KT 22-9-2016.qxp_Layout 1 - Kuwait Times

UNITED NATIONS: Russia and the UnitedStates faced off at the United Nations overthe carnage in Syria yesterday, as air strikespounded Aleppo for a third straight dayfollowing the collapse of a ceasefire. TheUN Security Council held crisis talks to tryto revive the truce and chart a coursetowards ending the five-year war in Syria,that has killed 300,000 people. “We are at amake or break moment,” UN Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon told the council, urg-ing world powers to use their influence tohelp re-start political talks so Syrians can“negotiate a way out of the hell in whichthey are trapped”.

Russia and the United States negotiat-ed the latest ceasefire plan, but Syriaended the truce on Monday following aUS-led coalition strike on Syrian soldiers.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 THULHIJJA 20, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

Kuwait GDP approximately KD 34 billion in 2015: CBK

Appeal for calm after US police shooting sparks unrest

Protests put Asian referees on the spot

MoI: Kuwait determined to ‘destroy terrorism’

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Amir highlights Kuwait’s efforts to help refugeesSheikh Sabah vows to continue humanitarian obligations

NEW YORK: HH the Amir of Kuwait SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Tuesdaydelivered a speech at the Leaders’ Summit onthe Global Refugee Crisis, hosted by USPresident Barack Obama on the sidelines of the71st session of the UN General Assembly. Hestarted by thanking Obama and other co-hostsof the summit for their efforts to lobby for agalvanized global response to the refugee cri-sis and increased funding for aid programs.

“This important summit sends a kind signalabout a global interest in alleviating the suffer-ing of 65 million refugees and migrants world-wide,” HH the Amir said, citing UN figures. “Wehave to appreciate the countries that hosthuge numbers of refugees despite the mount-ing economic hardships and the strains put ontheir abilities to meet their humanitarian anddevelopment obligations. We realize the factthat the humanitarian crisis facing the worldtoday requires concerted efforts by the inter-national community to end recurrent armedconflicts, bloodshed and destruction,” hestressed.“My country discharges its humanitari-an duty within the regional and internationalspheres and works with other parties, bilateral-ly and multilaterally, to alleviate the toll of dis-asters, whether natural and man-made,” theAmir pointed out.

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NEW YORK: US Vice President Joe Biden speaks with HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-AhmadAl-Sabah at the Leaders’ Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis during the 71st session of theUnited Nations General Assembly on Tuesday at the UN headquarters. — AP

NEW YORK: Kuwait’s Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-HamadAl- Sabah addresses the 71st session of the United Nations General Assemblyat the UN headquarters yesterday. — AFP

NEW YORK: Kuwait yesterday rejectedall forms of terrorism and reaffirmedits active contributions to the interna-tional coalition fighting so-calledIslamic State (IS). This came in aspeech by representative of HH the

Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah, HH the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-HamadAl-Sabah, before the UN GeneralAssembly. Kuwait condemns “terrorist


PM: Kuwait rejects all forms of terror

Russia, US face off as Aleppo hitKerry demands Moscow, Syria ground warplanes

ALEPPO: A Syrian man carries a child after removing him from the rubble of adestroyed building following an air strike in the Qatarji neighborhood of thisnorthern city yesterday. — AFP

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The administrative court yesterday set Sept28 to issue its verdict in a lawsuit challenging thelegality of a government decision that raised theprices of petrol, which came into effect at the start ofthis month. The move came after the governmenttold the court that the decision was not published inthe official Kuwait Al-Youm gazette because it wasbased on a recommendation to the Cabinet and wasnot a decision by the council of ministers. The gov-ernment’s defense asked the court to throw out thechallenge based on this information.

The lawyers who filed the petition insist that thedecision is illegal because it has harmed low-incomecitizens. The decision increased the prices of allpetrol grades by 40 to over 80 percent. It was thefirst rise in almost two decades. Almost all lawmak-ers have strongly criticized the decision, especiallysince it was taken during the absence of theAssembly and that the government failed to provideany compensation to citizens.


Court to rule on legality of gasoline hike DNA law challenged

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Paralympics champion Ahmad Al-Mutairi displays his gold medal atKuwait International Airport on his arrival yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Paralympic athleticschampion Ahmad Al-Mutairi returned toKuwait yesterday, after winning a goldmedal in the 100m wheelchair race at theParalympics that concluded in Rio deJaneiro on Sunday. Mutairi was received atthe VIP lounge of Kuwait InternationalAirport in a reception attended by officialsand public dignitaries. He was received bythe Minister of Information and Minister ofState for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman SabahAl-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah and Minister

of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Sebeeh.Also attending the honoring ceremony

for the national champion were Head ofKuwait Olympic Committee Sheikh FahdJaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah, MPs, senior officialsat the Public Authorities for Youth andSport, Honorary President of KuwaitDisabled Sports Club Sheikha SheikhaAbdullah Al-Sabah, Chairman of the ClubShafi Al-Hajri and board members, alongwith sports figures and a large number ofcitizens. — KUNA

Paralympic champion returns to accolades

TEHRAN: An Iranian military truck carries parts of the S300 missile system yesterday duringthe annual military parade marking the anniversary of the start of Iran’s 1980-1988 war withIraq. — AP

TEHRAN: Iran showed off missiles, war-planes, tanks and marching troops yester-day in a display of military strength in theface of growing regional tensions. TheIslamic republic used the 36th anniver-sary of the start of the Iran-Iraq war toparade arms including 16 ballistic missilesthrough Tehran. A new missile with multi-ple warheads, called Zolfaghar, was alsoon show with a threat directed at Iran’sarch-rival Israel written on the side of thetruck transporting it. “If the leaders of theZionist regime make one false move, theIslamic republic will destroy Tel Aviv andHaifa,” it said, referring to two Israeli cities.

According to the commander of the airwing of the elite Revolutionary Guards,General Amir-Ali Hadjizadeh, theZolfaghar has a range of 750 km. S-300missiles delivered by Moscow this yearwere also on show in the capital. Also ondisplay was the Qadr H missile, which hasa range of 2,000 km, according to stateTV. Iran’s ballistic missile program hasbeen criticized by the West, and the USTreasury imposed sanctions on twoIranian companies in March because of

their alleged ties to it. Other military parades were held else-

where in the country. A large maritimedisplay involving 500 fast patrol boatsand warships, as well as submarines andhelicopters, took place in the ArabianGulf, according to Iranian media. For thefirst time, Russian-made Sukhoi Su-22fighter jets flew over the area of BandarAbbas, a major port on the Gulf coast.

“The recent decision of the Americancriminals to give military aid to the usurp-er Zionist regime (Israel), reinforces ourdetermination to increase our defensecapabilities,” said General MohammadBagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armedforces. The United States and Israel inSeptember signed a record $38 billion 10-year military aid deal, despite increaseddisagreement over the Middle East peaceprocess. “The ultimate objective of theUnited States, the Zionist regime andthose who support terrorist groups... is todestroy the infrastructure of Syria andIraq in favor” of Israel, Bagheri said.

Tehran has advisers on the ground inIraq and also in Syria to help the military

in both countries battle armed groupsfighting the national governments. Iranalso has fraught relations with its GulfArab neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia.The two countries support opposingsides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.Bagheri declared that Iran wanted peace.But he said Iran’s lessons in the 1980-88war against Iraq now served as a guide for“our brothers in faith” in Syria, Palestine,Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen andBahrain, countries where Iran has politi-cal, religious or military allies.

“We tell the Americans that it’s betterthat the capital and wealth of theAmerican people should not be wastedon their inappropriate and detrimentalpresence in the...Gulf,” said Major GeneralMohammad Ali Jafari, commander of theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. TheTasnim news site quoted him as saying:“If they want to extend their reach andengage in adventurism they should goto the Bay of Pigs” - a reference to thelocation of a botched US attempt tooverthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro in1961. — Agencies

Iran parades weapons amid tensions

L O C A LTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)exceeded KD 34 billion in 2015, declining some 25 per-cent compared to the previous year, according to theCentral Bank of Kuwait. The GDP at current pricesamounted to KD 34,314.6 million during 2015 (ie adecline of 25.9% compared to 2014). Inflation rate,measured by the relative change in the GeneralConsumer Price Index (CPI), was 3.3% during 2015against 2.9% during 2014, the CBK said in its annualeconomic report for 2015, publicized yesterday.

Available statistics indicate a deceleration in thegrowth rate of Kuwaiti population to 2.5% during 2015compared to 2.7% during 2014, while the growth rateof non-Kuwaiti population increased to 4.1% from3.4% during 2014. Furthermore, the growth rate oftotal labor force in Kuwait reached to 4.8% during2015, while the growth rate of Kuwaiti labor forceincreased to 3.2% from 2.9% during 2014. Moreover,the statistics indicate an increase in non-oil GDP at cur-rent prices during 2015 by 3%, while oil GDP recordeda decline of 46.2%.

The report noted a sustained relative stability in theKD exchange rate against major currencies during2015, as part of the prevailing exchange rate policy,pegging the KD to an undisclosed special weightedbasket of currencies of countries that have significanttrade and financial relations with the State of Kuwait.On the other hand, Money supply in its broad defini-tion (M2) and the resident private sector deposits withlocal banks realized a slower pace of growth of 1.2%and 1.3% respectively at the end of 2015.

Moreover, the CBK continued its efforts in manag-ing domestic liquidity levels during 2015 using itsavailable monetary policy instruments, mainly accept-ing deposits from local banks, issuing CBK bonds andmanaging public debt instruments on behalf of theMinistry of Finance. Local banks’ claims on the CBK wit-nessed a noticeable decline of 18.7% to KD 4,695.8million at the end of 2015.

Banking supervisionIn the area of banking supervision and oversight

efforts - aimed at enhancing the financial position andmaintaining financial stability of the financial sector -the CBK continued its efforts during 2015 through issu-ing and overseeing the implementation of its directivesparticularly those related to the latest Basel III regula-tions issued by the Basel Committee on BankingSupervision. These regulations strengthened andenhanced the quality and quantity of regulatory capital,liquidity framework through the Liquidity CoverageRatio (LCR) and Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR), lever-age D-SIBs, and the disclosure and transparencyenhancements. Within this context, the CBK has alsoissued Consumer Protection Guide instructions in lightof the growing interest in recent years in the issue ofconsumer protection in financial services industry, par-ticularly with the steady expansion of electronic servic-es and the increasing chances of transferring risks toclients in various sectors. The CBK continued its effortsin managing domestic liquidity levels during 2015 usingits available monetary policy instruments, mainlyaccepting deposits from local banks, issuing CBK bondsand managing public debt instruments on behalf of theMinistry of Finance. Local banks’ claims on the CBK wit-nessed a noticeable decline of 18.7% to KD 4,695.8 mil-lion at the end of 2015.

The report points out developments in the financialindicators of the banking and financial system, in lightof data on aggregate financial statements of variousbanking and financial units supervised by the CBK,including local banks, finance companies andexchange companies. Within this framework, theaggregate balance sheet of local banks amounted toKD 58,595.1 million at the end of 2015, realizing agrowth of 5.7% as compared to KD 55452.3 million atthe end of the previous year. On the other hand, theaggregate balance sheet of local investment compa-nies totaled KD 9,827.5 million at the end of 2015,

recording a decrease of 6.1% from KD 10465.3 millionat the end of 2014. In addition, the aggregate balancesheet of local exchange companies registered with,and supervised by, the CBK amounted to KD 153.7 mil-lion at the end of 2015 with a decrease of 0.1% from KD153.9 million at the end of the previous year.

State public financeThe report highlights developments in the State’s

public finance, whereas the general budget recordedan actual surplus of KD 3,510.5 million duringFY2014/2015, ie a noticeable decrease of 72.8% com-pared to the previous fiscal year, before the deduction

of allocations for the Reserve Fund for FutureGenerations (RFFG). The fourth part of the Report high-lights developments in the State’s public finance,whereas the general budget recorded an actual surplusof KD 3,510.5 million during FY2014/2015, ie a notice-able decrease of 72.8% compared to the previous fiscalyear, before the deduction of allocations for theReserve Fund for Future Generations (RFFG).

The fifth part of the Report reviews the develop-ments in the trade and financial relations of the State ofKuwait with other economies as reflected in the statisticson the foreign trade and the Balance of Payments (BOP)of the State of Kuwait during 2015. The realised surplusin the balance on goods witnessed a decline of KD13,639.7 million or 61.8% during 2015. Likewise, the cur-rent account surplus decreased by KD 13,682.0 million or88.4%. As a result, the overall position of the BOP real-ized a total deficit of KD 885.9 million in 2015.

Surplus decreasedThe report covers the developments witnessed in

the performance of the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)during 2015 as reflected in the key trading indicators,price movements and the factors affecting the KSE’sperformance. The realized surplus in the balance ongoods witnessed a decline of KD 13,639.7 million or61.8% during 2015. Likewise, the current account sur-plus decreased by KD 13,682.0 million or 88.4%. As aresult, the overall position of the BOP realized a totaldeficit of KD 885.9 million in 2015.

Lastly, the report covers the developments wit-nessed in the performance of the Kuwait StockExchange (KSE) during 2015 as reflected in the key trad-ing indicators, price movements and the factors affect-ing the KSE’s performance. In this context, the KSE PriceIndex (PI) closed at a decline of 14.09% at the end of2015 compared to the closing of 2014. In addition, theKSE Weighted Price Index (WI) recorded a decrease of13.03% at the end of 2015 compared to 2014. — KUNA

Kuwait GDP exceeds KD 34 billion

Growth rate of total labor force hits 4.8%

KUWAIT: Photo shows the entrance of CentralBank of Kuwait in Kuwait City. — KUNA

TOKYO: Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan shrank 52.8percent from a year earlier to JPY 25.2 billion ($248 mil-lion) in August, falling for the 15th month in a row -reflecting weak exports, the Japanese Finance Ministrysaid yesterday. But Kuwait maintained monthly black inkwith Japan for eight years and seven months, the ministrysaid in a preliminary report. Kuwaiti overall exports toJapan plunged 40.7 percent year-on-year to JPY 40.2 bil-lion ($396 million) for the 15th straight monthly drop,while imports from Japan rose 4.0 percent to JPY 15.0 bil-lion ($148 million), for the first time in three months.

Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan also narrowedby 35.1 percent to JPY 393.1 billion ($3.9 billion) lastmonth, with Japan-bound exports tumbling 29.5 percent

from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefiednatural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, whichaccounted for 95.9 percent of the region’s total exports toJapan, slid 29.8 percent. The region’s overall imports fromJapan declined 14.8 percent, as shipments of automobile,steel and electric equipment slowed. The world’s third-biggest economy logged a global deficit of JPY 18.7 bil-lion ($184 million) in August, slipping back into the redfor the first time in three months, as a stronger yenpushed down the value of exports. Exports fell 9.6 per-cent from the year before due to sluggish shipment ofsuch products as vehicles, steel and chemicals. Importstumbled 17.3 percent, with value of crude oil falling 35.7percent due to low prices. Deficit with China, Japan’s

biggest trade partner, shrank 29.7 percent to JPY 298.0billion ($2.9 billion). Japan’s currency strengthenedagainst the US dollar by 16.8 percent from a year earlierto an average JPY 103.24, according to the ministry. Thetrade data are measured on a customs-cleared basisbefore adjustment for seasonal factors.

Oil price Meanwhile, the price of Kuwaiti crude oil went down

$46 cents to $39.57 per barrel after it was at $40.03 pb onthe day before, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yester-day said. The price of the Brent crude went down Monday 7cents to $45.88 per barrel. The West Texas Intermediate fol-lowed suit going up 14 cents to $43.43,44 pb. — Agencies

Kuwait trade surplus with

Japan shrinks 52.8 percent

KOTC wins awardKUWAIT: Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) has won an award forits role in molding and producing maritime industry leadership onboth regional and international levels. In a statement obtained byKUNA yesterday, the marine transport company said that it wonthe award during the Maritime Academic Conference and Expo(MARACAD 2016) held in the Dubai World Trade Center. The con-ference, which concluded yesterday and featured participation ofinternational leaders and experts of the maritime industry, tackledthe biggest challenges facing the industry as well as efforts toprop up the maritime industry in the region. KOTC’S delegation tothe conference included its Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Fleet Operations Ali Shahab, along with other officials. — KUNA

DUNHUANG: The National Council for Culture, Arts andLetters (NCCAL) took part in the 1st Silk Road InternationalCultural Expo in Dunhuang, China.

Assistant Secretary-General of the NCCAL Dr Bader Al-Duwaish said in a phone call with KUNA yesterday, that

Kuwait’s participation in the event comes under the guid-ance of NCCAL Chairman Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, also the Minister of Information and the Minister ofState for Youth Affairs. The first Silk Road InternationalCultural Expo opened Tuesday in Dunhuang. Delegates

from 85 countries, five international organizations and 66overseas institutions gathered in the city to offer sugges-tions on cultural exchange and intergovernmental cooper-ation during the two-day event. Al-Duwaish affirmedKuwait’s support of the Silk Road project. — KUNA

Kuwait takes part in Silk Road

International Cultural Expo

Assistant Secretary-General of the NCCAL Dr Bader Al-Duwaish

Sports suspension should

be resolved soon: Official

KUWAIT: Sports suspension in the country is considered a greatchallenge that should be resolved as soon as possible, a KuwaitFootball Association (KFA) official said. This remark was made bymember of KFAís Council and head of the financial and market-ing committee Saleh Al-Hasawi during a press conference heldfor Kuwait Super Cup sponsors. Al-Hasawi said in the conferencethat ‘sports suspension in Kuwait is unfair’ and all concernedinstitutes in the country should combine their effort to re-simu-late sports. He added that Kuwait Super Cup has been set up in ashort notice, pointing out that admission to the game will be freeof charge. The Kuwait Super Cup is an annual one-match associa-tion football competition in Kuwait organized by KFA. This one-match will take place at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadiumover the weekend between Kuwait Sports Club and Al-QadisyaSports Club. — KUNA

FM meets with Iraqi,

Maltese counterparts

NEW YORK: Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah met withIraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari in New York yesterday.During the meeting held on the sidelines of the 71st UNGeneral Assembly, both ministers discussed Kuwaiti-Iraqi rela-tions and the latest regional and international developments.The meeting was attended by Kuwaiti Assistant ForeignMinister and the First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister’sOffice Chief Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah and Kuwait’spermanent delegate at the UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi. Aslo, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah heldtalks with Maltese Foreign Minister George Vella on promotionof relations, and issues of common interest. — Agencies

GCC stock meeting By A Saleh

KUWAIT: The committee of GCC stock markets’ chairmen isdue to meet at the GCC Secretariat General’s headquarters inRiyadh on Sunday. The committee will discuss a number ofissues including GCC stock markets’ integration and a projectincluding a full study to do so.

Disability allowances Director of the Public Authority for the Disabled Dr Tareq

Al-Shatti said the fatwa and legislation department agreed topay allowances for educational disability that were suspendedfrom April 1 to Aug 31, 2016. Shatti explained that 1,694 casesdeserved the allowance and that the amount would bedeposited in beneficiaries’ bank accounts.


Newsi n B r i e f

Kazakh Embassy honorsKuwaiti poet Al-Babtain

KUWAIT: The embassy of Kazakhstan yesterday honoredfamed Kuwaiti poet Abdulaziz Al-Babtain - presenting himwith an honorary gold medal for his contributions toArabic literature. The gold medal is a token of appreciationfor a man who helped develop Arabic literature and wasinstrumental to the betterment of Kuwait’s ties with thecentral Asian nation, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to KuwaitAlmas Abdramanov said in a speech during a ceremony tohonor Al-Babtain. Moreover, Abdramanov added that theKuwaiti poet helped educate Kazakh pupils in a number ofacademic institutions. Meanwhile, speaking on the medal,the Kazakh Ambassador said that it is given to notable fig-ures who have made indelible and remarkable contribu-tions in their respective fields. In a speech of his own, Al-Babtain said that he is elated to have been honored by theKazakh embassy, noting that his efforts over the years areacknowledged and appreciated.

GCC’s Health Ministers seek more cooperation

RIYADH: The Executive Board of the GCC HealthMinisters held its 85th meeting in Riyadh yesterday,seeking more cooperation and coordination amongGulf health authorities. During the meeting, the boarddiscussed bids pertinent to pharmaceutical products,media equipment and appliances, in addition to themechanism of the unified purchase program, theboard director Suleiman Al-Dakhil said in a pressrelease. Al-Dakhil added that the meeting also han-dled central medicine registration, medicine prices,smoking control, elderly care, health promotion andnurse care. Preparations for the GCC Health Ministers’80th Board meeting were also discussed during themeeting, he pointed out.

Two detained for smuggling narcotics into Central Prison

KUWAIT: The law-enforcers arrested two persons whotried to use a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tosmuggle narcotics into the Central Prison, the Ministryof Interior said. Operatives from the GeneralDepartment of Criminal Investigations, in collabora-tion with their peers from the General Department ofCriminal Evidence arrested Mubarak Al-Helail - a for-eign resident, and Abdul-Karim Ayed a Kuwaiti nation-al, while using the UAV, according to a statement bythe Ministry’s Public Relations and Security MediaDept. Preliminary investigations by the GeneralDepartment of Criminal Evidence show that the finger-prints of first defendant were found on the UAV inquestion; he was tasked with attaching some 300 gmof the narcotic material to the vehicle. The seconddefendant was tasked with procuring the UAV andleading it into the prison, the statement added.

Kazakh embassy honors Kuwaiti poet for his literarycontributions. — KUNA

Kuwait seeking closer cooperation with UK

KUWAIT: Acting Prime Minister and Minister of InteriorSheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said thatit is necessary to further promote Kuwaiti-British coopera-tion, especially in the military field. Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled made the remark during a meeting with visitingBritish Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, the InteriorMinistry’s public relations department said in a statement.During the meeting, they discussed different issues ofmutual interest and the latest Arab, regional and interna-tional developments, it added. It quoted the acting pre-mier as lauding historic relations between Kuwait andBritain in various domains. On his part, the British defensesecretary appreciated Kuwait’s support to the internationalanti-terrorism coalition, and its distinguished efforts tofight terrorism, it said. Fallon also hailed security coopera-tion between Kuwait and Britain, it added.

Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior SheikhMohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah meets withBritish Defense Secretary Michael Fallon. — KUNA

Egypt leader rejects foreign interference in Arab affairs

NEW YORK: Egyptian President Abdelfatah El-Sisi has reit-erated his country’s rejection of any foreign interference inArab affairs. Speaking before the UN General Assembly, theEgyptian leader affirmed commitment to principle of goodneighborliness, stressing Egypt’s solidarity with Arab statesin facing foreign interventions, in light of the link betweenArab security, including the security of the Arab Gulf states,and Egyptian national security. “The majority of these Arabcrises are a reflection of a global state of conflict,” he said.El-Sisi underlined in his speech the importance of resistingany attempts to foment sectarian strife in the Arab world.While the Middle East continues to suffer from bloody con-flicts, Egypt has managed to preserve its stability in themidst of a highly unstable region, he said. El-Sisi urged theinternational community to acknowledge that Egyptwould continue to be an anchor of stability in the MiddleEast. Speaking of Middle East and stability, the Egyptianleader refused the bloodletting in Syria and the absence ofany prospects on the horizon.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Kuwait has vowed to “confront and destroy terror-ism,” Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior SheikhMohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said yesterday.Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled made those remarks in a speechto open a special martial arts competition featuring militaryand security personnel. The Acting Prime Minister lauded thepeople of Kuwait for their support of security forces in theirefforts to safeguard the nation’s security and stability.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Interior said thatit is an opportunity for security personnel to display theirprowess and capabilities, adding that he is highly impressedby the performances of the contestants. He also underscoredthat the Ministry of Interior is a proponent of such conteststhat instill a competitive spirit in the participants, which ulti-mately helps equip security guards with the dexterity neededto protect the nation. — KUNA

Kuwait is ‘determined

to destroy terrorism’

Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah delivers his speech. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait military and security personnel take part in a special martial arts compe-tition yesterday to display their prowess and capabilities. — Photos by Hanan Saadoun

KUWAIT: “September 23 will forever remain ahistoric day for all Saudi citizens,” said SaudiAmbassador to Kuwait Dr Abdul Aziz binIbrahim Al-Fayez in a press release. Fayez hailedthis unforgettable day when the whole of SaudiArabia was united into one larger and strongernation under the late King Abdul Aziz binAbdurrahman Al Saud in 1932. “Commemorat-ing this glorious day, all Saudi citizens remem-ber the sacrifices of the late leaders and seniorofficials who all contributed to establishing itshuge nation, giving us all motives to preserve italong with the gains it achieved thanks to thewisdom of its leaders and the hard work of itsfaithful children,” Fayez said.

“One can never think of this historic daywithout remembering and mentioning theArabian Peninsula hero and Saudi Arabia’sfounder King Abdul Aziz, who managedthrough his wisdom, determination, persist-ence and the help of his loyal followers to unitevarious regions under one flag,” said Fayez,reminding of the great development andprogress that has been achieved ever since byKing Abdul Aziz’s loyal late sons Saud, Faisal,Khalid, Fahd and Abdullah, who devotedlyspent their lives developing the kingdom, whileat the same time defending and serving Islam.

Develop and modernize“Saudi Arabia continues to develop and

modernize in all fields under the Custodian ofthe Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin AbdulAziz Al Saud,” highlighted Fayez, noting thatSaudi Arabia is currently going through aphase of prosperity, welfare and determinationto maintain ongoing constructions in order toprovide all kinds of welfare for its citizens.Fayez also noted that King Salman com-menced his kingship by developing the king-dom’s administrative structure, which helpedplace Saudi Arabia on the right path towards

more welfare. “The custodian of the two holymosques is very keen on investing in allnational assets for the benefit of the nationand its citizens,” Fayez added, noting that theVision 2030 strategy was launched a fewmonths ago, marking a new phase of the king-dom’s economic development through diversi-fying sources of income, improving govern-ment performance and achieving welfare andprosperity for all citizens. He added that thenew strategy shows Saudi Arabia’s potentialand promising future.

“With his great experience in politics andadministration, King Salman bin Abdul Azizmanaged to achieve substantial developmentin various fields despite recent regional andinternational developments and complica-tions,” Fayez reiterated, noting that this helpedSaudi Arabia maintain its ranking as one of theworld’s most politically and economicallyeffective 20 countries.

Fayez added that under King Salman, SaudiArabia continues to defend Arab and Muslims’causes and has a special place in the heartsand minds of Arabs and Muslims, thanks to itswise leadership and principles derived fromthe teachings of Islam, as well as genuine Arabtraditions in dealing with national issues withits active diplomacy and regional and interna-tional efforts to maintain peace and securityfor the region as well as for the entire world.

“With King Salman’s succession, SaudiArabia started a new phase by confrontingregional and international projects to subjectthe region to foreign dominance,” added Fayez,noting that this was behind responding to callsfrom Yemen’s legitimate power to lead an Araballiance in the Decisive Storm operation tofight armed outlaw groups that aim at control-ling Yemen and its institutions to turn it into abase of foreign influence. He added that thiswas followed by an operation to return hope

to the brotherly Yemeni people. “Ever since its foundation, Saudi leaders

have been keen on taking good care of thetwo holy mosques,” said Fayez, noting that theGrand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s(PBUH) Mosque in Madinah have witnessedthe largest expansions in their history, and thatKing Salman launched the first phase of theexpansions meant to help pilgrims performtheir rituals more easily and comfortably.

“More efforts are ongoing to complete theKing Abdul Aziz International Airport project inJeddah, the custodian of the two holy mosques’train and many other infrastructure projects,”Fayez explained, adding that as a result of suchsincere efforts, this year’s hajj season was verysuccessful and that the success was the bestanswer to people questioning Saudi Arabia’sability to organize the hajj ritual.

Humanitarian obligationsFayez added that Saudi Arabia’s commit-

ment to its religious and humanitarian obliga-tions made it generously contribute to devel-

opment worldwide. “Saudi Arabia has present-ed $139 billion in development aid over thepast four decades,” he highlighted, noting suchefforts were topped by establishing the KingSalman Humanitarian and Relief Center.

“Saudi Arabia has been domestically,regionally and internationally playing a majorrole in maintaining security and stability,”added Fayez, noting that being one of the firstcountries to suffer from terrorism and lose anumber of martyrs in terrorist strikes, SaudiArabia continues to fight it. “Thanks to its wiseleadership and security efforts, Saudi Arabiamanaged to foil many terrorist schemes andthat out of recognition of the importance ofcombining international efforts to fight terror-ism, Saudi Arabia organized the first interna-tional conference to combat terrorism becauseit realized that terrorism knows no boundariesand poses a threat to all mankind.

With reference to Saudi-Kuwaiti relations,Fayez noted that they had always been ones ofbrotherhood, neighborhood and friendship,and that constant communication betweenthe Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques andHH the Amir reflect how deep-rooted andstrong both countries’ official and public rela-tions are.

“On this occasion, it gives me great honorto extend heartiest felicitations to theCustodian of the Two Holy Mosques KingSalman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, his CrownPrince, Deputy PM and Interior Minister HRHPrince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz,Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy PM andMinister Of Defense HRH Prince Mohammadbin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the royal family andthe Saudi people, asking Almighty Allah formany happy returns of the day and to bestowsecurity, stability and prosperity on SaudiArabia, Kuwait and all Arab and Muslim coun-tries,” Fayez concluded.

KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Laborand Minister of State for Planning andDevelopment Affairs Hind Al-Sabeeh saidyesterday that the Turkish LimakConstruction Co has agreed to complete theexpansion of Kuwait International Airport(KWI) in four years instead of six. The con-struction company made the commitment tofinalize the project two years ahead of sched-ule based on the cooperation shown by theKuwaiti authorities - notably the SupremeCouncil for Planning and Development(SCPD), she said.

Al-Sabeeh made the comments after hertalks with Turkish Minister of DevelopmentLutfi Elvan, now on a visit to Kuwait, and thedelegation accompanying him. She affirmedthat the Kuwaiti leadership, represented byHis Highness the Amir, and the SCPD attachgreat importance to this mega project.

“The project is of strategic importance,this is why all competent authorities workedtogether to facilitate its implementation,” shesaid, noting that the construction companywas satisfied with the procedures adopted inthe recent period.

On her talks with Elvan and his party, theminister said they discussed the bilateral tiesand cooperation in various fields. She wel-comed the Turkish companies willing to tapinto the promising investment opportunitiesin Kuwait, adding that Kuwait’s five-yeardevelopment offers great opportunities for

investors from friendly countries, notablyTurkey. On his part, Elvan expressed grati-tude to Kuwait for its support to legitimacy inTurkey in the wake of the failed coup. He alsocommended Kuwait for awarding the con-tract of the airport project to Limak, notingthat the airport will be able to handle morethan 25 million passengers a year after thecompletion of its expansion.

Promotional program Meanwhile, Turkey has set a promotion-

al program to encourage foreign invest-

ments, especially from Kuwait, Turk ishExpor ters Assembly Chairman MehmetBuyukeksi said on Tuesday. Buyukeksi ’sremark was carried by Kuwait Chamber ofCommerce and Industry on the fringes ofhis visit to Kuwait. The purpose of this visitis to promote economic ties and encourageKuwaiti investments in Turkey. Buyukeksipointed out that there are many construc-tion companies working on huge projectsin Kuwait, most importantly Kuwait’s newinternational airport.

He added that a significant exhibition

will be held soon in the Gulf country to pro-mote Turkey as the biggest economic desti-nation. The Turkish delegation to Kuwaitincludes most prominent Turkish economicbodies. During his visit , Buyukeksi dis-cussed with Deputy Chairman of theChamber of Commerce and Industr yincreasing the volume of trade and invest-ments between Kuwait and Turkey. TurkishExporters Assembly is the highest organiza-tion of the private sector part of Turkey’sexport and represents exporters in and out-side Turkey. — Agencies

Limak to complete Kuwait

Airport project in 4 years Turkey lures Kuwaiti investments with promotional program

KUWAIT: Turkish delegation takes a group photo with the officials at the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry. —KUNA

Saudi Embassy celebrates 86th National Day

Dr Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim Al-Fayez

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

L O C A L

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Head of MoH’s Media Office DrGhaliya Al-Mutairi said the rate ofAlzheimer’s is growing in Kuwait due tothe growing number of elderly peopleand longer lifespans. She also notedthat elderly citizens receive outstandinghealthcare both physically and psycho-logically. Speaking at a ceremony heldto celebrate World Alzheimer’s Dayunder the auspices of MoHUndersecretary Dr Khaled Al-Sahlawiand in the presence of Sheikha AneesaAl-Sabah, Mutairi said that according toWHO reports in 2015, 46.8 million peo-ple suffer from dementia worldwide andthat the number is expected to jump to74.7 million by 2030. Mutairi also notedthat Alzheimer’s usually affects peopleolder than 65. “However, a number ofpeople develop early-onset Alzheimer’s,which can affect people from around 40years of age,” she said.

KFSD tours schoolsKFSD’s PR and Media Department said

a prevention team toured some publicand private schools to make sure they alladhere to safety codes. In another devel-opment, MoE’s private education direc-tor Abdullah Hamad Al-Ajmi yesterdaymet a number of private school directorsto discuss new regulations for the newschool year, including times when teach-ers can do transactions at the depart-ment, school building conditions, chainof command and assessment reports.Ajmi also stressed banning the collectionof any cash donations in schools andwarned that violators would be referredfor legal investigations.

Charities in HawallyMunicipal council member and head

of Hawally committee Yousef Al-Ghareeb suggested allocating a piece ofland for charities in Hawally in order tohelp organize these charities’ works.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) hasdistributed 500 school bags to students of theneedy families on the occasion of the new aca-demic year. This donation was part of the society’sstrategic objectives to promote community part-nership and provide support and care for the chil-dren of the needy families, Director of PublicRelations Khlaed Al-Zaid said. Speaking to KUNA,Al-Zaid said this project, which is implemented byKRCS periodically, brings the smiles and joy to thehearts of children of needy families.

He added that KRCS is also in the process ofestablishing a number of projects to help needyfamilies in addition to the students, referring to thecampaign dubbed (Give Them a Chance) aimed topay tuition costs for children of needy families inKuwait. He said the goal of the distribution ofschool bags is to provide assistance to needy fami-lies and provide them with school supplies, point-ing out that the school bag contains books andcrayons. — KUNA

KRCS distributes 500 school bags to students

Dear Friends,Before anything else, I take this special opportunity to conveyto His Highness The Amir and People of Kuwait, the warmestcongratulations from the President and People of Mexico forselecting Kuwait City as the Capital of Islamic Culture 2016.This is very important and well deserved recognition of Kuwait’sefforts and keenness on presenting the true image of Islam as areligion of peace and tolerance.

This year also marks forty one years of diplomatic relationsbetween Kuwait and Mexico. Over these years, bilateral dia-logue became more dynamic and contacts between our peoplegrew closer. However, our countries have not yet fully exploitedmutually beneficial opportunities of economic cooperation. Istrongly hope that in the next few years of our diplomatic rela-tions we will develop an increasingly open dialogue.

I know that the celebration of Mexico’s national day is alwaysremembered for Mariachi music and the great food preparedby the Mexican Chef Soffa Rangel who travelled from Mexico tobe here with us tonight. Thank you, friends of Mexico, shukran,for making the effort to share this evening with us here atBadriah Hall. If you really enjoy mariachi music, there will be afree-entrance concert on Thursday, evening at 8pm, in AbdulHussein Abdel Redha Theatre. Ya as-jab, ash kur kum ala ju durukum. Fa dalu. Viva Kuwait. Viva Mexico.

Mexico celebrates 206th Anniversary of the Independence Day Speech by HE Miguel Angel Isidro, Ambassador of Mexico to Kuwait

KUWAIT: The Mexican Ambassador to Kuwait Miguel Angel Isidro held a reception on theoccasion of the National Day of his country. It was attended by a large number of diplo-mats and other dignitaries. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

Rate of Alzheimer’s growing

KUWAIT: Mexicans dance Mariachi as they celebrate206th Anniversary of the Independence Day.

KUWAIT: A recently published local study exam-ining the use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid(AAS) amongst gym users in Kuwait found thereto be significant use of AAS amongst Kuwaitimale gym-goers. The study, which was pub-lished in the International Journal of Men’sHealth, was carried out by a research team atFawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) andfunded by Kuwait Foundation for theAdvancement of Sciences (KFAS).

The study analyzed data collected and collat-ed from 200 individuals of different gender, age,and nationality from across six gyms in Kuwait,amongst which 35% reported usage of AAS. Themain findings listed age, smoking and nationali-

ty as the top predictors for AAS use; youngeradults were significantly more likely to be AASusers, as are smokers and Kuwaiti males - both ofwhom are more than three times likely to beusers of AAS than non-smokers and non-Kuwaitis, respectively.

Dr Elham Al-Hamdan, President and MedicalDirector of FSRI, and one of the authors of thestudy commented: “The literature on AAS use inKuwait is still fairly limited, and with our latestresearch we are hoping to build upon this andhelp shed light on the gravity and prevalence ofthis issue in Kuwait. One of the pillars of theFawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute is researchand education, and in the past we have pub-

lished a range of studyies focusingon health issues that impact the livesof people in our local community.AAS has become a prevalent issue

amongst the large gym-going population inKuwait, and hence has become a topic thatneeds to be studied and researched further.”

Due to the harmful effects that AAS use canhave on the body, the study suggests thathealth policy and institutional reforms areneeded in order to tackle the issue before itspreads. Although the complete elimination ofAAS is not realistic, the study poses thatreforms, public awareness and controlled distri-bution and administration of steroids areimportant steps to negate the harmful effectsand draw attention to AAS use. Dr Al-Hamdanfurther added: “We will be publishing a follow-up paper that explores the psychological andemotional impact AAS use can have on individ-uals, further strengthening the framework wehave set out to provide education and insightinto AAS use in Kuwait.”


Study shows significant use of steroids among Kuwaiti males

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait(CBK) recently contributed to funding thesocial, charity, humanitarian, cultural,educational and sports activities organ-ized by Rumathiya Co-op for area resi-

dents. CBK’s Individual Banking ServicesManager Bedoor Bo Khamseen presentedthe contribution cheque to Rumaithiyaco-op board chairman Mohammed Al-Rumaidhi.

CBK sponsors RumaithiyaCo-op social activities

MoI launches back to school awareness campaign By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: As part of the Interior Ministry’s relations and security media department’s awareness campaign about roadsafety on commencing the new school year under the title of ‘Good to Have Them Back’, a Security Media Team andtraffic police yesterday distributed awareness brochures and special gifts to kids starting school yesterday.

F r o m t he A r a bic pr e s sTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

To fairly evaluate IS or Al-Qaeda, one has to ask himselfwhy none of these two dangerous, armed, radicalorganizations have carried out any attacks or opera-

tions against Israel? A more important question would alsobe: “Why neither of them lists jihad in occupied Palestinianterritories as a priority? None of their militias have ideasabout attacking Israel, though many of them managed toinfiltrate into several other countries and carry out terroristattacks in them, which proves that they can do the same inIsrael, but this never happened.

By doing enough research about IS, one will never find aspeech made by any of its leaders calling directly for attack-ing Israel or declaring jihad in occupied Palestinian territo-ries. They would instead call for such operations in Arab andMuslim countries.

The same applies to Al-Qaeda when its founder, Abdullah

Azzam (a Palestinian who only left Palestine by the begin-ning of the 1970s), only called for jihad in Afghanistan in the1980s and never called for it in Palestine. After Russiantroops were routed out of Afghanistan, he was killed by alandmine shortly after he started urging Arab mujahideen togo to Palestine, and thus Al-Qaeda considers US and otherArab countries as its prime enemies instead of Israel.

They are both identical in their readiness to strike andfight everywhere in Iraq, Syria, Somalia or Mali, while Israelremains always out of their targets. Saying this, I am notimplying anything or accusing anybody because it would befoolish to do so without any solid proof. But reviewing allincidents takes us all to one big fat question: “Why havenone of the terrorist organizations originating in Arab coun-tries ever conducted a simple operation in Israel?”

— Translated by Kuwait Times

IS in short

Al-Anbaa

By Thaar Al-Rasheedi

Al-A

nbaa

The most fitting description I heard was the say-ing the “image is frozen in time”. We need thisidiom to understand Arab arguments about

the 11th G20 summit that was held on Sept 4 and 5in Hangzhou in China. Many Arabs were busy withthe summit’s group picture, instead of the summitand what it achieved, as well as its reflection on theworld economy. Talk shows focused all efforts onexamining images and presenting lengthy analysesabout those inside the frozen frame - this presidentseems to be sleeping, that leader is pointing his fin-ger in the face of another, while this leader is waitingto shake a hand - analyses, imaginations and storieswere made up from the images.

Many were not busy discussing the goals of themeeting or its agenda, and talk shows did not dis-cuss its results. No one thought about orienting uswith the city where the meeting was held, which islocated in southern China on the River Qiantang.This beautiful city is in Zhejiang province, famous forits nature and cultural heritage.

Back to the frozen picture. We should ask our-selves - does the Arab need psychologists to findwhy he pays attention to the frozen picture and for-gets the truth? What we saw in the past days calls forpsychiatrists and not only analysts. The Arab mediawith its current faces is a true expression of the stale-mate that hit our history since the 14th century. Wewere placed in the freezer during that century, whilethe world was going through renaissance, and werelocked inside the freezer in the 17th century, and arestill there.

If you only follow talk shows, you will be shockedby how trivial and silly those who present them are.They were busy with the picture and created rela-tions through them between countries, and some-times they drew up the future of the region andfuture relations - is there anything more silly thanthis? Pictures are frozen frames that mean nothing,and all what comes from them is what you see in theliving eyes. Let us put the frozen picture aside, andlet us read the living minds, so we may understandwhat is going on around the world, and participatewith them with our share of life in order to break theice in which we have been for a long time.

—Translated by Kuwait Times

The ‘image is

frozen in time’

Al-Rai

By Dr Khalid Al-Saleh

CrimeR e p o r t

Employees face

prosecutionKUWAIT: Following administrative investigations, severalemployees at the Capital municipality were referred to theprosecution over charges of forgery.

Stolen carA citizen reported that his vehicle was stolen. The manadded that a security camera outside his house hadtaped the thief breaking the window and starting thevehicle.

Asian killedAn Asian was killed and two others injured when a firedestroyed their apartment in Mahboula, said security sources.

Arab expats arrested An Arab expat was arrested for forging the signature ofa female compatriot on a contract to purchase elec-tronic devices worth KD 500. In another development,a Kuwaiti and a Jordanian were arrested for forgery,said security sources, noting that the Jordanian hadbeen out of the country for nine months. He wasarrested at Salmi land border exit with fake departureand entry stamps on his and his family members’ pass-ports, as his residency was canceled because he wasout of the country for over six months. The citizenforged the stamps works at the airport and had accessto immigration systems.

GCC

hardships

Bedoons acquittedThe Court of Misdemeanor has acquitted three bedoonsarrested over charges of possessing 600 whiskey bottles fortrading purposes.

changes

threats

crises

blocs

dangers

Asian with HIVAn Asian was rushed to the infectious diseases hospi-tal’s quarantine when doctors treating him at JahraHospital after a suicide attempt in which he cut hisveins found that he was HIV positive. Further investiga-tions are in progress to investigate whether he infect-ed anyone else.

Filipina attempts to fleeA Filipina was rushed to hospital with several bone fracturesshe sustained when she fell during an attempt to flee hersponsor’s house in Saad Al-Abdullah. —Al-Rai and Al-Anbaa

KUWAIT: Promising new levels of value to cus-tomers in ever y conceivable way, VIVA,Kuwait’s fastest-growing and most developedtelecom operator, has announced that it willbe bringing the true essence of ‘more’ to lifeacross all its consumer touch points. Promisinga brand experience not before seen in Kuwait,VIVA’s ‘more’ platform is built on the belief thatwhile life can be enjoyable and rewarding, con-sumers are always seeking that little bit extraenrichment as they go about their daily lives. Itis this ‘yearning for more’ that VIVA will aim tosatisfy.

Consumers and existing customers willsoon experience ‘more’ through new Al-Deewan service for elite customers, a broad

selection of the latest smartphone handsetsand packages give more customer freedom,new partnerships with leading brands openthe door to incredible experiences, new enter-prise services and solutions for businesses.

In addit ion to an expanded reach andextended network, alongside greater signalstrength and quality has improved data speedsto enable customers to share content and con-versations like never before, and impactful CSRinitiatives to give back to those in greaterneed. Andrew Hanna, CCO at VIVA, said: “Wehave seen extensive and rapid growth of VIVAin Kuwait in recent years and our new ‘more’campaign and company ethos is our way ofnot only giving back to our customers, but

gives them something we know they alwaysare on the lookout for: more.”

This new, refreshed character for VIVA willencompass a visual identity that is human,warm and conversational in nature. Consumerswill soon be able to experience ‘more’ throughan expansive communications campaign, andin person across all major customer touchpoints. Andrew Hanna added: “Even in the hap-piest moments, there can always be a littlemore joy and delight to be found, making lifethat little bit richer and more rewarding. AtVIVA and through our new brand avatar, wewill deliver on this promise to customers, eachand every time they reach for that little bitmore.”

VIVA welcomes Kuwait

to the world of ‘more’

Photoo f t h e d a y


Ahmad Khan Rahami:What’s known about theNYC bombing suspectSouth Korea questions ‘serial offender’ N Korea’s UN membership

Page 12 Page 9

NEW YORK: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is seen during a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) at the Intercontinental Hotel on September 19, 2016. —AFP

WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton is revving up herdrive to woo young people, a key demographicthat is resisting her as she battles Donald Trumptooth and nail for the White House.

The polling numbers are alarming for theDemocrat as she seeks to become the first femalepresident of America. As recently as August, amongmillennials aged 18-34 Clinton held a 24-point leadover the Republican Trump in a four-way raceincluding two alternative candidates. But inSeptember this margin had dwindled to fivepoints, according to a Quinnipiac poll.

The breakdown now looks like this: Clinton at 31percent, Trump at 26 percent, Libertarian candidateGary Johnson up from 16 percent in August to 29percent in September, and Green Party candidateJill Stein at 15 percent, according to this poll.

A total of 62 percent of those questioned saidthey were willing to vote for a candidate other thanClinton or Trump. Some 90 percent said they consid-er Clinton to be intelligent and 77 percent find herexperienced. But 77 percent said they do not thinkshe is honest, a score that is worse than Trump’s at68 percent, according to the Quinnipiac survey.

A CBS/New York Times poll gave Clinton 48 per-

cent support among millennials, compared to 29percent for Trump. But 21 percent said they willeither not vote or cast their ballot for someone oth-er than Clinton or Trump.

Without the support of young Americans,Clinton could lose in the battleground states ofNorth Carolina, Florida and Ohio, experts say.Millennials were a huge part of the coalition thatbrought Barack Obama to power in 2008 and to alesser extent in 2012 when he won re-election, saidJeanne Zaino, a professor of political science atIona College outside New York City. “The millenni-als are the biggest generation in American history,surpassing now the baby boomers,” said Zaino,adding that the group contains 69 million potentialvoters and Clinton needs their support.

“Unfortunately for Hillary Clinton, she has notbeen doing well with millennials. They are desert-ing her for people like Gary Johnson and Jill Stein,”she added. “She has really got to work hard to callthem back into the fold and then get them out tovote in November,” Zaino said.

Polls show young people feel Clinton does notput priority on issues that affect them, and that sheis an establishment politician who will not bring

about change. What is more, some millennials wereborn while Bill Clinton was president, from 1993 to2001, and have only vague familiarity with thatperiod. And what they do know centers mostly onscandals of the Clinton era, Zaino said.

‘Huge generational gap’And when young people learn, for example,

that Mrs. Clinton used to be against same-sex mar-riage, “they cannot fathom it.” “There is a huge gen-erational gap,” said Zaino.

Clinton’s former rival Bernie Sanders, who elec-trified young Americans with his pledge to fightincome inequality and Wall Street excess and pro-vide free university education, may be older but hespoke to young people in a way that Clinton can-not, Zaino said. In a bid to remedy all this, theClinton campaign announced Monday that shewould intensify her outreach to young peoplethrough round table talks, live discussions onFacebook, events designed to get them to registerto vote and sending heavyweight substitutes outon the campaign trail to court them.

Obama, his wife Michelle, Sanders, liberalSenator Elizabeth Warren and Clinton’s running

mate Tim Kaine all campaigned last week to try winover young people.

In a speech Monday at Temple University inPhiladelphia, Clinton spoke about what she calledthe values that drive her and her early days as ayoung lawyer working to help poor children.

She also discussed other issues that are impor-tant to young people: climate change, sexual vio-lence on US university campuses, and the problemof students having to take out huge loans to payfor college.

She appealed to students to register to vote andthen get out and cast their ballots on November 8.“I need you,” Clinton said. “This is going to be close.”The crowd applauded politely. Clinton also pub-lished an open letter on Mic, a website that targetsmillennials, addressing what she has learned fromthis group of Americans. “Your generation is themost open, diverse and entrepreneurial generationin our country’s history,” Clinton wrote.

She vowed to work with young people to liftwhat she described as barriers blocking them fromrealizing their full potential. “If I’m fortunateenough to be elected, you will always have a cham-pion in the White House,” Clinton wrote. —AFP

Clinton steps up drive to court young voters

A key demographic

Canada police say schools closed

in province after bomb threat

CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARDISLAND: Canadian police evacuated allschools in the eastern province of PrinceEdward Island due to a bomb threatand said similar threats were made yes-terday against schools in Nova Scotiaand the United States.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Policesaid no explosive device had beenfound at the PEI schools. About 19,000students at 62 schools were taken tosafe locations in their communitiesaround the island, which is off Canada’sAtlantic coast and is the country’s small-est province with a population ofapproximately 146,000.

“The message stated that the bombshad been placed in a number of schoolsand would be detonated today but itdid not specify the time,” said RCMPSergeant Kevin Bailey at a press confer-ence. “There is an active investigation toidentify the person or persons responsi-ble.” Bailey said the warning came by faxto the RCMP in Ottawa. “We like to erron the side of caution,” he said. Baileynoted that similar threats had beenreceived in the nearby province of NovaScotia as well as at one school in theUnited States, without offering anydetail on the US threat.

The University of Prince EdwardIsland said it was closed for the day, “giv-en the situation happening across theprovince.” “They didn’t say there was a

bomb threat or any specific threat; theyjust told us that school had been sus-pended for the rest of the day,” saidCharlottetown student Peter Keedwell,17. “It was pretty calm ... people weren’trunning out of school or anything.”

Police in Nova Scotia closed somecollege and university campuses. ANova Scotia Community College cam-pus in Halifax was evacuated after an

anonymous threat, Halifax RegionalPolice said in a press release.

It said an explosive disposal unitwent to the scene but found that a sus-picious package was only garbage andreopened streets in the area. The col-lege’s Marconi campus in Sydney, NovaScotia also shut down. Cape BretonUniversity, also in Sydney, said on itswebsite that it was closing. —Reuters

CAIRO: A boat carrying African migrantsheaded to Europe capsized off theMediterranean coast near the Egyptiancity of Alexandria on yesterday, killing atleast 29 people, Egyptian authorities said.

Health Ministry spokesman KhaledMegahed said that the total number ofdead was still unknown. Local officialAlaa Osman from Beheira province saidthe migrants were from several Africancountries. He said 155 people have beenrescued so far but that bodies are stillbeing pulled from the water.

Egypt’s official news agency MENAsaid the boat was carrying 600 peoplewhen it sank near the coast, some 180kilometers (112 miles) north of the capi-tal, Cairo. Osman said the boat had likelycome from Kafr el-Sheik province, fur-ther to the east.

Thousands of illegal migrants havemade the dangerous sea voyage acrossthe Mediterranean in recent years flee-ing war and poverty, mostly via lawlessLibya. Thousands have drowned. Thenumber of migrants trying to cross theMediterranean Sea from Egypt to Europehas increased significantly in the pastyear, EU border agency Frontex said ear-l ier this month. More than 12,000migrants arrived in Italy from Egyptbetween January and September, com-pared to 7,000 in the same period lastyear, it said.

What experts sayExperts say smugglers in Egypt most-

ly use old fishing vessels, stuffed waybeyond capacity both below and abovedeck. New and more dangerous smug-gling practices and attempts to reachEurope by riskier routes have led to aspike in the number of migrants dying asthey attempt to cross the Mediterranean,the International Organization forMigration said in a report last month.

It said newer routes, particularly fromEgypt, are longer and riskier, leading tosearch and rescue efforts often being car-ried out farther away from land. It said2,901 people died or disappeared cross-ing the Mediterranean in the first sixmonths of 2016, a 37 percent increaseover the first six months of last year.

Last May, hundreds of migrants diedafter a wooden boat coming from Libyacapsized, even as the I tal ian navyrushed to the rescue. European rescueboats, including naval vessels, oftenpatrol off the Libyan coast to preventsuch disasters.

