ISSUE NO: 17437

32 Pages 150 Fils

www.kuwaittimes.net

Established 1961 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf

JAMADA ALAWWAL 5, 1439 AHMONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

Max 20ºMin 06º

Amir meets Qatari defense minister

Qatari Emir discusses youth, sports with Kuwaiti minister17 Saudis urge oil producers

to extend cooperationHeavy casualties after battle at Kabul hotel63 16

Iraqi official hails Kuwait’s hosting of donor conference

Hakim praises Amir’s efforts during meeting with media delegationBAGHDAD: Leader of the National WisdomMovement Ammar Al-Hakim said the internationaldonor conference to rebuild Iraq to be hosted byKuwait in February adds to Kuwait’s brilliant image andwill further bolster bilateral ties between Kuwait andIraq. He said during a meeting with a Kuwaiti mediadelegation visiting the capital Baghdad late Saturdaythat HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has always been supporting Iraq to overcomevarious crises. He also mentioned Kuwait’s role in liber-ating his country from Saddam Hussein’s regime byopening its land and airspace to allow the movement ofarmed forces.

On the other hand, Hakim said that the upcomingIraqi parliamentary elections will create stability andboost democracy in the country. This year’s electionsare similar to those of 2005, when Iraq moved fromdictatorship to democracy, he said during the meetingwith the Kuwaiti media delegation.

Iraq has witnessed many prominent achievementsrecently, including defeating the so-called Islamic State(IS) that occupied 40 percent of Iraqi land, overcomingreligious extremism which was destroying stability andsecurity and reaching a level of political unity, Hakimnoted. He added that the government aims to build acountry able to provide citizens with complete servicesas well as job opportunities and residence, while devel-oping its infrastructure and fighting corruption.

BAGHDAD: Leader of the National Wisdom Movement Ammar Al-Hakim poses with the Kuwaiti media delegation late Saturday. Editor-in-Chief ofKuwait Times Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan is seen fourth from right. — KUNA

Iraq is currently producing up to five million bar-rels per day, while the country will benefit from theproduction of natural gas by 100 percent end of 2018.Meanwhile, he noted that the wisdom party paysattention to fully represent women and youth, espe-cially college graduates as these two categories formthe majority of Iraqi society.

Responding to a question on the possibility of

postponing the elections set for May 12, Hakim said hedoesn’t believe there is any reason to delay theprocess. On Thursday, the Iraqi parliament failed tovote on the set date for the elections due to theabsence of some MPs. The parliament will hold anoth-er vote today to approve the date of May’s elections.

The Kuwaiti delegation includes Editor-in-Chiefof Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Saad Al-Ali ,

Secretary General of Kuwait Journalists AssociationAdnan Al-Rashed, Editor-in-Chief of Kuwait TimesAbd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan and senior officials fromthe information ministry and Kuwaiti newspapers.The international donor conference to rebuild Iraqwil l be held from Feb 12 to 14, chaired by theEuropean Union, Iraq, Kuwait, the UN and the WorldBank. — KUNA

SEE PAGE 2

By Nejoud Al-Yagout

local@kuwaittimes.net

In my view

Yesterday, I was told by a fellow Kuwaiti that thepresident of the Philippines has issued a ban onFilipino workers traveling to Kuwait. I sensed a

tone of surprise (and an underlying tone of dismay) bythe one conveying the news to me, but I was veryhappy. My first thought was: Finally! This is not anunpatriotic sentiment. Nor should it be considered apatriotic one, for that matter. This is a humanitarianissue and should be viewed objectively. Our loyalty insuch cases should be towards humanity. It hasabsolutely no connection to borders. And a degree ofauthenticity and responsibility is required when itcomes to the development of one’s nation.

We all know that if Kuwaitis were treated badly byothers abroad, our government would take care of ustoo. We need to take off our perception glasses andstart wearing those of others. This has nothing to dowith the Philippines breaking ties with Kuwait. This isa protective ban and does not apply to all Filipinoworkers, but mainly domestic helpers due to incidentsof abuse that resulted in deaths. As mentioned in yes-terday’s article in Kuwait Times by Ben Garcia,Ambassador of the Philippines to Kuwait Renato Villahad already sent a letter to the interior ministry, butdidn’t receive a response. We cannot afford to ignoresuch appeals made to us by our guests.

It seems that our first reaction is one of surprise ordenial. If one person states that there is a problemwith the treatment of domestic helpers, it could be alie. If two people state an issue, there is still room fordebate. But three or more people? Yes, Houston, wehave a problem. And this problem needs to beaddressed, sooner rather than later. If it will take eonsto change hearts and minds, it will take no time at allto begin an investigation.

Nobody is insulting us. In fact, I am amazed athow long it took for this ban to be in place. OurFilipino brothers and sisters have been extremelypatient in implementing this ban. Decades ofpatience on their part is highly commendable. And,still, according to the embassy here, the order is notyet official. The time is upon us to place our egosaside and address the obvious elephant in the room.Why are we closing our eyes? Everywhere I go, Ihear new incidents about domestic helpers from var-ious nations seeking help.

Continued on Page 11

Feeling Filipino

By B Izzak and Agencies

KUWAIT: The issue of maids and expa-triate labor dominated developments yes-terday as the foreign ministry summonedthe Philippines ambassador over a ban onFilipino workers, while the foreign ministersaid discussions are ongoing with severalcountries to recruit maids. The health min-ister also stopped private companies from

recruiting nurses from abroad to work forthe ministry, giving the job to a ministerialcommittee. Meanwhile, lawmakers yester-day said they will demand forming a com-mittee to investigate why the maid crisiscontinues despite setting up a specialcompany for the recruitment of domestichelpers.

The foreign ministry summoned yes-terday Ambassador of Philippines to

Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa, DeputyForeign Minister Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah announced. The Filipino envoymet at the ministry with the assistant for-eign minister for consular affairs, whonotified the ambassador about Kuwait’sregret and bewilderment towards hispresident’s decision to suspend the dis-patch of workers to Kuwait. Such a stancecontradicts the nature of the distinctiveties between the two countries and doesnot serve their common interests.

Jarallah added that the Kuwaiti sidenoted to the ambassador that freedomsand rights enjoyed by the expatriate com-munities in the country have contributedto raising the number of Filipino workers

Continued on Page 11

Kuwait summons Filipino envoy; private hiringof MoH nurses banned

Kuwait Times would like to officiallyapologize for the photo that appearedalongside the article published yesterdayregarding Manila’s ban on Filipino work-ers coming to Kuwait. The photo waschosen by an editor, not reporter BenGarcia who is currently on leave and didnot see the front page before it was pub-lished. It was a poor choice and wedeeply regret any offense caused. KuwaitTimes is a longtime supporter of Filipinosand Filipino issues in Kuwait and wouldnever wish to offend this valuable andhardworking community here.

Our apologies

HASSA, Turkey: Turkish troops andtanks entered Syria yesterday to push anoffensive against Kurdish militia as Francewarned over the risks of the operationand rockets hit border towns in apparentretaliation. Turkey on Saturday launchedoperation “Olive Branch” seeking to oustfrom the Afrin region of northern Syriathe Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG)which Ankara considers a terror group.But the campaign risks further increasingtensions with Turkey’s NATO ally the

United States - which has supported theYPG in the fight against Islamic State (IS)militants - and also needs at least the tacitsupport of Russia to succeed.

In its first reaction to the offensive, theUS State Department urged Turkey “toexercise restraint and ensure that its mili-tary operations remain limited in scopeand duration and scrupulous to avoid civil-ian casualties”. “We call on all parties toremain focused on the central goal ofdefeating” IS, State Department spokes-woman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattissaid yesterday during a flight to Asiathat Turkey advised the US ahead ofits air strikes in Syria, and Washingtonis in contact with Ankara about theway forward.

Continued on Page 11HASSA, Turkey: Turkish army tanks and soldiers gather close to the Syrianborder yesterday in Hatay province. — AFP

AMMAN: US Vice President Mike Pence (left) meets Jordan’s KingAbdullah II yesterday. — AFP

Turkish tanks roll into Syria to fight militia

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah IIyesterday voiced concern overWashington’s controversial recognitionof Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, as USVice President Mike Pence visitedAmman during an uncomfortable MiddleEast tour. Arab outrage over PresidentDonald Trump’s decision to move theAmerican embassy in Israel to Jerusalemhad prompted the cancellation of severalplanned meetings ahead of Pence’s trip,originally scheduled for December.

Abdullah, a key US ally, said he had“continuously voiced over the pastyear... my concerns regarding the USdecision on Jerusalem that does notcome as a result of a comprehensivesettlement to the Palestinian Israeliconflict”. “Jerusalem is key to Muslimsand Christians as it is to Jews,” headded. “It is key to peace in the region.And key to enabling Muslims to effec-tively fight some of the root causes ofradicalization.”

Israel occupied the West Bank in1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem ina move never recognized by the interna-tional community. The US move to rec-ognize the city as Israel’s capital brokewith decades of international consensusthat the city’s status should be settled

Continued on Page 11

Jordan king tells Pence of concern over Jerusalem

L o c a l Monday, January 22, 2018

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BAGHDAD: Dean of Iraqi journalists Muwayyed Al-Lami speaks during a meeting with a delegation from Kuwaiti official and private media outlets. —KUNA

Kuwait Times Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan (left) meets withLeader of the National Wisdom Movement Ammar Al-Hakim. Dean of Iraqi journalists Muwayyed Al-Lami meets with members of the visiting Kuwaiti media delegation.

Faisal Al-Mutlaqqem, Kuwait’s Information Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for External Media, speaks during the meeting.

Established 1961

Foreign Minister,US envoy discuss IS,Iraq reconstructionKUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofForeign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received yesterday Brett McGurk US SpecialPresidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeatthe so-called Islamic State (IS). They discussed, dur-ing the meeting, current preparations for upcomingministerial meeting of the Global Coalition against theso-called Islamic State (IS), due in Kuwait onFebruary 13. They also examined the remarkableprogress in encountering the IS, as well as boostinginternational efforts to dry up its funding resources.McGurk praised the distinguished Kuwait’s efforts andcontributions to the coalition in combating the terror-ist organization, the IS, also known as “Daesh.” Themeeting was attended by Deputy Foreign MinisterKhaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah, beside other officials.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Minister of Finance Nayef Al-Hajraf held talks with McGurk, along with accompa-nying officers, as part of Kuwait’s preparations for theplanned international conference for reconstructingIraq. The Ministry of Finance said in a statement thatthe two sides discussed means of combating terror-ism funding, as a prelude to the convention, due to behosted by Kuwait on February 12-14, under HisHighness the Amir’s patronization. The meeting wasattended by the director of operations at KuwaitFund for Arab Economic Development Marwan Al-Ghanem, the head of financial inspection unit Talal Al-

Sayeh and the US Ambassador to Kuwait LawrenceSilverman.

Hajraf also held talks yesterday with FrenchAmbassador to Kuwait Marie Masdupuy, duringwhich France affirmed it will take part in the Iraqreconstruction conference. The meeting also focusedon boosting cooperation between the State of Kuwaitand France. The Ministry of Finance said in a state-ment that the discussions, involving the head of theeconomic mission at the French embassy PhilippeGhali, dealt with issues of common concern. The twosides lauded the distinguished bilateral relationsbetween the two friendly countries, noting necessityof activating cooperation between Kuwait and Parisin various spheres. —KUNA

Minister of Finance Nayef Al-Hajraf meets with French Ambassador to Kuwait MarieMasdupuy.

Minister of Finance Nayef Al-Hajraf meets with Brett McGurk US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition toDefeat the so-called Islamic State (IS).

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah KhaledAl-Hamad Al-Sabah meets with Brett McGurk US Special Presidential Envoy for theGlobal Coalition to Defeat the so-called Islamic State (IS). —KUNA

BAGHDAD: Dean of Iraqi journalists Muwayyed Al-Lami praised His Highness the Amir of Kuwait SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s support forreconstruction of Iraq. “The humanity of His Highnessthe Amir is taking care of Iraq and its people, just likehe does to his people and country,” Lami said during ameeting with a visiting delegation from Kuwait officialand private media Saturday night. He said the delega-tion’s visit is an evidence of Kuwait’s political, economicand security support of Iraq for more than 15 years.

Kuwait wants to continue this backing by hosting aconference to rebuild Iraq on February 12-14, saidLami. He said the delegation would meet senior stateofficials and conduct interviews to know the real needsof Iraq. The Kuwaiti delegation would be meeting gov-ernment officials and political parties’ leaders to dis-cuss the reconstruction conference.

Faisal Al-Mutlaqqem, Kuwait Information MinistryAssistant Undersecretary for External Media, called forfurther development of relations at all levels with Iraq.Kuwait, he added, is keen on boosting relations with theArab media institutions, including the ones in Iraq. Hesaid Kuwait is interested in a stable Iraq.

The Kuwaiti delegation also includes Kuwait TimesEditor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, KUNA’sDeputy Director General and Chief Editor Saad Al-Ali,Secretary General of Kuwait Journalists AssociationAdnan Al-Rashed, Chief Editor of Al-Nahar newspaperEmad Bu Khamseen, Hassan Al-Sayegh from the Diwanof His Highness the Prime Minister, and journalists fromAl-Jarida, Al-Qabas, Al-Shahed and Al-Rai newspapers,as well as KUNA. —KUNA

Iraqi journalists’ dean praisesAmir’s reconstruction support

Kuwaiti media delegation interviews officials to know the needs of Iraq

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Seif Palace yes-terday First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofDefense Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah andhis Qatari counterpart Dr Khaled bin Mohammad Al-Atiyyah. Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad also presentedthe Qatari minister to His Highness the Prime MinisterSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Dr Atiyyah arrived to Kuwait yesterday accompaniedby his delegation in an official visit. Sheikh NasserSabah Al-Ahmad and a number of senior DefenseMinistry officials greeted the guest upon his arrival, theDirectorate of Moral Guidance and Public Relations inthe Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir also receivedDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior SheikhKhaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, who presented to HisHighness the Chief of the National Security AgencyLieutenant General Essam Al-Naham, who was recentlypromoted. Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah later presented

Naham to His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh NawafAl-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness thePrime Minister as well.

Earlier yesterday, His Highness the Amir received HisHighness the Crown Prince, Highness the Prime Minister,as well as National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem. Meanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Nawafreceived His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak,Ghanem, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign MinisterSheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and DeputyPremier and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs AnasKhaled Al-Saleh.

In the meantime, His Highness the Prime Ministerreceived Chairman of Kuwait Chamber of Commerceand Industry (KCCI) Ali Mohammad Al-Ghanem,accompanied by president of the Arab-GermanChamber of Commerce and Industry Peter Ramsauer atSeif Palace. The meeting was attended by chairperson ofthe Diwan of His Highness the Prime Minister SheikhaEtimad Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. — KUNA

L o c a l Monday, January 22, 2018

3Established 1961

Amir receives visitingQatari defense minister

KUWAIAT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Qatari Defense Minister DrKhaled bin Mohammad Al-Atiyyah. — KUNA

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofInterior Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, and Chief of the National Security Agency Lieutenant General Essam Al-Naham.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah meets with Qatari Deputy Premier and StateMinister for Defense Affairs Dr Khaled bin Mohammad Al-Atiyyah.

Deputy Foreign Ministerreceives new diplomats

KUWAIT: Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah received yesterday cre-dentials of newly appointed Ambassadors of Paraguay, Portugal, Denmark andSweden. Assistant Foreign Minister for Protocols Ambassador Dhari Ajran Al-Ajran and Assistant Foreign Minister for the Deputy Minister Affairs Bureau,Ayham Al-Omar, attended the ceremony. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah meets with the newly appointedAmbassador of Paraguay. — KUNA

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah meets with the newly appointedAmbassador of Portugal.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah meets with the newly appointedAmbassador of Denmark.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah meets with the newly appointedAmbassador of Sweden.

Monday, January 22, 2018

4L o c a l

Established 1961

NBK Al-Shababcardholders enjoy 50% discount on KNCC ticketsKUWAIT: The National Bankof Kuwait (NBK) makes themost of each customer’s bank-ing experience by offering spe-cial discounts and rewards tai-lored to suit their lifestyles.Now Al-Shabab prepaid cardholders can get more fun out oftheir weekends with a massive50 percent discount on movietickets at (Cinescape) cinemas.

“NBK customers enjoysharing their weekends withfamily and friends,” explained Dalal Yousef Al-Mulla,Marketing Planning and Execution Manager at theConsumer Banking Group, National Bank of Kuwait.“We are delighted to collaborate with the KuwaitNational Cinema Company (KNCC) the leading compa-ny in the Cinema industry to provide this valuable offerfor NBK Al-Shabab Prepaid Cardholders.”

Each account holder can purchase one (Standard2D/ 3D) ticket per day at the discounted price everyFriday and Saturday. Kuwaiti college or university stu-dents ages 17 to 23 may apply for an Al-Shabab prepaidcard online. The recharge-as-you-go feature, availableonline or through the NBK smart phone App, helps stu-dents budget their monthly allowance, making it easy forthem to transfer money as needed for expenditure whiletracking all spending.

NBK Al-Shabab Prepaid Card holders enjoy valu-able, exclusive benefits including access to Kuwait’s sin-gle largest loyalty reward program, NBK Rewards, withmore than 700 partner outlets. Shabab Prepaid Cardholders also receive exclusive discounts, including popup offers, contract and annual deals like 20 percent offyearly membership to Platinum Health Club.

NBK Al-Shabab prepaid cardholders also enjoyexclusive access to many innovative products and serv-ices like online Secure Shopping and Tap and Pay wear-ables. NBK is the only bank in Kuwait which offers theTap and Pay service on stickers and wristbands whichsimplify and ease payments while taking contactlesspayments even further. To pay for any transactions up toKD 10, Shabab prepaid cardholders simply tap theircard, sticker or wristband on the POS machine. Anytransaction above KD 10 will require a PIN to beentered on the POS terminal.

The innovative service highlights NBK’s drive tointroduce best-in-class banking products and servicesand cutting-edge technology to provide the ultimatebanking experience without compromising on security.NBK’s Tap and Pay service adheres to the highest inter-national security standards, further supporting NBK’sposition as one of the 50 safest banks in the world.

By Athoob Al-Shuaibi

KUWAIT: The national holidays have a great position inthe hearts of Kuwaitis. The decorations that adorn thecountry at this time of the year, the raising of flags onhouses and competition between the government and pri-vate institutions in decorating buildings is a renewal of thecovenant of allegiance and belonging to this country.

Kuwait Times met Farwaniya Governor Sheikh FaisalAl-Humoud Al-Malik Al-Sabah to discuss the programprepared by Farwaniya governorate this year. After a flag-raising ceremony at BayanPalace by His Highness theAmir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-AhmadAl-Sabah, His Highness theCrown Prince Sheikh NawafAl-Ahmad Al-Sabah and thepolitical leadership onJanuary 29, the six provinceswill begin celebrations of the57th National Day of Kuwaitand the 27th anniversary ofthe liberation.

“In Farwaniya gover-norate, there will be a festive program on January 29 whichincludes a show by honor guards, flag-raising, nationalpoetry, folk dance (ardha) and a presentation by someschool students. Another event will take place on Feb 8 atThe Avenues, which will include participation by Kuwaitisingers and folkloric dancers, as well as a ceremony in theGrand Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Feb 14. Inaddition, there will be a celebration at Kuwait International

Airport for travelers and guests. We all express, both inFarwaniya governorate in particular and Kuwait in generalour love for our homeland and sincerely interpret it,”Sheikh Faisal said.

Stories of patriotismSheikh Faisal has been really attentive and keen about

the national celebrations even before he became the gov-ernor of Farwaniya. “I worked in 2001 for the 10th anniver-sary celebrations of Liberation Day. At that time, our ene-my was at the pinnacle. But we delivered through the

national ceremonies our mes-sage transparently and affec-tionately to the world, and itwas met with applause, empa-thy and respect. Kuwaitis aredistinguished in their love fortheir nation and leadership.They have penned throughhistory some of the greateststories of patriotism,” SheikhFaisal said. “You can see par-ents doing their best and giv-ing what they can when theyare celebrating the wedding

ceremonies of their children, let alone the ceremony ofKuwait. I cannot imagine there is anything more importantthan that,” he concluded.

Farwaniya governorate has a number of populated resi-dential, industrial and commercial areas, including the zoo,Kuwait International Airport, The Avenues and Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium. Sheikh Faisal is the sixthgovernor of Farwaniya governorate.

Farwaniya Governor announcesnational celebrations’ plans

Flag-raising ceremony on Jan 29 launches state-wide celebrations

KUWAIT: Farwaniya Governor Sheikh Faisal Al-Humoud Al-Malik Al-Sabah speaks to KuwaitTimes. — Photo by Joseph Shagra

We all expressour love for our

homeland

Architecture inKuwait, from mud houses to modernismKUWAIT: Kuwait witnessed a radical urban renaissance,following the discovery of oil, as the simple mud housesturned into huge villas built of cement, following the lat-est modern designs. Kuwaiti historian and author of‘Glances Of Kuwait’s Modern History’ book Fahad Al-Abduljaleel said that earliest description of the Kuwaitiarchitecture dates back to 1709, by traveler HajMurtadha Bin Olwan.

Olwan visited Kuwait as he was coming for ‘Hijaz’ -western coast of Saudi Arabia-describing it as a simpletown, with primitive buildings similar to those in Al-Ahsaa -eastern coast of Saudi Arabia- but simpler. Thearchitecture commenced in Kuwait back in the 17th cen-tury in the central city called ‘Baheeta’ overlooking theArabian Gulf, and close from Al-Seif Palace and the oldKuwait’s Port, he added.

The rich families then built their houses from the searocks, while the poor families built mud houses, thatwould unfortunately easily collapse during seasons ofheavy rains as it happened in the year of ‘Rajbeya’ in1872, and years of ‘Haddamah’ in 1934, and 1954, he said.

The sea rock houses had the advantage of cooling thehot air during the summer, and that they would stand stillagainst the heavy rains, he affirmed. Among the mostfamous builders’ families were namely Al-Bannai, Al-

Rubah, Al-Bahoo and Al-Farhan, Al-Abduljaleel said.The radical quantum leap in the Kuwait architecture

took place during the reign of late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, as people during late 1950s and early1960s moved to new residential areas that were named

according to alphabetical order. The modern buildingsthen depended on engineers, architectures, designersand specialists coming from various countries likeLebanon, Egypt Jordan, UK, Poland, Czech, besides oth-er nations. — KUNA

Wajar: Main tool used in the past to ignite fire

Dalal Al-Mulla

KUWAIT: There is almost no house, tent, or farm in old Kuwait without a hosting corner called ‘Wajar’ using charcoal and firewood forheating and preparation of Arabic tea and coffee. Shapes and types of Wajar differs; they can be made out of gypsum or marble anddecorated with tea and coffee making supplies from different tea and coffee pots. —KUNA

Kuwait Airwaysdenies operatingnew routesKUWAIT: Kuwait Airways Saturday denied media reportsthat it was launching new routes. The national carrier posteda message on its Twitter account saying that it only postsreports about any new routes through its official mediaaccounts. It urged social media users to be careful aboutreporting unconfirmed reports. Meanwhile, Kuwait Airwayssaid in a statement it has 39 routes in Asia, Africa, Europeand North America. It said it planned to operate new routesto Vienna, Austria, and Munich, Germany, in coming summer.Kuwait Airways was established in 1953 and became fullyowned by the government in 1962. —KUNA

By A Saleh

KUWAIT: Interior Ministry Undersecretary Lt GenMahmoud Al-Dousary said that the plan to reduce thenumber of prisoners at the Central Jail will begin assoon as the committee formed to study the issue com-pletes its work and sets the rules and conditions incooperation with the general prosecution and justiceministry. “We will seek a change in some sentences andrelease some inmates after making sure they meet theconditions and laws due to overcrowding in prisons,and we have appealed to MPs to help us by setting leg-islations allowing us to release some cases,” he said.Dousary added that many expatriate inmates will alsobe released as per agreements of prisoner exchange, sothey can serve their sentences in their countries insteadof Kuwait.

Private hospitalsThe finance ministry disclosed information about

build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts it has signedwith the private sector to operate private hospitals inKuwait, as official data revealed the current contractswith the private health sector are 10 in total. The datarevealed that current contracts are signed with SalamHospital, whose contract expires on Feb 1, 2026; thehealth assurance hospital in Jahra which expires on Aug13, 2040; the health assurance hospital in Ahmadi whichexpires in Aug 13, 2040; Sidra Hospital which expireson May 1, 2025; Seif Hospital which expires on Jan 19,2025; Kuwait International Hospital which expires onJune 11, 2028, Dar Al-Shifa Hospital which expires onMay 15, 2024, Enaya Hospital which expires on May 20,2024, Kuwait Clinic which expires on June 12, 2024 andDar Al-Shifa Hospital which expires on May 17, 2024.

The finance ministry said only one contract was vio-lated and wrote to the health ministry on the lack of

seriousness by the investor tooperate the hospital. The min-istry is waiting for the healthministry’s answer to take legalaction. The ministry said sevenhospitals whose allocationswere cancelled due to notsigning contracts during thedesignated period include Al-Hayat Medical, Al-KharafiMedical Services, ArabiyaMedical Services, Khalid Al-Dabous, Boubyan Medical andMowasat Hospital. The allo-

cated area for each hospital was between 5,000 to6,000 sq m. The finance ministry said there are no con-tracts with foreign companies, adding contracts mustbe reviewed by the Cabinet, State Audit Bureau and theFatwa and Legislation Department.

Governance rulesThe parliamentary financial and economic affairs

committee held a meeting yesterday in the presence ofa government team and discussed governance rules instate departments. Committee rapporteur MP SalehAshour said the government asked for a two-weekperiod to prepare a study on discussing the governanceissue more deeply before taking a decision. Separately,the education, culture and guidance committeeapproved several proposals regarding the developmentof the educational process and help executive bodieslearn about the opinions and wishes of MPs. CommitteeChairman MP Awwad Al-Ruwaei said an invitation willbe sent to the education minister to attend its nextmeeting to discuss the issue of supervisory jobs, as thecommittee had received many complaints that confirmsthe ministry’s ignorance of this issue.

L o c a l Monday, January 22, 2018

5Established 1961

Interior seeks MPs’ cooperationto address overcrowded jails

Exchange agreements allow expat prisoners to serve sentences in their countries

Lt Gen Mahmoud Al-Dousary

KUWAIT: The cabinet is expected to make a deci-sion soon on the mechanism to operate and managethe Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, as a governmentalteam has estimated its operation costs at KD 10 bil-lion for 50 years.

A team that included members from KuwaitInvestment Authority, economic development com-mittee of the Supreme Council for Planning andDevelopment, and Fatwa and Legislation Departmenthas recently completed its report to estimate thetotal cost to operate the hospital. According tosources familiar with the report, the total cost tooperate the hospital is $10 billion in 50 years whichis the projected life span of the project, without cal-culation of inflation percentages. These estimationsfor operational costs do not mean that the govern-ment intends to charge Kuwaiti patients for treat-ment, the sources added. The sources said cashsalaries item is estimated at nearly KD 121.3 million,

and will rise to KD 130.4 million by adding the gov-ernment share in insurance and material advantages.

The report compares between the operationalcosts of the Amiri and Jaber hospitals. It states thatthe projected cash salaries for Jaber Hospital is KD121.3 million, compared to KD 40.5 million for theAmiri Hospital. Material advantages for the JaberHospital are projected at KD 2.4 million, compared toKD 811,266 for Amiri Hospital. According to thereport, medical supplies for the Jaber Hospital areprojected at KD 49.5 million, compared to KD 16.5million for Jaber Hospital. Patients’ food costs areprojected at KD 1.64 million for Jaber Hospital, com-pared to KD 547,624 for the Amiri Hospital, whileclothes and patients’ covers are projected at KD111,918 for Jaber Hospital (KD 37,306 for AmiriHospital). The Jaber Hospital is expected to opensometime this year, though an official opening date isyet to be announced. — Al-Anbaa

Securitychief, FrenchAmbassadordiscuss cooperationKUWAIT: The National SecurityBureau’s Chairman Sheikh ThamerAl-Ali Al-Sabah met yesterday withFrench Ambassador to Kuwait MarieMasdupuy who was accompaniedby the military attache of the FrenchEmbassy Patrick Piquer. Accordingto a statement by Kuwait’s NationalSecurity Bureau, the two sides dis-cussed cooperation, latest issues inthe region and a host of topics.

Separately, Deputy Chief of theKuwaiti National Guard SheikhMishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah heldtalks yesterday with the GeneralCommander of Portugal’s NationalRepublican Guard LieutenantGeneral Matthew Manuel Costa daSilva. The discussions betweenSheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad and thevisiting Portuguese military officialcentered on strategies to establishcloser bilateral ties, Kuwait’s

National Guard said in a statement.Kuwait’s National Guard is eager toreach out to its allies, the statementcited Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad as

saying. Meanwhile, a number ofKuwaiti and Portuguese militaryofficials were present during theencounter. — KUNA

Jaber Hospital’s estimated operational cost KD 10 billion

KUWAIT: The National Security Bureau’s Chairman Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali Al-Sabah meets with French Ambassador to Kuwait Marie Masdupuy. — KUNA

Deputy Chief of the Kuwaiti National Guard Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabahmeets with the General Commander of Portugal’s National Republican GuardLieutenant General Matthew Manuel Costa da Silva.

Driver hurtin botchedarmedrobberyKUWAIT: A taxi driver paid aheavy price for resisting threerobbers in Salwa at dawnSaturday. When the trio failed torob the victim, they stabbed himin the abdomen and escaped,leaving him bleeding. A call wasreceived about the victim, sopolice and paramedics went to thearea and rushed him to MubarakHospital in critical condition. He

spent three hours in the operationtheater. Detectives are workingon the case.

Campers fightA fight broke out between six per-sons from neighboring camps,resulting in five injuries. One ofthem was run over with the driverescaping, but he gave himself upan hour later. The fight broke outin Subbiya when a person protest-ed after a car passed next to hiscamp. It belonged to a personfrom a neighboring camp, so heasked him why he passed near hiscamp. The matter escalated to afight that injured five people, whileone was run over. Jahra policemenresponded to a call and went withparamedics to the scene, and theinjured were taken to hospital.

Investigations are ongoing.

Officer assaultedA police officer accused a man andhis three sons of storming into hishouse and beating them due towhat he described as previous dis-putes. The officer lodged a com-plaint at Saad Al-Abdullah policestation. The four were chargedwith trespassing and assault, andwere ordered arrested.

Gamblers arrestedFour Asian persons were arrestedwhile gambling red-handed in theopen. They were taken to Salhiyapolice station. Police found KD884 on them. The three Indiansand a Pakistani confessed to thecharges. — Translated form theArabic press

Kuwait renovatesPalestinians’ homes GAZA: A Palestinian charity yesterday launched anendeavor to refurbish some 380 Palestinian homesfinanced by the Kuwait Fund for Arab EconomicDevelopment, at a cost of $4 million. The project isgeared towards impoverished Palestinian domicilesacross the Gaza strip, the chairman of the Al-RahmaCharity Association Imad Kaheel said in a ceremonywith Palestinian Minister of Public Works and HousingDr Mufeed Al-Hassanieh in attendance. He pointed out

that the project was a genuine effort to assist thePalestinian people, many of whom are mired in sheerpenury as a result of a rigid Israeli blockade of theGaza strip.

Kaheel revealed that a comprehensive survey ofGaza was carried out to determine the beneficiaries ofthe humanitarian program, thanking Kuwait for itsunyielding support for the Palestinian people.Meanwhile, the Palestinian minister lamented the plightof around 4,200 Palestinian families who live well belowthe poverty line, saying that “their misery is likely tointensify.” He urged Arab and Islamic nations to ratchetup aid for these hapless families in order to improvetheir living conditions, expressing his gratitude to theKuwaiti people as well. — KUNA

The Jaber Hospital.

KABUL: Afghan security personnel leave the Intercontinental Hotel after an attack in Kabul yesterday. —AFP

KABUL: At least 18 people including 14 foreigners werekilled in a bloody Taleban-claimed assault on a luxuryhotel in Kabul, an interior ministry spokesman said yes-terday, hours after the overnight attack ended.“Fourteen foreigners were killed and four Afghans,”interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish toldAfghanistan’s Tolo News, without specifying the nation-alities involved. Ukrainian officials have already said atleast one Ukrainian is among the dead.

Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, sparking a12-hour battle that left terrified guests scrambling toescape and parts of the building ablaze. The Talebanclaimed responsibility for the attack on the six-storeyIntercontinental Hotel on a hilltop overlooking theAfghan capital. People trapped at the top of the buildingtied bedsheets together and climbed over balconies toescape the overnight assault.

One lost his grip and fell in dramatic televisionfootage by Afghanistan’s Tolo News station, which alsoshowed black smoke and flames billowing from the topof the hotel. Special forces were lowered by helicoptersduring the night onto the roof of the landmark 1960sbuilding, with Afghan security forces killing four attack-ers in the hours-long assault, the interior ministry said.“Afghans and one foreigner have been killed,” interiorministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said yester-day, adding around 150 people were rescued including

more than 40 foreigners.“The body of the foreigner, a woman, was recovered

from the sixth floor as the last attacker was beingkilled,” he added. An official with Afghanistan’s spyagency put the number of wounded at eight, while theinterior ministry said 18. Officials said four gunmenburst into the hotel, which is not part of the globalInterContinental chain, on Saturday night, opening fireon guests and staff and taking dozens of peoplehostage. The Taleban claimed responsibility for the lat-est assault in the war-torn capital via an email fromspokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. The interior ministry hadearlier blamed the Taleban-affiliated Haqqani network.

It followed security warnings in recent days to avoidhotels and other locations frequented by foreigners.Kabul has become one of the deadliest places inAfghanistan for civilians, with the Taleban and theIslamic State group both stepping up attacks. It was notclear how many people had been inside the hotel.During the siege, a guest hiding in a room said he couldhear gunfire inside the building, where dozens of peopleattending an information technology conference onSunday were staying.

“I don’t know if the attackers are inside the hotel but Ican hear gunfire from somewhere near the first floor,” theman, who did not want to be named, told AFP by tele-phone. “We are hiding in our rooms. I beg the security

forces to rescue us as soon as possible before they reachand kill us.” His phone has been switched off since then.

‘Fleeing like crazy’Afghan Telecom regional director Aziz Tayeb, who

was attending the IT conference, said he saw theattackers enter the hotel. “Everything became chaotic ina moment. I hid behind a pillar and I saw people whowere enjoying themselves a second ago screaming andfleeing like crazy, and some of them falling down, hit bybullets,” Tayeb told AFP. Local resident Abdul Sattarsaid he had spoken by phone to friends who are hotelstaff and had been trapped inside.

“Suddenly (militants) attacked the dinner gathering...(then) they broke into the rooms, took some peoplehostage and they opened fire on some of them,” he said.Rahimi said the attackers were armed with l ightweapons and rocket-propelled grenades when theystormed the hotel, a popular venue for weddings, con-ferences and political gatherings. Security in Kabul hasbeen ramped up since May 31 when a massive truckbomb killed some 150 people and wounded around 400- mostly civilians.

Devastating attacks But the resurgent Taleban and Islamic State are both

scaling up their assaults on the city, with multiple dev-

astating attacks in recent weeks. The attack on theIntercontinental was just one of several bloody assaultsSunday. In a village in the northern province of Balkh,Taleban militants went from house to house in the mid-dle of the night, pulling police from their homes andshooting them dead.

At least 18 officers were killed, deputy police chiefAbdul Raziq Qaderi said. In Herat in the west at leasteight civilians were killed when a car hit a Taleban-planted roadside mine, officials there said. The lastmajor attack on a high-end hotel in Kabul was in March2014 when four teenage gunmen raided the Serena,killing nine people including AFP journalist SardarAhmad. The overnight siege is not the first time theIntercontinental has been targeted: in 2011 a suicideattack claimed by the Taleban killed 21 people there,including 10 civilians.

Even before the attack was over Sunday, authoritieswere questioning how the attackers got past the hotel’ssecurity, which was taken over by a private companythree weeks ago, said Najib Danish, another interiorministry spokesman. “We will investigate it,” he said. Ahotel employee told AFP that as he fled the staff livingquarters in a building next to the hotel he saw the newsecurity guards running for their lives. “They didn’t doanything, they didn’t attack. They had no experience,”the man said on condition of anonymity. —Agencies

18 dead in 12-hour Taleban siegeGunmen attack Intercontinental Hotel in Afghan capital

100 in Indonesia’s Papua feared dead from malnutritionJAKARTA: A measles outbreak is feared to have killed about 100malnourished people in Indonesia’s Papua, an official said yesterday,highlighting a health crisis in the country’s easternmost province. Atotal of 69 toddlers have died in the remote Asmat region, saidPapua military spokesman Muhammad Aidi, while reports on theground suggest 27 people have died in an equally remote andmountainous district named Oksibil. “We have received reportsfrom villagers that the outbreak is also happening in Oksibil districtand our staff have confirmed that, but we still need to check howmany people have died,” Aidi said. “Measles is not dangerous, it’s amild disease. But because those children are malnourished, theycan’t cope in that condition.”

The government and military have sent medical teams and aresupplying villagers with medicine, vaccines, medical equipment andnutritious food in Asmat. But the difficult terrain means the team willnot arrive in Oksibil until today at the earliest, Aidi added. Bothareas suffer from a severe shortage of doctors and health facilitiesas well as poor infrastructure and communications networks, delay-ing news of the outbreak. About 129,000 people live in Asmat, aswampy region cris-crossed by rivers that can only be accessed bya flight from Papua’s capital Jayapura followed by a helicopter andboat ride.

The district of Oksibil has a population of 4,000. To reach someof the villages, people must walk for about a day. “We have sent aid,now we are making sure that it is actually distributed to thoseremote villages and not just stocked in a warehouse,” said socialaffairs minister Idrus Marham. Jakarta proclaimed western Papua tobe part of Indonesia after a self-determination referendum in 1969which some regarded it as a sham. When President Joko Widodotook office in 2014 he vowed to speed up the development in infra-structure in Papua to speed up economic growth. —AFP

International25,000 murdered in Mexico in 2017

Page 8Trump inauguration anniversary marred by shutdown, protests

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MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

Established 1961

Mumbai metro will beat traffic, but at what cost?MUMBAI: A new underground metro is expected to ease theburden on Mumbai’s notoriously congested roads and rail-ways, but not everybody in India’s sprawling financial capitalis happy about the multi-billion-dollar project. Announced in2014 with much fanfare, the Metro 3 line has been hailed bybackers as essential to help solve the city’s traffic woes andfinally provide a link to its airports.

But campaigners are angry at the felling of thousands oftrees, and say it could desecrate temples and lead to thedestruction of an urban forest tribal groups call home. Thescheme has faced considerable opposition in court, delayingcompletion and highlighting the complexities of undertakingmajor infrastructure work in the world’s largest democracywhere people have the right of redress. “This is one of India’sbiggest projects. It has faced immense difficulties and chal-lenges of different types,” says Ashwini Bhide, managingdirector of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation.

The 231-billion-rupee ($3.6 billion) line will link Mumbai’spopular tourist destination of Colaba in the historic south toSEEPZ, a special economic zone situated 33.5 kilometers (21miles) north.It will boast 27 stops servicing the coastal city’sbusiest business districts, including Bandra Kurla Complexand Lower Parel, where 23 people died during a stampede ata railway station last year. The line is scheduled to be finishedby December 2021. “Congestion on the road will be substan-tially reduced because of this corridor,” Bhide told AFP, esti-mating that 650,000 vehicle trips could disappear from theroads daily.

