VIENNA: Negotiators at the Iran nucleartalks plan to announce today that they’vereached a historic deal capping nearly adecade of diplomacy that would curb thecountry’s atomic program in return forsanctions relief, two diplomats told TheAssociated Press yesterday.

The envoys said a provisional agreementmay be reached even earlier - by late yester-day. But they cautioned that final details ofthe pact were still being worked out. Onceit is complete, a formal, final agreementwould be open to review by officials in thecapitals of Iran and the six world powers at

the talks, they said. Senior US and Iranianofficials suggested, however, there mightnot be enough time to reach a deal by theend of yesterday and that the drafting ofdocuments could bleed into today.

All of the officials, who are at the talks inVienna, demanded anonymity becausethey weren’t authorized to discuss thenegotiations publicly. “We are workinghard, but a deal tonight is simply logisticallyimpossible,” the Iranian official said, notingthat the agreement will run roughly 100pages.

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203Army chiefvows resolveto defendnation

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Iraqi parliament speaker praises Amir’s wisdomProsecution begins interrogating ‘Fintas Group’ members

Clear your debts as soon as you can

Ramadan Kareem

By Hassan T Bwambale

Dear readers, I would like to inform you that Islamcame to protect five things viz. your religion -and by extension your freedom of choice, your

life, wealth, honor and dignity, and finally, your lineage.Although some pagans and polytheists of Makkah usedto brand the Prophet (SAW) as a liar, crazy, poet et al,when it came to the issue of depositing their wealth andproperty for safe keeping, they would deposit themwith the Prophet (PBUH) due to the fact that banks andother financial institutions were non-existent. The peo-ple who were adamant to kill the Prophet and had sur-rounded his house determined to terminate his life,were among those who had deposited their belongingswith him. Before escaping to save his life, he made surehis cousin - Ali - slept in his house to return the moneyand other properties to their rightful owners. He wouldbe justified to flee for his life and ignore their property.It is ironic that those who wanted to kill him wereamong those who had trusted his fiduciary responsibili-ty and deposited their belongings with him.

Continued on Page 15

By A Staff Reporter

KUWAIT: Iraqi Parliament Speaker Saleem Al-Jabouriyesterday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on amosque in Kuwait that left 26 people dead and 227 oth-ers wounded.

Speaking after talks with his Kuwaiti counterpartMarzouk Al-Ghanem at the National Assembly, Jabourisaid the aim of the attack was to create divisions andinfighting within the Kuwaiti people who successfullyaborted the attempt.

He praised the wisdom of His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who visited the siteof the mosque minutes after the bombing, adding thatKuwait has faced the attack with firm security measures.

The Iraqi speaker said that Kuwaitis have exhibitedthe best example of national unity and standing behindtheir leadership in confronting terrorism. Jabouri wasalso received by HH the Amir.

In the meantime, head of the Public Anti-CorruptionAuthority Abdulaziz Al-Nemish said yesterday that heand members of the board of trustees of the Authoritysubmitted their wealth disclosures to the AssemblySpeaker.

He said the wealth disclosures will also be handedlater to the prime minister in accordance with theAuthority law. Nimesh said the Authority has alreadyreceived wealth disclosure from Ghanem and DeputySpeaker Mubarak Al-Khurainej and will receive thewealth disclosure of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh JaberAl-Mubarak Al-Sabah soon.

Continued on Page 15

JEDDAH: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (left), Saudi King Salman binAbdulaziz Al-Saud and other regional dignitaries attend prayers prior to the burial of Saudi Prince Saud binFaisal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in holy Makkah on Saturday. — KUNA

Iran talks on cusp of a deal

TEHRAN: Iranian women leave a public bus in downtown Tehran yesterday.Negotiators at the Iran nuclear talks plan to announce today that they’vereached a historic deal capping nearly a decade of diplomacy. — AP

DUBAI: Bahraini authorities arrested a top opposition leaderyesterday, less than a month after he was freed from prisonfollowing time served for his role in Arab Spring-inspiredprotests.

The Interior Ministry said in a brief Twitter statement thatIbrahim Sharif, the former secretary-general of the NationalDemocratic Action Society, was detained for “violating thelaw.”

The secular, leftist political group, which also goes by theArabic name Waad, said the arrest took place about 2.30 amat Sharif’s home and that authorities began preliminaryinvestigations without his lawyer present. Sharif wasreleased last month after serving more than four years forhis role in 2011 protests calling for reform in the kingdom, aWestern ally that hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

While dominated by the country’s majority Shiites, whoseek greater political rights and have long accused the Sunnimonarchy of discrimination, the protests also drew supportfrom other segments of Bahraini society. Sharif was one ofseveral pro-democracy activists convicted by a military-ledtribunal after a government crackdown on the protestmovement. Other prominent opposition leaders and humanrights activists remain behind bars.

Waad said Sharif now faces charges of incitement ofhatred against and contempt of the government, and isbeing detained for 48 hours pending further investigation.He rejects the allegations, the group said as it called for hisimmediate release.

“The arrest of Sharif is an attempt to silence his voice andconfiscate his freedom of expression,” the group said. Thegovernment’s Information Affairs Authority did not elabo-rate on the reasons for the arrest, saying it would providefurther details once the investigation is complete. — AP

Bahrain re-arrests opposition leader

KUWAIT: Worshippers perform the ‘Qiyam’ prayer at the Grand Mosque on the eve of the 25th day of Ramadan Saturday night. Muslimsaround the world observe the ‘Laylat Al-Qadr’ (Night of Power), which is believed to be one of the odd nights of the last ten days of theholy month. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat (See Page 2)

SANAA: Saudi-led coalition warplanesbombarded Yemeni rebels yesterday,witnesses said, in a new blow to a UN-proposed truce in the impoverishedcountry where millions are threatenedwith famine.

Air strikes hit the Houthi strongholdof Saada in Yemen’s north, as well as oth-er rebel positions south of the capitalSanaa and in the southern province ofLahj, residents said. There were noimmediate reports of casualties. Clashesalso raged in the southern port city ofAden between the rebels and fightersallied with exiled President AbedrabboMansour Hadi, known as the PopularResistance.

The southern fighters managed topush back the rebels in the coastal RasAmran area, west of Aden, according toGeneral Fadhel Hasan, a spokesman ofthe Popular Resistance. “We have seizedcontrol of the area that represents the

western entry into Aden,” he said, addingthat the group “received sophisticatedweapons from the coalition.”

But the rebels prevented a convoy ofdesperately needed relief aid travellingfrom the western port city of Hodeida toenter Aden, said local relief activistAdnan Al-Kaf.

Clashes also persisted in the centralcity of Taez and in the southern Shabwaprovince, where the Popular Resistancesaid 21 of its fighters were killed in threedays of clashes. The UN-proposedhumanitarian truce technically went intoeffect at 2059 GMT Friday and is sup-posed to run until July 17, the last day ofthe Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

But the ceasefire, much needed torush food supplies to a populationthreatened by famine, has been floutedby strikes conducted by the Saudi-ledcoalition and fighting on the ground.

Continued on Page 15

Saudi strikes hit Yemen rebels despite truce

BRUSSELS: Euro-zone finance ministersincluded an option for a temporary Greek exitfrom the euro if Athens fails to agree a bailoutdeal, according to a document drafted yester-day and obtained by AFP.

If a deal is reached, Greece’s bailout needscould amount to between 82 billion and 86billion euros ($91.5-96 billion), said the docu-ment submitted to euro-zone leaders at anemergency summit.

“In case no agreement could be reached,Greece should be offered swift negotiationson a time-out from the euro area, with possi-

ble debt restructuring,” it said. The passagewas in brackets to indicate it was not unani-mously approved and needs the approval ofleaders. The document was submitted lateryesterday to the 19 euro-zone leaders, whoare hoping to reach a reform-for-bailout dealneeded to keep Greece in the single currencybloc. A European source told AFP on Saturdaythat Germany had drawn up plans in an“internal paper” for a temporary five-yearGreek exit from the euro if it failed to improveits bailout proposals.

Continued on Page 15

Greek ‘time-out’ from euro a possible option

ATHENS: People get free food from a social kitchen yesterday in central Athenswhich cooks every day in different parts of the city. — AFP

L O C A LMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

Amir receives Iraqi, Tunisian parliamentarians

KUWAIT: Thousands of worshippers performed the ‘Qiyam’ late night prayer at the Grand Mosque on the eve of the 25th day of RamadanSaturday night. Muslims around the world observe the ‘Laylat Al-Qadr’ (Night of Power), which is believed to be one of the odd nights of the lastten days of the holy month. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received the visitingIraq’s parliament speaker Salim Al-Jabbouri and hisaccompanying delegation at Seif Palace yesterday,National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem and Deputy Minister of Amiri DiwanAffairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah were in atten-dance. The Iraqi delegation arrived in Kuwait earlieron an official two-day visit. Upon arrival, Jabbouriwas received by Ghanem and Head of the

Honorary Mission MP Faisal Al-Shayie.Meanwhile, HH the Amir received the visiting

Deputy Speaker of the Tunisian National AssemblyAbdelfattah Mourou and his accompanying dele-gation, with attendance of His Highness the CrownPrince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber andGhanem. His Highness the Amir condemned allheinous terrorist acts that aims to claim innocentlives and undermine stability and security. HisHighness the Amir said Kuwait stands by Tunisia

and the international community in combating ter-rorism in all its forms. Mourou meanwhile con-demned the terrorist attack that recently hit amosque in downtown Kuwait city, and reaffirmedhis country’s solidarity with Kuwait. Mourou ruledout that the suicide attack that targeted Al-ImamAl-Sadiq mosque could hardly impact national uni-ty in Kuwait. The attack that took place during theFriday noon prayer, 26 June, killed 26 people andleft 227 others wounded. The same Friday of the

Kuwaiti mosque blast, a terrorist attack targeted abeach hotel in Tunisia’s city of Soussa claiming thelives of 38 people, mostly British, and wounding 39others. In the meantime, Mourou commendedbilateral ties, hoping for further cooperation for thegood of common interests.

He appreciated Kuwait’s support to Tunisia andcontribution to development in the country.During the meeting, Mourou conveyed greetingsfrom Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi to His

Highness the Amir. He also congratulated HisHighness the Amir on the UN honoring naminghim a Humanitarian Leader and Kuwait aHumanitarian Center.

Earlier, His Highness the Amir received HisHighness the Crown Prince, His Highness the PrimeMinister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and First Deputy Premier and Minister ofForeign Affairs, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-HamadAl Sabah. — KUNA

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah meets Iraq’s parliament speaker Salim Al-Jabbouri. — Amiri Diwan photos

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah meets Deputy Speaker of the Tunisian National AssemblyAbdelfattah Mourou.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh SabahAl-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his officialdelegation returned home late Saturday fromSaudi Arabia where he attended the funeral ofPrince Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,Minister of State, Monarch’s Advisor andForeign Affairs Supervisor.

His Highness the Amir was received at theairport by His Highness the Crown PrinceSheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah,Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of InteriorSheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah,Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs SheikhAli Jarrah Al-Sabah.

The delegation accompanying His Highnessthe Amir includes Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Sheikh Faisal Al-Saud Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, His Highness SheikhNasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah,Sheikh Salem Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, FirstDeputy Prime Minister and Foreign MinisterSheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah,Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Director of His Highness the Amir’sOffice Ahmad Fahad Al-Fahad and Kuwait’sAmbassador to Saudi Arabia Sheikh ThamerJaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. — KUNA

Amir returns from Jeddah

after offering condolences

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh SabahAl-Ahmad Al-Sabah is received by HisHighness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah upon returning to Kuwait.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah meets King Salman binAbdulaziz shortly after arrival in SaudiArabia. — Amiri Diwan photos

AMMAN/ARBIL: Syrian refugees in Jordan willhave free of charge medical care in the JordanRed Crescent Hospital for a year, according to anagreement signed in Amman yesterday. DeputyChairman of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society(KRCS) Anwar Al-Hasawi and his counterpart atJordan’s National Red Crescent Society (JNRCS)Eng Omar Abu-Goura inked the deal worth $500million. The agreement is part of Kuwait ’shumanitarian initiatives to provide medicaltreatment to Syrian refugees, KuwaitiAmbassador to Jordan Dr Hamad Al-Duaij said.

Meanwhile, Hasawi said that the deal fol-lowed a detailed study that assessed the capabil-ities of the JNRCS to support Syrians in theKingdom. He added that the JNRCS has beenactive in responding to the humanitarian needsof the refugees since the eruption of the Syriancrisis more than four year ago. Abu-Goura appre-ciated the KRCS for its support to the needyworldwide, regardless of faith, color or ethnicity.

The KRCS had also held an iftar banquet fororphans and Holy Quran memorizers onSaturday, part of the society’s breakfast cam-paign in Jordan. KRCS distributed boxes contain-ing food and clothes for the orphans, in Nour Al-Huda Center, for Eid Al-Fitr. They distributedboxes for 400 orphans and memorizers of theHoly Quran as part of the society’s philanthropicactivities in Jordan during the Holy month ofRamadan, Hasawi said, adding that the cam-paign was part of KRCS’s social responsibilitytowards people in need in different countries,and to blend this segment into the society.Hasawi, who thanked the people of Kuwait forcontributing to this campaign, commended theJordanian Red Crescent’s efforts to coordinatethe distribution of the aid for the needyJordanians or Syrian refugees.

Displaced childrenSeparately, Hasawi said that due to current

crisis in the region and in many Arab countries,particularly Iraq and Kurdistan region, “we all arefacing millions of children as refugees.” Headded in a statement that these children andtheir families became refugees, escaping theongoing armed clashes, leaving behind theirbasic needs, notably their school education,which is one of their principal rights.

Hasawi added that a new health aid cam-paign, in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry ofHealth, will be launched in all Iraqi provinces, forproviding necessities for the displaced, includ-ing shelter, in response to wishes of HisHighness the Amir of Kuwait, and as part ofKuwait’s ongoing humanitarian efforts “to aid tobrothers in Iraq.”

Hasawi noted that KRCS’s role was torespond swiftly to children’s needs and humani-tarian requirements in Iraq.

The official added that during a tour by aKRCS team grouping leaders and activists torefugee camps in Arbil, they witnessed desper-ate need for care and protection particularlyamong the children, as well as lack of properhealth and educational facilities in and outsidethe refugee camps.

In recent days, the KRCS started carrying outthe initial phase of a KD 200 million humanitari-an campaign, launched to help the refugees inIraq’s Kurdistan.

The campaign, the biggest aid campaign asof today, is carried out in collaboration withBarazani Charity Foundation. It will give outfood items to more than 26,000 displaced fami-lies in Harsham refugee camp in Kurdistan. Thefirst phase of this aid campaign will include dis-tribution of food items, Hasawi noted. — KUNA

AMMAN: KRCS Deputy Chairman Anwar Al-Hasawi and Kuwaiti Ambassador toJordan Dr Hamad Al-Duaij are pictured with children during an iftar banquet held inAmman Saturday. — KUNA photos

Kuwaiti, Jordanian societies offer

medical care to Syrian refugees

KUWAIT: Kuwait Society for Human Rights is setto participate in Action/2015; the biggest globalmovement to end poverty, inequality and cli-mate change. Action/2015 is organized byProject 189; an informal social organization aim-ing to protect, promote and improve the rightsof domestic workers in the Middle East. It is acoalition of over 1,600 organizations in around160 countries.

Projects manager at Kuwait Society forHuman Rights Sahil Al-Junaid said late Saturdaythat Action/2015 was announced by Pakistanischoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai when sheaccepted the Nobel Peace Prize last December2014. Kuwait’s participation in this campaignstems out of its support to all humanitarian

efforts, Junaid added. He noted that world lead-ers will convene in New York in September toagree on what needs to be done to end poverty,reduce inequality and tackle environmentaldestruction. Another meeting will be held inParis, in December, where they will cometogether again to decide on a new climateagreement with the potential to secure a saferplanet. The decisions made at these two gather-ings will help shape the fate of the next genera-tion and many more to come, he pointed out.Throughout 2015, everyone everywhere can getinvolved in influencing the outcomes of theseglobal debates by posting photos and com-ments under the campaign’s hashtag‘action2015.’ — KUNA

Kuwait participates

in Action/2015

L O C A LMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

CrimeR e p o r t

Duo held on drugssmuggling charges

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A citizen and his Egyptian friend were recentlyarrested with possession of drugs they had imported andwere trading in, said security sources. Narcotics detectiveshad been tipped off that the men had just imported a ship-ment of European hashish by air cargo. After raiding anapartment in Sabah Al-Salem which the suspects rented,the detectives found 1.5 kilograms of hashish, tools used inpreparing and packing the drug for sale, sums of moneyand a weapon. A case was filed and the suspects werereferred to relevant authorities.

Four injured in cooking gas explosionA fire broke out in a Jahra building, said securitysources. According to Jahra firemen, the fire wascaused by the explosion of a cooking gas cylinder,which blew off an apartment ceiling and an entire wallon the second floor. Four expatriates were injured inthe fire.

KUWAIT VOICES

‘I still believe there isgood in people’s hearts’By Ben Garcia

This Ramadan, Kuwait Times wants to shift the con-versation to the ordinary folks that make up themajority of this country. By listening to their sto-

ries and recognizing their humanity, we can remindourselves and hopefully our readers of the ties that bindus all together as a species.

Joseph Shagra, Kuwait Times’ resident photographerjoined the newspaper in 2000, but has been in Kuwaitsince 1964. His father came to Kuwait in 1961 and whenJoseph was eight years old, he and his mother followedhis father in Kuwait.

Even before joining Kuwait Times, Joseph has had aconsiderable experience as a photographer. After beinginvited by his nephew, Joseph joined Al-Risala newspa-per in 1971 and started his professional career as a pho-tographer.

From Al-Risala newspaper, Joseph worked for Al-Siyyasah newspaper for six months, then went back towork for Al-Risala, when he was allowed to work part-time. Then, from Al-Risala, Joseph transferred to workfor an Arabic sports magazine for the years 1983 until2000. “During those years, I also worked for many mag-azines and newspapers as a freelance photographer,”Joseph said. With his nephew, Joseph tried his luck andapplied for a visa in the United States. Unfortunately,only his nephew managed to get the visa. “We appliedfor a visa to the US together. My nephew got the visaand I did not so I got stuck with the newspaper till now,”he explained.

Asked if there was a time in his life when he feltalone, Joseph answered yes. “I felt alone when mywhole family left for Syria,” he said.

Joseph was with his family for many years in Kuwait;his children even studied here during their kinder-garten and elementary years, but in 2010, he decided tosend them back to Syria - just a year before the situa-tion in Syria turned bad.

“I managed to overcome all these because I just ded-icated my life in my work and I am used to it now,” hesaid. Asked on what important lesson or lessons helearned in his life so far, Joseph said that he learned thathe should not trust anybody, not even friends or rela-tives. “Of course that is what I want to believe but at theend of the day, I keep on trusting people because I stillbelieve there is something good in people’s hearts,” heconfessed.

KUWAIT: Army Chief of Staff LieutenantGeneral Mohammad Khaled AlKhedervowed yesterday to resolutely protect anddefend the homeland.

While visiting the Striking Squad of theLand Force, Lieutenant General Al-Kheder

lauded efforts being exerted to protectthe homeland, the Defense Ministry ’sDirectorate of Moral Guidance and PublicRelations said in a press statement.

He said that a l l personnel of thearmed forces are up to responsibility, the

statement added.Kheder conveyed the greetings of

Deputy Pr ime Minister and DefenseMinister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabahto the army’s personnel, it noted. The visitref lected Al-Kheder ’s interest in the

Kuwaiti Army’s personnel, it said. Khederwas accompanied by Deputy Army Chiefof Staff Lieutenant General Abdullah Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah and the Commander ofLand Force Major General Khaled SalehAl-Sabah. — KUNA

Army chief vows determinationto defend national security

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: A Pakistani man who is wanted to serve up to100 years in prison for several drug-related verdicts wasrecently arrested at the free trade zone and referred to rel-evant authorities.

‘Very hot’ weatherAccording to Kuwaiti Meteorological department, the

weather forecast for the next 24 hours includes very hotdaytime with light to moderate north westerly wind andrelatively hot nighttime with light variable wind.

Mosque clinics Medical Emergency Department Manager Dr Faisal Al-

Ghanim said that the Ministry of Health paramedicsresponded to 391 cases over the previous six nights of latenight prayers in clinics distributed to the Grand Mosque,Bilal Mosque in Siddiq and Jaber Al-Ali Mosque in Shohada.

Ghanim explained that paramedics provided medicalcare to 242 persons at the Grand Mosque while 2 personshad to be taken to the hospital; 85 persons were attendedto at Bilal mosque and 62 at Jaber Al-Ali Mosque. Most ofthe cases included hypertension, diabetes, exhaustion anddyspnoea (breathlessness). Meanwhile, Ghanim said that inpreparation for the last ten days of Ramadan, the ministryhad prepared two clinics for men and two for women inaddition to one at the VIP reception at the Grand Mosque.“We have 12 clinics in total in all three mosques, 13 ambu-lances, 58 paramedics and paramedic scooters,” he said.

Man sent to serve lifeimprisonment sentence

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Kuwait Times is publishing daily reviews of three Kuwaitisoap operas aired on Al Rai TV. Here are the reviews of episodes 22to 24:

‘Qabil lil kaser’ Hadeel has a plan to make Ali feel jealous and agree to her

demands, so she makes a woman call her mother saying her sonwants to propose to her daughter. So her parents ask her if sheagrees to marry him, and she says yes, so they are surprised. WhenAli comes to know about it, he gets angry, but Hadeel again tellshim he has to marry Jinan to get rich and marry her. She warnshim if he refuses, she will marry anyone who proposes to her. Sohe agrees to marry Jinan.

Raja is inventing stories about Jinan and Ali and telling each ofthem that the other one admires him or her. She tells Jinan that Aliwas asking her about Jinan’s personal life and her first marriage,saying he likes her. Then she lets the new employee tell Ali that heheard Jinan talking nicely about him. Raja also tells Sulaiman thatJinan doesn’t love him anymore.

Wed is trying not to let Rakan spend money as she knows he ispoor, so she says she didn’t like any of the bedrooms they saw,and she also wants to eat from cheap restaurants. Wed invitesHadeel to her wedding and she goes with Ali, who asks Jinan ifshe loves him as he is in love with her. Jinan then tries to avoid Ali,so he goes to her office to talk to her and propose to her. At thismoment, Sulaiman comes and fights with Ali. They go to thepolice station and Yousef’s friend calls him, so he goes to the sta-tion too. Jinan tells Wed she loves Ali and Wed is happy. Then Wedtells Rakan that Jinan loves Ali and they may soon get married.Rakan is upset as he knows about Hadeel’s plan and can’t believehis friend Ali will do it. He tells his mother Moza about it, who alsodoesn’t believe it.

Sulaiman finds out that Raja bought a villa in Turkey and fightswith her. She tells him she wants to move as she is fed up of hid-ing and cheating on her friend. But Sulaiman says he can’t leave ashis whole life is here. He asks Hiba to tell Yousef to fight with Jinanand demands his money, but Hiba refuses.

Fahd comes back from the honeymoon, and his mother ismaking problems for Zahra as she doesn’t like her. She provokesher all the time, and then she even bans her from using thekitchen or cooking. So Fahd reminds her of the secret of the bagand demands that she treats Zahra well.

Mariam is not paying attention to Bu Fahd, so he goes to heroffice and blames her. She apologizes for being busy with work.He listens to love songs all the time, and also doesn’t like to spendtime with his wife.

‘Ummina Rwehit Al Jannah’Fahd admits he knew that Ghala was in love with his brother

Fawzi as his late wife Hala told him they were about to get mar-ried. But he loves her more than his late wife. Ghala then tellsFawzi her husband knows about them, so Fawzi fights with him.

Nouf has an accident and people think she has died, but she

hasn’t. Her mother wants to take her home, but Fawzi insists shegoes back home and her mother can come there. Fawzi tries tolove her and forget Ghala.

Farouq comes home tired and tells Taiba he cheated on herand wants her to forgive him. Taiba has more plans to get rid ofGhada for good. She tells Ghada that they want to rent her flatand there is someone who wants to see the flat. Taiba goes withFarouq to get a few things from their flat at the same time aprospective tenant enters the bedroom. When he touchesGhada’s hand, Farouq sees them and fights with him, and tells herto leave within three days. Futuh finds out her mother transferredall her money to Switzerland, so she files a case against Nooriyafor keeping Fatma at her house, as Fatma is legally incompetent.At the police station, Futuh says she will drop the case if Nooriyasigns a pledge that she would never approach Fatma.

Faisal wants to commit suicide so he can donate his heart tohis nephew Nasser, so he buys coal, and at the supermarket hesees a man shouting at his son, and finds out he’s his stepfather.He then calls the husband of his ex-wife, telling him he will file acase to get the guardianship of his children, so he brings them toFaisal. His ex-wife comes to Faisal looking for the kids, so Faisalthen gives her the kids. While Fawziya was talking to her ex-hus-band in front of the house, they see guy who played the role ofthe witness paid by Futuh. He said he came for Futuh and admitsshe paid him and Fatma is innocent. Futuh comes and tells themhis girlfriend paid for the maid to say this. So Fawziya gets angryand leaves. The next day, she brings the suitcase of Fajer andleaves her there. When Fajer follows her mother’s car, a car hits her.

Shihab is trying to get closer to Fayza. He calls her, and shedecides she has to get a divorce from Hamad first. So she calls himwhile he is at the cinema, but he tells her to send a message,which she sends by mistake to Shihab, who goes to meet her. Hesees her and when he starts talking to her, Hamad arrives, so heleaves, saying it was a mistake.

‘Thakira min Waraq’ Najd takes Shouq outside to change her depressed mood.

There she sees Nawaf with Mashael in a boat and they leave.Mashael convinces Nawaf to come to her flat to give him a gift,but Najd comes with the rest of the girls and sees them together.She yells at him and blames him, and he leaves. Mashael followshim. Mashael’s father gets married again secretly to anotherwoman. This time his son knows about it, but doesn’t tell hismother although she is paying him to watch his father. The fatherpromises to let him marry the younger sister of his second wifeand arrange a house for him.

Fajer tells her father who adopted her that she wants to livewith her parents after she found out he is not her real father. Shereturns to Kuwait and insists to live with her poor parents in theirold house. Her real father then tells her she has to go back to heradoptive father as their life is miserable.

Jassem marries Diana and takes her with him to Kuwait. Heinforms his wife so she’s not shocked at the airport. They all live inthe same house. Noora decides to marry her colleague Mark. Najdis not sure if she loves Ali although she misses him.

GSSCPD addresses obstaclesfacing clean fuel project

KUWAIT: The General Secretariat of the Supreme Councilfor Planning and Development (GSSCPD) underscoredSaturday the importance of following up and registeringthe obstacles that the project of implementing the envi-ronmentally friendly fuel is facing.

The statement was made by Khaled Mahdi, head of thefollow-up at the GSSCPD, when a team paid a visit to theKuwait National Petroleum Company to be acquaintedwith the procedures of implementing the project. The visitaimed to follow up and register obstacles to be included inthe monthly report that is referred to the Cabinet, he not-ed. Forming the follow-up teams and paying field visits arepart of the recommendations of the Supreme Council forPlanning and Development, he said. The project of theenvironmentally friendly fuel is a quantum leap of the oilrefining industry in Kuwait and strengthens the competi-tiveness of Kuwaiti oil products before the environmentalterms, he added.

The cornerstone of the project was established lastMarch, with the aim of developing the two refineries ofMina Abdullah and Al-Ahmadi Ports in accordance withhigh-quality standards. This move aims to provide safeenergy and create many opportunities for citizens as wellas produce oil products with high quality. — KUNA

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Industry(PAI) has asked to withdraw the land plotsit had allocated for Al-Watan Press andPublishing House Company now that itscommercial license had been cancelled.

In this regard, PAI contacted theMinistr y of Commerce and Industr yrequesting to withdraw the usufruct rightit had issued to Al-Watan to use variousland plots in several areas for various pur-poses.

School curriculumsMP Saleh Ashour urged Minister of

Education and Higher Education Dr BaderAl-Essa to teach Shiite ‘Twelver’ principlesin schools and asked whether the ministryintends amending or changing theIslamic Education curriculums. Ashourmainly focused on parts of the IslamicEducation curriculums that prohibit visit-ing tombs and graves. “What about visit-ing the tomb of Prophet Mohammad(PBUH)?” he inquired, calling for havingcurriculums that call for more tolerance

and acceptance of others.

Conscription law MP Abdullah Maayouf expressed wishes

that the government would pass the billproposed by the Defense Minister SheikhKhaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah to activate theconscription law within the few comingmonths. “The law should take effect oneyear after its publication in the officialgazette but since it includes a wider agerange starting from 18 years and sincepreparations for this are not yet ready at

camps, the law activation was delayed,” heexplained.

Retirement Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh referred

over 100 senior finance ministry officials toretirement for spending 30 years in service.The finance ministry justified the decisionby following the cabinet decision madeupon request from the Civil ServicesCommission and said that further decisionswould be issued soon promoting someemployees to fill in the vacancies.

Commerce Ministry asked towithdraw Al-Watan land plots

GCC security chiefs urgedto eliminate terror crimesKUWAIT: Deputy Premier and Interior Minister SheikhMohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah urgedheads of political security departments in the GCCcountries to be more vigilant and exchange informa-tion to eliminate terror crimes.

Sheikh Mohammad and the political security chiefsexchanged views over latest security developmentsfollowing the deadly attacks on mosques in SaudiArabia and Kuwait, the interior ministry said in a state-ment Saturday.

Two attacks on two mosques took place in SaudiArabia cities of Qateef and Dammam killing andwounding several people. A deadly attack on Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in downtown Kuwait during Ramadanthis year claimed lives of 26 martyrs and injured 227others.

Sheikh Mohammad said more vigilance was need-ed in addition to rapid share of information in order toeliminate these terror crimes in a drive to safeguardsecurity and safety of citizens. The meeting wasattended by Interior Undersecretary General SulaimanAl-Fahad and his Assistant for State Security Major-General Esam Al-Nahham.

Sheikh Mohammad, meanwhile, said ministryís per-sonnel highly appreciated His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahís speech,which he delivered two days ago, in which he praisedthe security forces for their rapid apprehension of per-petrators of Imam Al-Sadiq mosque. — KUNA

Ramadan soap operas’ review

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

IQRA

Besmellah

26. What is the First revelation of Holy Quran - Justtell the first word?

AlrahmanKhayber

1436 - 2015

Photoo f t h e d a y

A photograph from the book ‘Faces of Kuwait’ by Jack Wozniak (researched by Mahmoud Zakariya)shows a waiter pouring tea inside a coffee shop.

KUWAIT: Canadian Ambassador to Kuwait MartineMoreau addresses the audience.

Australian Ambassador to Kuwait Warren Hauck speaksat the event.—Photos by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: The Canadian Business Council (CBC) organizedan International Business Ramadan Night - ghabqa lastFriday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The event was supportedby the American Business Council Kuwait (ABCK), BritishBusiness Forum (BBF) and Australian Business Group(AusBG).

Ishtiaq Malik, President of the CBC, welcomed the gath-ering and thanked everyone present for attending theRamadan ghabqa and giving their support to the event.Malik thanked the Canadian Ambassador to KuwaitMartine Moreau for the support and cooperation extendedby the Canadian Embassy to the council. Malik alsothanked Australian ambassador Warren Hauck for joiningthis ghabqa event and his support. Making tonight a realitywas not just the result of the wonderful support receivedfrom the CBC’s own members, it has been incredibly fortu-nate to have the support of several other prominent busi-ness councils and groups here in Kuwait.

Addressing the gathering, Canadian Ambassador toKuwait Martine Moreau offered sincerest thanks and grati-tude to fellow local business associations for supportingthis evening. Their leadership and staff have invested theirtime in helping the CBC raise awareness and promote thisevening amongst the various business communities andfor this we are most grateful. Gatherings such as this allowfor us to get acquainted and share our experiences.Moreau appreciated the role played by the council in pro-moting trade relations between Kuwait and Canada.

Australian Ambassador to Kuwait Warren Hauck alsoaddressed the gathering and spoke about the huge tradepotential existing in Kuwait for the business council’s totap.

Each of the council representatives also spoke on theoccasion expressing their support and good wishes. JackyPerkins UK Deputy Head of Mission addressed the audi-ence and appreciated all the efforts from the participatingbusiness councils and group.

Graham Kenny - BBF Chairman, Ibrahim Alhamad -AusBG President, Jack Montgomery - ABCK Vice Chairmanthanked all and assured support from their businesscouncils and group for such future joint events.

AUSA Kuwait Chapter President Randy Williams wel-comed the idea of such joint gatherings and hoped to con-tinue. Members of the International Business Communityincluding the Italian, Spanish, Turkey and Greek counter-parts attended the function.

Malik thanked CBC EC members Basil Toutoungi, DrDavid McHardy and Nadia Hammouda for their active par-ticipation in the success of this event. Also appreciationgoes to Sheeba Pius from BBF and Angelina Lantaca fromthe CiK. They all worked very hard to raise awareness aboutthis event and helped CBC throughout various aspects ofthe planning process.

Malik thanked main sponsors KLM/AIR FRANCE AlaaAlbosta and KARAZ Market Moussa Hamad. The event con-cluded with a grand buffet and prizes for some lucky win-ners.

Canadian Business Counciljointly hosts Ramadan ghabqa

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecom-munications company in Kuwait, con-tinues its extensive Corporate SocialResponsibility program during theHoly Month of Ramadan by organiz-ing interactive visits to hospitals toshare the blessings of Ramadan withchildren and patients. The companyvisited the hospitals during thisblessed time of year to distribute giftsand ‘gergean’ to children and theirfamilies and celebrate the occasion ina family atmosphere full of joy andhappiness.

Zain mentioned that the annualhospital visits initiative is part of thecompany’s solid CSR campaign during

the Holy Month, where the companyaims to share the joys and blessings ofRamadan with different segments ofthe society. Zain’s team distributedgifts to a number of Kuwait’s biggestand most prominent hospitals includ-ing Al-Amiri, Al-Farwaniyah, Al-Razi,and Al-Jahra hospitals.

The company further expressed itsheartfelt appreciation and gratitudeto all the parties involved in organiz-ing the visits including hospital staff,officials, and the children’s families,who all helped draw a smile on thefaces of the children.

Zain highlighted that the aim ofundertaking the annual hospital visits

during special occasions is part of thecompany’s commitment to celebrat-ing the Holy Month of Ramadanthrough ongoing social activities thatgenerate a sense of generosity andcaring. As a responsible telecommuni-cations company, Zain looks toimprove the lives of the people withinthe communities it serves.

This year, Zain’s CSR program pro-vided an extensive array of programsduring the Holy Month, including thedistribution of daily iftar meals; thedistribution of essential food supplies‘Machla’ to needy families; and the lat-est visit to the Ministry of SocialAffairs’ care centers.

Zain shares Ramadan blessingswith children in hospitals

KUWAIT: As a gratitude for their continu-ous support in covering all the hotel’sexclusive events and offers, Holiday InnSalmiya hosted its annual Ramadanghabqa to honor all the media and jour-nalists representatives In addition to thehotel top corporate accounts in recogni-tion of their loyalty to the hotel over thepast years as they have made the HolidayInn Salmiyah their premier choice.

Guests upon arrival were welcomedby the hotel management team headedby Monjed Salha the General Manager,who addressed the invitees, warmly wel-comed their presence and expressed hisappreciation for their constant supportfor the hotel during the year around andwished them to spend a great evening.

During the event, the invitees were

entertained by 4 different live shows thatreflects the traditional Ramadan celebra-tions in the middle east and later on theywere treated with a lavish buffet featur-ing variety of international cuisines pre-pared by the master chefs of Holiday InnSalmiya, in addition to the distinctive livecooking stations with wide variety offresh dishes beside the dessert and freshfruit section that reflected the high stan-dards of hospitality.

Also two raffle draws took placewhere all lucky attendees won manyvaluable prizes provided by pioneergroup of companies in Kuwait includingairline tickets presented by the RoyalJordanian Airlines and Gulf Air, severalelectronics provided by Durrat Al KuwaitCo and valuable vouchers offered from

Sama Dental Clinic and complimentaryhotel stay offered by IHG hotels.

Holiday Inn Salmiya welcome allguests with an outfit reflecting the glam-orous spirit of Ramadan, offering themthe finest Arabian hospitality, wherethey can spend a great times with theirfamily and friends and enjoy iftar orsohor delicious menus at Sakura, RibEye , Al Diwan international buffet orAyam Zaman Lebanese restaurant buf-fet and get a chance to enter a weeklyraffle on airline tickets to many destina-tions, latest in technology electronicsand valuable dental services vouchersor they can simply have it at their placewith the outstanding culinary optionsoffered by the catering and events serv-ices.

Holiday Inn Salmiya hosts annual ghabqa

F r o m t he A r a bic pr e s sMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

Many people have neither the ability nor the timeto do research or even to verify the validity ofwhatever they hear. They simply form opinions

based on those of some ignorant people or even falselyaccuse specialized scientists without scrutinizing such sto-ries, and take those opinions as excuses. We do believethat except for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), nobody’sopinion is non-negotiable. Therefore, those who makecertain judgments are rewarded for it and judgmentsmade by scientists are trustworthy ones that can never beconsidered wrong or provoke to do anything wrong.

Blaming some scientists or scholars whenever some-thing goes wrong without having minimal knowledge ofsharia jurisprudence or other related sciences is absolutelyunfair, especially when some people go as far as question-ing the science, the person or even pin false accusations atthem though they have spent their life in quest for knowl-edge and science with the aim of providing us with thesimplest explanations and interpretations that would helpus worship Allah. In Surat Al-Tawba, Almighty Allah says:“And the believers should not all go out to fight. Of everytroop of them, a party only should go forth, that they(who are left behind) may gain sound knowledge in reli-gion, and that they may warn their folk when they returnto them, so that they may beware”( Al-Tawba 122).

We recently heard many rumors accusing some schol-ars of promoting tumults and calling for disagreeing withthe majority of Muslims. Such accusations are either basedon false and incorrect explanations of some of their fatwasand opinions or failing to understand those opinions, andthus these scholars are being used as scapegoats.

Reading about one of the greatest Muslim scholars,Sheikh-ul-islam Ibn Taimiya, we find that his life was spentin quest for science. He was the first to hold the title of‘Sheikh-ul-islam’. He was famous for hadith, jurisprudence,philosophy, logic, astronomy, math and algebra. He wrotemany books and many scholars, such as Ibn Al-Qayyem,were apprenticed by him.

The main reason for tumults is misinterpretation ofIslam and Muslim scholars’ fatwas and opinions by somepeople to achieve their own goals. So, for the sake of notslandering the names of those great scholars, let us notuse their name as excuses for our mistakes.

—Translated by Kuwait Times

Making

excuses

Al-Anbaa

By Dr Mutlaq Al-Qarawi

Al-Jarida

Awhile ago, electricity was disconnected foronly one hour, but that was enough to fill allsocial media networks with grumbling and

complaints as if it is impossible for us to suffer fromblackouts and that this does not happen in mostcountries. We seem to keep forgetting that evenplanets and stars that arecontrolled and run by divinepowers suffer from eclipses.In addition, those planetsmay suffer from natural dis-asters such as floods, tor-rents and earthquakes.

If only those complainerswould remember that theythemselves are but individ-ual parts of a larger system and focus more on self-reform, things would be far much better for every-one. We are all parts and segments of a larger systemand if these parts are good enough, the entire sys-tem will be so. If only we scrutinize each price ofinformation we receive through social media before

sharing it with others, we would then have less criti-cism, lies and rumors. Many Internet stories are merelies and rumors that have been viciously and merci-lessly designed for evil reasons.

Just like satisfaction, exasperation is a collectivemental state that may dominate an entire society.

One may find a society thatis full of satisfaction, accept-ance, tolerance and busydespite poverty and naturaldisasters. On the otherhand, a society like ourshere in Kuwait is mainlydominated by grumbling,dissatisfaction and com-plaining. Many of the citi-

zens have become experts in expressing malcontent,grumpiness and dissatisfaction, focusing only on thedark side of things despite its insignificance com-pared to the bright ones in an oil-rich state that pro-vides its ‘grumbling’ citizens with all forms of freecare! —Translated by Kuwait Times

Complainers

Al-Anbaa

By Salah Al-Sayer

For those who do not know the meaning of infor-mation, in a few simple lines, information is a mir-ror that reflects the society and is a basic element

for any society that wants to be civilized and advanced. If we read the studies on the importance of informa-

tion, we find that all are unanimous in saying that infor-mation is an effective factor, whether positively or neg-atively, on the individual and the society. And that isinformation and this is what we seek in our column.

The Arab society, not only that in Kuwait, suffersfrom severe poverty when it comes to information andhow to use information to carry out the sense of identi-ty. Some people may say that we are demanding ideal-ism and demanding censorship moulds, but here wetell them “no.”

When our societies are hit with paralysis and sterilitybecause of terrorism, information should immediatelyinterfere through idealism and bringing back themoulds to reduce the clowning and degeneration thatis broadcasted through channels, be it government orprivate. Yet the question remains, where do we start?

Correction and guidance does not come throughtalk shows, not through repeated documentaries andother methods that may be thought to agree with ourera. And this is ‘idealism’ and ‘moulds’ rejected by manyviewers, which they do not watch; and my words jointhat rejection, because the idealism and moulds thatwe want out of our information are the conveyance ofthe truth through all that is new, modern and liked bythe viewer. For example, we did not see simplified andshort musicals that promote national unity and sup-ported by government bodies. Another example, wehave not seen talk shows that speak with the reality ofthe street and interact with the public and take theiropinions and suggestions of our lived reality at the timeso that the programs can become an outlet for themand the popular opinions and suggestions is reactedupon by the concerned authorities. Many ideas in theworld of information, for those who know what theword media means, are built on strengthening thenational feeling and working on developing nationalunity.

Last but not the least, we did not see or hear a pro-gram during this difficult stage the Arab nation is goingthrough, and I mean Kuwait in particular, that speaks ofthe hardships Kuwait went through to becomereminders for Kuwaitis.

Finally, on August 2, the anniversary of the Iraqi inva-sion of Kuwait, we hope from you, the information min-ister, that this gets your administrative and govern-ment’s interest; and stay away from the old and familiarmovies that have become a used up information mate-rial that are not seen or heard anymore.

—Translated by Kuwait Times

Information and

national unity

Al-Anbaa

By Nermin Al-Hooti

CrimeR e p o r t

Fugitive drives

under the influence

KUWAIT: A citizen was recently arrested for drivingthrough a red traffic light, said security sources. The manwas found driving under the influence of drugs, and wasdiscovered to be wanted for arrest over seven differentcases, the sources added.

Officer insulted

A traffic policeman reported that a citizen who hehad ticketed for a traffic violation insulted him andrefused to show his driver’s license and registrationbefore he drove off from the scene. A case was filedand further investigations are in progress.

Public indecency

Mubarak Al-Kabeer security forces recently arrested acitizen and his girlfriend while they were sharing a‘moment of intimacy’ inside his vehicle in a parking, asdescribed by a security source. They were charged withpublic indecency.

Roommates fight

An Egyptian man recently sustained head injuries ina fight with his compatriot roommate, said securitysources. Case papers indicate that a man reportedto Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh police station with a medicalreport of head injuries he said he received from hisroommate. The man explained that he was sleepingwhen his roommate was watching TV putting thevolume up too high. When he asked him to keep itdown, they both argued before their argumentescalated into a fight. A case was field and furtherinvestigations are in progress.

Extremist speech

Car theft

A citizen reported that someone stole his vehicle whenhe left it after it had broken down along the fifth ringroad opposite Jabriya. The man said that he had left hissports-utility-vehicle (SUV) when it broke down andwent to fetch technical help, but it was nowhere to befound when he returned.

Reading about one of thegreatest Muslim scholars,

Sheikh-ul-islam Ibn Taimiya,we find that his life was spent

in quest for science. He wasthe first to hold the title of

‘Sheikh-ul-islam’.

Just like satisfaction, exas-peration is a collective mental

state that may dominate anentire society

KD 50 max pay

increase for expats

to be changedKUWAIT: The Manpower Public Authority is expected tochange an order approved recently and sets the maximumannual salary increase an expatriate worker could receiveat KD 50. The step comes as part of measures to amend anumber of existing regulations and improve the labor mar-ket’s quality, Al-Rai daily reported yesterday quotinginformed sources.

The Ministr y of Social Affairs and Labor hadannounced the maximum salary increase cap last monthbased on a request from the Interior Ministry’s GeneralTraffic Department. The idea was to help reduce trafficjams and issuance of driver’s licenses to expatriates, aswell as prevent manipulation in which some peoplechange their job titles or salary in the application toreceive a driver’s license. Expatriates in Kuwait must havea college degree and a minimum of KD 600 to obtain adriver’s license, but there are exception given to peopleworking in certain jobs such as engineers, journalists andcompany representatives.

