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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017 JAMADA ALAWWAL 10, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

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Workers hold sit-in over unpaid salaries, ‘extortion’

Snapshots of football clubs in Kuwait

Brady fairytale as Patriots fightback seals Super Bowl

Qatar Petroleum boss says Trump ‘very positive’ for oil sector

Info minister ‘resigns’ after

grilling over sports ban

Cabinet hails Sheikh Salman, blasts interpellationBy B Izzak

KUWAIT: Information and Youth Minister Sheikh SalmanAl-Hmoud Al-Sabah yesterday submitted his resignationto the Cabinet two days before a scheduled no-confidencevote against him following a grilling over Kuwait’s sportsban. Government sources and MPs said Sheikh Salmanquit after about 31 MPs said they will support the no-confi-dence vote against him scheduled for tomorrow, meaningthat he will be voted out of office. The motion against himneeds the support of only 25 MPs. Approving a no-confi-dence motion means the minister will be automaticallydismissed.

The Cabinet, which met yesterday, did not make anyannouncement on the resignation, but a statementcharged that the grilling last week included a number ofconstitutional and legal violations. The statement also com-mended the minister and praised his defense during the10-hour marathon grilling by opposition MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, Abdulwahab Al-Babtain and Al-Humaidi Al-Subaei over the international sports ban and alleged finan-cial and administrative violations.

The official announcement of the resignation is expect-ed to be made today. An Amiri decree will be issued accept-ing the resignation and possibly assigning other ministersto the two portfolios. Reports said that State Minister forCabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabahwill be given the information post, while CommerceMinister Khaled Al-Roudhan will get the youth portfolio.

During the grilling, the lawmakers accused the ministerof failing to lift the 15-month suspension on Kuwaiti sportsand of playing a role in issuing the legislation that theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA cited forslapping the suspension in Oct 2015.

Continued on Page 13

By Hanan Al-Saadoun and Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: The fire department yesterday said construc-tion work on the titanium roof of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center caused the fire that rippedthrough the complex yesterday. Firefighters on a cranesprayed water onto the building, a structure coveredwith geometric Islamic patterns. The department said ina statement on Twitter that the fire was put out andcaused no injuries. It added five fire departmentshelped battle the blaze, which sent thick smoke pour-ing from the futuristic-looking, waterfront complex.

Head of the Amiri Diwan’s Financial andAdministrative Affairs Abdulaziz Ishaq said firefightersresponded promptly and effectively when the firebroke out as a result of construction work. Ishaq, whoalso heads the committee in charge of the cultural cen-ter, added that the building was completely evacuatedat the time of the blaze, which only resulted in materialdamage. He thanked the Kuwait Fire ServiceDirectorate (KFSD) and all those involved in dealingwith the mishap.

Parts of the roof were seen to be missing after theblaze, but it was unclear if that was the result of theconstruction work or the fire. The center was launchedin October with a performance at its 2,000-seat operahouse by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Broadway musi-cal “Cats” was due to open on Thursday at the sprawling214,000-sq-m center, located in the heart of KuwaitCity. (See Page 4)

Roof works cause cultural center blaze

KUWAIT: Firefighters work at the site of a fire at the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center yesterday. — AP

L O C A LTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Al-Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Al-Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahmeets with Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth AffairsSheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahmeets with the new ambassador of Morocco.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahmeets with the new ambassador of Comoros.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahmeets with the new ambassador of Cyprus. — KUNA photos

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Head of Financial Controllers AgencyDr Abdulaziz Dkheel Al-Dekheel.

KUWAIT: His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah received Al-Ahmadi GovernorSheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled Al-HamadAl-Sabah at Bayan Palace yesterday.Sheikh Fawaz presented HisHighness the Amir with a memorialgift from the people of Al-AhmadiGovernorate on the occasion of the11th anniversary of His Highnessthe Amir’s assumption to power, the56th anniversary of the independ-ence of Kuwait, and the 26thanniversary of Kuwait’s Liberation.Sheikh Fawaz later presented a simi-lar gift to His Highness the CrownPrince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Separately, His Highness theAmir received the head of theFinancial Controllers Agency DrAbdulaziz Dkheel Al-Dekheel, whopresented to him a special reportregarding executive measures takento implement legislative dues, inaccordance with the provision 23-2015 law, concerning establishing afinancial controller ’s agency.Dekheel later presented a copy ofthe report to His Highness theCrown Prince.

In other news, His Highness theCrown Prince received DeputyPrime Minister and Minister ofDefense Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. His

Highness the Crown Prince alsohosted Minister of Information andMinister of State for Youth AffairsSheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah. His Highness theCrown Prince then met withMinister of Health Jamal MansourAl-Harbi.

Meanwhile, His Highness theCrown Prince Sheikh Nawafreceived Chief of the SecurityBureau Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and, separately,member of the municipal councilOsama Al-Otaibi. His Highness alsoreceived the new ambassadors ofCyprus, the Comoros andMorocco.— KUNA

Amir receives Al-Ahmadi Governor

KUWAIT: Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic visits the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center.—KUNA photos

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic tours the Scientific Center.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic tours the Scientific Center.

Europe can’t host huge number

of refugees: Croatian PresidentKUWAIT: Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic yesterday said the world should under-stand Europe did not have full resources to hosthuge number of refugees, thus forcing somecountries to close their borders. “Countries of theworld should understand that Europe does nothave all necessary capabilities to help every-body, which force some European countries toclose their doors in face of refugees,” she said.

She attributed this action to these countries’“inability to provide decent living conditions” forthe refugees, Graber-Kitarovic said in a state-ment to KUNA and Kuwait TV following theopening of the Croatian Embassy in Kuwait,before she left the country yesterday. She calledfor seeking sustainable solutions to organizeimmigration coupled with ending conflicts thatforced those people to flee to save havens.Graber-Kitarovic said she discussed refugeeissue with the Kuwaiti leaders she met. “Croatiais a transit for immigrants and refugees who fledfrom conflicts in their countries. They stay for ashort period of time and then move to otherEuropean countries, particularly Germany which

received a large number of them in past years,”she said. Graber-Kitarovic, meanwhile, affirmedbacking to Kuwait’s quest to waive Schengenvisa, while urging Kuwaitis to seize investmentopportunities in her country. Croatia fully sup-ports Kuwait’s bid to exempt its citizens from theEuropean Union’s (EU) Schengen visa, Graber-Kitarovic said.

She said her visit to Kuwait aimed at dis-cussing a host of international issues of mutualconcern, specially peace and fight against terror-ism. The visit, the first by a Croatian Presidentsince the European country’s independent inearly 1990s, aimed at promoting bilateral rela-tions and cooperation. She expressed contentafter His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah decorated her withthe Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer. Graber-Kitarovic also presented His Highness the Amirwith the Grand Order of King Tomislav, the mostprestigious state order of Croatia, in recognitionof his role in supporting international peace andsecurity.

The Croatian president termed as “construc-

tive and positive” her meetings with parliamentspeaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem, His Highness thePrime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-HamadAl-Sabah and other senior officials. Graber-Kitarovic said the Croatian government wasadopting “serious measures” to attract foreigninvestors, including from Kuwait.

“Croatia is a country open for trade, we haveinvestments ... in many domains including shipbuilding, defense industries, agriculture andfood products, in addition to a giant food indus-try complying with the Islamic Sharia,” she said.She added that there was a small Muslim com-munity in Croatia, which was contributing todevelopment of the country.

Asked about Britain’s leaving of the EuropeanUnion, Graber-Kitarovic said the will of majority ofthe British people should be respected although“we are not happy about it.” On the opening ofNATO’s Regional Center in Kuwait last month, shesaid she knew very well the importance of thiscenter in the region specially that she used to bean assistant secretary for general diplomacy inNATO before becoming president. — KUNA

L O C A L

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

KUWAIT: His Highness Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chairs the Cabinet’s meeting yesterday. —KUNA

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Cabinet yesterdaypraised the Information Minister’s replies tothe MPs during the recent parliamentaryinterpellation session, namely the“irrefutable” information he stated inresponse to the legislators. The ministers,during their weekly meeting, re-affirmedthat the inquiry was marked with “contro-versial and irregular points,” according to astatement read post the session, also notingthat the MPs who grilled the minister devi-ated from constitutional and legal norms.

They extolled the Minister ofInformation, Minister of State for YouthAffairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah for his “convincingresponses, irrefutable information and non-controversial facts” he had stated duringthe inquiry session. The ministers exam-ined Tuesday’s grilling session, duringwhich Minister Sheikh Salman was quizzedbefore ten MPs presented a non-confi-dence motion against him according toarticle 143 of the parliament by-law, alongwith “with other repercussions witnessed inlatest days.”

The ministers expressed support forMinister Sheikh Salman shortly after

National Assembly Speaker voiced identicalviews on process of the grilling saying itwas politically motivated and that theinterpellators did not stick to the scheduledinquiry topics. On January 15, three MPsrequested grilling the minister over his pur-ported responsibility for international sus-pension of national sports, alleged viola-tion of freedom of the press and wrongdo-ings at the financial and administrative lev-els. Article 100 of the Kuwaiti Constitutionentitles every member of the NationalAssembly to question the prime ministerand cabinet members in regard to mattersfalling within their jurisdictions. HisHighness Prime Minister Sheikh JaberMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chaired theweekly session, held at Bayan Palace.

Positive visitMinister of State for Cabinet Affairs

Sheikh Mohmmad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, reading the statement after the ses-sion, said the ministers were briefed aboutcurrent “positive visit” to the country by theCroatian president, noting it would con-tribute to boosting mutual cooperationbetween the two friendly countries in vari-

ous fields. They were also informed about amessage addressed to His Highness theAmir from the UAE President inviting HisHighness to partake in the WorldGovernments Summit due in Dubai in endof this month, First Deputy Prime Ministerand Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah KhaledAl-Hamad Al-Sabah addressed the minis-ters during the session about His Highnessthe Amir ’s participation in the annualcamel race, held in Riyadh on February 1, aspart of the 31th edition of Al-JanadriyahCultural Festival.

The ministers examined a recommenda-tion by the economic affairs committee onreports by auditors’ bureaus at the min-istries and government departments, affili-ate authorities and independent institu-tions for the fiscal year (2015-2016). Theyalso studied a brief analytical statementabout results of advance auditing of Stateauthorities for first half of the 2016-2016fiscal year for tackling some of the men-tioned remarks.

Terrorist attacksMeanwhile, the Cabinet condemned a

recent attack that targeted a Saudi warship

while it was on a patrolling mission west ofAl-Hudaydah Yemeni Port. The cabinet saidin a statement following its weekly meet-ing that Kuwait stands side by side withSaudi Arabia in all measures it is taking tomaintain its security and stability and tofight these terrorist acts.

Two persons were killed and threeothers injured yesterday` when boatsdriven by Houthi rebels attacked a Saudivessel, patrolling off Hudaida Port inYemen, the coalition supporting legitima-cy in Yemen said.

The cabinet also deplored a “terrorist”attack that targeted Louvre Museum incentral Paris in which a French soldier wasinjured. It reiterated Kuwait’s support toprecautionary measures being taken by theFrench government to fend off similar ter-rorist incidents that aim at disruptingFrance’s security and stability.

Finally, the Kuwaiti cabinet denounced arecent bombing in Manama as a “terroristact.” It called on the international commu-nity to exert more concerned efforts tofight terrorism that intends to disrupt secu-rity and stability and intimidate innocentpeople. —KUNA

Kuwait Cabinet lauds Info

Minister’s replies to grillingGrilling contained ‘controversial and irregular points’

Farms removed

to make way for

railway project

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: Forty three land plots in Wafra and Abdali werewithdrawn and their lease contracts were terminatedbecause they are on the route of the planned railway lineand regional road, announced Faisal Al-Hasawi, Director ofthe Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and FishResources (PAAAFR). Hasawi added that he asked relevantauthorities to remove all obstacles from these routes,adding that coordination is in progress in this regard withKuwait Municipality, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry ofPublic Works, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry andthe Fatwa and Legislation Department to finalize all legaland executive procedures needed for the project.

Social aidMinister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State

for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Subaih denied that any courtorders had been issued mandating the ministry to payKuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis any social aid. Shealso noted that updating the database of beneficiaries maytake six to 12 months. Subaih explained that 2,227 citizenshad benefited from the aid until 854 cases were temporari-ly suspended pending further study and evaluation ofwhether or not they meet the conditions.

Health insuranceThe Ministry of Health’s official spokesperson Dr Ahmed

Al-Shatti reassured that the issue of the health insurancecompany has been settled by the ministry, which notifiedthe company in writing to collect the fees paid by expatri-ates. The ministry had announced last week resolving theissue that caused crowding at health insurance paymentcenters around the country.

Contractors excludedKuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) CEO Jamal Jaafar said that

over 50 local and international contractors had beenexcluded from dealing with KOC because they no longermatch the new conditions and regulations. He alsostressed that the exclusion would remain in effect untilthese contractors rectified their performance and meet theconditions agreed upon in the contracts signed with them.

Amir’s vision for

renewables to

spare $2.5 billion

KUWAIT: The growing demand for energy globally andrising rate of consumption locally highlight need toimplement far-sighted vision of His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to tap intorenewable energy resources. The vision, aiming to meet15 percent of the local consumption through renew-ables until 2030 will spare up to more than $2.463 bil-lion annually, experts estimate. Minister of Oil andMinister of Electricity and Water Essam Al-Marzouq hasrecently said the demand for energy in Kuwait will goup to one million barrels a day (bpd), nearly a quarter ofthe country’s total output, by 2035 when the total pop-ulation hits 5.5 million.

Marzouq’s projection is based on the strategy ofKuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), which targets pro-ducing four million bpd. His Highness the Amir’s visionis expected to spare at least 150,000 bpd daily worth$6.750 million a day or $2.463 billion annually. The fig-ures are based on oil price of $45 per barrel (pb) set inthe state budget for FY 2017-18. Since the oil prices arereasonably expected to go up twofold to $90 in thecoming 18 years, His Highness the Amir’s vision willundoubtedly spare up to $4.9 billion a year.

$15.750 millionWith a total population of 4.42 million people in early

2017, Kuwait consumes 350,000 bpd worth $15.750 mil-lion based on the current oil price of $45 pb, accordingto the statistics of the Public Authority for CivilInformation (PACI). Since His Highness the Amirannounced his vision at the 18th session of theConference of the Parties to the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha,Qatar, on December 4, 2012, growing numbers of stateinstitutions, particularly the oil sector, the main energyconsumer, have started implementing the vision. Sincethe solar energy is the most viable among renewables inKuwait, the renewable energy projects focused oninvesting, and made outstanding progress, in this field.Besides, the costs of investment in this regard are less by12 percent than other fields, according to experts.

The first such pilot projects is Al-Shaqaya whichhas been implemented by Kuwait Foundation for theAdvancement of Sciences (KFAS) since 2013. Theproject, costing KD four billion ($13.083 billion),envisages producing clean energy equivalent toabout 12.5 million barrels of oil a year when its thirdstage completes in 2030.

It will cover 3-4 percent of the annual energy con-sumption of the country in 2030; the output capacity ofits first stage, which will complete in 2018, amounts to70 megawatts; the second 1,000 mw in 2020, and thethird 2,000 mw in 2025. Kuwait Institute for ScientificResearch (KISR) is working with the Ministry of Electricityto complete the second stage of the project.

Sidra 500Another pilot project in the exploitation of solar

energy is Sidra 500, being carried out by Kuwait OilCompany (KOC) in Om Qadir, west Kuwait. The project,costing KD 30 million went operational last October; itproduces 10 mw of energy, equivalent to 500,000 bar-rels of oil over two decades. Half of its production willgo to the Ministry of Electricity and Water and theremaining five mw will be used in the industrial opera-tions in Om Qadir oil wells. The third solar energy proj-ect is Al-Debdeba being implemented by KPC inside Al-Saqaya complex. It envisaged capacity amounts to1,000 mw which will cover 15 percent of power needs ofthe oil sector when it completes in 2021.

In keeping with His Highness the Amir’s vision, KFASstarted implementing other green energy projects suchas the introduction of solar panels as source of electrici-ty to a number of consumer cooperatives and 150 hous-es in 2016 and 2017. The Ministry’s committee on lever-aging the uses of renewable energy approved 56 cleanenergy projects in last January.

The country also plan to exploit the wind energy inorder to cover another 15 percent of its energy needsby 2030; one percent of this target was met in 2015.The far-sighted vision of His Highness the Amir falls inthe framework of the country’s quest for curbing thecarbon dioxide emissions, reducing reliance on oil aspillar of its economy, and achieving sustainable eco-nomic development. —KUNA

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem with Speaker ofthe UAE National Council Amal Abdullah Al-Qubaisi sign a cooperativeagreement. —KUNA

KUWAIT: National Assembly SpeakerMarzouq Al-Ghanem yesterday held talkswith visiting Speaker of the UAE NationalCouncil Amal Abdullah Al-Qubaisi and heraccompanying delegation. During themeeting, they discussed how to coordinatemutual parliamentary positions in continen-tal and international parliamentary eventsand fora, especially Inter-ParliamentaryUnion (IPU) meetings due in Dhaka earlyApril. Several heated issues and subjects in

regional and international arenas were alsoconsidered during the meeting.

Following the talks, the Kuwaiti and UAEparliament speakers signed a cooperativeagreements in parliamentary, legislativeand legal fields, in addition to training,development, research and informationsystems. Afterwards, the Kuwaiti speakerheld a luncheon banquet in honor of thevisiting UAE guest and her accompanyingdelegation. —KUNA

Parliament speaker meets with

UAE National Council’s Chief

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: A specialist in political Islam dis-cussed the recent turn of events in theMiddle East, the Islamic State problem andthe attitude of the West at a ‘cross-culturaldiwaniya’ organized yesterday by theFrench Embassy’s Institute Francais at GulfUniversity for Science and Technology(GUST). Dr Francios Burgat, the guest ofhonor at the event, is a senior scientificresearcher at the Institute for Research andStudies on the Arab and Muslim World. Hewas the former head of the French Instituteof Archeology and Sciences in Sanaa andDamascus for six and five years respective-ly. He is currently a member of theEuropean Council on Foreign Relations.

Part of the discussion at the diwaniyaincluded the contents of his book titled‘Understanding Political Islam.’ “We are liv-ing in a new world wherein social deterio-ration and cultural violence are prevalent,”Burgat said. “When we are targeted by vio-

lence, our intuitive reaction is to blame theone that created the violence. When some-thing happens, what is the share of theblame of the quiet and the guilty? InFrance, when a terrorist crime is commit-ted, it is easy to blame the guiltiest party -he is responsible for this and that, becausehe has the ideology pushing him into thedark. Here is a man to blame - he is madnot with religion, but simply because he isa mad person,” he said.

Burgat said to say there is good and badin Islam is wrong, since there are good andbad Christians too. “The people involved inmisrepresenting Islam are not Muslim. Theydo not understand the meaning of theQuran. If we buy their approach, the worldwill go nowhere. We must look in the mirrorand see ourselves there - the dysfunctionalinstitutions. In French, there is a saying: ‘Ifyou will not allow me to be a full citizen,then I will be a citizen fully apart.’ This is thecase now and we have to accept that wediscriminate against people,” he argued.

Recent events in Middle

East discussed at GUST

KUWAIT: Dr Francios Burgat (second from left) speaks during a seminarorganized by the French Embassy’s Institute Francais at GUST.

—Photo by Joseph Shagra

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Worksannounced it wil l hold a preliminar ymeeting on Feb 19 for companies takingpart in the tender of constructing andmaintaining the Nor thern RegionalHighway between Abdali expresswayand Subbiya road, which will be used toreach Mutlaa residential area and SilkCity in Subbiya.

Landfill sitesFor unknown reasons, Kuwait

Municipality and the Central TendersCommittee postponed bidding for a tenderto build and maintain a special building forlandfill sites’ employees along the SeventhRing Road.

Trafficking chargesA consul from the US Embassy yesterday

attended a hearing at the court of appealsreviewing a challenge against a death sen-tence issued against a US citizen for drug traf-ficking. Notably, the suspect had been arrestedon arrival with drugs, but later a court said thatexcept for 11 gm of cocaine, he was not incrim-inated for the rest of the material deemed asdrugs. The suspect’s lawyer Dr Khaled Al-Kafifaargued that the cocaine had been added tothe material caught with his client anddemanded checking the arrest report.

ViolationsDuring tours of various areas from 7 am

till 9 pm Sunday, Ministry of Electricity andWater inspectors detected 412 electricityand water consumption violations.

Meeting to discuss expressway

connecting Kuwait City with Subbiya

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti citizen and an Egyptianman were arrested for drug trafficking, saidsecurity sources. Case papers indicate that nar-cotic detectives were tipped off concerning theEgyptian’s intention to sell five kilograms ofmeth for KD 50,000. He was ambushed andarrested red-handed along with the citizen.Detectives added that on searching the sus-pects, they found five kilograms of marijuana,400 grams of powder used in manufacturingmeth and 1,200 meth bags ready for sale.

Robbers caughtSeven Arab men were arrested in Salmiya

for multiple robberies, said security sources.Following a Salmiya resident’s report that hehad been robbed by unidentified people,detectives identified the suspects. The seven(four Egyptians and three Lebanese) werearrested and admitted that they committedthe crime. The suspects also confessed thatthey lured victims by first asking for help, and

when the person approaches, they would tiehim up, assault him and then steal his belong-ings. The victim also identified the robbers ina lineup.

Fatal crashA citizen died when he lost control over his

vehicle and it turned over then caught firealong the Fourth Ring Road. A case was filed toinvestigate the cause of the accident.

AppointmentsDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of

Interior Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah yes-terday issued a ministerial decision appointingMajor General Mahmoud Mohammed Al-Awadhi as assistant undersecretary for bordersecurity affairs, Major General Salem NawafAhmed Al-Sabah as assistant undersecretary foradministrative affairs, Major General Zuhair EssaAl-Nasrallah as assistant undersecretary forbackup services affairs and Major GeneralMohammed Yousif Soud Al-Sabah as assistantundersecretary for marine borders affairs.

Drug dealers arrested

KUWAIT: Drugs caught with two persons arrested yesterday for trafficking.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

L O C A L

KUWAIT: Firefighters tackled a blaze at the Sheikh Jaber Al-AhmadCultural Center yesterday. No injuries were reported in the inci-dent, while the flames caused only material damage, according toa statement released by the Kuwait Fire Services Directorate. The

fire broke out as a result of construction work, head of the AmiriDiwan’s Financial and Administrative Affairs Abdulaziz Ishaq laterconfirmed in a statement. Senior officials arrived to the site shortlyafterwards to inspect the situation. The incident was not expected

to cause delays at scheduled shows to be hosted at the center.Broadway musical “Cats” was due to open at the Center onThursday, according to its website. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat,KUNA and KFSD

No injuries in Cultural Center blaze

L O C A LTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

By Labeed Abdal

The hijab is one of the issues commonlytackled by the Western media. AlthoughMuslim women have not always faced

hardship, the matter has now turned into a lib-erty cause in Western society. This matter isundoubtedly becoming a source of harass-ment for Muslims in schools, workplaces andpublic venues, where they serve in public andprivate establishments. A compromise hasbeen reached in Britain for female officers toverify the identity of female witnesses wearingNiqabs, allowing judicial proceedings to movemore swiftly.

In France, there have been many forms ofrejection, including school principals refusingto accept female Muslim students. However,French courts have stated that students havesome rights on the grounds that they areFrench citizens. In Germany, hostility towardsMuslims comes from Neo-Nazi groups that arealready spreading throughout Europe, goingso far as framing Muslim immigrants for crimesthey commit.

Italy’s Prime Minister rejected ‘Anti-Hijab’calls, stressing that Mary, mother of prophetJesus (PBUH), wore a hijab, leading nuns world-wide to wear the garment. The message wear-ing a hijab conveys, whether in Islam,Christianity, or Judaism, is that a woman rejectsharassment, is loyal to her husband or fatherand that there is no way to gain any form ofpleasure from her.

However, Western media have used stereo-typical images of Muslims to depict them as ter-rorists and barbarians who brutally assaultwomen and children. They ignore the fact thatall cultures and religions include moderate, radi-cal and extreme people. Linking Islam andMuslims to horrific terrorism is unjust, becauseIslam is a religion of peace, love and clemency.

In my view

local@kuwaittimes.net

The hijab in the

Western media

Western media haveused stereotypical

images of Muslims todepict them as terrorists

and barbarians

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: About 300 Bangladeshi workersstaged a peaceful sit-in protest yesterdayat their accommodation camp in Mangafover unpaid salaries and what they claimto be extortion in exchange for their resi-dency visas. The workers - cleaners andporters - are protesting by refusing to goto work, saying that they have not beenpaid for three to four months. “How canwe survive here in Kuwait without mon-ey? We have to eat every day,” said oneprotester who asked that his name not beused. Industrial action, including strikesand peaceful protests, by expatriateworkers is illegal in Kuwait, and organiz-ers and participants can face fines, jailtime or deportation.

The workers also claim that a compa-ny manager, also a Bangladeshi, is tak-ing money for visas without the compa-ny ’s knowledge. The cleaners andporters claim that the manager forcesall staff to pay an illegal fee of KD 600for the renewal of their iqamas. He alsomakes them pay a fee of KD 200 whenthey ask to go on annual leave (KD 100on leaving and KD 100 on joining back).Some of the workers claimed to havepaid KD 2,650 to get visas from a ‘localvisa trader ’ in Bangladesh, but wereagain asked to pay more for the visasonce they arrived in Kuwait.

“Since he [the manager] joined thecompany two years ago, this has beenhis practice,” one of the protestorsalleged. “Some workers complained, butno one listened. So we thought thatafter this protest, our voices will beheard and that he’ll be dismissed. Andhopefully, our delayed salaries will bepaid,” said Shihab, who’s acting as theworkers’ spokesperson. When contact-ed, the manager of the companydeclined to comment.

Another elderly worker said he paidKD 629 for his iqama renewal. “I paidKD 300 at first, then he came back tome asking for another KD 230. Thenafter a month, he asked for KD 100again, but I was only able to give KD74. A month later, I gave him anotherKD 25,” he said. “This is too much. Manyof us only draw a KD 60 salar y permonth. How can we sur vive i f thiscrime is not stopped?” he asked.

Abdul Latif Khan, First Counselor atthe Bangladeshi Embassy in Kuwait, saidthey sent two embassy officials yester-day afternoon to see the condition ofthe workers. “We have already spokenwith the company officials. Rest assuredthat we will be taking necessary action,”he said. However, a friend of some ofthe workers disputed this claim, notingthat no one from the embassy had visit-ed the workers or intervened.

Bangladeshi workers hold sit-in

over unpaid salaries, alleged cheating

KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry gave a greenlight to the Education Ministry to recruitPalestinian teachers months after Kuwaitofficially recognized the Palestinian passportas a valid document. The move will allow thegovernment to recruit Palestinian teachersfor the first time in nearly three decades.

It will also provide relief for hundreds ofPalestinians living in Kuwait. The InteriorMinistry announced in October 2016 that itwould official recognize the Palestinian pass-port. Prior to this Palestinians living in Kuwaitholding passports issued by the PalestinianAuthority could not have an iqama (visa)issued directly on their passports. They need-ed a workaround, typically an Egyptian travel

document, to which the work visa would beattached. But in 2016, Egypt announced thatit would stop renewing such documents forPalestinian passport holders. The shift inKuwait government policy, however, willeliminate the need for the workaround.

More importantly, it opens the door forthe recruitment of Palestinian labor intoKuwait. “Following the decision by theDeputy Prime Minister and Interior Ministerlast October to treat Palestinians holdingPalestinian passports like all other Arab resi-dents holding Arab passports and to allowthem to bring their wives and children intothe country, there is no objection to theMinistry of Education recruiting Palestinians

in accordance with your wishes and needsand under the laws governing the residencyof foreigners in the country,” the InteriorMinistry said in a letter quoted by Al-Raiyesterday.

The Education Ministry is looking toexpand recruitment of Arab teachers by hir-ing nearly 400 teachers from Palestine -either directly from Palestinian territories orPalestinians living in Kuwait. Palestinianteachers have a long history in education inKuwait. They were among the first Arabteachers to teach in Gulf state, and the earli-est mission to arrive to the country datesback to the 1930s.

Palestinian teachers constituted a majori-

ty among public school teachers in Kuwaituntil the 1990-91 Iraqi Invasion. ThePalestinian Authority’s support for then-IraqiPresident Saddam Hussein’s invasion ofKuwait led to souring relations and followingliberation, a mass exodus of Palestinian man-power from the country.

After l iberation and the rebuilding,Kuwait turned to other Arab countries,mainly Egypt, to fill the huge void left bythe absence of Palestinian teachers in pub-lic schools. Kuwait and Palestine restoreddiplomatic relations in 2004, but Kuwait didnot recognize the Palestinian Authority’spassport for security reasons until Octoberof last year.

Kuwait to recruit Palestinian teachers

after eliminating last standing hurdle

For the first time in decades

F r o m t he A r a bic pr e s sTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

CrimeR e p o r t

Maid not fully

paid for 11 years

Suicide attemptA Filipina housemaid attempted suicide at her spon-

sor’s house in Bayan by swallowing a large number ofpainkillers, said security sources, noting that the maidwas rushed to Mubarak Hospital where she receivedimmediate gastric lavage. A case was filed.

DeportedA Bangladeshi driver was arrested and referred to

deportation for tearing a copy of the Holy Quran, saidsecurity sources, noting that a Lebanese man passingby saw the suspect and reported the incident.

The implications of a GCC-Iranian rapprochementthrough Kuwaiti diplomacy are of great signifi-cance, both in timing and content. It is worth sup-

port from all parties. The recent visit of Kuwait’s ForeignMinister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah to Tehran,and the positive statements made by Saudi and Iranianofficials, ought to be well-invested, especially afterPresident Donald Trump took over the White House.

We have repeatedly called for having normal, coher-ent, interest-based relations between the countries onboth banks of the Arabian Gulf, especially as the odds ofa Trump victory, and the geopolitical uncertainty itwould cause, increased.

For years now, the Gulf region has been losing finan-cial revenues, not only because of falling oil prices, butalso the wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, which havecaused astronomical costs and combustible sectarianmobilization. Trump’s election only made things worse.

The new President’s personality is his own business,but will surely see the US run with a broker’s mentalitythat depends on tension and war as the easiest forms ofpolitical blackmail. He even suggested that the US take

from GCC oil revenue that makes up half of the GCCstates’ budgets.

Such direct threats were not directed at the GCC statesalone. Trump also used blackmail in Central America,Europe and the Far East. Even the US’s closest allies -Germany, the EU and Japan - are reconsidering politicaland economic priorities to deal with the new US regime.So why should we in the Gulf be the weak flank when weneed do nothing more than review our outlook?

Disagreements between the GCC countries and Iranare clear. Even the doctrinal issue can still be politicallyand emotionally applied. No-one on either Gulf bank iscapable of changing the other side’s doctrine. Iran isincapable of occupying GCC states and Saudi Arabia isincapable of occupying Iran. So why go in endless cir-cles, leading nowhere, that cause everyone to lose? Theregion witnessed its most prosperous times whenIranian-GCC relations flourished. If both sides convergeit will surely benefit all and might even help solveregional conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and probably,Egypt and Libya.

— Translated by Kuwait Times

Trump and GCC-Iranian converge

Al-Jarida

There are four possible scenarios by which thegovernment could face a parliamentary ses-sion held to call for ‘no-trust’ in the Minister

of Information and Minister of State for YouthAffairs, Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud.

These scenarios are purely impartial, thoughone should take sides during this very murkyphase of our political history. As anyone can see,the government has scores of options while theopposit ion can only accelerate i ts gr i l l ingmotion, its only tool against a minister. The fourscenarios are:

1 The dissolving of parliament by placing a ‘lackof cooperation’ motion, before filing a proposedgrilling motion against HH the Prime Minister byany lawmaker. A number of independent or pro-government MPs will probably race to file grillingmotions against a number of other ministers, justas happened in 1986. This will be followed by a dis-solution and calls for early parliamentary elections,which are unlikely to happen.

2 The second scenario is a limited reshuffle giv-ing Sheikh Salman a different portfolio. This wouldrender the grilling motion useless, and with theopposition only achieving a ‘PR victory.’ It wouldalso be an incomplete victory for the independentand pro-government MPs, who suddenly declaredtheir support for the no-trust motion.

3 The third scenario most resembles the currentsituation, which suggests the government, alongwith a large number of MPs, will not attend thesession. It would therefore lose quorum and beadjourned until further notice. It would conveythat the government is capable of imposing itsown agenda by ‘killing’ the session.

4 The fourth scenario, which is easier, is the res-ignation of cabinet after its meeting, held only twodays before the no-trust parliamentary session.The prime minister would form a new cabinet withover 80 percent of the current ministers and aslight adjustment of portfolios. It would be a newcabinet with the same players changing positions.

It is obvious from the four scenarios that thegovernment holds the upper hand, and has vari-ous options to quash the grilling motion. This rais-es a question: given the government has moreoptions than the new opposition, why did it will-ingly abdicate them during the session, despite itscomfortable majority? I personally believe the gov-ernment will opt for the easiest option and submitits resignation.

— Transited by Kuwait Times

Cabinet’s resignation

and four scenarios

Al-Anbaa

By Thaar Al-Rasheedi

Al-Jarida

KUWAIT: Escorted by a lawyer from her country’s embassy,a Sri Lankan housemaid reported that she had not receivedthe majority of her salary for 11 years, said security sourcesThe maid said that her sponsor only gave her about tenpercent of her monthly salary to send it to her family andkept the remaining 90 percent. This continued until shedecided to leave Kuwait and asked him for the money hetold her he had saved for her, but he denied ever saying so.The Public Authority for Manpower contacted the sponsor,who promised to pay back the money to the maid as longas she returns back to work for him.

By Dr Hassan Jouhar

Wife’s killer sentenced to deathThe criminal court yesterday sentenced a citizen to

death for killing his wife by setting her on fire inside hervehicle in Mina Abdullah, said security sources. Casepapers indicate that firemen were dispatched to rescue thecouple from the burning vehicle and found out that thewife had died while the husband sustained hand burns.Criminal investigators found out that the husband hadcommitted the crime over some family disputes and fakedthe incident to make it appear as an accident. Separately,the criminal court adjourned a case in which four expatsare accused of murdering a ruling family member and hisfriend in Salwa. The next hearing was set on Feb 12.

Underst

anding

KUWAIT: In compliance with its corpo-rate social responsibility program andas part of fulfilling corporate gover-nance principles for companies, TheCommercial Real Estate Company ‘Al-Tijaria’ organized a beach cleaningcampaign in cooperation with LOYACat Dine Zone Complex in Fintas lastSaturday.

The campaign received a greatresponse by having over 30 volunteersfrom different ages prepared with theirnecessary cleaning tools, hygienegloves and trash bags. All volunteerswere able to successfully clean thebeach and disposed over 20 big trashbags. Rawan Adnan, Marketing andLeasing Manager in The CommercialReal Estate Company stated that thecompany organizes such campaigns

that help in maintaining a clean envi-ronment every year in order to helpvisitors enjoy healthy and safe envi-ronment.

She further complimented the fastand immediate response of LOYACmanagement and volunteers to coop-erate with The Commercial Real EstateCompany in this CSR initiative.

She also added that: “Al-Tijaria isconstantly enhancing its positive rolein corporate social responsibility and iscommitted to preserve for a healthierwell-being and a cleaner environ-ment.” She expressed her gratitude toall the volunteers for their participa-tion and cooperation in saving thenature in Kuwait and advise the publicto keep the beaches clean and disposethe trash in the allocated places.

KUWAIT: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) participated in the fourth annual ‘QoutMarket’ which took place recently at Al-Shaheed Park.

KUWAIT: The Green Flame Gas Company(GFGC) participated in Horeca Kuwait 2017;a very important key attraction in the hoteland restaurant industry. Engineer Bashar Al-Qattan was present at the company’s boothamong the sales department officers.

Qattan has stated the importance at theexhibition to present and introduce theGFGC is a leading company in the state ofKuwait and Gulf Countries, in the field ofdesigning and building gas piping net-

works with specifications that serve allimportant sectors such as residential, com-mercial and industrial sectors.

The Green Flame Gas Company hasobtained (ISO) 9001 Certified in 2008, 2009and (ICC) in 2007 and (NFPA) in 2008. TheGreen Flame Gas Company is a companythat adheres to the international specifica-tion and high standard that gives the com-pany the edge among one of the best com-panies in Kuwait.

The Green Flame Gas Company

attends Horeca Kuwait 2017

‘Al-Tijaria’ organized beach cleaning

campaign in cooperation with LOYAC

TheftA citizen reported that a Syrian man working at his com-

pany stole KD 5,000 and vanished. A case was filed and asearch is on for the suspect.

MuggingA Tunisian woman filed a case at Maidan Hawally police

station reporting that a citizen had stopped, assaulted andthreatened her with a knife before he stole three mobilephones from her in addition to her ATM card. The womanadded that the suspect later withdrew a sum of moneyfrom her account. Further investigations are in progress anda search is on for the suspect. Meanwhile, an Iranian report-ed that five unidentified robbers had assaulted him andstole his two mobile phones and KD 200 and left himunconscious near his house in Salmiya.

Independence protestsas ex-Catalan chief stands trial

Page 10IS besieged in last bastion in Syria’s Aleppo province Page 8

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

LONDON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaid yesterday that all “responsible nations” should backnew sanctions against Iran, speaking during a meetingwith his British counterpart Theresa May in London. Hesaid he welcomed US President Donald Trump’s “insis-tence on new sanctions against Iran. I think othernations should follow suit, certainly responsible nation,”as he accused Iran of “provocation after provocation”.“Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it says so openly, it seeksto conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, itthreatens the West, it threatens the world,” he said.

“I’d like to talk to you on how we can ensure that

Iran’s aggression does not go unanswered,” he told May.Trump last week said Iran was now formally “on notice”after a recent missile test and has voiced opposition tothe Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu is a fierce opponent ofthe deal with world powers, including Britain, in whichIran pledged to curb its nuclear program in return forsanctions relief. A spokeswoman for May said the twoleaders would “talk about a range of security and inter-nat ional issues, including the M iddle East peaceprocess.” She said May would raise Britain’s concernabout how the “continued increase of settlements activi-ty undermines trust.”

There has been a sharp acceleration in Israeli settle-ment expansion plans since Trump took office last month,with more than 6,000 new homes announced in less thana fortnight. British Minister for the Middle East TobiasEllwood warned on Wednesday that the plans made thetwo-state solution “much harder to achieve”. Britain votedin favor of a UN Security Council resolution passed inDecember demanding a halt to settlement construction.The vote prompted Israel to temporarily scale back rela-tions. But Britain refused to sign the final statement of aMiddle East peace conference held in Paris last monththat was strongly opposed by Israel.—AFP

Bibi: Nations should back Iran sanctionsIsraeli and British PM talk about security issues

RIO DE JANEIRO: The governor of Vitoria in easternBrazil called yesterday for federal troops to come tothe rescue after police went on strike, leaving thecity at the mercy of criminals. The acting governorof Espirito Santo state, Cesar Colnago, askedPresident Michel Temer “to send the National Forceand the army to safeguard the security of citizens,”a statement on the governor’s website said. Police,aided by relatives and sympathizers blockadingpolice stations, have been protesting againstunpaid salaries since early Saturday.

With no patrols on the streets over the weekend,assaults and other crime have multiplied, Brazilianmedia reported. Globo television yesterday broad-cast cellphone footage of burned and smashedbuses, looted shops, and a crowd running in panicfrom what appeared to be gunshots. Studentsmeant to be heading to their first day of schoolstayed at home and classrooms will remain shut-tered “depending on the security situation,” aspokesman for the mayor’s office in Vitoria, which iscapital of Espirito Santo state, said. State securitychief Andre Garcia said on his Facebook page thatthe police chief had been replaced and that thenew commander was tasked with “restoring orderand discipline.”

Talks would take place with the disgruntled offi-cers “but with the fundamental condition thatpolice are put on the streets,” he said. “All possiblemeans will be used to police the streets.” GreaterVitoria has a population of more than 1.8 millionpeople and is north-east of Rio de Janeiro onBrazil’s central Tropical coast. The state has a popu-lation of 3.9 million.—AFP

Brazilian city withno police asks for

military rescue

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting inside 10 Downing Street in central London yester-day.—AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

PALM BEACH: President Donald Trumptravels to US Central Command yester-day, meeting officers who will form thetip of the spear in implementing his newstrategy to defeat the Islamic Stategroup. After a three-day break in south-ern Florida, Trump will stop off atCentcom headquarters in Tampa on hisway back to Washington. The militarycommand is responsible for an area thatincludes the Middle East and CentralAsia. It plays a key role in OperationInherent Resolve-the US-led mission to“degrade and defeat” the Islamic Stategroup-which has resulted in 17,861strikes across northern Syria and Iraqsince August 2016.

Apart from seizing territory anddeclaring a caliphate, the Islamic State

group has claimed responsibility forattacks in Africa, Europe, the UnitedStates, Southeast Asia and across theMiddle East. It ’s seen as influencingattackers in San Bernardino, California,who killed 14 people in December 2015,and the attacker of an Orlando night-club, who left 49 dead in June last year.In late January, Trump ordered generalsto begin a 30-day review of the US strat-egy to defeat the Syria and Iraq-basedmilitant group.

Trump had made fighting “radicalIslamic terrorism” a central plank of hiselection campaign and the issue isemerging as the organizing principle ofhis foreign and domestic policies. Heused potential cooperation in the fightagainst the Islamic State group as a rea-

son to embrace Russia and has tried toimplement an order banning refugeesand nationals of seven Muslim-majoritycountries from entering the UnitedStates. The ban has spurred an unprece-dented battle with the courts. OnSunday, Trump tried to pin the blame forfuture attacks on the federal judge whoblocked his executive order.

“Just cannot believe a judge wouldput our country in such peril. If some-thing happens blame him and court sys-tem. People pouring in. Bad!” Trump said.He did not offer evidence for the sugges-tion that would-be terrorists are flockingto the country. Most experts expressmore concern about Americans becom-ing radicalized and carrying out IS-inspired attacks, rather than the group

dispatching clandestine agents aroundthe world.Hundreds of Trump’s owndiplomats have voiced their oppositionto the ban.

Taking the fight to ISIS The contours of Trump’s policy to

fight the Islamic State group abroad arestill coming into focus. On Jan 28, hesigned a presidential memorandum thatcalled for a review including any “recom-mended changes to any United Statesrules of engagement.” That could fore-shadow a tougher approach, but it is onethat some experts believe could fuel rad-icalization.

During Trump’s first days in office, USspecial forces carried out a raid againstAl-Qaeda in Yemen which resulted in the

deaths of one US soldier, 14 jihadists andas many as 16 civilians.

Trump also called for the “identifica-tion of new coalition partners”-a likelynod toward Russia. Moscow hasdeployed aircraft, naval assets andtroops to Syria, but has so far trained itsfire on rebels with the aim of proppingup Bashar al-Assad’s regime. After sub-stantial territorial gains, IS is now on theback foot, struggling

to hold onto the Iraqi city of Mosuland with its “capital” in Raqa underthreat.But the battle is approaching afork in the road. Trump has reportedlyshelved his predecessor Barack Obama’splans for taking Raqa with the help ofKurdish forces and must soon decidehow to proceed.—AFP

Trump to visit Centcom, with sights on battling Islamic State

CAIRO: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir accused Egyptian intelligence ofsupporting Sudan’s opposition forces,and vowed to take a border disputebetween the two neighbors to theUnited Nations Security Council if nego-tiations fail.

Al-Bashir, who came to power in 1989coup and is the only sitting head of statefacing genocide charges at theInternational Criminal Court, alsoaccused Iran of attempting to spreadShiite Islam in Sudan in an extensiveinterview with Saudi-owned Al-ArabiyaTV network. A close ally of Saudi Arabia,al-Bashir spoke at length about what hecalled Iran’s expansionist plans in theregion - saying the United States essen-tially “handed over” Iraq to Iranian con-trol by ousting Saddam Hussein.

“Americans set up a Shiite state inIraq,” he said, adding that Iran now con-trols four Arab capitals, includingDamascus, Lebanon’s Beirut throughHezbollah and Yemen’s Sanaa throughShiite rebels that control the capital.Sudan severed diplomatic ties with Iranin January last year in solidarity withRiyadh after the Saudis engaged in apublic feud with Tehran. The dispute was

triggered when angry crowds attackedSaudi diplomatic missions to protest thekingdom’s execution of a prominentShiite cleric. Al-Bashir depends heavilyon Saudi financial aid and has con-tributed jets and troops to the Saudi-ledmilitary coalition battling Shiite rebels inYemen. The charges against the auto-cratic ruler stem from reported atrocitiesin the conflict in Dar fur, in which300,000 people were killed and 2 milliondisplaced.

On Egypt, al-Bashir has had fluctuat-ing relations with the country’s armychief-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. He said that the disputed HalayebTriangle on the Red Sea coast isSudanese land which the Egyptiansoccupied in 1990. “If they insist there areno negotiations, we will be forced toseek the Security Council track,” he said.He also accused Egyptian intelligence ofproviding shelter to Sudanese govern-ment opponents. Al-Bashir told the net-work that he will not run in the 2020presidential elections. The 73-year-oldunderwent a heart procedure lastmonth and has reneged on previouspromises not to run in earlier presiden-tial elections.—AP

BEIRUT: The Islamic State group is “completelybesieged” in its last major stronghold in Syria’sAleppo province, a monitor said yesterday, aspro-regime forces piled pressure on the jihadistson several fronts. IS fighters were cut off in Al-Bab after forces loyal to the government ofPresident Bashar al-Assad severed a road intothe northern town, the Syrian Observatory forHuman Rights reported. “Al-Bab is now com-pletely besieged by the regime from the south,and the Turkish forces and rebels from the east,north and west,” said the Britain-based monitor.

It came after “the regime’s forces and alliedmilitia seized the only and last main roadused by the jihadists between Al-Bab andRaqa,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahmansaid, referring to the jihadists’ de facto capitalin Syria. Regime forces were backed by fight-ers f rom Lebanese Shi i te movementHezbollah and by Russian artillery, said theObservatory, which relies on a network ofsources on the ground for its reports. Thetown of Al-Bab, 25 kilometers south of theborder with Turkey, is seen as a prize by near-ly all sides in the complex war.

Since December, Turkey-backed rebel fighters

known as the Euphrates Shield alliance haveedged towards Al-Bab from the north. In Jan,Turkey’s air force began carrying out joint bomb-ing raids around Al-Bab with Assad’s ally Russia.The two parties back opposing sides in the warbut have joined forces in recent months to try tobring an end to the conflict.

Multiple fronts Assad’s regime has refocused on IS since fully

recapturing Aleppo city in Dec, in the biggestblow to rebel forces fighting to topple hisregime for nearly six years. IS is among severaljihadist movements that have shot to promi-nence during the conflict, which has left morethan 310,000 people dead and has forced mil-lions more from their homes. Assad’s forces werealso locked in fighting with IS in the centralprovince of Homs at the weekend, theObservatory said. It reported that the troops hadcaptured the Hayyan oilfield west of the cele-brated desert city of Palmyra.

They also fought back against IS around Al-Seen military airport northeast of Damascus,said the monitoring group. IS is facing simulta-neous offensives in Syria and Iraq against its

self-proclaimed Islamic “caliphate”. On Saturday,US-backed Kurdish and Arab fightersannounced a new phase in their campaign tocapture Raqa, but said they needed moreweapons to win. The Syrian Democratic Forceslaunched their offensive for the key jihadiststronghold in Nov and have taken some groundfurther up the Euphrates Valley but are stillsome distance away.

SDF fighters have received training and airsupport from the US-led coalition against IS. Lastweek Washington said it had provided themwith armored sports utility vehicles for the firsttime. US President Donald Trump, who madefighting “radical Islamic terrorism” a central plankof his election campaign, was due to visit USCentral Command yesterday, meeting officerswho will spearhead his new strategy to defeat IS.The military command plays a key role inOperation Inherent Resolve-the

US-led mission to “degrade and defeat” IS-which has resulted in 17,861 strikes acrossnorthern Syria and Iraq since Aug2016. In lateJan, Trump ordered generals to begin a 30-day review of the US strategy to defeat thejihadist group.—AFP

AL-BAB, Syria: Two fighters from the Free Syrian Army stand next to an armored pickup truck, one carrying a machine gun, near the town ofBizaah northeast of the city of Al-Bab, some 30 kilometers from the Syrian city of Aleppo. —AFP

IS besieged in last bastion

in Syria’s Aleppo province

Pro-regime forces pile pressure on jihadists

ISTANBUL: Turkish security forces havedetained over 750 people suspected oflinks to the Islamic State extremist groupin Turkey ’s biggest ever crackdownagainst the organization, state media saidyesterday. Some 450 suspects werepicked up in the init ial phase of thenationwide operation on Sunday but thenumber held has now risen to 763, theAnadolu news agency said. It said raidstook place in 29 of Turkey’s 81 provincesand documents, weapons and ammuni-tion were also seized.

The operation came just over a monthafter 39 people, mainly foreigners, werekilled on New Year’s night when a gunmanwent on the rampage inside a plushIstanbul nightclub. The IS jihadist groupclaimed the massacre, its first clear claimfor a major attack in Turkey although it hadbeen blamed for several bombings in 2016.Turkish police have over the last few yearslaunched numerous raids against IS sus-pects but a nationwide operation on this

scale against the group is unprecedented. Anadolu quoted Turkey’s police direc-

torate as saying that IS was looking tostage a “sensational action” inside the coun-try for propaganda purposes, with mediaorganizations seen as a possible target. Nofurther details were given. Turkey was longaccused by its Western allies of not doingenough to stop the flow of jihadists acrossits borders and emergence of IS cells in itsown cities. Ankara denies the charges, say-ing it listed IS as a terror group since 2013.

However, observers say Turkey hasmarkedly stepped up its actions against thegroup in the last few months. Police cap-tured alive the suspected Reina nightclubattacker, Abdulgadir Masharipov, an Uzbeknational, on Jan 16 after more than twoweeks on the run and observers believe hemay provide crucial intelligence. Accordingto media reports, Masharipov had also con-sidered attacking Istanbul’s main TaksimSquare as well as the offices of the opposi-tion Cumhuriyet newspaper.—AFP

Turkey detains over

750 in anti-IS raids

QUEBEC CITY: Several hundred people bravedsnow and cold Sunday in Quebec City to honorthe six men shot to death a week earlier whilepraying at a local mosque. “No to Islamophobia,Yes to Peace,” “Open Your Heart” and “No toTerrorism” were the messages on some of thesigns and banners carried by marchers, many ofthem Muslim. The victims included twoAlgerians, a Tunisian, a Moroccan and twoGuineans, all holding Canadian citizenship aswell. They had been attending evening prayersat their mosque when a gunman stormed in andunleashed a barrage of bullets from a pistol anda semi-automatic rifle.

Eight other men were wounded-three remainhospitalized-in one of the worst attacks on theMuslim community of a Western nation. The sus-pect, Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, surrendered topolice and was charged with six murders andfive attempted murders. The march Sundaybegan not far from the mosque, at LavalUniversity, where the presumed killer was a stu-dent, before proceeding to the national assem-bly of the French-speaking province. In a displayof solidarity, organizers paired Muslim and non-Muslim marchers for the procession.

Mohamed Yangi, president of the IslamicCultural Center of Quebec, where the mosquewas located, said the march provided an oppor-tunity to show a “unified” Quebec. He said hewanted to work with political leaders to help“eliminate messages of hate.” Canadian politi-cians, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, havedenounced the words or acts of those who tar-get Muslims. On Friday, at the funeral of threevictims, Trudeau blasted radio commentatorsand politicians who have fanned tensions.—AFP

KARACHI: An Afghan diplomat was shotand killed by his security guard inside theconsulate in the Pakistani port city ofKarachi yesterday, officials said.Mohammad Zaki Abdu, the third secretaryat the consulate, died of his wounds shortlyafter the shooting, according to the con-sulate’s spokesman, Haris Khan. “We wereworking at our office when we heard gun-shots,” he said. “Everybody was running inpanic.” The guard, identified only as anAfghan national named Rahatullah, wastaken into custody, said Pakistani policeofficial Azad Khan.

Both officials said the motive behind thekilling was not yet known. Pakistan has longbeen a hotbed of Islamic militancy. Foreignmissions are provided extra security and alsofrequently hire their own private guards.

Rahatullah was the slain diplomat’s personalbodyguard, and it wasn’t clear whether theAfghan Consulate had hired him officially,said Khan, the police official. Noor Wali KhanNoor, a Foreign Ministry official in Kabul, saida delegation from the Afghan Embassy inIslamabad has been dispatched to Karachi toinvestigate the incident.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office said policeintervened immediately after the shoot-ing, which took place in the lobby of theconsulate. I t said Pakistan’s ForeignSecretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry spokeby phone with the Afghan ambassador tooffer condolences and assistance in theinvestigation. Afghanistan and Pakistanhave long accused each other of tolerat-ing Islamic militants who operate alongtheir porous border. —AP

Afghan diplomat killed

by his guard in Pakistan

KARACHI: Pakistani paramilitary soldiers stand beside an ambulance carryingthe body of an Afghan diplomat outside the Afghan consulate in Karachi yes-terday. —AFP

Hundreds march in Quebec in

tribute to mosque shooting victims

QUEBEC CITY: Several hundred people march in solidarity for the victims of the mosque shoot-ing in Quebec City. —AFP

Sudanese president

criticizes Iran and Egypt

I N T E R N AT I O N A LTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

WEST PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump haslong expressed a desire for improved relations withMoscow, but his latest comments about RussianPresident Vladimir Putin and the US are leading somefellow Republicans to take a step back from the presi-dent - on this issue at least. Told by Fox News’ BillO’Reilly during an interview that the Russian leader is“a killer,” Trump said the US has killers, too. “What doyou think? Our country’s so innocent?” Trump said dur-ing the taped interview broadcast during Sunday’sSuper Bowl pregame show.

Trump has praised Putin and signaled that US-Russia relations could be in for a makeover under hisleadership, even after US intelligence agencies con-cluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presiden-tial campaign to help Trump defeat Democrat HillaryClinton. During Putin’s years in power, a number ofprominent Russian opposition figures and journalistshave been killed. Trump says in the interview that herespects a lot of people, including Putin “but that does-n’t mean I’m going to get along with him. He’s a leaderof his country. I say it’s better to get along with Russiathan not.

And if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS, whichis a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world- that’s a good thing,” Trump said, using an acronym forthe Islamic State group. “Will I get along with him? Ihave no idea.” O’Reilly then said about Putin: “But he’s akiller, though. Putin’s a killer.” Trump responded: “Thereare a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers. What doyou think? Our country’s so innocent?” When O’Reillysays he doesn’t know any US government leaders whoare killers, Trump said “take a look at what we’ve done,too. We’ve made a lot of mistakes” and then he refer-enced the Iraq war.

The Kremlin voiced anger over O’Reilly’s characteri-zation. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for PresidentVladimir Putin, refused to comment on Trump’s replybut lashed out at Fox, calling O’Reilly’s remarks “unac-ceptable and offensive.” “We would like to receive anapology to the president from this respected organiza-tion,” Peskov told reporters yesterday, referring to FoxNews. At home, Republicans and Democrats tookexception to Trump’s comparison of Russia and the US“Putin’s a former KGB agent. He’s a thug. He was notelected in a way that most people would consider acredible election,” Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell, R-Ky., said.

“The Russians annexed Crimea, invaded Ukraine andmessed around in our elections. And no, I don’t thinkthere’s any equivalency between the way the Russiansconduct themselves and the way the United Statesdoes.” Added Sen. Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, one ofTrump’s Republican critics: “There is no moral equiva-lency between the United States of America, the great-est freedom living nation in the history of the world,and the murderous thugs that are in Putin’s defense ofhis cronyism. O’Reilly also asked Trump to back up hisclaim that some 3 million to 5 million illegal votes werecast in the election. Trump didn’t answer directly, but

Republicans seek distance from Trump’s comments on Putin, US

WASHINGTON: In this file photo, US President Donald Trump waves as he walks with First Lady Melania Trump andtheir son Barron during the inauguration parade on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. —AP

YAOUNDE, Cameroon: Only one high school studentout of 4,000 showed up on the first day of Cameroon’snew term in Bamenda, the English-speaking city at theheart of a deadly conflict over language in this bilingualWest African country. Teachers have joined a strike ledby lawyers resentful over the official use of French inthe English-speaking part of the country. Recentprotests have called for “ghost town” strikes in majorcities. The government shut down the internet in theEnglish-speaking region, digital advocacy group AccessNow has said.

Tensions are so high that 10 people were killed indemonstrations over language discrimination inBamenda in December. The government sent in 5,000troops to stabilize the city. Two officials with theCameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium havebeen charged with terrorism and rebellion against thestate for their role in the recent protests and face thedeath penalty if convicted. The government hasbanned the consortium’s activities. Another activist,Bibixy Mancho, faces the same charges.

Amnesty International has called for the release ofNkongho Felix Agbor-Balla and Fontem Aforteka’a Neba,saying that “this flagrant disregard for basic rights risksinflaming an already tense situation.” Hundreds havebeen arrested, including protesters who stopped thesinging of the Cameroonian national anthem, dismiss-ing it as a foreign song. Some hoisted a new flag, declar-ing that they are no longer part of French-speakingCameroon. Longtime President Paul Biya has said he isopen to negotiations but will never accept any attemptsto destabilize national unity.

Over the weekend, state media reported that teach-ers’ union leaders had agreed to suspend the strike andthat classes would resume yesterday, though opposi-tion outlets said the report was incorrect. As the strikecontinues, one student, 17-year-old Oben Ashu, saidhe’s afraid his education - and his future - will be com-promised. “They should give us the room to go back toschool and be studying while the government and theteachers sit down in a table and discuss how the prob-lem can be solved,” Ashu said. Cameroon is made up ofareas that were once colonies of France and Britainuntil the early 1960s.

English speakers constitute only 20 percent ofCameroon’s population, though the constitution saysEnglish and French should be equally important. Butmost official documents are still available only inFrench, and teachers with little English ability are oftensent to English-language areas of the country. Theprotests began late last year when lawyers asked thatFrench-speaking judges be transferred out of English-speaking regions, saying justice cannot be renderedwhen the judge, the lawyer and the suspect cannotcommunicate. When the lawyer’s requests were notgranted, they went to the streets and refused to defendclients in court.

Teachers also got involved, saying there is an over-bearing influence of French in schools in the English-speaking regions. The impasse is frustrating studentsand parents who feel caught in the middle. “I am justpleading, government help us, so that our children,Cameroonians of tomorrow, should go back to schoolso that this country should be stabilized and peaceful,”said parent Ndip Victor. Bernard Okalia Bilai, governorof the southwest region, has warned the striking teach-ers that they will not receive their salaries unless theyreturn to the classroom.

In response, Cameroon’s government has orderedthe recruitment of 1,000 bilingual teachers and thetransferring of teachers out of the English-speakingregion if they are not fluent in the language. Still, thechairman of Cameroon’s main opposition political partycautioned the president and his government againsttaking the situation too lightly, saying that “if this thingstretches out ... it might be a little too dangerous forour country.”—AP

English vs French

tensions turn deadly

shifted to assert that immigrants in the US illegally anddead people are on the voter rolls.

“It’s really a bad situation, it’s really bad,” Trumpsaid. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud inthe Nov. 8 election. Trump won the Electoral Collegevote but lost the popular vote by nearly 2.9 millionvotes to Clinton. Trump recently announced on Twitterthat he would call for a “major investigation” into voterfraud. He said during the Fox News interview that hewil l set up a commission to be headed by VicePresident Mike Pence and “we’re going to look at itvery, very carefully.”

Asked earlier about Trump’s promised investigation,McConnell said he saw no federal role because stateshistorically have handled voter fraud investigations. “Idon’t think we ought to spend any federal moneyinvestigating that,” he said on CNN.

On other issues, Trump said in the interview that:California’s consideration of legislation to become astatewide sanctuary for people living in the countryillegally is “ridiculous.” He suggested withholding fed-eral funding as a possible punishment. Plans to enact acomplete replacement for the Affordable Care Actcould slip into next year. “I would like to say by the endof the year, at least the rudiments, but we should havesomething within the year and the following year.”Living in the White House is “a surreal experience in acertain way, but you have to get over it, becausethere’s so much work to be done.”—AP

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

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

BRUSSELS: The EU yesterday insisted allparties must fully implement the Minskceasefire accords to restore peace inUkraine, after US President DonaldTrump stoked fresh concerns he couldtake a softer l ine on Russia. Trumprepeated over the weekend he wantedto work with President Vladimir Putin tofight the Islamic State group, and drewfire from across the US political spectrumby playing down alleged political assassi-nations in Russia. The White House also

raised eyebrows by referring to“Ukraine’s long-running conflict withRussia”-a framing of the situation thatformer national security advisor SusanRice publicly criticized as a “distortionof... recent history”.

Russia annexed the Ukrainian regionof Crimea in March 2014 and has sup-ported separatists in the east of thecountry. Asked about the US administra-tion’s remarks, EU foreign affairs headFederica Mogherini said she could not

speculate about their meaning but shewas clear what the European Union’sposition was. The 28-nation bloc would“continue not to recognize” the illegalannexation of Crimea by Russia,Mogherini said as she arrived for an EUforeign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.The EU also recognizes “the need to fullyimplement the Minsk agreements,including or starting from a ceasefire andrestoring calm to east Ukraine,” she said.

“I cannot say where the US adminis-

tration stands... I can only say where theEU stands on this,” Mogherini added.British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnsonstressed there could be no easing ofsanctions on Russia until peace wasrestored in Ukraine. “ The UK will beinsisting that there is no case for relax-ation of the sanctions, there is every casefor keeping up pressure on Russia,”Johnson said as he went into the meet-ing. He said everyone was concerned bythe recent upsurge in fighting between

government troops and pro-Moscowrebels in the east.

Russia annexed Crimea after pro-EUprotestors’ ousted pro-Russian presidentViktor Yanukovych, sparking a conflictwhich has cost nearly 10,000 lives andplunged EU ties with Moscow into adeep freeze. Trump meanwhile hasrepeatedly said he wants to improverelations with Putin, appearing to down-play events in Ukraine to the dismay ofhistoric US allies in Europe. —AFP

EU says Ukraine rivals must stick by Minsk accords

ATHENS: Greek Immigration MinisterYiannis Mouzalas yesterday faced off withdozens of angry migrants who barredentry to an Athens camp in protest atpoor living conditions. The demonstra-tion broke out at the Hellinikon campnear Athens, which houses hundreds ofpredominantly Afghan migrants who hadannounced a hunger strike hours earlier.Television footage showed young chil-dren perched atop the camp’s iron gateas Mouzalas tried to persuade dozens ofprotesters to let him into the facility. “Weare human. We are not animals,” one ofthe protesters shouted at the minister.

Mouzalas said some of the protestershad tried to punch him, and accused a radi-cal left-wing group of fomenting thedemonstration. “There is no hunger strike(the protesters) tried to stop food deliveriesand the dispatch of sick persons to hospi-tal,” the minister told reporters. “Whoeverfeels repressed in this facility is free to go,”he said. The anti-fascist Keerfa group, which

organized the protest, says the migrantslack hot water and are given food unsuit-able to their dietary customs. A disusedOlympic park, Hellinikon houses over 1,500migrants who say the run-down stadiumsare unsuited to long-term habitation.

A former member of Doctors of theWorld, Mouzalas was eventually allowed inafter a shoving match with the migrants,many of them teenagers. Some 60,000people, including many young Syrians,Afghans and Pakistanis, have been stuck inGreece for the past year, languishing incamps after countries along the migrantroute into Europe shut their borders. At thestart of the major influx in 2015, Afghanswere originally viewed as refugees andallowed to continue their journey fromGreece to other countries in Europe. Butmany now face deportation-despite grow-ing insecurity that saw civilian casualties inAfghanistan hit a record high in 2016 —after a disputed deal between EU andKabul to send migrants back.—AFP

Greek minister, migrants

face off in camp protest

BARCELONA: Thousands of protesters shouting“down with Spain’s justice system” turned upyesterday in Barcelona at the trial of Catalonia’sformer leader Artur Mas, accused of civil disobe-dience for holding an independence referendumin 2014. The trial has stoked pro-independencesentiment in the wealthy, northeastern region ofCatalonia at a time of high tensions between thelocal separatist government and Madrid.

Shouting “independence, independence”,“down with Spain’s justice system” and “we wantto vote,” several thousand Mas supporters gath-ered on a large palm tree-lined avenue next tothe courthouse where the trial of the ex-Catalanpresident and two former associates began.

They are accused of serious civil disobedi-ence and misconduct for having organized asymbolic, non-binding referendum in Nov 2014despite a ban by Spain’s Constitutional Court,which deemed it illegal. Prosecutors want thembanned from holding public office for nine to 10years, but their defense argues they were merelydefending “the right to freedom of expression”of Catalans, many of whom want a say in thefuture of their 7.5-million strong region. “We aredetermined to go forward. We did what had tobe done in 2014 and we would do it again if thecircumstances allow it again,” Mas told a pressconference in Barcelona on Sunday.

Defending democracy Catalonia, a region with its own language

and customs, has long demanded greaterautonomy. But in recent years, tensions withMadrid have markedly increased, as have callsfor outright independence, culminating withthe election in 2015 of a pro-independencegovernment in Catalonia backed by a majorityseparatist parliament. A watershed momentwas in 2010, when Spain’s Constitutional Courtwatered down a special statute awarded toCatalonia in 2006 under the Socialist govern-ment, giving it more powers.

Supporters of independence slammed whatthey said was “judicial harassment” and asked fora referendum similar to the one organized in

Scotland in 2014. After the Constitutional Courtbanned that, Mas and his associates held thenon-binding vote for which they are on trial.Catalonia’s current government has promised tohold a referendum in September-a binding onethis time, with or without Madrid’s consent. Buthow exactly it will go ahead is unclear, as theconservative government of Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy insists that this type of local, one-region-only referendum is unconstitutional, andhas vowed never to allow it.

Last week, reports emerged in several nation-

al dailies that Madrid was considering drasticmeasures to stop a vote, such as closing schoolswhere polling booths could be set up or takingcontrol of the police, which is normally managedby regional authorities.

The government neither confirmed nordenied the reports. The Catalans themselves,meanwhile, remain divided — 44.9 percent wantindependence while 45.1 percent don’t, accord-ing to a recent poll conducted by a Catalan pub-lic institute. A large majority, however, wants areferendum. —AFP

Independence protests as

ex-Catalan chief stands trialFormer leader accused of civil disobedience

BARCELONA: Former President of the Catalan Government and leader of Partit DemocrataEuropeu Catala (Catalan European Democratic Party) PDECAT Artur Mas (between R and A let-ters) poses with other members of Catalan Government, the Catalan Parliament, Catalan may-ors and party members few moments before his arrival at the TSJC (Superior Court ofCatalonia) in Barcelona yesterday. —AFP

BUCHAREST: Pressure intensified on Romania’sgovernment yesterday after half a million peoplejoined the biggest nationwide protests in almostthree decades, with many calling for it to quit.Demonstrators vowed no let-up as a no-confi-dence opposition motion was set for its first read-ing in parliament, although the government’smajority means it is unlikely to pass. The sixthstraight evening of demonstrations on Sundaycame despite the left-wing government scrap-ping the measure that started it all: an emergencydecree weakening anti-corruption laws.

Brandishing banners, waving flags and blow-ing whistles and vuvuzela horns, protesters saidthey believed the government was still not tobe trusted, with many chanting “Resign! Resign!”“They are corrupt. We want justice... The govern-ment will still try something (with the decree),”Emma, 24, one of around 250,000 protestersthat media estimated were in downtownBucharest, said. “They are liars and bad people,”her friend Nicole, 25, shouted above the racketat Victory Square, the epicenter. “The govern-ment has to fall... We are going to come backhere every night.” Despite the protests, whichare the biggest since people power broughtdown Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and the com-

munist system in 1989, the governmentremained defiant.

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said his SocialDemocrat party (PSD), which won a resoundingelection victory only in December, has “a respon-sibility to the people who voted for us” andwould stay. PSD head Liviu Dragnea-alreadybarred from office for a voter fraud convictionand currently on trial for alleged abuse of power,a charge he denies-said he believed the protestswere being instigated by unspecified powerfulforces. “Who is organizing this? Hard to say but Ihope that the state institutions have this infor-mation,” Dragnea said in a television interview. “Ireproach myself for not having understood thatthis is a much better organized plan than a sim-ple spontaneous movement.”

Get out of jail The government decree, which had been

scheduled to enter into force on Feb 10, was tomake abuse of power a crime only punishableby jail if the sums involved exceeded 200,000 lei(44,000 euros, $47,500). One Monopoly-inspiredplacard on Sunday read: “Do not collect 200,000.Go straight to jail.” The government still alsoaims, via a separate decree to be reviewed by

parliament, to free some 2,500 people fromprison serving sentences of less than five years.

Grindeanu has argued the measures weremeant to bring penal law into line with the con-stitution in the EU member state and reduceovercrowding in prisons. But critics see themoves as a brazenly transparent attempt to letoff the many officials and lawmakers who havebeen ensnared in a major anti-corruption drivein recent years. That push, which won Romaniakudos abroad, has seen almost 2,000 peopleconvicted for abuse of power and a servingprime minister and a string of ministers and law-makers go on trial.

Justice Minister Florin Iordache said that abill taking into account all the grievances aboutthe decree would be published later Mondayand be debated with opposition parties and civilsociety groups. But demonstrators said theywould continue to protest. “If we hit the streetsagain this evening (the government) won’t beable to resist. It’s today or never,” wrote userGalbus on Facebook group “Corruption Kills”.Political analyst Cristian Tudor Popescu com-pared the government to a “thief who tries to bepardoned if he brings back what he hasstolen”.—AFP

PARIS: French presidential election candidate for the right-wing Les Republicains (LR)party Francois Fillon (2L) steps in a car as he leaves his home yesterday in Paris. —AFP

PARIS: French conservative presidentialcandidate Francois Fillon yesterday vowedto fight on for the presidency despite adamaging scandal involving taxpayer-fund-ed payments to his wife for work a newspa-per alleges she did not do. At a news con-ference in Paris, Fillon, 62, apologized toFrance for what he said was an error ofjudgment regarding the employment offamily members, though he said his wife’swork as parliamentary assistant over 15years had been genuine and legal.

Announcing he would not pull out of theelection, due to take place in April and May,he said: “A new campaign starts thisevening.” “I am the only candidate which canbring about a national recovery,” he said.Fillon, a former prime minister, called thenews conference after members of his owncenter-right party, The Republicans, urgedhim to quit the race to give the party time tofind a replacement candidate. Before the

scandal surfaced in a weekly satirical news-paper nearly two weeks ago, opinion pollshad shown Fillon to be the clear favorite towin the election, a two-stage ballot held onApril 23 and May 7, over the far-right leaderMarine Le Pen. Since then his approval rat-ings have plummeted and he is now seenfailing to reach the May knockout.

A survey by Pollster Opinionway pub-lished yesterday showed independent cen-trist Emmanuel Macron, a former invest-ment banker, challenging Le Pen in therunoff vote and winning comfortably. Theweekly Le Canard enchaine alleged thatFillon had approved hundreds of thou-sands of euros to be paid to his British-bornwife Penelope for fraudulent work as a par-liamentary assistant. Fillon denied his wifehad not properly carried out the duties of aparliamentary assistant and said the cam-paign against him and his wife was excep-tionally virulent. — Reuters

Scandal-hit Fillon stays

in race for presidency

BERLIN: A fire that raged through a saunaclub in Berlin popular with gay men leftthree people dead and one injured, emer-gency services said yesterday. The blazebroke out late Sunday in the “narrow andwinding” warren of small private rooms,complicating the search for victims, the firebrigade said. Several doors had to berammed open to check whether anyonehad fallen unconscious as the thick smokeand fire spread through the club, whichoccupies the ground floor and cellar of ahigh-rise building and neighbors a carehome for the elderly.

“It was a lot of work to break into eachroom and to check for victims,” a fire

brigade spokesman said in a statement,adding that 80 rescue workers had beendispatched to the scene. A man sufferingfrom smoke inhalation was pulled from thewreckage and taken to hospital. The SteamWorks club in the central Schoeneberg dis-trict is made up of saunas and commonareas, as well as 60 small rooms, each witha bed inside, and is a well-known meetingplace for Berlin’s gay scene. When firefight-ers arrived, about 25 club guests who hadfled the blaze were standing on the street,some dressed only in towels, and directedemergency service workers to where vic-tims might be. The cause of the blaze wasnot immediately clear. —AFP

BERLIN: Policemen stand in front of a sauna club in Berlin yesterday, where threemen died in a fire the night before. —AFP

Three dead in Berlin

gay sauna club fire

BUCHAREST: Romania’s prime minister Sorin Grindeanu speaks before the assembly during a parliament session in Bucharest, Romania,yesterday. —AP

Romania government feels

heat after record demos

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

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

JHAPA, Nepal: Kalimaya Magar had giv-en away most of her belongings as sheprepared to leave the refugee camp inNepal for a new life in the United States.But after more than two decades of wait-ing, her departure-originally scheduledfor this week-was cancelled in an instantafter US President Donald Trump issueda temporary ban on refugee arrivals. TheUS has been the largest recipient ofBhutanese of ethnic Nepali origin whosay they are fleeing persecution in thetiny Himalayan kingdom. More than90,000 have been welcomed into the USsince 2007, when talks to secure theirreturn to Bhutan collapsed.

Over 10,000 still live in camps across

Nepal but Trump’s controversial orderon refugee resettlement has plungedmany into limbo.

“My hope for freedom from this life asa refugee is only a dream now,” Magarsaid at Beldangi camp last week. The 41-year-old was due to be resettled inVermont with her husband and children.A notice circulated to refugees at thecamp last week said “there would be nodeparture-related processes from Feb 3until further notice”, and referred to theorder signed by the US president.

While the travel ban on refugees hassince been suspended by a US court,those at the camp were unsure what thatmeant for them. “We’ve heard rumors,

but have no official information about ifor when we might be able to go,” Magarsaid yesterday.

A State Department spokesperson saidthey have been informed about the courtruling, but did not specify its impact onthe Bhutanese resettlement program.“We are working closely with our legalteams as well as our interagency andoverseas partners to comply with theorder,” the spokesperson said.

Cold comfort More than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis fled

Bhutan in the early 1990s after theBuddhist kingdom made national dresscompulsory and banned the use of the

Nepali language. The majority wereresettled in the US while thousandsmore found new homes in Europe,Australia and Canada, among other des-tinations. Trump’s order on Jan 27unleashed chaos and confusion aroundthe world after it barred refugees fromentering the US for 120 days and indefi-nitely blocked those from Syria.

The UN refugee agenc y UNHCR,which has publicly criticized the ban,estimates more than 20,000 peopleworldwide were slated for resettlementin the US during that window. A US fed-eral judge on Friday suspended thepresidential order pending a widerlegal review.

An appeals court on Sunday refuseda government request immediately toreinstate the ban. But its cold comfort forAitemaya Tamang, who was told a daybefore she was to depart to join her fam-ily in the US that her resettlement hadbeen suspended.

Tamang, who was only a toddlerwhen she fled Bhutan, had packed herbags and attached labels marked withher destination: North Carolina. “I amshocked and worried,” the 26-year-oldsaid from her hut in the camp, her bagson the floor. “I wanted to go because Iwant to work and earn for my family andsend my son to a good school. Now Idon’t know what will happen.”—AFP

US-bound Bhutanese refugees left in limbo

SYDNEY: Seven percent of Catholicpriests were accused of abusing childrenin Australia between 1950 and 2010 butthe allegations were never investigated,“shocking and indefensible” data showedyesterday during an inquiry intopedophilia in the church. The RoyalCommission into Institutional Responsesto Child Sexual Abuse heard that 4,444alleged incidents of pedophilia werereported to church authorities and insome dioceses, more than 15 percent ofpriests were perpetrators.

Australia ordered the RoyalCommission in 2012 after a decade ofgrowing pressure to investigate allega-tions of child abuse across the country,with the inquiry now in its final phaseafter four years of hearings. “Between1950 and 2010, overall seven percent ofpriests were alleged perpetrators,” saidGail Furness, the lawyer leading question-ing at the inquiry in Sydney. “The accountswere depressingly similar. Children wereignored or worse, punished. Allegationswere not investigated. Priests and reli-gious (figures) were moved,” she added.

“ The parishes or communities towhich they were moved knew nothing oftheir past. Documents were not kept orthey were destroyed. Secrecy prevailedas did cover ups.” The average age of thevictims at the time was 10 for girls and 11for boys. Of the 1,880 alleged perpetra-

tors, 90 percent were men. The St John ofGod Brothers religious order was theworst, with just over 40 percent of mem-bers accused of abuse. The commissionhas spoken to thousands of survivors andheard claims of child abuse involvingchurches, orphanages, sporting clubs,youth groups and schools.

The church in Australia set up theTruth, Justice and Healing Council tocoordinate its response. “These numbersare shocking, they are tragic, they areindefensible,” its chief executive FrancisSullivan told the commission. “This data,along with all we have heard over thepast four years, can only be interpretedfor what it is: a massive failure on the partof the Catholic Church in Australia to pro-tect children from abusers. “As Catholicswe hang our heads in shame.”

The inquiry has embroiled Australia’smost senior Catholic cleric George Pell,now the Vatican’s finance chief, who wasquestioned over his dealings withpedophile priests in Victoria state in the1970s. Pell was also accused of historicsex abuse claims when he was theCatholic Archbishop of Sydney in 2002,but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.He has denied all allegations. Since beingset up, the commission has made over300 referrals to police but so far therehave only been 27 prosecutions with 75cases pending.—AFP

One in 14 Catholic priests

accused of abuse in Australia

MANILA: Philippine troops have resumedassaults against communist rebels, killing atleast one guerrilla, after President RodrigoDuterte scrapped peace talks with the insur-gents, military officials said yesterday. Dutertehad lifted the government’s six-month-oldcease-fire Friday and the next day discarded thetalks being brokered by Norway. Those movescame after the Marxist guerrillas abandonedtheir own truce and killed six soldiers and kid-napped two others in new flare-ups in the 48-year insurgency. The government and the rebelsseparately declared cease-fires last year to fos-ter the peace talks, which progressed steadilyfor months before rapidly deteriorating inrecent weeks.

Yesterday, rebel adviser Luis Jalandoniaccused the military of violating the govern-ment’s cease-fire by deploying troops in 500villages, occupying village halls and schools,and continuing surveillance operations that hesaid inevitably led to clashes. The guerrillaswant to continue with talks set for Feb. 22-25 inEurope to negotiate a possible joint cease-fireagreement, Jalandoni said, adding the govern-

ment has not issued the formal notice requiredto terminate the talks. “We’re saying the peacetalks are still possible in the absence of a cease-fire,” Jalandoni told radio DZMM by telephonefrom Europe.

Peace talks Troops have resumed combat operations

after Duterte lifted the cease-fire, militaryspokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said. The opera-tions were in response to complaints from vil-lagers of rebel extortion and efforts to rescuethe kidnapped soldiers, he said. Army troopsclashed with about 20 New People’s Army guer-rillas Sunday in Occidental Mindoro provincesouth of Manila, k ill ing one rebel, and onSaturday, troops and policemen arrested a rebelcouple in Misamis Occidental province in thesouth for a multiple attempted murder case, themilitary said. At least four other combat opera-tions occurred elsewhere.

In Compostela Valley province in the south,guerrillas were suspected of setting ablaze abanana plantation packing warehouse inPantukan town late Sunday, military officials

said, and a rebel consultant, Ariel Arbitrario, wastaken into custody for questioning by troopsyesterday at a checkpoint in southern Davaocity, Duterte’s hometown. Duterte called theinsurgents terrorists for their brutal attacks ontroops and threatened to re-arrest several rebelleaders who were temporarily freed to join thepeace talks. Jalandoni, however, said the 17freed rebels are protected by a 1995 agreementunder which the government agreed to grantthem immunity from arrest while serving aspeace talks consultants.

All have returned to the Philippines after join-ing a recent round of talks in Rome and shouldnot be arrested, he said. Duterte has said he mayreconsider his decision if there was a compellingreason, but he did not elaborate. The setback inthe talks is the latest reality check for Duterte,whose signature crackdown on illegal drugs hasbeen tainted by an extortion scandal involvingpolice and alleged extrajudicial killings. He hassaid he would use the military to enforce anti-drug laws instead of police, adding to the pres-sure on forces already fighting communist rebelsand a Muslim insurgency in the south.—AP

MANILA: Secretary Ismael Sueno, left, of the Department of Interior and Local Government and Philippine National Police Chief DirectorGeneral Ronald Bato Dela Rosa, at the wreath-laying ceremony to mark the police force’s 26th Foundation at the PNP General Headquarters insuburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines, yesterday. —AP

Philippines resumes assaults

on rebels after talks scrapped

Military accused of violating cease fire

SYDNEY: Australia has made its largest cocainehaul ever after seizing a yacht carrying 1.4 tonsof the drug with an estimated street value ofAus$312 million (US$239 million). The boat wasstopped off the New South Wales coast on Feb2 and six men were arrested, police said yester-day, following a two-and-a-half year joint inves-tigation between Australia and New Zealand.“This is the largest cocaine haul ever seized in asingle operation in Australia’s history,” saidImmigration Minister Peter Dutton. Policeallege the yacht sailed from New Zealand to a“mothership” in the South Pacific to pick up thedrugs last month.

A 63-year-old New Zealand man and a 54-year-old Swiss-Fijian dual national who wereaboard the yacht were taken into custody, whilefour men aged between 32 and 66 were arrestedin Sydney. The haul is the second record-break-ing bust in recent weeks, with police dismantlinga cocaine ring in Dec in a joint operation withTahiti. That was previously the largest haul of itskind, with the sting netting 1.1 tons of the drugsin Tahiti and Sydney worth hundreds of millionsof dollars, all destined for Australia.

With high street prices making Australia anattractive destination for drug-smugglers, policesay they have stopped more than 11 tons of illicitsubstances bound for the local market in thepast 18 months. “We hope that this operationsends a strong message to anyone thinking ofsmuggling drugs: no matter how innovative orcomplex their ways are, our evolving detectionmethods and resources, including at sea, willkeep up with them,” said Australian FederalPolice deputy commissioner of operationsMichael Outram.—AFP

TOKYO: The Japanese government yester-day resumed work on building a controver-sial US airbase on Okinawa Island, sparkingangry protests and scuffles with police. TheJapanese and US governments want theFutenma airbase located in a crowded cityon the island moved to a sparsely populat-ed area in the north for safety reasons. Butmany Okinawans want it off the island alto-gether. Okinawa governor Takeshi Onagahad tried to block efforts to reclaim land forthe new offshore facility and he and PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe filed rival lawsuits totry to settle the issue.

But in December the Supreme Courtruled in favor of the central government,giving the green light to move ahead onconstruction. “The government’s positionwas entirely supported by the SupremeCourt ruling,” top government spokesmanYoshihide Suga told a regular briefing yes-terday. He said that during a visit Fridayand Saturday by US Defense SecretaryJames Mattis, the two sides reaffirmed thatthe new facility “is the only solution”.Japanese TV footage showed constructionvessels carrying gigantic concrete blocksoffshore, where workers will soon start

dropping them into the water for landfillpurposes.

Tokyo and Washington first proposedmoving the Futenma airbase, a MarineCorps facility located in the middle of thecity of Ginowan, in 1996. But the plan hasbeen mired in local opposition.Campaigners want a replacement builtelsewhere in Japan or overseas, saying theycan no longer tolerate the heavy Americanmilitary presence on Okinawa due to noise,accidents and crimes by US service mem-bers. Yesterday, dozens of protesters wereseen trying to block heavy trucks andmachines from entering the constructionsite, scuffling with riot police.

Okinawa, which accounts for less thanone percent of Japan’s total land area,hosts about 28,000 US troops-more thanhalf of the approximately 47,000 Americanmilitary personnel stationed in Japan.Islanders have complained for decadesthat the rest of the country ignores theirburden. “Does the government really seeOkinawans as Japanese? I am extremelyangry,” said Susumu Inamine, mayor of thecity of Nago that has jurisdiction over theconstruction area.—AFP

Japan resumes work on

US base on Okinawa

OKINAWA: Anti-US base protesters stage a rally outside of the US Marine CampSchwab against the construction work in the Henoko coastal area in Nago, Okinawaprefecture yesterday. —AFP

Record cocaine bust in Australia

NEW SOUTH WALES: This photo shows packages of cocaine seized from a yacht off the NewSouth Wales coast by the Australian Federal Police, yesterday. —AFP

BANGKOK: Thailand’s national securitychief said yesterday that a group of Laos-based Thais wanted for spreading anti-monarchy messages had made deaththreats against the prime minister and hisdeputy. The allegation comes as Thailandseeks to extradite the group for slander-ing the royal family-an offence punish-able by up to 15 years in prison per count.“The threats came from Thais who are dis-loyal to the monarchy and ran away tolive in Laos...It is the same group that heldradio programs defaming the monarchy,”national security chief ThaweepNetniyom told reporters in Bangkok.

The group allegedly issued the death

threats against Prime Minister PrayutChan-O-Cha and his deputy, defense min-ister Prawit Wongsuwan, on social media.“They did it to hit back at the governmentthat wants to prosecute them,” Thaweepsaid. Thailand’s military government hastried in vain to extradite a number of royalinsult suspects who have fled abroad sinceits 2014 coup. Neighboring Laos has yet topublicly comment on Thailand’s efforts tobring the royal defamation suspects home.

Lese majeste prosecutions have sky-rocketed under the royalist junta, withcourts handing down record jail sen-tences, often for comments postedonline. — AFP

Thailand blames PM death

threats on Laos suspects

N E W STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Continued from Page 1

The minister categorically denied the allegations andcharged that Kuwaitis in key posts in international sportsorganizations were behind orchestrating the ban.

Tabtabaei, Babtain and Subaei said in separate state-ments that the minister submitted his resignation, andexpressed readiness to cooperate with the new minister toresolve the problems highlighted in the grilling. ButAssembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said yesterday thathe has not been informed of any resignation of the infor-mation minister and the no-confidence session tomorrow

is still valid, unless he is notified today.In another development, the Assembly’s interior and

defense committee yesterday approved key amendments tothe nationality law that stipulate that no citizenship can berevoked without a final court verdict. The amendment alsostates that no one can be deported after revoking his/her cit-izenship without a final court ruling. It also states that revoca-tion of citizenships should not extend to wives and children.

Meanwhile, the Assembly’s foreign relations committeediscussed yesterday Iraqi moves towards the Khor Abdullahwaterway. Head of the panel MP Ali Al-Deqbasi said theAssembly will debate the issue on Feb 14.

Info minister ‘quits’ after grilling over...

GAZA: Palestinians run for cover as smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on a Hamas post in the northernGaza Strip yesterday. — AFP

JERUSALEM: Israel struck a number of positions of Islamistmovement Hamas in Gaza after a “projectile” fired from thePalestinian enclave yesterday hit a border area, the Israeliarmy said. One Palestinian was injured and taken to hospi-tal, according to medical sources in Hamas-run Gaza. TwoHamas posts were targeted by Israeli tank fire, a Palestiniansecurity source said, while air strikes later hit targets innorthern Gaza, sending a column of black smoke into theair, an AFP reporter said.

“(An) initial inquiry suggests a projectile launched fromthe Gaza Strip landed in an open area,” an Israeli armystatement said, causing no injuries or major damage. “The(army) will not tolerate rocket fire towards civilians and will

continue to ensure security and stability in the region,”army spokesman Peter Lerner said in another statement.

A Palestinian security source later said Israeli artillerytargeted two Hamas bases east of Deir al-Balah in centralGaza after a border patrol came under fire. The last rocketfire from Gaza into Israel occurred in October. Since thedevastating conflict of 2014, Israel and Hamas haveobserved a fragile ceasefire along the largely closed bor-der. Missiles and rockets are occasionally fired at Israelbut are often attributed to other Islamist groups insideimpoverished Gaza. The Israeli army usually retaliates bystriking the positions of Hamas, which it holds responsi-ble for the territory. — AFP

Israel strikes Hamas

after ‘projectile’ fired

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump lashed out yes-terday at signs of rising public opposition to his controversialtravel ban as tech giants threw their weight behind a push inUS courts to roll it back. With the ban suspended since Friday,the legal battle has moved to San Francisco where a US courtof appeals ordered the administration to submit a brief yes-terday defending Trump’s Jan 27 decision. The president’sexecutive order summarily denied entry to all refugees, andtravelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria andYemen - a move critics charge will damage US interests.

Despite initial public support, two new polls show that amajority of Americans now oppose the ban - findings thatTrump angrily dismissed as media lies. “Any negative polls arefake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election,”he said on Twitter. “Sorry, people want border security andextreme vetting.” Trump, who spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, is said to be increasingly frustratedwith his staff’s failure to contain the fallout from the ban’sbotched rollout, which sparked chaos at US airports anddrew international condemnation, the New York Timesreported.

The order slapped a blanket ban on entry for nationals ofthe seven mainly-Muslim countries for 90 days and barred allrefugees for 120 days. Refugees from Syria were blockedindefinitely. But Friday in Seattle, a federal district judgeordered the temporary nationwide suspension of the presi-dent’s order, allowing the thousands of travellers who weresuddenly barred from US soil to start trickling back in.

Mounting opposition In an additional blow, a slew of Silicon Valley giants led by

Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter filed a legalbrief late Sunday in support of the lawsuit. The 97 companiesspeaking out against Trump’s travel ban said it harms recruit-ing and retention of talent, threatens business operations,and hampers their ability to attract investment to the UnitedStates. The ban “inflicts significant harm on American busi-ness, innovation, and growth,” said the brief, whose backersalso include Airbnb, Dropbox, eBay, Intel, Kickstarter,LinkedIn, Lyft, Mozilla, Netflix, PayPal, Uber and Yelp.

A group of prominent Democrats including former secre-taries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright joined theirvoices to the criticism on Monday, in a legal filing to the SanFrancisco appeals court. “We view the order as one that ulti-mately undermines the national security of the United States,rather than making us safer,” they said. “Reinstating the exec-utive order would wreak havoc on innocent lives and deeplyheld American values.” Specifically, the Democrats saidTrump’s travel ban could endanger US troops in the field, dis-rupt counterterrorism cooperation and feed Islamic Stategroup propaganda.

‘Frustrating’ Top Republicans also have also shown renewed signs of

discomfort with the new president, with Senate MajorityLeader Mitch McConnell chiding Trump on Sunday for attack-ing the judge who suspended the ban. “I think it is best toavoid criticizing judges individually,” he said on CNN. Trump

had blasted Judge James Robart in a series of angry tweets.“Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in suchperil. If something happens blame him and court system.People pouring in. Bad!”

The appeals court in San Francisco on Sunday refused tooverrule Robart, and ordered the administration to present abrief by 2300 GMT yesterday. Vice President Mike Pencecalled the setback “frustrating”. “We will move very quickly,”he told Fox News on Sunday. “We are going to win the argu-ments because we will take the steps necessary to protectthe country, which the president of the United States has theauthority to do.”

The attorney generals for the states of Washington andMinnesota, which won the temporary stay of Trump’s ban,have asked the appeals court to refuse to reinstate it. Beforenow, they argued, no US president has imposed “a categori-cal bar on admission on a generalized (and unsupported)claim that some might engage in misconduct,” they argued.“The order flouts Congress’s clear command prohibitingnationality-based discrimination,” they said.

Arrivals With the ban suspended, travelers from the targeted

countries holding valid visas have begun arriving onAmerican soil. In New York, 33-year-old Sudanese doctorKamal Fadlalla rejoiced - after a week blocked in his homecountry, he was back in the Big Apple with friends and col-leagues. “It feels great,” Fadlalla told AFP on Sunday at John FKennedy International Airport. “It was a tough week actually.”

Iranian graduate student Sara Yarjani, who was initiallydeported under Trump’s order, arrived in Los Angeles. “Iam so grateful to all the lawyers and others that helpedme,” she said tearfully. The State Department has said visaholders from the seven countries are allowed to travel tothe US as long as their documents have not been “physi-cally canceled”. — AFP

Trump hits out at rising

opposition to travel ban

TAMPA: US President Donald Trump speaks followinga visit to the US Central Command and SpecialOperations Command at MacDill Air Force Base yes-terday. Trump met officers who will form the tip of thespear in implementing his new strategy to defeat theIslamic State group. — AFP

To get street children in the westernIndian city of Thane into school, civicofficials first forced their parents to

send them to regular state schools. The kidsshowed up late or not at all, and droppedout quickly. So the officials decided on ‘sig-nal schools’, or small schools that would beclose to where the kids lived - on the street,near a traffic signal. Partnering with a non-profit, they opened the first such schoollast June in a remodelled shipping contain-er under a flyover at one of the busiest traf-fic signals in Thane, just outside Mumbai.

This time, the kids stayed. “It was aHerculean task to get the parents to sendtheir kids to school, as for them it meant theloss of a pair of hands to earn extra money,”said Manish Joshi, a deputy commissionerat the Thane municipal corporation. “Butthey came around, and the community hasalso really embraced the program. For a citywith a space crunch and a migrant popula-tion on the streets, this is the best solution.”

There are no official data for the numberof street children in India, with some chari-ties estimating it to be about 1 million.Most accompany their families as theymigrate from rural areas to the cities insearch of better prospects. Mumbai, India’sfinancial hub, has long been a magnet formigrants. There are more than 37,000 streetchildren in the city, according to a 2013study by charity ActionAid and the TataInstitute of Social Sciences. Unable to

afford even the cheapest housing, migrantsoften spill into nearby cities, includingThane, where they end up on the pave-ments and under flyovers, doing odd jobs,selling trinkets and begging at traffic sig-nals to make ends meet.

Rush HourIndia’s landmark Right to Education Act

(2009), which guarantees free education tillthe age of 14, spurred government officialsand charities to get street children intoschool. But their lack of a permanent resi-dence and their lifestyles are a challenge,said Bhatu Sawant, head of non-profitSamarth Bharat Vyaspith, which runs theSignal School in Thane. To set up theschool, civic officials cleared a space underthe flyover and fenced it off. They set up asmall play area at one end with a swing setand a slide, and placed a guard at the gate.

The container, 30 feet by 10 feet, ispainted in bright colors, with the alphabetand numbers, and is fitted with fans andlights. The classroom can accommodateabout 35 children, and there is also ateacher’s room, and shelves against thewalls. Since the kids help their parents selltrinkets and flowers during the rush hour inthe morning and evening, the school oper-ates from about 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. Thestaff spent the initial months teaching thekids about the importance of cleanlinessand grooming, to not fight over food or

hold out their palms as they were taught toby their parents when they were sent tobeg. “You can’t put these kids in a regularschool and expect them to adjust. Theschool has to adapt to their lives,” Sawanttold the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Butjust because they are on the streets, itdoesn’t mean they can’t get an education.If these kids don’t go to school, we have totake the school to them,” he said.

For the 27 kids in the Signal School,there is a book library and a toy library, anda wash area so they can bathe every day.There are lockers to keep their uniforms andbooks, so they don’t get damaged or stolenon the street.

A doctor comes for regular checks, and abarber gives the boys a haircut everymonth. The kids’ nails are cut. At the school,the doors and windows muffle the soundsof the traffic outside. Inside, the children siton the floor cross-legged in groups, with ateacher, going over their Math, English andwriting exercises.

Outside, on a mat, younger children sitin a circle with another teacher, listening toa story. “Initially, it was very hard - theywere not used to sitting in one place for solong, and they would fight or curse, or justgo to sleep,” said Arti Param, who trains thefour full-time teachers and a handful of vol-unteer teachers. “We also had to teach theirparents the importance of sending theirkids to school, so their children don’t have

to live on the street like them,” she said.School Bus

India’s literacy rate rose to 73 percent in2011 from 65 percent a decade earlier, andenrolment rates in schools have climbed.But at least 6 million children aged six to 13are still out of the school system, accordingto a 2014 survey. Devendra Fadnavis, chiefminister of Maharashtra state, of whichMumbai is the capital, said last month thestate would try and replicate the SignalSchool for street children elsewhere.

In Thane, Sawant has asked civic officialsfor two more remodelled containers for apre-school and a high school. He also plansto bring children at other traffic signals ona school bus from June. But there are big-ger challenges, he said. “In the eyes of thestate, they are still encroachers on thestreet, even if they have lived here for 20-25years,” he said. “And if the parents areunable to make ends meet here, they willmove elsewhere, and the children’s educa-tion becomes the casualty again,” he said.

The municipal corporation is consider-ing skills training for the parents, and mayhelp them find jobs and homes, Joshi said.But in a city of high rents and little afford-able housing, this is a challenge, he said.“This school has been such a success, it’sdrawing more migrants who want thisopportunity for their children,” Joshi said.“The real challenge is addressing migrationand homelessness.” — Reuters

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A N A L Y S I STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Focus

In India, ice towers

could turn deadly

lake into water bank

The government of Sikkim in India’s northeast is low-ering the risk of a devastating flood by drainingwater from a dangerously overfull glacial lake - with

plans to turn the excess water into towers of ice for farm-ers to use in the warmer months. The water level in theSouth Lhonak glacial lake is expected to lower by 2 mfrom its previous depth of 20 m by the end of the winter,thanks to a process of siphoning that began lastSeptember, experts and Sikkim government officials said.

A sensor that monitors sudden fluctuations in thewater level also has been installed near the lake, whichlies at an altitude of over 5,400 m and is accessible onlyby a five-day trek over high passes. But perhaps the mostinnovative part of the operation is that, under currentplans, some of the water drainage pipelines will havetheir final sections raised vertically. As pressure forceswater out of the raised tip into sub-zero air, the flow willform ice cones.

Over the past three winters a similar project in Ladakh,designed by environmental engineer Sonam Wangchuk,has created an ice cone 20 m high, and five smaller onesof about 4 m. Wangchuk, who is now working on theSikkim project, said that in late spring meltwater from thecones can be collected in tanks and fed onto plantedland using a drip-irrigation system. The largest ice conein Ladakh supplied about 1 million liters of water, he said.

The cones resemble stupas, or towers used inBuddhist worship, that are found across Ladakh and alsoin Sikkim. “Creating the ice stupas is an effort to help thefarmers get water when they need it the most. We arealso exploring ice climbing, ice skating, ice hockey andice sculpture of the stupas in order to develop a newform of winter tourism in Ladakh,” Wangchuk said.

Less Risk, More WaterThe potential danger posed by the Sikkim lake was

first assessed in 2013 by scientists from the NationalRemote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad. Theyreported that by 2008 the surface area of the lake hadincreased to more than five times its size in 1977, fromabout 17 hectares to nearly 100 hectares. According tothe International Centre for Integrated MountainDevelopment (ICIMOD), a regional intergovernmentalorganization, rapid increases in the volume of glaciallakes are usually the result of faster glacial melt associat-ed with climate change.

The risk such lakes present is that the rocky morainesat their feet could give way suddenly under the pressureof the water, triggering a massive outburst flood thatwould drain most of the lake at once. The NRSC scientistsestimated that the South Lhonak lake had a 42 percentprobability of bursting and causing devastating floodsdownstream in populated areas, a risk they rated as “veryhigh”. They estimated its volume to be nearly 20 billionliters, although measurements in 2014 by the team thatinstalled the monitoring system, from the Centre forDevelopment of Advanced Computing, a national govern-ment body, suggested that the lake could contain asmuch as 53 billion liters of water.

The South Lhonak lake is one of 203 glacial lakes in theHindu Kush Himalayan region - out of a total of more than8,700 - identified as potentially dangerous by ICIMOD in a2010 report. To help deal with the threat, Sikkim’sDepartment of Science and Technology and ClimateChange has begun working with Wangchuk - an engineerfrom Ladakh in Kashmir - to drain the water from the gla-cial lake, said Dhirren Shrestha, a department official.

Wangchuk said that three sets of high-density poly-ethylene pipes are being used to carry away water,enabling a total discharge of 150-180 liters of water persecond. A second stage of the operation is scheduled forMay and June this year, when engineers plan to install upto 16 pipelines to lower the water level in the lake by afurther 3m. Eventually, however, some of the water willbe captured rather than simply flow away, as Wangchukworks to recreate an innovation he previously experi-mented with in Ladakh in Kashmir - turning some of thesiphoned water into massive towers of ice.

As it flows out of the raised end of a discharge pipe,“(it) freezes as it falls to gradually form an ice cone,”Wangchuk explained. He and his team will begin work onthe project in November with engineers and expertsfrom Sikkim. Shakil Romshoo, who heads the EarthSciences department of Kashmir University, said thatdraining a glacial lake normally is done during the sum-mer, when the drained water can be stored or used forirrigation or small-scale hydroelectric power generation.“Ice stupas, if feasible under the Sikkim conditions, (are)just one of several short-term storage methods for stor-ing excess water from a glacial lake during the winter,”Romshoo said. —Reuters

For street kids, school is in a container

They don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but ... New Yorkpublic college students who would stand to gainfrom the nation’s most ambitious free-tuition propos-

al are quick to point out a sobering reality from their ownmeager finances: Free tuition doesn’t mean free college.Take Brooklyn College senior Florencia Salinas, who despitehaving her tuition nearly covered in full through scholar-ships and grants, still expects to graduate with a daunting$50,000 in debt. Or Buffalo State College junior AveryEdwards, who despite similar financial aid expects to owe$20,000 after collecting his degree next year.

That’s because tuition, at around $6,500 a year, is justabout a third of the typical four-year student’s total publiccollege bill in New York. Room and board are the bigger-tick-et items at nearly $13,000 a year, and student fees and bookstack on another $3,000. Those extra expenses would not becovered under Democratic Gov Andrew Cuomo’s ExcelsiorScholarship proposal, which would pay only the differencebetween financial aid and tuition at State University of NewYork or City University of New York campuses for full-timestudents from families earning $125,000 or less.

Students interviewed by AP said that any tuition help iswelcome, but they could also use help paying for the manyother costs of a college education. “It’s less that my parentswould have to pay. It’s less that I would have to pay,” saidNigel Peters, a sophomore at Buffalo State College, part ofthe state’s sprawling public college system, which includes64 State University of New York and 24 City University ofNew York institutions. But “enough?” he said. “No, not at all.”

The 19-year-old’s parents in Queens work overtime tokeep the financial burden off of him and his twin sister,who attends college in Delaware. His mother, who alreadyjuggles positions in accounting and retail, recently pickedup a third job, at an arena box office. They make too muchto get aid now, he said, but “we don’t make enough so thatmy parents don’t have to work their behinds off to put meand my sister through school”.

He would welcome tuition help, he said, especially withplans to pay his own way his senior year. But even if it’scovered by then, Peters said, he still will likely work at hisminimum-wage job over breaks and need loans to pay foreverything else. Most of Salinas’ debt comes from housingcosts, so the Cuomo plan probably wouldn’t have helpedher graduate in better financial shape. The 22-year-oldcomputer science major said she would rather see thestate put the money into the faculty and facilities at CUNY.

Student debtCuomo’s proposal, which still faces approval by lawmak-

ers, is one of an increasing number of plans across thecountry that seek to address the nation’s suffocating $1.2trillion in student debt. Democratic Rhode Island Gov GinaRaimondo has proposed making two years of communitycollege or the final two years of a four-year degree free at a

public college in that state. A plan from DemocraticColorado gubernatorial candidate Mike Johnston wouldrequire volunteer service as a condition of two free years ofcollege or job training.

All differ from independent Vermont Sen BernieSanders’ no-tuition plan, which became a major issueduring the presidential campaign. Sanders’ plan wouldhave eliminated tuition at public universities and col-leges, while Cuomo’s “last-dollar” approach pays thetuition after awards from the state and federal sources ofaid are applied.

It’s a distinction that troubles advocates for lower-income students, who say the program, while expandingaid to the middle class, won’t improve anything for thembecause their tuition is already covered. They warn it mighthurt needy students if it takes away some of the flexibilitythey now have to use federal Pell awards for expenses oth-er than tuition. “Our goal is to provide the most studentswith the greatest opportunity,” Cuomo spokeswoman Dani

Lever said, “and that goal is met by the ExcelsiorScholarship program.“

The New York program also comes with a push to getstudents to tap into existing state and federal financial aidprograms that could lower their costs even more. SUNYChancellor Nancy Zimpher estimated New Yorkers leave$174 million of federal aid untouched each year.Lawmakers at a budget hearing last month also worriedthat the $163 million estimated cost of the New York pro-posal is too low. Cuomo budget officials said they basedthe estimate in part on free community college programsin other states. The program would also draw on the state’sexisting $1 billion Tuition Assistance Program.

SUNY enrolls 403,000 undergraduate students andCUNY 245,000 students. Based on 2014-15 enrollment,about 40,000 students who meet the criteria would beginto have their tuition paid. Said state Sen Kenneth LaValle,a Long Island Republican: “All the bean counters saythere’s no way.” — AP

Free tuition doesn’t mean free college

In this Feb 1, 2017 photo, Brooklyn College students walk between classes on campus in New York. — AP

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews will miss the upcomingTwenty20 series in Australia after injuring his hamstring against South Africalast month. Mathews sustained the injury in a Twenty20international at Wanderers on Jan. 22, when he com-pleted a half century despite limited mobility tolead Sri Lanka to victory by three-wickets. Theselection committee will meet on Tuesday todecide on the composition of the squad and whoshould replace him as skipper, Sri Lanka Cricket(www.srilankacricket.lk) said on its website. The SriLankans will start the tour against a PrimeMinister ’s XI in Canberra on Feb. 15 beforeTwenty20s against a weakened Australia team inMelbourne, Geelong and Adelaide. The series hasbeen somewhat devalued by the fact thatAustralia’s top players will be in Indiapreparing for a test series ratherthan playing against the SriLankans. — Reuters

S P O RT STUIESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

DHAKA: A 14-year-old cricketer has died in Bangladeshafter he was hit by a stump thrown by an angry batsmanduring a friendly game between neighbourhood teams,police said yesterday. Faisal Hossain was fielding in thesoutheastern port city of Chittagong when the batsmanwas given out, assistant police commissioner JahangirAlam told AFP. “The batsman was furious when he sawthat he was stumped or bowled out. He grabbed a stumpand threw it in the air. The stump hit part of the neck andhead of Faisal who was fielding close to the wicket,” hesaid. “He collapsed on the ground in pain and wasdeclared dead after he was taken to a hospital.” The bats-man has been detained and will be prosecuted for caus-ing unintentional death, police said. Clashes are commonover cricket in Bangladesh, where the sport is taken seri-ously even at village level. Last May, a batsman wielding astump allegedly beat a 16-year-old cricketer to death inDhaka after the teenager taunted the umpire over a no-ball delivery. — AFP

Angry batsman hurls

stump, kills teen

DHAKA: Bangladesh suffered a blow before their maiden Test match in Indiawhen opening batsman Imrul Kayes was ruled yesterday

due to injury. “Imrul pulled his thigh muscle while field-ing today during the two-day warm-up match againstthe India A team,” said chief selector Minhajul Abedin.“He suffered the same injury in New Zealand, so wethought it appropriate that he did not continue.”Uncapped batsman Mosaddek Hossain has beencalled in as a replacement. Imrul did not bat duringthe two-day match against India A, which ended ina draw. It was the only warm-up fixture before the

Test in Hyderabad, the first to be played byBangladesh on Indian soil since the tourists gainedfull Test status 17 years ago. Soumya Sarkar is expect-

ed to open the innings along with Tamim Iqbal whenthe one-off match gets underway on February 9. Imrul

will return to the side for next month’s tour of SriLanka provided he is declared fit.—AFP

Bangladesh’s Imrul

out of India Test

Mathews to miss

Australia tour

SKIING

GOLF

RUGBY

ST MORITZ: American star Lindsey Vonnand Swiss hope Lara Gut will set up amouth-watering world championships in StMoritz when they go head-to-head in thewomen’s opening super-G today.

Both Vonn and Gut come into the raceon the back of a couple of crashes on theWorld Cup circuit, but the pair have bothvowed that nothing would be left in thechanging room come the secondary speedevent of the February 6-19 world champs.

“My body is pretty sore from hitting thenets two too many times,” acknowledgedVonn. “The super-G is right away, so hope-fully with my training I’ll get my confidenceback.” Gut was last season’s overall WorldCup winner, and Vonn admitted that shewas a “a great competitor and has had agreat season so far”.

“Everyone’s going to be pulling for herhere in Switzerland!” While Vonn recoversfrom a broken arm and injured hand, Gut isworking to get her leg back in shape after afall in the Cortina super-G on January 29.“I’m 100 percent fit,” maintained the Swissracer who stormed to prominence as ateenager at the 2009 worlds in Val d’Isere.

“I’m better, there’s nothing injured orbroken. It could have been better: to havegone skiing for a week rather than spend-ing it with the physio! “The big challenge isto rehab my leg and get back as soon as

possible. I’m here to ski.“It’s here I made my first podium, so I’m

obviously really happy that I’m back here.”Vonn said injuries were part and parcel

of ski racing, noting the absence of malecompetitors Aksel Lund Svindal, Ted Ligety,Steve Nyman and Valentin Giraud Moine.

“I don’t know what you can do tochange it. It’s a risk of our sport, but I hopethe injuries become less,” she said.

“It’s kind of like car racing, we’re alwaysgoing to find a way to go fast no matterwhat rules you change, our goal is to winraces and skiers will always be pushing thelimit to find that success.

“I don’t know what the solution is, butit’s definitely hard as an athlete to watch somany athletes getting injured, includingmyself.” Other rivals to Vonn and Gutinclude Ilka Stuhec, who claimed the firstsuper-G of her career at Cortina d’Ampezzo,when Vonn trailed in out of the top 10.

Italian Sofia Goggia should also be inthe reckoning for a podium finish whileAustria’s Anna Veith is also back with avengeance after a long injury lay-off.

“It’s great to have Anna back,” said Gut.Veith seems to have regained the formwhich saw her win the overall World Cuptitles in 2014 and 2015 under her maidenname Fenniger before being sidelined witha serious injury. — AFP

JOHANNESBURG: In this Saturday, June 24, 1995 file photo, South Africa’s scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen lets fly a pass during the WorldCup final against New Zealand at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Joost van der Westhuizen, who won the 1995 World Cup with South Africa asNelson Mandela looked on, has died after a six-year-battle with motor neuron disease. — AP

South African rugby legend

Van der Westhuizen deadJOHANNESBURG: South African rugby legendand World Cup winner Joost van der Westhuizen,who died yesterday aged 45, will be rememberedas one of the greatest scrum-halves of all time.Many former internationals rate the Springbokstandout second only to former Welsh greatGareth Edwards among international scrum-halfsuperstars. His duels with fellow scrum-halvesGeorge Gregan of Australia and Justin Marshall ofNew Zealand two decades ago captivated specta-tors and worldwide TV audiences. “He will alwaysbe remembered as an incredible rugby player,”Gregan said during a dinner in honour of Van derWesthuizen.

Marshall also attended the function and said:“Joost was a magic player. When on song, hecould win a game almost single-handedly.” Vander Westhuizen lost a long battle against motorneurone disease, the incurable nervous-systemcondition, after being rushed to hospital onSaturday. South Africans cherish memories of thefinest moment in a success-filled career when heset up the Joel Stransky drop goal which won the1995 Rugby World Cup for the Springboks.

Watched by then state president NelsonMandela at the El l is Park stadium inJohannesburg, Van der Westhuizen delivered along pinpoint pass from the base of the scrum asthe clock ticked down in extra time. Stransky

calmly kicked the goal to give South Africa a 15-12 win over the Jonah Lomu-inspired NewZealand All Blacks to became world championsfor the first time.

When the Springboks gathered in 2015 at EllisPark to celebrate the 20th anniversary of theWorld Cup triumph, Van der Westhuizen attendedin a wheelchair.

Van der Westhuizen was also par t of theSpringboks team that finished third when defend-ing the world title in England four years later. HisTest career ended on a low note in 2003 when aSouth African team beset by pre-World Cup prob-lems lost heavily to New Zealand in the quarter-finals. First capped by the Springboks in 1993, hemade 89 international appearances and scored 38tries, a remarkable total for a scrum-half.Traditionally, the role of a No. 9 was to feedscrums and forage for the ball at rucks, mauls andloose play, then pass it to his fly-half.

But Van der Westhuizen, tall and dark hairedwith matinee-idol looks, helped create a newbreed of scrum-halves who greatly expanded therole. “An incredible player and fighter to the end.The first of the new age 9’s,” tweeted Ireland andBritish and Irish Lions legend Brian O’Driscoll.

Instead of always feeding the fly-half, theSpringbok would launch solo raids, catchingdefences off guard. Blessed with a strong

physique, Joost was able to shrug off would-betacklers and many of his Test tries came off runsfrom deep positions. He was a product of thefamed Pretoria-based Blue Bulls, a team that fordecades had been among the dominant forces ofSouth African provincial rugby. After retiring as aplayer, Joost followed the employment route ofmany other former Springboks and worked forJohannesburg-based SuperSport as a TV analyst.

CAREER ENDED ABRUPTLY But his media career ended abruptly when a

video emerged of him engaged in sex play with amystery blonde and snorting a white substance,presumed to be cocaine. Having initially deniedhe was in the video, Van der Westhuizen con-fessed and publicly apologised for lying. “What Idid went against all my principles,” he said.

Another report claimed the former Springbokhad an affair, while his wife was in hospital, withan ex-national athletics champion. His wifedivorced Van der Westhuizen, only for her andtheir two children to reunite with him and assisthis battle against motor neurone. When Van derWesthuizen felt a weakness in his right arm during2008, he attributed it to the after-effects of an oldrugby injury. But later, while playing in a swim-ming pool with his personal doctor, the weaknessbecame more obvious.— AFP

Vonn goes head-to-head with Gut

Lindsey Vonn

SCOTTSDALE: Hideki Matsuyama was thelast man standing at golf’s biggest party -again. Matsuyama won the WasteManagement Phoenix Open on the fourthhole of a playoff for the second straightyear, outlasting Webb Simpson on Sundayat TPC Scottsdale.

Matsuyama won with a 10-foot birdieputt on the short par-4 17th, the same holewhere the 24 year-old Japanese star fin-ished off Rickie Fowler a year ago. “I justhad faith and believed that my chancewould come again, and I just waited andwaited, had patience,” Matsuyama said.“Finally, that last one went in.”

Matsuyama closed with a 5-under 66,parring the final three holes to matchSimpson at 17-under 267. On the par-418th in regulation, Matsuyama’s 20-footbirdie try to win in regulation stopped justshort. “I don’t know how it stayed out,”Matsuyama said. “But you can’t be short ona putt like that.” Simpson birdied three ofthe last four for a 64, the best round of theday. “To shoot 7 under on Sunday, birdieing17 and 18 is a great feeling, knowing I hadto do it,” Simpson said. “But Hideki is a greatplayer, obviously. I knew he’d be a toughcompetitor in the playoff. I wish I couldhave a couple of putts back and hit them alittle harder.”

The tournament drew an estimated58,654 fans Sunday to break the weeklyrecord with 655,434. The previous mark of618,365 was set last year. A record 204,906packed the grounds Saturday.

Matsuyama has thrived in the partyatmosphere, tying for fourth in 2014 andtying for second in 2015 before winningthe last two years. “There’s nothing like it ingolf,” Matsuyama said. “Playing in front ofthe number of fans and gallery this pastweek, great motivation. I just try to havefun with it, and at the same time, keep myfocus.” Matsuyama and Simpson tookadvantage of third-round leader ByeongHun An’s collapse. Three strokes ahead ofMatsuyama and four ahead of Simpsonwith nine holes left, An bogeyed Nos. 10

and 11 and closed with two more on 17and 18. The South Korean player had a 73to finish sixth at 14 under. “Just didn’t workout today,” An said.

Matsuyama won his second PGA Tourtitle of the season and fourth overall. Hehas won five worldwide events in the last 31/2 months, also taking the WGC-HSBCChampions in China, two tournaments inJapan and Tiger Woods’ unofficial HeroWorld Challenge. “It’s been a good run,”Matsuyama said. “I’m going to ride it aslong as I can.” He’s the sixth player to suc-cessfully defend a title in the event and thefirst to do it at TPC Scottsdale. The otherfive are Hall of Famers Ben Hogan (1946-47), Jimmy Demaret (1949-50), LloydMangrum (1952-53), Arnold Palmer (1961-63) and Johnny Miller (1974-75).

Matsuyama broke a tie with ShigekiMaruyama for the most victories by aJapanese player, and became the first towin playoffs in an event two straight yearssince Ernie Els in the Sony Open in Hawaiiin 2003-04.

Matsuyama and Simpson matched parson the first three extra holes, playing the18th twice and the par-4 10th before head-ing to 17. Simpson’s drive on the 332-yardhole ended up on the right edge of thegreen, with a bunker blocking his path tothe back pin position.

“That pin is so hard,” Simpson said. “Thatis the one place you can’t really be.” Insteadof trying to hit over the bunker, he puttedand left himself a 25-footer that burned theright edge.

Simpson and Matsuyama each eagledthe par-5 third to stay in early contact withAn. Matsuyama hit a 254-yard shot to 2 1/2feet , and Simpson a 272-yarder to 5 feet .Louis Oosthuizen finished a stroke backafter a 65. The South African birdied Nos.14, 15 and 17, then hit in the right bunkeron 18 and scrambled to save par.

“I will take a lot out of this week, espe-cially on putting,” Oosthuizen said. Fowleralso shot a 65 to match J.J. Spaun (67) at 15under. —AP

Hideki Matsuyama wins

Phoenix Open playoff

Zain main sponsor of Kuwait

International Arabian Horse Festival

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunicationscompany in Kuwait, announced its main spon-sorship of the Kuwait International ArabianHorse Festival 2017. The event is organized bythe Arabian Horse Center - Bait Al Arab underthe patronage of His Highness the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Zain’s support to this international competi-tion came in line with the company’s belief inthe importance of taking part in projects and ini-tiatives that strengthen the valuable Arabianidentity and cherished Kuwaiti culture, reflectingthe vital role of the private sector in contributingto the preservation of the heritage, culture andhistory of Kuwait.

Zain took part in awarding the winners of the6th International Championship - Arabian HorseBreeder Award, which attracted many purebredArabian horse owners from inside and outside ofKuwait, as well as a large number of Arabianhorse admirers from the public. The festival willalso feature the All Nations Cup - StraightEgyptians competition that will be organizedlate February.

Zain stressed its keenness in providing theneeded support and encouragement to all activ-ities and initiatives that further pushes thenational economic and touristic development

wheel. The company is committed to continuingto support all kinds of national projects that sup-port the national economy and offer innovativeideas that contribute to the further progress ofKuwait.

The Kuwait International Arabian HorseFestival 2017 mainly aims at raising awareness

about preserving the breed of the Arabianhorse. The Arabian Horse Center - Bait Al Arab isconsidered an official organizer of horse breed-ing competitions both on local and internationallevels, and partners with the Hunting andEquestrian Club and ECAHO (EuropeanConference of Arab Horse Organizations).

S P O RT STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Arabi Sports Club vs Kuwait Sports Club Kuwait Sports Club and Salmiya Sports Club in action.

Fifteen football clubs in Kuwait are members of the KuwaitFootball Association. The clubs are Al-Arabi, Al-Fahaheel,Al-Jahra, Al-Kuwait, Al-Nasr, Al-Salmiya,

Al-Shabab, Al-Qadsiya, Al-Yarmouk, Kazma, Khaitan, Al-Sulaibikhat, Sahel, Al-Tadhamon and Burgan. Kuwait Timeshas compiled details about each of these clubs.

By Faten Omar

Qadsiya vs Fahaheel

Snapshots of Kuwait’s football clubs

QADSIYA Qadsiya Sporting Club are one of the most popular clubsin Kuwait. They were founded in 1953 and called Al-Jazira, before being renamed Qadsiya SC on Oct 20,1960. Their chairman is Khaled Fahd Ahmad. Qadsiyahave two monikers - The Kings and The Yellow Castle.They currently play in the VIVA Premier League and havewon the title 17 times, a league record.

Qadsiya play in the Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium inHawally. They began playing in the 1961-62 season andfinished second three years in a row behind Al-Arabi.This started a rivalry between the two teams, and theannual league match between them came to be knownas the ‘Kuwaiti Clasico’. Their first league title came in1968-69.

Since 2002, Al-Arabi have never won the league,which allowed Qadsiya to dominate the football sceneby winning the league three times after Al-Arabi SC’s lastrun. They then lost the title for three straight years toKuwait SC, before winning it again four times in a row,making Qadsiya the second team in Kuwait to win theleague four straight times.

Qadsiya SC have been to the final of the AFC Cuptwice - in 2010 and 2013 - but lost both matches; first toAl-Ittihad Aleppo of Syria in 2010 and Kuwait SC in 2013.In the 2013-14 season, Qadsiya won their 16th title. In2014, Qadsiya won the AFC Cup for the first time in theirthird final appearance.

Al-Qadsiya’s players include Khalid Al-Ebrahim,Abdulrahman Al-Enezi, Khaled Al-Qahtani, Amer Al-Fadhel, Dhari Said and Saud Al-Ansari as defenders;Saleh Al-Sheikh, Talal Al-Amer, Mohammad Al-Fahd andMohammad Al-Fadhli as midfielders; Saud Al-Mejmedand Bader Al-Mutawa (captain) as forwards and NawafAl-Khaldi and Ahmed Al-Fahdli as goalkeepers.

AL-ARABI Al-Arabi Sporting Club are based in Mansouriya at

Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, which is the second largeststadium in Kuwait. They were called Al-Uruba in thebeginning of 1953, and changed their name to Al-Arabiin 1960. The team plays in the VIVA Premier League.

As winners of the Kuwait Amir Cup in 2008, Al-Arabiwere the first Kuwaiti team to compete in the AFC Cup.Arabi have 57 official trophies to their name in Kuwaiticlub football history (55 domestic and two GCC). Arabihave not won a league title since the 2001-02 season.They finished with the same points as Kuwait SC in the2014-15 season, but the title went to Kuwait based onthe results of the matches between the two teams. Arabiare the only team in Kuwait to have never lost in theKuwait Super Cup. Arabi hold records of playing in thefinal of the Kuwait Crown Prince Cup four consecutivetimes, tied with Kuwait SC, and in the Kuwait Amir Cupfinal 11 consecutive times from 1962 to 1973, more thanany Kuwaiti team.

Al-Arabi’s nicknames are Al-Za’eem (The Boss), El-Akhdhar (The Green), the Green Castle and Castle ofTrophies. Their chairman is Jamal Al-Kazemi, and aremanaged by Miodrag Jesic.

Hamad Askar and Jesic are the coaches of Al-Arabi.Their players include Ahmed Al-Rashidi, Ahmed Saleh,Ahmed Abdullah, Badr Al-Tahir, Issa Walid, Fahd Al-Farhan, Meshaal Al-Anzi, Mohammad Freeh, MohammadAmin, Mubarak Al-Balushi, Nader Anzi and ObaidMunawar as defenders; Abdulaziz Salimi, Abdullah Al-Shamali, Abdullah Haddad, Mohsen Turkmani, JassimKaram Ahmed, Ahmed Younis, Ali Maqseed, Badr Tariq,Fahd Pasha, Gul Damaho, Khalaf Ahmed Khalaf,

Mahmoud Mohammed Dashti, Mohamed Jarragh,Mubarak Nassar, Omar Al-Sanea and Talal Mustafa asmidfielders; Ali Abdullah Shahman, Ali Ashkanani, AminChermiti, Hussein Musawi, Marzouk Zaki, Mishari Al-Kandari and Mohammed Bo Abad as forwards andAdnan Latif, Ahmed Dashti, Hamid Al-Qallaf,Mohammed Ghanem, Saud Qinai and Sulaiman AbdulGhafoor as goalkeepers.

KUWAIT SPORTING CLUBKuwait SC are a Kuwaiti professional football club

founded in 1960. The team’s nicknames are White Pearl,White Lion and the Brigadiers. They are managed by theFrenchman Laurent Banide and Chairman Abdulaziz Al-Marzouq.

Kuwait have won the Kuwaiti Premier League 11times, with the most recent one in 2013. Kuwait SC have37 trophies to their name in Kuwaiti club football histo-ry. Kuwait SC play in the Al-Kuwait Sports Club Stadiumin Kaifan. Kuwait are the first Kuwaiti club to ever win anAsian title - the AFC Cup in 2009, 2012, 2013. They arealso one of the first sports clubs to have been estab-

lished in Kuwait.The team’s players include Abdullah Rifai, Adel Raheli,

Ahmed Sabeeh, Fahd Al-Hajri, Fahd Awad, Fahad Al-Rashidi, Hamoud Fahd Mohammed Ansari, Hussein Al-Shammari, Mohammad Al-Farsi and Sami Al-Sane asdefenders; Abdulhadi Khamis Khudair, Abdullah Buraiki,Ali Al-Kandari, Ibrahim Shihab, Fahd Saleh Al-Anzi,Hussein Harb, Jarah Al-Ateeqi, Khalid Ajab, MohamedCamara, Nasser Al-Qahtani, Sherida Khalid Al-Sherida,Waleed Ali Jumah and Yousef Khubaizi as midfielders;Ahmed Mohammed Al-Sager, Ahmed Dahi, Ahmed Al-Shammari, Firas Al-Khatib, Jumaa’ Saeed and Talal Al-Mutairi as forwards and Abdulrahman Husainan andMusab Al-Kandari as goalkeepers. Kuwait is coached byKhaled Al-Shammari, and the head coach is MohammedAbdullah.

AL-SALMIYA SPORTING CLUB Al-Salmiya SC are a Kuwaiti professional football club

based in Salmiya. They have won the Kuwaiti PremierLeague four times, most recently in 2000. Salmiya werefounded in 1964 and the club’s logo is inspired by thelocation of Salmiya on the map of Kuwait, with green

representing the land, while the color blue representsthe sea. Their nicknames are Al-Samawi and TerribleTroublers.

Salmiya have won nine official championships (fourPremier League titles in 1980-81, 1994-95, 1997-98,1999-2000, two Kuwait Amir Cup titles in 1992-93 and2000-01, two Kuwait Crown Cup titles in 2000-01 and2015-16 and one Kuwaiti Division One title in 1971-72.

Salmiya’s Chairman is Turki Alyousef Al-Sabah andtheir manager is Wolfgang Rolff. The team’s playersinclude Abdulaziz Al-Massad, Ahmed Abdul GhafoorAshkanani, Fahd Abdulaziz Al-Mojamad, Fahd Al-Otaibi, Nawaf Rashid Jawad, Saud Dmeed and YousefDandan as defenders; Abdul Aziz Ghali, AbdulwahabAl-Qattan, Abdulrahman Al-Riahi, Abdul Razak Al-Bati,Adel Matar, Ahmed Jamil Al-Balushi, Ahmed Asfour,Badr Al-Sammak, Ghazi Faisal Algahada, Hammad Al-Obaidly, Ibrahima Keita, Jarah Latif, Khaled Mjehm,M ishal Hamid, Mohammed Obaid Al -A zmi ,Mohammed Jawad, Mubarak Al-Khadari, Nayef Zuwid,Rashid Mohammed Al-Rashid, Sulaiman Abdul Redha,Tarek Mohsen Al-Shammari, Turki Al-Mutairi and Igoras midfielders; Badr Al-Jasser, Dhari Al-Harbi, FahdAyed Al R ashidi , Fa isa l Al -Anzi , Faraj Al -Zoubi ,Mohammed Suwaidan, Uday Al-Saifi, and Omar Al-Msobhi as forwards and Khaled Al-Rashidi and NawafAl-Mansour as goalkeepers. Their coach is MohammedDhelees.

S P O RT STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

KAZMAK azma Spor ting Club are a Kuwait i footbal l

club founded in 1964. Kazma play in Al-SadaqaWalsalam Stadium in Adailiya. Their chairman isAsaad Al-Banwan. The club is named after thearea of Kathma. In 630, the battle of ‘That Alslasil’took place in K athma, which is located 40 k mnorth of Kuwait City on the coast. Kazma have wonthe Kuwait Premier League four times. Kazma faced FCBarcelona in a friendly match at the end of the 2009-10season, drawing 1-1 after Bojan Krki scored in the 80thminute for Barcelona, before Abdullah Al-Dhafiriequalized in the 90th minute with a fine effort forKazma. On April 19, 2013, Kazma SC were relegated forthe first time in their history after losing to Al-Arabi SC3-0 in the final game of the 2012-13 season.

The team’s players include Mohammad Khamis,Diego Guerra, Wallace, Ahmed Duiedar, Nasser Al-Wuhaib, Abdullah Dashti, Sultan Salbokh, Ahmed El-Esh, Abdulwahab Al-Khatlan, Mohammed Abdullatif,Abdulrahman Al-Mousaad and Alex Lima as defenders;Nawaf Al-Humaidan (captain), Saeed Murjan, HossamAbdel-Aal, Mohammed Al-Hadhoud, Talal Al-Fadhel,Hamad Harbi, Bader Al-Salem, AbdulrahmanAbdulwahab, Meshari Khamis and Jhasmani Camposas midfielders; Salah Ashour, Yousef Nasser, FahdSalem, Nasser Faraj, Ali Al-Mashmom, Abdullah Al-Dhafiri, Fahd Al-Fahd, Patrick Fabiano and Fahd Al-Adwani as forwards and Shehab Kankoune, HussainKankoune, Fawaz Al-Dosari and Abdualaziz Fathi Kamilas goalkeepers.

KHAITAN Khaitan Sporting Club are a Kuwaiti professional

football club named after Khaitan, a suburb of KuwaitCity. Khaitan were founded in 1965. Khaitan are thefirst Kuwaiti club to win the Division One league,which is the second tier championship after the VIVAPremier League. Their chairman is Mounir Al-Otaibiand their manager is Mohammed Al-Ansari.

Khaitan’s players include Adnan Salbukh,Mohammed Al-Sabti, Youssouf Matar, Abdullah Al-Bloushi, Ahmad Abdullah, Ahmad Al-Derbas, HamadAl-Hasawi, Saad Al-Otaibi, Zaid Al-Olayan and Radsonda Silva Ferreira as defenders; Abdullah Hamad, YahyaMohammed, Omar Al-Haghan, Mohammed Ali, JalalAl-Fadhli, Musaed Khaled, Raed Abdulrazak, SalemAman, Sami Al-Rashidi and Tiago Luz da Silva as mid-fielders; Mohammed Yousef, Sultan Farhan, Musaed Al-Fawzan, Salomon Azhajabi, Suleiman Al-Jarallah,Mohammed Al-Hasawi, Abdullah Ahmad, AhmedKhalaf Al-Khaldi, Nayef Al-Mutairi, Abdulrahman Al-Majed, Sultan Farhan and Rodrigo as forwards; AhmedEidan Al-Khaldi as the goalkeeper and Hamed Al-Shaibani as captain.

AL-FAHAHEEL Al-Fahaheel Sporting Club are a Kuwaiti football

club also known by its nickname The Falcons. Fahaheelwere founded in 1964. They were relegated from thePremier League in 2007, but have since returned backto the league. The chairman of Fahaheel is MohammedHammad. Fahaheel won the Kuwait Amir Cup in 1986.

The team’s players include Mohammed Awad,Abdalazez Al-Azmi, Ali Nader, Nawaf Ziad, Abdullah Al-Armali, Ali Farhan, Ghazi Al-Otaibi, Nawaf Jawad, SaudAl-Hajri, Yaqoub Yousef and Ahmed Al Tawerghi asdefenders; Khalid Abdullah, Abdullah Al-Enezi, TurkiAl-Mutairi , Ali Saraj, Mohammad Fahd Assad,Mohammad Adnan, Saad Bani, Badr Al-Enezi,Mohammad Al-Ajmi, Nasser Hamad Gzai, Nasser Al-Enezi, Saud Freyan, Zakaria Harakat and MohammadKhair as midfielders; Salem Al-Failakawi, Hussain Saraj,Moctar Ouedraogo, Mehdi Harb, Mishary Al-Ajmi andMohammad Rakan as forwards and Hassan Al-Sahliand Ahmed Al-Qabandi as goalkeepers.

AL-JAHRAAl-Jahra Sporting Club are a Kuwaiti professional

football club based in Jahra, and play home games atAl-Shabab Mubarak Alaiar Stadium. They were found-

ed in 1966 as Al-Shuhada club and in 1972 became Al-Jahra. Their nickname is ‘Sons of Martyrs’. Al-Jahra’schairman is Daham Al-Shammari and manager isSkender Gega.

They won the Kuwaiti League (the old name ofKuwaiti Premier League) once, in 1990. They have par-ticipated in the Kuwaiti Premier League 21 times. Al-Jahra reached the Kuwait Amir Cup final twice inrecent times, in 1996 and 2002, where they lost to Al-Arabi 1-2 and Kuwait 0-1.

Al-Jahra Sporting Club also offers various sportssuch as basketball, volleyball and boxing and pridesitself in fencing. Al-Jahra have bagged both nationaland international fencing gold medals; training someof Asia’s best fencers under the guidance of headcoach Captain Abdullah.

The team’s players include Nawaf Fayez, SultanAtshan, Aurens Al-Shammari, Nino Santos, SedatBerisha, Ahmed Hassan Hamoud and Athbi Al-Salili asdefenders; Mohamed Saad, Abdulrahman Al-Sarbal,Talal Adnan, Mashaal Owaid, Meshaal Mlabesh, SaudAl-Sarbal, Andre Macanga, Abdulaziz Nasser, Talal Al-Shammari, Khaled Nayef and Fahad Thunayan as mid-fielders; Humoud Melfi, Mohammad Dahash, Saud Al-Ghemlas, Youssef Walid (captain), Ibrahim Al-Otaibi,Saad Al-Waleed and Vinicius Lopes as forwards andAbdullah Ali Suaidan, Sattam Al-Hussaini and BandarManhar as goalkeepers.

AL-NASRAl-Nasr Sporting Club are a Kuwaiti professional

football club founded on June 8, 1965. They are basedin Ardiyah and play home games at Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah Stadium. They are also known as ‘Al-Inabii’ and‘Falcons’. Their chairman is Falah Ghanem and man-ager is Jose Rachao. Nasr have participated in theKuwaiti Premier League 26 times. They were promot-ed to the Kuwaiti Premier League three times aschampions of Division One. Nasr are based nearIshbeleyah (Sevilla); their building and stadium isnear Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah InternationalStadium, which is the home ground of the Kuwaitnational football team.

Al-Nasr ’s team players include MohammadAbdullah, Deghaim Al-Rashidi, Salih Saif, Ahmad Faisal,Meshaal Faihan, Abdullah Abdulaziz, MusaedAbdullah, Jaber Al-Fadhli, Abdullah Msheleh, RamziBen Younes and Majeed Talal as defenders; Jarrah Al-Dhafiri, Abdallah Jumah, Omar Qambar, Zabn Al-Enezi,Abdullah Al-Mehteb, Abdulrahman Al-Enezi, AbdulazizAl-Mutairi, Abdulaziz Al-Subaie, Rashid Al-Hayyan,Ahmad Al-Rashidi and Ghazi Al-Quhaidy as midfield-ers, Faisal Al-Adwani, Abdulaziz Farraj, Ibrahim Al-Adwani, Ali Ashkanani, Abdulaziz Al-Daoud, AbdulazizAl-Dhafiri and Saud Al-Mejmed as forwards andMohammad Al-Dhafiri, Suleiman Al-Mutairi ,Mohammad Al-Salal and Ahmed Al-Khaldi as goal-keepers.

AL-SHABAB Al-Shabab Sports Club are a professional football

club based in Ahmadi. Al-Shabab’s logo demonstratesthat good behavior comes first, depicted by two handsshaking, education second depicted by an open book,and sports third, depicted by a ball. Shabab werefounded on Dec 15, 1963 in Ahmadi. They currentlyplay in the VIVA Premier League.

Shabab’s chairman is Yaqoub Ramadan and manag-er is Subotic Nebojsa. The players include Ahmed Al-Najar, Yaqoub Saad (captain), Hamad Al-Baseiri, JassemAl-Shimmeri, Abdulrahman Al-Bannay, Aqeel Jaber,Theeb Al-Qahtani as defenders; MohammedAshkanani, Khaled Abdelquddous, Khamis Shimmeri,Abdullah Mamdouh, Abdulaziz Nasser, AbdullahHassan, Issa Khalid, Salah Farhan, Youssef Al-Khatlan,Ahmad Al-Saidi, Adel Tawfeeq, Abdullatif Al-Raes asmidfielders; Rudi, Fahad Al-Otaibi, Masoud Ferydoon,Saif Faleh, Mohammed Al-Abadd, Abdullah Al-Harbi,Abdullah Al-Mutawa, Talal Hdeban, Michel, MauricioJose, Naif Al-Otaibi, Mohammed Humoud and SaudSwayed as forwards and Tallah Humood, Saleh Mahdi,Ammar Al-Balushi and Suleiman Haider Mirza as goal-keepers.

AL-YARMOUK Al-Yarmouk are a professional sports club based in

Mishref. Yarmouk were established on Feb 28, 1965 onFailaka Island and were the only Kuwaiti club estab-lished outside mainland Kuwait at that time. The club’s

chairman is Fahd Ghanim and manager is AhmedAbdulhamid.

Yarmouk were relocated to mainland Kuwait afterthe 1990-1991 Gulf War, which resulted in the dis-placement of many inhabitants of Failaka. Therefore,due to inadequate facilities after the liberation ofKuwait, it was inevitable that the team had to move toa better and more sustainable location. Other reasons- besides the Gulf War - for the relocation of the club,was due to the insufficient means of transportation forteams and players to travel to Failaka Island for awaymatches during the regular season.

Yarmouk have given rise to a plethora of talentedKuwaiti football players during the course of their his-tory. They have only bagged four trophies since theirestablishment, two of which were the Amir Cup in1970 and 1973, which is usually regarded as the mostprestigious and important trophy in Kuwaiti football.The other two trophies were second division titles wonin 1968 and 1989.

Yarmouk went through a major renovation projectin 2006, as part of a grand scheme to regenerate inter-est within the local Mishref community. A new stadi-um was built there are plans for a second phase of ren-ovation. Yarmouk also built new swimming facilities aswell as an indoor arena for basketball, handball, volley-ball and other indoor sports such as table tennis. Atrack and field team is also financed by the club’sdepartment. There is also an extra outdoor footballfield for training and for youth matches.

The club’s main two colors are navy blue andwhite, representing the sea, which was a majorpart of Failaka Island’s culture. The logo representsthe ancient Greek ruins located in Failaka Island,known as Ikaros during the time of Alexander theGreat. Yarmouk have used this logo and colors as are p re s e n t a t i o n o f t h e i r p o te n t i a l s t re n g t h toachieve success.

The team’s captain is Ahmad Hani and playersinclude Hashim Adnan, Majed Abusidu, Abdullah Al-Taher, Hamad Humoud, Nawaf Osama, Saleh Al-Jomaa,Ali Adel, Abdullah Waleed Ali, Ahmed Al-Failakawi,Hussein Al-Eidan, Saad Al-Mutairi, Mubarak Al-Nemsh,Khalid Al-Mouezri, Wallace Costa Alves, Youssouf Al-Youha, Fahad Basha, Saleh Al-Buraiki, Bader Al-Mutairi,Abdulrahman Al-Bader, Bader Al-Samak, Abdullah Al-Failakawi, Abdulrahman Al-Youssuf, MohammadHabeeb, Nawaf Al-Shammari, Abdulaziz Al-Qattan,Bader Diab, Issam Jomaa, Abdulwahab Al-Qattan,Abdullah Al-Hajji and Abdulrazzaq Al-Butti as defend-ers; Mohammad Jassem, Abbas Al-Qallaf, Mahdi Saleh,Mamadou and Youssuf Adel as midfielders, Hashem Al-Ramzi, Muhannad Al-Ansari, Ahmad Al-Beloushi,Abdulrahman Al-Awadi, Youssuf Najaf, Faraj Laheeb,Abdullah Al-Dafeeri, Hussain Sami, Jarrah Al-Zuhairand Madiou Konate as forwards and Ali Yasin,Mohammed Al-Mutairi and Fawaz Al-Fadhli as goal-keepers.

AL-SULAIBIKHAT Al Sulaibikhat Sporting Club are a football club

located in Sulaibikhat. They are also known as the RedRockets. Sulaibikhat were founded in 1972 and are cur-rently managed by Thamer Enad. The club’s chairmanis Mohammad Al-Hajri.

Sulaibikhat’s players include Sattem Al-Shammari,Jassim Al-Houli, Mishal Dheyab, Talal Ashour, FahadMriehg, Faisal Dashti, Hamad Jassim, Youssouf Turki,Mishari Faihan, Rodrigo, Mohammad Al-Enezi andNasser Al-Hajri as defenders; Bader Al-Rashidi, Afas Al-Hajri, Turki Al-Shaya, Abdullah Sahan, AbdulrahmanAshwan, Bader Enad, Mishary Enad, Sami Enad,Abdullah Al-Awadi, Mohammad Fahad and MubarakSaad as midfielders; Hamad Al-Azmi, Ahmad Al-Rashidi, Mohammed Abdullah Oda, Paulo Ventura,Wilson Antonio, Hamad Harbi, Abdulaziz Ghali, AhmedAl-Asfour and Nawaf Al-Otaibi as forwards and TariqAl-Kandari, Talal Al-Fadhli, Jalal Al-Fadhli and AbdulazizAl-Hamar as goalkeepers.

AL-SAHELAl-Sahel Sporting Club are a professional football

club based in Abu Halifa, founded in 1967 withMuhammed Al-Thalab as chairman.

The team’s players include Ismail Alassane, SaadDmid, Mishaal Al-Bloushi, Mohammed Isa, Saud Al-Otaibi, Hassan Salem, Saad Al-Hajri, Dawud Abdulazizand Zayd Al-Eidan as defenders; Mansour Al-Ajmi,Ibraham Kankoune, Hussein Al-Ajmi, Abdullah Farhan,Yassine Naoum, Mutlaq Hizam, Obaid Al-Otaibi,Ibraham Jadal, Mohammad Al-Dhafiri, Saqer Nahar,Suleiman Saleh, Farraj Al-Zoubi, Nasser Rakan, AhmadAtiq and Fahad Al-Daihani as midfielders; Ali Al-Dosari,Samir Sarsar, Salah Fajri, Saleh Al-Mutairi, Mishari

Barrak, Mohamed Jadeed and Efosa Ona Francis as for-wards and Ali Kazem, Talal Al-Jarki, Faisal Al-Asfor andWaleed Hamadi as goalkeepers.

AL-TADHAMONAl-Tadhamon Sporting Club are a football club

based in Farwaniya, founded in 1965. Tadhamon’splayers include Husain Udailam, Bader Wared Al-Dafeeri, Yakoub Al-Ansari, Muhanna Lafi, Zair Al-Mutairi, Yousuf Botaiban, Fahad Al-Hajri, AbdulrazaqAshwan and Majed Awadh as defenders; MohammedIbrahim (captain), Mohammed Salem, Abdulaziz Al-Failakawi, Saad Al-Mutairi, Bader Al-Mutairi, AbdullahAshwan, Sorin Virgil Oproiescu, Bader Fahd, HumoudMajed, Abdulaziz Ashwan, Fahad Nooh, Fawaz Al-Mutairi, Musaed Raheel, Suliman Daud, Waleed Salemand Ahmed El-Merghany as midfielders; Thiago,Meshaal Naif, Abdullah Khaled, Hamed Al-Rashidi, EliasKanu, Saleh Waleed and Issa Sanogo as forwards andWaleed Wared Al-Dafeeri and Hamad Badeer as goal-keepers.

BURGAN SCBurgan Sports Club are a newly established sport-

ing club in Kuwait, registered to compete in the VIVAPremier League, Kuwait Amir Cup, Kuwait CrownPrince Cup, Kuwait Super Cup and Kuwait FederationCup from the 2014-15 official football season. Thechairman of the club is Hamlan Al-Hamlan and themanager is Hamad Al-Harbi.

Before Burgan were registered, they had playedmany friendly matches and entered friendly competi-tions, several against KOC FC and against universitiesranging from AUK to Kuwait University. Their first vic-tory was in 2011.

Their final match as an unregistered team wasagainst Kuwait Military Government FC that they lost3-2, before joining official competition in the VIVAPremier League. Burgan have started to scout andbuild age group teams from under-14, under-16,under-18 and under-21. Boys from ages 9 to 12 joinimmediately for the under-12 team due to a lack ofmembers. Burgan’s crest is a shield of honor of Kuwaitand sports, with the Kuwait map and flag and a foot-ball representing all kinds of sports. Their first logowas introduced in 2007 and was replaced in 2014after being allowed by the KFA to compete in theKuwait league. The 2014 logo has a larger sized bodywith a lighter color, and the 2007 date was added toit. On March 19, 2016, the club announced their newlogo, and became the first Kuwaiti team to have a cir-cular Logo.

Their players include Azaz Al-Shemali , NanaNafihou, Majed Mustafa, Sultan Al-Shammeri ,Othman Al-Heem, Mafiz Al-Shammeri and Saad Al-Ajmi as defenders; Rashid Al-Moussawi, Tarik Lugman(captain), Mubarak Al-Matoug, Essam Al-Ajmi, YousefAl-Moussawi, Nasser Failakawi, Mubarak Al-Shemali,Hamad Al-Harbi, Mohammed Koule and AbdulazizOmar as midfielders; Saleh Al-Harbi, Faisal Al-Ajmi,Khalaf Al-Enezi, Abdulaziz Al-Shemali, Marzouq Zakiand Abdullah Al-Haddad as forwards and AhmadKhanfar, Mishaal Al-Rashidi and Yousef Al-Saraff asgoalkeepers.

PS; Kuwait’s national team made one World Cupappearance - in 1982 - managing a draw withCzechoslovakia but losing to England and France.During the match against France, a goal was scored bythe French because some Kuwaiti players stoppedplaying, having heard a whistle. The goal was initiallyawarded by the referee, who had not blown the whis-tle, but Kuwait walked off the pitch in protest. Theyeventually resumed playing only after the interventionof Sheikh Fahd Al-Ahmad when he walked down thepitch to speak to the fourth official, and the referee’ssubsequent decision was to disallow the French goal.

Qadsiya vs SulaibikhatQadsiya vs Tadhamon

Qadsiya play in theMohammed Al-Hamad

Stadium in Hawally. Theybegan playing in the

1961-62 season and finishedsecond three years in a row

behind Al-Arabi

S P O RT STUESDAY, FEBRUART 7, 2017

WELLINGTON: Australia are confidentwicketkeeper Matt Wade will be fit forthe upcoming test tour of India and haveno plans to call up another gloveman asa precaution, according to coach DarrenLehmann.

Wade, who took over as first choicewicketkeeper from Peter Nevill lastNovember, missed two one-day interna-tionals against New Zealand last weekbecause of back spasms despite being

initially named as stand-in captain forSteve Smith.

Lehmann, though, said Wade hadalready departed for the pre-series train-ing camp in the United Arab Emirates.

“He’ll be fine. He’s got on the plane,”he told reporters in Hamilton. “If therewas any doubt, he wasn’t going to geton the plane. So that’s a good thing.”

The 29-year-old Wade was replacedbehind the stumps for the defeats in

Auckland and Hamilton by middle orderbatsman Peter Handscomb, who alsostood in when the wicketkeeper was tak-en sick during the third test againstPakistan in January.

Lehmann said Handscomb’s perform-ances were convincing enough not towarrant a call-up for Nevill, who hasbeen in fine form with the bat in domes-tic cricket.

“He was a bit rusty when he only got

10 minutes notice at Eden Park,”Lehmann added. “(But) he kept well (inHamilton).”

Wade will be assessed after his flightand his match fitness tested in warm upmatches in the UAE and Mumbai.

“Unless something flares up duringthe Dubai leg or tour game, we’ll staystatus quo. The bonus with the squad isyou’ve got someone who can keep pret-ty well. That’s handy, having that just in

case something happens.”Wade was required as stand-in cap-

tain in New Zealand because Smith suf-fered an ankle injury but Lehmann saidthe Australia skipper was already inDubai and batting.

Australia, who last won a test in Indiain 2004, start the series on Feb. 23 withthe first test in Pune, which will be fol-lowed by matches in Bangalore, Ranchiand Dharamsala. — Reuters

Australia confident Wade will be fit for India tour

OTTAWA: Britain’s Daniel Evans returns the ball during a Davis Cup tennis match against Canada’s Vasek Pospisil in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday. —

PARIS: Britain was defaulted into the Davis Cupquarter-finals Sunday while Spain edged Croatiato advance and defending champion Argentinabattled Italy into a decisive fifth match at a rain-hit tie. Canada’s Denis Shapovalov hit chairumpire Arnaud Gabas in the face with a ball andwas defaulted in the deiciding match, handingBritain’s Kyle Edmund a 6-3, 6-4, 2-1 triumph andgiving Britain a 3-2 victory in the first-round tieat Ottawa. “It was a strange way to finish,”Edmund said. “I’ve never been part of somethinglike that.” Shapovalov, a 17-year-old Israeli-bornCanadian, apologized to Gabas in the referee’soffice as the umpire was being treated for bruis-ing and swelling of his left eye before being tak-en to a nearby hospital.

“No one is nicer or carries themselves betterfor a 17 y/o than Shapovalov,” Canadian team-mate Vasek Pospisil tweeted. “Everyone can seethat today was an accident.”

Pospisil had blasted 25 aces in a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4,3-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Dan Evans to level at 2-2 for Canada, which was without injured worldnumber four Milos Raonic.

Britain won Saturday ’s doubles match.Edmund lost to Pospisil in Friday’s singles andShapovalov fell to Evans. “It’s a shame that it hashappened that way and I feel for the young ladbecause he’s a great talent and he has learned aharsh lesson today,” British Davis Cup captainLeon Smith said. “I thought Kyle, from what wesaw Friday to the way he came out today, he wasabsolutely fantastic.”

Britain, the 2015 champions playing withouttop-ranked Andy Murray, advanced to a quarter-final matchup April 7-9 against France with thatwinner facing either Spain or Serbia in aSeptember semi-final.

SPAIN TO FACE SERBIA NEXT Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta swept Croatian

journeyman Nikola Mektic in straight sets toclinch a 3-2 victory and set up a mouthwateringquarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.

Carreno Busta defeated world number 319Mektic 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, 6-4 in the deciding rubberin Osijek as five-time champions Spain ralliedfrom a 2-1 overnight deficit to knock out lastyear’s runner-up.

Roberto Bautista Agut had earlier fought off aspirited challenge from Franko Skugor, winning6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) to level the contest.

“I’m very happy. Roberto was exceptional toget two points,” said 26th-ranked Carreno Busta,who atoned for Friday’s shock loss to worldnumber 223 Skugor in the opening singles rub-ber. “I have had some beautiful experiences thisweekend and hope for more of the same in thefuture.”

Rafael Nadal sat out after reaching the final oflast month’s Australian Open, but the 14-timeGrand Slam champion could well return for anApril showdown with former world number oneDjokovic. Serbia swept to a 4-1 victory overRussia in Nis as Dusan Lajovic beat KonstantinKravchuk 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a truncated fourth rub-ber before the hosts conceded the final match.

Heavy rain in Buenos Aires interruptedSunday’s first match before Argentina’s CarlosBerlocq defeated Italy’s Paolo Lorenzo 4-6, 6-4,6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to level the tie at 2-2.

Argentina’s Guido Pella and Italy’s AndreasSeppi will meet in the decisive singles matchstarting Monday at 1400 GMT. Holders Argentinaare without Juan Martin del Potro and FedericoDelbonis, the men who won the reverse singlesto beat Croatia in last year’s final.

DARCIS LEADS BELGIUM In Frankfurt, Steve Darcis knocked off German

teenager Alexander Zverev in four sets to sendBelgium into the quarter-finals and a potentialshowdown with the reigning champions.

Darcis, who famously dumped Nadal out ofWimbledon in 2013, dropped the first set to 19-year-old Zverev before rallying for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4,7-6 (10/8) win to hand Belgium an unbeatable 3-1 lead. The Belgians, who were playing withoutworld number 11 David Goffin, then completed

the job with Rubel Bemelmans brushing asideMischa Zverev 7-5, 6-1.

In ties that were already settled by Sunday,the United States, the 32-time champions, fin-ished off Switzerland 5-0 in Birmingham,Alabama, while 28-time champions Australiarounded out a 4-1 win over the Czech Republicand France completed a 4-1 victory overJapan.—AFP

TENNIS

NHL

Britain, Spain advance in Davis Cup, rain halts Argentina

NEW DELHI: When India host a Test matchagainst Bangladesh for the first time thisweek, it marks the culmination of a politicalpower play which helped change thedynamics of world cricket. The invitation tothe one-off match in Hyderabad was a longtime coming but the tourists remain grate-ful to their hosts for pushing their claim forTest status, a move that was beneficial toboth sides. “I think it was a very far-sightedmove. Some would say it was political interms of getting one more vote... in the ICC.That’s a cynical way of looking at it,” saidDileep Premachandran, editor-in-chief ofWisden India. “Others would say he(Jagmohan Dalmiya) recognised the kind ofpassion that people in Bangladesh have forthe game and, in the long run, the sportwould benefit hugely from that.”

The virtually unanimous decision tomake Bangladesh the 10th Test-playingnation was taken by the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) in June 2000. But itwas India’s aggressive championing ofBangladesh’s cause that proved decisive,led by Dalmiya who was ICC president in2000 after years at the helm of the Board ofControl for Cricket in India (BCCI). By work-ing with Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Dalmiyahad already loosened the grip of thegame’s traditional elite England andAustralia, with the 1987 and 1996 WorldCups co-hosted by the three South Asianteams. And he knew that the presence ofanother of India’s neighbours at cricket’stop table would change the dynamic onceand for all when it came to decisions suchas where to hold major tournaments.

While the first three ODI World Cups alltook place in England, the last threeTwenty20 world championships have takenplace in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lankawith the South Asian bloc now able to callthe shots. India, which is the largest con-tributor to the ICC coffers, even has a guar-antee of staging at least one major tourna-ment every two years. When Dalmiya diedlast year, Bangladesh’s board said its “entryinto the Test arena was the result of his

foresight and sincere cooperation”.

BUILDING THE ASIAN BLOC Senior cricinfo editor Sharda Ugra said

Dalmiya “upset a lot of countries” by cham-pioning Bangladesh’s cause but under-stood the benefits of building an Asian blocthat could challenge the established order.“Dalmiya was the first Asian ICC president,he was the first one from outside the oldbloc of countries that were there. He had tofight a massive battle,” Ugra told AFP.

“His whole talk was that of globalisingthe game but ultimately it was to sort ofstrengthen his powerbase.”

Rajeev Shukla, a former top BCCI officialwho is now chairman of the Indian PremierLeague (IPL) Twenty20 tournament, agreedthat Bangladesh’s admission into cricket’selite had major ramifications.

“Getting Bangladesh into Test cricketwas a significant move,” Shukla told AFP,saying that Dalmiya was one of a numberof BCCI chiefs who helped Bangladeshachieve its goal.

More recently, England and Australiawere at the forefront of a push to create atwo-tier Test system but the idea was shotdown by India, much to the relief ofBangladesh who are ranked ninth out ofthe 10 teams. But despite both champi-oning their admission into Test cricket andthen saving them from the ignominy ofplaying in a second division, India are thelast team to host Bangladesh in a five-daymatch. Some experts say India did extendearlier invites but Bangladesh preferred tohost the games themselves, to maximisetelevision revenues. Ugra however saidIndia had ironically shown less respect toBangladesh than countries who were luke-warm about their admission in the firstplace. “A lot of other countries have paid alot more respect and attention toBangladesh... than India has,” she said. “Youkeep going and visiting their country, whichfinancially helps their board no doubt, butat the same time you need to show therespect to host them regularly.” — AFP

How Indian power play helped Bangladesh rise

WASHINGTON: Marcus Johansson andBrett Connolly each had a goal and anassist as the Washington Capitals chasedshutout king Peter Budaj on their way to a5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings onSunday. The NHL-leading Capitals snappedthe Kings’ winning streak at five and Budaj’sshutout streak at 147:21. Washington back-up Philipp Grubauer stopped 38 shotswhile Lars Eller, T.J. Oshie and JustinWilliams also scored. Despite being outshot38-20, Washington was opportunistic onoffense and leaned on Grubauer to stymiethe Kings on the way to his third shutout ofthe season. Budaj, who leads the NHL withseven shutouts, was pulled after allowingfour goals on 15 shots in two periods.

RANGERS 4, FLAMES 3Calgary veteran Kris Versteeg got eject-

ed after losing his jersey during a fight andwaved to jeering fans at Madison SquareGarden as he skated off Sunday in theFlames’ loss. Chris Kreider and Jesper Fastscored 3:12 apart in the middle of the thirdperiod to help the Rangers win for the fifthtime in seven games overall and improve to5-0-1 in their last six against Calgary.Versteeg, a two-time Stanley Cup champi-

on with Chicago and not known as abrawler, tangled with Pavel Buchnevich inthe third period. Versteeg’s jersey gotpulled over his head during the scrap, andhe adjusted it while heading to the penaltybox. But an official came over to talk withVersteeg and the 30-year-old forward wastossed because, by rule, his jersey hadn’tbeen properly tied down. He waved to thecrowd as he left the ice. Michael Grabnerhad a goal and an assist and Rick Nash alsoscored for the Rangers.

OILERS 1, CANADIENS 0, SOLeon Draisaitl scored the only goal in a

shootout as the Oilers stopped a three-game slide. Cam Talbot had 22 saves asEdmonton (29-18-8) salvaged the finale of athree-game trip that included only one reg-ulation goal for the Oilers. The Canadiens(30-16-8) dropped to 1-3-1 in their last fivegames. The Atlantic Division leaders werecoming off a 3-2 loss to Washington onSaturday. Edmonton star Connor McDavid,playing in his 100th NHL game, had a break-away in overtime, but he was denied by AlMontoya. Talbot also turned away a bigdrive for Shea Weber at the other end.Montoya finished with 32 saves. — AP

Capitals defeat Kings,Rangers beat Flames

MONTREAL: Goaltender Cam Talbot #33 of the Edmonton Oilers stops MaxPacioretty #67 of the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout during the NHL game at theBell Centre on Sunday in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Edmonton Oilers defeatedthe Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in a shootout. — AFP

LONDON: Alastair Cook resigned as EnglandTest captain yesterday after a record 59 match-es in the role, saying it was “a sad day” but theright decision for the team.

Yorkshire batsman Joe Root is the strongfavourite to take over with an announcementexpected in the next fortnight, as Englandbuild towards the Ashes in Australia at the endof the year. Cook, England’s leading scorer inTests with 11,057 runs, became captain inAugust 2012 and led his country to Ashes glo-ry on home soil in 2013 and 2015 as well asseries wins in India and South Africa.

“It’s been a huge honour to be Englandcaptain and to lead the Test team over thepast five years,” Cook, 32, who intends to carryon playing Test cricket, said in a statement.

“Stepping down has been an incrediblyhard decision, but I know this is the correctdecision for me and at the right time for theteam.” Cook’s decision to stand down followsEngland’s 4-0 series defeat in India at the endof last year, which put pressure on him to quit.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)said a “proper process” had started to appointa successor, with the team not in Test actionagain until July.

Cook, who also led England in a record 69one-day internationals between 2010 and2014, is the country’s most capped Test skip-per and has scored more Test centuries thanany previous captain. He was named Wisden

Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and ICC(International Cricket Council) World TestCaptain in 2013. He tendered his resignationto England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)chairman Colin Graves on Sunday.

“It’s a sad day personally in many ways, butI want to thank everyone I’ve captained, all thecoaches and support staff and, of course, theEngland supporters and the Barmy Army whofollow us home and away and have given usunwavering support,” Cook added.

“Playing for England really is a privilege andI hope to carry on as a Test player, making afull contribution and helping the next Englandcaptain and the team however I can.”

‘ONCE IN A GENERATION’ England’s director of cricket Andrew

Strauss said Cook had made a “fantastic contri-bution” and “deserves to be seen as one of ourcountry’s great captains”.

“We now move on with the process ofappointing the right successor,” Strauss said.

“There are a number of established play-ers who are playing formal or informal lead-ership roles and whilst we’ve rightly not spo-ken to anyone in relation to the Test captain-cy so far, we can now talk fully and openlywithin the team.

“We expect to be able to make anannouncement before the team head to theWest Indies on 22nd February.”—AFP

‘Sad’ Cook quits as England Test captain

LONDON: This file photo taken on August 23, 2015 shows England’s captain Alastair Cookposing with the replica Ashes Urn as England celebrate their series victory over Australiaat The Oval cricket ground in London. Alastair Cook resigned as England Test captain yes-terday.— AFP

S P O RT STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

MADRID: Holders Barcelona have afourth consecutive Copa del Rey final insight when Atletico Madrid visit theCamp Nou today with the daunting taskover overturning a 2-1 semi-final, firstleg deficit.

Stunning solo goals from Luis Suarezand Lionel Messi put Barca well in com-mand of the tie before half-time at theVicente Calderon tomorrow.

And both are well-rested for thereturn as Suarez sat out Saturday’s 3-0win over Athletic Bilbao, whilst Messitook a rare break for the final 25 minutesafter netting his 31st goal of the season.

“It is important to realise that toreach our three objectives we need the

whole squad,” said Barca boss LuisEnrique with his side going for a secondtreble of league, Cup and ChampionsLeague in three years.

One key member of the Barca squadwill be missing for Atletico’s visit,though, as Neymar is suspended.

Messi will also have to be careful as ayellow card would rule him out of thefinal should Barca advance.

The hosts are also likely to also bewithout Gerard Pique and Rafinha. Piquecame off at half-time after picking up agroin strain, whilst Rafinha broke hisnose in a collision with Barca ‘keeperMarc-Andre ter Stegen at the weekend.

However, Andres Iniesta and Sergio

Busquets are close to returning fromhamstring and ankle injuries respective-ly. Atletico were a team transformed inthe second-half of the first leg as theyroared back into the tie after the intro-duction of Fernando Torres at the break.

Antoine Griezmann halved thearrears, whilst Torres and Kevin Gameiroall came close to levelling near the end.

Torres’s impact continued as hescored his first La Liga goals sinceSeptember with a double in Saturday’s2-0 win over Leganes.

“We know the game on Tuesday willbe extremely difficult, but it is in thehard games where our pride comes outand we hope to experience one of those

magic nights on Tuesday,” said the for-mer Liverpool and Chelsea striker.

However, the size of the task awaitingDiego Simeone’s men is underlined bythe fact Torres scored twice the last timethey won at the Camp Nou during in hisfirst spell at the club in 2006.

Atletico will also be without suspend-ed captain Gabi.

Defender Lucas Hernandez returnedto training on Sunday after he wasarrested in the early hours of Fridaymorning on suspicion of domestic vio-lence. However, the Frenchman isunlikely to be involved in Simeone’ssquad.

Tomorrow’s other semi-final is more

delicately poised at 0-0 between Alavesand Celta Vigo. Celta had the weekendoff as their La Liga clash with RealMadrid was postponed after high windscaused structural damage to theirBalaidos stadium.

Alaves even made a petition to theSpanish Football Federation to have thesecond leg postponed, claiming Celta’sextra time to prepare handed them anunfair advantage.

The Basques, though, have homeadvantage and are full of confidenceafter virtually securing their place in thetop flight for next season with a 4-2 winat Sporting Gijon on Sunday despiteresting a swathe of key players. — AFP

Refreshed Barca seek to continue Cup dominance

TURIN: Inter Milan’s Argentinian forward Mauro Icardi from (c) falls as he vies for the ball with Juventus’ Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci (l)and Juventus’ Swiss defender Stephan Lichtsteiner during the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Inter Milan on Sunday at theJuventus Stadium in Turin.— AFP

ROME: Juan Cuadrado broke his Serie A duckfor the season with a sensational strike thatsent Juventus six points clear of Napoli thanksto a 1-0 win over Inter Milan on Sunday. Titlehopefuls Roma, currently third at seven pointsbehind, can move back up to second placewith a win over Fiorentina in their delayedgame today.

But the Giallorossi, still reeling from a 3-2defeat to Sampdoria last week, are now underhuge pressure not to drop further points fol-lowing another defiant display from the 32-time champions in Turin.

Inter travelled west hoping to build on asuperb spell of form that has seen StefanoPioli’s men claim 25 points from their last 10games.

But poor finishing and dogged Juvedefending kept Inter at bay in a promisingfirst half before Cuadrado put a smile oncoach Massimiliano Allegri’s face with a slight-ly-deflected shot that beat Samir Handanovicat his top corner on 45 minutes.

Juve held on amid an at times bad-tem-pered second half, Ivan Perisic seeing red inthe final minute, to secure an 18th win thatkept them on course for a record-setting sixthconsecutive title. Inter, chasing a covetedChampions League place, remain fifth at 12points adrift and five points behind Roma.

Juventus threatened from the start, Swissmidfielder Stephan Lichtsteiner allowed towaltz into the area to deliver a cross thatfound the head of Mario Mandzukic.

The Croat headed on for Paulo Dybala tohit a spectacular overhead kick that forcedHandanovic into a two-handed block.

Dybala was one of three Argentinians,along with Juve striker Gonzalo Higuain andInter striker Mauro Icardi, being watched inTurin by national team coach Edgardo Bauza.

When the Juve playmaker pounced on aloose ball soon after, he curled a shot overHandanovic that came off the crossbar.

RUMBLEDInter were rumbled, and finally moved up a

gear but Roberto Gagliardini fired just over onthe volley and Joao Mario drilled inches wideof Gianluigi Buffon’s post as the relieved‘keeper looked on.

Perisic then turned provider for Gagliardinito head straight at Buffon, who was alert toPerisic ’s header from seven yards outmoments later.

Juve went on the counter and a gallopingMandzukic stole in behind Jeison Murillo tomeet a cross on the bounce and send a diving

header a metre wide. Icardi then glanced ashot wide Buffon’s far post after a great Perisicdelivery from the left, but Juve came fightingback. Miralem Pjanic’s sublime free kick hadHandanovic in a flap to save at the crossbar,but the hosts’ persistence paid off whenCuadrado pounced on a poor clearance to firethrough several bodies from 25 yards out andbeat Handanovic at his near post.

Juve should have doubled their lead eightminutes after the restart but Handanovic pro-duced a spectacular parry to deny BosnianPjanic at the near post.

Geoffrey Kondogbia replaced Marcelo

Brozovic and Eder came on for an ineffectiveAntonio Candreva on the hour and the extralegs provided Inter with an initial spur.

Yet Inter ran out of steam and were thank-ful to Handanovic for blocking Higuain’s driveafter he turned on Dybala’s pass in the area.

Eder went on the counter, but with optionsopen nearby the Italy striker wasted thechance when he got caught in traffic.

At the final corner Handanovic ran upfieldbut the ‘keeper earned a caution for his clum-sy effort and Inter’s frustration was completedwhen Perisic saw red in the fourth and finalminute of added-on time. — AFP

PREVIEW

SOCCER

Cuadrado sends Juve

six points clear

ROME: Marek Hamsik says he remains inawe of Argentina legend Diego Maradonabut the Slovakia midfielder won’t hold backas the former Napoli hero’s 115-goal clubrecord comes into sight.

Hamsik and Dries Mertens struck memo-rable hat-tricks in a 7-1 rout at Bologna onSaturday as Napoli boosted their hopes ofa first title since Maradona inspired thesoutherners to the second of their twotitles in 1990. The Slovakian international’sfirst Serie A hat-trick took his Napoli tally to111 goals in nine seasons, only four shortof the record Maradona set during a suc-cessful but controversial spell in 1984-1991.

The big win, with Mertens grabbing histhird hat-trick of the season, left Napoli sixpoints shy of leaders Juventus after theTurin giants’ 1-0 win over Inter Milan.

But Napoli are up to second and moraleis high a week before the Italians face RealMadrid at the Santiago Bernabeu for thefirst leg of their Champions League last-16tie. Maradona’s name remains inextricablylinked to Napoli but Hamsik will not letsentiment get in the way as he eyes thegreat Argentine’s 25-year-old record.

“It was my first hat-trick in Serie A andI’m delighted,” Hamsik, who sports a mohi-can style haircut and numerous body tat-toos, said. “Maradona is unique, there areno players like him, but I want to overtakehis record. I could target it this year but ifnot I will target it in the future.”

With nine goals in 23 appearances-sev-

en less than Serie A’s surprising new lead-ing scorer Mertens-and 15 games remain-ing in the league Hamsik should have timeto finish his season on a personal high.

But for the 29-year-old Napoli’s titlepush takes priority: “It was crucial for us towin, especially after our (1-1) slip-up atPalermo last week. “We wanted to score asmany goals as possible. We started reallywell, in six minutes we’d already made thedifference.” Napoli are the most prolificscorers in Serie A, banging in 55 goals in 23games And coach Maurizio Sarri hasn’teven welcomed Arkadiusz Milik back yet.

The Polish striker hit four league goals ina handful of opening league games beforesuccumbing to a cruciate knee ligamentinjury while on international duty lastOctober. He is being primed to return intime for the daunting trip to Real nextweek. “What a game! I can’t wait to playagainst Genoa,” Milik wrote on Facebook.

Napoli are now unbeaten in 12 consecu-tive Serie A games and 17 matches in allcompetitions. But for Naples-born formerItaly defender Fabio Cannavaro, whoplayed for Napoli at the start of his careerbefore spending three seasons with Real in2006-2009, they will soon face the acid test.

“Napoli’s visit to the Bernabeu will be atest of their maturity,” Cannavaro told LaGazzetta dello Sport. “No one can questionReal’s international pedigree but it will beinteresting to see how Napoli ’s gamestands up.” —AFP

Hamsik chases Maradona

record, Real date looms

PARIS: Saint-Etienne inflicted a thirdleague defeat in four matches on falteringbitter rivals Lyon and bolstered theirEuropean aspirations with a 2-0 victory inSunday’s tempestuous Rhone derby. KevinMonnet-Paquet scored a ninth-minuteopener at Saint-Etienne’s Stade GeoffroyGuichard and Romain Hamouma slotted ina second on 22 minutes as Les Verts closedto within a point of fourth-placed Lyon.The visitors finished with nine men as sub-stitute Rachid Ghezzal and Corentin Tolissowere dismissed in stoppage time to furthersour a dreadful evening for Lyon.

“It was a negative result and the behav-iour was unworthy of a derby notably inthe first half,” complained Lyon coach BrunoGenesio of the fiery clash. “All defeats aredifficult but it’s even harder to swallow in aderby because pride is at stake.”

Saint-Etienne, who face ManchesterUnited in the Europa League last 32 thismonth, have won three games in a row inLigue 1, while Lyon’s Champions Leaguehopes look doomed after falling 12 pointsbehind the top three. “This was surely ourbest start since the beginning of the seasonand just what was needed in a derby,” saidSaint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier.“There was a lot of determination, with acollective force. The players really wentafter this victory.”

Both sides suffered French Cup last-32exits in midweek, although Lyon wereboosted by the return from injury of lead-ing scorer Alexandre Lacazette. But an ear-

ly defensive blunder from EmanuelMammana proved fatal for Lyon as Saint-Etienne won back possession on the edgeof the area with Monnet-Paquet firingthrough the legs of Anthony Lopes.

Tolisso headed against the crossbarafter he was left unmarked from a NabilFekir cross, but a rash decision from Lopesresulted in the hosts grabbing a secondgoal shortly after.

The Lyon goalkeeper raced out of hisbox to try and cut out a through ball butlost out to Hamouma, who calmly skippedround the Portugal international to doubleSaint-Etienne’s lead.

With the visitors heading towards a thirdstraight loss to Saint-Etienne at LeChaudron (The Cauldron), Lyon capitulatedin the closing stages as Ghezzal picked uptwo yellow cards in quick succession beforeTolisso saw red for a wild lunge at FabienLemoine. On Saturday, Monaco movedthree points clear at the top of the tablewith a 3-0 victory over title rivals Nice.

Valere Germain opened the scoring atthe Stade Louis II before Radamel Falcaostruck twice as Nice lost for just the secondtime this season. Paris Saint-Germainclimbed above Nice into second on goaldifference after winning 3-1 at Dijon.

Lucas struck first in Dijon, but the hostsequalised just two minutes later throughJulio Tavares. Thiago Silva then bundled infrom a corner on 81 minutes, while EdinsonCavani grabbed his 22nd goal of the cam-paign to secure victory. — AFP

Saint-Etienne beat

Lyon in fiery derby

Deeney — from jail to

Premier League richesLONDON: Watford striker Troy Deeney’s“light bulb” moment came when the celldoor slammed and he contemplated a 10-month jail term for affray five years ago, hetold AFP.

The 28-year-old, locked up for assaultinga student outside a pub, entered prisonwith words from his mother ringing in hisears-that it was at times like that shewished he had not been born.

But Deeney rebuilt his life and his career

and two years after he was released havingserved three months, he was appointedWatford captain, a role he retains to thisday. “The light bulb moment for me camewhen the door closed and my real worldhad stopped,” Deeney, who lost his fatherjust before the attack which sent him toprison, told AFP. “It was survival mode afterthat. People will go ‘right yeah survivalmode’ and say that’s a bit drastic but it wasthat. “All my feelings and emotions cut offas I said to myself ‘you’ve got to getthrough this next few months’.

“I didn’t have enough time to sulk or cryand do all the things you would think arenatural reactions.

“If my mum died now I’d be a mess. I’dbe crying all over the place and drinkingloads of beer like everyone else would. Ididn’t have that luxury.”

Deeney said incarceration transformedhim for the better. “I always knew I wouldcome out better but it was about how Iwent about doing it,” said Deeney.

“Part of the course was alcohol depend-ency which was compulsory if I was to beeligible for a tag (to wear on early release).“I got into speaking, I used to be closed andhave a lot of anger in me, at the group ses-sions. “I still speak to a psychologist. Peoplefeel sorry for themselves and think theworld owes them something and then yourealise it’s not that bad.”

Deeney, now teetotal, was particularlyclose to the man he called his father, PaulAnthony Burke-his biological father lefthome early on. He has a tattoo which bearsBurke’s date of birth and death.

It was to Burke that Deeney’s thoughts

turned when Watford gained automaticpromotion to the Premier League in the2014/15 season.

“I just cried,” admits Deeney. “I remem-ber I found out on the bus that we got pro-moted as other results went our way-every-one went crazy.”

He added: “I always wanted to be a foot-baller and always liked the idea of playingin the Premier League. I had played inLeague One (the third tier) with Walsall,then the Championship.

“My dad and granddad would be soproud. I rang my wife (Stacey and motherof their two children, Myles and Amelia)and said I’m going there to his graveside.

“However, at 6 in the evening it was shutso I went out with the team. “Then the nextmorning I went with a thermos of tea tothe cemetery and had a cup of tea and satthere talking to his gravestone.”

Deeney, who has set up his own founda-tion to help seriously ill children and dis-tributes football kit to youngsters on thetough estate where he once lived inBirmingham, says he has used his prisonexperience to advise young offenders.

“I would probably stay away from talk-ing in prisons because I had a career goingin and I had one going out,” said Deeney,who invited two of the prison guards to theChampionship play-off final in 2014 as away of thanking them for encouraging himto go to the prison gym and keep fit.

“I can’t resonate with a lot of peoplethere as there are a lot who have lived onthat same road (crime) and once they areout they go back to doing the same thing.

“Driving out there in a Range Roverprobably doesn’t sit well with them,” addedDeeney, who nevertheless stays in touchwith two of the inmates he considersfriends. Deeney spoke to AFP after speak-ing at Sport Industry NextGen in partner-ship with Barclays. — AFP

Troy Deeney

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

SPAIN COPA DEL

Barcelona v Atletico de Madrid 23:00beIN SPORTS

ITALIAN CALCIO LEAGUE

Roma v Fiorentina 22:45beIN SPORTS 4 HD

FRENCH LEAGUE

Montpellier v Monaco 21:00beIN SPORTSCaen v Bordeaux 21:00beIN SPORTSParis Saint v Lille 23:00beIN SPORTS

ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE

Wigan Athletic v Norwich 22:45beIN SPORTS

15S African rugby

legend Van der

Westhuizen dead

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

18Cook quits

as England

Test captain

Snapshots of Kuwait’s football clubs Pages 16 & 17

HOUSTON: New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman isupended by Atlanta Falcons’ Philip Wheeler, duringthe first half of the NFL Super Bowl 51 football gameSunday, in Houston. — AP

HOUSTON: Tom Brady inspired the greatest come-back in Super Bowl history on Sunday as the New

England Patriots stunned the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in an epic overtime duel. In an extraordinary

finale to the most challenging season of hiscareer, Brady confirmed his right to be

regarded as the best quarterback grid-iron has ever seen with a fifth Super

Bowl crown. Brady rallied thePatriots brilliantly to overturn a

28-3 third quarter deficit, com-pleting a thrilling win on a

night of improbable dramaat Houston’s NRG

Stadium.Brady, 39, col-

lapsed to the turfwith emotion after

James White bur-rowed over fromclose range toscore the win-ning touchdownon the openingdrive of over-time. “We allbrought eachother back,”Brady said. “Wenever felt out ofit. It was a toughbattle.” The wincapped a tumul-tuous season forBrady, who wasbanned at the startof the campaign for

four games over the

“Deflategate” saga. National Football League commis-sioner Roger Goodell-widely viewed as Brady’s arch-nemesis-was subjected to deafening boos as he pre-sented the Patriots with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Brady, who threw for 466 yards and two touch-downs, shrugged off suggestions that the winamounted to a personal redemption.

“This is all positive,” he said. “It took a lot of mentaltoughness. We’re going to remember this for the restof our lives.” The Falcons meanwhile were left shell-shocked after snatching a defeat from the jaws of vic-tory which ensures they remain on the list of teamsnever to have won a Super Bowl.

“There’s nothing you can really say,” said dejectedFalcons quarterback Matt Ryan. “That’s a tough loss.Obviously very disappointed, very close to gettingdone what we wanted to get done, but it’s hard tofind words tonight.”

BACK FROM THE DEAD The Patriots had looked dead and buried after the

Falcons scored three first half touchdowns and an ear-ly score in the third quarter to power 25 points clear.

No team had ever come back from more than 10points to win the Super Bowl before, and the Patriotslooked to be heading for a crushing defeat as theFalcons ran riot.

But Brady, who had looked a pale imitation of him-self for much of the game, suddenly fired into life inthe second half to produce a performance that will gointo National Football League folklore.

The Falcons, who had gone into the game boastingone of the most potent offenses in history, were leftdistraught and still waiting for their first Super Bowlcrown. They had appeared to be roaring to the cham-pionship with quarterback Ryan pulling apart thePatriots in the first half.

The Falcons scored touchdowns through Devonta

Freeman and Austin Hooper before Robert Alfordpicked off Brady for an 82-yard interception score. ThePatriots could only muster a Stephen Gostkowski fieldgoal to go into half-time 21-3 down.

A shellshocked Brady looked bereft after his inter-ception blunder and it got worse for the Patriots earlyin the third quarter.

The misfiring Patriots offense again squanderedtheir next possession and Atlanta were back on thecharge, powering forward with a nine-play drive thatended with Ryan lobbing a six-yard pass to TevinColeman for a touchdown.

New England grabbed what looked like a consola-tion score when Brady found running back White tomake it 28-9. But Gostkowski missed the extra pointafterwards, and it seemed as if all Atlanta had to dowas ride out the clock.

But a further Gostkowski field goal made it 28-12and when Brady hit Danny Amendola for a six-yardtouchdown, with a successful two-point conversion tofollow, it had suddenly become a one-score game.

Now the Falcons were flustered and a crucial drivefaltered and the Patriots won the ball back.

An epic drive hinged on a logic-defying 23-yardreception to Julian Edelman, who somehow gathereda deflected pass to put the Patriots in enemy territory.

Brady marched his team forward and White scam-pered in from one yard to make it 28-26. Another two-point conversion followed to make it 28-28 and takethe game to overtime for the first time in Super Bowlhistory. The Patriots won the toss and elected toreceive and with momentum clearly on their side,there was only going to be one outcome. Brady, justas he had done in his first Super Bowl victory in 2002,nervelessly led his team forward and soon they werecamped on the Atlanta line. It was left to White toscore his third touchdown of the night to clinch anamazing victory. — AFP

Brady fairytale, Patriotsfightback seal Super Bowl

HOUSTON: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Bradywas named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl on

Sunday after leading his team on a record comeback overthe Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League champi-

onship game. Brady, a five-times Super Bowl winner and four-times MVP of the championship game, completed 43 of 62passes for 466 yards, two touchdowns and one interception inthe 34-28 overtime victory, the first Super Bowl decided in extratime. The 39-year-old Brady set Super Bowl records for comple-tions and yards gained passing as he directed the Patriots on amonumental comeback from a 28-3 third-quarter hole-thelargest deficit ever overcome in a Super Bowl.

“We all brought each other back. We never felt out of it. Itwas a tough battle,” Brady said on the field after James Whiteplunged past the goal line for the winning touchdown. “They(Atlanta) have a great team, I give them a lot of credit. We justmade a few more plays than them.”

Asked whether his fifth Super Bowl title was the best, Brady replied:“They’re all great. This team resembled a lot of teams from the past thathad a lot of mental toughness, great defense. Everyone rose to the occa-sion in the second half and overtime.”

Brady, who was suspended for the first four games of the regular sea-son over his role in the AFC title game controversy over under-inflatedballs two seasons ago despite fighting the punishment in court, wasasked if this was redemption. “This is all positive, man. This is unbeliev-able.” Brady was surrounded by his wife, super model Gisele Bundchen,their kids and his father and mother, who has been battling illness thelast 18 months.

“They’re all happy,” Brady said about having his family with him. “It’snice to have everybody here. It’s going to be a great celebration tonight.”Brady then shouted out to the Patriots fans as he brandished theLombardi Trophy: “Thank you to all our fans. Everyone back in Boston,New England, we love you. You’ve been with us all year. We’re bringingthis sucker home!” — Reuters

Pats’ Brady named Super Bowl MVP after record comeback

Tom Brady

BusinessTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

North Korean economics 101:How much is a dollar worth?

Page 23

Tata completes purge of ex-chairman Mistry

Page 22

Oil prices to remain weak; new recession approaching: ExpertIndonesia growth up; Q4 figures disappoint

Page 23Page 24

DOHA: The head of energy giant QatarPetroleum has shrugged off fears that anypotential protectionist policies pursued by USPresident Donald Trump would impact onglobal oil and gas markets. Saad Al-Kaabi-whoheads state-owned QP, the largest exporter ofLiquid Natural Gas and one of the biggest oilcompanies in the world-said yesterday heexpected US policy to remain similar to thatexercised under previous presidents.

“Projects that we get into are projects thatwe get into for 25 to 30 years,” he said. “Theysurvive seven, eight presidents or whatever.“The president is a businessman. Bringing inforeign investment into the US is somethingthat I think he would want. “As far as I haveseen, as far as the oil and gas business is con-cerned, he’s been very positive for oil and gas.”Fears have been raised elsewhere about a newprotectionism being used by Washington.China, Germany and France’s leadership havewarned in recent weeks against tougher traderules being imposed by the US.

QP already has joint ventures withAmerica’s ExxonMobil, whose former chief

executive Rex Tillerson is now Trump’s secre-tary of state. And trade between cash-richQatar and the US is set to grow after Doha’sgovernment said last year that it wanted toinvest $35 billion in the US by 2020. The tinyGulf state is a keen ally of the US as well, host-ing around 10,000 American troops at the Al-Udeid air base. Kaabi added that his companywould pursue a growth strategy for the fore-seeable future, including major internationalprojects, as it adjusts to depressed globalenergy markets in recent years.

“As far as our strategy is concerned we are ina growth mode and we are going to continueto be in a growth mode for quite a while.” hetold international journalists at QP headquar-ters in Doha. “Some will be national, the majori-ty will be international.” Among the projects QPis looking at overseas is gas and oil explorationoff the coast of Cyprus, he said. QP, togetherwith ExxonMobil, Italy’s ENI and France’s Total,were last month selected to negotiate a licenceto explore for gas in Cyprus. Kaabi added thathe believed Qatar would be a leader in the LNGmarket “for a long time”. — AFP

Qatar Petroleum chief says

Trump ‘very positive’ for oil

RAS LAFFAN, Qatar: A picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar’s principal sitefor production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by QatarPetroleum, some 80 kilometers north of the capital Doha. — AFP

SEATTLE: Dozens of tech companies, including behemoths likeApple, Google and Facebook, are siding with Washington stateand Minnesota as they fight President Donald Trump’s ban onrefugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim coun-tries from entering the United States. The companies filed briefslate Sunday with a federal appellate court saying the Trumpexecutive order hurts their businesses.

In their court filing with the San Francisco-based 9th US CircuitCourt of Appeals, a total of 97 companies said Trump’s travel ban“hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent;increases costs imposed on business; makes it more difficult forAmerican firms to compete in the international marketplace.” Thetravel ban would prompt businesses to build operations outsidethe United States, said the companies. The long list of enterpriseslooking to join the fight against Trump are among the country’sbiggest, most high-profile businesses like Uber, eBay and Netflix.The businesses are looking to help Washington and Minnesota asthey sue Trump. The states have said the ban harmed residentsand effectively mandated discrimination.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals this weekend denied theadministration’s request to immediately set aside a Seattlejudge’s ruling that put a hold on the ban nationwide. Trump’sorder applied to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia andYemen - countries the administration said raise terrorism con-cerns. The order sparked nationwide airport protests and causedconfusion for many foreigners trying to reach the United States.Trump has said he’s trying to protect Americans. The govern-ment says the president has the authority to decide who canenter the country.

However the companies, in their court filing, said Trump’sexecutive order would destroy the entrepreneurial spirit thatfuels American businesses. Immigrants make many of thenation’s greatest discoveries, and create some of the country’smost innovative and iconic companies,” the court filing said. “Theexperience and energy of people who come to our country toseek a better life for themselves and their children—to pursuethe ‘American Dream’—are woven throughout the social, politi-cal, and economic fabric of the nation.”— AP

Apple, Google, Uber join

fight against travel ban

CAIRO: Remittances from expatriateEgyptians rose 11.8 percent in the fourthquarter of 2016, the central bank said yes-terday, with most of the increase comingafter it floated the pound in a dramatic bidto unlock foreign currency inflows. Thecentral bank said in a statement remit-tances had risen 15.4 percent to $1.6 bil-lion in December 2016 from $1.4 billion inDecember 2015. Total remittances amount-ed to $4.6 billion in the fourth quarter of2016, up from $4.1 billion in the same peri-

od of 2015. Around 72 percent, $3.3 billion,of fourth-quarter remittances were sentafter the float, the bank added. Egyptiansworking abroad send back billions of dol-lars a year in remittances, an importantsource of hard currency for a country thathas seen tourism, foreign investment andexports dwindle in the political turmoilthat followed the 2011 revolt.

The central bank floated the Egyptianpound on Nov 3, aiming to unlock foreigncurrency inflows and crush a black market

for dollars that had discouraged peoplefrom channeling foreign currency throughthe bank ing system. Expatriates hadturned to the black market as the spreadbetween the off ic ial pound to dollarexchange rate and the paral lel ratewidened. The uptick in remittances sug-gests that the flotation, and subsequentsteep depreciation in the pound, has suc-ceeded in encouraging Egyptians to sendmore money home through the formaleconomy. —Reuters

Remittances from Egyptian

expats rise after pound float

ZHUHAI: Photo shows a scale model of the COMAC C919 passenger aircraft on display at the Airshow China 2014 in Zhuhai, southern China’s Guangdong province. China’s first homegrown big passenger plane willmake its maiden voyage in the first half of this year, state media said yesterday, as the country seeks to challenge foreign giants Airbus and Boeing. — AFP

BEIJING: China’s first homegrown big passenger plane will makeits maiden voyage in the first half of this year, state media said yes-terday, as the country seeks to challenge foreign giants Airbus andBoeing. The C919 narrow-body jet is expected to “realize its blue-sky flight dream” in the first six months of 2017, the People’s Dailynewspaper reported, with the installation of onboard systemsalmost completed.

The plane, produced by the state-owned Commercial AircraftCorp of China (COMAC), was originally scheduled to make its debutjourney in 2015, but the date was repeatedly pushed back as itunderwent additional testing and certification. For China, the air-craft represents at least eight years of effort in a state-mandateddrive to reduce the country’s reliance on European plane makerAirbus and Boeing of the United States and compete directly againstthem for market share. The first C919 rolled off the assembly line inNovember 2015 after workers spent more than a year puttingtogether the single-aisle aircraft, which can seat 168 passengers.

It is hoped the plane will take market share in the lucrative seg-

ment from the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. In November COMACsaid it had received 570 orders from 23 customers. China is one ofthe Western manufacturers’ key battlegrounds, with its travelerstaking to the skies in ever-growing numbers. The country’s airlineswill need nearly 6,000 new planes worth $945 billion over the nexttwo decades, Airbus said in its 2016-2035 Global Market Forecast.Boeing’s expectations are even more optimistic, for 6,800 aircraftcosting $1 trillion.

To win favor locally both have built partnerships with Chinesefirms, even as Beijing hopes to oust them with homegrown aircraft.Airbus has a completion and delivery centre in Tianjin, where work-ers install furnishings and apply paint to aircraft for the domesticmarket. It also buys parts such as exit doors, brake blades and wingsections from Chinese suppliers. Boeing last year announced plansto open a facility with COMAC to paint and install cabins for 737-model planes, the Chinese firm said. COMAC has also developed asmaller regional jet, the ARJ21, which took to the skies in its firstcommercial flight last June. — AFP

Made-in-China plane targets 2017 debut

TOKYO: Japanese automakersToyota and Suzuki, which begandiscussing a par tnership inOc tober, said yesterday theywould work together in ecologicaland safety technology - a rapidlygrowing area in the industr y.Toyota Motor Corp, the maker ofthe Camry sedan, Prius hybrid andLexus luxury models, and SuzukiMotor Corp, which specializes intiny cars, announced the decision,following approval by the compa-ny boards, and signed a memo-randum of agreement, both sidessaid. Another area for possiblecollaboration is information tech-nology as well as supplying eachother with products and compo-nents. The next step would be tocome up with specific coopera-tion projects, they said.

Suzuki does not have a hybrid,electric car or fuel cell vehicle inits lineup. Self-driving cars arealso a growing focus in the indus-try. Toyota President Akio Toyodapraised Suzuki’s pioneer spirit. “Iam truly thankful for having beengiven this opportunity to worktogether with a company such asSuzuki, which overflows with thespirit of challenge.

Toyota looks forward to learn-ing much,” he said in a statement.Developing futuristic technologyis costly, and the automakers canhope to reduce costs by workingtogether. Toyota and Suzuki haveencouraged others to join thepartnership.

“We now stand at the startingpoint for bui lding a concretecooperative relationship. I want togive this effort our fullest and toaim at producing results that willlead Toyota to conclude that itwas the right thing for Toyota to

have decided to work togetherwith Suzuk i ,” said Suzuk iChairman Osamu Suzuki.

Suzuki said the company hadcourted Toyota on such a partner-ship for years. Toyota leads theworld in sel l ing gas- elec tr ic

hybrids, headed by the Prius, andit is also working on fuel cells andelectric vehicles. Emissions regu-lations are tightening around theworld, amid growing concernsabout the environment and glob-al warming.—AP

B U S I N E S STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.711Indian Rupees 4.544Pakistani Rupees 2.914Srilankan Rupees 2.032Nepali Rupees 2.839Singapore Dollar 218.090Hongkong Dollar 39.378Bangladesh Taka 3.829Philippine Peso 6.135Thai Baht 8.724

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 81.534Qatari Riyal 83.977ani Riyal 794.049Bahraini Dinar 811.880UAE Dirham 83.245

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 19.650Egyptian Pound - Transfer 16.375Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.227Tunisian Dinar 134.900Jordanian Dinar 430.560Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.037Syrian Lira 2.179Morocco Dirham 31.020

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 305.550Euro 331.370Sterling Pound 383.770

Nepalese Rupees 3.830Malaysian Ringgit 69.805Chinese Yuan Renminbi 44.870Thai Bhat 9.690Turkish Lira 82.000

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.375977 0.385977Czech Korune 0.004194 0.016194Danish Krone 0.040261 0.045261Euro 0. 324756 0.333756Norwegian Krone 0.033255 0.038455Romanian Leu 0.084681 0.084681Slovakia 0.009153 0.019153Swedish Krona 0.030897 0.035897Swiss Franc 0.301805 0.312805Turkish Lira 0.076815 0.087115

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.226856 0.238856New Zealand Dollar 0.217638 0.227138

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.229464 0.238464Georgina Lari 0.138004 0.138004US Dollars 0.301450 0.305850US Dollars Mint 0.301950 0.305850

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003646 0.004230Chinese Yuan 0.043167 0.046667

Hong Kong Dollar 0.037310 0.040062Indian Rupee 0.002703 0.004926Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024Japanese Yen 0.002635 0.002815Kenyan Shilling 0.002998 0.002998Korean Won 0.000258 0.000273Malaysian Ringgit 0.065442 0.071442Nepalese Rupee 0.003080 0.003250Pakistan Rupee 0.002712 0.003002Philippine Peso 0.006080 0.006380Sierra Leone 0.000068 0.000074Singapore Dollar 0.211975 0.221975South African Rand 0.016784 0.025284Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001678 0.002258Taiwan 0.009655 0.009835Thai Baht 0.008364 0.008914

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.803906 0.812406Egyptian Pound 0.010118 0.019371Iranian Riyal 0.000085 0.000086Iraqi Dinar 0.000186 0.000246Jordanian Dinar 0.425296 0.434296Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000148 0.000248Moroccan Dirhams 0.020089 0.044089Nigerian Naira 0.001266 0.001901Omani Riyal 0.787216 0.792895Qatar Riyal 0.083116 0.084566Saudi Riyal 0.080393 0.081693Syrian Pound 0.001296 0.001516Tunisian Dinar 0.130188 0.138188Turkish Lira 0.076815 0.087115UAE Dirhams 0.081765 0.083465Yemeni Riyal 0.000993 0.001073

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 305.200Canadian Dolla 235.535Sterling Pound 383.520Euro 330.666Swiss Frank 304.265Bahrain Dinar 809.060UAE Dirhams 83.485Qatari Riyals 84.705Saudi Riyals 82.315Jordanian Dinar 431.630Egyptian Pound 16.680Sri Lankan Rupees 2.031Indian Rupees 4.546Pakistani Rupees 2.912Bangladesh Taka 3.855Philippines Pesso 6.141Cyprus pound 167.605Japanese Yen 3.705Syrian Pound 2.425

Canadian dollar 235.850Turkish lira 83.260Swiss Franc 309.890Australian Dollar 236.340US Dollar Buying 304.350

GOLD20 Gram 249.43010 Gram 127.6305 Gram 64.660

Bahrain Exchange Company

KUWAIT: Global equities ended the firstmonth of the new year on a positive noteup 2.7%. The rally was led by emergingmarkets, which was up 5.45%. US equitiesclosed the month of January up 1.8% asmeasured by the S&P500, as DonaldTrump took power as the 45th presidentof the United States on January 20th.Within the MENA region, Kuwait’s equitieswere the top performer up 12.4%, whileSaudi’s Tadawul All Share Index closed inthe red, down 1.51%. Commodities weremixed in January, with Gold up 5.5% andBrent Oil down 2.0%. Although OPEC and11 non-OPEC producers cut productionby 1.5 million barrels a day, productionpicked up in other regions, including USshale oil, weighing down on prices.

In the US, economic indicators contin-ued to post optimistic signs of growth.Real GDP grew 2.1% in Q4, as. US retailsales posted another strong month toend 2016; retail sales increased 0.6% lastmonth after rising only 0.2% inNovember. American manufacturersended 2016 optimistic as the US ISMManufacturing Index hit the highest lev-el in two years. The index climbed to 55,signaling expansion, while the US ISMnonmanufacturing remained at 57.2 inDecember. Nonfarm payrolls came in at227,000 jobs in January versus theexpected 175,000, while unemploymentedged higher to 4.8%.

Durable goods orders fell 0.4% for sec-ond month in a row. Housing startsjumped in December by 11.3%, at a sea-sonally adjusted annual rate of 1.226 mil-lion, marking the best year since 2007.Existing home sales declined from theprevious month and came in below theforecast, but sales for the full year werethe strongest since 2006.Newhome salesdeclined last month to a seasonallyadjusted annual rate of 536,000.

UK inflationThe UK Manufacturing Purchasing

Managers Index (PMI) ended 2016 at 56.1,recording the fastest growth in morethan two years but ended January slight-ly down at 55.9. UK inflation rose to 1.6 %in December year-on-year, up from 1.2 %in November year-on-year. Consumerconfidence for the month of January wasrecorded at -5, up from the previousmonth at -7. Retail sales in Decemberdropped 1.9% from the previous monthmaking it the biggest monthly fall in thelast four and a half years.

UK equities closed the month down0.6%,as measured by the FTSE 100. TheEuro-zone Manufacturing PMI was at 55.2in January compared to 54.9 in the previ-ous month. This indicates that the Euro-zone manufacturing is in expansionaryrange. The Services PMI remainedunchanged at 53.7 for the month ofJanuary. The indicator showed improve-ment in business activity, although a bitslower. Consumer confidence rose slightlyto -4.7 from -4.9. European equities inJanuarydropped0.4%, as measured by theStoxx Europe 600.

Japan posted a trade surplus of JPY313 billion for the month of November.The surplus was helped by cheaper oilimports and an improvement in exports.Exports for the month of December wereup year on year 5.4% while imports weredown year on year 2.6%. The NikkeiManufacturing Purchasing Managers’Index dropped to 52.7 in January from52.8 in December. Japan’s consumerprice index dropped to 0.3% inDecember from 0.6 in November. Theunemployment rate decreased to 3.1% inDecember.

Japanese equitiesJapanese equities were slightly down

in January, as measured by the Nikkei225, falling 0.4% for the month. China’sexports fell more than expected inDecember as global trade remained slug-gish. Exports decreased 6.1% year-on-year in dollar terms, while imports rose3.1%. The Caixin manufacturing purchas-ing managers’ index, a private gauge ofnationwide factory activity, rose to 51.0in January from 51.9 in December. TheCaixin non-manufacturing purchasingmanager’s index also increased for themonth of January to 54.6 fromDecember’s figure of 54.5.

Although emerging market equitiesperformed well in January, up 5.5%,Chinese equities, as measured by theShanghai Stock Exchange CompositeIndex, only gained of 1.8%. The GCCequity market started the year wellwith gains of 1.1%, supported by theKuwait equity market. Bahrain andDubai markets also performed well,advancing 6.8% and 3.2%, respectively.Egypt’s index continued to improve in2017, increasing 2.7% in January. AbuDhabi had a minimal gain of 0.1%,while Saudi Arabia’s equity marketposted negative returns.

LONDON: The euro fell around half a percentyesterday as concerns over French politics aheadof presidential elections set for April and Maydrew investors’ focus back to a year of politicalrisks to Europe’s established order. The dollarwas broadly steadier after a poor set of wagesdata on Friday quashed speculation of a near-term rise in US interest rates and sealed the cur-rency’s fourth straight weekly fall, its worst startto a year in three decades.

In a relatively slow start to the week, theAussie dollar was the other biggest moveramong the G10 group of major currencies, downalmost half a percent after a weaker batch ofretail sales numbers. The euro ground lower inthe European morning to trade as weak as$1.0734, compared with two month highs above$1.08 hit last week. That came as bond marketinvestors swapped French debt for the perceivedsafety of Germany and in spite of a strong batchof German industrial data which added to signsof an improving euro zone economy. “I thinkthere was just a load of position adjustment thismorning,” said Jane Foley, a strategist with

Rabobank in London. “There has been a lot oftalk about the strong data in Europe but the oth-er backdrop is the politics. A few weeks ago, themarket was convinced (conservative presidentialcandidate Francois) Fillon would win and thatcertainty has evaporated.” A source close toFillon said he would launch a fightback lateragainst the fake-job scandal that has threatenedto engulf his campaign. Polls show the 62 year-old former prime minister has lost his status asfavorite to win the presidency to centristEmmanuel Macron, and that far-right leaderMarine Le Pen - the chief risk for markets - hasalso gained ground.

Pressures on dollarEquity markets, and the overall strength of US

economic data, continue to back the bullish dol-lar calls that dominated at the end of last year.But a lack of detail on expected pro-dollar taxand spending initiatives, combined with concernover the Trump White House’s attitude to thedollar and global trade and security, has kept thecurrency retreating.

“I’d like to hope that we naturally go back tobuying the dollar, that seems the logical argu-ment underneath it all,” said Richard Benson, co-head of portfolio management with currencyfund Millennium Global in London. “At somepoint, equities in the US should drag yields high-er. The market is really just looking for anotherstory.” Signs of more inflation and better growthin Europe have helped to cool any further sellingof the euro, although against that there are theworries of populist challenges in a series of elec-tions this year.

On Sunday Le Pen began her bid to be elect-ed president in May, promising she alone couldprotect the French against Islamist militants andglobalization. German industrial orders saw thebiggest monthly increase in around 2 1/2 yearsin December, data yesterday showed.Speculators trimmed their bullish dollar bets fora fourth straight week through Jan 31, with netlong positions falling to their lowest since lateOctober, according to data from the CommodityFutures Trading Commission released on Fridayand calculations by Reuters.—Reuters

Euro fades in face of

French election risks Dollar steadies after blow from wages data

TOKYO: Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation Vice Chairman Yasuhito Harayama (2nd left) and oth-er managing directors hold a press conference to announce the company’s financial results inTokyo yesterday. Separately, Toyota and small car maker Suzuki agreed yesterday to begindetailed discussions on their technology tie-up as well as mutual supply of products and com-ponents after they announced initial plans in October to forge a possible partnership. —AFP

Toyota, Suzuki working together

in green and safety technology

SEOUL: Samsung Group said it will disband its corpo-rate strategy office after a special prosecution probeends, setting a timeline on a pledge to wind up theoffice that has been criticized for its role in a nationalgraft scandal. The smartphones-to-biopharmaceuti-cals business empire is currently being investigatedby the South Korean special prosecutor’s office aspart of a wider probe into the scandal that threatensto permanently unseat President Park Geun-hye.

Special prosecution has classified Jay Y Lee, third-generation leader of South Korea’s top conglomer-ate, and head of the corporate strategy office ChoiGee-sung as suspects in its bribery investigation on

suspicions that Samsung paid money to organiza-tions linked to Park’s confidant, Choi Soon-sil, topave the way for a 2015 merger of two affiliates.

Samsung’s corporate strategy office has comeunder scrutiny amid suspicions that its top offi-cials, tasked with setting the group’s long-termagenda such as an ongoing ownership restruc-turing, were involved in the lobbying process.The office is seen as a key organ through whichthe founding Lee family exerts control over vari-ous affiliates. “Action will be taken following theconclusion of the special prosecutor’s investiga-tion,” Samsung said in a brief statement, adding

that preparations are already underway. It didnot elaborate on details including how the con-glomerate plans to perform the functions that arecurrently performed by the strategy office. Lee,who assumed leadership of Samsung after hisfather Lee Kun-hee was incapacitated by a May2014 heart attack, said at a December parliamenthearing over the graft scandal that he plans to dis-band the office but did not give a specific timeline.The special prosecution’s investigation is currentlyset to conclude by Feb. 28 but the office said sepa-rately on Monday it is considering seeking a 30-dayextension. —Reuters

Samsung Group to disband

corporate strategy office

Global equities ends first

month on a positive note

MUMBAI: Indian salt-to-steel giantTata completed its purge of formerchairman Cyrus Mistry yesterday byremoving him from the board of theconglomerate’s holding company.Mistry was axed as chairman of theholding company Tata Sons inOctober and then forced out of itsoperating companies as group patri-arch Ratan Tata set about eradicatinghis influence in the 150-year-old con-glomerate.

Mistry’s dismissal from the TataSons board at a special meeting inMumbai on Monday saw him strippedof his last official position in thegroup, which has annual revenue of$103 billion. “The shareholders of TataSons Limited, at the extraordinarygeneral meeting held today, passed,with the requisite majority, a resolu-tion to remove Cyrus P Mistry as aDirector of Tata Sons Limited,” Tatasaid in a statement.

Mistry became a Tata Sons directorin 2006 and succeeded Ratan Tata aschairman in 2012. But their relationshipquickly deteriorated, with the 79-year-

old Tata said to be unhappy at thedirection Mistry was taking the group.Tata took interim charge followingMistry’s dismissal in October as the pairengaged in bitter public mudslinging,including accusations of corporatemalfeasance. Mistry also dragged TataSons to India’s National Company LawTribunal, claiming that he was unfairlysacked as the world-renowned groupdescended into turmoil and its globalreputation took a hit.

Mistry had asked the tribunal tohalt yesterday ’s meeting but itrefused. The next hearing is due to beheld on February 13. Ratan Tata easedfears about the group’s future recentlyby announcing that company veteranNatarajan Chandrasekaran, therespected chief of software giant TataConsultancy Services, would becomeTata’s new chairman. He will take uphis role later in the month. Tata, whichwas founded under British colonialrule, operates in more than 100 coun-tries. It owns Britain’s Tetley Tea andJaguar Land Rover, and the Anglo-Dutch steel firm Corus.—AFP

Tata completes purge

of ex-chairman Mistry

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

B U S I N E S S

SHANGHAI: People ride bicycles of Ofo (left) and Mobike on the street inShanghai. —AFP

TOKYO: First, Chinese speculators came forcoking coal and iron ore, catapulting mar-kets into orbit. Now, they’re carpetbagginga different commodity, pushing it to itsfastest price rise in more than a quarter ofa century - rubber. Traders say Chineseinvestors are punting on global rubberdemand surging on revived growth inChina stoking the auto sector, allied withhope a President Trump stimulus will stokethe US economy.

The world’s biggest tyre maker,Bridgestone , has already warned it mayhave to lift product prices. These bets arelikely to continue once China is fully backin business after the Lunar New Year break,traders say. They come just as output inkey Southeast Asia producer countriesenters a seasonal drop - exacerbated byrecent floods in Thailand - and have maderubber an even hotter property than top-demand commodities like lead and steel.

Asia benchmark rubber futures at theTokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) hittheir highest levels in more than five yearslast week and climbed 26 percent inJanuary before giving up some gains dur-ing the Chinese New Year holiday - theirbiggest monthly leap since at least 1990.That’s already stoked interest in new pro-duction in places like India. “There was around of speculation on rubber in China inJanuary,” said Quan Shuwen, an analyst atthe Shanghai office of Japanese brokerageOkachi. “Supplies are quite tight, demandfrom downstream enterprises is graduallygetting stronger in China, which will verylikely further push up prices.”

Over the past four months, rubberprices have more than doubled in a wildswing propelled by China’s cash-richinvestors, underlining their ability to movemarkets after similar surges in commoditieslike coking coal and iron ore. While uncer-tainties shroud what President Trump plansto do to boost the US economy, the betisn’t a blind wager as far as China is con-cerned. Beijing recently renewed incentivesto boost demand for smaller, environment-friendly cars in what is the world’s biggest

auto market. It also introduced tighter ruleson how much freight trucks can carry, amove likely to increase demand for trucks -and their tyres.

Prices high for monthsThe rally has been further fuelled by

concerns over output in Thailand, theworld’s biggest rubber producer. Afterflash floods that affected the country’smain rubber growing region, the RubberAuthority of Thailand estimated it wouldcut the country’s rubber output in 2017by 7.6 percent. Thai rubber exporters saythey have enough of the commoditystockpiled to ensure only minimal disrup-tion to scheduled shipments. Still supplyconcerns linger, dealers said, as the indus-try moves into its ‘wintering season’ - thedry winter season from February to Mayin Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia whenoutput drops.

“With wintering season approachingand healthy tyre demand in China, priceswill likely stay at high levels until March orApril,” said Shinichi Kato, president of rub-ber material dealer Shinichi Kato Office.The spike in rubber prices hasn’t goneunnoticed by farmers elsewhere in Asia. InIndia, industry officials told Reuters rubberoutput is likely to jump 15 percent in 2017-2018, its highest in four years, as the high-er prices prompt farmers to start tappingtrees they had previously abandoned.

The rally, however, is bad news for tyremakers as it eats into profits and trims mar-gins - a hit that tyre makers in Japan andSouth Korea warn that they may pass on tocustomers. “It’s our basic policy to raisetyre prices to reflect higher raw materialcosts, but decisions will be made after tak-ing market conditions, including rivals’moves, into account,” said Fusamaro Iijima,a Bridgestone spokesman. At a majorKorean tyre maker, a person with knowl-edge of the matter - speaking on conditionof anonymity - said raw materials priceincreases are typically reflected in end-product prices two or three months downthe line. —Reuters

Elastic band: Chinese speculators ping

global rubber prices to five-year high

PYONGYANG: To get a feel for how NorthKorea’s economy works, go buy a roll of toiletpaper. Or start up a mobile phone network.As capitalist-style markets have grown moreimportant in North Korea, so has a market-friendly exchange rate for the much-covetedUS dollars, euros and Chinese yuan that lubri-cate the North’s economy. But the official andunofficial rates are totally out of whack. Andas one big investor recently found out, thedifference can mean hundreds of millions ofdollars in lost profits.

Dueling exchange rates are a commonissue for developing countries that have anofficial premium rate set by the government,often for political purposes that don’t reflecteconomic realities and are therefore oftenignored in the marketplace. The discrepancycan severely hamper foreign investment,undermine confidence in the local currencyand contribute to corruption and economicinstability. But nowhere in the world is thegap bigger than North Korea, according toSteve Hanke, a professor of applied econom-ics at the Johns Hopkins University who spe-cializes in hyperinflation, “The North Koreanwon’s black market premium is the highest inthe world: A fantastic 6,440 percent,” he said.For comparison’s sake, the black market pre-mium for the Syrian pound is “only” 144.3 per-cent of the official rate, he said.

What does such a system look like on theground? If you pick up that roll of toilet paperin a shop catering to foreigners, tourists orthe relatively affluent elite in the capital, itwould probably have a price tag in the 200-

400 won range, or $2-4. The prices in won arecalculated according to the official exchangerate. In reality, though, you can’t actually payin won, at least not at that rate. TypicalPyongyang residents, meanwhile, are morelikely to do their shopping at a place like theKwangbok Department Store, which doestake won and therefore uses an entirely dif-ferent pricing system. Here, a roll of toiletpaper costs 1,400 won.

An exchange booth right next to thecheckout counter posts the day’s rates - notthe official 108-or-so won to the dollar, but awhopping 8,000-plus. “The official rate is apolitical rate,” Hanke said. “It is, therefore, total-ly arbitrary and no one really knows how it isdetermined. The black-market rate is a free-market rate. The supply and demand for dol-lars and won on the black market calls thetune and sets the rate.” Most North Koreansdon’t have foreign currency to begin with anddon’t shop in upscale stores, so the system isfairly invisible most of the time.

On a larger scale, it has major ramifica-tions. One of North Korea’s biggest recentsuccess stories has been the rapid spread ofmobile phones, now in the millions, thanksto capital and expertise invested by theEgyptian conglomerate Orascom. The ven-ture, Orascom Telecom Media andTechnology, was hugely profitable, butrather predictably hit a big wall when it triedto get its earnings out of North Korea. In late2015, it announced a huge loss after NorthKorea insisted it use the unofficial rate toconvert its profits into dollars, turning what

would have been $450 million into a mere$8 million. CEO Naguib Sawiris resigned onJan. 1 this year. Sawiris refused to commentto the AP until after the company releases itsnext financial report. But the company,which has staff working out of a hotel inPyongyang, is apparently still waiting to geteven its $8 million out of North Korea.

The importance of the unofficialexchange rate has grown tremendously sincethe 1990s, when the collapse of the Sovietbloc and natural disasters that devastatedharvests took North Korea’s economy to theverge of collapse. Citizens who previouslyrelied on the government for their needs hadto learn how to fend for themselves. Theresult was the rise of an unofficial, but by nowwell-established, capitalist-style market,where prices are competitive and determinedby supply and demand. Transactions are pri-marily made in cash. Outside experts esti-mate that half or even more of all economicactivity in the North is done in this gray zone.

The transformation has not been withoutits shocks. In 2009, leader Kim Jong Un’sfather, Kim Jong Il, ordered a revaluation ofthe won, effectively cutting two zeros off thevalue of each bill. That appears to have beenan attempt to reassert control over nouveauxriches who had profited too much from thegray market and were seen as a potentialpolitical threat. That put the country througha severe bout of hyperinflation from late2009 to early 2011. Monthly inflation peakedat 496 percent in March 2010, according toHanke’s calculations, and the value of the

won on the black market collapsed.To the surprise of many, the won appears

to have rebounded and stayed within a fairlystable range, both officially and at the unoffi-cial rate, since Kim Jong Un assumed powerin late 2011. “This is a major quandary, and anapparent success story of the Kim regime,”said William Brown, an adjunct professor atGeorgetown University and non-resident fel-

low at the Korea Economic Institute ofAmerica. “I think for the time being people aregetting used to monetary stability and that isallowing a big increase in market activity andgrowth.” He warned, however, that the stabili-ty could be fragile. “Some kind of shockwould instantly cause people to trade in theirwon for dollars and the exchange rate andwon prices would soar,” he said. —AP

North Korean economics 101: How much is a dollar worth?

SYDNEY: Parts of Australia’s farming industry arerushing to recruit a new generation of tech-savvy graduates as the sector swaps its bucolicpast for a future of drones, robots and automat-ed sensors. The push comes as cutting-edgemachinery is used to plug a labor shortage onthe nation’s remote farms that threatens toderail its ambitions to become Asia’s food bowl.

“For the first time in many years, we’re find-ing it easier to attract graduates because agri-culture, particularly technology in agriculture, isback on the radar,” said Felicity Hennessy, gener-al manager of innovation at agribusinessRuralco. For years, potential recruits toAustralian agriculture have been turned off bythe harsh image of traditional farming, but amarked acceleration towards automation haspiqued the interest of young generations, withjobs available to do everything from developingcrop-protecting drones to crunching data oncattle nutrition.

“The proliferation of drones and sensors arethe key drivers,” said Hennessy, adding thatRuralco’s graduate program had seen a rise inthe number and quality of applicants. WhileAustralia is among the world’s leaders in roboticsfor outdoor use, having given birth to the first

robot to round up cattle, the A$4 billion agricul-ture technology industry is still in its infancy. It ismainly just a few companies that are big enoughto recruit. The nation’s largest cattle firmAustralian Agricultural Company (AACo) is oneof the local firms in the sector that has regularlybeen hiring tech-savvy youngsters.

“Interest in agriculture is rising, from engi-neers to science-type graduates,” said GerardDavis, who heads a team of seven in an innova-tion department at AACo that started underthree years ago. Data from Rimfire Resources, arecruiting firm specialized in farming, showed4,600 agricultural jobs were advertised on theinternet in 2016, from an average of 3,750 in thepast three years. “It is difficult to say whether theincrease is driven by technology, but there is aclear shift for off-the-farm roles,” said NigelCrawley, a director at Rimfire Resources.

Down on the farmNew degrees such as agri-sciences are being

added by universities, with a sharp rise in stu-dents who do not have a farming background.City-born engineering student Michael Forraihad never set foot on a farm, but as part of hisstudies is now testing weed-spraying functions

on robots in wheat fields near Emerald, a remotetown in the state of Queensland.

“I had never heard of Emerald before andreally would have never expected to work on afarm,” said the 30-year-old student from theUniversity of Sydney. “Now, I see it as an amazingopportunity ... I am definitely considering stay-ing in agricultural robotics.” But competition isstiff for agricultural companies looking to recruitengineers or tech graduates. “We have to belooking all the time,” said Matt Pryor, the founderof water and livestock sensors maker Observant,citing companies in aerospace, automotive,finance, healthcare and e-commerce vying forthe candidates.

Observant provides web-based software toallow farmers to check water levels remotely.The system collects data from soil moisture sen-sors, weather stations and cameras. The 13-year-old company employs a staff of 12, havingadded three technicians last year. “We changedour mindset from being position-focused to tal-ent-focused and that can be tough because youmay take somebody before the business isready,” said Pryor. “In a competitive market, youhave to be at market price or above,” he said,declining to give more details. —Reuters

Wanted: High-tech grads to

work with Australia farmers

Country is looking to become Asia’s food bowl

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Oil prices will remainweak and a new recession isapproaching, warned a financialexpert at a seminar in Kuwait City.“The global economy is nearingthe end of the economic cycle,which means that the growthseen since 2009 is nearing an endand the world will soon enteranother recession. This is normaland part of the historic economiccycle over the past 200 years,” saidTariq Al-Rifai, CEO of QuorumCentre for Strategic Studies, aKuwaiti think-tank.

Rifai provided providing keyfindings of the center’s researchat the Union of InvestmentCompanies (UIC) seminar on ‘TheInstability of the Financial Systemand the Coming Global FinancialCrisis’ at the Chamber ofCommerce and Industry yester-day. “The solutions applied to fixthe problems of the last crisiswere not adequate enough toprevent them from happeningagain. In fact, they have made therisks bigger than they were in2008. It also means that the nextfinancial crisis will be worse thanthe previous one,” he said.

Debts are not responsible forthe crisis. “There is a misconcep-tion that there needs to be lowerdebt levels in the global econo-my. In fact, debt is the backboneof the financial system and lowerdebt results in a financial crisis.This is why central banks aroundthe world have been buyingrecord amounts of debt to sup-port the global economy (with lit-t le success) . For tunately inKuwait, we don’t suffer from adebt problem,” Rifai pointed out.

Rifai is not ver y optimisticabout oil prices. “Oil prices willremain weak for several moreyears. In fact, Quorum Centreexpects the price of oil to resumeits decline towards $20 per barrel,which is more in line with oil’s

historical trading range. Theproblem in Kuwait is that every-thing is related to oil prices, soany price drop affects the wholeeconomy. The price of oil is notaffected by political situationsand wars, but by the derivativesmarket,” he explained.

Rifai also discussed what low oilprices will mean to Kuwait and therest of the GCC. “Kuwait recentlyannounced that it expects thisyear’s budget deficit to be KD 5.2billion, which assumes the price ofoil will remain at current prices.However, if Quorum’s outlook iscorrect, the government’s budgetdeficit will be much larger. OtherGCC countries will see their budg-et deficits significantly rise as well,”he noted.

The analysis by Quorumshows how low oil prices globallydirectly affect real estate andstock prices in Kuwait. With thisin mind, Rifai has a positive out-look for Kuwait i banks. “ The

Kuwaiti banking sector is in amuch stronger position than ithas ever been in the past, thanksto Central Bank regulations. Icannot say the same aboutEuropean banks, that are suffer-ing till today from the previouscrisis. Kuwaiti banks are muchsafer than European banks andKuwaitis are better off banking in

Kuwait than Europe at this pointin time,” he said.

The Union of InvestmentCompanies in Kuwait regularlyhosts economic and financialseminars and conferences withthe aim of informing analysts andinvestors about local, regionaland global market and invest-ment trends and issues.

Oil prices to remain weak; new

recession approaching: Expert

PYONGYANG: This undated picture released by North Korean newsagency, KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) shows North Koreanleader Kim Jong-Un visiting newly built Pyongyang Orphans’ PrimarySchool. —AFP

KUWAIT: Tariq Al-Rifai, CEO of Quorum Centre during thepresentation addresses the audience during the seminar.

— Photos by Joseph Shagra

BERLIN: Higher demand for capital goods athome and abroad drove the biggest monthlyincrease in German industrial orders in around2-1/2 years in December, suggesting factorieswill support growth in Europe’s biggest econo-my in the coming months. The much strongerthan expected data, released by the EconomyMinistry in Berlin, gave some reassurance thatGermany’s economic upswing will carry into2017 despite growing political uncertaintiessuch as a protectionist US trade agenda.

“What a sensationally strong quarter inthe manufacturing sector”, Sal Oppenheimeconomist Ulrike Kastens said, adding thatthe figures were pointing to an overall eco-nomic recovery in the euro zone. “Despitethe political uncertainties, the German econ-

omy is showing a more than robust develop-ment,” Kastens said, adding she now expect-ed quarterly growth of around 0.6 percent inthe first quarter after 0.5 percent in the finalquarter of 2016.

Contracts for goods ‘Made in Germany’were up by 5.2 percent on the month, theEconomy Ministry said. That was the biggestmonthly increase since July 2014 and was farstronger than the Reuters consensus forecastfor a rise of 0.5 percent. Domestic demandjumped by 6.7 percent while foreign ordersincreased by 3.9 percent, with bookings fromeuro-zone countries soaring by 10.0 percent.The data for November was revised down to afall of 3.6 percent from a previously reporteddrop of 2.5 percent. —Reuters

German industry orders

rise at a strongest pace

B U S I N E S STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

LONDON: Investors sought clarity yester-day in the face of a host of economic andpolitical uncertainties but gave the benefitof the doubt to shares and the dollar, liftingboth. A heavy week of corporate earningswas a major driver on stocks markets. In thecurrency market, the question was howFriday’s US labor market data will affect thepace of Federal Reserve interest rate rises.Far more jobs were added last month thanexpected, though hourly wages barelybudged. Oil prices rose on news that new

US sanctions on Iran could be extended toaffect crude supplies.

French government bonds, meanwhile,underperformed German benchmarks with agap not seen in four years after French far-right party leader Marine Le Pen launchedher bid for the presidency with a vow to fightderegulated globalization. But there was nooverarching theme to yesterday’s marketmoves, highlighting how correlationsbetween financial market assets have brokendown in recent months as investors sense the

era of ultra-loose monetary policy may bewinding up. The pan-European STOXX 600index rose 0.2 percent, led higher by basicsresources shares and after some positivecompany results.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacificshares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent, withTaiwan leading the pack by adding 0.9 per-cent. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2 percent, withbanks rising after US President DonaldTrump signed an executive order to scaleback regulations in the financial industry

that were implemented after the finan-cial crisis. Trump meets Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe on Feb 10 and 11,with trade and currencies likely to beon the agenda. China’s CSI 300 stocksindex rose 0.3 percent , thoughinvestors were caution after the centralbank unexpectedly raised short-terminterest rates on Friday.

In debt markets, French 10-year gov-ernment bond yields rose 1.6 basispoints to 1.1 percent. German equiva-lents, the euro-zone benchmark ,dipped 2 bps to a two-week low ofabout 0.4 percent, pushing the gapbetween the two to its widest in fouryears. “The likelihood of Le Pen winningis unlikely, but the situation in France iscertainly raising fears among investors,”said DZ Bank rates strategist ChristianLenk. “French bonds will continue tounderper form even though a lot ispriced into the market.”

Dollar inches upThe dollar inched up 0.1 percent

against a basket of major currencies.Data on Friday showed average hourlyearnings rose just 0.1 percent, suggest-

ing any pick-up in inflation would beslight. This led some analysts to con-clude the Fed would be in no hurry toraise interest rates. Currency investorsare also awaiting details on expectedpro-dollar tax and spending initiativespledged by Trump. However, SanFrancisco Fed President John Williamssaid later in the day that the centralbank can prepare to raise rates this yearwithout knowing the details of any newUS fiscal policies.

Yesterday, the euro weakened 0.3percent to $1.0747 while the yengained 0.1 percent to 112.60 per dollarand sterl ing dipped 0.2 percent to$1.2450. Oil prices rose, partly due tothe dollar’s relative weakness, but alsoon concern about any extension of newUS sanctions imposed on major oil pro-ducer Iran over that country’s missileprogram. “ The move by the US toimpose new restrictions on Iran ... doesraise the risk of further tensions dis-rupting (oil) supply,” ANZ bank said.Brent crude, the international bench-mark, rose 9 cents a barrel to $56.92.Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,222 anounce. —Reuters

Investors seek clarity on US Fed policy European shares rise but lag gains in Asia

JAKARTA: Indonesian shoppers browse through various items on sale at asidewalk street market in Jakarta. —AFP

JAKARTA: A butcher sells chickens at a traditional market in Jakarta yester-day. Indonesia’s efforts to reboot its economy were dealt a blow yesterdayas official data showed growth ticking up in 2016 but undershooting expec-tations for the final quarter. —AFP

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s efforts to reboot itseconomy were dealt a blow yesterday asofficial data showed growth ticking up in2016 but undershooting expectations forthe final quarter. President Joko Widodocame to power in 2014 on a pledge toboost economic expansion to seven per-cent but his government has struggled tolift growth rates in Southeast Asia’s largesteconomy, which is rich in resources but hassuffered from a slump in commodity prices.

After several years of subdued econom-ic output, government figures showed aglimmer of acceleration for 2016, withgrowth of 5.02 percent, compared to 4.88percent a year earlier-the smallest expan-sion since 2009. But a weaker-than-expected quarterly performance of 4.94percent in the period October toDecember overshadowed the annual data.

The growth in the fourth quarter wasdragged down by a dip in governmentspending. The statistics agency said thatthe top contributors for growth last yearwere manufacturing and agriculture.

Authorities unleashed a series of eco-nomic stimulus last year to reinvigorategrowth, while the central bank cut the keyinterest rate six times. Now analysts saythere is little room for manoeuvre. “Looserfiscal and monetary policies have helpedto support growth over the past year, butfurther easing is unlikely over the nextyear,” said Gareth Leather of London-basedCapital Economics. Economists said whilegrowth won’t slow further, it won’t accel-erate fur ther either, with CapitalEconomics maintaining its estimation forIndonesia at a flat rate of five percent forthis year and next. —AFP

Indonesia growth up; Q4 figures disappoint

LONDON: Profit after tax at Ryanair droppedeight percent in its third quarter after thepound weakened sharply following Britain’sdecision to exit the EU, the Irish no-frills carriersaid yesterday. Net profits fell to 95 millioneuros ($102 million) in the three months to theend of 2016 compared with the equivalentperiod a year earlier, the Dublin-based groupsaid in an earnings statement. Earnings werehit also by sector-wide competition as lowerfuel costs trigger cheaper fares. “We expectsterling to remain volatile for some time andwe may see a slowdown in economic growthin both the UK and Europe as we move closerto Brexit,” Ryanair said.

“While there may be opportunities toexpand at certain UK airports... we expect togrow at a slower pace than previously plannedin the UK and will continue to switch capacity

into other key markets around Europe,” itadded. Britain accounts for around one-quar-ter of Ryanair’s revenues and converting ster-ling ticket sales back into euros has hit the air-line’s bottom line. Since Britain’s June referen-dum vote in favor of Brexit, the pound’s valuehas slumped by as much as around 14 percentversus the euro. Like its main rival EasyJet,Ryanair’s business has taken a knock also fromunrest in Turkey and Egypt.

“We expect the uncertainty post Brexit,weaker sterling and the switch of chartercapacity from Turkey, Egypt and North Africainto Spain and Portugal, will continue to putdownward pressure on pricing for the remain-der” of its current financial year as well as 2017-18, the company said. Ryanair meanwhile not-ed that its fuel costs fell by 20 percent per pas-senger in the third quarter. —AFP

Ryanair profits down

SOLIHULL: Each aluminum Land Roverbody that rolls along the production lineat Solihull carries a lengthy sheet ofpaper giving the vehicle’s specifications.At the top of the “build card” is the nameof the country for which the vehicle isdestined. In recent years around one infive of the cards has had “China” printedon it. “I often think ‘how rich are the peo-ple in China?’ They buy so many,” saidline worker George Baker, amid acacophony of forklift horns, beepingmachinery and trumpeting line stop-page alarms.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), owned byIndia’s Tata Motors , increased sales toChina from around 250 million poundsin its 2009 financial year to almost 8billion pounds in 2014-2015, allowingit to more than double its UK work-force. Jaguar’s success, and deals toexport other British goods and servicesworth billions of pounds, are cited asexamples of the opportunities for sell-ing into China and of how the govern-ment can help “open the door forBritish companies”.

Exploiting those opportunities isespecially urgent since Britain voted lastyear to leave the European Union, a factwell understood by Prime MinisterTheresa May, who needs fast-growingmarkets like China to make up the num-bers that may be missing soon from itsEuropean trade. But the impressive dealstouted by the government are not quitewhat they seem, a Reuters analysis ofthe figures shows. The value ofannounced deals to export British goodsand services to China since 2010 addsup to 36 billion pounds, according toofficial government releases over theperiod, often issued around the time ofministerial visits to Beijing.

However, a Reuters examination ofcompany statements, corporate filingsand interviews with executives shows thevalue of actual exports from those dealshave totaled less than 6 billion pounds.The upshot: government figures are giv-ing an overly rosy picture of the state ofUK-China trade, economists said. “If youlook at these headline deals and theyhave a big number on them, I think that’snot really very informative,” said HolgerBreinlich, professor of international eco-nomics at the University of Nottingham.“You have to look at the small print andwhat’s being spent in the UK.”

The Reuters analysis highlights thechallenges British companies face inChina, with whom the UK has a balloon-ing deficit, and how even a post-Brexitfree trade deal may fail to accelerateexports. The government declined tocomment on the conclusions reachedfor this story. A spokeswoman for theDepartment of International Trade saidthe announced trade and investmentdeals would “help retain or even growjobs in the UK, and will have benefits forthe Exchequer too”.

Chinese challengesThere are a variety of reasons why

the deals have turned out smaller thanannounced. For one thing, more than 3billion pounds worth of deals werepreliminary agreements that were nev-er completed. In other cases theamounts cited were for the overall val-ue of a project in which the UK entityhad a small role. For example, in 2013,the government touted a 6-billion-pound deal between Oxford Universityand China Construction Bank (CCB) tohelp fund research into regenerativemedicine. — Reuters

CAPE TOWN: Investors and mining firms gatheredyesterday at Africa’s biggest industry conferenceamid a newfound optimism that the uptick in com-modity prices could shore up investment after yearsof downturn. The annual four-day Mining Indaba inCape Town takes place as demand in China, one ofthe world’s biggest consumers, begins to stabilize.Commodities like iron, copper and tin are soaring tonew heights, raising hope among analysts that thisyear’s conference may spur funding for new miningventures.

“A lot of these prices are up 100 percent fromwhat they were a year before, some only fifty per-cent, but some three or four hundred percent, sothis should be the biggest Indaba we’ve seen in acouple (of ) years,” said Peter Major, mining analystat Cadiz Corporate Solutions. The devastating priceslump saw several commodity-dependenteconomies across Africa stagnate, with companiescutting jobs and some shutting down operations.Africa’s biggest copper producers Zambia and theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were amongthe worst hit, with thousand of jobs lost over thelast three years.

The jobs bloodbath also hit South Africa, thecontinent’s most diversified economy which is bat-tling poor growth. The World Bank’s latest com-modities forecast, however, confirms the worst isfinally over, with prices on a solid climb thanks tostrong Chinese demand and a tightening supply.Copper prices jumped 10 percent in the last quarter

of 2016, “the first double-digit quarterly gain innearly five years”, the report said. The bank is nowprojecting metals prices to rise by 11 percent in2017, a significant improvement from an earlierforecast of just 4 percent.

US boost?“Policy efforts by China to boost commodity-

intensive infrastructure and construction sectorswere a key driver of demand last year,” the reportsaid. “Prices also received a boost following the USelection on expectations of higher infrastructureinvestment and increased optimism for the globaleconomy.” By the end of 2016, iron ore was sellingat $80 a ton, nearly double its price a year earlier,and metals like zinc were both up for the fourthstraight quarter. Although the mood was shifting,Major warned against being overly excited aboutimprovement, saying it looked like an “over-recov-ery” and adding “I don’t trust it”. Rene Hochreiter, ananalyst at Noah Capital Markets, said the priceswould return to the mean “sooner or later”.

“There might be a bit of euphoria at the momentwith it shooting over the mean and it will comeback down, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to gonegative,” he said. “I just hope this time it’s not afalse start,” he added. “I’ve seen too many of thoseand I don’t want to get too excited, but it feels a lotbetter than it has for a number of years.” Recoveryoptimism has also been reflected in conferencenumbers, with delegate registrations up year-on-

year for the first time “in quite a few years”, accord-ing to organizers. Slow mining production hadbeen cited as one of the major contributors toSouth Africa’s poor growth, currently at an annual-

ized 0.2 percent. The country exports a slew ofresources including platinum, gold and diamonds,but companies must navigate a volatile strike-prone labor force and legislative red tape. — AFP

Africa mining sector meets amid commodity price comeback

b u s i n e s sTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

LONDON: Investor uncertainty about France’spresidential election took its toll on Frenchbonds yesterday, lifting the premium investors’demand for holding French over German gov-ernment bonds to its highest in almost fouryears. The move came after far-right NationalFront leader Marine Le Pen launched her presi-dential bid, vowing to fight globalization andtake France out of the euro-zone. French 10-yearbond yields rose to 17-month highs while nerv-ous investors pushed yields on safe-havenGerman bonds to their lowest level in almosttwo weeks.

Buoyed by the election of President DonaldTrump in the United States and by Britons’ voteto leave the European Union, Le Pen’s anti-immi-gration, anti-EU party is seeking to tap in to simi-lar voter dissatisfaction in France. Le Pen laid outher presidential election manifesto at the week-end, pledging to curb migration drastically, takeFrance out of the euro zone and hold a referen-dum on EU membership. France would defaulton its sovereign debt if it unilaterally convertedits euro-denominated obligations into newfrancs following Le Pen victory, a senior execu-tive at ratings agency Standard & Poor’s told TheEconomist.

Le Pen’s strong showing in the opinions pollshas rattled investors at a time when conservativeFrancois Fillon, once the favorite to win presi-dential elections in April and May, is embroiledin a scandal over salary payments to his wife.Rising centrist star Emmanuel Macro, mean-while, is as yet untested. Fillon will hold a newsconference at 1500 GMT yesterday, a sourceclose to him said. “The likelihood of Le Pen win-ning is unlikely, but the situation in France is cer-tainly raising fears among investors,” said DZ

Bank rates strategist Christian Lenk. “Frenchbonds will continue to underperform eventhough a lot is priced into the market.”

France’s 10-year bond yield rose 4 basispoints to about 1.14 percent, its highest level inabout 17-months. In contrast, Germany’s bench-mark 10-year Bund yield fell 2 bps to 0.39 per-cent, pushing the French/German yield gap

spread pushed out to 73 basis points - its widestlevel in almost four years. Data on Friday show-ing tepid wage growth in the United States alsoboosted demand for German bonds, overshad-owing further signs of economic strength.German industry orders rose 5.2 percent inDecember, the biggest monthly rise since July2014, data yesterday showed. —Reuters

Investors shun French bonds

Shareholders seek safety in Germany

CAPE TOWN: A participant stands in front of a poster showing diamonds on the first day of theMining Indaba 2017 Conference yesterday at the Cape Town International Convention Centre inCape Town. The Mining Indaba is the world’s foremost conference on mining in Africa. — AFP

LONDON: More than half of British busi-ness leaders believe the vote to leave theEuropean Union has had a negative impacton their companies but most firms areconfident they can survive the change,according to a survey yesterday. Britain’seconomy has performed more stronglythan expected since the Brexit vote lastJune, but an Ipsos Mori survey of morethan 100 of the country’s top 500 firmsfound that 58 percent felt the vote to leavehad taken a toll.

According to the survey, more than twothirds of those questioned said they hadalready taken action to respond to thevote, including putting contingency plansin place and analyzing the impact the dif-ferent relationships Britain could have withthe EU following its renegotiation. Ofthose taking action, 10 percent said theywere moving business outside of Britain.“Our annual survey of FTSE 500 businessleaders provides a unique insight into

what the business world is thinking aheadof Brexit,” Ipsos Mori Chief Executive BenPage said. “Unfortunately, it looks like busi-ness in this country is already feeling thepain of the economic upheaval of leavingthe EU.”

Britain’s business leaders were some ofthe most vocal supporters of EU member-ship in the run up to the vote, arguing thataccess to a single market of 500 millionpeople would enable them to grow theircompanies, and the economy, in the future.However the survey found a more positiveresponse when asking about the longerterm impact on business, with nearly allconfident they could adapt to Brexit. “Thirtytwo percent of respondents said they thinktheir business will start to feel the positiveeffects of leaving the EU in five years’ time,”Page said. “And the number of (business)captains that think it will remain a negativeimpact reduces to 45 percent when lookingat long range forecast.” — Reuters

Brexit having negative impact on UK business

TOKYO: Japanese auto giant Toyota yesterdayrevised up its full-year forecast but warned of anuncertain outlook with the car industry bracingfor possible protectionist policies under USPresident Donald Trump. The company, whichlost its crown as the world’s top-selling automak-er last year, said a drop in the value of the yenhad allowed it to lift its earnings, despite a fall inits nine-month net profit.

It said net profit declined 24 percent to 1.43trillion yen ($12.7 billion) from a year earlier, thefirst April-December decline in five years.However, the maker of the Prius hybrid forecast afull-year net profit of 1.7 trillion yen, up from itsearlier estimate of 1.55 trillion yen. That wasalready up from an earlier 1.45 trillion yen outlook.In a statement it said the upward revision was“based on the current trend of financial results,due to changes in foreign currency exchange ratesand the upward revision of our sales plans”.

Japanese exporters have enjoyed a boostsince Trump’s November election as the yen has

weakened on expectations his big-spending,tax-cutting agenda would fire inflation and forcethe Federal Reserve to hike interest rates. Aweaker yen boosts exporters’ bottom lines bymaking their products relatively less expensiveoverseas, while inflating the value of their earn-ings abroad when repatriated. Still, Toyota’s lat-est forecast is far below the record 2.31 trillionyen net profit in the year to March 2016.

The Japanese auto industry faces uncertaintyover Trump’s drive to support US firms over for-eign imports, a stance that has raised fears of apossible global trade war. He has targetedToyota with strong criticism of its ongoing proj-ect to build a new factory in Mexico, threateningit with painful tariffs. ”It is difficult to forecast theimpact of the Trump administration at this time,”Toyota executive Tetsuya Otake told reporters.

‘Prosperity’ Shigeru Matsumura, an analyst at SMBC

Friend Research Center, said the outlook for the

Japanese auto industry faced “political risks”over Trump. “Toyota and other Japanese carmak-ers have tough steering to do on their strategiesin North America,” he said before the earningsannouncement. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda metPrime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday ahead of aJapan-US summit this week, with the auto traderow one of the key issues.

Toyoda, whose company last monthannounced plans to invest $600 million and cre-ate 400 jobs at one of its US plants, declined tocomment on details of his meeting with Abe,but said: “We discussed the current situation.”Shigeru Hayakawa, a senior executive and boardmember, said: “Dialogue between the leaders ofthe two countries will be important from nowon. We hope they will communicate aiming forthe prosperity of the two economies.” Toyota’svehicle sales in April-December ticked up to 7.7million units, from 7.6 million, with increases inJapan, Europe and Asia, the statement said.

But vehicle sales fell in the Middle East andAfrica, while the key North American marketremained flat after cheap oil hit demand forToyota’s fuel-efficient offerings including thePrius. Separately, Toyota and small car makerSuzuki agreed yesterday to begin detailed dis-cussions on a technology tie-up as well as mutu-al supply of products and components afterannouncing initial plans in October.

“What the companies have agreed on is tocreate a partnership which will be win-win forboth parties, not one in which Toyota would res-cue Suzuki,” said Suzuki chief executive YasuhitoHarayama. Stiff competition at home andabroad has pushed some Japanese automakersto eye tie-ups. Nissan last year bought a one-third stake in Mitsubishi Motors, forging analliance that will challenge some of the world’sbiggest auto groups. Nissan is scheduled toannounce its nine-month results on Thursday,while Honda said last week its net profit for theperiod jumped 18.9 percent as it upgraded itsfull-year forecasts. — AFP

Toyota lifts annual outlook but eyes Trump uncertainty

LYON: Far-right leader presidential candidate Marine Le Pen gestures as she speaks during aconference in Lyon, France. — AP

LONDON: President of the Ile-de-France region, Valerie Pecresse (2nd left)speaks during a media briefing named ’Europe, where to next?’ in central Londonyesterday. —AFP

UK’s China exportdeals don’t add up

DETROIT: Toyota President Akio Toyoda introduces the 2018 Toyota Camry at the NorthAmerican International Auto show in this Monday, Jan 9, 2017 file photo. —AP

DUBAI: Grand Hyper, a Division of Regency Group Dubai, opens its 42ndretail store in Muhaisnah Dubai on Feb 2nd 2017. The shop was inauguratedby Saeed Bin Subeih Al Falasi in the presence of Group ChairmanShamsudheen Bin Mohideen, Director N V Mohammed, Director A PAbdussamed, Director AP Abdul Rahman, Musthafa Usman, CEO MahamoodTP and General Manager Abbas Khan. The Store is the largest store inMuhaisnah area with an area of 52,000 sq.ft.

b u s i n e s sTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

SYDNEY: After a long pause, the auctioneercommissioned to sell a northern Sydney beach-side apartment for in excess of A$800,000($614,391) puts his gavel away, unable to enticea single bid. Across town, in the city’s trendyinner western suburbs, the owner of a ware-house converted into a three-level home dropshis reserve price for the property’s sale. There arejust two potential buyers at the auction, andthey have declined to enter the kind of biddingwar that has caused home prices in Australia’stwo biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, todouble since 2009.

The auction stand-offs may indicate that theSydney market, which has been defined byresearcher Demographia as the second mostunaffordable in the world after Hong Kong, hasfinally hit a peak. As the buyers have drifted off,the sellers have also started to back away andthe number of home listings is down 25 percentfrom a year ago, according to CoreLogic RP Data.This is all yet to show up in a decline in prices inAustralia. In the nation’s eight biggest cities,home prices surged a further 0.7 pct in Januaryeven as the volume of transactions was lower.But some real estate experts and hedge fundinvestors say that it may be only a matter of timebefore prices also start to crumble.

A sharp correction would heap stress onthose who have paid a high price to enter thebig east coast property markets, while damag-ing the country’s financial institutions as homeloans account for up to 60 percent of the majorbanks’ total loan books. The property sector isalso a major employer and generator ofdemand, a particularly important pillar of theeconomy during a subdued period for the min-ing sector. One big concern is the drop off in thenumber of Chinese buyers, following a crack-down by Beij ing on capital outflows andAustralia’s tightened restrictions on lending toforeigners. Individuals taking the maximum$50,000 a year out of China now have to committo not spending it on real estate and risk beinginvestigated by the Chinese authorities if theybreak that pledge.

And the impact isn’t only being felt inAustralia. In Canada’s Vancouver, which has beena big target market for Chinese buyers for someyears, the number of transactions dropped 40percent last month, compared to the samemonth a year earlier. A sudden increase in thenumber of sales agents splitting off from the bigrealtors to set up their own firms, and the arrivalof new online players, is being seen by some inthe industry as a contrarian signal of an over-heated market. “It’s that classic top-of-the-mar-

ket mindset,” said property valuer Gavin Hegney,from Gavin Hegney Property. “‘I’m making mon-ey hand over fist, I could do this myself.’”

Chinese tour numbers halveHong Kong-based hedge fund manager Apt

Capital Management has shorted Australianbanks because of their exposure to a propertymarket it believes is out of step with Australia’seconomic strength. It is forecasting a severe cor-rection. Apt Capital strategist Amy Reynolds saidinterest rate rises or a drying up of foreigninvestment were the most likely triggers for afuture downturn in prices.

“Our models indicate that house prices wouldneed to fall by around 30 pct to come back intoline with Australia’s economic fundamentals andtheir own long-term averages,” Reynolds said.Esther Yong, director at Chinese language prop-erty portal AC Advertising, said the curbs onlending to foreigners and Beijing’s restrictionshad quelled interest, leaving only the most com-mitted buyers. “It’s been very slow for the lasttwo to three months,” Yong said. She said num-bers on Chinese property tours - on which partof a holiday is dedicated to looking at property -are half what they were a year ago.

Australia’s foreign investment rules guideoverseas investors to buy new properties, suchas “off-the-plan” apartments that are yet to beconstructed or through sales at auctions of newhomes. At one new apartment auction onSydney’s North Shore attended by Reuters, it

took 50 minutes for the price to be bid up by$50,000, with two foreign investors reverting tosmall incremental bid rises. That sober behavioris in contrast to the buying frenzies of the pastthree years that saw hopeful bidders queuing upto take part.

Among the new entrants into the market areBritish online realtor Purplebricks, whichlaunched in Sydney in January, and BRICKX,which allows investors to trade small stakes inproperties in well known locations, such asBondi Beach and Port Melbourne. The BRICKXproperties advertise an estimated annual returnon equity of up to 19 pct but that would largelybe reliant on the boom years repeating them-selves. “It’s a guide to what has been achievedover the last five years,” said BRICKX ChiefExecutive Anthony Millet. “Investors in this coun-try are pretty switched on and well educated.”

‘Just deserts’Not everyone is bearish. Realtor Ausnet

Financial Services Ltd, which plans a backdoorlisting using the corporate shell of a dormantcopper explorer, has hired six former agentsfrom listed realtor McGrath Ltd and says it ishoping to build to a salesforce of 600 whileopening a storefront on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.Its prospectus shows two years of losses andno forecasts. “We think there’s still a bit ofsteam in the Sydney market,” said Ausnet ChiefExecutive Paul Niardone, a former public rela-tions executive.

The number of sales agents vying for thebusiness in Australia’s east coast, home to mostof the country ’s population including themajor cities of Sydney and Melbourne, hasjumped 10 percent. But in Australia’s mostpopulous states, New South Wales and Victoria,the number of homes listed for sale per regis-tered real estate agent dropped to just under 1property per agent in 2016 from 1.3 per agentin 2015, according to Reuters analysis of pub-licly available data.

If the heat continues to seep out of the mar-ket, agents will be among the first to be hit.McGrath has suffered from the departure ofabout three dozen agents in recent months,resulting in an earnings downgrade and ashare price tumble to about one-third its issueprice almost 14 months ago. In an explosiveinternal email reviewed by Reuters, which aspokesman said was authentic, McGrathfounder and major shareholder John McGrathsaid agents who had left his firm had “no loyal-ty, gratitude or style and will get their justdeserts when the dust settles”. — Reuters

Australia home market boom

may ‘be starting to crumble’ Home buyers holding back

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank, the secondlargest bank in Kuwait recentlyannounced further expansion of its debitcards portfolio with the launch of twolifestyle products, Visa Infinite and VisaSignature, to cater to the discerningneeds of its premium clients. BurganBank is the only bank in the region tooffer these prime variants of debit cardsto its account holders. The new VisaInfinite debit card would be offered tothe ultra-wealthy Private banking clientsgiving them instant access to cus-tomized, dedicated services withunprecedented convenience, and tai-lored benefits like a complimentary‘Harrods Black Card’, ‘Gold Card member-ship from Hilton Honors’.

The new Visa Signature Debit Cardwould be offered to the affluent Premiercustomers of the bank and come with awide range of benefits that include com-plimentary access to more than 550lounges across 300 airports around theworld, free travel insurance for the card-holders and their immediate family, localand global concierge services amongstothers.

Importantly in keeping with the

bank’s commitment to offer its cus-tomers, innovation and cutting-edgetechnology, all new debit cards of thebank would now come with “Tap & Pay”benefit significantly enhancing theshopping experience as customerswould just need to top their card in frontof a contactless terminal in order to pay.On this occasion Raed Al Haqhaq,Burgan Bank Kuwait Deputy CEO saidthat “this launch is a reflection of contin-ued investment and commitment to ourvalued customers who are truly globaland want access to rewards and servicesacross the world”.

Ahmed Gaber, General Manager,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Omanand Bahrain, Visa, said: “Visa is delightedto partner with Burgan Bank to intro-duce two exceptional new debit cardsinto the Kuwaiti market. Our debit prod-ucts enable cardholders to manage theirfinances while benefitting from the con-venience, security and promotionsoffered by Visa. These cards go one stepfurther to provide affluent cardholderswith a level of access and privilege thathave become the hallmark of VisaInfinite and Visa Signature.”

Burgan Bank launches

new visa debit cards

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

KUWAIT: Staying true to its tradition ofalways offering the best promotions for itscustomers to provide them the opportu-nity to own exceptional cars in terms ofperformance, technology and style atunbeatable prices and packages, HondaMotors, the exclusive distributor of Hondavehicles, products, motorcycles, powerproducts and marine engines, haslaunched a brand-new promotion exclu-sively during the month of February tocoincide with the year’s most anticipatednational festivities.

Fans of technological innovation andluxury are welcome to visit HondaAlghanim’s showrooms to select the carthat best suits their preference andlifestyle. In addition to owning theirfavorite Honda car, customers have theopportunity to delight in the wonderfulsurprises and prizes that are in store forthem during the month of February includ-ing cash prizes of up to KD 1,200, a three-year warranty as well as complimentaryvehicle registration and insurance.

Increasing the exciting buzz during themonth of February, Honda Alghanim alsooffers a special discount on Honda acces-sories that reaches up to 30% in order toprovide those who wish to personalizetheir new Honda drive unique ways to doso at an equally attractive price. Honda hasrecently launched its new marketing cam-paign under the slogan “Designed for You”which reflects Honda’s commitment onoffering products that comprise the latesttechnologies and innovative engineeringto equip customers with an exceptionaland quality-centric experience.

‘Making Dreams a Reality’This objective is based on Honda’s glob-

al vision that is adopted and applied inevery Honda branch around the worldwhich works on turning the “Power ofDreams” to “Making Dreams a Reality.”During its exclusive February offer, HondaAlghanim offers the best Honda drivesincluding the Odyssey and Odyssey J, twomodels that have proven to be the familycar choice due to their spaciousness that isideal for dropping and picking up one’schildren from school as well as loading upthe entire week’s grocery supplies.

Apart from its large and comfortableinterior, the Odyssey’s superior and secure

performance reaffirms its position as afamily favorite. Another family car that hasmore grit and power is the Honda Pilot, asporty SUV that is enriched with the latesttechnological features. Customers may alsochoose the Honda Accord, an icon in ele-gance and speed due to its powerfulengine, outstanding technological featuresand other factors that make it a preferredoption for those who wish to add a dash offinesse in their everyday drives.

Another featured Honda model is theCRV, a prime example of artistry due to itsunique exterior design, technological fea-tures and other elements that have sealedthe CRV as the ultimate drive for those whotruly value a solid, strong and sleek ride.The younger crowd would delight in theHonda City, the ideal drive for the youth asit reflects their generation’s vivacity,modernity and unique style.

One of the factors that Honda is keenon is providing exceptional safety featuresin its products, a factor that is achieved byusing the strongest and sturdiest materialin the manufacturing of Honda cars as wellas making use of the latest smart techno-logical features including sensing andwarning systems, front and side airbags,cameras and other features that makeevery driver truly feel that their Hondadrive is designed for them.

Customers are encouraged to visit anyof the Honda showrooms for a chance tobook a test drive and get full details fromour sales representatives. Honda AlghanimAl-Rai showroom operates from Saturdaytill Thursday 9:00 AM till 10:00 PM, onFriday from 9:30 AM till 10:00 PM. Theshowroom in Shuwaikh operates fromSaturday till Thursday 9:00 AM till 10:00 PM.Alghanim Motors, the exclusive distributorof Honda automobiles, motorcycles, powerproducts, and marine products in Kuwait, iscommitted to providing customers withflexible payment solutions and efficientand cost-effective services.

The cars service center’s waiting loungeoffers entertainment and comfort for cus-tomers with digital satellite TV, free wire-less internet and relaxing massage chairs.The Service Center is open from Saturdaytill Wednesday from 7:30 AM till 8:30 PM,on Thursday from 7:30 AM till 6:30 PM andon Friday from 2:00 PM till 7:00 PM. Formore information, please call 1822777.

Drive through a world of

gifts with Honda Alghanim

KUWAIT: Highlighting its commitment to pro-viding the best qualified sales consultants in theautomotive industry, Abdul Rahman Albisher &Zaid Alkazemi Company, the authorized GeneralDistributor of Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait hasannounced the certification of an additionaleight sales consultants through Daimler’s globalcertification program. The newly qualified con-sultants were congratulated in a ceremony heldat Albisher & Alkazemi Co’s Mercedes-BenzShowroom in Kuwait this month, where theywere awarded certificates & badges confirmingtheir successful completion of training.

The ceremony was attended by members ofboth AR Albisher & Z Alkazemi Co andMercedes-Benz Cars Middle East office Dubai,including Mohammad Abdul Rahman Al-Bisher,Partner and Director of AR Albisher & ZAlkazemi Co; Michael Ruehle, General Managerof AR Albisher & Z Alkazemi Co; Kay Schleef andInderjit Gandhi, Senior Managers at AR Albisher& Z Alkazemi Co; Andreas Buckmann, DirectorSales and Marketing Passenger Cars atMercedes-Benz Cars Middle East in Dubai; PhilMayling, Head of Sales for Mercedes-Benz CarsMiddle East, and other managers from ARAlbisher & Z Alkazemi Co.

During the presentation ceremonyMohammad Albisher said that the two year“Daimler C-Sales” course run by DaimlerRegional Training Centre includes modules onsales techniques and product knowledge of allMercedes-Benz products, a developmental plan

to enhance the application of theoretical knowl-edge to daily customer service and businessdealings, as well as a number of e-learningmodules and tests. Concluding with a formalassessment run by third-party Assessors fromthe UK, each Sales Consultant who successfullypasses the training receives the title of “CertifiedSales Consultant”.

Congratulating the certified sales consult-ants, Mohammad Albisher & Michael Ruehlesaid: “It is through internationally renownedtraining programs such as this that we are able

to ensure Mercedes-Benz customers enjoy thesame standards of excellence in Mercedes-Benzshowrooms around the world. We admire thededication, persistence and willingness to learnthat our successful sales consultants have dis-played and congratulate them on this signifi-cant achievement.” The “Certified SalesConsultants” include: Mohamed Elgabry, FirasYounis Tammam, Ahmed Al Mrabea, Jana Al-Rashed, Kayees Mneimne, Raed Abou Hamze,Mohamed Deyaa Hamad and SsankaWishwajith.

Eight Mercedes-Benz Kuwait sales

consultants certified by Daimler

DUBAI: Ford Motor Company yesterdayannounced the hiring of leading brand expertMusa Tariq as vice president and chief brandofficer as part of its expansion to an auto and amobility company and its drive to go further inconnecting and engaging with today’s con-sumers. Tariq, 34, is elected a Ford MotorCompany officer and begins work Jan 30. In thisnew role, Tariq is responsible for further build-ing and differentiating the company’s Fordbrand, one of the most valued in the world.

He will work with Marketing, Communicationsand company leaders across the world to define,build and communicate the Ford primary brandand what it stands for with all stakeholders. Hiswork will complement the successful vehiclenameplate brand marketing and communica-tions work already in place. “As we grow our busi-ness, we’re also expanding our focus on andinvestment in building and differentiating ouriconic Ford brand, which is known, loved andtrusted around the world,” said Mark Fields, Fordpresident and CEO.

“Our opportunity is to connect with evenmore consumers and stakeholders - some who

never have done business with Ford before -through compelling and culturally relevant mar-keting and communications. Musa has ledtransformational work at some of the world’smost admired brands, and he is a leader knownfor challenging convention. We’re excited forhim to bring his expertise, knowledge and pas-sion to Ford.” Tariq will report jointly to StephenOdell, Ford executive vice president, GlobalMarketing, Sales and Service, and to Ray Day,Ford group vice president, Communications.

Prior to joining Ford, Tariq was Apple’sGlobal Marketing and Communication direc-tor for Retail. In this role, he launched severalinitiatives that enhanced the retail experiencein more than 490 Apple stores and for morethan 65,000 Apple Retail employees aroundthe world. Prior to Apple, Tariq was the seniordirector of Social Media and Community atNike, as well as the global head of DigitalMarketing and later the first-ever director ofSocial Media at Burberry. Tariq started hiscareer in marketing and advertising, serving inleadership roles at JWT and Saatchi & SaatchiAdvertising.

Ford hires Musa Tariq as vice

president, chief brand officer

Musa Tariq

t e c h n o l o g yTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

DUBAI: AXILSPOT, a global vendor inenterprise wireless networking, yes-terday unveiled its latest Dorado In-Wall Access Points in the Middle Eastand Africa (MEA) to help businessesstreamline their operational process-es and enjoy consistent and uninter-

rupted high speed internet connec-tivity. The new 5-in-1 ASW3 300MMulti-Service In-wall Access Pointoffers multi-interfaces support cableaccess, PoE output, VoIP, telephoneand USB charge and is pr imar i lydesigned for the hospitality sector inthe MEA region.

Commenting on the launch, AugustChen, AXILSPOT Director of GlobalSales, said, “We are excited to enterthe highly competitive yet fast grow-ing and upwardly mobile, wireless net-working segment in Middle East andAfrica. AXILSPOT provides smarter andsafer wire-like WLAN solutions for allsizes of enterprises, including wirelessbridges, outdoor and indoor coveragesolutions, conquering every obstaclethat drags enterprise mobility behind.The Rscan smar t array antenna,FlowPath, VisualSec, TurboRf technolo-gies are solving all security and userexperience problems. Easy and flexi-ble WLAN management can saveenterprises significant time and ITmaintenance costs.”

“The MEA region, being one of themost advanced consumer economiesof the globe, is very important forAXILSPOT. We will strive to amplify thegrowth of digitization in the MEAcountries with our cutting edge, dis-ruptive wireless networking solutionsfor end-to-end networking require-ments of enterprises,” Zhou added.AXILSPOT has flagged off its opera-tions in the region’s enterprise wirelesssegment by launching Rscan range ofproducts in December 2016. The com-pany has also announced its intentionto appoint both regional and in-coun-try distributors across the Middle Eastand Africa.

The new ASW3 300M Multi-ServiceIn-wall Access Point features:Integrated chip, 2*2 MIMO chip sup-ports high data throughput and robustload capacity, providing performanceand stability Smart RF and networkoptimization, auto channel and poweradjustment as well as wireless, QoSsupports more concurrent users, elimi-nates network congestion and latencyguarantee high bandwidth services.Centralized management, unif iedmanagement podium manages in-wallaccess points, shrinking the workloadof maintaining and managing largescale deployments

Other key features include: Wirelessdata rate 300Mbps; RJ11 interface;RJ45 interface; VoIP phone Interface;USB power charging port; PoE switchpower supply; Software, hardware,application control ler suppor ted.AXILSPOT is focused on partner drivengo-to-market mechanisms andensures maximum profitability forpartners. AXILSPOT has already estab-lished its India office in New Delhi, andits next local office will be in MiddleEast and Africa region before the sum-mer of 2017.

AXILSPOT launches its In-Wall

Access Points in MEA region

TOKYO: An experimental Japanese missionto clear ‘space junk’ or rubbish from theEarth’s orbit has ended in failure, officials saidyesterday, in an embarrassment for Tokyo.Over 100 million pieces of garbage arethought to be whizzing around the planet,including cast-off equipment from old satel-lites and bits of rocket, which experts saycould pose risks for future space exploration.

Scientists at the Japan AerospaceExploration Agency (JAXA) were trying totest an electrodynamic ‘tether’-created withthe help of a fishing net company-to slowdown the orbiting rubbish and bring it into alower orbit. The hope was that the clutter-built up after more than five decades ofhuman space exploration-would eventuallyenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up

harmlessly before it had a chance to crashinto the planet.

The 700-meter (2,300-foot) long tether-made from thin wires of stainless steel andaluminium-was due to be extended out froma cargo ship launched in December carryingsupplies for astronauts at the InternationalSpace Station. Problems arose quickly, how-ever, and technicians tried for days to remedy

the situation but only had a one-week win-dow to carry out the mission before the ves-sel reentered the Earth’s atmosphere beforedawn on yesterday.

“We believe the tether did not getreleased”, leading researcher Koichi Inoue toldreporters. “It is certainly disappointing that weended the mission without completing oneof the main objectives,” he said. The disap-

pointment is the latest failure to hit JAXA andcomes just weeks after the agency had toabort a mission that sought to use a mini-rocket to send a satellite into orbit. Theagency also abandoned a pricey ultra-high-tech satellite launched in February last year tosearch for X-rays emanating from black holesand galaxy clusters after losing contact withthe spacecraft. —AFP

Japan’s troubled ‘space junk’ mission fails

KUWAIT: Huawei Technologies Kuwaitannounced yesterday the signing of a his-toric Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs toadvance the ICT skills of Kuwaiti youth asboth parties share the common goal ofhelping the young generation succeed in acompetitive environment. The MoU wassigned by HE Sheikha Al-Zain Sabah Al-Naser Al-Sabah, Under Secretary of theMinistry of State for Youth Affairs of Kuwait,and Mohammad Diab, Managing Director -Sales and Business Development at HuaweiTechnologies, Kuwait, during a formal cere-mony at the Ministry of State for YouthAffairs yesterday.

The agreement paves the way for closer

collaboration between Huawei TechnologiesKuwait, a Chinese, multinational telecom-munications equipment and ser vicesprovider and the fastest growing smart-phone company in the world, and theKuwaiti Government to boost ICT skills ofstudents and open up new career opportu-nities for them.

As part of the MoU, the Ministry of Statefor Youth Affairs and Huawei TechnologiesKuwait will coordinate efforts around two ofHuawei’s flagship CSR programs, ‘Seeds forthe Future’ and the local Information andCommunications Technology Training Centerlaunched in Kuwait in October 2016. Bothprograms reflect Huawei TechnologiesKuwait’s long-term commitment to the coun-try, where it has seen remarkable growth inthe last years.

It will be the very first time that local tal-ents par take in Huawei TechnologiesKuwait ’s ful ly sponsored ‘Seeds for theFuture’ program, first launched in 2008 andnow rolled out internationally. The Ministryof State for Youth Affairs and HuaweiTechnologies Kuwait will jointly identify 15exceptional young Kuwaiti talents from uni-versities across the country to attend a two-

week study trip to China, every year. Duringthe trip, the students immerse in the Chineseculture and language, learn first-hand aboutthe latest cutting edge technologies andexchange knowledge in Huawei’s own tech-nology labs in Shenzhen’s Headquarters.

The Information and CommunicationsTechnology Training Center in Kuwait servesas a knowledge hub that provides free train-ing programs to Kuwaiti students during atwo-week period. By providing hands-onknowledge and professional HuaweiTechnologies Kuwait trainers, the newlyestablished center aims at enabling youth toseek employment in the private sector, alsoin alignment with the government’s vision.Commenting on the MoU, Mohammad Diabsaid: ‘Helping shape the future of youth is

too important a responsibility for any part-ner to handle alone.

That is why we are delighted to joinefforts with the Ministry of State for YouthAffairs as a champion of the progress of theKuwaiti youth. We are certain that this MoUwill further enhance the collaborative tiesthat already exist between HuaweiTechnologies Kuwait and the Government ofKuwait and serve as an impetus for skills-building, knowledge transfers and careerdevelopment.’ As part of its global responsi-bility program, Huawei remains committedto creating opportunities for Kuwaiti youth,and ultimately contributing to building abetter connected world. To learn more aboutHuawei’s CSR programs, please visit Huaweionline at www.huawei.com

Huawei and Ministry join

forces to boost ICT skills Enabling Kuwaiti students harness their potential

DUBAI: Sophos (LSE: SOPH), a global leader innetwork and endpoint security, yesterdayannounced that Gartner, Inc has once againpositioned Sophos as a Leader in the GartnerMagic Quadrant for Endpoint ProtectionPlatforms 1 (EPP). With the recently launchednext-generation anti-exploit product SophosIntercept X and the continued enhancementof the cloud-based management platformSophos Central, Sophos offers a broad portfo-lio of endpoint security products that areproven to be effective against today’s sophisti-cated threats. Sophos has held a Leader posi-tion in this report since 2007.

According to the report, the next wave ofcyber-threats will be fileless. “Advanced attack-ers have been exploiting script-based attacksfor years. Common Windows utilities, such asthe command line interface, PowerShell, Perl,Visual Basic, Nmap and Windows CredentialEditor, can be exploited to compromisemachines without dropping any executablefiles, evading all traditional forms of maliciousfile detection.”

In response to this, Gartner recommendsthat “EPP buyers should look for vendors thatfocus on memory exploit protection, scriptanalysis and behavior indicators of compro-mise. Ultimately, we [Gartner] believe that ven-dors that focus on detecting behavior indica-tive of attacker tradecraft (that is, tools, tacticsand techniques) will be the most effective.”

“For the last several years Sophos hasbuilt products that integrate exploit preven-tion, behavior analytics and pre-executionheuristics. The launch of Intercept X added

signatureless anti-exploit and anti-ran-somware capabilities with root cause analy-sis to run along-side and complement exist-ing endpoint protection products,” said DanSchiappa, senior vice president and generalmanager of the endpoint and network secu-rity groups at Sophos.

“We believe that our continued place-ment as a Leader in this highly competitive

market reflects our ability to continuallyinnovate and deliver quality products inresponse to the changing threat landscape.Not only have our products been proven incustomer deployments worldwide but theyare also assessed by independent third partytesting to demonstrate their effectivenessagainst the threats that Gartner cautions areon the rise.”

Schiappa continued, “Sophos believes thatthe only way to successfully protect againstthe growth of sophisticated threats is to usean ensemble of products that work togetherand share threat and security status for fasterdetection and more immediate response.This is the core tenant of our synchronizedsecurity strategy. It is only by taking a new‘best of breed system’ approach to close thegaps that exist in the traditional multi-vendorsingle product deployments that companieswill more effectively protect their critical dataassets. Today we include network security,endpoint security and encryption products inthis synchronized security strategy and wewill continue to expand its capabilities.”

Sophos continues to deliver on its strategyto integrate endpoint protection platformsand endpoint detection and response capa-bilities into the Sophos Central managementplatform to deliver a more effective solution.Sophos believes this strategy is consistentwith the prediction in the report that states“By 2019, EPP and EDR capabilities will havemerged into a single offering, eliminating theneed to buy best-of-breed products for allbut the most specialized environments.”

Sophos positioned as a leader in

Gartner Magic Quadrant for EPP

August Chen, Director, Global Sales,AXILSPOT

Bruce Zhou, CEO, AXILSPOT

Dan Schiappa

PARIS: Social media companiesFacebook , Google and a group ofnews organizations launched an ini-tiative yesterday to tackle fake newsstories in France, with the media inthe spotlight as the country’s presi-dential election approaches.Facebook said it would work with sev-eral leading French news organiza-tions, including Agence France-Presse, BFM T V, and newspapersL’Express and Le Monde to ensurethat false news items were not pub-lished on its platform.

Google also said it was part of theinitiative, dubbed “Cross Check” bythe partners. Facebook has faced criti-cism that it did not do enough to pre-vent false information being repub-lished on its platform during lastyear’s US presidential campaign, andin response has set up measures to

try to tackle the problem. There havebeen similar concerns that peoplecould disseminate false informationon Facebook in the build-up to theFrench election, which takes place inApril and May.

In the United States, Facebook hassaid users would in future find it easi-er to flag fake articles as a hoax, andadded that it will work with organiza-tions such as fact-checking websiteSnopes, ABC News and theAssociated Press to check the authen-ticity of stories. Last month, Facebookalso set up an initiative against fakenews in Germany, where governmentofficials had expressed concerns thatfalse stories and hate speech onlinecould influence a parliamentary elec-tion in September in which chancellorAngela Merkel will seek a fourth termin office. —Reuters

Facebook, Google, others

launch drive against

fake news in France

HEALTH & SCIENCETUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

KOLONTAR, Hungary: This file photo taken on October 6, 2010 shows civilprotection service workers cleaning sludge-covered streets in Kolontarabout 160 kms southwest of Budapest, after a wave of toxic red mud sweptthrough the small village. —AFP photos

KOLONTAR, Hungary: An aerial view of the village of Kolontar, nearby theTorna stream, some 160 kilometers southwest of the Hungarian capitalBudapest, after a wave of toxic red mud of the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plantswept through the village.

BUDAPEST, Hungary: A Hungarian courtyesterday ordered a retrial of 15 employ-ees at an alumina plant who were clearedlast year of criminal wrongdoing over thecountry’s worst toxic spill in 2010. Thecour t over turned the Januar y 2016acquittals of Zoltan Bakonyi, the formerdirector of the MAL alumina plant in thewestern town of Ajka, and 14 employees.Prosecutors had appealed the originalverdict, arguing that judges had commit-ted procedural irregularities and that thedisaster could have been prevented ifMAL’s management had intervened intime. The deadly disaster occurred onOctober 4, 2010, after the plant’s holdingreservoir burst its walls, sending 1.1 mil-lion cubic meters (38.8 million cubic feet)of poisonous red sludge into villages inwestern Hungary.

Ten people died and 150 were injured,many with horrendous chemical burns.The mud-a caustic byproduct of produc-

ing alumina, which is used to make alu-minum-also wiped out almost all life innearby rivers, and even spread to theDanube. After a 40-month trial, the 15employees were cleared of negligence,waste management violations and dam-age to the environment, sparking an out-cry from victims of the spill. Prosecutorshad demanded prison sentences for allthe accused, but the court found that thedisaster had been caused by a “loss of sta-bility in the undersoil”.

The fault lay with the designers of thereservoir and the authorities responsiblefor carrying out checks, rather than thecompany ’s staff, the cour t said.Yesterday ’s ruling by a court in Gyor,which lies north of Ajka, is not subject toappeal. Despite vast sums spent ondepolluting the region, it still bears tracesof the tragedy. Hundreds of hectares ofland remain sealed off and cannot beused for cultivation. —AFP

Hungary court orders retrial over 2010 toxic spill

PARIS: Scientists unveiled a trove ofnewly-discovered gene variants yester-day to help predict who will most likelydevelop a killer lung disease, bothamong smokers and non-smokers. Theworld’s biggest probe of the genetics oflung health yielded 43 new gene vari-ants linked to chronic obstructive pul-monary disease (COPD), a major cause ofdeath. COPD is a bundle of incurablelung ailments, including emphysemaand chronic bronchitis. People with thewrong genetic makeup who also smokeare especially at risk, a team of scientistswrote in the journal Nature Genetics. “Asa result of this work, we can now better

predict who will develop COPD openingup the possibility of using this informa-tion in prevention,” said Martin Tobinfrom the University of Leicester, one ofthe leaders of the research team.

“ This genetic information guidesfuture treatments including the develop-ment of new drugs.” According to a 2015study in the Journal of Global Health,there were an estimated 384 millionCOPD cases globally in 2010. It claimedabout 2.9 million lives that year, makingit the fourth most common cause ofdeath-predicted to reach third place by2030. About 90 percent of COPD deathsoccur in low- and middle-income coun-

tries, and some 40 percent of deaths areattributable to smoking. Despite it beinga strong risk factor, not all people whosmoke develop COPD, and not all peoplewho do develop it are smokers. This islargely due to genetic differences, saidthe research team.

Defusing a time bomb By nearly doubling the number of

genetic variants associated with lungdisease, they discovered that people inthe highest genetic risk group had a 3.7higher chance of developing COPDthan those in the lowest. As many as 72out of 100 smokers in the genetic high-

risk group will develop lung disease, theteam said. “By quitting smoking in earlyadulthood, COPD could be prevented infive out of ten people” at high geneticrisk, said the University of Leicester.“The breakthrough advance could helpdefuse a ‘ticking time bomb’ for seriouslung disease, with over a billion smok-ers worldwide at risk,” it added in astatement.

Genes are sections of DNA carryingcodes for building the proteins anorganism needs to function. Sometimesthe same gene varies from one personto the next, accounting for distinct fea-tures such as straight or curly hair, eye

color, and vulnerability to diseases.“Given how common COPD is, we knowsurprisingly little about the reasonswhy one individual develops the condi-tion whilst another does not,” said fel-low research leader Ian Hall from theUniversity of Nottingham. “The studyof genetic variation between individu-als provides a powerful way to under-stand these mechanisms which under-lie disease risk, which in turn will pro-vide a stimulus for drug development.”The study involved more than 100 sci-entists trawling through the geneticsignatures of 350,000 people from 13countries. —AFP

Genes point to who develops lung disease, study finds

TIRANA: Emira Sela covers her face with herhand to hide a disfiguring abscess, the traumaticresult of unregulated cosmetic treatments nowrampant across Albania. The 31-year-old beganto worry when wrinkles appeared on her face.Sela’s hairdresser told her that a simple injection,costing around 60 euros ($65), would banish thesigns of ageing. “She assured me that I wouldnot risk anything. She even listed well-knownnames” of women who had undergone suchtreatment, said Sela. “I did not think twice, I trust-ed her without asking questions,” said theblonde woman with green eyes, her voice trem-bling. Albanian hair and beauty salons lackingexpertise and medical supervision are offeringsuch cosmetic treatments, unregulated in a legal

vacuum, much to the alarm of qualified doctors.A single injection of a product whose content

and dosage Sela knew nothing about wasenough to ruin her life in late August. Despiteantibiotics she has permanent pain, fever andnausea, while the abscess on her right cheekforces her eye to half-close and her face is nearlyparalyzed. “I am so disfigured that I tried to com-mit suicide,” said Sela, who lost her job in a bank.Her only hope now is corrective surgery at anItalian hospital, scheduled for this month.

Desiring Kardashian look “There are more and more impostors with

syringes,” said Panajot Papa, a plastic surgeon ata private clinic in Tirana. “The problem is also the

products... Forbidden in Europe, they enter ille-gally from Turkey or China.” Eriona Shehu, a der-matologist at Tirana’s university hospital, saidthese unregulated synthetic products, such asinjected liquid silicone and acrylamide, werebeing offered at temptingly low prices.“Cosmetic interventions have become a lucrativeindustry. The patient is only a customer, exposedto a number of risks.” Shehu said the desire tolook like voluptuous US reality television starKim Kardashian was “destroying the lives ofyoung Albanian girls looking for beauty”.

Albanian doctors say the typical age of clientsfor such procedures is between 16 and 28. Inthe country of about three million people, thedemand for cosmetic interventions rose morethan 50 percent in 2015, according to a studypublished by Albania’s economic magazineMonitor. Promotional offers can be seen every-where, such as a beauty salon advertising 20-percent reductions for three people comingtogether for treatment during the holiday sea-son. Monika Fida, another dermatologist work-ing in a regulated healthcare setting at the uni-versity hospital, says such offers are a trap, pro-moting procedures carried out “without anymedical supervision”.

Papa says he has treated a dozen youngwomen aged between 20 and 27 who sufferedcomplications after having their lips and cheek-bones swollen with injected liquid silicone for 40to 50 euros. The product has been banned forcosmetic use in countries such as Italy andFrance for more than 15 years. Papa said suchbotched interventions left these women proneto particularly bad swellings during their men-strual period, requiring further treatment-and hewarned they may suffer such symptoms for life.

Closing legal gap Albanian doctors are worried about foreign

practitioners who come from Italy, Turkey andGreece to work just for a weekend. “They maynot have a diploma, qualification or license forthese kind of interventions or for assuming theresponsibility of a patient’s medical follow-up,”said Besim Boci, head of the otolaryngologydepartment at Tirana’s university hospital. Dueto legal loopholes, the judiciary cannot step in.A spokesman at Tirana’s main tribunal, AlbaNikolla, admits that it is currently impossible to“open investigations and prosecute based onlyon complaints” against practitioners.

But authorities are set to tackle this with adraft law to control cosmetic products and beau-ty salons, which is due to be introduced in par-liament in the next few months. The law com-plies with the requirements of the EuropeanUnion, which Albania aspires to join, and willenable authorities to shut down rogue establish-ments using synthetic products. When health isadversely affected, practitioners could be impris-oned for three to 10 years.

Such regulations could go some way to eas-ing the trauma of women like Elisa Lura, a 22-year-old economics student. She underwent alaser treatment to restore her natural look afterpaying 50 euros to a neighborhood salon forpermanent eyebrow tattoos, which went wrong.But the laser made things much worse.“Everything is spoiled!” she said of her face nowcovered with painful scars. —AFP

Young Albanians scarred byrogue cosmetic treatments‘Open investigations and prosecute based only on complaints’

TIRANA, Qarku Tiran’s: Dermatologist Monika Fida (not pictured) gives to a woman alip augmentation injection of hyaluronic acid at her clinic. —AFP photos

TIRANA, Qarku Tiran’s: Dermatologist Monika Fida (r) examines a woman at herclinic.

NAKURU, Kenya: Everline Achieng hasa disability you only notice when shestands. She walks with the support of acrutch since losing the use of her rightl e g a t t h e a g e o f e i g h t d u e to a nunknown illness that also put an end toher educat ion. I n 2010, three yearsbefore the government introduced afree maternity services program, shedelivered twins by caesarean section atthe Rif t Valley General Hospital, butthey died after developing breathingproblems. On top of suffering the lossof her babies, Achieng had difficultiesin hospital as the bed she was givenwas high and fixed. “I t was a painfulstruggle climbing onto it,” she recalled.

At the hospital where she delivered,s i n ce re n a m e d a s N a k u r u Le ve l 5Hospital, the wards are now equippedw i t h a d j u s t a b l e b e d s - a s i gn t h a thealth ser v ices are becoming morei n c l u s i ve. B u t o n e t h i n g h a s n o tchanged: the lack of data on disabledexpec tant mothers . I n 2013, heal thfunctions were devolved to Kenya’s 47counties, which are bound by the 2010constitution to implement health poli-cies developed at the national level,including free maternity services. Butrights activists say those services havenot been adapted for disabled women,partly because the government is notg a t h e r i n g i n fo r m a t i o n o n t h e m .

Achieng is counted as one of the nearly5 percent of the Kenyan population suf-fering some form of disability, as cap-tured in a 2007 national survey. But thatdata is now around a decade old - andmore recent censuses, such as the 2014Kenya Demographic and Health Survey,do not include information on disabledmen, women or children.

Hidden needsIn hospitals, the patient sheet filled

in by pregnant women has no ques-tion ask ing if they have a disabil ity.Information gathered by county hospi-tals is fed into the Ministry of Health’sdatabase, which can be used by otherministries and development agencies.But the oversight in the data collec-tion makes it impossible to tell howmany disabled mothers are deliveringat hospitals.

Dr John Murima, medical superin-tendent at Nakuru Level 5 Hospital ,could not provide figures on disabledwomen giving birth at the public facili-ty. “ We use cer tain tools to capturedata for patients - for example, theirgeneral health. But we do not have atool that captures people with disabili-ty as a patient,” he said. Given that gov-ernments and donors rely on data toi d e n t i f y d e v e l o p m e n t c o n c e r n s ,Kenya’s lack of statistics on disabled

p e o p l e a c c e s s i n g h e a l t h s e r v i c e smeans their needs are at risk of beingignored, experts warn. President UhuruKenyatta introduced the Free MaternityS e r v i c e s Pr o g r a m m e i n m i d - 2 0 1 3 ,aimed at relieving all women of havingto pay user fees for delivery at publichospitals.

Annually, 1.6 million women in Kenyadeliver babies, according to the healthministry. Of these, around 1 million givebirth in public hospitals, while 200,000do so in private hospitals and 400,000deliver at home or in unhealthy condi-tions. Even women who do not pay intothe National Hospital Insurance Fund(NHIF), a state health insurance scheme,are eligible for free delivery.

Last Oc tober, the health ministr yextended free maternity services undera program called “Linda Mama, BoreshaJamii” (“take care of a mother, improvet h e f a m i l y ” ) . U n d e r t h i s i n i t i a t i ve ,expectant mothers who cannot affordinsurance cover can now access ante-natal, delivery, post-natal and healthservices for their child for a year.

Dr Peter Kimuu, head of the healthministry’s policy, planning and health-care financing department, said thoseeligible must register f irst for a freeNHIF card. “Every woman has a right toaccess equal and quality health servicesi n a ny h o s p i t a l ,” h e s a i d . B u t fo r

Achieng, the unique needs of disabledmothers extend beyond free maternityservices. “We really need help to startincome-generating activities to be ableto afford a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

‘Private affair’The global Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs), launched last year, statethat countries should promote genderequality by eliminating all forms of dis-crimination against women. But with-out data to demonstrate the scale andurgency of the problem, securing fund-ing for programs to support disabledwomen is likely to take longer than the15-year life span of the SDGs, arguedGeorge Gongera, a professor of strate-gic management and international rela-t ions at the Co- operative UniversityCollege of Kenya.

Dr David Ole Sankok, chairperson ofKenya’s National Counci l of Personswith Disabilities, which is charged withcollecting data on disabled people, saidno audit had been done on women withdisabilities seeking maternity care. Buttrying to gather such information coulddraw strong reactions from the targetgroup, he warned. “ This is a pr ivateaffair and you can’t start asking if shehas a disability. She will begin to thinkthat she is not supposed to be pregnantbecause of her disability,” said Sankok.

Despite the sensitivity of the issue,medical staff are being trained to han-dle disabled patients better, and thecouncil is pushing for prescriptions tobe offered in braille for the blind, headded. Stephen Obama, Nakuru Countycoordinator for persons with disabilitiesand development, said programs target-ing disabled women must be imple -mented urgently if they are to enjoygood maternal health . “Pover t y is amajor problem facing persons with dis-abilities and for a pregnant woman itbecomes even more compl icatedbecause they have special needs tomeet, like healthy food - and that meansmoney which they don’t have. We wantgovernment to note this as a troublingissue,” he said.

Last year, the Ministry of Health recog-nized the poor state of data collection ina key investment framework, noting thatit is problematic for planning and moni-toring. Faith Njahira, a disability rightsadvocate, said the government shouldutilize information collected by commu-nity health workers from households -which includes disabilities among familymembers - to compile disaggregateddata. That would be a key step towardsrecognizing the problem, said Gongera.“It is very difficult to consider an issue,even when it is an emergency... when youhave no data to show,” he said. —Reuters

Kenya’s disabled mothers neglected due to dearth of data

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ETUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

JOHANNESBURG: Wildlife traffickersin a major African park have beenoffering rewards for a full lion carcass,raising concerns that poachers areincreasingly targeting a vulnerablespecies because of demand in someAsian countries for lion bones used intraditional medicine. The report fromMozambique’s Niassa NationalReserve comes amid debate aboutwhether the legal, annual export ofbones from hundreds of captive-bredlions in South Africa to China andSoutheast Asia could spur the market,possibly leading to the illegal killing ofwild lions for their bones as well.African lion bones are a relativelyrecent substitute in tonics for thebones of Asian tigers, whose numberswere depleted by poachers.

There have been “multiplying anec-dotal reports of lions harvested forbody parts” along with “increasingexamples of whole skeletons being tak-en,” said Paul Funston, senior lion pro-gram director for the Panthera conser-vation group. He said he believes thephenomenon is linked to increasedChinese demand rather than the long-time use of lion parts in some tradition-al cultures in Africa. “It seems to startwith teeth and claws, which probablymainly have trinket value, and migratesto bones and carcasses once a marketis established,” Funston said.

Predators of preyLions face other threats, including

human encroachment on habitats andthe poaching of antelopes and otheranimals for food, which deprives thepredators of prey. The number ofAfrican lions in the wild has droppedby more than 40 percent to about20,000 in the past two decades,according to estimates. The Niassawildlife park has at least a third ofMozambique’s population of 2,700lions. Colleen Begg, a leader of a carni-vore project there, said the local use oflion parts is not a major concern yetand that lion poachers appear to becatering to the Asian market.

“We have middlemen coming inand offering a motorbike or $1,500 fora full lion carcass. This started about

18 months ago and is a real worry as,through poison and snares, they arenow directly targeting lions. Most ofour information comes throughinformers, but last year a poacher wascaught with lion bones,” Begg wrote inan email to The Associated Press.

“There is no doubt that poachingtrade routes for ivory, pangolin scales,lion bones, rhino horn are very similarand the lion bones, teeth and clawsare all going out the same way and arefound in confiscated shipments thatalso contain ivory and rhino horn fromMozambique,” Begg said. Last year,Mozambican police seized a haul ofrhino horn as well as six kilograms (13pounds) of lion claws and teeth insuitcases at the international airport inthe capital, Maputo, according tomedia reports. In January, poacherscut through fences at an animal parkin neighboring South Africa’s Limpopoprovince and decapitated andchopped the paws off three male

lions. Similar cases have been report-ed in recent weeks. Police said Fridaythey arrested a Mozambican and fourSouth Africans after receiving informa-tion that people were selling lionheads in the province, South Africa’sNews24 website reported.

Lion teethRecent South African cases “have

the hallmark of domestic consump-tion for the local traditional medicinetrade,” said Vivienne Williams, aresearcher at the University ofWitwatersrand in Johannesburg andthe lead author on a 2015 lion bonestudy. Sometimes, lion teeth andclaws are used as talismans and lionpaw bones feature in healers’ divina-tion sets, she said. Williams said she isaware of cases “where Asian nationalshave been arrested at airports withundeclared lion teeth and claws” andthat more research is needed to firmlyestablish any link between an appar-

ent surge in lion poaching and theAsian market. South Africa has pro-posed a 2017 export quota of 800skeletons of captive-bred lions, manyof which are killed by paying clients ina practice described by critics as“canned hunting.”

South Africa’s environmentalaffairs department raised a concernthat runs counter to that of some con-servationists, saying a ban on thetrade in captive-bred lion bonescould trigger more poaching of wildlions. Richard Thomas, spokesman forTRAFFIC, a conservation group, saidthe legal industry must be closelymonitored. “We don’t fully under-stand the dynamics of the lion bonetrade, and while it may not currentlybe having a perceived impact on wildlions in South Africa, we simply don’tknow whether that’ll be the casethere in the future or whether it’spresently the case elsewhere in thecontinent,” he said. —AP

Trade in African lion bones for

Asian market faces scrutiny

MADIKWE: In this file photo lions yawn in the Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa. —AP

COPENHAGEN, Denmark: Norwegian zoologists havefound about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in thestomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a south-western Norway coast. The visibly sick, 2-ton goose-beaked

whale was euthanized, Terje Lislevand of Bergen Universitysaid Friday. “The (whale’s) stomach was full of plastic,”Lislevand said, adding that its intestine “had no food, onlysome remnants of a squid’s head in addition to a thin fat

layer.” Lislevand says the non-biodegradable waste was“probably the reason” why the male whale repeatedlybeached last Saturday in shallow waters off Sotra, an islandwest of Bergen, 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of

the capital of Oslo. It size - about 6 meters (20 feet) -showed the whale was an adult. The UN estimates that 8million tons of plastic trash are dumped into the world’soceans each year, he said. —AP

Zoologists say dead whale in Norway full of plastic bags

OSLO: Researchers from the university begin dissecting a two-ton whale that was beached in shallow waters off Sotra, anisland west of Bergen, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north-west of Oslo. —AP photos

OSLO: Researchers show plastic bags found inside the stomach of a two-tonwhale that was beached in shallow waters off Sotra.

OSLO: Researchers lay out plastic bags found inside the stomachof a two-ton whale that was beached in shallow waters off Sotra.

Scientists find crop-destroying

caterpillar spreading rapidly in Africa

LONDON: Scientists tracking a crop-destroying caterpillar known as armywormsay it is now spreading rapidly across main-land Africa and could reach tropical Asia andthe Mediterranean in the next few years,threatening agricultural trade. In researchreleased yesterday, scientists at the Britain-based Centre for Agriculture andBiosciences International (CABI) said thepest, which had not previously been estab-lished outside the Americas, is now expect-ed to spread “to the limits of suitable Africanhabitat” within a few years.

The caterpillar destroys young maizeplants, attacking their growing points andburrowing into the cobs. “It likely travelled toAfrica as adults or egg masses on direct com-mercial flights and has since been spreadwithin Africa by its own strong flight abilityand carried as a contaminant on crop pro-duce,” said CABI’s chief scientist MatthewCock. Armyworm, known as “fall armyworm”in the United States due to its tendency tomigrate there in autumn, or fall, is native toNorth and South America and can devastatemaize, a staple crop crucial to food security inlarge parts of Africa.

Suspected outbreaks have already erupt-

ed in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and SouthAfrica and the UN Food and AgricultureOrganization said last week it had spread toNamibia and Mozambique. The CABIresearch found evidence of two species offall armyworm in Ghana for the first timeand scientists are now working to under-stand how it got there, how it spreads, andhow farmers can control it in an environ-mentally friendly way.

“This is the first time it has been shownthat both species or strains are established onmainland Africa,” Cook said. “Following earlierreports from Nigeria, Togo and Benin, thisshows they are clearly spreading very rapidly.”While armyworm mainly affects maize, it hasalso been recorded eating more than 100 dif-ferent plant species, causing major damageto crops such as rice and sugarcane as well ascabbage, beet and soybeans.

Cook warned that outbreaks can causedevastating losses and mounting debts forfarmers and said urgent action is now need-ed to help farmers figure out the beststrategies to control the pest. South Africa’sagriculture ministry said last week it wasregistering pesticides for use against army-worm. —Reuters

BEIJING: China will double the numberof AIDS patients it treats with traditionalChinese medicine (TCM), officials havesaid, part of a broader push to increasethe use of the ancient practice in thecountry’s medical system. The promotionof TCM is part of a five-year plan from theState Council, China’s cabinet, to tackleHIV/AIDS. “The number of people livingwith AIDS who are treated with tradition-al Chinese medicine should be twicewhat it was in 2015,” the State Councilsaid on its website Sunday.

The plan outlined collaborationbetween traditional Chinese medicinedepartments and national health andfamily planning commissions “to find atherapeutic regimen which combines tra-ditional Chinese medicine (TCM) andWestern medicines”. The TCM push alignswith a recent effort by the government tomake the practice a priority for bothdevelopment and publicity.

TCM, dating back thousands of years,

treats ailments using herbal mixtures andphysical therapies such as acupunctureand cupping. The science behind suchremedies has long been questioned. Lastmonth medical researchers disputed astudy claiming that acupuncture couldcure babies of colic. In late December theChinese legislature passed its first TCMlaw, which will allow practitioners to belicensed and make it easier for them toopen clinics.

There are about 450,000 TCM practi-tioners across the country, according tothe State Council Information Office.The government sees the practice as acost-saving alternative to modernhealthcare. The new initiative to tackleHIV/AIDS will aim to reduce “AIDS-relat-ed homosexual behavior” by at least 10percent and mother-to-children trans-mission rates to less than four percent.In a 2015 report China told the UN thatit had 501,000 cases of HIV/AIDS as ofthe end of 2014. —AFP

China promotes traditional

medicine to combat AIDS

W H AT ’ S ONTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Ahmadi Governorate launched celebrations for Kuwait’s National Holidays by decorating government buildings with colors of Kuwait’s flag and portraits of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-AhmadAl-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Pakistan Employment Forum Kuwait (PEFK), Medical AssistanceDivision, organized an oral health care seminar recently foryoung students in International School of Pakistan Khaitan with

coordination of Bushra Karamat, The Principal of International Schoolof Pakistan Primary Section and Vice Principal of Primary section

Nadiya Muhammad. PEFK Medical Assistance Division prepared andconducted the event by Dr Huda Shams, Dr Yasir Jameel. PEFK MedicalAssistance Division is dealing with career assistance, guidance andcounseling in Medical field for Job seekers and Students.

Anjum Masoud, the Principal of ISP, Bushra Karamat, The Principal

of ISC Primary, Vice Principal of Primary section Nadiya Muhammad,Vice Principal of Juniors/Seniors Classes Uzma Amir and FounderPresident of PEFK Muhammad Irfan Adil, along with school staffgraced the event.

PEFK organizes oral health care awareness seminar for students

W H AT ’ S ONTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

National festivals stir a sense ofpride and set the mood for cel-ebration. India, with its diversi-

ty joins hands to bring out its best onthese occasions. One such humbleattempt was made by IndiaInternational School Mangaf on theeve of 68th Republic Day.

The tiny tots of Kindergarten, cladin tricolor and soldiers’ attire ren-dered patriotic songs eulogizing thegreat soldiers who sacrificed theirlives for our mother country. Thewhole event in the Kindergarten sec-tion was organized under the guid-ance of the section Head, Nilofer Qazi.

A special assembly was organizedby I and II graders with much patrioticfervor wherein students sang anddanced to the tune of ‘Maa thujesalaam’, ‘Vandemaataram’ and ‘Deshmere rangila’ against saffron, whiteand green backdrop. The speechdelivered highlighted the importanceof the Indian constitution. Dressed in

tricolor, with flag colored fans inhands, the students cheered theongoing performances. The ambienceechoed the pitch of nationalism.

In this regard, Fancy DressCompetition was organized for classII, and an Interclass CollageCompetition, depicting national sym-bols of India, was conducted forgrades III to V. The mighty effortwhich was put up by students andteachers alike was appreciated by theSchool Director, Malayil Moosa Koya,Principal, F M Basheer Ahmed, VicePrincipal, Narinder Kaur and the VicePrincipals, Saleem, Sophy John andIndulekha Suresh.

IISM celebrates 68th Republic Day

Dr Seyed Esmaeili of the Electrical and ComputerEngineering Department at the American University ofKuwait was awarded a silver medal for his invention at the

9th International Invention Fair of Middle East (IIFME) which tookplace in Kuwait from the 16th to 19th of January, 2017. HeldUnder the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, IIFME is the second largest internation-al exhibition for inventions after the International InventionExhibition of Geneva. Nearly 200 inventors from 36 countriesacross the globe participated with 150 inventions.

Dr Esmaeili’s invention, entitled: Reversible AdjustableEyeglasses with Polarized and/or Prescription Lenses, basically

consists of eyeglasses that can be adjusted to provide two differ-ent looks. Rotatable side arms and a rotatable secondary frameprovide a mechanism to interchange the interior and exteriorsides of the glasses which can differ in color, pattern, or both. Acorrect lens orientation indicator on the secondary frame ensurescorrect configuration of the glasses. The proposed mechanism isboth easy to manufacture and user friendly.

Dr Esmaeili received both US and European patents for hisinvention. He had also designed and modeled the glasses using a3D printer. The invention was well received by the inventors, thejudging committee, as well as the public at the IIFME.

AUK Engineering Professor receives silver medalat 9th International Invention Fair of Middle East

Dr Esmaeili Receives a silver medal. Dr Esmaeili’s booth at the fair.

In this special legal presentation, AtyabAl Shatti and Najmah Brown from Al-Adwani Law Firm will provide an

overview of the Family Law system inKuwait. Learn about the marriage con-tract, divorce, alimony, child custody, andchild support, in addition to recent

updates in Kuwaiti family law. The presen-tation takes place on Wednesday,February 15 at 7:00 pm. Address: Villa No67, Street 413, Block 4, Shuhada Area,Kuwait.

Family Lawin a nutshell

T V PR O G R A M STUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017`

01:00 Bullet 03:00 Mercy 05:00 Taken 3 07:00 Deep Rising 09:00 Dragon Blade 11:00 I Am Number Four 13:00 Taken 3 15:15 Batman: Bad Blood 16:45 Last Action Hero 19:00 Automata 21:00 Fast & Furious 7 23:30 No Way Out

00:00 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet 00:55 Gator Boys 01:50 Swimming With Monsters: SteveBackshall 02:45 Bondi Vet 03:40 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet 04:35 Tanked 05:25 Great Animal Escapes 06:15 Gator Boys 07:02 Swimming With Monsters: SteveBackshall 07:49 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet 08:36 Gorilla School 09:25 Groomer Has It 10:15 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet 11:10 Great Animal Escapes 11:35 Great Animal Escapes 12:05 Tanked 13:00 Groomer Has It 13:55 Bondi Vet 14:50 Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet 15:45 Gator Boys 16:40 Great Animal Escapes 17:35 Tanked 18:30 Swimming With Monsters: SteveBackshall 19:25 Rugged Justice 20:20 Up Close And Dangerous 21:15 Tanked 22:10 Great Animal Escapes 23:05 Rugged Justice

00:45 Casualty 01:40 Undercover 02:40 In Plain Sight 03:30 Ripper Street

04:25 Orphan Black 05:10 Casualty 06:05 New Tricks 07:00 Casualty 08:00 Casualty 08:50 Death In Paradise 09:45 Stella 10:35 New Tricks 11:30 Casualty 12:30 Death In Paradise 13:25 Stella 14:20 New Tricks 15:15 Casualty 16:15 Death In Paradise 17:10 Stella 18:05 New Tricks 19:00 Doctors 19:30 Doctors 20:05 Death In Paradise 21:00 Call The Midwife 22:00 Silent Witness 23:05 Silent Witness

00:00 Homicide Hunter 01:00 Britain's Darkest Taboos 02:00 Killers: Behind The Myth 03:00 When Life Means Life 04:00 Homicide Hunter 05:00 Britain's Darkest Taboos 06:00 Killers: Behind The Myth 07:00 When Life Means Life 08:00 Evil Up Close 09:00 Evil Up Close 10:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 11:00 It Takes A Killer 11:30 It Takes A Killer 12:00 Who Was I? My Past Lives 13:00 Who Was I? My Past Lives 14:00 Who Was I? My Past Lives 15:00 Ms. Murder 16:00 Evil Up Close 17:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 18:00 It Takes A Killer 18:30 It Takes A Killer 19:00 Nightmare In Suburbia 20:00 The First 48 21:00 The First 48 22:00 Crimes That Shook Britain 23:00 Evil Up Close

00:05 Tosh.0 00:30 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 01:00 The Half Hour 01:25 South Park 01:50 South Park 02:15 Tosh.0 02:40 Inside Amy Schumer 03:05 South Park 03:30 South Park 04:00 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 04:25 Catch A Contractor 04:50 Catch A Contractor 05:15 Lip Sync Battle 05:40 Ridiculousness 06:05 Ridiculousness 06:30 Gym Rescue

07:20 Catch A Contractor 08:15 Catch A Contractor 08:40 Catch A Contractor 09:05 Disaster Date 09:30 Ridiculousness 09:55 Ridiculousness 10:20 Key And Peele 10:45 Disaster Date 11:10 Ridiculousness 11:35 The It Crowd 12:00 Gym Rescue 12:50 Important Things With DemitriMartin 13:15 Lip Sync Battle 13:40 The It Crowd 14:05 Catch A Contractor 14:30 Catch A Contractor 14:55 Ridiculousness 15:20 Bondi Ink. 16:10 Comedy Central Presents Comedy3alwagef 16:35 Ridiculousness 17:00 Ridiculousness 17:30 Disaster Date 17:55 Lip Sync Battle 18:25 Key And Peele 18:50 Lip Sync Battle 19:15 Lip Sync Battle 19:39 The It Crowd 20:03 Sweat Inc. 20:50 Disaster Date 21:13 Idiotsitter 21:37 Important Things With DemitriMartin 22:00 The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 22:30 The Meltdown With Jonah AndKumail 22:54 The Jim Gaffigan Show 23:18 Broad City 23:42 Broad City

00:15 Destroyed In Seconds 00:40 Ultimate Survival 01:30 Nextworld 02:20 Baby Animals 02:45 Baby Animals 03:10 World's Toughest Expeditions WithJames Cracknell 04:00 Destroyed In Seconds 04:25 Destroyed In Seconds 04:50 Ultimate Survival 05:40 How It's Made 06:05 How It's Made 06:30 Dirty Jobs 07:20 Mythbusters 08:00 Kids vs Film 08:25 Dick 'n' Dom Go Wild 08:50 Too Cute! Pint-Sized 09:40 How It's Made

10:05 How It's Made 10:30 Nextworld 11:20 Mythbusters 12:10 Too Cute! Pint-Sized 13:00 Ultimate Survival 13:50 How It's Made 14:15 How It's Made 14:40 Dirty Jobs 15:30 Kids vs Film 15:55 Dick 'n' Dom Go Wild 16:20 Mythbusters 17:10 Nextworld 18:00 Guinness World Records SmashedNew Zealand 18:25 Guinness World Records SmashedNew Zealand 18:50 Guinness World Records SmashedUK 19:40 Destroyed In Seconds 20:05 Destroyed In Seconds 20:30 How It's Made 20:55 How It's Made 21:20 Mythbusters 22:10 Australia Smashes Guinness WorldRecords 22:35 Australia Smashes Guinness WorldRecords 23:00 Guinness World Records SmashedUK 23:50 Destroyed In Seconds

00:00 Kirby Buckets 00:25 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 00:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 01:10 Hank Zipzer 01:35 Binny And The Ghost 02:00 Violetta 02:45 The Hive 02:50 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 03:15 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 03:40 Hank Zipzer 04:05 Binny And The Ghost 04:30 Violetta 05:15 The Hive 05:20 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 05:45 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch 06:10 Hank Zipzer 06:35 Binny And The Ghost 07:00 Violetta 07:45 The Hive 07:50 The 7D 08:00 Jessie 08:25 Jessie 08:50 Rolling To The Ronks 09:15 Tsum Tsum Shorts 09:20 Elena Of Avalor 09:45 Bunk'd 10:10 Stuck In The Middle 10:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 11:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 11:25 A.N.T. Farm 11:50 A.N.T. Farm

12:15 Good Luck Charlie 12:40 Good Luck Charlie 13:05 Shake It Up 13:30 Shake It Up 13:55 Disney Mickey Mouse 14:00 Welcome To The Ronks 14:15 Gravity Falls 14:40 Hank Zipzer 15:05 Star Darlings 15:10 Austin & Ally 15:35 Jessie 16:00 Bunk'd 16:25 Kirby Buckets 16:50 Rolling To The Ronks 17:15 Sunny Bunnies 17:20 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug AndCat Noir 17:45 Elena Of Avalor 18:10 Stuck In The Middle 18:35 Descendants Wicked World 18:40 Girl Meets World 19:05 Bizaardvark 19:30 Liv And Maddie 19:55 Best Friends Whenever 20:20 Disney Mickey Mouse 20:25 The Next Step 20:50 Austin & Ally 21:15 Star Darlings 21:20 Shake It Up 21:45 Backstage 22:10 Liv And Maddie 22:35 Cracke 22:40 The Next Step 23:05 Best Friends Whenever 23:30 Jessie 23:55 Tsum Tsum Shorts

00:00 Sofia The First 00:30 Sofia The First 00:55 PJ Masks 01:20 Henry Hugglemonster 01:35 The Hive 01:45 Loopdidoo 02:00 Henry Hugglemonster 02:15 Calimero 02:30 Art Attack 02:55 Zou 03:05 Loopdidoo 03:20 Henry Hugglemonster 03:35 Calimero 03:50 Zou 04:05 Art Attack 04:30 The Hive 04:40 Loopdidoo 04:55 Henry Hugglemonster 05:10 Art Attack 05:35 Loopdidoo 05:50 Calimero 06:05 Art Attack

06:30 Henry Hugglemonster 06:45 Zou 07:00 Art Attack 07:30 Henry Hugglemonster 07:45 Loopdidoo 08:00 Zou 08:15 Calimero 08:30 Loopdidoo 08:45 Henry Hugglemonster 09:00 Minnie's Bow-Toons 09:05 PJ Masks 09:15 Goldie & Bear 09:30 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 09:45 Miles From Tomorrow 09:55 The Lion Guard 10:20 Doc McStuffins 10:35 Goldie & Bear 10:50 Sheriff Callie's Wild West 11:00 PJ Masks 11:15 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 11:30 Minnie's Bow-Toons 11:35 The Lion Guard 12:00 Sofia The First 12:30 Doc McStuffins 12:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:20 My Friends Tigger & Pooh 13:50 Sheriff Callie's Wild West 14:15 Gummi Bears 14:40 Sofia The First 15:10 Little Mermaid 15:35 PJ Masks 16:00 My Friends Tigger & Pooh 16:30 The Lion Guard 16:55 Unbungalievable 17:00 Miles From Tomorrow 17:30 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 17:55 The Lion Guard 18:20 Goldie & Bear 18:50 PJ Masks 19:15 Sofia The First 19:40 Doc McStuffins 20:05 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 20:30 Little Mermaid 21:00 Sofia The First 21:30 Sofia The First 22:00 Unbungalievable 22:05 Goldie & Bear 22:35 Miles From Tomorrow 23:00 My Friends Tigger & Pooh 23:25 Gummi Bears 23:55 Minnie's Bow-Toons

00:30 Fast N' Loud 01:20 Wheeler Dealers 02:10 Gold Rush 03:00 Everest Rescue 03:50 Killing Fields: Burden Of Proof 04:40 Fast N' Loud 05:30 Auction Hunters 06:00 How Do They Do It? 06:30 How Do They Do It? 07:00 Deadliest Catch 07:50 Wheeler Dealers 08:40 Fast N' Loud 09:30 Boy To Man 10:20 Auction Hunters 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How Do They Do It? 11:35 Gold Rush 12:25 Everest Rescue

13:15 Megastorm: World's BiggestTyphoon 14:05 How Do They Do It? 14:30 Auction Hunters 14:55 Auction Hunters 15:20 Alaska: The Last Frontier 16:10 Boy To Man 17:00 Deadliest Catch 17:50 Fast N' Loud 18:40 Misfit Garage 19:30 How Do They Do It? 19:55 How Do They Do It? 20:20 Boy To Man 21:10 Auction Hunters 21:35 Auction Hunters 22:00 The Island With Bear Grylls 22:50 Bear Grylls: Mission Survive 23:40 Ed Stafford: Into The Unknown

00:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA 07:00 Danger Mouse 07:25 Gravity Falls 07:50 Atomic Puppet 08:15 Star vs The Forces Of Evil 08:25 Counterfeit Cat 08:40 Supa Strikas 09:10 K.C. Undercover 09:35 Star Wars Freemaker Adventures 10:00 Lab Rats: Bionic Island 10:25 Lab Rats: Bionic Island 10:50 Danger Mouse 11:20 Supa Strikas 11:45 Supa Strikas 12:10 Counterfeit Cat 12:35 Pair Of Kings 13:00 Pair Of Kings 13:30 Future-Worm! 13:55 Lab Rats 14:20 Lab Rats 14:45 Atomic Puppet 15:10 Disney Mickey Mouse 15:15 Marvel's Avengers: UltronRevolution 15:40 Supa Strikas 16:05 Lab Rats 16:30 Gamer's Guide To Pretty MuchEverything 16:55 Danger Mouse 17:25 K.C. Undercover 17:50 Future-Worm! 18:15 Gravity Falls 18:40 Lab Rats: Bionic Island 19:05 Disney Mickey Mouse 19:10 Supa Strikas 19:35 Supa Strikas 20:00 Atomic Puppet 20:25 Gamer's Guide To Pretty MuchEverything 20:55 K.C. Undercover 21:20 Counterfeit Cat 21:45 Mighty Med 22:10 Pickle And Peanut 22:40 Disney Mickey Mouse 22:45 Marvel's Avengers: UltronRevolution 23:10 Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors 23:35 Boyster

00:00 E! News 00:15 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 01:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 01:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 02:55 LA Clippers Dance Squad 03:55 LA Clippers Dance Squad 04:50 LA Clippers Dance Squad 05:40 LA Clippers Dance Squad 06:30 New Money 07:00 LA Clippers Dance Squad 07:55 E! News 08:10 LA Clippers Dance Squad 09:10 E! News 10:10 Rob & Chyna 11:10 Rob & Chyna 12:05 Rob & Chyna 13:00 E! News 13:15 Fashion Bloggers 13:40 Fashion Bloggers 14:10 Fashion Bloggers 14:35 Fashion Bloggers 15:05 Fashion Bloggers 15:30 Fashion Bloggers 16:00 E! News 16:15 WAGs 17:15 WAGs 18:10 WAGs 19:05 WAGs 20:00 E! News 21:00 Celebrity Style Story 21:30 Celebrity Style Story 22:00 Revenge Body With KhloeKardashian 23:00 Revenge Body With KhloeKardashian

00:00 Restaurant Stakeout 01:00 Mystery Diners 01:30 Mystery Diners 02:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives

02:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 03:00 Man Fire Food 03:30 Man Fire Food 04:00 Chopped 05:00 Guy's Grocery Games 06:00 Barefoot Contessa: Back To Basics 06:30 Barefoot Contessa: Back To Basics 07:00 The Kitchen 08:00 The Pioneer Woman 08:30 The Pioneer Woman 09:00 Siba's Table: Fast Feasts 09:30 Siba's Table: Fast Feasts 10:00 Anna Olson: Bake 10:30 Anna Olson: Bake 11:00 The Kitchen 12:00 The Pioneer Woman 12:30 The Pioneer Woman 13:00 Siba's Table 13:30 Siba's Table 14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 15:00 Chopped 16:00 The Kitchen 17:00 Anna Olson: Bake 17:30 Anna Olson: Bake 18:00 Chopped 19:00 Guy's Grocery Games 20:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 20:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives 21:00 Man Fire Food 21:30 Man Fire Food 22:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 22:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 23:00 Iron Chef America

00:15 Coronation Street 00:40 Coronation Street 01:10 The Chase 02:00 Emmerdale 02:30 Coronation Street 03:00 Coronation Street 03:30 Couples Come Dine With Me 04:25 Vera 06:15 Grantchester 07:10 The Chase 08:05 Couples Come Dine With Me 09:00 Vera 10:30 Callie-Anne Cooks Into The Wild 11:00 Grantchester 11:55 The Chase 12:50 Couples Come Dine With Me 13:45 Emmerdale 14:15 Coronation Street 14:45 Coronation Street 15:15 The Chase 16:10 Couples Come Dine With Me 17:00 Murdoch Mysteries 17:50 Together 18:20 Together 18:50 Grantchester 19:45 Emmerdale 20:15 Coronation Street 20:45 Coronation Street 21:10 Couples Come Dine With Me 22:00 Murdoch Mysteries 22:50 Together 23:20 Together 23:50 Emmerdale

00:00 True Monsters 01:00 The Universe 02:00 Ultimate Guide To The Presidents 03:00 Ancient Discoveries 04:00 Brad Meltzer's Decoded 04:50 Ancient Aliens 05:40 True Monsters 06:30 The Universe 07:20 Ultimate Guide To The Presidents 08:10 The Universe 09:00 Ancient Discoveries 10:00 Brad Meltzer's Decoded 11:00 Ancient Aliens 12:00 Ultimate Guide To The Presidents 13:00 The Universe 14:00 World War II: Lost Films 15:00 Ancient Discoveries 16:00 Brad Meltzer's Decoded 17:00 Ancient Aliens 18:00 Ultimate Guide To The Presidents 19:00 The Universe 20:00 Ultimate Guide To The Presidents 21:00 Ancient Discoveries 22:00 Brad Meltzer's Decoded 23:00 Ancient Aliens

00:30 American Pickers 01:20 Time Team 02:10 The Curse Of Oak Island 03:00 Hunting Hitler 03:50 Storage Wars 04:15 American Pickers 05:05 Pawn Stars 05:30 Pawn Stars 06:00 Mountain Men 07:00 Ice Road Truckers 07:50 Shipping Wars 08:15 Shipping Wars 08:40 Counting Cars

09:05 Counting Cars 09:30 Pawn Stars 09:55 Pawn Stars 10:20 Storage Wars 10:45 Storage Wars 11:10 American Pickers 12:00 Gold Hunters: Legend Of TheSuperstition... 12:50 Time Team 13:40 Swamp People 14:30 Ax Men 15:20 Mountain Men 16:10 Shipping Wars 16:35 Shipping Wars 17:00 Counting Cars 17:25 Counting Cars 17:50 Pawn Stars 18:15 Pawn Stars 18:40 Hunting Hitler 19:30 The Curse Of Oak Island 20:20 Ax Men 21:10 American Pickers 22:00 Mountain Men 22:50 Leepu And Pitbull 23:40 Swamp People

00:20 Carnival Eats 01:10 Chocolate Covered 02:00 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 02:25 Miguel's Tropical Kitchen 02:50 Rustic Adventures Italy 03:15 Valentine Warner Eats Scandinavia 03:40 Wineroads 04:05 Great Escapes 04:30 Miguel's Feasts 04:55 A Is For Apple 05:20 Glamour Puds 05:45 Ariana's Persian Kitchen 06:10 Sara's Australia Unveiled 06:35 Grandma's Boy 07:00 The Shelbourne 07:25 Cruise Ship Diaries 07:50 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 08:15 Miguel's Tropical Kitchen 08:40 Rustic Adventures Italy 09:05 Valentine Warner Eats Scandinavia 09:30 Wineroads 09:55 Great Escapes 10:20 Miguel's Feasts 10:45 A Is For Apple 11:10 Glamour Puds 11:35 Ariana's Persian Kitchen 12:00 Sara's Australia Unveiled 12:25 Grandma's Boy 12:50 The Shelbourne 13:15 Cruise Ship Diaries 13:40 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 14:05 Cesar's Recruit: Asia 14:35 The Shelbourne 15:00 Chocolate Covered 15:30 The Food Files 15:55 Great Escapes 16:25 Miguel's Feasts 16:50 A Is For Apple 17:45 Ariana's Persian Kitchen 18:15 Sara's Australia Unveiled 18:40 Tripping Out With Alie & Georgia 19:10 Chocolate Covered 19:35 The Food Files 20:05 Great Escapes 20:30 Miguel's Feasts 21:00 A Is For Apple 21:50 Ariana's Persian Kitchen 22:15 Sara's Australia Unveiled 22:40 Tripping Out With Alie & Georgia 23:05 Chocolate Covered 23:30 The Food Files 23:55 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet

00:20 Megacities 01:10 The Border 02:00 Highway Thru Hell 03:00 Dirty Rotten Survival 03:55 Mega Factories: Supercars 04:50 The Border 05:45 Born To Ride 06:40 Access 360 World Heritage 07:35 Live Free Or Die 08:30 Highway Thru Hell 09:25 Bad Trip 10:20 World's Toughest Fixes 11:15 Operation Sumatran Rhino 12:10 Wicked Tuna 13:05 Air Crash Investigation 14:00 Bad Trip 15:00 Highway Thru Hell 16:00 Live Free Or Die 17:00 Monster Fish 18:00 Wicked Tuna 19:00 Air Crash Investigation 20:00 Live Free Or Die 21:00 Monster Fish 21:50 Wicked Tuna 22:40 Air Crash Investigation 23:30 Live Free Or Die

00:30 Salmon Wars 01:20 Croc Inside Out 02:10 Maneater Manhunt

03:00 World's Deadliest Snakes 03:50 Wild Russia 04:45 Revenge Of The Lioness 05:40 Winged Seduction: Birds OfParadise 06:35 World's Deadliest Snakes 07:30 Wild Russia 08:25 Revenge Of The Lioness 09:20 Winged Seduction: Birds OfParadise 10:15 Wild 24 11:10 Monster Fish 12:05 Natural Born Monsters 13:00 Hidden Worlds 13:55 Big Cats: An Amazing AnimalFamily 14:50 South Africa 15:45 Raptor Force 16:40 Wild Case Files 17:35 Wild 24 18:30 Monster Fish 19:25 Natural Born Monsters 20:20 Raptor Force 21:10 Wild Case Files 22:00 Wild 24 22:50 Monster Fish 23:40 Natural Born Monsters

00:00 The Motel Life 01:45 Invasion Day 03:30 The World Made Straight 05:30 Red Wing 07:30 Jappeloup 10:00 Posthumous 12:00 Invasion Day 14:00 Stranded 16:00 Love Under The Stars 18:00 Posthumous 20:00 The Reluctant Fundamentalist 22:15 Somewhere Slow

00:00 The Rescuers 02:00 Max 04:00 Beyond The Mask 06:00 Finding Nemo 08:00 Santa's Little Helper 10:00 The Rescuers 12:00 Finding Nemo 14:00 The Boxtrolls 16:00 The Tigger Movie 18:00 Sky High 20:00 Monsterville: The Cabinet Of Souls 22:00 Marvel Super Hero Adventures:Frost Fight 23:30 The Tigger Movie

00:15 The Adderall Diaries 02:00 Victor Frankenstein 04:00 Ricki And The Flash 06:00 Madoff Part 1 08:00 Madoff Part 2 10:00 Ricki And The Flash 12:00 Miracles From Heaven 14:00 I'll See You In My Dreams 16:00 Dad's Army 18:00 The Angry Birds Movie 19:45 The Hunger Games: MockingjayPart II 22:00 Spectre

01:00 Afternoon Delight 03:00 Baby Mama 05:00 After The Ball 07:00 The Grand Seduction 09:00 Baby Mama 11:00 After The Ball 13:00 The Grand Seduction 15:00 Kicking And Screaming 17:00 All About Christmas Eve 19:00 Dirty Work 21:00 Burying The Ex 23:00 The Ladies Man

00:00 Ex Machina 02:00 The Birdcage 04:30 Batkid Begins 06:30 The Martian 09:00 Interstellar 12:00 The Martian 14:30 Creed 17:00 The Village 19:00 War Horse 21:30 The Imitation Game 23:30 Bridge Of Spies

00:15 Memory Loss 01:45 Daddy I'm A Zombie 03:30 Baby Geniuses And The MysteryDAD’S ARMY ON OSN MOVIES HD

AFTER THE BALL ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD

FAST & FURIOUS ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

ClassifiedsTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY(02/02/2017 TO 08/02/2017)

SHARQIA-1SPLIT 1:00 PMSPLIT 3:15 PMKAABIL- HINDI 5:30 PMSPLIT 8:30 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 10:45 PMSPLIT 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-2KUNG-FU YOGA 12:15 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 2:30 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 4:45 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 7:00 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 9:15 PMSPLIT 11:30 PM

SHARQIA-3RESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 12:30 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 2:45 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 5:00 PMRAEES- HINDI 7:15 PMRESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 10:15 PMRAEES- HINDI 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1DANGAL -Hindi 12:15 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 1:30 PMFRIRAEES- HINDI 3:30 PMRAEES- HINDI 6:30 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 9:30 PMSPLIT 11:30 PM

MUHALAB-2RESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 12:15 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 2:30 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 4:45 PMKAABIL- HINDI 7:00 PMRESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 10:00 PMRESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-3xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 11:30 AMSPLIT 1:30 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 3:45 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 6:00 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 8:15 PMSPLIT 10:30 PMSPLIT 12:45 AM

FANAR-1OZZY 11:30 AMTHU+SAT+MONSPLIT 11:30 AMSUN+TUE+WEDSWALLOWS AND AMAZONS 1:45 PM

OZZY 3:45 PMSWALLOWS AND AMAZONS 5:45 PMSPLIT 7:45 PMSPLIT 10:00 PMSPLIT 12:30 AM

FANAR-2LIVE BY NIGHT 12:45 PMRAHAF 1:30 PMFRILIVE BY NIGHT 3:30 PMLIVE BY NIGHT 6:15 PMRAHAF 8:45 PMRAHAF 10:30 PMLIVE BY NIGHT 12:15 AM

FANAR-3DANGAL -Hindi 11:30 AMMONSTER TRUCKS 2:45 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 5:00 PMDANGAL -Hindi 7:15 PMRESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 10:30 PMRESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 12:45 AM

FANAR-4KUNG-FU YOGA 11:45 AMKUNG-FU YOGA 2:00 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 4:15 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 6:30 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 8:45 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 11:00 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 1:00 AM

FANAR-5RAEES- HINDI 12:00 PMRAEES- HINDI 3:00 PMKAABIL- HINDI 6:00 PMRAEES- HINDI 9:00 PMRAEES- HINDI 12:05 AM

MARINA-1RAEES- HINDI 12:00 PMSPLIT 2:45 PMRAEES- HINDI 5:00 PMSPLIT 8:00 PMSPLIT 10:15 PMSPLIT 12:30 AM

MARINA-2xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 11:30 AMKUNG-FU YOGA 1:30 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 3:45 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 6:00 PMKUNG-FU YOGA 8:15 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 10:30 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE 12:45 AM

MARINA-3RESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 12:45 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 3:00 PMRESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 5:15 PMMONSTER TRUCKS 7:30 PMRESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter RESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter 12:05 AM

AVENUES-1DANGAL -Hindi 12:00 PMKAABIL- HINDI 3:15 PMJOMONTE SUVISHESHANGAL- Malayalam 6:15 PMNO SUN+TUE+WEDDANGAL -Hindi 6:00 PMSUN+TUE+WEDDANGAL -Hindi 9:15 PMKAABIL- HINDI 12:30 AM

AVENUES-2MONSTER TRUCKS -3D -4DX 12:45 PMMONSTER TRUCKS -3D -4DX 3:00 PMMONSTER TRUCKS -3D -4DX 5:15 PMMONSTER TRUCKS -3D -4DX 7:30 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE -3D -4DX 10:00 PMxXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE -3D -4DX 12:15 AM

AVENUES-3RAEES- HINDI 11:30 AMRAEES- HINDI 2:30 PMRAEES- HINDI 5:30 PMRAEES- HINDI 8:30 PMRAEES- HINDI 11:30 PM

360º -1SPLIT 11:30 AMSPLIT 1:45 PMSPLIT 4:15 PMSPLIT 6:45 PMSPLIT 9:15 PMSPLIT 11:45 PM

360º -2DANGAL -Hindi 1:15 PMMOANA 1:45 PMFRIDANGAL -Hindi 4:30 PMDANGAL -Hindi 7:45 PMDANGAL -Hindi 11:00 PM

360º -3LIVE BY NIGHT 12:45 PMSING 3:30 PMSING 5:45 PMAL ATR -Kuwaiti Film 8:00 PMLIVE BY NIGHT 10:00 PMLIVE BY NIGHT 12:45 AM

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 7/2/2017Airlines Flt Route TimeMSC 405 Sohag 00:05KAC 776 Riyadh 00:20KLM 411 Amsterdam/Dammam 00:20JZR 267 Beirut 00:30JZR 539 Cairo 00:40THY 772 Istanbul 00:55MSC 411 Asyut 01:00QTR 1086 Doha 01:15KAC 102 London 01:25THY 764 Istanbul 01:50DLH 635 Doha 01:55PGT 858 Istanbul 02:00AXB 395 Kozhikode 02:00ETH 620 Addis Ababa 02:05GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30UAE 853 Dubai 02:30OMA 643 Muscat 02:55KKK 6506 Istanbul 02:55FDB 069 Dubai 03:05RJA 644 Amman 03:05ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:10MSR 612 Cairo 03:10QTR 1076 Doha 03:30KAC 358 Kochi 03:30KAC 206 Islamabad 03:45KAC 1544 Cairo 03:55LMU 5510 Cairo 04:00KAC 418 Manila 04:25THY 6376 Istanbul 05:05JZR 529 Asyut 05:15DHX 170 Bahrain 05:20KAC 354 BLR 05:20KAC 344 Chennai 05:35KAC 332 Trivandrum 05:45THY 770 Istanbul 05:55KAC 384 Delhi 06:05KAC 364 Colombo 06:05KAC 346 Ahmedabad 06:25BAW 157 London 06:40PAL 668 Manila/Dubai 07:00FDB 5061 Dubai 07:15FDB 053 Dubai 07:50KAC 302 Mumbai 08:20UAE 855 Dubai 08:40KAC 382 Delhi 08:45ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:05QTR 1070 Doha 09:30FDB 055 Dubai 09:40SVA 512 Riyadh 10:00AVV 651 Asyut 10:10GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40IRA 675 Lar 10:40SYR 341 Damascus 11:00MSC 403 Asyut 11:15JZR 165 Dubai 11:30MEA 404 Beirut 11:55QTR 8511 Doha 12:00MSC 401 Alexandria 12:30JZR 561 Sohag 12:40FDB 075 Dubai 12:50UAE 871 Dubai 12:50KAC 680 Dubai 12:55MSR 610 Cairo 13:00AXB 393 Kozhikode 13:10BON 101 Sarajevo 13:30KAC 564 Amman 13:40

KAC 788 Jeddah 13:45KAC 792 Madinah 13:50QTR 1078 Doha 14:10FDB 059 Dubai 14:20SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30KAC 692 Muscat 14:30GFA 221 Bahrain 14:40KAC 542 Cairo 14:45KAC 672 Dubai 14:50KNE 529 Jeddah 14:55KAC 618 Doha 15:00ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 15:15KAC 286 Dhaka 15:20OMA 645 Muscat 15:35UAE 857 Dubai 15:45ABY 127 Sharjah 15:50KAC 154 Istanbul 15:55QTR 1072 Doha 16:10JZR 535 Cairo 16:10FDB 051 Dubai 16:25KAC 662 Abu Dhabi 16:35RJA 640 Amman 16:55CLX 7785 Doha 17:00KAC 118 New York 17:00SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30JZR 777 Jeddah 17:45JZR 325 Al Najaf 17:50NIA 251 Alexandria 17:55UAE 875 Dubai 18:00FDB 063 Dubai 18:10JZR 177 Dubai 18:20MSR 620 Cairo 18:30QTR 1080 Doha 18:50KAC 746 Dammam 19:10ABY 123 Sharjah 19:25KAC 502 Beirut 19:30GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30KAC 778 Riyadh 19:35KAC 674 Dubai 19:45FDB 057 Dubai 19:50KAC 514 Tehran 19:50KAC 168 Paris 19:55MSR 618 Alexandria 20:05OMA 647 Muscat 20:10QTR 1088 Doha 20:35KAC 562 Amman 20:40DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:45KAC 616 Bahrain 20:50FDB 5053 Dubai 20:50JAI 572 Mumbai 20:55KAC 786 Jeddah 21:15ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:20MEA 402 Beirut 21:20ALK 229 Colombo 21:25KAC 172 Frankfurt 21:35UAE 859 Dubai 21:40GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45QTR 1082 Doha 22:00JZR 125 Bahrain 22:05KLM 415 Amsterdam/Dammam 22:10NIA 151 Cairo 22:10ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:15AIC 987 Chennai/Hyderabad 22:25PIA 239 Sialkot 22:35JZR 241 Amman 22:45JZR 185 Dubai 23:15FDB 071 Dubai 23:45JAI 574 Mumbai 23:50

Departure Flights on Tuesday 7/2/2017Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05FDB 072 Dubai 00:40ETD 920 Abu Dhabi 00:45JAI 573 Mumbai 00:50MSC 406 Sohag 01:00BBC 144 Chittagong/Dhaka 01:30KLM 411 Amsterdam 01:35MSC 412 Asyut 01:55KAC 417 Manila 02:00KAC 285 Dhaka 02:25THY 773 Istanbul 02:25DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:55AXB 396 Kozhikode 02:55ETH 621 Addis Ababa 03:05PGT 859 Istanbul 03:35UAE 854 Dubai 03:45KKK 6505 Istanbul 03:55OMA 644 Muscat 03:55THY 765 Istanbul 04:00MSR 613 Cairo 04:10ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:10KAC 167 Paris 04:25QTR 1077 Doha 04:40LMU 5511 Cairo 05:00QTR 1087 Doha 05:50JZR 560 Sohag 06:05FDB 070 Dubai 06:30THY 6376 Dubai/Istanbul 06:35KAC 153 Istanbul 06:50THY 771 Istanbul 06:50JZR 164 Dubai 06:55RJA 645 Amman 07:05GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15KAC 541 Cairo 07:15KAC 787 Jeddah 07:45KAC 171 Frankfurt 07:55FDB 5062 Dubai 07:55KAC 563 Amman 08:00KAC 679 Dubai 08:10BAW 156 London 08:40FDB 054 Dubai 08:55KAC 791 Madinah 09:00KAC 691 Muscat 09:00KAC 117 SNN/New York 09:00JZR 534 Cairo 09:15KAC 101 London 09:35ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45UAE 856 Dubai 09:55KAC 671 Dubai 10:05ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:10FDB 056 Dubai 10:35QTR 1071 Doha 10:40SVA 513 Riyadh 11:00AVV 652 Sohag 11:10KAC 617 Doha 11:10KAC 501 Beirut 11:15GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25IRA 674 Lar 11:40SYR 342 Damascus 12:00KAC 661 Abu Dhabi 12:05JZR 776 Jeddah 12:05MSC 404 Asyut 12:15MEA 405 Beirut 12:55QTR 8512 Doha 13:30MSC 402 Alexandria 13:30JZR 176 Dubai 13:45AAG 143 IQA 14:00

MSR 611 Cairo 14:00FDB 076 Dubai 14:05AXB 394 Kozhikode 14:10UAE 872 Dubai 14:15JZR 324 Al Najaf 14:25BON 102 Sarajevo 14:55KAC 673 Dubai 15:00KAC 561 Amman 15:00FDB 060 Dubai 15:10KAC 785 Jeddah 15:15PAL 669 Dubai/Manila 15:20GFA 222 Bahrain 15:25KAC 513 Tehran 15:25QTR 1079 Doha 15:40SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45KNE 530 Jeddah 15:55KAC 777 Riyadh 16:00KAC 745 Dammam 16:00ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:20KAC 357 Kochi 16:20ABY 128 Sharjah 16:30OMA 646 Muscat 16:35JZR 266 Beirut 17:05JZR 240 Amman 17:15FDB 052 Dubai 17:25KAC 615 Bahrain 17:35KAC 343 Chennai 17:40QTR 1073 Doha 17:40UAE 858 Dubai 17:45JZR 538 Cairo 17:45RJA 641 Amman 17:55KAC 331 Trivandrum 18:00SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20KAC 205 Islamabad 18:25CLX 7785 Luxembourg 18:30JZR 184 Dubai 18:40NIA 252 Alexandria 18:55FDB 064 Dubai 19:05JZR 124 Bahrain 19:15UAE 876 Dubai 19:30MSR 621 Cairo 19:30QTR 1081 Doha 19:50ABY 124 Sharjah 20:05GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15FDB 058 Dubai 20:35KAC 361 Colombo 20:35KAC 1543 Cairo 21:00MSR 607 Luxor 21:05OMA 648 Muscat 21:10KAC 345 Ahmedabad 21:30QTR 1089 Doha 21:35DLH 634 Doha 21:35FDB 5054 Dubai 21:50DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50JAI 571 Mumbai 21:55KAC 351 Kochi 22:00KAC 783 Jeddah 22:10ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:15KAC 413 Bangkok 22:15KAC 203 Lahore 22:15MEA 403 Beirut 22:20ALK 230 Colombo 22:25GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30KAC 301 Mumbai 22:45KAC 381 Delhi 22:45UAE 860 Dubai 22:55ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:05NIA 152 Cairo 23:10QTR 1083 Doha 23:20KLM 415 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:20PIA 240 Sialkot 23:35

112

PRAYER TIMINGS

Fajr: 05:13

Shorook: 06:34

Duhr: 12:02

Asr: 15:08

Maghrib: 17:31

Isha: 18:49

Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988

CHANGE OF NAME

Devapatla Arifulla S/oDevapatla Mahaboob Basha,holder of Indian Passport No.K2097549 & Civil ID No.277123004783 has changemy name Shaik Arifulla tohereinafter in all my dealingsand documents I will beknown by name of ShaikArifulla Basha. (C 5266)6-2-2017

LOST

It is notified for informationthat my Original Grade Sheetcum Certificate of PerformanceCertificate for the SecondarySchool Examination 2013-15(CBSE 10th) of the year 2015and Roll No. 8106889 issued byCBSE has been actually lost inKuwait. Jenny Sara George, C/oGeorge K Thomas, NewKhaitan, Kuwait. Tel. 99587315.(C 5264)

REQUIRED

A Salmiya clinic seeks the employment of female nurses

with valid professional licenses in Kuwaitfor handsome salaries plus commission.

For inquiries calls: 67760001

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Networking through social affairs can be quite successful. You may want toplan a get-together with co-workers in order to build firm relationships.

Obtaining and exchanging information takes on a definite significance. This is a good dayfor practical ideas and planning. You may receive special attention regarding your particu-lar achievements as well. People will find your sense of humor in fine form, particularly ifyou have to make a speech. Some of the on-job stress has lessened and this afternoon,although there is still work to be done, you may exhibit quite a bit of wit. Some news sur-rounding a new investment may come to your attention, but you would be wise to listento the whole story and read the fine print before making any decisions.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

There is success in teamwork today. You may be sought after to co-lead ateam in order to get a particular order completed as quickly as possible. Your manage-ment and directional abilities are in high focus. Ideas of group cooperation and commun-ion or mass images could further your career. You are good at encouraging swift, positiveresponses. This afternoon you may find a disagreement can be heard and because you area good listener, the party complaining will come up with the obvious answer. Taxes,investments, and other financial ties or obligations grab your attention this evening and asyou work on your own taxes a family member may need your help with accounts and tax-es. Relax this evening with soft music or perhaps . . . Bubbles.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Although you may resent the continued long hours at this time, yourpatience and perseverance is paying off. The positive aspects promised you this year aregathering forces. A continued nose-to-the-grindstone attitude will work in your best inter-est at this time. This is the month of advancement in business. A social event this eveningreveals you at your most elegant. You may find the words for a poem or short story thisevening. You will have a grasp for spiritual ideas and the ability to present or communicatethese to others. Your inner resources and emotions are accented. Expect a sense of sup-port and goodwill from those around you. Your talents captivate a loved one this evening.You may be entertaining more than one person soon.

Ideas and technologies that change the way people live-not just one per-son, but many-are a major new focus in your life. You will not sit by and watch, while oth-ers work. You are becoming more and more interested in learning ways in which you canexpand your knowledge. This is a time for new accomplishments, during which insightsand breakthroughs in organization and determination are in order. There is a revolutionwithin the established order-new ideas and ways to do and use things become clear. Youmay find yourself involved in an exercise program, either in a group or by a videotape inyour home. There could be friction today and tomorrow with those you love. It might be agood idea to stay out of their way for now.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

If you need advice, no matter what the subject matter, today and tomor-row would be the best times to seek such help. There is a need to be appreciated for yourhard work and to be the center of attention as well. This may just be for recognition of yourwork. Most of us need recognition in order to continue our work with a sustained quality.You are appreciated but you may not hear their praises just now. Just keep on doing yourgood work. This also includes the work you do for the good of humanity as well as yourown personal achievements. Your own inner need for change and growth may be threat-ened by someone older or by circumstances. Make a real effort to communicate or conveyyour ideas. Casual friends are who you want to be with this evening.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

This is a rewarding day. A loan can be approved, complaints or misunder-standings will be corrected and positive energy will boost your morale. Travel, educationalor legal plans look good. The only obstacles may be your own inner fears or doubts. Youmay be able to convey your message to others with only a few words. Poetry and art maybe possible now. Be aware that you need to separate business from pleasure. Make everyeffort to do so. There is optimism, faith and a tendency to take chances at the deepestemotional levels at this time. Romance can be enjoyable if you leave the little complaintsout of the picture. This can be an expansive, creative and even romantic phase, a time youwill look back on with pride.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

You are full of wit and ready for a day with or without challenges. A goodattitude works in your favor as others value you for your independence and unique quali-ties. As long as you keep up the momentum, you should be able to reach your objective.You are given an excellent opportunity to expand your work experience. This is a wonder-ful time to repay anything that you owe to others, in the form of money, goods or otherobligations. You might feel love or value for an older person and inspire some healing atti-tudes that have been long overdue. If you feel your emotions may be moving in unac-ceptable directions this afternoon, reestablish your priorities. By the end of this monthemotions will calm. Do not sign any legal documents this afternoon.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

If you refuse to become involved in a negative conversation with a trouble-maker today, there can be no problems. Choose today to be open to another way of see-ing a difficult person or situation. The word this day in the workplace is flexible-this willbring you success. You will be very shrewd when it comes to money. Deep thoughts willlead to stunning insights, which in turn will help you along the road to profit. You could bea financial wizard! Opportunities for mending any emotional drifts among family mem-bers are positive now and can successfully be accomplished through your positive atti-tude. Phone calls, letters and long conversations over a cup of tea can be very enlighten-ing. Being more in touch gives you a sense of belonging.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

There is a lot of energy for achieving whatever you set out to accomplish.Depending on your quality of rest the prior day, you could be annoying or

pleasant to others at this time. If there are troubles with communication, back off for awhile and watch things develop; then you can give your opinions or suggestions. Keepyour positive side up because there are many good opportunities to express yourself. Youare in a great mood of self-enjoyment this afternoon and can appreciate your ownachievements. You could come up with new and interesting solutions. It is almost asthough there is a little magic somewhere between your ears. The flirtations of someonenew may be flattering but wisely ignored today. A visitor comes with good news.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You may be making headway in the work world. Breaks to exercise can bereal energizers. You can continue with a focus on business affairs all day long. You mayhave the opportunity to improve your home surroundings or plan a move. These energiesare strong through the end of the month and if you were looking to sell your home, thiswould be a good time. Your best buys or any improvement toward repairs could be madenow as well. The importance of a good foundation in home and finances is what makesyou happy and this is the time to make sure all is as you want it to be. This evening youmake sure you spend time in an interactive mode with the family and loved ones. You like

the way your family makes you feel.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

This is one of your best days this month. You may enjoy probing into yourinner workings or some good solid gossip. You appear perhaps more

refined than usual and now would be a good time to apply for a job, or otherwise makeyourself known. A difference of opinion may occur between you and a co-worker today.Never fear, you are able to stabilize the situation and create an opportunity for the otherperson to feel good about expressing an opinion. Others value you for your ability tomake practical decisions concerning group issues. You have a natural sense of what thepublic wants. Remember what it took to get positive results and refer to the process when

you have days that seem negative. Enjoy the company of loved ones tonight.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

You may find a good price on some item that will help you in your business.Check out the people involved and perhaps get a reference from someone that has usedthe product; then make your decision. A member of your group or a co-worker may irritateyou today but this person did not set out to do so. Because of your concern for others, heor she will probably never know you were irritated. You are a good leader and will eventu-ally find the right words or example that will help in this situation. You are also good atencouraging others to move forward and this may be what you find yourself doing in theafternoon. Finally, the evening is yours and a loved one has a lot to offer you on this, yourspecial day.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1514

ACROSS1. Brief episode in which the brain gets insuffi-

cient blood supply.4. Line of defense consisting of a barrier of

felled or live trees with branches (sharp-ened or with barbed wire entwined)toward the enemy.

11. A substance for packing a joint or coating aporous surface to make it impervious togas or liquid.

15. A river in north central Switzerland thatruns northeast into the Rhine.

16. Send out rays or waves.17. A Kwa language spoken in Ghana and the

Ivory Coast.18. A serve that strikes the net before falling

into the receiver's court.19. Of or in or belonging to the cavity of the

abdomen.20. Expressed without speech.21. Able to be converted into ready money.24. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.25. The branch of computer science that deal

with writing computer programs that cansolve problems creatively.

28. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of thealkali metal group.

30. Ulcerated chilblain on the heel.32. Any warm-blooded vertebrate having the

skin more or less covered with hair.33. (used of persons or the military)

Characterized by having or bearing arms.35. A state in New England.36. A large quantity of written matter.39. Covered with paving material.42. A very poisonous metallic element that has

three allotropic forms.45. A hard malleable ductile silvery metallic

element that is resistant to corrosion.46. The quantity that can be held in a mug.47. A master's degree in business.48. Inclined to a healthy reddish color often

associated with outdoor life.51. A radioactive element of the actinide

series.53. A public promotion of some product or

service.54. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan

River.55. North American republic containing 50

states - 48 conterminous states in NorthAmerica plus Alaska in northwest NorthAmerica and the Hawaiian Islands in thePacific Ocean.

56. A Chadic language spoken south of LakeChad.

58. Before noon.60. The blood group whose red cells carry

both the A and B antigens.61. The elapsed time it takes for a signal to

travel from Earth to a spacecraft (or otherbody) and back to the starting point.

63. The capital and largest city of Japan.65. A white solid mineral that occurs naturally

as periclase.68. Motivation based on ideas of right and

wrong.71. An intensely radioactive metallic element

that occurs in minute amounts in uraniumores.

72. A male servant (especially a footman).75. The cry made by sheep.76. West Indian tree having racemes of fra-

grant white flowers and yielding a durabletimber and resinous juice.

79. The basic unit of money in Nigeria.80. An oral poliovirus vaccine (containing live

but weakened poliovirus) that is given toprovide immunity to poliomyelitis.

81. Large arboreal boa of tropical SouthAmerica.

84. (meaning literally `born') Used to indicatethe maiden or family name of a marriedwoman.

85. A great raja.86. A unit of force equal to the force exerted

by gravity.

DOWN1. A fine grained mineral having a soft soapy

feel and consisting of hydrated magne-sium silicate.

2. The United Nations agency concerned withatomic energy.

3. An honorary arts degree.4. Type genus of the family Arcidae.5. African tree having an exceedingly thick

trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd andhas an edible pulp called monkey bread.

6. Medium-sized penguins occurring in largecolonies on the Adelie coast of Antarctica.

7. A flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay orrubber or linoleum) used to cover sur-faces.

8. Of or relating to or characteristic of Thailandof its people.

9. A republic in southern Europe on the ItalianPeninsula.

10. (of champagne) Moderately dry.11. Arranged in or consisting of laminae.12. (Hawaiian) A small guitar having four

strings.13. About three feet long exclusive of tail.14. The Uralic language spoken by the

Yeniseian people.22. Australian shrubs and small trees with

evergreen usually spiny leaves and denseclusters of showy flowers.

23. (Australian and New Zealand) A disparag-ing term for English immigrants toAustralia or New Zealand.

26. A member of the Semitic speaking peopleof northern Ethiopia.

27. A doctor's degree in dental medicine.29. A river that rises in northern Colombia and

flows generally eastward to the Orinoco incentral Venezuela.

31. Severe diabetes mellitus with an earlyonset.

34. One millionth of a gram.37. Declare invalid.38. The location of something surrounded by

other things.40. A loose sleeveless outer garment made

from aba cloth.41. A woman of refinement.43. A republic in northeastern Africa on the

Red Sea.44. A container.49. A confusion of voices and other sounds.50. Type genus of the Caricaceae.52. Gully or streambed in North Africa and the

Middle East that remains dry except dur-ing rainy season.

57. Behave in a certain manner.59. A percussion instrument consisting of a

pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone(usually held between the thumb and fin-gers) that are made to click together (asby Spanish dancers) in rhythm with thedance.

62. Very attractive.64. English scholastic philosopher and

assumed author of Occam's Razor (1285-1349).

66. British physicist (born in Hungary) notedfor his work on holography (1900-1979).

67. The capital and largest city of Yemen.69. A long thin piece of cloth or paper as used

for binding or fastening.70. The capital and largest city of Yemen.73. A member of an Iroquoian people formerly

living on the south shore of Lake Erie innorthern Ohio and northwestPennsylvania and western New York.

74. A university in Connecticut.77. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant)

note of a major or minor scale in solmiza-tion.

78. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.82. A person who announces and plays popu-

lar recorded music.

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Gemini (May 21-June 20)

inf or m at ionTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

Ophthalmologists

Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444

Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222

Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171

Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999

Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700

Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223

Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)

Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510

Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660

Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478

Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996

Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988

Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166

Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General Practitioners

Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123

Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312

Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920

Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465

Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528

Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781

Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

Urologists

Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534

Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955

Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660

Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120

Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

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Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

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Dasmah 22532265

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Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC

Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Noor Clinic23845955

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

l if e s t y l eF E A T U R E S

Declare your love with a very specialtimepiece this Valentine's Day. TheItalian name of the Tissot Bella Ora,

means beautiful watch and is inspired byItaly, its romantic cities and the name thecountry has made for itself in the world offashion. This model fits into that world asnaturally as the hands turn clockwise onthe dial. It has a natural elegance thanks tothe pure simplicity of the mother-of-pearldial. The distinctive pink and red hues givea romantic touch to the Tissot Bella Ora, aspecial edition set to thrill your beloved onone of the most special days of the year.This watch is the perfect accessory to com-plement any outfit, dressed up or down,making it the ideal gift.

PassionA passionately red strap complements

the clean dial, which is only broken by a

sensual red mother-of-pearl inlay, for theindex at midnight and echoed in thecrown; a glamourous addition to thewatch. A warm, luxurious edge enhancesthe otherwise sleek and stylish piece with arose gold PVD execution. It's time to speakstraight to their heart with this Tissot BellaOra.

Features• Swiss Made • Quartz movement with battery end-of-

life (EOL) indicator• 316L stainless steel case• Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal• Water-resistant up to a pressure of 3

bar (30 m / 100 ft)• Leather strap with standard buckle• All rose-gold execution is PVD coating• Dimensions: 31.4mm - 28mm

Romance is in the air

Tissot Bella Ora: It's time to declare your love

Hundreds of ballet dancers between the ages ofnine and 19 auditioned in Chicago at the YouthAmerica Grand Prix regional semi-finals this

weekend. Chicago is one of 12 cities around NorthAmerica selecting finalists who will compete at NewYork University's Skirball Center for the Performing Artsand at Hunter College's Danny Kaye Playhouse in April.Other cities are Las Vegas, San Diego, Toronto, Houston,San Francisco, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis,Denver, Boston and Philadelphia.

Throughout the weekend in Chicago, the studentsattend workshops, competitions, and dance classes. Theorganization awards more than $250,000 a year inscholarships to send young dancers to leading schoolsand dance companies to continue their training. TheGrand Prix also conducts auditions in several othercountries including Belgium, France, Italy, Mexico,Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Japan. — AP

Mackenzie Miller auditions in the classical category for theYouth America Grand Prix regional semi-finals.

Anna Tsigler performs in the classical category for theYouth America Grand Prix regional semi-finals.

Young balletdancers warm up.

Young ballet dancers warm up.

Anna Tsigler pre-pares to audition in

the classical catego-ry for the Youth

America Grand Prixregional semi-finals.

Talented young dancerscompete in Chicago

Samantha Srebnikperforms in the clas-sical category forthe Youth AmericaGrand Prix regionalsemi-finals.

David Beckham's squeaky-clean image as aBritish cultural icon has taken a battering fol-lowing the leaking of expletive-strewn emails

in which he apparently raged about not receiving aknighthood. The former England football captain issaid to have sworn in emails to his PR team afterbeing told he would not be made "Sir David" byQueen Elizabeth II because of concerns about his taxaffairs. A spokesman for the 41-year-old said theemails, released by the Football Leaks website, were"hacked and doctored" to give a "deliberately inaccu-rate picture".

But there has been a backlash against Beckhamfrom sections of Britain's tabloid media. Yesterday'sDaily Mail spoke of the "Shame of Saint Becks", witha columnist pronouncing him "a foul-mouthed,determined egotist" who had used charity work aspart of an "increasingly desperate" bid for a knight-hood. Reports which emerged on Friday said theformer Manchester United and Real Madrid starrefused to put his own money into his humanitarian7 Fund and tried to obtain reimbursement from theUN children's agency UNICEF for expenses met byhis sponsors.

Outspoken television host Piers Morgan told his5.47 million Twitter followers the revelations were"sickening" and exposed Beckham as a "fraud".Beckham has not spoken publicly since the storybroke, although he was pictured cradling his five-year-old daughter Harper on the Instagram account

of his son, Brooklyn. Cynics said even that was acrass attempt to show his best, fatherly side at atime of bad headlines.

Miami project For a man who takes such care of his public image,

it is likely to be a deeply distressing situation.Beckham has maintained a high profile since retiringfrom the game in May 2013 following a brief stintwith French side Paris Saint-Germain. He continues tocarry out charity work and fronts several advertisingcampaigns. He has faced problems finding a stadiumdeal for the football club he plans to launch in Miami,but Major League Soccer chiefs confirmed recentlythat the team remains in line to become the league's24th franchise. He has managed to shake off previousscandals, both on and off the pitch.

He became a national pariah after his dismissalagainst Argentina was unfairly blamed for England'selimination from the 1998 World Cup, but fought backto become England captain. Reports of an extra-mari-tal affair in April 2004 were dismissed and did not tar-nish Beckham's image as a loving husband to pop starturned fashion designer Victoria Beckham and fatherto their four children. Beckham received an OBE fromthe queen in 2003, a lower honors than a knighthood.

His wife also received an OBE in the 2017 New YearHonors list despite her label being threatened withclosure after failing to file company accounts. She wascriticized in British tabloid newspapers for telling her

family she would be receiving the award before theofficial announcement.

Brand Beckham Born in Leytonstone, east London, Beckham was a

member of the fabled "Class of 92" crop of youngplayers who emerged at United, along with RyanGiggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary and PhilNeville. Blessed with an extraordinarily accurate rightfoot, Beckham was renowned for his dead-ballprowess and his seemingly limitless stamina, as wellas his ever-changing hairstyles. He won six PremierLeague titles, two FA Cups and the 1999 Champions

League with United, creating both injury-time goalsas Alex Ferguson's side stormed back to beat BayernMunich 2-1 in the final.

After his relationship with Ferguson deteriorated,he joined the Real Madrid "Galacticos" to great fanfarein 2003, but would win only one league title duringhis time in Spain. Beckham moved to Los AngelesGalaxy in a trailblazing trans-Atlantic move in 2007and won two MLS Cup titles, whilst also spendingtime on loan at European giants AC Milan and PSG. Hecaptained England for six years and played at threeWorld Cups, his 115 caps making him his country'sthird most-capped player behind Peter Shilton andWayne Rooney.

"If you had told me as a young boy I would haveplayed for and won trophies with my boyhood club,Manchester United, proudly captained and played formy country over one hundred times, and lined up forsome of the biggest clubs in the world, I would havetold you it was a fantasy," he said in 2013. Beckham'sglobal celebrity turned him into a one-man market-ing phenomenon with a glut of lucrative endorse-ments. He is the face of firms including Adidas, fash-ion chain H&M and Haig Whisky and his shared for-tune with Victoria, dubbed "Brand Beckham", isbelieved to exceed £500 million ($624 million, 582million euros). — AFP

Leaked emails tarnish golden-boy Beckham

David Beckham

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

F E A T U R E S

l if e s t y l e

The Berlin film festival, one of Europe's top cinema show-cases, gets under way Thursday, bringing a parade ofstars to its famed red carpet. Nearly 400 movies will be

screened during the 11-day gathering. Here's a preview ofhighlights from the Berlinale, now in its 67th year, that arealready generating a buzz.

Portraits of the artist Right from opening night, the festival will throw a spot-

light on biopics and documentaries that explore famous cre-ative lives. Etienne Comar's debut feature "Django" isfocused on the Gypsy-jazz great Django Reinhardt and thelittle-known story of his family's persecution by Nazis in occu-pied Paris. Geoffrey Rush plays Swiss sculptor and painterAlberto Giacometti in "Final Portrait", directed by Hollywoodactor Stanley Tucci. Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis comes tolife in "Maudie" starring Sally Hawkins as the beloved painterwith a debilitating illness and Ethan Hawke as her devotedhusband. Long before there was Damien Hirst and shark pre-served in formaldehyde, there was Joseph Beuys and hisdead rabbit. The documentary "Beuys" explores the contro-versial life of one of Germany's most important post-warartists. And veteran German filmmaker Volker Schloendorff("The Tin Drum") tells the story of his friend Max Frisch,played by Stellan Skarsgard, in "Return to Montauk" based onthe Swiss novelist and playwright's life.

'No country for old women' Agnieszka Holland ("Europa Europa") returns with "Spoor",

a humor-tinged "feminist fairy tale" about an eccentric retireefacing bloody high jinx in her male-dominated village. Theprize-winning filmmaker says the movie, with its unflinchinglook at the failings of post-communist Polish society, couldhave been called "No Country for Old Women", a play on theCoen brothers' classic. Holland is one of four female filmmak-ers in competition this year, including Britain's Sally Potterwho has brought together Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer,Bruno Ganz and Kristin Scott Thomas for "The Party", set dur-ing one night in contemporary London.

Rounding out the list are Teresa Villaverde, whose "Colo"looks at a family buffeted by Portugal's economic crisis, andIldiko Enyedi with "On Body and Soul", a tender love story setin a slaughterhouse in Budapest.

Trump talk Berlin has a reputation for being the most politically

minded of the big film festivals. With actors and directorsfrom around the world in front of the microphones, expectmany to sound off on Brexit, populism, fake news and, ofcourse, Donald Trump. Festival director Dieter Kosslickrefused to mention the US president's name as he discussedthis year's line-up. But he said the choice of films was a "kindof protest" against the global state of affairs. "But despite allthe discontent in the world, this is a program that says 'yes' tolife. The artists describe everyday apocalypses, but not with-out escape routes," he said.

Refugees on and off screen Quirky Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki will present "The

Other Side of Hope" about a Syrian refugee who winds upin Helsinki. But off-screen too, the festival has alsolaunched initiatives to help the more than 100,000 asylumseekers who have arrived in Berlin since 2015. Fundraisers,screenings for newcomers accompanied by local volun-teers and educational events for refugee kids have all beenfolded into the program.

And after George Clooney popped in to talk to GermanChancellor Angela Merkel about the migrant influx duringlast year's festival, Richard Gere, in town to present his new

thriller "The Dinner", will have an audience with the world'smost powerful woman to discuss Tibetan rights.

Bears and Wolverines Eighteen movies will duke it out for the Golden and Silver

Bear top prizes, to be awarded on February 18 by a jury ledby Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven ("RoboCop", "Elle"). Butwhile the contenders are expected to pack a dramatic punch,the festival has a long tradition of popcorn fare too. Thisyear's biggest blockbuster is the latest Wolverine installment

of the X-Men superhero series, "Logan" starring HughJackman, Patrick Stewart and Richard E. Grant, which willhave its world premiere. — AFP

The 67th Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival ofthe year, opens Thursday with 24 international produc-tions screening in the main showcase. Eighteen pic-

tures will vie for the Golden Bear top prize at the eventwhich runs from February 9 to 19, with a jury led byHollywood director Paul Verhoeven ("Basic Instinct", "Elle")selecting the best film. Twenty-two of the 24 features in themain showcase are world premieres and two are directors'feature debuts.

The Berlinale Special sidebar section features othernotable films that are given gala screenings. Here is the com-plete list including the official English title, director, well-known stars and countries where the films were produced:

Main showcase "Ana, mon amour", Calin Peter Netzer, winner of the 2013

Golden Bear, Romania/Germany/France "Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja" (On the Beach at Night

Alone), Hong Sang-soo, South Korea "Beuys", Andres Veiel, Germany (documentary on contro-

versial 20th century German artist Joseph Beuys)"Colo", Teresa Villaverde, Portugal/France"The Dinner", Oren Moverman starring Richard Gere,

Steve Coogan, Laura Linney and Rebecca Hall, US "Django", Etienne Comar, France (debut feature, opening

film, biopic on the life of Gypsy jazz great Django Reinhardt) "El bar" (The Bar), Alex de la Iglesia, Spain (out of com-

petition) "Felicite", Alain Gomis,

France/Senegal/Belgium/Germany/Lebanon

"Final Portrait", Stanley Tucci starring Armie Hammer,Geoffrey Rush and Clemence Poesy Britain/France (out ofcompetition, biopic on Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti)

"Hao ji le" (Have a Nice Day), Liu Jian, China (animatedfeature)

"Helle Naechte (Bright Nights), Thomas Arslan,Germany/Norway

"Joaquim", Marcelo Gomes, Brazil/Portugal "Logan", James Mangold starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick

Stewart and Richard E Grant, US (out of competition, latestWolverine installment of the X-Men superhero series)

"Mr Long", Sabu, Japan/China/Taiwan/Germany "The Party", Sally Potter starring Patricia Clarkson, Emily

Mortimer, Bruno Ganz and Kristin Scott Thomas, Britain "Pokot" (Spoor), Agnieszka Holland,

Poland/Germany/Czech Republic/Sweden/Slovakia "Return to Montauk", Volker Schloendorff starring Stellan

Skarsgard, France/Germany/Ireland "Sage femme" (Midwife), Martin Provost starring

Catherine Deneuve, France/Belgium (out of competition) "T2 Trainspotting," Danny Boyle starring Ewan McGregor

and Robert Carlyle, Britain (out of competition) "Testrol es lelekrol" (On Body and Soul), Ildiko Enyedi,

Hungary "Toivon tuolla puolen" (The Other Side of Hope), Aki

Kaurismaki, Finland/Germany "Una mujer fantastica" (A Fantastic Woman), Sebastian

Lelio, Chile/US/Germany/Spain"Viceroy's House", Gurinder Chadha starring Hugh

Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and Manish Dayal, India/Britain

(out of competition) "Wilde Maus" (Wild Mouse), Josef Hader, Austria (debut

feature)

Berlinale Special highlights "the bomb", Kevin Ford, Smriti Keshari, Eric Schlosser, US

(multimedia installation) "Es war einmal in Deutschland..."(Bye Bye Germany), Sam Garbarski,Germany/Luxembourg/Belgium "In Zeiten desabnehmenden Lichts" (In Times of Fading Light), MattiGeschonneck, Germany "La libertad del diablo" (Devil'sFreedom), Everardo Gonzalez, Mexico (documentary)

"La Reina de Espana" (The Queen of Spain), FernandoTrueba starring Penelope Cruz and Mandy Patinkin, Spain

"Le jeune Karl Marx" (The Young Karl Marx), Raoul Peck,France/Germany/Belgium

"The Lost City of Z", James Gray starring Charlie Hunnam,Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller, US

"Masaryk" (A Prominent Patient), Julius Sevcik, CzechRepublic/Slovakia

"Maudie", Aisling Walsh starring Sally Hawkins and EthanHawke, Canada/Ireland (biopic on Canadian artist MaudLewis)

"The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov", AskoldKurov, Estonia/Poland/Czech Republic (documentary)

"Ultimos dias en La Habana" (Last Days in Havana),Fernando Perez, Cuba/Spain. — AFP

Hottest tickets at the Berlin film festival

Main line-up at 67th Berlin film festival

Cinema enthusiasts line up to buy tickets for the Berlinale film festival just before theticket sale starts at Berlin's Potsdamer Platz square yesterday. — AFP photos

Cinema enthusiasts line up to buy tickets for the Berlinale film festival just after the ticketsale started at Berlin's Potsdamer Platz square.

"Who has the power? People have the power!"Small, slender Dolores Huerta, with her soft butfirm voice, was whipping up a crowd at a Los

Angeles rally against an oil pipeline in North Dakota. Dozensof people boisterously echoed her words. "She's an icon,"actress Jane Fonda told AFP. Fonda, who had organized theprotest, has frequently crossed paths with the indefatigablemilitant Huerta, an activist in an impressive array of move-ments: for union, feminist, ecologist and human rights-and fornonviolence. At 86, the inspiration for Barack Obama's "Yes WeCan" slogan-he awarded Huerta the Presidential Medal ofFreedom, the nation's highest civilian honor remains largelyunknown to the wider public.

She was a comrade-in-arms of Cesar Chavez, the famousleader of farm worker protests. Yet while he has had streetsnamed after him and a monument raised in his honor, Huertaremains largely in the shadows. But now, a documentarycalled "Dolores," previewed at the Sundance Film Festival lastmonth, wants to give Huerta her proper place in history. Thefilm, co-produced by guitarist Carlos Santana, has "an impor-tant message that women's participation in history also has tobe recorded and memorialized," she said in an interview fromthe offices of her foundation in Bakersfield, in the heart ofCalifornia farm country. "Hopefully it will inspire more womento get involved."

Women's role minimized "I call it HIS-tory," she said. "It's easy to see in the last elec-

tion-we had a woman that was superbly qualified to be presi-dent of the United States that was not elected even if she wonthe popular vote, and you had a man who had no experiencein governing at all that was elected." "It shows how women in

our societies are devalued and disrespected," Huerta said.Director Peter Bratt says Huerta, the descendant of Mexicanimmigrants who was raised by a single mother during theDepression, "has impacted our democratic evolution in thelast 50 years."

"Dolores" traces the birth of the United Farm Workers(UFW), co-founded in the 1960s by Huerta and Chavez. Itrevisits their struggle for the basic human rights of farm work-ers: fresh water, functioning toilets, safe working conditions,regular rest breaks, unemployment insurance and a minimumwage. Huerta and Chavez organized strikes, spectacularmarches on the California legislature, and a nationwide grapeboycott to protest the poor conditions facing vineyard work-ers, notably their exposure to toxic pesticides.

Arrests and beatings This mother of 11 children (she was twice married, and also

had children by Chavez's brother Richard) marched for abor-tion rights alongside Angela Davis and Gloria Steinem. Shehas been arrested more than 20 times, has been beaten, andwas seriously wounded by the police during a 1988 protest inSan Francisco. Twenty years earlier, she stood on a podiumalongside Robert F Kennedy, the president's brother, just min-utes before he was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968.

That incident left her with a fierce commitment to nonvio-lence and a passionate dislike for firearms. "It was very emo-tional for me to see the movie," she said. "I relived a lot ofthings." She added: "Many issues it addresses are still relevant,like police violence, discrimination against women, the use ofpesticides..." The documentary also shows the sacrifices made:those who lost their lives, were beaten or jailed after clasheswith police, the children who sometimes had to raise them-

selves as their mother criss-crossed the country on behalf ofher many causes.

"But it is very satisfying to think we've built a strong move-ment," she said, speaking from the monument to Chavez atUFW headquarters on a bucolic property in the town ofKeene. The UFW's influence has faded, however, since Chavezdied in 1993. But enough about the past, says Huerta. Thesubject of "Dolores" would have liked for the documentary to"be less about the past and more about the future." She men-tioned the many works of her foundation, including a door-to-door campaign to register people to vote, anti-discriminationwork in schools, and the defense of gays and lesbians in thevery conservative region around Bakersfield.

With the arrival in the White House of Donald Trump,Huerta-whose hectic days feature an unending series ofprotest rallies, training sessions and meetings with VIPs-isgirding for "many, many fights." She fears the new adminis-tration could roll back gains on environmental protection,women's right to abortion, gun control, minimum wagesand more. "We've faced tremendous obstacles withPresident Nixon, Reagan when he was governor of California,the agribusiness," she said, adding: "This is the nature ofstruggles: You take two steps forward and one step back. Butyou keep going." Huerta's parting message for her fellow citi-zens: "Get yourselves organized, go to your neighborhood,talk to people, get involved. "A lot of people are going tomarch and protest, but at the end of the day you have totranslate that to voting." — AFP

Ricky Gervais'shtick gets tricky in

Trump and Brexit era

Playing a brash, bigoted bore in the Trump and Brexit era isdouble trouble for comedian-actor Ricky Gervais. "I useirony, saying the wrong things so that hopefully people will

understand the right things," Gervais told Reuters. "But now it'stoo dangerous. I get the wrong round of applause! I have to be socareful about what I say." Still, the man best known for the Britishtelevision "mockumentary" show "The Office" and acerbic stints asa Golden Globes host says he feels he has finally found his voice asa stand-up comic - and the election of Donald Trump as presidenthas helped.

"Trump has made me a better stand-up because everything ismuch more poignant now," said Gervais, who is as well known inHollywood as he is in his native Britain. "Anything you do abouttruth, stupidity, anger, humanity, world issues - it's so much in theforefront of people's minds about what's happened." Gervais, 55,embarks next week on his first stand-up tour in seven years. Itstarts in Britain after a single date in New York last week while pro-moting the Feb. 10 Netflix US release of "David Brent: Life on theRoad," a film sequel to the British version of "The Office." Gervaissays his stand-up act has never been explicitly political. He startedworking on new material before Britain voted to leave theEuropean Union in June 2016.

Instead, he riffs on "opinions versus facts, social media wherepeople would rather win than be right, and how sneakily free-doms are crushed." "My shtick has always been me saying thewrong things," he said. "My stand-up has always been a brasher,more arrogant, less informed bigoted, bore than myself." Twelveyears on, in "Life on the Road," David Brent is now a cleaning prod-uct salesman with a female boss who has not given up on hisdream of being a rock star. He embarks on a self-financed UK tour,followed by a documentary crew.

"It's the same old David Brent but a bit older and not the boss,"said Gervais, who wrote, directed and stars in the show. "Now he'salmost bullied. I am torn with David Brent. I like his positivity andthe fact that he falls over and gets up again." Just as Gervais drewfrom his own experience to create the mundane life depicted inthe original "The Office" in 2001, he also mined his past for thesequel. "In a previous life, I was also a failed rock star so I use all mysuccesses and failures equally," he said. — Reuters

Writer/director Ricky Gervais and partner Jane Fallonattend the David Brent: Life on the Road New York SpecialScreening at Metrograph in New York. — AFP

Dolores Huerta: Little-known militant icon with a big part in history

American labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta points to a photograph ofher, Cesar Chavez and Fred Ross in Bakersfield, California. — AFP photos

American labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

l if e s t y l eF E A T U R E S

Abdo Shehu sits in an office in Kurdish-majorityQamishli in northeast Syria, surrounded by copiesof the first Western novel available in the city in his

own language. The novel is "Snow" by French writerMaxence Fermine, the first fruits of a new project to trans-late international works of literature into a language thatwas effectively banned in Syria until recently. The 29-year-old is working as part of the "Hunar" project, namedfor the Kurdish word for pomegranate, launched twomonths ago to translate literature into the Kurdish lan-guage in Kurdish-majority parts of Syria.

For years, Syria's Kurds were banned from using theirlanguage in official settings and prevented from learningit in schools or publishing magazines or books in thetongue. The restrictions were parts of a larger program ofconstraints placed on Kurds, who make up around 10percent of Syria's pre-war population, including depriv-ing them of Syrian nationality. "I spent three months in aprison in Damascus in 2009, and was threatened withexpulsion from university, because I was found withbooks in Kurdish," said Shehu.

"Our language and our culture were banned by theauthoritarian Baath party, which wanted to get rid ofthe Kurds and their culture," he added. But Syria's cen-tral government no longer has much sway over theKurdish-majority regions of the country, in the northand northeast.

'Very few authors' It withdrew its security forces from Kurdish-majori-

ty regions in 2012, a year after the uprising broke outagainst President Bashar al-Assad. And since then, theKurds have walked a careful line between the govern-ment and rebels, while focusing on building a semi-autonomous region. Kurdish officials have reclaimedtheir tongue, reintroducing the Kurmanji dialect oftheir language into the school curriculum and restor-ing Kurdish names to villages and towns.

The project has already translated three moreworks, including "The Epic of Gilgamesh", a poemfrom ancient Mesopotamia and among the earliestknown literary writings in the world, from Arabic, anda study of the Kurdish people, from English. Thosebooks will soon go into publication, and work willcontinue with new volumes, which are chosen by acommittee that weighs various criteria, includingwhether the works are relevant to Kurdish life. It is anon-profit initiative, and funded by private donors,with translators working on a volunteer basis. Thetranslated version of "Snow" has already gone on sale,for just over one US dollar a piece, enough to coverthe costs of printing, according to Shehu.

After translation, each work is reviewed by a com-mittee for approval, which tried, without success, toreach Fermine to obtain copyright permissions before

publication began. After decades of marginalization,today very few Kurdish authors write in their mothertongue, encouraging avid readers like Shehu to trans-late works from other languages. "There are only veryfew authors who write literature in Kurdish," writerHussein Zido, 45, said.

"Kurds never obtained their cultural, social or politi-cal rights throughout their long history in the MiddleEast," he said. The "Hunar" project aims to save theKurdish language from extinction by translating booksfrom the rest of the world into Kurdish, Shehu said."We're doing our best not only to translate literature,but also philosophy and thought... so that Kurds canread world literature in their mother tongue." To swellthe body of homegrown books, Malfa Ali, one of thefounders of the project, is also compiling traditionalKurdish folktales and songs to put them into print.

The 37-year-old said he spends long exhaustinghours collecting these tales directly from the story-tellers themselves. They have never been formallyrecorded because publishing Kurdish-languagebooks was forbidden. "We'll start gathering all thestories told in the area and then we'll move on to thesongs," he said. The project also hopes one day toproduce a complete dictionary of the Kurdish lan-guage, including words and phrases from thetongue's spoken form.

Protecting Kurdish Kurdish areas have seen a cultural revival since 2012,

with new cultural associations and magazines taking life.Syrian authorities forced the Kurdish magazine "Sormi" toclose down in its original Arabic-language form in 2008,but since the uprising it has reopened, this time publish-ing in Kurdish. The latest issue of the bi-monthly, whichrelaunched in 2015 offering readers articles by Kurdishauthors, is themed "Identity and Language". "The Kurdishlanguage is the first thing we have to protect. It neverhad its chance before, despite representing the identityof a whole people," said Abbas Musa, a member of themagazine's editorial team.

"We're striving to offer something different and var-ied to those interested in culture," he said of the maga-zine, which is published in Qamishli and distributed intwo other cities. The 31-year-old said he hoped high-brow articles in Kurdish would show his mother tongueis "not weak". Fellow "Sormi" editor Bahar Murad, 39,also translates children's stories from English toKurdish. In his office at the culture magazine, he pointsto a recent translation of "Snow White and the SevenDwarfs". He wants to see children reading in theirmother tongue, he said. "They've asked me to translateLittle Red Riding Hood." — AFP

Queen Elizabeth II, the world's longest-reign-ing monarch, set a new record yesterday asthe first British sovereign to reach their sap-

phire jubilee, marking 65 years on the throne. Thehead of state, now 90, became queen aged 25upon the premature death of her father, kingGeorge VI, in 1952. As usual on Accession Day,Queen Elizabeth was at her country estate inNorfolk, eastern England.

"The queen is spending the day privately atSandringham House," a Buckingham Palacespokesman told AFP. The monarch was working onthe "red boxes"-the red briefcases of official gov-ernment papers-and reflecting on her father's pass-ing. On Sunday, she was seen smiling as well-wish-ers gave her flowers outside church. Prime MinisterTheresa May said the country would join in givingthanks for the queen's lifetime of service to Britainand the wider Commonwealth.

"It is a testament to her selfless devotion to thenation that she is not marking becoming the firstmonarch to reign for 65 years with any special cele-bration but instead getting on with the job towhich she has dedicated her life," she said. "She hastruly been an inspiration to all of us and I amproud, on behalf of the nation, to offer our humblethanks and congratulations."

Coins, stamps and gun salutes Despite her reluctance to celebrate publicly, the

occasion was being marked in Britain. Gun saluteswere fired at the Tower of London, in the capital'sGreen Park and around the kingdom, while thebells of Westminster Abbey, where she wascrowned in 1953, rang out. Sapphire is the 65th-anniversary gemstone and a photograph was reis-

sued of the sovereign wearing a suite of sapphirejewelry from 1850, which was given to her by herfather in 1947 as a wedding gift. "She has very kindeyes with a mischievous glint," said photographerDavid Bailey after taking the portrait in 2014.

The Royal Mint marked the anniversary withspecially-designed commemorative coins, rangingfrom a £5 coin to a £1,000 solid gold coin, whichweighs one kilogram (2.2 pounds) and costs£50,000 to buy. The £5 ($6.25, 5.80-euro) coins fea-ture the imperial state crown, rotated to show off

the Stuart sapphire. They also bear words from thefamous quote in her 21st birthday speech to theCommonwealth back in 1947: "My whole life,whether it be long or short, shall be devoted toyour service." Meanwhile the Royal Mail issued a £5stamp in a sapphire blue color.

'Difficult to dislike' "It's very, very difficult to dislike her," Andrew

Gimson, author of "Gimson's Kings and Queens",told AFP. "She's never answered back, she's alwaysbeen above politics." Elizabeth became Britain'slongest-serving monarch ever in September 2015,surpassing the reign of her great-great-grand-mother queen Victoria, a record she said was "notone to which I have ever aspired". She also becamethe longest-reigning living monarch in the world inOctober last year following the death of Thai kingBhumibol Adulyadej. Her three big jubilees-at 25,50 and 60 years-were the silver (1977), golden(2002) and diamond (2012) jubilees, which werecelebrated with major public events.

Besides Britain, she has also been the monarch ofAustralia, Canada and New Zealand for 65 years. Shesuffered from a heavy cold over Christmas, missingtwo Sunday church services, but is generally in rudehealth. However, with her advancing age, QueenElizabeth is gradually handing over more responsi-bilities to younger royals. Her 34-year-old grandsonPrince William, second in line to the throne after hisfather Prince Charles, is stepping down as an airambulance pilot this year to carry out more royalduties on his grandmother's behalf. — AFP

Queen Elizabeth II

marks sapphire jubilee

In this June 8, 1980 file photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and US President RonaldReagan walk into St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, England.

In this June 2, 1953 file photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II wearing the bejeweledImperial Crown and carrying the Orb and Scepter with Cross, leaves Westminster Abbey,London, at the end of her coronation ceremony.

For Kurds in Syria, world novels finally speak their language'Kurds never obtained their cultural, social or political rights throughout their long history in the Middle East'

A Kurdish man carriesa book on Kurdishfolklore at a library.

Workers print books and flyers at a printing company in Kurdish-majority Qamishli in northeast Syria. — AFP photos Kurds discuss a book at a library in Kurdish-majority Qamishli innortheast Syria.

A worker oversees the printing of books at a printing company.

A Kurdish man reads a book at a library inKurdish-majority Qamishli.

A Kurdish woman picks out a book, translatedfrom French to Kurdish, at a library in Kurdish-majority Qamishli.

A Kurdish woman reads a book at a library inKurdish-majority Qamishli.

This photo by English photographer DavidBailey of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, taken forthe GREAT campaign in 2014, and is now reis-sued, by Buckingham Palace to celebrate herSapphire Anniversary, marking the 65thanniversary of the monarch’s accession to thethrone. — AFP photos

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

l if e s t y l eT R A V E L

In the fledgling ski resort of Korek in war-tornIraq, the only battles are snow fights betweenvisitors who often leave their traumatic memo-

ries at the foot of the slopes. That's what FawazBehnam and many of the children and adults frol-icking in knee-deep powder around him like aboutthe idyllic tourist spot. He and his family were inMosul when the Islamic State group seized the cityin 2014, forcing them to flee, leaving their homeand their jewelry shops behind.

"We were very tired and we want to have somefun. Look at the people here enjoying themselves,not like in Mosul," said the 35-year-old, his faceflush from the bright sun and cold wind. Korek liesin Iraq's northern autonomous region of Kurdistan,where hundreds of thousands of Iraqis displacedby the 2014 jihadist offensive have found refuge.

"You can see the great atmosphere," saidBehnam's brother-in-law Anmar Munir, a youngaccountant who also lives in the Kurdish city ofDohuk, further west. "People are relaxed andenjoying themselves. This of course takes us awayfrom the atmosphere of murder, displacement andpersecution," he said. About 120 kilometers (75miles) to the west, Iraqi forces have spent the pastfour months battling jihadists to retake Mosul, IS'slast major stronghold in the country. Fawaz andAnmar are among the luckiest displaced who canafford to travel to Korek but hundreds of thou-sands are spending their third winter in displace-ment camps.

Frontier destination At a snow festival organized in Korek by the

regional government last week, groups of youngpeople, some in proper winter attire but manywearing flimsy city shoes, broke into traditionaldance and enjoyed some of the activities availablethere. Dozens queued for a ride on a Zip-line, oth-ers raced each other on sleds and the most adven-turous signed up for their first skiing class on ababy piste but the most popular sports remainedsnow fighting and selfie snapping. Nader Rusty, aspokesperson for the regional government'stourism ministry, has other ambitions for Iraq'sonly mountain resort than just offering relief to vic-tims of conflict.

"We organize this snow festival every year. It'svery important to improve tourism in general andwinter tourism in particular," he said. Conflict-tornIraq is best known for its searing temperatures andnot exactly a tourist magnet but Korek is hoping tomake a name for itself as a frontier skiing destina-tion. 2014 was supposed to be a takeoff year forKurdistan's tourism industry and Korek was one ofits flagship projects.

However the devastating human and economicimpact of the IS offensive that year and the subse-quent war to retake lost territory left Kurdishdreams in tatters. "Our target was seven million(tourists) by 2025 but because of the war, our planhas changed," said Nader Rusty.

Haven For now Korek lacks a ski lift but it boasts a

state-of-the-art Austrian-built cable car andswanky chalets. James Willcox, a cofounder ofadventure travel company "Untamed borders", wasin Korek for the snow festival with a group hebelieves was on the first ever commercial skiingtrip to Iraq. "We were skiing nearer to Haj Omran,where the mountains are bigger and we werelucky that there has been lots of snow this week,"he said. "So we took one day to come here to ski, tolisten to the music, to eat and to enjoy the festival,"said Willcox, who also organizes holiday trips toplaces such as Somalia and Chechnya.

Rohan Lord came all the way from New Zealandto ski in Iraq. "The skiing is fantastic. The snow isfantastic. The hospitality has been brilliant," he said.When asked about the conflict unfolding in Iraq, hesaid: "We were nervous, there's no doubt about it."For Mohammed Ghanem, a student from Fallujah-acity west of Baghdad which Iraqi forces retookfrom IS jihadists last year-the main appeal of Korekis precisely its remoteness from war. "There is nonature like this (in Fallujah), nor any such safety.There are only explosions. You never feel safe andwhen you go out you are scared of car bombs or ofbeing detained," he said. — AFP

Ski resort brings winter cheer to Iraq displaced

'The skiing is fantastic. The snow is fantastic. The hospitality has been brilliant'

Iraqis play with snow at Korek Mountain resort near the city of Rawanduz in the Arbil Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan. — AFP photos

A skier looks on at Korek Mountain resort.

Iraqis play with snow at Korek Mountain resort.

Skiers gather at Korek Mountain resort.

Skiers gather at Korek Mountain resort.

Iraqi Kurds perform a traditional dance at Korek Mountain resort. Iraqi Kurds enjoy an amusement ride at Korek Mountain resort. Iraqis play with snow at Korek Mountain resort.

An Iraqi Kurd flies hispowered parachute over

Korek Mountain resort.

An Iraqi Kurd flies hispowered parachute overKorek Mountain resort.

A woman skis at Korek Mountain resort.

Iraqis play with snow at Korek Mountain resort.

Lady Gaga dazzled the Super Bowl on Sunday with ahigh-tech, tightly choreographed half-time showcelebrating American diversity and unity as she

chose the power of showbiz over direct provocation.Performing at American football's title match-generallythe most watched US television event of the year-thepop diva electrified NRG Stadium in Houston with a pul-sating medley of her greatest hits. From the outset,Gaga served notice this was no ordinary halftime show-she began her performance from the lip of the stadium,an army of 300 drones forming a twinkling Americanflag in the sky.

Then she took flight. The singer, clad in a sparkling silverbodysuit and knee high boots, leapt from the edge of theretractable roof onto the stage with the help of some stur-dy wires-and the performance was nonstop from there.Ahead of the show, all eyes were on Lady Gaga to seewhether she would use the platform to rip into PresidentDonald Trump at a tense time in US politics. Even with VicePresident Mike Pence in attendance, Gaga-a sworn foe ofTrump-kept with the game's guidelines to steer clear ofovert politics.

Instead the singer, known for her audacious outfits,delivered what seemed to be a more subtle message."How are you doing tonight, Texas? How are you doingtonight, America?" Gaga asked. "We're here to make youfeel good," she said. She opened with "This Land is YourLand," the anthem by leftist folk legend Woody Guthriethat has come to be seen as an alternative nationalanthem for the United States.

Gaga then mixed up her biggest songs-from "Let'sDance" and "Poker Face" to "Born This Way"-an anthem ofinclusion in which she speaks of acceptance of people

regardless of ethnicity or sexual orientation. She wasbacked up by an upbeat, ethnically diverse cast of dancers,who at one point joined in a group hug. "No matter gay,straight or bi... You're Lebanese / You're orient," she sang."Whether life's disabilities left you outcast, bullied orteased / Rejoice and love yourself today!"

Future for drones With just 13 minutes at her disposal, Gaga could not

pull off many costume changes but by the end hadstripped off her metallic dress to perform in hot pants,football shoulder pads-and the stiletto-heeled boots. Sheeven changed her makeup, using peel-off crystals to alter

her look to match her choice of song. In keeping with herrecent theme of family connection, Gaga-long associatedwith her oozing sexuality-shouted out to her parents asshe sang her recent ballad "Million Reasons" and playedthe piano. Her dancers made up for Gaga in terms of out-fits, switching from flashy club attire to placid white.

Gaga literally dropped the mic-and caught a football atthe end of the show as fireworks shot into the air. Given thatthe Super Bowl is the most coveted advertising venue of theyear, the drone army-designed by chip-maker Intel -- endedin another show of Americana, commercialism, as they cre-ated the logo of sponsor Pepsi. Intel described the half-timeshow as the most elaborate televised use ever of drones.

"The potential for these light show drones is endless,"Intel executive Josh Walden said in a statement, saying thecompany planned to explore more ways to use the tech-nology. Hours after the Super Bowl, Lady Gaga announceda world tour, her first in three years other than concerts ofpop standards in duet with 90-year-old crooner TonyBennett. Lady Gaga will open the tour on August 1 inVancouver and play 47 stadiums and arenas across NorthAmerica and Europe until the end of the year. She was alsoannounced as a headliner in September of the latest Rockin Rio festival in Brazil. — AFP

39TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017

Ski resort brings winter cheer to Iraq displaced

Country music artist Luke Bryan sings the national anthem before the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons,Sunday in Houston. — AP/AFP photos

Lady Gaga descends to the stage during the halftime show of the NFLSuper Bowl 51 football game.

Musician Lady Gaga performs onstage.

Musician Lady Gaga performs onstage.

Lady Gaga lights up Super Bowl with inclusion message

Musician Lady Gaga performs onstage.

Musician Lady Gaga performs onstage during the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show at NRG Stadium.