‘Mumbai is upgrading’Metro 3 also aims to ease the load on Mumbai’s creaking

railway lines where an average of more than nine people losetheir lives every day, often falling off overcrowded carriages.

Seven million people use Mumbai’s railway daily. Bhide saysthe new metro will carry 1.7 million passengers per day, free-ing up space on overground trains. “The quality of commute,ease of travelling and speed of travelling will increase,” shesays. Mumbai effectively shuts down when trains cannot run,as is often the case when tracks flood during the four-monthsummer monsoon. The underground will ensure the citykeeps running, advocates say. Work began in October 2016and large areas of the city have been dug up to bore tunnels,which will be up to 22 metres (72 feet) deep.

Barriers shielding construction work boast the tagline“Mumbai is upgrading” but while most people support theproject, several groups are angry. Thousands of Parsis signeda petition calling for the route to be changed so trains do notpass under fire temples where Zoroastrians worship, claimingit would pollute the “holy fire” and force nature to exact itsrevenge. Environmentalists unsuccessfully went to court to

stop the destruction of thousands of trees, and also object toplans for a depot and station on a 33-hectare (82-acre) site inAarey Colony, a biodiversity hotspot. The area bordersSanjay Gandhi National Park, home to leopards, birds andother animals.

‘We don’t want change’“It’s a beautiful forest in the heart of Mumbai, an oxygen

cylinder for the city that needs to be protected,” StalinDayanand, director of the environmental non-profit organiza-tion Vanashakti said. “Once the shed and station come up, itopens the door for real estate developers to construct prop-erties there,” he added. Some 7,000 indigenous Indians-theWarlis-also live across Aarey, which at more than 1,200hectares is a green oasis in the teeming city. The animistsworship wildlife and are famous for their simple paintingsdepicting nature. —ÅFP

MUMBAI: A ‘dabbawala’, or deliveryman, cycles past a metro railway working site in Mumbai. The new undergroundmetro is expected to ease the burden on Mumbai’s notoriously congested roads and railways, but not everybody inIndia’s sprawling financial capital is happy about the multi-billion-dollar project. - AFP

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Monday, January 22, 2018

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Israel won’t prosecute embassy guard over Jordan shootings

Guard killed 2 Jordanians in self-defense, Israel claims

Established 1961

News in brief

JERUSALEM: Israel will not prosecute a guard from itsembassy in Amman who killed two Jordanians in July, ashad long been demanded by the kingdom, two Israelisources said yesterday. Instead, the Foreign Ministry andShin Bet security agency will review protocols surround-ing the actions taken by the guard, and his conduct, “andshare the results with theJordanians”, a diplomaticsource said. The killingsled to a rift between thecountries, which bothsaid last week had beenmended.

Jordan said Israel hadapologized for theembassy deaths, wouldcompensate the victims’next of kin and “imple-ment and follow up legalmeasures” in the case.Jordanian officials werenot immediately available to comment on the diplomaticsource’s account. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesmandeclined comment. Amman had previously demanded ahomicide trial for the guard, whose repatriation underdiplomatic immunity and hero’s welcome by PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu angered Jordanians.

Israel said in the aftermath of the incident that theguard had acted in self-defense, shooting a workman whostabbed and wounded him lightly, and that the secondJordanian was killed by stray fire. Asked yesterdaywhether criminal prosecution of the guard was possible, asecond Israeli official told Reuters on condition ofanonymity: “No way.” The guard’s prospects of remainingin the Israeli secret service may be in doubt, however, aftera Jordanian newspaper published his name and photo-

graph. Other fine-print elements of the reconciliation dealwere designed to limit legal culpability for Israel, thediplomatic source said.

Israel would not pay damages to the next of kindirectly, but instead provide a $5 million lump sum for theJordanian government to disburse as compensation, that

source said. The money isalso meant to cover theneeds of the family of aJordanian shot dead by anIsraeli border guard in2014. Two sources closeto the families confirmedthe payout sum. TheIsraeli diplomatic sourcesaid the Netanyahu gov-ernment had not apolo-gized for the shooting ofthe alleged assailant butrather “voiced regret”.

On Thursday, aJordanian government spokesman said Israel had sent amemorandum stating its “deep regrets and apologies”. YetIsrael distinguishes between the two expressions of contri-tion, seeing in the latter a potential admission of guilt. A dealreconciling Israel and Turkey over the killing of 10 pro-Palestinian Turks who tried to breach the Gaza blockade in2010 included Israel voicing regret and paying $20 millioninto a Turkish fund that compensated the bereaved andinjured. In return, Ankara agreed not to seek the criminalprosecution of Israeli marines who raided the activists’ ship.

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Threeyears later, during Netanyahu’s first term as prime minister,relations were strained when Israeli secret agents werecaught spraying poison into the ear of Palestinian Hamasleader Khaled Meshaal on an Amman street. The assassi-

nation team was repatriated in return for an antidote forMeshaal and the release of Hamas’s spiritual leader, AhmedYassin, from an Israeli jail. On Saturday night in a Twitter

posting, Netanyahu expressed appreciation for behind-the-scenes efforts by US envoys Jared Kushner and JasonGreenblatt to help end the crisis with Jordan.—Agencies

Killings spark a rift between Israel, Jordan

Trump inauguration anniversary marred by shutdown, protestsWASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s first anniversary as USpresident was marred by chaos Saturday as lawmakerstraded bitter recriminations over a government shutdownwhile mass demonstrations erupted in cities across thecountry. The famed Statue of Liberty was among the fed-eral sites that were shuttered on Saturday. But the realimpact of the shutdown won’t be fully felt until Mondaymorning, when hundreds of thousands of public sectorworkers are set to stay home without pay.

Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell on Saturdaynight tried to head off that possibility, setting a key votefor a funding measure for 1:00 am today. “I assure you wewill have the vote at 1:00 am today, unless there is a desireto have it sooner,” he said in a statement. Highlighting thedeep political polarization, crowds estimated to number inthe hundreds of thousands took to the streets of major UScities to march against the president and his policies.

“This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidencyand the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present,”Trump, who is in Washington instead of celebrating at hisMar-a-Lago resort as originally planned, wrote on Twitterin reference to the shutdown. “Democrats are far moreconcerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with ourgreat Military or Safety at our dangerous SouthernBorder,” he tweeted, later accusing the opposition party of“holding our Military hostage.” The impact of the shut-down would be felt acutely if it lasts into the coming workweek. Essential federal services and military activity arecontinuing, but even active duty troops will not be paiduntil a deal is reached to reopen the US government.

‘Holding pattern’ There have been four government shutdowns since

1990. In the last one in 2013, more than 800,000 govern-ment workers were put on temporary leave. “We’re just ina holding pattern. We just have to wait and see. It’s scary,”Noelle Joll, a 50-year-old furloughed US government

employee, told AFP in Washington. Joll was also affectedby the 2013 shutdown, but “this one feels a lot more omi-nous,” she said. A deal had appeared likely on Friday after-noon, when Trump-who has touted himself as a masternegotiator-seemed to be close to an agreement withDemocratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on ameasure to prevent the expulsion of undocumentedmigrants who arrived in the United States as children.

But no such compromise was in the language thatreached Congress for a stop-gap motion to keep the gov-ernment open for four more weeks while a final arrangementis discussed. And Republicans failed to win enoughDemocratic support to bring it to a vote. Congress recon-vened for a rare Saturday session, where leaders of bothsides were meant to hammer out their differences to prevent

the shutdown from stretching into Monday. Instead, theytraded accusations of responsibility for the shutdown.Schumer said trying to negotiate with Trump “was like nego-tiating with Jell-O.” “It’s impossible to negotiate with a con-stantly moving target,” he said. “President Trump is so mer-curial it’s been impossible to get him to agree to anything.”

Meanwhile, McConnell said Schumer “took the extraor-dinary step” of preventing the legislation from passing andthus “plunging the country into this totally avoidable mess.”“We’re dysfunctional right now,” said Democratic SenatorJoe Manchin, who voted in favor of the funding measure onFriday night. “If we can’t open the government back up andwork through our differences, it would be a travesty.”“Tomorrow this should come to an end. The true, unac-ceptable silliness that we go through must stop.”—AFP

US Christian tourists see deepmeaning in US’Jerusalem moveJERUSALEM: Near the olive grove whereChristians believe Jesus (PBUH) agonizedbefore his crucifixion, an American visitorspoke of a decision by US PresidentDonald Trump some believe also holdsspiritual importance. Phillip Dunn, the 37-year-old pastor of an evangelical Christianchurch in the US state of South Carolina,said he saw Trump’s declaration ofJerusalem as Israel’s capital last month aspart of biblical prophecy. “Certainly thisholds a lot of significance for people in thatway. We believe Christ is going to return,”Dunn, part of a group of around 50American Southern Baptists visitingJerusalem holy sites over the weekend, saidbefore climbing back aboard a tour bus.

Trump’s controversial declaration onDecember 6 will be back in the spotlightover the coming days with Vice PresidentMike Pence arriving Sunday night for talkswith Israeli officials in Jerusalem. Dunn andhis fellow believers are key backers ofTrump’s move in the United States and partof the Christian evangelical communitythere that has become an important pillarof support for his Republican party. Pence,who stood behind Trump as he made his

Jerusalem announcement, is himself anevangelical Christian.

Dunn and others on the Jerusalem tour,planned before Trump’s announcement,said they were pleased with his declarationbecause they consider it important to sup-port Israel and affirm its claim that theentire city is its capital. But there werealso otherworldly considerations amongthe group. Some evangelicals believe,based on interpretations of scripture, thatfirmly establishing Jerusalem as Israel’scapital and establishing a new temple therecould help lead to the second coming ofJesus. Dunn and others on the trip saidinterpretations of Jerusalem’s place in bib-lical prophecy vary too widely to provide asimple answer such as that one.

‘A lot of mystery’ Brett Burleson, a pastor at a church in

Alabama, said “there’s a lot of mystery tothat, so I don’t claim to know how it’s allgoing to play out”. “We do recognize thatthis is a place where we believe the LordJesus himself will return and bring a peace-ful end to human history,” the 47-year-oldsaid. Jerusalem’s status is perhaps the mostsensitive issue in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel occupied and later annexed itseastern sector in the Six-Day War of 1967in a move never recognized by the interna-tional community. It sees the entire city asits capital, while the Palestinians view eastJerusalem as the capital of their futurestate. Trump’s declaration deeply angeredthe Palestinians, with president MahmudAbbas cancelling plans to meet Pence dur-

ing his visit, which had been set for lateDecember before being postponed.

The declaration was partly the result ofa long political debate in the United States,with a law passed calling for the embassyto be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in1995. It however allowed presidents to signa waiver every six months to prevent theembassy move for national security rea-sons. Trump again signed the waiver whendeclaring Jerusalem Israel’s capital lastmonth, but stressed he intended to move

the embassy. He also said Jerusalem’s finalborders and status would have to be nego-tiated, but Palestinians were unconvinced.

David Parsons, vice president of theInternational Christian Embassy based inJerusalem, said he helped draft an earlierversion of the embassy legislation whileworking for a pro-Israel lobbying firm in theUnited States. “We have a large, broadmovement worldwide that supports Israel onvarious motivations,” Parsons said of the pri-marily evangelical Christian embassy. —AFP

LOS ANGELES: Protesters (part of a 500,000 strong crowd) gather during the Women’s Rally on theone-year anniversary of the first Women’s March, when millions marched around the world to protestUS President Donald Trump’s inauguration. —AFP

JERUSALEM: A man rides a scooter past a bus bearing a poster in support of USPresident ahead of the visit of the US vice president to Israel yesterday. US VicePresident Mike Pence is on a Middle East tour overshadowed by anger in theArab world over Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. —AFP

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opens the weekly cabinet meeting at hisJerusalem office yesterday. —AFP

Army helicopter crashes CALIFORNIA: A US Army Apache attack helicoptercrashed early Saturday morning in California, killing twosoldiers, a spokesman for the Army said. An investigationis ongoing into the crash of the AH-64 Apache helicopteron the sprawling National Training Center at Fort Irwin insouthern California, Lieutenant Colonel Jason Brown, USArmy spokesman, said in a statement emailed to Reuters.Another Army spokesman said that the pilot and the co-pilot were killed, but did not give their names, saying theirfamilies had yet to be notified. The crew of soldiers and theaircraft were based in Fort Carson in Colorado and wereon a training rotation at the base in the Mojave Desert,said Brandy Gill, a spokeswoman for the Army at FortCarson. The crash occurred about 1 am local time, Gill said.The AH-64 Apache is made by Boeing in Arizona. Boeingsigned a $3.4 billion, five-year deal to make AH-64 Apachehelicopters for the US Army and an unnamed foreign cus-tomer, the company said in a statement last March.

German to be hanged BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court said yesterday it had con-demned to death by hanging a German woman ofMoroccan origin after finding her guilty of belonging tothe Islamic State jihadist group. She was sentenced forproviding “logistical support and helping the terroristgroup to carry out crimes,” said court spokesman AbdelSettar Bayraqdar. “The accused admitted during interro-gations that she left Germany for Syria then Iraq to join ISwith her two daughters, who married members of the ter-rorist organization,” he said. In September 2017, the samecourt sentenced to death by hanging a Russian man whowas captured in Iraq’s second city Mosul and found guiltyof fighting for IS. Iraqi forces expelled the jihadists fromMosul in July 2017, ending three years of IS rule in thecity. The same month, a German teenage girl suspected ofjoining IS was arrested in Mosul, according to Germany’sjustice department.

Mogadishu mayor fired MOGADISHU: Somalia’s president fired the mayor of thecapital Mogadishu yesterday, in an apparent bid to defusemoves towards greater autonomy for the city. PresidentMohamed Abdullahi Mohamed named current informationminister Abdirahman Omar Osman to the post ofMogadishu mayor and governor of the Banadir adminis-tration, the region that includes the city, according to astatement from his office. Osman replaces Thabit AbdiMohamed who has served just nine months in office.Immediately after the mayor’s firing, government securityforces were deployed across Mogadishu to forestall anypotential protest against the move. Earlier, Mohamed’ssupporters in the city council had nominated him to headan autonomous Banadir administration, hoping to securefor the city and surrounding area equal status to Somalia’ssix regional states, which have their own presidents andenjoy a greater degree of autonomy. The central govern-ment is opposed to any such efforts.

Honduras roads blocked TEGUCIGALPA: Activists blocked roads and clashedwith police in Honduras on Saturday as part of nationwideprotests against the contested re-election of PresidentJuan Orlando Hernandez. Dozens of people have beenkilled and hundreds jailed since Hernandez was declaredthe winner of the November 26 run-off election-after athree week stretch of often-interrupted ballot countingthat stoked tensions and sparked accusations of fraud inthe Central American country. The left-wing Alliance inOpposition against the Dictatorship is heading a protestcampaign insisting that the election was stolen from itscandidate, former TV anchor Salvador Nasrallah. Theopposition called for a “national strike” on Saturday toblock the country’s main roads ahead of the start of thepresident’s new term in office on January 27. The govern-ment deployed police and soldiers to confront protesters.

Monday, January 22, 2018

8I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Established 1961

PRISTINA: The assassination of a prominent Serb politi-cian has cast another dark cloud above Kosovo as it isprepares to mark the 10th anniversary of its independence.Unilaterally declared on February 17, 2008, the independ-ence of Serbia’s breakaway province is recognized bymore than 110 countries. But Belgrade and many of the120,000 members of Kosovo’s Serb minority, refuse to doso almost 20 years after the1990s war. The conflict pit-ting Serbian security forcesagainst Kosovo Albanianguerrillas claimed 13,000lives, mostly ethnicAlbanians.

The January 16 murderof moderate Serb politicianOliver Ivanovic hassparked fresh tensions inthe volatile region. The 64-year-old was shot deadfrom a car in northernMitrovica, a Serb-populat-ed part of the ethnically divided flashpoint town. He wasthe only top Kosovo Serb politician to have publiclydenounced Belgrade’s policies in Kosovo, earning him thelabel “traitor” from detractors. The murder, whose perpe-trators have not yet been identified, has “the potential todestabilize Kosovo”, political analyst Ramush Tahiri toldAFP.

It already prompted the suspension of EU-mediatedtalks between Serb and Kosovo negotiators, which hadbeen due to resume on the day Ivanovic was killed. Theindefinite halt of discussions “is bad for our country,” com-mented Zeri, one of Kosovo’s leading daily newspapers.Begun in 2011 under EU auspices, the process of normaliz-ing ties has been at a standstill for months. A number ofkey issues remain yet to be solved including the status of“Serb-majority municipalities”.

‘Rogue state’ warning Tensions already rose in December after lawmakers in

Kosovo (population 1.8 million) made a failed bid to scrap

a new special court trying ethnic Albanian ex-guerillassuspected of committing war crimes during the 1998-1999conflict. The EU-backed tribunal, based in The Hague, ispoised to begin issuing indictments. But senior war veter-ans of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) havedemanded that MPs abolish the law on what they say is a“biased” court. President Hashim Thaci, the former head of

the KLA’s political wing,is rumored to be amongthose prosecuted for thealleged kidnapping anddisappearance of around500 civilians, mostly eth-nic Serbs.

A brother of PrimeMinister RamushHaradinaj is also thoughtto be under investigation.Calling the court intoquestion would be “a ter-rible example of selfinterest prevailing over

the common good and Kosovo’s interest as a state,” the USambassador to Kosovo Greg Delawie said, warning thatthe move would have “harsh consequences”. It would turnKosovo into a “rogue state” joining the ranks of NorthKorea or Iran, according to security expert Lulzim Peci.For some Kosovars, the situation has already taken a turnfor the worse. “It is too late to change something,” saidZenel Kastrati, 57, a shopkeeper in Pristina, who is againsta “confrontation with the United States and other westernfriends”.

Catastrophic economy Having reunited after years of bitter infighting, the for-

mer KLA chiefs barely retained power in legislative elec-tions in June. But their majority is thin and observers saythe fall of Haradinaj’s government could soon become areality as in the parliament it depends on the support of 10Serb MPs who oppose abolishing the war crimes court.Meanwhile, the nationalist leftwing oppositionVetevendosje (Self-determination) — the strongest party

in the country-faces its own power struggles. The party isdivided between supporters of its founder and leaderAlbin Kurti and those who oppose his re-election as partyleader at regular vote due in the coming weeks.

Kosovo’s dismal economic situation has also bluntedthe enthusiasm of post-independence. Nearly oneKosovar out of three is unemployed, with the joblessrate currently at 52 percent among 15-24 year old,according to Kosovo’s Agency of Statistics. Although

the average salary officially is 363 euro ($450), a thirdof the population lives below the poverty line, accord-ing to the United Nations.

While there is no official data, it is estimated thattens of thousands of people emigrate each yeartowards the western countries. For Kosovars the prior-ity is visa liberalization for the European Union’s pass-port-free Schengen zone. One more reason to notupset the West.— AFP

Dark clouds loom over Kosovo 10 years after its independence

BONN: Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz made animpassioned appeal to his party yesterday to give thego-ahead for formal coalition talks with ChancellorAngela Merkel’s conservatives, a move that would bringGermany a step closer to a stable government. Schulzis facing a backlash from the Social Democrats’ (SPD)left and youth wings, which argue the party shouldreinvent itself in opposition after scoring its worst elec-tion result in September since Germany became a fed-eral republic in 1949.

Speaking in Bonn, where late SPD chancellors WillyBrandt and Helmut Schmidt earned reputations asinternational statesmen while ruling former WestGermany, Schulz implored delegates to allow the SPDto serve as Merkel’s junior coalition partner again - asign of how far the party’s fortunes have fallen. “TheSPD must and will be visible, audible and recogniza-ble!” Schulz, sounding hoarse after a week of lobbyingdelegates, said to loud applause at the packed WorldConference Center in the former capital city.

“We ask for your consent to start coalition negotia-tions.” Around 600 delegates met at the special partycongress in Bonn to debate and vote on whether theirleaders should push ahead with formal coalition talkson renewing an alliance with Merkel’s conservativesthat took office in 2013. The two blocs, which both bledsupport to the far right in the Sept. 24 election, struck apreliminary deal earlier this month after exploratorytalks, but critics, including the party’s youth wingleader Kevin Kuehnert, say the blueprint does not bearenough of the SPD’s hallmarks.

BlueprintA copy of the motion on which delegates will vote,

seen by Reuters, included language on SPD leadersreaching “concrete, effective improvements” to theblueprint but did not make a final vote on the coalitiondeal conditional on achieving these. The envisagedimprovements would see concessions on labor, healthand migration policies, the motion showed. “We willfight for further improvements in the coalition negotia-tions if we can continue the talks,” Schulz said.

If a coalition deal is reached, all SPD members stillget to vote on the agreement - another hurdle toachieving a new government in Europe’s economicpowerhouse, which is humming despite the politicaluncertainty. Yesterday’s vote will be watched abroad asGermany has Europe’s largest economy and Merkel haslong played a leading role in the continent’s economicand security affairs. “Without the SPD, there will be nobold impulses for the future of Europe,” said Schulz, 62,a former president of the European Parliament. “It is upto us.” Arriving for yesterday’s congress, SPD parlia-mentary leader Andrea Nahles told Reuters she was“cautiously optimistic”.

A negative vote by the SPD would prolongGermany’s political deadlock - already four months old- just as its European partners are looking to Berlin forleadership on European Union reform in light ofBritain’s decision to leave the bloc. Possible scenariosin case of an SPD rejection would include a new elec-tion or a minority government for what would be thefirst time in Germany’s post-war era. “This is about thequestion: coalition negotiations or new elections!”Schulz said in a 57-minute speech. “I do not believenew elections are the right way for us.” Merkel hassaid she would prefer a new election to leading aminority government. Leading conservatives haverejected SPD demands for more concessions. Businessassociations have urged SPD delegates to back coali-tion talks.—Reuters

Conflicts claim 13,000 lives, mostly ethnic Albanians

German SPD leader implores party to back coalition talks

Troubled history of modern CyprusNICOSIA: Cyprus holds a presidential election on January 28that could determine if the divided eastern Mediterranean islandrelaunches a push to reunify. Here are the key dates in the island’shistory since it gained independence from Britain in 1960:

Independence and unrestOn August 16, 1960 Cyprus becomes independent from

Britain after a guerrilla campaign waged by fighters aiming tounite the island with Greece. A new constitution sought to keepa balance between the island’s main communities, with the pres-ident from the Greek Cypriot majority and a Turkish Cypriotvice president. Britain, Greece and Turkey pledge in a treaty toguarantee the independence of Cyprus through the right of mil-itary intervention. In December 1963, intercommunal violenceerupts between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot commu-nities in unrest known as “Bloody Christmas”. British troopsbegin overseeing a ceasefire along a “Green Line” dividing thecommunities in Nicosia but violence spreads to other areas. InMarch 1964, a UN peacekeeping force for Cyprus (UNFICYP)is established in a bid to staunch further unrest.

Coup, Invasion, DivisionOn July 15, 1974, members of the National Guard overthrow

president Archbishop Makarios in a coup sponsored by a mili-tary junta in Athens which wants to merge the island withGreece. Five days later, Turkey, citing the independence treaty,invades the north with the declared aim of protecting theTurkish Cypriot minority. The Athens regime falls and the coupin Nicosia collapses, leading to the return of Makarios. TheUnited Nations demands the restoration of Cypriot sovereigntyand withdrawal of foreign troops but peace talks in Genevacollapse. The Turkish army in mid-August advances to control37 percent of the island. Hundreds of thousands of GreekCypriots in the north and Turkish Cypriots in the south flee toopposite sides.After a ceasefire is announced, the UN estab-lishes a buffer zone separating the two sides that runs acrossthe island to this day.

Breakaway state in north On February 13, 1975, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas

proclaims a separate federal state and becomes its president.In January 1977, Makarios and Denktas agree on the principleof a federal “bicommunal, bizonal” non-aligned state.Makarios dies of a heart attack in August 1977 and furtherefforts to hammer out the new state founder. On November 15,1983, Turkish Cypriot leaders announce the creation of TheTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in a proclamationrejected as illegal by the United Nations. Only Turkey recog-nizes it as a country.

Talks end in collapseOn September 3, 2008, then Greek Cypriot leader Demetris

Christofias and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mehmet AliTalat launch intensive talks under UN auspices after fouryears of deadlock. In 2012, stalled negotiations are suspendedby the Turkish Cypriots, in reaction to Cyprus taking over therotating EU presidency. New negotiations fail in 2014, thenrestart in May 2015. In June 2017, a peace conference opens

in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, the culmination of twoyears of negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriotleaders. On July 7, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterresannounces that despite his repeated interventions, themarathon talks have collapsed.

Things to know Cyprus is gearing up for presidential elections on January 28

that could determine whether the divided Mediterranean islandresumes a push for reunification. Here are five things to knowabout the popular holiday destination that has been split foralmost 44 years:

Aphrodite and empires Nestled in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus is the mythi-

cal birthplace of the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite, wholegend has it rose out of the foam near the ancient town ofPaphos. The island’s strategic location at the crossroadsbetween east and west has made it a target for a succession ofempires from the Assyrians and early Greek settlers to theBritish. It was given by Roman general Mark Anthony to hisEgyptian lover Cleopatra and used by England’s King Richardthe Lionheart as a staging post during the Crusades before hesold it to the Knights Templar. For 300 years, it was part of theOttoman Empire before the British took control in 1871. Afteran insurgency by fighters seeking union with Greece, theBritish eventually granted Cyprus independence in 1960.

Divided island Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops

invaded and occupied the northern third of the island inresponse to a coup sponsored by the military junta then rulingGreece. Ankara’s intervention followed a decade of intercom-munal tension and violence between the Greek majority andthe Turkish minority and the deployment of UN peacekeepers.The division saw some 200,000 people forced from theirhomes. Almost 44 years later, Cyprus remains cut in two and abarrier of barbed wire and military posts makes the capitalNicosia the world’s last divided city. In the south is the interna-tionally recognized Greek-majority Republic of Cyprus thatbecame an EU member in 2004. In the north is the breakaway

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus recognized only byAnkara. In July 2017, talks came closer than ever to reunitingthe island but collapsed before the finishing line, over issuesthat included the future of tens of thousands of Turkish troopsin the north.

British bases Cyprus is home to the two British Sovereign Base Areas of

Akrotiri and Dhekelia that house key military and air forceinstallations. The areas were established under the treaties thatsaw Britain grant Cyprus independence, as London sought tomaintain a strategic foothold in the region. The bases haveserved as intelligence-gathering hubs and a launch pad forBritish air operations as part of a US-led coalition fighting theIslamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Holiday destination With its year-round sunshine, sandy beaches and crystal-

clear waters, Cyprus has long been a tourist destination.Before the island’s division, the international jet set graced thebeaches of Famagusta. Sophia Loren owned a house there, andit was a favorite of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Thecity’s Varosha district is now an abandoned and fenced-offghost town. But the rest of the island is enjoying a tourist boom.In 2017, with traditional rivals Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia facinginstability, Cyprus smashed records as an estimated 3.5 milliontourists flocked to the island. Britain makes up the biggest mar-ket, followed by Russia, Israel and Germany.

Economic crisisThe flow of tourists has helped Cyprus recover from a 2013

financial crisis when it was forced to take a stringent 10-billion-euro bailout package to save its crumbling economy and insol-vent banks. The government imposed harsh austerity measuresincluding a haircut on deposits of over 100,000 euros($120,000) in its biggest bank. In the wake of the crisis, Cyprussays it has cleaned up its banking system and tightened con-trols over a sector that was long seen as a haven for cash fromEastern Europe. Cyprus has stepped up a passports-for-investment scheme, and the government is also looking to cashin on offshore oil and gas deposits.—Agencies

Ivanovic death sparks fresh

tensions

Over 25,000 murdered in Mexico in 2017MEXICO CITY: Mexico saw a total of25,339 murders last year, official data hasshown, after 2017 was already establishedas a record-breaking year based onkillings carried out until November. Theinterior ministry on Saturday said 2,219

people were murdered in December 2017.Authorities began collecting data in 1997,and the previous record high of 22,409occurred in 2011. The homicide rate per100,000 inhabitants meanwhile climbedto 20.51, against 16.80 in 2016, when20,545 were murdered. Mexico is con-vulsing from a wave of violence linked todrug trafficking that has left almost200,000 dead since December 2006,when former president Felipe Calderon’sgovernment launched a controversial mili-tary anti-drug operation that, accordingto its critics, has only led to more murdersand attacks.

The figures do not detail how many ofthe murders are linked to organized crimebut experts say it is probably a largemajority since the bulk were recorded instates where drug cartels are deeplyentrenched, such as southern Guerreroand eastern Veracruz. Within the last year,even states that were previously relativelypeaceful, such as Baja California Sur,northwestern Colima and centralGuanajuato, were shaken by violence.

Analysts believe this may be linked to asurge in the number of autonomous cellsfollowing the capture of the heads ofmajor drug cartels. Criminal gangs have

also diversified, trafficking in stolengasoline, engaging in extortion, kidnap-ping for ransom or people trafficking. Ina bid to address the issue, Mexico’scongress last week approved a contro-versial internal security law that wouldformalize the military’s role in domesticsecurity. The move drew criticism fromrights groups concerned about the mili-tarization of the country-while UNrights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein saidearlier this month it “risks weakeningincentives for the civilian authorities toful ly assume their law enforcementroles.”—AFP

LAPLJE SELO, Kosovo: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrives at a meeting with Kosovo Serbs in the village ofLaplje, near the town of Gracanica, during his visit to Kosovo. Vucic urged Kosovo Serbs to remain calm after themurder of a prominent political leader that sparked fears of renewed tensions in the fragile region.—AFP

NICOSIA: File photo taken from the northern part of Nicosia’s old city, in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic ofNorthern Cyprus (TRNC), shows a gate leading to the UN buffer zone separating the divided Cypriot capital and theHoly Cross Catholic Church in the background. —AFP

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Monday, January 22, 2018

9Established 1961

News in brief

Delhi lawmakers sacked NEW DELHI: India’s President yesterday sacked 20lawmakers from the state assembly in New Delhi afterthey were revealed to be holding jobs in governmentdespite laws forbidding the practice. The purge reducesby nearly a third the number of state assembly seatsheld by Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), whichstill maintains a majority. It attacked the sackings as“unconstitutional”. The Election Commission had recom-mended on Friday that the legislators be disqualified fordrawing salaries for government jobs outside their elect-ed duties. Politicians are barred in most states fromaccepting paid work in public office while earning a liv-ing as sitting members. Those appointed as ministers areexempt from the rules. The practice of “holding offices ofprofit” has been legalized in some Indian states but notin the capital Delhi. President Ramnath Kovind-who wasnominated last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’sBharatiya Janata Party for the post-upheld the commis-sion’s recommendation and dismissed the lawmakers.

Police drop gun, flee COLOMBO: Sri Lankan police who were charged byelephants as they staked out a cannabis farm droppedan automatic rifle as they ran for their lives, sparking ahunt Sunday for the missing weapon. Policemen who hadbeen camping out near the plantation in a bid to catchcrooks turned tail and scarpered after the huge creaturesstarted hurtling after them. “The constables dropped theirweapons and fled to save their lives when the elephantscharged,” a statement said. Officers were now looking forthe T56 automatic assault rifle in the bush atLunugamvehera, 225 kilometers south of the capitalColombo. Sri Lanka has strict laws protecting elephants,which are considered sacred. However, about 200 jumbosare killed annually by farmers who say wild elephantsstray onto their land and destroy their crops. About 50people are killed in wild elephant attacks annually.

Hotel fire kills fourPRAGUE: A fourth person has died from injuries sus-tained in a fire on Saturday at a hotel in central Prague,a hospital spokesman said. The fire broke out onSaturday evening at the Eurostars David Hotel, situated ona narrow street a block away from the Vltava River. Twopeople died on Saturday and were identified by policeyesterday as a German man born in 1996, and a SouthKorean woman born in 1997. The hospital spokesman saidtwo more people who died yesterday were women. Policesaid they had yet to identify the women. Four other peopleinjured in the fire remained in hospital, police said. Theirconditions were unclear. Investigations into the cause ofthe fire were continuing, police said.

Congo blocks Internet KINSHASA: Authorities in the Democratic Republic ofCongo blocked the internet in Kinshasa and set uproadblocks throughout the city ahead of plannedprotests yesterday demanding that President JosephKabila leave power. Catholic church leaders have calledfor a mass peaceful demonstration against Kabila’s 17-year rule, three weeks after a similar protest on NewYear’s Eve that ended in deadly violence. The authoritieshave banned all demonstrations, and at around midnight(2300 GMT Saturday), the internet, email and socialmedia messaging networks were cut in the capital, AFPcorrespondents said. Security forces have installedroadblocks on major routes into Kinshasa, while armedofficers are conducting ID checks. The church has alsocalled for rallies in several other cities includingLubumbashi and Goma, but the government has bannedall demonstrations since September 2016, when anti-Kabila protests turned violent. The head of the Muslimcommunity in DR Congo has backed the church, urgingthe authorities to allow the march to take place despiteno official permission being granted.

China accuses US of violating ‘South China Sea sovereignty’

Philippines staying out of US-China ‘intramural’SHANGHAI: A US Navy destroyer this week sailed nearthe Scarborough Shoal, a disputed lagoon claimed byChina in the South China Sea, US officials said onSaturday, and Beijing vowed to take “necessary measures”to protect what it said was its sovereignty. China’s foreignministry said USS Hopper missile destroyer came within 12nautical miles off Huangyan island, better known as theScarborough Shoal and subject to a rival claim by thePhilippines, a historic ally of the United States.

It was the latest US naval operation challenging exten-sive Chinese claims in the South China Sea and came evenas US President Donald Trump’s administration seeksChinese cooperation indealing with NorthKorea’s missile andnuclear programs. Two USofficials confirmed thatthe USS Hopper hadsailed within 12 nauticalmiles of ScarboroughShoal, a rocky outcropand prime fishing spotdue to its bountiful catch-es and calm waters. Witha permanent presence oflarge coastguard vessels,China blockaded theScarborough Shoal for more than four years but endedthat in October 2016 at the request of Philippine PresidentRodrigo Duterte, who said Filipino fishermen were suffer-ing.

The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity,said the patrol was in line with international law and wasan “innocent passage,” in which a warship effectively rec-ognizes a territorial sea by crossing it quickly, withoutstopping. Twelve nautical miles is an internationally recog-nized territorial limit. Though located within thePhilippines’ 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone,

an international tribunal in 2016 ruled that theScarborough Shoal is a traditional fishing ground that noone country has sole rights to exploit.

The US military says it carries out “freedom of naviga-tion” operations throughout the world, including in areasclaimed by allies, and that they are separate from politicalconsiderations. The Pentagon did not directly comment onthe latest patrol but said such operations are routine. “Alloperations are conducted in accordance with internationallaw and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail andoperate wherever international law allows,” Pentagonspokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan said.

The US military putcountering China andRussia at the center of anew national defensestrategy unveiled onFriday. China criticized thestrategy, saying Beijingsought “global partner-ship, not global domi-nance.” Chinese foreignministry spokesman LuKang said the USSHopper violated China’ssovereignty and securityinterests and threatened

the safety of Chinese vessels and personnel. Lu said theChinese navy ordered the vessel to withdraw after deter-mining its identity. The United States has criticized Chinafor constructing islands and military installations in theSouth China Sea, saying they could be used to restrict freemovement in a critical global trade route.

Lu said China “firmly opposes” efforts to use freedomof navigation as an excuse to hurt its sovereignty andurged the United States to “correct its mistakes.” China’sdefense ministry said the repeated dispatch of US war-ships to the region was “undermining regional peace and

stability” and hurting bilateral relations. The Philippineshas sparred with China for decades over what it says isaggressive conduct at the Scarborough Shoal. But inDuterte, China has found an unlikely new ally who prefersto avoid confrontation. “We do not wish to be part of aUS-China intramural. The United States can take care ofits own interest,” Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, saidyesterday.

He said the Manila’s claim over the Scarborough Shoal“is recognized under our constitutional law and interna-

tional law”. Greg Poling, a South China Sea expert atWashington’s Center for Strategic and InternationalStudies think tank, said the Pentagon appeared determinedto keep up regular freedom of navigation patrols in thesea, with one every six weeks or so, in spite of Chineseobjections.

“The last made public was in October, but we shouldexpect that there was at least one other in the interim,” hesaid. “The only time word is getting out these days is ifBeijing makes an issue of it.”—Reuters

Passage in line with international

law, Pentagonsays

IN THE AIR: This photo taken through the port window of a Republic of Singapore Airforce (RSAF) KC-135R Stratotanker shows an F15SG air-superiority fighter, flanked by two F16Cs, flying over the SouthChina Sea.— AFP

More than 50,000 Greeks protest over Macedonia name rowTHESSALONIKI: More than 50,000 protesters massed in thestreets of northern Greece’s biggest city Thessaloniki yesterday,police said, in a long-running row between Athens and Skopjeover the use of the name Macedonia. Athens argues that thename Macedonia suggests that Skopje has territorial claims tothe northern Greek region of the same name, of whichThessaloniki is the capital. The region was the centre ofAlexander the Great’s ancient kingdom, a source of Greek pride.

Hardline clerics, far-right leaders and Greek diasporagroups had called for yesterday’s rallies, with the turnoutexceeding media estimates of 30,000. Gathered around thestatue of Alexander the Great in Thessaloniki were members ofthe neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party and local clergy.Representatives from the main opposition party, NewDemocracy, were also present despite a tacit order from its lib-eral-minded leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis to boycott the protests.

Cretans in traditional costumes who travelled from thesouthern island with their horses, as well as people fromnorthern Greece wearing costumes from the Macedonianwars era a century ago, crowded at the White Tower on theThessaloniki waterfront from early in the morning. Greeceand Macedonia returned to the United Nations last weekhoping to reach a compromise that could end the 27-yeardispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name.

‘Not negotiable’ Greece’s objections to the use of the name Macedonia

since the Balkan country’s independence in 1991 have ham-pered the tiny nation’s bid to join the European Union andNATO. “We demand that the term Macedonia isn’t includedin the name which they will agree on. This is not negotiable,”said Leonardou, a 59-year-old writer from Thessaloniki,warning that if the Greek government does otherwise “therewill be an answer from the Greek people”.

The UN negotiator Matthew Nimetz-a 24-year veteranon the issue-said last week that he was “very hopeful” that asolution was within reach. Despite the nationalist fervor thatis also being fed by Golden Dawn, Greeks appear to be lessmilitant on the issue than in the past. In 1992, more than onemillion people — 10 percent of the population-joined a rally

in Thessaloniki to proclaim that “Macedonia is Greek”. According to a survey conducted for Greek radio station

24/7 by the Alco polling group, 63 percent of respondentssaid they thought it was in Greece’s best interests to seek amutually acceptable solution at the UN talks. And the GreekOrthodox Church, which is traditionally opposed to the useof the term Macedonia from Skopje and led the 1992 rally,appears to have distanced itself from yesterday’s events. Itsleader Archbishop Ieronymos on Thursday reportedly toldPrime Minister Alexis Tsipras that “national unity is needed...(not) protests and shouts”.

