December 2010to 17.22 million in December 2014. Figures for Novembersales were slightly higher than December in 2013 and 2014,at 16.48 million and 17.44 million respectively. —AP

Car sales rev up on

US holiday weekend

TEHRAN: Iran unveiled a new model of oil con-tracts yesterday aimed at attracting foreigninvestment once sanctions are lifted under alandmark nuclear deal reached earlier this yearand said US companies would be welcome toparticipate. The new Iran Petroleum Contractreplaces a previous buyback model, in whichcontractors paid up-front investment costs inreturn for proceeds from the oil producedunder the deal.

Iran has sweetened the terms, hoping tobring in $30 billion in new investment. The newcontracts last 15-20 years and allow for the fullrecovery of costs. The older contracts wereshorter term, and investors complained ofheavy risks and suffering losses. Some 50upstream oil, gas and petrochemical projectsare being introduced during a two-day confer-ence in Tehran that began yesterdayt. Iran willpay foreign oil companies larger fees under thenew contracts to provide greater incentives toinvestors. Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganehtold the conference that under the new con-tracts, foreign investors will be required to forma joint company with an Iranian partner to carryout exploration, development and productionoperations.

“Any foreign company that wants to work inIran in this new period must have an IranianE&P (Exploration & Production) company on itsside as a partner,” he told the conference. “Tocontinue to play the role (as a major oil suppli-er), we hope to enjoy working with reputableinternational oil companies under a win-win sit-

uation.” Zanganeh welcomed US investment inIran’s energy sector. “We have no objection toand problem with the participation of Americancompanies. The way for the presence of thesecompanies in Iran’s oil industry is open,” he said.Mahdi Hosseini, a senior official in charge of thenew contracts, told the conference that the newmodel is an attempt to repair Iran’s relationswith the industrialized world.

“The new model of oil contracts is an instru-ment to repair (our) relations with the industrial-ized world,” he said. Iran is hoping to attract over$150 billion in foreign investment in five yearsto rebuild its energy industry, which has suf-fered from sanctions.

OPEC member Iran currently exports 1.1 mil-lion barrels of crude oil per day and hopes toget back to its pre-sanctions level of 2.2 million,last reached in 2012. Iran’s total production nowstands at 3.1 million barrels per day.International sanctions on Iran’s oil industrywere tightened in 2012 over its controversialnuclear program. Western nations have longsuspected Iran of secretly pursuing nuclearweapons, charges denied by Tehran, whichinsists the program is entirely peaceful.

Under the agreement reached in July withthe US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia andChina, Iran will curb its nuclear activities inexchange for the lifting of sanctions. Zanganehsaid last week that Iran will export an additional500,000 barrels of oil a day after sanctions arelifted - likely in early 2016 - to reclaim its marketshare despite low prices.— AP

Iran unveils upgraded model for oil contracts

MOSCOW: A trader prepares vegetables for customers at Dorogomilovsky food mar-ket in Moscow on Friday. Since the plane was shot down Tuesday on the Syria-Turkeyborder, Russia has already restricted tourism, left Turkish trucks stranded at the bor-der and confiscated large quantities of Turkish food imports. —AP

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.489Indian Rupees 4.602Pakistani Rupees 2.894Srilankan Rupees 2.139Nepali Rupees 2.880Singapore Dollar 217.500Hongkong Dollar 39.361Bangladesh Taka 3.864Philippine Peso 6.485Thai Baht 8.515

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 81.390Qatari Riyal 83.839Omani Riyal 792.750Bahraini Dinar 810.550UAE Dirham 83.097

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 37.900Egyptian Pound - Transfer 39.026Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.424Tunisian Dinar 148.800Jordanian Dinar 429.800Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.034Syrian Lira 2.175Morocco Dirham 30.813

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 305.050Euro 325.640Sterling Pound 462.760Canadian dollar 230.230Turkish lira 105.740Swiss Franc 299.510Australian dollar 222.080US Dollar Buying 303.850

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.452808 0.461808Czech Korune 0.003990 0.015990Danish Krone 0.039403 0.044403Euro 0.318524 0.326524Norwegian Krone 0.031204 0.036404Romanian Leu 0.087507 0.087507Slovakia 0.009130 0.019130Swedish Krona 0.030949 0.35949Swiss Franc 0.290349 0.300549Turkish Lira 0.100616 0.110916

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.211741 0.223241New Zealand Dollar 0.191828 0.201328

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.223148 0.231648US Dollars 0.300950 0.305450

US Dollars Mint 0.301450 0.305450

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003517 0.004117Chinese Yuan 0.046279 0.049779Hong Kong Dollar 0.037258 0.040008Indian upee 0.004341 0.004731Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024Japanese Yen 0.002409 0.002589Kenyan Shilling 0.003170 0.003170Korean Won 0.000254 0.000269Malaysian Ringgit 0.068464 0.074464Nepalese Rupee 0.002923 0.003093Pakistan Rupee 0.002707 0.002987Philippine Peso 0.006404 0.006684Sierra Leone 0.000068 0.000074Singapore Dollar 0.213342 0.219342South African Rand 0.015354 0.023854Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001771 0.002351Taiwan 0.009265 0.009445Thai Baht 0.008206 0.008756

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.802259 0.810259Egyptian Pound 0.037520 0.040350Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000086Iraqi Dinar 0.000204 0.000264Jordanian Dinar 0.426264 0.433764Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000153 0.000253Moroccan Dirhams 0.022197 0.046197Nigerian Naira 0.001263 0.001898Omani Riyal 0.785917 0.791597Qatar Riyal 0.083078 0.084291Saudi Riyal 0.080710 0.081410Syrian Pound 0.001293 0.001513Tunisian Dinar 0.144374 0.152374Turkish Lira 0.100616 0.110916UAE Dirhams 0.082073 0.083222Yemeni Riyal 0.001379 0.001459

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000Australian Dollar 204.98Canadian Dollar 233.02Swiss Franc 304.26Euro 328.08US Dollar 305.15Sterling Pound 463.25Japanese Yen 2.53Bangladesh Taka 3.870Indian Rupee 4.602Sri Lankan Rupee 2.143Nepali Rupee 2.876Pakistani Rupee 2.890UAE Dirhams 0.08304Bahraini Dinar 0.8110Egyptian Pound 0.03888Jordanian Dinar 0.4340Omani Riyal 0.7924Qatari Riyal 0.08413Saudi Riyal 0.08134

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 305.200Canadian Dollar 231.580Sterling Pound 461.650Euro 326.430Swiss Frank 311.325Bahrain Dinar 810.045UAE Dirhams 83.390Qatari Riyals 91.430

Saudi Riyals 82.110Jordanian Dinar 430.055Egyptian Pound 38.866Sri Lankan Rupees 2.143Indian Rupees 4.595Pakistani Rupees 2.890Bangladesh Taka 3.862Philippines Pesso 6.480Cyprus pound 581.315Japanese Yen 3.485Syrian Pound 2.615Nepalese Rupees 3.865Malaysian Ringgit 73.430Chinese Yuan Renminbi 48.110Thai Bhat 9.530Turkish Lira 106.125

GOLD20 gram 219.5310 gram 112.465 gram 56.92

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WASHINGTON: Americans’ pay is up, fewer peopleneed unemployment aid, more are buying new homesand business spending is rebounding. A flurry of datareleased signaled that the fundamentals of the USeconomy remain solid, if unspectacular, three weeksbefore the Federal Reserve will likely begin raising inter-est rates.

Consumers appear relatively confident in the econ-omy and may be poised to spend a decent chunk oftheir rising incomes during the holiday shopping sea-son. In addition, businesses are stepping up theirinvestment in machinery and equipment, removing apersistent drag on the economy. The steady consumerand business demand in the United States is poweringthe economy through economic pressures from over-seas, which jolted financial markets during August andSeptember and raised doubts about global growth.

With the US job market on solid footing and wagesbeginning to rise, the Fed is widely expected to raiseshort-term rates in mid-December for the first time innine years. Wages and salaries jumped 0.6 percent inOctober, the Commerce Department said Wednesday,and data for the spring and summer was revised sub-stantially higher. US paychecks were 4.9 percent higherin October than they were a year earlier, a sizable gain.By contrast, in the first four years after the GreatRecession ended in 2009, paychecks typically rose onlyabout 2 percent to 3 percent.

“The extra growth in wage income is good news forretailers hoping for a strong holiday shopping season,”said Jim O’Sullivan, chief US economist at HighFrequency Economics.

O’Sullivan forecasts that the economy’s annual

growth rate could reach 2.7 percent in the final threemonths of the year, from 2.1 percent in the third quar-ter.

Consumer spending rose only 0.1 percent inOctober, though that weak showing occurred partlybecause the month was unusually warm andAmericans paid less for heat. In the second and thirdquarters, consumer spending topped 3 percent, a his-torically robust level.

With incomes revised higher, the savings ratejumped last month to 5.6 percent, the highest since2012. “History tells us that a chunk of that savings willeventually get spent,” said Stephen Stanley, chief econ-omist at Amherst Pierpont.

Measures of consumer confidence have beenmixed but generally paint an optimistic picture.According to Gallup, Americans plan to spend on aver-age $830 on holiday shopping this winter - the mostsince 2007, just before the recession officially began.

And consumer sentiment ticked up this month,according to a survey by the University of Michigan.Lower and middle-income Americans were more opti-mistic about their personal finances in the coming yearthan higher-income households were, the surveyfound. Still, a separate measure of consumer confi-dence from the Conference Board, a business researchgroup, fell in November to its lowest point in more thana year. It found that fewer Americans expected theirincomes to rise.

Even so, Americans are unleashing pent-updemand for big-ticket items such as homes and cars.Sales of new homes jumped last month and haveincreased 15.7 percent through the first 10 months of

2015. Home sales have been bolstered by strong hiringand low mortgage rates. Sales of existing homes are ontrack to reach their highest level since 2007, eventhough rising prices are sidelining many potential buy-ers.

Separately, US factories in October received moreorders for long-lasting goods, including steel, machin-ery and computers. The increase added to other evi-dence that manufacturing is recovering after a general-ly brutal year. A higher-valued dollar has made USgoods more expensive overseas.

And factory output has also been held back by lowoil prices, which forced oil and gas drillers to slashorders for steel pipe and other equipment.

Now, though, those drags appear to be fading.Consistent hiring has underpinned most of theimprovement in the economy this year. Employersadded 271,000 jobs in October, the most since lastDecember, and the unemployment rate reached 5 per-cent, the lowest level since the spring of 2008. Solid jobgains are likely to continue, at least judging from howfew people are losing jobs. The number of peopleseeking unemployment benefits, which generally mir-rors the pace of layoffs, fell to nearly 40-year lows lastweek.

Year-over-year inflation, which had remained stub-bornly below the Fed’s target rate, has now reached 1.7percent according to a measure compiled by theFederal Reserve Bank of Dallas. That’s not far from theFed’s 2 percent target. And Americans expect slightlyhigher inflation in coming months, according to theUniversity of Michigan’s survey. That could bolster thecase for the Fed to raise rates at its next meeting. — AP

Solid job market, rising

pay rev up US economy Signs of steady growth as business spending rebounds

LOS ANGELES: Best Buy staff load a television during a Black Friday sale in Los Angeles, California on Friday. — AFP

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah dailydraws on 22 November 2015 announcing thenames of its winners for the week of 15November - 19 November 2015. The Al-Danahdaily draws include draws each and every work-ing day for two prizes of KD1,000 per winner. The winners are:

(Sunday 15/11): Sayed Ameer Bouj, ShaikhaAbdulaziz Khalifa Al-Musallam

(Monday 16/11): Lama Alaa Sami Ali Rajab,Hasan Sulaiman Hasan Al-Awadhi

(Tuesday 17/11): Hamdah Halefi TaibiShemair, Raja Abdullah Mohammed

(Wednesday 18/11): Zahra Maki AbdulazizAl-Qallaf, Deemah Khaled Mahmoud Al-Naser

(Thursday 19/11): Sheikh/ Ahmed Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Fahad Abdulaziz Soud Atiah

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah 2015 draw lineupincludes daily draws (2 winners per working dayeach receive KD1,000). The final Al-Danah drawfor One Million Dinars will be held on 7 January2016. The Al Danah Millionaire will beannounced alongside winners of KD250,000and KD50,000 cash prizes.Five reasons why the Al-Danah account is theBest:1) Kuwait’s single biggest yearly cash prize of KD

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big, live big, with Al-Danah 2015. Al-Danah also offers a number of unique

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Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah account is open toKuwaitis and all residents of Kuwait. Customerswho open an account and/ or deposit more willenter the draw within two days. To take part inthe Al-Danah 2015 upcoming yearly draw, cus-tomers must have an Al-Danah account contain-ing at least KD 200. To be part of the Al-Danahdraws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56branches, transfer on line, or call the customercontact Center on 1805805 for assistance andguidance. Customers can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out moreabout Al-Danah and its winners.

Gulf Bank announces winners

of Al-Danah daily draws

MANILA: The Philippine economy expanded 6percent in the third quarter and officials fore-cast at least the same growth rate for the fullyear but warned of risks from the El Nino dryspell and presidential elections in 2016. Serviceindustries which include real estate and retail-ing were the main driver of growth in the thirdquarter, expanding 7.3 percent, which was thefastest pace since 2013. Agriculture showedsigns of recovery, growing 0.4 percent com-pared with a contraction a year earlier.

The Philippines has been one of the bestperforming economies in Asia for several years,growing at an average rate of 6.3 percentbetween 2010 and 2014. Despite increasedgovernment efforts to raise living standards,the country still faces considerable challengesincluding its vulnerability to typhoons and oth-er natural disasters, poverty, corruption andpoor infrastructure. Officials said risks to thegrowth outlook include El Nino’s effect on agri-

culture and potential political uncertainty asPresident Benigno Aquino III’s six year termdraws to a close. Elections are set for May.

“We are confident that after five years wehave laid our house with firmer foundations,” saidFinance Secretary Cesar Purisima. “But reform is agame that has no end. Increasingly we look toour next set of leaders to carry the work of chart-ing our future.” He said the government’s 2016budget will meet its goal of investing five percentof gross domestic product in infrastructure.Weakness in the global economy hurt trade inthe third quarter. The Philippines posted a tradedeficit of 58.8 billion peso ($1.25 billion) for thethree months compared with a surplus of 7.3 bil-lion pesos ($155.3 million) a year earlier.Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacansaid growth of 6 percent for the full year is “verylikely” because of an expected acceleration in thefourth quarter. Second-quarter growth wasrevised to 5.8 percent from 5.6 percent. — AP

Philippine economy grew 6%

in 3Q as services expanded

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

B U S I N E S S

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: Despite lower oil prices, high public investmentin the country’s $200 billion development plan and gasoutput gains linked to the launch of the Barzan productionfacility should see Qatar’s economic performance remainrelatively strong through 2016 and 2017. Inflation isexpected to edge up slowly, once the deflationary effect ofsoft international food and commodity prices begins toease and once rental costs resume their upward trajectory.A stronger dollar should keep imported inflation in check,however.

With oil and gas revenues down by 40 percent, Qatar isexpected to record in 2016 its first fiscal deficit since 1999.Consequently, non-essential capital projects are likely to bescaled back amid a drive to rationalize spending and stim-ulate the private sector. As low energy prices feed throughto the banking sector in the form of slowing deposit, creditand asset growth, liquidity has tightened and rates haverisen. CDS spreads have also widened. Nevertheless, withstrong fiscal and external buffers, including net externalassets equivalent to 132 percent of GDP, Qatar is betterplaced than most of its peers to negotiate the currentdownturn.

Risks to the outlook center on the trajectory of energyprices, the performance of the global economy, volatility infinancial markets and delivery of the authorities’ domesticinfrastructure program ahead of the World Cup in 2022.Qatar’s position as the leading LNG exporter in the world isalso likely to come under pressure by the arrival ofAustralia and the US as major LNG competitors in 2016.

Real economic growth Real GDP is forecast to grow by 5.4 percent in 2016 and

5.1 percent in 2017, from an expected increase of 4.9 per-cent in 2015. This figure, while down from the 9.2 percentannual average witnessed during 2010-2014, still putsQatar among the most dynamic economies in the GCC.

Hydrocarbon sector output, having plateaued with theattainment of maximum LNG capacity in 2012, is expectedto receive a boost from the commissioning of Barzan in late2015, which should reach full production of 1.4 billioncubic feet per day (bcf/d) in 2016. Consequently, realhydrocarbon growth is expected to clock in at 0.7 percentin 2015 and 1.7 percent in 2016, before falling to 1.0 per-cent in 2017.

Barzan was the last project sanctioned before the 2005moratorium on gas extraction from the country’s giantNorth Field was put in place. Once fully operational, thefacility should supply additional volumes of gas by-prod-ucts such as condensates and natural gas liquids (NGLs).These took over from crude oil as the dominant liquid fuelproducts once crude output from Qatar’s maturing oilfields began to decline in 2007. Crude output averaged0.66 mb/d 2015. (Chart 2.) Output had been as high as 0.85mb/d in 2007.

In contrast, the non-hydrocarbon sector remains themain determinant of Qatar ’s economic growth.Underpinned by government spending, output is forecastto expand by 9.1 percent y/y on average between 2015and 2017. Financial services, construction and trade andhospitality will continue to drive Qatar’s non-hydrocarbonsector. Economic expansion is also being propelled by bur-geoning population growth of 8.8 percent y/y, which ishelping to boost domestic consumption.

The authorities have indicated that they remain com-mitted to executing the country’s $200 billion develop-ment and diversification plan regardless of the decline inoil prices. The need to roll out World Cup and related infra-structure by 2022 imparts a measure of urgency to govern-ment efforts. High profile projects such as the QatarIntegrated Railway ($40 billion), Hamad Port ($7 billion),the Lusail Mixed-Use Development ($45 billion) and thelocal roads and drainage program ($14.6 billion) look set toproceed apace. Non-essential capital projects, however,will be downgraded and scaled back in the current cost-conscious environment.

Inflation likely to rise Headline inflation is projected to rise gradually over the

next two years, from an expected 1.7 percent in 2015 to 3.0percent in 2017 (on an annual average basis). Rising rentalcosts and slowly rebounding global food and commodityprices are likely to be the predominant inflationary impuls-es. While rental inflation slowed to 1.8 percent y/y inOctober, rapid population growth owing to the influx ofexpatriate workers is expected to continue exerting pres-sure on the country’s limited residential housing stock. Theprice of land and buildings, as measured by the real estateprice index (REPI), was up 18.2 percent y/y last September,although it has been moderating over the last year. (Chart4.) A strengthening US dollar-to which the Qatari riyal ispegged-has helped restrain imported inflation.

Fiscal and current account surpluses Qatar’s fiscal balance is likely to swing into deficit in

2016, for the first time since 1999. With spending levelsremaining relatively elevated amid a 40 percent decline inhydrocarbon revenues, the fiscal surplus is forecast to nar-row from 16.1 percent of GDP in 2014 to -0.5 percent ofGDP in 2016. In 2017, the fiscal account should just aboutbalance. Similarly, the current account surplus is likely tonarrow considerably.

On the fiscal side, future spending is likely to be rational-ized. While current spending will be restrained, capitalspending will need to rise as the authorities make up forprevious below-budget outlays, due to delays and capacityconstraints, and push ahead with implementing their devel-opment plan ahead of the World Cup in 2022. As men-tioned, however, non-essential projects will be scaled back.

The prospect of a sustained period of low energy priceshas prompted the government to proceed with reformingthe state’s finances. New measures include: the introduc-

tion of a QAR 600 billion ($165 billion) spending cap onnew investment projects for 10 years; the creation of amacro-fiscal unit and public investment managementdepartment (PIM); the shift to a calendar rather than a fis-cal year budget (effective in 2016); the withdrawal of subsi-dies to certain state institutions; and the privatization ofsemi-government institutions. The last two measures wereannounced by the Amir in November 2015 and form partof an effort to shrink state monopolies and boost the eco-nomic contribution of the private sector.

Sufficient fiscal buffers With $39.6 billion in international reserves (excluding the

$256 billion SWF)-equivalent to 7.4 months of imports-andstrong credit ratings, however, Qatar has sufficient assets tofinance capital spending and weather the fall in energyprices-certainly over the forecast period. Were oil prices (andgas prices by extension) to remain in the $40-50 range forlonger, then, like Saudi Arabia, the authorities would proba-bly envisage stepping up bond issuance, perhaps with aview to attract international investors, given domestic liquid-ity concerns. Gross central government debt had dropped to31.0 percent of GDP in 2014 from a high of 42.0 percent ofGDP in 2010 after the authorities paid back maturing publicdebt. This trend could reverse, however.

Banking sector Credit growth has been moderating over the last year

owing to a slowdown and contraction in public sector bor-rowing. The most recent data showed overall bank creditgrowing by 12.0 percent y/y in September, with credit tothe public sector contracting by -6.6 percent y/y. In con-trast, credit growth to the private sector has averaged 22.0percent y/y for most of the year (compared to 15.6 percentin 2014), as banks continue expanding credit lines to thereal estate, industrial and retail sectors of the economy.Foreign lending has also proceeded apace, with growthaveraging 45.2 percent y/y in 2015. In view of the govern-

ment’s commitment to continue spending on infrastructureand expand private sector participation in the developmentplan, the outlook for credit growth remains positive.