The migrant crisis has proven deeplydivisive in Europe, which has struggledto come up with a unified response.Right-wing nationalist parties opposedto taking in more migrants and refugeeshave made gains, including in Germany,which has accepted more migrants thanany other European country. —AP

Migrant boat capsizes off

Egypt, killing at least 29

CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Royal CanadianMounted Police Staff Sergeant Kevin A. Baillie speaks to reportersoutside the provincial RCMP headquarters yesterday. —AP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

ANKARA: A mentally disturbed Turkish man wield-ing a knife tried to storm the Israeli embassy inAnkara yesterday but was shot by police beforereaching the building, Turkish and Israeli officialssaid.

The man, armed with a 30-centimetre (12-inch)knife, ran towards the embassy shouting slogansand was shot in the leg, the governor’s office in theTurkish capital said in a statement. It said initialinvestigations showed that the man, named asOsman Nuri Caliskan, “appeared to be mentally dis-turbed” and had no record of links with any mili-tant group.

Suat Gencer, a florist working nearby, said heheard four shots and then ran to the embassy to seewhat had happened. “I saw a man who had beenshot in the leg. I didn’t see a knife but other wit-nesses said he had a knife and he would set a bomboff,” he told AFP at the scene. Video footage showedthe man sitting in the road in agony with a wound-ed leg after being shot, with drops of blood on thetarmac and a policeman pointing a gun at himbefore he was detained.

Embassies on high alert Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel

Nahshon said in a statement all its embassy staffwere safe and the man reached only the “outerperimeter” of the embassy. The Israeli embassy saidon its Facebook page that the man had been shotby a Turkish police officer stationed outside the mis-sion, thanking the local police for their “professional

performance”.The incident came with foreign missions in

Turkey on a state of high alert following a spate ofattacks across the country this year blamed onjihadists and Kurdish militants. The British embassyin the Turkish capital Ankara was closed on Fridayover security concerns while the German embassyoffered only limited services.

Three months ago, Turkey and Israel signed adeal to restore their ties which hit an all-time lowafter the 2010 raid by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound aid ship that left 10 Turks dead. Under thedeal, they are to begin the process of exchangingambassadors to fully restore their diplomatic ties,although this has yet to formally take place.

Despite the crisis, the Israeli embassy in Ankaraand consulate in Istanbul have carried on workingin the last years, under heavy security. Israel hadalready offered compensation and an apology overthe raid. With the agreement Ankara has been ableto resume delivery of humanitarian aid to thePalestinians through Israel.

‘Change the Middle East!’ Turkey’s NTV television said employees of the

embassy took refuge in a shelter during the inci-dent on Wednesday. The Hurriyet daily said theman had shouted “I will change the Middle East!”when advancing on the embassy building.

In a statement to police later, the suspect added:“I did it to stop the bloodshed in the Middle East,”the paper said. Three Israelis and an Iranian were

killed in March in a bombing in central Istanbulblamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists. Israel subse-quently upgraded its security advice for Turkey,encouraging citizens to leave.

Israel was quick to give its support to the Turkishgovernment in the aftermath of a July 15 coup bid,condemning it while repeating its faith in the rec-onciliation process.

Turkey appears to be moving back to its previ-

ous “zero problems with neighbours” foreign policyafter the country also normalised relations withMoscow damaged after Turkey shot down a Russianjet in November last year.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has alsoindicated interest in improving relations withEgypt-damaged after the ousting of pro-Ankarapresident Mohamed Morsi-and even Syria amid thefive year civil war. — AFP

CAIRO: Egypt’s Coptic Christian churchis facing criticism over its role in organ-izing rallies in support of PresidentAbdel-Fattah el-Sissi during his visit tothe UN General Assembly.

Egypt’s Christian minority has strong-ly supported el-Sissi since he came topower following the military ’s over-throw of an Islamist president in 2013.But this week dozens of prominentChristians released a statement express-ing concern about the church’s deepen-

ing involvement in politics.El-Sissi traveled to New York with a

large delegation of loyal parliamentari-ans and media figures. The visit is par-tially aimed at improving Egypt’s imageafter it has come under criticism fromrights groups and Western nations overa sweeping crackdown on dissent. El-Sissi conferred on the sidelines with for-eign leaders as well as US presidentialnominees Hillary Clinton and DonaldTrump. — AP

Egypt’s Coptic church criticized over el-Sissi rallies at UN

Knife attacker shot outside Israeli embassy in AnkaraNo casualties, failed to enter Embassy

MARGARITA ISLAND, Venezuela: Esteemedcomrade Nicolas Maduro Moros, constitutionalPresident of the Bolivarian Republic ofVenezuela, Heads of State and Government,Esteemed ministers, delegates and guests,Ladies and gentlemen, We are 120 Non-AlignedStates which adhere not only to the BandungPrinciples, but also to the Declaration of the NonAligned Movement on Purposes, Principles andthe its Role in the Current International Junctureapproved at the 14th NAM Summit in Havana.Our enormous strength cannot be underesti-mated when we proceed in a concerted fashion.

In the 14th NAM Summit held in Havana in2006, we rejected any attempt at ‘regime change’and appealed to all countries to abstain fromresorting to aggression or to the use of force.

Also in Havana, in January 2014, the heads ofState and Government of the Community ofLatin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)signed the Proclamation of Latin America andthe Caribbean as a Zone of Peace thus reaffirm-ing our commitment to the principles enshrinedin the United Nations Charter and InternationalLaw as well as to the peaceful settlement of dis-putes and full respect for the inalienable right ofevery State to choose its political, economic,social and cultural system, as an essential prem-ise to ensure coexistence among nations.

However, we are witnessing increasingattacks on Venezuela’s sovereignty and self-determination. Cuba reaffirms its unconditionalsupport to the Venezuelan Government andpeople, to the civic-military union and to con-stitutional President Nicolas Maduro Moros.

We strongly repudiate the judicial-parliamen-tary coup d’Ètat engineered against PresidentDilma Rouseff, for it is an act of contemptagainst the sovereign will of the people whoelected her with more than 53 million votes.

Our sister nation of Colombia may count onthe full support of Cuba as it moves forwardalong the challenging path of the implementa-tion of the Agreement, and the consolidation ofthe stable, fair and lasting peace thatColombians deserve. We express our confidencein the people of the Arab Republic of Syria forwe know that they are capable of resolving theirdifferences by themselves without foreign inter-ference aimed at promoting ‘regime change’.

Comrade President,It is unacceptable that the Palestinian people

are still victims of occupation and violence, andthat the occupying power continues preventingthe establishment of an independent PalestinianState with its capital in East Jerusalem.

Every attempt to secure the self-determina-tion of the abused Saharawi people has failed,thus the international community needs toapply itself to resolving this issue. We affirm oursolidarity with the historical demand of thePuerto Rican people for self-determination andindependence.

We also uphold our solidarity with the claimof the Republic of Argentina over the Falklands,South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands.

Esteemed comrade Maduro, to Cuba, non-

alignment means to struggle for the radicalmodification of an international economicorder imposed by the big powers, the samethat has made possible for 360 persons to accu-mulate an annual wealth exceeding the incomeof 45% of the world population. The gapbetween the rich and the poor keeps widening.Technology transfer from the North to theSouth countries remains an elusive goal whileglobalization basically privileges a specialgroup of industrial nations. Meanwhile, thedebt of the South countries, which never ceas-es to multiply, now amounts to over 1.7 trilliondollars.

At the moment, 2.9 billion people are forcedinto unemployment and extreme poverty, andmillions of children perish every year fromhunger and preventable diseases; nearly 800million people remain illiterate while more than1.7 trillion dollars are destined to militaryexpenses. Non-alignment also means to strug-gle for the reduction of the knowledge gap,and for the possibility to use information andcommunication technologies for developmentand cooperation. We reject the growing milita-rization of these technologies and their aggres-sive use against other countries.

Climate change continues to aggravatewhile in the developed countries irrational pro-duction and consumption patterns persist thatthreaten the conditions required for the sur-vival of our species.

On the other hand, the realization of humanrights remains a dream for millions of people allover the world. The United States and Europeresort to manipulation, double standards, selec-tive criteria and the politization of this issuewhile waves of refugees concentrate atEuropean borders, waiting a for just, stable andpermanent solution that can protect their livesand dignity.

Esteemed President Maduro, twenty-one

months have passed since our simultaneousannouncement with President Barack Obama ofthe decision to reestablish diplomatic relationsbetween Cuba and the United States.

There have been some progress, mostly inthe diplomatic area and cooperation on issues ofcommon interest, but the same cannot be saidof the economic and commercial sectors due tothe limited, albeit positive, scope of the meas-ures so far adopted by the US Administration.

Cuba will persevere on its demand to havethe economic, commercial and financial block-ade lifted, a blockade that brings so much dam-age and hardship to our people, and which alsohas a negative impact on many other countriesdue to its extraterritorial implementation. By thesame token, Cuba will continue urging thereturn to our sovereignty of the territory illegallyoccupied by the United States Naval Base inGuantanamo.

There will not be normal relations before thatissue is resolved and other policies harmful toCuba’s sovereignty still in force are terminated,such as interventionist and subversive programs.

We reaffirm our disposition to engage theUnited States Government in a civilized relation-ship, but Cuba will neither renounce any of itsprinciples nor compromise on its sovereigntyand independence. Cuba will not cease defend-ing its revolutionary and anti-imperialist idealsor supporting the self-determination of all peo-ples. Comrade Maduro, We wish our sisterRepublic of Venezuela full success in the leader-ship of the Non-Aligned countries. At the sametime, we congratulate the Islamic Republic ofIran on its good work during this past term atthe head of the Movement.

The only alternative to the enormous dangersand challenges lying ahead is unity and solidari-ty in defense of our common objectives andinterests.

Thank you, very much.

President Raul Castro Ruz at the 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. Margarita Island,Venezuela, September 17th, 2016.

PALERMO, Italy: A Sicilian judge yesterdayordered a trial for an Eritrean man accusedof running a people smuggling networkthat sent thousands of migrants to Europeand many to their deaths during danger-ous sea voyages to the continent.

Judge Alessia Geraci said MedhanieTesfamariam Berhean would stand trial inPalermo, capital of Italy’s southern island ofSicily, on Nov. 16 on charges of abettingillegal immigration and engaging in humantrafficking.

Medhanie was arrested in May in Sudanand extradited to Italy, the European entrypoint for many migrants crossing theMediterranean Sea in rickety boats fromNorth Africa. It was the first time a suspect-ed trafficking kingpin was tracked down inAfrica and brought to face justice in Italysince Europe’s migration crisis startedalmost three years ago.

However, friends and family ofMedhanie say it is a case of mistaken identi-ty, arguing that he was an impoverished29-year-old refugee with no criminal back-ground, who was living quietly inKhartoum and seeking to join his siblingsin the United States when he was arrestedin a rundown cafe.

Medhanie denies all the charges.His arrest was coordinated by Italy and

Britain’s National Crime Agency. They main-tain they have the right man, but acknowl-edged that they initially got his name wrongand put out the photograph of anotherman. More than 300,000 migrants andrefugees have crossed the Mediterraneanthis year looking to reach Europe, accordingto the UN refugee agency. Some 3,210migrants are reported to have died or gonemissing while attempting the journey sinceJan. 1.— Reuters

Italy sets trial for suspected African human-smuggling boss

HELSINKI: A Finnish court yesterdayremanded in custody a well-known neo-Nazi leader suspected of killing a passer-by during an anti-immigration protest inHelsinki earlier this month.

Jesse Torniainen, 26, is accused ofkicking 28-year-old passer-by JimiKarttunen, who spat in the direction ofthe protesters, in the chest. Karttunenfell and hit his head on the ground,dying a week later of a cerebral haemor-rhage. Torniainen, a central figure in theviolent far-right Finnish ResistanceMovement according to police, is sus-pected of assault and aggravated invol-untary manslaughter.

The suspect, who has a long record ofprevious assaults and other crimes, pub-licly boasted about the attack on socialmedia, until his victim died on

September 16. In court on yesterday,Torniainen denied any responsibility inKarttunen’s death.

Finnish politicians, including PrimeMinister Juha Sipila, have condemnedthe attack. Politically-motivated violenceis rare in the Nordic country, but far-rightgroups have become more active since arecord 32,500 migrants sought asylumthere in 2015. Last year, volunteer streetpatrols calling themselves the Soldiers ofOdin, with links to neo-Nazis, appearedon the streets of several Finnish towns.

In 2013, members of the FinnishResistance Movement stabbed andinjured one person at the Jyvaskyla citylibrary in central Finland, during thelaunch of a book entitled “The Far Rightin Finland”, written by young leftistpoliticians. — AFP

Finnish neo-Nazi held for killing passer-by at protest

JOHANNESBURG: A female student is arrested as police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse them during a protestyesterday. — AP

JOHANNESBURG: South African policeyesterday set off stun grenades andthrew tear gas at stone-throwing stu-dents from a leading university whowere demonstrating for free education.

The chaos in the streets around theUniversity of the Witwatersrand inJohannesburg followed violentprotests on the campus on Tuesdaythat forced the university’s closure forthe rest of the week. Several studentswere injured in the latest unrest, SouthAfrican media reported. The Universityof the Witwatersrand said it is identify-ing those who par ticipated inTuesday’s campus violence and willtake action against them. Protestersthrew stones at security guards outsidea main campus building, smashingsome windows. Some guards threwprojectiles back at the students.

Classes were also suspended yester-day at the University of Cape Town

because of security concerns.Stellenbosch University said itobtained a court order requiring 30protesters to leave a campus buildingthey had occupied, or face removal bythe police.

The demonstrators have been react-ing to a government announcementthat universities can increase fees byup to 8 percent next year. The govern-ment made a concession to studentprotesters last year, agreeing to freezefee increases for this year.

The government has promised topay about $180 million to cover thecosts of poor students. BladeNzimande, the South African educationminister, has condemned violent stu-dent protests, saying the governmenthas “gone a long way” to financiallysupport poor students and that stu-dents with resources should pay fees tohelp cover rising university costs. — AP

South African police clashwith university students

ANKARA: Police special forces patrol in front of the Israeli Embassy yesterday. — AFP

Cuban President Raul Castro’s statementat the Non-Aligned Movement Summit


NEW YORK: Donald Trump’s hard line stance onimmigration after two bombings in the New Yorkarea again sparked debate on the White Housecampaign trail Tuesday, as his son sparked afirestorm by comparing Syrian refugees to lethalcandies. The Republican presidential hopefulsuncompromising position on illegal migrants-evencalling them a dangerous “Trojan horse” who enterthe country with the aim of doing harm-is inextrica-bly linked with his meteoric political rise.

Most Republicans approve of his tough talk, withpolls showing that a majority of party membersagreed with his call last December to bar Muslimsfrom entering the United States. Since then, Trumphas refrained from specifically targeting Muslims,but he has championed police profiling of suspectsand promised to bar immigrants and travelers fromcertain countries deemed dangerous, like Syria.

The candidate has repeatedly warned of the risksposed by Syrian refugees, citing the arrival inEurope of Islamic State operatives disguised as sim-ple refugees, and says US immigration officials arenot properly screening new arrivals. But immigra-tion is nevertheless not one of the major issues onthe minds of voters, placing only fourth accordingto a recent CBS/New York Times poll, making itunclear if Trump, 70, can use it to persuade those

who are still undecided. But national security andthe anti-terror fight are number two on that list, andwith less than 50 days to go before Election Day onNovember 8, Trump is attempting to blur the linesbetween the two issues.

“This is a question of qualify of life,” Trump told arally in key swing state Florida on Monday. “Wewant to make sure we are only admitting people inour country who love our country.”

Syrians and Skittles Trump’s son Donald Jr, one of his surrogates on

the campaign trail, has meanwhile courted contro-versy with a tweet comparing Syrian refugees to abowl of multi-colored Skittles candy-some of themlethal, but not to the naked eye. “This image says itall,” he said on Twitter, with a picture of a white bowlfilled with the popular sweets.

Written above the image is: “If I had a bowl ofskittles and I told you just three would kill you.Would you take a handful? That’s our Syria refugeeproblem.” Trump Jr thus argued that it is too dan-gerous to welcome migrants when a tiny number ofthem could later launch attacks. The man accusedof planting bombs in both downtown Manhattanand near a race in New Jersey is a naturalizedAmerican of Afghan descent. — AFP

Trump slams ‘Trojan horse’ migrants, son sparks outrage

NEW YORK: Ahmad Khan Rahami, a US citizenborn in Afghanistan, was charged by federal offi-cials in two states Tuesday with planting bombsin New York, and at a military charity run andtrain station in New Jersey.

He remains hospitalized after a shootout withpolice Monday, hours after investigators say hedumped a package with bombs in a trash cannear a train station. Investigators are lookinginto his previous overseas travel and other run-ins with the law.

Here’s what’s known about Rahami:Stabbing charge

Rahami was accused of stabbing one of hisbrothers in 2014, but a grand jury declined toindict him, despite a warning from the arrestingofficer that Rahami likely was “a danger to him-self or others,” court records show. He also wasaccused of violating a domestic-violencerestraining order in 2012.

Rahami has a child with a woman he datedwhile attending high school in Edison, NewJersey, but the two have since had a tumultuousrelationship. Rahami often was hundreds of dol-lars in arrears in child support, and their custodycase was called before a family court judge sixtimes in five years, records show.

A judge on Tuesday granted her request fortemporary full custody of the child after shewent to court, citing the terror investigation.

In 2011, the woman went to court to stopRahami’s overnight visits with the child, but ajudge found she hadn’t provided evidence toshow that their child was in danger of being tak-en out of the country. A judge approved a visita-tion agreement between the two in May 2014,ordering that the child spend Christmas andThanksgiving with her - and the Muslim holydays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha with Rahami.

Investigated by fbiFollowing the 2014 stabbing, the FBI looked

into Rahami after his father expressed concernhis son might be a terrorist, law enforcementofficials said Tuesday. During the inquiry, thefather backed away from talk of terrorism andtold investigators that he simply meant his sonwas hanging out with the wrong crowd and act-ing like a thug, the officials said.

Rahami’s father told reporters Tuesday thathe called the FBI at the time because Rahami“was doing real bad.” William Sweeney, the FBI’sassistant director in New York, said Monday thatthat at the time of the bombing, Rahami appar-ently was not on the FBI’s radar.

Where he workedFederal investigators said that Rahami pur-

chased components for the bombs on eBay, andhad them shipped to a business where he workedin Perth Amboy, New Jersey. They said he worked

there until Sept. 12, but didn’t identify the store.Rahami had worked as an unarmed night guardfor two months in 2011 at an Associated Pressadministrative technology office in New Jersey. Atthe time, he was employed by Summit Security, aprivate contractor.

AP global security chief Danny Spriggs saidRahami worked night shifts and often engagedcolleagues in long political discussions, express-ing sympathy for the Taliban and disdain for USmilitary action in Afghanistan. Rahami left thatjob in 2011 because he wanted to take a trip toAfghanistan, Spriggs said. Customers at a friedchicken restaurant owned by Rahami’s fatherwhere he had worked said his demeanorchanged after taking trips overseas and he start-ed wearing more ethnic clothing.

A wife from pakistanRahami has made five trips overseas over the

last six years, according to Republican Rep. TomMacArthur, who was briefed by the FBI onTuesday. MacArthur represents the districtincluding Seaside Park.

On a trip to Pakistan in 2014, Rahami emailedhis local congressman seeking help because hispregnant wife had an expired passport.

Democratic New Jersey Rep. Albio Sires saidhis office wrote a letter to the US embassy inPakistan to check on the status of the case andthe woman received a visa. — AP

LINDEN, NEW JERSEY: Ahmad Khan Rahami is taken into custody after a shootout with police Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. — AP

Ahmad Khan Rahami: What’s known

about the NYC bombing suspect

Remains hospitalized

CHARLOTTE: Protests and looting rocked aNorth Carolina city early yesterday, follow-ing the fatal police shooting of a blackman, with a dozen officers and severaldemonstrators injured in the violence.

Media reported that several hundredpeople gathered to protest the shooting of43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott, who wasAfrican-American, as was the officer whokilled him. The shooting was the latest in astring involving black men killed at thehands of police, which has fueled outragenationwide.

Demonstrations began late Tuesday andgrew through much of the night near anapartment complex in the city of Charlotte,where the shooting occurred. As news ofthe shooting spread, protesters gathered,carrying signs that read “Black Lives Matter”and chanting “No justice, no peace!”

Later in the night, some protesters inCharlotte set fires blocking a major road,and others set trucks ablaze, according tonews reports. A local television stationreported that looters attempted to breakinto a Walmart store-some throwing rocksand shattering glass doors-and were heldback at the entrance by officers.

Series of shootings The violence comes just days after

another police shooting, captured onvideo, of an unarmed black man in Tulsa,Oklahoma. Together, they are the latest ina series of recent police shootings-fromBaton Rouge, Louisiana to Dallas, Texas-that have left the African American com-munity demanding law enforcementreforms and greater accountability frompublic officials. News reports said the offi-cer in Tuesday’s shooting, Brentley Vinson,has been put on paid leave. WSOC-TVreported that the Charlotte shootingoccurred as Vinson and other officers weresearching for a suspect on an outstandingarrest warrant.

Police encountered Scott-who was notthe person they were seeking-in a car

parked at the building. “At this point, all weknow (is) they were in the apartment com-plex parking lot,” Charlotte-MecklenbergPolice Chief Kerr Putney told reporters lateTuesday. “This subject gets out with aweapon. They engage him, and one of theofficers felt a lethal threat and fired hisweapon because of that.”

Police said Scott had a firearm, which islegal under local law “open carry” gun laws.His relatives told local media, however, thathe was not carrying a gun, but had a bookin his hands when he was gunned down.

Charlotte police donned riot gear andused tear gas as they tried to subdue theangry crowd, which authorities saidattacked and damaged several police carsover the course of the night. The policedepartment said on Twitter that “approxi-mately 12 officers injured. One officer hit inface with a rock.” A separate police depart-ment tweet said the wounded officerswere “injured tonight working to protectour community during demonstration.”

Appeal for calm Meanwhile, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer

Roberts appealed for calm. “The communi-ty deserves answers and full investigationwill ensue,” she wrote on Twitter. “Will bereaching out to community leaders to worktogether.” The fatal shooting in Tulsa lastFriday of Terence Crutcher was recorded bypolice car dashboard cameras and a policehelicopter camera.

Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan, inreleasing the footage to the publicMonday, called it disturbing and “very diffi-cult to watch.” In the video, the 40-year-oldCrutcher is seen with his hands up, appear-ing to comply with police officers and lean-ing against his car. He is then shot once byofficer Betty Shelby, and falls to theground. Another officer fires his stun gun.“We will achieve justice in this case,” theTulsa police chief told a news conference.“We will do the right thing. We will not cov-er anything up.” — AFP

Violent protests over latest

fatal US police shooting

CLEVELAND, OHIO: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (right) and running mate MikePence (L) stand as pastor Darrell Scott (not seen) speaks during the Midwest Vision and ValuesPastors and Leadership Conference at the New Spirit Revival Center on September 21, 2016. — AFP

CHARLOTTE: Police officers face off with protestors on the I-85 (Interstate 85) duringprotests following the death of a man shot by a police officer yesterday. — AFP

TULSA: The unarmed black man shot dead inthe middle of a Tulsa street last week by awhite police officer had run-ins with the lawdating back to his teenage years and hadrecently served a four-year stint in prison. Butthose closest to Terence Crutcher describedhim as a church-going father who was begin-ning to turn his life around. After marking his40th birthday with his twin sister last month,Crutcher sent her a text that read, “I’m gonnashow you, I’m gonna make you all proud.”

Crutcher was due to start a music apprecia-tion class at a local community college onFriday, the day he was fatally shot by Tulsapolice officer Betty Shelby after she respondedto a report of a stalled vehicle.

The shooting was captured in graphicdetail by a police helicopter and a cruiserdashcam, though it ’s not clear from thatfootage what led Shelby to draw her gun orwhat orders officers gave Crutcher. An attor-ney representing Crutcher ’s family saysCrutcher committed no crime and gave offi-

cers no reason to shoot. Shelby was put onpaid administrative leave while local and fed-eral officials investigate the shooting.Crutcher’s criminal history includes a 1995arrest in nearby Osage County in which offi-cers reported they saw him fire his weaponout a vehicle window. Records obtained byThe Associated Press on Tuesday show thatwhen Crutcher was ordered to exit the vehiclefor a pat-down search, he began making amovement to his right ankle before an officermanaged to get control of Crutcher. A .25-cal-iber pistol was found in his right sock, thearresting officer wrote in an affidavit.

Crutcher eventually entered a no-contestplea to charges of carrying a weapon andresisting an officer and received suspendedsentences, court records show. Oklahomaprison officials confirmed Tuesday thatCrutcher also served four years in prisonfrom 2007 to 2011 on a Tulsa County drugtrafficking conviction.

Crutcher’s family could not be reached for

comment on his criminal record. But an attor-ney for his family, Melvin Hall, said thosedetails were not known by police at the scene.“Nobody claimed that he was a perfect indi-vidual. Who is perfect? But that night he wasnot a criminal,” Hall said. “He did not have anywarrants. He had not done anything wrong.He had a malfunctioning vehicle, and heshould have been treated accordingly.”

Saying “we’re a family of faith,” TiffanyCrutcher told CNN’s “New Day” early yesterdaythat she hopes something positive can comeof her family’s loss. “We’re hoping that Americawill open their eyes, everybody, and seethere’s an issue, a systemic issue, that needs tobe solved. And we’re pleading with the leader-ship of this country, everyone, to just see thatand let’s put some systems in place to preventthis from happening again,” she said.

Terence Crutcher was scheduled to beginthe music class at Tulsa Community College onthe day he was shot, and TCC President LeighGoodson said in a statement that Crutcher

had talked with staff about his desire to besuccessful in college. “He brought to TCC histalents, hopes and dreams of creating a suc-cessful life by dedicating himself to complet-ing a degree,” Goodson said.

On Friday, two 911 calls describing an SUV

that had been abandoned in the middle of theroad preceded the fatal encounter betweenCrutcher and the police. One unidentifiedcaller said the driver of the stalled vehicle wasacting strangely, adding, “I think he’s smokingsomething.” — AP

Tulsa shooting victim was

turning his life around

TULSA: People hold signs at a “protest for justice” over Friday’s shooting death of TerenceCrutcher, sponsored by We the People Oklahoma. — AP


BERLIN: A 16-year-old Syrian refugee hasbeen arrested in Germany on suspicion ofplanning a bomb attack in the name of theIslamic State jihadist group, officials saidyesterday.

The youngster, thought to have beenradicalized only recently, was detained in aspecial forces operation late Tuesday at ashelter for asylum-seekers in the westerncity of Cologne, police and prosecutorssaid. Initial information gathered from theteenager’s mobile phone showed that hehad expressed an “unmistakeable willing-

ness” to carry out an attack, Klaus-StephanBecker of the Cologne police toldreporters.

Investigators had found a series ofonline chat messages that contained“concrete instructions for building explo-sive devices” as well as tips on how tocause maximum damage, added localprosecutor Ulf Willuhn at the same newsconference. It was not immediately clearhow far the plans for an attack had pro-gressed, he said. According to an earlierstatement by police and prosecutors, con-

versations found on the teenager’s phonehad indicated he was in touch with a per-son abroad who had ties to IS and “want-ed to recruit the young Syrian for Islamistactivities”.

German security authorities describedthe suspect as a “serious threat” and haveassigned a 35-strong team of investiga-tors to the case. The youngster is under-stood to have arrived in Germany with hisfamily last year. He had already beenbrought to the attention of police twicebefore, after fellow residents and employ-

ees at his asylum-seekers’ shelter voicedconcerns that he had been radicalized.But police said there was not enoughinformation to take action.

It was only after a mosque expressedsimilar suspicions that police were able toarrest him, Becker said. The case comes aweek after German police detained threemen with forged Syrian passports accusedof being IS militants and labelled a possi-ble “sleeper cell” with links to the assailantsbehind the November attacks in Paris.

Germany is on edge after suffering two

attacks claimed by IS in July-an axe ram-page on a train in Wuerzburg that injuredfive and a suicide bombing in Ansbachthat left 15 wounded. Both were carriedout by asylum seekers.

The attacks rattled Germans’ sense ofsecurity and fuelled concerns over thecountry’s record influx of migrants andrefugees last year. German police say theyhave identified 523 people who pose asecurity threat to the country, around halfof whom are known to be currently inGermany. —AFP

Germany arrests Syrian teen suspected of planning bomb attack

BERLIN: Growing xenophobia and rightwingextremism could threaten peace in easternGermany, the government warned yesterday,voicing fears over the impact of a series of attackson refugees in the region.

In a report urging mainstream society to take astronger stand against anti-migrant action, ithighlighted a worrying trend-that in manydemonstrations against asylum seekers, the linebetween popular protest and far-right agitationwas becoming blurred. “Rightwing extremism inall forms poses a very serious threat to the socie-tal and economic development” of easternGermany, said Iris Gleicke, who is the govern-ment’s point person for national unity.

“Determined action from the government,the states, communes and civil societies is nec-essary to ensure peace in eastern Germany,” shetold reporters as she presented the latestreport examining progress since German reuni-fication in 1990.

The annual report had in previous years beenlargely focused on industrial regeneration forthe region, which has lagged behind the westeconomically, and experienced a wave ofdepopulation as mostly younger people left forthe west for jobs. But rising xenophobia hasemerged as a key concern this year, as angerover the arrival of around a million asylum seek-ers in Germany in 2015 is running high in manyeastern states such as Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt

and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.It has also fuelled a surge in support for the

rightwing populist AfD party, which has run ananti-migrant and Islamophobic campaign.Eastern states have been required to take in rela-tively few new arrivals compared to westernstates, under a quota system calculated by thesize of the state’s population and income.

Society must speak out But arson attacks on accommodation for asy-

lum seekers and assaults on refugees have shotup dramatically in the region, Gleicke said. “I amdisturbed by this rising far-right and xenophobicviolence. It is more than an alarm bell if theattacks and violence are backed by or quietlyaccepted by mainstream society,” she said, notingthat the incidents had sparked global outrage.

Former communist eastern Germany has beenthe scene of several ugly incidents in which far-right extremists have targeted asylum seekers.Clashes broke out last week between dozens ofasylum seekers and far-right extremists in theeastern city of Bautzen, forcing police to call inreinforcements to quell the violence.

In February, a cheering crowd was seen out-side a burning asylum shelter in the same town,clapping and shouting: “Good, that’s up in flames.”That same weekend, a video emerged of far-rightthugs intimidating refugees including crying chil-dren-and preventing them from getting off a bus

to enter another shelter in the eastern town ofClausnitz. Gleicke insisted it was not only up tochurches or politicians to take a stand againstsuch violence. “Mainstream society must also doits part. It’s definitely uncomfortable. I know whatit is to have to fight against neo-Nazis. But Iexpect companies, too, to give greater support tocivil society on this front,” she said.

An economic toll Beyond the potential toll at home, the poi-

soned atmosphere also risks tarnishing theregion’s reputation abroad, hurting prospects notjust for tourism but also for investment. Gleickesaid that on recent trips to the United States andJapan where she sought to promote easternGermany as a location for business start-ups, shewas asked: “What is the situation when an engi-neer, who is of color, wants to come?” “It ’sextremely clear that a place that is not open tothe world or which is not open to immigrationwill be disadvantaged economically,” she warned.

Germany’s top economists echoed the con-cerns. Marcel Fratzscher, who heads GermanInstitute for Economic Research (DIW), toldHandelsblatt business daily that the lurchtowards the far-right could drive away compa-nies or highly-qualified workers from the region.“The increasing radicalization and intolerancewill severely weaken parts of eastern Germany’seconomy,” he said. —AFP

DRESDEN, SAXONY, GERMANY: This file photo taken on April 18, 2016 shows supporters of the PEGIDA movement (PatrioticEuropeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) holding a poster reading ‘Immigration quota- yes or no- by referendum’during a rally. —AFP

Xenophobia ‘a threat’ to peace

in eastern Germany: Berlin

Society must speak out

UNITED NATIONS: The landmark Parisagreement on climate change moved closerto reality yesterday after 31 countries joinedduring the United Nations GeneralAssembly.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonvoiced confidence that the accord, throughwhich countries commit to take action tostem the planet’s rising temperatures, wouldcome into force by the end of the year. “Themomentum is remarkable,” said the outgo-ing UN chief, who convened a meeting onthe Paris accord during the annual UN gath-ering of leaders. “When the Paris agreemententers into force this year, it will be a majorstep forward on our journey for a moresecure, more equitable and more prosper-ous future,” Ban said.

The countries that joined the accord onyesterday included Latin American power-houses Argentina, Brazil and Mexico as wellas major fossil fuel powers Brunei and theUnited Arab Emirates.

To come into force, the Paris agreementneeds ratification from 55 countries thataccount for at least 55 percent of the plan-et’s greenhouse gas emissions responsiblefor climate change. With Wednesday’s event,in which leaders ceremonially ratified theaccord, a total of 60 countries have joinedthe Paris accord but they account for lessthan 48 percent of global emissions.

Calls for more ambition The accord requires all countries to

devise plans to achieve the goal of keepingthe rise of temperatures within two degreesCelsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industriallevels. But Edgar Gutierrez, the environmentand energy minister of Costa Rica, said thatthe level was not ambitious enough in lightof evidence of worse-than-feared climatechange, with last month yet again setting arecord for the hottest month ever.

Gutierrez called for countries to aim for1.5 Celsius and warned that even a one-yeardelay in implementing the Paris accordcould be too late for the planet. “Climatechange is already dangerous, it has alreadyexceeded the capacity of many countries to

adapt to it, we have already lost lives, we arelosing species and we have lost lands andbuildings,” said Gutierrez, speaking on behalfof a troika of climate-vulnerable nationsincluding Ethiopia and the Philippines.

Mattlan Zackhras, a senior official fromthe Marshall Islands, warned that despitepledges under the Paris accord the planetstill looked on track for a rise of threedegrees. “This will wipe out my country andmany island-states in the Pacific,” he toldreporters.

Europe set to seal accord Ban’s office said that 14 other countries

accounting for 12.58 percent of emissionshad signaled they would ratify the accordthis year, meaning the agreement is virtuallycertain to come into force, barring a wide-spread change of heart.

The European Union will enter the agree-ment “in the next weeks,” Miguel AriasCanete, the 28-member bloc’s commissionerfor climate action and energy, told reporters.

Adriano Campolina, chief executive ofthe charity ActionAid, was puzzled why theEuropean Union-the champions of the earli-er Kyoto Protocol-had not moved earlier. “Inorder to reclaim its role as a true climateleader it must take early action, before 2020,to ensure that keeping the world below 1.5degree warming is not an elusive dream,” hesaid.

China and the United States, the twolargest emitters, gave a major boost to theaccord when they signed on during a sum-mit earlier this month between Presidents XiJinping and Barack Obama.

French Environment Minister SegoleneRoyal, who heads the body behind the Parisaccord, told AFP earlier in the week that shehoped it would come into force before thenext UN climate meeting on November 7 inMarrakesh, Morocco.

That conference opens one day beforethe presidential election in the UnitedStates, in which Republican candidateDonald Trump has dismissed mainstreamscience on climate change and vowed totear up the Paris accord if elected. —AFP

Paris climate accord

closer after UN meeting

UN HEADQUARTERS: United States Secretary of State John Kerry speaksduring a ceremony to mark more signatories to the Paris climate accordsyesterday. —AFP

PARIS: A European law and humanrights commission yesterday criticizedproposed constitutional changes inA zerbai jan that would ex tend thepresident ’s term, a conclusion thatdrew an angry response from the ex-Soviet nation.

The Venice Commission, a watchdogbody of constitutional law experts basedin France, released a preliminary reportsaying that extending the presidentialmandate “cannot be justified” and thatother proposed legal changes wouldupset the balance of powers.

The commission expressed concernabout a measure limiting public gather-ings and said a measure giving the presi-dent power to dissolve parliament wouldweaken political dissent. Azerbaijan is tohold a referendum Monday on thechanges. Hundreds of demonstratorsgathered in the capital of AzerbaijanSaturday to protest against them.

Some critics characterize the oil-richCaspian Sea nation as effectively adynasty as President Ilham Aliyev is theson of the previous president and see theproposed measures as a mechanism forextending his rule.

The Venice Commission experts arepart of the Council of Europe, a rightsauthority whose 47 members - includ-ing Azerbaijan - have signed theEuropean Convention on Human

Rights. The commission also com-plained that Azerbaijan rushed thesereforms through without enough par-liamentary and public debate, and saidit regrets that Azerbaijan didn’t consultthe commission.

Shahin Aliyev, the head of the legaldepartment in Azerbaijan’s presidentialadministration, shrugged off the VeniceCommission’s criticism as hasty andunfounded. “We are seeing that hastyconclusion, which has many flaws, aspolitically driven,” he said at a briefing inthe capital Baku. “They speak to us in alanguage of ultimatums.”

The presidential aide voiced surprisethat the commission hadn’t askedAzerbaijan for any explanation or clarifi-cation before issuing its verdict. Herebuffed the criticism and argued thatthe proposed constitutional changes areintended to streamline the governmentstructure in order to help conduct politi-cal and economic reforms.

Aliyev, in office since succeeding hisfather in 2003, has firmly allied the ShiaMuslim nation with the West, helpingsecure its energy and security interestsand offset Russia’s influence in the strate-gic Caspian region. At the same time, hisgovernment has long faced criticism inthe West for showing little tolerance fordissent and holding elections that fallbelow democratic standards. —AP

European human rights group

warns on Azerbaijan constitution

MARIANOSZTRA, Hungary:Hungarian prison inmates are rampingup their production of razor wire, work-ing around the clock as Hungary pre-pares to build a second fence on theborder with Serbia to keep out refugeesand other migrants.

The razor wire manufacturing at theprison in Marianosztra, northernHungary, has increased from two shiftsearlier this year, to three. Besides itsdomestic use, Hungary has also sold ordonated fence elements, includingwire and steel posts, to other countriesin the region, including Slovenia andMacedonia.

“The inmates are manufacturingrazor wire in three shifts a day, with 13inmates in each shift producing thewire,” Lt. Tamas Szep, the prison’s pressofficer, said Wednesday. “The capacityof the plant is around 100 wire spoolsper day, which is heavily influenced bythe fact that most of the work is doneby hand.”

Human rightsHuman rights organizations consid-

er Hungary’s fences erected last year asthe first step in efforts by PrimeMinister Viktor Orban’s government todismantle the country’s asylum system.

Hungary’s Helsinki Committee saysthe fence, the closure of asylum centersand other measures are destroying theasylum system. “The asylum system,over the past year, has been basicallyemptied of its capacity to provide pro-

tection,” said Helsinki Committee co-chair Marta Pardavi. “There is a clearpolicy of zero migration, of zerorefugees coming to Hungary.”

Other steps taken by Hungary inrecent months to destroy its asylumsystem include the closure of refugeereception centers, the elimination orreduction of subsidies to assist theintegration of people granted asy-lum, the deterioration of legal safe-guards for refuges and new measureswhich allow the summary returnacross the fence of migrants caughtnear the border.

While the fence could serve legiti-

mate defense needs, criticism of thebarrier is exacerbated by the very smallnumber of refugees - up to 15 per day- who are allowed to file asylum claimsat a couple of makeshift “transit zones”set up by Hungary on the Serbian bor-der. Hundreds have been waiting,sometimes for months, in deplorableconditions. “Hungary is closing its terri-tory with a fence with the aim of keep-ing out of the European Union thosewho need protection from terror, per-secution and torture,” said GaborGyulai, director of the HelsinkiCommittee’s refugee program. “A func-tioning asylum system has been will-

ingly destroyed by the government forpolitical reasons.”

Orban’s anti-migrant policies havebeen building toward a referendum tobe held Oct. 2 in which the prime min-ister hopes to gather political supportfor his opposition to any future EUplan to resettle migrants among itsmember states.

Separately, Hungary is also chal-lenging the EU in court, hoping to pre-vent having to temporarily take in1,294 refugees until their asylumclaims are decided.

The government’s relentless refer-endum campaign includes a ubiqui-tous galaxy of anti-migrant posters,television ads, multiple daily state-ments and forums held by govern-ment officials and from Orban’s Fideszparty, as well as a pamphlet distrib-uted to voters warning about thealleged risks of migration.

One of the claims is that there arehundreds of “no-go” zones which“authorities are incapable of keepingunder control” in cities of countrieswith large numbers of immigrants likeBritain, France, Germany, Sweden andDenmark. According to the pamphlet,“the written and unwritten norms ofthe host societies do not apply” inthose areas.

In its own way, the Hungarian gov-ernment has already achieved its goal,as many of the few hundred refugees ayear granted asylum in the countryprefer to leave. —AP

Hungarian inmates working

around the clock on border fence

Hungarian soldiers, front, and police officers patrol the transitzone at Hungary’s southern border with Serbia near Tompa,169 km southeast of Budapest, Hungary yesterday. —AP

HONG KONG: Leaders of Hong Kong’s “Umbrella Revolution” Alex Chow (L), newly elected lawmaker Nathan Law (C) and Joshua Wong (R) shoutslogans as they arrive at the Eastern Court in Hong Kong yesterday — AFP


TAIPEI: Taiwan’s defense ministry said yesterday it isasking Google to blur satellite images showingwhat experts say appear to be new military installa-tions on Itu Aba, Taipei’s sole holding in the disput-ed South China Sea.

The revelation of new military-related construc-tion could raise tensions in the contested water-way, where China’s building of airstrips and otherfacilities has worried other claimants and theUnited States.

The images seen on Google Earth show fourthree-pronged structures sitting in a semi-circlejust off the northwestern shoreline of Itu Aba,

across from an upgraded airstrip and recently con-structed port that can dock 3,000-ton frigates.“Under the pre-condition of protecting militarysecrets and security, we have requested Googleblur images of important military facilities,” TaiwanDefense Ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi saidon Wednesday, after local media published theimages on Itu Aba.

The United States has urged against the milita-rization of the South China Sea, following the rapidland reclamation by China on several disputedreefs through dredging, and building air fields andport facilities.

Taiwan’s defense ministry and coast guard,which directly oversees Itu Aba, said details aboutthe structures are confidential and have not com-mented on their nature. Google, a unit of AlphabetInc, did not immediately respond to requests forcomment on the request. Defense experts in Taiwansaid that based on the imagery of the structuresand their semi-circular layout, the structures werelikely related to defense and could be part of anartillery foundation. “I think definitely it will be formilitary purposes, but I cannot tell if it is for defend-ing, attacking or monitoring,” said Dustin Wang, ascholar and a former government advisor who has

regularly visited Itu Aba.Wang said given the structures’ location which

faces the main seaborne traffic, they may relate tosurveillance. China, Taiwan, the Philippines,Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts or all ofthe South China Sea, through which trillions of dol-lars in trade passes.

In July, an international court ruled against Chinain a case brought by the Philippines that rejectedChina’s claim to a vast swathes of the disputed mar-itime area. Both China and Taiwan, which Chinaviews as a renegade province, vehemently rejectedthe court ruling. — Reuters

HONG KONG: Three young Hong Kong activistswho led the city’s massive “Umbrella Revolution”pro-democracy protests walked free from courtyesterday after a renewed bid by prosecutors tojail them.

It comes as tensions remain high in the semi-autonomous city with fears growing that Chinais tightening its grip, sparking a growing inde-pendence movement.

Nathan Law, 23, who was recently voted in asthe city’s youngest lawmaker and wants self-determination for Hong Kong, was one of thetrio in court and slammed yesterday’s hearing asa political move. “The Department of Justice andthe government are basically hunting those(who took part in) civil disobedience and thosewho uphold democratic values,” he toldreporters.

Law, Joshua Wong and Alex Chow were allconvicted in August for taking part in, or incitingothers to take part in, a protest that led up to themajor pro-democracy demonstrations of 2014

calling for fully free elections of the city’s leader.

Expressing their viewsThey were given community service or sus-

pended sentences after the magistrate said shebelieved they had been “genuinely expressingtheir views” during the protest, which saw stu-dents climb over a fence into the Hong Konggovernment complex.

But prosecutors sought a sentence review incourt Wednesday, asking for jail terms for thethree. They argued the protest they led waslarge-scale and that the defendants had notshown genuine remorse.

Magistrate June Cheung, who also handeddown the original verdict and sentencing, dis-missed the review case. “During sentencing, Ialready took into account carefully the serious-ness of the case, thus imposing community serv-ice as well as a suspended sentence-which canlegally replace jail terms-to the three, who arefirst offenders,” Cheung said.

It is not clear whether prosecutors will try toappeal further. Law said prosecutors must havecome under “huge political pressure” to bringthe review. Chow, 25, said it had been brought“to suppress those who oppose the governmentand ask for universal suffrage through the legalsystem”. Wong, 19, who became the face of theUmbrella Movement, urged supporters to con-tinue civil disobedience as a way to campaignfor freedoms and rights.

Hong Kong has been governed under a “onecountry, two systems” deal since it was handedback by Britain to China in 1997. The agreementis designed to protect Hong Kong’s freedoms for50 years, but there are concerns those libertiesare already being eroded.

Law and Wong have together set up a newpolitical party calling for Hong Kongers to have achoice over their sovereignty when the han-dover deal expires in 2047. Wong is still tooyoung to stand for parliament as the minimumage for candidates is 21. — AFP

GENEVA: A UN expert is calling on theworld community to do more to helpNorth Korea cope with fallout from dead-ly Typhoon Lionrock and says officials inthe reclusive country should allow accessto those in need.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN specialreporter on human rights in North Korea,pointed to UN estimates that more than140,000 people require assistance afterthe typhoon that killed at least 138 peo-

ple in the northeastern part of the coun-try. The UN human rights office said in astatement Wednesday that OjeaQuintana called on the internationalcommunity to “increase support for on-going humanitarian efforts on theground,” citing national reconstructionefforts underway. He noted that sanc-tions imposed by the United NationsSecurity Council exclude humanitarianassistance, the statement said. — AP

DAVAO, PHILIPPINES: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) speaks while peaceadviser Jesus Dureza looks on during the courtesy call of freed Norwegian nation-al Kjartan Sekkingstad on September 18, 2016 — -AFP

UN expert urges more aid for

North Korea after typhoon

Hong Kong protest leaders

avoid jail after failed court bid‘Umbrella Revolution’

UNITED NATIONS: North Korea’s repeated flout-ing of UN Security Council resolutions by con-ducting nuclear and missile tests calls into ques-tion its suitability for membership of the worldbody, South Korea’s top diplomat has told TheAssociated Press.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se stopped shortof calling for Pyongyang’s expulsion from the UNbut said its authoritarian government was violat-ing the terms under which both the Koreas hadbeen admitted 25 years ago. He said the Northhad “broken records” in its violation of globalnorms: It is the only nation to have conductednuclear tests in the 21st century and is alreadysubject to five Security Council resolutions overits weapons testing.

“I think all members of the UN have to askthemselves whether North Korea is really quali-fied as a member of the UN,” Yun said in an inter-view late Tuesday said on the sidelines of theannual gathering of world leaders at its head-quarters in New York.

Loopholes Calling North Korea a “serial offender,” he said

the Security Council, the UN’s top decision-mak-ing body, needs to close loopholes in existingsanctions and impose tough new measures inresponse to the North’s fifth and most recentatomic test. He said that the “Hiroshima-sizedexplosion” Sept. 9 made clear that Pyongyangposes an “existential threat” to its US-allied south-ern neighbor and a growing menace to the world.

“This latest test is a very sobering reminder(that) the danger and the threat from North Koreais now reaching a very, very dangerous stage. Formany years we have been talking about thedevelopment of North Korea’s nuclear weaponsand missiles, and now we may be reaching astage where we have to worry about the deploy-ment of nuclear-tipped missiles,” Yun said.

“If that day comes, that’s not just a threat toSouth Koreans or to Japanese, it’s a threat to theUnited States and almost all members of theinternational community,” Yun said. He describedthe ongoing negotiations over a new SecurityCouncil resolution as a “last chance ... to check thisfanatic behavior” of young leader Kim Jong Un.

In a fresh sign of defiance, Kim oversaw aground test of a new rocket engine and ordereda satellite launch preparation, North Koreanstate media said Tuesday, an indication thecountry might soon conduct a prohibited long-range rocket launch - possibly to coincide with

the 71st founding anniversary of the rulingWorkers’ Party which falls Oct. 10. Commercialsatellite imagery confirmed activity consistentwith preparations for such an engine test.

The United Nations and others view theNorth’s space launch development project as acover for tests of missile technology, as ballisticmissiles and rockets in satellite launches sharesimilar bodies, engines and other technology.The North has conducted more than 20 launch-es of various types of missile this year. Yun alsovoiced concern that the North was acceleratingits accumulation of fissile material with a view tomass producing nuclear bombs.

North Korea has said it needs nuclear weaponsand missiles to cope with US military threats.About 28,500 US troops are stationed in SouthKorea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War whichended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Yun dismissed repeated North Korean calls forthe US and South Korea to scrap annual militaryexercises, which it describes as a preparation forinvasion. Some experts argue that could providea diplomatic opening. Aid-for-disarmament talkshave been stalled since 2008, and Washingtonsays they can restart only if the North recommitsto denuclearization. Yun said the North uses itsargument over military exercises as an excuse asit pursues weapons development.

“We should not play their game,” he said.Yun welcomed a meeting Monday between

President Barack Obama and Premier Li Keqiangof China - the North’s main trading partner andtraditional ally, in which both countries con-demned the recent nuclear test and pledgedcloser coordination on addressing the nuclearthreat from Pyongyang.

China is critical not only for enforcement ofsanctions but agreeing to tougher measures, asit is a veto-wielding member of the SecurityCouncil. — AP

South Korea questions ‘serial

offender’ N Korea’s UN membership

WELLINGTON: New Zealand will go aheadwith its first extradition of a resident toChina, New Zealand’s justice minister saidyesterday, after reconsidering its positionat the behest of the High Court and main-taining the man should be sent to China.

New Zealand agreed in December toextradite South Korean Kyung Yup Kim,who is a New Zealand resident, to China toface charges for the murder of a woman inShanghai. The High Court later ordered thegovernment to reconsider its decisionbecause of concern Kim might not be pro-tected from ill-treatment and given theright to silence before a trial.

Justice Minister Amy Adams said via anemail from her spokesman that she hadconsidered the High Court’s ruling and haddecided that Kim should be surrendered toChina. Kim denies the murder charge,according to court documents, and hislawyer, Tony Ellis, told the High Court thisweek that Kim intended to keep fightingthe case up to the Supreme Court.

The drawn-out case and the possibilityof more court reviews has highlighted thehurdles China faces as it seeks to drum upinternational cooperation in a campaign to

track down corruption suspects who havefled overseas.

That was further underscored onTuesday when Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau sidestepped questions onextraditions to China, saying Canada wouldstick to high standards when decidingwhether to return Chinese citizens.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman LuKang told a daily briefing on Wednesdaythat Kim’s extradition “serves the commoninterests of China, New Zealand and othercountries that cooperate with China in thisway”. “We hope and are confident that onthe basis of mutual respect we will contin-ue to cooperate in the administration andenforcement of the law,” Kang said.

China has pushed for an extraditiontreaty with New Zealand since 2014. InApril, on a visit to Beijing, Prime MinisterJohn Key said an extradition treaty was“possible”, as long as people did not facetorture or the death penalty.

The High Court also ruled onWednesday that Kim, who has spent thepast five years in an Auckland prison whilethe extradition proceedings went on,should be allowed out on bail. —Reuters

New Zealand again gives approval

for first extradition to China

UN HEADQUARTERS: South Korea’s ForeignMinister Yun Byung-se listens during theLeader’s Summit on Refugees at the 71st ses-sion of the General Assembly, Tuesday Sept.20, 2016. — AP

Taiwan asks Google to blur images showing new S China Sea facilities

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte’sdeadly war on crime is threatening thePhilippines’ economy and endangeringits democratic institutions, internationalcredit rating agency Standard andPoor’s warned yesterday.

S&P maintained its stable outlook forthe Philippines, but highlighted a rangeof “weaknesses” under the new Duterteadministration that also included hisforeign policy and national securitystatements. “The president has a strongfocus on improving ‘law and order’,which has allegedly resulted in numer-ous extrajudicial killings since he cameto power,” S&P said. “This could under-mine respect for the rule of law andhuman rights through the direct chal-lenges it presents to the legitimacy ofthe judiciary, media and other demo-cratic institutions. “When combinedwith the president’s policy pronounce-ments elsewhere on foreign policy andnational security, we believe that thestability and predictability of policy-making has diminished somewhat.”

Duterte won elections in a landslidein May after vowing an unprecedentedcrackdown on illegal drugs in which100,000 people would die. About 3,000people have been killed since he tookoffice on June 30. About a third of thevictims were shot dead by police andthe rest murdered by unidentifiedattackers, according to official statistics.