‘National stupidity’Tsipras, who is expected to meet with his Macedonian

counterpart Zoran Zaev in Davos next week, said in an inter-view published yesterday: “If there is an opportunity for asolution, it would be a national stupidity not to make gooduse of it.” However, he told Ethnos newspaper that he couldunderstand “the concerns and sensitivities” of the Greeks ofthe north. Macedonia is known as the Former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia (FYROM) at the United Nations,although the Security Council acknowledged this was a pro-visional name when it agreed to membership. If a deal isreached at the UN talks, it will be put before Greek parlia-ment for approval, with the government expecting the com-promise name to be approved despite opposition withinsome parties. According to Macedonian media, Nimetz hasproposed five alternatives all containing the name.—AFP

THESSALONIKI: People holding flags of Greece take part in a demonstration to protest against the use ofthe name Macedonia following the developments on the issue with the neighbor country yesterday. —AFP

‘Pray for me’: Kabulhotel guest’s pleaduring bloody siege

KABUL: As gunmen went on a night-timerampage through Kabul’s IntercontinentalHotel on Saturday, Aziz Tayeb posted adesperate plea on Facebook: “Pray for me.I may die.” The telecom executive hidbehind a pillar as four heavily-armedattackers stormed the luxury hotel andbegan spraying terrified guests and staffwith bullets. At least six people were killed,including a foreigner, and eight wounded inthe 12-hour ordeal as the attackersengaged in an fierce gunfight with Afghansecurity forces.

“I saw people who were enjoying them-selves a second ago screaming and fleeinglike crazy, and some of them falling down,hit by bullets,” Tayeb said yesterday, hoursafter his traumatic experience ended. Onecolleague, who had been stuck on the fifthfloor of the six-storey building throughoutthe attack, told Tayeb that some areas ofthe hotel resembled a butcher’s shop withblood everywhere.

The attackers were eventually killed.Tayeb, a regional director for AfghanTelecom in the western city of Herat, wasstaying at the hilltop hotel-not part of the

global InterContinental chain-with dozensof industry colleagues from around thecountry ahead of an annual conference dueto begin yesterday. The gunmen shot atpeople who had been enjoying dinner inone of the hotel restaurants before break-ing into guest rooms and taking dozens ofhostages including foreigners, witnessessaid. Tayeb and a few friends managed toescape to the hotel’s outdoor pool areawhere they hid, listening to the horrifyingattack meters away. “I could repeatedlyhear blasts one after another, handgrenades, they used many grenades,” hesaid, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

“We contacted security officials whoarrived an hour later and as we were beingescorted out I saw five or six bodies outsidethe hotel. “The second, third and fifth floorswere on fire-the fifth floor was engulfed inflames.” Once he was a safe distance fromthe hotel, Tayeb called his colleagues stilltrapped inside the burning building. “Somewere crying that they would die of smokeinhalation,” he said. Dramatic televisionfootage from Afghanistan’s Tolo Newsshowed people trapped on balconies at thetop of the building climbing down bed-sheets to escape, with at least one losing hisgrip and falling.

Security staff fled A witness told AFP that the hotel’s

security team fled “without a fight”, leavingguests to their fate. “They didn’t attack.

They didn’t do anything to them. They hadno experience,” said the 24-year-old man,a hotel employee who spoke to AFP oncondition of anonymity. He ran from thehotel with some of them, he said. “I wasasking them, where should I go?” An inte-rior ministry spokesman has confirmed to

AFP that the hotel’s security had been tak-en over by a private company just threeweeks earlier. No hotel official was imme-diately able to comment. As he waited fornews of his colleagues, Tayeb updated hisFacebook status to thank his friends fortheir prayers. —AFP

KABUL: Afghan journalists take cover behind an ambulance near theIntercontinental Hotel during a fight between gunmen and Afghan securityforces yesterday. _ AFP

Citizens in authoritarian states know what they can read orpublish, see or hear. In places such as China, Russia, Iran,Turkey and Egypt, semi-free private discussion and small-

circulation publishing is permitted. But the dissident talk can’tbecome opposition action. That is cut off, either at the root orwhen it appears on the streets.

In a revealing interview, the Chinese artist Qiu Zhijie, a dissi-dent in his youth and now a professor at the Central Academy ofFine Arts, told the sinologist Ian Johnson that “this (Chinese)government... is not a traditional dictatorship. It’s a new type. It’snow much more complicated.” Young people who want toexplore forbidden zones can, said Qiu, use secured VPNs - vir-tual private networks - which allow users to bypass governmentfilters by disguising their physical location. So China allows limit-ed discussion of sensitive subjects such as the 1989 TiananmenSquare massacre - accounts of which are still controlled byChina’s ruling Communist Party.

The authorities allow these conversations because they knowthey can’t afford to alienate smart young people, but also makeclear where the boundaries are. Beyond these, in the forbiddenzone, lies anything from a reprimand to long jail time and possi-bly torture. “Governments pursuing such goals,” The Economistobserved, “have many options. They can press blasphemy lawsinto service... they can twist the media to their will... or they cansimply ban speech they dislike.”

But what if there is virtually no forbidden zone? What hap-pens in liberal democracies, where the explicit default position ofgovernments and the law is freedom to speak, publish andprotest? What happens is that censorship slips from governmentto civil society, to groups and institutions and individuals who seesome form of speech or publication as intolerable, and seek toban it, or remove it. These are the flash floods of outrage which inturn provoke demands that the authorities rein in the would-becensors. This means doing the opposite of that which authoritari-an states do. It means to remove censorship, not exert it.

This has given rise to what is being called in the UK the “no-platform” movement - attempts to ban from university campusesspeakers whom one or other group considers harmful to anaudience. In July last year, the evolutionary biologist RichardDawkins, whose “The God Delusion” is an extended critique ofall religions, was “no platformed” from the Berkeley, Californiaradio station KPFA because, according to the station, his com-

ments and writings about Islam had “offended and hurt” manypeople. Ironically, the station, founded in 1949 as a listener-spon-sored broadcaster, advertises itself on its website as dedicated tofreedoms of speech.

“Offense” and “hurt” are the central concepts employed inthis battle. They are often employed by those who see them-selves as liberal, and even by universities, which insist on theirintellectual freedom. Last December a group of historians wrotean open letter condemning an attempt by Nigel Biggar, a theolo-gy professor at Oxford, from organizing a conference looking atthe benefits of colonialism.

ObjectionsThe objectors argued that such a project “should have no

place in academic scholarship”. The writer and former Londondeputy mayor for education, Munira Mirza, disagreed, writing ofthe scholars’ objections that “it is a peculiarity of our times thatmany academics want to shut down debate... it might have beenan authoritarian state trying to clamp down on uncomfortableopinion”.

Freedom of speech in universities in the United Statesremains a matter to be fought out between students and theiruniversities. In the more statist UK, a government-appointedOffice for Students will now protect freedom for students,announced last month by Jo Johnson, the higher education min-ister, who argued that “young people should have the resilienceand confidence to challenge controversial opinions and take part

in open, frank and rigorous discussions”. Johnson mentioned both the feminist writer Germaine Greer

and the gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell - both of whom hadbeen objects of attempted censorship for being “transphobic,”and who have more often been on the left of mainstream thought,more often in conflict with the state than protected by it.

“Hurt” can’t automatically be privileged over all else. Louis-Ferdinand CÈline was, by general agreement, one of the greatFrench prose writers of the early 20th century. He was also avicious anti-Semite. His novels remain in circulation: but essays,grossly abusive to Jews, have been unpublished. The famedGallimard publishing house was set to publish them - but earlierthis month bowed to pressure from Jewish organizations andseveral intellectuals because, in the latter’s opinion, it “riskedsanctifying incitement to murder.” Yet a great deal - includingviolence in films and on TV, can incite to murder. As one shouldbe able to read Hitler’s Mein Kampf - it’s published in France - soone should be able to read Celine.

But where do you stand on hate speech? In Germany, theconstitution bans censorship, while laws ban speech deemed toincite hatred. Finding the balance between these potentially con-tradictory approaches has increased claims of hate speech, andfed the propaganda of the far-right Alternative f¸r Deutschland,the anti-immigrant party that became the country’s third-largestpolitical party after making unexpected gains in last year’s feder-al election.

In the United States, should statues of slavery-protectingSouthern generals and politicians, and the flying of theConfederate flag, be tolerated? The demonstration last August inCharlottesville, Virginia, by far-rightists and neo-Nazis protest-ing the proposed removal of a statue of the Confederate generalRobert E Lee caused the death of a young woman counter-pro-tester, and President Donald Trump’s endorsement of some ofthe demonstrators as “very fine people”.

The white-supremacist marches sparked demands forremovals of Confederate monuments everywhere - many ofwhich have been successful. These memorials were largely erect-ed in the Jim Crow period - a denial to Southern blacks of theircitizens’ rights lasting until the 1960s. There’s an argument thatthe monuments should stay on grounds of free speech. Butthere’s a better one that tributes, especially the Confederate flag,give succor to racism. —Reuters

Monday, January 22, 2018

10A n a l y s i s

Established 1961

If Trump kills Iran nuclear deal, global security will suffer

After months of threatening to undo the Iran nucleardeal, formally known as the Joint ComprehensivePlan of Action (JCPOA), Donald Trump once again

opted to extend the deal by waiving economic sanctionson Iran. This was the “last chance,” he declared in a Jan. 12statement, “to either fix the deal’s disastrous flaws, or theUnited States will withdraw.”

The US president provided four conditions for a “sup-plemental agreement” to the JCPOA and called onCongress to ordain them into law. These include: Iranallowing “immediate” inspections of “all sites requestedby international inspectors,” Iran never coming “close topossessing a nuclear weapon,” that there be “no expira-tion date” for these provisions, and finally, that the legisla-tion explicitly state that Iran’s “long-range missile andnuclear weapons programs are inseparable.”

In the event that Congress or American allies inEurope fail to support the so-called supplemental agree-ment, Trump proclaimed, he would unilaterally “terminate”the JCPOA. This is a shocking attitude towards theEuropean Union member countries, among others.

The reality is that the JCPOA’s text stipulates the high-est standards on nuclear transparency and inspectionsever negotiated and provides verifiable assurances thatIran’s nuclear program cannot be diverted towards devel-oping nuclear weapons. These measures already meet thefirst two of Trump’s conditions and surpass anythingagreed to by a member of the nuclear non-proliferationtreaty (NPT).

Furthermore, while the JCPOA’s major restrictions aretemporary, with expiration dates ranging from eight to 25years, after the deal expires, Iran returns to monitoringunder the International Atomic Energy Agency’s“Additional Protocol” safeguards. As noted by more than90 nuclear scientists in an October 2017 letter support-ing the JCPOA, these represent the “strongest set of gen-erally applicable safeguards implemented by the IAEA.”

Trump’s conditions seemingly seek to make perma-nent the JCPOA’s major restrictions on Iran’s nuclear pro-gram and connect the Iranian nuclear program to its mis-sile program, despite the opposition of other world pow-ers to any renegotiation of the deal and the conditionsrepresenting an egregious violation of the NPT. Indeed,Iran has a sovereign right to enrich uranium for peacefulpurposes under the treaty, which states that there shouldbe no discrimination in the right of signatories to benefitfrom peaceful nuclear technologies and in no way limitsstates’ abilities to develop conventional weapons.\

Sovereign RightIran also has a sovereign right to possess missiles to

defend itself. There are no international treaties banningconventional missiles. “President Trump has no right todictate limits or restrictions over and beyond those justdescribed,” said Peter Jenkins, a former UK ambassadorto the IAEA. If Trump follows through with his ultima-tum and chooses to leave the JCPOA, his decision willhave long-term consequences not only for the UnitedStates but also for global attempts to control nuclearproliferation.

First, in the domestic arena, all vital political organsfrom Congress to Trump’s own national security agen-cies, including the National Security Council, Pentagon,State Department, and Department of Energy, opposeunilateral American withdrawal because they believe theagreement prevents Iran from developing nuclearweapons and that withdrawal will isolate the UnitedStates internationally.

Second, scuttling the JCPOA will increase global mis-trust of the United States and remove any incentive forNorth Korea to negotiate a deal to curtail its own nuclearprogram. Washington could also find it harder to winsupport for any military campaign it may launch againstPyongyang if US allies hold it responsible for re-ignitingthe Iranian nuclear crisis.

Third, the JCPOA was endorsed by the UN SecurityCouncil - which includes the United States - and its othermembers continue to support the deal. Based on the UNcharter, it is the obligation of all members to enactSecurity Council resolutions. Outright US violation ofUNSC Resolution 2231 will damage the credibility ofother Security Council resolutions and be seen by othermember states as hurting its consensus-driven model.

Fourth, the IAEA has on numerous occasions con-firmed Iran’s adherence to the deal and has emphasizedthat US withdrawal will foment a crisis in the agency’sability to carry out its inspection duties. The JCPOA rep-resents a major achievement for the IAEA because it isthe most comprehensive non-proliferation agreement inhistory. It is a new standard for resolving nuclear crisesand its tenets may even have prevented countries such asNorth Korea from developing nuclear weapons in thefirst place.

Fifth, the majority of Washington’s allies, including theEU, Japan, Australia, Canada, and South Korea, stronglyoppose the United States abandoning the JCPOA. Thisrepresents a significant break in America’s alliance sys-tem and, going forward, could affect future collaborationon issues such as Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Thesefactors are presumably the reason Trump has againwaived sanctions on Iran. But they will still exist in mid-May - the next deadline for Trump’s sanctions decision -and for every 120 days after that. —Reuters

What to do when liberals are censors?

THE LEADING INDEPENDENTDAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF

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Established 1961 The First Daily in The Arabian Gulf

‘Offense’ and ‘hurt’ are central

conceptsemployed

in this battle

Sirleaf: Africa’s first elected female leader

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who shared the 2011Nobel Peace Prize as a champion ofwomen’s rights, is stepping down after

making history as Africa’s first elected femalepresident in Liberia. Taking the reins of a nationthat had just emerged from a civil war leavingan estimated 250,000 dead, Sirleaf will beremembered for maintaining peace and attract-ing massive donor funding as she rebuilt hercountry from scratch over 12 years in power.

“We were a nation exhausted from threedecades of conflict. We were starting fromzero, with the complete destruction of ournational infrastructure, a collapsed economy,and a state incapable of providing services toits people,” she recalled of her 2006 inaugura-tion in a final speech to the nation onWednesday. She will on Monday hand powerto former international footballer GeorgeWeah, representing the West African country’sfirst democratic transfer of power since 1944,and will leave behind a mixed record of peaceand freedom of speech cherished by the popu-lation, but stubbornly low living standards.

Sirleaf, 79, presided over the 2014-16Ebola crisis during which more than 4,000Liberians died, and struggled to counter theeffects of plunging commodity prices in anation highly dependent on exports of ironore and rubber. She also weathered regionalcrises in West Africa, most notably as a media-tor during The Gambia’s 2016-17 political cri-sis, when President Yahya Jammeh stubbornlyrefused to stand down after losing an election.Sirleaf noted in her final address that Liberia“reflects the changing face of the continent,

where rule of law, human rights, good gover-nance, and accountability are demanded by itscitizens. This is Africa’s future, and Liberia isone of its enviable democracies.”

Massive expectations Sirleaf made use of her international cachet

as a Harvard-trained economist, formerfinance minister and an execu-tive at the World Bankto get a massivechunk of Liberia’sdebt written off in2007. Sirleaf alsoattracted investmentsin the mining, agricul-ture and forestry sec-tors and offshore oilexploration. Her highprofile abroad as a sym-bol of post-war recon-struction has not savedher from messy poli-tics at home, whereshe has faced criti-cism over theabsence of prosecu-tions for war crimi-nals, and allegationsof nepotism sur-rounding the employ-ment of her sons.

“When Ellen cameto power, the expecta-tion of the Liberianpeople was high, sohigh that she could notmeet up with suchexpectation,” said polit-ical science professorEmmanuel Nimely. “Thatdoes not mean that shedid not try, she did try butcould just not do it all.” Half

of the roads around Monrovia have beenrebuilt and the capital now has running water.Electricity, once non-existent here, is availablein some parts of the city but the supply is stillhaphazard.

Yet unemployment is still high and extremepoverty pervasive. Most Liberian children do not

finish school. Sheherself told

journalists last week there were “more things wewanted to do”, adding that her agenda was“more expansive than what we’ve achieved”.

Backing Charles Taylor Turning around Africa’s oldest independent

state - first founded for freed US slaves -where institutions had become rotten to thecore, was never going to be easy. Attitudescooled to Sirleaf at home when a 2009 Truthand Reconciliation Commission named her ona list of people who should not hold publicoffice for 30 years for backing warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor. Sirleafadmitted to initially backing Taylor’s insur-gency against Samuel Doe’s government in1989 which led to the country’s first civil war,but became a fierce opponent as the trueextent of his war crimes became apparent.She calmly deflected the myriad criticismsagainst her, returning time and again to theneed to reconcile and move forward.

‘Born to rule’ Re-elected in 2011, Sirleaf oversaw a

country that slipped into recession under theimpact of an Ebola outbreak, virtually shut-ting down businesses, and the collapse incommodity prices. “The last five years ofEllen’s regime were marked by a flood ofpeople coming from the diaspora to getjobs while locally qualified people” were

overlooked, Nimely told AFP. Born EllenEuphemia Johnson on Oct 29, 1938, in thecapital Monrovia, she wrote in her memoirsthat an old man predicted days after her birththat she would grow up to rule. The sprightlygrandmother, who is equally at ease in flowingrobes and headdresses while charming finan-cial institutions, and in a comfortable pair ofjeans and a cap on the streets of Liberia, mar-ried at age 17, but later divorced after the rela-tionship turned abusive. She has four sons and11 grandchildren. —AFP

Monday, January 22, 2018N e w s

Established 1961 11

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This is not just an issue in Kuwait, obviously, but sincethe ban is focusing on our country, we need to hold eachother’s hands as we navigate unknown terrain. We need tolook at each other and remind ourselves of our potential;to resurrect what is known as Arab hospitality. Whensomeone comes into our home, they must feel welcome,whether they are our relative or the cook that works in ourhouse. Our jobs have nothing to do with status. Most of uswork to make money. Only a lucky few in the world get todo what they love and be paid for it.

Our Filipino brothers and sisters are souls who have leftbehind poverty to send a monthly cheque to their families.What will it take to remind us of this fact? They are nothere willingly. And to leave their homes and be subjectedto mental or physical abuse is heartbreaking. Especially forthe women workers - who are more vulnerable, becausetheir bodies may be violated in extreme cases.

This is not an article about treating helpers better. Noris it an article to preach the rewards we will reap if wetreat others well. Those who abuse their workers and thosewho make sure they treat them well can - in many cases -be two sides of the same coin: A misguided notion that weare superior. If we are treating domestic helpers with extrakindness because we feel sorry for them, or for an eternalreward or even because we want them to feel they are the“same” as us, then we feel they are beneath us.

There is no need for us to make anyone else feel betterbecause of a perceived status. Human beings can sensewhen someone is being nice to them out of pity. If we are

kind, let it be because we choose to be kind to everyone.And let us remember, that if our situation changes one day,then we will be domestic helpers too - just as we maybecome CEOs or entrepreneurs one day. There is no pres-tige or shame in our jobs. It is just a matter of circumstance.Additionally, this notion that we can control those who workfor us or give them rights still puts us one level above them.

Sure, there is a system of hierarchy wherever we go.We humans seem to have excelled at that. But aren’t wetired of it? People are dying at the hands of our abusers.This is not a joke. And the last thing we should feel is angerthat we are being exposed. This is a blessing in disguise.This is a chance for us to open our hearts; a chance for usto realize that our jobs do not define us, but can be anopportunity for us to transcend our differences. This is achance for us to remember that all human beings deservefreedom and respect.

It is not only about domestic abuse, but even thelifestyles we impose on those who share our roofs. Ourhelpers are not allowed to use their phones, and are given“permission” to go out once a week. This notion of a dayoff once a week or twice a month is cruel. How would wefeel if we were imprisoned at our workplace and given aday off merely once a week? Heck, we can’t wait to leavework after eight hours! But that is a whole different topic!

For now, we are not sure if and when this ban will gointo effect, but I hope it is a wakeup call for us to look athow we are all contributing to this and to realize thatthis has nothing to do with Kuwait. It is a global issue.But since the spotlight is on our country, let us welcomethis opportunity to discuss this plight with our Filipinobrothers and sisters and find ways to resolve this. Let usfeel Filipino for a change, and maybe then we can trans-form ourselves.

Feeling Filipino...

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to 276,000. The status of the workers in Kuwaitcannot be assessed according to individual cases thatare common in other nations. Moreover, the Kuwaitiside expressed readiness to host Filipino diplomats todiscuss the conditions of the community and follow upon Filipinos’ problems.

Jarallah added that the envoy was asked to seek tolift the ban. Villa praised the cooperation of the ministryof foreign affairs and pledged to recommend to hisgovernment to end the ban soon. Jarallah also notedthat the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Philippines MusaedAl-Thuwaikh will meet today with the Filipino foreignminister and other officials as part of Kuwait’s efforts inthis respect.

MP Khalil Abul said the lawmakers will demand dur-ing tomorrow’s session the formation of a committeefrom various ministries and departments to investigatethe maid recruitment problem in the country. He saidthe motion will demand that the planned committeestudy the issue and submit a full report to the NationalAssembly’s health committee. The Assembly will thenstudy the report and take a decision.

A company for the recruitment of maids was estab-lished two years ago to try to recruit domestic helpersfrom abroad at reasonable prices, after costs skyrock-eted at a large number of private recruitment offices.

Abul blamed the government for contributing to theproblem by not trying to provide alternative countriesfor the recruitment of maids, and called for quick anddecisive measures.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabahsaid yesterday no country has yet agreed or rejected todeal with the private Al-Durra Company for the recruit-ment of maids. He said the company is negotiating withsome countries and is currently in talks with Indianauthorities to win their approval for the recruitment ofdomestic helpers. The Kuwaiti mission in Laos is alsodiscussing with the authorities there over the same rea-son. The minister said Kuwaiti missions in maid-export-ing countries have completed a study about the cost ofrecruitment. He did not reveal its contents.

Health Minister Sheikh Basel Al-Sabah yesterday setnew guidelines for recruiting nursing staff from abroadto work for the ministry and stopped private companiesfrom recruiting them. The decision comes followingreports of wide-ranging corruption that forced expatnurses to pay thousands of dinars to get jobs at thehealth ministry. The decision however allowed privatecompanies to recruit manpower for nursing services.

In another development, MPs Jamaan Al-Harbashand Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, currently in jail, demandedyesterday to be allowed to attend the planned grillingof Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh,expected to be debated tomorrow. The two lawmakershave been in jail for the past two months after theappeals court sentenced them among 67 oppositionactivists for storming the Assembly in 2011. The twolawmakers said in a letter that they want to be presentin the grilling session so they can express their right tosupport or oppose the quiz.

Kuwait summonsFilipino envoy...

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“Turkey was candid,” Mattis said, without disclosingthe US reaction to Turkey’s notification. “They warned usbefore they launched the aircraft they were going to doit, in consultation with us. And we are working now onthe way ahead. We’ll work this out.”

France’s defense minister said the offensive riskedharming the campaign to crush IS, as Paris called for anurgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss thefighting. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim saidtroops crossed into YPG-controlled region in Syria at0805 GMT, the Dogan news agency reported. Thirty-two Turkish planes destroyed a total of 45 targetsincluding ammunition dumps and refuges used by theYPG on the second day of the operation, the Turkisharmy said.

Turkish troops were advancing alongside forces fromthe Ankara-backed rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) andwere already five kilometers inside Syria, state mediasaid. An AFP photographer saw Turkish tanks lined up atthe border waiting to cross into Syrian territory. ForeignMinister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in televised commentsseveral villages had already been taken in the advance.But a YPG spokesman claimed Turkish forces seeking toenter Afrin had been “blocked” and that it had hit twoTurkish tanks.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for HumanRights said a total of 18 civilians had been killed so far inthe two-day operation. Ankara denied any civilian casu-alties, with Cavusoglu accusing the YPG of sending out“nonsense propaganda and baseless lies”.

In his first comments on the offensive since it began,President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope the“operation will be finished in a very short time” andvowed “we will not take a step back”. Following callsfrom some Turkish pro-Kurdish politicians for people totake to the streets, he warned that anyone protesting inTurkey against the operation would pay “a heavy price”.Police stopped demonstrations against the campaign

taking place in the mainly Kurdish southeastern city ofDiyarbakir and in Istanbul, making arrests, AFP corre-spondents said.

In a sign of the risks to Turkey, six rockets fired fromSyria hit the Turkish border town of Reyhanli yesterday,killing one Syrian refugee and wounding 32 people, itsmayor said. Earlier, several rockets hit the Turkish bordertown of Kilis without causing fatalities. The operation isTurkey’s second major incursion into Syria during theseven-year civil war after the August 2016-March 2017Euphrates Shield campaign in an area to the east ofAfrin, against both the YPG and IS.

Turkey accuses the YPG of being the Syrian offshootof the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has wageda rebellion in Turkey for more than three decades and isregarded as a terror group by Ankara and the EU andUS. Afrin is an enclave of YPG control, cut off from thelonger strip of northern Syria that the group controls tothe east, extending to the Iraqi border which has a USmilitary presence. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister BekirBozdag ruled out the risk of a clash with Americanforces, saying they were not present in the Afrin region.Yildirim was quoted as saying that the Turkish forces

aimed to create a security zone some 30 km deep insideSyria. Turkey risks entering a diplomatic minefield withits action in Syria and the foreign ministry said it hadinformed Damascus through its Istanbul consulate. Butthe Syrian regime, which is at odds with Turkey, stronglydenied this and President Bashar Al-Assad slammed theoffensive as “support for terrorism”. There was no imme-diate comment from the United States on the offensivebut ahead of its launch a senior State Department officialhad raised concerns it risked harming regional security.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly said the fight-ing “must stop” as it could deter YPG fighters helpingthe international coalition against IS. Foreign MinisterJean-Yves Le Drian said France was calling the UNSecurity Council meeting as it was deeply worried by the“brutal degradation of the situation” in flashpoints likeAfrin. Crucial is the attitude of Russia, which has a mili-tary presence in the area and is also working withTurkey on a drive to end the civil war. The Russian for-eign ministry voiced concern and urged Turkey to showrestraint, while the defense ministry said its troops werewithdrawing from the Afrin area to ensure their securityand prevent any “provocation”. — Agencies

Turkish tanks roll into Syria...

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as part of a two-state peace deal between Israel andthe Palestinians. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its unitedcapital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector asthe capital of their future state. Israelis and Palestiniansalike interpreted Trump’s move as Washington takingIsrael’s side in the dispute over the city.

After the meeting, Pence flew to a military facilitynear the Syrian border to meet US troops. He headedto Israel later yesterday for a two-day visit, duringwhich he can expect a warm welcome from PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu and President ReuvenRivlin. Pence - a devout Christian - will visit theWestern Wall, one of the holiest Jewish sites inJerusalem’s Old City, and pay his respects at the YadVashem Holocaust memorial. He will also deliver aspeech to Israel’s parliament today. A coalition of Arabparties said Saturday it would boycott the address,calling Pence “dangerous and messianic”.

The US vice president arrived in Jordan on Saturdayevening from Egypt, where he met President AbdelFattah al-Sisi, a key Trump ally. The leaders of both

Egypt and Jordan, the only Arab states that have peacetreaties with Israel, would be key players if US media-tors ever manage to revive a stalled Israeli-Palestinianpeace process, as Trump says he wants.

Speaking in Amman yesterday, Pence called Trump’sJerusalem move a “historic decision” but said theUnited States respected Jordan’s role as custodian ofthe city’s holy sites. “The United States of Americaremains committed, if the parties agree, to a two-statesolution. We are committed to restarting the peaceprocess, and Jordan does now and has always played acentral role in facilitating peace in the region,” Pencesaid. Abdullah said he was “encouraged” by Trump’sstated commitment to finding a solution to thedecades-long conflict, which he called a “potentialmajor source of instability”. “We hope that the US willreach out and find the right way to move forward inthese challenging circumstances,” he said.

Sisi had urged the US president before his Jerusalemdeclaration “not to complicate the situation in theregion by taking measures that jeopardize the chancesof peace in the Middle East”. The international commu-nity considers east Jerusalem illegally occupied byIsrael and all embassies are currently in commercialcapital Tel Aviv. Pence’s trip has also been overshad-owed by the White House’s decision to freeze tens ofmillions of dollars in aid to the United Nations agencyfor Palestinians, as well as by a federal governmentshutdown looming over Washington. — AFP

Jordan king tells Pence of concern...

A competitor warms up on Lake Annecy prior to competing in the 5th edition of the GlaGla Race,a race of some 300 paddlers competing on icy waters off Talloires, in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpesregion of southeastern France yesterday. — AFP

Monday, January 22, 2018S p o r t s

Established 1961 13

Swiss skier Lara Gut blows away speed queen Vonn in windy Cortina

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: Swiss skier Lara Gut blew awayspeed queen Lindsey Vonn to snatch her first win in a year inthe women’s World Cup Super-G at Cortina d’Ampezzo yes-terday. Gut stormed to victory in 1min 14.78sec to beatItalian Johanna Schnarf by 0.14sec and Austrian NicoleSchmidhofer by 0.27sec to collect her 24th career victoryand 12th in Super-G.

US star Lindsey Vonn could only manage sixth fastest 24hours after her downhill victory on the Olympia delle Tofanepiste, saying she had “never had such a strong gust of wind ina race ever in my life”. The 26-year-old Gut-sidelined foreight month after a devastatingknee injury in St Moritz inFebruary 2017 — defied the dif-ficult conditions in a race short-ened because of strong gustsand overnight snow in the ItalianDolomites. “It’s good to beback winning,” said Gut afterher first World Cup win sincethe downhill in Cortina a yearago, to boost her confidenceahead of the Winter Olympicsstarting on February 9.

“Some girls had wind fromthe back others from the front, it was a challenge,” admittedthe Sochi Olympics bronze medallist.”(Olympic champion)Benjamin Raich once told me that during the year you willhave balance between good luck and bad luck. “Today wasmy day.”

‘SHIFFRIN, GOGGIA MISS OUT’ The windy conditions forced organisers to definitely inter-

rupt the race after 42 skiers had competed. Austria’s NadineFest suffered a bad fall, with the 19-year-old transported to

hospital suffering suspected knee injuries after crashing intothe netting. Vonn, 33, was clearly unhappy after her run asshe missed out on a chance for her 80th World Cup success,a day after becoming the oldest woman to win the women’sdownhill.

“Also tough race considering most of the athletes are stillqualifying for the Olympics and wind is dictating results,”Vonn said on Twitter. “Oh well, can’t change it. I’ll save thegood luck for February I guess,” added the American whohas won the Super G in Cortina six times, most recently in2016. “Still, it’s an outside sport and all we can do is our best.

Can’t change it unfortunately.”Overall World Cup leaderMikaela Shiffrin was third Fridayin the downhill but the Americanwas one of the many who didnot finish yesterday. “It just did-n’t happen,” said Shiffrin. “A lothas to do with time, I don’t havea lot of time training for SuperG.

“I’m going to put this behindme and get focussed on thegiant slalom,” added Shiffrin ofnext Tuesday’s race in nearby

Kronplatz. Italy’s Federica Brignone, chasing a secondstraight Super-G win after Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria aweek ago, pulled out ahead of the race with a high fever.

Compatriot Sofia Goggia, winner of the downhill onFriday, flew off the track as she tried to rectify a bad start, aday after she fell on the second downhill. But for fellow ItalianSchnarf it was a return to the podium eight years after herfirst. “It means a lot,” said the 33-year-old. “My second podi-um after nearly ten years. It’s near where I live, my family, myhusband are here, so it’s just amazing.” — AFP

Some girls had wind from the back, it was a challenge

SEOUL: North Korean delegates arrived in SouthKorea yesterday to prepare for cultural performancesduring next month’s Winter Olympics, in the first visitby Pyongyang officials to the South for four years.Television footage showed seven officials led by HyonSong-Wol, the leader of the North’s popularMoranbong girl band, crossing the heavily-fortifiedborder by bus before arriving at Seoul train stationabout an hour later.

The stony-faced officials, surrounded by hundredsof Seoul police officers, then boarded a train to theeastern city of Gangneung, where one of two plannedconcerts is due to be held. Hyon, a star singer andalso the leader of the 140-member SamjiyonOrchestra chosen to visit the South, left the station inGangneung without talking to throngs of journalists.

After months of high tensions over the North’smissile and nuclear tests, the neighbours agreed thismonth that North Korean athletes, cheerleaders,artistic troupes and other delegates would attend theGames beginning in the South’s ski resort ofPyeongchang on February 9.

The International Olympic Committee on Saturdayendorsed the deal, saying the North would send 22athletes in sports ranging from figure skating toshort-track speed skating. “It marks the opening ofthe door towards peaceful coexistence and peacefulcooperation forged through sports,” Seoul’s sportsminister Do Jong-Hwan, who attended Saturday’smeeting, told reporters on returning to Seoul.

The two nations also agreed to march together atthe opening ceremony under a unification flag-a paleblue silhouette of the Korean peninsula-and to form ajoint women’s ice hockey team.

The South’s government, facing mounting publiccriticism of the sporting rapprochement, defended itSunday as “an investment for a peaceful future”. Theorchestra led by Hyon will give two concerts-one inthe capital Seoul and another in Gangneung-duringthe Olympics. Seoul will also send skiers to theNorth’s Masikryong ski resort for joint training withNorth Korean counterparts, and hold a joint culturalevent in the scenic Mount Kumgang area north of theborder.

The delegation led by Hyon will inspect venues inGangneung yesterday and those in the capital Seoulon Monday before returning to the North the sameday. Another team will visit the South this week tocheck logistics for North Korean athletes, while Seoulwill send its own officials to the North’s ski resort toinspect the venue.

‘PEACE OLYMPICS’ Seoul’s government and the organisers hope that

the Games, which they have promoted as the “PeaceOlympics”, can ease tensions that soared to newheights in recent months. The North last year stagedits most powerful nuclear test and test-fired long-range missiles believed capable of reaching the USmainland. Its ruler Kim Jong-Un also traded colourfulpersonal insults and threats of war with US PresidentDonald Trump, sparking fears of another conflict onthe peninsula once devastated by the 1950-53 KoreanWar. The South’s President Moon Jae-In has tried touse the Winter Games as an opportunity to defusetension, even asking the US to postpone an scheduledjoint military exercise during the event-a requestWashington accepted. —AFP

N Korea delegates arrive for pre-Olympics inspection

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: USA’s Lindsey Vonn competes in the FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s SuperG yesterday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italian Alps. — AFP

World Cup leader Shiffrin was third in the downhill

TOKYO: They’re wide-eyed, brightly coloured, and com-pletely adorable. But can Japan’s Olympic mascots bring inthe cash, in a country where cuddly icons promote every-thing from regional tourism to local prisons?

Japan unveiled three sets of prospective mascots forthe 2020 games last year. The winning duo will beannounced in February, graduating into a landscapepacked with cute and quirky characters. Known locally as“yuru-kyara” or “laid-back characters”, mascots can bemajor money spinners. The pot-bellied, red-cheeked bearknown as Kumamon-created in 2010 to promote Japan’ssouthern Kumamoto region-raked in $8.8 million last yearfor local businesses selling branded products. Mascotscapitalise on a local love of all things adorable, includingcharacters that have gained international fame like theperky-eared yellow Pokemon, and the demure Hello Kittywith her signature hair bow.

“Japan has a tradition of creating personalised charac-ters out of nature-mountains, rivers, animals and plants,”said Sadashige Aoki, professor of advertisement theory atHosei University. “It has a tradition of animism, a belief thatevery natural thing has a soul.” Now the hope is that theTokyo Olympics mascots can serve as both ambassadorsfor Japan’s expanding tourism industry, and a way torecoup some of the billions spent on staging the Games.“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Japan to promote itstradition, culture and how its society looks,” said Aoki.“The question is how to make them globally popular, likeMickey Mouse.”

LICENSING LIMITATIONS In the past, Olympic mascots have been anything but a

sure bet in terms of revenue. Brazil netted $300 million inprofits from licensing intellectual property from the 2016Games, according to the International Olympic Committee(IOC). Merchandise featuring Rio’s feline mascot Viniciuswas the top-selling item. But Wenlock and Mandeville, thewidely mocked mascots of the 2012 London Games, proved

far from Olympic gold. The one-eyed characters weredubbed “bizarre” and “creepy” by some, reportedly send-ing shares in their manufacturer down by more than a third.Without the cute factor, mascots are unlikely to have muchsuccess, said Munehiko Harada, professor of sports busi-ness at Waseda University. “It’s important that mascots arepopular among children,” he told AFP. But even if the mas-cots have mass appeal, they may not be long-term money-makers for Japan because of licensing issues. “Olympicmascots in the past have been forgotten after the Gameswere over,” said Harada. “But there is a chance they remainalive and remembered as a legacy of the Tokyo Olympics,depending on how they operate the business.” Tokyo 2020owns the intellectual property rights to the mascots fornow, but will have to transfer them to the IOC and theInternational Paralympics Committee after the Games.

‘THEY’RE COOL’ “If I were head of the Tokyo 2020 organising commit-

tee, I would demand the IOC loosen its control overrights,” Harada said. Without those rights, there will be no

way to capitalise on the mascots after the Games, includ-ing developing back stories that drive ongoing interest.

There has been no indication so far that Japan intends torequest rights to the mascots, with a spokeswoman forTokyo 2020 confirming that it expects to relinquish themafter the Games. But the organisers say they are stillexpecting a substantial windfall from the mascots and othermerchandise and licensing opportunities. “Of the total rev-enues, $130 million is forecasted to accrue from licensing”of mascots and other Olympic emblems, a Tokyo 2020 offi-cial told AFP. “While we have the target number, we aim toincrease it.” The money is desperately needed, with officialsdrawing flak for the massive cost of the Games. Japan hasalready slashed the Tokyo 2020 budget by $1.4 billion, butis under pressure to further reduce the $12.6-billion bill.

The country’s children will decide which pair of charac-ters will represent the Olympics. They are voting inschools across the country, with the results to beannounced on February 28. At one school in northernTokyo, delegates proudly dropped the names of the win-ners of each class’s vote into a ballot box.— AFP

Cuddly and cute, but will Japan’s Olympic mascots be cash cows?

TOKYO: File photo taken on December 7, 2017 shows a shortlist of three pairs of official Tokyo 2020Olympic Games mascots being unveiled at Kakezuka elementary school in Tokyo. They’re wide-eyed,brightly coloured, and completely adorable. But can Japan’s Olympic mascots bring in the cash, in acountry where cuddly icons promote everything from regional tourism to local prisons? —AFP

MOSCOW: Moscow is emerging from the darkestDecember on record but teen sensation Alina Zagitovaand a clustre of other Russian skaters provided some wel-come rays of sunshine at this week’s EuropeanChampionships.

With Russian sport under its own dark cloud as itserves an Olympic ban for state-sponsored doping, newEuropean champion Zagitova represents a critical sourceof light for the nation at next month’s Games.

As do deposed queen Evgenia Medvedeva, who willfancy her chances of gaining revenge in Pyeongchang,and Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, whodefended their pairs title. The home team can look backon a hugely productive four days at Moscow’s MegasportPalace, with Russia bagging nine of the 12 medals on offer.

The two golds that got away were hardly a surprise:Spain’s Javier Fernandez proving he is still king of menand French duo Gabriella Papadakis and GuillaumeCizeron waltzing to their fourth ice dance title with a newworld record. Zagitova is the latest star skater to come offthe remarkable Russian ice skating production line. As theclock in Moscow edged towards 2230 on Saturday night,a time when most girls of 15 were being packed off to bed,Zagitova was standing proud as punch at the top of thepodium, gold medal around her neck, eyes glistening asthe Russian national anthem was played in her honour.