Lower deposit flows Reduced government deposits in the banking system

resulting from lower oil and gas prices have slowed overalldeposit growth considerably over the previous year. Totalbanking sector deposits grew by 7.1 percent y/y as of end-September, down from the average annual growth rates of13.8 percent and 30.6 percent in 2014 and 2013, respec-tively. Public sector deposits were down by -13.9 percenty/y last September-the steepest contraction since thefinancial crisis. Public sector deposits, as a share of totalbank deposits, stood at 25.0 percent, which is a declinefrom their high of 32.0 percent in 2013 and 2014. (Chart11.) Private sector deposit growth has remained in doubledigits, however.

With deposit growth slowing and trailing credit growth-the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) remained elevated at 111.4percent last September-banks are increasingly facing fund-ing pressures. In response, banks are increasing their expo-sure to the costlier and more volatile interbank funds aswell as to the debt markets; interbank funds as a share oftotal funds was back up to 21.4 percent in September2015.

Interbank rates tacked sharply upward since July,reflecting once again concerns over tightening liquidity. Inorder to alleviate potential liquidity constraints, theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), in its Article IVConsultation, suggested that the authorities reallocatedeposits from government and related institutions, includ-ing from the overseas SWF, and reduce the size of the cen-tral bank’s T-bill and bond auctions.

Government securities form the bulk of commercialbanks’ liquid assets, and, along with deposits at the centralbank, provide some measure of liquidity cover. While liquidbanking assets accounted for 27.0 percent of total tangible

assets in December 2015, this figure looks likely to fall tobetween 22.0-25.0 percent by the end of 2015.

With the Qatari riyal pegged to the US dollar, domesticinterest rates tend to be closely aligned with US interestrates. The US Federal Reserve is expected to raise its bench-mark Federal Funds rate by the turn of 2016, which willlikely mean that Qatar’s key lending and deposit rates willfollow suit, possibly with some lag.

Qatari equities roiled With the oil price slump continuing to negatively affect

market sentiment, the benchmark Qatar Exchange Index(QE) had been in negative territory (ytd) for close to 7months by mid-November 2015. This is despite the factthat Qatari corporates had posted the highest earningsgrowth in the GCC, of 13 percent, during the first 6 monthsof 2015. As of 20 November, the index was down -8.1 per-cent to 10,860. Low trading volumes have reflected weakbuyer interest. Investors have also been concerned that thegovernment would be forced to rein in spending, includingcutting subsidies, and consider corporate tax increases in abid to boost state coffers.

The trajectory of energy prices With its sizeable fiscal buffers and AA credit rating,

Qatar remains well positioned to weather the current peri-od of low energy prices. Nevertheless, the longer oil andgas prices remain depressed, the more pressure Qatar willface on its finances and banking sector. Growth willundoubtedly be affected. In a sign of rising pressures,along with a rise in the forward currency curve, the 5-yearsovereign credit default swap spread widened significantly,by 14 bps, during the second half of the year. The likelyarrival in 2016 of Australia and the US as LNG exporters isanother concern, as it will challenge Qatar’s position as theworld’s largest LNG exporter. Qatar’s low gas productioncost base, however, should enable it to compete effectivelyin this new environment.

Strong public investment spurs Qatar growth

TOKYO: Japan’s jobless rate fell to a 20-yearlow in October, but consumer spending andincomes also edged down as the tight labormarket failed to spur significant increases inwages. The latest figures are likely to helpPrime Minister Shinzo Abe’s effort to cajolecompanies into offering higher wages, toaccelerate inflation by raising consumerdemand through higher incomes. So far,short-handed employers have resorted to useof overtime and hiring more temporary work-ers, seeking to avoid increases in base wagesthat would be difficult to reverse if the econo-my takes a turn for the worse.

The government reported Friday thatunemployment in the world’s No 3 economydipped to 3.1 percent in October, comparedwith 3.4 percent in September. It was the low-

est level since July 1995. Consumer spending,meanwhile, fell 2.4 percent from the samemonth a year earlier, and average incomes fell0.9 percent.

Japan’s inflation rate also was lower inOctober, with core inflation excluding volatilefood prices down 0.1 percent for the thirdmonth in a row. The success of the govern-ment’s “Abenomics” policies hinges on gettingconsumers and companies spend to more.Abe has also launched social welfare initia-tives aimed at easing the burden of child careand elder care to help encourage morewomen to work.

This week, Abe appealed to business lead-ers to offer bigger wage increases during nextyear’s spring “shunto,” or “labor offensive,”when unions and companies hash out pay

agreements for the year.Abe has pledged to slash corporate taxes

in exchange for progress on wages. The gov-ernment also intends to raise the minimumwage, which is now at a modest 798 yen($6.50) an hour on average, by 3 percent ayear, aiming to get it up to 1,000 yen ($8.15)an hour by 2020. Big companies, reapingrecord profits thanks to strong export earn-ings, can afford that. However, most peoplepaid the minimum wage work for small andmedium-size companies that cannot afford topay more, said economist Masamichi Adachiof JPMorgan. “Those small tiny firms, whichare always losing money and don’t pay taxes,are not making money at all. If they have toraise wages their losses will grow and theywill find it hard to survive,” he said. —AP

Japan’s jobless rate at 20-year low, consumer spending drops

TOKYO: A shopper walks past a clothing shop display at a shopping street ofGinza area in Tokyo. Japan’s jobless rate fell to a 20-year low in October, butconsumer spending and incomes also edged lower as the tight labor marketfailed to spur significant increases in wages. —AP

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange(KSE) ended last week in the greenzone. The Price Index closed at5,794.64 points, up by 1.21 percentfrom the week before closing, theWeighted Index increased by 0.96 per-cent after closing at 394.60 points,whereas the KSX-15 Index closed at943.56 points up by 1.02 percent.Furthermore, last week’s average dailyturnover increased by 13.92 percent,compared to the preceding week,reaching KD 15.69 million, whereastrading volume average was 131.23million shares, recording a loss of 1.04percent.

The stock market indicatorsreturned to close in the green zoneonce again, after several weeks ofmixed performance, as the marketreceived support from the purchasingpowers and the collection operationsthat included many stocks of differentsectors headed by theTelecommunications which acquirednearly 30 percent of the market liq-

uidity during the last week, wheresuch came in light of an optimismspread among the investors as a resultto the incoming news of the acquisi-tion deal of 74 percent of the Viva list-ed stocks in the official market.

In addition, the market started itsfirst sessions of the week with goodincrease to its three indicators, espe-cially the Weighted Index and KSX-15Index which recorded good gains bythe end of the session affected by thepurchasing trend that the market wit-nessed on the large-cap stocks, whichpositively reflected on the tradingactivity in the market, especially thevalue which recorded high increase ofabout 68 percent compared to theprevious session. The Market contin-ued recording gains for the secondsession as a result to the continuedactive purchasing trend on manystocks, and in light of the increasedliquidity for the second consecutivesession.

However on the mid-week session,

the market stopped in the profit col-lection station, among declined liq-uidity levels again, which pushed thethree indices to close in the red zone,although considered normal after thegood gains realized by many stocks inthe previous two sessions. Also, themarket returned for its groupedincrease for the three indices onWednesday and Thursday’s sessions,due to the return of the purchasingand speculations operations in con-trolling the trading direction, amonga continued decline in the value,however in minimal percentages.

Moreover, the market cap forKuwait Stock Exchange reached bythe end of last week KD 26.22 billion,increasing by 1 percent compared toits level in a week earlier which wasKD 25.96 billion. However on the

annual level, the market cap for thelisted companies in KSE recorded adecline of 6.29 percent from its valueat end of 2014, where it reached thenKD 27.98 billion.

As far as KSE annual performance,the Price Index ended last weekrecording 11.34 percent annual losscompared to its closing in 2014, whilethe Weighted Index decreased by10.09 percent, and the KSX-15 con-tracted by 10.98 percent.

Sectors’ IndicesEight of KSE’s sectors ended last

week in the green zone, while theother four recorded declines. Lastweek’s highest gainer was theTelecommunications sector, achiev-ing 6.85 percent growth rate as itsindex closed at 634.77 points.

Whereas, in the second place, theHealth Care sector’s index closed at984.39 points recording 2.49 percentincrease. The Industrial sector came inthird as its index achieved 1.96 per-cent growth, ending the week at1,069.44 points.

On the other hand, the Insurancesector headed the losers list as itsindex declined by 2.26 percent to endthe week’s activity at 1,098.13 points.The Technology sector was second onthe losers’ list, which index declinedby 1.90 percent, closing at 871.80points, followed by the Basic Materialssector, as its index closed at 1,023.78points at a loss of 0.84 percent.

Sectors’ ActivityThe Financial Services sector domi-

nated a total trade volume of around

211.56 million shares changing handsduring last week, representing 32.24percent of the total market trading vol-ume. The Real Estate sector was secondin terms of trading volume as the sec-tor’s traded shares were 25.99 percentof last week’s total trading volume, witha total of around 170.52 million shares.On the other hand, theTelecommunications sector’s stockswere the highest traded in terms of val-ue; with a turnover of around K.D 23.33million or 29.74 percent of last week’stotal market trading value.

The Banks sector took the secondplace as the sector’s last week turnoverwas approx. KD 16.68 million represent-ing 21.25 percent of the total markettrading value. — Prepared by the Studies & ResearchDepartment, Bayan Investment Co.

KSE stocks advance on positive sentiment

BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

NEW YORK: US stocks finished mostly higherFriday as they wrapped up a quiet week oftrading. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fluc-tuated early on, but managed to eke out asmall gain as telecommunications and finan-cial stocks rose. Disney dragged down theDow Jones industrial average after the compa-ny said ESPN lost 3 million subscribers in thelast year. Oil prices slumped, dragging downenergy stocks. The Dow fell 14.90 points, or 0.1percent, to 17,798.49. The S&P 500 picked up1.24 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to2,090.11. The Nasdaq composite index added11.38 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,127.52.

US markets were closed Thursday for theThanksgiving holiday, and closed at 1 p.m. onFriday. Stocks didn’t have much momentum ina week of light trading. The market made itsbiggest weekly gain of 2015 last week, but thisweek the Dow fell 0.1 percent and the S&P 500rose less than 0.1 percent.

Oil prices dropped. Benchmark US crudefell $1.33, or 3.1 percent, to $41.71 a barrel inNew York. Brent crude, a benchmark for inter-national oils, gave up 60 cents, or 1.3 percent,to $44.86 a barrel in London.

The largest losers on the S&P 500 wereenergy stocks. Consol Energy lost 52 cents, or6.5 percent, to $7.48 and Southwestern Energygave up 68 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $8.74.Prudential Financial market strategist QuincyKrosby said oil prices gained a premium thisweek because of geopolitical concerns likeincreased military action against the IslamicState and growing tensions between Russiaand Turkey after Turkey shot down a Russianfighter plane on Tuesday.

Krosby said those gains may not last long.Next week OPEC will hold a meeting in Vienna,and the group could send oil prices higher bydeciding to cut back on production. Or, it

could decide to keep producing oil at its pres-ent rate, which might make prices fall further.

That premium on the price of oil “can moveup dramatically but also come down or dissi-pate just as quickly,” Krosby said. Disney fell$3.54, or 3 percent, to $115.13, its biggest one-day loss since August. Late Wednesday, Disneydisclosed that US subscribers to its ESPN

sports channel fell for the second year in a row,to 92 million as of Oct. 3, matching the lowesttotal since 2006. ESPN’s subscriber totals hadhovered around 100 million for years.

Disney has said that ESPN has lost sub-scribers, but investors appeared shaken by thesize of the losses. Small but growing numbersof people are opting out of traditional cable TV

bundles and buying smaller, less expensivegroups of channels instead. Investors in mediacompanies are worried about potential lossesof subscribers and revenue.

A dispute over the health and mentalcapacity of media mogul Sumner Redstone hitshares of Viacom, the owner of media proper-ties including Paramount Pictures, Comedy

Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. In a lawsuitfiled Wednesday, Manuela Herzer, Redstone’sformer companion, said the 92-year-old exec-utive can’t make informed decisions anymoreand needs medical care at all times. Lawyersfor Redstone, who controls the shareholdervote at Viacom as well as at CBS, disputed theclaims.

Viacom’s Class B shares fell $1.19, or 2.3 per-cent, to $51.16. Spam maker Hormel didn’tmiss a beat over the holiday break, rising$1.46, or 2 percent, to $75.01. Earlier this weekHormel posted strong-quarterly results andannounced a planned stock split. Its sharesrose 10 percent this week.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise also continuedto rise. The technology services company, for-merly part of Hewlett-Packard, saw an increasein sales of data-center hardware during thefourth quarter. Its shares added 23 cents, or 1.3percent, to $14.35 after picking up 3 percentWednesday.

Retail stocks didn’t move much on BlackFriday, when millions of shoppers hit thestores in search of bargains. Target rose 28cents to $73.44 and Wal-Mart Stores dipped 35cents to $59.89. Amazon fell $2.08 to $673.26.In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell0.6 cents to $1.391 a gallon. Heating oil fell 5cents, or 3.6 percent, to $1.352 a gallon.Natural gas inched up 0.6 cents to $2.206 per1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $13.80, or 1.3 percent, to $1,056.20an ounce. Silver declined 15 cents, or 1.1 per-cent, to $14.008 an ounce. Copper inched up0.5 cents to $2.051 a pound. US governmentbond prices rose. The yield on the 10-yearTreasury note fell to 2.22 percent from 2.24percent late Wednesday. The euro fell to$1.0597 from $1.0617 and dollar rose to122.84 yen from 122.72 yen. —AP

Stocks inch higher in quiet trading, Disney stumbles

NEW YORK: Trader Peter Tuchman, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. —AP

WALL STREET WEEKLY REPORT

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

KUWAIT: Mohamed Naser Al Sayer & Sons, the exclusive dealerfor Toyota in Kuwait has announced winners of the first raffle drawfrom the “biggest promotion ever” on New Toyota models. Thedraw on 11 November 2015 was organized by Ministry ofCommerce & Industry - for Consumer protection affairs.

According to Johan Heislitz Senior Business Director ToyotaKuwait “The biggest promotion ever carries the spirit of Toyota tomake ever better cars. 2015 was an outstanding year as Toyota hasretained the position of the most valuable automotive brand.There is no better time than now to celebrate this success andthrough this we appreciate the trust and support from all cus-tomers, to make this promotion a huge success”.

Grand Prizes of the Raffle Draw - 2016 Land Cruiser V6 and Prado TX

The vehicle awarding ceremony held at Toyota new cars deliv-ery center Ardiya was attended by Masoud Wahba, GeneralManager Toyota Sales, Bader Faisal Al-Sayer Deputy ManagerMarketing and representatives from Group Toyota sales and deliv-ery sections.

Bader Faisal Al-Sayer awarded the grand prizes to Reni GeorgeVarghese, Land Cruiser winner and Adel Mubarak Fahad Alazmi,winner of Prado.

Reni George, who won the first prize said “I bought a Camryfrom Toyota Al-Sayer and they have awarded a Land Cruiserthrough a raffle draw. Receiving two outstanding Toyota modelsat the same time is incredible. Winning the Land Cruiser is a dream

come true for me and my family. Toyota offers the best productsand after-sales services. Land Cruiser is a legendary SUV, 2016Land Cruiser is even more better new look and features. I am reallyexcited to get behind the wheels and look forward to pleasurefilled driving trips.”

“I feel proud to own a Toyota car, they guarantee durability andsatisfaction. As a winner of Prado, I feel delighted and I am thank-ful to Al Sayer for bringing this great promotion” said Mr. AdelMubarak who took home the second grand prize.

Greatest Toyota promotion everPopular Toyota models included in the “biggest promotion” are

Yaris and Yaris hatch back, Corolla, Camry, Aurion, Avalon, RAV4,Fortuner, FJ, Prado, Sequoia and Land Cruiser.

The biggest promotion on Toyota guarantees variety of fabu-lous prizes totaling to 1 million liters of petrol, 15KG of gold,extended service packages, canon cameras, Sun ControlProtection film during the promotion period.

In addition to this customers will benefit from greatest valueoffers including 5 years warranty unlimited mileage, 3rd partyinsurance, 2 years’ service / 30000km, car registration, T-Connectand GardX protection.

The 2 remaining draws of this promotion will be held duringDecember 2015 and January 2016. Al-Sayer Group congratulatesall winners from the first draw and encourages all potential cus-tomers to come forward and take advantage of this spectacularopportunity.

Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer & Toyota announces winners of first raffle draw

First prize 2016 Land Cruiser V6, second prize Prado TX awarded to winners

KUWAIT: Kalyan Jewellers announced thatFatemah Arafah, an Egyptian national, is the win-ner of the prestigious Bentley campaign post themega draw held at its showroom in Kuwait Cityon November 24. The winning raffle coupon waspulled out by Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hamadfrom the Department of Consumer Protection,Ministry of Commerce, Kuwait. Kalyan Jewellershas created history for being the first ever jew-ellery brand to give away a Bentley worth KD76,500 as a prize in two markets - Kuwait and UAE.N R Venkatraman, Head Overseas Operations,Kalyan Jewellers along with Sheikh DawoudSalman Al-Sabah and Bader Naser Turki Al-Otaibiwas also present at the event.

T S Kalyanaraman, Chairman & ManagingDirector, Kalyan Jewellers said, “I’m very happyand excited to announce the winner of our

Kuwait leg of the Bentley campaign. The coreDNA of Kalyan Jewellers is built around customerservice and delight. We received an overwhelm-ing response in Kuwait and are thrilled to see thatthis campaign has been able to infuse high levelsof customer engagement in target markets.Kalyan Jewellers strives to be an integral part ofthe joys and aspirations of our customers to cre-ate a closer bond and reinforces our market lead-ership.”

Fatamah will drive away the coveted Bentleyat a special ceremony being organized by KalyanJewellers soon. This milestone initiative conclud-ed on November 21 across all Kalyan Jewellersoutlets in Kuwait. There has been a similar megadraw for UAE recently. Customers who had madea minimum purchase of KD 75 were entitled toenter the mega draw. Those who bought gold

received one coupon, while those buying dia-monds received two coupons. A special ‘Scratchand Win’ feature was also built into the coupons,enabling buyers to win an instant prize of dia-mond jewellery worth KD 65.

Within a short span of time, Kalyan has scaledup its presence in the GCC, with 10 showroomswithin UAE and three showrooms in Kuwait.Overall - Kalyan Jewellers has a total of 86 show-rooms spread across India and Middle East. Thebrand has acquired a loyal customer base of over250,000 customers in a short span of less thantwo years in the GCC and has been aggressivelyrolling out a slew of initiatives to establish its mar-ket leadership. The company was the first tolaunch a Goldback credit card with RAKBANK inthe UAE. And it is now the first to gift two BentleySpurs - one in Kuwait and one in the UAE.

Fatemah Arafah wins a Bentley from Kalyan Jewellers at mega draw in Kuwait

KUWAIT: Qalaa Holdings, an African leaderin infrastructure and industry, announcedtoday that its business unit Gozour hassigned a sale and purchase agreement -with Saudi Arabia’s Olayan FinancingCompany and its subsidiaries - for the saleof 100 percent of confectioner Rashidi El-Mizan, for a total consideration (equity val-ue) of EGP 518 million.

Qalaa Holdings currently has an effec-tive ownership of 55 percent in Rashidi El-Mizan.

In addition to Qalaa’s proceeds from the

sale, the transaction further delivers onQalaa’s strategy for 2015 with a key ele-ment being deleveraging at the holdingand platform company levels; a further EGP237 million in debt will be deconsolidatedfrom Qalaa’s consolidated financial state-ment as a result of the transaction.

EFG Hermes acted as Financial Advisorand Arab Legal Consultants as LegalAdvisor to Qalaa Holdings on the transac-tion. CI Capital acted as Financial Advisorand Helmy, Hamza & Partners as LegalAdvisor to Olayan Financing Company.

KUWAIT: Waleed Al-Qadoumi, ManagingDirector, Top Real Estate Group (TREG),paid a field visit to Switzerland and Franceto inspect and review the real estate proj-ects in progress undertaken by Francebased company Imaprim in several loca-tions in French and Swiss territories. Bothparties agreed that TREG and its Qatar-based Utopia Properties will represent theCompany on exclusive basis in GCC andMiddle East region. Al-Qadoumi said thatTREG is proud of offering to its customers ahigh end impressive collection of realestate projects developed by Imaprim Co.in several cities of France and Switzerland,all of which are close to Geneva andGeneva airport with some locations beingimmediately adjacent to French-Swiss bor-ders. Al-Qadoumi expressed his admirationof the projects and their prime locationswhere certain projects overlook lake whileothers are located among mountains andgreen areas and fascinating nature. Headded that given charming beauty ofnature.

