SUBSCRIPTION

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 RABI ALAWWAL 2, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Delay in N Korea’s Torture leaves Spot-on GCC rail Internet long-term Napoli beat tied to route collapses after psychological Juventus to land grab?5 Sony27 hack scars29 Super19 Cup Riyadh vows OPEC won’t cut Min 06º Max 19º output even at $20 a barrel High Tide 00:08 & 14:16 Low Tide Cartel loathe to lose business Gulf can ‘hold out’ 07:47 & 19:37

40 PAGES NO: 16382 150 FILS •

RIYADH: OPEC will not cut oil production even if the price drops to $20 a barrel and it is unfair to expect the cartel to reduce output if non-members do not, Saudi France ups security after attacks Arabia said. “Whether it goes down to $20 a barrel, $40, $50, $60, it is irrelevant,” the kingdom’s Oil Minister Ali Al- PARIS: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stepped up Naimi said in an interview with the Middle East Economic security nationwide yesterday following three successive, Survey (MEES), an industry weekly. In unusually detailed apparently unrelated attacks that left one man dead, in a comments, Naimi defended a decision by the bid to ease growing unease in the country. While the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, motives behind the incidents- a knife attack on police whose lead producer is Saudi Arabia, last month to main- and two car rampages onto passers-by - remain unclear, tain a production ceiling of 30 million barrels per day. the violence has jarred nerves after repeated jihadist calls The decision sent global crude prices tumbling, wors- for “lone wolf” action in France over its fight against ening a price drop that has seen them fall by around 50 Islamic extremism. Valls stressed that the three incidents percent since June. Slower were “distinct”, urging the French to keep calm while demand growth and a stressing security would be heightened. “Two hundred to stronger dollar have also con- 300 extra soldiers will be deployed in the coming hours” tributed to the slump. Saudi on top of 780 forces already mobilised, he said live on tel- Arabia has traditionally acted evision. to balance demand and sup- Security patrols will also be increased in shopping ply in the global oil market areas, city centres, stations and on public transport, he because it is the only country added. The violence began on Saturday when a man was with substantial spare pro- shot dead after attempting to enter a police station in the duction capacity, according central town of Joue-les-Tours while shouting “Allahu to the International Monetary Ali Al-Naimi Akbar” and attacking three officers with a knife, two of Fund. The kingdom pumps about 9.6 million barrels per whom were seriously injured. Then on Sunday evening, a day but Naimi said it is “crooked logic” to expect his coun- driver ploughed into pedestrians in Dijon in the east, try to cut and then lose business to other major produc- injuring 13 people and also shouting the same Islamic ers outside OPEC. phrase which means “God is Greatest” and has in the past The increasingly competitive global oil market has been used by extremists when waging violent attacks. NANTES: Municipal police patrol the Christmas market in this western French city yesterday, a day after a seen daily United States output rise by more than 40 per- Continued on Page 13 man rammed into shoppers with his car. — AFP cent since 2006, but at a production cost which can be Continued on Page 13 Fadhl calls for scrapping restrictions on concerts Tameemi: Apply environment law By B Izzak win the approval of religious groups. Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah He said the restrictions have to take a “brave decision to bring KUWAIT: MP Nabil Al-Fadhl yester- proved to be a complete failure and back happiness into the country”, day called on the information minis- led to a number of negative phenom- adding that he will send a number of ter to scrap restrictions on musical ena including encouraging people to questions on the issue to the minis- concerts and parties in the country, leave the country on holidays, assist- ter. Fadhl, an independent lawmaker imposed under pressure by Islamist ed the spread of extremism among with liberal-secular views, said on MPs a decade ago. The lawmaker said youth and others. Fadhl said that the Monday he has submitted a petition that the restrictions or the so-called conditions that forced the govern- to the constitutional court challeng- regulations for concerts were issued ment to accept those restrictions no ing an article in the constitution that in 2004 after Islamist MPs threatened longer exist and accordingly, there is prevents granting Kuwaiti citizenship to grill the then information minister, no reason for the restrictions to con- to non-Muslims, saying it was his gift adding that the guidelines were tinue. to “our Christian brothers”. issued to protect the minister and to He called on Information Minister Continued on Page 13

SANTIAGO: A billboard advertises the Turkish soap opera “El Sultan” in the Chilean capital. — AFP Turkish soaps invading Latin America, land of ‘telenovela’ SANTIAGO: The tortured romance between Sehrazat Chilean channel Mega was a struggling network and Onur, the central drama of Turkish soap opera when it bought “Thousand and One Nights” after the “Thousand and One Nights,” is taking Chilean television program was turned down by Canal 13, one of the by storm and reshaping prime time in Latin America, country’s leading broadcasters. The series began airing the land of the “telenovela”. In exchange for the money in March and soon became the most-viewed show of she desperately needs to treat her son’s leukemia, the year, pulling the rest of Mega’s programming by its Sehrazat, a widowed architect, reluctantly agrees to coattails. The channel now has the top news show and spend the night with Onur, her powerful boss, who falls morning program, as well, and is the only Chilean net- hopelessly in love with her, setting off a torrid chain work on track to turn a profit in 2014. That success has reaction that has captivated Chileans for months. sent other Chilean broadcasters scrambling to buy their Dubbed in Spanish by Chilean actors, “Thousand and own Turkish series, including Canal 13. Mega has mean- One Nights” has achieved an audience share not seen in while signed up two more Turkish shows, “What is years in the South American country, reversing the sink- Fatmagul’s Fault?” and “Ezel”. ing fortunes of the channel airing it. The phenomenon Other Latin American networks have taken note. has caused TV executives across Latin America to start Sehrazat and Onur are now playing out their burning importing Turkish series to a region more used to romance in Colombia and set to premier in Uruguay, exporting its own telenovelas - prime-time soap operas Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. such as “Ugly Betty” - around the world. Continued on Page 13 p3.e$S_Layout 1 12/23/14 8:47 PM Page 1

LOCAL WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 Expats caught off guard by visa fines

KUWAIT: Many expats were caught by surprise when they went Maj Gen Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarrah said the foreigners’ residency to immigration offices and found they owed a large amount of law will be implemented in its entirety, particularly article 15 money, exceeding KD 1,000 in some cases. Interior Ministry that links the validity of the visa with the validity of the passport. Assistant Undersecretary for Nationality and Residence Affairs Jarrah said the department began implementation of the law by linking the computer sys- tems at all visa affairs depart- ments with passport data, adding that the lack of imple- mentation of the law in the past is no justification for con- tinuing this, because Kuwait is not a “baqala”, and all should operate with a state mentality. Jarrah said the implementa- tion of the law created confu- sion, as many considered it a new decision issued by the Interior Ministry, and are attempting to find reasons for not implementing it although it is a law, and “we cannot take it easy in this regard”. The visa affairs department witnessed chaos Monday as many peo- ple were surprised to find accumulated fines against them for violations as a result of not informing the depart- ment about renewing their passports. “Linking the activa- tion of the law with the com- puter system revealed many expats whose passports regis- tered in the system had expired, while their visas are valid. He said that a two- month grace period was given to update the data, then fines will be calculated at the rate of KD 2 per day,” Jarrah said. About granting violators a grace period to correct their status, Jarrah said that there are nearly 100,000 visa law violators in Kuwait, adding that grace periods were given since 2006, but the majority did not take advantage of it, “so it is not worth giving them a new grace period”. As for Syrian expats, especially that renewal of their passports takes a long time, Jarrah said a study is ongoing about how to deal with them. He said Syrians in Kuwait have special considerations because of the difficult situation in their country. He said the Syrian embassy may be re-opened soon, according to the foreign ministry. —Al-Rai WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 LOCAL KHRS: E-publishing draft law unconstitutional

Crime By Faten Omar Crime Report KUWAIT: The Kuwait Society for Report Human Rights organized a seminar on Monday to discuss the draft of a new law that would regulate electronic Cops arrested for drug ‘VIP’ drug publishing, websites, blogs and social media in Kuwait. The society deems trafficking, child rape dealer caught the new law unconstitutional and a violation of Kuwait’s protected free- Kid killed in collision KUWAIT: Ahmadi detectives arrested an Iranian woman dom of expression. Attended by who supplied drugs to “VIP customers”. Information was experts and media representatives, the By Hanan Al-Saadoun received about an Iranian expat selling drugs in Ahmadi seminar was conducted by lawyer governorate areas. Detectives found that she is in her 30s Mohammed Al-Rashidi, who stressed KUWAIT: Two police officers were arrested for drug traf- and lives in Rumaithiya, and most of those who deal with that freedom of opinion is guaranteed ficking and child rape in separate incidents reported yes- her are in showbiz. Police found 400 narcotic tablets, three according to the Kuwaiti constitution, terday. The first policeman was apprehended based on grams of shabu, 250 gm of hashish and two sticks ready for and called on the attendees to discuss information that an Egyptian drug dealer provided to Jahra sale. The suspect named her famous clients, and she was and study all texts that are incompati- KUWAIT: (From left) Walid Al-Ahmad, Badr Al-Hajji, Mohammed Al- detectives. The man, who was caught with 500 gm of ble with human rights. sent to the Drugs Control General Department. Rashidi and Nasser Al-Haifi at the seminar. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat hashish, said that the officer as well as a bedoon (stateless) In August, Minister of Information man financed his operations. The two were detained after and State Minister for Youth Affairs strongly resisting arrest, and six hashish rolls and around Suspect in maid’s death remanded Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah noted in a ed: “We need freedom, but there were free country,” he said. 20 drug pills were found in their possession. They were The suspects in the case of a Filipina who died of a press statement that a new law organ- many rumors on electronic media. For “It is important to understand the referred to the authorities to face charges. lion’s bite were ordered to remain in jail. Lawyer of the izing the electronic media was in its example, rumors that were issued differences between the owners of In the second case, Salmiya detectives arrested a police- Philippines Embassy Sultan Al-Tawala said the suspects final stage of preparedness at the about the death of the late Abdul media organizations and people who man who sexually assaulted an Arab child in the area. The were charged with manslaughter. He said the health National Assembly. He said it was nec- Rahman Al-Sumait show we are here post comments on Twitter,” said Tariq man was taken to the public prosecution for further action. ministry will be taken to court for its poor treatment of essary to wait for the input of lawmak- not only to attack this bill, but to sup- Boresly, a writer at Al-Anbaa newspa- Meanwhile, Drug Control General Department (DGCA) the deceased, who was released from hospital without ers regarding this law which would reg- port the role of non-profit organiza- per. He note that owners of media detectives arrested an Arab man with possession of 60,000 consideration of her condition and was not diagnosed ulate electronic media, including the tions to address matters that are exag- organizations can afford to pay fines, Tramadol tablets. The man was lured to a trap where he properly. Internet, radio and TV broadcasting and gerated in this law.” He noted that fines but people who tweet are ordinary agreed to sell 1,000 pills to an undercover agent. Police electronic news services, among others. in the new e-publishing law are very people, not organizations. “I’m with the found the remaining drugs after searching his house. The high, “especially for young owners of law, and wish it is structured in com- suspect admitted that the drugs in his possession were Marijuana possession Unified media law websites or blogs”, pointing out that mensuration to the size of Kuwait’s intended for trade. He remains in custody at the DGCA Ahmadi detectives arrested three Asians on their way to Walid Al-Ahmad, a writer and politi- they should be given a chance. media,” he added. pending legal procedures. deal in drugs in Fahaheel, and they found marijuana with cal analyst at the Arabic Al-Rai newspa- Meanwhile, Badr Al-Hajji, professor “We are facing a need to organize In a separate incident, customs officers at the Abdali them. A security source said information was received per, said the draft e-publishing law is at Kuwait University, said the draft law the industry, which is not an easy thing border checkpoint (north) arrested a Pakistani truck driver about an Asian who trades in drugs, so Fahaheel detectives new for the media industry in Kuwait, is full of loopholes, pointing out that it to change. All things in life must be who attempted to smuggle 1,8 kilograms of shabu (meth) put him under surveillance. They then struck a deal with pointing out that the government had was prepared in haste. “The govern- regulated with preserving freedoms, into Kuwait. him, and the arrest was made during the exchange. He said previously declined to issue a unified ment has to accept the consequences and so does the e-publishing law,” the that he targeted youths in cafes, and two others worked media law. Speaking for the need for that may result from freedom of head of the Kuwaiti Union of Lawyers with him, who were also arrested and sent to concerned some type of regulation, Ahmad not- expression, since Kuwait is known as a Nasser Al-Haifi said. authorities.

House break-in A citizen told police that a man and a woman he does not know got into his Ali Sabah Al-Salem house. Police found the couple got into the house, spent some time there, then left. Both are being questions why they act- ed in such a way.

Driver robbed An Indian driver was robbed by a person who claimed to be a detective. The driver, who was in front of his sponsor’s house, was surprised by a man getting out of an SUV, who showed him a police ID and asked him for his civil ID. When got his wallet out, he beat him and robbed him of KD 366 before escaping. The Indian’s sponsor told police about the incident, and they are working on the case. Separately, a Syrian man went to a mall on Tunis Street, and when he returned to his car, he found a window broken and KD 15,000 missing. Detectives are working on the case. The man caught with the 60,000 Tramadol tablets.

No foul play Foul play was ruled out in the death of a Yemeni national who reportedly set himself on fire recently. The forensic department’s report concluded that the man poured a flammable liquid on himself then burned himself to death. KUWAIT: An Interior Ministry delegation conducted a field tour at ammunition and supply warehouses Boat fire inside the Kuwait National Guard’s Tahrir (liberation) Camp yesterday. The delegation also visited the Firefighters put out a fire that broke out inside a boat at the shooting ranges at Kazma Camp, and held discussions on ways of boosting cooperation with Kuwait Shamlan Dock yesterday morning. Firemen from the Helali National Guard’s Backup Commander Brigadier Faleh Faleh. and Shuwaikh sea fire stations rushed to the scene in response to an emergency call at 6:30 am. They put the blaze, which started in the boat’s engine, under control, Death penalty, life imprisonment before an investigation was opened to determine the cause of the fire. No injuries were reported. await nuclear wastes importers

Security campaigns KD 100 fine for smoking in publice Ahmadi police arrested seven people with expired visas and for failure to produce identifications, as well KUWAIT: Deputy Director of the required by the law in which the penal- their organizations. as two fugitives during a recent crackdown in Mina Environment Public Authority for ties vary from prison to the death He warned that life imprisonment Abdullah. Four vehicles were also impounded in the Technical Affairs Mohammed Al-Enezi penalty. and death penalty await anyone who campaign. Meanwhile, Hawally Security Department announced yesterday that the authori- Al-Enezi told KUNA that the sanc- imports or brings nuclear waste and announced arresting 11 fugitives, 8 people for drug ty began to take the necessary meas- tions vary between penalties and fines disposes to the country, noting that the possession, 16 people without identifications and 21 ures to activate the Law Number to one year imprisonment in case of fines start at KD 100 for the person who others with expired visas during crackdowns last 42/2014 on protection of the environ- violation of the law by officials who are smokes in public and semi-enclosed weekend. ment in the country, including the not committed to transfer, collection places, to KD 1 million for smugglers of imposition of the executive regulations and control of waste of all types within nuclear materials. —KUNA The drugs found with the truck driver at Abdali border checkpoint.

Special report Road accidents A Kuwaiti child died and his family’s driver was serious- ly wounded in a collision between a sedan and a pub- US Stockpiling War Equipment in Kuwait lic bus on Mohammad bin Al-Qassem street. Firefighters from Ardiya fire station and paramedics rushed to the scene located between Rabiya and ince June, the US military has been slowly stockpil- withdrawal in 2011 was sent to nearby Afghanistan, mobile shower and bath units. Those sales have brought Industrial Ardiya in response to an emergency call. The ing massive amounts of its gear coming out of where it had to be retrofitted to be effective in the rural in $2 million so far. As of this summer, there was roughly child was pronounced dead at the scene, and his body SAfghanistan at a depot in Kuwait adjacent to a mountains of the Hindu Kush and deserts of Helmand $36 billion worth of equipment slated to return to the US was taken by criminal investigators to the forensic bustling commercial port, in preparation for ultimately and Kandahar provinces, as opposed to the urban envi- after being extricated from Afghanistan either by air and department. The Asian driver was rushed to the hospi- shipping it across the border into Iraq for an allied offen- ronments of Baghdad and Mosul. Now, as the war winds to nearby transfer facilities like the one in Kuwait, through tal in a critical condition. An investigation was opened sive against the Islamic State group. down in Afghanistan, the Islamic State group’s sweeping a complicated land route north of Afghanistan, or through to determine the circumstances behind the accident. The facility’s warehouses and large asphalt yards now incursion toward Baghdad has forced the US to again border crossings into Pakistan and on to one of that coun- Also yesterday, a motorist suffered serious injuries are home to roughly 3,100 vehicles, most of them MRAPs - focus its attention there. US Central Command ultimately try’s ports. The latter two options have become less and when his collided with a camel on Subiya Road. An the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles that have will make the decision on how much of the equipment in less viable, says Schatz, whose command is tasked with ambulance arrived at the scene shortly after the acci- been ubiquitous in the prolonged wars in Iraq and Kuwait will be shipped into the newly ravaged war zone. moving military equipment and troops around the globe. dent was reported and rushed the man to the hospital. Afghanistan. There is also some electronic equipment and The rest will be disposed of or sent back to the US. The The US drone campaign in Pakistan contributed to other supplies at the depot, located at Kuwait’s Shuaiba command did not respond to multiple requests for com- widespread political protests, prompting top leaders to port, defense officials say. The gear, primarily from the ment. On Friday, the Pentagon announced Defense occasionally close the main border crossing between Army, will be fixed up and held as top US military planners Secretary Chuck Hagel had ordered 1,000 paratroopers Afghanistan and Pakistan at Torkham. in Iraq determine what they’ll need to defeat the Islamic from the 82nd Airborne Division to join other advisers and “We frankly found out at the start of the year we had State group in the coming months, says Air Force Maj. trainers at headquarters in Baghdad and Irbil, as well as major issues,” Schatz says. Delayed convoys coming out of Gen. Rowayne “Wayne” Schatz, the director of operations facilities elsewhere in the country. Roughly 1,700 troops Afghanistan also made for juicy targets for the Taliban, and plans for US Transportation Command. “From June to are in Iraq already, with as many as 1,300 more to deploy. which has been conducting a surge in attacks as the US December, we’ve worked a lot on moving items into The US originally had planned to destroy, sell or give withdraws its forces. “We had a backup early in the year of Kuwait,” he says. “The Army is holding the gear there, and away as much as $7 billion worth of equipment it had in roughly 1,600 trucks waiting to get out.” it has room to hold it, as the mission fleshes out.” The US Afghanistan supporting the war effort there. Since 2006, it The land route to the north, known as the Northern military and its allies are reportedly planning for a massive has turned more than 1.1 billion pounds of equipment Distribution Network, also is limited by some countries’ Scenes from the fatal crash site at Mohammad spring offensive to help Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga into scrap materials, according to documents provided to restrictions on combat equipment, such as armored vehi- bin Al-Qassem street. fighters retake territory from the Islamic State group, par- US News by the Defense Logistics Agency. The steady cles, traveling over their land. ticularly traditional Sunni Muslim bastions such as Anbar destruction of gear viewed as useless or too expensive to Transportation Command decided, as a result, to fly province west of Baghdad and the key city of Mosul. move peaked in 2013, when the agency oversaw the equipment from its main Afghanistan bases at Kandahar destruction of 422 million pounds of equipment. and Bagram to hubs in nearby countries like Oman, the Rerouting equipment Some of the scrap is sold to Afghans to recoup costs. United Arab Emirates and Kuwait for processing and ulti- Since 2012, the Defense Department has been The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghan mate shipment back to the US. destroying, selling or shipping out its gear in Afghanistan Reconstruction, a congressionally created watchdog, has This year alone, the command has moved 140,000 as the military drew down forces there. The subsequent raised concerns about what it believes at times has been people and 333,000 tons of cargo shipments that have rise of the Islamic State group - also known as ISIS, ISIL or wasteful destruction of military equipment. included thousands of vehicles and 20-foot shipping con- by the Arabic acronym “Daesh” - has forced the military to tainers - moves that would require the rough equivalent reroute some of that equipment back toward Iraq. ‘White goods’ of 9,000 C-17 cargo plane flights or 36,000 tractor-trailer It represents a full circle for the protracted Middle East The military also conducts de facto yard sales to sell to trips. wars the US continues to be drawn into: Much of the Afghans some of its excess “white goods,” like power tools, From US News & World Report equipment taken out of Iraq during America’s complete air conditioning units, tractors, construction machinery, or The camel’s carcass after the accident. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 LOCAL Delay in GCC rail tied to route’s land grab?

By Sara Ahmed stages. In November, at a GCC railway net- work workshop, Kuwait’s Ministry of KUWAIT: Who owns the land the GCC rail- Communications Executive Abdulhadi Al- way will traverse in Kuwait? This is a major Marri told the state news agency Kuna that issue hindering the development of the the project was well ahead planning wise project, according to sources with knowl- especially with the standard specifications edge of the issue. having been approved in 2012. Some unknown persons have been But another delay came yesterday when reportedly attempting to buy up land in the Municipal Council returned the layout the farming areas in the southern and of the first stage of the network to the northern parts of the country. Their aim? To Council’s technical committee for further secure ownership of the land that is study of the project, ostensibly over the expected to skyrocket in price when the issue of land appropriation. government begins appropriating the land “The executive board of the necessary for building the network. Delays Municipality seeks authorization from com- in the project are thought to be due, in petent bodies for relocating the real estate part, to the unsettled aspect of the land along 11 kilometers on the route of the rail- question. road, including farmland and barns, and The pan GCC railway, expected to be paying damages to their owners,” said Eng. ready by 2019 (after years of delay), is pro- Ahmad Al-Manfouhi, Deputy Director jected to run 2,117 kilometers and cost General of Kuwait Municipality for Urban upwards of $25 billion. Railways reduce Planning during a meeting by the Council transportation and logistics costs for and the executive board. goods, require less energy, emit lower car- “The Public Authority for Agriculture bon dioxides into the atmosphere and are and Fish Resources (PAAFR) agreed to relatively cheaper than shipping or truck- move 41 estates to alternative locations in ing, is safer and also reduces traffic conges- Kabd area,” he pointed out. Based on tech- tion on highways and around cities. nical advice and Letter No 346 of the Each state is responsible for their own Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB) of May section of the railway. Kuwait is to develop 10, 2012, the Municipal Council approved Travel agencies don’t see a 547 km rail network that would connect in principle the layout of the first stage of the whole country, starting from Al Abdali, the railroad at a width of 70 meters, Al- connecting to Bubiyan Port, running down Manfouhi said. imminent drop in airfares through Kuwait City and on to Shuaiba Port Director of the Municipality’s layout and then Al Nuwaiseeb at the border with dept Eng. Saad Al-Muhailbi said the Saudi Arabia. Municipality agreed, after consultation with the concerned departments, that the Oil prices fall sparks debate Further study national network will hook up with the A growing focus is on the route the rail- regional one in two points - one in the way will take as it crosses the border from south on the borders with Saudi Arabia By Nawara Fattahova airlines, but we may not hike our prices due to Conversely, Abdullah, a ticket clerk at Season Saudi Arabia into Kuwait. The government- and another in the north on the borders competition with other carriers,” he said. Holidays Travel Agency expected a price hike by approved plan was suppose to begin initial with Iraq. KUWAIT: People are expecting cheaper airfares Kuwait Airways (KAC) soon. “They will definitely by the beginning of 2015 due to a sharp drop in Seats availability increase their prices due to the new fleet. They oil prices, but their hopes may be dashed. Most Alan, a sales staff at Lufthansa, noted that spent a lot on these new planes, so they will have travel agencies and airlines contacted by Kuwait seat availability is what regulates prices, and no to make up for it. In addition, the new aircraft will Times couldn’t confirm if any reductions are possible decrease will take place before Jan 15, attract more passengers to fly with KAC, as in the planned, despite a comment by an official of a 2015. “If any drop in airfares takes place next past many passengers refused to fly with them popular Gulf airline earlier this month that air- year, it may be between January 15 and due to their ageing fleet. This will increase the fares will drop during the first quarter of 2015. February 15, then prices will definitely increase occupancy of the planes, which will probably Ahmed Akpulut, PR and Advertising Manager due to spring holidays in Kuwait. The price increase the prices. Regarding other carriers, I at Turkish Airlines, said the fall in oil prices will always depends on capacity. If prices are don’t expect any drop in prices soon,” he stated. not affect them much. “Turkish Airlines is already reduced, it would in the taxes and not the actual Ghassan from the Al-Othman Travel Agency offering competitive prices, and we hold many airfare,” he said, adding that after the high sea- noted that every year after the Christmas and promotions throughout the year. Turkey is not son, prices may drop slightly. New Year holidays, prices of tickets drop, so air- an oil producing country, so it won’t affect us in A sales staff at the Gulf Air stressed that they lines always hold promotions and special offers the same way as the Gulf carriers. What matters haven’t received any notification regarding to increase sales. “When the planes are fully most is the season and seat availability, which prices. “We have entered the high season, so occupied, why should the carriers decrease their increases or decreases prices,” he told Kuwait prices won’t drop in the present time. Any possi- fares? I expect prices may only fall after March, Times. But Akpulut complained of increases in ble reduction may come after the holidays in when traffic is very slow,” he said. Omar, a sales cost due to the increase in aviation fuel prices by March next year, but I’m not able to give the staff at Suhail Travel Agency, was positive, and Kuwait Aviation Services Company (KASCO) in exact prices as the seats are not open yet,” he expected that prices of tickets will drop after the 2015. “Unfortunately, this increase will affect the pointed out. New Year.

Most Kuwaiti high schoolers consume soft drinks regularly

KUWAIT: Up to 92 percent of Kuwaiti high school students indulge in regular drinking of sugary soft drinks and highly sweetened fruit juices, compared to drinking milk and dairy products, a study conducted by a group of Kuwaiti physicians has shown. Though up to 30 percent of these high schoolers have been found by the scientific study to drink adequate quan- tities of milk and 45 percent of them to eat dairy products, still the percentage of 92 percent of them drinking sugary juices and soft drinks is considered very high, said Dr Ghalia Al-Mutairi, director of the media bureau at the min- istry of health, in a press statement today. The study, she noted, indicates that the students who drank more sweetened drinks shunned dairy products. This was true among male students, 28 percent of whom may be described as overweight and 23 percent as obese. Almost 80 percent of the students in the study showed enough knowledge of the importance of milk and dairy products, she said, emphasizing that drinking soft drinks and sugary fruit juices has become a worldwide phenome- Meshal Al-Ahmad non in the past twenty years, leading to the widespread existence of chronic diseases as diabetes and osteoporosis. The study was conducted on 190 students from high KIB offers profit-free schools in the Al-Ahmadi area, south of Kuwait city, aged between 16 to 18 years, of whom 98 were female and 92 tuition financing male, said Al-Mutairi who stressed that results of the study would be instrumental in her bureau’s efforts to mount an for GUST students awareness campaign to inform students and the public alike of the health risks of drinking of soft drinks and sug- KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank announced the contin- ary fruit juices. uation of its joint offer with Gulf University for Science and The group of Kuwaiti physicians who conducted the Technology providing special tuition financing to students study was headed by Dr. Fawaz Al-Rifaie who is chief of the pediatric department in the Al-Addan hospital. The pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees as part of group’s study has been published by the World Health the bank’s youth-focused social responsibility commitment. Journal of the Middle East and aims primarily at sound- “KIB’s decision to extend the duration of this exclusive ing alarm about the increasing rates of obesity in opportunity for GUST students is in line with the provisions Kuwait. — KUNA of Islamic Shariah and aims to ease the burden on parents seeking high quality educa- tion for their children,” explained Meshal Al- Ahmad, Senior Credit Manager at KIB’s Retail Banking Department. The offer is valid through December 31, 2015, and allows for financing of up to KD 5,000 per student at zero percent profit, a flexible monthly installment sched- ule for up to 18 months and a waiver on the salary trans- fer requirement. Students and parents may learn more about the offer, along with KIB’s full set of Shariah-compliant prod- ucts and services, by visiting the bank’s booth at the GUST campus, calling Al- DawliWeyak at 1866866, vis- iting the KIB website at www.kib.com.kw, or visiting their social media channels: Facebook.com/alDawliBank, Instagram and Twitter: @alDawliBank. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 LOCAL

In my view Kuwait’s support The Arab mind of Egypt

By Labeed Abdal

[email protected]

irst Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah confirmed Frecently that Kuwait will be represented by a high-level delegation featuring members from the public and private sectors in Egypt’s business forum which takes place in March 2015. This is a very important step towards strengthening Arab-Arab ties, especially when it comes to a significant region- al country such as Egypt. which shares historical relations with Kuwait. Sheikh Sabah’s statements came during a recent meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri, which saw the two sides sign several cooper- Talks between the two sides also focused on the Palestinian issue, as well as the political situations in Syria and Iraq in light of the growing instability that Al-Jarida these countries are facing. kuwait digest ation agreements in various fields - something that serves the efforts of helping rebuild Egypt after the crises that the North African nation went through. Syria: The three-capital state Talks between the two sides also focused on the Palestinian issue, as well as the political situations in Syria and Iraq in light of the growing instability that By Sami Al-Nisf these countries are facing. On Syria, Shukri highlight the international and regional agreement on reach- very country in the world has only one political shown by a BBC TV documentary as the capital of a that single reportage, and instead of covering such a ing a political solution that serves the Syrian peo- capital, from which the whole state is run, secular state that does not discriminate between unique experience that reflects the tolerant nature of ple’s ambitions. He also underlined the importance except Syria. It has three capitals and more are people according to their religion, race or sect. That the Syrian people, all international media focus on of limiting foreign interventions and instead helping E yet to come. The first capital is Damascus, the capital TV reportage that was broadcast a short while ago ugly, terrible and inhumane experiences and inci- the Syrian people emerge from their crisis. Our region has become a warzone, and a place of an oppressive regime that got the country shows how that young republic defends itself dents taking place in Damascus, Raqqa and the rest where superpowers settle their differences in proxy destroyed by its decisions, nationalism and leftwing of the Levant. wars. Therefore, efforts are needed to stop those policies it claims to be defending, which is very close Finally, there are capitals of other independent superpowers from creating conflicts and causing to what happened in Saddam’s Iraq and Gaddafi’s The third Syrian capital is the republics on Syrian soil such as Hama, Aleppo, problems in violation of international agreements. Libya, who ran paralyzed economic systems based Qameshli, that was shown by a Suwayda, Salamiya and Latakia. Well, the Syrian expe- on public sector domination of various state rience is enough to prove the uprisings described as resources. BBC TV documentary as the the ‘Arab Spring’ wrong. If this how our spring looks kuwait digest The second Syrian capital is Raqqa; the center of like, how on earth will our autumn or fall be?! the so-called Islamic State, which is a suicidal oppres- capital of a secular state that If only the Syrian opposition had combined its sive state working on destroying Islam, killing does not discriminate between efforts since day one under the leadership of the Presidents’ hell better Muslims and defaming them worldwide under the more moderate National Syrian Coalition that stands than peoples’ heavens pretext of ‘protecting Islam’, while they are more like people according to their reli- at equal distances from all religions and races, the a retarded state established by the Qaeda-Taleban gion, race or sect. Syrian issue could have been resolved within a mat- By Saleh Al-Shayji coalition in Afghanistan taking it way back to pre- ter of a few months, hundreds of thousands of lives historic ages. The IS has no clearly defined economic could have been saved and the displacement of mil- ooking at tyrant Arab republics known as ‘royal policies, if it ever has such a thing, because it is main- against attacks of IS that surrounds it and always lions, for which both the regime and the brutal republics’ where presidencies may go on as long ly dependant on constant wars and destruction emerges victorious because everybody, including opposition of the likes of IS and Nusra are responsi- as presidents live (such as the cases in Iraq, without any construction going hand in hand with it. men and women of all religions and races take part ble, could have been avoided. L Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Anbaa Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Egypt) or the throne gets The third Syrian capital is the Qameshli, that was in defending it. The funny thing is that except for — passed down to a heir like what happened in Syria, most of us thought the problem was in those regimes and their presidents and that toppling them would be kuwait digest Letters to Muna Al-Fuzai the best solution to set things straight and bring the locomotive of development in those countries back The ongoing terrorism Dear Ms Muna on track after the rule of constitutional democratic Regarding the issue of disabled in Kuwait and regimes where citizens choose the best regimes. their participation in the political arena, it seems By Shamlan Al-Essa Justice and equality will prevail and presidents your efforts have come true because a few days ago there was an Assembly session [focused on become ‘public servants’ who are not always on the he heinous terrorist attack that was carried out second or third generation of Arab and Muslims the disabled in Kuwiat] and this has had big news welcoming, receiving or bidding someone by the Pakistan Taleban against young children immigrants who leave their new countries and join impact on myself to see change happening in farewell! of a school run by the Pakistani army in jihadist action in Syria and Iraq and and kill innocent Then the so-called Arab Spring revolutions erupted T the Middle East. Many thanks! Keep up the strug- Peshawar in northwest Pakistan, killing 148 students people. gle. We do need major change to reach a civilized and we all, including me, rejoiced and supported our and teachers, stirred a wave of condemnation from What is the explanation for this irrational violence? satisfactory level of true development. Looking brothers in those countries, hoping that they would all world countries. The terror of Islamist jihadist The greatest dilemma is that some of our Arab and forward to read more of your interesting , benefi- rise and develop and that they would get equal shares groups does not differentiate between young or old, Gulf regimes still imagine that it is possible to contain cial articles. of their national fortunes, calm down, have real men or women, as those groups resort to killing for the treatment of extremism and zealousness by form- Thanks, democracy and be the true masters of their own the sake of killing, and its leaders enjoy bloodletting ing government committees of religious sheikhs who countries! We were not naive in our aspirations Adam and killing innocent people. call for centrism in Islam and forget that the problem lll because those were credible ones. However, things Here we must ask: Until when Muslim sheikhs and is not religious - rather it political with social and eco- went wrong and our great expectations were washed scholars will remain silent? Islam does not allow theft, nomic dimensions where religion is used to achieve away on the rocky shores of reality and we all saw Dear Ms. Al-Fuzai rape, selling women and killing children, women and political goals, with its roots going back to the spread I read your column of 30.11.2014 regarding what we had never thought would happen. the elderly for nothing other than blind zealousness of cruelty among governments and religious parties. The incidents following toppling those presiden- ‘Deeper Traffic Law Changes Needed’ with great and terrorizing others in the The Arab regimes resort- interest. You wrote the practicality of the prob- cies showed that the fault was not only within presi- name of religion. ing to the security aspect dential palaces, because those we discovered on the lem. You mentioned about developing public All heavenly religions call We no longer understand only in dealing with extrem- transportation. A very good suggestion. I would public’s side were even worse. What has Iraq gained for goodness, love, forgive- ism and terrorism escalated after toppling its dictator except killing, terror, daily and are unable to explain the like to share my thought regarding this issue. ness and respecting the the problem, instead of dia- Public institutions where large amount of murders by explosions or assassinations or other humanity of the human phenomenon of Arabs and logue and frank talk. There means? A dictator fell and was replaced by thousands employees work - like Kuwait University, Public being. It is true that in the are many alternatives to the Authority for Applied Education, Kuwait Institute of others. Dictatorship is now headquartered in each Middle Ages, religious wars Muslims resorting to Western security aspect in fighting and every town and village after it was once only for Scientific Research, Ministry of Health etc. were widespread and thou- countries in Europe and terrorism, which is to Should introduce their own buses to transport headquartered in the presidential palace. sands of people were vic- encourage culture and Many dictators were created, militias emerged like America to escape their rulers’ their staff (this is the case in most developing tims, but today we live in spread it, such as art, litera- countries) from their residential areas and back. scorpions coming out from beneath the ground, the 21st century, and the ture, poetry, music, theater stinging everybody and ruling over everything. The cruelty and in search of jobs. The current Kuwait Public Transport buses (KPTC entire world is focusing on and cinema to keep youth and City Buses) do not operate their fleets to the central authority became a profession for the poor us Arabs and Muslims. Cells away from terror. and deprived to join only to turn into billionaires. And premises of these institutions. Bus stops are very of Arab and Muslim terrorists are spread all over the Arab and Muslim psychologists should study the far from the residential areas and work places. for us to find out that the previous opposition was world, and they have practiced the most gruesome political suicide phenomenon, and why do Muslims nothing but groups of greedy people using patriotic This makes it difficult for staff to walk up to the crimes against humanity, be it an Australia or Africa resort to killing themselves and other innocent people bus stop to catch public buses for travel to work. slogans pending gaining hold of the country’s wealth (Boko Haram) or other countries in Europe and in hopes of going to heaven? This violent phenomenon and resources rather than serving the public and If bigger institutions provided subsidized trans- America. is in our heritage with the “hashasheen”, and how they port facilities to their employees from their resi- bringing them justice! The same Iraqi experience We no longer understand and are unable to prepared suicide squads to kill themselves and others applies to the rest of the Arab Spring countries. The dence point to the work place, I believe more explain the phenomenon of Arabs and Muslims after taking drugs. Daesh and Taleban jihadists today employees would use it and this could help bottom line is the problem was not only in rulers, but resorting to Western countries in Europe and are proud while butchering people in front of cameras - also in the peoples themselves. Oh, how easy it is to reduce the traffic congestion by reducing the America to escape their rulers’ cruelty and in search what is the goal? Is it distortion of the image of Islam number of individual cars on the roads. straighten presidents’ follies, and at the same time, how of jobs, security and stability. Civilized countries edu- and Muslim? All are required to move and eradicate hard it is to do the same of those of the peoples! Best regards. Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Anbaa cated them, and they became members of their religious terrorism. Reader — political parties and establishments. Now we find the —Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Watan WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014

Egypt satirist who Ukraine takes historic step toward NATO mocked army fined

Page 10 Page 8

PALMYRA, Syria: A picture taken on March 14, 2014 shows a partial view of this ancient oasis city, 215 km northeast of Damascus. — AFP War ravages Syria heritage sites Satellite images show ‘alarming’ damage

BEIRUT: Nearly 300 sites of incalculable Roman oasis of Palmyra. by tanks and that their firing is also value for Syria and human history have “It is very sad for Syria as well as the weakening the site’s structures. In the been destroyed, damaged or looted in world that this is happening,” UNOSAT city of Raqa, a bastion of the extremist almost four years of war, the UN said yes- director Einar Bjorgo told AFP. Islamic State (IS) group, the Sufi Muslim terday, citing “alarming” satellite evi- “Humankind is losing hundreds and Uwais Al-Qarni Mosque and a shrine to dence. From prehistoric settlements and thousands of years of heritage.” Aleppo, Ammar ibn Yasir, one of the companions ancient markets to world-famous Syria’s former commercial hub where of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed, have mosques and Crusader castles, Syria is settlements date back 7,000 years, has mostly been destroyed. Ali said IS has home to countless treasures. But since been especially hard hit in fighting also destroyed ancient Assyrian statues the country’s brutal war erupted in 2011, between rebels and forces loyal to in the northwestern province of heritage sites have been plundered by President Bashar Al-Assad. The 11th cen- Hasakeh. In Dura-Europos, in the eastern all sides - regime loyalists, anti-govern- tury Great Mosque of Aleppo saw its province of Deir Ezzor, the UN said loot- ment rebels, jihadist fighters and even minaret reduced to rubble in fighting, ing has rendered “unrecognisable” a site desperate residents. and the famed Carlton Hotel has been previously known as the “Pompeii of the After a major survey, the United pulverised, leaving behind a huge crater, desert”. Byzantine statues, pots and Nations said that detailed analysis of the images show. beads have been stolen from the site, satellite images from several hundred APSA said. The magnificent Apamea site sites had unearthed the full scale of the ‘An Immeasurable Loss’ near Hama in central Syria - a Roman damage. Of the 290 sites, 24 had been “Every time the regime or the rebels archaeological jewel - has also been destroyed, 104 severely damaged, 85 would take the mosque, they would largely looted. APSA has documented moderately damaged and 77 possibly deploy a sniper in the minaret. In the some 14,000 illegal excavation sites damaged. The UN said the report was end, it was hit by an air raid,” across Syria. In Homs province, the once “alarming testimony of the ongoing Cheikhmous Ali of the Association for rebel-held Crac des Chevaliers has lost damage that is happening to Syria’s vast the Protection of Syrian Archaeology some of its facade and roof after coming cultural heritage”, and called for efforts (APSA) told AFP. Ali added that Aleppo’s under regime bombardment. Rebels in to scale up their protection. The satellite ancient souk, the largest market of its the northwestern province of Idlib have images were put together by UNOSAT, a kind in the world, had been seriously also turned Ebla, seat of one of ancient Geneva-based UN institute. They damaged as well. The UN images also Syria’s earliest kingdoms, into a training focused on 18 areas, six of them listed as show serious damage to Palmyra, known site. “The danger in Syria is even greater UNESCO world heritage sites: the Old for its spectacular Roman colonnade, than in Iraq. Here, sites have been turned City of Aleppo, Bosra, Damascus, the with the Syrian army building a road that into military barracks and battlefields,” Dead Cities of northern Syria, the Crac cuts through the necropolis, damaging Ali said. “It’s a catastrophe, an immeasur- des Chevaliers castle and the Greco- several tombs. Ali said the road is used able loss for humanity.” — AFP Acid attack on Indian woman in busy market

NEW DELHI: Shocking video footage yesterday showed one, according to NDTV. Attacks on women have been on two men throwing acid on a woman in a busy market area the rise with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in New Delhi, the latest in a series of attacks on women in reporting 309,546 crimes against women last year against India. The incident took place in west Delhi’s Rajouri 244,270 in 2012. There were 225 reported cases of acid Garden market early yesterday after the 30-year-old victim attacks alone between 2010 and 2012, according to the left home on a scooter to go to a nearby hospital where she bureau. works as a doctor, the Press Trust of India reported. The Those who survive acid attacks often face lifelong scars grainy CCTV footage shows two men on a motorcycle with and social stigma. Activists say little has changed despite their faces covered by their hoodies pulling up next to the steps taken last year to help wipe out the scourge and victim, whose face was also wrapped with a scarf, and improve financial aid for survivors. The Supreme Court in attacking her with acid. July last year gave Indian states three months to enforce The woman reportedly screamed for help, but passers- restrictions on the sale of acid, but campaigners say it by walked and cycled past. The highly corrosive chemical remains easy to purchase and inexpensive. The court also singed half of her face, NDTV news channel’s website said, said victims should get 300,000 rupees in compensation, a adding that police were analysing the footage to identify third of it within 15 days of the assault. the suspects. Acid attacks have long plagued India, often Acid attacks in India were also made a specific crimi- targeting women in public places as a form of revenge nal offence punishable with at least a decade behind linked to dowry or land disputes or a man’s advances bars following the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus spurned. But yesterday’s incident surprised the victim, who in New Delhi in Dec 2012, which sparked nationwide told police that she did not know the men or suspect any- protests. — AFP WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Old guard victory dismays Tunisia revolutionaries

TUNIS: Tunisia’s presidential vote has been Marzouki, a dissident who lived in exile in finally one of the old guard is going to lead the cent of votes in the second round, has left did not share Marzouki’s ideology, the fact that hailed as a landmark, but some veterans of the France for many years, presented himself as the country,” said Ben Hamza, alluding to the rough- Marzouki supporters bracing for a reversal of this “democrat to the core has defended my 2011 revolution fear the victory of an 88-year- guarantor of freedoms and defender of the ly 300 people killed during the Dec 2010-Jan post-revolution freedoms. “I really fear for our freedom made him the right person for the next old from the old guard will bring a return to revolt that ousted Ben Ali in Jan 2011. 2011 revolution. Essebsi sought to allay such liberties, especially as the same political party phase, the only one able to bring everyone repression. For his opponents, Beji Caid During campaigning, he repeatedly warned concerns on Monday, saying he was in favour of will have such overarching powers,” said Ali together whatever their cultural, political or Essebsi’s win in Sunday’s run-off against incum- against the danger of electing Essebsi, an anti- “completely turning the page on the past”. He Troudi, a 39-year-old teacher. Essebsi’s Nidaa even religious differences.” bent Moncef Marzouki soured what was seen Islamist lawyer who held key posts under Habib has accused Marzouki of representing the Tounes won landmark legislative elections in Supporters of the outgoing president fear as the culmination of the transition to democra- Bourguiba, the father of Tunisian independence, Islamists, whom he says have “ruined” the coun- October and is set to form the next government. that Tunisia’s media will be largely deferential to cy in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. The as well as Ben Ali. Essebsi’s Nidaa Tounes party try since the revolution, and many voters “Essebsi talks about counter-terrorism and the the new leadership, as they were to Ben Ali. “The result “reverses the course of history,” said Samir also includes many members of Ben Ali’s old appeared to be seeking a return to stability after prestige of the state,” said Troudi. “I’m afraid of a media won’t be tough on the new president Ben Amor, a lawyer and member of the execu- party. “It’s really disappointing,” Nejd Ben Hamza, a sometimes chaotic transition. Jihadists have return to repressive practices in their name.” He and his party. On the contrary, they will be com- tive committee of Marzouki’s Congress for the a 34-year-old engineer, said of the presidential claimed the 2013 murders of two secular politi- said he was harassed under Ben Ali for going to plicit and that makes me seriously worried Republic party. vote, lamenting the “short memory” of Tunisians. cians that had threatened to derail Tunisia’s the mosque for dawn prayers, making him a tar- about freedoms,” said Ben Amor, who thinks the Essebsi’s opponents have accused him of “Wasn’t Essebsi interior minister under post-Arab Spring transition until a compromise get for the old regime which repressed Islamists. influence of the old guard on the media sector seeking a return to the era of toppled autocrat Bourguiba? Didn’t he support Ben Ali? Is the government was formed in January this year. Such fears have triggered clashes between “is one of the reasons for Essebsi’s victory.” Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who clung to power for crowning moment of the youth revolution, four police and Marzouki supporters since the sec- Throughout his three years as president, 23 years, combining authoritarian rule with a years later, the election of an 88-year-old?” he Fears for Liberties ond round vote, particularly in Gabes and Marzouki maintained tense relations with the degree of prosperity and stability for his people. said. “Tunisians have made sacrifices so that The victory of Essebsi, who won 55.68 per- Tataouine in the south. Troudi said that while he press. —AFP Algerian army kills jihadist behind Frenchman’s murder Gouri’s Jund Al-Khilafa backed Islamic State