An astonishing new chapter in her sensational first

senior season. And this could be just a stepping stone toeven greater glory with Zagitova now favourite withMedvedeva for the Olympic title in Pyeongchang nextmonth. “At the Olympics we will be competing under thewhite flag, but we are still ‘Athletes from Russia’. In oursouls, we know,” said Zagitova, displaying a striking levelof maturity beyond her years. Although deprived of herthird title by her training partner, Medvedeva nonethelesshad the satisfaction of making a fight of it on this, hercomeback after breaking her right foot.

“My main victory is that I am standing here (after theinjury). For all athletes, but for me too, their performancesimprove from competition to competition. The bigger thebreak in competing, the worse it is,” said the 18-year-oldMuscovite. The crown slipped from her grasp after shefell less than six points shy of matching Zagitova’s per-sonal best points tally of 238.24 after the girl in red’sflawless free skate routine. Italian veteran CarolinaKostner, resplendent in a dazzling dayglo green costume,took bronze.— AFP

Russian skaters, source of light in dark times

Russian figure skaters

Monday, January 22, 2018S p o r t s

Established 1961 14

Buttler serves up series success for England against Australia

SYDNEY: A scintillating century from Jos Buttlerbrought England a 16-run win and a one-day interna-tional series victory against Australia in Sydney yester-day. The hosts, set 303 to win by England after winningthe toss and choosing to bowl, were always strugglingin their chase and eventually managed only 286 for six.

The result gave England an unbeatable 3-0 lead inthe five-match ODI series, a remarkable turnaroundafter Australia had trounced them 4-0 in the AshesTests. England ODI captain Eoin Morgan said Buttlerhad engineered of the best wins he’d been part of.

“Jos was probably the difference between the sides,”

he said. “On a two-paced wicket he paced it to perfec-tion, played the anchor until about five or six overs out.“This is one of the best wins from this group.”

Australia’s hopes largely rested with Steve Smith(45) and Mitchell Marsh (55), but both were dismissedat a crucial stage of the chase, with Smith falling to acontentious low-down catch by Buttler off the bowlingof Mark Wood (2-46).

Marcus Stoinis made a late attempt to lift Australiawith a punishing 56, but England managed to hold ondespite losing pacemen Liam Plunkett to a leg injuryearly in the Australian innings. Australian captain Smithsaid the game was lost in the last few overs of theEngland innings.

“I thought the way we bowled in the first 45 overswas good, but Jos played exceptionally well, Woakesytoo, but we bowled poorly at the end, can’t do that to aguy like Jos,” he said. “We were chasing probably 30too many... batted well but not enough to get over theline.” Buttler, 27, was the only batsman from either teamreally to get to grips with a slightly slow pitch. His late

surge enabled England to reach a total which hadseemed out of their reach until the final few overs.Several English batsmen failed to capitalise on promis-ing starts, but Buttler notched his fifth one-day interna-tional century from the last ball of the innings asEngland helped themselves to 38 off the final two overs.

Buttler himself took 28 runs from the last 11 balls hefaced. He faced 83 balls, hitting six fours and four sixes,in a dashing innings that gathered momentum in the last10 overs. Just as England appeared to be strugglingagainst a full-strength Australian attack, Buttler found awilling ally in Chris Woakes late in the innings, theseamer making 53 from 36 balls in a match-winningpartnership of 113 in 11.5 overs.

Australia recalled pacemen Pat Cummins and JoshHazlewood for the match, the first time in the one-day

series that the trio of Cummins, Hazlewood and MitchellStarc, who spearheaded the Ashes win, had beenreunited.

The tactic appeared to be working until Buttler andWoakes came together and turned the match on itshead. The English were aided by sloppy Australianfielding, with four missed catches and two botched run-out attempts.

The easiest of the catches to go to grass was ahowler by Cameron White, who failed to get a hand toa skied chance from Moeen Ali when he was on one.Marsh was the unlucky bowler, but had his revenge afew minutes later when he bowled Ali for six, continuingthe all-rounder’s wretched tour. Smith dropped Morgan(41) on 18 off spinner Adam Zampa, while Starc got hisfingers to a tough caught-and-bowled chance. — AFP

I thought theway we bowled

was good

SCOREBOARD

EnglandJ. Roy c Finch b Cummins 19J. Bairstow b Zampa 39A. Hales c Zampa b Stoinis 1J. Root b Hazlewood 27E. Morgan c Paine b Hazlewood 41J. Buttler not out 100M. Ali b Marsh 6C. Woakes not out 53Extras (lb2, w13, nb1) 16Total (for six wickets, 50 overs) 302Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Roy), 2-45 (Hales), 3-90 (Bairstow), 4-107(Root), 5-172 (Morgan), 6-189 (Ali)Bowling: Starc 10-0-63-0 (3w), Hazlewood 10-0-58-2,Cummins 10-1-67-1 (6w, 1nb), Stoinis 8-0-43-1 (1w), Zampa 9-0-55-1, Marsh 3-0-14-1 (2w)

AustraliaA. Finch lbw Rashid 62D. Warner c Hales b Woakes 8 C. White c Buttler b Wood 17S. Smith c Buttler b Wood 45M. Marsh c Hales b Rashid 55M. Stoinis c sub (Billings) b Woakes 56T. Paine not out 31P. Cummins not out 1Extras (lb5, b4, w2) 11Total (for six wickets, 50 overs) 286Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Warner), 2-44 (White), 3-113 (Finch), 4-181 (Smith), 5-210 (Marsh), 6-284 (Stoinis)Bowling: Wood 10-1-46-2 (2w), Woakes 10-0-57-2, Plunkett1.2-0-6-0, Ali 10-0-57-0, Root 8.4-0-60-0, Rashid 10-0-51-2.

England won by 16 runs, take series 3-0

SYDNEY: Scoreboard at the end of the third one-day interna-tional between Australia and England in Sydney yesterday:

England take unbeatable 3-0 lead in five-match ODI series

SYDNEY: Australia’s batsman Marcus Stoinis (R) hits a six as England’s wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (L) lookson, during the third one-day international (ODI) cricket match between England and Australia in Sydney yes-terday. — AFP

DHAKA: Thisara Perera starred with bat andball as Sri Lanka ended their recent dismal runby beating Zimbabwe by five wickets in the tri-nation one-day international tournament inDhaka yesterday. Perera claimed four wicketsto lead an inspired Sri Lankan bowling attackthat limited Zimbabwe to 198 all out before hisunbeaten 39 helped the islanders to chasedown their target in 44.5 overs. Sri Lanka werein trouble at 145-5 before skipper DineshChandimal (38 not out) and Perera put on anunbeaten 57-run stand for the sixth wicket.Perera, who bats left-handed, sealed the winwith a six to keep Sri Lanka’s tournamenthopes alive after they lost against Zimbabweand hosts Bangladesh.

Zimbabwe paceman Blessing Muzarabaniclaimed three wickets to rattle the Sri Lankantop-order after opener Kusal Perera’s dominat-ing 49. But the day belonged to Thisara Perera,who soon took the attack to the oppositionwith his 26-ball knock that was laced with afour and 3 sixes. Chandimal, leading the side inplace of injured Angelo Mathews, played the

sheet anchor’s role to perfection during his 71-ball stay. Earlier Perera ran through theZimbabwe top-order, grabbing the most vitalwicket of Brendan Taylor, who top-scored with58 before his side were bowled out in 44 overs.

The 28-year old Perera, who bowls medium-pace, was ably supported by fellow pacemanNuwan Pradeep (3-28). Left-arm wrist spin-ner Lakshan Sandakan took two wickets

before Pradeep wiped off the Zimbabwe tailincluding the prized wicket of skipper GraemeCremer for 34. The win kept Sri Lanka in thehunt for a spot in the final as they still have agame in hand against Bangladesh. Zimbabwe,who beat Sri Lanka by 12 runs in their firstmatch of the tournament, also can qualify forthe final if they can beat the hosts in their nextmatch on Tuesday. — AFP

Perera halts Sri Lanka slide after win over Zimbabwe

SCOREBOARD

ZimbabweH. Masakadza c Tharanga b T. Perera 20S. Mire c Dickwella b T. Perera 21C. Ervine c Tharanga b T. Perera 2B. Taylor c Tharanga b T. Perera 58S. Raza c Mendis b Sandakan 9M. Waller c Dickwella b Sandakan 24P. Moor run out (Mendis/Dickwella) 0G. Cremer b Pradeep 34K. Jarvis b Pradeep 5T. Chatara not out 2B. Muzarabani b Pradeep 0Extras (lb8, w15) 23Total (all out; 44 overs) 198Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Masakadza), 2-49 (Ervine), 3-56 (Mire),4-73(Raza), 5-139 (Waller), 6-140 (Moor), 7-171 (Taylor), 8-191 (Jarvis), 9-198 (Cremer), 10-198 (Muzarabani)Bowling: Lakmal 7-0-23-0, Pradeep 8-2-28-3 (w6), T.Perera 8-0-33-4 (w2), Dananjaya 10-0-45-0 (w2),Sandakan 10-0-57-2 (w5), Gunaratne 1-0-4-0.

Sri Lanka (target 199)K. Perera c Sub b Muzarabani 49U. Tharanga b Chatara 17K. Mendis b Muzarabani 36N. Dickwella c Sub b Muzarabani 7D. Chandimal not out 38A. Gunaratne c sub b Jarvis 9T. Perera not out 39Extras (lb3, w3, nb1) 7Total (5 wickets; 44.5 overs) 202Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Tharanga), 2-103 (K. Perera), 3-110 (Mendis), 4-117 (Dickwella), 5-145 (Gunaratne)Did not bat: A. Dananjaya, S. Lakmal, L. Sandakan, N.PradeepBowling: Jarvis 9-0-34-1 (w2), Chatara 9.5-1-40-1 (w1),Muzarabani 10-0-52-3 (nb1), Raza 7-0-44-0, Cremer9-0-29-0.Result: Sri Lanka won by five wicketsMan of the match: T. Perera

DHAKA: Scoreboard of the fourth match of tri-nation one-day international tournament between Sri Lanka andZimbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka yesterday:

LOS ANGELES: Paul George scored 36points, Carmelo Anthony added a season-high 29 points with 10 rebounds, andRussell Westbrook recorded a season-best20 assists as the Oklahoma City Thunderthrottled the Cleveland Cavaliers 148-124on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Thunder led wire-to-wire inextending their winning streak to fourgames. Paul teamed with Steven Adams(25 points, 10 rebounds) to score the first20 points for Oklahoma City, and whenWestbrook added two free throws at the6:45 mark of the first quarter, the Thunderlead 22-12.

Isaiah Thomas tallied 24 points for theCavaliers, who’ve lost nine of 12 games.LeBron James finished with 18 points, leav-ing him seven shy of becoming the seventhplayer in league history with 30,000career points. James added seven assistsand finished minus-33 over 38 minutes.

Cleveland was a defensive sieve fromthe opening tip, allowing Adams easyaccess to the rim on deep post-ups andoffensive rebounds while also surrenderingopen perimeter looks to George. TheThunder posted a season-high 43 points inthe first quarter, shooting 63 percent (17-for-27), including 5-of-9 on 3s, as Georgeand Adams combined for 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting.

ROCKETS 116, WARRIORS 108Chris Paul paired 33 points with 11

rebounds and James Harden delivered a key3-pointer down the stretch as Houstonsnapped Golden State’s 14-game road win-ning streak with a 116-108 victory atToyota Center.Harden finished with 22points plus eight assists, and he drilled a 3over Stephen Curry with 70 secondsremaining to push the lead to six points andfend off the Warriors once and for all.Golden State had erased a 17-point deficitand led by as many as four points earlier inthe fourth quarter before Paul, P.J. Tucker(12 points), and Harden responded with latetreys. Clint Capela added 18 points and LucMbah a Moute 14 for Houston, whichclaimed the season series over theWarriors. Kevin Durant paced Golden Statewith 26 points and seven rebounds whileDraymond Green added 21 points, sevenboards and six assists. Curry and his back-court partner Klay Thompson combined toshoot 9 for 31 and totaled 27 points.

HEAT 106, HORNETS 105Kelly Olynyk made the second of a two-

shot free-throw opportunity with 0.2 sec-

onds remaining as Miami put together astrong final two minutes to overcomeCharlotte at the Spectrum Center inCharlotte, NC. The Heat trailed 101-91 withless than four minutes to play. It was 105-100 before James Johnson’s dunk with 34seconds to go. Just seconds later, JoshRichardson’s steal led to Johnson’s tying 3-pointer. Kemba Walker missed twice forthe Hornets, and then Dwight Howard wascharged with fouling Olynyk, who missedthe first attempt before sinking the winner.

JAZZ 125, CLIPPERS 113Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and

Joe Ingles matched a pair of career highs,scoring 21 points while making five 3-pointers, to lead Utah to a victory over LosAngeles in Utah.Six different playersscored in double figures to help Utah winfor just the sixth time in its last 22 games.The Jazz led from wire-to-wire. LouWilliams scored 31 points, collected 10steals and dished out seven assists. BlakeGriffin chipped in 25 points and eightrebounds while Wesley Johnson added 17points and eight boards off the bench.

PELICANS 111, GRIZZLIES 104DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis

played their first game since being namedstarters in the NBA All-Star Game, butteammate Jrue Holiday commanded equalbilling as New Orleans beat Memphis inthe Smoothie King Center. Holiday scoreda team-high 27 points as the Pelicans gottheir first victory over the Grizzlies aftertwo losses earlier in the season. Cousinshad 24 points and 10 rebounds and Davishad 21 points and 12 rebounds. DariusMiller came off the bench to score 12.

TIMBERWOLVES 115, RAPTORS 109

Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns hit clutch 3-pointers down thestretch as Minnesota withstood a 40-pointnight by point guard Kyle Lowry and beatToronto at the Target Center inMinneapolis. Wiggins, who scored a sea-son-high 29 points, gave Minnesota thelead at 107-106 by knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:05remaining. A Towns 3-pointer shortly aftermade it 110-106 and gave theTimberwolves all the room they needed.Lowry recorded his most productive nightof the season and posted his fourth careergame with 40 points. He made 14 of 25shots and hit six 3-pointers.

TRAIL BLAZERS 117, MAVERICKS 108

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum com-bined for 57 points to lead Portland pastDallas at Moda Center. Lillard scored 31points and doled out nine assists andMcCollum added 26 points as the TrailBlazers (25-21) won their third straightgame and sixth in a row at home. WesleyMatthews led Dallas (15-31) with 23 pointswhile Dirk Nowitzki and Dennis Smith Jr.each chipped in 21.—Reuters

Thunder embarrass Cavs,Rockets topple Warriors

ST. MORITZ: OMEGA is a company of the Swatch Group,the largest manufacturer and distributor of watches andjewellery in the world. OMEGA is the Official Timekeeperof the Olympic Games and is currently preparing for itsrole at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang thisFebruary. As part of the build-up, the brand gave theirspecially invited guests a chance to experience the thrill ofbobsleigh, as they were driven in a taxi bob from the topto the bottom of the 1,722 metre track.

The stars included: Cody Simpson (US singer); PixieLott (British singer); Oliver Cheshire (British model);Baptiste Lecaplain (French actor); Manon Azem (Frenchactress); Alessandro Borghi (Italian actor); Kostja Ullmann(German actor); Miyavi Ishihara (Japanese guitarist andactor) and his wife, Melody Ishihara (Japanese singer) andChrista Rigozzi (Swiss Presenter - TV Entertainment).

Not only is the Olympia Bob Run in St.Moritz the oldestin the world, but it is also the only one that is naturallyrefrigerated. It has hosted bobsleigh events at the OlympicGames in 1928 and 1948 and, most recently, it was used forthe FIBT World Cup races in January this year - an eventthat OMEGA officially timed.

International stars join OMEGA at theOlympia Bob Run in St Moritz

S p o r t s Monday, January 22, 2018

15

BERLIN: Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller bothnetted twice as Bayern Munich went 16 points clear in theBundesliga yesterday with a 4-2 victory over WerderBremen. Mueller and Lewandowski each claimed goal-scoring milestones in a polished second-half display byBayern’s forward pair.

Mueller has now scored 100 Bundesliga goals in hiscareer while Lewandowski has hit 94 German top-flightgoals, making him the highest scoring foreigner in theclub’s history. “It’s alwaysnice to score, I didn’t planon doing it today, but Iknew I was close,” saidMueller, who warned thereis more to come fromBayern. “We aren’t yetplaying like we want to.”Bremen took a shock first-half lead when midfielderJerome Gondorf scoredhis first goal for the club.However, Bayern went intothe break level afterMueller equalised beforeLewandowski struck with the first of his two second-halfheaders. Bayern defender Niklas Suele turned the ball intohis own net to make it 2-2 with 15 minutes left, butLewandowski restored the lead shortly afterwards. Hescored with a towering header to claim his 17th leaguegoal in 18 games this season and leave him as the league’stop-scorer, four clear of Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Mueller converted a superb chip over the Bremendefence by James Rodriguez to add gloss to the finalscoreline. Bayern have won 17 of 18 games since head

coach Jupp Heynckes returned in October.The hosts were troubled when Bremen took a deserved

lead on 25 minutes to stun the Munich crowd in freezingtemperatures. Werder’s Germany striker Max Kruse slid apass through the defence and midfielder Gondorf slottedthrough the legs of Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich. Theball rolled into the net, despite the efforts of Bayern right-back Joshua Kimmich to clear off the line. Bremen grew inconfidence, but the hosts drew level with a superb equalis-

er by Mueller just beforethe break.

Jerome Boateng’s pin-point long pass foundMueller’s chest and theGermany star slammedthe ball home to make it 1-1 four minutes before thebreak. Bremen’s brave dis-play meant Bayern onlytook the lead for the firsttime with an hour gone.Rodriguez, who hasrecaptured the form whichsaw him finish top-scorer

at the 2014 World Cup, fired in a cross whichLewandowski headed home. Suele was left red-facedwhen the ball clipped his shoulder and rolled past Ulreichon 74 minutes. However, Lewandowski put Bayern backahead by leaping to smash home Mueller’s cross in the77th minute as Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka fumbledthe header. Lewandowski has now scored 23 goals in 27games in all competitions this season.

The win leaves Bayern clear of the densely-packed pur-suers, with only one point separating second-placed BayerLeverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt in seventh. — AFP

Lewandowski, Mueller star as Bayern go 16 points clear

Mueller has now scored 100 Bundesliga goals in his career

Established 1961

Bayern defender Niklas Suele turn

ball into his own net

Spanish La Liga table

Barcelona 19 16 3 0 52 9 51

Atletico Madrid 20 12 7 1 29 9 43

Valencia 20 12 4 4 41 21 40

Real Madrid 19 10 5 4 39 18 35

Villarreal 20 10 4 6 28 22 34

Sevilla 20 10 2 8 26 28 32

Getafe 20 7 6 7 25 20 27

Girona 20 7 6 7 29 29 27

Real Betis 19 8 3 8 33 36 27

Eibar 19 8 3 8 24 31 27

Athletic Bilbao 20 6 8 6 23 22 26

Celta Vigo 19 7 4 8 33 27 25

Leganes 19 7 4 8 17 19 25

Espanyol 20 6 6 8 16 25 24

Real Sociedad 19 6 5 8 33 34 23

Alaves 20 6 1 13 16 29 19

Levante 20 3 9 8 16 28 18

Deportivo La Coruna 10 4 4 12 22 44 16

Las Palmas 20 4 2 14 16 47 14

Malaga 19 3 2 14 13 33 11

MADRID: Spanish La Liga table after yesterday’s early matches(played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

MUNICH: Bremen’s German midfielder Philipp Bargfrede (R) and Bayern Munich’s Polish striker RobertLewandowski (R) fall down during the German first division Bundesliga football match Bayern Munich vs WerderBremen in Munich, southern Germany. —AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Swansea City v Liverpool 23:00

beIN SPORTS HD 2

SPANISH LEAGUE

Eibar v Malaga 23:00

beIN SPORTS HD 3

ITALIAN CALCIO LEAGUE

Juventus v Genoa 22:45

beIN SPORTS HD 4

BERLIN: After a fourth straight Bundesliga defeat,Hamburg reluctantly fired their head coach MarkusGisdol yesterday with the club second from bot-tom of the league. “Parting ways with a coach pre-maturely is never something we would wish to dobut we feel a fresh start might help us to stay up,which is our aim,” club chairman HeribertBruchhagen told AFP’s German subsidiary SID.Hamburg have lost 12 of their 19 league games thisseason. Their latest defeat, 2-0 at home to rock-bottom Cologne on Saturday, was their sixth matchwithout a win.

Gisdol is the sixth head coach to be sacked by aBundesliga club this season. “I would like to gohome and let it sink in. I would have liked to havecontinued,” said Gisdol, who was informed of hisdismissal at a 0900 meeting (0800 GMT) yester-day. According to German daily Bild, formerHamburg midfielder Bernd Hollerbach, 48, whoplayed for the club from 1996-2004, is set to takecharge. “The decision to change (coaches) wasunanimous, but it was not easy for us, there was noalternative. The new coach should solve the uncer-tainty in the team,” added Bruchhagen, withoutconfirming who will take over. Gisdol lasted lessthan 15 months in charge, but Hamburg has been arevolving door in the last decade with no headcoach managing to stay for two years.

Experienced coaches such as Bert van Marwijk,Mirko Slomka, Bruno Labbadia, in two differentspells, and Armin Veh all had brief stints in charge.The last to enjoy any success was Thomas Doll,head coach from October 2003 until February2007. He steered Hamburg to the group phase ofthe Champions League in 2006/07 - their lastappearance in European football’s top competition.It’s a far cry from the club’s glory days in the 1980swhen Hamburg won the Bundesliga crown twice,were runners up three times, and l ifted theEuropean Cup in 1982-83. — AFP

Struggling Hamburg sack their coach Gisdol

MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but had toleave the pitch with his face covered in blood as RealMadrid eased their domestic crisis by hammering Ligastrugglers Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 at home yesterdayto reclaim fourth place in the standings.

Real had lost two of their last three league gamesand got off on the wrong foot against relegation-threatened Deportivo when former Atletico Madrid for-ward Adrian Lopez put the visiting side ahead againstthe run of play in the 23rd minute.

The stumbling La Liga champions responded inemphatic fashion, however, and went on to record theirbiggest win of the season in all competitions with twogoals apiece from Gareth Bale and Nacho Fernandez aswell as Ronaldo and a long-range strike from LukaModric.

Ronaldo was unable to continue playing after he wasleft with a bloodied face by the boot of Deportivodefender Fabian Schar as he struck his second goal,which took him level with Bale as Real’s top scorer inthe league with six strikes. Real climbed back aboveVillarreal into fourth place on 35 points but are still farbehind runaway leaders Barcelona, who top the stand-ings with 51 points and can move 11 clear of nearestchallengers Atletico Madrid if they beat Real Betis lateryesterday. — Reuters

Bloodied Ronaldo scores twice in Real Madrid rout

MADRID: Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (down) lies on the field after sustaining aninjury during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and RC Deportivo de la Coruna atthe Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. —AFP

MILAN: Dries Mertens ended a long goaldrought to give Napoli a 1-0 victory atAtalanta yesterday that stretched theiradvantage in Serie A to four points. Napoli’swin in the first league game after the winterbreak extended their lead over second-placed Juventus ahead of the champions’clash with Genoa today.

Belgian international Mertens’ 65th-minutestrike ended a league dry spell that had datedback to October 29, getting behind thedefence and flashing a shot past Atalantagoalkeeper Etrit Berisha.

Lazio moved third with a thumping 5-1 winover Chievo in Rome that saw rising starSergej Milinkovic-Savic bag a fine braceeither side of half-time to put Lazio two up,after Chievo’s Manuel Pucciarelli hadequalised Luis Alberto’s 23rd-minute long-range opener for the hosts. Milinkovic-Savic’s substitute Nani laid on Bastos to firehome a deflected fourth with seven minutesleft, before the former Manchester Unitedwinger added a fifth three minutes later withfine hit from the edge of the area. SimoneInzaghi’s exciting side are Serie A’s top scor-ers with 53 goals following the win and are apoint ahead of Inter Milan, who host fifth-placed Roma later. Sampdoria are threepoints ahead of Atalanta in sixth after FabioQuagliarella fired an excellent hat-trick to

down Fiorentina 3-1 in Genoa. The 34-year-old Italian is having something of an Indiansummer and scored in the 30th, 60th and68th minutes to continue Sampdoria’s finehome record that has seen them make 24 oftheir 33 points at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.Bottom club Benevento’s mini-revival came toa crashing halt with a 3-0 beating at Bologna,who won thanks to goals from Mattia Destro,Sebastien De Maio and Blerim Dzemaili.

Benevento had won two games in a rowgoing into the winter break but remain onseven points and are now 12 points from safe-ty after Crotone’s 3-0 win at second-bottomHellas Verona, which lifted them out of thebottom three.

SARRI TURNAROUND Napoli lost six points to Atalanta last sea-

son and this narrow victory represents acomplete turn-around for Maurizio Sarri’sNapoli, who also won 3-1 in the reverse fix-ture earlier in the season. Seventh-placedAtalanta are one of Italy’s surprise packagesand responded to Merten’s opener with abrief bout of pressure that created one dan-gerous moment, with Napoli keeper PepeReina leaping to palm away a ferocious long-range drive from Bryan Cristante.

There was controversy in added timewhen Jorginho set up Marek Hamsik who slidthe ball inside the far post, only for refereeDaniele Orsato to change his decision to givethe goal after spotting the tightest of offsideson video review.

Elsewhere, Simone Berardi saved a pointfor Sassuolo with a 1-1 draw at home toTorino after Obi had given the away side a26th-minute lead, and Udinese played outanother 1-1 draw with SPAL, who drop backinto the relegation zone despite SergioFloccari saving a point after Samir’s 11th-minute opener. — AFP

Napoli edgeAtalanta to extendSerie A lead

SportCuddly and cute, but will Japan’s Olympic mascots be cash cows?

Buttler serves up series success for England against Australia

Bloodied Ronaldo scores twice in Real Madrid rout 1513 14

Established 1961

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

MELBOURNE: Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov celebrates beating Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in their men’s singles fourth round match on day seven of the Australian Open tennis tournament inMelbourne yesterday. — AFP

Rafa survives test, Dimitrov ousts Kyrgios

DOHA: Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thanidiscussed yesterday with Kuwait’s Minister ofCommerce and Industry and Minister of State for YouthAffairs Khaled Al-Roudhan relations between the twocountries in youth and sports fields. During his meetingwith Sheikh Tamim, Al-Roudhan conveyed greetingsfrom His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, along with his best wishes of goodhealth and happiness to the Qatari Emir, who asked Al-Roudhan to relay his salutes to His Highness the Amir.

Moreover, Kuwaiti officials accompanying MinisterAl-Roudhan expressed sincere gratitude and apprecia-tion to Sheikh Tamim for support extended by Qatar toKuwait in the field of sports, which contributed to liftingFIFA’s suspension against Kuwait Football Association,last month.

The Kuwaiti delegation included Director General ofthe Public Authority for Sports Dr Humoud Fulaiteh,Deputy Director General for Construction andMaintenance at the Public Authority for Sports SheikhHumoud Mubarak Al-Sabah, President of the KuwaitiFootball Association Sheikh Ahmad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah and Deputy President of Kuwait FootballAssociation Sheikh Fawaz Mishal Al-Sabah, in additionto a number of senior officials and sports figures.

Al-Roudhan held talks with Qatari Minister ofCulture and Sports Salah Al-Ali on issues of joint inter-est. In a statement to KUNA as he emerged from themeeting, Minister Al-Roudhan said his talks withMinister Al-Ali dealt with means of boosting coopera-tion between the two countries as they prepared forupcoming sports events. The Kuwaiti-Qatari talkstouched on cooperation for organizing training courses,holding diverse activities, promoting the sector in thetwo countries in a manner that would solidify the bilat-eral relations.

Minister Al-Roudhan added that he discussed withthe Qatari official plans to activate youth role, guidingthem for constructive investment in time and encourag-ing the talented in sports and youth sectors. — KUNA

Qatar Emir discusses youth, sports with Minister Al-Roudhan

Wozniacki takes another step towards maiden Grand Slam title

DOHA: Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani during his meeting with Kuwait’s Minister ofCommerce and Industry and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Khaled Al-Roudhan. —KUNA

MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal battled through a hugetest to make his 10th Australian Open quarter-final yes-terday as Grigor Dimitrov ousted Nick Kyrgios to joinhim and Caroline Wozniacki kicked into top gear.

On an overcast and muggy day at Melbourne Park,the Spanish world number one was up against his mostdangerous opponent yet in pocket-rocket DiegoSchwartzman, one of the smallest men on tour.

The Argentine 24th seed endeared with his astonish-ingly powerful groundstrokes before Nadal prevailed6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3 in almost four hours on RodLaver Arena. It kept alive his push for a 17th GrandSlam title and also ensured he will remain number onewhen the new rankings come out after the tournament.

“It was a great battle,” said Nadal, who is chasinghis second Melbourne title after beating Roger Federerin the 2009 final. “Of course, I feel little bit tired, but Iwas able to keep fighting until the end.” He will playsixth seed Marin Cilic for a place in the semi-finals afterthe Croat beat Spanish 10th seed Pablo Correna Busta6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/3). The win was Cilic’s100th at a Grand Slam.

“I have played great tennis from the first roundagainst tough opponents and now I am really looking tothe next match, it will be definitely be a big challenge,”he said of the Nadal clash.Ordinarily Nadal, as the topseed, would have top billingon Rod Laver in theevening, but not with localstar Kyrgios in action.

The maturing Australian22-year-old pushed worldnumber three Dimitrov closein a hugely entertaining foursetter before succumbing 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6(7/4). “Playing Nick isalways tricky,” said theBulgarian, as he targets bettering the semi-finals hemade last year.

“It was one of those matches you had to take anyopportunity that you got.” His reward is a showdownwith Briton Kyle Edmund, who reached his first Grand

Slam quarter-final with a 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 winover Italy’s Andreas Seppi.

PLAY AGGRESSIVE World number two

Wozniacki turned on thestyle in her match to takeanother step towards amaiden Grand Slam title.The assured Wozniacki, asemi-finalist in 2011 who hasnever quite lived up to thehype in the majors, annihi-lated 19th-seededMagdalena Rybarikova 6-3,6-0 in her most impressiveperformance to date.

“She really mixes up the pace, I just tried to calmdown, get my returns in and wait for the opportunitiesto attack,” she said after crushing the Slovak, who madethe semi-finals at Wimbledon last year.

“I think you can tell my confidence is pretty good at

the moment.” Her easy passage sets up a last-eightclash with gritty Spaniard Suarez Navarro, who battledback from a set and 4-1 down to shatter the hopes of32nd seed Anett Kontaviet.

The Estonian had been bubbling with confidenceafter despatching French Open champion JelenaOstapenko in the third round, but nerves got the betterof her. The Spaniard, who has made the quarter-finals inMelbourne twice before, most recently in 2016, credit-ed her fightback with a conscious decision to be moreaggressive. “My team all the time they say (to) me, playaggressive, play aggressive. That’s I think what I did,”said Suarez Navarro, one of the few who still uses aone-handed backhand. Looking ahead to Wozniacki,she added: “I know how she plays. I know how toughshe is. It will be a really interesting match.”

The 37th-ranked Elise Mertens also made the lasteight, becoming the first Belgian since Kim Clijsters in2012 to get so far in Australia. She posted a straight-sets win over Croat Petra Martic and will now playfourth seed Elina Svitolina who swept past Czech quali-fier Denisa Allertova in two easy sets. — AFP

I am really looking to

the next match

MUSCAT: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabiacalled yesterday for extending coopera-tion between OPEC and non-OPEC pro-ducers beyond 2018, after a deal to cutoutput succeeded in shoring up prices.

The call, the first explicit invitation byRiyadh for long-term cooperationbetween oil producers, came with oilprices topping $70 a barrel thanks to thedeal, after they dove below $30 a barrelin early 2016.

“We should not limit our efforts to2018. We need to be talking about alonger framework for our cooperation,”Saudi Energy Minister Khaled Al-Falehtold reporters before a meeting betweenministers of OPEC and non-OPEC coun-tries in the Omani capital Muscat.

The meeting will be discussing levelsof compliance to the cuts. Oil producersfrom inside and outside the Organizationof Petroleum Exporting Countries signeda landmark agreement in November 2016to cut output by 1.8 million barrels perday to fight oversupply and lift saggingprices. That deal was initially for sixmonths, but the 14-member cartel and 10independent producers have sinceextended it until the end of this year.Officials from the participating countrieshave been talking about whether theyshould quit the agreement altogether orjust have another extensiondepending on the market situation.

But the Saudi minister said theagreement should be extended foran unspecified duration. “I amtalking about extending the frame-work that we started-which is thedeclaration of cooperation-beyond 2018,” Faleh toldreporters.

‘We must not relax’ Faleh however said the new

framework for cooperation might differfrom the current agreement and its pro-duction quotas. “It does not necessarilymean sticking barrel by barrel” to thesame agreement.

It would mean “assuring stakeholders,investors, consumers and the global com-munity that (the agreement) is here tostay.” It would send the message that “weare going to work together not only withthe 24 countries, but inviting more andmore participants,” he said.

Faleh said oil producers had not yetachieved their target of reducing world

stocks to normal levels and striking a bal-ance between supply and demand.

He called for efforts to continue tobring inventories to “normal levels”.“Thatobjective has not been achieved. We arenot close to achieving it,” said Faleh,adding that a rebalance is unlikely in thefirst half of 2018. Russian EnergyMinister Alexander Novak said oil pro-ducers should not ease off on their

efforts despite the rebound.“Despite the fact that progress is

obvious, we must not relax. We aredetermined to carry through the rebal-ancing,” Novak, whose country is theworld’s top crude producer, toldreporters.

Novak held separate talks with Falehon the sidelines of the Muscat meeting.The Russian minister praised the out-come of the cuts deal. “The market goton the way towards balancing and wejointly managed to reduce the surplus in

stocks by more than half,” Novak said.

‘Consultations’ Novak said he was pleased with the

outcome of the historical agreement withOPEC and other producers, butappeared less committed to the idea ofestablishing a permanent framework. “Asfor efforts to coordinate joint actions onthe oil market, the last year showed that

this is a successful experiment,” hetold reporters, according to Russia’sRIA Novosti news agency.

“I think that if necessary it can beused in the future too.” But “mutualaction between OPEC and non-OPECcountries” could also continue afterthe end of the agreement in the formof “consultations”, the Russian ministersaid. Omani Oil Minister Mohamed Al-Rumhi said different arrangementscould be discussed. “By the end of thisyear, the stock level will be very smalland it will be time to discuss different

arrangements or agreements,” he said.Meeting attendees were told globalcrude inventories stood at about 120 mil-lion barrels above its historical average,down by more than half since the start oflast year.

Gulf states as well as many oil-pro-ducing nations have posted huge budgetshortfalls since oil prices plummeted inmid-2014. OPEC said on Thursday theglobal oil market is moving closer toreaching a healthy balance between sup-ply and demand. — AFP

KUWAIT: Leading regional business maga-zine International Finance awarded Zain the‘Best Telecom Company in Kuwait’ at theprestigious Achievement Awards, held inDubai. The International Finance Awards rec-ognize and reward outstanding success andinnovation across various industry sectors inthe country.

Waleed Al-Khasht i , Zain Kuwait ’sCorporate Communications and RelationsDirector, received the award on behalf ofZain. The company was singled out for thisyear’s honor given its relentless pursuit ofexcellence and innovation with the aim ofachieving superior digital lifestyle trans-formation.

Zain expressed its pride and appreciationfor this recognition, as well as in the interestInternational Finance Magazine shows in theachievements of Kuwaiti organizations onparticular. The 2017 awards honored leadingcompanies and institutions that have deliv-ered success, innovation and excellence, aswell as those that have made a vital contribu-tion to the vibrancy of business within Kuwaitand the region.

Zain is deeply invested in the fabric of theKuwaiti society, and its corporate sustainabil-ity and social responsibility activities speakfor themselves in this regard. Keen to encour-age and uplift the youth, Zain has a series of

initiatives and programs aimed at engagingwith youth in Kuwait, and allowing them todevelop their talent and find expression totheir ideas.

As one of the most recognizable brands inKuwait, Zain was recently ranked the secondmost powerful home-grown brand in theMiddle East by London-based valuation andstrategy consultancy Brand Finance. Thecompany was also awarded the ‘Best MobileOperator’ and ‘Best Internet ServiceProvider’ in Kuwait from Service Hero for thefifth time.

Zain also received 6 prizes as part ofKuwait’s Public Relations and CustomerService annual Prize during 2017 last April.The prizes included: “Excellence in CustomerService”, “Excellence in Social Awareness”,“Excellence in Corporate Communicationsand Relations”, “Excellence in WebsiteServices”, and “Excellence in Call Center”.

The recognition Zain received fromInternational Finance Magazine furtherstrengthens the company’s role as a leadingprivate sector company, and reinforces Zain’scommitment in maintaining the values of itsbrand. The company is motivated to continueits pledge in providing exclusive services tomeet the needs of its customers as well as tofacilitate their personal, professional, andbusiness needs.

INJAZ Kuwait signs MoU with Safya Int’l Import and Export Company

US dollar under pressure over government shutdown fears

KFH transforms data storage and data protection with Dell EMC2118 19

MUSCAT: (From left to right) Omani Energy Minister Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Rumhi, OPEC Secretary General, Mohammed Barkindo and Saudi Energy Minister Khaled Al-Faleh attend the7th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee in Muscat yesterday. — AFP

BusinessEstablished 1961

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

Agreement helped shore up crude prices: Al-Faleh

Extend OPEC-non-OPEC cooperation: Saudis

Market moving to achieve a

healthy balance

Zain recognized as ‘Best TelecomCompany in Kuwait’

Waleed Al-Khashti receives the award.

MUSCAT: Kuwait Energy Minister and Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Petroleum, Bakheet Al-Rashidi (right), attends the 7th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee inMuscat yesterday. — AFP

Monday, January 22, 2018

18B u s i n e s s

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EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.721Indian Rupees 4.724Pakistani Rupees 2.726Srilankan Rupees 1.962Nepali Rupees 2.968Singapore Dollar 228.560Hongkong Dollar 38.520Bangladesh Taka 3.615Philippine Peso 5.986Thai Baht 9.471

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 80.414Qatari Riyal 82.823Omani Riyal 783.134Bahraini Dinar 800.720UAE Dirham 82.123

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 19.700Egyptian Pound - Transfer 17.018Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.210Tunisian Dinar 125.300Jordanian Dinar 425.040Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.009Syrian Lira 0.000Morocco Dirham 33.188

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 301.350

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

BAHRAIN EXCHANGE COMPANY WLL

Euro 370.060Sterling Pound 416.620Canadian dollar 243.020Turkish lira 798.300Swiss Franc 314.560Australian Dollar 241.080US Dollar Buying 300.150

GOLD20 Gram 249.07010 Gram 127.4505 Gram 64.570

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 301.200Canadian Dollar 242.640Sterling Pound 417.825Euro 368.910Swiss Frank 29Bahrain Dinar803.394UAE Dirhams 80.100Qatari Riyals 82.410Saudi Riyals 83.640Jordanian Dinar 426.100Egyptian Pound 17.067Sri Lankan Rupees 1.958Indian Rupees 4.723Pakistani Rupees 2.727Bangladesh Taka 3.653Philippines Pesso 5.935Cyprus pound 17.925

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.412672 0.420172Czech Korune 0.006562 0.015862Danish Krone 0.045656 0.050656Euro 0. 363358 0.370858Georgian Lari 0.134241 0.134241Hungarian 0.001135 0.001325Norwegian Krone 0.034452 0.039652Romanian Leu 0.064420 0.081270Russian ruble 0.005322 0.005322Slovakia 0.008960 0.018960Swedish Krona 0.033605 0.038605Swiss Franc 0.306903 0.317903

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.233011 0.245011New Zealand Dollar 0.213511 0.223011

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.236139 0.245139US Dollars 0.297300 0.301720US Dollars Mint 0.297800 0.301720

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003274 0.003858Chinese Yuan 0.045558 0.049058Hong Kong Dollar 0.036650 0.039400Indian Rupee 0.004275 0.004916Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024Japanese Yen 0.002642 0.002822Korean Won 0.000272 0.000287Malaysian Ringgit 0.072709 0.078709Nepalese Rupee 0.003007 0.003177Pakistan Rupee 0.002551 0.002841Philippine Peso 0.005934 0.006234Singapore Dollar 0.223357 0.233357Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001727 0.002307Taiwan 0.010340 0.010521Thai Baht 0.009102 0.009652

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.792901 0.801401Egyptian Pound 0.014350 0.020068Iranian Riyal 0.000083 0.000085Iraqi Dinar 0.000198 0.000258Jordanian Dinar 0.420491 0.429491Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000155 0.000255Moroccan Dirhams 0.021977 0.045977Omani Riyal 0.776539 0.782219Qatar Riyal 0.078497 0.083437Saudi Riyal 0.079287 0.080587Syrian Pound 0.001277 0.001497Tunisian Dinar 0.119513 0.127513Turkish Lira 0.074387 0.084687UAE Dirhams 0.080635 0.084687Yemeni Riyal 0.000979 0.001069

Japanese Yen 3.705Syrian Pound 1.585Nepalese Rupees 2.954Malaysian Ringgit 76.960Chinese Yuan Renminbi 47.210Thai Bhat 10.425Turkish Lira 79.660

INJAZ Kuwait signs MoU with Safya Int’l Import and Export Company

Agreement for adopting projects through Boeing’s ‘Start-Up program’

KUWAIT: INJAZ Kuwait has signed aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) withSafya International Import and Export Companyon January 17 at Safya’s headquarters.

Laila Al-Mutairi, CEO of INJAZ-Kuwait, andShaker Al-Eissa - General Manager of SafyaInternational, have signed the agreement on behalfof both parties, with an objective of supportingand guiding founders of ‘Agrivage’ company,which won the “Best Company of the Year” awardat INJAZ’s regional competition, through ‘Start-Up program”, one of the most interactive pro-grams provided by INJAZ Kuwait and sponsoredby Boeing, a leading manufacturer of commercial

jetliners, defense, space and security systems. Through this agreement, INJAZ Kuwait will be

able to implement one of its most interactive pro-grams, which aims at developing a comprehensiveapproach for transferring the student’s ideas andprojects into real businesses that are able to com-pete with others in the local market and contributeto Kuwait’s economy. With more than 10 years ofexperience in the recycling industry, Shaker Al-Eisa will be sharing his knowledge and providingthe necessary counsel and guidance to foundersof ‘Agrivage’, a company that aims at recyclingfood waste and converting it into usable rich soil.Commenting on signing the MOU, Laila Al-

Mutairi, INJAZ Kuwait CEO said: “Pleased withthe cooperation with Safya International Importand Export Company, this agreement came tosupport one of INJAZ’s goals, which is to helpdeveloping the knowledge of youth of Kuwait andto raise awareness of the entrepreneurship con-cept as well as the private business culture,through INJAZ’s most interactive programs ‘Start-Up program’, which was created with a mainobjective of adopting and supporting potentialprojects and turning them into real companies,through providing the necessary funding and theneeded guidance during the program period.”

“We are extremely proud of the exceptional

performance and the results delivered by“Agrivage” team in particular and youth of Kuwaitin general, they have been working hard to estab-lish their own future businesses. At INJAZ, ourresponsibility has always been and will alwaysremain to develop youth of Kuwait by providinginnovative educational programs to becomeentrepreneurs. I would like to give a specialthanks to Safya International for their coopera-tion and to all our sponsors and partners for theirongoing support and contribution to the successof INJAZ’s programs, to inspire and educate thegenerations to come.”

INJAZ’s Start-Up program was designed for

university students who are creative and gotinnovative ideas to implement. The program,which runs over the period of 6 months, aims toincubate students’ ideas and projects and turnthem into real companies, through providing sup-port by leaders of the various industries, whoshare their practice with students, provide themwith the needed funding to establish a businessmodel, prepare financial and marketing plans,commercially register the company and directthem to get financial supply for the project.

INJAZ Kuwait will continue to equip and sup-port youth, to ensure a more prosperous futurefor generations to come.

KUWAIT: The Bank of Canada raised its benchmarkinterest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, pointingto sustained growth in the G7 economy and inflation thatis closer to the country’s target.

The central bank explained in a statement that whilethe Canadian economy was going strong, with jobs onthe rise and inflation in check, “uncertainty about thefuture of NAFTA is weighing increasingly on the out-look.” Canada, the United States and Mexico are in talksto possibly revamp the North American Free TradeAgreement, which US President Donald Trump hasthreatened to leave. The next round is to take place in aweek in Montreal. Given that the United States absorbsabout three-quarters of Canada’s exports, the bank saidit had factored “additional negative judgment on businessinvestment and trade” into its projections.

For 2018, the central bank put Canada’s GDP growthat 2.2 percent, slowing to 1.6 percent in 2019 — a slowerpace than the estimated 3.0 percent growth expected for2017. In the coming months, according to the BoC, “con-sumption and residential investment are expected tocontribute less to growth, given higher interest rates andnew mortgage guidelines.”

The central bank said while higher interest rateswould be justified “over time, some continued monetarypolicy accommodation will likely be needed to keep theeconomy operating close to potential and inflation ontarget” close to two percent.

Benoit Durocher, a senior economist at DesjardinsSecurities, said the bank had left the door open to “newrate hikes... in the coming quarters to tighten monetaryconditions.” CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld said thestatement shows “the need to be cautious in how fastthey hike ahead.” The Bank of Canada said “core meas-ures of inflation have edged up, consistent with diminish-ing slack in the economy,” adding that in the comingmonths, inflation could fluctuate on the back of changinggasoline and power prices.

But it should remain near the target two percent. Onthe jobs market, the central bank said job creation andhours worked were showing “promising signs.” At theend of 2017, Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 5.7 per-cent, its lowest level in more than 40 years. The bank’snext rate decision is expected on March 7. — AFP

Bank of Canada raises interest rate to 1.25%

Laila Al-Mutairi, INJAZ Kuwait CEO with BaderAlQadhi from Agrivage

Ibrahim Al-Rshoud from Agrivage with mentorShaker Al-Eisa - GM of Safya International INJAZ Team with Shaker and Agrivage team

NAFTA future iffy going into new round of negotiationsMONTREAL: Negotiators from Canada, Mexico andthe United States tomorrow will kick off the sixth roundof talks aimed at revamping the North American FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA) in Montreal. The six daysof talks come amid high trade tensions between Ottawaand Washington and as US President Donald Trumpinsists Mexico will pay for the construction of a contro-versial wall along the US’s southern border.

Trump continues to blow hot and cold on the conti-nental trade pact that he has threatened to repeal, andrecently said in a Twitter message that “NAFTA is abad joke.” Outraged by huge anti-dumping and coun-tervailing duties imposed on Canadian aircraft manu-facturer Bombardier as well as its primary softwoodlumber and newsprint exporters, Ottawa recently filed acomplaint with the World Trade Organization allegingwidespread trade violations by its neighbor.

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isaiming for a repeat of past adjudications that wentCanada’s way to turn the tide against rising US protec-tionism. In line with his campaign commitment, Trumpforced Canada and Mexico to the table to renegotiatethe 1994 free trade pact, promising to bring back US

manufacturing jobs and update NAFTA for the digitalage. Talks to modernize what Canadian Foreign AffairsMinister Chrystia Freeland called “the largest free tradearea in the world” were originally scheduled to wrap upby the end of 2017. But the parties have agreed to con-tinue negotiating until March.

Despite significant progress on so-called “bread andbutter” issues, Freeland said Canada is bracing for “theworst,” including a possible US withdrawal from NAF-TA that would effectively mean the end of the tripartitetrade pact. While often railing against NAFTA, Trumphas at times also seemed to soften his view, telling theWall Street Journal he would be “a little bit flexible” onhis threat to withdraw because of the upcomingMexican presidential election on July 1.

Although he failed to mention the upcoming USmidterm elections, these must also weigh on mind.

No ‘dance partner’In Montreal, trade envoys are due to tackle some 28

outstanding concerns, including thorny issues such asthe proportion of US content in passenger vehicles andparts. “I think the concern that a lot of people have isthat so little progress have been made and so littleeffort is being made by the Americans that you worrythat they are... just positioning for Trump to be able tosay ‘We are out,’” former Conservative leader RonaAmbrose told broadcaster CTV.

“When you don’t have a dance partner on the otherside, it becomes really difficult,” said Ambrose, who wasappointed by Trudeau to Canada’s NAFTA advisory

council. A former Conservative industry minister, JamesMoore, however, struck a more optimistic tone aftercurrent Tory leader Andrew Scheer and several MPsreturned this week from lobbying Washington decisionmakers on NAFTA.

He sees possible trade-offs on access to governmentprocurement and rules of origin for the auto sector,which Trump wants to restrict to better favor theUnited States. — AFP

WASHINGTON: This file photo shows Canadian ForeignMinister Chrystia Freeland during a press conferenceat the conclusion of the fourth round of negotiationsfor a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAF-TA) at the General Services Administration headquar-ters in Washington, DC. — AFP

Malabar Gold & Diamonds209th showroomMANNARKAD, Kerala: Panakkad SayedHyderali Shihab Thangal inaugurated the 209thshowroom of Malabar Gold and Diamonds atMannarkkad, Kerala. Mannarkkad MLA NShamsudheen, Malabar Group Chairman MPAhammed, Malabar Gold and Diamonds IndiaOperation MD Asher O, Group ExecutiveDirectors KP Veerankutty, AK Nishad, AbdulMajeed, Regional Head Abdul Jaleel R, othermanagement officials also attended the function.

By Hayder Tawfik

Global economic macro pic-tures plus central bank’smonetary policies areextremely positive for stocksbut the main factor pushingstocks higher is good qualityand sustainable cooperateearnings. This is where equi-ty investors should focustheir attention and benefitfrom market rallies.

First signs for 4th quarter and 2017earnings are quite encouraging. Theyare very constructive and very muchbullish sign for further market rally. TheS&P 500 now is trading on a PriceEarnings Ratio of 18.5x for 2019. Thisratio has been coming down over thepast few years with the main marketsachieving record highs.

The US financial markets are juststarted pricing in the $1.5trillion corpo-rate and individuals tax cuts plus theweakness of over 10 percent of thedollar against major currencies through2017. Equity investor has a big supportin the figure of the President DonaldTrump. He is on course to deliver hiseconomic agenda that is very friendlyto the financial markets and supportiveof US corporates. Equity investors whohave for the past few years been bear-ish on the stock markets could miss outon further gains.

Most world stocks markets havebeen rising while their valuation beendeclining. Most of the stock marketincreases has been led by great earn-ings momentum. The word momentumliterally what is driving the marketshigher. This is extremely bullish for theglobal stock markets.

The economic fundamentals arecontinuously getting better but havebeen slower than expected. What hasbeen a great surprise is that in such

slow economic environ-ments, corporate earningshave been doing very well.This because the globaleconomy is on the mendand has been doing reason-ably well. Equity investorshave taken notice and beenpushing more fresh moneyinto the stock markets.

Global stock marketsrally since the lows they

reached in 2007-2008 have been onthe back of a wall of worry.

This is a classic example of bull mar-ket rally that splits investors into twocamps. Those who have been negativeand expecting a big correction andthose who see through all the worriesand position themselves to benefit forthe good fundamentals and great cor-porate earnings.

This great stock market rally is nodifferent from previous ones. Thosewho are still have doubt should remem-ber that most markets have just sur-passed the previous highs that reachedback before the crash of 2007.Whereas corporate earnings have beenhitting new highs.

How much of the good corporateearnings are discounted in the stockmarkets is something to be seen in thecoming months. However, as I said ear-lier as long as corporates deliveringincreases in revenue and earnings, mar-kets will grind upwards but may be ona slower space. Equity investors shouldfocus on good quality earnings and findout what exactly driving these increas-es in corporate earnings. Earnings thatare driven from pure operational activi-ties are worth more than those thatresulted from share buyback, cost cut-ting or acquisitions. I personally do notsee much disrupting the rally that isdriven by increase in corporate earn-ings. @Rasameel

NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT

Monday, January 22, 2018

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KUWAIT: The US dollar continued to bepressured last week as fears of a potentialgovernment shutdown mounted. PresidentDonald Trump and Republican leaders inCongress were racing to meet a midnightFriday deadline to pass a short-termspending bill to keep the US governmentopen and prevent agencies from shuttingdown. Without the injection of new money,federal agencies across the United Stateswould be forced to close starting at mid-night Friday the 19th, when existing fundsexpire. In the late-night session, Democratsand Republicans, locked in a bitter disputeover immigration and border security,failed to agree on a last-minute deal tofund its operations. As such, the US gov-ernment technically ran out of money andshut down its operations putting hundredsof thousands of “non-essential” federalworkers on temporary unpaid leave.Democratic and Republican leaders didhowever, agree to reopen negotiations onSaturday and said were committed to get-ting a quick agreement.

The US dollar had also been pressuredby strengths in other major economies asinvestors were selling on the view that oth-er central banks will join the FederalReserve in tightening monetary policy. TheBank of Canada followed suit last week byhiking the benchmark interest rate by 25basis points while the Bank of Japantrimmed its purchases of long datedJapanese government bonds last week.Although the BOJ is unlikely to exit from itscurrent policy stance anytime soon, the 10year Japanese bond yield increased 1.1basis points since the cut. Finally inEurope, the recent release of the EuropeanCentral Bank’s minutes for their Decembermeeting hinted that tighter monetary poli-cy, which includes the possibility of higherinterest rates as well as the winding downof asset purchases, could be on the horizonamid strong European economic growth.The prospect of a reduction in the interestrate differential between the Fed and othercentral banks has helped pressure the USdollar index to a two-year low.

The US dollar index fell to a new low atthe start of the week where it remainedsubdued as fears of the US governmentshut down loomed. The index fell 2.09%from the previous week’s high of 92.640 toclose the week at 90.690.

The euro on the other hand, posted itsfifth consecutive week of gains reaching atwo year high of 1.2322. Investors are nowfocused on the European Central Bank’smeeting February the 8th. The EUR/USDpair closed the week at 1.2220.

The British pound was also supportedto new highs this week as the Brexit nego-tiations passed a new hurdle. TheresaMay’s cabinet has agreed to increase theUK’s financial offer to the European Unionfor the Brexit divorce bill to in an attemptto break the deadlock in negotiations.Media reports suggest the figure is in theregion of 40 bi l l ion pounds. TheGBP/USD pair opened the week at 1.3728and closed at 1.3856.

The Japanese yen opened the week 1.41percent stronger against the US dollarafter the Bank of Japan unexpectedlyreduced its purchases of Japanese govern-ment bonds January the 9th. The move ledto speculation that the central bank may beleaning towards tighter monetary policy.Investors will be cautiously waiting for theBank’s next meeting on January the 23rd.The USD/JPY pair closed the week at110.76.

In the commodities sector, oil slipped offits three year high as analysts warned of adownward correction after prices havegained more than 13 percent over the pastmonth. Healthy demand growth and OPEC’sproduction cuts have helped fuel pricegains during recent weeks. On the otherhand, US shale is positioned to break anoutput level of 10 million barrels per day, anumber last reached in 1970 during the USenergy crisis. Brent crude was last $68.71while US West Texas Intermediate closedthe week at $63.33.

US industrial productionIndustrial production in the United

States increased at the fastest pace sinceMay. Cold weather during the end ofDecember managed to boost demand forheating, while manufacturing output stayedflat. Meanwhile, the Fed also reported thatthe capacity utilization rate increased to77.9 percent, above market expectations.The rate is a leading indicator of consumerinflation - when producers are nearing fullcapacity they respond by raising prices,and the higher costs are usually passed onto the consumer.

New York Empire State manufacturingBusiness activity continued to grow at a

solid clip in New York State, according tofirms responding to the January 2018Empire State Manufacturing Survey. Theheadline general business conditions index,at 17.7, was little changed from last month’slevel. The new orders and shipmentsindices both showed ongoing growth,although at a slower pace than inDecember. Unfilled orders and deliverytimes increased slightly, and inventory lev-els were higher. Labor market conditionspointed to a modest increase in employ-ment and steady workweeks. Both inputprices and selling prices increased at afaster pace than last month. Firms remainedvery optimistic about future business con-ditions and capital spending plans wererobust.

US housing & constructionHousing starts on new US homes eased

from the fastest pace in 13 months whilepermits held steady to finish the strongestyear for housing construction in a decade,government figures showed Thursday.Annual totals for permits, starts and com-pletions were all the highest since 2007.The level of permits indicates constructionshould pick up in the coming months. Aseparate report on Wednesday showedhomebuilders’ confidence in January at thesecond-highest level since 2005. Moreconstruction would help ease an inventorycrunch that the National Association ofRealtors has flagged as an impediment tomore sales. However at the same time, lastmonth’s tax-cut legislation that curbeddeductions for mortgage interest andproperty taxes could weigh on housing insome states.

Bank of CanadaThe Bank of Canada announced its

decision to increase the benchmark interestrate from 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent. Thedecision comes after a run of strong eco-nomic data. Nevertheless, the central bankindicated it’s in no rush to embark on anaggressive interest rate path as it citedfuture uncertainties including the fate ofthe North American Free Trade Agreement.“While the economic outlook is expectedto warrant higher interest rates over time,some continued monetary policy accom-

modation will likely be needed to keep theeconomy operating close to potential andinflation on target.”

Eurozone InflationEuro zone inflation eased in line with

expectations in December, according to arevision released by Eurostat. TheEuropean Union’s statistics office said theconsumer price index rose at an annualrate of 1.4 percent in December, down from1.5 percent in November. The rates were inline with expectations but below the ECBtarget inflation rate of 2 percent, support-ing the central bank’s approach to gradual-ly increasing interest rates. Meanwhileinflation rose by 0.4 percent month-over-month in December, compared to a previ-ous reading of 0.1 percent. Core inflation,which excludes energy and food prices andis closely watched by the ECB, rose by anannualized 0.9 percent.

UK inflationConsumer prices in the UK eased slight-

ly to 3.0 percent in December from 3.1 per-cent in November. The data comes in linewith market expectations as well as theBank of England’s projections that inflationin the UK would peak in November andDecember before moving back towards the2 percent target. Year-on-year the core

figure was at 2.5 percent. The downwardeffect came mainly from air fares, alongwith a fall in the prices of a range of recre-ational goods, particularly games and toys.

China GDPChina’s economy grew faster than

expected in the fourth quarter of 2017, asan export recovery helped the countrypost its first annual acceleration in growthin seven years, defying concerns that inten-sifying curbs on industry and credit wouldhurt expansion. Growth for the 2017 fullyear picked up to 6.9 percent year-on-year, the first annual acceleration for theeconomy since 2010 beating expectations.While economists believe fundamentals willremain intact in 2018, some downside risksremain. Risks include more forceful UStrade restrictions on Chinese exports, high-er borrowing costs, and an increase inenvironmental regulations that has hurt theindustrial sector in many parts of the coun-try. However, the data remains optimisticallowing policymakers some leeway to cutdebt and pollution in older industries with-out stunting growth.

KuwaitKuwaiti dinar at 0.30055The USD/KWD opened at 0.30055

yesterday morning.

US dollar under pressure over government shutdown fears

Euro posts gains for the fifth week in a row

VIVA available ‘More’ at 23 new co-ops in KuwaitKUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growingand most developed telecom operator,announced its avai labi l i ty at 23 newCooperative Societies “Co-op” in differentareas in Kuwait, with limited time specialoffers on iPhone X, smart devices, tabletsand routers.

VIVA is thrilled to start 2018 with a con-venient customer experience to match the dif-

ferent lifestyles of our esteemed customersthrough new retail expansion, facilitatingreach and keep them posted regularly withthe latest VIVA products and services withease and convenience.

Commenting on this occasion, AbdulrazzaqBader Al-Essa, Corporate CommunicationsDirector at VIVA said: “VIVA’s strategyrevolves around relevance and convenience toour customers. This specific achievement ispart of our persistent focus on expansion toshorten time and distances and investing in theright areas to serve our vision and aspirations.”

In addition to our branch services, VIVA’scustomer care line at 102 is ready round theclock and up to public holidays, to provideoutstanding service to our valued customersthrough a team of specialties.

Good and sustainable corporate earnings pushing markets higher

Bonds to get by without a little help from central banksPARIS: The rebound of global growth issounding the death knell for easy money, sodebt markets should see the backs of centralbanks in 2018, although a gradual withdrawalshould help avoid a new tantrum sendinginterest rates spiking.

The colossal sums that central banks inject-ed into the financial systems to ward off eco-nomic cataclysm went primarily into the debtmarkets, which will have the biggest adjust-ment to make as part of the so-called normal-ization of monetary policy by central banks.

As central banks slow down their purchas-es of debt and then reduce their holdings theinterest rates that governments and compa-nies pay to borrow money are expected toclimb higher. While everyone expects bor-rowing costs to rise in 2018, the key questionis whether it will happen smoothly or not.

Any disruptions in the credit markets canhave a severe impact on the overall economy.In Europe, where the European Central Bank(ECB) is set to continue buying 30 billioneuros of assets each month until September,ultralow or even negative on certain maturi-ties, there is a not of optimism in the air. “We

don’t see a strong break with 2017” said FelixOrsini, who handles government debt issuesfor Societe Generale’s commercial and invest-ment bank. “There is a deep resilience of themarket, and there is still plenty of appetite forrisk and there is a large margin for manoeu-vre before the level of dissuasive rates,” hetold AFP. HSBC’s Frederic Gabizon shares thatview. He foresees “a moderate increase inrates paid by companies and European statesin 2018”.

US rates in spotlight Most bond market experts see the greatest

risk as sharp readjustment of the marketwhere interest rates spike higher, as hap-pened in the 2013 “taper tantrum” wheninvestors panicked in reaction to news thatthe US Federal Reserve would reduce, ortaper, its purchase of bonds, thus sendingrates of return surging higher. With the USFed taking the lead in the normalization, cut-ting its holdings of bonds along with raisinginterest rates, investors and experts are look-ing at how borrowing costs evolve there.

There have been a few voices of caution,such as S&P Global Ratings and theInternational Monetary Fund’s chief econo-mist, Maurice Obstfeld.

“If you look around the world, there is alot debt,” Obstfeld said recently. “If therewere a sudden rise in US interest rates, thatcould put a lot of debtors under stress.” ButRene Defossez, a London-based debt ana-lyst at French investment bank Natixis, said“central banks aren’t taking any risks, theyare normalizing their policies on tiptoes andwith inflation still extremely weak they don’t

have any reason to rush.” Eric Vanraes, headof fixed income investments at the Swiss-based Sturdza Banking Group said “it is dif-ficult to imagine the Fed losing its bearingsand making too quick an exit. It has learnedits lesson.”

Lessons learned In the United States, the Fed did not

include corporate bonds in its buying pro-gram, whereas the ECB did. But even ifEuropean firms will have “live with this exit,without the ECB, the balance between supplyand demand is in their favor,” said Orsini atSociete Generale.

Moreover, “since 2008, and that is one ofthe big lessons of the crisis, companies arepreparing for periods” when debt markets areinaccessible and are managing their liquidityprudently, he said.

On the political level, the situation appearsto be calmer in 2018 as only Italy has elec-tions, whereas the previous two years had aheavy electoral calendar.

For debt market analysts, there is a goodchance that 2018 will turn out to be a goodyear, much as 2017 was. “The ultralow inter-est rate environment allowed big groups to atonce reinforce their financial structures infavorable conditions, but also finance veryimportant” mergers and acquisitions in 2017,said Gabizon at HSBC.

For Sturdza’s Vanraes, what is most likelyto change in 2018 is volatility. “After yearswhere the monetary programs drowned outvolatility on all the markets, investors willhave to get used again to erratic movements”both in amplitude and duration. — AFP

Monday, January 22, 2018

20B u s i n e s s

Established 1961

in Libya due to a pipeline disruption during the last week of December-17that resulted in a decline in production from the country by almost 100tb/d, although it was restored after almost a week. In addition, threats tooil supply from Nigeria have also affected prices recently. The protests inIran was also one of the closely watched events during the last few weeks.

Demand side factors have also supported higher oil prices. The EIAreport pointed to higher oil demand in 2018 by an additional 100 tb/d ascompared to the previous prediction for 2018, while demand in 2019 isexpected to be at 101.8 mb/d, an increase of 1.65 mb/d from 2018.Manufacturing activity around the world has gained pace supported byhigher demand from developing markets and this has affected commodityprices in general. Unemployment rates in the US and Germany, two keyindustrialized nations, have dropped recently to record lows indicatinghigher industrial activity. In addition, the latest tax reforms in the US isexpected to spur faster economic activity and corporate profitability, thataugurs well for the already positive trend in vehicle sales. In Asia,Bloomberg data suggested a consistent rise in oil demand from China dur-ing 2017 with an increase of 5.4 percent during the year. Demand fromIndia is also expected to rise in the near term with the country going intoelections next year with a number of populist policies expected to beannounced until elections.

Oil price growth Oil market improved in 2017 as prices went up for the second consecu-

tive year. However, the surge in price was much slower than in 2016. Year-end oil prices during 2017 stood at 64.5/ barrel of OPEC crude

which was up 21 percent as compared to 2016 year-end prices. Similarly,Brent spot prices stood at $66.7/barrel during 2017 as compared to$55/barrel in 2016, a surge of 21.4 percent. Average oil prices during theyear, however, showed a different picture. OPEC crude average price dur-ing 2017 witnessed a positive gain after four consecutive years of decline.Crude averaged $52.4/barrel in 2017 as compared to $40.8/barrel in2016, recording an increase of 28.6 percent. Average Brent spot priceswere also high as compared to the previous year at $54.2/barrel in 2017as compared to $43.6/barrel in 2016, recording an increase of 24.2 per-cent. In terms of OPEC oil production in 2017, despite the production cutsannounced by the OPEC members, overall production rate by the grouphas seen minimal decline during the year. According to data from OPEC’ssecondary sources, average oil production during 2017 declined by 0.6percent or 203 tb/d to 32.058 mb/d as compared to 32.261 mb/d in 2016.The decline came primarily on the back of production cuts undertaken bySaudi Arabia that slashed its production by an average 456 tb/d in 2017and produced at the rate of 9.95 mb/d as compared to 10.41 mb/d in2016. Venezuela recorded the second biggest decline of 227 tb/d in 2017and produced at an average rate of 1.93 mb/d. Kuwait reported the thirdbiggest decline of 145 tb/d in 2017 and produced at an average rate of2.71 mb/d.

These aforementioned prominent declines were partially offset byhigher production in Libya which increased it production by 427 tb/d toan average rate of 817 tb/d in 2017. Iran, which saw the biggest increasein production in 2016 at 679 tb/d, recorded the second highest increase in2017 recorded at 296 tb/d and produced at an average rate of 3.81 mb/d.Nigeria also added production during 2017 and produced at 1.66 mb/drecording an increase of 107 tb/d during the year. On the non-OPEC side,US raised production by 5 percent to 9.3mb/d during 2017 as compared to 8.9mb/d during 2016. The US has seen one ofthe highest average production growthrates over the past five years, recorded ataround 7.4 percent.

KAMCO Research believes 2018would see increasing pressure on oilprices coming primarily from the US as itraises production backed by higher pricesand initial signs of some incentives by theUS government. Oil market will also beswayed by signs of how OPEC plans toend the ongoing pact and how graduallythe production would be raised in 2019and beyond, as these countries have con-tinued to add capacity over the years. We see $70/b as a strong resist-ance level for oil and see higher volatility on any sign of higher productionin Libya and Nigeria as well as any indication of stability and improve-ment in Venezuela.

Oil prices Crude prices continued to surge since the start of the year continuing

the momentum seen at the end of 2017 on the back of tightening oil mar-ket conditions. Spot crude prices scaled new heights reaching a 3-yearhigh level as OPEC’s restraint in cutting production coincided with risingoil demand as well as a temporary slowdown in production in the USowing to weather conditions that shut down some production facilitiesand resulted in a decline in crude inventories. OPEC crude prices soaredto $67.78/barrel during January-18, the highest level since December-14,while Brent crude spot prices reached $70.36/barrel. The decline in USoil production was also visible in the weekly rig count data released byBaker Hughes. After adding 10 rigs in the week ended 12-Jan-18, the high-est since June-17, US oil rig count declined by 5 to reach 747 rigs duringthe week ended 19-Jan-18.

The surge in oil prices during the third week of January-18 was soremarkable that IEA updated its monthly report with revised view on theoil market given the higher prices. The agency now predicts a slowdown inoil demand in 2018 to a growth of 1.3 mb/d owing to the higher prices,changing pattern of oil use in China, weakness in OECD demand and theswitch to natural gas in several non-OECD countries. On the supply side,IEA expects higher production in the US, Canada and Brazil will pushnon-OPEC supply by 1.7 mb/d in 2018 as compared to 0.7 mb/d growthin 2017.

Average crude prices continued to maintain a positive trend and wereconsistently up for the past six months. Average OPEC prices reached$62.06/barrel, recording a month-on-month gain of 2.2 percent inDecember-17. Kuwait crude grade also posted a similar gain of 2.3 per-cent to reach an average price of $60.93/barrel. Average Brent crudeprices during December-17 reached the highest level in 37 months to$64.4/barrel recording a month-on-month increase of 2.4 percent .

World oil demand World oil demand growth estimates for 2017 was revised up by 43 tb/d

to an average of 1.57 mb/d and total demand is expected to reach 96.99mb/d during the year. The upgrade in demand outlook reflected better-than-expected demand data from OECD Europe and China.

The OECD Europe region continues to witness strong economicmomentum that led to higher demand, particularly in Q3-17 by 100 tb/d,resulting from higher consumption in the transportation and industrialsectors. In terms of individual countries, higher demand was seen in Italy,Turkey, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Portugal during October-17.This growth comes despite warmer weather as compared to 2016 that isexpected to affect oil demand during the last two months of the year,although the weather was still colder as compared to historical norms. Thetransportation sector witnessed strong vehicle sales in the region withNovember-17 data suggesting a year-on-year growth of 5.9 percent. Oildemand data from the US also indicated strong trends emanating espe-

cially from the transportation sector in addition to higher requirements formost crude categories. Preliminary weekly data for the last two months ofthe year indicated an overall positive trend, although gasoline demandremained flat, while the colder weather resulted in higher demand fordiesel and residual fuel oil usage. A similar trend was also seen in Canadawith the latest data for October-17 indicating growth in all product cate-gories, with the only exception of LPG demand that declined as comparedto the previous year.

In the non-OECD countries, oil demand data was upgraded by 30 tb/dfor 2017 on the back of higher oil demand from China and India, whiledemand from Middle East was lowered by 10 tb/d. This decline in MiddleEast reflected downward revision of 30 tb/d for Q4-17 oil demand led byhigh level of fuel substitution in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, in addition to ageneral fall in demand due to higher prices. Oil

demand growth for 2018 was kept largely unchanged at 1.53mb/d toreach 98.51 mb/d. China and India are expected to be key drivers of oildemand growth in 2018 owing to higher economic growth rates that will

lead to higher oil consumption, particular-ly in the transportation sector.

World oil supply In terms of global oil supply,

December-17 witnessed a big month-on-month jump of 0.4 mb/d and averaged at97.49 mb/d primarily on the back of high-er non-OPEC supply that grew by 0.34mb/d during the month and averaged at58.62 mb/d. The increase was primarilyon the back of higher supply fromCanada, Mexico, Norway, Brazil andKazakhstan partially offset by a decline inproduction in the US and the UK. For the

full year 2017, non-OPEC supply growth estimates were lowered by 0.04mb/d and is now expected to grow by 0.77 mb/d to average at 57.79mb/d during the year. The downward revision primarily reflects lower oilsupply from OECD (-28 tb/d) and Developing Countries (-35 tb/d), whilethe oil supply forecast for the FSU was revised up by 32 tb/d. In OECDAmericas, supply growth estimates for US and Canada were revisedupwards by 16 tb/d and 11 tb/d, while it was lowered in the case ofMexico. On the other hand, supply estimates for OECD Europe were low-ered particularly for Norway and UK that affected the overall downwardrevision for OECD countries for 2017. In the non-OECD group, oil supplyfrom China increased by 0.05 mb/d during November-17, although theaverage for the first eleven months of 2017 showed a decline of 0.14 mb/dcompared to the same period in 2016.

Non-OPEC supply growth projection for 2018 was revised up by 0.16mb/d to 1.15 mb/d and is expected to average at 58.94 mb/d. The revisionprimarily reflects higher-than-expected supply estimates from the US,Canada, Mexico and the UK partially offset by expected decline in supplyfrom Norway and Argentina.

OPEC oil production & spare capacity According to Bloomberg data, OPEC production remained flat month-

on-month during December-17, although individual country productiondid see some minor changes. Among the prominent ones, the increase inproduction in Nigeria, Iraq, Angola and Algeria were offset by lower pro-duction in Venezuela, Libya, Iran and Saudi Arabia. This lead to anincrease in compliance to the ongoing production cut agreement pushingit to 129 percent in December-17. Production in Saudi Arabia continued toremain below the critical 10 mb/d mark at 9.95 mb/d, the lowest level ofproduction since May-17. The production disruption in Libya during thelast week of December-17 resulted in a output decline in the countrywhile mounting problems in Venezuela has severely affected the country’sability to produce oil in line with historical levels. The latter continues tosee production decline at an accelerated pace owing to the deepeningeconomic and humanitarian crisis in the country. Meanwhile, Nigeriawhich is exempt from the ongoing pact, increased production by 40 tb/dduring December-17 as the country continues to make several changes inits oil industry, including passing a historic legislation in the country. Anadditional 80-100 tb/d of oil is expected to be added to Nigeria’s oil pro-duction by one of its oil producers, Shoreline Group, after the companysigned a financing deal with Vitol Group and local lenders.

The dramatic run up in oil prices during the end of 2017 and the startof 2018 has also rattled OPEC and non-OPEC producers that are a part ofthe production cut pact. The earlier-than-expected rise in oil prices hasthe potential to push shale production even higher and completely bluntthe aforementioned producer’s effort to push oil prices higher by volun-tarily curbing oil production to rebalance the market marred with chronicoversupply. There are already indications that if oil prices remain above$70/b for long, it would force some of the bigger producers to raise theproduction and take advantage of the higher prices instead of just USshale producers enjoying the full advantage. Nevertheless, the energyministers of UAE, Qatar and Iraq have, in separate interviews, assured thattheir plan is to stick to the pact and they continue to eye global invento-ries to come down to five year average before reviewing the accord.

Oil price reaches 3-year high on falling inventory, supply

Supply side factors, output fall help prices

KAMCO report on oil market

Pressure on prices likely in 2018, primarily from US outputKUWAIT: Oil prices reached highest levels seen in 3 years, as Brent crude touched $70/bat the start of 2018. Key drivers are supply issues in Libya, ongoing issues in Venezuelathat has affected supply from OPEC members and declining inventory in the US, althoughUS supply is expected to increase to an almost 5-decade high in 2018. American datahave consistently reported huge drawdown of inventory in the US.

The most recent weekly inventory report from API showed an inventory draw of 5.121million barrels following a more than double inventory draw of 11.19 million barrel duringthe previous week.

The consistent decline in inventories came on the back of a drop in US oil productiondue to the cold weather in the US that has affected some oil facilities. The weekly reportpublished by the EIA also pointed to a huge draw of 6.9 million barrels, a ninth consecu-tive week of decline, further supporting oil prices. Commercial inventories in the US isnow projected to be around 413 million barrels, the lowest level since February-15.However, the decline is expected to be only temporary and producers in the US would beencouraged to take advantage of the rise in oil prices. Moreover, according to projectionsmentioned in EIA’s latest Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), US crude production is setto reach 10.3 mb/d in 2018 and even higher to 11 mb/d by late 2019, rivaling Russia’s pro-duction levels. However, prices were little affected by these projections as the oil market iscurrently undergoing a tightening of supplies.

Supply side factors that supported oil prices also included a decline in oil production

KUWAIT: Dell EMC, yesterday announced thatKuwait Finance House (KFH), a global pioneer inIslamic Banking, has selected Dell EMC’s DataProtection Solution to create a highly scalableinfrastructure to support rapid data growth.

The project was managed by InternationalTurnkey Systems (ITS), the leading integratedinformation technology provider for Islamicfinancial solutions and a strategic DellEMC partner in the region. KFH aims toleverage the unmatched flexibility, agileperformance, enterprise-ready protec-tion and recovery capabilities offeredby this solution to achieve an increasedlevel of data availability and facilitate asuperior banking experience.

Serving customers across the GCC,Asia, and Europe through over 480branches, KFH is driven by massive vol-umes of data - retained on backuptapes. To keep pace with the demandsof the digital age, KFH optimizes theuser-generated data to offer diversifiedfinancial services and solutions. To meet this end,IT forms the backbone for KFH’s data-drivenoperations, ensuring uninterrupted provision ofservices to its customers across the globe. Withdata expected to further grow at an exponentialrate, resilient cloud-enabled protection storagewith effective backup, archive and disasterrecovery features is critical to power the ambi-tious vision fostered by the leading financial

institution. To balance the needs between capac-ity, capability and advanced protection, KFHselected Dell EMC solution to start its journeytoward tapeless solutions by expanding theexisting Dell EMC backup to disk solution. Bydeploying this solution at its major data centers,KFH aims to migrate its traditional data protec-tion system and switch over to a tapeless backup

system, gradually reducing their exposure to therisk of data loss. This tapeless solution will pro-vide simplicity, cost optimization and willaddress risks, compliance and data sovereigntyconcerns associated with any potential data lossdue to tape-centric issues.

With the deployment completed, KFH intendsto drive the efficiency of data recovery to thehighest level, eliminate usage of tape backup by

limiting human intervention in backup andrecovery operations and save approximately $1million over a three year period in storage man-agement.

Group Chief Information Officer at KFH,Srood Sherif said: “As a leader spearheadingIslamic financial services worldwide, KFH hasalways been committed to providing its ever-

expanding customer base with frontlineproducts and services - which can beobstructed by a lack of real-time dataaccess.

Data Protection solutions by Dell EMChelps ensure that our present storageinfrastructure not only facilitates round-the-clock data availability but also extendsa high level of data protection and recov-ery at the speed of our business. Hence,we are extremely glad to be working withDell EMC to realize our vision of becom-ing the most sustainable and profitableIslamic bank in the world.”

Fahad Al-Rashdan, Regional Director atInternational Turnkey Systems Group (ITS) sad:“(ITS) has developed and refined its award win-ning technology for Islamic bank and financialinstitutions for over 36 years. Our extensiveindustry experience helped us identify DellEMC’s Data Protection Suite as the solution thatwould deliver a superior banking experience forKFH. With this new implementation, KFH willfurther upgrade its banking system to unlock

new enterprise capabilities and better serve itscustomer’s needs.”

Meanwhile, Habib Mahakian, Vice President,Gulf at Dell EMC said: “We are immenselypleased to be working with an innovation-ledfinancial institution such as the Kuwait FinancialHouse and supporting them with their objective

of creating a strong foundation for data growth.At Dell EMC, we aim to ensure that by leverag-ing our Data Protection Solutions, KFH is able toprotect its critical data and optimize the protec-tion and availability of its IT environment todeliver cutting-edge services and deliver thehighest level of customer service.”

B u s i n e s s Monday, January 22, 2018

21Established 1961

KFH digitally transforms data storage and data protection with Dell EMC

KFH partners with ITS and Dell EMC to support rapid data growth

Bank aims to save $1m over

a 3-year period

KUWAIT: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-BabtainCo, the sole authorized agent of Nissan in theState of Kuwait, once again demonstrated thesuperior caliber of its sales and aftersales staff atthe Nissan Regional Skills Contests 2017 in Dubaiby bagging three medals and a best performanceaward. The contests were held in the DubaiAutodrome on 11th &12th December followed bya dazzling awarding ceremony on the 14thonboard the Lotus Yacht, Dubai Marina.

The annually held regional skills contests com-prise four competitions for technicians, salesexecutives, parts executives and service advisors;the aim is motivating Nissan staff through thespirit of competition by displaying their skillsamong peers from the Middle East region andidentifying key strengths and weaknesses to fur-ther improve individual training programs.

Mohamed Fathy won the gold medal as well asbest performance (greeting and consulting cate-

gory) in the Sales Executives contest whileSandeep Kumaran Leela and Shaik MokhadderMoulana won bronze medals in the ServiceAdvisor and Parts Executives contests respective-ly. The felicitation event was attended by Al-Babtain Group senior management and the win-ners were felicitated by Al-Babtain CEO Saleh Al-Babtain who said, “It brings us great pride toapplaud our successful employees. We are on aconstant road to an enhanced performance whichrequires the right talents as they help to meet thecompany’s operational and strategic goals. We atAl-Babtain consider the customer’s satisfaction aspivotal in these tough markets, and for that wewill keep on investing in our employees to reachthe highest level of success and make sure ourservices exceed expectations”. As a token ofappreciation, Saleh announced the management’sdecision to reward Fathy, Sandeep andMokhadder for their outstanding achievement.

Srood Sherif with Dell EMC officials

Nissan Al-Babtain excels with 3 awards at Nissan Regional Skills Contests 2017

Twenty14 Holdings (T14H), the hospitalityinvestment arm of Lulu Group International, hascompleted a $120 million acquisition of theWaldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian.

The Caledonian joins a portfolio of $650mworth of luxury property across the UK, theMiddle East and India that T14H has broughttogether since 2014. T14H intends to invest a fur-ther $28m in enhancement and expansion of theproperty. T14H has a strategy of investing inprofitable luxury sites while preserving their his-torical legacy. The Caledonian is a grandEdwardian railway hotel that has epitomisedScottish hospitality for more than 100 years.T14H intends to sensitively enhance the building

while retaining its rich heritage and distinctivearchitecture.

Commenting on the latest acquisition AdeebAhamed, Managing Director, T14H said, “We areexcited to add The Caledonian to the portfolio ofTwenty14 Holdings. With more than 100 years ofhistory, The Caledonian brings with it a rich her-itage, character and unique opulence.”

The Caledonian operates under the Hilton’sflagship brand Waldorf Astoria. First opened in1903 as part of the old Princes Street RailwayStation The Caledonian currently has 241 roomsand offers awe-inspiring views of EdinburghCastle. Local perceptions and historical legaciesare central to T14H’s acquisition strategy. “We are

honoured to be part of this Scottishlandmark that has a great signifi-cance for locals and visitors alike. Welook forward to adding to the expe-rience The Caledonian alreadyoffers,” added Adeeb Ahamed.

Among improvements plannedfor the site, T14H intends to engagelocal craftsmen to enhance thehotel’s historic Caledonian Suites.Luxury and style will be thekeynote of these improvements.Bespoke furniture, eclectic artworkand en-suite bathrooms featuring marble andburnished chrome fittings will feature among ahost of exclusive additions.

The Caledonian is also home to two exquisiterestaurants operated by Michelin-starred broth-ers Chris and Jeff Galvin. These are thePompadour by Galvin and Galvin Brasserie deLuxe. It also houses the only Guerlain spa in theUK, offering the glamour and prestige of itsesteemed counterpart in Paris.

About Twenty14 HoldingsWorking thoughtfully to bring

historic buildings to life, Twenty14Holdings is the hospitality arm ofAbu Dhabi-based conglomerateLulu Group International, foundedin 2014 to capita l ize on thegrowth in the global hospitalityindustry. The company currentlyhas assets worth more than$650m spread across the UK,Middle East and India.

The group has made a £110magreement with property developer GalliardHomes to create a luxurious five-star hotel at 1-5Great Scotland Yard, the former headquarters ofLondon’s Metropolitan Police.

The firm co-owns the landmark SheratonOman Hotel in Muscat, a 230 room five-stararchitectural marvel, which was gloriously re-opened in 2016. The company also owns theSteigenberger Hotel Business Bay in Dubai andthree properties in India.

Turkish Airlines’ mobile app offers discount flight ticketsKUWAIT: Turkish Airlines, the airline that flies tomore countries than any other airline in the world,now offers 15 percent discount on its all domesticand international flights for passengers who down-load the latest version of the carrier’ mobile app.

The new app offers a much better user experi-ence when planning trips, purchasing tickets andusing Miles. Buying tickets, making reservationsand seeing saved flights now much faster than everwith this redesigned mobile app.

It has been also added a host of paymentoptions to the application to enable the passengersto choose the one which suits them. By this way,they can easily purchase their tickets, or save theircredit cards, or use their device’s camera to scantheir credit card details to be used at checkout.

By remembering the users’ selections and likes

from their previous flights, the application offerssuggestions unique to them. Furthermore, usingthe app also offers a more comprehensive Miles &Smiles experience for the passengers as usingMiles to buy award tickets, purchasing additionalMiles, and transferring Miles to other members.

The passengers, who download the new app todiscover the world with all advantages that TurkishAirlines has to offer, can benefit percent15 dis-count provided that purchasing their ticketsbetween 18-20 January, 2018.

Lulu Group’s Twenty14 Holdingsacquires iconic Scottish landmark for $120m

Adeeb Ahamed

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank, the sec-ond largest in terms of assets,announced yesterday the namesof the daily draw winners of itsYawmi account draw, each takinghome a cash-prize of KD 5,000.

The lucky winners are: 1. Wali Abdulwahab DolatiGhadhban2. Ahmad Zaid Ammer Almutairi3. Mohammad Abdullah Ali4. Mohammad Hasan YousefTheyab5. Abdulmohsen KhaledAbdulmohsen Albahar

In addition to the daily draw,Burgan Bank also offers a quar-terly draw with more chances towin higher rewards, offering thechance to one lucky customer towin KD 125,000 every threemonths. The Yawmi Account offersdaily and quarterly draws, whereinthe quarterly draw requires cus-tomers to maintain a minimumamount of KD 500 in theiraccount for two months prior to

the draw date. Additionally, everyKD 10 in the account will entitlecustomers to one chance of win-ning. If the account balance is KD500 and above, the account hold-er will be qualified for both thequarterly and daily draws.

Burgan Bank encourageseveryone to open a Yawmiaccount and/or increase theirdeposit to maximize their chancesof becoming a winner. The higherthe level of the deposit, the higherthe likelihood to win.

KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwaitheld the daily draw on “Al-NajmaAccount” yesterday at bank’s headoffice to select five inners to win a cashprize of KD 7,000 for each. The drawwas held in the presence of Jassim Al-Otaibi, representative of the Ministryof Commerce and Industry. The follow-ing names were announced as winnersof the prizes:1. Salman Nazeeh Ezzaldeen2. Ruqayah Jassim Al-Mashmoum3. Moajab Saleh Al-Ajmi4. Mohammad Abdullateef Al-Abdullah5. Esraa Yousef Abdulrahman Jabr

Al-Najma Account allows its cus-tomers to win a daily prize of KD7,000 which is the highest daily prizein Kuwait. In addition, the Accountoffers quarterly draws that providecustomers with opportunity to gettheir dreams turned to reality by win-ning great prizes starting from KD100,000 for the first quarter escalat-ing thereafter by KD 50,000 for eachquarter to reach KD 250,000 in thelast quarter. Customers can enjoy

additional benefits including obtainingATM card and a credit card againstthe customer’s account along withenjoying all other banking services.

The bank congratulates all thelucky winners and draws their atten-tion that the cash prizes will be credit-ed into their accounts with the Bank.Further, the Bank appreciates theMinistry of Commerce & Industry’ssignificant role and its continuouscooperation and effective supervisionon the draw that was smoothly andtransparently organized.

Burgan Bank announceswinners of Yawmi account draw

CBK announces winners of Al-Najma Account draw

MADRID: A hotel room automaticallyadjusting to the tastes of each guest, virtualreality headsets as brochures: the tourismsector is starting to embrace new technolo-gies, hoping to benefit from lucrative per-sonal data. In a prototype of the hotel ofthe future on display at Madrid’s Fiturtourism fair, receptionists have disappearedand customers are checked-in via a mirrorequipped with facial recognition.

Once the client is identified, the roomadapts itself automatically to all demandsmade at reservation: temperature, lighting,Picasso or Van Gogh in the digital frameshanging on the walls. “Technology willallow us to know what the client needsbefore he even knows he wants it,” saysAlvaro Carrillo de Albornoz, head of Spain’sHotel Technology Institute, which promotesinnovation in the sector.

Tracking guests Some hotels already offer such experi-

ences at a more basic level. But the roomprototype put on show by French technolo-gy consultancy Altran, aimed at luxuryhotels, has incorporated cutting-edgespeech recognition technology, allowing forinstance a guest to order a pizza in 40 lan-guages. “Even the lock is intelligent-itopens and closes via the WhatsApp appli-cation on the client’s phone,” says CarlosMendez, head of innovation at Altran.

The mattress is equipped with sensorsand records the movements of those sleep-ing, which could prompt hotel staff to offerthem a coffee when they wake up. Generallyspeaking, hotels are hoping to use artificialintelligence (AI) to get better knowledge oftheir clients via personal data provided onreservation or “beacon” technology usedonce the client is in the hotel or resort.

Restricted in some countries, the latterinvolves placing a beacon in the hotel thatwill detect customers’ smartphones, mean-ing they will know how much time theyspend in their rooms, for instance, or atwhat time they go to the pool.

AI algorithms Fed with this data, AI algorithms will get

to work, determining what the clients’habits are to lure them back again by offer-ing a tailor-made experience, or sell themadditional products. If the algorithm “knowsthat when you come to the hotel with yourwife, you don’t eat at the restaurant butorder room service, it will propose a specialroom menu with a bottle of champagne,”

says Carrillo. “But if you come with yourentire family, it will propose a reduction onkids’ menus.” For Rodrigo Martinez, head ofconsultancy Hotel Servicers, these techno-logical tools could also help improve hotels’productivity. “All purchases can be madeautomatic,” he says. “For instance, if a hugeamount of Brits are coming, the system willknow that it has to order more bacon.”

Virtual reality Manufacturers of virtual reality (VR)

headsets are also jumping onto the band-wagon. At various Fitur stands, visitors areable to immerse themselves in the streets ofMarrakech or amble along a portion of theSantiago de Compostela pilgrims’ trail.

“We’re in a completely pioneering phase,”says Marcial Correal, head of the Spanishassociation for virtual travel agencies, whois promoting this tool to tourism profes-sionals as the brochure of the future, with-out too much success so far.

“Professionals say ‘how amazing’ butthey don’t buy it. It’s not in their marketingbudget priorities.” Headsets themselves arenot too pricey, between 50 and 600 euros($60 and $730), says Cesar Urbina of virtu-al reality agency Iralta. “Then there’s con-tent production, a little more than a normalvideo-from 2,000 euros up to 150,000euros.” Hotel chain Palladium, however, hasdecided to give it a go. Its salespeople nolonger have paper brochures on them to

present their hotels to travel agents, theycarry virtual reality headsets.

Using these, the agents can virtually visitrooms, pools or restaurants at every one oftheir hotels. Ivan Corzo, head of marketingfor Europe at the group, says this givestravel agents a better idea of what thehotels are really like. They “tell us it helpsthem sell,” he says. “It’s much more difficultto cheat with VR headsets,” adds Urbina.Morocco’s tourism office is also using VR.“Tourism is linked to experiences, sensitivi-ty,” says Siham Fettouhi, head of e-market-ing at the office. “Virtual reality can’treplace the taste of local cuisine or thesmell of the ocean. But it makes you want toexplore more.” — AFP

Monday, January 22, 2018

22Te c h n o l o g y

Established 1961

AI and virtual reality make inroads in tourism sector

Sector is starting to embrace new technologies

MADRID: A hostess uses virtual reality glasses at the Iberia stand during the InternationalTourism Fair (FITUR).

MADRID: A man uses virtual reality glasses at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics standduring the International Tourism Fair. — AFP photos

After two-yearwait, Ugandagets its cancermachineKAMPALA: Uganda’s only radiotherapymachine was officially replaced Friday, nearlytwo years after the previous one broke down,giving hope to cancer patients who had beendenied a crucial tool against the disease. Thefailure of the old machine in March 2016caused a public outcry and was seen as sym-bolising the deterioration of Uganda’s medicalservices.

Since 1995, Mulago Hospital in Kampalahad become a hub for treating cancerpatients across east Africa, many of themcoming from countries lacking radiotherapyequipment. On Friday, Prime MinisterRuhakana Rugunda said the new $815,000(664,000-euro) Cobalt-60 machine, housedin a concrete bunker at the hospital, was partof a “vision of becoming the East African cen-tre of excellence in the management of oncol-ogy.” Yukiya Amano, director general of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

which helped install the new machine, saidFriday’s commissioning was a “major cause ofcelebration”.

The agency and the Ugandan governmenteach paid half of the cost of the machine. “In28 countries in Africa there is no cancermachine. (Patients) cannot be diagnosed and

they cannot be treated,” said Amano. DrJackson Orem, director of the Uganda CancerInstitute, told AFP that about 5,000 cases arereferred to the institute each year. Manypatients show up with cancer that is already atan advanced stage. The new machine is capa-ble of treating up to 120 people a day. — AFP

KAMPALA: A picture taken on January 19, 2018 shows a new Cobalt 60 Radiotherapy Machinebeing installed at Mulago hospital. — AFP

High-tech toothpaste could fightmalariaLONDON: Research carried out in part by anartificially-intelligent (AI) ‘robot scientist’ hasfound that a common ingredient of toothpastecould be developed to fight drug-resistantstrains of malaria. In a study in the journalScientific Reports, scientists from Britain’sCambridge University who used the AI robotto conduct high-throughput screening saidthe ingredient, triclosan, showed the potentialto interrupt malaria infections at two criticalstages - in the liver and the blood.

Malaria kills around half a million peopleevery year, the vast majority of them childrenin the poorest parts of Africa. The diseasecan be treated with a number of drugs, butresistance to these medicines is increasing,raising the risk that some strains may becomeuntreatable in the future. Because of this, thesearch for new medicines was becomingincreasingly urgent, said Steve Oliver ofCambridge University’s biochemistry depart-ment, who co-led the work with ElizabethBilsland.

After being transferred into a new host viaa mosquito bite, malaria parasites work theirway into the liver, where they mature andreproduce. They then move into red blood

cells, multiply and spread around the body,causing fever and potentially life-threateningcomplications. Scientists have known forsome time that triclosan can halt malaria par-asites’ growth at the blood stage of the infec-tion by inhibiting the action of an enzymeknown as enoyl reductase (ENR), which isinvolved in production of fatty acids.

In toothpaste, this helps prevent a build-up of plaque bacteria. In this latest work,however, Bilsland’s team found that triclosanalso inhibits an entirely different enzyme ofthe malaria parasite, called DHFR. DHFR isthe target of the antimalarial pyrimethamine -a drug to which malaria parasites are increas-ingly developing resistance, particularly inAfrica. The Cambridge team’s work showedthat triclosan was able to target and act on

this enzyme even in pyrimethamine-resistantparasites. “The discovery by our robot col-league that triclosan is effective againstmalaria targets offers hope that we may beable to use it to develop a new drug,” saidElizabeth Bilsland, who co-led the work.

“We know it is a safe compound, and itsability to target two points in the malaria par-asite’s lifecycle means the parasite will find itdifficult to evolve resistance.” The AI robotscientist used in the study - nicknamed Eve -was designed to automate and speed up thedrug discovery process. It does this by auto-matically developing and testing hypothesesto explain observations, running experimentsusing laboratory robotics, interpreting theresults, altering the hypotheses, and thenrepeating the cycle. — Reuters

Second facetransplant for Frenchman inworld-firstPARIS: A man whose body rejected aface transplant he received sevenyears ago has been given a seconddonor face after living nearly twomonths without one, French medicalagencies said Friday. It is the firsttime in transplant history that doctorshave replaced one donor face withanother, according to Olivier Bastienof France’s biomedicine agency. Morethan 12 years since the first-ever facegraft was done, in France, it remains ahigh-risk procedure.

A transplant can help recipients-often victims of accidents, violence,or rare genetic disorders-to resumebasic tasks such as breathing, eatingand speaking, and restores non-ver-bal communication through smilesand frowns. But it also means a life-long reliance on immunosuppressant

medicines, to stop the body rejectingthe “foreign” organ. These drugs canleave a person vulnerable to infec-tions and cancers. It is a rare proce-dure with fewer than 40 operationsperformed to date, and at least sixpatients have died.

The latest recipient, in his 40s,went under the knife at a Paris hospi-tal on Monday, for a procedure thatlasted nearly a full day, according to ajoint press statement issued by thebiomedicine agency and the AP-HPpublic hospital system. The man’soriginal graft had been removed in anoperation on November 30, and hewas kept on l ife support in aninduced coma until the follow-upprocedure.

“This graft shows for the firsttime... that re-transplantation is pos-sible in the case of chronic rejection”of a donor face, said the statement. Itwill be weeks before doctors can saywhether the second graft has taken.The recipient of the world’s first facetransplant, Isabelle Dinoire, died ofcancer in April 2016, 11 years afterher groundbreaking operation.Doctors said her body had rejectedthe transplant, and she had lost par-tial use of her lips by the time shedied. — AFP

Australia lifesaving drone makes first rescueSYDNEY: A pair of Australian swimmerson Thursday became the first people tobe rescued in the ocean by a dronewhen the aerial lifesaver dropped a safe-ty device to distressed teens caught inrough seas. Australia is leading the useof the technology in surf lifesaving, withdozens of drones being trialled onbeaches around the country. In what isbelieved to be a world-first drone surfrescue, two boys on Thursday gotcaught in three-metre (10-foot) swellswhile swimming off Lennox Head in NewSouth Wales, near the border withQueensland.

Beachgoers onshore raised the alarmto the lifeguards who then alerted thedrone pilot, and the aerial lifesaver wasdeployed in moments. “I was able tolaunch it, fly it to the location, and dropthe pod all in about one to two minutes,”

lifeguard supervisor Jai Sheridan toldthe Gold Coast Bulletin. “On a normalday that would have taken our lifeguardsa few minutes longer to reach the mem-bers of the public.” Other than a littleweary from their experience the pairwere reportedly unharmed. Along withtheir ability to spot swimmers in troubleand deliver life saving devices fasterthan traditional lifesaving techniques,like launching surfboards or rubberdinghies, drones are being used inAustralia to spot underwater predatorslike sharks and jellyfish.

Artificial intelligence is being devel-oped using thousands of images cap-tured by a drone camera to build analgorithm that can identify differentocean objects. The software can differ-entiate between sea creatures, likesharks which it can recognize with morethan 90 percent accuracy, compared toabout 16 percent with the naked eye.Some beaches in Australia have sharknets, but a government report last yearcalled for their phasing out in favor ofexploring a range of alternatives, includ-ing sonar technology and aerial patrols.The inquiry found that nets did not guar-antee public safety any more than otherdeterrents but caused significant dam-age to marine life. — AFP

H e a l t h Monday, January 22, 2018

23Established 1961

PARIS: The year 2018, barely underway, has already dealt aseries of disheartening blows to the quest for anAlzheimer’s cure. Within the first three weeks, pharmaceu-tical giant Pfizer abandoned the costly and frustrating fieldof dementia drug development, and two promising treat-ments stumbled in patient trials. Alzheimer’s supportgroups are putting on a brave face, but the collective dis-appointment is palpable as the global cost of caring forsome 50 million dementia sufferers is set to reach $1 trillion(819 billion euros) this year.

“It’s very fair to say that progress is slow,” DavidReynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer’s ResearchUK, a charity, told AFP. “Companies have put a lot of time,effort and money in over the last 25 years, and there haven’tbeen any new medicines launched in this area for 16 yearsnow.” Experts say it takes 12-15 years, on average, andmore than $2 billion to develop a single drug. According tothe Alzforum website, which gathers data on candidatedrugs, fewer than 300 have made it to Phase II drug effi-ciency trials so far.

Only five have ever been approved to treat symptomssuch as memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s, first iden-tified more than 100 years ago. With a clinical trial failurerate of over 99 percent, there is still no licensed drug thatslows the condition’s progression, or cures it. Today, about100 candidate dementia drugs are enrolled in trials, com-pared to over 1,000 for cancer, according to Reynolds. Onereason is that “pharmaceutical companies ultimately arecompanies. They are beholden to their investors,” he said.“A return on investment is really: How much time and mon-ey do you put into getting a new medicine versus howmuch money can you make once you’ve actually got it? Inthis area, success has been very difficult to come by.”

Mysterious brain The stakes are high. According to the World Health

Organization (WHO), some 10 million people per year arediagnosed with dementia, with Alzheimer’s diseaseaccounting for about two-thirds of cases. By 2030, thenumber of sufferers is projected to reach 82 million global-ly, and by 2050 some 152 million. The medical, patient-care, and economic costs are enormous. A heavy burdenfalls on family members, the majority of care providersworldwide. Many have to give up their jobs.

Alzheimer’s affects mainly older people-about one infour over-85s is a sufferer. And numbers have soared aslifespans have lengthened thanks to medical advances in

other fields. With cardiovascular disease and cancer thebiggest killers in the 1960s and ‘70s, that is where most ofthe research money went. “In dementia, that investmentwasn’t there. So the amount of knowledge... about the dis-ease is at a much, much earlier stage, and arguably thebrain is a much more complicated organ” than the heart,said Reynolds. To this day, scientists don’t know exactlywhat causes Alzheimer’s, leaving drug developersstumped.

On January 6, Pfizer announced an end to its “discoveryand early development efforts” for Alzheimer’s andParkinson’s dementia drugs. Two days later, Danish com-pany Lundbeck reported its idalopirdine compound didnot “decrease cognitive loss” in patients, and on January12, biotech firm Axovant announced the end of the road forits offering, intepirdine.

Slow, but not backwards Experts say every failure of a drug reveals something

new about Alzheimer’s disease, which is thought to beassociated with a buildup of protein “plaques”, and “tan-gles” in the brain. One important recent realization wasthat an effective treatment may have to begin long beforesymptoms appear as protein build-up likely starts decadesbefore disease sets in. This, in itself, presents a researchchallenge.

“How do you find these patients?” when they are inmiddle age and symptom-free, explained French neurolo-gy professor Bruno Dubois. “How long do you treatthem?” Drugs in development today are targeting severaltracks. Some use antibodies to mop up proteins in circula-tion, or enzymes to inhibit their production. Anotherexperimental approach is vaccination: training the body toproduce its own antibodies to attack disease-causing pro-teins. “We are not moving backwards,” insisted Reynolds.

Yet, he was “by no means certain” that a goal set by theG8 in 2013 to develop a cure or treatment for dementia by2025 can be met. “Even knowing the obstacles, we havenever been as optimistic as we are today,” added JamesHendrix, a director at the US-based Alzheimer’sAssociation, one of several non-profit research funders.“We will not slow down in our fight against this terribledisease,” he vowed. “We are steadfastly committed to bothadvocating for further increased federal funding forAlzheimer’s and dementia research, and increasing our ownlevel of research funding to get us to where we ultimatelyneed to be-a world without Alzheimer’s disease.” —AFP

Rocky start to Alzheimer’s medical research in 2018

Support groups are putting on a brave face

Geraldine (R), 20 years old and who recently lost her cousin Rosette to cholera, stands in the door of herfamily’s house waiting for the rain to stop on January 18, 2018 in Kinshasa. The World Health Organization(WHO) on January 15 said there was a high risk of a cholera epidemic after flooding in Kinshasa, the teem-ing and ramshackle capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. —AFP

Craving carbs? Then blame your brain TOKYO: Under pressure and gobbling pizza or choco-late? It may not be your fault, according to Japaneseresearchers who have isolated the neurons that drive acraving for carbs. The team at Japan’s NationalInstitute for Physiological Sciences found that activat-ing neurons known to respond to social stressincreased the appetite in mice for carbohydrates.Rodents with the neurons activated ate high-carbohy-drate food at a rate of three times the mice under nor-

mal conditions. They also roughly halved their intake ofhigh-fat food, the study found. The research is the firstto demonstrate the way that the brain plays a role inthe preference for carbohydrates or fats, said YasuhikoMinokoshi, a scientist at the institute, who led thestudy. The teams said the study could help find a wayto shift people away from gorging on sugary treats orunhealthy junk food.

Humans generally select what to eat based ontaste, as well as the nutritional state of the body, butthe exact mechanism involved in the selection hasremained largely a mystery. “Many people who eatsweets too much when stressed tend to blame them-selves for being unable to control their impulses,”Minokoshi said. “But if they know it’s because of theneurons”, they might not be so hard on themselves,he said. —AFP

Monday, January 22, 2018

24W h a t ’ s O n

Established 1961

By Abdellatif Sharaa

The National council for Culture, Arts andLetters (NCCAL) was founded in 1973 tobecome the most important source to further

the cultural movement and project the artistic andcivilized image of Kuwait. This includes working onenhancing the cultural infrastructure of the societythrough encouraging and supporting the intellectualand creative production in all fields including art, her-

itage, music, formative arts and theater. The councilholds several exhibitions and training courses in addi-tion to festivals and awards that motivate people tobe creative and innovative in all fields. The NCCAL isalso interested in children by organizing courses andother events for them.

The council recently organized an important eventtitled “The 24th Qurain Cultural Festival for 2018”which is being held from January 14 to the 20th. Thefestival was held for the first time from Nov 23- Dec

22 1994, at the wish of the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in order to enhance thecultural and arts movement in Kuwait. The festivalencourages formative Kuwaiti artists of various gener-ations to participate in the exhibition which sheds thelight on the contemporary arts movement in Kuwait.

Artist Essra Hasan (aka Sara Hasan) participatedwith her golden collection which combined the her-itage of Arab beauty from the past and Arabic callig-raphy which became one of the symbols of modern

art. Essra Hasan is an artist of unique nature throughwhat she presents in the form of merging elements,colors and feelings with her innovative vision, asapparent in her participation in the formative artsexhibition of Al-Qurain Cultural Festival with two artworks one of the “rooster” and the other of the “sis-ters”, which received good praise and encourage-ment from well-established Kuwaiti artists and artlovers. They all wished her further success in thefield of arts.

The 24th Qurain Cultural Festival for 2018

IEI - KuwaitChapter meetsnew IndianAmbassadorto Kuwait

The Institution of Engineers (India)Kuwait Chapter, ExecutiveCommittee members had fixed an

appointment on 18th January 2018 withIndian Embassy to meet and greet HE KJeeva Sagar, the new Indian Ambassadorto the State of Kuwait. As a token oflove and welcoming the newAmbassador to the State of Kuwait, aflower bouquet was presented by theEngr. Ajay Sharma, Chairman IEI -Kuwait chapter and introduced thecommittee members to His Excellency.Each engineer had introduced himselfwith short brief.

The Ambassador expressed that,engineers play a major role in buildingthe nation and contribute much in devel-oping the economy and he further said

that he himself being an Applied Physicsgraduate can appreciate theEngineering aspects well. Jeeva Sagarwas very simple, down to earth, spoke ina very comfortable manner and enquiredwith sincere eagerness to know the situ-ation in Kuwait, the contribution of theIndian Engineering companies in Kuwaitand how the relationships can be built toincrease contributions of Indian compa-nies in Kuwait.

The Ambassador expressed his will-ingness to resolve the issues faced bythe Indians and in particular theEngineers’ membership of KuwaitSociety of Engineers. He reaffirmed hiscommitment to take the issues to its log-ical conclusion and if required he willuse his good offices to contact theMinistry officials in India to resolve theEngineers problems. These words werevery encouraging and the Engineers felta positive vibration in his words. DrAbdul Rumane presented the fourthbook authored by him on quality in con-struction, which was received by KJeeva Sagar. After discussions on severaltopics the team took leave of his HE theAmbassador and with a confirmation tomeet in the comings days to work onvarious subject matters for the benefit ofthe Indians and Indian Engineeringcompanies.

TIES announcement

You are cordially invited to ourTafseer class (Divine Wisdomfrom the Last Testament) today

at 7:00 pm. In this class, we will focuson Surat Al-Mulk (The Dominion) from

verse 28 till the end of the Surah. Wewill explore why the polytheists ofMakkah wished for the death ofProphet Muhammad (PBUH) and howhe reacted to that. We will show signsthat prove Allah’s existence, and thereality of trusting in Him. We will alsoexamine the best forms of charity andtheir practical and spiritual signifi-cance. Finally, we will learn about the70,000 people who will enter Paradisewithout reckoning and why.

American Society of Safety Engineers - Kuwait Chapter (ASSE)is pleased to launch of ASSE GCC HSE Excellence Award2018. Fadhel Ali, Chairman, ASSE Kuwait chapter, Fares Al-

Mansouri, Team Leader of KOC along with Advisory committee &Core Committee of ASSE Kuwait Chapter released the brochure forthe award program on 15th January 2018 at KOC Tent, AhmadiTownship, State of Kuwait. More than 150 HSE leaders representingdifferent Private Sector Companies of Kuwait and Other parts ofGCC, participated in this launch program. The event witnessed 150HSE professionals out of which 40 plus contracting companies ofKuwait and around 110 ASSE HSE professionals. American Society ofSafety Engineers-Gulf Cooperation Council HSE Excellence Awardintroduced to recognize leadership, excellence and encourage excep-tional performance in the field of Health, Safety and Environment inprivate sector companies in the Gulf Region.

The American Society of Safety Engineers-Kuwait chapter insti-tuted the award, since 2007. The award scheme is devised to recog-nize and reward those GCC private sector organizations who havebeen successful over the course of the years in managing theOccupational Health, Safety and Environment risks of workplace,development and performance of its HSE Management System. Theaward is patronized by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) andendorsed by the international organizations like InternationalAssociation Of Drilling Contractors (IADC), Supported by Board ofCertified Professional (BCSP) and Institution of Occupational Safetyand Health UK (IOSH).

The awards will be presented to the private sector organizationsunder five categories such as ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION,MANUFACTURING, OIL & GAS, FACILITY & MAINTENANCEand SECTOR (Specific Contract / Project Site). Based on the awardcriteria, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Merit awards are presented under

each Category.During the brochure release event Chairman ASSE, Kuwait chap-

ter, Fadhel Ali conveyed best wishes to the Chapter ExecutiveCommittee members and Award organizing committee members forthe success of the program. Chief guest Fares Al-Mansouri statedthat ASSE GCC HSE excellence award promotes HSE culture amongthe companies and commended the efforts of the ASSE Kuwait chap-ter for introducing such awards. He also emphasized the contractorsto participate in the event.

During the Launch program, Sunil Sadanandan, Secretary of ASSEKuwait Chapter, Welcomed the VIPs and the gathering. MuhammadAlamgir, President of ASSE Kuwait Chapter in his opening addressstated that it will be a good opportunity for the private sector com-panies to show case their HSE performance and benchmark theirposition. The ASSE GCC HSE Excellence Award 2018 Director AamirRasheed briefed the gathering on the award program and its benefits.During the program, the website for the GCC HSE excellenceaward2018 was launched by Fares Al-Mansouri in the presence ofinvited guests from the contracting companies, ASSE ExecutiveCommittee, ASSE Advisory members and the ASSE members.

S Ramadoss,CEO of GlobalTechnology honored withPravasi Bharathi

Areputed Indian businessman fromKuwait, S Ramadoss, was honored withthe “Pravasi Bharathi (Kerala) “Karma

Sreyas” Award 2018 at the 16th PravasiBharathiya Day Celebrations Kerala 2018 heldat Thiruvananthapuram on 11th January, 2018.The colorful event was attended by theHonorable Deputy Chairman of Rajya SabhaPJ Kurien, Honourable Speaker of KeralaLegislative Assembly P. Sreeramakrishnan,Honorable Civil Supplies Minister ofKarnataka UT Khader, several other Ministers,MPs, MLAs, social leaders and prominentNRIs from different parts of the world.

Pravasi Bharathiya Day celebrations inKerala have been organized every year since2003, coinciding with the “Pravasi BharatiyaDiwas” of the Government of India, under theauspices of Pravasi Bharathi News Bulletin,NRI Coordination Council and RegionalCommittee comprising social and politicalleaders. During these celebrations, prominentNRIs and eminent personalities from political,cultural, business, health and humanitariansectors, who excel in their respective areas,are felicitated and honored with PravasiBharathi (Kerala) Awards. Ramadoss is the

CEO of Kuwait’s fast-growing telecom and ITservices company, the Global TechnologyCompany WLL. The Award is a great honournot only for Ramadoss, a hardworking, ambi-tious and visionary businessman and a hum-ble, kind and spiritual person, but also to theIndian community in Kuwait in general.

Born to an ex-serviceman, Subbiah, whohad served with the Indian Army during theSecond World War, Ramadoss lived in a smallvillage named M Duraisamipuram nearSivakasi in the state of Tamil Nadu. He usedto walk three kilometers every day to attendschool. Ramadoss graduated with Bachelor’sdegree in Chemistry from ANJA College atSivakasi. Later he acquired EngineeringDegree (AMIE) and MBA in OperationsManagement.

He joined the Department ofTelecommunications (DoT), Government ofIndia in 1980 as a Junior Engineer. His worktook him across India and he worked in multi-ple states during his tenure. he was deputedto Kuwait in 1991 as part of TCIL’s team forrebuilding the telecom networks damagedduring the First Persian Gulf War.

He moved to KNETCO as a ProjectEngineer and climbed the professional ladderswiftly. With his dedication and hard work, herose to the position of General Manager ofKNETCO in a short time. Ramadoss latermoved to Oman in 2009 to establish Al JassarTelecommunications as part of Al JassarGroup of Companies, and soon got promotedas the Group CEO. During his tenure inOman, he was instrumental in setting upDuraline’s factory in Sohar, a JV with BeasukEngineering, South Korea for mechanicalworks in PDO, Oman, and many others.

He then moved back to Kuwait in 2010 andjoined Global Technology Company WLL(GTC) as its Chief Executive Officer. Underhis dynamic leadership, GTC grew rapidly tobecome one of the main contractors for ICTsolutions in Kuwait for various Ministries,KOC, KNPC and major private players. Hisvisionary and ambitious personality led himto spread GTC’s business to other countriesin the region, with branches in Qatar, Oman &Malaysia. In Kuwait, Ramadoss also managestwo other companies, Nettelecom and ZenaTechnologies.

ASSE launches GCC HSE Excellence award

TV Monday, January 22, 2018

25Established 1961

01:10 The Haunting03:10 Savage Dog04:50 Compadres06:35 War Of The Worlds08:35 Somnus10:00 Savage Dog11:40 The Darkest Hour13:15 War Of The Worlds15:15 Project Almanac17:05 Street18:40 Iron Man20:50 Heat23:40 The Delta Force

00:50 Untamed & Uncut01:45 Treehouse Masters02:40 Treehouse Masters03:35 Treehouse Masters04:25 Treehouse Masters05:15 Treehouse Masters06:02 Bad Dog06:49 Bad Dog07:36 Night08:00 Night08:25 Swamp Brothers08:50 Swamp Brothers09:15 Treehouse Masters10:10 Bad Dog11:05 Wildest Middle East12:00 Swamp Brothers12:28 Swamp Brothers12:55 Keeping Up With The Kruger13:50 The Lion Queen14:45 Bad Dog15:40 Wildest Middle East16:35 Lone Star Law17:30 Treehouse Masters18:25 Sharkbite Beach19:20 Alaska Monsters20:15 Bad Dog21:10 Swamp Brothers21:38 Swamp Brothers22:05 Sharkbite Beach23:00 Alaska Monsters23:55 Wildest Middle East

00:00 Call The Midwife01:00 Gunpowder02:00 Line Of Duty03:00 New Tricks04:00 Doctors04:30 Eastenders05:00 Call The Midwife06:00 Doctors06:30 Eastenders07:00 The Musketeers07:50 Call The Midwife08:50 Agatha Raisin09:40 Doctors10:05 Eastenders10:35 New Tricks11:30 The Musketeers12:25 Call The Midwife13:25 Agatha Raisin14:10 Doctors14:40 Eastenders15:10 New Tricks16:00 The Musketeers17:05 Casualty18:00 Casualty19:00 New Tricks20:00 Call The Midwife21:00 The Level22:00 New Tricks22:55 Casualty23:55 The Level

00:00 It Takes A Killer00:30 Private Crimes01:00 The Eleven02:00 Homicide Hunter03:00 Crimes That Shook Britain04:00 Measuring Evil: Britain’sWorst Killers05:00 It Takes A Killer05:30 Private Crimes06:00 The Eleven07:00 The First 4808:00 Crimes That Shook Britain09:00 It Takes A Killer09:30 It Takes A Killer10:00 The Murder Of Laci Peterson11:00 Cold Case Files12:00 The First 4813:00 Crimes That Shook Britain14:00 It Takes A Killer14:30 It Takes A Killer15:00 The Murder Of Laci Peterson16:00 Cold Case Files17:00 Homicide Hunter18:00 It Takes A Killer18:30 It Takes A Killer19:00 The First 4820:00 The Murder Of Laci Peterson21:00 Crimes That Shook Britain22:00 Cold Case Files23:00 The Eleven

00:05 Dara Obriain - Talk Funny01:00 Another Period01:22 Another Period01:45 Tosh.002:10 Chappelle’s Show02:35 Real Husbands Of Hollywood03:00 The Daily Show - GlobalEdition03:25 Tosh.003:50 Chappelle’s Show04:15 Kroll Show04:40 Key And Peele05:05 Important Things WithDemitri Martin05:30 Impractical Jokers05:55 Disaster Date06:20 Ridiculousness Arabia06:50 Catch A Contractor07:40 The Jim Gaffigan Show08:05 Impractical Jokers08:30 Disaster Date08:55 Workaholics09:20 Kroll Show09:45 Key And Peele10:10 Important Things WithDemitri Martin10:35 The Jim Gaffigan Show11:00 Impractical Jokers11:25 Disaster Date11:50 Ridiculousness Arabia12:15 Impractical Jokers12:40 Friendszone13:05 Friendszone13:30 Important Things WithDemitri Martin13:55 Friends14:20 Friends14:45 Workaholics15:10 Key And Peele15:35 Kroll Show16:00 Friendszone16:30 Friendszone16:55 Friends17:20 Friends17:45 Disaster Date18:10 Ridiculousness Arabia18:35 Punk’d (Bet)19:00 Punk’d (Bet)19:25 Impractical Jokers

19:50 Real Husbands Of Hollywood20:12 Friends20:35 Friends21:00 The Daily Show - GlobalEdition21:30 Detroiters22:00 Martha And Snoop PotluckDinner Party22:25 Comedy Central PresentsComedy 3alwagef22:50 Detroiters23:15 Real Husbands Of Hollywood23:40 The Daily Show - GlobalEdition

00:30 Bear Grylls: Born Survivor01:20 Ecopolis02:10 Ecopolis03:00 Ecopolis03:50 Kids Do The Craziest Things04:15 Kids Do The Craziest Things04:40 Kids Do The Craziest Things06:20 How It’s Made07:00 Ultimate Survival07:50 How It’s Made08:15 How It’s Made08:40 Kids Do The Craziest Things09:05 Kids Do The Craziest Things09:30 Tanked10:20 Ecopolis11:10 Finding Bigfoot12:00 Somebody’s Gotta Do It12:50 How It’s Made13:15 How It’s Made13:40 Kids Do The Craziest Things14:05 Kids Do The Craziest Things14:30 Tanked15:20 Ultimate Survival16:10 Ecopolis17:00 Finding Bigfoot17:50 Somebody’s Gotta Do It18:40 Kids Do The Craziest Things19:30 How It’s Made20:20 Tanked21:10 Finding Bigfoot22:00 Somebody’s Gotta Do It22:50 Ecopolis23:40 Ultimate Survival

00:50 Evil Online01:45 Kindred Spirits02:40 A Haunting03:35 I Speak For The Dead04:30 Evil Online05:25 Killer Confessions06:20 Murder Book07:10 Who Killed Jane Doe?08:00 California Investigator08:25 On The Case With Paula Zahn09:15 California Investigator10:10 Nightmare Next Door11:05 Disappeared12:00 The Perfect Murder12:55 On The Case With Paula Zahn13:50 I Almost Got Away With It14:45 Nightmare Next Door15:40 Disappeared16:35 Grave Secrets17:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn18:25 California Investigator18:50 California Investigator19:20 I Almost Got Away With It20:15 Nightmare Next Door21:10 Disappeared22:05 American Monster23:00 Deadline: Crime With TamronHall23:55 I Speak For The Dead

00:10 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch00:35 Binny And The Ghost01:00 Hank Zipzer01:25 Alex & Co.01:45 Disney Mickey Mouse01:50 Evermoor Chronicles02:15 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch02:40 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch03:05 Binny And The Ghost03:30 Binny And The Ghost03:55 Hank Zipzer04:15 Disney Mickey Mouse04:20 Hank Zipzer04:45 Alex & Co.05:35 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch06:00 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch06:25 Binny And The Ghost06:45 Disney Mickey Mouse06:50 Rolling With The Ronks07:00 Tangled: Queen For A Day07:50 Tsum Tsum Shorts07:55 Hotel Transylvania: The Series08:20 Elena Of Avalor08:45 Bunk’d09:10 Stuck In The Middle09:35 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug& Cat Noir10:00 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug& Cat Noir10:25 Lolirock11:15 Sabrina Secrets Of A TeenageWitch12:05 Hank Zipzer12:30 Alex & Co.13:20 Lolirock14:10 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug& Cat Noir15:00 The Zhuzhus15:15 K.C. Undercover15:40 Bunk’d16:05 Disney Mickey Mouse16:10 Elena Of Avalor16:35 Bizaardvark17:00 Tangled: The Series17:25 Descendants Wicked World17:30 Stuck In The Middle17:55 K.C. Undercover18:20 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug& Cat Noir18:45 Hotel Transylvania: The Series19:10 Star Wars Forces Of Destiny19:15 Bunk’d19:40 Girl Meets World20:05 Sports Swap20:10 Liv And Maddie20:35 Jessie21:00 Tangled: The Series21:25 K.C. Undercover21:50 Hotel Transylvania: The Series22:15 Bizaardvark22:40 Stuck In The Middle23:05 Rolling With The Ronks23:20 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug& Cat Noir23:45 Lolirock

00:15 PJ Masks00:30 Vampirina01:00 Vampirina01:30 Art Attack01:55 Henry Hugglemonster02:05 Loopdidoo02:20 Henry Hugglemonster

02:35 Calimero02:50 Henry Hugglemonster03:05 Art Attack03:30 The Hive03:40 Loopdidoo03:55 Henry Hugglemonster04:10 Art Attack04:35 Loopdidoo04:50 Calimero05:05 Art Attack05:30 Henry Hugglemonster05:45 Henry Hugglemonster06:00 Art Attack06:30 Henry Hugglemonster06:45 Loopdidoo07:00 Henry Hugglemonster07:15 Calimero07:30 PJ Masks08:00 P-King Duckling08:25 Jungle Junction08:40 Special Agent Oso09:00 Handy Manny09:15 PJ Masks09:30 Puppy Dog Pals10:00 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers10:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse10:55 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West11:20 Sheriff Callie’s Wild West11:50 The Lion Guard12:15 The Lion Guard12:45 Sofia The First13:10 Sofia The First13:35 PJ Masks14:00 PJ Masks14:30 Doc McStuffins14:55 P-King Duckling15:20 Vampirina15:45 Sofia The First16:10 Puppy Dog Pals16:35 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers17:05 The Wizard Of Dizz17:50 Minnie’s Bow-Toons18:00 Goldie & Bear18:15 Goldie & Bear18:30 Puppy Dog Pals18:55 Sofia The First19:25 Mickey And The RoadsterRacers19:55 Doc McStuffins20:10 The Lion Guard20:35 P-King Duckling21:00 Vampirina21:30 PJ Masks22:00 PJ Masks22:25 Sofia The First22:50 P-King Duckling23:20 Puppy Dog Pals

23:45 Mickey And The RoadsterRacersDiscovery HD00:15 Yukon Men01:05 Dangerman01:50 X-Ray Mega Airport02:35 Abandoned Engineering03:20 Street Outlaws04:05 Alaska: The Last Frontier04:50 Deadliest Catch05:35 How Do They Do It?06:00 Auction Kings06:23 Container Wars06:45 How Do They Do It?07:10 How Do They Do It?07:35 Alaska: The Last Frontier08:20 Auction Kings08:45 Container Wars09:10 Deadliest Catch09:55 Dangerman10:45 X-Ray Mega Airport11:30 Abandoned Engineering12:20 Auction Kings12:43 Container Wars13:05 How Do They Do It?13:30 How Do They Do It?13:55 Deadliest Catch14:40 Yukon Men15:30 Dangerman16:15 X-Ray Mega Airport17:05 Abandoned Engineering17:50 Alaska: The Last Frontier18:40 Deadliest Catch19:25 Yukon Men20:15 Street Outlaws21:00 Gold Rush

21:50 Treasure Quest: Snake Island22:40 Rebel Gold23:30 Alaska: The Last FrontierDisney XD06:00 Supa Strikas06:25 Milo Murphy’s Law06:50 Right Now Kapow07:15 Mech-X407:40 Disney Mickey Mouse07:45 Walk The Prank08:10 Walk The Prank08:35 Right Now Kapow09:00 Right Now Kapow09:25 Mighty Med09:50 Mighty Med10:20 Star Wars: The FreemakerAdventures10:45 Star Wars: The FreemakerAdventures11:10 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything11:35 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything12:00 Kid vs. Kat12:25 Two More Eggs12:30 Kid vs. Kat12:55 Kirby Buckets13:20 Kirby Buckets13:45 Supa Strikas14:10 Disney Mickey Mouse14:15 Supa Strikas14:40 Right Now Kapow15:05 Right Now Kapow15:30 Milo Murphy’s Law - MissingMilo16:25 Lab Rats16:50 Lab Rats17:15 Mech-X417:40 Marvel’s Spider-Man18:05 Supa Strikas18:30 Marvel’s Ant-Man18:35 Walk The Prank19:00 Gravity Falls19:25 Milo Murphy’s Law19:50 Marvel’s Rocket And Groot19:55 Mech-X420:20 Penn Zero: Part Time Hero20:45 Gamer’s Guide To PrettyMuch Everything21:10 Kid vs. Kat

21:35 Marvel’s Rocket And Groot21:40 Disney Mickey Mouse21:45 Lab Rats22:10 Lab Rats22:35 Phineas And Ferb23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00amKSAE! Entertainment HD00:00 Revenge Body With KhloeKardashian01:00 E! News02:00 Live From The Red Carpet04:00 Celebrity Style Story04:30 WAGs05:30 Celebrity Style Story06:00 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry

06:55 E! News07:25 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry08:20 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry09:15 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry10:10 E! News10:40 My Fabulous Me11:10 My Fabulous Me12:10 Revenge Body With KhloeKardashian13:05 Revenge Body With KhloeKardashian14:05 Live From The Red Carpet16:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians17:00 Live From The Red Carpet19:00 Live From The Red Carpet21:00 WAGs Atlanta22:00 The Platinum Life23:00 E! News23:15 Hollywood Medium WithTyler Henry

00:00 Iron Chef Gauntlet01:00 Tia Mowry At Home01:30 Tia Mowry At Home02:00 The Big Eat - Middle East02:30 The Big Eat - Middle East03:00 Chopped04:00 Iron Chef Gauntlet05:00 Guy’s Grocery Games06:00 Barefoot Contessa: Back ToBasics06:25 Barefoot Contessa: Back ToBasics06:50 Bake With Anna Olson07:15 The Kitchen08:05 The Pioneer Woman08:30 The Pioneer Woman08:55 Siba’s Table09:25 Siba’s Table09:55 Cooking For Real10:25 Cooking For Real10:55 The Kitchen11:45 Cooking For Real12:10 The Pioneer Woman12:35 The Pioneer Woman13:00 Siba’s Table13:30 Siba’s Table14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives15:00 Chopped16:00 The Kitchen17:00 Cooking For Real17:30 Cooking For Real18:00 Chopped19:00 Guy’s Grocery Games20:00 Restaurant: Impossible21:00 Mystery Diners21:30 Mystery Diners22:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives22:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives23:00 Chopped

00:10 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh01:00 Emmerdale02:00 Coronation Street02:30 Cash Trapped03:25 Paul O’Grady: For The LoveOf Dogs04:25 Paul O’grady’s AnimalOrphans05:15 Surprise Surprise06:10 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh07:05 Cash Trapped08:00 Paul O’Grady: For The LoveOf Dogs08:30 Paul O’Grady: For The LoveOf Dogs09:00 Paul O’grady’s AnimalOrphans10:00 Surprise Surprise10:55 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh11:50 Cash Trapped12:45 Emmerdale13:15 Coronation Street14:15 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh15:10 Cash Trapped16:00 The Voice UK 201817:15 Royal Stories17:50 Surprise Surprise18:45 Emmerdale19:15 Coronation Street20:10 Cash Trapped21:00 The Voice UK 201822:15 Royal Stories22:50 Emmerdale23:15 Coronation Street23:40 Coronation Street

00:00 Cities Of The Underworld01:00 How 2 Win02:00 Pirate Treasure Of TheKnights Templar03:00 The Universe: AncientMysteries Solved03:50 The Universe: AncientMysteries Solved04:40 Ancient Top 1005:30 The Universe: AncientMysteries Solved06:20 Ancient Impossible07:10 Cities Of The Underworld08:00 Pirate Treasure Of TheKnights Templar09:00 Ancient Top 1010:00 Modern Marvels11:00 Ancient Discoveries12:00 Ancient Top 1013:00 The Universe: AncientMysteries Solved14:00 The Universe: AncientMysteries Solved15:00 Your Bleeped Up Brain16:00 Engineering Disasters17:00 Modern Marvels18:00 Cities Of The Underworld19:00 Ancient Top 1020:00 The Colour Of War21:00 In Search Of Aliens22:00 Ancient Aliens23:00 10 Things You Don’t KnowAbout...

00:20 Swamp People01:10 Swamp People02:00 American Restoration02:50 Storage Wars03:15 Storage Wars03:40 American Pickers04:30 Swamp People05:15 Swamp People06:00 Mountain Men06:50 Forged In Fire07:40 American Restoration08:30 The Warfighters09:20 American Pickers10:10 Ax Men11:00 Forged In Fire11:50 American Restoration12:40 The Warfighters13:30 Swamp People14:20 Swamp People

15:10 Mountain Men16:00 Forged In Fire16:50 American Restoration17:40 The Warfighters18:30 Mountain Men19:20 Forged In Fire20:10 President Obama: In His OwnWords21:50 Barbarians Rising22:40 Forged In Fire23:30 Mountain Men

00:15 A Taste Of South Africa00:45 The Food Files01:10 Food Lover’s Guide To ThePlanet01:40 Charlie Luxton’s Homes ByThe Sea02:35 Confucius Was A Foodie03:30 Fearless Chef04:25 John Torode’s MalaysianAdventure04:50 John Torode’s Asia05:20 My Restaurant In India05:45 My Restaurant In India06:15 A Taste Of South Africa06:40 A Taste Of South Africa07:10 Charlie Luxton’s Homes ByThe Sea08:05 Confucius Was A Foodie09:00 Fearless Chef09:55 John Torode’s MalaysianAdventure10:20 John Torode’s Asia10:50 My Restaurant In India11:15 My Restaurant In India11:45 A Taste Of South Africa12:10 A Taste Of South Africa12:40 Places We Go13:05 Places We Go13:35 Restoration Man14:30 Fearless Chef15:25 John Torode’s MalaysianAdventure15:50 John Torode’s Asia16:20 John Torode’s Asia16:45 My Restaurant In India17:15 Places We Go17:40 Places We Go18:10 A Taste Of South Africa18:35 A Taste Of South Africa19:05 Places We Go19:30 Places We Go20:00 Restoration Man21:00 Fearless Chef22:00 John Torode’s MalaysianAdventure22:25 John Torode’s Asia22:55 John Torode’s Asia23:20 My Restaurant In India23:50 Places We Go

00:10 Wicked Tuna: North vs South01:00 The Story Of Us With MorganFreeman02:00 The 90s: The Decade ThatConnected Us04:00 Wicked Tuna: North vs South05:00 Don’t Tell My Mother06:00 Startalk07:00 Ghost Town Gold08:00 Bid & Destroy08:30 Bid & Destroy09:00 Don’t Tell My Mother10:00 The Story Of Us With MorganFreeman11:00 Lawless Island Alaska12:00 Nazi Megastructures13:00 Sea Of Hope: America’sUnderwater Treasures14:00 Bid & Destroy14:30 Bid & Destroy15:00 Ghost Town Gold16:00 The Story Of Us With MorganFreeman17:00 Lawless Island Alaska18:00 Nazi Megastructures19:00 Supercar Megabuild20:00 The Story Of Us With MorganFreeman20:50 Lawless Island Alaska21:40 Nazi Megastructures22:30 Supercar Megabuild23:20 Bid & Destroy23:45 Bid & Destroy

00:20 Nordic Wild01:10 Wild 2402:00 Secrets Of The King Cobra02:50 World’s Deadliest03:45 Ultimate Animal Countdown04:40 The World’s Most WantedLeopard05:35 Secrets Of The King Cobra06:30 World’s Deadliest07:25 Ultimate Animal Countdown08:20 The World’s Most WantedLeopard09:15 World’s Weirdest10:10 The Monster Project11:05 Animal ER12:00 Shark Survivors: USA12:55 Fatal Attraction13:50 World’s Deadliest14:45 Animal Fight Club15:40 Man Among Cheetahs16:35 World’s Weirdest17:30 Safari Brothers18:25 Man Among Cheetahs19:20 Animal Fight Club20:10 Man Among Cheetahs21:00 World’s Weirdest21:50 Safari Brothers22:40 Man Among Cheetahs23:30 Shark Survivors: USA

00:12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles00:36 Rabbids Invasion01:24 Sanjay And Craig01:48 Sanjay And Craig02:12 Winx Club02:36 Winx Club03:00 Harvey Beaks03:24 Harvey Beaks03:48 The Loud House04:12 The Loud House04:36 Breadwinners05:00 Breadwinners05:24 Get Blake05:48 SpongeBob SquarePants06:12 SpongeBob SquarePants06:36 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles07:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles07:24 Rabbids Invasion07:48 Get Blake08:12 Harvey Beaks08:36 Sanjay And Craig09:00 SpongeBob SquarePants09:24 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles09:48 Henry Danger10:12 Game Shakers10:36 Regal Academy11:00 Winx Club11:24 SpongeBob SquarePants11:48 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles12:12 The Loud House12:36 Rabbids Invasion13:00 Breadwinners13:24 Massive Monster Mayhem

13:48 Hunter Street14:12 I Am Frankie14:36 The Thundermans15:00 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn15:24 School Of Rock15:48 SpongeBob SquarePants16:12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles16:36 The Loud House17:00 Massive Monster Mayhem17:24 I Am Frankie17:48 Hunter Street18:12 Henry Danger18:36 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky And Dawn19:00 School Of Rock19:24 Game Shakers19:48 The Thundermans20:12 Ride20:36 SpongeBob SquarePants21:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

21:24 Sanjay And Craig21:48 Rabbids Invasion22:12 Breadwinners22:36 Harvey Beaks23:00 SpongeBob SquarePants23:24 SpongeBob SquarePants23:48 Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesNick Jr.00:16 Shimmer And Shine00:38 Shimmer And Shine01:01 Max & Ruby01:24 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom01:35 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom01:45 The Day Henry Met01:50 The Day Henry Met01:55 Blaze And The MonsterMachines02:18 Blaze And The MonsterMachines02:40 Zack & Quack02:51 Kid-E-Cats02:55 Kid-E-Cats03:02 Shimmer And Shine03:23 Nella The Princess Knight03:35 Paw Patrol03:58 Little Charmers04:10 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom04:22 Dora The Explorer04:45 Max & Ruby05:07 The Day Henry Met05:13 Nella The Princess Knight05:35 Shimmer And Shine05:58 Wallykazam!06:22 Zack & Quack06:32 The Day Henry Met06:38 Blaze And The MonsterMachines07:00 Rusty Rivets07:13 Paw Patrol07:37 Dora The Explorer08:00 Nella The Princess Knight08:11 Kid-E-Cats08:16 Kid-E-Cats08:21 Bubble Guppies08:44 Blaze And The MonsterMachines09:06 Paw Patrol09:30 Shimmer And Shine09:53 Nella The Princess Knight10:14 The Day Henry Met10:20 Paw Patrol10:43 Rusty Rivets11:06 Wallykazam!11:29 Bubble Guppies11:53 Team Umizoomi12:16 Shimmer And Shine12:38 Shimmer And Shine13:01 Max & Ruby13:24 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom13:35 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom13:45 The Day Henry Met13:50 The Day Henry Met13:56 Blaze And The MonsterMachines14:18 Blaze And The MonsterMachines14:41 Zack & Quack14:52 Kid-E-Cats14:57 Kid-E-Cats15:03 Shimmer And Shine15:25 Nella The Princess Knight15:37 Paw Patrol15:59 Little Charmers16:11 Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom16:23 Dora The Explorer16:46 Max & Ruby17:09 The Day Henry Met17:14 Nella The Princess Knight17:36 Shimmer And Shine17:59 Wallykazam!18:22 Zack & Quack18:32 The Day Henry Met18:38 Blaze And The MonsterMachines19:00 Rusty Rivets19:13 Paw Patrol19:37 Dora The Explorer20:00 Nella The Princess Knight20:11 Kid-E-Cats20:16 Kid-E-Cats20:21 Bubble Guppies20:45 Blaze And The MonsterMachines21:07 Paw Patrol21:30 Shimmer And Shine21:53 Nella The Princess Knight22:15 The Day Henry Met22:20 Paw Patrol22:43 Rusty Rivets23:06 Wallykazam!23:29 Bubble Guppies23:53 Team Umizoomi

00:30 Lego DC Comics: JusticeLeague Cosmic Clash02:00 A Sunday Horse03:50 The Sound Of Music Live!06:10 Deck The Halls07:45 A Sunday Horse09:35 Capture The Flag11:15 The Sound Of Music Live!13:35 Chilly Christmas15:05 The Angry Birds Movie16:45 Monte Carlo18:35 The Little Rascals20:00 The Great Gilly Hopkins21:40 Chilly Christmas23:10 The Angry Birds Movie

01:25 K-903:10 Surviving Christmas04:50 Christmas Eve06:35 Men At Work08:20 A Merry Christmas Miracle09:50 Summer Villa11:25 Murder Of A Cat13:10 Men At Work14:55 The Tiger Hunter16:35 Once I Was A Beehive18:35 Big Momma’s House20:20 Fatal Instinct22:00 Safe Men23:35 Plan 9

00:35 I Believe In Miracles02:30 The Man Who Knew Infinity04:30 The Last King06:20 East Side Sushi08:20 It Boy10:05 The Man Who Knew Infinity12:05 East Side Sushi

14:05 The Benefactor15:45 No God No Master17:30 A Country Called Home19:10 The New Adventures OfAladin21:05 Eat That Question - FrankZappa In His Own22:50 Chattahoochee

00:50 Free Birds02:20 Legend Of The Sea03:50 Mia And The Migoo05:30 Freddy Frogface07:00 Moomins And The CometChase08:25 Amila’s Secret09:40 The Snow Queen 311:15 Funny Little Cars12:25 The Apple & The Worm13:50 Free Birds15:20 Legend Of The Sea16:50 Nur And The Dragon’s Temple18:05 Funny Little Cars19:15 Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins20:45 A Town Called Panic22:10 Nur And The Dragon’s Temple23:25 The Snow Queen 3

00:20 Boys Don’t Cry02:20 The Fountain04:00 Cinderella Man06:30 Chloe And Theo08:00 Hudson Hawk09:50 Little Man Tate11:40 Cinderella Man14:15 Man In The Moon16:15 The Finest Hours18:20 Nacho Libre20:00 The Break-Up22:00 Sex And The City The Movie

00:40 How The Earth Works01:30 How The Earth Works02:20 How The Earth Works03:10 How The Earth Works04:00 Mythbusters04:48 Mythbusters05:36 Mythbusters06:24 Mythbusters07:12 Mythbusters08:00 How Do They Do It?08:26 Da Vinci’s Machines09:14 Mythbusters10:02 How The Earth Works10:50 How Do They Do It?11:14 Food Factory USA11:38 Strip The Cosmos12:26 Da Vinci’s Machines13:14 Mythbusters14:02 How Do They Do It?14:26 Food Factory USA14:50 How The Earth Works15:38 Da Vinci’s Machines16:26 Strip The Cosmos17:14 Mythbusters18:02 How The Earth Works18:50 Da Vinci’s Machines19:40 Mythbusters20:30 Invent It Rich21:20 How Do They Do It?21:45 Food Factory22:10 How The Earth Works23:00 Invent It Rich23:50 Da Vinci’s Machines

01:00 Dr. T And The Women03:00 Haven04:45 Broken English06:30 The Machinist08:15 Che: Part One10:45 Even Money12:45 Welcome To Collinwood14:15 Dr. T And The Women16:15 Chicago18:15 Whale Rider20:00 Get Over It21:30 Million Dollar Baby23:45 Begin Again

00:00 Black Box01:00 Black Box02:00 Mistresses03:00 Fashion Star04:00 MAFS: The First Year05:00 Project Runway06:00 Black Box07:00 Black Box08:00 Mistresses09:00 Fashion Star10:00 MAFS: The First Year11:00 Project Runway12:00 Black Box13:00 Black Box14:00 Mistresses15:00 Fashion Star16:00 MAFS: The First Year17:00 Project Runway18:00 Devious Maids19:00 Devious Maids20:00 Mistresses21:00 Fashion Star22:00 MAFS: The First Year23:00 Project Runway

00:20 Save My Style00:42 Save My Style01:05 Separated At Birth01:50 Katie Price: My Crazy Life02:12 Katie Price: My Crazy Life02:35 Outdaughtered: Busby Quints03:20 7 Little Johnstons04:05 Toddlers & Tiaras04:50 Randy To The Rescue05:35 Say Yes To The Dress06:00 Extreme Cheapskates06:22 Extreme Cheapskates06:45 Save My Style07:07 Save My Style07:30 Hodges Half Dozen08:15 7 Little Johnstons09:00 Cake Boss09:25 Toddlers & Tiaras10:10 Extreme Cheapskates10:32 Extreme Cheapskates10:55 Meet The Putmans11:40 Save My Style12:02 Save My Style12:25 This Is Life With CarissaCupido13:10 Little People, Big World13:55 Toddlers & Tiaras14:40 7 Little Johnstons15:25 Meet The Putmans16:10 Love, Lust Or Run16:35 Cake Boss17:00 Say Yes To The Dress UK17:25 Say Yes To The Dress UK17:50 Extreme Cheapskates18:20 Extreme Cheapskates18:50 Randy To The Rescue19:40 Say Yes To The Dress20:10 Cake Boss20:35 Cake Boss21:00 Hodges Half Dozen

Aries, you may be tested on a most tender subject involving deeply per-sonal attachments; harsh, hurtful words could be a product of this tension. Somethingfrom the past could come to light and change everyone s perspective. You could leantoward over analyzing yourself and others in situations that are not important; be careful,this could create serious trouble between friends or family members. Your leadershipabilities are requested on building a new system that will make things go faster andsmoother. You will direct your efforts toward using methods that have worked before;someone may oppose you on this decision. The stars are aligned for the conception ofnew customs within your very close circle, aries.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Taurus, without even looking you will find chances to make money throughinvesting. Prosperity lies in showing others the openings as well as including yourself inthe actual investment. Learning more about taking care of yourself is imperative just now;a change of diet, exercise and perhaps even a new physician is highlighted now. Duringthis new cycle, be progressive and take steps to rise to your career goals; you have wait-ed long enough! You will find it effortless to create momentum regarding completion of adifficult project. There is a change you would like to make but your efforts will beblocked; patience will pay off. You will discover that someone has a need for your adviceand support this evening, taurus.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Gemini, you might feel like playing hooky and enjoying friends today butduties will remain your priority. You could be left out of a fun outing

because you choose to tend to business. You will constantly work to update and fine-tune your skills. The tendency to daydream is strong and you will struggle against it inorder to get things accomplished that just won t wait. You may find that you are goingagainst the grain, especially when people complain. Someone is watching you closely;they are looking for something to criticize you for. A short-lived complication may slowyou down. Your individuality will shine; others would like to be in your shoes. A goodconversation with those you love is possible. Home life is happy, gemini.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Cancer, someone in your circle could appear to be hiding something fromyou; you may not care to spend even a moment getting to the bottom of it.

You may get restless and want to create new connections and contacts on a social level;be careful you don t step on anyone s toes as you enter new environments. A criticalnatured person is watching and waiting for the right time to pounce; be prepared tostand your ground in the most zen way possible. You seem to be in a difficult positionjust now with something that seems petty and beneath you. Chin up, you know your ownmind and intentions; that s all that counts now, not the opinions of others. Surroundyourself tonight with those who love and encourage you and your journey, cancer.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Virgo, the energy of the heavens works to highlight your quirks and indi-vidual viewpoints. Someone will call and complement some positive results you got fromusing one of your experimental methods. You aren t finished with figuring out newapproaches to old mundane circumstances. You wrote a note of sympathy to someonelast year and you will hear from them today, perhaps there will be an invitation to lunch ordinner. You will push your endurance to trying levels, but you will complete a project ontime; use better judgment next time when accepting this type of duty. You may receivethe offer of a new job. As you grow and evolve never let go or forget where you camefrom and who helped you along the way, virgo.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Libra, you are all about your career and climbing the corporate ladder, so tospeak. The new cycle you have entered brings opportunities for promotions or perhaps apay raise. You will take advantage of a new aspect of your work to learn about takingyour assignments to another level. You will sail through some sort of evaluation or review.On a personal level, you could be misled about a certain person you have shown interestin; find out more on your own and disregard gossip. You will have a one true friend thatwill stand by you faithfully throughout your life. You could feel drained at the end of theday and just want to go home and pull the covers over your head. Instead, leave yourselfopen to visitors who could bring food and drink and joy, libra.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Scorpio, you are strengthened by your sense of loved ones, friends andcommunity unity. Your comfort zone could be broadening and leading you to excitingnew circles of friends and opportunities to learn. You will be able to convince people togive your new ideas a try. You are not ashamed of the things you want in life and youcould make a point of letting people know. Pay attention to events that could mean moreto you than you think at this time. You feel you are becoming more like the person youwant to be; this will continue if you allow it. The universe sends energy of getting thingsdone and run with it! You feel at the top of your game as far as feeling physically fit. You

could receive a reward for your help with a fundraiser, scorpio.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Sagittarius, you may put your money where your mouth is when you dosomething you said you would. The window is open to come to swift, accu-

rate conclusions with no second guessing. You could have to be harsh when making apoint with someone who is difficult and willful; don t feel badly because sometimes peo-ple make you act this way. Your passion will be reflected in your words today. A problemwill present itself you can t seem to figure out. You could feel stress relating to workingout some type of scheduling situation that could impact other things; this could involvemedical appointments or meetings. Stop a moment and let your mind and body relax tojump-start your mental capabilities and for your physical well-being, sagittarius.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Pisces, you may come face to face with your insecurities and thinking; itcould seem as though you are on the outside looking in. The realm of

dreams and cosmic laws will continue to be a fascination you can t do without; let your-self relax when you research these subjects. Items you have looked for will become avail-able to you perhaps via the internet. Watch your money; just because you have it doesn tmean you absolutely have to spend it. If you feel disgruntled with your home or belong-ings, remember this energy will be short lived. You may hold something against someonethat you think let you down; release this and keep going. At home you may enjoy a latenap and early dinner with loved ones who could surprise you with a small gift, pisces.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Aquarius, you could experience dissatisfaction regarding your place in lifejust now. Something of a very private nature is troublesome and discouraging. There maybe feelings of separation and loneliness you might overcome by reaching out to someonewith the same interests or goals. Overcoming a particular difficulty will take some timebut it will be worth the wait and worry. Decline making any decisions until you are onsteadier ground; someone may push you to do something now but if you aren t sure, dont make a move. You may want to seek entertainment in places you shouldn t; somethingseemingly fun could turn into a nightmare that could be far reaching. Relax this eveningand rethink some of your short or long-term plans, aquarius.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1815

ACROSS1. A French abbot.5. English natural scientist whose `On theOrigin of Species' formulated a theory ofevolution by natural selection (1809-1882).11. part of the peritoneum attached to thestomach and to the colon and coveringthe intestines.15. A sudden short attack.16. (Old Testament) The first of the majorHebrew prophets (8th century BC).17. A river in central Italy rising in theApennines and flowing through Florenceand Pisa to the Ligurian Sea.18. In bed.19. An area in which something acts oroperates or has power or control.21. A room or establishment where alco-holic drinks are served over a counter.23. (of non-living objects) The state ofbeing free of pathogenic organisms.27. A disease of cattle and sheep attrib-uted to a dietary deficiency.28. American Revolutionary patriot.31. At or near or toward the stern of aship or tail of an airplane.33. A tricycle (usually propelled by ped-alling).35. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruitjuice.39. A large Yoruba city in southwesternNigeria.40. Be unsuccessful.42. Relating to or resembling a cone.45. A step in walking or running.46. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irishgods.47. The upper side of the thighs of aseated person.49. A chronic inflammatory collagen dis-ease affecting connective tissue (skin orjoints).52. (folklore) A corpse that rises at nightto drink the blood of the living.55. (botany) Of or relating to the axil.58. Having come or been brought to aconclusion.60. Straggling shrub with narrow leavesand conspicuous red flowers in denseglobular racemes.62. The English physicist nd chemist whodiscovered electromagnetic induction(1791-1867).66. An edilbe seaweed with a mild flavor.67. An officer who acts as military assis-tant to a more senior officer.70. A loose sleeveless outer garmentmade from aba cloth.71. A long projecting or anterior elonga-tion of an animal's head.72. An exceptional interest in and admi-ration for yourself.76. Any of several small ungulate mam-mals of Africa and Asia with rodent-likeincisors and feet with hooflike toes.77. A short aria.78. (Scottish) A long dagger with astraight blade.

DOWN1. An Arabic speaking person who lives inArabia or North Africa.2. A small cake leavened with yeast.3. A coffin along with its stand.4. A doctor's degree in education.5. English theoretical physicist who

applied relativity theory to quantummechanics and predicted the existence ofantimatter and the positron (1902-1984).6. The fourth month of the Hindu calen-dar.7. (the feminine of raja) A Hindu princessor the wife of a raja.8. Hairpiece covering the head and madeof human or synthetic hair.9. The United Nations agency concernedwith atomic energy.10. A state in New England.11. Floor covering consisting of a piece ofthick heavy fabric (usually with nap orpile).12. Come into existence.13. Open the zipper of.14. A fine-grained unstratified accumula-tion of clay and silt deposited by thewind.20. A bet that you can pick the first andsecond finishers in the right order.22. A unit of pressure equal to one new-ton per square meter.24. A large number or amount.25. Any organic compound containingthe group -CONH2.26. A silvery soft waxy metallic elementof the alkali metal group.29. Remove the bones from (an animal).30. A city in southern Turkey on theSeyhan River.32. The Tibeto-Burman language spokenin the Dali region of Yunnan.34. A blue dye obtained from plants ormade synthetically.36. Of or relating to or involving an area.37. An ancient city in northern Portugal.38. Alcoholic drink from fermented cider(`cider' and `cyder' are European (espe-cially British) usage for the fermentedbeverage).41. A large fleet.43. A desert in southwestern Africa -largely Botswana.44. A federal agency established to coor-dinate programs aimed at reducing pol-lution and protecting the environment.48. An informal term for a father.50. Adopted in order to deceive.51. A chain of connected ideas or pas-sages or objects so arranged that eachmember is closely related to the preced-ing and following members (especially aseries of patristic comments elucidatingChristian dogma).53. A state in New England.54. Invade in great numbers, as of pests.56. Infestation of the pubic hair by crablice.57. A rare silvery (usually trivalent)metallic element.59. A cgs unit of work or energy.61. A particular geographical region ofindefinite boundary (usually servingsome special purpose or distinguishedby its people or culture or geography).63. Surrealist Spanish painter (1904-1989).64. Little known Kamarupan languages.65. Noisy talk.68. Water frozen in the solid state.69. The shorter of the two telegraphicsignals used in Morse code.73. A colorless and odorless inert gas.74. Informal terms for a mother.75. A bachelor's degree in religion.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s SolutionDaily SuDoku

Wordsearch Puzzle

Leo, this new cycle will clear the way for you to let your feelings beknown. If you re single, you desperately want a meaningful relationship

with someone you can trust and care for deeply. Married or attached leos may long formore affection or intimacy with their partners. Either way you can find ways to createwhat you want in an amorous situation by taking the first step to correct and fill the holeyou re feeling. Take into account that social media is not the place to air your grievances.You could feel as though you are being pushed in a certain direction you don t want togo. Perhaps this is the time to think about what you want but actually do nothing. Smileas you have a few friends over for a themed dinner you all pitch in to make, leo.

Capricorn, this is not the time to try communicating with others. Thoughtsseem frozen and out of reach when working with a group. You would prefer

to do anything but work today, but responsibilities demand otherwise. You are close tofinding a solution to a tricky situation no one seems able to correct. A new acquaintancewill shine light on a friend you haven t heard about in quite some time. A sense of peaceand wellbeing stays with you as you tackle problems on the home front help arrives laterand a nice dinner is enjoyed later. You may want to make changes domestically but don tbe in a rush just now; let some time pass before you make firm decisions. Pay no mind tothose who say you work too much, capricorn, you know what you re doing.

Yesterday’s Solution

Monday, January 22, 2018

26S t a r s

Established 1961

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Monday 22/1/2018Airlines Flt Route TimeMSC 501 Alexandria 00:01JAI 572 Mumbai 00:05JZR 267 Beirut 00:30KAC 504 Beirut 00:30JZR 539 Cairo 00:50KAC 102 London 00:50PGT 858 Istanbul 00:55THY 772 Istanbul 00:55RJA 642 Amman 01:05UAE 853 Dubai 01:45DLH 625 Bahrain 01:45THY 764 Istanbul 01:50ETH 620 Addis Ababa 02:15JZR 555 Alexandria 02:15QTR 1086 Doha 02:20GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30KLM 446 Bahrain 02:30WAN 548 KTM 02:40OMA 643 Muscat 02:55KKK 1268 Istanbul 02:55ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:10MSR 612 Cairo 03:15QTR 1076 Doha 03:50QTR 1090 Doha 04:05KAC 382 Delhi 04:15KAC 418 Manila 04:25KAC 1544 Cairo 04:25KAC 784 Jeddah 04:35KAC 284 Dhaka 04:50FDB 069 Dubai 04:55JZR 609 Hyderabad 05:10DHX 170 Bahrain 05:20THY 770 Istanbul 05:25JZR 143 Doha 05:25KAC 346 Ahmedabad 05:30KAC 358 Kochi 05:40KAC 344 Chennai 05:50KAC 302 Mumbai 06:10KAC 362 Colombo 06:25KAC 678 Dubai 06:30WAN 338 Alexandria 06:40BAW 157 London 07:10KAC 332 Trivandrum 07:15FDB 053 Dubai 07:35KAC 354 Bengaluru 07:35JZR 503 Luxor 07:45IAW 157A Al Najaf 08:00KAC 384 Delhi 08:00UAE 855 Dubai 08:35ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:05QTR 1070 Doha 09:10FDB 055 Dubai 09:40IRA 667 Esfahan 10:00WAN 342 Sohag 10:15GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40WAN 114 Bahrain 11:00AXB 890 Mangalore/Bahrain 11:10QTR 1074 Doha 11:20JZR 165 Dubai 11:30WAN 134 Doha 11:55MEA 404 Beirut 11:55IAW 157B Al Najaf 12:00RBG 553 Alexandria 12:15JZR 561 Sohag 12:45UAE 871 Dubai 12:50MSR 610 Cairo 13:00KAC 774 Riyadh 13:40KNE 231 Riyadh 14:10

KAC 692 Muscat 14:15KAC 618 Doha 14:15KAC 206 Islamabad 14:20FDB 059 Dubai 14:20QTR 1078 Doha 14:20KAC 672 Dubai 14:25KAC 286 Dhaka 14:35KAC 352 Kochi 14:35KAC 412 Bangkok 14:35GFA 221 Bahrain 14:40KAC 364 Colombo 14:40SVA 500 Jeddah 14:45KAC 304 Mumbai 14:50KAC 662 Abu Dhabi 14:55IAW 157C Al Najaf 14:55KNE 529 Jeddah 14:55KAC 788 Jeddah 15:10ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 15:15JZR 787 Riyadh 15:30KAC 502 Beirut 15:30KAC 562 Amman 15:30OMA 645 Muscat 15:35UAE 857 Dubai 15:45QTR 1072 Doha 15:55JZR 535 Cairo 16:00SAW 705 Damascus 16:00ABY 127 Sharjah 16:00KAC 118 New York 16:00JZR 779 Jeddah 16:25FDB 051 Dubai 16:40RJA 640 Amman 16:55KAC 542 Cairo 17:05WAN 954 Baku 17:15SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30JZR 777 Jeddah 17:40UAE 875 Dubai 18:00FDB 063 Dubai 18:10JZR 177 Dubai 18:15MSR 620 Cairo 18:30QTR 1080 Doha 18:50KAC 744 Dammam 19:10KAC 776 Riyadh 19:20ABY 123 Sharjah 19:25KAC 156 Istanbul 19:30GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30KAC 674 Dubai 19:45FDB 057 Dubai 19:50KAC 616 Bahrain 19:55KNE 381 Taif 20:00KAC 620 Doha 20:15OMA 647 Muscat 20:20QTR 1088 Doha 20:45DLH 624 Frankfurt 20:45KAC 162 Geneva 21:00KAC 168 Paris 21:20MEA 402 Beirut 21:20ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:20ALK 229 Colombo 21:20KAC 786 Jeddah 21:25UAE 859 Dubai 21:35GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45KLM 445 Amsterdam 21:50KAC 564 Amman 22:00QTR 1082 Doha 22:05ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:15AIC 975 Chennai/Goa 22:25SVA 514 Riyadh 22:30JZR 241 Amman 22:40SVA 502 Jeddah 22:45JZR 185 Dubai 23:10

JAI 574 Mumbai 23:15MSC 405 Sohag 23:30FDB 071 Dubai 23:45MSC 411 Asyut 23:55

Departure Flights on Monday 22/1/2018Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 982 Ahmedabad/Chennai 00:05JAI 573 Mumbai 00:30FDB 072 Dubai 00:35PIA 206 Lahore 01:00MSC 502 Alexandria 01:00JAI 571 Mumbai 01:05BBC 044 Dhaka 01:30JZR 502 Luxor 01:30JZR 142 Doha 01:45KAC 677 Dubai 01:50KAC 285 Dhaka 01:55KAC 417 Manila 02:00KAC 363 Colombo 02:00THY 773 Istanbul 02:30PGT 859 Istanbul 02:30DLH 625 Frankfurt 02:45ETH 621 Addis Ababa 03:05KAC 351 Kochi 03:05UAE 854 Dubai 03:40QTR 1087 Doha 03:40KLM 446 Amsterdam 03:55KKK 1269 Istanbul 03:55OMA 644 Muscat 03:55THY 765 Istanbul 04:00ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05MSR 613 Cairo 04:15QTR 1091 Doha 05:05KAC 205 Islamabad 05:20QTR 1077 Doha 05:30FDB 070 Dubai 05:45KAC 303 Mumbai 06:05JZR 560 Sohag 06:25THY 771 Istanbul 06:50JZR 164 Dubai 06:55RJA 643 Amman 07:05GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15KAC 413 Bangkok 07:20KAC 167 Paris 07:35KAC 501 Beirut 08:00KAC 161 Geneva 08:20FDB 054 Dubai 08:35KAC 787 Jeddah 08:40BAW 156 London 08:50KAC 691 Muscat 08:50IAW 158A Al Najaf 09:00KAC 117 New York 09:00JZR 534 Cairo 09:10KAC 561 Amman 09:40ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45KAC 101 London 09:45KAC 671 Dubai 09:45UAE 856 Dubai 10:00KAC 541 Cairo 10:00ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:10KAC 773 Riyadh 10:10KAC 617 Doha 10:15QTR 1071 Doha 10:20KAC 155 Istanbul 10:25KAC 661 Abu Dhabi 10:30FDB 056 Dubai 10:35JZR 778 Jeddah 10:40IRA 666 Esfahan 11:00GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25JZR 786 Riyadh 11:55

JZR 776 Jeddah 12:00AXB 890 Mangalore 12:10QTR 1075 Doha 12:30MEA 405 Beirut 12:55IAW 158B Al Najaf 13:00RBG 554 Alexandria 13:00JZR 176 Dubai 13:40MSR 611 Cairo 14:00UAE 872 Dubai 14:15KNE 382 Taif 15:00KAC 673 Dubai 15:05FDB 060 Dubai 15:10GFA 222 Bahrain 15:25KAC 785 Jeddah 15:25QTR 1079 Doha 15:30SVA 501 Jeddah 15:45KNE 530 Jeddah 15:45KAC 283 Dhaka 15:50KAC 775 Riyadh 15:50IAW 158C Al Najaf 15:55KAC 743 Dammam 16:05KAC 619 Doha 16:10KAC 563 Amman 16:10ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:20OMA 646 Muscat 16:35ABY 128 Sharjah 16:40KAC 615 Bahrain 16:40SAW 706 Damascus 16:55QTR 1073 Doha 17:15JZR 240 Amman 17:15JZR 266 Beirut 17:15FDB 052 Dubai 17:40UAE 858 Dubai 17:45KAC 357 Kochi 17:45RJA 641 Amman 17:55KAC 331 Trivandrum 18:00SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15JZR 538 Cairo 18:15GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 184 Dubai 18:30JZR 608 Hyderabad 18:40KAC 381 Delhi 18:50FDB 064 Dubai 19:10UAE 876 Dubai 19:30MSR 621 Cairo 19:30QTR 1081 Doha 20:00ABY 124 Sharjah 20:05GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15FDB 058 Dubai 20:35KAC 345 Ahmedabad 20:40KNE 232 Riyadh 20:50KAC 301 Mumbai 20:50KAC 353 Bengaluru 20:55OMA 648 Muscat 21:20KAC 1543 Cairo 21:20DLH 624 Bahrain 21:30DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50QTR 1089 Doha 22:00ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:10MEA 403 Beirut 22:20ALK 230 Colombo 22:25GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30KAC 783 Jeddah 22:35KAC 383 Delhi 22:40KLM 445 Bahrain 22:50UAE 860 Dubai 23:00ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:05QTR 1083 Doha 23:20SVA 515 Riyadh 23:30WAN 337 Alexandria 23:45SVA 503 Jeddah 23:45

American Airlines 22087425

22087426

Kuwait Airways 171

Jazeera Airways 177

Jet Airways 22924455

FlyDubai 22414400

Qatar Airways 22423888

KLM 22425747

Royal Jordanian 22418064/5/6

British Airways 22425635

Air France 22430224

Emirates 22921555

Air India 22438184

112

DAAYY:

ASTTAATTION

WExpected Weeather for the Next 24

4 Hours

WEADADA

4 DAAYYS FORECAST

AYY ATTE ATTHERTemper

MAX.

raturesWind Direction Wind SpeedMIN.

Fajr

SunriseZuhrAsr

SunsetIsha ALLRAINFALOT

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KUWAYESTERDARECORDED AYY ATT WAAIT AIRPORTMAX. Temp. MIN. Temp. MAX. RH MIN. RH

MAX. WiindT TAL FA L IN 24 HR.

°C°C%%km/hmm

ClassifiedsMonday, January 22, 2018

Airline

ACCOMMODATION

One single partition roomfor rent KD 60 only, Indianbachelor in Hawally TunisStreet oppositeMcDonald’s New CanaryRestaurant. PleaseContact: 97470947 after 3pm. (C 5375)18-1-2018

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Sabah Hospital 24812000Amiri Hospital 22450005Maternity Hospital 24843100Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700Chest Hospital 24849400Farwaniya Hospital 24892010Adan Hospital 23940620Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300Al-Razi Hospital 24846000Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707Rawda 22517733Adaliya 22517144Khaldiya 24848075Kaifan 24849807Shamiya 24848913Shuwaikh 24814507Abdullah Salem 22549134Nuzha 22526804Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764Qadsiya 22515088Dasmah 22532265Bneid Al-Gar 22531908Shaab 22518752Qibla 22459381Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082Mirqab 22456536Sharq 22465401Salmiya 25746401

Monday, January 22, 2018L i f e s t y l e Fa s h i o n

Established 1961 28

Models present creations by Dior during the men’s Fashion Week for the Fall/Winter 2018/2019 collection in Paris. — AFP photos

Models present creations for Thom Browne during the men’s Fall/Winter 2018/2019 fashion show in Paris.

Designer Kris Van Assche travelled back in a fash-ion time machine Saturday while Robert Pattinsonexplained the importance of clothes for acting

roles as he attended Dior Homme’s Paris menswear col-lection. Here are some highlights of the fourth day of fall-winter shows:

Dior’s tattooed coutureIt was an ambitious fusion of two periods for Dior

Homme: A sartorial homage to the past that twinned whatthe house called the “reckless abandon” of youth with thecouture of Monsieur Dior’s New Look. Designer VanAssche used references to 1990s tattoo culture in printsand gothic silver jewelry alongside suit variations on theBar Jacket from the famed 1947 collection that trans-formed Western fashion. The two-periods theme in the49 suit-heavy looks was also evident in the age range ofthe models, who were either very young, or over 40.

The first styles, accessorized with silk neck scarves,featured some beautifully refined single- and double-breasted suits with narrow waists that curved out in aslight peplum-shape. Suits are the bread-and-butter ofthe house. “I thought it was a good moment for Dior togo back to its DNA, like really the sharply cut suit,” the41-year-old Van Assche told The Associated Press. Aflash of bright red across a striped T-shirt, meanwhile,turned the dial to the ‘90s with the appearance of aspiked tattoo motif on the shirt undergarment. Continuingthat vibe were the baggy jeans, wooly tank tops andsneakers, which were worn by models with messy hair.“It’s looking back with a lot of love and sweet memoriesto when I myself was a teenager,” Van Assche said. It wasan intentionally split aesthetic - and featured some verystrong individual pieces. Yet, the result was sometimesincongruous as a whole.

Pattinson says clothes help acting role“Twilight” star Robert Pattinson demonstrated why

he’d been chosen as a Dior brand ambassador byextolling the influence of fashion and clothing on the abil-ity of an actor to engage in a role. “Shoes. I always findthat when you play a character, if you find the right pairof shoes there’s a trigger that happens inside you,” saidthe 31-year-old who was dressed head to toe in DiorHomme. “Or to have your pants up here, you feel like anentirely different person.” He added that “you can changeyour body language and your entire silhouette. It’s alldone through the clothing.”

Front row at DiorModel Bella Hadid joined Chanel designer Karl

Lagerfeld, sporting a chic new beard, alongside “PearlHarbor” actor Josh Harnett on the Dior Homme front row.A rare face on the Paris fashion scene, Harnett, 39, said hewas invited by Dior since he was in town promoting hisnew movie “Oh Lucy!” It’s a French-Japanese co-pro-duction that was screened in the International Critics’Week section of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. “It’s acomedy and lot of it is a road trip with me and two olderJapanese ladies not speaking the same language andhaving parallel crises,” he said. “I think it’s really funny.”

Dior travels back in time for couture-infused menswear

L i f e s t y l e Monday, January 22, 2018

29Established 1961

Fa s h i o n

Models present creations for Sacai, during the men’s Fall/Winter 2018/2019 fashion show in Paris.

Models present creations for Balmain, during men’s Fall/Winter 2018/2019 fashion show in Paris.

Walking in a Thom Browne wonderlandThere was the real crunching sound of fake snow at

Thom Browne’s theatrical menswear display that wowedguests with its snowy white forest scene and tall silverbirches lining the runway. Equally impressive were thewinter styles in the clothes. With many designs channel-ing the sartorial vibe from which the New York City-based designer cut his cloth, Browne prepared his mod-els to brave the harshest elements of the coldest monthsand in the process produced one of the best shows of theseason. Gray-blue knit ted caps, oversize knit scarves,red snow gloves and robust black hiking boots with thicklacing accessorized wrapped-up looks. They includedblock-like fur trims on cuffs and hems in the coat-heavy32-look collection with classic tailoring in knit fabric.

Textured wool and checks motifs - that merged a win-ter scarf with a suit-style pattern - adored long A-linecoats amid some of the thickest outerwear to be seen thisfall-winter. A touch of humor, in braided hair extensionswith colored ribbons and sheeny ankle warmers thatevoked a tied trash bag, was a crowd pleaser.

Balmain homme’s eclectic sparkleEclectic was the word for Olivier Rousteing’s high-

energy show for Balmain Homme. Mixing menswear andthe womenswear pre-collection designs, the 32-year-olddesigner referenced almost all of the thematic touch-stones used in previous shows within the same collection.

The 64 looks - in mainly green, black and gold - were aglimmering treasure trove of ideas.

Silver sparkle on a women’s singlet looked likechainmail, seen again in a men’s statement coat whichscreamed 1980. Tribal patterns - horizontal and verti-cal stripes, and a “V? shape running down the torso -gave the designs a wild edge. And 1980s peakedshoulders, slashed sections, black PVC pants andarchitectural, sculptured jackets gave the silhouettelots of sexy attitude. Subtle is simply not a word inRousteing’s vocabulary.

Sacai revamps the PonchoOne of Japan’s most popular luxury brands, Sacai gave

traditional Latin American styles an urban reworking forits Saturday morning show. With its signature use layer-ing, thick embroidered sweaters sported voluminousfringing that evoked ponchos that originated in the Andesregion. Their hue of intense pastel red gave the statementgarments a contemporary lift.

Then styles from the gaucho horse riders that werepopular in 19th-century Argentina, Brazil and Uruguaywere included. Thigh-length soft leather riding bootswere combined with highly embroidered patterns andfringing and myriad layers of material across the torsothat created divergent lines in the silhouettes. It was fun,and fall-winter saw a more coherent side to the designsthan has been seen in recent seasons. — AP

Monday, January 22, 2018L i f e s t y l e M u s i c & M o v i e s

Established 1961 30

Hyon Song-Wol (center), leader of North Koreaís popular Moranbong band, arrives at the Gangneung Arts Center where one ofthe planned musical concerts is due to be held, in the eastern city of Gangneung yesterday. — AFP photos

Oscar-winner, peacenik, fitness guru, fashion mod-el, cancer patient, feminist and political activist-Jane Fonda has spent her life confounding labels

and surprising people. Since she burst into the Americanconsciousness in the 1960s, she has lived a life of contro-versy, tragedy, and self-discovery-all in the public eye.The 80-year-old actress bares her soul in “Jane Fonda inFive Acts,” a startlingly candid documentary that pre-miered at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday.

“It’s about the importance of being brave and takingleaps of faith,” she said on the red carpet ahead of thescreening in Utah’s Park City ski resort. “And it’s veryhopeful because it shows how somebody that was kind ofvacuous can become someone who has a more purpose-ful and meaningful life.” The film mixes talking-headcommentary from friends and ex-husbands, archive clipsand Fonda’s own first-person account of her life, culledfrom 21 hours of interviews.

Set to air later this year on HBO, the film’s first fouracts bear the names of the key men in Fonda’s life, fromher film star father Henry through her husbands: RogerVadim, Tom Hayden and Ted Turner. It’s in the fifth act-”Jane”-that the real Fonda emerges, and we see the one-time ingenue as a fully-rounded public figure who hasbecome one of America’s leading political activists. Theactress arrived on the Sundance red carpet fresh fromaddressing crowds as part of a nationwide Women’sMarch opposing President Donald Trump.

“I’m older and wiser, clearer and more focused. I’m

more able, I think, to know what has to be done at a cer-tain time,” she told AFP, asked how her politics havechanged over the years. “That’s why today at the march Ispoke about the importance of going beyond protest toorganizing on the ground.”

Democracy ‘being stolen’ Fonda talked about taking back American democracy

which she said was “being stolen from us” as the planet

was “being destroyed.” The documentary explores thepain of her mother’s suicide, 30 years of bulimia andthree marriages to high-profile, sometimes difficult men.“The hardest (part) is always to talk about the things thatare more difficult in your life-painful, emotional, difficult,”she said. “But it’s not going to be a useful documentarythat people can learn from unless I talk about the goodas well as the bad.” Born in New York in 1937, Fonda roseto global prominence in the 1960s starring in films suchas “Barefoot in the Park” opposite Sundance founderRobert Redford.

Her big breakthrough came in Sydney Pollack’s“They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” and she won her firstof two Academy Awards for Alan J. Pakula’s “Klute.”She is still perhaps best known, however, for her earlierwork in her first husband’s 1968 erotic sci-fi romp“Barbarella.” Fonda’s political awakening came on thestreets of Paris-her home for a short while-where shesaw mass protests against the government of PresidentCharles de Gaulle in 1968.

The documentary looks at her role as a leading figurein the anti-Vietnam war movement, including her 1972trip to Hanoi when she outraged Americans by beingphotographed sitting on an anti-aircraft gun. Beyond herpeace campaigning, “Hanoi Jane” has long been a cam-paigner for women’s rights and recently stood up fornative Americans protesting the controversial DakotaAccess Pipeline.

Life lessons She hailed female directors such as Greta Gerwig,

Patty Jenkins, and Dee Rees, all of whom have madeacclaimed movies over the last year, voicing hope thatHollywood was in a moment that would “amplify fromhere forward.” “Women see things differently, we experi-ence things differently, and if you don’t hear our tales, ournarrative, then you are missing half the narrative and menare losers as well as women,” she said. Sporting a band-aged face, she also opened up about her battle with skincancer, days after revealing she’d had a growth removedfrom her lower lip.

“You live long enough or you’re a sun worshipper, youget cancer. So I’m dealing with it,” said the actress, whounderwent a lumpectomy for breast cancer in 2010.Fonda, whose Netflix series “Grace and Frankie” is aboutto begin its fourth season, was accompanied on the redcarpet by Troy Garity, her son with Hayden and one ofthe film’s interviewees. “She’s not insane but she movesthrough life at a furious pace and because of that hasexperienced a lot and learned a lot,” he told AFP. “And Ithink the film has good lessons that we can all live by.”Asked if watching the premiere was going to be a diffi-cult experience, he added: “I think I’ll enjoy it more than‘Barbarella.’”—AFP

Jane Fonda: From ‘vacuous’ bombshell to leading activist

Activist and actress Jane Fonda speaks at Rally Park City tocelebrate community victories, honoring the one-yearanniversary of the Women’s March and Park Cityís March onMain in Park City, Utah. — AFP

South Korea went into swoon mode yesterday-at thefeet of a party apparatchik from the North. HyonSong-Wol is, however, no dourly-dressed, suit-wear-

ing bureaucrat from the nuclear-armed nation, but theleader of Pyongyang’s most popular girl band. Camerasfollowed her every move as the glamorous songstressswept through Seoul at the head of a North Korean dele-gation sent to inspect performance venues for thePyeongchang Olympic Games. Wearing a fur muffler andexuding an air of confident calm, Hyun was unphased bythe throng of cameras that followed her everywhere.Believed to be in her late 30s or early 40s, Hyon is as closeto a megastar as North Korea probably has.

Her “Excellent Horse-like Lady”-a term describing asmart and energetic woman-was a big hit in the 2000s.She is also a politically powerful figure as an alternatemember of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party’s centralcommittee. Hyon was once rumored to be a former girl-friend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and becamethe subject of lurid and-as it turned out-incorrect 2013reports in the South that she and a dozen other musicianshad been executed for appearing in porn movies.

North Korea watchers dismiss speculation over her tieswith Kim, saying in the deeply patriarchal North, romanticpartners of leaders past and present are forced to keep alow profile. Hyon heads the 10-member MoranbongBand-the public face of North Korean soft power. The all-female outfit perform a mixture of Western-style pop andpatriotic North Korean numbers, and are frequently seen

sporting miniskirts and shoulder-baring dresses. Theirstyle-highly unusual in the conservative North-is seen asquaintly provincial in the South, with its slick, image-obsessed pop scene, and it has also earned them a cult fol-lowing among North Korean watchers.

The band is not expected to make the trip south forthe Games next month, but other musical groups-as wellas hundreds of “cheerleaders” will be there. Hyon’s pres-ence in the run-up to the international event-which untilrecently was marked by global tensions over NorthKorea’s missile and nuclear program-is seen by some asthe latest attempt to capitalize on the appeal of its per-formers. South Korea’s voracious media followed herevery move yesterday, with tiny details about her facialexpressions and fashion style making headlines. Hyon’sattire-from her shoes to an expensive-looking fur-drewintense debate, with one fashion analyst likening her styleto the US first lady.

“I think she was trying to emulate the style of MelaniaTrump... and trying to showcase the image of being rich bywearing the fur,” Heo Euna, head of Korea Image StrategyInstitute, told Yonhap news agency. Pyongyang has oftendeployed young women to soften its international image,from hundreds of “cheerleaders” sent to previous sportingevents in the South, to waitresses at the North’s networkof overseas restaurants, who put on a nightly musical anddance show for clients. —AFP

J Hus plans tobreak America and educate

them on grime

JHus wants to show US rappers “how it’sdone”. The ‘Common Sense’ hitmaker is plan-ning a trip stateside to try and break the

country, and he has hinted he has some topsecret collaborations in the works with someartists across the Atlantic. Asked if he’s going toshow the American stars “a thing or two” aboutgrime music, he laughed: “Yeah, definitely. We aredefinitely going to do a thing or two. I plan to thisyear.” And on whether he’s been approached forany collaborations over the pond yet, he teased:“We’ve got a couple of things. I don’t want to sayyet, I won’t to keep it a surprise.” Meanwhile, the

‘Did You See’h i t m a k e rrevealed he isa massive fanof fast foodchain KFC[ K e n t u c k yFried Chicken]and has invit-ed them toprovide himwith freetreats whenhe’s on tour.He told BANGShowbiz: “Ilove a KFCtea.” Asked ifhe gets it freenow, he

laughed: “Not yet, I still pay. So KFC shout at me,it’s cheap though.” The 21-year-old star - whosereal name is Momodou Jallow - is up for BritishAlbum of the Year [‘Common Sense’], BritishBreakthrough and British Single of the Year for‘Did You See’ at this year’s BRIT Awards - whichtakes place at London’s The O2 arena onFebruary 21 - but doubts he’ll be victorious onthe night, because he’s “not that big yet”. J Hus -who is up against Dua Lipa’s self-titled debutsolo LP, Ed Sheeran ‘Divide’, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man,‘Humour’ and Stormzy’s ‘Gang Signs & Prayer’ -said previously: “I am the underdog, it’s my firsttime. I don’t think I am going to win, I am not thatbig yet.”

South Korea in a swoon as megastar from the North visits

Dua Lipa forced topush back US gigs after‘scheduling’ nightmare

Dua Lipa has been forced to reschedule several UStour dates due to “scheduling conflicts”. The‘IDGAF’ hitmaker was due to perform concerts in

Dallas, Houston, and Seattle in February, but has beenforced to push the shows back to June and July after themishap. However, she has reassured her 1.42 followerswho purchased tickets that they will be able to attend thenew dates, which will be announced soon, or get a fullrefund if they are unable to make it down. The brunettebeauty is also going to be performing Orlando, Floridaafter previously having to cancel a radio performance. Ina series of tweets she confirmed: “My loves, due toscheduling conflicts, I’ll be rescheduling my shows inDallas, Houston, and Seattle.

All dates will be moved to June and July of this year,and tickets will be honored at the re-scheduled shows ...... If you’re not able to attend the new dates, full refundswill be offered at point of purchase. Please stay tuned forfurther details on exact dates and venues. Sorry for anyinconvenience and i’ll see you soon xx ... We are and theyare in June and July. And Orlando will also be in the mixalthough that was a radio show that got cancelled and Iwas only gonna play 5 songs and was really ill that daybut ill be back with a full set and m&gs will transfer ofc ifpurchased with original date x (sic)”

The ‘New Rules’ singer recently revealed it is herdream to bag a Grammy and play New York’s MadisonSquare Garden in the future. The 22-year-old pop starhas already performed around the globe in support ofher chart-topping self-titled LP, but has set her sights onworld domination, as she admits she dreams of wowingarenas and winning a prize at the prestigious US awardsceremony. Speaking about her “high” ambitions”, shesaid: “I would love to win a Grammy. I would love to do amassive world arena tour one day, be able to see that mycareer has grown to that extent, to have the opportunityto go and perform at Madison Square Garden in NewYork. My ambitions are always high and after you’veconquered one then you’re always hoping to go on to thenext big thing.”

Dua Lipa

J Hus

Def Leppard waited to put their entire backcatalogue on streaming services becausethey “weren’t going to be victims of the

industry”. The ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ rockers,fronted by Joe Elliott, recently put their music onSpotify and Apple Music for the first time butadmitted that part of the reason they waited wasbecause they were holding out for a “fair deal”.

Joe told Rolling Stone magazine: “We neededthe right deal for the band. We weren’t going to

be victims of the industry. We signed our dealwith Mercury many, many decades ago whenthere was no digital part of the record deal. Sowhen [our contract ended] in 2009, we were freeto do whatever we wanted to do. We were sobusy touring and not worrying about the backcatalogue - because people were still buying CDs- that we weren’t sure about [embracing] stream-ing. “We came to the conclusion that it’s notgoing to do us any harm, but the deal had to beright. These things just don’t happen overnight.”

And he revealed that trying to place all of theirmusic on the same service was another hold-up.Joe said: “We didn’t want certain albums on oneservice and others through another one. So nego-tiating everything with different places just takestime, It’s not like a make-or-break thing, whetherwe do it or not. So we didn’t and just went off onour own. “We were able to come to the decisionthat it was the right thing to do and have it allcome out at once. So now you’ve got everythingfrom the very first EP we did back in 1979 -which is what got us our record deal in the firstplace - all the way up to the last album that cameout in 2015.”— Bang Showbiz

Def Leppard: We weren’t going to be victims of music industry

Def Leppard

Justin Timberlake says a Las Vegasresidency is a “retirement plan”. The36-year-old singer - who is prepar-

ing for the release of his comebackalbum ‘Man of the Woods’ - insistedthat he is not planning to follow in thefootsteps of artists including his ex-girl-friend Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys,Jennifer Lopez or Celina Dion by sign-ing up for a Vegas residency. During aninterview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1Radio, he said: “I mean I wouldn’t rule itout if it was something that was differ-ent. I definitely don’t, you know, it feelslike.” When Lowe said: “...A retirementoption?,” Justin agreed.

He said: “You’re planning your retire-ment. You know what I mean? So forsome reason that feels like scary to me.”

Meanwhile, Justin has teamed up

with Timbaland for his new album andhe revealed the idea behind the recordcame from years of conversation withsuper producer Pharrell Williams.Opening up about the LP’s SouthernAmericana sound, he explained:“There’s this sonic real estate that’s soavailable. [Pharrell] kept pushing meand pushing me to say, ‘No but you’rethe guy who has to do it because you’refrom there’. “You can put a positivething out there about the South and wecan do it with sound. He kept telling me,‘I can hear it.’”— Bang Showbiz

Justin Timberlake:‘Vegas residency is

just a retirement plan’

Justin Timberlake

L i f e s t y l e Monday, January 22, 2018

31Established 1961

Fe a t u r e s

Kourtney Kardashian is set tolaunch a make-up line. The‘Keeping Up With the

Kardashians’ star’s sisters KimKardashian West and Kylie Jenneralready have their own cosmeticsbrands, but it looks like there maybe some competition between thefamily members as the 38-year-oldbeauty is planning to drop her ownrange under the name ‘Kourt’ torival her siblings. According toTMZ, the brunette babe - who hasthree children; Mason, eight,Penelope, five, and Reign, three,with her ex-partner Scott Disick -filed legal documents to own thebusiness name ‘Kourt’ but, in orderto keep things under wraps for thetime being, she filed the applicationunder her company ‘2Die4Kourt’.

And, although it’s not known forsure whether Kourtney will bringout her own cosmetics range, shehas been uploading more beauty-related content on her app, includ-ing her favorite natural products

and her every day make-up rou-tine. But the reality TV star shouldhave no trouble getting her brandoff the ground as her younger half-sister Kylie, 20 - the daughter ofKris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner -launched her range in 2015 and hasreportedly earned $420 million inretail sales in 18 months.

The range - called KylieCosmetics - keeps expanding yearon year but is known for liquid lip-sticks, lip liners, eye-shadowpalettes, concealers and founda-tion. Kim, 37, on the other hand,launched her KKW beauty rangein 2016 and just two months agodropped a line of shimmering high-lighters and lip glosses. Her per-fume collection KKW Fragrance-called Crystal Gardenia, CrystalGardenia Citrus and CrystalGardenia Oud - sold out in just sixdays. — Bang Showbiz

Alexander Wang is set tobreak away from the con-ventional fashion week cal-

endar. The 34-year-old designerhas announced that after the Fall2018 showcase this February, hewill no longer be showing hisdesigns at New York FashionWeek, in favor of holding presen-tations in June and Decemberinstead. The changes are expect-ed to “better serve” the designer’scustomers, as the new dates alignmore closely with the pre-collec-tion schedule. In a press release,Alexander Wang CEO Lisa Gershsaid: “Our consumer will be betterserved through the new system.The innovative approach reframesproduct on the month that itships, rather than the outdatedlabels of ‘Resort’ or ‘Pre-Fall,’ giv-ing our customers more relevantand consistent merchandisethroughout the year.”

Alexander will make thechanges this year, meaning that

whilst his designs will still be pre-sented in February, he will not beshowing off his Spring/Summer2019 collection during September’sfashion week. According to Vogue,the change in schedule has alreadybeen accepted by the Council ofFashion Designers of America(CFDA), which is exploring theidea establishing a more concretefashion show around both June andDecember, as well as keeping theexisting February and Septembershows. CFDA President StevenKolb told WWD.com: “I could seeit happening this summer. I couldsee a collective of maybe five or sobrands that have the right adjacen-cy and might align to it ... Alex isone of many designers the CFDAhas spoken to about the idea, andwe support him in this businessdecision. There are others who arepart of this idea.” — Bang Showbiz

Kourtney Kardashianto launch

make-up line

Alexander Wangleaves New YorkFashion Week

Kourtney Kardashian

Alexander Wang

Hedi Slimane, the designer who pioneered the skinny lookat Dior and Saint Laurent, is to take over at Celine, thebrand’s owners said yesterday. The 49-year-old French-

born creator is one of fashion’s biggest and most enigmaticnames, and his future has been surrounded by speculationsince he walked away from Saint Laurent last year. The luxurygiant LVMH, which owns Celine, has given Slimane completecontrol of the brand’s images and creative side in order to signhim up-a concession which put him alongside Chanel’s KarlLagerfield as one of the most powerful designers in fashion.

He has also been given his head to create a menswear lineat the label, which up until now only made clothes for women.Announcing the surprise appointment, Bernard Arnault, theowner of LVMH, said: “He is one of the most talented design-ers of our time. “Hedi will oversee and develop all creativityfor both women’s and men’s fashion, but also for leather goods,

accessories and fragrances,” he added. “He will leverage hisglobal vision and unique aesthetic virtuosity in further build-ing an iconic French fashion house,” he added. Lagerfeld, whofamously shed 41 kilos (90 pounds) in order to squeeze intohis Slimane’s skinny jean, was the first to cheer the news. “I amenchanted, what a great choice,” he told Women’s Wear Daily.“It will be great.”

Renowned photographer Like Lagerfeld, Slimane is a renowned photographer, and

he has spent the last few years living in Los Angeles, wherehe had moved his studio at the end of his reign at SaintLaurent. The designer drew much of his inspiration from theLA rock, which he tirelessly documented with his photo-graphs. AFP understands that he will that will continue tolive in the city while he designs for Celine. “I am delighted to

join Bernard Arnault in this all-embracing and fascinatingmission for Celine,” Slimane said. “I greatly look forward toreturning to the exciting world of fashion and the dynamismof the ateliers.”

Slimane will be reunited with Sidney Toledano, one of fash-ion’s most influential backroom figures, at Celine. The pairwere a formidable team at Dior where Slimane was a hugetrendsetter until his departure in 2012, designing for the laterock star David Bowie, with his skinny silhouette dominatingmen’s style for nearly a decade. — AFP

Fashion superstar Slimaneto take over at Celine

This file photo shows French-born designerHedi Slimane acknowledging the public at theend of the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2013

ready-to-wear collection show in Paris. — AFP

Detroit remains synonymous with cars, but “MotorCity” is also home to a virtual marketplace for amuch smaller consumer item: sneakers. Located on

the 10th floor of an ultra-modern building in downtownDetroit and backed by investors that include the rapperEminem and actor Mark Wahlberg, StockX is anexchange to buy and sell athletic shoes, including limited-editions or collector’s items. As with other trading floors,prices on the world’s first sneaker exchange fluctuatebased on consumer perceptions, and can sell for hun-dreds or thousands of dollars.

Instead of poring over the utterances of centralbankers, participants on StockX-which has expandedinto handbags, watches and streetwear-monitorInstagram to see what Hermes bag Kim Kardashian iscarrying or what is on Kanye West’s feet. The market’smain floor has a display of Air Jordans and shoes by Nike,Adidas and other brands in a variety of colors. All havebeen verified by the exchange for authenticity. A few feetaway, a team of young women inspect handbags byChanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes.

“StockX is a stock market of things,” said founder andchief executive Josh Luber. “We just connect buyers andsellers but the method by how we connect buyers andsellers is exactly the same way that the world’s stockmarkets connect buyers and sellers.” Not unlike Nasdaq,the electronic exchange located at Times Square inManhattan, StockX has a scrolling display that updatesprices with each new transaction. On a recent wintrymorning in early January, an order of the Air Jordan 10Retro Drake OvoWhite went for $400.

Eminem also has conducted business on the exchange,selling a re-release of the limited-edition Air Jordan 4Encore. The offering was part of a fundraising drive for

Detroit communities that raised more than $200,000.Although most participants are in the US, the virtualexchange, which opened two years ago, also has a solidclientele in China. StockX tracks different “sectorals,”such as the “Jordan Index,” the “Nike Index” or the“Adidas Index,” which aggregate prices for various items.Just off the main room, a group of “analysts,” glued totheir screens, collect and number-crunch the latest trans-actions and manage the catalogue.

Recognizing knockoffs Someone who wants to sell a pair of Air Jordans, for

example, would need to open a StockX account, andthen “literally all you have to do is click one button, ‘sell’and just accept that highest offer,” said Luber, a formerconsultant for IBM. Once a bid is accepted, the sellermust send the item to the exchange headquarters inDetroit or to the company’s other authenticators inPhoenix, Arizona, who verify that the product is not acopy. “Every time I get a pair of shoes I smell thembecause that glue is so so particular,” said sneakerauthenticator Aaron Fields.

“You know like Jordans and Nikes and Adidas all havedifferent smells and you just have to know them,” he said.“Fake shoes smell a little bit different.” The tell-tale signsof a knockoff vary by item. “This one has a lot of unevenstitching double stitching, wrong type of thread,” saidMichelle Winkfield, a handbag authenticator, examining aLouis Vuitton fake. “The hardware feels really cheap andthe logo stamped on it is incorrect.”

StockX penalizes sellers of fake goods, charging them15 percent of the transaction price, and possibly banningthem from the exchange. But fewer than two percent ofthe transactions have been canceled for this reason,

Luber said. The exchange on trades in new sneakers,while watches and handbags must be in “excellent” con-dition. The exchange charges a 9.5 percent commissionon each sneaker transaction, which comprised aboutthree-quarters of revenues last year. It charges 11.9 per-cent for watches and 14.5 percent for handbags.

Started with just a workforce of five including thefounder, the growing exchange now has 115 employees.The future may mean expansion into new items, likeStar Wars paraphernalia, musical instruments, rarewine, collectible cars and artwork. There are no imme-diate plans to raise funds from additional investors,beyond the current group that includes Quicken Loansfounder Dan Gilbert, who also owns the ClevelandCavaliers basketball team. —AFP

CEO and Cofounder of StockX Josh Luber Shoes are displayed at the offices of Stock X.

A pair of Air Jordan 1 Retro shoes are seen before beingpacked to ship out of Stock X.

A pair of Air Jordan 1 Retro High shoes that have beenauthenticated are on display at the offices of Stock X.

The authenticating room for sneakers is viewed at Stock X.A tag is placed on a pair of Nike Air Max Anniversaryshoes at Stock X.

Michelle Winkfied authenticates a Gucci bag at Stock X.— AFP photos

Motor City not just for cars: Detroit boasts world’s 1st sneaker exchange

LifestyleMONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

Established 1961

A child plays with giant ice cream statues during the 39th International trade Show of Artisan Gelato (ice cream), Pastry, Bakery and Coffe World (SIGEP) in Rimini, on January 20, 2018. — AFP

Scarlet hibiscus petals infuse their flavor in a giant potof liquid, where green leaves picked from the westAfrican kinkeliba shrub also swirl. With a pinch of

ginger and some baobab fruit, the concoction is ready tobe tasted. Aissata Diakite’s juices are part of an all-naturalhealth startup which the 28-year-old Malian launched inDecember, blending traditional flavours with an engineer’seye for detail. The idea of launching a range of entirelynatural fruit juices using locally sourced products from the

African savannah came from her childhood in Mopti, aregion in central Mali through which the Niger River flows.And it was there, while studying agribusiness in France,that the project came to fruition.

“When I was a student, I used to come back to Mali onholiday and I would drive through rural agricultural areasto meet the farmers, to understand the seasons and how tomanage the off-season,” she explains animatedly. And lastmonth, she launched her line of “Zabbaan” juices after

meeting prospective buyers at the “Invest in Mali” forum.The business takes its name from the zaban-or saba sene-galensis, a shrub-like tree native to the Sahel region whichgrows predominantly on riverbanks and in woodlands,whose fruit and leaves are highly prized.

Investing in her homeland The forum was not for the fainthearted: Mali is strug-

gling with a jihadist insurgency across large swathes of itsrugged terrain-including Diakite’s home region-which arecurrently being patrolled by several international militaryforces. “Coming to Mali today is an act of faith,” admittedPresident Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a speech at theforum’s opening. Nonetheless, investors pledged some 34billion CFA francs ($63 million, 52 million euros) to anarray of businesses, from solar energy to cement andpackaging.

“Producing what we consume, that’s how we createjobs and wealth,” Industrial Development MinisterMohamed Aly Ag Ibrahim said a week later at the formallaunch of Zabbaan. And he hailed Diakite as “an inspira-tional young woman” who had “returned from abroad toinvest in her country and succeeded in that challenge”.

Echoes of an empire There are 10 juices in the range, each bearing names

like “the king”, a punchy mango and baobab mix, “theduke”-zaban and baobab, or “the warrior” which blendshibiscus with mint and baobab, with names evoking thepomp of the Mali Empire, which ruled large sections ofwest Africa for 400 years. It was her grandmother whotold her stories about Mali at the height of its power whenit was a world-renowned center of learning, she told AFP.

Her recipes are based on leaves, flowers and fruits fromthe African savannah, “most of them growing wild” withfresh, local products one of the trademarks of the range.“We work with a network of farmers who supply us, whooften work on lands passed down through the family,” she

says. “And these products are also used in traditionalAfrican medicine.” In order to break into new markets andstart exporting overseas, the company is also in theprocess of obtaining organic certification.

Essence of Mali Bamako’s small but growing middle class is taking note.

Zabbaan now produces around 1,000 bottles a day at itsproduction facility in the capital which are mostly sold atsupermarkets in Bamako for 500 CFA francs ($0.90) a go.The juice, which is pasteurized, comes in brightly-coloured 300 ml (10 fluid ounce) bottles, which are madeof recyclable plastic. But even this foothold in a nascentmarket was hard won. “It’s not easy to grow a network ofsuppliers like that,” Diakite said. “It took me about threeyears.”

On the factory floor, where the latest batch is ready, theproduction team is in full swing. Before it can be bottled,the product-”the prince” in this case-must be tasted. Andit’s a job for the whole team. “Some people think that thisone lacks ginger, so we are changing that and adding a bitmore,” says Lala Coulibaly, who is responsible for qualitycontrol and hygiene. With 65 employees on the payroll,Diakite has now set her sights on the export market, withthe company due to start shipping juices to France inFebruary. And she’s also working on a new line of prod-ucts: the extraction and export of pure essences that willalso bear the label: “Made in Mali”. — AFP

The juice startup putting Mali in a bottle

Aissata Diakite (left),agribusiness engineer and

founder of Zabbaan Holdingtastes juice made in Mali

and all-natural with heremployees, in Bamako.

— AFP photos

An employee of Zabbaan Holding, fills a bottle of juice made in Mali and all-natural.Bottles of Zabbaan juices made in Mali and all-natural,named “Le Prince”, are displayed in Bamako.

Aissata Diakite, agribusinessengineer and founder ofZabbaan Holding juices, pos-es next to her new juicesmade in Mali and all-natural,in Bamako.