Al-Qadoumi stated that TREG will beoffer a set of residential projects during thecurrent phase in several cities and villages

where the Company is working, promi-nently Annecy-le-Vieux, Veigy-Foncenexand Ornex. Al-Qadoumi said that the proj-ects are residential buildings comprisingseveral apartments containing one roomto four bedrooms and amenities.Furthermore, buildings are characterizedby their proximity to service centers in thecity in addition to quality construction andfinishing, which the developer emphasizesin various projects. Al-Qadoumi explainedthat ownership in such projects is freeholdand available for all nationalities, indicatingthat the unit price starts from Euros 200thousand and will be ready for occupationby mid-2016.

Al-Qadoumi said that GCC citizens wereamong first people who acquired proper-ties since 1970s in these and other areassuch as Devon and Evian. He pointed outthat these areas still attract specific distinctclass of investors who appreciate the valueof these areas and living therein wheremost of them spend long times for stay insummer or winter seasons. Al-Qadoumisaid that TREG seeks, through the market-ing these projects in the region, to attractthis unique category of investors.

KUWAIT: Ooredoo Kuwait, a member of the inter-national Ooredoo Group, announced yesterday thepartnership of its ‘Nojoom’ loyalty program withthe Bahrain Exchange Company; a Kuwait leader inthe business of foreign exchange and the interna-tional money transfers industry. The partnershipcomes in line with the ‘Nojoom’ external expansionstrategy.

The ‘Nojoom’ loyalty program is an award win-ning program that rewards customers with pointseach and every time they use an Ooredoo service.These points are then redeemed in exchange forproducts and services that cater to customers’ dif-ferent needs. Today, Ooredoo is taking this pro-gram to the next level and granting customers theopportunity to benefit from their points by offeringservices under the ‘banking and money transfer’

category by collaborating with BEC. Commenting on the partnership and its bene-

fits to member, Mijbil Alayoub, Director ofCorporate Communications at Ooredoo Kuwaitsaid: “We look forward to our collaboration withBEC. This will allow us to further build on the greatsuccess we have witnessed so far with the Nojoomprogram, and more importantly, will present ourcustomers with the opportunity to redeem theirpoints outside of the direct telecom domain.”

‘Nojoom’ members can redeem their points inexchange for BEC vouchers through the web portalor the call center, for amounts of KD 0.500, 1, 2, 3, 4and 5. By visiting any of the BEC branches, mem-bers could claim the reward by sharing the refer-ence code and the SMS voucher shared byOoredoo.

Nojoom is the biggest telecom rewards pro-gram in Kuwait and is designed to enhance yourdaily life. Nojoom offers you a chance to earnpoints for the Ooredoo services you use and youcan then exchange these points for a diverse rangeof rewarding experiences such as electronics, trav-el, leisure, restaurants and others.

Ooredoo’s operations in Kuwait date back toDecember 1999 when it launched wireless servicesas the second operator. The company today pro-vides mobile, broadband internet and corporatemanaged services tailored to the needs of cus-tomers and businesses. Ooredoo is guided by itsvision of enriching people’s lives and its belief thatit can stimulate human growth by leveraging com-munications to help people achieve their fullpotential.

TREG offers projects inFrance and Switzerland

Al-Qadoumi and Oliver Gallais, Imaprim Co President during a visit to a project.

Qalaa Holdings signs sale and purchase agreement

for Rashidi El-Mizan

Ooredoo announces ‘Nojoom’ partnership with BEC

t e c h n o l o g ySUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO: With Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg about tobecome a dad, the social network boost-ed the amount of time fathers can take offto bond with their new babies. Beginningwith the new year, dads working full-timefor Facebook anywhere in the world willhave the option of taking four months’paid leave. All new dads working forFacebook outside the US currently get aminimum of four weeks’ paternity leave,with more time offered in locations whererequired by local law, according toFacebook.

Same-sex partners who are not pri-

mary caregivers for babies get the samepaid leave time as dads, the social net-work said. The change, effective January1, essentially raises parental leave time fordads and non-custodial same-sex part-ners from four weeks to four months. Thechange puts paternity leave outside theUS on par with maternity leave atFacebook workplaces around the world,and extends the benefit to same-sex cou-ples.

“In reviewing our parental leave poli-cies, we have decided to make thischange because it’s the right thing to dofor our people and their families,” human

resources boss Lori Matloff Goler said in apost on her Facebook page. “This expand-ed benefit primarily affects new fathersand people in same-sex relationships out-side the US.” The paid time off can be tak-en any time during the year after a baby isborn and includes adopted babies.Maternity leave offered to Facebookemployees around the world is alreadyfour months, and the benefit was avail-able to both moms and dads in theUnited States.

Baby bonusFacebook also gives a $4,000 bonus for

parents to help meet the needs of newbabies. Zuckerberg, who heads the com-pany, announced last week that he willtake two months’ paternity leave after hiswife gives birth to their first child. “This isa very personal decision, and I’ve decidedto take two months of paternity leavewhen our daughter arrives,” Zuckerbergsaid in a post on his Facebook page.“Studies show that when working parentstake time to be with their newborns, out-comes are better for the children andfamilies.”

California-based Facebook gives USemployees the option of taking as long as

four months paid maternity or paternityleave, letting them divide the time as theywish over the course of a year. Zuckerbergand his doctor wife, Priscilla, revealed inJuly that they were expecting their firstchild, a girl, after a series of miscarriages.Leading streaming music service Spotifylast week announced that all full-timeemployees will have the option to take aslong as six months’ parental leave at fullpay during the first three years after hav-ing children. Internet giants rampingleave time for parents could put pressureon other firms to do the same to attracttalent in a competitive industry. —AFP

Facebook ramps paid leave time for new dads

GUESSING: Bernhard Deutsch, the mayor of nearby Strem, pumps a greenfuel at the Guessing Energy Technologies research centre at Austrian townof Guessing. —AFP

NEW YORK: Your phone is getting bet-ter and better at protecting your priva-cy. But Uncle Sam isn’t totally comfort-able with that, because it’s also compli-cating the work of tracking criminalsand potential national-security threats.For decades, tech companies havesteadily expanded the use of encryp-tion - a data-scrambling technologythat shields information from pryingeyes, whether it’s sent over the Internetor stored on phones and computers.For almost as long, police and intelli-gence agencies have sought to pokeholes in the security technology, whichcan thwart investigators even whenthey have a legal warrant for, say, possi-bly incriminating text messages storedon a phone.

The authorities haven’t fared well;strong encryption now keeps strangersout of everything from your iMessagesto app data stored on the latestAndroid phones. But in the wake of theParis attacks, US officials are againpushing for limits on encryption, eventhough there’s still no evidence theextremists used it to safeguard theircommunications. While various expertsare exploring ways of resolving theimpasse, none are making much head-way. For now, the status quo favors civillibertarians and the tech industry,although that could change quickly -for instance, should another attack leadto mass US casualties.

Such a scenario could stampedeCongress into passing hasty andpotentially counterproductive restric-tions on encryption. “There are com-pletely reasonable concerns on bothsides,” said Yeshiva University law pro-fessor Deborah Pearlstein. The after-math of an attack, however, “is the leastpractical time to have a rational discus-sion about these issues.” Encryptionplays a little heralded, yet crucial role inthe modern economy and daily life. Itprotects everything from corporatesecrets to the credit-card numbers ofonline shoppers to the communica-tions of democracy advocates fightingtotalitarian regimes.

At the same time, recent decisionsby Apple and Google to encrypt smart-phone data by default have rankledlaw enforcement officials, who com-plain of growing difficulty in gettingaccess to the data they feel they needto build criminal cases and preventattacks. For months, the Obama admin-istration - which has steered away fromlegislative restrictions on encryption -has been in talks with technology com-panies to brainstorm ways of givinginvestigators legal access to encryptedinformation.

But technology experts and theirallies say there’s no way to grant lawenforcement such access without mak-

ing everyone more vulnerable tocybercriminals and identity thieves. “Itwould put American bank accountsand their health records, and theirphones, at a huge risk to hackers andforeign criminals and spies, while at thesame time doing little or nothing tostop terrorists,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore,said in an interview Monday.

Lawmakers on the US Senate SelectCommittee on Intelligence remain onwhat they call an “exploratory” searchfor options that might expand accessfor law enforcement, although they’renot necessarily looking at new legisla-tion. The FBI and police have other

options even if they can’t read encrypt-ed files and messages. So-called meta-data - basically, a record of everyone anindividual contacts via phone, email ortext message - isn’t encrypted, andservice providers can make it availablewhen served with subpoenas.

Data stored on remote computersin the cloud - for instance, on Apple’siCloud service or Google’s Drive - is alsooften available to investigators withsearch warrants. (Apple and Googleencrypt that data, but also hold thekeys.) Some security experts suggestthat should be enough. Michael Moore,chief technology officer and co-

founder of the Baltimore, Maryland-based data security firm Terbium Labs,noted that police have managed totake down online criminals even with-out bypassing encryption. He pointedto the 2013 take down of Silk Road, amassive online drug bazaar that oper-ated on the “dark Web,” essentially theunderworld of the Internet.

“The way they figured that out wasthrough good old-fashioned policework, not by breaking cryptography,”Moore said. “I don’t think there’s ashortcut to good police work in thatregard.” Others argue that the verynotion of “compromise” makes no

sense where encryption is concerned.“Encryption fundamentally is aboutmath,” said Mike McNerney, a fellow onthe Truman National Security Projectand a former cyber policy adviser tothe Secretary of Defense. “How do youcompromise on math?” He called theidea of backdoors “silly.”

‘Race against time’Some in law enforcement have

compromise ideas of their own. TheManhattan District Attorney’s office, forinstance, recently called for a federallaw that would require smartphonecompanies to sell phones they could

unlock for government searches - inessence, forcing them to hold the keysto user data. In a report on the subject,the office called its suggestion a “limit-ed proposal” that would only apply todata stored on smartphones andrestrict searches to devices that author-ities had already seized. Privacy advo-cates and tech companies aren’t sold,saying it would weaken security forphones that are already too vulnerableto attack.

Marcus Thomas, the chief technolo-gy officer at Subsentio and formerassistant director of the FBI’s opera-tional technology division, argued that

it’s too late to turn back the clock onstrong encryption, putting law enforce-ment in a “race against time” to obtaininvestigatory data whenever and wher-ever it can. But he urged securityexperts to find ways to help out investi-gators as they design next generationencryption systems. The idea of allow-ing law enforcement secure access toencrypted information doesn’t fazeNate Cardozo, a staff attorney for theSan Francisco-based Electronic FrontierFoundation - provided a warrant isinvolved. Unfortunately, he says, cryp-tographers agree that the prospect is a“pure fantasy.” —AP

Why US government and tech

can’t agree about encryptionUncle Sam uncomfortable as phone privacy gets better

NEW YORK: A C3 flip phone from Pantech is shown on a keyboard for size comparison, in NewYork. More than 90 percent of smartphone users trade up for newer models within two years,according to experts. But a fraction of the population continues to cling to older phones, some 3to 4 years old, or more. —AP

GUESSING: Broke, remote and deprived ofjobs-just 25 years ago, the border town ofGuessing close to Hungary was one of thepoorest in Austria, a forgotten frontier alongthe Iron Curtain trail. Yet today, the munici-pality of 4,000 people has morphed into aglobal flagship model for green energy, afterbecoming the first community in theEuropean Union to produce all its heat andpower from renewable sources back in 2001.

Latest figures show the town is already80 percent carbon neutral, a clear frontrun-ner in the bloc’s race for reducing C02 emis-sions. “The whole world should becomeGuessing,” enthused Austria’s most famousgreen advocate, Arnold Schwarzenegger,during a visit two years ago. In many ways, itall began with a “pile of rotting wood”, saidengineer Reinhold Koch, one of the master-minds behind the dramatic transformation.While Guessing lacked a motorway and trainlines, there was one thing it had in abun-dance: forests and therefore timber leftoversfrom logging companies.

“A major reason why we were so poor inthe early 1990s was because we spent mil-lions on buying foreign fossil fuels, whilewood offcuts were decaying on the ground,”Koch said in an interview ahead of crunchclimate change talks in Paris. “I realized thatthe solution was right in front of our eyes.We could produce our own energy andthereby keep the money here.” This, Kochhoped, would also put an end to the massexodus Guessing was facing at the time.Some 70 percent of the region’s 27,000inhabitants were forced to commute to thecapital Vienna for work as a consequence ofhaving been cut off from industrial develop-ment for several decades. “I wanted to stopGuessing from dying,” said Koch, matter-of-factly.

Digging up the townThe engineer found a willing ear in

Guessing’s then-mayor, Peter Vadasz, a con-servative politician known for his environ-mental commitment. Together, the pair setabout implementing an ambitious greentransition plan. Firstly, all public buildingswere thermally insulated and stopped usingfossil fuels-a move that would halve localgovernment spending on energy. Austria’sEU accession in 1995 enabled Guessing to

obtain subsidies and build a wood burningheating plant. This proved a crucial first steptoward reviving the region’s stagnant econ-omy, as Guessing was suddenly able to offercompanies attractive deals.

“By producing our own energy, wedecentralized power and brought it back toour region,” said Vadasz. “My first question topotential new businesses was always: ‘Howmany jobs can you create?’” But the switchalso meant adapting existing infrastructureand convincing locals to abandon fossilfuels. Authorities began digging up thetown’s streets one by one. “If 50 percent liv-ing on a street wanted to join, we would laythe pipes in the remaining homes too, incase they wanted to join later-and theyeventually did,” recalled Vadasz. “Green ener-gy had a competitive market price and ourbest publicity was word-of-mouth, neigh-bors telling other neighbors that theyweren’t paying more.”

From zero to heroThe real breakthrough, however, came in

2001 when Guessing launched a pioneeringbiomass plant with the help of Viennese sci-entist Hermann Hofbauer. The expert hadcreated a system able to produce power byturning wood into a clean gas instead ofburning it, thereby strongly reducing CO2emissions. The innovative technology wouldnot only achieve Guessing’s dream of greenautarky, but also propelled it to global fame.“It can produce clean energy in any region inthe world, as long as it has naturalresources,” explained Koch. Today the giantmetal construction, which also serves as aresearch facility, supplies nearly half ofGuessing’s heat, with the rest provided byother green sources.

Much of the biomass plant’s wood comesfrom Austria’s two largest parquet flooringfirms which are among 50 new companies tohave settled in Guessing in recent years-despite there still not being a motorway ortrain lines. The success story also had a knock-on effect, with some 20 power plants nowproducing renewable energy for the entireregion. “Experts call Guessing the mecca ofrenewable energy and say you have to makethe pilgrimage at least once in your lifetimeto see for yourself that this kind of thing ispossible,” said Koch, smiling. —AFP

Rotting wood turning Austria’s

poorest town into green model

KUWAIT: Gulfnet Communications, one ofKuwait’s leading technology providers, saidyesterday that it has successfully achieved therenowned Microsoft Gold Level Partnershipand the Gold Education Partner certifications.Earning these accolades demonstrates

Gulfnet’s best in-class ability and commitmentto meet customers’ evolving needs in today’sdynamic business environment. By becomingMicrosoft’s Gold Certified Partner, Gulfnet isnow recognized as Microsoft’s most highlyaccredited independent technical supportprovider in Kuwait.

The company has provided utmost servic-

es in offering valuable support for data man-agement and software development, in addi-tion to using Microsoft’s technology as the pri-mary platform for the company. Attaining theGold Level Education Partnership certificationpositions Gulfnet as an authorized company tosell Microsoft products at academic prices toqualified educational users. This also allowsGulfnet to deliver world-class learning experi-ences while achieving effective sales and busi-ness outcomes.

Dr Ahmad Salih Gulfnet’s Chief ExecutiveOfficer commented on this achievement, say-ing: “We are very proud of our latest accom-plishment and recognitions by one of theworld’s leading software giants. The Gold Levelachievement identifies Gulfnet as a truethought and market-leader, attesting depth ofknowledge and expertise. To attain this mile-stone, our teams have conducted severalexams, while providing customer referenceand maintaining certified devices and applica-tions.” The Microsoft Partner Network helpspartners strengthen their capabilities to show-case leadership in the marketplace on the lat-est technology, in order to better serve cus-tomers and to easily connect with one of themost active, diverse networks in the world.

Gulfnet achieves Microsoft

Gold Level, Gold Education

Partner Certifications

WASHINGTON: One of the key technologiesthat could help wean the globe off fossil fuel isprobably at your fingertips or in your pocketright now: the battery. If batteries can get better,cheaper and store more power safely, then elec-tric cars and solar- or wind- powered homesbecome more viable - even on cloudy days orwhen the wind isn’t blowing. These types oftechnological solutions will be one of the morehopeful aspects of United Nations climate talksthat begin next week in Paris.

“If you are serious about eliminating combus-tion of fossil fuels to power anything - a house, acity, a state - you can’t do it without (energy)storage,” which usually means batteries, saidCarnegie Mellon University battery expert andinventor Jay Whitacre. Former Vice President AlGore, former US Geological Survey chief (andcurrent editor-in-chief of the journal Science)Marcia McNutt and others point to better batter-ies as one of the bright spots in the fight againstclimate change. While batteries have beenaround for more than 200 years, this year thetechnology has amped up.

In October, an international team of scientistsannounced a breakthrough in overcomingmajor obstacles in next generation energy stor-age and creating a battery that has five to 10times the energy density of the best batteries onthe market now. In September, Whitacre won a$500,000 invention prize for his eco-friendlywater-oriented battery. And in April, Elon Muskannounced plans for his Tesla Motors to sellhigh-tech batteries for homes with solar panelsto store electricity for night time and cloudy day

use, weaning the homes off dirtier power fromthe burning of coal, oil and gas.

“The pace of innovation does seem to beaccelerating,” said JB Straubel, chief technicalofficer and co-founder of Tesla with Musk. “We’rekind of right at the tipping point where the cur-rent performance and lifetime of batteriesroughly equal that of fossil fuels. If you are ableto double that, the prospects are huge.” At itsmassive Nevada Gigafactory, Tesla has startedproducing powerwalls to store energy in homes.They can’t make them fast enough for customersworldwide.

In November, a Texas utility announced it wasgiving wind-generated electricity free to cus-tomers at night because it couldn’t be stored.That’s where Tesla hopes to come in - not just incars, but in homes. Within 10 years, Straubel fig-ures it will be considerably cheaper (and cleaner)to get energy through wind and solar power andstore it with batteries than to use coal, oil or gas.

“What has changed is the Gigafactory,” saidVenkat Srinivasan, deputy director of the JointCenter for Energy Storage Research at theLawrence Berkeley National Lab. “Two years agoI didn’t think anyone would have thought you’dinvest $5 billion in a big (battery) factory.’” Teslais using existing technology, just mass produc-ing and marketing it. That’s one of two keychanges in the field. The other is work to makethe battery itself much more efficient.

Start with that lithium ion battery in yourpocket. It was invented by John Goodenough, aprofessor at the University of Texas. His next taskis a safer battery that uses sodium, a more plen-

tiful element that can produce a faster charge.“Now I hope to help free yourself from yourdependence on fossil fuels,” he said on the sameOctober day he was awarded part of a $1 millioninnovation-in-alternative-fuels prize from Israel.“I believe in the next year there will be a break-through,” he said. “I’m hopeful, but we’re notthere yet.” Glenn Amatucci, director of the ener-gy storage research group at Rutgers University,called it “a race against time. Every day and everyhour is critical in terms of getting an advance.”

But Goodenough is in a special hurry, work-ing more than eight hours a day on his battery:He’s 93. There are many teams around the worldworking on breakthrough batteries of differenttypes. One of the most promising materials islithium oxygen, which theoretically could storefive to 10 times the energy of a lithium ion bat-tery, but there have been all sorts of roadblocksthat made it very inefficient. Then, last month ateam led by Clare Grey at the University ofCambridge announced in the journal Sciencethat they had, on a small scale, overcome oneobstacle so that its efficiency could competewith lithium ion batteries.

The potential gains in this technology arehigh, but it is still at least seven to 10 years fromcommercial availability, Grey said. At CarnegieMellon and Aquion Energy, Whitacre is honing awater-oriented battery with sodium and carbon.Others are looking at magnesium. Tesla’sStraubel sees all sorts of different battery possi-bilities. “It’s an ongoing revolution,” Straubel said.“It’s a critical piece in the whole puzzle in howwe stop burning fossil fuels completely.” —AP

Better batteries to beat global

warming: A race against time

Gulfnet’s CEO Dr Ahmad

PARIS: French President Francois Hollande, center, his Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, left, and Ecology MinisterSegolene Royal meet with representatives of NGOs specialized in environmental issue at the Elysee Palace in Paris, yesterday.French President Francois Hollande was meeting with environmental groups, pushing for an ambitious global deal to reduceman-made emissions blamed for global warming. — AP

MANILA: Protesters attend a climate change march on a highway in Manila yester-day. Thousands turned out for climate change marches in Manila and Brisbane yes-terday, part of a weekend of action across the globe to demand results from nextweek’s historic Paris summit. — AFP

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

PARIS: Protesters joined a worldwide wave of marchesyesterday demanding leaders craft a pact to avert a cli-mate catastrophe when they gather in a still-shakenParis. From Australia to New Zealand, the Philippines,Bangladesh and Japan, people rallied at the start of aweekend of popular protests pleading for world pow-ers to overcome the logjams when the UN climatesummit officially opens in the French capital tomorrow.

