MP Nabil Al-Fadhl dies during Assembly session - Kuwait Times

By Meshaal Al-Enezi and Agencies

KUWAIT: Kuwait and Iraq have wiped outobstacles and outstanding files that exist-ed over the past years, First Deputy PrimeMinister and Foreign Minister SheikhSabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah saidyesterday at a press conference with visit-ing Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari after the conclusion of the fifth ses-sion of the Kuwaiti-Iraqi Joint MinisterialCommittee.

Over the past years, Kuwaiti-Iraqi rela-tions have overcome all obstacles, and thetwo countries addressed issues that wereoutstanding over decades, Sheikh Sabahsaid, noting that they stand on solidground for boosting ties. He said bothsides agreed on rejecting all forms of ter-rorism and the need to unite in facing ter-rorism and terrorist groups and organiza-tions, especially since both countries hadsuffered from terrorism.

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MP Nabil Al-Fadhl dies during Assembly sessionGovt, Assembly, MPs pay tribute to parliamentarian

KUWAIT: MP Nabil Al-Fadhl yesterday died on his parlia-mentary seat apparently of a heart attack, as the gov-ernment, National Assembly and MPs mourned him asan active parliamentarian. He was 66. The incident tookplace about half an hour after the start of the Assemblysession in which the grilling of Health Minister Ali Al-Obaidi was scheduled to take place. Speaker MarzoukAl-Ghanem said Fadhl died while serving his countryand performing his duty, and suspended parliamentarysessions yesterday and today, saying the next sessionwill be held on Jan 12.

Minutes before he died, Fadhl spoke for just over aminute, drawing the attention of his colleagues to focusentirely on Assembly business and not distract ministersand keep them busy signing transactions and forms forthe lawmakers. He looked somewhat tired as he satdown. Minutes later, as MP Abdullah Al-Tameemi wasspeaking, Fadhl fell on the floor and lawmakers nearhim rushed to his help. They hoisted him up and seatedhim but he appeared to have breathed his last.

Ghanem quickly came down from the podium andtook part in helping other MPs as medics also rushed tohis help. They took Fadhl to the Assembly clinic andimmediately rushed him to the nearby Amiri Hospital.The cause of his death was not immediately announcedbut it appears to be a massive heart attack. Fadhl com-plained of health problems in the past few years andlast year he underwent a kidney transplant donated byhis son. He was also a diabetic.

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KUWAIT: MP Nabil Al-Fadhl (center) speaks to Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah (left) and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabahat the National Assembly yesterday, shortly before he died during the parliament session. (Right) The Kuwaiti flag is placed over the seat of Fadhl in theAssembly. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Kuwait, Iraq overcome obstaclesJaafari denies any link to abduction of Qataris

KUWAIT: Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari (left) and his Kuwaiti counterpartSheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah attend the fifth session of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti JointSupreme Ministerial Committee yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s national oil company, KuwaitPetroleum Corp (KPC), has named a new board,three weeks after the oil minister was replaced, asource familiar with the matter said yesterday. Theidentities of the new board members were notimmediately known, and comment could not beobtained from the KPC. Nizar Al-Adsani will remainchief executive, the source said. The reshuffle is notexpected to mean any change to the oil policy ofthe OPEC member; Kuwait’s oil policy is set by thecountry’s Supreme Petroleum Council.

At the end of November, Kuwait appointed AnasAl-Saleh as acting oil minister, replacing Ali Al-Omair. At that time, sources said there had beenfriction between the KPC board and Omair onissues including major projects, mechanisms formanaging the oil industry, and the return of formerofficials to their jobs at the company. An official cir-cular announcing the board reshuffle is expectedto be issued after approval by the cabinet, thesource said. The new board will seek to achieve sta-bility in the oil sector and push ahead with proj-ects, he added. — Reuters

KPC names new board

DUBAI: In this Sept 22, 2015 photo, with the Marina Waterfront skyline in thebackground, laborers work at a construction site at the Palm Jumeirah. — AP

DUBAI: Human Rights Watch released aset of guidelines yesterday that it says con-struction companies in the oil-rich GulfArab states should follow to ensure basicrights for migrant workers. The New York-based rights group’s latest recommenda-tions shift the focus toward employers andare aimed at tackling some of the biggestabuses facing millions of low-paid laborersin the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

They include ensuring that contractorsand sub-contractors pay all recruiting fees,provide workers with places to keep theirpassports, provide decent accommoda-tion, abide by requirements for maximum

working hours and overtime pay, and payworkers their full wages on time. Thegroup also urged companies to appointoutside monitors to ensure workers arereceiving basic labor protections in prac-tice, not just on paper.

“In the face of rampant abuse andexploitation of worker’s rights in GCCcountries, construction firms need to stepup to protect their workforce,” said thegroup’s Middle East director, Sarah LeahWhitson. Migrant workers in the Gulf areemployed under a sponsorship systemknown as kafala that effectively ties


HRW offers guidelines for builders in Gulf

RIYADH: After years of tense relations withPresident Bashar Al-Assad, Saudi Arabiahas adopted a bolder approach towardsSyria, prompted by rival Iran’s growingregional influence. The kingdom recentlybrought Syrian political and armed opposi-tion factions together for unprecedentedtalks in Riyadh, the culmination of monthsof maneuvering by the Sunni Muslim pow-er. The step highlighted Saudi Arabia’s ris-ing profile in efforts to end the war in Syria,where Shiite Iran gives military and finan-cial support to Riyadh’s longtime opponentAssad.

Days later, the kingdom gained worldattention by announcing the surprise for-mation of a 34-nation coalition againstIslamic “terrorism”. Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said there were even “discussionsamong countries” including his, about pos-sibly “sending some special forces in Syria”.Experts say the more assertive stance aimsto counter an emboldened Iran in anincreasingly unstable region. “Saudis’ planhas to do with Iran,” said a foreign diplomatwho considers both the Saudi-led coalition

and the Riyadh talks as part of the samestrategy.

Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi jour-nalist and analyst, said nearly three monthsof air strikes on Syrian rebels by Assad’sother main ally Russia had further acceler-ated events. “The Russian engagement orintervention, despite how limited it is,added a certain dynamic to the Syrian situ-ation,” he said. Diplomats said the coalitionwas partly in response to Western criticismthat Saudi Arabia does not do enough tofight extremists such as the Islamic State(IS), a Sunni extremist group that hasseized large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Although the coalition is not - at least fornow - structured to take any military action,Riyadh will offer to use its position as leadSunni state to defeat IS, “but only if the post-conflict political order in Iraq and Syria weak-ens Iran’s influence”, and Sunnis in thosecountries are empowered, said US-basedpolitical risk research firm Eurasia Group.Saudi Arabia has long accused Iran of inter-fering in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon.


Growing Iran clout spurs Saudi action

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: This image shows thefirst-stage successful upright landing of theSpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday at CapeCanaveral Air Force Station. — AFP

MIAMI: SpaceX successfully landed itspowerful Falcon 9 rocket Monday for thefirst time, a major milestone in the drive tocut costs and waste by making rockets asreusable as airplanes. Its engines burningbright orange against the dark night sky,the Falcon 9 made a graceful arc back toEarth and touched down upright at CapeCanaveral, Florida, minutes after launch-ing a payload of satellites to orbit, videoimages showed. “The Falcon has landed,” acommentator said above the screams andcheers of people gathered at SpaceXheadquarters in Hawthorne, California.

SpaceX, headed by Internet tycoonElon Musk, is striving to revolutionize therocket industry, which currently losesmany millions of dollars in jettisonedmachinery and sophisticated rocketcomponents after each launch. “I stillcan’t quite believe it,” Musk said in a tele-conference after the landing. “I think thisis a revolutionary moment. No one hasever brought an orbital class boosterback intact.”

Previous attempts to land the Falcon9’s first stage on a floating ocean platformhave failed - with the rocket either collid-ing with the autonomous drone ship ortipping over. But this time, video imageson SpaceX’s live webcast showed the tall,white portion of the rocket - known as thefirst stage - appearing to settle down firm-ly and stick the landing. The rocketreached a height of 200 km before head-ing back to Earth and touching down at aformer US Air Force rocket and missiletesting range that was last used in 1978.

Video images were cut off within sec-onds of the landing, and the SpaceX livewebcast returned to its commentators,who described the successful deploymentof the rocket’s payload of 11 satellites forORBCOMM, a global communicationscompany. The US space agency NASAapplauded the feat. “Congratulations@SpaceX on your successful vertical land-ing of the first stage back on Earth!” NASAsaid in a tweet.


SpaceX rocket nails safe landing in pivotal feat

L O C A LWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

KUWAIT: His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown PrinceSheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at SeifPalace yesterday First Deputy Prime Minister and Ministerof Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari and hisaccompanying delegation attending the fifth session ofthe Iraqi-Kuwaiti Joint Supreme Ministerial Committee.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relationsbetween the two countries and ways of enhancing them aswell as issues of common interest. The meeting was also

attended by Amiri Diwan advisor Muhammad AbdullahAbu Al-Hasan, Protocol Chief at His Highness the CrownPrince Diwan, Sheikh Mubarak Sabah Al-Salem Al-HumoudAl-Sabah and Ambassadors of the two countries.

Meanwhile, His Highness the Prime Minister SheikhJaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received the visitingForeign Minister, in presence of Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled.The meeting was attended by Undersecretary of HisHighness the Premier Sheikha Etimad Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Kuwaiti Ambassador in Iraq Ghassan

Al-Zawawi. Earlier, His Highness the Crown Prince receivedHis Highness the Prime Minister, Deputy Chief of the RulingFamily Board Sheikh Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah andAdvisor Hussein Nasser Al-Huraiti.

In other news, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday sent a congratulatorycable to New Chairman of the Court of Cassation JusticeYusef Jassem Al-Mutawa, wishing him best of luck. HisHighness the Crown Prince and His Highness the PrimeMinister sent Mutawa similar cables. —KUNA

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah meetsIraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-AhmadAl-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari. —KUNA

Crown Prince receivesKuwaiti, Iraqi FMs

KUWAIT: Kuwait Intellectual Property RightsSociety Chairman Sheikh Salman Al-DawoodAl-Sabah stressed the importance of studyingthe resolutions of the Paris Climate ChangeConference as they would have an economicimpact on the long term.

These resolutions will create further com-petition on natural resources including met-als, agricultural products and energy sources,said Sheikh Salman, adding that this will alsoaffect international food and drugs produc-tion.

Meanwhile, the chairman said that due tothe high prices of natural resources, compa-nies may start adding cheap chemicals totheir products in order to keep selling them atlow prices. He further noted that the confer-ence had set a number of restrictions andtight rules on the consumption of naturalresources, which may cause several countriesto monopolize these resources.

Sheikh Salman said that Kuwait must estab-lish a national authority to monitor the qualityof food and drug products to protect the well-being of consumers. The country also needs toissue a law to protect the rights of both theconsumer and producer, as well as bring tojustice those who import products with cheapchemicals added to them, he noted. —KUNA

Resolutions ofclimate conferenceto have economic

impact: Official

KUWAIT: The following is a transcript ofan interview with French Ambassador toKuwait Christian Nakhle on the 2015United Nations Climate ChangeConference (COP 21):

- Why is the Paris Agreement historic? Using the word historic is not true in

most cases, yet it is justified this time.History will record the Paris ClimateConference because one rarely experi-ences such moments when the entireaudience stands to celebrate success thewhole world had been anticipating forlong. It is a turning point. We have start-ed a new age of international coopera-tion in one of the most complicatedissues facing humanity. This is the firsttime all countries agree on this issuewhile the UN has been trying to con-vince them to reduce emissions thatcause global warming for over 20 years.

- What happens now?The Paris agreement will be referred

to the UN in New York, where memberswill ratify it on April 22, 2016 (WorldEarth Day) and it will be valid for a fullyear. It will be in effect once 55 countriesresponsible for at least 55 percent of theworld emissions sign it.

Things may go faster if the world’sleading emission-producing countries(US and China) approve the agreementand endorse it quickly. Signing theagreement may or may not be subjectto the approval of respective countriesaccording to their constitutional law.There is a great chance that the pactwould be put into practice before 2020.

- Is Earth truly saved? Can we trust thegoal of limiting temperature increase

to 1.5 degrees? The pact is a turning point, yet there

is still much to do, starting with puttingthe agreement into practice. The aim isto pledge to limit global warming andkeep it below two degrees centigradeand follow up the efforts exerted to stoptemperature increase at 1.5 degrees. TheParis agreement includes factors that wehave though impossible to achieve. Itdoes not solve all problems but sets sol-id foundations to work on it.

The 1.5 degree goal is ambitious yetcentral and vital for many countries,especially island countries and less-developed ones, which would face cata-strophic consequences if the tempera-ture increases to two degrees centi-grade. A team of government climatechanges experts called for preparing aspecial report in 2018 on how to achievethat goal. It is necessary when workingon climate to set clear ambitious goalseven if they were hard to achieve at thetime being. For instance, during theCOP20 in Lima in 2014, when we unani-

mously decided to invite countries to setnational contributions to limit globalwarming, few expected the call to suc-ceed. Nevertheless, 186 out of 195 coun-tries made their contributions - that ismore than 96 percent of greenhousegas emissions!

- How developing countries will be helped?

Funds are the keys of trust in the fieldof combating international climatechange. Work will go on in successivephases. The text includes a new financialtarget by a maximum of 2025. Advancedcountries’ responsibility to financiallyand technologically support developingcountries is clearly defined. The agree-ment also encourages other countries tovoluntarily contribute.

$100 billion must be allocated in theform of loans and grants by the begin-ning of 2020 to fund projects that wouldenable countries adapt to climatechanges (seawater level rise, droughts,etc) and reduce global warming-causingemissions. Those funds will be increasedas defined in the agreement. Somedeveloping countries can voluntarilybecome donators to poorer countries. Itis expected to hold the first meetingmentioned in the agreement by 2025 toset new target figures to help poorercountries.

- What can Kuwait do to contribute torealizing this agreement?

Right after the Paris Summit conclud-ed, Kuwait expressed its wish to limitcarbon emissions. Accordingly, manypromising projects were launched suchas the Shaqaya project, which had beenpreviously launched by KISR to developusing renewable energy in Kuwait. A2,000 megawatt renewable energy plantwill be built in the western desert tocover 15 percent of Kuwait’s needs ofenergy. The Shaqaya project will reduceextremely harmful fuel combustions andthus reduce CO2 emissions by 5 milliontons.

French Ambassadorspeaks on COP 21

Christian Nakhle

CAIRO: Kuwait’s Minister of Justice andMinister of Awqaf and Islamic AffairsYaqoub Al-Sane expressed his delight athaving been honored in Cairo in a ceremo-ny held yesterday for his policy of promot-ing religious moderation and tolerance. Ina statement to KUNA after the ceremonyin which the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi conferred a medal of honorof the first degree on him, Sane noted theimportance of accepting ‘the other’ andrespecting all religions and creeds withoutdiscrimination.

He slammed extremist religious think-ing which, he said, would lead to acts ofterrorism, stressing the need to update thespeech clerics use in their sermons in amanner that would not offend the sensi-bilities of people of other faiths. He laudedthe Al-Azhar for following a course ofmoderation and tolerance worthy of beingattended to and learned from by the gen-eral public. At this juncture in the historyof the region, he said Al-Azhar was wellpoised to lead the masses in their spirituallives. — KUNA

Sisi honors Kuwaiti Minister forpolicy of religious moderation

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi honors Kuwait’s Minister of Justice and Minister ofAwqaf and Islamic Affairs Yaqoub Al-Sane.— KUNA

ALEXANDRIA: Kuwaiti student Talal Hamad Al-Shehab won the 2nd place in Intel’s Arab World Science Competition 2015. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Two Kuwaiti students have wonthe second and third place in Intel’s ArabWorld Science Competition 2015, held lastweek in Alexandria, Egypt, Kuwait ScienceClub (KSC) said yesterday. The studentsTalal Hamad Al-Shehab and AbdullrahmanRahseed Al-Jassem are from the KuwaitScience and Engineering Competitionteam organized by the KSC annually, saidthe Secretary General of the club Dr AdamAl-Mullah.

The students won the second andthird places in the competition in thefield of physical energy and environmen-tal engineering, he said. The KSC partici-pated in the competition supported byKuwait Foundation for the Advancementof Sciences (KFAS) with eight scientificprojects and nine students were quali-f ied through Kuwait Science andEngineering Competition organized bythe club, he added. This achievement is astep in the right direction to win in nextIntel’s World Competition in the UnitedStates, he said. —KUNA

KSC wins 2nd, 3rd place in Intel’sArab World Science Competition 2015

Kuwaiti student Abdullrahman Rahseed Al-Jassem won the 3rd place in Intel’s Arab World ScienceCompetition 2015.

BEIRUT/AMMAN: Kuwait Red CrescentSociety (KRCS) jointly with Qatar Red CrescentSociety (QRCS) announced that their teams inLebanon have provided relief aid to around250 Syrian families in north Lebanon as partof the First GCC Joint Relief Project.

The relief aid included sheets and blan-kets, Yousef Boutros, relief coordinator forLebanese Red Cross, stated to KUNA, addingthat this aid would contribute significantly toalleviating the suffering of 250 refugee fami-lies in Al-Safira district. The joint GCC cooper-ation project is run under the umbrella of theGCC General-Secretariat, and would have amajor role in unifying efforts to aid Syrianrefugees, Boutros noted.

Meanwhile, Kuwait ’s ambassador toJordan Hamad Al-Duaij handed over

$728,000 to two Jordanian charity organiza-tions to be used for supporting the humani-tarian situation of the Syrian refugees in theKingdom. The donation is offered by theKuwaiti Revival of Islamic Heritage Society(RIHS).

$452,000 will go to activities of the ZakatAlquds Committee, and the rest $276,000 tothe Al-Takaful association that cares for Syrianorphans and refuges families. The Kuwaitipeople have always been initiators and pio-neers in charity and humanitarian work tohelp the needy and alleviate their sufferingsworldwide, Ambassador Duaij told KUNA. Hestressed Kuwait’s keenness on receivingreports from the beneficiary bodies to docu-ment it and make sure assistance reachesthose who deserve it.—KUNA

Kuwaiti, Qatari societies provideaid to refugees in North Lebanon

KUWAIT: Kuwait National Fund forSmall and Medium Enterprises hasannounced graduating the first batchof ‘Exploring Entrepreneurship’ pro-gram that is specialized in developingany project idea into a project plan thatcan be implemented in reality.

The Executive Board Member inKuwait National Fund for SMEs, HadeelAl-Shammari has graduated the firstbatch of the program, and graciouslycongratulated the attendees andpraised their ambitious ideas.

Shammari noted that the Fund’s mis-sion is to build an institution that pro-vides a world-class performance level,and strengthening the ability of entre-preneurship in Kuwait. This in returnwill increase the contribution of smalland medium enterprises sector, in sup-porting the national economy. This pro-gram will bring the first steps for entre-preneurs who want to turn their ideasinto a successful business ventures.

Meanwhile, the Executive Directorof National Fund for SMEs, Meshari Al-Mahmoud explained to the attendeesthe v is ion of the Fund; which i sfocused on building a pioneer com-munity that stimulates creativity, andis able to achieve economic develop-mental opportunities. The Fund also,is keen on achieving the followingthree objectives: create productivejobs for Kuwaitis in the private sector;increase the participation of small andmedium enterprises in the local econ-omy, and to create a favorable envi-ronment for the small and mediumenterprises.

Mahmoud explained that this inter-active program has been prepared inaccordance with the best internation-al practices in entrepreneurship, inwhich it is inspired by the finest glob-

a l t ra in ing programs in bus inessentrepreneurship, especially in theUnited States, such as Business ModelCanvas and Operation JumpStart. Inan effort to help the entrepreneurs toexplore their ideas and turn them intosuccessful business ventures. At least500 thousand entrepreneurs f romaround the world have been trained inusing the same sources, upon whichthis program is relied on.

Mahmoud then elaborated that oneof the main objectives of the programthat it helps entrepreneurs to turntheir ideas into a business venture,learn the key success factors of thecorporate wor ld, and ensure theattainment of the ideas presented byentrepreneurs. As well as, to establishthe commercial business scheme withan executive summary.

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) presented a check to thePublic Authority of Industry, containing a financial contribution to support itssocial and sports activities.

Crimesr e p o r t

Duo held on humantrafficking charges

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Residency affairs detectives arrested a mandoub(company representatives) and a citizen who forged theestimated number of workers needed for a farm, as 200Arab workers are registered to the farm. Following informa-tion about the mandoub’s activity, he was arrested. He toldpolice that he received KD 150 for each transaction, whilethe citizen who was also arrested said he received KD1,000. A visa issued according to similar transactions areoften sold to victims of trafficking who come to Kuwait butfind no jobs, leaving them to work for others illegally.

Unlicensed weaponsWeapons detectives arrested a citizen with posses-

sion of unlicensed firearms and ammunition in SaadAl-Abdullah. Officers found an AK-47 and eight maga-zines in his house.

Drug possessionCriminal detectives arrested a Saudi national red-hand-

ed using and trading in drugs, and found 600 gm of shabu(meth) with him along with KD 245 he made from thesales. The suspect was found to be an ex-convict. The mar-ket value of the drugs was estimated at KD 21,000. Inanother case, Ahmadi police arrested an Indian nationalwith 206 suspected liquor bottles in his car. The arrest wasmade at a checkpoint in Mahboula. Meanwhile, a motoristwho was asked to stop but tried to flee was found in anabnormal condition with six syringes in the front seat, sev-en tablets and eight used syringes, in addition to threeused spoons. He was sent to concerned authorities.

Brotherly hateA citizen in his forties was placed in the intensive

care unit at Farwaniya Hospital after being shot in thethigh by his elder brother. The victim said that hisbrother came to his Firdous house and a verbal dis-pute ensued, then the suspect fired his weapon.

Workers’ fightSome members of a labor union submitted medical

reports following a fight between them, as one sideaccused the other of destroying the union’s furniture.


KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-KhaledAl-Sabah (right) and senior ministry officials attend the ceremony. — Photo byYasser Al-Zayyat

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister andInterior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah yesterday rewarded secu-rity force members who took part in secur-ing the opening ceremony of Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, by givingthem one week off from work.

Speaking to reporters at the inaugura-tion of the ministry ’s camp in Subhan

Monday night, the minister also stressedthat after six weeks of restructuring theministry’s hierarchical structure, “the timehas come to replace senior officials whohad not been efficient enough.”

Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled also not-ed that domestic security challenges thatKuwait faces are serious and include terror-ism, sabotage, security and traffic, addingthat security men are “up to those chal-lenges.”

Minister rewards JaberStadium security team

KUWAIT: Minister of Information and State Minister forYouth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-HumoudAl-Sabah yesterday expressed his thanks and appreciationto His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-JaberAl-Sabah for patronizing and attending the opening ofJaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.

Sheikh Salman Al-Hamoud said in a statement toKuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the patronage of HisHighness the Amir and His Highness the Crown PrinceSheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for the festivityunderlines the concern of the senior leadership to supportand care for the state’s various sports activities so as toregain its leadership and its position both domestically andinternationally. He added that this initiative had a greatimpact in instilling the spirit of patriotism and loyaltyamong citizens, football fans and athletes alike.

Sheikh Salman also expressed thanks and appreciationto Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanimand His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah for attending and supportingthis great event, which emphasizes their eagerness for thedevelopment of the Kuwaiti sports and its various activities.

He praised the efforts made by the Minister of State forCabinet Affairs and acting Minister of Electricity and Waterand Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the open-ing ceremony, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al-MubarakAl-Sabah, all members of the Committee and the variousactors involved and the security, military, media, sports and

youth, especially the volunteers and national companiesthat provided their services free of charge to support thisgreat celebration.

Sheikh Salman stressed that this celebration gatheredall components of the Kuwaiti society in an edifice carryingthe name of “Amir of Hearts”, late His Highness the AmirSheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah which would bea start of a new sports achievements of the State of Kuwaitto raise the flag of the country high in the various regionaland international sport events.

In the midst of a packed stadium, His Highness the Amir

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah announced theofficial opening of the multi-purpose Jaber Al-AhmadInternational Stadium last Friday. Also attending the eventHis Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, alongside several local officials and notable figures.

The huge event at the 60,000-seater stadium is beingmarked by the Champions Cup, a match between a star-studded side of ex-internationals, led by renowned Italiancoach Fabio Capello, and a Kuwait all-stars side, led bynational coach Mohammad Ibrahim.

The global side includes greats such as ex-Englandinternationals David Beckham, Paul Scholes, JamieCarragher and David James, alongside Italy’s AlessandroNesta and Gianluca Zambrotta, Portugal’s Luis Figo andSpain’s Carlos Puyol and Michel Salgado.

Brazilian legends Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos alsoform part of the global all-stars, along with German keeperJans Lehman, France’s Robert Pires, Ukrainian striker AndriyShevchenko and Jamaican Dwight Yorke.

On the local side are Bader Al-Mutawa, AbdulhadiKhamis, Yousif Nasser, Fahad Al-Enezi, Mohammad Jragh,Fahad Al-Ansari, Abdulaziz Al-Mashaan, Talal Nayef, MusaedNeda, Fahad Al-Hajeri, Hussain Hakim, Abdullah Al-Buraiki,Khaled Ibrahim, Amer Al-Maatouq, Khaled Al-Rashidi,Sulaiman Abdulghafoor. Former Egyptian star MohammadAbu Traika and the United Arab Emirates’ OmarAbdulrahman will also form part of the local side. — KUNA

Info Minister thanks Amir for patronizing Stadium’s opening

Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah

AccidentsThe Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD) dealt

with several traffic accidents, as it received a call aboutan accident in Jahra between a sports-utility-vehicle(SUV) that collided with a truck and flipped over. Thedriver, a citizen, was trapped in because of the seat-belt. The citizen was freed and handed to paramedics.Meanwhile, a call came about a car that flipped overon Maghrib Street between Jabriya and Surra, soMishref fire center responded, and firemen had to cutthe car open and freed the driver. Another call wasreceived about a car catching fire on Sixth Ring Road,so Mishref firemen were dispatched, and they con-trolled the fire quickly and prevented any explosions.Police and paramedics were on hand.

Traffic campaignsTraffic department carried a series of surprise cam-

paigns in he six governorates during the period from 13-19/12/2015 resulting in issuing 24,118 citations, 946 vehi-cles impounded, 18 persons detained and 18 expats weresent for deportation for driving without a license.

By Meshaal Al-Enenzi

KUWAIT: Kuwait National PetroleumCompany (KNPC) strongly denied reportsand photos claiming the occurrence of ahuge fire at Shuaiba refinery, stressingthat the photos were of a previous blaze.

Al-Watan TV’s closureThe comprehensive court yesterday

seconded an administrative decisionclosing down Al-Watan TV channel forviolating ministry of commerce laws.Meanwhile, the criminal court sentenceda blogger to three years in jail with laborfor slandering His Highness the Amir onhis Twitter account.

Authority’s staffEmployees of the anti-corruption

authority that was dissolved by a courtorder on Sunday demanded protecting

their rights as they had resigned fromprevious jobs in the public and privatesectors before joining the authority. Ina statement, the employees said thatthe cour t order explained why theauthority was dissolved but left somevery important points unexplained,although the authority had been estab-lished in compliance with His Highnessthe Amir ’s wishes. The statementstressed that the Cabinet’s statement inthis regard was void of how to practi-cally deal with the consequences ofannulling the authority law, namelythose related to the rights of employ-ees. The statement demanded treatingthe authority ’s employees as ‘actualones’ to ensure the continuity of payingtheir salaries and temporarily transferthem to other bodies pending reap-pointing them once the authority isreactivated.

KNPC denies Shuaibarefinery fire rumors

Municipality statisticsA report prepared by the Public Relations

Department of Kuwait Municipality in cooperation ofPublic Services Department showed that the numberof complaints received through Viva Company andInterior Ministry Operations last November was 185,including general cleanliness fields (complaints aboutpresence of trash, not sweeping streets, negligence bycleaning workers, requesting trash dumpsters, trashedused furniture, trees in front of homes, yards, andrestaurants. There were also complaints about fallingmaterial (trees, metal, tires, light poles, rocks, graveland sand dunes). In addition, there were complaintsabout sewer overflow, cars, boats, abandoned chalets,spoiled food, roaming vendors, selling food stuff,roaming butcher, bachelors complaints in Salmiya. Thereport showed that the highest rate of complaintsreceived was in Hawally governorate with 42, followedby the capital with 37, Mubarak Al-Kabeer 32,Farwaniya 30, Ahmadi 28, Jahra 16. The report saidthat all complaints received are entered into themunicipality’s database, and are followed by the hot-line employees, after sending them to concernedauthorities at the municipality according to gover-norates.

EntertainmentCity’s special

timings

Saqer Al-Bader

KUWAIT: The Entertainment City welcomes visi-tors tomorrow, December 24, 2015 on specialtimings; between 1:00 pm and 10:00 pm on theoccasion of the Prophet’s (PBUH) Birthday holi-day, announced Saqer Al-Bader, Public Relationsand Media Director at the Touristic EnterprisesCompany (TEC). The city regularly welcomes visi-tors on weekdays from 4:00 pm to 12:00 am, andon weekends from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Baderadded.

Executive Board Member in Kuwait National Fund for SMEs, Hadeel Al-Shammari and Executive Director of the National FundMeshari Al Mahmoud with the graduates.

‘Exploring Entrepreneurship’ Programconstructed for Kuwait National Fund


KUWAIT: Kuwait pays great attentiontowards achieving food security; followinga strategic plan aiming to create sustainablefood sources and develop the economy.According to statements by food securityexperts told KUNA yesterday, Kuwait is con-sidered as one of the top countries in thefield around the world, as it came in the28th place among 109 countries in 2014,shown by international food security statis-tics. Moreover, the country is number one infood security in the Arab World.

Kuwait is continuously cooperating withthe UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) to execute projects in the field anddevelop agricultural sustainability, saidMinister of Public Works and Minister ofState for Assembly Affairs Ali Al-Omair. Thecountry has reached a high level of foodsecurity, despite the difficulties faced inagriculture due to the lack of water sources,the minister added.

On his part, chairman of the ministerialcommittee for food security investmentMohammad Al-Monaifi said that Kuwait hasfollowed strategic plans that enabled it toachieve security in accordance with the1996 World Food Summit measures.According to summit, food security is “whenall people at all times have access to suffi-cient, safe, nutritious food to maintain ahealthy and active life,” Monaifi explained.

Food pricesMeanwhile, committee member

Methqal Al-Sartawi noted that prices offood products depends on internationalmarkets’ prices, the exchange rate of cur-rencies and the costs of importing andexporting.

He stressed on the vital role of KuwaitInvestment Authority to develop food secu-rity by investing in top international foodcompanies and engaging in foreign invest-ments in the field of agricultural industries.The member also said that the authorityhas set plans to allow the private sector totransfer and manage food reserves in emer-gency cases.

In the same context, Acting DirectorGeneral of Kuwait’s Public Authority forAgriculture Affairs and Fish Resources(PAAAFR) Faisal Al-Hasawi said that theauthority’s priority is to develop the agricul-tural field despite the extreme dessert cli-mate in Kuwait and the lack of arable landsand water resources.

Arable lands in Kuwait are estimated atone million and 540 hectares (about 8.63percent of total land space), said Hasawi,adding that there is about 4.9 percent ofthese lands that is still not used. He pointedout that the Authority is increasing domes-tic agricultural production and improvingthe performance of the agricultural sectorto raise productivity by developing efficientmethods use of the available agriculturalareas and expansion of the capacities of theacquisition of agricultural technology.

Financing and investmentHasawi added that PAAAFR also provides

the right conditions for financing andinvestment in local agricultural field andencourage foreign agricultural investmentby taking advantage of the investmentopportunities available in the Arab region.

He pointed out that the authority soughtto develop systems for importing andexporting food in order to ensure the provi-sion of a strategic inventory covers the needsof the population for at least six months. Hestressed the importance of supporting thelocal livestock breeders in order to ease thefinancial burden on the investor for the costsof production and to provide food for theiranimals, which represents about 70 percentof the costs of any livestock project.

He added that the Authority started the(Integrated Farm) project to increase theproduction of white meat by allocate about185 lots in Al-Wafra agricultural area and 8lots for poultry farming. He noted that thesupport policy in the fisheries sector aimsto preserve fishery resources and protec-tion from poaching operations as well asencouraging the expansion of aquaculture.

He stated that the capture fisheries arebased on fish stocks that make them limit-ed where the territorial waters control themin addition to the biological characteristicsof the fish stocks, which means that anyincrease in production without controlslead to a deterioration in fish stocks andaffect the sustainable production.

Fish stocksFor his part, the Director of the

Department of Agricultural Extension atPAAAFR Ghanem Al-Sanad pointed to theenrichment of the natural fish stocks projectin Kuwait territorial waters, stressing thatsuch a move would provide the protectionof fish stocks from depletion and contributeto sustainable development.

He pointed to other projects such as fishfarming in sea cages Project in Khairan on 10square kilometers of maritime site and 2,000square kilometers of the coastal site, as well asbreeding and farming fish and shrimp projects.He said that all the actions taken by the authorityis in the direction of maintaining stocks of fishand shrimp , adding that fishing bans have beenapplied during the breeding season to ensurethe sustainability of production.

He said that fish farming has contributedto bridging the gap between productionfrom capture fisheries and domestic con-sumption of fish and shrimp, where authori-ty has allocated 10 lots for fish and shrimpcultivation with an area of 20,000 squaremeters for each lot in Al-Wafra agriculturalarea. For his part, the head of the KuwaitiFarmers Union Hadi Al-Watari stressed thatfood security in Kuwait cannot be achievedwithout local farming to ensure the provi-sion of the consumer’s need, praising thedirect support of the Public Authority ofAgriculture Affairs to farmers. — KUNA

By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Under the patronage of Minister ofHealth Dr Ali Al-Obaidi, the ministry held itsfirst meeting with people with disabilities inKuwait yesterday at Regency Hotel on theoccasion of the International Day of Personswith Disabilities. During her speech on behalfof Obaidi, Director of the health promotionadministration at the ministry of health DrAbeer Al-Baho said: “We are celebrating todaythe International Day of Persons withDisabilities, which was on December 3. UN sta-tistics show that 15 percent of the people inthe world are disabled, which is more than 1billion persons, and 80 percent of them are indeveloping countries.”

She added that statistics also showed that53 percent of disabled men and 20 percent ofdisabled women are working around theworld. “In Kuwait, there are 4,439 disabled per-sons, or 2.7 percent of the population,” she said.Baho pointed out that the forum aims to givepriority to disabled people at hospitals to pro-vide conventional and natural treatments tothem, develop early detection for newbornbabies, examine the health of couples before

marriage and vaccinate children.Sheikha Shaikha Abdullah Al-Sabah,

Honorary President of Kuwait Disabled SportsClub, said: “The meeting will discuss and focuson issues related to disabled persons and find-ing solutions on how to integrate them in soci-

ety.” She added: “Kuwaitis can do anything, likethey did with Jaber Stadium, so all ministriesshould meet and find solutions to make dis-abled people work and be active in society. Thegoals of the forum are to enable this categoryby creating and exploiting opportunities to

help realize their potential and involve all ele-ments of civil society for their support.”

The forum was attended by Kuwaitis withmild to moderate disabilities and their families,as well as governmental and non-governmen-tal institutions and non-profit organizations.

On the sidelines of the forum, an awarenessexhibition and workshops for individuals withdisabilities were held. The exhibition featuredmore than 25 organizations that specialize inthe affairs of persons with disabilities, and wassponsored by Al-Sayer Medical Company.

Ministry celebrates International Day of Persons with Disabilities

KUWAIT: Health Ministry official Dr Abeer Al-Baho (right) and Sheikha Shaikha Abdullah Al-Sabah (second from left) are pictured with a person with special needs at the event. (Right) Equipmentby Al-Sayer Medical Company on display.— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Kuwait pioneer in sustainablefood security: Experts

KUWAIT: The government goes toextended lengths to exercise monitoringcharitable work in Kuwait, said Ministerof Social Affairs and Labor and Ministerof State for Planning and DevelopmentHind Al-Subaih yesterday. In remarksopening a forum on the role of societal

participation in furthering the nation’sinternational relations, she stressed thatstreamlining charitable work in the coun-try was a strategic objective of the gov-ernment in its goal to preserve the highstation it has attained in the field ofhumanitarian work.

She advocated the partnership of thepublic and private sectors in safeguard-ing the achievements of the nation inhumanitarian work, while extoling theforeign ministry and the central bank ofKuwait for their cooperation with theministries she runs in combating terror-ism through overseeing that moneytransfers for purposes of charity remainfree of any irregularities.

In similar remarks at the forum, whichended its functions yesterday, deputychairman of the union of Kuwaiti banksMajed Al-Ajeel highlighted the work ofthe private sector in actively supportingworldwide relief aid by Kuwait. Forinstance, he referred to the union’s con-tributions of four million dollars to thecause of the Syrian refugees in responseto the Kuwaiti government’s plea to theprivate sector to channel funds for thebenefit of the refugees. — KUNA

Kuwait committed to keepingall charity work above board

KUWAIT: Minister Hind Al-Subaih speaksat the forum. — KUNA

F r o m t he A r a bic pr e s sWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Instead of becoming one of the easiest flightcrash mysteries to solve in view of the speedat which the black boxes, the victims’ bodies

and the plane debris were retrieved, the crashof the Russian flight shortly after taking offfrom Sharm El-Sheikh airport turned into thecomplete opposite and all parties seem to wishto forget this disaster forever and shelve it.

The problem is that in criminal citations, it isenough for the defense team to demanddeclaring their client innocent and they do nothave to identify the real culprits. Things are dif-ferent with flight crash investigators, where it isnot enough, for instance, to deny the involve-ment of an act of terrorism as the head of theinvestigation committee declared a few daysago. He ought to provide hard evidence backedby the black box reports and the plane debristo prove it and argue that the crash took placedue to the plane’s disintegration due to badconditions, maintenance, age or human error.

The Russian plane crash is most probably anact of vicious intelligence terrorism that was sobelow standards that everybody is afraid to beaccused of being responsible for such a tragicaccident. The Russians and the carrier that ownsthe plane are afraid that investigations mightreveal that it was impossible to place the bombduring the very short transit moments at SharmEl-Shaikh airport and that it must have beenprofessionally implanted at another airportwhere the plane was overnight prior to landingin Sharm.

Western intelligence, which was the first toaccuse IS claiming that they had tapped somerelated communications, are afraid of takingpart of the blame if people start wonderingabout how they managed to only overhear andtap IS communications after the crash withoutbeing able to do so before it! In addition, inter-national and local laws mandate exposingsources in terrorism crimes and homicides inorder to identify culprits and hold them legallyaccountable, otherwise withholding such infor-mation would be deemed as covering up forthe real criminals.

On their part, Egyptian authorities are afraidto be accused of having security breaches atSharm El-Shaikh airport, which leaves IS, thatundoubtedly proved to be a cheap intelligence-made organization that would easily comply toinstructions to claim responsibility for such ter-rorist crimes without even knowing the sim-plest details about how they had been commit-ted. IS initially claimed to have shot down theplane, then claimed planting a small bomb inthe luggage compartment, in addition to manyother contradictory statements!

For the sake of assumption, the mysteriousdisappearance of the Malaysian Airlines flightMH370 can be the result of an act of terrorismplotted with the pilots by tempting them withmoney or subjecting them to mind-alteringchemicals, which ended up by killing passen-gers onboard by flying at very high altitudes,then depressurizing the plane that ended upcrashing the plane at certain coordinates wherethe pilots got picked up if they had been paid,or left to die if they were under the effect ofdrugs, just the way somebody did with the cul-prits involved in the Paris, Brussels and LosAngeles terrorist attacks. There is no alternativeto such a terrifying scenario!

—Translated by Kuwait Times

A crime nobody wants to solve

Al-Anbaa

By Sami Al-Nisf

“We may differ over the timing of theperiod when oil wil l be the solesource of income,” and in another

paragraph “all I hope for is that the governmenttakes a real decision to present Failaka as a tender tobuild chalets, theaters and malls”. The previous twoparagraphs were written by this columnist in a col-umn dated October 8, 2002. I rewrote somethingold while reading a statement by the PlanningMinister Hind Al-Subaih following the meeting ofthe Higher Planning Committee chaired by HisHighness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.

After all these years, and after oil prices wentdown, and we wasted 10 years of a mad rise of oilprices, they just want to conduct a study now! I donot blame the current government; rather I blamethe consecutive governments and assemblies. Thiswriter, who is a simple human being, and other col-leagues, filled newspaper pages with lines andwords, columns and analyses about the necessity ofdiversifying sources of income and investing inislands, so where was the “mother government” withits advisors, and the pile of “bishts” who are going inand out of its premises? Where are the suggestionsof our MPs, or were they busy with the treatmentabroad quota, admitting officer students and friend-ship committees that roamed the world?

Why did we not learn from neighbors, when theyturned the desert into the most beautiful resorts?Where are the largest airports and train stations?Why did not we take the opportunity of higher oilprices to build them? Why did the private sectorsucceed in building the most beautiful malls, whilegovernment facilities kept suffering from neglect?

We are fed up from repeating the same talk andwe are fed up with constant insistence, but generos-ity is from what exists, so we repeat the same talk, asthe writer is the mirror of the society, and guide meto some unusual thing this government made ormaking, and I am ready not to write a column, butto celebrate with a habban (popular musical instru-ment).

Your Highness the PM, a year from now after thisdrop in oil prices, you will start taking from the freshflesh, and you will not be able to pay the first chap-ter of salaries, so go ahead and start calling privatesector companies to present to you offers of invest-ing in islands and developing sea transport. Beginwith a media campaign to convince those living inGCC countries to visit Kuwait. And please, keep thecurrent finance minister away from this issue,because he is busy transforming Kuwait into a finan-cial center for the northern Gulf by 2035. You mademe laugh! Was the message delivered? I hope so.

—Translated by Kuwait Times

Sources of incomeAl-Qabas

By Qais Al-Usta

CrimeR e p o r t

Search for thiefAhmadi detectives are looking for a thief who

smashed three ATM machines outside a bank in AliSabah Al-Salem area, but escaped when the alarmsounded.

Ex-con arrestedPolice arrested an ex-convict following stiff resist-

ance in Salmiya area. The Kuwaiti man is wanted toserve a nine-year jail sentence over a felony. Police hadasked the suspect to pull his vehicle over, but he spedoff instead, so he was chased and cut off. The mantried to run on foot, but was caught and broughtunder control.

Sexual assaultHawally prosecutor sent a Filipina woman to the

medical examiner to document a rape case. A securitysource said the woman pressed charges against aLebanese man, saying that she trusted him after hepromised her with marriage. She went with him afterhe told her that his mother wanted to see her, butwhen she entered his apartment, it turned out to beempty. He raped her inside the apartment before let-ting her go, the woman told police. —Al-Rai

KUWAIT: A suspect accused of killing his friend in Kabdlast week turned himself to police after returning fromSaudi Arabia, where he had initially escaped. The suspect’sactions came according to his family’s request after theycontacted and asked him to return, instead of being pur-sued by authorities.

Fugitive in police’s netSpecial task forces arrested a fugitive wanted to serve a

four-year jail sentence on a forgery case, and he was alsofound wanted by the civil implementation departmentover a KD 5,000 debt. He was detained pending being sentto concerned authorities.

Coworkers fightA man accused his colleague of breaking his nose fol-

lowing a dispute that turned into a fist-fight at a construc-tion site. According to a police source, the man said that heand his foe exchanged blows in Sabah Al-Ahmad residen-tial area, adding that the suspect broke his nose beforeescaping. Police are investigating.

Kabd murdererturns self in

Al-Jarida

Public funds’ protection

Why did we not learnfrom neighbors, whenthey turned the desertinto the most beautiful

resorts?

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank announced that itwas recently awarded the ‘AffectCategory ’ Award at the 3rdAdvertising Creativity Awards (ACA)event organized by the Arab MediaForum. The event was held under theauspices of Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, Ministerof Information and State Minister forYouth Affairs.

The ‘Affect Category’ award waspresented to Gulf Bank for its unitycommercial ‘I Am Kuwaiti’, which wasproduced in cooperation with Joy

Productions. Gulf Bank created thecommercial in an effort to unifyKuwait following the horrific terroristbombing that took place in Kuwait on26 June during Friday prayers. Themessage of the ‘I Am Kuwaiti’ com-mercial was simple, relevant, andimportant; Kuwaitis are one and willremain united as one. The commercialwas well received locally, regionally,and internationally for its impactfulmessage. It ran from June to July andwas aired on Kuwait television sta-tions and released on YouTube,

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and oth-er social media channels. You can viewit online at Gulf Bank’s YouTube chan-nel.

The Advertising Creativity Award2015 was organized for the third yearby the Arab Media Forum, which hasproven to be one of the region’s mostprominent local industry event. Theevent brought together many minis-ters, media and advertising execu-tives, journalists, academics, authors,actors, businessmen, and social fig-ures from all around the Arab world.

GBK Wins ‘AffectCategory’ Award ‘I Am Kuwaiti’ Commercial Delivers Message of Unity

(From right) Representatives of Gulf Bank and Joy Productions accepting the ‘Affect Award’ at the 3rd AdvertisingCreativity Awards.

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecom-munications company in Kuwait,announced its Strategic Partnershipwith the second ‘Thameen of Kuwait’exhibition that was recently held atAl-Hamrah Luxury Center under thepatronage and attendance of theUndersecretary of the Ministry ofState for Youth Affairs Sheikha Al-ZainAl-Sabah.

Zain’s strategic partnership with‘Thameen of Kuwait’ comes in linewith the company’s keenness oncatering to the further developmentof the youth sector. Especially that thisunique initiative aims at highlightingthe achievements of ambitiousKuwaiti youth, ultimately catering to

the further progress of national econ-omy.

‘Thameen of Kuwait’, meaning “thevaluable of Kuwait”, is a national proj-ect that aims at shedding light on theachievements of talented youngKuwaitis in various fields including thearts, literature, industrial work, inven-tions, and more. A second exhibitionwas recently held at Al Hamrah LuxuryCenter to highlight the achievementsof the selected group of youth in aninnovative way. The exhibition wasalso an opportunity for those achieve-ments’ highlighted to meet interestedinvestors.

It is worth mentioning that Zaintook part in the encyclopedia’s inau-

guration ceremony that was held lastMay with the attendance of HH theAmir’s representative Sheikh SalmanAl-Humoud Al-Sabah Minister ofInformation and Minster of State forYouth Affairs, where the photographicencyclopedia, in both electronic andprinted versions, was officiallylaunched.

Zain will remain a main supporterof such innovative initiatives thatcater to Kuwaiti youth. The companywill remain dedicated to the furtherprogress of youth development in thecountry, and will spare no efforts insupporting any entities that exertefforts in advancing the advancementof the youth sector in Kuwait.

Zain strategic partnerof ‘Thameen of Kuwait’

KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced Adel Abdullah AhmadAl-Edan as the new KD 125,000 cash prize winner in theYawmi Quarterly Draw. The winner expressed his excite-ment for being the winner of the cash prize with YawmiAccount from Burgan Bank. The Yawmi Account offers cus-tomers more chances to win higher rewards, entitling onelucky customer to win KD 125,000 cash prize every threemonths. To enter Burgan Bank’s Yawmi Quarterly Draws,customers should maintain a minimum amount of KD500in their account for 2 months prior to draw date.Additionally, every KD10 in the account will entitle cus-tomers to one chance of winning. For more informationabout the Yawmi Quarterly Draw, customers are advised tovisit their nearest Burgan Bank branch, or call the bank’sCall Center at 1804080 where customer service representa-tives will be delighted to assist with any questions on theYawmi account or any of the bank’s products and services.Customers can also log on to Burgan Bank’swww.burgan.com for further information.

Burgan Bank announces KD 125,000

prize winner

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015 Troops advance into centre of IS-held Ramadi

Page 9

Islamic State eyeing Indonesia for ‘distant caliphate’Page 8

WOLENKOMI: Two lifeless bodies lay on the ground as theterrified crowd, armed only with sticks against gun-totingEthiopian security forces, fled the fierce crackdown on pro-testers. Blood seeped through a sheet covering one of thebodies on the road outside Wolenkomi, a town just 60 kilo-meters (37 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa. “That was myonly son,” a woman sobbed. “They have killed me.” Back at thefamily home of 20-year-old Kumsa Tafa, his younger sisterAbabetch shook as she spoke. “He was a student. No one wasviolent. I do not understand why he is dead,” she said.

Human Rights Watch says at least 75 people have beenkilled in a bloody crackdown on protests by the Oromo peo-ple, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group. Bekele Gerba, deputypresident of the Oromo Federal Congress, puts the toll atmore than 80 while the government says only five havebeen killed. The demonstrations have spread to severaltowns since November, when students spoke out againstplans to expand the capital into Oromia territory-a move theOromo consider a land grab. The sight of the protesters onthe streets of towns like Wolenkomi-shouting “Stop thekillings! This isn’t democracy!”-is rare in a country with littletolerance for expressions of discontent with the govern-ment.

Tree trunks and stones are strewn on the asphalt on theroad west from Addis to Shewa zone, in Oromia territory,barricading the route for several kilometers. Chaos brokeout on a bus on the road when it emerged that the policewere again clashing with demonstrators in Wolenkomi. “Myhusband just called me,” said a woman clutching her phone,as others screamed and children burst into tears. “He’s takingrefuge in a church. Police shot at the protesters,” she said.The man next to her cried in despair: “They’re taking ourland, killing our children. Why don’t they just kill everyonenow?”

The army raided Wolenkomi again the next day, the rattleof gunfire lasting for more than an hour. “They grabbed meby the face and they told me, ‘Go home! If you come backhere, we’ll kill you’,” said Kafani, a shopkeeper. Rights groupshave repeatedly criticized Ethiopia’s use of anti-terrorismlegislation to stifle peaceful dissent, with the US expressingconcern over the recent crackdown and urging the govern-ment to employ restraint. But Prime Minister HailemariamDesalegn declared on television that the government wouldact “without mercy in the fight against forces which are try-ing to destabilize the region.”

‘Land is everything’ Oromo leaders have vowed to keep up their resistance

against proposals to extend Addis, and Human Rights Watch

has warned of “a rapidly rising risk of greater bloodshed”.“The government can continue to send security forces andact with violence we will never give up,” said Gerba. Land is atthe heart of the problem. Under Ethiopia’s constitution, allland belongs to the state, with owners legally consideredtenants-raising fears amongst the Oromo that a wave of dis-possession is on its way.

“For farmers in Oromia and elsewhere in the country,their land is everything,” said Felix Horne, a researcher atHuman Rights Watch.