The exact details about the expected amendments arenot clear yet, but the sources who spoke on the conditionof anonymity said that they are likely to provide more flexi-bility bearing in mind the varying educational levels andfields of work among the expatriate labor force. “Applyingthe KD 50 maximum increase generally and forcing it onexpatriates in all job fields is illogical,” the sources admit-ted. On the other hand, they said that the amendments areexpected to contain restrictions to prevent exploitation,saying for example that “it is illogical for a work permit tobe submitted with a job title as a ‘building janitor’ and amonthly salary of KD 700.” —Al-Rai

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank recently sponsoredAl Rayah’s freshmen orientation eventwhich took place at ZomorrudaBallroom. The orientation event washeld to welcome over 500 studentswho were recently accepted in univer-sities in the United Kingdom andIreland through the Ministry of HigherEducation Scholarships.

The event was attended byMatthew Lodge, British Ambassador toKuwait, and included several work-shops and booths that introduced dif-ferent cities and course majors in theUK and Ireland. The

Al Rayah serves all Kuwaiti studentspursuing education in the UnitedKingdom and Ireland. It helpsstrengthen collaborative ties andfriendship among them by offeringacademic, cultural and national pro-grams geared towards facilitating theireducation years away from home.

Gulf Bank’s sponsorship of thisevent as well as other student activitiesand events in the UK and Ireland are

part of its continued commitmenttowards society. It also stems from itscorporate social responsibility strategyand continued participation in varioussocial activities and initiatives that sup-port Kuwait youth and help themachieve their dreams while creating acollaborative effort, raising awarenessand solidifying relationships among

society’s various categories. Gulf Bank is fully committed to

suppor ting and developing theyouth through a wide variety ofsocial activities and events, educa-tion and development initiatives. Formore details about these initiatives,please visit the bank’s bilingual web-site www.e-gulfbank.com.

Gulf Bank sponsors Al Rayah’s

freshman orientation event

KD 15,000 robbery

An Indian man living in Salmiya reported that uniden-tified robbers had broken into his apartment andstole KD 3000 in cash, 250 grams of gold, a diamondnecklace and a diamond watch. The man estimatedthe stolen items value at KD 15,000. A case was filedand investigations are ongoing. A building janitoralso reported that someone had broken into his roomand stolen KD 2,160 in cash. The man explained thatthe money was part of the rent he had just collected.A case was filed. — Al-Rai, Al-Anbaa

Burgan Bank announces

value account draw winner

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank today announced Ranjan SamanKumara as the winner of its Value Account draw. The luckywinner received the prize from Haneen Al Rumaihi, AssistantGeneral Manager, Marketing and Product Development.

The Value Account has been re-launched with moreadded value features that have been designed for expatriatesliving in Kuwait. Account holders can now obtain a free creditcard for one year, apply for a loan, and receive a chance towin KD 4,000 on a quarterly basis. All expatriates withsalaries of KD 150 and above are eligible to be a Valueaccount holder.

Burgan Bankís renewed Value account presents a range ofmerchant discounts to the clients. Opening a Value account issimple, customers are required to visit their nearest BurganBank branch, or simply call the bankís Call Center 1804080 formore details. For further information visit www.burgan.com.

Pope wraps up South America tour with visit to Paraguay slum

Page 10

Bali airport reopens after new volcano ash shutdownPage 13

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

ALMOLOYA DE JU¡REZ: Mexican drug lordJoaquin “El Chapo” Guzman escaped through alengthy tunnel under his prison cell’s shower,authorities said yesterday, marking his secondjail break and an embarrassing blow to the gov-ernment.

A massive manhunt was launched afterGuzman vanished late Saturday from theAltiplano maximum-security prison, some 90kilometers (55 miles) west of Mexico City. TheSinaloa cartel kingpin, whose empire stretchesaround the globe, had been in prison for 17months after spending 13-years on the lam.

After security cameras lost sight of Guzman,guards went into the cell and found a hole 10meters (33 feet) deep with a ladder, NationalSecurity Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubidosaid. The gap led to the 1.5-kilometer (one-mile)tunnel with a ventilation and light system,Rubido said, adding that its exit was in a buildingthat was under construction in central MexicoState. A motorcycle on a rail system was found inthe tunnel and is believed to have been used totransport tools and remove earth from the space,which was 1.7 meters high and around 80 cen-timeters (2.6 feet) wide.

Rubido said 18 prison guards will be interro-gated by prosecutors in Mexico City. UntilGuzman escaped, Rubido said, “the day hadgone on normally and at around 8:00 pm he wasgiven his daily dose of medicine.”

Some 250 police and troops guarded the out-skirts of the vast prison, surrounded by cornfields, while a helicopter hovered overheads.

Soldiers manned checkpoints on the nearbyhighway, using flashlights to look at the faces ofcar passengers and searching car trunks and thebacks of trucks.

Flights were suspended at the nearby Tolucaairport. The Altiplano prison in central MexicoState houses the country’s most notorious druglords, murderers and kidnappers.

Guzman’s first break from prison was in 2001,when he slipped past authorities by hiding in a

laundry cart. He had been arrested in Guatemalain 1993.

Marines had recaptured him in February 2014in a pre-dawn raid in a condo in Mazatlan, aPacific resort in Sinaloa state, with the help of theUS Drug Enforcement Administration.

Authorities had already investigated a strangeprison visit to Guzman in March, when a womanmanaged to see him by using a fake ID to get in.

Wanted in USHis second escape is sure to embarrass the

administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto,who was flying to France for a state visit whenGuzman fled.

Pena Nieto’s government had won praise forcapturing the powerful kingpin, a diminutive butfeared man whose nickname means “Shorty.”

After his last capture, the government had

paraded Guzman in front of television cameras,showing the mustachioed mafia boss being frog-marched by two marines before taking him toprison on a helicopter.

The US government had hailed his capture as“landmark achievement” while some US prosecu-tors wanted to ask for his extradition, butMexican officials insisted on trying him first.

‘Public Enemy Number One’ Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel empire stretches

along Mexico’s Pacific coast and deals drugs tothe United States and as far as Europe and Asia.His legend grew in the years that followed hisfirst escape.

The United States had offered a $5 millionreward for information leading to his arrest,while the city of Chicago-a popular destinationfor Sinaloa narcotics-declared him “Public EnemyNumber One,” joining American gangster AlCapone as the only criminal to ever get themoniker. Folk ballads known as “narcocorridos,”tributes to drug capos, sang his praises.

He used to be on Forbes magazine’s list of bil-lionaires until the US publication said in 2013that it could not verify his wealth and that itbelieved he was increasingly spending his for-tune on protection.

He married an 18-year-old beauty queen,Emma Coronel, in 2007 and is believed to have10 children with various women.

Coronel was with him when he was arrestedlast year. His capture sparked small protests bysupporters in Culiacan, Sinaloa’s capital, whereGuzman nurtured a Robin Hood image.

In Culiacan, authorities found a home with abathtub that rose up electronically to open asecret tunnel that he used to escape the authori-ties before being caught in Mazatlan.

His cartel became entangled in brutal turfwars against the paramilitary-like Zetas carteland other gangs for years.

More than 80,000 people have been killed indrug violence in Mexico since 2006.

The drug war began to escalate after formerpresident Felipe Calderon sent the army andnavy to rein in the cartels in 2006, a deploymentthat analysts say exacerbated the violence.

More than 10,000 were killed in Ciudad Juarezalone in violence attributed to battles betweenSinaloa and Juarez cartel members for suprema-cy in the key drug corridor at the border with theUS state of Texas. — AFP

Mexico kingpin ‘Chapo’ escapes prison via tunnelSecond jail break, embarrassing blow to government

MEXICO CITY: In this Feb. 22, 2014, file photo, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in handcuffs, is escorted to a helicopter by Mexican navymarines in Mexico City, Mexico. Mexico’s security commission has announced early yesterday that Guzman has escaped from a maximumsecurity prison for the second time. The commission said a search operation was being set into motion in the surrounding area and flightshave been suspended at Toluca airport near the penitentiary outside Mexico City. — AP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

JERUSALEM: Israeli police said yester-day they have arrested several Jewishsuspects over an arson attack lastmonth at a shrine where Christiansbelieve Jesus performed the miracle ofloaves and fishes.

The arson had sparked widespreadcondemnation and concern fromChristians globally, with the site visitedby some 5,000 people daily, while alsodrawing renewed attention to reli-giously linked hate crimes in Israel.

“Several Jewish suspects have beenarrested for the burning of the churchand the Nazareth court has decided toextend their detention for the purposesof the investigation,” police spokes-woman Luba Samri said in a statement

of the overnight arrests.Police did not provide a number or

further details on their identities, butan ultra-nationalist organisation saidthree young Jewish men had beenarrested.

Another police spokesman said thearrests followed an undercover investi-gation also involving the Shin Bet inter-nal security agency.

The Church of the Multiplication atTabgha, on the northwestern shore ofthe Sea of Galilee, is at the site wheremany Christians believe Jesus fed the5,000 in the miracle of the five loavesand two fish.

One of the buildings within thecompound was completely destroyed

in the blaze but the church itself wasnot damaged.

Hebrew graffiti was found on anoth-er building within the complex, reading“Idols will be cast out” or destroyed. Thetext is part of a common Jewish prayer.

Religiously inspired hate crimes A modern church currently sits at

the site, incorporating remains of a 5th-centur y Byzantine church and itsmosaics. The first building constructedthere, a small chapel, is believed tohave been built in the 4th century.

Versions of what Christians believewas Jesus’s miracle are recounted in allfour of the gospels of the NewTestament of the Bible. The site is now

owned by the German Roman CatholicChurch.

Father Gregory Collins, head of theSaint Benedictine Order in Israel, whichoversees the church, last month calledthe arson “an attack on Israeli democra-cy, not just on a religious group”.

There has been a long line of attackson Christian and Muslim holy places inboth Israel and the West Bank in whichthe perpetrators are believed to havebeen Jewish extremists.

Tabgha was subjected to a previousattack in April 2014 in which churchofficials said a group of religious Jewishteenagers had damaged crosses andassaulted clergy.

In the immediate wake of last

month’s attack, police had detained 16young Jewish settlers, but they werelater released without charge after pro-viding statements.

Ten of those initially detained werefrom Yitzhar, a Jewish settlement in theWest Bank which is known as a bastionof extremists and where some residentshave been involved in previous hatecrimes.

In April, vandals smashed grave-stones at a Maronite Christian cemeterynear Israel ’s nor thern border withLebanon.

That attack prompted PresidentReuven Rivlin to meet church leadersand pledge a crackdown on religiouslyinspired hate crime. — AFP

Israel arrests Jewish suspects over ‘miracle’ church arson

TRIPOLI: European states yesterday welcomed a UNpeace deal initialled by some Libyan factions but notthe opposition as a step towards restoring stability inthe lawless North African country. Plunged into chaossince the 2011 overthrow of dictator MoamerGaddafi, Libya has two parliaments and governmentsvying for power, as a slew of armed groups battle forcontrol of its oil wealth.

The elected parliament which initialled Saturday’sagreement in Morocco along with some members ofpolitical parties and civil society and local officials, isbased in the eastern city of Tobruk. The rival GeneralNational Congress (GNC) is based in Tripoli and wasset up by a militia alliance, including Islamists, knownas Fajr Libya, after it seized the capital last August.

The two sides have been locked in months ofthorny negotiations brokered by UN envoyBernardino Leon who has been struggling to clinch adeal to set up a national unity government and holdfresh polls.

The GNC boycotted Saturday’s ceremony in theMoroccan resort of Skhirat, after having said Leon’sdraft deal was not “satisfactory” and calling for “modi-fications”. The European Union and Italy welcomedthe agreement as a step toward restoring peace inLibya.

The UN Security Council has urged Libyan factionsto sign on to Leon’s proposals in a bid to stem risingviolence and the spread of radical organisations suchas the Islamic State group.

The jihadists have taken advantage of the Libya’sdivisions to establish itself in the country, close toEurope’s shores.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on hisTwitter account that the agreement was an “impor-tant step in efforts to stabilise the region and re-establish peace in this great country”.

Renzi said that a solution to the conflict in Libyawas a “central” to battling “terrorism and (illegal)immigration”.

Italy has repeatedly said an accord would helpstem the flow of migration to Europe from Africa viaLibya-where people smugglers have stepped up theirlucrative business.

‘Huge breakthrough’The International Organization for Migration said

Friday that some 150,000 migrants have crossed theMediterranean to Europe so far this year, with nearlyall landing in Italy.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini alsowelcomed Saturday’s deal as “an important steptowards restoring peace and stability in Libya” andurged the GNC to initial the agreement as well.

The Tobruk government, recognised international-ly, has welcomed what it called a “huge break-through”, urging all parties in Libya to overcome theirdifferences and finalise the deal.

“What happened in Morocco is positive,” said polit-ical activist Othman al-Sassi, stressing that Libyaneeds a national unity government.

“The Congress was not present but other partiesto the Libyan conflict initialled the political agree-ment and that is a breakthrough,” said Sassi, himself aformer GNC member.

Leon told Saturday’s ceremony in Morocco thatthe door to further negotiations would remain open,expressing confidence that the GNC will return to thenegotiations.

“This is one but a very important step on the roadto peace ... a peace, which all Libyans have been longseeking to achieve,” he said.

“The door remains open for those who chose notto be here today... I am confident that in the weeksahead we will try to clarify the issues that remain con-tentious and address the outstanding concerns,” headded.

The deal initialled on Saturday was the fourth

draft proposed by Leon to Libya’s warring factions. Itconsists of six points aimed at “laying the foundationfor a modern, democratic state based on the princi-ple of inclusion, the rule of law, separation of powersand respect for human rights,” Leon said. Among thesticking issues is a call for “respecting the judiciary,” apossible reference to a Supreme Court decisioninvalidating the Tobruk parliament which was elect-ed in June 2014. — AFP

EU welcomes Libya UN deal as step toward stability

Accord to help stem the flow of migration

BEIRUT: A bomb explosion in a tunnelnear Aleppo Citadel in Syria yesterdaydamaged a wall of the fortress that is partof the UNESCO-listed Old City, state mediaand a monitor reported.

The blast partly destroyed the wall ofthe monumental 13th century citadel thatoverlooks the Old City, said the officialSANA news agency and the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights.

“A powerful explosion was heard aftermidnight Saturday. It was caused by theblowing up of a tunnel in the Old City nearthe Aleppo Citadel,” the Observatory said.

“The blast caused the collapse of partof the wall of the citadel,” said Observatorychief Rami Abdel Rahman.

It was unclear who was behind theattack, he said, but it was immediately fol-lowed by clashes between rebels and gov-ernment forces who are battling for con-trol of the northern city. SANA said “terror-ists” blew up the tunnel, causing the dam-age to the historic citadel.

The Syrian government and its mediadescribe as “terrorists” the various armedgroups who have been battling to oustPresident Bashar al-Assad’s regime since2011. Rebel fighters in Aleppo, Syria’s sec-ond largest city and pre-war commercial

hub, have often set off explosions in tun-nels that they have dug under military tar-gets before launching attacks on them.

In March, rebels including Al-Qaeda’sSyrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, attacked aregime-held intelligence base in Aleppoby first denotating a tunnel explosion andthen battling the government forces.

For the past three years, Aleppo cityhas been divided between a government-held western sector and a rebel-held east-ern one. The rebels launched a majoroffensive in the first week of July to try totake territory on the western outskirts ofthe city.

The Aleppo Citadel, which contains theremains of mosques, a palace and bathbuildings, is one of several sites in Syria onUNESCO’s world heritage list.

One of the most famous is the ancientcentral city of Palmyra, which was seizedby the jihadist Islamic State group fromgovernment forces on May 21.

Syria’s conflict began with anti-govern-ment protests in March 2011.

It has killed more than 230,000 people,turned more than four million Syrians intorefugees, devastated the country’s infra-structure and economy and inflicted dam-age in many heritage sites. — AFP

Tunnel explosion damages Syria’s citadel in Aleppo

RABAT: Members of the delegation from the government in the eastern city of Tobruk sign the document on a new version of a UN-brokered peace dealduring the UN-brokered talks in Skhirat, near the Moroccan capital Rabat yesterday. — AFP

BEKAA VALLEY: Malala Yousafzai, theyoungest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize,celebrated her 18th birthday in Lebanonyesterday by opening a school for Syrianrefugee girls and called on world leaders toinvest in “books not bullets”. Malala becamea symbol of defiance after she was shot on aschool bus in Pakistan 2012 by the Talibanfor advocating girls’ rights to education. Shecontinued campaigning and won the Nobelin 2014.

“I decided to be in Lebanon because Ibelieve that the voices of the Syrian refugeesneed to be heard and they have beenignored for so long,” Malala told Reuters in aschoolroom decorated with drawings ofbutterflies.

The Malala Fund, a non-profit organisa-tion that supports local education projects,paid for the school in the Bekaa Valley, closeto the Syrian border. It can welcome up to200 girls aged 14 to 18.

“Today on my first day as an adult, onbehalf of the world’s children, I demand ofleaders we must invest in books instead of

bullets,” Malala said in a speech.Lebanon is home to 1.2 million of the 4

million refugees that have fled Syria’s war toneighbouring countries. There are about500,000 Syrian school-age children inLebanon, but only a fifth are in formal edu-cation. Lebanon, which allows informal set-tlements on land rented by refugees, says itcan no longer cope with the influx fromSyria’s four-year conflict. One in four living inLebanon is a refugee.

The U.N. says the number of Syrianrefugees in neighbouring countries isexpected to reach 4.27 million by the end ofthe year. “In Lebanon as well as in Jordan, anincreasing number of refugees are beingturned back at the border,” Malala said. “Thisis inhuman and this is shameful.”

Her father Ziauddin said he was proudshe was carrying on her activism intoadulthood. “This is the mission we havetaken for the last 8-9 years. A smallmoment for the education of girls in SwatValley: it is spreading now all over theworld,” he said.—Reuters

Malala opens school for Syrian refugees

ARRABA: Israel yesterday released a Palestinian pris-oner who staged a 56-day hunger strike whichbrought him near death in a protest against the con-troversial procedure allowing detainees to be heldindefinitely without charge. Khader Adnan was greet-ed to a hero’s welcome in his village near Jenin, in thenorthern West Bank, that included fireworks, songsand flags for Islamic Jihad, the militant movement towhich Israel says he belongs.

Residents wore shirts donning Adnan’s picture.The bespectacled 37-year-old, thin and with a long

beard, was released before dawn in an apparent effortto limit attention to the move, initially expected atmidday. A spokeswoman for the Israeli PrisonAuthority confirmed the release but provided no oth-er details. Islamic Jihad congratulated Adnan in astatement for his “victory” and said a celebration wasbeing organised in his village of Arraba.

Adnan had been held for a year under administra-tive detention, which allows imprisonment withoutcharge for renewable periods of six months indefinite-ly. Of the 5,686 Palestinian prisoners currently held byIsrael, 379 are detained under the procedure.

His hunger strike, which had brought him neardeath by the time it concluded last month, had

sparked warnings from the Palestinian governmentthat it held Israel responsible for his fate.

Regular protests were organised in support of him.Adnan ended his hunger strike on June 28 after Israelagreed to release him, at which point he was trans-ferred to an Israeli hospital.

Debate over force-feeding An Israeli official said at the time that the deal was

made possible after Adnan withdrew his demand thatIsrael undertake never again to place him underadministrative detention. The official said Adnan’sdeteriorating health and appeals from theInternational Committee of the Red Cross and thePalestinian Authority had contributed to the decisionto release him.

He was detained a year ago, shortly after the kid-napping and murder of three young Israelis, whichtriggered the arrests of hundreds of Palestinians in theoccupied West Bank. The killings were part of anupsurge in violence in the run-up to the 2014 Gazawar. Adnan had previously gone on hunger strike for66 days in 2012 to protest against his detention.

He was released at the end of the protest, duringwhich he had ingested vitamins and salt.— AFP

JENIN: Palestinian Khader Adnan is greeted by Palestinians after his release from an Israeli prison inthe West Bank village of Arrabeh near Jenin, yesterday. Israel has released a Palestinian prisonerwho recently ended a 55-day hunger strike. Looking thin and pale, Adnan was transferred in anIsraeli ambulance yesterday and handed to the Palestinian medical service. The senior member ofIslamic Jihad had been held for more than a year in Israeli administrative detention. - AP

Israel frees Palestinian after 56-day hunger strike

ALEPPO: A picture taken yesterday, shows a damaged wall of Aleppo Citadel follow-ing a reported explosion the previous night in a tunnel near the monumental 13thfortress. The official SANA news agency said “terrorists” blew up the tunnel, causingthe damage to the historic citadel, as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saidit was unclear who was behind the attack. —AFP

BEKAA VALLEY: A handout picture released by the Malala Fund yesterday,shows education activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai giv-ing a speech on her 18th birthday, as she opens a new school in Lebanon’sBekaa Valley funded by the Malala Fund, the non-profit organisation she co-founded with her father Ziauddin. — AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

WASHINGTON: Who yelled “everybody intothe pool?”

After all the candidate announcements, afterall the speculation about who’d go first andwho’s yet to jump in, one question remains inthis summer BEFORE the election year: Why areso many Republicans running for president?

Surely, the soon-to-be-17 announced GOPcandidates don’t all think they will become presi-dent.

But it’s easy for a politician to get caught up inthe hype and yell “cowabunga!” in a year whenthere’s no incumbent seeking re-election and noRepublican who seems to have an inside track tothe nomination.

Plus, it’s easier than ever to make a crediblerun for president, thanks to the equalizing effectsof social media and digital fundraising, and withlooser federal rules in place on raising money.

The apt question for an ambitious Republicanthis year seems to be: Well, why not?

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker adds his name tothe list on Monday, with Ohio Gov. John Kasichand former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore to follow incoming weeks, bringing the total by summer’send to at least 17. “Every now and then you havean election cycle that is defined by what can bebest described as me-too-ism,” says Mo Elleithee,executive director of Georgetown’s Institute ofPolitics and Public Service and a onetimespokesman for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008presidential campaign.

With any number of theoretical pathways tothe GOP nomination, second-tier candidatesmay well have surveyed the field and said tothemselves, “Why can’t I burst into that top tier?”says Elleithee. “Everybody is sitting there withtheir advisers, slicing and dicing the electorate,and either finding a potential path or deludingthemselves into finding a potential path.” TonyFratto, a Washington consultant who worked forPresident George W. Bush, says there’s far morethan delusions motivating candidates. Beyondthe generally easier mechanics of running foroffice, he says, there are all sorts of incentives torun that have nothing to do with actually beingpresident.

“You have the opportunity to become a per-sonality in a relatively short period of time,” saysFratto. “You get on the national stage, your nameID is elevated and that can translate into writingbooks, giving speeches and getting an opportu-nity to go on TV.” Not to mention a potential jobas vice president or in the Cabinet. It worked forformer Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who’s run-ning again after parlaying his losing candidacy inthe 2008 primaries into political celebrity, includ-ing TV and radio shows and book deals.

The should-I-run equation is different on theDemocratic side, where Clinton is dominant, buteven there, four other notable candidates havejoined the against-the-odds race. A look at someof the reasons so many candidates are runningthis year:

WAITING FOR A STUMBLESome candidates run just in case. If top-tier

candidates suddenly falter, these challengerswant to make sure they’re positioned to stepright up.

These types “genuinely think things can fallapart” for the top candidates, says Princeton his-torian Julian Zelizer.

He puts New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie andKasich in that category. In Christie’s case, saysZelizer, “I think part of him hopes that people willsee how great he is - according to him” if anopening emerges.

THE OBAMA EFFECTThe election of a junior Illinois senator with a

funny name as president in 2008 has heartenedcandidates who might not otherwise havethought of themselves as ready to run.

“What Barack Obama proved in 2008 is thatyou don’t need all that much experience,” saysFratto. “You can take on a presumed front-runner,

and you can raise money and improve yourname ID very quickly. That possibility wasn’timaginable in the past.” Obama’s precedent hasto hearten Marco Rubio from Florida and TedCruz from Texas, both 44-year-old freshman sen-ators, and 52-year-old rookie Sen. Rand Paul ofKentucky.

TAKING TURNSSenior politicians may look at relative new-

comers who’ve gotten into the race, and think,“Wait, it’s my turn.” Elleithee envisions veteranssuch as Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolinaand Kasich asking themselves, “Why shouldthese young up-and-comers be seen as morecredible than me?”

IDEA GUYSSome candidates run to get their ideas in the

mix even if their candidacies face long odds.

Graham is pushing the Republicans to focus onnational security. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ispressing Democrats to do more to addressincome inequality.

BIG MONEYIn the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 2010

ruling that loosened fundraising rules, saysZelizer, “all you need is a few wealthy people andyou can be a presidential candidate.” Candidatesmay not have enough money to go the distance,but a supportive billionaire or super PAC canbankroll a candidacy that otherwise might notgo far.

Casino titan Sheldon Adelson’s millions keptNewt Gingrich’s 2008 candidacy afloat long afterit otherwise would have gone under. Super PACswill file paperwork later this month that will helpshow who’s benefiting from big donors this timearound.

SMALL DOLLARSNo sugar daddy? No problem.Online fundraising and social media have

made it cheaper and easier for candidates tohaul in lots of small contributions.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is relyingon small contributions to propel his GOP cam-paign. And on the Democratic side, Sanders’upstart challenge to Clinton is pulling in millionsmostly through small donors on the Internet.

BUILDING THE “ME” BRANDBusinessman-showman Donald Trump has to

know he’s not going to be president.His self-promotional candidacy helps keep

him in the news, something he’s clearly relishingeven if it’s triggered a backlash that’s going tocost him. Companies and organizations are liningup to cut ties to Trump after his much-criticizedcomments about Mexican immigrants. — AP

WASHINGTON: This combo made from file photos shows the 2016 Republican presidential candidates who have officially declared their candidacy as of yesterday. Top row, from left,Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas US Sen. Ted Cruz, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, South Carolina USSen. Lindsey Graham, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Bottom row, from left, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former New York Gov. George Pataki, Kentucky US Sen. Rand Paul,former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Florida US Sen Marco Rubio, former US Sen. Rick Santorum, and real estate mogul Donald Trump. —AP

Everybody into the pool! Why is the 2016 GOP field so big?

BELGRADE: The attack on the Serbian prime ministerSaturday in Bosnia that marred Srebrenica massacrecommemorations exposed the deep divisions still lin-gering decades after the Balkans’ interethnic warsended. Regional leaders and media condemned theattack which saw premier Aleksandar Vucic chasedfrom the memorial for the 1995 slaughter of some8,000 Muslims, by a bottle and stone throwing mob.Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said yesterday thatthe incident recalled the run-up to the bloody 1990sconflict in Bosnia that killed 100,000 people. “No oneshould remain indifferent towards the savagery ofthis incident which recalls those of 1992”, Nikolic saidin a statement.

Nikolic added Vucic was attacked because hecame “with his hand extended in a gesture of recon-ciliation.” The premier earlier told reporters inBelgrade he was not hurt by a stone that hit him inthe mouth and that only his glasses were broken inthe attack. Vucic had just laid a flower at a monumentfor thousands of the massacre victims buried therewhen the crowd started to chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Godis Great) and began hurling stones, forcing the primeminister to run for cover shielded by his bodyguards.Serbia’s Vecernji Novosti daily wrote yesterday thatthe “stone that hit Vucic in Srebrenica only furtherdeteriorated already fragile ties between Serbia andBosnia.” Meanwhile Bosnian papers condemned theincident, saying that it overshadowed the commemo-ration of the massacre, the worst in Europe sinceWorld War II.

It “caused irreparable damage to those who leastdeserved it-Muslim victims of a genocide,” comment-ed the influential Dnevni Avaz daily.

Bosnia’s Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic voicedhope that despite the attack the Serbian prime minis-ter would continue to act for “needed reconciliationbetween Muslims and Serbs, and turning of a newpage” between the two peoples.

Fragile inter-ethnic tiesVucic had earlier condemned the “monstrous

crime” in Srebrenica, where the thousands of Muslimboys and men were murdered by Serb forces whohad captured the eastern Bosnian town in July 1995as the war neared an end.

However, the form ultranationalist who turnedinto a pro-European advocate stopped short of call-ing it a genocide, as the killing has been described by

international courts. Serbia and Bosnian Serbs haverefused to call the massacre a genocide. Earlier thismonth Western powers clashed with Russia on thetopic when Moscow-after lobbying by Serbia andBosnian Serbs-vetoed a draft UN resolution submit-ted by Britain which called for the Security Council torecognise the Srebrenica mass killing as genocide.The angry reaction in the crowd of mournersSaturday may also indicate that Vucic’s ultranational-ist past has not been forgotten.

In the 1990s he told Serbian lawmakers that “forevery Serb killed we will kill 100 Muslims.” A giantbanner bearing those words and Vucic’s name wasvisible in the crowd. Belgrade labelled the attack anassassination attempt and Nikolic said it “clearly

shows the opinion of Serbs held by certain Muslimpoliticians and religious leaders.” The confrontationsalso did nothing to strengthen the fragile interethnicrelations within Bosnia, which remains deeply dividedalong ethnic and religious since the 1990s war.Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik slammed the“attack against Serbian people.” Bosnia’s presidencystrongly condemned the attack and apologised to “allforeign delegations”, while EU foreign policy chiefFederica Mogherini said it “went against the spirit ofthis day of remembrance.” However, a prominentBosnian political analyst Dragan Bursac said themotive for Vucic’s visit was not to pay respect to thevictims but rather to please the European Union,which his country hopes to join. —AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

Newsi n B r i e f

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has hailedEgyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the onlyleader who can “save” Egypt, after a deadly car bombattack on Rome’s consulate in Cairo.

He also vowed that Italy would not be “intimidat-ed” after Saturday’s attack claimed by the Islamic Stategroup that killed one civilian and injured nine morepeople. “I think al-Sisi is a great leader,” Renzi said in aninterview with Al-Jazeera television broadcast yester-

day. “Let me be very frank. In this moment Egypt willbe saved only with the leadership of al-Sisi,” Renzi saidin English. “This is my personal position and I amproud of my friendship with him and I will supporthim in the direction of peace because theMediterranean without Egypt will be absolutely aplace without peace.” Speaking to Sisi on Saturdayafter the consulate bombing, Renzi said the two coun-tries will stand together “in the fight against terrorism

and fanaticism”. The attack was the first on a foreignmission in Egypt since jihadists began a campaignagainst the country’s security forces two years ago fol-lowing a crackdown on Islamists. Asked by LaRepubblica newspaper about possible reasons Italywas targeted, Renzi said he would not play a “guessinggame”. “Attacks like this can have random aspects, toshow the logistical ability to hit a Western nation,” hetold the paper. “One thing is for sure, Italy must react

with quiet steadfastness. We will not allow ourselvesto be intimidated.” Sisi, the former army chief whoousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July2013, has come under fire from rights groups over thedeadly Islamist crackdown as well as increasingrestrictions on media freedom.

Renzi also told Al-Jazeera it was “absolutely impor-tant” for Egypt to ensure a free media and to enablejournalists to work in safety. — AFP

Italy PM hails Egypt’s Sisi as ‘great leader’

ASUNCION: Pope Francis put into practice hisinsistence that the world’s poor not be left onthe margins of society by visiting a flood-proneslum outside Asuncion yesterday to offer resi-dents a word of encouragement on the final dayof his three-country South American tour.

Francis drew cheers when he opened hisremarks by saying he couldn’t have left Paraguaywithout visiting Banado Norte, “without beingon YOUR land.”

Many residents of Banado Norte are squatterson municipal land who have come from ruralareas in the northeastern part of the countrywhere farmland has been increasingly boughtup by Brazilians and multi-national companies.Residents argue they should be given title to theland because they have worked to make it habit-able with little help from the city.

“We built our neighborhoods piece by piece,we made them livable despite the difficulties ofthe terrain, the rising of the river and despitepublic authorities who either ignored us or werehostile to us,” resident Maria Garcia told thepope. Francis has referred frequently during his

week-long trip tour of South America to theplight of the region’s landless poor, encouragingthem to work together. Yesterday, he said hewanted to visit Banado Norte, a neighborhoodof shacks of plywood and corrugated metal onthe banks of the River Paraguay, to encouragetheir faith despite the difficulties they encounter.In addition to the lack of services, heavy rainsregularly burst the Paraguay River banks andturn Banado Norte’s dirt roads into impassablepools of mud.

Dignified lifeFrancis said he wanted “to see your faces,

your children, your elderly, and to hear aboutyour experiences and everything you wentthrough to be here, to have a dignified life and aroof over your heads, to endure the bad weatherand the flooding of these last few weeks.”

Some of the estimated 100,000 residentsshrieked as Francis walked by, reaching out totouch his white cassock and snap a photo withtheir cellphones.

“Now I can die peacefully,” said Francisca de

Chamorra, an 82-year-old widow who moved tothe shanty in 1952. “It’s a miracle that a pope hascome to this muddy place.” Francis has spentmuch of the past week - and before that much ofhis pontificate - railing about the injustices ofthe global capitalist system that he says idolizesmoney over people, demanding instead a neweconomic model where the Earth’s resources aredistributed equally among all.

“Putting bread on the table, putting a roofover the heads of one’s children, giving themhealth and an education - these are essential forhuman dignity, and business men and women,politicians, economists, must feel challenged inthis regard,” Francis told a gathering of businessleaders, politicians, labor union leaders and oth-er civil society groups on Saturday evening. “I askthem not to yield to an economic model whichis idolatrous, which needs to sacrifice humanlives on the altar of money and profit.”

After touring Banado Norte, Francis cele-brates an open-air Mass in a tropical field out-side Asuncion and meets with young peoplebefore returning to Rome. — AP

Pope wraps up S America tour

with visit to Paraguay slum

Francis offers residents a word of encouragement

ASUNCION: Pope Francis waves as he arrives on the popemobile to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Asuncion on Saturday. Pope Francis brought his mes-sage of equality to Paraguay Friday, on the third and final stop of a South America tour that has burnished his reputation as a powerful voice for thedowntrodden. — AFP

BRUSSELS: Former French President and President of French right-wing oppositionparty Les Republicains Nicolas Sarkozy (C) arrives for a meeting of European PopularParties (EPP), yesterday, in Brussels, on the sidelines of an EU summit on the Greekcrisis. — AFP Srebrenica attack shows

Balkan wounds still run deep

MUKACHEVO: Police officers secure the area near the western Ukrainian city of Mukachevoyesterday, where at least two people were killed Saturday in a gun and grenade attack ininvolving the country’s notorious nationalist militia Right Sector, but details of the violenceremained confused. Police had surrounded some gunmen in a wooded area of Mukachevo andwere trying to negotiate their peaceful surrender, a statement from the regional prosecutor’soffice said. — AP

DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania’s ruling partyyesterday anointed government ministerJohn Magufuli as its candidate for presiden-tial elections due to be held in October, par-ty officials said. Magufuli, 55 and currentlythe east African nation’s minister of works,will be widely expected to succeedPresident Jakaya Kikwete, who will be step-ping down after his second and final term.

“I am proud of our candidate, he is a veryhardworking man and I am certain he willbe the best president,” Kikwete said afterballots were counted in Tanzania’s adminis-trative capital of Dodoma.

“He is a no nonsense man. We hope hewill help the country to conquer poverty,fight graft and indiscipline.”

Presidential, parliamentary and localpolls are due to take place on October 25.The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)party has been in power since modernTanzania was formed in 1964, and currentlyhas two-thirds of seats in parliament.

The party said Magufuli scored 87 per-cent of the votes, beating off JusticeMinister Asha-Rose Migiro, a former UNdeputy secretary general and ex-foreignminister, and Amina Salum Ali, currently theAfrican Union’s ambassador to Washington.Magufuli had not initially been seen as afrontrunner, but was among three shortlist-ed from a field of nearly 40 other candidatesthat included Vice-President MohamedBilal, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, and for-mer prime ministers Edward Lowassa andFrederick Sumaye.

“I am profoundly overwhelmed by theresults,” Magufuli said. “But I promise to givethe CCM a resounding victory in October. Ialso promise to serve all Tanzanians to thebest of my ability in line with the law of theland and spirit of good governance.”

Magufuli also named Samia SuluhuHassan, a state minister, as his running

mate. She comes from semi-autonomousZanzibar, in line with the country’s constitu-tion that stipulates if the president hailsfrom the mainland, the vice-president mustbe from the semi-autonomous archipelago.

More organised opposition? Tanzania, with over 50 million people, is

east Africa’s most populous country, witheconomic growth of more than seven per-cent, according to the World Bank.

Despite advances, the country remainsvery poor by regional and internationalstandards, the World Bank says, with agri-culture the key sector, providing a quarterof gross domestic product and employingthree-quarters of the population.

The government has also been criticisedfor failing to stamp out rampant corruption,and conservationists also say the number ofelephants being slaughtered for ivory bypoachers is among the highest anywhereon the continent. Opposition politicianshave meanwhile started the process ofseeking party nominations for the presiden-tial race. Ibrahim Lipumba of the CivicUnited Front (CUF) will be making his fifthattempt to become president of Tanzania,having lost to Benjamin Mkapa in 1995 and2000, and Kikwete in 2005 and 2010.

Some however believe the oppositioncould do better this time if they manage tounite. The opposition said in October itwould present single candidates at all lev-els, something analyst Nicodemus Mindefrom the International Law and PolicyInstitute (ILPI) said could provide “toughopposition”.

“There is no doubt that CCM remains anexperienced grand old party, whose historyand formation resonate with the ideals ofTanzania as a nation,” Minde said, but notedthe party had been beset by “corruptionscandals and internal schisms”. — AFP

Tanzania’s ruling party

picks presidential candidate

Chad warns on veil ban N’DJAMENA: Chadian police yesterdaywarned that anyone found wearing the Muslimfull-face veil would be arrested, after a BokoHaram suicide bombing in the capital left 15dead. Saturday’s attack in a bustling N’Djamenamarket by a man disguised as a woman in afull-face veil also injured 80 and spread panicacross the city. “This attack just confirms that aban” on the full-face veil was justified, nationalpolice spokesman Paul Manga said, addingthat “it now must be respected more than everby the entire population.” “Anyone who doesnot obey the law will be automatically arrestedand brought to justice,” he warned. The bomber

detonated his explosives belt when he wasstopped for security checks at the entrance tothe city’s main market. Muslim-majority Chadbanned the full-face veil, ramped up securitymeasures and bombed militant positions inNigeria last month after the first ever BokoHaram attack in its capital. Security was tight-ened across the dry and dusty capital yesterdaywith police and soldiers deployed in all areas,including intersections, markets and mosques.Nine of the dead were women traders, and fearstill permeated the market yesterday. “Whatwas happening elsewhere and what we heardabout from media reports is now happeninghere,” said Zenaba, a woman trader in her for-ties. “I’m really scared for me and my children,”she said.

Spanish nursing home fire

MADRID: A fire swept through a nursinghome early yesterday outside Spain’s north-eastern city of Zaragoza, killing eight elderlyresidents and injuring 12 other people, offi-cials said. Regional Interior Ministryspokesman Gustavo Alcalde said 11 residentsof the Santa Fe home and one of its caretak-ers were hospitalized. He said the cause ofthe fire was being investigated. One manwith serious burns was in critical condition inthe intensive care unit of a local hospital,regional health spokesman Sebastian Celeyasaid, adding the others were suffering fromsmoke inhalation. The fire appears to havestarted in a first floor bedroom of the three-story building, fire brigade spokesman CarlosCarilla said. The fire department had receiveda phone call from a person asking for help inevacuating elderly people who said a mat-tress had caught on fire. Celaya said theoccupant of the bedroom where the firelooks to have started had died as well as anext-door neighbor, and those in bedroomsdirectly above died from smoke inhalation.Alcalde praised the rapid response by fireand police officials but called it “a very sadday” in Zaragoza.

Woman left in UK car crash dies

LONDON: A British woman who spentthree days waiting for help after beingcritically injured in a car crash thatkilled her boyfriend has herself died,her brother announced yesterday.Lamara Bell, 25, was found in a car onWednesday off a motorway nearStirling in Scotland and taken to hospi-tal. “My sister just passed away,” herbrother Martin Bell wrote on Facebook.Her boyfriend John Yuill, 28, was killedin the July 5 crash, which was reportedto the police but was not followed upfor 72 hours. An investigation is underway. Police Scotland Chief ConstableStephen House last week apologisedto the relatives of the two victims. “Weare all deeply saddened by the news ofLamara Bell’s death this morning and Iwould personally like to express mydeepest sympathies to her family andfriends for their loss,” House said. “Wewill continue to cooperate fully withthe police investigations and reviewcommissioner as they undertake theirinvestigation into the circumstances ofthis tragic incident.”

I N T E R N AT I O N A LMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

MUMBAI: India’s mass Hindu pilgrimage,the Kumbh Mela, officially starts inMaharashtra state Tuesday, with organis-ers desperate to avoid a repeat of adeadly stampede at the same venue 12years ago.

Thirty-nine pilgrims were trampled todeath and dozens injured when the reli-gious festival was last held on the banksof the Godavari river in the city ofNashik, around 160 kilometres (100miles) northeast of Mumbai, in 2003.

“We have learnt lessons from thatstampede and have changed the routefor the ‘Shahi Snan’ (main dip) to avoid

tight alleys and steep slopes to thebathing ghats (steps leading to the riv-er),” Nashik district information officer K.Moghe told AFP.

“We have also widened the bathingghats in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar toprovide more space and avoid over-crowding. That should prevent the majortriggers for a stampede,” he added.

The deadly crush at Nashik wasbelieved to have been triggered when asadhu, or holy man, threw coins into acrowd of pilgrims who were waiting onthe river banks.

Tens of thousands of the devotees,

forced to stand behind barricades, werereportedly getting increasingly restlesswhile having to wait for their holy dip.

When the coins were thrown theyscrambled to gather them resulting indozens of people suffocating, accordingto reports at the time.

Millions of pilgrimsA flag hoisting at 6:30 am (0200 GMT)

on Tuesday marks the official opening ofthe 2015 Kumbh Mela, which is heldevery third year and is rotated betweenfour holy sites.

The Kumbh Mela is held at Nashik

every 12 years and although it isn’t onthe same scale as the editions on theGanges at Haridwar and the Saraswati atAllahabad, it still draws millions of pil-grims. Nashik, situated around 160 kilo-metres (100 miles) north of Mumbai, isalso unique out of the four venues inthat it has two main bathing sites,stretching the emergency servicesacross a wide area. “We expect some-where between eight million to ten mil-lion in total to attend the three keybathing dates and 20,000 police person-nel are being deployed,” said Moghe.“There will be clearly marked staging

areas for the emergency services at keypoints during the ceremonies and a ded-icated road will be kept clear to allowthem to respond quickly.

“We’re also setting up a temporaryintensive care unit to provide on-the-spot emergency care,” he added. Thethree main bathing dates fall on August29, September 13 and September 18.

The Kumbh Mela has its origins inHindu mythology, which describes howa few drops of the nectar of immortalityfell on all of the places that host the fes-tival, the fourth being Ujjain in centralIndia. — AFP

India’s Kumbh Mela festival to open amid stampede fears

DENPASAR: The airport on the Indonesian resortisland of Bali reopened yesterday after an eruptingvolcano forced its closure for the second time injust a few days and caused fresh travel misery forstranded holidaymakers.

Mount Raung on Indonesia’s main island of Javahas been erupting for weeks, and on Thursday acloud of drifting ash forced the closure of Bali air-port during peak holiday season, and four others.

The airport on the resort island, a top holidaydestination that attracts millions of foreign touristsevery year, reopened two days later as the ash drift-ed away, allowing some passengers to boardflights home and others to arrive.

However the cloud returned yesterday morning,forcing authorities to shut the airport again. Butthe new closure lasted just a few hours and the air-port was reopened in the afternoon as the ashshifted, the government said. “Full, normal opera-tions have resumed, however planes are to fly inand out from a westerly direction to avoid the ash,”transport ministry spokesman J. A. Barata told AFP.

Thousands of tourists who were visiting thetropical island famed for its palm-fringed beachesfound themselves waiting for days at Bali’s Ngurah

Rai airport, near the island’s capital Denpasar, anx-iously watching departure boards, sitting andsleeping on the floor.

The second closure added to the sense of chaosas many holidaymakers had headed to the airportto catch flights which had been delayed by the firstshutdown. “Someone just said the airport wasclosed for at least six hours ... gotta be kidding,”said one stranded tourist, Steve Dunthorne, onTwitter, after hearing the news about the secondclosure. “Standing in queue for check-in like alemon. Staff look as confused as passengers.”

Bad timing The disruption comes at a bad time, with many

Australians stuck in Bali after heading there for theschool break and millions of Indonesian touristssetting off on holiday ahead of the Muslim celebra-tion of Eid next week.

Another airport on Java serving domesticroutes remained shut Sunday, Barata said. The oth-er three originally closed Thursday, including theinternational airport on popular Lombok island,east of Bali, had reopened earlier.