“Protect our common home,” declared placards heldaloft as thousands gathered in Melbourne. Some 150leaders including US President Barack Obama, China’sXi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin will attend the start of the Paris confer-ence, which is tasked with reaching the first truly uni-versal climate pact.

The goal is to limit average global warming to twodegrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), perhaps less,over pre-Industrial Revolution levels by curbing fossilfuel emissions blamed for climate change.

Superstorms, drought If they fail to do so, scientists warn of a world that

will be increasingly inhospitable to human life, withsuperstorms, drought, and rising sea levels that swampvast areas of land. On the eve ofyesterday’s protests,French President Francois Hollande, host of theNovember 30-December 11 talks, warned of the obsta-cles ahead for the 195 nations seeking new limits onheat-trapping gas emissions from 2020.

“Man is the worst enemy of man. We can see it withterrorism,” said Hollande, who spoke after leading cere-monies in Paris to mourn the victims of the November13 bombing and shooting attacks that sowed terror inthe French capital. “But we can say the same when itcomes to climate. Human beings are destroying nature,damaging the environment. It is therefore for human

beings to face up to their responsibilities for the goodof future generations.”

The French leader called for “a binding agreement, auniversal agreement, one that is ambitious.”

But he also spoke of fears that a handful countries-which he did not name-may stymie consensus if theyfelt the deal lacked guarantees. Potential stumblingblocks in Paris abound, ranging from financing for cli-mate-vulnerable countries to scrutiny of commitmentsto curb greenhouse gases and even the legal status ofthe accord. The last attempt to forge a global deal-theill-tempered 2009 Copenhagen summit-founderedupon divisions between rich and poor countries.

“We must do our utmost to avoid the blocking of anagreement because of irreconcilable principles,” FrenchPrime Minister Laurent Fabius said in an interview witha handful of international newspapers published yes-terday. On a positive note, billions of dollars in environ-mental aid were revealed Friday.

Human chain after Paris attacks In Ottawa, the Canadian government announced

climate funding of 2.65 billion Canadian dollars ($1.98billion. 1.87 billion euros) over the next five years, whilethe 53-nation Commonwealth bloc agreed to set up abillion-dollar “Green Finance Facility” for environmentalprojects. Protest organisers say they expect hundredsof thousands of people to take to the streets overall thisweekend with further rallies planned in Johannesburgand Edinburgh Saturday, while similar events were setfor Sunday in Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, New York andMexico City.

In Paris, French authorities cancelled two demon-strations following the onslaught by gunmen and sui-cide bombers which killed 130 people at restaurant ter-races, a concert hall and the national stadium on

November 13. French authorities placed 24 climateactivists under house arrest using state of emergencypowers declared after the Paris attacks.

Activists now plan to create a two-kilometre (1.2-mile) human chain along the original march route onSunday. They will break the chain as they pass theBataclan concert hall, where the worst violence claimed90 lives, as a mark of respect to the victims.

Protesters also plan to leave scores of shoes onPlace de la Republique square to symbolise the thou-sands left frustrated in their plans to march.

One pair of shoes will be placed on behalf of PopeFrancis, inscribed with his name and the name of thePapal encyclical he issued earlier this on the threat ofglobal warming.

Around the world, protesters declared their solidari-ty with Paris activists who were unable to rally with asocial media campaign tagged #march4me.

In a sign of the urgency of the talks ahead, the startof the climate negotiations themselves, conducted byrank-and-file bureaucrats, have been brought forwardto Sunday on the eve of the official opening. The Parisconference will gather some 40,000 people, including10,000 delegates from 195 countries, plus journalists,observers, scientists, exhibitors and visitors.

About 2,800 police and soldiers will secure the con-ference site, and 6,300 others will deploy in Paris.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said nearly1,000 people thought to pose security risks have beendenied entry into France since stepped-up border con-trols were imposed ahead of the climate talks.

Obama has urged world leaders not to let a recentstring of extremist attacks around the world deter themfrom coming to Paris, where questions of world securityare likely to intermingle with climate on the conferenceagenda. — AFP

PARIS: Global oil producers, who pro-vide the world with much of the fossilfuel that causes global warming, are in nohurry to brighten up their own image asclimate dinosaurs. Some Gulf countrieshave timidly started investing in renew-able energy, but experts say the initia-tives are just a tiny crack in producers’otherwise solid front of indifference toclimate change.

“So far exporting countries, especiallyGulf countries, have done everything tomake any progress on international cli-mate agreements difficult,” said PatrickCriqui, an energy expert.

Major oil exporters are getting bad

press for topping the list of per capitagreenhouse gas emissions, but they usu-ally just shrug off the bad rap. They say“don’t point the finger at us too muchbecause we produce the hydrocarbonsthat are used the world over”, observedFrancis Perrin, president of Strategy andEnergy Policy publications.

Some are, however, starting to“smooth the edges,” in the face of globalmobilisation for the environment, hesaid. But slowly.

FNH, a foundation run by French envi-ronmental activist Nicolas Hulot, saidSaudi Arabia and the United ArabEmirates had never put a number on

greenhouse gas reduction targets, andVenezuela, Nigeria and Angola had failedto formulate any kind of commitment atall. Russia meanwhile has just said itexpects its emissions to remain steady.

“Overall and unsurprisingly, oil-pro-ducing countries make minimal commit-ments, or none at all,” FNH said. It is truethat dependence on oil income, whichaccounts for 96 percent of exports forVenezuela and 70 percent of governmentrevenue for Nigeria, makes the search foralternatives a hard sell.

What’s more, half of OPEC’s membersare developing countries that are findingit hard to absorb the serious squeeze on

their budgets due to sharply lower oilprices, and don’t want to, or can’t, shellout on cost-intensive green investment.

Countries like Algeria, which hopes tocover over a quarter of its energy needswith renewables within 15 years,demands financial aid from developedcountries before going seriously green.

“For them, like for all developingcountries, the fight against poverty andaccess to energy are the priorities andwill remain so for a long time,” Perrin said.

But Gulf countries, still comfortably offdespite cutbacks, are starting to look atalternatives, including nuclear options forAbu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, and gas,

which emits far less CO2 than oil.The United Arab Emirates are turning

to solar energy, with an ambitious sus-tainable urban project, Masdar City, andShams-1, the world’s biggest concentrat-ing solar power centre.

And Saudi Arabia is the first countryin the Middle East to have launched acarbon capture and stocking scheme.But any sense of urgency is underminedby projections suggesting that fossilfuels including oil will remain king overthe next decades. Fossil fuels, expertspredict, will still cover three quarters ofthe world’s energy needs 25 years fromnow. — AFP

Protesters push leaders to

avert climate catastropheNations seek new limits on gas emissions from 2020

Oil countries only slowly warming to climate challenge

MANILA: Thousands turned out for climatechange marches in Manila and Brisbane yester-day, part of a weekend of action across theglobe to demand results from next week’s his-toric Paris summit. Religious clergy, studentsand activists marched through the Philippinecapital calling for curbs on emissions to mutethe impact of climate change, which is blamedfor a spike in typhoons and extreme weatherthat has wreaked havoc on the nation.

The march, attended by more than 2,500people according to police and expected tobuild throughout the day, was one of a numberof events scheduled in different parts of thecountry. The Philippines has been identified asone of the most vulnerable countries to climatechange. “Protect our common home,” and “cli-mate justice,” were written on the placards heldaloft by the surging crowd. “We want to send amessage to the rest of the world, especially theworld leaders at the climate talks, to say that oursurvival is not negotiable,” said DeniseFontanilla, spokeswoman for the Asian People’sMovement on Debt and Development.

Under heightened security two weeks afterFrance’s worst terror attack, some 150 heads ofstate and government will tomorrow launch ahighly anticipated UN conference tasked withinking a post-2020 195-nation climate rescuepact. In Australia, where Melbourne on Fridaykicked off the weekend rallies, some 5,000 peo-ple gathered in the northeastern city of Brisbanefor a march led by Aboriginal and Pacificislander representatives and youth groups. “Weare walking together because we know what it’slike to protect our country,” said Larissa Baldwin,from an indigenous climate youth network.Pacific islands are particularly at risk from the

fallout of climate change, especially rising sealevels.

Clean energy“These are people that are calling for a just

transition to renewable energy,” Baldwin toldAFP. Senator Larissa Waters from the Greens par-ty said the turnout, after tens of thousandsmarched in Melbourne, showed the strength ofopposition to plans to develop more ofAustralia’s vast coal deposits. “They don’t wantnew coal mines, they don’t want massive landclearing, they actually want the environmentalprotection and job opportunities that comesfrom embracing clean energy,” Waters toldnational television. Organisers in Paris expecthundreds of thousands to take to the streetsSaturday in Asian cities as well as Johannesburgand Edinburgh, with similar events set forSunday in Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, New York andMexico City. In Paris, French authorities can-celled two rallies following the onslaught bygunmen and suicide bombers which killed 130people at restaurant terraces, a concert hall andthe national stadium on November 13. Activistsnow plan to create a two-kilometre (1.2-mile)human chain along the original march route onSunday. They will break the chain as they passthe Bataclan concert hall, where the worst vio-lence claimed 90 lives, as a mark of respect tothe victims. The goal of the Paris talks is to limitaverage global warming to two degrees Celsius(3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-IndustrialRevolution levels by curbing fossil fuel emissionsblamed for climate change. This week, the UN’sweather body said the average global tempera-ture for the year 2015 is set to touch the halfwaymark at 1 C. — AFP

Thousands march on climate

change in Manila, Brisbane

PARIS: Medical experts say climate changeaffects human health in direct ways, by thespread of water- and mosquito-borne dis-eases for example, and indirectly, such asthrough hunger. Here is a snapshot of theproblem.

Thousands more dead Between 2030 and 2050, climate change

could result in nearly 250,000 deaths per year-an estimated 38,000 from high temperatures,48,000 deaths from diarrhoea, 60,000 frommalaria and 95,000 from malnutrition, accord-ing to the World Health Organization (WHO).

By 2030, the direct damage costs to healthwill be a whopping two to four billion US dol-lars (1.9 to 3.8 billion euros) per year, accord-ing to the WHO.

Cause and effect Patrice Halimi, the secretary general of

France’s environmental health association,said it is a multi-faceted issue. “Like any otherslow-onset disaster, there is not one causethat leads to one effect,” he said. “It’s a series ofevents.”

Halimi said it is not necessarily globalwarming itself that would lead to a choleraepidemic, but warmer temperatures con-ducive to deadly outbreaks. Robert Barouki ofthe French National Institute of Health andMedical Research said that the real difficultylies in “measuring the part that global warm-ing plays in health issues.”

Direct links Scorching temperatures can cause cardio-

vascular and respiratory problems, especiallyin elderly people. “There have always beenheatwaves, but their frequency and intensityhave increased,” Barouki said.

During the widespread 2003 heatwave inEurope, more than 70,000 deaths wererecorded. And with more sunlight comesmore UV-related risks, like skin cancer, Barouki

said. Climate change will also lead toincreased deaths from natural disasters suchas floods and hurricanes.

Weather-related disasters have tripledsince the 1960s, WHO says, adding that “everyyear, these disasters result in over 60,000deaths, mainly in developing countries.”

Infectious diseases Halimi says global warming will facilitate

the spread of infectious diseases whichdepend on carriers such as mosquitoes. WHOsaid that climate change is likely to lengthenthe transmission seasons of these “vector-borne” diseases-which are spread by a vector,or carrier-and to alter their geographic range.Malaria already kills around 800,000 peopleper year, according to WHO.

Mosquitoes also spread the deadlydengue fever, and some studies suggest thatglobal warming could lead to two billionmore people being at risk from the disease by2080.

The UN agency estimates that China willsee an increase in a disease calledSchistosomiasis, spread by snails in manyunderdeveloped regions. Some 240 millionpeople worldwide already suffer fromSchistosomiasis.

Pollution and asthma Bruno Housset, head of the French

Federation of Pneumology, says an increase inforest fires caused by global warming, espe-cially in the north, would result in more fineparticles in the air. These particles are capableof penetrating deep into the lungs and canlead to lung cancer and asthma. Around 300million people suffer from asthma worldwide,and WHO says the “ongoing temperatureincreases are expected to increase this bur-den.” Warmer temperatures will also likelyhelp allergy-inducing plants multiply, withEurope’s pollen concentration expected toswell fourfold by 2050. — AFP

Many health impacts

of climate change

DHAKA: Bangladesh people attend a Climate March rally expressing solidarity with Global Climate March, in Dhaka yesterday.Today, hours before world leaders meet at the Paris Climate Summit, the Global Climate March will take place to ask politicalleaders to commit to bold action to solve the climate change crisis. — AFP

HONOLULU: Hawaii state Sen. RussellRuderman worries whenever there’s amosquito buzzing in his home. Untilrecently, he didn’t give the common pestsmuch thought, but now his wife is sixmonths pregnant and there’s a growingdengue fever outbreak on the Big Island,where they live.

“It could threaten her pregnancy, aswell as her health,” he said of the mosqui-to-borne illness. The state Department ofHealth says there were 107 confirmed cas-es of dengue fever on the Big Island as ofThursday.

It says it’s working with the county tospray 155 properties, including schools,and has started an outreach program toeducate people about the illness. In addi-tion, the US Centers for Disease Controland Prevention is sending an entomolo-gist and a technician to the Big Island nextweek to further assess the situation.

However, Ruderman and other BigIsland lawmakers say the department isdownplaying the problem. “They are notwarning people appropriately,” said stateRep. Richard Creagan, a non-practicingphysician. “It’s not a little outbreak now. It’sa big outbreak.”

Creagan said he wants state health offi-cials to encourage voluntary isolation ofpeople who are infected, be more aggres-sive about trapping mosquitoes, and warn

pregnant women who could suffer com-plications. Symptoms of dengue feverinclude high fever, headache, nausea,muscle aches, bone and joint pain andrash. There’s no specific treatment, but bedrest and acetaminophen for fever and painare recommended.

Symptoms usually go away completelywithin 2 weeks. The illness is not endemicto Hawaii but can be spread by mosqui-toes that bite infected travelers fromendemic areas. Dr. Lyle Petersen, the direc-tor of the CDC’s Division of Vector-BorneDiseases who will be on the island nextweek, previously said the outbreak isn’thuge compared to other parts of theworld.

“The level of alarm is a little higher thanit needs to be,” added state Health DirectorDr Ginny Pressler. “We’re trying to raiseawareness. We’re not trying to raise fear.”The department received an emergencyappropriation of up to $75,000 to hirepublic relations firm Bennet GroupStrategic Communications to help withcommunications efforts. The firm createdthe department’s “Fight the Bite” cam-paign to educate people about ways tocontrol mosquitoes.

Mosquito-breeding areasThe same company was hired to help

with a 2001 outbreak that lasted more

than eight months, with 92 cases on Maui,26 on Oahu and four on Kauai. “Why don’tthey spend one-tenth of that PR moneyon medical response?” Ruderman asked.“Don’t worry, they’re telling us, but there’sno one here on the Big Island who isn’tworrying.”

Stores are selling lots of bug spray, butresidents generally aren’t changing theirattire in light of the outbreak. Many are stillwearing shorts and T-shirts instead of longsleeves and pants, as health officials rec-ommend. There’s concern the outbreakwill hurt the tourism industry, but officialssay they have not seen significant visitorcancelations.

At the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa atKeauhou Bay, grounds maintenance andlandscape workers are taking extra meas-ures to clear standing water that can serveas mosquito-breeding areas, said spokes-woman Katie Vanes. “Our associates areprepared to speak with concerned guests,but we have not received a significant orfrequent amount of inquiries,” she said.

Kirstin Kahaloa, executive director ofthe Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce,hopes tourists aren’t nervous about visit-ing the Big Island. “It’s still a safe place tovisit as long as you’re following CDC rec-ommendations to be careful,” she said.“We’re here and we’re OK. We’re takingprecautions.” — AP

Agency not doing enough

against dengue feverProgram to educate people about the illness

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

NEW YORK: US abortions continue tofall, according to a new federal reportreleased. Federal statistics show abor-tions have been in a general decline forabout 25 years. The number of reportedabortions dropped 4 percent in 2012,the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention reported. About 699,000

abortions were reported to the federalgovernment that year.

That’s about 31,000 fewer than theyear before. Experts offer various rea-sons for the recent drop: Better use ofbirth control and the lingering effectsof the economic recession. Othersargue there’s been a cultural shift and

more women opt to continue theirpregnancy.

In 2012, the abortion rate fell 5 per-cent to 13 abortions per 1,000 womenof child-bearing age. That is abouthalf what it was in 1974, the year afterthe landmark Supreme Court decisionthat established a nationwide right to

abortion.The CDC data is not a complete

national picture. It’s based on reportsfrom health departments in 47 states,Washington and New York City.California, Maryland and NewHampshire don’t report abortionnumbers.

Earlier this year, The Associated Presssurveyed health departments in 45states, gathering more recent data,mostly from 2013 and 2014. The APfound that abortions continued to fall inthose years. Declines were seen in statesthat have passed anti-abortion laws aswell as in more liberal states.— AP

SEATTLE : Testing has pointed toward a vegetable mix from aCalifornia food wholesaler as the source of E. coli in Costcochicken salad that has been linked to an outbreak that hassickened 19 people in seven states, a Costco official saidWednesday.

Craig Wilson, Costco vice president of food safety and qual-ity assurance, said he was told by the Food and DrugAdministration that the strain of E. coli seems to be connectedto an onion and celery mix. The company uses one supplier forthose vegetables in the chicken salad sold in all its US stores,Wilson said. One additional test is needed to confirm that thevegetables carried the same E. coli strain connected with theoutbreak, he said. Wilson identified the supplier as TaylorFarms in Salinas, California. Phone calls to the company didnot get answered on Wednesday afternoon. A message leftwith the FDA was not immediately returned.

The number of people sickened in the outbreak will likelygrow over the next few weeks, even though the product hasbeen removed from store shelves, the federal Centers forDisease Control and prevention said earlier in the day.

The spread of foodborne illness takes time to track, espe-cially when it’s happening in multiple states, said Dr. RobertTauxe, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne,Waterborne and Environmental Diseases.

State health officials, particularly those in Utah, discoveredthe outbreak and helped find links between the 19 illnesses inseven states, Tauxe said. “Very quickly they noticed these peo-ple did have something in common. They really liked and atethe rotisserie chicken salad,” he said.

The big-box retailer based in Issaquah, Washington, pulledthe chicken salad off store shelves nationwide, posted signs inits stores and provided detailed purchase logs to the CDC tohelp it track who bought the product and where the saladingredients came from, Tauxe said.

Costco is working closely with the CDC, FDA and localhealth officials to find the source of the E. coli and has encour-aged its suppliers to do the same, Wilson said. “We feel terribleabout the people who got sick,” he said. The strain of Shigatoxin-producing E. coli can be life-threatening, but no deaths

have been reported. Five people have been hospitalized,including two with kidney failure. The CDC has been told theyare all getting better, Tauxe said.

The CDC has identified a DNA fingerprint of the E. colistrain connecting all 19 patients. As health departments getmore reports of foodborne illness, additional people will bechecked for the fingerprint and the case count will likely rise,Tauxe said.

“All the evidence that we have points to this chicken salad,”he said. Tauxe emphasized that the agency does not have anyevidence that other Costco food was contaminated. Wilsonsaid chickens have not been connected to the outbreak, andno other Costco products use the same other ingredientsfound in the chicken salad.

“We’re pretty confident the path that everyone seems tobe on is correct,” he said. Investigators were testing foodremoved from the stores, including chicken salad and otherproducts, and talking to those who have gotten sick. All buttwo have reported eating the chicken salad made and sold bythe retailer. Six people got sick in Montana, five in Utah, four inColorado, and one each in California, Missouri, Virginia andWashington state. The CDC said the illness reports began onOct. 6 and involved people from age 5 to 84.

Health officials urged people who bought chicken salad atany US Costco store on or before Nov. 20 to throw it away,even if no one has gotten sick. The Costco-linked illnesses arenot related to a recent E. coli outbreak tied to Chipotle thatsickened more than 40 people. Chipotle voluntarily closed 43restaurants in Washington and Oregon and reopened themafter deep cleaning and ordering new ingredients.

Tauxe said both investigations are ongoing and he hopesthey will eventually find the exact cause of both outbreaks. “Ithink we’re going to learn something important from bothultimately,” he said. Symptoms of E. coli infection include diar-rhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. The incubationperiod is three to seven days from the time of exposure.