Duterte, 71, has vowed to ignore awave of international condemnationover the killing spree, with US PresidentBarack Obama, the EuropeanParliament and the United Nationsamong the many critics. He has typically

used abusive language in responding tothe criticism, branding Obama a “son ofa whore” and UN chief Ban Ki-moon a“fool”, and lifting his middle finger whilesaying “fuck you” to the EuropeanParliament.

Duterte has also sought to loosenthe Philippines’ decades-old alliancewith the United States, such as by say-ing he wanted to kick out US troopswho are in the country for anti-terror-ism efforts, while courting Chineseinvestment.

Nevertheless, the charismatic 71-year-old remains wildly popular asmany Filipinos embrace his promise of aquick solution to the deep-rooted crimeproblem. The Philippines enjoyedstrong economic growth during theprevious administration of BenignoAquino, who was required by the con-stitution to stand down after a singlesix-year term.

S&P, as well as competitors Moody’sand Fitch rating agencies, in 2013 allraised the Philippines to investment-grade level for the first time, indicatinga lower risk to investors.

In maintaining the stable outlook,S&P said Wednesday it believed theDuterte administration would “broadlycontinue” the Aquino administration’smacro-economic policies. But it high-lighted “rising uncertainties surroundingthe stability, predictability and account-ability” under Duterte’s leadership.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguezwelcomed the decision to maintain thestable outlook, saying it affirmed thenew government was on the rightpath. — AFP

Philippines’ crime war

a risk for economy

N E W STHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Continued from Page 1

“We coordinate with crisis-hit countries directly orthrough the UN aid agencies to organize and hostdonor conferences. The total volume of donations con-tributed by Kuwait to the refugee-oriented aid programover the last five years hit $5 billion, including $300 mil-lion committed at the Supporting Syria Conference(held in London in early Feb 2016). This funding helpedfinance educational and healthcare programs for childrefugees in refugee hosting countries,” he said, notingthat the Kuwait allocated $5 million of the donations toUNRWA’s educational programs.

“Besides, Kuwait donated $167 million to Kuwaiti andUN aid agencies to finance health and educational pro-grams for Iraqi refugees and internally-displaced per-sons. Kuwait’s response to the humanitarian needs of

our brothers in Syria exceeded the material assistancewith the hosting of more than 130,000 Syrian refugeessince the outbreak of the crisis. This figure, representingnearly 10 percent of the total population of Kuwaitis at1.3 million people, enabled family reunions betweenthe Syrian refugees and their family members residingin Kuwait,” HH the Amir said.

“Kuwait will continue this approach to alleviating thesuffering of the brotherly people of Syria. It doubled itsannual voluntary contributions to UN aid agencies, thusdominating the first place in terms of the ratio of aid toGDP,” the Amir vowed. “I’d like to reaffirm my country’scommitment to continue its humanitarian obligationsand galvanize the global response to humanitarian dis-asters,” he stressed. Concluding, Sheikh Sabah wishedthe summit success in reaching its targets and increas-ing funding for humanitarian appeals.— KUNA

Amir highlights Kuwait’s efforts to help...


acts in all their forms and manifestations, as well as itstotal rejection of all acts of violence and extremism, that donot only contravene international laws and norms, but alsothe teachings of the true religion of Islam, and all other divinereligions, in addition to cultural and human values,” he said.

Sheikh Jaber said terrorism was thriving in conflict zonesbecause of failure to solve these conflicts. “It is therefore,incumbent upon us to recognize that combating this odiousphenomenon is an international responsibility, and no onecountry by itself, no matter how much it tries, can confront oreliminate it,” he said. The prime minister noted that it wasmorally impermissible to link this phenomenon to anynationality, religion or civilization. As part of Kuwait’s effortsto fighting the menace of terrorism, noted his country con-tributed effectively to providing support to internationalefforts to combat IS in Iraq.

The PM reiterated Kuwait’s commitment to a UN-brokeredpolitical solution in Yemen in line with the GCC initiative andits implementation mechanism, UN resolution 2216 andnational dialogue outcome. “We reaffirm our support for thepolitical solution under the UN sponsorship and line with theoutcome of the national dialogue, the initiative of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC) and its implementation mecha-nism, and UN Security Council resolution 2216,” Sheikh Jabersaid.

He noted that Kuwait hosted UN-brokered talks amongthe Yemeni parties between April and August this year withthe aim of restoring security and stability in Yemen. Kuwait’shosting of the talks, said Sheikh Jaber, was out of keenness inthe independence, sovereignty and territorial unity of Yemento ultimately reach a political solution.

The PM strongly condemned the intentional targeting ofpopulated areas, civil and medical facilities, as well as indis-criminate bombardment and dropping of barrel bombs onthe Syrian people. Sheikh Jaber said Kuwait also demandedall those responsible for war crimes and crimes againsthumanity be brought to international justice. “We follow withconcern the continuing crisis, with worsening conditions allover the country,” he said, noting the deteriorating humani-tarian situation led to displacement of 13 million Syrians,inside and outside the country, making the Syrian people thelargest refugee community in the world.

HH Sheikh Jaber said Kuwait rushed to help the needySyrian people and hosted three international donor confer-ences, where combined pledges exceeded $7 billion, ofwhich Kuwait contributed $1.3 billion. The bulk of the Kuwaiticontributions went to specialized UN agencies, inter-govern-mental and NGOs helping the Syrian people inside the coun-try or in refugee camps in other nations.

The PM also urged UN Security Council to keep pressureon Israel to solve the Palestinian cause, saying it would hostan international conference to highlight suffering ofPalestinian children. He said the international community’sinability to find a permanent and comprehensive solution tothe Middle East conflict was threatening peace and securityin the region more than ever.

Sheikh Jaber said this failure to address the Palestiniancause was coupled with oppressive practices of the Israelioccupation forces, and Israel’s consistent and unjustifiableuse of excessive force against the Palestinian people, in fla-grant violation of resolutions of international legitimacy, andthe Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. Israel was continuingits aggressive policies because it is “immune to any interna-tional accountability, except from any prosecution, and pro-tected from any criticism or condemnations by the interna-tional organizations,” said HH the Prime Minister.

He urged UNSC to live up to its responsibilities and keeppressure on Israel to compel it to implement relevant UN res-olutions in order to help the Palestinian people achieve theirlegitimate political rights and recognize their independentstate over the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its

capital, in line with Arab peace initiative and land-for-peaceprinciple. The Kuwaiti official also praised France’s initiativeand its effort to revive the Middle East peace process, hostingan international conference last June that reflected theFrench interest in launching the process, with a view to itsleading to a just and comprehensive solutions in the region.

Sheikh Jaber welcomed the decision of the presidentcouncil in Libya to form a government of national accord, animportant step towards the implementation of the Libyanpolitical agreements. Kuwait, he said, hoped this step wouldhelp the Libyan people overcome the present challenges inorder to preserve unity and independence of Libya.

Sheikh Jaber also said he looks forward to relations offriendship and cooperation with Iran with mutual respectand understanding. The premier emphasized in his speechthe importance of creating the appropriate conditions forany constructive dialogue to take place, in accordance withthe rules and norms of international law, relating to the prin-ciple of good neighborly relations, respect of sovereignty ofstates, and non-interference in their internal affairs.

Refraining from any practices that contravene internation-al conventions and norms that threaten the security and sta-bility of the region, Sheikh Jaber called for the need to endthe occupation of the three Emirati islands, and respondingto the endeavors of the sisterly United Arab Emirates, toresolve this question through direct negotiations or resortingto the International Court of Justice.

Sheikh Jaber Mubarak emphasized Kuwait’s commitmentto principles and purposes of UN Charter during its member-ship of the Security Council. He thanked all member states ofthe Asia-Pacific Group for their endorsement of Kuwait’s candi-dature to the seat in the Security Council for 2018-19. HisHighness the Prime Minister told the General Assembly thatKuwait looks forward to the support of all the member statesof the UN in the upcoming elections that would be held inJune next year. He said Kuwait will contribute to finding solu-tions by consensus to the various global challenges, for themaintenance of international peace and security by peacefulways and means. Kuwait occupied a UN seat previously in1978-79.

Sheikh Jaber said Kuwait has attained a prestigious posi-tion among donors of humanitarian assistance, as a result ofits initiatives and continued response to appeals launched byUN for alleviating suffering of affected peoples and countries.He said that since Kuwait’s independence in 1961, it has setfor itself a consistent approach, to stand by Developing andLeast Developed Countries.

This comes from its firm belief in the need to assist coun-tries afflicted by natural disasters, and to lend a helping handto those suffering from the scourges of war, in a manner thatwould ensure the enhancement of its relations with thecountries and peoples of the world, he said. HH Sheikh Jaberaffirmed that Kuwait is also eager to reach a world whereinjustice and equality would prevail in support of human val-ues, and wherein the “haves” would give the deserving “havenots” without conditions.

According to UN statistics for 2015, Kuwait has held the firstplace in providing humanitarian assistance as a ratio of itsgross domestic income. Sheikh Jaber told the GeneralAssembly that “while Kuwait takes pride in such recognition,the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development continues its pio-neering role of providing soft loans and grants to fund devel-opment programs that have benefitted 105 countries in vari-ous parts of the world, which amounted to almost $20 billion.”

In this connection, Kuwait welcomed the two historicagreements on climate change signed by Kuwait in April, andon the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The primeminister hoped that the agreements would lead to the real-ization of objectives and purposes, inclusive by their charac-ter. “We also pledge to exert all efforts in contributing effec-tively; within the framework of an international partnership,to fully implement the Sustainable Development Goals dur-ing the coming fourteen years,” he added. — KUNA

PM: Kuwait rejects all forms of terror


Shortly after the truce ended, a UN aid convoy washit in an air strike that US officials have blamed onRussia. Yesterday, heavy bombardment pummeledAleppo city and the wider province, key battlegroundsin Syria’s conflict, and a raid hit a medical team lateTuesday.

Addressing the council, US Secretary of State JohnKerry demanded that Russia force Syrian PresidentBashar Al-Assad to ground its air force, blamed for tar-geting hospitals and barrel-bombing civilians. “I believethat to restore credibility to the process we must moveforward to try to immediately ground all aircraft flyingin those key areas in order to de-escalate the situationand to give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flowunimpeded,” Kerry said.

An impassioned Kerry faced off with Russia’s ForeignMinister Sergei Lavrov in an unusually heated televisedshowdown, saying the bombing of the aid convoy inSyria raised “profound doubt whether Russia and theAssad regime can or will live up to” ceasefire obliga-tions. Listening to Lavrov made him feel like he was liv-ing in a “parallel universe”, Kerry said.

Moscow denies that Russian or Syrian planes carriedout the strike on Monday on the aid convoy that killed 20people, and a military spokesman said a coalition dronewas in the area when it was destroyed. Ban told the coun-cil he was looking at “options for vigorously investigating”the attack. Lavrov told the council that there would be“no more unilateral pauses” by Assad’s governmentforces, arguing that opposition fighters on the groundhad used those ceasefires in the past to re-group.

The Russian foreign minister insisted that all sidesmust rein in rebel groups on the ground to ensure theycomply with the ceasefire and said a list of terror groupsnot covered by the truce should be reviewed. Only theIslamic State and the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front arenot covered by the ceasefire, but Russia, Syria’s ally, haslong argued that other groups are fighting alongsidethose jihadists. “If we can agree on this kind of compre-hensive approach, an integrated multi-faced approach,the chances of a cessation of hostilities surviving andbeing successful will be better,” Lavrov said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human

Rights said dozens of raids hit the city’s east overnight,as regime troops advanced on rebels in Aleppo’s south-western outskirts. At least 11 civilians, including twochildren, were killed, the highest single-day toll sincethe truce collapsed this week, said the Observatory. TheUnion of Syrian Medical Relief Organisations (UOSSM)said two of its ambulances were hit in Khan Tuman, avillage south of Aleppo city, as workers evacuated vic-tims from a previous strike. Two nurses and two ambu-lance drivers were killed and another nurse was critical-ly wounded.

It was a sleepless night for many Aleppo residents,AFP’s correspondent in the city said yesterday, withbombardment continuing until rain broke out over thecity at dawn. Civil defense workers in the Qadi Askarneighborhood weaved through rubble in search ofwounded residents in a row of buildings hit by airstrikes Wednesday. In the rebel-held neighborhood ofSukkari, Abu Ahmad cleared rubble and shattered glassfrom his doorstep after bombardment levelled the six-story building next door, killing his neighbors. He hadtea with the two brothers who lived in the building latethe previous night. “Just an hour after I left, a missiledestroyed their whole building and they both diedunder the rubble,” Abu Ahmad said.

Syrian state media reported that the city’s govern-ment-held west had come under rebel shelling, whichkilled two people. The United States holds Russiaresponsible for the attack on the aid convoy, with a USofficial saying two Russian SU-24 ground attack jetswere operating in the area where it was struck. “Thebest evaluation we have is that the Russians carried outthe strike,” he added, speaking on condition ofanonymity.

The Russian foreign ministry said the “unsubstanti-ated, hasty accusations” seemed designed to “distractattention from the strange ‘error’ of coalition pilots”.Dozens of Syrian troops were killed in the strike onSaturday by the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State,an attack which Washington said was a mistake.Russia said the attack endangered a deal reached withWashington that provides for a ceasefire, humanitari-an aid deliveries and cooperation between Moscowand Washington in battling IS and other extremistgroups. — Agencies

Russia, US face off as Aleppo hit


A number of MPs have submitted a motion calling toconvene an emergency session of the Assembly to debatethe hike, but only 31 MPs signed the motion, two short ofthe required constitutional number necessary to force themeeting. MP Faisal Al-Kandari has said that he will file arequest to grill the finance minister over the hike and theminister has welcomed the grilling as an opportunity toexplain the benefits of the hike to the national economy.

Meanwhile, lawyer Adel Abdulhadi yesterday filed alawsuit asking the court to abolish the controversial DNAtest law that was passed by the National Assembly severalmonths ago and gives authorities the power to take DNA

information of all residents of Kuwait. The lawyer said thatthe law is in breach of the constitution and Islamic sharia.The court has not set a date to start hearing the argu-ments over the challenge.

Separately, MP Saleh Ashour yesterday sent a series ofquestions to Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs YaqoubAl-Sane about why stateless people or bedoons werebanned from travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform thehajj. Ashour asked if the ministry contacted the Saudiembassy in Kuwait to inquire about the reasons whybedoons were not issued the necessary visas for the pil-grimage. He also asked if the ministry asked the foreignministry to follow up the issue with the Saudi foreign min-istry to resolve the problem.

Court to rule on legality of gasoline hike

FUJAIRAH: An Emirati official takes a selfie as an oil tanker approaches the new jetty during the launch of the$650 million supertanker facility yesterday. The port enables the UAE to export most of the oil it ships from analternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to close in case of a major regional conflict. — AP

A N A L Y S I STHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

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AWashington Post editorial arguing for theprosecution of intelligence leaker EdwardSnowden has sparked an outcry in the

media community - including from some of thenewspaper’s own journalists. The weekend editori-al provoked a heated response, with some point-ing out the irony that the newspaper was callingfor criminal charges against a source who helpedit win a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for public servicereporting.

The editorial board “has no say on news, andjust showed why,” said a tweet from BartonGellman, the Post reporter who led the team thatshared the Pulitzer with The Guardian for therepor ting on global sur veil lance based onSnowden’s leaks of National Security Agency doc-uments. Gellman added that Snowden’s “disclo-sures served the public. WP journalists are proudof our role.”

Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics andlaw at the University of Minnesota, said thePost’s editorial view comes as a shock to themedia community even if there is a separation ofthe opinion and reporting units. “It does seem tome that any news organization that is going torely on a source and potentially imperil thatsource, really needs to stand by that source,”Kirtley told AFP. “I personally think Snowdenshould come back and face charges, but I didn’ttake Snowden’s leaks and put them all over mynewspaper.”

Kirtley noted that prosecuting sources forleaks should be troubling for the world of journal-ism. “It is my belief that going after sources forleaks using the Espionage Act is a prelude togoing after the journalists who receive that infor-mation,” she said. “It hasn’t happened yet, but it ispossible.” Washington Post media columnistMargaret Sullivan also broke with the editorialboard, calling for Snowden to be pardoned.“Snowden did an important - and brave - servicefor the American public,” Sullivan wrote in a col-umn Tuesday. “Without his decision to bring theinformation to journalists, it is very unlikely thatwe would know what we do about mass surveil-lance in the post-9/11 world.”

‘Ignominious Feat’ A more blunt response came from Glenn

Greenwald, a member of the Guardian team thatmet with Snowden and now an editor at theonline news site The Intercept. “The WashingtonPost has achieved an ignominious feat in USmedia history: The first-ever paper to explicitlyeditorialize for the criminal prosecution of its ownsource - one on whose back the paper won andeagerly accepted a Pulitzer Prize for PublicService,” Greenwald wrote.

The debate comes amid increasing calls for apardon for Snowden, who has been living inMoscow out of the reach of US law enforcement.The Post editorial argued that not only shouldSnowden not be pardoned, but that he shouldreturn to face charges and argue his defense“before a jury of his peers”. The editorial acknowl-edged that Snowden justifiably exposed violationsof law by the National Security Agency whichhelped lead to reforms. But it added that Snowdenalso “leaked details of basically defensible interna-tional intelligence operations” and “disrupted lawfulintelligence-gathering, causing possibly ‘tremen-dous damage’ to national security.”

But Fortune magazine media writer MatthewIngram said it was troubling to see the commentsfrom the Post, which has a tradition of investiga-tive journalism which dates back to leaks in theWatergate scandal and Pentagon Papers case.“Attacking and undermining the source thathelped the company win a Pulitzer Prize looks hyp-ocritical at best and craven at worst, and is almostcertain to make future Snowdens think twice oreven three times about going to the newspaperwith a leak or a classified tip,” Ingram wrote. —AFP

Issues

Wash Post takes heat for Snowden prosecution call

By Rob Lever

By Thomas Urbain

Everything about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt - fromtheir unparalleled glamor to their brood of six kids -made them stand out in Hollywood for a decade and

see their every move watched closely the world over.Contributing to this mega-star status was the way theymet, their good looks, offbeat lifestyle, demanding andsuccessful careers and humanitarian work. Indeed, the waythe couple formed is the stuff of legend in Hollywood - andany gossip press reporter’s dream come true.

In 2004, Jolie, then 28, met Pitt, 40 and married toJennifer Aniston, while filming “Mr & Mrs Smith”, an actionfilm in which they played a couple. Rumors quickly startedto fly and in March 2005, Pitt and Aniston divorced. Jolie,who won an Oscar in 2000 and was seen as one of show-biz ’s sexiest women, then teamed up with anotherHollywood giant in Pitt.

Weeks later, they appeared as a couple in an atmos-pheric photo shoot in the magazine W, in a throwbackseries evoking 1950s marital life - complete with five chil-dren. And the myth was born. On Tuesday it emerged thatJolie has filed for divorce from Pitt, spelling the end of a

couple that came to be known simply as “Brangelina”. Over the course of their joint stardom, Pitt and Jolie

maintained a carefully tended relationship with Hollywoodand the news media, feeding them as necessary but alsokeeping them at arm’s length. On one hand there was allthe red carpet glitz of the Oscars and such, and a fewblockbuster films and the occasional interview. But theyalso lived like wealthy nomads, far away from Hollywood,and dabbled in arthouse cinema. A good example of theirunique relationship with fame is this: the couple sold pho-tos of their three newborn biological children to severalpublications for a fortune. Then they donated the moneyto charity. They did the same thing when they finally mar-ried in 2014. They also have three adopted kids.

Off-Screen Work The couple’s aura only grew as they got involved in non-

acting projects, either individually or as a couple. Pitt wonan Oscar for best picture in 2014 as a producer of “12 YearsA Slave”. He also got into design and photography. Joliestarted directing movies, to relative critical acclaim. Herbest known film was “Unbroken”, which came out in 2014.The couple also made wine on a property in southern

France which they started renting in 2008 and finallybought in 2012.

Although they were known as “Brangelina”, it was Joliewho seemed to be in charge in this duo, one like few oth-ers in the world and with access to the highest spheres ofpower. Jolie also got involved in humanitarian work, whilePitt tended to be a bit more low profile. She acted as good-will ambassador and then special envoy for the UN refugeeagency, became an outspoken activist against sexual vio-lence in war zones and also worked to protect threatenedanimal species.

One of the world’s most visible symbols in the battleagainst cancer, she underwent a double mastectomy in2013 and later the removal of her ovaries and fallopiantubes to prevent an aggressive form of the disease thatkilled her mother, grandmother and aunt. Two years latershe signed an op-ed piece in The New York Times inwhich she discussed her ovarian surgery and urgedwomen to take preventive action against the disease asshe did, saying “knowledge is power”. And to the end, theimage of Jolie as leader of the couple remained: It wasshe, not Pitt, who filed for divorce and sought sole cus-tody of the kids. —AFP

‘Brangelina’: Hollywood couple like no other

By Frankie Taggart

Tattooed rebel, red carpet queen, good-will ambassador and anti-cancer warrior:Angelina Jolie is a silver screen beauty

with convictions to match, and a record of tak-ing tough decisions without looking back.After a decade in the Hollywood spotlight asone half of the “Brangelina” celebrity couple,the 41-year-old filed this week for divorce fromBrad Pitt, it emerged Tuesday. The split opens anew chapter for the thrice-married mother ofsix - whose rollercoaster life has taken her frommovie star glory to refugee camps in Africa, toa role as an outspoken champion of women’shealth.

Jolie was propelled to stardom with herrole in 1999’s “Girl, Interrupted,” taking home abest supporting actress Oscar for her portrayalof a rebellious woman in a mental institution.She went on to play everything from a fairytale villain (“Maleficent”) to a sexy video gameheroine (“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”) to the wid-ow of murdered American journalist DanielPearl (“A Mighty Heart”).

Jolie once flaunted a decidedly punk sensi-bility, scandalizing the public with declarationsof bisexuality and quirky behavior such aswearing a vial of actor BillyBob Thornton’s

blood around her neck during their 2000-2003marriage. Her relationship with Pitt becamethe stuff of speculation in 2004 after theywere seen looking cozy on the set of “Mr & MrsSmith.” Pitt announced his split from “Friends”star Jennifer Aniston the following year - and“Brangelina” was born.

The megastars married in France in Aug2014 after living together for several years, andhave six children together, three of whom areadopted. But Jolie is now better known for herhumanitarian work than her tabloid-readycomments. For several years she served as agoodwill ambassador for the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees. In 2012, shewas promoted to special envoy and has visitedrefugees around the world, from Syria to theDemocratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

Made an honorary dame by QueenElizabeth II, she has been a vocal advocate forvictims of sexual violence in war zones, co-hosting a global summit on conflict rape inLondon. Jolie is also one of the world’s mostvisible advocates in the battle against cancer,having undergone a double mastectomy andremoval of her ovaries and fallopian tubes toprevent an aggressive form of the disease thatkilled her mother, grandmother and aunt.

Decision to Go Public In both cases, Jolie publicized her surgeries,

triggering a global discussion about the prosand cons of the procedures as a preventative

measure. Jolie said she made the decisionto go public so that other women couldlearn from her story. It was with her chil-dren in mind that Jolie decided to under-go the surgeries. “I can tell my childrenthey don’t need to fear they will lose meto breast cancer,” the actress wrote in theTimes after her mastectomy in 2013. “Theyknow that I love them and will do any-thing to be with them as long as I can.”

Her father is Oscar winner Jon Voight,hailed as one of the finest actors of hisgeneration, who rose to fame after bravu-ra performances in now classic movies like“Midnight Cowboy”, “Deliverance” and theVietnam drama “Coming Home”, for whichhe won his Academy Award. Her motherwas an actress who appeared in US televi-sion series, but abandoned her film careerto raise her two children. On the other sideof the camera lens, Jolie made her directorialdebut in 2011 with “In the Land of Bloodand Honey,” an unflinching drama aboutrape as a weapon in wartime Bosnia, saying

she hoped to use cinema as a force for recon-ciliation. Jolie was married twice before, toactors Jonny Lee Miller and Thornton. —AFP

Jolie: Rebel beauty with toughness to match

By Veronique Dupont

From a screen debut as a bare-chested pret-ty boy to the Hollywood top table, with aname that can carry an indie flick or a block-

buster, Brad Pitt has come a long way. Pitt cameinto the public eye 25 years ago with a much-talked-about debut as eye-candy in the hit movie“Thelma and Louise” - and went on to become ahousehold name. A three-time Oscar nominee forhis acting - also twice named the “sexiest manalive” by People magazine - Pitt took home agolden statuette for best picture in 2014 as a pro-ducer of “12 Years A Slave”.

And as half of one of the world’s most famouscelebrity couples - known to fans simply as“Brangelina” - he was never far from the gossippages, up until Tuesday when it emerged thatAngelina Jolie had filed for divorce. The Hollywoodglory is all a far cry from Pitt’s early days. Born 52years ago in a middle-class family in Oklahoma,William Bradley Pitt studied journalism and adver-tising at the University of Missouri before followingthousands of young Americans and heading toHollywood. Pitt supported himself with a series ofpart-time jobs, including as a chauffeur, removalman and even dressing up in a chicken suit toadvertise a fast-food chain. But from 1987 the workstarted to trickle in, with bit parts in television

series “Dallas” and “21 Jump

Street” and a few low-budget movies. It was in“Thelma and Louise” (1991) that Pitt got his break,displaying his talent - and swoon-worthy body - asthe two-bit thief who seduces Geena Davis.Secondary roles followed in “Kalifornia” (1993) and“True Romance” (1994) and he finally made it as aheadliner later that year alongside Tom Cruise in“Interview with a Vampire,” and Anthony Hopkinsin “Legends of the Fall.”

If Pitt needed any further affirmation of his tal-ent, he got it with “Seven,” the acclaimed 1995thriller in which he played a policemen spunalong by a serial killer. The success continued thefollowing year as Terry Gilliam’s “Twelve Monkeys”saw Pitt nominated for an Oscar as best support-ing actor. The high from that accolade did not lastlong, however, being followed by two commer-cial flops in 1997, “Seven Years in Tibet” and “TheDevil’s Own” with Harrison Ford. The critics werealso less than impressed with his pairing withJulia Roberts in “The Mexican” and RobertRedford in “Spy Game,” both in 2001.

But the actor won a new legion of fans along-side Edward Norton in “Fight Club” (1999), and hitthe commercial big time two years later as part ofa star-studded cast led by George Clooney withthe remake of “Ocean’s Eleven.”

World’s Sexiest Stars Pitt’s position as a Hollywood golden boy was

now assured, and his commercial clout was onlystrengthened by his 2000 marriage to “Friends”star Jennifer Aniston, which made them one of

the hottest couples in the world. If the symbol-ism of his playing the unstoppable Achilles inWolfgang Petersen’s “Troy” (2004) was notclear enough, he starred in another box officesmash that year (“Ocean’s Twelve”) before2005’s “Mr and Mrs Smith.”

It was while filming the latter movie thatPitt encountered Jolie. The match-up of two

of the world’s sexiest stars was commercialdynamite but did little for his marriage to

Aniston. They announced their split in early2005. “Brangelina,” as they were quickly dubbedby the media, were soon an item and in May 2006Jolie gave birth to their first biological child, a girlnamed Shiloh. The couple have six children, threeof whom are adopted.The actor scored anotherhit in “Babel” (2007) and earned his second Oscarnomination in 2009 for “The Curious Case ofBenjamin Button”.

In recent years Pitt has stepped behind thecamera, and successfully tried his hand at pro-ducing - taking home a golden statuette forbest picture in 2014 as a producer of “12 Years

A Slave”. Through his firm Plan B, he was alsoinvolved in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winner “TheDeparted” (2006) and “A Mighty Heart” starringJolie, released the following year. —AFP

Pitt: Eye-candy turned Hollywood heavyweight

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: [email protected] or via snailmail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait.The editor reserves the right to editany submission as necessary.

LONDON: Retired South Korean football great Park Ji-Sung is embarking on a newchallenge on a top sports management course at De Montfort University (DMU) inLeicester, England. The 35-year-old former Manchester United midfielder-who wonthe Champions League and four Premier League titles with the club from 2005-12 —said he saw it as the best avenue for him to potentially pursue a career in the Koreanfootball league administration afterwards. The course-run by the SwissCentre International d’Etude du Sport (CIES) and delivered by DMU-was last year named as Europe’s best sports management courseand the year before that claimed top spot in SportBusinessInternational’s world rankings. “One of my colleagues said it hadbeen a great experience and though many players go into coach-ing or management, I wanted to improve my knowledge of footballaround the pitch and then perhaps work in the South Korean foot-ball league,” Park told the DMU website. Park, one of 31 foreign stu-dents taking the year-long course which also includes semesters inMilan, Italy and Neuchatel in Switzerland, said looking back onhis career there was one clear standout campaign. — AFP

S P O RT STHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

TOULON: Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal insisted yesterday that under-firecoach Diego Dominguez was not in his crosshairs after a poor start to the Top 14season. The three-time former European champions, beaten in last year’s domes-tic final by Parisian arch-rivals Racing 92, currently stand eighth on 11 points, withjust two wins from their five outings so far. Last weekend, Toulon were hammeredby Racing 41-30, two late tries giving a gloss to the final score of a match in whichthey were comprehensively outplayed for large periods. “You need to stop fanta-sising about the sacking of Diego Dominguez,” Boudjellal said of the ex-Italy fly-half, with his side due to play in-form league leaders Clermont on Sunday. “DiegoDominguez is not a target today,” he said, adding: “If we lose 95-0, that reopensthe debate, but that’s the case for every coach.” Boudjellal, who made his fortunefrom the comic book publishing business, continued: “Diego’s not under pressure.Toulon are not playing well because we don’t have the players” due to a raft ofinjuries. Toulon have Australian wing Drew Mitchell and South African BryanHabana away on international duty, while the likes of captain Duane Vermeulen,playmaker Matt Giteau, flanker Juanne Smith, wingers Vincent Clerc and JamesO’Connor, and prop Jean-Charles Orioli are all out injured. — AFP

Stop fantasising about Dominguez’s sacking

Back to school for Korean icon Park

LONDON: Newly elected UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin yesterday reit-erated his belief that it may be possible to block planned changes to the for-mat of the Champions League. The European governing body announcedlast month that England, Spain, Italy and Germany will each be guaranteedfour berths for their clubs in the tournament between 2018 and 2021. The

move was criticised by smaller European nations and although ithas been ratified by UEFA’s executive committee, Ceferin

suggested the changes may not be set in stone. When itwas put to him that it will be impossible to change the for-mat of the Champions League before 2021, he replied: “Idon’t necessarily agree with you, so let’s see. “Of courseit’s not good for the small and mid-size associations. Butas I told you, it was my first day yesterday. I have to checkwhat were pluses and minuses about that decision. “Therewere certainly pluses and minuses and I will look on it and

act. Everything can change.” — AFP

UEFA president hopeful of Champions League U-turn

The NBA star and European BasketballChampion Tony Parker played onSeptember 14, 2016 on the Jungfraujoch.

He was faced with a team of Swiss basket play-ers and demonstrated his speed and agility at3454 meters above sea level.

For the occasion, a big basketball court of33.55m by 20.78m was put in place in orderfor the classic 5X5 game to take place on theAletsch glacier. Faced with the fresh yet thinair of the mountain, the great athlete did notsway. Tony Parker has earned his reputation asone of the fastest and best players in theworld. He was quick to pass the ball to histeammates and passed by his adversaries withagility at the Top of Europe.

After the basketball game Tony Parker tooktime to answer the media’s questions. He said:“I’m always up for new challenges, so whenTissot, my long-term partner suggested I play amatch at the Top of Europe I thought it was agreat opportunity to do something exception-al. We don’t often get to play in such extremeconditions.” Over 100 journalists from Asia,

Europe, Australia, America and Switzerlandwere there to witness this exceptional event. Avery special guest also took part in the event,Tissot’s Swiss Moto2 ambassador Thomas L¸thi.

The fact that Tony Parker, Tissot’s ambassa-dor, came to the Jungfraujoch is no coinci-dence. Tissot and the Jungfrau Railways have agreat relationship. Their renewed partnershipemphasizes their long-standing and successfulalliance, which was initiated for the commem-oration of the centenary of the construction ofthe railway’s tunnel. Last year, the CEO ofJungfrau Railways, Urs Kessler and TissotPresident Francois Thiebaudtook it to the nextlevel by inaugurating the summit attraction”the First Cliff Walk” and a Tissot shop on First,above Grindelwald.

President of Tissot, Francois Thibaud com-mented: “We are very proud of our partner-ships. It is an honour and great pleasure for usto be able to share the beauty of such anextraordinary place as the Jungfraubahn, withthe Swiss Alpsand the fresh air of Switzerlandwith our loyal ambassador Tony Paker, and the

talent of our ambassador, with our partnerJungfraubahn. At Tissot we are a big familyand we love bringing everyone together, as

we have done today.”At the Jungfraujoch, several sports events

have already taken place with world famous

athletes. The basketball game with NBA starTony Parker is the tenth edition of the eventseries. “It is always a challenge to bring inter-nationally renowned Sport personalities to theAletsch Glacier. We were delighted that ourpartner Tissot and their ambassador TonyParker wanted to take part” the CEO ofJungfrau Railways, Urs Kessler said. After theevent, he added: “After football, tennis, boxing,cricket and basketball, I can’t wait to see whatworld sport will be the next.”

Tony Parker is one of the most successfulbasketball players in history. He is a Frenchprofessional basketball player currently withthe San Antonio Spurs of the NationalBasketball Association (NBA).Parker hashelped the Spurs win four NBA championshipsin 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.

Employing his pace and high field goal per-centage to great effect, Parker has been namedto six NBA All-Star games, three All-NBASecond Teams, and an All-NBA Third Team.Parker was also the star of the French nationalbasketball team until he resigned in 2016.

JOHANNESBURG: Fit-again fly-half PatrickLambie was recalled by South Africa coachAllister Coetzee yesterday for RugbyChampionship Tests against Australia andNew Zealand next month. The 25-year-oldplaymaker was badly concussed during aJune Test loss to Ireland in Cape Town andreturned to action only last Saturday forSharks in the Currie Cup.

“Rusty but ready,” was the verdict of Sharkscoach and former Springboks scrum-halfRobert du Preez after Lambie kicked two con-versions in less than 20 minutes on the pitch.

However, Coetzee cautioned againstassuming that Lambie would replace off-formElton Jantjies against Australia on October 1at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria.

“We want to ascertain his readiness andconfidence for international rugby or whetherhe rather needs to play another match in theCurrie Cup for the Sharks,” he said. “Patrick hasbeen included in our squad so that our med-ical and conditioning team can get first-handfeedback.”

Fullback Willie le Roux, axed after poorperformances in a fortunate 2-1 series winover Ireland, is also back in a 31-man squadcomprising 16 forwards and 15 backs.

Tighthead prop Julian Redelinghuys andlock Lood de Jager have recovered frominjuries and were included. Utility propLourens Adriaanse is the only Springbokdropped from the previous squad as SouthAfrica seek to snap a run of three consecutiveRugby Championship losses. After a last-gasphome win over Argentina, they lost away tothe South Americans, Australia and worldchampions New Zealand. Coetzee resistedcalls from former Springbok players and

coaches and pundits for wholesale changesamid widespread social media unhappinesswith his team selections.

The coach, who succeeded HeynekeMeyer last April on a four-year contract, hadheightened expectations of a clean-out whenhe said “there would be repercussions” afterthree straight losses. Target number one hasbeen Jantjies, who replaced Lambie in CapeTown but has struggled during six subse-quent starts to replicate the form that tookGolden Lions to the 2016 Super Rugby final.

“Flaky as a croissant,” was how one NewZealand pundit described a 26-year-old fly-half whose handling error led to the first AllBlacks try in a 41-13 Christchurch rout lastSaturday. After a bright start to his Test careerthis season, scrum-half Faf de Klerk is alsobattling to recapture excellent Super Rugbyform with the Lions. There have also beencalls for full-back Johan Goosen, centre Juande Jongh, prop Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawariraand flankers Francois Louw and Teboho ‘Oupa’Mohoje to be dumped.

SquadForwards (16): Willem Alberts, Eben

Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Steven Kitshoff,Vincent Koch, Jaco Kriel, Francois Louw, BongiMbonambi, Oupa Mohoje, Franco Mostert,Tendai Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, JulianRedelinghuys, Adriaan Strauss (capt), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Warren Whiteley

Backs (15): Damian de Allende, JohanGoosen, Bryan Habana, Francois Hougaard,Elton Jantjies, Juan de Jongh, Faf de Klerk,Jesse Kriel, Patrick Lambie, Lionel Mapoe,Malcolm Marx, Lwazi Mvovo, Rudy Paige,Willie le Roux, Morne Steyn. — AFP

ABIDJAN: Cheick Sallah Cisse has gone fromobscurity to national hero after winning the IvoryCoast’s first Olympic gold, but insists his celebritystatus won’t distract him from his taekwondo titledefence in Tokyo. “People look at me differentlynow, I’ve become a national symbol. I can’t walk inthe street without being recognised, I’m a star,” the23-year-old told AFP.

Cisse clinched the men’s under-80kg taekwon-do title with a dramatic last-second move in Rioand was honoured for his exploits on his returnhome, receiving a new house and a 50 million CFAfranc (75,000 euro, $84,000) cash bonus. Before Rio,the Ivory Coast had only one medal to its name-themen’s 400m silver picked up by Gabriel Tiacoh atthe Los Angeles Games in 1984. That all changedwhen Cisse stunned third seed Lutalo Muhammadof Great Britain with a four-point score right at thedeath to win 8-6. Rio proved a breakthrough for

the African nation with Ruth Gbagbi becoming thefirst Ivorian women’s medallist with bronze, also intaekwondo.

Both were honoured by Ivorian head of stateAlassane Ouattara on their return home. Cissepleaded for an improvement in conditions andtraining for athletes, and Ouattara promised toexamine what could be done. “We were support-ed. The Government did what it could...but weneed new laws passed so that athletes can live offtheir sports,” declared Cisse. The majority of Ivorianathletes train in difficult conditions and find it hardto raise funds to meet their costs.

“We have talented boys and girls in taekwondo... we have to help them,” insisted Cisse. “I want totell my little brothers to believe in their dreams.“I’ve gone from nothing to become someone, with-out any help.”

Claiming a coveted Olympic gold has been a

dream come true for Cisse who was born to a mod-est family in the central city of Bouake. He took upmartial arts at the age of eight, beginning withshotokan, moving on to dedicate long hours totaekwondo despite the opposition of his fatherwho wanted him to focus on his studies.

His passion saw him crowned African championin 2014, drawing inspiration from the Iranian teach-ing method “for the spirit, the strength of characterof their fighters”.

“I like everything they do. They highlight thequalities of a good taekwondist namely the heart,courage.” He insists that despite his new-foundfame his feet are firmly on the ground. “The great-est motivation (to win again) is to relive onceagain (the honours on returning home). “Peopleapproach you, they congratulate you, it’s nice,touching, all this gives me strength to achieveeven more.” —AFP

Ivorian hero Cisse targets Tokyo 2020 after Rio gold

NBA star Tony Parker plays at the Top of Europe

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LAHORE: Pakistani officials must satisfy theconcerns of visiting security experts if theywant to host major teams again, the chiefexecutive of cricket’s world governing bodysaid yesterday. Most international sides havestayed away from Pakistan since an Islamistmilitant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus inLahore in 2009, which killed eight peopleand injured several cricketers.

In 2015 Pakistan hosted minnowsZimbabwe for a short limited-overs series

three one-day internationals and as manyTwenty20s-but that failed to change theviews of most security experts.

“It’s actually quite easy for you to con-vince me that international cricket returns toPakistan, but unfortunately it’s not me or theICC that needs to be convinced,” said DavidRichardson, chief executive of theInternational Cricket Council (ICC).

“It’s the security experts, it’s the securityconsultants who are advising the players,

advising the teams, and that’s really out ofour control.” He was speaking in Lahore,where he came to present Pakistan captainMisbah-ul-Haq with a mace after his teamreached the world top Test ranking.

Richardson’s remarks come as Englandprepare to tour Bangladesh next monthdespite an attack on a Dhaka cafe in Julythat left 20 hostages including 18 foreignersdead. It was claimed by the Islamic Stategroup. Security experts cleared the tour on

the assurances of the country’s governmentand the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

Richardson acknowledged overallimprovements in Pakistan’s security situa-tion, with a marked decrease in militantattacks and casualties this year and last.

“I know that the Pakistan governmentand the Pakistan Cricket Board are doingwhatever they can to try and persuade thepeople and make the security situation bet-ter in Pakistan. Pretty soon we’ll get to a situ-

ation where teams are willing to play inter-national cricket in Pakistan,” he said.

Misbah meanwhile praised his players formaking it to number one without playing athome. “We’ve been playing on foreign soilsince 2009 but we are not only strong enoughbut we are right at the top, especially in thetop format of this game,” he said. Players, hesaid, had to compete outside the country foralmost six to seven months. “Credit should begiven to the families.” — AFP

ICC says Pakistan must satisfy on security to get visits

KANPUR: New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson, front, catches a ball during a practice session ahead of the first cricket test against India inKanpur, India, yesterday. — AP

KANPUR: New Zealand captain KaneWilliamson believes his slow-bowling trio canprove a handful for India in their own spin-friendly back yard in the three-test series start-ing today. Rolling out raging turners andunleashing the spinners has been the tried-and-tested formula behind India’s formidable homeform, and the cracks on the track in Kanpur’sGreen Park Stadium suggest the trend will con-tinue against the Kiwis.

India have won each of their last three homeseries, against Australia, West Indies and SouthAfrica, without losing a test.

But New Zealand seem to have done theirhomework and have included a trio of specialistspinners-Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and MarkCraig-in their squad with a reasonable chance ofall three playing in the series opener in Kanpur.

“They’ve got very good spinners, naturally

very experienced in these conditions. But wehave got some exciting young talent. We haveshown that in the (World) Twenty20,” Williamsonsaid, referring to the impressive display by leg-spinner Sodhi and left-armer Santner in the tour-nament in India earlier this year.

“Yes, the formats are different but we arehoping they can build on from those experi-ences,” Williamson said. “There were a lot oflearning experiences to be had, certainly thisbeing one of them, being exposed in these con-ditions which will certainly suit spin bowling.

“We are certainly hoping they can play a bigpart in the series.” Williamson had a good look atthe wicket in Kanpur and the 26-year-old spot-ted a silver lining in the dry track, in the form ofreverse-swing potential. “Coming into it, and cer-tainly watching the previous series here, withoutmuch grass on the block, obviously the ball

deteriorates quite quickly and reverse swing andspin naturally become big factors,” he said.

“How our spin bowlers bowl will be impor-tant, but at the same time we are hoping for bet-ter reverse swing. We will have to see how thingsunfold.” Williamson conceded spin might makeor break fortunes in the series but did not agreefully with team mate Ross Taylor’s suggestion ofemploying the sweep shot frequently to negatethe Indian spinners.

“I think it’s certainly up to individuals. Someguys sweep more than others,” Williamson said.

“I suppose sweeping is a big part of anIndian player’s game. They’ve got great foot-work, they get forward, they get back andcome down the wicket. “You can learn a lotfrom the way they play but at the end of theday, it’s up to individual players who are themost comfortable with it.” — Reuters

New Zealand aim to turn

tables on spin kings India

ISLAMABAD: Misbah-ul-Haq has paid credit tohis players and their families for earning testcricket’s No.1 ranking while exiled from playinghome matches for the past seven years.

Having earned the No. 1 spot last month,Pakistan’s test captain Misbah was handed thetest mace by ICC chief executive DavidRichardson at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore yester-day. “It’s one of the best days in my life, it’s thehappiest day in my cricketing career and I like tocongratulate everyone who has been part of thisachievement and part of this journey,” Misbahsaid. Pakistan has played its ‘home’ tests in theUnited Arab Emirates since 2009 when SriLanka’s team came under terrorist attack inLahore and other nations subsequently refusedto tour Pakistan due to security concerns.

“We are playing away matches and are notplaying where we are brought up; even Dubaiand Abu Dhabi are foreign soil,” Misbah said.Zimbabwe is the only test-playing nation whichhas toured Pakistan since 2009, but that wasonly for a three-match limited-overs series, alsoin Lahore, last year.

“Credit should be given to the families,” hesaid. “The families of the players really sacrificedlot of things ... we have to play almost 6-7months out of country and that’s difficult.”

Misbah, in the twilight of his career at age 42,has been instrumental in reshaping Pakistan testteam, especially after Lord’s test spot-fixing fias-co in 2010 when three players were banned forfive years. Over the last five years, Misbahbecame Pakistan’s most successful test captainand also whitewashed both England andAustralia in the test series in the UAE.

Richardson pointed Misbah’s captaincy asone of the reasons for Pakistan achieving testcricket’s No. 1 spot for the first time since therankings were introduced in 2003. Revised rank-ings showed Pakistan would also have been topin 1988 if the current measures were used “Thisis a remarkable achievement given that the last24 series had all been played away fromPakistan’s borders,” Richardson said.

“Any player if he can put on his CV that hewas part of the team that was No. 1 ranked intest cricket, that to me will be a pinnacleachievement for any player.” Pakistan face a sterntest to keep its No. 1 ranking intact in the com-

ing months. India is the biggest threat as it couldbecome No. 1 if it beats New Zealand in thethree-test series at home. ICC will award $1 mil-lion to the team which stays No. 1 on April 1,2017 and Pakistan has at least three tough series- against West Indies, New Zealand and Australia- during this period.

“West Indies is unpredictable like Pakistan,they can be so strong at a given day so we reallycan’t say they are easy side,” Misbah said.

“Then two tough tours. New Zealand has astrong side especially at home and thenAustralia ... I hope we can be competitive thereand prove ourselves where normally teams fromAsia struggle.”

Richardson said it was not in the hands of theICC to convince other nations that it’s safe to

tour Pakistan, but hoped the government andthe Pakistan Cricket Board can convince foreignteams to resume tours.

“Circumstances in the world really have gotquite difficult from a security point of view (and)Pakistan has been probably hardest hit than anyother country,” Richadson said. “It’s not me or theICC that needs to be convinced. It’s the securityexperts, it’s the security consultants who areadvising the players, who are advising the teamsand that’s really out of our control.

“I know that the Pakistan government andthe PCB are doing whatever they can to try andpersuade the people and make security situa-tion better in Pakistan. Pretty soon we’ll get to asituation where teams are willing to play inter-national cricket in Pakistan.” — AP

Skipper Misbah lauds Pakistan

achieving No 1 test ranking

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq holds the ICC Test Championship mace inLahore yesterday. Pakistan achieved the number one ranking in the Test Championship tableafter the Test match series drawn 2-2, between England and Pakistan at the Oval in London onAugust 14, 2016. — AFP

KANPUR: Skipper Virat Kohli conceded yes-terday that India must bat better againstspin, as the favourites prepare to take on adangerous New Zealand in the first Test inKanpur. Kohli pointed to India’s loss lastyear at the hands of Sri Lanka’s spinners ona raging turner as evidence of his side’sweakness, as they begin their quest toregain the number one world ranking spot.His team take on the Black Caps today inthe first of three Tests and India’s 500th intotal, at Kanpur ’s Green Park which isexpected to prove favourable to spinners.

“It’s an area where we can improve, wehave lost a Test match in Sri Lanka becausewe couldn’t play as well as we would haveliked,” Kohli told reporters. “The teamwants to improve on that aspect of thegame, (its) something that (we) surely needto get stronger,” he said, adding that hisbatsmen were working on this.

Sri Lankan veteran spinner RanganaHerath claimed seven wickets to skittleIndia for 112 last August in a stunning vic-tory, although India went on to win thenext two matches.

Kohli, known for his aggressive brand ofcricket, said he was impressed with NewZealand’s “fearless” style of play in recenttimes and believes the visitors will provetough opponents. “I think Kane is leadingthe side very well. We expect very goodcompetition and good hard-fought cricket,”

Kohli said of his opposite number KaneWilliamson. India, who start the seriesstrong favourites after their recent 2-0away victory against the West Indies, arealso eyeing a return to the top of theInternational Cricket Council rankings.

India recently toppled Australia from thetop of the rankings, only to be leapfroggedby their archrivals Pakistan.

India’s spin king Ravichandran Ashwin isin form, picking up 17 wickets in theCaribbean, while batsmen Lokesh Rahuland Ajinkya Rahane have also been in goodknick. Williamson said his young side wouldbe looking to build on their success at thisyear’s World Twenty20 when they reachedthe semi-finals. “We have got some excit-ing young talent. We showed that in theT20 world cup.”

“That was huge for us. Yes, the formatsare different, but I am hoping we can buildon from those experiences,” the 26-year-oldsaid. New Zealand, who recently suffered a1-0 loss against South Africa, will be count-ing on its spin bowlers including Indian-born Ish Sodhi, along with Mitchell Santnerand Mark Craig.

“Yes, how our spin bowlers bowl will beimportant. But at the same time we arehoping for a bit of reverse swing and thatcertainly brings the seamers into it,” saidWilliamson, who heads into his third seriesas skipper. — AFP

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani director and bowling coach of Islamabad United WasimAkram (2R) and his wife Shaniera Akram (3L) take a selfie during an exhibition matchat Rawalpindi Cricket stadium in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, to celebrate their triumphin the Pakistan Super League earlier this year. Dashing Australia batsman DeanJones has tipped Pakistan’s resurgence in Twenty20 cricket following the success ofits new domestic league, saying fierce hitter Sharjeel Khan can revive the country’sfortunes. — AFP

Captain Kohli admits India

need to play spin better

KANPUR: India’s captain Virat Kohli gestures during a press conference ahead of thefirst cricket test against New Zealand in Kanpur, India, yesterday. — AP

LONDON: England fast bowler JamesAnderson may sit out some of the testmatches on their tours of Bangladeshand India, he said yesterday.

The 34-year-old, England’s leadingtest wicket-taker with 463 victims, wasnamed in the squad for the tour toBangladesh where they play two testsnext month. England travel to India inearly November for a five-test series.

“It’s a tough one because as a player ifyou’re fit you want to play, simple as that,

no matter what the format you’re desper-ate to play,” Anderson told reporters.

“But there may well come a timewhen it will get managed. At 34 I proba-bly have to manage myself, be managed,quite well.

You want, if possible, to play everytest but India is going to be five back toback and that ’s a huge ask for anybowler,” he added. “There will probablycome a point where we try to look andmaybe I’ve got to sit out.” — Reuters

England’s Anderson could

be rested in test series


KUWAIT: Ahli United Bank (AUB), one ofKuwait’s leading Islamic banking institu-tions welcomed yesterday the KuwaitNational Paralympic team at the KuwaitInternational Airport upon their returnfrom Brazil. The bank’s latest initiativereflects its keenness to celebrate theproud moments and successes achievedby the team. Despite the level of partici-pation, all members of the Paralympicteam are winners.

His Excellency, Sheikh Salman AlSabah, Kuwait’s Youth and Sports Ministerand her Excellency, Hind Al-SubaihMinister of Social Affairs & Labour/Minister of State for Planning &Development Affairs along with the

Honorary President for the KuwaitDisabled Sports Club, Sheikha SheikhaKhalifa Al Sabah, as well as the club’sChairman, Shafi Al Hajeri were present towelcome and greet the national teamupon their arrival to Kuwait.

AUB has been a supporter to Kuwait’snational special needs team, and wasamongst the first to welcome them backto honor them for their participation atthe Paralympics.

The bank thanked Kuwait’s champions,specifically Ahmad Al Mutairi for winningthe first place and gold medal in the 100meter competition and representing thecountry in an internationally acclaimedevent. AUB’s sponsorship reflects its con-

tinued support towards special needs,and the strong role that the KuwaitDisabled Sports Club plays to train youngathletes to represent Kuwait in a numberof international events. In addition, thebank’s sponsorship is in line with its over-all social responsibility approach and sup-porting special needs, an initiative that isalso reflected in the bank’s tailored servic-es for them.

Bader Al-Debasi, from AUB said, “Webelieve in our youth’s abilities to over-come any challenge and prove their abili-ty to represent their country. Despite theresults they have achieved, they continueto be our champions who deserve to behonored.”

Ahli United Bank welcomes

Kuwait National Paralympic team

AUB employees meeting and congratulating Ahmad Al Mutairi.

BALTIMORE: David Ortiz broke open a tightgame with a three-run homer in the seventhinning, and the Boston Red Sox beat theBaltimore Orioles 5-2 Tuesday night for theirsixth straight victory. Jackie Bradley Jr. alsohomered for the Red Sox, who stretched theirlead over Baltimore in the AL East to five games.After sweeping four games from the Yankees,Boston has won the first two of this pivotalfour-game series. Trey Mancini homered in hismajor league debut with the Orioles, who trailToronto by a game for the first AL wild card.Kevin Gausman (8-11) allowed five runs and 10hits in 6 1/3 innings. Eduardo Rodriguez (3-7)pitched 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball for his firstwin in 11 starts since July 16. Craig Kimbrelworked the ninth for his 28th save.

BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 2J.A. Happ became the major leagues’ sec-

ond 20-game winner and Russell Martin andMichael Saunders each hit a two-run homer,lifting Toronto over Seattle to move into first inthe AL wild-card race. Toronto took the leadwith an eight-run fourth inning and moved agame ahead of Baltimore. Detroit remained 21/2 games behind the Blue Jays. Seattle lostfor the fourth time in five games to fall fourgames behind Toronto. Happ (20-4) allowedtwo runs, six hits and a walk over five innings,striking out eight while winning for the 14thtime in his last 15 decisions. He’s the firstToronto pitcher to reach 20 wins since RoyHalladay in 2008. Martin and Saunders eachhomered off Hisashi Iwakuma (16-12) duringthe Blue Jays’ big inning.

GIANTS 2, DODGERS 0Eduardo Nunez and Brandon Belt homered

to help San Francisco overcome injuries to All-Star pitcher Johnny Cueto and shortstopBrandon Crawford. San Francisco pulled into athree-way tie for first place in the NL wild-cardstandings with the Mets and Cardinals. TheGiants are five games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers with 11 to play.Cueto exitedwith a strained left groin in the sixth inning.Crawford came out with a dislocated left pinkyin the second. A team trainer checked onCueto with Andrew Toles at bat. Cueto stayedin and walked Toles, then motioned that hewas done.

ASTROS 2, ATHLETICS 1, 10 INNINGSGeorge Springer hit a go-ahead single in

the 10th inning, and Houston beatOakland.Tony Kemp, who tied it with a pinch-hit double in the seventh, got things goingwith a leadoff double against Sean Doolittle(2-3) and Jake Marisnick sacrificed him to thirdto bring up Springer. Chris Devenski (4-4)struck out four in 3 2-3 innings of relief for thewin, and Ken Giles escaped a bases-loadedjam and closed it out for his 13th save. TheAstros remain in the mix for the AL wild card.Jose Altuve’s eighth-inning single gave him200 hits in three straight seasons, the first todo so since Ichiro Suzuki from 2001-10.Oakland’s Danny Valencia was ejected at theend of the ninth by plate umpire Marty Fosterafter striking out.

YANKEES 5, RAYS 3Rookie slugger Gary Sanchez hit his 17th

homer in 42 games this season, a three-runshot in a four-run seventh inning for theYankees. The banged-up Yankees are 3 1/2games behind Baltimore for the second ALwild card.

Sanchez gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead withhis drive off Brad Boxberger (4-3). MarkTeixeira hit a solo shot in the fourth for NewYork, which was swept in a four-game series atBoston last weekend and had lost seven ofeight overall. Luis Severino (3-8) pitched 1 1/3

innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.Dellin Betances got three outs for his 12th save.

TIGERS 8, TWINS 1Matt Boyd breezed through eight innings,

backed by home runs from James McCannand Miguel Cabrera, and Detroit stepped for-ward in the AL wild-card race.With Baltimore’sloss to Boston, the Tigers cut the deficitbetween them and the second spot to 1 1/2games with 12 to go. Boyd (6-4) allowed threehits, including Robbie Grossman’s seventh-inning homer. McCann, in the designated hit-ter role for the injured Victor Martinez, con-nected for a three-run shot during Detroit’s afour-run sixth against Hector Santiago (12-9).

CARDINALS 10, ROCKIES 5Adam Wainwright was shaky on the mound

and shined at the plate with a career-high fourRBIs, helping St. Louis move into a three-waytie for the top NL wild card. The free-swingingWainwright lined a two-run double in the sec-ond inning and brought in two more with abloop single in the fifth. Matt Adams and JeddGyorko homered to help the Cardinals pull

even with the New York Mets, who lost athome to last-place Atlanta for the secondstraight night. Wainwright (12-9) gave up fourruns in 5 1/3 innings. Daniel Descalso, CharlieBlackmon and Gerardo Parra homered forColorado, and Jorge De La Rosa (8-9) allowedeight runs - seven earned - in 4 2/3 innings.

INDIANS 2, ROYALS 1Pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer hit a game-

ending RBI single, helping Cleveland inch clos-er to the AL Central title. Guyer’s two-out hitoff Joakim Soria landed just fair in the right-field corner and scored Coco Crisp. Guyer wasthe third pinch hitter of the inning used bymanager Terry Francona. Cleveland leadsDetroit by seven games in the division. TheIndians haven’t won the AL Central since 2007.The Royals, the reigning World Series champi-ons, will be eliminated from contention in thedivision if they lose to Cleveland tonight. AlexGordon singled in a run for Kansas City, andBrian Flynn (1-2) got the loss. Andrew Miller (9-1) got five outs for the win.

RANGERS 5, ANGELS 4Rookie Nomar Mazara hit his 20th homer in

another testy game with multiple ejectionsand the Rangers moved closer to their secondconsecutive AL West title. Texas (90-62) cut itsmagic number to two to clinch the seventhdivision title in franchise history. Mazara hit a438-foot drive off rookie Daniel Wright (0-4), atwo-run shot in the fourth that put theRangers up 4-3. Nick Martinez (2-3) worked 31/3 scoreless innings in relief, and the right-hander made a spectacular play in the fifth,when he reached behind his back for a no-look snag of Andrelton Simmons’ hard linerand turned it into a double play. Sam Dysonworked the ninth for his 35th save in 40chances.

MARLINS 1, NATIONALS 0Giancarlo Stanton homered to back a

strong outing by Jose Fernandez, who pitchedeight innings and struck out 12 for theMarlins.Fernandez (16-8) allowed three hitswithout a walk to outduel Washington’sTanner Roark (15 9) who pitched seven inningsand allowed one run. David Phelps pitched theninth for his fourth save in 10 chances. TheNationals were held to four hits in their fourthconsecutive loss. Stanton connected for his27th homer in the sixth inning. Stanton alsohomered in Monday’s 4 3 win.

BRAVES 5, METS 4Mets nemesis Julio Teheran pitched seven

more sparkling innings and the last-placeBraves blunted New York’s bid to extend its NLwild-card lead. The Mets nicked the Braves’bullpen for three runs in the eighth but could-n’t complete the comeback. The Braves havethe worst record in the NL, yet have won fourstraight. Teheran (6-10) gave up five hits andleft with a 5-1 lead. Dating to the final time hesaw the Mets last season, he’s 3-0 with a 0.73ERA in five starts against them. Jim Johnsonpitched the ninth for his 16th save in 19chances. Robert Gsellman (2-2) lost in his fifthmajor league start.

CUBS 6, REDS 1Jon Lester overcame an injury scare to throw

seven strong innings, and the Cubs moved clos-

er to securing the NL’s best record. Lester (18-4)extended his scoreless streak to 21 inningsbefore Jose Peraza’s RBI triple in the fifth. Hestayed in after Joey Votto’s comebacker in thesixth left him with a welt on the wrist of hisglove hand.The Cubs’ 96th win reduced theirmagic number to three over Washington forclinching home field advantage throughout theNL playoffs. Josh Smith (3-2), making a spotstart in a bullpen game for the Reds, allowedone run and three hits in three innings.Brandon Phillips had two hits for Cincinnati.

PIRATES 6, BREWERS 3Andrew McCutchen, Jody Mercer and Josh

Bell each drove in two runs, and Pittsburghkept its faint playoff hopes alive.The Pirateshave won fifth of six to improve to .500 (75-75)for the first time since they were 69 69 onSept. 8. Jared Hughes (1-1) pitched an inningfor the win and Tony Watson worked the ninthfor his 14th save. Milwaukee right-hander MattGarza was charged with five runs and eighthits in four-plus innings.

PHILLIES 7, WHITE SOX 6Odubel Herrera homered and drove in

three runs, leading Philadelphia to the win.Tommy Joseph and Roman Quinn added twohits apiece and combined to drive in threeruns for the Phillies. Herrera, who hits betweenJoseph and Quinn in the lineup, is 15 for 28 inhis last seven games. Melky Cabrera hit athree-run homer for the White Sox, who havelost four straight. James Shields (5-18), winlesssince July 26, allowed six earned runs and ninehits in 5 1/3 innings.Trailing 7-3 in the ninth,the White Sox pulled within one on a two-outwild pitch and a two-run double from AdamEaton. But Michael Mariot got Tim Anderson toground out for his first career save.Philadelphia’s Jake Thompson (3-5) gave upthree runs and four hits over five innings.

PADRES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2Adam Rosales homered and drove in four

runs and rookie Ryan Schimpf scored threetimes to lead San Diego. The start of the gamewas delayed 70 minutes by rain. It was only theseventh delay in Petco Park’s 13-season history,the sixth because of rain. The other one wasdue to a swarm of bees during a game in 2009.Keith Hessler (1-0) got one out for his firstcareer victory and Brandon Maurer got his 12thsave. Zack Godley (4-4) allowed two runs in twoinnings and got the loss. — AP

Ortiz, Bradley HRs carry Red Sox past Orioles

American LeagueEastern Division

W L PCT GB Boston 87 64 .576 - Toronto 83 68 .550 4 Baltimore 82 69 .543 5 NY Yankees 78 72 .520 8.5 Tampa Bay 64 86 .427 22.5

Central DivisionCleveland 87 63 .580 - Detroit 80 70 .533 7 Kansas City 77 74 .510 10.5 Chicago W Sox 72 79 .477 15.5 Minnesota 55 96 .364 32.5

Western DivisionTexas 90 62 .592 - Houston 80 71 .530 9.5 Seattle 79 72 .523 10.5 Oakland 66 85 .437 23.5 LA Angels 65 86 .430 24.5

National LeagueEastern Division

Washington 88 63 .583 - NY Mets 80 71 .530 8 Miami 76 75 .503 12 Philadelphia 68 83 .450 20 Atlanta 60 91 .397 28

Central DivisionChicago Cubs 96 55 .636 - St. Louis 80 71 .530 16 Pittsburgh 75 75 .500 20.5 Milwaukee 68 83 .450 28 Cincinnati 63 88 .417 33

Western DivisionLA Dodgers 85 66 .563 - San Francisco 80 71 .530 5 Colorado 72 79 .477 13 San Diego 64 87 .424 21 Arizona 63 88 .417 22

Boston 5, Baltimore 2; Philadelphia 7, Chicago White Sox 6; Atlanta 5, NY Mets 4; Cleveland 2,Kansas City 1; NY Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 3; Miami 1, Washington 0; Chicago Cubs 6, Cincinnati1; Texas 5, LA Angels 4; Detroit 8, Minnesota 1; Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 3; St. Louis 10,Colorado 5; Houston 2, Oakland 1 (10 innings); San Diego 5, Arizona 2; San Francisco 2, LADodgers 0; Toronto 10, Seattle 2.

MLB results/standings

BALTIMORE: Boston Red Sox outfielders Chris Young, from left, Jackie Bradley Jr and Mookie Betts celebrate after a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore, Tuesday.Boston won 5-2. — AP

SAN DIEGO: San Diego Padres’ Wil Myerstosses his bat after flying out against theArizona Diamondbacks during the thirdinning of a baseball game in San Diego,Tuesday. — AP


SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco 49ersquarterback Colin Kaepernick saidTuesday he has received death threatsover his national anthem protest as thekil l ing of an unarmed black man inOklahoma sparked renewed outrage.Kaepernick has staged a silent boycott of“The Star-Spangled Banner” during 49ersgames this season, pointedly sitting orkneeling during renditions of the song

rather than standing. The 28-year-old sayshe is protesting racial inequality and injus-tice in America, including the actions oflaw enforcement towards minorities.Kaepernick told reporters on Tuesday hehad received threats from differentavenues since starting his protest. “Ifsomething like that were to happen,you’ve proved my point,” said Kaepernickwhen asked about the possibility of the

threats being acted upon. “It’ll be loudand clear why it happened.”

The quarterback said he had anticipat-ed the backlash before he embarked onhis protest. “I knew there were otherthings that came along with this when Ifirst stood up and spoke about it. It’s notsomething I haven’t thought about,” hesaid. The killing on Friday of 40-year-oldTerence Crutcher by police in Tulsa was

emblematic of the issues Kaepernick isprotesting against. “ This is a perfectexample of what this is about,”Kaepernick said. “It will be very tellingabout what happens to the officer thatkilled him. They shot and killed a manand walked around like it wasn’t a humanbeing,” he added.

Kaepernick meanwhile said he willdonate $1 million to local communities

over the next 10 months, while launchinga website to detail how the money isspent. Meanwhile, Kaepernick won backingfrom 49ers legend Jerry Rice, who had ini-tially criticized the quarterback’s protests.

“I support @Kaepernick7 for bring-ing awareness for injustice ! ! ! ! ” R icetweeted. “As Americans we al l haver ights ! I m (s ic ) hoping we a l l cometogether#solution.” — AFP

Kaepernick reveals death threats over anthem protest

LONDON: A Syrian teenager who saved fellowrefugees from drowning and then swam forthe refugee team at the Rio Olympics wasamong those honoured at the inaugural GlobalGoals Awards in New York.

Yusra Mardini, 18, who fled Syria with hersister in 2015, received the Girl Award at theceremony on Tuesday night honouring cham-pions for women’s and girls’ rights worldwide.

Mardini, who had to swim for her life whenher overloaded boat broke down in theMediterranean on the way to Europe, capturedheadlines when she competed for the 10-strong refugee team at the Games in Brazil.

This week Mardini, who now lives inGermany, told world leaders at the UnitedNations summit on migrants and refugees thatshe wanted to change perceptions of thosedisplaced from their homes.

“This experience (the Olympics) has alsogiven me a voice,” she said. “I want to changeperceptions of refugees. It is not a choice toflee your home, and refugees can achieve any-thing.” Rebeca Gyumi, a lawyer who fightsagainst child marriage in Tanzania as head ofthe Msichana Initiative, was also honoured atthe awards, curated by the U.N. children’sagency, UNICEF. She won the award for achiev-

ing social change for girls.The social enterprise DoctHERS, which

brings healthcare to vulnerable girls andwomen in Pakistan, won an award for its cam-paigning work. I t matches trained juniorfemale doctors in Pakistan with rural womenand girls via telemedicine.

Aimed at ral lying suppor t for theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs)agreed last year to tackle pover ty andinequality by 2030, the Global Goals Awardswere judged by a panel comprising the 17SDG advocates who advise UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. — Reuters

PARIS: The Paris leg of the new Europeanathletics circuit “Fly Europe” may haveattracted few fans yesterday but organisersbelieve it is set to take off.

Despite the presence of French polevault star Renaud Lavillenie, the world-record holder, the Parc Andre-Citroen inthe west of Paris was hardly buzzing withexcitement. “The aim is to see and sell ath-letics in a different way,” said Marco Sicari,an Italian Athletics Federation official.

His is one of five countries-alongsideBritain, France, Germany and Spain-involved in launching the Fly Europe circuit.“In 2017 the idea is to organise the fivestages during the second half ofSeptember, after the Diamond League,”added Sicari. Coming so close after theOlympics and being barred from some ofParis’s more iconic venues due to securityconcerns may have affected the turnout,but those who ventured into the park-intentionally or not-were impressed.“Seeing them so close, the beauty of theirmovements, it’s almost like works of art,”said Yannick Bruno, a jogger.

“You can imagine the effort it takes toget to that level.” Men’s pole vault, men’ssprint and women’s long jump were on thecard in Paris, although with some crucialdifferences. The most notable is the sprintbeing judged on top speed and not thetime it takes to cover a set distance.

Special speed guns linked to giantscreens were used to give real-time results

for fans to see who reached terminal veloci-ty. In pole vault, the bar isn’t systematicallyraised as those still in the competition tryto clear it, but competitors pick a height toattempt without their opponents’ knowl-edge. Lavillenie delighted the home fansby clearing 5.80m for the 115th time in hiscareer. It is such innovative and originalregulations that provide part of the attrac-tion for the series, which takes place on thestreets as opposed to in a stadium.

The Fly Europe circuit in Germany tookplace in Berlin 10 days ago in the shadowof the Brandenburg Gate.

The concept for a series of street eventshas been going strong in the German capi-tal since 2011 but is now being exportedaround western Europe. All that was lack-ing from Paris was a stand-out perform-ance, but other street events have beenblessed with startling successes. InBelgrade earlier this month, home favouriteIvana Spanovic beat her long-jump nation-al record with a leap of 7.10m, a monthafter winning Olympic bronze.

That same day, September 11, Kenyan800m world record holder David Rudishaset a new world best time over 500m of57.69sec at the Great North CityGames innorthern England in front of 20,000 people.

Usain Bolt has previously raced theGreat North Run in Manchester whileWroclaw in Poland hosts a yearly hammercompetition in which competitors fling theweight over the river Oder. — AFP

Fly Europe ‘to take off’

despite Paris lethargy

PARIS: France’s Renaud Lavillenie competes in the Pole Vault contest of the “FlyEurope Paris” European Athletics Circuit event in Paris yesterday. — AFP

Syrian teenager who swam

at Rio Olympics honoured

TOKYO: Rio Olympic champion Monica Puigbeat seventh seed Petra Kvitova 1-6, 6-4, 6-4with a dogged display to reach the Pan PacificOpen quarter-finals yesterday.

Puig, who beat Germany’s Angelique Kerberin last month’s Olympic final to capture PuertoRico’s first ever gold medal, recovered from anightmare start in Tokyo to stun Czech Kvitova, atwo-time Wimbledon champion.

“The balls felt heavy today with the roofopen,” said Puig. “It took some time to adjust tothe conditions but I kept fighting and that’swhat got me through.”In other matches, formerworld number one Caroline Wozniacki alsoadvanced, the Dane toppling fourth seed CarlaSuarez of Spain 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 while Japaneseteenager Naomi Osaka upset Slovakia’sDominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-1.

Osaka, born of a Japanese mother andHaitian father and who models her game on heridol Serena Williams, insisted she paid no atten-tion to rankings after thrashing the world num-ber 12. “I honestly don’t care about that,” said the18-year-old tournament wildcard, herself ranked66th. “Maybe she didn’t know much about me.”After her upset win, Osaka revealed that hermind had wandered during the match to whatshe was going to eat for dinner. Asked to pin-point how her game has improved over a break-out season, Osaka replied cryptically: “I don’tknow. To be honest, I kept thinking that I’d fancysome grilled meat.” — AFP

Puig knocks Kvitova out of Tokyo

TOKYO: Monica Puig of Puerto Rico hits a return against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republicduring their women’s singles second round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open tennis tourna-ment in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP

LONDON: Four-time African player of the yearYaya Toure is out in the cold at his clubManchester City after Pep Guardiola said hewould not play until his agent apologised forremarks he made.

AFP Sports looks at five other examples ofplayers who either refused to play or werebarred by the manager from doing so:

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United)The former Bayern Munich enforcer has

incurred the wrath of Jose Mourinho by turningdown a loan move to Portuguese side SportingLisbon after being told by his coach that hewould not feature for United this season. The 32-year-old is training on his own and rolling up topick up his wages of a reported £190,000($246,000, 220,000 euros) a week.

Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)The adrenalin burn Argentinian international

striker played up to his nickname of ‘Apache’ byrefusing to warm up to potentially go on as a sub-stitute in the last moments of a Champions Leaguematch in September 2011 with Bayern Munich.City coach Roberto Mancini said Tevez, then 28,would never play for City again. But a combinationof his massive wages and the huge fee City wereasking meant there were no takers, as Tevez holi-dayed in Argentina and considered retiring beforeeventually returning to the first team in March. Hewas to leave in 2013 for Juventus.

Pierre van Hooijdonk (Nottingham Forest)The Dutch international striker’s goals had

been instrumental in Forest returning to thePremier League at the first time of asking butwent on strike at the beginning of the 1998/99season because he was furious key players hadbeen let go. He then trained at his old club NACBreda and demanded a move which was reject-ed. He yielded only when the club would notbudge and then manager Dave Bassett felt com-pelled to play him. The depth of antipathy at theclub was reflected when he scored his first goalon his return and the players congratulatedScott Gemmill for creating the chance and nothim. Forest were relegated and he left, VitesseArnhem buying him for £3.5million.

Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur)The moody Bulgarian international striker

tested the patience of the Spurs hierarchy andmanager Juande Ramos as he looked to engi-neer a multi-million pound ‘dream’ move toManchester United at the beginning of the2008/09 campaign. Appropriately for a playerwho learnt English by watching the Godfatherfilms he awaited an offer Spurs couldn’t tundown. He refused to play in the Premier Leaguegame with Sunderland and was threatened with

demotion to the reserves. Spurs complained tothe Premier League about United ‘tapping up’the striker but eventually sold him onSeptember 1 that season for £30million.

Winston Bogarde (Chelsea)Another Dutch international to cause his club

endless headaches. Signed aged 30 and appar-ently without the knowledge of then Blues man-ager Gianluca Vialli in the 2000/01 season, thelatter’s successor Claudio Ranieri disliked him so

much he wanted the player to leave just weekslater. Bogarde dug his heels in and stayed for fouryears, despite being dropped first to the reservesand the the youth team. He justified his behav-iour by declaring in his biography: “This world isabout money (he was on a reported £40,000 aweek), so when you are offered those millionsyou take them. Few people will ever earn somany. I am one of the few fortunates who do. Imay be one of the worst buys in the history ofthe Premiership but I don’t care.” — AFP

LONDON: Tennis chiefs plan to adopt theNFL’s Super Bowl model, by selecting fixed-venue cities in advance for their showcaseDavis and Fed Cup finals. The switch awayfrom one of the finalists hosting thedecider is part of a broader strategy aimedat developing the men’s and women’s inter-national team events. “This is all part of ourmission to make the appeal of tennis broadand wide,” International Tennis FederationPresident David Haggerty told Reuters.

Other options under considerationinclude a tweak of formats to reduce thelength of matches, and expanding the top-tier Fed Cup competition to feature 16nations. Haggerty, elected president a yearago, hopes to have the new hosting systemin place by 2018.

“Davis Cup is 135 nations,” Haggertysaid. “This is a way to unlock potential rev-enue which will help grassroots tennis.”Speaking at his Roehampton office, in asuburban district of south-west London,Haggerty did not name a figure citieswould have to come up with to host thefinal, but said he thought it would be “sig-nificant”. “We’re waiting for cities to distin-guish themselves,” he smiled. “And we’ll seewhat it is. I don’t want to prejudge what itmight be.”

The ITF membership will vote on theplans next August. In American football’sSuper Bowl, the host city is selected well inadvance, usually three-to-five years beforethe game. Similarly, European soccer’s gov-erning body, UEFA, selects the host city forthe Champions League final two years inadvance.

PRIME BENEFITSHaggerty said he hoped to see cities,

federations and their sponsors cometogether to bid for 2018. “The most likelyscenario would be for two-to-three-yearterms,” said the American who won a four-year presidential spell in 2015.

“Right now we know who are in thefinals but we don’t know where it is goingto be.”

Croatia will host Argentina for the 2016Davis Cup title after winning their respec-tive semi-finals last weekend. But a hostcity has yet to be named.

“It is really hard to plan and get viewer-ship and fans excited,” Haggerty said of thecurrent format. “If you have a fixed site,people can begin to plan and look ahead.“Last year we had a fantastic final in Ghent.But the reality is, Britain could have soldout the (13,000-capacity) stadium. Belgiumcould have sold it out, too.” In the women’scompetition, Haggerty is eager to intro-duce an expanded Fed Cup top group, andintroduce a “Final Four” format.

“We are going to spend the next ninemonths working with players, with ournations, talking about other possibilities,such as formats.

“Should it be in Davis Cup two out ofthree sets, or three out of five? It could belooking at a two-day format.” Haggerty saidone of the prime benefits of the “neutralfinal” plan was to unlock more potentialrevenue. “This can then be used to growour mission, which is to distribute funds tograssroots tennis, especially to nations whoneed money for development.

“Because right now the hosting countryis the one that gets all the glory, and themoney. This would enable us to distribute itin a far better way to achieve our mission.“Our mission is to make tennis broad andwide. We have 700,000 spectators that cometo Davis and Fed Cup each year... about 3.6billion people view it on TV, but it’s got to bemore than that. “It’s got to be bigger thanthat, and with a neutral final venue we canwork with our broadcast partners and makeit a much bigger show than just two nationsthat know they’re playing each other. “Wecan make this into a much more massivewin for tennis.” — Reuters

Tennis chiefs plan revamp

of Davis, Fed Cup finals

Five players who fell

out with their club

Manchester United’s German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Manchester City’s Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure.


SEOUL: A rash of complaints about con-troversial decisions has put Asia’s foot-ball referees on the spot despite strenu-ous efforts to raise standards.

Japan and Thailand both lodged offi-cial protests after key decisions wentagainst them in this month’s World Cupqualifiers, while standards are mixed atclub level. Japan were incensed afterTakuma Asano’s shot crossed the lineagainst the United Arab Emirates, butwent unnoticed by Qatari refAbdulrahman Al Jassim. They lost thegame 2-1.

And Thailand complained whenChina’s Fu Ming awarded a penalty in theclosing minutes of their qualifier againstSaudi Arabia, which consigned them to a1-0 defeat in Riyadh.

“The penalty was not our mistake. Infact, in the first half, we should havebeen awarded a penalty,” Thai coachKiatisuk Senamuang told reporters.

Five days later, Saudi Arabia weretrailing Iraq 1-0 until they were awarded

penalties in the 81st and 87th minutesby Qatar’s Khamis Al Marri. They scoredboth to win 2-1.

Such controversies are hardly new tofootball, but they have raised fresh ques-tions about refereeing standards asAsian football strives to match otherregions. Former Iran coach AfshinGhotbi, who has also taken charge ofclubs in Thailand and Japan, said refereeselection was a sensitive area. AfterJapan’s “ghost goal” in Saitama, Japanesefans on social media questionedwhether the Arabic-speaking Qatari ref-eree was biased in favour of the UAE.

“Assigning an official from an Arabic-speaking country close to the UAE in agame between Japan and UAE placedunnecessary pressure on the officiatingteam,” Ghotbi told AFP.

“Confederations can improve byassigning officials to matches to elimi-nate even a hint of influence or bias.”

Al Jassim was later criticised for disal-lowing an apparently legitimate goal for

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors againstShanghai SIPG in the AFC ChampionsLeague quarter-finals. However, the inci-dent was quickly forgotten as Jeonbukwent on to win 5-0.

‘ARIGATO’ The Kuala Lumpur-based Asian

Football Confederation refused to com-ment on individual referees. But it hasbeen increasingly active in referee devel-opment and education, holding semi-nars and courses all over the continent.

Strides have been made. RavshanIrmatov of Uzbekistan has taken chargeof World Cup semi-finals and quarter-finals, and Iran’s Alireza Faghani officiat-ed at the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalmatch. One high-profile outing didn’t goso well. In the opening match of the2014 World Cup, Japan’s YuichiNishimura was roundly criticised whenhe gave Brazil a highly disputable penal-ty against Croatia.

After it put the misfiring hosts 2-1 up

and on their way to a 3-1 win, Brazil’s OGlobo newspaper gratefully ran theheadline “Arigato” (“ Thank you” inJapanese).

Later that year, Nishimura was againunder fire when he turned down AlHilal’s repeated penalty appeals in theirAFC Champions League final defeat toWestern Sydney Wanderers.

The Saudi club issued an angry state-ment alleging corruption and calling thegame a “black spot in the history ofAsian football” which had “looted therights of an entire nation”.

In a continent which has endured alitany of match-fixing scandals, suspi-cions of corruption are never far away.

But Alfred Riedl, coach of Indonesiawith spells in Vietnam, Laos, Palestineand Kuwait, said sometimes the qualityof refereeing is simply not good enough.

“ The standard of referees inSoutheast Asia is simply not adequateand is often really bad,” Riedl told AFP.“Everyone makes mistakes but too many

times, the referees’ decisions areunknowable. In Indonesia there is stillthe same bad quality of refereeing as sixyears ago as referees are scared to makebig decisions.”

Ghotbi said that while improvementshave been made in Asian officiating,more could be done.

“Compared to... other continents,there are differences in judgement ofreferees, their management and interac-tion with players and coaches,” he said.

“Most judgement errors has to dowith experience and understanding thecontext of the game... obviously, there isa longer history of professional footballin other regions, and Asian football istrying to close the gap.”

China also complained about a disal-lowed goal in the 0-0 draw with HongKong in November which appeared tohave torpedoed their World Cup qualify-ing campaign. But, as is the way withsuch protests, the result was allowed tostand. — AFP

Protests put Asian referees on the spot

LIVERPOOL: Everton’s Enner Valencia, front, and Norwich City’s Youssouf Mulumbu battle for the ball during the English League Cup, ThirdRound soccer match between Everton and Norwich City at Goodison Park, Liverpool. England, Tuesday. — AP

LONDON: Cesc Fabregas made an emphaticpoint to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte as hisdouble sealed a 4-2 win at Leicester, whileEverton and Bournemouth suffered shock third-round exits from the English Football LeagueCup yesterday.

Fabregas has been limited to three substituteappearances in the Premier League since Contetook charge over the summer, but the Spainmidfielder proved he can still be a game-chang-er with an influential display capped by the deci-sive two goals in extra-time.

“I was happy to play from the start! Hopefullythis will shut up a few journalists talking rubbishall the time,” said Fabregas, who has been linkedwith a move away from Chelsea.

Elsewhere, second-tier Norwich spoiledEverton’s impressive start to the season andinflicted Ronald Koeman’s first defeat as Toffeesboss with a 2-0 win at Goodison Park.

Bournemouth were the other top-flight casu-alties as second-tier Preston won 3-2 thanks to ahat-trick from Denmark striker Simon Makienok.

At the King Power Stadium, Shinji Okazakiput Premier League champions Leicester aheadin the 17th minute when the Japan striker pun-ished terrible Chelsea defending to head homefrom close range.

Okazaki followed his first goal since Marchwith a second in the 34th minute. Gary Cahillreduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time,the defender heading home after being leftunmarked at the far post from a Fabregas corner.

The Blues equalised four minutes after theinterval through Cesar Azpilicueta’s blisteringlong-range effort.

Leicester had to play extra-time with 10 menafter Marcin Wasilewski’s 89th minute dismissalfor elbowing Diego Costa and Fabregas madethem pay, finishing a flowing move in the 92ndminute and drilling home again two minutes lat-er. Everton are second in the Premier League butKoeman made six changes and his stand-inswere brushed aside by promotion-chasingNorwich. The Canaries went ahead when formerEverton striker Steven Naismith slipped as hewent to shoot and inadvertently lobbed the ballinto the net. Josh Murphy’s superb strike fromthe edge of the area in the 74th minute com-pleted the upset. “I can’t criticise the players. Weplayed well but weren’t clinical enough. The dif-ference was Norwich were clinical with their twochances,” Koeman said.

HAT-TRICK HERO At Dean Court, Makienok, who hadn’t scored

in his previous 19 appearances, gave Preston the

lead in the 10th minute before Bournemouthequalised through Lewis Grabban’s 53rd minutepenalty. Dan Gosling put the hosts ahead fromclose range in the 76th minute, only forMakienok to force extra-time in the 85th minuteand then win it for Simon Grayson’s men in the111th minute. Lucas Perez ’s first goals forArsenal inspired a 4-0 rout of second-tierNottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who has neverwon the League Cup, made 11 changes from theteam that thrashed Hull on Saturday and theunderstudies went ahead in the 23rd minutethrough a long-range effort from Switzerlandmidfielder Granit Xhaka.

Spanish striker Perez, who arrived fromDeportivo La Coruna on transfer-deadline day,opened his Arsenal account in his third appear-ance with a 60th-minute penalty after a foul on

Chuba Akpom. Perez got his second in the 71stminute and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gotArsenal’s fourth in stoppage time.

“It was a motivated team against us and wehad a complete performance. The speed andmovement of our play was fantastic,” Wengerpurred. Liverpool, last year’s beaten finalists,remain on course for a return to Wembley after a3-0 win against Championship side Derby at theiPro Stadium. Estonia centre-back Ragnar Klavantook advantage of poor Derby defending to firehome in the 24th minute.

Philippe Coutinho doubled Liverpool’s lead inthe 50th minute and Divock Origi put the resultbeyond doubt four minutes later.

Newcastle defeated Championship rivalsWolves 2-0, Leeds beat fellow second-tier sideBlackburn 1-0, while Reading won 2-1 in anotherall-Championship clash at Brighton. — AFP

Fabregas downs Leicester

as Everton crash out

PARIS: Edinson Cavani scored his sixth leaguegoal of the season and teammate Lucas net-ted his fourth as Paris Saint-Germain returnedto the top of the French league with a 3-0 vic-tory over newly-promoted Dijon on Tuesday.

Following a stuttering start to the season,the four-time defending champions followedup their 6-0 rout of Caen with a convincingwin at the Parc des Princes. Cavani, who hitfour against Caen in the space of 45 minutes,doubled PSG’s lead from the penalty spot inthe 26th minute after Hungarian defenderAdam Lang scored an own goal when hedeflected a cross from Maxwell. The Uruguaystriker is now the league’s joint top scorerwith six goals, the same as Lyon forwardAlexandre Lacazette.

Lucas completed PSG’s win in the 67thminute with a header past goalkeeperBaptiste Reynet from Maxwell’s cross. The winprovisionally lifted PSG to the top of theleague standings. Level on points with PSGbut with a match in hand, Monaco can claimback the lead when it travels to Nice later.

LILLE 1, TOULOUSE 2After not scoring in the French league for

15 months, Swedish striker Ola Toivonen end-ed his goal drought in style, netting twice ashis new club Toulouse won 2-1 at Lille.Toivonen spent last season on loan fromRennes at Premier League side Sunderlandand joined Toulouse this summer.

Toivonen’s goals, combined with anothersuperb performance from teenage goalkeep-er Alban Lafont, helped Toulouse to its firstwin at its northern rival in 10 years.AfterToivonen put the visitors in front in the 12thminute with a clinical finish past VincentEnyeama, Lafont denied YounousseSankhare’s header. He was powerless whenMarko Basa headed the ball home form a freekick to level in the 35th but kept out a close-range effort from Nicolas de Preville just afterhalftime. Toivonen scored the winner with 13minutes left, connecting with a cross at thepenalty spot and sending Enyeama thewrong way. Toulouse moved to a provisionalthird place, two points behind PSG. — AP

MADRID: Sevilla provisionally moved tosecond place in the Spanish league afterdefeating Real Betis 1-0 in the Seville derbyon Tuesday.

Argentine defender Gabriel Mercadoscored the winning goal from a free kickdelivered by midfielder Samir Nasri in the51st minute at the Ramon Sanchez-PizjuanStadium. Mercado redirected the ball justenough to beat goalkeeper Antonio Adan.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Mercadosaid. “I’m incredibly happy to have experi-enced this, scoring a goal and helping theteam earn this victory.”

Sevilla reached 11 points with its thirdwin in five games, moving to within a pointof leader Real Madrid, which hosts Villarrealon Wednesday with a chance to win its fifthmatch in a row. Third-place Barcelona,three points behind Madrid, plays fifth-place Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou.

Just two minutes after Sevilla took thelead, Real Betis had a goal by Alex Alegriadisallowed because of offside, althoughreplays indicated it should have counted.

“We didn’t deserve to lose this match,”Real Betis midfielder Joaquin Sanchez said.

“We played with intensity and had ourchances, but we let them score on a setpiece. A lot of times matches like this aredecided on details. We didn’t have luck onour side.” Betis stayed with five points,dropping to 13th in the standings.

MALAGA 2, EIBAR 1Teenage Moroccan striker Youssef En-

Nesyri scored a 76th-minute winner to giveMalaga its first league victory.

Nano put the visitors ahead from insidethe area in the 42nd but Sandro equalizedfor Malaga two minutes later and En-Nesyrisealed the win by curling a left-foot shotinto the far corner after a breakaway. The19-year-old Moroccan, one of Malaga’smost promising players, was making hisfirst-team debut at home.

Malaga had lost two in a row after con-secutive draws in its first two games. It pro-visionally moved to 12th in the 20-teamstandings with five points from as manymatches. Eibar hadn’t lost since a 2-1 resultat Deportivo La Coruna in its opener. TheBasque club remains seventh in the stand-ings with seven points. — AP

Sevilla tops Real Betis

in Spanish league derby

SEVILLA: Sevilla supporters display a giant banner before the Spanish league foot-ball match Sevilla FC vs Real Betis at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Sevillaon Tuesday. Sevilla won 1-0. — AFP

PSG claims French league top

spot with win against Caen

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain’s Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani (L) celebrates withParis Saint-Germain’s Argentinian forward Angel Di Maria (R) after scoring a penaltyduring the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Dijon(DFCO) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on Tuesday. — AP

MILAN: A Chinese consortium looking to pur-chase AC Milan has been accused of providingfalse documents during its initial negotiationswith the Serie A giants, according to reportsyesterday. Sino-Europe Sports InvestmentManagement Changxing Co, led by business-man Li Yonghong, has already paid 100meuros to Fininvest, the holding company of ACMilan owner and president Silvio Berlusconi,who is expected to sign off on the 740m eurodeal by the end of the year.

But a report by the Bloomberg financialnews site, which cites a statement from theChinese lender whose name appears on thedocuments, alleges that false documents wereused in the initial negotiations.

The report claims Sino-Europe Sports pro-vided documents on “what appears to be Bankof Jiangsu Co. stationery, purporting to showtransaction details of a consortium member’scorporate account”.

It added that “after reviewing the matter,Bank of Jiangsu found it hadn’t issued anysuch document detailing the account’s trans-actions”. In a statement to AFP on Wednesday,Fininvest said it would “not confirm” that it hadreceived the documents in question, adding:“and we do not intend to comment on theaffair.” The Bloomberg report claims, however,that: “Fininvest checked the soundness of the

buyers through contacts with Chinese finan-cial institutions, and it continues to work tofinalize the deal by the end of the year.”

The claims, reported widely in the Italianmedia, have cast a shadow over a deal thatcould see Milan, one of the world’s legendaryfootball clubs, following in the footsteps ofcity rivals Inter Milan in being sold to Chineseinvestors.

Inter, Italy’s last Champions League win-ners, in 2010, are now owned by the Chinesegroup Suning, who bought a majority stake inthe club several months ago from IndonesianErick Thohir. AC Milan already pulled out ofone deal with Chinese investors last year, andrecently the new bid was hit by doubts.

Sino-Europe Sports issued a statement lastweek to quash claims it was struggling togather the necessary funds for a successfultakeover. “Sino-Europe Sports confirms thateverything is progressing rapidly towards theclosing for the acquisition of Milan,” the state-ment said. “Yesterday [on Friday] David Hantook part in a series of planned meetings withhis advisors and Fininvest. All the parties areworking to close the deal in the plannedtimescale.”

According to preliminary negotiationsbetween the parties, the deal is scheduled tobe completed by the end of the year. — AFP

Forgery claims hit

AC Milan takeover bid

15Ivorian hero Cisse targets Tokyo 2020 after Rio gold


16Skipper Misbahlauds Pakistanachieving No 1 test ranking

Tennis chiefs plan revamp of Davis, Fed Cup finals Page 18

TORONTO: Carey Price #31 of Team Canada eyes the puck next to Kyle Palmieri #23 of Team USA in the third period during the World Cup of Hockey at the Air Canada Center on Tuesday in Toronto, Canada. Canada won the game 4-2. — AFP

TORONTO: Patrick Kane was on the verge of tears as thefinal horn sounded on another American loss toCanada. A 4-2 wipeout eliminated the United Statesfrom the World Cup of Hockey on Tuesday night, endingwhat was perhaps the best chance for this generation ofplayers to win an international competition. Instead, theUS flamed out in two games, leaving disappointment,frustration and plenty of questions about the directionof the program.

In the aftermath of a dominant, clinical performanceby the tournament favorite, and a lackluster showing bythe US, top players were shell-shocked by the early exit.

“Two games here and you’re done,” said Kane, whodoesn’t have a goal in nine consecutive games in aTeam USA uniform. “It’s just amazing. It’s crazy the wayhockey is. It’s definitely frustrating being an Americanand having these opportunities and have nothing toshow for it.”

A shutout at the hands of Team Europe, a group ofplayers from eight countries, and then a mistake-proneloss to Canada was enough to keep the US from reach-ing the semifinals. Canada and Europe clinched spots.

What Kane called a “dud” against Europe put the USin a must-win mode against its biggest rival. Regulation

victories against Canada and the Czech Republicwould’ve advanced the Americans, and now the finalround-robin game Thursday is a matchup of lame-duckteams. US general manager Dean Lombardi said in Junethat his goal was to build a team that could beatCanada. The American roster, heavy on size and grit andlight on speed and skill, was widely panned when it wasannounced, and it took more hits this week.

“You guys can beat up the roster all you want,” coachJohn Tortorella said. “You look at some of those playerson our roster, there are some pretty good skilled playersand we just simply did not do enough offensively andwe self-inflicted quite a bit in two games.”

CRITICISMTortorella said he’s still waiting for the US to generate

some offense. It got an early goal by defenseman RyanMcDonagh and a late one by T.J. Oshie well after thegame had been decided.

Forwards Phil Kessel, Paul Stastny and Kyle Okposo,and defensemen Justin Faulk and Kevin Shattenkirkwere among the players left off the roster who couldhave provided more offense.

Minutes after the game went final, Kessel tweeted :

“Just sitting around the house tonight with my dog. Feltlike I should be doing something important, butcouldn’t put my finger on it.” It was just his third tweet inthe past year, one of which was a picture of him raisingthe Stanley Cup. After mistakes led to two Canada goalsby Matt Duchene and one each by Corey Perry andPatrice Bergeron, US players brushed off Kessel’s tweetand criticism of the roster construction.

“Everyone that was here deserved it,” said captain JoePavelski, who like Kane and fellow star Zach Parisestruggled to generate scoring chances. “There’s deci-sions made and that’s the way they went and that’s theway that group was put together. It doesn’t matter whohas here or who wasn’t. It was a job for us to get it done,and we were not good enough.”

The US continued to be not good enough againstCanada, falling to 1-5 against the world’s top hockeypower dating to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. OnTuesday night Canada was the better team from aboutthe five-minute mark on, getting two goals 14 secondsapart to move past McDonagh’s and benefiting from 34saves by Carey Price.

Price’s international shutout streak ended at 228:41,but Canada got the job done. “There was times tonight

that I didn’t think we were even close to being as goodas we’re capable of being,” Canada coach Mike Babcocksaid. “We weren’t as good as we’re capable of beingtonight.”

The US was not nearly as good as it was capable of,despite the star power left at home. DefensemanDustin Byfuglien left Duchene alone on his first goal,and winger Max Pacioretty failed to clear the puck onhis second, the kinds of mistakes no team can makeagainst Canada.

“It was very important that if they were going to getsomething, they had to earn it,” Tortorella said. “Ithought we had a good start, but we gave them a cou-ple of freebies there and you just can’t do that.”

Goaltender Jonathan Quick continued his stronginternational play, stopping 30 shots to keep the scorefrom being even more lopsided. But like Kessel sitting athome with his dog, Quick couldn’t get goals at the oth-er end to keep the US from another head-shaking loss.

“I feel like we let our country down, we let ourselvesdown,” defenseman Ryan Suter said. “You come intothis not knowing how many more chances you’re goingto get and to be out after two games is extremely dis-appointing.” — AP

USA out of World Cup after Canada drubbing

ROME: Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi rejected thecity’s bid for the 2024 Olympics yesterday, effec-tively dooming the capital’s candidacy for thesecond time in four years.

If approved by Rome’s city assembly, Raggi’smotion to withdraw the bid would leave only LosAngeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, in the run-ning for the 2024 Games. The InternationalOlympic Committee will decide on the host cityin September 2017.

At a news conference in city hall, Raggi said itwould be financially “irresponsible” to pursue thebid any further given the city is barely able to getits trash picked up. She highlighted the debtsthat previous Olympic host cities have incurredand the unfinished infrastructure already dottingRome from previous sporting bids as reasons tojustify the withdrawal. “In light of the data wehave, these Olympics are not sustainable. Theywill bring only debt,” she said. “We don’t wantsports to become another pretext for morecement foundations in the city. We won’t allow it.”

Raggi drew up a motion to withdraw the bidWednesday and put it before the city assembly,which has the final say. There was no immediateword if and when the council would take it up.

Raggi had been scheduled to meet withItalian Olympic Committee president GiovanniMalago before going public with her decision.But about 45 minutes after the meeting wasscheduled to begin, Malago and the rest of thedelegation left city hall saying Raggi hadn’tshown up.

Raggi said she was just running late. ButMalago bitterly complained about what he calledRaggi’s “disrespect” and ignorance of the bidding

process and costs. He urged her not to put themotion to the assembly. “Don’t talk about thingsyou know nothing about,” he told a news confer-ence at the headquarters of the national Olympicbody. Malago said the committee would contin-ue working on the bid in the absence of a formalvote, noting the next dossier must be submittedto the IOC on Oct. 7.

“If there’s no formal act, we can continue,” hesaid. “They can’t just declare it in a news confer-ence.” Indeed, rival cities weren’t ready to countRome out altogether. “There is no confirmationthat Rome has departed from the 2024 race andas such it is not appropriate for us to offer anycomment except to wish our Italian colleagueswell during this period of difficult time,” theBudapest Olympic committee said.

Raggi, who was elected in June representingthe anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, cam-paigned with the message that an Olympic bidwas unsustainable for a city struggling to emergefrom years of corruption and poor public servic-es. She said she was merely being consistent withher campaign position.

Her rejection marks Rome’s second withdraw-al in four years after then-Premier Mario Montistopped the city’s plans to bid for the 2020Olympics because of financial problems.

The Rome bid was approved by the cityassembly last year with 38 votes in favor and onlysix against - meaning Raggi will have to put theissue up for another vote to officially end thecandidacy.

The IOC requires bidders to have supportfrom the government and city. Malago ruled outa bid for the 2028 Games, even from another

Italian city. “We’ve lost all credibility, if we pullout,” he said. “Because they’ll think people in Italyare not serious.” Previous Mayor Ignazio Marino,who was forced out over an expense accountscandal, had supported the bid. And PremierMatteo Renzi has been a big fan of the candidacysince he helped launch it in 2014. He has said thebid would be doomed if Rome’s mayor doesn’tsupport it.A budget of 24 million euros ($27 mil-lion) has already been allotted - much of it spent- to the bid committee, even though candidacyhead Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has nosalary. Raggi’s rejection was another stingingblow for the IOC’s “Olympic Agenda 2020” pro-gram, which was designed to make bidding forand hosting the games more flexible and moreaffordable.

“Rome was able to bid only after the IOCchanged its rules with Agenda 2020 and reducedthe costs of putting together a candidacy,”Malago said. — AP

Rome Mayor Raggi rejects

city’s 2024 Olympic bid

ROME: Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi smilesduring a press conference after she did notshow up at a scheduled meeting with a dele-gation of the Italian Olympic Committee, inRome, yesterday. — AP

LONDON: New UEFA president AleksanderCeferin unveiled the logo for Euro 2020 at thetournament’s official launch in London yester-day. The logo shows multicoloured fan silhou-ettes standing either side of the competition’sHenri Delaunay Trophy on a green bridge, rep-resentative of the links between the 13 hostcountries. The 2020 European Championship isbeing staged in 13 cities across Europe to markthe 60th anniversary of the competition, withthe semi-finals and final to take place atLondon’s Wembley Stadium.

“UEFA wanted the 2020 tournament to be atrue celebration of the game we all love andcherish,” Ceferin said in a speech at London’sCity Hall municipal building.

“What better way could there be than totake the tournament, for one time only, to allfour corners of our beautiful continent?”

Matches will also be played in Azerbaijan,Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland,Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia,Scotland and Spain. Ceferin was accompaniedby Greg Clarke, new chairman of England’sFootball Association, and Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan. “We’re looking forward to welcom-ing supporters from across Europe,” said Khan.

“As a truly international city, London has afanbase for almost every nation on earth. Oneof the great things about football in our city isthat it brings people from different back-grounds together.” — AFP

Ceferin unveils Euro 2020 logo

LONDON: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (L) and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin(R) pose for photographers with a replica cup mounted on the logo at an event tolaunch the logo for the 2020 UEFA European Championship football tournament inLondon yesterday. — AFP

BusinessTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Denmark eyes looming skills shortage as economy picks up

Page 22

Why it matters: Minimum wage

Page 22

Peppered with toughquestions, Wells FargoCEO is taken aback

Page 23

Japan tweaks policy, keeps interest rate unchangedPage 25

YANGON: This photo taken on September 1, 2016 shows bankers counting Myanmar kyat notes at a bank. —AFP

YANGON: Carrying her wages in wads of cashacross Myanmar was once a risky, onerous butunavoidable ritual for maid Khin Myint Oo. Butnow she just pings off a text to move the mon-ey to her children back home as mobile bank-ing sweeps into a country whose people havefor decades been locked out of basic financialservices. Myanmar is spinning through athrilling economic revival since shedding juntarule in 2011. But with an embryonic bankingsystem-an estimated 90 percent of the popula-tion still do not have an account-the country’snew civilian leaders are banking on mobilemoney as a shortcut.

“People keep money in their homes in abox,” explained Khin Myint Oo, who moved toMyanmar’s biggest city Yangon to work as ahousekeeper and support her children innortheastern Shan state. With no bankbranches nearby, the family faced twooptions: long trudges to the nearest teller orshipping stacks of tattered notes by bus. Withjust some 1,500 branches in a largely rural

country the size of France, experts say it willtake years to build enough banks to reach the51 million population.

Many also have bad memories of 50 years ofmilitary rule, when bank runs and currency col-lapses were frequent and painful. But change isafoot. Khin Myint Oo now wires home to herchildren in a matter of minutes using WaveMoney, one of the first mobile banking firms toroll out services. The company, a tie-upbetween a telco operator and a private bank,has built a network of 4,000 mum-and-popshops around the country where clients candeposit and withdraw cash by phone.

Referred to as “human ATMS”, these storesare far more accessible and numerous thanbank branches. Wave constantly monitors theirliquidity and dispatches agents to replenishshops running low on cash. “The advantage isit now takes very little time to transfer money,”Khin Myint Oo said from inside the apartmentshe cleans for $2 a day-a sizeable raise from herdays as a farmhand.

Don’t bank on it In one of its first moves since taking power

in April, the government passed regulationsallowing non-banks to enter the e-moneymarket and offer services to the country’soceans of “unbanked”. “In terms of things youcould do straight away that would improvepeople’s lives ...this (policy) would float right tothe very top,” said Sean Turnell, an Australianeconomist advising the administration. Mobilemoney began in Kenya a decade ago and isnow used by nearly half the population.

Similar systems have since taken rootacross Sub-Saharan Africa and in other devel-oping nations, providing millions of peoplewith safe ways to move and manage theirmoney. Myanmar’s promise as a frontier mar-ket is beginning to show especially as phonetowers are erected. Just four years ago only 10percent of the population had a mobilephone-now it is 60 percent, with most usingsmartphones.

“Myanmar was always the market that

everyone would talk about in mobile moneyconferences because it was so untouched,”said Wave Money CEO Brad Jones. Yet unleash-ing the technology’s full potential rests onovercoming an age-old obstacle: trust. Duringits economic heyday under British colonialrule, Myanmar was home to the highest con-centration of foreign-owned banks inSoutheast Asia. But its fortunes swiftlychanged after a military clique grabbed powerin 1962 and nationalized all banks, the first ofmany policies that sunk the nation into pover-ty. Faith in the financial system tanked after aflurry of demonetization decrees in the 1980swiped out nearly two thirds of the cash in cir-culation, triggering bank runs and drivingmany people to convert any savings into gold.

Gold and gem stones “Getting people to trust ephemeral mone-

tary value will be the first challenge. If peoplehave any surplus at all they often buy gold andgem stones,” said Turnell. Changing this behav-

ior is a crucial step on the path out of poverty.Physical assets like gold cannot be cashedquickly, forcing the poor to turn to loan sharksin times of need.

Mobile money is Myanmar’s best bet atswiftly linking its poor to safer, more regulatedfinancial services, said Paul Luchtenburg fromthe UN’s Capital Development Fund in Yangon.“If it was only bank-led, it would take a longtime because the banks are so busy just get-ting their house in order,” he told AFP. In Dala,a muddy suburb across the river from Yangon,those who want to save money have twooptions: take the boat to a bank in the city orbury it in the backyard. Like much of the coun-try, there are zero banks or ATMs in town. Yetseveral shops have started offering mobilebanking services. “When this service becomesmore popular, it will be so much more helpfulto people than banks,” said Zaw Zaw Oo,whose small convenience store is now part ofWave’s network of “human ATMs”. Until then,they’ll have to wait for the next ferry. —AFP

Myanmar banks on mobile moneyNation spinning through a thrilling economic revival

DUBAI: Bourses in the Gulf were mixed yester-day with Saudi Arabia’s bourse supported by thepetrochemical sector while Egypt lost steam aslocal and regional funds exited positions. SaudiArabia’s index rose 0.4 percent in moderate tradeas Brent prices firmed over $46 a barrel. SaudiBasic Industries, the petrochemical heavyweight,climbed 0.9 percent.

The insurance sub-index, usually activelytraded by day traders, added 1.7 percent asalmost all the constituents advanced, recoupingsome of the heavy losses of the week. BUPAArabia, a mid-sized medical insurer, rose 2.9 per-cent. But banking shares were mixed, with thesub-index losing 0.2 percent as the sector’sheavyweights diverged. Al Rajhi Bank, thelargest listed Islamic lender, dropped 2.7 percent.

“There is an overhang from the constructionsector on Saudi banks, but we believe that thecapital buffers in top-tier banks are sufficient,”said Kunal Damle, institutional sales for broker-age at Bahrain’s Securities & InvestmentCompany (SICO). Samba Financial Group, which

derived 11 percent of its net income from cor-porate banking in the first half of the year,jumped 4.9 percent.

The exchange will be closed today in obser-vance of the kingdom’s national day holiday andwill resume trade on Sunday Sept 25. Qatar’sstock index slipped 0.04 percent, after advancing1.0 percent on Tuesday as passive funds flowedinto the companies now included in the FTSE’ssecondary emerging market index.

Dubai drops Seven of the 22 shares which are now FTSE

members pulled back, with Ezdan HoldingGroup dropping 1.2 percent, while five ofthem advanced with Masraf Al Rayan adding0.3 percent. But mobile operator Ooredoo,now a member of the FTSE emerging marketindex, added 2.4 percent after the companysaid late on Tuesday it had no intention ofselling any of its interest in Indonesian sub-sidiary Indosat Ooredoo. There had beenmedia speculation it was considering a stake

sale to focus on Middle Eastern markets.Dubai’s index failed to hold onto small gains

from earlier in the day and dropped 0.3 percentas declines in blue chips weighed on theexchange. Emaar Properties retreated 1.3 per-cent and Dubai Investments lost 1.0 percent. ButAbu Dhabi’s index rose 0.2 percent althoughactivity was lower than previous sessions thisweek. Union National Bank, which has shed 6.7percent since Sunday, added 1.0 percent.

Cairo retreats Cairo’s main index retreated 1.4 percent in

this week’s highest volume of trade as both localand regional funds cashed out, bourse datashowed. All 30 shares declined with real estatedeveloper Amer Group Holding slumping 6.9percent and Qalaa Holdings dropping 5.3 per-cent. “Investors are hopeful, but are not holdingtheir breath waiting for the IMF $12 billion loanand the host of policy actions that should betaken to secure it,” said a Cairo based portfoliomanager. —Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS

Gulf mixed with Saudi outperforming peers

DUBAI: Airbus announced yesterday that the US gov-ernment has granted it a license to sell the first 17 air-planes involved in a landmark deal with Iran madepossible by last year’s nuclear agreement. Theannouncement comes as Iranian leaders and US offi-cials are gathered this week in New York for the UnitedNations General Assembly and serves as a sign thatthe outgoing administration of President BarackObama will honor the economic terms of the accord.

Airbus received the license from the USTreasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Airbusspokesman Justin Dubon told The Associated Press.He said the first 17 planes will be A320s and A330s.He declined to offer a breakdown of how many ofeach are involved in the initial sale, but said Airbushoped to receive a second license allowing it to sellthe remaining planes to Iran.

Iranian officials had no immediate comment andits state media did not immediately report theapproval. Though based in Europe, Airbus wasrequired to get the US Treasury’s license for the dealas at least 10 percent of Airbus components are ofAmerican origin. In January, national carrier Iran Airsigned agreements to buy 118 planes from Airbus,estimated to be worth some 22.8 billion euros ($25billion). The deal included 21 A320ceos, 24

A320neos, 27 A330ceos, 18 A330neos, 16 A350-1000s and 12 double-decker A380s.

Base model A320s are currently listed at an aver-age of $98 million, while A330s start at $231.5 mil-lion. That puts the value of the approved 17 aircraftin the first license around at least $18 billion andpossibly much higher based on list prices, thoughbuyers typically negotiate sizable discounts for bulkorders. Most Iranian planes were purchased beforethe 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted ShahMohammad Reza Pahlavi and brought Islamists topower. Out of Iran’s 250 commercial planes, 162were flying in June, while the rest are grounded dueto lack of spare parts.

The announcement by Airbus will be closelywatched by Chicago-based Boeing Co., which hasan agreement with Iran that Iranian officials havesuggested could be worth as much as $25 billion.Such a deal would be the biggest between anAmerican company and Iran since the IslamicRevolution and US Embassy takeover. In a June let-ter to the US Congress, Boeing said the deal involvesIran Air buying 80 aircraft with a total list price of$17.6 billion, with deliveries beginning in 2017 andrunning until 2025. Iran Air also will lease 29 newBoeing 737s. —AP

Airbus: US grants license for planes in Iran deal

WASHINGTON: Modest income growth formost Americans, strikes by fast-food work-ers, and the rapid growth of low-paying jobsat the same time middle-income workshrinks have combined to make the mini-mum wage a top economic issue for the2016 campaign. Millions could benefit:Raising the federal minimum wage from$7.25 an hour to $12 would lift pay for 35

million workers, or 1 in 4 employees nation-wide, according to the liberal EconomicPolicy Institute. But it would also boost costsfor employers and may slow hiring. And itcould lead to higher prices at clothing storesand restaurants and for other services.

Where they standBoth candidates have struggled to articu-

late their positions. Hillary Clinton says shesupports raising the minimum wage to $12an hour, rather than the $15 supported byadvocates for low-income workers and bythe Democratic Party’s platform. But she alsosupports state and local efforts to push ithigher than $12. Donald Trump is harder topin down. Last fall he opposed any increasein the minimum, saying that overall wageswere too high in the U.S. In July he said theminimum wage should be $10, but addedthat states should “really call the shots.”

Why it mattersIncome for the typical household has

fallen 2.4 percent since 1999, even after abig gain in 2015. That has elevated the issueof wage growth over other economic con-cerns, particularly as the unemploymentrate has fallen back to pre-Great Recessionlevels. And low-wage industries are increas-ingly where the jobs are. The three occupa-tions with the highest employment in 2015were, in order, retail salespeople, cashiersand fast-food workers. Together theyaccounted for 11.3 million jobs, or 8 percentof the nation’s total. They are also growingquickly. Of the 10 occupations that theLabor Department projects will produce themost jobs in the coming decade, five pay amedian wage of less than $12 an hour.

Meanwhile, according to GeorgetownUniversity’s Center on Education and theWorkforce, in 2015 the US still had fewermiddle-income jobs than it did before the

recession. That reflects what economists callthe “hollowing out” of the workforce, as tra-ditional mid-level positions such as officeadministrators, mail clerks, and factory pro-duction workers are cut in recessions andnever fully recover their previous levels ofemployment. Higher-paying and lower-pay-ing jobs, meantime, have both surpassedtheir pre-recession levels.

Contrary to popular myth, low-wagejobs aren’t dominated by teenagers earn-ing extra spending money. About half offast-food workers are 25 or over. And one-quarter have children. That has probablybeen key to a willingness by fast-foodworkers to demand higher pay. The pushfor a higher minimum has won consider-able success at the state and local levels.Twenty-six states have lifted their mini-mums in the past two and a half years.California’s will be $15 by 2022 and NewYork’s will be $15 by July 2021.

A wage floor at that level makes evenleft-of-center economists nervous. It is dou-ble the current minimum, a much biggerjump than previous increases. Most eco-nomic research suggests that modestincreases cost few, if any, jobs. TheCongressional Budget Office estimated thata $10.10 minimum could reduce totalemployment by 500,000, or just 0.3 percentof all jobs. The CBO also found it would lift900,000 people out of poverty. Still, $15 anhour is uncharted territory, with littleresearch on its effects. — AP

B U S I N E S STHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Newsi n b r i e f

India wants UAE, Saudi oil for strategic reserve

MUMBAI: India is talking to the United Arab Emirates andSaudi Arabia to fill half of the 1.5 million tons of theMangalore strategic storage, along with Iranian crude, itsoil minister said yesterday. Dharmendra Pradhan told anews conference India is exploring two to three othermodels for sourcing oil to fill the remainder of the storage.During Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Kahlid A Al-Falih’s visitto New Delhi in October, India plans to discuss the filling ofthe Mangalore strategic storage, and investments in refin-ery and petrochemical projects. Globally, most of thebiggest crude oil consuming countries have a strategicstorage capacity of at least 50 days, but India currentlystands less than 10 days.

Egypt’s current account deficit rises to $18.7 bn

CAIRO: Egypt’s current account deficit rose to $18.7 billionfor the 2015-16 fiscal year that ended in June, from $12.1billion last year, central bank data showed. Egypt’s econo-my is struggling to recover after a mass uprising in 2011that drove away tourists and foreign investors and createda shortage of foreign currency that has sapped its ability topurchase from abroad and relaunch key industries. Thetrade deficit for the financial year stood at $37.6 billioncompared with a deficit of $39.1 billion last year. Theimprovement was “due partly to the decline in world oilprices, which had a bearing on Egyptian exports andimports”, a central bank statement said. Total exports forthe financial year tallied $18.7 billion against $56.3 billionin imports. Those were each less than the $22.24 billionexported and $61.31 billion imported last year. Tourismreceipts roughly halved to $3.77 billion from $7.37 billion ayear earlier. Egypt’s tourism industry, a cornerstone of theeconomy and a crucial source of hard currency, has strug-gled to rebound since 2011.

Qatar budget back to near balance by 2018

DOHA: Qatar’s budget should be back to “near bal-ance” by 2018, as it overcomes the shock waves from aglobal fall in energy prices, economists at QatarNational Bank have forecast. The QNB, in its “QatarEconomic Insight” report, predicts that rising oil pricesand the introduction of a value-added tax will helpQatar recover from the deficits expected in 2016 and2017. “The government’s budget balance is expectedto register a deficit of 5.3 percent of GDP in 2016 and2.2 percent in 2017, before recovering to near balancein 2018,” the report said. “The government’s revenue isexpected to recover in 2017 with rising oil prices.“Furthermore, the introduction of a value-added tax(expected at 5 percent rate) should boost the govern-ment’s revenue in 2018 by about 1 percent of GDP.”This year Qatar faces its first budget deficit in 15 years-expected to total more than $12 billion-as the emiratecopes with the oil price slump.

EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.952Indian Rupees 4.519Pakistani Rupees 2.892Srilankan Rupees 2.079Nepali Rupees 2.827Singapore Dollar 222.610Hongkong Dollar 39.034Bangladesh Taka 3.860Philippine Peso 6.353Thai Baht 8.706

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 80.776Qatari Riyal 83.207ani Riyal 786.772Bahraini Dinar 804.440UAE Dirham 82.471

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 29.050Egyptian Pound - Transfer 34.480Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.216Tunisian Dinar 137.460Jordanian Dinar 427.340Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.018Syrian Lira 2.0159Morocco Dirham 31.471

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 302.750Euro 338.470Sterling Pound 394.030

Nepalese Rupees 3.840Malaysian Ringgit 75.560Chinese Yuan Renminbi 45.770Thai Bhat 9.710Turkish Lira 103.555

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.385785 0.395785Czech Korune 0.004442 0.016442Danish Krone 0.041106 0.046106Euro 0.0331217 0.0340217Norwegian Krone 0.032304 0.037504Romanian Leu 0.075547 0.075547Slovakia 0.009020 0.019020Swedish Krona 0.031080 0.036080Swiss Franc 0.301912 0.312912Turkish Lira 0.097272 0.107572

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.219950 0.231950New Zealand Dollar 0.214188 0.223688

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.223892 0.232892Georgina Lari 0.136713 0.136713US Dollars 0.298600 0.303300US Dollars Mint 0.299100 0.303000

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003305 0.003889Chinese Yuan 0.043845 0.047345

Hong Kong Dollar 0.036937 0.039687Indian Rupee 0.004260 0.004649Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025Japanese Yen 0.002863 0.003043Kenyan Shilling 0.002981 0.002981Korean Won 0.000259 0.000274Malaysian Ringgit 0.069839 0.075839Nepalese Rupee 0.002809 0.002979Pakistan Rupee 0.002745 0.003035Philippine Peso 0.006278 0.006578Sierra Leone 0.000050 0.000056Singapore Dollar 0.216326 0.226326South African Rand 0.015668 0.024168Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001657 0.002237Taiwan 0.009504 0.009684Thai Baht 0.008358 0.008908

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.796349 0.804849Egyptian Pound 0.024054 0.029172Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000085Iraqi Dinar 0.000183 0.000243Jordanian Dinar 0.422783 0.431783Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000150 0.000250Moroccan Dirhams 0.019789 0.043789Nigerian Naira 0.001248 0.001883Omani Riyal 0.779814 0.785494Qatar Riyal 0.082333 0.083783Saudi Riyal 0.079633 0.080933Syrian Pound 0.001283 0.001503Tunisian Dinar 0.133691 0.141691Turkish Lira 0.097272 0.107572UAE Dirhams 0.080989 0.082689Yemeni Riyal 0.001368 0.001448

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 302.950Canadian Dollr 229.665Sterling Pound 393.480Euro 338.070Swiss Frank 298.030Bahrain Dinar 800.870UAE Dirhams 82.710Qatari Riyals 83.925Saudi Riyals 81.510Jordanian Dinar 426.885Egyptian Pound 34.019Sri Lankan Rupees 2.079Indian Rupees 4.512Pakistani Rupees 2.890Bangladesh Taka 3.854Philippines Pesso 6.328Cyprus pound 159.675Japanese Yen 3.970Syrian Pound 2.405

Canadian dollar 230.490Turkish lira 102.110Swiss Franc 310.190Australian Dollar 230.090US Dollar Buying 301.550

GOLD20 Gram 266.42010 Gram 136.1305 Gram 68.910

Bahrain Exchange Company

COPENHAGEN: After a lackluster recoveryfrom the 2008 financial crisis, Denmark’scentral bank has warned that the labormarket faces a squeeze as unemploymentfalls, the population ages and young peo-ple shun vocational jobs. At TechnicalEducation Copenhagen, traineeships foranother 20 to 30 lorry drivers could proba-bly have been found if only people wereinterested in them, according to AndersWendelboe, a head of education at thevocational training college.

In a country where work-life balance ishighly valued, a wrongful perception thatthe job came with irregular working hourswas putting some people off, he speculat-ed. “Young people today would like to haveleisure time, they would like to have a fami-ly,” he said. A lack of skilled workers wasalso threatening growth at Teccon Form, acompany in the western town of Holstebromaking tools for injection molding,employing around 20 people. “There hasprobably been too much focus on having auniversity education,” chief executiveMichael Nederby lamented. “There hasbeen a slightly higher status around that,and we are fighting against that,” he said,adding that he had been forced to raisesalaries to compete with other employers.

Central bank warning Denmark’s central bank last week

warned that the country was technically atfull employment and that the economycould be hit if the country did not findways of growing its labor force.“Unemployment has now reached its ‘struc-tural level’ ... There are, so to speak, no laborreserves among the unemployed,” it said ina quarterly report. “There are already signsof pressures in the labor market. The clear-est indications are reporting of labor short-ages in both the construction and manu-facturing sectors,” it added.

Seasonally adjusted unemploymentstood at 4.2 percent in July, according todata from Statistics Denmark based on thenumber of people on unemployment ben-efits and in labor market activation pro-grams. The number rises to 6.2 percentunder the so called ILO (International LaborOrganization) measure, which is used tocompare unemployment in different coun-tries. Denmark was badly hit by a burst

property bubble during the 2008 financialcrisis and growth has lagged theeconomies of neighboring Sweden andGermany. The country ’s central bankbelieves economic output will edge up 0.9percent this year and 1.5 percent in 2017.

No quick fix “The problem is the greatest among

vocationally trained labor with technicalskills, such as electricians, industry techni-cians and mechanics,” said Steen Nielsen,head of labor market policy at theConfederation of Danish Industry. A previ-ous reform raising the age of retirement, aswell as using foreign labor-mostly fromother EU countries-would help plug theskills gap in the short term, he added.

Still, as Denmark’s population ages, thatis unlikely to be enough. “A shift is takingplace in the labor market,” said StinePilegaard Jespersen, the head of labor mar-ket and education policy at theConfederation of Danish Enterprise. “Moreelderly are leaving the labor market ... andthe young who are coming in are much lesslikely to have a vocational education thanthose who are leaving,” she added. Two ofthe country’s top markets for foreign labor,Germany and Poland, also have ageing pop-ulations and will also see their workforceshrink over the coming decades, she noted.

Denmark received 21,000 asylum seek-ers last year, and many Danes worry thatthe new arrivals-like previous generationsof refugees-will struggle to find work, put-

ting pressure on the Scandinavian coun-try’s welfare state. While some professionsfacing labor shortages, such as bakers andbutchers, could offer opportunities,refugees were unlikely to play a major partin fixing the problem, Jespersen said.

A survey published by Denmark’s inte-gration ministry in May showed that 55percent of newly arrived refugees had onlycompleted primary school, while eightpercent had no education whatsoever.“What we typically see with refugees isthat they don’t have very strong skills.Many of them are very young and don’thave a lot of schooling, and they also don’thave a lot of work experience,” saidNielsen. “On top of that there is a big lan-guage barrier,” he added. — AFP

Denmark eyes looming skills shortage as economy picks up

Population ages while youth shun vocational jobs

COPENHAGEN: This file photo taken on September 18, 2006 shows a man searching for jobs at a job center. — AFP

Why it matters: Minimum wage

PITTSBURGH: In this April 14, 2016, file photo, union organizers, students, and sup-porters for a $15 an hour wage march through the Oakland section Pittsburgh. — AP

First oil in 2 years leaves Libya’s Ras Lanouf port

BENGHAZI: An oil tanker left the Libyan port of RasLanouf for Italy on Tuesday, an official said, the firstshipment since fighting erupted over control of the“oil crescent” two years ago. Oil is war-ravaged Libya’skey asset, and rival administrations have been vyingfor control of its oil wealth and territory since the2011 uprising that overthrew Dictator MoamerKadhafi and plunged the country into chaos.

“The Maltese-flagged vessel Seadelta has just leftRas Lanouf port with 776,000 barrels of oil, going toItaly. This is the first shipment of oil from Ras Lanoufport since November 2014,” said Omran el-Fitouri, oilexports coordinator at the port. The shipment is alsothe first to leave any of the four ports in the areasince they were seized by military strongman KhalifaHaftar last week.

His forces handed the ports over to the NationalOil Corporation (NOC), which said that crude exportswould resume “immediately” from Ras Lanuf andanother of the four, Zuwaytina. The NOC says it is loy-al to the Tripoli-based Government of NationalAccord (GNA), but also to the rival parliament basedin the east which supports Haftar’s forces and hasrefused to give the GNA its vote of confidence.

On Sunday, fighters loyal to the UN-backed unitygovernment launched an attack aimed at retaking thekey eastern oil ports, but were repelled by Haftar’sforces. The fighting forced the Maltese-flagged tankerto turn back out to sea for safety, abandoning plans toload crude oil at Ras Lanouf. Other ports in the cres-cent have been operating intermittently in recentyears, but if the breakthrough at Ras Lanouf-one ofLibya’s biggest ports-is sustained it could lend supportto the status quo after the tussle for control. — AFP


BRUSSELS: The EU yesterday scrappeda controversial plan to limit its land-mark free mobile phone roaming poli-cy to 90 days a year, after an outcryfrom angry consumer groups. Whiledoing away with time limits for roam-ing across the currently 28-nationbloc, the European Commission said itwill instead impose checks to curbabuse of the system. “We will not putany kind of limits on duration or, howmany days (travelers) can enjoy noroaming surcharges, but we decided

to put some clear safeguards on resi-denc y,” EU Commiss ioner for theDigital Single Market Andrus Ansipsaid at a news briefing.

The Commission announced theoriginal “ f ree roaming” plans withhuge fanfare in early 2015, but when itunveiled the details earlier this monthconsumer groups were outraged bythe l imit . They had assumed theCommission’s pledge to end mobileroaming charges-addit ional costswhen people use their phone outside

their home countr y-meant exactlythat, without conditions or caveats.

As a result, they responded angrilyto the 90-day “fair use” limit, chargingthat Brussels had caved in to the pow-erful telecoms companies for whomroaming charges have long been alucrative source of extra income. Thenew rules, which require approval bythe EU’s 28 member states, end roam-ing “for all people who travel periodi-cally in the EU,” said the EU’s DigitalEconomy Commissioner Guenther

Oettinger. But they also ensure “thatoperators have the tools to guardagainst abuse of the rules,” he added.

I nstead of t ime l imits , the newCommission proposal will allow oper-ators to crackdown on people whosephone usage abroad “significantly ”outweighs their domestic calls. It willalso allow mobile operators to cancelSIM cards found to be used almostexclusively abroad by customers tak-ing advantage of lower tariffs thanthose available in their home country.

“If the company has doubts, it notifiesthe customer who has the right to jus-tify the usage,” Oettinger said.

The Commission’s proposal nowgoes to the EU’s 28 national regulatorsfor negotiation, in order for the planto be implemented by June 15 nextyear as originally promised. At theheart of the row over free roaming inEurope is the huge discrepancies inpr ices for phone and data usageacross the EU, a market of 500 millionpeople. —AFP

EU scraps time limits on free mobile roaming plan

WASHINGTON: Facing bipartisan outrage froma Senate panel over accusations of employeemisconduct, Well Fargo CEO John Stumpfappeared taken aback by the intensity of theverbal lashing. At a few points, he seemed flus-tered and stumbled a bit over his words. He bris-tled at assertions that the alleged opening ofmillions of customer accounts without their per-mission was a “scam.”

Peppered with criticism for nearly three hoursat a hearing Tuesday, the CEO of the nation’s sec-ond-largest bank faced calls for his resignationfrom harshly critical senators. They pressedStumpf about claims from regulators that WellsFargo employees opened the unauthorizedaccounts, transferred customers’ money intothem, and even signed people up for onlinebanking in a feverish drive to meet sales targets.

Debit cards were issued and activated, as wellas PINs created, without customers knowing, USand California regulators said as they fined SanFrancisco-based Wells Fargo a combined $185million earlier this month. While partly politicaltheater, members of the Senate BankingCommittee showed rare bipartisanship in theircondemnation of Wells Fargo, and weren’t satis-fied by Stumpf’s show of contrition.

“Words that come like a San Francisco fog onlittle cat feet won’t cut it,” Sen Sherrod Brown ofOhio, the panel’s top Democrat, told Stumpf.“These were not magically delivered ‘unwantedproducts.’ This was fraud; fraud that you did notfind or fix quickly enough.” Stumpf said he was“deeply sorry” that the bank failed to meet itsresponsibility to customers and didn’t act sooner

to stem “this unacceptable activity.” He promisedto assist affected customers. The bank says it hasalready refunded to customers $2.6 million infees charged for products that were sold withoutauthorization.

‘Gutless leadership’ After being lauded for navigating Wells

through the financial crisis that struck in 2008,Stumpf faces what may be an even greater chal-lenge. Senators of both parties were unrelentingin their attacks. Sen. Bob Corker, a conservativeRepublican from Tennessee, said it would be“malpractice” if Wells Fargo did not claw backexecutives’ compensation. Elizabeth Warren, aMassachusetts Democrat and frequent critic ofWall Street, called for Stumpf and Wells Fargo tobe criminally investigated and asserted thatStumpf had shown “gutless leadership” duringthe long-running sales misconduct.

“It struck me that he was berated in a waythat shook him a bit,” said Chris Kotowski, ananalyst at Oppenheimer & Co. He contrastedthat with Stumpf ’s usual “poised, deliberate”manner when speaking in other venues. WellsFargo, familiar to customers for its stagecoachlogo, had also long been known in the bankingindustry for its aggressive sales goals. The aver-age Wells Fargo household had on average morethan six products with the bank, a metric Wellstop executives would highlight every quarterwith investors. The bank even had a “Gr-Eight”program aiming to raise that number to eight.Wells never reached that level.

Stumpf defended the cross-selling of prod-

ucts - trying to draw customers into taking onmore - as “deepening relationships.” Senatorsunderscored the irony of bank executives boast-ing on one hand to investors about the prof-itability of cross-selling, while also firing 5,300sales employees for related activities. The sena-tors also challenged assertions that Stumpf andother senior executives at the bank didn’tbecome aware of the problems until 2013 -when the sales misconduct was reported by TheLos Angeles Times. The practices apparentlybegan several years earlier, as Stumpf suggestedunder questioning.

A major figure at the hearing who was notpresent was Carrie Tolstedt, the former head ofthe retail banking business. She announced inJuly that she would retire from the bank this yearand is expected to leave with as much as $125million in salary, stock options and other com-pensation. Senators hammered Stumpf onTolstedt’s compensation, demanding that heexplain why the bank’s board of directors -which he presides over as chairman - hasn’t exer-cised its authority to take it back from her.

Questioned again by Warren, Stumpf said thebank had not considered firing Tolstedt. Underthe settlement with regulators, Wells Fargo nei-ther admitted nor denied the allegations. It latersaid it plans to eliminate the sales targets by Jan1. Stumpf offered some detail at the hearingabout who was fired, saying “bankers, bank man-agers, managers of managers, and even an areapresident.” They ranged in pay from about$35,000 to $65,000. Not high enough up thechain, senators retorted. —AP

WASHINGTON: Wells Fargo Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf prepares to testify on Capitol Hill. —AP

Peppered with tough questions, Wells Fargo CEO is taken abackCalls for resignation from harshly critical senators

MADRID: Zara-owner Inditex posted a risein first-half profits yesterday thanks to awell-honed business model allowing theSpanish group to beat rivals in whiskingnew trends to the shop racks. The world’slargest fashion retailer by turnover, ownedby the publicity-shy Amancio Ortega whohas become the world’s second richestman, said higher clothes sales and a rise innew stores around the globe drove theeight-percent jump.

Profits rose to 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 bil-lion) in the six months from February 1while sales were up 11 percent at 10.5 bil-lion euros, said the company which oper-ates eight store brands including Zara,upmarket label Massimo Dutti and teenchain Bershka.

Chief executive Pablo Isla said the mainreason behind the sales jump was “the exe-cution of our business model globally,” withthe opening of more than 80 stores in thefirst half, including in the new markets ofAruba, Paraguay and Nicaragua. While itscompetitors prioritise low production costsand outsource manufacturing to China,Inditex makes more than half of its clothesin factories in Spain, Portugal, North Africa,Turkey and Eastern Europe-relatively closeto its main markets.

This business model allows it to getclothes to stores much faster than its rivalsand avoid excess inventory. Clothes madefor Zara, for instance, can go from thedesign stage to store racks in a mere twoweeks. By comparison the process takesInditex’s nearest rival H&M six monthsbecause it sources its collection furtheraway in China.

Concern over growth prospects While H&M regularly challenges it for

the global number one spot, Inditex is cur-rently the largest fashion retailer by sales,based on the two companies’ first-halfresults this year. But Noel Byrne, a businessstrategy professor at the Madrid branch ofBoston’s Suffolk University, warned that theSpanish group was bound to face tightercompetition in the coming years as rivalretailers adjust their own processes tomatch its quick delivery times.

“When you are making big profits it isone of the most dangerous times in busi-ness because the competition want a shareof that, and they smell it and they inevitablycome,” he told AFP. As Inditex continues itspush outside of Europe and plans to rampup activities in China, it will also need toadapt its business model for Asia by open-ing design and production centers in thecontinent, Byrne added.

International expansion is crucial for thegrowth of the group, faced with Europe’sslow economic recovery. According to astudy by the Barcelona-based EAE BusinessSchool, China, Russia and South Korea arethe countries where clothes spending hasincreased the most since 2004. Spain, mean-while, only represents two percent of globalclothes spending, and its share in Inditex’sturnover has gone from 45 to less than 20percent in just a decade. Despite the goodresults, shares in the group fell 0.89 percentto 32.39 euros in mid-afternoon trading dueto a mix of profit taking and concern over“growth prospects in the second half thatare slightly lower than before,” said ManuelPinto, an analyst at brokers XTB. —AFP

Zara owner Inditex profits rise as quick-trend model pays off

ARTEIXO, Spain: This file photo taken on March 18, 2015 shows Spanish tex-tile giant Inditex CEO Pablo Isla arriving to a press conference announcingthe company’s year-end results. —AFP

LITTLE ROCK: Cosmetics maker L’Oreal USAannounced Tuesday it is building thou-sands of solar panels at its manufacturingfacilities in Kentucky and Arkansas, a movethe company says will help cut carbonemissions and create two of the biggestsolar-powered projects in each state.

The subsidiary of the L’Oreal Group saidit plans to install 5,000 solar panels at itsFlorence, Kentucky, plant and another 4,000at its North Little Rock, Arkansas, plant.Work is expected to begin later this year,with the panels that will generate electricityfor the plants operational by the middle ofnext year. The company said the Kentuckyproject will be the largest commercial solararray in that state and the North Little Rockproject will be Arkansas’ third-largest com-mercial array.

With the projects, L’Oreal USA said it willhave reduced its carbon dioxide emissionsby 80 percent from 101,634 metric tons in2005 to a projected 20,059 this year. Theprojects also mean the company’s five man-ufacturing plants in the United States willrely entirely on renewable electricity, L’Orealsaid. The company will have 16 solar instal-lations across the country with the additionof the two new ones. “We are committed tobeing a sustainability leader in the UnitedStates and are proud of the progress wehave made,” Frederic Roze, chief executiveofficer of L’Oreal Americas, said in a state-ment released by the company.

Clean renewable energy Both projects are being developed by

Little Rock-based Scenic Hill Solar. L’Orealwill own the solar panels and Scenic Hill willoperate and maintain them, said Scenic HillChief Executive Officer Bill Halter. Halter,who is also Arkansas’ former lieutenant gov-ernor, said the two arrays combined willproduce about $7.5 million worth of elec-tricity over the next 30 years, and describedthem as models for other manufacturers.

“We hope others will follow and we can

see as a result of both of these projectsthat it is feasible for companies to reducetheir electricity costs while simultaneouslypurchasing clean renewable electricity,”Halter, Scenic Hill’s chief executive officer,told The Associated Press. “I’d characterizeit as a triple win of lower electricity prices,predictability in your electricity costs andproducing sustainably with clean renew-able energy.”

L’Oreal officials said the two sites madesense given the size and history of the twomanufacturing plants. L’Oreal has operat-ed in Kentucky for more than 25 years, andthe plant is the company’s largest manu-facturing site in the US and its largestworldwide by tonnage of products pro-duced. The Arkansas plant has been inoperation for more than 40 years. L’Orealemploys more than 400 people at itsKentucky plant and nearly 500 at theArkansas site. “These are some of ourbiggest sites worldwide and therefore wehave a responsibility to drive the perform-ance of these sites from an environmentalperspective,” Richard Jones, head of NorthAmerican manufacturing for L’OrealAmericas, told the AP.

The panels will produce 10 percent ofthe electricity of each facility, with theremaining power coming from localhydroelectric plants. The 1.5 megawattKentucky array will be installed on the roofof the 687,000-square-foot plant, while the1.2 megawatt Arkansas array will be con-structed on eight acres adjacent to the446,691-square-foot facility. L’Oreal saidthe projected carbon emissions reductionfrom the Kentucky array will be equivalentto eliminating more than 2.8 million milestraveled by passenger cars per year. InArkansas, it will be equivalent of a 3.2 mil-lion mile reduction per year. Each projectwill employ 25 construction workers forabout four months, Halter said. The com-pany declined to say how much it isspending on the two projects. —AP

L’Oreal building solar projects at Arkansas, Kentucky plants

FRANKFURT: Volkswagen investorshave filed 1,400 lawsuits seeking 8.2billion euros in compensation fromthe car giant over its emissions cheat-ing scandal, a German court said yes-terday, adding to a long list of legalwoes for the embattled firm. Investorssay the automaker failed to disclosedetails of the case in a timely way,leading them to lose money as thegroup’s share price plunged by 40 per-cent in two days after the crisis erupt-ed last September.

The $9.1 billion in claims is mostlymade up of “bundled” actions con-taining lawsuits from multiple plain-tiffs, many of them private investors,according to the court in Brunswick,close to VW’s Wolfsburg, LowerSaxony headquarters. The US govern-ment and several German state gov-ernments are also among theclaimants. Two of the claims lodgedwith the Brunswick court, fromgroups of institutional investorsincluding Blackrock, the world’slargest fund manager, account for atotal of 2 billion euros alone.

A spokesman for Volkswagen reit-erated the carmaker’s position that it“continues to believe that we compre-hensively fulfilled our obligationsunder capital markets law and thatthe claims are unjustified.” There waslittle reaction on the Frankfurt stockmarket to the news, with Volkswagenshares gaining around 1.3 percent by1030 GMT.

Mounting costs Volkswagen’s troubles began

after it admitted in September 2015to install ing so-called “defeatdevices” in 11 million diesel-pow-ered vehicles worldwide, whichincrease exhaust treatment whenthe car detects it is undergoing reg-ulatory tests. The software deacti-vates the emissions system whenthe car is on the road, leading to lev-els of harmful nitrogen oxides in theexhaust many times higher thanallowed. The admission led to a

string of legal claims and investiga-tions around the world. The VWgroup has set aside 18 billion eurosto pay for the legal costs of the crisis,and has so far agreed to pay $15 bil-lion in compensation and fines inthe United States alone. Analystsestimate the final bill could reach upto 35 billion euros.

‘Difficult to prove’ Investors had rushed to file com-

pensation claims at the Brunswickcourt ahead of what they believe to

be a one-year deadline to lodgecomplaints. On Monday alone 750new claims were registered. Thecourt said it has taken on extra staffand hired additional storage spaceto cope-as the avalanche representshalf the number of cases the tribu-nal normally hears in a year. “Thecomplete registration of the claimsarrived up to now should be finishedin four weeks,” it said.

A single plaintiff will be designat-ed “in the fourth quarter of 2016 atthe earliest,” it went on, to representall the investors wishing to joinforces in a common case designed tosave legal costs. German law doesnot allow for class-action suits. Thecase’s prospects for success may belimited, however. “History has shownthat it’s very difficult to prove dam-ages of this type in Germany and wina legal case like this,” analyst FrankSchwope of Nord/LB bank told AFP.

VW might strike out-of-court set-tlements with some plaintiffs, whilethe court is unlikely to award the fullamount of compensation investorsseek, he said. The carmaker will notfind itself reaching for its pocketbooksoon as “the case could last for years,”he went on. Volkswagen’s share priceremains around 20 percent lowerthan it was before the crisis broke.But while the financial pain bitesdeep for the firm, recent figuresshow sales are holding up despitethe blow to its reputation. —AFP

Investors ask German court for 8.2b euros over VW’s ‘dieselgate’

FRANKFURT: In this file photo taken on October 1, 2015 in acar workshop in Frankfurt an der Oder, eastern Germany,shows a measuring tube sticking in the exhaust pipe of aVolkswagen Golf 2,0 TDI car during an emissions test. —AFP


Russian parliament faces

tougher economic timesElection win might prove a poisoned chalice

MOSCOW: A crushing victory for Russia’s rulingparty at parliamentary polls has been hailed as abig win for President Vladimir Putin-but for thedeputies elected it might just prove a poisonedchalice. With Russia locked in a damaging eco-nomic crisis and its cash piles dwindling, theauthorities are facing a balancing act-jugglingthe need to slash spending against keepingPutin’s popularity high ahead of presidentialelections set for 2018.

Eventually, analysts agree, the country willneed to carry out tough reforms-potentiallyincreasing the age of retirement, cutting back onjob security and raising taxes. But for now thereis little doubt which way the wind is blowing-ensuring Putin gains a fourth term is the priorityand any radical changes are on ice until then.“Changes are definitely coming. They will beunpopular and controversial but they are nowinevitable as the country can no longer affordnot to make these changes,” said economistChris Weafer of Macro Advisory told AFP. “But Idon’t see any possibility of any of these meas-ures being even publicly debated until afterPutin is re-elected in March 2018.”

‘Unpopular but necessary’ Analyst Alexei Makarkin wrote in Vedomosti

business daily Tuesday that the new Duma-which is entirely subservient to the Kremlin-willbe forced to adopt “unpopular but necessary”measures, but only following the 2018 elections.Austerity measures already adopted in the pastfew years have included major job cuts in thepublic sector and caused the purchasing powerof state employees and pensioners to fall.

Although the measures did not underminePutin’s popularity, they resulted in a string ofsmall-scale protests and strikes in different partsof the vast country-a rarity as protest activitystands at an all-time low. Russia’s economy con-tracted 3.7 percent in 2015, mostly due to acrash in global oil prices, and is expected to dropby at least 0.5 percent this year before a smallbounce back in 2017.

The crisis has seen Russians’ living conditionsslip, with the population’s real earnings lastmonth falling 8.3 percent year-on-year. Putinhas pledged to push forward with l iberalreforms but has dismissed the possibility of“shock therapy” changes like those in the 1990sthat swiftly transformed Russia into a market

economy but wiped out savings and jobs.

Power struggles While major reforms are not on the cards for

now, some in the Russian government appear tobe pushing for spending cuts to go furtherfaster. The Russian press has reported that thecountry’s finance ministry could be lobbying forthe next budget-to be debated in the legislaturenext month-to include spending cuts for the oilindustry, state media, space programs and themilitary.

Suggestions of slashing the military budget-which already represents more than five per-cent of GDP and has considerably increased inthe past decade — seem to be have unleasheda power struggle between different factions ofthe Russian government and business commu-nity. Russia’s Kommersant daily reported thatFinance Minister Anton Siluanov and DefenceMinister Sergei Shoigu had heated exchangesat a recent government meeting addressing

the rearmament of the Russian military, whichis conducting a bombing campaign in Syria insupport of the regime.

These behind-the-scenes power strugglescome as the finance ministry has warned thegovernment against depleting its financialreserves built up from oil export revenue in pre-vious years when crude prices were high. “Asalways it will be Putin who will act as arbitratorin this battle,” Weafer said. Putin will be reluctantto cut spending on defense and social pro-grams-precisely what the finance ministry hasreportedly been calling for-but would alsodread weakening the country’s already fragilefinancial situation which could spur higher infla-tion that would quickly hit the pocketbooks ofRussians. “He will not want to risk Russia beingplaced in a vulnerable financial position,” Weafersaid. “To be seen by the West to be in that posi-tion would undermine his geopolitical bargain-ing position as well as risk losing public supportat home.” —AFP

Mylan set to defend EpiPen

prices amid public outcryWASHINGTON: The head of pharmaceuticalcompany Mylan is defending the cost for life-saving EpiPens, signaling the company hasno plans to lower prices despite a public out-cry and questions from skeptical lawmakers.“Price and access exist in a balance, and webelieve we have struck that balance,” HeatherBresch says in prepared testimony releasedby the House Oversight and GovernmentReform Committee ahead of her Wednesdayappearance before the panel.

The price of EpiPens has grown to $608for a two-pack, an increase of more than 500percent since 2007. Republicans andDemocrats have said families struggling topay for the emergency allergy shots haveevery right to be outraged by Mylan, a com-pany whose sales are in excess of $11 billion.Bresch says in the testimony that she wishesthe company had “better anticipated themagnitude and acceleration” of the risingprices for some families.

“We never intended this,” she says. But shesays investments are necessary to ensuremore access for those who need it and thecompany has made strides to more widelydistribute the drug to schools and others.

“We don’t want to go back to a time - notthat long ago - when awareness of anaphy-laxis was much lower and epinephrine autoinjectors were only available in schools with aprescription for an individual child,” she says.“Achieving this level of expansion of aware-ness requires significant investment.”

‘Critical medications’ House Oversight chairman Rep Jason

Chaffetz, R-Utah, and the panel’s topDemocrat, Rep Elijah Cummings ofMaryland, have said they also want to

examine ways to encourage greater compe-tition in the EpiPen market. “Our goal is towork together to ensure that critical med-ications, like the EpiPen, are accessible andaffordable for all of our constituents,”Chaffetz and Cummings said in a joint state-ment last week.

Bresch has some familiarity with CapitolHill - she is the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin,D-W.Va. But lawmakers so far haven’t givenany deference to her because she is relatedto a colleague. Several other committeeshave called for investigations into the matter.EpiPens are used in emergencies to stoppotentially fatal allergic reactions to insectbites and stings, and foods like nuts andeggs. People usually keep multiple EpiPenshandy at home, school or work, but thesyringes, prefilled with the hormone epi-nephrine, expire after a year.

Bresch noted that Mylan has said it willbegin selling its generic version for $300 for apair. That will still bring Mylan tens of mil-lions of dollars while helping it retain marketshare against current and future brand-nameand generic competition. The company hasalso offered coupon cards and has doubledthe limit for eligibility for its patient assis-tance program.

Critics have said the coupons, discountcards and patient assistance programs aren’treal solutions because many customerswon’t use them or won’t qualify for them. Inher testimony, Bresch says she understandsthere is considerable concern and skepticismabout the pricing. She says some think thecompany makes $600 off each EpiPen, butthat is not true. She says the company makesabout $50 per pen after rebates, fees, materi-als and other costs are subtracted. —AP

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, takes part in a live video link atthe Novo-Ogaryov residence yesterday. Putin had the video call to officially open anew oil and natural gas field in the Yamalo-Nenets region in Siberia. Russian state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller looks, second right. IgorSechin, Russian oil giant Rosneft CEO is on a screen. —AP

LONDON: The UK may be sailinginto an uncertain future outside theEuropean Union, but if campaign-ers have their way, Britannia willrule the waves again. AConservative lawmaker and theDaily Telegraph newspaper are pro-posing to re-commission the royalyacht Britannia , former berth ofQueen Elizabeth II , and send itaround the world as a floatingtrade mission.

The yacht was retired in 1997,and is now a tourist attractionmoored in Edinburgh. LegislatorJake Berry says it should either bebrought back into service or a newyacht built to help “bring in billionsof pounds’ worth of trade deals forpost-Brexit Britain.” Anticipatingthat some will label his idea “a vani-ty project,” he says it should befunded by donations, rather thantaxpayers.

Former Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague has backed Berry’sproposal, saying that when he wasin government he found that noone, however wealthy or powerful,could resist an invitation onto theroyal yacht. “Leaving the EU meanswe need to communicate theadvantages and attractions of ourcountry more than ever,” Haguewrote in the Telegraph. “That will

take a lot more than a yacht, but weneed all the reach and profile thatwe can get.”

Others, however, said bringingback a symbol of empire andmonarchy would send the wrongsignals about Britain to the world.“Britannia was always a wisp ofdenial because, essentially, shesailed through imperial decline,”wrote columnist Tanya Gold in yes-

terday’s Guardian newspaper. “Herpower was cosmetic. She floated onnostalgia.”

Floating monument Launched in 1953, Britannia was

the last in three centuries of royalyachts, a floating monument to anation that built an empire on navalpower - an empire it was then in theprocess of losing. The 412-foot

yacht, with its teak deck and brassfittings, traveled more than 1 millionmiles as transport for royal visits andvacations, a reception venue for dig-nitaries and the honeymoon vesselfor royal couples including PrinceCharles and Princess Diana. Her finalvoyage was to collect the last Britishgovernor from Hong Kong when theformer British colony returned toChina in 1997.

The government of then-PrimeMinister Tony Blair decided the costof replacing Britannia was too high.The royal family, whose popularitywas then at a low ebb after a seriesof scandals, acquiesced - though thequeen wiped away tears at thedecommissioning ceremony. Berryhas secured a House of Commonsdebate on the yacht on Oct 11,though his plan is unlikely tobecome a reality without govern-ment support. Prime MinisterTheresa May has not backed theidea, though when asked about itshe said she recognized Britain’s“proud heritage” as a trading nation.“The important question is how dowe get out there and promoteBritain, promote Britain as beingopen for business, promote theinterests of people investing inBritain and for our businesses actual-ly exporting overseas,” she said. —AP

Proposal to revive royal yacht

draws fans and foes in Britain

BANGKOK: In this Friday, May 9, 1997 file photo, a long-tailedboat passes by the British Royal Yacht HMY Britannia as it istugged to port. —AP

World stocks get a lift from BOJLONDON: World stocks rose yesterday, led by a surgein bank shares, after the Bank of Japan overhauled itsmonetary policy to target interest rates, though theyen recovered initial losses against the dollar on skep-ticism those moves would stoke inflation.

With the global economy showing few signs ofrebounding and investors fretting about the limits ofmonetary easing by major central banks, the BOJ’smove initially came as a welcome relief for markets,particularly financial sector shares. Investors’ focusnow shifts to the US Federal Reserve policy decisionlater yesterday. Expectations of a rate increase have allbut evaporated after some weak economic data, andWall Street looked set to follow Europe higher.

Europe’s STOXX 600 rose 1 percent as euro zonebanking shares rallied nearly 3 percent. The bankshares were poised for their best day in more thantwo months. Futures on Wall Street were up 0.4 per-cent. The BOJ maintained its 0.1 percent negativeinterest rate, but abandoned its base money target.Instead, it set a “yield curve control” under which itwill buy long-term government bonds to keep 10-year bond yields around their current zero percent.

“The fact that the flattening of the yield curve hasgotten to a point where it has elicited a policyresponse could mark the beginning of the end ofquantitative easing,” said Michael Metcalfe, head ofglobal macro strategy at State Street Global Markets.“Just as interest rates have reached their lower bound,asset purchases, in government bonds at least, mayhave reached their upper bound. Other central banks,the ECB especially, will take close note.” A similarmove would solve many of the European CentralBank’s own problems but would probably pose even

more, making the policy difficult to emulate.Doubts about the sustainability of the market’s

moves crept in quickly, particularly for the yen, whichreversed direction against the dollar hours after theBOJ decision. “Markets seem a bit confused by today,and rightly so,” said Aberdeen Asset Managementinvestment manager James Athey. The fact that the

BOJ is trying to overshoot an inflation target it hasstruggled to hit has raised eyebrows, Athey said. “TheBank has effectively told markets that it has a royalflush, and the markets are questioning Kuroda’s pokerface,” he said. The US dollar rose as high as 102.78 yen,but had slipped back to 101.36 yen by midday inEurope. —Reuters

NEW YORK: In this Oct 8, 2014, file photo, people walk to work on Wall Street beneatha statue of George Washington. —AP


NEW DELHI: India’s government willpartly fund a $2 billion gas pipeline proj-ect linking five eastern states to helpkick-start economic growth in a regionthat has trailed the rest of the country,the oil minister said yesterday. The 2,500-km pipeline is to be built by state-runGAIL (India) Ltd, and this will be the firsttime the government has offered financefor such a project as part of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s plan for morebalanced development.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan saidthe government will meet 40 percent ofthe cost of the pipeline that will runthrough the states of Uttar Pradesh,Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal andOdisha, which together account for near-ly 40 percent of India’s 1.3 billion popula-tion. It will be the biggest pipeline proj-ect in the country and had won govern-ment approval in 2007 but could notmove forward.

“This will be the first time that govern-ment spending will be made for pipelineinfrastructure. This will help in achievingthe prime minister’s vision of the eco-nomic development of the eastern

states,” Pradhan told reporters after acabinet meeting. “The prime ministerwants energy justice for all,” he said.India’s economic development has beenconcentrated in the western and south-ern states, where there is better infra-structure and more accessible energysupplies. These states get piped gas sup-plies for household and transportation.

Pradhan said the government washoping the new pipeline would helpattract investment in the agro processingindustry in the eastern region. The gov-ernment has already removed the cap onforeign direct investment in the sector.The new pipeline will also help in effortsto revive three fertilizer plants, whichModi’s campaign had promised to do inhis 2014 election run.

India’s gas demand is expected to goup by as much as 10 million cubic metersa day once the pipeline is completed in alittle more than two years. Natural gasaccounts for about 6.5 percent of India’soverall energy needs, far lower than theglobal average. India plans to raise theshare of gas in its energy mix to 15 per-cent over the next three years. — Reuters

TOKYO: Japan’s central bank opted yesterday to keepits policies mostly unchanged, with some technicaladjustments to how it controls interest rates. Worldstocks rose after the decision by the Bank of Japan,with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumping 1.9percent to 16,807.62. The adjustments to the BOJ’spolicies were widely anticipated, though many ana-lysts had been expecting an interest rate cut or othermore aggressive moves to perk up sluggish growth inthe world’s No 3 economy.

The BOJ meeting wrapped up just hours beforethe US Federal Reserve was due to announce its latestpolicy decision. Economists expected the Fed to leaverates unchanged after the end of its two-day meetingyesterday. While the Fed is weighing an eventualincrease in rates, the BOJ’s policy statement said itsshort-term policy rate will remain at negative 0.1 per-cent. The central bank is charging that rate on excessreserves it holds for banks to encourage them to lendmore and said it might cut it further.

The central bank said it will continue its asset pur-chases at a rate of about 80 trillion yen ($787 billion) ayear. But it will aim to push yields on long-termJapanese government bonds higher, while keepingshort-term rates low. For now that means at zero per-cent or below. The tinkering with policy highlights thelimits of the central bank’s options but may alleviateconcern the BOJ is “crowding out” other investors withits massive purchases of government bonds.

‘New framework’Pushing yields on longer-term securities higher

will be a boon to life insurers and other big institution-al investors that have seen investment returns plungeafter the BOJ imposed its negative interest rate policyin February. The BOJ’s “new framework” to strengthenmonetary easing also it to pushing past the 2 percentinflation target it set more than three years ago.

In a 61-page assessment, the BOJ said its “quantita-tive and qualitative easing,” monetary policy, knownas QQE, had succeeded in ending deflation, or fallingprices. But it said that fostering the scale of “inflationexpectations” that might encourage consumers and

businesses to spend more was taking time. “Withregard to the outlook, sluggishness is expected toremain in exports and production for some time, andthe pace of economic recovery is likely to remainslow,” it said. Analysts expect the BOJ to eventuallyslash its policy rate further.

“With underlying inflation set to fall to zero in com-ing months, we expect the policy rate to eventuallyfall to minus 0.4 percent,” Marcel Thieliant of CapitalEconomics said in a commentary. The world’s othermajor central banks have spent years struggling torejuvenate their economies, to raise inflation and getbusinesses and consumers to spend more. In theUnited States, the Federal Reserve is expected to raiseshort-term US interest rates - but probably not before

a meeting in December.In December 2015, the US central bank raised rates

for the first time since 2006. It was widely expected tohike rates several more times this year, has held off asthe US economy sputtered, hobbled by weak globalgrowth and a strong dollar that makes Americangoods pricier in foreign markets.

Meanwhile, European Central Bank chief MarioDraghi is asking for help from the governments of the19 counties that use the euro currency. The ECB onSept. 8 left its aggressive stimulus measuresunchanged. It called on European governments tospend more on infrastructure projects and to enactreforms to make their economies more efficient andbusiness-friendly. — AP

Japan tweaks policy, but keeps minus interest rate unchanged

Aggressive moves look to perk up sluggish growth

SHINJUKU: In this Tuesday, Sept 13, 2016 photo, people walk through a street in Kabukicho inTokyo’s Shinjuku entertainment district. — AP

JAKARTA: Ride-hailing startup Grab has with-drawn an advertisement in Indonesia after thevideo’s portrayal of a woman covered in bloodsparked an online furore and drew comparisonswith a zombie movie. Singapore-based Grab is con-sidered the leading ride-hailing platform inSoutheast Asia and plans to expand its presence indensely-populated Indonesia.

The ad, released online as part of a campaign tohighlight Grab’s safety standards, shows the youngwoman becoming progressively blood-spatteredas she walks down a street, with a voiceover sayingshe is about to make a “big decision”. By the timeshe reaches a group of motorbike taxi drivers-acommon form of transport in Indonesia’s traffic-choked cities-she is dripping with gore. But when

the woman refuses to use the drivers not workingfor Grab, the app appears on her phone and theblood disappears.

The 45-second ad ends with her walkingtowards a motorbike taxi driven by a man workingfor Grab. Netizens were shocked at the graphic ad,however, and the video was pulled late Tuesday. Itwas replaced on Grab Indonesia’s YouTube channelwith a 15-second, blood-free clip. The originalsparked a storm on Twitter, with many saying itlooked more like a trailer for a zombie movie thanpart of a safety campaign.

“Why are you making a scary ad? Is it for zom-bies or for a service,” said @Imanakbar08. User@AroonP added: “So Grab campaigns for#ChooseSafety with an ad full of blood.” Mediko

Azwar, marketing director for Grab Indonesia, saidthe firm had hoped the video would be “thought-provoking” but added: “We acknowledge that thegraphics may have been grim and disturbing.”

“Our intention was not to shock, but to rein-force the consequences of accepting lower safetystandards,” he added in a statement. The controver-sy over the video came as the firm announced ithad raised $750 million from investors to expand inburgeoning Southeast Asian markets, where itaims to build its lead over US-based rival Uber. Inaddition to Indonesia-one of Grab’s key markets-the firm also operates in Singapore, the Philippines,Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Its core productplatform includes private cars, motorbikes and taxi-hailing services. — AFP

BANGKOK: China and Thailand agreed yes-terday that the first phase of a plannedhigh-speed railway project will cost 179 bil-lion baht ($5.15 billion), Thailand’s trans-port minister said, with both countries call-ing for closer ties following rocky negotia-tions. The 873 km rail l ine will l inkThailand’s border with Laos to the portsand industrial zones in Thailand’s east.

Beijing has ambitious railway plans toconnect the southwestern Chinese city ofKunming to Thailand, through Laos, andThailand wants to modernize its ageing railnetwork. Earlier this year China put theproject cost at 560 billion baht ($16.09 bil-lion), which Thailand said was too high.Agreement over the project’s frameworkcomes after months of sometimes tensenegotiations, officials said.

“This project will cost 179 billion baht.This is what we agreed upon,” Thai TransportMinister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith toldreporters in Bangkok after a three-daymeeting between China and Thailand.Arkhom said Thailand will bear full con-struction costs, while China will provide

funds for technical systems. The first phasewill focus on a 250 km track from Bangkokto the northeastern Thai province ofNakhon Ratchasima, with constructionstarting in December.

“Both countries want to begin this proj-ect by the end of the year and there is limit-ed time remaining,” said Wang Xiaotao, vicechairman of China’s National Developmentand Reform Commission, who was presentat Wednesday’s talks in Bangkok. Thailand’sjunta has targeted infrastructure spendingas a long-term fix to help boost the econo-my in light of weak exports and consumerconfidence.

Thailand has moved closer to Chinaand away from its traditional ally theUnited States, following a 2014 coup bythe Thai army, through an increase indiplomatic visits and joint Thai-China mili-tary exercises. But disagreements overdetails of the rail project, such as the cur-rency of payment, threatened futurenegotiations. “ We wil l have to workthrough any disagreements or misunder-standings,” Arkhom said. — Reuters

India to fund major gas pipeline to boost states

Thailand, China agree on $5bn for rail

project’s first phase

Ride-hailing firm Grab pulls gory Indonesia ad

KUWAIT: Warba Bank announced, during apress conference, the signing of a cooperationagreement with the Public Authority for CivilInformation to activate the e-signature servicefor the bank’s staff and the banking services itprovides. The bank also announced the releaseof a unique and exclusive service called“Express Finance” which came as a result ofthis agreement. It allows clients to authorizethe bank through the e-signature to view theirinformation in the credit network (Ci-net)without having to be present personally in thebranch. As a result, Warba Bank has taken theextra mile to be the first bank in Kuwait thatreleases services based on this technology,thus adding to its list of leading achievements.

The e-signature is considered a person’selectronic identity. It represents a digital cer-tificate that allows for him to confirm his iden-tity through online transactions. Based onthat, Warba Bank released this leading agree-ment in the field of information technology,which is provided by the Public Authority for

Civil Information, and helps save time andeffort in performing banking transactions andprocedures. The e-signature can be used inconfirming the person’s identity online whenaccessing personal data, in addition to finish-ing online transactions with security for per-sonal data without having to go to the bank.The e-signature is also used to sign mostonline documents such as contracts, agree-ments and transactions, with the option toencrypt them. It also can be used to sign e-mails in order to confirm the sender’s identity.

Commenting on the agreement, ShaheenHamad Al-Ghanem, Warba Bank’s CEO said: “Weare glad to cooperate with the Public Authorityfor Civil Information to activate the e-signaturefor staff and banking transactions by usingsmart IDs and digital certificates. Based on thisagreement, we are proud to be the first inKuwait’s banking sector to have the initiative topresent an innovative service, which is the“Express Finance” that is based on the e-signa-ture service.”

Faster than before “This service allows the client to authorize

the bank through the e-signature to view hisinformation on Ci-net without having to bepersonally present to sign the application.With this service, financing transactions can bedone faster than before, and require less num-ber of visits to the bank’s branches to com-plete the transaction,” he noted.

Al-Ghanim further explained that thosewho desire to obtain financing from WarbaBank can visit the bank’s website, click on the“Express Finance” page and fill in the requiredinformation. The client will then be transferredto a gateway to the Public Authority for CivilInformation’s website in which his personalinformation are confirmed, and where he canperform his e-signature on the application.

Meanwhile, Musa’ed Mahmoud Al-Asousi,General Director of the Public Authority forCivil Information said: “This cooperation withWarba Bank comes as part of efforts toimprove electronic connection between the

public and private sectors, and the transforma-tion towards electronic transactions.” Al-Asousialso noted to the efforts exerted by the PublicAuthority for Civil Information and Warba Bankto remove all obstacles in order to finish thisstep. He emphasized that his cooperation canhelp provide extra benefit to a larger numberof clients, and save them the need of visitingthe branch to finish their transactions. Thisalso helps reduce pressure on branches andimprove service quality there.

Al- Asousi elaborated that PACI welcomesall cooperation meant to facilitate the transac-tions in both public and private sectorsaccording to law number 20 for 2014 with rel-evance to electronic transactions which statesin its 23rd clause that PACI is to handle the sur-veillance on the e signature infrastructuredesign and management for the nation ofKuwait. All authorized entities are committedto coordinate with PACI according to its termsand conditions which have been elaborated incollaboration with specialized entities in this

regards. Clients can obtain the e-signature byvisiting the e-signature registration office atthe head office of the Public Authority for CivilInformation, where they can sign the e-signa-ture use agreement before the e-signaturecertificate is uploaded to their civil ID with apassword.

Warba Bank strives to improve its electronicservices, as it recently upgraded its interactiveand easy to use website. It also revealed theExpress Account service, the first of its kind ofKuwait, which allows clients to open anaccount online within five minutes withouthaving to visit the branch. The bank also plansto activate the e-signature service in this serv-ice in order to save time and effort in finishingbanking transactions. The bank continues itsapproach in development by being a pioneerin presenting innovative and unique serviceand products that establish a new era for theIslamic banking sector characterized bymodernity, flexibility and innovating whilecomplying with the Islamic Sharia.

Warba Bank activates e-signature services & unveils ‘Express Finance’

— Photos by Joseph Shagra


KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK)proudly announced that ABK CEO MichelAccad was named ‘Bank CEO of the Year’ byCEO Magazine, an ITP affiliate. Mr Accadreceived his award at the ‘CEO Middle EastAwards 2016’ ceremony, which was held inDubai, on 20 September, 2016. The CEOMiddle East Awards recognize and rewardthe most successful and innovative CEOs inthe Middle East. This year’s awards hon-ored top CEOs that have delivered out-standing results, as well as those that havemade a vital contribution to the vibrancyof business across the region. The awardsrepresent the benchmark of success forsenior executives in the Middle East.

Commenting on this achievement,Michel Accad said: “I am honored toreceive this recognition. We have come along way over the past couple of years andI am proud to be part of this financial insti-

tution, and more importantly, part of theexceptionally talented team that has madeit possible to put into action the ideas andstrategies developed.”

“Today ABK has taken its operations toa whole new level, from the innovativesolutions it delivers through its new‘Simpler Banking’ strategy, to its expansionto the Egypt market. I can confidently saythat we have marked the start of a new erafor ABK and we will spare no efforts tomake this journey a rewarding and suc-cessful one”, Accad added.

“I would like to thank the organizers forthis event. This is not a testament to what Ihave achieved as a CEO, but rather to whatwe have achieved as a team at ABK, and Ithank each and every one of our staff fortheir hard work and commitment”, Accadconcluded. ABK’s ‘Simpler Banking’ strate-gy aims to create a Simpler Banking model

for its customers, which revolves aroundoffering more security, convenience andspeed. In line with this strategy, majorenhancements and developments havebeen made to the Bank’s systems andprocesses that have yielded significantimprovements in the ways ABK delivers itsproducts and services.

Moreover, ABK recently also won theAfrica Region ‘Deal of the Year’ award byThe Banker, an FT affiliate, under theMerger and Acquisition category, for theacquisition of Piraeus Bank Egypt (PBE),which was finalized in November, 2015 aswell as ‘Best Bank Transformation’ in theMiddle East by Euromoney. The Bank’s newidentity is being rolled-out in Egypt overthe entire 39 branch network. This acquisi-tion is part of ABK’s efforts to expand itspresence across the region and furthersolidify its role as a leading regional bank.

ABK CEO Michel Accad named ‘Bank CEO of the Year’

ABU DHABI: With millions of families planningand looking forward to their next holiday or tripabroad, Etihad Airways has introduced a newrange of ‘Etihad Explorers’ children’s activitypacks and a Flying Nanny Kit, to keep itsyounger guests occupied while onboard. EtihadExplorers is the airline’s new children’s brand andwill feature on activity packs and meal items,and aims to instill a sense of excitement andanticipation during their journey. The new kitswere launched at a colorful children’s tea partyhosted by the airline at its state-of-the-artInnovation Training Academy in Abu Dhabi.

On inbound flights to Abu Dhabi, a new col-lectable character bag for three to eight year-olds contains an activity booklet, crayons, cardgames and a color-in mask. The pack on flightsfrom Abu Dhabi includes a unique suitcaseboardgame which allows parents and childrento play together, a foam lion character, color-inpostcards, crayons, and a handy waterproof trav-el wallet. Having a different pack on each legensures that children are kept well entertainedon both journeys.

For nine to 13 year olds there is a moremature activity pack which is guaranteed to puz-zle and delight, containing Sudoku, mazes, linednotes and join-the-dot games. These packs alsocontain an Abu Dhabi themed pencil case, pen-cil, a dual-function bookmark and ruler, and anotepad. Tech savvy tots can also enjoy a rangeof films, television programs, games, and child-friendly albums and CDs through the dedicated‘Just 4 Kids’ section on the Etihad Airways E-BOXin-flight entertainment system, all of which canbe enjoyed on the touchscreen and/or handset.

For guests flying long-haul, every aircraft isstaffed by a Flying Nanny. Trained by the UK’sworld renowned Norland College, Flying Nannieswere introduced by Etihad Airways in September2013, and are onboard to provide an extra pair ofhands and allow parents more personal timewhile they entertain the children. The new FlyingNanny Kit promotes greater interaction betweennanny and child and contains an extensive rangeof fun items including Origami, games, pom-poms, flight certificates, tools for magic tricksand face-painting, and a ‘Flying Nanny stamp ofapproval’ which the nanny can use to rewardchildren during their in-flight activities.

‘Family-friendly products’Calum Laming, Etihad Airways’ Vice President

Guest Experience, said: “We understand that fly-ing as a family can often prove daunting for par-ents and children alike, especially when travel-ling long-haul. That’s why we’re continually look-ing for new ways to develop family-friendlyproducts, like the new children’s activity packs,so everyone can be fully entertained from themoment they board.

“This is just a part of our wider efforts to pro-vide enhanced service and hospitality to ourvalued family fliers, an effort which is also

brought to life by our amazing Flying Nannies.The new kits will help these talented crewmembers with the tools they need to provideour young guests, and ultimately their parents,with a truly memorable flight.”

The new kits were created by Milk Jnr’s &Kidworks, a UK headquartered agency whichspecialises in creating engaging kids activitypacks for some of the world’s biggest familybrands, in partnership with Etihad Airways’Flying Nannies and product development team.The project also saw the agency re-illustrate andincorporate four existing Etihad Airways charac-ters: Kundai the Lion, Zoe the Bee, Jamool theCamel and Boo the Panda. Milk Jnr’s incorporat-ed elements of Etihad’s recent livery and staff

uniform rebrand into the children’s brand andlogo including geometric shapes to reflect theAbu Dhabi landscape. As part of Etihad Airways’ongoing commitment to ensuring all passengersenjoy a truly exceptional hospitality experience,a new Children’s menu will be launched inDecember focusing on healthy choices foryounger fliers.

Zoe Telfer, Milk Jnr’s Client Services Director,said: “The aim of this project was to create anengagement solution for families travelling withchildren on Etihad Airways flights. We createdkids packs for long and short haul flights thatreally stand out and reflect Etihad’s premiumservice and reputation, while paying carefulattention to the airline’s distinctive brand.”

Etihad Airways launches children’s activity packs for young explorers

DUBAI: Capital market stakeholdersattended the eighth annual Middle EastInvestor Relations Association (MEIRA)Conference and Awards, held at TheAddress, Dubai Mall, reflecting the growthof professional investor relations practice inresponse to changing market regulation.The conference is the regional flagshipplatform for investor relations professionalsto discuss regional developments inresponse to rapidly maturing capital mar-kets, and drive change through collabora-tion and the implementation of best prac-tice, while providing members with net-working opportunities.

Influential market players from listedand private companies, investors, familyoffices, the exchanges and regulatoryauthorities were among the participantsaddressing this year’s theme “Forward shiftin MENA: a new vision beyond oil”.Speakers at the event explored recentindustry developments including theopening of Saudi Arabia’s exchange, ongo-ing macroeconomic challenges and theoutlook for regional capital markets, as wellas the impact of competition for capital,and how IR professionals can best drive for-ward best practice.

To coincide with the event, AlexMacDonald Vitale, chairman of MEIRA,announced the society’s move to become aregistered professional association, reflect-ed in its new name of The Middle EastInvestor Relations Association (MEIRA).“Regional markets are rapidly adapting tothe changing economic landscape, andworking hard to attract interest from for-eign investors. With this change comes anexpectation of best practice in IR andinvestor engagement. The move to becomea registered member of the DubaiAssociation Centre is welcomed by theindustry and our members, as we take theorganization to the next level.”

The 2016 Investor Relations AwardsCeremony also recognized the region’sleading investor relations professionals,acknowledging their contribution to devel-oping and raising investor relations stan-dards across the region. A full list of nomi-nees and winners can be found on theAssociation’s website at www.me-irsoci-ety.com. MEIRA is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to promotingbest practice IR in the region. TheAssociation benefits from the support of itssponsors, partners and members.

New focus on investorrelations amid regulatorychange discussed at MEIRA

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterdaythat its Burgan Equity Fund has been named asthe ‘Best Equity Fund over 10 years’ in the pres-tigious Thomson Reuters Lipper Award MENAMarkets. For more than three decades and inover 20 countries worldwide, the ThomsonReuters Lipper Fund Awards have honoredfunds and fund management firms that have

excelled in providing consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers.

In a joint press release, Burgan Bank andKAMCO Investment Company declared thatThe Burgan Equity Fund follows a balancedinvestment policy that targets long-term capi-tal gains with minimum risk. The fund investsacross a wide range of sectors including con-sumer services, oil & gas, telecommunications,basic materials, consumer goods, real estate,

financial services, industrial, and banking.Burgan Equity Fund’s cumulative return sinceinception on 9 December 2001 has increasedin value by 115.9% as of end of December2015, while in 2016 till August 2016, the fundhas outperformed the Kuwaiti Stock Exchangeweighted index by approximately 7%.

The ‘Best Equity Fund over 10 years’ awardis a recognition of the Fund’s consistent long-term outper formance compared to itsbenchmark, which is a result of efficient assetallocation where Burgan Bank played the roleof fund manager, in collaboration with KAM-CO Investment Company, as external advisorof the fund.

Burgan Equity Fund, a collaborationbetween the fund manager Burgan Bank andthe external advisor KAMCO, focuses to pro-vide unit holders with excellent returns byinvesting the Fund’s assets in shares of compa-nies listed on Kuwait Stock Exchange (“KSE”).Within the 5-year period, which started in July2011 until July 2016, the Fund generatedcumulative alpha of 16.4% over the KSEweighted index. The Fund is considered one ofthe best performing funds on a risk adjustedreturn basis (based on a basket of 10 fundswith minimum asset under management ofKD 10 million).

KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) heldits 20th & 21st ‘Double Your Salary’ weeklydraws on 20thSeptember, 2016 at theBank’s Head Office in the presence of a rep-resentative from the Ministry of Commerce,announced the names of the winners forthis period. The promotion includes weeklydraws, with two winners per draw.

New customers who transfer their salaryto ABK receive KD 100 and will automatical-ly be entered into the weekly draws to dou-ble their salaries. Existing customers whoare already transferring their salary to ABKare entered into a separate draw.

The next ‘Double Your Salary’ draw willbe held on 27th September 2016, wheretwo new lucky winners wil l beannounced. All winners will be contactedpersonally and a weekly announcement

will be made through the media with thewinners’ names. For more informationabout ABK please visit eahli.com or con-tact an ABK customer service agent via‘Ahlan Ahli’ at 1899899.

ABK announces winners of 20th & 21st ‘Double

Your Salary’ weekly draws

Burgan Bank wins prestigious Thomson Reuters Lipper award

KFH launches‘Ratbi-Link’

onlineinquiry service

KUWAIT: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) haslaunched a new online service titled “Ratbi-link” as one of the new innovative electronicsolutions applied by KFH to better serve itscustomers by using modern technology.Service provides through links on KFH webpages and KFH web site kfh.com contain allavailable information concerning salaries andbenefits credited in customers’ accounts. Theservice aims to provide easy and fast responseto all customers inquiries in this respect.

KFH had conducted a study on the mostquestion asked through social media by cus-tomers and realized that inquiries aboutsalaries and benefits are the most asked ques-tions made by the majority of customers dur-ing the last third of the month. Consideringthe major market share which KFH enjoys inthis field and the speedy credit of customerssalaries in their accounts KFH has designedand launched a new service that provides rap-id and immediate answers and information tocustomers concerning the salaries and bene-fits credited in their accounts at KFH.

The new free service “Ratbi-link” which canbe accessed at any time enables customers toobtain updates on their salaries and benefitscredited in their accounts at KFH. The servicessaves customers the time and effort and mini-mizes the usage of other communicationmeans to obtain this service.

Accordingly the bank provides a betterhigh level service and enables the bank tofocus on marketing other KFH products.Indications and results show that this servicehas achieved remarkable success since dayone as the above link is being used by nearly10 Thousand customers daily.

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has announced that its KD500,000 draw is scheduled to take place 7 daysfrom yesterday at 1pm, 29 September 2016, onMarina FM’s Diwaniya Show.

The Al Danah draw will be for a cash prize ofKD 500,000. In addition, the Salary & RedAccount draws will be taking place and includea brand new Cadillac and cash prizes up to KD1,000. The draw event will be held in the pres-ence of a representative from the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry.

To participate in the Al Danah draws, cus-tomers must have an Al Danah account contain-ing at least KD 200. Customers can open a new

Al Danah account at any one of the 56 GulfBank branches in Kuwait. Those who alreadyhave an account can increase their chances ofwinning by increasing their deposits. This willalso increase their chances of winning one ofthe two KD 1,000 prizes, which are drawn eachworking day.

For further information about the Al Danah,Salary and Red accounts and prize draws, visitone of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, or call GulfBank’s Customer Contact Center on 1805805.General information about Gulf Bank’s productsand services, can also be found at the Bank’swebsite at www.e-gulfbank.com

7 days remaining forAl Danah’s KD 500,000draw on Marina FM

t e c h n o l o g yTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO: US Internet giant Googlelaunched yesterday a smart messaging app aimedat muscling into a busy market with popular rivalssuch as WhatsApp and Facebook’s messenger. Allo’s“smart” capabilities aims to make it easier torespond to messages and over time adjusts to users’own style, Google said in an official blog. The appintroduces Google Assistant where users just type@google to ask the US search engine questions andhave it help you directly in chats, it said.

“You no longer need to leave a conversation withfriends just to grab an address, share your favoriteYouTube video, or pick a dinner spot,” it said. Theapp works on phones using Google’s Android sys-tem and Apple’s iOS. “Google Allo can help youmake plans, find information, and express yourselfmore easily in chat. And the more you use it, themore it improves over time,” Google said.

It said, for instance, the app will adjust according

to whether its user’s style is usually an emoji or writ-ten response. Like other messaging apps, it has toolsfor personalizing chats including changing the sizeof emojis and a choice of stickers. Allo was unveiledby Google in May at the same time as Google Duo,an app for video calls, which hit the market lastmonth. Google faces carving a place in a sector withalready popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

Apple has also sought to catch up with rivals,upgrading its own messaging app in its latest iOS 10launched last week. In July, Facebook said the num-ber of users of its Messenger application hadtopped one billion. WhatsApp, which was acquiredby Facebook for some $20 billion in 2014, alsocounts more than a billion users.

Meanwhile, The New York Times said Tuesday itwas teaming with Google parent Alphabet in aneffort to help filter its online reader comments tomaintain a “civil and thoughtful” atmosphere. The

newspaper said it would work with Jigsaw, a tech-nology incubator at Alphabet, to improve andexpand its comments section. The move comesamid frustration at many media organizations whichhave been seeking to boost reader engagementwithout allowing abusive and offensive comments.

“Maintaining a civil and thoughtful commentssection is no easy undertaking, as evidenced by thenumber of publishers who have shut down theircomment capabilities in recent years,” said KinseyWilson, the editor for innovation and strategy at theTimes. “But the Times has been and will continue tobe dedicated to providing our readers with a safeonline community to discuss the most importantissues.” Currently, the prestigious daily employs ateam of 14 moderators who manually review some11,000 comments each day. Only about 10 percentof Times articles are open to comments because ofthe time required for review. Jigsaw uses algorithms

to help this process, based on the moderated com-ments in the newspaper’s archives. The open-sourcesystem will also be made available to other onlinepublishers, according to the statement.

“We believe open sourcing nearly a decade ofTimes comment archives will benefit the entire jour-nalism industry and potentially make it easier forother publishers to manage comments on theirsites,” Wilson said. The Times “hopes that the projectwill expand viewpoints, provide a safe platform fordiverse communities to have diverse discussionsand allow readers’ voices to be an integral part ofnearly every piece of reporting,” according to aTimes statement.

In 2014, The Washington Post and The New YorkTimes agreed to work together on a project fundedby the Knight Foundation to create open-source soft-ware that can be adapted for news websites to get abetter handle on online discussions. — Agencies

Google’s smart messaging app hits marketNY Times teams with Google parent to tame comments

LONDON/WASHINGTON: When a small townAmerican roofer took legal action against aneighbour for shooting down his drone, thelocal dispute sparked a case that could helpshape the newest frontier of property rights law- who owns the air. Drone owner David Boggsfiled a claim for declaratory judgment and dam-ages in the Federal Court after his neighbourWilliam Merideth from Hillview in the southernstate of Kentucky blasted his $1,800 drone witha shotgun in July last year.

Boggs argued to the District Cour t inKentucky that the action was not justified asthe drone was not trespassing nor invadinganyone’s privacy, while Merideth - who dubshimself the “drone slayer” - said it was over hisgarden and his daughter. After a year of count-er argument, a decision on which court jurisdic-tion should hear the complaint is expectedwithin weeks and this could set new prece-dents for US law.

Experts are watching the case closely as theburgeoning drone industry, fuelled both byhobbyists and commercial operators, highlightsthe lack of regulation governing lower altitudeair space not just in the United States but glob-ally. “We are in an interesting time now whentechnology has surpassed the law,” said Boggs’lawyer, James Mackler, a former Blackhawk pilotand partner at Frost Brown Todd and one of ahandful of attorneys specializing in unmannedaircraft law.

“Operators need to know where they can flyand owners must know when they can reason-ably expect privacy and be free of prying eyes,”said Mackler whose work involves advising bothcorporate and government clients planningcommercial drone use. The landmark casecomes amid a sharp increase in the global mar-ket for drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles,with research firm, Markets and Markets esti-mating an annual growth rate of 32 percentevery year to a $5.6 billion industry by 2020.

Rights Above?The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)

forecasts about 2.5 million drones will bebuzzing in US skies by the end of 2016 - andthat number will more than triple by 2020. But

with the global industry surging, all parties,including Merideth, and Boggs’ lawyer, Mackler,agree the use of drones in lower air spaceurgently needs to be clarified and defined. “Tobe honest with you, at the time I did what I did Iwas reacting as most homeowners would, pro-tecting their property, their kids ... I didn’t knowwho was operating the drone or for what pur-pose,” Merideth told the Thomson ReutersFoundation.

“In the end, I’m hoping that laws can be putinto place to protect not just the home ownerbut the individual who owns the drone. Theyhave rights too. It is a huge grey area and fornow nobody knows what they are allowed todo.” Mackler estimates about a drone a month isshot down in the United States as residentsgrapple with the legal confusion about whatconstitutes their property and their rights.“What happens typically is that law enforce-ment doesn’t know what to do and civil suits areuncommon as most people don’t want to getinvolved due to the costs,” he told the ThomsonReuters Foundation in a telephone interview.

Boggs’ complaint states that the drone wasflying at about 200 feet (60 m) above groundlevel for around two minutes over residentialBullitt County when it was blasted out of thesky. The height at which the drone was flying isdisputed as Merideth insists it was much lower -an integral part of the legal case because higherairspace used by commercial planes is clearlydefined in law.

For now, there is no real agreement on whoowns the air space below that height and thereare also no rules that identify who has the rightto say how it can be used. The court challengefiled by Boggs in January shows Merideth’sdefense for downing the drone hinged on hisbelief it may have been taking video or stillimages of his daughter. When Boggs challengedhis neighbor, Merideth warned him that notonly was he was protecting his family’s rightsbut he was not to come any further.

Police were called and Merideth was chargedwith felony, wanton endangerment and crimi-nal mischief but Kentucky District Court JudgeRebecca Ward last October dismissed the crimi-nal charges, saying he “had a right to shoot at

the aircraft”. Boggs’ lawyer Mackler said the caseis not about payment for the damaged dronebut about carving legally clear boundariesbetween unregulated lower air space and per-sonal property. If the case is heard in the DistrictCourt, he said, it will not be binding in otherfederal court jurisdictions but will be influentialin other courts. However, if it is appealed andsent to a higher court, it could create a prece-dent for the country.

Opening the SkiesDespite the lack of legal clarity over air

space, the United States moved to free up theuse of small drones on Aug 30 by relaxing rulesrequiring drone operators to have a mannedpilots licence and specific FAA approval. Thesehave been replaced with a new class of FAAlicense which is much less onerous and lessexpensive, allowing the use of drones weighingless than 25 kg for routine educational or com-mercial use such as power line and antennainspections.

The rules stopped short of allowing packagedeliveries, as proposed by Amazon.com Inc, andcurrently drones can only be used in sight of theoperator and not over people. The FAA expectswithin a year 600,000 drones will be used com-mercially - up from 20,000 registered now forcommercial use. Anglo-American property lawscholars trace the first principles of law for the airback more than 800 years to the Latin “cujus estsolum ejus est usque ad coelom et ad infernos”.

This effectively meant that earthly propertyownership was deemed to include everythingbelow land to the centre of the earth andupwards in the sky to heaven. But with theadvent of commercial air travel this principlewas laid to rest because property ownerscould not be considered as owners of the airthousands of feet above their homes if airtravel was to prosper. In the United States, thelegal principles that emerged over the 20thcentury focused on nuisance: flights at greatheights came to be permitted without regardto the rights of property owners, while lowaltitude flights, including take-offs and land-ings, had to factor in the impact on nearbyproperty. — Reuters

US drone case tests

rights to air space Whose sky is it anyway?

DUBAI: Smart Link Contact Centers, a lead-ing business process and contact centreoutsourcing provider in Saudi Arabia, yes-terday announced that it has received twoprestigious awards at the Middle East CallCentre Awards (MECC) 2016 held in Dubairecently. Smart Link’s efforts were alsorecognised as their clients - Saudi Arabia’sHuman Resources Development Fund(HRDF), Saudi Electricity Company, SaudiCredit and Savings Bank, National AviationService, Saudi Post, General Authority forCivil Aviation (GACA) also won top honoursin a diverse range of categories.

The MECC 2016 Awards, organized byInsights, recognizes the performance andservice excellence of the best contact cen-tres in the Middle East. Smart Link won theBest Business Development & SalesStrategy Award and the Best Sales LeadsGeneration Program Award under theOutsourced Services Provider CommercialGrowth Category.

In addition to these recognitions for theCompany, Eng. Safwan Al Khatib, ManagingDirector of Smart Link was honoured withthe Lifetime Achievement Award for hisrole and overall contributions towards thedevelopment, support and commitment ofthe Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)and Customer Care Contact Centres indus-try in the Middle East. Eng. Khatib’s effortsin showcasing how the BPO industry canbe both a commercial as well as profitableinvestment were lauded.

Smar t Link was recognized for i tsongoing excellence in terms of customerservices and providing unparalleled highquality services as well as its flexibility inexpansion, growth and diversification in

various sectors. Smart Link has managedto build a highly integrated, sophisticatedservice structure in a very short period oftime, across diversified sectors in terms ofservice, technical expertise and opera-tional excellence.

Smart Link’s efforts were also appreciat-ed when six of its clients won awards atthe event.

• The Human Resources DevelopmentFund (HRDF) was awarded the Best Megasized Government Contact Centre -Operationally ≥ 400 Seats under the BestGovernment Contact Centre Category andthe Mega Size Contact Centre Manager OfThe Year in the Individual awards category.

• The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)won the Best Government Utilities ContactCentre under the Best Government ContactCentre Category.

• Saudi Credit and Savings Bank (SaudiSCSB) won the Best Government FinanceContact Centre - Lifestyle under the BestIndustry Contact Centre Categories and theBest CRM Analytics Award in theOperational Excellence Category.

• Flynas won the Best Industry ContactCentre Award - Airlines in the IndustrySpecific Areas of Expertise Category andthe Best Service to Sales Program Award inthe Commercial Excellence Category.

• Saudi Post (KSA-SP) won the BestGovernment Monopoly Contact Centreunder Best Government Contact CentreCategory.

• Saudi General Authority for CivilAviation (GACA) won the Best GovernmentContact Centre - Critical Services Award inthe Best Government Contact CentreCategory.

Smart Link, six clients sweep

top honours at MECC Awards

SAN FRANCISCO: The popular navigation app Waze is put-ting a new twist on the phrase “tunnel vision.” It’s trying toensure drivers relying on digital maps don’t lose their waywhen their GPS signal disappears in tunnels. Waze plans tokeep drivers connected in those GPS-less situations byinstalling low-cost, battery-powered beacons that willtransmit to smartphones and tablets in tunnels that thecompany has it its database, covering about 12,000 kmaround the world. The beacons can maintain map connec-tions, as long as the drivers turn on their Bluetooth signal.

The beacons will be turned on Wednesday in twoPittsburgh tunnels, Fort Pitt and Liberty, and another inIsrael, where Waze was founded before Google bought it in2013 for $969 million. Waze is trying to persuade all tunneloperators, mostly government agencies, to buy and installthe beacons that it designed to address the problem. It

costs about $1,200 for the 42 beacons required to providecoverage for every mile (1.6 km) within a tunnel. Each bea-con is guaranteed under warranty for four years.

Plans already are being drawn up to install the Wazebeacons in tunnels in Rio de Janeiro and Paris, too. Wazeisn’t projecting how long it will take to realize its goal ofblanketing all tunnels with the beacons. The transmissionsfrom the beacons will be unencrypted so other digital mapservices, including Google’s and Apple’s, can also connectto them through Bluetooth when there isn’t a GPS signal.

Waze’s solution for tunnel blindness was developed byone of its systems operations engineers, Gil Disatnik. He gotthe idea after losing his GPS signal in 2014 while drivingthrough a Boston tunnel and missing the turn he needed totake to get to the airport. After working on the tunnel bea-cons, Disatnik also got a new nickname: “Waze Mole.” — AP

Waze sets out to eliminate

‘tunnel blindness’ on maps

DUBAI: Kaspersky Lab announces completion and fullavailability of its Machine-Readable Threat IntelligencePlatform, part of the Kaspersky Security IntelligenceServices product range. Machine-Readable ThreatIntelligence provides Threat Data Feeds and tools tointegrate with the world’s most popular SIEM platforms.This combination gives enterprises an unprecedentview of the threat landscape and supplies their SecurityOperations Centers with Indicators of Compromiseneeded to identify and block a multitude of cyberattacks as fast as possible. Within the Threat Data Feedspackage of malware indicators for desktops andmobiles, malicious URLs has been amended with IPReputation - a new data stream that helps customersbring their threat intelligence to a new level.

According to Kaspersky Lab’s “Measuring theFinancial Impact of IT Security on Businesses” report,the fast discovery of security breaches has a direct andmeasurable impact on recovery costs. Based on feed-back from more than 4,000 company representativesfrom 25 countries, Kaspersky Lab estimated that everyday a security breach goes undetected costs large busi-nesses US$100K on average. The overall recovery bill fora security breach that remained undetected for a weekcan be as high as US$1.1 million, while an average costof recovery from a breach detected within hours is lessthan US$400K. This monetary proof calls for an efficientdetection strategy of active security breaches based onthe modern concept of the Security Operations Center.

“Threat intelligence gathering is the very nature ofour business. In some cases it becomes much easierto integrate Kaspersky Threat Data Feeds into cus-tomer’s SIEM, than run migration to change existinganti-malware products. These feeds allow our cus-tomers to be protected by Kaspersky Lab without anysignificant changes to their enterprise security sys-tem. Threat Intelligence is more than just prevention:we provide machine-readable data which empowersenterprise SOCs with the ability to identify and reme-diate even the most sophisticated and targetedattacks. Finally, with the completion of support forthree world-leading SIEM systems, our ThreatIntelligence Platform can be deployed swiftly withinthe majority of enterprises,” said Veniamin Levtsov,

Kaspersky Lab’s Vice President, Enterprise Business.Threat Data Feeds: expanded and running at full

power.The optimum solution to the problem of fast inci-

dent discovery is actionable security intelligence. Thismeans being able to spot an attack at any point using avariety of methods. While typical prevention tools focuson analyzing activitity on endpoints, an additional layerof security has to be in place. In case endpoint protec-tion is circumvented for some reason, a security systemhas to be able to spot an attack on other levels. This isexactly what Kaspersky Threat Data Feeds provide:

• Indicators of malicious programs (Malware hash-es). Regular updates of this feed provide enterpriseswith the right insight into the threat landscape inalmost real time.

• Malicious URLs, Phishing and Command & ControlURLs. This data stream may serve as the first clue to dis-cern regular activity from a well-hidden cyber attack.Includes data about URLs associated with malware,phishing and botnet operation targeting PCs andmobile devices.

• Mobile Threats. A special package aimed at thetelecoms industry with information about the latestmalicious programs for mobile devices.

ª IP Reputation data. This is a new feature availablefrom August 2016. The IP Reputation feed is invaluablein identifying active breaches thanks to Kaspersky Lab’sworldwide, constantly updated data on command andcontrol servers and sources of cyber attacks.

All feeds include additional contextual data thathelps enterprises to fine-tune their threat detectionalgorithms, define priorities of their Security OperationCenters and speed up incident response. These includetimestamps of a recorded event, the list of the mostaffected countries, related IPs for URLs and domainsand other information.

In addition to previously announced support forSplunk, Threat Data Feeds can now be integrated withIBM QRadar and HP ARCsight SIEM systems. KasperskyLab is working to expand the availability of its Machine-Readable Threat Intelligence on more enterprise plat-forms to help businesses enhance the capabilities oftheir Security Operations Centers.

Kaspersky announces machine

readable threat intel platform

PITTSBURGH: Waze system operation engineer Gil Disatnik holds a Waze beacon in this city, where the beaconshave been installed in two tunnels. — AP

HEALTH & SCIENCETHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

NEW YORK: World leaders are pushing to endthe overuse of antibiotics and to encourage thedevelopment of new medicines, driven by con-cern that drug-resistant germs could lead tomillions of deaths and undermine the globaleconomy. For only the fourth time in its 70 yearhistory, the United Nations is holding a specialmeeting yesterday devoted to a health issue:This time, on the rise of untreatable infectionsthat is being propelled by the way drugs areoverused and misused in both people and ani-mals. Health experts have long worried aboutthe issue, but it is getting more alarming

because germs are getting ever more difficult totreat, few new antibiotics are being developed,and the problem appears to be global already.“We believe it’s probably everywhere,” said DrKeiji Fukuda of the World Health Organization,of the resistance to drugs. Here’s more on theissue, and why world leaders believe it’s soimportant.

What’s the problem?Germs have higher chances of developing

resistance to a drug if the drug is not used prop-erly. If a drug is not used long enough or taken

for the wrong reason, or if low levels of the drugare common in the environment, the germs cansurvive and adapt. Doctors are already facingsituations in which they are helpless againstinfections that used to be easily treated withantibiotics, Fukuda said. All types of microbes,including bacteria, viruses and fungi have beenshrugging off attacks from the medicinesdesigned to stop them. Experts estimate that700,000 people die around the world each yearfrom drug-resistant germs, and they expect thenumber to grow sharply. Dr Tom Frieden, direc-tor of the US Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, said the problem may also affectdoctors’ willingness to do chemotherapy, organtransplants, or other treatments that might puta patient at risk of uncontrollable infections. “Itcan undermine modern medicine,” he said.

Why these drugs?Often because of good intentions and bad

decisions. For example, antibiotics don’t workagainst viral illnesses like colds and flu. Butdoctors often prescribe them anyway topatients looking for some kind of treatment fortheir respirator y infections, exper ts say.Companies that raise livestock routinely pre-scribe antibiotics to try to stave off costlyinfections in herds and flocks.

Few new antibioticsA major reason is that it is very hard for drug-

makers to earn any money selling new antibi-otics, so they don’t want to spend the moneyneeded to develop them. Patients don’t need tobe on antibiotics for very long, which meansthey won’t be buying large amounts of thedrug. And doctors are likely to prescribe anynew antibiotics only in cases where older,cheaper ones don’t work first.

Why now?One factor is that world leaders are starting to

worry about the economic threats from theproblem. A 2014 report commissioned by theUnited Kingdom projected that by 2050 it will killmore people each year than cancer and cost theworld as much as $100 trillion in lost economicoutput. The World Bank this week released areport saying drug-resistant infections have thepotential to cause at least as much economicdamage as the 2008 financial crisis. — AP

World leaders pushing to

end overuse of antibioticsRising concern over drug-resistant germs prompts UN response

KUWAIT: Some of the biggest names in Kuwaitifashion have joined “Fashion for Hope”, a nation-wide campaign launched by Patients Helping FundSociety (PHFS) in Kuwait, in partnership withAstraZeneca Gulf under the ovarian cancer aware-ness initiative, Listen To Your Body. The campaign,launched to coincide with ovarian cancer aware-ness month this September, invites women inKuwait to vote for their favorite teal colored gar-ment, the color of hope and survivorship for ovari-an cancer, through PHFS official Facebook page.

The campaign was launched following thealarming findings from a nationwide survey com-missioned by AstraZeneca Gulf, which revealed79% of women living in Kuwait were unable to cor-rectly identify the symptoms of the disease.Ovarian cancer has often been referred to as a‘silent killer’ affecting 250,0002 women worldwide -meaning women are less likely to be diagnoseduntil the cancer has spread, significantly reducingthe chances of survival.

In the GCC, it is estimated that around 1,350women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer eachyear, with 750 dying from the disease3. Ovariancancer can occur at any age, although women 55years and older are at higher risk. Dr MohammadAl-Sharhan,Chairman of Patients Helping FundSociety said the survey highlighted the challengeof detecting ovarian cancer in the early stages.“Unfortunately, the symptoms women experi-ence with early ovarian cancer often mimics non-serious causes, such as the menstrual cycle orindigestion.

This means women may delay visiting their doc-tor until symptoms progress to the late stages andchances for survival are reduced to a five-year sur-vival rate of 30-50%5,” he said. “Kuwait is a hub forfashion design and Kuwaiti women are known fortheir love for fashion, through which we hope tospread the needed awareness of ovarian cancer, a

disease that causes more deaths than any othercancer of the female reproductive cancers, and forwhich the need for early diagnosis and treatmentis vital”, Dr Al-Sharhan added.

Lioness Couture, CharbelZoe, and Anfal Al Salehare of the top notch local and international fashiondesigners in Kuwait who have donated their timeto produce exclusive teal garments and share theirsupport for ovarian cancer awareness. Speaking onher participation, Anfal Al Saleh, Kuwaiti fashiondesigner, said: “I am honored to design an exclusiveteal item to raise awareness of ovarian cancer inrecognition for all the women out there who sufferfrom this disease and their families who supportthem. I hope this initiative encourages Kuwaitiwomen to educate themselves on the subtle symp-toms that shouldn’t be overlooked, and of coursepotentially be one of the lucky winners of theexclusive items.”

To be part of Fashion for Hope, women inKuwait are invited to like the PHFS Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/PatientsHelpingFundSocietyand click on the ‘Fashion For Hope’ tab to vote fortheir preferred garment throughout the month ofSeptember, during which awareness and educa-tional Listen to Your Body messaging will run inparallel to equip women with all the informationthey need to know about the disease. Voting willclose at the end of the month and Fashion forHope winners will then be announced.

Commenting on the collaboration, Samer AlHallaq, Area Vice President for AstraZeneca MiddleEast, said: “AstraZeneca Gulf is delighted to beworking closely with Patient Helping Fund Societyto help increase awareness of ovarian cancer,” hesaid. “This year’s Fashion for Hope campaign underthe “Listen To Your Body” initiative aims to encour-age women to do just that through awarenessactivities and resources being made availableacross Kuwait over the coming months.”

“AstraZeneca has a deep-rooted heritage inovarian cancer therapy and together with theSociety, we hope to make a real impact in helpingwomen in Kuwait understand their risks and takecontrol of their health,” Hallaq added. DrMohammad Al-Sharhan said “As there is no specificdiagnostic tool for ovarian cancer, symptom aware-ness remains of key importance. Some of the com-mon symptoms of ovarian cancer are bloating,pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating, or feel-ing full quickly,” he said.

“Obviously not every woman who has thesesymptoms will have ovarian cancer, but those arethe symptoms to watch out for and women arerecommended to visit their doctor if they experi-ence symptoms more than 12 times during thecourse of one month.” Another concerning resultfrom the survey was that more than a third of therespondents did not know why it was importantfor them to find out whether they had inheritedthe BRCA gene mutation. Dr [name] highlightedthat this further demonstrated that more aware-ness was needed, as women with BRCA genemutations are more likely to develop ovarian orbreast cancer.

“A BRCA mutation is a mutation in either one ofthe BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are tumor sup-pressor genes. It’s recommended for women whohave a strong family history of cancer to be testedfor BRCA mutations to help inform medical profes-sionals and patients about monitoring and preven-tion strategies,”Dr. Mohammad Al-Sharhan added.For more information on ovarian cancer or to takepart in the Fashion for Hope initiative visitwww.facebook.com/PatientsHelpingFundSocietyand click on the ‘Fashion for Hope’ tab.

Ovarian cancer5 things women should learn about ovarian

cancer:

(1) All women are at risk of ovarian cancer.Ovarian cancer can occur at any age, althoughwomen 55 years and older are at higher risk.

(2) Awareness of the symptoms of ovarian can-cer can help women to receive an earlier diagnosis,when the disease is more easily treatable. Whenthe cancer is detected and treated at an early stage(when it’s confined to the ovary) it is possible toovercome it so it’s essential to learn and to beattentive to the symptoms. Every woman is differ-ent and might experience different symptoms. Themost common are: Pelvic/ abdominal pain;Bloating; Urinary frequency/ urgency; Feeling fullafter eating a small amount.

(3) Diagnosis at an early stage vastly improves awoman’s chance of survival. When caught in its ear-liest stages, ovarian cancer survival rates can be ashigh as 90 percent. Regrettably, however, earlysymptoms of ovarian cancer are difficult to diag-nose, or go undetected, which leads to nearly 75%of all ovarian cancer patients being diagnosed inadvanced stages.

(4) Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at a latestage. Ovarian cancer is frequently diagnosed whenthe cancer is already at an advanced stage andwomen often delay seeking help. This may bebecause the woman confuses the symptoms withother common stomach and digestive complaints.

(5) Knowing your family history of cancer couldhelp with early diagnoses and treatment - If youare at high risk for ovarian cancer because of per-sonal or family history, your doctor may ask you tohave more tests, including some that give informa-tion about your genes. These tests may help youmake important decisions about cancer preventionfor yourself and your children. There are benefitsand risks with genetic testing, which you shoulddiscuss with your doctor. Blood tests can find out ifyou have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, which can causeovarian cancer as well as breast cancer.

This undated handout shows an adult female brown widow (Latrodectus geometri-cus). Widow spider males, known for their tendency to end up as a post-coital snack,have developed a rather gruesome method of saving their own skins, scientistsrevealed. — AFP

Kuwait PHFS launches ‘Fashion for Hope’ ovarian cancer awareness

JAKARTA: Indonesian, Malaysian andSingaporean authorities have dismissedresearch that smoky haze from catastrophicforest fires in Indonesia last year caused100,000 deaths. Some even contend the hazecaused no serious health problems, butexperts say those assertions contradict well-established science. Last year’s fires in Sumatraand the Indonesian part of Borneo were theworst since 1997, burning about 261,000hectares of forests and peatland and sendinghaze across the region for weeks. Many weredeliberately set by companies to clear land forpalm oil and pulpwood plantations.

The study in the journal EnvironmentalResearch Letters by Harvard and Columbiaresearchers estimated the amount of health-threatening fine particles, often referred to asPM2.5, released by the fires that burned fromJuly to October and tracked their spreadacross Southeast Asia using satellite observa-tions. In Indonesia, a spokesman for the coun-try ’s disaster mitigation agency said theresearch “could be baseless or they have thewrong information.” Indonesia officially count-ed 24 deaths from the haze including peoplekilled fighting the fires.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health said short-term exposure to haze will generally not causeserious health problems. The study was “notreflective of the actual situation,” it said, andthe overall death rate hadn’t changed lastyear. In Malaysia, Health MinisterSubramaniam Sathasivam said officials are stillstudying the research, which is “computergenerated, not based on hard data.” “Peoplehave died but to what extent the haze con-tributed to it, it’s hard to say,” he said. “If an 80-year-old fellow with high blood pressure, dia-betes, heart problem and exposure to hazedied, what did he die of? This is hell of a diffi-cult question to answer.”

The dry season fires are an annual irritant inIndonesia’s relations with its neighborsSingapore and Malaysia and the finding of ahuge public health burden has the potentialto worsen those strains. The 2015 burning sea-son, which was worsened by El Nino’s dry con-ditions, also tainted Indonesia’s reputationglobally by releasing a vast amount of atmos-phere-warming carbon. The Indonesian gov-ernment has stepped up efforts to prosecutecompanies and individuals who set fires andalso strengthened its fire-fighting response.

This year’s fires have affected a smaller area inlarge part due to unseasonal rains.

Jamal Hisham Hashim, research fellow withthe International Institute for Global Health inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said governmentsshould not dismiss the study even if the esti-mated deaths are arguable. He said decadesof air pollution research that followedLondon’s killer smog in 1952 has establishedthe relationship between fine particulate mat-ter and premature deaths, particularly in peo-ple with existing respiratory and cardiovascu-lar diseases.

“The pollution level that occurred duringthe haze is severe enough to cause prematuredeaths. That is indisputable,” he said. “Thestudy is a wake-up call. We need to be shaken;we have become too complacent with thehaze.” Joel Schwartz, an author of the studywho is regarded by his peers as one of theworld’s top experts on the health effects of airpollution, said authorities in the affectedcountries have not offered any details of howthey reached conclusions critical of the study.During the haze, Malaysia suffered air pollu-tion at 10 times the level that the WorldHealth Organization says causes premature

deaths, he said, while Singapore’s claim thatshort-term exposure does not have seriouseffects is factually incorrect.

The Singaporean statement that its deathrate was unchanged from 2014 did notdemonstrate anything, Schwartz said, due toa worldwide trend for declining mortality. Thestudy’s premise is that deaths are higher than

what they would be without the haze ratherthan a comparison to a particular year, hesaid. Separately, Singapore’s health ministrydid not respond to a question on why heartdisease and pneumonia, both of which can bebought to fatal conclusion by fine particleexposure, had increased as a percentage ofdeaths in 2015. — AP

Nothing to see here: Southeast

Asia flummoxed by haze study

SOUTH SUMATRA: A woman disembarks from a boat as the Ampera Bridge is shrouded inhaze from wildfires in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. — AP

This illustration shows a group of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae bacteria. Theimage was based on scanning electron micrographic imagery. In 2016, for only the fourth timein its 70 year history, the United Nations is holding a special meeting devoted to a healthissue: This time, on the rise of untreatable infections that is being propelled by the way weover-use and misuse drugs in both people and animals. — AP

Science reveals male widow

spider’s dastardly deeds

PARIS: Whenever the “widow” spider ismentioned, people tend to sympathizewith the hapless male-best known for itstendency to end up as a post-coital snack.Well, pity them no more. Widow spidermales have developed a rather gruesomemethod of saving their own skins, scien-tists revealed on Wednesday. To avoidbecoming the lunch of adult females,some males have taken to inseminatingjuveniles which have no external genitaliayet-penetrating right through theirexoskeletons to deposit sperm.

The females retain the sperm and pro-duce offspring later, when they havematured. Unlike mating with adults, thisoption “rarely ends in cannibalism” of themales, the research team wrote in the RoyalSociety Journal Biology Letters. “This meansthat many males actually have the chanceto mate more than once,” study co-authorMaydianne Andrade of the University ofToronto Scarborough told AFP-boostingtheir chances of reproductive success.

Andrade and a team were conductingunrelated research on two species in the“Latrodectus” or widow spider genus, whenthey observed the behavior. In both theAustralian redback spider (L hasselti), and

the brown widow (L geometricus), there ishigh competition among males for matingrights with females, which are several timeslarger than them. Many males get to copu-late only once in their life before being eat-en-sometimes even during the encounter.Females, on the other hand, may matemore than once-thus reducing their origi-nal male partners’ chances of fatherhood.

Precision requiredThe researchers noticed that in the labo-

ratory, and in nature, males mountedimmature females whose genital organsand openings were still covered by a shell-like exoskeleton, which is shed before thecreature reaches adulthood. It appearedthe males used their fangs to cut throughthe shell, then deposit their seed in thefemales’ sperm receptacles, called sper-mathecae. “They manage to do this quitecarefully, opening only this part of theshell, and as far as we can tell, withoutcausing any injury to the female,” saidAndrade. And they had to do it at just theright time-as soon as the genitalia andsperm storage organs are fully developedbut not yet exposed-just a few days beforethe final moulting. — AFP

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ETHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

ALBUQUERQUE: American Indian tribal leadersfrom northern New Mexico - an area of thecountry devastated by heroin and opioid addic-tion - met with the US Justice Department overways to combat opioid abuse amid high over-dose deaths among Native Americans. And bothsides say much more needs to be done.Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohrisspoke with representatives and police chiefsfrom the eight northern New Mexico NativeAmerican pueblos Tuesday as part of a push tocombat heroin-related deaths across the state,including Indian Country.

They discussed ways for better treatment,the need for more law enforcement resourcesand the desire for an educational blitz targetingAmerican Indian children as young as 8. “Here inNew Mexico we are facing an epidemic,” USAttorney Damon Martinez said. “One of the(pueblo) governors brought pictures of thesehypodermic needles they are picking up on adaily basis.”

New Mexico’s drug overdose death rate wasthe second highest in the nation in 2014,according to the latest available numbers. Foryears, the northern New Mexico city of Espanolaand northern Rio Arriba County have had someof the nation’s highest heroin-related deathrates. The crisis has overwhelmed cash-strappedlaw enforcement agencies and emergencyworkers who often struggle to combat Mexicantraffickers who provide users lethal “black tar”heroin via a sophisticated system that resem-bles pizza delivery.

“It’s a wildfire that’s taking off,” Pueblo ofPojoaque Gov Joseph Talachy said. “It started offsmall, but then it took off.” But now the usershave gone underground, and the pueblo strug-gles to bring non-American Indians to justicebecause of jurisdiction, Talachy said. Accordingto the new numbers released Tuesday by theNew Mexico Department of Health, Rio ArribaCounty had the highest drug overdose deathrate in the state with 81.4 deaths per 100,000residents last year.

“The fact is, our state continues to sufferfrom drug abuse. One overdose death is onetoo many,” New Mexico Health SecretaryDesignate Lynn Gallagher said. But health offi-

cials say heroin and opioid addiction especiallyhas hit American Indian communities across thecountry as the number of overdose deaths fromprescription painkillers has soared overall,claiming the lives of 165,000 people in the USsince 2000. A National Institute on Drug Abusesurvey found that American Indian students’annual heroin and OxyContin use was abouttwo to three times higher than the nationalaverages from 2009 to 2012.

Heroin and opioid abuse have even stuck inthe most remote parts of the country amongAmerican Indians. In Alaska’s Yukon-KuskokwimDelta region, for example, state health officialssay the isolated area of Alaska Native villagesand 25,000 residents has around 500 peopleaddicted to opioids. Most of these Alaska vil-

lages don’t have treatment centers for drugusers. Earlier this month, tribal officials in thesouthwestern Alaska village of Quinhagak ban-ished six people over illegal drugs and alcohol.The move came after the village of 700 residentssaw four apparent heroin overdoses in one day.

Meanwhile, a nonprofit prescription drugabuse prevention program in Maine is helpingmake available the drug Narcan to the state’sfive Native American tribes. Narcan, whosegeneric name is naloxone, is a prescription drugthat reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.The program set up five clinics on tribal landthanks to a federal grant. The JusticeDepartment meeting in Albuquerque is part ofthe New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Preventionand Education Initiative — AP

Tribal leaders push against opioid abuse

Northern New Mexico devastated by heroin, addiction

MUMBAI: A former rebel fighter andmember of India’s “untouchable”caste is taking on caste-based dis-crimination with packaged foodsthat would have been regarded asimpure just decades ago. ChandraBhan Prasad, 58, was born into theDalit Pasi community of pig rearers innorthern India, considered untouch-able in the ancient Hindu social hier-archy. Prasad and his wife recentlylaunched ‘Dalit Foods’ online to sellspices, pickles and grains. “I was bornimpure. But I have the right to sellpure,” Prasad said by phone from hisoffice in New Delhi.

“I grew up with segregation anduntouchability, but India haschanged. I want to see how thosewho are born pure respond to myoffering,” he told the ThomsonReuters Foundation. India bannedcaste-based discrimination in 1955,but centuries-old attitudes persist,and lower-caste groups includingDalits are among the most marginal-ized communities. Dalits were barredfrom public places including templesand water tanks frequented by high-er-caste Hindus. Many higher-casteHindus considered food cooked orserved by Dalits to be impure.

It is this custom that Prasad is tak-ing aim at. Dalit Foods sells a smallrange of spices and grains, includingchilli powder, turmeric powder, man-go pickle, barley flour and lentils.More products will be added, Prasadsaid. For three years, Prasad was afighter with India’s Maoist insurgencythat claims to fight for the rights ofpoor farmers and landless indige-nous people. He became a Dalit cam-paigner and a champion of economicempowerment to end caste bias.

He became interested in foodafter three members of his family

died of cancer. “Food adulteration is abig problem, and is probably thebiggest reason for our health prob-lems today,” he said. “And yet, I saw80-year-old Dalits who were healthyand doing hard labor, largelybecause of what they were eating:pure, unprocessed food,” he said.

‘Superfoods’The domestic packaged food mar-

ket is forecast to be worth $50 billionby 2017 from about $32 billion lastyear, according to the AssociatedChamber of Commerce and Industryof India. Recent food-safety scareshave led to greater awareness ofadulteration. While growing up,Prasad said he and others in his com-munity were forced to eat coarsefoods that were reserved for cattleand for servants. These includedunpolished rice and millets. “Milletswere considered inferior food then.Today, they are called a superfood,”he said. “We want to make Dalit foodslike these popular,” he said.

A large hotel chain is buying DalitFoods on a trial basis, and the num-ber of customers - largely urbanIndians - is rising, Prasad said. Dalitsare still often the targets of violence,with tens of thousands of crimesreported each year. Last month,thousands of Dalits in Gujarat statepledged to boycott the dirty jobstraditionally thrust upon them inprotest against the lynching of Dalitmen by upper-caste Hindus. “Wehave made a lot of progress, butDalits are still not equal to the uppercaste,” Prasad said. “My business is asocial experiment to see if India hasreally transformed, to see if peopleare willing to overcome their biasesand customs for food that is pure,”he said. — Reuters

Entrepreneur sells the

‘untouchable’ foods to

challenge Indian caste bias

SILVER SPRING: Photo shows the Food and Drug Administration campus in Silver Spring, Md. In the last two years, the FDA has placed severallimitations on opioids, including adding new warning language to immediate-release opioids such as Vicodin and Percocet. But prescribertraining remains optional, even after a second FDA advisory panel again recommended the step in 2016. — AP

ALBUQUERQUE: US Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohris (left) talks with SantaClara Pueblo Gov J Michael Chavarria during a forum on opioid addiction at the Indian PuebloCultural Center in Albuquerque. — AP

PARIS: People who carry a variant inthe so-called obesity gene, FTO, reactjust as well to diet and exercise asthose without it, a research paper saidyesterday. This means that people withthe variant, which appears to be linkedto a higher risk for being overweight,are not necessarily doomed to remainso, according to a meta-analysis pub-l ished in The BMJ medical journal.“ Individuals carr ying the (var iant)respond equally well to dietary, physi-cal activity, or drug based weight lossinterventions,” wrote the authors of thereview of eight studies involving some10,000 people. This meant that geneticpredisposition to obesity “can be atleast partly counteracted through suchinterventions.”

Scientists have previously shown anassociation between a variant of theFTO gene and surplus body fat, but lit-tle is understood about how the linkworks. The relative contribution ofgenetics and lifestyle to the global obe-sity epidemic is still very much in dis-

pute. The latest review showed thatparticipants in weight loss programswho had the FTO variant started outalmost a kilo (about two pounds) heav-ier on average than those without it.But changes in weight were similar inpeople with the variant and those with-out it, regardless of other factors suchas ethnicity or gender, the authors said.

In 2014, according to the WorldHealth Organization, more than 1.9 bil-lion adults globally were overweight. Ofthose, more than 600 mil l ion wereobese. Carrying excess weight has beenlinked to heart disease, stroke and cer-tain cancers. Commenting on the latestresearch, Public Health England agencychief nutritionist Alison Tedstone saidthe causes of the obesity epidemic mayhave little to do with genes. The study,she said, “adds to the evidence suggest-ing that environmental factors mightdominate over at least common obesityl inked genes”. Such factors couldinclude a high-sugar diet or insufficientphysical exercise. — AFP

Study: FTO gene ‘not

obesity life sentence’

W H AT ’ S ONTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Happy 6th Birthday to our dear son Joshua

Wish you dear son avery happy and blessedbirthday. May Lordshower His blessingsupon you in the years tocome and may you be ablessing to othersaround you. Stay smil-ing and joyous like ever.With lotsa’ love andblessing to our littleJoshua.

Best wishes come,from : Appa, Amma andChechy (Joana AngelinaJohn)

Greetings

A traditional Tajik music ceremony took place in Abdel Hussian Abd Al Reda Stage with the presence of diplomats.

Commemorating secondanniversary of HH the Amir

being named Humanity leader

Under the aus-pices ofSheikha

Fareeha Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, writer AbdullahAbbas Bowair willhold a special recep-tion at the CrownePlaza on Monday,September 26 to com-memorate the secondanniversary of UNnaming of HH theAmir as ‘HumanityLeader’ and Kuwait as‘Humanity Center’.

Rimal celebratesEid Al-Adha

Rimal Hotel and Resort celebrated Eid Al-Adha with a range of recreational activi-ties and special events for children such

as face painting, competitions and entertaininggames and playgrounds soap, handicrafts andcartoon characters popular for children, such asBarney and also henna and awards inscription.

This allowed Rimal’s clientele to enjoy thegreen spaces and swimming pools. The DirectorGeneral of the resort Yaseen Mahdi providedcomplete luxury and privacy away from the rou-tine of everyday life.

Abeer Qouta, Director of Public Relations andInformation, said that the experienced teaminsured their utmost to ensure a memorable hol-iday feast for family and commensurate with theatmosphere of the summer.

Sebamed participates in an MOH ceremony to mark World Alzheimer’s Day.

W H AT ’ S ONTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Honoring distinguished artists under the patronage of Sheikh Duaij Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah at Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Eid Al-Adha celebrations at ICSK-Khaitan

Aspecial assembly was conducted on Monday, 19th September, 2016 by the students of ICSK Khaitan to celebrate Eid Al-Adha. Beautiful and informative charts were displayed on the school notice boardsto mark the auspicious occasion. A large number of pupils took part in the special Eid Assembly. Speeches, videos, Power-Point presentations and group songs by the students acquainted the Schoolwith the religious significance and history of this solemn festival. Eid Al-Adha is celebrated as the sacrificial feast to spread the message of charity and love to the less fortunate. Muslims throughout the

world greet each other “Eid Mubarak” on this day. At the end of the programme a delicious treat was also organized by the staff.

Embassy of IndiaKuwait

Indian Embassy Auditorium is available to various IndianAssociations in Kuwait for holding their socio-culturalactivities, etc. Some guidelines for Auditorium use are:* Use of Auditorium is available to Indian associations

registered with Embassy for bonafide activities.* The interested Indian association can approach

Embassy for booking the Auditorium. Contact persons forthis purpose are Shri Yashwant Chatpalliwar, SS (HOC)(Mobile: 97229915) Mail:[email protected] and ShriK.S.S. Naidu (Mobile: 65668644) [email protected].

* User fee is: KD 350/- for maximum 4 hour event (withfood served) or KD 300/- for maximum 4 hour event (with-out food served).

* Two weeks advance intimation is required for bookingAuditorium. Once the booking is confirmed by Embassy,the concerned association shall deposit the requisite userfee in cash.

* In the event of cancellation of booking of Auditoriumby an Indian Association, the amount deposited will not berefunded. However, if the Embassy cancels the bookingthe user fee deposited will be refunded.

ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller wonPublic Relations Agency of theYear in the Middle East and

Africa for the 6th year running at thisyear’s International Business Awards,while the 8th Annual Arab Youth Survey2016 won three Gold Medals, as the PRCampaign of the Year in the categoriesof Reputation / Brand Management,Public Service and Global Issues.

In the agency’s best performanceever at the IBAs - known as “theStevies” - ASDA’A Burson-Marstellerdominated the PR categories, winning23 trophies in total, including fourgolds, 7 silvers and 12 bronzes, result-ing in being awarded a coveted Best ofthe IBAs Award for the first time.

The ‘Grand Stevie’ ranked theAgency in third-place in terms of totalawards, tied globally with the techheavyweight Cisco Systems.

Sunil John, Founder and CEO ofASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said: “This isa tremendous result for us, and it is

wonderful to see our ground-breakingwork on behalf of our clients recog-nised on the international stage. Thisunprecedented win is a testament tothe hard work and creative energy ofour teams across all of our Practices.”

The International Business Awardsare the world’s premier businessawards programme. The 2016International Business Awards received3,800 entries from more than 60nations and territories. The award cere-mony will take place in Rome, Italy on21 October.

The campaign for the GlobalEducation & Skills Forum and GlobalTeacher Prize 2016 won Silver in threecategories: Public Services, GlobalIssues, and Events & Occurrences; whileWarriors in Pink for Ford took twoSilvers, in Community Relations andPublic Service, and a Bronze for SocialMedia. Ford & Lincoln own the 2015Dubai International Motor Show took aSilver in Events & Observances, and two

bronzes, one for Media Relations andone for Consumer Product marketing.

The Agency’s campaign for theFederal National Council Elections 2015won a silver in Public Affairs, as well asa Bronze in community relations, whilethe campaign for Emaar’s Launch ofDubai’s New Icon at Dubai CreekHarbour, won three bronzes, in Events& Occurrences, New Product Launchand Reputation/Brand Management.

The Islamic Banking Index forEmirates Islamic won two Bronzes, inMarketing - Business-to-Business andInvestor Relations, and ‘Minds +Machines’ - GE’s Digital IndustrialTransformation in MENAT, also took twoBronzes, for Marketing: Business-to-Business and Reputation/BrandManagement. Finally, the campaign forthe Initial Public Offering of L’azurde -the largest gold and jewellery designer,manufacturer and distributor in theMiddle East - took a Bronze for InvestorRelations.

ASDA’A B-M wins PR Agency of the Year in MENA for 6th year running

T V PR O G R A M STHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

BIG GAME ON OSN MOVIES HD

INNOCENCE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD

10:30 Pixels 12:30 Still Alice 14:15 Life Of A King 16:00 Pixels 17:45 The Walk 20:00 Big Game 21:30 Believe 23:15 Inside Out 01:00 Project Almanac 03:00 The 5th Wave 05:00 Mission: Impossible - RogueNation

09:00 Better Call Saul 10:00 Good Morning America 13:00 C.S.I. Cyber 14:00 Stitchers 15:00 The Voice 17:00 C.S.I. Cyber 18:00 Stitchers 19:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 20:00 Live Good Morning America 23:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 00:00 Stitchers 01:00 The Amazing Race

09:00 Dr. Ken 09:30 Last Man Standing 10:00 Living With Fran 10:30 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon 11:30 George Lopez 12:00 The Bernie Mac Show 12:30 $#*! My Dad Says 13:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 14:00 Living With Fran 14:30 George Lopez 15:00 Dr. Ken 15:30 Young & Hungry 16:00 Young & Hungry 16:30 $#*! My Dad Says 17:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon 18:00 The Bernie Mac Show 18:30 Living With Fran 19:00 George Lopez 19:30 $#*! My Dad Says 20:00 Last Man Standing 20:30 Young & Hungry 21:00 Young & Hungry 21:30 2 Broke Girls 22:00 2 Broke Girls 22:30 The Bernie Mac Show 23:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 00:00 Hot In Cleveland 00:30 Last Man Standing 01:00 Uncle Buck 01:30 Uncle Buck 02:00 The Tonight Show StarringJimmy Fallon

WISH I WAS HERE ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD

09:25 Orphan Black 10:15 Doctors 10:45 Eastenders 11:15 Stella 12:00 Doctors 12:30 Eastenders 13:00 Holby City 14:00 New Tricks 14:55 Doctor Who 15:45 Stella 16:35 Doctors 17:05 Eastenders 17:40 New Tricks 18:35 Doctor Who 19:25 Stella 20:15 Doctors 20:45 Eastenders 21:20 New Tricks 22:15 Doctor Who 23:10 Stella 00:00 Doctors 00:30 Eastenders 01:05 New Tricks 02:00 Holby City 03:00 Friday Night Dinner 03:30 The Detectorists 04:00 Pramface 04:30 Pramface 05:30 Threesome

09:15 The Hive 09:20 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch 09:45 Sabrina Secrets Of ATeenage Witch 10:10 Hank Zipzer 10:35 Binny And The Ghost 11:00 Violetta 11:45 The Hive 11:50 Mouk 12:00 Jessie 12:25 Jessie 12:50 Miraculous Tales OfLadybug And Cat Noir 13:15 Tsum Tsum Shorts 13:20 Liv And Maddie 13:45 Bunk’d 14:10 Austin & Ally 14:35 Shake It Up 15:00 A.N.T. Farm 15:25 A.N.T. Farm 15:50 That’s So Raven 16:15 That’s So Raven 16:40 Good Luck Charlie 17:05 Good Luck Charlie 17:30 Jessie 17:55 Disney Mickey Mouse 18:00 The 7D 18:15 Miraculous Tales OfLadybug And Cat Noir

09:01 Paw Patrol 09:24 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom 09:35 Dora The Explorer 09:59 Max & Ruby 10:07 Bubble Guppies 10:29 Little Charmers 10:41 Shimmer And Shine 11:05 Dora And Friends: Into TheCity! 11:27 Zack & Quack 11:38 Blaze And The MonsterMachines 12:00 Paw Patrol 12:13 Paw Patrol 12:36 Dora The Explorer 13:00 Wanda And The Alien 13:11 Zack & Quack 13:22 Dora And Friends: Into TheCity! 13:46 Blaze And The MonsterMachines 14:10 Paw Patrol 14:35 Shimmer And Shine 14:58 Dora The Explorer 15:21 Paw Patrol

10:00 Bubble Boy 12:00 Win A Date With TadHamilton! 14:00 Father Hood 16:00 Bubble Boy 18:00 Spy Hard 20:00 Serial (Bad) Weddings 22:00 Father Hood 00:00 Just Married 02:00 Wish I Was Here 04:00 The Hooligan Factory

09:00 Lip Sync Battle 09:25 Catch A Contractor 09:50 Ridiculousness 10:15 Ridiculousness 10:40 Ridiculousness 11:05 Ridiculousness 11:30 Impractical Jokers 11:55 Impractical Jokers 12:20 Tosh.0 12:50 Tosh.0 13:15 MLE Chowdown: TheTurkey Bowl 14:05 Ridiculousness 14:30 Ridiculousness 14:55 Impractical Jokers 15:20 Impractical Jokers 15:45 Key And Peele 16:10 Key And Peele 16:35 Ridiculousness 17:00 Ridiculousness

10:15 Marco Macaco 12:00 Pim And Pom: The BigAdventure 13:45 Goat Story 2 15:45 Gladiators Of Rome 17:30 Miffy The Movie 19:00 Dixie And The ZombieRebellion 20:30 Memory Loss 22:00 Mamma Moo And Crow 00:00 Gladiators Of Rome 02:00 Harriet The Spy 04:00 Memory Loss 05:30 Mamma Moo And Crow

09:10 Henry Hugglemonster 09:20 Calimero 09:35 Zou 09:45 Loopdidoo 10:00 Art Attack 10:25 Henry Hugglemonster 10:35 Calimero 10:50 Zou 11:00 Loopdidoo 11:15 Art Attack 11:35 Henry Hugglemonster 11:50 Calimero 12:00 Zou 12:20 Loopdidoo 12:35 Art Attack 13:00 The Hive 13:10 Zou 13:25 Loopdidoo 13:40 Gummi Bears 14:05 Sofia The First

09:50 Innovation Nation 10:15 Innovation Nation 10:45 Incredibly Small World 11:40 Abandoned 12:05 Abandoned 12:35 Brain Games 13:30 Hacking The System 13:55 Going Deep With DavidRees 14:25 UFOs: The Untold Stories 15:20 Incredibly Small World 16:15 Machine Impossible 17:10 No Man Left Behind 18:05 Locked Up Abroad 19:00 UFOs: The Untold Stories 20:00 Operation Sumatran Rhino 21:00 Brain Games 22:00 Machine Impossible 23:00 No Man Left Behind 00:00 Operation Sumatran Rhino 01:00 Innovation Nation 01:30 Innovation Nation 02:00 Machine Impossible 02:50 No Man Left Behind 03:40 Locked Up Abroad

09:45 The Lion Whisperer 10:40 Expedition Wild 11:35 Hyena Coast 12:30 Grizzly Empire 13:25 The Lion Whisperer 14:20 Expedition Wild 15:15 Baby Animals In The Wild 16:10 Alien Crab 17:05 Extreme Survivors 18:00 Birthplace Of The Giants 19:00 Big Cat Wars 20:00 Operation Sumatran Rhino 20:50 Chasing Rhinos 21:40 Bear Nomad 22:35 Baby Animals In The Wild 23:30 The Pack 00:25 Night Of The Lion 01:20 Chasing Rhinos 02:10 Bear Nomad 03:00 Baby Animals In The Wild 03:50 The Pack 04:40 Night Of The Lion 05:30 Birthplace Of The Giants

09:15 Batman Unlimited: MonsterMayhem 11:00 Non-Stop 13:00 Unstoppable 15:00 Heatstroke 17:00 The Hobbit: The Battle OfThe Five Armies 19:45 Non-Stop 21:45 Dawn Of The Planet Of TheApes 00:15 Heatstroke 02:00 Sabotage 04:00 Innocence

09:00 Celebrity Ghost Stories 10:00 My Haunted House 11:00 Who Was I? My Past Lives 12:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 13:00 Beyond Scared Straight 14:00 Homicide Hunter 15:00 Nightmare In Suburbia 16:00 Monster In My Family 17:00 The First 48 18:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 19:00 Beyond Scared Straight 20:00 Homicide Hunter 21:00 Monster In My Family 22:00 The First 48 23:00 Nightmare In Suburbia 00:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 01:00 Beyond Scared Straight 02:00 Monster In My Family 03:00 Homicide Hunter 04:00 Forensic Squad 05:00 Homicide Hunter

09:00 Destroyed In Seconds 09:25 Destroyed In Seconds 09:50 Ultimate Survival 10:40 How It’s Made 11:05 How It’s Made 11:30 Storm Chasers 12:20 Mythbusters 13:00 Doki 13:25 Adventure 8: Zoo Games 13:50 My Cat From Hell 14:40 How It’s Made 15:05 How It’s Made 15:30 Science Of The Movies

09:00 Hostage: Deadly Demands 09:48 I Almost Got Away With It 10:36 On The Case With PaulaZahn 11:24 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 11:49 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 12:12 I’d Kill For You 13:00 Web Of Lies 13:50 I Almost Got Away With It 14:40 On The Case With PaulaZahn 15:30 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 15:55 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 16:20 I’d Kill For You 17:10 Murder Comes To Town 18:00 Web Of Lies 18:50 I Almost Got Away With It 19:40 On The Case With PaulaZahn 20:30 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 20:55 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 21:20 I’d Kill For You 22:10 Swamp Murders 23:00 Web Of Lies 23:50 I Almost Got Away With It 00:40 On The Case With PaulaZahn 01:30 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 01:55 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 02:20 I’d Kill For You 03:10 California Investigator 03:35 California Investigator 04:00 Murder Book 04:50 I Am Homicide 05:40 Betrayed

18:40 Hank Zipzer 19:05 Star Darlings 19:10 Austin & Ally 19:35 Austin & Ally 20:00 Liv And Maddie 20:25 Liv And Maddie 20:50 Dog With A Blog 21:15 Jessie 21:40 Bunk’d 22:05 Star Darlings 22:10 Gravity Falls 22:35 Miraculous Tales OfLadybug And Cat Noir 23:00 Backstage 23:25 Alex & Co. 23:50 Girl Meets World 00:15 Stuck In The Middle 00:40 Disney Cookabout 01:05 Liv And Maddie 01:30 Jessie 01:55 Violetta 02:45 Backstage 03:10 H2O: Just Add Water

14:30 Goldie & Bear 14:40 PJ Masks 14:55 Jake And The Never LandPirates 15:10 Doc McStuffins 15:20 Miles From Tomorrow 15:35 Jake And The Never LandPirates 15:45 Goldie & Bear 16:00 Sofia The First 16:25 The Lion Guard 16:55 Jake And The Never LandPirates 17:20 Minnie’s Bow-Toons 17:25 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West 17:50 The Hive 18:00 Doc McStuffins 18:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:00 The Lion Guard 19:30 Jake And The NeverlandPirates 19:45 Aladdin 20:15 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West 20:45 Doc McStuffins 21:15 Minnie’s Bow-Toons 21:20 The Adventures Of TheDisney Fairies 21:50 Miles From Tomorrow 22:15 Sofia The First 22:45 Jake And The NeverlandPirates 23:00 The Lion Guard 23:30 Goldie & Bear 23:55 Unbungalievable 00:00 Jake And The Never LandPirates 00:30 Jake And The Never LandPirates 01:00 PJ Masks 01:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 02:00 Sofia The First 02:30 Jake And The Never LandPirates 03:00 PJ Masks 03:25 Doc McStuffins 03:55 Aladdin 04:20 Gummi Bears 04:45 Minnie’s Bow-Toons 04:50 Zou 05:05 Henry Hugglemonster 05:20 Calimero 05:35 Zou 05:50 Loopdidoo

12:00 Boyster 12:10 Super Matrak 12:35 Super Matrak 13:00 Star vs The Forces Of Evil 13:25 K.C. Undercover 13:50 Supa Strikas 14:15 Danger Mouse 14:40 Phineas And Ferb 15:05 Counterfeit Cat 15:10 Gravity Falls 15:35 Lab Rats 16:00 Rocket Monkeys 16:25 Ultimate Spider-Man 16:50 Boyster 17:20 Boyster 17:45 Pair Of Kings 18:10 Pair Of Kings 18:35 Lab Rats 19:00 Lab Rats 19:30 Phineas And Ferb 19:55 Phineas And Ferb 20:20 Kickin’ It 20:45 Kickin’ It 21:10 Disney Mickey Mouse 21:15 Supa Strikas 21:40 Supa Strikas 22:05 Lab Rats 22:30 Danger Mouse 22:55 Kirby Buckets 23:25 K.C. Undercover 23:50 Annedroids 00:15 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything 00:40 K.C. Undercover 01:05 Counterfeit Cat 01:10 Gravity Falls 01:35 Pickle And Peanut 01:45 Pickle And Peanut 02:00 Lab Rats 02:25 Supa Strikas

02:55 K.C. Undercover 03:20 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything 03:45 Guardians Of The Galaxy 04:10 Marvel Avengers Assemble 04:40 Disney Mickey Mouse 05:00 Programmes Start At6:00am KSA

09:15 Magic Of Science 09:40 Fast N’ Loud 10:30 Garage Gold 11:00 How Stuff Works 11:30 How Do They Do It? 12:00 Deadliest Catch 12:50 Misfit Garage 13:40 Fast N’ Loud 14:30 Gold Divers 15:20 Garage Gold 15:45 How Stuff Works 16:10 How Do They Do It? 16:35 You Have Been Warned 17:25 World’s Top 5 18:15 Magic Of Science 18:40 Magic Of Science 19:05 How Stuff Works 19:30 Storage Hunters 19:55 Garage Gold 20:20 Gold Divers 21:10 Alaska: The Last Frontier 22:00 Deadliest Catch 22:50 Fast N’ Loud 23:40 Misfit Garage 00:30 How Stuff Works 00:55 How Do They Do It? 01:20 Gold Divers 02:10 Storage Hunters 02:35 Garage Gold 03:00 Biketacular 03:50 Countdown To Collision 04:40 Fire In The Hole 05:30 Fast N’ Loud

02:00 Tales From The Bush Larder 02:25 Raw Travel 02:50 Raw Travel 03:15 David Rocco’s Dolce India 03:40 Chefs Run Wild 04:05 Chefs Run Wild 04:30 Street Food Around TheWorld 04:55 A Model Adventure

09:25 Grantchester 10:20 The Jonathan Ross Show 11:15 Murdoch Mysteries 12:10 Who’s Doing The Dishes? 13:05 The Chase 14:00 Grantchester 15:00 The Jonathan Ross Show 16:00 Murdoch Mysteries 16:55 Who’s Doing The Dishes? 17:50 The Chase 18:45 Emmerdale 19:15 Coronation Street 19:45 Coronation Street 20:15 Who’s Doing The Dishes? 21:10 The Chase 22:00 Prince Philip: The Plot ToMake A King 22:55 Paul O’grady’s AnimalOrphans 23:50 Murdoch Mysteries 00:45 Emmerdale 01:15 Coronation Street 01:45 Coronation Street 02:10 The Chase 03:00 Prince Philip: The Plot ToMake A King 03:55 Paul O’grady’s AnimalOrphans 04:50 Emmerdale 05:15 Coronation Street 05:40 Coronation Street

09:05 Great Escapes 09:30 Tales From The Bush Larder 09:55 Tales From The Bush Larder 10:20 Raw Travel 10:45 Raw Travel 11:10 David Rocco’s Dolce India 11:35 Chefs Run Wild 12:00 Chefs Run Wild 12:25 Sara’s New Nordic Kitchen 12:50 John Torode’s MalaysianAdventure 13:15 John Torode’s MalaysianAdventure 13:40 Grandma’s Boy 14:05 Eat Street 14:30 What’s For Sale? 14:55 Great Escapes 15:20 Tales From The Bush Larder 15:45 Tales From The Bush Larder 16:10 Raw Travel 16:35 Raw Travel 17:00 David Rocco’s Dolce India 17:25 Chefs Run Wild 17:50 Chefs Run Wild 18:15 Sara’s New Nordic Kitchen 18:40 A Model Adventure 19:35 Grandma’s Boy 20:00 Eat Street 20:55 Great Escapes 21:25 Tales From The Bush Larder 21:50 Tales From The Bush Larder 22:20 Raw Travel 22:45 Raw Travel 23:15 David Rocco’s Dolce India 23:40 Chefs Run Wild 00:10 Chefs Run Wild 00:35 Street Food Around TheWorld 01:05 Great Escapes 01:30 Tales From The Bush Larder

16:20 Mythbusters 17:10 Animal Airport 17:35 Animal Airport 18:00 My Cat From Hell 18:50 Ultimate Survival 19:40 How It’s Made 20:05 How It’s Made 20:30 Storm Chasers 21:20 Mythbusters 22:10 Doki 22:35 Adventure 8: Zoo Games 23:00 Space Voyages 23:50 NASA’s Unexplained Files 00:40 Science Of The Movies 01:30 Mythbusters 02:20 How It’s Made 02:45 How It’s Made 03:10 Space Voyages 04:00 NASA’s Unexplained Files 04:50 Destroyed In Seconds 05:15 Destroyed In Seconds 05:40 Ultimate Survival

09:00 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 09:24 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 09:48 Henry Danger 10:12 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn 10:36 The Haunted Hathaways 11:00 Max & Shred 11:24 Henry Danger 11:48 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn 12:12 SpongeBob SquarePants 12:36 SpongeBob SquarePants 13:00 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 13:24 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 13:48 Winx Club 14:12 Harvey Beaks 14:36 Breadwinners 15:00 Get Blake 15:24 Rabbids Invasion 15:48 Henry Danger 16:12 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn 16:36 The Haunted Hathaways 17:00 Winx Club 17:24 SpongeBob SquarePants 17:48 SpongeBob SquarePants 18:12 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 18:36 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 19:00 Breadwinners 19:24 The Loud House 19:48 Harvey Beaks 20:12 Rabbids Invasion 20:36 Henry Danger 21:00 Game Shakers 21:24 SpongeBob SquarePants 21:48 SpongeBob SquarePants 22:12 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 22:36 The Loud House

23:00 Sanjay And Craig 23:24 Harvey Beaks 23:48 Breadwinners 00:12 Henry Danger 00:36 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn 01:00 100 Things To Do BeforeHigh School 01:24 Game Shakers 01:48 SpongeBob SquarePants 02:12 SpongeBob SquarePants 02:36 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 03:00 Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles 03:24 Breadwinners 03:48 Breadwinners 04:12 Sanjay And Craig 04:36 Sanjay And Craig 05:00 SpongeBob SquarePants 05:24 SpongeBob SquarePants 05:48 Henry Danger

17:25 MLE Chowdown: TheTurkey Bowl 18:15 Key And Peele 18:40 Key And Peele 19:05 Impractical Jokers 19:30 Impractical Jokers 19:55 Ridiculousness 20:20 Ridiculousness 20:45 MLE Chowdown: TheTurkey Bowl 21:35 Tosh.0 22:00 Tosh.0 22:30 Key And Peele 22:55 Key And Peele 23:25 Workaholics 23:50 Impractical Jokers 00:15 Impractical Jokers 00:39 Ridiculousness 01:03 Ridiculousness 01:27 Hungry Investors 02:13 MLE Chowdown: TheTurkey Bowl 03:00 The Daily Show With TrevorNoah 03:30 Kyle Kinane: Whiskey Icarus 04:18 Inside Amy Schumer 04:42 South Park 05:05 Underground With DaveAttell 05:30 The Daily Show With TrevorNoah

15:45 Little Charmers 15:57 Bubble Guppies 16:20 Fresh Beat Band Of Spies 16:40 Zack & Quack 16:52 Team Umizoomi 17:15 Louie 17:22 Louie 17:30 Fresh Beat Band Of Spies 17:53 Olive The Ostrich 17:58 Olive The Ostrich 18:03 Max & Ruby 18:26 Wanda And The Alien 18:37 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom 18:48 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom 19:00 Blaze And The MonsterMachines 19:22 Blaze And The MonsterMachines 19:45 Zack & Quack 19:55 Zack & Quack 20:05 Team Umizoomi 20:28 Louie 20:35 Louie 20:40 Olive The Ostrich 20:44 Olive The Ostrich 20:49 Paw Patrol 21:01 Paw Patrol 21:24 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom 21:35 Dora The Explorer 21:59 Max & Ruby 22:07 Bubble Guppies 22:29 Little Charmers 22:41 Shimmer And Shine 23:05 Dora And Friends: Into TheCity! 23:27 Zack & Quack 23:38 Blaze And The MonsterMachines 00:00 Paw Patrol 00:13 Paw Patrol 00:36 Dora The Explorer 01:00 Wanda And The Alien 01:11 Zack & Quack 01:22 Dora And Friends: Into TheCity! 01:46 Blaze And The MonsterMachines 02:10 Paw Patrol 02:35 Shimmer And Shine 02:58 Dora The Explorer 03:21 Paw Patrol 03:45 Little Charmers 03:57 Bubble Guppies 04:20 Fresh Beat Band Of Spies 04:40 Zack & Quack 04:52 Team Umizoomi 05:15 Louie 05:22 Louie 05:30 Fresh Beat Band Of Spies 05:53 Olive The Ostrich 05:58 Olive The Ostrich

09:00 Lullaby 11:00 Experimenter 12:45 Mood Indigo 15:00 Rosewater 17:00 Shanghai Calling 19:00 Red Wing 21:00 Escape (2012) 23:00 Rosewater 01:00 Frank 03:00 5 To 7 05:00 Only God Forgives

10:00 Hitting The Apex 12:30 Foxcatcher 15:00 Escobar: Paradise Lost 17:30 The Railway Man 20:00 Steve Jobs: The Man In TheMachine 22:30 The Guardian 01:00 What Maisie Knew 03:00 Nixon

09:45 Avengers: Age Of Ultron 12:15 Perfect Match 14:00 Make Your Move 16:00 From Up On Poppy Hill 18:00 Upside Down 20:00 Paranoia 22:00 Make Your Move 00:00 Cut Bank 02:00 A Little Chaos 04:00 The World Made Straight

10:35 WAGs 11:30 Fashion Bloggers 12:00 Botched 12:55 E! News 13:10 Botched 14:10 E! News 15:10 Botched 16:10 Live From The Red Carpet:The 2016... 18:00 E! News 18:15 Fashion Police 19:10 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry 20:05 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry 21:00 E! News 21:15 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry 22:15 Live From The Red Carpet:The 2016... 00:05 Fashion Police 01:00 E! News 02:00 Rob & Chyna 03:00 LA Clippers Dance Squad 04:00 Botched 05:00 E! News

03:00 The Simpsons 03:30 The Simpsons 04:00 Getting On 04:30 The Big C 05:00 The League 05:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers

09:00 The Game Plan 11:00 Pocahontas 13:00 Dunston Checks In 15:00 Earth To Echo 17:00 G-Force 19:00 The Princess And The Frog 21:00 101 Dalmatians 23:00 102 Dalmatians 01:00 The Kid 03:00 Beyond The Mask 05:00 101 Dalmatians

ClassifiedsTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 , 2016

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TOWEDNESDAY (22/09/2016 TO 28/09/2016)

SHARQIA-1SULLY 12:45 PMSULLY 2:45 PMPETE’S DRAGON 4:45 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 7:00 PMASHAN KHARGEN 8:45 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 11:00 PMSULLY 1:00 AM

SHARQIA-2PETE’S DRAGON 11:30 AMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 1:45 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 4:30 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 7:15 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 10:00 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 12:15 PMHAVENHURST 3:00 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 5:00 PMHAVENHURST 7:45 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 9:45 PMHAVENHURST 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 11:30 AMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 2:00 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 4:45 PMPETE’S DRAGON 6:45 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 9:00 PMHAVENHURST 10:45 PMHAVENHURST 12:45 AM

MUHALAB-2SULLY 12:45 PMSULLY 3:00 PMPINK - Hindi 5:00 PMMAJNU - Telugu 5:00 PMASHAN KHARGEN 8:00 PMASHAN KHARGEN 10:15 PMSULLY 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-3THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 1:00 PMPETE’S DRAGON 1:30 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 3:45 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 6:30 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 9:15 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 12:05 AM

FANAR-1SULLY 11:45 AMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 1:45 PMPETE’S DRAGON 4:30 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 6:45 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 9:30 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 12:15 AM

FANAR-2AL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 11:30 AMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 1:30 PMASHAN KHARGEN 3:15 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 5:30 PMASHAN KHARGEN 7:30 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 9:45 PMASHAN KHARGEN 11:45 PM

FANAR-3HAVENHURST 12:00 PMHAVENHURST 1:45 PMHELLIONS 3:45 PMPETE’S DRAGON 5:45 PMHAVENHURST 8:00 PMHELLIONS 10:00 PMHAVENHURST 12:05 AMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 12:30 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 3:15 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 6:00 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 8:45 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 11:30 PM

FANAR-5SULLY 12:45 PMSULLY 2:45 PMSULLY 4:45 PMPINK - Hindi 6:45 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 9:45 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 12:30 AM

MARINA-1SULLY 12:30 PMSNOWDEN 2:30 PMBEN-HUR 5:00 PMASHAN KHARGEN 7:30 PMASHAN KHARGEN 9:45 PMSULLY 12:05 AM

MARINA-2THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 12:45 PMASHAN KHARGEN 1:30 PM

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 3:30 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 6:15 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 9:00 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 11:45 PM

MARINA-3THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 11:30 AMSULLY 2:15 PMPETE’S DRAGON 4:15 PMPETE’S DRAGON 6:30 PMSULLY 8:45 PMHAVENHURST 10:45 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 12:45 AM

AVENUES-1LIGHTS OUT 12:00 PMLIGHTS OUT 2:00 PMPINK - Hindi 4:00 PMOOZHAM - Malayalam 7:00 PMBOGET FAKARA (Kuwaiti Film) 10:00 PMBOGET FAKARA (Kuwaiti Film) 12:15 AM

AVENUES-2THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN -2D- 4DX 1:30 PMPETE’S DRAGON -3D- 4DX 4:15 PMPETE’S DRAGON -3D- 4DX 6:30 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN -2D- 4DX 8:45 PMTHE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN -2D- 4DX 11:30 PM

AVENUES-3THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 1:15 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 4:00 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 6:45 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 9:30 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 12:15 AM

360 º- 1THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 12:15 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 3:00 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 5:45 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 8:30 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 11:15 PMPremiere Show “Bilal: A New Breed of Hero”9:00 PMTHE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS 11:45 PM

360º 2AL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 12:15 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 2:15 PMAL BAB YEFAWET AMAL 4:15 PM

CHANGE OF NAME

SITUATION WANTED

MATRIMONIAL

I, Mrs Fatima Mary LancyFernandes daughter ofJoseph Fernandes, holder ofIndian Passport No:K4564810 & Civil ID No:265011009768 has changedmy name to Violet MaryD’souza hereinafter in all mydealings and documents, Iwill be known by name ofViolet Mary D’souza. (C 5216)22-9-2016

T. Marimuthu S/o K.Thiyagarajan, holder ofIndian Passport No: J0364840and Civil ID No:277062006098, has changedmy name Farhan. Hereinafterin all my dealings and docu-ments I will be known byname of Farhan. (C 5214)21-92016

I, Shahabuddin holder ofIndian Passport No.J4437667, Civil ID No.

Arrival Flights on Thursday 22/9/2016Airlines Flt Route TimeMSC 415 Sohag 00:10THY 772 Istanbul 00:10JZR 239 Amman 00:20JZR 267 Beirut 00:30FDB 069 Dubai 00:55DLH 635 Doha 01:00QTR 1086 Doha 01:15JZR 539 Cairo 01:20KAC 1802 Cairo 01:30SAI 441 Lahore 01:30PGT 858 Istanbul 01:40ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45RJA 642 Amman 01:45THY 1464 Istanbul 01:50AXB 395 Kozhikode 01:50JZR 555 Alexandria 04:15AVV 653 Alexandria 04:30FEG 931 Alexandria 05:00THY 1414 TZX 05:05DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10THY 770 Istanbul 05:15QTR 8511 Doha 05:25JZR 529 Asyut 06:00PAL 668 Manila/Dubai 06:25KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:30BAW 157 London 06:40JZR 1541 Cairo 07:10FDB 5061 Dubai 07:15IRA 673 Ahwaz 07:15JZR 503 Luxor 07:25KAC 382 Delhi 07:30KAC 346 Ahmedabad 07:35KAC 206 Islamabad 07:40KAC 204 Lahore 07:40KAC 302 Mumbai 07:50SVA 512 Riyadh 07:50FDB 053 Dubai 07:50KAC 344 Chennai 08:15KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:15KAC 362 Colombo 08:20KAC 352 Kochi 08:20UAE 855 Dubai 08:25JZR 1333 Al Najaf 08:55KAC 284 Dhaka 09:00ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:00ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05IRA 667 Esfahan 09:05IRM 1180 Mashhad 09:10QTR 1070 Doha 09:20RJA 648 Amman 09:30FDB 055 Dubai 09:40SAW 703 Damascus 09:45SYR 341 Damascus 10:05UAE 873 Dubai 10:40GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40MEA 404 Beirut 11:00JZR 561 Sohag 11:25RBG 553 Alexandria 11:30ABY 129 Sharjah 11:35JZR 1329 Al Najaf 11:40JZR 165 Dubai 11:50AVV 651 Alexandria 12:05FDK 801 Damascus 12:15FDB 075 Dubai 12:25JZR 241 Amman 12:30MEA 406 Beirut 12:35UAE 871 Dubai 12:45FEG 933 Sohag 12:55MSR 610 Cairo 13:00KAC 620 Doha 13:10THY 766 Istanbul 13:10FBA 831 Al Najaf 13:30AXB 393 Kozhikode 13:55BON 101 Sarajevo 13:55KNE 231 Riyadh 14:00QTR 1078 Doha 14:05KAC 672 Dubai 14:05KAC 178 Vienna 14:15

GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20FDB 057 Dubai 14:20SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30KAC 742 Dammam 14:55OMA 645 Muscat 15:10ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 15:10FDB 8069 Dubai 15:20ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35JZR 359 Mashhad 15:40UAE 857 Dubai 15:45NIA 251 Alexandria 15:50RJA 640 Amman 16:00FDB 051 Dubai 16:10JZR 1331 Al Najaf 16:10QTR 1072 Doha 16:15JZR 535 Cairo 16:20KNE 531 Jeddah 16:35JZR 787 Riyadh 16:45KAC 562 Amman 16:55KAC 118 New York 17:00SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30FDB 8053 Dubai 17:45JZR 177 Dubai 17:45KAC 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi 17:50QTR 1080 Doha 17:55KAC 176 Geneva/Frankfurt 18:20JZR 483 Istanbul 18:20MSR 620 Cairo 18:30KAC 774 Riyadh 18:35KAC 786 Jeddah 18:35KAC 502 Beirut 18:35JAV 621 Amman 18:45KAC 542 Cairo 18:55KAC 618 Doha 18:55KAC 104 London 19:00GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05UAE 875 Dubai 19:05FDB 063 Dubai 19:10KAC 614 Bahrain 19:10ABY 123 Sharjah 19:15JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35KAC 674 Dubai 19:45KAC 154 Istanbul 19:45FDB 059 Dubai 19:50DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:05KNE 381 Taif 20:10ABY 121 Sharjah 20:10MEA 402 Beirut 20:15OMA 647 Muscat 20:20JZR 189 Dubai 20:25MSR 618 Alexandria 20:30QTR 1088 Doha 20:35FDB 5053 Dubai 20:55KAC 174 Munich 20:55ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:05UAE 859 Dubai 21:15ALK 229 Colombo 21:20KLM 417 Amsterdam 21:25THY 764 Istanbul 21:30KAC 676 Dubai 21:35QTR 1082 Doha 21:55GFA 219 Bahrain 22:00ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10NIA 151 Cairo 22:10JZR 125 Bahrain 22:15AIC 981 Chennai/Ahmedabad 22:25MSC 501 Alexandria 22:30JZR 185 Dubai 22:55JAI 574 Mumbai 23:05MSC 403 Asyut 23:10MSR 614 Cairo 23:30JZR 513 Sharm el-Sheikh 23:30FDB 071 Dubai 23:35JAD 301 Amman 23:45

Departure Flights on Thursday 22/9/2016Airlines Flt Route Time AIC976 Goa/Chennai 00:05BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10

JAI 573 Mumbai 00:10MSC 404 Asyut 00:10JZR 1540 Cairo 00:20MSR 615 Cairo 00:30FDB 072 Dubai 00:30MSC 416 Sohag 01:05KLM 411 Amsterdam 01:05JZR 502 Luxor 01:15THY 773 Istanbul 01:40DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:00SAI 442 Lahore 02:30PGT 859 Istanbul 02:40ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45THY 765 Istanbul 02:45AXB 396 Kozhikode 02:50KKK 6505 Istanbul 02:55KAC 177 Vienna 02:55UAE 854 Dubai 03:45THY 769 Istanbul 03:45RJA 645 Amman 03:55OMA 644 Muscat 04:05FDB 068 Dubai 04:05ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:10MSR 613 Cairo 04:15PGT 861 Istanbul 04:30QTR 1077 Doha 04:35RBG 552 Alexandria 04:45JZR 560 Sohag 05:00LMU 511 Cairo 05:00JZR 1332 Al Najaf 05:15AVV 654 Sohag 05:30FEG 934 Sohag 06:00THY 1465 Istanbul 06:00RJA 643 Amman 06:25QTR 1087 Doha 06:30THY 771 Istanbul 06:45GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50JZR 240 Amman 06:55FDB 070 Dubai 07:05JZR 164 Dubai 07:15QTR 8512 Doha 07:25FDB 5062 Dubai 07:55JZR 1328 Al Najaf 08:00IRA 672 Ahwaz 08:15BAW 156 London 08:25FDB 054 Dubai 08:30KAC 173 Munich 08:35SVA 513 Riyadh 08:50KAC 671 Dubai 09:30KAC 619 Doha 09:30JZR 534 Cairo 09:30JZR 482 Istanbul 09:45ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45JZR 358 Mashhad 09:50UAE 856 Dubai 09:50KAC 100 London/New York 10:00ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:05IRA 668 Mashhad 10:05RJA 649 Amman 10:15IRM 1181 Mashhad 10:25QTR 1071 Doha 10:35FDB 056 Dubai 10:40SAW 704 Damascus 10:45KAC 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat 10:50KAC 153 Istanbul 11:00KAC 501 Beirut 11:00SYR 342 Damascus 11:05KAC 561 Amman 11:20KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:25KAC 741 Dammam 11:35GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35MEA 405 Beirut 12:00KAC 541 Cairo 12:05UAE 874 Dubai 12:10RBG 554 Alexandria 12:10ABY 120 Sharjah 12:15JZR 1330 Al Najaf 12:30KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00AVV 652 Asyut 13:05JZR 176 Dubai 13:10

FDB 076 Dubai 13:10FDK 802 Damascus 13:15JZR 786 Riyadh 13:20MEA 407 Beirut 13:35FEG 932 Alexandria 13:55MSR 611 Cairo 14:00THY 767 Istanbul 14:10UAE 872 Dubai 14:15FBA 832 Al Najaf 14:30AXB 394 Kozhikode 14:45PAL 669 Manila 14:45KNE 382 Taif 14:55KAC 773 Riyadh 15:00KAC 673 Dubai 15:05FDB 058 Dubai 15:05GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05QTR 1079 Doha 15:15KAC 617 Doha 15:15JZR 188 Dubai 15:50KAC 613 Bahrain 16:00SVA 505 Jeddah 16:00BON 102 Sarajevo 16:05OMA 646 Muscat 16:10FDB 8070 Dubai 16:10ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:20NIA 252 Alexandria 16:50RJA 641 Amman 16:55FDB 052 Dubai 17:00KAC 675 Dubai 17:00JZR 266 Beirut 17:10JZR 512 Sharm el-Sheikh 17:15QTR 1073 Doha 17:25KNE 532 Jeddah 17:25UAE 858 Dubai 17:40SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15JZR 184 Dubai 18:20GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 538 Cairo 18:30FDB 8054 Dubai 18:40KAC 1801 Cairo 18:55KAC 563 Amman 19:00QTR 1081 Doha 19:05JZR 238 Amman 19:15JZR 124 Bahrain 19:20MSR 621 Cairo 19:30KAC 285 Dhaka 19:40JAV 622 Amman 19:45GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50FDB 064 Dubai 19:50ABY 124 Sharjah 19:55FDB 060 Dubai 20:30UAE 876 Dubai 20:35JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35KAC 331 Trivandrum 20:45DLH 634 Doha 20:50ABY 122 Sharjah 20:50KAC 353 BLR 20:55KAC 343 Chennai 20:55KAC 543 Cairo 21:00KAC 351 Kochi 21:00KNE 232 Riyadh 21:10JZR 554 Alexandria 21:15MEA 403 Beirut 21:15OMA 648 Muscat 21:15MSR 619 Alexandria 21:30QTR 1089 Doha 21:45DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50FDB 5054 Dubai 21:55ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 21:55ALK 230 Colombo 22:20KAC 381 Delhi 22:25UAE 860 Dubai 22:25KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 22:25THY 1401 ADB 22:25KAC 301 Mumbai 22:30KAC 205 Islamabad 23:00GFA 220 Bahrain 23:00ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:05

A well-qualified (MBA, CPA),Indian Finance Professional islooking for a change in job. 12years of experience inInvestment Banking, Real Estate& FMCG in the middle level posi-tion in Kuwait. Excellent commu-nicator and adaptable. Pleasecall 65094498. (C 5213)21-9-2016

Alliance invited for a 28 yearold Marthoma boy with mas-ter degree in mechatronicsfrom University of Victoria -Canada, and currently work-ing in Canada. Proposal invit-ed from parents of educa-tional girls. Email:[email protected](C 5215)

22-9-2016

270123001513, havechanged my name to ShaikNavab Shahabuddin.

Moshes Kota S/oChandranna, holder of IndianPassport No. P0376514, CivilID No. 267010141109 haschanged my name from KotaRajendra Kumar to MoshesKota old name hereinafter inall my dealings and docu-ments I will be known byname of Kota Rajendr Kumar(old name Moshes Kota)(new name Kota RajendrKumar) (C 5211)


You may be especially dynamic and assertive. There is a lot of enthusiasmand drive available for whatever you want to accomplish. You could be most

persuasive with others and may find that the ideas or feelings you have will get greatreception. The situation is a natural for self-expression and lends itself to your particularideas. There has been an increase in your physical and mental energies recently, givingyou a boost in your confidence. You may feel ready to conquer anything put in front ofyou today. Shopping with a friend, you are curious about some new invention. Wait awhile longer before purchasing new electronic products-a hard-to-resist sale may temptyou; however, even new and better products are on the horizon.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

There could be some worry about not being useful or being left out of thescheme of things today. This can be eased by jumping in with both feet and putting yourthoughts into action. This is a time to take risks and dare to be a little eccentric. You willprosper through new insights and an independent point of view. Your career could openup now-keep your ears and eyes open so that you do not miss some important opportu-nity. Beyond whatever external considerations may be present, you exude a contagiousthankfulness and fondness for things and people. These inner, loving qualities are experi-enced as a very real good. The light in your eyes says it all: your mind and ideas are centralto your inner and philosophical life. Someone new is coming into your life.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

The energies are working in your favor in all areas of your life. If you are not aboss or owner of a company, you might consider this a good time to request a raise orpromotion. You naturally gravitate toward positions of power and authority. Others see inyou a great practical ability and will easily accept you as a leader or authority figure. Youvalue fairness in all things and go out of your way to be just. You have an innate sense ofhow to work with and guide others in making decisions. You understand the choices andcan spot the right ones. You may be able to complete some of those projects that havebeen left hanging the past few days. Communication with superiors is positive. A timewith loved ones this evening is fulfilling.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You may not appreciate the emotional energy of someone you meet today-patience. You may be in the mood for deep and penetrating conversations or thoughts,especially with a close friend, but you are wise to wait and allow things to develop on theirown. You may be pleasantly surprised at what one or two positive words will do to helpmove things into a positive direction. This is a good time, when your efforts in the work-place can really pay off. This afternoon you have an opportunity to work without any inter-ruptions thereby producing many good results. It is your turn to cook and you may decideto show off a little by cooking several choices of foods that are intriguing, healthy and fun.You can teach healthy habits through your efforts.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

The middle of this week may find you daydreaming. Be particularly vigi-lant when signing contracts or performing duties that are made up of little details. Youmay have a hard time being clearheaded right now. Thoughts and ideas that come maybe inappropriate or misleading. Give yourself time to think things through and refrainfrom making rash decisions, including those that pertain to spending money. Eat lightmeals today and find a way to insert some exercise activity into your day-perhaps a longwalk. Look for the funny side of life and laugh as much as possible-you will cheer yourselfand others. Visiting with neighbors or friends is enjoyable this evening. Music or a comedymovie on a dvd may be the perfect end to your day.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

You can be an aggressive prime mover in the workplace and today is youropportunity to show your talent in this respect. You are able to initiate and get thingsmoving so that others can pick up the slack and move forward. You are never happierthan when fully engaged in productive work. There could be some times of introspectionand a break now and then is a good idea. A difficult co-worker is easy for you to under-stand . . . You do not feel threatened and you are not condescending. Others learn fromyour techniques. Higher-ups and supervisors are impressed. This evening is a time tolaugh, interact with friends and loved ones and celebrate the adventure of life. Tonightyou might absorb and take in new impressions. Enjoy!

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

General good feelings with a sense of support and harmony make this ahappy time. If it makes sense you love it and if it does not you feel guilty about it: that’swhat it’s like now. A loving attention to details and a sense of satisfaction in doing what isright are some of the qualities that come to your attention now. Discovering what you tru-ly believe in-fighting for it, even-is a high personal priority now. Religion, law, politics, trav-el and higher education are some of the arenas where this takes place. This is a time oftesting your limits to see how far you can go. You are able to grasp and appreciate newtrends and concepts at the very forefront of technology. A new item of technology maykeep you busy studying this evening. Communication improves.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

You could find it difficult to gain any free time for yourself today. The pres-sure is on in the workplace. Time limits and time schedules may have you huffing and puff-ing. You have probably noticed that this may not be the best time to chat on the phone toyour lover. There will, however, soon be a time to relax and sit back and see the productivesuccess of your efforts. There is an opportunity to increase your earnings but now is nottime for a raise in salary; make sure you make notes in your work diary that today is theday you made great headway for the company and succeeded in whatever was necessaryto have positive results. When it is time for that pay raise, you will have a report of your suc-cesses. Make sure the outside birds have water.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Before you act on a new idea today, consider the sources of your informa-tion. Make sure a new method or idea is a sound one by checking facts.

When it comes to mental work, you are an expert at research and investigation. You enjoyexamining and analyzing, particularly when it comes to psychological areas of the mind.Your ability to sift through the debris and come up with what is essential every time isexceptional. You like to discuss and communicate, again always at a psychological andvery personal level. Others may find you very focused. Your career always seems to getthe support you need. This is the area of life that usually runs smoothly. You seem tounderstand what the public wants. Mass marketing could be considered.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

There could be some communications difficulty with a customer today. Yourealize that if you are not challenged you cannot grow-you swallow hard and move for-ward. You learn from the difficult situations that seem to call out to you for your aptness.You may feel like exercising or getting out during the noon hour today. By the end of theday you will see much progress. There is good eye-hand coordination and a sustainedeffort that makes almost any task run well. Consider a new picture for your wall or nookwhile shopping this afternoon. A new or renewed love relationship in your life creates anupbeat type of mood for you all day long. Nothing disturbs your good feelings. There ismuch laughter in your heart.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

You need to live in an ordered environment, whether it is a work, school orhome situation. You can become quite frustrated when too many different

matters grab your attention. This is a time to realize that unless there is a fire, you will havetime to think through each matter separately. Perhaps by writing out a plan, you willbecome more focused on the steps you need to take. Learn methods of planning andorganization by reading a guidebook, or taking a class in some management skills. As ahigh achiever, you can turn some of your business associates into friends-they will helpyou progress in your career and teach you the art of focusing. A successful businesspersonis developing-you! There are some photo opportunities this evening.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

This is a special time when you may notice that everything is going yourway. Circumstances seem to bend to your will and things have a way of working outsmoothly. There are real opportunities to complete and work out difficulties and projectsthat require both long-term effort and a high degree of discipline. Listening to other peo-ple talk about their investments you may pick up some good advice. Be careful of thequick-win type of investment; this almost never works out. A good investment can startsmall and grow beyond your wildest dreams-be on the lookout for opportunities that arereliable and come from a reliable source. You may be in the mood for fun conversationsthis evening: a good time to enjoy a family meal away from home.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1378

ACROSS1. A licensed medical practitioner.4. Discharge from the external ear.12. The seventh and last day of the week.15. A corporation's first offer to sell stock to the

public.16. Principles of the founders of the Oxford

movement.17. Electronic equipment that provides visual

images of varying electrical quantities.18. An oral cephalosporin (trade names Keflex

and Keflin and Keftab) commonly pre-scribe for mild to moderately severe infec-tions of the skin or ears or throat or lungsor urinary tract.

20. 100 sente equal 1 loti.21. The month following July and preceding

September.22. Important European leguminous forage

plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violetflowers grown widely as a pasture and haycrop.

24. A ductile silvery-white ductile ferromag-netic trivalent metallic element of the rareearth group.

25. (folklore) A corpse that rises at night todrink the blood of the living.

27. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.28. An extinct Semitic language of northern

Syria.31. Any of numerous local fertility and nature

deities worshipped by ancient Semiticpeoples.

33. Rock that in its molten form (as magma)issues from volcanos.

34. (prosody) Of or consisting of iambs.38. The blood group whose red cells carry

both the A and B antigens.40. Any of a class of solid or semisolid viscous

substances obtained either as exudationsfrom certain plants or prepared by poly-merization of simple molecules.

42. A genus of Mustelidae.43. Beat through cleverness and wit.47. A sodium salt of carbonic acid.49. Adult female chicken.50. Having lost freshness or brilliance of color.52. A writ from a court commanding police to

perform specified acts.54. The branch of computer science that deal

with writing computer programs that cansolve problems creatively.

55. Fish eggs or egg-filled ovary.56. A republic in northwestern Africa on the

Mediterranean Sea.57. A small cake leavened with yeast.59. Someone whose business is advertising.62. In operation or operational.63. Being one hundred more than three hun-

dred.64. A highly unstable radioactive element (the

heaviest of the halogen series).65. The rate at which red blood cells settle out

in a tube of blood under standardizedconditions.

67. A public promotion of some product orservice.

69. A former copper coin of Pakistan.72. A flask that holds spirits.77. Hawthorn of southern United States bear-

ing juicy acid scarlet fruit often used in jel-lies or preserves.

80. Aircraft landing in bad weather in whichthe pilot is talked down by ground controlusing precision approach radar.

81. Title for a civil or military leader (especiallyin Turkey).

82. Having a sophisticated charm.84. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or

water or to keep out the sea.85. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of

the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expand-ed its boundaries and developed itsbureaucracy.

86. The widening of the chambers of the heartbetween two contractions when thechambers fill with blood.

87. A loose sleeveless outer garment madefrom aba cloth.

DOWN1. African tree with edible yellow fruit resem-

bling mangos.2. German industrialist who was the first in

Germany to use an assembly line in manu-facturing automobiles (1871-1948).

3. Coffee trees.4. A translucent mineral consisting of hydrated

silica of variable color.5. The amount that a tub will hold.6. A mouth or mouthlike opening.7. A widely distributed system consisting of all

the cells able to ingest bacteria or col-loidal particles etc, except for certainwhite blood cells.

8. Any of several annual or perennial Eurasiangrasses.

9. Of or relating to or supporting Hinduism.10. Standard time in the 5th time zone west of

Greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridi-an.

11. Congenital absence of an arm or leg.12. A fraudulent business scheme.13. Wild sheep of northern Africa.14. A one-piece cloak worn by men in ancient

Rome.19. An official language of the Republic of

South Africa.23. Any culture medium that uses agar as the

gelling agent.26. The highest level or degree attainable.29. 100 avos equal 1 pataca.30. English translator and Protestant martyr.32. A loss of will power.35. A state of northeastern India.36. Conducive to peace.37. Departing or being caused to depart from

the true vertical or horizontal.39. Law intended to eradicate organized crime

by establishing strong sanctions and for-feiture provisions.

41. A resident of Iowa.44. A brittle silver-white metalloid element

that is related to selenium and sulfur.45. Straggling shrub with narrow leaves and

conspicuous red flowers in dense globularracemes.

46. (Greek mythology) The Titaness who wasmother of Helios and Selene and Eos inancient mythology.

48. Formerly a large constellation in the south-ern hemisphere between Canis Major andthe Southern Cross.

51. A software system that facilitates the cre-ation and maintenance and use of an elec-tronic database.

53. Of or relating to the kidneys.58. East Indian tree that puts out aerial shoots

that grow down into the soil formingadditional trunks.

60. A young woman making her debut intosociety.

61. A Buddhist who has attained nirvana.66. A British doctorate.68. (Irish) Chief god of the Tuatha De Danann.70. Kamarupan languages spoken in north-

eastern India and western Burma.71. 100 lwei equal 1 kwanza.73. The United Nations agency concerned with

civil aviation.74. An agenda of things to do.75. Someone who works (or provides workers)

during a strike.76. God of love and erotic desire.78. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized

by behavioral and learning disorders.79. An operating system that is on a disk.83. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali

earth group.

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inf or m at ionTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

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Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123

Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312

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Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465

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Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534

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Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

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Ardhiya 24884079

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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

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Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

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Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

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Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

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Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

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Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

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Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

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Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

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Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

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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

[email protected]

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Kaizen center25716707

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F E A T U R E S


l if e st yle

During the era of US racial segregation, a handful ofblack female mathematicians managed to break socialbarriers and propel the US space agency to new

heights - and soon their story will be a major motion picture.This remarkable story has been told in the book “HiddenFigures” by Margot Lee Shetterly, which was published inSeptember.

The movie comes out in Januar y, starr ing Taraj i PHenson-known for her role in the TV series “Empire” and forher Oscar nomination in the 2008 film “The Curious Case ofBenjamin Button”-and Octavia Spencer, who won anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2011 film “TheHelp.” Some of the female mathematicians worked with theauthor’s father, an engineer at NASA’s Langley ResearchCenter in Virginia, a southern US state where racial segrega-tion was the norm. Shetterly, herself an African-American,was born in 1969, and remembers the women as “normal”middle-class types, the mothers of friends who servepeanut butter sandwiches to kids.

The mathematicians provided pivotal contributions to theUS space program, starting in the 1940s through to the1960s, when the nation first sent men to orbit and then walkon the Moon. It was not until Shetterly’s husband heardabout the women, during a visit with Shetterly’s father, thatshe realized their story could-and should-be written in bookform. “My husband was like, ‘Wait a minute, I cannot believethis. How can nobody knows the story’?” she recalled in aninterview with AFP.

Urgent need for mathematicians The heroines of the story are Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine

Johnson and Mary Jackson. The US involvement in World WarII in 1941 opened the door to them, Shetterly said. The coun-try needed engineers and scientists to come up with newtechnologies to help planes fly higher and faster. But segrega-tion was still a reality. There were dozens of African-Americans,both male and female, working as mathematicians and physi-cists for the US space program, even as they were forced touse separate bathrooms from whites, and were barred fromthe same restaurants and schools frequented by whites.

The black women mathematicians at the center of “HiddenFigures” were nicknamed “colored computers,” working apartfrom the rest of the math unit in the west wing of the LangleyResearch Center. By the end of the war, there were around 25black women and two white managers in the unit. Soon how-ever there was a new war, as the Cold War broke out betweenthe United States and the Soviet Union. The USSR launched itsfirst satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, raising the stakes for the UnitedStates in the space race.

By 1958 NASA was formed, gathering all the nation’s spaceactivities, and the Langley Research Center was in charge ofthe Mercury project, the first US manned space program. Itwas then that the black mathematicians were integrated withthe rest of NASA and tasked with making complex calcula-tions about rocket launches. In 1959, Katherine Johnson-played in the movie by Henson-and a white colleague werethe first to calculate the parameters of the first suborbital

flight in 1961 of astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American inspace. They also calculated John Glenn’s course, as the firstAmerican to orbit the Earth in 1962.

According to the book, in 1962, Glenn asked that Johnsonherself re-check the figures one last time before he embarkedon the mission. Johnson’s math talents later helped determinethe trajectory of the Apollo 11 flight that landed NeilArmstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon in July 1969. Thewomen in the story are among about 80 black female mathe-maticians who worked for the US space program from 1943 to1980 — a time period that saw about 1,000 women employedthere, far fewer than the number of men.

Medal of Freedom In November 2015, US President Barack Obama gave

Johnson, who is now 98, the Presidential Medal of Freedom,the highest civilian honor in the United States. DorothyVaughan, played in the movie by Octavia Spencer, died in2008. Mary Jackson, who died in 2005, was an aeronauticalengineer and is played by Janelle Monae. “Talent is distributedamong all populations, whatever the color of their skin,” saidShetterly. “Given a chance, people can excel in these fields.”She described the story of these women as “powerful sourceof inspiration” that “we can learn from the past, in terms ofopening the doors for people to excel today.” — AFP

NASA’s black female mathematicians hit the big screen

Janelle Monae

The famed Michelin food guide launched itsfirst edition in mainland China yesterday,awarding stars to elegant luxury establish-

ments as well as a humble haunt serving upCantonese staples. The inaugural edition covers thecommercial hub of Shanghai and gives stars to 26restaurants, including the world’s least expensivetwo-star establishment Canton 8 — a popularlunchtime spot catering to local families. “Canton 8is a reflection of what can be found in Shanghai-masterful, delicious and very good-quality cook-ing,” said Michael Ellis, international director of theMichelin guides.

Lunch there can cost as little as 48 yuan ($7),Michelin said. Chef Jian Jieming of Canton 8 saidhe had “never dreamed” of making the list. He cred-ited the fresh ingredients and “comfortable atmos-phere” of the restaurant for its two-star award. Thepublication of the inaugural mainland China edi-tion follows the company’s first guide to Singaporein July, when Michelin inspectors gave stars to thecity-state’s famous street food stalls.

The guides, first published in France more thana century ago to promote automobile travel, nowcover 28 countries and spotlight diverse cuisinesincluding Brazilian, Burmese, Cajun, Peruvian, andTibetan. But they are not without their critics, whoquestion whether the quality of street fare inplaces like Hong Kong and Singapore can compareto the French haute cuisine on which the guide’sreputation was made. “We have to adapt to thecountry,” Claire Dorland-Clauzel, executive vicepresident at Michelin, told AFP.

“Our role is to promote quality food every-where, not (only) French food.” The China guideawarded its highest three-star rating to T’angCourt, a cosy six-table Cantonese restaurant in TheLangham hotel, famous for dishes that includebraised sea cucumber and Wagyu beef. “The talent-ed and creative chef Justin Tan offers cuisine inwhich traditional Cantonese dishes rub shoulderswith some very modern dishes,” Ellis said.

After learning of the award, chef Tan told AFP he“never imagined” winning three stars, adding thathe was now “very nervous”. Restaurants that havewon a star from the culinary bible have in the pastbuilt big businesses after being recognized, withHong Kong’s Tim Ho Wan and Taiwan’s Din Tai Fungturning into international franchises. Canton 8 canlikely expect to see a similar surge in customers. OnTuesday night, before the release of the guide, the

inexpensive two-storey restaurant was filled withonly around 20 diners feasting on crystal prawndumplings and lobster porridge. Regular patronsexpressed pride Wednesday in the recognition oftheir local favorite, where tables were packed andreservations required for lunch.

‘Overdue’ recognition A cosmopolitan city with a sprawling, tree-lined

French Quarter, Shanghai is the latest Asian city tofeature in the guide following the launch of edi-tions focusing on Hong Kong, Taipei andSingapore. “What makes Shanghai particularlyexciting is it’s been an economic and cultural cross-roads for decades and the gastronomy of Shanghaireally reflects that rich history,” Ellis told AFP.International recognition of Chinese cuisine is“overdue”, said Fuchsia Dunlop, a cook and foodwriter specializing in Chinese cuisine. “China hasthe most amazing gastronomic culture, and for his-toric reasons it has not been at the forefront ofinternational gastronomy,” she said. But she wasnot convinced Michelin’s approach of sending indi-vidual reviewers could truly identify the country’sbest restaurants. Chinese cuisine traditionallycaters to groups, with family-style meals consistingof several shared dishes, she said. “If you have oneperson going out to eat, it’s impossible for them toget a sense of a full, balanced Chinese meal,” shesaid. “Even if you went 10 times, you wouldn’t get asense of a meal with all the contrasts.” — AFP

Leonard Cohen has spent a lifetime medi-tating on his relationship to God and, at82, he finds himself solitary as he wres-

tles with the ultimate metaphysical questions.“You Want It Darker,” the 14th album by theCanadian singer and poet, brings out Cohenat his most classic and at his most probing ashe ponders the nature of the individual andof the Almighty. Celebrating his 82nd birth-day yesterday, his record label announcedthat “You Want It Darker,” produced by hismusician son Adam Cohen, would come outon October 21.

The album immediately opens with aflashback to the cultural icon’s Montreal child-hood with a rich yet mournful chorus from hishometown’s Cantor Gideon Zelermyer andShaar Hashomayim Synagogue choir. Yet thesignature sound on “You Want It Darker” issparse, with resonant acoustic guitar andstring bass, the music reinforcing Cohen’slonesome spiritual quest. Cohen-whose best-known song, the oft-covered “Hallelujah,”explored God and the meaning of music-returns to biblical heritage on the title trackof “You Want It Darker.”

“Hineni, hineni / I’m ready, my Lord,”Cohen intones in his husky voice, employingHebrew to say “Here I Am.” Cohen in the songstruggles to reconcile with the existence ofevil-and how his life’s own bourgeois con-cerns stack up in comparison. “They’re liningup the prisoners / The guards are taking aim /I struggled with some demons / They weremiddle-class and tame / Didn’t know I hadpermission to murder and to maim,” he sings.

‘I’m leaving the table’ The album reaches its most powerful

heights with Cohen’s melody-forceful, yetmade lighter with a dash of jazz-on “Treaty,”which appears twice on the album, the sec-ond time with a string quartet. Cohen on thesong questions the volatility of the heart,using a treaty as a metaphor for a trucebetween lovers. “I wish there was a treaty wecould sign / I don’t care who takes this bloodyhill,” he sings. Repeatedly on “You Want It

Darker,” Cohen appears to be reflecting on hisown mortality yet, paradoxically, questioningthe heaviness of the burden of assessingone’s life.

“I don’t need a reason for what I became /I’ve got these excuses / They are tired andlame. “I don’t need a pardon / No, no, there’sno one left to blame / I’m leaving the table /I’m out of the game,” he sings to a dark waltz.

Late-career burst of creativity Cohen, his influence and legacy undisput-

ed, had unofficially retired in the 1990s andretreated to a Buddhist monastery in the LosAngeles area. He initially resumed music foran unspiritual reason-his longtime managerwas found to have stolen much of his savings.But Cohen has found a new burst of creativeenergy since his return, with “You Want ItDarker” following the emotionally intense yetmore musically diverse album “PopularProblems” in 2014.

Cohen, who has been quiet on the publicstage for the year until releasing the album,has made clear in ways other than his musicthat he is aware of his advancing age. Afterthe death in July of Marianne Ihlen-theNorwegian woman with whom he lived onthe Greek island of Hydra and who inspiredhis song “So Long, Marianne”-her friendrevealed a final letter from Cohen in which hedeclared his “endless love” and wrote, “I think Iwill follow you very soon.” With the serious-ness on “You Want It Darker,” Cohen shows lit-tle of the more ironic side that gave him apop culture mystique in the 1980s.

Yet there may be a hint of his old playfulside. After releasing his last album, he jokedthat his resolution at age 80 was to resumesmoking after years of depriving himself forhealth reasons. The cover of “You Want ItDarker” shows a grim, unshaven Cohen sport-ing a top hat-and a cigarette danglingbetween his fingers. — AFP

Leonard Cohen at 82, darker

and solitary before God

Michelin launches first mainland China guide in Shanghai

Master chef of Canton 8 restaurant, Jie Ming Jian poseswith his cheapest dish of ‘prawn dumplings’ in front ofthe restaurant, which was awarded two Michelin stars.

Master chef of Tíang Court, Justin Tan reacts on stage after the announcement of histhree stars award of the Michelin Guide Shanghai yesterday. — AFP photos

Master chef of Tíang Court, Justin Tan, prepares adesert in his kitchen at the Tíang Court restaurant.

Master chef of Canton 8 restaurant, Jie Ming Jian cooks vegetables in the kitchen of therestaurant, which was awarded two Michelin stars.

This file photo shows musician Leonard Cohen as he performs at Madison Square Gardenin New York City. — AFP

The ‘prawn dumplings’ is the cheapest dish of the Canton8 restaurant.

US actress Kathy Bates, best known for her por-trayal of an obsessed fan in “Misery,” accepteda star on Tuesday on the Hollywood Walk of

Fame and dedicated the honor to a young girl bat-tling an illness. The 68-year-old actress spoke emo-tionally at the ceremony, recounting how shebelieved her career was over several years ago untilshe was offered a role on the series “American HorrorStory.” She said the award-winning show created byRyan Murphy had “literally brought me back to life,”coming at a time when she was dealing with healthissues and the cancellation of her NBC show “Harry’sLaw.”

She also recalled her big breakout in Hollywoodat age 42 thanks to her memorable Oscar-winningperformance as a deranged nurse obsessed with an

author played by James Caan in the 1990 film“Misery,” based on the Stephen King novel. “Sixtyyears ago I stood not far from this very spot with mybeloved aunt Lee,” she recalled, speaking in front ofthe TLC Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.“We were going to see ‘The King and I.’ And then 34years later I came back to this very theatre withanother king by the name of Stephen with a moviecalled ‘Misery’ that changed my life.”

Shirley MacLaine and Billy Bob Thornton-whowill share the screen with Bates in the upcoming“Bad Santa 2”-also spoke at the ceremony praisingBates for her talent and charity work. “She is the typeof actor who is not only loved by the public, the fansand the critics but also actors who know how goodshe is and what she can do,” Thornton said. “I’m

gonna keep this short and tell you that if I could be awoman, I’d be Kathy Bates.”

The actress who has survived both ovarian andbreast cancer dedicated her star on Tuesday to aneight-year-old girl named Emma, whom she saidwas like her battling lymphedema, a condition oftenassociated with cancer patients and which causesswelling of the limbs. — AFP

‘Misery’ actress Kathy Bates gets Walk of Fame star

(From left) Actors Shirley MacLaine,Kathy Bates and Billy Bob Thorntonattend the Hollywood Walk of Fame

ceremony honoring actress KathyBates with a star, in Hollywood,

California. — AFP

THuRSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

F A S H I O N

l if e st yle

He shot onto the world stage after winning a glitter-ing international fashion prize previously given todesign icons Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld.

Yet India’s Suket Dhir-hailed by Vogue as a potential “globalfashion superstar in the making”-is uneasy about the sud-den attention that has come with winning theInternational Woolmark Prize for menswear this year. “I nev-er thought of myself as a top designer, more of a glorifiedtailor,” Dhir told AFP at his small, busy design studio in thebackblocks of New Delhi.

Dhir is now in a race against time to deliver his award-winning collection to prominent department stores in NewYork, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney from next month-aswell as around $75,000 in prizemoney to build up his busi-ness, he also gets to provide a capsule collection for keyretailers worldwide. The 37-year-old faces challengesunique to India in preparing the collection of contempo-rary Western menswear with an Indian twist. Dhir uses tra-ditional weavers located close to the villages that theycome from, along with dyers and block printers from allover the vast country to make his clothes.

But the artisans are not used to working with thewool that is required for the collection and which canchange shape in India’s blistering heat and humid mon-soons. “This was my first experience weaving with suchdifficult fabric on such a tight deadline. These designswere one-off pieces and (now) I’m reproducing this col-lection for five or six stores,” he said. “We’ve successfully

managed to do that (although) we are a little behindschedule.”

The judges of the prize, awarded in January, notedDhir’s attention to detail in his collection of tailored jackets,shirts and loose pants which were inspired by his child-hood spent with his grandfather in Punjab state. The lin-ings of his jackets are block-printed with small motifs suchas umbrellas, and the buttons on his shirts are sewn onwith different types of thread. Dhir said his clothes, some ofwhich are mixed with silk and use the traditional ikat tech-nique-hand-tied and dyed yarn-to pattern textiles, aremeant to be worn every day.

‘Don’t do bling’ “When I think of my grandfather, I think of these beauti-

ful jackets and blazers that you could pass on from onegeneration to the next,” the father-of-one said. “I can’t doanything blingy,” he added. Indian menswear ofteninvolves garish outfits such as heavily embroidered jacketsand bright silk kurtas or long shirts. Leading fashion jour-nalist and author Shefalee Vasudev hailed Dhir as one of anincreasing number of Indian designers making subtle, con-temporary clothes.

“His fashion is meaningful. It’s not screaming for atten-tion. It’s not saying ‘look at me, I’m so great’ and that’srefreshing in Indian fashion,” said Vasudev. She said thecoming months would be critical for Dhir-and will deter-mine whether he can become one of only a small number

of Indians sought after in international stores. “More than ahandful are stocked but only a handful have been noticedand get consistent business,” she said of Indian designers.

“It’s a very significant prize because the door has beenknocked down for you. (But) You need to be able to man-age your quality, your numbers, your deliveries,” Vasudevadded. She pointed to the international success of Indiandesigner Rahul Mishra, who won the same prize for wom-enswear in 2014, as an example of what was possible. Onthe road to becoming a recognized designer, Dhir workedin a call center and sold mobile phones and also spent sev-eral unsuccessful years in college, infuriating his family.

“I was clueless about what to do with my life,” he said.He then enrolled at the National Institute of FashionTechnology in Delhi before starting his own label in 2010.Dhir said the first few years were rocky financially, largelybecause he refused to design outfits to cater for India’s lav-ish annual wedding season, which many designers relyupon for income. “I don’t do wedding gear and that’swhere the money is. But this acknowledgement, thisrecognition (of winning the award) has happened becauseI have stuck to my aesthetic,” said Dhir, the first Indian towin the award for menswear. “We are breaking even at themoment which is really good. I wish I had a swankier officeand a swankier car but we’ll get there.”—AFP

Indian fashion designer Suket Dhir sits looking at his creations in his studio inNew Delhi. — AFP photos

An Indian tailor works in the studio factory unit of fashion designer Suket Dhirin New Delhi.

An Indian man pushes a garment rack in the studio of fashion designer SuketDhir in New Delhi.

Indian fashion designer Suket Dhir looks at one of his cre-ation, as he holds a garment in his studio.

An Indian tailor works in the studio factory unit of fashiondesigner Suket Dhir in New Delhi.

India’s prize-winning designer steadies for world stage

Milan fashion week kicked off yesterday with collec-tions from Italian labels Grinko and Blugirl setting ayouth-orientated tone for six days of catwalk creativi-

ty. Blugirl, the sexy younger sister of designer Anna Molinari’smain womenswear brand Blumarine, served up a typicallyirreverent, mix-and-match collection on the opening morning.Bohemian romanticism was to the fore in the form of 70s-styleoff-the-shoulder tops with puffball sleeves.

But the look was hardened sometimes with biker bootsand sharp fringes helping to create a ‘rock chick’ edge, while amilitary theme was balanced out by ultra-feminine, delicatetouches including frilly neckties. Next up were newcomersWunderkind, the youth-targeted branch of Germany’s Joopwhich is one of three Milan debutants among the 71 catwalkshows scheduled between now and Monday.

Paris-based couture star Giambattista Valli has shown hisown younger line, Giamba, in Milan before but Friday’s showwill be the first time it has been included in the official pro-gram. The other newcomers are Chinese label Ricostru, the lat-est up-and-coming talent to benefit from the patronage ofGiorgio Armani. They will display their 2017 Spring/Summercollection on Monday at the Teatro Armani, which has beenentirely given over to young designers in a move that hasbeen branded something of a gamble.

Armani himself usually presents his main collection on thefinal day of Milan, thereby helping to delay the departure ofhundreds of buyers and media for the next leg of the globalfashion circuit, in Paris. This year however the veteran designeris showing his main line on Friday and his Emporio Armanicollection in Paris, generating fears the whole circus willdecamp to the French capital on Sunday evening, after Dolceand Gabbana’s afternoon show. Carlo Capasa, the head ofItaly’s Chamber of Fashion, defended the decision. “I have avery high regard for young designers and I think it is right thatwe have a day just for them: the day of the future,” he toldreporters.

Gender-bending Alessandro Michele’s latest offering for Gucci was set to be

the highlight of an opening day on which Alberta Ferretti,Roberto Cavalli and Philipp Plein are also showing. The future

of fashion’s system of twice-yearly menswear and wom-enswear shows is up in the air because of trends towards uni-sex collections and clothes being made available to buyimmediately, rather than four months after the catwalk show.

For Milan that could have significant consequences. “Theindirect benefits to the city of the last fashion week inSeptember were estimated at 48 million euros,” said deputymayor Cristina Tajani, who said the industry could do more tohelp its host city. “We have done our bit by putting some ofthe city’s symbolic venues at the disposal of young designersfor their shows,” she said, urging fashion houses to getinvolved in organizing events that are accessible to the gener-al public rather than just fashion insiders.

Capasa said his organization was already doing that. “Weare putting a lot of emphasis on the special events that willtake place in the city in parallel with the shows,” he said. Oneevent that will be strictly invitation only will be BottegaVeneta’s show in Milan’s Academy of Fine Art. For the first timein its history, the couture house will show its menswear andwomenswear collections together amid the artworks to cele-brate its 50th anniversary and designer Tomas Maier’s 15 yearsas its artistic director. Gucci, whose look has taken a gender-bending turn under Michele, has already announced it willshow its men and women’s collections together fromSeptember 2017, as has Antonio Marras. — AFP

Youth to the fore as Milan fashion week opens

Models present creations for fashion house Blugirl as part of the 2017 Women’s Spring / Summer collections shows at Milan Fashion Week yesterday in Milan. — AFP photos


l if e st yleF E A T U R E S

Don’t worry, celeb watchers: With the unraveling ofBrangelina, you’ve still got plenty of reigning couplesto obsess over. Some cases in point:

The WestsHe, Kanye West, puts on fashion shows that try the

patience of some critics, drops new Yeezy shoe designs thatsell out in minutes and is currently performing high abovedevotees on a platform during his “Life of Pablo” tour. She, KimKardashian West, poses now-routinely in the nude for maga-zines and on her massively popular Instagram account(because she loves her body). She lays her life bare on her ownapp and her family ’s popular “Keeping Up With theKardashians” reality show.

Together, they’re Kimye, and they rarely make a move thatisn’t heavily documented on social media, either by them-selves, their fans or all those people who love to hate them.The two married on May 24, 2014, in a lavish ceremony inFlorence, Italy. They have two young children, including 3-year-old fashionista North West.

The CartersHe, Shawn Corey Carter, is Jay Z, a high-living rap mogul

who might or might not have cheated on his famous andinfluential power wife, Beyonce, as she seems to imply on hermega-hit visual album “Lemonade.” The two got hitched April4, 2008, in a private ceremony at their Tribeca apartment, andhave a daughter, 4-year-old Blue Ivy. Her fan base is known asthe Beehive. Jay’s loyalists love to flash him the Roc Symbol, adiamond shape and reference to his Roc Nation company,which includes a record label, talent agency, touring and con-cert production, music, film and TV production and a musicpublishing house.

The ClooneysShe, a British international human rights lawyer, used to be

an Alamuddin, until she married him, the dashing movie star,and became a Clooney. The two wed on Sept. 27, 2014, inVenice, Italy, sending the paparazzi into high gear, but there’smore to this Hollywood royalty. They take meetings with thelikes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to talk about things

like emergency refugee policy. On Monday, Amal pushed forthe United Nations to investigate and prosecute Islamic Stategroup commanders for genocide, saying on the “Today” showshe discussed her effort to legally fight the IS group with herhusband, and he understands “this is my work.” George, onceamong the world’s most sought-after bachelors, joked lastyear on late-night TV that he loved his gig as Amal’s arm can-dy. “Shiny and pretty,” he told Stephen Colbert on “The LateShow, “that’s mostly what I do.”

The SmithsHe’s Will Smith, striking movie star, and she’s Jada Pinkett

Smith, striking TV star. Together they have a couple of strikingteenagers, Willow and Jaden. In LA LA land terms, they’ve

been married a mighty long time, sealing the deal on Dec 31,1997. That’s about how many years they’ve been battlingbreak-up rumors. The divorce mill got so busy that Will took toFacebook in August 2015 to declare, in part: “NOT GETTING ADIVORCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:-) I promise you all - if I ever decide todivorce my Queen - I SWEAR I’ll tell you myself! #Dumb PeopleShould Have to Wear Scarlet D’s” For her part, Jada took toTwitter: “My king has spoken.”

The BeckhamsAs in David and Victoria. The two Brits, he a soccer legend

and she the former Spice Girl turned fashion designer, marriedJuly 4, 1999. They met at a charity soccer match and wed atLuttrellstown Castle in Ireland after a two-year romance. Their

4-month-old son, Brooklyn, was their ringbearer. And theymatched in ivory - his hair was a golden blond then. Victoriadonned a huge gown with a little royal crown on the top ofher head. How did they celebrate their 17th anniversary? Bygushing about each other on Instagram, natch, posting thenand now photos. They, too, have been rocked by rumors, inthis case an alleged affair between David and an assistant thatgot the tabloids going in 2004. Victoria later told W magazinein a joint interview with her husband: “I’m not going to lie. Itwas a really tough time. It was hard for our entire families.”

The Bundchen BradysThe Brazilian bombshell, supermodel Gisele Bundchen,

and the New England Patriot, Tom Brady, have two kidstogether, 6-year-old Benjamin and 3-year-old Vivian. We knowthis because Bundchen and Brady guard their kids’ privacy butshe recently posted a rollicking ‘gram of the good-looking lit-tle ones playing outside by a tree. Bundchen has been theworld’s highest paid model since 2002, earning roughly $44million a year.

They married Feb. 26, 2009, after a couple years of dating.Bundchen said she fell in love with Brady because he’s a “kindman,” but she told Charlie Rose on “CBS This Morning” lastNovember that she had considered leaving her “Deflategate”quarterback after learning his former girlfriend, actressBridget Moynahan, was pregnant with Brady’s child back in2007. Trying times hit again with Brady’s football-tamperingscandal. He’s two games into a four-game suspension, plan-ning to return to the field Oct 9. “I think we’ve been through afew tough times together,” Bundchen told Rose. “I think that’swhen you know who are your friends, who loves you. ... Nomatter how challenging it was, we’ve always been supportiveof one another, and I think that’s the most important thingyou can have in life, a support system and love.”— AP

Actress Angelina Jolie has filed for a divorce fromactor Brad Pitt after 12 years together including twoyears of marriage, the end for one of Hollywood’s

most glamorous and powerful couples. Below is a timelineof key moments in the A-list couple’s relationship over theyears:

January 2005: Brad Pitt and “Friends” star JenniferAniston separate amid rumors that he and Jolie had anaffair while filming the upcoming spy action thriller “Mrand Mrs Smith.” Neither party confirmed the rumors.

April 2005: Photos appear in media of Pitt with Jolieand her adopted Cambodian son Maddox, vacationingtogether in Kenya.

January 2006: Representatives for Jolie and Pitt con-firm to People magazine the actress is pregnant with Pitt’schild, the first time the couple acknowledge their relation-ship publicly. A Los Angeles judge grants Jolie’s request forPitt to become the adoptive father of Maddox and daugh-ter Zahara, changing their last names to Jolie-Pitt.

May 2006: The couple’s first biological child, a girlnamed Shiloh Nouvel, is born in Namibia.

July 2008: Jolie gives birth to the couple’s twinsVivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon in southern France.

September 2011: Pitt appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’show while promoting “Moneyball” to discuss marriageplans with Jolie. “I’ve said that we would not be getting

married until everyone in this country had the right to getmarried,” he said.

April 2012: Jolie and Pitt announce their engagementafter she is spotted wearing a large diamond ring designedby Pitt.

May 2013: Jolie reveals in a New York Times op-ed thatshe underwent a double mastectomy after learning shehad inherited a high risk of breast cancer. She said shemade the decision in part to reassure her children that shewould not die young from cancer, as her own motherMarcheline Bertrand did at age 56 in 2007.

August 2014: Jolie and Pitt quietly marry in a small cer-emony at their Chateau Miraval estate in France. All six chil-dren took part and Jolie wore an Atelier Versace whitedress featuring colorful designs drawn by her children.

November 2015: Jolie and Pitt appear at the premiereof “By The Sea,” a drama directed and written by Jolie inwhich they play a married couple drifting apart.

September 2016: Jolie files for divorce from Pitt in LosAngeles court, citing irreconcilable differences andrequesting sole physical custody of the children. Pittresponded with a statement to People magazine saying hewas “very saddened.”— Reuters

Farewell, Brangelina, but wait: Celeb royalty abounds

In this May 5, 2014 file photo, Tom Brady, left, and GiseleBundchen attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art’sCostume Institute benefit gala celebrating ‘Charles James:Beyond Fashion’ in New York. — AP photos

In this Dec 1, 2014 file photo, David Beckham, left, andVictoria Beckham pose for photographers upon arrival atThe British Fashion Awards 2014, in London.

In this Jan 10, 2016 file photo, Jada Pinkett Smith, left, andWill Smith arrive at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awardsat the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

In this Feb 20, 2016 file photo, Beyonce and Jay Z attendthe NBA basketball game between the Los AngelesClippers and Golden State Warriors, in Los Angeles.

In this Aug 28, 2016 file photo, Kim Kardashian West, left,and Kanye West arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards inNew York.

In this Feb 1, 2016 file photo, Amal Clooney, left, andGeorge Clooney arrive at the world premiere of ‘Hail,Caesar!’ in Los Angeles.

As Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt, here’s alook at some of the other off-screen Hollywood romancesthat have kept audiences enthralled:

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart The sultry Bacall made her debut aged just 19 opposite

Bogart, 44, in “To Have and Have Not” in 1944. They got married ayear later; the age gap did not stop them from becoming one ofHollywood’s most mythical couples. Bacall cemented her statusas a film noir icon with appearances alongside Bogart in “The BigSleep” (1946), “Dark Passage” (1947), and “Key Largo” in 1948. Theywere married until Bogart’s death from cancer in 1957.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Taylor and Burton’s famously turbulent romance began in

1963 when the pair were filming “Cleopatra”, she in the title roleand he as her Mark Antony. Both were married to other people atthe time but their instant chemistry was plain to see. They weremarried twice: for ten years from 1964, and another year from1975-76.Both unions were marred by alcoholism and furiousarguments, though they remained close into their later years.They starred in eleven films together, including “Who’s Afraid ofVirginia Woolf?” (1966) and “The Taming of the Shrew” (1967).

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis Married for more than a decade from 1987, Moore and Willis

were one of the most prominent Hollywood power couples ofthe late 80s and early 90s. Both blamed the collapse of their rela-tionship on not having enough time together as their careers

took off, with Moore the best-paid actress in Hollywood by 1990and Willis working on the “Die Hard” series. They remained friendsafter their split, even spending holidays together to give stabilityto their three daughters.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman The pair met on the set of “Days of Thunder”, a high-adrena-

line racing movie starring Cruise as an ambitious young driverand Kidman as his neurosurgeon love interest. It was released in1990; they were married by the end of the year. “I was a babywhen I married Tom, but I don’t regret any of it,” Kidman later said.The couple adopted two children and starred in two other filmstogether-”Far and Away” and “Eyes Wide Shut”-but divorced in2001. Cruise later married actress Katie Holmes, gaining thecelebrity moniker “TomKat”. Their six-year relationship, ending in2012, was heavily scrutinized by the press, largely because ofCruise’s growing involvement in the Church of Scientology.

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz Spanish actress Cruz-another former lover of Tom Cruise-

began dating her Oscar-winning “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” co-starBardem in 2007. Married in 2010, the couple have two childrentogether and are fiercely private. They sparked a Hollywood rowin 2014 when they signed an open letter blasting Israel’s bom-bardment of Gaza. But both released follow-up statements clari-fying their comments, amid rumors that Israel-supportingHollywood executives were furious over the move. — AFP

Key moments in Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship

In this Nov 12, 2006 file photo, Americanactress and UNHCR Ambassador AngelinaJolie, left, with her daughter Zahara, and BradPitt, right, with Jolie’s son Maddox, walk nearthe Gateway of India in Mumbai, India. — AP

‘Brangelina’ split: Five otherHollywood power couples

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz Demi Moore and Bruce Willis


l if e st yleF E A T U R E S

For Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt, it started withtequila and dancing in the rain in Bogota and endedon the French seaside with white wine, pills and tears.

Hollywood’s most storied modern couple only appearedtogether twice in the movies. The first time, in 2005’s “Mr &Mrs Smith,” they fell in love. A decade later, “By the Sea”would come just a year before their relationship wouldcome to an end with Jolie Pitt filing for divorce. Both timesthey played a childless husband and wife whose passionhad turned to resentment.

Their real life together was full of public declarationsand displays of love, children, philanthropy, humanitarianwork and glamour. In the movies, though, their surfacebeauty was only a mask for the rot and boredom under-neath. Still, even through tears and gunfire, they alwayssmoldered. “You can absolutely madly love the same per-son you want to kill,” Jolie Pitt said in 2015, seated on a silk-sheeted bed next to Pitt on the set of “By the Sea,” filmedon their technical honeymoon, but it could have easilybeen about either. In “Mr & Mrs Smith,” they are actuallytrying to kill each other after all.

Throwing flower petalsIt was a strange story to fall in love to, but not uncom-

mon in the entertainment business, even if Pitt was mar-ried at the time to Jennifer Aniston. Jolie had already beenmarried twice, to Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.“We just became kind of a pair. And it took until, really, theend of the shoot for us, I think, to realize that it mightmean something more than we’d earlier allowed ourselvesto believe,” Jolie Pitt told Vogue in 2006.

Monday’s divorce filing comes after 12 years togetherand two in marriage. The couple wed in August 2014, pri-vately at their French chateau in the Provence hamlet ofCorrens with their children serving as ring bearers andthrowing flower petals. An attorney for Jolie Pitt, RobertOffer, said Tuesday that her decision was made “for thehealth of the family.” She is petitioning for physical custodyof 15-year-old Maddox, 12-year-old Pax, 11-year-oldZahara, 10-year-old Shiloh, and 8-year-old twins Knox andVivienne, with visitation rights for Pitt, who said in a state-ment to People how “saddened” he is.

“What matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids,”

Pitt said, requesting space for the children. The gossipy,tabloid origins would always at least partially define“Brangelina.” But after the media upheaval, Jolie Pitt andPitt eventually settled into their own unique kind of globe-trotting domesticity. They were seldom-seen Hollywoodroyalty, their image predicated more on parenting thanpartying.

Ambitious directorThe pair adopted children from Cambodia, Vietnam and

Ethiopia. In 2006, they formed the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, towhich they funneled many of the millions they made sell-ing personal pictures to celebrity magazines. Jolie Pitt,who became special envoy for the United Nations in 2012,was an outspoken voice for refugees, as well as for breastcancer treatment after undergoing a double mastectomyherself. Pitt built homes in New Orleans for victims ofHurricane Katrina. Both expanded creatively, too, butmostly separately, Jolie Pitt as a burgeoning and ambitiousdirector of both war epics like “Unbroken,” and languidmelodramas like “By the Sea,” and Pitt as a producer ofsocially relevant films through his Plan B production com-pany, including the Academy Award-winning “12 Years aSlave,” last year’s “The Big Short” and the recently debutedfestival hit “Moonlight.”

“By the Sea,” which Jolie Pitt wrote while grieving for hermother, who died in 2007, was sold nonetheless as the bigon screen reunion of the couple who changed tabloid cul-ture and our expectations of what exactly is possible on amovie set just 10 years earlier. But it fizzled with critics andaudiences, making a mere $538,000 at the box officedomestically. The “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” spark that envelopedits own stars and titillated audiences to the tune of $186.3million domestically had given way to something infinitelymore real.

“When we first worked together it was very differentbecause we didn’t really know each other and we wereyoung and, it was really a fun film, so we thought, maybe‘By the Sea’ was going to be that kind of fun, but realizedvery quickly that it wasn’t,” Jolie Pitt told The Telegraph in2015. “Then we joked that this is what happens after 10years of marriage.” — AP

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Marion Cotillard, left, andBrad Pitt in a scene from, ‘Allied,’ in theaters on November 23. — AP photos

In this June 28, 2001 file photo, American actors Brad Pitt and his wife, JenniferAniston, arrive to attend Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2002 menswear col-lection presented in Milan, Italy.

In this March 14, 2000 file photo, actor Brad Pitt, left, and actress JenniferAniston, arrive at the premiere of the new film ‘Erin Brockovich,’ in theWestwood section of Los Angeles.

In this Jan 27, 2008 file photo, Angelina Jolie, left, andBrad Pitt sit together before the start of the 14th AnnualScreen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.

In this May 28, 2014 file photo, Angelina Jolie and BradPitt arrive at the world premiere of ‘Maleficent’ in LosAngeles.

In this April 13, 2016 filephoto, Jennifer Aniston

arrives at the Los Angelespremiere of “Mother’s Day.”

Jolie and Pitt’s romance,divorce bookended by films

This file photo provided by Universal Pictures shows, Brad Pitt, left, and Angelina Jolie Pitt in a scene from the film “Bythe Sea.”

With the unexpected news that Angelina Jolie filed fordivorce from Brad Pitt-legal documents cite irrecon-cilable differences but celebrity gossip juggernaut

TMZ reports she became “fed up” with his pot smoking, con-cerned with his “anger problem,” and unhappy with his parent-ing methods-we thought we’d have a quick poke around thecouple’s impressive international property portfolio. In threeseparate transactions during the mid- to late-1990s Mister Pittpaid a total of $2.55 million for three contiguous properties inan affluent and celeb-soaked pocket of Los Angeles’s Los Felizarea. Giovanni Ribisi owns one of the neighboring propertiesand Rooney Mara owns a nearby home she scooped up in ear-ly 2015 for $2.9 million from Alexander Skarsgard. Subsequentto the Jolie-Pitt’s coupling the almost freakishly attractive pairadded two more adjoining properties that combined cost$2,387,500.

All together, according to property records and otheronline resources, the gated and, no doubt, heavily securedcompound cost a total of $4,942,500 and encompasses 1.9acres with at least four structures including a 1915 Craftsmanthat clocks in at 6,692-square-feet with six bedrooms and sev-en bathrooms. In the latter days of 2006, not too long afterthey hooked up but almost eight years before their August2014 wedding, the Jolie-Pitts splashed out $3.5 million for a1930s masonry mansion in New Orleans’ famed FrenchQuarter. In May 2015 they put the mansion up for sale at $6.5

million and the price plummeted to $5.65 million before it wastaken off the market in mid-December. Listing details from thetime show that in addition to a “Magnificently renovated”main house with elevator, Venetian plastered walls and a“gourmet kitchen” with “top of the line appliances,” the prop-erty has a two-story guesthouse with one bedroom and 1.5bathrooms, a private and spacious courtyard with swimmingpool, and off-street parking for two cars.

Numerous structuresIn 2008 the now erstwhile pair rented Chateau Miraval, a

sprawling, multi-residence estate near the village of Correns inthe south of France and they purchased the approximately1,200-acre spread in 2012 from American businessman TomBove for a reported $60 million. Just over an hour by car northof Toulon and roughly 1.5 hours by car west of Cannes, the vil-lage-like compound has numerous structures, some of whichdate to the 18th-century. In addition to a main house thatsome reports say has 35 or more rooms there are severalsmaller cottages for guests and/or staff, a Romanesque chapelwhere the couple wed, and a recording studio.

The property, which they bought from American business-man was once owned by French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier-where Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Muse and Sting have all beenreported to have recorded. The property is has pine forests,olive groves, a private pond, and extensive organic vineyards

along with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, spa and gymfacilities, a professional-grade screening room, a video gamearcade, a dirt bike course, and a couple of helicopter landingpads. Miz Jolie, nominated for an Oscar in 2009 for“Changeling” and an Oscar winner in 2000 for “GirlInterrupted,” has owned a 1,232-square-foot apartment on ahigh floor of the elegant and architecturally distinguishedAnsonia building on New York City’s Upper West Side sinceDecember of 1997 and in 2003 she bought a traditional homeon almost 100 acres in Cambodia’s Battambang Provincewhere she later bought about 12,000 acres of land she turnedinto a wildlife preserve. And, finally, in late 2000, shortly afterMister Pitt married his first wife Jennifer Aniston, the six-timeOscar nominated and one-time Oscar-winning actor paid anunknown amount for an 11.5 acre ocean-front compoundalong a rugged and otherwise unspoiled stretch of beach justoutside of Santa Barbara, California.

Of course, this property gossip doesn’t know an apple fromand apple cart so we really can’t say what will come of theJolie-Pitt’s numerous properties but we assume without anyinside intel that each will keep what they brought to their ten-plus year union and that Chateau Miraval and their NewOrleans pied-a-terre will be sold off. We shall see, butterbeans, we shall see. — Reuters

London’s Madame Tussauds museum said yester-day it had separated its wax figure replicas ofAngelina Jolie and Brad Pitt after the Hollywood

power couple announced their split. Jolie’s attorneysaid on Tuesday the actress had filed for divorce fromPitt, her romantic partner since 2005 and husband oftwo years. “We reacted quickly to yesterday’s news ofthe separation of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and theirplans to divorce by mirroring the separation in the

attraction,” a Madame Tussauds spokesperson said.“The couple’s wax figures, which were launched in2013, have been split up and are now featured at arespectful distance from each other. Angelina is keep-ing Nicole Kidman company and Brad Pitt is with hisseveral time co-star Morgan Freeman.”— Reuters

After split, London’s Madame Tussaudsseparates Jolie, Pitt wax figures

A look at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s property portfolio

In this May 21, 2007 file photo, American actor-produc-er Brad Pitt, left, and American actress Angelina Joliearrive for a photo call for the film ‘A Mighty Heart,’ atthe 60th International film festival in Cannes, southernFrance. — AFP

38Farewell, Brangelina,

but wait: Celeb royalty abounds


Visitors attend the media preview of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei Italy’s first major retrospective “Libero” at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence yesterday. The exhibition will start on September 23 and will run until January 22, 2017. — AFP

Art lovers will have to wait a bitlonger to visit a much-anticipatedMideast outpost of the Louvre,

which will be headed by a Frenchmaninvolved in the project for years. The AbuDhabi Tourism and Culture Authority saidTuesday the branch in the United ArabEmirates capital won’t host its first visitorsuntil sometime in 2017. It’s the latest in aseries of delays for the project, which wasoriginally slated to open in 2012. It mostrecently was expected to be finished byyear’s end.

The tourism authority named Parismuseums veteran Manuel Rabate as themuseum’s first director. The 40-year-oldhas worked at the original Louvre andserved as CEO of Agence France-Museums, which is charged with carryingout France’s commitments in developingthe UAE museum, since 2013. Designedby renowned architect Jean Nouvel, thesky-lit, domed museum is the centerpieceof an ambitious waterfront cultural dis-trict that will also include a branch of the

Guggenheim museum. The district,known as Saadiyat Island, has for yearsbeen a focus of criticism over the treat-ment of thousands of low-paid migrantworkers involved in its construction.

The Tourism Development andInvestment Co, the project’s government-backed developer, put in place policiesdesigned to protect workers and monitorcompliance at the site. Rights activists saythe reforms were not enough to preventexploitation and abuse. One worker diedwhile working on the Louvre last year.Curators have acquired 600 pieces of artso far, and plan to display them alongside300 others on loan from French muse-ums. The collection includes works byFrench painters Paul Gauguin andEdouard Manet, as well as religiouspieces, including a 6th-Century ChineseBuddha sculpture and a more than 500-year-old Torah from Yemen. — AP

On bakery walls, buildings and roadside sheetingin South Sudan’s capital, Juba, street artists fedup with war are painting for peace as young

musicians, actors and artists campaign to end decadesof conflict. A mural of a child in a singlet working at asewing machine reads “the young who are tired are theones who will sew the fabric of our nation back togeth-er.” A white-washed bakery wall features stark silhou-ettes wielding axes while a container doubling up as acultural center shows an AK-47 shooting doves insteadof bullets.

The anti-war street art burgeoning on the roads ofthe hot, humid South Sudanese capital on the banks ofthe White Nile, the scene of heavy combat as recently asJuly, is the work of a newly-created movement called#AnaTaban. #AnaTaban tags itself on twitter as “a com-munity of young South Sudanese creatives who aretired of seeing our people suffer.” The world’s newestnation won its independence only five years ago afterdecades of war. But the fighting continued, degenerat-ing into a particularly brutal civil conflict that has drivenmore than one million people out of the country anddisplaced many more.

Villages have been burnt to the ground, almost halfthe population relies on food assistance to survive andwomen and girls are raped by government and rebelforces, according to rights groups. So with no end insight, some 40 entertainers and artists in Juba set up

#AnaTaban with the support of exiled compatriotsalso involved in the arts. They hope to spread to othercities such as Wau, Yei, Aweil and Yambio.

‘I’m sorry’ “What #AnaTaban is doing is actually to create a plat-

form for other young South Sudanese people to raisetheir voices, to speak out their mind, so we all haveeverlasting peace in this country,” said co-founder JoyceMaker. Maker, an actress, brings theatre, playing outdire scenes of conflict, while #AnaTaban musicians haverecorded a first song- and are preparing another underthe theme #AnaMalesh-”I’m sorry” in Arabic. Over thecoming weeks the group plans a series of public events,on streets, in hospitals, schools and even in prisons.

“What is happening now in South Sudan is corruption,war, conflict,” said painter and cartoonist Thomas Dai. Lastweek a report commissioned by actor-activist GeorgeClooney alleged massive corruption and war profiteeringby its leaders, saying the key factor in the fighting was“competition for the grand prize-control over state assetsand the country’s abundant natural resources,” notablyits oil. “Those things, we want to put them out, we wantto throw them out,” said Dai. “We want to say these thingsare not good. That’s what we want to show to the peoplethrough art, painting, graffiti, on the street”. Poet and rap-per Asif Kafi described the group’s work as “art-ivism”,combining art and activism. “We have musicians, we haveartists, people ... portraying a message of peace and rec-onciliation,” he said. — AP

Abu Dhabi names Louvre outpost

director, plans 2017 launch

In this file photo, a model of the future Abu Dhabi branch of the Louvre muse-um by French architect Jean Nouvel is on display as part of a sample collectionat the museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. — AP photos

Painter Thomas Dai (left) and musician James Aka, both members of the new activist movement #AnaTaban, talk in front of Thomas’ latest graffiti in astreet in Juba.

Painting the town for peace in South Sudan

A member of the newactivist movement

#AnaTaban, paints a newmural at the Aggrey Jaden

cultural centre in Juba.

KT 22-9-2016.qxp_Layout 1 - Kuwait Times

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