After Bali airport reopened Sunday, Indonesian

national flag carrier Garuda said that flights divert-ed due to the ash cloud would head back, whilebudget airline AirAsia announced services from theisland were resuming. Australian carriers Jetstarand Virgin earlier said they were cancelling all theirflights in and out of Bali yesterday due to the newshutdown. About 300 flights to and from Bali werecancelled Friday after the first closure. Airport offi-cials could not give a figure for the number offlights affected by yesterday’s closure.

Indonesian government vulcanologist GedeSuantika said that Mount Raung continued toerupt yesterday, spewing ash up to 1,000 metres(3,200 feet) into the air, and the wind had in themorning pushed the cloud of dust towards Bali,some 90 miles (140 kilometres) away.

Authorities raised the alert status of MountRaung, a 3,300-metre volcano, late last month tothe second highest level after it began to spew lavaand ash high into the air.

Air traffic is regularly disrupted by volcaniceruptions in Indonesia, which sits on a belt of seis-mic activity running around the basin of the PacificOcean and is home to the highest number of activevolcanoes in the world, around 130. — AFP

Bali airport reopens after

new volcano ash shutdown

‘Full, normal operations have resumed’

BONDOWOSO: A farm vehicle travels a long dirt road while the 3,300-metre (10,800-foot) Mount Raung volcano emits a column of ash andsteam as seen from Bondowoso district, located in eastern Java island yesterday. Ash spewing from the Indonesian volcano closed the air-port again on neighbouring Bali yesterday just a day after it reopened, causing fresh travel chaos for weary holidaymakers stranded on theresort island. — AFP

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s journalists facedan “unprecedented” number of assaults lastyear as political tensions surged during a mas-sive pro-democracy movement in the city, apress freedom watchdog said yesterday. A rul-ing by Beijing restricting how Hong Kongchoose its next leader sent discontent surgingin the southern Chinese city last year, sparkingmass street rallies for more than two months.

More than 30 journalists were harassed orphysically assaulted by either protesters orpolice during the demonstrations, the HongKong Journalists Association said in its annualreport on press freedom in the city. “It was arange of assaults from getting hit by waterbottles to being punched and kicked. Somehave got their cameras pushed down anddragged onto the floor,” the independentwatchdog’s vice chairwoman Shirley Yam toldAFP. “In terms of physical assaults it was defi-nitely a record (year).” China ruled last summerthat the public could vote for Hong Kong’schief executive for the first time in 2017, butthe move has been derided as “fake democra-

cy” by the opposition as candidates must firstbe vetted by a pro-Beijing committee.

The bill enshrining that measure was voteddown by pro-democracy lawmakers in HongKong’s legislature last month.

Hong Kong was a British colony until it washanded back to China in 1997 and is ruledunder a “one country, two systems” deal thatallows it far greater civil liberties than thoseenjoyed on the Chinese mainland, includingfreedom of speech and the right to protest.But there are fears that these liberties are fad-ing with greater influence from Beijing.

Amnesty International said in Novemberthat Hong Kong police had used “unjustifiableforce against protesters, bystanders and jour-nalists” when authorities cleared another cam-paign site in Mongkok, which was also thescene of some of the most violent clashes oflast year’s rallies. Yam said few perpetratorswere held accountable. “There were cases thatoccurred during chaotic situations, and it hasbeen difficult to get the people responsible toface the music,” she said. — AFP

HK journalists faced

unprecedented assaults

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have wideneda crackdown on human rights groups,detaining or questioning more than 50lawyers and activists in a sweep over thepast few days, rights groups say.

Citing the need to buttress nationalsecurity and stability, President Xi Jinping’sadministration has tightened governmentcontrol over almost every aspect of civilsociety since 2012.

In recent years, the government hasdetained dozens of Chinese for dissent andTibetans and Uighurs have complained ofrights abuses, prompting criticism from theUnited States.

Amnesty International said on Saturdayat least 52 lawyers and activists fromBeijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou had beendetained or questioned over the previous48 hours.

Those who have been taken awayinclude the prominent lawyer Wang Yu andseveral colleagues at the Fengrui Law Firm,which has represented high-profile clientssuch as Uighur dissident Ilham Tohti andZhang Miao, a news assistant at Germannewspaper Die Zeit who was recentlydetained for over half a year.

The detentions and questionings comeon the heels of a months-long campaign instate media to discredit human rightsactivists for undermining national stabilityby using social media.

The People’s Daily, the Communist Partymouthpiece, said on Saturday that public

security authorities had identified Fengruias a “major criminal organisation” thatserved as a coordinating “platform” involvedin dozens of sensitive cases since 2012. Thearticle highlighted the role of formerFengrui employee Wu Gan, a social mediapersonality known as “Super VulgarButcher” who blogs about official miscon-duct and free speech and has beendetained since May. The Fengrui employeesare under “criminal detention,” the papersaid. Other well-known lawyers taken awayin recent days include Li Heping, who repre-sented the blind dissident ChenGuangcheng, and Sui Muqing, a lawyerbased in the southern city of Guangzhou.

The Ministry of Public Security did notimmediately respond to requests for com-ment.

“The government is very concernedabout activists’ growing influence and theirability to use social media to drum up pub-lic support,” said William Nee, a Hong Kong-based China researcher at AmnestyInternational. “They see the agenda-settingprocess is getting away from them.”

More than 100 Chinese lawyers issued ajoint statement on Friday to protest Wang’sarrest. Many of them have since beendetained, rights groups said.

Last month, a US State Departmentreport on human rights said repression andcoercion in China were routine againstactivists, ethnic minorities and law firmsthat took on sensitive cases. — Reuters

China targets rights lawyers as

crackdown on activists widens

By Thomas Beaumont and Sergio Bustos

Flush with almost $100 million, a groupsupporting Republican Jeb Bush’s presi-dential ambitions is plowing ahead on a

parallel campaign, promising to use itsimmense resources in a way that is untestedbut could revolutionize presidential politics.

Bush’s campaign reported Thursday that itraised $11.4 million in just six days, while anallied super PAC, Right to Rise America, raised$103 million during the first six months of theyear and had $98 million on hand.

A picture began to emerge Friday abouthow the groups would work in concert, yetwithout formal coordination to spend theirextraordinary haul in the face of federal lawsthat limit their communication. Interviewswith Bush campaign aides, Right to Rise staffand donors to both groups revealed plans forBush’s campaign to set the tone on policy andpolitical messaging backed by the super PAC,which is poised to use multiplatform advertis-ing directed at target audiences to amplify hismessage.

At the same time, Bush will pursue “anaggressive fundraising schedule” to help eventhe fundraising disparity between the formalcampaign and Right to Rise, said spokesmanTim Miller.

“We’re two weeks into the campaign,”Miller said. “We’ve started the process of rais-ing hard dollars necessary to run a grassrootscampaign that combines our political effortsin the early states and beyond, a robust digitaleffort that promotes Jeb and his brand online,and allows him to travel the country andspread his message.”

The team is not expected to begin pouringmoney into television ads right away. Whilethe campaign has made modest early invest-ments in online ads, it’s not expected to beginmaking more serious buys in early state TVads this month. Those campaigns that havemade such moves in recent days - amongthem Ohio Gov. John Kasich and LouisianaGov. Bobby Jindal - are working to boost theirprofiles to help qualify for next month’s open-ing debate, a problem Bush doesn’t have.

Bush’s campaign is bound by federallymandated campaign contribution limits - nomore than $5,400 per person for the primariesand general election combined. Meanwhile,the super PAC can raise unlimited dollars,though it cannot coordinate activities withBush’s campaign.

That’s why Bush, before he announced hiscandidacy, tapped his most trusted adviser,Sally Bradshaw, to lead the campaign and hislongtime political and advertising strategist torun the super PAC.

Most valuable assetBush’s campaign will include the typical

trappings of a modern campaign, with voteroutreach, advertising, polling and, of course, acampaign’s most valuable asset, the candi-date’s time. But Murphy, for now at least, hasa vastly larger budget.

Right to Rise will develop Internet, mobileand television advertising by following close-ly what Bush says in public, according toaides who spoke on the condition ofanonymity to discuss private strategy.

With a small staff - a handful now and nomore than a dozen long-term - Murphy’steam is planning an elaborate data-gatheringsystem to help determine, based on polling,how the group will deploy advertising in earlyvoting states and perhaps swing-voting gen-eral election states this year.

At the same time, the former Florida gov-ernor’s team is forging ahead with aggressivenew fundraising efforts to target smaller-dol-lar donors, whose support represents theeveryday voters Bush needs once votingbegins in less than seven months.

In announcing its fundraising Thursday,Right to Rise said it had about 9,400 donorswho had given $25,000 or less, and about 500who’d given more. Having made its mark inthe big-money chase, the Bush campaign isfocusing now on finding and cultivating smalldonors - people who would chip in $25 or soa few times over the Internet.

Separately, Jay Zeidman, a Houston-basedfundraiser for Bush, said the campaign isfocused on continuing to build on its initial$11.4 million because “those dollars are very,very important. It’s the front lines, the bootson the ground. The campaign is definitelyfront and center now.”

Wealthy donorsBush’s early fundraising success has yet to

scare any challenger from the race. OtherRepublicans are attempting to echo Bush’soperation. None, however, is expected tocome close to the total Bush’s team amassedin the first half of 2016.

The strategy is the outgrowth of courtdecisions in 2010 that led to the creation ofthe super PAC. These groups are allowed toraise unlimited sums from wealthy donorsand conduct political advocacy, as long asthey do not coordinate their work with a can-didate’s campaign organization.

Campaign finance watchdog groups arekeeping close tabs on the interaction of presi-dential campaigns and super PACS. FredWertheimer, president of Democracy 21,which advocates for stricter campaignfinance regulations, said he sees serious redflags.

“It’s obviously clear that the super PAC is,in fact, the Bush campaign committee,”Wertheimer said. “Our view is that it’s an ille-gal scheme.”

Democracy 21, he said, has sent a letter tothe Justice Department demanding a crimi-nal investigation of the Bush campaign andothers who are “tied at the hip” with superPACS. —AP

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All articles appearing on thesepages are the personal opinion ofthe writers. Kuwait Times takes noresponsibility for views expressedtherein. Kuwait Times invites read-ers to voice their opinions. Pleasesend submissions via email to: opin-ion@kuwaittimes.net or via snailmail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait.The editor reserves the right to editany submission as necessary.

A N A L Y S I SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

They arrive full of hope and ambition to idyllic Greekislands, having fled war and other perils. However,once in Athens the migrants from Syria, Afghanistan

and Iraq discover a country in crisis with little to offerthem. At 6 am, with the sun rising over the Athens port ofPiraeus, hundreds of grateful migrants disembark fromferries in the midst of summer holidaymakers.

Despite their fatigue, the relief is palpable among themigrants made up of relatively young men, but also fami-lies whose only luggage is a sleeping bag and a back-pack.

Some take selfies on their mobile phones to recordtheir arrival. Among them is Hisham Mohy Al Deen, 37, aPalestinian from Syria and former UN employee. Besidehim are his wife Wallaa, looking exhausted, and their threedaughters-the youngest just a few months old.

Deen says he is happy to be in Greece and wants “tofind a new life far from the war”.

Two weeks earlier the family set foot on the Greekisland of Lesbos, in the Aegean Sea, around 20 kilometres(12 miles) from the west coast of Turkey where they hadembarked. Having originally left from Damascus, Deenand his family spent six days at a camp on Lesbos sleepingunder the stars.

They eventually received a month’s visa and were invit-ed to take the boat to Athens. No one was waiting forthem there except for Vodafone employees selling inter-national telephone cards.

Nearby Daha Alwakil, 32, is having a coffee. He left hiswife and two children in Baghdad, bringing with him only10-year-old Yassin.

“We came by boat from Turkey. Everyone came byboat,” he said. “Now I feel free.” An hour later, word ofmouth brings the new arrivals to Omonia Square in cen-tral Athens, where a huge “Welcome to Greece” bannercovers the front of a building. There, small groups ofdishevelled newcomers rest or seek information frommigrants who arrived before them.

Lack of housing Refugees with enough funds seek hotel rooms, others

knock on the doors of charities and housing associationsor set about looking for a ride to Macedonia. NancyRetinioti, who works for Doctors Without Borders, says theGreek system for handling new arrivals is completely over-whelmed.

“ There are only around 1,000 housing units forrefugees in Greece. That’s not enough.” More than 69,000migrants reached Greece in the first half of this year,dwarfing the 43,500 who came throughout the whole of2014, according to the UN refugee agency.

And the numbers are increasing each month: 1,700 inJanuary, 13,500 in April and 24,400 in June, with mostpeople coming from Syria. But the debt and austerity cri-sis menacing ordinary Greeks is also hitting the migrants.“Before, those who gained refugee status could get awork permit. That’s been ended,” Retinioti said. “Under thelaw they have access to the health system but they arefacing administrative and language barriers. On top ofthat some doctors are demanding money to treat them,which is illegal,” she added.

Yannis Kalyvopoulos, a psychologist with DoctorsWithout Borders, said most of the migrants he cameacross were suffering from post-traumatic stress anddepression. “Many of the children have lost their parentsor their relatives. They are traumatized, they’ve got sleep-ing problems.” If they remain in such uncertain conditions,he warned “that will increase their symptoms. If they arein an environment that supports them, they will more eas-ily integrate in their new country.”

According to his colleague Retinioti, many havealready made up their minds. “These people are no longerseeking asylum in Greece. With the crisis they cannot seea future here,” she says. Three days after their arrival, Deenis no longer answering his phone. He and his family havemoved on in search of brighter prospects. —AFP

Issues

Disappointment

awaits migrants

fleeing to Greece

Bush to pursue an aggressive fundraising plan

HUDSON: Republican presidential candidate former Florida Governo Jeb Bush speaks during a town hall meeting inHudson. —AP

By Pauline Froissart

By Marina Rafenberg

“We don’t sleep, everybody’s worried,” aGreek pensioner said. With their futurebeing decided thousands of kilometres

(miles) away in Brussels by euro-zone officials and EUleaders, ordinary people in Greece were split betweenfear and fatalism, questions swirling in their minds.Will Greece get its bailout? Or will Germany andFinland block its rescue, sending the nation crashingout of the euro?

“Getting an agreement will be really difficult,” saidAngelos Panolas, a young unemployed man. “I don’tsee the European partners giving a gift to Greece.” Apensioner, Yannis Theodoridis, remarked that the lastfew days have been “very hard,” particularly given hehad been unable to withdraw his full pension fromthe bank due to capital controls rationing with-drawals.

Daily limits from ATMs are capped at 60 euros ($67)and the expectation is they will run dry any day nowunless the European Central Bank is persuaded-by anascent bailout agreement-to inject emergency fundsinto Greece’s banks. Failing that, many worry thatGreece could be forced to start printing its own mon-ey, or perhaps even go back to its pre-euro currency,the drachma.

“If we go back to the drachma it’s all over, it will bea catastrophe and there wil l be no way back ,”Theodoridis said. “It’s a very difficult situation we’rein-we don’t sleep, everybody’s worried, there’s nomoney, the banks are closed.”

‘Not good for anybody’ Irini Karanasiou, a 77-year-old Greek woman, com-

plained that some euro-zone nations were being toohard on the Greek government. “But at the same time,the Greeks are also responsible for the situation

they’re in” because “we weren’t ready to negotiatefrom the start”. That said, she didn’t want to think ofGrexit as a reality. “It won’t be good for anybody-notjust us, but it also won’t be good for Europe.”

Katerina, a 23-year-old tour guide, saw malice in theway her country was being treated. “I think ourEuropean partners are being really tough with us andwith what they are saying about us. They want to showGreece in a bad light and make fun of us,” she said.

Nikos, a pensioner, was blunter about Finland,which, with Germany, has openly come out opposingany new bailout for Greece. “If we see ‘Made in Finland’on a product, we won’t buy it. Those people are socold, they’re the ones who should leave Europe.”

Some embraced hope despite the odds. Such asAntonis, a taxi driver who believed a deal would bestruck no matter what. “They (the creditors) say yes,they say no-it’s just to scare people. But in the end,they’ll sign,” he said. —AFP

Greece teeters between fear and fatalism

N E W SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

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Nimesh called on other members of the NationalAssembly to submit wealth disclosures to the Authorityin accordance with the law.

Rapporteur of a parliamentary panel probing theaffairs of Kuwait Investment Office in London and otherinvestment offices MP Madhi Al-Hajeri said members ofthe panel will travel to London after the Eid holidays toinvestigate alleged violations in the office.

He said that the committee will not hesitate touncover any deals that led to a deliberate loss or squan-dering of public funds and also reveal the names ofpeople behind these deals. The committee was formedseveral months ago to probe allegations of financial

wrongdoings at KIO in London and other Kuwaitiinvestment offices abroad.

In another development, the public prosecution hasstarted interrogations in the so-called Fintas Groupwhose members are accused of spreading false newsabout the country’s internal situation in social media,taking part in a group on What’sApp that made corrup-tion accusations against members of the judiciary inaddition to the misuse of mobiles.

The public prosecution has already interrogated fourof the 13 members of the group which include fourmembers of the ruling family, lawyers, journalists andothers. The four members who were questioned werereleased on a KD 10,000 bail each. The interrogationsare expected to continue in the coming few days.

Iraqi parliament speaker praises Amir’s...

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He made sure everyone got his money and property back toprove to us how serious it is to keep peoples’ money and proper-ties intact - even those of our enemies.

Brothers and sisters in Islam, many people have approachedme complaining that they used to give loans to some people -sometimes people who looked very religious - but they wereshocked when those people either procrastinated or hid them-selves when it was time to pay back the loans. Due to the gravityof this issue and the dire consequences awaiting those who diebefore clearing their debts, I decided to share some informationwith you about the issue. To be on the safe side, I advise all thosewho give loans to make sure their debtors sign a contract, whichthey will definitely need when it is time to pay back. No matterhow much you trust that person, he should sign against thatloan. Allah says what can be translated as: “O you who believe!When you contract a debt for a fixed period of time, write itdown. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you. Let notthe scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him...” (2: 282)

It is imperative to pay your creditors in due time:Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Whoever borrows people’smoney (or any property for that matter) with the intention ofpaying back, Allah will pay back on his behalf (in other words,Allah will make it easy for him to pay back). But whoever borrowspeople’s money (or property) with the intention of not paying itback, Allah will ruin him (in other words, whatever he does withthat property, will not be blessed.” (Reported by Imam Al-Bukhari2,387)

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in this hadith warns us againstborrowing people’s money or any valuable asset - for that matter- when we are certain that we can’t pay back. If you continue tak-ing people’s property illicitly, your endeavors will be consigned tofailure. However, if your intention is good but you fail to pay back,Allah (SWT) will find an easy way for you. Therefore, you shouldbe extra cautious against taking any loans. You should only bor-row money when you need to and when you are certain that youwill definitely pay it back. Otherwise, be content with the littlethat you have.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would not pray for anyone whodied with a debt.

Jaber bin Abdullah said, “Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wouldnot pray for anyone who died before clearing his debts. Once adead person was brought to him in order to perform a funeralprayer in his favor and the Prophet asked, ‘Is he indebted to any-one?’ His companions responded in affirmative stating that heowed someone two dinars. Then the Prophet (Peace Be UponHim) said: “Pray for your fellow.” Abu Qatadah (one of the com-panions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: ‘I will pay those twodinars on his behalf, O Messenger of Allah.’ After hearing that,Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) agreed to pray for that person. Aftersome time when the Muslims had liberated big pieces of landand got a lot of booty and spoils, the Prophet said: ‘I am moreentitled to (fulfilling) the rights of every believer than he himself;in so doing, anyone who leaves behind a debt, I will clear it on hisbehalf. Conversely, whatever wealth or property anyone leavesbehind is for his heirs.’” (Al-Imam Al-Albani rated it as authentic1,853. It was also recorded as authentic by Imam Muslim.)

Indeed Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came as mercy to allmankind and Jinn. Who can undertake the responsibility of beinga guarantor to those who leave behind debts, yet isn’t interestedin their inheritance? This is sheer evidence that he was a selflessaltruist person more than any other human being ever created

by Allah (to Whom is ascribed all perfection and majesty). Furthermore, Abu Qatadah assumed the responsibility of pay-

ing the two dinars that a dead person owed someone so thatProphet Muhammad (PBUH) would pray for him. ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) followed up with Abu Qatadah to make surethat everyone got his rights. After a day, he met Abu Qatadahand asked him: “What about the two dinars?” Abu Qatadahreplied, “The man just died yesterday,” alluding to the fact that hestill needed some time to pay the money back. The next day,Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) approached him to enquirewhether he had paid the two dinars. Abu Qatadah replied in affir-mative, to which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) responded, “Nowhis skin is safe and tranquil from fire.” (Al-Bukhari 5, 383 andMuslim 867)

Many people promise to do a lot of things; if left without fol-low-up, then they would not fulfill their promises. The issue ofdebts is so sensitive, especially when the debtor is dead. ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) had to make sure that Abu Qatadah fulfilledhis promise. Abu Qatadah himself felt sad that the indebteddead person wouldn’t have the honor of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) praying for him. He also hoped to please Allah (SWT) bypaying the debt of a dead person. How excellent is this attitudeand love for each other, even when someone is dead!

Clear the debts of your deceased relative as soon as he dies: Itis very important that family members of a deceased personclear his debts and return any property he might have borrowedfrom anyone before they bury him. Otherwise, it will be troublefor him. On the other hand, a Muslim should try his level best toavoid borrowing money or any property unnecessarily.

5- Rewards awaiting those who give more time to theirdebtors to clear their debts

a. Abdullah bin Abi Qataadah narrated that his father - AbuQatadah - went out to look for his debtor because he needed hismoney back. No sooner had the debtor seen him than he hidhimself. After exerting a lot of effort, he was able to meet withhim (the hiding debtor). He asked him to pay back the debt butthe man apologized saying that he was going through financialstraits. Abu Qatadah then asked him to swear by Allah if that wastrue. The man swore. Then Abu Qatadah informed him thatProphet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Whoever is happy to be savedby Allah (SWT) from the troubles and tribulations of the Day ofJudgment, then he should give more time to his debtor who isfacing financial problems to pay back, or waive part of the debtor the whole of it.” (Recorded by Imam Muslim 1,563)

In this hadith, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) informs us that ifyou give more time to your debtor to clear his debt or if you for-go part of it or the whole of it, then Allah (SWT) will save youfrom the tribulations and troubles of the Day of Judgment, whichwill indeed be a terrible day.

Finally, we should understand that it is dangerous to takeloans. And when we are forced by circumstances to borrow somemoney or property, then we should try our level best to pay itback because we don’t know when death will come. On the oth-er side, if you are a creditor and your debtor laments his financialsituation, make things easy for him. If you do that, Allah will alsohelp you on the Day of Judgment when you will definitely needthat help. The point is that just as you need help from Allah(SWT), you should also help others.

Courtesy of the TIES Center. The TIES Center is the social andeducational hub for English Speaking Muslims in Kuwait. Formore information, please call 25231015 or e-mail info@ties-center.net or visit www.tiescenter.net.

Clear your debts as soon as you can

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The ceasefire was declared after UN chief Ban Ki-moonreceived assurances from Hadi and the Huthis that it wouldbe respected.

The coalition said it has not received a formal requestfrom Hadi’s government to observe a truce, while therebels said before the ceasefire went into effect they had lit-tle hope it would succeed. The United Nations has declaredYemen a level-3 humanitarian emergency, the highest onits scale, with nearly half the country facing a food crisis.

More than 21.1 million people-over 80 percent ofYemen’s population-need aid, with 13 million facing food

shortages, while access to water has become difficult for9.4 million people.

The UN says the conflict has killed more than 3,200 peo-ple, about half of them civilians, since late March. Fightinghad intensified after the northern rebels overran the capitalunopposed in September and went on to advance on sev-eral regions, including Aden where Hadi took refuge afterescaping house arrest in Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia formed an Arab coalition that launchedlate March an air campaign to restore Hadi. The rebels areallied with troops loyal to former president Ali AbdullahSaleh, who stepped down in 2012 following a year ofnationwide protests against his three-decade rule. — AFP

Saudi strikes hit Yemen rebels despite...

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The senior US official declined to speculate as to the tim-ing of any agreement or announcement but said “majorissues remain to be resolved.”

Despite the caution, the negotiators appeared to be onthe cusp of an agreement. US Secretary of State John Kerry,who on Thursday had threatened to walk away from thenegotiations, said yesterday that “a few tough things” remainin the way but added “we’re getting to some real decisions.”

En route to Mass at Vienna’s gothic St. Stephens Cathedral,Kerry said twice he was “hopeful” after a “very good meeting”Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad JavadZarif, who had Muslim services Friday. French ForeignMinister Laurent Fabius also was cautiously optimistic, tellingreporters yesterday: “I hope that we are finally entering thelast phase of this negotiation.”

In another sign that a deal could soon be sealed, Russiannews agencies reported that Russian Foreign Minister SergeyLavrov had arrived in Vienna. Chinese Foreign Minister WangYi was also expected later in the day. The other foreign minis-ters of the six nations negotiating with Iran already are in theAustrian capital and in position to join Kerry and Zarif for anannouncement.

Movement toward a deal has been marked by years oftough negotiations. The pact is meant to impose long-term,verifiable limits on nuclear programs that Tehran could modi-fy to produce weapons. Iran, in return, would get tens of bil-lions of dollars in sanctions relief.

The current round of nuclear talks is now in its 16th dayand has been extended three times since the first deadline ofJune 30 was missed. The mood among negotiators hadturned more somber each time a new target date - first July7, then July 10 and then July 13 - was set.

As the weekend approached, Kerry declared the talkscouldn’t go on indefinitely and warned that the US couldwalk away from the negotiations. Diplomats familiar with thetalks said most of the nuts and bolts of implementing thedeal have been agreed upon. But over the past week, issuesthat were previously on the back burner have led to new dis-putes. Among them is Iran’s demand for a lifting of a UNarms embargo and its insistence that any UN Security

Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in away that stops describing Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal.

A diplomat familiar with the negotiations said disagree-ments also persist on how long some of the restrictions onimports of nuclear technology and other embargos outlinedin any new Security Council resolution will last. The diplomat,who demanded anonymity because the diplomat wasn’tallowed to discuss the confidential talks, said restrictions willlast for years, not months.

Meanwhile, Iranians were preparing to celebrate in theevent of an agreement. Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agencyreported that deputy police chief Brigadier General SaeedMontazer Al-Mahdi said the authorities are fully prepared forsuch celebrations. Despite Kerry’s relatively upbeat take,comments by Iran’s supreme leader suggested that Tehran’smistrust of Washington would persist no matter what theoutcome of the talks.

Iran’s state-run Press TV cited Ayatollah Ali Khamenei onSaturday as calling the US an “excellent example of arro-gance.” It said Khamenei told university students in Tehran tobe “prepared to continue the struggle against arrogant pow-ers.”

His comments appeared to be a blow to US hopes that anagreement will lead to improved bilateral relations that couldtranslate into increased cooperation in a common cause- thefight against Islamic State radicals. Zarif had hinted at justthat last week, suggesting a deal acceptable to his countrywill open the door to joint efforts on that front.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fierce oppo-nent of what he considers a deal that is too lenient onTehran, said Khamenei’s comments showed that Westernpowers are “caving” in to Iran even as the Islamic republickeeps railing against them.

A nuclear deal will also face serious scrutiny from mem-bers of Congress. Senate Foreign Relations CommitteeChairman Bob Corker said yesterday he remains skepticalabout a possible deal.

“I’m concerned about where we’re going,” theRepublican senator said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Hesaid lawmakers will review any agreement carefully tomake sure the Iranians are held accountable and thatany violations can be enforced. — AP

Iran talks on cusp of a deal Continued from Page 1

But the potential “time-out” mentioned in yesterday’seuro-zone draft did not refer to a specific time period.

The draft text also took note of “the possible programfinancing needs of between EUR 82 and 86bn, as assessedby the institutions”. Facing a self-imposed Sunday dead-line, the euro-zone’s top official, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, saidthe sides have “come a long way” after two days of talksamong finance ministers, but that the final effort on “somebig issues” would be handled by euro-zone leaders in asummit which was expected to go into the night.Underscoring the optimism despite the often fundamentaldifferences among the leaders, Italian Prime MinisterMatteo Renzi said “we are very close.”

The broad outline of a deal appeared to consist of along series commitments from Greek Prime Minister AlexisTsipras to push through much of a drastic austerity pro-gram within days, while the 18 other euro-zone leaders

would commit to start talks on a new bailout program.In a four-page draft proposal put to euro-zone leaders

language up for discussion spoke of a potential “time outfrom the euro area” for Greece if no agreement could befound. It highlighted the increasing frustration with Greeceduring five months of fruitless talks. Yesterday, doubts onthe Greek government’s commitment to implement toughmeasures continued.

“The most important currency has been lost: that istrust and reliability,” said German Chancellor AngelaMerkel, reflecting on five months of tortuous negotiationswith Athens.

In the draft document, Greece committed itself to push-ing a first set of measures through parliament byWednesday. Despite the stinging conditions on pension,market and privatization reforms, Tsipras insisted his gov-ernment was ready to clinch a deal. “We owe that to thepeoples of Europe who want Europe united and not divid-ed,” he said. — Agencies

Greek ‘time-out’ from euro a possible...

MEXICO CITY: Folk bands sang his praises. When hewas arrested, supporters protested in his home state.Now that Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo”Guzman has escaped again, singers may add a newverse. Guzman, 58, nurtured a Robin Hood image inhis northwestern state of Sinaloa while running themost powerful, and one of the most ruthless, cartels inMexico.

His capture in February 2014 had been a huge vic-tory for President Enrique Pena Nieto in his battleagainst organized crime after years of violence thathave left tens of thousands of people dead. But thetables turned again on Saturday night, when Guzmanescaped from the Altiplano maximum-security prisonin central Mexico through a secret tunnel under hiscell’s shower.

The 50-by-50 centimeter (20-by-20 inch) hole waswide enough for his small frame-his nickname means“Shorty.” After crawling through, he fled down a 1.5-kilometer (one-mile) long tunnel that opened into aconstruction site.

The Sinaloa cartel’s legend grew after he escaped afirst time in 2001 from another prison, in westernJalisco state, by hiding in a laundry cart.

He spent 13 years on the lam before his capture lastyear, long enough to build a drug trafficking empirethat stretched around the globe. Musicians wrote folkballads known as “narcocorridos,” tributes to drugcapos. The mustachioed drug lord married an 18-year-old beauty queen, Emma Coronel, in 2007 and isbelieved to have 10 children with various women.

He is believed to have been brazen enough to walkinto restaurants in his state of Sinaloa, ask diners tohand their cell phones to his bodyguards, eat calmlyand pay everyone’s tabs before leaving. He is Mexico’sanswer to Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombiandrug lord who was a popular in his native Medellinwhile terrorizing his rivals and the authorities untilpolice killed him in 1993.

When Mexican marines backed by US law enforce-ment agencies captured Guzman in the Sinaloa beachresor t of Mazatlan in Februar y 2014, his reignappeared to be over for good.

School dropout Born on April 4, 1957, to a family of farmers in

Badiraguato, a Sinaloa town known as a cradle of drug

traffickers, Guzman had humble beginnings. Hedropped out of primary school to work in marijuanaand opium poppy fields as drug consumption rose inthe neighboring United States. He was recruited byGuadalajara cartel boss Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo,the “chief of chiefs” and a godfather of Mexico’s mod-ern drug cartels.

Guzman’s job was to contact drug traffickers in theColombian cities of Medellin and Barranquilla, gaininga valuable network of contacts to smuggle cocaineinto the United States, Europe and Asia.

After Felix Gallardo was arrested in 1989, Guzman’sSinaloa drug cartel began its rise as the biggest gangin the country. A turf war ensued, with a gunfight in1993 at the airport of Guadalajara that killed the west-ern city’s archbishop, Cardinal Juan Jesus PosadasOcampo, allegedly because he was mistaken forGuzman.

Guzman was arrested that same year in Guatemalabut escaped eight years later.

On billionaire list His ability to sneak tons of cocaine, heroin and mari-

juana into the United States made him “Public EnemyNumber One” in Chicago, a moniker that had been giv-en to US prohibition-era mafia boss Al Capone. Guzman“easily surpassed the carnage and social destructionthat was caused by Capone,” the Chicago CrimeCommission said in February 2013. He even madeForbes magazine’s list of billionaires until he was left outin 2013 because he was believed to have spent much ofhis wealth on protection. But Guzman remained on theForbes list of the world’s most powerful people, stand-ing at number 67. His time at the top was marked byviolence. His cartel became entangled in brutal turfwars against the paramilitary-like Zetas cartel and othergangs for years.

More than 80,000 people have died in the drug warsince 2006, when then president Felipe Calderondeployed soldiers against gangs. More than 10,000were killed in Ciudad Juarez alone in violence betweenSinaloa and Juarez cartel members fighting forsupremacy in the key drug corridor at the border withthe US state of Texas. Guzman’s own family has paiddearly for his life of crime. One of his brothers was killedin a Mexican jail in December 2004 and a son was killedin a Culiacan shopping center in May 2008. — AFP

With new escape,Guzman’s legend grows

MEXICO CITY: Federal policemen inspect a pipe under construction by the Altiplano prison in Almoloya deJuarez, Mexico yesterday. Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has escaped from a maximum-security prison, the government said, his second jail break in 14 years.— AFP

S P O RT SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

LOS ANGELES: Steven Gerrard made a quiet start to his new career with the LosAngeles Galaxy in a friendly on Saturday. Gerrard had one scoring chance in the open-ing game of the International Champions Cup against Mexico team Club America, thatwas saved, but otherwise had little influence on the match that was sealed 2-1 by theMajor League Soccer side with goals either side of half-time by Robbie Keane andAlan Gordon.

The 35-year-old midfielder joined the Galaxy after playing his entire 17-seasoncareer with English Premier League side Liverpool.

“It was a great feeling,” Gerrard told the Galaxy website(www.lagalaxy.com). “It was a difficult game and I thought (Club

America) were very good.“I thought after 15 or 20 minutes that the team settled really

well, we played some good football and we got our deservedequaliser.

“For me personally, it was good to get 45 minutes under mybelt and I’ll keep getting better and better and the more I get used

to my teammates, I’ll improve.”Galaxy coach Bruce Arena substituted Gerrard at half-time in

the game played at their home stadium in Carson, California.“I think Steven played well, we are going to see how he feels

tomorrow and Monday before we make a decision moving for-

RIO DE JANIERO: Two-times former World Player of the YearRonaldinho Gaucho has signed an 17-month contact withFluminense, the club said on Saturday.

He joined the Rio de Janeiro side after terminating his contractwith Mexican club Queretaro, where he spent almost a year,Fluminense said in a statement on their web site.

The 35-year old, who previously played in Brazil for Gremio,Flamengo and Atletico Mineiro, said he was coming home to tryand win Brazil’s Serie A, one of the few medals missing from histrophy cabinet. “That was one of the things that most motivatedme to return home to Brazil, in search of a title that I dont have, aswell as this being a club with great players,” he told the club’swebsite, adding that regular appearances at Rio’s Maracana stadi-um were also a big draw.

“I am very motivated. When I was with another club in Rio deJaneiro we only played at the Engenhao (stadium) so the possibil-ity of playing at the Maracana is really exciting to me.”

One of Brazil’s most decorated players, he won the ChampionsLeague and La Liga with Barcelona and Serie A in Italy with ACMilan in a globe-trotting career that included a stint in Francewith Paris Saint-Germain. —Reuters

Fluminense sign Ronaldinho

MADRID: C’est fini”. With those few words in French a tearful Iker Casillasbrought to an end his farewell statement yesterday to the Real Madrid fanshe has served as first-team goalkeeper and captain for 16 seasons.

Dressed in a dark blue shirt and sitting alone in front of the assembledmedia at the Bernabeu stadium press room, the 34-year-old, who is leavingfor Portuguese side Porto, choked up several times as he thanked Real for“giving me everything”. “This club also moulded me as a person and helpedme to grow,” said Casillas, who joined the Real academy at the age of nineand debuted for the first team at 18. “Beyond remembering me as a goodgoalkeeper or a bad goalkeeper I just hope that peopleremember me for being a good person,” he added.

Casillas was speaking after Spanish daily newspa-per El Mundo published an interview with his parentsyesterday in which they said their son had been forcedout of the club by president Florentino Perez. Casillashad been the victim of an orchestrated campaign of “vili-fication” in recent years which eventually promptedhis decision to quit, they added.

Real did not immediately respond to a requestfor comment and Casillas did not take questionsafter making his statement, in which he did notmention Perez by name. —Reuters

Casillas quits Real MadridGerrard makes quiet debut

CHICAGO: Chris Sale dominated into the eighthinning while outpitching Jon Lester, and theChicago White Sox beat the Cubs 5-1 Saturday fortheir ninth win in 11 games.

Sale (8-4) showed why he was picked to hisfourth consecutive All-Star Game, helping the WhiteSox move into position to sweep the weekendseries with their crosstown rivals. Lester’s winlessstreak reached 10 starts.

The South Siders took a 2-0 lead in the first onan RBI triple by rookie Tyler Saladino for his firstmajor league hit and a run-scoring single by JoseAbreu. They broke open the game with three morein the seventh against Lester (4-8), making the mostof third baseman Kris Bryant’s costly throwing erroron Avisail Garcia’s grounder.

ROCKIES 3, BRAVES 2Carlos Gonzalez hit a bases-loaded bloop single

that dropped between charging center fielderCameron Maybin and backpedaling shortstopAndrelton Simmons in the ninth inning, driving inthe decisive run in the Rockies victory over theBraves. Misfortune hit the Braves at the outset ofthe Rockies’ late rally. Reliever Jason Grilli (3-4) tum-bled to the ground and suffered a ruptured leftAchilles’ tendon as he ran toward first to cover thebag when Drew Stubbs, the first batter he faced, hita grounder that first baseman Chris Johnson rangedto his right to field.

Grilli appeared to take a bad step and crumpledto the ground, grabbing his lower left leg in pain.Stubbs was safe on what was ruled a hit.

Team trainers and manager Fredi Gonzalez ranon to the field to tend to Grilli, who remained onthe ground for several minutes. He was helped tohis feet, taken away on a cart for further treatmentand replaced by David Aardsma.

ATHLETICS 5, INDIANS 4Billy Butler’s two-run double with the bases

loaded broke a tie in the eighth inning and theAthletics beat the Indians.

With two outs, Butler lined an 0-1 pitch fromBryan Shaw over first base to snap a 2-all tie. Rightfielder Brandon Moss’ throwing error allowed a thirdrun to score on the play.

Eric O’Flaherty (1-2) pitched 2-3 of an inning.Tyler Clippard, the Athletics’ fifth pitcher, recordedthe final four outs for his 17th save. Carlos Santanahit a two-run homer in the eighth, but Cleveland’sfour game winning streak ended.

All-Star Stephen Vogt started the winning rallywith a two-out single off Zach McAllister (2-3). MarcRzepczynski gave up a single to Ben Zobrist andwalked Josh Reddick. Butler came through with theclutch hit that snapped Oakland’s three-game los-ing streak. Moss’ throw to second base hit Butler inthe back and rolled away, allowing Reddick to score.

TWINS 9, TIGERS 5Torii Hunter’s towering two-run homer into the

third deck against his former team highlighted a 16-hit afternoon for Minnesota, and the Twins beat theTigers. Trevor Plouffe and Eddie Rosario each hadthree hits and scored twice, and the bottom fivebatters in the Twins lineup combined for six RBIsand 11 hits in 19 at-bats. Aaron Hicks hit a two-runtriple in the third inning that finished AlfredoSimon’s start.

Phil Hughes (8-6) gave up a home run to VictorMartinez and a two-run single to James McCann inthe fourth, but he took a 7-0 lead into that inning.Yoenis Cespedes drove in another run with a doublein the fifth, the last inning for Hughes. But theright-hander improved to 4-0 in his last six starts,despite allowing eight hits.

RAYS 3, ASTROS 0Jake Odorizzi won in his first start in five weeks,

Rene Rivera drove in two runs and the Rays beat thesliding Astros. Odorizzi (5-5) scattered two hits,walked three and struck out five over 5 2-3 inningsin his initial appearance since straining his leftoblique June 5. Brad Boxberger, the fourth Raysreliever, pitched the ninth for his 22nd save to com-plete a three-hitter.

Houston has scored just four runs during a five-

game losing streak. The surprising Astros took overfirst place in the AL West on April 19, but they hadtheir lead dwindle to a half-game over the LosAngeles Angels entering Saturday. The Angels werescheduled to play Seattle on Saturday night.

BLUE JAYS 6, ROYALS 2Mark Buehrle pitched seven strong innings,

Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer and theToronto Blue Jays beat Kansas City to snap theRoyals’ six-game winning streak.

Buehrle (10-5) limited the Royals to two runsand five hits while improving to 4-0 with a 1.24 ERAin his past four starts against them.

Encarnacion’s 18th home run in the fourthinning off Chris Young ended the Blue Jays’ 27-inning scoring drought. Toronto led 3-2 in the ninthwhen Danny Valencia hit a three-run homer offRoyals rookie Brandon Finnegan to extend theadvantage.

Jose Reyes had three hits, stole three bases,walked, scored a run and drove in a run for the BlueJays. Young (7-5), working on three days’ rest, gaveup three runs and five hits with two walks in six-plusinnings. He left after giving up a single to KevinPillar to open the inning.

METS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2Matt Harvey pitching seven strong innings and

hit his first career home run to lead the Mets to awin over the Diamondbacks.

Lucas Duda homered for the second consecutivegame and Ruben Tejada also went deep for theMets. After giving up a two-run homer to DavidPeralta in the first inning, Harvey (8-6) settled into agroove and scattered just four singles over his lastsix innings. Jeurys Familia got the last three outs forhis 26th save. It was another solid pitching perform-ance for the Mets, who have allowed just 23 earned

runs over their last 142 innings.Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin (1-1), mak-

ing his second start of the season after Tommy Johnsurgery wiped out his 2014 campaign, allowed allfour runs and four hits in five innings. He gave upthree homers for the first time in his career.

MARLINS 14, REDS 3The Miami Marlins lost All-Star second baseman

Dee Gordon to a dislocated left thumb, and theyresponded with a franchise-record offensive out-burst, beating Cincinnati.

Gordon was hurt in the seventh inning slidingheadfirst into first base for his third infield hit. Heleft the game for a pinch runner. The hit was thesecond of nine straight, a Marlins record, and theyscored eight runs in the inning.

Gordon, who leads the majors with 122 hits, waschosen to start in the All-Star Game for the firsttime. The Marlins were already without All-Star rightfielder Giancarlo Stanton, sidelined since June 26because of a broken left hand.

The Marlins totaled a season-high 21 hits, andtheir run total was also a season high after they hadscored just 12 runs in the past seven games.

RED SOX 5, YANKEES 3Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer, Mookie

Betts had a pair of extra-base hits and David Ortizalso had two hits Saturday to help the Red Sox beatthe first-place Yankees.

The Red Sox won for the 10th time in 13 games.They remained in last place in the AL East, but theyclosed to 5 1/2 games out in the division. Bostonwas 10 games out June 20.

The Yankees had beaten the Red Sox fivestraight times, including a 5-1 win Friday. But a dayafter losing the series opener and top starter ClayBuchholz on the same night, the Red Sox got 6 1-3solid innings from Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2).

The rookie left-hander allowed five hits and awalk while striking out two, leaving with a 3-2 leadin the seventh. It was just the third time in ninecareer starts that he has given up two runs or more.

PADRES 6, RANGERS 5Yangervis Solarte hit a two-run homer off Texas

closer Shawn Tolleson with two outs in the ninthinning, and the Padres rallied to end a season-highsix-game losing streak with a victory over theRangers. Solarte’s drive down the right-field linehanded Tolleson (2-2) his first blown save when hehad a chance to be the first pitcher in five years toconvert the first 14 chances of his career.

Solarte reached base four times and scoredthree runs. Former Texas reliever Joaquin Benoit (6-4) pitched a scoreless eighth, and Craig Kimbrelstruck out the side in the ninth for his 22nd save.

Mitch Moreland homered twice for the Rangers,who lost for the ninth time in 10 home games.

PIRATES 6, CARDINALS 5Andrew McCutchen’s two-run home run in the

14th inning capped Pittsburgh’s third rally of thenight and the Pirates beat the Cardinals.

McCutchen’s homer to center off NickGreenwood (0-1) followed Neil Walker’s leadoff sin-gle and extended his hitting streak to a career-high18 games. It was his 12th home run of the season.

Jhonny Peralta’s single off Vance Worley (3-4) in

the top of the inning drove in Matt Carpenter andgave the Cardinals a 5-4 lead.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the eighth to tie thegame after falling behind 3-0, and Chris Stewartsingled in Jung Ho Kang in the 10th after MarkReynolds’ second homer of the game had given St.Louis another lead in the top of the inning.

NATIONALS 7, ORIOLES 4Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa homered in a

four-run sixth inning, and the Nationals beat theOrioles to end a three-game skid.

Jordan Zimmermann (8-5) won his third straightstart despite allowing four runs and nine hits in fiveinnings. He was pitching one day after his wifegave birth to the couple’s second child.

Caleb Joseph and Steve Pearce homered for theOrioles, who have lost nine of 12. Miguel Gonzalez(7-6) retired 10 straight batters and took a 4-2 leadinto the sixth before everything rapidly unraveled.Harper led off with his 26th home run, ClintRobinson and Wilson Ramos singled and Espinosasent an 0-1 pitch over the 25-foot scoreboard inright field. Harper’s home run was his first againstthe Orioles in 12 career games. He’s 8 for 44 (.182)with three RBIs against Baltimore.

BREWERS 7, DODGERS 1Rookie Taylor Jungmann tossed a three-hitter,

Carlos Gomez drove in five runs and the Brewersbeat the Dodgers. Jungmann (4-1) struck out sevenand walked two on 100 pitches to help the Brewersimprove to 5-2 in his starts.

Gomez went 2 for 3 with a walk and a strikeoutwhile tying his career high for RBIs, his second five-RBI game in a week. Brandon Beachy (0-1) gave upthree runs and five hits in four innings, struck outtwo and walked three. The right-hander was mak-ing his first start in nearly two years after comingback from two Tommy John surgeries.

Beachy spent his first four seasons with Atlanta

and in 2012 had the lowest ERA in the majors at2.00 through 13 starts. But his season ended earlywith his first elbow surgery.

MARINERS 5, ANGELS 0Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight strong innings in

his second game back from the disabled list andMark Trumbo had two RBI singles to lead theMariners to a victory over the Angels.

Iwakuma (1-1) gave up three hits and two walks,and struck out six. He retired the last 13 batters hefaced in his longest outing since going eightinnings at Philadelphia last Aug. 19.

It was the fourth straight game with at least twohits for Trumbo. He has a seven-game overall hit-ting streak, and is batting 12 for 22 in that stretch.

Los Angeles starter C.J. Wilson (7-7) gave upthree runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings, walkingfour and striking out five. It was the ninth time inhis last 10 starts that Wilson lasted at least sixinnings.

GIANTS 8, PHILLIES 5Angel Pagan and Matt Duffy each drove in a

pair of runs in the sixth inning and the Giants ral-lied to beat the Phillies. Brandon Crawford hadthree hits and drove in a run for the Giants, whohave won three of four after a seven-game losingstreak. Duffy, who had four hits in Friday night’s vic-tory, was a home run shy of the cycle for the sec-ond straight day.

Josh Osich (1-0) recorded the final out of thesixth and earned his first major league victory.Santiago Casilla got the final out for his 22nd save.

Ryan Howard hit a home run and drove in twoand Cody Asche added a two-run shot for thePhillies, who have lost four straight and 14 of 17overall. Freddy Galvis doubled and tripled andOdubel Herrera had two hits and drove in a run. LuisGarcia (3-4) gave up three runs in 2-3 innings afterallowing two over his previous 15 innings. — AP

White Sox pound Cubs, Rockies win

American LeagueEastern Division

W L PCT GB NY Yankees 47 40 .540 - Baltimore 44 43 .506 3 Tampa Bay 45 45 .500 3.5 Toronto 45 45 .500 3.5 Boston 42 46 .477 5.5

Central DivisionKansas City 51 34 .600 - Minnesota 48 40 .545 4.5 Detroit 44 43 .506 8 Cleveland 42 45 .483 10 Chicago White Sox 41 44 .482 10

Western DivisionHouston 49 41 .544 - LA Angels 47 40 .540 0.5 Texas 42 45 .483 5.5 Seattle 41 47 .466 7 Oakland 40 50 .444 9

National LeagueEastern Division

Washington 47 39 .547 - NY Mets 46 42 .523 2 Atlanta 42 46 .477 6 Miami 37 51 .420 11 Philadelphia 29 61 .322 20

Central DivisionSt. Louis 56 32 .636 - Pittsburgh 52 35 .598 3.5 Chicago Cubs 46 40 .535 9 Cincinnati 39 46 .459 15.5 Milwaukee 38 51 .427 18.5

Western DivisionLA Dodgers 50 39 .562 - San Francisco 45 43 .511 4.5 Arizona 42 44 .488 6.5 San Diego 40 49 .449 10 Colorado 38 49 .437 11

MLB results/standingsToronto 6, Kansas City 2; Minnesota 9, Detroit 5; Chicago White Sox 5, Chicago Cubs 1; NY Mets 4,Arizona 2; Colorado 3, Atlanta 2; Miami 14, Cincinnati 3; Tampa Bay 3, Houston 0; Oakland 5, Cleveland 4;Washington 7, Baltimore 4; Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 5 (14 innings); Boston 5, NY Yankees 3; San Diego 6,Texas 5; San Francisco 8, Philadelphia 5; Milwaukee 7, LA Dodgers 1; Seattle 5, LA Angels 0.

DENVER: Colorado Rockies baserunner Nolan Arenado (left) slides safely into second base on a double against Atlanta Braves second baseman Pedro Ciriaco (right) in the fifth inning. — AP

CHICAGO: White Sox second baseman Emilio Bonifacio reacts to being hit by a pitch whiletrying to bunt during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs. — AP

GERMANY: Spain’s MotoGP world championMarc Marquez won the German Grand Prixfrom pole position yesterday for his sixthwin in a row at the Sachsenring in a Hondaone-two with compatriot Dani Pedrosa.Italy’s Valentino Rossi finished third forYamaha to extend his championship leadover Spanish team mate Jorge Lorenzo, whowas fourth, to 13 points.

Rossi, a nine times champion in all cate-gories, has 179 points to Lorenzo’s 166 afternine of 18 races. Marquez is fourth overallwith 114. The victory, at a circuit he hasdominated since his 125cc days, wasMarquez’s second of the season and Honda’sfirst one-two of the year. “From the begin-ning I felt good and then when I had the gapI tried to manage it,” said the Spaniard, whowas passed at the start by Lorenzo butretook the lead after four laps and pulledaway. “I’m happy because during this week-end we were completely first and it’s been along time since I did that.” With Marquez onhis own, the battle for second provided mostof the excitement.

Rossi went wheel-to-wheel with Lorenzoand passed after seven laps, with Marquez

1.8 seconds ahead, but any hopes the Italianhad of closing the gap soon vanished.

Pedrosa overtook Lorenzo and reeled inRossi before regaining second place-his gridposition-with 14 of 30 laps remaining.

“It was a very difficult race, especially thebeginning for me,” Pedrosa told BT Sport. “Ihad some issues at the beginning with thesetting but towards the middle of the racethe tank became emptier and I felt morecomfortable. “I passed Jorge and then imme-diately caught Valentino but it was not easyto pass because on the exit the Yamaha wasvery strong.”

Rossi, who had started the day 10 pointsclear of Lorenzo, was happy with his after-noon’s work. “I think Dani had something inhis pocket for the end,” said the Italian. “I wasat the limit, I pushed hard, I kept constantlythe rhythm but at one point Dani did twolaps very fast. So I think today was the maxi-mum. “In this track we know we have to suf-fer compared to the Hondas, but anotherpodium and I gained three points on Jorge.This is important for the championship andwe will wait for better racetracks for our M1(bike).” — Reuters

S P O RT SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

LOS ANGELES: Jordan Spieth’s decision to competein this week’s PGA Tour event in the United States hascast a spotlight on the best way to prepare for theBritish Open-whether or not to play links golf inadvance. Many of the biggest names in the game opt-ed to tee it up at the Scottish Open in Gullane whiletuning up for the third major of the year but Spiethpreferred instead to get his competitive juices flowingat the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

Making his choice of venue even more topical isthe fact that Spieth has won the first two majors ofthe season and will be targeting the third leg of aunique calendar grand slam when he sets off inThursday’s opening round at St. Andrews.

There are no ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ when it comes tohow a player should hone his game for a major, somepreferring to be competitive the week before whileothers are more comfortable practising ahead of timeat the championship venue.

Yet links golf is a very different animal with unpre-dictable bounces off both fairway and green com-

monplace and the nuances of a course like St.Andrews are an acquired taste, especially when thewind blows from different directions.

While many have criticised Spieth’s decision toplay at the John Deere Classic, where he won his firstPGA Tour title at the tender age of 19, the Americanworld number two is entirely happy with his build-upto next week’s British Open.

“If I thought that I wasn’t going to play well nextweek because I played here, it would be a differentstory,” Spieth, 21, told reporters.

“This is a good preparation for me to get goodfeels, to get in contention, and to find out what’s onand what’s off when I’m in contention.

“The only downside here versus playing anywhereelse is the adjustment to the time zone, but as long asI get over there and I have my schedule ahead oftime, I’m going to have enough sleep by the time I teeit up Thursday.” Spieth looked out-of-sorts whileopening with an even-par 71 at the John DeereClassic, his first PGA Tour event in three weeks, but

shook off the rust with a sparkling 64 in the secondround as he soared up the leaderboard.

He was even more impressive on Saturday, firing around of 61 that included two eagles and six birdiesas he seized first place in the tournament.

“I don’t think it matters where it is, as long as I canget myself in contention, find out how I’m perform-ing, what kind of minor tweaks I need to do, if any, thefirst couple days at the Open Championship to getready for the major,” said Spieth.

“I just want to get in contention. It doesn’t matterwhere it is. When I get over there (to St. Andrews),whether I play well or don’t play well has nothing todo with what I did the week before.”

Former world number one Tiger Woods, who hasclinched two British Opens at St. Andrews among his14 major victories, backed Spieth’s strategy.

“I think it’s great for him to play, get the playingfeels, keep the playing feels going,” Woods said at thePGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic earlier this month. “Feelstravel. He’s played enough links-type golf courses. “He

did all right at Chambers (Bay),” smiled Woods, refer-ring to the links-style venue for this year’s US Openwhere Spieth triumphed by one shot. “He’s played theBritish Opens before.

“St. Andrews will be a little bit different, and therewill be a lot to learn in a short time. But he’s young,and he can spend the energy playing 18 holes everyday and be fine.”

Five-times major champion Phil Mickelson, whowon the 2013 British Open at Muirfield, felt tourna-ment preparation was all about individual choice.

“Each player has to find out how to prepare theirbest to play their best, and it’s different for every-body,” said the 45-year-old American.

“I can’t comment on what he (Spieth) needs to dofor him to play his best. Only he can do that.” Spieth isknown by his peers for being wise beyond his yearsand so far he has barely made a misstep in his bur-geoning career. If one is to second-guess his JohnDeere decision, perhaps it should be done only afterthe 2015 British Open. — Reuters

Spieth sparks debate on best British Open build-up

LOS ANGELES: After this year’s four majors areconsigned to the record books, golf fans willreflect on a most unusual season when three ofthem were played on British-style links courses-including two on American soil.

Chambers Bay in Washington State hostedthe June 18-21 U.S. Open while Whistling Straitsin Kohler, Wisconsin will hold the PGAChampionship for a third time when it stagesthe final major of 2015 from Aug. 13-16. Inbetween those two, the British Open will beplayed next week at the home of golf in St.Andrews, Scotland.

For some, this is proof positive that links-stylegolf is becoming much trendier in the UnitedStates but golf course architect GeoffShackleford views it more as a greater apprecia-tion for the historical roots of the game.

“Venues (for the majors) are sorted out so farin advance and I would argue that in the case ofChambers Bay and Whistling Straits, they are lesslinks-like,” American Shackleford told Reuters in atelephone interview.

“In terms of a trend, I would say there is nowa greater appreciation for links golf in the U.S.and there is also less resistance to links golf fromthe top players.

“It wasn’t that long ago really that playersviewed playing too much links-style golf as notgood for their game.” Shackleford, who is in

Britain for the Scottish Open and the BritishOpen that follows, cited the example of PhilMickelson’s victories at both events in 2013.

“When Phil won the back-to-back Openshere, that proved to players that you could playover here for a few weeks and it would be agood thing for your game,” said Shackleford,who has written several books on golf coursedesign. “There was a mentality that you wouldget into bad habits by playing too much linksgolf. So I think it’s less a trend and more of anembrace of it again, a greater appreciation ofhow much fun it is to play and to watch linksgolf.” While the hallowed ground of St. Andrewsepitomizes the very best of natural links coursegolf, both Chambers Bay and Whistling Straitsare manufactured layouts that required a mas-sive makeover by their respective designers.

The rolling course at Chambers Bay was for-merly used as a rock quarry and gravel minewhile Whistling Straits was transformed fromflat, windswept and featureless terrain that pre-viously accommodated a military base.

Both US venues generally required highapproach shots to the greens whereas true linkscourses allow for low bump-and-runs and anemphasis on the ‘ground game’.

“What’s interesting about Whistling Straits forme is that it’s a Scottish-looking course thatplays like an American course,” said five-times

major champion Mickelson.“It doesn’t play like a course in Scotland, but

yet it has all the aesthetics of it. You see the fes-cues and the sand, the dunes and the potbunkers ... and the openings in front and youthink you want to run balls up. “But it justdoesn’t work. It’s too soft and the ball stops soyou have to fly balls on to the green. So thattakes a little getting used to, especially whenwe’re just coming from the British Open.”

Unquestionably though, American golfershave become much more attuned to the attrac-tion of links-style golf, and especially since fourtop-quality layouts were opened for play inBandon, Oregon-in 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2010.

“Bandon has been enormous for openingpeople’s eyes,” said Shackleford, who workedwith golf course architect Gil Hanse on an exten-sive restoration of Los Angeles Country Club’siconic North Course in February 2010.

“The Streamsong Resort down in Florida,while not pure links golf, is another positivetrend already in that it has exposed more peopleto links-style courses, more exposed courses,wider courses, rougher looking courses.

“Anything that allows people to see that it’snot evil, that it’s fun golf and that golf is not justtree-lined courses is a huge plus. You barely hearabout people that come back from Bandon nothaving had a great time.” — Reuters

Links courses underpin this season’s majors

NEW YORK: Jordan Spieth charged to atwo-stroke lead with a stunning finish tothe third round at the John Deere Classicon Saturday.

Only days before he will attempt tocomplete the third leg of the Grand Slam,Spieth used a mixture of precision and luckto finish birdie, eagle, birdie at TPC DeereRun. He holed out with a sand wedge from107 yards at the par-five 17th, before run-ning in a 15-foot birdie at the last for a 10-under-par 61, his best round on the PGATour. “I just seem to get some lucky breakshere at the John Deere,” Spieth told GolfChannel after posting a 17-under 196 total,two strokes better than New Zealand’sDanny Lee, who shot 62.

It has been a stunning form turnaroundby the 21-year-old American, who was indanger of missing the cut until he puttogether a string of birdies in the middle ofthe second round.

Some questioned whether Spiethshould play in the US the week before theBritish Open at St. Andrews, where he willhave a chance to become the first playersince Ben Hogan in 1953 to win the firstthree majors of the year.

But he had no hesitation returning tothe course where he won his first PGA Tour

title two years ago. “That turning pointmid-round yesterday where I had a reallygood stretch to get inside the cut line iswhat really gave me a lot of confidence,” hesaid.

“The hole looked a little bigger fromthere on in. In order to shoot a really lowround you obviously have to have someputts go in from mid-range.”

Spieth hit a poor drive at the 17th butthreaded a nice recovery shot between thetrees. He was clearly disgusted with histhird shot but was then surprised when hisball landed about eight feet beyond thehole, put on the brakes and was suckedback into the hole.

“It was certainly a couple of grooves low(on the clubface) but that seems to besomething that works out for me at thistournament. Just thin it a little bit andsomehow it goes in.”

Lost in the drama was Lee, whose 10-birdie 62 lifted him into contention to winfor a second successive week, after hisbreakthrough victory at the GreenbrierClassic last Sunday.

“I feel very confident about tomorrow,”Lee said. “Jordan just played magnificenttoday. I think it’s going to be a fun day forus tomorrow.” — Reuters

LANCASTER: Amy Yang of South Korea foughtoff a late challenge by Stacy Lewis on Saturdayto retain a three-shot lead heading into the finalround of the U.S. Women’s Open at LancasterCountry Club. The 24-year-old Yang shot a one-under 69 for a 54-hole total of eight-under-par202, while world number three Lewis’s 69 lefther at five under par for the championship.

Yang, who has twice before played in the finalpairing at a US Open, will have another goldenopportunity on Sunday paired again with Lewis.“I don’t want to think too much ahead, but itwould be a great thing to my golf career,” Yangsaid about the possibility of claiming her maidenmajor. Chun In-gee, a 20-year-old South Korean,surged to third place with a two-under 68 for afour-under-par 206, one stroke better thanJapanese Tour veteran Shiho Oyama, who shot71 after sliding back with a double-bogey at thepar-four fifth.

Four players were grouped at two under par,including last year’s winner Michelle Wie, whofired a 68. Joining Wie on 208, six strokes off thepace, were world number one Park In-bee (70)and fellow Koreans Lee Mi-hyang (68) and ChellaChoi, who set a US Women’s Open nine-holerecord by firing a 29 on the front side on her wayto a six-under 64. Five players had shot 30 fornine holes, the first being Pamela Wright atIndianwood in 1994.

Yang enjoyed a four-stroke lead after shebirdied the par-five 13th hole to reach nineunder par and was threatening to make it aromp. But a two-shot swing at the par-four 14thtightened the leaderboard as the South Koreanbogeyed after a strong chip past the cup, whileLewis birdied to close within two. A three-puttbogey by Lewis at the 17th hole restored Yang’sthree-stroke lead.

Earlier, Yang used a two-stroke swing to heradvantage, turning a three-shot lead over Lewis

into a five-shot bulge as she birdied the firstwhile the American made bogey. A bogey-birdieexchange in Lewis’s favor at the second holeagain reversed the effect.

Yang and Lewis, who were both within rangeof winning their first US Open crown last year,will wage another head-to-head clash paired inSunday’s final round. Their third-round duel hadthe feel of match play. “I felt like I hit some greatshots that put a lot of pressure on her, and then

she just would respond and hit it right in therewith me,” said two-times major winner Lewis.

“There were multiple times today that it wasiffy who was away. I mean, we were hitting shotson top of each other. In a sense it’s frustrating,because you’re trying to get closer but you reallycan’t get any closer.

“I think it’s great golf. I think we both playedreally well today given the circumstances, and Iexpect more of it tomorrow.” — Reuters

Yang stays ahead of pack

LANCASTER: Amy Yang of South Korea tees off at hole No. 9 during the third round of the USWomen’s Open golf tournament. — AP

Marquez wins, Rossi extends lead

Sizzling Spieth leadsSILVIS: Jordan Spieth celebrates his birdie on the 18th green during the third roundof the John Deere Classic golf tournament. — AP

GERMANY: Spain’sMarc Marquez celebrates on thepodium after winning theMotoGP race at theSachsenring circuit. — AP

S P O RT SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

CARDIFF: England yesterday named an unchanged 13-man squad for the second Ashes Test against Australiawhich starts at Lord’s on Thursday.

Stuart Broad led England to a 169-run victory in thefirst Test as Australia collapsed either side of lunch onthe fourth day at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens on Saturday.

England’s successful XI will be joined again bySteven Finn and Adil Rashid as extra bowling optionsfor the second match of five. Australia, well-placed at 97for one in Cardiff on Saturday, slumped to 106 for five as

four wickets fell for just nine runs in 36 balls.Chasing a record-breaking 412 for victory, the Ashes-

holders were dismissed for 242 after tea.Fast-medium bowler Broad took three for 39 in 14

overs as England enjoyed an emphatic win in their firstmatch under new Australian coach Trevor Bayliss.

Joe Root, named man-of-the-match for his firstinnings 134 after coming in with England struggling at43 for three, had the last word in the game by catchingJosh Hazlewood in the deep off spinner Moeen Ali.

England captain Alastair Cook has often been criticisedfor excessive caution in the field but didn’t miss a trick inCardiff and an impressed Bayliss said: “I thought his cap-taincy was top-notch.” Bayliss, however, added he wasexpecting Australia to bounce back strongly at Lord’s.“The boys are very much aware that, when you beatAustralia, then the next match is going to be eventougher,” the former Sri Lanka and New South Walescoach said. “They’ll come back hard-we know that-andthere’s still a long way to go in this series. “To win it, we’ll

have to play some very good cricket.”

England squadAlastair Cook (Essex, capt), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire),

Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), JoeRoot (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Jos Buttler(Lancashire, wkt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), StuartBroad (Nottinghamshire), Mark Wood (Durham), JamesAnderson (Lancashire), Steven Finn (Middlesex), AdilRashid (Yorkshire). — AFP

England unchanged for second Ashes Test

HARARE: Half-centuries from opening batsmenAjinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay and four wick-ets from Bhuvneshwar Kumar saw India beatZimbabwe by 62 runs in the second one-dayinternational and take an unassailable 2-0 leadin the three-match series yesterday.

Rahane and Vijay put on 112 for the firstwicket after India were sent in to bat, andalthough the tourists could not fully capitaliseon that platform, they were still able to post 271

for eight. In reply, Zimbabwe were pegged backby Kumar’s brilliant first spell, which broughtthe wickets of Hamilton Masakadza and the in-form Elton Chigumbura.

Chamu Chibhabha made 72, but the hostsfaded after he was run out and they were even-

tually bowled out for 209, with Kumar finishingwith figures of 4 for 33.

After collapsing to 87 for five in Friday’s firstODI, which they still won by four runs, Indiatook a circumspect approach yesterday asRahane and Vijay batted out the opening 26overs.

“I was not playing at my best, but accordingto the conditions we decided not to give earlywickets because then the team is under morepressure,” Vijay said.

“We thought 260 or 270 was a good score onthis wicket because it was getting slower andlower.” While Rahane’s 63 was his 10th fifty inODIs, Vijay had never before crossed 33 and sohis 72 was a landmark for the Test regular.

Despite their dismissals, India went into the

final 10 overs well set on 194 for two, but thenlost Friday’s centurion Ambati Rayudu for 41and Manoj Tiwary for 22.

Seamer Neville Madziva ensured thatZimbabwe finished strongly as he picked upthree wickets at the death to close with career-best figures of 4 for 49 in 10 overs.

With Kumar taking 2 for 19 in his initial six-over spell, Zimbabwe fell to 43 for three in replyand rarely threatened from that point. WhenChibhabha was run out in a mix-up withSikandar Raza Butt the game was effectively up,and although Richmond Mutumbami andGraeme Cremer put on 52 for the seventh wick-et, Kumar returned to finish the job off. The thirdODI takes place on Tuesday, and will also beplayed at Harare Sports Club. —AFP

India defeat Zimbabwe

HARARE: Indian batsman Murali Vijay avoids the ball in the second one-day internationalcricket match against Zimbabwe. — AP

HARARE: Final scoreboard in the second one-day international between Zimbabwe and Indiain Harare yesterday:

IndiaA. Rahane c Sikandar Raza b Chibhabha 63M. Vijay c sub (Waller) b Madziva 72A. Rayudu c sub (Waller) b Sikandar Raza 41M. Tiwary c Vitori b Tiripano 22R. Uthappa b Madziva 13S. Binny c Sikandar Raza b Vitori 25K. Jadhav c Mutumbami b Madziva 16Harbhajan Singh not out 5A. Patel c Sikandar Raza b Madziva 1B. Kumar not out 0Extras (13w) 13Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 271Fall of wickets: 1-112 (Rahane), 2-159 (Vijay), 3-203 (Rayudu), 4-205 (Tiwary), 5-233 (Uthappa), 6-264 (Binny), 7-266 (Jadhav), 8-269 (Patel).Did not bat: D. Kulkarni.Bowling: Vitori 8-0-47-1, Tiripano 9-0-42-1,Madziva 10-0-49-4, Williams 5-0-23-0, Cremer 5-0-32-0, Chibhabha 5-0-27-1, Masakadza 4-0-26-0,Sikandar Raza 4-0-25-1.

ZimbabweV. Sibanda c Vijay b Kulkarni 2C. Chibhabha run out 72H. Masakadza c Uthappa b Kumar 5E. Chigumbura c Rahane b Kumar 9S. Williams b Patel 20Sikandar Raza c Uthappa b Harbhajan Singh 18R. Mutumbami c Patel b Binny 32G. Cremer c Rahane b Kumar 27N. Madziva run out 0D. Tiripano c Patel b Kumar 6B. Vitori not out 8Extras (4b, 4lb, 2w) 10Total (all out, 49 overs) 209Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Sibanda), 2-31 (Masakadza),3-43 (Chigumbura), 4-95 (Williams), 5-130(Chibhabha), 6-132 (Sikandar Raza), 7-184(Mutumbami), 8-186 (Madziva), 9-195 (Cremer),10-209 (Tiripano).Bowling: Kumar 10-3-33-4, Kulkarni 9-1-39-1,Harbhajan Singh 10-0-29-1, Binny 7-0-42-1, Patel10-1-40-1, Vijay 3-0-18-0.Result: India won by 62 runs.

SCOREBOARD

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s Soumya Sarkar plays a shot during the second one-day inter-national cricket match against South Africa. — AP

DHAKA: Soumya Sarkar andMahmudullah struck half-centuries afterBangladesh dismissed South Africacheaply, crushing the Proteas by sevenwickets in the second one-day interna-tional to tie the three-match series inDhaka yesterday.

Soumya hit a stroke-filled unbeaten88 while Mahmudullah made 50 asBangladesh raced to 167-3 with morethan 22 overs in hand, keepingBangladesh in the series after Friday’sfirst game loss. Earlier the home teammade swift work of the visitors, bowlingwith heart for 162 runs in 46 overs, effec-tively making the contest a one-sidedaffair.

Kagiso Rabada, who had set a newone-day debut bowling record in theprevious match, raised hopes when hebowled out Tamim Iqbal (five) and LittonDas (17).

But Soumya and Mahmudullah stoodfirm for a 135-run third wicket stand asthe Tigers carried the game safely infront of packed stadium.

Soumya, who faced 79 balls and hit 13fours and a six, swept Imran Tahir overthe mid wicket fence to complete theemphatic victory-only Bangladesh’s sec-ond against South Africa in 16 ODIs.

The win, which followed Bangladesh’ssteady progress in one-day rankings, alsocemented their place in the eight-teamICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to beheld in England in 2017.

Only the hosts and seven other top-ranked ODI teams are eligible to qualifyfor the tournament. Earlier, Nasir Hossain

finished with a career best 3-26 whileleft-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahmangrabbed 3-38 as South Africa werebowled out with their lowest scoreagainst Bangladesh on a slow pitch atthe Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Mustafizur drew the first blood in thefifth over when he forced a leading edgefrom opener Quinton de Kock as SabbirRahman took a simple catch at backwardpoint.

Rubel Hossain, who returned to thestarting lineup for leg-spinner JubairHossain, made an instant impact byknocking the stumps off Hashim Amla(22). South Africa began to feel the pres-sure when Nasir bowled Rilee Rossouwoff his first ball, and Mahmudullah sentDavid Miller home by forcing him to givea simple catch to Mashrafe Mortaza atshort mid wicket to leave the visitorswobbling at 74-4.

Faf Du Plessis, who looked solid hold-ing one end, holed out a catch at long-on to Soumya Sarkar off Nasir. Hisdeparture after the top score of 41 from64 balls f irmly swung the game infavour of the hosts. Mustafizur deceivedJP Duminy with an off cutter, forcinghim to give a catch at short cover toSabbir for 13 before Rubel trapped ChrisMorris leg-before for 12. FarhaanBehardien, who survived a leg-beforedecision after it was overturned by theTV umpire, held Bangladesh off to score36 before he became the last man to bedismissed. The third and final match ofthe series will be held in Chittagong onJuly 15. — AFP

Bangladesh level series

DHAKA: Scoreboard of the second one-day international between Bangladeshand South Africa at the Sher-e-BanglaNational Stadium in Dhaka yesterday:

South Africa:H. Amla b Rubel 22Q. de Kock c Sabbir b Mustafizur 2F. du Plessis c Sarkar b Nasir 41R. Rossouw b Nasir 4D. Miller c Mortaza b Mahmudullah 9J. Duminy c Sabbir b Mustafizur 13F. Behardien c Nasir b Mortaza 36C. Morris lbw b Rubel 12K. Rabada b Mustafizur 10K. Abbott lbw b Nasir 5I. Tahir not out 1Extras (lb 4, w3) 7Total (all out; 46 overs) 162Fall of wickets: 1-16 (de Kock), 2-45(Amla), 3-59 (Rossouw), 4-74 (Miller), 5-93(du Plessis), 6-100 (Duminy), 7-116(Morris). 8-138 (Rabada), 9-160 (Abbott),10-162 (Behardien)

Bowling: Mustafizur 10-1-38-3 Mortaza 5-0-17-1 (w1), Shakib 10-0-30-0, Rubel 9-2-34-2, Nasir 8-0-26-3, Mahmudullah 4-0-13-1 (w2)Bangladesh:Tamim Iqbal b Rabada 5Soumya Sarkar not out 88Litton Das b Rabada 17Mahmudullah c Amla b Abbott 50Shakib Al Hasan not out 0Extras (w5, nb2) 7Total (for three wickets; 27.4 overs) 167Did not bat: Mushfiqur Rahim, SabbirRahman, Nasir Hossain, MashrafeMortaza, Rubel Hossain and MustafizurRahimFall of wickets: 1-5 (Tamim), 2-24 (Das), 3-159 (Mahmudullah)Bowling: Abbott 5-0-22-1, Rabada 7-0-45-2 (nb1, w5), Morris 3-0-29-0 (nb1), Imran8.4-1-40-0, Duminy 2-0-20-0, Behardien2-0-11-0Result : Bangladesh won by sevenwickets.

SCOREBOARD

PAMPLONA: Last year a 600 kilogramme (1,300pound) bull jammed a horn as thick as a man’sarm through Bill Hillmann’s thigh twice, narrowlymissing his femoral artery.

It was his first goring in 10 years of runningwith the bulls at Spain’s famous San Fermin festi-val, but not the first time he got injured.

A bull trampled the 33-year-old Chicagonative two years ago, kicking him in the headand giving him concussion, while in 2006 hisknee became infected after he bruised it in a fall.

The injuries did not discourage him fromreturning this year to the week-long festival,which began in the northern city of Pamplona onMonday, to defy death yet again by runningahead of a thundering pack of fighting bulls.

“I have never had a more peaceful and beauti-ful experience with an animal in my life than thetimes when I have been able to lead a bull up thestreet. It is absolute peace,” said Hillmann, a jour-nalist, author and former boxer who has written abook about his experiences at San Fermin.

For most daredevils, risking your life once atthe festival is enough. But a small group of veter-an runners like Hillman return year after year,despite having suffered serious injuries.

“Someone who starts running regularly getsthis poison in them which leads them to say: ‘I’mgoing to keep running, I like it’,” said Koldo Larrea,a Pamplona journalist who has written severalbooks about the bull-running festival.

Each morning of the fiesta, six half-tonnefighting bulls are freed from a corral at 8:00am torumble after hundreds of runners down a wind-ing, 846.6-metre (925-yard) course through cob-bled streets to a bull ring where the animals arekilled in an afternoon bullfight.

Last year just over 17,000 people took part inthe festival’s eight daily bull runs, two-thirds ofthem for the first time, according to Pamplonacity hall. “First you run out of tradition, then itbecomes a hobby and finally it becomes anaddiction and all you think about is running,” saidJuan Pedro Lecuona, a 42-year-old Pamplonanative who has taken part in over 200 San Ferminbull runs since he first started running in 1989.

Lecuona, a married father of four, has sufferedbroken ribs, bruises and stitches. His most seriousinjury happened in 2010 when a 650-kilo-gramme bull gored him in his leg, leaving himbedridden for two months. He said taking part inbull runs makes him more appreciative of his

life’s blessings. “I risk my life to reflect on it,” saidLecuona, decked out in traditional white clothingwith a red neckerchief as he gathered with otherrevellers in a packed square outside ofPamplona’s Baroque town hall after running withthe bulls on Wednesday.

“What I gain from the bull runs are not imagesand videos to put on social networking sites. It isthe realisation that what is most important ishugging my wife, my sons, being with them, ofvaluing how wonderful it is to be alive. “It makesyou learn to value each day,” he added.

Fifteen people have been killed in the bullruns since modern-day records started in 1911,most recently in 2009 when a 27-year-oldSpaniard was gored. Veteran runners say they

prepare throughout the year by observing bullsat ranches to get a sense of their instincts, jog-ging on pavement and doing contact sports.

Peter Milligan, a 44-year-old lawyer from NewJersey who has taken part in San Fermin eachyear since 2004 with his younger brother Aryeh,said playing basketball was the best way to pre-pare for “the other runners bumping into youand shoving”. He broke his ankle during a run in2013, a year after a bull gored Aryeh, 41, in hiscalf. But they were back again this year andMilligan said he plans to take part in San Fermin“as long as I can walk”. “I find it to be one of themost joyous things that I do. I just love runningas fast as I can, then that sense of relief when it isover,” he said. — AFP

When Pamplona bull runners get hooked

SPAIN: Conde de la Maza fighting bulls run after revelers during the running of the bulls at theSan Fermin festival in Pamplona. — AP

S P O RT SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

TORONTO: The United States’ Madison Desch performs the floor exercise during women’s artistic gymnastics team competition in the Pan Am Games. —AP

TORONTO: Canada got the Pan AmericanGames off to a golden start topping the medaltable after claiming four gold on Saturday andToronto plenty of reason to come out and jointhe Pan Am party.

Talk of sluggish ticket sales disappearedunder a brilliant Canadian summer sun as largeenthusiastic crowds turned out at many venuesto cheer on their home country.

But attendance problems appear far fromover as large swathes of empty seats could stillbe seen some events particularly at soccer andrugby. Canadian synchronized swimmersJacqueline Simoneau and Karine Thomas,Chilean triathlete Barbara Riveros and Mexicandivers Rommel Pacheco and Paola Espinosaearned direct qualifying spots into next year’sRio Olympics as a bonus for winning gold intheir events.

Riding a wave of hometown support,Canada’s women kayakers won the first gold ofthe Games as Michelle Russell, Emilie Fournel, KCFraser and Hannah Vaughan powered homeahead of Cuba in the K-4 500 metres. “The crowdwas cheering so loud I can’t even explain it. Inwords, I can’t even explain it,” said Fraser. “Whenwe got to the last 200 metres of our race you justhear the crowd screaming so loud and it justgives you that drive.”

Canada’s golden success continued in thesynchronized swimming pool with Simoneauand Thomas winning the duet competition andthen were back in the water a few hours later tohelp Canada to the team title. Troy Nyhaug thenwon the men’s BMX while the hosts also pickedup silver in judo and another silver and twobronze from the diving pool to bring their medaltotal to eight, one ahead of the United States,Mexico and Colombia, who all finished the dayon seven medals.

Americans Felicia Stancil took top spot in thewomen’s BMX, Eva Fabiam in the women’s openwater swim while the men won the artistic gym-nastics team event.

Mexico continued its domination of the PanAm diving competition with Pacheco, who com-peted at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, takinggold in the men’s three-metre springboard andEspinosa, a two-times Olympic medallist, win-ning the women’s 10 metre platform.

Colombia took two gold medals from theweightlifting while Brazil, Ecuador, Cuba,Dominican Republic and Chile also won goldson the first day.

Medals in 12 events will be decided whileautomatic qualifying spots for the Rio Olympicson offer in triathlon, shooting and equestrian.

Mexican divers Rommel Pacheco and Paola

Espinosa won the gold medal in their respectiveevents at the Pan American Games on Saturdayto earn automatic qualifying spots for the 2016Rio Olympics.

Pacheco, who competed at the 2004 and2008 Summer Olympics, capped a polishedseries of dives with his most difficult, a forward4-1/2 somersault tuck, to score a total 483.35points in the men’s 3m springboard. The silvermedal went to Mexico’s Jahir Ocampo (442.15)while Canada’s Philippe Gagne (421.20) tookbronze.

Espinosa, a two-times Olympic medallist,sealed her win in the women’s 10m platformwith a back 2-1/2 somersault 1-1/2 twist on herfinal dive to score a total 383.20 points.

Canadians Roseline Filion (377.60) andMeaghan Benfeito (357.45) won the women’s sil-ver and bronze medal, respectively. The twoevents are among a handful of disciplines in 10sports at the July 10-26 Pan Am Games that offerathletes a chance to secure a spot in the RioOlympics, which are scheduled for Aug. 5-21next year. — Reuters

LEEDS: Jacob Miller racked up a four-try haulfor Wakefield Trinity Wildcats but it was all invain as they were thrashed 40-20 by play-offchasing Warrington Wolves.

The former Wests Tigers man, who joinedthe struggling Wildcats from Hull FC this sea-son, scored 18 of their 20 points yesterday.

However, a rampant Warrington sideensured their hosts were never in the contest,flying out of the blocks and eventually scoringseven tries to close the gap to Castleford infifth. The Tigers were also in action yesterdayand slipped up at the hands of Hull FC, miss-ing the chance to leapfrog HuddersfieldGiants into the top four.

Daryl Powell’s side had opened up a 14-6lead at the break after a pair of tries from for-mer Melbourne Storm youngster DennySolomona.

Luke Dorn had also crossed over to putCastleford on the front foot but their hostscame flying back into the contest after thebreak and a Tom Lineham double secured a21-18 victory.

Salford Red Devils produced one of theirbest performances of the season, blowingaway the cobwebs after a slow start againstHull KR to romp to victory.

Tyrone McCarthy grabbed an early try forHull KR before former Gold Coast Titans flyerAlbert Kelly grabbed a double before thebreak, Josh Mantellato converting all three.

However, Rovers were brushed aside in thesecond half, emerging with a 14-point leadand eventually slumping to a 31-18 defeat,Salford racking up a total of six tries.

Elsewhere, Catalan Dragons lost someground in the play-off race as they slipped todefeat at Widnes Vikings. Former NZ Warriorsman Patrick Ah Van crossed over twice for thehosts, while Paddy Flynn also dotted downtwice to complete a 29-22 triumph for thehome side.

Adam Quinlan enjoyed a perfect debut onFriday as St Helens edged a thrilling clash withHuddersfield Giants to move within one point

of Leeds Rhinos at the Super League summit.Quinlan, signed on a short-term deal from

Parramatta Eels at the start of this month,became the seventh man to line up at full-back for Kieron Cunningham’s side this sea-son. The 22-year-old didn’t take long toimpress, running in a first-half hat-trick tosend the Saints into the break ahead andheading towards two points.

However, they didn’t have it all their ownway and the hosts needed a last-gasp dropgoal from Luke Walsh to seal a 35-34 victory.

Just 24 hours earlier, third-placed WiganWarriors also closed the gap to Leeds by sink-ing the Rhinos 26-24 on home soil - followingmore late drama. Former North QueenslandCowboys full-back Matty Bowen was amongfour Wigan try-scorers as the two sides wentinto the closing stages level at 24-24.

And the stage was set for Matty Smith, whohad converted all four for the Warriors, tosend over the decisive penalty late on andclinch a vital two points in the run-up to theplay-offs. — AFP

MEXICO: River Plate, with one goal in threedomestic matches in the last nine days,resume their quest for a third LibertadoresCup at home to Paraguay’s Guarani in tomor-row’s semi-final, first leg.

The teams have had a long time to pre-pare for the clash having won their quarter-final ties at the end of May before a break forthe Copa America.

The other semi-final pits twice championsInternacional against Mexico’s UANL Tigreswith the Brazilian side hosting the first leg inPorto Alegre on Wednesday (0100 Thursday).

River have lost a Copa Argentina match 2-0 to Rosario Central and drawn two leaguegames since July 3 with defender RamiroFunes Mori’s brilliant free kick earning a 1-1draw against Temperley at El Monumental onSaturday.

Coach Marcelo Gallardo, who has beenresting key players, is concerned about theirlack of chances but told reporters his besteleven would be up for the tie that matteredmost in South America’s top club competi-tion. “The big objective is the Cup... We alwayswant to win but at times it’s difficult to notthink about what’s ahead, even the crowdhad their heads in Tuesday’s match,” Gallardosaid. He had a huge grin on his face afterFunes Mori scored a rare goal by steering a

left-foot free kick from outside the box on theright into the top far corner.

“I like it that anyone can score (though)better if it’s the forwards, for their confidence,but I’m worried we’re not creating so manychances,” he said. Former Argentina strikerJavier Saviola, back at the club after 14 yearsin Europe, played the full 90 minutes lookingfor match fitness. “Good for Saviola, he heldon for the whole match, he hadn’t played for90 minutes in a long time plus the emotionalcharge of what it meant to return to the Riverground,” Gallardo said.

“He’ll get more rhythm as he plays andbuilds an understanding with team mates.”Gallardo has plenty of respect for hisParaguayan opponents after their unexpect-ed progress through the competition takingbig scalps along the way.

“Guarani defend well but also try to play,”he said. “They have a single striker backed bya lot of midfielders. They’re not to be takenlightly, they eliminated Corinthians andRacing, two candidates.” River beat BrazilCruzeiro 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals with an impressive 3-0 away victory inthe second leg in Belo Horizonte whileGuarani knocked out Argentina’s Racing Club1-0 after holding them 0-0 in the second legin Buenos Aires. — Reuters

BERLIN: The news Bastian Schweinsteigeris poised to join Manchester United on athree-year contract means Germany’s cap-tain will end his 17-year love-affair with FCBayern Munich.

It looked like Schweinsteiger wouldfinish his career in Munich when he bel-lowed “long live Bayern!” into the loud-speaker at the Allianz Arena following aleague match in December 2010.

Back then, he personally broke thenews to Bayern’s die-hard fans that hehad signed a contract extension until2016, which he will not now fulfil.

After winning his eighth Bundesligatitle last season and having been part ofthe 2013 treble-winning side which wonthe Champions League, Bundesliga andGerman Cup, there are simply no newhorizons to conquer with Bayern for thestar their fans dubbed ‘Fussball Gott’-football god.

The 30-year-old midfielder will costUnited around 20 million euros($22.31m), but such is his esteem inMunich that Bayern chairman Karl-HeinzRummenigge has already promisedSchweinsteiger a testimonial game whenhis career is over. Should he pass themedical to sign for United as expected,he will reportedly receive £140,000(EUR195,000, $217,000) per week inManchester, £7.2m (EUR10m, $11.2m)per season, which matches the 10 millioneuros he was receiving in Munich.

Schweinsteiger will be the firstGerman to play for United. AsRummenigge said on Saturday whenconfirming the news no Bayern fan want-ed to hear, Schweinsteiger has grown upwith the Munich club. “In terms of per-sonality, you can’t replace ‘Basti’ like forlike,” admitted Bayern’s director of sportMatthias Sammer.

Having acquired a wealth of experi-ence in his 536 appearances for Bayern,United will sign a finished article, butSchweinsteiger’s personality-and moreimportantly his leadership-was some-thing which was questioned in the past.

In 2011, former Bayern and Germanycaptain Oliver Kahn said Schweinsteigerlacked the ‘real leadership skills’ Germanyneeded to win titles.

‘Schweini’ did his talking on the pitchby steering Bayern to the 2013 treblebefore ending the debate for good witha magnificent display of true-grit leader-ship in Germany’s World Cup victory inlast year ’s hard-fought final againstArgentina. He heads to England with theblessing of Germany coach JoachimLoew and a promise his exit from theBundesliga will not harm his prospects ofcaptaining Germany at next June’s Euro2016 in France.

Not only his English, but also hismedia skills will be sharpened by dealingwith the British tabloids on a regular

basis. They dubbed him a ‘dirty Schwein’when he scored a second-half equaliserin a Champions League quarter-final atOld Trafford in April 2014 before beingsent off on 90 minutes for a second yel-low card.

Bayern banned two English newspa-pers for the return leg in Munich, whichthe Bavarians won 3-1 as Schweinsteigersat out while serving his suspension.

Rummenigge went to pains to haltthe rumour mill peddling notions thatSchweinsteiger is quitting Bayern due toproblems with coach Pep Guardiola: “Iwould like to refer to that in the realm offairytales,” he said drily.

But in his two seasons underGuardiola, Schweinsteiger never lookedas comfortable as he did in the 2013 sea-son under Jupp Heynckes when heforged a solid defensive midfield part-nership alongside Javi Martinez.

Under Guardiola, Schweinsteiger waspushed forward, out of his holding roleand into the central midfield with PhilippLahm moving up from left-back to plugthe hole in front of the defence.

At United, the Germany star willresume working under Louis van Gaal,who is a big fan of Schweinsteiger sincethe Dutchman steered Bayern to the2010 Champions League final in his two-year reign as coach from 2009-11.

A keen basketball fan, Schweinsteigerwill bring a certain amount of glamour toOld Trafford. He has been known tohang-out with sprint star Usain Boltwhen the Jamaican is in Munich visitingfamous German doctor Hans-WilhelmMueller-Wohlfahrt.

His seven-year relationship withMunich model Sarah Brandner endedafter the World Cup only for Germany’snew captain to start dating Serbian ten-nis pro Ana Ivanovic, which the coupleconfirmed in February. While he’s com-fortable in the limelight, Schweinsteigertook legal action to have the name‘Schweini’ removed when a sausagemanufacturer tried to use the footballer’sname to sell his product before the 2006World Cup. Born in 1984 in Kolbermoor,the same town as German football leg-end Paul Breitner in the foothills of theBavarian Alps, Schweinsteiger opted forfootball over a career as a downhill skier.