Health officials urge anyone with the symptoms, especiallypeople who have eaten Costco chicken salad, to go to theirdoctor. — AP

US abortions continue to decline, down 4% in 2012

SEATTLE: In this Tuesday, Nov 24, 2015, file photo, cars fill the parking lot of a Costco store in Seattle. ACalifornia farm is recalling a vegetable mix believed to be the source of E.coli in Costco chicken salad thathas been linked to an outbreak that has sickened several people in multiple states, the Food and DrugAdministration said Thursday. — AP

FDA tests point toward

E coli in salad vegetables

WASHINGTON: The EnvironmentalProtection Agency is taking steps towithdraw approval of a controversialnew weed killer to be used on genetical-ly modified corn and soybeans. The EPAannounced in a court filing that it hadreceived new information from manu-facturer Dow AgroSciences that a weedkiller called Enlist Duo is probably moretoxic to other plants than previouslythought.

In a filing with the 9th US CircuitCourt of Appeals, EPA said it “might nothave issued the existing registration hadit been aware” of the new informationwhen it originally approved the producta year ago to be used with new strains ofgenetically modified corn and soybeans.EPA asked the court for the authority toreverse its decision while it reconsidersthe herbicide in light of the new infor-mation, including whether wider bufferzones might be required to protect non-target plants.

The seeds are engineered to resist theherbicide, so farmers can spray the fieldsafter the plants emerge and kill theweeds while leaving crops unharmed.EPA’s move was welcomed by environ-

mental and food safety groups that hadsued to rescind approval of the potentnew herbicide. But it is sure to create anx-iety for the agriculture industry, sincemany weeds have become resistant toglyphosate, an herbicide commonly usedon genetically modified corn and soy-beans now. Enlist includes a combinationof glyphosate and an updated version ofan older herbicide named 2,4-D.

“With this action, EPA confirms thetoxic nature of this lethal cocktail ofchemicals, and has stepped back fromthe brink,” said Earthjustice ManagingAttorney Paul Achitoff. “Glyphosate is aprobable carcinogen and is wiping outthe monarch butterfly, 2,4-D also causesserious human health effects, and thecombination also threatens endangeredwildlife. This must not, and will not, behow we grow our food.”

Dow AgroSciences issued a state-ment calling for rapid resolution of thematter, citing “the pressing needs of USfarmers for access to Enlist Duo to count-er the rapidly increasing spread of resist-ant weeds” and predicting that “thesenew evaluations will result in a promptresolution of all outstanding issues.”

EPA’s decision means that Enlist Duo,which is currently on the market, won’tbe in wide use for plantings next spring.EPA hasn’t said whether farmers alreadyin possession of the herbicide will beable to use it, and that could be a topicfor future litigation, said AndrewKimbrell of the Center for Food Safety.

Critics say they’re concerned theincreased use of 2,4-D could endangerpublic health and more study on thechemical is needed. The USDA has pre-dicted that the use of 2,4-D couldincrease by an estimated 200 percent to600 percent by the year 2020.

EPA had earlier said when approvingthe new weed killer that agency offi-cials had used “highly conservative andprotective assumptions to evaluatehuman health and ecological risks.” TheEPA said at the time that the herbicidemet safety standards for the public,agricultural workers and endangeredspecies. Now, EPA says it has “hasreceived new information from DowAgroSciences - the registrant of EnlistDuo - that suggests two active ingredi-ents could result in greater toxicity tonon-target plants.” — AP

EPA moves to withdraw approval

of controversial weed killer

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

On the occasion the Armed Forces Day -2015, The Ambassador of BangladeshMajor General Ashab Uddin, ndc, psc

(Retd) and Major General Bader Ahmed AlAwadhi, Chief of Military Inspection of KuwaitArmed Forces lauded very highly the relationbetween both countries’ Armed Forces as his-toric and outstanding. They had been speak-ing on the occasion, the reception hosted bythe Defence Wing of Bangladesh Embassy inCrowne Plaza hotel and program organizedby the Bangladesh Military Contingent (BMC)separately on 22 November 2015.

The Ambassador mentioned that Kuwaitand Bangaldesh are strategic partners in dif-ferent fields including military. The relationsand bondage between the two countries areinseparable and historically connected.Bangladesh Armed Forces has participated inOperation Desert Storm along with the AlliedForces in 1990/91. Bangladesh Army support-ing Kuwait in different fields like mine clear-ance, explosive disposal, medical, mainte-nance and service support since 1991. Thefriendship is deep rooted through supremesacrifices of 71 Bangladeshi soldiers during

liberation and reconstruction phase ofKuwait. The Ambassador expressed thethanks and deep gratitude to HH the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-AhmedAl-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister HHSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah,Defense Minister Lieutenant General (Retd)Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Chief ofStaff Lieutenant General Mohammad K Al-Khadher on the occasion of Armed Forces Day- 2015.

Major General Bader also lauded and

praised the contribution made byBangladeshi Armed Personnel in liberatingKuwait and supporting them thereafter.

Bangladesh is one of the largest troopscontributing in UN Peace Keeping Operations15 different countries. So far, BangladeshArmed Forces have participated in 54 mis-sions abroad and 1,35,384 including 1011female peacekeepers have participated forestablishing global peace.

The Ambassador further expressed withgreat respect and honor the Father of thenation Bangubandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman, valiant soldiers, man, woman inwar of Independence of Bangaldesh andparticularly from Armed Forced who sacri-ficed their lives. Remembered the great con-tribution of soldiers who sacrificed theirlives for Kuwait and UN Peace KeepingMissions in the line of duty.

A good number of Diplomats, Defenseattache and military officers of various coun-tries, Officers of Bangladesh MilitaryContingent and other guest from Kuwait, oth-er countries and Bangladesh Community ofKuwait attended both the events.

Ambassador lauds Kuwait-Bangladeshrelation as historic, outstandingCelebration of Bangladesh Armed Forces Day-2015

Safir Hotel and Residences Kuwait - AlFintas organized a trip to visit DasmanDiabetes institute on the 12 of

November 2015. Hotels’ Associates and Managers partici-

pated in the visit which included an effectivecontribution to the Annual Open Day of“World Diabetes Day.” The Program of the tripincluded clinical consultations, valuableinformation and complimentary medical

testing and screening.The trip was concluded with a tour in the

premises explaining the valuable and impor-tant activities and services that the instituteprovides to public. Safir Hotel and Residences

Kuwait - Al Fintas keen on participating in thesocial activities that serves the communityespecially with medical and awareness natureto assist in spreading awareness of such coni-cal disease as diabetes and how to live with it.

General Manager of Safir Hotel and ResidencesKuwait - Al Fintas Saif Eddin Mohammedalways supports and encourages such activi-ties believing in the important role of thehotel to support building a better community.

Safir Hotel, Residences Fintas visit Dasman Diabetes Institute

Experience the excitement and nov-elty of Asian cuisine at Arirang, oneof the finest Korean restaurants in

Kuwait. The decor portrays a rich elegantstyle with soft lighting, beautiful furnish-ings in intricate Korean designs andswaths of fabric in red, gold and blue.

Understand the luscious flavors ofKorea with several well-known Koreanspecialty dishes at Arirang, including theKalbi Gui, beef short ribs marinated inKorean soy sauce and grilled to perfec-tion. Another popular Arirang dish is theDolsot Bibimbap, warm white rice alongwith a delicious mix of beef and vegeta-bles, topped with an egg yolk and servedin a dolshot (Korean hot pot) along withgochujang (Korean chili paste).

The restaurant’s latest menu features

some great offerings that enable gueststo sample, in addition to traditionalKorean specialties, several new dishesfrom Philippines and Japanese cuisines.While priding itself on maintaining theauthenticity of the different cuisines,Arirang empowers them with distinct fla-vors.

Talented chefs skillfully recreateJapanese and Filipino culinary delightswith a focus on creativity. Boundary-blurring dishes which derive inspirationsfrom Japanese and Filipino cuisines are aunique treat at the restaurant. Mostdishes on the menu retain their originalrecipes with emphasis on the healthyquotient of Asian food, while enriching itwith Arirang’s own modern style of culi-nary experimentation.

Swiss Belhotel Plaza Kuwait offering Japanese,Filipino cuisine at Korean Arirang restaurant

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

The South African Embassy in collaborationwith Kuwait Cricket, the official governingbody of Cricket in the State of Kuwait, will

host the 2015 Nelson Mandela CricketTournament for youth development. The eventwill feature young cricketers from variousschools in Kuwait and will take place the wholeday on 5 December 2015 at the Sulaibiya CricketGround.

The Nelson Mandela Cup aims at celebratingand honoring the legacy of former PresidentNelson Mandela, in line with the objectives of

the Nelson Mandela International Day and inaccordance with the United Nations resolutions.It is also held in tribute to His Highness, the Amirof the State of Kuwait, for his recognition by theUnited Nations as a Global Humanitarian Leader.

Nelson Mandela is considered one of theworld’s most significant moral and principledleaders. He was instrumental in moving SouthAfrica towards democratic rule and he is interna-tionally revered as an icon in the fight for justice,human rights, racial equality, national reconcilia-tion and nation building. In order to preserve his

visionary and humanitarian legacy, SouthAfricans and the international community cele-brate Nelson Mandela Day every year aimed atservice delivery and promotion of social justice.

Sports has played an important role in the his-tory of South Africa. The international sportssanctions to isolate the apartheid regime and theutilization of sports by Nelson Mandela to bringabout national reconciliation and social cohesionin South Africa’s democratic transition remainimportant milestones in the country’s history.

As cricket is one of the fastest developing

sports in Kuwait, the Mandela Cricket Cup willalso serve as an inspiration to the upcomingyoung cricketers and contribute further to thedevelopment of cricket amongst Kuwaiti youth.Prominent local companies will be invited toinspire the youth and to display their productsthrough exhibition booths.

School/Club teams interested to participate inthe Nelson Mandela Cup should contact thecoordinator of Youth Development of KuwaitCricket, Murali Kutticode at 99542107 or atmuralikutticode@gmail.com

South African Embassy hosts Nelson Mandela Cricket Cup

Students from Oxford Academy and Manarat School recently visited Kuwait Times where they were taken in tours to learn about the process of making news and printing the newspaper. Adnan Saad, DeputyGeneral Manager, Jamie Etheridge, Managing Editor, and Islam Al-Sharaa, IT Manager gave lectures and important notes to the students. —Photos by Joseph Shagra

00:50 Gator Boys01:45 Call Of The Wildman02:15 Call Of The Wildman02:40 Biggest And Baddest03:35 Tanked04:25 Austin Stevens:Snakemaster05:15 Gator Boys06:02 Treehouse Masters06:49 Shamwari: A Wild Life07:12 Shamwari: A Wild Life07:36 Call Of The Wildman08:00 Call Of The Wildman08:25 Dog Rescuers09:15 Austin Stevens:Snakemaster10:10 Treehouse Masters11:05 Tanked12:00 Dog Rescuers12:55 Bondi Vet13:50 Biggest And Baddest14:45 Austin Stevens:Snakemaster15:40 Treehouse Masters16:35 Tanked17:30 Shamwari: A Wild Life17:55 Shamwari: A Wild Life18:25 Austin Stevens:Snakemaster19:20 Monster Croc Invasion20:15 Tanked21:10 Night21:35 Night22:05 Treehouse Masters23:00 Monster Croc Invasion23:55 Austin Stevens:Snakemaster

T V PR O G R A M SSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

TRANSIT ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION

THE COURIER ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

00:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives01:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives01:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives02:00 Man Finds Food02:30 Man Finds Food

04:30 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers11:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers19:00 Hot In Cleveland20:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers

02:00 Mercenaries-PG1504:00 Destruction: Las Vegas-PG1506:00 Clockstoppers-FAM08:00 Son Of Batman-PG15

00:00 Welcome To The Jungle02:00 The Ladykillers04:00 The Love Guide06:00 The Little Rascals Save TheDay08:00 Problem Child10:00 The Love Guide12:00 The Ladykillers14:00 Life With Mikey16:00 Problem Child18:00 The Naked Gun: From TheFiles Of Police Squad20:00 Pretty Woman22:15 Not Another Teen Movie

01:00 A Promise-PG1505:15 At Middleton-PG1507:00 Won’t Back Down-PG1509:00 The Truth About Emanuel-PG1511:00 At Middleton-PG1515:15 Sunshine On Leith-PG1517:00 The Truth About Emanuel-PG1519:00 Second Coming-PG1521:00 Ask Me Anything-PG1523:00 Mall-18

01:30 Jodorowsky’s Dune03:00 Pawn05:00 One Chance07:00 The Way We Were09:00 The Nightmare BeforeChristmas11:00 One Chance13:00 Against The Ropes15:00 We Are Family17:00 The Nightmare BeforeChristmas19:00 The Savages21:00 Collaborator23:00 Venus In Fur

01:15 Sabotage-PG1503:15 Lost Christmas-PG1505:15 JLA Adventures: Trapped InTime-PG06:45 Step Up All In-PG1509:00 Annie-PG11:00 Le Weekend-PG1513:00 Postman Pat: The Movie-PG14:45 Into The Woods-PG17:00 Annie-PG19:00 Let’s Be Cops-PG1521:00 Hot Tub Time Machine 2-1823:00 John Wick-18

01:15 Bolts And Blip03:00 Pim And Pom: The BigAdventure04:30 Zarafa06:00 Ice Age: The Meltdown08:00 Tom And Jerry: The LostDragon09:30 Delhi Safari11:15 Vampire Dog13:00 Pim And Pom: The BigAdventure16:00 Jungle Shuffle18:00 Delhi Safari20:00 Tarzan23:30 Jungle Shuffle

00:20 Fast N’ Loud01:10 Ed Stafford: Into TheUnknown02:00 Boy To Man02:50 River Monsters03:40 Auction Hunters04:05 Garage Gold04:30 Baggage Battles05:00 Backyard Oil05:30 How It’s Made06:00 Alaskan Bush People06:50 Classic Car Rescue07:40 Fast N’ Loud08:30 Auction Hunters08:55 Garage Gold09:20 Baggage Battles09:45 Backyard Oil10:10 How It’s Made10:35 Ed Stafford: Into TheUnknown11:25 Dual Survival12:15 River Monsters13:05 Auction Hunters13:30 Garage Gold13:55 Baggage Battles14:20 Alaskan Bush People15:10 Classic Car Rescue16:00 Fast N’ Loud16:50 Backyard Oil17:15 How It’s Made17:40 Troy18:30 What Happened Next?18:55 What Happened Next?19:20 Kings Of The Wild20:10 Garage Gold20:35 Baggage Battles21:00 Troy21:50 Superhuman Science22:15 Superhuman Science22:40 You Have Been Warned23:30 Classic Car Rescue

00:00 Violetta00:45 The Hive00:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:15 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:40 Wolfblood02:05 Wolfblood02:30 Violetta03:15 The Hive03:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch03:45 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch04:10 Wolfblood04:35 Wolfblood05:00 Violetta05:45 The Hive05:50 Mouk06:00 Lolirock06:25 Hank Zipzer06:50 Girl Meets World07:15 H2O: Just Add Water07:40 Jessie08:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place08:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place08:55 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch09:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch09:45 Austin & Ally10:10 Austin & Ally10:35 H2O: Just Add Water11:00 H2O: Just Add Water11:25 Jessie11:50 Jessie12:20 Hank Zipzer12:45 Gravity Falls13:10 Good Luck Charlie13:35 I Didn’t Do It14:00 Dog With A Blog14:30 H2O: Just Add Water14:55 Lolirock15:20 Austin & Ally15:45 Girl Meets World16:10 Violetta17:00 The Next Step17:25 Mako Mermaids17:50 Girl Meets World18:15 Dog With A Blog18:40 Gravity Falls19:05 H2O: Just Add Water19:30 Violetta20:20 The Next Step20:45 Good Luck Charlie21:10 Good Luck Charlie21:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place22:00 Binny And The Ghost22:25 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch22:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch23:10 Wolfblood23:35 Wolfblood

07:00 Emmerdale07:30 Coronation Street10:00 Emmerdale10:30 Coronation Street12:00 Castle

00:00 Deliverance Creek-PG1502:00 Lucy-PG1504:00 Planes: Fire And Rescue-PG06:00 40 Days And Nights-PG1508:00 Maleficent-PG10:00 Recoil-PG1512:00 Fatal Instinct-PG1514:00 10 Years-PG15

00:00 Stewarts And Hamiltons00:55 The Grace Helbig Show01:25 Keeping Up With TheKardashians02:20 Giuliana & Bill03:15 Christina Milian Turned Up04:10 E! Entertainment Special05:05 The E! True Hollywood Story06:00 Kourtney And Kim TakeMiami06:55 Kourtney And Kim TakeMiami07:50 Style Star08:20 New Money08:45 New Money09:15 Giuliana & Bill10:15 Giuliana & Bill11:10 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills11:35 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills12:05 The Grace Helbig Show12:35 The Grace Helbig Show13:05 Fashion Bloggers13:35 Fashion Bloggers14:05 Dash Dolls15:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians16:00 Live From The Red Carpet:The 2015...18:00 E! News19:00 Dash Dolls20:00 Fashion Police: The 2015American Music...20:30 Fashion Bloggers21:00 House Of DVF22:00 E! News23:00 WAGs

01:05 Seven Days With‚Ķ02:00 Emmerdale02:25 Coach Trip02:55 Coronation Street03:25 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me OutOf Here!04:45 Paul O’Grady: For The LoveOf Dogs05:15 Take On The Twisters06:10 Seven Days With‚Ķ07:05 Coronation Street07:30 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me OutOf Here!08:50 Paul O’Grady: For The LoveOf Dogs09:20 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover10:10 Seven Days With‚Ķ11:05 Dancing On Ice12:30 Take On The Twisters13:25 Emmerdale13:50 Emmerdale14:20 Coronation Street14:45 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover15:35 The Jonathan Ross Show16:30 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me OutOf Here!17:25 Love And Marriage: A 20thCentury Romance18:20 Take On The Twisters19:10 Coronation Street19:35 The Jonathan Ross Show20:30 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me OutOf Here!21:25 Love And Marriage: A 20thCentury Romance22:20 Coach Trip22:50 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover23:40 Dancing On Ice

00:00 Salem01:00 Blood & Oil02:00 Downton Abbey12:00 Emmerdale12:30 Coronation Street16:00 Emmerdale16:30 Coronation Street17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show19:00 The Voice20:00 Supergirl21:00 Marvel’s Agents OfS.H.I.E.L.D.22:00 The Flash23:00 American Horror Story: Hotel

00:40 Strangest Weather On Earth01:05 Strangest Weather On Earth01:30 Weird Connections01:55 Weird Connections02:20 You Can’t Lick Your Elbow02:45 You Can’t Lick Your Elbow03:10 What Could Possibly GoWrong?04:00 Mythbusters04:48 NASA’s Unexplained Files05:36 You Can’t Lick Your Elbow05:59 You Can’t Lick Your Elbow06:24 What Could Possibly GoWrong?07:12 Weird Connections07:36 Weird Connections08:00 Strangest Weather On Earth08:25 Strangest Weather On Earth08:50 Food Factory09:15 Food Factory09:40 How It’s Made10:05 How It’s Made10:30 NASA’s Unexplained Files11:20 Home Factory11:45 Home Factory12:10 NASA’s Greatest Missions13:00 Mythbusters13:50 How It’s Made14:15 How It’s Made14:40 Food Factory15:05 Food Factory15:30 Home Factory15:55 Home Factory16:20 NASA’s Greatest Missions17:10 Weird Connections17:35 Weird Connections18:00 How It’s Made18:25 How It’s Made

03:00 Man Fire Food03:30 Man Fire Food04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives04:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives05:00 Guy’s Grocery Games06:00 Chopped07:00 Man Fire Food07:30 Man Fire Food08:00 Chopped09:00 Guy’s Grocery Games10:00 The Kitchen11:00 Barefoot Contessa: Back ToBasics11:30 Barefoot Contessa: Back ToBasics12:00 Chopped13:00 Guy’s Big Bite13:30 Guy’s Big Bite14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives15:00 Guy’s Grocery Games16:00 Chopped17:00 The Kitchen18:00 Jenny And Reza’s FabulousFood Academy18:30 Trisha’s Southern Kitchen19:00 Chopped20:00 Guy’s Grocery Games21:00 Chopped22:00 Rachael vs. Guy: CelebrityCook Off23:00 Iron Chef America

03:14 Grojband03:35 Johnny Test05:05 Total Drama: Revenge OfThe Island05:27 Total Drama: Revenge OfThe Island05:50 Regular Show06:00 The Amazing World OfGumball07:00 Uncle Grandpa07:25 Adventure Time07:50 Teen Titans Go!08:35 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu09:00 Ben 10 Omniverse09:45 Regular Show10:30 Clarence10:55 Dreamworks Dragons:Defenders Of Berk11:20 Total Drama World Tour11:40 Total Drama World Tour12:05 Johnny Test12:50 Steven Universe13:02 Steven Universe13:15 Uncle Grandpa13:40 Regular Show14:25 Adventure Time15:10 New The Amazing World OfGumball15:21 The Amazing World OfGumball15:35 The Amazing World OfGumball16:00 Ben 10 Omniverse