ALGIERS: The Algerian army said yesterday it during the operation. taken to a local hospital, where Gouri’s death had killed the head of a militant group that On Dec 11, Justice Minister Tayeb Louh was confirmed by his father early yesterday. beheaded a French tourist after it had pledged announced that soldiers had killed two Jund Al- Violence involving Islamists has fallen con- allegiance to the Islamic State group. The body Khilafa members implicated in Gourdel’s mur- siderably since the 1990s civil war, but groups of Abdelmalek Gouri, who claimed responsi- der. An Algerian court has launched legal pro- linked to AQIM continue to launch attacks in bility for the beheading of Frenchman Herve ceedings against 15 people, including Gouri, the northeast, mostly on security forces. Gouri, Gourdel in September, was identified after an suspected of participating in the beheading. alias Khaled Abou Souleimane, was the former operation in the town of Isser “that allowed us Gourdel, a 55-year-old mountain guide, was right-hand man of AQIM leader Abdelmalek to eliminate three terrorists”, the army said. An kidnapped in September while hiking in a Droukdel, and is suspected of helping to organ- operation lasting three months had seen 3,000 national park that was once a draw for tourists ise suicide attacks on the government palace Algerian troops mobilised to catch Gourdel’s but became a sanctuary for Islamists. and against a UN contingent in Algiers in 2007. killers. He is also thought to have masterminded an The confirmation of Gouri’s death came Father Identifies Body April attack that killed 11 soldiers in after the Nahar private television network said He was later decapitated by Jund al-Khilafa, Iboudrarene, the same region where Gourdel soldiers had killed him and two other militants which was formed at the end of August after was kidnapped. late on Monday in Isser, about 60 km east of splintering from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic The town of Isser in the Kabylie area is home BENGHAZI: Members of the Libyan army stand on a tank as heavy black Algiers. Jund al-Khilafa, or “Soldiers of the Maghreb and pledging allegiance to IS. His to a large officer training school that was tar- smoke rises from the city’s port in the background after a fire broke out at a Caliphate”, beheaded Gourdel on September killing followed calls by IS for Muslims to kill geted in a 2008 suicide attack that killed car tyre disposal plant during clashes against Islamist gunmen in this east- 24 in a gruesome video posted online after Westerners whose nations have joined a cam- dozens. Gourdel’s body has yet to be found, ern Libyan city yesterday. —AFP France rejected the group’s demand to halt paign to battle the jihadists in Iraq and Syria. despite a widespread search by the army which anti-IS air strikes in Iraq. On Saturday, the army The defence ministry said in a statement it had has already found a Jund al-Khilafa hideout and said it killed three other Islamist gunmen in a received information that led to forces pursu- identified the location where a video was mountainous area near Sidi Daoud, and that ing “a dangerous terrorist group travelling in a filmed in August showing the group pledge UN warns of war crimes one of them was a “dangerous criminal” want- vehicle”, before killing Gouri and two others. A fealty to IS. Another two “dangerous terrorists” ed since 1995. Soldiers also seized a large source familiar with the operation told AFP that were killed on Tuesday in Akerrou, 120 km as hundreds die in Libya quantity of guns, ammunition and explosives the bodies of three suspected militants were southeast of Algiers, the army said. —AFP GENEVA: Recent fighting in Libya has killed mid-August and mid-October, the report hundreds of civilians and forced hundreds of found. It warned of “a humanitarian crisis” thousands to flee their homes, the UN said with at least 120,000 people displaced in the yesterday, demanding justice for serious area facing “severe shortages of food and rights violations and possible “war crimes”. In medical supplies”. Fighting in the neigh- a joint report, the UN human rights office bouring Nafusa mountains had also left a and the UN Support Mission in Libya reported 170 people dead, and displaced (UNSMIL) warned of surging violence across around 5,700 families, it said. the country since May and widespread People displaced by the fighting had told human rights violations, including abduc- UNSMIL that hundreds of houses, farms and tions of civilians, torture and executions. businesses had been looted, shelled, burned “Violations are continuing with impunity. down, or destroyed by bulldozers. In the There has been no effort to stop them,” capital Tripoli the humanitarian situation Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the had improved since late August, but UN human rights agency, told reporters in activists, journalists and public figures con- Geneva. tinued to be abducted and threatened, the She warned that many of the abuses report found. “One prominent human rights being committed across Libya “may amount defender received text messages from to war crimes”. Three years after dictator armed groups warning him to stop his advo- Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a cacy work or else his children would be NATO-backed revolt, Libya is awash with abducted and killed,” it said. weapons and powerful militias, and run by Several journalists had been killed, rival governments and parliaments. including the October 5 killing of al-Tayeb Yesterday’s report pointed to an escalation Isa, the founder of Tuareg Tumsat television, in fighting since mid-October in Benghazi, whose body was found riddled with bullets where forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar and his car set on fire. The report painted a have been battling Islamist militiamen who horrifying picture of widespread abductions, have taken control of much of Libya’s sec- torture and abuse, as well as reports of sum- ond city. mary executions, including beheadings. A Some 450 people were killed there in the father and son detained at a checkpoint in two months leading up to mid-December, al-Maya said they had been severely beaten and some 90,000 people had fled, including before their captors poured petrol over more than 9,000 seeking shelter in schools, them and threatened to burn them alive. unfinished buildings and open spaces like In a statement, UN High Commissioner parking lots, the report said. Clashes in for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein cau- Benghazi on Monday meanwhile killed tioned commanders and high-ranking offi- MAQLUBA, Iraq: In this file photo taken Oct 8, 2014, a 15-year-old Yazidi girl captured by the Islamic State group and forcibly mar- another 16 people and wounded dozens, cials that they were “criminally liable under ried to a militant in Syria sits on the floor of a one-room house in a hamlet near the Kurdish city of Dahuk after escaping. —AP security sources and medics said. international law” for any human rights abuses they commit or order. They could Humanitarian Crisis also be held accountable if they “fail to take In the western Warshafana area, fighting reasonable and necessary measures to pre- IS sex slavery pushes between rival armed groups had killed some vent or punish” war crimes or human rights 100 people and injured 500 others between violations taking place, he said. —AFP Iraq victims to suicide Egypt satirist who

BAGHDAD: Women and girls from Iraq’s Yazidi with her but later escaped. “She cut her wrists the rapists. IS has boasted in its propaganda mocked army fined religious minority have told rights activists and hanged herself. She was very beautiful; I magazine “Dabiq” of the horrors it has inflict- they were beaten and forced into sexual slav- think she knew she was going to be taken ed. In an article entitled “The revival of slavery CAIRO: A prominent Egyptian satirist Fattah Al-Sisi. The private channel said ery by the Islamic State jihadist group, driving away by a man and that is why she killed her- before the hour”, Dabiq argues that by enslav- has been fined millions of dollars over a at the time that Youssef had “violated some to suicide. IS militants have overrun self.” Another former captive told the rights ing people it claims hold deviant religious dispute with a television channel which the editorial policies” of the channel. swathes of Iraq since June, declared a cross- group that she and her sister tried to kill beliefs, IS has restored an aspect of Islamic suspended his show after it lampooned Youssef terminated his contract with border caliphate also encompassing parts of themselves to escape forced marriage, but sharia law. military leaders, officials said yesterday. the channel after it refused to resume neighbouring Syria and carried out a litany of were stopped from doing so. “The man who “After capture, the Yazidi women and chil- Bassem Youssef, often compared to US broadcasts of the show, a source close satirist Jon Stewart, moved to Al-Bernameg told AFP. In abuses in both countries. The group has tar- was holding us said that either we marry him dren were then divided according to the Al-Bernameg (The Feb 2014, he began airing geted Yazidis and other minorities in northern and his brother or he would sell us,” said Wafa, sharia amongst the fighters of the Islamic Program) to Saudi-owned the show on Dubai-based Iraq in a campaign that rights group Amnesty 27. “At night we tried to strangle ourselves State who participated in the Sinjar opera- channel MBC last year after MBC but suspended it in International said in a report yesterday with our scarves. We tied the scarves around tions,” the article said, referring to the area it was pulled by the private June because of what he amounted to ethnic cleansing, murdering our necks and pulled away from each other as where the Yazidis were seized. The abductions Egyptian broadcaster CBC. described as “enormous” civilians and enslaving others for a fate that hard as we could, until I fainted,” she said, but and rapes have drawn widespread interna- The Cairo Regional Centre pressure. The doctor- some captives consider worse than death. two other captives stopped them. tional condemnation. US Secretary of State for International turned-satirist plans to Commercial Arbitration appeal the arbitration It said hundreds and possibly thousands of Sixteen-year-old Randa was abducted with John Kerry has denounced the enslavement fined Youssef and his com- body’s ruling, the Al- Yazidi women and girls had been forced to her family, then beaten and raped by a man of women and girls by IS as “abhorrent”. pany, Q-Soft, 50 million Bernameg source said. “I marry, sold or given to IS fighters or support- twice her age. Her male relatives were killed. The abuse causes long-term damage even Egyptian pounds ($6.5 mil- have been forced into a ers. “Many of those held as sexual slaves are The man “took me as his wife by force. I told to those who manage to escape. “The physi- lion) each for “CBC’s finan- Bassem Youssef commercial arbitration con- children - girls aged 14, 15 or even younger,” him I did not want to and tried to resist but he cal and psychological toll of the horrifying cial and literary losses,” CBC flict, that I am not part of, said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty’s senior crisis beat me. My nose was bleeding, I could not sexual violence these women have endured owner Mohamed al-Amin told AFP. regarding CBC’s suspension of the response adviser, who interviewed dozens of do anything to stop him,” Randa said. “It is so is catastrophic,” Rovera said. “Many of them The arbitration body said the weekly show,” Youssef wrote on Twitter. show was not “purposeful and construc- The show’s suspension triggered former captives. A 19-year-old named Jilan painful what they did to me and to my family,” have been tortured and treated as chattel. tive” but a platform for “smearing the concerns about media freedoms in committed suicide out of fear she would be she said. Even those who have managed to escape country’s political direction”. It said that Egypt amid a brutal crackdown over- raped, according to the Amnesty report enti- remain deeply traumatised.” One man said if Youssef’s company failed to pay its seen by Sisi on supporters of Islamist tled “Escape from Hell: Torture and Sexual IS Boasts of Abuse that he fears his wife, who escaped captivity, part of the fine then he would have to president Mohamed Morsi, whom he Slavery in Islamic State Captivity in Iraq”. Amnesty said that many of the perpetra- may commit suicide, and makes sure some- shoulder it all himself. CBC suspended ousted in July last year. Youssef became “One day we were given clothes that tors were IS fighters, but might also include one is with her at all times. “My wife has pan- Al-Bernameg in November 2013 after a household name known for witty looked like dance costumes and were told to supporters of the group. Some of the escaped ic attacks and can’t sleep. I can’t leave her an episode in which the satirist poked remarks lampooning public figures fun at military leaders including then including Morsi, the country’s first bathe and wear those clothes. Jilan killed her- victims said they were kept in family homes alone because I’m afraid for her safety,” he army chief and now President Abdel freely elected president. —AFP self in the bathroom,” said a girl who was held with wives, children, parents and siblings of said. —AFP p10 3_Layout 1 12/23/14 9:30 PM Page 1

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 INTERNATIONAL

‘Zombie church’ helps Slovenia crucify corrupt leaders

LJUBLJANA: “In the name of the Bell, So appalled was Pope Francis by a Jedi Church, and the thoughts Slovenia’s second largest city Maribor. collects food, clothes and money for the the Pan and the Holy Pot...” Slovenia’s 800-million euro ($1-billion) church expressed in its Holy Book are quirky to “All those who have led the country needy. “It sets a mirror that shows the newest religion may have the strangest financial scandal, he fired the country’s say the least. in the last 10 years wouldn’t get more absurdity of (other) religions,” said one of scriptures, but in a country plagued two leading Catholic clerics. Among other things, it says its zom- than an unsatisfactory grade,” he told follower, Martin Trampuz. Bojana Drpic, by corruption scandals, its anti-graft But it was the jailed former premier bies resurrect daily, the holy drinks are AFP, insisting his religion was no parody. from northeastern Slovenia, had a more gospel has gained a huge following. Janez Jansa who gave the Church its beer and pina coladas, and while the He confirmed that the name “zom- practical reason for joining. “The holy The Trans-Universal Zombie Church name when he dismissed those who Church worships cows, it recommends bie” comes from the word that Jansa, pot and pan help me every day prepare of the Blissful Ringing has become the demanded his resignation as “zombies”. eating the super succulent Japanese who was sentenced to two years for my daily meal,” she said, tongue-in- country’s fifth biggest religion in less Protesters adopted the insult as a Kobe beef. Gros meanwhile holds the corruption but has since been released cheek. than a year, according to its founder Rok badge of honour. Now the Zombie title of high priest, founder and keeper pending appeal, used to describe the The Church organises most of its Gros, with already over 10,000 faithful in Church hopes to weed out graft with of the Pot and the Pan, and ends his ser- protestors. activities through its Facebook page a nation of two million. the help of cowbells and pots and pans mons with a “Bong”-the Church’s ver- and has no actual place of worship. “We are a group of intellectuals who which followers ring and beat in front of sion of the Catholic “Amen”. Mirror to other religions But the Trans-Universal Zombie instead of caring only about ourselves, parliament-the “sanctuary of corrup- But for Ales Crnic, a cultural studies The Zombie Church was set up at a Church of the Blissful Ringing could decided to care for others,” high priest- tion”-at zombie “masses” every professor at Ljubljana University, there time when unemployment had hit a have a future even beyond Slovenia, ess and Ljubljana University English lec- Wednesday. is more to the Church than zany ideas. record high and Slovenia looked on the according to Crnic. turer Mojca Belak told AFP. “We are led by a pack of elite lunatics “It is a criticism of the modern state brink of a bailout. Even the local “We could hardly imagine such reli- Once a model EU and eurozone in ‘Corruptland’... we have to ring our that has been failing to fulfil its social Catholic Church was on the verge of gions ever becoming mainstream... state, Slovenia has been hit by spectac- bells until they are rung away,” the zom- commitments,” he told AFP. bankruptcy after its major scandal. (But) it is possible that the Church ular church and state corruption, with bie “Holy Book” says. Gros, a 37-year-old entrepreneur and For many Slovenians the new reli- spreads to other countries since it one jailed former prime minister still father of two, said he had the idea for gion has become a welcome alternative. addresses universal dilemmas that the securing massive support in recent ‘Holy pina colada’ this new faith after taking part in mass Alongside its kookier precepts, the Western world faces,” he said. Gros elections, while other public figures The Church has been compared to anti-corruption protests in 2012-2013 Zombie Church advises against taking was similarly optimistic: “We will have remained in high positions despite other parody religions like the Church that led to the resignations of ex-prime out loans that can’t be repaid, advo- spread our faith and Church all over allegations of impropriety. of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or the minister Jansa and the mayor of cates free contraception for women and the world.” — AFP

German business slams growing anti-Islam rallies

BERLIN: A powerful German business to make citizens see the opportunities and leader slammed a growing anti-Islam diminish their fears,” he said. movement in the country yesterday, say- The government’s top official for inte- ing Europe’s top economy needed more gration, Aydan Ozoguz, agreed that Berlin immigration to remain competitive and could not afford to simply wait for PEGIDA should take in more asylum seekers. to fade away. The president of the German Federation “We need to do more to educate peo- of Industry, Ulrich Grillo, said the emer- ple. That takes longer but has a longer- gence of the group “Patriotic Europeans term impact,” she told AFP. Against the Islamisation of the Occident” Ozoguz attributed PEGIDA’s rise to or PEGIDA, which has been holding weekly everything from “personal fears of slipping marches, was undermining the country’s living standards to the fear of becoming an interests and values. ethnic minority to a vague fear of Islam”. “We have long been a land of immigra- A record 17,500 people joined a PEGIDA tion and we must remain so,” he told march against the “Islamisation” of German news agency DPA. “As a prosper- Germany in the eastern city of Dresden ous country, and also out of Christian love late Monday in the 10th demonstration in for our fellow man, our country should as many weeks, with smaller clone groups take in more refugees.” rallying in three western cities. Grillo blasted the PEGIDA protests, About 4,500 people marched in a which organisers have billed as a grass- counter demonstration under the slogan roots movement, calling participants “neo- “Dresden Nazi-free”, warning that there Nazis and xenophobes”. was no room for racism and xenophobia in He said the group was trying to harness the country that perpetrated the fears of Islamist terrorism “to smear a Holocaust. whole religion” which he called “unaccept- Politicians from all major parties have able”. Grillo’s federation represents the been stunned by the emergence of the political interests of more than 100,000 right-wing nationalists who vent their companies employing around eight mil- anger against what they consider a broken lion people. immigration and asylum system. The movement has emerged at a time ‘Vague fears’ when Germany, which has fared better KIEV: Deputies of Ukrainian Parliament react after a vote for a bill dropping Ukraine’s non-aligned status in Kiev yesterday. Lawmakers in the He said Germany’s rapidly ageing popu- economically than most of its eurozone government-controlled chamber overwhelmingly adopted a bill dropping Ukraine’s non-aligned status - a classification given to states such as lation needed a strong influx of qualified partners, has become the continent’s top Switzerland which refuse to join military alliances and thus play no part in wars. — AFP newcomers to support the economy and destination for asylum seekers, and the the social welfare system. “Considering our world’s number two destination for demographic development, immigration migrants after the United States. ensures growth and prosperity,” he said. He PEGIDA said it would not hold a rally Ukraine takes historic urged political leaders to do more to stand next Monday, between Christmas and New up to PEGIDA. Year’s Day, in order to give police guarding “The political class has got to try harder the protests a break. — AFP step toward NATO Glasgow mourns six Putin’s view of NATO as modern Russia’s biggest threat

killed by runaway lorry KIEV: Ukraine took a historic step toward NATO a condition for any deal on ending the pro- September produced a truce and the outlines of yesterday in a parliamentary vote certain to Russian uprising that has killed 4,700 in the east- a broader peace agreement that gave the two LONDON: Flags were flown at half mast The city returned to mourning just over stoke Russia’s anger ahead of talks on ending the ern Ukrainian rustbelt in the past eight months. separatist regions partial self-rule for three years above Scottish government buildings yes- a year after a police helicopter crashed into ex-Soviet state’s separatist war. Putin’s view of NATO as modern Russia’s within a united Ukraine. But the deals were fol- terday to remember six people killed when a Glasgow bar on November 29, 2013, Lawmakers in the government-controlled biggest threat has only been reinforced by this lowed by more fighting that killed at least 1,300 an out-of-control lorry ploughed into killing eight people and injuring more than chamber overwhelmingly adopted a bill drop- year’s dramatic spike in East-West tensions over people. The insurgents’ decision to stage their Christmas shoppers in Glasgow. 30 others. ping Ukraine’s non-aligned status-a classification Ukraine. “In essence, an application for NATO own leadership polls in violation of the Minsk Another 10 people were injured, includ- First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described given to states such as Switzerland which refuse membership will turn Ukraine into a potential rules effectively ended political talks between ing the driver, after the refuse truck swept Monday’s incident as “another sad day for to join military alliances and thus play no part in military opponent for Russia,” Russian Prime the two sides. along a crowded pavement in the city cen- Glasgow and Scotland”. “This morning it’s a wars. President Petro Poroshenko had vowed to Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned in a A new meeting in Minsk had been hung up tre on Monday afternoon, knocking pedes- city with a broken heart but it will get put Ukraine under Western military protection Facebook post Monday. by Kiev’s refusal to discuss ending the suspen- trians down “like pinballs”, according to one through this as it got through the Clutha after winning an election called in the wake of He said that Ukraine’s rejection of neutrality sion of social security and other benefit pay- horrified eyewitness. (helicopter) tragedy,” she told BBC radio. the February ouster in Kiev of a Moscow-backed and a new Russian sanctions law that US ments to the rebel-run districts, which The Church of Scotland organised a The local authority bin lorry veered over president. President Barack Obama signed on Friday “will Poroshenko announced last month. prayer service for the victims on Tuesday a distance of around 300 metres (about “Ukraine’s fight for its independence, territori- both have very negative consequences.” Ukraine’s leaders suspect the money is being morning and opened a book of condo- 1,000 feet), only stopping when it crashed al integrity and sovereignty has turned into a “And our country will have to respond to stolen by militias in the Russian-speaking lences at St George’s Tron church, a short into a hotel near Queen Street station. decisive factor in our relations with the world,” them,” Medvedev added. Perhaps the most Lugansk and Donetsk regions and used to walk from the scene of the tragedy on The driver survived and was taken to Poroshenko told foreign embassadors in Kiev on immediate threat will be to delicate peace talks finance their war. George Square. hospital. Eyewitness reports suggested Monday night. this week in the Belarussian capital Minsk that Donetsk negotiator Denis Pushilin stressed Floral tributes were placed at the scene he was slumped at wheel, raising specu- Ukraine assumed neutrality under strong Poroshenko announced on Monday. that Kiev’s continuing refusal to budge on the of the crash, which police said appeared to lation that he may have had a heart Russian pressure in 2010. It had sought NATO Poroshenko said the deal for Kiev and rebel issue could still prevent talks from going ahead. have been a tragic accident. The dead attack. An investigation was under way membership in the early post-Soviet era but-its negotiators to meet in the presence of Russian “We have no information about the date of included five women and one man, police to establish exactly what had happened, once-mighty army in ruins and riven by corrup- and European envoys today and Friday was any meeting in Minsk,” Pushilin told AFP by tele- said. police said. — AFP tion-was never viewed as a serious candidate. struck during a joint call with German Chancellor phone. Last winter’s revolution in Kiev upset Russian Angela Merkel and French President Francois “We are ready to meet, or we could conduct a President Vladimir Putin’s plans to enlist Ukraine Hollande-the West’s top mediators on Ukraine. videoconference,” said the rebel envoy. in a new, Kremlin-led bloc that could rival both “But only along the lines of the agenda that NATO and the European Union. And Moscow Rebels noncommittal we discussed before,” he said in reference to the had set Kiev’s exclusion from all military blocs as The last two rounds of Minsk consultations in suspended payments. — AFP ‘Anti-women’ citizenship bill sparks fury in Nepal KATHMANDU: Nepalese single mother Deepti more than 90 percent of those affected living with a lawyer working on Sah’s case. Gurung has spent years trying and failing to regis- single mothers. “On paper the law looks restrictive Nepal’s parliament is due to vote next year on ter her two teenage daughters as citizens of their to both men and women,” said Subin Mulmi of the the long-awaited constitution, which was intended country. FWLD. “But conservative bureaucrats have room to to draw a line under centuries of inequality. Although her children were both born in Nepal, exploit the clauses to discriminate against single Lawmakers were tasked with drafting the char- the 40-year-old has struggled to secure their legal mothers.” The bill provides for exceptions in some ter after a decade-long insurgency ignited by right to citizenship in the absence of their father, cases where the child’s father is unknown, such as deep-rooted social, political and economic inequal- who left when they were small. rape, but Mulmi said the burden of proof would ities. For now at least the law is on her side. But still rest with mothers. But activists say the current draft-which also Nepal’s parliament is proposing to bar all single And even though women have been allowed to makes it easier for Nepalese man to confer citizen- parents from passing on their citizenship to their confer citizenship on their children since 2006, only ship on his foreign spouse than a Nepalese children in a new national constitution, sparking a handful have managed to do so. woman-will only entrench existing prejudices. outrage among rights activists. Arjun Kumar Sah was born in Nepal to a “This bill is the result of the flawed patriarchal “It is like being a refugee in your own country,” Nepalese mother and an Indian father, making him attitude ingrained in our society,” said lawmaker said Gurung. “All they do is interrogate, torture and theoretically eligible for citizenship. Krishna Bhakta Pokharel, who sat on the constitu- harass women, demanding the father’s docu- But the 25-year-old is still waiting for his papers tion drafting committee but opposes the citizen- ments... when a father applies for his children’s citi- and in the meantime has had to turn down work ship changes. zenship, no questions are asked.” Activists say the because of his status. “I was born here, I grew up Campaigners have fought back with demon- move could leave a million people stateless and here, I am a Nepali...(but) I am still waiting for strations in the capital and an online petition on will disproportionately affect women, who account papers that prove it,” said Sah, who is from Nepal’s the social action website, Change.org, which has for the vast majority of single parents in Nepal. The historically marginalised Madhesi ethnic minority. secured more than 1,500 signatures in over a week. draft bill says both parents must be Nepalese for Meanwhile, single mothers like Gurung say they their child to acquire citizenship, which is needed ‘Am I not equal?’ are furious at the prospect of the bill becoming law to get anything from a driving licence to a bank Despite a Maoist insurgency that overthrew the and forever closing the door on her right to confer account. monarchy, Nepal’s political establishment remains citizenship. “Sometimes it feels like women are not It will overturn a 2006 act that says children are dominated by high-caste Hindu men-and many even human here...like we do not have any identi- eligible for citizenship as long as one parent is believe they want to keep it that way. ty,” she said. GEORGE SQUARE: A police officer looks at flowers yesterday, left close to the scene in Nepalese. The Forum for Women, Law and “The political forces in power right now are not “I gave birth to my children, I raised them...why George Square, Glasgow Scotland where on Monday a garbage truck crashed into a Development (FWLD), a Nepalese pressure group, supportive of change and inclusiveness, they want can I not pass them my citizenship? Am I not an group of pedestrians which has left a number of people dead. —AP says the move will impact a million children, with to maintain the old status-quo,” said Dipendra Jha, equal citizen of this country?” — AFP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 INTERNATIONAL

Tsunami orphans recount journey to philanthropy

LONDON: A decade after being track down his parents, visiting several hope will be the first of several orphan- that their parents had died. Their return aim being to devote 10 percent of all orphaned by the Asian tsunami, British hospitals and stumbling across scenes ages on the island. was made all the more difficult as they profits to open orphanages “all over the brothers Rob and Paul Forkan are suc- of devastation that still haunt him The institution, which will accommo- had spent four years out of the British world.” cessful entrepreneurs who are giving today. date 400 children, will be financed with school system, travelling and carrying “Our parents always told us to take back to the Sri Lankans who helped Empty-handed, the siblings set off on part of the profits of their flip-flop busi- out humanitarian projects with their the positive out of the negative so after them by building an orphanage. their own, travelling on foot and by van ness through the charity they have set parents throughout Asia. the tsunami we were lucky that we had The brothers, their two younger sib- to the capital Colombo, 150 kilometres up-”Orphans for Orphans”. “Having our eyes opened at a young seen kids a lot worse off when we were lings as well as their parents Kevin and (93 miles) from their hotel in Weligama. The brothers have travelled to Sri age by seeing parts of the world was an younger,” Paul said. At first, the brothers’ Sandra were relaxing in their hotel com- Ten years later Rob, 27, and Paul, 25, Lanka this week ahead of the orphan- incredible experience and something company was treated with a certain plex on December 26, 2004, when the recounted their incredible story and age opening on what is only their sec- we would not change for the world,” amount of bemusement given Britain’s giant wave crashed through their bun- their philanthropic work, wearing their ond visit to the island since the tragedy Rob said. “All the experiences we had notoriously cool and damp climate. galows. trademark flip-flops and Bermuda on Boxing Day 2004. through our parents and what they But they confounded expectations, Rob and Paul managed to climb on shorts in their beachwear company’s showed us has given us the values we selling 250,000 pairs in 2014 and the roof and clung on as the water London office. Driven by parents’ example have today,” he added. appearing on the feet of celebrities rushed by. When the wave subsided, “When we were in Sri Lanka and we After arriving back in Britain 10 years including billionaire Richard Branson, Rob saw his brother Mattie perched on got affected by the tsunami ourselves, ago, the four children found refuge with Flip-flops receive Royal approval pop group One Direction and actress a tree, his face covered in blood. and we lost our parents, the children of an older sister, Marie. Their other sister, Inspired by their barefoot travels, Jessica Alba. They were even hosted by A little later the brothers located Sri Lanka helped us get home. So this is Jo, had left Sri Lanka on Christmas Eve, and by Indian independence leader Princes William and Harry at their badly wounded sister Rosie, placed kind of returning the favour,” Rob told narrowly escaping the tsunami that Mahatma Gandhi, the brothers set up Buckingham Palace. Not ones to miss in a tree by their parents moments AFP. The two have published a book claimed more than 280,000 lives. the Gandys flip-flop label in the summer an opportunity to promote their brand, before they disappeared. about this year their experiences enti- Then began the tortuous three- of 2011. the pair arrived in their flip-flops, Aided by a young Sri Lankan who tled “Tsunami Kids” and in the coming month wait until the news they had All of their products are stamped prompting William to ask if they were had just lost his mother, Rob tried to weeks they will inaugurate what they been dreading arrived, the confirmation with “Orphans for Orphans”, with the there to use the pool. —AFP India’s BJP makes big gains in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Democratic Party won 26 seats and was Bharatiya Janta Party emerged yesterday as leading in two more, according to India’s an important political player in the disput- Election Commission. With no party win- ed Himalayan region of Kashmir, with vote ning an outright 44 seats, it was unclear counting in local elections showing that it which combination of political parties made heavy gains in the regional legisla- would come together to form the state ture. government. The party had led an ambitious cam- Authorities say about 65 percent of paign aiming for a majority in India’s only nearly 5 million eligible voters cast ballots Muslim-majority state, with Prime Minister in the elections, which were held in five Narendra Modi visiting and addressing ral- phases from Nov. 25 to Dec. 20 - a stag- lies four times. gered process that allowed government The BJP won 25 seats in the region’s 87- forces to better guard against any violence strong state legislature, a significant jump or anti-India protests. from the 11 seats it currently holds. All the Anti-India sentiment runs deep in BJP’s seats continued to be in the Hindu- Kashmir, where rebel groups have been dominated areas of the Jammu region in fighting since 1989, seeking independence Jammu-Kashmir state, with the party failing from India or the merger of the region with to make inroads in the Muslim-majority neighboring Pakistan. The BJP also looked Kashmir valley. likely to emerge as the largest party in the Experts said the results highlight the mineral-rich eastern state of Jharkhand. By polarization of voters in the troubled late Tuesday afternoon, the party had won region. “The results show that the BJP’s 31 of the state’s 81 seats and was leading in appeal has not gone beyond Hindu-domi- seven others. nated areas,” said Noor Mohammed Baba, a The final tally was expected to be clear political science professor at Kashmir by late yesterday. In earlier state elections SYDNEY: White Lady funeral directors carry the coffin of Tori Johnson during a funeral service in Sydney, Australia, yesterday. Johnson was University. held in October, the BJP won a majority in one of three people including the gunman who were killed during a siege in the Lindt cafe coffee shop in Sydney on Tuesday morning Dec Kashmir is divided between India and Haryana and took the most seats and 16, 2014. — AP Pakistan, but claimed by both in its entire- formed a government in Maharashtra, ty. The two rivals have fought two wars where India’s financial capital of Mumbai is over Kashmir since they won independ- located. ence from Britain in 1947. The state’s The BJP’s gains in a string of state elec- incumbent chief minister, Omar Abdullah, tions are seen as a confirmation of Prime Australia fears said the voting shouldn’t be linked to the Minister Modi’s popularity and are likely to dispute over the region. help him push through the economic “This is not an election about India and reforms he has promised. Pakistan. It is not an election about the State elections decide who controls the issue of Kashmir,” Abdullah told reporters upper house of India’s Parliament. While fresh attacks Monday, adding that residents had simply the lower house is significantly more pow- voted for whichever party they believed erful, the upper house can delay legislation. could solve their day-to-day problems. The BJP swept national elections in May The regional pro-India Peoples and controls the lower house. — AP Sydney mourns siege victims

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott raised its threat level to high in September when it “At an appropriate time, we’ll also discuss with yesterday warned of heightened “terrorist chatter” carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids them (the families) the establishment of a perma- in the aftermath of the fatal Sydney cafe siege and across Sydney and Brisbane following a flow of its nent memorial,” Baird said. said another attack was likely, as tearful mourners nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight with the Islamic A private funeral was held Tuesday for Johnson- paid tribute to the victims. State group and other jihadists. hailed a hero after reportedly trying to wrestle the Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis, who At that time, Abbott said the raised threat was gun from Monis-with hundreds of tearful mourners had a history of extremism and violence, took 17 not prompted by a specific attack plan but a “body at St Stephen’s Uniting Church just metres from hostages in the city’s financial heartland last week, of evidence that points to the increased likelihood where he died. Several of the hostages also attend- unveiling an Islamic flag and demanding to talk to of a terrorist attack in Australia”. ed. The service emphasised unity after the attack, Abbott. He was killed as armed police stormed the Australia has not officially branded the Sydney with the Johnson family using a phrase by Persian eatery after 16 hours. Two hostages also died- seige as a terrorist attack and Abbott said “I’m not poet Rumi on the front-page of the order of serv- mother-of-three Katrina Dawson, 38, and 34-year- going to speculate” on any potential new threat. ice: “Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right- old Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson-while several doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” were injured. “A briefing from the security agencies Emotions still raw A memorial for lawyer Dawson also took place today indicated that there has been a heightened The warning comes as emotions remain raw at Sydney University’s Great Hall with up to 1,000 level of terrorist chatter in the aftermath of the over the siege, which triggered an outpouring of mourners, including Abbott, wearing black with Martin Place siege,” Abbott said after a meeting of grief that saw thousands of bouquets laid at a splashes of aqua-her favourite colour. his National Security Committee. makeshift memorial near the cafe in Martin Place In emotional speeches, Dawson’s family and “That’s why it’s important that people remain that has grown bigger by the day. friends fought back tears as they spoke of her intel- alert and aware as well as reassured that our police A week after the tragedy-and with storms fore- ligence, generous spirit and deep love for her chil- and security agencies are doing everything they cast in New South Wales-state Premier Mike Baird dren. “She was destined to change the world, just humanly can to keep us safe.” Abbott did not raise said the time was now right to clear the area, with not the way it’s happened,” her older brother Sandy Australia’s terror alert level beyond its current high, an army of Red Cross workers, volunteers and Dawson said. Monis, who was known to authori- which means an attack is likely. An extreme alert council officials moving in Tuesday. ties, was on bail at the time for a string of level means one is imminent or has occurred. They respectfully collected the flowers, most of charges, including sexual offences and abetting “I am alerting people to the fact that the terror which will be used at a suitable site after consulta- the murder of his ex-wife. Abbott has ordered an threat remains high and as you all understand, at tion with the victim’s families, while the countless urgent inquiry into the circumstances surround- this level, an attack is likely,” he said. Australia notes, messages and cards will also be preserved. ing the siege. —AFP

SRINAGAR: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti, center, address- es the media at her residence in Srinagar, India, yesterday. The PDP won 28 seats and emerged as the single largest party in the recently concluded Jammu and Kashmir HK tycoon and ex-deputy state elections. — AP leader jailed for graft

HONG KONG: Hong Kong property out of the three against him. Hong spending at least HK$7 million on a considered by the judge because of Japanese Emperor tycoon Thomas Kwok and the city’s Kong is seen as relatively graft-free-it mistress in Shanghai, for whom he his good character and “lifetime” con- former deputy leader were jailed for was ranked the joint 15th cleanest bought properties and made invest- tribution to society. corruption yesterday after a trial that country or territory in 2013 by watch- ments, according to local media “It’s really too lenient for Rafael-he Akihito turns 81 shocked the city and deepened dog Transparency International. reports. He also bought her bags, is the most senior (official) to be anger at cosy ties between official- “To know that the former number watches and other presents. indicted and then convicted of TOKYO: Thousands flocked to Japan’s “More than three million Japanese peo- dom and big business. two in government had received Hui was ordered to pay a fine of bribery in the history of Hong Kong,” Imperial Palace yesterday to celebrate the ple lost their lives during World War II,” Former chief secretary Rafael Hui, bribes must be a deep disappoint- HK$11.182 million-the sum of one of said Geo Securities CEO Francis Lun, 81st birthday of Emperor Akihito, who Akihito said. 66, was jailed for seven and a half ment to many people in Hong Kong,” the payments he was found guilty of although he conceded that the sen- recalled the carnage of World War II and “To ensure that those people did not die years on five graft charges, including said Judge Andrew Macrae. receiving. He was given nine months tence showed “nobody is above the said he hoped the country would continue in vain, I believe it is our duty as survivors, misconduct in a public office-making “It is vitally important in these less than the maximum sentence law”. —AFP to pursue peaceful development. as well as our responsibility to future gen- him the highest-ranking official in times that the Hong Kong govern- The soft-spoken monarch greeted well- erations, to always continue to strive Hong Kong’s history to be found ment and business community wishers from a glass-covered balcony at toward a better Japan,” he said. guilty of taking bribes. remain-and are seen to remain-cor- the Imperial Palace overlooking the East “In pursuing its sound development, I Kwok, 63 — who was joint chair- ruption-free, particularly when the Garden, flanked by Empress Michiko and ardently hope that Japan will be able to go man of the southern Chinese city’s mainland (China) is taking obvious other members of the royal household. forward in the world as a stable, peaceful, biggest property company, Sun Hung and positive steps to eradicate the The Imperial Palace said around 23,300 and sound nation, in mutual support not Kai-was sentenced to five years after cancer of corruption in their own people attended his birthday address, wav- only with neighbouring countries but with he was found guilty of conspiracy to jurisdiction.” He said Hui had been ing small Japanese flags as crowds shouted as many of the world’s countries as possi- commit misconduct in a public office “blinded by the desire to sustain the “Banzai” or “long live”. ble,” he said. over a series of payments totalling high life”. The palace, surrounded by stone walls Emperor Hirohito, Akihito’s father, was HK$8.5 million (US$1.1 million) to and mossy moats-is opened to the general once worshipped as a living demigod and Hui. The seven-month trial centred ‘Too lenient’ public twice a year-on the emperor’s birth- served as Japan’s commander-in-chief dur- around a total of HK$34 million in Prosecutors said Hui enjoyed an day and the second day of New Year-for the ing its stomp across Asia in the 1930s and handouts, which the prosecution said extravagant standard of living that HONG KONG: From left, former chief operating officer of the Hong royal family to greet well-wishers. 1940s. were made to Hui by Thomas Kwok far outstripped his official salary. He Kong Futures Exchange Ltd. Francis Kwan, former Hong Kong Chief In an interview released by the Imperial The Japanese throne is held in deep and his billionaire brother Raymond was also found guilty on charges Secretary Rafael Hui, former co-chairman of Hong Kong developer Household Agency earlier in the day, respect by much of the public, despite to be their “eyes and ears” in govern- relating to the use of luxury apart- Sun Hung Kai Properties, Thomas Kwok and former Sun Hung Kai Akihito recalled the calamity of World War II being largely stripped of its mystique and ment. ments rent-free and accepting unse- Properties Executive Director Chan Kui-yuen are escorted by Hong ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of quasi-divine status in the aftermath of the Raymond was cleared of all cured loans. Kong Correctional Services in a van upon arrival at the High Court in the conflict next year. war. —AFP charges and Thomas cleared of two Hui, who is married, admitted Hong Kong, yesterday. —AP NEWS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014

A bottle floats on reflection of a bridge on the Sava River in Belgrade yesterday. Unusually warm weather for this time of the arye is predicted for the upcoming days in Serbia. — AP

Turkish soaps invading Latin America... Fadhl calls for scrapping restrictions... Continued from Page 1 format, the classic script, the love triangle, where the bad- Continued from Page 1 The lawmaker said that the company, which he did not dies are really bad and the hero suffers throughout,” said name, has been the cause behind serious environment The series has also been sold in Argentina and Bolivia. Francisco Cortes, head of telenovelas at Chilean broadcaster In another development, MP Abdullah Al-Tameemi disasters and urged the ministers to put an end to its That represents a coup for Turkish television, whose soaps TVN. Sociologist Manuela Gumucio, head of the Chilean yesterday called on Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair, who chairs behavior. Tameemi said the National Assembly issued ear- have faithful audiences in dozens of countries across Europe media observatory, said the Turkish soaps “have a very tradi- the environment authority, to apply the law against oil lier this year a tough law on environment and the minister and the Middle East but had never cracked the Americas. tional romantic element, which are ultimately these univer- “We took a long time to break into the Latin American mar- sal formats that never get old.” companies that violate the law and continue to produce must apply the provisions of the law. ket,” said Izzet Pinto, head of Turkish distributor Global The Turkish invasion comes at a time when Latin highly toxic emissions. He said these companies continue Meanwhile, MP Abdulhameed Dashti yesterday criti- Agency. “But we managed to enter the region this year. We America’s own soaps have turned toward erotically charged to underestimate the value of public health by keeping cized Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh for not sending the were lucky to have a lot of success in Chile, and that opened dramas and “narco-telenovelas” that revolve around drug pollution levels very high, claiming that they are “mas- so-called strategic substitute for a broader pay scale for all up other markets,” he told television industry website trafficking. TV critic Rene Naranjo said Turkey’s soaps sacring the Kuwaiti environment”. Tameemi said that an government employees. Dashti said the government had TodoTV News. appealed to an audience weary of that trend. “Latin oil company allowed highly toxic emissions over the past promised to complete the new scheme at the start of the Francisco Villanueva, vice president at Miami-based dis- American series have drifted toward more violent plots with few days and “this must end once and for all”. new parliamentary term in October, but has so far failed. tributor Somos Distribution, said his firm had sold “about 10” a more visible sexual element, abandoning their main audi- Turkish series - either adaptation rights or complete produc- ence: women over 45,” he said. In Chile, Mega’s success has tions - in five Latin American countries. “Interest is growing forced other networks to overhaul their own programming. and we’re getting a lot of business proposals,” he told AFP. Last week Canal 13 premiered “The Magnificent Century”, France ups security after attacks “Turkish soap operas are excellent from the point of view of a period drama starring Halit Ergenc, the actor who plays Continued from Page 1 “terrorist acts”. The assailant in Dijon, for instance, had the stories, narrative and artistic and technical elements,” he Onur in “Thousand and One Nights” - now a celebrity in been to psychiatric hospitals 157 times, local prosecutor said. “The casting is very much in sync with our region and Chile. Based on the life of 16th-century Ottoman sultan And on Monday night, another man rammed into a Marie-Christine Tarrare told reporters. She said the 40- very attractive, with exotic exteriors that place a high value Suleiman the Magnificent, the series was a smash hit in on production and extraordinary directing and camera Turkey, where fast food chain Burger King even launched an bustling Christmas market with his car in the western city year-old told police that he ploughed into people due to work.” “Ottoman” hamburger topped with hummus. “There’s a sea- of Nantes, injuring 10 people before stabbing himself a sudden “outburst of empathy for the children of The Turkish soaps are classic melodramas with lots of sonal effect in television. Whatever is successful sells,” said repeatedly and being arrested. A 25-year-old man later Chechnya” and had shouted “Allahu Akbar” to give him romance and minimal sex. “People like the old, traditional Naranjo. “And that creates a multiplier effect.” — AFP died of injuries sustained in the attack, local prosecutor courage. Brigitte Lamy said Tuesday, adding the injured assailant Lamy meanwhile said the attacker in Nantes, 37, did was not yet fit to be questioned. The attacks both differ not appear to have a history of psychiatric problems Riyadh vows OPEC won’t cut output even... widely and present disturbing similarities, and Valls although his mental state had deteriorated over the past acknowledged there could be a copycat effect. few weeks. “We must not panic, lump things together, Continued from Page 1 prices will, however, improve. “The timing is difficult to “Unbalanced individuals can act. They can be receptive to give in to fear,” warned President Francois Hollande on a know,” he said, but international oil companies have or influenced by propaganda messages or the power of trip to overseas French territory Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. three or four times that of extracting Middle Eastern oil. reduced their future capital expenditures, “which means images,” he said. Nevertheless, the government faced criticism yester- “Is it reasonable for a highly efficient producer to reduce there is no exploration”. That, in turn, signals they will not Authorities have for months been on tenterhooks over day that it was minimising the threat, at a time when output, while the producer of poor efficiency continues to have additional production, he added. the threat of violence inspired by Islamic extremism. In more than 1,000 nationals are thought to be involved in produce?” Naimi asked during the interview conducted The minister said OPEC was not surprised by the September, the radical Islamic State group that controls jihad on home soil, or in Syria and Iraq. Saturday’s with MEES on Sunday. “If I reduce, what happens to my extent of the price drop. “No, we knew the price would go swathes of Iraq and Syria urged Muslims around the assailant Bertrand Nzohabonayo, 20, was not on a market share? The price will go up and the Russians, the down because there are investors and speculators whose world to kill “in any manner” those from countries domestic intelligence watch-list but his brother Brice is Brazilians, US shale oil producers will take my share.” job it is to push it up or down to make money,” he told involved in a coalition fighting its jihadists, singling out well known for his radical views and was arrested in Naimi added it is “unfair” for the cartel to reduce out- MEES. Naimi said that with their comparatively low pro- the French. Among instructions detailing how to kill civil- Burundi soon after the incident. Nzohabonayo’s mother put because it is not pumping most of the world’s oil. “We duction costs of $4-$5 a barrel, Gulf nations and particu- produce less than 40 percent of global output. We are the larly Saudi Arabia “have the ability to hold out”. Other ians or military personnel was to “run him over with your had also told authorities last year that she was worried most efficient producer. It is unbelievable after the analy- nations would be “harmed greatly before we feel any car”. about Brice’s radicalisation and “the influence he could sis we carried out for us to cut,” he said. OPEC tried to seek pain,” he added. Russia, whose estimated production But while the probe into Saturday’s attack is veering have on his brother Bertrand,” said Paris prosecutor market stability through a common front between mem- topped 10 million barrels a day this year, has seen its towards extremism - the Burundian convert to Islam who Francois Molins, whose office is in charge of the probe. bers and non-members “but there was no way,” he said. ruble currency collapse since last month’s OPEC meeting, assaulted police had posted an Islamic State flag on his The assailant in Dijon, meanwhile, had taken an interest Prices were above $100 a barrel earlier this year, a level partly from the slumping global prices which hit Russian Facebook page - the car rampages appear to have been in religion and started wearing a djellaba - a long robe which Naimi said “we may not” see again. Repeating com- exports. Moscow is also under sanctions for its seizure of committed by unstable people. Both prosecutors in worn in Muslim countries - just a week ago, according to ments he has made elsewhere, Naimi told MEES that oil Ukraine’s Crimea region. charge of probing these incidents insisted they were not his mother. — AFP WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 ANALYSIS

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24835619 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait. E MAIL :[email protected] Website: www.kuwaittimes.net

Focus New leadership seeks to rebuild EU self-confidence

By Paul Taylor

hort, snappy and focused on two priorities - reviving sagging investment in Europe and standing firm towards Russia, the Sfirst European Union summit under new leadership was a demonstrative break with the past. Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister who took over the chairmanship of the 28-nation European Council this month, put his briskly opinionated stamp on the meeting of EU leaders, sending them home a day early after a show of unity and purpose. In his first month, he has shown he intends to be a major player in EU foreign policy, driving an Atlanticist agenda of free trade with the United States, partnership with NATO, toughness with Russia and cautious cooperation with China. German Chancellor Angela Can cable cars solve NY commuter nightmare? Merkel, the most powerful EU leader, was delighted with the first steps of her protege, a fellow conservative from a country which By Jennie Matthew expensive, but European-designed cable cars could ferry as The New York City Economic Development Corporation like her native East Germany cast off Soviet Communist domina- many as 5,000 people an hour across the water into has tentatively welcomed the proposal. They are “encour- tion in 1989. rying not to spill your coffee while wedged up Manhattan in just four minutes, said Levy, the president of aged to see that people across the city are thinking cre- She praised “a shorter, more succinct, well organised Council against perfect strangers on a jam-packed subway is New York’s City Realty. With around 15,000 traveling atively about addressing the transit needs of New York’s meeting under our new president Donald Tusk”. Indeed Tusk a daily challenge for New York commuters. Now one through Bedford Avenue each weekday between 7:30 and growing population,” said spokeswoman Kate Blumm. If opened the summit without Merkel and French President Francois T real estate executive, inspired by an Alpine holiday in 9:30 am, that could be a significant load off. the idea comes to fruition, the city would be a late convert Hollande after they kept other leaders waiting while they met in private, participants said. Departing from the self-effacing, consen- France, believes that cable cars can solve New York’s trans- to gondolas, which are already up and running in cities in sual style of his Belgian predecessor Herman Van Rompuy, Tusk port problem - too many people and too few trains. A com- Battling Bureaucracy South America, Germany and Turkey. made clear publicly in advance he wanted a firm line on maintain- mute that could make you “soar, not sore” quipped the New “I absolutely believe this is hands-down the best solu- ing economic sanctions on Russia, which he called “our strategic York Daily News. Tens of thousands of people travel across tion, and so first and foremost I just want to see it built,” Crazy Enough to Work? problem”. the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan each day, Levy told AFP in his offices above the New York skyline. He Levy says 2018 or more likely 2020 would be the earliest The former Solidarity student union activist and anti-commu- squeezing into subway cars, packing onto ferries and clog- got the idea two and a half years ago, when he was skiing they could be up and running. He hopes that basic math nist political organiser said Europeans should regain their self-con- ging bridges with bumper-to-bumper traffic in a city of 8.4 in the French Alps and found himself on a new, modern will win over detractors. “You can literally build a gondola fidence and realise their own strengths. “The biggest challenge million. In the last 15 years Brooklyn has transformed into gondola system that took him by surprise. “I got half way system for pennies on the dollar over what it would cost to today is the Russian approach, not only to Ukraine but also to the EU,” he said. One EU official described the contrast between Van one of the most sought-after places to live in the United up the mountain and I said to myself ‘Jeez, someone really build a similar subway system,” he said. The technology is Rompuy and Tusk as “old school versus business school”, although States, dense with bars, restaurants, nightlife and apart- ought to put one of these in between Brooklyn and fast, reliable and would beautify the skyline, not least when the Pole is a political bruiser rather than an economist. ments with stunning views. The only problem is that a sin- Manhattan.’” lit up at night. But is it really viable? Levy admits that the When ambassadors met the next morning to review the new gle, overcrowded subway line, the L, and a single station, New York already has a tram, which connects plan has been met by intrigue and recognition that it is a summit format, there was unanimous praise for Tusk’s strict chair- Bedford Avenue, serve the hippest and most coveted Manhattan to Roosevelt Island, although the new system difficult project. Commuters battling with the bulge at manship, which returned the European Council to its intended role neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Greenpoint. The strain would be quicker. Levy says he is in talks with city and state Bedford Avenue had mixed feelings about getting a cable of giving strategic guidance to the EU on a handful of key issues is only expected to get worse as more people move into officials, real estate groups and community organizations car to the office. “I don’t know how I feel about those instead of a laundry list of problems. He prevented leaders making the area. From the Brooklyn Navy Yard -where Lady Gaga to cut through the red tape, win financing and get the proj- because I know they get stuck a lot,” said Lauren Liles, who long speeches or getting involved in rewriting the final statement, launched her latest album - to the demarcation with ect off the ground. Even the military has to give ultimate works in business management and whose children go to as often happens. “They were happy the drafting was left to civil servants and they weren’t asked to get involved,” an EU diplomat Queens, up to 20,000 extra apartments are being built in approval, as the Army Corps of Engineers controls naviga- school in Greenpoint. Erwin Chen, who works on Wall said. the next 20 years, according to Daniel Levy, the man ble rivers in the United States. “There’s a lot of permitting, Street and lives in Williamsburg, says there are days when Whether that discipline will hold when serious issues of money behind the ambitious idea. grants, a lot of approvals that need to happen,” he acknowl- he has to wait for three trains before he can board. “The ski and power are at stake remains to be seen. Tusk’s clear line on Building a new tunnel or bridge would be prohibitively edged. “It’s a fairly long list. It’s certainly a process.” lift idea is crazy, it may be crazy enough to work.” —AFP Russia masked differences between hawks who want to maintain or step up sanctions, and doves such as France and Italy, keen to ease them at the first sign of Russian cooperation to stabilise east- ern Ukraine. Those divergences may widen in mid-2015 when the Cubans await US visa fate at ‘Park of Sighs’ EU has to review the curbs on finance, arms sales and technology transfer imposed initially for 12 months. Tusk was careful not to oversell the initiative to stimulate pri- By Rigoberto DIAZ Since President Raul Castro took over from Epicenter of Protest ing the return of Elian Gonzalez, the five- vate investment in Europe’s stalled economy proposed by new his older brother Fidel, the father of the The interests section has also been the year-old boy who sparked an internation- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, saying it undreds of Cubans congregate Cuban Revolution, in 2006, he has loos- scene of bitter hostility between the two al custody battle when he was plucked was “no silver bullet” but a first step to restore confidence. EU lead- each morning outside the US inter- ened travel restrictions for Cubans. countries. The imposing six-storey glass- from an inner tube off the Florida coast ers endorsed the plan intended to plough 315 billion euros into transport, energy, research and small business, but some demand- Hests section in Havana, hoping to The United States has also made it easi- and-concrete building was the American after his mother died trying to bring him ed a say on which projects are funded. Brussels, in agreement with get an elusive visa to visit their relatives in er for Cuban-Americans to visit the island embassy until the United States cut ties to the United States. investors, wants to keep decisions in the hands of European the United States. This office, set up to par- and began issuing more visas for Cubans - with the island two years after the revolu- The United States has used the build- Investment Bank experts to avoid financing national politicians’ tially restore the diplomatic contact the up 27 percent to 19,500 between tion. Reopened as an interests section in ing to stage protests of its own, placing a pet schemes. United States severed in 1961, was long the rallying point for anti-American protests First Test spurred on by fiery speeches from commu- This may be a first test of whether Europe’s new leadership can nist leader Fidel Castro. But it is also the resist pressure to renationalise decision making. The euro zone cri- spot where Cubans hope against all odds sis of 2010-2013 changed the balance of power in the EU, giving to get a US visa, a symbol of the complicat- more say to national governments that hold the purse strings and ed relations between the United States and less to the Commission, which has seen its sole right to initiate EU the communist island 140 km off its coast. legislation gradually eroded. Juncker has bent to the prevailing Eurosceptic winds, announcing a work program last week that will “I’m sure this time I’m going to pass the withdraw 80 pieces of planned regulation, including clean air and interview because I’ve prayed for it so waste management rules, and propose only 25 new initiatives much. I hope he’ll grant me that miracle next year. He and Tusk have opted to take issues off the table this time,” said Elena Perez, 83, as she wait- where they perceive there is little chance of agreement. But cen- ed in a nearby square nicknamed the “Park trifugal forces are still hard at work, now tugging at the of Sighs.” Cubans pay a non-refundable Commission’s core competences of policing competition, uphold- $160 to apply for a visa, eight times the ing single market rules and negotiating trade deals. To be sure, it’s average monthly salary here. Many paced not all one-way traffic. The Commission has gained more oversight up and down the park or smoked ciga- over national budget deficits, although its powers are being tested rettes as they waited for their interviews, by defiance from Paris and Rome. The European Central Bank, the but Perez, who traveled 650 km from the federal institution in charge of the 18-nation euro single currency, eastern province of Las Tunas, sat on a has acquired more power during the crisis, not just as the de facto bench exhausted. “I’ve been to the United backstop for the euro zone but also by gaining control of banking supervision. States three times and I’ve always come Yet the ECB too faces a backlash from some governments and back. I don’t see any reason why they national central banks, notably in Germany and the Netherlands, would deny me a visa this time,” she said, which are trying to clip its wings and inhibit it printing money to explaining that it had been three years buy government bonds in its effort to revive inflation. Europe’s since she had seen her son and four grand- new start will be put to the test in 2015 by monetary controversy, children in Miami. potential political upheaval and economic stagnation. —Reuters She has been luckier than 78-year-old Yolanda Perez - no relation - who has been denied a visa three times. Her son-in-law Luis Garcia, who has lived in Miami for 20 All articles appearing on these years, was at the interests section to help Cubans wait near the US Interest Office in Havana to apply for visas on Monday. —AFP pages are the personal opinion of her apply. “I guarantee Yolanda’s not going the writers. Kuwait Times takes no to stay there. She has Parkinson’s disease. Leaving her in a country where catching a November 2013 and April 2014. Thanks to 1977, it is guarded by Cuban police offi- sparkling “75” -in reference to the 75 responsibility for views expressed cold costs you $10,000 would be crazy,” he the reforms, a record 327,600 people trav- cers and officially sits on Swiss diplomatic Cuban dissidents arrested the year therein. Kuwait Times invites read- said. eled between the two countries in the first territory. Known as “SINA” in Cuba - its before-at the center of its Christmas dec- ers to voice their opinions. Please As they weaved their way through the half of the year. Most travel to Miami, home Spanish acronym - it looks out over the orations in 2004. The Cubans responded send submissions via email to: opin- six different lines involved in the process, to the largest Cuban diaspora worldwide. famous Malecon, Havana’s seaside boule- by installing an enormous poster out [email protected] or via snail which can take up to five hours, many Despite the increase, however, the number vard, toward Florida. The esplanade in front with pictures of the abuses commit- voiced hope that last week’s announce- of Cubans who made the treacherous boat front bears a sprawling Fidel Castro ted by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. ment of a renewal in ties between the crossing to Florida rose sharply to 3,722 in quote: “Fatherland or death, we shall Iraq. And in 2006, when the United States The editor reserves the right to edit United States and Cuba would mean more the 12 months to September - up 75 per- overcome!” posted political messages on a giant dis- any submission as necessary. visas. But for now the sentence “You do not cent from the year before, according to This was the site where Cubans staged play screen, Fidel responded by hoisting qualify to travel” is still heard often inside. Washington. angry protests in 1999 and 2000 demand- 138 black flags to block them. —AFP p15_Layout 1 12/23/14 8:45 PM Page 1

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 SPORTS

Haddin backs captain Smith Watson hit by bouncer Soria out of Qatar squad MELBOURNE: Brad Haddin has backed the elevation of Steve Smith to the MELBOURNE: Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was forced to cut short DOHA: Experienced striker Sebastian Soria was left out of Qatar’s 23-man Australian test captaincy in place of the injured Michael Clarke for the his training session in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets after being hit squad for next month’s Asian Cup with the Gulf Cup winners instead opting remainder of the India series, despite being overlooked for the caretaker on the helmet by a bouncer yesterday, three days before the start of the for uncapped African-born forwards Tresor Kangambu and Mohammad role himself. third test against India. Watson, under pressure for his place at number Montari. As vice-captain, the 37-year-old wicketkeeper would have been first cab three in the batting order, was knocked to the ground when a short ball Soria won his 100th cap for Qatar in October and marked the milestone off the rank for the position once it became clear that Clarke required sur- from James Pattinson hit him flush on the helmet. “Shane Watson shaken by scoring in a 3-0 success over fellow Asian Cup finalists Uzbekistan but it gery on the latest in a string of hamstring injuries. Instead, after up, but OK, after helmet blow,” Cricket Australia tweeted. was not enough to make the squad for the Gulf Cup tourna- Haddin took charge for the last couple of hours of the 48-run Pattinson was also shaken up by the incident, which came less than a ment the following month. victory in Adelaide, Cricket Australia turned to 25-year-old month after former Australia batsman Phillip Hughes was killed by injuries The 31-year-old has continued to score goals for Qatar Smith, who led the team to a four-wicket victory in Brisbane sustained when he was hit by a short ball in a domestic match in Sydney. Stars League champions Lekhwiya but national team last weekend. “I think they’ve made a very brave and good Left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc also left the session early after being hit head coach Djamel Belmadi opted against a recall when decision in making Steve the captain. I think it’s the per- on the knee by a ball but his likely replacement in the side, Ryan Harris, was he named his travelling party for the Jan 9-31 tourna- fect time for him,” Haddin told reporters at the apparently untroubled by the thigh injury that ruled him out of the second ment in Australia. The Algerian instead went for the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ahead of this test. The hosts, who take a 2-0 lead into the Boxing Day test, already had Congolese-born Kangambu, a wide forward who plays week’s third test. “He’s a good leader, he’s only young injury concerns over David Warner, who skipped the session to nurse a alongside Soria at the league leaders, and El Jaish’s but he’s going to get better and better at it. “I think thumb injury he sustained on the final day of the four-wicket victory in striker Montari, who was born in Ghana. the decision was an outstanding one. He’s got a good Brisbane on Saturday. The 27-year-old Kangambu moved to Qatar four core of senior players to help him out if he needs it. The aggressive opener, one of Australia’s best performers with the bat years ago, while 21-year-old Montari has been in a But things are going well, he’s a good thinker about this year, had little doubt in his own mind that he would be ready to go by rich vein of form for his club side in recent the game and he still wants to learn.—Reuters Friday.—Reuters weeks.—Reuters Winds of change at Ferrari MARANELLO: The winds of change have But the style, two months after swept through Ferrari and even Christmas Montezemolo’s departure and with double has a different feel now. Media invited to world champion Fernando Alonso also the team’s Fiorano test track to attend the gone along with a host of others, was dif- traditional seasonal lunch in a building ferent. next to Enzo Ferrari’s old house knew what His helicopter’s arrival delayed by fog in to expect when former chairman Luca di Turin, the Fiat Chrysler chief executive Montezemolo was in charge. showed he meant business-even if he Like a Medici prince of old, sitting in the prefers a wool sweater to a business suit-by middle of a long table, the elegant Italian addressing the media at a formal news con- would hold court and pronounce on any- ference with new principal Maurizio thing and everything that vexed or pleased Arrivabene alongside. him. Questions about the auto industry, At last year’s gathering, his last such flotations and the wider world of finance occasion, the impeccably dressed 67-year- were declared off limits as Marchionne old merely toyed with a salad as the steam- focused on Formula One. ing tortellini in brodo and sliced cotechino In a rhetorical flourish that con lenticchie (pork sausage with lentils) Montezemolo would have approved of, he were served. said the rules appeared to have been writ- Over the course of the meal, ten by a bunch of bar room drunkards. But Montezemolo would lay into the sport’s otherwise his message avoided hyperbole. over-complex rules, with particular scorn Whereas Montezemolo liked to invoke for any that he considered disadvanta- the spirit of Ferrari, and spoke passionately geous for Ferrari, and emphasise the need about the magic of Maranello, Marchionne to improve the show. was more matter of fact. There was much to displease him at the This year was best forgotten, he said, end of 2013, with a new V6 turbo hybrid and next season will be still hard. But the engine formula in the offing, and he did right people are now in place for future not hold back. success. The menu was unchanged when the With that, he and Arrivabene-who has media returned to Fiorano on Monday, and joined from sponsor Philip Morris and new Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne bears a passing resemblance to the also had plenty to get his teeth into after a Marlboro man with cigarette in hand- dismal season for Formula One’s oldest, retired to lunch. On their own table. The most glamorous and successful team. time for speeches was over. —Reuters Comanche has Wild Oats on the radar in Australia’s race

SYDNEY: Supermaxi Wild Oats XI sets sail contention. on Friday aiming to win line honors for the The others include its fierce rival eighth time in Australia’s top yacht race, Perpetual Loyal, which came second last with state-of-the-art American newcomer year, and the newly-hulled Ragamuffin 100, Comanche out to halt its dominance. The which will see Syd Fischer, 87, take part in 70th Sydney to Hobart bluewater classic his 46th Sydney to Hobart race. has drawn its biggest fleet in two decades, But it is the sleek new 100-foot with last year’s fastest skipper believing the Comanche that is the most anticipated record time could be smashed. yacht of Australia’s most famous race, SAN ANTONIO: Los Angeles Clippers forward Glen Davis (right) shoots against San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, of Argentina, during the “There’s many boats in the fleet that can under the command of accomplished first half an NBA basketball game. —AP kill that record,” Wild Oats skipper Mark American skipper Ken Read and boasting Richards said last week of the 2012 mark of America’s Cup winning captain James one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 sec- Spithill. onds set by his boat. The superyacht is owned by Jim Clark, Spurs and Bulls advance His optimism may be short lived with the billionaire co-founder of Netscape, and strong southerly winds forecast for soon will be undertaking her first major ocean after the start followed by lighter westerlies race, looming as a major threat to Wild SAN ANTONIO: Tony Parker scored 26 career double-double with 10 points and 10 free throws down the stretch for their third as the front-runners turn across the treach- Oats. points in his return from a five-game rebounds. Jefferson and Walker combined to win in the last four. erous Bass Strait. Built in Maine for millions of dollars, it is absence, igniting the San Antonio Spurs to a shoot 15 of 25 from the field and didn’t play Derrick Favors finished with 15 points, “It is definitely a challenging weather sit- broader than its class rivals and has a tow- season-high 37 assists and a 125-118 victory in the fourth quarter with the game well in while Enes Kanter added 13 points and nine uation, but so it is in every Hobart race,” ering 150-foot mast set further back than over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday hand. rebounds. Rudy Gobert managed only two Wild Oats XI navigator Juan Vila said on most. In the right conditions, it is expected night. San Antonio shot a season-high 64 Charlotte improved to 3-0 since Gerald points, missing five of his six shots, but had Monday after hearing the updated forecast. to be tough to be beat. But the weather is percent from the field in snapping a four- Henderson replaced the injured Lance a career-best 16 rebounds and two blocks as The fleet for this year’s 628 nautical mile everything in the Sydney to Hobart which game skid. Stephenson in the starting lineup. the Jazz dominated the boards 49-34. race, which starts in Sydney Harbor before can see yachts face mountainous seas and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 12 Stephenson, who has been the subject of Mike Conley led Memphis with 28 points running down the east coast then across brutal gales-or left becalmed by a lack of rebounds, Boris Diaw scored 23 points and trade rumors, is out at least one more game and his two 3-pointers down the stretch the Bass Strait to Hobart, stands at 117 — wind. Skipper Read, one of the world’s Manu Ginobili had 19 points and 10 assists with a groin injury. Ty Lawson had 18 points kept the Grizzlies close. Marc Gasol finished the largest since 1994. most decorated sailors, conceded the boat for the Spurs (18-11), who had lost three for Denver. with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Courtney “It’s such a high standard and represents was unproven in what can be torrid condi- straight home games in overtime. HAWKS 105, MAVERICKS 102 Lee had 13 points and Vince Carter added 12 a good cross section of yachts from all over tions in the Bass Strait. Chris Paul had 25 points and nine assists, Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 22 on 4 of 7 shooting. Australia as well as 10 international entries,” “In all honesty, this boat isn’t really per- Blake Griffin added 22 points and J.J. Redick points and Atlanta held off Dallas. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia fect for the Sydney to Hobart. But it is the had 21 for the Clippers (19-9), who have lost Hawks (20-7) won all three games on their WARRIORS 128, KINGS 108 Commodore John Cameron said. best all-round option for all the rest of the four straight to San Antonio. Parker showed road trip. The Southeast Division leaders Klay Thompson scored 25 points, Stephen The international contingent comes stuff we want to do,” he said. from New Zealand, the Cayman Islands, In 1998 five yachts sank and six people no lingering effects from a strained left ham- have a four-game winning streak overall, Curry had 12 points and 11 assists, and Britain, Poland, Germany and the United died when the race was hit by wild weath- string that kept him out of eight of the past and have won 13 of their last 14. Golden State eased past Sacramento. Festus States. er. The fleet will include boats old and new, nine games. All five Atlanta starters scored in double Ezeli scored a career-high 15 points to go The last time entrants topped 100 was with the 50-foot Victoire which won handi- figures. Kyle Korver scored 18, Al Horford with six rebounds in place of injured center in 2004 — when only 59 of the 116 boats cap honours last year up alongside vessels BULLS 129, RAPTORS 120 had 17, DeMarre Carroll put in 15 and Paul Andrew Bogut, helping the Warriors hold a which set sail on December 26 made it such as the 1932 Maluka of Kermandie, Derrick Rose scored 29 points, Jimmy Millsap added 13 points and 12 rebounds. big lead most of the way. across the finish line after the fleet was hit which is just nine metres long. “This race Butler added 27 points and 11 rebounds, Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 18 points, Golden State stretched its NBA-best by gale force winds and rough seas. represents the greatest race in the world,” and Chicago snapped Toronto’s six-game 11 in a fourth quarter when they outscored record to 23-3. DeMarcus Cousins had 22 Wild Oats XI, which was first across the said Matthew Fortune, skipper of German winning streak. Rose scored 15 of the Bulls’ the Hawks 39-23. points and eight rebounds, and Darren line in every year from 2005 to 2008 and in entrant, Passion 4 C. “I’m up alongside the franchise-record 49 points in the fourth Collison scored 17 points in Sacramento’s 2010, 2012 and 2013, is one of five super- greatest boats of all time; a little guy in a quarter. Chicago, who has won three JAZZ 97, GRIZZLIES 91 latest blowout loss to its Northern California maxis-the biggest and fastest yachts-in sea of giants.”—AFP straight, got Rose and Taj Gibson back after Alec Burks scored 23 points, Gordon rival. The Warriors whipped the Kings 95-77 each missed two games. Rose was ill and Hayward added 21 and Utah handed on opening night in Sacramento and have Gibson was out with an ankle injury. Memphis its third straight loss. The Jazz won six consecutive games in the series, Kyle Lowry scored 34 points and Jonas withstood a late push by hitting eight of 10 including all four last season. —AP Valanciunas finished with 20 for Toronto, which led by 12 in the third quarter. Lowry scored 18 points in the fourth. NBA results/standings Charlotte 110, Denver 82; Chicago 129, Toronto 120; Houston 110, Portland 95; Utah 97, Memphis ROCKETS 110, TRAIL BLAZERS 95 91; Atlanta 105, Dallas 102; San Antonio 125, LA Clippers 118; Golden State 128, Sacramento 108. James Harden scored a season-high 44 points to help Houston cruise past Portland Eastern Conference Western Conference and snap a two-game skid. The Trail Blazers Atlantic Division Northwest Division were without leading scorer and rebounder W L PCT GB Portland 22 7 .759 - LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed the game Toronto 22 7 .759 - Oklahoma City 13 15 .464 8.5 with an upper-respiratory illness, and had Brooklyn 11 15 .423 9.5 Denver 12 16 .429 9.5 their five-game winning streak snapped. Boston 10 15 .400 10 Utah 9 20 .310 13 Harden had 31 in the first half to help the NY Knicks 5 25 .167 17.5 Minnesota 5 21 .192 15.5 Philadelphia 3 23 .115 17.5 Rockets erase an early eight-point deficit Pacific Division Central Division and take a 20-point halftime lead. It was Chicago 18 9 .667 - Golden State 23 3 .885 - Harden’s NBA-leading third 40-point game Cleveland 16 10 .615 1.5 LA Clippers 19 9 .679 5 this season, with all of them coming this Milwaukee 14 14 .500 4.5 Phoenix 15 14 .517 9.5 month. Damian Lillard led Portland with 18 Indiana 9 19 .321 9.5 Sacramento 12 16 .429 12 points and CJ McCollum added 17. Detroit 5 23 .179 13.5 LA Lakers 8 19 .296 15.5 Southeast Division Southwest Division HORNETS 110, NUGGETS 82 Atlanta 20 7 .741 - Memphis 21 7 .750 - Al Jefferson scored 22 points, Kemba Washington 19 7 .731 0.5 Houston 20 7 .741 0.5 Walker added 18 points and nine assists, and Miami 13 15 .464 7.5 Dallas 20 9 .690 1.5 AUSTRALIA: A file photo taken on December 9, 2014 shows Australian supermaxi Charlotte extended its winning streak to a Orlando 10 20 .333 11.5 San Antonio 18 11 .621 3.5 yacht Wild Oats (left) leading US supermaxi yacht Comanche (right) during the Big season-high three games. Charlotte 9 19 .321 11.5 New Orleans 14 13 .519 6.5 Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbor. —AFP Rookie PJ Hairston recorded his first p16_Layout 1 12/23/14 8:43 PM Page 1

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 SPORTS NFL season: Smiles for some, frowns for others

NEW YORK: Smiling or frowning. “Woe is the way that we’re playing, anything is Seattle is hitting top speed at just the drought is now at 15 seasons, but they at Just as dysfunctional are the Saints (6- us” or “Wow for us.” Heading into the final possible.” Folks in the Valley of the Sun right time, its defense looking just as least sniffed the playoffs this year. They 9), who lost five straight at home, can’t week of the NFL regular season, hardly also should be thrilled by what their overpowering as last year, its quarter- also put together a defense that nearly stop anyone defensively and have lost anyone has a neutral feeling about the Cardinals (11-4) have provided. Until back, Russell Wilson, making magic on anyone east of Seattle would envy. their mojo with the ball. They’ve rarely 32 teams. There are success stories and injuries tore apart the roster - they’ve the ground and through the air. looked the same since the bounty scan- there are flops.Here’s a look at both sides. used four quarterbacks and have seen New England has been invincible at FROWNING dal and Sean Payton’s year-long suspen- offensive and defensive playmakers go home, which could be enough to get it We could lump together the teams sion in 2012. SMILING down nearly every week - the Cardinals to yet another Super Bowl. Tom Brady is that brought in new coaches and totally At least folks aren’t wearing paper The biggest and widest grins should were the feel-good story of 2014. having a vintage season despite a non- floundered: Washington, Tennessee, bags at the Superdome as in the old be worn in Dallas, of course; everything Even as they reel a bit, their faithful stellar surrounding cast other than tight Tampa Bay. Not many people seeing the days. Instead of resorting to the paper is huge in Big D, right? No one outside of should, well, keep the faith heading into end Rob Gronkowski and receiver Julian bright side there. bags, Jets fans hire airplanes to fly ban- Jerry’s Palace could have predicted the the postseason. “You have to wipe it Edelman. The defense has found some Instead, though, let’s concentrate on ners asking to fire the general manager. Cowboys (11-4) would be NFC East away, get the 12th win. Use that momen- new stars (Jamie Collins, Chandler Jones) the horror shows in Chicago, New They could get their wish as owner champs and in line for a first-round play- tum, hopefully, to go into the playoffs,” to go with vets Rob Ninkovich and Orleans, New Jersey and San Francisco. Woody Johnson may show John Idzik the off bye. Not with a defense that lost its running back Stepfan Taylor said. “We still Darrelle Revis. It’s a sign of how much turmoil the Bears door, along with coach Rex Ryan. The best player, linebacker Sean Lee, to pre- have football left. That’s the best thing Two more teams few counted on to (5-10) have experienced in 2014 that one Jets (3-12) still play hard, particularly on season injury. Now with quarterback about this. We’re not out of anything.” make an impact: Detroit and Buffalo.The week after benching Jay Cutler for Jimmy defense, but the overall talent level Tony Romo coming off back surgery. Not Then there are the two favorites for the Lions (11-4) not only can waltz off with Clausen - yes, Jimmy Clausen - the team would make any observer frown. Not so with a coach, Jason Garrett, who seemed Super Bowl, the defending champion the NFC North by winning at Lambeau has to go back to the failed veteran. in the Bay Area, where there is plenty of lost in big spots. Seahawks (11-4) and the AFC East win- Field on Sunday - a tall task, for sure - but Clausen was concussed in his start on skill. When Jim Harbaugh leaves the “This team is so special because we ners, the Patriots (11-3). have a shot at the top seed in the confer- Sunday, and coach Marc Trestman has to 49ers (7-8), he will be praised for taking built this thing from the ground up,” A little more than a month into the ence. Regardless, under new coach Jim go back to Cutler against Minnesota. them to three straight NFC champi- defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. “Guys season, their fans were shaking their Caldwell they have exorcised many of Regardless, things have gotten so onship games, and one tight Super Bowl came to work, from (training camp) all heads, wondering what was wrong. Now, the disciplinary demons that plagued ugly in the Windy City that the only thing loss. His departure will be blamed on dis- the way to now, and the results are defi- those same fans are nodding pleasurably them under the previous regime. capable of bringing smiles might be a cord in the front office. No one will be nitely paying out. And if we keep playing at what they see. As for the Bills, well, their NFL-high total housecleaning. smiling.—AP

India up against MCG record

MELBOURNE: India must reverse a demoral- Burns his Test debut as a replacement for ising losing streak at the Melbourne Cricket hamstring-victim Mitchell Marsh, while senior Ground to prevent Australia from regaining paceman Ryan Harris is bidding for a recall the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Friday’s Boxing after missing the Gabba Test with a quadri- Day third Test. ceps problem. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s tourists trail 2-0 The home side has a pool of five pace in the four-match series after defeats in bowlers to choose from, but ideally would go Adelaide and Brisbane, and have lost their in to the Boxing Day showpiece with Mitchell last five encounters at the MCG stretching Johnson, Harris and Josh Hazlewood, who back 23 years. took seven match wickets on his debut in While India have competed well in the Brisbane. series, they unravelled both times in their sec- “The Gabba Test was played at a fast pace, ond innings. The Indians lost their last seven it was four-and-a-half runs an over for the wickets for 73 to go down by 48 runs in whole Test match,” Australia coach Darren Adelaide and nine for 148 to leave the Lehmann said. Australians chasing 128 runs for a four-wicket “It was exciting again and it’s been an victory in Brisbane. amazing nine days of Test cricket.” Lehmann Dhoni said India had not been getting the said he expects opener David Warner, who 50-50 umpire calls and were not far off win- was struck a painful blow on his left thumb ning away from home where they have a dis- while facing Aaron in Brisbane, to play in the mal record of just one victory from their last third Test. 21 away Tests. Australia have had match-winning per- “There’s plenty of areas we’re showing formances from new skipper Steve Smith improvement, but we’re still not crossing the (375 runs with two centuries), Warner (twin line,” Dhoni said. “We need to give it a bit tons in Adelaide), spinner Nathan Lyon (17 more time. Once they start crossing that line, wickets) and Johnson (a fiery 11-ball spell of once they harness that aggression in the right three for 10 in Brisbane). channel you’ll see plenty of good results from But a crucial part of the series so far has this side.” While India routinely master been Australia’s ability to get far more runs Australia on their home pitches, winning the out of their tail than India. In Brisbane, the last seven Tests straight, it’s the reverse situa- Australians added 258 runs for the last four CINCINNATI: Bengals wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher is tackled by Denver Broncos free safety Rahim Moore (26) during the first half of an tion Down Under. But the tourists now have wickets in the first innings in Brisbane. “To get NFL football game. —AP pace weapons with Varun Aaron, Umesh a lead of 90-odd, the way the tail played was Yadav and Ishant Sharma. amazing,” Smith said of that performance. “To get us into that position was crucial.” WAGGING TAIL Smith will play under the threat of a one- Bengals punish sloppy Broncos “It was quite good to see our fast bowlers match suspension if his team transgress again still running in, giving 100 percent,” said with slow over rates over the next 12 months DENVER: The Cincinnati Bengals intercepted utes as Kirkpatrick intercepted Manning and yards on the night, and fellow back Giovani Dhoni, who is lining up for his 90th Test after Australia was fined 30 percent of their Peyton Manning four times to clinch a playoff returned it 30 yards to help push the Bengals Bernard caught a 22-yard TD in the third to give match as a player and 60th as captain in the match fees from the Gabba Test. Smith, as berth with a big-play filled 37-28 victory over nine points ahead of a demoralised Denver the home side a 27-14 advantage. Melbourne Test. “We have seen the execution skipper, was fined double that amount, and the Denver Broncos on Monday. team. The win was a big relief for the Bengals, who power of our fast bowlers has increased.” now must be mindful of keeping the game Playing in pouring rain, the Bengals staged a Early on, it was the Cincinnati running game have a reputation for failing in big games and Australia are likely to give batsman Joe moving if he is to avoid a ban. —AFP fourth-quarter recovery after blowing a 13-point that led the way on a night where the Bengals have not won in the playoffs since 1990. lead to earn a fourth straight trip to the post- lost standout wide receiver A.J. Green to an arm “We understand that it was the elephant in season. injury in the first quarter. the room; we heard it all week,” Hill said. “We “This one was big. We knew what we were up Jeremy Hill broke free for an 85-yard touch- knew tonight with the country watching that we against... at home, playing on Monday Night in down run in the first quarter, finishing with 147 had to show people we’re serious.” —Reuters prime time,” Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton told reporters. “Our defense played great, espe- cially when it counted.” NFL results/standings Dre Kirkpatrick caught two interceptions for Cincinnati, who also enjoyed a big day on kick Toronto 118, NY Knicks 108; Cleveland 105, Memphis 91; Sacramento 108, LA Lakers 101; Brooklyn 110, returns. The Bengals (10-4-1) can now seal the Detroit 105; Miami 100, Boston 84; Philadelphia 96, Orlando 88; Phoenix 104, Washington 92; Indiana 100, AFC North Division with a season-finale win Minnesota 96; New Orleans 101, Oklahoma City 99. against Pittsburgh next week. American Football Conference National Football Conference Denver (11-4), who had already cinched the AFC East AFC West, was hoping to maintain their push to NFC East W L T OTL PF PA PCT enter the playoffs as the conference top seed Dallas 11 4 0 1 423 335 .733 New England 12 3 0 0 459 296 .800 but the loss conceded the number one spot to Philadelphia 9 6 0 0 440 374 .600 Miami 8 7 0 0 364 336 .533 the New England Patriots. Manning threw for NY Giants 6 9 0 0 354 366 .400 Buffalo 8 7 0 0 326 280 .533 311 yards but was unable to connect with his Washington 4 11 0 0 284 394 .267 NY Jets 3 12 0 1 246 377 .200 wide receivers when it mattered most. NFC North AFC North “I had four interceptions, you’re not going to Detroit 11 4 0 0 301 252 .733 Cincinnati 10 4 1 0 348 317 .700 beat very many good football teams (that way),” Green Bay 11 4 0 0 456 328 .733 Pittsburgh 10 5 0 0 409 351 .667 Manning said. “We have to find a way to learn Minnesota 6 9 0 0 312 334 .400 Baltimore 9 6 0 0 389 292 .600 from this and play better next week.” Chicago 5 10 0 1 310 429 .333 Cleveland 7 8 0 0 289 317 .467 NFC South AFC South EARLY BLOW Indianapolis 10 5 0 0 431 359 .667 Carolina 6 8 1 0 305 371 .433 In a wild affair, the Broncos woke up in the Houston 8 7 0 1 349 290 .533 Atlanta 6 9 0 0 378 383 .400 BRISBANE: Australian players celebrate in this file photo during their play on day second half, with Manning tossing two third- Jacksonville 3 12 0 0 232 389 .200 New Orleans 6 9 0 2 378 404 .400 four of the second cricket Test against India. —AP quarter touchdowns to give the visitors a 28-27 Tennessee 2 13 0 0 244 411 .133 Tampa Bay 2 13 0 2 257 387 .133 edge. AFC West NFC West Brandon Tate lifted the Bengals midway Denver 11 4 0 1 435 340 .733 Seattle 11 4 0 0 374 248 .733 through the fourth with a 49-yard punt return CBK honors KBC San Diego 9 6 0 0 341 329 .600 Arizona 11 4 0 0 293 279 .733 that helped them move back in front on Mike Kansas City 8 7 0 0 334 274 .533 San Francisco 7 8 0 1 286 323 .467 Nugent’s 23-yard field goal. The Cincinnati Oakland 3 12 0 0 239 405 .200 St. Louis 6 9 0 0 318 334 .400 Shooting winners defense struck the decisive blow in the final min-

KUWAIT: CBK’s chairman of board, Ali ed her victory to CBK. On his part, the first Mousa Al-Mousa recently received CBK winner in the men competitions, Sulaiman employees, Asrar Ali Fadhel and Sulaiman AL-Qassar was also happy about his Sri Lanka begin World Cup Jamal Al-Qassar; the winners of the first achievement and stressed that the compe- place and the cup of the Kuwaiti Banks tition had been a serious one. Club (KBC)’s 7th Shooting Championship On her part, CBK’s assistant general recently held at the shooting complex, to manager, for PR and media affairs, Amani tune-up in New Zealand honor them for their achievement. In this Al-Wer’ said that CBK was keen on sponsor- regard, CBK’s staff member and shooter ing the championship out of its keenness WELLINGTON: Sri Lanka will open hostilities swansong. “We’re playing without Mahela for the Asrar Ali Fadhel said she was over the on supporting and encouraging its against the Black Caps in their first tour of New first time in about 18 years and that’s going to be a moon for winning the first place in the employees to practice various sports and Zealand for eight years on Friday, looking to accli- challenge for us,” Mathews said. women shooting competition and dedicat- social activities. matise to local conditions for the upcoming World “But there’s pressure on all of us anyway, this is Cup. The tour features two Test matches, the first going to be a challenging series. Playing against beginning in Christchurch on Boxing Day, but the New Zealand in New Zealand is going to be tough. emphasis is squarely on the 50-over game, with They’ve been playing really good cricket in the seven one-dayers as a warm-up to the February- recent past.” Sri Lanka will be without left-arm spin- March tournament co-hosted by Australia and New ner Rangana Herath for the opening Test after he Zealand. “We have to be mentally and physically fit strained a hamstring against England. for the most-important game on February 14,” Only two of Mathews’ Test team, Kumar coach Marvan Atapattu told Sri Lankan media, Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene, have expe- referring to his team’s clash against New Zealand in rienced New Zealand’s seam-friendly wickets the opening match of the World Cup. before, so Mathews said it was important to adjust. COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s cricketer Mahela Sri Lanka are buoyant after humiliating England “Getting used to the conditions will be key for Jayawardene waves at the crowd in this file 5-2 in a one-day series, a result that contributed to us,” he said. “We’ve been playing a lot of cricket in photo. —AFP Alastair Cook’s sacking as limited overs captain, the sub-continent over the last six months or so, so New Zealand, who recently drew a Test series and and notching Test and one-day series wins over we really need to make the most of our practice their ODI series with Pakistan in the United Arab Pakistan in August. sessions and try and adapt to these conditions as Emirates, will be out to make a statement in front of But skipper Angelo Mathews said he expected a best we can.” their home fans ahead of the World Cup. The Blacks tough match against the New Zealanders, particu- Sri Lanka, who won the 1996 World Cup and Caps under Brendon McCullum’s aggressive leader- larly since Mahela Jayawardene will be missing were runners up in 2007 and 2011, are fourth in the ship have shown they can compete with the best from the Test line-up after retiring from the long ODI rankings and fifth in the Test standings, with and they are desperate to build some momentum form of the game to concentrate on a World Cup New Zealand placed sixth and seventh respectively. leading into the World Cup.—AFP p17 2_Layout 1 12/23/14 8:44 PM Page 1

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 SPORTS Capitals see off Senators

WASHINGTON: Braden Holtby made 38 saves, Jay Beagle and Nicklas Backstrom scored sec- ond-period goals, and the Washington Capitals Neureuther wins extended their point streak to nine games with a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night. last slalom of 2014 Washington has won three in a row and is 7- 0-2 in its past nine games. Holtby has been in ITALY: Felix Neureuther became the World Cup wins does not really matter net for all of them. Backstrom broke a 1-1 tie most successful German skier in the to me. What matters is to be the most with 35 seconds left in the second period dur- men’s World Cup with his 10th career consistent slalom specialist this sea- ing a power play. He has 11 goals this season, victory in a slalom in Madonna di son and to win the specialty’s World including six in his last five games. Beagle made Campiglio on Monday. Cup,” added the German, narrowly it 1-0 at 13:59. Despite being hampered by linger- beaten for the slalom globe by Mike Green assisted on both Capitals ing back problems, the Garmisch- Austria’s Marcel Hirscher last season. goals.Erik Condra scored his third goal of the Partenkirchen skier earned his eighth Two years ago, Neureuther had season to tie it 1-1 in the second period, and successive podium place in the disci- also been beaten by Hirscher in Craig Anderson stopped 21 shots for Ottawa. pline by upstaging German team Madonna but the three times World The Senators are 3-3-1 since Dave Cameron replaced Paul MacLean as head coach. mate Fritz Dopfer by 0.82 seconds on Cup winner, hampered by a cold, was the floodlit Italian course, one of the below par this time, finishing seventh PREDATORS 5, BLUE JACKETS 1 most prestigious on the World Cup after a poor first run. “I was never in Craig Smith scored two goals, Pekka Rinne circuit. In a combined time of one the right pace. I changed skis and made 30 saves to earn his NHL-leading 22nd minute 40.57 seconds, Neureuther led boots between the runs but the dam- win, and Nashville routed Columbus. a German one-two ahead of Dopfer age was done,” Hirscher said. Colin Wilson had a goal and an assist, and while Jens Byggmark was third for “During the Christmas break, I will Seth Jones and Mike Fisher also scored for Sweden on a piste which saw his com- train in slalom because I focused on Nashville, which has won five of six. Victor patriot Ingemar Stenmark clinch the the giant slalom in the summer to try Bartley added two assists. first of his 86 World Cup victories 40 and bridge the gap with (American Rookie Alexander Wennberg scored his first years ago. Ted) Ligety possibly at the expense of NHL goal late in the third period to spoil Rinne’s “It’s amazing. The last time we my slalom skills.” The Austrian is now shutout bid. Columbus had its nine-game point skied in Madonna, I came really close second in the slalom World Cup, 24 streak (8-0-1) snapped, losing for the first time after also winning the first leg. This points behind Neureuther. He is also in December. time it worked out really, really good second in the overall World Cup The Blue Jackets rode goalie Sergei WASHINGTON: Goalie Craig Anderson No. 41 of the Ottawa Senators follows the puck during for me,” said the 30-year-old. standings, 34 points behind Norway’s Bobrovsky, who seemed to tire in the third peri- the first period against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. —AFP “To become the German with most Kjetil Jansrud.—Reuters od. He was pulled after the fourth goal and fin- ished with 26 saves on 30 shots. made 38 saves as Vancouver hammered after Johnny Gaudreau had three goals in regu- Arizona. Daniel Sedin, Kevin Bieksa, Brad lation - including two in a 1:13 span late in the PANTHERS 4, PENGUINS 3 Richardson, Chris Higgins and Shawn Matthias third period - and Calgary rallied to beat Los Aleksander Barkov scored the lone goal in also scored for Vancouver (20-11-2), which won Angeles. The Flames snapped an eight-game Russian coach to sue the shootout, and Florida edged Pittsburgh. its second straight. Miller improved to 18-7. losing streak, dating to Dec. 6, and Calgary Barkov skated in on Marc-Andre Fleury in the Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored earned its first road win in nearly a month. over TV doping claims seventh round of the tiebreaker, moved left, and the lone goal for the reeling Coyotes (11-18-4), The Kings were in control before Gaudreau lifted in a one-handed shot to win it. Florida’s who have one win in eight games. Coyotes struck. He put a shot under goalie Jonathan Roberto Luongo made a sprawling glove save, starter Mike Smith, who entered with one win in Quick’s left leg with 2:12 remaining in regula- MOSCOW: Vladimir Kazarin, the telephone interview on Tuesday. among his seven, on Chris Kunitz in the fourth his last 12 starts, struggled and was replaced tion and then sent another puck in off defense- coach at the centre of a German TV “This documentary came about round. early in the second after giving up four goals on man Drew Doughty with 59 seconds left for his documentary which made claims of due to clever editing. I did not give Jimmy Hayes scored twice in the third period 11 shots. Devan Dubnyk came on in relief and 10th goal. widespread doping in Russian sport, anyone banned substances. “It is a to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead. Nick Spaling made 26 saves for Arizona. Jonas Hiller stopped 31 shots for the Flames, says he is suing the programme mak- really strange situation: Yulia was dis- deflected in a shot for a power-play goal with who had earned only three points in their previ- er Hajo Seppelt. qualified for doping offences and at 4:52 remaining to bring the Penguins within 3- FLAMES 4, KINGS 3 ous nine games. Trevor Lewis, Marian Gaborik Kazarin is also filing lawsuits the same time says she wants the 2, and Evgeni Malkin jammed a puck past Mark Giordano scored 4:07 into overtime and Jamie McBain scored for the Kings.—AP against Russian middle-distance run- sport to be clean,” he added. Kazarin Luongo to tie it with 3:10 left. Patric Hornqvist had given Pittsburgh a 1-0 ner Yulia Stepanova and her husband will fly to Moscow today to meet NHL results/standings lead in the first period. Jussi Jokinen tied it in Vitaly Stepanov, a former Russian with his lawyers. the final minute of the second. Anti-Doping Agency official whose “I plan to visit the Russian Washington 2, Ottawa 1; Nashville 5, Columbus 1; Florida 4, Pittsburgh 3 (SO); Vancouver 7, Arizona 1; Anaheim 3, San Jose 2 (OT); Calgary 4, Los Angeles 3 (OT). claims were at the centre of the pro- Athletics Federation, RUSADA (the DUCKS 3, SHARKS 2 gramme’s claims. country’s anti-doping organisation Ryan Kesler scored 58 seconds into overtime, Western Conference Tampa Bay 20 11 4 113 93 44 Stepanova, a former 800 metres which Vitaly Stepanova worked for), and Rickard Rakell netted his first regular-sea- Pacific Division Detroit 17 8 9 94 84 43 son NHL goal, leading Anaheim over San Jose. WLOTLGFGAPTS Toronto 19 12 3 114 102 41 world championship finalist under as well as getting acquainted with Anaheim 23 8 5 104 98 51 Florida 15 9 8 73 82 38 her maiden name Rusanova, is cur- the legal case” he said. “This is all Cam Fowler got the tying goal with 4:16 left San Jose 19 11 5 99 90 43 rently serving a two-year doping that I can say at the moment.” in regulation, and Frederik Andersen made 30 Vancouver 20 11 2 99 91 42 Boston 17 14 3 86 88 37 ban. The programme was aired in three saves for the Ducks, who have won nine of 11 Los Angeles 17 11 7 97 88 41 Ottawa 14 14 6 90 94 34 and own a league-best 51 points. She and her husband have now parts by German channel ZDF/ARD Calgary 18 15 3 104 98 39 Buffalo 13 18 3 66 109 29 Fourteen of Anaheim’s last 16 victories have Arizona 11 18 4 75 111 26 Metropolitan Division gone into hiding after making claims with many of it claims denounced as Edmonton 7 20 7 74 116 21 been decided by one goal. Two ended in over- Pittsburgh 22 6 5 105 76 49 of widespread and systematic dop- “lies” by the head of Russia’s Athletics Central Division time and three went to shootouts. NY Islanders 23 10 0 104 91 46 ing, cover-ups and payoffs, particu- Federation Valentin Balakhnichev. Melker Karlsson scored his first NHL goal, Joe Chicago 23 9 2 106 67 48 Washington 17 10 6 97 86 40 larly in athletics, all of which were Balakhnichev has since stood down Pavelski connected on a power play, and Niemi Nashville 22 8 2 92 65 46 St. Louis 21 9 3 100 81 45 denied by Russian officials. from his role as treasurer of the made 29 saves for the Sharks, who lost for the NY Rangers 17 10 4 93 81 38 Winnipeg 17 10 7 83 80 41 Philadelphia 13 14 6 92 99 32 “Together with the Russian athlet- International Association of Athletics second time in 11 games. Karlsson, playing in Minnesota 16 12 3 91 84 35 Columbus 14 16 3 80 107 31 ics federation, we will be filing law Federations while the allegations are his sixth NHL game, put the Sharks ahead 2-1 Dallas 14 13 5 95 109 33 New Jersey 12 17 6 77 102 30 suits against Yulia Stepanova, her investigated. The World Anti-doping with 12:04 remaining. Colorado 12 13 8 85 101 32 Carolina 9 20 4 68 92 22 husband Vitaly as well as against the Association has also appointed an Eastern Conference CANUCKS 7, COYOTES 1 Atlantic Division Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the director of the film Hajo Seppelt,” the independent commission to investi- Alex Burrows scored twice and Ryan Miller Montreal 21 11 2 92 83 44 standings and are not included in the loss column (L). 62-year-old Kazarin told Reuters in a gate the claims. —Reuters

UAE triumph over Oman

By: Abdellatif Sharaa Arabia did not host it. He said that in previous tournaments the champion was KUWAIT: Oman’s handicapped basket- being known following the second ball team fell victim once more due to match but today competition is stronger their lack of experience when they met and it is difficult to predict who the UAE’s team in its second match in the champion will be. Al Hajiri thanked Al- seventh Gulf Handicapped Basketball Sheikha Sheikha Al-Abdulla for patroniz- Tournament which ended with the score ing this tournament. of 36-56 in favor of the Emaraties. Meanwhile UAE’s captain Tareq Ali The UAE team displayed a highly was pleased with UAE’s win adding that sound technical performance that there were mistakes by his team other- enabled them to control the match from wise the score would have been much the start, to make up for the loss in their larger. He said the Emirates will host the opening match against Kuwait. UAE now next tournament in 2016. has two points in third place behind President of Asian Federation for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with four points Handicapped Sports Majid Al-Osaimi each. Bahrain and Oman remain point- and Vice President of Kuwait less. Today, Saudi Arabia will meet UAE Handicapped Sports Club Nasser Al-Ajmi and Bahrain will meet Oman. visited the President of the Olympic Meanwhile President of Kuwait Council of Asia Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad, Handicapped Sports Club Shafi Ali Hajiri as both sides discussed matters between said the technical level of the tourna- the associations. Sheikh Ahmad Al- ment is really hard compared with previ- Fahad expressed full support to the ous tournaments. He said that Kuwait is handicapped sports in Asia in general hosting this tournament after Saudi and Kuwait in particular. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 SPORTS Germans set 10-year plan, want Euro 2024

FRANKFURT: At a reception shortly set out a 10-year plan.” utive European titles and a World Cup. hopes to be awarded. “It would be a tions starting at youth level. “It’s impor- before Christmas, German football fed- The ambitious long-term project is “We want to leave our mark on an entire wonderful perspective for us and our tant to use the momentum of the World eration president Wolfgang Niersbach aimed at making success more perma- era,” Loew said. Germany hopes to fol- most ambitious goal to get the 2024 Cup title and to lay down structures for said his plan for the holidays was to sit nent. Few would consider Germany a low its World Cup triumph with the 2016 championship and we are confident we future success,” Bierhoff said. back on a sofa, shut off the radio and failure in football, but the title in Brazil European Championship title in France. are going to get it,” Niersbach said. “Not He and Flick will visit the United television and think about the wonder- was its first championship since the Then there are World Cups in 2018 and many nations are able to host a 24-team States early in 2015 to visit similar acad- ful year behind him. 1996 European Championship. “When 2022 and another European tournament competition.” Germany plans to use 10 emies, and Bierhoff said the academy After winning a fourth World Cup you are first, you always have something in 2020. stadiums, all of them already in exis- will also offer its know-how to other title, Germany has plenty of reason to to lose,” German national team director “We are still hungry,” said Hansi Flick, tence and most used for the 2006 World nations. celebrate 2014 as an extraordinary year. Oliver Bierhoff said. “It’s dangerous to Loew’s assistant in Brazil and now the Cup. Work on the academy is scheduled to But the Germans don’t want to rest on think it’s always going to continue like federation’s technical director. Another highlight of the project is an start in 2016 and to be completed by their laurels and again end up waiting that. We went through that in 1990. Ten Niersbach said “we should be thankful 89 million euro ($109 million) academy the end of 2018. Frankfurt residents, 24 years for a World Cup title. years later, you wake up and notice that and humble for what we’ve achieved,” to be built on the outskirts of Frankfurt, however, have started a move that “The year behind us was extraor- you’ve slept through something.” but promised to embark on the project the federation’s biggest investment to could end up in a referendum and ulti- dinary but it shouldn’t be the only Germany coach Joachim Loew hopes for the future. date. The national training and research mately scuttle the project despite previ- one,” Niersbach said. “We are not his team can create somewhat of a The plan culminates with the 2024 facility will be home not only to Loew’s ous approval and a contract with city going to lean back. That’s why we’ve dynasty, like Spain did with two consec- European Championship that Germany team but also to all other national selec- authorities. —AP Brazil stadium usage still problematic

SAO PAULO: The average attendance at Brazil’s “The number of people going to games has Five of the World Cup stadiums were built in new arenas in the five months since the World increased, that is undeniable. The big question cities like Manaus, that have no first division Cup was higher than the league mean but sta- is over the future. Are they going to bring in clubs. Authorities vowed they would ensure diums in cities without major clubs are in dan- enough money to pay for themselves? those stadiums did not fall into disrepair or ger of becoming white elephants, studies and Everything indicates that the answer is ‘no’.” were left idle for local authorities to foot the experts said. Brazil built or refurbished 12 stadiums at a bill. “There is no chance that these stadiums will The average attendance at all games in the cost of 8.44 billion reais ($3.17 billion), around become white elephants,” Sports Minister Aldo 12 stadiums was 18,300, just above the 16,562 50 percent more than originally planned. The Rebelo told reporters last year. recorded over the season in Brazil’s Serie A, sta- average attendance during the World Cup was “They will be much more than football fields. tistics compiled by the Folha de S.Paulo and 53,592, the second highest in tournament his- They will be multi-purposes spaces that the Lance! newspapers showed. tory. cities have lacked before and now will have to Although the attendance at first division Since then, Cruzeiro and Corinthians have use for several different purposes.” games in new arenas is twice that in older sta- packed them in, with both clubs averaging Although stadiums have hosted everything diums, only three of the new venues, in Sao crowds of more than 30,000, even though they from trade fairs to mass weddings, some of Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Manaus, were consis- charged the highest ticket prices in the league, them have struggled to attract soccer fans and tently more than half full. In others without a said a recent report from consultancy firm BDO many have seen more small events than games. strong soccer tradition, crowds were as low as Brazil. At least two of the publicly owned stadiums 354 and grounds in Salvador, Recife and Natal recently announced plans to lease the arenas to regularly played host to less than 10,000 spec- WHITE ELEPHANTS private consortiums, tacitly acknowledging tators. The average attendance in Manaus was also their struggle. “The administration understands “We’re more certain than ever that some of high, at 27,759. Although no big clubs play in that this is the best solution for the manage- these stadiums will be white elephants,” said the city, teams such as Botafogo, Flamengo and ment of a concern as complex as the Pantanal Fernando Ferreira, head of Pluri, a sports mar- Vasco da Gama have all shifted home games to arena,” the owners of the Cuiaba stadium said keting firm that tracks football finances. the Amazonian arena in a bid to attract crowds. in an emailed response to questions. —Reuters TEC and KEA enter Final

Ferra, Mazidi in KBC squash final

KUWAIT: Squash players Ayman Al-Farra tiebreaking third set, where many technical and Qais Al-Mazidi continued their usual and physical skills came into display, where outstanding performance in the squash Al-Mazidi was distinguished with his long championships and proved to be a formi- experience and calculated performance. Al- dable force and reached the finals of Farrra relied on his fitness and strong shots Kuwait Banks Championships being held at in deciding the set in his team’s favor. Al-Arabi Sports Club. Al-Mazidi and Al- The two players thanked the organizing Farra qualified after a tough match with committee headed by Ahmad Sultan, and doubles partners Khalid Al-Mousa and Ali they thanked Squash Manager At Al-Arabi Redha who formed a strong opponents club Yousuf Asad for encouraging the prac- team. The two teams had to resort to a tice of the sport of squash.

Van Gaal keen to Mr. Mohanachandran presenting Man-of-the-match award to Remesh. KUWAIT: The semi-finals (19th Dec 2014) of repay Fergie’s faith the 17th Prof. Ramachandran memorial crick- et tournament (sponsored by GTE Olayan Co MANCHESTER: Louis van Gaal has revealed pressure that you have to get results. It’s and organized by College of Engineering he feels under pressure to succeed at not so easy to win Premier League match- Trivandrum Alumini Association) started with Manchester United to repay the generous es.” a match between AECK and KEA at 7.30 am. support of Old Trafford legend Alex United, unbeaten in seven games, open KEA won the toss and elected to bat but AECK Ferguson. their festive fixture list with a home clash struck in the very first over with Smithosh Ferguson has given his backing to van against Newcastle on Friday and van Gaal clean bowling the dangerous Nitin for 1. This Gaal in recent interviews, claiming the insists he has already succeeded in one of brought together KEA’s most successful pair United manager can restore the team to his primary aims - making Old Trafford a Govind and Ajin and they didn’t disappoint the lofty levels which Ferguson himself venue where other teams fear to play. with a 2nd wicket partnership of 45 runs in 7 attained in his 27 years as boss. Since losing at home to Swansea on the overs. Ajin (22 - man of the match) was Certainly, van Gaal’s efforts in leading opening day of the season, in his first com- dropped early and this proved costly for AECK United into a top three position as the petitive match in charge, United have won as thereafter he was his usual belligerent self Premier League enters the Christmas peri- seven and drawn one of their eight games. hitting 2 fours and a six to take the fight to the od have been impressive and generated an “I have said after the first loss against opposition. However Ajin’s dismissal and that air of optimism at the club not felt since Swansea that it’s a pity we came back from of Govind (15) in quick succession turned the Ferguson retired in 2013. the United States and won everything and complexion of the match. Remon (3 for 9), However, that backing has come at a then lost our first match in the Premier Smithosh and Rinaz with 2 wickets each cost, according to van Gaal.”It’s fantastic,” League,” said van Gaal. bowled with fire to restrict KEA and brought said van Gaal yesterday. “When you come “We want to build a fortress at Old AECK strongly back into the match. KEA could to Manchester United, because I know Sir Trafford and we have made that already make only 11 runs off their last 5 overs loos- Alex, you hope that he will support you. because we have won a lot. “I’m happy with “And when he is supporting you, he is that but then we have to continue because ing 5 wickets in the process and finished on a doing that not only this week but in other seven (wins) is too few I think. “So we have none too impressive 67 for the loss of 7 wick- conferences he gave. to continue and that’s the most difficult ets off their 15 overs. “He showed a lot of confidence and point because it’s not easy to win games in In reply, AECK opened with their regular belief in me and you need that as a trainer- the Premier League.” Meanwhile, van Gaal pair of Nitin and Mahesh. But the loss of their Mr.Daniel Muruppel presenting Man-of-the-match award to Ajin Skaria. coach, as manager of Manchester United. has paid tribute to captain Wayne Rooney’s main hope Mahesh in the 2nd over was a big “You need that belief and support of versatility, but insists he still remains an setback from which AECK found hard to bowled by Presoon with off the 2nd ball. Thus vals with only Mahesh in the top order reach- managers like Sir Alex. I am very happy important attacking threat. recover. When Nithin and Remon were out in 8 times champions KEA entered the final after ing 2 digits. When NSS lost their 7th wicket at with that because then you can work more The England forward played in a deep the 5th over, the score was only 18. KEA con- a gap of 9 years. 41 in the 11th over, the match seemed head- easily. “But it’s also pressure because he midfield role in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at tinued to maintain the pressure with sus- In the 2nd semifinal, favourites TEC batting ing for a tame finish. But Praveen (16) and believes in you and that gives you that Aston Villa but van Gaal does not accept tained bowling from Nasif (3 wts), Nithin and first lost their skipper Suresh in the 1st over Jaymohan (10) added 23 for the 8th wicket to that Rooney’s days as a goal threat are Ajin (2 wts each) supported brilliantly by their lbw to Priyan. This brought in Ramesh to join bring some life back to the proceedings. But it behind him. fielders. Gireesh. They showed their experience and was all too late and too little as the experi- “Wayne is a player who can play in dif- AECK continued loosing wickets regularly class punishing only the loose balls taking the enced bowling line up of TEC kept chipping ferent positions and I like that because I like and when the 8th wicket fell at 33 in the 11th minimum of risks to shut out any hopes of an away and NSS were all out in the last over for multi-functional players, that’s why I can over, the match seemed over bar the shout- NSS breakthrough. Ramesh (28 - man of the 74 leaving TEC convincing winners by 20 runs. use him as a midfielder, also as a striker and ing. However, Abulais and Sujeesh provided a match) and Gireesh (22) did not have to force For TEC, Suresh (4 wts), Anoop (3 wts), an attacking midfielder,” he said. brilliant rearguard action with intelligent the pace as NSS gave away 33 extras which Sreekumar (1 wt) supported by Shajeer and “The last game he was more defensive stroke play and quick running between the proved crucial in the end. Their 2nd wicket Ramesh ensured that TEC didn’t feel the midfielder. I like that he is also coming into wickets providing increasing excitement in partnership put on 75 runs by the 13th over absence of their star Dinto. the 18 yard box because he can score enabling TEC to finish strongly on 94 for the The guests of honor for today’s matches goals. “He has the ability to run from box to the end. With 2 overs to go, AECK needed 12 box and that is also a little bit that he has to and it was anybody’s match. loss of 6 wickets off their 15 overs. Aneesh (2 were Daniel Muruppel (President - KEA) and ‘feel’ in a match - read the match - and he But a brilliant catch by Renju at long on to wts), Priyan, Dileep, Mahesh (1 wt each) Mohanachandran (ex - President CETAA). In can do this. “But that’s a matter of time and dismiss Abulais for 16 proved crucial. AECK bowled spiritedly for NSS but could not main- the Final on 26th Dec 2014, AECK will meet he can do that. I like him closer to their area needed 7 off the last over with a wicket left tain adequate pressure to restrict TEC. KEA at 8 am and the prize distribution will than our own goal.”—AFP but lost by 5 runs when Sujeesh (14) was In reply, NSS lost wickets at regular inter- take place at 10.30 am. Bengals punish Spurs and Bulls sloppy Broncos advance

WEDNESSDAY, DECEMBER16 24, 2014 15 NFL season: Smiles for some, frowns for others Page 16

DOHA: Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani (left) presents Napoli’s Slovak midfielder and captain Marek Hamsik (center) with Italian Super Cup trophy following their football match against Serie A champi- ons Juventus. —AFP Napoli clinch Italian Super Cup

DOHA: Napoli beat Juventus 6-5 on penalties to py for Higuain, I am happy for everyone who was a revenge for Napoli, which lost to Juventus in denied twice in quick succession by good saves flank and whipped in a cross for Higuain’s precise win the Italian Super Cup on Monday and deny believed in us. ... It’s my 12th trophy, my 10th cup, the same competition two years ago. from Rafael after more poor defending by Napoli. header. Massimiliano Allegri a first trophy in charge of the but what matters is that we won this for Naples Juventus, which holds the joint record number Napoli recovered and Higuain could have sent Juventus restored its lead moments into the Bianconeri. and our supporters.” It was end-to-end action at of victories, was looking to move clear of AC Milan his side in at halftime level only to be thwarted by second half of extra time as Paul Pogba set up Rafael saved Simone Padoin’s final penalty after the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, much to with a seventh win. And it got off to the perfect a fine diving save from Buffon. Tevez, who dummied to carve out some space on Kalidou Koulibaly had converted to win the match the delight of the sellout crowd of 14,000 fans, start after a defensive howler from Napoli. Raul Jose Callejon should have equalized shortly the edge of the area before drilling low into the for Napoli despite Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi who loudly cheered every Juventus attack. Albiol and Kalidou Koulibaly collided when trying after the break following a fantastic defense-split- bottom left corner. Buffon pulled off a great reac- Buffon saving three spot kicks. “It was a good game,” Allegri said. “We didn’t to clear David Lopez’s poor back-header, allowing ting pass from Hamsik but he fired inches wide of tion save to deny Higuain but could not prevent The match had ended 2-2 after extra time with manage to win on penalties despite three match Tevez to race clear and beat Rafael one-on-one the left post from almost an identical position to the Argentine from leveling two minutes from Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain twice cancelling points. I’m disappointed, we played well apart with barely four minutes on the clock. the Tevez goal. Napoli hit the post for the second time. out strikes from Argentine compatriot Carlos from at the start of the second half. Then we con- Marek Hamsik went close to an equalizer when time in the match when Higuain’s delightful In the shootout, the Italy goalkeeper saved spot Tevez. ceded right at the death.” The traditional season his effort took a deflection off Giorgio Chiellini to chipped effort went over Buffon but came off the kicks from Jorginho, Dries Mertens and Jose “Everyone should be happy, beating such a opener between the Serie A champions and the leave Gianluigi Buffon stranded but the ball came far right post. Callejon but Tevez sent his crashing off the post strong team like Juve is wonderful,” Napoli coach Italian Cup winners had been rescheduled off the right post. The equalizer finally came in the 68th minute and Roberto Pereyra blasted off target while Rafael Rafa Benitez said. “I am happy for Rafael, I am hap- because of international commitments. The victory Tevez almost doubled his tally but he was when Jonathan de Guzman raced down the left denied Giorgio Chiellini and Padoin. —AP

Chelsea forge ahead Leeds boss allowed to again in EPL title race carry on — for now LONDON: Massimo Cellino, Leeds United’s controversial Italian LONDON: John Terry’s early header and Cesc Fabregas’s second-half owner, can continue as a club director while waiting for his strike restored Chelsea’s three-point Premier League lead heading into a appeal to be heard, the Football League ruled yesterday. busy Christmas programme after a 2-0 win at Stoke City on Monday. Cellino was banned from holding office and ordered to step Chelsea were ahead inside two minutes at the Britannia Stadium when down from the second-tier Championship club’s board on Terry met a Fabregas corner with a powerful downward header. December 29, after failing the League’s owners and directors’ test Stoke pushed forward after the break without ever causing fit-again earlier in the month. Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois many problems and Fabregas sealed But the governing body has now reached agreement with the victory with a scuffed finish 12 minutes from time. Italian’s legal team and he will be allowed to stay on as a club “These victories mean more than three points, to win and get three director while his appeal is being considered. points the players need the right spirit and mentality, to win here they The appeal will be heard on January 15 and a League state- must be a really very good team with the capacity to adapt to Stoke’s ment read: “The original decision required Mr. Cellino to resign as style of play,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told the BBC. a director of Leeds United and cease acting as a ‘relevant person’ Chelsea, who host West Ham United on Friday, have 42 points from in line with Football League regulations by December 29. 17 games with Manchester City, who visit West Brom the same day, on “The League has agreed to defer that deadline until two days after the handing down of the final decision of the PCC.” This lat- 39 and Manchester United on 32. est development means Cellino will continue in his role of club “Now we have to focus on the three matches we still have until the president throughout the January transfer window, while the end of this period,” Mourinho said of the clash with Sam Allardyce’s West appeal verdict is scheduled for three weeks after his hearing. Ham, the trip to Southampton on Sunday and another London derby Cellino had successfully appealed against the League’s decision with Tottenham on New Year’s Day. to block his takeover of Leeds in April, but after receiving further “Playing against Big Sam is a hard job for us, we have to cope with it. evidence from the Italian court that convicted him of tax evasion The three point lead we have is a little advantage, it is a little pillow we in March, the governing body ruled he was not fit to continue as have to protect us-we go home happy and pleased with what we did.” the club’s president. The League ruled the 58-year-old would be Stoke beat Chelsea in this fixture last season but the hosts were always able to resume in his role at Elland Road on March 18 when his up against it after Terry timed his run to perfection and beat Asmir conviction is spent under UK law. Cellino, currently in Miami, Begovic with a powerful header for his first league goal in over a year. announced he was prepared to stand down on December 29 to Mark Hughes’s side tried to harry and hustle Chelsea but the superi- safeguard Leeds from further sanctions. or class of the leaders always shone through. Courtois, back after a mus- Meanwhile, Werder Bremen’s Dutch winger Eljero Elia is close cular injury, was rarely troubled although the Belgian needed to pro- to signing a loan deal with Southampton, the English Premier duce a fine save midway through the first half from Steven N’Zonzi’s League club’s manager Ronald Koeman confirmed yesterday. deflected strike. Southampton have been left short of attacking options with Jay Rodriguez’s recovery from a cruciate ligament injury taking Top scorer Diego Costa should have increased Chelsea’s lead when longer than expected and Senegal’s Sadio Mane due to leave for Stoke tried and failed to catch him offside, the Spaniard timing his run the African Nations Cup next month. Elia, who has played 28 perfectly-only to the skew his shot wide. Fabregas might have been times for Holland, is seen as the perfect man to bolster Koeman’s awarded a penalty when he appeared to be clipped by Ryan Shawcross front three. “He is one of the players on our list to bring in in soon after halftime but Stoke escaped. Charlie Adam drilled wide from January - it’s still not done but yes, I am interested in the player,” edge of box following neat approach play from Stoke but Chelsea Koeman said. soaked up the pressure and made the points safe when Eden Hazard, “We need at least one more player up front because we lose who needed lengthy treatment in stoppage time, fed Fabregas and the LONDON: Chelsea’s French defender Kurt Zouma (right) vies with Stoke City’s French midfielder Steven NíZonzi dur- Sadio Mane in January for the Africa Cup. We need another player Spaniard beat Begovic.—Reuters ing the English Premier League football match. —AFP for that position and he is a good option.”—AFP

Gulf markets’ rebound stalls after oil pulls back Page 22

Business European stocks advance in subdued Christmas trade WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 Page 23 Dreams surface in India slashes health budget by nearly 20% Argentina’s new oil hub Page 25 Page 24

HONG KONG: Wang Jianlin, CEO of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. opens trading during the company’s IPO at the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday. Chinese shopping mall developer Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. starts trading on the Hong Kong bourse after the biggest initial public offering in the world by a real estate firm raised $3.7 billion. — AFP Chinese tycoon set to build more billions with IPO

BEIJING: Wang Jianlin rose from local bureau- an IPO earlier this month by selling a 13.4 per- But he is unmistakably close to Beijing, Employees are provided with three free meals lion in 2012 and reportedly seeking a stake in crat to China’s richest man by transforming a cent stake. The IPO valued the firm at $28 bil- clutching multiple official titles ranging from a day at strictly scheduled hours. Lions Gate Entertainment, the American stu- debt-laden state-owned housebuilder into the lion and Wanda Group’s 44 percent post-flota- delegate to the ruling Communist Party con- Wanda executives claim the company has dio behind the “Hunger Games” franchise. sprawling Wanda Group, and the flotation of tion share of the subsidiary at $12.5 billion. gress in 2007 to a senior member of China’s “never once had a project come in late or over Last year, it acquired a 23-floor office build- one of its subsidiaries yesterday may propel Wang himself owns more than 98 percent top political discussion chamber for five years budget”, the magazine said. Dalian Wanda ing in London for a luxury $1.1 billion develop- him back up a rich list now dominated by of Wanda Group, with the remaining sliver until 2013. Wanda Group is a far cry from the Commercial Properties says it is the second- ment and bought Edificio Espana, a historic Internet moguls. held by his only son, Wang Sicong. Wang and near-bankrupt, state-owned property devel- largest commercial property owner and oper- skyscraper in Madrid, for $330 million this Wang has penchants for karaoke and col- his wife together own around another 10 per- oper in the northeastern port of Dalian when ator in the world, with 175 property projects June. A month later, Wanda announced it lecting, and has an impressive selection of fine cent of Wanda Commercial. Wang was appointed as general manager in across China. would invest $900 million in a five-star hotel art, property projects in top markets around The company’s shares debuted Tuesday in 1988. Previously a government official in the and apartment complex in Chicago, and the world, and an ever-expanding portfolio of Hong Kong, closing down 2.6 percent from the city’s Xigang district, according to Chinese Kidman, DiCaprio, Zeta-Jones acquired a huge parcel of land in Beverly Hills. companies including cinema chain AMC and offering price at HK$46.75 ($6.03), on a media reports, he dug his first pot of gold Wang, 60, turned to culture and tourism as Through the company, Wang has also accu- yachtbuilder Sunseeker. gloomy outlook for China’s oversupplied prop- from contracts to renovate shanty houses in Wanda Group’s new growth drivers in 2009, mulated around 1,000 pieces of fine Chinese He topped the Forbes China Rich List in erty market. The parent conglomerate, which the area. As the company turned around, it when the global financial crisis dealt China’s calligraphy and painting, and last year spent 2013 with an estimated net worth of $14.1 bil- has interests in hotels, entertainment and was renamed Wanda in 1992, and the state’s real estate market a heavy blow. $28 million on Pablo Picasso’s 1950 work lion, but was displaced this year by charismatic retail, last year saw $2.06 billion in profits, stakes were gradually bought out by Wang The company has expanded into film pro- “Claude and Paloma”. Wanda became a house- Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma after he floated according to its website. directly or through companies associated with duction, theme parks, print media and art hold name across China after Wang, a diehard his e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group in him. The eldest son of a captain of the Chinese investment. football fan, bought a Dalian soccer club in the world’s biggest ever initial public offering ‘Military rigour’ Communist army during the civil war and At a red-carpet event last year, global A-lis- 1994 for six years and transformed it into the (IPO). Ma’s fortune is now estimated at nearly Wang has sought to downplay speculation Second World War and a veteran of the ters Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and strongest team in China. $20 billion. on the link between his success and his gov- People’s Liberation Army himself, Wang runs Catherine Zeta-Jones flew in to showcase But Wang’s ambitions are bigger. He told Wang dropped to number four, though his ernment ties, saying previously he wanted to Wanda Group “with military rigour and preci- Wanda’s plan for an $8.0 billion studio com- CNN earlier this year: “Our goal is to make ranking could rebound after Dalian Wanda build Wanda into a world class company sion”, Fortune magazine reported last year. plex in the eastern city of Qingdao. Wanda a brand like Wal-mart or IBM or Commercial Properties, the flagship subsidiary “depending totally on the market, not govern- Nearly all his senior staff are men and wear It has also expanded overseas, buying US Google-a brand known by everyone in the of Wang’s Wanda Group, raised $3.7 billion in ment resources”. black suits, white shirts and dark ties as a rule. cinema chain AMC Entertainment for $2.6 bil- world, a brand from China.” — AFP US stocks soar to new record, growth accelerates

NEW YORK: The Dow stock index climbed quarters,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN shopping season. “I don’t see anything to above 18,000 for the first time ever yesterday Financial. However, the good cheer was offset change the momentum of the market between after government data estimated third-quarter somewhat by US durable goods orders-an indi- now and year end,” Blicksilver said. The out- US economic growth at a spectacular five per- cator of business investment — which fell 0.7 standing US growth figures comes on the heels cent. The blue-chip index crossed its latest percent in November. of strong US labor and retail sales reports for threshold within moments of the market open- Low said the durable goods orders implies November. The latest US data bolsters the ing, continuing a so-called “Santa Claus rally” that fourth-quarter capital spending will sense of advantage for the giant economy as that began after last week’s US Federal Reserve decline, perhaps sharply, “suggesting block- Europe and Japan struggle to attain growth meeting. By 1615 GMT, the Dow Jones buster growth in the third quarter will be fol- and growth slows in China and other emerging Industrial Average stood at 18,040.32, up 80.88 lowed by a distinctly slower Q4.” powers. Adding to the momentum in the US points (0.45 percent). The broad-based S&P 500 has been a precipitous fall in gasoline prices, gained 4.21 (0.20 percent) to 2,082.75, while the Potential 2015 headwinds seen as a de facto tax cut for consumers. tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped The Dow was on track yesterday to close at a US gasoline prices are now $2.38 for a gallon 10.37 (0.22 percent) to 4,771.06. fresh record for the 36th time in 2014, accord- of regulator, off about 27 percent from the year- At five percent, US growth for the third quar- ing to S&P Dow Jones Indices. ago level. However, analysts cite some head- ter was the best since 2003. The figure, The latest spate of equity records follow winds for the US economy heading into 2015, described as “mind-blowing” by one analyst, today’s Fed meeting, at which the US central including a hit if major its trading partners con- was also better than the 3.9 percent previously bank kept interest rates low, gave a fairly tinue to stagnate and the dollar remains strong. estimated by the government and the 4.3 per- upbeat assessment of the economy and said it Other unknowns relate to the implications of a cent projected by analysts. would be “patient” before raising rates. crashing Russian ruble and of a huge drop in oil Spending for consumption rose 3.2 percent, US stocks could climb higher still in the com- prices that weighs on US energy investment the biggest jump since the end of 2013. ing days as money managers who are under- and the economic prospects of oil-exporting Analysts also cited strong growth in defense invested in equities look to capitalize on the nations. Most of all, market watchers say US NEW YORK: An electronic display shows the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 18,000 on spending and exports. positive sentiment, said Mace Blicksilver, direc- stocks could stumble once the US Fed finally the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, yesterday. US stocks pushed further The US growth figures showed “an economy tor of Marblehead Asset Management. He also does begin to raise interest rates, as it is expect- into record territory as the Dow Jones industrial average crossed past the 18,000-point firing on all cylinders for the first time in many cited a paucity of sellers given the holiday ed to do in the middle of 2015. — AFP mark for the first time. — AP WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 BUSINESS Futures little changed after latest record

NEW YORK: US stock index futures gross domestic product and durable to the Christmas holiday, which es company posted quarterly results. were little changed yesterday, after goods at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). could increase volatility. US equity In Europe, a pullback on the the Dow and S&P 500 closed at fresh Expectations call for GDP to show markets will open for an abbreviated Greek stock market on fears of early records and ahead of a raft of eco- the U.S. economy grew at a 4.3 per- session Wednesday and be closed on elections kept a lid on gains in the nomic data. Major Wall Street index- cent annual pace, up from the prior Thursday. region’s equities. Trading was light in es have risen for four straight ses- estimate of 3.9 percent. Durable Gilead Sciences rose 1.2 percent Asia with Japan on holiday and mar- sions, pushing the benchmark S&P goods orders are expected to show a in premarket trade. The drugmaker kets moved only marginally. MSCI’s index to its 50th record high of the 2.9 percent increase. slumped more than 14 percent in broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares year. The S&P has risen 5.4 percent The Thomson Reuters/University the prior session, its biggest drop in outside Japan eased 0.3 percent. over that period, its best 4-day run of Michigan’s final December read- nearly 14 years, after Express Scripts Futures snapshot at 7:23 a.m. EST since July 2010. The sharp rally ing on consumer sentiment is sched- said it lined up a cheaper price for (1223 GMT): S&P 500 e-minis were up comes on the heels of a selloff that uled for release at 9:55 a.m (1455 AbbVie Inc’s newly approved hepati- 2.25 points, or 0.11 percent, with saw the index drop nearly 5 percent GMT). New home sales data for tis C treatment and, in most cases, 44,713 contracts changing hands. from its prior record high set on Dec. November as well as the November will no longer cover Gilead’s rival Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6.75 5. reading for personal income and treatments. points, or 0.16 percent, in volume of Investors will eye a slew of eco- spending are expected at 10 a.m. China Finance jumped 15.8 per- 6,150 contracts. Dow e-minis were up nomic data on Tuesday, including (1500 GMT). Trading volume is cent to $6.16 before the opening bell 28 points, or 0.16 percent, with 6,284 the final reading for third-quarter expected to be light this week due after the web-based financial servic- contracts changing hands. —Reuters

NORTHBROOK: In this Nov. 27, 2014 file photo, Best Buy employee Daruosh Habbir helps holiday shoppers check out goods at Best Buy in Northbrook, Ill. The Commerce Department reports on consumer spending and income in November yesterday. —AP Gulf markets’ rebound stalls after oil pulls back Abyaar buoys Kuwait on news of Dubai project

DUBAI: Most Gulf stock markets fell yesterday, Much trade focused on beaten-down second- or Dubai was in the final stages and that all resi- ending a rally of several days, after the Brent oil third-tier stocks such as insurers, with Solidarity dential units of the tower had been sold. price pulled back to near $60 a barrel, dampen- climbing 6.5 percent. Saudi Telecom rose 1.5 Egypt edged up 0.1 percent as Global ing sentiment among retail investors. percent after saying it would book a 621 million Telecom surged 4.1 percent to 3.59 Egyptian The bourses have been closely correlated to riyal gain in the fourth quarter of this year due to pounds, triggering a bullish right triangle oil over the last several months because of con- expropriation of some of its land holdings by the formed by the highs and lows of the past week cern that lower oil export revenues could cause government - though it added that it thought and pointing up to about 4.00 pounds. Gulf governments to cut back spending, particu- the amount of compensation was too small, and larly in the countries with relatively weak state it would appeal for more money. TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS finances, Bahrain and Oman. Major spending DUBAI cuts look unlikely in big economies such as Dubai index falls The index fell 3.4 percent to 3,719 points. Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s Al-Madina newspa- Dubai’s index fell 3.4 percent after bouncing ABU DHABI per, quoting unnamed sources, reported that 27 percent over the three previous trading days. The index edged down 0.2 percent to 4,470 the 2015 Saudi budget - set to be announced Trade focused on real estate developers, with points. this week - was expected to rise marginally from Deyaar dropping 1.1 percent after a strong rise SAUDI ARABIA the 2014 plan to a record 860 billion riyals ($229 in early trade, and the biggest developer Emaar The index was flat at 8,547 points. billion), with the government using its huge fis- tumbling 5.9 percent. QATAR cal reserves to cover a deficit. Abu Dhabi’s market, usually much less The index dropped 1.9 percent to 12,184 points. Nevertheless, oil has a psychological impact volatile than Dubai’s, edged down 0.2 percent. EGYPT on the markets, and the main Saudi stock index Qatar fell 1.9 percent; Islamic Holding The index rose 0.1 percent to 8,711 points. closed flat yesterday at 8,547 points after rising plunged its daily limit of 10 percent and major OMAN 17 percent over the four previous trading days. Islamic bank Masraf Al Rayan lost 3.1 percent. The index edged up 0.02 percent to 6,221 Trading volume fell back to a moderate level. Barwa Real Estate , the most heavily traded points. The index has still not turned technically bull- stock, lost 2.9 percent. KUWAIT ish despite its rebound; it faces technical resist- Kuwait edged up 0.02 percent as recently list- The index edged up 0.02 percent to 6,504 ance around 8,700 points, where its downtrend ed telecommunications firm Viva Kuwait rose 1.9 points. line from September now comes in. percent and Abyaar Real Estate Development BAHRAIN The most heavily traded stock, real estate gained 2.9 percent. The index fell 0.3 percent to 1,402 points. developer Dar Al Arkan, ended flat at 8.85 riyals. Abyaar said construction at a major project in —Reuters EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. UAE Exchange Centre WLL Syrian Pound 2.710 Singapore Dollar 0.219092 0.225092 Nepalese Rupees 3.945 South African Rand 0.019298 0.027798 ASIAN COUNTRIES Malaysian Ringgit 87.645 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001879 0.002459 COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Japanese Yen 2.443 Chinese Yuan Renminbi 48.035 Taiwan 0.009190 0.009370 Australian Dollar 231.71 228.71 Indian Rupees 4.647 Thai Bhat 9.885 Thai Baht 0.008577 0.009127 Canadian Dollar 256.71 257.71 Pakistani Rupees 2.918 Turkish Lira 131.225 Srilankan Rupees 2.222 Swiss Franc 302.93 300.93 Arab Euro 362.08 363.08 Nepali Rupees 2.904 Bahraini Dinar 0.771657 0.779657 US Dollar 293.55 296.55 Singapore Dollar 222.740 Bahrain Exchange Company Egyptian Pound 0.039499 0.042599 Hongkong Dollar 37.817 Sterling Pound 461.65 464.65 Japanese Yen 2.49 2.51 Iranian Riyal 0.000081 0.000082 Bangladesh Taka 3.751 COUNTRY SELL CASH SELLDRAFT Iraqi Dinar 0.000194 0.000254 Philippine Peso 6.573 Bangladesh Taka 3.761 4.031 Jordanian Dinar 0.409685 0.417185 Thai Baht 8.927 Indian Rupee 4.636 4.936 Europe Kuwaiti Dinar 1.000000 1.000000 Irani Riyal transfer 61.555 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.220 2.655 Belgian Franc 0.007640 0.008640 Irani Riyal cash 121.740 Nepali Rupee 2.893 3.428 British Pound 0.450212 0.459212 Lebanese Pound 0.000145 0.000245 Pakistani Rupee 2.918 2.790 Czech Korune 0.004995 0.016995 Moroccan Dirhams 0.024041 0.048041 GCC COUNTRIES UAE Dirhams 79.77 80.23 Danish Krone 0.044117 0.049117 Nigerian Naira 0.001191 0.001826 Saudi Riyal 78.258 Bahraini Dinar 779.11 781.18 Euro 0.352911 0.360911 Omani Riyal 0.755926 0.761606 Qatari Riyal 80.624 Egyptian Pound 40.93 41.53 Norwegian Krone 0.035465 0.040665 Qatar Riyal 0.079865 0.081078 Omani Riyal 762.540 Jordanian Dinar 417.10 422.75 Romanian Leu 0.084143 0.084143 Saudi Riyal 0.077590 0.078290 Omani Riyal 761.26 768.56 Bahraini Dinar 779.460 Slovakia 0.008586 0.018586 Syrian Pound 0.001739 0.001959 Qatari Riyal 80.83 81.38 UAE Dirham 79.921 Swedish Krona 0.033592 0.038592 Tunisian Dinar 0.154049 0.162049 Saudi Riyal 78.19 78.59 Swiss Franc 0.291378 0.301578 Turkish Lira 0.124739 0.131739 ARAB COUNTRIES Turkish Lira 0.124739 0.131739 UAE Dirhams 0.078887 0.080036 Egyptian Pound - Cash 43.950 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.943 Australasia Yemeni Riyal 0.001324 0.001404 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.370 Australian Dollar 0.229603 0.241103 Tunisian Dinar 157.500 Rate for Transfer Selling Rate New Zealand Dollar 0.220365 0.229865 Al Mulla Exchange Jordanian Dinar 414.160 US Dollar 291.750 America Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.969 Canadian Dollar 260.085 Canadian Dollar 0.247089 0.255589 Syrian Lira 2.092 Sterling Pound 456.630 US Dollars 0.2892850 0.293950 Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) Morocco Dirham 33.035 Euro 366.500 US Dollars Mint 0.289750 0.293950 US Dollar 292.750 Swiss Frank 303.035 Asia Euro 360.650 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Bahrain Dinar 775.760 Bangladesh Taka 0.003436 0.004036 Pound Sterlng 458.300 US Dollar Transfer 292.350 UAE Dirhams 79.330 Chinese Yuan 0.046241 0.049741 Canadian Dollar 254.150 Euro 359.940 Qatari Riyals 80.935 Hong Kong Dollar 0.035737 0.038487 Indian Rupee 4.635 Sterling Pound 458.800 Saudi Riyals 77.975 Indian Rupee 0.004441 0.004842 Egyptian Pound 40.925 Canadian dollar 253.320 Jordanian Dinar 411.660 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025 Turkish lira 126.800 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.219 Egyptian Pound 40.707 Japanese Yen 0.002359 0.002539 Bangladesh Taka 3.733 Swiss Franc 299.340 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.225 Kenyan Shilling 0.003278 0.003278 Australian Dollar 239.370 Philippines Peso 6.558 Indian Rupees 4.716 Korean Won 0.000256 0.000271 Pakistan Rupee 2.916 US Dollar Buying 292.150 Malaysian Ringgit 0.080826 0.086826 Pakistani Rupees 2.867 Bahraini Dinar 779.550 Bangladesh Taka 3.759 Nepalese Rupee 0.002998 0.003168 GOLD UAE Dirham 79.700 Philippines Pesso 6.481 Pakistan Rupee 0.002748 0.003028 20 gram 238.100 Philippine Peso 0.006494 0.006774 Saudi Riyal 78.150 10 gram 121.740 Cyprus pound 715.865 Sierra Leone 0.000065 0.000071 *Rates are subject to change 5 gram 61.560 Japanese Yen 3.480 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 BUSINESS

Russia curbs grain exports while battling currency crisis

MOSCOW: Russia announced ‘Food security’ by limiting train shipments and which are facing a squeeze on Numerous companies have at although it voiced confidence plans Monday to limit grain “We need to have minimum export certificates in order to paying for fuel and landing least temporarily halted business Moscow that can overcome the exports as it scrambled to avoid a reserves that assure Russia’s food keep the politically sensitive charges at foreign airports. because of the swings in the val- current crisis on its own. hike in the politically sensitive security. In this context I think it price of bread from soaring. Meanwhile the central bank ue of the ruble, with an English- “If the Russian side needs, we cost of bread during the holidays, is time to reflect on administra- The business daily had to bail out the country’s language daily-The Saint will provide necessary assistance the latest in a series of moves by tive restrictions on exports,” he Kommersant reported recently 15th largest lender in terms of Petersburg Times-saying Monday within our capacity,” Foreign Moscow to cope with the conse- added. that the price of bread could deposits, while lawmakers last it was ceasing publication due to Minister Wang Yi was quoted as quences of its currency crisis. The measures could be jump by 10 percent in the com- week approved a plan to inject the currency crisis. telling reporters over the week- Meanwhile China offered signed by Medvedev within 24 ing weeks as Russians celebrate 13 billion euros into commercial Meanwhile China signalled its end by the English-language unspecified help to Russia, which hours, deputy prime minister the holidays. banks. willingness to help Russia, China Daily on Monday. —AFP is dealing with a collapse of the Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted The ruble plunged by 10 per- ruble due to tumbling oil prices as saying by Russian news agen- cent last Monday and then 20 and Western sanctions that cies. percent on Tuesday despite a threaten to push the country into Wheat prices climbed in massive hike in interest rates as a severe recession and forced the European trading following the Russian consumers lost confi- government to help banks and announcement, after having dence in the government’s abili- consider supporting airlines. already jumped more than four ty to grapple with the crisis. Moscow said Monday that the percent last week on the Chicago As Russia is dependent on oil customs barrier on grain exports exchange as traders feared that exports for half of its revenue, was aimed at ensuring its own Russia, usually the world’s num- the 50 percent drop in oil prices food security as the currency cri- ber three grain exporter, might these past six months has had sis bites. The announcement impose an export ban as it did in more of a direct impact on drove global grain prices up, but 2010 when it suffered a poor har- Russia than Western sanctions analysts said ample world stocks vest. against Moscow for annexing should keep the price of wheat “The market had already Crimea and supporting sepa- from spiking. anticipated... informal restric- ratists in eastern Ukraine. The ruble has fallen nearly 50 tions. Now they are formal,” said Analysts see Russia’s econo- percent against the dollar and Sebastien Poncelet, an analyst my contracting by up to 5.0 per- euro this year, which has made with the French consultancy cent next year and inflation exporting grain far more prof- Agritel, describing heightened shooting up to 20 percent. itable for Russian farmers and, “tension and volatility” in grain despite one of the best harvests trading. Ruble recovers on record, domestic wheat prices Poncelet said a sharp spike in While the ruble rose on have started to soar. wheat prices was not certain Monday, returning to 67 to the “We had a good harvest but at because buyers could turn to euro and 55 to the dollar after the same time, due to the volatili- corn, which is in great supply. having hit records of over 100 to ty of the ruble, prices are very Russian authorities denied the euro and 80 to the dollar, the advantageous and exports have last week they were considering economic problems are far from risen considerably,” Prime an export ban, but there were over. MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev addresses senior ruling United Russia Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at indications that the government Officials said they were con- Party officials in Moscow, Russia yesterday. Medvedev has warned that the country faces a a government meeting. had been trying to slow exports sidering supporting airlines risk of a “deep recession” if the government ditches its spending plans. —AP

MARKET COMMENTARY European stocks advance in A lot to cheer about subdued Christmas trade

By Byron Wien spite of an unprecedented amount of fiscal and monetary stimulus. Shanghai registers biggest percentage falls of the year s we enter the final month of The strength of the dollar was also the year most of us can look unexpected (1.23 against the euro at LONDON: European equities rose in thin holi- Trade was thin with many investors away for Construction Bank fell 5.01 percent to 6.26 yuan. back on 2014 and say it has November 7th). After a weak first day trade yesterday as dealers eyed a record US an extended festive break for Christmas and The slide in Asia came despite a positive lead A gains despite sharp falls in Asia, with Frankfurt New Year holidays. In Asia, however, China led a Monday from Wall Street, which remained worked out better than we had expect- quarter the US economy picked up ahead before its early Christmas shutdown. slump yesterday, with Shanghai registering one buoyed by a Federal Reserve meeting last week. ed in January. Back then we were wor- momentum, growing almost 4% in the In late morning deals, London’s FTSE 100 of its biggest percentage falls of the year and There were also high hopes of more good news ried about the third quarter, faster than any other index of top shares rose 0.35 percent to 6,599.48 banks among the biggest losers there. from a heavy day of economic data releases late sluggish econo- major economy except China. That points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.62 percent to Dealers said a recent run-up following a sur- yesterday. my, the narrow- helped the currency, but the improve- 4,280.84 compared with Monday’s close. prise Chinese interest rate cut had created room ness of a market ment in the budget deficit and the Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index drifted 0.16 percent for a market correction. Shanghai dived 3.03 per- Fed delivers boost relying mostly on safety of investments in the US drew higher to 9,881.94 points. The euro edged up to cent and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which Last Wednesday the Fed kept interest rates the performance capital from all over the world. $1.2237, having dived to $1.2220 on Monday, tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, fell low and left in place expectations that it may matching Friday’s two-year low point. 1.39 percent. wait until mid-2015 before raising them. The of technology Looking ahead, there is reason to think All three European indices had risen strongly Hong Kong ended down 0.32 percent, Dow Jones Industrial Average and broad-based and biotechnolo- that the present favorable trends in on Monday, in another “Santa Claus rally” day for Sydney dropped 61.1 points and Seoul slipped S&P 500 hit new highs late Monday. gy, the various the United States will continue. Initial global equity markets cheered by last week’s US 0.21 percent. Tokyo was closed for a public holi- The Dow jumped 0.87 percent to 17,959.44 pockets of politi- unemployment claims have been gen- Federal Reserve meeting which eased fears of an day. points, almost a point above the previous cal instability and erally declining and the unemploy- imminent interest rate hike. “The (Shanghai) market climbed too fast in record. The S&P 500 advanced 0.38 percent to conflict around the world and the inef- ment rate continues to move lower. such a short time after the November interest 2,078.54 points, about three points above the fectiveness of our political process. In Consumer confidence is rising and Festive shutdown looms rate cut, which has caused some structural prob- previous high on December 5. “Yesterday’s gains on Wall Street have given lems in the market,” Shenyin & Wanguo Investors are meanwhile looking to the spite of all that investors were opti- retailers are hiring aggressively in the FTSE-100 something of a lift,” said analyst Securities analyst Gui Haoming told AFP. release on Tuesday of US economic reports, mistic and the Standard & Poor’s 500 anticipation of a strong Christmas sell- Tony Cross at trading firm Trustnet Direct. The market had jumped more than 20 per- including the third estimate of third-quarter made grudging gains through the ing season, fueled partly by lower The Frankfurt stock market closes for cent since the cut to interest rates last month-ris- gross domestic product and durable goods summer. That came to a temporary gasoline prices. The level of inflation Christmas at the end of trade today, while ing above the 3,000 mark on December 16 for orders for November. end in September and October when remains low, which should help con- London and Paris will shut down at lunchtime the first time in three and a half years. In yesterday deals on the London Bullion the index retreated back almost to its sumer spending. Next year the factors on Wednesday. All three markets reopen for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost Market, gold fell to $1,181.11 per ounce from January starting point, but here we are to watch are household formations business on Monday. 4.88 percent to 4.48 yuan while China $1,195.25 on Monday. —AFP with Christmas approaching and the and housing as well as capital spend- year-to-date gain is 14%. ing. Recent data showing higher pay- US fines Alstom There have been some surprises checks for younger workers should along the way. I don’t know anyone help the former and improved small- who thought that global oil prices business confidence should help the record $772m would sink this low. Even though the latter. major economies of the world were On the list of worries should be the in bribery case slowing, most expected demand from possibility of Europe falling back into WASHINGTON: French industrial giant Alstom will plead the emerging markets to keep oil recession as a result of the slowdown guilty and pay a record $772.3 million penalty in a wide- prices around beginning-of-the-year in Germany, partly caused by reduced ranging foreign bribery case, the US Justice Department levels and there was the possibility of demand from Russia. Hopefully Mario announced Monday. reduced production from the Middle Draghi and the European Central Bank Alstom admitted to bribing officials to win power and East as a result of unsettled conditions will become more accommodative transportation projects from state-owned entities around there. One development that has been and provide the funds necessary to the world, including the Bahamas, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi celebrated in the United States has keep Europe on the modest growth Arabia and Taiwan. been the move towards energy inde- path. Japan will also need a new In total, Alstom paid more than $75 million in bribes to pendence in North America and round of stimulus to keep out of reces- secure $4 billion in projects around the world with a profit reduced reliance on imports from sion. China will require some credit of approximately $300 million, US prosecutors said. NEW YORK: Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, yes- “Alstom’s corruption scheme was sustained over more Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Much of expansion to stay on its desired terday, in New York. US stocks pushed further into record territory yesterday than a decade and across several continents,” said Deputy the increase in US production is a growth path, but the recent interest as the Dow Jones industrial average crossed past the 18,000-point mark for Attorney General James Cole. “It was astounding in its result of hydraulic fracking, which is a rate cuts show the authorities are sen- the first time. —AP breadth, its brazenness and its worldwide consequences.” relatively expensive process. As the sitive to the challenges facing them. The fine, if approved by a US court, would be the high- world-wide price of oil has dropped, China is still not rebalancing the econ- est ever for foreign bribery under the US Foreign Corrupt some capital spending projects to omy toward the consumer sector, UK households drive economy, Practices Act. Justice said the penalty reflected Alstom’s increase fracking production have which is a necessary step toward con- current account deeper in red failure to voluntarily disclose the conduct, its refusal to been put in abeyance and there is a tinued growth. cooperate with Justice’s probe for several years, the risk that current output could be But as has been the case recently, LONDON: Britain’s economy relied more heavily between July and September, slowing slightly breadth of the misconduct, the lack of an effective compli- reduced because of declining prof- The major uncertainties at this time on spending by households for growth in the third from the second quarter. Britain struggled to grow ance program and its history of prior criminal conduct. Under the settlement, the charges will be dismissed itability. seem more geopolitical than econom- quarter despite a fall in take-home incomes, in the years after the financial crisis and despite a after three years if Alstom fulfills its obligations under the A drop in interest rates was also ic. The conflict between Russia and underscoring the challenges of getting the recov- strong recovery since early 2013, the economy is ery onto a sounder footing. only 2.9 percent larger than its pre-crisis peak, the deferred prosecution agreement. unexpected by most observers, not Ukraine remains unresolved even In another disappointing sign for policymakers, ONS said, a worse performance than previously “There were a number of problems in the past and we only in the United States (1.86% on though a partial cease-fire is in place. business investment was weaker than in an earlier thought. deeply regret that,” said Alstom chief executive Patrick the 10-year Treasury at October 15th), The situation in Gaza continues to be reading of how Britain’s economy fared from July Pay growth has failed to rise much, spurring Kron. “However, this resolution with the DOJ allows Alstom but also in Europe, where the German tenuous. There is no definitive agree- to September. households to dip into their savings. The ONS said to put this issue behind us and to continue our efforts to ten-year yield went below 1% and oth- ment yet with Iran on its nuclear Official data also showed Britain’s current household disposable income, after tax and infla- ensure that business is conducted in a responsible way, er sovereign bonds, like those of weapons development effort and, as account deficit matched a record high in the third tion, fell 0.1 percent on the quarter and was up consistent with the highest ethical standards.” France, Spain and Italy, traded at yields expected, the November 24th dead- quarter, hurt in large part by lower returns on for- only 1.0 percent on the year. Alstom said it had stopped employing consultants to eign investment, sending sterling lower. Nevertheless, consumers dug into their savings that would have been considered line has been deferred. And the con- work with its commercial teams. It also hired a monitor to Samuel Tombs, an economist with consultancy and household spending picked up speed, rising oversee its compliance efforts. highly unlikely two years ago. Many flict among China, Japan and others Capital Economics, said the numbers left Britain’s 0.9 percent from the April-June period and making The penalty comes as General Electric nears the com- commentators were skeptical of over the South China Sea would recovery looking even more unbalanced, but the it the main driver of growth. Weak earnings have pletion of a deal to buy most of Alstom’s energy assets for China’s claim that it was growing at a appear to have quieted down for a economy was still likely to grow about 3 percent also put living standards at the centre of cam- 12.4 billion euros ($15.5 billion). better than 7% rate, but few thought while. Any of these could erupt into a next year. “Despite this somewhat bleaker assess- paigning for Britain’s national elections in May. Alstom said its agreement with GE requires that none of that the Shanghai composite (A- condition that would destabilize both ment of the UK’s recent economic performance, To the relief of Prime Minister David Cameron, the fine can be passed onto the US company. there remain plenty of reasons to be optimistic on earnings have recently shown some signs of pick- shares) would be up 27% this year, the world economies and the financial “We had considered the DOJ investigation and its the outlook for 2015,” he said, citing the fall in oil ing up. potential liabilities in our due diligence,” said a GE outperforming every developed coun- markets, but the one that worries me prices and more recent signs that pay growth is The ONS also said Britain’s deficit with the rest try market. While the Japanese Nikkei most continues to be the picking up. of the world via its current account rose to 27.0 bil- spokesman. rose, the yen declined sharply, which Syria/ISIS/Iraq conflict, where it Britain’s yearly growth rate in the third quarter lion pounds in the third quarter, equivalent to 6.0 “We’re happy Alstom has resolved the issue. As Alstom should have helped Japanese exports, remains unclear whether ISIS can be was revised to 2.6 percent from a previous esti- percent of GDP, matching the biggest deficit on has stated, the plea agreement does not materially change but the economy still slipped back stopped or turned back with Syria and mate of 3.0 percent, hurt by downward revisions record. the overall economics of the deal.”On Friday, Alstom’s shareholders overwhelmingly approved the agreement into recession in the third quarter in Iraq fighting them alone. to growth in each of the previous five quarters and Income from investments held abroad fell by lower investment and higher imports. while payments to foreign investors in Britain rose, with GE. The deal is expected to close in the middle of Quarterly growth was confirmed at 0.7 percent the ONS said. —Reuters 2015. —AFP BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 Telstra buys Asian telecom provider Pacnet

SYDNEY: Cashed-up Australian telecoms giant es to multinational companies and carriers in and has previously formed partnerships, but Telstra said yesterday it has agreed to buy the region,” he said. Pacnet gives Telstra owner- this is its largest deal to date. Pacnet, Asia’s biggest private owner of subma- ship of an extensive range of services including As well as operating a network of 29 inter- rine communication cables, for US$697 million software-defined networking, an expanded connected data centres in 17 cities across Asia, in one of its largest acquisitions to date. data centre network, more submarine cables Pacnet has the region’s largest privately-owned Pacnet, headquartered in Singapore and and major customers across the region. submarine cable network with a combined Hong Kong, also offers data centre services to “The enterprise services market is evolving length of 46,000 kilometres (29,000 miles). It carriers, governments and multinationals rapidly and Pacnet will strengthen our net- also controls two of the five fibre pairs on the across the Asia-Pacific. The acquisition, which works, data centres and submarine network as Unity trans-Pacific submarine cable network includes Pacnet’s interests in its China joint ven- well as boosting our service offerings and peo- connecting Japan to the United States. ture PBS, is expected to be completed by mid- ple capabilities,” said Thodey. “For Australian CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael 2015. Telstra chief executive David Thodey said businesses, businesses across Asia and impor- McCarthy said the deal looked positive for the move was part of his company’s strategy to tantly companies looking to expand and grow Telstra, whose share price ended 0.67 percent expand its business beyond Australia. in Asia, the combined entity will provide pow- lower at Aus$5.96 in a falling market. “Asia is an important part of our growth erful new options for networks and services.” “It gets capital working for the company, strategy. We believe this acquisition will help us Telstra has signalled for some time its inten- which is an important aspect from a sharehold- become a leading provider of enterprise servic- tion to make technology acquisitions in Asia er’s point of view,” he said. — AFP

LOMA COMPANA: A technician prepares an oil drilling rig to be used at at Vaca Muerta Shale oil reservoir in Loma Campana, in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, some 1180 Km south- west of Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 4, 2014. YPF has an agreement with US Chevron to exploit Vaca Muerta, the world’s second largest reserve of shale gas and fourth largest reserve of oil, estimated to contain the equivalent of 27 billion barrels. — AFP Dreams surface in Argentina’s new oil hub

VACA MUERTA: Early-summer winds howl over called Walking Rigs. the semi-arid plains of southern Argentina’s Weighing in at more than 100 tonnes, they Neuquen province, beside the towering Andes, rise about 40 meters high, and pound a 1,500- where the land holds riches from dinosaur kilo bore a staggering 350 meters into the earth. skeletons to oil and gas. Lurching and thumping in this spare and dra- “This is most massive challenge in the energy matic landscape, they have a kind of sci-fi, post- sector in Argentina’s entire history,” Martin apocalyptic edge-and because they move along Costa, 36, an engineer with state oil giant YPF, on a rail, workers don’t have to take them apart said of the Vaca Muerta formation. and reassemble them to move on to a new test Beneath Vac Muerte-”Dead Cow”-are huge site. That cuts costs. oil and natural gas reserves. It is now the num- Then fracking units get into gear pumping ber one shale oil production site outside the cement down with enormous pressure, to give United States. YPF has just drilled its 967th well the well some stability. YPF is comparing Vaca in this Patagonian outpost, a sort of El Dorado of Muerta’s potential to the biggest similar shale oil and shale gas. reserves in the United States-in Eagle Ford, “Working Vaca Muerta is really a big respon- Texas, and its output of 800.000 mb/d. sibility. It is not like drilling at the bottom of a Argentina produces 500,000 barrels of oil per lake somewhere. You have got to go down 3,000 day. Now, it is looking to nonconventional assets meters below the surface, then shatter rock, and — shale oil and shale gas-to push it over the then try to control costs,” Costa explains. divide between a net energy importer and an The area where YPF works with the US firm exporter. Chevron-called Loma Campana-covers just one percent of the more than 30,000 square kilome- Betting on tomorrow ters of Vaca Muerta. In recent months, oil prices have been falling But it has 270 wells online and production is to lows that had not been seen for years. But already at 21,000 barrels per day. that has not discouraged YPF. The closest town, tiny Anelo, doubled its “We are not drilling these wells thinking population in just three years-to 6,000. about today’s price of a barrel of oil. We are Across the sprawling area, massive YPF trucks investing long-term. This is a bet on the future. rumble in an endless parade, carrying contain- But that also means that we have to be extreme- ers belonging to massive oil services firms like ly efficient,” said Pablo Bizzotto, Vaca Muerta’s Halliburton and Schlumberger manager for shale oil and gas. “All the tests have shown that Vaca Muerta is great quality-the oil Black gold fever composition is ideal or excellent,” he raved. On the heels of the 1980s boom, Neuquen Exxon, Shell, and Total also have invested province-in Argentina’s southwest-is seeing its here. But they are still at the exploration stage. second black gold rush. YPF-Chevron are leading the pack. A study by Though the winter cold can be bitter — 10 Accenture found that Vaca Muerta could attract below zero Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) — jobs 368 billion dollars in foreign investment by extracting, processing and transporting shale oil 2035. The area could produce enough oil and and shale gas can earn double, triple and even gas to meet Argentina’s current domestic needs four times what they would in Buenos Aires. for five decades, create 22,000 jobs a year over From a simple solderer to managers, it is a big the next two decades, and add 0.5 percent a money opportunity in a land of few that com- year to economic growth. Argentina expropriat- pare. Costa, on site as head of drilling, plans to ed YPF from Spain’s Repsol and nationalized it in bore six wells in an area of a few dozen square 2011. For now, Latin America’s number three meters in YPF-Chevron’s bloc 121. It features economy seems to have its energy needs met- futuristic mobile, cutting-edge drilling platforms and then some. — AFP

LOMA COMPANA: Technicians set up an oil drilling rig at Vaca Muerta Shale oil reservoir in Loma Campana, in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, some 1180 Km south-west of Buenos Aires, Argentina. — AFP Sudan to keep key subsidies in 2015

KHARTOUM: Sudan will keep in place sub- war, poverty and political turmoil. The sidies on wheat and petrol and not raise International Monetary Fund sees a taxes in 2015, the finance minister said on “favourable” outlook for Sudan in 2015, Monday as he presented next year’s budget driven by a “very good harvest” and the to parliament. decline in oil prices on world markets. “No new taxes will be introduced in the In his speech to parliament, which meets 2015 budget which also aims at continuing later this month to vote on the budget, the to subsidise wheat and petrol products,” finance minister said he foresaw revenues Badereldien Mahmoud said. In September of 61.4 billion pounds and expenses of 2013 the government slashed fuel subsi- about 59.8 billion pounds. dies, sparking huge street protests-the The official rate of the Sudanese pound worst urban unrest in Sudan in two decades is 5.9 to the dollar, but it trades for 8.8 — as retail prices shot up by more than 60 against the dollar on the black market. percent. Mahmoud also forecast 6.3 percent growth Amnesty International said that more for next year and said inflation is expected than 200 demonstrators were killed when to hover at around 25.9 percent. security forces crushed the protests, but the Sudanese have struggled to cope with government gave a toll of fewer than 100. soaring prices and a weak currency since President Omar al-Bashir earlier this year South Sudan separated in July 2011, taking called for a political and economic renais- with it around 75 percent of the formerly sance in the country, which is ravaged by united Sudan’s oil production. — AFP BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 Cuba’s private sector braces for US tourism boom

HAVANA: Cuba’s nascent private sector is bracing for announced a historic breakthrough between Cuban- on top of the three million that already visit each year Nunez, speaking from a private dining space in La an influx of visitors should the US embargo ease, but US relations, moving to revive diplomatic ties and ease from all over the world. Guarida, said despite his reservations about the pri- many businesses in the communist country appear a trade embargo, ending 50 years of hostility between But restaurant manager Jorge Fernandez said a vate sector’s capacity, the changes announced last unprepared for a torrent of tourists. the former Cold War foes. sudden flood of visitors would create a challenge for week are “encouraging.” Currently, most hotels, guest houses and restau- The breakthrough could also mean an easing of the Cuban private sector. He said the embargo “is not sustainable for the rants in Cuba are state-owned, though the number of existing travel restrictions. Every year, more than “Because although American tourists are very gen- people of the United States, nor for the people of private enterprises has grown in recent years. “We’re 90,000 US citizens travel to Cuba, despite restrictions erous, they are very demanding,” he said, speaking at Cuba.” Cuba’s economy has been slowly opening since not prepared,” said restaurateur Enrique Nunez, speak- on how much they can spend and on the Cuban prod- the privately owned La California restaurant in Old the fall of the Soviet Union, and private businesses- ing at Cuba’s most famous privately owned eatery, La ucts they can bring home. Havana. “At the same time, it would be a big opportu- namely restaurants-started multiplying in 2008 after Guarida, where “Strawberries and Chocolate” was That figure is likely to swell once the Obama nity to strengthen a sector that survives with little Raul Castro introduced economic reforms. filmed. administration eases restrictions on the 12 categories income,” he said, noting that Cuban businesses have That was important for the tourism sector, which is “Not in our ability to accommodate an increase in of people currently allowed to travel to Cuba, such as little access to wholesale markets and often have to Cuba’s third biggest earner, bringing in $2.5 billion the clientele, nor in terms of the quality of what we US-based relatives of residents of the island. pay high fees for equipment and raw material. annually. Restaurant owner Carlos Marquez said most have to offer,” he added. But he said that would soon It will require an act of Congress-which will be As part of the thaw, Obama authorized the sale and entrepreneurs in Cuba stand to benefit from the thaw- change. “People will wake up quickly and start to Republican-dominated come January-to repeal the export of certain “goods and services” to the Cuban ing of relations with Washington. excel, start to offer what people want,” Nunez said, economic and travel embargo entirely. private sector, which could be a boon. He is hopeful that easing the embargo will only be speaking at the restaurant in a crumbling Havana The private sector is supported by 450,000 self- a good thing for business at his La Commercial San building, where photos of Uma Thurman, Benicio del Generous but demanding employed entrepreneurs, known as “cuentapropistas,” Cristobal diner in downtown Havana. “We’ll have to Toro and Jack Nicholson hang on the walls. Cuba’s tourism minister estimates that a million compared to five million civil service workers in a see how things go, but everything Obama said bene- On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama additional tourists could come to the island annually, country of 11.1 million. fits us,” Marquez said. — AFP

Air China orders 60 Boeing 737s for more than $6bn

NEW YORK: Boeing announced yesterday conference December 3. The strength in it would sell 60 of its 737 jets to Air China commercial orders “is not some kind of for more than $6 billion in its latest big deal short-term cycle.” with an air carrier from an emerging econo- The deal will grow Air China’s fleet by my. about eight percent, the airline said. “The The deal will include “next generation” company expects the Boeing Aircraft will 737 and 737 MAX airplanes, which are deliver more cost efficient performance known for their fuel efficiency, Boeing said. and provide more comfortable services to Deliveries are expected between 2016 and its passengers,” Air China said in a securities 2020, Air China said. filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. “Our long-standing and productive part- Air China plans to finance the transac- nership with Air China dates back to the air- tion through cash from its business opera- line’s beginning and we are proud the 737 tions and commercial bank loans. has been part of their success,” said Ihssane The airline said the basic price of the jets Mounir, Boeing’s vice president of sales and is $5.9 billion, though that is subject to marketing for Northeast Asia. “price escalation” under a deal. Boeing “We are excited to see that the 737 fami- granted Air China “significant price conces- ly will play a significant role in Air China’s sions” in the transaction, the Chinese com- continued success.” pany said. Boeing officials have highlighted strong Boeing last week announced it would commercial growth as a key offset to weak- boost its quarterly dividend by 25 percent ness in its government business in light of and lift its share repurchase plan to $12 bil- defense budget cuts. lion from $4.8 billion left in the current pro- Boeing chief operating office Dennis gram’s authorization. Muilenburg said earlier this month that air Boeing said the Air China orders will travel growth in emerging markets like only be added to its official log once the China, India and Indonesia are expected to details are finalized. increase in light of the mismatch between As of December 16, Boeing had net economies that account for 40 percent of orders of commercial aircraft in 2014 of the world’s population but just 14 percent 1,317 planes, just shy of the 1,355 for 2013. of its airplanes. The 737, popular for its fuel efficiency, AHMEDABAD: Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Makemytrip.com Keyur Joshi (L) and Consul General of Turkey in India E Sabri Ergen share a “We’ll have another billion travelers in accounted for the largest number of orders light moment during a media interaction in Ahmedabad. With an aim to tap the potential for overseas travel from Gujarat, online travel firm China come into the marketplace over the with 1,019. Boeing shares rose 1.7 percent Makemytrip.com has announced a plan to start chartered flights between Ahmedabad and Turkey for the forthcoming season during April to June, next 20 years,” Muilenburg told an investor in mid-morning trade to $128.31. — AP 2014. — AFP India slashes health budget by nearly 20% One of the world’s lowest

NEW DELHI: The Indian government has shortage of funds. It is not rocket science.” budget for the coming year, in part to pay for ordered a cut of nearly 20 percent in its 2014/15 The officials requested anonymity because of this extra cost. healthcare budget due to fiscal strains, putting the sensitivity of the matter. The Finance “Even next year we don’t think we’ll get a at risk key disease control initiatives in a country Ministry, which ordered the spending reduction huge amount of money,” said one official, adding whose public spending on health is already and overruled objections from the Health that it was now unclear how the new pro- among the lowest in the world. Ministry at a recent meeting, did not respond gramme would be funded. Two Health Ministry officials told Reuters yes- immediately to requests for comment. terday that more than 60 billion rupees, or $948 The move reflects the government’s struggle HIV/AIDS funds slashed million, has been slashed from their budget allo- to achieve its 2014/15 fiscal deficit target of 4.1 In addition to the healthcare budget, the cation of around $5 billion for the financial year percent of GDP. Dominated by private players, finance ministry has also ordered a spending cut ending on March 31. India’s healthcare industry is growing at an for India’s HIV/AIDS programme by about 30 per- Despite rapid economic growth over the past annual clip of around 15 percent, but public cent to 13 billion rupees ($205.4 million). two decades, successive governments have kept spending has remained low and resulted in a India had the third-largest number of people a tight rein on healthcare expenditure. India dilapidated network of government hospitals living with HIV in the world at the end of 2013, spends about 1 percent of its gross domestic and clinics, especially in rural areas. according to the UN AIDS programme, and it product (GDP) on public health, compared to 3 One of the Health Ministry officials said the accounts for more than half of all AIDS-related percent in China and 8.3 percent in the United cut could crimp efforts to control the spread of deaths in the Asia-Pacific. States. diseases. More newborns die in India than in In October, India was on the brink of running BOSTON: This June 4, 2014 photo shows a Walgreens retail store in Boston. Walgreen Co. But hopes were high that Prime Minister poorer neighbours such as Bangladesh, and pre- out of a critical medicine in its free HIV/AIDS reports quarterly financial results yesterday. — AP Narendra Modi, who was elected in May, would ventable illnesses such as diarrhoea kill more drugs programme due to bureaucratic delays. A upgrade basic health infrastructure and make than a million children every year. crisis was averted with the assistance of pharma- medical services more affordable for the poor. The retrenchment could also derail an ambi- ceutical companies and global health organisa- The United Nations estimates about one third of tious universal healthcare programme that Modi tions. the world’s 1.2 billion poorest people live in wants to launch in April. The plan aims to pro- Still, health activists complain about dire New India airline to start India. vide all citizens with free drugs and diagnostic shortages of several HIV/AIDS diagnostic kits. “We were not expecting (budget cuts) this treatments, as well as insurance benefits. “We are all in shock. That shows the kind of flying as others lose money time because of the commitments they made in The cost of that programme over the next importance the government attaches to public the manifesto,” one of the health ministry offi- four years had been estimated at 1.6 trillion health,” said Leena Menghaney, a New Delhi- NEW DELHI: India’s newest airline Airbus A320-200 with 16 seats in busi- cials said, referring to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Indian rupees ($25 billion). The Health Ministry based public health activist. “This will undermine announced yesterday it would start fly- ness class, 36 in premium economy and Party (BJP). “No reason was given ... but there is officials had been expecting a jump in their the HIV programme in the long run.” — Reuters ing next month and was “enthusiastic” 96 in economy. Once it takes off, Vistara about the future, even as rival carriers will be the third full-service carrier after bleed red ink. The new airline, called state-run Air India and Jet Airways, Gold rebounds Vistara-a Sanskrit word meaning “limit- which are both making chronic losses. less expanse”-will make its first flight on The new carrier will start with Delhi- January 9. Mumbai flights and then include the on softer dollar The airline is 49-percent-owned by western city of Ahmedabad. It will add Singapore Airlines, one of the world’s routes as its current two-plane Airbus LONDON: Gold rose yesterday, rebounding from a three-week top-rated carriers. Mumbai-based Tata fleet grows. The carrier expects to have low hit in the previous session as the dollar eased slightly, but conglomerate, one of India’s best- five planes in a month and 20 Airbus remained vulnerable to further losses as appetite for risk contin- respected brands, controls 51 percent. planes within four years. ued to lift equities. “We’re enthusiastic. There are no The launch comes after the debt- Spot gold was up 0.5 percent to $1,179.81 an ounce by 1321 doubt challenges, but we believe in the laden no-frills airline SpiceJet was GMT. It had tumbled nearly 2 percent on Monday, dropping to its immense potential of the Indian avia- grounded briefly last week for failing to lowest since Dec. 1 at $1,170.17. US gold futures for delivery in tion market,” Vistara chief executive Phee pay fuel bills. India’s air passenger mar- February were unchanged at $1,179.90 an ounce. Teik Yeoh told reporters. ket has expanded at breakneck speed Liquidity was thin due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, The 46-year-old former senior execu- but many airlines are laden with debt while Japanese markets were closed yesterday for a public holi- tive of Singapore Airlines, added he had and beset by cut-throat fare wars, high day. “Technically if we close below the $1,180 much lower prices felt like “breaking into song” ever since fuel taxes and shoddy infrastructure. can be seen,” Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said. Vistara cleared the final hurdle to start IndiGo, India’s largest passenger car- “If the data today helps the dollar to rally even more, then flying, obtaining its Air Operators Permit rier, is a budget operation and the sole everything comes under pressure again ...obviously positioning is from the government earlier this month one among the country’s four biggest going to be light in the next week but I think we could close the in India’s highly regulated market. airlines consistently to report profits. year at lower levels.” While airline analysts say India’s avia- Kingfisher, a full-service airline Wall Street closed at historic highs on Monday, boosting global tion future belongs to low-cost carriers, owned by liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, equities and dampening demand for assets perceived as safer. The Yeoh said there was also room for full- was grounded by huge losses in 2012. dollar was unchanged versus a basket of currencies, but still hold- service airlines. Tata also holds a stake in an Indian low- ing close to a nine-year peak. A weaker greenback makes dollar- “We’re here to redefine the flying cost carrier which started flying in June, denominated gold cheaper for holders of other currencies. Data experience” and “create a demand for a operated by Asia’s biggest-budget air- on US GDP, durable goods orders and new homes sales, will be kind of personalised travel” that doesn’t line AirAsia. The previous Congress gov- eyed for cues later in the session. “Positioning still seems to be HYDERABAD: Satyam Computer Services founder B. Ramalinga Raju, center, leaves a exist, he said, referring to the “massifica- ernment began allowing foreign airlines light in gold so we expect the market to remain contained during court in Hyderabad, India, yesterday. Raju, former chairman of the company that was tion” of the Indian travel market. to buy up to 49 percent stakes in Indian the holiday period, but big swings in other markets such as the once India’s fourth largest software services company, confessed in January 2009 to Vistara will operate the 148-seater carriers in 2012. — AFP dollar and crude will exacerbate moves due to the light liquidity,” inflating company assets by $1.5 billion, a number government investigators later said said MKS Group in a note.—Reuters was understated by at least $1 billion. — AP BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 NBK offers Visa cardholders chances to win their spends back daily

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) launched its to enter the draws for every KD 1 spent locally using Manager, Consumer Banking Group added: “NBK’s lead- new “Win Your Spends Back Up to KD 1,000 Daily” cam- their NBK Visa Credit Cards, and three chances when ership in the cards market in Kuwait has been estab- paign dedicated to its Visa Cardholders. The campaign using their NBK Visa Credit and Debit Cards abroad or lished by consistently delivering superior value to our offers NBK Visa Credit and Debit Cardholders daily on international websites. customers. We always strive to develop promotions to chances to win back up to KD 1,000 for their weekly pur- “NBK pioneered many firsts in both the local and reward our customers. The more NBK Visa Cardholders chases. regional markets by offering innovative products and use their cards during the promotion period the more This exclusive campaign will run until 31 March, value added services,” said Ahmed Khaled Al Khader, chances they get to win one of the valuable prizes.” 2015. NBK will announce up to five winners weekly with NBK Deputy General Manager, Consumer Banking NBK Cards are accepted worldwide and are the prizes up to KD 1,000. Group. “We encourage our Visa Cardholders to benefit safest, most convenient and rewarding way to pay. For All NBK Visa Credit and Debit Cardholders can partici- from this promotion and use their NBK Visa Cards to win more information log onto nbk.com or contact NBK Call pate in this campaign and earn daily unlimited chances back their spends up to KD 1,000.” Center on 1801801, or follow NBK on Twitter @NBKPage, in the draws. NBK Visa Cardholders will get one chance said Ahmed Khaled Al Khader, NBK Deputy General and on Instagram @NBKPage. Ahmed Khaled Al Khader Excitement over news of Bachchan’s visit to Kuwait Kalyan Jewellers to open 3 showrooms Friday

By Sajeev K Peter

KUWAIT: The news of the upcoming visit of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan to Kuwait has created a buzz among his fans in the coun- try. The stalwart of Indian cinema, who is also the brand ambassador of Kalyan Jewellers, is arriving on Friday (December 26) to inaugurate three signature showrooms of Kalyan Jewellers which is making its foray into Kuwait market in a big way. “Usually, Mr Bachchan doesn’t attend such events these days. He is doing so because of his close connection with our family and he likes the Kalyan brand,” said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers. Talking to Kuwait Times in an interview yes- terday, Kalyanaraman said, the announcement of Mr Bachchan’s maiden visit to Kuwait has already generated a lot of excitement and antici- pation among his fans here who hope to have a glimpse of the Indian celebrity. Since Mr Kalyan Jewellers Executive Director Ramesh Kalyan Jewellers Brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan is a Z Category VVIP in India, the Kalyanaraman. Bachchan. Kuwait government has provided 300 security personnel for his security in addition to the offi- learning in this market to other GCC countries,” 30 outlets by 2015,” Kalyanaraman said. cers accompanying him. he said. “We are also investing in a design and pro- “However, people will be able to see him “Kuwait is an untapped market. Though there duction facility at the Sharjah Free Zone in the from a good distance during the openings at all are many Indian jewelers in Kuwait, nobody will UAE with an initial capacity to process 5-8 kg of the three locations,” he said. Bachchan, who is have a pan-India presence like Kalyan. In India, gold jewellery a day. arriving here on a chartered flight, is scheduled everyone knows Kalyan Jewellers as a popular to inaugurate Kalyan Jewellers’ Al-Rai showroom brand because we are present in their states,” he GCC strategy Cyber security at 11.15 am accompanied by other brand said. Outlining Kalyan Jewellers’ business strategy, ambassadors and Indian film stars like Prabhu “Expansion in the GCC countries is an impor- Kalyanaraman said, “We have a distinct location- Ganesan, Nagarjuna and Manju Warrier. In tant growth driver for our business. Our total al strategy which is different from the strategy landscape and threats Maliya (Kuwait City), the inauguration will take turnover expected in Kuwait for the next one fis- we follow in India. “Basically, Kalyan’s approach is place at 2.45 pm and in Fahaheel at 3.45 pm. cal will be KD 30 million. We hope to close the to have independent outlets, complemented financial year ending March 31, 2015 with with a shop-in-shop model in popular areas. In KUWAIT: Hasibat Information FORTINET is a worldwide provider of Expansion regional sales of KD 48 million (600 million the first phase, all the three stores in Kuwait will Technologies Co., the premier ICT sys- network security appliances and the “Currently we are focused on becoming the dirhams). be independent showrooms outside malls. In tems integrator in Kuwait organized market leader in unified threat manage- preferred choice for connoisseurs of jewellery in Our target is to achieve KD 160 million (two the second phase, we will open outlets inside Cyber Security Landscape and Threats ment (UTM). FORTINET products and Kuwait. We are also planning three more stores billion UAE dirhams) turnover in the region,” he malls. This is our strategy,” Kalyanaraman said. seminar showcasing the solutions from subscription services provide broad, inte- in Kuwait next year,” he said. said. Today, Kalyan Jewellers have 77 showrooms its strategic partner, FORTINET. grated and high-performance protection There has been a steady increase in demand Kalyan Jewellers recently opened three show- across West Asia and India. Plans are afoot to against dynamic security threats while for jewellery and there is a positive consumer rooms in the UAE. “With these three showrooms launch showrooms in Qatar and South East simplifying the IT security infrastructure. sentiment in the GCC region auguring well for in Kuwait, we now have a total of 12 showrooms Asian markets of Singapore and Malaysia in the Hasibat is Fortinet Gold partner in the jewellery business. “We look forward to con- in the GCC. Our endeavor is to have 18 stores in near term and reach the 100 showrooms target Kuwait. Since 2008, Hasibat has solidate and expand in Kuwait as well as take our the region by the middle of next year and over by 2015, he added. increased the market share of FORTINET in Kuwait with over 20% of market share. Hasibat has implemented a large number of projects across various cus- tomer segments and is proud of one of its largest FORTINET project ($4 million) in Kuwait for a premier government organization that takes care of govern- ment IT policies. Ms Maya Zakhour -Channel Director, Osama Abduo - System Engineer & Kalle Bjorn-Director System Engineering were the speakers from the FORTINET team. They presented an overview of FORTINET vision in tackling the ever increasing and threatening menace of Cyber attack and how FORTINET is developing solutions for the businesses to protect themselves against these attacks. Hasibat would extend its thanks to the customers and FORTINET team for this event. During the event the CEO of Hasibat, Mazen Ishbib, reiterated the importance LEXUS CUSTOMERS of the strategic partnership with Fortinet. He also stressed upon the fact, with the Due to ministry construction work in progress, the main growing concerns about IT security and entrance for Lexus center Shuwaikh (next to road 85) has been threats on daily basis, businesses have to shifted to Lexus service area (one of the isles located on the be proactive in protecting their company side entrance). We regret for the inconvenience caused. information and infrastructure to avoid Valet parking service is available exclusively for our distin- any damage to their operations and rep- guished customers. Thank you for visiting the Lexus Center, Shuwaikh - A utation. world-class iconic and luxurious masterpiece. African farmers reap little benefit from oil price drop

BULOBA: From the coffee plantations of Uganda to Africa, which relies on small farmers for 80 percent of November based on fuel shipments bought in August, should also come down over time. the maize fields of Zambia, the collapse in world oil its food. when crude was only just beginning its slump. “If fertilizer prices do come down it will have a prices has so far brought few benefits for African farm- In essence, weak government regulation means fuel Over that time, the kwacha weakened 8 percent, huge effect,” AgriSA President Johannes Moller said. ers, with stubbornly high pump prices and voracious importers and distributors can raise pump prices as eroding much of the impact of the oil price decline. “Production will go up and food prices will at least middle-men maintaining a squeeze on margins. crude oil rises, but drag their feet when it drops. “The drop in global oil prices has not been felt in start rising slower, or may even come down. It’s good Only in South Africa, the continent’s most sophisti- “We have heard and read that the cost of oil has Zambia. The reduction in prices has been extremely news all round.” cated economy and one of its top agricultural produc- dropped globally but unfortunately we are yet to feel negligible and means nothing to the farming commu- In Nigeria, where agriculture accounts for 40 per- ers, have fuel prices-tightly regulated by the govern- the effects,” said Jack Kneppers, a Dutch florist who nity,” said 62-year-old Request Muntanga, who owns a cent of GDP, a surprising statistic in Africa’s biggest ment-come down enough to make a difference. employs 500 people at his Maridadi farm in Naivasha, 500-hectare maize farm south of Lusaka. crude oil producer, only a few large commercial farms Elsewhere, many smallholders are unaware of the northwest of Nairobi, Kenya. Only in South Africa, where fuel price changes filter have also been able to use their purchasing power to near-halving of crude oil prices on world markets since “The price of fuel has dropped by a few shillings and through faster and the government is stricter about extract savings. July, and even the better informed doubt any savings this has very little if any effect on our cost of produc- ensuring reductions are passed on, have farmers seen “The drop in energy prices directly impacts the cost will filter through the web of agents and brokers that tion.” major savings. of urea which is the biggest farming input cost,” said dominates much of African farming. According to commercial farmers group AgriSA, for Kola Masha, managing director of agriculture invest- “If it’s true fuel prices are falling, it is possible these Delayed drop every 0.1 rand drop in the domestic fuel price, farmers ment firm Doreo Partners. traders will increase what they’re paying us,” said 73- In countries such as Zambia, Africa’s number two nationwide save an annualised 100 million rand ($8.6 Nigeria, too, has seen a sharp decline in its curren- year-old Ugandan Gladys Kavuma, who has been farm- copper producer, oil’s dramatic decline has been offset million). cy in the last three months, but Masha said this may ing two acres of coffee in Buloba, 15 km (10 miles) west by currency weakness as foreign investors have retreat- Economists forecast that a litre of petrol will fall to ultimately reinforce the importance of diversifying the of Kampala, for four decades. ed from frontier market debt and stocks due to con- 11.44 rand a litre next month, its lowest since August economy to reduce its 90 percent reliance on oil for “But I doubt prices will ever improve. They will sim- cerns about global growth. 2012 and 20 percent below a record 14.39 rand in April. foreign exchange. ply come up with another reason to keep prices low,” Furthermore, fuel imports are often paid for months If sustained, such a decline means $250 million “A drop in oil should encourage governments to she said, with a resigned shrug. in advance, meaning any benefit from the collapse in wiped off the annual fuel bill of South Africa’s commer- diversify, which should help agriculture businesses,” A typical Ugandan smallholder who has brought up oil prices is delayed. cial farmers. Masha said. “If governments see they need to diversify five children on the back of her meagre coffee earn- In its first price adjustment since April, Zambia The knock-on effect is even greater as the price of into areas like agriculture then these oil price shocks ings, Kavuma’s plight is replicated across sub-Saharan dropped pump prices by 2.5 percent at the end of chemical fertilizer, another hydrocarbon by-product, won’t be so painful.” — Reuters WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 technology Who needs a camera with 3 three phones? By Anick Jesdanun dard LCD laptop. The problem is the colors sometimes look too rich, as though they’ve NEW YORK: Phones have gotten so good been adjusted using software. Faces, for at taking photos that I rarely bring along a instance, often look overly orange. The stand-alone camera anymore. Of course, a iPhone doesn’t win on colors, but images phone is never going to replace a full-bod- look more natural. With the Note, you wind ied, single-lens reflex camera, otherwise up with many images that look better but known as an SLR. There’s just no way to others that look worse. squeeze a powerful, SLR-type lens into the The Note camera’s 16 megapixels is small body of a phone. among the highest in smartphones. But many smartphones now match and Although having more megapixels doesn’t even outperform point-and-shoot cameras. necessarily mean better pictures, I can You’ll get good pictures with any high-end make out smaller text on Note images. The phone, including LG’s G3 and Google’s Note also excels with zoom. Nexus 6. But a few phones go beyond just With most phones, quality degrades as good. you zoom in because the lens itself doesn’t I took more than 10,000 still images with move. Zooming is essentially cropping. The more than 20 phones released in 2014. I Note compensates for that with anti-shake used the rear cameras and refrained from technology, similar to the 6 Plus, and with using the flash so that I could test the the merger of pixels from multiple expo- phones’ low-light capabilities. That’s an sures taken in succession. area where an otherwise good phone can Low-light shots come out well, some- be great. thing that wasn’t so with older Samsung Last year, I declared the iPhone 5s to be phones. However, shots aren’t free of dis- the best camera phone overall. This year’s 6 tortion. In some skyline shots, for instance, and 6 Plus models are even better, particu- the dark sky wasn’t entirely dark, and pur- larly with faster and more accurate focus- ple spots could be seen when blown up. ing. The iPhone can even make moving There’s less of that with iPhone shots. But toddlers look still and sharp. these are subtle differences that most peo- For indoor and night shots, the iPhone ple won’t notice. often manages to avoid the image blur that Like other Lumia phones using the stan- many other cameras produce when shut- dard Nokia Pro Cam app, the Icon camera is ters stay open longer to let in more light. slow to snap and save the shot. Forget The 6 Plus model also has anti-shake tech- about moving babies. Forget about multi- nology to help reduce blur. I noticed ple images in bursts, as iPhones and Note increased sharpness in some shots of stat- phones allow. ues inside a museum and the city skyline at Even as Lumia phones are known for night, compared with shots taken with the their low-light performance, rivals have SEOUL: A South Korean student looks at a picture, which shows how the cyber warfare is going to be waged in the future in the Korean regular iPhone 6. For most shots, though, caught up. And the Icon’s ability to take Peninsula if Korean War takes place, at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul. — AP the iPhone 6 performs just as well. Go for images of up to 19 megapixels no longer is the Plus only if you want the larger viewing impressive. screen - not for the camera. Yet the manual controls in Lumia That’s not to say the iPhone always takes phones are unmatched. You can control the best shot, particularly with its resolu- shutter speed, light sensitivity, white bal- Key N Korean websites tion on the lower end at 8 megapixels. For ance and other settings you typically only any given condition, you might find anoth- get with an SLR. It’s the camera for taking er phone that does better. But that other professional-looking photos. phone might perform poorly in other cir- Most people, though, are going to be cumstances. The iPhone shines in a wide happy with snapshots taken with other back after shutdown range of settings, making it an overall great phones under auto settings. The Icon choice for capturing impromptu moments. requires patience to set up and take the SEOUL: Key North Korean websites were back online Images taken on the Note phones are shot, and some of the manual options you yesterday after an hours-long shutdown that fol- rich in color. Friends say “wow” when they need at night won’t be useful without a tri- lowed a US vow to respond to a crippling cyberattack see the shots. The Note’s AMOLED screen pod. When I need that kind of shot, I’ll grab on Sony Pictures that Washington blames on North Korea’s limited technology contributes to that, but the col- my SLR. But having that level of control in a Pyongyang. The White House and the State ors are still rich when viewing on a stan- phone is impressive. — AP Department declined to say whether the US govern- Internet capabilities ment was responsible for the Internet shutdown in one of the least-wired and poorest countries in the SEOUL: An hours-long Internet outage Tuesday in try has only 1,024 Internet Protocol addresses for world. Although North Korea is equipped for broad- one of the world’s least-wired countries was proba- a population of 25 million, according to So Young band Internet, only a small, approved segment of the bly more inconvenient to foreigners than to North Seo, a researcher at South Korea’s state-run Korea population has any access to the World Wide Web. Korean residents, most of whom have never gone Information Society Development Institute. Few North Koreans have access to computers; those online. Even for wired Koreans south of the heavily North Korea’s small circle of Internet users who do are typically able to connect only to a domes- armed border separating the rivals, the temporary consist of elites in the government and military, tic Intranet. outage made little difference - southerners are Though it denies responsibility for the Sony hack, propagandists and media workers, state-trained Pyongyang has called it a “righteous deed” and made banned by law from accessing North Korean web- hackers and researchers at education institutes clear its fury over “The Interview,” a comedy that sites. such as Kim Il Sung University and the depicts the assassination of the North’s authoritarian While North Korea tightly controls its citizens’ Pyongyang University of Science and leader, Kim Jong Un, the head of a 1.2 million-man activities, especially their access to information on Technology, Seo said. army and the focus of an intense cult of personality. the outside world, it does have a cyberspace. Other North Koreans are limited to the South Korean officials, speaking on condition of Here’s a look at North Korea’s unique broadband intranet, which provides access to state media anonymity because of office rules, said the North’s and mobile Internet, the country’s use of email and a limited number of information sources that official Korean Central News Agency and the Rodong and its tightly controlled use of a domestic were pulled and censored from the real Internet. Sinmun newspaper, which are the main channels for Intranet. Most common North Koreans probably don’t official North Korea news, had earlier been down. But actively use Kwangmyong because owning a the websites were back up later Tuesday. Among the INTERNET VS INTRANET computer requires permission from government posts glorifying the ruling Kim family was one about Only a very small number of people among authorities and would cost as much as three Kim Jong Un visiting a catfish farm. North Korea’s elite use the Internet, as the rest of months’ salary for the average worker, Seo said. US computer experts described the Internet out- the world knows it. A slightly larger group of priv- It’s unclear what was behind the temporary CUPERTINO: In this Sept. 9, 2014 file photo, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice presi- ages in the North as sweeping and progressively ileged North Koreans can see a tightly controlled shutdown of key North Korean websites. The dent of worldwide product marketing, discusses the camera features on the new worse. Jim Cowie, chief scientist at Dyn Research, an Intranet called “Kwangmyong,” meaning “Bright.” shutdown followed a US vow to respond to a iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus during an event.-AP Internet performance company, said in an online On this self-contained, authoritarian alterna- crippling cyberattack on Sony Pictures that post that the North came back online after a 9 1/2- tive to the World Wide Web, chats and emails are Washington blames on Pyongyang. The White hour outage. monitored and content comes pre-filtered by the House and the State Department declined to say Stanford students design Possible causes for the shutdown include an state. whether the U.S. government was responsible. A external attack on its fragile network or even just The Intranet provides a connection between cyberattack on North Korea would be an exercise paddles to climb glass power problems, Cowie wrote. But, he added, “We industry, universities and government. Its role in futility if the purpose was to cause a serious can only guess.” seems to be to spread information, rather than disruption, said Chang Yong Seok, a North Korea SAN FRANCISCO: Stanford University stu- tions with toy companies. A Swiss entrepre- Last year, North Korea suffered similar brief for commerce, entertainment or communication, expert at Seoul National University. dents have created paddles that help neur has scheduled a meeting with the Internet shutdowns of websites at a time of nuclear Will Scott, a computer science instructor at “Even if their Internet is shut down, the incon- humans scale glass walls like a gecko. The team in January to discuss possible rock- tensions with the US, South Korea and other coun- Pyongyang University of Science and venience will be shared only by members of the “gecko gloves” use the same scientific princi- climbing applications. There is also a project tries. North Korea blamed Seoul and Washington for Technology, told the AP in February. It is unclear power elite,” Chang said. “It would be an entirely ples employed by the sticky feet of nature’s in the works with NASA and the Jet the outages. President Barack Obama has said the US how many Internet-connected devices are used different matter if hackers manage to penetrate most impressive climber, the San Jose Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to use a government expected to respond to the Sony hack, in North Korea. But it’s likely that the number of the Kwangmyong network, but that has never Mercury News reported on Monday. version of the gloves to grab things in space. which he described as an expensive act of “cyber van- Internet users is small considering that the coun- happened before.” — AP “One of the most important attributes of “It turns out that gecko-inspired adhe- dalism” by North Korea. — AP their adhesive is that it’s controllable, like sives are one of the very few technologies tape that you can turn on when you want it that will work in space, where you’ve got a to stick, and turn off when you don’t,” said vacuum and very low temperatures,” said US and drone industry launch safety campaign Elliot Hawkes, a member of the research Mark Cutkowsky, a member of the mechani- WASHINGTON: Alarmed by increasing encoun- “This is an issue of growing concern,” said FAA while online retailer Amazon is offering more than team. The Stanford students have patents cal engineering faculty who was part of the ters between small drones and manned aircraft, Administrator Michael Huerta. “The price of a dozen different models priced from as little as pending and have already begun negotia- four-man team. — AP drone industry officials said Monday they are unmanned aircraft has come down and this newer $30 to nearly $3,000. teaming up with the US government and model and more powerful technology is more affordable “Many of these operators have no aviation his- aircraft hobbyists to launch a safety campaign. to more people, yet many are not familiar with the tory, background or knowledge,” Margaret Putin oversees successful The campaign includes a website - www.know- rules of flying.” Gilligan, FAA’s associate administrator for safety, beforeyoufly.com - which advises both recreation- Small drones are available today for as little as a told a recent forum hosted by the Air Line Pilots launch of Angara rocket al and commercial drone operators of FAA regula- few hundred dollars. As of the end of 2013, about Association. “They think they just bought some- tions and how to fly their unmanned aircraft safe- 1 million small drones had been sold worldwide thing fun that they just want to fly around. They MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin yester- the first rocket to have been completely ly. The campaign was announced by the for recreational and commercial use, according to don’t for a moment think, ‘I’m entering the nation- day oversaw the successful test-launch of built after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems industry estimates. Sales this year are expected to al airspace system.’ “ Russia’s newest heavy-class Angara rocket, Putin said that the next-generation International and the Small UAV Coalition, both significantly outdistance previous tallies. Catalogs Such operators don’t intend to interfere with a rare piece of good news in a week domi- spacecraft was more environmentally industry trade groups, and the Academy of Model like Hammacher Schlemmer and Brookstone have manned aircraft, but “they just don’t know what nated by the economic crisis. friendly than its predecessors because it is Aeronautics, which represents model aircraft hob- prominently featured small drones this Christmas, they don’t know,” she said. — AP The president oversaw by video link the fuelled by oxygen and kerosene rather byists, in partnership with the Federal Aviation launch of the Angara-A5 from Plesetsk in than hugely toxic heptyl. Administration. The two industry trade groups northern Russia saying the new rocket The Khrunichev Center, the state-run also said they plan to distribute safety pamphlets would allow the country better protection. spacecraft maker which developed the at industry events, and are working with drone “Indeed, for our space industry and I rocket, said the launch was performed by manufacturers to see that safety information is suppose for the whole of Russia this is a the aerospace defence forces. The test enclosed inside the package of new drones. major, very important event,” Putin said launch of a light version of the Angara Retailers say small drones, which are indistin- from the Kremlin. “Russia remains one of rocket ended in embarrassment in June guishable from today’s more sophisticated model the internationally recognized leaders in due to a sudden automatic launch abort. aircraft, are flying off the shelves this Christmas. space exploration.” Putin said that Russia Following the mishap, the launch of “In just a few days, kids old and young will will over the next five years conduct a that version was postponed until July. unwrap presents, and many of them - maybe tens series of test-launches for the Angara- Angara’s development was ordered by for- of thousands - will have unmanned aircraft,” which is designed for civilian and military mer president Boris Yeltsin in the early Michael Toscano, president of the unmanned vehi- use, including the launch of manned 1990s and cost “tens of billions of dollars”, cle association, said in a conference call with spacecraft. The Kremlin said the Angara- according to the Centre for Analysis of reporters. “This technology is very accessible and named after a Siberian river flowing out of World Arms Trade. in very high demand, but information on how to Lake Baikal-was expected to launch a pay- It is crucial as part of the government’s fly safety isn’t readily available. That’s why we’ve load of two tonnes into space. drive to reduce its dependence on the created this safety campaign.” A locomotive pulled the huge white Baikonur launch pad which Moscow leas- The FAA is concerned that amateurs are using rocket out of a hangar in footage released es from ex-Soviet neighbour Kazakhstan. the drones in a reckless manner, increasing the by the defence ministry, with personnel The Russian space programme is likelihood of a collision that could bring down a bundled up against the cold. renowned for having sent the first man plane or rain debris down on people. The agency NEW YORK: In this March 12, 2014 file photo, a drone flies over the scene of an explosion that into space in 1961 and launching the has been receiving about 25 reports per month leveled two apartment buildings in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York. A government ‘Slowdown expected’ first sputnik satellite four years earlier, this year of drones sighted flying near manned air- watchdog says commercial drone flights are taking off in other countries while the US lags Designed to succeed Proton and other and remains a major source of national craft or airports, up from just a handful of reports behind in developing safety regulations to would permit unmanned aircraft operations by a Soviet-era launchers, the Angara is billed as pride. — AFP two years ago. wide array of industries. — AP WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 HEALTH & SCIENCE Pet reptiles pose health risk for infants PARIS: Owning exotic reptiles such as of children who fell ill with “reptile-asso- snakes, chameleons, iguanas and geckos ciated salmonellosis” (RAS) was just six could place infants at risk of salmonella months, said the study, led by Dan infection, according to a British study Murphy of the Royal Cornwall Hospital in published on Monday. Researchers in the Truro.”RAS is associated with a severe southwestern English county of Cornwall outcome-hospitalization and disease,” it found that out of 175 cases of salmonella said. “Coupled with evidence of increas- in children under five over a three-year ing ownership of indoor reptile pets, the period, 27 percent occurred in homes incidence of RAS hospitalization is likely which had reptile pets. Salmonella is a to increase. germ that, in humans, can cause gas- Health professionals such as general troenteritis, colitis, blood infections and practitioners and paediatricians need to meningitis. Reptiles, though, are unaf- be aware of this risk.” The investigation is fected by the bug, which colonizes their published in a specialized British journal, gut and is passed on in their stools. Archives of Disease in Childhood. A US If the pet is allowed to run free in the study in 2004 estimated that RAS was home, this poses a risk, especially if the behind 21 percent of all of laboratory- child is at an exploratory stage of crawl- confirmed cases of Salmonella among ing or licking surfaces. The average age people aged under 21. — AFP Express Scripts presses for more drug savings with coverage list LOS ANGELES: Express Scripts, the Big Pharma players as AstraZeneca Plc largest manager of prescription drug and Sanofi. Both companies warned plans for US employers, is taking an recently that the need to offer US price increasingly aggressive stance in price discounts on some of their biggest negotiations with pharmaceutical com- brand-name medicines will hurt 2015 panies after winning discounts on med- sales. Insurers are pushing back against LYON: French doctors protest yesterday against an upcoming health bill, prompting fears that hospitals already bracing for a busy Christmas period will be seriously overrun. — AFP ications with a strategy introduced last prices in other categories, including year. On Monday, Express Scripts said it blood thinners and even HIV drugs and lined up a cheaper price for AbbVie Inc’s multiple sclerosis treatments, where French doctors kick newly approved hepatitis C treatment there are multiple options for doctors and, in most cases, will no longer cover and patients, observers said. Gilead Sciences Inc’s rival treatments “The extent of this becoming a broad- after trying for nearly a year to win a er problem is tied to whether we get off Christmas strike deeper discount. great new drugs for things like asthma, The move threatens to undermine (high cholesterol), Alzheimer’s and can- profits at Gilead, and was viewed by Wall cer,” said Sanford Bernstein analyst Ronny PARIS: French doctors went on strike yesterday Street as a sign that other major biotech- Gal. “If there is a limited pool of money in protest at an upcoming health bill, prompting nology players, including Amgen Inc and and a bunch of new drugs, the pressure fears that hospitals already bracing for a busy Biogen Inc, will face steeper US pricing on older drugs will increase.” Christmas period will be seriously overrun. Three pressure from insurers. Other drugmak- unions have called on general practitioners to ers without potentially transformative Diminishing returns close shop in protest at certain aspects of the bill, new products, such as Shire Plc, Novo In recent years, the introduction of far which notably will allow pharmacists to vacci- Nordisk and Theravance Inc , may also be cheaper generic versions of medicines nate patients-an act that is currently almost particularly vulnerable, analysts said. like Pfizer Inc’s Lipitor to reduce choles- exclusively reserved for doctors. Neither Shire, Novo Nordisk nor terol and Merck & Co’s asthma drug The bill also wants to set up a system whereby Theravance responded to requests for Singulair helped insurers save on reim- patients will no longer have to be reimbursed comment. bursement costs. But that wave of patent retroactively for their doctors’ visit, with social Express Scripts will further expand the expiries has slowed considerably. In the security directly paying GPs instead, prompting number of medicines it won’t cover for meantime, a new crop of novel, and in fears of payment delays. According to Claude 2016, including treatments for common some cases, highly effective treatments Leicher, head of MG France, one of the unions illnesses such as diabetes, pulmonary for cancer and hepatitis C are costing calling the strike, between 80 and 100 percent of hypertension and arthritis, said Chief them tens of billions of dollars more to GPs are expected to follow the work stoppage. Medical Officer Dr Steve Miller, in an reimburse. And on Wednesday, another powerful GPs and specialists union-the CSMF-has also called interview earlier this month. In some cas- The influx of generics “allowed the on its members to go on strike until December es, Express Scripts could drop coverage system to actually see drug price defla- 31, worsening the situation at a time of festive for newer specialty medicines in the tion,” said Asher Anolic, manager of excesses and prevalent flu and gastroenteritis. As biotechnology field, he said. The timing Fidelity’s Select Pharmaceuticals such, hospitals are bracing for an influx of on specific drugs will depend on when Portfolio. “At the same time, others are patients who would normally have consulted on- new competing drugs with similar clini- launching innovative new drugs ... Based duty doctors, on top of those who usually flock cal benefits are approved for the US mar- on those dynamics I get more con- to emergency rooms. At the best of times, the been expected to be much worse, as overworked But that planned work stoppage was cut short ket. Express Scripts first began excluding cerned. Where is the give in the system? average waiting time in Paris emergency rooms ER doctors had also planned to go on strike to after successful negotiations with the govern- drugs from its largest national reim- It’s on the legacy products.” Anolic said is close to four hours. The situation had initially demand better overtime pay and fewer hours. ment. — AFP bursement list for 2014, with 44 medica- his Fidelity fund focuses on drugmakers tions, and increased that number to 66 with highly differentiated portfolios of for 2015. The prospect of having their treatments. Its top holdings as of Sept 30 Exhausted Sierra Leone medics drugs dropped from Express Scripts’ included Actavis, AbbVie, Novartis AG biggest “formulary” list of covered medi- and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. cines has prompted some leading phar- “When you look at the industry as a battle Ebola in the ‘red zone’ maceutical makers to discount their whole, we will probably see less prof- prices, Miller said. itability,” said Nils Behnke, a partner at Express Scripts is acting on behalf of consulting firm Bain & Co. “Mid-sized Twelve Sierra Leone doctors have caught the virus clients who need to rein in healthcare companies with a broader portfolio of lit- costs, and estimates that the move has tle products, ‘me-too’ products - they will HASTINGS: When Dr Sekou Kanneh goes to ‘Doctor, I’m dying’ great respect for staying throughout a civil war so far saved such employers more than have a hard time.” work at his Sierra Leonean Ebola clinic, he will Britain, France, Cuba and others have also that lasted more than a decade until 2002, $1 billion in annual spending, Miller said. Murray Aitken, vice president at probably be in the “red zone” for many hours, sent doctors, and the foreign-run facilities are rather than taking a more lucrative post abroad. Employers “are by necessity asking us to healthcare information company IMS ignoring by necessity strict limits that govern generally well funded. But things are different “We have lost too many in the battle,” Kanneh take a more aggressive stance because Health, estimates that 2014 spending on foreign colleagues fighting the epidemic. when Kanneh puts on his “PPE” - the personal said. “I don’t want them to be forgotten. We the affordability of their benefits is really new and innovative brand-name drugs Conditions at Kanneh’s treatment centre, the protective equipment of a suit, gloves and mask remember them each time we go back into the at risk,” Miller said. “We are going to be will total about $20 billion compared only Ebola unit in the country run by local - at his unit on the site of a former police acade- red zone.” opportunistic” in looking for savings in with about $3 billion in 2012. staff, contrast to the purpose-built facilities my. “If you tell me to remove my PPE after 45 the future. Gilead shares dropped more Industry executives say newer health where foreign volunteers who have flocked to minutes and I hear a patient saying ‘doctor, doc- Frustrated and exhausted than 14 percent in Monday trading to plans, whether purchased by individual Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia work. tor I’m dying’, then I won’t leave,” Kanneh said at At the Hastings centre, gloved workers walk $92.90. Shares in Amgen, Biogen and consumers or offered through an Kanneh has received no official training to his clinic in Hastings, a community just outside along its open-air corridors with buckets, while a Celgene CELG.O fell more than 2 percent. employer, will further accelerate efforts treat the virus that has killed over 7,000 people Freetown. clergyman reads the Bible story of Lazarus - who to limit drug prices because they require in West Africa. Still, he works up to four hour Reassurance is vital for those suffering symp- was raised from the dead - to a handful of gaunt CVS Health patients to pay a higher share of pre- shifts in the stifling heat of the red zone, a ward toms such as vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding survivors. Kanneh, who has no medical insur- The second largest US pharmacy ben- scription costs. where healthcare workers have direct contact from eyes and ears. “The patients can’t see faces ance, stays on site in a spartan room near the efits manager, CVS Health Corp, has said Pharmacy benefits companies like with the highly contagious Ebola patients. because of the mask so the voice is really impor- Ebola ward and is often on call overnight. it will exclude 95 prescription products Express Scripts say they will cover an “We don’t have time for surgery any more, tant,” he told Reuters. For Kanneh, who trained Numbers of patients at Hastings have dropped from its reimbursement list next year, up excluded medicine if that specific treat- and many of our surgeons are dead from as a surgeon in Russia, the shifts are gruelling. since early December, thanks partly to six new from 72 in 2014. It expects the practice ment is deemed medically necessary for Ebola,” he told Reuters, rubbing his brow in the One recent Sunday, he found himself working facilities built by the British military. will save its plan sponsors over $3.5 bil- a patient. Some groups have expressed dense heat, his green medical gown dark with alone to supervise treatment of 27 patients as But with funding falling far short of that for lion between 2012 and 2015. The drugs concern that patient care might be com- sweat. Last week, US medics showed United one colleague was at church and another is the foreign facilities, staff at Hastings are most under scrutiny include more expen- promised. Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recovering from the virus. Of the three impover- exhausted and frustrated. A pharmacist showed sive, “me-too” products, in categories The Pharmaceutical Research and around their air-conditioned treatment centre ished countries worst hit by the outbreak, Sierra Reuters a list of around 180 staff members out of where several drugmakers compete for Manufacturers of America, a leading near the Liberian capital, explaining how every Leone now has the most cases and the numbers a total of 257 who say they have not received similar patients. Both Novo Nordisk and drug industry trade group, said such precaution is taken to protect workers. are rising fastest; roughly half are in Freetown. their full government wages and risk allowance. Sanofi SA are developing slightly longer- practices hurt patients by limiting access Highly-trained staff at the US unit may stay Sierra Leone had only 136 doctors before the “If you look at the risk allowance of white peo- lasting insulins. to a range of appropriate medicines and in the red zone for a maximum of two hours - epidemic struck and 12 of them have become ple, it’s much higher. I’m angry. This is risky Amgen, AbbVie and Johnson & potentially discriminating against certain for good reason. Less time there means less risk infected, mostly fatally, including the country’s work,” said Mohamed Marrah, who supervises Johnson, respectively sell Enbrel, Humira conditions. But insurers say that the high of exposure to Ebola and of making possibly leading doctor, Victor Willoughby. He died last workers as they don PPEs. and Remicade - all rheumatoid arthritis price of new drugs set by manufacturers fatal mistakes. week, a few hours after the arrival in Sierra Even in centres run by Western groups, the drugs that work in a similar way. has already deterred some patients from Workers must also avoid suffering dehydra- Leone of an experimental drug that could have majority of staff are local. Medecins Sans Companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals following doctor’s orders. tion in their polyethylene protective suits, been used to treat him. Frontieres has around 30 foreign workers and Industries and Actavis want to switch “Plan sponsors, because of the rapid which even with air conditioning are extremely Across the three countries, 358 healthcare 250 Sierra Leonians at its Prince of Wales facility. patients to more expensive versions of rise in cost, are many times having to ask hot to wear. In the Sierra Leonean capital of workers have died from Ebola, according to “It’s not unrealistic for Sierra Leone doctors to their multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s the consumer to pay more” for their Freetown, medical charity Medecins Sans World Health Organization figures. But the loss have the same conditions as Western ones but drugs, respectively, before the arrival of medicines, said Express Scripts’ Miller. “If Frontieres limits the time local and international of Willoughby, who mentored a generation of somebody has to be prepared to fund that,” said cheap generic competitors. you can’t afford your healthcare, you staff spend in the red zone of its facility to Sierra Leonean medical students, was a particu- O.B. Sisay, director of the situation room at the The effect is already being felt by such don’t take it.” — Reuters about one hour. larly heavy blow to morale. Willoughby had won National Ebola Response Centre. — Reuters FDA going after sellers of pure caffeine powder WASHINGTON: The Food and Drug young adults have been particularly drawn to the bulk in an attempt to persuade them to stop. the powdered form is a pure chemical, and that Administration is building a legal case against powder for its perceived energy boost. Michael Taylor, FDA’s deputy commissioner of the difference between a safe amount and a companies that sell pure powdered caffeine, Eighteen-year-old Logan Stiner of LaGrange, foods, said in an interview with The Associated lethal dose is very small. Symptoms of caffeine which can be fatal even in small doses. The FDA Ohio, died in May after consuming it. It was also Press Monday that it is “inherently irresponsible” overdose or toxicity include rapid or erratic warned consumers to avoid pure powdered caf- linked to the death of a Georgia man this year. to market such a potentially dangerous product. heartbeat, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea and dis- feine this summer after the death of an Ohio Caffeine powder is usually marketed as a dietary “I would hope that people would get the mes- orientation. Stiner’s parents visited Washington teen. Some major retailers have stopped selling it supplement and is unregulated, unlike caffeine sage that they just ought to stop selling it,” Taylor earlier this month to lobby for more regulatory in bulk, but the substance is still widely available added to soda. Since the FDA doesn’t have the said. The agency will “pursue all legal options” oversight. “Before May 27, 2014, we had never on the Internet and in some stores. Even a tea- legal authority to just pull such a substance off against those who don’t, he said. He did not give heard of ‘caffeine powder.’ Now we think about it spoon of the powder can be lethal - it is equiva- the shelves, the agency is in process of building a a timeline for legal action. every day,” Dennis and Katie Stiner said in a meet- lent to 25 cups of coffee. Some teenagers and legal case against those who are marketing it in The FDA has said that people may not realize ing with lawmakers. — AP WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 HEALTH & SCIENCE Dutch court seals ‘horror dentist’ extradition to France

THE HAGUE: A Dutch court yesterday con- where he was arrested under a Paris-issued firmed the extradition of a rogue Dutch international warrant. The Hague district dentist to stand trial in France on suspicion court said in a statement that Van Nierop’s of mutilating dozens of patients. Dubbed challenge to his extradition had been the “horror dentist” by the media, Mark van rejected and ordered him to pay costs. Nierop was detained in Canada in October Van Nierop, 50, filed the request after an and flown back to his native Netherlands Amsterdam court last month ruled he could be sent to France to face charges including aggravated assault and fraud. Many of Van Nierop’s 2,800 patients suf- fered disorders ranging from sepsis to bro- ken jaws, according to a French victims’ group. Dutch media also reported healthy teeth being pulled for no reason and abu- sive billing. The former dentist however challenged the extradition, saying he suf- fered from “psychological problems” includ- ing gender identity issues and had suicidal tendencies which could only be treated in the Netherlands. A French judge meanwhile has given the assurance that Van Nierop would receive similar treatment as in the Netherlands. Dutch prosecutors are also probing his claim that he killed his second wife in 2006, two years before he was per- NETHERLANDS: A file photo taken on suaded by an investor to move to the October 24, 2014 shows a court sketch of remote rural area of Chateau-Chinon in Mark van Nierop, a Dutch dentist sus- central France, described as a “medical pected of mutilating patients, in a court desert” because of a lack of medical profes- in Amsterdam. — AFP sionals. — AFP INDIA: In this photograph taken on July 11, 2014, an Indian health official immunises newly born babies inside the maternity ward of a govern- ment hospital in Agartala, the capital of northeastern state of Tripura. — AFP photos Do heart patients fare better when doctors away? India’s birth rate shrinks

CHICAGO: Doctors joke that if you’re going hospital at the University of California, San NEW DELHI: India’s birth rate declined dramati- growth. “The new data shows India does not Chhattisgarh. “We have to give the women a to have a heart attack, the safest place Francisco. She usually attends the national cally in the last two decades due in part to ris- need to panic,” said Poonam Muttreja, director basket of choices. Investing in informed family would be at a big national gathering of American College of Cardiology and ing female literacy, a new study shows, but of the Population Foundation of India, a non- planning choices prevents maternal and child heart specialists. But a new study suggests American Heart Association meetings, but experts warned against complacency in the profit advocacy and research group. “Even the mortality,” said Muttreja. some older hospitalized heart patients may said she does not think her absences have country of 1.2 billion. The Total Fertility Rate- poorest and most marginalized women want “Also, population stabilization and demo- fare better when these doctors aren’t affected patient outcomes. the number of children the average woman will no more than two children, thanks to the coun- graphic dividend can only happen when our around. “I’m from a big academic institution so have in her lifetime based on current trends-fell try’s focus on family planning in recent years.” youngsters are educated and trained for Survival chances were better for cardiac there’s always coverage while I’m gone,” to just 2.3 last year from 3.6 in 1991, according While the national government officially aban- employment.” arrest patients and for the sickest heart fail- Redberg said. The authors analyzed 30-day to official figures released on Monday. doned targets for family planning in 1996, local The demographic dividend refers to the ure patients if they were treated at teach- death rates for Medicare patients hospital- Improvements in female literacy were having “a authorities still offer cash incentives to women advantage that India has over an ageing ing hospitals during the two biggest ized during the annual meetings in the direct impact on fertility”, said the report, called who undergo sterilization. Western world, with nearly 50 percent of its pop- national cardiology meetings, compared spring and fall, which typically draw thou- the Sample Registration Survey. Rights groups say this amounts to coercion. ulation under the age of 24. “We must continue with those treated during weeks before sands of doctors. Data included nearly India, which is set to become the world’s The problem was highlighted last month when our focus on family planning, spacing methods and after the meetings. Also, some of the 3,000 patients at teaching hospitals during most populated country in the next decade, 13 women died after a government-run mass and postponing the age of marriage. We cannot sickest heart attack patients got fewer inva- meeting days from 2002 through 2011. The has been trying for decades to curb population sterilization program in the central state of afford to give up,” Muttreja said. — AFP sive procedures during meeting days, ver- comparison group was about 18,000 sus those treated at other times - but that patients hospitalized on the same days dur- didn’t hurt their odds of surviving, the ing the three weeks before and three nine-year study found. weeks after the meetings. Torture leaves long-term The findings were only at teaching hos- The 30-day death rates for meeting-day pitals, typically affiliated with medical versus non-meeting days patients were: 60 schools and involved in doctor training and percent versus 70 percent for cardiac sometimes research; these are the work- arrests. 18 percent versus 25 percent for the psychological scars places for many doctors who attend major sickest heart failure patients. No difference medical meetings. No differences were for the sickest heart attack patients: about seen in death rates at non-teaching hospi- 39 percent for both groups. WASHINGTON: At times, waterboarding ren- from around the world. He ticked off a list: post- avoid. Then they were put in a divided box tals. The evidence is only circumstantial and Among the heart attack patients, the dered al-Qaida terror suspect Abu Zubaydah traumatic stress disorder, other anxiety disor- where they could escape more zaps by jumping the study lacks information on whether the meeting-days group had fewer heart stent hysterical. But later, a message to CIA headquar- ders, depression, enduring personality changes. to the other side, but they didn’t try. They’d been patients’ own doctors actually attended the procedures to open blocked arteries. The ters described an interrogator merely lifting his What happens in the brain? Clues come from conditioned to accept their fate. Fast forward a meetings. “The solution is not to get the researchers found no difference in rates for eyebrow and snapping his fingers, leading studies of things like memory formation and few decades. The Senate report on the CIA’s cardiologists to have meetings every week,” a few invasive procedures for cardiac arrest Zubaydah to “slowly (walk) on his own to the stress? Not torture? In animals. For example, interrogation of suspected terrorists called that said Dr. Anupam Jena, a Harvard Medical and high-risk heart failure patients, but said water table” to lie down. The Senate torture repeated moderately stressful experiences, such research a model for two contract psychologists School economist and internist and the there may have been differences in other report released earlier this month describes how as restraining a rat’s movements over a period of who helped design the program. study’s lead author. Identifying specific treatments not included in the study that the CIA’s harsh interrogation program sought to time, can physically alter structures that control Physical torture can affect the brain, too. But treatments that were given or not given might explain the results. make detainees passive and powerless to resist, fear and anxiety, said neuroscientist Bruce by itself, “psychological torture undermines the during meeting times would be a better Dr. Patrick O’Gara, president of the using techniques from sleep deprivation to McEwen of Rockefeller University. very ability to think, and it doesn’t leave any solution that might lead to better out- American College of Cardiology, said the stress positions to waterboarding to induce a marks,” said psychologist Steven Reisner, a co- comes, Jena said. study’s observational design makes it state that psychologists call “learned helpless- Divided box founder of the Council for Ethical Psychology, It might be that doctors who don’t impossible to know if the national meet- ness.” “Compliant” was the interrogators’ descrip- While some changes are reversible, “the brain who has criticized health providers’ involvement attend the meetings are less inclined to try ings had any effect on patients’ survival. He tion of Zubaydah. is never the same as it was before,” said McEwen, in the interrogations. Even a few days of sleep the most invasive treatments, and that a also noted that the number of heart doc- Whatever it’s labeled, specialists say the brain who studies the effects of chronic stress. In fact, deprivation fog the mind, he noted, while senso- less intensive approach is better for the tors who attend the national meetings is a clearly can become conditioned by extreme fear enough stress and trauma can damage memory ry deprivation can lead to hallucinations and sickest patients, Jena said. The study was fraction of the nearly 30,000 cardiologists and stress, notwithstanding CIA assertions that systems, he added. Reflecting on news accounts other symptoms of psychosis. published online Monday in JAMA Internal nationwide. what was done would not cause any permanent of the torture, he said “it’s sort of counterproduc- Humiliation adds powerfully to the sense of Medicine. The research is provocative and The American Heart Association mental or physical harm. In that Senate report tive” when trying to get people to remember being out of control. Stress positions, such as might help doctors figure out how to lower echoed those comments in a statement are “dramatic examples that clearly indicate that things. shackling hands over the head, mean a shift can patients’ death rates throughout the year, and said the group does not recommend people are going to be damaged psychological- The concept of learned helplessness bring pain or punishment, until “the mind said Dr. Rita Redberg, the journal’s editor. any changes in treatment based on the ly for a very long time,” said Dr Vincent Iacopino, stemmed from experiments in the late 1960s begins to turn against itself, blaming itself for Redberg is a cardiologist at a teaching study. — AP an adviser to the nonprofit Physicians for Human that influenced depression research: Dogs were not following the exact order of the torturer,” Rights who has long treated survivors of torture given mild jolts of electricity that they couldn’t Reisner said. — AP WHAT’S ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014

Sargsyan opens exhibition in Kuwait

he National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) inaugurated Monday an art exhibition for TArmenian painter Maro Sargsyan at the Art Hall in Abdullah Al-Salem. The displayed collection comprises of 35 paintings showing the peculiar features of Armenian formative art. “The exhibition is organized by the NCCAL in coopera- tion with the Armenian Embassy in Kuwait in implementa- tion of the cultural cooperation agreement signed between the two friendly countries,” Assistant Secretary General of NCCAL Mohammad Al-Asousi said. “The art events are one of the most effective means to strengthen people-to-people relations.” This is the third formative art exhibition hosted by NCCAL in cooperation with the Armenian Embassy and the first of Sargsyan, he said, noting that a workshop would be organized to bring together Sargsyan with Kuwait counter- parts and lovers of formative arts in Kuwait. —KUNA

Greetings Lulu opens its 111th Hypermarket in Qatar ulu Group, which operates Lulu is that it has an exclusive store-in-store for other specialty food imported from around under one roof. Lulu’s winning formula of Hypermarkets in the Middle East has all ‘free from worry’ food range, which the world. value for money quality shopping will be a Lopened its 111th Hypermarket and includes an extensive import line of Gluten- In addition, and in true tradition of Lulu matter of delight for the residents of Barwa APPY 1ST B’DAY 6th in Qatar, further boosting its retail pres- free, Lactose free, Dairy free, Yeast free, stores across the Gulf, the hypermarket will who will cherish the pleasurable shopping TO HANNAH ence in the country. experience and the economy it offers. HELSA JOBIN The latest hypermarket from Lulu was “We are very clear in our approach to TODAY. inaugurated by royal family member expansion and I am very confident about Sheikh Hassan bin Khaled Al Thani in the the economic situation of the State of presence of PiroonLaismit, Ambassador of Qatar and have full trust in the visions of Thailand to Qatar, TarikSadovic, High Highness Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Ambassador of Bosnia, Nguyen Hoang, Althani and we are fully committed to con- Ambassador of Vietnam, diplomats, Dr R tinue our forward march,” said Yusuff Ali MA Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank, Yusuff Ali after the inauguration. Two more new Maha Quizzer Middle MA, Managing Director of Lulu Group, hypermarkets are in the pipeline and are Saifee T Rupawala, CEO, Ashraf Ali MA, M M expected to be operational by mid of 2015” East - Kuwait Althaf, Lulu Director of Qatar region. he added. Prominent businessmen, government The Lulu Group is also making its first ITCAA-Kuwait announces the third edition of Maha and municipality officials and other digni- retail push into the Far East, with new Quizzer ME - Kuwait, extension of Maha Quizzer, the taries were also present on the occasion. A hypermarkets in Malaysia and Indonesia, Nannual solo quiz conducted by Karnataka Quiz large number of local and expat crowd also and entailing planned investments of $500 Association (KQA) simultaneously across several Indian witnessed the opening event. The hyper- million. First Lulu Hypermarket in Malaysia cities. This is a solo open general written quiz contest for market is expected to become the shop- is expected to be opened by the third quar- participants, irrespective of age, nationality or affiliation. ping destination of choice for residents in ter of 2015. The quiz is on January 30, 2015, from 2pm to 3.30pm with and around the region. Malaysia’s Federal Land Development test centers in Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS), The 200,000 square feet hypermarket Authority (FELDA), the world’s most suc- Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School (DPS), Ahmadi will showcase a fresh food section compris- Wheat free, Vegan, Organic, Fat free, nut feature the widest choice of world class cessful land development and re-settle- and United Indian School (UIS), J’leeb Shuyoukh. Special ing fruit, vegetables, dairy products; meat, free, soy free, salt free, GM free, egg free, brands at the fairest prices and also offers a ment agency have partnered with the Lulu prizes for ladies and students. For further details & free fish and hot and cold ready-to eat food. A free range, no sugar, no additives, no whole world of shopping with a good Group for the establishment of Lulu online registration log on to major highlight of the newly opened store preservatives, no hydrogenated fat and selection of brands and product lines Hypermarkets in Malaysia. http://nitcaakuwait.org/wp/?page_id=1021. Registration open from 21 Dec 2014 to 23 January 2015. Christmas celebration

arthoma Syrian church of Malabar India, global trustee Advocate Prakash P.Thomas honored by MSalmiya Residents Association. Adv Prakash is based in the headquarters of the church in Thiruvalla. He is currently on a visit to participate the Christmas celebra- tions in the affiliated parishes in Kuwait. There are around 6 Mar Thoma churches in Kuwait. The honoring program was presided over by Salmia parish priest Rev.Sunil Joy, Jacob Channapetta a former Diocesan council member welcomed the audience. Former Sabha council members Rajan Daniel, Lalu Thomas, Roy Varghese, and Mandalam member CM Philip, Prasad Abraham Varghese, Adv. Georgy, Mathew Eapen, Jacob Chandy and Parimanam Manoj spoke at the felicitation meeting. Adv.Prakash is a lawyer by profession and he is also the president of national forum for peoples right (NFPR) which is affiliated to world human rights organization. He has been bestowed several state awards including the presti- gious Rajiv Gandhi award.

What’s On - Submission Guidelines

All photos submitted for What’s On should be minimum 200dpi. Articles must be in plain text and should include name and phone numbers. Articles and photos that fail to meet these requirements will not be published. Please send them to [email protected] he Indian Women Association hosted a festival for children at the Kuwait Society for the Handicapped (KSH) recently, attended by Sheikh Amina Al- TSabah and other KSH officials. WHAT’S ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014

Nada M Al-Kharashi, AUK Sophomore Professor William Andersen with the Student participants Al-Radhi UN-Habitat’s Programme GDES Student, with her armor made from Communication and Advocacy Associate soda cans

AUK Engineering Student Hesah Al-Jenfawi Dr Detlef Hummes explaining the project GDES Student Aya Kandil (From left) Aya Kandil; Moustafa El Khashab; Dr Detle Hummes; and Hesah Al- with Dr Detlef Hummes, Assistant to Jorik Kuipers from Embassy of the Jenfawi Professor of Electrical Engineering Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kuwait AUK Participates in UN World Habitat Day

he American University of Kuwait partici- “It was very impressive, that even in an oil which will make a difference in my portfolio. to reuse and recycle old items and materials since. Each year a theme is assigned to mark the pated in the UN World Cities Day, held producing country can utilize the use of alter- This experience also allowed me to observe and into new and more valuable items that have a day, and in 2014, the theme was Leading Urban Tduring November on the premises of the native resources which is more economic in the understand the public perception about both, positive effect on our quality of life,” highlighted Transformation. The event was organized by Yarmouk Eco-Friendly Park. World Cities Day is long-term,” stated Dr Hummes. the event and the projects. I hope to see AUK’s El Khashab. the United Nations Human Settlements an initiative created by UN-Habitat an agency Students from the Department of Graphic presence there every year,” said, Aya Kandil. Al-Radhi UN-Habitat’s Programme Program-Habitat and sponsored by Ooreedoo under the United Nations that encourages Design showed their support of this initiative Moustafa El Khashab, a recent graduate in Communication and Advocacy Associate, end- Kuwait, and the Kuwait Capital Governorate. cities and towns to evaluate themselves and by setting a variety of display’s composed Graphic Design, created a car and a motorcycle ed by saying, “Part of UN-Habitat’s pillars is to The Yarmouk Eco-Friendly Park is located in what they have to offer their communities. The entirely of artwork created by using recycled made from discarded household and hardware include involving communities into civic Block 2 in Al-Yarmouk residential area, and it is AUK delegation was led by Professor William and reused materials to help convey the mes- items to promote and reuse recycling aware- engagement initiatives to allow residents to entirely furnished by using recycled and repur- Andersen from the Department of Art and sage behind the initiative during the two day ness since this experience strengthened his give back and have a say, to how they continu- posed items. Graphic Design and Dr Detlef Hummes of the celebration. The showcased artwork had been belief that items and materials are not being ously would like to up-lift their stable commu- The American University of Kuwait (AUK) is Department of Computer Engineering. created in the Art courses taught by Professor used to their full potential and can be repur- nities towards sustainable urban develop- an independent, private, equal opportunity, Hesah Al-Jenfawi an AUK students from the Andersen and Dr George Bauer. posed instead of discarded. ments.” She concluded that this celebration and co-educational liberal arts institution of department of Computer Engineering at AUK Aya Kandil, a junior Graphic Design student, “Man has always consumed what’s around aims to educate communities around Kuwait of higher education. The educational, cultural and showcased a poster about urban e-mobility was one of those who lent their talents to the him leaving behind a trail of used materials and how they can empower their districts to plan administrative structure, methods and stan- and how the method can be applied in the cause. She designed the posters for the exhibi- items. This world was created in a way where for future change that are adaptable for resi- dards of AUK are based on the American model computer engineering context. It presented the tion and assisted the students in displaying nothing goes to waste and everything is always dents of their communities. of higher learning. The language of instruction conclusion of all term papers that were created their works. recycled into a new form of greater value. In The World Habitat Day was established in is English. More information on the American during Dr Hummes’ spring course, “I had a good chance to present and pro- order for the future generations not to drown in 1985 and has been celebrated annually, at dif- University of Kuwait can be found at ‘Environmental Aspects of Energy.’ duce a poster for such an important event waste created in the past we should take action ferent scales, across the globe each October www.auk.edu.kw AUK holds faculty recognition evening

he American University of Kuwait (AUK) organized its annual Faculty Recognition Evening to celebrate the Tscholarly contributions made by its faculty members. The event took place at the Marina Hotel Six Palms restau- rant and was attended by AUK board member, Samer Khanachet, the Group Chief Operating Officer of KIPCO Holding and AUK board member, and former Board mem- ber, Dr Jawad Behbehani, the Dean of the College of Dentistry at Kuwait University. AUK President, Professor Dr Nizar Hamzeh welcomed the faculty members and guests to the Recognition Evening that was prepared in their honor. During his open- ing remarks, Dr Hamzeh said “AUK continues to provide conference funding and research grants in support of fac- ulty professional development”. He added, “our research and scholarship productivity has increased by 30% from that of last year. Dr Hamzeh attributed the significant increase in scholarly works to faculty members who have made significant contributions throughout the last year. This year, AUK recognized 62 faculty members whose research and creative work produced 4 books,7 book chapters, 45 journal articles, 4 book reviews, 90 conference papers, and 28 exhibitions/designs/ performances. AUK also recognized faculty members who received external grants and fellowships. Al Mulla International Exchange hosts ‘MUMMY TU AAVI KEVI’

n line with its ongoing efforts to connect with its cus- with over 1400 guests attendance. tive of money remittance. The Indian community constitutes a The real fun begins after the forced transition. The play is one tomers, Al Mulla International Exchange, the leading mon- On behalf of Al Mulla International Exchange, Rakesh Joshi, major expatriate population and we always contemplate to of the master pieces of the writer Dhiruben Patel and directed Iey remittance company in Kuwait, hosted MUMMY TU General Manager expressed his happiness for seeing an have something exclusive for them.” by Manoj Shah. Joshi concluded: “We continuously strive to AAVI KEVI Gujarati play for its Indian community customers, amazing crowd during the play, explaining: “This is our own MUMMY TU AAVI KEVI is a play set in a typical Gujarati fam- provide the highest quality of customer service as well as a full making it the 90th and 91st events for its customers. The way of thanking thousands of our customers in Kuwait, this ily, which showcases the ‘transformation’ of a conservative range of value-added services to facilitate our customers’ lives. event was organized for two days, the first that was held on concert is part of the ‘Customer Loyalty Program’ which start- Gujju Mother into a Hip, Modern Mom. It is story set in an Additionally we assure connecting with them in a more social the 11th of December, 2014 at Cambridge High School, ed about two years ago. We already held 91 shows or events urban environment, wherein the children, after facing embar- and artistic way that takes our relationship beyond the busi- Mangaf with over 500 guests attendance, and the second play for different communities. Today we consider our Indian cus- rassing situations due to their traditional mother, compel her ness aspect, these concerts are held completely free to our on the 13th of December, 2014 at Safir International Hotel tomers one of our core business segments from the perspec- to go in for a makeover, turning her into a ‘21st Century Mom’. customers as a measure of gratitude for their loyalty.” WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 TV PROGRAMS

12:50 Siba’s Table 08:00 Growing Up Fisher 12:00 Daylight-PG15 20:00 The Worricker: Turks & 13:15 Jenny Morris Cooks 08:30 Better Off Ted 14:00 Stolen-PG15 Caicos-PG15 Morocco 09:00 Raising Hope 16:00 Red Dawn-PG15 22:00 Immortals-PG15 13:40 Mystery Diners 09:30 Dads 17:45 Jack Reacher-PG15 14:05 Guy’s Grocery Games 10:00 Baby Daddy 20:00 Walking Tall-PG15 00:20 Gold Rush 14:55 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 10:30 My Name Is Earl 22:00 Legendary Amazons-PG15 01:10 Alaskan Bush People 15:20 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 03:00 Top 14 Highlights 02:00 Fast N’ Loud 15:45 Amazing Wedding Cakes Jimmy Fallon 03:30 Challenge Series Golf 02:50 Storage Hunters 16:35 Chopped 12:00 Til Death Highlights 03:15 Container Wars 17:25 Jenny Morris Cooks 12:30 Growing Up Fisher 04:00 Afrasia Golf Masters 03:40 Garage Gold Morocco 13:00 Better Off Ted 00:00 Ass Backwards-18 05:00 Top 14 04:05 How It’s Made 17:50 Guy’s Big Bite 13:30 My Name Is Earl 02:00 The Guilt Trip-PG15 07:00 Afrasia Golf Masters 04:30 How It’s Made 18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 14:00 The Goldbergs 04:00 Girl In Progress-PG15 08:00 PDC World Darts 05:00 Treehouse Masters 18:40 Siba’s Table 14:30 Dads 06:00 Wild Hogs-PG15 Championship 06:00 Wheeler Dealers 19:05 Grandma’s Secret 15:00 Baby Daddy 08:00 Parental Guidance-PG 13:00 Top 14 Highlights 06:50 Robson Green’s Extreme Cookbook 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 10:00 Wild Hogs-PG15 13:30 F1 H20 World Cup Highlights Fishing Challenge 19:30 Mystery Diners Stewart 12:00 Girl In Progress-PG15 14:00 Afrasia Golf Masters 07:40 Fast N’ Loud 19:55 Burger Land 16:00 The Colbert Report 14:00 Bean-PG15 15:00 Top 14 Highlights 08:30 Storage Hunters 20:20 Guy’s Grocery Games 16:30 Til Death 16:00 Parental Guidance-PG 15:30 Ryder Cup Official Film 08:55 Container Wars 21:10 Amazing Wedding Cakes 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 18:00 Timer-PG15 17:00 Challenge Series Golf 09:20 Garage Gold 22:00 Reza’s African Kitchen 18:00 Raising Hope 20:00 Hope Springs-PG15 Highlights 09:45 How It’s Made 22:25 Reza’s African Kitchen 18:30 About A Boy 22:00 The Details-18 18:30 Afrasia Golf Masters 10:10 How It’s Made 22:50 Ching’s Restaurant 19:00 The Simpsons 19:00 NFL 10:35 Gold Rush Redemption 19:30 Baby Daddy 21:30 Futbol Mundial 11:25 Gold Rush 23:15 Ching’s Restaurant 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring 22:00 Live PDC World Darts 12:15 Alaskan Bush People Redemption Jimmy Fallon Championship 13:05 Storage Hunters 23:40 Burger Land 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon 13:30 Container Wars Stewart 01:00 Red Lights-PG15 13:55 Garage Gold 21:30 The Colbert Report 03:00 The English Teacher-PG15 14:20 Robson Green’s Extreme 22:00 Eastbound & Down 05:00 The Last Harbor-PG15 Fishing Challenge 22:30 Ja’mie: Private School Girl 07:00 Trespass-PG15 01:30 Top 14 Highlights 15:10 Wheeler Dealers 23:00 Mixology 09:00 Inescapable-PG15 02:00 Ryder Cup Official Film 16:00 Fast N’ Loud 10:45 The Last Harbor-PG15 03:30 WWE This Week 16:50 How It’s Made 12:30 Amour-PG15 04:00 Live WWE Raw 17:15 How It’s Made 00:40 The Hungry Sailors 07:30 Pool Mosconi Cup 01:30 Holiday: Heaven On Earth 14:45 The Next Three Days-PG15 17:40 Treehouse Masters 17:00 Inescapable-PG15 11:30 F1 H20 Powerboat World 18:30 Deadly Islands 02:00 Emmerdale 00:00 Rake 18:45 Jobs-PG15 Champs Highlights 19:20 Manhunt 02:55 Coronation Street 01:00 Outlander 21:00 Seeking A Friend For The 12:00 World Aquabike 20:10 Container Wars 03:25 Cilla 03:00 Supernatural End Of The World-PG15 Championship Highlights 20:35 Garage Gold 04:20 Paul O’grady For The Love 04:00 Revenge 22:45 The Frozen Ground-18 13:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 21:00 Get Out Alive With Bear Of Dogs 05:00 Once Upon A Time 14:00 V8 Supercars Highlights Grylls 05:15 Four Weddings UK 06:00 Rake 15:00 WWE Raw 21:50 Deadly Islands 06:10 The Chase 08:00 Bones 18:00 NHL 22:40 Manhunt 07:05 Holiday: Heaven On Earth 09:00 Once Upon A Time 20:00 WWE Raw 23:30 Get Out Alive With Bear 07:30 Cilla 11:00 Revenge 01:15 The Doors: When You’re 23:00 F1 H20 Powerboat World Grylls 08:25 Paul O’grady For The Love Champs Highlights Of Dogs 12:00 Emmerdale Strange-18 12:30 Coronation Street 03:00 Texas Killing Fields-PG15 23:30 World Aquabike 09:20 Tricked Championship Highlights 10:15 Four Weddings UK 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 05:00 Bully-PG15 11:10 Emmerdale 14:00 Bones 07:00 Robot & Frank-PG15 12:00 Coronation Street 15:00 Rake 09:00 Not Without My Daughter 12:30 The Hungry Sailors 16:00 Emmerdale 11:00 Reviving Ophelia-PG15 00:00 Giuliana & Bill 13:25 The Chase 16:30 Coronation Street 12:45 Mud-PG15 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 00:55 The Soup 14:20 Holiday: Heaven On Earth 15:00 Blancanieves-PG15 00:30 Big Bash League T20 01:25 Keeping Up With The 14:45 Four Weddings UK 18:00 Bones 17:00 Not Without My Daughter- 19:00 Switched At Birth Highlights Kardashians 15:35 Big Star’s Little Star PG15 01:30 ICC Cricket 360 02:20 E! News 16:30 Murdoch Mysteries 20:00 State Of Affairs 19:00 Dangerous Minds-PG15 23:00 Supernatural 02:00 Bangladesh v Zimbabwe 03:15 Escape Club 17:25 Murdoch Mysteries 21:00 The Perks Of Being A ODI Highlights 04:10 E!ES 18:20 The Jonathan Ross Show Wallflower-PG15 03:00 Bangladesh v Zimbabwe 05:05 THS 19:10 Coronation Street 23:00 Being Flynn-18 ODI Highlights 06:00 Keeping Up With The 19:35 Big Star’s Little Star 04:00 Bangladesh v Zimbabwe Kardashians 20:30 Murdoch Mysteries ODI Highlights 06:55 Keeping Up With The 21:25 Murdoch Mysteries 05:00 Bangladesh v Zimbabwe Kardashians 22:20 Coronation Street ODI Highlights 07:50 Style Star 22:50 Emmerdale 00:00 Witches Of East End 01:00 World War Z-PG15 06:00 Bangladesh v Zimbabwe 08:20 E! News 23:45 Four Weddings UK 01:00 Good Morning America 03:00 Standing Ovation-PG15 ODI Highlights 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 03:00 Grimm 05:00 In A World...-PG15 07:00 ICC Cricket 360 10:15 Giuliana & Bill 04:00 The Knick 07:00 There Be Dragons-PG15 07:30 LG ICC Awards 2014 11:10 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 05:00 Good Morning America 09:00 R.I.P.D.-PG15 08:30 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales 11:35 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 07:00 Emmerdale 10:45 Captain Phillips-PG15 09:00 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales Being Flynn ON OSN MOVIES FESTIVAL 12:05 E! News 07:30 Coronation Street 13:00 No Clue-PG15 09:30 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 00:00 Predator CSI 08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 14:45 Almost Christmas-PG15 10:00 Big Bash League T20 03:00 The Listener 19:55 Mr. Skeffington-FAM 04:30 Say Yes To The Dress 01:00 Engineering Connections 13:35 The E! True Hollywood 09:00 24 16:45 R.I.P.D.-PG15 Highlights 04:00 The Listener 22:00 The Last Run 05:00 Toddlers & Tiaras 02:00 Situation Critical 18:45 The Butler-PG15 Story 10:00 Emmerdale 11:00 Live Big Bash League T20 05:00 According To Jim 23:35 The Big Sleep-PG 06:00 Something Borrowed, 14:30 Style Star 03:00 Battleground Brothers 10:30 Coronation Street 21:00 A Family Reunion-PG15 14:30 ICC Cricket 360 05:30 Melissa & Joey Something New 15:00 Keeping Up With The 04:00 Ancient Megastructures 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 23:00 The East-18 15:00 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales 05:55 Melissa & Joey Kardashians 05:00 Britain’s Greatest Machines 12:00 Castle 15:30 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales 06:30 Dirt 06:25 Your Style In His Hands 16:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On 06:00 Britain’s Underworld 13:00 Witches Of East End 16:00 Big Bash League T20 07:30 The Walking Dead 07:15 Driving Me Crazy 22:00 E! News 07:00 Tigers Of The Snow 14:00 24 Highlights 08:30 Castle 08:05 Cake Boss 08:00 Predator CSI 00:00 Pawn Stars 23:00 Kourtney And Khloe Take 15:00 Live Good Morning America 17:00 Big Bash League T20 09:30 According To Jim 08:30 Cake Boss 09:00 Engineering Connections 01:00 Tony Hawk: Boom Boom 00:30 Pawn Stars The Hamptons 17:00 Castle 20:30 ICC Cricket 360 10:00 Grey’s Anatomy 01:00 Pawn Stars 08:55 Ultimate Shopper 10:00 Situation Critical 18:00 Witches Of East End Sabotage 21:00 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales 11:00 According To Jim 11:00 Megacities 02:45 A Cat In Paris 01:30 Pawn Stars 09:45 Cake Boss 19:00 24 21:30 ICC Cricket World Cup Tales 11:30 The Listener 02:00 Christmas Specials 12:00 Knights Of Mayhem 20:00 Burn Notice 04:15 Planet 51 22:00 Big Bash League T20 12:30 The Listener 10:10 17 Kids And Counting 13:00 Family Guns 06:00 Patoruzito 03:00 Pawn Stars 21:00 Franklin & Bash Highlights 13:30 According To Jim 04:00 Pawn Stars 10:35 Little People, Big World 14:00 Wild Untamed Brazil 22:00 Grimm 08:00 Twigson 23:00 ICC Cricket 360 14:00 Melissa & Joey 11:00 Toddlers & Tiaras 15:00 The Known Universe 10:00 Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A 04:30 Pawn Stars 23:00 The Knick 23:30 LG ICC Awards 2014 14:30 Melissa & Joey 05:00 Pawn Stars 11:50 Say Yes To The Dress 00:05 Chopped 16:00 Chasing UFOs Who 15:00 Dirt 00:55 Amazing Wedding Cakes 17:00 Salvage Code Red 11:30 Barbie As Rapunzel 05:30 Pawn Stars 12:15 Say Yes To The Dress 16:00 The Walking Dead 06:00 Pawn Stars 12:40 Your Style In His Hands 01:45 Guy’s Big Bite 18:00 Master Of Disaster 13:00 A Cat In Paris 17:00 Grey’s Anatomy 02:10 Guy’s Big Bite 19:00 The Known Universe 14:15 Back To The Sea 07:00 Christmas Specials 13:30 Oprah: Where Are They 18:00 Army Wives 08:00 American Restoration 02:35 Jenny Morris Cooks The 20:00 Access 360 World Heritage 00:00 Daylight 16:00 Scooby-Doo! Adventures: Now? 02:00 Deja Vu 19:00 MasterChef Australia 08:30 American Restoration Riviera 21:00 Salvage Code Red The Mystery Map! 00:45 Miracle 20:00 Switched At Birth 14:20 Oprah Presents: Master 03:00 Jenny Morris Cooks The 22:00 Master Of Disaster 04:15 Maximum Conviction 18:00 Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A 03:00 Owning Mahowny-U 09:00 American Restoration 06:00 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & 21:00 According To Jim 09:30 American Restoration Class Riviera 23:00 Megacities Who 04:45 Death At A Funeral 21:25 According To Jim 03:25 Charly’s Cake Angels Wolverine 20:00 Imaginum 06:30 Fun With Dick And Jane 10:00 American Restoration 15:10 Something Borrowed, 08:00 Stolen 22:00 Detroit 1-8-7 10:30 American Restoration Something New 03:50 Amazing Wedding Cakes 21:45 Back To The Sea 08:00 Barricade-U 23:00 The Walking Dead 04:40 All You Can Meat 10:00 Red Dawn 23:30 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse 09:30 Con Air 21:00 American Restoration 15:35 Cake Boss 05:05 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 12:00 Maximum Conviction Of The Were-Rabbit 11:30 Crimson Tide 21:30 American Restoration 22:00 American Restoration 16:00 Driving Me Crazy 05:30 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 14:00 Daylight 13:30 The Haunted Mansion 16:50 17 Kids And Counting 05:50 Siba’s Table 16:00 Stolen 15:00 The Nightmare Before 23:00 American Restoration 00:00 Mystery Girls 17:15 Little People, Big World 06:10 Sweet Genius 18:00 Red Dawn Christmas-PG 23:30 Christmas Specials 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 17:40 Toddlers & Tiaras 07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin Stewart 19:45 Jack Reacher 16:15 The Odd Life Of Timothy 01:25 The Wrath Of God-18 18:30 Something Borrowed, 07:25 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 01:00 The Colbert Report 22:00 Walking Tall Green-U 03:15 Northern Pursuit-PG 07:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:15 Stranded In Paradise-PG15 18:00 Shanghai Knights 04:50 Tribute To A Bad Man-PG Something New 01:30 Saturday Night Live 02:00 Death Clique-PG15 08:15 Chopped 20:00 The Insider 07:00 Spinout-FAM 18:55 Say Yes To The Dress 02:30 Mixology 04:00 The Sapphires-PG15 09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back 03:00 Raising Hope 22:30 Pearl Harbor 08:35 Seven Brides For Seven 19:20 Say Yes To The Dress To Basics 06:00 Absolute Fear-PG15 Brothers-FAM 03:30 The Goldbergs 08:00 Run For Your Wife-PG15 19:45 Ultimate Shopper 09:30 Chopped Canada 04:00 Growing Up Fisher 10:15 The Merry Widow-FAM 00:00 Deja Vu-PG15 10:00 The Music Never Stopped- 00:45 The Face UK 20:35 Cake Boss 10:20 Recipes That Rock 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 12:00 Challenge To Lassie-FAM 02:15 Maximum Conviction-PG15 PG15 21:00 Medical Anomalies 10:45 All You Can Meat Jimmy Fallon 13:15 Texas Carnival-FAM 01:35 Return To Amish 11:10 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 04:00 Marvel’s Hulk vs. Thor & 11:45 Life Of Pi-PG 21:50 Too Ugly For Love 05:30 Better Off Ted 00:00 According To Jim 14:35 Seven Women-PG 02:25 I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant 11:35 Grandma’s Secret Wolverine-PG 14:00 Marvel’s Ultimate Avengers 06:00 Til Death 00:30 Castle 16:00 Casablanca-FAM 02:50 Body Bizarre 22:40 Long Island Medium Cookbook 06:00 Stolen-PG15 II-PG 06:30 My Name Is Earl 01:30 Grey’s Anatomy 17:45 The Unsinkable Molly Brown- 03:40 Long Island Medium 23:05 Body Bizarre 12:00 Chopped 08:00 Red Dawn-PG15 16:00 Run For Your Wife-PG15 FAM 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 10:00 Maximum Conviction-PG15 18:00 Skyline-PG15 02:30 According To Jim 04:05 Say Yes To The Dress 23:55 Hoarding: Buried Alive

WORLD WAR Z ON OSN MOVIES HD Classifieds

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (18/12/2014 TO 24/12/2014)

SHARQIA-1 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 2:15 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES -3D 5:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 12:00 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 4:15 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 8:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 3:00 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 6:15 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 11:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 6:00 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 8:15 PM P.K -HINDI 12:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 9:00 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 10:30 PM P.K -HINDI 3:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 12:05 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:45 AM P.K -HINDI 6:30 PM P.K -HINDI 9:30 PM SHARQIA-2 FANAR-3 P.K -HINDI 12:30 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:15 PM DECOR (Arabic) 11:30 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 2:15 PM DECOR (Arabic) 2:00 PM 360º- 1 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 4:30 PM DECOR (Arabic) 4:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES -3D 11:30 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 6:30 PM DECOR (Arabic) 7:00 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 2:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 8:30 PM DECOR (Arabic) 9:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES -3D 5:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 10:30 PM DECOR (Arabic) 12:05 AM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 8:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:30 AM P.K -HINDI 8:30 PM MARINA-1 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 11:30 PM SHARQIA-3 HOME 11:45 AM HOME 12:30 PM HOME 1:45 PM 360º- 2 HOME 2:30 PM HOME 3:30 PM THE GOOD LIE 1:30 PM DECOR (Arabic) 4:15 PM DECOR (Arabic) 5:15 PM THE GOOD LIE 4:00 PM P.K -HINDI 6:45 PM DECOR (Arabic) 7:45 PM THE GOOD LIE 6:30 PM DECOR (Arabic) 6:45 PM DECOR (Arabic) 10:15 PM THE GOOD LIE 9:00 PM DECOR (Arabic) 9:45 PM HOME 12:45 AM THE GOOD LIE 11:45 PM HOME 12:15 AM MARINA-2 360º- 3 MUHALAB-1 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:00 PM MONTANA 1:15 PM HOME 11:45 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 2:00 PM MONTANA 3:30 PM HOME 1:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 4:00 PM MONTANA 5:45 PM HOME 3:30 PM PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR 4:00 PM MONTANA 8:00 PM P.K -HINDI 5:15 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 6:00 PM MONTANA 10:15 PM DECOR (Arabic) 5:15 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 8:00 PM MONTANA 12:30 AM DECOR (Arabic) 8:15 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 10:00 PM DECOR (Arabic) 10:45 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:05 AM AL-KOUT.1 HOME 1:15 AM THE GOOD LIE 11:30 AM MARINA-3 THE GOOD LIE 1:45 PM MUHALAB-2 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 11:30 AM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES -3D 4:00 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 11:30 AM MONTANA 2:15 PM THE GOOD LIE 6:45 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 2:15 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES -3D 4:30 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 9:00 PM MONTANA 5:00 PM MONTANA 7:15 PM THE GOOD LIE 12:05 AM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 7:15 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 9:30 PM MONTANA 10:00 PM MONTANA 12:15 AM AL-KOUT.2 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 12:15 AM MONTANA 11:30 AM AVENUES-1 FOXCATCHER 1:45 PM MUHALAB-3 HOME 1:15 PM FOXCATCHER 4:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 11:45 AM HOME 3:15 PM MONTANA 7:15 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 1:45 PM HOME 5:15 PM FOXCATCHER 9:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 3:45 PM HOME 7:15 PM MONTANA 12:15 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 5:45 PM HOME 9:15 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 7:45 PM HOME 11:15 PM AL-KOUT.3 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 9:45 PM HOME 1:15 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:15 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 11:45 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 2:15 PM ACCOMMODATION CHANGE OF NAME AVENUES-2 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 4:15 PM FANAR-1 THE GOOD LIE 12:00 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 6:15 PM C/A room available from I, Utukuru Rama Gubbaiah, FOXCATCHER 11:45 AM THE GOOD LIE 2:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 8:30 PM Jan 25, 2015 for a decent holder of Indian Passport THE GOOD LIE 2:30 PM THE GOOD LIE 5:00 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 10:30 PM couple or single ladyes in in No. J2020031 hereby FOXCATCHER 4:45 PM THE GOOD LIE 7:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:30 AM Farwaniya beside Kabayan changed changed my THE GOOD LIE 7:30 PM THE GOOD LIE 10:00 PM supermarket for Filipinos name to Utukuru Rama FOXCATCHER 9:45 PM THE GOOD LIE 12:45 AM BAIRAQ-1 only. Call 66152130. Subba Reddy. Upparapalli FOXCATCHER 12:30 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 11:45 AM 22-12-2104 Konduru Penagalur, AVENUES-3 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM:SECRET OF THE TOMB 1:45 PM Kadapa, A.P. (C 4891) FANAR-2 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES -3D 11:30 AM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM:SECRET OF THE TOMB 3:45 PM 22-12-2014 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 12:15 PM THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 2:30 PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM:SECRET OF THE TOMB 5:45 PM

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 24/12/2014 MSC 407 HRG 14:20 Departure Flights on Wednesday 24/12/2014 MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 Airlines Flt Route Time KNE 472 Jeddah 14:25 Airlines Flt Route Time UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 JAI 574 Mumbai 00:10 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 AIC 982 Ahmedabad/Hyderabad/Chennai 00:05 IYE 827 Mukalla/Sanaa 14:30 JZR 239 Amman 00:25 SYR 341 Latakia/KAC 14:30 FDB 072 Dubai 00:45 CLX 792 Hanoi 14:45 JZR 267 Beirut 00:30 FDB 057 Dubai 14:30 ETH 3178 Addis Ababa 00:45 MSR 576 Sharm el-Sheikh 15:00 JZR 539 Cairo 00:40 RJD 135 Abu Dhabi 14:55 UAL 981 IAD 00:55 KAC 673 Dubai 15:00 THY 772 Istanbul 00:45 GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00 JAI 573 Mumbai 01:10 QTR 1079 Doha 15:05 FDB 069 Dubai 00:55 KAC 284 Dhaka 15:15 KAC 203 Lahore 02:00 FDB 058 Dubai 15:10 QTR 1084 Doha 01:00 JZR 175 Dubai 15:20 DLH 637 Frankfurt 02:15 KAC 617 Doha 15:15 DLH 637 Dammam 01:15 KAC 788 Jeddah 15:40 KAC 283 Dhaka 02:25 MSC 408 HRG 15:20 ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45 KNE 473 Jeddah 15:20 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:35 KNE 462 Madinah 15:45 THY 773 Istanbul 02:55 SYR 342 Damascus/Latakia 15:30 ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45 UAE 857 Dubai 15:45 PGT 859 Istanbul 03:25 SVA 503 Jeddah/Madinah 15:45 MSC 403 Sohag 02:30 ABY 127 Sharjah 15:45 MSC 404 Sohag 03:30 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45 GFA 211 Bahrain 02:30 FDB 051 Dubai 16:00 KAC 381 Delhi 03:40 KAC 773 Riyadh 15:50 UAE 853 Dubai 02:35 KNE 460 Riyadh 16:00 UAE 854 Dubai 03:50 RJD 136 Abu Dhabi 16:05 JAI 526 Chennai/Abu Dhabi 02:50 JZR 535 Cairo 16:10 FDB 068 Dubai 03:55 KAC 501 Beirut 16:15 FDB 067 Dubai 02:55 KAC 562 Amman 16:20 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05 ABY 128 Sharjah 16:25 RJA 648 Amman 03:05 JZR 787 Riyadh 16:25 MSR 613 Cairo 04:10 KNE 463 Madinah 16:30 CEB 7694 Manila 03:10 JZR 357 Mashhad 16:30 KKK 6508 Istanbul 04:10 KNE 481 Taif 16:50 MSR 612 Cairo 03:10 QTR 1072 Doha 16:40 OMA 644 Muscat 04:15 FDB 052 Dubai 17:00 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 03:10 RJA 640 Amman 16:55 QTR 1085 Doha 04:30 KAC 741 Dammam 17:00 KKK 6507 Istanbul 03:20 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:55 CEB 7695 Manila 04:40 JZR 266 Beirut 17:05 OMA 643 Muscat 03:25 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 MSC 406 Sohag 05:05 KAC 545 Alexandria 17:30 QTR 1076 Doha 03:45 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 JZR 560 Sohag 05:10 QTR 1073 Doha 17:40 MSC 401 Alexandria 04:05 IRM 1180 Mashhad 17:35 QTR 1077 Doha 05:15 UAE 858 Dubai 17:45 THY 770 Istanbul 05:35 GFA 944 LCA 17:50 THY 765 Istanbul 05:40 JZR 538 Cairo 17:45 TZS 170 Bahrain 05:40 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55 FDB 070 Dubai 06:30 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:50 BAW 157 London 06:40 UAE 875 Dubai 18:00 JAI 525 Abu Dhabi/Chennai 06:35 RJA 641 Amman 17:55 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 07:10 JZR 177 Dubai 18:20 JZR 164 Dubai 06:55 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 RJA 649 Amman 07:05 FDB 053 Dubai 07:45 JZR 483 Istanbul 18:40 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15 QTR 1086 Doha 07:50 FDB 063 Dubai 18:40 GFA 944 Bahrain 18:35 THY 771 Istanbul 07:30 JZR 184 Dubai 18:40 KAC 352 Kochi 08:10 ABY 121 Sharjah 18:40 FDB 054 Dubai 08:25 KAC 302 Mumbai 08:20 KAC 786 Jeddah 18:45 IRM 1187 Tehran 18:45 BAW 156 London 08:45 JZR 238 Amman 18:50 KAC 206 Islamabad 08:25 QTR 1080 Doha 18:50 QTR 1087 Doha 08:50 UAE 855 Dubai 08:40 KAC 618 Doha 19:15 JZR 134 Bahrain 19:10 JZR 534 Cairo 09:15 ABY 122 Sharjah 19:20 KAC 362 Colombo 08:45 KAC 774 Riyadh 19:15 KAC 671 Dubai 09:25 JZR 552 Alexandria 19:30 KAC 344 Chennai 08:45 KAC 542 Cairo 19:25 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40 UAE 876 Dubai 19:40 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00 KAC 674 Dubai 19:25 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:50 QTR 1081 Doha 19:50 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30 UAE 856 Dubai 09:55 FDB 064 Dubai 19:55 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 KAC 166 Paris/Rome 19:40 JZR 482 Istanbul 10:00 GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15 QTR 1070 Doha 10:00 KAC 102 New York/London 19:55 KAC 117 New York 10:05 KAC 361 Colombo 20:50 GFA 943 Bahrain 10:15 JAI 572 Mumbai 20:00 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:20 JAI 571 Mumbai 21:00 IRM 1186 Tehran 10:20 KAC 742 Dammam 20:00 KAC 561 Amman 10:25 KAC 331 Trivandrum 21:10 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 OMA 647 Muscat 20:20 JZR 356 Mashhad 10:30 KAC 351 Kochi 21:15 IRA 665 Shiraz 10:40 FDB 061 Dubai 20:20 FDB 056 Dubai 10:35 FDB 062 Dubai 21:20 UAE 873 Dubai 11:00 ETD 919 Abu Dhabi 20:30 KAC 175 Frankfurt/Geneva 10:40 OMA 648 Muscat 21:20 AXB 889 Mangalore/Bahrain 11:15 MSR 606 Luxor 20:45 JZR 174 Dubai 10:45 MSR 619 Alexandria 21:45 KAC 204 Lahore 11:25 ALK 229 Colombo 21:10 QTR 1071 Doha 11:00 TZS 171 Bahrain 21:50 GFA 943 LCA 11:00 MSC 405 Sohag 11:25 MEA 402 Beirut 21:20 ALK 230 Colombo 22:10 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:15 JZR 165 Dubai 11:30 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:30 IRM 1181 Mashhad 11:30 KAC 301 Mumbai 22:15 JZR 561 Sohag 11:45 FDB 073 Dubai 21:35 IRA 664 Shiraz 11:40 IRM 1188 Mashhad 11:45 UAE 859 Dubai 21:40 KAC 541 Cairo 12:05 MEA 403 Beirut 22:20 MEA 404 Beirut 11:55 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 AXB 890 Mangalore 12:15 ETD 920 Dubai 22:25 IAW 157 Al Najaf 12:05 QTR 1074 Doha 21:55 KAC 103 London 12:20 FDB 074 Dubai 22:30 UAE 871 Dubai 12:50 KNE 480 Taif 22:00 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:20 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 JZR 135 Bahrain 22:05 MSC 402 Alexandria 12:25 UAE 860 Dubai 22:50 CLX 792 Luxembourg 13:15 ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:15 UAE 874 Dubai 12:30 KNE 461 Riyadh 22:50 IYE 826 Sanaa/Mukalla 13:30 FDB 059 Dubai 22:30 MEA 405 Beirut 12:55 KAC 205 Islamabad 22:55 KAC 382 Delhi 13:45 AIC 975 Chennai/Goa 22:30 KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00 ETD 310 Abu Dhabi 23:00 KAC 672 Dubai 13:55 JZR 185 Dubai 23:15 IAW 158 Al Najaf 13:05 QTR 1075 Doha 23:05 QTR 1078 Doha 14:05 THY 764 Istanbul 23:35 IRM 1189 Mashhad 13:10 JZR 502 Luxor 23:05 KAC 415 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur 23:25 MSR 575 Sharm el-Sheikh 14:15 FDB 071 Dubai 23:45 JZR 786 Riyadh 13:10 JZR 176 Dubai 13:45 FDB 060 Dubai 23:55 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION stars34 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 CROSSWORD 764 STAR TRACK

Aries (March 21-April 19) Libra (September 23-October 22)

You may find your life’s direction or career putting some real pressure on Enlarging your intellectual and spiritual horizons takes on a high priority. your home and emotional life just now. Obviously you cannot live without both, so some You are intent on seeing the big picture and getting to the point of whatever you kind of self-control on your part is indicated. Know that this process is temporary. You are become involved with. Travel and further education could be helpful in bringing this making great strides in many areas of your life. Those around you may appreciate your about. Keeping in touch with ideas and people on a large scale helps you keep your ability to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and get work accomplished. You might mind busy. You may come up with a new way to go forward with some plan or a deci- sion with regard to a professional circumstance. This afternoon you may find yourself want to take a little time this evening before you socialize to think about your goals for serving as a mentor to someone younger. Use care that you do not overdo in your work this next year. Everything points to your taking the initiative in many areas of your life or in your volunteer programs . . . You have a need to be refreshed and positive in order today. You could feel great support from those around you today. You have a choice, if to use your skills well. There is a sense of testing the limits somewhat. you decide to go on a dinner date this evening.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Being with others and working together should be particularly nice. You would really like to be out and about and socializing with your friends Someone in authority may come to you with a plan for a particular job, because this per- today. A few things need tending to in the workplace first, however, and that is where son is familiar with your business talents. Being able to understand those around you people will find you–at least until early afternoon. You will extend the initiative and almost assures you of a special time with someone you love. Good feelings and a sense of assume authority. You feel inspired and may have to be encouraged to step away from support and harmony makes this a pleasant time. Your charismatic behavior and elo- the office. This can become a fond memory as a time of pride–a comprehensive, creative and perhaps even romantic phase as well. An important relationship, possibly with a quence in communication and speech should find others following your lead, wherever young person or someone in your near surroundings, may come into focus this after- you go. Things are really unconstrained for self-expression, which works very well with noon. Home is likely to be the center of activity tonight. There is enough food to go your special ideas and thoughts. You are willing to lend a hand in some community proj- around for all the neighbors but only your friends and family will join you this evening. ect. Expect good things to happen when you volunteer.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You really use your head to your advantage when it comes to working and Work of a collaborative nature is particularly favored this morning. Today dealing with others. You seem to know just what to do and can act with- finds you efficient and sharp-witted. Work-related discussions go very well. out hurry or worry. You are called on to make use of your natural abilities and common Later, you could be looking deeper within yourself for some answers to spiritual ques- sense. You may need to take the initiative today if you want certain things accomplished ACROSS Canal and made Queen Victoria the tions that you have. This should be a good time for personal analysis, as you should be Empress of India (1804-1881). in the manner that you think they should be. You could feel great assistance from those 1. System of measurement based on cen- able to discover whole new areas of your inner self or mind that have before now, been around you. You feel healthy and very capable of handling almost any situation. timeters and grams and seconds. 5. An ascocarp having the spore-bearing closed. Expect insights into dreams and ideals. Your common sense and emotions are Construction or repair of a neighborhood street may find you looking for a different 4. Affecting extreme elegance in dress and layer of cells (the hymenium) on a broad accented. Expect a sense of support and goodwill from those around you, especially fam- place to drive home or to park. Some changes in your environment may be inevitable. A ily. Others may seek you out for your psychological insight and understanding. Tonight is friend may ask you for assistance this evening. It seems this person got a flat tire. manner. disklike receptacle. a special night with loved ones and it is positive. 12. A castrated tomcat. 6. Inflammation of the urethra of unknown 15. A recurring sleep state during which cause. dreaming occurs. 7. The quality of being slow to understand. 8. Informal terms for the mouth. 16. The provision of something by issuing Cancer (June 21-July 22) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) it (usually in quantity). 9. (prefix) Within. You should find no problem in communicating with regard to groups and 17. Canadian hockey player (born 1948). 10. The quantity a scoop will hold. If you must work today, it will be of short duration. Children, lovers and oth- society in general, because of your demonstrated ability to understand and 11. The Teutonic goddess of fertility. er people, or the things that are dear to your heart, are accented at this time. Knowing 18. Used of a single unit or thing. be sensitive to others’ needs just now. Your emotional stability and feeling of protection that you are appreciated and esteemed for your gifts and talents is a powerful need. 19. An artist who creates sculptures. 12. A desert in central Asia. is due mainly to your friends, morals and social interaction. There may be a need for you Assuming risks can bring you big rewards. Someone older may have different opinions 13. A theocratic republic in the Middle East to make some important changes in your life such as breaking with the antiquated trends 20. The cry made by sheep. from your own but it is easy to overlook the comments because of the age. You will need of the past. There is a longing for anything new, different and unique. You are a very gen- 21. Music written in the rhythm of the in western Asia. to pay more attention to what this older person says. . . His or her reasoning could prove erous person, but you do like to be recognized for the efforts you put forth to be helpful. an important factor in your life. Tonight you and a family member look around for ways to bolero dance. 14. (informal) Exceptionally good. You may remember this as a widespread, aesthetic and possibly even romantic time, in decorate the home. There will be lots of fun activity going on in your home this weekend 23. Becoming rotten. 22. An upright tripod for displaying some- which you will have a great deal of self-satisfaction and appreciation. and lots of old friends dropping by for a fond hello. 25. A deep bow. thing (usually an artist's canvas). 26. North American rat snakes. 24. A unit of magnetic flux density equal to 27. An area that includes seats for several one weber per square meter. Aquarius (January 20- February 18) people. 28. The starting place for each hole on a Leo (July 23-August 22) 29. Bundle of rods containing an axe with golf course. Striving to be the very best that you can be is uppermost in your life at this Think things through carefully, as it is a time when you could make some the blade protruding. 30. An ancient country is southwestern time. You just want to expand your knowledge and that could have you less than perfect choices or decisions in the workplace. There could be a delving into politics, law, travel, religion, to name but a few of the possibilities open to tendency to become rushed, either from your own desire to complete tasks or from out- 33. A confusion of voices and other Asia on the east coast of the side influences. Sometimes you do not feel you fit into the scheme of life that you are try- sounds. Mediterranean. you now. Some of the things that you do now could be the result of longing to be the center of attention. You are a deeply feeling, conscientious person who loves to give ing to fit into these days. Why not step back and look at what you have accomplished and 36. The compass point midway between 31. Romanian violinist and composer gifts; you like to feel appreciated for what you do. You have nothing to worry about–oth- where your talents areperhaps you are an artist and you have been working as an east and southeast. (1881-1955). er people love to show you their appreciation. Dreams of some form of honor or fame accountant. Keeping in touch with friends and being involved socially are what leads to and respect are granted . . . Especially among family members. You may find this an your emotional nourishment. Make some changes in your life toward a life-style you think 37. A narrow way or road. 32. A kind of sealing material that is used you might enjoy. This may take time but it is most beneficial. 38. Resembling apes. to form a hard coating on a porous surface intriguing, intuitive and possibly even a romantic time in which you will feel a lot of 41. An independent agency of the United (as a coat of paint or varnish used to size a States government responsible for collect- surface). ing and coordinating intelligence and 34. Relating to or having the characteristics Virgo (August 23-September 22) Pisces (February 19-March 20) counterintelligence activities abroad in the of bees. national interest. 35. The hair growing on the lower part of a A question that had occupied your mind may be answered unexpectedly Go ahead and let yourself dream this morning; these times do not come 44. The sign language used in the United man's face. while you are at work today. Though you will be making progress with one business mat- too often. You may be working today but you also may not have to report for work so ear- ter, you may encounter delays with another. This is not too unusual for this time of the ly. You are in a position to help others that want to take a little time away from work and States. 39. A unit of information equal to 1024 year and if you take notes and keep track of the people you need to contact, the work you are pleased to help. It is good to know that you can fit into most positions of respon- 45. Long pod containing small beans and bytes. can be quickly completed at the appropriate time. A sense of belonging to something sibility and not have to ask about protocol. This action on your part may also either sweetish edible pulp. 40. An enclosed space. bigger than the merely personal becomes a greater focus at this time. You attach a lot of increase your business or put you in a better position with your supervisor. You and a lov- 48. German organist and contrapuntist 42. A master's degree in business. importance to friends and you enjoy being with them. Tonight there is an invitation to ing friend are on the same pleasant wavelength this afternoon, perhaps a shopping spree do just that–be with your friends. Now is the time for relaxation and fun talks with or a visit over tea and a small snack. This evening there is plenty of time to relax and share (1685-1750). 43. The syllable naming the fourth (sub- friends; no work talk this evening. You may find a new party food recipe for your files. a massage with a loved one. 50. Brown or blackish Alpine mosses hav- dominant) note of the diatonic scale in ing a dehiscent capsule with 4 longitudinal solmization. slits. 46. Predatory black-and-white toothed 54. Wrap us in a cerecloth, as of a corpse. whale with large dorsal fin. WORD SEARCH PUZZLE Yesterday’s Solution 58. West Indian tree having racemes of fra- 47. Perennial herb of North America. grant white flowers and yielding a durable 49. A genus of Ploceidae. timber and resinous juice. 51. A genus of orb-weaving spiders includ- 61. A soft silvery metallic element of the ing common garden spiders and barn spi- alkali metal group. ders. 65. Title for a civil or military leader (espe- 52. The branch of engineering science that cially in Turkey). studies the uses of electricity and the 66. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug equipment for power generation and dis- (trade name Ansaid) that is administered tribution and the control of machines and only orally. communication. 69. (Hinduism and Buddhism) The effects 53. South American plant cultivated for its of a person's actions that determine his large fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers. destiny in his next incarnation. 55. Eurasian rose with prickly stems and 70. The 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers fol- 71. Italian painter and sculptor and engi- lowed by scarlet hips. neer and scientist and architect. 56. Father of the storm gods Marut. 73. A loose sleeveless outer garment made 57. A Russian river. from aba cloth. 59. Title for a civil or military leader (espe- 74. The sense organ for hearing and equi- cially in Turkey). librium. 60. The habitation of wild animals. 75. A great raja. 62. A republic in the Middle East in west- 76. An ancient Hebrew unit of capacity ern Asia. equal to 10 baths or 10 ephahs. 63. A slight rounded elevation where the malleus attaches to the eardrum. DOWN 64. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that 1. Infestation of the pubic hair by crab lice. was formed by an explosion. 2. A seaport in northwestern Italy. 67. The syllable naming the fifth (domi- 3. The sensation that results when olfacto- nant) note of any musical scale in solmiza- ry receptors in the nose are stimulated by tion. particular chemicals in gaseous form. 68. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods. 4. British statesman who as Prime Minister 72. A person who announces and plays bought controlling interest in the Suez popular recorded music. Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 information

For labor-related inquiries and complaints: INTERNATIONAL Call MSAL hotline 128 CALLS

Afghanistan 0093 Luxembourg 00352 GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE Albania 00355 Macau 00853 Algeria 00213 Macedonia 00389 Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883 Andorra 00376 Madagascar 00261 Sabah Hospital 24812000 Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414 Angola 00244 Majorca 0034 Amiri Hospital 22450005 Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558 Anguilla 001264 Malawi 00265 Maternity Hospital 24843100 Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518 Antiga 001268 Malaysia 0060 Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622 Argentina 0054 Maldives 00960 Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700 Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184 Armenia 00374 Mali 00223 Chest Hospital 24849400 Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967 Australia 0061 Malta 00356 Austria 0043 Marshall Islands 00692 Farwaniya Hospital 24892010 Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000 Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201 Bahamas 001242 Martinique 00596 Adan Hospital 23940620 Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638 Bahrain 00973 Mauritania 00222 Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 Bangladesh 00880 Mauritius 00230 Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265 Barbados 001246 Mayotte 00269 Al-Razi Hospital 24846000 Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075 Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999 Belarus 00375 Mexico 0052 Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9 Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549 Belgium 0032 Micronesia 00691 Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559 Belize 00501 Moldova 00373 Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554 Benin 00229 Monaco 00377 Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264 Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581 Bermuda 001441 Mongolia 00976 Kaizen center 25716707 Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241 Bhutan 00975 Montserrat 001664 Rawda 22517733 Bolivia 00591 Morocco 00212 Bosnia 00387 Mozambique 00258 Adaliya 22517144 Botswana 00267 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Khaldiya 24848075 Brazil 0055 Namibia 00264 Brunei 00673 Nepal 00977 Kaifan 24849807 Bulgaria 00359 Netherlands 0031 Shamiya 24848913 Burkina 00226 Netherlands Antilles 00599 Burundi 00257 New Caledonia 00687 Shuwaikh 24814507 Cambodia 00855 New Zealand 0064 Abdullah Salem 22549134 Cameroon 00237 Nicaragua 00505 Canada 001 Nigar 00227 Nuzha 22526804 Cape Verde 00238 Nigeria 00234 Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764 Cayman Islands 001345 Niue 00683 Central African 00236 Norfolk Island 00672 Qadsiya 22515088 Chad 00235 N. Ireland (UK) 0044 Dasmah 22532265 Chile 0056 North Korea 00850 Bneid Al-Gar 22531908 China 0086 Norway 0047 Colombia 0057 Oman 00968 Shaab 22518752 Comoros 00269 Pakistan 0092 Qibla 22459381 Congo 00242 Palau 00680 Cook Islands 00682 Panama 00507 Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082 Costa Rica 00506 Papua New Guinea 00675 Mirqab 22456536 Croatia 00385 Paraguay 00595 Cuba 0053 Peru 0051 Sharq 22465401 Cyprus 00357 Philippines 0063 Salmiya 25746401 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Poland 0048 Czech Republic 00420 Portugal 00351 Jabriya 25316254 Denmark 0045 Puerto Rico 001787 Maidan Hawally 25623444 Diego Garcia 00246 Qatar 00974 Djibouti 00253 Romania 0040 Bayan 25388462 Dominica 001767 Russian Federation 007 Mishref 25381200 Dominican Republic 001809 Rwanda 00250 W Hawally 22630786 Ecuador 00593 Saint Helena 00290 Egypt 0020 Saint Kitts 001869 Sabah 24810221 El Salvador 00503 Saint Lucia 001758 Jahra 24770319 England (UK) 0044 Saint Pierre 00508 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Saint Vincent 001784 New Jahra 24575755 Eritrea 00291 Samoa US 00684 West Jahra 24772608 Estonia 00372 Samoa West 00685 Ethiopia 00251 San Marino 00378 South Jahra 24775066 Falkland Islands 00500 Sao Tone 00239 North Jahra 24775992 Faroe Islands 00298 Saudi Arabia 00966 Fiji 00679 Scotland (UK) 0044 North Jleeb 24311795 Finland 00358 Senegal 00221 Ardhiya 24884079 France 0033 Seychelles 00284 Firdous 24892674 French Guiana 00594 Sierra Leone 00232 French Polynesia 00689 Singapore 0065 Omariya 24719048 Gabon 00241 Slovakia 00421 N Khaitan 24710044 Gambia 00220 Slovenia 00386 Georgia 00995 Solomon Islands 00677 Fintas 23900322 Germany 0049 Somalia 00252 Ghana 00233 South Africa 0027 Gibraltar 00350 South Korea 0082 Greece 0030 Spain 0034 Greenland 00299 Sri Lanka 0094 PRIVATE CLINICS Grenada 001473 Sudan 00249 Guadeloupe 00590 Suriname 00597 Guam 001671 Swaziland 00268 Guatemala 00502 Sweden 0046 Ophthalmologists Plastic Surgeons Paediatricians Endocrinologist Guinea 00224 Switzerland 0041 Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272 Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898 Guyana 00592 Syria 00963 Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700 Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300 Haiti 00509 Serbia 00381 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60 Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Taiwan 00886 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Family Doctor Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099 Honduras 00504 Tanzania 00255 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581 Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514 Hong Kong 00852 Thailand 0066 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Physiotherapists & VD Hungary 0036 Toga 00228 Psychiatrists Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282 Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Tonga 00676 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047 Iceland 00354 Tokelau 00690 Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0 Dermatology Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288 India 0091 Trinidad 001868 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians Dr. Mohammed Salam Rheumatologists: Indian Ocean 00873 Tunisia 00216 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581 Bern University 23845955 Indonesia 0062 Turkey 0090 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321 Dentists Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Iran 0098 Tuvalu 00688 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290 Iraq 00964 Uganda 00256 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 Ireland 00353 Ukraine 00380 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226 Internist, Chest & Heart General Practitioners Italy 0039 United Arab Emirates 00976 Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444 Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210 Ivory Coast 00225 United Kingdom 0044 Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557 General Surgeons Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid Jamaica 001876 Uruguay 00598 Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044 MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Japan 0081 USA 001 Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148 Assistant Professor Of Medicine Jordan 00962 Uzbekistan 00998 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111 Internists, Chest & Heart Head, Division of Cardiology Kazakhstan 007 Vanuatu 00678 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Neurologists Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667 Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Kenya 00254 Venezuela 00582 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324 Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Consultant Cardiologist Kiribati 00686 Vietnam 0084 Urologists Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 Kuwait 00965 Virgin Islands UK 001284 Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Gastrologists MD, PH.D, FACC Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Virgin Islands US 001340 Dr. Sami Aman 22636464 Inaya German Medical Center Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Laos 00856 Wales (UK) 0044 Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030 Te: 2575077 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3 Latvia 00371 Yemen 00967 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135 Fax: 25723123 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Lebanon 00961 Yugoslavia 00381 Soor Center Liberia 00231 Zambia 00260 Psychologists [email protected] Tel: 2290-1677 Kaizen center Noor Clinic William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Libya 00218 Zimbabwe 00263 /Psychotherapists www.soorcenter.com Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 25716707 23845955 Lithuania 00370 lifestyle WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014

Gossip Beetlejuice sequel is moving closer to reality

‘Beetlejuice’ sequel is closer than it has ever been. ect if Burton was also committed. And even more recently, he Director Tim Burton has been speaking about the pos- confirmed that they were both waiting on a script before pro- Asibility of making a follow-up to the 1988 hit movie and gressing with the project. Elsewhere, Winona Ryder - who also he’s confirmed it’s a very realistic possibility, providing Michael starred in the original film - revealed that plans to make the Keaton can be tempted back to play the starring role. He told sequel are continuing. She said: “I’m kind of sworn to secrecy, IGN: “There’s only one Beetlejuice, and that’s Michael. There is [the sequel] sounds like it might be happening.” a script, and I would love to work with him again. I think there is now a better chance than ever. “I miss that character. There’s something that’s cathartic and amazing about it. I think it’s closer than ever.” The prospect of a ‘Beetlejuice 2’ movie has been increasing all the while over the last few months, with Keaton confirming he’d be happy to be involved with the proj-

Lady Gaga’s next album like ‘operating on old self’

ady Gaga’s next album will be like “operating on my old self”. The adventurous musician Lreleased her fourth solo studio album, ‘Artpop’, at the tail end of 2013, and is now hoping to rein- vent herself on her next record. She explained: “‘Artpop’ was, you know, the acid-making record. And this record is like-my old self as a cadaver. And I’m just, I’m operating on my old self.” The ‘Do What U Want’ hitmaker - who also collaborated with jazz icon Tony Bennett on an LP, ‘Cheek to Cheek’, in which they covered classics from the ‘Great American Songbook’ earlier this year - noted she wants to change her musical direction and reinvent herself on her next album in order to shock her fans. She said: “I want the fans to be surprised. “But I will Stiller wants Delevingne just tell you that it’s a wonderful, soul-searching experience. And it’s very unlike the last album in that way. I made that album on the road.” Despite being panned by critics and only spawning two hit singles, in Zoolander 2 the 28-year-old performer defended ‘Artpop’ by describing how it has been used as a form of escapism by her young fans. She told Yahoo!: “As I en Stiller “definitely” wants Cara Delevingne to Wilson, who also appeared in the original ‘Zoolander’ travelled around the world I met more and more appear in ‘Zoolander 2’. Talks over the sequel to movie and is expected to return for the sequel, has kids that were fully ‘Artpop’ to the wildest galaxies of Bthe 2001 hit comedy film have been going on praised the quality of the script for the new film. He their dreams. Kids whose whole lives were changed since 2008 and in a new interview, Stiller has con- said: “I have seen the script and it seems funny.” Stiller by the album. You know, planet ‘Venus’ is a place firmed a script for the much-anticipated movie has is set to direct the comedy sequel from a script which that they go in their minds when they are at home, been written - and the comedian is keen to cast the has had input from Justin Theroux, the screenwriter to escape their family life, their troubles, their 22-year-old model-turned-actress. Asked for an for films such as ‘Tropic Thunder’ and ‘Iron Man 2’. Will depression.” update on the project, Stiller told MTV: “There is a Ferrell is rumored to be reprising his role from the script, I won’t deny there’s a script, and there’s been a original film. reading of the script... but it hasn’t yet been fully for- mulated.” And Stiller confirmed he “definitely would” like Delevingne - who was linked to the movie earlier this year - to feature in the film. Meanwhile, Owen Teenage Time Killer sign record deal

eenage Time Killer will release their Flag and the Circle Jerks, Keith Morris. The debut album in 2015, featuring Dave band - which formed in February - recorded TGrohl and Corey Taylor. The supergroup the LP at Dave’s 606 Studio in California and - which is spearheaded by Corrosion of previously hinted the album would be Conformity member Reed Mullin - has signed released in January, but were not signed to a an album deal with Rise Records, with the LP label when the comments were made. set to feature the frontmen of Foo Fighters Speaking in November, Reed said: “I’ve got and Slipknot among other notable musicians. that Teenage Time Killers thing coming out in Talking about the supergroup, Reed previous- January.”This Teenage Time Killers thing has ly said it was only intended to be a small proj- turned out really good.” Fear’s Lee Ving, ect, but grew as more people decided they Prong’s Tommy Victor and current and former wanted to be involved. He said: “We had all members of Misfits, Red Fang, Sunn O))), these other folks that want to participate. It’s Bl’ast, Brujeria, My Ruin and Sacred Reich, a very good mixture of old hardcore punk, among others have also been linked to the punk and metal stuff ... People are going to project. Kasabian demand nail-grooming kit on rider be pleasantly surprised. It’s pretty cool.” Other individuals who have recorded for the album asabian demand a nail-grooming kit at their rockers wanted a selection of combs so their flow- makers recently revealed they have their sights set include former Queens of the Stone Age live shows. The outspoken man-band - fea- ing locks were free from knots. The source told The on performing at London’s legendary Wembley bassist Nick Oliveri, ex-Dead Kennedys front- Kturing Tom Meighan, Serge Pizzorno, Ian Sun newspaper: “They also asked for a set of Stadium as well as Murrayfield Stadium in man Jello Biafra, Lamb of God lead-vocalist Matthews and Chris Edwards - are known for their combs - which all had to be black.” As well as the Scotland, in the near future. The 34-year-old gui- Randy Blythe and former frontman of Black macho rock sound, but their list of requests back- beauty products, the group - who released their tarist, Serge, said: “We are ready for Wembley. In stage are far more feminine, having demanded fifth studio album ‘48:13’ in June - wanted a box of fact, that’s the next step: Wembley and nail-care equipment at a recent show in PG Tips tea bags and salt and vinegar flavoured Murrayfield, and then beyond. It’s stadium time. It Manchester. A source revealed: “The band asked crisps waiting for them in their dressing room to has to be.” for a pair of nail clippers, four nail brushes, nail quench their hunger before heading on stage. scissors and files.” Along with the equipment to Having already been announced as a headliner for ensure their nails were neat and tidy, the ‘Eez-eh’ Poland’s Open’er Festival in June 2015, the ‘Fire’ hit- Kardashian and West are the new faces of Balmain im Kardashian West and Kanye West are the new modernity. This is more than a cam- the new faces of Balmain. The 37-year- paign, it expresses something beyond clothes Kold rapper and his reality TV star wife, - it is a celebration of love and friendship. This 34 - who are close friends of the Parisian is a new statement for Balmain.” Brunette brand’s creative director Olivier Rousteing - beauty Kim - who sported a short beaded star together in the label’s spring/summer creation of Olivier’s to her wedding reception 2015 men’s campaign, entitled ‘Army of earlier this year - took to Twitter yesterday to Lovers’. Olivier, 28, admitted it has been an share a steamy shot from the campaign “honor” to have the pair - who were married which shows her in an intimate embrace with in a lavish Italian ceremony in May this year the ‘Stronger’ hitmaker. She posted the and have an 18-month-old daughter North image to her 26.7 million followers, along West together - appearing in the adverts. He with the caption: “BALMAIN!!!!!!” She later said in a statement: “For this menswear cam- tweeted another image from the stylish paign, I wanted to capture a moment of love. shoot, along with the words: “Balmain Kim and Kanye are style icons and friends. It is Spring/Summer 2015 campaign.” an honor to have them in this Balmain cam- paign.” Olivier added that he chose the world- famous couple as they represent “love, beau- ty and diversity”. He said: “Together, they rep- resent love, beauty and diversity - they are lifestyle WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014

Music & Movies

In this Wednesday, Dec 10, 2014 file photo, producer and star Mark Wahlberg attends “The Gambler” premiere in Review New York. — AP photos Don’t bet on this oddly lifeless ‘Gambler’ remake

f you’re not a genius, don’t bother,” the English pro- his mother (an excellent Jessica Lange), a woman whose he’s in debt to the tune of a couple hundred grand to the against life’s ups and downs. At another, he’s scary as hell, fessor played by Mark Walhberg in “The Gambler” pursed lips, icy veneer and dark glasses hide a heart than owner, Mister Lee (Alvin Ing.) Sinking deeper into the telling Jim that if he borrows and doesn’t pay back, Frank “Iblithely tells his students. That should be one clue still cares for this wayward son. quicksand, he accepts $50,000 from another loan shark, will methodically erase his entire that you’re not gonna like this guy. But there’s a bigger Or like Amy (Brie Larson), the thoughtful student in Jim’s Neville (Michael Kenneth Williams of “The Wire,” highly problem with that line, because it inadvertently makes us class, who watches him leap through the lecture hall like a entertaining). Now he owes two people. bloodline. think: If you’re not doing a genius remake of an old movie, swaggering talk show host, telling students they’ll never Somehow, Jim will have to figure out how to save him- why bother? Director Rupert Wyatt’s new version of the amount to anything - except her. Amy, he says, is the only Genial adviser self, and it’ll be more complicated than borrowing from 1974 drama that starred James Caan as a self-destructive one with enough talent to write. Somehow she accepts It’s up to Mom to bail out her son, and she tries, albeit Peter to play Paul. The ending - a departure from the origi- gambler lacks the bite and heft of the first. It also largely this claptrap (which frankly borders on teacher miscon- reluctantly. Jim isn’t even grateful. With poor Amy watch- nal, again - is satisfyingly creative and suspenseful. By then, wastes an excellent cast. duct, though we digress) and decides Jim’s a catch. We first ing (this is indeed a thankless role, both for Amy and for though, it feels too late. We didn’t really care enough about At the center is Wahlberg, a talented and appealing meet Jim as his grandfather, a wealthy banking magnate, is Larson) Jim loses it all again. Seems he doesn’t like being Jim to be invested in his ultimate fate. They sorta lost us at actor who is either miscast or misguided here. As Jim on his deathbed. The old man informs Jim he won’t be helped. As Amy says: “You’re one of those guys who started hello. “The Gambler,” a Paramount Pictures release, is rated Bennett, a professor with a dangerous addiction to gam- leaving him a dime. He’s on his own. out with no problems at all, and now you have all of them.” R by the Motion Picture Association of America “for lan- bling, he’s cool, slick, handsome - and that’s pretty much it. Next thing we see, Jim’s at a high-end gambling den in The movie’s other good lines pretty much all go to John guage throughout, and for some sexuality/nudity.” We never once understand the three most important a mansion overlooking the Pacific (Wyatt and screenwriter Goodman, who livens up the proceedings each time he Running time: 111 minutes. Two stars out of four. — AP things about him: why he’s drawn to teaching, why he’s William Monahan have moved the setting to Los Angeles appears. Goodman plays Frank, another loan shark, this drawn to gambling, and why he’s so pitifully prone to self- from the New York) where Amy works as a waitress. It’s one an amateur philosopher. One moment he’s a genial destruction. Moreover, we don’t understand why people clear that Jim doesn’t know when to stop. At blackjack, he’ll adviser, giving a perfectly rational explanation of how own- keep giving this infuriating character another chance - like win, and win again, and then bet it all - until he loses. Soon ing a home and saving a little money will protect anyone Art House Theaters tell Sony they want to screen ‘The Interview’

rt House Convergence, which represents Online petition independent exhibitors representing The online petition reads as follows -We, the Amore than 250 screens, has told Sony independent art house community, specifically Pictures that its members want to screen “The the theaters below, express our support for Sony Interview.” In an open letter to top studio execu- Pictures and all of its employees worldwide in tives Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, the group this difficult time. We want to share our encour- pledged its support for the studio and its agement and appreciation for Sony and the employees in the wake of the massive hack great contributions it has made to the film indus- attack. The nationwide Christmas Day release of try, especially to our sector of art houses and “The Interview” was canceled following the independent cinemas. On December 16th, the hackers’ Dec. 16 threat that theaters showing Terrorist Organization, “The Guardians of Peace,” the film could be the targets of 9/11-style escalated their threats by promising terrorist attacks. attacks against cinemas showing THE INTERVIEW. “Your Art House motion picture colleagues “The world will be full of fear,” their message read, wish to support you and your company,” said “Remember the 11th of September 2001. We rec- Russ Collins, the group’s director, in a letter ommend you to keep yourself distant from the released Monday. “Circumstance has propelled places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you’d ‘The Interview’ into a spotlight on values, both better leave.)” societal and artistic, and in honor of our sup- With this threat, the issue became larger than ‘Imitation Game’ honored port, we want to offer our help in a way that any film, larger than Sony and larger than the honors our long tradition of defending creative entertainment industry: societal and artistic val- expression.” Art House Convergence has also ues are in peril. We are at an important cross- launched an online petition at Change.org urg- roads with an opportunity to reaffirm clearly our by Human Rights campaign ing other independent theater owners to dedication to the value of freedom and the pledge that they will also screen “The Interview.” absolute necessity to keep our film industry free he Human Rights Campaign will honor the big screen,” said HRC president Chad Griffin. “Alan tist Turing, who developed a method of cracking Reps of the major US theater chains have told of restriction, censorship and violent intimida- cast and filmmakers of “The Imitation Game” Turing was a true hero who saved countless lives previously unbreakable Nazi codes. Turing was also Variety that they are upset that Sony Pictures tion. We implore our fellow exhibitors and our at the organization’s upcoming New York with his revolutionary thinking and determination. arrested and prosecuted after he was caught in a Entertainment has insisted in public statements nation of moviegoers to stand up in recognition T Gala Dinner on Jan 31 at the Waldorf Astoria. “The Yet during the most tragic part of his lifetime, same-sex relationship. He was chemically castrated that the exhibitors are the major reason the stu- that freedom of speech and artistic expression Imitation Game,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as he stood alone and endured unimaginable tor- by his government and later committed suicide. dio canceled the release of “The Interview.” are vital not only to the entertainment industry Alan Turing, has become an awards season fron- ment and shame because he was gay. This film will The event will also feature a performance from Authorities said Friday that North Korea is behind but for all art and commerce worldwide. trunner along with films like “Birdman” and give millions across the globe a chance to celebrate singer-songwriter Mary Lambert. — Reuters the hackings as punishment for Sony’s “The We stand in solidarity with Sony and offer our “Boyhood.” “We are proud to honor the stars and a truly brilliant man for his groundbreaking contri- Interview,” which centers on a plot to kill the coun- support to them in defense of artistic integrity filmmakers of ‘The Imitation Game’ for bringing the butions to the world.” The movie tells the story of try’s leader Kim Jong-un. “We understand there and personal freedoms; freedoms which repre- captivating yet tragic story of Alan Turing to the the late British cryptographer and computer scien- are risks involved in screening ‘The Interview.’ We sent our nation’s great ability to effect change will communicate these risks as clearly as we can and embrace diversity of opinion. We under- to our employees and customers and allow them stand there are risks involved in screening THE to make their own decisions, as is the right of INTERVIEW. We will communicate these risks as every American,” the letter said. clearly as we can to our employees and cus- Sony initially said on Dec 17 that it would tomers and allow them to make their own deci- not release the film in any form. It A source sions, as is the right of every American. close to the studio told Variety that Sony still Understanding those risks, the undersigned, hopes to release “The Interview” by the end of independent cinema owners and operators of 2014, but the comedy will likely forgo a theatri- America under the banner of the Art House cal release and will be made available through a Convergence, do hereby agree to support Sony patchwork of electronic sell through, video on and to support theatrical engagements of THE demand and other home entertainment plat- INTERVIEW should Sony, at its sole discretion, forms. decide to release it to theaters. — Reuters Justin Lin arrives at the Cinemacon Big Screen Awards red carpet and receives Director of the Year Award at Caesars Palace, in Las Vegas. — AP Helmer Justin Lin to direct ‘Star Trek 3’ ustin Lin is boarding the USS Enterprise and will direct the third installment of Paramount Pictures’ “Star Trek” fran- Jchise. The hiring of Lin came two weeks after Roberto Orci backed away from the directing gig. Orci had been hired for the helming job after J.J. Abrams had to exit the sequel due to his commitment to direct Disney’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” David Ellison’s Skydance Prods. is producing along with Orci and Abrams. Paramount has not yet set a release date for “Star Trek 3.” Patrick McKay and John D Payne worked on the most recent draft of the script. Lin directed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth installments of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. Last year’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” grossed $467 million worldwide including $229 million domestically. Lin is repped In this undated photo provided by Columbia Pictures - Sony, Actor Randall Park, center, by CAA, Cinetic Management and Sloss Eckhouse Law Co. Indian Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu and actor Karan Singh Grover pose during a pro- portrays North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Columbia Pictures’ “The Interview.”— AP News was first reported by Deadline.com. — Reuters motional event for the horror Hindi film ‘Alone’ in Mumbai on December 22, 2014. — AFP lifestyle WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 MUSIC & MOVIES Mariachi connects schools, families in Chicago ose Torres smiles as he thinks about how his nationwide in cities like Las Vegas, San Antonio Legitimate art 12-year-old daughter has embraced learn- and Tucson, Arizona, that teach students how to That was evident to music teacher Maria Jing the same mariachi music he plays at sing and play mariachi music. It’s a way to con- Pulido when the line was out her classroom home during a new Chicago Public Schools pro- nect schools and parents from Hispanic commu- door at this year’s parent-teacher conferences. gram that teaches the Mexican songs, linking nities, foundation president Cesar Maldonado “Last year, I never had any parents come talk to the family’s culture with the classroom. “She’s said. A traditional Mexican music, mariachi often me,” she said. Pulido teaches mariachi students asking questions about her family, her back- is performed by groups of musicians playing basic music skills on violins along with how to ground,” Torres said, sitting outside Alexa’s music stringed instruments and trumpets and wearing play Mexican folk songs. The program eventu- classroom at Richard Edwards Elementary brightly colored costumes. The songs are both ally will incorporate mariachi singing instruc- School, a largely Hispanic arts magnet school on ballads and fast tempo reflecting different, often tion. “That’s something the parents can say Chicago’s South Side. It’s one of five Chicago rural regions of Mexico. “It gives parents the ‘Wow, I know that song. I used to sing that schools with 1,100 students in the third through opportunity to have a topic they can speak on,” song when I was young,’” she said. Fantasy epic ‘The Hobbit’ seventh grades that the nonprofit Mariachi Maldonado said. “Let’s use that as a platform to It’s something Alexa Torres, 12, said she Heritage Foundation debuted in this fall. bring parents into the conversation of everyday appreciates about mariachi music now too. “I casts spell on box office Chicago joins dozens of schools districts academic life.” find it more interesting because I understand olkien epic “The Hobbit” worked its Quvenzhane Wallis in the title role and now what goes into it,” she said. But starting a magic at the North American box Jamie Foxx as the tycoon who takes her mariachi program in a school isn’t without office this weekend, signaling a under his wing, took $15.9 million. Ridley challenges. Marcia Neel, who helps organize T farewell to the blockbuster fantasy fran- Scott’s historical blockbuster “Exodus: mariachi programs in school districts around chise, industry data showed Monday. The Gods and Kings,” starring Christian Bale as the country through her company Music last of six films adapted from J.R.R. Moses, meanwhile fell to fourth spot with Education Consultants, Inc, said one issue is Tolkien’s books by Oscar-winning director $8.1 million. Another sequel, “Hunger earning the same respect for mariachi music as Peter Jackson, “The Hobbit: The Battle of Games: Mockingjay,” slipped to fifth with orchestra or band programs. “It should be the Five Armies” took $54.7 million on its $7.9 million, pushing its earnings to offered with the same amount of weight,” she debut weekend in the United States and $289.2 million after five weeks. Jumping said. “It just needs to be recognized as the Canada, according to box office tracker four spots to sixth was Reese legitimate art form that it really is. The key was Exhibitor Relations. The success of “The Witherspoon drama “Wild” about a to take mariachi from being an out of school Hobbit” flattened the competition in the woman grappling personal demons on a thing and put it into the school day.” final weekend before the Christmas holi- grueling three-month solo hike along the Finances also are a concern, said day period. Pacific Crest Trail. The film, which has Maldonado, who started this first year in Second spot went to “Night at the vaulted Witherspoon into contention for Chicago using $300,000 in private and corpo- Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” the third best actress honors in Hollywood’s rate donations. He bought 450 violins with the film in the Ben Stiller family comedy fran- awards season, took $4.1 million. money. In January he hopes to buy more mari- chise based on the popular 1993 chil- Seventh spot was occupied by Disney achi instruments, like trumpets and guitarrons, dren’s book. The movie, which sees Stiller animated hit “Big Hero 6” with $3.64 mil- or bass guitars, and expand to seven more reprise his role as the security guard try- lion. In eighth place was Chris Rock’s “Top schools. Nearly 40 Chicago schools are on a ing to keep a track on exhibits which Five” about a comedian trying to become a waiting list. “Until we get it to every school in come to life at the New York Museum of serious actor while grappling with his reali- In this Dec 12, 2014 file photo, music teacher Maria Pulido, right, works with Brian Gonzalez on the district that wants it we won’t stop,” he Natural History, took $17.1 million. In ty TV star fiancee about broadcasting their his violin at the Richard Edwards Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois. — AP said. — AP third place was another debutant, “Annie,” wedding. The film took $3.6 million on its the rebooted big-screen adaptation of second weekend. New entrant “P.K.,” an the famous Broadway musical about the Indian comedy from Bollywood star Aamir adventures of an orphan girl which also Khan, was in ninth with $3.57 million. Met Opera credit rating spawned film versions in 1982 and 1999. Rounding out the top 10 with $3.5 million downgraded despite labor deal The latest version, starring was “Penguins of Madagascar.” — AFP Death of Joe Cocker, ‘greatest soul voice of Britain’ egendary singer Joe Cocker, whose intense, gritty voice won him wide Lacclaim that spanned both rock and blues, has died at age 70, his agent said Monday. Cocker, who started off playing to small audiences in pubs in his native England, gained fame when he jolted the 1969 Woodstock festival with his high-powered ver- sion of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends”-one of rock’s most successful covers. Cocker-who on stage would flail his arms so wildly that uninitiated crowds wondered if he had neurological problems-said in a 1971 movie about him, “Mad Dogs and Englishmen,” that music served as his release and mused that he could have been a murderer if he had not been a singer. But some of his biggest hits showed a gen- tler side, including the love ballad “You Are So Beautiful” and “Up Where We Belong,” a Grammy-winning 1982 duet with Jennifer Warnes that figured prominently in the movie “An Officer and a Gentleman.” “He was without doubt the greatest rock/soul voice ever to come out of Britain,” his agent, Barrie Marshall, said in a statement announcing his death on Sunday evening. Paul McCartney mourned Cocker as a “lovely guy who brought so much In this June 1970 photo released by This May 18, 2009 file photo shows people at the American Ballet Theatre opening night spring gala at the Metropolitan to the world.” The former Beatle said that he Linda Wolf, British singer Joe Cocker per- Opera House in New York City. — AP photos found Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help forms during the Joe Cocker - Mad Dogs From My Friends” to be “mind-blowing.” The & Englishmen tour and traveling party. oody’s on Monday down- “While the Met has developed a dependent on donor support for ured box office revenue growth cover “totally turned the song into a soul graded the credit rating of five-year plan to improve liquidity annual operations as well as and heightened expense manage- anthem and I was forever grateful for him for 1989 at the inauguration of US president MNew York’s Metropolitan and move to operating equilibrium, endowment,” Moody’s said in a ment,” it said. doing that,” McCartney said. George H. W. Bush. Cocker later said that he Opera, voicing concern over the that plan remains unproven and statement. “It also requires meas- But the agency credited the Cocker suffered from lung cancer and died did not side politically with the Republican ability of North America’s largest Met’s effort to live-stream perform- at his home in the small town of Crawford, president but had hoped-unsuccessfully-that classical music company to improve ances at cinemas around the world, Colorado, where he moved some 20 years Bush would pardon him for drug offenses. its financial profile. The Met, consid- saying the program improved the ago, label Sony Music said. Cocker had Cocker’s image as a voice of his generation was ered among the world’s most presti- company’s brand. Moody’s also said remained prolific, releasing his 22nd studio enhanced when “The Wonder Years,” a popular gious opera houses, in August that the opera enjoyed unusually album in 2012. He moved to Colorado with his US television show launched in 1988 that reached an agreement with labor strong support from donors with wife, who ran a children’s camp, as the rocker looked back fondly at the 1960s, chose his ver- unions to cut pay and benefits over an average of $152 million in gifts sobered up after a notoriously hard-partying sion of “With a Little Help From My Friends” as a four-year period. But Moody’s annually in the three years to July youth, when his love for alcohol and drugs its theme song. The song was also inducted Investors Service said that the Met 31, 2013. brought fears that he would be the latest star into the Grammy Hall of Fame and Cocker was had only enough readily available Classical music organizations in to die young. In 1972, Cocker and his band- knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. But despite the cash at the end of the last fiscal year the United States were hit especial- mates were arrested in Australia for posses- — $46 million-to meet 53 days of ly hard by the economic crisis in sion of marijuana and then ordered to leave expenses and faced risks as half of 2008, with many groups still strug- the country due to a hotel brawl, triggering a its revenue comes from gifts. gling to preserve the support need- debate in Australia about its drug laws. The ratings service also pointed ed to pay expenses. The New York to the Met’s need to put up two City Opera, which for 70 years had ‘A way of carrying an emotion’ murals by Marc Chagall as collateral served as a foil to the Met by show- At Woodstock, despite it being a carnival of for bank financing. Moody’s down- File photo shows people as they gather in the rain to watch Wagner’s casing more populist productions counter-culture, Cocker recalled that promot- graded the Met’s bonds from A3 to Das Rheingold on a large projection video screen during opening and up-and-coming performers, ers thought that the then unknown singer’s Baa1, with a negative outlook. night at The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York. went bankrupt last year. — AFP arm movements were too strange and brought attractive women onto the stage next to him to deflect attention. Another problem- Barenboim rips ‘badly Ricky Martin to release Cocker had flown in on a separate helicopter and did not know that his entire band was trip- new album in 2015 ping on LSD, he later told the US rock DJ educated’ fans at Redbeard. “I didn’t find out until later,” he said. La Scala over cameras he Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin “I thought they were all looking a bit frisky up has announced his first studio album in there.” But Cocker wound up taking the stage onductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim has become the latest four years as he promised an active twice and also performed a cover of Ray artist to interrupt a concert to tick off the audience for taking T 2015. Martin, in video messages in English Charles’ post-addiction song “Let’s Go Get photographs, slamming flash-happy fans at Milan’s presti- C and Spanish to his millions of followers on Stoned.” Cocker’s popularity came amid the gious opera house as “badly educated”. The outburst, which came social media sites, said Monday the album rise of what was known, sometimes pejorative- during a performance of Schubert at La Scala, was compared to would be called “A Quien Quiera Escuchar” ly, as the “blue-eyed soul” of white artists In this June 10, 2008, photo, Joe Cocker pianist Keith Jarrett’s notorious on-stage rant at the Umbria Jazz fes- (“To Whoever Wants to Listen”) and will come embracing a musical style identified with pauses while potting heirloom tomatoes tival, when he told “all these assholes with cameras” to “turn them out on February 10. African Americans. Asked in an interview last on the back porch of his home at Mad Dog fucking off right now”. Barenboim was more restrained, but warned “We’re going to have a very interesting year with Britain’s Guardian newspaper on Ranch in Crawford, Colo. — AP photos the audience-and one woman in particular-that he had asked sever- how he feels the spirit of the blues, Cocker al times for people not to take photographs during his performance year full of music, partying and romantic times,” Martin, clad in a sleeveless T-shirt to said: “It’s an emotion-a way of carrying an acclaim, Cocker never made it into the Rock and was beginning to lose his temper. emotion. It’s a very simple format but I find and Roll Hall of Fame, an omission that some “Madam, I am trying to give you my best, but you have no reveal his heavily tattooed arms, said in the Spanish version. myself leaning that way as I get older.” He also fans saw as a snub. respect for it!” he said. “Those who take photographs during con- sang Ray Charles’ “Unchain My Heart,” notably Billy Joel, performing “With a Little Help certs are badly educated. “I have asked at every concert. The first Martin in October released the forthcom- ing album’s first single, “Adios” (“Goodbye”), at the mammoth 1988 concert at London’s From My Friends” at New York’s Madison time nicely, but now it’s serious,” he said, before returning to the Wembley Stadium that drummed up support Square Garden in September in a tribute to the stage to begin the sonata again, according to the media reports. which brings a Latin beat to a tune inspired by File photo shows Ricky 1930s burlesque. The 42-year-old has sold mil- to free South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon ailing Cocker, said he was “amazed” that the Jarrett was banned for six years from the Umbria festival in Perugia Nelson Mandela on his 70th birthday. singer was not in the Hall of Fame. Cocker is after his 2007 outburst, returning to perform in 2013 but-to the Martin as he performs during lions of albums and proven to be of the most the 15th Annual Latin popular Latin crossover acts, winning a broad survived by his wife, Pam Cocker, a step- audience’s bemusement-playing in the dark, so that no one could Praise, but no Hall of Fame daughter and two grandchildren. The family take photographs. — AFP Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, audience with songs such as “Livin’ la Vida Nevada. — AFP Loca,” “Maria” and “La Copa de la Vida.” —AFP More surprisingly, Cocker performed in plans a private service. — AFP lifestyle WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 FEATURES

Christmas lights are displayed along the Medellin River, in Medellin, Colombia. — AP photos Medellin’s Christmas lights dazzle in Colombia

edellin for Christmas vacation? Si, si! The Avenue, East Avenue, Carabobo, San Juan, Junin, says life in Medellin has been transformed by city once wracked by drug violence has 70 North Street and Las Palmas. Each area’s dis- everything from libraries and parks to assistance Mundergone massive social and econom- play has a different theme, for example animals, for entrepreneurs. ic transformation, and it’s now known in tourist symbols of peace, flowers and Christmas trees. Despite economic and social strides in circles for spectacular Christmas light displays Locals are quick to remind visitors that per- Medellin and elsewhere, challenges remain. that veil churches, buildings, parks and even the ceptions of the city as a centre of drug violence Medellin has recently been in the news over Medellin River with glittering cascades of color. are outdated. After all, Colombia’s most notori- reports of underage prostitution, and the taxi The spectacle can be seen in neighborhoods ous outlaw, drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, was industry in the capital, Bogota, is plagued by rob- around the city every night through Jan 12 from assassinated more than 20 years ago. While it’s beries. But tourism is on the rise. In 2013, about 6 pm to 1 am It draws an estimated 4 million visi- possible to find tour guides offering “Escobar 1.7 million tourists visited Colombia, more than tors, including thousands of tourists. The scene tours” of Medellin that include a stop at the three times the number that visited in 2002. feels like a carnival, with crowds of families on building where he was ambushed by police, tour About 20 per cent of 2013 arrivals, or 343,891, foot gazing in awe, street vendors and long lines guide Andres Munera prefers to focus on more were from the US, up slightly from the previous of cars and tour buses streaming slowly by. positive themes, from the Christmas lights to year. Tourism from the US is expected to grow The displays change each year and are creat- excursions to nearby coffee farms and nature with the recent addition of direct flights on ed by EPM, a state utility company that derives reserves. Avianca from New York. Munera says the much of its power from hydroelectric sources. Munera, 43, a native of Medellin, started his improved quality of life, along with social media The company, which also produces light displays business, Land Venture Travel, in 2010, and says and word of mouth, is helping persuade tourists in the Colombian cities of Cali and Quimbaya, about 50 per cent of his customers are American. to visit. “We don’t do Pablo Escobar tours held an open call for ideas for the light shows, After all, “it’s just a three-hour flight from Miami,” because that evil man was the worst thing that resulting this year in more than 1,500 sugges- he said. He credits Alvaro Uribe, who served both has ever happened to Medellin and the entire tions. The lights can be seen primarily in eight as Colombia’s president and Medellin’s mayor, country,” Munera said. “We prefer to focus on the areas of the city: Cerro Nutibara, La Playa with helping change Colombia’s reputation, and positive present than on a painful past.” — AP

A picture taken on October 2, 2001 shows US From Vietnam with love: Local architect Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. — AFP photos caviar aims to make a splash

t a sturgeon farm on a pristine lake near southern Dalat town, a worker Ahoists a large white fish out off the water. “It’s an albino,” says Vietnam’s eccen- tric ‘Caviar King’ Le Anh Duc adding tri- umphantly, “Gold eggs!” Not only are the eggs from the rare sturgeon-Duc has just 40 albinos out of half a million fish-an off-white ‘gold’ color but they are also a money-spin- ner. Albino caviar can sell for up to $100,000 per kilogram, compared to black Beluga caviar, a snip at just $5,000 to $10,000 a kilo according to industry figures. Duc, a jovial Russian-educated business- man with a love of risky ventures, is a man with a mission: to get Made In Vietnam caviar onto dinner tables across the world at a reasonable price-starting with the country best known for its penchant for the salted fish-eggs. “If we can sell our caviar to Russia-where really, they know about Spanish city saved by museum, caviar-then people will understand this is a Le Anh Duc stands inside his sturgeon breeding workshop in the central high- top quality product,” said the 36-year-old land city of Dalat, Vietnam’s Lam Dong province. — AFP photos entrepreneur, who already has a slew of output by 2017 and is ultimately dreaming most caviar-using only salt. His tins of caviar Guggenheim digs in other projects, from real estate to sea of producing 100 tons of high-quality caviar last just two months, but he is looking into planes, under his belt. a year. “Now, caviar is like a hyper-luxury Japanese high-tech freezing technology. He ocals in Bilbao say an art museum helped save Areso. The Rothkos and Warhols hung from the muse- His company, Caviar de Duc, has already product... but it’s also a healthy, delicious has turned down offers to supply caviar their Spanish city from decline. Now they are glad um’s walls have helped give the city new life-and others signed an agreement with a Russian product. More people should eat caviar,” he wholesale to the big-name brands that to know their savior, the Guggenheim, will be across the world are following its example. “This strate- importer to sell between two and four tons told AFP. dominate the existing industry, aiming L of caviar to Russia in 2015 — although staying for some time. With the initial lease set to gy was driven by globalization. It was very new at the instead to build a reputation for Vietnamese expire, the US-based Solomon R. Guggenheim time, but now it is being replicated,” said Lluis Bonet, a some Vietnamese seafood producers are Vietnam’s natural advantage caviar. Some new producers, in particular Foundation on December 9 announced it was signing specialist in cultural management at Barcelona already warning the collapse of the Russian Most of the 250-400 tons of caviar on China, suffer from perceived food-safety on to run its museum in the northern port city for University. Apart from their New York base, the ruble could hit exports. Long beloved of the the global market each year now comes issues, said WSCS’s Bronzi, but there is no another 20 years. That was double the period previous- Guggenheims had already opened a collection in from farmed sturgeon, according to World reason that Vietnamese caviar can’t storm ly envisaged for the new contract, and for those Venice and are now planning a new museum in Abu Sturgeon Conservation Society (WSCS) esti- into the market. “I don’t think that caviar involved it was another sign that the museum satellite Dhabi. mates. In Russia, previously one of the most coming from new countries will be always is a winning formula. The northern Basque port was a Numerous other big museums are planning their biggest suppliers, “the natural population confined because of its origin... It depends run-down mess in the early 1990s before the contem- own satellites as well, including several in Spain, a coun- (of sturgeon) has practically disappeared,” on the new customers, the dealers and porary art museum ensconced itself there in its scaly try slowly recovering from recession. The Louvre has said Paolo Bronzi, vice president of the obviously on the prices,” he said. titanium building, local leaders say. branched out from Paris to Abu Dhabi and to the north- WSCS. Despite traditional supplies drying “It is a real miracle that the Guggenheim is in Bilbao. ern French town of Lens. Paris’s Pompidou Centre is up, demand for caviar is increasing-spurred ‘They told me I was crazy’ This was a junk yard before,” said the city’s mayor Ibon planning to open a venue in Malaga, southern Spain. In by the flood of newly-wealthy consumers in Duc’s sturgeon farming experiment Russia, Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage museum has Asia and the Middle East-and there is grow- began in 2007 with 50,000 fingerlings after announced plans for a branch in Barcelona. he defied expert advice and decided that sturgeon could live in Vietnam’s warmer ‘Bilbao effect’ waters. But his first caviar harvest was in The banks of Bilbao’s Nervion river were grotty and 2013, as sturgeon take years to mature. dirty, dotted with abandoned factories before the proj- “The scientists they told me I was crazy,” he ect was launched that led to the Guggenheim opening said, adding that the Russian experts he in 1997. “We were in a terrible state. There was high had hired all flew home in disgust when he unemployment, industries had shut down, there were insisted the fish would thrive in Vietnam’s lots of drugs and the city hadn’t been cleaned up for reservoirs, some 10 degrees celsius warmer many years,” said Inaki Esteban, author of a book, “The than the sturgeon’s favored habitat. Now, Guggenheim Effect”. The $170-million (more than 130- he has more customers than he can handle million-euro) museum was part of a plan to transform in Vietnam-as the communist country’s bur- the city and diversify its economy, but it was controver- geoning elite develop a taste for global del- Le Anh Duc prepares to taste fresh sial at the time. icacies. In Vietnam, Duc already supplies caviar after it was removed from a “People didn’t see how a museum could be an eco- many of the country’s five star hotels and sturgeon. nomic motor,” Esteban said. Now the area is brightly lit with parks and bicycle lanes woven around the ship- shaped metallic museum building designed by rich and famous, caviar is an expensive, Canadian-born US architect Frank Gehry. Seventeen high-end delicacy, but one now in crisis- million visitors have come through its doors and hotel wild caviar production has fallen from a stays in Bilbao have soared as foreigners have flocked high of some 3,000 tons per year in the to the city. The Guggenheim directly or indirectly 1970s to almost zero. employs 5,000 people, and has brought in three and a Rampant over-fishing and pollution in half billion euros ($4.3 billion) in revenues to the region, caviar’s birthplace, the Caspian Sea, mean Workers disembowel a sturgeon for officials say. the wild beluga sturgeon is now critically caviar. Bilbao had historically been one of Spain’s most endangered. In 1998, traditional caviar pro- ing pressure to find a new, sustainable way prosperous cities, but it had declined along with its duction from natural fisheries was strictly to feed the industry. heavy industries and shipyards. Within a year of the limited by a system of quotas imposed by Sturgeon, like salmon, are relatively easy museum opening, it had generated 144 million euros the United Nations Convention on to farm-and the WSCS estimates supply Workers treat caviar after it was ($186 million) for the Basque region, and its unemploy- Endangered Species (CITES), prompting could increase to 500-750 tons a year within removed from a sturgeon. ment rate has decreased to one of the lowest in Spain. greater interest and investment in sturgeon the next few years. Vietnam is well placed to “The Guggenheim was a great success but it was not farming. fill the demand. It already boasts a big regularly provides caviar for high-end par- an isolated initiative. It was part of wider urban regen- Italy, which has been farming sturgeon aquaculture, with large export-orientated ties-from soirÈes hosted by the French eration. They improved the port and built an under- for decades, is now the world’s top farmed prawn and catfish industries-although Ambassador in Hanoi to a birthday party for ground train system,” said Guillermo Dorronsoro, head caviar producer, and a new generation of these have been sometimes hit by food the daughter of Vietnam’s Prime Minister of the business school at Bilbao’s Deusto University. newcomers like Vietnam are eyeing a slice safety concerns. Duc is fanatic about quali- Nguyen Tan Dung. “The quality is very Other cities have since imitated the “Bilbao effect” of the market. Duc currently has some ty: he does not use hormones or antibiotics good,” said Sakal Phoeung, executive chef though not all have succeeded, mayor Areso said. 500,000 sturgeon spread across six farms in on his fish, and keeps them in large cages at the Sofitel Saigon Plaza, which uses “There is much more to it than just putting a museum Vietnam, all in hydroelectric dam reservoirs with fewer fish to reduce stress levels, as he Caviar de Duc. “Of course the eggs are A woman passing by two sculptures of Spanish there. Bilbao’s transformation would have been possi- leased from the communist government. bids to build a reputation for Vietnamese smaller than caviar we can find in Russia or artist Eduardo Chillida, outside the Guggenheim ble even without the Guggenheim. But we wouldn’t This year his fish produced some five tons roe. He also opposes the use of borex-a Iran but in terms of quality, taste, it is really Bilbao museum in Bilbao. have become so well-known internationally.” — AFP of caviar. Duc wants to more than treble his standard but toxic preservative used in close to that,” Sakal said. — AFP Medellin’s Christmas lights dazzle in Colombia

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 39

Motorcyclists dressed in Santa Claus outfits pose for a group photo before taking part in a Christmas ‘toy run’ on their bikes ownd the streets of Tokyo yesterday. Some 500 motorcyclists took part in the run yesterday - a local holiday - to campaign against child abuse ahead of Christmas.— AFP After tough year, Iraqis flock to Baghdad market for holiday cheer

Le Anh Duc stands inside his sturgeon breeding workshop in the central highland city of Dalat, Vietnam’s Lam Dong province. — AFP photos aasub Ali stands inside his shop in Additionally, this Christmas and New Year’s do Shorjah. He too put the increased sales down to harmed by what happened, and they love to get Jesus, who is considered a prophet by Muslims, Baghdad’s Shorjah market surrounded by not fall during Muharram or Arbaeen, when Iraqis wanting to celebrate to escape the difficult themselves out of sadness,” he says. “reflects joy and delight,” Khaled says, adding Ynearly empty shelves cleared of decora- Shiite Muslim Iraqis mourn the death of Imam times. “We are looking for joy to forget the suffer- Ahmed Khaled, a Sunni Muslim from that he has been putting up decorations since tions by Iraqis seeking holiday cheer after a year Hussein, one of the most revered figures in their ing,” Jarjis says. Ali Abdulzahra, a Shiite from the Baghdad’s northern Adhamiyah area, asks a sell- his childhood. “We are used to the situation and of relentless violence. In the narrow market, faith, and holiday decorations are discouraged. shrine city of Najaf carrying two massive bags of er wearing a Santa hat for a massive 1.75 metre the explosions,” he says, referring to frequent which dates to the Abbassid era more than 700 “This year, I sold 10 times more than past years,” decorations, agrees. “People need to celebrate (nearly six-foot) Christmas tree because he bombings in Baghdad. “If we don’t celebrate, the years ago, Iraqis peruse Christmas and New says Bassem Jarjis, a Christian shop owner in more this year because many of them were thinks his current one is too small. The birth of country dies.” — AFP Year’s decorations ranging from wreaths and ornaments to red-and-white Santa Claus outfits and figurines. Many of them are not members of Iraq’s dwindling Christian minority but Muslims Visitors are who have embraced the end-of-the-year holiday silhouetted with season as an occasion to celebrate. decorated lights on Plastic Christmas trees are available in green trees to celebrate the and white, some boxed up and others on display, upcoming Christmas including one that sells for $200 and features and New Year at Garden built-in lights. The area is crowded with cus- of Morning Calm in tomers, and the workers carting boxes of decora- Gapyeong, South tions who pass every few minutes struggle to get Korea. Christmas is one through. “Demand was unusually high this year... of the biggest holidays this is the first time we sold this amount,” says Ali, in South Korea. — AP who has worked in the shop for 10 years. “We did not expect this demand,” he says, pointing to shelves emptied of decorations except for Santa costumes and some ornaments. He speculates that there is heightened demand because “people are looking for an outlet”. They have ample reason to-Iraq has suffered through a year that saw the brutal Islamic State (IS) jihadist group overrun large parts of the country, displacing hundreds of thousands and leaving thousands dead. At another shop, Safa-who goes by the name “Abu Hadaya,” meaning “Father of Gifts”-says sales have been unprecedented.

‘People want to rejoice’ “I have sold gifts and decorations for 30 years and this is the first time I have witnessed (demand) to this extent. I sold all the Christmas and New Year’s decorations,” he says. Aside from a lone Christmas tree and a few Santa figurines, his shop is now stocked up for Valentine’s Day, the next major gift-buying holiday. “People want to rejoice this year because of the sadness caused by (IS),” Abu Hadaya says.