“It’s critical for their food supply, for their identity, for theirculture,” he said. “You cannot displace someone from theirland with no consultation and then inadequately compen-sate them and not expect there to be any response,” Hornewarned. Some Oromo have already seen their lands confis-cated. Further west, in the town of Ambo, a woman namedTuru was expropriated of her two hectares, receiving only40,000 birr ($1,900, 1,700 euros) in compensation. “We had agood life before,” she said.

Today she struggles to support her four children and her

disabled husband with the 30 birr a day ($1.40, 1.30 euros)she earns working in a factory. With their own language dis-tinct from Ethiopia’s official Amharic tongue, the 27 millionOromo make up nearly 30 percent of the country’s popula-tion. “The Oromos are seen as more of a threat by the gov-ernment in part because they are by far the largest ethnicgroup,” said Horne. The proposed expansion of Addis is partof a 25-year development plan to boost the city’s infrastruc-ture and attract new investors. It sparked demonstrations lastyear, but on a smaller scale. — AFP

WOLENKOMI: Ethiopians from the Oromo group block a road after protesters were shot dead by security forces in Wolenkomi, some 60km West of Addis Ababa. — AFP

Blood and terror on the streets as protests grip Ethiopia

BEIJING: Police stand guard outside the No 2 Intermediate People’s Court where human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was being sen-tenced in Beijing yesterday. — AFP

BEIJING: A court convicted one of China’s mostprominent rights lawyers yesterday of “incitingethnic hatred” with posts criticizing the govern-ment, handing down a suspended sentence thatmeans he avoids jail but will not practice lawagain. Activists said the three-year suspendedsentence for Pu Zhiqiang would serve as astrong reminder to other rights lawyers that theCommunist Party, currently engaged in a severeclampdown on dissent, would brook no chal-lenge to its rule.

The Beijing No 2 Intermediate People’s Courtsaid Pu was being punished on the charges ofinciting ethnic hatred and “picking quarrels andprovoking trouble”, state television CCTV said onits microblog. The charges were based on sevenmicroblog posts that he had published online,criticizing China’s ethnic policy in the troubledwestern region of Xinjiang and several officials,according to his lawyers. Pu, 50, was sentencedto three years in prison but given a three-yearreprieve, said lawyer Shang Baojun.

The suspended sentence means Pu does nothave to serve prison time as long as he staysunder formal probation during that period, legalexperts said. Pu was released into “residentialsurveillance” - a form of detention in China that

is used to keep dissidents in sites away from thepublic eye - where he will remain for 10 daysbefore being allowed to go back to his home inBeijing, said Mo Shaoping, a second lawyer forPu. Mo said Pu was allowed to be with his wifebut declined to disclose Pu’s exact location.

‘Pu isn’t guilty’Pu has represented many well-known dissi-

dents, including artist Ai Weiwei and activists ofthe “New Citizens’ Movement”, a group that hascalled on Chinese leaders to make their wealthpublic. He was the most prominent activistswept up in what rights groups say is the mostsevere clampdown on dissent in two decades inChina. “Pu isn’t guilty,” Ai told Reuters from Italyby telephone. “He should receive an apologyfrom the state and compensation.” Pu had spentnearly 19 months in detention before his triallast week, which lasted just over three hours. Hislawyers said he could have faced eight years inprison.

Shang said Pu was relieved and would notappeal. “He said he thanks everyone and hewants to rest,” Shang said, recounting a privateconversation Pu had with his lawyers after theverdict. “He also said if there’s an opportunity,

history will deliver a true judgment.” State newsagency Xinhua said the court decided “toimpose a lenient punishment” due to “the factthat the defendant Pu Zhiqiang truthfully con-fessed to the facts of the crime and positivelypleaded guilty”. Shang said Pu had not pleadedguilty. “Having a criminal conviction means hecan definitely never practice law again,” saidlawyer Liang Xiaojun. The United States said itwas concerned about the suspended sentence.“We urge the Chinese authorities to restore all ofMr. Pu’s rights and permit him to resume hiswork as one of China’s pre-eminent lawyers,” saidBenjamin Weber, spokesman for the US Embassyin Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman HongLei rebuffed the concern, saying foreign govern-ments had to respect China’s judicial sovereigntyand not interfere. Police and plainclothes securi-ty officers prevented foreign reporters, Pu’s sup-porters and diplomats from the United States,the European Union and Switzerland fromapproaching the court. It was unclear the extentof the restrictions that would be placed on Pu,though it is likely that he will be placed underpolice surveillance and prevented from speak-ing to reporters. — Reuters

I N T E R N AT I O N A LWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

SYDNEY: The Islamic State group is work-ing to boost its presence in Indonesiawith dreams of creating a “distantcaliphate” in the world’s most populousMuslim-majority country, Australiawarned yesterday. Attorney-GeneralGeorge Brandis, who spent Monday inmeetings between Indonesian andAustralian ministers, police chiefs andsecurity officials, said it constituted athreat to Australian and Western inter-ests. “ISIS has ambitions to elevate itspresence and level of activity inIndonesia, either directly or through sur-rogates,” he told The Australian newspa-per, referring to the jihadist group byanother acronym. “You’ve heard theexpression the ‘distant caliphate’? “ISIShas a declared intention to establishcaliphates beyond the Middle East,provincial caliphates in effect. It has iden-tified Indonesia as a location of its ambi-tions.” Islamic State, which adheres to afundamentalist doctrine of Sunni Islam,has already declared caliphates in severalareas outside Syria and northern Iraqwhere it holds a swathe of territory.

Brandis’ comments follow Indonesianpolice foiling plans for a suicide attack inJakarta and arresting radicals linked toIslamic State. Three-day raids across Javaending Sunday saw the confiscation ofexplosive materials and an IS-inspiredflag as well as nine arrests.

The extremists were targeting shop-ping malls, police stations and minoritygroups across the country, Indonesia’snational police chief said. Security hasbeen beefed up across the country, withsenior ministers from Australia andIndonesia agreeing on Monday to boostintelligence sharing, including on terror-ism financing, following bilateral talks inboth Sydney and Jakarta. The Australiannewspaper said that while Australianauthorities believed there was littlechance IS could create a caliphate withinIndonesia, they were deeply worried theterror group may establish a permanentfoothold in the archipelago.

This could allow it to conduct attacksagainst Western or Australian interestswithin Indonesia and beyond.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan said

the rise of jihadist groups had destabi-lized the security of both countries. “Therise of ISIS in the Middle East is some-thing that has destabilized the security ofAustralia, it’s destabilized the security ofIndonesia and it’s destabilizing the secu-rity of our friends and partners, particu-larly here in the region,” he said.

Indonesia, the world’s most populousMuslim-majority country, suffered sever-al major bomb attacks by Islamic radicalsbetween 2000 and 2009, including the2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 peo-ple. A crackdown has weakened themost dangerous extremist networksalthough the emergence of IS hassparked alarm that Indonesians return-ing from battlefields in the Middle Eastcould revive them. Australia is equallyconcerned at the threat from thosebeing radicalized. Six attacks in Australiahave been foiled over the past year,according to the government, but sever-al have not, most recently in Octoberwhen a police employee was shot deadby a 15-year-old reportedly shoutingreligious slogans. — AFP

Prominent Chinese lawyer convicted, but avoids jail

Pu charged for inciting ethnic hatred, provoking trouble

Islamic State eyeing Indonesia for ‘distant caliphate’

SADAD: Syrian government forces patrol Sadad, a majority Syriac OrthodoxChristian ancient town which is believed to be the same town referred to asZedad in the Old Testament’s “Book of Kings”. Sadad is in the sights of theIslamic State group which already controls several towns and villages in Homsprovince, including the famed city of Palmyra, home to ancient ruins that thegroup has systematically destroyed. — AFP

SHENZHEN: Rescuers struggled to claw awaya massive mound of mud engulfing an indus-trial district in China yesterday in a desperatebid to find survivors among 76 missing peoplefollowing a landslide that occurred despitemultiple warnings. Hopes for those still miss-ing in the mud were fading yesterday evening,almost three days after the landslide, even asheavy machinery raked through thousands oftons of soil and rubble that buried factoriesand residential buildings.

The government revised the number ofmissing down from 81 to 76 after contactingsome of the unaccounted for, officials saidduring a press conference yesterday. A bodydiscovered the same morning remained thefirst and only confirmed death. The latest in aseries of fatal accidents in the world’s mostpopulous country, the tragedy in Shenzhencame only months after almost 200 peopledied in a massive chemical blast in the portcity of Tianjin.

The mudslide was caused by the improperstorage of waste soil from construction sites,according to the official newspaper of theMinistry of Land and Resources. Soil was ille-gally stored in heaps 100 meters high at an oldquarry site and turned to mud during rainSunday morning, according to the Global

Times, afflated with Communist Party mouth-piece People’s Daily. Documents on the website of the Guangming New District, where thelandslide occurred, show that authorities wereaware of problems with the storage and hadurged action as early as this July.

In an announcement dated July 10, officialssaid that work at the site was not being carriedout according to approved plans and orderedthe Hongao Construction Waste Dump to“speed up” work to bring its operations intoline. The government issued a second warningin September, noting that the dump’s permitto receive waste had expired and authoritieshad made it clear that dumping should cease.The city had “pointed out problems at the siteand requested steps to correct them”, thestatement said. Commenters on China’s popu-lar Weibo microgblogging voiced fury over theapparent failings.

“The lack of safety supervision and passiveattitude in taking precautions has caused thewhole nation to shake with anger and shockedthe world!” user Xizidan wrote in a post thatwas taken down by authorities, but found onthe censorship tracking website Weiboscope.The post said people were angry over acci-dents including the blasts at Tianjin in August,the sinking of a ferry on the Yangtze river in

June that killed more than 400, and a stam-pede in Shanghai last New Year’s Eve that leftover 30 dead. “Through man-made disasters,we’re continually using other people’s lives toachieve progress in society,” another post said,echoing a common complaint that China’srapid economic growth has been achieved atthe expense of many of its people.

‘Waves of earth’At the disaster zone, volunteers hoping to

help search for bodies said chances were slimfor survivors. “I don’t think there will be achance (to save anybody), because it has beensome time (since the landslide), and it is dirtand sand,” said one woman who gave hername as Qin. Emergency workers were usingdiggers in an effort to clear the mud. Manyhad spent the night on the site. People whosaw the Sunday morning landslide described“huge waves” of red earth and mud racingtowards the industrial park, burying or crush-ing homes and fac tor ies. Drone footageshowed how the mud had swept through andover buildings and tossed aside trucks liketoys. Around 900 people were moved out ofharm’s way before the landslide struck. Fourpeople have been rescued, of whom three hadminor injuries. — AFP

Dozens ‘still missing’ in landslide as hopes fade

SHENZHEN: Rescuers work at the site of a landslide that hit an industrial park inShenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province yesterday. — AFP

NEW DELHI: A chartered Indian aircraft car-rying military personnel exploded in a fire-ball and killed all 10 people on board aftercrashing yesterday near New Delhi’s mainairport, a minister said. The small twin-engine plane went up in flames after crash-ing into a wall shortly after take-off from thecapital’s Indira Gandhi International airport.“It’s a matter of grave concern that the planecrashed soon after take-off. I am extremelysad to say that all 10 people including thepilot have died,” Mahesh Sharma, the junior

civil aviation minister, told reporters. Theplane was on its way to Ranchi in the easternstate of Jharkhand and was carrying techni-cians belonging to India’s Border SecurityForce. The technicians were to repair a heli-copter in Ranchi. The crash happened ataround 9.50 am moments after the pilot lostcontact with ground control, A K Sharma,director of Delhi Fire Services said. Televisionfootage showed security personnel clearingthe area of bystanders as fire engines waitedon the side. — AFP

Ten dead as chartered plane crashes in India

NEW DELHI: The son of an Indian murder victimhas confessed to stabbing his father’s killer todeath and chopping his body into 12 pieces,one for every year since his father was slain,media reported yesterday. Alam Khan was aged12 when he saw his father being murdered by afamily friend in 2003. He had secretly plannedhis revenge ever since and finally seized hischance last week when he invited the killer overfor a drink. After getting Mohammad Rais drunkat his home in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Khanknifed him to death before using a hammer andhacksaw to dismember the body, he toldreporters on Monday after his arrest. He and anaccomplice then packed the body parts intoplastic bags which they threw into a river. Whenthe bags washed up on the river’s banks, police

were only able to identify Rais from a surgeryscar on his torso.

Khan was arrested after witnesses recountedhow Rais had last been seen visiting his home,and made a full confession. “I played somemusic at full volume and cut his body into 12pieces,” Khan was quoted as saying by the Timesof India. Khan had never told anyone about theidentity of his father’s killer and had insteadwaited for 12 years to “realize his dream” of tak-ing revenge. He was “happy it was now done”.Police Superintendent Ram Suresh Yadav toldthe newspaper Khan had confessed to his crimewith an “utter lack of remorse”. The murderweapons, including the hammer and hacksaw,had been recovered from Khan’s home in thedistrict of Moradabad, Yadav added. — AFP

Son chops up father’s killer in revenge attack

DJIBOUTI: The government in the strategicHorn of Africa nation of Djibouti said yesterdaythat nine people were wounded when gunmenattacked security forces, but an opposition par-ty said 19 people were killed in the clashes. Theopposition Union for National Salvation partyalso said the wounded included its presidentAhmed Youssouf, who is in hospital.

Interior Minister Hassan Omar said that aninsurgent force had launched an attack beforedawn on Monday in Buldhoqo district, close tothe capital Djibouti. “Dozens of armed individu-als came together before launching an offen-sive against the security forces, among whichthere are nine wounded including an officer,”he said in a statement late Monday. But theUSN, in its version of the incident, said in astatement that 19 of its members were killedand others wounded when police broke up atraditional religious ceremony in Buldhoqo.

It was not possible to immediately clarifythe sharply differing reports. Omar said theattacks were intended to, “destabilize ournation and to sow divisions within the national

community”. He claimed the violence was“orchestrated by malicious individuals receiv-ing instructions from sponsors who act fromabroad,” without giving details. Several peoplehave been arrested since the violence. “Policeoperations already undertaken have allowedthe arrest of several people involved in the vio-lence and the identification of seven peoplewho organized them,” said Omar. “They will bequickly brought to justice to answer for theiractions,” he added.

In power since 1999, 68-year old PresidentIsmael Omar Guelleh is expected to run for afourth term in elections slated for April 2016.Djibouti, a strategic port on the Gulf of Adenwith a key position on one of the world’sbusiest shipping lanes, hosts several foreignmilitary bases, including from the UnitedStates, France and Japan. Many of the navalvessels tasked with combating Somali piracy inthe region also use the country’s port to dock.It is also a contributor of troops to the AfricanUnion force in neighboring Somalia, battlingAl-Qaeda-linked Shebab militants. — AFP

Violence flares in Djibouti, conflicting casualty tolls

I N T E R N AT ION A LWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

WASHINGTON: For Congress, 2015 was a year ofideological clashes, showdown votes and harshwords. And that was just among Republicans. Itwas the first year of Barack Obama’s two presiden-tial terms when the GOP ran both the House andSenate. That meant a blend of compromise andconfrontation. Each side won some priorities andblocked the others’, a hallmark of divided govern-ment. Republican infighting overshadowed every-thing for most of the year. Even interventions fromon high - a first-ever papal address to Congress byPope Francis and a Florida man’s unauthorizedlanding of a gyrocopter near the Capitol - barelydistracted from the GOP upheaval.

“There were a number of procedural snafus anddysfunctional moments that made this year muchmore difficult,” said moderate Rep Charlie Dent, R-Pa. Congress enacted bipartisan deals recastingfederal education policy, restricting governmentaccess to bulk phone records, extending highwayprograms, easing approval of future trade agree-ments and resolving a vexing problem of howMedicare reimburses doctors. Before adjourningfor the year, Congress sent Obama legislationFriday boosting defense and domestic spending in2016, lifting a 1970s-era ban on US oil exports andextending dozens of expiring tax cuts.

“The Republican Senate majority is proving thatyou can still get a lot done with a president from adifferent party,” Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell, R-Ky., said Saturday in his party’s week-ly address. But Republicans failed to repealObama’s health care law, eliminate PlannedParenthood’s federal money or block the interna-tional agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear program.They fell short on closing the door to Syrianrefugees, forcing the president to allow construc-tion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and blockingregulations on clean water, air pollution and green-house gas emissions.

Obama, in his weekly address, said the 11th-hour spending and tax bills he signed were “a pairof Christmas miracles in Washington.” Some of theyear’s turmoil flowed from the GOP’s presidentialcampaign, in which Donald Trump and others haveprofited by targeting the political establishment. Itwas bad enough when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, oneWhite House candidate, took to the Senate floor toaccuse McConnell, his own party’s chief, of tellinghim “a flat-out lie” about scheduling a controversialvote. Plenty of GOP senators defended McConnell,but things got worse.

After years of hounding by tea party conserva-tives, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, abrupt-ly announced his resignation in September. It tooka tumultuous month and public begging by GOPelders to persuade Rep Paul Ryan, R-Wis, the youth-ful 2012 vice presidential nominee, to take thepost. At the eye of the Republican maelstrom wasthe House Freedom Caucus, numbering about 40

hard-right lawmakers. They made Boehner’s lifemiserable because they felt he didn’t challengeObama enough.

In an early sign of trouble, 25 conservativeRepublicans had cast symbolic votes last Januaryagainst making Boehner speaker, a job he had heldsince 2011. The following month, 52 of them aban-doned GOP leaders and joined Democrats tooppose a bill financing the Homeland SecurityDepartment. They were angry that the measure didnot curb Obama’s immigration policies. In a sym-

bolic warning, conservative Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, proposed ousting Boehner in July with a non-binding motion accusing Boehner of “diminishingthe voice of the American people.”

Relations between the two camps never healed.Conservative Rep Matt Salmon, R-Ariz, saidBoehner would be “on very thin ice” if he relied onDemocratic votes to pass bills opposed by conser-vatives. Leadership stalwart Rep Devin Nunes, R-Calif., accused the rebels of “playing fantasy foot-ball with their voting cards.”—AP

2015 - a year of ideological clashes, showdown votes and harsh words

For Congress, GOP upheaval overshadows legislating

MICHIGAN: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets guests at a cam-paign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. —AFP

Trump calls Clinton a ‘liar’ over video claim

WASHINGTON: Democrat Hillary Clintonsays Republican Donald Trump has becomerecruiting fodder for Islamic extremists, andTrump calls her a liar, in what could be apreview of the 2016 general election cam-paign for president. Trump said Mondaythat Clinton lied when she said during aDemocratic Party debate that the IslamicState group used videos of his commentsabout Muslims to recruit militants.

The Republican presidential front-run-ner also took to Twitter to demand an apol-ogy from his leading Democratic oppo-nent. “She’s a liar!” Trump told more than6,000 people at a rally in Grand Rapids,Michigan on Monday evening. He also saidClinton was “crooked” and “not a president.”During Saturday ’s faceoff amongDemocrats, Clinton said Trump hadbecome the Islamic State’s “best recruiter”and said, “They are going to people show-ing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islamand Muslims in order to recruit more radi-cal jihadists.”

There was no evidence to back theclaim, and a spokeswoman later said, “Shedidn’t have a particular video in mind.” Still,Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon,asked Monday by MSNBC if Clinton wouldapologize to Trump, insisted, “Hell no.”During his rally Monday at Grand Rapids’DeltaPlex Arena, Trump used crude lan-guage to portray Clinton as someone whoconstantly loses, citing her race againstBarack Obama for the Democratic nomina-tion in 2008. “She was favored to win and

she got schlonged, she lost,” he said.He also mocked Clinton for returning to

the debate late following a commercialbreak. “I thought she quit, I thought shegave up,” Trump joked. He later seemed toacknowledge reports that she got delayedwaiting to use a restroom: “I know whereshe went. It’s disgusting, I don’t want to talkabout it.” Trump argued that he is the lastperson Clinton wants to run against in ageneral election. “Ask Jeb Bush if he enjoysrunning against me,” he said of the formerFlorida governor who has been strugglingto gain traction despite a massive earlyfundraising advantage. “Ask LindseyGraham, did he enjoy running againstTrump?” he said of the South Carolina sena-tor who on Monday announced his depar-ture from the race.

Trump also defended the kind wordshe’s been exchanging with RussianPresident Vladimir Putin, brushing off criti-cism that he has been too kind to theRussian president. “That’s like a good thing,not a bad thing,” he insisted. “Wouldn’t it benice if we could get along like with peo-ple?” And he made clear that he is opposedto the killing of journalists, after appearingto brush off concerns about Putin’s recordon a Sunday morning news show. “I don’tlike that, I’m totally against that,” saidTrump. “By the way, I hate some of thesepeople ... and some of them are such lying,disgusting people, it’s true. But I wouldnever kill. And anybody that does I thinkwould be despicable.”— AP

BAGHDAD: Iraqi security forces advanced yesterday into thecentre of Ramadi for a final push aimed at retaking the citythey lost to the Islamic State group in May, officials said. “Wewent into the centre of Ramadi from several fronts and webegan purging residential areas,” said Sabah Al-Noman,spokesman of the elite Iraqi counter-terrorism service. “Thecity will be cleared in the coming 72 hours,” he said. “We didnot face strong resistance, only snipers and suicide bombersand this is a tactic we expected,” Noman said. The fresh pushwas launched overnight and is meant to result in the fullrecapture of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s western province ofAnbar. Footage on state TV channel Iraqiya showed soldiersdriving down the deserted streets of the bombed-out city,entering homes carefully to spot possible booby traps andretrieving shells and rockets from abandoned IS positions.

The fighting in Ramadi is led by the elite counter-terrorismforce, backed by US-led coalition air strikes and also support-ed by forces from the police, the army and Sunni tribesopposed to the jihadists. IS has lost several key towns in Iraqsince Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region startedfighting back following the jihadist group’s devastating offen-sive 18 months ago. The Shiite-dominated Hashed Al-Shaabiparamilitary forces were heavily involved in the battles that

led to the recapture of towns such as Tikrit and Baiji but theyhave remained on the fringes in the battle for Ramadi.

Government compoundRetaking the city, an insurgent bastion that saw some of

the deadliest fighting against US troops a decade ago, wouldbe the Iraqi federal forces’ most significant victory so far. “Webuilt temporary bridges on the Euphrates and our forces wereable to cross the river to enter residential areas and gainaccess to the city centre,” a brigadier general said, speaking oncondition of anonymity. IS fighters have had plenty of time todig in since they took full control of Ramadi on May 17 afterblitzing government forces with wave after wave of car andtruck bomb attacks. The jihadists built tunnels to move with-out being exposed to the coalition’s daily raids but their sup-ply lines were gradually all severed and military officials esti-mated last week there no more than 300 fighters left in thecity. The breakthrough came earlier this month when counter-terrorism forces broke down IS defenses and retook the keysouthwestern neighborhood of Al-Tameem. After taking a fewdays to beef up their new positions, Iraqi military leaders hadsaid in recent days a final push was imminent and leaflets urg-ing the population to flee were dropped over the weekend.

“The distance between ourforces and the governmentalcompound, which is locatedin the central district of Hoz,is less than a kilometer,” saidthe brigadier general, addingthat clashes were ongoing.

Civilians fleeingThe provincial headquar-

ters is believed to be one ofthe main IS bases in the cityand was at the heart of dead-ly fighting earlier this year.According to another mili-tary official, speaking on con-dition of anonymity becausehe is not authorized to talk tothe press, 15 families man-aged to escape from Hoz inthe past 24 hours. “They wereable to flee the lockdownimposed by Daesh on civil-ians and they found shelterwith the army on the south-ern side of the city,” he said,using an Arabic acronym forIS.

The senior officer said thecivilians were mostly chil-dren, women and elderlymen, who were screened andthen taken to a safe area onthe edge of Ramadi. Iraq’sdefense minister, Khaled Al-Obeidi, and other officialssaid in recent days theybelieved there were still afew civilians in Ramadi beingused as human shields by IS.The coalition said its aircrafthad carried out six strikes onIS targets in the Ramadi areayesterday alone.—AFP

MATAMOROS: Twenty cars line up betweenpolice cruisers in a violent northeasternMexican city, ready to be escorted at highspeed across a notorious “death highway”infested with gangs that kill and kidnap. Manyare Mexican migrants who drove across theborder to Matamoros from the United States,bearing gifts for their families for theChristmas holidays. Others are local residentswho know the dangers they face drivingacross Tamaulipas, the state with the highestnumber of missing people in Mexico-5,000out of 26,000 nationally-and regular drug car-tel battles.

With that in mind, the federal policelaunched “Operation Tread” in 2013 to escortcivilian cars across Route 101, a ghostly high-way with closed or deserted restaurants andbusinesses along the way. Things here are sobad, it is known as “death highway.” CarlosOrtega, a 55-year-old gardener who drovefrom the northeastern US state of New Jersey,said he learned about the operation in a flierthat was handed to him after he crossed theborder from Brownsville, Texas. “I’m herebecause I’m afraid of the problems out there,like robberies, attacks. They take cars andmoney. You can’t travel calmly. We need thisoperation,” he said as he headed to Puebla incentral Mexico in a sport utility vehicle withhis daughter and two friends.

Tamaulipas is home to the Gulf and Zetasdrug cartels, two criminal groups that wereonce allies but have fought brutal turf wars inrecent years. While they have both beenweakened by the captures or killings of topleaders, their members still sow fear in thepopulation. A man who lives in Texas said hewas stopped at gunpoint three times in pasttrips across Tamaulipas. “They had large guns.They made me get out and they said theywanted my SUV. I was with my family. I told

them, ‘I don’t have anything against you. I’drather pay an extortion fee,’” he said.

He didn’t know whether they were cartelhenchmen or common criminals. But he saidthey ask travelers to give them between $30and $70. On this trip, his car was loaded withtoys, bags and boxes with US goods. Hepulled over behind the lead police cruiser, buthe was nervous despite the escort. “If there’s afight, the cruiser in front of us won’t do muchagainst 10 SUVs that come to steal,” the Texasman said.

‘Safe point’ After the 9:00 am rendezvous, the caravan

set off on its 300-kilometer trip to the statecapital, Tamaulipas, a nonstop ride with nobathroom breaks. The officers were armedwith assault rifles as they began to speeddown the highway, with little space betweenthe cars following behind them. The caravanreaches cruising speeds of 100 kilometers perhour, going faster in some stretches. For thosewho dare to drive without the police escort,the authorities set up a “safe point” at a gaso-line station guarded by police and soldiers sothat people can fill their tanks and stretchtheir legs. The police caravan sped up as itapproached San Fernando, the most dreadedpart of the trip. It was there that suspectedZetas members slaughtered 72 Central andSouth American migrants in August 2010.“San Fernando is the hardest part. There arekidnappings there. They take your car and robyou,” said Rafael Portales, 37, who buys cars inthe United States to sell them in Mexico. NearCiudad Victoria, the driver of the lead policecar waved his hand outside his window to sig-nal the end of “Operation Tread.” “Every manfor himself from here. May God bless us,” saidthe Texas man as he headed on to anothercity in his SUV.—AFP

Security forces escort Mexican travelers on ‘death highway’

Iraq forces advance into centre of IS-held Ramadi

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) greets Tajikistan’sPresident Emomali Rahmon ahead of a meeting of the CollectiveSecurity Council of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization)at the Kremlin in Moscow. — AFP

TEHRAN: Iranian men look at a model of a train at the stand of the Russian company Yuzhno-Uralskiy Heavy Engineering yes-terday during the Russia National Industrial Exhibition in Tehran. — AFP

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

TEHRAN: Russia will start constructing two nuclearreactors in Iran next week, the spokesman for theIranian atomic agency said yesterday. It comes a yearafter Tehran signed a contract with Moscow to buildtwo reactors at the existing Russian-built Bushehrpower plant in southern Iran. Work on the two reactors“will commence next week,” the state television web-site quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying. A series ofagreements signed between the two countries lastyear foresees eventually increasing the total number ofRussian-built reactors in the country to nine.

The start of construction follows a historic dealbetween Iran and world powers in July that ends adecade-long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program.The accord does not limit Iran’s development of civiliannuclear sites. Construction of the two reactors will bebankrolled by Iran, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia’sstate nuclear company Rosatom, said last year. Iranplans to build 20 more nuclear plants in the future,including four in Bushehr, to decrease its dependenceon oil and gas. Russia backed Iran during two years of

nuclear negotiations with six world powers. The twocountries have recently allied to prop up SyrianPresident Bashar Al-Assad against opposition andjihadist groups, mainly the Islamic State organization.

Rare Iran visitIn another development, the president of the

French Senate has criticized new US visa regulationsthat penalize Europeans who have visited Iran, sayingthey send the “wrong signal”. Gerard Larcher wasspeaking during a trip to Iran aimed at strengtheningrelations with France following a landmark deal tocurb Tehran’s nuclear program in return for a lifting ofsanctions. The US measures “can be seen in Tehran asa sign of mistrust” and do not contribute to buildingconfidence with Iran, he told reporters late Monday.

The US bill, passed by Congress on Friday, bars citi-zens from 38 countries and who are also dual nation-als from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan from using a visawaiver program. It also requires people who havetravelled to those four countries since 2011, or to a

country Washington has listed as supporting terror-ism, to apply for a standard visa, deeming them a risk.“I think it sends the wrong signal... from a democraticcountry, the great American democracy,” Larcher said.He said the move was at odds with the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency’s recent closure of its investi-gation into Iran’s past efforts to develop nuclearweapons.

The end of the probe into “possible military dimen-sions” to Tehran’s atomic program was a condition forthe July deal to go forward. Iran’s Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif said during a meeting withthe French delegation that the visa restrictions were“primarily against the independence of Europe”.“Europeans must show their independence in the faceof discriminatory measures,” he said, quoted by theIRNA official news agency. Larcher, on the first visit toIran by a French Senate president since the 1979Islamic revolution, on Sunday met President HassanRouhani who is expected to visit France in lateJanuary. — Agencies

Russia to start building nuclear reactors in IranFrench Senate head, on rare Iran visit, raps US visa law

BRUSSELS: One million - and counting. TheInternational Organization for Migration saysits statistics show the number of people flee-ing conflict or poverty who have arrived inthe European Union by sea this year has hitthe seven-digit mark. Despite increasedcoast-guard patrols, razor-wire toppedfences, tightened security, the reintroductionof border controls, new laws and refugee dis-tribution schemes, nothing has slowed downthe arrivals. More than two years after thedrowning of over 400 people off Italy’s south-ern coast brought cries of “never again,” everyrecord has been broken in 2015. The IOM saysthe total number of arrivals is more than fourtimes that of last year. Here are some ques-tions and answers about how the EU is han-dling the crisis:

Where are they coming from?Most people arriving in Europe are now

entering Greece after taking short trips onrickety boats or inflatable rafts from Turkey.The IOM says more than 820,000 came thatway in 2015, many fleeing wars in Syria andIraq. More than 150,000 have crossed theMediterranean to Italy this year, mostly fromthe Libyan coast. Almost 3,700 are dead ormissing along the two routes. As winter clos-es in, the colder weather appears to haveslowed the flow somewhat, although this isunlikely to last long.

Where are they goingMost who come via Greece travel by foot

and on trains, buses and trucks north andwest through central Europe, en route to themore prosperous countries of westernEurope. Germany, which has taken in hun-dreds of thousands of people this year, andSweden have been among the most wel-coming.

What’s been done?The EU has beefed up the Frontex border

agency and launched a naval operation tohunt human traffickers. To ease the number ofarrivals and prevent dangerous journeysacross the sea, EU nations agreed to resettlesome refugees by bringing them directly fromcountries outside Europe. EU teams were sentto Greece and Italy to fast-track migrant regis-tration and sort out whether those arrivingshould qualify for international protection orbe sent home. Twenty-three nations alsoagreed to share 160,000 refugees in Greeceand Italy to lighten the two countries’ burden.The EU is also investing funds, assistance andassets in Turkey and countries neighboringLibya that migrants leave or travel across toget to Europe.

Then how did it get so bad?Europe has been overwhelmed by the

sheer numbers and the response has beenslow. The EU initially tried to respond withpolicy changes and refused to treat the con-tinent’s biggest refugee crisis since WorldWar II as a humanitarian emergency. Borderguards and reception facilities wereswamped. As the control of Europe’s exter-nal borders broke down, countries desper-ate to halt the influx took unilateral meas-ures that undermined confidence and trust,mainly closing borders without informingtheir neighbors, causing chaos as peoplelooked for alternate routes. A key policy, thesystem to share 160,000 refugees, hasmoved at snail’s pace. As of Dec. 15, threemonths after it was introduced, just over 200people had moved to other countries.Moreover, of the people whose asylum orresidency applications have been turneddown, just over one in three are actuallysent home.

What’s in the pipeline?In an effort to stanch the flow, the EU will

give Turkey 3 billion euros to cope withSyrian refugees and ease visa restrictions forTurkish nationals. It has already sped upAnkara’s membership process. In exchange,Turkey is to crack down on migrants leavingfor Greece. To better control the Turkey-Greece maritime border, the EU will look toendorse before July a European border andcoast guard, a new agency that would moni-tor external borders and intervene whencountries are unable or unwilling to respondto big migrant movements. In March, theEU’s executive arm will introduce ‘smart bor-ders’ policies to control entry and exit, betterregister travelers and change the rules gov-erning the Schengen passport-free zone thatallows people to travel without borderchecks or visas through many countries inEurope. — AP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Questions and answers about Europe’s migration crisis

VATICAN CITY: One Catholic parish in Germany tore outits pews to make space for refugees. Franciscan monksnear Rome took a family into their hilltop convent. But innorthern Italy, a rural priest faced hostility when heasked his flock to shelter Muslims. Four months afterPope Francis appealed to the parishes and religiouscommunities of Europe to each take in one family ofrefugees, the response is decidedly mixed. Arms haveopened wide in some places but indifference, bureau-cracy, fear, and xenophobia have reared their headselsewhere, particularly after the attack by Islamist mili-tants who killed 130 people in Paris last month.

Around a million migrants arrived by sea in Europein 2015, with some 3,700 dying, according to theInternational Organization for Migration. Some of them,if Francis is heeded, should be heading to safety amongthe roughly 120,000 Catholic parishes in Europe. But inItaly - which with more than 25,000 has the largest num-ber of parishes - only about 1,000 have responded,according to Father Giancarlo Perego, head of theChurch-affiliated Migrantes Foundation. Another 1,500families had offered to host refugees.

Perego and other Church officials pointed out, how-ever, that many Catholic parishes were already support-ing refugee services well before the pope’s appeal.Italian bishops have published a “How To” booklet forparishes, dealing with everything from how to prepareparishioners for the arrival of refugees, legal issues, anda glossary explaining terms such as asylum and repatria-tion. When Francis announced the initiative on Sept. 6,he set the example by welcoming two families into theVatican’s own two parishes.

Mixed welcome Many of the migrants entering Europe have headed

to Germany, where the Catholic Church is one of therichest in Europe, partly because of a Church tax onmembers, and which has an institutional tradition ofhelping refugees. More than 3,000 staff members workfull time to help refugees and are backed up by about100,000 volunteers, according to a spokesperson. StBenedikt’s parish in the northern port city of Bremenremoved pews and confessionals and converted thechurch into a temporary refugee shelter.

“This is our duty. We can’t sing Christmas carolsabout opening doors to those in need and at the sametime refuse to let anyone enter,” said one of its priests,Father Johannes Sczyrba. St Roch church in Brusselsopened its doors at night and now shelters about 200refugees. “The numbers grow and grow and grow. It’slike a little explosion,” said Father Hugo Van Gee. GillesCnockaert, spokesman for Catholic charity CaritasInternational, said the pope’s call was “like an electricalshock” for Belgian Catholics and prompted more than550 people to offer to house asylum seekers.

But it had not all been welcoming. A number ofCatholic prelates, particularly in Eastern Europe, wereless than eager and warned of the long-term effectsthat migrants, most of them Muslim, could have onlocal culture. “We are not being xenophobic or inhos-pitable,” said Bishop Piotr Libera of Plock in central

Poland. “We are being wise. If you let a stranger intoyour home, a home that is just being built, a smallhome, a home that is frail, you may get yourself into agreat deal of trouble”. In Italy, a major gateway intoEurope for migrants, it has also been mixed. The Romenewspaper La Repubblica said only 80 of Rome’s morethan 300 parishes had responded to Francis’ call. Theresponse was much lower in other Italian cities, thepaper reported. Parishioners of the church of SanSaturnino in an up-scale Rome neighborhood refur-bished a two-room apartment for three Africanrefugees. They take turns helping them shop and cook.Father Michael Perry, worldwide head of one of thebranches of the Franciscan order, said monks in a con-vent south of Rome had taken in a refugee family andanother convent in the central Rome neighborhood ofTrastevere was housing 15 people. — Reuters

Some heed Pope’s call to succor refugees while others look away

Paris attacks have fanned fear of Muslims

THE VATICAN: Pope Francis caresses a baby as he meets Vatican employees for the annualChristmas greetings in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican. — AP

DUSHANBE: Tajikistan has tightened restrictionson celebrations of the traditional festive season inschools in the Central Asian country, banningChristmas trees and gift-giving. This year’s restric-tions are the toughest yet implemented by theformer Soviet country, which has been toningdown celebrations of the New Year holiday forsome time, notably banning Russia’s version ofFather Christmas from television screens in 2013.A decree by the education ministry prohibits “theuse of fireworks, festive meals, gift-giving andraising money” for New Year celebrations as wellas “the installation of a Christmas tree either living(felled wood) or artificial” in schools and universi-ties.

While other ex-Soviet states have been busysetting up big festive trees on the main squaresof major cities, a tree will only appear brieflybefore New Year in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbeand is expected to be removed early in 2016. TheDecember-January holiday season is contested inTajikistan, a majority-Muslim but secular republic

where the population is divided over the benefitsof Soviet and Russian influences in society. OnNew Year’s night in 2011-2012, a man dressed inthe red robes worn by Father Christmas and hisRussian equivalent “Father Frost” was stabbed todeath by unknown assailants outside the homeof relatives in Dushanbe.

While the man’s family claimed the attack hadreligious motives, police refuted the account andsaid the three attackers were intoxicated at thetime. Days before the murder the country’s lead-ing cleric had urged Muslims not to observe NewYear traditions. Other holidays perceived as aliento Tajikistan’s culture have come under pressurein recent years. In 2013 and 2014, fancy dresszombies and vampires were reportedly detainedby police as the government opposed anyHalloween celebrations. The country also appliesstrict regulations to occasions such as funeralsand weddings and fined one man around $600for marking his birthday with friends in an Irish-themed pub in Dushanbe earlier this year.— AFP

Tajikistan bans Xmas trees and decorations in schools

MOSCOW: Russian investigators yes-terday raided the apartments ofemployees of Kremlin critic MikhailKhodorkovsky’s Open Russia group,less than two weeks after Moscowcharged the former tycoon with mur-der. Members of the government’sInvestigative Committee searched thehomes of Khodorkovsky’s spokes-woman Kulle Pispanen and employeesof his opposition group Open Russia.

The group, citing the InvestigativeCommittee, said the searches wereconnected to an old case over theallegedly fraudulent privatization in1994 of a mining and fertilizer compa-ny. The 2003 case led to the criminalprosecution of one of Russia’s mostpowerful oligarchs and the dismem-berment of his Yukos oil companywhich have become defining eventsin the presidency of Vladimir Putin.Khodorkovsky ridiculed the raids andvowed that his organization, which heset up in an attempt to help nurturecivil society and rouse Russiansagainst the Kremlin, would pressahead with its work.

“This is rather funny, especially tak-ing into consideration that none ofOpen Russia’s current employees andactivists worked at Yukos,” he said onEcho of Moscow radio, noting thatsome of his staff were children in the1990s. “Insanity is entering its finalstages,” Khodorkovsky, who spendsmuch of his time in London, added,referring to the authorities. Liberallawyer Pavel Chikov said the apart-ments of at least seven people hadbeen searched including those of sev-eral Saint Petersburg-based OpenRussia coordinators. Writing on Twitter,he said the raids made little sense as astatute of limitations for the allegedcrime had expired. The InvestigativeCommittee, which reports to Putin,confirmed the early morning raids.

‘I was 12’Mikhail Roskin, a 24-year-old Open

Russia employee based in Saint

Petersburg, said investigatorssearched the apartment of his rela-tives. The link to the 2003 case wasdubious at best, he added. “I was 12then,” he said. “Back then I cared abouteverything except Khodorkovsky orpolitics.” Earlier this month Russianinvestigators charged the former oiltycoon in absentia with organizingthe 1998 murder of a mayor in Siberia,a move supporters say is aimed atsilencing the self-exiled Kremlin critic.Khodorkovsky was also charged withthe attempted murders of two otherpeople.

Once Russia’s richest man,Khodorkovsky, 52, spent a decade inprison on charges of tax evasion,fraud and embezzlement which heand his supporters say were trumpedup in revenge for the business mag-nate’s political ambitions.Khodorkovsky was unexpectedly par-doned by Putin in 2013 and flown outof the country. He has slammedPutin’s system and said he was ready,if called upon, to lead Russia in timesof crisis. As investigators announcedthey planned to press new chargesagainst Khodorkovsky, the Putin criticcalled a news conference in London,which was broadcast online, callingthe Kremlin’s agenda “shitty” and say-ing revolution in Russia wasinevitable.

Open Russia this month publisheda report on allegations by Spanishprosecutors of l inks between aRussian crime boss and several Putinall ies, including the head of theInvestigative Committee AlexanderBastrykin. Yesterday’s raids come afterarmed police searched the offices ofOpen Russia in April, during Putin’smarathon annual phone-in session.Activists have complained that afterthe seizure of Crimea from Ukrainelast year, Russian authorities have fur-ther tightened the screws, leavingcritics with few outlets to expresstheir disagreement with Kremlin poli-cies. — AFP

Russia raids homesof Kremlin critic

Khodorkovsky’s workers

I N T E R N AT ION A LWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

LATAKIA: Taiseer Hamash cradled his two-month olddaughter Noor Sham in his arms as he stood by theentrance of the tarpaulin tent his family has called home inwar-wracked Syria for over a year. “She has never seen ourold house,” said the former factory worker, 29, who fled thefierce fighting in his home region of Aleppo. “One day Ihope she will be able to grow up in the same streets I did,”he said as his two young sons Hussein and Mohammedstood coughing nearby. Hamash and his family are amongaround 5,000 people who fled the fighting in their homeregions and now live in what was once the main sportscomplex in the government stronghold of Latakia, thecoastal heartland of the clan of President Bashar Al-Assad.The displaced-all fierce supporters of Assad’s regime-havetaken over basketball courts and a football stadium as theytry to eke out an existence in a city that has managed toescape most of the violence. Now, as the conflict in theirhomeland grinds on towards a fifth year, they say theyhave one reason to hope that their desperate situationmight change and they may one day head home-Russia’smilitary intervention on the side of Assad.

‘Thank you, Putin’ “I say to President Bashar Al-Assad and to President

Putin: thank you to the Russian people for the helpoffered by their military,” said former truck driver AliAhmed Edrees, 41, during a stop in a tightly regimentedpress tour to Syria organized by the Russian defense min-istry. “Thank you, Putin, we hope that with the help ofGod you will rid us of terrorism.” Russia launched itsbombing campaign in Syria at the end of September atthe request of its long-time ally Assad and says it is tar-geting the Islamic State jihadist group and other “terror-ist” organizations in the war-torn nation.

Moscow argues that backing regime forces is the besthope of ending the war. But the West argues that theKremlin has simply rescued a brutal tyrant who has usedbarrel bombs and chemical weapons against his ownpeople and that its intervention will only prolong thefighting.

“The Russian forces have come in to help acceleratethe military victory but the Syrian army anyway had theintention to carry on its operations to kill the terroristsand chase them from Syria,” Latakia’s governor Ibrahim alSalem told journalists.

For the displaced people living in the camp the inter-national wrangling over the Russian intervention seems along way off. Their daily concerns focus more on just get-

Syrians in regime heartland pin hopes on Russia bombing‘Thank you, President Putin’

ting by and struggling to stay healthy in the tough condi-tions some have now lived in for years. “The situationaccording to everyone here is bad-it is better than a lot ofother refugee camps but it is still bad,” said Sarah Hassan,an English literature undergraduate at the university ofLatakia and volunteer with the local NGO Albostan thatworks in the camp. “They live in tents, there are no bath-rooms, kitchens, toilets-the basic human needs are notsupplied.”

Both the Russian and Syrian militaries say forces back-

ing Assad have pushed back the frontline from Latakia bydozens of kilometers since the start of Moscow’s bomb-ing campaign. But there appears to have been little con-crete progress around the more fiercely contested citiessuch as Aleppo to the north. That has left some of the dis-placed in the camp hoping that Russia might ramp up itsinvolvement still further and send ground troops to Syria.“We want to go home any way possible,” said YasserEdress. “That means we want as many Russian forces tocome as possible.”— AFP

SEOUL: In a dimly lit room, people dressed in white burialshrouds slowly sit up inside the wooden coffins where theyhad been lying, enclosed, for 10 minutes. Blinking, pale andsolemn, they say they thought about their past and theirloved ones while inside the coffins and vow to live betterlives now. “I gained courage to live a new life,” Wang Yong-yo, 67, said, sobbing. “I thought about my dead mother ...she was really beautiful when she was young and was verygenerous.”

The mock funerals are part of a “well-dying” trend inSouth Korea, a sign that the country, once one of theworld’s poorest after the devastating 1950-53 Korean War,has grown affluent enough to consider quality-of-lifeissues. Supporters credit the services with helping partici-pants map out better futures, but critics say they are noth-ing but money-making businesses. A handful of companiesconduct the mock funerals, and the rivalry is getting ugly.

One company is suing Hyowon Healing Center, whichstaged Tuesday’s event and leads the industry, claiming itstole the idea. Hyowon, run by a regular funeral servicecompany, began giving free mock funerals in late 2012 aspart of efforts to promote its image. It has attracted about15,000 visitors, ranging from middle school students toelderly people who want to know what their deaths will belike and how to prepare for the end of their lives. Since

starting the program, the company says it has seen a 30percent increase in the number of people signing up for itsfuneral home business.

Yesterday’s service drew 14 people. Before they climbedinto their coffins, they listened to a lecture on life anddeath, watched a TV documentary on a woman dying of acancer saying farewell to her family, and wrote their ownwills. “I’m so sad. I feel sorry (to my family) that I didn’t doanything on my third wedding anniversary and missed aparty at my daughter’s kindergarten,” said Kwan Dae-jung,one of the participants, choked with tears. Many who jointhe mock funerals seek relief from the stresses of modernlife in South Korea, whose suicide rate tops the develop-ment world. There is widespread tension, especially amongyoung South Koreans, over highly competitive collegeentrance exams, job searches, long working hours andwidening inequality. But not all is peaceful and contempla-tive in the mock funeral business. Seoul-based BeautifulLife, which charges up to 50,000 won ($43) per client, saysit now has less than 10 customers per month because ofcompetition from Hyowon, which it accuses of copying itsidea. “There should be morality in business,” said Kim Giho,the head of Beautiful Life, who plans to sue Hyowon.“That’s why I want to strongly deal with them.” Hyowonofficials deny the accusation.—AP

S Korean ‘mock funerals’ seek to ease life stresses

SEOUL: Wang Yong-yo (left bottom) sits inside a wooden coffin during the ‘death experience’ program at HyowonHealing Center in Seoul, South Korea yesterday.—AP

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After years of waning influence, Russia and Iran madea dramatic comeback in the Middle East in 2015 asthey threw their support behind Syria’s embattled

President Bashar Al-Assad. A decades-long backer of theSyrian regime, Moscow dramatically raised the stakes thisyear by deploying its air force to bomb rebels fightingAssad’s army. And after years of isolation and cripplingsanctions, Tehran returned as a regional power with a seatat Syria’s peace talks, denoting growing international legit-imacy.

But analysts question whether Russia and Iran’s invest-ments will ultimately earn them leading roles in theregion, or if they will get bogged down in the Middle Eastquagmire. “The resurgence of Iran and Russia is obvious,and their interventionism is increasingly unabashed,” saidKarim Bitar, head of research at the Institute forInternational and Strategic Affairs. “They are looking to fillthe void left by the American retreat” from the region, headded. This interventionist streak is most prominent inSyria, where the nearly five-year-old conflict has worndown government troops. After several years of providingfinancial aid and military advisers, Moscow launched an airwar in support of Assad in September. The strikes have tar-geted a patchwork of armed forces hostile to the regime,ranging from US-backed rebels to jihadist groups includ-ing the Islamic State organization.

‘The West Cheated Us’ With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow

lost its influence in the Middle East -where it had investedtime, energy and financial resources for years - seeminglyovernight. In May 1994, it watched powerless as theSoviet-backed Democratic Republic of Yemen buckledunder pressure from the Saudi-allied north. Less than adecade later, Russia’s influence in Iraq dimmed with theousting and death of Saddam Hussein following the US-led invasion. History seemed to repeat itself in Oct 2011with the UN-sanctioned military campaign in Libya againstRussia ally Muammar Gaddafi.

“The West cheated us. We will never forgive them forunilaterally using the UN resolution to take over Libya.Never will we let them take over Syria,” a high-rankingRussian diplomat in Damascus told AFP. Syria is Moscow’slast foothold in the Middle East, and its loss would reduceRussia to a second-rate power. The “inflexibility” of Russia’sstance on Syria, Bitar said, stems partly from a desire toprotect its strong bilateral ties with its last “client state” inthe Middle East.

But it also seeks to present itself as a protector of theregion’s Christian minority and to act on a policy of “revan-chism after being humiliated since 1989,” he adde”Russia’snational interest has pushed it to act in the Middle East, sothat it doesn’t have to fight the fire (of Islamist ideology)near our borders,” said Ajdar Kourtov, head of the NationalStrategy Problems Journal, which is close to the Kremlin.“Russian leaders aspire to restore Russia’s rank in interna-tional politics, a rank comparable to what the Soviet Unionhad,” added Kourtov.

‘Painful Consequences’ Ahead? Moscow is already beginning to reap the benefits of its

intervention in Syria. Russia has developed links withEgypt, Jordan and Gulf countries, and has secured a cen-tral role in finding a political solution to Syria’s crisis. USSecretary of State John Kerry recently called Russia’s role“constructive”. Iran, too, has invested heavily to protect itsally in Damascus and has been given a role in internationalpeace talks on Syria for the first time. It has dispatched theelite Revolutionary Guards as well as the allied ShiiteLebanese militia Hezbollah to bolster Assad’s forces andpush back rebel advances across Syria.