03:10 Deadly Affairs04:00 Deadly Women04:45 Who On Earth Did I Marry?05:10 Who On Earth Did I Marry?05:30 The Haunted06:20 Forensic Detectives07:10 True Crime With AphroditeJones08:00 Nightmare Next Door08:50 On The Case With PaulaZahn09:40 Fatal Encounters10:30 Murder Shift11:20 Forensic Detectives12:10 True Crime With AphroditeJones13:00 The Will13:50 I Almost Got Away With It14:40 California Investigator15:05 Nightmare Next Door15:55 Fatal Encounters16:45 On The Case With PaulaZahn17:35 Murder Shift18:25 I Almost Got Away With It19:15 Forensic Detectives20:05 True Crime With AphroditeJones20:55 California Investigator21:20 The Will22:10 Who On Earth Did I Marry?22:35 Who On Earth Did I Marry?23:00 Scorned: Crimes Of Passion23:50 Blood Relatives00:40 Who On Earth Did I Marry?01:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry?01:30 The Haunted02:20 Ghost Lab

03:05 Calimero03:20 Zou03:30 Loopdidoo03:45 Art Attack04:10 Henry Hugglemonster04:20 Calimero04:35 Zou04:45 Loopdidoo05:00 Art Attack05:25 Henry Hugglemonster05:35 Calimero05:50 Zou06:00 Loopdidoo06:15 Art Attack06:35 Henry Hugglemonster06:50 Calimero07:00 Zou07:20 Loopdidoo07:35 Art Attack08:00 Calimero08:10 Zou08:25 Limon And Oli

08:35 Jake And The Never LandPirates09:05 Sofia The First09:30 Miles From Tomorrow10:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse10:30 Doc McStuffins11:00 Sofia The First11:30 Captain Jake And The NeverLand Pirates11:55 Miles From Tomorrow12:25 Doc McStuffins12:55 Loopdidoo13:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse13:35 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West14:00 Sofia The First14:30 Henry Hugglemonster14:45 Calimero15:00 Doc McStuffins15:30 Zou15:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse16:15 Sofia The First16:45 Jake And The Never LandPirates17:10 Aladdin17:40 Adventures Of The GummiBears18:10 Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers18:40 Jake And The Never LandPirates18:55 Cars Toons19:00 Miles From Tomorrow19:30 Sofia The First19:55 Doc McStuffins20:15 Jake And The Never LandPirates20:45 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West21:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse21:35 Sofia The First22:00 Aladdin22:30 Adventures Of The GummiBears23:00 Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers23:30 Lilo & Stitch00:00 Nina Needs To Go00:05 Henry Hugglemonster00:20 Calimero00:35 Zou00:50 Loopdidoo01:05 Art Attack01:30 Henry Hugglemonster01:45 Calimero02:00 Zou02:15 Loopdidoo02:30 Art Attack02:55 Henry Hugglemonster

07:00 Penn Zero: Part Time Hero07:25 Supa Strikas07:50 Supa Strikas08:15 K.C Undercover08:40 Lab Rats09:10 Star vs The Forces Of Evil09:35 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything10:00 Annedroids10:30 Phineas And Ferb10:55 Rocket Monkeys11:20 Boyster11:45 Super Matrak12:10 Super Matrak12:40 Mighty Med13:05 Marvel Avengers Assemble13:30 Supa Strikas14:00 Kickin’ It14:25 Pokemon: XY14:50 Phineas And Ferb15:15 Rocket Monkeys15:40 Penn Zero: Part Time Hero16:10 Star vs The Forces Of Evil16:35 Kirby Buckets17:00 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything17:25 K.C Undercover17:55 Supa Strikas18:20 Lab Rats18:45 Mighty Med19:10 Annedroids19:40 Kickin’ It

03:45 World’s Weirdest Pets04:40 World’s Deadliest Killers05:35 Africa’s Deadliest06:30 World’s Deadliest Killer Three07:25 World’s Weirdest Pets08:20 The Croc Catchers09:15 Built For The Kill10:10 Australia’s Deadliest10:35 Australia’s Deadliest11:05 Amazonia12:00 Kingdom Of The Oceans12:55 World’s Deadliest Animals13:50 World’s Deadliest Killers14:45 World’s Weirdest Pets15:40 Outback Wrangler16:35 Built For The Kill17:30 Australia’s Deadliest18:25 Amazonia19:20 World’s Weirdest Pets20:10 Outback Wrangler21:00 Built For The Kill21:50 Australia’s Deadliest22:40 Amazonia23:30 Kingdom Of The Oceans00:20 World’s Deadliest Animals01:10 World’s Deadliest Killers02:00 Ultimate Animal Countdown02:50 Ultimate Animals

03:40 Ultimate Shopper04:30 Jon & Kate Plus 805:00 Little People, Big World05:30 Cake Boss06:00 Say Yes To The Dress06:25 The Face UK07:15 Toddlers & Tiaras08:05 Oprah: Where Are TheyNow?08:55 Oprah’s Master Class09:45 Jon & Kate Plus 810:10 Little People, Big World10:35 Sister Wives11:25 Cake Boss11:50 Say Yes To The Dress:Randy Knows Best12:15 Say Yes To The Dress:Randy Knows Best12:40 The Face UK13:30 Cake Boss13:55 Cake Boss14:20 Perfect Look15:10 Jon & Kate Plus 815:35 Little People, Big World16:00 Toddlers & Tiaras16:50 Sister Wives17:40 Cake Boss18:05 Say Yes To The Dress18:30 Ultimate Shopper19:20 Oprah: Where Are TheyNow?20:10 The Face UK21:00 Obsessive CompulsiveCleaners21:50 The Day I Almost Died22:40 Long Island Medium23:05 90 Days To Wed23:55 Obsessive CompulsiveCleaners00:45 The Day I Almost Died01:35 Long Island Medium02:00 90 Days To Wed02:50 Sister Wives

02:00 Mercenaries-PG1504:00 Destruction: Las Vegas-PG1506:00 Clockstoppers-FAM08:00 Son Of Batman-PG1510:00 The Aggression Scale-PG1512:00 The Courier-PG1514:00 The Assault-PG1516:00 Clockstoppers-FAM18:00 Assassin’s Bullet-PG1519:45 Star Trek-PG1522:00 Transit-PG15

16:45 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu17:10 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu17:30 Teen Titans Go!18:20 Regular Show19:05 New The Amazing World OfGumball19:16 The Amazing World OfGumball19:30 The Amazing World OfGumball19:51 Adventure Time20:15 Steven Universe20:27 Steven Universe20:40 Uncle Grandpa21:00 Teen Titans Go!21:50 Ben 10 Omniverse22:40 Adventure Time00:10 Regular Show01:40 Total Drama Action02:03 Total Drama Action02:26 Total Drama Action02:51 Grojband

20:05 K.C Undercover20:30 Supa Strikas20:55 Lab Rats21:25 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything21:50 Kickin’ It22:15 Mighty Med22:40 Phineas And Ferb23:05 Penn Zero: Part Time Hero23:30 Phineas And Ferb00:00 Programmes Start At 7:00amKSA

18:50 Food Factory19:15 Food Factory19:40 What Could Possibly GoWrong?20:30 NASA’s Greatest Missions21:20 Mythbusters22:10 NASA’s Unexplained Files23:00 What Could Possibly GoWrong?23:50 NASA’s Greatest Missions

10:00 The Aggression Scale-PG1512:00 The Courier-PG1514:00 The Assault-PG1516:00 Clockstoppers-FAM18:00 Assassin’s Bullet-PG1519:45 Star Trek-PG1522:00 Transit-PG15

16:00 Maleficent-PG17:45 Ender’s Game-PG1519:45 Snowpiercer-PG1522:00 300: Rise Of An Empire-18

p32_Layout 1 11/28/15 8:31 PM Page 1

ClassifiedsSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITYFOR CIVIL INFORMATION

Automated enquiryabout the Civil ID card is

1889988

No: 16712

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Sunday 29/11/2015

Airlines Flt Route Time

MSC 415 Sohag 00:05JZR 239 Amman 00:25JZR 267 Beirut 00:30JZR 539 Cairo 00:40FDB 069 Dubai 00:55RJA 642 Amman 01:05THY 772 Istanbul 01:05MSR 614 Cairo 01:20ETH 3402 Addis Ababa/Riyadh 01:30DLH 635 Doha 01:35ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45PGT 858 Istanbul 02:00JZR 555 Alexandria 02:25UAE 853 Dubai 02:30GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30OMA 643 Muscat 02:55FDB 067 Dubai 03:05MSR 612 Cairo 03:10QTR 1076 Doha 03:15CEB 7694 Manila 03:15KKK 6507 Istanbul 03:20ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:25THY 1464 Istanbul 03:25KAC 544 Cairo 03:35LMU 510 Cairo 04:05DHX 170 Bahrain 05:40THY 764 Istanbul 05:55THY 770 Istanbul 05:55QTR 8511 Doha 06:10FDB 5061 Dubai 06:30BAW 157 London 06:40KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 07:20QTR 1086 Doha 07:40FDB 053 Dubai 07:45SVA 512 Riyadh 07:50KAC 302 Mumbai 07:50KAC 382 Delhi 08:00OMA 641 Muscat 08:00KAC 354 BLR 08:15KAC 352 Kochi 08:20KAC 206 Islamabad 08:25KAC 346 Ahmedabad 08:30UAE 855 Dubai 08:40KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:50ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00KAC 362 Colombo 09:00KAC 284 Dhaka 09:10ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20QTR 1070 Doha 09:25FDB 055 Dubai 09:40IRA 665 Shiraz 09:40IRC 528 Ahwaz 10:00IRC 6507 Shiraz 10:30GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40UAE 873 Dubai 11:05SYR 341 Damascus 11:25JZR 165 Dubai 11:30AGY 682 Asyut 11:40MEA 404 Beirut 11:55SAW 701 Damascus 12:20FDB 075 Dubai 12:25JZR 561 Sohag 12:45UAE 871 Dubai 12:50MSR 610 Cairo 13:00FDB 057 Dubai 14:10QTR 1078 Doha 14:10AXB 393 Kozhikode 14:20SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30KNE 472 Jeddah 14:35KAC 672 Dubai 14:45KAC 788 Jeddah 14:50GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00OMA 645 Muscat 15:30KAC 562 Amman 15:40ABY 127 Sharjah 15:45UAE 857 Dubai 15:45QTR 1072 Doha 16:10JZR 787 Riyadh 16:25FDB 051 Dubai 16:30ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:40RJA 640 Amman 16:55KAC 542 Cairo 16:55SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30KAC 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi 17:50JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55KAC 502 Beirut 18:00UAE 875 Dubai 18:00FDB 063 Dubai 18:05KAC 792 Madinah 18:10UAL 982 IAD 18:15JZR 177 Dubai 18:20KAC 786 Jeddah 18:30ABY 123 Sharjah 18:45QTR 1080 Doha 18:55KAC 742 Dammam 19:05KAC 774 Riyadh 19:25GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30KAC 166 Paris/Rome 19:30KAC 618 Doha 19:35JZR 483 Istanbul 19:35KAC 674 Dubai 19:45KAC 102 New York/London 19:55FDB 061 Dubai 20:20OMA 647 Muscat 20:20MSR 606 Luxor 20:45FDB 5053 Dubai 20:50JAI 572 Mumbai 20:55DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:55MEA 402 Beirut 21:20ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:20ALK 229 Colombo 21:25UAE 859 Dubai 21:40GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45QTR 1082 Doha 22:00JZR 125 Bahrain 22:00KLM 417 Amsterdam 22:05AIC 981 Chennai/Ahmedabad 22:25ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:25FDB 059 Dubai 22:30KAC 172 Frankfurt 22:35MSC 501 Alexandria 23:00JZR 239 Amman 23:05JZR 185 Dubai 23:15UAL 981 Bahrain 23:25PIA 205 Lahore 23:40FDB 071 Dubai 23:45JAI 574 Mumbai 23:55

Departure Flights on Sunday 29/11/2015

Airlines Flt Route Time

AIC 988 Hyderabad/Chennai 00:05JAD 302 Amman 00:15FDB 072 Dubai 00:40JAI 573 Mumbai 00:55MSC 404 Asyut 00:55MSC 416 Sohag 01:00UAL 981 IAD 01:10MSR 615 Cairo 02:20THY 773 Istanbul 02:30DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:35ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45ETH 3403 Addis Ababa 03:05UAE 854 Dubai 03:45PGT 859 Istanbul 03:55OMA 644 Muscat 03:55FDB 068 Dubai 04:00MSR 613 Cairo 04:10ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:15KKK 6508 Istanbul 04:20QTR 1077 Doha 05:00LMU 511 Cairo 05:05THY 765 Istanbul 05:15CEB 7695 Manila 05:20JZR 560 Sohag 06:10FDB 070 Dubai 06:30JZR 164 Dubai 06:55THY 1465 Istanbul 06:55RJA 643 Amman 07:05THY 771 Istanbul 07:05FDB 5062 Dubai 07:10GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15QTR 8512 Doha 07:40FDB 054 Dubai 08:30QTR 1087 Doha 08:40BAW 156 London 08:45SVA 513 Riyadh 08:50OMA 642 Muscat 08:55KAC 171 Frankfurt 09:05KAC 787 Jeddah 09:25ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40KAC 117 New York 09:55UAE 856 Dubai 09:55KAC 541 Cairo 09:55KAC 561 Amman 10:00KAC 671 Dubai 10:05ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:25KAC 501 Beirut 10:30JZR 482 Istanbul 10:35FDB 056 Dubai 10:35IRA 664 Shiraz 10:40KAC 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat 10:50QTR 1071 Doha 11:00IRC 529 Ahwaz 11:00GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25IRC 6508 Shiraz 11:30JZR 776 Jeddah 12:20SYR 342 Damascus 12:25KAC 103 London 12:25UAE 874 Dubai 12:30AGY 683 Alexandria 12:40MEA 405 Beirut 12:55KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00JZR 786 Riyadh 13:10FDB 076 Dubai 13:10KAC 791 Madinah 13:25SAW 702 Damascus 13:35JZR 176 Dubai 13:45MSR 611 Cairo 14:00UAE 872 Dubai 14:15IZG 4168 Mashhad 14:55KAC 673 Dubai 15:00QTR 1079 Doha 15:10FDB 058 Dubai 15:10AXB 394 Kozhikode 15:20KNE 473 Jeddah 15:35SVA 503 Madinah/Jeddah 15:45GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45KAC 617 Doha 15:45KAC 773 Riyadh 15:50KAC 741 Dammam 15:55ABY 128 Sharjah 16:25OMA 646 Muscat 16:30JZR 266 Beirut 17:05JZR 238 Amman 17:30ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:30FDB 052 Dubai 17:35QTR 1073 Doha 17:40JZR 538 Cairo 17:45UAE 858 Dubai 17:45RJA 641 Amman 17:55SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 184 Dubai 18:40JZR 124 Bahrain 19:10FDB 064 Dubai 19:20ABY 124 Sharjah 19:25UAE 876 Dubai 19:30UAL 982 Bahrain 19:30GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15KAC 283 Dhaka 20:35KAC 361 Colombo 20:45QTR 1081 Doha 20:50KAC 351 Kochi 20:55OMA 648 Muscat 21:20FDB 062 Dubai 21:20MSR 619 Alexandria 21:45DLH 634 Doha 21:45DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50FDB 5054 Dubai 21:50JAI 571 Mumbai 21:55JZR 502 Luxor 22:00KAC 381 Delhi 22:00KAC 301 Mumbai 22:10ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:10MEA 403 Beirut 22:20ALK 230 Colombo 22:25GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30UAE 860 Dubai 22:55QTR 1083 Doha 23:05KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:05KAC 205 Islamabad 23:10ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:15FDB 060 Dubai 23:35KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:35KAC 415 Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 23:40

MATRIMONIAL

CHANGE OF NAME

FOR SALE

I have changed my namefrom Hasina, holding Indianpassport No. Z1810768 toHasina Nabi in future becalled & known by newname. 42, Durat Villa, ShivBadi, Kharol Colony,Udaipur, Raj. (C 5086)26-11-2015

I, Fahad Habib Dadapeerholder of Indian PassportNo. G8813498 herebychange my name to FahadHabib, Gadde Street,Rajampet, A.P. (C 5084)24-11-2015

Jacobite parents invite pro-posals for their son, postgraduate Engineer, workingin Kuwait, 28/172. Contact:pdakn2015@gmail.com (C 5085)25-11-2015

Christian Orthodox Parentsof specialist Doctor (inno-

Fajr: 04:58

Shorook 06:22

Duhr: 11:36

Asr: 14:30

Maghrib: 16:49

Isha: 18:11

Prayer timings

2010 Mitsubishi Galant,super saloon, white color,90,000 km, bought new,owned by Doctor, excellentcondition, price KD 2300/-.Contact: 66559205. (C 5087)27-11-2015

cent divorcee) invite pro-posals for their son 35/180cms, working in LondonHospital (UK). Contact:drproposal2015@gmail.com(C 5081)

NRI Orthodox parentsinvite proposals for theirdaughter, MSc Nurse,30/150, born & brought upin Kuwait, Asst. Professor inBangalore, shortly joiningMOH, from parents of pro-fessionally qualified, wellsettled Orthodox boys.Contact:kurien_v@yahoo.com(C 5083)22-11-2015

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Your promise means business today, for once you make a decision you won’t beable to easily change your mind. Unfortunately, your judgment might be off ifyou assume you can talk your way out of a commitment. Whether you are con-sidering making a move, changing jobs or switching schools, it’s crucial to takeyour time and think through all your options before choosing what to do next.Patience is a virtue, especially when there is so much at stake.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

You may need to manage some money matters today, and it couldbe a hassle dealing with all the details. The Sun-Saturn conjunction falls in your8th House of Shared Resources, requiring you to have a heart-to-heart talk witha family member or business partner. Or, perhaps, tax or insurance issues needto be ironed out. Whatever serious concerns come to light, don’t procrastinate.Take care of business now or it could become even more complicated in thefuture. A stitch in time saves nine.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

If you try to avoid taking full responsibility for your actions today, someone elsemight do it for you. But if others point out your shortcomings now, your reactionmay be to blame them for complicating your life. Even if people just want tohelp, it could be difficult to respond positively to their constructive criticism.Nevertheless, you might have to modify your behavior even if it turns your lifeupside down. Don’t expect to see changes until you’re willing to make themyourself.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

The plot of your personal story thickens as your previous commitments takeprecedence over fun and games. There are many aspects of your life that aredependent on others and you often take the lead from the cues of those aroundyou. You may be eager to kick back and relax today, but someone else mighthave an entirely different plan in mind for you. Resistance is futile now; it’s bestto meet your obligations with a positive attitude and a smile.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Although there are chores that must be completed today, you won’t need toforego all pursuits of pleasure. In fact, establishing a predetermined amount oftime for structured recreation can be exactly what you need to be more produc-tive in the long run. Don’t just impulsively bolt from your work whenever youfeel like it; instead, take advantage of Saturn’s persistence by creating a scheduleand sticking to it. Demonstrate your willingness to play by the rules by showingup and doing your job whether you feel like it or not.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

You might be required to make a significant choice today that will impact yourpersonal life or your future plans for the family. Perhaps you need to participatein serious discussions about the care of an elderly relative or the schooling of ayoungster. Maybe someone is overstepping your boundaries in a way thatthreatens your sense of independence. Whatever the specifics are now, allowenough time to resolve your domestic dilemma so you can have more freedomto roam later on.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Although many people celebrate this as a day of rest, your schedule won’t likelyallow you much room to to recharge your batteries. Today’s Sun-Saturn conjunc-tion adds weight to your 3rd House of Learning, making this an ideal time tobegin a new course of study. But your current interest in education is not meantto be a frivolous exercise to distract yourself from what’s important. Choose asubject that is practical enough to improve your everyday life in a positive andlasting manner.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

You may be overly self-critical today as you compare your achievements withyour failures. The Sun illuminates your shortcomings when it joins judgmentalSaturn in your 2nd House of Self-Esteem. Concentrate your energy on complet-ing tasks that will make you feel good about your accomplishments. Regrets arewasted energy; if your thoughts begin to turn to what you did wrong in the past,quickly shift your focus to what you can do right in the present moment. Energyflows where attention goes.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Sometimes your innate ability to project generalized concepts sofar into the future complicates your decision-making about a specific event inthe here and now. However, you’re successfully able to narrow your field ofvision today so you can focus your intentions on whatever you consider mostimportant. Don’t worry about losing sight of the big picture. You will be givenan opportunity later on to balance your ambitious drive with your need to befair. The present moment is where the real action is at.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Vacillating between accurate analysis and fuzzy thinking can be a bit exhaustingtoday, especially if you can’t tell which is which. However, if you do get confused,don’t be afraid to ask for help. Usually, you are the one assisting others with yourpragmatic perspective, but now it’s your turn to lean on someone else for achange. Thankfully, your trust won’t likely be misplaced if you pick your allieswisely.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

You don’t have to accept the negativity if someone rains on your parade today.There’s no reason to just assume that you have done something wrong. Instead,look directly at the resistance you now face as a lesson from the universe. Even ifyour original attempt was not met with much enthusiasm, don’t give up on yourgoals. Instead, work even harder to prove that you’re willing to sacrifice immedi-ate gratification for the possibility of an enduring success.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Your social calendar may be a source of concern now, especially if you have over-committed your time. The Sun-Saturn conjunction crystallizes the energy in your11th House of Long-Term Goals, enabling you to be more realistic than everwhile making plans for your future. But remember that Saturn can also bendyour thoughts in a pessimistic direction. There’s no need to sing the blues todaybecause the clouds should begin to lift by tomorrow.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1094

ACROSS1. A neutral middle vowel.5. An unintentional but embarrassing blunder.12. Mythical bird of prey having enormous

size and strength.15. Deprive (infants) of mother's milk.16. The supreme commander of a fleet.17. Group insurance that entitles members to

services of participating hospitals andclinics and physicians.