After playing for local club TSVRosenheim as a boy, he joined Bayern asa teenager in 1998, made his senior in2002 and he pulled on Germany’sfamous white shirt in June 2002.

He played in all three group games asGermany failed to reach the knock-outstages of Euro 2004 before his 20th birth-day, but barring injury, Schweinsteigerwill lead his country at his fourthEuropean Championships in France nextsummer after 111 international appear-ances. — AFP

Schweinsteiger to end his 17-year Bayern affair

LEXINGTON; In this Sunday, April 12, 2015, file photo, jockey Rajiv Maragh rides MissElla to victory in the Beaumont Stakes horse race at Keeneland Race Course. Maraghremains hospitalized with four fractured vertebrae, a broken left rib and puncturedlung after a spill during a race at Belmont Park on Friday, July 10, 2015. — AP

River fret over lackof goals ahead of

Guarani showdown

Canada gets Pan Am Games off to golden start

TORONTO: Athletes will one day come tomulti-sport events like the Pan AmericanGames knowing they are competing on alevel playing free of drug cheats, says CraigReedie, head of the World Anti-DopingAgency (WADA).

For some, ridding the world of perform-ance-enhancing drugs is a losing battle, butfor Reedie, a British Olympic official whotook over as WADA chief 18 months ago,there would be no reason to get up in themorning and go to work if he believed thewar cannot be won.

“I’m a glass half full man, I want to believeit is possible to have clean sport,” Reedie toldReuters during a stop at the Pan AmericanGames in Toronto. “I am prepared to happilyconcede that in a world of many billion peo-ple there is never going to be total eradica-tion. “But I think there is a very reasonablechance that at an organised sport level wecan get to a situation where those peoplewho cheat are an ever diminishing part ofthe sport family.

“I wouldn’t be particularly comfortablewaking up on Monday morning thinking wehave no chance. Why bother?”

While the corruption scandal rockingworld soccer and cleaning up FIFA havebecome the new sporting cause du jour, thefight to remove drugs goes on out of thespotlight. At the 2011 Pan Ams inGuadalajara, Mexico, three athletes faileddoping tests just hours after the openingceremony, offering a quick reminder thatanti-doping crusaders must remain vigilant.

Four years later in Toronto that memory isnot forgotten. Pan Am officials have put in

place a comprehensive drug-testing pro-gram that reflects the largest multi-sportevent ever staged in Canada with 7,000 ath-letes from 41 countries.

The TO2015 Anti-Doping Program is pro-viding doping control services before andduring the Games on behalf of the PanAmerican Sports Organization (PASO). It willconduct 1,500 urine tests and over 400blood tests.

Testing procedures will follow the revisedWADA Code which Reedie says is a polisheddocument that is about as good as it is goingget. WADA’s first president, outspokenCanadian Dick Pound, shot from the hip, put-ting the anti-doping issue on the frontpages. He was followed by Australian politi-cian John Fahey, who employed a morediplomatic approach, bringing greater gov-ernment and law enforcement involvementto the fight.

Reedie sees his mandate as one that isclearly defined, getting WADA’s various con-stituencies to make better use of the toolsthey have been provided.

“The rules of the game have been clearlyestablished,” said Reedie. “This is the thirdrevision of the Code. We should have therules in about an ideal state.

“We’ve now got everybody compliant inhaving a set of rules. What I want to see nowis everyone under this set of rules doing itbetter. “I want everybody to say; ok the rulesare now clear we need to do this better. “Iwould like to see our compliance effortsbeing respected and everybody picking upthe pace and doing it better. “That’s where Ithink I am.” — Reuters

War on drug cheats can be won, says WADA chief

Wolves devour Wildcats

Denny Solomona

BusinessMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

China growth slows to 6.9% in second quarter

Page 23

Low-paid British workers brace for more austerity

Page 24

Indonesia eyes return to OPEC as oil crisis looms

Page 23Euro zone leaders warn Greece must do more

Page 22

MAKKAH: King Salman bin Abdulaziz (second right) launches five projects within the third Saudi expansion of the Grand Mosque, including the expansion building, squares, tunnels, services building and the firstring road. The Grand Mosque accommodates more than 1,600,000 worshipers with 78 gates on the ground floor surrounding the expansion building. —AFP

Boubyan Bank announces KD16m H1 profits Majed: Good profits continuation of accomplishments, manifestation of abilities

KUWAIT: Iran should boost trade with its Gulf Arabneighbours if a deal on its nuclear program seessanctions and an oil embargo lifted, but higherIranian crude production could worsen tensionswithin OPEC, analysts say. As of Saturday, theprospects of such a deal were still very much inquestion, with no sign of an end to a nail-bitingdeadlock after 15 straight days of negotiations inVienna between Iran and major world powers.

Iran’s oil exports plummeted as a result of theembargo imposed by the United States andEuropean Union, dropping from about 2.2 millionbarrels per day (bpd) in mid-2012 to about 1.2 mil-lion bpd now. Fellow OPEC members Saudi Arabia,Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates boosted pro-duction to make up for that, keeping supply levelsstable. Iranian officials have said Tehran is looking toreturn to pre-embargo levels, though experts sayproduction increases will take time.

“All additional Iranian production will go toexport but this will not aggravate the surplus on themarket because the increase will be gradual,” saidJassem Al-Saadoun, head of Kuwait’s Al-ShallEconomic Consultants. “I think it may take Iran a fewyears before reaching the target of an additionalone million barrels.” Saudi Jadwa Investments said ina recent report that Iran would add just 150,000 bpdby the fourth quarter of this year. “We do not seethis (lifting of sanctions) resulting in Iranian crudeflooding the market in the near-term,” Jadwa said.Eventually though, Iran will be able to reach pre-embargo levels, setting the stage for a showdownwithin OPEC.

A Fight for Quotas Some OPEC countries, especially Gulf Arab

nations, have been pumping furiously in a bid tokeep the oil price down and drive out competitors,especially US shale producers. Saudi Arabia alone isproducing 10.3 million bpd - about a third of theOPEC output ceiling. Experts say that once Iranreaches its previous production levels, Saudi Arabia

and others will not be keen to reduce their shares ofproduction. OPEC has already seen tensions high,with poorer members such as Algeria, Angola,Venezuela and Libya pushing for overall output tobe reduced so prices can rise and they can boostrevenues.

“The real problem starts when OPEC membersbegin to fight for quotas amid oversupply and mar-ket share disputes,” Saadun said. “If Iran, Venezuela,Algeria and Libya - all of which need to pump more- enter into a dispute with the Gulf producers, then itcould be the end for OPEC,” he said. However, whenit comes to trade with the six countries of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC), Iran’s new economicfreedom is expected to lead to a boost.

More than 80 percent of Iran’s trade with the blocis with the United Arab Emirates, and Tehran is theUAE’s fourth-largest trading partner. Most of thattrade originates from Dubai, home to a 400,000-strong Iranian community that runs a large businessnetwork. UAE Economy Minister Sultan Al-Mansourisaid in June that trade exchange with Iran rose to$17 billion last year but remains lower than a record$23 billion in 2011 before sanctions began to bite.

The vice president of the Iranian BusinessCouncil in Dubai, Hossein Haghighi, said he expect-ed a surge in trade after the lifting of sanctions.Within the first year, total trade between the UAEand Iran is likely “to go up by between 15 and 20percent”, Haghighi told AFP. Trade ties are also likelyto grow with Oman, which has maintained goodrelations with the Islamic republic. But given thestrong rivalries between other Sunni Arab Gulfstates and Shiite Iran, Saadun said it was doubtfulthat economic links would grow further.

Saudi Arabia, the main Sunni power in theregion, and Iran have backed rival sides in conflicts,from the civil war in Syria to the rebellion in Yemen.“Trade ties are likely to improve with UAE but I don’tthink it will happen with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait aslong as the political situation does not improve,” hesaid. —AFP

Iran trade with GCC to grow but oil spat looms

KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank’s profits witnessed anincrease in the first half of the current year,amounting to KD 16 million compared withKD 12.6 million in the first half of 2014,increasing by 28 percent, while the earningper share amount to 7.78 fils compared with6.1 fils for the first half of the past year.

Vice-Chairman & CEO of Boubyan Bank,Adel Abdul-Wahab Al-Majed said: “Theachievements of the bank in the first half of2015 is but a continuation of the bank’s suc-cess story which started in 2010 whereBoubyan Bank managed to establish itself as acompetitive player in one of the most signifi-cant markets in the region and succeeded inincreasing its market share at all levels”. Majedstated that the remarkable profits of the firsthalf were considered a new starting pointtowards the implementation of the 2020strategy of the bank. He added: “We are opti-mistic that the future is still pregnant withmany opportunities for Islamic banks andIslamic financial institutions, whether inKuwait or the region, in light of all the indica-tors which confirm the increased demand forIslamic financial and banking services andproducts, which are now witnessing a greatdemand.

The new 2020 strategy revolve aroundcontinuing the focus on and the growth in theKuwaiti market, while keeping the door opento seizing any opportunity, if any, to expandabroad. There are no specifically targetedmarkets per se at the meantime, however, weare looking at the GCC markets, Egypt andTurkey as the most suitable markets for theBank’s targets.”

Positive IndicatorsMajed explained that the bank’s indicators

showed a remarkable growth during the firsthalf of the current year where the total assetsincreased to KD 2.9 billion, growing by 19 per-cent, while the operating income increased toKD 43.8 million, growing by 12 percent inaddition to the increase in customers’deposits to reach KD 2.3 billion, growing by25 percent.

“Furthermore, the Bank’s total equityincreased to KD 301 million compared with

KD 279 million for the comparative period ofthe past year, while the financing portfolioincreased to KD 2 billion, growing by 21 per-cent, in addition to the continuous rise in theBank’s customer base.”, Al-Majed stated. Al-Majed also stated that the market share, infinancing portfolio, increased generally from 2percent in 2009 to approximately 6.26 percentcurrently, while Boubyan Bank’s share of theconsumer finance specifically increased from1 percent to approximately 9.02 percent cur-rently. Also, 9.4 percent of Kuwaiti adultsmaintain accounts with the bank.

32 Branches and Special Products Majed went on to state that the first half of

the current year witnessed a geographicalexpansion for the bank in addition to offeringmore outstanding services and products, someof which were offered for the first time in theKuwaiti market making the name of BoubyanBank a synonym for innovation and creativityin the banking services domain where thebank surprises the market with innovativeproducts and services.

He also added that the number of thebank’s branches reached 32 branches by theend of the first half of 2015, and expected toopen 4-5 branches before the end of the cur-rent year, while targeting 40 branches by thefirst half of the next year. On the other hand,Majed pointed to the great achievement madeby the bank during the 1st half of the current

year when Boubyan Bank was awarded “theBest Islamic Bank in Kuwait” award by GlobalFinance, which was a great award to add to thebank’s achievements.

“The bank managed to establish itself asone of the best institutions in the Kuwaiti pri-vate sector in the field of customer service evi-denced by its recent accomplishments where-by the bank has received three awards fromService Hero, the international consumer-dri-ven customer satisfaction index. The mostprominent of these awards was the 1stPlace inCustomer Service atop all companies inKuwait”, Majed added. He further stated: “Thiskind of awards reiterate our bank’s superbcompetitive abilities, and its ability to provideits customers with the highest levels of servicesand the best products customers may seek,whether they are existing customers or poten-tial customerstargeted in the Kuwaiti market.”

“Customer service has always been ourrecipe for success, as we have always taken intoaccount that all our customers are special andthat they deserve the best because meetingtheir aspirations and ambitions should be upto the level of their expectations when theychose us. In other words, by choosing us, cus-tomers should be rewarded with special careand attention.”, Majed added.

A Young Bank, Caring for the YoungMajed stressed again and again that the

bank had reinforced its image as a young bankkeeping up with the international and regionaldevelopments via its young Kuwaiti manage-ment. Furthermore, he stated that BoubyanBank succeeded, specifically over the past twoyears, in creating many vacancies for ambitiousKuwaiti youths as a result of expanding thebank’s services provided to retail customers byopening more branches and expanding theservices and products provided by the bank.

Majed also referred to the increase in theKuwaitization rate at the bank which reached74 percent, saying that Boubyan Bank earnedthe award for Replacement and Kuwaitizationof Manpower in Kuwait. The bank received thataward during the 13thAward Ceremony forDistinguished Private Sector Entities in theField of Kuwaitization of Jobs in 2014.

Adel Abdul-Wahab Al-Majed

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.469Indian Rupees 4.771Pakistani Rupees 2.979Srilankan Rupees 2.267Nepali Rupees 2.983Singapore Dollar 225.650Hongkong Dollar 39.098Bangladesh Taka 3.895Philippine Peso 6.720Thai Baht 8.947

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 80.086Qatari Riyal 83.290Omani Riyal 787.550Bahraini Dinar 805.230UAE Dirham 82.552

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 42.200Egyptian Pound - Transfer 38.945Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.415Tunisian Dinar 156.210Jordanian Dinar 427.800Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.034Syrian Lira 2.161Morocco Dirham 31.568

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 303.500Euro 340.930Sterling Pound 473.060Canadian dollar 241.090Turkish lira 113.680Swiss Franc 325.860Australian Dollar 227.890US Dollar Buying 301.850

CURRENCY BUY SELLEuropeBelgian Franc 0.007906 0.008906British Pound 0.463489 0.472489Czech Korune 0.004520 0.016520Danish Krone 0.041446 0.046446Euro 0.332604 0.340604Norwegian Krone 0.033728 0.038928Romanian Leu 0.086932 0.086932Slovakia 0.009037 0.019037Swedish Krona 0.032050 0.037050Swiss Franc 0.316851 0.327051Turkish Lira 0.112462 0.119462

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.218007 0.229507New Zealand Dollar 0.197784 0.207284

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.233936 0.242436US Dollars 0.298950 0.303450

US Dollars Mint 0.299450 0.303450

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003551 0.004151Chinese Yuan 0.047424 0.0509240Hong Kong Dollar 0.037000 0.039750Indian Rupee 0.004681 0.005071Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025Japanese Yen 0.002414 0.002594Kenyan Shilling 0.003149 0.003149Korean Won 0.000259 0.000274Malaysian Ringgit 0.076412 0.082412Nepalese Rupee 0.003039 0.003209Pakistan Rupee 0.002801 0.003081Philippine Peso 0.006648 0.006928Sierra Leone 0.000067 0.000073Singapore Dollar 0.221478 0.227478South African Rand 0.018446 0.026946Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001826 0.002406Taiwan 0.009685 0.009865Thai Baht 0.008671 0.0009221

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.797383 0.805383Egyptian Pound 0.039677 0.042507Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085Iraqi Dinar 0.000189 0.000249Jordanian Dinar 0.423128 0.430628Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000152 0.000252Moroccan Dirhams 0.019826 0.043826Nigerian Naira 0.001250 0.001885Omani Riyal 0.781131 0.786811Qatar Riyal 0.082529 0.083742Saudi Riyal 0.080177 0.080877Syrian Pound 0.001284 0.001504Tunisian Dinar 0.152065 0.160065Turkish Lira 0.112462 0.119462UAE Dirhams 0.081528 0.082677Yemeni Riyal 0.001370 0.001450

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000Australian Dollar 207.36Canadian Dollar 244.46Swiss Franc 326.18Euro 338.38US Dollar 303.50Sterling Pound 475.10Japanese Yen 2.51Bangladesh Taka 3.896Indian Rupee 4.778Sri Lankan Rupee 2.265Nepali Rupee 2.986Pakistani Rupee 2.980UAE Dirhams 82.51Bahraini Dinar 805.57Egyptian Pound 39.66Jordanian Dinar 431.16Omani Riyal 787.12Qatari Riyal 83.58Saudi Riyal 80.85

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 303.000Canadian Dollar 241.660Sterling Pound 471.625Euro 339.520Swiss Frank 285.785Bahrain Dinar 804.990UAE Dirhams 82.875Qatari Riyals 90.865

Saudi Riyals 81.605Jordanian Dinar 427.375Egyptian Pound 38.623Sri Lankan Rupees 2.269Indian Rupees 4.779Pakistani Rupees 2.978Bangladesh Taka 3.890Philippines Pesso 6.703Cyprus pound 577.685Japanese Yen 3.465Syrian Pound 2.605Nepalese Rupees 3.985Malaysian Ringgit 80.765Chinese Yuan Renminbi 49.180Thai Bhat 9.910Turkish Lira 118.725

B U S I N E S S

GOLD20 gram 235.92010 gram 120.6605 gram 60.010

BRUSSELS: (From left) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and French President Francois Hollande talk to the media asthey arrive for a meeting of the leaders of the 19 countries that use the euro yesterday. — AFP

Euro zone leaders warn Greece must do more

Without bailout, bankrupt Athens will lose euroBRUSSELS: Euro zone leaders told near-bank-rupt Greece at an emergency summit yesterdaythat it must restore trust by enacting keyreforms before they will open talks on a newfinancial rescue to keep it in the European cur-rency area. Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipraswill be required to push legislation through par-liament from today to convince his 18 partnersin the monetary union to release immediatefunds to avert a Greek state bankruptcy andstart negotiations on a third bailout pro-gramme.

Some laws will have to be passed byWednesday and the entire package endorsed byparliament before talks can start, one ministersaid. Tsipras said on arrival in Brussels he want-ed “another honest compromise” to keepEurope united. “We can reach an agreementtonight if all parties want it,” he said.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel,whose country is the biggest contributor toeuro zone bailouts, said the conditions were notyet right to start negotiations, sounding cau-tious in deference to mounting opposition athome to more aid for Greece. “The most impor-tant currency has been lost and that is trust,” shetold reporters. “That means that we will havetough discussions and there will be no agree-ment at any price.”

European Council President Donald Tusk can-celled a planned summit of all 28 EU leadersthat would have been needed in case of a Greekexit from the single currency, and said eurozone leaders would keep talking “until we con-clude talks on Greece”. Eurogroup finance minis-ters wrapped up a meeting broken off after ninehours of acrimonious debate on Saturday nightwithout a firm recommendation on Greece’sapplication for a three-year loan on the basis ofreform proposals Tsipras sent on Thursday.

A Eurogroup document seen by Reuters saidGreece must pass laws to change its valueadded tax and pension systems, reform bank-ruptcy rules and strengthen the independenceof its statistics office before bailout talks caneven begin.

Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloemsaid that while ministers had made goodprogress, a couple of big issues were left for theleaders to resolve. “The Eurogroup ... came tothe conclusion that there is not yet the basis tostart the negotiations on a new program,” thedocument sent to national leaders said. “Onlysubsequent to legal implementation of theabove mentioned measures can negotiationson the memorandum of understanding com-mence, subject to national procedures havingbeen completed,” it said, in a reference toauthorisation by national parliaments in coun-

tries such as Germany.The draft said Greece needed Ä7 billion by

July 20, when it must make a crucial bondredemption to the European Central Bank, anda total of €12 billion by mid-August whenanother ECB payment falls due. It did not sayhow those needs would be met, and EU offi-cials said finance ministers had been unable toagree on emergency finance.

Temporary Grexit?Several hardline countries voiced support

for a German government paper that recom-mended Greece take a five-year “time-out” fromthe euro unless it accepted and implementedswiftly much tougher conditions, notably bylocking state assets to be privatised in an inde-pendent trust to pay down debt. But FrenchPresident Francois Hollande, Greece’s strongestally in the euro zone, dismissed the notion, say-ing it would start a dangerous unravelling of EUintegration. “There is no such thing as tempo-rary Grexit, there is only a Grexit or no Grexit.There is Greece in the euro zone or Greece notin the euro zone. But in that case it’s Europethat retreats and no longer progresses and Idon’t want that,” he said.

Argument among finance ministers becameso heated on Saturday evening thatDijsselbloem decided to adjourn at midnightand resume talks at 11 a.m. to allow tempers tocool. The ministers agreed in principle to seekways to make Greece’s debt burden manage-able by extending loan maturities and othersteps stopping short of a “haircut” or write-down, provided Athens f irst implementsreforms.

At one stage in the debate on Greece’s debtsustainabil ity, hardline German FinanceMinister Wolfgang Schaeuble snapped at ECBPresident Mario Draghi: “I’m not stupid,” a per-son familiar with the exchange said. Schaeublealso clashed with the head of the euro zonebailout fund, Klaus Regling, on whether Greececould afford to service its debt or not, anothersource said.

Greeks See HumiliationGreece’s new finance minister, Euclid

Tsakalotos, was silent in public but the reactionamong some lawmakers in Tsipras’ radical leftistSyriza party, still smarting from having to swal-low austerity measures they had opposed, wasfurious. “What is at play here is an attempt tohumiliate Greece and Greeks, or to overthrowthe Tsipras government,” DimitriosPapadimoulis, a Syriza member of the EuropeanParliament, told Mega TV.

With banks shuttered for two weeks, cash

withdrawals rationed and the economy on theedge of an abyss, some Greeks in the streets ofAthens vented their anger on Merkel andSchaeuble. “The only thing that I care about isnot being humiliated by Schaeuble and therest of theme” said Panagiotis Trikokglou, a 44-year-old private sector worker. Greece hasalready had two bailouts worth Ä240 billionfrom euro zone countries and the InternationalMonetary Fund, but its economy has shrunk bya quarter since the crisis began, unemploy-ment has soared above 25 percent and one intwo young people is out of work.

Athens defaulted on an IMF loan repaymentlast month and faces state bankruptcy if it can-not make the bond redemption on July 20,which would likely force the ECB to cut emer-genc y funding for Greek banks. Germansources said Schaeuble, Merkel and SocialDemocratic Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel hadagreed on a division of labour to force Greeceto accept tougher conditions or leave the cur-rency area temporarily. However economistssaid the idea of a temporary exit was likely tomean ejecting Athens from the European mon-etary union in the end.

Paul De Grauwe, a Belgian economist at theLondon School of Economics, compared it to acouple having a trial separation. “TemporaryGrexit is like temporary divorce. Most if not allend up being permanent,” he said in a Twittermessage. Holger Schmieding, chief economistof Berenberg Bank, was even more categorical,saying: “Temporary Grexit is Grexit.”

Analyst Nicolaus Heinen of Deutsche Banktold Reuters that billions of euros withdrawnby Greeks before capital controls wereimposed would crowd out any new currency ina cash economy similar to Cuba or Lebanon,where the dollar is king. There would be politi-cal conflict over a date for Athens’ return to theeuro zone, and “tension between Greece andthe rest of Europe would be bound to grow ifGreece was sent to stand outside the class-room like a naughty schoolboy,” he said.

Merkel requires the assent of the Germanparliament to agree to the opening of loannegotiations. Diplomats expected her tocommit to calling a special session of theBundestag to give her that mandate if Greeceenacts prior reforms this week. The UnitedStates has added its voice to calls for a dealthis weekend, concerned at the geopoliticalconsequences if Greece were to be cut looseand become a fa i led state in the f ragi lesouthern Balkans, adjoining the Middle East.“No one wants to see a North Korea in south-eastern Europe,” a European Commission offi-cial said.— Reuters

BRUSSELS: Caught between the rock ofthrowing good taxpayers’ money after badin Greece and the hard place of opening adangerous crack in their common currency,tempers are fraying among euro zone min-isters meeting in Brussels. So heated didarguments become after nine hours of theirsixth emergency council in three weeksthat the chairman called a surprise halt justbefore midnight on Saturday in the hopetalks which resumed yesterday could pro-ceed with clearer heads.

“It was crazy, a kindergarten,” said asource familiar with the arguments in theEurogroup among increasingly wearyfinance ministers. “Bad emotions have com-pletely taken over.” Unlike many of a dozenprevious meetings they have had sinceGreeks despairing of creditor-imposed aus-terity elected leftist Prime Minister AlexisTsipras in January, some of the sharpestexchanges were not with their Greek col-league but each other.

By contrast, Greek Finance EuclidTsakalotos, appointed last week in place ofthe often provocative Yanis Varoufakis,seemed calm and expressed a willingnessto take steps to convince creditors Athenscould be trusted to implement budget andeconomic reform measures to unlock tensof billions of euros. Another official close tothe talks said the adjournment was prompt-ed by a particularly heated exchange - onGreece’s ability to service its debts -between European Central Bank chief MarioDraghi and German Finance MinisterWolfgang Schaeuble.

In response to Draghi, one participantquoted Schaeuble as saying: “I’m not stu-pid.” The veteran German conservativeleads a hardline faction in the talks whichwarns Greece that it faces ejection from the19-country euro zone if it does not domuch more to earn its third bailout in fiveyears. France, which along with theEuropean Commission and ECB is warierthan many in Germany of allowing a“Grexit” that could undermine faith in theentire currency, has worked with Greek offi-cials to shape their proposals. With Italy,France shares concerns about Greek prom-ises but is concerned Germany, or at leastSchaeuble, is too inflexible, euro zonesources said.

One said that after months of frustrationwith their former Greek counterpart, someministers were impatient with Schaeuble:“He’s switched roles with Varoufakis,” thesource said. A Greek official said he fearedsome in the room had made up their mindsto force Athens out of the euro zone.Schaeuble’s ministry drafted a paper sayinga “time-out” for a few years was the alterna-tive to much more sweeping reforms,though several sources said Schaeuble didnot spell that out at the table.

Left-Right Divide“Schaeuble’s positions are irresponsible

and can bring disaster,” said Gianni Pittella,an ally of Italian Prime Minister MatteoRenzi. Leader of the centre-left bloc in theEuropean Parliament, Pittella spoke at ameeting in Brussels. That reflects some-thing of a left-right split across Europe.French President Francois Hollande’sSocialist party issued a comradely appeal toSigmar Gabriel, the German SocialDemocrat leader who sits as deputy to con-servative Chancellor Angela Merkel in acoalition. It said: “The peoples of Europe donot understand the increasingly hardlineposition taken by Germany.”

Gabriel, also in Brussels, said he aimed tokeep Greece in the euro and stressed thatFrance and Germany, traditionally the twinmotors of European integration, wouldwork together. Schaeuble is far from alonein demanding more from Greece and adraft Eurogroup statement, to be passed toMerkel and the other leaders meeting lateron Sunday for endorsement, spells out along list of measures Athens must takestraight away.

With its Eurosceptic coalition allies furi-ously opposed to giving more cash toGreece, the new Finnish government is alsopressing for more. Poor, ex-communiststates in the east are also finding it hard tojustify to their voters why they should pitchin more money for Greeks who are betteroff than they are. And in a reflection ofannoyance among other states thatimposed painful austerity in exchange forhelp, the Portuguese minister toldTsakalotos that the third bailout he wasseeking - possibly over 80 billion euros -was bigger than the only one given toPortugal, a source familiar with the talkssaid.

A nation of similar size, Portugalreceived a 78-billion euro bailout in 2011.Greece has already had €240 billion. Thereare also divisions among governments,reflecting the stakes and difficulty of thedilemma. “The rift in this question runsright through Europe,” Austrian ChancellorWerner Faymann said. “The German financeminister seriously wants to push Greece outof the euro; the German chancellor, on theother hand, is very anxious to find a con-structive solution. And it’s like that in manycountries.”

And for many of those involved, what isa stake is not money but whether sharedaspirations for European unity are betterserved by applying rules strictly or bendingthem if need be. As ministers haggled,Martin Selmayr, the German chief-of-staff toEU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker,found time to tweet a link to a German TVsketch entitled “Our Precious GermanEuros”. Two friends work up a frenzy repeat-ing to each other recent media commentsabout lazy Greeks and thrifty Germans. Thejoke is on them. “Something’s at stake thatwe don’t talk about any more,” runs thesatirist’s punch line. “Europe.” — Reuters

‘Kindergarten’ as weary euro ministers divide over Greece

BRUSSELS: Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos speaks with ManagingDirector of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde during ameeting of the Eurogroup finance ministers yesterday. — AFP

B U S I N E S SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

BEIJING: China’s GDP growth likely slowed fur-ther in the second quarter, an AFP survey hasfound, as a slowdown in investment and tradeweighed on the world’s second-largest econo-my. The median forecast in a poll of 14 econo-mists indicates gross domestic product (GDP)expanded 6.9 percent in April-June, marginallydown from 7.0 percent in the first three monthsof this year. That would be the worst quarterlyresult since the first three months of 2009, in thedepths of the global financial crisis, whenChina’s economy expanded by 6.6 percent.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) willrelease the official GDP figures for the first quar-ter of 2015 on Wednesday. China’s volatile stockmarkets have grabbed headlines this monthafter the benchmark Shanghai CompositeIndex fell more than 30 percent in less than fourweeks, before reversing course in the last twotrading days.

But economists are focused on more funda-mental issues when assessing its overall health.“According to the figures we have now, eco-nomic activities remained very sluggish, partic-ularly fixed-asset investment, which grew 11.4percent in May, a multi-year low,” Liu Li-Gang,Hong Kong-based ANZ economist, told AFP ofthe second-quarter performance. “Exports wereweak and imports were even more so.”

‘Big Downward Pressure’ Chinese authorities want investment to slow

as part of their plan to diversify economicgrowth away from big-ticket projects to increas-ingly wealthy consumers. But too fast a deceler-ation can be harmful. “The economy is stillunder quite big downward pressure,” said LiRuoyu, an analyst at the State Information

Centre, a government think-tank in Beijing, alsociting weak investment. New restrictions onlocal government debt and finance vehicleshave limited lower-level authorities’ ability tofund infrastructure projects, she said. “Theimplicit guarantees of the local governments

are gone, hurting their borrowing abilities.”The stock market turmoil could also create

new risks in China’s financial system, whichfaces numerous other challenges such as highcorporate debt and an opaque “shadow bank-ing” sector. But the swings in equities are largelyseen as having little effect on the real economy- a key driver of global growth - and unlikely toprove a major detriment to private spending.

“Given that the stock market didn’t provideany noticeable boost to spending on the wayup, there is no reason to expect it to be a dragon the way down,” Julian Evans-Pritchard, Chinaeconomist at Capital Economics, wrote in areport. “With only a small and relatively wealthyportion of Chinese households exposed to thestock market, we aren’t particularly concernedabout the impact of recent big falls in equityprices on consumption.”

Rate Cuts For this year as a whole, the AFP survey pre-

dicts growth at a median 7.0 percent, moreoptimistic than a forecast of 6.8 percent in asimilar poll in April and in line with the govern-ment’s official target of “about 7.0 percent”.China last year recorded its slowest annualgrowth since 1990, expanding 7.4 percent,down from 7.7 percent in 2013.

The International Monetary Fund loweredits 2015 global economic growth forecast onThursday, citing a quarterly contraction early

this year in the United States, the world’sbiggest economy. But the Washington-basedinstitution left its forecasts for the eurozone andChina intact, brushing off worries over the crisisin Greece and Shanghai share volatility. “Thepuncture of what had clearly become a stockmarket bubble may have some limited effect onspending,” the IMF’s chief economist OlivierBlanchard said Thursday. “There is no particularreason to have lost confidence” in China’s econ-omy, he added. The IMF sees China’s GDP grow-ing at 6.8 percent this year.

Economists see positive effects to comefrom authorities’ efforts to put a floor on theslowdown. The People’s Bank of China, the cen-tral bank, has cut benchmark interest rates fourtimes since November and also took steps toencourage banks to make more loans. Suchmeasures can take time before growth reacts.

Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the NBS, saidin comments on its website that the economyhad “shown signs of a recovery” as the stimuluskicks in. He added that property investment, anarea that has been a drag on growth, is expect-ed to turn around on rebounding marketdemand. China’s new home prices increased inJune for the second straight month, a privatesurvey showed. In addition to rate cuts, authori-ties have taken steps to boost the property mar-ket, easing mortgage policies such as loweringminimum down payment levels on secondhomes nationwide. — AFP

China growth slows to 6.9% in second quarter

JAKARTA: Indonesia is seeking to rejoin OPEC to getaccess to cheaper oil supplies as demand soars anddomestic production falls, but critics say the move isan unwelcome distraction from efforts to overhaul thecountry’s troubled energy sector. Resource-richIndonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, was partof the Organization of the Petroleum ExportingCountries (OPEC) for almost 50 years until suspendingits membership in 2009 after becoming a net oilimporter. The switch to becoming an importer cameas domestic demand soared and output dropped dueto a lack of investment from foreign companies, putoff by complex regulations, corruption and growingeconomic nationalism. With oil imports surging as theeconomy booms and the energy sector still in urgentneed of reform, the government is looking for cheapersupplies and has taken the unusual step for an oilimporter of requesting to rejoin the 12-memberexporting cartel.

“It is only natural that we should build relationswith exporters,” Energy Minister Sudirman Said saidbefore heading to an OPEC meeting at the organisa-tion’s headquarters in Vienna last month, where hewas seeking to have the suspension lifted. After themeeting, the energy ministry said that some OPECmembers had backed Indonesia rejoining. OPEC hasrefused to comment but analysts said the group,which has members from the Middle East, LatinAmerica and Africa, is likely to welcome an applicantfrom Asia.

“We understand the application is viewed

favourably because Indonesia would again provideOPEC with a member nation in Asia and thus broadenthe geopolitical base of the group,” Ann-Louise Hittle,vice president of Macro Oils research at WoodMackenzie, told AFP. The OPEC statute states that “anycountry with a substantial net export of crude petrole-um” can become a full member. But it also says associ-ate membership is possible for countries who do notqualify as full members, the course Indonesia is likelyto pursue, analysts believe. Observers also say Ecuadorhas set a precedent for Indonesia, by suspending itsmembership in 1992 and rejoining in 2007.

‘Just Giving Up’ But some observers questioned the wisdom of the

move, suggesting that trying to rejoin OPEC andsource cheaper supplies from outside Indonesia couldslow the momentum of the government’s attempts toreform the corruption-tainted, domestic oil and gassector. When reform-minded President Joko Widodotook power last year, he set up a team to look at over-hauling the sector, which critics have said is plaguedby a shadowy “oil mafia” who skim off huge, illicit prof-its. Some progress has been made. In May, state-owned energy company Pertamina said it would dis-band its oil-trading arm Petral, which supplies onethird of the country’s daily oil needs but has beendogged for years by concerns about a lack of trans-parency. But the reform team, which undertook a six-month assignment to assess the sector, made otherrecommendations, such as shifting to a newer type of

cleaner burning, more efficient petrol, and there arefears such efforts could be stymied by the new focuson OPEC. “What is the use of Indonesia approachingOPEC, even if only as an observer?” wrote Faisal Basri,the former head of the government’s reform team, onhis blog, and added the country appeared to be “justgiving up”.

Reform is seen as urgent. During its heyday in the1990s Indonesia produced close to 1.6 million barrelsof oil per day, which easily covered demand and leftplenty more for export. But by last year, Indonesia wasimporting 689,000 barrels a day to cover its domesticneeds, the bulk of which was for transport, BenjaminTang, a senior analyst for Wood Mackenzie’s AsiaPacific Refining research service, told AFP.

Some have called for Indonesia to wean itself off oilto help ease the looming supply crisis -but there seemslittle chance of that, with many new cars and motor-bikes hitting the roads every day as the middle classrapidly expands. To make matters worse, decades ofgenerous government subsidies have madeIndonesians used to cheap fuel. The payouts wereslashed almost entirely this year, as low global oil pricesnaturally helped to keep pump prices down, but thereare already suspicions the government is quietly rein-troducing small subsidies as oil prices creep back up.While some fear the move towards OPEC could ham-per reforms, others believe it simply makes no sense fora net oil importer. “If you want to join a car club,” saidKomaidi Notonegoro, head of energy research groupReforMiner Institute, “You have to have a car.” — AFP

HARARE: The cries of street vendors havebecome the soundtrack to Zimbabwe’s collaps-ing economy as increasing numbers of the unem-ployed try to eke out a living, leaving shopkeep-ers - and the taxman - poorer. Redundant work-ers, school leavers and college graduates havespawned a new phenomenon of “shop-frontstores” in major cities, where they peddle any-thing from medicines to vegetables, pirated CDsand clothes - often on the doorstep of legitimateshops selling similar items.

For 39-year-old Sherry Njere, a mother ofthree with an unemployed husband, streetvending is a matter of survival. “I am doing thisnot because it is something I decided to do inlife, but it is because there are no jobs,” Njeresaid at her self-allotted post outside a schooluniform shop - where she also sells school uni-forms. “If I don’t do this and just sit at home mychildren will die of hunger.”

Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a down-ward spiral for more than a decade followingPresident Robert Mugabe’s land reforms, whichbroke the country’s agricultural backbone. Lawswhich require locals to hold majority stakes in allfirms are also blamed for scaring off foreigninvestors. Mugabe, 91, who has been in powersince independence from Britain in 1980, was re-elected in 2013 on the promise of creating twomillion jobs, but independent economists sayunemployment is running at around 80 percent.

The UN World Food Programme says 72 per-cent of the population live below the nationalpoverty line of less than $1.25 per day. Njere,whose prices mostly undercut those in the shopbehind her, says that on a good day she earns$50, which she splits between ordering newstock and buying daily provisions for her family.Shop manager Canton Matope bemoans theinflux of unlicensed vendors, saying they are tak-ing business away from the formal economy.“They put their wares on our doorsteps andaccost customers, telling them that our prices areslightly higher than their prices,” he complained.Shop owners cannot match the prices of vendorsas they are burdened by taxes, rent, salaries andlicence fees, he said.

Cutting the Tax Base The director general of the Zimbabwe

Revenue Authority, Gershem Pasi, said the grow-ing number of vendors was eroding the coun-try’s tax base. “We are receiving complaints fromformalised businesses that they are no longerable to do sufficient business to meet their taxobligations,” he said. “Most of the vendors wenow have are young people and I am sure mostof them would not want to be doing vending ifthey had an opportunity to go into formalemployment,” Pasi said. “We are creating a gener-ation which may never know what formalemployment is all about and that generation iswasted investment.”

Last month, hundreds of street vendors peti-tioned parliament after authorities threatened tomove them off the streets, by force if necessary.The protestors said they were not vendors bychoice and demanded that the government cre-ate jobs for them instead. A June 26 deadline forthem to take down their stalls passed withoutaction, and so far it has been business as usual forthe vendors, who make use of any available spaceto display their wares and render some pave-ments almost impassable. “I don’t know if theauthorities will be able to remove the vendorsand what force they will use to remove them,”Matope said.

If the government uses force to clear out thevendors, it wouldn’t be the first time. In 2005, riotpolice were deployed to remove informal tradersand demolish backyard buildings, a move thatwas condemned by the United Nations. The oper-ation, code named “Murambatsvina” or “Drive outfilth”, resulted in 700,000 people losing theirhomes and their source of livelihood, a UN reportsaid. While the official threats of a new crackdownremain, Mugabe’s wife, Grace, has urged policenot to arrest unlicensed vendors in urban centres.The call was interpreted as tacit approval of illegalvending and led to a fresh influx of vendors disre-garding municipal zoning by-laws. “We once hadproblems with shop owners, but when we weregiven a go ahead to sell then it wasn’t a problem,”said Brighton Chidehwe, 28, a former securityguard who sells books and shoes.—AFP

Zimbabwe retailers lose out

to desperate street vendors

Indonesia eyes return to

OPEC as oil crisis loomsSome question wisdom of move by Jakarta

HARARE: A street vendor sells toys at a stall on the streets of the Zimbabwean capitalon June 24, 2015. — AFP

JAKARTA: In this file photograph taken on Nov 17, 2014, a fuel attendant at the state-energy firm Pertamina fuel station prepares to fill upmotorists’ cars. — AFP

SHENYANG, China: A man walks by sculptures during a Crayon Shin-chan exhi-bition in northeast China’s Liaoning province on Saturday. China’s GDP growthslowed further in the second quarter. — AFP

KOLWEZI, DR Congo: Alphonse stands inknee-deep muddy water, a former busi-nessman in DR Congo’s southeastern min-ing region of Katanga. “If you tell me that Ican get other work, I’ll go with you,” saysthe man, one of some 130,000 small-scalediggers trying to scratch a living from theregion’s rich earth. Alphonse says he wasunable to find a job after his business inthe regional capital Lubumbashi collapsedsome eight year ago. So he joined thecommunity of these workers - known as“artisanal miners” - who annually extractthe equivalent of 7,000 tonnes of purecopper and the same amount of cobalt.While the DR Congo is one of the leastdeveloped countries in the world, it is aleading producer of both minerals.

Somewhere between Lubumbashiand the major mining hub of Kolwezi,Alphonse and about 50 companions inmisfortune - whose names have beenchanged - are busy on a stony slope near aquarry hidden in the woods. Guards are

on the lookout, some less watchful thanothers. Once past them, an AFP teamneeds to win the trust of Bobby, aCongolese who says he is the foreman incharge of the work.

‘Mister Fernand’s Place’ Bobby is not pleased to see journal-

ists on the scene. “You’re not the oneswho did ‘Katanga Business’, are you?” heasks curtly, referring to a documentarymade by Belgian director Thierry Michelabout thorny relations between clan-destine miners and the foreign firmsthat have become masters of localwealth. The regulars know the site as“Chez Monsieur Fernand” (“MisterFernand’s place”). Bobby says that themine really belongs to a top Congoleseofficial and that formal mining is under-taken in partnership with Chineseinvestors.

Bobby himself “authorises” the dig-gers to exploit the slope, but the owners

of the mine know nothing about theiractivity. In exchange for his vigilance, theminers pay him a tithe of what they find,he says, which amounts to 30 percent bytheir accounts. The ochre-brown earth isfull of holes like Swiss cheese. On the sur-face, small pathways separate plots ofland where diggers work with shovels,crowbars and pickaxes. Some miners arealready more than three metres under-ground. They have been working herefor almost three months. In a few weeksthe site will be thoroughly explored anddiggers will have to move on.

Men carry the mixture of dirt andstones on their backs to a nearby stream.“We work in teams of three or four,”Dieudonne says. “We stop when we’reexhausted. We rest for a day and then wecome back.” While mining is purely man’swork, at the stream women and childrenhelp to wash and sift the rubble.Alphonse is helped by his wife and theirtwo daughters, aged eight and 15.

Trade with ‘the Chinese’ Alphonse is around 40, but looks at

least 10 years older. Next to him, 30-year-old Henri uses a fine mesh filled with rub-ble to wash away as much soil as he can.The next step is Alphonse’s job. Whendone professionally, this task of fine meas-urement by weight is performed by elabo-rate machines, but clandestine miners doeverything by hand. Shaking a woodentray while he skims it over the surface ofthe water, Alphonse separates out piecesof black cobalt ore, which drop to the bot-tom. Then he has to remove the upperresidue before drying the ore, which con-tains six or seven percent of the treasuredproduct.

The sun is relatively kind to the diggersat the start of an equatorial winter locallyknown as the “fresh season”. Their productwill be sold a few kilometres away fromthe site at a trading house run by “theChinese”, whom miners accuse of riggingtheir scales. — AFP

Gruelling work for tiny share of DRC wealth

LUBUMBASHI: This photo taken on May 31, 2015 near a mine between Lubumbashi andKolwezi shows a woman and a man separating cobalt from mud and rocks, one of130,000 small-scale diggers trying to scratch a living from the region’s rich earth. — AFP

B U S I N E S SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

LONDON: Money was already tight for sin-gle mother Nicola Marshall and looks set toget tighter in a new austerity drive inBritain that will affect millions of low-paidworkers. “There’s going to be people outthere who simply don’t have money tospare,” said the 37-year-old part-time officeworker, who relies on tax credits to top upher £11,000 ($17,000) a year salary. Britainis slashing the credits, which currently help4.5 million households, in a drive to reduce

welfare dependency that has promptingwarnings the cuts would hit the poor - andcould be counterproductive.

The measures form the core of £12 bil-lion of welfare savings over the next fiveyears as Prime Minister David Cameron’snewly-elected Conservative governmentseeks to eliminate a budget deficit.Reducing tax credits and restricting themto two children will cut £6 billion from asystem that costs £30 billion a year, some-

thing finance minister George Osbornesaid was “simply not sustainable”.

Unveiling his budget on Wednesday,Osborne told the House of Commons thattax credits were “subsidising lower wages”.To offset the change, he announced theintroduction of a higher minimum wagefor the over 25s and income tax cuts for thelowest earners, promising to “make workpay”. Analysts warned however that thesemeasures would not mitigate the benefit

Low-paid British workers brace for more austeritycuts, prompting charities to warn thepoorest could see their incomesslashed. “In practical terms it meansfamilies forced to choose betweenpaying the bills or missing meals,” saidNick Bryer, head of UK policy and cam-paigns for Oxfam.

Britain ‘Has Lost Compassion’ The changes were hailed by

Conservative lawmakers, and themass-selling Daily Mail tabloid said itwas a bold assault on Britain’s “bloat-ed” welfare system. “It was nothingless than a blueprint for transformingBritain into a better, more prosperouscountry - of self-reliant families, res-cued from welfare dependency toenjoy the dignity and rewards ofwork,” it said. But others cautionedthat the changes could hit exactly theworking families the Conservativesclaim to champion.

Three mill ion families will loseabout £1,000 a year under the taxcredit cuts, which would reduce theincentive to work for people alreadyreceiving benefits, said Paul Johnson,director of the Institute for FiscalStudies. Monique Ebell, analyst at theNational Institute of Economic andSocial Research, said the measureswere “inconsistent”. “While thechanges in income tax thresholdsshould modestly strengthen the

incentives to enter or stay in work, thegovernment has worsened the workdisincentives embedded in the taxcredit system,” she said.

Marshall and her 11-year-old daugh-ter currently receive £5,000 in tax cred-its and housing support, but her totalincome is still well below the £26,000national average. “The only reasonwe’re not really struggling is becausemy ex-husband pays maintenance,”she told AFP by telephone from herhome in Kent, in southeast England.She has not yet calculated the impactof the changes on her budget, butnotes that the system already acts as adisincentive to work more by offset-ting any increase in salary with a high-er tax bill and a cut in tax credits.

The promised new rise in the mini-mum wage will not affect Marshall, asshe already earns more than the pro-posed amount. “The reality of the situ-ation is you’re not going to be able tomake everyone earn a decent wageimmediately, but you’re going to cuttheir money before they have theopportunity to earn anymore,” shesaid. The government has insisted aus-terity is necessary to avoid the plight ofcrisis-hit Greece, but Marshall fearsthat poor people are being increasing-ly vilified. “I really am trying my bestand I just worry that this country haslost its compassion,” she said. —AFP

B U S I N E S SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

United StatesThe Second Quarter GDP likely to be

Stronger than the FirstThe week ended on a positive note with

risk sentiment better than it had been atthe start of the week. The free -fall inChinese equities finally hit a stall; theEuropeans set the framework aroundwhich Greece’s eurozone exit can be avert-ed, at least for now. Making a story short,Greece presented a new proposal andnow, has to negotiate the outline of a newthird ESM program by the end of theweek. Whether European finance ministersaccept the Greek proposal remains themultimillion-dollar question for now.

Last week’s referendum gave the politi-cal power to Prime Minister Tsipras, whohas now the political capital to vote anagreement through parliament. The sup-port for eurozone membership in Greeceis now clear, however, it remains that theeconomic costs of capital controls are ris-ing especially with banks still in a shut-down mode.

On the foreign exchange side, the USdollar regained strength on the back ofthe Greek situation. After a whole week ofintense negotiation and diff iculties,Greece was finally able to present a pro-posal to its creditors on Thursday night. Aproposal which lead to a creation of anEuropean summit over the weekend todiscuss the Greek proposal and the coun-try’s ability to secure further loans andongoing support from the ECB, IMF andthe Eurogroup. Whatever the outcomeshall be, uncertainty seems certain to per-sist in the future until Greece faces a debtrelief and potentially restructuring.

While we waited for the situation tounfold, the euro remained in a narrowrange the entire week as market were con-vinced that although the price to keepGreece in the Euro zone was steep, lettingit go was even more costly. The currencystarted the week at 1.1114, moved to alow of 1.0916 and closed the week at1.1162.

In the UK, as we stated in earl ierreports, the economic situation continueto rebound on the back of better employ-ment f igures, industrial data, robusthousehold cash flow, and an upswing inthe housing market. Having said that,While Britain’s direct exposure to Greece isl imited, the potential for contagionseemed to be a concern to investors whoshunned the pound. After starting theweek at the 1.5570 level, the Pounddropped to a low of 1.5330 on Wednesday.The prospect of a Greek deal over theweekend pushed back the Pound to endthe week at 1.5517

In Asia, the yen continues to rangetrade with a positive tone as investorswere scrambling for a safe haven assetwhile waiting for a Greece bailout resolu-tion. The USDJPY fell to reach a low of120.41 on Wednesday to end the weekback at 122.78.

In the commodities world, oil marketfundamentals remain weak. In the absenceof OPEC production cuts or supply disrup-tion, oil prices are likely to remain underpressure especially with global growthremaining weak and Asian markets underpressure.

Additionally, in the event that a Greekexit could be avoided, gold market trendswill still remain closely tied to the expecta-tions of Fed policy. However, with the still

high level of risk currently in financial mar-kets there is always the possibility that Fedtightening will come later than currentmarket expectations. This may help toprovide some support to gold prices forthe moment.

The FOMC Minutes did not Provide anyMeaningful Clues

The FOMC minutes on Wednesday didnot provide any clear resolution to thetiming of Fed tightening. Federal Reserveofficials in June saw the economy movingtoward conditions that would support aninterest-rate increase, while also express-ing concern about weak consumer spend-ing and risks from China and Greece thathave since intensified

US PMI Comfortably in an ExpansionTerritory

Although the report showed that theeconomy was, still in an expansion mode,growth and hiring in the US service sectorslowed down in June according to PMI.The final services PMI reading came at 54.8in June, down from 56.2 in May and belowexpectations of 54.9. June saw a slow-down in both business growth and hiring,while expectations for the year ahead alsomoderated. Despite those figures, thereport showed that the June PMI datarounded off a solid second quarter for the

US economy, with GDP likely to have risenat an annualized 3 percent rate.

Europe & UKTsipras: The referendum gave me a

mandate to seek a better deal, not toleave the Eurozone

Thursday night, the Greek proposal wassubmitted to creditors and showed somemeaningful concessions on behalf of theGreek government. At the same time, aGreek parliamentary meeting was sched-uled for Friday seeking only a vote toauthorize Prime Minister Tspiras to negoti-

ate with the Creditors. Overall, it appears that the proposal this

time seems a package similar to the oneoffered by the Creditors on June 26 andone, which does make additional signifi-cant concessions. According to mediareports, the measures submitted include:Tax rise on shipping companies; unifyingVAT rates at standard 23 percent, includingrestaurants and catering; phasing out soli-darity grant for pensioners by 2019; Ä300million in defense spending cuts by 2016;privatization of ports; a sell-off of remain-ing shares in telecoms giant OTE and final-ly, scrapping the 30 percent tax break forwealthiest islands.

To add more pressure to the equation,

European commissioner Jean ClaudeJuncker, President Tusk and ChancellorMerkel, stated that the previous EFSFnegotiations will be the frame of referencefor a third bailout, and an even greater lev-el of commitment and details are likely tobe required from Greece.

Francois Hollande, the French presidentwho has been negotiating to tr y andsecure a deal between Greece and its cred-itors has judged the latest Greek packageof reform, submitted on Thursday, “seriousand credible”

Bank of England Growing Dilemma Last week, the UK budget brought sev-

eral big announcements, such as a slowingof near-term fiscal consolidation anddetails on how the government intends toreduce the size of the welfare state. Amajor surprise was the introduction of aNational Living Wage, where workers onthe current minimum wage will see a 7.5percent increase from April 2016. For theBank of England, looser fiscal policy andhigher wage costs could make more com-pelling the case for higher interest rates.

Next week’s focus will be on June infla-tion data and the May employment report.The UK’s output gap is the most positive inthe whole G10, and tightness in the labor

market is already leading to upside pres-sure on wages. In summary,

UK House Prices Continue to MoveHigher

British house prices rose at their fastestrate in almost a year in June. The RICS sur-vey showed that house prices index jumpedto +40 in June from +34 in May, the highestsince July 2014 and a bigger rise than theexpected +36. According to the report, lowinterest rates, and a strong job market weredriving demand from buyers, while the

number of people looking to sell remainedlow. Analysts seem to worry that houseprices and rentals were increasing signifi-cantly faster than wages, potentially derail-ing the economy.

Asia Australia, first victim of Chinese

UncertaintyThe release of Australian labor market

data was slightly better than expected.Employment grew 7.3k during June, abovemarket expectations, while the unemploy-ment rate remained at 6 percent. Overall,the data showed that the labor market isprogressing in line with its trend over thepast six months and is unlikely to changethe view of the RBA for the moment. TheChinese economic uncertainties ripplingthrough falling commodities especiallybase metals prices and the lack of confi-dence in China’s economic health are pro-viding more downside risks to theAustralian economy.

Locally, housing data showed thatefforts by the bank regulator to reducebank lending to property investor seem tostart showing results. The number ofAustralian home-loan approvals fell sharplyby 6.1 percent in May from April.Expectations were for a fall of 1 percent.The same report showed value of loans forinvestment housing fell by 3.2 percent fromApril. The RBA is facing a dilemma of a slow-ing Chinese market opposite to an over-heating property prices, limiting it fromcutting interest rates further.

China’s Stock Market CrashAfter a stellar performance over the past

six months, China stock market tumbled inthe previous two weeks. The response byBeijing was unprecedented halting morethan 1,300 companies. Trading was also lim-ited to 53 percent of the market. Officialmeasures to support shares becameextreme during the week when declinesdeepened. They included a ban on stock-holders and executives from selling stakesin listed companies for six months, an orderfor companies to buy equities and an inves-tigation by the nation’s public securitybureau into short-selling.

In addition, the Chinese BankingRegulatory Commission announced that itwould allow banks to extend loans backedby share collateral, while issuing at the sametime a statement saying that the PBoCwould support brokers after an emergencystate council meeting.

KuwaitKuwaiti Dinar at 0.30220

The USDKWD opened at 0.30220 yester-day morning.

Season finale of Greece debt dramaNBK MONEY MARKET REPORT

KUWAIT: The world economy has been ona path of deceleration in the past 12months, but at the country level,economies have experienced a variety oftrends. Growth in developed countries hasbeen sluggish, despite the US labor marketshowing some signs of recovery and theeuro zone economy stabilizing. In emerg-ing Asia, China has been on a gradual slow-down while India is in recovery followingyears of lackluster growth. The rest ofemerging Asia did not experience a cleartrend in growth either, but from the majoreconomies, only South Korea and HongKong witnessed a notable decline in eco-nomic growth. As a whole, emerging Asiacontinued to grow at a much faster pacethan developed markets.

The Organization for Economic Co-oper-ation and Development (OECD) publisheson a monthly basis the composite leadingindicators (CLI) for a number of countries,primarily OECD members, as well as a selec-tion of non-OECD countries such as China,India and Indonesia. The CLI aims at provid-ing early signals of changes in economictrends, between six and nine months inadvance. The CLI’s most important charac-teristic includes its ability to predict turningpoints in business cycles, in other wordsthe pace of economic activity relative to itslong-term potential. Key indicators used inthe CLI include orders and inventorychanges, financial market indicators andbusiness confidence surveys.

Earlier releases of the CLI have correctly

predicted most countries’ economic per-formances, best depicted by the grossdomestic product (GDP). China and India’sdiverging trends were captured clearly inthe CLI six to nine months in advance, aswell as the deceleration in South Korea andG7 economies. The US and the euro zoneaccount for the bulk of the G7, and OECD’sindicator showed six to nine months in

advance that US output would stabilize andthe euro zone economy would stop decel-erating. The CLI figures have changed sincethen.

According to the OECD, developedeconomies will maintain their sluggish runand slow further, mainly due to a slowdownin the US. The leading indicators show that,after a few more months of stability, the US

economy will cool down. However, eurozone output is expected to pick up again.The euro zone economy is already growingat a steady pace, and the European CentralBank’s unprecedented monetary stimulusshould maintain the bloc’s recovery.

In Asia, China’s economic activity isexpected to continue softening further inthe next three quarters. The combination of

declining property prices over the last yearand a sharp slowdown in industrial outputand investment activity coupled with thenumerous policy easing measures is consis-tent with the soft declaration expected. TheCLI also shows the Indian economy main-taining its acceleration. Recent activity ininvestments - a key element of the econo-my that was missing and dragging growthdownwards in the last few years - suggeststhat OECD’s projections will likely material-ize in the next two to three quarters. In theother two emerging Asian economiesassessed by the OECD, South Korea isexpected to recover following more thanone year of slowdown while Indonesia willsoon begin to cool down.

The key highlight of the CLI data isthe upcoming change in the businesscycles in the euro zone and the US. Theresurgence of the Indian economy andthe ongoing Chinese slowdown are inline with consensus. If these projectionsare accurate, then, in the case of the US,the Federal Reserve may have to post-pone its rate hike to next year. Similarly,the slowdown in China, if materialized,will probably lead to further monetaryeasing. However, inflation is an impor-tant factor that may affect these mone-tary policy projections. With inflationexpected to rebound in the second halfof the year, due to oil price base effectand its increase in value in 2015, mone-tary policy actions will continue to bedifficult to predict.

US, China to drive world economic slowdownIndia, South Korea economies brightest spots in emerging Asia

ASIYA CAPITAL INVESTMENTS REPORT

KUWAIT: Zain Iraq and Ericsson haveannounced an extension of their managed serv-ices deal, which would otherwise have ended in2016, for three additional years to the end of2019. The partnership was initially forged in2011 as part of Zain Iraq’s ambition to deliver adifferentiated mobile experience and a high-

quality network. Under the agreement, Ericsson is tasked with

optimizing and managing Zain Iraq’s IT opera-tions and mobile network, which currently con-sists of more than 4,000 sites across the country.Both companies also entered into a networktransformation agreement to upgrade Zain

Iraq’s network from 2G to 3G, thereby providingusers with better coverage, higher connectionspeeds and increased voice quality. Zain Iraq’s3G network became operational in January.

Zain customers will reap many benefits fromthe deal, such as high and faster data capacityresulting in an enhanced user experience, withhigh quality service maintained. Dr Haidar Radi,Chief Technology Officer & Deputy CEO of ZainIraq, says: “Zain Iraq has long placed customersatisfaction at the core of our brand ethos. Ourrenewed collaboration with Ericsson will helpfurther our mission to deliver an exceptional,hassle-free customer experience. Our networkwith the support of Ericsson promises to meetour customers’ hefty data requirements andmaintain the highest standards of service excel-lence.”

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Region Middle Eastand North East Africa Ericsson, says:” Thisrenewed collaboration is a testimony of thetrust and high performance that Ericsson hasdelivered to Zain Iraq through the years inmanaged services across the North Middle Eastregion. We are pleased to once more collabo-rate with Zain in the transformation of theirnetwork, which will further enhance Zain’sservices capabilities, customer perception aswell as realizing Ericsson’s Networked Societyvision in Iraq.

B U S I N E S SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

KUWAIT: The Gulf Organization for IndustrialConsulting (GOIC) announced that the numberof factories operating in the GCC food indus-tries sector increased from 1606 in 2010 to 1965in 2014, a compound annual growth rate(CAGR) of 5.2 percent. During the same period,investments jumped from $13.688 billion to$23.757 billion, a five-year CAGR of 14.8 per-cent, while the labour force increased from159613 workers to 238,825 workers, a CAGR of10.6 percent.

All of these figures were published in GOIC’s“GCC Food Industries’ Directory”.

GOIC Secretary General Abdulaziz BinHamad Al-Ageel stated that this sector repre-sents approximately 12.1 percent of the totalmanufacturing industries, about 6.2 percentof the total investments and 15.6 percent ofthe total manufacturing labour force. He high-lighted the importance of food industries inGCC countries in terms of achieving Gulf foodsecurity.

Ageel explained that the GCC industrialdirectories complement the valuable series ofpublication issued by GOIC. In fact, the GCCFood Industries Directory is the second to bepublished after the GCC PetrochemicalIndustries Directory. In this regard, GOICSecretary General said: “The food industries sec-tor is one of the main pillars of a sturdy econo-my; it is an important sector that is based onagricultural activities and developing animalresources and fisheries. Thus, GOIC endeav-oured to provide concerned parties with a vari-ety of easily accessible data on these industriesin a scientific fashion in accordance with inter-national standards in the area of directories.”

Furthermore, Ageel stressed GOIC’s key rolein the areas of consulting services, researchesand studies. He reiterated GOIC’s commitmentto providing documented and updated out-puts prepared by its experts based on its devel-oped databases. He hoped this publicationwould become a reference material enriching

the GCC economic library and helping decisionmakers, researchers, investors and all stake-holders in their efforts to develop the economyof the region.

According to ISIC, the food industriesinclude several industrial activities as follows:processing and preserving of meat, processingand preserving of fish, crustaceans and mol-luscs, processing and preserving of fruit andvegetables, manufacture of vegetable and ani-mal oils and fats, manufacture of dairy prod-ucts, manufacture of grain mill products, starch-es and starch products, manufacture of otherfood products, manufacture of bakery prod-ucts, manufacture of sugar, manufacture ofcocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery,manufacture of macaroni, noodles, couscousand similar farinaceous products, manufactureof prepared meals and dishes, manufacture ofother food products n.e.c, manufacture of pre-pared animal feeds, manufacture of soft drinks,production of mineral waters and other bottled

waters and manufacture of tobacco products.Since its very foundation, GOIC has always

endeavoured to spread knowledge and pro-vide data relating to the industrial sector. It tar-gets the largest pool of stakeholders, policymakers, decision makers, investors andresearchers in this area. GOIC’s objective is tomake valuable data accessible to these partiesin a variety of top-notch methods.

In this regard, a unique team of local,regional and international experts at GOIC puttogether a large number of specialised periodi-cals tackling issues related to different industri-al sectors throughout GCC countries andYemen. In addition to that, they prepare multi-client studies, periodicals, Gulf statistical pro-files and various analytical and statistical bookson key industrial sectors. In the near future,GOIC will publish several similar publicationsas reference materials for professionals in thearea of economics in general, and the industri-al sector in particular.

GCC food industries’ investments border on $24bn

KUWAIT: Warba Bank announced thelaunch of its exclusive offers for all creditcard holders which entitle them to receivediscounts on hotel and restaurant bookingsthrough collaborating with large corpora-tions, hotels and tourism agencies. Thiscomes within the framework of providing anumber of services and options to fulfill thecustomers various requirements while inpreparation for their summer holidays.

With these offers, Warba Bank creditcard holders will benefit from a 20 percentdiscount on their room bookings in almost100 five star hotels around the world inaddition to receiving a free night stay. Theywill also receive discounts in more than 35restaurants in Kuwait and many entertain-ment offers appropriate during the sum-mer holidays.

Warba Bank is keen to provide specialoffers for its customers, rewarding themthrough collaborations with the best inter-national hospitality and tourism companiesand organizations which can support theneeds and requirements of customers tofulfill their desires and expectations inaddition to easing their burdens particular-ly for those who intend to travel. They canavail from this offer on all their flight book-ings and travel plans and enjoy the highstandard services that make travel morefun at reasonable prices.

Talal Abdullah Al-Arbeed, CardsDepartment Manager at Warba Bank, said:“These offers are in line with the ongoingadvantages that Warba Bank seeks to pro-vide its customers, and is part of the con-tinuous search for presenting innovativeservices that benefit customers with anadded value of comfort and luxury.Customers are invited to seize this oppor-tunity and benefit from discounts on hotelbookings at many of the world’s most pop-ular destinations and receive more enter-tainment during the summer holidays.”

The Retail Banking Group at Warba Bankfocuses on developing and providing serv-ices that fulfill the requirements of clientsfrom every segments in line with theirlifestyle, and complementing the otherinnovative services that are sharia compli-ant. It also seeks to provide advantages andexclusive offers to customers shoppingexperience through Warba’s various creditcards, with their unique and special charac-

teristics, and encourages customers to usetheir credit cards locally and internationallyinstead of cash to avoid risks that they mayface. The offers also enhance Warba Bank’spresence in international markets andincreases its competiveness and creditcards market share.

Warba Bank has recently introducedupdates to its smartphone applications onApple and Android in order to add addi-tional credit card services allowing moreflexibility to customers when managingtheir dealings and tracking their cards. Thisenhances the safety feature for usingWarba cards when travelling and shoppingthrough the various websites.

Warba credit cards (Platinum, Gold,Classic) have wide range coverage globallyand is considered an easy payment methodallowing the owner to receive special dis-counts and rewards such as free entry toluxury airport lounges at many internation-al airports in addition to “My Box” service,which provides customer with a local P OBOX address in the United States ofAmerica, the United Arab Emirates, and theUnited Kingdom. Warba Platinum cardholders receive advantages that are in linewith their requirements, including creditlimits and discounts. It also enables themto receive a priority pass card which pres-ents them with comfort and luxury whiletravelling.

Warba Bank offers for

credit card holders

KUWAIT: In an era of an ageing population and increasedattention on retirement systems around the world, CFAInstitute, the global association of investment manage-ment professionals, has released An Ideal RetirementSystem, a report prepared by Mercer for CFA Institute. Thestudy considers, through a set of 10 principles, what theinvestment management profession can do for clients todeliver adequate benefits that can be sustained and trust-ed by the community. The10 principles are designed tobe a foundation for dialogue and debate among theinvestment profession to consider and assess whatchanges are needed in pension and retirement systems.

“Retirement is an issue that is too big not to address,”said Paul Smith, CFA, president and CEO, CFA Institute. “Inthis year’s annual CFA Institute Global Market SentimentSurvey, nearly 35 percent of responding members showedconcern about retirement issues, such as the impact ofaging populations, pension plan shortfalls and low levelsof retirement savings. Our members have spoken, we havelistened, and we look forward to an industry-wide debatethat brings us closer to solutions for the benefit of society.”

An Ideal Retirement System outlines the following 10principles:

1. Clear objectives for the whole retirement system,including the complementary roles of each pillar ofincome or financial support.

2. A minimum level of funding should be made into apension system for all workers with contributions byemployers, employees and the self-employed.

3. Cost-effective and attractive default arrangementsbefore and after retirement.

4. Administration and investment costs should bedisclosed with some competition present to encouragefair pricing.

5. Flexibility as individuals’ personal and financial cir-cumstances vary, and retirement will occur at differentages and in different ways across the population.

6. Benefits provided during retirement should havean income focus but permit some capital payments,without adversely affecting overall adequacy.

7. Contributions (or accrued benefits) at the requiredminimum level must have immediate vesting. Thesebenefits should be accessible only under certain condi-

t ions, such as retire -ment, death, or perma-nent disability.

8. Taxation supportfrom the government inan equitable and sus-tainable way, providingincentives for voluntarysavings and compensat-ing individuals for thelack of access to theirpension savings.

9. The governance ofpension plans should beindependent from thegovernment and anyemployer control.

10. Appropriate regu-lation, including prudential regulation of pension plansand some protection for pension scheme members.

In addition to An Ideal Retirement System, CFAInstitute offers a number of other tools to equip investorsand members with information to make informed deci-sions about the retirement system.

They include:Essentials of a More Secure Retirement:Tools, planning insights, and suggestions to help individ-ual investors save for retirement, and to help investmentmanagers in advising clients how to invest wisely andretire securely.

Financial Analysts Journal 70th Anniversary Issue:This issue on retirement includes 10 of the most influ-ential articles on the subject and offers a retirementtemplate for the future.

Pension Trustee Code of Conduct: An ethical frame-work to guide board members to serve the best inter-ests of pension participants and beneficiaries.

A Primer for Investment Trustees: An online courseintroducing basic investment principles for responsibletrusteeship. An Ideal Retirement System is a result ofthe organization’s Future of Finance initiative, a globaleffort to shape a trustworthy, forward-thinking financialindustry that better serves society.

CFA: Ten principles for

ideal retirement system

GOIC INDUSTRIAL REPORT

Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel

Paul Smith

Zain and Ericsson enter new agreements to

offer differentiated user experience in Iraq

Burgan Bank

announces

winners of

Yawmi accountKUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced the names of thelucky winners of its Yawmi account draw, each tak-ing home a prize of KD 5,000.

The lucky winners for the daily draws took homea cash prize of KD 5,000 each, and they are:

1. MAZEN HAMEED ALWAZAN2. OMAR MOHAMED SHALATY 3. DARRYL JOSEPH DAIS 4. KHALED MOHD ALSAEED 5. OMAR MOHAMED SHALATY To further add to the anticipation of Yawmi

account customers, Burgan Bank now offers aQuarterly Draw with more chances to win higherrewards, entitling one lucky customer to win KD125,000 every three months. The Yawmi Accountnow offers daily and quarterly draws - the quarterlydraw requires customers to maintain a minimumamount of KD 500 in their account for two monthsprior to the draw date. Additionally, every KD 10 inthe account will entitle customers to one chance ofwinning. If the account balance is KD 500 andabove, the account holder will be qualified for boththe quarterly and daily draws.

Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open aYawmi account and/or increase their deposit to max-imize their chances to becoming a winner. The morecustomers deposit, the higher the chances theyreceive of winning.

For more information on opening a Yawmiaccount or about the new quarterly draw, cus-tomers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bankbranch and receive all the details, or simply call thebank’s Call Center at 1804080 where customer serv-ice representatives will be delighted to assist withany questions on the Yawmi account or any of thebank’s products and services. Customers can alsolog on to Burgan Bank’s www.burgan.com for fur-ther information.

Al Tijari announces

the winners

of Souq.com, Al

Najma account

KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held theSouq.com and the Al Najma account draw on July12, 2015. The draw was held under the supervisionof the Ministry of Commerce & Industry representedby Abdulaziz Ashkanani.

The winners of the Souq.com draw are:Das Chan ChalLinu Alex ThomasChoudhary Muhammad Riaz

The winners of the Al Najma daily draw are:AbdulRasheed Adam Sait KD 7,000/-Hamad Khalaf Al Shimmari KD 7,000/-Ahmed Hassan Hussain KD 7,000/-Fowziya Abbas Al Mijadi KD 7,000/-Ali Mohammed Al Salim KD 7,000/-

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces thebiggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of thenew Najma account. Customers of the bank can nowenjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the highest inthe country and another 4 mega prizes during theyear worth KD 100,000 each on different occasions:The National Day, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha and on the19th of June which is the date of the bank’s estab-lishment.

With a minimum balance of KD 500, customerswill be eligible for the daily draw provided that themoney is in the account one week prior to the dailydraw or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In addi-tion, for each KD 25 a customer can get one chancefor winning instead of KD 50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportu-nity to congratulate all lucky winners and alsoextends appreciation to the Ministry of Commerceand Industry for their effective supervision of thedraws which were conducted in an orderly andorganized manner.

t e c hnolo g yMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

By Jyoti Lalchandani

When news emerged from the UnitedStates last week of a deal that wouldsee Charter Communications acquire

media giant Time Warner Cable for more than$56 billion, the reverberations were felt rightacross the industry. And with good reason, forthe proposed deal will combine the secondand third largest cable operators in the coun-try, with the new entity serving 23.9 millioncustomers across 41 states.

For a number of years now, cable compa-nies in the US have been coming under inten-sifying competition from online serviceproviders such as Amazon and Netflix. Thecommon response has been to initiate effortsaimed at cutting costs and improving thequality of their content, but there was always asense that industry consolidation on the scaleof this latest deal was ultimately inevitable.Indeed, a number of industry commentatorshave suggested that the merger addresses along overdue need for a strong national playerthat can offer faster services for watching and

playing online content. At this point, you maybe wondering what relevance this has to ourown region. And the answer is “a lot”. Theremay be various different factors at play in eachof the two markets, but the endgame remainsthe same - customers are increasingly shun-ning the idea of traditional ‘linear’ TV, choosinginstead to view video content at a time of theirconvenience. Commenting on the future

direction of the industry, Charter’s CEO,Thomas M Rutledge, said “It is not just thesmall screens or the large screens in the house,it is the mobile screens and more.” And it is thisobservation that rings particularly true here inthe Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Viewing habits Viewing habits in the region have steadily

been moving away from traditional linear TVsources in recent years, with the market nolonger revolving around the act of watching‘live’ TV on large television screens. The days ofsitting down in the living room at 7.30 everyevening to watch your favorite show arebecoming a thing of the past, with ‘TVEverywhere’ options such as digital videorecorders (DVRs), video-on-demand (VOD) serv-ices, streaming platforms, and catchup servicesoffering the ability to consume content when-ever, wherever, and however the viewerdecides. Given this evolution in viewer behavior,the focus is shifting noticeably to video contentas providers leverage its ability to engage,inspire, and draw in consumers. And on top of

all this, a multitude of untethered content serv-ices have recently emerged to stoke the flamesof competition in the MENA region, includingthe likes of Go by OSN, Invision by STC, Icflix,istikana.com, and StarzPlay. These over-the-top(OTT) providers are offering ad hoc on-demandcontent without the need for ongoing subscrip-tions, and they have the potential to cause asmuch disruption here as Amazon and Netflixhave in the States.

It is abundantly clear that MENA representsa truly dynamic and growing content market,with pay-TV companies, free-to-air (FTA) giants,and regionally focused OTT offerings all vyingfor eyeballs and attempting to maximize theirpotential profits on video content. How theyultimately achieve this is the million-dollarquestion, although various strategies are begin-ning to take shape both here and in the moremature media markets of Western Europe andthe United States.

Customer interaction Typically sitting front and center of these

strategies is the quest to enhance customer

interaction, with social media and content per-sonalization becoming essential for appealingto the region’s huge youth population. Theability to properly harvest and analyze cus-tomer data plays a key role in this, enablingproviders to tailor content offerings throughhighly tuned auto-generated suggestions thatdirect individual viewers to must-watch fea-tures that they would otherwise miss altogeth-er. Gamification initiatives have also been suc-cessful in this regard, generating enhancedcustomer insights and facilitating a more in-depth understanding of consumer behavior.

Alongside this, we are seeing the emer-gence of digital advertising strategies in theregion, with the likes of Du and Etisalatbeginning to experiment with dynamic adinsertion (DAI) techniques in a bid to squeezegreater advertising revenue from their videocontent. And elsewhere in the region, theintroduction of innovative new payment sys-tems is helping to unlock the huge potentialcustomer base here in MENA that is eitherunwilling or simply unable to pay for servicesthrough traditional channels.

A billion reasons why TV will never be the same

MIAMI: There’s a near-perfect heart shape on Pluto’srusty red surface. The dwarf planet is dotted withbright points which may be ice caps, and a mysteriousdark shape nicknamed “The Whale.” Scientists are see-ing all this for the first time as a piano-sized NASAspacecraft, called New Horizons, hurtles toward thedistant celestial body on its way toward a historic flybytomorrow.

“We’re at the ‘man in the moon’ stage of viewingPluto,” said John Spencer of the Southwest ResearchInstitute in Boulder, Colorado. “It’s easy to imagineyou’re seeing familiar shapes in this bizarre collectionof light and dark features. However, it’s too early toknow what these features really are.” But scientistsexpect those mysteries to be solved in coming days asthe spacecraft closes in on Pluto, once considered thefarthest planet in the solar system before it was reclas-sified as a dwarf planet in 2006.

That same year, the New Horizons missionlaunched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a journey ofnearly 10 years and three billion miles, becoming thefirst spacecraft to explore this far-away frontier. “Weare coming up on the culmination of all this effort, allthis planning,” said Joe Peterson, a science operationsleader for the New Horizons mission. “Very soon weare going to go by Pluto and get the actual goods.” Theclosest flyby is scheduled for July 14 at 7:50 am, whenNew Horizons passes within 6,200 miles of Pluto.Moving at a speed of 30,800 miles per hour, it is thefastest spacecraft ever launched.

Comprehensive picture The $700 million unmanned spacecraft has seven

sophisticated science instruments and cameras thatare collecting data daily and sending it back to Earth.“The instruments on New Horizons were all designedto work together to give us a comprehensive pictureof the Pluto system,” said Cathy Olkin, deputy projectscientist for New Horizons.

They include three optical instruments, two plas-ma instruments, a dust sensor and a radio sciencereceiver. Together they will help scientists study Pluto’sgeology, surface composition, temperature andatmosphere-as well as its five moons. Blurry, pixilatedcolor images began arriving in April and May, whenthe spacecraft was about 50 million miles away fromits destination. After a brief system failure caused thespacecraft to go into safe mode on July 4, the bestimage yet was taken on July 7 when New Horizonswas just under five million miles from Pluto.

The image shows a light-colored heart shape some1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) across, and a darker,whale-like shadow at its side. “I love this one,” saidOlkin, indicating that the shape could be due to ice.“We know that there are ices on Pluto, and we expectthose ices to be brighter.”

‘Closet approach’ More data in the coming days should reveal more

clues about the composition of Pluto’s surface, as wellas its Texas-sized moon, Charon. “The next time we

see this part of Pluto at closest approach, a portion ofthis region will be imaged at about 500 times betterresolution,” said Jeff Moore, geology, geophysics andimaging Team Leader of NASA’s Ames ResearchCenter.

The best views are expected today throughThursday of next week, said principal investigatorAlan Stern. Even after the spacecraft whizzes by, thedata and pictures will keep coming in for another 16months, Stern told NPR’s Science Friday. “This is thegift that keeps on giving,” he said.— AFP

NASA craft discovers heart

shape on Pluto, flyby nears‘New Horizons’ hurtles towards distant celestial body

YANGON: In a nation where religion and ethnic-ity are incendiary issues, a selfie campaign byMyanmar students promoting cross-culturalfriendships has become a rare counterpoint tobilious anti-Muslim rhetoric from hardlineBuddhist monks. At first glance there is nothingunusual about the group of grinning teenagersjostling for space in front of a mobile phonecamera. But their selfie-taken with Yangon’sgleaming Shwedagon Pagoda in the back-ground-is an act of unity in a nation hit by dead-ly recent outbreaks of communal violence andincreasingly inflammatory hate speech in a cru-cial election year. A bespectacled boy from thecountry’s Buddhist majority shares the screenwith a group of fellow students who are Muslim,part of the ‘My Friend’ campaign which encour-ages people from different religions and ethnicgroups to snap selfies together and post themonline.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric “Everyone loves to take selfies in their own

way, so why don’t we use it in a proper way, forthe betterment of society?” explains campaignco-founder Wai Wai Nu, who hails fromMyanmar’s heavily persecuted Muslim Rohingyaminority. She was spurred into action by a risingtide of hate speech, which often targets thecountry’s various Muslim communities, whomake up an estimated four percent of the popu-lation.

Hardline Buddhist monks have led the anti-Muslim rhetoric through public demonstrationsand online, sentiments matched by policy pro-posals many say target the minority. The mostrecent spate of protests in Yangon and westernRakhine state have railed against help beingoffered to desperate Rohingya Muslim migrantsfound adrift on boats in the Bay of Bengal.

Tens of thousands of the minority ethnicgroup have fled Rakhine in recent years toescape persecution after deadly communalunrest erupted there in 2012, leaving more than200 dead and 140,000 displaced in sprawlingcamps-mostly Muslims.

On the Facebook page of the country’s mostnotorious hardline monk Wirathu, a recent postwarns against lifting a constitutional clause thatwould allow those who have married foreignersto become president, with a sketch of a futureleader next to his hijab-wearing wife. “If the lawis changed, the country will look like this,” itwarns.

Web fuelling hate Cheap mobile technology has ignited an

Internet revolution in the former junta-runnation as it emerges from decades of isolationsince the end of outright military rule in 2011.But the exponential growth in web access hasalso seen hate speech flourish on social mediawith many well-visited accounts operatinganonymously. Blogger Nay Phone Latt is behindthe Panzagar-or “Flower Speech”-movementwhich monitors and reports hate speech on siteslike Facebook. He says the government is doinglittle to stop inflammatory content from spread-ing.

“There are some groups who are intentional-ly trying to spread hate speech, and trying toignite violence,” he said, describing systematiconline hate campaigns that are deeply inter-twined with the country’s politics. The “MyFriend” selfie group, which operates onFacebook and Twitter, decided it would use thesame technology to reduce those divisions.They were determined to launch the campaignbefore polls expected in November fearful thatcampaigning will deepen communal divisions.

Myanmar is a collage of ethnicities. Butdecades of neglect under military rule and con-flict still raging in parts of the country’s remotenorth and east have left many of its officially rec-ognized 135 minority groups on the fringes.Extremist clergy members are at the vanguardof moves to marginalize these minorities, espe-cially Muslims. Well-organized Buddhist nation-alist movements such as Ma Ba Tha-which isclosely allied to Wirathu’s 969 movement-printsregular journals that reach tens of thousands ofreaders.— AFP

YANGON: In this picture taken on June 18, 2015, campaigners from different reli-gions and ethnic groups pose for a selfie at the KanDawGyi Lake. In a nation wherereligion and ethnicity are incendiary issues, a selfie campaign by Myanmar studentspromoting cross-cultural friendships has become a rare counterpoint to bilious anti-Muslim rhetoric from hardline Buddhist monks. — AFP

Myanmar poses against

hate in selfie campaign

WASHINGTON: The Rappahannock Regional Jailin Virginia needs a facelift. The “decor was quitedated and it was in desperate need of a refresh-ing paint job,” said Shane S following his recentincarceration. “The bed was very uncomfortable.”Meanwhile, at Florida’s Broward County Jail, “thefood is not that great, but the personal attentionmakes up for it,” writes Halle C. “I come back allthe time because it’s my home away from home.”

Writing Yelp reviews and other online post-ings of jails is increasingly popular and offer anoccasionally comedic and sometimes illuminat-ing inside perspective on the jail and prison sys-tem. America’s overloaded prisons and the strug-gles of its judicial system are also generally underthe political spotlight. Barack Obama will makethe first presidential visit to a federal prison inOklahoma next week as he pushes for criminaljustice reform.

At Berks County Jail in Pennsylvania, reviewerJohnny W gave it one star out of five. “The guardsare split into two groups,” he wrote. “Group A is allthe people I either went to school with or knewfrom the streets. Group B was made up of someweird hybrid alien race of people who probably

consider Hitler a role model.” On the positive side,he noted, “the only redeeming quality was thefood. I mean this place gives you a lot, I damnnear gained twenty pounds by the time I left andI only had like a hundred days in that joint!”

Shedding light Humor notwithstanding, these reviews can

sometimes shed light on institutions which areclosed to public scrutiny. This is especially impor-tant because of the absence of an independentprison monitoring entity in the United States,said David Fathi, who directions the NationalPrison Project for the American Civil LibertiesUnion.

“In the absence of any formal mechanism, Ithink these informal sources of information canbe helpful in alerting people to problems inthese institutions,” Fathi told AFP. “Anything thatopens up this closed world can be useful.” Fathisaid it’s not clear if prison administrators makeuse of the reviews to investigate abuses or otherproblems. “It would be nice if prison wardenswere as responsive as restaurant owners but thatdoesn’t seem to be the case,” he said.—AFP

Online reviews shine

light on life in prison

Jyoti Lalchandani

This photo obtained July 7, 2015 from NASA shows new color images from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft showing two very different faces of the mys-terious planet Pluto, one with a series of intriguing spots along the equator that are evenly spaced. Each of the spots is about 300 miles in diameter.

This Artist’s concept obtained from NASA shows the New Horizons spacecraft as it approachesPluto and its largest moon, Charon. —AFP photos

WASHINGTON: The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft hasbeen grounded in Hawaii, its crew said Saturday, after a gruelingfive-day, fuel-less flight across the Pacific Ocean overheated itsbatteries. The airplane took 118 hours to cross from Japan toHawaii in the most perilous leg of its goal to circumnavigate theglobe without a drop of fuel.

The flight last week saw Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg smasha record for the longest solo plane flight. But the historic journeyalso took its toll on the aircraft’s batteries, grounding it forrepairs until at least August. Too much insulation caused theplane’s battery temperature to spike on the first day of the flightand there was no way to cool it after Solar Impulse was off theground, the aircraft’s team said. “The damage to certain parts ofthe batteries is irreversible and will require repairs and replace-ments that will take several weeks to work through,” the SolarImpulse crew said. “Solar Impulse does not see the possibility forany flights before 2-3 weeks at the earliest.” The crew said it’slooking for ways to improve cooling as it gets ready to tackle thelast five stretches of the 13-leg journey.

Solar Impulse 2 took off from the United Arab Emirates ear-lier this year in its around-the-world journey powered by17,000 solar cells and on-board rechargeable lithium batteries,allowing it to fly through the night. Its wingspan is longer thana jumbo jet but its light construction keeps its weight to aboutas much as a car. — AFP

Solar plane damaged by heat,

cannot fly again till August

HONOLULU: In this image released by Solar Impulse 2, the solar powered plane, pilot-ed by Andre Borschberg approaches Honolulu Airport. — AFP

H E A LT H & S C I E NC EMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

HONG KONG: The oldest giant pandaliving in captivity is set to challenge theworld record for the animals’ longevity,with her age said to put her on par witha human centenarian. Hong Kong’s giantpanda Jia Jia, whose name means“good”, will turn 37 this summer attheme park Ocean Park, matching theGuinness World Records title for the old-est panda survivor in captivity - Du Du,who died in 1999, aged 37.

“It is rare for pandas to live to this

age,” said Grant Abel, the park’s directorof animal care. “It’s probably equivalentto someone, a human person, whowould be over a hundred years of age.”Jia Jia’s caregivers say they are consider-ing sending an application to GuinnessWorld Records after the celebration ofher birthday, which is observed in sum-mer, although the exact date is notknown, as she was captured in the wild.

Born in China in 1978, Jia Jia was gift-ed to Hong Kong in 1999, along with

another panda, to mark the secondanniversary of the city’s handover fromformer colonial ruler Britain. She weighs80 kg and is considered to be in remark-ably good health for her age, eventhough her vision is severely impairedand her hearing has deteriorated, saysPaolo Martelli, the park’s chief veterinari-an. Jia Jia takes medicines for high bloodpressure and arthritis. She walks slowlyand avoids the exhibition area of herenclosure, preferring to stay at the back

and feast on several kilograms of bam-boo shoots and leaves, besides fruit andhigh-fiber bread. “ The first thing Ithought when I saw Jia Jia was, ‘Oh myGod, she’s so old, I’m going to be the oneto bury her,” Martelli said. “But actuallyit’s been 10 years now. And she’s had afew ups and downs, but she always man-ages to bounce back and look surpris-ingly good for years after that,” he said,adding that it was hard to predict herremaining lifespan.

Pandas are endangered becausemost of their natural habitat has beendestroyed for timber, farming and con-struction, according to conservationgroup the World Wildlife Fund. A Chinesegovernment survey in 2014 estimated1,864 pandas live in the wild, up 17 per-cent from 2003. They also have an excep-tionally short breeding season, withfemales fertile for just 24 to 36 hours ayear, says a nonprofit body, PandasInternational. — Reuters

HK panda nears world record for longevity

TAKARA: In this Saturday, May 30, 2015, photo, children play on the beach in the town of Takara, on Efate Island, Vanuatu. The town was dam-aged in March during Cyclone Pam. — AP

Due to climate change, Vanuatu villagers seeking higher ground

‘It’s time to plan for the long term’

HAGATNA, Guam: Guam’s war against thecoconut rhinoceros beetles, which haveravaged many coconut trees, has becomemore challenging, an expert said. At stakein the battle against the beetles is the sur-vival of the remaining coconut trees on theisland, which aren’t just a source of food.They’re also a vital part of Guam’s image asa tropical island, the Pacific Daily Newsreported yesterday.

One challenge that has set back ongo-ing efforts to try to eradicate the coconutrhinoceros beetles is the recent discoverythat the virus Oryctes nudivrus, which isbeing used as a biological agent to kill thebeetles, isn’t as effective as expected, saidAubrey Moore, an entomologist, an associ-ate professor at the University of Guam anda leading expert on the issue.

The virus, which attacks only rhinocerosbeetles, typically reduces damage causedby coconut rhinoceros beetles by up to 90percent, and population suppression lastsindefinitely, Moore stated. But there’s aproblem with the use of the virus onGuam’s beetles. Guam’s coconut rhinocerosbeetles seemed to have developed animmunity to the virus, so the next step is totry to find a more effective biological con-trol agent, possibly another strain of virus,Moore said.

Researchers at AgResearch, a leadingresearch institute for New Zealand’s agri-culture industry, and UOG, recently havediscovered that the Guam rhinoceros bee-tles are “genetically different” from othercoconut rhinoceros beetle populations andthey are resistant to all available strains of(Oryctes nudivrus, or OrNV),” Moore said.

New Zealand researcher Sean DG Marshallis expected to present the findings thatGuam’s invasive coconut rhinoceros beetleshave become resistant to the virus that’smeant to stop them at an internationalconference in Canada in August.

Breeding ground Another challenge that has come up in

the fight against the destructive beetles:The numerous trees toppled by TyphoonDolphin now are decaying and providing abreeding ground for the beetles. Thedecaying trees provide a haven for grubsbefore they become adult, flying beetlesthat destroy coconuts. In about six monthsthe grubs will become mature beetles, pos-ing an even tougher challenge for Guam tokeep their population under control, Mooresaid.

“Worst-case scenario is that we may losemost of our coconut palms due to animpending (beetle) outbreak in response toabundant breeding sites left by TyphoonDolphin,” Moore said. In Colorado, tiny par-asitic wasps from China are being deployedas part of a test to kill emerald ash borerbeetles, which have killed 50 million treesin more than two dozen states, theColoradoan reported recently.

Guam isn’t considering using parasiticwasps to combat beetles, Moore said.Parasitic wasps were used in Palau to try toeradicate coconut rhinoceros beetles, butthey weren’t effective, Moore said. A chemi-cal or insecticide can be used to zap thebeetles, but it’s not approved for consumeruse and can be costly, Guam researcherssaid.— AP

Guam’s war against beetlesbecomes more challenging

TAKARA: Many people living in this coastal vil-lage in Vanuatu believe the March cyclone thatsent waves surging through their homes wasthe latest and most dramatic sign of climatechange. They are now considering rebuildingtheir entire community on higher ground.Cyclone Pam struck the Pacific archipelago threemonths ago, blasting the islands with winds of270 kilometers per hour, killing at least 11 peo-ple and affecting 180,000 more by destroyingtheir homes and crops. Many residents saw it aspart of broader environmental changes they’vewitnessed in recent years, from higher sea levelsto trees bearing fruit out of season.

“We have seen a lot of changes in our weath-er patterns. The level of the sea rise. And it isaffecting the nation at the moment,” saidVanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale in an inter-view with The Associated Press. “The impact ofclimate change is quite real in Vanuatu.” Parts ofVanuatu are low-lying and are starting to see vis-ible signs of rising sea levels as the earth warmsand ice caps melt. The world’s oceans have risennearly 7 centimeters since 1992, scientists at theUS National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration say, and are projected to rise at afaster rate in the decades to come.

Severe storms More damaging than the overall rise, howev-

er, are the unpredictable surges brought on bymore severe storms. While scientists caution thatsingular events like the cyclone can’t be attrib-uted solely to climate change, many say there isa link to a general increase in violent weather.“The short answer would be that certainly thereis a connection between climate change andextreme weather,” said Debarati Guha-Sapir, aprofessor at the University of Louvain School ofPublic Health in Brussels. “The numbers ofstorms and high wind events have been increas-ing. So have droughts, in fact, and all of theseare very connected to climate change.”

She said there’s likely to be an increase in cat-astrophic flooding in coming years and peopleneed to better prepare for that. Vanuatu isn’t theonly Pacific island nation figuring out how toface climate change. Low-lying Kiribati has pur-chased land in Fiji, which Kiribati PresidentAnote Tong says is an investment and also aguarantee in case the entire nation needs tomove.

In Takara, which is on Vanuatu’s main islandof Efate, village chief Benjamin Tamata said hewants to move the village of about 200 peopleinland by about 300 meters to move away fromthe rising seas and to avoid future storm surges.“When the cyclone came to my village, it’s notonly the cyclone,” he said. “With the sea level ris-ing, it came through and damaged our houses.And some of the people run away.” He said manyescaped to a nearby school, but now it’s time toplan for the long term. “We try to relocate,” hesaid. “To take all the people from this village andwe try to relocate where we can be safe, orwhere we can survive from the sea.” If Takaradoes move inland, it won’t be the first village todo so in Vanuatu. A decade ago, dozens of vil-lagers on Tegua Island moved inland in what theU.N. described as one of the first cases of massdisplacement triggered by global warming.

“Staff from the meteorological office and haz-ard department, they went and assessed the lev-el of sea rise,” said Lonsdale. “And they advisedpeople to move inland. And so they assisted.They assisted the communities and we havemoved them further up from the coastal area.”NOAA, NASA, the Japanese weather agency, andthe World Meteorological Organization alldeclared 2014 the hottest year on record, withNOAA putting 2014 at an average of 58.26degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 Celsius).

Change has impact As the world gets warmer, water expands, so

the seas rise. But on top of that, ice sheets in

Greenland and west Antarctica are melting, asare world glaciers, and scientists worry thatmeltwater will dramatically increase sea levelby about 1 meter by the end of the century.Islanders are also noticing other effects of cli-mate change, said Shadrack Welegtabit, thedirector of Vanuatu’s National DisasterManagement Office. He said trees are bearingfruit and nuts all year round, instead of in dis-tinct seasons like in the past.

“Not only in Vanuatu, but probably in thePacific as a whole, climate change does havean impact,” Welegtabit said. “We are beginningto see changes in the weather patterns. We arebeginning to have more intense weather, moresevere cyclones.” Vanuatu has made strides inits rebuilding efforts since the cyclone, andmany tourism operators are hoping that thetourists who help power the economy willsoon return. But for others, like Vila NorthSchool Principal Elina Jaywelson Gilu, therebuild has been painfully slow.

She’s still operating three classes from atent provided by aid agency UNICEF while shewaits for her classroom buildings to get newroofs. “You can just imagine our classes arevery noisy, and it’s really, really hard to get thestudents to concentrate,” she said. “Becausethey are all under one roof and it’s not beenpartitioned to separate the classes. And theyare all sitting on the floor.”

Shirley Laban, the climate change adapta-t ion manager in Vanuatu for aid agenc yOxfam, said its time for the world to get seri-ous about tackling climate change. “Whatmore can we show you. Category-5 CyclonePam is the real evidence already,” she said. “Weneed to cut down on this carbon emission.Because as long as we do not cut down, vul-nerable individuals, countries, women andchildren will continue to be impacted.” — AP

MONROVIA: This photo taken on June 29, 2015 shows the feeding of chimpanzeesfrom Monkey Island, a celebrated colony of former research lab captives on an atolldeep in the jungle of southern Liberia. —AFP

Liberia’s ‘Planet of the Apes’ chimps nearing starvation

MONKEY ISLAND, Liberia: A speedboatladen with exotic fruit approaches and fourchimpanzees come bounding over from thedense forest, screeching excitedly as volun-teers throw them pineapple and mangochunks.

The apes are part of a celebrated colony offormer research lab captives enjoying retire-ment un-caged on an atoll deep in the jungleof southern Liberia, known as Monkey Island.The only significant inhabitants of the sixislets, the chimps have been living an idyllicexistence, fed by human volunteers on theirvery own ‘Planet of the Apes’-a nickname giv-en to the archipelago by local media. But thecolony of 66 chimps has been at the centre ofan international storm since the New York-based blood bank funding it announced inMarch it was stopping the cash.

The New York Blood Center (NYBC), whichcarried out about 30 years of biomedicalresearch on the animals, had publicly com-mitted to their lifelong care after they wereretired in 2005. The Humane Society of theUnited States (HSUS) is supporting the colonythrough emergency fundraising as theLiberian government and the blood bank lockhorns over who should be responsible fortheir care.

“NYBC may believe that people will forgetand that this will go away, but I can assureyou that it won’t,” HSUS vice-presidentKathleen Conlee told AFP in an email fromWashington DC. “They are absolutely respon-sible for the long-term care of these chim-panzees.”Conlee described the chimps’ carecosts-estimated at $30,000 a month-as “amere drop in the bucket for this organizationthat has hundreds of millions in revenueannually”.

‘Moral obligation’ The Liberia Biomedical Research Institute

(LBRI) entered into an agreement with theNYBC in 1974 to carry out research in a lab

about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southeast ofMonrovia, capturing or buying the chim-panzees. The research project had gained aworld class reputation in the field of viralinfections, particularly hepatitis, by the time itended and the NYBC appeared to make acommitment to the chimps in retirement as areward for their contribution.

NYBC director Alfred Prince wrote in theAmerican Society of Primatologists Bulletin in2005 that Monkey Island was to become “adedicated full-time sanctuary”. “NYBC recog-nizes its responsibility to provide an endow-ment to fund the sanctuary for the lifetimecare of the chimpanzees,” he wrote. Thechimps are entirely reliant on humans fortheir survival, as there is no year-round freshwater supply or enough food on their islets.

LBRI head Fatorma Bolay said initial emer-gency funding from the HSUS, pooled withcash from other sources, had probably savedthe animals from dehydration and starvation.World-renowned chimpanzee expert JaneGoodall sent an open letter to the NYBC inMay urging the organization to consider its“moral obligation” to continue funding thechimps’ care. “I find it completely shockingand unacceptable that NYBC would abandonthese chimpanzees and discontinue supportfor even their basic needs,” she wrote. AFPemailed and telephoned the NYBC but thecentre did not respond to requests for com-ment.

‘No different from humans’ John Abayomi Zeonyuway, a volunteer at

the institute, showed AFP the animals’ careroutine on a recent visit to Monkey Island, a25-minute speedboat ride up the John Riverfrom Roberts International Airport. As theboat approached the first of the islets, a ninesquare-kilometer patch of jungle known asIsland Five, a welcoming party of four chimpsbegan screeching and jumping up and downexcitedly. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Monsoon floodingthat killed dozens of people inwestern India last month also hurtthe world’s last population of wildAsiatic lions, forest officials said in areport. At least 81 people died inmudslides, collapsed homes orhigh waters in Gujarat state, whilethousands were forced to evacuatetheir homes. The rains also killed atleast 10 of the country’s 523 lions -the last members of the subspeciesleft anywhere in the wild - as wellas prey animals, including morethan 80 spotted deer and 1,670Asian antelope called blue bulls,according to a report submittedover the weekend to the federalenvironment ministry in New Delhi.

The animal deaths underlineconservationists’ concerns aboutkeeping all of the lions in a singlelocation. The conservationistsargued successfully in India’sSupreme Court in 2013 for some to

be relocated to a second sanctuaryfar away, to prevent the populationfrom being hit all at once by naturaldisaster or disease. But Gujarat hasresisted moving any of the lions.“There is no cause for panic,” saidCN Pandey, a top forest official inGujarat. “Conservation efforts areongoing.”

The lions died in two badlyflooded areas near their sanctuaryin Gir National Forest in southernGujarat. Pandey said a single day ofrain, on June 26, had dumped 26centimeters of water in the areaand turned a 100-square-kilometerarea “into an unbroken sheet ofwater.” Other lions were found in“weak health and shocked condi-tion,” and were given treatment andfood supplements, the report said,according to the Press Trust ofIndia. Hundreds of park workers,animal activists and villagerslaunched a search for the lions, and

found about 80 “roaming safely intheir territory, killing wild animals

and blue bulls from the surround-ing areas,” the report said. — AP

India floods kill endangered lions near Gujarat sanctuary

AHMADABAD: In this May 10, 2015 file photo, an Asiatic lion rests atits enclosure at the Kamala Nehru Zoological Garden. — AP

H E A LT H & S C I E NC EMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

DOHA: The World InnovationSummit for Health (WISH), a glob-al initiative of Qatar Foundationfor Education, Science andCommunity Development (QF),has announced that it will be akey supporter of the APAC Forum,the Asia-Pacific’s premier health-care meeting.

Taking place on 23-25September 2015 in Auckland,New Zealand, the APAC Forumwill bring together 1,700 of theleading minds in healthcare todiscuss innovation in healthcareand learn from leaders of pioneer-ing programs making tangibleimpact to patients and organiza-tions around the world.

WISH will hold two sessions atthis year’s event. The first session,led by Professor Robert Thomas,

chief cancer advisor at the VictoriaDepartment of Health and HumanServices, and WISH’s DeliveringAffordable Cancer Care ForumChair, will discuss the causes ofinflating cancer costs andovertreatment, and present path-ways to address these challenges,including promoting greaterpatient engagement.

Tackling the persistent beliefthat patient harm is inevitablein health, WISH chief executiveofficer Egber t Schil l ings wil llead the second session along-side Imperial College London’ssenior policy fellow and directorof operations, Centre for HealthPolicy, Gianluca Fontana andpolicy fellows, Centre for HealthPolicy, Jessica Prestt and DidiThompson.

Critical issues This session will highlight key

findings of this year’s WISH report,Transforming Patient Safety: ASector-Wide Systems Approach.

The panel will focus attention onthe critical issues in patient safetyand present innovative efforts toaddress them, in particular outlin-ing the Leading Health Systems

Network (LHSN), a joint initiativeof WISH and Imperial CollegeLondon. Established in 2009,LHSN has worked with 21 healthsystems in 11 countries helpingthem to overcome the challengesthey face in providing high-valuecare to the populations theyserve.

Schillings said: “WISH isdelighted to support this year’sAPAC Forum, the Asia-Pacific’sbiggest and most significanthealthcare meeting. By sharingour research and expertise inaffordable cancer care deliveryand patient safety, we hope toinspire healthcare leaders in theregion to take up the innovationsand recommendations in ourreports for the benefit of thepatients and communities that

they serve.”The APAC Forum is designed

for health professionals who caninfluence change. Last year, theforum convened in Melbourneand attracted over 1500 dele-gates, including senior managers,board and policy makers, clini-cians and quality improvementspecialists from throughout theAsia-Pacific region. Approximately130 speakers across 42 sessionsare scheduled for APAC 2015.WISH inspires and diffuses health-care innovation and best practice,remaining closely aligned to thevision and mission of QatarFoundation to unlock humanpotential and serve to underscoreQatar ’s pioneering role as anemerging centre for healthcareinnovation.

WISH supports premier Asia-Pacific healthcare forum

NAMPO: In this May 2015 photo, provided by the Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre, birds stand in the mud flats. — AP

As habitats vanish, migratory birds flock to N Korea shores

Birds traveled 11,000 kilometers in nine daysTOKYO: To the untrained eye, it’s just a lot of birdson an otherwise deserted stretch of muddy, flatcoastline. But for ornithologists, North Korea’swest coast is a little piece of paradise each spring- and both the birds and a dedicated group ofbirdwatchers travel a long way to get there.

While North Korea is wary of letting foreignersinside its borders, a recent trip by a New Zealandresearch team to the mudflats near Nampo,southwest of the capital, Pyongyang, underscoressome tentative but significant progress by outsidescientists to conduct small-scale research projects- as long as they don’t rub up against sensitivetopics and are seen as useful to North Korea itself.Last year, for example, an international team ofscientists was allowed to set up seismographs andother equipment to monitor ominous activity onMount Paektu, a huge volcano that straddlesNorth Korea’s border with China.

‘Good cooperation’ In typical North Korean style, the New Zealand

ornithologists were told not to take photos of the

birds in some places. Their mobile phone andcomputer access was also partly restricted. Butthe researchers say that overall, the trip wentsmoothly. “They took us where we needed to go,”team member Keith Woodley, who is now back inNew Zealand, told The Associated Press by phone.“They evaluate the places we need to go and theymake it happen. It’s very good cooperation.”

The trip in May was part of a four-year study bythe Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre in NewZealand, which is where many of the birds endthe summer portion of their journey. In three daysof on-site bird-watching, the team countedapproximately 20,000 migratory birds from as faroff as Australia and South Asia.

Team members hope the project will shedlight on the birds’ migrations and generate inter-national efforts to conserve their habitats. NorthKorean officials share that hope, which dovetailswith the authoritarian nation’s efforts to promoteitself as an eco-friendly, unspoiled land of naturalattractions that will interest the one kind of for-eigner it is trying hard to woo - the wealthy

tourist. “Many people from other countries areinterested in this kind of study here,” NatureConservation Union researcher Pak Ung told anAP television news crew that was allowed to filmthe site. “I think if we can do a thorough study ofmigratory birds here, it will contribute to greatprogress in conservation of migratory birds, aswell as overall ecological diversity, which is aninternational issue.”

The birds being watched aren’t exactly house-hold names - bar-tai led godwits (LimosaIapponica), great knots (Calidris Tenuirostris) anddunlins (Calidris Alpina). But in scientific circles,the godwits are something of a sensation.“Godwits are amazing,” said project memberDavid Melville, a British citizen who has long livedin New Zealand. “Their flight from New Zealand toChina is approximately 8,000 kilometers, nonstopfor seven days, and then after a month they flyanother 5,000 kilometers to Alaska to breed. Onthe return trip to New Zealand, they fly nonstopacross the Pacific ocean, a trip of 11,000 kilome-ters, in about nine days.”—AP

WASHINGTON: The $1,000 pill for a liver-wasting viral infection that made headlineslast year is no longer the favorite ofpatients and doctors in the US. The newleading pill for hepatitis C is more expen-sive, and the number of patients seeking acure has surged.

Sovaldi, last year’s wonder drug, hasbeen pushed aside by a successor calledHarvoni, made by the same company. Thesticker price for Harvoni is $1,350 a pill. Thefast-paced changes in hepatitis C treatmentare being watched closely amid fears thatbreakthrough drugs could reignite the riseof US health care costs. Other medicationsthat could turn into cost drivers include anew treatment for melanoma and a choles-terol-lowering drug awaiting approval.More hepatitis C drugs are also headed tomarket.

Hepatitis C affects some 3 million peo-ple in the US and claims more lives herethan AIDS. With the new drugs, patientsfinally have a choice among highly effec-tive cures with minimal side effects.Previous treatments were hit and miss, andmany patients couldn’t tolerate the sideeffects. But newfound choice doesn’t seemto have led to widespread price competi-tion.

Surge of patients“As a society we need a way of deter-

mining what is a reasonable price at thetime of introduction of a new drug,” saidStephen Schondelmeyer, a University ofMinnesota professor who specializes inpharmaceutical economics. “We haveexpanded coverage, but we haven’t doneanything to control costs on the pricingside.” The Associated Press asked two com-panies that track the prescription drugmarket for a hepatitis C update. IMS Healthcollects data on pharmacy prescriptionsand sales, while DRX surveys prices paid byprivate health plans and prescription bene-fit managers. What they found:

The number of prescriptions filled forhepatitis C drugs has more than doubled,from an average of 20,600 a month duringthe first three months of last year to amonthly average of 48,000 for the sameperiod this year, according to IMS. “Peopleare coming in who never wanted to betreated before,” said Dr. Douglas Dieterich,director of outpatient liver disease treat-ment at Mount Sinai Hospital in New YorkCity. “When I started in 1989, I used to havea 3 percent cure rate. Now I have a 3 per-cent failure rate.”

Simplicity’s appealHarvoni, the new pill from California-

based Gilead Sciences, accounted for aboutthree-fourths of the prescriptions filled forhepatitis C drugs in the first three monthsof this year, IMS said. A big part of the rea-son is simplicity, explained Dieterich.Patients on Harvoni need only take a singlepill daily, for 12 weeks in most cases.Previously, patients took combinations ofdrugs.

Harvoni quickly rose to the top after itsapproval last fall, with monthly sales cross-ing the $1-billion mark by January. Anothernew drug, Viekira Pak, is gaining marketshare but appears to be far behind. It’s anequally effective cure and priced lower.Still, Viekira Pak is a four-pill daily combina-tion, and patients have to take anotherantiviral drug as well. It was introduced latelast year by Illinois-based AbbVie. Theextent of Viekira Pak’s inroads is hard to dis-cern. The company has not disclosed pre-scription volumes. And a major pharmacythat promotes the drug does not reporthepatitis C data to IMS.

DRX’s analysis of prices paid by privatehealth plans shows the median discountfor Harvoni was 13.7 percent between Apriland June. That reflects a modest pricebreak for most insurers, including thosedelivering Medicare’s prescription drugbenefit, said DRX executive vice presidentJim Yocum. The government-fundedMedicare program provides health carecoverage for the elderly.

“This sets the stage for some of the newcancer drugs coming out, both in terms ofa vast improvement in effectiveness and avast increase in prices,” said Yocum. “This isa concern not only for commercial healthplans, but for Medicare.” Medicare is barredfrom negotiating drug prices. StateMedicaid programs covering the poor,however, and the federal Veterans Affairshealth system are legally entitled to deepdiscounts.

‘Major problem’ Matt Salo, executive director of the

National Association of Medicaid Directors,said competition from Viekira Pak hasenabled states to win bigger rebates fromthe manufacturers. But Salo says costremains a “major, major problem” becauseof the large number of people with hepati-tis C. At the median discounted price, a 12-week treatment regimen of Harvoni costsabout $98,000.—AP

$1,000 pill overtaken by pricier successor

CEO Egbert Schillings Professor Thomas

W H AT ’ S ONMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

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Happy 10thbirthday to oursweet daugh-

ter Yasmin Syed. Bestwishes from mom,dad, brother SyedDanial and sisterAisha Syed. We wishyou all the happinessand success in yourlife.

Greetings

The Center for Continuing Education (CCE)at the American University of Kuwait (AUK)held a ceremony to celebrate the gradu-

ates of the Leadership for Supervisors CertifiedProgram; a 3 week program designed for theprofessional development of members ofBurgan Bank’s middle management. The cere-mony was held at the Chairman Club in theBurgan Bank Tower, Kuwait City, and was attend-ed by AUK president, professor Dr Nizar Hamzeh,and Burgan Banks’s group chief humanresources and development officer, Halah ElSherbini, and Buthaina Al-Khubaizi, director ofCCE, who presented the graduates with their cer-tificates.

The Leadership for Supervisors CertifiedProgram provided the participants with theopportunity to learn the practical and analyticalskills required to manage teams. While exploringsuch topics as “Building and Leading HighPerformance Teams”, “Resolving WorkplaceConflict”, and “Achieving Successful Results”, theparticipants learned how to define clear teamobjectives and the most effective means ofachieving them.

“The program has equipped me with sets ofskills that help me manage daily challengesmore effectively,” participant Nour Hamadah,manager-marketing communications, explained.

“We are proud of the partnership between

Burgan Bank and the CCE itself, and theAmerican University in Kuwait at large. We areadamant at Burgan Bank to nurture talents tran-sitioning into leadership roles. The Leadership forSupervisors Certified Program is built around thenew paradigm of leadership that focuses onpeople, soft skills and emotional intelligence,”expressed Ms. Halah El Sherbini, group chiefhuman resources & development officer.

One of the key elements of the programfocused on the importance of developing thecommunication skills of the participants. Bylearning and practicing effective communica-tion skills, the participants will be able becomeinspiring team leaders and learn to channel

the energy, enthusiasm and motivation oftheir team members to achieve optimumresults, thus transforming competent supervi-sors into true leaders.

“The Leadership for Supervisors CertifiedProgram will create a generation of self-drivenleaders and equip them with the skills neededto continue the future development andgrowth of Burgan Bank in Kuwait. TheAmerican University of Kuwait is honored tobe part of this program with Burgan Bank andwill continue to develop innovative learningand development opportunities for the nextgeneration of professionals in Kuwait,” saidAUK President, Professor Dr Nizar Hamzeh on

the sidelines of the ceremony.The Leadership for Supervisors Certified

Program has been offer by CCE twice before. Todate, 60 participants from Burgan Bank havesuccessfully completed the Leadership forSupervisors program. CCE was established in2004 and, in addition to offering languagecourses in Arabic, English, French and Spanish,offers an array of courses and workshops aimedto assist in the personal and professional devel-opment of individuals and groups within publicand private sectors. Course offerings are specifi-cally tailored to meet the needs of their clients,whether they are independent groups or corpo-rations.

CCE and Burgan Bank celebrate the graduatesof the Leadership for Supervisors Program

Live Ramadan with TSC & Win $150,000

Cash’ campaign arranges draw

As part of its “Live Ramadan with TSC & Win$150,000 Cash” campaign for the Holy month ofRamadan, The Sultan Center arranged an excit-

ing draw campaign for its customers with an opportuni-ty to win valuable cash rewards.

The campaign which will run through July 17th isopen to all TSC reward card holders who spend KD 15 ormore and will be entered into a draw for a chance towin cash prizes. TSC has held 3 of the 4 draws awardingexcited customers with more than $100,000 dollars incash. With the final draw scheduled to take place onJuly 22nd there is more to be won!

Commenting on the campaign, Mohammed Jalloul,Loyalty Program Manager at TSC said: “We would like toshare the occasion of this Holy month with the entireKuwait community and show gratitude and apprecia-tion to our loyal customers by thanking them for theircontinued loyalty.” He also added, “we would like to giveour congratulations to our winners of the draws and wepromise that there are plenty more prizes to be won byour customers.”

The Sultan Center has also organized a number offun filled activities for children to enjoy during the joy-ous month of Ramadan including storytelling of 1001Nights, photo booth corners where children had anopportunity to dress in traditional costume, participatein a Ramadan arts and crafts event and join in the tradi-tional Girgian celebration.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the communi-ty during the month of Ramadan TSC has been activewithin in the community through numerous initiativesunderscoring its social commitments to society inwhich it operates. The Sultan Center celebrates the HolyMonth of Ramadan with its customers and is committedto providing them with all their shopping needs.

Movenpick Hotel Kuwait completes the finaltouches to its Eid packages, in order to turn theproperty into a family heaven with great dis-

counts and special offers. As part of the promotions,Movenpick Hotel Kuwait will be offering a delectablearray of varied food choices at all restaurants, speciallyprepared for the holy occasion to attract visitors from theregion during this holiday season.

From the second day of Eid, guests can enjoy lavishEid brunch buffets at Bays International Restaurant.Dining at Movenpick Hotel Kuwait becomes a beautifulexperience as the Italian restaurant Al Dente offers realItalian spirit, with an exclusive pizza festival. On the otherhand, Brazilian Cuts restaurant offers a wide variety ofdelicacies, steaks and chicken dishes carefully cut at yourtable, in addition to a buffet featuring a wide range of

tapas and hot and cold appetizers along with live enter-tainment.

Furthermore, guests of Movenpick Hotel Kuwait mayfreely choose to dine in any of the hotel’s air-conditionedtents at the Garden Restaurant, where generous specialdishes are served to families and friends. Diningbecomes more special with live Egyptian, Lebanese andMoroccan Theme Night throughout all the Eid days.

Enjoy your Eid at Movenpick Hotel

With Eid-Al-Fitr celebrations just around the corner,Marina Hotel Kuwait extends its warmest greetingsto guests and their families and has organized

delightful packages for the festive holidays. The hotel has seta rich selection of culinary flavors, family entertainment andspecial room packages to make this Eid truly magnificent.

Guests can look forward to remarkable room packageswith an extensive range of other benefits which includeaccess to the state of the art Coral Reef Health Club, pooland beach or just use the occasion to relax in the luxuriousrooms.

Guests whose taste palettes crave for unique and diversecuisines can start their morning with steaming coffee andbreakfast at the Six Palms Restaurant and enjoy an amazingdinner experience with an International buffet filled withOriental specialties, Shisha and an Oriental band perform-ance. They can also watch authentic innovations spring tolife for lunch at the renowned Atlantis Restaurant with thefinest dishes from around the world, an exciting kids corner,and views of the Arabian Sea.

Commenting on the occasion, Nabil Hammoud, GeneralManager, Marina Hotel Kuwait said: “Eid, being a time thatbrings families together, we are delighted to present theseexclusive offers to our guests whilst sharing in their festivi-ties. I would like to wish everyone a blessed Eid-Al-Fitr. Theseoffers are specially made to appeal to all family memberswith an aim to enjoy an incomparable stay at Marina Hotel.”

Marina Hotel has arranged for special programs for chil-dren of all ages to enjoy during the Eid celebrations. Withthe Marina Kids Club program, they have an opportunity toexperience various fun filled activities along with the KidsClub entertainers which include games for adults and kids,movie viewing, football, volleyball, basketball, bouncy cas-tles, face painting, and much more. Experience a memo-rable journey while sharing this special time with friendsand family at the Marina Hotel.

Create magnificent memories this Eid-Al-Fitr at Marina Hotel

W H AT ’ S ONMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

KFSD recently held a draw amongst 2768 of the applying new recruits to join its various training courses including firefighting officers, marine firefighting officer, communications, fire engine operatorand firefighter training courses. Only 240 applicants were accepted.

Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa welcomes guests tocelebrate a memorable Eid-Al-Fitr. Guests will be able toindulge in fun-filled recreational and water sports activi-

ties, or enjoy a relaxing and rejuvenating experience at theregion’s leading Talise Spa. Among the culinary offerings is the

signature steak house pepper which offers a selection ofdelectable starters, main courses and desserts. The re-launched seafood and meat paradise restaurant Salt andOlio’s introduces a new menu with a number delightful Italiandishes.

In addition, guests can sample a lavish and colorful buffetat the Garden CafÈ, exotic flavors of the Middle East atArabesque, savor a cup of tea or coffee in the Tea Lounge orenjoy a dinner at Mint. The hotel offers 407 elegantly appoint-ed guest rooms, award-winning Talise Spa, activities for chil-

dren at the Sinbad Kids’ Club, the Scene Teens’ Club, floodlittennis courts, two swimming pools and 200 meters of privatebeach where guests can jet-ski and parasail. The hotel is readyto welcome local and regional guests looking to enjoy a fun-filled quality time with their families and loved ones.

Enjoy Eid holidays at Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa

Celebrate the upcoming Eid Al-Fitrfestivities with friends and family atSheraton Kuwait, a Luxury

Collection Hotel and Four Points bySheraton Kuwait and enjoy exquisite din-ing experiences in any of our restaurants,savouring the finest global cuisines in anindigenous atmosphere. Spend your EidVacation indulging in a refined Italianexperience at Riccardo; a classical tasteof Iranian cuisine at Shahrayar; exoticand delicious Indian fare at Bukhara;authentic Lebanese cuisine at LeTarbouche; a lavish international buffetat Al Hambra for breakfast, lunch anddinner; or light snacks accompanied withthe finest choices of tea at the EnglishTea Lounge to satisfy one’s palate.

You can also enjoy any of our restau-

rants - Al Hambra, Bukhara, Shahrayar, LeTarbouche and the English Tea Lounge -all conveniently located at the GrandAvenue in The Avenues Mall to furtherenhance your shopping experience. For atrue taste of Italy, La Mamma Pizzeria atFour Points by Sheraton offers a grandselection of freshly made pasta and pizzamade especially in a wooden fired ovento satisfy your appetite.

On this occasion, Fahed Abushaar,the general manager and area directorof Sheraton Kuwait, a Luxury CollectionHotel and Mounir Amer - the GeneralManager of Four Points by SheratonKuwait as well as the staff of both hotelswould like to take this opportunity towish the people of Kuwait a veryblessed Eid.

Celebrate Eid atSheraton Kuwait andFour Points Sheraton

In pursuance of the announce-ment made on March 14, 2015by Hon’ble Prime Minister of

India, Shri Narendra Modi, theEmbassy of India is pleased toinform that the e-Tourist Visa (eTV)scheme is extended to nationals of45 countries with effect fromTuesday, April 15, 2015. e-TouristVisa Facility is available for holdersof passport of following countries:Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, CookIslands, Djibouti, Fiji, Finland,

Germany, Guyana, Indonesia, Israel,Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos,Luxembourg, Marshall Islands,Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia,Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand,Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau,Palestine, Papua New Guinea,Philippines, Republic of Korea,Russia, Samoa, Singapore, SolomonIslands,Sri Lanka,Thailand, Tonga,Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, USA,Vanuatu& Vietnam. Kuwaiti nation-als are not included in eTVfacility.

India e-Tourist visa facility

00:35 Great Expectations01:30 Starlings02:20 Sherlock03:50 Threesome04:15 The Weakest Link05:00 The Green Balloon Club05:25 Mr Bloom’s Nursery05:45 Show Me Show Me06:05 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock nRoll06:25 The Green Balloon Club06:50 Mr Bloom’s Nursery07:10 The Weakest Link07:55 The Cafe08:20 My Family08:50 My Hero09:20 Doctors09:50 Casualty10:40 A Farmer’s Life For Me11:35 The Weakest Link12:20 My Hero12:50 My Family13:20 The Cafe13:45 Casualty14:40 A Farmer’s Life For Me15:30 Doctors16:00 My Hero16:30 My Family17:00 The Cafe17:20 The Weakest Link18:05 Lark Rise To Candleford19:00 Doctors19:30 Eastenders20:00 Doctor Who Explained20:45 Spies Of Warsaw21:30 My Hero22:00 Lark Rise To Candleford22:55 The Weakest Link23:40 Doctors

T V PR O G R A M SMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

RIO 2 ON OSN MOVIES HD

47 RONIN ON OSN MOVIES HD

00:00 Come Dine With Me00:45 Bargain Hunt01:30 Bargain Hunt02:15 Antiques Roadshow05:10 Extreme Makeover: HomeEdition Specials06:30 Masterchef: TheProfessionals07:00 Bargain Hunt07:45 Come Dine With Me08:10 Masterchef: TheProfessionals08:35 Masterchef: TheProfessionals09:00 Chefs: Put Your Menu WhereYour Mouth Is09:45 DIY SOS: The Big Build10:40 Bargain Hunt11:25 Kirstie Allsopp’s Home Style12:10 Bargain Hunt13:05 Tareq Taylor’s NordicCookery13:30 Nigel Slater’s SimpleCooking13:55 Come Dine With Me14:20 Chefs: Put Your Menu WhereYour Mouth Is15:05 Nigel Slater’s SimpleCooking15:30 Bargain Hunt16:15 Tareq Taylor’s NordicCookery16:40 Bargain Hunt17:30 Chefs: Put Your Menu WhereYour Mouth Is18:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent18:15 Antiques Roadshow19:10 Masterchef: TheProfessionals19:35 Masterchef: TheProfessionals20:30 Antiques Roadshow21:20 MasterChef22:15 New Scandinavian Cooking22:40 Antiques Roadshow23:35 Masterchef: TheProfessionals

00:45 Fat N’ Furious: RollingThunder05:00 Unchained Reaction06:00 Edge Of Alaska06:50 Kindig Customs07:40 Fast N’ Loud08:30 The Liquidator08:55 Storage Wars Canada09:20 Auction Hunters09:45 How It’s Made: Dream Cars10:10 How Do They Do It?10:35 Fast N’ Loud11:25 Extreme Car Hoarders12:15 Fat N’ Furious: RollingThunder13:05 The Liquidator13:30 Storage Wars Canada13:55 Auction Hunters14:20 Edge Of Alaska15:10 Kindig Customs16:00 Fast N’ Loud16:50 How It’s Made: Dream Cars17:15 How Do They Do It?17:40 Gold Rush18:30 Ice Cold Gold20:10 Storage Wars Canada20:35 Auction Hunters21:00 Ice Cold Gold22:40 Yukon Men23:30 Street Outlaws

00:00 The Soup00:30 The Grace Helbig Show00:55 Fashion Bloggers01:25 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills02:20 E! News03:15 The Drama Queen04:10 Ryan Seacrest With TheKardashians: An E!...05:05 THS06:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians07:50 Style Star08:20 E! News09:15 Giuliana & Bill11:10 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills12:05 E! News13:05 Eric And Jessie: Game On13:35 Eric And Jessie: Game On14:05 Extreme Close-Up14:30 Style Star15:00 Kourtney And Khloe TakeThe Hamptons16:00 Kourtney And Khloe TakeThe Hamptons17:00 Christina Milian Turned Up17:30 Christina Milian Turned Up18:00 E! News19:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians20:00 House Of DVF21:00 Fashion Bloggers21:30 Fashion Bloggers22:00 New Money22:30 New Money23:00 Beyond Candid WithGiuliana

00:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives01:00 Kitchen Casino02:00 Farm King03:00 Trisha’s Southern Kitchen04:00 Food Court Wars05:00 Chopped06:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives07:00 Man Fire Food08:00 Chopped09:00 The Big Eat...10:00 The Kitchen11:00 The Pioneer Woman12:00 Chopped13:00 Guy’s Big Bite13:30 Guy’s Big Bite14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives15:00 Man Fire Food16:00 Chopped17:00 The Kitchen18:00 Grandma’s Secret CookbookSpecial19:00 Chopped20:00 Andy Bates American StreetFeasts20:30 Andy Bates American StreetFeasts21:00 Food Court Wars22:00 Mystery Diners23:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

05:15 Big Star’s Little Star06:10 The Hungry Sailors07:05 Coronation Street07:30 Who’s Doing The Dishes?08:25 Come Date With Me Australia09:20 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover10:15 Brendan’s Magical MysteryTour10:40 The Chase11:35 The Hungry Sailors12:30 Big Star’s Little Star13:25 Emmerdale13:50 Brendan’s Magical MysteryTour14:15 Coronation Street15:10 Gino’s Italian Escape15:35 Peter Andre’s 60 MinuteMakeover16:30 Callie-Anne Cooks Into TheWild17:25 Gino’s Italian Escape18:20 Big Star’s Little Star19:10 Coronation Street20:00 Brendan’s Magical MysteryTour20:30 Callie-Anne Cooks Into TheWild21:25 Gino’s Italian Escape22:20 Coronation Street23:15 Emmerdale23:40 Brendan’s Magical MysteryTour

00:00 Nazi Underworld01:00 Building Wild02:00 Building Wild03:00 Nordic Wild04:00 The Living Edens05:00 Top 10 Biggest Beasts Ever07:00 The Border08:00 Nazi Underworld09:00 Building Wild10:00 Building Wild11:00 The Living Edens12:00 Bid & Destroy12:30 Bid & Destroy13:00 Banged Up Abroad14:00 Wild Untamed Brazil15:00 Nazi Underworld16:00 Hard Time17:00 Building Wild18:00 Building Wild19:00 Nazi Underworld20:00 Hard Time21:00 Building Wild22:00 Building Wild23:00 The Living Edens

00:00 Last Man Standing00:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart01:00 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore01:30 Saturday Night Live02:30 Parks And Recreation03:00 Cristela03:30 Cougar Town04:00 Hot In Cleveland04:30 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon05:30 My Name Is Earl06:00 My Boys06:30 Community07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers08:00 Hot In Cleveland08:30 My Name Is Earl09:00 Cristela09:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine10:00 The Mindy Project10:30 Community11:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon12:00 My Boys12:30 Hot In Cleveland13:00 My Name Is Earl13:30 Community14:00 Cougar Town14:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine15:00 The Mindy Project15:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart16:00 The Nightly Show With LarryWilmore16:30 My Boys17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers18:00 Cristela18:30 Cougar Town19:00 About A Boy19:30 The Mindy Project20:00 Last Man Standing20:30 Last Man Standing21:00 The Daily Show With JonStewart21:30 Last Week Tonight With JohnOliver22:30 Black-Ish23:00 Parks And Recreation

11:00 Graceland12:00 Emmerdale12:30 Coronation Street13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show14:00 Marvel’s Agents OfS.H.I.E.L.D.15:00 Red Band Society16:00 Emmerdale16:30 Coronation Street17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show18:00 Marvel’s Agents OfS.H.I.E.L.D.19:00 Criminal Minds20:00 Suits21:00 Graceland22:00 True Detective23:00 Once Upon A Time

03:10 Henry Hugglemonster03:20 Calimero03:35 Zou03:45 Loopdidoo04:00 Art Attack04:25 Henry Hugglemonster04:35 Calimero04:50 Zou05:00 Loopdidoo05:15 Art Attack05:35 Henry Hugglemonster05:50 Calimero06:00 Zou06:15 Loopdidoo06:25 Limon And Oli06:35 Art Attack07:00 Calimero07:10 Zou07:25 Nina Needs To Go07:30 Jake And The Never LandPirates07:55 Sofia The First08:20 Doc McStuffins08:45 Loopdidoo08:55 Limon And Oli09:05 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West09:30 Minnie’s Bow-Toons09:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse10:00 Sofia The First10:25 Nina Needs To Go10:30 Jake And The NeverlandPirates10:55 Runaway Shuffle/Surfin’The Whirlpool11:20 Doc McStuffins11:45 Henry Hugglemonster12:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse12:35 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West13:00 Sofia The First13:25 Minnie’s Bow Toons13:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse13:55 Jake And The Never LandPirates14:20 Runaway Shuffle/Surfin’The Whirlpool14:45 Messages From Miles14:50 Doc McStuffins15:15 Sofia The First15:40 Minnie’s Bow Toons15:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse16:10 Lilo & Stitch16:35 Adventures Of TheGummi Bears17:00 Chip n Dale RescueRangers17:25 Ducktales17:50 Jake And The NeverlandPirates18:00 Runaway Shuffle/Surfin’The Whirlpool18:25 Messages From Miles18:30 Sofia The First18:55 Nina Needs To Go19:00 Jake And The Never LandPirates19:30 Loopdidoo19:45 Doc McStuffins20:00 Adventures Of TheGummi Bears20:30 Sofia The First20:55 Cars Toons21:00 Chip n Dale RescueRangers21:25 Ducktales21:50 Lilo & Stitch22:15 Zou22:30 Art Attack22:55 Limon And Oli23:05 Henry Hugglemonster23:20 Calimero23:35 Zou23:50 Loopdidoo00:05 Art Attack00:30 Henry Hugglemonster00:45 Calimero01:00 Zou01:15 Loopdidoo01:30 Art Attack01:55 Henry Hugglemonster02:05 Calimero

01:05 Paddock To Plate02:00 Emmerdale02:25 Emmerdale02:55 Coronation Street03:25 Who’s Doing The Dishes?04:20 Come Date With Me Australia

00:00 Red Band Society01:00 Graceland02:00 The Newsroom03:00 Once Upon A Time04:00 Suits05:00 Criminal Minds06:00 Red Band Society07:00 Once Upon A Time08:00 Marvel’s Agents OfS.H.I.E.L.D.09:00 Criminal Minds10:00 Suits

OSN FIRST MORE02:00 Good Morning America03:00 Castle06:00 Good Morning America07:00 Emmerdale07:30 Coronation Street08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show09:00 Prison Break10:00 Emmerdale10:30 Coronation Street11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show12:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter13:00 Grey’s Anatomy14:00 Live Good Morning America16:00 Prison Break17:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter18:00 Grey’s Anatomy19:00 Prison Break20:00 Marvel’s Agent Carter21:00 Grey’s Anatomy22:00 Castle23:00 The Voice

00:00 Shark Week02:00 Beast Of The Bering Sea03:45 The Last Castle06:00 Marvel’s Next Avengers:Heroes Of Tomorrow08:00 A Stranger In Paradise10:00 Double Take12:00 Beast Of The Bering Sea14:00 Marvel’s Next Avengers:Heroes Of Tomorrow16:00 A Stranger In Paradise18:00 Stash House20:00 Double Take22:00 The Courier

03:15 Say Yes To The Dress 03:40Randy To The Rescue04:30 Cake Boss05:00 Little People, Big World05:30 Extreme Couponing06:00 Say Yes To The Dress06:25 Cake Boss07:15 Say Yes To The Dress08:05 Something Borrowed,Something New08:30 Something Borrowed,Something New08:55 Say Yes To The Dress09:45 Cake Boss10:10 Little People, Big World10:35 Extreme Couponing11:00 Toddlers & Tiaras11:50 Love, Lust Or Run12:40 Cake Boss13:30 Kate Plus 814:20 Sister Wives15:10 Cake Boss15:35 Little People, Big World16:00 Toddlers & Tiaras16:50 Say Yes To The Dress17:15 Say Yes To The Dress 17:40Say Yes To The Dress18:05 Extreme Couponing18:30 Randy To The Rescue19:20 Your Style In His Hands20:10 Cake Boss21:00 Return To Amish21:50 Extreme Cheapskates23:05 90 Days To Wed23:55 Return To Amish

03:20 Total Drama: Revenge OfThe Island04:05 Ninjago: Masters OfSpinjitzu04:50 Teen Titans Go!05:10 Grojband06:00 Regular Show06:40 Uncle Grandpa07:00 Adventure Time07:25 Steven Universe07:45 The Amazing World OfGumball08:10 Ben 1008:55 Ninjago: Masters OfSpinjitzu09:15 Regular Show09:40 The Amazing World OfGumball10:00 Uncle Grandpa10:25 Total Drama World Tour11:10 Adventure Time12:40 Regular Show13:25 Clarence13:45 Uncle Grandpa14:10 Grojband14:30 Total Drama: Revenge OfThe Island14:55 Ben 10: Omniverse15:40 Ninjago Master OfSpinjitzu New16:00 Matt Hatter New16:25 Steven Universe16:45 Teen Titans Go!17:10 The Amazing World OfGumball17:30 Regular Show18:15 Adventure Time18:40 Johnny Test19:25 Clarence19:45 Uncle Grandpa20:10 Teen Titans Go!20:55 Ben 10: Omniverse21:40 Adventure Time22:25 Johnny Test23:10 Regular Show23:55 Total Drama: PahkitewIsland00:20 Total Drama: PahkitewIsland00:40 Grojband01:05 Grojband01:25 Teen Titans Go!01:50 Regular Show02:35 Johnny Test

00:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:40 Wolfblood02:30 Violetta03:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch04:10 Wolfblood05:00 Violetta05:50 Mouk06:00 Lolirock06:25 Girl Meets World07:15 H2O: Just Add Water08:05 The Next Step08:30 Hank Zipzer08:55 Jessie09:20 Jessie09:45 Austin & Ally10:35 Liv And Maddie11:25 Girl Meets World12:15 Jessie12:40 Jessie13:05 Dog With A Blog13:55 H2O: Just Add Water14:55 Lolirock15:25 Austin & Ally16:00 Jessie16:30 Jessie17:00 Teen Beach Movie18:40 Liv And Maddie19:30 Lolirock19:55 Hank Zipzer20:20 Binny And The Ghost20:45 Good Luck Charlie21:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place22:25 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch22:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch23:10 Wolfblood

00:00 Beast Of The Bering Sea01:45 The Last Castle-PG1504:00 Marvel’s Next Avengers:Heroes Of Tomorrow-PG06:00 A Stranger In Paradise-PG1508:00 Double Take-PG1510:00 Beast Of The Bering Sea12:00 Marvel’s Next Avengers:Heroes Of Tomorrow-PG14:00 A Stranger In Paradise-PG1516:00 Stash House-PG1518:00 Double Take-PG1520:00 The Courier-PG1522:00 Shanghai Noon-PG15

00:00 For Better Or For Worse02:00 She-Devil04:00 Every Day06:00 Life08:00 Liar, Liar10:00 She-Devil12:00 Life14:00 The Pretty One16:00 Liar, Liar18:00 So Undercover20:00 Cuban Fury22:00 Vamps

01:00 The Past-PG1503:15 White Bird In A Blizzard05:00 The Fifth Estate-PG1507:15 The Bag Man-PG1509:00 Belle-PG1511:00 The Fifth Estate-PG1513:15 Five Thirteen-PG1515:00 Temptation: Confessions Of AMarriage Counselor-PG1517:00 Belle-PG1519:00 Last Passenger-PG1521:00 Paranoia-PG1523:00 As Cool As I Am-PG15

01:00 Battle Of The Year03:00 The Magic Of Belle Isle05:00 Nebraska07:00 Jack And The Cuckoo ClockHeart09:00 The Letter11:00 Battle Of The Year13:00 Buried15:00 Swing Kids17:00 The Letter19:00 Atlas Shrugged Part 2: TheStrike

21:00 Promised Land23:00 We Gotta Get Out Of ThisPlace

01:00 Welcome To The Punch-PG1503:00 Diana-PG1505:00 The Butler-PG1507:15 Khumba-PG09:00 The Secret Life Of WalterMitty-PG1511:00 Good Deeds-PG1513:00 No Clue-PG1515:00 Rio 2-FAM17:00 The Secret Life Of WalterMitty-PG1519:00 Grudge Match-PG1521:00 47 Ronin-PG1523:00 Think Like A Man Too-PG15

01:00 Ernest & Celestine02:45 Escape From Planet Earth04:30 Cinderella06:00 Ghatothkach - Master OfMagic07:45 Worms09:30 Jelly T11:15 Pim And Pom: The BigAdventure12:45 Escape From Planet Earth14:30 Moshi Monsters: The Movie16:00 Otto Is A Rhino18:00 Jelly T20:00 The Little Rascals Save TheDay22:00 Moshi Monsters: The Movie23:30 Otto Is A Rhino

00:00 Iron Man-PG1502:15 American Warships-PG1504:00 The Colony-PG1506:00 Breakout-PG1508:00 Labor Day-PG1510:00 Cloverfield-PG1512:00 Breakout-PG1514:00 Epic-PG16:00 Labor Day-PG1518:00 Call Me Crazy: A Five Film-PG1520:00 Peace, Love &Misunderstanding-PG1522:00 Trespass-PG15

01:30 PGA European Tour07:00 Golfing World12:00 Live NRL Premiership18:00 Golfing World19:00 PGA Tour Highlights20:00 PGA European TourHighlights21:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 22:00 NRL Premiership

00:00 Live Indy Cars Series 07:00 V8 Supercars Highlights09:00 Golfing World10:00 WEB.Com Tour 12:00 champions Tour 15:00 Golfing World16:00 Indycar Highlights 19:00 WWE Experience20:00 WWE Afterburn21:00 WWE This Week

00:00 Live Caribbean PremierLeague : Jamaica v Guyana10:00 Caribbean Premier LeagueH/L: Jamaica v Guyana10:30 ICC Cricket 360, Episode 2719:30 Caribbean Premier LeagueH/L: St Kitts v Trinidad & Tobago20:30 Caribbean Premier LeagueH/L: Jamaica v Barbados21:30 Caribbean Premier LeagueH/L: Jamaica v Guyana23:30 ICC Cricket 360, Episode 27

00:00 American Pickers01:00 Alaska Off-Road Warriors02:00 Alone03:00 Mountain Men04:00 American Pickers06:00 Down East Dickering07:00 Mountain Men08:00 Ax Men09:00 American Pickers11:00 Counting Cars12:00 American Restoration13:00 Storage Wars14:00 Pawn Stars15:00 Shipping Wars16:00 American Restoration17:00 Pawn Stars18:00 American Pickers19:00 Storage Wars20:00 Shipping Wars21:00 Pawn Stars23:00 American Pickers

00:45 Love, Lust Or Run01:35 Extreme Cheapskates02:00 90 Days To Wed02:50 Say Yes To The Dress

ClassifiedsMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON - Re Release 9:00 PMYOU’RE NEXT -Re Release 11:45 PM

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Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Arrival Flights on Monday 13/7/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeQTR 1084 Doha 00:05THY 772 Istanbul 00:15JZR 239 Amman 00:20JZR 267 Beirut 00:30DLH 637 Dammam 00:35MEA 406 Beirut 01:00JZR 539 Cairo 01:30JAI 574 Mumbai 01:30ETH 3403 Addis Ababa/Riyadh 01:35PGT 858 Istanbul 01:40RJA 642 Amman 01:45ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:50GFA 211 Bahrain 02:15KKK 6507 Istanbul 02:15UAE 853 Dubai 02:25MSC 403 Sohag 02:30OMA 643 Muscat 02:35THY 768 Istanbul 02:50ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:05QTR 1076 Doha 03:05RJA 644 Amman 03:10CEB 7694 Manila 03:10MSR 612 Cairo 03:15KAC 1544 Cairo 03:35THY 1464 Istanbul 03:55MSC 401 Alexandria 04:00PGT 860 Istanbul 04:05JZR 555 Alexandria 04:15THY 770 Istanbul 04:40DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:15BAW 157 London 06:35JZR 563 Sohag 06:45KAC 382 Delhi 07:30KAC 206 Islamabad 07:30IRC 6521 Lamerd 07:40KAC 302 Mumbai 07:55QTR 1086 Doha 07:55KAC 352 Kochi 08:15KAC 344 Chennai 08:15UAE 855 Dubai 08:25KAC 362 Colombo 08:30IRA 667 Esfahan 09:05ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:10KAC 284 Dhaka 09:25FDB 055 Dubai 09:40KAC 350 Kochi 09:40SYR 343 Damascus 09:50QTR 1070 Doha 10:00GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40UAE 873 Dubai 10:40MEA 404 Beirut 10:55AXB 889 Mangalore/Bahrain 11:15MSC 405 Sohag 11:20JZR 561 Sohag 11:25AGY 680 Alexandria 11:40MSR 610 Cairo 13:00THY 766 Istanbul 13:10KAC 620 Doha 13:10QTR 1078 Doha 14:05KNE 460 Riyadh 14:10FDB 057 Dubai 14:20GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30KAC 538 Sohag 14:55KNE 472 Jeddah 14:55RJD 135 Abu Dhabi 15:00KAC 788 Jeddah 15:00OMA 645 Muscat 15:05ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35KAC 1802 Cairo 15:35UAE 857 Dubai 15:45NIA 251 Alexandria 15:50RJA 640 Amman 15:55ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:00JZR 535 Cairo 16:05FDB 051 Dubai 16:10QTR 1072 Doha 16:20KAC 118 New York 16:30KAC 792 Madinah 16:50KAC 562 Amman 17:00SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30JZR 177 Dubai 17:45JZR 777 Jeddah 17:50JZR 483 Istanbul 18:20KAC 502 Beirut 18:35KAC 786 Jeddah 18:35KAC 542 Cairo 18:55QTR 1080 Doha 18:55KAC 618 Doha 18:55KAC 104 London 19:00GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05UAE 875 Dubai 19:05KAC 614 Bahrain 19:10ABY 123 Sharjah 19:20JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35KAC 774 Riyadh 19:40AGY 684 Sohag 19:50OMA 647 Muscat 20:00KAC 674 Dubai 20:00KNE 480 Taif 20:10MEA 402 Beirut 20:15DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:20MSR 618 Alexandria 20:40JAD 301 Amman 20:55ALK 229 Colombo 21:10ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:15UAE 859 Dubai 21:15FDB 073 Dubai 21:30QTR 1074 Doha 21:30GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45THY 764 Istanbul 22:10ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10AIC 975 Chennai 22:25RBG 551 Alexandria 22:30FDB 059 Dubai 22:50JAI 526 Chennai/Abu Dhabi 23:00RBG 555 Alexandria 23:25MSR 614 Cairo 23:30FDB 071 Dubai 23:35KLM 411 Amsterdam/Dammam 23:40PIA 205 Lahore 23:40

Departure Flights on Monday 13/7/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 982 Ahmedabad/Chennai 00:05BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10JZR 562 Sohag 00:20UAL 981 IAD 00:25JAI 573 Mumbai 00:25MSR 615 Cairo 00:30FDB 072 Dubai 00:30PIA 206 Lahore 00:40DLH 637 Frankfurt 01:35MEA 407 Beirut 02:00THY 773 Istanbul 02:05ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:50JAI 525 Abu Dhabi/Chennai 02:55PGT 859 Istanbul 02:55ETH 3403 Addis Ababa 03:05KKK 6508 Istanbul 03:10MSC 404 Sohag 03:30OMA 644 Muscat 03:35THY 769 Istanbul 03:40UAE 854 Dubai 03:45RJA 645 Amman 03:55QTR 1077 Doha 04:05ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05MSR 613 Cairo 04:15CEB 7695 Manila 04:40PGT 861 Istanbul 04:45THY 765 Istanbul 04:55MSC 406 Sohag 05:00JZR 560 Sohag 05:00QTR 1085 Doha 05:20RJA 643 Amman 06:35GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50THY 771 Istanbul 06:50KAC 537 Sohag 08:20BAW 156 London 08:30IRC 6522 Lamerd 08:35QTR 1087 Doha 08:55KAC 1801 Cairo 09:00JZR 534 Cairo 09:15KAC 619 Doha 09:30KAC 787 Jeddah 09:30JZR 482 Istanbul 09:40ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45UAE 856 Dubai 09:50ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:00IRA 666 Esfahan 10:05FDB 056 Dubai 10:40SYR 344 Damascus 10:50QTR 1071 Doha 11:00KAC 501 Beirut 11:00KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:25KAC 561 Amman 11:25GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35MEA 405 Beirut 11:55KAC 791 Madinah 12:00KAC 541 Cairo 12:05UAE 874 Dubai 12:10KAC 103 London 12:10AXB 890 Mangalore 12:15JZR 776 Jeddah 12:15MSC 402 Alexandria 12:20AGY 685 Sohag 12:40KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00JZR 176 Dubai 13:10MSR 611 Cairo 14:00THY 767 Istanbul 14:10QTR 1079 Doha 15:05GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05FDB 058 Dubai 15:05KNE 481 Taif 15:10KAC 617 Doha 15:15KAC 673 Dubai 15:20SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45KAC 773 Riyadh 15:55KNE 473 Jeddah 16:00KAC 613 Bahrain 16:00OMA 646 Muscat 16:05RJD 136 Abu Dhabi 16:10ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15NIA 252 Alexandria 16:50ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:50RJA 641 Amman 16:55JZR 266 Beirut 17:05FDB 052 Dubai 17:10QTR 1073 Doha 17:25UAE 858 Dubai 17:40SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 538 Cairo 18:40JZR 238 Amman 18:45GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50QTR 1081 Doha 19:55KAC 361 Colombo 20:00ABY 124 Sharjah 20:00UAE 876 Dubai 20:35JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35AGY 681 Alexandria 20:50KAC 1543 Cairo 20:55KAC 333 Trivandrum 20:55OMA 648 Muscat 21:00KAC 283 Dhaka 21:05KAC 351 Kochi 21:05KNE 461 Riyadh 21:10JZR 554 Alexandria 21:15MEA 403 Beirut 21:15JAD 302 Amman 21:35MSR 619 Alexandria 21:40DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:05FDB 074 Dubai 22:10ALK 230 Colombo 22:20KAC 381 Delhi 22:20UAE 860 Dubai 22:25KAC 301 Mumbai 22:30KAC 349 Kochi 22:30QTR 1075 Doha 22:40GFA 220 Bahrain 22:45KAC 153 Istanbul 23:00ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00KAC 205 Islamabad 23:05RBG 552 Alexandria 23:10KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:25FDB 060 Dubai 23:50

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Motivating yourself these days can be a challenge because your pro-fessional goals are in flux. Ironically, you might feel unusually calm today, even ifyou’re caught up in the center of a storm. The sudden chaos that’s swirlingaround you inspires you to hold on to your current position with even greaterdetermination. Nevertheless, you can’t resist change forever. Don’t sit idly waitingfor lightning to strike; it’s smarter to take preemptive action when you have thechance.

You could become so deeply engrossed in a project today that ittemporarily consumes your life. Something that starts as a relatively minor choresuddenly grows in complexity as you reassess all your options. An ingeniousplan might explode into awareness now like a sudden flash of inspiration,tempting you to take immediate action. Unfortunately, impulsive behavior willdemonstrate your recklessness rather than your intelligence. Be patient; themost valuable ideas will continue to develop into polished gems over time.

Try as you might, you just can’t wipe that mischievous smile off yourface today. Your enthusiasm may be contagious but it’s tricky if you

don’t have a way to express your creativity. Unfortunately, ignoring your far-outideas only fuels their power and adds to your frustration. Wait for an appropriatemoment to casually discuss your ideas without being attached to what happensnext. If there’s no pressure for others to respond, you’ll feel more relaxed and ableto proceed with your original intentions. Getting everything out in the open is yourkey to satisfaction.

Following orders is more challenging than ever while rebellious Uranussquares the Sun in your 6th House of Daily Routine, urging you to break rules just forthe sake of freedom of expression. However, you might attempt to suppress yourradical behavior now because you don’t want to be rejected by your friends and rela-tives. Nevertheless, you can get away with the unusual now since others won’t judgeyou as harshly as you think. In fact, they may secretly admire you most when youdance to your own drummer.

You’re walking a fine line today and even those routines that usuallyseem so comforting can trigger anxiety instead. Your emotions are on edge and youare ready to snap at the slightest provocation. However, losing your temper will onlysap your energy and annoy others. Discussing your concerns in a rational manner is amuch smarter strategy now than ignoring them because your worries won’t simplydisappear on their own. Happily, the answers you seek could be closer than you real-ize if you keep an open mind while addressing the underlying issues.

You may be stressed out by all the social pressures pushing andpulling you in a million different directions. Happily, you can turn a challengingday into a memorable experience by simply doing the right thing. Instead of wast-ing time trying to convince others to support your agenda, just do the absolutebest job you can with whatever is currently on your plate. Have faith in your moralcompass now. Once your actions are in harmony with your heart, your perform-ance will likely surpass everyone’s greatest expectations.

Your willingness to gamble your emotional security for the possi-bility of an amazing experience might upset someone close to you today.There’s nothing wrong with wanting to stretch the envelope of your realitybut reckless behavior won’t likely bring the satisfaction you want.Nevertheless, you can make the most of your current curiosity by making amethodical plan before you do anything else. Remember, sometimes beingprepared is just as important as what you do after you swing into motion.

You’re tempted to rock the boat today without considering theconsequences. However, running off to fulfill your fantasies isn’t the mostproductive use of your energy now that unpredictable Uranus is in the pic-ture. Although you might be itching to break free from your regular weekendroutine, moving too fast may leave you standing on unstable ground. It’smore constructive to free up your time so you can visualize the endless possi-bilities that exist outside of the box. Whatever you imagine is yours to makereal.

Expressing your unconventional feelings is liberating, but youmay end up scattering your energy in the process. Luckily, you can get awaywith bending the rules in the name of innovation today, and you’re eventempted to make up new ones along the way. It’s exhilarating when all thedetails fall into place and everything goes according to your plan. Enjoy thefun, but don’t expect it to last forever. Sooner or later, you must return to thereal world and take care of any unfulfilled obligations you left strandedbehind in your excitement.

You’re less concerned about other people’s reactions to your need forfreedom because you think you can claim your power now without being judged.You’re driven to shine your individualistic light today as irrepressible Uranussquares the radiant Sun in your sign. Although spontaneously emerging from yourshell is refreshing, you could do something foolish if you don’t take a few minutesto think about the consequences of your actions. It’s your day to show your truecolors, but consider your audience prior to performing your song and dance.

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 962

ACROSS1. The most common computer memory whichcan be used by programs to perform necessarytasks while the computer is on.4. Planned for the future.12. A secret society of white Southerners to resistBlack emancipation.15. Title for a civil or military leader (especially inTurkey).16. A town in west central Florida on the Gulf ofMexico.17. A common cyst of the skin.18. Having a sharply uneven surface or outline.19. A compact mass.20. A constellation in the southern hemispherenear Telescopium and Norma.21. A unit of pressure.24. A living organism characterized by voluntarymovement.26. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkaliearth group.28. An ugly evil-looking old woman.31. American Revolutionary patriot.34. A slight rounded elevation where themalleus attaches to the eardrum.37. Filled with fear or apprehension.41. Concerning those not members of the clergy.42. Of or relating to Saudi Arabia or its people.44. (statistics) Approximating the statistical normor average or expected value.46. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.47. Injured by bites or stings.48. (of securities) Not quoted on a stockexchange.50. (Sumerian) Goddess personifying earth.52. Order of mammals having few or no teethincluding.55. The superior of a group of nuns.57. Hard greenish-brown wood of the lignumvitae tree and other trees of the genusGuaiacum.58. Chorea in dogs.60. The content of cognition.61. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.65. The striking of one body against another.69. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (tradename Voltaren) that is administered only orally.73. The cry made by sheep.74. A member of a North American people for-merly living in the Colorado river valley inArizona.77. A religious belief of African origin involvingwitchcraft and sorcery.78. Support resembling the rib of an animal.79. The value of a coordinate on the vertical axis.80. A member of a Mayan people of southwest-ern Guatemala.81. A nucleic acid consisting of large moleculesshaped like a double helix.82. Not healed.83. A loose sleeveless outer garment made fromaba cloth.

DOWN1. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.2. An impure form of quartz consisting of band-ed chalcedony.3. Molten rock in the earth's crust.4. A genus of Bothidae.5. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

6. A state in northwestern United States on thePacific.7. A civil or military authority in Turkey or Egypt.8. A law passed by US Congress to preventemployees from being injured or contractingdiseases in the course of their employment.9. Something of sentimental value.10. An inactive volcano in Sicily.11. East Indian tree bearing a profusion ofintense vermilion velvet-textured blooms andyielding a yellow dye.12. A festival featuring African-American culture.13. A Chadic language spoken in Chad.14. Strike sharply.22. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity.23. Move unobtrusively or furtively.25. Wearing footgear.27. A state in northwestern United States on thePacific.29. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic ele-ment.30. A branch of the Tai languages.32. (Greek legend) The greedy king of Phrygiawho Dionysus gave the power to turn every-thing he touched into gold.33. A large number or amount.35. A member of a North American Indian peo-ple living east of the Sacramento river inCalifornia.36. Genus of East Indian trees or shrubs.38. A piece of information about circumstancesthat exist or events that have occurred.39. A motorized wheeled vehicle used for camp-ing or other recreational activities.40. The capital and chief port and largest city ofSenegal.43. A tiny or scarcely detectable amount.45. An aggressive remark directed at a personlike a missile and intended to have a tellingeffect.49. Habitually reserved and uncommunicative.51. A light strong brittle gray toxic bivalentmetallic element.53. (Babylonian) A goddess of the watery deepand daughter of Ea.54. (informal) Of the highest quality.56. A Chadic language spoken south of LakeChad.59. Capital and largest city of Cuba.62. Any property detected by the olfactory sys-tem.63. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on askewer usually with vegetables.64. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not theexternal persona) that is in touch with theunconscious.66. Most important element.67. A metabolic acid found in yeast and livercells.68. The imperial dynasty of China from 1122 to221 BC.70. A translucent mineral consisting of hydratedsilica of variable color.71. Being or occurring at an advanced period oftime or after a usual or expected time.72. Bound or secured closely.75. Hormone secreted by the posterior pituitarygland (trade name Pitressin) and also by nerveendings in the hypothalamus.76. A statement that deviates from or pervertsthe truth.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE

34s t a r s

Daily SuDoku

Your dreams are too big to fit into your waking world, but you aredriven to turn your fantasies into reality anyhow. Even if you know your chances ofsuccess are slim, you’re still motivated to give it your best shot. But rather than justpushing forward, take time to develop a strategic plan of attack. It’s a mistake tothink anything is possible now unless you’re committed to exerting the necessaryeffort. Thankfully, time is on your side, so don’t exhaust yourself by trying to doeverything at once.

Maintaining your customary role of being the responsible one in yourfamily or group of friends grows more taxing as the day progresses. The problemstems from your current excitement about exploring unexpressed facets of your owncreativity. You might even consider taking a leap of faith to break through long-stand-ing self-imposed limitations. But shocking people with your current spontaneity isn’tuseful in the long run; start simply by revealing some of your thoughts. It’s easier toturn a brilliant idea into positive action when you move slowly and steadily at first.

inf or m at ionMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Noor Clinic23845955

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Hundreds of music-lovingsnorkelers and divers, joined bydistance swimmer Diana Nyad,

ducked beneath the waves Saturday asa radio station broadcast a concertunderwater at the Florida Keys NationalMarine Sanctuary. Such songs as thetheme from “The Little Mermaid,” theBeatles’ “Yellow Submarine” and JimmyBuffett’s “Fins” entertained listeners dur-ing the four-hour music session.

Some snorkelers pretended to jamunderwater on mock guitars or playother fake instruments such as a whim-sical fish flute. Others wore costumesdepicting mermaids and seahorses asmusic sounded from waterproofspeakers suspended beneath boats.“To be immersed in the sea and feelthe music coming from underneathinstead of through headphones - it’svery magical and distinct,” Nyad said.“You couldn’t hear it this well if youwere in a concert sitting in the frontrow.”

In September 2013, Nyad became

the first person to swim from Cuba toKey West without a shark cage, singingto herself to get herself through themore than 100-mile swim. One of thesongs from Nyad’s personal sound-track, “Me and Bobby McGee,” wasplayed in her honor Saturday. The so-called Lower Keys Underwater MusicFestival took place at Looe Key Reef,part of the continental United States’only living coral barrier reef, locatedabout six miles south of Big Pine Key.

“This is a way for people to reallyappreciate the coral reef while at thesame time listening to an environmen-tal message about coral protection,”explained WWUS radio station newsdirector and festival founder BillBecker. Staged by WWUS in partner-ship with a local chamber of com-merce, the festival featured music spe-cially programmed for the aquatic lis-tening experience. Accompanying thetunes were coral reef conservationmessages and tips on environmentallyfriendly diving practices. —AP

36L I F E S T Y L EM u s i c & M o v i e s

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

The Jerusalem film festival’s SamSpiegel Intl Film Lab jury, whichthis year is chaired by the

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg’sKirsten Niehuus, has handed out its twoprizes to a pair of socially- and political-ly-engaged projects, “Darkroom” and“The Death of Black Horses.” “Aya,” MihakBrezis and Oded Binnun’s project basedon the Oscar-nominated eponymousshort (pictured above), won the FilmLab’s newly-created post-productiongrant - valued at 25,000 Euros-fromParis-based company Digital District.“Aya” is produced by Yael Abecassis at TelAviv-based Cassis Films.

The fourth edition’s high-profile jurycomprised Film Lab alumnus LaszloNemes, whose debut “Son of Saul” wonthis year’s Cannes’ Grand Prix, OlivierPere, Arte France Cinema’s topper,Meinolf Zurhorst, head of ZDF’s Arte filmdepartment, and Katriel Schory, theIsrael Film Fund’s exec director. ItamarAlcalay’s feature debut, “Darkroom,” wonthe top prize, a $50,000 grant from theBeracha Foundation. The project turnson Artium, an Armenian youth who livesunder his mother’s strict control in southTel Aviv and nevertheless embarks intoan illicit affair with Amir, a childhoodfriend. Their passionate romance seemsthreatened when Artium is forced tomarry a young Armenian woman,Astrich, in order to end a bloody familywar. But as Astrich turns out to be a free-spirited woman, the two youngsters areable to continue seeing each other, hid-den from the watchful eye of theirrespective families.

Alcalay, who has directed various doc-umentaries including “Off Season,” said“Darkroom” was a “frenetic portrait of a

young man torn between two worlds - aworld of survival which holds him to astrict set of rules, dictates his entire wayof thinking (...) and a world of freedom,of true hidden feelings.” Budgeted under$1 million, “Darkroom” is produced byAmir Harel and Eyelet Kait at Tel Aviv-based Lama Films.

“The Death of Black Horses” won thesecond prize, a $25,000 grant from theBeracha Foundation.

The film opens in 1914, against thebackdrop of WWI and on the eve of thegenocide which killed about two millionChristian people, including an estimated1.5 million Armenians, living in theOttoman Empire. “The Death of BlackHorses” centers around Mirza, a 20-yearold man from a Kurdish village who setsoff with his two brothers to rescue theirfourth sibling who has been imprisonedand injured in Russia. Through this jour-ney, Mirza understands his brother hasbeen lied to, like the rest of them, for thesake of the family’s unity.

Karahan is a Kurdish film directorbased in Istanbul. He said the fact that theregion he lives in is “still a den of intriguedrooted in a hundred-year-old issueprompted (him) to make this film.”Karahan’s debut “The Fall From Heaven”won the best directorial debut award atAnkara International Film Festival andtwo prizes at Antalya Golden Orange filmfest. Italian producer Gabriele Oricchio isproducing at Rome-based Blue DoorProduction. Spearheaded by RenenSchorr, the founding director of the SamSpiegel film and TV school, and Ifat Tubi,the associate director of the lab initiative,the international Film Lab presented 11projects that were developed during aseven-month seminar. —Reuters

‘Darkroom’ wins Jerusalem’s SamSpiegel Intl Film Lab top prize

Saturday was well-spent atComic-Con with television andfilm taking over San Diego in

the company of A-listers. Hotlyanticipated TV panels, such as therecently cancelled “Hannibal” hit theconvention center, while huge prop-erties like “X-Men,” Ben Affleck’s“Batman v Superman” and RyanReynolds “Deadpool” wowed themassive crowds. Check out the bestquotes from Comic-Con Day 3. “It’sreally awkward because it’s always aregular name...Joffrey, Cersei, Alan. Itdoesn’t really work.” “Game ofThrones” star Maisie Williamsbrought laughs to the audience atTV Guide Magazine’s Fan Favoritespanel when explaining that hermost frequent fan request is toinsert fans’ names into Arya Stark’slist of people to kill “They just don’ttell us anything, that’s how muchthey trust us.”-Also on TV Guide’s FanFavorites panel, Ming-Na Wen of“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” talked abouther Marvel bosses preventing thecast from spoilers “If they win anEmmy, it’ll say “The Simpsons.”-AlJean jokes about this past year’s“Family Guy” crossover episode with“The Simpsons” “I hope we don’tlose the ability to make fun of stuffbecause it becomes not PC.”-”TheSimpsons” showrunner also com-mented on the state of comedy, dur-ing the annual Comic-Con panel

“It’s a little dangerous. We’requite small.”-Kermit the Frogexplained that he’s a bit weary ofComic Con, as he and “The Muppets”made their Comic-Con debut “She’snot exactly light.”-Eric Jacobson, thevoice of Miss Piggy, caused a playful

audience uproar when he explainedthe challenges of being the pup-peteer to a heavy Muppet (he clari-fied that the character is denselymade of foam)

“NBC allowed us to do somecrazy sh-t for three years.”-”Hannibal” creator Bryan Fuller gavekudos to the network that cancelledhis show; he also teased a “Hannibal”movie “There must be no moreflower crowns in the world.”-HughDancy looked out at the audience inBallroom 20 where “Fannibals” weredonning the accessory, which sym-bolizes devotion to his show,“Hannibal”

“Looks like we’re ready to makesome chimi-f-king-changas in here.”-Ryan Reynolds greeted fans, takingthe stage in Hall H for “Deadpool’s”panel “I’ve only ever done one otherproper, actually not proper, super-hero movie.”-Reynolds humblymade a dig at his former “GreenLantern,” while promoting“Deadpool” at the annual megabits

“One more time!”-Fans in Hall Hchant and give a standing ovation,demanding the “Deadpool” trailerplay again, shocking Reynolds withthe overwhelming response “I can’tconcentrate because I’m still psy-ched about the Deadpool trailer.”-”X-Men Apocalypse” star NicholasHoult geeked out at Comic-Con “I’dlike to bring out some of ourfriends.”-Bryan Singer with theunderstatement of a lifetime, as hepresented the entire “X-MenApocalypse” cast: 16 people in total,including Jennifer Lawrence andMichael Fassbender, who surprisedHall H. —Reuters

Comic-Con Day 3: ‘X-Men,’ RyanReynolds, ‘The Muppets’ & more

Ryan Reynolds speaks at the “Deadpool” panel on day 3 of Comic-Con International on Saturday, in San Diego. —AP photos

This photo provided by Twentieth Century Fox shows RyanReynolds as Deadpool in “Deadpool.”

Hugh Jackman walks onstage at the “X-Men: Apocalypse” panelon day 3 of Comic-Con International.

Jennifer Lawrence walks onstage at the “X-Men: Apocalypse”panel.

Kermit the Frog, left, puppeteer Steve Whitmire, Miss Piggy, andpuppeteer Eric Jacobson attend “The Muppets” panel.

Jennifer Lawrence, from left, Hugh Jackman, and MichaelFassbender attend the “X-Men: Apocalypse” panel.

Jeff Wright, costumed as a seahorse, rocks with a fake guitar during theUnderwater Music Festival in the Florida Keys National MarineSanctuary off Big Pine Key, Fla. —AP

Playing the Lower Keys: Concert piped

underwater in Florida“Star Trek” is boldly

going where ithas not gone

before. The Dubai Film andTV Commission announcedyesterday that filmmakerswill shoot scenes for thethird installment of therebooted “Star Trek” series inthe skyscraper-studded Gulfcity. Filming is expected tobegin in October, with theJustin Lin-directed pictureset for release in July 2016.Dubai and neighboring AbuDhabi are finding increasingsuccess in their bids to luremore filmmakers to the emi-rates.

Dubai’s record-breakingBurj Khalifa skyscraper playeda starring role in 2011’s“Mission: Impossible - GhostProtocol.” JJ Abrams, whohelmed the last two “StarTrek” films, shot parts of theupcoming “Star Wars: EpisodeVII” in Abu Dhabi. The city wasalso a location for the mostrecent “Fast & Furious” movieinstallment. —AP

Parts of next ‘Star Trek’ film to shoot in futuristic Dubai

Spock Vegas dressed as Star Trek’s Mr Spock gives the “live long and prosper” high five to a fan on FifthAvenue outside the convention center on the second day of the 2015 Comic-Con International held atthe San Diego Convention Center Friday. —AP

37L I F E S T Y L EMONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

F e a t u r e s

Group photo shows the cast of the ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ play on stage. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Photo shows children performing ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ directed byYaarob Bou Rahmeh during a rehearsal.

Photo shows children performing ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ directed byYaarob Bou Rahmeh during a rehearsal.

Group photo shows the cast pose on stage.

The assistant director of the play Sharifa Al-Omran.

Photo shows the cast of the play ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ pose on stage.r The designer of the play Hassan Al-Mulla.

Photo shows cast performing ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ directed by YaarobBou Rahmeh during a rehearsal.

The Executive Director of the playFawaz Jaber.

The head of Organizing Committee of the play, RehabAl-Medlij.

By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: The ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ play opens this Eid Al-Fitrand promises fun, as well as good values, to all its viewers.The play is one of the largest productions and is the firsttheatrical work produced by Lightbug Media Productions.

“The idea of the play is new. It is about three kids whoenter the social media world through Instagram, YouTube,Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat and discover that theyshould use it in a good way. They also learn that if theyhave a goal, they have to reach it,” Rehab Al-Medlij, headof the organizing committee of the play, said.

“All of the staff worked hard to make this play, the cos-tumes are great and creative, and the lyrics of the songsare educational and teach a lot of values. Even the chil-dren worked so hard,” she said.

Medlij noted that 35 children are participating in thisplay and includes a hyperactive child from the Autism

Center. “He is happy and excited. He also worked hard dur-ing rehearsals,” she said.

Medlij shared that this is her first time to organize aplay and that she’s really enjoying it, explaining that sinceshe works as a school principal, she’s addicted to organiz-ing. “I hope to participate in such plays every year and Ihope all the schools learn from this play and do the same,”she said.

Yousif Al-Harby, the main actor, who graduated fromthe Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, said “I play the Kingof YouTube who educates the kids about the benefits ofYouTube and how they can learn a lot of stuff through it...So YouTube is not only for fun but it can also be useful,” hesaid.

“After passing the King’s tests, every child discovers histalent in reading and handicrafts through the YouTubevideos.”

Assistant Director Sharifa Al-Omran was glad the idea

of ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ was one of a kind: “Most of the plays re-write stories from America or copy script, and nobodybrings new ideas, so this is a unique play happening forthe first time in Kuwait.” Omran also praised the children’sperformance and also noted their dedication in practicingevery single day until 12 am.

Meanwhile, Dr Nainawah Al-Seaileek who is a motherof two of the children who are participating in the play,Elaf, 11, and Atyab, 9, said, “Both kids are acting in lollipopcostumes and dancing with Gerga’an people, it is kind oflike Halloween thing.”

Dr Seaileek explained that what she likes about theplay is that it is educational and it is not like the otherplays and that it has a diverse set of children of variousages, coming from different nationalities and religions.“The play is teaching my girls how to organize their timeand their thoughts,” she said.

Her daughter, Elaf, who was participating for the first

time, had chosen to participate because the play is notonly about having fun, but it is also educational. “It is notlame and shallow like for example Zombie plays and soon, but we learned a lot of things from the play and I’mgoing to dance as a lollipop,” she said.

The Director Yea’reb Bo-Rahma was proud to direct‘Ehsabha Ghair’ with the strength and depth of the play’sscript. The script was written in two months by Sherifa Al-Jaber, Manayer Al-Kandri and Hessah Al-Rashdi.

The main actors in ‘Ehsabha Ghair’ are Yousef Al-Harbi,Abdulrazaq Al-Shoibi, Wadha Al-Jahim, Sheikha Al-Hindi,Hussain Al-Hadad, Bader Al-Halaq, Hussain Al-Fares,Abdulrahman Al-Enzi, Rania Al-Barhami, and Suliman Al-Marzouq.

The play will start on the first day of Eid Al-Fitr and willrun for nine days at the Kuwait Center for Autism’s theaterlocated at Block 6, Street Number 3, West Mishref. To booktickets, call 55178127 or visit www.pulseshows.com.

‘Ehsabha Ghair’ play opens on Eid, aims to promotehumanitarian values in a fun and effective way

Yaarob Bou Rahmeh the director of‘Ehsabha Ghair’.

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

l if e s t y l e

Mourners pray over the coffin of Egyptian actor Omar Sharif during his funeral procession at the Hussein Tantawi Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, yesterday.—AP/AFP photos

Close friends and family paid respectsyesterday to cinema legend OmarSharif, who will forever be remembered

as the eponymous “Doctor Zhivago”, at asolemn funeral in his native Egypt. Sharif, 83,died on Friday of a heart attack in an upmar-ket Cairo clinic after a struggle withAlzheimer’s disease. The funeral was held atthe grand mosque of Mushir Tantawi in aneastern neighborhood of the Egyptian capital,where key religious ceremonies are oftenheld. Sharif’s remains will be buried later at ElSayeda Nafisa cemetery in the city’s south.

The service was attended by a group ofSharif’s relatives, friends and Egyptian actors,an AFP correspondent reported. His body wasdraped in the Egyptian flag and a blackshroud. Journalists outnumbered mourners,and there was no sign of any top governmentofficials or Hollywood stars at the memorialservice. “Omar Sharif represented Egypt to theworld in the best possible way,” said HusseinFahmy, a popular Egyptian actor who attend-ed the funeral. Zahi Hawass, the prominentarchaeologist and former Egyptian antiquitiesminister, said he had “lost a close friend” while“the world lost a great actor”.

Sharif’s death came six months after that ofhis ex-wife and iconic Egyptian actress, Faten

Hamama, known as the “Lady of the ArabicScreen”. Born Michel Demitri Shalhoub, aChristian, Sharif converted to Islam to marryHamama-who he described as the only loveof his life. The couple had a son, Tarek, whowas deeply emotional during Sunday’s funer-al. They divorced in 1974 when Sharif, alreadyfamous in his homeland, launched a career inHollywood. He never remarried. The winner oftwo Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomi-nation for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia,” Sharif capti-vated audiences worldwide for more than halfa century. Sharif was known for his debonairstyle, raffish good looks and often mischie-vous joie de vivre, but he will be rememberedforever as the eponymous “Doctor Zhivago”.

Avid Bridge player Tributes poured in after the news of

Sharif’s death. “He was handsome, sophisticat-ed and charming. He was a proud Egyptian,”American star Barbra Streisand, who starredalongside Sharif in 1968’s “Funny Girl”, wroteon Facebook. “I feel lucky to have had theopportunity to work with Omar, and I’m pro-foundly sad to hear of his passing.” Fluent insix languages and also famous for his skills atplaying the card game bridge, Sharif began

acting in the 1950s. His most high-profileroles were in the 1960s when he won anOscar nomination for “Lawrence of Arabia”and Golden Globes for the same film and for“Doctor Zhivago”.

Sharif played the hero in the epic adapta-tion of Boris Pasternak’s novel of tortured pas-sions during the Russian Revolution, with hisson Tarek playing his younger self. Sharif keptworking over the following decades, often intelevision movies, and in later years becameequally renowned for his prowess as a bridgeplayer and owner of thoroughbred racehors-es.

“I’d rather be playing bridge than making abad movie,” he once said, before announcingin 2006 that he had given up the game. Sharifhad a triple heart bypass in 1992 and suffereda mild heart attack in 1994, according to theIMDb movie database website. The 100-ciga-rettes-a-day smoker quit after the operation.Sharif made something of a comeback in2003 in the title role of the French film“Monsieur Ibrahim”, playing an elderly Muslimshopkeeper. The performance won him a bestactor award at the Venice Film Festival andthe best actor Cesar, France’s equivalent of anOscar.—AP

Film legend Omar Sharif gets solemn sendoff in Egypt

A file picture taken on June 28, 2008, shows Veteran Egyptian actor Omar Sharifsmiling for the crowd as he visits the 16th Artfilm International Film Festival inTrencianske Teplice.

Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmy mourns nextto the coffin of Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.

Tarek El-Sharif, center, with his children attends the funeral of his father Egyptian actor OmarSharif.

Tarek El-Sharif, center, arrives to his fatherís funeral.

Cameramen film mourners as they carry the coffin of Egyptian actor Omar Sharifduring his burial ceremony at El Shafie Cemetery.Mourners pray next to the coffin of Egyptian actor Omar Sharif during his funeral procession.

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

l if e s t y l e

Mourners carry the coffin of Egyptian actor Omar Sharif during his funeral procession at the Hussein Tantawi Mosque.

A file picture taken on November 24, 2009, shows Egyptian veteran film stars OmarSharif and Hussein Fahmi holding national flags during an event at the GizaPyramids plateau.

A file picture taken on May 23, 1988, shows Italian movie maker Ettore Scola andEgyptian actor Omar Sharif laughing during the 41th International Film Festival inCannes.

A file picture taken on September 10, 2009, shows Egyptian actor Omar Sharif andactress Cyrine Abdel Nour and Basma Hassan posing during the photocall of “AlMosafer” (The Traveller) at the Venice film festival.

A file picture taken on December 8, 2006, shows Egypt’s veteran film star OmarSharif sharing a light moment with Izzat Abu Auf , the president of the CairoInternational Film Festival, and fellow Egyptian film star Hussein Fahmi during theEgyptian capital’s 30th film festival closing ceremony.

A file picture taken on October 4, 1970, shows Egyptian cinema legend Omar Sharifposing with French traveler and singer Antoine during the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphehorse race at the Longchamp race track in Paris.

A file picture taken on April 21, 1992 in Sydney shows Egyptian cinema legendOmar Sharif preparing to sign a bottle of his new perfume for women.

A file picture taken on May 14, 2004, shows Egyptian actor Omar Sharif answeringjournalists questions in Zurich after a meeting of the FIFA executive committee forthe presentation of the five African nations bidding to host the 2010 World Cup.

A file picture taken on August 29, 2003, shows Egyptian actor Omar Sharif gesturingduring a photo call at Venice Lido.

A file picture taken on November 28, 2006, shows Egyptian-born veteran film starOmar Sharif greeting US actor Danny Glover on stage in the presence of the CairoInternational Film Festival president, Izzat Abu Auf, at the opening ceremony of the30th edition of the festival at the Opera House in the Egyptian capital.

A file picture taken on November 30, 2005, showsEgyptian film star Omar Sharif posing with Lebaneseactress Carmen Libbus and Egypt’s Mervat Amin afterreceiving an honorary award on the sidelines of theCairo international film festival in the Egyptian capi-

A file picture taken on December 16, 2003, showsEgytian actor Omar Sharif attending a boxing matchin Levallois, north-western Paris.

A file picture taken on May 18, 2004, shows Egyptianactor Omar Sharif arriving with Lebanese singer HaifaWehbi for the official projection of the Coen brothers’film “Ladykillers”, at the 57th Cannes Film Festival inthe French Riviera Town.

38Film legend OmarSharif gets solemnsendoff in Egypt

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

Indian Muslim devotee Moulana Mohammed Fasihuddin Nizami examines a large print Quran at Islamic University in Hyderabad during the holy month of Ramadan yesterday. As well as abstinence and fasting during Ramadan, Muslims areencouraged to pray and read the Quran during Islam’s holiest month. (Inset) Indian Muslim devotee Moulana Mohammed Fasihuddin Nizami examines a 100-year-old one-inch Quran at Islamic University in Hyderabad.—AFPphotos

Ramadan festival breathes newlife into Saudi’s old Jeddah

Residents of the Saudi Red Sea city ofJeddah are slowly returning to its his-toric centre, where a Ramadan cultural

festival and UN heritage status are giving newlife to the old quarter. Last year the UnitedNations added Jeddah to its UNESCO globalheritage list, acknowledging its distinctivearchitecture, which evolved from the city’scenturies-old role as a global trading hub andthe gateway for pilgrims visiting Islam’s holi-est sites. The cultural festival that began onJune 18, the first day of the fasting month ofRamadan, coincides with a broader tourismdrive in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom is targeting its own citizensas well as the millions of Muslims fromaround the world who undertake religiousvisits. “We wanted to bring life back to thisarea after its people had abandoned it, andwe achieved that,” Jeddah’s Deputy GovernorMohammed al-Wafi told AFP among the festi-val crowds. He said a number of homes in theold quarter had already been renovated, butmuch work still needs to be done in the his-toric heart of the kingdom’s second-largestcity.

Among old Jeddah’s most famous attrac-tions is the Sharbatly House, made of coral,where legendary British First World War intel-ligence officer T.E. Lawrence stayed in 1917.Like other buildings in the district, which alsoincludes centuries-old mosques, it fell intodisrepair before the quarter’s UNESCO listingbegan to spark a revival. Sami Nawar, head ofthe historic area known to residents as Al-Balad, said several prominent families areamong those who have reconstructed homesat their own expense, and more than 700restoration licences have been granted overthe last five years. Tourism and finance min-istry officials are looking at how to help otherowners fund their renovations, possiblythrough loans, Nawar said.

Rare traditional architecture In its decision last year, UNESCO noted the

importance of the “reduction of the rate ofdecay of the historic houses, which are oftenabandoned and squatted (in) by poor immi-grants”. While warning “negative develop-ment” could jeopardize the area’s character, itforesaw “a new virtuous circle” thanks to reno-vation projects and involvement of home-owners and merchants, like Maha Baeshn.Baeshn, an artist and poet, said the Ramadan

festival encouraged her and other homeown-ers to take better care of their properties.

“The Jeddah festival brought life to thehouses and the area,” she said. The homes,some of them rising multiple storeys, are builtof rock and wood, with decorated facadesand large bay windows known as rawashin tohelp air circulate. This has the added benefitof creating cooling shadows for people out-side. UNESCO said the design and function ofthe homes reflected their adaptation to thehumid local climate and to Jeddah’s promi-nence as a trading and religious centre. Theyalso include ground floor offices and com-mercial outlets, and rooms rented for pil-grims. Only “scant vestiges” of this Red Seaarchitectural tradition survive outside ofSaudi Arabia, UNESCO said.

A sweet history Along alleys between the houses, the

Ramadan festival features about 80 shopsand stalls and a dozen restaurants-all usuallystaffed by locals-representing traditionaltrades and delicacies from the coastal Hejazregion around Jeddah. “We have been run-ning this business as a family for almost 150years, and this is considered one of the oldestprofessions in the kingdom,” Samir Jastaniasaid at his popular shop selling Hejazi sweets.Another vendor offers appetisers, pickles andtraditional spices that reflect the cosmopoli-tan history of Jeddah, a city considered rela-tively liberal in Saudi Arabia, where a severeversion of Islam is practiced.

“What makes me happy is that the peopleof the area run it all. It’s amazing,” said festivalvisitor Ali Jazar, 39, sipping a popularRamadan apricot drink known as gamardeen.Although this year’s Ramadan cultural festivalin old Jeddah is not the first, the event hastaken on added significance since theUNESCO designation. Wafi said that in its firstseven days almost 130,000 people flocked tothe festival’s open-air markets, games, tradi-tional rituals, foods and literary discussions.

One visitor, Osman Al-Rosaini, 45, said it isa chance to “teach my children about theirroots”. Mansour Al-Zamil, who owns a gift andmemorabilia shop, says Ramadan is just thestart of his commitment to Jeddah’s old quar-ter. “Opening this shop has been my dreamsince I was a child. I opened it in the historicalcity and it will be here after the festival isover.”—AFP

The facade of a historical building is seen in the UNESCO-listed heritage site in theSaudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.—AFP photos

Historical buildings are seen in the UNESCO-listed heritage site.