Iran’s regional influence has surged since the signing ofa landmark nuclear deal with world powers under whicheconomic sanctions will be rolled back. In a bid to eclipseregional rival Saudi Arabia, Iran has also consolidated itsinfluence in Iraq and Lebanon through Hezbollah. “Russiaand Iran started to work together to prevent the regionfrom completely collapsing,” said Mohammad Marandi,dean of world studies at the University of Tehran. “We willsee, in the coming weeks, other actors, other countries,moving closer toward the Iranian-Russian position regard-ing extremism and the role extremism is playing,” Marandiadded. But the game is far from over. Tehran and Moscow,Bitar warns, “could be adversely affected as not a singleintervention in the Arab world has ended without unin-tended, and often painful, consequences for those whodive headfirst into this mess.” — AFP

Focus

A N A L Y S I SWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Russia, Iran in Mideast resurgence

By Sammy Ketz

By Amarjyoti Borah

Golok Das, a farmer in India’s northeast Assam state,is happy with the harvest produced by his main 6-hectare farm. But he’d love to sell another 4-

hectare plot, just half a kilometre away, even though it’sequally fertile. Why? It sits on the other side of a barbed-wire fence marking the Bangladesh border, and thatmeans he can’t irrigate it. The fence was built in 1987 toprevent illegal migration from Bangladesh to India. Ittraces a line about 150 yards inside the actual border, onIndian land, since no treaty agreement allowed a fenceto be built on the border itself.

Large tracts of Indian land, including some villages,were left on the far side of the fence. In the Golokganjsector of Dhubri district, more than 8,000 farmers strug-gle with a fence between their homes and their land.They are allowed to cross though the fence each day towork their holdings, but only at set hours. Now changingclimatic conditions in the region for the first time requirefarmers to irrigate their land frequently to get a goodcrop - but legal and bureaucratic obstacles make it hardto invest in irrigation on the far side of the fence, mean-ing harvests there are two-thirds lower than those on theIndian side. “With climate change, there has been achange in the rainfall pattern and also the flood intensi-ty, which is making agriculture difficult in many areas inthe state,” said Girin Chetia of the non-profit North EastAffected Areas Development Society. Those changes

mean farmer Safikul Islam now wants to get rid of his 5hectares of land on the wrong side of the fence, and nextto Das’ plot.

Less Grain Across the FenceBoth farmers say their land on the Indian side of the

fence yields nearly 1,500 kg of rice a year, while an equiv-alent area on the Bangladesh side produces no morethan 500 kg. “The land on both sides is equally fertile,however we suffer as we don’t have any irrigation facili-ties there. This takes a major toll on our land on the otherside of the border,” said Das. “We have been traditionallydependent on the rainwater for our cultivation (for) gen-erations, but now as the rainfall has become unpre-dictable, it is not possible,” said Munin Das, a 52-year-oldfarmer who owes 4 hectares of land on the Bangladeshiside of the fence. “We need irrigation facilities to be ableto cultivate our land and get good yields,” he said.

By law, construction of any concrete or permanentstructure is forbidden near the fence, local people say.“Even the idea of building any small irrigation project orbuilding any project for water harvesting does not arise,”said Dinesh Kumar Sarkar, a former legislator fromDhubri who also owes agricultural land on the other sideof the fence. Sarkar said that even taking tractors ontothe land requires a lengthy bureaucratic process.

Local people worry they will have to give up farming onthe Bangladeshi side of the fence as a result of the weatherchanges, and complain that neither the district administra-

tion nor the Indian government’s Border Security Force(BSF) have been sympathetic to their problems.

8 to 4 FarmersGates to cross the border are open from 8 am to 4 pm,

Sarkar said, and outside these times no Indian citizen isallowed to work land on the Bangladesh side. The problemis that “farming cannot be done within a fixed timeframe,”Sarkar said. In particular, the fixed crossing hours “create alot of problems for the farmers, as the farmer needs toreach his field very early in the morning”, he said. In addi-tion, he said, people living on the Bangladeshi side of theborder sometimes damage Indian-owned crops or harvestthem, leaving Indian growers with no produce to show fortheir labour. Farmers and civil society groups have longurged India’s government to purchase their land on theother side of the fence. Members of Nagarik UnnayanMancha, a civil society group, say they plan to file a peti-tion on the issue at the Gauhati high court. “Our demandshave been ignored for years, and now we are planning tosend a delegation to (explain) our situation before theAssam chief minister and the country’s prime minister,” saidSarkar. The state government, however, says that it cannotact alone on a matter affecting the country’s border. “Thisis an international issue and Bangladesh must also beinvolved, and this could be done only through the Ministryof External Affairs,” said Bhumidhar Barman, Assam’s rev-enue minister. He said he would take up the issue with thecentral government. — Reuters

Assam’s border farmers fenced in

By Paul Taylor

By any measure, it has been a year from hell for theEuropean Union. And if Britons vote to leave the bloc,next year could be worse. Not since 1989, the year the

Berlin Wall fell and communism crumbled across easternEurope, has the continent’s geopolitical kaleidescope beenshaken up so vigorously. But unlike that year of joyous tur-moil, which paved the way for a leap forward in Europeanintegration, the crises of 2015 have threatened to tear theUnion apart and left it battered, bruised, despondent and lit-tered with new barriers.

The collapse of the Iron Curtain led within two years to theagreement to create a single European currency and, over thefollowing 15 years, to the eastward enlargement of the EU andNATO up to the borders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Thatappeared to confirm founding father Jean Monnet’s predic-tion that a united Europe would be built out of crises. In con-trast, this year’s political and economic shocks over an influxof migrants, Greek debt, Islamist violence and Russian militaryaction have led to the return of border controls in manyplaces, the rise of populist anti-EU political forces and recrimi-nation among EU governments.

Jean-Claude Juncker, who describes his EU executive asthe “last chance Commission”, warned that the EU’s open-bor-der Schengen area of passport-free travel was in danger andthe euro itself would be unlikely to survive if internal borderswere shut. Juncker resorted to gallows humour after the lastof 12 EU summits this year, most devoted to last-gasp crisismanagement: “The crises that are with us will remain and oth-ers will come.”

His gloomy tone was a reality check on the “we can do it”spirit that German Chancellor Angela Merkel - Europe’s pre-eminent leader - has sought to apply to the absorption ofhundreds of thousands of mostly Syrian refugees. Merkel hasreceived little support from her EU partners in sharing themigrant burden. Most have insisted the priority is sealingEurope’s external borders rather than welcoming more than atoken number of refugees in their own countries.

This is partly due to latent resentment of German domi-nance of the EU and payback for its reluctance to share morefinancial risks in the euro zone. Some partners also accuseBerlin of hypocrisy over its energy ties with Russia, whilefriends such as France, the Netherlands and Denmark are sim-ply petrified by the rise of rightwing anti-immigration pop-ulists at home. One of the sharpest rebuffs to sharing more ofthe refugee burden came from close ally Paris. Prime MinisterManuel Valls said of Merkel’s open door policy towards Syrianrefugees: “It was not France that said ‘Come!’.”

Merkel’s critics rounded on her at an end-of-year EU sum-mit. Italy’s Matteo Renzi, backed by Portugal and Greece,attacked her refusal to accept a euro zone bank deposit guar-antee scheme. The Baltic states, Bulgaria and Italy denouncedher support for a direct gas pipeline from Russia to Germanyat a time when the EU is sanctioning Moscow over its militaryaction in Ukraine and has forced the cancellation of a pipeline

to southern Europe. “It was pretty much everyone againstMerkel in the room,” a diplomat who heard the exchangessaid. One problem likely to worsen in 2016 is that Europe’smain leaders are politically weak and so preoccupied bydomestic challenges that they are unable to take the neces-sary collective action. The conservative Merkel’s survival in thechancellery hinges on her ability to bring down the number ofrefugees flooding into Germany next year and show she hasmigration under control. Without “Mutti” (Mummy), as she isaffectionately known back home, the EU would be in evenmore dire straits.

French President Francois Hollande’s year has been brack-eted by militant attacks on the streets of Paris in January andNovember that caused Europe-wide shock over the Islamistthreat from within and over failures in European police andintelligence cooperation. France’s influence in Europe isdiminished by its economic weakness as Hollande strugglesfor re-election in 2017 against rising far-right populist MarineLe Pen and conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.

British Prime Minister David Cameron cares only aboutfinding a face-saving deal on changes in Britain’s EU member-ship terms in February to win a knife-edge referendum whichhe has hinted he hopes to hold sometime next year. Cameronhas effectively mortgaged Britain’s future to an attempt todeprive immigrants from eastern EU countries of the same in-work benefits that low-paid British workers get, which manyEU partners say would be illegal.

Given British public alarm over immigration, an anti-elitemood and age-old suspicion of Europe fanned by scepticalmedia, the referendum is an accident waiting to happen. IfEurope’s second-biggest economy and one of its two mainmilitary powers became the first member state ever to vote toleave the EU, it would be a shattering blow to the bloc’s confi-dence and international standing. Diehard European federal-ists like to believe a “Brexit” would unshackle the remainingmembers to move ahead in a much closer union built on theeuro zone. But that is to ignore the myriad east versus west,north versus south, free-market versus protectionist, socialistversus conservative and sovereignist versus integrationist divi-sions among the other 27 member states.

More likely, a Brexit vote would prompt demands for refer-endums elsewhere, from Poland to Denmark, amid acrimo-nious negotiations between London and Brussels over theterms of Britain’s departure and future relationship with thebloc. Denmark has just shown the political risk when govern-ments anywhere in Europe ask voters whether they want evena tiny bit closer EU cooperation. The answer was “Nej tak” - nothanks.

If Cameron wins and Britain stays in on improved terms,some fear political contagion, with other national leaderstempted to emulate his tactic of taking Brussels hostage fordomestic ends. “Unfortunately, we need a victory forCameron,” one senior EU official said. “But it is full of risk forEurope as a whole.”— Reuters

Europe’s year from hell may presage worse

Afghan migrants camp out on the Place de la Republique in Paris yesterday. — AP

N E W SWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Continued from Page 1

Following the announcement of his death, some MPsbroke down in tears and put a Kuwaiti flag on his seat.Before joining politics in 2012, when he was elected tothe Assembly for the first time, Fadhl was a writer and ajournalist at Al-Watan newspaper for several years. Hecontinued to write his column in the newspaper evenafter becoming a member of parliament.

He was first elected as MP in Feb 2012 and had to livein a parliament dominated by an overwhelming opposi-tion majority. He was a strong government supporter.But that Assembly was scrapped by the constitutionalcourt for constitutional flaws. He contested the nextelection in December that year and won again. ThatAssembly did not last long as the court scrapped theAssembly again on technical issues. In the July 2013elections, he was initially declared a loser, but when hechallenged the result and following a recount, he wasadjudged to be a member of parliament.

Fadhl was a strong critic of Islamist political parties,especially the Muslim Brotherhood. He had repeatedlycalled for declaring some Islamic groups as terroristorganizations. He was also a vocal supporter of socialliberalization, once calling for considering lifting thetotal ban on alcohol, and was a strong supporter ofending the ban on coeducation. Fadhl was also a strongfoe of opposition groups which boycotted the last twoelections after changes to the electoral law.Commenting of the demise of Fadhl, former MPMusallam Al-Barrak said that he forgave him andexpressed grief on his death. “May the Almighty havemercy on Nabil...I forgive him despite what he saidagainst me,” he said.

Under the Kuwaiti constitution, if a parliamentaryseat falls vacant, a by-election must be held in the samedistrict within two months to elect a new lawmaker. TheAssembly issued a statement mourning Fadhl, describ-ing him an active member despite his health conditions.The government also paid tribute to the lawmaker.

MP Nabil Al-Fadhl dies during Assembly...


The Kuwaiti FM added that the joint committee dis-cussed various issues that would cement bilateral relationsas well as achievements made last year, such as openingtwo new Kuwaiti consulates in Basra and Irbil, cementingcommercial relations and facilitating transport. In 2014,more than 142,000 Iraqis entered Kuwait, while 50,000Kuwaiti crossed into the opposite direction, the ministeradded. “We signed four agreements today on inspection,control, youth and sports and activating intercommunica-tions through fiber optic cables,” he explained.

Responding to a question about commercial exchangesand the possibility that Iraq supplies Kuwait with gas,Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said that an agreement had alreadybeen signed in this regard and that officials would soonmeet to put final touches to the agreement. He also notedthat commercial exchanges had grown by 22 percent sincelast year.

Jaafari stressed that Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations would alwaysbe strong and that this had already been proved. He sec-onded Sheikh Sabah’s views on terrorism, noting that Iraqwas currently fighting terrorism on behalf of the entireworld as Islamic State members flocking to Iraq have comefrom over 100 countries. “Today, terrorists are being defeat-ed and routed out of many cities and places thanks to Iraqimilitary forces strikes and operations,” he said, denying thepresence of foreign troops fighting IS on the ground in Iraq.“We only coordinate with coalition forces to provide air cov-erage, some advisors and trainers,” he said, noting that Iraqdoes not want any foreigners fighting on behalf of Iraqis.

Responding to a question about taking part in theIslamic military coalition formed by Saudi Arabia, Jaafarisaid Iraq only came to know about the coalition from TVreports and should have been properly contacted. He not-ed that Iraq was at war against terrorism and not withSunnis or Shiites, who he claimed coexist peacefully in Iraq.Jaafari also denied yesterday any link between his govern-ment and the kidnappers of 26 Qatari hunters, allegedlypeople linked to Shiite militiamen on whom Baghdad reliesheavily against the Islamic State group. During a press con-ference, a reporter asked Jaafari to comment on “accusa-

tions that the kidnappers are members of Hashad al-Shaabi(Shiite paramilitary force), which is linked to the Iraqi gov-ernment”. “I categorically deny that the Iraqi governmenthas any link to the (kidnapping) case,” Jaafari said. “I hopesome would not become suspicious that the governmentcolluded” with the kidnappers.

Wealthy citizens of Sunni Gulf states venture to countriesincluding Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq to hunt with fal-cons without the bag limits and conservation measuresthey face at home. The Qataris, which include members ofthe small country’s royal family, were kidnapped in south-ern Iraq last week. There is significant hostility in Iraq, espe-cially in the Shiite-majority south, over the Gulf countries’policies on the Syrian civil war and perceived complicity inthe rise of IS.

Jaafari acknowledged that security problems in his war-torn country could have led to the kidnapping. He alsoinsisted that the Iraqi government has been working toresolve the issue and secure the release of the Qataris. Hisremarks came after the Gulf Cooperation Council con-demned yesterday the kidnapping as a “breach of interna-tional law” and warned it could “hurt relations betweenArab brothers”.

A statement called on Baghdad to shoulder “its interna-tional legal commitments and to take immediate and deci-sive measures to ensure the safety of those abducted andsecure their release”. The hunters entered Iraq with an “offi-cial permit” from the interior ministry, Qatari has said.Kuwaiti media reported at the weekend that at least sevenof the Qataris had managed to flee from their captors andtravel home through Kuwait. There has been no officialQatari confirmation.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said Jaafari and himself met HHthe Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-AhmadAl-Jaber Al-Sabah and listened to his wise views on bolster-ing bilateral ties, pushing them to higher prospects. He reit-erated Sheikh Nawaf’s blessings to efforts that seek to pro-mote cooperation for realizing expectations of people inthe two countries. He also referred to a similar meeting withHH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah,who was briefed on the details of the fifth session of thejoint higher committee.

Kuwait, Iraq overcome obstacles


laborers to their employer and makes it difficult forworkers to change jobs without getting their boss’approval. Activists say the system leaves workers open toabuse.

It is common for workers to pay hefty fees to recruitersback home to secure employment, which for many turnsout to be different than what was promised once theyarrive. Human Rights Watch says recruiting costs can runas high as $3,000 and that it can take laborers up to threeyears to pay those fees back. Many laborers in the Gulf

construction industry come from South Asian countriessuch as India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Gulf states have taken some steps to improve workingconditions. Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest economy,this year implemented a number of amendments to itslabor law that imposed or increased penalties for viola-tions. The Emirates is putting in place reforms starting Jan.1 aimed at tightening oversight of employment agree-ments. Qatar has made changes to its labor policies too.Its government communications office acknowledgedthis week that labor reform “is still a work in progress”.Activists say more needs to be done. — AP

HRW offers guidelines for builders...


The kingdom’s concerns deepened following an inter-national agreement in July that, perhaps as early asJanuary, will ease sanctions on Iran in return for a reduc-tion in its nuclear capabilities. Before Iran can increase itspower as the economic embargo eases, Saudi “wants togather its friends and allies,” the foreign diplomat said.The nuclear deal accentuated concerns in Saudi Arabiaand the Gulf that Washington has not paid enoughattention to what they see as Iran’s destabilising acts.

“The general recognition seems to be that if you wantsomething done you can no longer rely on others,” said asecond diplomat, from a Western country. Regional com-petition with Iran plays “a huge role” in Saudi oppositionto Assad, he added. Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesmanHossein Jaber Ansari said Monday that efforts wereunder way to prepare for “direct dialogue” to resolveIran-Saudi differences and regional issues. Saudi Arabiais “very much active because the Syrian conflict isapproaching what seems like a conclusion and the king-dom is needed at this particular moment,” saidKhashoggi, expressing his personal view.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denounced international“terrorism” and has itself suffered attacks by IS, alsoknown as ISIS, over the past year. The Islamic coalitionand support for Syrian opposition groups reflect a moreassertive Saudi foreign policy under King Salman. Hetook power in January and named his powerful son,Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, asdefence minister. Months ago, Saudi Arabia began tryingto unite Syria’s various political and armed factionsopposed to Assad. Finally they came together in Riyadhto prepare for potential negotiations early next year withthe Assad regime, part a process endorsed last Friday bythe UN Security Council.

Diplomatic pressure to end the war has intensified inthe past few weeks, led by the 17-nation InternationalSyria Support Group which includes Saudi Arabia as wellas Iran and Russia. Saudi Arabia is among the most vocif-erous in insisting that Assad can have no role in Syria’sfuture and must go at the start of the political transitionprocess. Asked why Syria is so important for the king-dom, the Western diplomat described it as “a cesspit”destabilizing the region. “Arguably if you had no Syria(war) there might be no ISIS,” he said. — AFP

Growing Iran clout spurs Saudi action Continued from Page 1

The stakes were high for SpaceX, which has a $1.6 bil-lion contract with NASA to supply the astronauts living atthe International Space Station over numerous back-and-forth trips with its Dragon cargo ship. Just six months ago,a devastating explosion - caused by a faulty strut -destroyed the Falcon 9 about two minutes after launch,along with hundreds of millions of dollars in cargo andequipment bound for the ISS. The company fixed thatproblem and also made the newest version of the Falcon 9about 30 percent more powerful than previous iterations,Musk said.

Adding to the competitive nature of the commercialspace industry, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s rocket com-pany Blue Origin announced last month it had successfullylanded its New Shepard rocket after a suborbital flight.

“Congrats @SpaceX on landing Falcon’s suborbital boosterstage. Welcome to the club,” Bezos said on Twitter Mondaynight. Analysts have pointed out that although NewShepard was first, that SpaceX’s feat would be harder toaccomplish because the Falcon 9 flies higher in altitude.“Because SpaceX’s vehicle was designed to place a constel-lation of satellites in orbit, the Falcon 9’s first stage flew atsignificantly greater speeds and more than double the alti-tude of what New Shepherd reached last month,” theCommercial Spaceflight Federation said in a statement.

It called the landing an “incredible achievement” in anindustry that is seeking to drive down costs and makespaceflight cheaper and more accessible to tourists andadventurers. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield added hiscongratulations. “That was a hard landing to stick. Opens abrand new door to space travel. I look forward to thedetails,” he wrote on Twitter. — AFP

SpaceX rocket nails safe landing in pivotal...

People move around under a canopy of light emanating from 650 hanging lanterns called “Luminaries” at the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan yesterday in New York. Thechoreographed light shows are titled “Snowfall”, “Christmas Tree”, “Ribbons”, “Firecracker” and “Northern Lights”. — AFP

BEIRUT: The vehicle carrying Iranian Brigadier General HosseinHamedani was passing through the outskirts of Aleppo on theafternoon of Oct 8 when it was shot up by Islamic State fighters.Hamedani was hit in the left eye by a bullet and died after thedriver lost control of the vehicle. He was the most seniorRevolutionary Guard commander to be killed in Syria to dateand also one of a growing number of Iranian military personnelto lose their lives there.

The death of Hamedani, who played a vital role in Iranianmilitary efforts in Syria, was described by a representative ofSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the RevolutionaryGuards and published by the Entekhab news site in mid-October. It was an event that marked the start of a new devel-opment in Iran’s military involvement in Syria, where expertsbelieve Tehran may have as many as 3,000 troops.

Since early October, nearly 100 Revolutionary Guard fightersor military advisers, including at least four senior commanders,have been killed there, according to a tally from Iranian web-sites. That is only slightly less than half of all the casualties suf-

fered by the Guard in Syria since the beginning of 2012, whendeath notices began to appear. Syria’s war has drawn in diversepowers: Iran has allied with Russia in supporting presidentBashar Al-Assad while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar havebeen backing the opposition.

The United States, France and Britain have been carrying outattacks in Syria primarily targeting Islamic State, which controlsbroad swathes of territory in both Syria and Iraq. The conflicthas heightened sectarian tension across the region as Iran hasrallied Shiite fighters from Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan andPakistan to fight a mostly Sunni opposition. An Israeli air strikewas reported to have killed a Hezbollah leader in Damascus onSaturday in the latest attack on the Iranian-backed group inSyria by Israeli forces. And while the United Nations SecurityCouncil on Friday approved a resolution backing plans for aSyria peace process, obstacles to ending the war remain daunt-ing, with no side able to secure a clear military victory.

The death of the Revolutionary Guard members is an indica-tion of Iran’s increased involvement in fighting in Syria - and the

heavy price its soldiers are paying - as it props up a Syrian armyhit hard by nearly five years of conflict. “The Iranians haveincreased the extent of their direct military involvement in theconflict mostly in order to make up for the heavy attritionamong Syrian army units,” said Hilal Khashan, a political scienceprofessor at the American University of Beirut.

The Syrian army has recently had to take a back seat as Iranand its allied militias take the lead in the fight against the oppo-sition. “The SAA (Syrian Arab Army) is a gutted institution,” said aWestern diplomat in Beirut who asked not to be identified.“There’s defections, there’s fleeing.” The timing of Iran’sincreased involvement in the conflict, particularly in the fightfor control of Aleppo, was coordinated with the start of Russia’sair campaign in late September.

The Iranians have shown their commitment to the neweffort and coordinated operations on the ground by sending insenior commanders like Hamedani, who played a key role insuppressing protests following the disputed 2009 presidentialelection in Iran. The influx of Iranian troops, along with Russian

air support, allowed the Syrian army to break the siege of theKweiris airbase in Aleppo province in early November but oth-erwise the new coalition has made only incremental gainsaround Aleppo.

And while Hamedani may have been individually targetedby Islamic State, the bulk of the Guard commanders who havebeen killed recently died in combat. “They were killed in clash-es,” said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the British-based SyrianObservatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war via con-tacts on the ground. That is not a new development for Iran:Guard commanders regularly visited frontline troops during theIran-Iraq war in the 1980s. It was a way to boost morale andshow camaraderie with ordinary soldiers.

“At the time of the Iran-Iraq war it was the same: high-rankingofficers from the Revolutionary Guards would go to the front linesand sometimes they would get killed,” said Mohsen Sazegara, afounding member of the Revolutionary Guards who is now a US-based dissident. “It’s a tactic. They see it as a kind of sacrifice sothey don’t sit in the back and let others fight.” — Reuters

Iran casualties rise as Guards ramp up role

S P O RT SWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

TOKYO: This artist rendering provided by the Japan Sports Council shows the original design by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid of the new stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics selected on Nov 16, 2012 but was later scrapped dueto controversy over its cost and scale. Japan has selected a new design for the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after scrapping an earlier plan as too costly. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced yesterday, that the winneris a design by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, construction company Taisei Corp. and Azusa design office.— AP

LONDON: Serena Williams and NovakDjokovic were named the women’s andmen’s players of the year by theInternational Tennis Federation (ITF) yes-terday. Both won three of the four GrandSlams in 2015 and are well clear in theworld rankings. Williams, who was named‘ITF World Champion’ for the sixth time,

won five titles throughout the year, finish-ing with a 53-3 win-loss record. Afterwinning Wimbledon in July she also heldall four Grand Slam titles at the same timefor the second time in her career, whichshe previously dubbed a ‘Serena Slam’ incontrast to a calendar Grand Slam. “Itmeans a lot to me to be named the ITF

World Champion for the sixth time. I amproud to have achieved my secondSerena Slam, in what has been an amaz-ing year for me,” she said in an ITF state-ment. Djokovic, who finished the year asmen’s number one for the fourth time,won the award for a fifth time. He man-aged a career-best 11 titles and finished

with an 82-6 record. He got even closerto the Grand Slam than Williams, whowas beaten in the US Open semi-finals, ashe only missed out on a first RolandGarros crown in the final against StanWawrinka.

“My season was the best of my careerwith many highlights. It inspires me even

more to keep on going, and I hope tocontinue to play at this level in 2016,” hesaid. India’s Sania Mirza and MartinaHingis of Switzerland were named thewomen’s doubles champions withDutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and HoriaTecau of Romania picking up the men’saward. — AFP

Williams and Djokovic named ‘world champions’

TOKYO: Japan chose a scaled-down design yester-day for the main stadium for the 2020 TokyoOlympics, five months after scrapping the initialdesign and construction plan for being too costly.

The new design, by Japanese architect KengoKuma, will still cost 153 billion yen ($1.26 billion) todesign, build and maintain. The initial stadium pro-posal would have cost 252 billion yen ($2.1 billion),making it the most expensive stadium ever built.

Kuma’s combined steel and wood structure,with a relatively flat roof with shrubbery along itsouter concourses, echoes traditional templedesigns. It stands 50 meters (164 feet) tall, with thetrack and field below ground level.

“This is a wonderful plan which meets the basicvision in the new construction plan and require-ments for construction period and the budget,”Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in announcing thechoice. Tuesday’s announcement was a major step

for organizers, who were forced to start over on anew design less than five years before the 2020Games. The scrapping of the initial stadium planforced the 2019 Rugby World Cup to change ven-ues, and the late change had raised concerns aboutwhether it could even be completed in time for theOlympics.

Organizers also had to deal with a plagiarismscandal over the logo for the event, and an investi-gation last month found backroom dealings in theselection process.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga toldreporters that the design selection process wasmore transparent than that for the previous stadi-um plan, and also addressed the main problems:cost and post-Olympic use. The winning projectwill be led by major construction company TaiseiCorp. Lead architect Kuma, known for his Japaneseaesthetic, has also designed Tokyo’s kabuki theater

that was renewed in 2013. Officials said the designwon by a small margin over the alternative plan ledby architect Toyo Ito and three construction com-panies Takenaka, Shimizu and Obayashi. Suga saidKuma’s plan was superior because of its ampleenvironmental consideration and a possibility ofshrinking the construction period.

The original plan by British-Iraqi architect ZahaHadid was criticized for its massive cost and scale.Hadid said Japan’s scrapping of her plan was“shocking” and that she said it was not aboutdesign or budget.

“In fact much of our two years of detaileddesign work and the cost savings we recommend-ed have been validated by the remarkable similari-ties of our original detailed stadium layout and ourseating bowl configuration with those of thedesign announced today,” she said in a statementto The Associated Press. — AP

Japan picks new design forTokyo 2020 Olympic stadium

ALTA BADIA: Norway’s Kjetil Jansrudwon Monday’s inaugural men’s paral-lel giant slalom in the alpine skiingWorld Cup at Alta Badia, denying com-patriot Aksel Lund Svindal a sixth vic-tory of the season.

Jansrud and Svindal advanced froman initial 32-man field to set up an all-Norwegian showdown at the Italianresort, with Jansrud earning his firstvictory since March.

“I’ve tried to beat him all year. I’vebeen close a few times, but never real-ly gotten there, but it’s a little absurdto finally beat him now in a new paral-lel discipline,” Jansrud told fis-ski.com.

Sweden’s Andre Myhrer clinched afirst podium finish in almost two yearsafter edging out Germany’s DominikSchwaiger for third place. However,

defending four-time overall championMarcel Hirscher suffered an early elim-ination after missing a gate on hisopening run. Henrik Kristoffersen,Felix Neureuther and Ted Ligety alsofailed to advance from the first knock-out round, which featured two timedruns, before the competition adopteda one-run winner-takes-all format.

Svindal reclaimed the overall leadfrom Hirscher, just a day after theAustrian became the first skier to winthe challenging Alta Badia giantslalom three years in a row. Havingmissed the entire 2015 World Cup sea-son with a ruptured Achilles, Svindalgoes into today’s slalom at Madonnadi Campiglio with a 57-point lead overHirscher with Jansrud third, 193 pointsbehind his countryman. — AFP

Jansrud edges out Svindal for GS win

VAL GARDENA: Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway (C) with French Guillermo Fayed,2nd, and Kjetil Jansrud of Norway (R), third, celebrate on the podium of the FISAlpine Skiing World Cup Men’s Downhill on Monday in Val Gardena, northernItaly.—AFP

LONDON: The International Association of AthleticsFederations (IAAF) was again forced to defend itsactions over Russian doping on Monday after aleaked email showed how officials planned a dam-age-limitation strategy before the 2013 Moscowworld championships. The email suggesting a “spe-cial dossier” on Russian drugs cheats was from IAAFdeputy general secretary Nick Davies to PapaMassata Diack, the son of former president LamineDiack, who then worked for the sport’s governingbody as a marketing consultant.

Both Diacks are under investigation over corrup-tion offences, while Russian athletes are currentlybanned from the sport following revelations ofwidespread, state-sponsored doping.

The report also criticised the governing body forits “laissez-faire” attitude to the problem. Though theextent of Russian doping is now out in the open, theIAAF were seemingly fighting to keep a lid on it twoyears ago. Extracts from the “very secret” email pub-lished by French newspaper Le Monde, but not veri-fied by Reuters, said: “I need to be able to sit downwith the anti-doping department and understandexactly what Russian ‘skeletons’ we have still in thecupboard regarding doping.

“I think that the time to have unveiled the variousathletes was a long time ago and that now we needto be smart. “We can prepare a special dossier onIAAF testing which will show that one of the rea-sons why these Russian athletes come up positive isthat they get tested a lot.” The email, which was sentin July 2013, a month before the Moscow worldchampionships, also suggested that CSM, thesports marketing firm chaired by IAAF presidentSebastian Coe (then a vice-president) could be usedas part of an “unofficial PR campaign” to fend off

negative stories in the British media. It also said theIAAF could benefit from Coe’s political influence inBritain to minimise the damage any revelationsmight cause.

RESPONSIBILITIESDavies, who now works as Coe’s chief of staff,

issued a statement on Monday denying any wrong-doing. “As Director of IAAF Communications it was

one of my responsibilities to manage and promotethe reputation of the IAAF,” he said. “My email toPapa Massata Diack was brain storming aroundmedia handling strategies to deal with the serious

challenges we were facing around the image of theevent. “No plan was implemented following thatemail and there is no possibility any media strategycould ever interfere with the conduct of the anti-doping process.

“I did not discuss these ideas with CSM andthere has never been any agreement between theIAAF and CSM for any PR campaigns. CSM has neverworked for the IAAF in any capacity since SebastianCoe joined the company,” Davies said. Last week LeMonde published allegations that Lamine Diackhad sought money from Russia to be used to fund apolitical campaign in his native Senegal. Daviesdenied any knowledge of such dealings, whichDiack has also denied, or any other criminal wrong-doing within the organization.

Diack is being investigated on charges that heasked for payment from Russian athletes to coverup positive dope tests. “I had no knowledge in 2013that IAAF officials might be involved in allegedcriminal conduct in relation to doping cases, nor amI aware of any doping case that was not broughtthat should have been brought, or of any dopingban that was not published when it should havebeen published under the IAAF rules,” Davies said.

“When information concerning alleged corrup-tion was brought to my attention in early 2014, Iwas one of a number of IAAF staff members whoreferred the matter to the IAAF Ethics Commissionand who have assisted in the resulting investigationby the Commission. “I was also one of those staffmembers who voluntarily offered full assistance toinvestigators of the WADA IndependentCommission as well as to the French andMonegasque Police Authorities and will continue todo so.” — Reuters

IAAF under fire again over Russian doping

BEIJING: File photo taken on August 21, 2015shows outgoing International Association ofAthletics Federations (IAAF) presidentLamine Diack gesturing during a press con-ference in Beijing, ahead of the 2015 IAAFWorld Championships. — AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil may not know whoits president will be in eight months’ time,and Olympic athletes won’t have TVs in theirrooms because of the country’s recession, butRio de Janeiro is still promising a “spectacular”2016 Games.

With its budget in tatters because of theeconomic crisis and the nation shamed bynot cleaning pathogenic sewage fromGuanabara Bay-the Rio venue for Olympicregattas-criticism has been rife.

Organizers have preferred to stress thatthe work to host the August 5-21 OlympicGames and 10,000 athletes from 206 coun-

tries has been without delays, and improve-ments to Rio’s public transport network willbe a lasting legacy. “Rio today is 80 percentready, in April it will be 100 percent, and dur-ing the Games it will be 120 percent,” boastedthe communications director for the Rio-2016organizing committee, Mario Andrada, in aninterview with AFP. “The Olympics are goingto be spectacular,” he pledged. Unsaid is theorganizers’ hope that the political chaos inSouth America’s biggest country, wrought bythe threat of impeachment for deeply unpop-ular President Dilma Rousseff over allegedlyfiddled public accounts, will be settled by

then. Or that at least anti-government dis-content won’t spill out into the streets as itdid in 2013, a year before Brazil hosted thefootball World Cup.

SLASHED BUDGET Faced with its worst recession in decades,

double-digit inflation, swelling unemploy-ment, and a corruption scandal sinking thestate oil company Petrobras, the Rio 2016committee has pledged to spend only “themoney we have,” Andrada said.

That means slashing five to 20 percentfrom the $5-billion budget, for example by

not installing televisions in athletes’ rooms,getting by with fewer computer printers, andoffering Brazilian meat-beans-and-rice dishesto invited VIPs instead of fancy meals.

“The country is going through an enor-mous crisis. We can’t be sending out a differ-ent message, (or) leaving debts to be paid bythe government or, worse, by society,”Andrada said.

However, Rio 2016 will cut back “nothingfrom the tracks, nothing from the sports,nothing from the ceremony, nothing from thelegacy.” After the Paris attacks in whichIslamist gunmen killed 130 people, Brazil is to

oversee the biggest integrated security oper-ation in its history: 85,000 police, soldiers andagents, in coordination with 80 countries.“We are constantly working as if a threat wereimminent,” the head of the Brazilian intelli-gence service, Wilson Trezza, told AFP. TheRio-2016 committee also assured that “Riowill be the safest city in the world during theGames.” But there have been some unsettlingsecurity issues of late, such as the breakingup of a ring producing falsified birth certifi-cates that allowed dozens of Syrians to obtainBrazilian passports between 2012 and 2014.Several of the Syrians are still fugitives.— AFP

Battered Brazil vows 2016 Olympics will be ‘spectacular’


South Africa A, first innings, 136England XI, first innings, 414-6 dec South Africa A, second innings (overnight 35-2)S. Cook lbw b Broad 1R. Hendricks lbw b Ali 19R. Rossouw lbw b Ali 32M. de Lange c Taylor b Footitt 0Q. de Kock lbw b Ali 53O. Ramela lbw b Finn 0K. Zondo c Stokes b Finn 0D. Vilas not out 30C. Morris lbw b Ali 5K. Maharaj b Ali 31

D. Paterson c Hales b Ali 12Extras (b2, lb1, w1) 4Total (2 wkts, 42.5 overs) 187Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Cook), 2-34 (Hendricks), 3-35 (De Lange), 4-102 (De Kock), 5-107(Rossouw), 6-107 (Ramela), 7-110 (Zondo), 8-129 (Morris), 9-175Bowling: Broad 6-1-20-1, Footitt 8-1-38-1,Stokes 6-2-18-0 (1w), Finn 7-1-30-2, Ali 14.5-4-77-6, Root 1-0-1-0Result: England XI won by an innings and 91runs.

SCOREBOARD PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa: Final scores on the third day of a three-day first-class matchbetween South Africa A and the touring England team at City Oval yesterday.

SYDNEY: Uncapped pace bowler ScottBoland has been called up to theAustralia squad for the second testagainst West Indies after Nathan Coulter-Nile dislocated his shoulder in a domes-tic Twenty20 match, Cricket Australiasaid yesterday.

Boland joins Josh Hazlewood, PeterSiddle and James Pattinson as the pace

options for the Boxing Day match, whichbegins on Saturday at the MelbourneCricket Ground (MCG).

Coulter-Nile dislocated his rightshoulder when he fell awkwardly whilefielding for the Perth Scorchers in theBig Bash League on Monday, dashing hishopes of making his test debut at theMCG.

“Although the extent of the injuryand rehabilitation period will not be fullyknown until we receive the results ofscans later today, we can confirm thatNathan will not be available for theBoxing Day test,” team physio DavidBeakley said in a news release.

Boland has taken 72 wickets in 27first class matches and took 7-31 in the

second innings to bowl Victoria to victo-ry over Western Australia in a SheffieldShield match in Perth last month.

Australia have also lost left-arm pace-men Mitchell Starc and MitchellJohnson, to ankle surgery and retire-ment respectively, since the start of theseason.

The hosts won the first test against

West Indies by an innings and 212 runsin Hobart to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Australia squad: SteveSmith (captain), David Warner, JoeBurns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges,Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, PeterNevill, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson,Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, NathanLyon. — Reuters

Boland replaces injured Coulter-Nile in Australia squad

DUNEDIN: In this file picture taken on December 10, 2015, Brendon McCullum of New Zealand plays a shot during day one of the first interna-tional Test cricket match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Dunedin. McCullum said yesterday he will retire from all international cricketafter the Test series against Australia in February. — AFP

WELLINGTON: Blockbusting New Zealandbatsman Brendon McCullum announcedyesterday he will bow out of internationalcricket after the Test series against Australiain February, saying “all good things mustcome to an end”.

The New Zealand captain’s 101st and lastTest wi l l be the second Test againstAustralia which starts in his home town,Christchurch, on February 20.

“I’ve loved my opportunity to play forand captain the Black Caps,” the 34-year-oldsaid. McCullum said there was “somethingromantic” about finishing in front of hishome crowd and he made the announce-ment now because his name would be miss-ing when the New Zealand team is namedsoon for the World Twenty20 in India fromMarch 8 to April 3.

“Ideally, I would have preferred to waituntil after the Test in Christchurch to makethis news public,” he said. “However, theschedule for naming the ICC World T20squads means I couldn’t have managed this

without causing a lot of confusion andspeculation, something I was keen to avoid.”

The big-hitter, with a Test best 302 andco-holder of the world record of 100 Testsixes with Australian Adam Gilchrist, saidnow was not the time for him to dwell onhis achievements.

“There’s a time and place for reflectionand that’s at the end of your career,” he said.“For now, I’ll be giving all my attention tohelping the team focus on what’s comingup over the next few weeks-and makingsure we’re in the best possible shape forwhat’s going to be a very challenging sum-mer.”

He added that giving testimony in theChris Cairns match-fixing perjury trial inLondon last month had no impact on hisdecision to quit internationals.

Former teammate Cairns, who wascleared, has demanded McCullum explainwhy he chose to appear as a prosecutionwitness. Kane Williamson, whose unbeatencentury steered New Zealand to victory

over Sr i Lank a in the second Test inHamilton on Monday, was immediately con-firmed by New Zealand officials as captainfor the World Twenty20.

McCullum has forged the best record ofany New Zealand captain since taking overthe leadership from Ross Taylor inDecember 2012. Under his stewardship theBlack Caps have won 11 and drawn 11 of 31Tests. His record as an one-day captain is aNew Zealand best at 59.43 percent, whichincluded leading his side the World Cupfinal this year.

McCullum made his international debutagainst Australia in 2002 and played his firstTest against South Africa two years later. Inhis 99 Tests, he has scored 11 centuries andis one of only 24 players and the only NewZealander to make a triple century.

His 6,172 Test run total is second best fora New Zealander behind Stephen Fleming.In addition to sharing the record for themost Test sixes he holds the record for themost Twenty20 sixes with 91. — AFP

NZ’s McCullum announces international retirement

PIETERMARITZBURG: Moeen Ali took twocrucial wickets in successive overs as thetouring England team romped to aninnings and 91 runs victory over SouthAfrica A at the City Oval yesterday. Off-spinner Ali took six for 77 as South Africa Awere bowled out for 187 on the third andfinal day to complete an impressive per-formance by the tourists ahead of the firstTest against South Africa, starting inDurban on Saturday.

Left-arm fast bowler Mark Footitt hadnightwatchman Marchant de Lange caughtat short leg off the first ball of the day toreduce the South African second string to35 for three. Left-handers Rilee Rossouwand Quinton de Kock put on 67 for thefourth wicket before Ali trapped De Kock

leg before wicket for 53, made off 64 ballswith ten fours.

In his next over, Ali dismissed Rossouwin the same manner for 32. The rest of thebatting crumbled, with Steven Finn dis-missing Omphile Ramela and Khaya Zondowithout scoring in the following over.

The match concluded a highly satisfac-tory build-up for England. All of their prob-able top six batsmen made at least onehalf-century during the team’s two three-day matches, while four went on to makecenturies.

With the exception of James Anderson,who was given a light workload and restedfrom the second match, all the bowlers hadgood workouts in match situations andenjoyed some success. —AFP

Moeen Ali spins England to victory

LONDON: Major championships produceshots that can be more memorable thanthe winner holding the trophy. ZachJohnson with a claret jug? The more last-ing image from the British Open wasJohnson holding his crouch and slowlyclenching his fist on the 18th green at St.Andrews. And then there are shots thatstand out only to the player. The threemajor champions were asked what theythought was the signature shot fromtheir victory, along with a shot that wasparticularly pleasing to them because ofthe circumstances or the quality of theshot.

MASTERSIn a wire-to-wire win, the biggest

moment for Spieth was on the 18th holein the third round. A seven-shot leadonly 20 minutes earlier was down to fourshots, and it looked certain to shrinkeven more when he missed the 18thgreen well to the right behind thebunker. In a risky move, Spieth hit a flopshot that helped him save par and setthe tone for the final round.

“That was the key shot,” he said. “Youcould pitch it 15 feet in front and hit ithard enough to at least be on the green.But given the severity of that slope, it’sgoing to roll out. A good shot would be15 feet. I decided to hit a higher one andspin it. That shot is certainly one I don’twant over again. It was 1 in 5 getting itup and down.”

Not so obvious was the 5-iron on thepar-5 13th. He had about 190 yards tothe front from the left side of the fairway,but the ball was nearly knee-highbecause of the slope. He was coming offa three-putt bogey on No. 12. The dan-ger comes from ball above his feetbecause the swing is flatter with lessspeed, and the ball won’t go as far.

Spieth provided his own commentary:“Go hard! GO HARD! GO HARD! GO!” Itnarrowly cleared the creek and set up atwo-putt birdie. Asked how many timeshe barked instructions to his golf ball,Spieth said, “Less out loud than what wasin my head. But still enough.”

US OPENThe winning shot for Spieth turned

out to be a 3-wood on the par-5 18th atChambers Bay, and he felt he couldn’tmiss. “I had 281 (yards), but I only had238 to cover the front,” he said. “The onlyother option was this 3-iron I was carry-ing, but it was off an up slope. I hit 3-wood and cut it. As long as I hit a fade,nothing could go wrong, so ultimately Iended up in a perfect yardage. I couldmiss it really bad and carry the front.”

It bounded to the back of the greenand rolled back to about 10 feet for atwo-putt birdie. Lost in a wild final hourwas a simple par that really wasn’t thatsimple. Spieth’s tee shot on the par-315th rolled back off the front, and theslope was much like the elevation atAugusta National - you have to see it tobelieve it.

“That slope was taller than me,” he

said. “You had to judge the speed theright way. I had to cast it out to the right,but if I hit it too hard it goes 12 feet by. Ican’t be short or I’m re-hitting. It was per-fect speed and went to 4 or 5 feet for amanageable second putt.”

Only after he made that putt didSpieth look at a leaderboard on the backnine and see that he was tied for thelead.

BRITISH OPENJohnson figured he had to make

birdie on the 18th at St. Andrews toreach 15 under and have a chance.Known for his wedge game, this wasn’this best - some 30 feet behind the hole -“but I at least gave myself a look at it.”

Give an assist to Danny Willett.“Fortunately, I had a good read,” Johnsonsaid. “He was 3 to 5 feet from me, so I hada good look at it. I know the putt is left toright, and I know the putt at the end flat-tens out and potentially goes left, espe-cially after seeing Danny.”

Two thoughts crept into his mind.Johnson lipped out on the final hole aweek earlier at the John Deere Classicthat kept him out of a playoff. “It’s not agood thought, but it went through myhead.”

And he considered the speed. Thatwas a good thought. “That green is notthat fast,” he said. “I hit a solid putt, and Ihit it perfect. It straightened out at theend, the last 3 feet it went left, and therest is history.” Not quite.

It got him into a playoff with MarcLeishman and Louis Oosthuizen. Just asmeaningful to Johnson was the 10-footbirdie putt he made on No. 1 in the four-hole playoff. Oosthuizen made birdiefrom about 15 feet. Johnson felt it wascritical not to fall behind. “The biggest ofthe week was the first putt in a playoff,”Johnson said. “It was huge.”

PGA CHAMPIONSHIPIt’s hard to find that one signature

moment for Day, which speaks to theclinic he put on at Whistling Straits inwinning at a record 20-under par. It wasafter his worst shot that Day was at hisbest.

He had a two-shot lead going to No. 9,drilled a drive down the middle andSpieth was in trouble in the rough. Amodel of perfection all week, Day inex-plicably chunked his wedge. Withmomentum at stake, he followed withanother wedge to 8 feet and saved hispar. Spieth made bogey and Day was onhis way. “To hit such a terrible shot andthen come back and get up and down, itwas a good momentum change,” Daysaid. “To be able to hit a good pitch ...that’s probably the biggest shot I’ve hadto hit.” It was a full, powerful swing thatbrought him just as much satisfaction,particularly the 382-yard shot on the par-511th that left him no more than a wedgeto the green. “Under those circumstances,it was the best drive I hit all year,” Day said.“If I had an off week with my driver, noway I would have won.” —AP

Major moments and major shots for 2015

KARACHI: Pakistani cricketers practice during a camp for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Lahore yesterday. The first edition of the PSLTwenty20 league will be held in Dubai and Sharjah from February 4. Five teams from Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta, Lahore and Peshawar willcompete in the league, designed on the lines of the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash. — AFP


Western ConferenceCentral Division

W L OTL GF GA PTS Dallas 25 7 2 120 88 52 Chicago 20 11 4 96 83 44 St. Louis 20 11 4 90 85 44 Minnesota 17 9 6 89 79 40 Nashville 17 11 6 90 86 40 Colorado 17 17 1 99 97 35 Winnipeg 15 16 2 91 100 32

Pacific DivisionLos Angeles 20 10 2 81 71 42 San Jose 16 15 2 88 91 34 Vancouver 12 14 9 89 102 33 Arizona 15 15 2 87 102 32 Calgary 15 16 2 87 112 32 Edmonton 15 18 2 91 106 32 Anaheim 12 15 5 60 82 29

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

Montreal 20 12 3 104 87 43

Boston 19 9 4 104 83 42 Detroit 17 9 7 86 85 41 Florida 18 12 4 93 80 40 Ottawa 17 12 5 104 102 39 Tampa Bay 17 14 3 86 80 37 Buffalo 14 16 4 79 89 32 Toronto 12 13 7 84 90 31

Metropolitan DivisionWashington 25 6 2 105 71 52 NY Islanders 19 11 5 96 82 43 NY Rangers 19 12 4 101 91 42 New Jersey 16 13 5 79 84 37 Philadelphia 15 12 7 74 92 37 Pittsburgh 16 14 3 76 84 35 Carolina 13 16 5 80 101 31 Columbus 13 20 3 88 112 29 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one pointin the standings and are not included in the losscolumn (L).

NHL Results/Standings

NY Islanders 5, Anaheim 2; Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 3; Pittsburgh 5, Columbus 2; Washington 2, Carolina1; Nashville 5, Montreal 1; Dallas 6, Minnesota 3; Toronto 7, Colorado 4; Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 1.

ALAMEDA: Oakland Raiders safetyCharles Woodson announced Mondayhe will retire following his 18th NFL sea-son, ending a career that included aHeisman Trophy, a Super Bowl title andnumerous other honors.

Woodson said he realized late lastmonth that he couldn’t play another sea-son and wanted to announce his deci-sion before playing his final home gameThursday night against San Diego.

“I felt it was only right that Raiders

fans, my fans, fans that have watchedme play for a long time, I’d let them allknow that this Thursday night would bethe last time in the Coliseum I would beable to run out there in front of our fansat home,” Woodson said at a news con-ference.

Woodson is one of the most accom-plished defensive backs to play thegame, ranking fifth all-time with 65interceptions and tied for first with RodWoodson and Darren Sharper with 13

defensive touchdowns.He won the AP Defensive Rookie of

the Year award in 1998, AP DefensivePlayer of the Year in 2009 and is a three-time, first-team All Pro selection.

He is still playing at a high level at age39, despite dealing with a shoulderinjury he sustained in the season openerand forced him out for a few playsSunday after a hard hit on former team-mate Randall Cobb.

Woodson has played 965 defensive

snaps this season and has five intercep-tions and three fumble recoveries, rank-ing second in the NFL with eight take-aways. “It feels good,” he said. “There areso many players who play this sport andother sports who would like to go outthat way, playing well, doing what theylove to do. I feel very good about theway I performed not only this year butmy whole career.”

Despite dealing with several injuriesearly in his career, Woodson has played

the second-most games of any defen-sive back in NFL history with 252.

Only Hall of Famer Darrell Green hasmore with 295 and Woodson will joinGreen in the Hall in Canton, Ohio, soon.Woodson said he decided the morningof the game at Detroit on Nov. 22, thatthis season would be it forhim.”Honestly, I think physically I coulddo it,” he said. “My body has responded.But mentally, it’s not there. It’s not goingto happen.”—AP

Charles Woodson to retire after 18th season

ATLANTA: Dennis Schroder scored 18 points, andthe Atlanta Hawks beat the Portland Trail Blazers106-97 on Monday night for their fourth straightwin. Schroder, Atlanta’s backup point guard, lost acap bonded to a tooth in a collision early in thefourth period, but was 7 for 10 from the floor in alittle more than 17 minutes on the court. TheHawks had six players score in double figures. TheTrail Blazers played without starting guards DamonLillard and C.J. McCollum. Lillard has plantar fasci-itis in his left foot and missed a game for the firsttime in his career, ending his streak of playing in275 consecutive games. McCollum has twosprained ankles. Allen Crabbe had 19 points forPortland in a fill-in start. Tim Frazier, making his firststart of the season, had 12 points and seven assists.The Trail Blazers have lost four straight.

THUNDER 100, CLIPPERS 99Kevin Durant hit a go-ahead jump shot with 5.8

seconds left before blocking a potential game-win-ning 18-footer by Chris Paul as time expired, andOklahoma City beat Los Angeles. RussellWestbrook scored 33 points and Serge Ibaka added17 for Oklahoma City. Coming off a 104-100 loss atCleveland that snapped their six-game winningstreak, the Thunder won for the 11th time in 14games. Paul had 32 points and 10 assists in anotherclassic duel with Westbrook, who won his first NBAscoring title last season. Blake Griffin and J.J. Redickeach scored 15 for the Clippers, whose thirdstraight loss equaled their longest skid of the sea-son.

SPURS 106, PACERS 92Kawhi Leonard had 24 points, and San Antonio

improved to 16-0 at home. San Antonio (24-5) is offto the second-best start in franchise history. TheSpurs have 21 wins by double figures. Tony Parkerscored 15 points for San Antonio, which has wonsix straight. David West had seven points and fiverebounds in his first game against the Pacers sinceleaving in the offseason to sign with the Spurs.George Hill and Jordan Hill each had 15 points forIndiana.

ROCKETS 102, HORNETS 95James Harden scored 36 points, and the

Rockets squandered a double-digit lead in thefourth quarter before coming back for the win. Thegame was tied before Harden drove into the laneand was fouled as he made a layup. He hit the freethrows to put Houston up 94-91 with 31.6 secondsleft. Cody Zeller attempted a dunk contested byTerrence Jones and it bounced off the rim and backto the Rockets a few seconds later. The Hornetsfouled Patrick Beverley and he made two freethrows to extend the lead to 96-91. Harden made16 of 19 free throws and secured Houston’s thirdstraight win by making two with 13.9 secondsremaining. Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 14points.

NETS 105, BULLS 102Brook Lopez had 21 points and 12 rebounds,

and the Nets stopped a five-game losing streak.Brooklyn’s Thaddeus Young added 16 points and13 boards. Wayne Ellington made three 3 pointersand scored 13 points. Chicago center Joakim Noahsprained his left shoulder late in the third quarter,forcing him from the game. Jimmy Butler scored 24points in the Bulls’ third straight loss. Pau Gasoladded 20 points and nine rebounds. Butler saidbefore the game that he didn’t regret his criticalcomments of first-year coach Fred Hoiberg twodays earlier following a loss in New York.

WIZARDS 113, KINGS 99John Wall had a career-high 19 assists and also

scored 12 points, leading Washington to the victo-ry. Marcin Gortat had 27 points and 16 reboundsfor the Wizards, and Garrett Temple added a career-high 23 points. Wall was just 4-for-15 shooting butassisted on nearly half of Washington’s 42 baskets.He connected with Gortat several times on a nightwhen injuries limited coach Randy Wittman tousing only eight players. DeMarcus Cousins ledSacramento with 22 points, Rudy Gay had 16.

JAZZ 110, SUNS 89Gordon Hayward scored 24 points to help Utah

cruise to the win. The Jazz won consecutive gamesfor the first time in December and reached 100points for the first time in the last six games. Utahopened the third quarter with a 12-0 run to push a10-point halftime lead to 66-43. Jazz forwardDerrick Favors finished with 18 points and ninerebounds. Brandon Knight led the Suns with 26points.

CELTICS 113, TIMBERWOLVES 99Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points, Jae Crowder had

18 and the Celtics beat the Timberwolves while thecrowd begged to see former Boston player KevinGarnett. Tyler Zeller scored 14 points and grabbedeight rebounds before fouling out. David Lee had13 points and eight boards to help Boston snap athree-game losing streak. Minnesota coach SamMitchell said before the game that the 39-year-oldGarnett would rest because it was the second ofback-to-backs after the Timberwolves beatBrooklyn. The crowd loudly chanted “We want KG!”close to a dozen times. Garnett signed a two-yeardeal with Minnesota over the summer, but thiscould have been his last game in Boston. AndrewWiggins led the Timberwolves with 26 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds.

MAGIC 107, KNICKS 99Nikola Vucevic tied his season high with 26

points and grabbed nine rebounds, poweringOrlando to the road win. Vucevic had a pair of bas-kets and Evan Fournier added a 3-pointer andanother basket in an 11-2 spurt after the Knickshad cut it to 93-92 with 3:25 left. Victor Oladipo fin-

ished that decisive run with a breakaway dunk thatmade it 104-94 with 1:07 to go. Tobias Harris scored20 points and Fournier had 16 for the Magic, whorebounded from Sunday’s loss to Atlanta to win forthe fourth time in five games. Lance Thomas was 9for 9 and tied his career with 24 points for theKnicks, who had won four in a row. —AP

Hawks beat short-handed Trail Blazers 106-97

ATLANTA: Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford, left, grabs Portland Trail Blazers’ Mason Plumlee for afoul in the final two minutes of an NBA basketball game Monday, in Atlanta. The Hawks won106-97. — AP

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L PCT GB Toronto 17 12 .586 - Boston 15 13 .536 1.5 NY Knicks 14 15 .483 3 Brooklyn 8 20 .286 8.5 Philadelphia 1 28 .034 16

Central DivisionCleveland 18 7 .720 - Indiana 16 11 .593 3 Chicago 15 11 .577 3.5 Detroit 16 12 .571 3.5 Milwaukee 11 18 .379 9

Southeast DivisionMiami 16 10 .615 - Atlanta 18 12 .600 - Orlando 16 12 .571 1 Charlotte 15 12 .556 1.5 Washington 12 14 .462 4

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division

Oklahoma City 19 9 .679 - Utah 12 14 .462 6 Denver 11 16 .407 7.5 Minnesota 11 17 .393 8 Portland 11 19 .367 9

Pacific DivisionGolden State 26 1 .963 - LA Clippers 16 13 .552 11 Phoenix 12 18 .400 15.5 Sacramento 11 17 .393 15.5 LA Lakers 4 23 .148 22

Southwest DivisionSan Antonio 24 5 .828 - Dallas 15 12 .556 8 Memphis 15 14 .517 9 Houston 15 14 .517 9 New Orleans 8 19 .296 15

NBA Results/StandingsWashington 113, Sacramento 99; Boston 113, Minnesota 99; Orlando 107, NY Knicks 99; Atlanta 106, Portland 97;Brooklyn 105, Chicago 102; Houston 102, Charlotte 95; San Antonio 106, Indiana 92; Utah 110, Phoenix 89;Oklahoma City 100, LA Clippers 99.

PHILADELPHIA: Goalie Steve Mason #35 of the Philadelphia Flyers makes a save infront of Magnus Paajarvi #56 of the St. Louis Blues in the third period at WellsFargo Center on Monday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Flyerswon, 4-3. — AFP

ST PAUL: Antti Niemi stopped 30 shots inrelief and the Dallas Stars scored fourstraight goals to beat the Minnesota Wild6-3 on Monday night. Vernon Fiddlerscored twice for Dallas, which has won fiveof seven and is 8-2-2 in its last 12 games.Jordie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Antoine Rousseland Cody Eakin also had goals. JaredSpurgeon, Charlie Coyle and NinoNiederreiter scored for Minnesota, whichlost its second in a row after getting pointsin nine straight. Trailing 2-0, and with Niemihaving replaced Kari Lehtonen in the firstperiod, Dallas scored three times in 4 1/2minutes late in the second to take the lead.

PREDATORS 5, CANADIENS 1Pekka Rinne made 35 saves for

Nashville, and Shea Weber had a goal andtwo assists. Roman Josi and Calle Jarnkrokeach added a goal and an assist. ColinWilson scored an empty-netter and hadtwo assists as Nashville won its secondstraight, something the Predators hadn’tdone since Nov. 14 and 17. AlexGalchenyuk scored a power-play goal forMontreal, which lost its fourth straight.Montreal coach Michel Therrien changedgoalies, inserting Mike Condon for DustinTokarski after Ryan Ellis’ goal in the thirdperiod put Nashville up 3-0 on 14 shots.

PENGUINS 5, BLUE JACKETS 2Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel each scored

two goals, and Pittsburgh ended a five-gamelosing streak. David Warsofsky got his firstgoal in nearly two years as the Penguinsgave coach Mike Sullivan his first victory fol-lowing an 0-4 start. Matt Murray stopped 22shots for his first NHL win. The Penguinsplayed without captain Sidney Crosby, whomissed his first game of the season with alower-body injury. Alexander Wenneberg’sthird goal gave Columbus an early lead, butPittsburgh responded with four in the sec-ond to match the total it put up in Sullivan’sfirst four games combined. Boone Jenneradded his 13th for the Blue Jackets.

CAPITALS 2, HURRICANES 1Jason Chimera and Michael Latta

scored, and Washington beat Carolina forits sixth straight win. Phillipp Grubauermade 31 saves for the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals. They improved to 12-3-1on the road and enter the holiday breakwith their second six-game winning streakof the season. Kris Versteeg scored with17:42 remaining and Cam Ward made 19stops for Carolina, which had earned pointsin six of eight games while scoring 28 goalsin that span. Versteeg got the Hurricanes

within one goal when he took a puck offthe back boards and tucked it inside theleft post from between his legs.

MAPLE LEAFS 7, AVALANCHE 4Tyler Bozak scored three times in the

third period, and Toronto broke loose forfour goals in the final 20 minutes. LeoKomarov had two goals and an assist forthe Maple Leafs, and James van Riemsdykadded a goal and two assists. Joffrey Lupulscored one of three power-play goals thathelped Toronto stop Colorado’s five-gamewinning streak. Defenseman Jake Gardinerhad four assists for the Maple Leafs, whoare 4-0-2 in their last six games. Jack Skillescored twice for Colorado. SemyonVarlamov allowed six goals on 21 shots.

FLYERS 4, BLUES 3Evgeny Medvedev scored on a wrist

shot with 3:13 left, helping Philadelphia ral-ly for the win. Wayne Simmonds had a pairof goals and Chris VandeVelde also scoredfor Philadelphia, which enters a five-dayChristmas break with eight wins in its last12 games. Robby Fabbri, Kevin Shattenkirkand Magnus Paajarvi scored for St. Louis,which had won three straight. Medvedevreceived a nice backhand pass from RyanWhite and fired the puck high past JakeAllen on his blocker side. Philadelphiacame back from a 3-0 deficit to sweep thetwo-game season series with St. Louis.

ISLANDERS 5, DUCKS 2John Tavares had two primary assists 43

seconds apart in the first period, leadingthe Islanders to the victory. Tavares’ assistson New York’s second and third goals werehis first since a 3-1 win against Philadelphiaon Nov. 25, a stretch of 12 games. Duringthat span, he scored three goals. New Yorksnapped its three-game losing streak andimproved to 19-11-5. The Islanders alsopassed the idle New York Rangers for sec-ond place in the Metropolitan Division. CalClutterbuck, Travis Hamonic, Brock Nelson,Josh Bailey and Matt Martin scored for theIslanders. Anaheim dropped to 12-15-5with its third loss in five games. CarlHagelin and Josh Manson scored for theNHL’s lowest-scoring team.

OILERS 3, JETS 1Cam Talbot made 44 saves and Teddy

Purcell had two goals and an assist asEdmonton earned its seventh consecutivehome win. Justin Schultz also scored forthe Oilers, who snapped a three-game skid.Bryan Little had the goal for the Jets, whohave lost three of four. —AP

Niemi comes off bench to lead Stars past Wild

MIAMI: Brandon Doughty ’s final game atWestern Kentucky perfectly epitomized his careerwith the Hilltoppers, with a slow start followed bya record-setting finish.

Doughty threw for 461 yards and three touch-downs, and No. 25 Western Kentucky overcamean early 14-point deficit to beat South Florida 45-35 in the Miami Beach Bowl on Monday. Doughtyfinished the season with 5,055 yards for theHilltoppers (12-2), the 14th time in FBS historythat a quarterback has reached the 5,000 mark.His six-year career at the school - it took himthree to become the starter - ended with thesenumbers: 1,023 completions, 12,855 yards and111 touchdowns.

“It’s been a heck of a run,” Doughty said justbefore hoisting the bowl trophy. He was probablyeven better than Willie Taggart thought he wouldbe when he signed him in 2010. Taggart wasDoughty’s coach for his first game and theopposing coach for his last, and his Bulls (8-5)nearly stole the show from Doughty with a pair offourth-quarter touchdowns that got them to 38-

35. But Anthony Wales’ second touchdown of theday, a 42-yard scamper with 5:05 left, helped sealit for the Hilltoppers. Nicholas Norris hauled intouchdown passes of 69 and 55 yards in the thirdquarter for Western Kentucky, and JaredDangerfield made a highlight-caliber 26-yard TDcatch over three defenders to cap a 28-point thirdquarter for the Hilltoppers.

“Brandon is a great quarterback,” Taggart said.“Not only did he do it against us, he did it againsteverybody.” Quinton Flowers rushed for twotouchdowns and threw for another for USF (8-5),finishing with 273 yards passing and 108 more onthe ground. Marlon Mack rushed for another 108for the Bulls, who were in a bowl for the first timesince 2010 and rewarded Taggart with a three-year extension through 2020 earlier in the day.

“I believe in Coach T,” Flowers said. “Hebelieves in me and he believes in this team.” USFlost for just the second time in its last nine games.The Bulls’ 597 yards of offense was the program’smost ever against an FBS opponent, topped onlyby 745 against Florida A&M in 2011.—AP

Doughty wins finale, WKU tops USF 45-35 in Miami Beach Bowl


LONDON: After five years of tumult, thefar-reaching fallout from FIFA’s decisionto send the World Cup to Russia andQatar has brought down another twovoters - Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini -but not the hosts themselves.

No FIFA executive has been directlypunished over how and why they votedin December 2010. And investigatorshave failed to unearth anything that war-rants stripping Russia and Qatar of soc-cer’s showpiece tournaments in 2018 and2022 respectively.

But the vote had a big part to play inthe eight-year bans handed out Mondayto FIFA president Blatter and Platini, aFIFA vice president and head of Europeansoccer’s ruling body, UEFA. The punish-ments given by FIFA’s ethics committeestemmed from financial inquiries thatwere sparked by suspicions about the2010 vote, when two host countries wereselected concurrently for the first time.

For Blatter, Monday’s verdicts alsocontained a bitter irony. Blatter himselfhad initiated the phase in the investiga-tion that ultimately led to him being

exiled by FIFA’s ethics judge from theorganization he had run for 17 years.Facing a fresh wave of pressure and sus-picion around FIFA in November 2014,Blatter lodged a criminal complaint withSwiss authorities, authorizing them toreceive the full secret World Cup biddinginvestigation he claims to have neverseen.

“If we had anything to hide, we wouldhardly be taking this matter to the Officeof the Attorney General ... (it) shows thatFIFA is not opposed to transparency,”Blatter said at the time with typical brava-do. It’s a decision Blatter will be regret-ting, even if he had little control over amove requested by FIFA judge Hans-Joachim Eckert. As federal prosecutorsstarted to trawl through some 900 pagesof FIFA evidence amassed by Americanattorney Michael Garcia they switchedtheir focus to bank accounts linked to the2010 voters.

In May, on the day Zurich policearrested FIFA officials on behalf of theirAmerican counterparts investigating soc-cer corruption, Swiss authorities also

seized data from the governing body’sheadquarters across town. By that point,Swiss financial institutions had alreadyhanded over bank documents to theattorney general, who was building acase against FIFA officials.

SUSPICIOUS A PAYMENTAs bank accounts were frozen, foren-

sic software flagged up as suspicious apayment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2 mil-lion) Platini received from Blatter in early2011.

“How they found out? This is not asecret because Swiss banks are obligedto notify the Swiss authorities for sixyears now since all these financial con-trols through a Swiss organization calledFINMA,” was Blatter ’s assessment onMonday about the discovery of the pay-ment that remained a public secret untilrecently.

“They are obliged if they feel a pay-ment is something high in a personalaccount they have to (inform). So in 2011,Michel Platini received in his personalaccount by FIFA this 2 million Swiss francs

and then they have given this informa-tion to the Swiss authorities.”

As an executive committee was con-cluding in September, prosecutorspounced on FIFA HQ and immediatelyquestioned Blatter and Platini about thepayment. Blatter was declared a suspectwhile Platini was considered “between awitness and an accused person.”

The seriousness of the allegationsmeant FIFA had to suspend two of itsmost powerful officials - Platini serves asa vice president, alongside his UEFA pres-idency - as a full ethics investigation wasconducted in parallel to the criminalcase.

FIFA’s ethics process concluded onMonday when Blatter and Platinireceived eight-year soccer bans for thepayment. The judge described as “notconvincing” their claim that the transac-tion was settling salary owed to the for-mer France captain for work carried outas Blatter’s adviser up to 2002.

As Blatter stepped up his fight againsthis humiliating removal from FIFA, the79-year-old Swiss was left to rue how dif-

ferently the last five years would haveunfolded had the World Cup vote go hisway.

ACCEPTEDAccording to Blatter: No Qatar; no

investigations delving into FIFA. Blatter’svision of delivering the 2018 World Cupto Russia for the first time was acceptedby the now-tainted executive committee,but then - rather than going to a morefamiliar powerhouse in the United Statesas he wanted - the 2022 vote was aston-ishingly won by Qatar. Platini was amongthose who voted for the tiny desertnation. “Can you imagine if this (Russia-U.S.) had worked out? We wouldn’t behere today,” Blatter said Monday as hedigested being banned by the institutionhe helped to grow into a commercialgiant. “But it didn’t work for different rea-sons.” And the domino effect is not over.Being banished from soccer is the imme-diate humiliation, but Blatter and Platinicould yet face criminal prosecutions withthe attorney general in no hurry to rushthe case. —AP

World Cup votes sparked probes which downed Blatter, Platini

OLD TRAFFORD: Manchester United’s manager Louis van Gaal, centre, makes his way from the pitch after his team’s 2-1 loss to Norwich City inthe English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Norwich City at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester. — AP

LONDON: Just days after Jose Mourinho’sabrupt departure from Chelsea, Louis van Gaalis teetering on the brink of becoming the nexthigh-profile victim of the Premier League sackrace. The pressure is mounting on the embat-tled Manchester United manager, who washunkered down at United’s Carrington trainingbase on Monday amid speculation he will beaxed if his side lose either of their next twomatches at Stoke City on Saturday or at homeagainst Chelsea next Monday.

The 64-year-old cut a forlorn figure in theaftermath of Saturday ’s shock 2-1 defeatagainst Norwich City and his downbeat moodwas instructive given the reports of dressingroom unrest and boardroom doubts that haveemerged since. El imination from theChampions League group stage foreshadoweda chilling December for van Gaal and subse-quent losses against strugglers Bournemouthand Norwich, which knocked United out of thePremier League’s top four and left them ninepoints behind leaders Leicester City, were evenmore damaging.

Until now, van Gaal has haughtily dismissedany criticism from fans and the media, butUnited’s tame capitulation against Norwich leftthem without a win in their last six matches inall competitions and even the aloof Dutchmancouldn’t hide signs of strain as he talked inhushed tones about his predicament.

Being lambasted by a host of United greatsand jeered by disgruntled supporters, a sectionof whom chanted for Mourinho to replace vanGaal at the weekend, has worn him down.

And while publicly United’s players haveinsisted van Gaal retains their support, as withMourinho’s sacking last week, the truth issomewhat different. Mourinho was done in bymutinous Chelsea players who effectivelydowned tools after growing weary of his acer-bic tongue and intense management style.

AUTOCRATIC MANNER Similarly, van Gaal is reported to have lost

the backing of several senior United starsbecause of his autocratic manner.

Their principle complaint is said to be theDutchman’s approach, both his overly cautioustactics and a perceived obsession with criticalpost-match analysis sessions with performanceanalyst Max Reckers. Tellingly, Spanish wingerJuan Mata struggled to find an upbeat notewhen he talked on Monday of the complicatedand tough situation United find themselves in.

“We all feel frustrated, same as last week,and we need to win a game as quickly as possi-ble because it will change our mood and giveus confidence,” Mata wrote in his weekly blog.

“We are in a complicated situation and inorder to get out of it we have to stick togetherand believe in ourselves.

“Our next chance to do it will be on BoxingDay at Stoke and that’s not an easy game. “Nomatter how tough the situation can be, I’m noteven thinking about giving up. “I believe that’sthe only way to get out of this bad streak.”Losing the dressing room would be damagingenough to van Gaal’s future on its own, but tomake matters worse, United’s owners, theGlazer family, and executive vice-chairman EdWoodward are beginning to consider whetherthey should ditch the former Barcelona andBayern Munich coach halfway through histhree-year contract.

Shocked by the level of vitriol directed atvan Gaal and the apathetic manner of United’srecent per formances, a fur ther f lop overChristmas could signal the end.

And unfortunately for van Gaal, circum-stances have conspired to make two of themost desirable managers in the world avail-able at the exact moment he is at his lowestebb.

Mourinho has made it known he would behappy to take over at United if a vacancy arisesbecause he has no intention of taking a post-Chelsea sabbatical. As well as the Mourinhooption, Pep Guardiola will be available in theclose-season as he is leaving Bayern Munich-making it a safe bet there will be little festivecheer when van Gaal s its down for hisChristmas dinner on Friday. —AFP

Lack of unity pushes Van Gaal to the brink

LONDON: West Ham United’s attack hassuffered due to injuries to their strikers butthe club are confident they will end theirwinless streak soon, defender James Collinshas said.

The Hammers have gone off the boilhaving failed to win their last seven leaguegames which has seen them slide down thetable to eighth place after 17 games.

With Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini,Victor Moses, Diafra Sahko and AndyCarroll all on the sidelines, West Ham haveclearly missed the cutting edge in attack,having found the back of the net only threetimes during their winless run. “We’redefending well-but a bit too desperate attimes! Last-ditch tackles and chuckingyourself in front of things, it looks good,but we don’t really want to be defendingthat hard,” Collins told the club’s website(www.whufc.com). “We’d rather be a bitmore solid and a bit more organised. Wecertainly need to be scoring more goals. Idon’t want to make excuses, but our flairplayers, our goalscorers, we are missingthem.

“It’s one of them things. You get injuries.Before, we were flying. Dimi was flying.Lanzini was flying. (Diafra) Sakho’s out aswell. So it has derailed us a bit.

“We’ve got a massive squad, full of inter-national players that have come in and per-formed. So it’s not doom and gloom by anystretch of the imagination.

“But we are picking points up, we’re stillconfident and we’ve got a busy Christmasperiod with games we feel we can win.”

West Ham played out a goalless drawwith Swansea City last weekend and theformer Cardiff City man Collins has backedthe Welsh club, who are currently third-from-bottom in the league, to avoid relega-tion. “It’s massively surprised me to seethem in the bottom three - they didn’t playlike a bottom three side against us.“They’ve not had too much luck and beenunfortunate a few times but, for me, they’recertainly not a bottom three side and theywon’t be there at the end of the seasonthat’s for sure.” The Hammers travel to takeon bottom side Aston Villa in the league onSaturday.— Reuters

Injuries to key players have derailed West Ham

PARIS: Michel Platini called FIFA’s eight-year ban a “kick in the teeth” but vowed inan interview with AFP yesterday to fight onfor the presidency of world football’s gov-erning body. The FIFA vice president andUEFA leader condemned the ethics com-mittee that banned him on Monday butsaid he would “fight to clear my name.”Platini’s ban from all football activities pre-vents him from standing in the February 26election to find a replacement for FIFA pres-ident Sepp Blatter and working as UEFApresident.

Blatter and Platini were suspended foreight years over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2million/1.8 million euro) payment made toPlatini in 2011 for work carried outbetween 1999 and 2002.

Platini is determined to plough on in hisquest to become the most powerful man infootball. “I will fight. But then I’ll take myresponsibilities according to what hap-pens,” he told AFP in the exclusive inter-view. However, Platini acknowledges thathe may run out of time if the issue is notresolved quickly in his favour.

“What is troubling is that I have no cer-tainty about the timetable ahead. As longas I have not had the reasons for the sus-pension I cannot appeal before the CAS(Court of Arbitration for Sport).”

Platini insisted there was nothing illegalin the oral contract he said was agreed withBlatter. The salary agreement was howevernever disclosed in FIFA documentationuntil the payment was made in 2011. “I’mstruggling to understand. Why? How didwe get to this? I did some work, I asked tobe paid, I sent an invoice, I was paid, I paidmy taxes on that. That was in 2011,” he said.

“There was a debt that was settled, fullstop! Then, in 2015, the Swiss court wantedmore information. “Then it took off at FIFAand a lot of people at FIFA are happy thatthis issue happened. “And here I am, sus-pended from all football-related activity for

eight years.”

INJUSTICE Platini repeated his suspicions that the

timing of the ban was a deliberate attemptto prevent him from standing in February’selection. “What was the FIFA ethics com-mittee doing between 2011 when I waspaid and 2015? Was it sleeping? Suddenly itwakes up,” he scoffed. “Ah yes, it wakes upin a FIFA election year when I’m a candi-date. It’s amazing!”

Platini insists he should not be bungedinto the same bracket as Blatter, who haslong been suspected of corrupt practices.“I’m fighting against this injustice, from onecourt to another,” said Platini, referring tothe various avenues of appeal he can takewithin FIFA, to the CAS and even in theSwiss civil court.

“But there you go, in the meantime, myname has been dragged through the mudin the press. “Whatever happens, my repu-tation has been sullied, I’ve been kicked inthe teeth: I’ve been put in the same bag asBlatter.”

Platini was an ally of the 79-year-oldBlatter who turned against him as the FIFAleader refused to give up office. Meanwhile,a source close to FIFA claims Blatter mustgive up his presidential apartment byFebruary 26, once his successor has beenelected. The apartment in an old Zurichhouse that has been divided is one of theperks Blatter will lose due to his eight-yearsuspension. He automatically loses his FIFAmobile phone and his professional emailaddress, said the source, speaking on con-dition of anonymity. “He is still protectedby his labour contract” under Swiss law,said the source.

So Blatter will continue to receive hissalary-for which he has refused to revealthe amount-as well as keep his FIFA car andapartment until the contract ends onFebruary 26. — AFP

Platini calls FIFA ban a ‘kick in the teeth’

ZURICH: In this Friday, May 29, 2015 file photo, FIFA president Sepp Blatter is greet-ed by UEFA President Michel Platini, right, after Blatters re-election as president atthe Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have beenbanned for 8 years, the FIFA ethics committee said yesterday.— AP

BERLIN: Whether it’s their change of coach,better fitness or a new-found camaraderie,something has transformed Hertha Berlinfrom a team on the brink of relegation sevenmonths ago to one of the leading lights ofGerman soccer.

While success-starved fans celebrate atseeing their team in third place in theBundesliga, the players themselves arestruggling to pinpoint exactly what haschanged.

“Soccer’s a strange sport sometimes,” saidmidfielder Per Skjelbred, who is alsoNorway’s captain, after the team concludedtheir best first half of a season in seven yearswith three wins in a week.

“Last year we had a lot of big problemsand this year most things are going well. It’sa great team but we’re mostly the same play-ers as last year. Go figure that out.”

On course for one of Germany’s threespots in the Champions League with 10 winsand 32 points, the capital-city club have wonfive of their last six matches and havereached the German Cup quarter-finals.

Their success has delighted Pal Dardai,the down-to-earth former player who tookover as coach in February and watched theclub escape relegation in May only thanks toa better goal difference than their rivals.

“Everyone’s talking about Hertha thesedays-from the rubbish collectors to the hair-

dressers and everyone in between,” Dardaisaid after Hertha beat Mainz 2-0 on Sundayin the final match ahead of the league’s five-week winter break.

“That’s because of the incredible per-formance in the first half but we shouldn’tbe self-satisfied with that,” added the 39-year-old Dardai, who became the club’s sixthcoach in six years. “We’ve got to keep work-ing hard. If we were to get satisfied with oursituation now, then we’d have a problem.”

Dardai, who until July was also coachingHungary, has been given the lion’s share ofthe credit for getting the most out of hisavailable talent but he waves off the acco-lades, praising instead his players for theirhard work and his training staff.

His gruelling pre-season conditioningregime, spearheaded by two fitness trainers,drew complaints from the players at thetime but everyone raves about it now.

“Our fitness is superior. I t ’s the mostimportant thing,” said Dardai, who was afear less midf ielder and hard-work ingfavourite of Hertha’s “Ostkurve” fans. “Beingin top shape radiates all the way into yourbrain.” Hertha have been especially strongat home, picking up six of their 10 wins inthe Olympia Stadium. They last played inthe Champions League in the 1999/2000season and have never won theBundesliga.—Reuters

OLD TRAFFORD: This October 6, 2015 file photo showsformer Manchester United and England footballerDavid Beckham as he poses on the pitch at Old Traffordin Manchester, north west England ahead of a charityfootball match in aid of UNICEF. David Beckham hasbarely found a new stadium site for his Miami-basedMajor League Soccer expansion team, and he alreadysays he wants to sign Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.Beckham told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that heis interested in the Paris Saint-Germain striker, accord-ing to a posting on the MLS website. — AFP

Hertha players ponder secret of their success

17NZ’s McCullumannounces internationalretirement


Platini calls FIFAban a ‘kick inthe teeth’

Hawks beat short-handed Trail Blazers 106-97 Page 18

LONDON: Manchester City’s Yaya Toure, left attempts to get past Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates stadium in London, Monday. — AP

LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger heraldedMesut Ozil after the German playmaker rose from hissickbed to inspire his team to victory over PremierLeague title rivals Manchester City.

Ozil teed up first-half goals for Theo Walcott andOlivier Giroud at the Emirates Stadium on Monday asArsenal secured a 2-1 win that left them four pointsabove City and two points below leaders Leicester City.

Ozil, 27, now has 15 assists for the campaign-justthree fewer than Cesc Fabregas’s league-leading tallyfrom last season-and Wenger revealed afterwards thathe had spent most of the previous week in bed.

“He had a chest infection for the week and he was in

bed, basically,” Wenger said. “He had only one trainingsession yesterday. So for a guy who could not preparewell, he has done extremely well physically.”

Despite Ozil’s role in the build-up, Walcott’s goal wasprimarily his own work, the England forward cuttinginside his man from the left and curling a glorious right-foot shot inside the right-hand post from 20 yards.

But the assist for Giroud’s goal, in first-half stoppagetime, was vintage Ozil, the former Real Madrid man slid-ing a pass into the path of the Arsenal centre-forward,who drilled a low shot between Joe Hart’s legs.

“At the end of the day you need one guy who givesthe ball to the one who scores the goal,” Wenger told hispost-game press conference. “In our team, most of thetime, Ozil is this player. The guys who make you win.And he is that.”

Wenger also revealed that striker Alexis Sanchez hassustained a setback in his recovery from a hamstringinjury that is likely to keep him out of action for threeweeks.

City threatened to snatch an improbable point whenYaya Toure languidly stroked a left-foot shot into PetrCech’s top-right corner with eight minutes to play, but

by then the damage had already been done.With captain Vincent Kompany still absent due to a

calf injury, City looked vulnerable at centre-back, whereEliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi once againtoiled.

‘READY TO FIGHT’ City have kept one clean sheet in the nine league

games Kompany has missed, compared to seven in theeight games he has played, and manager ManuelPellegrini admitted that his side are “conceding toomany goals”.

There was also tacit acknowledgement that City, whohave already lost five times this season, will struggle tomount a sustained title challenge without Kompany intheir ranks.

“We hope that Vincent will return back soon,”Pellegrini said. “So with Vincent returning to the team,with David (Silva) and Sergio

(Aguero) playing normally every week, I suppose weare going to continue being an important team in thefight for the title.”

Confirmation that Pep Guardiola is to leave Bayern

Munich has only heightened speculation thatPellegrini’s days at the Etihad Stadium are numbered,but he said that he had no trouble dealing with therumours.

“No, it’s no difficult,” he said. “It’s very easy. You mustbe concentrated and focused on your work.

“I understand that we must improve, especially in thegames that we are playing away. But we’ll continuebeing involved in all the competitions. They’re impor-tant points, but not decisive points.”

While Wenger was wary of declaring his team titlefavourites, he acknowledged that victory over City willgalvanise conviction that Arsenal can end their 12-yearwait for the Premier League title.

“It ’s too early to say to win the league, but itstrengthens our belief that we have our word to say,” hesaid.

“You realise that you earn your right to win thesegames. For us it’s important we realise that. We have tobe ready to fight like that in every single game.

“What’s interesting in my side is there’s a real life inthe team, a real togetherness and great solidarity. Solet’s take care of that.” — AFP

Arsenal 2

Man City 1

Wenger lauds sick Ozil’s amazing recovery

NEW ORLEANS: Detriot quarterback Matthew Stafford com-pleted 22 of 25 passes for 254 yards and three first-half touch-downs to lift the Lions to a 35-27 victory over the New OrleansSaints on Monday.

The Lions (5-9) held the Saints without points on fivecracks inside the 5-yard line at the end of the first half andbuilt a 28-3 lead early in the second, though they allowedthe Saints (5-9) to score 17 consecutive points to close to28-20. Detroit then iced the game with a 76-yard drive thatended with a 1-yard scoring run by Joique Bell with 5:24left. Drew Brees’ 1-yard pass to tight end Benjamin Watsonmade it 35-27 with 1:55 remaining, but Detroit’s CalvinJohnson recovered the onside kick. Abdullah ripped off a36-yard run to the New Orleans 9 and the Lions killed mostof the clock, but kicker Matt Prater missed a 35-yard chipshot with nine seconds left.

Detroit led 21-3 at halftime and then scored on the firstseries of the second half on running back Ameer Abdullah’s15-yard run around left end to cap a six-play, 78-yard drive.The Saints responded with 17 points over the next 9:57 on a27-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Brandin Cooks, a 22-yard field goal by Kai Forbath, and an 11-yard Brees strike toMarques Colston, cutting the deficit to 28-20 with 10:06 left.Colston’s score was set up by Abdullah’s fumble, which line-backer Hau’oli Kikaha forced and recovered at the Detroit 38.

But the Lions put the game away on Bell’s 1-yard run with5:24 left, making it 35-20. Abdullah made the big play on thedrive, converting a third-and-1 with a 21-yard run on a quickpitch around right end to the New Orleans 24. Stafford shred-ded the Saints’ porous secondary in the first half, completing12 of 13 passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns as Detroitraced to a 21-3 halftime lead. Each of Stafford’s scoring passeswas a short toss - one and five yards to wide receiver GoldenTate and four yards to fullback Michael Burton.

The Lions’ defense also thwarted a late first-half drive byNew Orleans, Brees connected with Cooks for an apparent 29-

yard touchdown, but Cooks was ruled down at the Detroit 1.The Lions then held the Saints without a score on five consec-utive downs inside the Detroit five yard line.

Another apparent New Orleans touchdown by runningback Tim Hightower was waved off because tackle SenioKelemete, inserted for extra goal-line blocking, failed to reportas an eligible receiver. — Reuters

American Football Conference

AFC East

W L T OTL PF PA PCT

New England 12 2 0 1 435 269 .857 NY Jets 9 5 0 0 344 272 .643 Buffalo 6 8 0 0 341 336 .429 Miami 5 9 0 0 278 361 .357

AFC North

Cincinnati 11 3 0 0 378 243 .786 Pittsburgh 9 5 0 1 378 287 .643 Baltimore 4 10 0 1 292 360 .286 Cleveland 3 11 0 1 253 387 .214

AFC South

Houston 7 7 0 0 275 301 .500 Indianapolis 6 8 0 1 285 372 .429 Jacksonville 5 9 0 1 343 380 .357 Tennessee 3 11 0 0 269 359 .214

AFC West

Denver 10 4 0 0 308 259 .714 Kansas City 9 5 0 0 365 257 .643 Oakland 6 8 0 0 319 356 .429 San Diego 4 10 0 0 280 348 .286

National Football Conference

NFC East

Washington 7 7 0 1 316 332 .500 Philadelphia 6 8 0 0 318 362 .429 NY Giants 6 8 0 1 373 358 .429 Dallas 4 10 0 2 246 324 .286

NFC North

Green Bay 10 4 0 0 347 265 .714 Minnesota 9 5 0 0 296 272 .643 Detroit 5 9 0 0 302 363 .357 Chicago 5 9 0 2 289 352 .357

NFC South

Carolina 14 0 0 0 449 278 1.000 Atlanta 7 7 0 1 302 312 .500 Tampa Bay 6 8 0 0 311 353 .429 New Orleans 5 9 0 1 350 432 .357

NFC West

Arizona 12 2 0 0 445 269 .857 Seattle 9 5 0 2 370 248 .643 St. Louis 6 8 0 1 241 294 .429 San Francisco 4 10 0 0 202 339 .286

NFL result/standingsDetroit 35, New Orleans 27.

Stafford leads Lions to win in New Orleans

NEW YORK: Losing control during Sunday’s loss to thePanthers will cost Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr onegame. The NFL on Monday suspended Beckham for nextweekend’s match at Minnesota for his conduct againstCarolina, when he drew three personal foul penalties.Beckham has the right to appeal the suspension. Withouthim, the Giants (6-8) would be missing their best offensiveweapon as they try to stay alive in the NFC East race.

Beckham and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman tan-gled from the beginning of the Panthers’ 38-35 victory. Atone point, Beckham delivered a diving helmet-to-helmethit on Norman while blocking.

There was plenty of pushing, shoving, swinging,

wrestling, late hits and trash talking between them.Beckham, the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year, has 91

catches for 1,396 yards and 13 touchdowns, tied for theleague lead. He has a base salary of $893,000 and wouldlose $55,813 for being suspended for Sunday night’s game.

After Sunday’s game, Beckham refused to discuss hisrun-ins with Norman. There was no media availability withBeckham on Monday. Asked about the personal fouls, hesaid Sunday, “You never want to hurt your team like that. Ihave learned it all throughout my life you know, alwayssecond man gets called, always that it is just unfortunate.You go back and watch the film tomorrow and you learnfrom it.” — AP

NFL suspends Giants WR Beckham for one game

NEW ORLEANS: Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay(23) brake up a pass intended for New Orleans Saintswide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) in the first half of anNFL football game in New Orleans, Monday. — AP

BusinessWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

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LONDON: Shoppers are reflected in a shop window as they walk along Oxford Street, one of the main shopping streets in central London yesterday. Britain’s retail sales rebounded sharply in November, helped by buying on ‘Black Friday’ whenitems are heavily discounted in the run-up to Christmas, official data showed last week. — AFP

NEW YORK: The US economy grew at an annu-al rate of 2.0 percent in the third quarter,according to Commerce Department data yes-terday, slightly below a previous estimate of 2.1percent. The July to September growth of grossdomestic product-the broad measure of theeconomy’s output of goods and services-was inline with analyst estimates and marked a slow-down from the 3.9 percent growth in the sec-ond quarter. Personal consumption expendi-ture, which drives about two-thirds of the activ-ity in the US economy, rose by an estimated 3.0percent, as previously estimated.

The data show the strong dollar continuesto be a drag on US trade. Exports grew by just0.7 percent, down from a previous estimate of0.9 percent, while imports rose 2.3 percent.Analysts at Barclays rated the 3.0 percent rise inconsumption spending as “solid” and said thereport overall “does little to change the picture

of solid domestic activity offset by weaknessabroad.” “Soft global growth and the laggedeffects of lower energy prices and a strongerdollar continue to weigh on trade and manu-facturing, the latter of which we see as reflectedin the slower pace of inventory accumulation asproduction is adjusted to meet the slower paceof sales,” Barclays said.

Tuesday’s data came on the heels of theFederal Reserve’s decision last week to lift USinterest rates for the first time in nearly adecade, amid growing confidence in the USeconomic recovery. However, Fed policy mak-ers emphasized that the US economy still needsthe support of loose monetary policy and sig-naled they would take a gradual approach tofurther interest rates increases.

A key factor in the slightly lower growthcompared with the prior estimate was a down-ward revision to inventory investment.

Home sales dropUS home sales plunged sharply in

November, as rising prices are creating afford-ability pressures and new regulations havedelayed finalizing purchases. The NationalAssociation of Realtors said yesterday that salesof existing homes collapsed 10.5 percent to aseasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million.It was the weakest pace in 19 months. The set-back follows solid gains in real estate for muchof 2015. Sales of existing homes are on track torise roughly 5 percent for the entire year. Butthe introduction of a new disclosure form inOctober likely prevented many homebuyersfrom closing on sales in November. Home val-ues are also rising at more than double thepace of wages.

The median home sales price was $220,300in November, a 6.3 percent annual increasefrom a year ago. The new rules introduced by

the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau toinform homebuyers about interest rates andfees may have delayed the completion of saleslast month. It took 41 days to close a sale inNovember, compared to 36 days a year ago. Theextended timeframe means that some salesmay have been pushed back into December.Sales fell in all major geographic regions,including the Northeast, Midwest, South andWest. Still, an improving job market and rela-tively low mortgage rates have encouragedhome-buying for this year. Unemployment at ahealthy 5 percent has endowed more peoplewith a sense of financial certainty. But tightinventories and rising prices have curbed fur-ther gains. Sales have cooled after acceleratingto a rate of 5.58 million in July. Relatively fewproperties are on the market as the economicexpansion has crossed the six-year mark, withmany homeowners still recovering equity lost

during the Great Recession and the bursting ofthe housing bubble.

The number of listings on the market hasdropped 1.9 percent from a year ago, a short-age that has restricted options for buyers andfueled escalating prices. As a result, more peo-ple have no choice but to rent. The share ofhomeowners has slipped to 63.7 percent from ahigh of 69.2 percent in 2004.

Low mortgage rates have minimized someof the financial pressure. Still, rates are higherthan a year ago. The Federal Reserve hiked akey short-term rate last week, the first increaseof its kind in nearly a decade as the economyappears solid enough to manage higher bor-rowing costs.

The average, 30-year fixed mortgage ratehas risen to 3.97 percent from 3.8 percent ayear ago, according to mortgage buyerFreddie Mac. — Agencies

US Q3 growth estimate cut to 2.0% Existing home sales tank in November

DUBAI: Iran has drafted a state budget for nextfiscal year that is 2.6 percent smaller than the planfor this year, as low oil prices put pressure on thecountry’s finances. The budget for the year start-ing on March 20 has been tentatively set at 2.670trillion rials, government spokesman MohammadBaqer Nobakht was quoted as saying by statenews agency IRNA yesterday.

That compares with an original plan for thisyear of 2.740 trillion rials, not including state-owned enterprises. The budget must beapproved by parliament, and figures could

change in the three months before it is due tocome into effect. Nobakht said the budget wasbased on an official exchange rate of 29.970 rialsto the dollar, giving it a value of $89.1 billion.

Brent oil’s fall to an 11-year low of just above$36 a barrel this week threatens new damage toIran’s export revenues, which have been hit fordecades by international sanctions imposed overits nuclear program. IRNA did not report projec-tions for total state revenues and the deficit innext year’s budget, but said oil revenues wereestimated at $22 billion.

DUBAI: Middle Eastern stocks rose yester-day as oil prices and global equities firmedslightly, and because of expectations thatSaudi Arabia’s state budget would beannounced next Monday. Investors hadbeen expecting the Saudi budget releasethis week but Saudi-owned Al Arabiya tele-vision reported late on Monday, quotingsources, that it would come on Dec. 28.

Without the threat of an imminentannouncement-the budget is expected toinclude substantial spending cuts asRiyadh works to shrink its deficit-short-term investors in Saudi Arabia and thewider region felt more comfortable buyingon dips.

“Now that traders expect the news nextweek, today’s trading resumed as per usualwith investors picking up stocks to turn aquick profit,” said Tarek Al-Mady, a Riyadh-based independent financial analyst.

The Saudi index rose 1.7 percent.Alinma Bank gained 2.4 percent and wasthe most heavily traded stock after itannounced a dividend cash payout of 0.5riyal per share for 2015, in line with its 2014dividend.

It is the second Saudi bank to announcean annual dividend. Saudi Hollandi Bank

last week proposed a cash payout whichwas 75 percent lower, but also announceda large bonus share issue. The oldestlender in the kingdom was 4.4 percenthigher yesterday.

Dubai’s index rose 1.5 percent, addingto Monday’s gains. Builder Arabtec, oftenvolatile, surged 14.2 percent, easing pres-sure from the decline of heavyweightEmaar Properties, which retreated 1.5 per-cent. Abu Dhabi’s bourse added 0.4 per-cent, buffered by blue chip banks; it postedits fifth straight session of gains. AbuDhabi Commercial Bank and National Bankof Abu Dhabi rose 3.3 and 0.8 percentrespectively.

“Abu Dhabi’s banks have remained rela-tively resilient because the US interest ratehike on Wednesday, with the UAE centralbank following suit, will help the profitabil-ity of those banks,” said a Dubai-basedbanking sector analyst. The outlook forcredit growth in the short term may not beas rosy as in prior years owing to pressureon macroeconomic growth, but the medi-um-term outlook is resilient because ofimproved asset quality and lower provi-sioning for bad loans, said a note byEmirati research firm Alramz. Qatar’s index

rebounded 2.7 percent to 10,175 points,recouping all of Monday’s losses andexceeding the 10,000-point level for thefirst time since Dec. 9. “Today’s session wasa pure buy-on-dips play,” said a Doha-based trader. Vodafone Qatar was the topgainer, surging 9.9 percent.

EGYPTEgypt’s benchmark edged up 0.1 per-

cent, closing higher for a seventh straightsession, with Orascom Telecom and EFGHermes carrying the market higher.Combined, the stocks accounted for aboutone-third of the market’s total value trad-ed. EFG Hermes rose 3.5 percent andOrascom advanced 1.6 percent, adding togains it has enjoyed since Thursday’s close,when it agreed to buy CommercialInternational Bank’s (CIB) investment bank-ing subsidiary CI Capital for 1 bill ionpounds ($128 million).

CIB ended down 2.0 percent yesterdaybut rose in early trade. “We think CIB’s risk-reward profile is now more attractive in thecontext of regional banks and believeEgypt’s fundamental economic outlook isfar more robust than in 2011-2013,” said anote by HSBC Global Research. — Reuters

Markets jump; blue-chip banks boost Abu Dhabi

MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS

Iran trims next year’s budget plan by 2.6%

MARSEILLE: A prices board indicating the price of diesel (bottom) under one euro at a petrol sta-tion in Marseille, southern France. The price for a litre of diesel in France is at its lowest sinceMarch 2009 and the price for a litre of SP95 is the lowest since December 2009. — AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s central bankleft its main one-week repo inter-est rate unchanged at 7.5 percentyesterday, a surprise move likely toheighten concern about threats toits independence and heap morepressure on a struggling lira cur-rency.

Analysts and investors haverepeatedly called for a rate hike torein in inflation and put a floorunder the lira , which has beenhurt by escalating violence in thecountry’s southeast and by a rum-bling dispute with Russia over adowned warplane.

The bank has long faced politi-cal pressure to keep monetary pol-icy loose, with President TayyipErdogan repeatedly calling for ratecuts and even equating high inter-est rates with treason.

The bank had previously hintedthat it would raise rates in tandemwith the US Federal Reserve. Hoton the heels of a Fed hike, yester-day’s meeting was seen as a criticaltest of the bank’s independence,and that of its governor, ErdemBasci. Fourteen of 16 analystspolled by Reuters had expectedthe repo rate and overnight bor-rowing rate to rise, most tippinghalf percentage-point moves.

The bank also held itsovernight borrowing rate at 7.25percent and its overnight lending

rate at 10.75 percent.Concerns about political pres-

sure on monetary policy havespurred foreign investors to dumpa net $6 billion in local bonds thisyear, after at least three years ofinflows.

The lira weakened immediatelyafter yesterday’s rates announce-ment and traded at 2.9348 to thedollar at 1215 GMT, from Monday’sclose of 2.9130.

RegulationsTurkey is likely to loosen some

regulations on domestic banks tospur lending, the head of thenational banking association said,as the government looks to easethe impact of a widely expectedcentral bank rate increase. Banksshould benefit as Ankara empha-sizes “growth-oriented” measures,Huseyin Aydin told Reuters, refer-ring to the stimulus policies cham-pioned by President TayyipErdogan in an effort to boostgrowth through consumption.

“The government is deter-mined to pursue growth-orientedeconomic policies. We are nowgetting signals that easing inmacro-prudential measures will becarried out,” said Aydin, who is alsohead of top state lender ZiraatBank. Five years ago regulatorsintroduced tighter rules designed

to cool lending and close a yawn-ing current account deficit. Thoseincluded higher reserve require-ments, forcing banks to hold morecapital.

Aydin said he expects changesto regulations on reserve require-ments and risk weighting of assets,which should help to offset theimpact of tighter monetary policyon bank costs.

“We are getting concrete sig-nals about this, they are justaround the corner,” he said.

Turkey’s central bank is widelyexpected to follow the lead of theUS Federal Reserve and increaseinterest rates at its last policy meet-ing of the year later.

Erdogan has repeatedly railedagainst high interest rates, equat-ing them with treason and spark-ing concerns about political inter-ference in monetary policy. Aydinsaid he expects bank loans to growby 15-17 percent next year, addingthat his own bank, Ziraat, will out-perform the sector with growth of16-18 percent.

Turkey’s banks should average10 percent profit growth in 2016,he added, with Ziraat expected toachieve profit growth of up to 20percent. Ziraat will also form anew fund and an Islamic insur-ance unit towards the end of2016, he said. — Reuters

Bahrain’s GIB names Al-Helaissi as new CEO

DUBAI: Gulf International Bank has appointedAbdulaziz Al-Helaissi as chief executive, effectiveFeb. 1, 2016, the Bahrain-headquartered lender saidin a statement yesterday. Helaissi, the former deputygovernor of supervision at Saudi Arabia’s centralbank, takes over as chief executive from YahyaAlyahya, it said.

B U S I N E S SWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Newsi n b r i e f

EXCHANGE RATES

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.512Indian Rupees 4.595Pakistani Rupees 2.901Srilankan Rupees 2.124Nepali Rupees 2.875Singapore Dollar 217.350Hongkong Dollar 39.265Bangladesh Taka 3.866Philippine Peso 6.435Thai Baht 8.442

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 81.217Qatari Riyal 83.661Omani Riyal 791.060Bahraini Dinar 808.820UAE Dirham 82.920

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 37.770Egyptian Pound - Transfer 38.942Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.421Tunisian Dinar 151.220Jordanian Dinar 428.820Lebanese Lira/for 1000 2.029Syrian Lira 2.170Morocco Dirham 31.221

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 304.400Euro 333.630Sterling Pound 454.770Canadian dollar 219.230Turkish lira 104.620Swiss Franc 308.410Australian Dollar`221.300US Dollar Buying 303.200

CURRENCY BUY SELLEurope

British Pound 0.446027 0.455027Czech Korune 0.004268 0.016268Danish Krone 0.040443 0.045443Euro 0.326671 0.334671Norwegian Krone 0.030646 0.035846Romanian Leu 0.073478 0.073478Slovakia 0.009099 0.019099Swedish Krona 0.031750 0.036750Swiss Franc 0.299933 0.310133Turkish Lira 0.099651 0.1099951

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.211241 0.222741New Zealand Dollar 0.200698 0.210198

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.212894 0.221394US Dollars 0.300300 0.304800

US Dollars Mint 0.300800 0.304800

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.003463 0.004063Chinese Yuan 0.045367 0.048867Hong Kong Dollar 0.037172 0.039922Indian Rupee 0.004316 0.004706Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024Japanese Yen 0.002424 0.002604Kenyan Shilling 0.002972 0.002972Korean Won 0.000248 0.000263Malaysian Ringgit 0.066958 0.072958Nepalese Rupee 0.002886 0.003056Pakistan Rupee 0.002701 0.002981Philippine Peso 0.006405 0.006685Sierra Leone 0.000069 0.000075Singapore Dollar 0.212926 0.218926South African Rand 0.014133 0.022633Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001766 0.002346Taiwan 0.009137 0.009317Thai Baht 0.008126 0.008676

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.800536 0.808536Egyptian Pound 0.034709 0.037835Iranian Riyal 0.000084 0.000086Iraqi Dinar 0.000201 0.000261Jordanian Dinar 0.425343 0.432843Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000Lebanese Pound 0.000152 0.000252Moroccan Dirhams 0.022124 0.046124Nigerian Naira 0.001259 0.001894Omani Riyal 0.784229 0.789909Qatar Riyal 0.082900 0.084113Saudi Riyal 0.080287 0.081237Syrian Pound 0.001290 0.001510Tunisian Dinar 0.147422 0.155422Turkish Lira 0.099651 0.109951UAE Dirhams 0.081896 0.083045Yemeni Riyal 0.001376 0.001456

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000Australian Dollar 211.78Canadian Dollar 222.01Swiss Franc 311.03Euro 335.60US Dollar 304.60Sterling Pound 465.02Japanese Yen 2.55Bangladesh Taka 3.866Indian Rupee 4.597Sri Lankan Rupee 2.124Nepali Rupee 2.872Pakistani Rupee 2.904UAE Dirhams 0.08289Bahraini Dinar 0.8095Egyptian Pound 0.03881Jordanian Dinar 0.4332Omani Riyal 0.7910Qatari Riyal 0.08398Saudi Riyal 0.08119

Rate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 304.750Canadian Dollar 220.635Sterling Pound 455.500Euro 332.480Swiss Frank 303.225Bahrain Dinar 806.235UAE Dirhams 83.215Qatari Riyals 84.430

Saudi Riyals 81.945Jordanian Dinar 429.300Egyptian Pound 38.808Sri Lankan Rupees 2.126Indian Rupees 4.589Pakistani Rupees 2.909Bangladesh Taka 3.862Philippines Pesso 6.420Cyprus pound 580.455Japanese Yen 3.510Syrian Pound 2.610Nepalese Rupees 3.860Malaysian Ringgit 71.805Chinese Yuan Renminbi 47.375Thai Bhat 9.405Turkish Lira 104.170

GOLD20 Gram 220.06010 Gram 112.7305 Gram 57.050

OPEC oil price down 90 cents to $30.74 pb

VIENNA: The crude basket price went down 90 cents onMonday and stood at $30.74 per barrel, compared with$31.63 pb last Friday, the OPEC said yesterday. It addedthat the monthly average of the OPEC’s basket price inNovember was $40.50 per barrel while in October it was$ 45.02 per barrel which indicates that the basket pricefrom the beginning of the year till the last weekend is$34.91 pb. The yearly average for the basket last year was$96.29 per barrel, it said. The OPEC Reference Basket ofCrudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend(Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy(Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export(Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), QatarMarine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE)and Merey (Venezuela). During their recent meeting inVienna, OPEC member countries had decided to maintaintheir production at 30 million barrels per day (bpd)despite a surplus in the market estimated at over a mil-lion barrels.

Moroccan inflation eases to 0.9% y/y in November

RABAT: Morocco’s consumer price inflation eased to anannual 0.9 percent in November from 1.4 percent inOctober as food prices dropped, the country’s HighPlanning Authority said yesterday. Food inflation eased to2.1 percent from 3.6 percent in the 12 months toNovember. Non-food price inflation dropped to 0.2 per-cent from 0.4 percent in the previous month. Transportcosts fell 4.5 percent, while hotels and restaurants were 2.4percent more expensive, the agency said. On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index rose 0.5 percent inNovember, compared to 0.4 percent in October. Foodprice inflation rose to 1.3 percent on the month while non-food inflation were steady at 0.1 percent.

Abraaj, Proparco reduce stake in Unimed

DUBAI: Emerging markets-focused investor Abraajand a partner have sold 83 percent of their stakein Tunisia’s second-largest pharmaceuticals com-pany Unimed ahead of a planned stock marketlisting next year, the private equity firm said yes-terday. Abraaj and French development agencyProparco have sold part of their holdings to a con-sortium of investors including Washington-basedSQM, Blakeney Asset Management and theTunisian-Kuwaiti Consortium of Development.Neither the price nor the size of the retained stakewere disclosed by Abraaj, but the firm’s statementsaid the partial exit is a step towards the listing ofUnimed on the Tunis stock exchange in the firsthalf of 2016. Unimed specialises in sterile dosageforms, such as intravenous solutions, andopthalmic products for global companies includ-ing Pfizer and Mylan.

KUWAIT: Sales improved in November2015 posting their best levels, across sec-tors, in four months, or since the summer.However so far this year, as of November,total real estate sales reached KD 2.8 bil-lion, down 29 percent from the same peri-od last year. Prices action remains soft withmost of the price indices logging negativeannual growth; the exception was the resi-dential land price index which was sup-ported by a strong per formance thismonth.

Total residential sales reached KD 1,233million in 2015 year-to-date (ytd) and KD95.1 million in November. KD volumes andnumber of units sold ytd were both down28 percent and 33 percent, respectively,compared to the same period last year.Plots made up 45 percent of residentialtransactions in November, well below the64 percent average recorded in 2014, likelyreflecting a decline in speculative activityin the residential land sector as well as adecline in the distribution of vacant plotsin Sabah Al-Ahmed City, which accountedfor 50 percent of all residential transactionsin 2014.

Sales in the investment sector (mostly

apartment buildings) rebounded inNovember to KD 121 million, almost dou-bling month-on-month and rising for thefirst time in four months. Ytd, total KD vol-umes reached KD 1,148 million, a 32 per-cent decline from the same period lastyear. In terms of transactions, 1,312 salecontracts were executed ytd, 18 percentlower than last year.

The commercial sector remains activewith sector transactions up year-to-date.KD volumes totalled KD 412 million ytd, aslowdown of 21 percent from the sameperiod last year, while ytd transactions inNovember dropped 1 percent from thesame period last year. In November, thesector recorded six transactions worth KD81.2 million. The largest transaction wasrecorded for a 7,600 sqm shopping mall inSalmiya for KD 70 million and which result-ed in the best sales volume sinceNovember of 2014.

Private construction activity has beenslowing since mid-2014 as evident by thenumber of construction permits issued this

year, in sync with slower real estate.According to Kuwait Municipality’s annualreport, the total number of permits issuedfor new construction, across all three sec-tors, declined by 31 percent year-on-year(y/y) during the fiscal year 2014/15(FY14/15) compared to a record growth of61 percent y/y in 2013/14. The residentialsector was granted 3,314 permits for newconstruction in FY14/15 down from 4,597permits the previous year, a 28 percentdecline. Similarly, permits for new con-struction in the investment sector declinedby 27 percent y/y. As a result, prices ofbasic construction materials in Kuwait havebeen easing. Not surprisingly, inflation iniron and steel appears to be correlatedwith the amounts of subsidized ironbought for construction purposes.

The pressure of external macroeconom-ic factors may have incentivized specula-tors to exit the real estate market. Realestate price indices remained under pres-sure in November, struggling to maintainpositive year-on-year growth. The residen-

tial-land index was the only one to gener-ate positive growth this month, registeringa 2.6 percent increase y/y. The investmentbuilding price index and the residential-home price index remained in negative ter-ritory.

The residential home index continuedto trend downward. In November, the NBKresidential-home index stood at 173.0points, 7 percent lower y/y. The last timethe index logged a similar y/y decline wasback in August 2009.

The residential land index is the onlyone to remain in positive territory. Theindex, at 201.1 points, is up 2.6 percent forthe year. Out of the 16 areas included inthe index, only three areas exhibited aprice increase this month whereas four outof the 16 areas included in the index wereinactive.

The investment building index wasdown 1.4 percent for the year. Recording itsfirst negative y/y loss since July 2012, thesector has managed to maintain positiveprice growth throughout the year. Threeout of the eleven areas included in theindex were inactive, and only one regis-tered an increase for the month.

Kuwait real estate sales

picked up in November

LONDON: Oil prices rose slightly yester-day, bouncing off 11-year lows asinvestors closed bearish positionsahead of the year-end holiday but glob-al oversupply capped gains.

Brent futures traded up 17 cents at$36.52 a barrel at 1047 GMT, recoveringfrom an 11-year low of $36.04 hit onMonday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate(WTI) crude futures were 32 cents high-er at $36.13 a barrel, up from 2009 lowsof $33.98 hit in the prior session.

“The sentiment has been very nega-tive and ahead of the holidays peopletend to close some of the speculativepositions,” said Hans van Cleef, seniorenergy economist at ABN Amro inAmsterdam.

“Therefore we could see someupside potential in oil prices.” Brentcrude prices were set to make the firstdaily gains in five sessions, while WTIfutures rose to the highest level in foursessions. Saudi Arabia, the world’slargest oil exporter, said it had shotdown a ballistic missile that was head-ing towards its city of Jizan, where anew refinery and oil terminal are underconstruction. Saudi Aramco said all itsfacilities in the area were “in safe andnormal operations”.

However, concerns about supplycontinuing to outstrip demand nextyear kept gains limited.

“We view the oversupply as continu-ing well into next year before rebalanc-

ing in the fourth quarter 2016,”Goldman Sachs said in a report circulat-ed yesterday. “Our base case remainsthat the global oil stock build will onaggregate remain shy of storage capaci-ty, although the storage buffer has onceagain narrowed,” the bank said. It addedthat a higher-than-expected 1.5 millionbarrels a day global market imbalancein this quarter is likely to extend into thefirst half of 2016 because of milder thanusual weather weighing on demand.

The weather provided a furtherbearish element as an unusually mildstart to the winter in the northern hemi-sphere dents heating oil demand. BNPParibas said the number of US andEuropean heating days had been 30percent and 39 percent below the 10-year average since Dec. 7, respectively,and that days requiring heating wereexpected to remain 23-24 percentbelow normal until Jan. 4.

Russian oil output has reached apost-Soviet era high but EnergyMinister Alexander Novak said in aninterview to Kommersant news dailypublished yesterday that Russian oilproduction may start declining in 2017if a tough taxation regime continues.North Sea production from Britain andNorway is expected to rise this yeardue to new fields coming on streamand lower-than-usual maintenanceoutages, according to analysts at JBCEnergy. — Reuters

Turkish CB holds interest

rates in surprise move

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

Oil prices edge up

from multi-year lows

Portugal’s minimum wage to rise 5%

LISBON: Portugal’s government will force through anincrease in the minimum monthly wage to 530 euros($580) from 505 euros, shrugging off objections from busi-ness leaders who say companies need incentives toaccommodate the extra cost. Jose Vieira da Silva, LabourMinister in the Socialist government that took office lastmonth, said yesterday the minimum wage would rise onJan. 1 by decree, even though employer groups andunions have failed to reach an agreement in their tradi-tional bargaining process.


DOHA: QNB Group, the largest financial institution inQatar and the Middle East and North Africa Region,announces that it has entered into a definitive agree-ment with National Bank of Greece for the acquisitionof its entire stake comprising 99.81 percent inFinansbank A.S (Finansbank) in Turkey for a total con-sideration of Ä2.7 billion ($2.94 billion).

QNB Group has been a trusted financial institutionfor over fifty years. Through controlled growth, thebank aspires to become an Icon in the Middle East andAfrica by 2017. To achieve this, QNB Group is pursuinginorganic growth in large, high growth markets. Turkey,with its significant market size, population, growthtrack record, strong economic and banking sectorprospects and strategic location as a gateway betweenEurope and Asia represents such a market and is there-fore of strategic importance for QNB Group. Turkey’sties with the rest of the region have increased in recentyears, as trade with the Middle East and North Africaregion has risen nearly ten-fold from $5.6 billion in2000 to $52.2 billion in 2014.

Finansbank is the fifth largest privately owned uni-

versal bank by total assets, customer deposits andloans in the Turkish market. The bank was incorporatedin 1987 and acquired by National Bank of Greece,which currently has a shareholding of 99.81 percent.Finansbank has grown organically into a full servicefinancial institution with an independent and experi-enced management, nationwide distribution networkof 647 branches and over 5.3 million customers. As of30 June 2015, Finansbank has $29.0 billion of assets,$19.5 billion in loans and $14.6 billion in deposits andtotal equity amounted to $3.6 billion as perInternational Financial Reporting Standards.Finansbank has a strong capital base with a capital ade-quacy ratio of 15.9 percent, which is among the highestin the Turkish banking sector, together with solid long-term foreign currency ratings of Ba2 and BBB- byMoody’s and Fitch, which are a testament toFinansbank’s successful business, operating model andrisk management.

QNB intends to fund the purchase through its ownfunds and will remain strongly capitalized after theacquisition in line with its Group targets.

Commenting on the announcement, QNB Group’sChief Executive Officer Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari said:

“This transaction is a significant milestone in QNB’sVision to becoming a MEA Icon by 2017 and a leadingglobal bank by 2030. Finansbank is a highly regardedfinancial institution with an impressive track record ofsuccess in Turkey, and we look forward to welcomingthe personnel and management of Finansbank to QNBGroup. We also look forward to contributing towardsTurkey’s future economic development and furtherenhancing its overall connectivity with internationalmarkets as an integral part of QNB Group’s global net-work” QNB Capital and JP Morgan are acting as jointfinancial advisors, while Clifford Chance is acting aslead legal counsel and Yegin «iftÁi Attorney Partnershipis acting as local legal counsel for the transaction.

The transaction has been approved by the board ofdirectors of both banks and the General Council of theHellenic Financial Stability Fund. The closing of thetransaction is subject to regulatory approvals and othercustomary closing conditions. The transaction isexpected to close in the first half of 2016.

QNB Group reaches agreement

with National Bank of Greece

Bank to acquire its 99.81% stake in Finansbank

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian food vendor (R) prepares tea at her stall in downtown Kuala Lumpur yesterday. —AFP

BERLIN: Scarred by a public relations thrash-ing over its “Dieselgate” scandal, Volkswagen isplanning an image offensive, and its “Das Auto”global advertising slogan is an early casualty.

Launched in 2007 under ousted bossMartin Winterkorn, the slogan has had theadvantage of simplicity, merely meaning “TheCar”. However, the German carmaker’s leaders,anxious to proclaim a reformed corporate cul-ture, have criticized it as out of step with acompany trying to show new-found humility.A Volkswagen spokesman would not pro-nounce “Das Auto” dead quite yet, but said itwould no longer accompany the famous VWbadge in the coming advertising campaign.

Its replacement is hardly radical. “Whereverour logo appears in future, it will be backed bythe new brand slogan ‘Volkswagen’,” thespokesman said. “The slogan will be rolled outin stages across the world.”

VW has been largely on the defensive sinceUS authorities revealed in September it hadadmitted rigging exhaust emission tests onsome diesel-powered models. For weeks, it vol-unteered little information about the extent ofthe cheating, instead reacting guardedly to aflood of revelations and allegations.

The new campaign, discussed last week ata closed-door meeting of 2,000 group man-agers, is VW’s latest attempt to regain the initia-tive in rebuilding its reputation following asharp drop in sales in some markets, includingthe United States and Britain.

While the group produces everything fromBugatti supercars and Ducati motorbikes toheavy-duty Scania trucks, the meeting in theeastern German city of Dresden focused onthe main VW brand.

According to a manager who was there,

Volkswagen brand chief Herbert Diessdescribed the Winterkorn-era slogan - whichcould suggest that VW alone can define themodern motor car - as absolutist. Such animage of regal arrogance ill fits the reality ofVW today: a company facing huge costs fromrecalling and modifying cars to meet emissionsregulations, plus likely regulatory fines and awelter of lawsuits.

Volkswagen needed to show humility, themanager said, and the slogan ‘Das Auto’ waspretentious. The old slogan also failed to con-vey VW’s technological ambitions in areas suchas electrically-powered vehicles, the managersaid, requesting anonymity.

VW said the Dresden meeting discussedthe task of leading the company through thecrisis and its future strategy. Diess is a relativenewcomer to VW, arriving from Bavarian rivalBMW only in July. Since Winterkorn’s forcedresignation on Sept. 23, the group has reshuf-fled its management through internal promo-tions and external hires. New chief executiveMatthias Mueller formerly ran the group’sPorsche sportscar unit, while the compliancechief was hired from rival Daimler.

VW tried to engender a new atmosphere atthe annual pre-Christmas conference inDresden last Thursday. For instance, male staffwere encouraged to remove their ties - anunheard of suggestion in the buttoned-upWinterkorn era - and managers even foldedshirts in a team-building exercise.

All this, along with VW’s first news confer-ence on the scandal earlier this month, sug-gests it is finally becoming a little less defen-sive and trying to shape events from a publicrelations perspective rather than merely react-ing to them. — Reuters

‘Das Auto’ no more: VW

plans image offensive

KUWAIT: Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer, one of theAl-Sayer Group Holding Companies held anawarding ceremony for the certified promo-tions, to hand-over Yaris Hatch Back TRD,grand prize of the raffle draw that was organ-ized by Ministry of Commerce & Industry - forconsumer protection affairs. The lucky winnerof the draw Najeeb Nazir also won a 250 litersfuel card apart from - 2015 Yaris TRDHatchback from the promotion which wasvalid from 1 August to 31 October, 2015.

The car delivery ceremony was attendedby Hesham Hamed Manager Certified carsales, Bader Faisal Al-Sayer Deputy MarketingManager and Badawi Mohamed HassanSenior Supervisor Certified car sales.

According to Hesham Hamed ManagerCertified car sales “Certified Promotion hasreceived excellent response reflecting thefaith customers have entrusted in Al-SayerToyota Certified cars over the years. EveryCertified Vehicle at Al-Sayer is put throughcomprehensive 60 points check by our highlyskilled and trained technicians. All vehiclesmust pass the thorough inspection and recon-

ditioning procedure in order to match theDealer standards in terms of overall qualityand appearance of interior and exterior.Relatively newer and low-mileage models inexcellent overall condition will finally qualifyto be a certified vehicle.”

Bader Faisal Al-Sayer Deputy MarketingManager handed over keys of the 2015 Yaristo the winner and congratulated him on win-ning the grand prize. Najeeb Nazir winner ofthe raffle draw prize 2015 Yaris Hatch BackTRD said “I am excited to receive this grand raf-fle draw prize. Buying a Certified car from Al-Sayer Toyota was a great decision and receiv-ing this grand prize through a raffle draw is abest value deal, I thank Al-Sayer for this fantas-tic opportunity.” Toyota Certified pre-ownedvehicle ensures total peace of mind for cus-tomers together with years of satisfaction.Some of benefits and added advantages cus-tomers receive are comprehensive 12 monthwarranty covering practically all majormechanical and electrical components, 12month road side assistance and free inspec-tion after 1500 km.

Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer Toyota Certified Cars

announces winner of certified promotions

LONDON: Commodity indices have proved dis-astrous investments for pension funds and otherinstitutions in the last decade and disappointedagain in 2015.

Back in 2005, Gary Gorton and GeertRouwenhorst published a paper on “Facts andFantasies about Commodity Futures” whichhelped popularize commodities as a new “assetclass” for institutional investors. Gorton andRouwenhorst claimed the risk-adjusted returnsfrom an index of commodity futures were similarto equities while also offering useful portfoliodiversification and protection from inflation.

“Facts and Fantasies,” coupled with the bullmarket in oil, metals and agricultural productsbetween 2004 and 2008, convinced investors toallocate several hundred billion dollars to com-modity index products. Index investments wereespecially attractive for conservative investorsbecause they promised inherent long-termreturns independent of market timing or theskill of the fund manager. Commodity indiceswere attractive in the same way an equity indexfund is attractive and were meant to be a differ-ent sort of investment from an actively man-aged portfolio or a hedge fund.

But since 2008, returns on commodityindices have far under-performed equities, cre-ating a crisis of confidence in the idea of com-modity indexing and commodities as a distinctasset class. Frustrated commodity investors havewatched as their own investments have fallen invalue even as equity investments have rebound-ed from the financial crisis and continued to per-form well. Many pension funds have finally givenup and scaled back or exited from their com-modity programs altogether.

INDEX PRODUCTSGorton and Rouwenhorst based their paper

on an examination of returns from a fully collat-eralised equally-weighted index of commodityfutures between 1959 and 2004 (NBER WorkingPaper No. 10595). In practice, it has never beenpossible to invest in an equally-weighted com-modity futures index on any sort of scalebecause some of the futures contracts are sim-ply too small and illiquid.

Most investors allocated money to anexchange-traded fund or an over-the-counterswap that tracked one of two families of com-modity indices, the Standard and Poor’sGoldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) orthe Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCI).

The S&P GSCI has always had a much higherweighting towards crude oil than theBloomberg Commodity Index which has moreexposure to metals and agricultural contracts.

The BCI is closer to the idealised Gorton andRouwenhorst index though it is still far frombeing equally weighted. But the S&P GSCI alsooffers a family of modified indices with nameslike Reduced Energy, Light Energy and UltraLight Energy, with trimmed weightings towardsoil and more exposure to other commodities.None of these indices has performed well in thepost-2008 period.

Spot prices for most commodities have fall-en, especially since 2014, in many cases reachingtheir lowest level in over a decade. Low interestrates have cut the returns on the bonds postedas collateral to back the commodity futures posi-tion. And the contango structure in most com-modity futures markets means that long futurespositions are being rolled forward at a loss.

(In a contango market, short futures posi-tions can be rolled forward at a profit, while longfutures positions incur a loss every time they areextended).

The combination of falling spot prices, lowinterest rates and contango markets has had adisastrous effect on risk-adjusted returns forcommodity indices compared with equities.

UNDER-PERFORMANCEIn 2005, when Gorton and Rouwenhorst

were publishing their paper, the long-termreturns on a real world commodity index like theS&P GSCI appeared similar to an equity indexlike the S&P 500. The equivalent between com-modity and equity returns held up until com-modity prices peaked and the financial crisiserupted in 2008. Arguably, the equivalence per-sisted in the early stages of the recovery in 2009and 2010.

Since 2011, however, equity markets havecontinued to offer consistent positive returns,while the returns on commodity indices stalledand then turned negative. The poor perform-ance of commodity indices in the long term hasnot been significantly affected by the choice ofweighting scheme. The Reduced Energy, LightEnergy and Ultra Light Energy variants of theS&P GSCI actually show lower returns since1989. In 2015, Gorton and Rouwenhorst togeth-er with Geetesh Bhardwaj published an updateof the earlier paper “Facts and Fantasies aboutCommodity Futures Ten Years Later” (YaleWorking Paper No. 15-18). In it they examinedthe performance of their equally weighted com-modity index between 2005 and 2014 and com-pared it with the earlier 1959-2004 period.Gorton, Rouwenhorst and Bhardwaj concludedthe performance of commodity futures priceshad not changed significantly compared withthe earlier period. — Reuters

Commodity indices inflict

more losses on pension funds

TOKYO: Japan’s financial regulator has fined an Ernst &Young affiliate 2.1 billion yen ($17.4 million) after thefirm’s audit of Toshiba Corp’s accounts failed to spotirregularities in the country’s worst accounting scandalin years. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) said yes-terday it would also suspend Ernst & Young ShinNihonLLC from taking on new business contracts for threemonths.

Toshiba disclosed earlier this year that it had over-stated profits from around 2008 and on Monday said itwould cut thousands of jobs and book a record net lossthis year.

Toshiba said yesterday that Ernst & YoungShinNihon would not renew its contract to auditToshiba’s books from the fiscal year starting next April.The FSA said the fine was equivalent to two years’ ofauditing fees paid to ShinNihon by Toshiba.

“There was a grave breach of duty,” an FSA seniorofficial said at a news briefing. “The accountants were incharge of Toshiba for many years and they had built amisplaced sense of confidence that Toshiba would notdo such things,” the official, who declined to be named,said.

ShinNihon is the biggest accounting firm in Japan,with about 3,500 certified accountants and more than4,000 clients. Koichi Hanabusa, chairman and CEO ofShinNihon said in a statement he would take responsi-bility for the affair and step down at the end of January,when the accounting firm is expected to compile abusiness improvement plan demanded by the FSA.

“It is very regrettable that we have come to this situ-ation,” he said. Earlier this month, Japan’s securitieswatchdog recommended Toshiba be fined a record7.37 billion yen for its violaton of accounting rules.

Moody’s cuts rating Meanwhile, crisis-hit Toshiba’s woes deepened yes-

terday when Moody’s cut its credit rating to junk, cast-ing doubt on a turnaround plan unveiled in response to

an embarrassing profit-padding scandal.On Monday Toshiba rolled out a wide-ranging

restructuring which included thousands of job cuts, asit warned it would book a record $4.5 billion annualloss.

Investors dumped its Tokyo-listed shares, whichhave plummeted by nearly one quarter in the last twodays of trading. Moody’s said its two notch-downgradeto Ba2 was in response to Toshiba’s overhaul and itsweak prospects-and warned of more possible cuts.

“The announcement indicated that earnings andcash flow generation will be significantly below our

previous expectations,” said Moody’s analyst MasakoKuwahara. She added that “our expectation of improve-ment in earnings, if any, for each business segment willbe very gradual even after the restructuring”.

A company-hired panel earlier this year found exec-utives at one of Japan’s best-known companies had sys-tematically pressured underlings to inflate profits tohide poor results.

The case forced Toshiba’s incumbent president andseven other top executives to resign. The company hasadmitted it had inflated profits by about $1.2 billionsince the 2008 global financial crisis. — Agencies

Japan fines Ernst & Young arm

$17.4m over Toshiba audit

TOKYO: Shoppers watch air conditioners displayed at an electronics store in Tokyo. Scandal-plagued Japanese manufacturer Toshiba Corp is cutting 6,800 jobs after projecting a net lossof 550 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the fiscal year through March 2016. — AP


LONDON: Spain’s main stock market steadiedyesterday after falling heavily the previous dayon the political impasse in the eurozone coun-try following an inconclusive election. Shareswere largely higher across Europe, led byLondon, whose commodities-heavy index wasboosted by more stable prices for oil and met-als, traders said. Around 1100 GMT, London’sbenchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.6 percentfrom Monday ’s c lose. In the eurozone,Frankfurt’s DAX 30 was flat and the Paris CAC40 edged up 0.1 percent.

Spain’s IBEX 35 index gained 0.5 percent.The Spanish market had slumped by 3.6 per-cent on Monday following an election that hasleft the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy in

political limbo with the ruling party losing itsmajority in parliament. “It looks like Monday’sSanta rally is tentatively set to continue,” saidConnor Campbell, analyst at Spreadex tradinggroup.

In foreign exchange dealings on Tuesday,the euro advanced to $1.0934. Hopes thatChina will implement fresh economic reformslifted emerging-market currencies and oil andmetals prices saw a rare uptick, while mostAsian stock markets extended the previousday’s gains.

After a secretive policy meeting that endedMonday, China’s economic planners said theywould combat local government debt andpush on with changes in the housing sector to

try to shore up growth. They also said theywould “strengthen structural reforms” andcalled for more flexibility in monetary policy,state news agency Xinhua reported.

The announcement is the latest f romBeijing after it promised last year to let themarket play a bigger role in the world’s num-ber two economy and implement reforms ofbloated state-owned enterprises.

It also follows other moves to kickstartslowing growth, including six interest ratecuts since November last year. “Somewhatmitigating the negative sentiment is talks thatChina will implement additional measures tosupport the domestic economy in the nearfuture,” said Markus Huber, a trader at City of

London Markets. “Furthermore with trading volume

likely to decrease as the week progresses,trading ranges should somewhat narrowalso.”

Asia stocks, currencies up Hopes that China will implement fresh

economic reforms lifted emerging-mar-ket currencies yesterday and oil and met-als prices saw a rare uptick, while mostAsian stock markets extended the previ-ous day’s gains. After a secretive policymeeting that ended Monday, China’s eco-nomic planners said they would combatlocal government debt and push on withchanges in the housing sector to try toshore up growth.

They also said they would “strengthenstructural reforms” and called for moreflexibility in monetary policy, state newsagency Xinhua reported.

The announcement is the latest fromBeijing after it promised last year to letthe market play a bigger role in theworld’s number two economy and imple-ment reforms of bloated state-ownedenterprises.

It also follows other moves to kickstartslowing growth, including six interestrate cuts s ince November last year.“We’ve had easing on multiple fronts inChina and we are starting to see

the green shoots of recovery there,”Nader Naeimi, Sydney-based head ofdynamic markets at AMP CapitalInvestors, told Bloomberg News.

“We should see China’s economy turnthe corner in 2016 and the US dollarpeaking, which will have a powerful posi-

tive impact on commodities and relatedsectors.”

Currencies of countries that rely ontrade with China climbed against the dol-lar. The Australian dollar rose 0.7 percent,Indonesia’s rupiah surged one percent,the Thai baht was 0.2 percent higher andthe Singapore dollar added 0.2 percent.The South Korean won, Canadian dollarand Taiwan dollar also advanced.

Toshiba hits Tokyo The US dollar bought 121.13 yen com-

pared with 123 yen last week. The eurocontinues to hold its own despite uncer-tainty in Spain after a general electionleft no party with a clear majority. Thepossibility of Chinese stimulus measuresalso lifted commodities, with copper ris-ing 1.1 percent and iron ore surgingmore than three percent.

Regional stock markets fluctuatedthrough the morning but most lyrebounded in the afternoon. Shanghaiadded 0.3 percent by the close, HongKong edged up 0.2 percent and Seoulended 0.6 percent higher. However,Tokyo closed down 0.2 percent, withToshiba slumping 12.3 percent extend-ing a more than nine percent lossMonday-af ter i t sa id late Monday i twould book a record $4.5 billion loss inthe year to March and slash thousands ofjobs.

The loss and layoffs are tied to a hugerestructuring announced in the wake ofrevelations this year that company exec-utives systematically pressured under-l ings to inf late prof its to hide poorresults. — Agencies

Spanish stock market steadies after slump


Honda’s CBR600RR boasts improved racetrack perform-ance but also ideal capabilities to be enjoyed on twistyroads or city streets by riders of all experience levels

INTRODUCTIONA POLISHED PACKAGEHonda’s CBR600RR represented a big step forward for

the 600cc Supersport class when it was launched in 2003.Constant development over the last decade has seen theCBR600RR evolve into one of the most polished packagesever produced in the Supersports arena.

Taking inspiration from Honda’s ultimate RC213V racemachine, the CBR600RR offers a perfect balance of high-revving power, precise handling, light weight, and a com-pact overall size.

HIGH-REVVING POWERThe CBR600RR’s extremely compact 599cc, liquid

cooled DOHC 16-valve inline four-cylinder power plantmakes a great contribution to the motorcycle’s superbhandling.

The DAIS (Direct Air Induction System) smoothly chan-

nels a large volume of air directly through the intake situ-ated in the middle of the front fairing (the area subjectedto the greatest air pressure) and into the airbox via thesteering head duct.

The CBR600RR has HESD (Honda Electronic SteeringDamper) with optimal damping force constantly main-tained by the ECU.

CHASSIS & SUSPENSIONImproved damping function was key for the CBR600RR,

so a fully adjustable Showa Big Piston inverted front fork,with an exceptionally rigid 41mm diameter inner tube, hasbeen used.

The CBR600RR’s Unit Pro-Link rear suspension uses noshock top mount on the frame, and is a system unique toHonda. The shock mounts to the upper part of theswingarm and the lower link, effectively operating inde-pendently of swingarm movement. This stabilises behav-iour under hard cornering and delivers superb tractionand turning ability, plus improved shock absorption andmuch more consistent damping.

Continued development of the Unit Pro-Link system

has resulted in much better low speed performance andgreater feedback in the initial phase of operation, givingsuperb stability and controllability.

Receiving constant input from Honda’s race expertise,the CBR600RR’s frame is constructed from twin tubes ofdiecast aluminum.

ADDITIONAL FEATURESBoth lightweight cast aluminum wheels feature the

same 12-spoke design used on the CBR1000RR.The CBR600RR’s powerful braking setup uses the well-

proven setup of twin 310mm discs with radially mountedopposed-piston four-pot calipers, and a lightweight sin-gle-piston caliper and 220mm disc at the rear.

The styling of the new CBR600RR has a functionalbeauty that mirrors that of the race machine that inspiredit - Honda’s RC213V.

The sleek, flowing fairing houses twin line-beam head-lights. The screen, as on the RC213V is small and the tailunit mirrors that of the MotoGP machine.

The fuel tank cover is shaped to allow the rider to movefreely and grip it with arms and knees.

Introducing the new CBR600RR

ENGINEENGINE TYPE: 599cc Liquid-cooled 4-stroke 16-valveDOHC inline-4BORE AND STROKE: 67 x 42.5mmCOMPRESSION RATIO: 12.2:1CARBURATION: PGM-FI electronic fuel injectionIGNITION: Computer controlled digital transistorisedwith electronic advanceSTARTER: ElectricTRANSMISSION: 6-speed

FRAMEDIMENSIONS (LXWXH): 2,030mm x 685mm x1,115mmWHEEL BASE: 1,375mmSEAT HEIGHT: 820mmGROUND CLEARANCE: 135mmFUEL CAPACITY: 18 litres (including 3.5 litres LCDindicator reserve)KERB WEIGHT: 186kg

TYRESFRONT: 120/70 - 17 inchREAR: 180/55 - 17 inch

SUSPENSIONFRONT: 41mm fully adjustable inverted HMAS car-tridge-type telescopic fork, 110mm axle travelREAR: Unit Pro-Link with gas-charged remote reser-voir damper, adjustable spring preload and compres-sion and rebounddamping, 129mm axle travel

BRAKESFRONT: 310 x 4.5mm dual disc with radial-mount 4-piston hydraulic callipers, floating rotors and sinteredmetal padsREAR: 220 x 5mm disc with single-piston hydrauliccalliper and sintered metal pads

WARRANTYWARRANTY PERIOD: 6 months

COLOURS Victory Red and Graphite Black.

Specifications

BRUSSELS: Investors are wary of pouring money into aplanned doubling of Gazprom’s Nord Stream gas link toGermany, analysts said, amid doubts about regulatoryapprovals and deep political divisions.

Since taps opened five years ago on the first pipeline fromRussia’s Baltic coast to Germany, bypassing Ukraine, the gulfhas widened between EU countries angered by Russia’s mili-tary actions there and those worried about security of gas sup-ply. At an emotional summit last week, national leaders saidNord Stream-2 undercut EU unity against Russia. OnlyGermany and the Netherlands backed the project, ministerssaid.

EU officials have warned investors would be wise to wait forregulators to rule on Nord Stream-2, and analysts say lendersmight be cautious. “The European Commission is certainly rais-ing far more issues than for the original Nord Stream,” saidRichard Sarsfield-Hall, senior principal at consultancy Poyry,which advises energy firms. “The financial community maytake some persuading that the project is viable.”

Even backers of Nord Stream-1 are more skeptical this timearound. Laszlo Varro, head of gas, coal and power markets atthe International Energy Agency in Paris, said it was a “hugequestion” whether Gazprom’s investment in Nord Stream-2could be recovered, due to stagnating demand in Europe andan expected surge in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply.

He added that Kiev had “even in extremely unfavourablecircumstances” delivered all transit deliveries in the last 18months.

Politics vs economics vs regulationAlready Nord Stream-1 is under-used because EU regulato-

ry concerns have never been fully resolved. But backers of theproject say there is no legitimate legal reason to block NordStream-2, and German, French, Austrian and Anglo-Dutchfirms partnering Gazprom want access to reliable, competitive-

ly-priced gas supplies to compensate for declining Europeanproduction. Russia supplies around a third of the EU’s gas,roughly half of which is shipped via Ukraine.

“The energy community takes the view that ‘listen I havehad it with these (Ukrainian) guys; we are the people who suf-fer when there are problems, not the politicians,” said JonathanStern, chairman of the Natural Gas Research Programme at theOxford Institute for Energy Studies. Industry sources say thefirms involved - E.ON and Wintershall, Shell, OMV and Engie -also see side benefits as they negotiate new contracts withGazprom and push for spot pricing, rather than long-term con-tracts pegged to higher oil prices.

Wintershall and Shell said in emails that Nord Stream-2would increase flexibility and security of supply. For Russia’sGazprom, the pipeline is part of a quest to cut some $2 billionin transit fees it pays Ukraine annually and to maintain its gripon the European market. Tim Boersma, a fellow atWashington’s Brooking’s Institution, saw an economic ration-ale. “Nord Stream-2 inevitably lowers the transit costs on thecurrent routes,” he said.

Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev put it morebluntly, telling reporters in Brussels that blocking Nord Stream-2 would be “a shot in the foot” especially for Gazprom’sEuropean clients.

Russia says it wants the pipeline by 2019, when its transitcontract with Ukraine expires, although industry sources saythat is optimistic. One Gazprom source predicted Germanywould make the project happen: “Things will be as theGermans decide,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

But German government sources said Chancellor AngelaMerkel might not be ready to fight for the pipeline expansionand it would not be the first project to be only a pipe dream.

Russia last year announced it was scrapping the SouthStream pipeline, also planned to bypass Ukraine through aroute into southern Europe, over EU rules. — Reuters

MONTECATINI TERME: Whenever retired tailor Meri Giannonispoke to the director of her bank branch about how to invest hersavings, she said to him: “Please treat me as if I were your mum.”

So when in June 2013 he recommended she buy 30,000 euros($32,500) of junior bonds sold by the bank, she said she signedthe papers even though she did not understand them and neverread prospectuses warning the investment could be risky.

“There was a good atmosphere at the bank, it was friendly,” the67-year old told Reuters at her family house in Montecatini Terme,a small Tuscan town known for its spa. “The director told me: this isgood stuff, it’s the bank’s own bonds, relax.”

Last month, the value of the bonds was wiped out overnightas the government saved Giannoni’s bank, Banca Etruria, andthree other small lenders from bankruptcy under tougherEuropean Union rules that require shareholders and holders ofjunior or subordinated debt to shoulder some of the pain in abank rescue. A spokeswoman for Banca Etruria, which is now anew legal entity after the rescue scheme, said it was not responsi-ble for actions carried out under its previous management. Thebank’s former top executives and board members were removedwhen it was placed under special administration in February.

When contacted by Reuters, former Chairman Lorenzo Rosidenied any wrongdoing, without elaborating. Banca Etruria andthe three other banks operate in central Italy, a stronghold ofPrime Minister Matteo Renzi’s centre-left Democratic Party, andthe opposition has accused him and the market regulators of fail-ing to protect the 12,500 small savers who bought 430 millioneuros in junior debt.

Company subordinated bonds can appear attractive toinvestors because they usually offer higher interest rates than oth-er bonds, however they are also more risky because, in the eventof bankruptcy, they get repaid only after senior debt holders andother creditors have been reimbursed.

One pensioner hanged himself after his life savings werewiped out, while retail investors like Giannoni have staged vocalprotests to ensure their battle remains in the public eye.

The governor of the Bank of Italy, which is responsible for over-seeing Italian banks, said on Sunday it had done all it could toexpose the financial weakness of the four lenders over severalyears. Market watchdog Consob, which has to make sure investorsare properly informed when they buy financial products, said saleprospectuses for junior bonds always detailed the risks.

Renzi has said some of the bonds might have been mis-sold,and has set up a 100-million-euro compensation fund. Regulatorsare now calling for a ban on the sale of junior bank debt to retailinvestors. Swelling public anger against the government and reg-ulators reflects the political risk faced by Europe after it decided toalter the rules governing bank rescues. In previous bank bailouts -such as in Ireland in 2010 - the brunt of the cost was born by tax-payers. Since then European policymakers have gradually madeinvestors and creditors share the cost of a financial crisis that hasexposed the deep problems of some smaller European lenders.

From Jan. 1, more of the new EU rules aimed at shielding tax-payers will be phased in, meaning even senior bondholders andholders of current accounts above 100,000 euros will be hit if abank fails, before public money can be used.

‘I DON’T GET IT’Italy shows the public backlash can be severe. Many of those

hit were not sophisticated investors and say they did not fullyunderstand what they were buying.

“I’ve only had a primary school education, so either some-one tells me ‘if something happens to this bank you’re notgoing to get your money back’ or I don’t get it,” said Giannoni,clutching a plastic folder full of bank documents packed withtechnical jargon. “That subordinated word meant nothing tome.” The director of her bank branch, who has since moved to adifferent city, declined to comment when contacted by Reuters,only saying: “The situation is very delicate.”

The losses suffered by small investors are also shaking oneof the deepest foundations of Italy’s economic system: a net-work of tiny banks that for decades have served not only as fin-anciers but as advisers for families around the country.

Despite some industry consolidation, Italy has about 650lenders - one of the highest number in Europe - according toEuropean Central Bank data. Several people, some of them intheir late 80s, who saw their savings vanish in the bank rescuetold Reuters of bank directors calling them at home to suggestnew investments, and of being on first-name terms with staff attheir local branch.

When Banca Etruria was placed under special administrationafter a Bank of Italy audit found 2.8 billion euros of bad loansand capital levels below regulatory requirements, 45-year-oldhousewife Sonia Rigatti grew worried. “I asked if the bank couldgo bust. They said my position wasn’t risky and that no onehere has ever seen a bank fail,” said Rigatti, who lost 27,000euros in junior bonds she had inherited from her father.

CRUCIAL FUNDINGAuthorities have said the rescue of the four banks - Banca

Etruria, Banca Marche, Carichieti and Carife - drawing 3.6 billioneuros from a fund financed by the country’s healthy lenders,averted even bigger losses for their retail customers.

The government rushed through the rescue package onNov. 22, before the extra regulation takes effect, because itfeared that a full bail-in of the banks would have triggered abank run. But it was still forced to impose losses on some retailinvestors after the European Union rejected an alternativescheme that would have spared them, saying it violated EUstate aid rules.

Italian banks have long tapped the huge private wealth ofdomestic retail investors to sell them their own debt. During theeurozone crisis, when most Italian banks were shut out of inter-national funding markets, retail bonds became an even morecrucial source of financing.

In 2012, Italian households held more than 370 billion eurosof these notes, Bank of Italy data shows. According to financialadvisory firm Consultique, some 60 billion euros of junior bankbonds are currently outstanding. Banca Etruria has become thefocus of the mounting furore as it is the only one of the fourbanks to be listed on the stock market - so in theory shouldhave been subject to more stringent controls. It also sold thehighest amount of retail bonds.—Reuters

Investors wary as Russian pipeline project splits EU

EU firms, Gazprom all seek leverage

SAO PAULO: Brazil’s new finance minister sought to reas-sure investors yesterday as he took the reins of the reces-sion-hit economy, but the Sao Paulo stock market and theBrazilian real both fell.

In his first full business day on the job, Finance MinisterNelson Barbosa held a teleconference with internationalinvestors, promising to practice the same fiscal disciplineas his predecessor, Joaquim Levy.

“I want to underline that our economic policy is thesame. Our focus remains on fiscal adjustment and reducinginflation,” said the 46-year-old ally of embattled leftistPresident Dilma Rousseff.

The comments failed to reassure the markets, however.The Sao Paulo stock market fell 1.62 percent, and the realcurrency broke through the barrier of four to the dollar forthe first time in two and a half months, falling 1.44 percent.

The world’s seventh-largest economy is stuck in a deeprut, facing runaway prices, budget woes and forecasts thatits current recession will last two years.

The malaise has been exacerbated by a massive corrup-tion scandal at state oil giant Petrobras and the opening ofimpeachment proceedings against Rousseff.

Levy, who took on the finance portfolio in November2014, was supposed to be the pro-market saviour whosesteely budget cuts would get the government’s books inorder and the economy back on track.

But he failed to achieve his goal of rebalancing the pub-lic finances in a poor country with a big welfare spendingbill. As the political and economic woes mounted, hefound himself increasingly isolated in an administrationmore inclined to ramp up spending than cut it.

Barbosa, who was previously planning minister, is seenas less market-friendly. Economic analysts warned he facedan uphill battle to establish his credibility in the businessworld. “Either Barbosa does what needs to be done, or weturn out the lights and leave. The market doesn’t believe inBrazil anymore, period,” said Andre Ferreira of CorretoraFutura in Sao Paulo.

Barbosa vowed to hew to Congress’s primary surplustarget of 0.5 percent of GDP next year. Levy had insisted ona target of 0.7 percent of GDP. Brazilian media reports citeddisagreement with his colleagues over the goal as a reasonfor his departure. — AFP

Tata Steel in talksto sell UK unit toGreybull Capital

MUMBAI/LONDON: Tata Steel is in talks to sell its strug-gling British-based unit to investment firm GreybullCapital, the two firms said in a statement yesterday.

Britain’s largest steelmaker has been trying to sellits long products unit, which makes steel for use inconstruction, since last year - with increasing urgencyas a global steel crisis intensified and prices hit decadelows.

“This is an extremely critical time for the wholeindustry, and we have been working hard to exploreall options that could provide a future for the LongProducts Europe business,” said Karl Koehler, ChiefExecutive of Tata Steel’s European operations. Reutersreported on Monday that Greybull had emerged asthe favourite in the sale process. One source said thedeal was probably worth less than 500 million pounds,and that the buyer was not likely to take on any debt.

“Greybull Capital confirms that it has signed a letterof intent with Tata Steel... Whilst this is an importantmilestone, much work remains to be done to reach asuccessful outcome,” the investment firm said.

In October Tata Steel said it could axe about 1,200jobs at its long products unit, which is based inScunthorpe, northeast England and employs some4,700 people across Europe.

The news came as a huge blow to Britain’s embat-tled steel sector. Including the Tata cuts, the sector lostsome 4,000 jobs in October alone, equivalent to abouta fifth of its workforce.

British steelmakers pay some of the highest energycosts and green taxes in the world and are also strug-gling to compete with record Chinese steel imports,which they say have been unfairly subsidized by thegovernment. Tata Steel has been forced to slash costsand cut thousands of jobs since 2007 when it boughtAnglo-Dutch producer Corus for $13 billion, makingits Europe’s second largest steelmaker. The companyemploys about 30,000 people across Europe, includ-ing about 17,000 in Britain. — Reuters

Markets downbeat on Brazil’s new FM

ROME: People take part in a protest against the collapse of four Italian banks in central Rome yesterday. The four region-al Italian banks — Banca delle Marche, Banca Popolare dell’Etruria e del Lazio, Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara and Cassa diRisparmio della Provincia di Chieti — had all been put under special administration over the past two years. — AFP

Italian bank rescue leaves bitter families marooned


KUWAIT: The Camaro has long been afavorite amongst the youth due to itsthrilling speed, sporty design and bright,attractive colors. That is why Yusuf AhmedAlghanim & Sons Automotive, the exclu-sive distributor of Chevrolet cars in Kuwait,provides every thrill-seeking youth thechance to own a brand new Camaro at astarting price of only KD 8,499.

With a powerful V6 engine that gener-ates 323 hp, the Camaro has a higher andmore rigorous performance on the road.Camaro’s standard engine is not just anyV6. It is a dual overhead cam 3.6L V6engine that combines Direct Injectionand Variable Valve Timing to deliver thepower drivers hunger for without all thethirst. And the result? Drivers get the rushof 323 horsepower with the freedom of a

7.841 per 100 kilometer highway fuelconsumption rating. Apart from the mod-ernized, powerful and fuel efficientengine, the Camaro also allures passersbywith its superb, 20-inch LT or SS wheels,MyLink infotainment system, remoteengine starter as well as powerful LEDand HID headlamps. The Camaro’s beautyis completed with Pirelli PZerTM tires thatare known for their excellent perform-ance that is further enriched with theCamaro’s splendor and raw power.

If unbridled power is what you areafter, the aluminum Camaro SS 6.2L V8engine offers 428 horsepower and 569Nm of torque befitting the aggressivereputation. At only KD 12,999, The SSPerformance-tuned suspension has aload of upgraded features including

reengineered stabilizer bars , shockabsorbers and completely redevelopeddampers for an outstanding ride, bal-anced transitions, and excellent steeringand handling. Pair it with the standard 20”wheels with Pirelli PZerTM ultra-high per-formance tires and BremboTM brakes forthe ultimate in performance and control.The MyLink infotainment system, remoteengine starter, powerful LED and HIDheadlamps and head up display furtherthe Camaro SS’s value and leading marketpresence.

All customers who purchase a Camarofrom Alghanim will receive the benefits ofthe Chevrolet Care that entails new levelsof post-sale support and trust. ChevroletCare is an exceptional customer serviceprogram that is based on four main pil-

lars: Competitive and transparent servicecosts (especially for four-wheel drive vehi-cles), scheduled service appointmentbooking with same day delivery, qualityservice by certified technicians and 3years/100,000km warranty with 24x7roadside assistance.

If you are a Camaro fan, drop by thenearest Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & SonsAutomotive’s showroom today to takeadvantage of this once-in-a-lifetime offerthat brings you the car of your dreams atthe price you want. The Camaro is avail-able in all of Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim &Sons Automotive’s showrooms with avariety that suits everyone’s taste rangingfrom astonishing V6 engines to powerfulV8 engines. Yusuf A. Alghanim & SonsAutomotive adds the finishing touch to

the ownership experience with high-quality after-sales services. With theworld’s largest and most advanced auto-motive service center, customers will nev-er worry about their car’s service andmaintenance needs.

All customers who purchase aChevrolet from Alghanim will receive thebenefits of the Chevrolet Care, whichentails new levels of post-sale supportand trust. The Chevrolet Care is an excep-tional customer service that is based onfour main pillars: competitive and trans-parent service costs (especially for four-wheel drive vehicles), scheduled serviceappointment booking with same daydelivery, quality service by certified tech-nicians and 3yr/100,000km warranty with24x7 roadside assistance.

Seize the opportunity now with Chevrolet AlghanimThe 2015 Camaro... starting from KD 8499

KUWAIT: Dimah Capital is proud to announcethe joint venture formation between LoweEnterprise Investors a full integrated US basedreal estate and Dimah Capital at a participationratio of 10 percent and 90 percent respectively.The joint venture partnership is structured toleverage Dimah capital with real estate opportu-nity flow and the possibility to partnership withLEI across the 52 states in North America.

Hosam Al-Muzaiel, Charmain of the board atDimah capital emphasized that the joint ventureas part of Dimah real estate investment expan-sion to North American. Hosam went on sayingthat we will utilize our partners experience toenhance and sustain our real estate investmentquality, diversification, investment risks and pro-vide Dimah with an unlimited supply of marketinformation and knowledge. The joint venture isalso structure to complement our existing port-folio and expansion strategy, which shall entailwith its value on Dimah overall portfolio per-formance and subsequently adding value to ourshareholders capital.

Hosam also added that Dimah is currently inthe process of finalizing a second joint venturein the US within the hospitality sector and look-ing at further joint ventures in Europe andspecifically in the UK to embrace our existingportfolio and real estate expansion internation-ally. Lowe Enterprise investors “LEI” is a diversi-fied national real estate company active in com-mercial, hospitality and residential propertyinvestment, management and development.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm main-tains regional offices in Denver, Washington, DC,San Diego, San Mateo, Irvine and Philadelphia,with projects throughout the US.

Founded in 1972 by Chairman and CEORobert J. Lowe, the firm has an executive staff of175 and a total employment of over 10,000.Lowe is owned by a group of employee and

retired employee shareholders, 28 of which areactive in the firm. Over the past 41 years, LoweEnterprises has developed, acquired or man-aged more than $17.5 billion of real estateassets. Lowe’s goal is to create value in realestate for institutional, corporate and privateclients and partners through investment, assetmanagement and development.

Strategic partnership between Dimah Capital and Lowe Enterprise Investors

DUBAI: The all-new Ford Figo has an interi-or usually associated with higher trim spec-ification models and central to that isMyFord Dock.

Bringing the Figo to a whole new levelof connectivity, MyFord Dock is multi-faceted, affording the opportunity to safelystore, mount, and charge your smartphonefrom the clean, stylish, and discreet casingon the dashboard, meaning it’s also per-fectly positioned to incorporate the hand-set’s satellite navigation system, and tostream stored music through Figo’s soundsystem.

“First time buyers require the same levelsof connectivity as other drivers and thatmakes the Ford Figo the perfect vehicle fortheir needs,” said Trevor Hale, Ford MiddleEast and Africa Director of Communications.

“The MyFord Dock, in an easy-to-accessposition on the dashboard, allows drivers toimmerse themselves in a modern day cabin,packed with smart technology, bringing agreater level of thoughtful featuresdesigned to help you get the most out ofthe time drivers spend in their vehicles.”

The sub-compact Figo is Ford’s smallestoffering in the Middle East, and comes in achoice of 1.2-litre engine with a manualtransmission, or a 1.5-litre offering bothmanual and automatic versions.

Ford Motor Company, a global automo-tive industry leader based in Dearborn,Mich., manufactures or distributes automo-biles across six continents. With about197,000 employees and 67 plants world-wide, the company’s automotive brandsinclude Ford and Lincoln.

Intelligent MyFord Dockadds refined dimension

and feel in new Ford Figo

DUBAI: Ford’s regional office yesterdayannounced the appointment of ThierrySabbagh to the role of ManagingDirector, Ford Middle East. Sabbaghmakes the internal switch from his posi-tion as Ford’s Regional Sales Director,which he held since 2012, where he wasresponsible for supporting Ford andLincoln dealers across the GCC marketsas well as Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq,Afghanistan and Yemen.

In his new role, Sabbagh aims to growshare profitability, while also creating aleading customer experience for thebrand. And, in constructing the best dis-tributor network in the region, Sabbagh’svision to understand and develop theMiddle East market is in line with the OneFord Plan.

“For the continued success of Ford inour region, certain priorities includingcustomer satisfaction will help us reachour goals,” said Sabbagh. “An improveddealer network and level of capability,along with making the customer sales

and service experiences second-to-none,can ensure the growth of Ford in thisregion moving forward.”

Sabbagh also intends to improve dis-tributor marketing efforts, while also get-ting serious about the fleet and commer-cial vehicle business.

Sabbagh to lead future growth strategy of Ford Middle East

Thierry Sabbagh, new ManagingDirector for Ford Middle East.

SHARJAH: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the lead-ing jewellery retailer launched its 143rd outletglobally and third outlet in Sharjah. Ali Salim Al-Midfa, Chairman - Sharjah Airport Authorityinaugurated the showroom on 17th December2015 in the presence of Sheikh Faisal Saoud Al-Qassimi, Director- Sharjah Airport Authority. DrPA Ibrahim Haji, Co-chairman - Malabar Group;Shamlal Ahamed M P, Managing Director-International Operations of Malabar Gold &Diamonds; Abdul Salam K P, Group ExecutiveDirector - Malabar Gold & Diamonds and AbdulBasheer -Zonal Head - Malabar Gold &Diamonds, Sharjah. Members of Sharjah AirportAuthority, DUFRY Sharjah and well-wishers alsoattended the inauguration.

This elegant showroom conveniently locatedat Sharjah Airport, Transit Area, Opposite theDuty Free will be the1stshowroom of its kindinside an Airport. It opens up a new businessarena targeting global travellers and transit pas-sengers. This outlet will be the first of its kindoperating 24/7 and throughout 365 days. ‘Suchan outlet offers customers an opportunity to buytheir favorite jewellery while transiting or leav-ing for their home country. Truly a last minuteopportunity to buy a gift for a loved one or forself-gifting,’ said Shamlal Ahamed M P, ManagingDirector- International Operations of MalabarGold & Diamonds.

Like all other Malabar Gold & Diamonds out-lets, this showroom displays a significant collec-tion of traditional as well as contemporary jew-ellery in gold, certified diamonds, platinum and

precious stone jewellery from across the worldthat can hold you spell-bound with their awe-inspiring beauty. The leap from a single store to143 outlets globally did not happens overnight.It was achieved through consistent effort & aninsistence on setting exceptionally high stan-dards to meet the aspiration of customers over aperiod of 22 years. Their dedicated and highlyskilled employees invest heart and soul in striv-ing to achieve maximum perfection. Absolutecustomer satisfaction is the overriding promisein everything they do.

The group is in the forefront when it comesto CSR activities as well. The group sets apart afixed percentage of its net profit to the benefitof needy and the charity projects of MalabarGold & Diamonds have touched the lives ofthousands of people across the world. Theyfocus primarily in five priority areas such ashealth, education, environment, housing andwomen empowerment. In Sharjah, MalabarGold & Diamonds operates showrooms at LuluHypermarket - Al-Nahda, Rolla Square &Sharjah Airport.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds launches its 143rd outlet at Sharjah Airport

ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways, the national airlineof the United Arab Emirates, presents a fantasticopportunity for travelers from Kuwait to havethe best travel experience in Malaysia through aglobal partnership agreement with TourismMalaysia.

The agreement between Etihad Airways andTourism Malaysia was signed during the ExpoMilano 2015 exhibition. It is aimed at boostinginbound tourism to Malaysia by leveraging theairline’s global passenger network, EtihadAirways and Tourism Malaysia will put intoeffect a range of joint marketing activities tar-geting Malaysia’s leading inbound visitor mar-kets - the UK, US, Europe (Germany, France andItaly), and the Middle East region (UAE, SaudiArabia, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar andKuwait). Research by Tourism Malaysia revealedin 2014 there were more than 1.2 million visitsfrom these key markets, a 10 per cent increasecompared to 2013.

Malaysia is one of the top destinations ofEtihad Airways. Since 2007, the airline has car-ried more than one million passengers to andfrom the country, offering travellers from allaround the world the chance to enjoy the manyattractions of the country.

This partnership underscores the long-standing relationship between Etihad Airwaysand Malaysia, provides further opportunities forour customers in Kuwait to see and experienceall the wonderful things that Malaysia has to

offer. From the cosmopolitan capital of KualaLumpur to the exotic islands of Langkawi andPenang to the stunning Johor Bahru and islandof Borneo - Sabah, travelers flying in fromKuwait will be truly amazed by the unique cul-ture and tradition of Malaysia.”

Eithad Airways offers five daily flights fromKuwait to Abu Dhabi. It then flies twice dailybetween Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur, andoffers flights to other regions in Malaysiathrough its codeshare partner Malaysia Airlines.

Etihad Airways began operations in 2003,and in 2014 carried 14.8 million passengers.From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies toor has announced plans to serve 113 passengerand cargo destinations in the Middle East,Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.The airline has a fleet of 120 Airbus and Boeingaircraft, and more than 200 aircraft on firmorder, including 66 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and five Airbus A380s.

Etihad Airways holds equity investments inairberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, JetAirways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-basedDarwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional. EtihadAirways, along with airberlin, Air Serbia, AirSeychelles, Alitalia, Etihad Regional, Jet Airwaysand NIKI, also participate in Etihad AirwaysPartners, a new brand that brings together like-minded airlines to offer customers more choicethrough improved networks and schedules andenhanced frequent flyer benefits.

Etihad Airways offers finest travel packages with Tourism Malaysia

MADRID: The Bank of Spain hiked its growthforecasts for the Spanish economy this yearand next yesterday, though it warned in thewake of an inconclusive general election ofpotentially damaging uncertainty overreforms and budget policies. The vote on Dec.20 delivered a highly fragmented result, mak-ing it hard for any party to form a govern-ment and heralding weeks of tough negotia-tions as the centre-right People’s Party (PP)seeks allies to stay in power.

The Bank of Spain said that potentialheadwinds for the economy included doubtsover policy in Spain, as well as a potentiallyharsher-than-expected slowdown in emerg-ing markets.

“Internally, the main source of uncertaintyis associated with the evolution of economicpolicies, given how much the reform agendaand budget policies in particular affect confi-dence,” the Bank of Spain said in a monthlyreport. Spain’s economy has recovered from adeep recession to become one of the fastest-growing in the euro zone this year, as highunemployment starts falling off, feeding apick-up in household spending.

On a quarterly basis, the pace of growthslowed slightly in the July to September peri-od, reaching 0.8 percent. The Bank of Spainsaid yesterday it expected the economy toexpand by 0.8 percent once again in the

fourth quarter. It also raised its annual growthforecast for 2015 to 3.2 percent from 3.1 per-cent, and for 2016 to 2.8 percent from 2.7 per-cent. Official preliminary data is due on Jan.29. “The slight slowdown observed in the sec-ond half of the year ... does not alter the cen-tral scenario of sustained growth in grossdomestic product in the coming quarters,” theBank of Spain said.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s PP hadpinned its hopes of securing another term inoffice on the economic rebound, but it hasalso been hit hard by corruption scandals andmany Spaniards are still worse off than theywere before the downturn.

The PP imposed deep spending cuts at theheight of the recession and pushed through alabor reform that makes it easier for compa-nies to fire staff - policies that were praised bysome economists and European Union part-ners but which have been unpopular withvoters.

Rajoy’s party fell far short of a majority inparliament, and left-wing opponents havealready signaled they will not support a gov-ernment led by the party. An alliance of left-wing parties, including anti-austerity newcom-er Podemos (“We Can”), is another option, buteven by clubbing together they may still strug-gle to reach a sufficient number of seats orform a stable government. — Reuters

Bank of Spain hikes growth forecasts despite poll crisis

HANOI: Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Vietnamese startup community yes-terday. — AP

ABU DHABI: BT today announced that itis making it easier for institutions with apresence in North America to access for-eign exchange, metals and commoditiesmarkets via the OREX trading platform ofleading financial services company, ADSSecurities. Abu Dhabi-based ADSSecurities is the largest brokerage by vol-ume in the Middle East and one of thefastest growing forex and investmentcompanies globally. The company willuse BT Radianz Services to allow its grow-ing international investor client base toaccess its new trading hub in New York,which opened in October this year.

BT Radianz Services are designedspecifically for the global financial mar-kets industry. They include connectivityand hosting services between and withintrading venues, as well as the BT RadianzCloud - the world’s largest secure net-worked financial community consistingof thousands of banks, brokers, investorsand application providers. As part of itsinternational growth plans, ADSSecurities will leverage a range ofRadianz Services and BT’s global partner-ship agreement with Equinix, the world’slargest colocation provider, to create anew trading hub in Equinix’s Secaucus(New York) data centre campus.

BT will host ADS Securities’ OREX trad-ing system - the first proprietary, multi-asset online trading platform to be com-missioned and developed from theMiddle East - in the Equinix Secaucuscampus. In addition to co-location serv-ices, BT will also provide hosted infra-structure such as high performanceservers and switches, as well as managedconnectivity to the platform on ADSSecurities’ behalf.

Philippe Ghanem, vice chairman &CEO of ADS Securities, said: “New York isrecognised as one of the most importantfinancial markets in the world. Soextending our trading opportunities to

this major financial district is a naturalextension of our firm’s strategy to bridgeflows from Asia, to Europe and NorthAmerica.”

This new agreement between BT andADS Securities builds on an existing rela-tionship between the two firms. In 2012,BT was selected by the brokerage firm tohost its trading platform in London. Thelatest contract is another example of BT’s‘Cloud of Clouds’ vision, which allowslarge organisations around the world toconnect easily and securely to the cus-tomers, applications and data they need,independently of where they are hosted.Reflecting the Cloud of Clouds approach,BT will manage third party performancedelivery and security on ADS Securities’behalf, all under a single service levelagreement.

“With its Cloud of Clouds vision, BT ishelping us to make our OREX tradingplatform accessible to thousands of cus-tomers in the BT Radianz Cloud, link-upwith third party data centres, and pro-vide connectivity to investors via theinternet and headquarters in the UnitedArab Emirates. We look upon BT as atrusted, reliable and experienced partnerthat can help us achieve our growthstrategies,” said Ghanem.

Ashish Gupta, president, global bank-ing & financial markets, BT GlobalServices said: “BT Radianz hosting andconnectivity services are helping ADSSecurities to grow its business andexpand its global reach. By working withBT, the trading firm can now extend itsclient base and increase liquidity byleveraging an existing community ofcustomers, both within the Equinix datacentre ecosystem and in the BT RadianzCloud. We are delighted to once againwork with ADS Securities, combining tal-ent, technology and tools with sectorexpertise to help the brokerage firm torealise its international ambitions.”

BT helps ADS securities extend

operations into North America

t e c h n o l o g yWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

BERLIN: On the top floor of an old brick buildingin the heart of Berlin, a group of journalists andtech enthusiasts are working to spur the Syrianmedia revolution. Their weapon is an unassum-ing black case the size of a shoebox that allowsopposition radio stations in Syria to transmitinside hostile territory. Dubbed PocketFM, thedevice is basically a low-powered radio transmit-ter. Coupled with a satellite dish to receive newprograms, a car battery for power and a one-meter antenna, it can broadcast FM radio withina 5-km radius.

That’s enough to cover a town or a city dis-trict, said Philipp Hochleichter, who overseesdevelopment of the device for the Berlin-basednonprofit organization Media in Cooperationand Transition. The group has been trainingjournalists in conflict zones for more than adecade and often relies on FM radio to reachpopulations in far-flung areas that don’t haveaccess to the Internet or smartphones. But whenthe group realized that shifting front lines andthe brutal treatment of journalists meant oper-ating large broadcast antenna could becometoo cumbersome or risky, it developedPocketFM.

It’s now being used to covertly broadcast innine locations, including two that are controlledby the Islamic State group, said Hochleichter.Connected to a solar panel, a PocketFM trans-mitter can theoretically work autonomously forlong periods of time. The project, which alsoincludes compiling a daily best-of from ninecooperating radio stations that is beamed downby satellite, is financed by the German ForeignMinistry. It cooperates only with moderateopposition groups who have to abide by a codeof conduct.

“Of course it’s necessary for us to make surethey don’t fall into propaganda scheme, which isvery tough in Syria at the moment,” said Najat

Abdulhaq, a Palestinian journalist who managesthe project. Listeners might be surprised to findthat aside from urgently needed information -which borders are open, what are the prices inthe market, how are refugees abroad faring -there’s a fair amount of light entertainment.“People have a day-to-day life despite conflict,”said Abdulhaq. “Despite the sadness and thewar, people like to listen to music and even com-edy.”

Hochleichter said Monday the group is cur-rently working on its third version of PocketFM,which it hopes to complete by the middle ofnext year. As with previous versions, the tech-

nology is decidedly low key, with a $40Raspberry Pi computer at the heart of thedevice. “We’re not a hardware company that’sgot $100,000 to develop new technology,”Hochleichter said. The next version will beslightly more powerful and boast a new securityfeature that allows users to remotely switch offthe device by text message to prevent it beingtraced.

With the war in Syria running for almost fiveyears, the third version is almost certain to seeuse. “I wish, but I would be very naive if I wouldbelieve, that the conflict would be over nextyear,” said Abdulhaq. — AP

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: X-ray vision, acomic book fantasy for decades, is becominga reality in a lab at MIT. A group ofresearchers led by Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology professor Dina Katabi has devel-oped software that uses variations in radiosignals to recognize human silhouettesthrough walls and track their movements.Researchers say the technology will be ableto help health care providers and familieskeep closer tabs on toddlers and the elderly,and it could be a new strategic tool for lawenforcement and the military.

“Think of it just like cameras, except thatit’s not a camera,” said Fadel Adib, aresearcher on the MIT team developing thedevice. “It’s a sensor that can monitor peopleand allow you to control devices just bypointing at them,” he said. Work began in2012 to determine how wireless signalscould be used to “see” what’s happening inanother room, said Katabi, who directs theMIT Wireless Center. “At first we were justinterested ... can you at all use wireless sig-nals to detect what’s happening in occluded

spaces, behind a wall, couch, something likethat,” Katabi said.

“It turned out that we were able to detectthat. And when we figured out we coulddetect that, we started asking moreadvanced questions: Could we use it todetect exactly how people are moving in aspace if they are behind a wall?” The devicedisplays the signal on a screen, where theperson’s movements can be tracked in realtime. It depicts the target as a red dot mov-ing around the room, occupying a chair andspeeding up or slowing down.

The wireless signals used to track a per-son’s motions also can measure the individ-ual’s breathing and heart rate - and potential-ly identify the person based on the shape ofhis or her skeleton, said researcher ZachKabelac. “The person won’t be wearing any-thing on them, and the person it’s trackingdoesn’t even need to know the device isthere,” Kabelac said. “If something unfortu-nate happens to them, like a fall, the devicewill contact the caregiver that they chose toalert” by generating a text message or an

email, he added. That makes health careapplications especially interesting, Katabisaid. But she also sees military and lawenforcement possibilities - particularly inhostage situations. “You don’t want to sendthe police inside without knowing where thepeople are standing or where the hostagesare,” she said. “If there is someone with a gun,where they are standing?”

A company set up to market the technol-ogy, now dubbed Emerald, will spin out ofthe MIT lab next year, with a goal of market-ing the device early in 2017, and it’s expect-ed to sell for $250 to $300, Adib said. Theteam is working to make the device smallerand to develop an interface that will let usersconfigure it through a smartphone app,Katabi added. The technology raises ques-tions about privacy rights and intrusion, andAdib said the team gave serious thought tothose implications. “The user interface willbe friendly for setting it up and using it athome, but it will be very hard to use it totrack someone just by pointing it at theirwall,” he said. -—AP

X-ray vision? New tech making it a reality for $300

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: In this Nov 19, 2015 photo, MIT researchers EmadFarag (left) and Fadel Adib walk through a room with chairs as a screen displayshow RF-Capture is tracking their movements through the wall behind them onthe MIT campus. — AP

BERLIN: Philipp Hochleichter of the MICT (Media in Cooperation and Transmission) organiza-tion talks behind Pocket FM Radio Transmitters on Monday. — AP

Radio rebels: Group makes

tiny transmitters for SyriaDevices covertly broadcasting in nine locations

HANOI: Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s visit toVietnam gives hope to people in the localstartup community that they could succeedglobally. Speaking to about 200 people in acafe in central Hanoi on Tuesday, Pichai saidhe did not see any reason why Vietnam wouldnot be successful globally, given the size ofthe local market, high Internet usage and thestrong entrepreneurial culture. “I think it’s justa matter of time, and I think many of you arealready working on something like that,” hesaid.

Pichai said Vietnamese startups can learnfrom the experiences of those in India thatstarted locally, and “once they get thestrength they can take it outside”. He addedVietnamese startups may not reach a globalscale at once, but they can team with entre-preneurs from other countries in the regionand “can use that strength to launch some-thing global.” Pichai said Vietnam is growinginto a big market and the people who serve itwill gain the confidence to think bigger,which helps them achieve global success.

Pham Huu Ngon, owner of a local trans-portation startup using technology, says

Pichai’s visit will inspire others. “His visitinspires the startup community and engi-neers in Vietnam,” Ngon said. “Given Vietnam’shigh Internet and mobile phone usage, wecan do good locally and then expand to thecountries in the region.” Government figuresshow 52 percent of Vietnam’s 93 million peo-ple use the Internet and the country has 128million mobile phone subscribers.

Ngon said Pichai’s position as CEO ofGoogle “gives hope to the Vietnamese com-munity that a Vietnamese can lead a majorcompany in the world.” Pichai, born in India,was appointed Google CEO in August. EarlierPichai met with Prime Minister Nguyen TanDung, the government said. Dung toldPichai that as Vietnam deepens its interna-tional integration, the communist govern-ment creates favorable conditions for inter-national technology and information corpo-rations including Google to expand businessin Vietnam, the government said on its web-site. It quoted Pichai as saying Google willhelp train about 1,400 IT engineers inVietnam to develop the industry andVietnam’s society and economy. — AP

Google CEO’s Vietnam visit

gives hope to local startups

SINGAPORE: More than three million accounts ofHello Kitty fans were left vulnerable to theft byhackers, but there is no evidence any data has beenstolen, the Hong Kong-based company hosting thedata said yesterday. A spokesman for Sanrio Digital,part-owned by Sanrio Co Ltd , the Japanese ownerof the Hello Kitty brand, said it had fixed the holeafter being notified by security researcher ChrisVickery that personal information of its users wasaccessible.

Vickery told Reuters by e-mail that the companyhad plugged the holes he had found in threeservers. But he said the database had been exposedfor nearly a month, meaning that anyone whoknew its internet address could have accessed it. “Itwould have been extremely easy for a bad guy totake the data,” he said. “Extremely easy. Almost aseasy as downloading a web page.”

Sanrio Digital said in a statement that “at thistime we have no indication that any personal infor-mation was stolen.” The spokesman said 3.3 million

accounts had been vulnerable, including thenames, ages and gender of fans. He said that theaccounts all belonged to users of theSanrioTown.com website, a community for fans ofHello Kitty. No credit card or other payment infor-mation was included in the vulnerable data, andpasswords “were securely encrypted,” according tothe statement.

The spokesman said while the company techni-cally doesn’t allow minors to sign up, this wasimplemented through an honour system, meaningthat those younger than 13 could register by lyingabout their age. News of the hole in the SanrioDigital-hosted site follows last month’s breach ofanother Hong Kong company, electronic toymakerVTech Holdings Ltd. Millions of records of parentsand children were compromised.

In that case the hacker who found the vulnera-bility stole the data but shared some of it with aresearcher and was reported as saying he had noplans to sell it. UK police arrested a 21-year old man

last week in connection with the hack. US-basedVickery, who explores security vulnerabilities in hisspare time and reports them to the affected com-panies, said the hole in the Hello Kitty site was theresult of a simple misconfiguration of a database,leaving it open to public access without a pass-word or authentication. He said he had foundthousands of similar vulnerabilities simply bysearching an online database of connecteddevices.

Sanrio Co is best known for its Hello Kitty char-acter which emblazons items ranging from sta-tionery to clothing. Sanrio Digital is 70 percentowned by Hong Kong games company TyphoonGames Ltd, with the rest held by Sanrio Wave HongKong Co, a unit of Sanrio Co. A spokesman forSanrio in Tokyo said that the Hong Kong websitehad no connection to a Sanrio shareholder data-base, which leaked data earlier this year through asecurity hole in a system managed by a sharehold-er service company. — Reuters

‘Hello Kitty’ fan site exposed

LONDON: Apple has warned that a British plan togive intelligence agencies extra online surveillancepowers could weaken the security of personal datafor millions of people and paralyse the tech sector.Britain unveiled proposals for new online powerslast month that it said were needed to keep thecountry safe from criminals, fraudsters and mili-tants, including the right to find out which web-sites people visit.

Critics however say the Investigatory Powers Billgives British spies authority beyond those availablein other Western countries, including the UnitedStates, and that it constitutes an assault on person-al freedom. “We believe it is wrong to weaken secu-rity for hundreds of millions of law-abiding cus-tomers so that it will also be weaker for the veryfew who pose a threat,” the iPhone maker said.

Apple submitted its response to a British parlia-mentary committee that is scrutinising the new billin the latest clash between Western governmentsseeking to monitor the threat from Islamist mili-tants and online companies working to maintainsecurity. Apple said the draft laws could weaken

data encryption, sanction interference with itsproducts, force non-UK companies to break thelaws of their home countries, and spark similar leg-islation in other countries that could paralyse firmsunder the weight of dozens of contradictory laws.

Lending support to Apple’s view, Microsoft alsosaid an international approach would keep peoplemore secure than competing measures from differ-ent countries. “The legislation must avoid conflictswith the laws of other nations and contribute to asystem where likeminded governments worktogether, not in competition, to keep people moresecure,” a spokeswoman said.

Apple said in its submission an attempt toforce non-UK companies to take action that violat-ed the laws of their own countries “would immo-bilize substantial portions of the tech sector andspark international conflicts”. The British govern-ment, which failed with a previous attempt toincrease online surveillance dubbed the “snoop-ers’ charter”, has said the proposals will not banencryption or do anything to undermine the secu-rity of people’s data.

But Apple said proposals in the new bill wouldweaken encryption, such as the explicit obligationon service providers to help intercept data andhack suspects’ devices. The California-based com-pany, which uses end-to-end encryption on itsFaceTime and iMessage services, said the best wayto protect against increasingly sophisticated hack-ing schemes and cyber attacks was by putting intoplace increasingly stronger - not weaker - encryp-tion. “In this rapidly evolving cyber-threat environ-ment, companies should remain free to implementstrong encryption to protect customers,” it said.

As well as being able to carry out bulk inter-ception of communications data, the bill wouldalso allow the security services to perform “equip-ment interference”, whereby spies take over com-puters or smartphones to access their data. In itssubmission to the draft bill, Apple criticised anysuch requirement to create “backdoors” that couldweaken the protections built into Apple products.“A key left under the doormat would not just bethere for the good guys,” it said. “The bad guyswould find it too.” — Reuters

Apple slams British plans to

extend online surveillance

H E A LT HWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

GARENO: Photo shows trees in Gareno, 175 km southeast of Quito, Ecuador. Three Amazonian ethnic groups of Ecuador, Brazil and Peru have changed their practices in defense of the biodiversity on the year ofthe climate agreement in Paris. (Right) A Waorani indigenous woman eats a cacao fruit next to a friend in Gareno, 175 km southeast of Quito. — AFP photos

GARENO: The indigenous peoples of the Amazonare far removed from the Paris conference roomswhere politicians and technocrats in dark suitshashed out a historic deal on curbing climatechange to close out the year. But they are takingbold action of a different kind to save the rich bio-diversity of the planet’s largest rainforest, whosesurvival is essential to limit global warming.

In Ecuador, one tribe has swapped hunting forgrowing cocoa. Another in Brazil has started man-aging its fish stocks. And one in Peru set up anindigenous local government to protect its envi-ronment from oil, mining and logging companies.The Waorani barely seem to notice the stiflingtropical heat in Gareno, a hamlet of wooden hutsin the middle of the Ecuadoran jungle. Everymorning, they chant a ritual work song in theirnative language, Waotededo, before heading outto their fields for the day. Keen to preserve theirenvironment, in 2010 they gave up hunting, theirtraditional livelihood, and replaced it with farming

cocoa. The Waorani had noticed the game theyhunted was increasingly hard to find. To combatthe problem, an indigenous women’s group, theAssociation of Waorani Women of the EcuadoranAmazon (AMWAE), created a program that givescocoa trees to local women if their husbands stophunting.

“They gave up hunting wild animals, and wetook up farming without cutting down the forest,”said AMWAE president Patricia Nenquihui. Tenindigenous communities are participating in theproject - 70 families who farm 25 hectares (60acres) in the eastern provinces of Pastaza andNapo. The association buys their crop from themfor $1.25 a pound - 45 cents above the marketprice-and sends it to the capital, Quito, to bemade into chocolate.

At first, the men were “upset” over the pro-gram, said Nenquihui. But the older generationsadmitted that hunters had to walk up to one fullday through the jungle to hunt the animals they

sold to provide for their families. “We opened oureyes,” said Ligia Enomenga, a 26-year-old widowwho is raising her six children thanks to the mon-ey she earns growing cocoa. “Before, (the men)hunted a lot. Now they have joined the cocoaproject and stopped killing animals,” she said. “Wehunted a lot... Wild pigs, monkeys, toucans.Sometimes we brought out five or six quintals(500 to 600 pounds, 230 to 275 kilograms),” saidMoises Enomenga, whose wife now farms cocoainstead.

Saving the pirarucuIn Brazil, home to most of the region’s six mil-

lion square kilometers (2.4 million square miles) offorest, the Paumari people are taking a similarapproach to save the pirarucu, an enormous fishthat can reach up to 4.5 meters long. Pirarucu fish-ing was banned when the enormous gray andhot-pink river monsters began to disappear. Butafter seven years of work with a conservation

group called the Native Amazon Operation(Opan), the Paumari successfully lobbied to re-legalize sustainable fishing practices.

“It goes far beyond marketing the fish. It’sabout strengthening community groups,strengthening fish stocks and generating income.Those are the main sources of revenue for thiscommunity,” said Gustavo Silveira, a coordinator atOpan. “The management and control they haveover their territory is a fantastic thing.” Under theprogram, pirarucu that measure less than a meterand a half must be released. Brazilian environmen-tal authorities do a population count every year,and the Paumari are in charge of guarding thearea’s lakes from poachers.

‘Protect our ancestral lands’Meanwhile, the Wampis nation in Peru has set

up its own government in a bid to stop deforesta-tion and the destructive presence of oil and min-ing companies on its lands. “We’re not asking for

independence, simply to protect our ancestrallands and give us title to 1.3 million hectareswhere more than 100 Wampis communities live,”said Wrays Perez Ramirez, the president of thenewly formed indigenous government, which isnot officially recognized by the Peruvian authori-ties. “The next generations are going to need nat-ural resources to survive.”

In southwestern Colombia, the Inga people arelikewise fighting to protect the biodiversity oftheir lands-threatened, in this case, by the guerril-la war that has wracked the country for the past50 years. They have won government funding toeradicate more than 22,000 hectares of poppyfields, the raw ingredient for heroin.

The fields were threatening the local ecosys-tem and fueling violent clashes between armedgroups in the region. “The Earth was crying... andasking us to take care of her,” said HernandoChindoy, the governor of the Inga de Aponteindigenous reserve. — AFP

Amazon peoples change ancestral ways to save forest

SYDNEY: Australia yesterday approved a contro-versial port expansion to support mining proj-ects and the dredging of 1.1 million cubicmeters of spoil despite fears it threatens theGreat Barrier Reef. The decision, creating a hugeport capable of handling up to 120 million tonsof coal per annum, comes two months after thegovernment green-lighted an Indian-backedplan to build one of the world’s biggest mines inthe same area of Queensland state.

The Aus$16.5 bill ion (US$12.1 bill ion)Carmichael project by Adani Enterprises in theGalilee Basin, home to vast coal reserves, hasattracted fierce criticism, requiring the fossil fuelto be shipped through the deepwater AbbotPoint Coal Terminal which is currently at capaci-ty. Environmentalists have argued that anyexpansion at Abbot Point risked the WorldHeritage-listed reef’s health and would destroylocal habitats. “The Queensland state Labor gov-ernment’s Abbot Point Growth Gateway projecthas been approved in accordance with nationalenvironment law subject to 30 strict conditions,”a spokeswoman for Environment Minister GregHunt said.

Earlier plans were for at least three millioncubic meters of material to be dredged anddumped into waters around the Great BarrierReef Marine Park, but this was later abandonedafter an outcry. The approval now permits 1.1million cubic meters to be dredged, allowingmore freighters to dock at Abbot Point, near thetown of Bowen, but spoil must be disposed ofon existing industrial land. “No dredge materialwill be placed in the World Heritage Area or theCaley Valley Wetlands,” said Hunt’s spokes-woman. “The port area is at least 20 kilometersfrom any coral reef and no coral reef will beimpacted.”

The decision comes barely a week after 195nations, including Australia, agreed in Paris to tryand limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels.Hunt said he was comfortable that good-qualityAustralian coal would feed Indian electricity con-sumption.

“If they didn’t have Australian participation...they would be using lower quality fuel,” he toldABC radio. “So lower quality fuel and lower effi-

ciency (power) stations-so the net global impactof not using Australian fuels would be for emis-sions to go up, not down.”

‘Illogical, irresponsible’Adani, which has previously accused environ-

mental activists of exploiting legal loopholes tostall its massive open-cut and undergroundmine which is forecast to produce 60 milliontons of thermal coal a year for export, welcomedthe decision. “The expansion of Abbot Point, thelifeblood of Bowen, is key to Adani’s plans todeliver 10,000 direct and indirect jobs andAus$22 bill ion in taxes and royalties toQueensland,” it said in a statement. Critics arguethat plunging coal prices make the developmentfinancially unviable, while major European and

US banks have refused funding due to environ-mental concerns. Greenpeace said the AbbotPoint go-ahead was “irresponsible for the reef,illogical and unnecessary”.

“Adani hasn’t got the Aus$16 billion, no-one’slending it to them, and coal prices are tanking.Even the International Energy Agency is ques-tioning the project,” said Greenpeace reef cam-paigner Shani Tager. WWF-Australia said thewaters around Abbot Point were home todugongs, sea turtles and snubfin dolphins whilethe dredge spoil would be dumped on land adja-cent to wetlands used by migratory birds. “It’sdisappointing that the minister has approvedthis project within the Great Barrier Reef WorldHeritage Area, despite the damage it will do,”spokeswoman Louise Matthiesson said. — AFP

Photo shows an aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands, along the central coast of Queensland. — AFP

Australia approves coal port expansion near Barrier ReefCarmichael project attracts fierce criticism

NEW YORK: New York City has warned landlords,employers and businesses they could be runningafoul of the law by purposely calling a transgenderwoman “him” or “Mr” when she prefers a female titleand pronoun, or by barring her from using awomen’s restroom. New guidelines detail the legalprotections of transgender and gender-noncon-forming New Yorkers and what constitutes discrimi-nation under the city’s Human Rights Law, the NewYork City Commission on Human Rights said onMonday. Some 25,000 transgender and gendernon-conforming people live in New York City,where discrimination based on gender identity andexpression has been illegal since 2002.

“Today’s new guidelines strengthen those lawsby ensuring that every transgender and gendernon-conforming person in New York receives thedignity and respect they deserve,” Mayor Bill deBlasio said in a statement.

The guidelines said dress codes requiring mento wear ties or women to wear skirts are discrimina-tory. Failing to provide employee health benefits forgender-affirming care or failing to accommodatepeople undergoing gender transition, such as med-ical appointments, could violate the law as well,they said. “It’s a huge step forward and really cata-pults New York City to the forefront of the struggle

for transgender rights,” said Michael Silverman,executive director of the Transgender LegalDefense and Education Fund, a non-profit law officebased in New York.

“This is an extremely positive development fortransgender New Yorkers who face enormous ratesof discrimination, unemployment and difficultyaccessing things like health care that people takefor granted.” Three-quarters of transgender NewYorkers have reported harassment and mistreat-ment in the workplace, and more than half saidthey had been verbally harassed or disrespected inpublic, according to a survey cited by theCommission on Human Rights.

One in five said they had been refused a homebecause of their gender identity, the 2011 surveysaid. New York City provides stronger protectionsthan most local laws in the United States and goesbeyond federal law as well, said Silverman and oth-er advocates. “By issuing some of the strongest andmost comprehensive legal guidance in the country,New York City has taken a major step toward ensur-ing that transgender and gender non-conformingNew Yorkers can enjoy dignity, respect and accessto opportunity in our city,” said Donna Lieberman,executive director of the New York Civil LibertiesUnion. — Reuters

NY lays out transgender protection on dress codes and bathroom use

JAKARTA: Indonesia is punishing more than 20companies in an unprecedented move for start-ing deadly forest fires that killed 19 people, agovernment official said yesterday. Three compa-nies have been shut down permanently afterhaving their licenses revoked over their role inthe blazes that choked vast expanses of south-east Asia with acrid haze and cost Indonesia $16billion. It is the first time the government hasrevoked company licenses over forest fires, anannual occurrence caused by slash-and-burnland clearance. The environment ministry alsofroze the operations of 14 companies and saidthey face closure if they do not meet the govern-ment’s demands over fire prevention.

Several other companies have been given astrong warning and will be put under closesupervision. “We have sanctioned 23 companiesin total, ranging from administrative sanctions tolicense revocation, while 33 others are still in theprocess, they could have their licenses revokedtoo if they are found guilty,” environment min-istry official Kemal Amas said. The ministry has

been investigating 276 companies in total sincethe fires broke out in September. “We needfirmer law enforcement so that this catastrophedoes not repeat itself, it’s been going on for 18years but nobody has learnt their lesson,” Amassaid. Amas said the ministry was also workinghard to restore the forests and farmlanddestroyed in the fires.

Activists welcomed the government’s newcommitment to punish firms. The IndonesianForum for Environment said it was unheard of forthe government to revoke licences, as manycompanies previously avoided facing trial. “Theminister has the courage to not only freeze thecompanies’ operation but also chase the ownersin a civil case, this is great and this must beguarded carefully,” Kurniawan said. “In the pastsome people were named suspects, but for themto actually lose their licenses, this is the firsttime,” he said. More than half a million peoplesuffered acute respiratory infections in Indonesiabecause of the haze, while many in neighboringSingapore and Malaysia also fell ill. — AFP

Indonesia punishes firms over deadly forest fires

SYDNEY: Australian scientists yesterdayhailed the discovery of two sea snakespecies feared to have become extinct yearsago off the Western Australia coast. Theshort-nose sea snake and the leaf-scaled seasnake had not been seen since disappearingfrom their only known habitat on AshmoreReef in the Timor Sea more than 15 yearsago, James Cook University researcherswrote in the Biological Conservation journal.

But they have since been “spotted aliveand healthy” at Ningaloo Reef (short-nosesea snake) and Shark Bay (leaf-scaled seasnake), thousands of kilometers south. “Thisdiscovery is really exciting, we get anotherchance to protect these two endemicWestern Australian sea snake species,” thestudy’s lead author Blanche D’Anastasi said

in a statement about the two species, listedby Australian authorities as critically endan-gered. “But in order to succeed in protectingthem, we will need to monitor populationsas well as undertake research into under-standing their biology and the threats theyface.” The university said the short-nose seasnake was identified after a wildlife officersent a photo of two of them to D’Anastasi inApril 2013.

“What is even more exciting is that theywere courting, suggesting that they aremembers of a breeding population,”D’Anastasi added. The scientists said it was a“real surprise” when they also discovered a“new and significant” population of the leaf-scaled sea snake in the seagrass beds ofShark Bay. —AFP

Snakes alive! Missing species found off Australian coast

BEIJING: Pedestrians wear masks on a heavily polluted day in Beijing yesterday. — AFP

BEIJING: China vowed yesterday that it wouldmake “livable” cities a central goal of China’s urbanplanning, amid persistent problems over chokingsmog that frequently blankets the populous eastand north. Under a plan released after what lead-ers dubbed the Central Urban Work Conferenceand overseen by President Xi Jinping, urbandevelopment should be focused on “creating envi-ronments where people can live in harmony witheach other and nature”.

“The government will take a more sophisticat-ed approach to its urban planning and encourageenterprises and citizens to participate in creatingthe cities of the future,” according to a statementreleased by the official Xinhua news agency.

Nature and tradition should be respected in cityplanning and a low-carbon concept prioritized,the report added. “Urban construction shouldtake nature as beauty,” it said. Green belts andbodies of water should be established aroundcities and sprawl controlled, Xinhua added.

China has vowed repeatedly over the years totackle pollution and yet none of its plans have hashad a lasting effect. Capital city Beijing has alreadyissued two “red alerts” for smog this winter, whichsee cars taken off roads and schools and factoriesclosed. A red alert is triggered when the govern-ment believes air quality will surpass a level of 200on an index that measures various pollutants forat least three days. —Reuters

Amid smog crisis, China vows more livable cities

H E A LT H & S C I E NC EWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

MOBERLY: Mike McKeown sits in his kitchen during an interview in Moberly, Mo. McKeown is opposed to a proposed high-voltage line that would carry renewable energy across the farm where his family hasraised soybeans and corn for nearly 70 years. (Right) Power lines cross farm land belonging to Wayne Wilcox in Moberly, Mo. — AP photos

MOBERLY: Mike McKeown opens the back doorof his Missouri farm house and is met with achilly gust. “Stupid wind,” he mutters. Today, thewinds that blow through his corn and soybeanfarm have become more than just an irritant. Thehomestead in northern Missouri, which his fami-ly has owned for nearly 70 years, sits smack inthe path of a proposed high-voltage line thatwould carry renewable energy from the wind-whipped plains of western Kansas to power-thirsty cities farther east. And McKeown doesn’tlike that.

Due partly to the intense opposition fromlocal property owners, Missouri regulators haveblocked the 780-mile-long Grain Belt Expresspower line from being built. In doing so, theyhave highlighted one of the toughest challengesfacing the nation as it tries to shift toward agreater reliance on renewable energy.Converting the wind and sun into electricity isincreasingly affordable, but it can be difficult toget that electricity from distant plains anddeserts to the places where it’s needed. The rea-sons range from technical to regulatory.

“Transmission is the biggest long-term barrierfor wind energy development,” said RobGramlich, senior vice president of governmentand public affairs for the American Wind EnergyAssociation. “ That’s because the best windresources are often in remote areas on farms andranches that are far from population centers.” Toget the power from one point to another meanscrossing not only through hundreds of farmfields and backyards but also through multiplestates with different regulatory requirements.Public lands that are subject to numerous envi-ronmental restrictions offer yet another obstacle.

Further complicating the transmission puzzle:The nation’s electric grid was designed primarilyto serve particular states and regions, not neces-sarily to move electricity from one part of the USto an entirely different area. There also are tech-nical challenges. To ensure a steady supply ofelectricity, there often must be some way tostore excess energy generated from strongwinds and prolonged sunshine and to supple-ment the downtimes with other sources such asgas-fired generators. While wind power is thefastest-growing source of new energy in the US,it still accounted for just 4.4 percent of thenation’s electricity in 2014, according to the USEnergy Information Administration. Solar powercontributed just 0.4 percent.

President Barack Obama’s administration hasencouraged the development of more wind andsolar energy while imposing stricter limits onpollution from coal-fired power plants, part of hisstrategy to reduce the amount of heat-trappingcarbon in the atmosphere. An international cli-mate agreement announced earlier this monthcalls for nearly 200 countries to collectively slashcarbon emissions in the decades ahead to slowthe pace of global warming.

States also have been pressing utilities togenerate power from cleaner sources. Californiais among 29 states that have adopted renewableenergy requirements. In the nation’s most popu-lous state, with the world’s eighth-largest econo-my, utilities must get half their energy fromrenewable sources by 2030. Vermont has set a 75percent renewable energy standard by 2032. Yetgovernment regulations also have impeded thedevelopment of large-scale renewable energyprojects.

Delays and denialsClean Line Energy Partners, the Houston-based

firm behind the Grain Belt Express, had a routerejected in Arkansas. Twice, Iowa denied itsrequests to decide upfront - before it beginsacquiring easements - whether a proposed lineleading to the outskirts of Chicago is in the publicinterest. Other transmission lines for renewableenergy also have experienced delays and denials:Arizona utility regulators rejected a request bySouthern California Edison in 2007 to build a 270-mile line carrying power from a site west ofPhoenix to Palm Springs, California. Utility compa-ny officials said it could have prompted develop-ment of new solar power in the desert, butArizona regulators cited concerns that California’sincreased power draw could have led to higherrates for Arizonans.

In January, after a more than six-year review,the US Bureau of Land Management approved aright of way across federal land for the SunZiaSouthwest Transmission Project, a 515-mile linecarrying wind power and solar power from centralNew Mexico to Arizona. But New Mexico’s landcommissioner has since slowed down the reviewfor another permit needed for the $2 billion proj-ect. SunZia also has a permit request pending inArizona. Eight years after filing a right of wayapplication with the Bureau of Land Management,organizers of the TransWest Express power linestill are awaiting a decision on a 730-mile routethat would carry electricity to the southwesternUS from a proposed 1,000-turbine wind farm inWyoming.

TransWest Express president and chief execu-tive Bill Miller originally hoped constructionwould begin in 2012. That goal already had beenpushed back when the Obama administration in

October 2011 picked the project as one of sevenelectrical lines nationally for review under a new“Rapid Response Team for Transmission.” But thefederal approval process has been far from rapid.“It’s glacial in its pace,” Miller said. Lucas Lucero,the acting chief of the renewable energy office inthe Bureau of Land Management, said federalofficials have “been making steady progress” andcould decide on the TransWest Express in early2016. But he acknowledged such projects “defi-nitely take time” to review and “have a number ofchallenges.” Chief among them is coordinatingefforts among dozens of federal, state, county andtribal entities that have a stake in the power lines.Federal officials also have analyzed numerousalternate routes - considering the potential effecton wildlife habitat, culturally significant areas andthe concerns of private landowners. The nation’srenewable energy goals potentially could beachieved more quickly if a single federal agencywere given jurisdiction over interstate transmis-sion lines. But Lucero said it’s important that localofficials have a say. Many state laws were draftedto ensure consumers get the best possible serviceand rates from local electric monopolies. As CleanLine discovered, it can be difficult to prove thebenefit for local residents of a commercial line car-rying power primarily to other places.

‘Public utility’The Arkansas Public Service Commission ruled

in 2011 that Clean Line didn’t qualify as a “publicutility” under state law and thus could not buildits Plains & Eastern transmission line carryingwind power from the Oklahoma Panhandle toTennessee to be fed to the southeastern US. CleanLine hasn’t given up. It’s now seeking approval forits Arkansas route from the US Department of

Energy, which has authority to approve new trans-mission lines in certain states where it alreadysells hydroelectric power from federally run dams.Arkansas’ two US senators are fighting back byholding up the confirmation of an Obamaappointee to the Energy Department.

While rejecting Clean Line’s Grain Belt Expressearlier this year, the Missouri Public ServiceCommission looked primarily at whether the pow-er line would benefit its home state, rather thanthe nation as a whole. The line would end near theIllinois-Indiana border, connecting to an existinggrid extending all the way to the East Coast.Although Clean Line pledged to make a portion ofits power available to Missouri, state regulatorsdetermined it was not needed to meet localdemand nor the state’s renewable energy require-ments. Regulators also cited the burden onMissouri landowners, noting that most of the7,200 comments it received were opposed to theproject.

Now Clean Line is regrouping for another try inMissouri. The project has placed McKeown inopposition to his friend and neighbor WayneWilcox, a county official who views power linescrossing his cornfields as important to both thelocal and national economy. “We sit at a criticalplace,” Wilcox said, pointing out that the CleanLine poles would cross his property near an exist-ing transmission line from a coal-fired powerplant, two oil pipelines and a natural gas pipeline.But McKeown hasn’t been persuaded by the six-figure contract he could sign with Clean Line, northe potential benefit to residents several states tothe east. “I think (wind energy) is fine,” he said. But“it doesn’t make sense to me to have to transportit halfway across the United States. We’re smarterthan that.”— AP

Renewable energy efforts stymied by transmission roadblocksMissouri regulators block Grain Belt Express power line

LA PAZ: At first glance, the indigenous Bolivianwomen don’t look much like mountainclimbers, with their colorful, multilayered skirtsand fringed shawls. But their helmets, polarizedgoggles and crampons attached to their shoesgive them away as mountaineers who accom-pany their husbands, often as cooks andporters, as they guide tourists scaling the localpeaks. Eleven of these Aymara women, rangingin age from 20 to 50 years old, earlier thismonth made the two-day climb up the 19,974-foot (6,099-meter) high Huayna Potosi, locatednear La Paz, with Lake Titicaca to the back andsurrounded by snowy Andean peaks. Theystarted their climbing careers working fortourist agencies, carrying food and otherequipment for the foreign mountaineers to the

base camp, located at 1,116 feet (5,130 meters).“First, I was a porter, then a cook,” said 41-

year-old Domitila Alana Llusco. “But the touristsasked me what it was like up on Huayna Potosiand I had to climb up so I could find out and tellthem.” Alana said she had a hard time findingappropriate gear she could afford when shestarted 15 years ago. “My feet are small, thereare no boots,” she said.

“But nothing stopped me and I havereached the peak of three mountains.” Thoughthey cling to their traditional clothing, thesemountaineers aren’t typical indigenouswomen. “Women also have the right to climbmountains,” said Adrian Quispe, one of themountain guides. “It’s not just men who areallowed. Women of all ages can go.”

And the money is good. While the minimumwage for a housekeeper is around $175 amonth, guides can earn $35 a day and thefemale cooks about $20 a day. As they climb,the women wear thermal sweat suits undertheir traditional clothing. Only in the last part ofthe climb up to the top do the women removetheir skirts, to prevent accidents.

They start the last piece of their ascentafter midnight to take advantage of the hard-ness of the snow, hoping to reach the top bydawn. Some of the youngest in the group nowdream of climbing even higher someday, tothe top of Aconcagua, which at 22,834 feet(6,960 meters) is not only the highest peak inthe Andes, but also the highest mountain out-side Asia. — AP

LYON: Interpol seized counterfeit drugsworth $7 million in September in an opera-tion encompassing 13 Asian countries, theinternational police organization saidMonday. Medication including antibiotics,anti-hypertension pills and even rabies vac-cines were taken from hundreds of pharma-cies and markets, including dozens ofonline pharmacies, as Interpol attempts tocurb the widespread sale of fake drugsbeing produced in the region. Interpol saidin a statement they had arrested 87 individ-uals in the course of the crackdown, which“brought together law enforcement anddrug regulatory agencies to target theorganized criminal networks behind phar-maceutical crime in Asia”.

“Operation Storm VI demonstrated thesophistication and determination of crimi-nal groups engaged in pharmaceuticalcrime, creating dangers to public healthand the safety of the population,” said AlinePlancon, Head of Interpol’s Global Healthand Safety unit.

Participating countries includedAfghanistan, Cambodia, China, India,Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailandand Vietnam. The World Health Organizationhas said the traffic of fake medication mostlyaffects Asia, Latin America and especiallyAfrica, where “systems of pharmaceuticalregulation and of checks on their applica-tion are the weakest”. — AFP

The indigenous Bolivian women scale mountains outside La Paz

Fake medicine worth$7m seized across Asia

W H AT ’ S ONWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

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What’s On - Submission Guidelines

Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST)and Kuwait Flight Academy (KFA) signed a memo-randum of understanding today to launch Kuwait’s

first ever Private Pilot Ground Training (PPL) at GUST. Theprogram will include several aviation courses, available tothe public, at all levels of experience and will grant thetrainees who meet all requirements with accredited gradu-ation certificates.

Kuwait Flight Academy, founded in 2014 as a subsidiaryof Kuwait Aerospace Technologies, to offer a myriad of dif-ferent aviation courses; including the Private Pilot Training,FAA Commercial Pilot Training, FAA Airline Transport PilotCertificates, and FAA Flight Instructor Training. Almost allground courses and simulator trainings are held in Kuwait,while final flying courses and certifications are held in theUnited States. GUST will be hosting all the local trainingprograms on its campus.

Sheikh Nasser Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Founder and CEO,said, “We are proud to collaborate with a world-class uni-versity such as GUST to maintain the high standards andquality of these courses. Our instructors are highly trainedand certified experts in the art and disciplines of flying and

training. We are also proud to invest in high-tech simula-tors, which will be housed under the roof of this great uni-versity.” KFA instructors provide participants with the toolsneeded to successfully complete each level of trainingrequired for any certification levels. Specialized trainingcan also be tailored to each person’s individual require-ments and goals.

Dr Salah Al-Sharhan, GUST Vice President for AcademicAffairs and A. Vice President for Planning andDevelopment, said, “As a university, we pride ourselves innot only ensuring the best quality education for our stu-dents, but also working together with esteemed institu-tions such as KFA, to provide unique educational and train-ing opportunities to our community in order to help themdevelop, and fulfill their goals.”

GUST Professional Advancement and ContinuingEducation Center (PACE) provides over 25 different pro-grams, open to the public, and covers different career seg-ments, including: CFA, CMA, CPA, Project ManagementProfessional, IELTS and GMAT exam preparation courses,General English courses, Healthcare Quality Managementprogram, Microsoft Official Courses, and many more.

GUST Signs MoU with Kuwait Flight Academy

X-cite by Alghanim Electronics ispleased to announce thenames of the fourth week’s

winners of the biggest shopping festi-val in Kuwait, which offers customersthe opportunity to win more than$500,000 Cash in 5 weekly draws witha weekly grand prize of KD 25,000.This one-of-a-kind promotion waslaunched on November 19th and willlast until December 26th.

The fourth week’s winners are: 1st place winner of KD 25,000:

Sheikh Imam2nd place winner of KD 5,000:

Sameet Khan3rd place winner of KD 2,500:

Rauf Abbas4th place winner of KD 1,000:

Levy Gorospe5th place winner of KD 1,000:

Thaar Thlaab Al-Mutairi6th place winner of KD 500: Laila

Hussein Al-Kandari7th place winner of KD 500:

Ghassan Qamheih

You too can be a lucky winnerwith X-cite! There will be one lastdraw on Sunday 27th of December,so hurry up and buy until Saturdaythe 26th of December to be one ofthe last 7 weekly winners. In orderto participate and get the chanceto win any of the remaining cashprizes, all you need to do is visitany of X-cite’s 18 showroomsspread across the country,www.xcite.com, or X-cite’s smart-phone app, and for every KD 25you will get one chance to wingreat cash prizes.

The weekly draws are open tothe public and take place at Al-Raishowroom in Safat Alghanim at 11am supervised by a representativefrom the Ministry of Commerce.The name of the winners areannounced on www.xcite.com/whatsyourexcuse, their socialmedia channels: (Instagram,Twitter, Snapchat @xcitealghanim)(Facebook: xcitebyalghanim) or viathe hashtag, #WhatsYourExcuse.

X-cite announces fourth weekwinners in ‘Win More Than

$500,000 Cash’ promotion

South AfricanEmbassy closure

On the occasion of the Prophet’s Birthday, the SouthAfrican Embassy will be closed on Thursday, 24December 2015. The Embassy will resume its normal

working hours on Sunday, 27 December 2015, from Sundayto Thursday. Please note that the working hours will be from8:00 to 16:00 and the Consular Section operation hours willfrom 8:30 to 12:30. For Emergency calls please contact:94924895.

By Sajeev K Peter

Yathra Kuwait, Kerala Taxi Drivers’ WelfareOrganization in Kuwait is all set to celebrate itsfirst anniversary with a spectacular event titled

‘Shifa Al-Jazeera Yathrotsavam’ on December 31 from4pm onwards at the American International School audi-torium, Maidan Hawally. Indian Ambassador Sunil Jainwill inaugurate the event in which a mega cultural showwill be presented.

The highlight of the cultural program will be a mimic-ry-orchestra-cum-comedy show led by popular theatrepersonality from India Kottayam Nazir and playbacksinger Samad. In addition, S K Event Kuwait will alsopresent a colorful show before the audience. YathraKuwait is an Indian embassy-registered association withnearly 600 taxi drivers from Kerala as its members.

Announcing the anniversary celebration at a pressconference, Yathra Kuwait office-bearers said the organi-zation, during the last two years of its activities, was ableto do several humanitarian and chartable services to itsmembers who were in dire need. Yathra Kuwait providedfinancial aid to the relatives of the members who losttheir lives in tragic circumstances and helped memberswho needed medical assistance after they sustainedmajor accidents.

During the anniversary celebration, Yathra Kuwait willpresent Dr APJ Adul Kalam Awards to the children of itsmembers who score the highest percentage of marks in10th and 12th standards. The children who achieve first,second and third positions will be given INR 10001, INR5001 and INR2501 respectively in addition to trophiesand memorial shields. Yathra Kuwait will also award

Yathra Football Tournament winners and recognize theteams for their excellence in sports.

Yathra Kuwait President Anil Anadu, GeneralSecretary Nissar Punalur, Program Convenor NissarAhmad, Treasurer Manoj Mattathil, Vice presidentSreekant Sreelayam and Secretary Anil Alex were presentduring the press conference.

Yathra Kuwait to celebrate first anniversary on December 31

Mavelikara Association Kuwait, AnnualGeneral Body meeting was conducted on18th December 2015 at Empire

Auditorium in Abbasiya. The New General bodycomprised of Binoy Chandran. R (President) PhilipC.V Thomas ( Vice President), Biju Kandiyoor(General Secretary), Mathew Chennithala(Jt.

Secretary) , Pramod Chellapan (Treasurer) ,JyothishKrishnan Kutty (Jt. Treasurer) and Subal(Auditor).Advisory Board member P.S Ullas Kumar conductedthe election Procedure. The association from thecapital of Central Travancore will give priority toWelfare, Arts, Social and Cultural activities saysnewly elected president Binoy Chandran.

Mavelikara AssociationKuwait meets

Indian Dentist Alliance Kuwait (IDAK-affiliated toKuwait Dental Association) held the Annual GeneralMeeting at the Symphony Hotel Kuwait. The event

marked the end of a successful tenure by the 2014-2015IDAK council. The outgoing president Dr Roy Francisthanked all members for their support. He welcomed the

new president, Dr Jitendra Ariga and his team andwished them all success for the 2 year term.

The AGM was followed by a CDE programme organ-ized by IDAK scientific committee. The topic for the eventwas “A stitch in time saves nine”: Management of anom-alies in the developing occlusion - A pediatric and ortho-

dontic perspective, which was presented by Dr Nino Johnand Dr SreeKrishnan Nair. IDAK was honored to have DrSami Al Mane President - Kuwait Dental Association asthe chief guest for the event. The event was sponsored bySandoz-Novartis. Dr Marwa Ahmad and Dr MohammedYacout represented the sponsors for the event.

IDAK’s General Meeting, CDE

W H AT ’ S ONWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Embassy of Canada and Canadian Business Council (CBC)celebrated Christmas at the official residence of theAmbassador of Canada on December 15.

Addressing the gathering, Canadian Ambassador MartineMoreau offered thanks and gratitude to fellow local businesscommunity members for joining this evening. offered apprecia-tion for the role played by the CBC in promoting trade relationsbetween Kuwait and Canada.

Ishtiaq Malik, President of the CBC, welcomed the gatheringand thanked Canadians, Kuwaitis and others for attending thisevent. CBC President also thanked the Ambassador of Canada toKuwait, Her Excellency Martine Moreau for hosting this eventand for the support and cooperation extended by the CanadianEmbassy to CBC.

Malik thanked CBC board members Dr Christian Awaraji, BasilToutoungi, Dr David McHardy, Dr Andrew Gillam, NadiaHammouda, and Dr Jacinthe Lemay for keeping CanadianBusiness Council connected and active in Kuwait.

Special thanks were extended to Tammy Ames, Counsellor(Commercial) at the Embassy of Canada for her support to CBC.The attendees discussed business matters of their mutual interestand enjoyed the evening.

The higher committee for Kuwait’s carnival hosted a meeting and dinner for small and medium enterprises’ owners to introduce them to the festival’s activities which takes place between December 22, 2015 and March 19, 2016.

Canadian Embassy, businesscouncil celebrate Christmas

CBC President Ishtiaq MalikAmbassador of Canada Martine Moreau

T V PR O G R A M SWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

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01:15 Blackie And Kanuto02:45 Captain Sabertooth And TheTreasure Of Lama Rama04:30 Marvelʼs Ultimate Avengers II06:00 Delhi Safari08:00 Vampire Dog09:45 Columbus In The Last Journey11:15 Tiny Heroes12:45 Captain Sabertooth And TheTreasure Of Lama Rama14:30 Zarafa16:00 Sophia Grace And RosieʼsRoyal Adventure18:00 Columbus In The Last Journey

00:20 Fast Nʼ Loud01:10 Dual Survival02:50 River Monsters03:40 Auction Hunters04:05 Property Wars04:30 Storage Wars Canada05:00 Americarna05:30 How Itʼs Made06:00 Ice Cold Gold06:50 Kindig Customs07:40 Fast Nʼ Loud08:30 Auction Hunters08:55 Property Wars09:20 Storage Wars Canada09:45 Americarna10:10 How Itʼs Made10:35 Auction Hunters11:00 Man vs Expert15:10 So You Think Youʼd Survive?19:20 Sean Conway - RunningBritain20:10 Property Wars20:35 Storage Wars Canada21:00 Mythbusters21:50 The Carbonaro Effect22:40 You Have Been Warned23:30 Kindig Customs

00:00 Violetta00:45 The Hive00:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch01:40 Wolfblood02:30 Violetta03:15 The Hive03:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch04:10 Wolfblood05:00 Violetta05:45 The Hive05:50 Mouk06:00 Lolirock06:25 Hank Zipzer06:50 Girl Meets World07:15 H2O: Just Add Water08:05 Austin & Ally08:30 Austin & Ally08:55 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch09:45 Jessie10:10 Jessie11:25 The Naughty List12:20 Hank Zipzer12:45 I Didnʼt Do It13:10 I Didnʼt Do It13:35 Liv And Maddie14:00 Liv And Maddie14:30 H2O: Just Add Water14:55 H2O: Just Add Water15:20 I Didnʼt Do It15:45 Mako Mermaids16:10 Jessie16:35 Austin & Ally17:00 Bad Hair Day18:40 Gravity Falls19:05 H2O: Just Add Water19:30 H2O: Just Add Water19:55 Liv And Maddie20:20 Liv And Maddie20:45 Good Luck Charlie21:10 Good Luck Charlie21:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place22:00 Binny And The Ghost22:25 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch22:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of ATeenage Witch23:10 Wolfblood23:35 Wolfblood

00:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show01:00 Good Morning America03:00 Devious Maids04:00 The Leftovers05:00 Good Morning America07:00 Emmerdale07:30 Coronation Street08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show09:00 The Astronaut Wives Club10:00 Emmerdale10:30 Coronation Street11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show13:00 Once Upon A Time14:00 The Astronaut Wives Club15:00 Live Good Morning America18:00 Once Upon A Time19:00 The Astronaut Wives Club21:00 Once Upon A Time22:00 Devious Maids23:00 The Leftovers

00:00 Stretch-1802:00 Brave-PG1504:00 Bully-PG1506:00 The Numbers Station-PG1508:00 The Package-PG1510:00 Searching For Sugar Man-PG1512:00 The Monuments Men-PG1514:00 Police Story-PG1516:00 The Package-PG1518:00 Admission-PG1520:00 Welcome To The Punch-22:00 Sin City: A Dame To Kill For-18

00:10 Come Date With MeAustralia00:35 Come Date With MeAustralia01:05 Seven Days With‚Ä¶02:00 Emmerdale02:25 Coach Trip02:55 Coronation Street03:25 Midsomer MurdersChristmas Special05:15 Come Date With MeAustralia05:40 Come Date With MeAustralia06:10 Seven Days With‚Ä¶07:05 Coronation Street07:30 Midsomer MurdersChristmas Special09:20 Peter Andreʼs 60 MinuteMakeover10:10 Seven Days With‚Ä¶11:05 Coach Trip11:35 Four Weddings UK12:30 Come Date With MeAustralia12:55 Come Date With MeAustralia13:25 Emmerdale13:50 Coach Trip14:20 Coronation Street14:45 Peter Andreʼs 60 MinuteMakeover15:35 The Jonathan Ross Show16:30 The Syndicate17:25 Seven Days With‚Ä¶18:20 Come Date With MeAustralia18:45 Come Date With MeAustralia19:10 Coronation Street19:35 The Jonathan Ross Show20:30 The Syndicate21:25 Seven Days With‚Ä¶22:20 Coronation Street22:50 Emmerdale23:15 Four Weddings UK

00:00 Better Call Saul02:00 Supergirl03:00 Scream Queens04:00 Complications05:00 The Night Shift06:00 Castle07:00 Bones08:00 Resurrection09:00 Complications10:00 The Night Shift12:00 Emmerdale12:30 Coronation Street13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show14:00 Resurrection15:00 Castle16:00 Emmerdale16:30 Coronation Street17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show18:00 Resurrection19:00 The Fosters20:00 Supergirl21:00 Marvelʼs Agents Of

00:35 Mythbusters01:20 How Itʼs Made02:08 Food Factory02:55 What Could Possibly GoWrong?03:42 Stephen Hawkingʼs GrandDesign04:29 Mythbusters05:16 Food Factory06:03 What Could Possibly GoWrong?06:50 X-Machines07:37 How Itʼs Made08:23 Mythbusters09:08 Stephen Hawkingʼs GrandDesign09:53 X-Machines10:38 How Itʼs Made11:23 How Do They Do It?12:08 What Could Possibly GoWrong?12:53 X-Machines13:38 Mythbusters14:23 How Itʼs Made15:10 Stephen Hawkingʼs GrandDesign15:57 How Do They Do It?16:44 What Could Possibly GoWrong?17:31 X-Machines18:18 Stephen Hawkingʼs GrandDesign19:05 Mythbusters19:50 Strip The Cosmos20:40 What Could Possibly GoWrong?21:25 How Itʼs Made22:15 Stephen Hawkingʼs GrandDesign23:00 Strip The Cosmos23:45 What Could Possibly GoWrong?

00:05 Henry Hugglemonster00:20 Calimero00:35 Zou00:50 Loopdidoo01:05 Art Attack01:30 Henry Hugglemonster01:45 Calimero02:00 Zou02:15 Loopdidoo02:30 Art Attack02:55 Henry Hugglemonster03:05 Calimero03:20 Zou03:30 Loopdidoo03:45 Art Attack04:10 Henry Hugglemonster04:20 Calimero04:35 Zou04:45 Loopdidoo05:00 Art Attack05:25 Henry Hugglemonster05:35 Calimero05:50 Zou06:00 Loopdidoo06:15 Art Attack06:35 Henry Hugglemonster06:50 Calimero07:00 Zou07:20 Loopdidoo07:35 Art Attack08:00 Calimero08:10 Zou08:25 Loopdidoo08:40 Henry Hugglemonster08:55 Jake And The NeverlandPirates09:20 Sofia The First09:45 Miles From Tomorrow10:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse10:35 Doc McStuffins11:00 Sofia The First11:30 Jake And The Never LandPirates11:55 Miles From Tomorrow12:20 Henry Hugglemonster12:45 Limon And Oli12:55 Loopdidoo13:10 Sheriff Callieʼs Wild West13:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse14:00 Sofia The First14:50 Miles From Tomorrow15:15 Jake And The Never LandPirates16:05 The Adventures Of DisneyFairies16:35 Miles From Tomorrow17:00 Sofia The First17:25 Aladdin17:50 Adventures Of The GummiBears18:15 Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers18:40 Jake And The Never LandPirates19:05 Miles From Tomorrow19:30 Sofia The First19:55 Doc McStuffins20:15 Jake And The Never LandPirates20:45 Sheriff Callieʼs Wild West21:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse21:35 Sofia The First22:00 The Adventures Of DisneyFairies22:25 The Adventures Of DisneyFairies

01:00 Live MSNBC Mtp Daily02:00 Live MSNBC News03:00 Live NBC Nightly News03:30 ABC World News WithDavid Muir04:00 Live MSNBC All In WithChris Hayes05:00 Live MSNBC The RachelMaddow Show06:00 Live MSNBC The LastWord W/ Lawrence OʼDonnell07:00 NBC Nightly News07:30 ABC World News WithDavid Muir07:57 NBC Nightly News08:18 ABC World News WithDavid Muir08:39 Live ABC Nightline09:06 MSNBC The RachelMaddow Show10:00 MSNBC The Last Word W/Lawrence OʼDonnell11:00 Live ABC World News Now11:30 Live ABC World News Now12:00 Live NBC Early Today12:30 Live ABC America ThisMorning13:00 Live ABC America ThisMorning13:30 Live ABC America ThisMorning14:00 Live ABC America ThisMorning14:30 MSNBC First Look15:00 Live NBC Today Show18:57 MSNBC Hardball W/ ChrisMatthews19:38 MSNBC The RachelMaddow Show20:19 MSNBC The Last Word W/Lawrence OʼDonnell

00:00 Heatstroke-PG1502:00 Assassinʼs Bullet-PG1504:00 The Aggression Scale-PG1506:00 The Courier-PG1508:00 Rush Hour 2-PG1510:00 Assassinʼs Bullet-PG1512:00 Superfast-PG1514:00 The Courier-PG1515:45 The Core-PG1518:00 Rush Hour 2-PG1520:00 Dying Of The Light-PG1522:00 The Dogs Of War-PG1523:45 v For Vendetta-18

03:50 Once Upon A Time InQueens05:30 Waking Up In Reno07:05 The Beautiful Country09:05 Hercules10:45 Adventures Of Hercules12:15 Of Mice And Men14:05 Big Screen14:20 Impromptu16:05 Rich Kids17:40 The Tender19:10 Brannigan21:00 The Heavenly Kid22:30 The Basketball Diaries00:10 Winners Take All01:50 Stay Hungry

00:00 Stewarts And Hamiltons00:55 The Grace Helbig Show01:25 Kourtney And Khloe TakeThe Hamptons02:20 Giuliana & Bill03:15 Christina Milian Turned Up04:10 E! Entertainment Special05:05 E! Entertainment Special06:00 Keeping Up With TheKardashians06:55 Keeping Up With TheKardashians07:50 Style Star08:20 New Money08:45 New Money09:15 Giuliana & Bill10:15 Giuliana & Bill11:10 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills11:35 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills12:05 The Grace Helbig Show12:35 The Grace Helbig Show13:05 House Of DVF14:05 House Of DVF15:00 House Of DVF16:00 House Of DVF17:00 House Of DVF18:00 E! News19:00 House Of DVF20:00 House Of DVF21:00 House Of DVF22:00 E! News

00:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives01:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives01:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives02:00 Man Finds Food02:30 Man Finds Food03:00 Man Fire Food03:30 Man Fire Food04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives04:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives05:00 Holiday BakingChampionship

06:00 Chopped07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin07:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin08:00 Chopped09:00 Guyʼs Grocery Games10:00 The Kitchen11:00 Barefoot Contessa11:30 Barefoot Contessa12:00 Chopped13:00 Guyʼs Big Bite13:30 Guyʼs Big Bite14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives15:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin15:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin16:00 Chopped17:00 The Kitchen18:00 Jenny And Rezaʼs FabulousFood Academy18:30 Grandmaʼs Secret CookbookSpecial19:00 Chopped20:00 Holiday BakingChampionship21:00 Chopped22:00 Chopped South Africa23:00 Iron Chef America

00:10 The Border01:00 Air Crash Investigation02:00 Wicked Tuna: North vs.South02:55 Cosmos: A SpacetimeOdyssey03:50 The Border04:45 Brave New World05:40 Nat Geo Amazing!06:35 Hubbleʼs Cosmic Journey07:30 The Great Food Revolution08:25 Expedition Wild09:20 Last War Heroes10:15 Do Or Die10:40 Do Or Die11:10 Man V. Viral12:05 Car SOS13:00 Expedition Wild14:00 The Great Food Revolution15:00 Innovation Nation15:30 Innovation Nation16:00 Do Or Die16:30 Do Or Die17:00 Man V. Viral18:00 Car SOS19:00 Air Crash Investigation20:00 Do Or Die20:25 Do Or Die20:50 Man V. Viral21:40 Car SOS22:30 Air Crash Investigation23:20 Nat Geo Amazing!

00:10 American Food Battle00:35 David Roccoʼs Dolce Vita01:00 Chefs Run Wild01:25 Tales From The Bush Larder01:50 Food Loverʼs Guide To ThePlanet02:15 American Food Battle02:40 Eat Street03:05 The Best Job In The World03:30 The Great Food Revolution04:20 David Roccoʼs Dolce India

04:45 David Roccoʼs Dolce India05:10 Home Strange Home06:00 Food Loverʼs Guide To ThePlanet06:25 International Open House06:50 Chefs Run Wild07:15 Tales From The Bush Larder07:40 Food Loverʼs Guide To ThePlanet08:05 American Food Battle08:30 Eat Street08:55 The Best Job In The World09:20 The Great Food Revolution10:10 David Roccoʼs Dolce India10:35 David Roccoʼs Dolce India11:00 Home Strange Home11:50 Dog Whisperer12:40 Chefs Run Wild13:05 Tales From The Bush Larder13:35 Worldʼs Best Chefs14:00 American Food Battle14:30 Eat Street14:55 Great Escapes15:25 The Great Food Revolution16:20 David Roccoʼs Dolce India16:45 David Roccoʼs Dolce India17:15 Home Strange Home18:10 American Food Battle18:35 International Open House19:05 Great Escapes19:30 The Great Food Revolution20:25 David Roccoʼs Dolce India20:50 David Roccoʼs Dolce India21:15 Home Strange Home22:05 American Food Battle22:30 International Open House22:55 Chefs Run Wild23:20 Tales From The Bush Larder23:45 Worldʼs Best Chefs

00:20 Africaʼs Creative Killers01:10 Man V. Monster02:00 Ultimate Animal Countdown02:50 Worldʼs Deadliest Animals03:45 Animal Fight Club04:40 72 Dangerous AnimalsAustralia05:35 Ultimate Animal Countdown06:30 Worldʼs Deadliest Animals07:25 Animal Fight Club08:20 How Big Can It Get09:15 Built For The Kill10:10 Worldʼs Deadliest Animals11:05 72 Dangerous AnimalsAustralia12:00 Manta Mystery12:55 Built For The Kill13:50 Worldʼs Deadliest Animals14:45 Animal Fight Club15:40 Croc Labyrinth16:35 Built For The Kill17:30 Worldʼs Deadliest Animals18:25 72 Dangerous AnimalsAustralia19:20 Animal Fight Club20:10 Croc Labyrinth21:00 Built For The Kill21:50 Worldʼs Deadliest Animals22:40 72 Dangerous AnimalsAustralia

S.H.I.E.L.D.22:00 The Flash23:00 American Horror Story: Hotel

20:00 Rush Hour 222:00 Dying Of The Light

03:35 Tanked04:25 Ten Deadliest Snakes05:15 Gator Boys06:02 Treehouse Masters06:49 Shamwari: A Wild Life07:12 Shamwari: A Wild Life07:36 Call Of The Wildman08:00 Call Of The Wildman08:25 Ten Deadliest Snakes09:15 Gator Boys10:10 Treehouse Masters11:05 Tanked12:00 Dogs/Cats/Pets 10112:55 Bondi Vet13:50 When Turkeys Attack14:45 Ten Deadliest Snakes15:40 Treehouse Masters16:35 Tanked17:30 Shamwari: A Wild Life17:55 Shamwari: A Wild Life18:25 Ten Deadliest Snakes19:20 Yankee Jungle20:15 Tanked21:10 Shamwari: A Wild Life21:35 Shamwari: A Wild Life22:05 Treehouse Masters23:00 Yankee Jungle23:55 Ten Deadliest Snakes00:50 Gator Boys

03:45 Lapland: Christmas 201105:00 Teletubbies05:25 The Green Balloon Club05:50 Charlie And Lola06:00 Teletubbies06:25 The Green Balloon Club06:50 Charlie And Lola07:00 Charlie And Lola07:15 My Family: Christmas 200807:45 My Family: Christmas 200808:15 Doctor Who: The Snowmen09:15 Doctors09:45 Eastenders10:10 David Copperfield11:00 David Copperfield11:45 Doctor Who: The Snowmen12:45 My Family: Christmas 200813:15 My Family: Christmas 200813:45 David Copperfield14:30 David Copperfield15:20 My Family: Christmas 200815:50 My Family: Christmas 200816:20 Doctors16:50 Eastenders17:15 Doctor Who: The Snowmen18:15 Blackadderʼs ChristmasCarol19:00 Doctors19:30 Eastenders20:00 David Copperfield20:45 David Copperfield21:30 Michael McIntyreʼs ComedyRoadshow: Xmas 2011

17:00 The Boxtrolls-PG19:00 Pompeii-PG1521:00 Wild Card-1823:00 Dawn Of The Planet Of TheApes-PG15

ClassifiedsWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 23/12/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeMSC 415 Sohag 00:05SYR 343 Damascus/KAC 00:10JZR 267 Beirut 00:30JZR 539 Cairo 00:40DHX 172 Bahrain 00:40FDB 069 Dubai 00:55MEA 406 Beirut 01:00THY 772 Istanbul 01:05DLH 635 Doha 01:35ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45PGT 858 Istanbul 02:00UAE 853 Dubai 02:30GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30KKK 6507 Istanbul 02:50OMA 643 Muscat 02:55FDB 067 Dubai 03:05RJA 644 Amman 03:05MSR 612 Cairo 03:10QTR 1076 Doha 03:15CEB 7694 Manila 03:15ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:25AGY 680 Alexandria 04:30DHX 170 Bahrain 05:40THY 770 Istanbul 05:55FDB 5061 Dubai 06:30BAW 157 London 06:40KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 07:20QTR 1086 Doha 07:40FDB 053 Dubai 07:45KAC 302 Mumbai 07:50OMA 641 Muscat 07:55KAC 206 Islamabad 08:25KAC 352 Kochi 08:30KAC 344 Chennai 08:30KAC 346 Ahmedabad 08:30UAE 855 Dubai 08:40KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:50KAC 362 Colombo 08:50ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20QTR 1070 Doha 09:25FDB 055 Dubai 09:40GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40IRA 665 Shiraz 10:40IAW 157 Al Najaf 10:50UAE 873 Dubai 11:05AXB 889 Mangalore/Bahrain 11:15JZR 165 Dubai 11:30AGY 684 Sohag 11:35MEA 404 Beirut 11:55SAW 701 Damascus 12:20KAC 204 Lahore 12:20FDB 075 Dubai 12:25IRM 1188 Mashhad 12:25MSC 401 Alexandria 12:30JZR 561 Sohag 12:45UAE 871 Dubai 12:50IRC 6511 ABD 13:00MSR 610 Cairo 13:00CLX 792 Luxembourg 13:15IZG 4167 Mashhad 13:30IYE 826 Sanaa/Mukalla 13:30KNE 460 Riyadh 13:50KAC 382 Delhi 13:50IRC 526 Mashhad 13:55MSR 575 Sharm el-Sheikh 13:55QTR 1078 Doha 14:10FDB 057 Dubai 14:10IRM 1186 Tehran 14:15SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30

KAC 672 Dubai 14:45KAC 284 Dhaka 14:45KAC 512 Mashhad 14:50KAC 788 Jeddah 14:50KNE 462 Madinah 14:55GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00KNE 472 Jeddah 15:05MRJ 4815 Mashhad 15:15OMA 645 Muscat 15:30JZR 1361 Mashhad 15:35KAC 562 Amman 15:40ABY 127 Sharjah 15:45UAE 857 Dubai 15:45QTR 1072 Doha 16:10JZR 787 Riyadh 16:25JZR 357 Mashhad 16:30FDB 051 Dubai 16:30ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:40KAC 542 Cairo 16:55RJA 640 Amman 16:55SYR 341 Damascus 17:00SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15IRC 6521 Lamerd 17:20GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30MSR 614 Cairo 17:50JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55KAC 502 Beirut 18:00UAE 875 Dubai 18:00FDB 063 Dubai 18:05JZR 177 Dubai 18:20KAC 786 Jeddah 18:30JZR 483 Istanbul 18:40ABY 123 Sharjah 18:45QTR 1080 Doha 18:55KAC 774 Riyadh 19:25KAC 166 Paris/Rome 19:30GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30KAC 618 Doha 19:35KAC 674 Dubai 19:45KAC 154 Istanbul 19:45KAC 102 New York/London 19:55ETD 919 Abu Dhabi 19:55KAC 792 Madinah 19:55KNE 480 Taif 20:10FDB 061 Dubai 20:20OMA 647 Muscat 20:20KAC 546 Alexandria 20:35MSR 606 Luxor 20:45FDB 5053 Dubai 20:50JAI 572 Mumbai 20:55DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:55MEA 402 Beirut 21:20ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:20ALK 229 Colombo 21:25UAE 859 Dubai 21:40GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45JZR 125 Bahrain 22:00QTR 1082 Doha 22:00KAC 564 Amman 22:25AIC 975 Chennai/Goa 22:25ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:25FDB 059 Dubai 22:30BBC 044 Dhaka/Dammam 22:40JZR 239 Amman 23:05JZR 185 Dubai 23:15JZR 555 Alexandria 23:25FDB 071 Dubai 23:45THY 764 Istanbul 23:50JAI 574 Mumbai 23:55MSC 403 Asyut 23:55

Departure Flights on Wednesday 23/12/2015Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 988 Hyderabad/Chennai 00:05FDB 072 Dubai 00:40JAI 573 Mumbai 00:55MSC 416 Sohag 01:00UAL 981 IAD 01:10SYR 344 Damascus 01:10DHX 173 Bahrain 02:00MEA 407 Beirut 02:00KAC 283 Dhaka 02:10THY 773 Istanbul 02:30DLH 635 Frankfurt 02:35ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45KAC 203 Lahore 03:05KAC 381 Delhi 03:30UAE 854 Dubai 03:45KKK 6508 Istanbul 03:50PGT 859 Istanbul 03:55OMA 644 Muscat 03:55FDB 068 Dubai 04:00MSR 613 Cairo 04:10ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:15QTR 1077 Doha 05:00THY 765 Istanbul 05:15CEB 7695 Manila 05:20AGY 685 Sohag 05:30JZR 560 Sohag 06:10FDB 070 Dubai 06:30JZR 164 Dubai 06:55RJA 645 Amman 07:05THY 771 Istanbul 07:05FDB 5062 Dubai 07:10GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15KAC 511 Mashhad 08:30FDB 054 Dubai 08:30QTR 1087 Doha 08:40BAW 156 London 08:45OMA 642 Muscat 08:55KAC 787 Jeddah 09:25JZR 1360 Mashhad 09:30ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40KAC 117 New York 09:55KAC 541 Cairo 09:55UAE 856 Dubai 09:55KAC 561 Amman 10:00JZR 482 Istanbul 10:00KAC 671 Dubai 10:05ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:25KAC 175 Frankfurt/Geneva 10:30KAC 501 Beirut 10:30JZR 356 Mashhad 10:30FDB 056 Dubai 10:35KAC 153 Istanbul 10:40QTR 1071 Doha 11:00GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25IRA 664 Shiraz 11:40IAW 158 Al Najaf 11:50AXB 890 Mangalore 12:15JZR 776 Jeddah 12:20KAC 103 London 12:25UAE 874 Dubai 12:30AGY 681 Asyut 12:35MEA 405 Beirut 12:55KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00JZR 786 Riyadh 13:10FDB 076 Dubai 13:10KAC 545 Alexandria 13:25MSC 402 Alexandria 13:30SAW 702 Damascus 13:35IRM 1189 Mashhad 13:40JZR 176 Dubai 13:45

IRC 6522 Lamerd 13:55MSR 611 Cairo 14:00UAE 872 Dubai 14:15CLX 792 Hanoi 14:30IYE 827 Mukalla/Sanaa 14:30IZG 4168 Mashhad 14:30KNE 481 Taif 14:50MSR 576 Sharm el-Sheikh 14:55IRC 527 Mashhad 14:55KAC 673 Dubai 15:00KAC 791 Madinah 15:10FDB 058 Dubai 15:10QTR 1079 Doha 15:10IRM 1187 Tehran 15:30KAC 617 Doha 15:45SVA 503 Madinah/Jeddah 15:45GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45KAC 773 Riyadh 15:50KNE 463 Madinah 16:00KNE 473 Jeddah 16:05JZR 554 Alexandria 16:10MRJ 4814 Mashhad 16:15ABY 128 Sharjah 16:25OMA 646 Muscat 16:30KAC 563 Amman 16:45JZR 266 Beirut 17:05ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:30JZR 238 Amman 17:30FDB 052 Dubai 17:35QTR 1073 Doha 17:40UAE 858 Dubai 17:45JZR 538 Cairo 17:45RJA 641 Amman 17:55SYR 342 Damascus 18:00SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15IRC 6512 ABD 18:20GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20JZR 184 Dubai 18:40MSR 615 Cairo 18:50JZR 124 Bahrain 19:10FDB 064 Dubai 19:20ABY 124 Sharjah 19:25UAE 876 Dubai 19:30GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15KAC 361 Colombo 20:45QTR 1081 Doha 20:50KAC 351 Kochi 20:50KAC 343 Chennai 21:00KNE 461 Riyadh 21:10KAC 331 Trivandrum 21:10OMA 648 Muscat 21:20FDB 062 Dubai 21:20MSR 619 Alexandria 21:45DLH 634 Doha 21:45FDB 5054 Dubai 21:50DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50JAI 571 Mumbai 21:55JZR 502 Luxor 22:00ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:10KAC 301 Mumbai 22:10MEA 403 Beirut 22:20ALK 230 Colombo 22:25GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30ETD 920 Dubai 22:35UAE 860 Dubai 22:55KAC 345 Ahmedabad 23:00QTR 1083 Doha 23:05KAC 205 Islamabad 23:10ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:15FDB 060 Dubai 23:35KAC 415 Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 23:40

112Fajr: 05:13Shorook 06:38Duhr: 11:46

Asr: 14:36Maghrib: 16:54Isha: 18:17

PRAYER TIMINGS

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 12:30 PMDILWALE - Hindi 3:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 6:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 9:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-2STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 12:30 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 1:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 3:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 6:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 9:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-3THE GOOD DINOSAUR 12:00 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 2:15 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 4:15 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 6:30 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 8:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 10:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 12:45 AM

MUHALAB-1THE GOOD DINOSAUR 12:30 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 2:45 PMDILWALE - Hindi 5:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 8:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 11:00 PM

MUHALAB-2DARK MOUNTAIN 11:45 AMDARK MOUNTAIN 1:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 3:30 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 5:15 PMLOAFER - Telugu 4:00 PMLOAFER - Telugu 7:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 7:00 PMLOAFER - Telugu 10:00 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 10:00 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 12:05 AMDARK MOUNTAIN 1:00 AM

MUHALAB-3STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 12:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 3:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 6:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 9:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 12:05 AM

FANAR-1STRIKE ONE 1:15 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 3:15 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 5:30 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:45 PMSTRIKE ONE 10:00 PMSTRIKE ONE 12:05 AM

FANAR-2DARK MOUNTAIN 12:00 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 2:00 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 4:00 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 6:00 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 8:15 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 10:15 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 12:15 AM

FANAR-3IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 1:00 PM

STRIKE ONE 1:30 PMDILWALE - Hindi 3:45 PMSTRIKE ONE 6:45 PMIN THE HEART OF THE SEA 9:45 PMLOAFER - Telugu 3:45 PMLOAFER - Telugu 6:45 PMLOAFER - Telugu 9:45 PMIN THE HEART OF THE SEA 12:45 AM

FANAR-4STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 12:30 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 1:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 3:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 6:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 9:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 12:30 AM

FANAR-5DILWALE - Hindi 11:30 AMDILWALE - Hindi 2:30 PMDILWALE - Hindi 5:30 PMDILWALE - Hindi 8:30 PMDILWALE - Hindi 11:30 PM

MARINA-1DILWALE - Hindi 12:15 PMDILWALE - Hindi 3:30 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 6:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 8:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 10:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 12:45 AM

MARINA-2STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 11:45 AMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 2:45 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 5:45 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 8:45 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 11:45 PM

MARINA-3THE GOOD DINOSAUR 11:30 AMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 1:45 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 4:45 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 7:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 9:15 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 12:15 AM

AVENUES-1DILWALE - Hindi 12:45 PMSTRIKE ONE 2:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 4:00 PMLOAFER - Telugu 4:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 7:00 PMLOAFER - Telugu 7:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 10:00 PMLOAFER - Telugu 10:00 PMSTRIKE ONE 1:00 AM

AVENUES-2DARK MOUNTAIN 11:30 AMDILWALE - Hindi 1:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 4:45 PMDILWALE - Hindi 7:45 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 11:00 PM

AVENUES-3THE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 12:00 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 2:15 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 4:30 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR 6:45 PM

THE GOOD DINOSAUR 9:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 11:15 PM

AVENUES-4THE GOOD DINOSAUR 11:45 AMDILWALE - Hindi 2:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 5:15 PMSpecial Show “DILWALE - Hindi” 5:15 PMDILWALE - Hindi 8:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 11:45 PM

AVENUES-5STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 1:15 PMTHE GOOD DINOSAUR -3D 1:45 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 4:15 PMSpecial Show “STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS” 4:15 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 7:15 PMSpecial Show “STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS” 7:15 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 10:15 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 1:15 AM

AVENUES-6DILWALE - Hindi 11:30 AMDILWALE - Hindi 2:30 PMDILWALE - Hindi 5:45 PMDILWALE - Hindi 9:00 PMDILWALE - Hindi 12:15 AM

AVENUES-7IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 1:45 PMIN THE HEART OF THE SEA 4:30 PMIN THE HEART OF THE SEA 7:15 PMIN THE HEART OF THE SEA 10:00 PMIN THE HEART OF THE SEA 12:45 AM

AVENUES-8STRIKE ONE 1:15 PMSTRIKE ONE 3:30 PMZINZANA (Emirati Film) 6:00 PMSTRIKE ONE 8:00 PMSTRIKE ONE 10:15 PMSTRIKE ONE 12:30 AM

AVENUES-9STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 11:30 AMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 2:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 5:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 8:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 11:30 PM

AVENUES-10DARK MOUNTAIN 12:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 2:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 4:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 6:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 8:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 10:45 PMDARK MOUNTAIN 12:45 AM

AVENUES-11STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - DOLBY ATMOS 12:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - DOLBY ATMOS 3:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - DOLBY ATMOS 6:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - DOLBY ATMOS 9:30 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - DOLBY ATMOS 12:30 AM

360º1STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 12:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 3:00 PMSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS -3D 6:00 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TOWEDNESDAY (17/12/2015 TO 23/12/2015)

LOST

CHANGE OF NAME

SITUATION VACANT

Original document policyNo. 633003315 ofMuhammad Mali by theState Life InsuranceCorporation Pakistan, GulfZone is reported to havebeen lost. Anyone findingthe same or claiming anyinterest in it should com-municate with State Lifeoffice Kuwait. Tel:22452208. (C 5099)16-12-2015

Professional cook forhouse, good experience allkinds of food, especiallyArabic food, good salary,part time. Call: 23901053,60064934. (C 5102)21-12-2015

A single American-Lebanese male living inSalmiya needs a lady work-er to help in cooking andcleaning. She must under-stand and speak Englishand her timing and salaryare negotiable. Call 6641-7504. (C 5100)19-12-2015

I Dheemu Sudeep holderof Indian Passport No.F6768269 resident ofPulapathur (V & P)Rajampet (M), YSR KadapaDist, A.P., India. Now I havechanged my name asBheemu Sudeep KumarReddy instead of DheemuSudeep in future all trans-action will be made inBheemu Sudeep KumarReddy only. (C 5101)21-12-2015


Your friends, associates or family may see your humorous side today, aswell as something of an eccentric nature. By allowing yourself the freedom of creativityand intuitiveness, you may find new insights or breakthroughs regarding your living sit-uation or life conditions. Others value you for your independent traits. You could feel theimportance of caring for others or in having them care for you-this could be on a publicrather than a private level. You have needs and you sense the needs of others. If you canfigure out how to fit the two elements together, that is what will make life work for you.A powerful need for nurturing is a bigger-than-usual aspect in your life. It may be your

turn to volunteer for a favorite charity tonight.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Luck shines on you today. Communications are highlighted. This is an ide-al day for you to get many things accomplished. Partners or superiors stand strong infavor of more research to your ideas. Supervisors work closely with you. Stop and reex-amine your approach. Don’t be afraid to offer your point of view. Kindness wins and acompromise may be in order. You feel more secure in your work situation than everbefore. This afternoon you may find that important news comes by mail. Put all of yourenergy into completing a personal project later today. Your friends are in a mysticalmood. Laugh, enjoy your friends and be of good cheer; a celebration or reunion bringslots of laughter as well as remember-when conversations.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Some of the things that take on emotional significance for you now arebeing able to obtain and exchange information. You may find more involvement withneighbors or family, appeasing a deep emotional need. Of great importance is the waythat you communicate your feelings just now. You may feel like being different at thistime or trying out something new and unusual. It should be an almost perfect time fornew ideas; there is a breakthrough in thinking. Your mood may be somewhat unrealisticin the eyes of others: a more dreamy side that could put you a bit at odds with yourmore pragmatic duties. Friends may not appreciate or agree with your dreaminess just

now. You too may find a bit of difficulty in losing yourself in your imaginings.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Come to terms with career demands. There could be opportunities to invest if youlook closely. You gain some good business ideas from co-workers. Remember,

however, the information is not professional and they are not in business for themselves yet.Close relationships take on more emotional depth, influence and importance. You may findappreciation in your distinctive situation and enjoy assistance or interaction from those aroundyou. Wonderful feelings and a sense of support and rapport make this a very pleasant time.Tonight is a great time for surrounding yourself with friends and young people, and for having agood time. It may be the night by the time of the business social. If so, you should outshine every-

one with your smile.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Some happy medium needs to be found today-you may be a bit rest-less. This may all be caused from the season of the year, or it could be some tight sched-ule through which you have been trying to dance. Make a list and guide yourself by thislist for the day. You can complete the work that you have set out for yourself now-whether it is in the workplace or at home. Patience is your key word for now. You mayfind yourself counting to ten several times during the day, just to remain focused.Surprisingly enough, you may be the one that completes your work while others in youroffice cannot seem to get projects started. A loved one steals your heart today with akind favor, effort or service for someone less fortunate.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Be clear in your communications today and pay close attention to some-one that you admire when it comes to getting work done in prompt order. You will learnnew ways to handle everyday matters. Co-workers touch a soft spot in your heart; every-one works together to finally complete a slow-moving project. You are lucky to havethem around. Plan a special celebration of your unified accomplishments. Enjoymentcomes from feeling a certain sense of support and good will from those around you; youwill be able to return the favor. This afternoon you may find yourself shopping for holidaygifts. Keep notes on the holiday requests and the purchases you make and you will beorganized. Review the books or games before deciding for a young person.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Someone in authority recognizes your talent. Don’t be so quick to cele-brate your success, however. Take the time to fine-tune your craft. Listening is one ofthe ways you have of being a good helper. At the noon break you might decide to haveyour lunch with a co-worker that just needs to talk. Your wit and your originality mayhelp others accept their problems in a better light. After all, if you were to ask someoneto trade problems with you, nine times out of ten they would say no, just because theirown problems are familiar to them. You handle some of your own problems this way,quick and to the point and with a bit of levity. This afternoon someone pays you backon a long-overdue loan. This evening it is time to encourage a loved one.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

There is plenty of support from others today. It is a time when you couldhear some encouraging words or gain some extra support or recognition from thosearound you. You should feel very much in touch and in harmony with others and thelines of communication should be wide open. It is a super time to work as a team.Because of your reputation to manage and direct others, someone could be looking tohave you take the reins of a very special project. Good news-a bank or credit union iswilling to help you out of a financial jam. Put in double effort to pay back this loan forthis next year and you will do well. A friend takes you to a music concert this evening.Having a special time with someone you enjoy being around creates a fun evening.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

There is no time to relax today-too many projects as well as last-minutepersonal chores. One thing at a time and everything will be complete. Your career ismore in focus now and you may be able to determine which direction you want to takeyour interests in the future. A firm foundation is forming in front of you as your manage-ment and directional abilities are in high focus. Stay away from speculative situations.You really don’t have time for this activity. Take every precaution necessary when han-dling other people’s money-play it safe. Include your partner in social activities. It is agreat time to be in a relationship. Rediscover romance. Be generous and openhearted.The ballet may be the social event this evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

You feel a great deal of confidence in what you do today. Your originalideas could well assist the routine in the home or on the job. You create a true mentalimage that could well reward your personal progress. You are detail conscious, practicaland managerial. If you are working, this can be a personal high cycle in the workplace.You have the green light to proceed with a special project. Apply your own stamp ofapproval to someone’s work or hobby today. You show a great deal of possibilities whenit comes to job advancement-perhaps it is time to put in your request. You may beentertained this evening by friends and family. There may be some marvelous, energetic

techno or salsa music to enjoy as well.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

You want very much to be admired and appreciated for what you doand who you are. You may find yourself enjoying some form of financial

gain-perhaps a raise. Some of the issues that you feel instinctively at this time are a needfor emotional security, a feeling of belonging and nurturing. You crave a sense of inti-mate connection and you want roots. If you do not have a home, you may soon decidethat it is your turn to be a homeowner. Success is being able to live your dream.Acknowledge your progress-you are almost there. A lover or child becomes a focal pointin your life. Romance and such creative pursuits as hobbies are outlets for much of your

energy. Later today, you may decide to bathe an animal before company arrives.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Interruptions are steady this morning and it could be difficult for you tokeep a steady train of thought. This could finally result in a lack of interest in what youare doing. You may want to take some breaks and stretch a little. Big changes affectingyour career, status and reputation are possible just now. Daring to be different and hav-ing a good sense of humor get you noticed and could get you ahead in ways you neverexpected. They could even land you in hot water if you are not discreet. A high-tech oridealistic approach sets you apart from others. This is a highly active day for you, mental-ly. Associates make heavy demands on your time. Steer clear of philosophical discus-sions. Let your brain have a much-needed rest this evening.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 1118

ACROSS1. An emergency procedure consisting of exter-nal cardiac massage and artificial respiration.4. Having unattractive thinness.11. Tropical woody herb with showy yellowflowers and flat pods.15. A unit of length of thread or yarn.16. Get by special effort.17. A member of an extinct North AmericanIndian people who lived in the Pit river valley innorthern California.18. A promontory in northern Morocco oppo-site the Rock of Gibraltar.20. The capital of Lombardy in northern Italy.21. A visual representation of an object or sceneor person produced on a surface.22. The basic unit of money in Macao.24. The longer of the two telegraphic signalsused in Morse code.26. Naked freshwater or marine or parasitic pro-tozoa that form temporary pseudopods forfeeding and locomotion.28. A member of an agricultural people insoutheastern India.30. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that ishighly corrosion-resistant.32. Being ten more than one hundred forty.33. God of death.36. (Greek mythology) One of the mountainnymphs.39. Devoid of warmth and cordiality.42. Large Indian antelope.44. A benevolent aspect of Devi.45. A light touch or stroke.46. A radioactive element of the actinide series.47. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a shortwedge-shaped white tail.48. Type genus of the Cariamidae comprisingonly the crested cariama.53. The blood group whose red cells carry boththe A and B antigens.54. Any of various insects that feed and formgalls on conifers.56. Type genus of the family Arcidae.58. A quantity of no importance.61. A translucent mineral consisting of hydratedsilica of variable color.63. Material used to daub walls.64. A small cake leavened with yeast.67. A one-piece cloak worn by men in ancientRome.68. Give a benediction to.71. Title for a civil or military leader (especially inTurkey).74. An indehiscent fruit derived from a singleovary having one or many seeds within a fleshywall or pericarp.75. A bachelor's degree in theology.76. Relating to or existing on or affecting theskin.78. A compartment in front of a motor vehiclewhere driver sits.79. Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.80. Capable of being graded (for quality or rankor size etc.).81. A loose sleeveless outer garment madefrom aba cloth.

DOWN1. A sudden very loud noise.2. Having nine hinged bands of bony plates.3. An Indian side dish of yogurt and choppedcucumbers and spices.4. The unlimited 3-dimensional expanse in

which everything is located.5. A hard brittle blue-white multivalent metallicelement.6. (computer science) Memory whose contentscan be accessed and read but cannot bechanged.7. Harsh or corrosive in tone.8. A Russian prison camp for political prisoners.9. United States evangelical preacher famous asa mass evangelist (born in 1918).10. A yearning for something or to do some-thing.11. A language of Australian aborigines.12. Australian shrubs and small trees with ever-green usually spiny leaves and dense clusters ofshowy flowers.13. Small buffalo of the Celebes having smallstraight horns.14. Long and thin and often limp.19. (folklore) A corpse that rises at night to drinkthe blood of the living.23. The elementary stages of any subject (usual-ly plural).25. Type genus of the Caricaceae.27. Surveying instrument consisting of theupper movable part of a theodolite includingthe telescope and its attachments.29. Fairly small terrestrial ferns of tropicalAmerica.31. A large fleet.34. A percussion instrument consisting of a pairof hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually heldbetween the thumb and fingers) that are madeto click together (as by Spanish dancers) inrhythm with the dance.35. In the Arabian Nights a hero who tells of thefantastic adventures he had in his voyages.37. Worn or shabby from overuse or (of pages)from having corners turned down.38. The phenomenon of resistance to motionthrough a fluid.40. A white metallic element that burns with abrilliant light.41. A soft silvery metallic element.43. A brittle gray crystalline element that is asemiconducting metalloid (resembling silicon)used in transistors.49. Tropical American tree grown in southernUnited States having a whitish pink-tinged fruit.50. (Greek mythology) A mythical monster withthe head of a bull and the body of a man.51. An ugly evil-looking old woman.52. Type genus of the Parulidae.55. Type genus of the Balaenidae.57. (Old Testament) Wife of Isaac and mother ofJacob and Esau.59. Capital and largest city of Iraq.60. Gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby.62. An aperture or hole opening into a bodilycavity.65. Title for a civil or military leader (especially inTurkey).66. Being or befitting or characteristic of aninfant.69. Someone who works (or provides workers)during a strike.70. A island in the Netherlands Antilles that isthe top of an extinct volcano.72. Hormone produced early in pregnancy bythe placenta.73. A long projecting or anterior elongation ofan animal's head.77. A silvery ductile metallic element found pri-marily in bauxite.

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inf or m at ionWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital 24812000

Amiri Hospital 22450005

Maternity Hospital 24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700

Chest Hospital 24849400

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010

Adan Hospital 23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

[email protected]

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Noor Clinic23845955

INTERNATIONALCALLS

Afghanistan 0093

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Angola 00244

Anguilla 001264

Antiga 001268

Argentina 0054

Armenia 00374

Australia 0061

Austria 0043

Bahamas 001242

Bahrain 00973

Bangladesh 00880

Barbados 001246

Belarus 00375

Belgium 0032

Belize 00501

Benin 00229

Bermuda 001441

Bhutan 00975

Bolivia 00591

Bosnia 00387

Botswana 00267

Brazil 0055

Brunei 00673

Bulgaria 00359

Burkina 00226

Burundi 00257

Cambodia 00855

Cameroon 00237

Canada 001

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Chile 0056

China 0086

Colombia 0057

Comoros 00269

Congo 00242

Cook Islands 00682

Costa Rica 00506

Croatia 00385

Cuba 0053

Cyprus 00357

Cyprus (Northern) 0090392

Czech Republic 00420

Denmark 0045

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Ecuador 00593

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England (UK) 0044

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Finland 00358

France 0033

French Guiana 00594

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India 0091

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Morocco 00212

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Myanmar (Burma) 0095

Namibia 00264

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Netherlands 0031

Netherlands Antilles 00599

New Caledonia 00687

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Paraguay 00595

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Portugal 00351

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Russian Federation 007

Rwanda 00250

Saint Helena 00290

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Samoa West 00685

San Marino 00378

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Scotland (UK) 0044

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Sierra Leone 00232

Singapore 0065

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Solomon Islands 00677

Somalia 00252

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South Korea 0082

Spain 0034

Sri Lanka 0094

Sudan 00249

Suriname 00597

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Tokelau 00690

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Tunisia 00216

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USA 001

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Yugoslavia 00381

Zambia 00260

Zimbabwe 00263

G o s s i p


l if e s t y l e

Jennifer Aniston says the secret to her flawless complexionis plenty of “sleep and hydration”. The former ‘Friends’ stardoesn’t rely on harsh potions or expensive beauty treat-

ments to maintain her incredible skin as she believes drinkinglots of water, hitting the pillow and “weird facials” is enough tokeep her face looking fresh. She said: “I have said this beforebut it’s the truth-I really think hydration is so important. Andsleep! All sorts of weird facials-chances are I’ve tried them all.”And, as for keeping fit, the 46-year-old actress likes to vary her

workouts, switching between yoga, running and weights. Inan interview on Gwyneth Paltrow’s website Goop, she said: “Ilike to mix it up with some Power Yoga, treadmill, ellipticalmachine and low weight training.” Meanwhile, the blondebeauty recently revealed her husband Justin Theroux, 44, -who she tied the knot with in August - has been tempted tojoin her for yoga-style exercise Budokon, which she has beendoing for years and hopes will improve their upper bodystrength and cardio. An insider said: “They’ve become great

sparring partners. “Jen’s been into Budokon for years, and sheand Courteney [Cox] used to do classes with well-respectedmartial arts teacher Cameron Shayne. Jen swears by it forupper body strength and cardio - and Justin’s really into itnow, too. It’s fast becoming an obsession for them.”

Aniston’s flawless skin regime

Josephine de laBaume wants to raid

Bowie’s wardrobe

Josephine de la Baume wants to raid David Bowie’swardrobe. The 31-year-old model, who is married torecord producer Mark Ronson, is desperate to rummage

through the bedroom cupboards of the ‘Let’s Dance’ hitmaker,68, because she thinks he has a fascinating sense of style.Speaking to Vogue magazine, she said: “David Bowie woulddefinitely be the wardrobe I’d like to raid. “Every record [hemakes] has a different style but each single, every one of themwere pretty incredible.” And the flame-haired beauty is cer-tainly used to raiding through other people’s belongings asshe recently admitted she first wore makeup at three years oldafter she rummaged through her mother’s dressing table andapplied a mixture of colorful products over her face. She saidrecently: “My earliest memory of beauty is from when I wasthree years old and put on all of my mother’s make-up. Iremember thinking I had done a fantastic job, when in realityI’d used every single product and applied all of them on top ofeach other - all over my face. “My mother would wear dark-red lipstick and a lot of eyeshadow - and it was the ‘80s, so itwas all super- colorful. There were various eyeshadowpalettes, which I had mixed up all over my face because I hadno concept of what should go where. “She would try to hideeverything from me but I kept finding it and doing it again. Iwas a good hustler.”

The ‘Saving Mr Banks’ actor has over50 devices which were made in the1940s and loves to use them for his

correspondence. Asked what he wants forChristmas, he told the New York Postnewspaper’s Page Six column: “AntiqueWWII typewriters. Takes a repair guy amonth to get them working, and I writemy letters on them. I own over 50.” Whilehe loves the old-fashioned way of writinghis letters, Tom is also an avid user ofsocial media and recently used Twitter tothank a man who had found and returnedhis lost credit card. He posted: “A guy

named Tony found my credit card on thestreet in NYC and returned it! Tony! Youmake this city even greater! Thanx. HANX(sic)” And in October, the 58-year-oldactor turned to the site again in a bid tohelp reunite a female college studentwith her ID card. He posted a picture ofthe card - with the young woman’s detailsconcealed - and wrote: “Lauren! I foundyour Student ID in the park. If you stillneed it my office will get to you. Hanx.”

Lil’ Wayne is reportedly being sued by hisformer lawyer for $375,000 (£251,000).According to XXL, the ‘Lollipop’ hitmak-

er’s ex-attorney Michael Kramer - who repre-sented the US rapper in his attempts to bereleased from his Cash Money contract - fileda lawsuit against Wayne in the Manhattanfederal court on Monday. In the lawsuit,Kramer says that Wayne failed to pay$375,239 in legal fees after agreeing to forkout an initial $20,000 in July 2013 and thenmonthly bills. The attorney claims he “madenumerous attempts to resolve the disputeamicably. These attempts were ultimatelyunsuccessful.” The lawyer ’s company is

alleged to have billed the 33-year-old rapperfrom November 2014 to October 2015 beforeeventually dropping him in Septemberbecause of the reported debt. Earlier thisyear, Wayne - whose real name is DwayneMichael Carter - was sued by another lawfirm, Garbett, Allen and Roza for $80,000 inunpaid legal fees. What’s more, the rapper’sformer bus driver Mark Jones filed a lawsuitagainst him earlier this year. He alleged thatWayne threatened to pistol whip him, “whiphis ass” and then kill him on a trip to Buffalo,New York.

Lil’ Wayne sued byex-lawyer for $375,000

Tom Hanks collects old typewriters

Carell loves holiday lights

Steve Carell enjoys it when people go “nuts” withChristmas decorations. The ‘Big Short’ actor loves drivingaround his neighborhood with wife Nancy and their

children Elisabeth, 14, and John, 11, to look at festive light dis-plays and loves the over-the-top sights. He said: “I appreciatewhen people go nuts. I don’t go nuts, but we actually, mywife, Nancy and our kids, get into the car once aroundChristmas time and we get a big box of donuts and hotchocolate, and we drive around looking at Christmas lights inour neighborhood...It’s pretty wonderful. “It’s fun, and actuallythe bigger, the bolder the better. We love it.” And the 53-year-old actor joked he and his spouse enjoys some unusualChristmas traditions. He quipped to talk show host EllenDeGeneres: “We put lights [up]. We fill the toilets with mulledwine. Nancy makes a frankencensen mer-loaf that is delicious.”Steve’s neighbors clearly embrace the holidays as he revealedearlier this year they have extravagant displays for Halloween.He said: “There’s one house that builds half a pirate ship that’ssunken into the ground. A huge 20-foot thing - with realpirates and smoke machines.” And the ‘Despicable Me’ actoradmitted he had also “got into it” and hid a set of motion-cen-sored cats and dogs in his bushes so they would growl andjump out at passersby. He said: “People go crazy.”

Kourtney Kardashian’s sons’ birth-day party was “out of this world”.The ‘Keeping Up With the

Kardashians’ star’s eldest child Masonturned six on December 14, the sameday her youngest, Reign, turned one andthey marked the double celebration withan alien-themed bash in the garden oftheir Californian home. Kourtney sharedon her website: “Since Mason and Reignwere born on the same day, I askedMason if he wanted to have his birthdayparty with Reign this year and he saidyes! “When it got dark outside, everyoneput on their glow-in-the-dark sunglassesand alien beanies. “We screened themovie ‘Home’ outside on a big blow-upscreen and set up comfy outdoor loungechairs and lots of blankets for people to

watch. It was truly out of this world!”And Kourtney - who also has three-year-old daughter Penelope with ex-partnerScott Disick - shared some easy decorat-ing tips for fans wanting an alien party oftheir own. She explained: “We madeblack alien eye stickers for the greenlanterns that we hung in all of the trees.They lit up so the whole backyardglowed at night.” Guests at the bash -which was organized by Mindy Weiss -tucked into food from restaurant chainWood Ranch BBQ & Grill, while hotchocolate, coffee and chai lattes kept therevelers warm during the evening. Whilethe birthday boys shared a party, theyeach got their own alien-shaped cakes,with Mason’s also boasting bright greenspace creatures on top.

Kourtney Kardashianshares party detailsLouis Tomlinson was spotted getting

close to actress Danielle Campbell inChicago over the weekend. The 23-year-

old singer fuelled romance rumors after hewas seen at Oberweis ice cream parlor in thecity “holding” onto the 20-year-old brunettebeauty. An eyewitness confirmed to E! News:“He was behind her and had his arms aroundher. It was really sweet! “They seemed cuddly- he was holding her for a little while.” And afan also shared a photo of the pair cuddlingat the cafe on Twitter alongside a caption,which read: “Louis in Chicago at Oberweis icecream with Danielle! (sic)” And that’s not all,later on, the One Direction hunk and ‘TheOriginals’ star crashed a 21st birthday partywhere Louis is believed to have left his pass-

port, coat and mobile phone. Alongside agroup picture of partygoers including Louis, afan confirmed: “Louis attending a birthday(@Guacamohle) last night in Chicago (sic).”And a friend of the birthday girl later postedan update that the 1D star had left hisbelongings at the house. They wrote:“@clairedontcare he went to my friend’s 21stbirthday party and left his coat with his pass-port and dead phone lol!! (sic)” The ‘History’singer - who is expecting his first child withstylist Briana Jungwirth - first sparked rumorsof a possible romance between himself andstunning actress after the pair were seenenjoying a milkshake together earlier thismonth.

Tomlinson and Campbellspotted getting close

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are to spend Christmastogether. The ‘Batman V Superman’ actor may havesplit from his 43-year-old actress wife in June but they

are planning to celebrate with one another on December 25for the sake of their three children, Violet, 10, Seraphina, six,and Samuel, three. A source told E! News:” They will betogether as a family. They continue to put the kids first andspend time with each other for the sake of their children.”And the former couple - who are said to be “in a good placeright now” - are planning to leave Los Angeles for a festive

break in snowy Montana. It was previously claimed Ben, 43,and Jennifer are “committed” to parenting together and put-ting their differences aside for the sake of their kids. A sourcesaid: “They are a unit. They are all about the kids and makingsure they are OK. They are committed to parenting together.”Even while Ben has been shooting the upcoming film ‘LiveBy Night’ in Boston, he ensured he made regular trips backto Los Angeles to see the children. The source said: “[He] hasspent every possible hour of the day working. He’s the firstto arrive and the last to leave.”

Affleck to spendChristmas with Garner


G o s s i p

l if e s t y l e

Renee Zellweger “succeeded” in avoiding wide-spread speculation about her appearance. The46-year-old actress caused a stir when she

walked the red carpet in October 2014 for the firsttime in years but insists she had no idea people wereconcerned she looked radically different until she wasinundated with messages of support. She toldEntertainment Weekly magazine: “All that I knowabout is what friends and associates would send intexts and emails. “They were sending support, which

means that I must have needed it, and I prefer it thatway. “So when people come up to me to ask ‘How didthat feel?’ I don’t know, and I like it like that. I don’tknow. “I know it sounds pretty unlikely that a personmight be able to make herself, I guess, keep clear ofthose words or of that experience, but I have and ittakes effort. But I have succeeded.” Despite not read-ing any of the coverage, the ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’actress now has “less fear” because of the experience.She added: “What good comes from knowing that

something like that happened? Less fear. Sure.” At thetime of the speculation, Renee insisted she was “glad”people thought she looked different because itreflected the fact she was happier. She said: “I’m gladfolks think I look different! I’m living a different, happy,more fulfilling life, and I’m thrilled that perhaps itshows.”

Zellweger ignoredappearance speculation

Sheeran buys

parents home

opposite him

Ed Sheeran has bought his parents a flat opposite hislavish £9 million pad in North London. The 24-year-old singer, who already owns a property near his

mother and father in Framlingham, Suffolk, has splashedout an estimated £750,000 to ensure John and Imogenhave a place to stay when they visit him in the British capi-tal. Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: “I boughtthem a flat. They already have a house. I got them a flatand a car in London so they can stay there. It’s oppositeme as well. “My thing is, I bought a house about a mileaway from them where we live in a countryside, and Ibought a flat and a house pretty much opposite each oth-er in London. So when I have kids, when they start gettinga little bit irritating, I’ve got the grandparents there.” But ifthe house wasn’t enough, Ed - who passed his driving testin October - has also gifted his supportive parents with aMini Cooper so they can get around when they’re inLondon. He said: “I thought instead of them having to drivetheir car up every time they’re in the country, they canhave the Mini and just use that when they are there.” AndJohn and Imogen will no doubt be spending more time inLondon now that Ed has announced he’s taking a breakfrom the music industry for 10 months to travel, relax andspend time with his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn.

The Spice Girls reunion tour is reportedly in crisisbecause Mel C won’t agree to it without VictoriaBeckham. While fashion designer Victoria says she is

too busy with her fashion label to reunite with her formerbandmates, Mel reportedly told the other three members -Mel B, Geri Horner and Emma Bunton - that she will onlytake part if all elements are in place. A source told The Sunnewspaper: “This means good management, good tourpromoters and good sponsorship to maximize revenue. Tofulfill this Mel believes the band has to be the original five-piece and Victoria needs to be involved.” Mel B previouslyadmitted the group are keen to “make sure somethinghappens” for their 20th anniversary next year but nothing

is set in stone yet. Asked about the chance of a reunion,she said: “Potentially, yeah. Once we sort everything outwe make an announcement, but right now we’re just figur-ing it all out. Next year is your 20 anniversary so we’re real-ly just trying to make sure something happens. “We’re fig-uring stuff out. As soon as we figure it out we’ll tell everydetail, but until then there’s not much to say. It’s like whenyou’re dating somebody and everyone is forcing you to getmarried. It’s like, ‘We’re getting married! Just give us a sec-ond to figure it out!’”

The Spice Girls reunion tour in crisis!

Carey sleeps inon Christmas DayMariah Carey “upsets” people on Christmas Day

because she insists on sleeping in. The ‘All I WantFor Christmas Is You’ singer - who has children

Moroccan and Monroe, four, with ex-husband Nick Cannonand is dating billionaire James Packer - always has an elab-orate celebration but admits her loved ones are less thanimpressed when she insists on starting her festivities late.She said: “I love Christmas, but I am a late sleeper. I sleep inand that can make people a little upset on Christmasmorning. “So I have my friend - the real Santa Claus - cometo the house in Aspen with real reindeer. This is true. “Hefills a stocking and sometimes he leaves a bag with gifts init on Christmas Eve. “Then, the next day the kids get thegifts. It’s fun and it’s festive. “Before I had my babies I usedto do this for my friends and their kids. I would invite Santaand the reindeer and he would take a video of them.” While‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ has become an essentialfestive song, Mariah had no idea how big the track wouldbe when she released it in 1994. She told HELLO! maga-zine: “It’s so funny that people ask me about this song. Iremember writing it in a little room on a little keyboard. “Iwas by myself thinking, ‘What are all of the things thatremind me of Christmas and the holidays?’ “Of course, Iwanted it to work and be a hit Christmas song but I neverknew how big it would be.”Geri Horner is

considering adoptionThe former Spice Girls singer is mother to nine-year-oldBluebell, while her new husband Christian Horner has atwo-year-old daughter, Olivia, but the pair haven’t ruledout having a child together in the future. She said: “If ithappens it happens and that will be amazing. But we arealready blessed with two girls. “We might think aboutadoption but to be honest, we know we are so lucky andso happy with things as they are, you have to realize whennot to push your luck.” The 43-year-old star couldn’t behappier with her new family unit. She told HELLO! maga-zine: “I’ve been single, I’ve been a single mother and nowI’m a married mother with Bluebell. “Together with my hus-band Christian and his little girl, we’re a family, a blendedfamily. “It’s lovely because we talk everything through, weare proud of each other and we support each other.”Bluebell adores her new stepfather and even calls himDaddy. Speaking about their Christmas plans, the young-ster said: “Daddy always wants to race through the presentopening as fast as possible. “He literally rips somethingopen and moves onto the next thing. “Mum and me like totake our time so we moan at him but he doesn’t care, hejust carries on ripping.”

James Corden

thinks his life is ‘insane’

The 37-year-old TV host is currently present-ing ‘The Late Late Show’ in the US, andadmits he struggles to believe some of the

things he’s done as part of his new role.Reflecting on the popular Carpool Karaoke skits,in which he harmonizes with various musicians,James said: “It is ridiculous to find yourself in a carsinging along with Stevie Wonder. It is insanethat this could be my life. “No one wanted to doCarpool Karaoke until I played a tape of mesinging in a car with George Michael to someonefrom Mariah Carey’s label. Mariah is a huge fan ofhis, so she agreed to do it. I feel very lucky.” Jamessaid he simply feels fortunate to be in the pres-ence of such talented people. He told The BigIssue magazine: “Rehearsing the bits where werecount a person’s film career, spending an after-noon with Tom Hanks or Matt Damon, is alsoincredible. “Doing an original sketch with MelBrooks was a highlight. These things are very,very lovely. You don’t ever think that you wouldbe in the presence of those people.”

Adele doesn’t consider

social media to be ‘real’

The Grammy Award-winning singer has revealed sheconsciously disengaged herself from social networkswhile she was writing her latest album ‘25’, claiming it

kept her free from distractions during the creative process.She shared: “Privacy is key to being able to write a realrecord, whether people like it or not. “My life has changedso much, but I’ve made the realest record I can make, andit’s the real part of me. How am I supposed to write a realrecord if I’m waiting for half a million likes on a photo? Thatain’t real.” Adele also claimed some artists are overexposedand are therefore, diluting the impact of their music. Shetold Time magazine: “I’m not throwing shade at anybody,but when you have a six-month build up, don’t expect meto be there the day your album comes out, because I’mbored. “It doesn’t matter how amazing it is. You put sevensongs out. I’ve heard the album. I’ve heard everything youwant to say about it. I’ve heard it all over radio. Don’texpect me to not lose interest before it’s even happened.”

Beckham documentaryidea was laughed at by TV

David Beckham was laughed at by TV bosses whenhe suggested making a documentary. The 40-year-old retired soccer star recently filmed a program for

the BBC in which he played seven games on seven conti-nents on behalf of the children’s charity Unicef, butBeckham has revealed how hard it was to get the conceptoff the ground. Of the moment he pitched the idea of play-ing soccer in the Antarctic, he told the BBC: “People satdown with us and actually laughed at the things we want-ed to achieve. And to be honest, rightly so!” David - whosejourney also saw him travel to places such as Nepal andBuenos Aires, Argentina - said the TV show allowed him tocombine his passions of travel and soccer. He shared: “Ilove to dive in to different cultures and see different thingsand see places I’ve never been to before. “The first threeplaces [we visited] are Unicef centers that we help supportand fund. That was personally important to me. The otherplaces, it was about showcasing how the power of thegame affects families in life.” David has been a Unicef UKambassador since 2005, and earlier this year, he launched7: The David Beckham Unicef Fund, which helps to protectchildren in danger around the world. — BangShowbiz


l if e s t y l eM u s i c & M o v i e s

British music icon Morrissey delighted an audience inPeru with a cover of Andean folk tune “El Condor Pasa”as he closed an extensive tour of Latin America. The for-

mer Smiths frontman, whose biting commentary on thehuman condition has won him a global fan base, playedbefore 5,000 fans in the Park of the Exposition in downtownLima on Saturday night. Early in the set, Morrissey performed“El Condor Pasa” (“The Condor Passes”), which was written in1913 by the Peruvian composer Daniel Alomia Robles basedon a traditional instrumental melody in Peru.

Morrissey’s rendition came from Simon and Garfunkel’sversion, “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)”, which includes lyrics inEnglish and appeared on the duo’s final album, 1970’s “BridgeOver Troubled Water.” The song’s inclusion could be taken byfans as a mark of reconciliation by the famously moodyMorrissey, who in 2013 called off two shows in Lima amid aseries of cancelations due to health concerns. Morrissey’s

show on Saturday capped a 14-date tour of Latin America,where the singer has found an especially avid fan base. In anonline posting on Monday Morrissey described the tour as“our highest triumph” and ranked the Lima show at the top ofhis list.

“Thank you, South America! Your love is gratefully accept-ed and returned tenfold,” he said. Known for his stridentdefense of animal rights, Morrissey used the Lima show tocampaign against bullfighting in Peru, where the bloody sporthas been inherited from the Spanish. Morrissey showed thecrowd grotesque photos of animals’ deaths as he performed“The Bullfighter Dies,” a song off his latest album, as well as theSmiths classic “Meat is Murder.” “It is termed bullfighting eventhough no fight is possible: the bull has no defense against alarge parade of miserably gleeful ‘bullfighters,’ their superioritycomplex so full of airs and graces, yet unable to face the bullwithout a slew of weaponry and support,” Morrissey wrote

ahead of the concert on True to You, a website where he oftenmakes statements.

“In 2015!? In civil Peru!? Such an ancient ache shredsPeruvian society, and drops any civilization low on thetotem pole,” he wrote. Morrissey also per formed “I ’mThrowing My Hands Around Paris,” which appeared on his2009 album “Years of Refusal” but which he transformedinto a song of solidarity with the French capital after theNovember 13 attacks. — AFP

Morrissey salutes Peru with Andean folk tune

This June 19, 2015file photo shows

Morrissey as he per-forms at the Firefly

Music Festival in Dover,Delaware. — AFP

Snow Patrol will perform and be honored atthe Oscar Wilde Awards. The band, whichoriginated in Northern Ireland, will perform

Feb. 25 at the event held at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robotproduction company in Santa Monica. The Irishsinger Roisin O will also perform. Snow Patrol is thewinner of the Ivor Novello award and responsiblefor many hit singles including “Run,” “Chocolate”and “Chasing Cars.” The band’s albums have beennominated for the Mercury Music Prize, Brits,

Grammys and MTV Europe Music Awards. The bandalso provides mentoring for music businesses andbands from Northern Ireland.

It was previously announced that James Cordenwould be the recipient of the Honorary Irishmanaward. “We are hoping for a strong Irish presence inL.A. this year,” said Trina Vargo, founder and presi-dent of the US-Ireland Alliance. “There is a lot ofOscar buzz around ‘Room’ and ‘Brooklyn.’” “Room,”starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay, is based

on the book written by Emma Donoghue and wasdirected by Lenny Abrahamson. “Brooklyn,” basedon the novel by Colm Toibin, is directed by JohnCrowley and stars Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohenand Saoirse Ronan, a previous recipient of an OscarWilde Award. And Paddy Breathnach’s “Viva” is oneof nine films shortlisted for the foreign-languageOscar. — Reuters

Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol to perform and be honored at Oscar Wilde Awards

“Grease: Live” will not only air live, but will be stagedin front of a live studio audience. Fox made theannouncement Monday with a cast video, along

with new promo shots for the Jan 31 musical event. “Grease” isthe first foray into live musicals for Fox, and it will be the firsttelevised musical event of recent times to incorporate a studioaudience, differing from NBC’s “Sound of Music,” “Peter Pan”and most recently, “The Wiz.” Insiders say the live studio audi-ence will add a much-needed element for the cast and crew,in hopes that the audience-fueled energy will come across onscreen.

Julianne Hough, who will star as Sandy, alongside VanessaHudgens who plays Rizzo, makes the announcement in thevideo (below), in which cast members jokes they hope theydon’t mess up. Aaron Tveit will co-star opposite Hough asDanny, the heartthrob made famous by John Travolta in theoriginal flick. The cast is rounded out by Keke Palmer, CarlosPenaVega, Carly Rae Jepsen, David Del Rio, Jordan Fisher,Andrew Call, Kether Donohue and Mario Lopez. — Reuters

Adele spends

4th week atop

Billboard chart

British singer Adele extended her reignatop the weekly US Billboard 200album chart for a fourth consecutive

week on Monday, and saw a resurgence insales for her previous album as well. Adele’srecord-setting “25” album sold another728,000 copies, 297,000 songs and wasstreamed 8.4 million times in the past week,totaling 825,000 units according to figuresfrom Nielsen SoundScan. Adele’s 2011album “21,” with which the singer swept sixGrammy awards, climbed four spots to No.10 this week with sales of 49,000 units.

The soaring popularity for the 27-year-old singer’s music comes as tickets for her56-date North America tour, her first in fiveyears, sold out in minutes when they wenton sale last week. No new entries crackedinto the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albumschart this week, as Adele’s “25” outsold oth-er artists including Justin Bieber’s “Purpose,”which climbed one spot to No. 2, andColdplay’s “A Head Full of Dreams,” whichdropped from No. 2 to No. 7.

On the Digital Songs chart, which meas-ures online sales of singles, “Mary Did YouKnow” by Jordan Smith, the winner of NBC’sreality singing show “The Voice,” topped thechart with 161,000 downloads, pushingAdele’s ballad “Hello” to No. 2. — Reuters Adele

Fox’s ‘Grease: Live’ musical to air in front of studio audience

Some 12,000 emergency and health workers, security offi-cials and others who jumped in to respond to theNovember 13 terror attacks in France were honored at a

concert Monday in Paris. “Firefighters of Paris, doctors, sur-geons, police forces, soldiers, rescue workers,” entertainerNikos Aliagas addressed the crowd, adding several other cate-

gories of workers such as bomb experts to the list, callingthem the “humble heroes of our country”. “We are proud ofyou and we express our gratitude,” he said.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told the gathering: “On the cuspof this new year, I want to share with you my confidence andtell you the pride I feel working alongside you. Paris is very

lucky to be able to count on you. We will never forget it.” Thecoordinated series of gun and bomb attacks at several sites inParis, including the Bataclan concert hall, left 130 dead.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Health MinisterMarisol Touraine also attended the event, as well as the headof Paris hospitals, Martin Hirsch. The stage then was given

over to singers including Zaz, Benabar and Jane, before thehall burst into an improvised rendition of “La Marseillaise” acappella. The broadcast was viewed by some three millionpeople nationwide.-AFP

Unsung heroes of Paris attacks honored at concert

French singer Benabar performs during a concert tothank the anonymous “heroes” who assisted victims of theNovember 13 Paris attacks, on December 21, 2015 at theBercy AccorHotels Arena in Paris. — AFP photos

(From second right) French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, French Minister forSocial Affairs, Health and Women’s Rights Marisol Touraine and the director of the state-run Paris hospitals (AP-HP) Martin Hirsch take part a minute of silence during a concert tothank the anonymous “heroes”.

People wave lighted fiber optic wands as they attend a concert to thank the anonymous“heroes” who assisted victims of the November 13 Paris attacks.

The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) has voted “Creed” as thebest film of 2015, BFCC co-president Mike Sargentannounced Monday. “Rocky’s” seventh installment, which

follows the son of late boxing champion Apollo Creed as he seeksguidance from the famed Rocky Balboa, also won BFCC’s bestactor award for Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Adonis JohnsonCreed. Best supporting actor and actress honors were awarded toSylvester Stallone and Tess Thompson for their performances asRocky Balboa and Creed’s love interest, respectively.

Universal’s “Straight Outta Compton,” a biographical dramathat centers around the origins of rap group N.W.A, picked up theawards for best screenwriting in an original screenplay and bestensemble performance. Brie Larson won BFCC’s best actressaward for her performance in A24’s “Room” as a mother forced toraise her son in confinement. The best directing award was givento George Miller for post-apocalyptic epic “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

“Creed” led group’s top 10 films list, followed by “Mad Max:Fury Road,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Spotlight,” “The Martian,”“Room,” “Beasts of No Nation,” “The Hateful Eight,” “The Big Short”and “Ex Machina.” Additional BFCC winners include Ice Cube forthe pioneer award and Abraham Attah for the rising star award.Special mention went to Netflix’s “Beasts of No Nation.” “This hasbeen a very interesting and unique year for black film,” saidSargent, adding that the future outlook for the genre “looksbrighter than its ever been.” Here’s the complete list of BFCC’s 2015award winners:

Best Picture: “Creed”Best Directing: George Miller “Mad Max: Fury Road”Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan “Creed”Best Actress: Brie Larson “Room”Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone “Creed” Best

Supporting Actress: Tessa Thompson “Creed” Best Screenwriting(Original Screenplay): “Straight Outta Compton” BestScreenwriting (Adapted Screenplay): “The Martian” BestCinematography: “Mad Max: Fury Road” Best Foreign LanguageFilm: “Son of Saul” Best Documentary Feature: “What Happened,Miss Simone?”

Best Animated Feature: “Inside Out”

Best Ensemble Performance: “Straight Outta Compton”BFCC’s Top 1o Films of 2015 are as follows in order of distinc-

tion:1. “Creed”2. “Mad Max: Fury Road”3. “Straight Outta Compton”4. “Spotlight”5. “The Martian”6. “Room”7. “Beasts of No Nation”8. “The Hateful Eight”9. “The Big Short”10. “Ex Machina” — Reuters

Black Film Critics Circle name‘Creed’ top film of the year


l if e s t y l eF e a t u r e s

“We’ve been tricked, my brother,” saysReda in the final terrifying minutesof “Jihad”, a short play ripped from

the headlines about the odyssey of three youngMuslims from the streets of Brussels to the hor-rors of IS-inspired martyrdom in Syria. The play-wright is 39-year-old Ismael Saidi, a former policeofficer born in the EU capital of Brussels to a fam-ily of Moroccan origin. He is much like at leastfour of the 10 attackers that killed 130 people inParis on November 13, including the only sur-vivor, Salah Abdeslam, who is still on the run.

In his no-frills play that runs a brisk two hours,Saidi tells the darkly humorous tale of threeBrussels losers who are all too easily lured downthe dark road of radicalization and jihad underthe wing of the Islamic State group in Syria.Radical Islam is a sensitive issue in Brussels withsome of the biggest terror plots in Europe of thelast 25 years linked to the city and the troubledneighborhood of Molenbeek in particular.

“This play is obviously a critique of my com-munity. Who are these young people who signup for jihad?” Saidi said one cool autumn morn-ing, addressing journalists at a small theatre justa short walk from EU headquarters. In the show,Saidi goes by his first name Ismael and plays ahapless version of himself, along with the twoother marginals, Reda and Ben, played by friendsalso using their actual first names. “I criticize anyexcessive tendency towards victimization.

Especially the hypocrisy of those who claim theyare not tolerated when they are not tolerantthemselves,” Saidi said.

‘Artists go to hell’ In the play, Ismael turns to radicalization after

a teacher forbids his true passion, drawing. “Itwas a Saturday at Arabic school,” Ismael begins inone of the plays early moments.” The teacher dis-covered my drawings and hit me while shoutinga quote of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) thatsaid all artists go to hell.” Ismael abandons thepencil, commits to religion, which then quicklyhardens into extremism. His friend Reda, inanother scene, talks of a longtime crush forValerie, a native Belgian who is not aMuslim.”Mom told me Valerie was fine to havesome fun, but real l ife required a Muslimwoman... so I left her,” he laments to the audi-ence, a diverse crowd from all ages and walks ofBrussels life. The third character, Ben, is a hugeElvis fan but on a trip to Memphis sees Aaron, aJewish name, carved into the King’s tombstoneat Graceland. “Even my favorite music was part ofthe great Zionist conspiracy,” the character saysas he takes the jihad road for Syria.

Social ‘schizophrenia’ “Djihad”, the French spelling for Jihad, was

first performed a year ago and was only sup-posed to run for five performances, but word-of-

mouth quickly spread and the play has beenseen by 45,000 people. It heads to France nextyear. The other performers, Reda Chebchoubiand Ben Hamidou, are also of Moroccan originand grew up in Brussels, the latter in Molenbeek.

Each performance is followed by a debate,where the temptations of radicalism are dis-cussed freely to an audience often made up ofhigh school students.” I wrote this play for mymother and children,” said Saidi, who believesthe play is appropriate for anyone 12-years-oldor above. Saidi said some of his own childhoodfriends turned to radicalism. He only avoided thetrap through “the luck of key encounters”. He saidyoung Muslims in Europe are pushed into asocial “schizophrenia” living in ghettos thatbecome their only identity, cutting them off fromrest of the city and the world. For actorChebchoubi, the indignities of everyday racismmake the siren call of radicalism all too attractivefor the Muslims of Europe.

“We are victims of both a system that deni-grates us but also of our own people that takeadvantage of our ignorance,” his character says atthe end of the show. Saidi decried an “illness”fuelled by an Islam that all too often embracesanti-semitism, sexism and the refusal to recog-nize marriages outside the faith. “The problem inEurope dates from the 1970s when we gave thekeys to the Islamic faith to Saudi Arabia,” he said.Many who left for Syria, including non-Muslims,

did seek out to help a population clearly in need,Saidi added. “But those that returned to Parisweren’t exactly Buddhists.”—AFP

‘Jihad’, the tale of three radicals, draws crowds in Belgium

Belgian filmmaker, playwright and stage director Ismael Saidi presents the book adapted fromhis play “Djihad” during a press conference in Brussels on December 4, 2015

The new “Star Wars” movie has set a global opening weekendrecord, smashing past the previous record holder “JurassicWorld” to rake in $529 million, Disney said on Monday. “With

final numbers now in, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ rose aboveestimates to post an all-time industry-high $248 million domesti-cally plus $281 million internationally for an all-time record globaldebut of $529 million since opening December 16,” the companysaid in a statement.

It said the figure does not include box office receipts fromIndia and Greece, where the movie opens this week or fromChina, the world’s second biggest film market where it opens onJanuary 9.”Jurassic World” previously held the record for globallaunch with $524.9 million. “Our sole focus has been creating afilm that delivers that one-of-a-kind Star Wars experience, anddirector J.J. Abrams, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy andthe Lucasfilm team have outdone themselves,” Disney chairmanAlan Horn said at the weekend.

The highly anticipated seventh installment of the space sagahas blazed a record-setting trail since its domestic debut lastThursday, taking the prize for highest-grossing domestic openingnight with $57 million and biggest domestic single-day salesFriday with $120.5 million.

‘Power of the force’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” previously held

both records at $43.5 million for an opening night and $91 millionfor a first day. As far as all-time box office sales, two films by JamesCameron hold the record-”Avatar” ($2.78 billion) and “Titanic”($2.18 billion), and it is expected that “The Force Awakens” mightunseat both. “‘Star Wars’ is officially the biggest thing to happen inthe known box office universe now that it has taken the bestdebuts records-domestic and worldwide-from ‘Jurassic World’,”said Jeff Bock, box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations.

“The industry is expecting amazing holds this upcomingweekend and through the holidays, and if that happens, ‘Avatar’

and its records may be the next thing to fall in the face of the pow-er of the force.” Disney said the galactic success of the movie hasalready enabled the company to cross the $5 billion mark in glob-al box office receipts in a calendar year for the first time ever, sur-passing the previous record of $4.73 billion set in 2013. “The ForceAwakens” picks up the intergalactic story of good versus evil 30years on from “The Return of the Jedi,” the last episode of the origi-nal trilogy.

The trio of heroes who appeared in the first of the block-busters in 1977 — smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford), PrincessLeia (Carrie Fisher), leader of the rebel alliance, and her twin broth-er Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) — are all back and played by theactors that “Star Wars” first made famous. Also debuting at the boxoffice in the top 10 this weekend were four other films, whosenumbers seemed miniscule compared to the “Star Wars” hauling.The animated “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” came insecond place in its first weekend, with $14.3 million, according tobox office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

In third and also in its debut weekend was “Sisters,” starringTina Fey and Amy Poehler as two siblings throwing one last partyin their childhood home before it is sold. It earned only $14 mil-lion. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2,” the fourth and lastmovie in the blockbuster franchise that turned Jennifer Lawrenceinto a Hollywood megastar, earned $5.7 million, falling to fourthplace in its fifth week in theaters. Meanwhile “Creed,” a next-gener-ation version of the “Rocky” series earned $5 million in its fourthweek on the big screen.

Box office receipts for the rest of the top 10 were as follows:6. “The Good Dinosaur” ($4.3 million)7. “Krampus” ($4.1 million)8. “In the Heart of the Sea” ($3.5 million)9. “Dilwale” ($1.9 million-debut weekend)10. “Bajirao Mastani” ($1.7 million-debut weekend) —AFP

‘Star Wars’ overtakes ‘Jurassic World’ for biggest global debut

Fans dressed as Star Wars characters parade outside a movie theater showing ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Saturday inTaipei, Taiwan. — AP

Filmmaker and Director Quentin Tarantino and actorSamuel L Jackson pose at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Filmmaker and Director Quentin Tarantino poses with hisstar on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.—AFP photos

Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino got his staron the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, just daysbefore the release of his latest movie “The Hateful

Eight.” Tarantino recalled to a crowd that had gathered for theevent outside the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevardhow his parents used to take him to see films at the famedtheatre, including “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” or hisfirst James Bond movie, “Diamonds are Forever.”

“The line went all the way down the block. And we stayedin that line, and at one point of that line, I stood right there,”he said, pointing to his star. “So, I have called Hollywood myhome even before I lived in this ZIP code for a very, very long

time.” The filmmaker, who dropped out of high school insist-ing he could learn more on his own, won Oscars for the blackcomedy western “Django Unchained” in 2013 and the blackcomedy crime film “Pulp Fiction” in 1995. But his latest movie“The Hateful Eight” has received lukewarm reviews and wasrecently snubbed by the Golden Globes and the Screen ActorsGuild Awards nominations, considered a bellwether for theOscars. — AFP

Tarantino gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

With its global bow now at a record $529 million,“Star Wars’” box office success will undoubtedlyafford its cast members heftier pay cuts on

their next projects. But just how much money did “TheForce Awakens” actors earn to join a galaxy far, far away?Sources tell Variety Harrison Ford came away the bigwinner on Disney and Lucasfilm’s sequel with a pay-check in the 8 figure range ($15 million to $20 million)to reprise his role of Han Solo.

On Monday, the Daily Mail issued a report saying thatFord earned a staggering $25 million to return to the“Star Wars” franchise and while insiders stress that num-ber is too high, they did confirm that the 73 year-oldactor earned a substantially larger cut than his co-stars.Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher took home salaries in thelow-seven figure range, according to sources.Newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Ridley were paid inthe low-six figure range ($100k-$300k). Actors AdamDriver and Oscar Isaac, meanwhile, received offers ofmid to high six-figures. Because Driver and Isaac hadfixed quotes from previous film and TV work, sourcessay their deals were negotiated higher compared toBoyega and Ridley, who, for the most part, had neverappeared in a large-scale film before.

Insiders tell Variety that Disney made a decision in2014 prior to casting the new roles to create a “legacypay scale” intended for talent like Ford, Fisher andHamill, who had previously been a part of the “StarWars” universe, and general pay scale for actors thatwould be appearing for the first time. Hamill andFisher’s salaries are expected to rise in upcoming install-ments as their parts grow with each film. The salariesdon’t include back-end bonuses from the pic’s boxoffice haul, which in a rare case doesn’t even kick in tillthe film crosses $1 billion worldwide, and following thesuccess of “The Force Awakens,” deals are expected to

be renegotiated before the next films get underway. While Ford is considered the biggest star in the

ensemble, the no. 1 reason the actor walked away withthe most money had to do with the fact that this wouldbe a one-off situation for the actor since his characterdies in “The Force Awakens.” As for the younger talentreceiving lower salaries-it’s a fairly common practice intoday’s market for newer actors, especially with so manynegotiations involving back-end box office bonuses. Forthe first “Fifty Shades of Grey”, stars Dakota Johnson andJamie Dornan received offers in the six-figure range andhave since renegotiated multi-million dollar deals forfuture installments. — Reuters

Yanni to broadcast concert from Pyramids

Yanni, the prolific New Age composer known for extravagantlive performances, plans a busy 2016 that includes broad-cast of a concert at the Pyramids. The Greek-born, US-based

keyboardist announced that “Yanni: The Dream Concert-Live fromthe Great Pyramids of Egypt,” will air on US public broadcaster PBSin March. The concert will be a recording of Yanni’s first appear-ance in Egypt from October, in which he brought an orchestra andan accompanying light show to the Pyramids.

The showcase of the ancient wonder could offer a publicityboon for Egypt as it struggles to ease overseas tourists’ safety con-cerns. At the same time, a number of Egyptians complained onsocial media that Yanni’s two shows were too expensive for them.The concert film will be Yanni’s 12th for PBS. The first, and mostfamous, was a concert by Yanni at the Acropolis in his nativeGreece recorded in 1993. He released his last such concert in 2012which was taped in Puerto Rico at the 16th-century Morro Castle.

Yanni on January 29 will also release a new album, “SensuousChill,” which his label said would include a track with a touch ofbhangra, the energetic dance music with roots in Punjab. Yanniplans a tour across North America for the album, starting onFebruary 2 in Sarasota, Florida. Yanni, whose real name is YiannisChryssomallis, is one of the defining artists of New Age, the genrethat brings a spiritual dimension to instrumental electronic musicthat often has classical form as well as global influences. — AFP

This October 28, 2015 file photo shows Greek-Americancontemporary composer Yiannis Chryssomallis, whogoes by the stage name Yanni, posing for a picture dur-ing a visit to the Giza pyramids south of the Egyptiancapital Cairo. — AFP

Harrison Ford was paid over 50x more than ‘Star Wars’ co-stars

Harrison Ford

A Christian Palestinian man dressed up as Santa Claus rings a bell as he sits on a camel at Mt Olives back-dropped by Jerusalem’s Old City skyline, as Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas. — AFP

39‘Jihad’, the tale of

three radicals, draws crowds in Belgium


When “Silent Night” was born in Austria almost 200years ago, those present had little idea that theChristmas carol would one day be sung the world

over, including this year by Miley Cyrus and some Swedishgoats. Such though was the destiny of “Stille Nacht”, premieredto a modest church congregation of ship laborers and theirfamilies in this small town in Austria on Christmas Eve, 1818.The words, since translated into more than 300 languages anddialects-including Japanese, Welsh and Farsi-had been writtenas a poem by a priest, Joseph Mohr, in 1816, a time of great suf-fering in the wake of Europe’s Napoleonic wars.

Two years later, Mohr asked his friend stationed in a nearbyvillage, the organist, choirmaster and schoolteacher FranzXaver Gruber, to compose a tune. When Gruber duly obligedon December 24, the two men decided to sing it together thatvery evening at mass in Oberndorf church. The organ was bro-ken, according to legend because of nibbling mice, so Mohr

played guitar. Many years later in his 1854 “Authentic Accountof the Origin of the Christmas Carol, ‘Silent Night, Holy Night!’,”Gruber recalled there was “general approval by all”.

‘Pop stars’ This approval would snowball, although it is a bit of a mys-

tery how exactly the song then spread. It is thought that a keyrole was played by one Carl Mauracher, a master organ builderand repair man, who took the song back home to the Zillertalvalley in the Tyrol region. There it was adopted by two travel-ling singing groups, the Rainer Singers and the StrasserSiblings, who performed around Europe and beyond-includingin the Rainers’ case in the United States. “They were the popstars of the time,” said Anna Holzner from the Silent Nightmuseum-home today to Mohr’s guitar-in Hallein, where Gruberlived until his death in 1863.

An English version of the German original soon followed,

and by the end of the 19th century it was being sung on allcontinents, its spread helped by Christian missionaries. DuringWorld War I, legend has it that German and British soldiers inopposing trenches sang it at Christmas 1914, its call for peacesounding out over no man’s land during a famous truce. Sincethen the song has been recorded many hundreds of times bythe likes of Bing Crosby-to huge success-and Elvis Presley,without forgetting John Denver with the Muppets and gravel-voiced satanic German rockers Erloesung. This year, along withCyrus’, comes a new version bleated by goats released by theSwedish branch of charity Action Aid-part of an album entitled“All I want for Christmas is a Goat”.

Fame at last Today, Mohr and Gruber are honored in around a dozen

sites locally, including in Oberndorf and in Hochburg-Ach,Gruber’s birthplace where for the past 10 years locals have per-

formed a special play every Christmas. “In my country this songis sung in 20 or 30 different languages,” Sally, 45, a bus driver inSalzburg originally from Ghana, told AFP, one of several peopleperforming the song in different languages in the play. Theoriginal Oberndorf church-along with its pesky mice-wasdemolished at the beginning of the 20th century after beingdamaged by floods. Today in its place stands a small chapel.With stained glass windows depicting Mohr and Gruber, everyDecember 24 thousands of people gather outside for aChristmas ceremony, including of course a rendition of “SilentNight”. — AFP

‘Silent Night’: From village ditty to global Christmas hit

The Silent-Night-Memorial-Chapel in Austrian village of Oberndorf. Markus Giglmayer (left) singing a Silent night carol with his brother Christian to visitorsat The Silent-Night-Memorial-Chapel, in the Austrian village of Oberndorf.

This file photo taken on December 10, 2003 shows astained glass window with a portrait of composer FranzXaver Gruber at the Silent-Night-Memorial-Chapel in theAustrian village of Oberndorf.— AFP photos

Why settle for run-of-the-mill holiday gift wrappingwhen there are dozens of wonderful papers avail-able? This year’s designs reflect what’s going on in

decor, with metallic of all kinds, and masculine and femininemotifs playing off each other, says Krissa Rossbund, seniorstyle editor at Traditional Home magazine. And as with homedÈcor, there’s also room for adding your own touch.

Yin and Yang“There’s wonderful visual tension right now in design that

has a masculine slant,” Rossbund says. For instance, TheContainer Store’s got a repeating deer print on a blue back-ground, and a handsome gold antler print on black; both havea menswear vibe, great for wrapping guy gifts.

Rifle Paper Company’s got some designs that aren’t overlyChristmas-y yet evoke the season. Graphite Lace puts a femi-nine print on a chic gray background. Holiday Greens rendersflowers and greenery in rich, earthy hues. Blush, mint, char-coal, gold and cream in a similar print make for a WinterWonderland. Pier 1 has a realistic, birch-bark printed paper,and a homespun plaid that reverses to poinsettias and holly.

Having funYummy, photo-printed gingerbread cooks up a luscious

paper at Zazzle. Black may not seem like a seasonal color, butwith brightly colored ornaments, holiday lights or reindeer inthe foreground, you have a paper that pops. The retailer alsohas some personalized options that let you add a family photoor name to a design of your choice.

Royal-blue paper studded with glitter creates an elegantwrap at Paper Source. And for fun, there’s a Hanukkah paperpopulated with herds of llamas. A page of hand-drawnHanukkah wishes in white on blue would be just as prettyframed as it would be as wrapping paper.

Class actAt Paper Mojo, find some art papers perfect for small and

special gifts. One refined, color-saturated paper is hand-mar-bled by Brazilian artist Renato Crepaldi. “We were originallyattracted to Renato’s work because of his vibrant colors andcrisp lines,” says company co-founder Shelly Gardner-Alley.“He’s exhibited his work in art galleries around the world.”

The retailer also has Japanese prints known as “chiyogami”silkscreened onto papers made with kozo plant fibers, avail-able on special order. And an Indian paper is embossed withmyriad metallic pebbles, giving the impression that you’rewrapping something in hammered gold. Also, there are Snow& Graham’s striking yet simple papers: Designs include ribboncandy and holiday lights. Recycled cotton fiber is used tomake eco-friendly papers at Luxe Paperie. On one, silvery rein-deer strut across a rich yellow background; on another, a gold,French, damask-inspired design on deep red looks like luxelinen. Mod Moroccan and ikat patterns are rendered in soyinks on recycled content paper.

Personal touchRossbund suggests making gift wrap your own by opting

for a solid “signature” color. Opt for a couple of big rolls in col-

ors you love, and then customize them with add-ons like con-trasting ribbon bows or even yarn. “A skein of yarn is a cost-friendly solution and adds a welcoming warm texture to pack-ages that’s reminiscent of a cozy sweater,” she says.

“Get creative using knots instead of bows for a simple,graphic appearance.” Think beyond the gift-wrap roll, if youwant. Foreign-language newspapers, and pages from chil-dren’s books or coffee-table art books make interesting wrap-ping paper. — AP

Fun and festive holiday gift paper

In this photo provided by Zazzle, large, colorful orna-ments tumble across an eye-catching, almost 3-D wrap-ping paper from Zazzle designer Unique Christmas Gifts.

In this photo provided by Zazzle, English artist LouisWain’s (1860-1939) Christmas party full of festive catsmakes a fun and fitting wrapping paper for a feline loverby Zazzle designer Anthro Animals. —AP photos

This photo provide by Pier 1 Imports shows a versatilewrap that has season-ready poinsettias on one side, andholiday wishes rendered in chalkboard-style typographyon the other.

MP Nabil Al-Fadhl dies during Assembly session - Kuwait Times

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