18. A lyric poet.19. A benevolent aspect of Devi.20. At right angles to the length of a ship or

airplane.22. Not dense.23. Shiny substance that resemble enamel

and is secreted by the corium of certainfishes (especially ganoid fishes) and com-poses the outer layer of their scales.

25. A brittle silver-white metalloid elementthat is related to selenium and sulfur.

26. Kamarupan languages spoken in north-eastern India and western Burma.

29. Made agreeably cold (especially by ice).30. (statistics) Approximating the statistical

norm or average or expected value.32. Any of numerous perennial bulbous herbs

having linear or broadly lanceolate leavesand usually a single showy flower.

34. Botswanan statesman who was the firstpresident of Botswana (1921-1980).

37. A member of the Semitic speaking peopleof northern Ethiopia.

39. A period marked by distinctive characteror reckoned from a fixed point or event.

40. The food served and eaten at one time.41. A unit of information equal to one million

(1,048,576) bytes.45. Unknown god.46. Stem of the rattan palm used for making

canes and umbrella handles.51. A highly unstable radioactive element (the

heaviest of the halogen series).52. A trivalent metallic element of the rare

earth group.53. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf of

Guinea.55. Completely lacking nobility in character or

quality or purpose.57. Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropi-

cal regions for its fragrant flowers and col-orful fruits.

59. A Russian prison camp for political prison-ers.

61. Using the voice.62. A state in east central United States.63. A fictitious name used when the person

performs a particular social role.64. A large number or amount.69. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of

the Old World.72. Relating to the blood vessels or blood.73. A town in central Belgium.75. An Arabic speaking person who lives in

Arabia or North Africa.76. A religious belief of African origin involving

witchcraft and sorcery.77. Relating to ocean depths from 2000 to

5000 meters.79. (archaic or Scottish) Faithful and true.80. Of a dull grayish brown to brownish gray

color.81. An ACE inhibitor (trade name Vasotec) that

blocks the formation of angiotensin in thekidney and so results in vasodilation.

82. A river in north central Switzerland thatruns northeast into the Rhine.

DOWN1. The compass point that is one point south

of southwest.2. A collection of objects laid on top of each

other.3. Straggling shrub with narrow leaves and

conspicuous red flowers in dense globu-lar racemes.

4. A bee that is a a member of the genusAndrena.

5. Deep purplish red n 1.6. An agency of the United Nations affiliated

with the World Bank.7. Distributed or sold illicitly.8. Term of address for a man.9. (of persons) Neat and smart in appearance.10. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.11. German physicist whose explanation of

blackbody radiation in the context ofquantized energy emissions initiatedquantum theory (1858-1947).

12. A family of birds coextensive with theorder Rheiformes.

13. A strategically located monarchy on thesouthern and eastern coasts of theArabian Peninsula.

14. Move toward, travel toward something orsomebody or approach something orsomebody.

21. German mystic and theosophist whofounded modern theosophy.

24. The branch of computer science that dealwith writing computer programs that cansolve problems creatively.

27. A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalentand univalent) metallic element.

28. Affected manners intended to impressothers.

31. Go on board.33. An informal term for a father.35. A mountain in the Himalayas in Nepal

(27,790 feet high).36. Having winglike extensions.38. Possessing material wealth.42. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann.43. Call upon in supplication.44. Any of several tropical and subtropical

treelike herbs of the genus Musa having aterminal crown of large entire leaves andusually bearing hanging clusters of elon-gated fruits.

47. A temporally organized plan for matters tobe attended to.

48. An enclosure made or wire or metal bars inwhich birds or animals are kept.

49. A category in some early taxonomies.50. Type genus of the Polygalaceae.54. A silvery ductile metallic element found

primarily in bauxite.56. Large genus of tropical American vines

having showy often spotted umbellateflowers.

58. A soft cotton or worsted fabric with anopen mesh.

60. A town in central Belgium.65. An important seaport on the Island of

Cebu in the Philippines.66. Speaking a Slavic language.67. The time during which someone's life con-

tinues.68. In addition.70. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was

formed by an explosion.71. (usually followed by `to') Having the neces-

sary means or skill or know-how orauthority to do something.

74. Considerate and solicitous care.78. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali

earth group.

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p34_p34 stars 11/28/15 8:30 PM Page 1

informat ionSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

Ophthalmologists

Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444

Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222

Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171

Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999

Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700

Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223

Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)

Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510

Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660

Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478

Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996

Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988

Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166

Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General Practitioners

Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123

Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312

Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920

Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465

Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528

Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781

Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

Urologists

Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534

Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955

Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660

Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120

Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

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l if e s t y l eG o s s i p

The ‘Good For You’ singer, 23, who split from her boyfriend JustinBieber last year following four years of on/off dating, has admit-ted she automatically turns to the 25-year-old starlet when she

needs help in the “boy department.” Speaking to Britain’s InStyle mag-azine, she said: “I’ll be like, ‘I think I totally screwed up,’ but Taylor says,‘Actually, you didn’t,’ and shows me how to make my mistakes intosomething great. People have this fantasy that we’re in our under-wear, having pillow fights. We just play good music - sometimes live -and eat, and hang out.” And the pair, who formed a friendship eightyears ago, are so close that they even refer to one another as like fam-ily. Speaking of the ‘Blank Space’ hitmaker, Selena said recently: “She’s

like a sister to me.” But it’s not just dating advice Taylor dishes out tothe brunette beauty as she’s also been there to pick up the pieceswhen Selena was going through a tough time. She explained: “Wemet when she was 18. I was 15 or 16. She was so great to me. Then webecame best friends. She would fly out to see me when I was goingthrough something really hard. We’d eat a lot of fattening food andvent.”

Selena Gomez asks TaylorSwift for dating advice

The 32-year-old model-turned-actress - whodivorced actor Giobanni

Ribisi earlier this year after threeyears of marriage - admits she hasa lot more life experience to drawon these days, but doesn’t thinkshe’s changed as a person. Shesaid: “I am the same as when I wasa child. I just have a lot more expe-rience. “I am inherently the sameperson but I just know a few morethings.” Agyness quit modellingwhen she was at the peak of herpopularity, and with hindsight cansee it was a “crazy” decision. Shesaid: “It wasn’t as if my career hadstarted to decrease. I stoppedmodelling when things weregoing good. “I look back and thinkit’s kind of crazy I did that.” But the

‘Sunset Song’ star thinks it was theright thing to do because beingcelebrated just for her looksbegan to take its toll on her. Sheexplained: “If someone is pattingyou on the back and being like,‘You’re great, the way you look isgreat’, that’s where it becomes alittle off kilter because maybe youdon’t feel that way inside.” Instead,Agyness found fulfilment whenshe studied drama. She explainedto Britain’s Grazia magazine: “Itwas like the excitement I gotwhen I started modelling and thatwas electric to me. “It’s like if youare in a relationship and you starthaving feelings for someone else.It’s terrible to stay with that per-son.”

Agyness Deyn feels the same as she did when she was a child

Cara Delevignebelieves sexiness

comes from within

The 23-year-old model-and-actress - who is dating singer St.Vincent - needs a positive mindset to feel attractive, insisting itdoesn’t matter what she’s wearing when she feels good. Asked

what makes her feel sexy, she said: “It’s about my mindset, more so thanwhat I wear.” Cara has a number of tattoos but her favourite was a SakYant symbol which she got while in Thailand as it felt so “spiritual”. Shesaid: “It’s hard to pick my favourite, but maybe the one I got on the backof my neck in Thailand. It was a spiritual process.” Despite being regard-ed as a style icon, the ‘Paper Towns’ actress doesn’t think she alwayslooks good but just prefers to feel comfortable in what she is wearing.She said: “I’m still trying to figure it out” I usually wear what’s comfort-able but that doesn’t always mean it looks good.” Cara is thankful formodern technology as it helps her stay in touch while she’s workingaway a lot. She told LOOK magazine: “I have a lot of very understandingpeople in my life who support my schedule “Let’s just say I am gratefulto technology and FaceTime.”

The 51-year-old actress and her palwere both committed to not marry-ing again but once the eternal bache-

lor introduced her to the British humanrights lawyer in 2014 she was convincedthey would become husband and wife. Inan interview with Italian magazine IODonna, she said: “I knew that George hadfound the right person. He made the rightchoice and so did Amal: they prove thatyou have to resist to the pressure of a worldthat wants to see you married.” DespiteGeorge making the decision to take theplunge and tie the knot for a second time,Sandra - who starred with the Hollywoodhunk in ‘Gravity’ - doesn’t think she’ll ever

walk down the aisle again. The Oscar win-ner - who was previously wed to JesseJames from 2005 to 2010 - is happy to con-centrate on her son Louis and her careerrather than wait to meet a new ‘Mr. Right’who may pop the question to her. Jokingabout George’s marriage, she said: “I know,he put me in a very bad situation. Now I’mthe only one saying around, ‘Don’t get mar-ried again! There’s no need to do it.’ “Sheadded: “Never say never (about marriage),but I can tell you that I don’t feel the neces-sity to do it. One day, maybe, I could gethigh in Las Vegas and finding myself mar-ried the day after!”

Sandra Bullock knew Clooney‘found the right person’ to marry

J.K. Rowling - the author of the best-selling books - has explained the originof the characters’ name, explaining it

was a mark of gratitude to the formerPotions teacher and Hogwarts’ headmaster.During an exchange with a fan on Twitter,Rowling was asked: “Why did you pickSnape to name Harry’s kid after? I’m gen-uinely curious as he was nothing but abu-sive towards everyone.” However, Rowlingdisputed the idea that Snape truly dislikedthe wizard and she proved her point bysaying Snape sacrificed himself for the sakeof Harry’s family. The author replied: “Snape

died for Harry out of love for Lily. Harrypaid him tribute in forgiveness and grati-tude.” Later, she added: “There’s a wholeessay in why Harry gave his son Snape’sname, but the decision goes to the heart ofwho Harry was, post-war. “In honouringSnape, Harry hoped in his heart that he toowould be forgiven. The deaths at the Battleof Hogwarts would haunt Harry forever.“I’ve got to say this: you lot have beenarguing about Snape for years. My timelinejust exploded with love & fury yet again.

Harry Potter named his middlechild Albus Severus out of ‘forgiveness and respect’

The ‘Pacific Rim’ star played a DJ set earlier this monthbefore the ‘Queen of Pop’ per formed in Berlin,Germany, on her ‘Rebel Heart Tour’. When Idris got the

call from her manager with the job offer, Idris was sat athome relaxing in his casual clothes and was shocked thatMadonna wanted to use him at her concert. During anappearance on ‘The Jonathan Ross Show’, he said: “Here’s thestory, I was sitting in my house on a Sunday in my slippers,the phone goes and her manager calls me and says, ‘Listen,Madonna would love you to DJ on Tuesday in Berlin.’ I waslike ‘What?’ He calls me back, I go, ‘Are you joking?’ He goes,‘No, seriously do you fancy the job?’ And my mates were likeyou, ‘Don’t say no to Madge, you’ve just got to do it, you’vejust got to do the job.’ So I ended up going to Berlin anddoing that!” Speaking about why he loves DJing, Idris - whois in a relationship with Naiyana Garth, with whom he hasyoung son Winston - admits it brings him back down toEarth after the dizzying heights of acting in Hollywood. He

said: “The truth is it’s my reset button. I go off and be anactor and then you come back and you get a lot of love for itbut as actors can tend to just float away on clouds ... Whenyou DJ for 17,000 people, no one cares that you were in‘Absolutely Fabulous’, no one cares you’re just an actor, playyour music and be good and that’s what grounds me, it sortof resets me.” As well as being one of the world’s most in-demand actors and a DJ, Idris has now turned his hand tofashion. The 43-year-old actor has created his own signatureautumn winter collection for Superdry. He attended thelaunch of his menswear range at the company’s flagshipstore on Regent Store in London on Thursday night(26.11.15) with other guests including ex-world championboxer David Hayes, Made In Chelsea’s Oliver Proudlock, ‘XFactor’ contestant Chloe Paige and Amy Jackson. Hundredsof fans queued for hours to get into the store for a chance tomeet their idol Idris.

Idris Elba sat in his slippers when Madonna asked him to open her concert

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

G o s s i p

l if e s t y l e

Nathan Sykesgets ‘really shy’ when

he fancies a girl

The ‘Kiss Me Quick’ hitmaker - who dated ArianaGrande for four months in 2013 - becomes nervousand very timid when he meets a beautiful woman he

wants to romance and he’s not a great dater. The 22-year-old star shared: “I’m really, really shy. So whenever I seesomeone that I really like I go all giggly. And I’m just like...(sucks in breath).” Speaking of how he gets around his dat-ing difficulties, he added: “I’m really bad at dating. I don’tdate. You know what it is? I always become friends withwhoever I’m dating first, so it kinda just falls into being arelationship, kinda just, trip and fall into. ‘Oh we’re datingnow. Brilliant!’ I’m not one of those people who says, ‘Ohare we going on a date now?’ Because they can go, ‘Oh ... Idon’t really know.’ But the former member of ‘The Wanted’isn’t focused on love, because his new single ‘Over AndOver Again’ is rising in the charts. Speaking on UK TV show‘Loose Women’, he gushed: “After ‘X Factor’ on Sunday I flewinto LA the Monday morning to film something Mondaynight and I flew back yesterday. But when I landed in LA,the first thing I did was go to the charts. “I gave this poorlady the fright of her life, because I’d been asleep for thewhole flight, and I just opened my phone, and went‘Yeaaah!!!’ And it was 4am. This poor lady, she went, ‘Iseverything alright love?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah I’m brilliant!!Do not worry about me, I’m fine!’ “

The country music stars shocked fans when theydivorced earlier this year after four years of mar-riage but Miranda, 32, insists they “gave it our best

college try” before splitting up. She told Cosmopolitanmagazine: “Marriage is a tough business, and we gave itour best college try.” And while their relationship is over,Miranda has nothing but kind words for her 39-year-oldformer husband, who recently started dating GwenStefani. She said: “I had a great relationship with anamazing man, so I know what good is. I have a greatlaunching pad for the future. I will never take that forgranted.” However, Miranda admitted that the split hasn’t

always been easy. Speaking about trying to move on,she said: “Some of that might mean nights on my porchcrying, drinking whiskey, and going, ‘Man, this sucks rightnow.’” Miranda also revealed that she is throwing herselfinto her music and she feels “sexiest” when she is per-forming. She said: “I feel the sexiest when I’m in my ele-ment, which is playing music. It doesn’t really matterwhat I’m wearing necessarily or where I’m at, just onstage with my band playing music is sort of where I feellike I belong and that makes me feel sexy.”

Miranda Lambert says she and Blake Shelton battled hard to save marriage

The 22-year-old actress and her 25-year-old actor beau, Pierson Fode,have reportedly called time on their

romance after two years of dating. Asource told Just Jared: “They’ve been on abreak for a couple of months. They arehoping to work things out and still care foreach other a lot.” However, the pair are stillclose and celebrated his birthday togethertwo weeks ago in Los Angeles. Meanwhile,Victoria recently revealed she is battlingHashimoto’s disease. The starlet was diag-nosed with the condition, in which theimmune system attacks the thyroid, a fewyears ago and has finally gotten it undercontrol after weight fluctuation and skinbreakouts. She said: “A few years ago, I wasdiagnosed with Hashimoto’s, which is athyroid autoimmune disorder [that can

interfere with thyroid function and affectmetabolism]. “They had put me on thisthyroid medication, and I think the levelswere too high for me because it caused myskin to break out. All my life I’ve always hadgreat skin, so it was really devastating. Also,at first, I was losing a lot of weight, then Iwent on tour and I started gaining weight,and it was the most I’d ever gained in mylife. I was, like, 115 pounds. Then when Ifilmed a movie last summer, I actually wentunder 100 pounds. It was crazy, but thingshave leveled out, and I’m back to normal. “Istill have Hashimoto’s. But my numbers areback to normal, and I’m not on medication.I feel good.”

Victoria Justice splits from her boyfriend

Mariah Carey is ‘oblivious’ to ageing

The 45-year-old singer insisted she isn’t worried about gettingolder because she just doesn’t acknowledge her age. She toldPEOPLE: “I think I have to remain eternally oblivious to age.

Honestly, when you put a number on it yourself, it’s just like, Why?Why do that?” Mariah also revealed that a “good hair and makeupteam” help her to feel beautiful but insisted she is quite low-key whenshe isn’t working. She said: “If you’re not wearing a lot of makeup, youdon’t have to take a lot of it off. So, my goal is to wear the leastamount of makeup possible so I don’t have to steam my face and takeit all off. “I do [have bad hair days], and then I have to apply my 500hours of beauty school. If it’s really bad, I’ll just slick it back and put itin a bun. “When I was growing up I used to go into the girl’s bathroomand fix the front with a brush on a hand dryer because it would comeup. And the back was never smooth cause I couldn’t really reach it. So,I try not to blow dry my own hair. If I have to do my hair from scratch,I’ll keep it natural.”

The 39-year-old actor and his wifeSophie Hunter welcomed their firstchild, son Christopher Carlton, in

June and joked he would love to have a“Cumber-batch of boys”. During an inter-view on BBC One’s ‘The Graham NortonShow’, which airrd on Friday, Benedict said:“I’ve become a father and a husband, andin the right order - just! I might go for aCumber-batch of boys!” Benedict alsorevealed he loved coming home to hishappy family after playing Hamlet on stageevery night during a recent production ofthe play in London. He said: “It’s every-thing. I have a new life form that needs hisfather’s help in the world and his motherneeds a little help once in a while. It’s whatbeing a parent is about so it ’s not an

excuse to get away from what I am doing,it’s what I ought to be doing and afterthree and half hours of Hamlet I think that’sokay.” Meanwhile, Johnny Depp recentlyclaimed Benedict is like a “real-life brother”to him after they played siblings James‘Whitey’ Bulger and Billy Bulger in ‘BlackMass’. Johnny, 52, told BBC News: “He is abeautiful man of exceptional talent. Hebecame like a real-life brother. The set-upwe were playing was an unusual one - onebrother becomes a politician, the other isking of the underworld. “They still meet upfor family dinners and church, just fromopposing sides. It takes an actor with a lotof ability, like Benedict, to make that credi-ble.”a

The 32-year-old actress and herproducer husband AdamShulman, 34, will welcome their

first child into the world next year. Asource told E! News: “Anne is in hersecond trimester and feeling great!”Anne was spotted out and about inBeverly Hills earlier this week withwhat appeared to be a large babybump. Anne and Adam married in2012 and she has previously spokenof her desire to start a family. The‘Princess Diaries’ star said: “Oh, myGod. I want to be a mother, and Ianticipate loving my children quitefiercely. I think about it all the time,though it’s a silly thing to think aboutbecause the kind of mother I’ll bedepends on the kind of children Ihave. I can’t wait to meet them.” Annealso admitted that she and Adam hadbeen trying to decide where to liveonce they have children as she wantsto keep their offspring out of the spot-light. She said: “I’m thinking aboutthat [the paparazzi] because I reallywant to have a baby, and my husbandand I are like, ‘Where are we gonnalive?’”

Anne Hathawaypregnant

Benedict Cumberbatchwants more children

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

l if e s t y l e

Skirts made from bamboo chicken cages andbillowy dresses crafted from mosquito nets-aThai teen is elevating everyday items of rural

life to the catwalk to challenge entrenched preju-dice among the Bangkok elite.

Apichet Atilattana, a 16-year-old from KhonKaen in Thailand’s northeastern rice bowl region,launched his designs on Facebook. But on Fridaynight his inventive, humourous, and somewhatbizarre concepts made their catwalk debut at afashion show in Bangkok. His materials-bamboorice steamers, banana leaves and hand-held fans-are loaded with symbolism in a country divided

between the wealth and power of Bangkok and arural majority who provide the backbone of theeconomy. “I want to show people in Bangkok thatIsaan people can be creative,” he told AFP, using thename for the poor but populous northeasternregion. “People in Bangkok should start thinkingout of the box... They have this idea that people inIsaan are dirty, uneducated, but there are a lot whoare successful.”

Apichet’s sleepy home town of Khon Kaen is acreative hub. Cannes Palme d’Or winning (2010)director Apichatpong Weerasethakul also hailsfrom the city.

It is also a focal point of opposition to the rulingjunta. The military seized power from the electedgovernment in 2014, disenfranchising millions ofIsaan people who voted for the toppled adminis-tration of Yingluck Shinawatra.

It was the second coup in less than a decadesupported by a Bangkok elite who refuse to acceptlosing at the polls.

Politics has reinforced the sense of separationbetween the Bangkok elite and the people of Isaanwho they stereotype as ill-educated, unrefined andeasily led.

While Apichet, better known by his nickname

Madeaw, is avowedly non-political, he hopes hisfashion can in some way help bridge the socialdivide.

“I want to transform things seen as without val-ue, useless things, into ones with value,” he said. “Ihad chicken cages at home. I noticed the hole, I putthe cage on my body and it looked beautiful... Iwant to imply that you can’t judge people by howthey look.” — AFP

From countryside to catwalk, Thai teen designer takes on prejudice

Thai teen designer Apichet Atilattana, 16, posing at the Alliance Francaise in Bangkok. Skirts made from bamboo chicken cages and billowy dresses crafted from mosquito nets — a Thai teen is elevating everyday items of rural lifeto the catwalk to challenge entrenched prejudice among the Bangkok elite. — AFP

By Ben Garcia

Behind successful companies are satisfied employees. This isthe mantra of The Regency Kuwait General ManagerAurelio Giraudo. “Employees are the most important part of

any business, which has been proven to be the most effective for-mula used by many top companies to win and retain customersand be successful,” he told Kuwait Times at Regency’s spaciousand majestic hotel lobby in Salwa. “They are the backbone of anybusiness - if you have satisfied employees, you’ll get satisfiedguests, and it means more business to follow, because they willshare their experiences with others, “Giraudo said.

“In my first three years at the hotel as general manager, I sawto it that every employee we hired was satisfied and contented.We give them the best of what we can offer, so they are also satis-fied and give the best they can to our guests,” he said. Accordingto Giraudo, his goal in 2016-2017 will be to generate even morebusiness. “Our focus is to reward back our employer because dur-ing my first three years, he gave me space to appreciate and lookafter the workers. I have done this, so my next mission is to givemore back to the owner,” he said. Situated on a private beach onthe Arabian Gulf coast in Kuwait, this luxurious 5-star resort offerselegant rooms with Italian furniture and marble bathrooms.Facilities include five swimming pools, and rooms have freeInternet access, Egyptian cotton bed linen, large flat-screen TVsand walk-in rain showers. Many rooms have a private balcony orterrace with panoramic garden or sea views. The Regency Kuwait’sfreshwater swimming pools include a lap pool, an infinity pool,two children’s pools and one ladies-only pool. The well-equippedfitness center is open 24 hours a day.

Authentic“The hotel operates independently and is genuinely local. This

is a hotel which stands on its own feet - authentically Kuwaiti butwith an international touch, respecting the standards of a luxuri-

ous hotel,” Giraudo told Kuwait Times. The hotel takes pride in thenewly refurbished Balsamico restaurant, which offers authenticItalian dishes and an elegant and inviting environment.“Balsamico is Italian and we offer the best of Italian food. Anotherrestaurant is Gourmet Boutique, where we serve fresh pastries, aselection of gourmet coffees, espressos and cappuccinos compli-mented with your favorite cakes made by our award-winning pas-try team. These are available 24/7 in the hotel lobby too,” headded.

The Ladies’ Lounge at The Regency offers an exclusive ladies-only sanctuary in Kuwait. It opens during the summer and springseason and features a swimming pool, a waterfall plunge pool, aprivate lounge area with an extensive menu and a private beachwith direct views of the Arabian Gulf. The Regency Hotel is lessthan a 5-minute drive from the Salmiya souk and 15 minutes fromKuwait International Airport. Asked about the effect of the ongo-ing wars and crises in the region, Giraudo said it hasn’t had muchof an impact on the hotel business, although activities haveslowed down a bit. “In 2013-2014, lots of international businessactivities took place in Kuwait, but during the course of 2015, thepace reduced a bit. The fewer the international activities that areheld here, the lesser our revenues get. But from what I’ve heard,the slowdown is related to the fall in oil prices and not the turmoilin the neighborhood,” he said.

Business Hub“There was a bombing in Kuwait in Ramadan, but the fallout

was immediately contained because the Kuwaiti government act-ed rapidly, so we didn’t see any effect to our business at all,” Giraudmentioned. Kuwait is a business hub for many international trav-elers but not designed for travelers seeking pleasure. “While we’vegot fewer activities in 2015, we can see more and more interna-tional business conferences come 2016 and 2017. Four big eventsrelated to government initiated projects are slated for 2016, andevery hotel in Kuwait will benefit from them. We’ll get our share of

the pie,” he said. Giraudo noted since he started handling thehotel’s operation in the last part of 2012, the hotel’s standardshave appreciated. “We started getting international awards andrecognitions. For three consecutive years, we’ve been mentionedby many magazines internationally as being among the besthotels in the Gulf. We have won many awards Internationally,including several five-star and seven-star awards, luxury awardsand travel awards.Booking.com ranks us as number one. We havebeen voted as one of the most preferred hotels internationally, sowe are being mentioned and we are getting business not justlocally, but internationally too,” he beamed.

With regards to competition, Giraudo said that many interna-tional hotels in Kuwait are opening soon. “Many five-star hotels inKuwait will open either late this year or next year. Being a luxuryhotel, our direct competitors are Jumeirah Hotel, Sheraton,Symphony, JW Marriott and Marina Hotel. But we are in the bestposition because we are located in the best spot ever,” Giraudo

said. “We have the best view of the beach and are pretty close tothe airport, and not too affected by the traffic,” he said. “Luxuryhotels are coming up like the Intercontinental Hotel and GrandHyatt Hotel. If you invest millions if not billions of dinars in thecountry, you know what to expect. The government’s plan is tomake Kuwait a business hub in the Mideast. We are seeing thishappen slowly but surely,” he pointed out.

Giraudo is a confident and versatile senior manager, withextensive experience and in-depth knowledge and skills develop-ing, directing and sustaining cost-effective and profitable opera-tions for world leading premier establishments across the hospi-tality industry, competing within national and international mar-kets. Giraudo’s responsibilities in the hotel include being the direc-tor of development. Acknowledged as a highly focused and com-mitted professional, with a strong understanding of marketingand promoting resorts and hotel outlets within extremely com-petitive markets, he possesses excellent customer relation skills,building and recruiting teams to ensure the smooth running ofday-to-day operations, delivering maximum profits and requiredinvestment returns. He also generates new ideas for hotel man-agement and development of the company. He supports andliaises with the owners in the exploration of opening new hotelsin the Middle East, focusing and carrying out market analyses onrestaurants, airport lounges and hospital catering projects.

The Regency Hotel Awards/RecognitionsWinner of 2014 World Luxury Hotel AwardWinner of 2012-2013-2014 World Travel AwardKuwait’s Leading Luxury HotelKuwait’s Leading Conference HotelSeven Star Global Luxury Award, June 2013-2014 Tripadvisor

Certificate of Excellence 2013-2014 Consecutive number one onTripadvisor 2012-2013-2014-2015.

Regency going from strength to strengthSatisfied employees behind luxury hotel’s success

The Regency Kuwait General Manager Aurelio Giraudo. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

l if e s t y l e

Acentury and a half after first being pub-lished, the surreal classic “Alice’s Adventuresin Wonderland” still fascinates readers and

inspires artists with its eerie and iconic fantasyworld. An exhibition in the British Library traceshow the story and its characters quickly took on alife of their own after the publication of the book in1865, inspiring spin-off merchandising, music andearly film.

Visitors to the show in London wander throughlarge distorted mirrors and illustrations that walkthem through the plot of the book, before discov-ering the history of how it became a classic.

James Devine, 66, spoke rapturously of the bookas he remembered reading it as a child in 1950sGlasgow. “It’s fascinating. It takes you into anotherworld. I loved it, particularly the Cheshire Cat,”Devine told AFP. “You get carried away with it.”

The exhibition begins with how the story wasborn: on a summer’s day in Oxford in 1862, whenCharles Dodgson, a maths tutor who took the penname Lewis Carroll, took a boat trip with 10-year-old Alice Liddell and two of her sisters, and toldthem a story.

At the heart of the exhibits is a display of theoriginal leather-bound manuscript later writtendown by Carroll by hand with 37 careful illustra-tions and presented to Alice in 1865 with the dedi-cation “a Christmas gift to a dear child, in memory

of a summer day”. Liddell sold the manuscript for arecord price in 1928 to an American collector, but itwas gifted to the British Museum after World War II“as an expression of thanks to a noble people whokept Hitler at bay for a long period single-handed”.

A book of the original manuscript, with its oldtitle “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground” has beenpublished this year in a luxury edition by Frenchpublishing house Les Saint Peres to mark the 150thanniversary.

Dodgson revised the manuscript, taking outpersonal passages and adding new sections forpublication under his pen name “Lewis Carroll”.“Lewis Carroll was as charming, imaginative andattractive as the tutor Charles Dodgson was boring,dull and stern,” said Belgian writer Amelie Nothombwho wrote the introduction to the newly publishedearly version.The book came out in November1865 with illustrations by artist John Tenniel thatwere to make the story and its characters iconic.“It’s now part of our cultural consciousness,” saidHelen Melody, a curator of the exhibition.

“The text of the story is very rich but doesn’tcontain much description... there’s a lot of room inthe story for different interpretations, differentways to imagine.”

‘There’s darkness in there’ The exhibition makes clear how central the visu-

al interpretation of Carroll’s world has beenthroughout the decades, tracing how Alice hasbeen re-imagined many times over and continuesto shapeshift.

Alice was depicted as a cherubic redhead byillustrator Mabel Lucie Attwell, and with the truedark hair of the real Liddell by others, in imagesalternately sweet and sinister, many coloured bythe context of the time, such as the world wars.

Several visitors to the show recalled that thebook frightened them when they were children.

Alicia Phyall, 24, a pink-haired theatre assistantfrom Kent, got an Alice-themed tattoo on her leg inhonour of the 150th anniversary. “I just love it,” shesaid. “It’s so different. It’s scary, I remember whenmy dad read it to me first I was terrified.”

“It’s not all sweetness and light, there’s darknessin there,” added her mother Helen Merchant, 58.The blonde Alice with the blue dress began toemerge as the definitive image in the first half ofthe 20th century, and was cemented by Disney intheir 1951 animated film that introduced the workto new readers.

Visitors can explore decades of artists’ inspira-tion from the work, from a 1903 silent film, to artand music such as Jefferson Airplane’s “WhiteRabbit” in the psychedelic 1960s, to a modern-dayvideo game.

Due to the quick success of the book after its ini-

tial publication, Carroll began to work on a sequeland helped develop merchandise linked to thebook like teacups, toys and biscuit tins.

The tradition is continued with a pop-up sou-venir shop linked to the exhibition, filled withAlice-themed dolls, bow ties and jewellery. — AFP

A file photo taken on May 18, 2015, shows exhibitors dressed as “The Hatter” (L) and “Alice in Wonderland” drinking teawhilst sheltering from the rain under an umbrella on the David Harbor stand at the 2015 Chelsea Flower Show inLondon. — AP

Actress Tonia Miller from the performing arts group Teatro Vivo perform during a “Mad Hattter’s Tea Party” during anevent marking the 150th anniversary of the publication of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” at The Story Museum inOxford. — AP

Alice still shapeshifting 150 years after Wonderland

Actress Sarah Finigan fromthe performing arts groupTeatro Vivo who plays the

role of Queen of heartsattends a mock trial during

an event marking the 150thanniversary of the publica-

tion of “Alice’s Adventures inWonderland”. — AP

Studs & Drops festival at MalabarGold & Diamonds

Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the leading jew-ellery retailer announced the details of itsunique campaign - ‘Studs & Drops

Festival’ in the entire showrooms in Kuwait show-casing an extensive collection of earrings, givingtheir customers a unique chance to witness andown studs and drops from over 20 countries ingold, diamond and platinum. This festival runsfrom 26 Nov to 05 Dec 2015.

The jewellery chain presents a marvelous rangeof ear rings and studs for today’s woman, keepingin mind the different roles she plays at work and athome and the way she adorn herself differently onspecial occasions and in everyday life. This exclu-sive festival gives their customers a unique chanceto choose from a stunning collection of earringsdesigned and handcrafted by skilled artisansaround the world, ranging from lightweight dailywear to heavy party wear in traditional as well asinternational designs to suit every occasion.

Their branded jewellery, Era- uncut diamondjewellery, Ethnix- hand crafted designer jewellery,Mine- diamonds unlimited, Divine- Heritage jew-ellery, Precia- precious gem jewellery and Starlet-kids jewellery will also be on display during thefestival.

To add customer’s delight, the group also offers‘Zero Deduction Exchange’ facility through whichcustomers can update their old ornaments to thelatest collection of Malabar Gold & Diamondswithout any loss. Any 22 ct old gold ornamentscan be exchanged with the latest Malabar Gold &Diamonds designs by paying only making chargesensuring they don’t lose any value on the rate ofgold. The customers also get a fabulous chance tobuy 8 gm gold coins with absolutely no makingcharges from any of Malabar Gold & Diamondsoutlets in GCC during this period.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds is always at the fore-front when it comes to promotions and festivals.The immaculate collection of studs and drops areavailable at their outlets in Kuwait with theirunique exchange offers and buyback policies. Thejewellery chain offers lifetime free repair and main-tenance service for all its products.

It’s approaching 7pm and some among thecrowd at the entrance to “the Jungle” in Calaisare growing tired of the spectacle. For three

hours riot police have fired tear gas down ontothem from a motorway bridge to keep theminside Europe’s most notorious migrant camp onthe north coast of France. Stones whizz back inresponse. For once, the residents of whatDoctors Without Borders calls this “shameful...squalid, state-sanctioned shanty town” aregrateful for the fierce wind whipping in from theChannel.

Time to go to the theatreA small group of Afghans peels off to walk

arm-in-arm back through the second-handclothes market at the crossroads between“Afghanistan” and the Sudanese section, past“Eritrea” with its large plywood Orthodox church,to the big white domed tent rising from themud of this former rubbish dump. Their beaconin the darkness is the Good Chance Theatre, setup in September by two young British play-wrights known as “Joe and Joe”. There’s somekind of performance every night, andWednesday’s was a two-hour variety show, akind of “The Jungle’s Got Talent”. A cheeky ver-sion of “Clandestino”, Manu Chao’s song aboutillegal immigrants in the US-”Africano clandesti-no, Afghani clandestino, Pakistani clandestino”-ismet with cheers and howls of laughter. Then ayoung Iranian in a hoodie comes in, bent fromthe cold, and asks for a guitar.

‘Mission Impossible’ He takes off his gloves and flicks out his fin-

gers like a gunslinger and begins to play a con-certo by the Spanish composer Rodrigo. As itfinishes, all you can hear is the sound of thewind and the lorries on the motorway heading

to the port and on to England, where almosteveryone in the room is risking their life to getto.

Seventeen have died in the attempt sinceJune. Every night the migrants wait for the traf-fic to slow as it backs up from the ferry terminalbefore trying to clamber into moving lorries. Ayoung Kurdish man nurses a wound on his handwhere he claims a lorry driver slashed him with aknife as he clung onto his cab earlier in the day.“He was afraid. I was afraid, he wanted to kill me,”he said. Others walk the 15 kilometres (ninemiles) to try their luck at the heavily-guardedentrance to the Channel Tunnel. “There is ascene in the first ‘Mission Impossible’ film wherethey jump on top of a moving Eurostar train.That happens every night here,” said JoeRobertson, who set up the theatre with his co-writer Joe Murphy. They stumbled into “the

Jungle” in August on their way south to researchEurope’s migrant crisis only to realise the “worstrefugee situation of all” was on their doorstep.

NGOs accuse the British and French govern-ments of trying to make life in “the Jungle” asunbearable as possible to deter furthermigrants. A site is now being cleared to put upweatherproof tents for 1,500 people, less thanhalf “the Jungle’s” present population.

“How could people care if they don’t knowwho these people are?” Murphy said.

“That is where the theatre comes in, it allowspeople to tell their stories... and to explain whothey are to the rest of the world through Twitter,Instagram and Facebook.”

Refugees-including an actor who says hedubbed “Tom and Jerry” into Kurdish in Iraq-notonly star in the nightly shows, but also give day-time workshops in everything from drawing to

kung fu. Leading British stage figures, includingOscar-nominated director Stephen Daldry,pitched in to get the theatre off the ground andit has now morphed into “the Jungle’s town hall”,Murphy said.

Cholera fear “The reason ‘the Jungle’ is so bad is because

this is not classified as a refugee situation,” saidRobertson. “Which is why we have unaccompa-nied children walking around looking for theirnext meal and why I am worried cholera is goingto become a problem this winter.” Robertsonspent eight days in hospital after falling ill follow-ing a month in the camp.

“There were people in there with broken legsand backs from trying to get to England. Peopledon’t realise the power of hope. It is not TomCruise or James Bond doing this, it is little 13-year-olds like Mohammad (an Afghan boy) whocame up with a strategy to scale the three fencesaround the Channel Tunnel entrance with hisuncle.

“They lay still without food and water duringdaylight and climbed one fence every night. Hisuncle got through but Mohammad was caughtand came back to the theatre half dead but hap-py his uncle had made it.” After two hours ofnon-stop singing, the night’s show ends with afrenzied Pashtun drummer that gets most of the200 or so people inside up dancing. Baraa, a 31-year-old English teacher from the Syrian city ofHama, has spent the day photographing thecamp and the clashes with police to make “post-cards” of life at the site. “I will try to get toEngland tonight,” he said. “You cannot hold backhumanity with a fence.” — AFP

Migrants dance and play music in a makeshift theatre, in the so-called “Jungle” migrantcamp in Calais, northern France. — AFP photos

Migrants listen to a guitarist performing in a makeshift theatre.

Theatre keeps hope alive in the mud, tears of Calais ‘Jungle’

Migrants take part in theatre and music lessons in a makeshift theatre. — AFP

39Alice still shapeshifting

150 years after Wonderland

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2015

RunQ8, one of Kuwait’s most prominent chari-ty sporting events, had yet another success-ful year with around 1,800 people taking

part in the fifth edition of the race. Organized bythe Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI),the annual race took place on the morning ofNovember 28th at Marina Crescent.

RunQ8 aims to raise awareness and funds tosupport the Children’s Evaluation andRehabilitation Center (CERC), FSRI’s non-profitpediatrics facility, providing specialized and multi-disciplinary treatment and support for childrenwith disabilities. The Center provides comprehen-sive programs that include physical therapy,speech therapy, psychology and occupational ther-apy.

This year RunQ8 was held in cooperation withthe Ministry of Interior, in addition to support fromRunQ8’s founding partner Agility and a number ofother major local organizations that included,Burgan Bank, Al-Ruwayeh & Partners (ASAR), DiyarUnited Company (DUC), Openware, JumeriahMessilah Beach Hotel & Spa, Royal Pharmacies, TheAthlete’s Foot, Al Jarida, Kuwait Times, Good HealthArabia, 6abeeby and Everything Kuwait.

The 10km race proved to be an exciting chal-lenge for the competitive athletes and avid run-

ners amongst the participants, with the fastest run-ner completing the race in less than 35 minutes.Wendy Ulrich came in first in the women’s division,with Abigail Bartholomew and Nadya Mayahirounding up the top 3 in that category, in secondand third place respectively. Amongst the maleparticipants, Greg Ziembinski nabbed first placefollowed by Mohammed Abdullah and then KedirAmino Abdo. As for the youth category, HelgaQuint came in first amongst females, withAbdulmohsen Al-Ali placing first amongst the maleparticipants.

However, the race was just as fun and excitingfor everyone else who chose to walk, jog or evenjust stroll to simply take part and show their sup-port for the great cause. Families and friends ofparticipants lent their support by gathering at theRunQ8 race village where an eclectic mix of localvendors and businesses had set up booths, offer-ing snacks, beverages and much more. The race vil-lage also featured a number of fun activitiesthroughout the day, including yoga, holistic fitnessand a Cross Fit demonstration.

“We continue to be amazed every year by thelevel of support we see from our sponsors, part-ners, participants and of course the public. We areimmensely grateful for every single person who

came out today to show their support for such aworthy cause” said Dr Elham Al-Hamdan, President& Medical Director of FSRI. “RunQ8 is more thanjust a race; it is an important social initiative thataims to not only raise awareness of, but also gathermuch needed funds to support children’s rehabili-tation in Kuwait.”

All proceeds from the race go towards enablingCERC to continue providing highly specializedquality care to children in Kuwait, who otherwisemay not get access to the care they need. Majorityof the raised funds from RunQ8 are used to helpchildren and families suffering from financial diffi-culties, providing them treatment at a subsidizedlower cost, or even for free in some cases.

Dr. Elham further added “The money that wehave raised in the past through RunQ8 proved cru-cial towards improving the lives of so many fami-lies, helping to provide their children with the lifechanging treatment they so urgently needed. Thisis why we continue to organize this race year afteryear. The support of the local community is vital tous as a non-profit institution, and goes a long waytowards helping us carry out our mission to pro-vide specialized care for people across all seg-ments of society.”

RunQ8 garners great support for children’s rehabilitation with 1,800 participants

5th edition of the 10km run

Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat